that or the woman whom thou gave to be with me she 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 she gave me of the tree There is an Emphasis in the Woman The or that Woman 2. An Emphasis in the Lord's liberality Thou gave her by way of goodness and liberality but I wish the Lord never had been good nor liberal in that kind 3. To be with me as an helper who now is a tempter 4. She as the chief cause gave me of the fruit and I did eat I repent says he in sense that thou was that graciously Good as to give me a tempter but I am not grieved for my own sin in eating So the common excuse woe to the Providence that God sent such an unhappy counseller to me oh what had I to do there So does Job repent in some respect in his weakness not that he came in the world an heir of wrath and a sinner but ah the fatal and wrathful Decree of God that ever I was born to such misery Job 3. 3. Let the day perish wherein I was born Jerem. 20. 14. But the Lord willeth the Crucifiers of Christ to mourn that they 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with wicked hands crucified and slew Christ and yet Peter counsels them Acts 2. 23. to submit humbly to the determinate Counsel and Fore-knowledge of God Our deceitful hearts are readier to repent for the holy Events and Facts of divine Providence then for our own sins as if the holy Lord did erre in his permissive providence and we doe not amisse in transgressing of an holy Law But such as are most active to doe the will of God and esteem it their meat and drink to obey his will as Jesus Christ Jo◠4. 34. and go about doing good Acts 10. 38 39. are most passively savoury and graciously submissive to suffer the will of God as he was Matth. 26. Nevertheless not my will but thy will be done Isa 53. 7. He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a Sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth 1 Pet. 2. 23. Who when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him that judgeth rightously And Jeremiah who mourned so for sin as he desired his head were waters and his eyes a fountain of tears that he might both be humbled for the judgements and the sins of the people Jer. 9. 1 2. hath said much in the book of the Lamentations for justifying God Lam. 1. 18. Lam. 3. 38 40 41 42. Lam. 4. 10 11 12 13. Lam. 5. 19 20. and was willing himself to be carried captive So was Daniel who mourns and confesseth and fasteth three full weeks Dan. 4. Dan. 10. 2 3. and ascribeth righteousness to God The more submission there is in Job there is the more spiritual frame of a gracious spirit in him Job 1. 21 22. 2 Sam. 16. 10. and they who fret most at suffering as Cain Gen. 4. 13. and Jehoram 2 Kings 6. 23. Shall I wait any longer upon the Lord are most froward and unwilling to doe or act the will of God And on the contrary such are most impatient and blasphemous in suffering as damned reprobates who are less active in doing God's will and denying it 2. The Lord requires unto holy Soveraignty a submission to that permissive providence of his he suspends his gracious influences and what can we doe but sin Say a milstone were tied with Chains in the Air if the Chain break the stone must fall Remove the Sun and it must be dark night The Lord knowingly and of purpose withdraws his influences and Angles or Men in their strength cannot stand Convene and summon the wittiest thoughts of Men and Angels who acknowledge a providence and answer to this suppose a master of a house excellent in goodness and of a deep reach of wisdome to let fall out of his hand two precious stones of incomparable worth Jewels of the price of the half of the Earth and he only can keep them safe yet he suffers them knowingly and purposely to fall and be broken The Lord who hangeth the Earth upon nothing and it s not moved might and could have kept Men and Angels in their integrity but of purpose he suffers them to fall and be broken upon a mighty rock 2. A husbandman hath a huge broad and vast plat of ground most fertile for wheat olive trees the most delicious and excellent vines in great abundance it s a wide land of honey of Milk of many gardens of incomparably fragrant herbs with meadows and grass for millions of flocks he sees a great River shall overflow all this land this husbandman only can fence off the river with a strong bank yet he knowingly suffers the Flood to overflow and drown all that nothing can more grow in it then the bottome of the Sea 3. A Governour of Ten rich and populous Cities knows of a train of fire which by degrees shall at length consume in one flame men women sucking children gold silver houses gardens he can quench the train if he please yet he suffers a strong wind to blow upon it withdraws not water from it which is a sort of fomenting thereof until all be consumed What can here be said to him who gives not account of any of his matters this is the free dispensation of the only wise God to standing and to falling Angels and Men and who can judge God or find him out in this It may seem needless curiosity to determine which of the two Providences and which of the two Wills in the holy Lord must be first or choicest Whether that by which Adam should have stood happy in perfect obedience without fall or sin given to the Covenant of works or that Providence and Will by which the Lord designed to bring in the wonder of mercy and grace Emanuel God manifest in the flesh the delight of Men and Angels it seems to say that the Lord's will is more set upon Adam's final dutie which never had being and which the Lord immutably from Eternity decreed should never be then his holy Will is fixed upon that wonder of the World of Heaven and Earth the riches of the glory of his grace and other attributed in that precious and incomparable mystery God manifested in the flesh It s true God wills us rather to obey and not to wound our selves by sin then put him to pardon our disobedience or to seek a Mediator or remedy for sin But the Lord by his commanding will in his Law chargeth us under the pain of condemnation to obey but the Lord by no commanding will in his Law chargeth himself to provide and seek a Satisfier and Mediator he provides a Redeemer by his will of purpose and holy decree nor willed he ever fallen Adam to solicite his author commanding or decreeing will to provide a
nor receiving of a new heart is our sin The sowrness and naughtiness of the Earth in bringing forth poysonable weeds is the Earth's own indispotion the Sun and Clouds extract these poysonable herbs the natural driness of some rocky Earth and the not raining of the clouds meet both in one to wit the barrenness of the earth and this takes not away the faultiness of this earth so rocky 2. Our guiltiness that appears is evident in our eik which we make to original and natural malice for acquired pravity meets with natural and original corruption like two floods to make a Sea or a great River or as when a man forceth a wound to bleed which of it self would bleed And again what ever may be said of the result of the Lord 's withdrawing of influences we add an impulsion to his withdrawing as the adding of the heat of an Oven neer the root of a fruit tree to cause it to ripen adds something to the heat of the Sun and the Influences of the Heavens and when the heart walketh after the heart of our detestable things as it is Ezech. 11. 21. and with the intended bensil of the free-will we put our seal and consent to the Lord's withdrawing there is no ground to complain of his withdrawing Q. But does not the Lord 's withdrawing of his influences since without his concurrence of that kind our actings are impossible doe violence to free-will which must be indifferent to act or not to act to doe or not to doe Ans This is a weak reason for to our willing the influence of God is natural and so is it to our nilling the Lord â—akes his influences and the withdrawing thereof connatural to all our actions to both willing and to nilling driness and barrenness is as connatural to the tree as budding and fruit-bearing if God add his influences either to the one or to the other yea since the Lord's concurrence is sutable to the nature of second causes the fire leaves not off to be fire nor is its nature destroyed if the Lord withdraw his influence so that the fire burns not the three children nor is violence done to nature by the Lord 's joyning of his influence to the fire to burn in acts of righteousness or of sin there is still nilling and willing And suppose that the Martyr chose to die a violent death for the confirming of the truth there is no violence done to free will nay there is no miracle in the Lord 's concurring to the material acts of sin 2. To have dominion over the Soveraignty of God is no part of the creatures liberty but only it is free in order to its own actings nor is it essential to the free-will of Men or Angels or any creature to have the influences of God in its power or at hand As it is no part of the Sun's power of yielding light or of the fires quality of casting heat to have dominion and command over the influences of God the supreme and first cause but the Lord hath so a dominion over second causes both in acts natural and supernatural that his influence as Midwife ever attends saving his holy Soveraignty the bringing forth of all births and effects of second causes So as in the free-wills moral actings the not acting of free-will or the marring of the birth of new obedience to a law of God is never from the Lord 's physical withdrawing of his influence as from a culpable cause but the sinfulness of the action is ever from our own sinful withdrawing of our will from under the moral sway of the holy command of God and let it be a mystery how the Lord withdraws his concurrence as being above a law he is holy and spotless in so doing and how we are under a law and sinfully guilty in that we love to want his holy influence and it s our sin and he loves to withdraw his influence and it is his holy Soveraignty Both which are clear in Scripture if we confess that we are debters to the Lord and to his just Law and his holy Soveraignty in that he yieldeth his influences and in his having mercy on whom he will and in hardning whom he will in the Lord 's drawing of men or his not drawing of them to Christ in revealing the Gospel mystery savingly to whom he will Rom. 9. 18. John 6. 44 63. Matth 11. 26 27. nor can the Lord be a debter to the Creature in these And this mysterie is a clear revealed truth if we yield that the Lord 's active drawing calling inviting of sinners to come to Christ is his holy and sinless work and our passive not being drawn and not being effectually called and invited to come to Christ is our sin of unbelief and our refusing and rebellious rejecting of his call Isa 65. 1 2. Prov. 1. 24 25 26. John 5. 40. and that he so calleth and hath mercy on whom he will because he will as it is the flesh and carnal wisedom that objecteth But God so calling some as they must come because so he willeth and so calling other some as they must be hardened because he willeth gives a seeming ground to two great Objections 1. Why then doth God find fault and rebuke and eternally refuse the so called for if they were called with that drawing power that others are called with sure they would believe and come but they are not so called therefore God cannot blame us find the fault in unbelievers Rom. 18. 19. 2. If God so call some as they obey and others as they obey not because he will who can resist his will his will is as himself then do we reject God's calling and eternally perish because God so doth will Now not any ever breathing moved any such Objections but the carnal Jew in Paul's time and the Socinians Jesuits and Arminians in the age we now live in and stumblers at the word for all such enemies to grace turn the Objection into an argument against the absolute will and invincible grace of God and answer not with the holy Ghost who Rom. 9. calls it a bold fleshly replying unto God v. 20. for the holy Ghost asserts the Soveraignty of God as the potter over the clay the guiltiness of vessels of wrath Rom. 9. 22. and their disobedience in refusing the call of God v. 29. their following like Pharisees Law-righteousness by works and stumbling at Christ the stumbling stone laid in Sion Rom. 9. 31 32 33. wheras the Gentils were called of free grace v. 24. 25 26. therefore they must be of the same stamp with the fleshly Jews who thus object against us and such are the Patrons of universal grace and free-will Hence let that be discussed 1. Would God give me grace I would be a man according to God's heart as well as David But 2. I was born in sin and I cannot have more grace then God hath given me
they were born There is a temper of solid walkers by faith enjoying much peace yet not acquainted with great Spring-tydes nor with extreme low ebbs of the outlettings of the holy Ghost I speak not of Moses as a Prophet who saw God and whom the Lord knew face to face Deut 34. 10. 3. Some are led through fewer slips and fals as John the disciple who leaned on Jesus bosome excepting his fall of Angel-worship and some other few he seems not to be so high bended as Peter who in Satans place disswaded Christ from the working of our Redemption denyed the Lord with cursing did fouly Judaize Gal. 2. 4. And it were hard to make all the Prophets of Jonah's mould whose fear to preach to great Niniveh was extreme and yet his courage of faith and patience to be cast in the Sea with his own advise and consent was as great and his cruel selfishness to desire that all Niniveh old and young should be destroyed rather then his prophetical honour should be darkned in the least shews what a piece of man he was and his justifying his anger against God for a blast of wind on his head and the withering of a poor herb a gourd do all hold forth that God leads some in a way of influences beside the rest O how is our meek Lord troubled and to speak so cumbred to bear all our manners sinful tempers and humours 5. Nor are all Saints of the altitude of Elias his zeal a man much and wholly for God and fervent in prayer yet he seems to challenge more zeal to himself for the slain Prophets digged down Altars broken Covenant then was in the holy Lord himself and so prays that God would take away his life as if he were the last man of the true Church of God living on Earth and yet we read in all his sufferings no apprehension of the anger and indignation of God such as was in others 6. None are so trailed through Hell and fiery indignation as Job David Jeremiah Heman there appear in them some habitual mistakes of the love of God or rather because sinful acquired habits are scarcely to be found in the renewed more fixed inclinations to apprehend wrathfulness and Law-dispensation in God and few are led this way and the outlettings of influences of grace must be various here 7. Neither should it be strange if we might place Isaiah Ezekiel Daniel and others in a seventh class who had their own complainings One saying my leanness my leanness another fasting and walking in sackcloth for the sanctuaries desolation and yet most submissive to the holy dispensations of God In all which another mans compasse is not our rule of sayling nor is the Lord 's various dispensation to his children which is ordered by his decree and will of pleasure not by his commanding and approving will the Scripture rule that we are to follow in looking after Influences Every one would submit to be ordered of God he hath almost a various way of leading his own if the same compleat ransome the same Promises the same Guide and Steersman to Heaven be mine and the same hope of glory yet the manifestations of God the love visits the influences of grace are hardly the same It s then a faulty ground of some never one was like me none of my condition in the world since the Creation Every one thinks their own hell on earth the only hell 2. Nor should Christians be unwilling to know the spiritual condition one of another you may fall upon some in your very course and kind It s like David Psal 71. 7. Heman Psal 88. 15. the suffering Church Lam. 1. 12. Psal 102. 6 7. Elias 1 King 19. 10. Isaiah and Christ and the children of Christ who were wonders and signs Isa 8. 18. Heb. 2. 13. who were there alone as worlds wonders might judge themselves like no other though the man Christ could not mistake his own spiritual estate as to their case spiritual and God's dispensation towards them 8. The Soveraignty of God's dealing with consciences in the Old and in the New Testament is to be observed It is not 1. To be denyed but the desertions under the Law in some respect were more fiery and legal the typical dimness and darkness made them to see less love and more Law and lesse of Christ the seat of mercy and more of the curse and of wrath as the night darkness renders spirits and dreadful things more terrible 2. It was the purpose of God to awe generally that people more with Law-fear and bondage then his people under the New Testament But it is a wicked doctrine of some Anabaptists and others that all desertions are under the N. Testament cried down and gone and it is our legal mistake say they that works trouble of conscience under the N. Testament and an exercise of such as are under the Covenant of works though it may be said law-sorrow pursued these of the Old Testament but the Saints now are less passive and more active in pursuing sorrow according to God yet in another respect because of greatness of light and Gospel experiences and a higher measure of illuminations and spiritual presence in more abundance is promised and prophecied As that all shall be taught of God the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun as the light of seven days Jer. 31. 31 32 33. Isa 54. 11 12 13. Isa 11. 6 9. Ezec. 36. 26 27. Isa 44. 1 2 3 4. Joel 2. 28. Zech. 12. 10. under the New Testament therefore the desertion is the sadder Thirst near to the fountain is more intollerable so we read not in the N. Testament of one like unto Job chap. 3. c. 6. c. 16. c. 19 nor of such as David Psal 6. Psal 38. nor of Heman Psal 88. nor of the Church Psal 77. Psal 102. yet is there nothing harder then that of Paul 2 Cor. 1. we cannot say whether it was his persecution at Ephesus or some great sickness yet it is a most sad tryal ver 8. 9. 1. We was pressed out of measure 2. Above strength 3. In so much that we dispaired even of life 4. But we had the sentence of death in our selves and what ever be the kind for even Christ had so much the more sorrow at the withdrawing influences of the comforts that immediately flowed from the God-head personally united and this was Christ's hell in part therefore we are to look upon desertions in the song of Solomon as prophetical and relating to the desertions in the New Testament in the which the rise of the grief is not so much from the apprehension of sin legally tormenting as from the sense of the want of the sweet comforting presence of God and of the wel-beloved Christ yet there is as much in that of pain as in
