even to speak of those things which are done of them in Secret Eph. 5. 3 c. Mortifie therefore your Members which are upon the Earth Fornication Vncleanness inordinate Affection evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry For which things sake the Wrath of God cometh on the Children of Disobedience But now you also put off all these Anger Wrath Malice Blasphemy Filthy Communication out of your Mouth Col. 3. 5 c. For this is the Will of God even your Sanctification that ye should abstain from Fornication that every one of you should know how to possess his Vessel in Sanctification and Honor not in the Lust of Concupiscence even as the Gentiles which know not God For God hath not called us unto Vncleanness but unto Holiness 1 Thes 4. 3 c. Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the Lust of the Flesh Now the Works of the Flesh are manifest which are these Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Laciviousness and such like of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Gal. 5. 16 19. Dearly beloved I beseech you as Strangers and Pilgrims abstain from fleshly Lusts which War against the Soul Having your Conversation honest among the Gentiles 1 Pet. 2. 11. Let us live honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envying but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof Rom. 13. 13. Dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all Filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God 2 Cor. 7. 1. If any Man love the World the Love of the Father is not in him For all that is in the World the Lust of the Flesh and the Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life is not of the Father but is of the World And the World passeth away and the Lust thereof but he that doeth the Will of God abideth for ever 1 Joh. 2. 15 c. Every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own Lust and enticed Then when Lust hath conceived it bringeth forth Sin and Sin when it is finished bringeth forth Death Jam. 1. 14. Now I have written unto you not to keep Company if any Man that is called a Brother be a Fornicator or Covetous or an Idolater or a Railer or a Drunkard or an Extortioner with such an one no not to eat 1 Cor. 5. 11. Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind shall inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 9. Marriage is honorable in all and the Bed undefiled But Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge Heb. 13. 4. As you have yielded your Members Servants to Vncleanness and to Iniquity unto Iniquity even so now yield your Members Servants to Righteousness unto Holiness What Fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed For the end of those things is Death Rom. 6. 19 21. Thus speaks the Rule And is not here expresly declar'd how criminal all kind of Impurity is in the sight of God whether it be in the Heart only or Desire or by Inordinate Affections or in the Eyes or in the Tongue or in Actions All kind of Sensuality and Uncleanness both of Mind and Body are here forbid and mark'd with the Infamous Character of being the Sins of the Gentiles or Heathens who knew not God who for their unworthiness were given up to a Reprobate Sense It is evident then that all such Offences are an Absolute transgression of the Christian's Rule and that to live in the Practice of them is to live as a Heathen What then must be done The Christian must remember that the Promise of seeing God is made to the Pure and Clean of heart that without this he can have no part in this Promise That therefore he must dailyl labor to bring his Heart to this happy disposition He must resist evil avoid Ill company keep a watch upon his Eyes upon his Tongue and upon his Heart he must put a restraint upon himself as to all kind of dangerous liberties and avoid all that can defile if he truly desires that his Heart should be Clean. And is this the Gospel How few then are Chosen Examin thy self by what the Apostle has said The Lust of the flesh the Lust of the eyes the Pride of life are not of the Father 1 Jo. 2. 15. Do'st thou belong to him CHAP. XVIII Of Self-denial Q. WHAT Directions do's the Gospel give as in this Point A. The Gospel declares it to be absolutely necessary for all Christians Jesus said to his Disciples if any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me For whosoever will save his life shall lose it And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it Mat. 16. 24. Whosoever will come after me let him deny himself Mar. 8. 34. If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross daily and follow me Luk. 9. 23. If any man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple And whosoever doth not bear his Cross and come after me cannot be my Disciple For which of you intending to build a Tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it So likewise whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot be my Disciple Luk. 14. 26 33. If thy right hand offend thee cut it off and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into Hell Mat. 5. 30. He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal Jo. 12. 25. Reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto Sin but alive unto God thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin Rom. 6. 11. I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Rom. 7. 23. Brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die But if ye thro' the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God
