exhortation to this purpose Examine your selves if ye be in the faith prove your own selves know ye not your own selves that â—hrist is in you except ye be reprobats We do the rather presse this because if we were serious in the tryal there would through Gods blessing be more Faith in some and lesse presumption in others and these that have Faith would have more peace and comfort in it But that which makes many content themselves with a counterfit instead of Faith is that they put it not to the tryal and that which makes them who have Faith to want peace and to live in much anxiety is that they do not more prove themselves as to their Faith These are then the Two main parts of a Believers Dutie by Faith to take hold of Christ and to rest on and in Him and by tryal to make it clear and sure to themselves that they are Believers and these Two are the great up shot of all this Doctrine to perswade us to believe that we may be sure and to perswade us to study to be sure and clear in it that we may be comforted thereby SERMON LXI ISAIAH LIII XI Verse 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities THe Doctrine of Justification through Faith in Christ Jesus was wont to be much thought of among the People of God it is called Gal. 3.8 The preaching of the Gospel to Abraham when God fore-told him of a way of Justification and Salvation through Christs coming of him That in him all the Nations of the earth should be blessed This was the telling of Good news to him and we are sure it is as good news now as ever it was and would be so to us if we could look on it Spiritually as they did For there is as great hazard in Sin and the Curse is as terrible and insufferable and the love of God as fresh now as they were then We have for some dayes been speaking of this Doctrine of Justification and it will be much to speak and hear of it profitably we desire not to insist of what may be unuseful but we conceive there is some necessity in insisting in this It 's our own negligence and ignorance that makes many things of this kind to be very unuseful evenso that we scarcely conceive them and we are made heartless in speaking of them because to many they are as if spoken in a strange language which is and should be for a lamentation The last thing we proposed was to hold forth the mean by which Justification is attained to wit Faith which we observed to shew how Faith concurres in the attaining of Justification Few or none ever denyed Faith to be necessary for the attaining of Justification neither can any that read the Word of God with the least consideration but have that impression of it But the great thing wherein the difference lyes and wherein men miscarry is in attributing to Faith the right or wrong manner of it's concurrence in the attaining of this effect Though these things may at first blush look like meerly notional spiculations and such as do not concern Christians practice yet there is no error in Doctrine about this matter but there is something in folks practice that looks like it and is influenced by it And it's mens inclination to error in practice that makes them as it were to coyn errors in Judgement We shall Observe two generals further and proceed The 1. whereof is That Faith hath a peculiar way of concurrence for the attaining of Justification which can agree to no other Grace nor Work nay nor to Faith it self considered as a Work Therefore Justification of many is here deryved to them by his knowledge or by Faith in Him that is by Faith in Christ as secluding all other things It 's by Faith that Justification is deryved and applyed to us and by Faith we come to have right to it and an Interest in it The 2d is That however Faith concure for attaining of Justification yet it 's not Faith of it self or by any vertue or efficacy in it self but as taking hold of Christ as the Object of it that it justifies Therefore it 's said to be by the knowledge of him or by Faith in Him it 's by receiving Him uniting us to Him and resting on Him that we are Justified We shall shortly explicat both these branches and then come to some practical use of them together 1. Then we say that there is something in Justification attributed to Faith that cannot agree to any other thing which is implyed in many Scriptural Phrases and in this Text in as far as it is said that by his knowledge or by Faith in Him Justification is attained And therefore when we are said to be justified by Faith we affirm that Faith hath a peculiar way of concurring for the attaining of Justification which can agree to no other Grace as to Repentance Love Meeknesse Patience c. not to Prayer Almesdeed or any other good Works or Work For confirming of this consider 1. That we are said to be Justified by Faith in opposition to Works and that there is something attributed to Faith which is denyed to Works Generally this is clear in these Epistles written to the Romans and Galatians Particularly Rom. 4.2 3. If Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not before God for what saith the Scriptures Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt but to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is commited to him for righteousness where most clearly and convincingly believing and working are directly opposit the one to the other and Gal. 2.16 We who are Jews by nature knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ or as the word is no not but by Faith that is a man is not justified by Works but by Faith Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law Where the Apostle cannot more purposely and pressingly make a difference betwixt any two things then he doth betwixt these two Justification by Works and Justification by Faith And in all this discourse it cannot be said that the Apostle only excluds Works in respect of merit or Works as they look to the Works of the Ceremonial Law For he opposeth Faith and all sorts of Works or Works in whatsoever respect as inconsistent It 's not one or two sorts of Works but all sorts of Works of the Law and there can be no Works but such as are commended by the Law which are excluded Now if the Apostle seclude all these what are the Works that we can be justified by 2. Consider the peculiar
Phrases that the Scripture useth to this purpose and where we are said to be Justified by faith There is a sort of causality attributed to Faith that can be attributed to no other Grace nor Works Hence the Righteousnesse of Christ is called the Righteousness of faith and we are said to be Justified by faith in his blood So Phil. 3.8 9. I count all things to be but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousnesse which is of God bâ— faith and Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood many moe such Phrases there are And truly it would look very unlike the Scripture to expone these Scripture Phrases of a Righteousnesse of Works or by Works 3. Consider how the Apostle opposeth the two Covenants The Covenant of Works made with Adam and the Covenant of Grace made with Believers in Jesus Christ Rom. 10.5 6 7. Moses describeth the righteousness of the law that the man which doth these things shall live by them The Righteousnesse of the Law speaks of doing by which we come to be Justified But the righteousnesse of faith or the Covenant of Grace Speaketh on this wise The word is near thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Where the Apostle opposeth these two Covenants not in respect of merit only as if the one were inconsistent with Grace and not the other but he opposeth them in this that the Righteousnesse of the one Covenant is in doing and the Riâ—hteousness of the other Covenant is by believing And therefore according to this opposition whaâ—ever is a mans doing is not the ground of his Peace and Justification before God because the Righteousnesse of his doing is the condition of the Covenâ—nt of Works and the Righteousnesse of the Covenant of Grace is quite of another nature to wit Believing in him who justifieth the ungodly 4. Consider that the thing that is the ground of our Justification before God is Christ's Righteousness inherent in Himself and imputed to us for the covering of our nakedness because He is as our Cautioner hath payed our Debt Hence it follows that Faith hath another way of concurring in Justification then any other thing can have because it 's Faith which receives and puâ—s on that Righteousnesse which no other thing doth That I may be found in him saith the Apostle Philip. 3.9 not having my own righteousness but the righteousness which is by the faith of Christ So that to be in him is to hâ—ve His Righteousnesse and this Righteousnesse is put on by Faith Only take two words of Adverisement ere we come to clear the other branch of the Doctrine The 1. is this when we speak of the peculiarness of the way of Faith's concurring in Justification so as no other Grace or Work doth we design not to weaken or cry down the necessity of Repentance and of other Graces nor of good Works the very thoughts whereof we abhore but to give every one of them their own and the right place and therefore it 's a gross calumnie to say that we affirm that the study and practice of Holiness and good Works is not necessary we only cry them down on this account that when we come before God our Works or Holinesse aâ—e not to be presented to Him as the ground of our Justification and Absolution but the Righteousnesse of Christ that Faith takes hold of and in this we say that Faith peculiarly concurres as no other Grace doth because iâ—'s fitted with an aptitude to receive and apply Christs Righteousnesse which no other Grace is as we say iâ—'s by the eye that a man sees though if he had not a â—ead and brains he would not see So though Fai h and Hol nesse or good Works be not sepâ—rat yet Faith is as it were â—he eye of the Soul that discerns and takes hold of Christs Righteousnesse The 2. is this That when we speak of good Works we speak of tâ—â—m as the Apostle doth Tit. 3.5 where 〈◊〉 saith not â—y the works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us and by good Works denyed in the point of Justification we understand all that is our own doing not excluding â—nly some things that were so accounted iâ— the time of darkness as almesdeedâ— and the like but as we have said all that is our own doing The 2d Branch is that this peculiarness of Faiths concurring in Justification is not from any efficacy in Faith or from Faith considered as our Deed or Work but as it Acts on Christ as the Objâ—ct of it and therefore when it is said Rom. 4.3 That Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness The meaning is not as if God had accepted his believing as an Act or Work for his Righteousnesse and that it was accounted as a perfite Grace but the meaning is that Christ Jesus the promised Seed received by Faith or his betaking of himself to the Riâ—hteousness of Christ holden out to him in the Promise was accounted his Righteousnesse as if he had had an inherent Righteousnesse of his own and so Faith is imputed not in respect of it's Act but in respect of it's Object By his union with Christ through Faith Christs Satisfaction becomes his To clear it a little take these considerâ—tions 1. Consider Faith as a Grace in us and so it cannot be imputed for Righteousness for in that respect it 's a Work and is excluded by the Apostles opposition made of Grace and Works It must therefore be Faith considered as acting in it's Object 2. Consider that in Scripture to be Justified by Christ by his blood and by Faith are all one because when it is said we are justified by Christ or by His Blood it takes in Christ and His Blood laid hold on by Faith therefore sometimes Christ sometimes Faith is called our Righteousnesse because as Christ considered as suffering and satisfying is the meritorious cause of our Justification so Faith is the instrumental cause taking hold of His Satisfaction which is our Righteousnesse both are necessary in their own way and Christs Righteousnesse implyes Faith and Faith implyes Christ and His Righteousnesse the one implyes the other necessarily 3. Consider the Phrases used in Scripture to this purpose as where we are said to be justified by faith it ever respects Christ and where we are said by faith to put on Christ It is not Faith considered as Righteousness of it self but it 's Faith considered as Acting on Christ and His Righteousness Therefore it 's the Righteousness which is by Faith the Righteousnesse which is in Christ and by Faith taken hold of by us and
they have been in earnest though it hath been but with Moral seriousness that blows them up upon which ground it is that many shuffle in Prayer in the place of Saving Faith and when they Pray with warmness they trow they Believe when in the mean time they never knew what it was in good earnest to lay themselves over on Chist Jesus therefore when we invite you to Believe this is another thing we would bid you beware of that ye put not a flash of Sense in the room of Faith 3. There is yet a more subtile though no less dangerous Mistake that ye would beware of and that is When Faith is confounded with Obedience and is looked on in Justification as a piece of new Obedience with Love Repentance and other duties of Holiness so some think they Believe because they have some Natural awe of God in their Walk and some fear of Sin and do perform some duties of Religion and walk Honestly as they think according to the Rule which is to confound the Covenant of Works and of Grace and to make the Covenant of Works a Covenant of Grace or to turn the Covenant of Grace into a Covenant of Works only with this difference that though their works be not perfect but defective yet wherein they are defective they think there is worth in their Faith to make up that want and to supply that defect and so by Faith they think they will obtain the acceptation of their works and of their Persons on account of their works they look upon their works as pleasing to God but because they are not perfect they will believe or exercise Faith to make up their defects to which the way of Grace is quite contrary which makes the Tree first good and then the Fruit This way that many take is not to draw the evidences of Believing from works of Holiness which is warrantable but the founding of Faith or their hope of Heaven on works and the use they make of their Faith is to ward off Challenges for the imperfection of their works and to make Faith procure aeceptance as I just now said to their works and acceptance to their Persons for their works sake 4. Beware of that which ye ordinarily call a certain assurance or sure knowledge of your Salvation and that all the Promises are yours whereby ye think your selves in no hazard a hope and assuâ—ance of Heaven that ye can give no ground for nor proof of only ye think ye are sure of Pardon of Sin and coming to Heaven and that ye are obliged to maintain that groundless hope but that is not Saving Faith for it 's a hope of Heaven that can give you no right to Christ there must first be a fleeing to Him and closing with Him before ye can have any true and well-grounded hope of Heaven but your hope and confidence is never to question the matter ye are like Laodicea who thought her self rich and to stand in need of nothing when she was beggerly Poor or like these Men who when God was threatning them with Judgement yet would needs presume to think that they leaned on the Lord I think among all the Persons that God hath indignation against it 's in a special manner against these who have this sort of hope and to whom God discovereth the groundlesness of it and yet they will still stoutly maintain and stand fast by their hope it 's to these He speaks Deut. 29.19 who despise and tush at God's Threatnings and say We shall have peace though we walk in the imagination of our own hearts and add drunkenness to thirst the Lord there pronounceth a Curse and to the Curse addeth an Oath that He will not spare such Persons but will separate them for Evil and cause all the curses of the Law to overtake them judge ye now what a condition this is for Persons to be in to be believing that all the Promises are theirs and yet in steed of that to be in the mean time lyable to all the curses threatned in the Word of God it 's this that we call presumption and the hope of the Hypocrite that will perish Job 8.13 the confidence of such shall be rejected and sweeped away as a Speeders Web and shall be rooted out of their Tabernacles and bring them to the King of Terrours they think they Believe always when they are not troubled nor disquieted they never want Faith but have a great deal of it which yet is but a guessing which cannot support and uphold them when they come to a straiâ— when they are more secure they Believe very well and they think when they are more awaken'd and disquiet'd they believe less and their fancied Faith ebbeth quite on them when they hear of any exercise of Mind or trouble of Conscience in others they wonder that they wil not Believe and all this work is to maintain their deep Security and strong Delusion this is then the fourth thing ye would beware of for it 's not the Faith that will turn away the Complaint Who hath believed our report and yet how many are there of this sort who say they shall have Peace and please themselves with this their good Hope say the Word what it will O! be perswaded that this is nothing else but woful Unbelief and Presumption and we preach to you Terrour and the Curse of God though ye cry Peace to your selves the Lord complains of such Persons Jer. 5.12 saying They have belyed the Lord He sent His Prophets to denounce Judgments in the days of Josiah when there was a fair profession of Religion and Reformation yet they would believe and hope that no evil should overtake them That which we aim at in this part of the Use is to make way for what follows even to give you a cleanly ground for exercising of Faith on Jesus Christ when all these Stumblings and Mistakes are rolled out of the way We therefore exhort you to lay your Hand to your Heart and narrowly to try if ye have called or accounted any of these to be Saving Faith for there are hundreds nay thousands that perish under these Pretexts deceiving themselves and deluding others with a Faith they were born and brought up with and they have no more but their groundless hope to prove their Faith by and they will stick by it be said to them what will but be not deceived for God will discover you ye think a strong presumption is Faith and that ye can by such a Faith drink in the Promises but God will make you vomit them up and ye shall be declared to be void of Faith in the great Day therefore be more jealous over your Faith and seek to have your grips of Christ sickered which is done when from the belief of your Hazard and Self-emptyness and of Christ's fulness ye go to Him and close with Him to make up all ye want in Him and this Faith is especially qualified by
were put to make a report of you as we will be put to it what could we say we are afraid to speak our apprehensions O! how little is this Gospel as to it's Fruit and Success upon the growing hand among you We shall therefore forbear to speak of that which we think hath deep Impressions on our selves concerning you but we would have you to look thorow Matters how they stand betwixt God and you and if we may humbly lay claim to any measure of the judgement of Discerning may we not ask where is there a Man or a Woman amongst most of us that hath a Conversation suitable to this Gospel If we begin at the great Folks that have the things of the World in abundance it 's their work for most part not to be Religious but to gather and heap up Riches and to have somewhat of a Name or a piece of Credit in the World this is the farthest that many of such design And if we come and take a look of the way of the Poorer sort they live as if they were not called to be exercised to Godliness and this is the condition of the Generality to live as if God were not to call them to a reckoning ye will say we are poor ignorant Folks and are not Book-learned but have ye not Souls to be saved and is there any other way to be saved then that royal Way wherein Believers have walked But if we should yet look a little further through you how many are there that have not the very form of Godliness who never studied to be Christians either in your fellowship with others nor when alone or in your Families There are some O! that I might not say many who are hearing me that will not once in the Year bow their Knee to God in their Families many of you spend your time in Tipling Jeasting Loose-speaking which are not convenient yea I dare say there are many that spend more time in Tipling Jeasting and Idle-speaking then in the Duties of Religion either in publick or in private what report shall we make of you Shall we say that such a man spent three or four Hours every day in going up and down the Streets or in Tipling and Sporting and would not spend half an Hour of the Day on God and His Worship and further how many are yet ignorant of the first Principles of Religion a fault that is often complained of and yet we would be ashamed to have it heard of that such Ignorance should be under half a Years preaching of the Gospel that is in this Place under many Years preaching of it and this not only among the Poorer sort but even amongst those who hold their Heads very high and are above others who can guide and govern their own Affairs and give others a good counsel in things concerning the World yet if we come to speak with them of Repentance or of Faith in its Exercise of Convictions and Challenges for Sin of Communion with God of the working of God's Spirit in the Regenerate or of the Fruits of the Spirit they have not a Mouth to speak a word of these things and if they speak any thing O! but it looks wersh tasteless and thieveless like Put them to discourse of Religion it hath no gust to say so it relishes not they have no understanding of it at least that is experimental doeth this look like Folks that have heard and received the Gospel let me say it the Wisdom of this World and the Knowledge of Christ are far different things and if some of you go that length as to get the Questions of the Catechism which is well done in it self if we put you but to express them in other words ye cannot which says plainly that ye are not Masters of your Knowledge And what shall we say of others of whom we cannot say but we get respect enough from them yet how do Selfishness and Worldly-mindedness abound in them and how Graceless and Christless are they found to be when put to the tryal We would also say to you that there is great difference betwixt Civility and Christianity Fairfashions will never pass in Christ's account for the suitable Fruits of the Gospel and will never hinder us from having a just ground of Complaint against you How many have a Form of Religion and want the Power of it who think themselves something when they are indeed nothing and their Profession is so thin and holled to speak so that their Rottenness and Hypocrisie may be seen thorow it Though these things be but general yet they will comprehend a great many of you that are here in this Assembly and if so is there not just ground of Complaint of and Expostulation with you as a People among whom this Word hath no suitable Fruit And as for you that live Prophanely and Hypocritically what shall we say to you or how shall we deal with you we bring the Word to you but ye make no more use of it then if ye had never heard it no more Religion sheweth it self in you then if ye lived among Heathens Shall we say to God the Fruit of the Gospel is there Dare we be answerable to God or can we be faithful to you to flatter you over as if all were well with you and must not our Complaint then rather be this Lord they have not believed our report though we be feckless and though there be ground of Complaint of us yet the Word is His Word and will take hold of you I know that Folks do not readily digest such Doctrine well and it may be some think that few Ministers are better dealt with then we are but we say that that is not our Complaint we confess if we look from the beginning of the World to this Time there will be few Ministers of the Gospel found to have been better dealt with as to outward and civil things but alace should that stop our Mouth yea rather ought it not to be the more sad to us to be so dealt with and to live in civil Love with Men and Women who yet do not receive the Gospel nor deal kindly with our Master Do not think that we will take external respect to us for the Fruit of the Gospel as we have no cause to complain of other things so let us not be put to complain of this but receive Christ in your Heart let Him and His precious Wares have Change and go off amongst you make use of Him for Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption and go not for the fashion about the Means that should bring you near Him but be in good earnest and this would satisfie us much and prevent Complaints Lastly I would ask you what will come of it if we shall go on in Preaching and ye in Hearing and yet continuing still in Unbelief will there not be an account craved of us and must we not make a report and if ye
the other necessarily along with it never love that Faith that leaves the Heart as a Swines-sty to Lusts that leaves it swarming with unclean and vain Thoughts or that leaves the Heart just as it was before or that Faith that only cleanseth the outside and does no more such a Faith however esteemed by the Man will never be accounted for true Saving Faith before God I do not I dare not say that Believers will always discern this heart-purity or cleanness but this I say that true Faith will set the Man a work to purify the Heart and will be making use of Christ for that end not only to have the arm of the dominion of Sin broken but to have the Soul more and more delivered from the indwelling power of it and this will the design that he will sincerely drive to get the Heart purified within as well as the outward Man inward Heart-abominations will be grievous and burdensome to him as well as scandalous out-breakings A second place is Gal. 2.20 21. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life c If ye would know a Companion of true Faith here is one it hath a life of Faith with it There is one life killed and another life is quickened the life that is killed is that whereby the Man sometime lived to the Law I am dead to the Law says the Apostle a Man's good conceit of himself that once he had is killed and taken away he wonders how it came that he thought himself Holy or a Believer or how he could promise to himself Heaven in the condition he was in There is another life comes in the place of that and it 's a life that is quickened and maintained by and from nothing in the Man himself but it 's wholly from and by Christ The Believer hath his holiness and strength for doing all called for Duties and his comfort also from Christ and he holds withall his very Natural Life his present Being in the World from Christ his all is in Christ his stock of life strength and furniture is not in himself but he lives by a continual Traffick as it were on Bills of Exchange betwixt Christ and him when he wants he sends a Bill to Christ and it 's answered in every thing that he stands in need of and that is good for him He is a dead Man and he is a living Man and where-ever true Faith is there the Man is dead and there the Man is living Do not I pray mistake it by thinking that true Faith is but vented puts forth it self only in reference to this or that particular or at this or that particular time only for Fâ—ith must be exercised not only at starts as when when we are under Challenges for Sin or at Prayer but we must design and endeavour to exercise Faith thorow all our Life that is we must by Faith look for every thing that is useful and needful for us from Christ and be always endeavouring to drive on a common Trade of living this way we must be habituating our selves to seek after Peace Strength and Consolation and what else we need out of the fulness that is in Him This Life of Faith is to see the want of all things in our selves and yet to have all things by making use of Christ in all things contenting and comforting our selves that there is Strength in Him though we be weak in our selves and that He hath gotten the victory over all His and our Enemies and that we shall at last through Him be victorious in our own Persons contenting and satisfying our selves that He hath compleat Righteousness though we be Bankrupt and have none of our own and betaking our selves allenarly to that Righteousness for our Justification before God Thus making a Life to our selves in Him He living in us by His Spirit and we living in Him by Faith O sweet and desirable but mysteriouâ— Life The third place is Gal. 5.6 In Christ Jesus neither circumsion availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith that worketh by love He doth not simply say Faith but faith that works by love for Faith is an operative Grace and this is the main vent of it the thing by which it works it works by Love Faith is the hand of the new Creature whereby every thing is wrought it having Life from Christ and we may say that Love is in a manner the hand of Faith or rather like the fingers upon the hand of Faith whereby it handleth every thing tenderly even out of love to God in Christ and to others for His sake Faith works and it works by Love that 's a sound and good Faith that warms the Heart with love to Christ and the nearer that Faith brings the Believer to Him it warms the Heart with more love to others And therefore love to the People of God is given as an evidence of one that is born of God 1 Joh. 5.1 because wherever true Faith is there cannot but be love to the Children of God flowing from love to Him that begets them That Faith that 's not affected with God's dishonour out of love to Him and that can endure to look upon the Difficulties Sufferings and Afflictions of the Children of God without sympathizing and being kindly affected therewith is not to be taken for a sound Faith but to be suspected for a Counterfeit The fourth place is James 2 14. Shew me thy saith by thy works c. True Faith hath always sound Holiness with it in all manner of Conversation in the design and endeavour of the Believer which is withall through Grace in some measure attained What avails it for a Man to say that he loves another when being naked or destitute he bidâ— him depart in Peace be warmed be filled and yet in the mean time gives him nothing that he stands in need of would not such a poor Man think himself but mocked Even so will not God reckon you to be but Mock-believers or Mockers of Faith when ye profess your selves to be Believers in Christ while in the mean time ye have neither indeed Heart-purity nor Holiness in your outside Conversation that is but such a Faith as Devils may have that will never do you good Ye would believe this for a truth that there will never a Faith pass for Faith in God's account and so there should never a Faith pass for Faith in your account but that Faith that sets the Man a work to the study of Holiness that Faith that works by Love that Faith that purifies the Heart and that Faith that puts the Person in whom it is to study to have Christ living in him and himself living in Christ I promised to name a few Scriptures that speak out some more condescending Characters of Faith And 1. I would think it a good token of Faith to have Folk feared for missing and falling short of the Promises
the Apostles and yet when he is Preaching Acts 28.25 and some believed and others believed not before he dismisses the multitude he adds this one word Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the Prophet unto our fathers saying Go unto this People and say Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand and seeing ye shall see and not perceive c. where he expressly differenceth his external Preaching from God's inward working and tells that so long as there was a judicial stroke on the Hearts of the People untaken away no external Preaching could do the turn as to their Conversion and bringing of them to Believe which he also does to guard against any offence that might be taken at the unsuccesfulness of his Ministry by any who would be ready to say what aileth these Folk that they will not receive the Gospel to whom he answers Isaiah long before told the reason of it to wit that there is a Plague on their Hearts and Minds which God must remove ere they can receive it 2. To these plain and clear instances we may add two or three Grounds or Reasons As 1. The exceeding greatness of the work of Conversion O how great and difficult is it Therefore it 's set out by the similitudes and expressions of raising the dead creating a new heart of removing the stony heart and the like all tending to set out the necessity of an omnipotent Power or a powerful work of Grace in the begetting of Souls to Christ and if it be so great a work what can the outward Ministry do if the Power of God be not added or what can the Man himself do here can a Mâ—n quicken raise creat or beget himself it's true these comparisons are not to be extended and and applied in every respect yet they hold out that Man being naturally dead can no more contribute to his own quickening and raising and to the bâ—getting of spiritual life in himself then a dead Mâ—n can contribute to his own quickening and raising to his natural life for which cause the Holy Ghost hath made choice of these expressions even to hold out the exceeding greatness of the work 2. Consider the condition that Mâ—n are in when this work is wrought and we will see they can contribute nothing to it thâ—t they have no aptitude for it except that they are subjects capable to be wrought upon being as it is Eph 2.1 dead in sins and trespasses being as to their Souls estate and as to their Spiritual condition like Adam's Body before the Lord breathed in it the Breath of Life and made him a living Soul as his Body could not move stir nor act till then no more can the Natural Man stir or act in the ways of God till a new principle of Spiritual Life be put in him To clear it further we would consider that the Scripture speaks of these three in the Natural Man 1. Of an utter inability and deadness as to that which is Good Dead in Sins Eph. 2.1 We are not sufficient saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 3.5 of our selves as of our selves to think any thing not so much as a good thought 2. The Scripture holds him out not only as unable for good but perverse and bent to every thing that is Evil Col. 1.21 Alienated and enemies in our minds by wicked works the carnal mind being enmity against God Rom. 8.7 it 's plainly opposite to any thing that is Good and so to the way of Faith 3. Man's Mind is not only naturally perverse and stuffed with Enmity but in an incapacity to be healed while it remaineth such Rom. 8.7 It is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be and therefore in the work of Conversion there is not only an amending but also a renewing of our Nature called for there is more requisite then the rectifying of something in the Man even the creating of new Habits and the infusing of the Principles of Spiritual Life and Motion into the Soul It is true in some Sense the whole Image of God is not absolutely removed the faculties of the rational Soul still remain for Man hath an Understanding and a Will and some sort of Reason but without any tendency to Spiritual Life or to any action for God he hath an Understanding but it 's wholly darkened he hath a Will but wholly perverse and not in the least enclined to Good he hath Affections but wholly disordered and corrupted and set wholly upon wrong Objects so that it 's with Man's Soul as to Good as it is with spoiled Wine Wine when wholesome serves to cheer and refresh but when it 's spoiled it 's quite another thing not only not conducing to Health but it 's noisome and hurtful It 's just so we say with Man's Soul it 's by the Fall quite spoiled and corrupted it is not indeed annihilated or made to be nothing for it retains the same faculties still it hath to speak so the same quantity still but as to it's qualities it 's utterly corrupted and carried closs contrary to God it 's not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be and renovation by Grace is the taking away of the corrupt qualities in part in this Life and wholly in the other Life and the bringing in of new qualities for recovering the beauty of that Image of God which Man hath lost 4. Consider the end that God hath in the administration of His Grace and the Glory that He will needs have it getting in every gracious work and more especially in the work of Conversion and the silence as to any boasting that He will have all put unto that shall partake of it His end in the administration of His Grace is to bring down Pride to stop all Mouths and to remove all grounds of boasting from the Creature that He only may have the glory of Conversion that when ever that question is proposed What hast thou O man but what thou hast received and if thou hast received it why doest thou boast who made thee to differ from another the Soul may answer it was not external Preaching nor my own Free-will nor any thing in me but the power of God's Grace I have nothing but what I have received It is on this ground that the Apostle Phil. 2.12 13. presseth and encourageth Christians to their great work Work out saith he your own salvation in fear and trembling for it's God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure the Lord leaveth not to Man the working of the Will in himself and of him saith the same Apostle 1 Cor. 30.31 are ye in Christ Jesus who is made of God unto us wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption that he that glorieth should glory in the Lord as he said before vers 29. that no flesh should glory in his presence there is one ground of boasting that the Lord wiâ—l have removed in a Sinner's Justification and
save such as it is applied to but this highly commends Grace that if there be mighty Corruption in us there is a strong arm of Grace put forth by Him for perfiting of that which concerns us notwithstanding of this great strength of Corruption And if ye think your selves not to be Believers and think this Doctrine to be hard that ye cannot Believe without this Grace and yet would fain Believe consider that as none can believe neither can Believers stand without Grace so Grace can help you to do that which ye cannot do which is the commendation of Grace and should make it more lovely to you this gives encouragement to any poor Soul that is as it were in the place of the breaking forth of Children and layeth greater ground of confidence that they shall come speed than if they had it in their own hand and serves to obviat that grand objection of Souls that would fain be at closing with Christ and cannot come to Him here is a powerful Arm reached forth to draw them Use 3. The third Use serves to humble Believers who have any thing of the work of Grace and so to work them up to thankfulness to Him that hath communicate ought of it to them Is there any of you that have Grace who hath made you to differ from others it was not your selves but free Grace and therefore ye have reason to acknowledge it with thankfulness and to say if this same Doctrine had not been true I would have been a stranger to God all my days and remained under the dominion of Satan and Sin with these that are in Nature and with David Psal 16.7 to say I bless the Lord who hath given me counsel my reins also instruct me in the night seasons This counsel was not the common advice that all got from the Word preached but the inward counsel of the Spirit that made his reins Instruct him and made him inwardly to follow the advice that the Word gave him outwardly and it is this inward work of the Spirit that keeps in the life of Grace as well as begets it as it is Psal 73.23 24. Nevertheless I am continually with thee thou hast holden me by my right hand thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory whom have I in heaven but thee c. my flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever the Psalmist glorieth in this that the work of his throw-bearing did not depend on his own flesh and heart but on God who was the strength of his heart and his portion for ever If Believers would consider what they were in their natural condition and how much they are obliged to the Grace of God that with power was applied in their Conversion it would stop their Mouth as to boasting make them admire Grace and sound forth its praise And they would think Graces sweet way of prevailing to be no co-active forcing of their Will but the greatest part of their freedom and so far would it be from being look'd on as a violenting or wronging of their Will that it would be esteemed their truest and greatest liberty We are perswaded that the Saints in Heaven count it no bondage that God hath so fully fred them from all Corruption that they serve Him with delight and do so necessarily and shall any sojourning-Saints here below count it a wronging of their Will that God takes such pains on them to subdue Corruption and to bring them to some measure of conformity to them who are above God forbid Use 4. The fourth Use of it is To let us see what great ground of encouragement there is here for the Hearers of the Gospel to set about the work of Believing and what ground there is to make them all utterly inexcusable who shall continue in their Unbelief which may be thought somewhat strange when we say that no means can be effectual for working of Faith wâ—thout the effectual Grace of God be applied But let these two be put together 1. That though we be insufficient of our selves and though all outward means be of themselves ineffectual that yet there is a sufficiency in the Grace of God And 2. That this Grace shall be powerful to work Faith in the Hearers of the Gospel if they make not themselves guilty of frustrating this Grace in the offer of it as they may do These then who will not believe will be found most inexcusable But to return to the main intent of this Use We say that the encouragement lies here that though we be unable we have an able Mediator and Grace is powerful and therefore we should with the greater encouragement set about the work of Believing as the Apostle reasons Phil. 2.12 13. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it's God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure Ye might possibly think it had been more encouraging to have said ye are able of your selves to will and to do but certainly Grace is a more encouraging motive then any thing in the Creature say not then ye cannot will nor do for that excuse is taken away by God's offering to work both in you by His Grace But let me exhort all both these that are begun to be Believers and these that are to begin to believe to be so far from disputing themselves from it as that they rather encourage themselves to work out the work of their own Salvation with fear and trembling because God's Grace which ye have in your offer is so powerful to work the work and will admit of no utter opposition from Corruption in you if ye receive not the Grace of God in vain that is offered to you in the Gospel If Grace were so weak as we might cast it back at our pleasure and if it were but a helper in the work of Faith and Conversion as Arminians make it what encouragement could we have from it and as to Practice is not this Doctrine as encouraging what advantage or comfort is it to undertake any thing in our own strength which is none at all is not this much more encouraging to undertake in the strength of Gods Grace knowing that the same work of Grace that begets Faith is as effectual to carry it on and to make us to persevere in it and to enable us to every good word and work let Grace work then and take a proof of it and ye shall find it powerful The Lord Himself give you wisdom so to do for your Salvation and Consolation SERMON XVI ISAIAH LIII I And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed IT 's much to walk evenly and stedfastly under the pure Doctrine of Grace and neither there-from to take occasion to give way to loosness and carnal liberty nor to become faint and discouraged and fearful at the way of God corrupt Nature is ready to abuse the
is enough in God and in His Grâ—ce to do their turn How is it then or what can be the reason that we in our Hearts do draw the just contrary conclusion to that which the Spirit of God draws here from this ground when we have the offer of Grace and hear of the power and efficacy of it it should as to our part provoke us to be more busie reasoning thus with our selves that though our Corruption will soon overcome us yet it wi l not it cannot overcome Grace and though the exercise of Faith be above our reach yet it is not above the reach of Grace though we be weak yet Grace is strong and therefore we will work it out And upon the other side we ought to conâ—inue humble and in fear and trembling work it out bâ—cause it 's not we but Grace that doth the work If Grace were well considered there is nothing that would more strâ—ngthen Folks hands to work and upon the other hand there is nothing that would make Folks more watchful and to walk in holy fear considering that we are poor Beggers and thorow our unwatchfulness or conceit and presumption may mar the outlettings of His Grace especially if we grow secure and ungrately forget what we receive from Him 2. I come now to some steps or particular directions implied in this Use because it will be asked What then should Folk do And before I touch on particulars take these two Caveâ—ts in the entry to them 1. That we can propose nothing to be done by you nâ—ither can ye do any thing of your selves that is a gracious act or deed 2. That we understand not that any thing can be done by Men in their Natural state that doth infer or procure and far less deserve the giving of Grace to any but seing God hath given direction to us how to walk in order to the working out of our Salvation we say 1. That it 's safe to us to walk in the way He hath directed us to walk in and in the use of the Means He hath prescribed and much more safe then to lay them aside 2. That there is greater suitableness betwixt the use of the Means and the finding of Grace then there is betwixt the neglect of Means and the finding of it 3. That it aggrees well with Gods way in bringing about the Conversion of Sinners to bring them piece and piece forward sometimes bringing them to the use of external Means and to the performance of outward Duties sometimes convincing them of Sin and letting them see their need of Christ sometimes discovering the worth that is in Christ and bringing them to fall in love with Him ere they actually close with Him and making them in their practice to follow any peep or glimmering of light that is let out to them and to go the length that light discovereth the way and makes it plain as to their duty Now for particular Directions we would 1. Bid you study to be fixed and established in the Faith of these general Truths that relate to Mans Sinfulness and Misery and Insufficiency in Himself that in us that is in ouâ— flâ—sh dwelleth no good thing that naturally we are dead in Sins and Trespasses and cannot quicken our selves and in the Faith of the necessity and powerfulness of Grace and that it 's Christ that must give and work Faith and that Grace can do the turn and prevail where it is put on work ye would also consider and believe the great hazard of missing Grace and the advantage that cometh by it ye would meditate on these things and on the Scriptures that hold them out and on the experiences of the Saints that confirm them that ye may not only have a glance and transient view of them but may be confirmed in the Faith of the truth of them 2. Content not your selves with a general Faith of the truâ—h of this Doctrine but labour to be suitably affected with these things that ye believe and though every affectedness be not special Grace yet I speak to them that are ready to lay the blame and fault on the Grace of God and yet were never affected with their own gracelesness Ye would study to be affected with the gracelesness of your Nature and let it put you to some sanctified disquiet and trouble till with Ephraim ye be made to smite upon your thigh and till ye be put to a holy deliberation and consultation about your own condition a Man that is under the hazard of a civil penalty will think on it again and again it will affect him and he will not be at rest till he be without the reach of it much more should ye be with the hazard that your Souls are in through Sin ye are not excusable so long as ye come not this length 3. Add to this Diligence in the use of all outward Means and Duties whereby and wherein the Lord useth to communicate His Grace abounding always in the work of the Lord as the Apostle exhorteth 1 Cor. 15.58 Be diligent in secret Prayer Reading Meditation Conference Self-examination Hearing keeping good Company and the like which indeed Hypocrites may do yet they cease not for that to be Duties 4. Be sincere and serious in the use and performance of these Means and Duties that which I mean is a moral sincerity and seriousness such as a Man will readily have in a civil Cause that he hath depending before a civil Judge or in hearing of News or the like which is a thing that may be and is often found in Men that are void of a principle of Grace and yet Folk are very often defective in this and make themselves exceeding guilty before God because they come not this length 5. Take heed and beware of entertaining any thing that holds and bars out Grace or of doing any thing that may mar or quench the working or moving of Grace If ye cannot get Christ entertained in your Heart as ye should be sure to give it to no other if ye cannot get Corruption thrust out nor mortified watch against the rising or harbouring of that which ye know to be Corruption and against the incoming or rising of such evils as ye know will keep or put away the Beloved guard also against the neglecting of such Means as by the neglect whereof ye may grieve His Spirit 6. Study and seek after a composed frame of Spirit in your ordinary walk and especially in Duties of Worship Carnal Mirth and Jollity loose Company and suffering the Heart to go a whoring after the things of the World do not only provoke Christ as they are sins but indispose us for Duty and mar the exercise of Grace where it is and keep it back where it is not therefore the wise man saith Eccles 7.3 that sorrow is better then laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better carnal Sorrow is not to be commended but sober sadness or a
