feeding containes in it a conversion of the meat into the thing nourished so as that which we feed upon it becomes our selves it is all one with our selves in time it is so digested and turned into our nature that every part hath sucked in its owne nourishment every part hath received something of that which was inwardly received This hath been anciently observed this is somewhat more then receiving Christ by faith for when we apply every word to our selves and make Christ ours that is receiving him to be ours yet it is a further worke to be conformable to the Lord Jesus Christ in every thing to be confirmed and established in the Promises and to be quickned by them to be terrified by threatnings and to stand in awe of every word of God and to be bowed to an inward subjection to Christ day by day by the word we receive this is a further mighty worke of grace If therefore hee be a Christian that by the Word and Ordinances he receives he is fashioned and made conformable to Christ meek and righteous and lowly and holy as he is and willing to do any good Office for the Church of God and goe up and down doing good and needs no further motion this way but as Christ moves him it is a signe that he feeds upon Christ Christ is turned into his nature or which is more his nature is rather turned into the nature of Christ the nourishment being so strong makes us become such as he is in this world Now when we are conformable to the Lord Jesus Christ by the Ordinances that we partake in it is an evident sign that we there feed upon him And therefore try your selves by this signe of sanctification if you live you feed on Christ and except you so doe you have no life in you so then consider do I feed upon the flesh of Christ and drinke his blood and do I finde a spirituall appetite to the Lord Jesus raised up in my soule and do I find any spiritual refreshment and strength by that which I do partake in and that which I so find sweetnesse in I apply it to my own estate and convey it into the inward part of my heart that I may be able to drink it up as my lot and portion And do I by this strength of grace grow like to Christ and do I more adorn the Gospell of Christ this is an evident signe you live for you feed upon spirituall food which is an argument of spiritual life no man can feed upon spirituall food but he that lives and such a life as hee lives in Christ Let a man come to the Word without an appetite to it and when he comes find no nourishment nor refreshment in it and applyes nothing as is said to him but let such and such looke to it he never hears profitably that doth not particularly apply that which he heares and if he apply it he rather stormes at it it is an evident argument that such a man hath no life in him at all Not that you should here look at the naturall body and blood of Christ for that were a Canaball eating and drinking That which the Church of Rome puts upon the Church of God at this day but our Saviour tells you the meaning of this place It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing had a company of Roman Souldiers fallen upon Christ and either out of wrath against him or love to themselves had pulled him in peeces and eaten him goblet by goblet it had profitted them nothing had men eaten the reall body of Christ and drunk up his blood and joyned with others in so doing and left none of him al this had profited them nothing nay it profits nothing for the Capernites aske the question How can this man give us his flesh to eat it is an hard saying they thought it incredible v. 5.2 they would think it a savage bruitishnesse to fal upon him in that manner and therefore our Saviour so confesseth that it is no part of his meaning that they should eate and drinke his reall body and blood but hee meanes the breathing of the spirit in the Ordinances if you can rellish Note this and feed upon that and grow to be such as Christ was in this world that was the meate and drinke of his soule if you grow humble and meek and be transformed into the spirit of Christ if you see your spirits conformable to the will of Christ it is a signe of the life of holinesse in your soules which God hath given you through Christ A third effect of the life of sanctification 3 Signe is growth for that which lives growes till it come to its full perfection so in all naturall Growth in grace vegitative or sensitive life if it live it growes till it come to its full maturity when it comes to its full vigour and strength it may decay and stand at a stay but a Christians life never comes to that till it come to the life of glory to the full measure of the stature of Christ In this life we cannot come to that but therefore it is that we grow to the end of our dayes and then are forthwith translated to immortallity ye desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 and 2 Pet. 3.18 grow in grace and God hath given us Ministers to teach and instruct us till we all grow to be perfect in Christ Jesus Eph. 4.11 12 13. Col. 2.19 Increase with the increasings of God with divine and inlarged and