spirit 2. We are not to do any thing because God in his word hath commanded us to doe it but because the Spirit immediately acts in us to doe and immediate impulsion of the Spirit is now instead of the Law and of the word of God either written or preached but this is a wicked confounding of the efficient real cause and the strength of which we obey with the objective cause and morally directing commanding and perswading rule according to which we are to regulate and order our obedience yea and children can contradict this who know that the Mason who imploys his strength to build must be differenced from the Masons Rule and the Art plummet and line according to which he works for otherwise it s all one as to say the power or faculty visive of seeing were light were colours that are seen and the souldiers force and strength of apprehending a man and Law and justice according to which they do it were all one a gracious soul doth all acts of obedience upon the account of a command of God and fetcheth his moral and godly delight from the command of God the facility and strength of doing is indeed from the Spirit for whose help he desires to be thankful and to whom he desires to give all the praise and glory 2. It s a false Spirit which is so contrary to the word of precept and command 3. It s fit to subscribe to that Psal 127. 1. Except the Lord build the house they build in vain that build except the Lord watch the City the watchman waketh but in vain 1 Cor. 3. 7. So then neither is he that planteth nor he that watereth any thing but God that giveth increase But the holy Ghost never dreamed of such an inference therefore let builders watchmen and Ministers of the Gospel go to bed and sleep for God he alone shall build Cities and Houses and watch over men and all societies and bring all souls to Christ yea he hath commanded us to act and to help the Lord so he speaketh Judges 5. 23. 1 Cor. 3. 9. 1 Cor. 4. 1. and it hath a real truth though he needs no help from the creature and we are for his holy commands sake to act and to eye and trust in him who in all the acts of nature and oeconomy and art leads the way and in all the acts of grace yea we are to rejoyce that the Lord Jesus is Master of work and only Steersman CHAP. II. 1. What the natural man can doe to get influences the natural man can doe more then he does and can exercise the natural powers to come within the bosome of the net though he cannot hale himself to land 2. How the Lord can command the naturally blind to see and believe 3. How sin original deserves eternal wrath 4. It s such a sin in infants 5. The want of original righteousnesse and a power of believing is a sin in us 5. How the Lord commands impotent men THe greater doubt is how the Lord can command supernatural acts to a man drowned in nature but it s not here as when a Tyrant commands a child to wheel about the first heaven else he shall kill him for the so moving of the heaven is neither a moral duty nor was it ever a duty compassible by the physical power of the arm of a child or a strong man But the main intent of our Lord in laying on supernatural commands upon man unable to believe is that men may know what they can pay and what they owe and can never pay but not of their own pay the debt of faith the precept is not unrational where the end is rational 2. Not that the natural man may satisfie but that he may come and compone and acquiesce to a friendly Gospel treaty for nothing heightneth the price and worth of Christ more in the shining of free grace nothing kills and renders self-condemned the man more then a seen necessity of forgiving love yea the reading of the writ of the Law-debt with tears when this is holden out to us the Lord gave a bill of grace to those who had nothing to pay and he forgave them frankly is a strongly convincing dispensation 2. Something which is really little or nothing a natural man may doe to fetch the wind when he cannot command it and cannot sayl he may and often doth exercise the natural faculty of moving from place to place and comes as a meer natural man upon a meer natural motive sinfull curiosity and a purpose violently to apprehend Christ as the souldiers doe John 7. 45 46 47. yea with bloudy hearts and a purpose to persecute as the hearers of Peter doe Acts 2. and yet beside and contrary to the will and intent the man is wrought upon and converted before he go away as some go to Sea and sayl to India poor with no intention to be enriched with gold but only to get bread and yet they come again from India rich with Indian gold and many precious stones far beside their intention A man rude and ignorant goes to Athens upon no purpose to become learned yet providence so disposeth that he falls in love with learning and studying many years he returns from Athens a most learned man Now no man can say that either the Indian gold or the learning of Athens did contribute any real or physical strength to his loco-motive and natural faculty of journeying to India or Athens so neither can it be said the Spirit of grace or the Gospel of grace did add any new real and physical strength to Peter's hearers to cause them to come in under the stroke of the preached Gospel Now the Gospel is the power of God to salvation the Apostle useth such spiritual weapons of warefare to cast down strong holds it s the arm of the Lord Rom. 1. 16. 2 Cor. 10. 56. Isa 53. 1. and the preached Gospel is the triumphing chariot of Christ conquering Christ's office-house of free grace Now a man on his own feet and by his own strength though sick may come to the Physicians office-house where all his medicine boxes and helps and remedies of health are and be cured ere he goe a way and may go away with perfect strength and health yet he came to the Physicians house in no strength nor health which he received from his art and medicine The Word is the net the Fish may come in its own natural motion within the bosome of the net but it s the strength of the arms of the Fisher that hales the Fish to land the Fish catcheth not it self The word of God is a sharp two-edged sword and doth the work by the Spiriâ—â— Heb. 4. 12. The mouth of Christ is like a sharp sword Isa 49. 2. His arrows are sharp in the heart of the Kings enemies whereby the people fall under him Isa 45. 5. A man may in his own natural strength come in within the shoot
death another that deserves eternal death we cannot believe Mr. Baxter 3. It makes us children of wrath Eph. 2. 3. by nature as others are If it be temporary wrath only and Infants be free of sin that condemnes to the second death Christ bare in his body the sin of no Infants Christ died for sinners only the just for the unjust 1 Pet. 3. 18. Rom. 4. 25. Isa 53. 6 10. Infants are not sinners nor are sucking Infants laved and washed in his blood as others Rev. 1. 5. Nor are they sinners whom Christ came to save 1 Tim. 1. 15. Nor are Infants any of the many or of the all for whom Christ gave himself a ransome Mat. 20. 28. 1 Tim. 2. 6. And since the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to Infants and they are to be baptized Act. 2. 38 39. there must be some other name by which Infants must be saved then by the name of Jesus Christ contrary to Act. 4. 12. For what need is there of Christ's righteousnesse and of remission of sins and redemption in Christ's blood Rom. 3. 25. Ephes 1. 7. Col. 1. 13 14. to Infants if sin original be no sin 4. Heathens ignorant of sin original are still left by such masters to accuse Justice If Infants be free of sin why is nature called by them a step-dame which hath brought forth men in such misery when they enter in the world Why do Infants suffer death burning drowning ripping up and wounding in the wombe Why suffer they such wrath of pining sicknesse incursions of Devils if all these be free of sin Some say these are temporary evils but it proves not any sin deserving eternal burning to be in Infants The Lord needs not my lye but let any man answer me in point of holy spotlesse justice how a punishment of ten degrees can more be inflicted for that which is no sin nor any transgression of a Law then a punishment of a thousand degrees See how Mr. Baxter with Arminians and Pelagians can from Scripture teach us of whole sins and half sins whole wrath and hell and half wrath and half condemnation or half hell Q. But what Law is there that we should have the power of believing or the image of God The covenant of works doth presuppose that image to be in man otherwise he is not in a capacitie to be in covenant with God therefore it could not be injoyned and commanded in the covenant of works that Adam should have this Image of God And if so the want of it must be a meer punishment not a sin Ans The Lord in creating Adam must necessarily have a two-fold Consideration One 1. of a Creator 2. Another of a Law-giver In the first the Lord creates Being but in the latter he is such a special Creator to wit a Law-giving Creator who while he creates Being does concreate these noble Principles and write and by nature ingrave the Law of the Image of God the natural knowledge of God his holinesse justice mercie c. and of right and wrong and a natural holinesse and innate conformitie of the heart to the eternal Law of God in mans soul A Painter drawes the portraict of a living beautiful heroick King according to the living man the Painter both gives being to the painted image and such a being according to the law and art of painting he followes exactly and accurately his copie and living samplar and so gives a law to his own acts of painting And therefore God in one and the same act both creates man and gives him a being even holinesse his image and holy being and in creating of man gives and concreates and ingraves the image of GOD sound knowledge right inclinations and while the Lord creates he gives and ingraves a Law and while he gives and ingraves a Law he creates man And therefore it follows not that the covenant of works does not presuppose the image of God in man and it does not follow but the very act of God in stamping and ingraving his image in Adam is also a giving of him a Law Yea God in creating any creature of nothing does also concreate as a sort of Law-giver such a natural Law Every creature Sun Moon Heaven Earth Sea Man Angel ought to be subject as a creature to God Creator in being and operation Here is both the act of a Creator and also the act of a Law-giver Now the eternal Law of God requires that mans soul should be by creation indued with the image of God and Adam and Evah by that image said Amen to that Law for a time Eat not lest ye die They knew the Law was just and they knew it was their natural obligation to obey and how can it be denied but this knowledge was a part of the mans natural goodnesse and holinesse and so agreeable to the eternal Law of God and that the contrary of this to doubt of the truth of this as Satan induced them to doe Gen. 3. was a blacking of that fair image and contrary to the law of nature 2. The more of this image that is left in the soules of men by nature as the more knowledge natural justice and vertue remain in Aristides Regulus Seneca Tullius c. the more lovely they are and so must their souls have a more natural conformitie with the law of nature then other Heathens who kil'd their aged Fathers sacrificed their sons to Devils used wives promiscuously Then what God condemnes in us that we should condemn in our selves and therefore are to be humbled for our state we are in by nature For we are dead in sins and trespasses by nature the children of wrath as well as others Eph. 2. 1 4 We our selves were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another Psal 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother warm me Upon this account the Lord suffers his own to fall and lye in the dust and to know what beasts they are as the godly confesse Psal 73. 23. Prov. 30. 2. themselves to be Nothing men are more ashamed of then that they are descended of a traiterous and bloody Family that sucked the paps of the bear or the wolfe that the father and mother were dogs and swine and they born of leprous parents the house of sinful Adam that we lay claim unto is a botch-house and leper-house and worse And this is more vile then if there were none of the world that we could claim kindred unto but serpents dogs swine and wolves 2. How proud and shamelesse are we to deny this running botch of sin original and say it is no sin would it cure a man of a raging pest-boile to say it was no pest to give it another name It 's a part of original sin in our Atheism to belye the Lord and say it is soul-sicknesse but it is not sin it deserves not
thousand of the people that have set themselves round about me Psal 6. he prayes Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath have mercy on me return again O Lord deliver my soul That prayer is heard and the result is an heavenly disposition to part with wicked men 6. Depart from me ye workers of iniquity and a new disposition of assurance The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping And assurance that God heard the man is a new seed of praying to him again Psal 116. 3 4 5 6. Psal 18. 3 4 5 6. So Psal 31. after complaints and heavenly petitions v. 4. Pull me out of the net 9. Have mercy upon me O Lord make thy face to shine upon thy servant c. follow heavenly dispositions 1. Of commending the seeking of God v. 19. O bow great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee A disposition to encourage others to seek God v. 23. O love the Lord all ye his Saints c. A disposition to encourage fainters v. 24. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart How shall I get praying Praying helps to praying How shall I get holy dispositions Holy dispositions beget holy dispositions How shall I get courage and spiritual strength Psal 31. 24. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart that is be strong in the Lord and he shall make you strong in him So Psal 27. 14. Wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart wait I say on the Lord. The courage of faith is commanded and the argument is God shall strengthen thy heart and give thee courage As if we were the beginners of the good work so does the Lord frame his precepts promises to shake us out of our laziness that we abuse not his grace and gracious influences to wanton idleness So the Apostle Be strong in the faith and couragious and God shall strengthen your heart and furnish you So the Father speaks to his child lift at this burden I will lift your arms and strengthen them to lift the burden and to bear it 2. They are refuted hence who say The Lord bids us be of good courage and he knows courage and strength is from himself yea but so as you are to goe about acts of courage He bids us pray and he knows prayer is his own gift and the work of his Spirit It 's so here but he bids you pray that you may pray believe that you may believe So he commands heavenly dispositions and he only can give them So he commands heavenly habits and heavenly dispositions but yet so as ye act When a Physician enjoyns one for such a disease strive to have your body and cloathes to cast a good savour does he not enjoyn also that this sick man should carry about roses precious oyntments Would we act more in God and pray more and haunt more in heaven we should savour more of heaven And when men complaines of deadness it is with reflection on God he quickens me not and therefore I am dead his Son is the resurrection and the life and he sends no inflnences of life on me That is the physical cause and the Lord is free of your sinful deadness and unsavouriness in so doing Why complain of the moral faulty cause that is complain of your self complain that ye lie not among the roses ye are not much meditating and drawing life out of the precious promises ye are not often in wisedomes house ye are not much with the King at his banquet ye draw not near to his house of wine habits and heavenly dispositions grow from multiplyed spiritual acts and spiritual acts come kindly from heavenly dispositions My heart is fixed What is the particular disposition here aimed at For clearing of this know a disposition in general of which I spake above is one thing and this disposition is another These three must be differenced 1. The state 2. The temper and constitution 3. The disposition The state is to be renewed in Christ or in nature born of the spirit or yet remaining and walking in the flesh acted by the prince of the air that rules in the children of disobedience the birth and state of living is neither up nor down to the temper and constitution which is either strong and vigorous or weakly and sickly or betwixt these the state of living or birth consists in indivisibili if the man breath and live in nature or in Christ being now a translated person he hath a natural or a spiritual life but howbeit some be born again some are fathers and experienced radicated and confirmed Christians others are young men strong in the faith and both these are of a good spiritual temper and constitution But there are a third sort that are babes in Christ and though born again yet weakly and sickly frequent out-breakings much doubting liable to strong unmortified passions 1 John 2. 12 13 14. And to be born of God is common to all the three sorts and the essence and nature of the new birth agrees equally and univocally to them all all have their own influences finished to them from Christ but the spiritual tempers may differ as weak and strong healthy or sickly good or bad at least lesse good But as for dispositions of the regenerate they are qualities that go and come now anon I judge you will say the new-birth and the heavenly disposition are all one For David was born of God while he was under a wicked disposition to deflour Bathsheba to kill Vriah to be avenged no Nabal all which were bad dispositions when the new-birth is the new-birth and saving work of the spirit And again the spiritual disposition differs not a little from the spiritual temper 1. The spiritual temper is permanent as one is a weak man until he come out of his childhood for so many years or months he is Infant so long a child so long a youth So one is so long a babe in Christ and grows to be stronger in the faith and at length comes to be a father in Christ but even while the same babes age in Christ continues and the same weakly and sickly temper and inclination to yield to temptations in David new born and a babe good dispositions may be on to pray to praise to commit his life to God in extream dangers to make Psalms and yet Davids spiritual temper and constitution is and may be bad and sickly as Peter before our Saviours death is born again and a believer Matth. 16. 16 17. and by his much ignorance and frequent slips as acting Satans part in disswading Christ from the necessary work of redemption his carnal confidence in himself in saying he should never deny Christ his smiting off Malchus eaâ— his denial of Christ with an oath it appears that the spiritual temper was weak and much carnal nor can it be denied all that time when