laid hold upon by Faith but on condition of our own Works alone For though they pretend that it may be called Christ's Merit because say they He hath procured Grace to work these Works yet in effect their way of Justification is to restore us to that Covenant which Adam had and to ability to keep the same terms though as we said the rise be different 4ly It 's inconsistent with our natural State for it suppons Man before Conversion to have a free-will to good and ability to dispose himself to receive Grace and gives him a hand in turning himself to God as if he were not dead in Sins and Trespasses and so the soveraignity of Grace is bounded and limited to wait on a Man so disposed and so disposing himself 5ly It destroyes the nature of Gods Law as if it were consistent with His holy Law to have such and such Lusts abounding within and did not exact a reckoniâ—g for such branches of it as they call Venial Sins 6ly It overturns the Scripture Doctrine concerning Sin for it makes many Sins to be in effect no Sins 7. It corrupts and destroyes the nature of the Sacraments and makes new Sacraments that God never appointed and gives them power to work that which God nevâ—r gave them as if the very works wrought did confer Grace 8ly It is inconsistent with the Justice of God as if forsooth such poor Triffiles and Toyes as these which they invent were satisfaction enough to his Justice yea as if some men could more then satisfie Justice and could not only merit Heaven to themselves but also help to merit it to others and as if God were bound in proper Justice to the Creature and that not only on the account of this Promise but also if not mainly on the account of Merit of Condignity All these things are involved in this Popish way of Justification and inconsistent with the Truth of the Gospel And we have touched on them to let you see that it is not one Error that is here but a complication of Errors And truely if there be not an abhorrency at Popery because of this gross Error in Justification there is but little ground to expect that Men will keep at suitable distance from it in other things And therefore from what hath been said take a few Directions as your Use of it and if we were tender it might do us good now and then to get a little view of such Errors 1. Then see here the necessity of being more distinct and clear in Gods way of Justification in the way how peace is made betwixt Him and a Sinner when we see how many Errors follow and creep in after one Error and when we consider how Popish Priests and Jesuits are moving and how this same Error which hath so many Errors with it is stealling in ye had much need to be well acquainted with the Truth and to be guarding your selves against Errors especially when some lay so little weight on it that they call it a striving about words which sayeth that there is but little abhorrence of the thing I am apt to think that the most part of them that are called Christians could not well tell how to expose Popery Armenianisme or Antinomianisme if they were tempted to imbrace them or any other Erronious Heresy And when withall we consider how naturally we are inclined to shuffle by the Covenant of Grace and to cleave to the way of Works or to turn the Covenant of Grace into a Covenant of Works we would try well what we incline to in this point whether in our Judgement or in our Practice least we fall from that which is right in practice at least if not in opinion also I intreat you to study this as a main point of Christian Religion even that ye may know and be clear in your knowledge of the way how God accepts of and justifies a Sinner 2dly Know that this Error of Popery in particular is not of so little concernment as many think it to be It 's a wonder that Men should think differences about matters of Religion to be so light and so little a matter as if it were but the change of outward ceremonies or of Words Hence it comes to passe that there is so little Care and Zeal to prevent the rise and spreading of Errors We shal only commend to you Three things for guarding you in reference to this Error 1. Sist your selves often before the Tribunal of Gods Justice till your hearts be brought under suitable impressions of Gods Holinesse and Justice of the severity and strictnesse of his Law and of the necessity of your answering to it in your own Persons or in the Person of a Cautioner And then consider what will be your defence in such a posture 2dly Carry alwayes alongst with you the impression of your Original Sin and Natural Corruption and of the sinfulness of your Practices This will make you loathsome and abominable in your own eyes and Christ precious and such a Soul will not be in such hazard of putting his own merits in the room of Christ's 3. Think upon that which in Gods offer is presented to you as the way of making your Peace Though ye would study Holinesse in order to that end when ye are so sinful and when Divine Justice is so severe It looks not like the way to Peace But when ye consider Gods offer in this Gospel as it is held forth Act. 13.38 39. Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses And the invitation that is given Isa 55. to them that have no money to come and buy freely without money and without price And see God tabliâ—g His call on another ground than your Holinesse and putting in your offer Jesus Christ and His Righteousnesse It 's a raising and rousing up of the Soul to expect Absolution before the Throne of God on a more solid foundation that will bear it's weight We would beware of taking that way of Justification and of making our Peace with God that seems to be most rational like to our corrupt nature for as many say to be sorry for Sin to study to make amends and to do what they dow seems to be the most reasonable way and agrees best with our corrupt nature but that is not it which will do your turn but the way which God hath holden out and that is by His knowledge by Faith in the Righteous Servant 3dly See here how much we are obliged to God for holding out to us the right way to Life If ye look to many Nations abroad the way to Life is holden out to them on this ground even their own inherent Holiness their own Good Works their giving of considerable parts of their Estates their Pennances c. Which
their own as to the removal of temporal plagues and the taking them out of Purgatory and if they grant that there may be an imputation of the Merits of Saints why deny they the imputation of the Merits of Christ as to the removal of eternal Wrath is there any probability that there can be any imputation of the one and not an imputation of the other 3. They allow an imputation of Christs Merits as to the procuring of the first Grace without all Faith apprehending Him and if by their own Doctrine it be not absurd to speak of Christ's Merit as to the infusing of Grace at first why shall it be thought absurd to speak of Christ's Merit as to the procuring of Glory 4. They grant that there is an imputation of Christs Righteousnesse as to the procuring of Glory in a higher degree though they say that it is a far better Life which comes by our own works and why not as to the procu ing of Glory in a lower degree yea both of Grace and Glory and of every good Thing We have insisted on this the more 1. Because it 's the main foundation of our Faith and the end of it and the great scope of the Gospel 2. Because there are so many mistakes about this and a grosse mistake in this is remedilesse when we come before God Even before the Tribunal of men if we make a wrong defence it hazards our cause So is it here for to have a hiding place in Christ and under the covert of His Righteousnesse is our only defence before the dreadful Tribunal of God 3. Because it serves much to clear this Truth for we would have you knowing that it 's not enough to speak of Christ's Merit as the cause of our friendship with God a Papist will do that who yet leaneth not to Christs Merits alone but to his own at least in part and in conjunction with Christ's and therefore we would now and then speak of this because there is such horrible ignorance of it though a fundamental Truth How many gay honest folks as they are called and accounted are there among us that cannot tell how they came to be Justified or what is the ground which they have to rest on if they were going to die Is it not absurd that men should be called Protestants and live so long under the clear light of the Gospel and yâ—t be iâ—norant of this main point of the Protestant Religion Therefore 1. make this Use of it to inform your selves in the causes of your Justification and to turn them over into Questions and Answers to your selves â—o that if ye ask what is the efficient cause of Justification It 's God the party offended What is the final cause of it It is Hâ—s Glory what is the Mâ—ritorious Cause It is Christ's Merits or His Righteousnesse impuâ—â—d to us what is the inward instrumental Cause It 's Faith c. According to the solid answer given in our Chatechisme to that Question what is Justification It is an Act of Gods free grace wherein he pardoneth all our sins and accepteth us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousnesse of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone Where the efficient cause is Gods free Grace Christ's Righteousness the only Meritorious Cause and the only inward instrumental Cause Faith alone The formal Cause Gods pardoning our Sin and accepting of us as Righteous Remember well that it is not Christ's Righteousnesse as having a Merit in it to procure inherent Righteousnesse but as it is imputed unto us and accounted ours that Justifies us Thus ye will remember the difference betwixt Christ's Rightâ—ousnesse and our own and as for the external instrumental Cause it is holden out in these Words of our Catechisme in the discription of Faith as he is offered to us in the Gospel All these Causes must in ordinary dispensation concur to our Justification and the pardoning of our Sins The 2d Use Serves to teach us to be on our guard against the Popish Error of Justification by Works though we here are mercifully keeped free yet the Land is tempted in several corners of it to shuffle by Christs Righteousnesse and to bring in mens own Righteousnesse or holinesse as the ground of their acceptation before God There are some spottings of it with in a few myles to this place and since this Error draws Souls away from that which is their right and only defence before God that is Christ's Righteousnesse it cannot but ruine them which should make you all to look well about you and upon this account to abhor it It as one of the great Delusions of the man of Sin which being once admitted will with your own consent bring you again in bondage to a Covenant of Works Use 3. Follow this way in your practice in your seeking after Justification renunce your own Righteousnesse and lean to Christ's Righteousnesse alone What better are many of us in our Practice then Papists If ye ask many what is it that satisfies the Justice of God Some will answer 1. Their good Prayers or their good Works and if they have done a fault they shall make amends 2. Others will say that they have a good heart to God and they mind well though it 's but little they dow do 3. Others will thank God that they have â—eâ—n keeped from grosse evils and that he hath helped them to pray and to wait on ordinances and though they have no Righteousnesse of their own yet God hath helped them to do many good things and thus all that they lean to is still within theâ— 4. Others will say we warrand you we can merit nothing but we hope through Christ's R ghteousnesse our Holiâ—esse and Prayers will be accepted not as Duties or Fruits of Faith but they think to make these two concur as the ground of their Justification to wit Christ's Righteousnesse and their own performances together And what is all this but black and abominable Popery And yet if we go through the generality of Professors great Folk and mean Folk we will find few but by one or other of these wayes they delude themselves and that but very few have Christs Righteousnesse as the immediat ground of their Justification and Defence before God Be ashamed therefore that ye are so ignorant of this Point and be exhorted to study it as the main thing if ever ye think to stand before God's Tribunal and to carrie your cause be exhorted I say to be clear in this Defence which only will be found relevant before God and nothing but this to wit the Satisfaction of Christ taken hold of and rested on by Faith The 4th Use Serves for notable Consolation to a poor Sinner that hath no Righteousnesse of His own and who without this would never have peace what would any of you think or say if ye had your Prayers and good Works to hold up to God for the ground of your
that way of Preaching most that layes open the mistery of Faith in Christ and of Hearers to love that way of Preaching best not so much that which fills the head with Notions as that which serves to help to close a Bargain betwixt God and you This was Pauls great design in Preaching as we see 1 Cor. 2.2 and 1 Cor. 1.23.24 He no doubt taâ—ght other things but he compended all in this or levelled all at this as the scope and this was his main Design in his Preaching and Pressing of other things The 3d. Use Serves To make a sad discovery of many of you is this Gospel the external mean of Justification Then see if ye ever knew any benefit ye got by it ye will belike say that ye are in friendship with God but how I pray you came ye by it There is little châ—nge to the better in your Knowledge and as little odds in your Practice ye are as much given to Covetousnesse Tipling Lying Swearing Pride Vanity c. as evâ—r and are these think ye the Fruits of Justification do ye think that to be Justification which is neither from the Word nor conform to it If God would commend this to your hearts I think it might alarm you to more serious thoughts of your Condition I put it to your Conscience if ye can conceive any difference betwixt you and these that never heard the Gospel ye are baptized and hear preachings c. But alace it 's none of these that Justifies they are only useful as they lead you forward to the use making of Jesus Christ Again let me ask you what effect hath Preaching upon you Hâ—th it convinced you of Sin â—o how then can it convince yâ—u of Righteousnesse Therefore if ye would make sure Justification indeed try it by the Word 1. What was it that put you to seek after Righteousnesse and Justification was ye ever convinced of the need of it and if ye have been convinced was it by Preaching of the Word 2. If ye have been convinced of your Sin and misery where sought ye for a remedy was ye led in through the Word to seek a Plaister to heal that wound of Conviction 3. What was it that warranted you to take hold of that Word or that gave you right to it I know that ye will say that it was Christ holden out in the Word that ye did betake your selves to but what weight laid ye on Gods call in the Gospel warranding you to lay hold on the Promise of Righteousnesse and Pardon of Sin through Christ I know there are many who though there had not been a call from God would have confidently stepped forward to the Promise but were ye ever like to Peters hearers pricked in your hearts and made to say men and brethren what shall we do Or being some way pricked was it Gods call holding out the Promise to be to you and your children and to as many as our God shall call that brought you to rest on the Promise God hath designed preaching for this end and ye would try if ever ye was put to it to look to Gods call that gâ—ve you warrand to believe for there is nothing more certain then this that wherever Faith is sicker and well built it 's grounded on Gods call and doth take His Faiâ—hfulnesse for it's Back-bond to say so and warrand More particularly we come to speake of this Word as it respects the inward mean or the inward instrumental cause of Justification which is Faith for there is this order and method 1. The Sinner is convinced and made sensible of Sin and brought to reckon for it in his own Conscience before God 2. There is Christs being holden forth interposing himself to take on Sinners Debt and satisfyâ—ng the Ju â—ice of God for it which is the meritorious Cause 3dly There is Gods Offer in the Gospel holding our Christs Righteousnesse to lost Sinners and calling them to make use of it 4ly Upon this there is Faith's receiving of the Offer and resting upon Christ and His Righteousnesse for Life which to speak so is the inward instrumental Cause taking hold of the external and as I said of Christ in it 5. And lasty follows Gods imputing the Righteousnesse of Christ to the Sinner and absolving him by vertue of that Righteousnesse from the guilt of his Sin as if he had never Sinned In speaking of this inward instrumental Cause Five things would be cleared which we suppose are implyed in the Words 1. The necessity of Faith holden out as the Mean by which Justification is come by 2. The immediat Object of Justifying Faith and that is Christs Sufferings or Jesus Christ as Suffering Travelling in Soul and paying our Debt 3. The Act of this Faith on this Object which is not a bare speculative Knowledge or a meer Historical Faith but something that really Acts on Christ with respect to His Sufferings 4. The effect of this Faith taking hold on Christ and His Sufferings and that is Justification which is not the making a Sinner to be Just by inherent Righteousnesse but the Actual absolving of him from the Guilt of Sin and from God's Curse the changing of his State and the bringing him from under the Curse into good terms with God 5. The manner how Faith concurres in proceeding or bringing about this effect wherein we have this general That Faith hath a peculiar influence in the Justification of a Sinner that no good work nor any other Grace hath There is none of all these things but it is in this miserably declined generation wherein the Devil sets himself mightily to obscure Truâ—h as the Lord by the Gospel doth clear it contraverted I shall only endeavour to clear the positive part and let you see what is Truth in these things whereby ye may be brought to discover and abhore the errors that are contrare thereto The 1. Doctrine than is this That before a man can be Justified and Absolved from the Curse of God due to him for Sin there is a necessity of Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ This is clear from the Words and from what hath been said in the opening of them up If it be by his knowledge or the knowledge of him that many are justified then it cannot be that they are Justified before they come to the Knowledge of Him or from Eternity only in passing take two or three words of Advertisement and then we shall confirm the Doctrine 1. When we speak of Justification it 's in respect of our being absolved and fred not from the pollution of Sin but from the guilt of it as it makes us obnoxious to the Curse the clearing of the effect will clear this more 2. When we speak of Faith it 's not to be understood as it were a Declaration or Manifestation of our Justification Or it is not to be understood of Faith in the hight of full assurance and as it is a plezophory but of
becoming ours The Uses are several 1. For information and conviction and we would 1. be informed in and understand well the meanining of this Doctrine when we say that Faith is necessary to Justification and concurreth in attaining of it as no other thing doth that ye may give it it 's right place and may make no confusion of these things that are distinct 1. We deny not Works notwithstanding of all that we have said to be necessary more then we do Faith but the great difference is anent the giving of Faith and Works or Faith as it is a work on equal share in respect of causality in our Justification And therefore we would beware with Papists to attribute a sort of condignity to Faith as if it merited eternal Life which flowes from their ignorance of Gods Covenant For they think that since He commands us to believe and promiseth Life to believing that there is a merit in believing as they fancie there is in Prayer Almes-deeds and others Duties or good Works but in this respect as it is a Work in us the Apostle excludes Faith and makes our Justification free whereas if Faith in Justification were considered as a Work meriting our Justification it should not be free and although there be no Papists in profession here amongst us yet it may be there are some and that not a few that think God is obliged to them because they believe and that expect Heaven and life Eternal on that ground even as when they pray they think they should be heard for their Praying and when they give Almes that they should be rewarded for the same as a meritorious Work 2. Neither do we understand when we say that Faith is necessary to Justification and concurreth in the attaining of it That by believing we are disposed to be holy and so more enabled to Justifie our selves which is also a Popish Error wherein I fear many professors of the Gospel amongst us ly who think they are obliged to their Faith because it disposes them to hear read pray and the like and so enableth them to work out a Righteousnesse to themselves whereby they expect to be Justified This is another fault and Error to be guarded against For though we give Faith a radical vertue to keep Life in other Graces yet so considered it is still a piece of inherent Holiness and pertains to Sanctification and not to Justification 3. When we say that Faith concurres in the attaining of Justification we do not say that it concurres in the same manner that Repentance Prayer and good Works do concur But it may be said here seing we grant that good Works and Duties are necessary what then is the difference I answer in these two 1. Faith is the proper and peculiar condition of the Covenant of Grace and not our Works or Holiness whereof Faith considered as a Work is a part Works is the condition of the Covenant of works for it sayes in this manner The man that doth these things shall live by them but the Covenant of Grace in opposition to it sayes If thou believe with thy heart in the Lord Jesus and confess with thy mouth that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved as it is Rom. 10. What Works is in the one Covenant Faith is in the other Covenant and that as it is opposed to Works and to Faith it self as it is a Work in us 2. There is a peculiarness in Faith's concurring for the attaining of Justification in respect of it's instrumentalness in taking hold of Christ for our Justification or in receiving and resting upon Him as we said before for that end For when Christ is offered in the Gospel Faith flees to Him receives Him takes hold of Him and rests on Him neither Repentance nor Prayer nor any good Work hath an aptitud and fitness to receive Christ and present His Satisfaction to God as the ground of the Sinners defence as Faith hath And therefore it 's so often said by Divines according to the Scripture that Faith is the instrumental cause of our Justification which we shall clear in two or three similitudes which the Scripture makes use of 1 Christ compares Himself to the brazen Serpent lifted up in the wildernesse John 3.14 Man by Sin is stung deadly as the Israelites were by the fiery Serpents Christ Jesus as suffering and hung or lifted up upon the Cross is proposed to our Faith to look upon as the brazen Serpent was proposed to them that were stung and put up on a poll for that end and as there was no healling to the stung Israelites except they looked to it and the cure followed to none but to these who did behold it So Christ Jesus proposed as the Object and meritorious Cause of Justification Justifies none but such as look to Him by Faith and although they were to look to the Brazen Serpent yet their look gave no efficacy to the cure but it flowed from Gods ordaining that as a mean of their Cure even so it is not from any efficacy in Faith considered in it self that Sinners are Justified but it is from Jesus Christ the Object that Faith eyeing Him lifted up as the Saviour of the elect and His Satisfaction as appointed of God for that end doth Justifie and therefore it may well be called an instrumental cause because it is not Christ abstractly considered that Justifies more then it was the Serpent considered abstractly without their looking to it that did cure but Christ considered and laid hold on by Faith and in this respect Faith is said to Justifie even as the e e looking to the Brazen Serpent put them in capacity of the Cure though the Cure flowed from Gods appointment and not from their looking So is it in Faith's concurring for the attaining of Justification A 2d Similitude is that of miraculous Faith We find it often said by the Lord in His working such Cures Thy faith hath made the whole There was no efficacy in Faith it self for producing the Cure but it was the mean by which the Cure was transmitted to the Person under such a disease So it is in believing in order to our Justification It is by believing on Christ that our Spiritual Cure in Justification is transmitted to us and we are said to be Justified by Faith as they were said to be cured by Faith because by Faith it is convoyed to us A 3d. Similitude for clearing that Faith may well be called the instrumental Cause of Justification may be this even as the Advocats pleading may be called the instrumental Cause of the Clients absolving As suppose a man whose Cautioner had payed his Debt were cited to answer for the Debt his Advocat pleads his absolution and freedom from the Debt because his Cautioner hath payed it although the Debt was payed yet the man had not been absolved if it had not been so pleaded on this behalf So the concurrence of Faith in the
c. Faith differently acts on Christ and the Promise for obtaining of these Now the Faith that we would insist on is the Fâ—ith that rests on Christ for Pardon of Sin on which all the rest of the acts of Faith depend it 's that Faith whereby a Sinner receives Christ and casts himself over on Him that Faith whereby Union with Christ is made up Thirdly We would premit That there is a great difference betwixt Faith and the Effects of it as Peace Joy Assurance of God's Love and these other Spiritual Priviledges that follow Believing It 's one thing actually to Believe another thing to have the Peace and Joy that follows upon and flows from Believing the one being as the putting out of the Hand to receive the Meat and the other as the feeding on it It 's the first of these we mean and intend to speak of even that Faith whereby we grip Jesus Christ Himself and get a Right to all these Priviledges in and through Him Fourthly We premit That even this Saving Faith hath its degrees as all other Faith hath some have more weak Faith some stronger some have that full Assurance spoken of Heb. 10. or a Plerophory not only as to the Object that it 's sufficient but as to the apprehending and obtaining of Life through that Object so that they are able to say neither height nor depth nor any thing else shall be able to separate them from the Love of God in Christ Jesus we say then that Saving Faith hath its degrees though the degree be not that which we speak of but it 's the kind of this Faith whether weaker or more strong whereby a lost Sinner rolls it self over on Christ the Faith which puts the Sinner off the Ground it stood on ever on Him the Faith which brings the Soul from the Covenant of Works to a new holding of Life by Christ and His Righteousness We shall then speak a little 1. To what we conceive this act of Saving Faith is not for precaveating of mistakes 2. What way the Scripture expresses it when then we say that such a thing is not Saving Faith ye would know that thing is not it that ye must lippen to and when we say such a thing is Saving Faith ye would labour to act and exercise Faith according to it First For what Saving Faith is not 1. It is not the knowing that Christ is God and Man that He was Born was Crucified Dead and Buried and Rose again Ask some what true Saving Faith is they will say it 's a true Knowledge Ask them again how long is it since they Believed they will say since ever they knew Good by Ill ye would know that apprehensive or literal and speculative Knowledge is needful but it will not be taken for Saving Faith 2. It 's not a touch of warmness or liberty in the Affections in a natural way which may be in unregenerate Men yea possibly in Pagans as in a Felix who in the mean time have not so much as Temporary Faith because it rises not from the Word but from dispensations of Providence or from Temporary things and if it rise from the Promises of the Word if there be no more it 's but temporary Faith 3. It is not Convictions which many take for Faith and take it for granted if they be convinced of Sin they Believe and will say whom should they Believe on but Christ and yet they never follow the Conviction to put in practice what they are convinced of 4. It 's not simply a Resolution to Believe as others take Saving Faith to be who being convinced that their own Righteousness will not do their turn resolve to Believe on Christ for Righteousness but they will take a convenient time to do it and many maintain their Peace with this though it be no true Peace but a bare resolution to Believe is not Faith ye use to say there are many good Wishers in Hell I remember the words of a dying Man in this Place who thought he believed before and being asked what difference he conceived to be betwixt the Faith he had before and the Faith he now had attain'd to he answered before I thought or resolved to Believe but never practised it now I practise Believing There is such a subtilty and deceit in the Heart that if it resolve to Believe and if it observably thwart not with Faith it will sit down on that as if all were done therefore the Word is To day if ye will hear his voice that is to day if ye will Believe harden not your heart This resolving to Believe is like a Man sinking in the Water and having a Rope cast out to him he resolves to grip it but does it not So many think they have the Promise beside them and resolve to make use of it but do not presently make use of it and the Ship sinks down and they perish while the Promise abides and swims above 5. It is not Prayer There are many who think they Believe when they some way Repent Pray and put their Hand to other Duties and they know no more for Believing but something of that kind it is true indeed Prayer may help to Believe yet it 's not always with Faith it 's not every one that saith Lord Lord that believeth many will seek to enter that shall not be able Folks very often have these two miserable mistakes about Prayer either they put it in the room of Christ or in the room and place of Faith not considering that they are different things for Faith exerciseth it self on Christ as Mediator and Prayer taketh Him up as God the true Object of Divine Worship though if it be not founded on Christ as Mediator it hath no access the acting of Saving Faith is properly on Christ held forth in the Word and Prayer is a putting up of Suits according to the Word There are many that know no more what use to make of Christ then if He had never been incarnate nor had come under that relation of a Mediator and make their Prayers serve to make up all whereas Faith not only respects Christ as God but His Merits as Mediator and His Offices 6. Nor is Faith only a believing this Word of God to be true though we could wish many were come that length it would make a Man tremble to hear the blasphemous words that some will have when they are asked concerning their believing the truth of the Bible but though ye were that length it were not enough the Devils believe and tremble the Faith that we call you to is more then Historical it 's to resting on Christ to cordial receiving of the Message which He sends to you as suppose a King should send an embassage to a Person to woo her to be his Wife it 's one thing to know that there is such a King another thing to believe that he is real in his offer and that the
Woman by consenting to marry him may be and will be happy and which is yet more actually to receive the Message and to consent to go and marry him It 's here as when Abraham's servant is sent to Rebekah Gen. 24. She and her Friends believe all the report that the Servant made of his Master and of his Son that it was true and then it 's given to her option if she will go with the Man and she consents to go and actually goeth this is it we press you to to go with us and close the Bargain and to accept of Him and of Life through Him by the same similitude ye may know what Saving Faith is and what is the difference betwixt it and Temporary Faith when the great rich and brave offer comes to be made to Rebekah by a Man with many Camels Gold and Bracelets when she believes that it 's true and that it 's made to her she is fain and it may be over fain if not somewhat vain also that is like Temporary Faith but when it comes to the articles of the Contract it 's said to Sinners ye must subject to Christ and follow His Will and not your own this this casts the Bargain thus many when they hear there is a possibility of Life to be had in Christ and much more when they hear it 's to be had on good easie and free terms it will make them smile but when it comes to that Psal 45.10 Hearken O daughter and consider forsake thy fathers house or the fashions of thy Fathers House it halts there and they suspend and demur to close the Bargain but Saving Faith goes further on and with Rebekah finally closes the Bargain Secondly The next thing is What is Saving Faith or what is it to Believe in Christ and would to God ye were ready to Believe and as ready to receive the Invitation as to ask the Question and that in asking the Question ye were in earnest for by the way many have asked the Question What shall we do to be saved where if they had been in earnest they might have been soon resolved The Answer is at hand Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved But to them that desire further clearness or confirmation in this concerning Business we shall speak a little yet ye must know that it 's such a thing as is impossible to be made plain to a proud humoured or unhumbled Sinner it 's the poor humbled Soul that will take it up and to such a Soul half a word will help to take it up The plainest way to set it out as we conceive is to name some Scripture Expressions and Similitudes that hold it forth The first whereof is in that of Mat. 11.28 Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy loaden and John 6.35 He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in me shall never thirst readily these Expressions hold out these three First An Evil which Men cleave to Secondly A Good that is offered to them Thirdly A passing from the Evil to the Good and so come to me implyes 1. A hazard that Folks are in by being at a distance from Christ 2. That there is access to Jesus Christ for remeiding that evil and removing of that hazard 3. A passing from the one to the other a passing from our own Righteousness to Christ's Righteousness a passing from our natural condition to Jesus Christ a real passing from Death in our selves to Life in Him Most part think Faith to be a conceit a humour or a guessing that they think they may have and never know how but it 's a real thing a coming from our own Righteousness as I said to His from a Covenant of Works to rest on Christ and His Righteousness held forth in the Covenant of Grace this is somewhat explained Rom. 7. where two Husbands are spoken of a Woman cannot marry another Man till her first Husband be dead so till a Sinner be dead to the Law he cannot marry Christ there must be a divorcing from the Law and Covenant of Works ere ye can close with Christ The second Expression is John 1.12 Where Faith is held forth as a receiving of Christ To as many as received him he gave them power to become the sons of God even to as many as believed on his Name and it 's well express'd in the Catechism to be a receiving of Christ as He is offered in the Gospel this supposes that Christ is offered to us and that we are naturally without Him The Gospel comes and says Why will ye die O house of Israel come and receive a Saviour And the act of Faith is a gripping to that Offer a receiving and imbracing of it a being well content to take a free Discharge through His Blood A third Expression is Phil. 3.12 Where Faith is set out as an apprehending of Christ and Heb. 6.18 It 's called a laying hold on the Hope set before us and Isa 56.4 a taking hold of the Covenant all which suppose Folk to have a choice as it were laid to them and Christ to be holden out as a City of Refuge and a Shelter from that which we are in hazard of Christ is held out in the Gospel as the City of Refuge and the exercise of Faith is to run from the hazard to Him as a Child that is chased by an unknown and uncouth Body flees unto the Mothers Arms or as the Man-slayer fled from the Avenger of Blood to the City of Refuge and Faith having run to Him casts it self on Him or thrusts it self as it were into Him A fourth Expression is rolling or casting of our selves over upon the Lord as Psal 55.22 Cast thy burden on the Lord and Psal 37.5 Commit thy way to the Lord it 's on the Margent roll thy self on the Lord or rest as it 's vers 7. and ease thy self on the Lord the Gospel lays Christ as it were at Folks feet and Faith rolls them over on Him it 's even the Souls finding it self through the work of the Spirit unable to stand under the Burthen rolling it self on Christ as a crafie and weak Body casts it self on a Doun-Bed for ease This is a very emphatick significant and active Expression of Faith setting out a Man quiting his own Legs or Feet as unable to stand on them and laying himself over on Christ This is it that we call you to even to quite your own Feet and to roll your selves over on Christ A fifth Expression is Rom. 10.3 Where it 's call'd a submitting to the righteousness of God which is held out in the Gospel thus as if a King were proclaiming a Pardon to Rebels and saying to them for as many hainous Crimes as ye have committed and are guilty of if ye will take with them and betake your selves to my grace and mercy sincerely resolving to be henceforth faithful and dutiful Subjects to me I will
they have no Faith they will not by any means take with that they believe there is a Saviour and that He is God and Man and that such as believe on Him shall be saved and on this they rest It 's such as these who think they have believed all their days since ever they had any Knowledge because the Word was always or very long since received in the Place where they lived for the Word of God and they believe it to be so also and know no difference betwixt believing the Word and believing on Christ holden out in it though alace many of you believe not this much for if ye were among the Jews ye might be soon brought to question the truth of the Gospel But though ye had the real Faith of the truth of the Word take not that for Saving Faith for as there is a real Sorrow that is not the Saving Grace of Repentance unto Life so there is a sort of real Faith that hath a real Object and a real being in the Judgement which yet is not a real closing with Christ and so not Saving Faith as suppose a Man pursued by his Enemy should see a strong Castle-door standing open or one in hazard at Sea should see dry Land if he should stand still while the Enemy were pursuing him or abide still in the sinking Vessel the sight of the Castle-door open nor of the dry Land would not save him so it 's not the believing that there is a Saviour come into the World to save Sinners that will save except there be a resting on Him as He is holden out in the Woâ—d of the Gospel Historical Faith is only as it were a looking on the Saviour but Saving Faith grips to Him and rests on Him Historical Faith looks on Christ but acts not on Him closes not with Him and therefore such as have it only and no more sink and perish without getting good of Him We would think it a great matter to get many of you as far on in Believing as the Devil is who believes and trembles the little trembling that is shews that there is but little of this Historical Faith yet as I have often said this is not all ye may have this and yet if ye halt there ye will certainly perish if ye were never so confident to be saved the Apostle doth well distinguish these Heb. 11.6 He that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him where these two are presupposed First Believing that God is or hath a Being And secondly Believing that His Promise is sure and sicker that He is Faithful that hath promised and will make His Word good And then thirdly On both these follows a coming to Him as a Rewarder of diligent Seekers of Him The first two take in Historical Faith for to believe that God is is Natural and to believe that God is Faithful in His Promise may be in Natural Men but to come to Him to get the hazard that the Soul is in removed through Jesus Christ is a thing few do attain This then is the first thing we would be aware of not aware to believe the truth of the Word but to be aware of resting on it as Saving Faith it 's not enough to look on Christ and to grant that it is He but the Man must never be satisfied till he get himself rolled on Christ and the weight of his Salvation and Peace laid on Him in His own way The second thing ye would beware of is Some common and quickly transient work on the Affections that may accompany Historical Faith Whether the Affection of Grief or the Affection of Joy be stirred thereby both are unsafe to be rested on when ye can't prove your resting on Christ or where there is no relevant ground to prove it by though ye should tremble as Felix did and be under allaruming convictions of Conscience and fears of your hazard or though ye should be affected with Joy as the Temporary Believer may be and sometimes is what will that profite you it's a great mistake to take some small work on the Affections which at the best is but an effect of Historical Faith for a Saving work of the Spirit Or secondly If it be not an effect of Historical Faith it 's an effect of a challenge of Conscience and smiting of the Heart as in Saul who could say to David Thou art more righteous than I my son David Or thirdly It 's some common work of the Spirit such as was in Simon Magus of whom it is said he believed and who could say pray for me for Folks to conclude on this ground that they are brought out of Nature into a State of Grace is to build upon a Sandy Foundation The Apostle speaketh 2 Cor. 7.10 of worldly Sorrow as well as of a godly Sorrow and as there may be a wordly Sorrow so there may be a carnal Joy a piece of fainness to speak so in Prayer or at hearing of a Preaching or at a Communion which is not Saving Faith some hear the Word with Joy Matth. 13. who yet endure not and John Baptist's Hearers rejoyced in his Light for a season even as a sick Man who hearing as we hinted before that a Physician who is skilful and able to cure him is come to Town he grows fain in the contemplation of a Cure of his Disease but here is the stick when the Physician tells the Man that he must be so and so abstemious and keep himself under such a strict Diet he dow not abide that and so all his joy evanishes There is something like this in Tempory Faith where some remote expectation of Salvation will cause a carnal Joy and Fainness but when it comes to this that a Man is called to quite his Lusts or his Estate or in the World to undergo Trouble and Persecution for the Gospel by and by he is offended he thinks to say so a Fowl in his hand is worth two fleeing and therefore when the Storm blows in his Teeth he turns his Back and runs away Especially we will find this to be with Men in Sickness they will have mints and seriousness and sometimes flashes of Sorrow under Convictions or Challenges and sometimes flashes of Joy that will evanish when they come to Health again When we speak of some common work on the Affections we would take in liberty and some warmness of Spirit in Prayer which no question even unrenewed Men may find more at one time than another as when they are in some great hazard or strait they will be more than ordinary serious in that Duty and yet that may be but an effect of Nature This proves a great Stumbling and Neck-break to many that they think they are well enough if now and then they get utterance in Prayer as sometimes they will get words beyond what they expected and when upon reflecting they find that