spirituall increasing so doth the body of Christ grow and all the members of it they grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ So that this is a third effect of life if a man can find his heart to grow Quest But doth not many a Christian stand at a stay and sometimes grow backward and fall from their first love fall from the fruitfullnesse and goodnesse and rootednesse in Christ though not wholly cut off yet falling from the firmenesse in grace and the power of grace and from fruitfullnesse and the abundance of the worke of righteousnesse Answ It is true many a soule doth so for a while but if so bee that God doe give a Christian man not to grow we must not say therefore he doth not live not but that a man for a time may be weake as a living man in sicknesse may be very weake his spirit faile and his strength faile and his worke and imployment fails him and he can do nothing neither eate nor drink no not so much as leane upon a staffe but may lye bed-rid but yet such a man feeles a sensible distemper of his body and he ceaseth not to use the best means he can and so in the end he comes to grow and recovers his first love againe in some measure some also there are that by sinfull lusts waste instead of
the more we have respect to the Word as our daily rule so much the more All our stirrings in our callings is a motion of Spirituall life and argues the life of sanctification shed abroad in our hearts Secondly another action of life is feeding 2 Signe of spirituall life the creature that feeds it selfe is able to live Joh. 6 35. explained Iohn 6.35 Except you eate my Flesh and drinke my Blood you have no life in you He doth not speake of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper there for it was not then instituted but yet it is true of that as wel as of any other Ordinance of God the Body and Blood of Christ fed upon in Word and Sacrament and Christian communion in hearing and reading the Word and if Christ had ordained more Ordinances then he hath yet when he hath had ordained any Spirituall Ordinance the feeding upon Christ in that Ordinance had been an argument of Spirituall life Except yee eate his flesh and drinke his blood yee have no life in you This is an argument of Spirituall life when a man in every duty that he takes in hand and is sensible in them all in some measure though not alwayes easie to be discerned at first but if in every duty of Christianity that you performe and in every Ordinance of God you feed upon Christ then you have life in Christ so that let a man observe it You heare the Word and you receive Sacraments and you partake in Christian company Doe you eate the flesh of Christ there and drinke his blood there If so then it is well when you heare the Word is the Blood of Christ or is the flesh of Christ there or is either of both there to feed upon Or in prayer or in any other duty that you take in hand doe you feed upon Christ in it If you feed upon him there you have life and he that feeds not lives not if a man forbeare his meat he cannot long subsist It is true a man may live for a while and finde no rellish in any thing but in time he must finde relish in them else he cannot be preserved Quest But how shall I know that I doe feed upon Christ in every Ordinance Ans 1. A soule longs after Christ in Ordinance First Whether doe you finde an inward longing desire in your souls after the Lord Jesus Christ in the duties you goe about Doe you come with a desire to finde Christ in his Ordinance hungring and thirsting and not satisfied unlesse you finde Christ that is the nature of hungring and thirsting and so is the case here This desire and thirst is such an unquenchable desire as that without Christ it is by no meanes satisfied doe you therefore finde an inward longing to find and meet with the Lord Jesus in the Word that you read or heare in the Sacraments that you receive and such a longing desire as that if you finde not Christ there you goe away poore and dead and finding your hearts unsatisfied is an evident signe of life for you came to an Ordinance and desired to finde Christ there and there he was not what then Cant. 3.1 2 3. to the bed of the Ordinances the Church goes to seek and to finde Christ by night I sought him that was in a time of calamity that she could plainly discerne she found him not and she sought him in every other Ordinance but found him not or sign of life she hungers and sought out after him but could not finde him and when she missed him was not satisfied If a man come to an Ordinance and find nothing there Note this and yet when he is gone he is satisfied he is well enough that soule hath either no life at all or life in a swound or cold without stirring and motion there is not an hungering desire after him when you can come and goe away unsatisfied and yet be well contented too Secondly feeding hath another worke Strength and sweetnesse in the ordinance the former is but a preparation or supposition of feeding but a man also then feeds when he findes some sweetnesse and rellish in the meat that he eates that