INFLUENCES OF THE Life of Grace OR A PRACTICAL TREATISE CONCERNING The way manner and means of having and improving of Spiritual Dispositions and quickning Influences from Christ the Resurrection and the Life BY SAMUEL RUTHERFURD Professor of Divinity in the Vniversity of St. ANDREWS in SCOTLAND John 3. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth Cant. 4. 16. Awake O North-wind and come thou South blow upon my garden that the Spices thereof may flow out Let my Beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits LONDON Printed by T. C. for Andrew Crook and are to be sold by James Davies at the gilded Acorn neer the little North door in St. Pauls Church-yard 1659. Books published by Mr. Samuel Rutherfurd professor of Divinity in St. Andrews in Scotland 1. THe due Right of Presbytery 2. A Disputation against Liberty of Conscience 3. The Rise of Antinomians Familists and Libertines 4. Christs dying and drawing Sinners to himself 5. A Sermon preached before the Parliament 6. Influences of Divine Grace 7. De Providentia Dei 8. A Survey of Mr. Tho. Hooker's Church Discipline CONTENTS GOd intends that no man should be saved by the Law p. 1. c. 1. p. 1. True liberty grace loves to be restrained from evil p. 1. c. 1. p. 2. That the first Adam was to pray for perseverance is not clear p. 1. c. 1. p. 3. Adam was to rely on God for perseverance but as promised by the covenant of works idem Our grace in the second Adam choicer then that in the first idem The Lords Influences in all p. 1. c. 2. p. 4. Infinite almost Influences of God p. 1. c. 2. p. 7. To look not spiritually on influenâ—es is brutish p. 1. c. 2. p. 8. What influences are p. 1. c. 3. p. 9. Influences of God are sutable to Gods end idem Influences of God for nilling and willing most rare and excellent idem How Christ and the promised spirit must be the causes of gracious influences p. 1. c. 3. p. 10. We are to believe that he who purchased by his merit the habit of grace shall give sutable Influences and to fear also our propension to fall p. 1. c. 3. p. 12. The promise of Influences in Christ p. 1. c. 3. p. 13. The necessity of Influences p. 1. c. 4. p. 15. Reasons of renewed Influences p. 1. c. 4. p. 16. The first Adam might want Influences the second cannot idem Satans actions alwaies destitute of Influences p. 1. c. 4. p. 17. How God withdraws Influences in particular acts hic et nunc and yet hath promised to bestow Iufluences in the regenerate by promise p. 1. c. 4. p. 18. The Lord acts on us by his Influence but we act not on him ib. How we cannot pray away desertion and the tryings withdrawings and yet are we to pray submissively for the removal of desertion and are to pray against withdrawings p. 1. c. 4. p. 19. The Lords withdrawings makes not the Holy One the author of sin nor destroies liberty p. 1. c. 5. p. 20. The cause why God is not chargeable with the act of disobedience and man is chargeable p. 1. c. 5. p. 21. Our interpretative wanting of Influences and our formal sinning in the same act cleared p. 1. c. 5. p. 24. The soveraignety of God is destroyed by Pelagions to the end they may exalt mans free will p. 1. c. 5. p. 25. Of our acts and spiritual duties under the spiritual withdrawings of God p. 1. c. 6. 26. We are to do our part in duties under withdrawings grace sweetens duties p. 1. c. 6. p. 29. What soveraignety is and how it differs from omnipotency p. 1. c. 7. p. 33. We storme more at permissive providences then at our own permitted sins p. 1. c. 7. p. 37. They are most graciously active to do the will of God who are most graciously passive to suffer his will p. 1. c. 7. p. 38. The unsearchablenesse of the Lords dispensation into the eternal standing and falling of angels and men idem Its vain to determine that the providence of never sinning is choicer then the providence of your imbringing of Christ God-man to dye for sinners p. 1. c. 7. p. 39. The righteousnesse of God through faith is incomparably above our inherent righteousnesse p. 1. c. 7. p. 4. It s a more eminently declarative glory which is brought forth in the second Adam nor possibly could have been in the full and final obedience of the first Adam p. 1. c. 7. p. 41. By justification we are not only negatively freed from guilt and wrath but also possitively righteous p. 1. c. 7. p. 43. We are not to struggle with permissive providence but to be low because of the deep result of that providence our own permitted sins p. 1. c. 8. p. 45. The soul humbling thoughts that should flow from holy soveraignity p. 1. c. 8. p. 46. Soveraignety is eminent in holding of possible wills and in determining the measure of suffering Of the soveraignety of God in the works of Creation and Providence p. 1. c. 9. p. 52. Who ever flatteringly complains of the want of influences of grace hates these influences Nature cannot complaine of the want of gracious influences p. 1. c. 10. p. 58. How we may lawfully complain of withdrawings of influences of grace and how we may lawfully desire influence p. 63. The faultinesse in not praying is not because the holy spirit moves us not to pray but because we stir not up our selves to pray p. 1. c. 10. p. 64 We are to act duties before we feel the actings of the spirit p. 1. c. 10. p. 71 How to wait upon the breathings of the spirit how its lawful how not p. 71. Our impotency to duties being reproved cannot excuse us in the omitting of them p. c. 11. p. 73 The Lords withdrawing of Influences is conjoyned with our guiltinesse and cannot be found an excuse for not praying p. 1. c. 11. p. 74 The sin of the creature is not from the Lords withdrawing of his physical Influences but from our withdrawing from his moral command p. 1. c. 11. p. 76 Natural men wish Physical Influences of God but they hate moral honesty p. 1. c. 11. p. 80 Riches cannot add mercifulnesse to men p. 1. c. 11. p. 82 Faith and grace do not depend on extraordinary means and teachers sent from hell and we are much deceived thinking had we more grace we should be more gracious p. 1. c 11. p. 84 If free will be weak in the improving of a natural power it will be so in the improving of supernatural grace p. 1. c. 11. p. 85 God ties us to his one way of removing of sin not to our empty wishing that it were removed p. 1. c. 11. p. 93 What sort of Influences we are to seek from God p. 1. c. 11. p. 94 The using of means is an approved way of God p. 1. c. 11. p. 96 Some violently brought into Christ some more
I would be as holy as David nay there is in the man a tormenting sorrow that he cannot have more power and stronger influences of hell to doe more evill and so he hates these influences of grace of which he speaks It may be doubted ere we speak of other differences whether perseverance was promised to Adam in a law-state or not for if prayer was a worship enjoyned to Adam before the fall no less then publick worship of praising for the workmanship of creation Gen. 2. 2 3. it may be said if Adam was to suit any thing in prayer to God then especially was he to pray that he might not sin and might not be led into temptation but might stand in obedience and so might have influences to determine his will to stand and continue therein and this the law of nature seems to say 2. If he was to trust in God for acts of providence for his standing in obedience then especially for acts of the Lords free predetermination to cause him to stand and so both praying and believing must relate to a promise and if so then must the Lord have promised in the first covenant of works perseverance and influences to persevere Ans It may be probably said Adam was to pray but the particulars he was to suit in prayer are as unknown to us as any thing he was to sanctifie a Sabbath and to praise and to exalt God in his works of creation but for praying for perseverance and predeterminating influences by which he might persevere while Scripture speaks we must doubt he was to desire to intend and purpose to persevere as he was obliged by the law of God to persevere but for instituted praying or believing that God should give to Adam perseverance either absolutely or upon condition that he should pray for perseverance and so upon condition that he should persevere in praying for or in believing of influences to persevere the Scripture is silent and we can say nothing where Scripture-light doth not lead the way its like that the onely means moral of persevering must be here a law without the image of God within and Adams free will in obeying but God having a purpose that the covenant of works should not be the fixed standing way of justification and life and that the elect Angels should be confirmed that they should not fall nor be able to fall yet have we no warrant to say that they came to that State either by praying or meriting or law obedience but of free grace or that Adam's first sin was neglect of praying for perseverance As to the other there is no doubt but the first command did engage Adam to rely upon God for strength and divine influence as promised by any covenant of works or grace is another thing Yea its unwritten that either Law or Gospel which then was not promised any such thing What a blessed condition are we in above that of Adam grace was given to Adam immediately from God but in a separated way from God the stream being as it were cut off from the fountain and was in Adam as a Winter well that in Summer may goe dry but grace is now given first to the second Adam as the head and fountain and to the Elect in a way of unseparable union of the stream with the fountain as he partakes of grace in Christ and mediately And the neerer the streams run to the fountain the stronger and the more unfailing is the emanation as may appear in the man Jesus united personally to God in the Angels now confirmed in Christ their head Col. 2. 10. in the glorified who act by an immediate influence from God in Christ immediately and at the well head enjoyed any distance from God may be neer some fall CHAP. II. Gods acting influences 2 His influences are in all creatures 3 The sweet safety of believers in possible calamities 4 Our atheism in reading the Book of providence c. 1. THat there are strong influences upon all causes from the Lord may be evinced 1 From the holy tongue the Hebrews use the verb in hiphil noting a double action when one causeth another to act to note influences Deut. 32. 39. I cause to die and I cause to live Hannah so sings 1 Sam. 2. 6. Jehovah causeth to die and causeth to live he causeth to goe down to the grave and to come vp again the Lord maketh poor and he maketh rich he maketh low and he maketh high so the passive verb is used Which perfection in short is in that language above others and when such actions are ascribed to God they shew that God hath an influence and impulsion as the first cause in all actions the Scripture herein abounds The Greek language comes short of this Joh. 5. 17. My Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worketh hitherto I work And though he work all works in all creatures yet in believers this is made true in Pauls sense Philipp 2. Work out your salvation in fear and trembling How but we may miscarry and fail True saith he if you you alone without the influence of grace did the work work out vers 13. For its God who is the worker in you to will and work alluding to the Hebrew word he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how the connection is between our working and the effectual praedeterminating influences of God is to us dark but this argument of Paul saith they well agree and he infers this thesis they both physically and morally are to work out their salvation in whom God both by the habit and actual influence of grace worketh to will and to doe then must influences of grace so be at hand when the believers are to act as they are no less under a precept and a command to act believe pray then the husband-man is under a command to plow in Summer and to sow lest he be poor But the question is de modo how they are at hand whither so as the free will of man may command and have in its power the influences of God's grace or the Lord by the dominion of his strong influence sweetly and connaturally commands and hath in his power our free will according to his good pleasure Sure its safer that nature be under grace and the dominion thereof then grace be under nature as it must be better Divinity that God reign then man reign more of this after And that Jehovah be Lord of mans actings then man be lord of Jehovah's soveraignity 2. Beside that every being must be from the being of beings and so every action natural or supernatural must be attended with sutable influences from God so the Scripture is clear That 1. God can serve a sort of law-inhibition upon all creatures that they act not and what he takes from them except the withdrawing of his own influences we know not Job 9. 7. He commandeth the Sun and it riseth not and sealeth up the Stars Psal
letter which is common to Seneca and other humane Writers and the Prophets though even the style liveliness majesty and divinity that may be seen in the letter of the Scripture are eminently above the like in other Writers The Spirit immediately inspiring and the Spirit quickning in the Word are both the same Spirit that Christ promised to send John 16. of which Christ ver 14. He shall glorifie me he shall receive of mine a word most mysterious and shall shew it unto you and believers are afraid that their hearts receive some other quickning between the sound of the Word and the actings of the Lord upon their hearts which causeth them to pray for no quickning but according to the Word The like may 3. be said of the salvation of the Lord Psal 91. 16. I will shew him my salvation Isa 12. 2. For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song he also is become my salvation Psal 119. 170. Let my supplication come before thee deliver me according to thy word for we are apt to seek strange and whorish influences the like whereof the Lord bestows not upon his people Psal 119. 132. Look thou upon me and be merciful unto me as thou uses to doe to those that love thy name Psal 106. 4. Remember me O Lord with the favour that thou bearest to thy people O visit me with thy salvation V. 5. That I may see the good of thy chosen that I may rejoyce in the gladness of thy Nation that I may glory with thine inheritance It s cold comfort we reap without the word its true his omnipotency was eternal before there was a Word or Promise made to us but now the Lord will have the Word or Promise to be the officina the work-house of his Spirit and of the quickning influences thereof 5. As also there is a salvation and escape out of prison by keys of our own making and by putting out the hand to iniquity Psal 125. and the heart is much for the bulk of a deliverance from Hell and for the body and lump of a mercy were it Heaven and Baalam's paradise or the end of the righteous whether it be purchased by the ransome of Christ's bloud or no and faith laying hold thereon or no. 6. And we love to have the remission and the righteousness of Christ in his bloud the separated from holiness and sanctification but the Scripture conjoyneth them 1 Cor. 1. 30. Gal. 1. 4. 1 Cor. 6. 11. Heb. 10. 10. Heb. 13. 12 13. 1 Pet. 2. 24. yea is a holy justification to speak so is the cleanly kindly sure absolution of the sinner for Christ loves noâ— and washes not in his bloud but such as he makes Kings and Priests unto God Rev. 1. 5. in so saying I honour good works more then Mr. Baxter doth who makes them as good as Christ's bloud even the price of pardon Ephes 1. 7. Col. 1. 14. Yea and 7. We could be satisfied with dumb and scrupulous influences and inspirations contrary unto and separated from the Word as Evah Gen. 3. 4 5 6. 1 Kings 13. 18. Matth. 4. 3 6 8 9. 8. What could the powerful influences of God Creator separated from Christ the treasure-house of love and mercy doe to us and if Omnipotency were separated from the promises of the Gospel could it save us in the Lord's way through the bloud of Christ for power in God cannot to speak so save men but by the Name of Jesus Christ the only saving Name under Heaven Acts 4. 12. nor can Omnipotency work a redemption now in this Gospel-dispensation but that which is by bloud Ephes 1. 7. Col. 1. 13. And that which is to declare the righteousness of God for the remission of sins Power acts by way of compleat satisfaction as the exceeding greatness of God's power to us-ward who believe is of the same size with the mighty power which raised Christ from the dead and set him on the right-hand of God in heavenly places Ephes 1. 14 20. The power of translating a sinner from Satans Kingdome to the Kingdom of the Son of his love works as acted as it were and set on work to act righteously to translate no man but the person for whom a ransome of bloud is given to justice as the Princes right power is only for the good of free and legal subjects Col. 1. 11 12 13. and that all power in Heaven and Earth to save Matth. 28. 18. John 17. 2. Matth. 11. 27. and that Kingly and Royal power to give repetance to Israel and forgiveness of sins Acts 5. 31. to forgive sins Matth. 9. 6. to raise and quicken the dead John 5. 26 28 29. is a power in a way purchased by the bloud of attonement Rom. 14. 9. For to this end Christ both dyed and rose that he might be Lord both of the dead and living And by the way it s a righteous power over all flesh and in Heaven and Earth though he died not for all flesh and for all the Angels in Heaven and all the men on Earth it were strange to say Christ died for the reprobate and not for their sins and final unbelief and rejecting of Christ to obtain a power to pardon some of their sins and not all and to give them repentance from some dead works and not from all dead works and to purge them from some but not from all their sins 3. It s most unjust to lay the blame of our sinful omissions upon holy Soveraignty because he withdraws influences For 1. That is to reproach God this is like the malecontentedness of Satan and of Hell for the damned complain that ever they were born and that they cannot be annihilated and that hils and mountains cover them not quick in soul and body yea they storm and rage because God gives them a being capable of eternal woe 2. The wakened consciences of men out of Christ often fall upon this recrimination the gnawing of conscience of Judas is I have sinned and of the young man Prov. 5. 12. How have I hated instruction and my heart dispised reproof Yet it is a more commendable complaining and more hopeful to complain of sinful neglect of means then of divine permissive providence of sin upon the Lord 's withdrawing of gracious influences but conscience in its kindly acting is the tormenting worm that eats self No Divel alledges this its true Satan bites at providence God hedges about a hypocrite Job and God commends him says he Christ torments us before the time Satan trembles and frets at the existence of God and that God is above him Joh 1. 9 10. Matth. 8. 29. Jam. 2. 19. and so all his words to Christ speak a barking at providence Matth. 4. its wrong that the Son of God should want bread it is an useless providence that the man Christ go down stairs for God saith he should save him though he throw himself down headlong Satan is a better
their faces with wings as blushing before infinite holiness why bestows he not as much saving influences on me as on David Moses Noah Job and Daniel why not as much grace and of the fulness of the anointing as upon the man Christ that holy thing Jesus 4. And is not free goodness here complained of God knowingly and wittingly saith the lying Divel envying you should be gods forbids you to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil Envy is contrary to communicative goodness free goodness gives freely in measure in weight and number as best pleaseth him now God gives not grace enough 5. His holiness and righteousness is arraigned 1. He did not from eternity shew mercy nor provide a new heart for me then that I serve not as he deserves let him blame himself not me 2. He created me a slippery clay vessel which he saw should fall upon stones and be broken he might have made me brass and iron that could not be broken And 3. that I sin wanting the fulness of the anointing and influences in a personal union as in the man Christ is a defect in God not in man and all the sins I commit he could have prevented them and either would not or could not 6. It s repugnant to the Lord 's holy charge in governing the world I would be holy and run but he withdraws influences What is this but I doe my part but the Lord is wanting in his part I am willing to run but he draws not I follow but he refuses to lead me I answer but he calleth not a holy meekned soul sees all the blame in it self and mercy and inviting kindness in God 7. I would doe otherwise but ah my sinful nature I was born in sin this is a blaming of providence 1. God denies influences and the fulness of the holy Ghost from the womb to me and all mankind which he gave to the man Christ But 1. The flowing of sin original is a work of holy justice who so punished the first fall and you carp not at the indwelling of sin original by which the poyson of the sinful nature is hateful to God Gen. 6. 5. Gen. 8. 21. but at the Lord 's righteous smiting of our nature Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it what makest thou Isa 45. 9. and as if he were a patient under sin original Ah I would be from under a body of sin but I am captive sold under sin This is a lye every man is in this sense a captive under sin original in that nill he will he he is born in sin and the flux of justice so determined ere the man was born but the unrenewed Objector is not so a captive he that was never humbled for sin original as David confesseth it his plagne and sore Psal 51. 5. and Job 14. 4. is not a captive but a consenter to sin original 2. He that willingly lends lodging and a furnace and a warm hearth-stone to sin original and remains willingly in the state of unrenewed nature is not a patient under sin original the man is not a captive and a prisoner against his will to him who hath the power of life and death and to him who sends a writ of grace and bids him come out and casts ope the prison doors yet he remains there eats drinks sleeps sports Christ the Lord of life hath sent the Gospel which is a bill of free grace he bids you come out of cursed nature be renewed in the spirit of your mind come to me and I will ease you yet ye will not change your life this 20 30 40 years since the Gospel of grace came to you you eat drink sleep wake laugh rejoyce in a state of distance from Christ and refuse to come out of that prison 3. I would I were without original sin ye say and yet when you willingly lye swear whore you put seal subscription and consent to Adam's first sin He that delights in the streams and drinks with delight does he not love the water of the fountain then to say I would be without sin original is as much as I would be without sin and I would not be without sin does not this man allow Adam's deed and serve himself heir to Adam his father's sin twenty times in one day and in such a man sin original is not diminished and brought down to a sin of infirmity as in Paul Rom. 7. 15. For that which I doe I allow not for what I would that I doe not but what I hate that I doe That is a sanctified would a renewed hatred of one entering a protestation against sin but original sin lives in its vigour and reign of the Law in this man and where this sin hath the full consent and bensil of the will the Law in its condemning power is on its side Hence that excuse the man brings as in Fenner's Wilfull impenitency page 95. 96. which proves that he is not humbled thou excusest thy self for thy original sin too Lord I would be without original sin but I cannot if I could I would Belike then if it had been thy case as it was Adam 's thou wouldest not have eaten of the forbidden fruit and therefore it was his fault and not thine and thou wouldest not have sinned if thou couldst have otherwise chused David confesseth this sin as his personal as well as his natural sin Psal 51. 5. Behold in iniquity that is the highest of sin I was formed and in sin did my mother warme me or conceive me He names the person twice and the holy Ghost blacks all faces with this sin Rom. 5. 12. All 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have sinned and yet this Objector is more innocent then Adam Verse 18. By the offence of one judgement came upon all men unto condemnation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Verse 19. By one mans disobedience many were made sinners that is all except the man Christ and this man must be free of sin and condemnation as the second Adam 4. He would have original sin removed in an extraordinary way and not in the Lord 's own way and so tempts God as Satan tempted Christ to work miracles for bread and to cast himself down over the pinacle of the Temple 1. Now this Lord I would be without sin original but I cannot thou hast so ordained my nature to be but it is against my will and my heart for my heart hates it its double dealing and an untruth for then the will must be clean then the Objector must be cleaner and holier then God says in Scripture the unrenewed man is 2. Then must the will be by nature free of sin original whereas the frame of the heart is only evil from the womb and deceitful and desperately wicked Gen. 6. 5. Gen. 8. 21. Jer. 17. 9. 3. Then must the holy Lord be in the fault who might give influences of grace and a whole nature