where there are three sorts of Ground that never bring forth good Fruit and there He speaks not only of the time of His own Personal Ministry but of all times 2. Look to the ordinary and dayly effect or rather consequent of this preached Gospel and it will prove it do not many Perish do not many croud thick in the broad Way that leads to Destruction do not but very few Fruits of Faith appear is there not little lamentably little real Change in the Way and Walk of most to be seen To clear it yet further Go thorow the several Ranks of Persons that in God's account are Unbelievers and lay them by O! there will be exceeding few Believers in Christ found First Then lay by the grosly Prophane that are never so much as civilized Secondly The Ignorant Stupid and Senseless that never have mind they have Souls are never feared for Wrath nor in the least exercised to make their Peace with God Thirdly The Earthly-minded that mind no other thing save the World Fourthly These of a Civil outward Carriage that have some good Works and as they think good Days too and yet come not near Christ to close with Him Fifthly The Hypocrites and that of all sorts both the presuming Hypocrites that will thank God they are better than their Neighbours and yet lippen not to Christ and free Grace through Him but seek to establish their own Righteousness gross as it is and the legal Hypocrites that never denyed their own Righteousness nor submitted to the Righteousness of Christ Lay aside all these I say and we leave it to your own Consciences to judge how few will be found to have Saving Faith and therefore I am perswaded if there be any truth of God delivered to you that this is a truth that though the Gospel be preached to many yet there are but few Hearers of it that do actually Believe in Jesus Christ to the saving of their Souls Use 1. The first Use of it is To beseech you to let this sink deep into your Minds as the Truth of God for these Reasons 1. Because it 's a most useful Truth and if it were believed it would make Folks very watchful over themselves and to tremble for fear lest they be found amongst the multitude that Believe not and put them tâ— secure and sicker their Interest in God and not to rest on a Fashion and Form of Religion without observing what Fruit followeth on the Gospel among the many Evils that undo not a few we think this is not the least that this Truth is never thorowly fixed in them they think there are many Heathens and Turks without the Church and many gross Swearers Drunkards and others such within it that will Perish but none others or at least that they are but very few who among a professing People Perish neither can they be induced to think it 's such a hard matter to get one or a very few that are Believers in a Countrey side so that if Isaiah were now alive to cry Who believes our report each of them would be ready to answer I believe 2. Because for as certain and useful a Truth as this is yet generally it 's not believed Folks cannot think that so few Believe and that Believing is so difficult and rare a thing I would ask you this Question Was it ever a difficulty to any of you to Believe If not what is it that makes Believing so rare what should move the Prophet thus to complain Who hath believed our report I shall shortly give you some Evidences that many of you do not really believe this Truth The first is That so few of you tremble at the Word of God the Historical Faith that the Devils have makes them tremble but ye have not that much this is given as a Property of a suitable Hearer of the Gospel to whom the Lord will look Isa 66.1 2. that he is one who trembles at the Word but the most part of you that hear this Gospel are like these Piâ—lars on which this House stands who are never so much as once moved at the Word ye either take not Faith to be an absolutely necessary thing and that ye cannot but Perish without it or ye think that the Faith ye were Born with will do your turn ye do not Believe that ye are naturally under the power of the Devil and led Captive of him at his will and that without Holiness and a spiritual gracious Frame and stamp on your Heart and Way ye shall never see God what wonder then that ye come not to rest on Christ when the very Letter of the Gospel is not credited A second Evidence is That there is so little preparation made to prevent your eternal Hazard it 's said of Noah Heb. 11. that Noah being warned of God prepared an Ark and this is attributed to his Faith it 's not possible that ye would live so negligently and carelesly if ye believed that the Curse of God were pursuing you and that ye will be brought to reckon for that which ye have done in the Body and that ye will meet with God as an Enemy if this were believed though your Hearts were harder than they are it would make you tremble and put you to other sort of thoughts and seriousness A third Evidence is That there is no Fruit of Faith among many of you for where it is it will not be got altogether smuthered but will kythe and shew it self one way or other and if ye will still assert your Faith I would say to you as James doeth to these to whom he writes Shew me your Faith by your works if ye shall say God knows I answer that ye shall find that to be a Truth that He knows and He will make you know that He does so but alace that poor Shift will not avail you when it comes to the Push O try your Faith then by your Works see what Mortification of Lusts what Repentance from dead Works what grouth in Knowledge what shining of Holiness in your Conversation is attained to many of you as to your very Knowledge are as if ye lived among Heathens many of whom have been as free of Vice and more profitable to others than many of you are and cared as little for the World as many of you do how comes it to pass then that ye have lived as if ye could have Faith and yet have no Fruit ye must either say that Faith is not necessary or that ye may have Faith without Fruit for we are sure your Fruit is not the Fruit of Faith To live honestly as you call it what is that there are many Heathens who have gone beyond you in that we will not say that Moral Honesty is nothing but sure it is not all all the Fruits of meer Moral Honesty are but sour Fruits that will set your Teeth on edge Neither is it your Hearing of the Word only but your Believing and
Doing of it that will profite you it 's very sad that most plain obvious Duties are not at all followed as the studying of Knowledge the exercising of Repentance one of the very first Duties which is never separated from Faith the humbling of the Soul before God the loathing of your selves for all ye have done the Love of God c. for there may be Challenges for gross Evils in Heathens and Fear is not Repentance but Godly Sorrow that causeth Repentance not to be repented of A fourth Evidence is The want of that Work of God's Spirit that accompanies Faith Faith is a special Work of the Spirit and the gracious Gift of God it 's wrought by the exceeding mighty Power of God whereby He raised Christ from the Dead and by that same Power He worketh in them that Believe now knew ye ever what this Work meaned found ye it ever to be a difficult Work to Believe knew ye ever what it was to have the Spirit of God constraining your Heart to Believe I speak not of any extraordinary thing but certainly Faith is not Natural nor cometh from pure Nature and wherever it is it manifests it self by Works and evidenceth the Power of the Spirit in the working thereof There are some sad Evidences of and bitter Fruits that spring from this Root to wit Folks being Strangers to the experimental Knowledge of the Work of Faith As 1. When Men know no more difficulty to get Christ and to rest on Christ then to believe a Story of Wallace or of Julius Cesar 2. When Folks say that they believed all their Days and believed always since ever they knew Good by Ill and though their Faith be no true Saving Faith but a guessing yet they will not quite it yea it 's impossible for Men to get them convinced that they want Faith 3. When Men never knew what it is to be without Faith it 's one of the great Works of the Spirit John 16.8 to convince of the want of Faith Folks will be easily convinced that breach of the Sabbath that Stealing that bearing false Witness c. are Sins where the special Work of the Spirit is not but how many of you have been convinced of the want of Faith we are constrained to say this sad word when we look on this Text that it is lamentably fulfilled in your Eyes and in this our Congregation think not that we wrong such of you who have believed our Report Ah it 's few even very few of you that Receive and Believe this Gospel Use 2. The second Use is for Conviction If it be ordinary for the great part of the Hearers of the Gospel not to Believe let it sink in your Hearts that it is no extraordinary thing that hath befallen you are ye not such Hearers as many of these were who heard Isaiah and Jesus Christ and if so will not this follow that there are many yea even the thick and throng of the Hearers of this Gospel that Believe not and who if Christ were gathering Sinners by this preached Gospel would not be gathered if where the Gospel comes many do not Believe then here in this City where the Gospel is preached to a great multitude of professing Members of the visible Church there are readily many that do not Believe or let me ask of you a Reason why ye do except your selves either this Truth holds not so universally or many of you must fall under it or else give a Reason why you fall not under it the Truth which Isaiah preached hath been preached to you and yet ye remain Unbelieving and Dispisers of the Invitation to the Marriage of the King's Son as the Jews did we are not now speaking of Jews Turks nor Heathens nor of the Churches in general nor of other Congregations but of you in Glasgow that have this Gospel preached amongst you and we say of you that there are few that believe our Report Think it not our Word the Application flows natively from the Text not from necessity of the thing but from the ordinary course of Mens Corruption are not the same Evidences of the want of Faith which we spoke of among you how many are there in their Life Prophane how many rest on Civility and Formality is there not as little Repentance now as was in Isaiah's time as little denying of our own Righteousness and making use of Christ's though the Word be taught by Line upon Line here a little and there a little It may be though ye think that the Doctrine is true in the general ye will not ye cannot digest the Application That among so many of you visible Professors of Faith there are but few real Believers therefore we shall follow the Conviction a little further by giving you some Considerations to make it out that we have but too just ground to make Application of the Doctrine to you especially considering the abounding of Corruption that is amongst you that ye may be put to fear the Wrath that attends Sin and to flee to Christ for Refuge in time 1. Consider of whom it is that the Prophet is speaking and of what Time Is it not of the Times and Days of the Gospel had not the Spirit in dictating this Text of Scripture an Eye on Scotland and on Glasgow and do not our Lord Jesus Christ and Paul apply it in their Days and why then may not we also in ours and when the Spirit speaks expressly of the last Times that they shall be perilous and of the falling away of many should it not give us the hotter alarm 2. Do not all things agree to us as to them is not this Gospel the same is our Preaching any better than theirs nay had they not much more powerful Preaching and if that Preaching which was much more powerful had not efficacy as to many to work Faith in them what may we expect to do by our Preaching are not your Hearts as deceitful are not your Corruptions as strong are ye not as bent to Back sliding as they were what sort of Folks were they that were unfruitful Hearers were they not Members of the visible Church as ye are circumcised under the Old Testament as ye are baptized under the New was it not these who had Christ and His Apostles preaching to them yea they were not among the more Ignorant sort who did not Believe but Scribes and Pharisees and these not of the prophanest sort only but such as came to Church and attended on Ordinances as ye do yea were such as had Gifts and cast out Devils and preached in Christ's Name as you may see Luk. 13.26 Now when there are so many and of such Ranks who get no good of the Word and of such a great many that will seek to enter in and shall not be able to whom Christ will sall say depart I know you not ye Workers of Iniquity What can be the reason that many of you do so confidently
is the arm of the Lord revealed IT 's a great encouragement and delight to the Ministers of the Gospel and it 's comfortable and refreshing to Hearers when the Message of the Gospel is received and our Lord Jesus Christ is welcomed but on the contrary it 's burdensome and heavy when there are few or none that believe and receive the Report when their labour and strength is spent in vain and when all the assemblings of them together that hear the Word of the Gospel is but a trading of the Lord's Courts in vain if there were no more to prove it this Complaint of Isaiah speaking in His own name and in name of all the Ministers of the Gospel is sufficient for as comfortable Messages as he carried and He carried as comfortable Messages as any that we hear of yet there was a general non-profiting by the Word of the Gospel in his Mouth when we meet with such words as these our Hearts should tremble when we consider how general and rife an Evil Unbelief and the not receiving of Christ is how horrible a Sin how abominable to God and how hazardous and destructive to our selves it is and how rare a thing it is to see or find any Number believing and receiving this Message of the Gospel We spoke from these words to these Doctrines First That where the Gospel comes it makes offer of Jesus Christ to all that Hear it Secondly That the great thing called for in the Hâ—arers of the Gospel is Faith in Him Thirdly That yet notwithstanding Unbelief is an exceeding rife Evil in the Hearers of the Gospel Fourthly That it 's a very sinful heavy and sad thing not to receive Christ and believe in Him all which are implyed in this short but sad Complaint Who hath believed our report We would now prosecute the Use and Scope of this The last Use was an Use of Conviction of and Expostulation with the Hearers of the Gospel for their being so Fruitless under it serving to discover a great Deceit among Hearers who think they Believe and yet do it not whence it is that so many are mistaken about their Souls Sâ—ate and most certainly the generality are mistaken who live as if Beâ—ieving were a thing common to all Professors of Faith while as it is so rare and there are so very few that Believe The next Use is an Use of Exhortation to you That seeing Unbelief is so great an Evil ye would by all means eschew it and seeing Faith is the only wâ—y to receive Christ and to come at Life through Him ye would seek after it to prevent the Evil of Unbelief This is the scope of the words yea and of all our Preaching that when Christ and Remission of Sins through Him is preached to you ye would by Faith receive Him and rest upon Him for obtaining Right to Him and to the Promises and for preventing of the Threatnings and Curses that abide Unbelievers We shall not again repeat what Faith is only in short it comes to this That seeing Christ hath satisfied Justice for Sinners and His Satisfaction is offered in the Gospel to all that will receive it even to all the Hearers of the Gospel that Sinners in the sight and sense of their lost condition would flee unto Him receive and rest upon Him and His Satisfaction for Pardon of Sin and making of their Peace with God Is there need of Arguments to perswade you to this if ye be convinced of your sinfulness and of your lost estate without Christ and that there is a Judgment to come when Sinners must appear before Him and be judged according to that which they have done in the Body and if ye have the Faith of this that Sinners that are not found in Christ cannot stand as by the way wo to that Man that is not found in Him if it were a Paul for even he he is only happy by being found in Him not having his own Righteousness but Christs and withall that there is no other way to be found in Him but by Faith which is that which Paul hath for his main scope Phil. 3.9 10. Then to be found in Him by Faith should be your main work and study this is it that we should design and endeavour and to this we have access by the Gospel and it is in short to be denuded of and denied to our own Righteousness as to any weight we lay upon it for our Justification before God and to have no other thing but Christ's Righteousness offered in the Gospel and received by Faith to rest upon for Justification and making of our Peace with God This is it that we command you to flee to and by all means to seek an Interest in that when the Gospel makes offer of Christ and Righteousness through His Satisfâ—ction and commands you to Believe on Him when it lays Him to your Door to your Mouth and Heart that ye would roll and lay your selves over on Him for the making of your Peace and the bearing of you thorow in the day of your reckoning before the Tribunal of God That we may speak the more cleâ—rly to this Use We shall shortly shew you 1. What Ground a lost Sinner hath to receive Christ and to lippen to Him 2. What Warrands and Encouragements a Sinner hath to lean and lippen to this Ground 3. We shall remove a Doubt or two that may stand in the way of Sinners resting on this Ground 4. We shall give some Directions to further you to this And. 5. We shâ—ll give you some Characters of one that is tenderâ—y tâ—king this way of Believing And because this is the way of the Gospel and we are sure there is not a word ye have more need of or that through God's Blessing may be more useful and there is not a word more uncontravertible which all of you will assent to the truth of to wit that there is a great good in Believing and a great evil in Unbelief we would exhort you the more seriously to lay it to Heart O! think not that our coming to Speak and Hear is for the Fashion but to Profite Cast your selves therefore open to the Exhortation and let the word of Faith sink down into your Hearts considering that there is nothing ye have more need of than of Faith and that ye will not find it safe for you to hazard your Souls on your own Righteousness or to appear before God without Christ's Righteousness and that the only way to come by it is Faith This may let you see the necessity of Believing and that it is of your concernment to try how it is with you as to that and therefore again and again we would exhort you in the fear of God that ye would not neglect so great a Salvation which through Faith is to be obtained but lay it to Heart as ye would not have all the Servants of God who have preached the Gospel to you complaining of
own Insufficiency acknowledging God's Sufficiency which if we did we should find it go better with us and may not the same be expected in the matter of Believing as well as in other Duties 2. None that ever heard this Gospel shall in the Day of Judgement have this to Object none shall have it to say that they would fain have believed but their meer Infirmity Weakness and Inability did imped them for though it be our own Sin and Guilt that we are unable yet where the Gospel comes that is not the Contraversie But that Folks would not come to Christ would not be gathered that when He would they would not for where there is a will to will and to do go together But it 's Enmity at the way of Believing Security Stupidity Senselesness and Carelesness what become of the Immortal Soul that ruines Folks for the Soul that would fain be at Christ shall be helped to Believe the reason is because the nature of the Covenant of Grace and of the Mediator thereof is such that all to whom He gives to will He gives them also to perform and His Faithfulness is engaged so to do It must therefore return to one of these two That either ye will not receive Him or else ye are willing though weak and if ye be willing Faithful is He that hath called you who also will do it but if it halt at your Perversness and wilful Refusal of the Offer there is good reason that in God's Justice ye should never get good of the Gospel nay there is never one to whom the Gospel comes and who doeth not Believe but formally as it were he passeth a Sentence on himself as the word is Act. 13 46. Ye judge your selves unworthy of eternal life which the Apostle gathers from this ground that they did not neither would accept of Jesus Christ offered to them in the Gospel as the event is that follows on the Offer so will the Lord account of your receiving of it Fourthly As for Directions to help and further you to Believe it 's not easie but very difficult to give them it being impossible to satisfie the curiosity of Nature neither can any Directions be prescribed that without the special work of God's Spirit can effectuate the thing the renewing of the Will and the working of Faith being Effects and Fruits of omnipotent Grace yet because something lyes upon all the Hearers of the Gospel as Duty and it being more suitable and congruous that in the use of Means then when Means are neglected Believing should be attained And because oftentimes these that desire this Question to be answered to wit how they may win at Believing are such as have some beginnings of the work of Grace and of Faith We shall speak a few words to such as would be at believing and exercising of Faith on Jesus Christ And 1. Folk had need to be clear in the common fundamental Truths of the Gospel they would know what their Natural Estate is what their Sin and Misery is and they would know the way how to win out of that State Ignorance often obstructs us in the way of Believing How shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard Rom. 10.14 when Folks Believe not it is as if they had never heard 2. When ye have attained to the knowledge of the common Truths of the Gospel as of your Sin and Misery the nature of the Covenant the Mediator and His Fulness c. Labour to fix well the Historical Faith of them we are sure that many never come this length to believe the History of the Gospel and till that be they can advance no further for as the word is Heb. 11.6 He that comes to God must believe that He is and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him I say these common simple Truths of the Gospel would well be fixed by a Historical Faith and yet this would not be rested on because though they be excellent Truths yet they may be known and historically believed where Saving Faith and Salvation follow not 3. Be much in Thinking Meditating and Pondering of and on these things let them sink down into your Hearts that the Meditation of them may fix the Faith of them and that they may deeply affect us we would seek to have a morally serious feeling of them as we have of the common works of the Spirit But there are many like the Way sidehearers who as soon as they hear the Word some Devil like a Crow comes and picks it up therefore to prevent this ye would seek to have the Word of God dwelling richly in you ye would meditate on it till ye be convinced of your hazard and get the Affections some way stirred according to the nature of the Word ye meditate upon whether Threatnings or Promises the most part are affected with nothing they know not what it is to tremble at a Threatning nor smile as it were on a Promise through their not dwelling on the thoughts of the Word that it may produce such an Effect 4. When this is done Folks would endeavour a full up-giving with the Law of Righteousness as to their Justification that if they cannot so positively and stayedly win to rest on Jesus Christ and His Righteousness yet they may lay the weight of their Peace with God on no other thing they would lay it down for a certain conclusion that by the works of the Law they can never be justified and would come with a stoped Mouth before God thus tender Christians will find it sometimes easier to give up with the Law then to close with the Gospel as to their distinct apprehension of the thing 5. When this is done Go as it were to the top of mount Nebo and take a look of the pleasant Land of Promises and of Christ held out in them and let your Soul say O! to have the Bargain well closed to have my Heart stirred up to love Him and to rest upon Him O! to have Faith and to discern it in its actings for when the Life of Faith is so weak that it cannot speak yet it may breath and though ye cannot exercise Faith as ye would so as to grip to and catch fast hold of the Object yet essay seriously to do that far as to esteem love and vehemently desire it In this respect the Will is said to go before the Deed though as to God's begetting of Faith there be a contemporariness of the Will and the Deed yet as to our sense the Will outruns the Deed even as in another sense though it makes well for this purpose the Apostle says To will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I know not for we ought to have our Will running after Christ and Believing on Him when we cannot attain to the distinct actings of it But it may be here objected and said Is not this Presumption Answ If this were Presumption then
never knew all along your life what these things mean'd had need to stand the more in awe and to be affraid when ye come near Death Though it be a sad matter that when we should be Preaching and would fain preach the Doctrine of Faith it should by reason of your Delusion be the great part of our work to be thus digging you out of your Presumption and overturning your carnal and ill-grounded Hope yet we have the greater confidence and the more peace to speak to and insist in these Truths because they ly so near to the great design of the Gospel and to your immortal Souls Salvation and though we were able to preach more plausible and sweet things to you yet if these Doctâ—ines profite you not these would not Sâ—ing therefore they are so profitable we should not weary to speak and ye should not weary to hear them spoken of Would to God ye were seriously â—nd sincerely aiming to be clear and through in the matter of Believing and that ye stood in need and were more capable of more pleasant Truths if so we might have more comforâ—able though we will not say more profitable Doctrines to insist upon to you SERMON XII ISAIAH LIII I Who hath believed our report And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed WE have spoken at several occasions to this first part of the Verse and before we leave it there is one Use several times hinted at already to which there is good ground to speak it being the design and purpose of these words to hold forth of what great concernment Believing is and of what great difficulty it is and so many being to the ruine of their Souls mistaken about it there is ground to draw this Use of Exhortation from it to wit That then all the Hearers of this Gospel would be exhorted to advert well to this that they make Faith sure in it self and that they make it sure to themselves seing as I said so many are mistaken about it and beguile themselves The more pressingly that the Gospel calls for Faith in Christ and the more weightily the Lord expostulates with the Hearers of the Gospel because of their Unbelief they are doubtless so much the more concerned to receive it in its Offer and also to look well that they content not themselves with guessing at Faith and that they never think that things are well with them except they can give good proof and warrand that they are so and that it is Saving Faith that they have seing there are so many that satisfie themselves as being Believers when yet so few are Believers indâ—ed The sâ—d mistake and disappointment of many should have so much influence upon us as to put us to more watchfulness and to a more narrow tryal of our own state and condition that we may know how it is with us All that we have spoken to the Doctrines of this first part of the Verse may be as so many Motives to stir you up to both these and would to God we could be perswaded to this as the Use of so many Preachings once to admit and take it for granted that it is the Truth of God that there is a necessity an absolute necessity for us to be really rolled and casten over upon Jesus Christ by Faith for attaining of Life through Him Though this be a very common Doctrine and ye would think a very common Use of it yet it is the great thing that God requires in the Gospel and the neglect of it or not receiving His Son the very contest and quarrel that God hath with the Hearers of it and the cause of the ruine of so many Souls that perish under the Gospel We shall therefore propose to you some Considerations that may stir you up to this and briefly answer a Question in each of these two branches of the Use And first For stirring you up to this receiving of Christ by Faith 1. Consider if there be not a standing Quarrel and Contraversie betwixt God and you for Sin and if there be as no doubt there is consider how that Contraversie is to be removed is there any other possible way but by Faith in Christ If we were Preaching to such as had never sinned and were never under the hazard of the. Wrath of God there might possibly be a difficulty to perswade to a receiving of Christ But when ye have all this in your Conscience that there is Sin and a Curse following Sin and that there is no other way for removing that Curse but by Jesus Christ is there not reason to expect that ye should receive this Truth will any of you think to stand and bide it out against God and if not then there is sure a necessity of Believing in Jesus Christ or of lying under the Wrath of God for ever 2. Consider that this Gospel and Word of Salvation is preached to you in particular When we speak of Salvation we do not say that Christ was once preached to the Jews or that in such a far-off Nation there is a door opened for Salvation in the Gospel but we would turn over the words of the Apostle Acts 13.38 to you and say to you in his words Be it known to you therefore men and brethren that through this man to wit Jesus Christ is preached to you remission of sins c. and this brings the Gospel near you even to your door it lays before you the way of access to God by Christ and puts it so closs and home to you that Christ must either have a refusal or a welcome from you The first consideration of your own Sinfulness and Misery might put you to seek after a Saviour though he were at a great distance but this other brings Him to your Heart and Mouth and is it fit think ye to neglect such a fair occasion and will it be wisdom when Salvation follows you and crys after you and Wisdom lifts up its voice in the Streets saying O ye simple ones how long will ye love fooâ—ishness c. to stop your ear or to turn away from Christ and to run upon your destruction Do ye think that this Gospel will be silent always or that your Conscience will be deaf and dumb always There are many Nations that have not the Gospel so near them and it 's hard to know but the day may come when ye would be content to buy an offer of the Gospel at a dearer raâ—e and when there shall not be a Tryster nor a Dâ—ys-man to be had between God and you and these days will then be remembred with horrour which now ye securely slip over 3. Consider what will come of this if ye do not believe the Gospel Know ye not that many perish that hear the Gospel and that upon this same very ground that they did not receive Christ and Salvation through Him offered to them therein and whereof they are now deprived Are there not many this
day cursing in Hell under the Wrath of God that they let slip and passed over so many golden Opportunities of the Gospel without improvement and know ye not that it will come to the same sad pass with you if ye do not receive it Do Men live always Is there not an appointed time for all Men upon Earth If before we have savingly exercised Faith on Him for making Peace with God we be drawn to a reckoning before His Tribunal what will come of it and are not our precious Opportunites apace and always sliping by and is not the work of Faith by delays still the more difficult are not our Bonds still the more strengthened and doth not our Indisposition still grow the greater and is it not very ordinary to see these who have slighted the work of Faith in their Youth to live stupid in their old Age and die Sensless 4. Consider what sort of Folk they are of whom the Scripture speaks as Unbelievers and whom the Word of God holds forth to be eternally secluded from the presence of God for the want of Faith Many think that it 's but the grosly Prophane or such as never had so much as the form of Religion and such as others would scunner and loath to hear them but mentioned that it's I say only such that are accounted Unbelievers But the Scripture speaks of some that seek to enter in and shall not be able that desire to be in Heaven and take some pains to win in and yet are never admitted to enter into it and what is the reason because they took not the way of Believing for the obtaining of Life and coming to Heaven they took the way of Works they took the way of Prayer of Purposes Promises and Resolutions to ammend and grow better quite overlooking Christ and the way of Believing in Him and so took the way of Presumption and promised themselves Peace when there was no true Peace nor any solid ground for it 5. Consider which is of affinity with the former Consideration them that are secluded from the presence of God for the want of Faith they are even Men and Women as we are that lived in the same Kingdom and City with us that prayed in the same Company with us that thought themselves as sure of Heaven as many of us do that were guilty of the same or like Sins that we are guilty of that have heard many of the same Preachings that we have heard and yet they perish for want of Faith for not believing in the Son of God Why then should we think that impossible as to us that is so common and frequent in others Is not the same Nature in us that 's in others and are not our Hearts naturally as deceitful and corrupt as those of others and so may not we be beguiled as well as others And is it not the same rule that He will walk by in judging of us that He walked by in judging of others What can be the reason that Folk will read and hear the Word and will promise to themselves Heaven when the same Word clears it plainly that Destruction is that which they have to look for from the Lord It is nothing else but this confident and proud Presumption that many take for Faith Let not your precious opportunities slip away and beguile not your selves in such a concerning matter as Faith is ye will never get this loss made up afterwards if ye miss Faith here Lastly Consider the great necessity that the Loâ—d hath laid upon all Men and Women by a peremptory Command and Charge to believe in the Son of God He hath not with greater peremptoriness required Prayer nor dependance upon Him nor any other Duty then He hath required this 1 John 3.23 And this is his commandment that we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ yea it 's singled out as His main Commandment If that great iniquiry be made What shall I do to be saved this is the answer Believe on Jesus Christ Do ye think that our Lord who hath so marked and signalized this Command in so special a manner will never take account for the slighting of it or do ye think to satisfie Him by your other Duties without minding this It cannot be Suppose ye should mourn all your Life-time and your Life were a pattern to others yet if ye want this one thing Faith in Christ ye will be found Transgressours as having neglected the main work Now for the Question ye will say What this is we are bidding you do when we bid you Believe Answ When we call you to Believe we call you 1. To be suitably affected with the sense of your own Naughtiness Sinfulness and Hâ—zaâ—d Till there be something of this Faith in our Lord Jesus hath no access nor will ever get welcome Deep apprehensions of the Wrath that is coming and a standing in awe at the thoughts of our appearing before Him contribute much to it I am not preaching Desperation to you as some mutter but we would press upon you the Faith of the Word of God that tells you what we are and liveliness under that impression that ye may not be stopped or letted till ye come to a thorow closure with Christ The most part of Hearers come never this length and this is the reason why many stumble in the very Threshold and make never Progress 2. We call for and commend this to you that ye would study to be through and clear as to the Usefulness and Excellency of Jesus Christ as to the efficacy of His Death as to the terms of the Covenant of Grace whereby a Sinner comes to obtain Right to Him to be sensible of Sin and Hazard without this is only the way to make a Man desperate and mad but when this is clear it makes an open door to the Sinner that he may see whither to run from the Wrath to come I do not only mean that ye would get the Catâ—chism and be able to answer to all the Questions concerning the Fundamentals of Religion contained therein but that ye would also and mainly seek to have the Faith of these things in your Hâ—arts and to have Faith in God that ye may be perswaded that He that was and is God died for Sinners and that by the application of His Satisfaction Sinners may obtain Life and that there is a sufficient Warrand given to a Sinner to hazard himself upon Him The first of these speaks the necessity of some Sense the second holds out the necessity of a general Faith according to that word Heb. 11. He that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him We must know that there is a Warrand to come and ground to expect Acceptance from God upon our coming or else we will never come to nor believe in Christ The third thing that we call you to when we call you
conjectures about this Matter and the greater their Security be they perswade themselves the more that they have Faith This is as sad as any of the former when they grant all that Folks should make their Calling and Election sure and should endeavour to be sure of their Faith but in the mean time take Peace with the Devil and Peace with their Lusts for Peace with God and a Covenant with Hell and Death for a real Bargain with God This is as true as this Word of God is that there are many that put by all Challenges by this and never suspect their Faith they hope that all shall be well and they must always Believe as if that were the whole Duty of Faith to keep down all Challenges A fourth sort is even of the generation of them that have some thing of God in them who scar in a manner to make all sure and think it is a piece of Humility and of holy and tender walking to maintain Doubâ—ing even as others think it Faith to maâ—â—tain Presumption They are always complaining as if all things were wrong and nothing right in their Case and so foster and cherish Misbelief There is such a thing as this that marreth even serious Souls in their endeavours to make their Calling and Election sure and as long as this is they cannot win to the suitable discovery of this excellent Grace that God calls them to Exercise even Faith in the Lord Jesus Need we make use of Motives to press you to this tryal of your Faith and to this giving of all diligence to make it sure who have especially hitherto neglected it If ye knew any thing of the vexation that Unbelief hath with it and what horrour in Conscience from the sense of distance from God were ye would think it a great matter to be clear in this thing and if it were known and believed how this delusion and unsickerness of Faith destroys the most part of Men in the World even of the visible Church Durst Men ly in their Security as most do without all endeavours to make it sure on good ground that they do indeed Believe Durst they ly still under God's Curse if they thought themselves to be really under it and did not foolishly fancy that it is otherways with them Durst Men treasure up Wrath to themselves if they thought not that the Hope they had were good enough O! but Presumption beguiles and destroys many Souls and particularly this same Presumption of Folks thinking themselves right when they are wrong hath destroyed and doeth destroy and will destroy moe Members of the visible Church then Prophanity Drunkenness Whoredom Theft Desperation or any other of these gross and much abhorred Evils do This is the thing that locks Folk up in their Sin even their Presumption when they say on the matter We shall have peace though we walk in the imagination of our own heart It 's this that makes Men without fear Steal and Lie and commit Adultery c. that they say Is not the Lord among us Is not this the thing that keeps many of you that ye never tremble at the Word of God we have Faith in God say ye we lippen and trust in Him therefore seing Presumption is so rife have ye not need to try your Faith If there were so much counterfeit Money in the Countrey that it were a rare thing to get one good and upright piece of Money ye would think your selves greatly concerned and obliged to try it well lest ye were cheated with base and counterfeit Coyn Is there not need then yea infinitely much more need for them that would be so wise as not to be beguiled about the salvation of their Souls to search and try whether their Faith will abide God's tryal or not Ye will readily move this Question What then are the Characters or Evidences of a solid and sicker Faith that will abide the tryal by which the pretended Faith that is among the Men of this Generation may be examined and put to just tryal I shall first name some direct Scriptures holding out somethings essentially accompanying Faith and then shall add others having more condescending Characters for the more particular differencing of this helping to the decision of this great Question The first Mark whereby ye may try your Faith is The ground and rise of it or that whereby it is begotten and cherished Faith comes saith the Apostle Rom. 10.10 by hearing Doctrinal Faith comes by the preaching of the Gospel and Saving Faith is wrought instrumentally by the same Word of God it being the power of God to salvation it being this Word that is the very ground of our Faith I would ask you where from your Faith comes and what hand the Word of God hath in it There are many that have a sort of Faith not only without but contrary to the Word of God whereby they believe that they will get Heaven while in the mean time the Word of God does directly exclude them Get ye your Faith maintained without ever knowing the necessity of a Promise for that effect Can ye maintain your Peace and not have so much as any foundation in the truth and faithfulness of God to build it upon Love never that Faith that hungers not after the Word that is supposed to be lively without being ever fed by the Word that cannot claim either its rise and original or its growth from the Word I will not say from this or that word in particular or at this or that time read or heard but from the Word of God the Word is the very foundation that Faith builds upon If we look to what either accompanieth or followeth Faith there are some plain Scriptures that will make that clear as Acts 15.9 and put no difference between us and them purifying their hearts by faith there was indeed once a great difference between Jews and Gentiles but now when he hath brought both to believe in Christ the difference is removed There is an efficacy in it to circumcise the Heart to purifie it and to banish Lusts out of it for it closes and unites with Christ and so brings him home to dwell in the Heart and where Christ dwells He commands and so whatever opposes Him is banished Faith gives Christ welcome and will give nothing welcome to dwell with Him that 's opposite and displeasing to Him Faith improves Christ for the subduing of its Lusts and mortifying its Corruptions whereas before there might be an fair outside of a Profession and something clean outwardly and much filthiness and rottenness within but when Faith is exercised on Christ it purifies from all filthiness of the Spirit as well as of the Flesh it applys the Promises for that end even to get the inside made clean as well as the outside yea it s main work is to have the inside the Heart purified that being the fountain of all the pollution that defiles the Man and brings
War with his Corruption That is a sound Faith that makes the Sinner to make use of Christ in every thing he is called to that yoaks him I mean Christ to work on every occasion and particularly when it comes as it were to grapling and hand blows with this formidable Enemy the Body of Death this Monster whereof when one Hâ—aâ— is cut off another as it were starts up in its place For a close of this Purpose I beâ—eech and obtest such of you as are strangers to Saving Faith who are I fear far the greatest part to consider seriously all I have spoken of the nature and native evidences of it that you may be undeceived of your Soul-ruining Mistakes about it and let sincere and sound Believers from aâ—l be more cleared confirmed and comforted in their Faith SERMON XIII ISAIAH LIII I And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed THere are many mistakes in the way of Religion wherewith the most part are possâ—ssed and amongst the rest there is one that generally the Hearers of the Gospel think it so easie to Believe that there is no difficulty in that by any thing they think it hard to Pray to keep the Sabâ—ath to be Holy but the most part think there is no difficulty in Believing and yet Unbelief is so rife and Faith so rare and difficult that the Prophet Isaiah here in his own name and in name of all the Ministers of the Gospel crys out Lord who hath believed our report he complains that he could get but very few to take the Word off his hand and because it weighted him to find it so and because he would fain have it to take impression on his Hearers he doubles expressions to the same purpose and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed which in sum is there is much Preaching and many Hearers of the Gospel but little believing of it few in whose Heart the work of Faith is wrought It 's but here one and there one that this Gospel hath efficacy upon for uniting of them to Jesus Christ and for working a work of Saving Grace in them the effectual working of God's Grace reaches the Hearts but of a few For opening the words we shall speak a little to these three 1. To what is meant by the Arm of the Lord. 2. To what is meant by the revealing of the Arm of the Lord. 3. To the scope and dependance of these words on the former For the first In general know the Arm of the Lord is no to be understood properly the Lord being a Spirit hath no Arms Hands nor Feet as Men have But it 's to be understood figuratively as holding out some Property or Attribute of God By the Arm of the Lord then we understand in general the Power of God the Arm of Man being that whereby He exerceth His Power performeth Exploits or doth any Work So the Arm of the Lord is His Power whereby He produceth His Mighty Acts as it 's said in the Psalms The right hand of the Lord hath done valiantly His hand and his arm hath got him the victory and because the Power of God is taken either more generally for that which is exerced in the Works of common Providence or more particulâ—rly for that which is put forth in the Work of Saving Grace We tâ—ke it here in short to be the Grace of God exercing its Power in and by the Gospel for the converting of Souls and causing them savingly to Believe so Rom. 1.16 I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes not simply as it consists in speaking of good sweet and seasonable words but as it cometh backed by the irresistable Power of the Grace of God as the word is 1 Cor. 1.23 24. We preach Christ to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness but unto them who are called both Jews and Greeks the power of God and the wisdom of God and that it is so to be taken here the conâ—â—â—â—ion of these words with the former will make it clear for sure he is not speaking of the Power of God in the works of common Providence but of His Power in the conversion of Souls to Christ even of that Power which works Saving Faith in the Elect. For the second The revealing of the Arm of the Lord By this we do not understand the revealing of it objectively as it 's brought to light by the preaching of the Gospel for thus it 's revealed to all the Hearers of the Gospel it 's in this respect not keeped hid but brought forth clearly to them in the Word And therefore secondly The revealing of this Arm or Power of the Lord is to be understood of the subjective inward manifâ—sting of it with efficacy and life to the Heart by the effectual operation of the Spirit of the Lord as it 's said of the great things prepared for them that love God 1 Cor. 2.10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit it 's that which is called 1 Cor. 2. the demonstration of the spirit and of power which makes plain and powerful to the spirit of the Hearer inwardly that which the Word preacheth outwardly to the Ear which without this would strick only on the Ear and yet remain still an hidden Mystery This is the revealing of the Lord's Arm that is here spoken of because it is that on which Believing dependeth and of the want whereof the Prophet sadly complaineth even where there was much Preaching For the third to wit the Scope Dependance and connexion of these words with the former We conceive they come in both for Confirmation and for Explication of the former words 1. For Confirmation There are as hath been said but few that Believe for there are but few that have this saving and effectual work of God's Grace reâ—ching their Heart though they have the Word preached to them yet they have not the Arm of the Power of God's Grace manifested to them and so He confirms His former Doctrine concerning the paucity of Believers under the preaching of the Gospel First By asserting the fewness of them that are brought to Believe to be converted and effectually called by the Gospel which comes to pass through their own Unbelief And Secondly By asserting their fewness in respect of God's soveraign applying of His Grace in the Gospel which is but to few it 's but few that Believe for it 's but few that He makes effectual application of His Grace to 2. We say it comes in to clear and explicate the former words whether we take it by way of a Reason or of an answer to an Objection For if it be said how can it be that Isaiah Paul yea and our Lord Jesus Christ himself should preach so powerfully and yet that so few should Believe he answers it 's not to be marvelled at in respect of God as if he
