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A26919
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The divine life in three treatises ... by Richard Baxter.
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Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.
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1664
(1664)
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Wing B1254; ESTC R3168
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316,514
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416
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is called a new begetting or new birth without which none can enter into heaven Joh. 3. 3 5 6. A renewing us and making us new men and new creatures so far as that old things are past away and all become new Eph. 4. 23 24. Col. 3. 10. 2 Cor. 5. 17. It is a new creating us after the Image of God Eph. 4. 24. It maketh us Holy as God is Holy 1 Pet. 1. 15 16. yea it maketh us partakers of the Divine nature 2 Pet. 1. 4. It giveth us repentance to the acknowledging of the truth that we may recover our selves out of the snare of the Devil who were taken captive by him at his will 2 Tim. 2. 25 26. It giveth us that Love by which God dwelleth in us and we in God 1 Joh. 4. 16. We are redeemed by Christ from all iniquity and therefore it is that he gave himself for us to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. 2. 14. It is an abundant shedding of the Holy Ghost on us for our renovation Tit. 3. 5 6. and by it a shedding the Love of God abroad in our hearts Rom. 5. 5. It is this Holy Spirit given to believers by which they pray and by which they mortifie the flesh Jud. 20. Rom. 8. 26. 13. By this Spirit we live and walk and rejoyce Rom. 8. 1. and 14. 17. Our joy and peace and hope is through the power of the Holy Ghost Rom 15. 13. It giveth us a spiritual mind and taketh away the carnal mind that is enmity against God and neither is nor can be subject to his law Rom. 8. 7. By this Spirit that is given to us we must know that we are Gods children 1 Joh. 3. 24. 4. 13. For if any man have not the spirit of Christ the same is none of his Rom. 8 9. All holy graces are the fruits of the spirit Gal. 5. 22 23. It would be too long to number the several excellent effects of the sanctifying work of the spirit upon the soul and to recite the Elogies of it in the Scripture Surely it is no low or needless thing which all these expressions do intend Quest. 3. If you think it a most hainous sin to vilifie the Creator and his work and the Redeemer and his work why should not you think so of the vilifying of the sanctifier and his work when God hath so magnified it and will be glorified in it and when it is the applying perfecting work that maketh the purchased benefits of Redemption to be ours and formeth our Fathers Image on us Quest. 4. Do we not Doctrinally commit too much of that sin if we undervalue the Spirits sanctifying work as a common thing which the ungodly world do manifest in practice when they speak and live in a contempt or low esteem of grace And which is more injurious to God for a prophane person to jest at the Spirits work or for a Christian or Minister deliberately to extennate it especially when the preaching of grace is a Ministers chief work sure we should much fear partaking in so great a sin Quest. 5. Why is it that the Scripture speaks so much to take men off from boasting or ascribing any thing to themselves Rom. 3. 19. That every mouth may be stopped and why doth not the Law of works exclude boasting but only the Law of faith Rom. 3. 27. Surely the actions of nature except so far as it is corrupt are as truly of God as the acts of grace And yet God will not take it well to deny him the glory of Redemption or Sanctification and tell him that we paid it him in another kind and ascribed all to him as the author of our free will by natural production For as Nature shall honour the Creatour so Grace shall also honour the Redeemer and Sanctifier And God designeth the humbling of the sinner and teaching him to deny himself and to honour God in such a way as may stand with self abasement leaving it to God to honour those by way of reward that honour him in way of duty and deny their own honour Quest. 6. Why is the Blaspheming and sinning against the Holy Ghost made so hainous and dangerous a sin if the works of the Holy Ghost were not most excellent and such as God will be most honoured by Quest. 7. Is it not exceeding ingratitude for the soul that hath been illuminated converted renewed quickened and saved by the Holy Ghost to extenuate the mercy and ascribe it most to his natural Will O what a change was it that Sanctification made what a blessed birth day was that to our souls when we entered here upon Life Eternal Joh. 17. 3. And is this the thanks we give the Lord for so great a Mercy Quest. 8. What mean those texts if they consute not this unthankful opinion Phil. 2. 13. It is God that worketh in you to Will and to do of his good pleasure Eph. 2. 7 8 9 10. God hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might shâ—w the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus For by Grace ye are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast For we are his workmanship Created to Good works in Christ Jesus The like is in Tit. 3. 5 6. 7. Joh. 15. 16. Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain 1 Joh. 4. 10. Herein is Love not that we loved God but that he loved us 1 Cor. 4. 7. For who maketh thee to differ and what hast that thou that thou didst not receive Joh. 6. 44. No man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him 1 Cor. 2. 14. The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can be know them because they are spiritually discerned Joh. 3. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit that is plainly the fleshly birth produceth but flesh and not spirit if any man will have the spirit and so be saved it must be by a spiritual begetting and birth by the Holy Ghost Act. 16. 14. The Lord opened Lydia's heart that she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul c. Was the Conversion of Paul a murdering persecuter his own work rather then the Lords when the means and manner were such as we read of Act. 22. 14. The God of our Fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldst know his will and see that just one and hear the voice of his mouth c. He was chosen to the Means and to faith and not only in faith to salvation When Christ called his Disciples
