subject § VI and makes the subject capable of the reward according to the eternall and unchangeable Laws of God-Redeemer It doth not justify but makes us justifiable To justify must be an act of the Judge To believe is the duty of the Subject To the duty man is bound by the command to render the reward God is bound by his promise But faith doth not only make him capacable and a fit subject to receive justification but upon it by vertue of the promise made in the blood of Christ the party thus as thus believing hath a right unto it The foundation of this right or the title which is sometimes taken for the right sometimes for the foundation of this right is faith but not faith as a duty performed or such a duty in particular but as it is specified and made a condition in the grant and promise made for Christs sake For a donation essentially includes the Donour the Donee and the Consideration if there be any as if it be nudum pactum there is none In this Grant God is Donour sinfull man believing the Donee the Consideration is the blood of Christ. If Christ have made no purchase there is nothing to be granted If He have purchased and there be no grant there is no conveyance If Christ hath purchased and God hath granted and yet the Donee be not specifyed it 's no grant no donation But in this donation man is the Donee and is specifyed as a Believer Yet the party doth not only believe but in and by the power of this faith doth confesse pray vow and Christ an Advocate in Heaven doth plead The Devil accuseth chargeth the sinner desires justice to be done upon the guilty wretch For why should he himself be guilty being condemned and punished and man being guilty as he is go unpunished Here Christ comes in confesseth his client guilty in himself yet just another way and though he deserve to be punished yet by law he ought not to be punished He Pleads three things 1. His own propitiation made 2. Gods promise as part of his Law 3. His clients unfeigned faith By this plea the charge of the Devil is make void the cause of his client made good and the judge effectually moved to pardon This pleading and intercession of Christ is necessary not onely because God ordained and required it but also because our prayer and pleading is very imperfect and His perfect And happy is he that hath such a Counsellour and Advocate in Heaven who is ever ready day and night before his Fathers Throne taking care of the cause of all his Clients pleading GRATIS without any Fee and ever carrying the cause Yet a sinner may be justifiable and yet not instantly actually justifyed For the sentence may be delayed for a certain time But this is the comfort of a true believer that the sentence will certainly be passed in Gods due time which in his wisdome he knoweth to be best Thus you have heard 1. Who is the Judge § VII 2. Who is the party judged Now 3. It 's high time to say something of the judiciall act which is the principall thing But before I proceed to unfold the nature of it I must digresse a little and examine the different opinions of men in this point For some question whether it be a sentence properly or no and if it be a sentence properly when and where it 's passed and if it be passed whether it be a bare sentence without any execution or with some execution 1. That t is a sentence most will grant but some distinguish of Sententia Legis and Sententia judicis The one is not the other is properly a sentence and this no doubt is an act of judgment not of Legislation For if it be an act of Legislation it 's then onely promise and that looks at none in particular but all in generall to whom the promise is made and presupposeth a duty to be performed But justification presupposeth a particular person a particular cause a duty performed and the performance as already past is pleaded and the Judge sollicited to passe judgment accordingly But let it be a sentence and that properly and of the Judge as it is When and where is it passed For passed if properly a sentence it must be For it 's not a sentence as conceived in the breast of the Judge but as judicially pronounced It 's not Sententia mere concepta sed prolata some wayes declared Whether for the time is it passed in eternity before time or in time For the place whether is it passed in man or out of man If out of man whether in Heauen or in Earth If on Earth whether by God and Man If by God whether by the promise of the Law that whosoever believeth is not condemned or some other thing If by man whether by the Minister or the Church binding or loosing so on earth as to be bound and loosed in Heaven If it be whether it be an act of conscience or the blessed spirit If the spirit whether it be by inspiration and enthusiasm or by some real operation Thus the wit of man forsaking the rule of Gods word will wander and ignorance joyned with curiosity will start many doubts puzzle a clear truth infinitely multiply questions not so much for edification as destruction and distraction 1. The sentence was not passed in eternity and onely manifested in time for if it were passed then and onely manifested now it might from hence be argued that the world was created from eternity and so is eternall and the glorious work of creation in the beginning had only been a manifestation of that which was from everlasting And how absurd if not blasphemous must such a fancy be It is trâ—e that as God before the foundation of the World did decree all things to be done in time so he decreed to passe this sentence But the decree it self without the issuing out and exercise of an almighty executive power is no sentence In eternity before time no man was created no sin committed no Saviour promised no law published no duty of faith performed no person convenâ—ed no promise pleaded and therefore no sinner believing justified 2. For the place 1. It 's not passed in Heaven and only there for no Scripture saith so neither is there any meanes discovered how the poor guilty sinner should know whether it be past or no and if past when and so till it be known to be passed and that certainly the believer must alwayes be in doubt The cause indeed is pleaded in Heaven by the great High Priest and his plea is effectual But that the sentence is always passed presently upon the cause pleaded cannot be proved It 's true that if a man doth certainly know his faith and the sincerity thereof he may certainly know his right unto justification and so he knows his cause to be good in Law He is justified in law-title that is he
and secured in his blessed estate as the holy Angels are and the Saints shall be in glory What his happinesse should have been and when consummate if he had Persevered we do not certainly and distinctly know The hour of Temptation seems to have been the hour of Triall and it 's very Probable that if in that conflict he had proved stedfast and Victorious he and his might have been blessed for ever But Man being in honor abode not § III and being tempted sin'd and aspiring higher and seeking by doing that which God had forbidden to attain the higher pitch of glory was devesâ—ed of his Honour and depriv'd of his happy estate And here Divines take occasion to speak of sin in generall And though I might have entered upon this subject when I spake of the fall and condemnation of many of the Angels yet because the Scripture speaks most of the sin of man therefore I will follow their example and practise and 1. Speak of sin in generall 2. Of the particular Sin of Adam The generall nature of sin is disobedience to the just command of a Superiour and because disobedience is opposed to obedience therefore it will not be amisse to enquire a little into the nature of obedience Obedience is not of Physicall but morall and politicall consideration For it presupposeth an intelligent and free agent and the same subject to the Power and bound by the Laws of a Superiour for where there is no Superiour Power there can be no Law and where there is no Law there can be no obedience or disobedience Whether the immediate subject of obedience be acts or habits was formerly determined in some manner but here you must observe that intelligent and free acts inclinations habits especially Acts are the subject immediat and proper of obedience and the proper and first subject of it is the will and heart the acts whereof are intelligent and free and no other acts else This is the reason why God so much requires the heart and will not accept any the greatest offerings and services if performed without the heart To this obedience 't is necessarily required that the will freely subject it self to the power of the superiour and exactly conforme unto his will and command in all inclinations and motions so far as it is bound in which respect the will must be no will in it self In this particular whereof we speak the subject is man who is an intelligent and free agent The superiour is God according to the power acquired in Creation The rule of obedience is the Law both Positive and morall and his obedience is a conformity both in subjection and acting according to the will and command of God The Principal subject of this obedience as an adjunct and cause of it as an effect is the Will and heart of man which is the proper seat of Integrity and Perversnesse For other Acts are so far good or bad as they depend on the Will and are so called extrinseca dominatione and by Participating their qualification from the Will As it is in this particular obedience required of Adam at the first so it is in all the other acts of obedience performed to God Sin in generall is opposed to this obedience § IV and is a disobedience to the Laws of God not of Man or any other superiour in strict sense Otherwise in a large sense the Laws of men may be the lawes of God and their power his Power and it 's Gods law and will that they should obey their Laws and submit to their Power For as the Wisdome of God is the first rule so the will of God expressed in his law is the first binding law That sin is a disobedience unto a Law and the Law of God the Apostle informs us in these words Sin is the transgression or rather disobedience to the Law of God 1 John 3. 4. For so the Apostle is to be understood as appeares by the context This Sin is so unbeseeming that nature and place of men and Angels wherein God created them as nothing more and so staines them that when they see themselves they loath and abhor themselves so as they cannot endure to look upon themselves It 's the basest thing in the world and most pernicious unto him that is once guilty of it It 's a Deviation from the best rule of divine Wisdom and a disagreement with the most just and holy God It 's a contempt or at least a neglect of the eternall power of this glorious King It makes our own imaginations and the suggestions of the Devil our rules and our own lusts our Masters as though we were not subject unto God It deprives us of eternall light and is the perpetuall fuel of Hell-fire and the desert thereof is very dreadfull For these reasons God hates it forbids it threatens it gave both men and Angels at the first power against it and for it not repented of pardoned he casts both men and Angels out of his presence into utter darknesse and torments them with eternall fire Yet all Sinnes are not equall § V as the punishments deserved are some lesse some greater And here I might enlarge and discover the severall sorts the aggravations the Consequents of Sin in generall 1. For the kinds and distinctions they are many For we hold that some sins are against the Law some against the Gospel some against God some against man Some of omission some of Commission c. And these distinctions may be tolerable in some sense 2. The degrees and aggravations are very many and might be observed out of Scripture and reduced into method as is done by the Learned and most judicious Doctor Chappel in his Method of Preaching The Crucifying of Christ the Lord of glory was an heynous crime yet some who had an hand in it were ignorant For so our Saviour prayes Father forgive them for they know not what they do Luke 23. 34. Yet others did it maliciously and contrary to the clear light of their Conscience and concerning these the supreme Judge is sollicited and desired to add iniquity unto their iniquity Psal. 69. 27. And there is a sin against the Holy-Ghost which according to the rules of Gods eternall justice renders the partyes sinning incapable of remission Such is the Blaspemy against the Holy-Ghost Math. 12. 31. and the Apostacy of Christians having once received the knowledge of the truth Heb. 10. 26 27. Paul was a Blasphemer a Persecutour and injurious yet he sinned ignorantly and in unbelief and upon his repentance obtayned mercy 1 Tim. 1. 13 16. The knowing Servant neglects to do his Masters will so doth the ignorant Servant too yet the sin of the former is greater then the sin of the latter and their punishment must be commensurable to their sin Luke 12. 47 48. These places I observe to let you understand and put you in mind 1. That sin is not in the outward act properly and immediately for