were frustrate of his design no such matter It 's because the Power of Jesus Christ is revealed but to few and we take this the rather to be the meaning of these words because when Christ is preaching and many take offence and stumble Joh. 6.43 44. he says Murmure not among your selves no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him there must be an effectual work of the Grace of God put forth on the Heart else none will believe on me So it s said Joh. 12.37 38. that they believed not on Him that the saying of Isaias might be fulfilled which he spoke Lord who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed therefore they could not believe because that Isaias said again He hath blinded their eyes c. he speaketh not so to appologize for or to excuse their Unbelief but to shew the connexion that is betwixt these two the not revealing of the Arm of the Lord and their not Believing even so here the Lord shews the connexion that is betwixt the efficacy of the work of Grace and believing or turning to God that where the powerful and effectual work of His Grace goeth not forth with the preached Gospel there will be then no believing nor conversion no saving change of the Person from Nature to Grace That which we would say from these words may be drawn to three Doctrines which I shall first propose and then clear and apply them for use The first is That in the work of Conversion and begetting of Saving Faith there is requisite and necessary beside the preaching of the Word a distinct inward peculiar real immediate efficacious and powerful work of the Spirit of the Lord on the Hearts of as many Hearers as are converted by this Gospel 2. That it is but few of many Hearers in whom the Lord thus efficaciously and effectually works by His Spirit and the Power of His Grace it 's but here one and there one a very few who are thus wrought upon and converted 3. That there is a necessary and inseparable connexion betwixt this inward and efficacious work of the Spirit and Faith or Conversion Where this work of Grace is not there cannot be Faith and where it is Faith necessarily must be otherways these two could not be commensurable of equal extent and reciprocal Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed He is not neither can be a Believer to whom it is not revealed and he is and cannot but be a Believer to whom it is revealed For the first We say there is in the work of Conversion and begetting of Faith beside the preaching of the Gospel a distinct inward peculiar real immediate efficacious and powerful work of the Spirit of the Lord requisite and necessary for Conversion and begetting of Faith to convince of Sin and to humble for it to enlighten the Mind in the Knowledge of Christ to renew the Will and Affections and to perswade and enable the Soul of the Sinner to embrace and receive Jesus Christ as He is offered in the Gospel We shall first take notice of and clear some words in the Doctrine and then confirm it First For clearing of some words in the Doctrine we say 1. It is a distinct work of the Spirit distinguished and separable from the Word though it goes along as He pleaseth with the Word yet it is not as if there were some Power infused into the Word and went always and necessarily along with the Word which is the foolish and groundless conceit of some for albeit it accompany the Word yet it 's from a distinct Agent working and a distinct work and is separable as I said from the Word though it be wrought on the Heart of the same Sinner to whose Ear the Word is preached 2. It 's an inward work of the Spirit for beside the outward and external preaching and calling by the Word there is an inward powerful effectual work and calling of the Spirit in the conversion of a Sinner which speaks to the Heart as well as the Word speaks to the Ear so that this work of the Spirit that goes along in Conversion is much more then any external perswasion of the preached Word can produce 3. We say it 's a peculiar work to difference it from what is common to the Hearers of the Gospel for it 's a work that is peculiar to them whom the Lord converts and is applied to none other but to those in whom He works Faith and whom He effectually calleth by His Grace It 's a peculiar work then and not common for if it were common to all the Hearers of the Gospel and not peculiar to some these two could not go together and be commensurable as we said Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed 4. We say it 's a real work as well as powerful A real work of the Spirit that is not only able and powerful to produce the effect and to convert the Sinner but real and powerful in producing and bringing of it about and to pass by a real influence of the Spirit actually renewing the Will infusing and creating the habits of Grace particularly the very habit of Faith amongst others in the Soul which is quite an other thing then the supposing and saying that a Man hath power to Believe and be Converted that there is no more requisite to his Conversion but to perswade him to put forth that Power or Strength which he hath into Exercise or Practice It 's a real work of the Spirit and a powerful bringing about of the conversion of the Sinner in a physical way as they say in the School 5. We say it is an immediate work of the Spirit on the Heart to difference it from a mediate perswasion or moral swasion as it 's called as if there were no more requisite in Conversion but God's enlightening of the Mind and by that perswading the Will to close with Jesus Christ without any immediate work of the Spirit on the Will it self In this Doctrine we take in all these according to the Scripture in opposition to the several Errors vented by Men of corrupt Minds anent the work of Conversion and of Saving Faith God's Arm and Hand must be revealed the work and power of His efficacious Grace must be put forth for moving and enclining the Heart and Affections and for determining the Will it self We might farther clear and confirm all these from that famous instance of Lydia Act. 16.14 where Paul preaching to some Women it 's said of her Whose heart the Lord opened that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul where we find these things differenced 1. The Lord 's powerful work on her heart from Paul's preaching to her Ear the Lord opened her Heart 2. It 's an inward work for it 's on the Heart 3. It 's a
peculiar work it 's not all who hear Paul preach whose Hearts are opened but it 's the Heart of one Lydia 4. It 's in the nature of it a real work that makes a real inward change on her 5. It 's an immediate work for the Lord not only enlightens her Judgment but goes down to the Heart and opens it and works a change in it immediatly Paul indeed by his preaching opens the way of Salvation to all that heard him from which though many go away with their Hearts unopened yet the Lord hath a secret mysterious real inward work on her Heart which is evidenced by the effect for He not only enlightens her Mind but makes her willingly yield to the call of the Gospel by opening of her Heart In the second place To speak a little for confirmation of the Doctrine we would consider these four or five Grounds or Reasons to shew that there is such a work of the Spirit wherever Faith is begotten and that most intelligibly in them that are at Age. 1. It 's clear from these places of Scripture where there is an express distinction and difference put betwixt the outward Ministry of the Word and this inward powerful efficacious work of Grace on the Heart and wherein the great weight of Conversion is laid on this inward work and not on the outward Ministry of the Word as Deut 29.4 where the Lord by Moses tells the People how many things they had seen and heard and yet says he The Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear unto this day They had the outward Means in plenty when they wanted in the mean time the inward Power The gift of a spiritual Life and the making them spiritually active to exerce it was with-holden and therefore they did not savingly perceive see nor â—ear Joh. 6.44 Murmure not among your selves no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him It 's written in the Prophets and they shall be all taught of God every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me where there is very clearly a distinction put betwixt the outward teaching and the Father's drawing betwixt the Ministers teaching and God's teaching It was one thing to be taught outwardly by Christ as the Prophet of His Church and another thing to be drawen and taught inwardly of the Father This inward teaching is called drawing to shew that it is not external Oratory or Eloquence consisting in words to perswade that can effect the business but a powerful draught of the Arm of the Lord reaching the Heart There are several other Scriptures full and clear to this purpose as Psal 110.3 and Acts 11.21 A second Ground of kin to the former Is from the many and various expressions that are used in the Scriptures for holding forth this work of the Spirit of God in Conversion that point out not only an Hand working and an work wrought but an inward powerful way of working and bringing about the woâ—k as Jeâ— 31.34 I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts Ezek. 11.19 I will give them one heart I will put a new spirit within them and will take away the stony heart out of their flesh Ezek. 36.26 27. A new heart will I give unto you and a new spirit will I put within you c. Jer. 32.40 I will put my fear in their heart that they shall not depart from me It 's called the Father's drawing John 6.44 as I shew In the Saints Prayers as Psal 51. it 's called even as to further degrees of this work or restoring of lost degrees creating of a clean heart and renewing a right spirit within And many moe the like expressions there are which shew not only Mans impotency and inability to convert or savingly to change himself but also that to his Conversion there is necessary an inward real peculiar efficacious powerful work of the Spirit of Grace 3. It 's clear and may be confirmed from the Power of God which He puts forth and applys in the begetting of Faith and in working Conversion It 's not a mediate work whereby He only perswades congruously as some love to speak but an immediate and efficacious work whereby with mighty Power He works Conversion It is God saith the Apostle Phil. 2 13. that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure and as he not only perswadeth but effectually worketh so he not only works on the Judgment to the enlightning of it but on the Will to encline and determine it by curing it of its crookedness and perversness backwardness obstinacy and rebellion and the Power whereby He worketh this great work is said Eph. 1.19 To be that same mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead that ye may know saith the Apostle what is the exceeding greatness of his powâ—r to us-ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand c. It is such a Power that works Faith and so exercised in the working of Faith as it was in the raising of Christ from the Dead Now could there be use for such a Power if there were no more requisite to Conversion but an objective swasion or a bare proposal of the object with external perswasion to embrace it wherein the Soul is left to it self to choise or refuse as it pleaseth certainly if there were no more considering our natural enmity at God â—nd His Grâ—ce the Devil and Corruption would have much more influence and a far greater stroak upon the Heart to closing up of the same in Unbelief then any outward perswasion would have as to the opening of the Heart and the begetting of Faith therefore His Power is necessarily called for and the Lord addeth it in converting Sinners else the work would for ever ly behind and if Men be spâ—ritually dead in Sins and Trespasses as all Men by Nature are as real a Power must be exerced in raising and quickening of them as there is exerced in raising and quickening of the Dead 4. It may also be cleared from some in whom this Power is exerced as some Children some deaf Persons and others whom we cannot deny to be reached by the Grace of God and yet there can be no other way how thâ—y are reached but by this effectual efficacious and immediate powerful work of the Spirit they not being capable of reasoning or perswasion by force of Argument We shall only add two Reasons further to confirm and some-way to clear why it is that the Lord works and must work thus distinctly inwardly really powerfully and immediatly in working Faith and converting of Sinners The first is drawen from the exceeding great deadness indisposition averness perversness impotency inability and
impossibility that is in us naturally for the exercising of Faith in Christ If Men naturally be dead in Sins and Trespasses if the Mind be blind if the Affections be quite disordered and if the Will be utterly corrupted and perverted then that which converts and changes and renues them must be a real inward peculiar immediate powerful work of the Spirit of God there being no inward seed of the Grace of God in them to be quickened that seed must be communicate to them and sowen in them ere they can believe which can be done by no less nor lower Power then this Power of God's Grace It 's not Oratory as I said nor excellency of Speech that will do it it 's such a work as begers the Man again and actually renews him The second is drawen from God's end in the way of giving Grace comunicating it to some and not to others If God's end in being gracious to sâ—me one and not to others be to commend His Grace solly and to make them alone in Grace common or debt then the work of Grace in Conversion must be peculiar and immediate and wrought by the Power of the Spirit of God leaving nothing to Man's Free-will to diffâ—rence himself from another or on which such an effect should depend But if we look to Scripture we will find that it's God's end in the whole way and conduct of His Grace in Election Redempâ—ion Calling Justification c. to commend His Grace solly and to stop all Mouths and to cut off all ground of boasting in the Creature as it is 2 Cor. 4.7 Who makes thee to differ from another and what hast thou that thou hast not received now if thou didst receive it why doest thou glory as if thou didst not receive This being certain that if the work of Grace in Conversion were not a distinct inward peculiar real immediate work and did not produce the effect of it self by its own strength and not by vertue of any thing in Man the Man would still be supposed to have had some Power for the work in himself and some way to have differenced himself from another but the Lord hath designed the contrary and therefore the work of Grace in Conversion must be suitable to his design Use 1. The first Use is for the refutation of several Errors and for the confirmation of a great Truth of the Gospel which we profess It serves I say First For the refutation of Errors which in such an Auditory we love not to insist on yet we cannot here the Ground being so clear and the Call so cogent forbear to say somewhat briâ—fly this way and the rather that the Devill hath taken many waâ—s and driven many dâ—signs to weaken the estimaâ—ion of God's Grace among Men and to exalt proud Nature and that there is here a collection and concatenation of these designs and ways against the Truth which this Doctrine holds forth vented by corrupt Men. As 1. They will have nothing to be necessarily applyed for the working of Conversion buâ— the preaching of the Word taking it for granâ—ed that all Men have universal or common Grace which God by His Soveraignty say they was obliged to give else he could not not reasonably require Faith of them and upon this comes in the pleaded for Power of Free-will and Mans ability to turn himself to God others by pleading for this notion of a Light within Men become to be Patrons of proud and petulant corrupt Nature as if there were need of nothing to beget Saving Faith but that common Grace within and Oratory or Swasion of Mouth from without And hence they came to maintain the foulest Errors which have not only been condemned by the Chuâ—ch of God in all Ages bâ—t have even by some Papists been abominated and many of these same Errors are creeping in even in these times wherein we live the design whereof is to tempt Folk to turn loose vain and proud and to turn the Grace of God into wantonness as if they needed not at all to depend on God and His Grace having a sufficient stock within themselves on which they can live well enough And it 's not only the Errors of Papists Pelagians Socinians Arminians or Errors in the Judgment that we have to do with but of such as overturn the very foundation of the work of Man's Salvation and who though pretending to higher notions do yet go beyond all these But if it be true that in the work of Conversion beside the preaching of the Word there is a distinct real inward peculiar immediate efficacious work of the Spirit necessary for bringing about such an effect Then there is no common and universal Grace that all the Hearers of the Gospel have nor is there any Power or Ability in Man to believe of himself otherwise there were no necessity of such a work as this for the converting of a Sinner the Prophet needed not to cry Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed And Christ needed not say No man can come to me except the Father draw him for Men might come without drawing and believe without the revelation of God's Arm But in opposition to that we say and have made it clear that the work of Conversion is brought about by a distinct peculiar powerful real and immediate work of the Spirit on the Heart whereby he not only enlightens the Mind but renews the Will and rectifies the Affections 2. There is another Error that this refutes which seems to be more subtile for some will grant a necessary connexion betwixt the effect and the Grace of God who yet say that it is swasion or perswasion for here we take these for the same so and so trysted to prevail with some that brings about the effect or work of Conversion in them and not in others where that perswasion is not so trysted but this opinion lays not the weight of Conversion on the Arm of the Lord but on some circumstances accompanying the work and leaves still some ground of boasting in the Creature 3. A third Error which this Doctrine refutes is that of some others who will have Grace necessarily to go alongs with the Word in the working of Faith but so as it reacheth not the Will but that the Will necessarily determines it self as if the Will were not corrupt or as if that Corruption that is in the Will were indeed no Corruption as if that Corruption that is in the Will could be any more removed from the Will without the immediate work of the Spirit upon it then Darkness can be removed from the Judgment without the Spirits immediate work on it But seing the Will is the prime seat of Man's perversness while in Nature and the principal part to be renewed It 's a strange thing to say that in the work of Conversion other faculties and powers of the Soul must be renewed and yet that this which comes nearest to
the life of the Soul shoâ—ld be neglected or not stand in need of renovation But from this Text it is clear that in Conversion the Arm of the Lord must be revealed and that there is a powerful work of Grace that not only presents reasons from the Word to move the Will but really regenerates and renews the Will Now what is for the refutation of it these Errors serves also to confirm us in the Truth of the Doctrine opposite to these Errors 2. It serves to refute something in Folks Practice and that is their little sense of the need of Grace Most part come and hear Preaching as if they had the habit of Faith and as if it were natural to them and pretend to the exercise of Faith never once suspecting their want of Faith nor thinking that they stand in need of such a work of Grace to work it in them as if it were impossible for them not to Believe Hence many think that they have Grace enough and if they Pray it 's that they may do well never minding the corruption of Nature that is in them and indeed it is no wonder that such Persons fall readily into Error when their Practice says plainly they think they have Grace enough already The second Doctrine is That this distinct real inward efficacious powerful work of the Grace of God in Conversion is not common to all the Hearers of the Gospel but is a rare thing applied but to few it 's even as rare as Faith is And what we touched on to evidence the rarity of Faith will serve also to evidence the rarity of this work of Grace in Conversion It 's on as many as are Believers and are saved that the work of Grace is revealed and no moe Jer. 3.14 I will take one of a city and two of a family and bring you to Zion saith the Lord It 's two or three in the corner of a Paroch or in the end of a Town to speak so who are converted and the rest are suffered to ly in black Nature If the reason hereof be erquired after this might be sufficient to stop all Mouths which the Lord gives Mat. 11.28 Even so Father for so it seemeth good in thy sight It is of the Lord who is Debitor to none and who as it is Rom. 9.15 shews mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardens and here we must be silent and lay our hand on our Mouth and answer no more all being found guilty He is just in what He doeth in calling or not calling effectually as He pleâ—seth And yet secondly The Lord hath thought good to call few of many for holy and wise ends As 1. To hold forth His own Soveraignty and that He is free and will walk freely in the dispencing of His own Grace Hence He not only takes few but ordinarily these that are the most mean contemptible silly and in a manner foolish of the multitude of Hearers It is not many noble not many wise according to the flesh not many rich not many learned that He chooseth and converteth very ordinarily He hides His Grace from these It 's but seldom that He calls and takes the stout and valiant Man and the learned Scholler but it 's this and that poor mean Man the Weaver the Shoomaker the simple Plough-man c. whom most ordinarily He calls when He suffers others to continue in their Sin 2. That He may make all the Hearers of the Gospel walk in holy fear and awe of Him He reveals His Grace in few It 's not the multitude that believes but here one and there one that all that have the Offer of Grace may fear lest they miss it and receive it in vain and may be careful to entertain and make right use of the Means of Grace and may withall cherish the Spirit in His motions and not grieve Him O! if ye knew and believed what a rare thing the work of the Spirit of Grace is ye would be feared to quench extinguish or put out any of His motions 3. As to the Godly He does thus To make them admire adore and praise His Grace and the Power of it so much the more The Uses are three 1. It serves to move all to reverence adore and admire the Grace of God and His soveraign way in it Presume not to debate or dispute with Him because there are few that believe and few that He hath determined His Grace for it 's an evidence of His dread a proof of His soveraignty in which he should be silently stooped unto and reverently adored and not disputed with we ought to bound all our reasoning within His good pleasure who might have taken many and left few or taken none as pleased Him And we should not think strange nor fret that the Gospel is powerful but on few here is the reason of it that may quiâ—t us the Lord hath determined effectually to câ—ll but few and yet he will not want one of His own All that the Father hath given to Christ shall come to Him though none come but as they are drawen in A thing that we should be sensible of but yet calm and quiet our Spirits rather wondering that He hath chosen and calleth one then fret because he hath past by many Use 2. The second Use is to exhort you that are Hearers of the Gospel and have not had this distinct and powerful work of Grace begetting Faith in you to be perswaded of this Truth that Faith and the work of Grace is no common thing The most part alace think that they have Grace and that it is not one of many that want it they will readily say it 's true I cannot believe of my self but God hath given me the Grace But I would ask you this question Do you think that Grace is so common a thing that it comes to you and ye never know how or so common that never a Body wants it If not how cometh it then to pass that ye think and speak of Grace as ye do we would think it a great length if many of you could be perswaded of your Gracelesness It 's not our part to point particularly at the Man and Woman though the deeds of many of you say within our Heart that there is no fear of God before your eyes and that many of you think ye have Grace who never had it And therefore we wouâ—d say these three or four words to you 1. Begin and suspect your selves that matters are not right betwixt God and you we bid none of you despair but we bid the most part of you be suspicious of your condition suspect nay be assured that Hypocrisie is not Grace and that your Presumption is not Faiâ—h for if but few get Grace then many should suspect themâ—elves and seing Grace is so rare a thing do not ye think it common 2. Neglect no means that may bring you through Grace to believe but be diligent in the
use of them all of the Word Prayer Sacraments Meditation c. It 's by these that the Lord begets Grace and by neglecting of them ye may make your selves guilty of destroying your own Souls 3. Beaware of quenching the Spirit in any of His Operations or Motions of smothering or putting out any Challenges or Convictions If the Conscience be at any time touched or the Affections tickled go not away as the temporary Believer doeth sitting down there without going any further Fear to strangle the beginnings of the life of Grace for Grace may begin at little and if ye quench any Motion Conviction or Challenge ye know not if ever ye shall meet with the like again because when He knocked hard at your Heart ye held Him out and keeped Him at the door and ye may be in hazard of that terrible charge Acts 7.31 Ye uncircumcised in heart and ears ye have always resisted the Holy Ghost as your Fathers did so do ye 4. Seing this work is not common to all the Hearers of the Gospel but peculiar to some labour to have it made sure to your selves by putting it to proof and tryal in good earnest Use 3. The third Use is for you that are Believers and would God there were many such to whom I would also speak three or four words 1. Learn from this to be humble What hast thou man but what thou hast received and if thou hast received it why doest thou boast as if thou hadst not received it O! but it 's unsuitable to Believers who are Free-Graces-Debtors and Beggers whereof yet none need to think shame to be proud and forget themselves Thou hast nothing Believer to boast of but that He hath shamed thee with His Grace and shouldest thou be proud of that as if thou had made thy self thus therefore guard watchfully against all puffing up self-conceit and high-mindedness and study to be humble and to carry a low Sâ—il else thou mayest break out into some scandâ—lous offence and may become a shame and reproach to the Gospel We commend Humility to you above many things for we think that in these days Folks pride is like to break their Necks for when once Conceit creeps in they begin to think they are so far advanced in Holiness that they must not keep Company with others nor joyn in Worship with them and from that they go to another thing and from that to a third that it is hard to tell where they wilâ— halt or end they grow so giddy that they are scarcely like to leave so much Ground as themselves may stand upon O! think shame of Pride it 's a most intollerable thing to be proud of that which God hath given wherein ye have no more hand and whereof ye can no more boast then they who never had it 2. Be thankful and give God the praise of that ye have gotten It becomes the upright to be thankful It 's no little matter to have God's Power manifested in the working of Faith and conferring Grace The temporal Throne and Kingdom and great things in the World are nothing to this it 's peculiar to the Lord 's own and not common Many get their fill of the World who never get nor will get this The World is of so little value with the Lord that to speak so He doeth not much regard who get it though it be exâ—ctly distributed by His Providence but converting and upbuilding Grace is peculiarized to His Favourites Being therefore clear that He hath bestowed Grace on you O how should ye exult in blessing God as David did for giving you counsel to make choice of such a portion and for His powerful determining of your Heart by His Grace to embrace it for which ye have not your selves to thank but God 3. Be compassionate and tender towards others considering that it is only Grace that hath made the difference betwixt you and them and not any good nature in you which was not in them as some foolishly fancy Be not puft up at the faults and falls of any but rather mourn for them as well as for your own and be the more humble when ye think of the difference that Grace hath made lest ye fall and since your standing is by Grace be not high-minded but fear of all Persons it worse becomes you to look lightly on let be to mock at the falls of others considering who and what hath made the diffâ—rence 4. If it be so peculiar a priviledgâ— to be pâ—rtakers of this powerful and spâ—ciâ—l Grâ—ce of God that is put sorth in the great work of Conversion Then sure there is â—omething peculiar called for in your Conversation even that it may in all things be as it becometh the Gospel and answerable to this Grace bestowed on you O! what manner of Persons ought ye to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness SERMON XIV ISAIAH LIII I And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed THE way of the Grace of God is a very difficult Subject to be thought on or spoken of suitably and as it becomes Grace having a soveraign and unsearchable Channel of its own wherein it runs yet no doubt it is very useful now and then to consider it if we knew how to make use of it aright yea even these steps of Grace that are most cross and contrary to carnal Reason may not a little profite when duely pondered Thus when the Prophet hath been looking on the scarcity of Faith and on the paucity of true Believers he looks a little further then on the external preaching of the Gospel even in upon the way of God's Grace not out of any curiâ—sity nor from a fretting humour because of the unsuccessfulnesse of his Ministry but that he may thereby get himself stayed and composed and that he may bring both himself and others to reverence and adore the holy and soveraign way of God therein To whom saith he is the arm of the Lord revealed It 's a word like that which Christ had on the like occasion John 6.44 Murmure not among your selves no man can come to me except the Father who hath sent me draw him We opened up the meaning of the words the last day In short they come to this as if he had said how few are they that believe the Gospel and who take the Word off the hand of His sent Ministers and how few are they on whom the Grace of God that only can make men believe does effectually work the Prophet pointing at a higher hand then that of the Ministers in the success and fruitlessness of the Gospel and coupling these two together the Preaching of the Word and the Power of God's Grace in the working of Faith and Conversion in Sinners We proposed these three Doctrines to be spoken to from the words 1. That in the work of Conversion and begetting of Faith beside the preaching of the Word there is a powerful internal immediat work of the
Grace of God exercised within Mens Hearts as well as the Word is preached outwardly to the Ear wherever Faith is begotten these two go together the Word without and the power of Grace within the one of which is distinct from the other 2. That this powerful internal and immediate work of Grace within is not common to all the Hearers of the Gospel but a rare and peculiar thing to some to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed it's but one or few of many to whom it 's revealed To these we have spoken already 3. The third is which indeed holds out the scope of all that there is an inseparable connexion betwixt these two the begetting of Faith in the Hearers of the Gospel and the application of this powerful work of the Grace of God for working of it so that where this powerful work of Grace is not there is never Faith nor Conversion wrought and where this powerful work of Grace is there is Faith and Conversion The Prophet makes them reciprocal and commensurable who is the Believer he to whom the Arm of the Lord is revealed and who is the Unbeliever he to whom the Arm of the Lord is not revealed These two are so conjoyned and knit together as they are never separated and so they must stand or fall together That we may be the more clear we shall take up the Doctrine in two distinct Branches The first whereof is That except the powerful work of God's Grace concur the most powerful preaching of the Gospel will never beget Faith in the Hearts of the Hearers of it The second is That where-ever this powerful work of Grace goes along with the preaching of the Gospel or wherever the Lord applyes His Grace with the Word preached there Faith is begotten in the Heart and that Soul is effectually united to Christ and savingly changed The one of these Branches serves to shew the necessity of God's Grace from the consideration of our sinfulness and impotency or inability and of the emptiness and ineffectualness of all outward Means in themselves and so to stop all Mens Mouthes as being utterly unable to contribute any thing to their own spiritual Good or Conversion that being the product of the Grace of God The other Branch serves mightily to commend the Grace of God as being the powerful Arm of the Lord that brings to Believe that calls and converts such and such Persons according to a prior engagement and transaction betwixt the Father and the Son As for the first of these It will easily be believed among Men and Women that have any true sense and feeling of the Corruption of their Nature and find dayly somewhat of the Law of the Members warring against the Law of the Mind and we are perswaded if all that ever received Faith were brought to depone in this matter they would bear witness that there is no Mean that without the effectual Power of the Grace of God can bring a stranger Sinner to close with Christ and believe on Him and if all that are now before the Throne of God in Heaven were called to speak to this great Truth they would put their seal to it and say Not unto us but to thy Name be the glory of our believing we had never believed if it had been left to the power of our own Free-will and if the power of thy Grace had not wrought in us the very Will as well as the Deed or Act of believing Yet because this Doctrine as we said serves to discover the sinfulness and impotency of Nature and how little we are obliged to our selves in this great work and to hold forth the absolute necessity of the Grace of God and how much we are obliged to it in the work of Faith and Conversion and to hold forth withall the emptiness and ineffectualness of all outward Means without this Grace and because it wants not its own considerable opposition from the enemies of the Truth we shall give you some Grounds for confirmation of it The first whereof is drawen from these express instances of Scripture wherein it is clear That there hath been much powerful Preaching and by the most eminent Preachers and yet the generality of People have been fruitless under it and their fruitlesness hath been brought to this very Ground to wit that the work of God's Grace and His out-stretched Arm went not along with it The first instance is Deut. 29.4 That Moses was a skilled Preacher who will deny he being faithful in all the House of God yet says he after much and long Preaching and after many Signs and Wonders wrought the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor ears to hear unto this day where he not only puts a difference betwixt the preaching of the Word without and the work of Grace within but shows the necessity of the concâ—rrence of the work of Grace and lays the great weight of the Peoples profiting or not profiting on the wanting or having of that A second instance is in this Prophet Isaiah were there any among all the Preachers before or since that preached in a more Evangelick strain then he did and yet when he hath complained of the paucity of Believers saying who hath believed our report he fixes and stays on this as the cause to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed And Chap. 6.9 10. he gives an account of the sad Commission he had from the Lord who said to him Go and tell the people Hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not make the heart of this people sat c. where there is also a clear distinction made betwixt the inward working of Grace and the outward Ministry A third instance and one that is beyond all exception is in our bless'd Lord Jesus who spake as never man spoke and preached with such power and life that even carnal Hearers wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth for he preached with Authority and not as the Scribes and yet Joh. 6.44 when they begin to murmure at Him what says He Murmure not at these things none can come to me except the Father draw him none can Believe except the powerful Grace of God work Faith in him there must be a higher hand then ought ye see or hear a more powerful work then any external Preaching of mine as Prophet of my Church ere a Soul can believe on me and though his Hearers were not free of the guilt of this their Unbelief but had their own sinful accession unto their continuing in it yet our Lord looks in on the soveraign way and work of Grace and holds there telling them that his external Ministry will not do the turn but there must be an inward powerful immediate work of Grace for the working of Faith We add a fourth instance and it is of that chosen Vessel Paul who laboured more abundantly then all the rest of
obtaining the Pardon of Sin by the imputation of the Righteousness of Christ but there is another ground or matter of boasting that Man might have if he could reach out the Hand to believe and receive that Righteousness and so put difference betwixt himself and another which in Effectual Calling the Lord puts to silence and quite removes that Man may hâ—ve it to say I have not only Pardon of Sâ—n but Grace to Believe freely bestowed upon me God made me to differ and He only He opened my Heart as He did the Heart of Lydia Thus the Lord will have all the weight of the whole work of our Salvation lying on His Grace that the Mouths of all may be stopped and that His Grace may shine gloriously that we may have it to say with the Psalmist Psal 57.2 It 's the Lord that performs all things for me and with Paul 1 Tim. 1.13 14. I obtained mercy and the Grace of God was exceeding abundant towards me The Uses are these 1. It writes to us in great and legible Letters the great emptiness and sinfulness of all Flesh who not only do not good but have sinned themselves out of a capacity to do good all Men and Women have brought themselves thus lamentably low by Sin that now if Heaven were to be had by a wish sincerely and singly brought forth yet it is not in their power to perform that condition and though it now stands upon the streatching forth of the hand of Faith to receive Jesus Christ yet of themselves they cannot even do this how ought then Sinners to be deeply humbled who have brought themselves to this woful pass I am afraid that many of you do not believe that ye are such as cannot Believe nor do any Good till His Grace work effectually in you 2. It teacheth you not to idolize any instrument or mean of Grace how precious and promising soever No Preaching if it were of a Prophet or an Apostle yea of an Angel will do the turn without Grace come with it there is a necessity of the revelation of God's Arm and of the assistance of His Grace not only to your Conversion but to every duty ye go about Ye should therefore fear and tremble when ye go about any Ordinance lest the Arm of the Lord be not put forth in it 3. It should make you more serious in dealing with God for His effectual blessing to every Mean and Ordinance seing without that no Ordinance can profite you 4. It serves to reprove and repress Pride 〈◊〉 to promove Humility in all such who 〈◊〉 â—â—tten good by the Gospel Have ye Faith or any measure of Holiness what have ye but what ye have received from whence came your Faith and your Holiness ye have them not of your selves these are not Fruits that grow upon the Tree of Nature or in its Garden but on the Tree and in the Garden of Free-Grace and ye have not your selves to thank for them 5. The main Use of it is for confirming and establishing you in the Faith of the Truth proponed in the Doctrine and for confuting and overturning the contrary Error that as it were in contempt of the Grace of God exalts proud Nature and gives Man's Free-will so great a hand in the work of Conversion That the main thing that makes the difference shall not be attributed to the Grace of God but to the Free-will of the Creature which of it self choised the Grace of God offered when another rejected it It may indeed seem strange that the Devil should so far have prevailed with Christians that profess the Faith of Original Sin and of the necessity of a Saviour as to make them look at Grace as useless in this prime step of Conversion and renewing of a Sinner that when the Grace of God and Man's Free-will come to be compared Man's Will should have the preference and preheminence the highest place and commendation in the work and that the great weight of it should ly there and that proud Nature should be thus bolstered up that it shall stand in need of nothing for the Man's Conversion but the right use-making of what it hath in it self And yet it 's no wonder that the Devil drive this design vigorously for what shorter cut can there be taken by him to ruine Souls then to make them drink in this Error that Nature and Free-will will do their turn and so take them off from all dependance on Free-Grace and on Jesus Christ and give them ground of boasting in themselves for when it is thus of necessity they must ruine and perish this should sure make you loath this Error the more And we are perswaded that the day is coming wherein the Truth opposite to this Error shall be confirmed on the Souls and Consciences of all the Opposers of it and wherein the maintaining of this Error shall be found a confirmation of Mans Enmity at Gods Grace which is not subject to His Law nor indeed can be But there are three Questions that may be moved here to which we would speak a word 1. If the Preaching of the Gospel cannot beget Faith without the powerful work of Gods Graâ—e what is the use of the Gospel or wherefore serves it 2. If Men cannot Believe without the work of Grace which the Lord soveraignly dispenseth why doth He yet find fault and expostulate with Men for their not Believing 3. If Grace perform all and Men can make no mean effectual nor do any good without it what then should Men do to come by Believing and this work of His Grace For the first We shall not say much unto it only seing the Lord hath made choice of the Gospel to be the ordinary external Mean of Grace and of the begetting of Faith there is no reason to say that it 's useless for though it be not the main and only thing that turns the Sinner but the Lord hath reserved it to Himself as His own Prerogative to convert and change the Heart of a Rebel-sinner yet he hath appointed it to be made use of as He hath appointed Baptism and the Lords Supper for many good and notable ends uses and advantages that are reached and come by the preaching of it As 1. By it the Righteousness of God is manifested that before lay hid Ye may by the preaching of the Gospel come to the knowledge of the Covenant of Redemption and of the great design that the Lord hath laid down for bringing about the Salvation of lost Sinners Rom. 1.17 Therein is the righteousness of God revealed from Faith to Faith 2. By it the Lord revealeth the Duty He calleth for from Men as well as His Will concerning their Justification and Salvation He lets them know what is wrong what is right what displeaseth Him and what pleaseth Him Yea 3. By the preaching of the Gospel He holdeth out what Mens ability is or rather what is their inability and by His external Calling gives