to be here and the covetous man among his gains and the sensual man among his recreations and merâ—y companions It is good to be here the Christian that can get nigh to God or have any prospect of his Love in his ordinances concludeth that of all places upon earth It is good to be here and that a day in his Courts is better then a thousand Psal. 84. 10. But O to depart and be with Christ is far better Phil. 1. 23. With Infinite goodness we shall find no evil no emptiness or defect when we perfectly enjoy the perfect Good what more can be added but for ever to enjoy it O therefore think on this Christians when death is dreadful to you and you would fain stay here as being afraid to come before the Lord or loth to leave the things which you here posfess shall Goodness it self be distrusted by you or seem no more desirable to you Are you afraid of Goodness even of your Father of your Happiness it self Are you better here then you shall be with God Are your houses or lands or friends or pleasures or any thing better then Infinite Goodness meditate on this blessed Attribute of God till you distast the world till you are angry with your withdrawing murmuring flesh till you are ashamed of your unwillingness to be with God and till you can calmly look in the face of death and contentedly hear the message that is posting towards you that you must presently come away to God Your Natural birth day brought you into a Better place then the womb and your gracious Birth day brought you into a far Better state then your former sinful miserable captivity And will not your Glorious birth day put you into a better habitation then this world O know and choose and seek and live to the Infinite Good and then it may be your greatest joy when you are called to him CHAP. X. 9. HAving spoken of these three great Attributes of God I must needs speak of those three great Relations of God to man and of these three works in which they are founded which have flowed from these Attributes This one God in three Persons hath Created man and all things which before were not hath Redeemed man when he was lost by sin and sanctifieth those that shall be saved by Redemption Though the external works of the Trinity are undivided yet not indistinct as to the order of working and a special interest that each person hath in each of these works The Father Son and Holy Ghost did create the world and they also did Redeem us and do Sanctifie us But so as that Creation is in a special sort ascribed to the Father Redemption to the Son and Sanctification to the Holy Spirit Not only because of the order of operation agreeable to the order of subsisting for then the Father would be as properly said to be incarnate or to die for us or mediate as the Son to create us which is not to be said For he created the world by his Word or Son and Spirit Joh. 1. 3. Psal. 33. 6. and he Redeemed it by his Son and Sanctifieth it by his Spirit But Scripture assureth us that the Son alone was incarnate for us and dyed and Rose again and not the Father or the Spirit and so that the humane nature is peculiarly united to the second person in glory and so that each person hath a peculiar interest in these several works the Reason of which is much above our reach The first of these Relations of God to man which we are to consider of is that he is our Creator It is he that giveth Being to us and all things and that giveth us all our faculties or Powers Under this for brevity we shall speak of him also as he is our Preserver because preservation is but a kind of continued Creation or a continuance of the Beings which God hath caused God then is the first efficient cause of all the creatures from the greatest to the least Gen. 1. And easily did he make them for he spake but the word and they were created They are the Products of his Power Wisdome and Goodness Psal. 33. 6. Joh. 1. 3. Psal. 148. 5. He commanded and they were created He still produceth all things that in the course of nature are brought forth Psal. 104. 30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit they are created thou renewest the face of the earth And from hence these following impressions must be made upon the considering soul. 1. If All things be from God as the Creater and Preserver then we must be deeply possessed with this truth that All things are for God as their ultimate end For he that is the Beginning and first cause of all things must needs be the End of all His Will produced them and the Pleasure of his Will is the End for which he did produce them Isa. 43. 7. I have created him for my glory Prov. 16. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil I think the Chaldee Paraphrase the Syriack and Arabick give us the true meaning of this who concordantly translate it The wicked is kept for the day of evil as Job hath it 21. 30. The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath And 2 Pet. 2. 9. To reserve the unjust to the day of judgement to be punished God made not the wicked as wicked or to be wicked but he that gave them their Being and continueth it will not be a loser by his Creation or preservation but will have the glory of his Justice by them in the day of wrath or evil for which he keeps them and till which he beareth with them because they would not obediently give him the glory of his Holiness and mercy So it is said of Christ Col. 16 17. For by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible all things were created By him and For him If they are By him they must needs be For him So Rev. 4. 11. Thou art worthy O Lord to receive Glory and Honour and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created This Pleasure of Gods will is the End of all things and therefore it is certain that he will see that all things shall accomplish that end and his will shall be pleased Rom. 11. 36. we have all in few words For of him and through him and to him are all things and to whom be glory for ever Amen Of him as the first efficient that giveth them their Beings and Through him as the Preserver disposer and conducter of them to their end and To him as the Ultimate end If you say But how is the pleasure of Gods will attained from the wicked that break his Laws and displease his will I answer Understand but how his will is