tranâ—gressed by man at first could be no blameable cause of sin is evident because it was just easie to be observed man had power given him to keep it and the Law it self did express what and how great the evil would be whereunto man should certainly be liable if he transgressed and this was done to restrain man from sin for his own good By all this it 's evident that the first sin was neither from God nor the Law of God so as they could be blamed but from the Devil Woman Man who were justly chargable with it and punishable for it Let no man therefore charge God who is most holy nor the Decree of God nor the Law of God with sin as any ways a proper cause thereof Let God be true and every man a Lyaâ— as it is written That thou mightest be justified in thy saying and overcome when thou art judged Rom. 3. 4. But let every one charge his own heart and with all humility and grief confess his own sin It 's true that the temptation of the Devil tends directly to sin yet that could do us no hurt if we did resolutely reject it and not consent unto it CHAP. XIII Of God's Judicial Proceeding against Man upon the Commission of the first Sin HItherto § I I have spoken briefly of Sin in general and the first sin of man in particular as the Object of the Judgment of God which followed upon the perpetration of that sin In this Judgment God was the Judge Man the Party judged the Rule not onely the Moral but positive Law of God He was not bound to this Rule and therefore though in many things he observes it yet in some things he acts above it as supream Lord above his own Law and allays the severity of his Justice with abundance of Free-grace The Law promiâ—ed no mercy if man disobeyed yet he promiseth mercy even in the midst of Judgment and upon fairest terms This Judgment is described exactly in Gen. 3. Wherein we may observe the sin of man and the judgment of God The sin with the causes thereof and the first effects thereof before judgment the observant Reader will easily understand in the first part of that Chapter The Effects were two 1. Shame 2. Fear Shame for they saw their own Nakedness Fear For they heard the Voice of God and were afraid They sought to cover their shame and to hide themselves from God's Presence but both in vain In the Judgment or judicial proceedings â—ive things are most observable 1. The Summons 2. The Charge 3. The Conviction of the Parties summoned and convinced 4. God's Sentence 5. The Execution of the same God being Supream and absolute Lord was no ways bound to observe Formalities yet he omits nothing essential to judgment And this was the first great Court and Solemn Assizes kept on Earth 1. We have the Summons in these words Adam where art thou The end of Summons is Appearance which in respect of God was needless because of his Omnipresence And where could man disappear or hide himself from his All seeing Eye Yet because man had a foolish and fond conceit that he miâ—ht conceal himself God calls him out and by these words lets him know that 't was in vain to hide himself For let him be in the darkest and most secret place in the World yet there God was present and he did appear before his Tribunal For these words were not of ignorance as though God knew not where he was but a judicial Summons commanding him to appear before him where he should have full liberty to plead for himself Yet these words were not a bare Summons but a Charge For they implyed 1. That Adam did hide himself And 2. There must be some cause of it and there could be no cause but sin For why should an innocent person hide himself or seek to escape the presence of a just Judge The Righteous are as bold as a Lyon and dare look the greatest Judge in the face By this flying Gods presence he accused himself as guilty and sought to decline the Tryall This is a generall charge Adam upon this appeares and exuseth his hiding of himself but so that he rather accuseth himself by pretending that the cause of his hiding himself was his Nakednesse and the Presence of God whereas it was guilt of Conscience Therefore God taking hold of his own words proceeds to a Particular charge That surely he had transgressed the Law and had eaten of the Tree whereof God had commanded him that he should not eate Who should tell him that he was naked or how should he know it except he had offended This came so home and the crime was so evident and his own conscience so full a Witnesse that he could not deny it And therefore confesseth his offence yet so that he endeavours to attenuate it and excuse himself Thus the man was convicted yet so that he accuseth his Wife Sin is so odious filthy base that the Sinner himself is ashamed to own it but would charge it upon some other he cares not whom so that he might free himself And if man cannot deny his fact or prove it not to be a Sin yet he will endeavour to make it appeare lesse then it is that his shame and punishment may be lesse For we are not asham'd or affraid to Sin Yet when our Sin is charged upon us we are both ashamed of it and affraid of the punishment deserved Thus whilst Adam excuseth himself to no purpose he accuseth his dearly beloved Spouse and she indeed was two wayes guilty Not onely 1. Because she had eaten the forbidden fruit but 2. Because she had given it her husband to eate She therefor is summoned accused and convicted For she could no wayes plead Not guilty Yet she is willing to excuse her self and pleads she was deceived and the Serpent that is the Devill had deceived her Yet this could by no wayes clear and acquit her seeing she knew the Law and the words were plain and she had power not onely to resist but to overcome the Temptation For the controversie between the Devill and her if she had well considered proved in the issue to be this whether she should believe God saying If thou eate of that Tree thou shalt surely dye or the Devill saying Though thou eate thereof thou shalt not dye in plain contradiction to the Words of God The old Serpent the Devil and Sathan had no excuse none to cast the blame upon His crime was evident and notorious And thus the cause was evident and the partyes clearly convicted After conviction followes sentence § II declaring the Will of the supreme Judg concerning the Delinquents And 1. We must think and know that the Spirit in this History condescends unto our capacity and after the manner of humane judgements describes the judgement of God as in severall places of the new Testament our Saviour doth especially in Math. 25. 2. The order
and of great power and policy therefore he must be a King invested with Universal and Eternal Power to make Laws and Officers to judge and to execute Judgment in rendring eternal rewards and punishments according to the Works of such as shall be judged that so he may subdue all Enemies even Death it self protect his people and give Eternal Peace and Felicity to such as shall unfeignedly submit unto his Power and continue loyal and obedient Subjects to the end As God hath decreed before the World upon the fore-sight of man's sin that the World should be made flesh so he likewise decreed that he should be invested with this three-fold power and to confer it upon him as Flesh united to the Word Upon the Fall of Adam this Office was promised in his Conception and Birth he was designed unto it in his Baptism he was declared to be the Son of God Upon his manifestation after his Baptism he began to act in this Three-fold Office Upon his Resurrection he was constituted a compleat Priest Prophet King and all power in Heaven and Earth given Him Upon his Ascension he was solemnly invested and confirmed in the place and began at the right hand of God to exercise his Power more gloriously CHAP. II. Concerning the Humiliation of Jesus Christ whereby this New Power was acquired And a brief Historical Narration of His Sufferings THis New Power as you heard before was acquired by the Word made flesh § I and now we know by whom In the next place we must enquire by what it was acquired It was acquired by the Humiliation of the Son of God This Humiliation of Jesus Christ is that whereby He in the form of a Servant was obedient unto Death the Death of the Cross. In this Humiliation we have two degrees 1. He took upon him the form of a Servant 2. In that form he suffered the Death of the Cross. 1. He was a Servant For being in the form of God he thought it not Robbery or Sacriledge to be equal with God yet he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant and was made in the likeness of men Phil. 2. 6 7. This state and condition of a Servant taken upon Him was the first part of his Humiliation But here it 's to be noted 1. That He was not a Slave taken in War nor sold nor born of Servile Parents or Parent 2. As He was the Word and equal with God He could not be a Servant but as He was flesh and made Man For as Man He was a reasonable Creature and so subject to God and bound to Obedience 3. Yet to be Man was not all For He was a Servant in respect of the mean condition of His Humane Nature For He was born of a Mother though of Royal Extraction from the house of King David at a great distance yet poor and mean as appears in that she was espoused and married to Joseph a Carpenter and so a Mechanick and of the lowest Rank of Subjects and also by his poor Birth in a Stable 4. He as Man for the time laid aside or did not assume the Robes of Glory the State and Dignity which did agree unto Him as He was the Son of God neither did He take upon Him any Civil Command or Jurisdiction much less that Universal and Supream Power wherewith He was invested afterward 5. He was born not onely a Man but a Jew under the Bondage and Servitude of the Law as was manifest by His Circumcision and Presentation in the Temple 6. He subjected himself unto the Ecclesiastical Power of His own Nation and the Civil Power of the Romanes so far as to be tried and condemned by both though He was innocent and was willing to be obedient not onely in doing the good commanded but to suffer the evil even Death the death of Servants nay of Slaves nay of Dogs which He no way deserved So that He wholly denied Himself renounced his own Will even in things lawful and was a Servant to his Father in one of the hardest and lowest services that ever was the service of Sin excepted This was a way which the unsearchable depth of Eternal Wisdom contrived to acquire a new transcendent Power It 's true that alter He appeared in publique He took upon him some power and acted accordingly He began to preach the Gospel with power and majesty not onely in private but publick He gathered Disciples and made Apostles and other Officers instituted Sacraments and gave Laws and Commissions and signified that He was the Son of God and should one day come in the Clouds of Heaven yet still He was a Servant The second degree of his Humiliation was § II that as a Servant he was obedient unto Death the Death of the Cross. He was always obedient both to God and Man in all things so far as He was bound He observed not onely the Moral but the Ceremonial Laws of the Jews and the Civil Laws of the Romans so far as they were just He many ways manifested himself to be the Word made flesh and the onely Begotten Son of God and that not onely by his eminent Vertues but by his Heavenly Doctrine and glorious Works So that never any gave better Example taught better Doctrine or did greater Works so beneficiall to Mankind and to destructive to Sathan's power Yet he manifested himself in this manner onely amongst his own people seeking earnestly not onely their Temporal Peace but their Eternal Salvation And all this may be called his Active Obedience which though so excellent and perfect yet could not free him from obedience in sufferings which were many and ended in the death of the Cross. The History hereof I will 1. Deliver briefly out of the Evangelists And 2. Discourse of the same more at large out of these and other places of Scripture Though he suffered by the Determinate Counsel and sore-knowledge of God and God had shewed before by the mouth of all his Prophets that he should suffer yet the Counsel of God and Predictions of the Prophets were fulfilled in the manner following 1. By his Sufferings before Judgment 2. By his Sufferings in Judgment 1. Before Judgment He by his Example Doctrine Works gathered many Disciples and the people followed him in great multitudes This was a provocation to the ambitious Rulers of the Jews many of whom were Pharisees a Sect in those times in great account and admiration with the people for eminent Piety and Learning wherein they seemed to excel And this did grieve them much that He did neither comply with them nor their Designs nor receive any Commission from them but did reprove their Hypocrisie and took off their Vizard of Sanctity and open before the people their Ambition Covetousness Cruelty Oppression and other enormous Sins confuted their false Doctrine and denounced most fearful Woes against them His eminency and respect with the People with the multitude of Disciples