them in it occasion to know this their inability in not giving obedience to His call and this is no small advantage when by it they have occasion to know the necessity of a Mediator and to seek after another way of Justication then by their own works for so it proves a notable mean to humble Men to stop their Mouths and to make them plead guilty before God 4. It 's profitable as the Lord is pleased to make use of it to call and gather in so many as He hath ordained to Eternal Life for though in it self it be not able to convert yet having the Power of God going along with it it is the instrument of Conversion and the Lord ordinarily makes use of it to the begetting of Faith in them that Believe as it is Rom. 10.17 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God preached and 1 Cor. 1.24 it 's called the power of God to salvation and it hath pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe for though God can work without it yet He hath thought good to make use of it to inform the Judgment and to stir up the Affections of Hearers and so it proves instrumental to the begetting of Faith in them 5. If it do not promove the Salvation of all the Hearers of it yet it promoves it in all the Elect and serves to make others the more inexcusable and in this respect it triumphs always 2 Cor. 2.15 16. In some it is the savour of life unto life in others the savour of death unto death leaving them the more inexcusable and the more obnoxious to Wrath by their rejecting of the Counsel of God against themselves I know this will be excepted against We come therefore to consider the second Question which is this How can the Call of the Gospel make Men inexcusable seing they cannot without the effectual Power of the Grace of God Believe as Christ saith John 6.44 No man can come to me that is no Man can believe in me except the Father who hath sent me draw him yea why doth God find fault with Men for their Unbelief for answer it hath been no new thing for Men to start Questions and Objections against the Grace of God and to be always striving to rub affronts and disgrace upon it see Rom. 9.13 14 c. where this same Objection is started and answered again and again for when the Apostle hath said vers 13. Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated the Objection is moved Is there unrighteousness with God then Folks readily think that there is a sort of unrighteousness in God when He takes one and leaves another especially considering that the leaving of the other infers though it be not any culpable cause of the ruine of the Mans Soul he answers first with a God forbid as if it were an absurd thing so to assert and then endeavours to answer it from Gods Soveraignty as being Debtor to none I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and it 's not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that shews mercy In Gods administration of Grace He is Debtor to no Man nor hath He any rule by which He proceedeth but His own Soveraign Will and if it shall yet be said if God doth walk by His own Soveraign Will in giving Grace Why doth he yet find fault or condemn for who hath resisted his will Why is God angry that Men will not Believe since none can come to Christ against the Will of God His Indignation riseth at this proud and petulant Objection and He answers But who art thou O man that repliest against God shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus hath not the potter power over the clay to make of the same lump one vessel to honour and another to dishonour By the Apostle's doubling of this answer and his not setting of himself to satisfie carnal Reason and Curiosity there is ground given to silence us here It 's the Lord He is our Potter and we the Clay it 's He in whose Hand we are who can do us no wrong and this may sufficiently serve to put a stop to all reasoning and disputing against Him Yeâ— we may add a word further seing the Apostle proceeds to another Reason Therefore 2. Consider whence it is that this inability to believe or turn to God doth come not from God sure for if He had not made Man perfect there might be some ground for the Objection but seing He did make man upright and he hath sought out many inventions who is to be blamed hath the Lord lost His right to exact His Debt because Man hath played the Bankrupt and debauched and turned Dyvour and unable to pay doth not this very objecting prove us guilty and evidence that we have lost that which God gave to us and made us with at the Beginning When God made Adam he had power to believe and give God credit as to every word revealed or to be revealed and that now after the Fall he and his Posterity want that power they have not this privation from Gods creating of them but from their Fall they by their Fall utterly incapacitating themselves for these Duties that they owe to God and for this among the rest 3. If there were no more but simple inability among them that hear this Gospel they might have some pretext or ground of excuse though it were not any real nor just excuse as hath been shewed but it never comes to this as the only or main cause of their not Believing There is always some maliciousness perversness and pravity in the Will it 's not I cannot but I will not it 's a wiful and some way deliberate rejecting of the Gospel that is the ground of Folks not Beliâ—ving and what excuse I pray can ye have who do not believe the Gospel when it shall be found that ye maliciously and deliberatly choosed to reject it To make this out consider but these few things 1. Mens neglecting of the very outward Meaâ—s that through Gods blessing prove instrumental in the begetting of Faith as of Hearing Reading Prayer Meditation Self-searching stirring up themselves to Repentance c. whereby the Lord ordinarily brings about and furthers the work of Faith 2. Consider the carnal careless and lazy manner of Mens going about these Means and Duties which to their own conviction are within the reach of that power which they have ye might hear oftener and more attentively ye might pray more frequently and more seriously then often ye do ye want even much of that moral seririousness in Hearing Prayer Reading c. that ye have in other things of less concernment ye will hear a Proclamation at the Cross with more attention then a Preaching of the Gospel ye will hear a Threatning from Man with more fear then ye will hear a Threatning from God's
Word ye will be more serious in seeking somewhat from Man then in asking Grace from God the reason is because your Heart is more to the one nor to the other can ye then rationally think that ye are excusable when Believing is not a thing that is in your Heart and that takes you up but ye go about the Means that lead to it unconcernedly carelesly and negligently 3. Consider how often ye do willingly choose some other thing then Christ to spend your Time and set your Affections upon laying obstructions and bars in the way of Gods Grace setting up idols in the Heart and filling Christs room before hand with such things as are inconsistent with His Company and all this is done willingly and deliberately ye have said in your Hearts as these did Jer. 2.25 We have loved strangers and after them we will go and will ye or dare ye make that an excuse why ye could not come to Christ because your Hearts were taken up with your Lusts and Idols So then the matter will not hold here that ye were unable and had not power to believe but it will come to this that your Conscience will have it to say that ye willingly and deliberately choosed to ly still in your Unbelief and that ye preserred your Idols to Christ Jesus 4. Consider That sometimes ye have met with some more then an ordinary touch motion and work of the Spirit that hath been born in upon you which ye have slighted and neglected if not quenched and put out which is your great guilt before the Lord Is there any of you but now and then at Preaching or when in some great hazard or under sickness or some other sad cross ye have been under Convictions of Sin and have had some little glances of the hazard ye were in of the Wrath of God more then ordinarly ye had at other times and I would ask you have these been entertained and cherished or rather have they not been slighted and worn out by you and may ye not in this respect be charged with the guilt of resisting the Spirit of God and marring the work of your own Conversion and Salvation These things and many moe which will cry loud in the Consciences of Men and Women one day will quite remove and take away this objection that ye could not do better Ye might have done better then ye did ye might have abstained from many Evils that ye committed and done many Duties that ye ommitted and done them with more moral seriousness then ye did but ye were perverse and did willingly and deliberately choose to continue in your Natural condition rejecting Christ and the Offer of Salvation through Him This also serves to refute and remove that prophane Principle or Tenet that many have in their Minds and Mouths That they have no more Grace then God hath given them will ye dare to come before God in the great Day with any such Objection no certainly or if ye dare God will aggrege your guilt by it and beat it back again into your Throat then O! then all such Subterfuges will be no shelter to you before Him nor in the least able to insconce your Souls against the strong Batteries of the Wrath of God that will be as a Storm against the Wall SERMON XV. ISAIAH LIII I And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed MInisters have not done with their work when they have preached and People have not done with their work when they have heard That which is of greatest concernment follows which either hath in the want of it influence on the sadning of both Ministers and People or in the obtaining of it on their Consolation This is the thing that we find Isaiah upon here who having preached the Gospel looks what Fruit it hath and when he beholds the general unfruitfulness it had in his own time and should have in our time it weights him exceedingly and indeed it 's very sad that Isaiah should be so much weighted in foreseeing the unfruitfulness of the Gospel in our days and that we our selves should be so little weighted with it and so sensless under it He casts in this word To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed partly to confirm the former word Who hath believed our report and partly to help to make the right use of it by drawing Men to the discovery of the Soveraign Hand of God in the matter and of the necessity of His Grace for making the Gospel effectual in the Hearers of it wherever it comes Who saith he hath believed our report To whom is this preached Gospel made effectual for Faith and Salvation It 's but to very few even to as many as have the Arm of the Lord the effectual Power of His special Grace revealed to them and no moe The last Doctrine we proposed and began to speak of as the Scope was That believing and receiving of the Gospel and the Lord 's exercing a powerful work of His Grace with it are ever still knit together they are of equal extent as many Believe as He stretcheth out His Hand of Power with the Word to work Faith in them and as many ly still in Unbelief as His Hand of Power is not revealed unto This is his Scope We took up this Doctrine in two Branches First That the most powerful Means cannot work nor beget Faith in the Hearers of the Gospel except there be an inward powerful work of Grace on their Hearts accompanying them and this we cleared and spoke a little to â—â—o Qâ—estions in the Use and left at a third to wit What the Hearers of the Gospel should do that have the Call and Offer of the Gospel seing without the effectual work of the Grace of God they cannot Believe which we shall forbear to speak to till we open the second Branch of the Doctrine because this Question relates to both The second Branch then of the Doctrine is That wherever the Lord applieth the powerful work of His Grace there necessarily Faith and Conversion follow or the stretching forth of God's Arm in the work of His Grace hath always the work of Faith and Conversion and the engaging of the Soul unto Jesus Christ following on it and indeed if it be true that we cleared bâ—fore to wit That there are as many Unbelievers as there are Persons on whom Grace doth not thus powerfully work or that they are all such that this work of Grace is not manifested on then the work of Conversion and Believing is as broad as this work of Grace is for the Prophet maketh them of equal extent who is he that believeth even he to whom the Arm of the Lord is revealed and on the contrary who is he that believeth not even he to whom the Arm of the Lord is not revealed and on whom this work of Grace is not manifested By which we may see it to be very clear that the Prophet hangs the Believing of
Promises without the including of the effect the giving of the new Heart is not only a perswading to Believe but the actual giving of the new Heart whereof Faith is a special part which Promise is peculiar to the Elect though the offer of it be more large and be further extended and what can that Promise of Gods writing the Law in the Heart be but an effectual inclining of the Heart to the Will of God or inward renovation contradistinguished to the external Ministry that can only hold out His Will in a Book and speak it to the Ear. 3. This may be cleared and confirmed from the nature of the work of Grace which is such a mighty work and so powerful as it is impossible it can be frustrated or disappointed unless we could say that Grace in God or the Grace of God is not so powerful as Corruption in us which were Blasphemy to this purpose the Apostle prayeth in behalf of the Christian Ephesians chap. 1.19 20. that they may know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead he speaketh so in this high strain to set out both the exceeding stubbornness of our Nature that needs such a work and the exceeding great power of the Grace of God that worketh irresistably not only in the Conversion of the Elect at first but in all the after-acts of Believing so Eph. 3.7 the same Apostle hath it according to the gift of the Grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power and Col. 1.29 according to his working which worketh in me mightily The Power that worketh in Believers is Gods omnipotent Power which worketh effectually and mightily and if this Power be exercised in the continuing and promoving of Faith as is said before it must be much more exercised in the begetting of Faith yea and what need is there that He should exercise it if not for this end that where He exerciseth it it may also prevail A 4th ground of Confirmation may be drawen from the Lords great end which He hath before Him in this work and that is the gaining of glory to His Grace and to have the whole work of Conversion attributed to it and if this be His end He must and will prevail by His Grace in throughing the work in order to this end if it were left indifferent to Man to yield oâ— not to yield to God as he pleaseth the whole weight of the work of Conversion should not ly upon Grace Mans Mouth should not be stopped but when that question should be asked who hath made thee to differ and what hast thou O man but what thou hast received he should still have something to boast of and the work of his Conversion should at best be halfed betwixt Grace and his own Free-will this would necessarily follow if Grace did not through the work and so God should miss of His end A 5th ground of Confirmation is taken from the consideration of Gods Decree of the Covenant of Redemption betwixt Jehovah and the Mediator and of the Power and Wisdom of God in carrying on this work which we put together for brevities cause From all which it will be clear that there is and must be a necessary connexion betwixt the work of Grace on Believers and the Effect and that it is not in the power of Mans Free-will to resist it which indeed is not freedom but bondage 1. Then We say That if we consider the Decree of Election we will find that where Grace is applied Faith and Conversion must follow otherwise if the work of Grace were not effectual to convert Gods Decree should be suspended on the Creatures Free-will and be effectual or not effectual according as it pleased and is that any little matter to make His Decree depend upon and be effectual or not according to Man's pleasure that which sickereth His Decree and makes it infrustrably to take effect is that He hath effectual Means to bring about His Decree 2 If we consider the Covenant of Redemption betwixt Jehovah and the Mediator we will find that upon the one side the Mediator particularly undertaketh for them that are given to Him that He shall loss none of them and upon the other side we have to speak with reverence of the Majesty of God after the manner of Men the Father's Obligation to make such Persons in due time Believers that Christ the Mediator may see of the travel of His Soul and be satisfied according to that Promise made to Him Psal 110.3 In the day of thy power thy people shal be willing and that other Isa 53.11 He shall see of the travel of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many c. and accordingly Himself saith John 6.37 All that the Father hath given to me shall come unto me where it is clear that these who are given must necessarily come and He also saith John 10.16 Other sheep have I which are not of this sold them also I must bring and it cannot be supposed without horrour and blasphemy that this determinate solid and sure transaction having all its midses included in it and being as to its end so peremptory shall as to these midses and that end and as to their throughing not be in Gods hand but in the hand of Mans Free-will if it were there O! how unsicker and loose would the bargain and God's design in begetting Faith and in bringing Souls through Grace to Glory be 3. If we consider the Lords Power in beginning and promoving and His Wisdom in carrying on of this work His Power whereby he raiseth the Dead and His Wisdom whereby He leads from Death to Life is it possible to conceive or imagine these to be applied by the Lord in the Conversion of a Sinner but this Doctrine must needs hold that the work of His Grace powerfully applied hath always Faith and Conversion following on it and that the Lord leaveth it not to the option of Elect Souls to believe or not to believe as they please He must not He cannot be frustrate of His end and design but He must bring them to a cordial closure with Christ by Faith in order to their Salvation Use 1. The first Use serves to fix you in the Faith of this great Truth and though we use not neither is it needful to trouble you with long Questions and Debates yet when the like of this Doctrine comes in our way especially in such a time wherein the pure Truths of God and this among the rest are troubled and called in question it is requisite that a word be spoken for your confirmation and establishment and we would hence have you fixed in the Faith of these two 1. Of the impotency of Nature in the beginning or promoving ought of the work of Grace which belongs to
the first branch of the Doctrine 2. Of the effectualness and irresistableness of Grace that wherever God begets and brings in a Soul He does it by His own powerful Grace and wherever He applies that work Faith and Conversion necessarily follow which belongs to the second branch of the Doctrine and we would the rather speak a little to this because it is questioned by the Enemies of the Grace of God then which there is nothing they set themselves more to dethrone and debase and to exalt and cry up Nature and Free-will as if it did sit on the Throne and Grace behoved to come and supplicate it and as if it might accept or reject its Bill at pleasure as to the Conversion of a Sinner In opposition to which this Doctrine holds good that wherever the Lord applies His Grace He effectually throughs the work of Faith and Conversion and there is no Soul that can utterly resist it and wherever the Lord applies this Grace the Grace that converts one cannot be frustrated by another These things we hold in opposition to the direct assertion of the Enemies of Grace whereby they make the work of Conversion not ultimatly to terminate on Grace but on Man's Free-will and how dangerous and damnable this Error is may easily appear For 1. It overturns and runs cross to the whole strain of the Gospel for if we loose but this one Pin in making Faith and Conversion not to depend on Grace but on Free-will then the whole Fabrick of Grace falls down flat then God should elect us because we were to elect Him contrary to the Scripture which tells us that He elects us not we Him and that our closing with Him by Faith depends on His electing of us It overturns our free Justification by Grace for supposing Faith comes in in Justification as it doth none being justified but by Faith and that Believing is of our selves and that it is in the power of Man's Free-will to close the Bargain all is not here of Grace our Justification is not free but some-way depends on Free-will It overturns the Perseverance of the Saints for if Believing depend on Free-will then our Perseverance depends on it also for if the Mans Free-will change he may fall back and break his neck in a manner at the very threshold of Heaven whereas if it be the work of Grace as indeed it is that brings forth Faith and carries it on and if this work of Grace cannot be frustrated or restrained by the malice and hardness of any Heart to which it is applied because it cures the hardness and removes that malice then certainly this Error cannot stand and we are perswaded when we plead thus for Grace we have the best end of the Debate and the surest Ground to go upon most for God's Honour and most for the comfort of Believers 2. This Error thwarts with the Glory of the Grace of God for it is an Error that strikes at the richest and most radiant Diamond of the Crown of the Glory of Christ it hangs Election and the effectualness of God's Decree as to effectual Calling Faith Justification and Perseverance on the Person himself and makes God and Christ to be in the Man 's common debt and reverence to make His Decree effectual whereas it is the glory of Grace to have all Flesh allanarly in its debt and common as having loved freely elected called justified sanctified and carried on the work of Grace til it end and be perfected in Glory freely which is the Song of the redeemed Rev. 1.5 6. Unto him who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion If eternal love be free then the expression or manifestation of it in making us Kings and Priests unto God is also free 3. This Error is exceeding destructive to the consolation of God's People Is it not a comfortless Doctrine that founds their Believing and Perseverance on their own Free-will if ye were to make the bargain of Grace whether would ye think it more comfortable and sure that the effectualness of Believing and Perseverance should hang on the Grace of God or on your own Free-will especially considering the pravity of your Will doleful would your condition be if Free-will were the Base or Foundation and God used no more but external perswasion how specious soever this opinion seem to be because it puts it in Mans option to believe and convert himself or not as he pleaseth yet it overturns the whole strain of the Gospel and quite eclipseth the glory of Grace and cuts the very throat of your Consolation and is the great ground of Popery Pelagianism and Arminianism to which ye would therefore so much the more advert and we do the rather speak to it that ye may be guarded against it and that ye may be setled in the Truth especially since the same Errors are a-reviving in another shape in these days as is manifest in that foolry of Quakers who talk of a Light within them and talk so of that Light as if it were of power sufficient to convert and guide them if it be not resisted As also that other conceit of being above Ordinances implys something of this same Error which ye would set your selves to abhor as that which the Devil is again labouring to sow the Seed of amongst us and labour to be confirmed in the Truth For if there be any truth at all in Christianity these are two main Truths the utter inability that is in Mens Hearts by Nature to exercise Faith in Christ and the efficacious and irresistible power of the Grace of God in the begetting of Faith where it is begotten which when we shall all appear before the Tribunal of God will be found to be so and none will have a Mouth opened to oppose them And what absurdity I pray is there here notwithstanding all the clamour of corrupt Men that God hath reserved this work of converting Sinners by His Grace to Himself and hath not put it in the hand of their own Free-will which supposeth Men to have a stock within themselves and hath many fearful effects following it tending to the depreciating of the Grace of God and to the drawing Men off from dependance on Christ and to the giving of them ground of boasting in themselves and of vanity and security all which this Doctrine of Gods Grace overthrows and stops the Mouth of the Creature from all vain boasting to the high exaltation of Gods free soveraign and efficacious Grace and to the great comfort of His People Use 3. The second Use serves to commend the Grace of God to the Hearers of the Gospel and especially to Believers There cannot be a greater commendation given to it than this that it works effectually and indeed it could not be called Grace I mean Saving Grace if it should want this effect even to
best things That word which we have 2 Pet. 3.16 that there are many that wrest and pervert the Scriptures to their own destruction holds true not only of doctrinal Heresies but it holds also true in respect of Mens Practice or practical Errours for some hearing of the impotency of Nature and of the power and perfection of Grace in bringing about its designed effect are ready to think that they need to do nothing alledging that if Grace undertake the work it will be wrought and if not it will not be wrought and thus Atheism and Prophanity steal in secretly upon the Heart and the sweet Doctrine of Grace is abused and perverted by such to their own destruction There are others again who it may be will not dare so to top with God who yet have their own fainting and discouragement when they hear of this Doctrine and think it hard that they themselves can do nothing and fear that they will never win to believe because they cannot do it of themselves these also fail and make not the right use of Grace Ye remember the Question which we proposed to speak a little to on the last Doctrine to wit That seing both these branches of it are true That except Grace concur the most powerful preaching of the Gospel will not beget Faith and that wherever the work of Grace goes along with the Gospel there Faith is begotten what is called for from the Hearers of the Gospel as the Use of this Doctrine Bâ—fore we come to answer this Question more particularly we would 1. Premit this word in general That none would account the Preaching or Hearing of the Word of God to be useless or fruitless albeit that without the work of Grace Men cannot yield the Fruit which it callâ—th for from them for our blessed Lord Jesus Isaiah and Paul preached this Doctrine of Grace and the necessity of the Lords Arm to be revealed in the Conversion of Souls and yet they taught the Word in season and out of season and were gathering in some and to some this Doctrine was made the savour of life unto â—ife though to others through their enmity and corruption it became the savour of death unto death To conclude therefore the inconsistency or to deny the consistency of these two to wit Of the necessity of Preaching the Doctrine of Grace and of the pressing in Preaching the practice of holy Duties and the use of ordinary appointed Mâ—ans would reach this dreadful length even to condemn the Prophets of old yea and our blessed Lord Jesus Himself who says John 6.44 after He h d preached long No man can come to me exâ—ept the Father who hath sent me draw him and vers 65 Therefore I said unto you that no man can come to me unless it be given him of my Father And will any think that His Hearers who accounted this with some others Hard sayings and from that time went back and walked no more with him were excusable in their doing so or that His Preaching was useless needless or impertinent as having a tendency to tempt Men to abandone all use of Means because He preached this Doctrine of the impossibility of believing in Him without this pull and draught of His Fathers Arm But secondly We shall a little more particularly in answer to the Question speak First To what Uses Folk would not make of this Doctrine or what things they would abstain from as tending to a wrong use of it Secondly To some Considerations for pressing this Doctrine and removing from it the construction of hardness that we are ready to put upon it Thirdly To what is the native Use it calls for And Lastly to some Considerations to press this For the first When we say to all that hears this Gospel that there is a necessity of a powerful work of Grace ere this Word can be profitable ye would 1. Abstain from and lay aside curiosity in seeking satisfying Answers to all these Objections that are moved against it and absurdities that it 's loaded with by the Devil and Mans proud Nature and learn to stoop to and reverence the soveraign Dominion of God and His deep and unsearchable Wisdom and Knowledge in this soveraign way of His Grace as the Apostle doth Rom. 11.33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out ye would also consider that other word Rom. 9.20 Who art thou that repliest against God or expostulateth with Him Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus It 's good to enquire and to seek to know the use the Lord calls for of this Doctrine with sobriety but there is an enquiring to satisfie curiosity which the Lord abhorreth as we may gather from Exod. 19 21. where the Lord being to deliver His â—â—â—l saith to Moses Go down charge the people 〈◊〉 word of peremptory command left they break thorow unto the Lord to gaze and many of them perish The Lord is not displeased that His People should endeavour to behold and take Him up aright but when their end is not good but to satisfie an itch of Curiosity it displeaseth Him This may be useful in many cases and particularly in this we have in hand to teach us sobriety in seeking to know the way of God's Grace as the Lord would have His People Exod. 19. waiting for as much of His Mind as He thought fit to acquaint them with and to write on the two Tables of Stone but He would not have them breaking in over the Boundary or March which He did set to them lest He should break thorow on them and they should be made to perish So would He have Men in their studying the knowledge of His Ways and particularly of the way of His Grace to keep His Measures and to contain themselves within the limits that He pleaseth to set to them 2. Abstain from carnal freting at and expostulating with the way of God whether in the highest degree of upbraiding Grace and snarling at it that ye should not have the Stock in your own hand or in an inferior degree having a Heart inwardly discontent that ye are not more able of your selves then ye are to believe which is the thing that the Apostle opposeth Rom. 9.20 21. Should the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus Hath not the potter power over the clay c. especially since none can answer that question with any just reflection upon God who is to be blamed for that defect or inability or whence did that inability or defect in Mans Nature proceed God was gracious free and liberal in making Man perfect and whose Fault is it that it is otherways 3. Abstain from and beware of drawing desperate conclusions as to the giving over the use of the Means or of becoming more lazy and secure in the duties of Holiness and
is the Lord an upbraider is there any that can quarrel Him as nigardly in dispensing of His Grace doth he not give to all men liberally and upbraideth no man and doth it not become Him well to have the conduct and guiding of His own Grace 4. Consider how many the Lord hath given Grace to already and how He hath given it freely surprizingly and unexpectedly if ye could bring forth any proof that never one got good of God ye might have a pretext for your discouragement and scarring but when as many as are before the Throne are pooofs of His being gracious to Sinners when so many have gotten good of God before you and when there are several who to your own certain knowledge are dayly getâ—ing good of Him sensibly freely and unexpâ—ctâ—dly who were as indisposed to belâ—eve as ye are and as much fainted and discouraged as ye are and when He says that He is found of them that sought him not is it not as likly that a poor Body that is longing for His Grace shall be satisfied as well now as ever according to that word Matth. 5.6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled the Soul that would fain have Holiness shall get it I know there will be a business made here and an new Objection started whether this longing or hunger be real or not but if your longing and hunger be not real it will not trouble you much to want and it is not to encourage or comfort such that have no real longing that all this is spoken we know there is more need to make some vomit up the conceit of their ability than to encourage them against any seen and felt inability There are many alace that think little of the Grace of God with whom the error anent Universal Grace would aggree well they having a presumptuous conceit of Faith and that it is not so difficult a thing to believe as is alledged we must profess that we have not much to say to such for their encouragement only we would let them know that there is a time coming when God will refute and silence them But as for such as see their inability and are put to any measure of suitable seriousness and longing in earnest after Believing the Lord allows that they be strengthened and encouraged and to such we would say this If their missing of Jesus Christ weight them if it be their burden that they cannot Believe and if their longing hunger and thirst be some pain and piece of exercise to them so as other things relish not with them they are so taken up with that and if they had their Souls choice it would be this even a satisfying fight of union and communion with Him their longing and hunger is real and we may turn over that just now cited word to them Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled this hunger and thirst was never begotten without some spiritual Physick from Christ the great Physician who hath provision for satisfying it and as we use to say of the natural Life He sent never the Mouth but He sent the Meat with it so we may say of this hunger He that gives this spiritual Mouth gives always the Meat with it would to God there were many enlarged Apetites to receive our Lord would no doubt be found ready to satisfie them all if the Mouth were wide opened the Affections enlarged and the Soul sick under hunger and chirst for Christ and Holiness that Sickness should not be found to be unto Death but to the glory of the Grace of Him who is the great Healer For the third thing that we proposed to wit That seing there are many ways how Folk may go wrong and yet none should give over hope what is the native use and exercise that this Doctrine calls for I shall speak to this first in general and secondly in some few steps or particular directions 1. Then in general ye would consider that place Phil. 2.12 13. Work out the work of your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure where it is clear that the exhortation given to them to work out their Salvation is drawen from this same Doctrine of the efficacious work of Gods Grace working in them to will and to do as the great Motive God saith He worketh in you to will and to do therefore work ye out the work of your own Salvation There are in this general exhortation four things implyed the first is the very entry or beginning of the work of Salvation that is the exercising of Faith in Jesus Christ it is of God therefore work at that work as if He said Believe to the saving of your Souls as the word is Heb. 10. ult For it 's God that works the will in you The second is the work of Repentance this is also taken in here for his bidding them work in fear and trembling respects their sinfulness and necessarly implyeth Repentance The third is their aiming at perfection in Holiness the putting forth themselves in improving of all Means and in the exercising of all Duties for that end work out says He. And fourthly It looks to the manner that it be not carnally or in carnal confidence but with fear and trembling and if it should be asked how doth that conclusion flow from this Doctrine it 's Gods work or He works in you to will and to do therefore work ye out your Salvation Folk would rather think that the conclusion should be since God doth all this do ye nothing No but the just contrary conclusion is drawen and it hangs on these two 1. On the efficacy of Grace it 's God that works to will and to do it 's His Grace that strengtheneth you and where He works the will He works the deed where He begins a work He will also through and effectuate it therefore take ye encouragement to work as if He had said fight well for ye have a brave second though it be not proper to call Grace a second set your selves to the exercise of Holiness in earnest and God wil make it go with you 2. On the consideration of sinfulness and weakness in them which should make them work in fear and trembling as if He had s id seing it is God and the efficacy of His Grace that doth the work be not ye vain and presumptuous the first part says it 's God that works and not ye therefore be ye the more holily confident the second part says it 's not ye but God and therefore do the work with fear and trembling and both tend to this that Folk would be serious in minding and prosecuting the work of their Salvation from the first step to the last in fear and trembling on this ground that though they have nothing in themselves yet there
such an end and yet so as he must flee into it ere he can plead for the benefit of the City So suppose a sinner to be fled to Jesust Christ by Faith he may plead for exemption from wrath by God's determining and appointing a Mediator for such an end And the Mediator Jesus Christ hath this priviledge conferr'd on him that he that thus flees unto him shall be safe Yet it is also suppos'd that such a sinner hath fled to him else he could not expect safety through him notwithstanding of Gods determining the Mediator for safety Thus we would have these three put together And yet as we said they differ for Gods determination is the efficient cause fountain of all Christs satisfaction is the meriâ—orious cause and our believing is the ground on which we have right to plead for the benefit of his satisfaction Even as the man that fled to the City of Refuge his safety was not by any vertue in his running but by God's determination yet his running to the City was requisite as the mids and except he run or fled to it he could not plead for the benefit of the City So our believing gives us ground to plead a right and title to Christ and his satisfaction without which we could not have that right But 2dly Because one will take up this under one notion and another under another To clear it therefore a little further we shall again consider in this Covenant these three steps 1. The determination of it as it is enacted in the Council of the God-head which in sum is this that such and such persons shall be satisfied for by the Mediator and his satisfaction accepted for them 2. The execution of this Covenant where we take in all our Lords sufferings all the stroaks and wounds that Justice pursued him with as Cautioner for the Elect and God's accepting and justifying of him and declaring his accepting of him and being well satisfied with what he did and suffered by his raising him from dead 3. The application of his purchase by his accepted satisfaction which consists in these 1. That these that were given to Christ on this condition that his satisfaction should stand good for them should be justified and saved that is that in due time application of his satisfaction should be made to the persons given him to to be saved by him Which takes in Christ's making intercession that Renewing-grace Faith c. may be given to such persons 2. That the work of the Spirit who as the Sanctifier begets Faith and perswads to imbrace Jesus Christ shall be given them Then 3. follows the Believers actual coming to Christ being sweetly and powerfully drawn to rest on him and his satisfaction Whereupon follows the application of the sentence of Justification and Absolution that results from the former So that whereas it was before Cursed is he that continues not in all things written in the Law Now it is He that believeth on Jesus Christ hath eternal life and shall never come into condemnation All these go and agree well together the Covenant as the ground Christ's satisfaction as the meritorious cause and the application of his satisfaction by Faith which entitles and gives the Believer a right to it The reason why we have so much insisted on this is that we may teach you to joyn respect to the Covenant of Redemption Christ's suffering and your believing together It will not be Faith that will justifie that is without respect to the Covenant Neither will the Covenant and Christ's satisfaction justifie without Faith yet ye would so put them together as the glory of Salvation through Grace may not lye on Faith but on God's everlasting Love and on Christ's satisfaction And indeed it is no little practick for a Soul sensible of sin in the exercise of Faith so to lay the weight of its Salvation on Christ and the Covenant as it neglects not running to Christ by Faitâ— and so to lay hold on Christ by Faith as it lay not the weight on Faith but on Christ and the Covenant As in the comparison before used suppose a man that had killed another unawares had been taken before he wan to the City of Refuge God's determination was not the cause of that but his not running or his not coming at the City So it may be that some are apprehended by the Justice of God that are less sinful than others yet the reason or câ—uâ—e is not in God's Covenant nor in Câ—rists want of worth but in the persons not running or not fleeing to Christ as to the City of Refuge and therefore they are not heard to plead for immunity by vertue of that satisfaction before the Bar of God A 2d sort of Uses are for exhorting and encouraging Sinners to come to Christ There is here then 1. A clear ground to our our Faith and a plain way opened to Heaven and a mighty encouragement to perswade Sinners to lay hold on Christ and to take this way for obtaining of life This Text opens as it were the gates of the City of Refuge and points out the way how to eshew the wrath which is to come There is a way here laid down in the Wisdom Justice Go dness and Grace of God which is made offer of in the Gospel and since it is so we beseech you that ye would not receive this Grace in vain but seing there is a Covenant well ordered and sure a Mediator and a Ransom provided and a way laid down how to come to Christ by Faith let all of you who come under the conviction of Sin and apprehension of Wrath step to and close with him and plead for Pardon by vertue of his Wounds and for healing through his Stripes with respect to the Covenant There are these four things here that will serve to give ground for this Application if we consider 1. The great ground of Faith that is here 2. The great reason we have to make use of this ground 3. The great encouragement we have so to do And 4ly The great necessity we have to make this Application A little to each of these But we shall premit one word to all and it 's this That considering you are all in tryfting terms with God whether ye live at a distance from him the Uâ—e will by way of Exhortation reach you or whether ye be brought to greater nearness under the sense of Sin and have some seriousness in seeking after God it will reach you for Consolation In a word we would exhort all and it may convince some comfort others But to the first thing we proposed We declare and proclaim this as a true and faithful saying that there is here an Everlasting Covenant wherein the salvation of the Elect is concluded through Christs satisfaction to Justice for them and a way laid down for making Peace betwixt God and all them that will thorowly renounce their own righteousnâ—ss and lay hold