2 3 4. nor can we believe with justifying and saving faith while we be born again 1 John 5. 1 4 5. for if so it were as much as the tree blossoms grows and brings forth fruit ere it be planted and the birth moves and stirs and receives seed and nourishment in the womb before it receive life in the womb 3. Nor does the Scripture tell us of a premeriting of the faith of pardon and remission by a reformation of life so as conversion the Gospel and accepting of Christ as Lord and a tract of obedience was required of the Jaylor of Lydia and of the Thief upon the Cross before they believe For accepting of Christ as Lord is obeying of Christ and faith in Christ as saith Mr Baxter and so Faith must be required before Faith and Reformation of life before Reformation of life and so Mr. Baxter forbids us to believe and accept Christ for our Lord and King pardoning treason while first we have reformed our lives Now to reform our lives Evangelically for of this he must mean is to accept Christ as our Lord that is to doe Evangelically and live to obey the new Law and to perform new obedience to Christ Hence he saith ibid. pag. 28. I desire him to tell me whether he can prove that any mans sins are pardoned before they have accepted Christ for their Lord that is before faith If not whether this be not the Subjection of the soul to Christ to be governed by him and so a heart-reformation Now it may be told Mr. Baxter that accepting of Christ as our Lord pag. 285. That is to take him both as our Saviour and to obey him pag. 286. to be subject to him and obey him and to square our actions according to his will Now the actions are not one or two but all our actions to our death and so no man compleatly takes Christ for his Lord and so no man compleatly believes until death and so the consolations of Christ must be as morally cold as the consolations of Solon who said no man can be happy while he die and the comforts of Aristotle no man is happy who may fall in the calamities of Priamus Christ must make us glad of a painted nothing Rejoyce and be glad there is a great reward laid up for you in Heaven rejoyce with joy unspeakable and glorious nothing can separate you from the love of God mountains and hills may be removed but my love is more stable But 1. Ye cannot be sure therefore doubt and tremble 2. Suppose you stand to day and know that you know him you may be and thousands as happy as you are to morrow limbs of Satan and eternally damned Now if no man compleatly take Christ until he have consummated and perfected his obedience to the death Christ's word to any be of good chear thy sins are forgiven is but comfortless for they are neither forgiven nor half forgiven until he hath taken Christ for his Lord and wrought his days work to the end and then and never till then can he have comfort in his wages and in his work 2. It may be answered the woman diseased of the bloudy issue Mar. 5. 34. the woman who did wash Christ's feet with her tears Luk. 7. 47 48. so the man sick of the palsie Matth. 9. 2. the justifyed by faith who have peace with God David Psal 103. 3. the repenting man upon the Cross Luk. 23. 42 43. had their sins forgiven upon the testimony of believing without any testimony of their good works and Scripture tells us not that a Master bids his servant rejoyce with joy unspeakable and glorious at the beginning and morning of his day for at night he shall have a rich reward if such a servant and millions of servants in his case may fall and loose whole wage for they doe but half work CHAP. XII 1. The Soveraingty of God is wonderful in the various tempers of renewed ones 2. In various influences 3. In the desertions of the Saints under the Old and under the New-Testament 4. In variety of desertions of elect and reprobate and God's various dispensations to them 5. Q. What we may doe to wrestle out from under desertions 6. Variety of temptations 7. Rules for our behaviour under them in order to Influences THe Soveraignty of God is much to be observed in the Lord's manner of dispensing of grace James and John are called being at their Nets and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 immediately they l 'ave their father and follow him Matth. 4. 21 22. Matthew hears but one word follow me Matth. 9. 9. and he follows Christ A gentle throw of the key opens Lydia's heart the hearers of Peter who had crucified the Lord of glory are more violently rent and torn as if the sharpest points or the stings of many impoysoned Dragons and Scorpions had been at once fastned in their hearts Acts 2. 37. the way of Saul's coming with trembling and astonishment and blindnesse and fasting and praying three days and the Jaylors down casting may witness that the lock being more rusted and the iron blunted Acts 9. 6. 7 c. more strength is required for the opening of the door then the Lord otherwise imployed as some Divels are cast out with a word and go out with some sort of humble prayers not to be tormented before the time Matth. 8. others throw the possessed in the midst and almost kill the child so as beholders say he is dead Mark 9. there is a certain kind which is not cast out but by fasting and praying So some are filled with the holy Ghost from the womb and hardly can John Baptist give an account of his conversion as to the degrees of pangs of the new-birth the way and manner the place the Mathematical hour of the holy Ghost's sliding in on the heart Nor must we think none are in John Baptist's case for beside that God imploys some to and for rare advantages and gaining of souls to the Kingdom of Christ shall there be nothing of the holy Ghost in multitudes of infants in Covenant with God of which many die as ripe as if they were an hundred years old only beware we take not a sweet tractable nature to be the very holy Ghost and a work of Infantconversion such as was in John Baptist and let not others cast themselves away as not belonging to Christ who yet are his because they know not such pangs and throwings of the new-birth as Saul the Jaylor the converts who killed Christ Acts 2. where the skin of the boyle is doubly thick some more violence is required and a sharper lance is made use of to open the wound 2. Some require milder influences as beng led all their time with sweetness of peace The Arches grieved Joseph sore no man more moved from vessel to vessel then he and meek Moses was much tossed and both for any thing we read far from cursing the day wherein
before and above God whereas the Rose warms not the Sun but the Sun warms and nourishes the Rose and the corn and herbs do not refresh the Heaven and the Clouds but Heaven and Clouds nourish and refresh the corn and grass and it must be untoward and froward divinity that the sick man heals the Physician It is the grace to speak so of the Lord 's free grace that the Lord prevents us not we him its impossible that nature can prevent grace Prop. 2. Though the Lord's promise and his free decree hath tyed himself in a manner to be prevented by a moral cause yet that moral cause even the praying man stirs not until God first prevent him to pray Hence the Lord moves and wheels about the heart and will of the man who is most free and most absolute among all the sons of men even the King Prov. 21. 1. and that not if the King will and say amen with his prior or former or collateral consent but whithersoever Jehovah will Hence our prayers that God would incline our hearts to his testimonies Psal 119. 36. Not incline the heart to any evil thing Psal 141. 4. Vnite the heart to fear his name Psal 86. 11. So Jacob prays the Lord would give his sons favour in the eyes of the Governour of Egypt a Heathen man as to him Esther and her maids pray for grace in the eyes of Ahasuerus see Gen. 43. 14. The Lord Almighty give you mercy before the man If God could not indecliuably bow the will to his own way side or end be it by antecedent predetermination or what way else you shall call it so the Lord be the more Master of willing and nilling then the creature but in so doing he should destroy free will we should in all such petitions pray for the destroying of free will where sure we pray for perfecting and the sanctified bowing of free will to obey God 2. If the dominion of free acts remain strongly in the creatures power we must in these suits incline my heart unto thy testimonies lead us not into temptation pray the Lord for that which is not in his power to give 3. If God do carry free will whithersoever he pleaseth then we must not defer the only praise of our obedience and of our victory over temptations to the grace of God but to free will which made the discriminating difference 1. Hence we are to commit our free will to the Lord's dominion of grace and not to believe that such a tottering Goddesse as free will which hath lost and destroyed Angels and the first man Adam can guide well enough Yea 2. we are to bless the Lord for that impotency if so it may be called that the soveraign Lord's heavenly influences are not in the creatures coffers to be husbanded by the creature how false is it that Christ hath bought free will to himself 3. How sweet is it that our head Christ and we in him are more masters of mens hatred and favour then they are themselves Prov. 3. 1 4. Psal 106. 46. for would enemies and haters shew us favour and love if they were absolute Masters and Lords of their own hatred and love not at all we must thank and blesse an higher hand then such men 4. Should we pray more we should be more rained upon in our withered condition by showrs of influences of grace Object By your way we cannot pray for influences except the Lord bestow on us other foregoing influences Answ What follows but that we are to pray that we may pray and that we are to pray for our own prayers that they may be steeled with faith and strength of grace And David prays for his own prayers Psal 5. 2. Psal 28. 2. Psal 88. 2. Psal 141. 2. 2. Would the Objector relish prayers without influences of grace can nature pray in the holy Ghost can Christ intercede for the accepting of natures work Prop. 3. Because God only is Lord and Master of free-will and of the actings of all creatures we are not to be idle and upon that account to act nothing for then should not the husband-man plow sow and labour for God only is Lord and Master of the actings of the husband-man and without the influences and blessing from on high the husband-mans labours from the beginning of the year to the end were no better then to plant Vine-trees in the bottom of the river Euphrates or to sow Barley or Wheat in the Ocean sea And so should the Sea-man never sayl for God only can create winds and tide and God only is Master of the ebbing and flowing of the Sea and of sayling and of right steering of the Vessel for since the Lord declares not his mind on the contrary by forbidding men to pray and others to plow and sayl 2. Since the Lord offers no positive violence to hinder these actings And 3. because he commandeth us to doe them it becomes us to set to work and to act with and under him and to commit the event and blessing to him Indeed if the Lord were so Lord of our actings as he did all and whole the work and we did act nothing at all in praying yea and in plowing but were meer dead and useless patients as Libertines dream something might follow to justifie our idleness but our corruption following Satan teacheth us either to sacrifice to our own net and say vainly either we doe all and God does nothing and so we darken his glory who works all our works in us and for us or then we say on the other extreme we doe nothing and God does all and therefore must we say let God pray labour the earth trade and sayl and put our hand in our bosome and sleep but the former is sacriledge and idolatry and robs the Lord of his glory and the latter is proclaimed disobedience Yea and whether the influence of God antecedently master the creatures actings or we joyntly and collaterally be mastered and determined by the creature we are in both cases to act and doe what is good and are not to make God's influence our rule of doing or not doing Prop. 4. Hence to have or not to have the influence of God is not commanded in the Word nor have we any physical power over the Lord's acts of Omnipotency for we do not formally love God and keep his Commandments in a way commendable if we speak of the moral cause of obedience because he works in us both to will and to doe but because he hath commanded us to love him and to keep his Commandments John 14. 15. Psal 119. 4 5 6. Hence 1. The Libertine is blasphemously wide the creature can doe says he nothing good or evil God worketh all sin all obedience immediately in us it s in vain to read pray hear the word meditate confer or go about works of reforming abuses in religion because all these are to no purpose without the
the spirit Psal 119. 32. I shall run the ways of thy Commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart Running speaks more of a spiritual capacity to receive drawing influences either actual or habitual and the enlarging notes straitning and that influences find us dead and bring vigourousness with them Though in this or that act of breathing there shine absolute liberty for who hired the Lord to moisten the withered tree yet there is place for that Question Whether the Lord hath not brought himself under a holy necessity of giving influences to which its answered in these 1. As there is a necessity of a Decree relating to means and end so is there a necessity of a promise as to the former The Lord created the first Vine-tree and the first Rose and they seeded and brought forth other Roses and Vine-trees the Lord first prevenes savingly the dead sinner by an infused habit as we shall hear puts the sinner under an obligation to duties and puts himself because of his intended end to save lost sinners as it were under an obligation of bestowing influences of grace though in another consideration they be given through soveraignty of grace because his holy decree carries him not to be wanting to his own seed nor to forsake the work of his hands Nature giving hunger and the holy and supreme Lord of nature giving appetite to eat and drink gives us also a power of concoction The Bird by an intended end lays one straw and one feather in the nest and so it must lay another and a third and a fourth for the Lord of nature intends a compleat house for the Eggs and the young birds and in like manner the Lord of grace hath a design of grace in his heart to bring many sons to glory And he must upon the like intention proceed to make the seed a tree but first he must make it a plant and ripen the grape and boyl it more with the heat of the Sun until he make it ripe for the wine-presse and the fat So must he add influences dayly of free grace for the perfecting of the work he hath begun in his holy decree as well as in the execution until he perfect it unto the day of the Lord Jesus But 2. There is need to distinguish betwixt a practise of free grace in the Lord some call it half a promise a promise of free grace And these must be cleared As to the former the Lord doth many things of meer grace relating to his free goodness 2. To his free decree of grace 3. To his holy order of working which he hath not promised to do As of his free goodness he creates the world he feeds the Ravens he preserves wicked Sodom from the sword and cursed Cham from being drowned when the whole world in godly Noah's time perished in the waters yet hath he engaged himself by promise to none of his creatures Angels or Men that he shall create the World that he shall feed the Ravens that he shall preserve Sodom 2. According to his free decree of grace he intends from eternity to save Jacob For he loved him before he had done good or evil and he ordains all the chosen to life eternal But because he decrees to bring Jacob and such to glory it follows not that he engaged by promise because of his eternal decree to bring Jacob to glory except we should say what ever God decrees to doe that also he promises to doe which were not good divinity 3. As to his order of working the Lord ordinarily from much labouring and painful sowing brings a rich harvest from careful watching he makes a safe City Yet there is not any promise in the word that from the simply careful use of means the desired end shall follow for the City is often well watched and yet surprized some sow much and reap little Psal 127. 1 2. Hag. 1. 6 9. Yet is there a practise of free grace in this order that the blind men cry Son of David have mercy on us yet they possiby intend only by the way side to beg and Christ of free grace gives them seeing eyes There is no promise of grace that Christ shall heal all blind men begging by the way who shall pray to the Son of David for seeing eyes or that the Lord Jesus who is as mighty now as ever shall send out influences to heal all the blind so crying for seeing eyes the Eunuch reads Acts 8. the Lord falls on him with influences of grace to reveal Christ in a saving manner to him not because he reads or because there is a promise made to save all who read the word Upon sinful ends the multitude Acts 2. come to hear the word their intention of hearing being mocking enemies was naught Yet by a practise of grace not by any promise of grace they are converted Now in this it may be said that the natural yea and faithless use of means hath some influence ex natura rei upon the effect not by promise yet by the decree of God and so by no merit because by no promise for another merit then what is founded upon free promise and not upon the worth and condignity of work and wages I hope never to acknowledge by his grace whom I desire to be my inward teacher and to me reading hearing use of means have a material influence as to the practise not to the promise of grace For according to the Philosophy I learned six is materially a number nearer of blood and kindred to eight then four is yet six and eight are numbers in spece and nature no less different then eight and four or then eight and two which are materially farther different then six and eight which are different only by two So the Embrio before life and the birth now quickened by life differ in nature and spece as living and not living differ Yet the Embrio the shaped organized body void of life is materially nearer to a living birth then the seed is to a living birth So I shall never teach that hearing reading literal considering of the weight of reasons in the Gospel from Heaven from the beauty and preciousness of Christ the excellency of free grace the happy condition of a communion with the Father and the Son Jesus Christ the sweetness of the love of Christ the torment of Hell though there be no acting of grace mixed therewith are unprofitable and hinder us from closing with Christ and that they confer not some influence materially of help in promoving towards Christ What these trusted in may doe as in another thing Hence though there be no promise no moral connection betwixt simple using of means and influences of Christ for saving grace and the incoming of the new creation into the soul yet comparatively a connection there is in this sense 1. As painful tilling sowing and labouring is nearer to a plentiful harvest then lazy sleeping in
twelve ports the foundation of the wall garnished with all manner of precious stones the building of the wall of Jasper what a bride the Lamb's wife is as shee is busked and adorned with the glory of God what a joyful company of harpers cloathed in white follow the Lamb Rev. 14. Rev. 19. Yea 4. Even in this life in the lower countrey and the out-fields the fruits that grow in the land are good Rom. 14. 17. Gal. 5. 22. Psal 72. 16. 1 Pet. 1. 4 5 6. Psal 16. 11. 1 Cor. 2. 9. what a life-guard for Kings sons Isa 6. 2 3 4. Psal 34. 7. Psal 91. 11 12. and on the other hand what golden nothings and clay-dreams does the spirit of the world follow after what spiritual gallantry is in the man that says and resolves time and all that Solomon had shall not satisfie me I must either be a King above time or have nothing Will a beggar aspire to a Kingdom or a sow seek after pearls what does the spirit of the world but lie and swear and whore and oppresse in the sons of disobedience the godly is of a far more excellent spirit 5. It s a poor spirit that acts in Cicero Seneca and other Pagans the bastard and the servants priviledge is little to a Kings heir and son As to the second the differences of that Spirit which is of God are considerable 1. The spirit John 14. 17. remains in his own and dwels in them as in his house Rom. 8. 11. as a man remains and works in a shop or work-house and the soul lives breaths acts discourses in the man so the spirit of adoption prays groans believs teacheth witnesseth speaketh heareth in the believer Matth. 10. 19. Rom. 8. 16 25 26. Now the world cannot receive this spirit John 14. 27. no more then the noble soul of man can find lodging in a brute beast try what spirit acts in you and the principles of your actions and you shall know the influences Every mans moral actings are as John's baptisme from Heaven or of Men what sparkles of influences kindle the heart in your actings 2. The Spirit of God John 16. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall guide the way to you in all truth Rom. 8. 14. as many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as are led driven either as a flock by the shepherd or as a ship by the wind are the children of God The Spirit is a Pilot and a Steersman acting and moving in the Saints directing counselling enspiring in all actings its easie to know the spirits leading by what it drives at Rev. 16. 13. For they are the spirits of divels working miracles which go forth to the Kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battel of that great day of God Almighty This he says of the three unclean spirits like frogs the Popes firebrands and incendiaries who came out of the mouth of the Dragon out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet What hellish influences must drive these men delivered up to such leaders There is a spirit who rules in the children of disobedience Satan the Prince of the air Eph. 2. The spirit of giddinesse and errour leads Egypt Isa 19. 14. The spirit of whoredome Hos 4. 12. Hos 5. 4. that inclines to Idolatry The spirit of lying 1 Kin. 22. 22. The spirit of errour 1 John 4. 6. The spirit of unbelief that was in the ten spies led and drive many Num. 14. 24. But Caleb had another spirit with him It 's the sin of the time we live in to persecute resist the spirit and the more outlettings of the spirit that appear in Steven the more the Jewes set themselves against him For Acts 7. 27. they cry out with a loud voice and stop their eares and run upon him when he saw heaven open being full of the Holy Ghost he was before full of the Holy Ghost but now there is a high spring-tide and a new mighty flowing of the influences of the Holy Ghost and the height of goodnesse and excellent actings of the spirit drawes out their malice to the full as Steven told them 51. Ye have alwayes resisted the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to fall crosse with all the might in a hostile way upon the spirit O tremble to hate and fight against the marrow of godliness and to mock the spirit O that it were not this day the sin of Scotland and of the generality of the Ministers of the Gospel in this Land In the Prelates times the seekers of God met not with such bitternesse as even now they meet with 3. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty 2 Cor. 3. 17. Vphold me with thy free Spirit Psal 51. 12. It 's proper to natural men in whom the spirit dwels not to be vile slaves to lusts and the more of the spirit in any the more active are they in the Lords wayes and hardly can the spirit be where there are not influences of grace For it 's the Spirits office to be stirring and active as the horses of Egypt are flesh and not spirit that is lumpish dead feeble unable to save not spirited active to deliver and in this especially the actings of the spirit appear in the fiery spiritness of heavenly influences Would ye be carried on and helped in duties get the spirit and ye cannot misse heavenly influences the drinesse of the earth speaks the suspending of rain and dew in the clouds and a heaven of brass the man is dead and under bands and straitned in prayer then must the showres of influences be restrained Psal 51. 12. Vphold me with thy free spirit What then v. 13. Then I le teach transgressors thy wayes Take a work where there are an hundred wheels of which the higher moves the lower then when the first and highest moves not all the ninety and nine must stand When the spirit breathes not and influences are restrained what wonder if the soul be deadned For the Marigold loures and weeps in its kind and droops when the Sun is down our prayers would blow upon the North and South wind that they may blow The breathing and blowing of prayer do readily waken up the spirit though he must stir in praying also else we are dead and breathless 4. The spirit that is of God is a praying spirit Jude Praying in the Holy Ghost Of all the Tongues and Languages on earth the Holy Ghost loves most to speak prayer-wise and in the language of humble supplications Rom. 8. 29. We know not what we should pray for as we ought What then shall the work lie Nay the spirit takes it off the poor mans hand but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with sighs that cannot be expressed And rather or spiritual work be at a stand the Third Person lends a lift to the groaning soul that cannot pray
forth opposing of the spirit 3. We are to acknowledge and adore the spirit in his actings and joyn hearty consent thereto 4. Self-denial 5. In a bewildered condition to desire to be led by the spirit 6. Spiritual facility in acting 7. To act much in publick works in the spirit 8. Much watching and praying 9. To converse with spiritual men 10. To be much in spiritual conference are all characters of a spiritual disposition THe third particular is what speaks a spiritual man and spiritual influences Ans He who puts himself under the guidance of the spirit is a spiritual man the will of the Guide should be master of the journey The Prophets Acts 13. Paul and Silas Acts 16. Philip Acts 8. accurately observe the command of the spirit as being as binding as the command of the Father and the Son The commands of God to the men of God were more legal in the Old Testament but the commands of the spirit now in the New Testament have more of free grace and perswasive leading Acts 10. 19. Acts 11. 12. Acts 18. 9 10 11. John 14. 16 26. John 16. 13. We shall speak hereafter of the lying under and obedient receiving of the breathings and influences of the spirit only here where there is a strong bensil of will and much freedom in obedience there is much of the spirit backdrawing in spiritual works proclaims much carnality but who had the anointing above measure was all will and all heart and all spirit to obey and suffer John 10. 17 18. Psal 40. 8 9. 2. The leading and drawing of the spirit when it bringeth forth running and is strongly closed with speaks a spiritual man Cant. 1. 4. Psal 119. 32. Cant. 3. 4. I held him and would not let him go Is not this violence sweet feelings and high commending of him follows when the spirits violence in drawing and the spouses violence in running meet there is a spiritual closing Cant. 1. 4. The King hath brought me into his chambers and what follows we will be glad and rejoyce in thee we will remember thy love more then wine See ver 12 13. Cant. 2. 3. I sate down under his shadow and his fruit was sweet in my mouth Delighting in him is followed with his delighting in the Spouse ver 6. His left hand is under mine head and his right hand doth embrace me 2. Here if in any it 's true to him that hath shall be given he that is willing to be led shall be led and keeping of the Commandments of Christ makes room for the Father and the Son to come hither and dwel fire makes more fire 3. A state of translation is to be gone about The man hath not the spirit till he be once over the water translated to the Kingdome of the dear Son of God Christ is not owner of the man that hath not the spirit If any have not the spirit he is none of Christ's Rom. 8. 9. Christ and the Spirit cannot be sever'd the spirit that is in the first heir is in all the rest and we should take it hard to be called or to be none of Christ's 3. Heed must be carefully taken that none of the Organs or parts of the new creation be broken A spiritual man cherisheth the spirit in all his operations he loves and honours his guide and leader The Scripture notes in four words the wrongs we doe to the spirit Isa 63. 10. They vexed his spirit of holiness the word is Psal 56. 6. they painfully wrested as they gave another figure or fashion to my words Ephes 4. 30. Grieve not the holy spirit The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to sadden rather then to anger Matth. 14. 9. Matth. 17. 23. Matth. 26. 22. Can a friend lodge in a house where he is every hour sadned is not this to chase him away and especially to sadden the King in the act of sealing your Writs and Evidences of Heaven is not this dreadful Ye shall know the spirit to be sadned when he acts deadly and lently as the man who rides on a lame and halting horse advances little in the way the fault is not in the Rider So when the man is straitned in praying and he knocks faintly life and liberty and godly boldnesse is away the tools of the worker being broken how unhandsome is the work 2. There should be an eike made to the working of the spirit there is needful a sort of helping of the spirit by widening opening and enlarging the heart the extending of love desires faith fear to their outmost borders there is an opening of the mouth wide commanded Psal 8. 10. Psal 24. 7. Lift up your heads and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors Cant. 5. 2. Open to me my sister my love my dove c. And this is needful under the actings of the spirit that we stretch the soul beyond it self and make an eike to the spirit of his own Hence that charge 1 Thes 5. 19. Quench not the spirit The word is Matth. 12. 20. Matth. 25. 8. Our lamps are out or quenched Mark 9. 44 46. Some cast water upon the fire and holy flamings of the spirit this makes a cold hearth-stone and mightily obstructs the working of God whereas we should adde new fewel to his fire and blow away the ashes and wrestle against deadnesse dulnesse faintnesse and stir up the grace of God 2 Tim. 1. 6. as smiths with the bellows blow up and quicken the flame do not quench it in your self by unbelief and uncheerful walking and break not one another know that so doe the enemies of Christ He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him Let him deliver him since he delighted in him Psal 22. 8. That is to act Satans office when men cast water on the flamings of the spirit and crush the spirit and his actings in others 3. Acknowledge and adore the holy spirit as God and follow not Ananias to play the divel to the Holy Ghost to try if the holy Spirit shall find out hypocrisie Acts 5. Satan is the great 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 4. 3. who tempted the Son And a man may ride so neer the rotten margin on the bank of a mighty River as he will try the highest of free grace why but I may doe this and be pardoned Nay the holy Spirit never said Sin at will with greediness thou wast once a believer It 's dreadful to put a tryal upon the worth of an infinite ransome 2. Upon the most noble and transcendent actings of the spirit this God hath done in me therefore I have liberty to sin Tempted free grace is a transgression with so loud a cry it s heard all Heaven over 4. Joyn hearty consent to all the actings and influences moral or physical of the Holy Ghost and be not beaten from that There is an anger outed in the Father as the offended Law-giver
a stranger on earth hide not thy Commandments from me The Commandments are the way and a hid and covered way is a misery to a stranger or pilgrim A frequent sight of ignorance and errors and a being in love with the spirits leading is good Though a man could get the work through be it praying hearing reading warring governing eating and drinking yet he is not satisfied with the bulk of the work except the spirit be the doer This gracious spirit looks not so much to praying as to praying in the Holy Ghost nor to hearing as to hearing in the spirit of faith nor to fighting though David be stronger then the enemy except the spirit of the Lord lead the army Psal 60. 1 2 9 10. Psal 140. 7 8. Psal 18. 29 30 31. Nay it 's not enough to eat and drink except the spirit act the man to eat and drink for God Men spend and waste away their actings and call not for the spirit to get them compassed about We are men abundance to build the Temple and mighty Kings favour us and work-men have strength in legs and arms to lay stones in the wall O but that will not doe it Zach. 4. 6. Not by might nor by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts and so only is the Temple builded 6. There is a spiritual facility in the spiritual actings of a spiritual man 1. The acting is connatural and easie when it comes from an inward principle the stream naturally without violence flows from the fountain and so doth heat from the fire nor is it any pain to the earth to fall down and descend or for the light bodies fire and air to ascend it 's neither toyl nor labour to the Sun to give light for all these come from principles internal There is violence in the motion of an Horologue and therefore the wheels shall be worn out by time but the actings of the spirit are sweet and facile grace makes the Commandments not grievous it s no pain but easie to a gracious pastor to love Christ it breaks neither leg nor arm to desire Christ and be sick for him and to feed his flock for love to the chief shepherd 2. Psal 25. 9. The meek will he guide in judgement the meek will he teach is ways It 's easie for God to guide any man to guide and lead Lions and Unicorns but in the very object there is a facility to counsel a broken and danted spirit If a man be in his flower and prime and rich and mighty healthy and prosperous readily he will doe but what he will but if the man be in chains and broken and meekned with the rod of God he is easily bowed and counselled to what is good as iron red hot will bow and yield to the smitings of the hammer i'ts hard to lead a Lion The Lord speaks like the Lord to Job cap. 39. 9. Will the Vnicorn be willing to serve thee or abide by thy cribs Canst thou bind the Vnicorn with his band in the furrows or will he harrow the valleys after thee but it is easie to bind a lamb Meeknesse is easily led and drawn when the spirit comes in the man is made pliable for counsel he is a plowed and a broken man who saith Acts 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord what wilt thou have me to doe There was no pride in him but the fulnesse of the spirit of the anointing above all his fellows and all mankind who said not my will but thy will be done And if any living man should have had his will or a piece of his will it was a man whose holy will could never crook and it was now when sinlesse holy harmlesse nature was debating the greatest question that ever Heaven or Angels knew But the fulnesse of the spirit bids him quit his will and so he did The sweet passive tractablenesse of the spirit of grace will enjoyn the man to be ranged bridled and led of God there be some whom God can neither lead nor drive any inspiration fals upon him a moral influence this I should and ought to doe but I shall not I will not doe it let God doe his best and it is as if a burning cole were cast into the sea or river will it burn the sea will it be welcomed and received no it s presently quenched An unbroken Tyrant void of the spirit when he heard that charge Let my people goe They are my servants saith the Tyrant not thy people Exod. 5. 2. Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel goe Let his influences be lodged with meeknesse O wrestle not against warnings but yield to them So are all gracious influences sweet delectable and easie is it pain nay its sweet and pleasant for a field of Roses of Vine-trees to receive showers and summer influences from the Sun and Heaven It was sweet for the baptised man Christ to receive and lodge the Holy Ghost who came down in the form of a Dove on him in all his influences 7. To act much in the spirit brings more abundance of the spirit 1. The more publick the work be the more is the man under the spirit Christ must have been under mighty flowings of the spirit who for the publick Catholick duty of redeeming mankind was willing to be suspended from the influences of his personal comfort and to be under that sad cloud of being forsaken of God that God might embrace us It 's the proper work of the spirit to glorifie God John 16. 14. He shall glorifie me saith Christ of the spirit for he shall receive of mine Then the more we glorifie God and Jesus Christ his Son we testifie we partake the more of the flowings of the spirit The Church hath so much the more of the spirit that she is willing to bear the Lord's indignation because she hath sinned Mic. 7. 9. and bear publick sufferings to illustrate the glory of his justice 2 We are also with Magdalen and other godly persons so far to be dead to the private comforts of love to Christ and his presence and waiting about the grave to anoint his body that we are to wait upon the more publick duties of resting in and of sanctifying of the Sabbath though otherwise the rescuing of the life of an oxe be mercy above this sacrifice If we have much of the spirit we shall patiently submit to the Lord's dispensation of his soveraign withdrawing of influences of comfort yea and delight in other inferior duties What though he will not feast me with the apples of the tree of life and suspend his comforts what if he withdraw joyful influences of believing of glorying and rejoycing in the Lord and feed the poor sinner with absence and exercise him with sad desertions 3. It 's a spiritual condition when Christ casts in feelings and discernable motions of the spirit and not only knocks but Cant. 5. 2 4.