presupposeth knowledge of the promise and a serious consideration 1. That it's God who promiseth 2. That the thing promised is everlasting life and all things necessarily conducing thereunto 3. The termes upon which it is to be obtayned and enjoyed And the principal is sincerely to submit under the Power and wholly rely upon the mercy of God Redeemer by Christ for remission of sin and eternall Salvation which Christ hath merited and God will give This Remission and eternall life are promised for Christs sake and the Promise it self is made for and in the consideration of his death and these things as promised are a mighty motive and powerfully work upon the heart of man to incline it to submission and if ever they prevayle this submission will follow The promise binds God gives hope moves mans heart and presents unto the soul the unspeakable benefit to follow upon the Performance of the duty and that certainly without any doubt This submission presupposeth certain dutyes antecedent and includes virtually all Particular dutyes following This word as written in a book § VIII or uttered outwardly by man or Angel may represent unto sinfull man both what he must do and what God upon his performance will give and by the senses be conveyed to the soul of man and cause him to understand and approve of the justice of the duty and excellency of the benefit promised and may incline man to some moral submission Yet such is the blindnesse of mans understanding in respect of these heavenly mysteryes and perversenesse and depravation of the will that without some power to pâ—riâ—ie and rectifie the soul this word of calling will prove insufficient Both this blindnesse and depravation are the greater to such as are at age by reason of false notions and errours and the habits of sin Therefore with the word is required the Spirit and divine power not onely to convey the word close unto the soul but also to prepare qualifie and fit it for the reception and entertainment of the Word This is evident by the experience of all times For the very words of our Saviour Christ who spake as never man spake and confirmed his Doctrin not only by his holy life but by such works as never man did or could do proved not effectuall upon the greatest part of his hearers Therefore said he No man can come unto me except the Father draw him Joh. 6. 44. To draw us is a work of power not a meere outward Word or Writing In the new Covenant God doth promise to put his lawes in our minds and write them in our hearts And this is said to be done by putting his Spirit within us and so causing us to walk in his Statutes and keep his judgments to do them Ezek. 36. 27. And before this can be effected he must take away our stony hearts and give us hearts of flesh One effect of this Spirit is generally granted to be illumination another to be sanctification of the heart This illumination may not be onely a restoring of a spirituall sight and viâ—ve power but also a more clear representation of the things spoken in the Word and the same more immediate and in an higher light This cannot be done except it free the soul from false notions and errours in matters of Religion This sanctification of the heart doth certainly subdue if not wholly take away predominant lusts and elevate and perfect the rationall appetite by giving and imparting a divine sense and Vigour whereby it more effectually doth relish heavenly things but reject and abhorr evil and sin I will not here dispute whether this Spirit be a distinct thing or power different from the Word of God as spoken immediately by himself to the soul of man or it be the very same No doubt the Word of God as the word of God is power For as it is said of Thunder naturally so its true of this Word spiritually The voyce of the Lord is powerfull the Voyce of the Lord is full of Majesty and it breaketh the Cedars and shaketh the Wildernesse So this word as his is powerfull and full of Majesty able to break the most stony and senslesse stubborn heart and shake it in pieces If it come close unto the soul it cleares the understanding dispels the mists and foggs of errour pierceth the inward parts and makes most lively and lasting impressions upon the same As I will not diâ—pute this point of difference between the word and this power so I will not perplex thâ— Reader nor amaze him with the controversie concerning the manner of conversion the resistibility or irresistibility of grace and the necessitation of the Will of man The manner of conversion is to us unsearchable both because we are ignorant of the nature of the immortall Soul and because much more are we ignorant of the manner of Gods working upon that immortall Spirit As for the resistibility or irresistibility of grace we know that the power of God is Almighty and cannot be resisted by any created strength if he please to exercise it to the full or in some high measure But if God give power to the creature or work by that created power given it may be resisted by a contrary created power And so grace or the power of conversion as a created thing in man may be so given as to be resisted by the Will of man And both the understanding of man will and doth either deny or doubt of divine truths represented to the soul and the Will will wrangle oppose and reject or not sincerely affect and submit unto the divine commands and promises And hence the many conflicts not onely in conversion but after we are converted As for necessitation of the will in this work of divine calling its certaine and granted of all that the illumination of the understanding may be necessary so farr as the soul in respect of the same is onely passive though in the apprehension and judgement concerning the truths represented by the Word it be active Besides God may give an active power to the Will and it may be passive in receiving of it and also necessitated to an act of complacency in generall so that it necessarily may approve by a generall approbation of the justice and equity of the command and the excellency of the good promised For even a wicked Medaea may truly say Video Meliora Proboque And a simple apprehension of a thing as good much morâ— an act of judgement may produce an act of approbation complacency and volition in generall and the good represented may be not onely approved as good in respect of the contrary evill but as better in respect of that good which is apprehended as lesse For it 's not possible to apprehend good as good and not approve it because as Bradwardine saith well in that respect it is not Objectum nolubile Yet notwithstanding this necessary and naturall act of complacency that act of the Will which Buridan
an everlasting Priest-hood and confirmed upon Him by a Solemn Oath For God sware unto Him and would not alter That He should be a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedeck So that now He is made Vniversal Supream Eternal King and Priest and as He is next unto God by Personal Union so He is by Power Ten dayes were spent in this Solemnity and the Preparation for the Administration of this Kingdom and upon the 10th day after His Ascension the Holy Ghost was sent down from Heaven upon the Apostles and the Son of God made Man having by Death acquired this Power and now received it began by the Holy Ghost to exercise the same After that Christ was exalted § IX and thus glorified the Administration differed much For Christ as King sends down the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and so makes New Officers new Laws and executeth judgment accordingly As Prophet reveals clearly and fully the great Mystery of the Gospel As Priest begins His intercession in Heaven He begins this Administration in Jerusalem and the first tender of Eternal Life by Him as Saviour is made to the Jew For the Rod of His Power must go out of SION So it was prophecied of old He abolisheth the Temple-Worship and for the sin of that People destroys the Temple and the City and both lye desolate to this day And He not onely took away the Customs and Rites of Moses but all mystical and typical Ceremonies and Sacrifices used from the times of Adam and also the Sacraments of Circumcision and the Passover The Levitical Priests and Ministers and all such as served in the Temple or in the Tabernacle He removed In stead of the Sacraments of Circumcision and the Passover He instituted the Sacrament of Baptism and the Supper of the Lord Of Baptism as a Solemn Rite of Regeneration and admission into His Kingdom the Lords Supper as a Rite of Commemoration of the great Sacrifice of His Death and of the continuance of their subjection unto Him and communion amongst themselves His Territory is enlarged For He takes in the Gentiles and all Nations unto the ends of the Earth The Synagogue Woâ—ship in Word and Prayer and other Moral-Services remained yet this was to be performed unto God in the name of Christ glorified And now they were neither bound to worship in the Land of Canaan nor in Jerusalem nor in the Temple according to the words of our Saviour to the Woman of Samaria Believe me the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father Joh. 4. 41. Therefore we may worship and pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath doubting 1 Tim. 2. 8. The Officers in stead of the former Priests and Prophets ordinary and extraordinary are Apostles Prophets and Evangelists Pastours and Teachers The extraordinary besides Prophets and Evangelists were the Apostles who being Universal Officers invested with transcendent power laid the Foundation of the Church-Christian not onely amongst the Jews but the Gentiles and finished the Canon of the New-Testament which is the perpetual â—â—le of Doctrine-Worship and Discipline unto the Worlds end To this purpose they were endued with extraordinary gifts of Knowledge Wisdom Languages power of doing Miracles and by imposition of hands of giving the Holy Ghost The ordinary Officers are Pastours and Teachers These succeed the Apostles in their ordinary power both of Teaching Praying Administration of the Sacraments and the exercise of Discipline so far as Christ hath left power in the Church For their Associates or Assistants and their Order and imparity in the use of the Keyes this is no place to speak of particularly So that now by Christ glorified all Laws are made and published all judgment exercised all Officers ordained By Him as a Priest all Petitions Thanksgivings Praises Doxologies Services are presented to the Father and to be performed in His Name Nay Glory and Worship are given by the Universal Church to God and the Lamb Rev. 5. 13. 7. 10. By Him all Pardons and Spiritual Blessings are dispensed and disposed of and all the Promises are performed by Him and in His Name and for His merit No man can come unto the Father but by Him nor any service be accepted but for His sake By Him we have access into His Fathers presence and by Him we come with boldness and confidence unto the Throne of Grace And this Administration shall not be altered but shall continue till Death shall be destroyed and then Christ shall deliver up this Commission and God shall be All in All. CHAP. VI. Concerning the Parts of the Administration and the Laws THE Administration in particular follows and it refers either to Enemies § I or Subjects In respect of the end of this Administration and the ultimate Effect it 's safety and preservation and the same in the end is full and everlasting Peace The Church which is the number and Society of God's loyal and sincere Subjects hath always had Her Enemies How else could she be militant And if not first militant how could she prove in the end victorious and triumphant The principal Enemy is the Devil the old Serpent ever since God put emnity between him and the Seed of the Woman His design is their Temporal and Eternal Ruine and his opposition is very terrible and so violently managed with such power and policy that nothing but destruction could be expected but that God is our defence and by Jesus Christ our General will not onely defend us but dash in pieces all his power His Instruments and Agents are wicked men without or Hypocrites within the Church The one are like Forreign the other like Domestick and Intestine Foes The one by Persecution without and the other by Heresies Schisms and Scandals within assault us Both these have a great advantage because of our corruptions in our Bowels The greatest hurt God suffers them to do us is to chastise us and exercise our Spiritual Graces and Heavenly Vertues And Death it self whether Natural because of the first sin or violent from them can but destroy our bodies for a time which God will raise again but they cannot take away our Eternal Estate nor deprive us of Eternal Glory Nay such is the Wisdom of God that He can order all their opposition so as it shall further and not hinder our Salvation and such will be His care of us out of His dear and tender love unto us that it shall actually tend unto and end in our everlasting peace And in the end all Enemies shall be subdued Death the last Enemy shall be destroyed The Devil and all his Angels with all his Agents shall be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone there to be tormented for evermore This shall be done in Justice and in Judgment And after this follows our Eternal Peace and Triumph and we shall be Kings and Priests and reign with God for ever This emnity and the
Himself wherein we have both His absolute and relative Titles whereby He asserts both His own absolute and supream Power and their dependence upon Him The Titles are three The first is absolute I am the Lord which signifies His absolute and most perfect Being in Himself who is worthy of all glory honour power and subjection for evermore For all glorious and most excellent perfections agree to Him who is so glorious and so excellent in Himself and the Basis and immovable Foundation of the World and of all created Beings which issue from His infinite and Almighty Power and without His sustentation return to nothing From this we understand that this Lord and Law-giver is onely one and there can be no other For He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings The second Title which together with the third being relative is Thy God To be the God of Israel was not onely to be creatour preserver and governour in generall for so he was the God of all mankind but it iâ—cludes some speciall relation to them For he was their God and in such a manner as He was to none others He was their God by Election Promise and their voluntary submission and engagement so that they were his Peculiar People By this also we understand their total dependence upon him his absolute power over them and that whatsoever degree of subjection and duty he should require it was justly due unto him and that not onely by vertue of his Power but their solemn engagement Exod. 19. 8. The third Title is Who have brought thee out of the land of Aegypt out of the house of Bondage This doth put them in mind of their Bondage and sad condition in Aegypt and deliverance out of the same If we consider their condition before this deliverance We shall find 1. They were but Sojourners in that Idolatrous nation had no Countrey or habitation hereditary of their own in any place under heaven 2. They were under a cruel bloody Tyrant and had neither governours nor governments independent of themselves 3. Their male Children were born to be murdered and to lose their life so soon as they began to enjoy it in the light of the World 4. They were made absolute slaves and drudges and bound to base and hard service which they were no wayes able to perform and yet liable to grievous punishments if they performed it not Yet out of this sad condition God did deliver them in a wonderfull and glorious manner For 1. God fearfully plagued and punished their enemyes and took vengeance on them for their cruel oppression 2. Brought them out with an high hand 3. They were no sooner departed out of that cursed Kingdome but God took them into his special Protection A Cloud must cover them by day and be a guide and Pillar of fire and light by night The Angels of Heaven not onely going before them but bringing up the reare 4. When Pharoah with the power of Egypt pursued them and took them in the straites he divided the Sea and made way for them through the deep wherein he drowned the host and strength of Egypt with their King pursuing them 5. His Providence over them being a continued course of Miracles had brought them thus far towards that goodly land wherein he intended to settle them and give them peace and prosperity till their Saviour and Redeemer should come and be exhibited And as that land was a type of their heavenly inheritance so this deliverance was of their spirituall and eternall redemption by Jesus Christ. So that as Gods benefits were unspeakable so their engagements unto God were high and very great and so great as they could never be sufficiently thankfull And if he should give them any lawes they were bound in the highest degree to observe them not onely for his glory but their own happinesse For God had delivered them out of the hands of their enemyes that they might serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all their dayes Luk. 1. 