God which should come into the world The 5th place is that of John 20.28 where when Christ bids Thomas reach hither his hand and put it into his side his glory shines so full in his face that he cryes out My Lord and my God and his faith is summed up and compended in that The last place that we shall name is that of Acts 8.37 and it s the Eunuchs confession I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God which is the sum of his faith The 4th and last way of confirmation of this great truth is drawen from the worship which is due unto him and hath been given unto him He is the object of Faith John 14.11 ye believe in God believe also in me He is the object of Prayer Acts 7.59 They stoned Stephen calling upon God saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit and frequently else-where in Scripture he is prayed unto though these two are not too curiously to be separated Use 1. The first Use serves to strengthen your Faith in this that our Lord Jesus Christ who suffered for sinners and is made offer of to them in the Gospel is God equal with the Father and so he is to be closed with and rested on as the brightness of the Fathers glory the reason why we would have you confirmed in the Faith of this is not small for its a most necessary thing and without the faith of it all the work of our salvation will hang louse neither can we have any claim to Eternal Life and therefore we desire you particularly who are ignorant Hearers and who have the name of Christ often in your mouths and yet know not what he is to know remember and believe that he that is the son of Mary is also the eternal son of God being God before he was incarnate and before the World was made and the Maker of all that was made Use 2. The second Use serves to let you know That though it be a most necessary thing to be confirmed in the faith of this Truth that Christ is God yet it 's a greater difficulty to believe and be perswaded of it then the most part take it to be many sad proofs whereof we have in Folks words and moe in their practice Flesh and blood saith Christ Matth. 16. hath not revealed this unto thee It 's a wonder whence many Folks faith comes who never found any the least difficulty in this and it 's a wonder that so few are through in the faith of it so that if they were called and put to it they durst not swear that he is God yea if we would look in a little further we would find that the faith of this is but scarce amongst us not to speak of the gross ignorance of many who will say when asked that he is not equal with the Father or that he was made God and other such like expressions will they have that are abominable to be once named amongst Christians Folks through their ignorance falling into damnable Heresies on the matter and yet not knowing that they do so As if our blessed Lord were a made god and not the same God with the Father For the proving of him to be God proves him to be the same God there being but one God Ye would consider for convincing you that it is thus with many of you 1. The little fear that is in men and women of the Majesty of Christ as God they durst not walk with so little fear of him if they believed indeed that he were God What made the Jews with the Scribes and Pharisees to spit upon him and despise him But because they wanted the Faith of his Godhead And have not ye the same nature in you Ye live in a place where the Faith of Christs Godhead is professed and is not questioned but your practice sayes to beholders that ye believe it not because ye fear him not 2. That your souls do so little welcome the offer of the Gospel that tells that ye believe him not to be God 3. That ye do not place your happiness in Believing on him and in the way of holiness ye say in effect wherefore serves Christ ye care not for him Hence it is that so many live contentedly without him and are not sollicitous about the enjoying of him 4. Even in Believers there is much unbelief of this truth which is sadly evidenced by this that they do not so bless themselves in him and that they do not so reckon themselves to have come well to and to be made up in him as David doth Psal 16. Where he saith and holily glorieth The lines are fallen unto me in a pleasant place c. And by the frequent discouragement that is incident to Believers as if Christ had not the guiding of them and of what concerns them or could not guide all well enough for their good If he were believed to be God it would quash temptations banish discouragement comfort under crosses sweeten every condition induce to holiness restrain from sin And in a word it cannot be told what is in the bosome of this one truth when solidly believed For what can possibly be wanting to the Believer in him that is God He hath the fulness of the Godhead to supply what ever they want and sustains the relation of a Husband to the Believer to make it forth-coming And he is furnished with suitable qualifications to make the application thereof What then could be wanting if this were thorowly believed that he is God Let me say it to you the Faith of this would provoke to more holiness and to study more the power then the profession of Religion and would help to live a more comfortable life in every condition SERMON XXX ISAIAH LIII VIII Vers 8. He was taken from prison and from judgement and who shall declare his generation For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken THese words are a proof of that which we discoursed in the Lecture concerning Christs wonderful love to his pâ—ople Then which no man hath greater that a man should lay down his life for his friend But he hath commedned his love to us in that while we were yet enemies he died for us This is the great commendation of Christ's love and what will he refuse to his people who in his love hath come this length to them In the former part of this verse we shew that there was a hint given of Christ's Exaltation of the Exaltation and Glory of the Mediator following on the back of his lowest sufferings An ineffable and inexpressible Glory which the Prophet rather passeth with a sort of non-plussing silence then insisteth in the declaration of it Who shall declare his generation We come now to the last part of the words For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken They are added
the riches of the free grace of God there being a Decree of Election for saving so many and for bringing them to Glory And they being under sin there is another decree and threatning that goes forth for cursing the sinner and these two seeming to be altogether irreconciliable the Question comes in on the one hand how is it possible that a sinner under the curse can be saved And upon the other hand how is it possible that an Elect of God can be damned The wisdome of God looseth the knot Spotless Justice is satisfied by taking hold of and falling on the Cautioner Wonderful Grace and Love vent themselves in pardoning the sinner and in accepting of a ransome for him And manifold wisdome manifests it self in knitting these two together so as none of them can want its effect But all returns to the manifestation of the Glory of Grace in the up-shot It cannot be that the Elect shall be damned Yet here stands the threatning of a just God and his curse ready to be execute but here is the reconciliation The curse is execute on the Mediator whereby God shews himself to be a hater of sin and an avenger of the wrong done to his Justice And the Elect sinner is pardoned whereby God manifesteth the freedome of his grace and his wonderfully condescending love But now we come to a 9th Doctrine which is more directly held forth in the words and it hath two Branches that our Lord Jesus his death and sufferings is a proportionable price and satisfaction laid down for the sins of the Elect and for them only This is in the express words of the Prophet If the Question be asked Wherefore suffered Christ all this He answers he suffered it as a price for transgression If it be asked again for whom or for whose transgression did he suffer He answers not for all Men and Women in the World but for the transgression of my people was he stricken or the stroak was on him for their transgressions The first Branch of the Doctrine is to this purpose that Christs suffering is intended to satisfie for the transgression of Gods elected people and with respect to satisfying for their sins did he suffer And if we take these to be truths that we marked before as implyed in the words this will natively and necessarily follow If he engaged to be Cautioner and Surety for the Elects debt then his laying down his life must be on the same account and for the same end Now when we speak of Christs laying down a price to satisfie for the transgressions of the Elect we mean not only this that his sufferings and death have a value in themselves to satisfie for their sins but that they are so intended by him in undergoing of them and that they are so accepted of God according to his purpose and according to the transaction that past betwixt Jehovah and the Mediator They are not only as Socinians say to be a confirmation of the Doctrine which he preached and to be a rule and example to us of patient suffering and of giving obedience to the death as he did But it 's also and mainly to satisfie the Justice of God for our debt So then this wicked Tenet of the Socinians is exceeding derogatory to the sufferings of Christ and to the matchless love that shined in them yea and even to the whole design of Redemption For if Christs sufferings be not a satisfaction to Justice we are left without all just plea and apology for our selves at Gods Bar and if we have none then that curse looks the wakened sinner full in the face The day thou eats thou shalt surely die And however men in their security may please themselves with such dreams and think that a satisfaction to Justice is not needful yet if the conscience be once wakened it will not be quieted without one And if mens Faith give not credit to Gods threatnings they can have but little or rather no comfort at all in his promises There is therefore a necessity of a satisfaction and if Christs sufferings be not the satisfaction there is not another and so the whole work of Redemption is overturned So then though Christ in his sufferings hath left us a Copy how we should suffer yet that is not the only nor the principal end of them but it is contrived in the Covenant of Redemption and intended by the Medi tor and withall accepted by Jehovah that they should be the meritorious cause of procuring pardon to the Elect and the price of their Redemption This may be further cleared and confirmed 1. From the phrase that is ordinarily made use of in Scripture He suffered for the sins of his people And in the Text For the transgression of my people was he stricken Their sins had a peculiar influence in bringing the stroak on him And what influence I pray could they have but as they procured the stroak to him And if his stroaks were procured by our sins then the desert of them was laid on him and his sufferings behoved to be the curse that we elect sinners should have suffered So when he is called their Cautioner it tells that he undertook their debt and his laying down of his life is the performance and fulfilling of his undertaken Suretyship and Cautionry And considering that their debt was exacted of him and that he was arraigned before Gods Tribunal as their Surety in their room and that this could be for nothing else but to answer for them as being their Cautioner His sufferings behoved to be intended as a satisfaction for their sins For the Elects sins were not the cause why Pilate the people of the Jews and the Scribes and Pharisees pursued him to death but for our sins he was sisted before God's Tribunal and being our Cautioner he was called to reckon for them and they were put upon his account or score 2. It 's clear also from the names that his sufferings get in the Scripture where they are called the price of our Redemption a buying of us a propitiation for our sins that pacified God Rom. 3.25 and 1 John 2.2 A Sacrifice often and Ransome Matth. 20.28 The Son of man came to give his life a ransome for many that is for all his Elect people to relieve them from the bondage they were under which plainly shews the respâ—ct that his sufferings had to our sins that they were a propitiation for them to God 3. It 's clear if we consider that Christs death as to its object is for the transgressions of all Gods people of all the Eâ—ect that lived before he suffered whether they died in their infancy or at age and for all that lived or shall live and die after his suffering to the end of the world Now what benefite could redound to them that died ere Christ came in the flesh by his sufferings if it were as Socinians say for his death could not sure be a pattern
land of the living fâ—r the transgression of my people was he stricken THere is nothing that concerns us more than to be well acquainted with the doctrine of Christ Jesus and his Sufferings The Prophet hath therefore been much in shewing what Christ suffered in the former words and hath largely described his Humiliation to Judgment and Death for saith he he was cut off out of the land of the living In the words read he answers two important questions concerning his sufferings 1. To what end were all these sufferings he answers that they were for transgressions even to be a satisfaction to Justice for them The 2. Question is For whose sins were the sufferings of Christ to be a satisfaction It is answered expresly in the words for the transgression of my people was he stricken or the stroak was upon him it was for the sins of the Elect and of the Elect only for this is the Prophets scope who having spoken of Christs sufferings and death holds forth the meritorious and procuring cause and end thereof and this is the result design and sum of all even to be a satisfaction for Gods elect People for as we shew by Gods People are not meaned all men in the world nor the Jews only for Christ hath many sheep beside them but it 's Gods peculiar People in opposition to the multitude who are not his People The Doctrine or rather the branch of the Doctrine we left at was this and it 's exclusive that Christ's death is only intended to be a price for the sins of God's elect People and was laid down with respect to them his death and sufferings are to be looked upon and considered only as a price and satisfaction for their sins and for the sins of none other or thus Jesus Christ in his suffering and in the laying down of his life had a respect to the elect and intended the removing of the sins and transgressions of God's elect people only and of none other we know nothing that we can make of these words nor of the Prophets scope in them but this who as he hath been describing Christs sufferings in all other respects so doth he in this to wit in respect of the persons for whom he suffered and of the meritorious cause and end of his sufferings for says the Text for the transgressions of my people that is of Gods elect people was he stricken This branch of the Doctrine is of great weight and concernment in the whole strain of Grace for if this march-stone be lifted and removed Grace becomes common and as some call it universal and so to be in effect no grace at all for Grace hath a peculiar channel of its own wherein it runs towards a certain select number and not towards all I do not mean of grace taken in a large sense for so all men as they are partakers of any mercy or of common favours may be said to have grace extended to them but I mean God's special grace favour and good will which is extended only to the Elect for whose sins Christ suffered the right bounding of which Doctrine shews forth both God's soveraignty in the dispensing of grace and the freeness thereof in communicating and manifesting of it to whom he will and which thus considered is especially engaging of the hearts of them on whom he pleaseth to manifest it Ere I come to confirm this branch of the Doctrine take a word or two of advertisement in the entry 1. That Christ's death may be considered two ways 1. In respect of it self and as abstracting from the Covenant of Redemption wherein it is contrived as to all the circumstances of it in which sense as his death and sufferings are of infinite value worth so they are as Divines use to speak of value to redeem the whole world if God in his design and decree had so ordered and thought meet to extend it 2. We are to consider his sufferings and death as a price agreed upon in the Covenant or Bargain of Redemption wherein these two or three things concur 1. God's proposal 2. Christ's acceptation and design in laying down his life 3. The Fathers acquiescing therein and declaring himself well pleased therewith we speak not here of Christ's death in the first respect that is as abstracting from the Covenant for in that respect he might have laid down his life for few or moe for some or for all if it had been so intended but we speak of it in the second respect as it 's a price agreed upon in God's purpose and Christ's design and in God's acceptation and thus we say that his death is only intended as a satisfaction and recompence for the sins of the Elect and was laid down for them only 2ly We may consider Christ's sufferings and death in the fruits of it either as they respect common favours and mercies common gifts and means of grace which are not peculiar and saving but common to Believers with others being bestowed upon professors in the visible Church or as they are peculiar and saving such as Faith Justification Adoption c. Now when we say that Christ's sufferings and death are a price for the sins of his People we exclude not the Reprobate simply from temporal and common favours and mercies that come by his death they may have and actually have common gifts and works of the Spirit the means of Grace which are some way effects and fruits of the same Covenant but we say that the Reprobate partake not of saving Mercy and that Christs death is a satisfaction only for the Elect and that none others get pardon of Sin Faith Repentance c. by it but they only it was intended for none others and this we clear and confirm from and by these following grounds and arguments which we shall shortly hint at The 1. Argument is drawen from this same assertion of the Prophet thus If Christs death be only a satisfaction for the sins of Gods People then it is not a satisfaction for the sins of all but it 's a satisfaction only for the sins of Gods People therefore not for all for his People are not all men or all men are not his People but his People are a peculiar People separate from others in God's purpose and decree as we cleared before from John 17. Thine they were and thou gavest them me and the Text says expresly for the transgressions of my people was he stricken he respected the sins of God's People in accepting of the Bargain and in laying down his Life and for their sins only God accepted him yea the very mentioning of them thus here secludes all others and we must expone them exclusively as taking in none others and must look upon the things spoken of them as agreeing to no other even as it 's said Heb. 4. There remains therefore a rest to the people of God which is certainly exclusive of all others and hence when our Lord
and come to that which follows in the 11. Verse In this Verse then There are these three 1. An offer and promise made to the Mediator That if He will accept of the proposall and lay down His Life for Redeeming of the lost Elect it shall not be fruitless He shall see of the travell of his soul and shall be satisfied 2. The way how this satisfaction shall be brought about By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many That is by Faith in Him His Purchase shall be applyed to all these for whom He should suffer who thereby should be justified 3. The ground of this which also shews the way how He shall justifie many For he shall bear their iniquities That is by His undertaking and paying of their Debt He should meritoriously procure their Absolution and the setting of them free In the first part we have these three things implyed 1. A supposed condition or restipulation on the Mediator's side That His Soul shall be put to travell which expresses both the Nature of His Sufferings that they shall not only be Bodily but also and mainly Soul-sufferings and Conflicts with the Wrath of God which the Elect's sins deserved as the main and principall thing Articled and that wherein the Price of their Redemption lay And the Greatness and Extremity of His Sufferings here called Travell from the similitude of a Woman in Travell and the Travell of his Soul This being the way foretold how Christ should be used He should Travell in His Sufferings to procure Life to His People 2. A Promise made to Him That He shall see the travell of his soul That is He shall not bring forth wind but shall have a large Off spring which in the 2d part of the verse is called a Justifying of many by his knowledge This is the Fruit He shall have of His Soul-travel 3. The extent of this which is His being Satisfied and quiet Which looks to two things 1. To the certain and infallible success of His Sufferings Not one of the Elect shall be amissing None that He hath bought Life to shall want it He shall get as many Justified and Saved as He conditioned for 2. To the great delight and complacencie that our Lord hath in performing the Work of Redemption and in Sinners getting the benefit of it He shall think all well bestowed when they come to get the Application thereof and by Faith in Him to be Justified From the first of these Observe That the Mediator in performing the Work of Redemption and in satisfying the Justice of God for the Debt of Elect Sinners was not only put to Externall and Bodily but also and mainly to Inward Spirituall and Soul-sufferings Or the Redeeming of lost Sinners cost our Lord Jesus much Soul-travell and Suffering we have hinted at His Sufferings often before but this place especially speaks out His Soul-sufferings and the Inward Anguish and Agony that He was brought under We shall therefore speak alittle to this it being most useful and extensive in the Fruits and Benefits of it to the People of God And shall 1. confirm it by some places in the Gospel where we have the fulfilling of this Prophesie clearly holden out to us And 2dly By a fourfold Reason Only take this for an advertisement that when we speak of the Soul-sufferings of Our Lord we do no mean of any Sufferings after Death as Papists falsly calumniat us but of these Sufferings especially that were about the time of His Passion when He got the full Cup of the Fathers Wrath put in His hand towards His approaching to the Cross and when He was upon it when He was araigned and when He was exacted upon for the Elect's Debt The first passage to confirm it is that of John 12.27 Now is my soul troubled and what shall I say Father save me from this hour Here His Soul-suffâ—rings begin clearly to shew themselves when there was no Cross nor Suffering in His Body yet He is put to such a pinch considered as Man that He is in a manner non-plussed and put to say what shall I say the horror of that which was begun and was further coming on Him being beyond all expression whereupon follows that prayer Father save me from this hour His Sinleâ—s Humane Nature scarring some way to enter on it The 2d passage is that of John 13.21 where it 's said That He began to be troubled in spirit and testified c. But let us come forward and put Matthew Mark and Luke together and we shall see what an inexpressible and unconceivable hight and heap of sorrows His Soul-trouble and travell will amount to Matthew sayes Chap. 26.37 38. That He began to be sorrowful and very heavy And in the next words my soul is exceeding sorrowfull even unto death and what made Him so sorrowfull The next words Father if it be possible let this cup passe from me shew that it was the Cup of His Fathers Wrathfull Justice put in His hand Mark sayes Chap. 14.33 Thar when He came to the Garden He began to be sore amazed and very heavy A wonderfull expression to be used of the Son of God that the Person that was God should be amazed yet being considered as Man he was so Luke sayes Chap. 22.44 That being in an agony he prayed more earnestly There is a sore Exercise and sad Soul-travell indeed when the Sword of Gods Justice awaked against the Man that was Gods fellow and when He hath the Curse that was due to all the Elect to encounter and meet with This was such a Combat the like whereof was never in the World And the effect of it is His sweat as great drops of blood falling down to the ground when there was no hand of Man stirring Him nor any Man to trouble Him by Him but God as a severe and holily rigid exactor puting Him to pay the Debt which He had undertaken to pay according to His Obligation The inward pressour of His Soul presseth great drops of Blood from His Body And if we will yet look a little forward to Math. 27.46 we will find Him brought to that extremity on the Cross that He cryes My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Which though it say that there was still Faith in the Mediator in adhering to the Father as His God yet it sets out that great horrour which He had inwardly to wrestle with when there was some restraint on the sensibly comforting influence of the God-head Now when all the Evangelists concur so massilie emphatically and significantly to express this wealing out and pitching upon such weighty Words to set it forth by We may see it to be designedly holden forth as a speciall Truth thâ—t the Faith of the People of God may be strongly confirmed therein To confirm it yet further put these four together 1. The estate that the Elect are naturally lying in for whom Christ undertakes they are naturally under Sin lyable
be necessarily performed and fulfilled 5. See here how the Salvation of Elect Sinners depends on the ingadgement betwixt God and the Mâ—diator Their Redemption depends on Hâ—s paying of the Price and their attaining the benefit of it depends on God's ingadgement to the Mediator Therefore we are said 1 Pet. 1. To be keeped by the power of God through faith unto salvation It serves withall to clear the Soveraignity of God and the Freenesse of His Grace when Sinners cannot pretend to have any hand in the Work to mar the Beauty and Efficacy of Grace that shine therein Use 2. There is here 1. something for the incouragement of such as would fain believe in Christ And 2. Somewhat for Comfort to and for Confirmation of them who have betaken themselves by Faith to Christ 3. It serves withall to incourage them who would be at believing and find difficulty in the way while they are breathing after Him It 's certainly promised that He shall have a seed and shall see of the fruit of the travel of his soul such therefore may expect that they shall come speed who would fain be at that which is the fulfilling of Gods ingadgement to the Mediator for it was Transacted in the Covenant of Redemption that His Suffering should be for the good of Elect Sinners and that the Father should make Application of His Purchase made thereby to them I say 2dly It serves to Comfort Incourage and Confirm such as are fled to Christ and find their own difficulty how to win through for they haye a good Cautioner to make out their Faith and what concerns their Salvation Gods Promise to the Mediator shall not be for nought nor in vain but shall have it's accomplishment if poor sinners were leâ—t to their own guiding the bargain should never take effect nor be made out but it may incourage and comfort the poor Believer though it should also humble him that the business is put in another and better hand then his own This hath strengthened the wavering hearts of many Believers before that both sides of the Covenant as to their forth-coming and performance depend on the Father and on the Mediator the Mediator undertaking the payment of their Debt and the Lord Jehovah undertaking to draw them in to the Mediator and by His Power to bear them through till they get all that the Mediator hath Purchased for them conferred on them 2dly Observe That all the benefits and advantages that any have ever gotten or shall get that lead to Life Eternal and which concurr to promove the Work of their Salvation are the Fruits of Christ's Purchâ—se by His Soul travel is a Sinner brought to Bâ—lieve I 's a Fruit of His Suffering iâ— a Siâ—neâ— Glorified It 's the Fruit of the same And therefore when in the one woâ—d it is said He shall see his seed It 's â—aid in the next word He shall see of the fruit of the travel of his soul To shew that a Souls ingadging to Christ by Faith wherebâ— the Person becomes one of His Seed flows from His Suffering and is a Fâ—uâ—t of the Travel of His Soul As it is 2 Cor. 5. ult He was made sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God thâ—ough him or in Him Where our righâ—eousness and what conduces to our Juâ—â—ification is derived from His being made Sin or a Sin-offâ—ring for us And Gal. 3.13 It ' said that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us that the blessing of Abraham might come on us gentiles Whatever is comprehended under that Bâ—essing as taking in both the l nd aâ—d Meâ—ns by which we come by it flows from His being a curse for us and from His being brought under sad Suffering and sore Soul-travel for us In this Doctrine ye would consider something for clearing of it or rather take the Doctrine it self several wayes and it will help to clear it elf 1. Then when we speak of the Fruit of Ch ists Sufferings we mean not only tâ—at our Justification the Pardon of ouâ— Sins and our entry into Heâ—ven are Fruâ—ts of it But that our Believing Repenâ—ance Holâ—ness and every thing that leads thereunto are Fruits of it also Therefore it 's promised to Christ Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power And that these that are given to Christ shall come is a Promise â—s well as it 's a Promise that these that come shall be Justified and the one foâ—lows upon Christs Ingaging and performing of the Ingagement as well as the other 2. If we take the Doctrine thus That there is nothing thaâ— a Sinner gets that leads to Life and Salvâ—tion but it 's a Fâ—uit of Christ's Purchase We get neither Repentance nor Faith nor Holiness nor any other such thing but on the account of Christs Satisfaction Or 3dly Take it thus Whatever is needfull for compleating of them that are Châ—ists Seed whom He hath Purchased whatever they want or stand in need of whether Righteousness Holiness Repentance Faith Hâ—pe c. All are purchased by Him and are the Fruits of His Death and Souâ—-travel This riseth clearly from the Words He shall see of the fruit of the travel of his soul That is He shall see Sinners believing on Him and repenting for sin as well as Hâ— shaâ—l see them Glorified which will be clear if we consider these two Reasons 1. The nature of the Covenant wherein all the Promises concerning Sinners Salvation are comprehended there being but one Covenant of Redemption and that being a Promise of this Covenant to circumcise the heart to love God and to writ his law in it as well as to pardon Sin and all the Promises of the Covenant depending on Christs Sâ—ipulation and these things in the Promises flowing from the Covenant betwixt God and the Mediator Sinners can have no Right to any thing that is Promised but by a. Covenant neither can they have any access to them but through Christs Suffering 2. It 's clear from the End of the Covenant that whatever Sinners have need of they must be in Christs common for it now if we had Faith or Repentance or any other Grace from our selves or on our own account we should not be in His Debt and Common for all that we need as indeed we are according to that 1 Cor. 30 31. He is made of God unto us wisdom to be our Guide and Teacher righteousness to be our Justifier and the meritorious Cause of it sanctification To be the Worker and the Procurer of it and in a Word compleat Redemption and this is subjoyned as the Reason of all That he that glories or rejoyces may glorie or rejoyce in the Lord that is Whether there be a looking to Faith or Repentance or any other Grace there may be no cause to be Vain or Proud of it but that knowing these to be from Christ and
an hundreth pound Scots ye would not be so secure till ye knew that ye were fred of it And if it be true that this is your Condition by Nature to be under the standing Sentence of the Law and the Curse of God How is it ye never try if ye be come out of that Condition I ask the most Prophane Men among you were ye never under this Sentence If ye say not the word of God will stand up against you and say to you that ye lie falsly and if ye be under it is it not hazardous to be so But I fear that many of you dream that the Curse of God wears away as ye grow up 3dly Think ye never of coming to Judgement and of Gods proceeding in Judgement against you Think ye never that ye will die and after death come to Judgement according to the general appointment past upon all Men How cometh it that ye are not thinking on it and what may be the Judges procedour towards you He will Judge you according to this Word and all that are out of Christ and not Justified by Him will be cast into the Pit of Hell There is no new Sentence to be past or to be executed upon you but that which was standing over your head before 4ly Know ye how long He may treat with you or how long ye may be in Capacity to get your state changed Are there not many taken suddenly away of whose estate we shall not Judge but may it not be so with you why are ye then so secure why decline ye the Word and refuse to let it search you while ye know not whether the Curse be removed and whether the Sentence be changed or recalled Some of you perhaps will say The Lord knows that it is not for us to know And that sayes that ye do never so much as essay to know and to win to clearness about your state Others of you will it may be say that ye hope all will be well and yet that at the best is but a guessing and ye would be loath to speak so of a Decreet that were past against you about a Sum of Money in any poor Court of Judicature on Earth and will ye suffer this terrible Sentence to stand over your head in the Court of Gods Justice and not study to be distinct and at a point upon solid and good grounds that it is repealled If ye did really believe that it was once so with you and that yet ye are in hazard of this Sentence ye would not ye could not I am sure ye should not be at rest till ye knew that it were removed It would put you to make use of Christ in good earnest for your Peace and to seek after an extract of the repealled Sentence and of your Absolution Sealed up in your Bosome And this is the thing that we aim at in all this even that as ye would not have a terrible meeting with God before the Bar of His Justice that ye would seek to have the Curse that ye are naturally lying under removed and to have your peace made with God and to have some well grounded clearness about it that ye might live comfortedly and die with solid confidence and Christian Courage without which ye can do neither SERMON LII ISAIAH LIII XI Vers 11. He shall see of the travell of his soul and shall be satisfied By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities THE way of Absolving a Guilty Sinner in the Justice of God is the great sum and scope of all the Gospel Even to shew how a lost Sinner Obnoxious to the Sentence of a transgrest Law may without prejudice to the Justice of God come to be Justified we are perswaded that there is nothing of greater concernment to Sinners And if we knew our Debt and our Hazard we would think that there is nothing of greater concernment to us in particular The Sum of the Covenant of Redemption runs on this and it is the great thing aimed at in all this Chapter wherein the Prophet lets us see 1. What is the great thing that Satisfies Justice And for this end much hath been spoken of Christs Sufferings and Soul-travel 2. He lets us see what is the benefit that comes to us by Christs Sufferings and that is Justification or Absolution from the guilt of Sin and from the Curse which it deserves 3. He lets us see the way how this benefit is derived And it is by his knowledge This faith He shall be the great result of Christ's Sufferings Many shall be justified And this shall be the way how it shall be derived to these many and that is by his knowledge or by Faith in Him resting on His Righteousnesse and Satisfaction We opened up the meaning of the Words the last day and pointed at two Doctrines from them 1. That all Men and Women have a Judgement to abide before God an Arraignment and Indictment there to which they must answer They must all come to get a Sentence from God 2. That all Men Naturally are lyable to the Sentence of Condemnation This is supposed here For in as far as Sinners are only by Faith in Christ Justified in as far the Sentence of the Law and of the Covenant of Works is standing against them and over their heads who are not by Faith united to Christ Jesus and Justified by His Righteousnesse The 3. Doctrine Which is almost the very Words of the Text that now we intend to speak to is this That although all Men naturally be obnoxious to the Sentence of the Law and to the Curse of God yet there is a way laid down how a Sinner so obnoxious may be Justified and fred from that Sentence and this is by Faith in Jesus Christ only If any Doctrine be of concernment for us to know and to be well and experimentally acquainted with This is of concernment to us By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many There are Three things in this Doctrine implyed which by one and the same labour will be proven and therefore we shall put them together 1. That although all Men be naturally obnoxious to the Wrath and Curse of God yet He hath appointed away how guilty Sinners may be Justified and Absolved 2. That the way of attaining to this benefit of Justification and freedome from the Curse is by Faith in Christs Righteousness It 's by his knowledge saith the Text. 3. That there is no other way by which a Sinner obnoxious to the Curse can be Justified but by Faith in Christ's Righteousnesse allanarly This last branch of the Doctrine sayes not only That there is no other mean to Satisfie Justice but Christs Merit and Satisfaction But that there is no other way but the way of Faith to win to the application of His Satisfaction whereby many Questions may be Answered and many Errors in Doctrine and Practice confuted But our
present purpose is to shew how a guilty Sinner may be Justified And therefore we shall 1. Give you a general view of the Truth of the Doctrine by confirming it from Scripture in all the parts of it 2. We shall â—peak more paticularly to the severall branches of it And 3ly To the way of attaining Justification in the severall Causes of it as it is here holden forth For Confirmation of the General Doctrine ye shall 1. Look upon some Scriptures And 2. To some Grounds of Reason As for the Confirmation of it by Scripture If we look through the Gospel it is Our Lord Jesus Christ His own Doctrine which He preached and the way which He laid down therein for Justifying and saving a Sinner So John 3. Where it is three or four times repeated As v. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life v. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God v. 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him And v. 14 15. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life And that is all one as to say he that believes shall be Justified Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned These are the terms on which the Apostles are by Christ warranded to preach the Gospel and to make the offer of Life to every Creature And therefore if we look forward to their Preaching we will find it to run in the same sâ—rain A Acts 13.38 39. Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgivenness of sins and that by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses Where while Paul is summing up the whole Message that he had to deliver he goes upon the same ground And wherein we have these three clearly holden forth 1. That all Mâ—n are lyable as in their Natural Estate to God's Curse and by the Law cannot be Justified 2. That there is a way laid down through Jesus Christ to come by Justification and Remission of Sins 3. That the way how Sinners came by this is Faith in Christ All that believe are justified Look to the Epistles especially these written to the Romans and Galatians Where this question about Justification is exprâ—sly and of purpose handled and we will find that it is the sum of both As Rom. 3. Where having said v. 23 That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God And so that all are lyable to Gods Judgement he subjoyns v. 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ Where is the great mean of our Justification and then he adds v. 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood Where we have the mean of Application to wit Faith and Chap. 4.5 To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Which place demonstrats this That an ungodly Person taking hold by Faith of Christs Righteousnesse may be and is Justified and Absolved and fred from the guilt of Sin as if he had never Sinned So Gal. 2.15 16. We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles or not without the Covenant as they are Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified Which place shews not only this that through Faith in Christ is Justification and Life to be had but it also excludes all other wayes of Justificâ—tion Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith But that which we are now speaking to is only the positive part of the Doctrine To shew that a Guilty Sinner obnoxious to the Curse May by Faith come to be Justified and made free from the Guilt of Sin and from the Curse as if he had never Sinned nor been under the Curse For further Confirmation of the Doctrine ye would consider these Four Grounds and ye will see from them good reason for it Only remember this That Justification looks alway to a Judicial Procedour as we hinted before Wherein the Lord is as it were on the Throne and the Guilty Sinner at the Bar pleading through Christs Righteousnesse and Satisfaction to be Absolved which is even as if a Debtor were arrested for Debt should plead for a Liberation not because he is not owing the Debt neither because he hath payed the Debt but because his Cautioner hath payed it for him This being supposed and remembred ye would we say consider these Grounds or Reasons for confirming the Doctrine 1. The Sufferings that Christ hath endured and the Satisfaction that He hath made in the Room of Sinners as the next Words hold out For he shall bear their iniquities And v. ult He bare the sin of many Nay this is the great scope of the Chapter Therefore it 's said That he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows and that the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all This makes a Ground of Confirmation 2. Consider How that there is not only a sufficient price payed but there is a Covenant of Redemption warranding Him to pay it and accepting it off His hand as compleat Payment and Satisfaction for the Elects Debt And except there be a look had to this Covenant Faith hath not a sufficient Ground to rest on for Justification through Jesus His Satisfaction because otherwayes we see not a Reason why His Sufferings can be accepted for us For suppose if such a supposition may warrantably be made Christ to have Suffered yet it was free for God to have accepted that as a Satisfaction for our Debt or not But the consideration of the Covenant of Redemption removes that Doubt and gives Faith a Ground to lay hold on Christ's Sufferings as Satisfactory to the Justice of God because in the Covenant of Redemption it 's so transacted and agreed upon betwixt God and the Mediator Therefore the Apostle speaking Heb. 10.8 9. and forward from Psal 40. of this Covenant shews That when Sacrifices and Offerings will not do the turn Christ comes in Saying Lo I come in the volume of thy book it is written of me I delight to do thy
have a Name and Commendation in the Place where they Live and they have may be some School-craft and Learning and therefore they are perswaded that they cannot miss Justification and where is there one Person amongst many if it be not some poor Body even it may be poor in the World that ever thinks that the Severity of the Law or the Threatnings thereof concern them But are there any moe wayes to Heaven but one Or is there one for the Rich and another for the Poor Do not all come in at this Door is not this the way even to take with your Sin and to flee to Christ for Life And yet are there not some among you that cannot endure to think of Hell to dread it or as we use to speak to even your selves to it because ye are thought something of able to do your turn and have some parts and abilities but there are many more Rich more Wise and Learned Folk then you are in Hell that were never absolved before God nor never shall yet there is a propensnesse in Great Men in Rich Men and in Men of Parts to slight this Doctrine But such have in some respect more need to give all diligence to make your calling and election sure then many others and yet ye go not so far as they do who yet go not the just length A 5th Sort are such as never knew any inward Work or exercise of the Spirit of God upon their Consciences but have lived with a sort of wholeness of heart all their dayes If any be called to take notice of this Doctrine they are called to take notice of it There is a generation sayeth Solomon Prov. 30.12 which are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness They conclude they are Absolved but never look inward to see if there be ground to bear that conclusion 6ly And lastly There are a sort that are Formal and Hypocritical They were never grosly Prophane but they were as little truly and seriously Religious ye had need therefore to take heed whereon ye found your Peace and beware that ye take not the Form of Godlinesse for the Power of it especially when the Form is come to so great a hight And seing this way of Justification is holden out to you through Christ we exhort and beseech you all and especially those of such sorts as we have named to look well that this Grace be not received in vain In a Word these two sorts would take special heed to this Doctrine 1. Some that mind not Religion at all 2. Others who if they mind it mind it not in the way of Grace but as it were by the Works of the Law We declare to you that Justification iâ— by Faith in Jesus Christ and by resting on His Righteousnesse as many as take that way they may be assured to come speed and they that misken and slight that way shall never win to Heaven for there is no other name given whereby a sinner can be saved but the name of Jesus only He is the way the truth and the life and no man cometh to the father but by him SERMON LIII ISAIAH LIII XI Verse 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many c. THere is as I said lately nothing of greater Concernment to a Sinner to know then these two 1. What it is that satisfies Justice and makes a Sinner acceptable before God 2. To know how that may be attained or what way it is applyed And this verse shortly but very clearly answers both 1. That which Satisfies Justice is the travel of Christs soul or His Sufferings 2. The way how this is Applyed Derived or Communicat is set down in the latter part of the verse By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities This is the effect of Christ's Sufferings that many by them shall be Absolved from the Guilt of Sin and from the Curse And this is the way how these many come to be thus Absolved It is by believing on Him for thus His Satisfaction is accounted theirs as if they themselves had Satisfied We proposed the last day this Doctrine to be spoken to from the Words That there is a way through Faith in Christ and resting on His Sufferings by which a Sinner obnoxious to Gods Curse may attain to be Justified and declared free before the Throne of God This Doctrine implyes these Two things in general 1. That there is such a thing possibly attainable by a Guilty Sinner as Justification 2. That Justification is to be attained allanerly by Faith in Christ Jesus resting on His Righteousnesse By his knowledge shall he justifie many As there is a necessity to be Absolved so there is a necessity to take this way for Absolution because this and this only is holden out to be the way how Justification is attained It 's by Christs knowledge which in short is by Faith in Him We discoursed somewhat of the positive part of this Truth the other day Which is of great Concernment the understanding thereof being the very hinge of the Gospel and that wherein in a special manner the Gospel and Covenâ—nt of Grace differs from the Law and Covenant of Works and pointing out a way for coming by Righteousnesse and Life through Christ in opposition to the Law as a Covenant of Works that holds out a way to Righteousnesse and Life through our own performances We touched also at some Uses of the Doctrine for directing of you to the believing use-making of Christ for coming at Peace with God It would follow now that we should speak a little to that Use of Refutation that flows natively from this Doctrine For if this be the way and the only way of the Justification of a Sinner before God to wit by or through Faith in Christs Righteousnesse Then all these wayes that lead not Sinners to resting on Christ's Righteousness alone for Justification and Peace must be inconsistent with the Gospel and so to be rejected and abhorred whether they be in Doctrine or in Practice And we choose the rather to speak a Word to this because it will clear the Doctrine of Justification by Faith the more when we come to see and consider these Corruptions and Errors that are foisted in by Heterodox Men in this great Truth of God to the Perverting and Corrupting thereof And it will the more provoke us to thankfulnesse to God who hath graciously delivered us from these Snares Errors and Corruptions An Error and mistake here about the Substance of this Truth being such as though we held all other Truths incorrupted will ruine us There are we suppose Four Sorts of Errors especially that contradict this grand Truth anâ—nt Justification by Faith in Christs Righteousnesse to which we shal speak a little The 1. is That old rooted Error of Papists who in this Point â—nervat and overturn the whole way of the