Rom. 8. 12. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ Shall tribulation or distress or persecution Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors thro' him that loved us Rom. 8. 35. If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection Knowing this that our Old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin Now if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him Rom. 6. 5 8. I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God Rom. 12. 1. Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things Now they do it to obtain a corruptible Crown but we an incorruptible I therefore so run not as uncertainly so fight I not as one that beateth the air But I keep unto my body and bring it under subjection lest that by any means when I have preached to others I my self should be a cast-away 1 Cor. 9. 25. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body 2 Cor. 4. 10. He died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are past away behold all things are become new 2 Cor. 5. 15 17. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me And the life which I now live in the Flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Gal. 2. 20. Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the spirit They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5. 16 24. Henceforth let no man trouble me for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Gal. 6. 17. I do count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead Phil. 3. 8. Put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Eph. 4. 22. The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world Tit. 2. 12. Mortifie therefore your members which are upon the earth Fornication Vncleanness inordinate Affection in the which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them But now you also put off all these and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him Col. 3. 5. Flee also youthful lusts But follow righteousness Faith Charity Peace 2 Tim. 2. 22. Thus speaks the Rule whence it is plain above all dispute that those who follow their Inclinations do not follow this Rule We have all an inheritance of Corruption which bends us to sin this is entail'd on us from Adam and is call'd the Old Man this the Gospel commands us to put off all such then as strictly examin their Inclinations Affections and Desires and resolutely stand against those which they perceive to be sinful or can suspect as leading to sin are the Persons who live by the Rule which they profess and if they study to improve those better Impressions which are the effects of Grace it cannot be question'd but they will be cloath'd with the New Man and while in the Flesh even live by the Spirit But this cannot be their Character who being subject to great variety of Worldly and Sensual Inclinations who finding no Relish in their Souls but of what is in favor of their Pride Vanity Idleness and of Self-love in all its Shapes are so far from using due means for suppressing them that their whole Life is an Obedience to their demands for certainly these have no regard to what the Gospel prescribes their Life is a Contradiction to its Rules they indulge their Corruption which God commands them to resist and therefore being found under the Subjecti of the old Man can never expect while under this Slavery to come to the Liberty of the Children of God Either do what the Gospel requires or else look for no other Portion but with Unbelievers CHAP. XIX Of Suffering Affliction or Persecution Q. WHAT Directions do's the Gospel give as to these Points A. It speaks very largely of them and shews with what Spirit a Christian ought to submit Blessed are they which are persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are ye when Men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your Reward in Heaven For so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you Mat. 5. 10. Ye have heard that it hath been said an Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth but I say unto you that ye resist not Evil but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right Cheek turn him the other also Mat. 5. 38. He that taketh not his Cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me He that findeth his Life shall lose it and he that loseth his Life for my sake shall find it Fear not them which kill the Body but are not able to kill the Soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell Are not two Sparrows Sold for a Farthing And one of them shall not fall on the Ground without your Father But the very Hairs of your Head are all number'd Fear ye not therefore ye are of more Value than many Sparrows Whosoever therefore shall confess me before Men him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven Think not that I am come to send Peace on Earth I came not to send Peace but a Sword Mat. 10. 38 28. Behold I send you forth as Sheep