74 75. This preface was of greatest force to engage them and the fittest that possibly could be to prepare them for this law and perswade them to obedience And to this end it includes a multitude of most powerfull motives and though it hath speciall reference to the first and great commandement yet it referrs to all the rest as depending upon it And seeing this law was given 430 yeares after the promise of the Blessed seed made to their Father Abraham they might have understood that it was not given for justification and life but to be a School-Master or Tutour to order and direct unto Christ in whom they were to seek Remission of their sins and eternal life Though many of them understood it not in this manner Yet we Christians who have a clearer light can have no excuse if we be ignorant hereof These Commandements were written in two Tables and 1. Are reducible to two heads Such as determine 1. Our duty towards God 2. Our duty towards our Neighbour 2. These bind the conscience and reach the very will and heart of man and not onely acts inward or outward issuing from the heart 3. As they are delivered unto us Exod. 20. They were given to Israel in particular and the word Thou used in every Commandement signifies that God in them spake unto that Israel whom he brought up out of Aegypt and stood before Mount Sinai when God spake these words and it signifies all Israel joyntly as one person collective and every one of them severally in particular 4. As given then at that time to Israel it did neither promise Pardon of any sin nor power of the Spirit to keep it Both these were to be expected from the promise made to Abraham and annexed to that promise it did serve to discover sin and to direct to Christ promised 5. When we find the dutyes of the law pressed upon Believers in Christ we must know that they are to be performed to God Redeemer by the power of the Spirit of Christ as hath been said before 6. There are some dutyes mentioned in Scripture which are so generall as to comprehend all the Commandements Some that extend to all the first table and some to all the second as we use to speak Some are expresly delivered in the severall Commandements Some deducible from the express words Some onely reducible unto these heads by way of analogie or some trope in Rhetorick yet expresly mentioned in other Scriptures and one and the same thing may in severall respects be commanded or forbidden in severall commandements 7. This law is distinct both from the Judicial and Ceremonial yet both are reducible to it The first commandement virtually includes all the rest and is purely morall in the first place as the last is morall in the second place and all the rest derive their Morality from these two as was before hinted Other rules delivered by severall authours for the better understanding of
use an Image with that intention Men may make Images to represent other things and by looking upon these Images they may be another act of the Mind remember the things represented if they know them distinctly as such and the more lively the Representations and the more perfect the knowledge of the things represented are the greater help it is to the Memory Yet it doth not follow from hence that in matter of Worship the Worship performed to the Image redounds unto the Samplar For though a man may intend in Worshipping the Image suppose of God to worship God Yet 1. We must consider that this Proposition presupposeth nay expresly saith that the Worship-Divine is first given to the Image which needs must be Idolatry it onely redounds unto the Samplar 2. The Image and the Samplar are really and infinitely distinct and different and cannot possibly make one Object 3. God did never promiâ—e to any man to accept that Worship which is performed to the Image as performed to Himself So that this Image-Worship is an obscure perplexed absurd irrational dangerous thing and altogether unwarrantable Though this Image-Worship be so expresly and peremptorily forbidden both here and in many other places of Scripture and God saith Thou shâ—lt 〈◊〉 bow down thy self to them nor worship them Man yet saith Thou shalt bow down to theâ—â— and worship or serve them That the Heathens should do this is not strange but that Christians should be guilty of this sin cannot but be matter of amazement It 's the Publick Doctrine and the general and constant practise of the Church of Rome and all her Adherents to make and set up Images in their Churches and Places of Publick Worship to bow down before them and to worship them several ways And to justifie this Practise and Doctrine the greatest Wits have been set on work 1. Some of their private Catechisms and Books of Devotion omit these words of making and worshipping Images 2. Some acknowledge the words as part of this Law given by God but say This part was but Positive and onely bound the Jews 3. Some so interpret and expound the words as that they may not be understood to forbid their practise 4. They make many distinctions of Worship and of the manner of Worshipping Images that so they may perswade men that though some manner of Image-Worship be forbidden yet theirs is not 5. Some tell us that the Worship onely of Idols and false Gods are forbidden here to be made and worshipped though this be very false and contrary to the Trent-Catechism Yet notwithstanding all this 1. They even their greatest Schollars and Clerks in this particular differ amongst themselves 2. It 's difficult for their Schollers impossible for the illiterate and Ignorant people to understand these distinctions yet both of them must believe and profess their Doctrine and practise it 3. Suppose they do all agree as they do not and could determine clearly some manner of Image-Worship which might be lawful as they cannot yet this Imageâ—Worship is needless and unprofitable 4. This practise was always dangerous and an occasion at least if not a cause of Idolatry and it 's certainly known that many of the ignorant sort make their Images Idols and are gross Idolaters 5. There is no Commandement no Warrant no Permission no Toleration from God no example of any Saint Patriarch Prophet Apostle of any kind of Imagâ—-Worship in all the Book of God but many Prohibitions of all kind of such Worship 6. It 's a great scandal both to the Jew and Mahumetan and so a great impediment to their Conversion 7. It was the invention of the Devil and his wicked Agents it never had any better Author if we enquire into the original of it 8. It 's no way sutable to the pure and simple Worship of one God in Christ according to the Gospel Yet notwithstanding all these things it being confirmed by so many Laws and long-continued Custome will not without great opposition and resistence be abolished And so much the rather becauâ—e Demetrius with the Crafts-men by Image-making and the Priests by Offerings gain so much and the people love to have it so This is the Cup of Fornication wherewith the Whore of Babylon hath made drunk the Kings of the Earth and in the end She her self shall drink of the Cup of the Lords Wrath. The Reasons and Disswasives follow § VI and the first is from God's jealousie for the Lord your God is a â—ealous God Here He resumes His Titles and signifies that He is very tender of His glory and will not endure His People to glance upon these Images which is a kind of Spiritual toying and playing the Wanton with other Paramours and Corrivals He full well knew their proness and the danger And therâ—fore commands all Monuments of Idolatry to be destroyed and prohibits the very names of other Gods that the very memory with the Monuments may pâ—rish for ever They who have renounced the Devil and all his Pompatical Worship and avouched God to be their God and Christ their Saviour must be pure and chaste yea free from the very appearance of this evil which tends to his dishonour and their ruine This sin begins in Superstition ends in plain Idolatry which is a corruption of his Worship a derogation from his honour a stain of their integrity a diminution of that true love and respect they owe unto him a breach of Covenant and in the end a persidious revolt and apostasie Therefore he cannot endure this Image-Worship but will severely punish it There be distinctions devised by men to maintain this Image-Worship that by them they may puzle and delude us But dare they insist upon them when they are convented before God's Tribunal Will he allow them Can they justifie themselves by them Can they assure us that there is no danger in Imagery and this kind of Worship Can they ever instance in any People that used it who in the end proved not Idolaters Whatsoever man can say in behalf of consecrated Images it 's certain the effect of this jealousie will be severe punishment for it follows that God will visit the sins of the Fathers upon the Children unto the third and fourth Generation of such as hate him And this may be a second Reason or the same with the former as being an effect of that cause a punishment issuing from that jealousie which will burn like fire and not be quenched In this Reason we may observe § VII 1. The cause meritorious of this punishment 2. The subject that shall be liable unto it and suffer it 3. The extent of this punishment upon this subject In these words he seems to give the Rules of Judgment in Comminations and Promises according to which he will proceed with such as shall observe or violate his Laws in general yet these are proper to this Commandement The cause that doth deserve the punishment is sin this sin of Image-worship here called
better way to do it than by an Oath Otherwise an Oath is needlesse and such as be too hasty to swear when there is no necessity are to be suspected as false or prophane wretches 4. The party swearing must aime at that end for which an Oath was ordayned and take it so as that it may end in the glory of God and the good of man Besides the conditions required in an assertory Oath § XIII as that the matter must be of importance and there must be some necessity of it there are some other qualifications necessary in a promissory Oath For 1. The thing promised must be just and lawfull If a man may not do much lesse may he promise and swear to do that which is unjust Neither if in this case we swear can the Oath bind us but becomes ipso facto voyd For the â—bâ—gation of Man cannot be in force when it 's contrary unto and inconsisâ—ent with â—â—peâ—iour obligation of Gods Commandement Henâ—e that Axiom Juramentum non ligat ad illicitum No Oath can bind us to do that which 〈…〉 or not do that which he hath commanded For it 's contrary to 〈…〉 end of an Oath to be Vinculum Iniquitatis to bind to offend the supreme Loâ—d Therefore it 's a fearfull abuse and prophanation of an Oath when men swear to conceal Treason and bind themselves to do mischief as those 〈◊〉 men did who conspired to murder Paul Act. 23. 