Justification before God seclude his own Righteousnesse and betake himself to Christ's Righteousnesse alone as Contra-distinguished to his own 4ly We say That Christ's Righteousness is in Him and imputed to us or made ours by imputation is the alone Meritoritorious Cause of our Justification and Salvation so as that which He hath purchased is reckoned and accounted the Sinners as if it were His own inherently and personally This I also gather from the Words By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities Would ye know as if the Prophet had said how Christ is the Meritorious Cause of Justification Thus it is because He shall bear their iniquities if He hath taken on the burden of their Sins and had their Sins imputed to Him then it will follow by proportion that they are Justified by the imputation of His Righteousnesse to them and there is nothing that the Scripture doth more inculcat then this That we are Justified by the Righteousnesse of Christ without us and imputed to us or reckoned ours we by Faith laying hold upon it and Gods accepting of it for us mak s it become ours and yet there is nothing that we do more particularâ—y erre in and which Papists do more scoâ—n and flout at wholly enervating the way and contrivance of Grace by excluding and shouldering out the Righteousnesse of Christ calling it in derision a Putative or meerly fancied and â—maginary Righteousnesse as if there were â—o reality in it and by bringing in and establishing their own Righteousnesse though it be very clear from this and many other Scriptures that Christs Righteousnesse must be ours by imputation because He â—are our iniquities He became our Righteousnesse by paying of our Dâ—bt as our Cautioner and no otherwayes the Scripture never speaks of His being our Righteousnesse by procuring ability to us to pay our own Debt I shall clear this 4th Branch a little further because it will serve to clear the rest That is thâ—t Christ's Righteousnesse as it is in Him and imputed to us is he only Meritorious Cause of our Justification And if we consider 1 The way of Justification that is used among men this will be the more plain There being two Covenants by the one of which Life was once attainable and by the other of which it is only now attainable 1. The Covenant of Works which absolves a man that never brake it which is as when one among men or before mens Court is declared to be free because he was never oâ—ing the Debt 2. The Covenant of Grace that provides a Cautioner to pay the Sinners Debt upon whose payment thereof had recourse to by Faith there is access in Law to the Sinner to call for absolution even as it is in mens Courts though the principal Debter hath nothing to pay yet if the Cautioner pay the Debt it is the principal Debtors clâ—aring and if he should be again charged to pay the Debt his immediat deâ—ence would be that the Cautioner had payed it already So is it here the Lord hath borrowed and made use of this way that is used among men to make the Mystery of Justification which passeth in the Court of God the more clear to us it is as if one should alleadge that such a Person is owing so much and he should say I cannot be charged with it and upon what ground Not because I was not owing the Debt but because such anone has payed it for me So sayeth the Apostle Rom. 8.34 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect it is God that justifies who shall condemne it is Christ that died c. The defence proposed before the Tribunal of God is Chritis dying and that is as much as he hath payed the Price or Debt who then can charge it on the principal Debtor And the frame and contexture of the words shews that it is a judicial precedour for they suppose a charge or lybel and a sentence and the Meritorious Cause of the Sentence of Absolution is that Christ hath died 2ly If we consider the nature of the two Covenants and compare them together it will be clear the Papists confound the two Covenants For works to them is the condition of both Covenants making use of that place Matth 19.17 2â— Keep the commands if thou will be perfect sell all thou hast and give to the poor quite contrary to the scope of it for therein Christ is putting the man to a thing impossible to himself to bring him to see the necessity of a Mediator and discover his unsoundnesse when he will not forgoe his great Possâ—ssions for him But the Scâ—ipture doth so clearly difâ—ereâ—ce the Covenant of Grace and â—he Covenant of works that they are opposed For the Covenant of works sayeth do this and live and the Covenant of Grace sayeth If thou shall believe with thy heart in the Lord Jesus and conâ—â—sse with thy mouth thou shalt or saved And therefore the account of ones being Juâ—â—ified in tâ—e Covenant of Grace must be different from the account whereon one is Justified in the Covenant of Wâ—rks otherwayes they would not be opposit The Covenant of Works respects inhâ—rent Righteousnesse as the condition The Covenant of Grace respects Faith taking hold of the Righteousnesse of Christ and therefore H s Righteousnesse must Justifie as being in Him without us and as imputed to us it cannot be our Righteousnesse within that Justifies for so it should be the same with the Covenant of Works for though Christ did procure inherent Righteousnesse to us it makes no difference in the condition it self which is works 3ly It will be clear if we consider how the Scripture speaks of Christ's Righteousnesse becoming ours even as our Sins became Christ's and was the cause if we may so speak of His condemnation that is as He became lyable to the Curse that as He stood a Legal Person in our Room He became guilty and lyable to the payment of our Debt For otherwayes it is abominable once to speak of His condemnation and if His Righteousnesse become ours as our Sin became His then certainly His Righteousnesse is the cause of our Justification as it is in Him inherently and in us by imputation only The blasphemy of Antinomians is most detestable and not at all pleaded for even by Papists and therefore we stand not on it here Now our Sin became Christ's by imputation therefore His Righteousnesse must be ours the same way If it then were asked How we are Justified The Text answers He shall justifie many because he shall bear their iniquities The Prophet makes his Sufferings to be the antecedent whereof our Justification is the consequent for His bearing of our iniquities is given as the reason of our Justification this is also clear 2 Cor. 5. ult He was made sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousnesse of God in him In which words the Spirit of
the Lord doth so explain bound and inculcat this that there can be no rational exception against iâ— nor evasion from it He was made sin that is a Sin offering or an Oâ—â—ering for our Sin though there was no guide â—ound in His mouth though He had no Sin neither was capable of Sin yet He was made a Sacrifice for our Sin as He was made Sin so are we made the righteousness of God in him If any should ask what is it to be made righteous The Apostle answers even as Christ was made Sin the sâ—me way are we made righteous and that is by imputation of Christs Righteousnesse to us and not by our own merit we have no more merit then He had sin but as He was accounted to be the Sinner though free of Sin in His own Person so a believing Sinner is accounted righteous though without any merit in Himself because God hath ingaged in His Covenant to make Christ's Righteousnesse forth-coming to the Believer Though that were enough yet the Spirit of the Lord addeth a further Word in him to answer that question whether Christ hath procured inherent holinesse to us that thereby we may be Justified no sayeth he that is not the way Our Righteousnesse is in him and not inherent in us even as the sum imputed to Christ is inherently in us so the Righteousnesse whereby we are Justified is inherently in Him 4ly It may be clear from this That frequently it is called a Righteousnesse that is attained by Faith and that is opposed to our own Righteousnesse and working now it cannot be conceived how we can get a Righteousnesse by Faith but by pleading that His Righteousnesse may be imputed unto us Rom. 3.22 It is called the righteousness which is by faith and v. 25. Whom God hath set forth for a propitiation through faith in his blood and cap. 4. v. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Faith taking hold of His Righteousnesse offered to Sinners in the Gospel His Righteousnesse so taken hold of becomes a propitiation to pacifie God towards the Sinner as if He had satisfied in His own Person Even as if a company of men had been out in Rebellion and a Proclamation of Pardon comes forth from the King because he is Satisfied by a great friend who hath payed their Ransome Which Proclamation of Pardon runs on these Terms whoever will lay down Arms and come in and accept of the Kings Pardon that is procured and made offer of shall be acquitted of the guilt of Rebellion and received into favour Who when ever they are challenged will plead their Absolution on that friends procurement and offered such Terms in the Proclamation Now suppose as I hinted before not long agoe that when these Rebells have yeelded themselves and accepted of the Terms if any of them should be called to answer at the Bar or the Kings Bench as being challenged for his Rebellion his answer and defence would be that such a Proclamation was made to us and I said down my Arms and accepted of the Pardon this in Justice would be admitted and sustained as Relevant because that procurement or procured Pardon becomes the Persons according to the Terms of the Proclamation It is even so here we are Rebells to God Christ Jesus steps in as the great friend of Sinners and Satisfied Justice and thereupon the Proclamation comes out as it is Act. 13.38 39. Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses When the Sinner is arraigned before the Tribunal of God He hath two Acts of H s Faith One that submits to God and to His way of absolving Sinners and another that pleads for Absolution â—ot on the Terms of his own innocency but on the Terms on which Christs Satisfaction is made offer to him and so Faith Justifies as it takes hold of the Meritorious Cause and builds it's defence at Gods Bar on Christs Righteousnesse alone It 's the procurement of the Mediator that it pleads upon and in this sense the imputed Righteousnesse of Christ and the Righteousnesse of Faith are one and the same because Faith takes hold of the Righteousnesse without us which can be no other but the Righteousnesse of Christ 5ly It 's clear from the plain and direct expressions of Scripture to this purpose Take but these few as Rom. 4.3 and 22. compared with Gen. 15.6 Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousnesse he had the promise of Christ to come and received and rested on it it was not his Faith but the promise of the Messiah rested on by Faith that was imputed to him for Righteousness and v. 6. Even as David described the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works It is not blessed is the man who is holy though such a man is seriously studying to be holy albeit not in order to His Justification thereby but blessed is he to whom righteousness is imputed without works and he confirms it from Psal 32. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputs Righteousnesse though he have it not in himself and to whom he imputs not Sin though he have it in himself So 2 Cor. 5.19 God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespassâ—s unto them Jesus Christ is the reconcileâ— of the World to God by His own Merit being God and Man in one Person the efficacy of His Sufferings reconcileth the World of the Elect and how is this purchased Reconciliation applyed By not imputing their trespasses unto them That which here is called Justification is there called not imputing of transgression through that Righteousnesse which Christ hath purchased or through off ring up of Himself in a Sacrifice to God to satisfie His Justice 6ly We might say That this way of Justification through the imputation of Christ's Righteousnesse ought to â—he admitted according to Papists own grounâ—â— For 1. They grant that young Children who cannot Merit are justified and admitted to glory by Christ's Merit as the immediat and proxime cause of their Justification and why not also of these that are at age Is He not the common Cause what absurdity is in the one more then in the other Is not the Justification of both alike free though there be a difference in the manner of Application yet in the Meritorious Cause there is no difference and seing to Children Christ is the Meritorious Cause of their Justification why not also to these come to Age 2. They will grant an imputation of the Righteousnesse and Merits of other Saints to them that want of
Sin and Wrath may come to be absolved And this leads you in to know that there is a New Covenant made through a Mediator in which there is a Promise of Life and Salvation through believing in Him which Rom. 10. is called the law of faith which gives a Sinner ground of hope to be Justified by the Righteousnesse of a Cautioner and leads him in to know the Defence that he may and ought to plead upon before God And there is here presupposed as a necessity of knowing your selves so a necessity of knowing the Law and Covenant of Works for if we plead innocent in any one Sin whereof we are guilty it may hazard our eternal ruine And a necessity of knowing Jesus Christ who is the Meritorious Cause of our Justification that He became man and did take to Himself a true Humane Body and a reasonable Soul that by the Union of His two Natures He might be God and Man in one Person in reference to which He must needs be known for if we know Him not to be Man we cannot understand how Divine Justice is Satisfied and if we know Him not to be God we cannot understand how the Humane Nature can be sustained and supported and carried through in Satisfying the Justice of God and withal a necessity of knowing how the Mediator procures this Justification and this leads us in to know His Office how He was a Priest and interposed betwixt God and Sinners and made Himself an Offering for our Sin and maketh intercession for us how He was a Prophet and how when the thing was unknown to wit how a Sinner might have peace with God He revealed it of Old by His Prophets in the Old Testament and by His Apostles and Ministers in the New Testament and doth by His Spirit ellighten the Soul to take up the difference betwixt Justification by Faith and Justification by Works how He is a King to subdue Sin in us to mortifie our Corrupt Nature that will still boast till it be subdued to guide us in His way to fight our Spiritual Battels in us and for us and to take course with all His and our Enemies Otherwayes if we know not this though we were justified just now we would be led captive by Sin and Satan to our ruine within an hour but knowing Him to be King it gives Faith footing to expect Through-beating and Victory 4. As we must know what Christ is so we must know what is in Christ and what is communicated and applyed to Sinners by Him and so the condition of the Covenant of Grace which is Faith whereby we come to be united to Christ and that this Faith is not a bare assenting to the Truth but a closing with and a resting on Him for we can never believe except we know what Faith is 5. It is needful that we know what Dutie is called for from a Justified Person to wit Repentance and Holiness because though He Justifies none for Repentance yet He Justifies none but Penitents and He requires Repentance from all whom He Jusâ—ifies Except ye repent saith Christ ye shall all likewise perish For the Curse lyes at the door and we are so to Repent as that with grief and hatred of Sin we turn from it unto God with full purpose of heart and endeavour after new Obedience 6. There is also a necessity of the Knowledge of Christs Ordinance though non absoluâ—ely in order to Justification to know the Sacraments and how thâ—y represent Christ and the benefits that come by Him and how they do Ratifie and Confirm the Believers Right to Him and these good things promised through Him Let me intreat you Believers and as many as look for Justification to â—â—ndy throughly to know that these things are necessary to be known even to know God and your selves and what ye may be justly charged with before Him that your mouths may be stoped to know Jesus Christ and His Offices For ye can never upon ground expect Justification except ye know who hath procured it to know what God requires of these who are Justified in a Word study so much as may bring you to know your lost estate and the remedy thereof and how to found your Defence when ye come before God c. And if ye would study thus to know God and know your selves and your Natural Condition and Jesus Christ and the way how ye come to be Justified through Him and your Duty to Him and so make a Catechisme to your selves out of these few heads it were a short and sure way to come to knowledge The 2d Use Serves for Reproof and Conviction to them that lye still in ignorance which is a most Sinful and Dangerous Condition for if Knowledge be a Duty and if Ignorance be a Sin and such a Sin as hazards the Soul then what a woful case are many of you in who now hear me Lay aside all other Sins I would be ashamed to speak of the great Ignorance that is among you How many of you are there that cannot give any tollerable account of your Catechism who know not your natural State and Condition nor the way how to come at peace with God nor any ground for your Faith to rest upon nor Christ nor His Offices and alace if it be so what better are ye then Heathens Sure ye are much worse because ye have dispised Knowledge Can the Gospel give you Faith to whom it never gave Knowledge There are several sorts of Persons to whom I would here speak a Word 1 There are some that never lay the necessity of Knowledge to heart betwixt whom and Turks and Pagans there is in this respâ—ct but little difference and yet such will be ready to say we live and do as well as we may that there may not be a quarrel or contraversie betwixt God and us But is it possible but there must be a quarrel if it were but on this alone account that ye think there is none O! that ye would consider what a Sin Ignorance is when the Devil appeared in the World he made it a great part of his first Work to extinguish and put out the light of Knowledge and by this means he labours still to keep Folk in Ignorance hence the Apostle sayes 2 Cor. 3. If our gospel he hid it is hid to them who are lost whose eyes the god of this world hath blinded Prophanity and Error are great Baits and Snares but Ignorance carries moe to hell then both these do for Ignorance fostereth and cheerisheth if it do not also beget Prophanity and Error as the Apostle Peter insinuats when he sayes that the Ignorant or Unlearned Wrest or pervert the Scriptures unto their own destruction much Ignorance and Conceit of Knowledge will soon and easily shake people loose and make them a Prey to Error and also to Prophanity must not Ignorance then be an evil thing when it leads the way to so many other Sins and at
Faith as it is a laying hold upon Christ 3. When we speak of the necessity of Faith in order to Justification we mean not as if there were such an absolute necessity of it in it self that God could not do otherwayes or Justifie without it but we mean a necessity in respect of the order which God hath laid down and held forth in the Gospel which is by the Knowledge of His Son to Justifie many And from these considerations many Arguments of our Adversaries are made very little regardable yea utterly void For Confirmation of the Doctrine then 1. Consider these Scriptures that expresly limit confine and bound Justification and pardon of Sin to the Person that doth believe So Rom. 1.17 The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith Rom. 3.24 25. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood c. Col. 3.22 God hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe Act. 13.38.39 Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses Consult the Scriptures and we will find that Paul clears both these Questions 1. who are Justified All that believe 2. When are they Justified When they believe 2ly Consider these Scriptures that place all men before believing into a state of Wrath and they will furnish a second ground for this as John 3.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already He lyes under the Covenant of Works and is condemned as considered in himself though God may have a purpose to make a change of his state So Ephes 2.1 2 3. You hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in time past ye walked and were children of wrath even as others c. and v. 12 13. We were sometimes without Christ being alians from the common wealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenant of promise without hope and without God in the world but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far of are made near by the blood of Christ and v. 8. By grace are ye saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works least any man should boast it 's Faith that gives the Title which we had not before 3. Consider That the Scriptures do expresly make believing to preceed Justification and make Justification to be an effect or rather a consequent of Faith to which Faith necessarly concurrs as all these places which say that we are Justified by Faith in Christ do clear as Rom. 5.1 Being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ which place looks on Faiths concurring in Justification with a kind of causality Rom. 3.22.25 The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe c. Ephes 2.8 By grace are ye saved through faith See more fully to this purpose Gal. 2.16 where the Apostle designedly as it were sets himself to confirm this Truth For speaking of the way how Sinners come to be Justified and as it were entring in the Debate he says Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even as we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ In which place we have three things considerable to make out the point 1. He compares the concurring of Faith to Justification in the Covenant of Gracâ— to the concurring of Works to Justification or to the obtaining of Life in the Covenant of Works as Works did Justifie in the Covenant of Works so does Faith in the Covenant of Grace Now certainly the performing of Works in the Covenant of Works behoved to go before Justification that way therefore the want of Works made Adam to come short of Justification by Works 2. He looks on Faith and speaks of it as concurring to Justification with a respect to Christ and never looks on it in this matter as a Grace considered in and by it self but as acting on Christ in a peculiar manner 3. In expresse words he sayes We have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified which clearly implyes that they could not be Justified before they believed and we may well and easily gather that the Justification here meant is that which is real and actual and not the declaring of a man to be Justified to Himself else Works might declare a man to be Justified to himself as well as Faith But he contradistinguishes Faith and Works here and opposes the one to the other The 1. Use Serves for clearing of this Truth That there is a necessity of Faith's taking hold of and resting on Christ ere we can be absolved and Justified And so both these Errors of Antinomians fall to the ground 1. That by which they assert that these who are Justified were Justified from Eternity and were never under God's Curse And 2. That Faith is not necessary to the attaining of Justification but only to a Persons knowing that he is Justified and so they say that Faith enters us not in the Covenant which is false it being the terms or condition on which God proposeth and promiseth pardon in his Covenant as is clear John 3.18 Whosoever believes shall not be condemned but shall have everlasting life and Mark 16.16 He that believes and is baptized shall be saved with this opposition He that believeth not shall be damned Faith being it which enters us in the Covenant For either Sinners are Justified before they can be in Covenant with God which is an absurdity and inconsistent with Gods Covenant or it 's by Faith that they are entered in the Covenant There is here also a clear discovery and confutation of a 3d. Error of Antinomians concerning the nature of Faith That it is Persons believing that they are Justified No not so For as the Apostle sayes Gal. 2.16 We have believed that we might be justified We believe in order to Justification And to say as Antinomians do would do much to infer universality of Justification as well as of Redemption It 's Gods mercy that this Error is discovered and that we have His Truth pointing out to us that Justification must have Faith going before it and alongst with it The 2d Use Serves to demonstrat the absolute necessity of believing and taking hold of Christ If Absolution and Justification be necessary Faith must be necessary And therefore if Christ be preached to you and if by Him all that believe are Justified Take hold then I beseech you of the Offer receive embrace close with it and let
your very hearts open to it without which ye can never expect to be Justified before the Tribunal of God Now let God Himself blesse the same Word to you through Jesus Christ SERMON LVIII ISAIAH LIII XI Verse 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities SOme further and more serious apprehensions of our Sin and hazard would make the reading of these Words to be refreshful and welcome to us The stayed thoughts of an Arrestment laid upon us to appear before God's Tribunal and to reckon for our Debt would make us think much of a Cautioner The want whereof make the glad tydings of the Gospel to be tastlesse and without relish This is the great scope of these Words to shew how a Summonded Sinner arraigned at Gods Bar may be Justified and fred from the charge that he is lyable to For sayes the Prophet By his knowledge who is the surity of the Covenant shall many be justâ—fied That which we last left at was this That Faith in Christ receiving and resting on Him is necessary for the attaining of Justification so that in Gods way these are so linked and knit together That never one shall be Justified but a Believer Though there be a Righteousnesse in Christ yet it shall be derived and communicated to none come to Age but to these who by Faith betake themselves to Christ what way the Lord takes with infants Elect Infants I mean is not that which the Prophet aimes to speak of though it be Christs Righteousnesse that is communicated to them as well as it is to them who are at Age yet as to the manner of communicating it God hath His own way which we know not Now that we may learn in speaking to these Truths not only to get some Light for informing of our Judgement but also some help for our practice take two or three Uses ere we proceed any further The 1. Use then is To let you see the absolute necessity of believing in Christ Jesus and that it is as necessary for the attaining of our Justification as Christs dying is For our Justification is an effect flowing from several Causes and the want of any of them will mar it There must necessarly be a concurrance of them all to bring it about And therefore though their be an excellent worth in Christs Righteousnesse yet there is a necessity of Faith to lay hold upon it and to make it ours Gods order in the Covenant bears this out wherein he hath knit the Promise of Pardon of Sin and of Justification to Faith and resting on Christ and there is good reason for it As 1. The Lord will have a Sinner to know what he is obliged to Christ which Faith contributs much unto For Faith stands not in the way of the freedom of Justification but rather commends it for the Lord would have us know that we hold our Life of Him and not to receive Him by Faith is an evidence of highest presumption Therefore it 's said Rom. 4.16 It is by faIth that it might be of grace God hath chosen this way that the freenesse of His Grace in pardoning of Sin may be seen 2. The Lord by this le ts the unbeliever know that the reason of his own ruine is of himself There shall not be one unbeliever found that shall have it to say that the blame lay on God or on Christ because the offer was made to them on condition of receiving it by Faith and they not performing the condition their Guilt is aggreged by their slighting of the offer It 's true that we are not now dealling with them who down-right deny the Truth of this Doctrine but alace what better are they who do in their practice deny it and live senslesly and securely under the Gospel We conceive that there are Three sorts of Persons that have need of a Word to be spoken to them here 1. Such as live carelesly and securely as we just now said as if God required nothing of them at all as they were born they know not how so they live they know not how and when they are pressed to a change of their state and way they make excuses partly from the sinfulnesse of their Nature that they can do nothing partly from the abundant Grace of God that He must do all But it will never excuse you that ye wanted Grace and had a Sinful Nature for whom I pray can ye blame for it ye that make a bachel of His mercy if ye continue to do so shall never get good of it For He hath said that He will Justifie and save none but the Believer There is none other that hath the promise of Pardon it is not made to any thing that is to be brought forth or done by your own strength or by the strength of Nature or of free-will But God hath laid down this order and method and made it known that ye should believe and receive the offer of Christ in the Gospel renunce your own Righteousnesse and betake you to Christ's Righteousnesse otherwayes ye cannot on good ground expect to be Justified 2. Others will set about many things that are good but the Work of believing they can never be brought to mind or own they will make a sort of Conscience of Prayer of keeping the Church of reading the Scriptures c. But to give obedience to the Command of Believing they mind it not they can live and die without it This was the woful and Soul-ruining practice of the Jews of old as we are told Rom. 9. They took much pains to come by Righteousnesse but they attained it not because they sought it not by faith but as it were by the works of the law for they stumbled at that stumbling stone when they had gone part of the way as it were and come to the Stone of believing there they fell and brake their necks Hence there are many who promise Heaven to themselves and think that they have done something for it who yet never laid hold on Christ for their Justification but let me tell you that though you could go the greatest length in Holinesse that ever any did since Adams fall it will not avail you if ye neglect Faith in Christ I say not this to disswade you from the Duties of Holinesse God forbid but to divert you from seeking Justifiâ—ation by them study the Duties of Holinesse but seek alwayes by any means to be found in Christ and in His Righteousnesse and not in the Righteousnesse of your Duties as to your Justification It is true none that have any tollerable measure of Knowledge will profâ—sse down right that they lean to holy Duties yet many are so ignorant that they cannot distinguish betwixt Faith and Works and there are not a few who have a hope of Heaven such as it is who nâ—ver knew any thing of the exercise of believing A 3d. Sort are these who because of some
common favours that they have received as evidences of Gods care and kindnesse conclude their Justification It may be some have had now and then deep convictions or have win to Tears in Prayer or at a Sermon Others it may be have had some joy now and then at hearing the Word Others will it may be dream of such and such Heavenly things and have as they suppose a vision of them in their sleep and some joy will follow on it when they are awaked Others may have met with many deliveries by Sea and Land and God hath dealt wel with them and their Children in external things but alace these things may befall unbelievers not one of them nor all of them together if there be no more will Justifie ye would rather try these things whether they be found and evidences of special Love or not by your believing If they have Faith in Christ carried along with them It 's well If ye can say that after ye believed ye were sealed with the holy spirit of promise and that your joy followed upon your closing with and resting upon Christ ye have no reason to question it but where such tastes goes before and are without believing it 's suspect-like there are many of you that have multitudes of things that ye lean to beside Christ and never seriously put your selves to the tryal whether ye be indeed fled to Him 2. Use We would commend this to you as a ground of Tryal of your selves if ye be Justified if ye have seriously taken with your sin and embraced God's offer of the Righteousnesse of Christ and rested on it make this once sure that ye have been sensible of Sin that ye have been beaten from your own Righteousnesse and that ye have fled to Jesus Christ and closed with His Righteousnesse offered in the Gospel then this will natively follow that by His Knowledge thou art Justified His Word speaks it out plain to thee It may be that some think this to be a broad mark and that others will think it narrow Yet it 's a solid mark and no other thing is or can be a mark but as it implyes this though some may presumptuously gather from it a broad conclusion yet it will be found to be as straining and searching a mark when well considered as other marks and evidences are that we cannot at first so easily lay hold upon and therefore we would say that it 's not every one that thinks he believes but it 's such as really believe who have this evidence and for preventing of mistakes we shall follow this evidence of Justification to wit Faith to the very rise of it 1. It supposes a Charge and Summonds as it were given to the Persons to appear before God 2. There is a Sentence discovered standing against them and over their heads by the Covenant of Works now what can ye say to these Two where I desire you not so much to speak your light as your practice and experience what a Charge or Summonds was put in your hands Have ye read the Lybel of your Sins And have ye seen the breaches of the Law and your lyableness to the Curse of God for the same If so then what means the good opinion that many of you have of your selves This is even the thing that the Apostle sayeth of himself before his conversion Rom. 7.9 Before the law came I was alive but when the commandement came sin revived and I died That is before the charge was put in my hand and I summoned to appear before Gods Bar I had a good opinion of my self and I thought that all was well but when I came to take up the Law in the Spiritual Meaning and broad extent of it I saw my self lost and gone and that conceat fell These Three then usually preceed Faith 1. That a person hath had a good opinion of himself 2. That this person is Summoned or Charged to answer at Gods Bar. 3. That the person is made to passe Sentence on himself as lost and undone by reason of the Laws Sentence and Curse standing over his head unrepealled Now how hath it been with you as to these The most part are quite of another disposition then Paul was They think they are well enough because they never discovered their rotten condition but try well how it is with you go in and see if ever ye discovered in your selves 1. An inclination to establish your own Righteousnesse 2. Was ye ever under a work of the Law humbling you and 3. Was ye ever in your own apprehension lost If so then ye are such as Christ came to call 2ly In the next room consider what ye betook your selves to for answering that Charge and for a remedy of that lost condition there is no remedy but the offer of Christ's Righteousnesse in the Gospel Some being charged wirh Guilt betakes themselves to Prayer and that is well done in so far but if ye hold there and go no further it 's not right It 's here as it was with these who lived under the Law who when they had Sinned made use of Sacrifices and the greatest part held there and went no further whereas the believer looked through the Sacrifices to Christ So if ye hold at Prayer and other Duties and go no further these will not profit you but know ye what it is to go to Prayer and in Prayer to go to Christ and rest on his Sacrifice for your acceptance I fear there be great ignorance here The most part know not what they have done when they were charged or if they did any thing they prayed or if they went any further on they looked to the promise of Gods mercy but that is not far enough gone How many such are there who have made their Prayer their only intercessour and have presumed to step in on God's mercy without a Mediator 3. Suppone that ye have betaken your selves to Christ as to the remedy come on and try how your union hath been made up with him where did ye seek and find him Christ Jesus is to be found in the Gospel in the Ministry of the Word Therefore that is put in on good reason in the definition of Faith given to us in the Catechism That its a resting on him as he is offered in the Gospel but I fear and suppose that many have another Christ to speak so whom they have gotten without knowing or making any use of the Word or offer of the Gospel which is the power of God for salvation to them that believe 4. Wherewith did ye take hold on him or how did ye act on him was it by Faith or not There are many who act on him as they think by Prayer not as the meritorious Cause but as the efficient cause of Justification praying for pity and pardon from Him but this is not to take hold of Christs Righteousnesse by Faith Others think that if they can love and serve Him
and please Him with Duties they will ingage Him to give them pardon and in this they have to speak so an under hand Covenant of Works They will do something to please the Mediator and wherein they come short they expect that he will make it up and this is very ordinary in practice If ye ask some what hope have ye of Justification They will answer through Christs Righteousnesse and that is good in so far but ask them again how they will get it they will answer that they will do what they dow or may and they hope that He will pity them ye would look in upon your own hearts and see whether it be not secretly making something of this kind the ground of your title to Christ and of your Justification And yet all this may be and often is in them that will not stoop to the way of Grace nor submit themselves to the Righteousnesse of God They will speak of Christs Righteousness and yet they will needs give Him some compensation and so come never really to renounce their own Righteousnesse and to flee unto His and to hold it up as their defence before God Take but an impartial view of these steps and many of you who suppose that ye are believers will not be found to be so nor Justified before God because ye lay nor claim to it by Faith but as it were by the works of the Law Use 3. There is here ground for all that neglect Christ and do not by Faith take hold of Him to look for a most dreadful Sentence and ground for others who seek Righteousnesse through Faith to look for a most comfortable Sentence 1. Then is this a Truth that Justification is through Faith in Christ then many of you are not Justified And if the Lord prevent it not ye will never be Justified If so then it must be a most dreadful thing not to believe If ye would know what is your condition ye may read it John 3.18 36. He that believeth not is condemned already and he shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him and Gal. 3.10 As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse For it is written cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the book of the law to do them If ye really believed this many of you would be under horror to hear what a sad condition ye are in even condemned already and having the Wrath and Curse of God abiding on you because the Word curseth and condemneth all that are not in Christ by Faith This I fear belongs to very many who are altogether secure and carelesse and yet are in reputation amongst us And is it not very sad to be professing fair to have the offer of life and to be treating with God about your peace and yet to be still in the State of enmity with Him So that if death were within twenty four hours march to you you could have nothing to expect but the ratifying of this Sentence of Gods curse upon you We are sure there is as much in this as might in reason put you by all means to study 1. To be Believers for without Faith ye are never over the borders of Gods curse which may lay a chase to you and put you to the necessity of fleeing to Christ for refuge 2. To take some pains to try whether ye be in the Faith as the Apostle exhorts 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves whether ye be in the faith prove your selves know ye not your own selves how that Christ is in you except ye be reprobats His meaning is know ye not that this is a truth that ye are in a reprobat or unapproven condition except Christ be in you and Christ is in none but in the Believer If so ought ye not to try your selves if ye be in the Faith if ye be Believers There is no ordinary way to win to the sure and comfortable Knowledge of it but by tryal and if ye be not Believers is there not reason and is it not of your concernment to endeavour by tryall to come to the Knowledge of it As this is ground of terror to the unbeliever so it 's ground of notable consolation to the believer who if he were even put to the reckoning with Paul I was a blasphemer a persecuter injurious yet here is hope for him that he shall be found in Christ not having his own Righteousnesse but Christs believing in Christ will obtain Justification to such a person His Righteousnesse taken hold of and put on by Faith is as pleasing and acceptable to God as the unrighteousnesse of the Sinner is displeasing to him This was it that made David to sing sweetly Psal 32. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth no iniquity to wit through the imputation of Christs Righteousnesse as the Apostle clears Rom. 4. As the first branch of the Use shew the necessity of Faith for Chasing Sinners to Christ so this branch is a sweet motive to draw them to Him and if there were moe sensible Sinners amongst us whose own Righteousness misgives them and who are brought to that pass that the Jaylor and Peters hearers were in crying out what shall we do to be saved This word believe in the Lord Jesus and ye shall be saved would make them come in cheerful as he did from the brink not only of Temporal but of Eternal Death It 's this Faith by which we have access to stand before God ye would therefore be earnestly intreated to betake your selves to it and to Jesus Christ by it for your pardon and peace even for your Justification before God 2dly Consider these Words as they hold out the Object of Justifying Faith which is the great thing in them even to discribe Justifying Faith as to it's Object and Effect and in it's concurring to produce this effect And here there are mistakes and errors both in the doctrinal and practical part of all these 1. The Object of it then is Him Jesus Christ the knowledge of him or the Faith of Him or Faith in Him as other Scriptures have it Or looking more nearly to the words it 's Faith in Him as Suffering as Satisfying for Sin as in Soul-travel bearing our iniquities Hence Observe That Christ Jesus His Rightnousnesse holden forth in Gods promise of free Grace is the native and proper Object that saving and justifying Faith takes hold of and rests upon or to the same purpose the saving Grace of Faith that Justifies is that Faith that does peculiarly apply and rest upon Christ Jesus holden forth in Gods promise in the Gospel as the Righteousnesse of a Sinner that believes on him hence the Prophet calleth it here Not Knowledge more generally taken but the knowledge of him and that as He is holden out in this Chapter to wit as surety for Sinners and suffering for
and by his knowledge shall many be justified and again it is subjoyned as the reason why many shall by Faith in Him be justified Because he shall bear their iniquities By the Knowledge of Him that Offered Himself in a Sacrifice many are Justified and many are Justified because He bears their iniquities which will infer this that Faith considers Him as satisfying for the iniquities of His People in it's acting on Him for Justification and Pardon of Sin it is true Christs Offices are not divided and it is not true Faith if it take not hold of Him and make not use of Him in all His Offices but as there are several evils in us which His Offices do meet with and are suited unto so should Faith take hold of them and make use of them for curing and removing of these evils He is King Priest and Prophet and Faith takes hold of Him as a King to command and subdue us to Himself as a Prophet to illuminat us and cure our blindnesse and as a Priest to satisfie Divine Justice and to procure the pardon of Sin as we are not to seperat so we are not to confound these we use not to say that Christ as a Prophet doth Justifie us nor that as a Priest He doth illuminat us no more should we nor can we well say that as a King He satisfied Justice for us The same blessed God is Wise Righteous Holy Faithful Just Merciful c. Yet He is diversly considered in respect of our conceiving and use-making according to our need so is it here For clearing whereof take these grounds 1. The Scripture speaks of and points Christ out in His Sufferings as the Object of Justifying Faith Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth for a propitiation through faith in his blood where the Blood of Christ and He as Suffering is proposed as Faiths Object so 1 Cor. 1. We preach Christ crucified 1 John 2. We have an advocat with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins where He is holden forth in His Sufferings as the propitiation that Faith layeth hold on John 3.14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth on him c. Where Christ lifted up and as dying on the Cross is made the Object of Justifying Faith even as the brazen Serpent lifted up was the Object that they looked to when they were stung and cured 2. It 's also clear from the Laws lybelling and charging us for the Debt of our Sin that makes us lyable to condemnation and Faith being the mean of our Justification and absolution from the Debt it must needs look to the Cautioners paying of our Debt and so answering the Charge which was done in His Death for He payed our Debt Satisfyed the Penalty of the Law and came under the Curse in suffering Death as is clear Gal. 3. the 10. v. being compared with v. 13. So Rom. 8.34 Who shall lay any thing to the Charge of Gods elect it is God that justifies who shall condemn it is Christ that died which is brought in as Faith's answer to the charge The charge cannot be denyed for we are guilty of so many Sins and therefore lyable to condemnation but saith Faith Christ hath died It proposes Him dying as a Satisfaction for answering the charge and for obtaining of absolution 3. Christ as Suffering and Satisfying Justice is our Righteousnesse and therefore must be the object of Faith as it 's Justifying whereupon it pleads an absolution before the Throne of God So that when we come to plead and found our Defence before Gods Throne it is not on this that Christ is a King and hath subdued us but it is on this groâ—â—d That He is our Priest and hath satisfied Justice for us and payed our Debt and procured a discharge to us So the Apostle speaking of Christs Sufferings Col. 2. Sayes That he blotted out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against us and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross It 's Christ as Suffering that is the ground of our Peace and therefore Faith as Justifying must so consider Him Though we desire to move nothing needlesly yet laying it once for a ground That Justifying Faith layes hold on Christ as a King This will follow as a consequence and as we suppose as a reason That our obedience to Christ as a King hath the same influence and the same Causality in our Justification that Faith 's resting on Christ's Satisfying for as a Priest hath because as Christs Priestly Office gives us a warrand to rest upon Him for Justification so would His Kingly Office if it were the Object of Justifying Faith as such when taken hold of for our obedience We have touched on this 1. That ye may see the warrantableness of this Doctrine which is received in the Churches of Christ and that ye may consider Christ as the high priest of your profession and plead Justification from His Sacrifice acting Faith upon Him accordingly 2. That we may put a Bar against the introducing of Justification by Works under one pretext or another how specious soever seing the Scripture so directly opposes Faith and Works in our Justification For if we once admit that Christ as King is the Object of Justifying Faith as such it would overturn the distinct way of Faith's acting upon Christs Righteousnesse for answering the Charge put in the Sinners hand by the Law and when the soul getteth a challenge for Sin would put it to look what obedience it hath given to Christ as a King to answer that challenge or charge by and would in the same manner also put the Soul to gather the ground of it's peace from the one as well as from the other that is both from Christs Righteousness and from it's own obedience not only as an evidence but a social cause or not only to it 's own sense but as to the effect But we leave this as a â—hing to be regrated that when theâ—e is ground enough of stumbling because of our ignorance and blindness there should and that very unnecessarily be such new occasion of stumbling to Souls cast in the way of Faith We come now to speak of the Act of Faith as Justifying called here Knowledge and the knowledge of him to shew that it points at Justifying Faith for if it were not so it were the same with common Knowledge whereby we believe any History of the Bible but this being Justifying Knowledge it must be Knowledge of another kind We shall here clear 1. Wherein the Act of Justifying Faith consists 2. Remove some mistakes about it and make some Use of it For the First we suppose there are these Four requisit in or to Justifying Faith though not alwayes in the same degree 1. That there be distinct Knowledge in some measure of the Object an antecedent that Faith presupposes and