doth ever accompany feeding and is a signe that a man doth feed the stomach doth well affect the meat it feeds on have you then found some sweet rellish in the Ordinances the Gospell is a sweet savour to them that are saved 2 Cor. 2.15 16. and as for savour to smell so as a sweet savour to the taste doe you therefore finde some kinde of sweetnesse a spirituall sweetnesse in the Word you heare or read or Sacraments you receive or prayers that you make Are they such a comfort or sweetnesse to you that you finde in this or that promise or commandement or doctrin any word of life Do you finde strength and sweetnesse in it It is an evident signe of life because you finde sweetnesse in it it s a signe of health to rellish a sweetnesse in our meat for a sick man it may be eates and drinkes but he findes no sweetnesse in it and that is a part of his complaint that he cannot relish his meat and it is true it may be a man that hath some life in him feels no relish no savour in any Ordinance but then he sees he is sicke and he complaines of it to God but yet notwithstanding if a man doe finde sweetnesse and relish there it is an evident argument not of life only but of health and such as will maintaine spiritual life but if a man find no sweetnesse in it he cannot live for were there life it would finde sweetnesse Thirdly 3. Particular applying of the Word in all feeding there is a taking of the meate downe and not spitting it out but we receive it downe and there it lyes in our stomachs and we chew upon it and there it rests but if we cast it up againe then we feed not it is an ill signe when we cast it away as soone as we receive it If Gods Word abide with us and in us that we doe not reject it but hide it in our hearts that so we might not sinne against God Psal 119.11 and receive it by a wise applying of it to our owne soules receive it into the inward man and apply our selves to every duty commanded us so farre as concernes our callings and our estates and takes notice of every threatning that we had need looke to it so farre as we might sinne against God if we thus take the Word of God downe into our hearts and make it our owne case and therefore keepe it within our selves and give up our selves in some measure to be bowed by it and hide it in our hearts and lets it sit next our hearts then truly we doe feed upon it and it secretly conveyes strength into us though sometimes we lesse discerne it Fourthly 4. Conformity to the Word in everything all
parts and all the good common gifts of grace which are found sometimes in good nature and sometimes in the children of the Church we must part with them all that we may win Christ 1 Cor. 3.18 If any man among you seem to be wise in this world let him become a foole that he may be wise who ever would be a wise man as a wise man he cannot be if hee have not his part in Christ he must lay aside his serious and sad deliberation and communication with flesh and blood and all things in the way of God that he thinkes will be prejudiciall if any man be so wise as to see this and that danger in a Christian course let him become a foole else he shall never become a Christian if a man will be content to forsake all for Christ he must first be a foole and be content to bee counted a foole and heare every carnall man to count him a foole And I speak not onely of carnal and civill wisdom that that only is to be denyed in this case but common graces which many times choakes all the hypocrites in the bosome of the Church they are commonly choaked upon this point upon these things they trust and doe therefore verily beleeve that this and that interest God hath in them and they in God because they have received such and such gifts from him and this is the case formerly mentioned Matth. 7.22 23. they pleaded their spirituall gifts though common gifts and such as may be found in workers of iniquity they prayed to God a common gift and they prophesied in his name they had prophetical gifts some measure of the spirit of ministery and they were able to cast out devills in Christs name now when as men do trust upon these and settle themselves upon such a change truly hereby they loose that power in Christ which else they might have had It s a wonder to see what a change propheticall gifts will work in a man 1 Sam. 10.10 12. he there Saul had a spirit of prophesie came upon him and the people wondred at it it works a strange change in a man and so in the next chap. the 19 and 23 ver he prophesied til he came at such a place so that you shall see a man that is trained up in any good order though sometimes given to loose company when once God begins to poure into him any spirituall gift to inlighten his mind and to inlarge his affection that hee begins to have some love to and some joy in the Word and some sorrow in hearing of the Word and some comfort in meditation Its wonder to see what a change this will work in the spirit he forthwith begins to abandon his loose courses and sets himselfe to a more strict course then hee begins to see his acquisite learning is but a small