21. It 's true that by the variation of cirumstances and other accidents and events of divine providence that which was lawfull in the time of swearing may become unlawfuâ— beâ—ore the time of performance and in this case God doth free a man from his obligation 2. The thing promised by Oath must be possible not onely in it self but to the party swearing and so that prudent men may judge it to be in his power Yet if by providence it become impossible to the party before the time of performance he is free But he must be willing and surely endeavour the performance for if through his own folly negligence or wilfullnesse it become such so that the cause is in himself who might have prevented it he must needs be guilty Otherwise Nemo tenetur ad Impossibile 3. The party swearing must have a sincere intention to perform his Oath and must carefully remember how deeply â—e hath engaged himself and use his utmost enâ—eavour to be faithfull lest God be dishonoured his conscience wounded his neighbour deceived and disappointed And because an Oath taken before man should expresse the mind of the party swearing to them whom it concernes to beleeve him § XIV therefore both in an assertory and also a promissory Oath the words must be plain and full so that they may be understood for otherwise if they conceale that which should be expressed or expresse their mind doubtfully the Oath will be â—o little purpose and if this be done of purpose to deceive it 's abominable Therefore all Aequivocations and mental reservations are to be abhorred as contrary to the very end of an Oath If these be used all Oaths are Vselesse For the party swearing speaks one thing but meanes another and whosoever depends upon any such must needs be deceived Neither is it safe for any man after that he hath solemnly bound himself by a Promissory Oath to seek evasions to disoblige himself by Curious and nice distinctions or strayning or wresting the words For we must consider that God will judge us As in swearing § XV so in other things especially in Divine Worship we take up the Name of God And as in Oaths so in other things especially in religious services we must not take his name in vain but perform them so as that God with whom we have to do may be glorified As fasting and prayer for vaine glory to gaine an opinion of our holinesse and to think to be heard of God for our many words and repetitions are here prohibited as also all formalityes in divine Worship so the contrary is commanded And God requires a due disposition of heart and a preparation before this disposition continued in the act of performance and an holy carriage after our devotions are ended For as God is holy so must we when we draw nigh unto him be holy And this precept discovers an abundance of prophaness hypocrisie formality in most and many imperfections in the best when they worship before God CHAP. X. The Fourth Commandement BEfore I enter upon the explication of this commandement § I it will be requiâ—ite to premise some generals concerning the order and relation of it to the former concerning the reason and cause of a Sabbath and concerning the end 1. The order is clear enough For after that God had required subjection to himself and secured his soveraign power in the First instituted and appointed the services which man must perform unto him prohibiting all superstitious inventions of men in the Second and prescribed the manner how his institutions must be performed in the Third he determins a certaine time wherein all other businesse set aside religious dutyes ought to be performed unto him in a more solemn manner and that time consecrated in a special manner to his Divine Majesty in this Fourth This is the order and connexion of this part of the Law with the rest whereby we understand that this Commandemeâ—t presupposeth the former necessarily so that without them it s nothing but a bare duration and part of time no wayes different in it self from other times And for this reason must of necessity derive its morality so far as it is moral from some thing antecedent 2. The reason § II and cause why God did determin a certain portion of time for rest and sanctification followes in the second place to be considered and it 's the condition of man in this life which is such as that it did in some sort necessarily require it For man in innocency had his secular employment if we may so call it For he was put in Paradise and in that Garden God had planted Eastward in Eden to dresse it and keep it Gen. 2. 15. And this work must take up some time But since his Fall he must eat his bread in the sweat of his face and as his necessities so his worldly employments are not few but so much of his time is taken up in these earthly works that he cannot keep a perpetual Sabbath to his God as we hope to do in Heaven For this cause God in his Wisdome thought it fit to measure out of his time a determinate portion wherein man must sequester himself from the businesse of the World and spend the same in his better and diviner imployments What portion was fittest and sufficient neither too much nor too little he onely knew as He onely had power to limit it and bind man to the Sanctification of it The Jewes observed one day in seaven in a certain order so likewise
and accusing the Government of Injustice and Imprudence denying Tribute Custome and other dues and rights which the just Constitution and Lawes require The Sins of the higher powers are many Some of the chief are these to neglect the publick good commit the administration to unjust and unworthy men make unjust Lawes pervert Judgment ordain insufficient and unjust Officers usurp too much power oppresse the people to enrich and advance unworthy Favourites and Flatterers and to maintain the State Pomp and Pride of a vicious Court to displace just and prudent Officers and to debarr men of parts and worth from the administration to wage unnecessary Warrs and so vainly to exhaust the publick Treasures and expend the Subjects blood to refuse good counsell and to follow bad And the highest Crime of all and which includes the rest is Tyranny and that is to govern contrary to good Lawes and exercise arbitrary power to the ruine of the publick Under this head may be reduced Persecution of the Godly and loyall Subjects for the profession and practise of the true Religion instituted from Heaven Besides these there be many Sins of inferiour Officers and Magistrates in their severall places And here I might take occasion to enquire what power the civill Governours have circa Sacra in matters of Religion 1. They cannot justly establish any false Religion contrary to the Word of God conteined in the Scriptures neither can they or ought they to tolerate any Errours Heresies Blasphemies Idolatries or Corruptions in Religion 2. They may make civill Lawes concerning Religion and execute the same by their coactive power and by these Lawes they may and ought to bind and command their Subjects to worship the true God in Christ and protect them in the same This is that which they call Jus Religionis ordinanda an undoubted right of all higher powers Yet they must be sure they establish nothing in Religion which is not clearly agreeable to the Gospell For as it is unlawfull for any civill powers to establish by Law any thing in Religion contrary to the Gospell so it 's no wayes tolerable to bind the Subjects upon civill penalties to professe things doubtfull and needlesse If all the Subjects in a State professe themselves Christians they cannot have any just cause to complain of their Rulers if by a Law they be commanded to make that Christian faith which is truly and plainly Christian. They are bound unto it by the Lawes of Christ by their own profession by the Lawes of their Country Yet Christian Religion is not to be propagated by the sword but by the Word clearly taught so that their Consciences may be convinced But this presupposeth the Subjects no Christians Yet if they be such the higher powers Christians are bound to use all lawfull means appointed by Christ to make them Christians The first care of King David was to settle the true worship of God The first care of Solomon to build a Temple unto God and the first care of the good Princes of Judah to reform Religion and to destroy the Monuments of Idolatry and all this by their civill power And there is great reason why all Princes and Governours should do thus Because the establishment of their power and the welfare of their Subjects depends principally upon Religion Yet this power of the Magistrate is clearly distinct and different from the power of the Church as a Church which can have no sword nor exercise any civil coactive power This spirituall and ecclesiastical power looks upon every one within their precincts as Subjects of Christ and Members of their spirituall Society and such Princes and Governours should be and they proceed against them in the name of Christ if they do offend and if they continue obstinate they cast them not out of the State but the Church As for liberty of Conscience it 's limited to things indifferent For Christ did never purchase never grant to any liberty to believe Errours false Doctrine or their own Fancyes no wayes grounded on the Word of God much lesse to professe them and least of all upon this belief and profession to associate and continue themselves in severall Societyes seperate from Orthodox Christians raise Schisms in the Church and Factions in the State to the disturbance of both If we look upon the persons who in reformed Churches cry so much for liberty of Conscience upon due examination we shall find the most of them to be factious to have little of the power though they may have much of the form of godlinesse and that which they call liberty of Conscience to be a liberty to professe their Errours and if they had power in their own hands they would give liberty onely to their own Sect and would prove the most bloody persecutors of all others What toleration Princes may grant of different proffessions when they cannot reduce their Subjects to the Unity of profession of the same saving Truth is another case and cloathed with other Circumstances and must be judged of accordingly The truth is when a State is once corrupted and that deeply in Religion it 's an hard thing to reform Publick Confessions are too large and few of them without the mixture of something either superstitious or erroneous or doubtfull and such as weak Christians of tender Consciences cannot well digest After this digression § XVIII which requires a larger debate then here I intend and the consideration of civill Societies and common-weales order requires that I add something of the Church as reducible to this Commandement The Church is a spirituall Society and a multitude professing Christ associated in matters of Religion And though the same persons which are Members of a civill State may be Members of a Church yet they are to be considered under a different notion The Author of this Society is God that in a more special manner who first by extraordinary then by ordinary men especially since the Exhibition of Christ makes them Subjects of this Kingdome which is the matter of this whole Treatise and admits them into this Society When they are once reduced and made Subjects unto God Redeemer they constitute that Common-wealth whereof he is Head and Monarch And this Society since the Revelation of the Gospel may be considered as universall consisting of the Christians of all Nations and in this respect they are all subject unto Christ as their Lord and King Yet this universall Church and these persons scattered and divided in many Nations may be united and associated in severall Vicinityes according to their cohabitations into greater or lesser Bodyes for Doctrine and Worship or for Discipline As associated for Worship and Doctrine they have their Pastours to whose charge they are committed by the holy Ghost And these Pastours may be many and have their severall assignations and their particular flocks or a number of them may take the charge of a greater number in common or every one my have their severall
For when He was asked Which is the greatest Commandement He answered Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart with all thy soul and with all thy mind This is the first and great Commandement And the Second is like to this Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self To love our Neighbour as our selves is the last Commandement as shall appear anon These two are the Epitome of the whole Law and virtually contain all the Precepts of it The first All of the first Table the last All of the Second Table Therefore they are general Commandements the one of the first part of the Law this other of the Second For after that God had in the four first Precepts of the Second Table determined the right of persons and things out of judgment and in the Ninth given a Rule of judgment In this last He prescribes a general Duty which is the measure and Rule of the rest both out of Judgment and also in Judgment This Commandement is Negative wherein we must consider 1. The Act 2. The Object That so we may understand what the Sin prohibited is The Act is to covet the Object something that is our Neighbours To covet is to desire It presupposeth some knowledge at least of apprehension of the thing desired as good and in some respect good to us It 's an Act of the Will and presupposeth the good desired as absent and not possessed or enjoyed and there are degrees of this Act according as we conceive the good desired less or greater That which is best if we be rightly informed is to be desired most and other things in a certain order and measure as they are nearer unto or further distant from the greatest good We may mistake and conceive many things to be better then they are and so deceive our selves and desire that which is not good at all or that which is least good as though it were the greatest So most men are deluded when they covet Earthly Things more then Heavenly and imagine that in them there is a vertue and power to make them happy and so we prefer the World and love it more then God This is a sin against the first Commandement and it's Idolatry Thus ambitious covetous voluptuous men do We covet things as good to us that we may have them and enjoy them and this coveting may be upon a simple apprehension and before a deliberate consent or it may follow it and then the Soul begins to move and use means to compass it Yet Coveting in it self § II is indifferent neither good nor bad Some things may some things must be coveted some things must not Therefore we must know in what respect Coveting is here forbidden when it 's said Thou shalt not covet and what the things are which we cannot lawfully desire to be our own and that is easily understood by the Object the second thing here determined by God The things not to be coveted are here expressed 1. By a particular Enumeration 2. By a general and comprehensive Term. In this particular Enumeration we have House Wife Man-servant Maid-servant Ox Ass Field Deut. 5. 21. Some reduce this to Utile and Jucundum things pleasant or unprofitable The general and comprehensive Word is ANY THING Thou shalt not covet any thing This was added to include all things and to leave nothing excluded Yet these things may be considered materially and so Wife House Field Cattle may be desired or formally as our Neighbours and so we must not covet them We must not covet his House his Wife his Field c. nor any thing that is his that is our Neighbours That which is not ours but his both by the Laws of God and Men must not be the Object of our Desires We may like them but not covet them as his For if we do it 's an evident sign that we love our Selves too much our Neighbour too little Nay we love his and not him or his more than him And this is a want of that love God requireth He requires a love of his Person as of our Selves it forbids a love of his So this Commandement was given to regulate the very motions of the Heart with the Affections and Inclinations of it in respect of our Neighbour This is the plain and genuine sense of the words § IV which inform us of many things 1. That the Law of God prescribing the Duty of Man to Man doth reach the Heart binds the Conscience and requires a conformity and obedience in the Inner-man 2. That God in Judgment will take Cognizance not onely of men's words and actions but of the motions inclinations and dispositions of the Soul 3. That both God's Laws and also his Judgments are far above the Laws and Judgments of men 4. That this Commandement is the Rule and Measure of the five former Commandements according to which we must understand them 5. It reacheth them all and is the principal and they the conclusions which derive their Morality from it so that in obeying it or disobeying it we obey or disobey the rest Therefore sayes the Apostle It 's the fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13. 