not from the spirit and often the meer office and the letter not the spirit prays and preacheth out of the man it 's far from that praying Rom. 8. 26. And learn to discern the literal fair influences in praying in the flesh and the sweet calm fiery also and spiritual paining influences of love-sicknesse Cant. 5. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 c. 10. Conversing with spiritual men born of the spirit of the same Father John 5. John 3. 1 John 3. 14. Psal 119. 63. with Elias leaning on Christ's bosome in whom is fulnesse of the spirit declares a spiritual man None of the Disciples saw more spiritual and glorious visions then John in the book of the Revelation he would have desired to lean on and dwell in Christ's heart as in his bosome Brethren love one another the common nature and spirit of their Father dwels in them Fowls of the same feathers and colours haunt together Drunkards malignants swearers love to be together beware of wearying to haunt with the spirit and spiritual men and to loath a spiritual Ministery and to look upon spiritual doctrine as upon fancies If it be so with you you shall back to the flesh-pots of Egypt again it s a living near to the fountain to haunt much with the Saints and as the streams are one in the well so do the streams run in the same channel and love to stick together Natures of the same kind lambs with lambs love to live together Psal 119. 13. I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy Precepts A part of the Air keeps its being best in the whole Element whereas a part of the Air is corrupted in the bowels of the Earth where it is out of its own Element a part of water is best preserved in being in the element of water put it in a pit or hole of the earth it 's alone and it becomes rotten and unsavoury The Saints keep their spiritual being with the excellent ones in whom is all their delight Psal 16. 2. as being in their own element and no wonder if it be their woe to dwell long in Mesech and in Kedars tents with such as hate peace Psal 120. 5 6. Psal 57. 4 10. nor is this to flatter such as separate from Christ and his Ordinances nor to say Stand by thy self come not near me for I am holier then thou Isa 65. 5. and yet they themselves remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments Be rather frequenting Hospitals of sick ones making it your work to gain many it 's like to Christ Luke 16. 6 7 10. Matth. 9. 10 11 12 13. Luke 15. God ordinarily showers influences and promiseth influences to the flocking together of the godly and the pouring of his spirit on them Jer 50. 4 5 6. Zech. 8. 21 22 23. Mal. 3. 16. and two speaking of Christ Jesus himself comes in as third man Luke 24. 15 16 17 c. and as if they were the fit soyl he rains down influences of warmness and burning of heart on them while he opens the Scriptures to them v. 32. see Acts 2. 1 2 3 c. Joh. 20. 19. It 's a spiritual condition to talk of spiritual purposes when the well is full it must run over when there is a treasure and abundance in the heart the spirit comes to the tongue in Zachariah and Simeon Luke 2. 25 27. and grace seeths and boyls up to the tongue when the conceptions of the King Christ are the good matter indited by the heart Psal 45. 1. so to be filled with the spirit Ephes 5. 18 19. saith Paul speaking to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual songs Giving thanks always for all things to God is the spirit's work in his abundant influences There is a spirit in men seen in language the sea-man talks of winds the husband-man of oxen and plowing the souldier of battels and wounds and the shepherd of flocks and the spiritual man of Christ redemption imputed righteousness and as the pilgrims heart and the pilgrims tongue the pilgrims thoughts are all upon his way and his home so is the spiritual man much upon Eternity Heaven Christ for the three noble Conferrers the transfigured man Christ glorified Moses and Elias speak of the celebrious heavenly subject the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and out-going of Christ when he was to leave the world The man hath been full of God who could not refrain from speaking of the Lord's testimonies before Kings and Princes have no great list to hear but of State matters of conquering new Kingdoms Psal 119. 46. the rotten unsavoury worldly and carnal speeches of many bewray how little of the spirit is within them It was Christ who had the fulness of the anointing of the spirit within him Psal 48. 8. I delight to doe thy will O my God thy law is within my heart In Sea and Land and House and Field by the way side journeying at every table when he should have eaten he made good that word ver 9. I have preached righteousness in the great Congregation lo I have not refrained my lips thou knowest O Lord. 10. I have not hid thy righteousnesse within my heart I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation I have not concealed thy loving kindness from the great Congregation Influences of grace are required for this as pag. 45. PART III. Influences of Grace CHAP. I. Of divers sorts of Influences HAving formerly spoken of Influences of grace in general we are now to descend to more specials Hence these particulars 1. Some influences are from Satan some from God 2. The way of Satans influences 3. It s lawful to dispute with Hereticks instruments of Satan but not lawful to dispute with Satan 4. Christ sought neither the Tempter nor the temptation 5. Some influences are natural some supernatural 6. Some moral some Physical 7. Some Prophetical some not 8. Some publick on the Church some personal 9. Some influences are given for the habit of grace or gifts some for the act some for both 10. Some proper to the head Christ some for the members 11. Some influences are fundamental some not 12. Some influences are given for saving graces actings some for the actings of a gift 13. Differences between acting of grace and acting of gifts 14. Some influences are viatorum of such as are in the way to their countrey some are comprehensorum of perfected ones some of grace some of glory For the fuller opening of the Doctrine of Influences some influences are from Satan some from God Influences from God are both moral when he commands good and forbids evil and real and physical in that all move in him as the first cause and mover in operations of nature 2. of grace 3. of glory But Satan being no Master or Lord of providence hath no real stirring in second causes his actings upon angel or mens soules are not physical but
be assaulted that it may not fail them under temptation and so that prayer of Christ for the disciples and Peter stands good for all believers when they shall actually believe and be winnowed as Peter was the millions of them neither did believe nor were born when Christ as an high Priest offered to the father both the one the other prayer but that Christ in no sense intercedes for the chosen till they be converted and actually believe cannot be defended For 2. Whatsoever Christ hath purchased by the merit of his death as our high Priest offering himself on the cross for the elect that same Christ as our high Priest in heaven applyes them as Intercessor This proposition must be sure for what Christ purchaseth and buyeth by the merit of his death on the cross that he actually makes good as Intercessor in heaven It 's true he is said to buy and redeem persons not things or graces as faith and the habit of grace he purchaseth an inheritance and a redemption to us and we have repentance and remission of sins in and through his blood for in his blood by an Hebraism is for his blood and yet remission of sins is not properly redeemed or ransomed never being captivated but in justice that remission could not be ours but by satisfaction But so it is that Christ purchased by the merit of his death as our high Priest offering himself for the electâ—on the cross that we should be freed from all iniquity Tit. 2. 14. from our vain conversation of unbelief 1 Pet. 1. 18. that we should have repentance remission of our sins in his blood and faith the free gift of God in Christ even when we were not yet born And he died for us while we were yet sinners weak and ungodly Rom. 5. 6. And God commends his love to us that Christ died for us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 while we were yet sinners for if when we were enemies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life If Christ as high Priest offer himself a sacrifice for us to obtain reconciliation to us when we were not born and when we were ungodly and enemie she must intercede that such a purchased reconciliation and merited grace the grace of faith and the habit of faith be in his due time bestowed on us 3. If Christ as our high Priest have received the elect from the Father Thine they were and thou gavest them to me and as Redeemer entrusted to bring them in he must send the Gospel to them as Mediator and intercede that Apostles Evangelists Pastors Teachers may be gifted with the Spirit and sent to preach for the giving of the Spirit that way is a fruit of Christs ascension and kingly triumphing while as he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men as Intercessor for perfecting of the Saints and the work of the Ministery Eph. 4. 11 12 13. that the Gentiles who believe not and the blind may see and be converted Acts 26. 17 18. Acts 13. 46 47 48. 1 Cor. 3. 5. Matth. 4. 15 16. John 10. 16. 4. Christ who had reared up a new form of providence having chosen his own to life must as Mediator take care of the coming of the elect into the world and have a special eye over the wayes of his own chosen that Saul and others fall not into that unpardonable sin against the holy Ghost and that Saul before his conversion goe not farther on then making havock of the Church yet ignorantly through unbelief and this is the more to be laid hold on that the man Christs coming into the world is and goes along with his own decree of electing some to glory and to the great work of saving lost sinners Luke 19. 10. Matth. 20. 28. 1 Tim. 1. 15. of bearing a rare and singular testimony to the Gospel beyond all Martyrs that ever lived John 18. 37. as is clear in the birth and deliverance of Moses Exod. 2. Exod. 3. And also Christ in his providence of predestination to life as Lord Mediator causeth the chosen to be born and live when the Gospel is preached and comes to their ears and works powerfully on their hearts Acts 16. 9 10. Acts 8. 7 8. Acts 19. Acts 9. 11 12 13 c. 5. In another consideration there is an official love of Christ founded upon the identity of nature which is between Christ and chosen ones and the man Christ loving his neighbour as himself and the humanity and natural compassion in Christ is not destroyed but perfected by his state of glory he remains a feeling compassionate high Priest Heb. 4. 14 15. Luke 5. 1 2 3. And also this puts Christ to stretch his love to the unconverted that are his flesh and given to him that he must bestow habits of grace on them and gather the sheep with his arm and drive gently those that are with young and give new influences to fainting ones and refreshing warmnesse in his bosome to the cold and weak young ones in the flock Isa 40. 11. Isa 42. 1 2 3. 3. If the Spirit be a sanctifier and a leader he must be no less constant to his holy end and gracious designe to give what fits the chosen for their journey and so must both give the first anointing the dewing and first rain of spirit poured on the wildernesse and also add new oyl to prevent withering and drying up and adde the royal and kingly seal to confirm and make out his work unto the day of redemption Ah am I master of the fountain saith the withered dry tree yea the three Agents in heaven bring themselves to speak so under this holy necessity to bring down influences to the souls of all his chosen 2. If any saving work be in you it speaks a designe of grace in the Father and the Son which they shall ripen and carry on to perfection 3. Fret not at such as are without God minds love to the chosen ones of them and to reach them with his love in time 4. Get the Spirit he shall not be idle but daily act and Christ in him shall set up a new fabrick of providence and a new reign in the soul 5. In the looking on the frame of providence in them that they are not born in China not in Turky not in America but in a land of life in the kingdome of heaven where the Gospel is preached Look spiritually not naturally upon the time and place of your birth it is either the greatest good or the greatest ill and misery that ye can meet with 2. Consider what is the weight of the guiltinesse of 〈◊〉 despised Gospel that you goe to hell through Christs bounds Emanuels land where the word of the kingdom is preached in the very eye of the Redeemer whereas Heathens are in a manner behind the Redeemers back 3. The husbandmans
it 's clear of the habit of grace John 14. 16. I will pray the Father and he shall send you the Comforter Christ sends him the Father sends him in Christs name John 14. 26. he shall receive of mine and shew it to you Now the holy Spirit the Comforter dwells in the Children of God not personally though he be said to dwell in them and to speak in them 1. In the habit and divine power given to them to confess Christ before men Matth. 10. 19. Acts 4. 8. or in preaching working of miracles Acts 6. 8. or in praying Acts 6. 10 11. Acts 7. 55 56. 2. In actuating that power in giving grace actually to will and to do to confess prophesie Luke 1. 27 41 42. Luke 2. 27 28. to pray Acts 7. 55 56. as the Lord is said to thunder in the clouds to give rain not that he is personally united with the clouds but because he creats in the clouds the power of thunder and raining and doth actually determine the clouds to rain 5. Supernatural habits and supernatural dispositions are neer to other as the fire and the flaming of the fire the clouds and the rain the sea and the ebbing and flowing of the sea not that the disposition is the very operation and second act of the habit but because the diposition is a quality superadded to the habit or the neerer principle and power of spiritual acting Stephen and Peter and John were full of the holy Ghost habitu from the time that the holy Ghost was given them but when they are conveyed to answer before the rulers they are said to speak being full of the holy Ghost Acts 4. 8. Acts 7. 55 56. which is either an enlargement of the habit of grace or a new spring-tide of the same sea or a new infused disposition promised by our Saviour and given 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luke 12. 11 12. Matth. 10. 19. Mark 13. 11. in that same hour And 3. There is much nearness of heavenly habits dispositions and heavenly influences and they are like other as life and breathing fire and the flaming of the fire get heavenly dispositions and influences of grace to pray to praise to believe almost connaturally follow When the tide of the Spirit flows Steven and the Apostles must preaâ—â— and boldly confess their precious Master Christ Jesus and this is great condescension of love that the spirit and the sinful believer are fellow-workers for the Spirit to act in the man Christ or in the elect Angels is not so much a wonder for they never â—inned influences upon us who have but a sort of obediential power as we are sinners such as is the power of swimming in iron is lowliness of love What is it for the Spirit of grace and glory to beat upon such broken and mistuned harps and to bring forth such excellent actings as praying praising confessing believing rejoycing in God in such unhandy tools What holy trembling is required in us that we offend not such an honourable and glorious help and that we neglect not to joyn his own habit to his own influences when he renders the work sweet and easie O let us lend our heart and give organs and a work-house to the Spirit who comes down to sigh in sinners He mourns like a dove and weeps like a father who hath lost his first-born in heirs of glory Q. But is not the habit of grace and spiritual dispositions all one and the same Answ They are not one For 1. The habit is the seed of God that remaines alwayes in us 1 John 3. 9. and the anointing that dwels in us 1 John 2. 20 27. but a disposition comes and goes ebbs and flowes A child of God will be under deadness and witheredness the soul cleaving to the dust dropping away for heaviness like a bottle in the smokâ— when the man with the habit of grace will pray like one sweating and rowing with oars against the tide and stream Why doth David pray so often to be quickened if he was ever in a lively disposition 2. Doth not experience teach that there be times when David saith 2 Sam. 7. 27. Thy servant hath found his heart to pray this prayer Was not this so much as to say the heart and disposition to pray is lost sometimes and is away Psal 57. 7. My heart is fixed O Ood my heart is fixed or prepared 3. To say that spiritual dispositions are as permanent and constant as habits is to deny the going and coming of the Spirit in Christs love-visits Now certain it is the Spouse is not ever sick of love for Christ as Cant. 2. nor is there such a flaming of love dispositions as when the Spouse saith Cant. 1. 5. A bundle of myrrhe is my beloved to me he shall lodge all the night between my breasts When a sleepy drowsiness is on that she suffers the welbeloved to knock and stand and knock while his head is full of dew and his locks wet with the rain of the night and refuses to open yea positively gives a reason that she cannot lodge him in the house nor between her breasts I have put off my coat how shall I put it on Such a spiritual love-sicknesse is far off 4. When a contrary disposition to adultery is on and Davids hand at the pen writing a letter to contrive the killing of innocent Vriah and the unbelieving fear of losse of life is upon Peter so that he denieth his Lord there could not be an heavenly disposition to make spiritual songs to pray to praise to confess Christ before men on either the one or the other 5. If those heavenly disposition were ever in it it should speak much against the liberty of the blessed Spirit whose breathings and out-lettings are soveraignly free Now by this the work of grace should be like the work of nature we see the fountain alwayes casts out her streames the Sun ever gives light the work grace hath a day and a dark night and Sun-light and Moon-light that we are in a state of outlawry when he withdraws to be humbled to the dust for abused love-visits and may know what is Christs and what is ours the fire is ever alike disposed to cast heat a mill-stone if not hindered is alike disposed to fall to the earth or down the mounrain Q. Are not spiritual dispositions nothing else but the hearts affections Answ Dispositions heavenly are different from the affections much more then they are different from the habit of grace 1. The spiritual dispositions goe and come the heart and affections of love joy sorrow remain 2. The heart is one thing and the heavenly preparedness of the heart is another thing As the subject iron differs from the fierceness and heat in iron and the water differs from the cold and heat that goes and comes from and to the water so dispositions are spiritual qualities and the affections the subject the heart is
speak at all Ezek. 2. 6. Self must be denied and shamefastness before Kings Psal 119. 46. see Psal 39. 1 2. laid aside Q. What then shall be done to be free of the indisposition of straitning and so to get influences of enlargement of heart Answ 1. Get and entertain large apprehension of God Who is a rock save our God Psal 18. 30 31. Be principled in the broad apprehensions of Christ he is altogether lovely all loves Cant. 5. 16. A touch of him can save 2. Rid marches betwixt the Law and grace some renewed ones must have their by past life and the strict law reconciled otherwise they but walk in the flesh and so live as they imagine in Law bondage and are sick of the old diseases and so weaken their faith Hence straitning Thou art under the Law and having made a bargain with the Law to keep it thou art in the flesh thou canst not speak to a strange King in another land a King of grace since thou hast fled back again to the old prison and if thou speak it is with much straitning and doubting thou art the Lawes man and not Christs 3. Keep near communion with God keep the vessel free of leaking and of under water sin weakens faith and saddens the spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty 2 Cor. 3. 4. Improve much faith Frequent believing shall come up to full assurance and that makes strong and bold knocking for a Son who hath right to come where his own flesh is within the vail is vigorous the servants knock is weak unbelief knocks faintly Yet mistake not heaviness as if it were unbelief Christ had much heaviness even to death in his suffering but no weaknesse of faith But Matth. 26. these O my Father O my Father as that also my God my God speak strong faith much enlargement in his heaviest case These four being observed influences are near 5. Grow in sonly love as a child to cry Abba Father a word of a child learning to speak Rom. 8. 26. 6. Get and cherish the inward witnessing of the Spirit Rom. 8. 16 17. and the confirmed assurance of justification by faith hence access and boldness Rom. 5. 1 2 3 4. Eph. 3. 16 17 18 19. The third question How far David or a child of God may undertake to run upon the supposal of an enlarged heart Hence these Assert 1. There is an undertaking as if the child of God had influences at his hand Of this nature in Scripture Psal 51. 10. Create in me a clean heart 11. Cast me not away from thy presence 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free Spirit 13. Then will I teach sinners thy ways So v. 15. O Lord open thou my lips and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise Psal 119. 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts so shall I talk of thy wondrous works 88. Quicken me after thy loving kindness so shall I keep the testimonies of thy mouth In which he lays it for a ground if God graciously give a new heart he will graciously give influences of grace to teach sinners If the Lord of free grace open the lips he will also give influences to make him shew forth the praises of God not that dispositions of grace doe necessarily determine us to gracious acts or can determine the Lord to bestow influences of grace but the Lords free promise determines him Where he opens one door he opens a second and then a third until his child be in his bosome when he gives one grace he gives another yea because he gives grace he layes holy bands on himself to give more grace the Lord of grace chooses some to savation and gives them to his son and because he chooses them he gives his Son to death for them and because the Lord redeems them by his Son therefore he gives to them strong faith and because he gives to them saving faith therefore he gives to them perseverance and glory and so gives influences of graces in a golden link and chain Rom. 8. 29 30. 2 Thess 2. 13. Acts 13. 48. Eph. 1. 4 5. 1 Pet. 1. 2 3. Assert 2. A believer under the sense of mercy and deliverance is to engage his soul to praise David delivered in the cave Psal 58. 7. I will sing and praise Psal 30. Thou hast turned from me my mourning into dancing v. 12. O Lord my God I will give thanks to thee for ever Psal 116. 8. Thou hast delivered my soul from death 9. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living out of the sense of the Lords goodness to all Psa 104. 33. I shall sing unto the Lord in my lives or as long as I live Psal 63. 3. Because thy loving kindness is better then life my lips shall praise thee thus will I bless thee while I live Heb. in my lives Assert 3. The man Christ may absolutely undertake Psal 22. 22. I will declare thy name unto thy brethren I will praise thee in the midst of the congregation For he knows perfectly he neither can sin or come short of his vow nor can the Lord withdraw influences of grace from the man Christ but Peter had no assurance that under that particular temptation the Lord should not forsake him The general all the renewed have that the Lord will not suffer his own to be tempted above their strength Peter was obliged to watch and pray under all the particular temptations that could occur and especially under the trial of his suffering Saviour of which he was fore-warned by the mouth of Christ from that Prophecie Zech. 13. 7. I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered Obj. The faith of believers is to rely upon the promised help of Christ in every temptation Then may the believer pray to be delivered not in the general but in every particular not to be tempted above his strength Answ The promise of preserving the elect and of giving promised perseverance Isa 54. 10. Jer. 31. 25. 32. 40. to them now converted is absolute that the Lord will put his fear in their hearts that they shall never depart from him 2. That his grace shall fortifie them against attrocious sins committed with the full strength of consent and inconsistent with the seed of God and the inbiding of that seed in them with the holy anointing 1 Joh. 2. 20 27. c. 3. v. 9. But there is not any promise in the New Covenant that David and Peter shall be delivered from particular sins hic nunc such as may consist with the habit of grace and the seed of God There faith is to relie upon God and his grace that he shall not lead them into temptation hic nunc in such particular sins not absolutely but conditionally so the Lord in his wisedom and holy soveraignty shall