matter to edification hee prizes his spirituall gifts and hee is able now to doe much and when a mans heart is thus changed by propheticall gifts it workes in a man such confidence in his soule that he thinkes all the Congregation shall perish before he can perish and if Ministers may be thus deceived by common gifts and graces how much more may their poor hearers bee deceived when they by hearing the Word find such comfort and illumination and inlargements that they thereby finde a great change wrought in them and yet if ministers may bee so much deceived in presuming vainly of their good estate which was not so then much more common Christians Should any man presume at Foelix his trembling Act. 24.25 At Jehues zeale 2 King 10.16 At Ahabs humiliation 1 King 21.28 29. At Herods joy in hearing you know what became of all these those be graces of God though but common graces and if the Prophets were deceived may not these be deceived also that have neither Christ nor any part in him and therefore a man that would bee sure not to goe without Christ nor without life in him he must not trust in any spirituall gift he hath received though his mind be enlightened sometimes to feare sometimes to joy to humiliation to inlargement to zealous reformation yet rest in none of these for these you may have and yet want Christ and life in him common graces may and will deceive you a man may have all these and yet not prize Christ at his cheifest good he may have all these and yet not worship him Notwithstanding all these there may bee some iniquity in their hands for which cause God will not shew mercy to them See and observe if in the midst of all these you do not worke some iniquity they were workers of iniquity alwayes at the best Matth. 7.23 you may be workers of iniquity notwithstanding all these and therefore consider if there be not some veine of pride and hypocrisie and covetousnesse that cleaves fast to your hearts which you allow your selves in which if you doe these very gifts will bee your ship-wracke your anchor will breake and your ship will bee carryed away and you fall downe in destruction but see that your hearts bee cleane and see that there bee not an ill thought or way that you allow your selves in and if so then your heart will lay hold upon God and you will prize Christ and then it is a signe those gifts you have are not in hypocrisie for in an hypocrite they are alwayes found with some sinne which if a man doe not willfully shut his eyes against hee may see for our Saviour speakes of such a sinne in them as the rest of the people of God may know them to be counterfeits from verse 15 to 23. You shall know them by this doe men gather grapes of thornes or figges of thistles have not they their ill haunts but put away these from you if you mean to have Christ Fifthly If we would have Christ and life in him we may have him in Justification but not in growth of Sanctification if you part not with confidence in the saving graces of Gods Spirit you must not looke to be justified by them for if you doe you wil discover them not to be sanctified graces nor the fruits of them the fruits of saving grace Christ shall profit you nothing if you looke to be saved by the righteousnesse of the Law Gal. 5.3 4. If therefore we thinke that for these graces sake God accepts us truly we loose the things that we have wrought and for all that we have received we have no part nor portion in the Lord Jesus Christ neither Abraham nor David hath whereon to 〈◊〉 Rom 4.4.18 But blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth no sinne and in whose spirit there is no guile Therein stands our blessednesse when the Lord imputes not sinne to us but if we looke to be justified either by the gifts of grace we have received or by the workes and acts of grace that we have performed we shall certainly fall
to be the Lords and offer themselves up to him and when God requires it of us we yeeld our selves to him and desire God to be a God to us then he is our God and we are his people by way of Covenant 2 Cor. 8.5 They gave themselves first to the Lord and then unto us by the will of God when we have bestowed our selves upon God he is not wanting to receive us to bee his people Now for further opening of this It was said this Covenant was made with God by way of sacrifice Psal 50.5.7 that was according to the sacrifice which the people of God did solemnly offer before God of which you read Exod. 24.3 to the end of the eighth ver Moses told the people the words of the Lord and the people answered with one voyce and said All the words which the Lord hath said wee will heare it and doe it They promise themselves to be an obedient people to God what ever he commands them that will they hear and that will they do And on the other side Moses tooke the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkled it upon the people and by this meanes they did passe into Covenant with God It implyes thus much when we come to make a Covenant with God we professe our selves as guilty of death and therefore look up to Christ desiring that his death might be imputed to us and we thereupon offer our selves soules and bodies to bee obedient to God to the death onely we require this back againe of God that as we give up our selves a sacrifice to him so that the Lord Jesus Christ might be imputed unto us and the blood of Christ and the life of Christ might be communicated to us his life of righteousnesse and holinesse and of eternal glory all that life that is in Christ might become ours this doth God require of them and this is to make a Covenant with God by way of sacrifice for the Burnt-offering vers 5. was a Type of Christ the Meat-offering was a Type of the peoples giving up themselves to God and this is to make a Covenant by sacrifice we confesse we deserve death but for time to come we desire to give up our selves to do and suffer his will onely we desire that the blood of Christ might be sprinkled upon our souls and that we might live in his sight Now those that have thus made a Covenant with God hee calls them his people and Saints Thus you see what it is and wherein this Covenant stands sometimes some branch of this is expressed in other Covenants God promises to Abraham that he will be a God to him that is he will not only be a good Father to him nor only a good Master or Tutour nor only a good King nor a good Phisitian but what soever is good that is in God and it is but a drop but a sparke of the well-spring of life in him all the goodnesse that is dispersed in the creature flowes from him there is goodnesse in a good Father or Magistrate or Minister or Friend but when God undertakes to bee a God to us he promises to be to us whatsoever is good in the creature a good Father a good Friend a good Phisitian whatever is good for soule and body he will bee all in all to us and that partly in his owne person and partly in so ordering matters Extent of the Covenant on Gods part that all those things wherein his goodnesse is communicated he will so dispose them that we shall see a goodnesse of God in them all we shall see the presence and goodnesse of God in all the blessings we partake in this world he will be whatsoever is needfull for us in every kind and though any meanes should faile yet God will not faile us this do we desire of God God a fountain of goodnes to his when we desire him to be our God God is an heape and fountaine of goodnesse and he undertakes so to be us Now as wee expect this from God that he would be a God to us so we desire also and offer our selves back again to God to be obedient to his will and to waite upon him for all that which he hath promised us to expect it and to waite for it And when we undertake to be obedient to him not that we promise it in our owne names and for our owne parts but in the behalfe of every soule that belongs to us as wee desire a blessing upon all that belongs to us so we offer up our selves to God and our wives and children Extent of the Covenant on our part and servants and kindred and acquaintance and all that are under our reach either by way of subordination or co-ordination so farre as in our power we may reach either by Commandement or counsell we do as much as in us lyes promise to God that we and our housholds wil serve the Lord Josh 24.15 hee and his houshold that is his children and servants and all that are bought with mony they will all serve the Lord this they offer to God as a Father in a family he and his so much as he is able will prevaile with them to keep Gods Commandements and God will be a God to them all a Father and Master a Magistrate and Minister Husband Friend and Phisitian and all and whatsoever is good thus you see how God comes to be ours by way of Covenant For further clearing of this poynt there is a three-fold Covenant Covenant three fold wherein God doth bind himselfe to his people and we back again to him according as there is among the reasonable creatures 1 The first is Between Prince and People so the high Priest made a Covenant between him and between all the people and between the King that they should be the Lords people and such a Covenant there is usually in all well governed Common-wealths unlesse the King comes in by way of Conquest and Tyranny but in well settled Common-wealths there is a Covenant and Oath between Prince and People 2 There is a Covenant between Man and Wife of which it is said Prov. 2.17 Which forsaketh the Guide of her Youth and forgetteth the Covenant of her God These are all called the Covenant of God he is a party in the Covenant ever 3 Another is an Oath or a Covenant of God to passe betweene Friend and Friend such was the Covenant between Jonathan and David 1 Sam. 20.16 Now there is a certain Covenant between God and his people in al these that look what a King requires of his People or the people of a King the very same doth God require of his people and the people of God that offers himself to be a God to his people that is a Governor a Provider for and a protector of his people to fight their Battels for them and to guide and rule them in peace and justice and the people undertake to be