10. And all the Law that is which requires the Duty of Man unto Man is fulfilled in one word Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self Gal. 5. 14. 6. That whatsoever Duty we perform to Man is not agreeable to the Will of God if it be not done out of love to our Neighbour as our love to our Neighbour is not regular if it issue not from and be subordinate to the love of God 7. That this with the first of the First Table do more clearly discover Original Corruption and the Root of all Sin in us than any of the rest 8. That if we could perfectly obey these two as we never shall in this life we might perfectly obey all the other and might pluck up by the very Roots all other sins 9. That by this we easily understand what necessity we have of Christ and his sanctifying Spirit without both which we can neither hope for remission of sin past or power to avoid sin and transgressions of this Law for time to come For if our hearts be not renewed they will be ever coveting and coveting will be a continual Spring of dishonour of Superiours Murder Adultery Theft False-Witness as our Saviour teacheth us For out of the Heart proceed evil Thoughts Murthers Adulteries Fornications Thefts False-Witness Blasphemies Math. 15. 19. Wars and Fightings are from our Lusts Jam. 4. 1. Achan covets and commits Sacriledge Ahab covets and commits Murder Therefore we must not covet In these words is forbidden all discontentedness with that Estate God hath given us § V â—o as to be any cause or occasion of coveting that which is our Neighbours All Envy likewise must be a sin against this Law but Hatred and Malice in general and Contempt are directly contrary to it In a word the want of Love
Gods worship They are Laws and binding in respect of the divine institution and command and mans obligation to observe them In this word Ceremony is included also the outward and sensible part and the inward and spirituall as likewise the Analogie and proportion between them and according to that Analogie and Gods determination the signification or representation of the Spirituall part by the outward and bodily The specificall difference is the confirmatition of the Covenant of grace in Christ Where we have 1. Christ. 2. The Covenant of grace in Christ. 3. The confirmation of it by a Sacrament or sacred Rite 1. Christ is the foundation of all Sacraments in that he finished the work of Redemption and thereby established the promises of the Covenant for ever For if he had not suffered all promises in him had not bin Yea and Amen but had bin all voyd By his Sacrifice he satisfied Gods justice and merited both the promises and all the mercies promised upon condition of faith and power to performe the conditions as you heard before when I spake of the immediate effects of his death 2. Yet these benefits and mercies are not conveyed without a Covenant which promiseth them unto sinfull man yet so as the promises require some conditions and duties to be performed by man yet by the power of the spirit enabling us And because the Laws of God are so made as that they contain not onely promises whereby God binds himself voluntarily to man but also duties to be performed freely by man they are called a Covenant Yet because there was a Covenant of works requiring perfect and perpetuall obedience as the condition and duty upon which alone performed life would follow and a Covenant made with Israel when they came out of Egypt and this Covenant requires neither that perfect obedience as a condition of life nor the Ceremonies of the Law but faith in Christ and promiseth not onely life but power to believe in Christ meriting remission and life therefore it 's called the Covenant of grace and free mercy in Christ for whose sake he is willing to save man whom he might have condemned 3. This Covenant is confirmed by a Sacrament This confirmation of this Covenant is the specificall difference For in this very act of confirmation a Sacrament differs from all other Ceremonies which might signifie Christ or his work of Redemption or the Sanctification of the spirit or some duties of man yet not confirme the Covenant either in respect of Gods promises or mans duty This Covenant may be said to be confirmed three ways § V 1. By the death and blood of Christ. 2. By the Spirit 3. By a Sacrament 1. It was confirmed as a Covenant by the death of Christ so as a Will is confirmed by the death of a Testatour Heb. 9. 15 16 17. The issue of this confirmation is that upon the death of Christ both the promises and duties and the whole Substance of the Covenant were made unalterable so that now we can expect no other promises nor any other conditions though the former Covenant of works both with the promises and conditions was altered 2. It 's confirmed by the Holy Ghost being given unto true believers to assure them that as they have received the title to glory and the first fruits thereof so they shall receive the principal reward promised and fully enjoy it In this respect the Spirit is called an earnest and a Seal yet it 's rather a Seal in respect of glory promised then of the promise it self The 3d. Confirmation is by a Sacrament and this is a confirmation rather of the Covenant in respect of man then in respect of it self as a Covenant This confirmation is expressed by the Metaphoricall word SEAL as when Circumcision is said to be not onely a Sign as all Ceremonies are but a Seal Rom. 4. 11. There be many kinds of Seales and many uses and ends of them but one usuall Seal is a confirming Seal and the end and use of it is to confirme Covenants Deeds Grants For whether the Deed be Indenture or Will or a Patent and free-grant whether absolute or conditionall we first express and signifie our minds consent and approbation by Words and Writings and then we add our Hands and Seal which sealing is the highest and most Solemn testification of our consent and the greatest confirmation that we can give and being produced is the most perfect evidence and proof of our title being as an Authenticall record And in this respect a Sacrament is a Seal for confirmation And it 's a Seal in respect of God and man 1. In respect of God who by his very institution of it intended to confirme his consent unto and approbation of the promises upon the conditions expressed and acknowledgeth his engagement to performance of the promise 2. In respect of man who by Receiving and Celebrating the Sacrament Solemnly testifies his approbation of the conditions and doth further engage himself unto the performance of them The thing confirmed by a Sacrament is 1. The Covenant it self both in respect of God and Man for it confirmes Gods promise of mercy and Mans engagement to duty 2. If the mutuall promises and engagements be confirmed a conditionall right to the mercies promised is made sure to man and the conditionall performance of duty in man is confirmed to God 3. When man performes his duty he receives an actuall right and in due time possession but this cannot be immediately made sure as may appear hereafter Whereas some say that Sacraments exhibite and confer grace and the School-men say that a Sacrament is SIGNUM EFFICAX GRATIAE yet if we speak properly a Sacrament as a Sacrament doth no such thing except we understand it thus that as an Instrument sealed conveyes and gives a right upon a consideration so this upon a condition may conferr a right and so all other Laws of God Redeemer do by vertue of the promises annexed to them without which men cannot have so much as a conditionall and remote right Reformed Divines do generally deny that Sacraments conferr grace ex opere operato as the School-men speak and require a due qualification in the party to whom they are administred according to divine institution As for the actuall exhibition of saving grace it depends upon this divine ordination that when man doth his duty and performs the condition saving grace shall follow according to His promise And this is to be understood most properly of such as are at age The principall condition is faith without which no Sacrament in adultis can be effectuall so as that upon the receiving thereof grace should actually follow And no man ever received benefit by Celebration of Sacraments without a morall qualification in the very receiving of them By all this we may understand how Sacraments are said to signify seal and exhibit grace They signify as Ceremonies and Rites seal as Sacraments exhibit and convey as other Laws
ariseth from their voluntary consent expressed and no wayes else so that they may be properly called Cor-rei In this there is a great inequality between the partyes covenanting For the one is the Lord and King and the other Subjects and they as Subjects are not onely under his power but bound by his laws before they voluntarily oblige themselves and if they never promised obedience yet they are bound to do it and must be judged by the Laws given them 2. That Gods word and promise is firm and inviolable for ever without any solemn rite added to confirm it yet because mans weaknesse is great God was willing not onely by promise to oblige himself to man but also by solemn rites yea and an Oath wherein he pledged his eternall Diety to confirm his promise and all this to strengthen his weak saith and give him full assurance For God being willing more abundantly to shew unto the heires of promise the immutability of his Counsel confirm'd it by an Oath Heb. 6. 27. 3. That the thing that is confirmed both by solemn rites and his Oath is his promise 4. That because as mans infirmity and inconstancy was great therefore God thought it good to require of him a voluntary engagement and a solemn confirmation to subject himself to his power and to obey his Laws that the more freely and deeply he had engaged himself the more carefull he might be to be faithfull and obedient to his everlasting good and the thing confirmed by man is his voluntary engagement of subjection and obedience 5. That the thing whereunto man engageth himself in Baptism is that he will be a Loyal and obedient subject unto God his redeemer in Christ The thing whereunto God obligeth himself is to be his God and admit him a Subject of his blessed Kingdom 6. That though the engagement be distinct from the performance yet if it be sincere there is a beginning of performance though that performance is not the thing confirmed but the thing for which the confirmation is made 7. There is a great difference as between the making and confirming of a covenant and the keeping of it so likewise between the solemn admission into the visible Church and the mysticall which consists of real Saints and loyal Subjects What kind of profession and promise is required in the party to be baptized may be considered afterwards By all this we may easily understand that it we will expect any benefit by our Baptism we must have a speciall care to perform our promise confirmed by this solemn rite For these Sacraments are special and distinct laws added to all the rest for this end to engage man more strongly to observe them And Baptism is a kind of naturalizing of such as are baptized The Second Sacrament § XII is the Eucharist or that which we call the Communion or Supper of the Lord. It 's called the Eucharist because a Sacrament of thanksgiving for the great benefit of Redemption by Christ The Communion because in it we being many partake of one sacred bread and the same cup It 's called the Lords Supper because it was instituted at the last Supper that Christ as morall did eat with his Disciples Yet there may be other reasons of these names given and are given by others This Sacrament hath many other names a Catalogue or enumeration of the greatest part of them you may read in Casauboâ—s exercitation 16. of his Apparatus This Eucharist is a Sacrament of the Gospel wherein by the use of Bread and Wine according to our Saviours institution in remembrance of his death and passion the continuance in the covenant is confirmed This Sacrament was instituted immediately by Christ in the night wherein he was betrayed and succeeded the Passeover which was to cease For then Christ the true Paschal Lamb was exhibited and ready to be slaine The Passeover did signifie Christ to come and after Christs resurrection this Sacrament did signifie him not onely come but slain already and it is to continue to the end of the World for the perpetual memory of his sacrifice For as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup we shew forth Christs death untill his comming again 1 Cor. 11. 26. This death of Christ represented in this Sacrament was the accomplishment of the Passeover and of all propitiatory Sacrifices and sin-offerings And this Sacrament is the abridgment of all Sacrificial feasts and especially such as were used for the confirmation of leagues and covenants It was resembled in a more lively manner by that Sacrifice mentioned Exod. 24. 3 4 5 6 7 8. Where 1. Moses informs the people of all the words of the Lord and all his judgments 2. The people promise obedience This was the league and Covenant 3. Moses builds an Altar and 12. Pillars according to the 12. Tribes to signifie that they were all engaged in it 4. There were offered by 12 young men representing the 12 Tribes burnt offerings and peace offerings of Oxen to the Lord. 5. Moses took half the blood and put it in basons and half the blood he sprinkled upon the Altar which signified God one and the principall party covenanting 6. He takes the book of the Covenant and reads the precepts and promises of God in the audience of the people and they again engage to observe the Law 7. Moses took the blood of the Covenant and sprinkled it on the people saying Behold the blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning these Words In all this somethings are remarkable 1. That the thing that was confirmed was the covenant it self 2. That this Covenant was not onely made but solemnly confirmed on Gods side by half the blood sprinkled upon the Altar by the other half of the blood sprinkled upon the people it was established on their part 3. That to the Rite were added words and the words are taken up by our blessed Saviour in this Sacrament 4. That though a Sanction of a law be taken for the confirmation of it by promises of reward and threatnings of punishments which are indeed essentiall parts of Gods laws yet this was a true and proper sanction not onely of the precepts but the promises and the threats of God and the promises of the partyes covenanting with God and it was by blood and a solemn rite with words In the definition we may observe § XIII 1. The rite 2. The confirmation In the rite three things 1. The Elements or things sensible 2. The actions 3. The words For I take rite in a large sense to include the words The Elements as they use to call them are Bread and Wine which were then ready on the Passeover Table These were very fit both to signifie the body and blood of Christ and the eating and drinking of them a spirituall Sacrificiall feast Yet this they did not by nature but by the divine institution though by nature they were apt to resemble such things These