the disposition of the heart see what hearts ye can bring out before the Lord its true the repenting thief could not as Hezekiah say Lord I have walked before thee with a perfect heart or as Paul 2 Tim. 4. 7 8. I have fought the good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith yet the crown is laid for love and such as love his appearance though all cannot wind up to be such fighting souldiers as Paul was the repenting thiefs flock was small his race short yet what he wanted of inherent grace that Hezekiah and Paul had he had it of free righteousness and Christ crucified was the gloriation of both David brings not out his fixed heart in his extream danger as building his peace on it the influence of works on justification and peace is not causative no more then the poor bride can say she hath put a debt upon the bride-groom to love her with marriage love because she wears his golden chains his bracelets and jewels it s the bridegrooms comliness that he puts upon her nor can roses and lillies say our Creator is our debtor oweth us love because we are subjects bearing his colours smell vertue and beauty of the Creator What would the rose be if the Creator should take all from it he gave to it We know such a rock to be covered with water therefore its full sea here is smoke therefore here is fire And ah what a heart in death can the unrenewed man bring forth before the Lord except he say Lord I was never in Christ Lord I never wept for sin Lord I never did a good work for Christ but all for my self Lord I prophesied in thy name but I was never born again but hated all those that were born again 2. How strongly may the believer argue who hath any heavenly fixedness of heart or any thing of Christ in him It s a sort of holy obligation with reverence that he shall bring forth to acting all his own holy dispositions it speaks an ingaging of holy unchangeableness that he shall perfect the good work he hath begun but be not ye lazy and do not ye sleep and say God shall do of all his grace that is a strong argument that the man who habitually uses such logick hath nothing to do with Christ Ah the Spirit will do whether I will or not and in the mean time thou livest a sensual beast know that thou but foments lies of the holy Ghost Jude puts these two together v. 19. sensual not having the Spirit and before v. 8. Likewise all these filthy dreamers defile the flesh dreaming and filthiness are conjoyned Men dream the influences of grace shall go along with their dispositions for good and they are but natural dispositions at the best and the Lord never said he would perfect nature and finish works of nature that are begun in swinish dreamers woful secure dreaming destroys external professors men will not awake neither are they afraid of that condition but a trembling professor is the surest and safest professor Verse 7. I will sing and give praise V. 8. Awake my glory awake psaltery The fourth point in the text tells us what this fixedness of heart produced in David I will sing so we are led to the rest of the characters and properties of the heavenly disposition of fixedness for it brought forth holy actings as singing of praise and awaking of his gift and grace which flow from holy dispositions hence the second property of holy dispositions 1. Once grace brings forth another and so holy dispositions holy actings faith and trusting in God brings forth claiming of God as the mans own Psalm 16. 1. In thee do I put my trust Hence v. 2. O my soul thou hast said unto the Lord Thou art my Lord. The disposition of believing brings forth speaking Psalm 116. 10. I believed therefore I spake 2. A disposition of loving God brings forth praying Psalm 18. 1. I will love thee O Lord my strength 3. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised Hannah Jonah Hezekiah David the afflicted soul Psalm 102. graciously sad and heavy pray and call on God in that case 3. The disposition of felt mercy brings forth praises Psal 30. 5. O Lord thou hast brought up my soul from the grave v. 3. Hence that Sing unto the Lord O ye Saints of his and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness 4. David's joyful disposition to glory in the Lord brings forth his dancing before the Ark with all his might and his constancy therein to be yet more vile before the Lord what ever Michol said to the contrary and this is most sutable to the nature of heavenly dispositions motion comes kindly from the wheels when they are oyled the heavenly dispositions oyles and anoints the soul and renders the powers more active as they anointed wrestlers of old to make them more nimble and active in wrestling 2. The very intention apointment of God speaks so much God hath ordained heavenly dispositions for heavenly actings as he hath appointed the plant to be a tree the seed to be growing corn bread the Lord sends a praying disposition on David as a seed of praying a praising disposition that he must rise at midnight and praise Psalm 119. 62. and prevent the dawning and the night-watches to cry and pray v. 147 148. And an hoping disposition on Job that when he is dead bones lying in a bed he must profess his perswasion to see his living Redeemer stand the last man on the earth and desires his words were printed in a book and graven with a pen of iron and lead in the rock for ever Job 19. 24 25 26 27. And dispositions on Elihu to plead for the Lords Soveraignty so as if he should hold his tongue he should give up the ghost his belly should burst like new wine-bottles Job 32. 19. And Job must plead for God and for his own integrity that he was not an hypocrite as his friends slanderously said his disposition pressing him so as he saith Job 13. 19. Who is he that will plead with me for now if I hold my tongue I shall give up the ghost And the Lord gives such a disposition of zeal for God to Moses though he was a man of a meek disposition that he breaks the two Tables of stone containing the written law when he heard of the peoples worshipping of the golden calfe and such a heavenly self-denying disposition to prophecie on Jacob that in his testament he curses his two sons Simeon and Levi for their unjust anger against the Sichemites and there is such an impression of zeal and a feaver against Idolatry on Pauls spirit at Athens Acts 17. that he must dispute against their false gods Nor are we to think that holy dispositions are but as sailes to the ship and wings to the bird which adde no strength to the
wrath to such as use no means he that plows none but sleeps in Summer shall be cloathed with rags but there is no word that all who plow painfully shall be rich men and cloathed in scarlet Prov. 28. 7. He that turns away his ear from hearing the Law even his prayer shall be abomination but all that hear the Law are not converted this shews that the Lord is provoked by the not using of means in natural men as both the Lords plea with the wicked cleareth and their sinful neglect of not putting God to it to see if God will not do more when they have done but a little of their duty the Lord is at the pains to charm them and doth it wisely they will be deaf as the adder well then Psal 58. since they will keep the Serpents poison whether God who useth means to the contrary will or no. v. 4 5 6. Break their teeth O God in their mouth 7. Let them melt away as waters which run continually 8. As a snail which melteth let every one of them pass away So plagued and melted away sinners you might have been charmed by God and would not can you blame God Jer. 51. 9. We would have healed Babylon but she is not healed well then it follows forsake her let us go every one into his own Country for her judgement is reached up to heaven and is lifted up unto the skies So God is clear and even Babylons refusing to be healed and to hear the Prophets and her nelecting means is justly plagued Prov. 1. 20. What can wisedom do more but cry and utter her voice and throw over the line to such as are in the Kingdome of darkness the promises 22. Behold I will pour out my spirit to you But v. 24. Ye refused no man regarded 25. ye set at nought all my counsel and would have none of my reproof 29. They hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord and therefore the Lord laughs at their destruction and mocks when their fear cometh And Luke 14. 16 17 18. many are bidden come to the Supper and the Lord is cleared an offer is made to them they all with one consent refuse the use of other means and the Lord saith none of them who were bidden shall taste of his Supper So the Lords justice goes no farther then the obstinacy of men who refuse to come in at the outer gate opposes him Christ and reprobates so never come to wrestling and to ay and no in the inner gate or in the pains of the new birth the sentence of a refused treaty with Christ long e're it come to the out-breaking of the new birth cuts them off green corn is frost-slain long e're it come to the blade and it 's not the rotting of a white and ripe harvest that is the loss of it it 's just providence in the Gardiner to cut down and throw over the hedge a plant that is withered while it is yet young as it is right that he hew down a tree ready to bear fruit when it 's barren and rotten The Lord hath not set down in his word the degrees of transgression against the covenant of works some in Adam might have been more some less grievous transgressors should all have been saved or damned by that only covenant and since it cannot be denied that multitudes within the visible Church perish for their sin against the Law or the externally proposed Covenant of grace and yet all these so perishing are not alike guilty our Saviour says some had greater guiltiness in his sufferings then Pilate had John 19. 11. holy and spotless justice doth cut off some in their sins for sinning against that Covenant whether it be the Covenant of grace so called or the Covenant of works who even are many mile distant from sinning against the actings of the regenerating spirit and some come neerer to the strangling of the new birth and are cut off by holy justice also When our Saviour saith John 3. 18 36. He that believeth not is condemned already and the wrath of God abideth on him his meaning shall not be that all condemned within the visible Church perish because the man coming to the nick of a gracious receiving of Christ and having done all requisite to a professor until it come to the breaking forth of the new birth he there only fails for many sins and degrees of failing against that Covenant however it be called go before that by reason whereof men are said not to believe in the Son of God and upon which account they remain under wrath and are condemned for non-believing he who will not hear of the Physitian though he never come within reach of personal communing with him dies of his disease deservedly because he contemns the only Physitian who can cure him as well as he who sees the Physitians face hears his words and beats back on his face the saving cup which would cure his disease Yet withal here we would beware of Mr. Baxter's order of setting repentance and works of new obedience before justification which is indeed a new covenant of works meriting the sprinkling of Christs blood and washing in justification and this blood payeth them back again for by the merit of Christs blood good works do justifie and save 2. How clean walkers in new obedience must men be wâ—ashen e're they come neer the fountain redeemed before they be redeemed 3. So must men sweet and repent of their life before they be justified compleatly but of half or quarter remission and justification the Scripture is silent it crushes joy peace hope liberty spiritual for if men earn not out their repentance they may and do lose their labour and reward before the third part of the day be ended nor does the man accept Christ as Lord in a naked intention to serve him for so saving faith includes in its nature an intention of new obedience to God but a man cannot be said to have his reward of pardon because he hath wrought his work or reformed his life only in his intention or because he intends to work his work Scripture should here speak 4. Why doth not Mr. Baxter say right down tacienti quod in se est Deus non denegat gratiam The Lord hath made the covenant of grace with all mankind Americans Brasilians with these of Chinah and it hath these two halfs 1. Do and live the life of grace and of faith 2. Do and live the life of glory So that the Gospel and pardon and the life of grace are promised to the Americans so they trade well with nature or a general grace of Christ crucified they know not whom and they never heard of shew such a covenant made in Scripture and made with the Brasilians It 's true the Scripture saith repent for remission and repent that your sins may be blotted out Acts 2. 37 38. Acts 3. 19. But truth suffers here
sealing of the Spirit Eph. 4. 29 30. So singing Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs with making melody in the heart to the Lord is a proclaiming that there is some fulness of the Spirit if the Spirit could speak in the Saints the two native languages of the Spirit would be praying for that is the cry of the Spirit Rom. 8. 15 23 26. and singing praises Eph. 5. 18 19 20. The way to have influences of the Spirit is to pray continually and fervently and to give thanks always for all things unto God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Eph. 5. 20. 5. A wicked hardening of the heart is as if ye would cast water on a weakly smoaking fire of green timber that cannot be a seat an office-house to the Spirit and his actings such are interdited of the spiritual seeing and of the Spirits hearing of the Spirit Rom. 11. 8. God hath given them the spirit of slumber eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear to this day It 's dreadful when Prophets preach some stark blind and dead one of the chief and noble operations of the Spirit is illumination and he is a seeing and an enlightning and a hearing spirit 1. Wink not before the shining beams of the Sun yield heartily to the convictions of the Spirit John 16. 7. such as waste away the light of conscience and the convictions of the Spirit are not entrusted again with new actings of the Spirits enlightning 2. Be tender and stand in awe of smaller sins it speaks much of the spirit in David to be smitten with the renting of the lap of Saul's garment 6. Some make themselves uncapable of the actings of the Spirit who seeing great temptations signs and miracles have plenty of means yet remain blind and hard-hearted and dull of hearing Deut. 29. 2 3 4. Heb. 5. 11 12. Joh. 12. 37 38 39 40. if we would improve the actings of the Spirit and delight in the Lords way we should have new influences to walk in his paths Psalm 119. 35. and God teacheth David good judgements for saith he I have believed thy commandments v. 66. So are they-far from new influences who abuse so many plagues and so many deliverances from these plagues as Pharaoh did and crush the motions of a trembling conscience as Felix did a doubt it may be if ever the like acting of a Law-spirit visit such men again 7. All such who remain in the state of unrenewed nature are uncapable of the actings of the Spirit nor does the Spirit lodge in sensual and beastly men Jude v. 19. nor can the world receive the Spirit of truth John 14. 17. no more then the spirit and breathing of a horse can lodge in aâ—pismire It 's true John Baptist was full of the holy Ghost from the womb Luke 1 15. and the Spirit acts him with joy v. 41. when Mary saluted her but John Baptists sin Original was both then pardoned as touching the damnation thereof and subdued as touching the dominion of it Otherwise another spirit acts and works by nature in the sons of disobedience Eph. 2. 2. and these two strong ones can remain and dwell both in one castle then seek translation and to be with Christ if ye would have the Spirit and his influences multitudes no more complain of the want of the influences of the Spirit then a dead mans corps complains of cold of hunger of thirst or of influences of life from the living soul nor complain they of sickness Oh it speaks life to be pained for the waâ— of the Spirit and his influences what wonder that ye cannot perswade a sleeping man that he sleeps 8. Some actings of bitterness wrath clamour anger and malice in the Saints may sadden the Spirit of God darken the evidence of the Spirits sealing unto the day of redemption Eph. 4. 30 31. It must be a sort of suffering to the Spirit and a casting water on the fire and a deadning to David as touching vigorous and lively operations that he acted adultery and murther which moves him to pray for the restoring to him again the joy of the Lords salvation and to be upholden by the Lords free spirit Psal 51. 12. Can a King dwell even in a palace when it is burning and smoaking about his ears therefore holy actings teaching of sinners praying praising Psalm 51. 13 14. 15. to be kind one to another and tender-hearted to forgive one another as Christ did Eph. 4. 32. and to act as the Spirit and to be holy and heavenly in one walk puts the Spirit in a sweet composed temper to act and breath abundantly in his flowings of love and grace 9. It would be observed that influences of the Spirit are contempered with the actings of grace with which they concur the spirit of adoption acts in the grammer of prayer to cry Abba Father and he comes down to the language of children learning to speak and to say Abba and the Spirit helps our infirmities O it must be great help that the Spirit yields it must be creating of new heavens or removing of mountains or dividing of the sea or something like say some nay the Spirit helps us with a groan his influences come down to sigh and weep and mourn like a dove in a Saint Rom. 8. 26. Cant. 2. 14. Ezech. 7. 16. and if so it 's no wonder that the Spirit breaths not on our wild fire anger Well does the Spirit breathe on Christs holy anger he was angry and grieved Mark 3. 5. and was saddened at the offending of God To be angry at the sin of offenders and yet so as to compassionate the soul of the offender this is to fix a fit seat for the influences of the spirit nor can we receive the influences of that spirit who applieth and intimateth pardon and forgiveness when our anger is such to these who injure us as we cannot forgive them and if anger lodge and take chamber in the bosome and brest of a fool can the Spirit breathe supplications in such a brest when the fountain is troubled and muddy with clay it gives no representation of the face and image to the beholder Psalm 119. 135. Make thy face to shine on thy servant but the soul is a dusty and muddy glasse most unfit to receive the irradiations and beams of such a transcendent sun of glory yea it 's some way fitted v. 136. rivers of water run down mine eyes because they keep not thy Law Then a soul mourning for sin is fit to be shined upon by the Lord when the man Christs soul is exceeding sorrowful even to the death Matth. 26. 38. then is his soul fit to receive dartings of the spirit to pray most humbly with his face on the ground v. 39. most believingly O my Father O my Father most fervently with tripple praying 44. more earnestly Luke 22. 44. or more bendedly then