for which cause Faith gets the name of Knowledge here and elsewhere in Scripture the antecedent being put for the consequent For Faith hath alwayes Knowledge with it though Knowledge hath not alwayes Faith 2. That there be an assent to the thing known as when we know that we are Sinners and that it is the Blood of Christ that must cleanse us from Sin we must assent to the truth of these as Christ sayes John 8. If ye believe not Moses his writings how shall ye believe my Words If ye assent not to the truth of that he hath written how can ye believe my speaking both these are in the understanding and if there be no more this makes but Historical Faith 3. When the Soul knows it's a Sinner and under the Curse and that Christ is a Saviour and that there is Salvation to be gotten by such a Mean and that he an able Saviour and hath assented to the truth of these there is a consenting of the heart to that Truth conditionally proposed and made offer of that is to receive Christ as he is offered in the Gospel which in Scripture is called a receiving of Him John 1.12 To as many as received him c. And this is an Act of the Will respecting Christ as offered and a bargain proposed that will make the Soul happy where Faith accepts 4. There is a resting on Christ received as a good bargain which is also an Act of the heart or will called in Scripture a committing our selves to him a leaning on him or rolling our selves on him which we conceive to be the same that Paul hath Philip. 3.9 That I may be found in him When the Soul places it's safety here and lippens to Christs Righteousnesse alone as contradistinguished to it 's own These Two last Acts are properly the essence of Faith as Justifying and they are well holden out in the Catechism where Faith is described to be a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon Christ as he is offered in the Gospel we shall illustrat it in a comparison made use of before to this purpose Suppose there were a number of Rebells that had incurred the Princes displeasure and were guilty of Treason by the Law suppose also the Princes Son or some Courtier hath satisfied for them and procured their Pardon and Peace upon which there comes out a Proclamation that if they will submit and yeeld themselves and lay down their Arms they shall be pardoned and admitted to friendship as if they had never Rebelled These Rebels must know 1. That there is an Act of Favour past and a Proclamation made on such Terms 2. They must have a general Faith and Assent to the thing and that there is no Question but such a thing is done 3. There is a consultation by the understanding with the will if they will admit of and receive it and trust themselves to it And then 4. There is the hearts consenting to accept of the offer of Grace on the Terms of the Proclamation and a resting on it which is a lippening of their Defence to it that if ever they should be called to an accompt they will make use of such an Act of Grace and of the Proclamation for their Defence and safety and lippen to it and to His Faithfulnesse who made the Proclamation believing that He will fulfil His Word and Promise It is just so here in a Sinners acting Faith for Justification We may instance and illustrat it also in the example of the Prodigal wherein we may find something of all this when he had been in the hight of his distraction and madness in his natural condition It 's said He came to himself he knew and believed that there was meat enough in his Fathers house and resolved to go home upon his knowledge follows his resolution and his will consents I will rise and go which supposes his Faith of an offer of meat on condition of his going and then there is that whereon he grounds his Defence I will say father I have sinned I will disclaim all and betake me to thy Grace implyed in the word Father he resolves to table his Defence on this ground and upon this comes home More particularly 1. Knowledge of the Object rested upon is necessary Rom. 10. How can they believe on him of whom they have not heard It is not possible we can believe what we know not And as every other step hath some doctrinal mistake and some practical so hath this The Doctrinal mistake is that Error of Papists unworthy to be refuted They say there is no Knowledge requisit to Faith Yea some of their prime men have said that Faith is rather Ignorance then Knowledge but surely then Faith would not be called Knowledge if it might rather be defined Ignorance but this they maintain to keep the People in Ignorance of the Gospel and it 's the ground of many moe Errors and much Delusion It 's even as a blind man could go well in a slippery place where are many Pits for Knowledge is no lesse necessary to Faith then eyes are to such a man The practical Errors in this are such as we find in many of you who think ye can believe well but ask and put you to it ye cannot tell what many of you are obstinat maintainers of implicit Faith while ye say ye have Faith and yet cannot tell what it is nor whereon it is grounded but we say that Knowledge is so necessary to Faith that if it be not a part of it yet it 's necessarly antecedanious to it and presupposed Therefore if ever ye would be accounted Believers study Knowledge and the Knowledge of Christ Crucified at least so far as to ground your Faith upon It 's sad that so many will maintain the reality of their Faith and yet are grosly Ignorant of the Fundamentaâ—s of Religion Knowledge is the very use of and first step to believing and yet it 's hardly possible to brangle the vain confidence of many whom it 's as impossible to bring to Knowledge 2. There is an Assent requisit to the Object Known which is that we call historical faith and this is to be confirmed in the general Truths contained in the Gospel as that Adam was made according to Gods Image that he fell and brake the Covenant of Works and made himself and all his lyable to Gods Curse That we are by that Covenant under Gods Curse That Christ Jesus the Son of God according to the Covenant of Redemption entered Himself Cautioner for the Elect that He really died and payed their Debt That His purchase is made offer of in the Gospel and that according to the Covenant of Grace there is an real absolution from Sin and an eternal happinesse to be had at the great Day through embracing of Him There must be an assent to the Truth of these things for it is impossible that they who think not themselves Sinners and that mind
that 's the Righteousnesse of Christ by Faith taken hold of by me which Fâ—ith shuts up as it were Paul in that Râ—ghteousnesse and hids him so as he is past over as if there were no unrighteousnesse at all in him The Effâ—ct of this Faith follows when a Person â—s chased and hath fled into and laid hold on Christ the effect I say is he shall be Justified we may consider this several ways and for explication's sake I shall shortly put by some of them 1. Then according to the exposition of the words take this observation That there is such a thing as Justification distinct from Sanctâ—fication That benefit of Justification follows on Faith's taking hold of Christ because it's such a benefit as follows Christ taking on our Sin By his knowledge shall he juâ—tifie many for he shall beâ—â— their iniquities Now Sanctification is not that but the infusing of Holâ—nesse in us and is the work of Gods Spirit inwardly working a change in the man we did some way clear and confirm this in the exposition of the Words and shew you how Sanctification differeth from Justification Now ye are justified now ye are sanctified Sayes the Apostle 1 Cor. 6. Making them distinct benefits To clear it a little further Two things are to be considered in Sin both which are to be removed by Christ but differently 1. Something that defils and polluts us and makes at disconform to Gods Image hence Sin is in the Scripture compared to Boills and Sores and menstruous Cloaths and is called filthiness 2. There is a guiltinesse that follows on this whereby we are not only presupposed unclean but are made lyable to the Laws Certification wherein it 's said Cursed is every one that continueth not in every thing written in the book of the law to do it Now if we speak of the removing of these two Justification takes away the guilt of Sin when the Sinner is pursued before God's Tribunal he is discharged by the imputation of Christs Righteousnesse to which he is fled for refuge The Law absolves him not because he wants Sin but because the Mediator hath saâ—isfied for his Sin and that Satisfaction is by Faith laid hold of Sanctification takes away the pollution and blot of Sin the Person that had these Boills and Sores is cleansed or healled or is a healling and under cure for there is no compleat healling while on this side of Heaven As suppone a man by transgressing the Law had wounded himself in wounding or hurting another there is here both a guilt and a deformity a guilt in transgressing the Law by hurting his neighbour and a deformity in wounding himself Justification is as if the penalty of the breach of such a Law were not exacted by the interposing of a Cautioner and Sanctification is like the healling of the Wound in a mans self by taking or application of some Physick or Plaister So is it here Justification sets us free from the guilt and Sanctification cures us of the wound of Sin mans fall was a guilt and by that fall he wounded himself and by Christ boâ—h are removed from the Believer by His Satisfaction He j stifies and by His Grace and Spirit He Sanctifies him Use We observe it only in passing because it serves to clear all that concerns Justification and therefore when we speak of Justification by Christs Righteousâ—esse 1. It 's not as if we had a Righteousnesse communicat to us and were made actuâ—lly holy but it 's the iâ—putation of Christ's Righteousnesse to us the confounding of these two does ill and is very prejudicial not only to Papists but to others who think they are Justified when they think they have some good frame which being wanting they suspect their Justificat on 2. The meaning is not as if Christs Righteousnesse were our Sanctification which is the Error of the Antinomians who make all Sanctification to be Justification even as the Papists make all Justification to be Sanctification therefore we would learn to distinguish these two yet not so as to separat them 2dly Observe That this effect Justification is not only nor mainly the sense of being pardoned and absolved but it 's real absolution and pardon it self because this Justification that follows Faith is that which Christ hath purchased by His Soul-travel and bearing of our iniquities and intitles the Justified Person to Him and makes him to be of His Seed and that is not to have the sense that we are Justified but actually to be Justified And here there is another mistake to be adverted to to think Justification to be the evidence of that which is past before we were born yea from Eternity The Justification here spoken of is that which makes us stand before God is opposit to Works and to the Curse and frees us from it But the sense of Justification is not that whereby we stand before God and is opposit to Works and the Curse and therefore take this Advertisement that Justification is not to be sensible of our Justification but it is really to be so whether we know and be sensible of it or not and that by vertue of Christs Righteousnesse apprehended by Faith The Third and main thiâ—g in this effect is That laying hold on Chrâ—st by Faith as He is offered in the Gospel does before God serve to the Justifying of a Sinner and the absolving of him from the guilt of Sin That is when a Sinner sensible of Sin is brought to lay hold on Christ's Righteousnesse then follows Gods absolving of him as if he had never had Sin or had satisfied for his own Sin which is not only holden out here but is frequently spoken of through the Epistles and is the Justification that stands in opposition to the way of Works to wit when a poor Sinner sensible of Sin is perswaded by Gods Spirit to flee unto and rest upon Christs Righteousnesse offered in the Gospel upon which follows Gods absolving of him This Doctrine takes in the substance of the Text By the knowledge of my righteous servant shall many be justified There are several things that will fall to be cleared in the prosecuting of this which we shall speak to shortly for clearing of that Question of the Catechism what is Justification because this Doctrine holds out the Form of it and deduceth it in this order 1. A Sinner is here supposed to be lying under Gods curse according to that Gal. 3.10 Cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the law This is mans condition by nature 2. It is supposed that Christ becomes Cautioner for elect Sinners and takes on their Debt and satisfies for them on condition that if they shall believe on Him they shall be Justified and have His satisfaction imputed to them and that the Lord Jehovah accepts of the Mediators Satisfaction and ingageth to make out the condition 3. The Lord in the Word of the Gospel hath revealed this and hath
comprehended the way of a Sinners Justification in the Gospel Covenant and promises and makes offer of it to all that hear of it saying He that believes in the Son shall not perish but have eternal life and all that believe on him shall be justified from all things whereby they could not be justified by the law of Moses This is the external instrumental cause of Justification that holds out the way to Life which supposes the former 4. When this is made offer of in the Gospel there is the oâ—eration of Gods Spirit on the Soul illightning the Mind of the Sinner convincing him of his hazard chasing him to Christ and powerfully perswading him to take hold of His Righteousnesse made offer of to him whereupon the Soul comes to put forth the Act of Faith and to rest upon His Righteousnesse as when it was said by Philip to the Eunuch Act. 8. If thou believest thou mayest justified The Soul answers I believe in Christ the Son of God whereupon it becomes a bargain and this is the inward mean or instrumental cause of Justification 5. Follows Gods imputing to that Sinner that receives Christ as He is offered and rests upon Him by Faith His Righteousnesse and Christs payment and satisfâ—ction to Justice is counted his and according to this his Sins are pardoned for the merit of that Righteousness and he himself is accepted accounted Righteous as if he had never sinned and he hath such a sentence past on him as is held forth in these words of Psal 32.1 Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered to whom the Lord imputs to iniquity and in these Rom. 8.1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus c. Even as before he fled to Christ there was a Curse standing against him And this is an Act of God the Soveraign and efficient Cause To declare his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus as it is Rom. 3.26 which is the final cause We may confirm this either as to the positive part that by believing a Sinner is Justified or as to the negative part that there is no other way possible whereby a Sinner can be Justified but by believing So that this great Effect follows from a sensible Sinners taking hold of Christs Righteousnesse by Faith Ye may look upon a few Scriptures to this purpose as namely Gal. 2.16 Where the Apostle entering in the debate layes down this conclusion Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ as if he had said we have taken this way for the attaining of this end believing that we might be justified The Apostle speaks here 1. Of a Justification by Faith which is opposit to Works and as he ascribes it to Faith so he denyes it to Works 2. He makes it exclusive and will have no other thing to concur in the manner at least but Faith Knowing saith he that a man is not justified by works but by faith 3. He holds out his own and other Believers practice Even we have believed that we might be justified As if he said we took this way of Faith to be absolved before God which by the Law or the Works of the Law would never have been See also to this purpose the Epistle to the Romans 1 2 3 4. and 5. Chapters especially the 3 and 4. In the 3d. chap. v. 25. When he is summing the Doctrine of Justification into a compend he sayes Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith to declare his righteousnesse for the remission of sins c. Where Christs Righteousnesse is called a Propitiation through faith and Faith is holden out as the Channel in which Justification runs and in the words following the Believer is holden out as the Object of it So Chap. 4. It 's holden out in the instance of Abraham particularly v. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousnesse Where the Apostle propones Two wayes of a persons aiming to be Justified The 1. whereof is when a man works or worketh not on that account to be Justified by them and on that account seeks to be Justified and that way is rejected The 2. is when a man hath no works but by Faith betakes himself to Christ's Satisfaction and that way is established for that mans Faith is counted for Righteousnesse and is the ground of his peace before God we gave some Scriptures before for this and shall not therefore now insist There is also good reason why it cannot be otherwayes 1. If we consider what man is in himself ungodly rebellious having nothing to present unto God but when a Righteousnesse is presented to him by way of offer and he is through Grace brought to accept of the offer of Righteousnesse of another nothing can be conceived to be brought to receive it but his Faith and iâ— Christs Satisfaction be his Justification and if it be Faith that takes hold of it we have a clear reason why Justification is attributed as to Faith 2. Consider That this contributs most to Gods end which is to glorifie himself especially in his Grace in the Justification of Sinners even to hold forth the manifold riches of His Grace and nothing contributs to this so much and so well aâ— that which speaks the Sinner to be empty and nothing empties the Sinner more then Faith it being the great Act of Faith to bring the Soul of it's own bottom and to stop all boasting to drive it out of it self to be found in Him Therefore it 's said to be of faith that it might be of grace Rom. 14.16 As if he had said if it were by any other thing it could not be by Grace but Faith claims nothing but the Righteousnesse of Christ to rest on He hath payed the price and made the Satisfaction and that Satisfaction is mine saith Faith because it was offered to me and I have been brought to lay hold on it and the nature of this pleading stops the mouth of the creature and proclaims Justification to be alone the effect of Gods Grace and of Christs procurement 3. Consider That if it depended on any other thing our Justification could never be perfit when we speak of Justification and call it perfite It is not so to be understood as if Faith were perfite but Christs Satisfaction which is our Righteousnesse and which Faith layes hold on is perfite â—hough our Faiths grip be weak Hence it is that the weak Believer is Justified as well as the strong all who look unto Christ though with a weak sighted eye yet Salvation through him as well as Abraham because His Righteousnesse is perfite which weak Faith takes hold of as well as
strong Faith Now if Justification were founded on ought within us it could never be perfit but by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses And one of them made at free as another It 's not here as if one part of the Debt were scored and blotted out and not anoâ—her but all is blotted out becausâ— the Righteousnesse presented before God's Tribunâ—l and imputed to us which is the Defence that Faith gives in is perfiâ—e We may compare strong and weak Faith to two Advocats the one more able and the other weâ—ker pleading the cause before a just Judge strong Faith pleads more strâ—ngly fully and distinctly weak Faith pleads not so fully and distinctly but both pleading on the same ground God the Judge Judgeth not according to the distinctnesse or undistinctnesse of the pleading but according to the Defence or Reason given in and absolves both alike and the weak Believer is as fully pardoned as the strong is The Uses are many and comfortable 1. It serves for our Direction if any were asking how they may come to be Justified This Doctrine answers by Faith in Jesus Christ by taking with your Sin and taking hold of Christs Righteousnesse offered to you in the Gospel and by making that your Dâ—fence before God And is not this a Lesson worthy the learning which the whole Word of God aims at even to instruct you how to make your peace with Him It 's by the knowledge of Christ or by Faith in Him by resting on Him as He is offered in the Gospel and this cannot but be a solid and sicker way of Justification because we have Gods Word for it it 's founded on His Faithfulnesse and on the Transaction made betwixt God and the Mediator we have also the experience of all the Saints for it Abraham before the Law David under the Law and Paul since the Law all of them were led the same way ye would take noâ—ice of this not only as the great question in Catechizing or Examination but as ground whereon ye build your peace if ye were dying There is a perfite Righteousnesse in Christ made offer of to you in the Gospel on condition ye will receive Him as He is offered and if ye so receive Him it shall be yours and ye shall at Gods Ear be absolved the Righteousnesse of Christ shall be as effectual for your absolution as if it were inherent in your selves and Faith shall unite you to Him and make you one with Him In a word ye must all come before Gods Tribunal and there are but two Defences to be proposed either something in your selves as your love and charity or good carriage and duties or to take with your Sin to condemn your selves and to flee to Christ and present His Righteousenesse as the Righteousnesse of the Cautioner that hath payed your Debt and according as ye take the one way or the other ye may expect to be Justified or not and this Doctrine rejects the one way and ownâ— and confirms the other which is by Faith And therefore 2. which is the great Use of all this Doctrine here there is ground laid down to any that would be Justified how they may win to it and a warrand to propose Justification as a thing attainable through Faith in Him ye have it in your offer on these terms and therefore let me earnestly intreat you to accept of the offer if this be the way of Justification take this way seing there is an absolute necessity of Faith in every one that should be at Justification make it sure that ye are indeed fled to Christ and that it is His Righteousnesse which ye make your Defence before the Bar of Gods Tribunal We shall branch forth this Use of Exhortation in these Two or Three words 1. When Christ is spoken of in the Gospel let him be by Faith received and if ye would know what this is labour 1. To know and to take up the difference betwixt self-Righteousnesse and that Righteousnesse which is by Faith For many are so ignorant that they know neither the one nor the other or at least not the one by the other 2. When ye are come to know the difference betwixt these two and are soberly weighing what ye would lippen to in your coming before God with indignation shuffle out and cast by disclaim and renunce your own Righteousnesse and grip to the Righteousnesse of Christ here Faith will have a double Work upon the one hand to reject Self-righteousnesse and upon the other hand to rest upon the Righteousnesse of Christ alone according to that Philip. 3.9 3. When ye have gotten your own Righteousnesse casten and Christs Righteousnesse closed with there is a necessity to cover and hide your selves in it that ye may never so much as in the vaging conceit of your mind be found out of it It alluds to the City of refuge wherein when once entered into and abiden in the person was safe buâ— if he was at any time found without he was in hazard to be killed by the avengâ—â— of blood which held out not only the Act of Faith fleeing to Christ but it 's abiding in Him being hide in Him containing and keeping it self in Him and continuing to plead it's Defence on that ground There may be in a fit of sad exercise a renouncing of our own Righteousnesse but when that is over and we begin to conceit something of that which we have done we are ready to forget Christs Righteousnesse and to lean to our own and that it in a manner to come out of Christ and from our City of Refuge if ever we were in Him Faith as it betakes it self to Christ so it States it self in Christ where only it dare abide the tryal 2. We would commend this to you as the great ground of your Peace and Hope even that ye would put it to the tryal and make it sure whether ye be in the Faith or not It is true there are many beguiled in this and take themselves to be in the Faith when they are not and others question their Faith and their being Justified without just ground yet it 's impossible to win to clearnesse of interest in Christ or to the having of any solid and comfortable hope of enjoying God except there be some clearnesse that we are in the Faith and have indeed betaken our selves to Christ which cannot be win at without putting it to the tâ—â—al Other evidences serve to clear our Justification as they clear our Faith and as they prâ—ve Faith so they conclude and prove our Justification and the out-gate promised Now if believing be such an evidence of Justification and of a well grounded hope of Hâ—aven is there not reason we should put it in good â—earâ—esâ— and frequently to the tryal and seek to know whether we be in the Faith or not The Apostle 2. Cor. 13.5 Doubles his
Sinners Justification is to table Christ's Satisfaction for his defence before God and to plead his absolution that ground The believing Sinner's Faith sayes it is true I was own so much Debt of Sin but Jesus Christ my Cautioner to whom I am fled hath satisfied for it therefore I ought to be absolved and the Law allowes of this sort of pleading and upon this ground in which respect Faith concurreth in attaining and may well be called the Instrumental Cause of our Justification I shall say no more on this Use but these two words we may partly regrat our great ignorance that we know so little of the use of Faith in our Justification And partly we mâ—y lament the great confusion that is in these times wherein men are set to overturn such a clear truth as if Faith had no instrumentality in our Justification but as if it and other Duties and Works were equal sharers and alike in it Which 1. overturns the nature of Gods Covenant of Grace in making Works the condition of it as if there were no difference betwixt the two Covenants of Works and of Grace 2. It hath this miserable ill attending it that it shoulders out Christs Righteousnesse and shuffles in an inherent Rrighteousnesse of our own as our defence when we come immediatly before the Throne of God whereas the Gospel puts us to a Righteousnesse without us and imputed to us This way leads us to seek Righteousnesse in our selves whether Works or Faith as a Work be made the ground of our Justification it is all one For if Faith considered as a Work in us disposing us to Holiness and as a part of sincere Holiness be the thing presented to God as the ground of our Justification it is still something within us and such a thing as is still imperfite which would miserably mar poor Souls comfort whereas the Righteousnesse of Christ laid hold on by Faith being made the ground of our Justification it affoords solid consolation For though Faith in us be weak and imperfite yet His Righteousnesse is perfite and as it was not the Israelites looking as we said that was the ground of their health and cure but Gods appointing of such a mean for their cure looked to Otherwayes they that were weak-sighted and had bleared eyes might think themselves not in such capacity of healling as these who were strong and more clear-sighted whereas they were all alike cured if once they looked even so is it here A 2d Use of this and the other Doctrine formerly spoken of is for Direction and practical Information would any know how to get Justification by Christ here is the way It 's by Faith in Him when Christ Jesus and His Satisfaction is made offer of in the Gospel for Justifying all self-condemning Sinners that lay hold on Him Sinners by Faith fleeing to Him and resting on Him get a title to His Righteousnesse that cannot but save them So that if it were 1. asked what is that which a man appearing before the Throne dare hazard to present to God as the ground of his defence It 's answered Christs Righteousness His Satisfaction 2. If it were asked How comes one to have Title and Right to that Righteousnesse so as he may own and present it for his defence It is answered that it is attained by believing in Him If it be asked how comes Faith to get a Title to that Righteousnesse is it by any vertue or efficacy in Faith as a Work in us It 's answered no but it comes to get Title to it by going out of it self by receiving and taking hold and making use of the worthinesse that is in Christs Righteousness which is as a Garment able to cover the Sinners nakednesse and to hide all his spots and as a compleat Ransom to pay all his Debt And this we see here upon the one side a necessity of Faith in order to Justification and upon the other side a warning not to count Grace and the Righteousnesse of Christ the less free that Faith hath an instrumentality in the application of it Faith having Two things that it pleads upon 1. Emptiness and need in it self whence it arrogats nothing to it's own pleading but 2. founds it's defence on the good ground it hath to propose And therefore as upon the one hand we would know that there is away to come by Justification by taking hold of Christs Righteousnesse by Faith So upon the other hand we would be afraid to let any thing stick to us from our Faith as if we had a meritorious or efficient hand in or were to be thanked for our winning to Justification For as a Beggar in receiving an Alms can alleadge no merit to be in his receiving or calling for it so no more does Faiths receiving mar the freedom of our Justification by any merit in it Use 3. Seing Faith concurres instrumentally in the attaining of Justification there is here clear ground to exhort you by Faith to receive Christ and to commend to you the exercise of believing because without it ye cannot be Justified and by it ye shall certainly be Justified Use 4. Here O! here is ground of consolation to poor Sinners sensible of Sin trembling at Gods Bar as being obnoxious to the Curse that by receiving of Jesus Christ they may be absolved from the Debt of Sin and fred from the Curse Therefore if there be any such here put forth your hands and receive what is in your offer open your Souâ—s mouth wide and let in Christ and He will fill it Faith having as to our Spiritual Life the same place that the mouth hath to the body as to the entertaining of the natural and bodily Life it opens and receives what is needful to keep in the Life of the Body And were not this good news to poor Souls burdened with Sin loathing themselves and their own Righteousnesse seing it all to be but as filthy Rags and crying out with the Jaylour what shall we do to be saved Paul would say to such and we say it in the Lords name Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be justified and saved for Justification is derived by Faith in Him to the Sinner Use 5. This serves exceedingly to humble a Sinner whether it be a Sinner aiming and seeking to be Justified or a Sinner that hath attained Justification in so far as there is no ground of boasting here If ye be aiming to be Justified it may humble you for what can ye contribute to it being enabled ye can indeed receive what is offered and that is all neither can ye receive except ye be enabled as is said It serves also to humble such as are Justified Have ye Righteousnesse it's not your own but Christ's It 's He only that did the turn if it should be said ye beliâ—ved and may boast of that I ask what did ye when ye believed did ye any more but this ye pleaded guilty and did consent
to take Christs Righteousnesse and the pardon of Sin through Him freely and what matter of boasting I pray is here none at all Thus this Doctrine contributes both to make these who are seeking pardon and these who have gotten pardon humble Where is boasting then sayes the Apostle it is excluded by what law by the law of works no but by the law of faith as it is Rom. 3.17 The believing Sinner does nothing and hath done nothing towards the procuring of His own Justification but gets all freely We can never think nor speak aright of Justification but it layes our vain humour and stops the mouth from boasting while it saith What hast thou O! man but what thou hast received and if thou hast received it why dost thou boast as if thou hadst not received it We shall close and shut up the whole of this Doctrine by proposing some few considerations as conclusions from it 1. See here a necessity of being acquainted with the Truths of the Gospel and with this Truth in particular concerning Justification whereof alace many are very ignorant seing there are so many wayes to go wrong and so many do go wrong about it we had need to be the more clear in the right way If there were more knowledge of this and of other Truths we might speak and hear with more profite and if ye did not please your selves with meer and airy notions but sought to be settled in what ye hear of other Truths and of this in particular it would contribute much to your peace and rid you of many doubts and difficulties A 2d Consideration is That there is much need to walk in holy fear in studying this and other Truths there are so many wayes to err and a wrong step here is very dangerous It were exceeding profitable to be more in the study of Justification that is of the very marrow of the Gospel and is deservedly accounted to be articulus stantis aut cadentis ecclesiae but ye would come to it in fear being jealous of your own ignorance and shallownesse of capacity rightly to take it up especially when new questions are rising and started concerning it And as Paul and David studied this way and held it forth to others as the way whereby they went to heaven and whereby others must come to it So we commend it to you to follow them A 3d. Consideration is If Faith be so necessary to Justification as without it ye cannot be Justified is there not reason that ye should study to be distinct and clear that ye have Faith and that ye are indeed Believers This is one of the great Uses of all this Doctrine If there be no way but Faith and if in studying this one way many go wrong then as ye would make your calling and election sure study to make this sure by puting your selves to the tryal if ye be taking this way as the Apostle most pathetically exhorts 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves if ye be in the faith prove your own selves c. It 's truly matter of wonder to think how so many men and women are so soon satisfied in the matter of their believing which yet is so tickle and difficult a businesse we would have none to be jumbled and confounded about it who desire to be serious in the thing yet we would have all wakened and put to diligence many men have taken pains to be wrong in this matter of Justification and how few of you have taken pains to go right in it and how is it that many of you win so easily at it Seing the Apostle Rom. 9. calls it a stumbling stone to many and a rock of offence Surely 〈◊〉 it be so your coming at it by guess and ignoranly is to be suspected And therefore on this consideration ye would be awakened to put your selves more seriously to the study of it and to try your selves if ye be come well to it for it 's the special yea the only-ground of your peace before God There are many of you who in a manner think it impossible to miscarry in this For ye know that there is no way to be Justified but by Faith and yet if many of you were put to it ye know not the manner nor way how Faith Justifies which shews that it is not so easie a matter as ye take it to be A 4th Consideration is this That in speaking of Justification and Faith's peculiarnesse or peculiar way of concurring in it ye would beware of crying down Works as to their usefulness or necessity This was an error that soon entered in the Church as soon as Paul cleared and pressed the Doctrine of Justification by Faith some arose who as James shews in the 2d Chapter of his Epistle affirmed that Works were not needful but Faith would save them no sayes James that faith is dead and vain that wants works And therefore remember 1. That although we tell you that Works are not properly the condition of the Covenant of Grace yet we say that Faith and Works are never separat in a Justified Person sound Faith cannot but work and put on to the study of Holinesse 2. We say although Works concur not in the obtaining of pardon of Sin yet we say they are needful to Salvation and to folks entry in to Heaven For the Apostle saith Heb. 12.17 That without holiness none shall see the Lord Though it's Faith that makes our friendship yet it 's by holinesse that it 's entertained and it 's holinesse whereby our communion is keeped up with God Therefore Col. 1.12 We are said by it to be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light For it transforms us to Gods Image 3. Works are necessary though not to procure our peace yet for the entertaining of our peace and except we have Works we cannot have a solid proof that our Justification by Faith is real and in this respect James sayes Chap. 2. that Abraham was Justified by Works That is by his Works he was declared to be a justified person As to the Justification of his person he was justified by Faith before Isaac was born but by his offering up of Isaac and other Fruits of his Faith he was declared and manifested to be a Justified man and made suitable to the Covenant that he was ingaged in with God Therefore as the sum of all be exhorted to study the exercise of Faith and Holinesse so as every one of them may have it 's own room and place for that will be your advantage and without this no other thing will advantage you Now God himself that calleth for both Sanctifie and enable us for both SERMON LXII ISAIAH LIII XI Vers 11. For he shall bear their iniquities IT 's a thing that can neither be easily believed nor yet understood how by Christs knowledge or by Faith in Him many shall be justified In these Words the Prophet adds a Reason that both confirms
were the practice of Believers dayly they would see a necessiâ—y of thinking much of him O! when will we be serious and constant in the use-making of this part of his Office 5. Because it may serve also for ground of conviction to many that are called Christians and who go through many cases and d ffiâ—ulties and yet know not what it is to acknowledge him in his intercession O! It 's a sad thing for folk to bear the name of Christians and yet if they want any good thing and can get it another way they neglect and misken him And if it be well with them and if they obtain what they would have they sacrifice to their own net and he is slâ—ghted The next thing in order is to remove some Objections and to answer some Questions conâ—erâ—ing this improvement of Christ intercession in the manner that we have spoken of And there will readily be store of them in our carnal minds Now for the removing of these Objâ—ctions or Doubts I shall lay down some grounds for direction that may answer any Doubt of that kind which may arise partly from the Doctrinal partly from the practical part of this Doctâ—â—â— It being a puzling piece of exercise to â—omâ— that they think they know not how to improve Christs Iâ—tercession or that they never did it aright or possibly both these maâ—â—e their exeâ—cise The 1. grounâ— I would lay down is this That ye would remember that there is an unsearchablenesse in this mystery of the God head in the mystery of Gods becoming man and in the mystery of the Mediator his takiâ—g on of these Offiâ—es to exercise them in our nature and in speaking or thinking of them there is a necessity to silence that which our curiosity would propose for Satisfaction about them as namely how there are or can be three Persons in the God head and yet but one God how one of these Persons can be man and how it is that by him we have access to God the Father Son and holy Ghost There is silence required in the how of these things which leads to the next derection 2. We would study Satisfaction in the matter of the truth it self rather then to be poring into the m nner or how of profound Mysteries especially such as concern the blessed God-head Which is higher then the heavens broader then the earth and deeper then the sea That is as we hinted before we would study rather to know that there is such a thing then how it is as in this particular we know that the Son of God became man took on our nature and in our nature died rose again ascended to heaven sat down on the right hand of God and makes Intercâ—ssion for us These are clear But if we ask how these things can be That God can be man and that two natures can be in one person and how God can interceed they are things much above our reach and not to properly the object of our Faith I say as to the how of them â—â—d our consolation lyes not so much in knowing how such a thing is as in knowing that it is and I make no question but there are many who pray in Faith because there is an Intercessour who if the question were asked how he performs that work They could not tell well if at all These that can tell most of it are very ignorant of it and can tell but little The Lord in his goodnesse hath so ordâ—red the matter that he hath given grounds for the Faith of his people to walk on in their duty but will not satisfy their curiosity and truly if we will seriously reflect we will find that these things which most readâ—ly vex us are questions about the manner and not abouâ— the matter of things we do not doubt that the Son of God is God that the holy Ghost is God and that he procâ—eâ—s from the Father and the Son that the second Person of the Trinity became Man c. But the perplexing question is how these things are or can be The Lord hath made it necessary to be believed that there is one God and three Persons in the God head but to be in reason satisfied as to the how or manner of their subsistance and operations that is not required as necessary So is it here in this matter of Christ's Intercession And therefore this second direction is that ye would study clearness in the grounds that ye are to go upon in the use-making of his Intercession but ye would not be curious in seeking satisfaction about the how or manner of it 3. In our addresses to God and in our improving of Christ's Intercession we would beware of imagining or framing in our imagination representations to our selves of him who is the object of our worship or of the manner of the Mediators Intercession as if we had seen him or heard him with our bodily eyes or ears a thing that sometimes is fashions and troublesome as well as it is sinful and which we are not called to yea if it were possible to attain to any representation of this kind yet it 's but a representation of our own forming and so a breach of the second Command And therefore in going to God through the Mediator never represent to your selves one party standing beside or by another For that is but a diverting of the Soul from the exercise of Faith on a purely spiritual and simple object and derogatory to the majesty of God and when ever such representations are made or rise in the imagination or in the mind God would be looked to for crushing of them It 's from this that many of our doubts and questions arise and there is no loosing of them but by â—he abandoning of them If there were a-possibility to conceive something like God yet the Lord abhorreth that and Deut. 4.15 and 12.30 All Similituds and Representations of God are discharged 4 In our addresses to God through the Mediator we would rest our Faith on what is revealed in the Word seeking rather to take up God and Christ â—s they are revealed in it then without the Word to seek Satisfaction to our curiosity we would from the Word study to take up the attributs of God his omniscience omnipotency omni presence wisdom grace and mercy purity and holinesse soveraignity and absolute dominion in guiding all and as being at such an infinit distance from and infinitly above all creatures that thereby a right impression of God may be wrought in the heart we would likewise study clearness in the promises and concerning Christ and his Offices And in applications to God we would fix our Faith on these known grounds believing we shall be heard and being quiet on that Moses Exod. 33. Is under a vehement longing to see God I beseech thee saith he shew me thy glory The Lord tells him that he cannot see it and live but he will make his goodness pass before him