as consecrated unto God were apt to represent Christ sanctified and set apart to be our Saviour and deliverer The bread was fit to signifie his body and the Wine his blood the bread broken his body crucified the Wine powred out his blood shed and both separated and given a part did resemble his death the virtue of both to preserve life the vertue and power of Christ dying to give us eternal life The eating of the one and drinking of the other our participation of Christ for remission of our sins and our Eternal Salvation The actions in the use of these Elements are either common to both joyntly or § XIV proper to them severally The common are 1. Blessing 2. Giving 3. Taking 1. Blessing which some call Consecration was by Word and Prayer For as other Meats are sanctified by Word and Prayer 1 Tim. 4. 5. so these were blessed and sanctifyed in a peculiar manner by Word and Prayer The Prayer was 1. A Thanksgiving 2. A Petition A Thanksgiving for the Bread and Wine as Blessings of God given us for the preservation of our bodily life and for Christ the Bread of Life that came down from Heaven The Petition was for a Blessing upon our use of these Elements in this Sacrament for our Spiritual Comfort and Happiness It 's written that our Saviour gave thanks and blessed But what form of words He used is not related by any of the Evangelists Therefore we are not bound in this act of Consecration to any set-form of words yet our words must be such as are agreeable to the Scriptures and proper to this Sacrament The Prayers used in most Liturgies are such and agree not onely with the Scriptures but are suitable to the Sacrament The next common act is Giving and that some make to be twofold 1. A giving to God as Grenaeus and some others at least seem to intimate an offering of the Bread and Cup to God though it 's certain that the whole Service taken together and being a part of Divine Worship is an Offering made to God 2. A giving of both unto the People who are called Communicants The 3d Action is the taking the Elements given The Actions proper are 1. The Breaking of the Bread and the Powring out the Wine 2. The Eating of the Bread and Drinking of the Cup. The first is fit to signifie the Death and Sacrifice of Christ. The second the participation of the benefit thereof by Faith These Actions may be orderly distinguished into 1. The Acts of the Party Administring which are 1. The Blessing 2. The Breaking 3. The Giving And 2. The Acts of the Communicants which are 1. Taking 2. Eating 3. Drinking They are reducible to Three 1. Consecration 2. Distribution 3. Participation The words are the last § XV and they concern either the Participation as Take Eat Drink or the things participated and they are concerning 1. The Bread 2. The Cup. In both we may observe 1. The great Work of Redemption 2. The Covenant both which are represented by the Elements and the use of them The Redemption is signifyed by the words My Body broken and My Blood shed For these inform us that Christ dyed and offered Himself a Sacrifice unto God offended by the sin of Man to propitiate Him by satisfying His Justice and meriting His Favour This was the Foundation of the Covenant and Man's Salvation For it made Sin Pardonable and Man Save-able That His Body was broken and being broken was given it informs us that He suffered Death and offered Himself dying That this Offering was propitiatory it 's implyed in that Bloud was shed for Remission In the words of the Covenant we have 1. The Promise 2. The Precept 1. The Promise in the words This is my Body broken and given for you and This is the New Covenant in my Blood which was shed for the Remission of Sin For though remission of sins and Salvation were merited and purchased by Christ's Death and Sacrifice and so trusted in his hands yet they are conveyed in the Covenant by a Promise or Grant Yet the Word is turned A Testament and if we follow that metaphor that which is called a Promise is a Bequest Yet though the Expressions may be different yet the thing is the same and informs us That it is the Purpose and Will of God for and in consideration of the Death of Christ suffered for our sins to give man remission and eternal life And this His Will He hath signified in His Promise whereby He hath bound Himself upon certain tearms unto sinful Man Upon which tearms Man may challenge them as due unto him And whereas we read in Luke and Paul This is the New Testament or Covenant in my Blood and in Matthew and Mark This is my Blood of the New Testament You must understand 1. That the words are taken out of Exod. 24. 8. 2. That Matthew and Mark follow the Hebrew and Septuagint more expresly then Luke and Paul 3. That the Sense of both is the same For to be a Covenant in the Blood of Christ is to be a Covenant confirmed by the Bloud of Christ and to be the Bloud of the Covenant is to be the Bloud whereby the Covenant is made firm and so both teach us that by the Death of Christ the Covenant of Grace was made for ever unalterable as you heard before out of Heb. 9. 15 16 17. And the Covenant was sounded upon Christ's Death 4. That this Covenant is called the New Covenant to distinguish it from the Covenant of Works and that Covenant that was made and confirmed with Israel Exod. 24. 8. 5. That as Christ's Bloud did merit so the New Covenant did convey the Benefits merited by the Death of Christ. This is the Promise The Precept is in these words Do this in remembrance of me That is As I dyed for thee gave my Body for thee shed my Blood for thee So eat thou this Bread drink thou this Cup in remembrance of my Death suffered willingly out of the greatest love for thee This Remembrance must be practical And as the thing remembred is Christ's Death for our Sins it requires 1. A Confession of our sins a Sense of them an Hatred a Desire to be pardoned and Purpose to forsake them 2. A Belief that Christ dyed for the expiation of those sins and that His Sacrifice was accepted of God as a sufficient Satisfaction 3. An acknowledgment of God's wonderful Love and the great benefit of Redemption and desire to be for ever Thankful Thus far the Rites § XVI wherein the Elements were chosen in Excellent Wisdom the Actions ordered in an admirable manner the words though few yet very comprehensive of much and weighty matter expressing the mystical and hidden part concerning the Incarnation of the Son of God the Glorious Work of Redemption the Blessed Covenant of Grace wherein we have the Laws and Constitutions of this Glorious Kingdom whereof we discourse The
Resurrection and last Judgment when God shall be all in all and Reign perfectly without any enemy without any opposition This we pray for here as that special and spiritual Kingdom which is distinguished from the civil government of temporall States opposed to the Kingdom of darknesse of Sin Sathan Death It 's called in Scriptures the Kingdome of God the Kingdome of Heaven the Kingdom of Light the Kingdom of Christ the Kingdom of Grace the Vniversal and Eternall Kingdom The King is God § VIII not merely as Creatour and Preserver of the World but as Redeemer who since Christs Exaltation Reigns by him in Heaven and Earth as by his Administratour-generall Heaven is the place of his speciall residence his glorious pallace and his Royal throne His Territory is the World His speciall subjects men Redeemed by the blood of Christ His Lawes the Rules of the Gospel to direct mans obedience with promises and threats which are the standard of his judgments The eternall holy Spirit is his power His Judgments are spirituall and eternall rewards and punishments with temporall and bodily thereunto subordinate And because men are found in the Kingdom of darknesse and under the power of Sathan they are reduced by the word and spirit unto subjection Which is a work of great and most free mercy The word and Laws must be made known outwardly by man and then written in the heart by the Spirit In this government he doth exercise his severe justice his greatest power his choisest wisdome and his sweetest mercy in the highest degree This Kingdom comes unto a people when God graciously vouchsafeth to give them the word Sacraments Ministers and all the meanes of conversion with a promise in the word of his Spirit to make this used effectual He continues it with them whilst he continues these meanes and doth not take away his spirit and deliver them up to a reprobate mind so that the things that concern their everlasting peace are not eternally hid from their eyes It comes close and effectually when God by these meanes made efficacious by his spirit destroyes the dominion of sin and dispossesseth Sathan It 's then consummate when sin is wholly destroyed and the person made fully subject and perfectly obedient to his eternall Sovereign It 's consummate to the Universall Church upon the execution of the final judgment It 's principally with in us and established in our hearts by God when he there to Reigns as first to take away the Dominion then in the end the very existence as I may so call it of sin For it proceeds by degrees and sin doth first cease to Reign then to Be in us This government therefore is an act of God Redeemer in Christ giving all things doing all things necessary sufficient effectuall for our Conversion confirmation perseverance and consummation as he hath promised and by promise bound himself to us So that in this Petition we pray for and humbly seek of God his Word his Sacraments the Ministery of the Gospel Christian Sabbaths Discipline pious Magistrates the gifts and graces of the spirit the continuance and good successe of these the ordering of all things for the good of the Church the conversion of the Jews the reducement of all Nations to subjection unto Christ justification the continuance and perfection of sanctication the first fruits of the spirit of joy and comfort the destruction of the Kingdom of Sathan and Antichrist and all enemies of his truth and our salvation for the comming of Christ the Resurrection of the last judgment the execution of it in the eternall glorification of his Saints and perdition of their enemies That God by Christ hath thus far reigned in the World in this Nation in our hearts is a matter of thanksgiving and a benefit never to be forgotten The next Petition for spirituall blessings § IX is Thy will be done on Earth as it 's done in Heaven Wherein we have 1. Our Heavenly Father's Will 2. The doing of it 3. The manner and degrees of doing it By Will is not meant the essence of God nor his Decrees but the Lawes of his spirituall kingdom wherein he requires Subjection and Obedience Repentance Faith good works and these to be performed to him as Lord Redeemer by Christ Jesus To do this will is to be really and sincerely subject and obedient in avoyding all sins prohibited and doing all good Commanded by the Laws of his Kingdome having a speciall eye to the rewards promised and the punishments threatned The manner how this duty is to be performed is set down by prescribing a Pattern in Heaven It 's true that the Starrs of Heaven do continually and constantly in their motion observe their order fixed unto them in Creation Yet this is far short though something it be and they continually accuse us of disobedience and exorbitancy seeing they have followed strictly and precisely the rule of Creation from the first time of their Being but we are exorbitant and continually wander The will of God is done in an higher degree and more excellently by the Angels those blessed and immortall spirits who never sinned and are so confirmed that they shall never sin For they do his commandements Hearkening to the voyce of his Word Psal. 103. 20. They subject themselves wholly unto him Whose throne is in Heaven and his Kingdome ruleth over all vers 19. They acknowledge Jesus Christ at Gods right hand to be their Lord. They performe an universall obedience to all his Laws and that 1. Most freely 2. Perpetually 3. In a degree of Perfection It must be our design desire endeavour to follow their example till we reach and attain their perfection And because we have no power to do this will in this manner we therefore in these words pray for Gods sanctifying assisting and confirming power accompanying his Word and that we may wholly subject our selves unto his power and be effectually and continaully inclined and enabled to do his Will in all things at all times with all our hearts The reason why this petition followes the former and is immediately subjoyned is manifest For except we subject our selves unto the power of this King and thus observe the Lawes of this Heavenly Kingdome we cannot be capable of have any right unto or enjoy the honour joy peace and happinesse of the same It hath very near connexion with the former petition and therefore we may desire of God some mercies which in both are the same but in different respects In the former we desire them so as they are such as without which he cannot Reign and give us everlasting peace We desire here the same things as necessary and without which we cannot performe our duty in observing his Laws which is the condition of the rewards promised By them we acknowledge our fall depravation inability the want of Gods divine Spirit to re-instamp his Image upon us and we earnestly desire his sanctifying grace to be given and continued unto