obey the Scripture is clear and though we cannot give a natural and philosophick reason no matter 18. If we should distinguish betwixt thoughts and conquering and victorious thoughts 2. Betwixt fixed and wanton carelesly feeling thoughts 3. Betwixt guarded and well watched hearts and masterless hearts we should know that we hinder and obstruct influences though Soveraignty dispense gracious influences by sinful thoughts the thoughts being the wings of the soul can influences have a seat on thoughts marred by us surely no more then a bird can flie with broken wings and the God of nature doth not joyn his influences with causes impossible to act he concurs not with the bird to flie when the wings are broken nor the running of a dead horse though one should ride on a carrion and use spur and rod. But when the thoughts are seasoned with the heavenly disposition of a renewed heart as the buds and blossoms of the vine-tree are in a neerest way to receive influences from the God of nature to become excellent wine-berries and the most refined earth neer to be turned into gold and to receive influences for that effect so a heart gratified with heavenly dispositions must be a subject for heavenly thoughts and if there be a holy heart heavenly meditations come out in the night Psal 63. 6 7. Psalm 139. 17. Phil. 3. 19 20. 2. The Lord contempereth the actings of the spirit to the subject being a moral agent and all our gracious actings run through the channel of a spiritual judgement as running the race in Christ came from known and well considered joy set before him Heb. 12. 1. Moses chose Saints suffering more then Court-honour for heaven or the recompense of reward looked with another face and representation on the understanding then a poor time Court of clay did the superexcellent knowledge of Jesus Christ is so praised by Paul as his heavenly understanding looks on it as his all yea his only all and his all things beside are stated to his mind as loss and dung So to Abraham's mind a tent that shepheards sleep in is judged good enough and the world a bottomless lodging because there stands in the eye of his mind a rightly considered City that hath a foundation whose maker and builder is God Heb. 11. 18. And the cause of Christs bearing patiently the cross was his sanctified judgement of injuries and spitting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he under-judged and in his mind under-prised shame and reproach Heb. 12. 2. as a-very shaddow of a shaddow and as nothing and the glory of his Father in a redeemed and ransomed people looked braid and fair and great on his understanding Know and consider well 1. God an infinite fair transcendent God and the silly poor nothing and kindless nature 2. Judge rightly of time and how nothing yesterday and the last year is and weigh in your understanding vast high and braid and deep and long eternity if you have ballance with scales that can bear eternity 3. Understand well obedience faith the weight of the love of Christ never quenched with many floods and sin hatred of Christ and the horror thereof 4. Take a right view of heaven how it lies in length and bredth and a right impression of the fire that is never quenched and the habitual knowledge of the Lords name wants not influences for trusting in God Psalm 9. 10. knowledge where to find God in Christ hath actings of the Spirit to live and dwell with him to hold him Cant. 1. 7. Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. Joh. 4. 10. to pray to come to him Joh. 6. 45. a soâ—l in darkness and the gross ignorance of God is not capable of influences of grace as the centre and bowels of the earth and deep pits receive no Sun-light We can draw on sinful dispositions yea we created these dry clouds that are above our withered hearts by making our inordinate affections Stewards and Caterers to lay in provision for our flesh Rom. 13. 14. 2. We can ask leave at our flesh to take a little sleep and excuse it Prov. 6. 10. Yet a little flumber 3. Under drowsiness and security we can refuse to open and let Christ in Cant. 5. 3. and that brings on sad withdrawings of the actings of the Spirit v. 6. 4. Violence done to sweet dispositions when they give warning of our debt may draw to a wronging of the holy Ghost who is dreadfully jealous if we counter-counter-work the actings and breathings of the spirit and react against the out-lettings and flowings of the anointing and of the well within springing up to eternal life he puts in his hand by the hole of the door the Spouse is convinced that it is Christ the beloveds voice and his knock and his very words and no other yet he is not yielded unto but resisted 2. We keep not the oyl clean that it may shine more clearly in the lamp inky blackness defaces the beauty of the white rose and the lilly the dustiness and filth of lusts dimness darkens the precious stone that it loseth lustre and colour when a judicial darkness even on a believer it covereth the habit of grace and darkens the spiritual strain the sin of the spirit is out of measure sinful the spirit judicially sleeping sees and hears less in the Prophet Jonah then carnal reason in the Heathen Mariners for Jonah sleeps the Heathen men do wake and fear when wrath from Heaven blows on their ship the lesser habit of grace that is young and green in the repenting theif doth more in adhering to Christ because actual breathing of the spirit is stronger and more vigorous then the more rooted and experienced habit of grace in the Apostles when it is now overwhelmed with the base fear of suffering for he confesses him to be a King on the Cross the Disciples fleeing forsake him and the Lord preaches that we are more debtors to the Spirit of Christ then to the habit of grace praying praising believing hoping loving joying as acts of kin to the Spirit gladden the Spirit what should we then do to fetch the wind grieve not the Spirit but keep the fountain pure and clean from the muddiness of lusts for in the light of the Spirit you see your own spots 1 Joh. 3. 3. He that hath this hope in him purifies himself as he also is pure 2. Yield not to indispositions complain of them to God and pray them away as Psalm 61. 2. Psalm 31. 22. Psalm 102. 3 4 5. Lam. 1. 2 3 4 5 c. 22 23. Obj. But it is easie so to say Be strong in the Lord I am at huge distance from the Lord Answ 1. The Lord speaks to believers as to moral agents the actings of faith is in us both moral and also physical or real though moral acting in some sense be real and not imaginary as the fowler with sweet songs works in a manner morally or by way of
the Spirit of Christ makes him withdraw Cant. 5. 2 6. Here unbelief binds up the wind and breathings of the spirit as it doth the mighty actings of Christ Mat. 13. An unbeliever as touching his state is a Pagan and doth the holy spirit dwell in an Heathen Lively hope for there is a dead and withered hope is no less a fruit of the spirit then faith This is a specifick difference between an unconverted Pagan who wants the spirit and a convert who hath the spirit The former is one who has no hope and so is without God and without Christ and without the Spirit of God in the world and so is not capable of influences Ephes 2. 12 13 14. and one whom the Lord according to his abundant mercy hath begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 1 Pet. 1. 3. For in such a man there be many actings of the Spirit As Faith 2. Perseverance therein v. 4 5. Rejoycing in God v. 6. Patient believing in the furnace v. 7. Love v. 8. all which are fruits of the spirit Gal. 5. 22. And hope under deadness spreads abroad the sailes and hoises them up to receive and gather in the wind it brings home influences of grace to lie at the tide and wait until the wind blow sweetly and fairly from the Spirits earth Hope is the onwaiter expecting showrs of influences in the conscionable using of the means The hope of him who purifies not himself 1 John 3. 3. shall wither hope to the end still flourishing growes on the right tree and speaks a communion with the spirit which hath conjoyned with it the obedience of children the not fashioning our selves to former lusts and holiness like unto God who hath called us 1 Pet. 1. 13 14 15 16. otherwise the hope shall be a broken tree and hath nothing to doe with the Spirit Many say they hope well and it 's good to hope well and live upon thoughts that they shall be saved yet are profane and godless walking after their lusts this is sinful boldness and the spirit dwells in none such There is a boldness of faith in access to God and in approaching to the throne of grace Rom. 5. 1 2 3 4. Heb. 4. 16. by which Davids soul makes her boast in the Lord Psalm 34. 2. It hath these undoubted graces of the spirit faith praying glorying in tribulation patience the love of God spread abroad in the heart by the holy Ghost which is given to us Rom. 5. 1 2 3 4 5. 5. The fifth Class of impediments come from these two 1. Despair and anger What workings and saving impulsions in the spirit can be in Cain Saul and Judas is not conceivable Hope that makes not ashamed Rom. 5. as is said dwells sweetly with the spirit 2. The violence of the passion of anger overclouds the soul so that Elisha is not capable to receive prophetical influences and to prophesie he was so incensed against wicked Jehoram 2 Kings 3. But when the minâ—â—rel played the hand of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied Theodoret saith with the sweetness of the harmony of the Psalms the mind of Elisha was calmed and composed from the storm of anger The sound of musick saith Cajetan makes an inward contracting and gathering together of the actings of the mind and so an elevating of the heart to God Here it is as when blood runs out at mouth or nose the cutting of a vein in the arm makes a diversion of the blood and causes it run in its right channel The sweetness of musick drawes the soul to a bended attention to consider the harmony that it may the more greedily drink in delectation Peter Martyr on the place saith As David by singing a spiritual song chased away the evil spirit from Saul so would Elisha waken up the good spirit by heavenly Psalmes as the sounding of a Trumpet hath influences upon the mind of souldiers to valorous and heroick acts in warre Now musick spiritual the matter being Psalmes to God and it 's like Elisha called for some of the Levites who could sing psalmes on the harp as they were used in publick worship can withdraw the soul in anger from acts of revenge to acts of spiritual attentionâ— musick 2. That being done the soul is setled and the blood for the Physical definition of anger is a kindling of the blood about the heart the moral description of it being a desire of revenge to hold off a contrary and to preserve nature and when the blood is setled and fallen from the heart the organs of prophecying are in a little better frame then when the soul and heart is boyling like a pot in heat and flaming of anger 3. By bending of the mind to a spiritual object the sweet musick in praising of God the some of anger is removed and a spiritual disposition to praise which is nearer by nature to spiritual prophetical influences then the flamings of sinful carnal anger as aer insitus the air that is within in the ear fits the organs to receive the sound and lumen insitum fitteth the eye to receive the species and images of colours and so to see by the contrary the foming of anger within hinders the incoming of prophetical influences as a contrary holds out a contrary Intus apparens prohibet extraneum So the Apostles wills us to put away anger if we would pray rightly 1 Tim. 2. 1 8. I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without wrath and doubting or contending Anger drowns the soul and renders it like green wet timber unfit to receive the flaming and soul-warming influences of the spirit of adoption 2. A meek quiet spirit like that of Christs is the fittest work-house of heavenly influences Christ the most lovely and meek of men and an infallible copy thereof Mat. 11. 29. Isa 53. 6. Isa 40. 11. Isa 42. 2 3. had the most frequent influences of the in-dwelling Godhead as Isa 61. 1 2 Psalm 45. 7. John 3. 34. 2. Moses was the meekest man on the earth and much of the actings of the spirit were on his soul and he had the most near manifestations of God The Lord spake to him mouth to mouth even apparently and not in dark speeches he beheld the similitude of the Lord Numb 12. 8. Deut. 34. 10. Exod. 34. 5 6. Q. What Prophet was fourty dayes in the mount with the Lord and eat not but Moses Exod. 33. 11. There arose not a Prophet like unto Moses c. 3. John the disciple of love called the beloved disciple gets the name of divine and he saw more glory and more of the visions of God then Peter who is the pretended Vicar of Christ and Head of the Catholick Church so doe Papists dream of an Head-ship For John saw Christ in his glory Revel 1. which made him fall dead at his
judge it fit for their humiliation and the promoting of the work of their salvation and especially for the glory of holy Soveraignty they are to believe that the Lord shall absolutely confer upon them fundamental and amply necessary influences of grace but not that he shall bestow on them absolutely non-fundamental influences Assert 4. It s not lawful to engage to run the ways of the Lords commandments leaning to the habit of grace and the stock within the Believer Peter relied on this I am ready 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nothing habitual grace and faith to go with thee to prison and to death Luke 22. 33. and John 13. 37. Peter is angry because Christ lesseneth his stock and habit of grace and strength of faith Lord why can I not follow thee now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This habit of grace is not Christ neither the Spirit and therefore the enlarging of the heart upon the supposal whereof David engageth to run the way of the Lords commandments is not the only habitual enlarging of the heart but he supposeth also that the Lord must add his actual breathings and influences of grace else he cannot run nor move at all in the way of God John 15. 5. 1. Cor. 12. 2. 2 Cor. 3. 3. Assert 5. Far less can we engage to run the way of the Lord upon our own strength For 1. The Apostle James rebukes such as say they shall go to such a City and buy and sell and say not if God will James 4. 10 11. far less can we engage to spiritual duties on our own strength 2. This is carnal presumption for men to lay wagers on their own strength and to say with Peter and the Disciples they 'l do wonders 3. Men believe not the wickedness of their own hearts nor see they to the bottome of soveraignty the depth of sin original 4. It s contrary to godly watchfulness and an hardning of the heart as Prov. 28. 14. Blessed is the man who fears always but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischiefe 5. It s atheism to suppose that influences of saving grace are as due and connatural to men now fallen in sin as influences natural are some way due to the falling of rain the rising and going down of the Sun the growing of trees the ebbing and flowing of the sea and that we have dominion of free-will over the saving breathings of the holy Ghost Whereas 6. The Gospel bids us pray and by faith rely on the Lord for influences of grace and give the glory and praise of the breathings of the Spirit to God 7. It s against that humble self-denial and godly trembling and humble despairing of our own strength that should be in us in our undertakings of obedience So an huge deal of pride 2. want of mortification to self must be lurking in our undertakings Assert 6. It s not lawful to blame the Lord for our sinful omissions for that is to father our sin upon the holy Lord nor is that Isa 63. 17. O Lord why hast thou made us to erre from thy ways and hardened our hearts from thy fear a complaining against God It s 1. a tacit complaining of themselves that they are grosse matter and the dunghil on which the Sun with his beams stirs up a stinking smell which is not the Suns fault 2. As Gods active hardning of us is a punishment of sin the Church may lawfully complain of it to God and deprecate that and all the like sad evils of punishment yet it shall never follow that God is the author or the cause of the sins of our being passively hardned of God or of active hardening of our selves 3. It s a prayer for softning and grace not to erre return for thy servants sake v. 16. thou O Lord art our Father our Redeemer thy Name is from everlasting 2. None of the Saints yielding to temptations do blame the Lords withdrawing but blame themselves and clear the Lord. Psalm 51. Against thee thee only have I sinned thou hast taught me wisedom in the inward parts here is a clearing of the Lord. Isa 64. 6. We are all as an unclean thing v. 4. since the beginning of the world men have not perceived a God beside thee 5 8. So Lam. 3. 34. Assert 7. A Believer may undertake in the strength of God Psalm 119. 33. Cant. 14. Draw me we will run Grace and the Spirit in his sweet breathings being undertakers one may undertake for a journey when Christ engages for such a chariot the midst whereof is paved with love O be humble and lay not great wagers upon self ye know not sin original as a sin but ye know it as a meer punishment What we are sinners by nature and we can do no otherwise Pharaoh and Judas knew it so CHAP. VIII Q. 4. Is there no running except God enlarge the heart what then can we do ASsert 1. Without some enlargement of heart there is no running the negative is true none come to Christ except such as the father draws John 6. 44. John 15. 5. and the affirmative is true all that are drawn and have heard and learned of the Father do run and come apace Cant. 1. 4. John 6. 44. There is a spiritual riches in heavenly and spiritual suppositions O for more of Christ to ern his praises with a shout which might waken Angels and Men all men in this side and in the other side of the Sun and that all creatures might hear and put to their seal and cry Amen to the Psalm Assert 2. The use we are to make of our sinful weakness is not to sit still he loves death who says I cannot heal my self art and skill must only do it therefore I le seek to no Physitian if the Lord will not do it let me die The husbandman were mad who would say my plowing sowing early rising and late labouring can never make the corn to grow except God give the increase therefore I le fold my hands and take the other sleep and if another say God only creates the wind therefore I le never set my foot in a ship so is it here what can the dead and the sick sinner do if the Physitian Christ will neither quicken nor cure his influences of life are above my reach therefore I le never make out to Christ nor ask for the Gospel if Christ will not heal us we must pine away in our sins how then shall we live this is to tempt Christ and to bring him under a new miraculous way to heal and save the sinner in his dream without hearing the Gospel which is that God should bring bread and cloathing to the sleeping mans bed-side The contrary is Phil. 2. 13. work because he works Cant. 1. Draw and we will run the Spouse saith not Lord draw that we may sleep 2. Our impotency leads us to turn sinful wickedness in mournful confession and godly complaining as the Saints
ship or bird for they are such principles as doe actively render the soul able for works of grace and in nothing doe we fail more then in not striking on the flint to bring out fire We improve not heavenly dispositions as the Prophet complaines Isa 64. 7. There is none that stirs up himself to take hold on thee Qu. But to act when the soul is under an indisposition is as if the bird should fly without wings Answ If we speak of the renewed ones that are in Christ when dispositions heavenly seem to be a fire quenched out and turned to cold ashes we are to stir up and awake the habit of grace and act thereby for the instinct and nature of the new man hath in it virtually gracious acts and we are to improve the habit of grace 2. When one disposition is smothered with the down-casting of unbelief yet is there an half of a contrary spiritual disposition alive working contrary to unbelief by reason whereof David chides his own soul Psal 42. 5. Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance Whether Davids soul pleads against Davids soul by the habit of grace or by an heavenly disposition or by both it sayes something to this that all dispositions spiritual are never so removed but there is a seed of God which may be wakened up 2. When the disposition is smoared with heaviness there is another counterworking heavenly disposition Psal 119. 28. My soul melteth for heaviness Then there hath been some disposition of deadnesse on yet behold a disposition to pray counterworking that disposition Strengthen me according to thy word v. 81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation Fainting speaks some weaknesse yet there is a disposition to hope which counter-acts fainting But I hope in thy word v. 83. I am become like a bottle in the smoke which is some disposition to deadnesse on the spirit but see the counter-working disposition but I do not forget thy statutes 3. As the Spirit at length in the renewed prevailes over the flesh Rom. 7. 23 24. so the gracious disposition is victorious over and hath the better of the sinful disposition So whatsoever was Davids doubting disposition at another time or now when he is forced to flee to the cave and part with his few Souldiers his faith and believing disposition prevailes over his fears and doubting as is clear v. 1. My soul trusteth in thee 3. He shall send from heaven and save me 7. My heart is fixed I will sing and give praise Else could a slain man buried in the cave sing and give praise And let this be considered as the third property and character of heavenly dispositions Hence under indispositions we would doe as those who would be over the water if one foord be too deep try another and try every foord there is an indisposition to believe there may be a spiritual disposition to pray beside it set to praying there is a deadnesse that hinders praying that the Church cannot speak Psal 77. 4. yet there is in the Church a disposition to praise in the same Psalm v. 14. Thou art the God that dost wonders thou hast declared thy strength among the people 15. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people the sons of Jacob and Joseph Then set about praising there is nothing left but the habit of grace dispositions motions experiences are all gone turn over the promises and act upon the habit and blow upon the live coal and strengthen that which remaines when one instrument is broken the tradesman makes use of another 2. Though sinful dispositions for a while and the flesh have the better wait on the Lord and trust to his strength and act the heavenly flamings of God at length shall prevail The Spouse is drowsie for a while and refuses to open and shifts Christ of lodging Cant. 5. 2. yet at length when Christ puts in his hand by the hole of the door faith and heavenly dispositions are victorious and she rises and opens and misseth and seeks and prayes and becomes sick of love for him v. 6 7 8. and bursts out in a high song of extolling her beloved v. 10 11 12. Job is under much sadnesse of unbelief and dumpishness of spirit Job 19. 6. Know that God hath overthrown me and hath compassed me with his net 7. Behold I cry out of wrong but I am not heard I cry aloud but there is no judgment Hard words if there be no judgment for an oppressed man crying to God there is no providence no governing God who rules the world yet v. 25. I know that my Redeemer lives I know I shall see him Get any of the habit of grace and spiritual dispositions and act with them and ye shall not want victorious influences upon this ground because greater is he that is in you then he that is in the world 1 John 4. 4. 3. Get heavenly dispositions and God shall act upon his own work and bring forth all his own actings out of his own seed Now the way to get heavenly dispositions is 1. to be much in perusing the word and promises Davids meditating 2. Learning 3. Observing loving the testimonies of God prove that David was a heavenly disposed man Psal 119. 2. Keep communion with God in praying hearing reading conferring He who is much and daily among the oyntments of the Apothecaries smels shall cleave to him whether he will or not Luke 24. 34. John 7. 45 46. Cant. 2. 4 5 6. 7. 3. Mind much seek much the things that are above Col. 3. 1 2 3. 4. Cherish the Spirit obey him grieve him not work with him be instrumental under his breathings follow sweetly and willingly his drawings See Ephes 4. 29 30. 1 Thess 5. 19 20. Cant. 3. 4. Cant. 5. 8 9 10. 11 12 c. 5. Beware of frequent smoaring divine light deal tenderly with the light of the natural conscience and tenderly with convictions and warnings if so you can hardly want divine dispositions and suitable influences 1 Sam. 24. 4 5 6. My heart is fixed I will sing Awake up my glory See the touch of the Spirit in his heavenly dispositions set afloat the tongue 2. The Psaltery and Harp 3. David 4. Davids heart to sing and praise and though they were all sleeping they are all awakened out of their sleep As a great high Spring-tide set all the ships afloat though there were many hundreds of them And this is the Fourth Character of heavenly dispositions in which these are considerable 1. Such as are the dispositions such are the acts in their nature 2. Strong and mighty dispositions have strong and mighty actings 3. Smaller actings of dispositions waken up the soul to strong actings Sinful dispositions to the love of the world to vain-glory empty pleasures bring forth sinful actings the