Then the Devil leaveth him and behold Angels came and minister'd unto him Mat. 4. 8. Be sober be vigilant because your Adversary the Devil as a roaring Lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour Whom resist stedfast in Faith knowing that the same Afflictions are accomplished in your Brethren that are in the World But the God of all Grace who hath called us unto his eternal Glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you 1 Pet. 〈…〉 Devil and he will flee from you Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you Humble your selves in the Sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up Jam. 4. 7 10. Peter said Ananias why hath Satan filled thine Heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and keep back part of the Price of the Land Act. 5. 3. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall There hath no Temptation taken you but such as is common to Man But God is Faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the Temptation also make a Way to escape that ye may be able to bear it 1 Cor. 10. 12. Lest I should be exalted above Measure thro' the abundance of the Revelations there was given to me a Thorn in the Flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above Measure For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me And he said unto me my Grace is sufficient for thee For my Strength is made perfect in Weakness Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my Infirmities that the Power of Christ may rest upon me For when I am weak then am I strong 2 Cor. 12. 7. We glory in Tribulations also knowing that Tribulation worketh Patience and Patience Experience and Experience Hope Rom. 5. 3. My Brethren count all Joy when ye fall into divers Temptations knowing this that the trying of your Faith work th◠Patience but let Patience have her perfect Work that ye may be Perfect and Entire wanting nothing Blessed is the Man that endureth Temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God For God cannot be tempted with Evil neither tempteth he any Man But every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own Lust and enticed Then when Lust hath conceived it bringeth forth Sin And Sin when it is finished bringeth forth Death Jam. 1. 2 12. Wherein ye greatly rejoice tho' now for a Season if need be ye are in Heaviness thro' manifold Temptations That the Trial of your Faith being much more precious than of Gold that perisheth tho' it be tried with Fire might be found unto Praise and Honor and Glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ whom having not seen ye love 1 Pet. 1. 6. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of Temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished 2 Pet. 2. 9. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer Behold the Devil shall cast some of you into Prison that ye may be tried And ye shall have Tribulation Ten Days Be thou Faithful unto Death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Rev. 2. 10. Thus speaks the Rule Whence many Particulars are made evident First That Good and Holy Persons are not exempt from Temptations but that even these may be assaulted by the worst and most abominable of all Temptations as appears in the Person of Christ and his Apostle 2dly That God tries his best Servants with many and great Difficulties which Trials are often call'd Temptations not Temptations to Sin but for the Trial of Fidelity and greater Improvement in Virtue 3dly That a Christian ought not to grieve when under such Temptations or Trials but rather rejoice because he knows this is the Effect of God's Love and that an eternal Crown is promis'd the Reward of his Patience 4thly That therefore under all such Trials he ought to have his Hope fix'd on God with an entire Confidence of being ever supported by his Grace that he will give him Strength proportion'd to his Trials and either continue or take them away as he knows to be best for him 5thly That the Devil taking the Advantage of his natural Corruption lays many Temptations before him and by these provokes him to Sin and in this Way God tempts no Man it being wholly Inconsistent with his Goodness Lastly That with great Watchfulness he is to observe these Designs of his Enemy and with Resolution stand against them and that upon so doing he cannot fail of being Conqueror thro' God's assisting Grace These being Truths deliver'd in the Christian's Rule he must carefully observe them He must receive all Trials which come from the Hand of God with great Patience Courage and Fidelity and daily endeavor in Spirit to rejoice under them He must not be dejected at the most malicious Assaults of the Devil but either despise or resist them He must bear such Temptations as are common to our Nature with Humility and never Wilfully Carlesly or Presumptuously put himself into Temptation They who do thus may confide in the Grace of God which will be sufficient for them And they who do otherwise forsake their Rule and there can be no Surprize if they are forsaken by him who has given it them for their Direction and Security CHAP. XXI Of Virgins Q. HAving seen what the Gospel directs in these General Duties which belong to all that profess the Name of Christ let me now hear what it says to the Particular States of Christians that so having this drawn under several Heads every one may have the Opportunity of seeing what is the Will of God in regard of them and what Instructions Christ has laid upon them And First What do's the Gospel say of Virgins A. It speaks very particularly of them There are some Eunuchs which were so born from their Mothers Womb And there are some Eunuchs which were made Eunuchs of Men And there be Eunuchs which have made themselves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake He that is able to receive it let him receive it Mat. 19. 12. The Kingdom of Heaven shall be likened unto Ten Virgins which took their Lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom And Five of them were Wise and Five were Foolish They that were Foolish took their Lamps and took no Oyl with them But the Wise took Oyl in their Vessels with their Lamps The Bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the Marriage and the Door was shut Afterward came also the other Virgins saying Lord Lord open to us But he answered and said Verily I say unto you I know you not Watch therefore for ye know neither the Day nor the Hour Mat. 25. 1.