us as without which we can do nothing Upon this account Austin made use of these words to prove against the Pelagian the necessity of grace The fourth petition § X which seeks from God temporall blessings is Give us this Day our Daily Bread The order is clear For we must first seek spirituall then temporall blessings the one as more excellent and necessary to eternal life the other is not necessary nor so excellent The prayer is agreeable to our Saviours doctrine For He that taught us to pray first for spiritualls then for temporalls taught us first to seek the Kingdome of God and his Righteousnesse and then Food and Rayment should be added These Earthly things were given to preserve this bodily life that enjoying health Peace Food Rayment we might not be distracted in the service of our God but chearfully seek eternall life in Heaven Earthly things are given to seek Heavenly and the seeking of Heavenly blessings first is the right and ready way to obtain Earthly Therefore to seek temporalls fust and more is preposterous and a perverting of the order prescribed by our Saviour both for our practise and our prayers By Bread which is the staffe of life is meant all kind of necessaâ—y food rayment lands houses Cattel seasonable times health peace good government Civil and all things necessary for a comfortable life that we may seek a better It 's opposed to famine nakednesse sicknesse poverty war captivity unreasonable times and all such things as make our life uncomfortable and miserable And we are taught by this word not to desire or seek riches daintyes or superfluities This bread is called Our daily Bread because we need it every day it 's suitable to and agreeable to our bodily nature and fit to nourish us and is to be desired in a competent measure between poverty and abundance The word is thus understood by divers learned Authours By This Day we may understand the present time For we must not distract our minds by seeking these earthly things immoderately or inordinately We seek them immoderately when we seek abundance or seek them too eagerly or take into our thoughts too much of future times which are uncertain and both beyond our knowledge and our power We seek them inordinately 1. When we seek them not of God 2. When we trust not in him 3. When we use any unjust meanes to acquire them 4. When we seek not Gods Kingdome and spiritualâ— first and chiefly This dayly bread to day is the thing we must petition foâ— And by these words Christ doth direct and limit us The Petition is in these words Give us which implyes that we have all earthly succour and sustentation from our â—eavenly Father and that by way of Giâ—t. For as you heard in the 8th Commandement the absolute and totall propriety of all things is in God And though they may come to us by occupation donation purchase inheritance labour or any other way yet they are from God who by â—hese meanes doth give them unto us and can take them away at Will and pleaâ—ure and when he hath given them Therefore it 's he and he alone that must continue them ours and blesse and sanctifie them unto us For otherwise all our labours cares forecast are in vaine Our daily bread is no bread unto us without his blessing it cannot seed us And these words imply further that we have a Father in Heaven and if we serve him he will provide for us and will not see his Children want bread This bread must be ours not others justly acquiâ—ed and given us so as to be ours not onely by the laws of men but God This doth not forbid us to take paines be prudent frugal and use just meanes to aâ—quire and keep them Yet we must not set our hearts upon them or abuse them to drunkennesse pride gluttony or any wayes mispend them or in our abundance forget our God After supplication § XI follows depâ—ecation which is sometimes joyned with fasting weeping confession complaints lamentations and other humiliations The matter of it is some evil which either lyes upon us or we are subject unto For since the fall of Adam this kind of petition is needfull The evils which we deprecate arise from many causes and are all reduced to the evils of sin or affliction The evil of sin is either of guilt or of temptation for it 's either past and so the guilt lyes upon us or to come and so we are in danger of it may be tempted to it and so overcome And first we are taught to deprecate the guilt of sin past in these words Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespasse against us In Mathew Forgive us our Debts In Luke Forgive us our Sins That we may understand what we in these words are taught to ask of God we must know 1. What the evill is 2. What it is to forgive 3. To whom the evil is forgiven The evil is sin which makes us guilty in making us such Sin as you heard before is a disobedience to Gods law it displeaseth God who hates it and makes the party sinning both liable to temporall spiritual and eternal punishments For he that shall offend God as a Law-giver may justly be punisht by him as a Judge Sins are called Trespasses because God by them may be said to suffer dammage and his glory due to him from his subject is impaired though not in it self yet in respect of us and if satisfaction be not made we must suffer The expression is from the Chaldy and Syriack languages in which the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chôb signifies to sin to offend God to do wickedly and sometimes to contract a debt And whosoever sins instantly and immediately he becomes a debter and owes a punishment unto God which he is bound to suffer and must suffer when it pleaseth the supreme Judge to inflict it if it be not some wayes prevented The substantive of this verb doth sometimes signifie debt but often sin and guilt One Evangelist as you heard calls it debt another sâ—n yet by sin is meant guilt whereby a man is a debter and bound to punishment The Socinâ—an not digesting and approving Christ's satisfaction takes occasion from the word debts used in Mathew to assert that sins are debts and the obligation contracted by them is obligatio credita whereas 't is obligatio criminis as may easily appear from the whole tenure of the Scripture and even from this place Whether they do this ignorantly or wilfully I know not but if ignorantly they are grossely ignorant For though sins are called debts and such debts as arise from contracts and may be remitted by a free acquittance yet they are but so called Metaphorically Yet no man can prove out of this place that they are so called in that sense but rather the contrary if we throughly examin the words To forgive or remit sin is to take away the guilt
am â—ought of them that asked not for me and am found of them that sought me not Esay 65. 1. For no man by the light of nature especially so much darkned in man doth ask for God or seek him first God must first seek us before we can seek him As God loved us first and gave Christ for us when we thought of no such thing so he calls us first before we can do so much as call upon him for spirituall mercyes And it was a great mistake in Pelagius to think that if man did any good though but by the power of nature God was bound to reward him and that necessarily For this was his great errour as some tell us So it 's no lesse an errour to assert that there can be in any man meritum ex congruo to deserve the first spirituall rewards The one takes away grace and the freenesse of Gods spiritual mercyes the other preventing-grace Such men as these little know themselves and their condition by nature These meanes of conversion are the Word and the Spirit The word must inform the spirit must reform us For we are both blind impotent We have no spirituall knowledge of Jesus Christ by nature no active power to do so much as effectually desire him The word alone is not sufficient without the spirit the spirit without the word will not ordinarily do any thing The word concerning mans â—in Gods love Christs redemption mans duty as it is an outward revelation written or spoken cannot penetrate the heart of man Something it may teach and something it may move and work upon a man that attends unto it and by naturall reason considers it But this is nothing to purpose Whether God concurs with any measure of his preparing Spirit with the first publishing or making known his word by man to naturall man is hard to determine He may do so if he please and there can be no doubt thereof Yet if he do I think its a speciall if not an extraordinary gratuity But this is certain that man is bound to this duty of hearing and attention to the word first spoken unto him And besides if any man will neglect this duty at the first or to do any thing in this kind which by nature he can do God may justly both deny the Spirit and also take away his word for ever from such a person To alledge in this point that of our Saviour To him that hath it shall be given that is to him that useth that power which he hath God will give him more and reward him is to little purpose For our Blessed Saviour is not to be understood of that power which man hath by nature but of some stock or talent of grace which He his Lord and Master had given him And suppose it were true that to him that doth Quod in se est what he can do more shall be given him Yet 1. No man doth what he can do by nature 2. Nor can do any thing in spirituals without grace 3. Though he should ever answer man in this kind Where do we find that he hath bound himself by promise so to do Men may talk at randome this and that yet the Crosse of Christ was such a doctrin as neither Jew nor Gentile could by nature digest It was to the one a Stumbling block and to the other foolishnesse though some of them might be of exquisite and highly improved naturall parts This doctrin is Gods Wisdome in a mystery and so hidden that it poseth the great wits and profoundest learning of the World and if Paul himself had not preached it in demonstration of the Spirit and power it had taken little effect It 's far above nature God must give man so much of his Spirit as he may see the want of the Spirit before he can pray for the Spirit so as to obtaine it for conversion and consolation The first duty that man being instructed by the word can perform § IV is Hearing the Word Yet there be many kinds of hearing and many degrees thereof neither is any kind of hearing such as upon which faith doth follow For when the Apostle saith That faith is by hearing he intends some special hearing which requires a due preparation of the heart â—ntecedent For when a regenerate person heares the Word with an unprepared heart he shall find little effect neither can man hope for a benefit by the Word when he doth not hear it in due manner A man may heare the Word with attention and he may hear the Word without attention He may heare and forget heare and remember it He may heare and consider with application of it to himself He may heare and neither seriously consider it nor rightly apply it He may heare for knowledge or some other end onely He may hear for practise and reall practise He may hear it as the Word of God or not as the Word of God but of man He may heare it so as to obey the commands and to do the dutyes commanded to avoid the sins prohibited to trust in the mercyes promised to fear the punishments threatned He may hear it as casting away all filthinesse and superfluity of naughtinesse and with a meek heart and he may hear it another way Though notwithstanding the Word may be heard many and severall wayes yet these things are certain 1. That a man is to hear the Word of God according to the best power naturall God hath given him and to proceed so far as a naturall Morall Heathen may do 2. Whether there be any promise of further grace to be given upon this performance or no yet if he neglect to do what he can in this particular its just with God to deny any further grace then that which hath been granted the teaching of the Word 3. That the Word of God ought to be heard as the Word of God 4. That it 's never heard as the Word of God so as to assent to the truth and consent to the practise of it effectually without the power of the Spirit going along with it and carrying it close to the heart 5. One effect if not the first which by the Word God works upon the heart of him that useth the meanes of conversion aright is to make the heart sensible For by nature it 's senslesse stupid stony And this is one promise of God to put a new Spirit within us and to take away the stony heart out of our flesh and give us an heart of flesh Ezek. 36. 26. This is not to give us a new soul but a new quality another disposition of the Soul different from that which we have by nature And even in this work as he maketh use of our senses so he doth of our naturall reason and wit He by illumination and inspiration takes away the blindnesse of the understanding which naturally cannot judge of spirituall things as spirituall represented by the Word and the stupidity of the Will