Christ. Here is a blessed message to condemned lost sinners who have that sentence within their breasts vers 1. This was the end of Christs coming and dying that he might deliver us from sin as well as death and the righteousnesse of the Law might be fulfilled in us and therefore he hath given the holy Spirit and dwels in us by the Spirit to quicken us who are dead in sins and trespasses O! what consolation will this be to souls that look upon the body oâ— death within them as the greatest misery and do groan with Paul O miserable man that I am c. Rom. 7.24 This is held forth to vers 17. But because there are many grounds of heavinesse and sadnesse in this world therefore the Gospel opposes unto all these both our expectation which we have of that blessed hope to come whereof we are so sure that nothing can frustâ—at us of it And also the help we get in the mean time of the Spirit to bear our infirmities and to bring all things about for good to us vers 28. And from all this the believer in Jesus Christ hath ground of triumph and boasting before the perfect victory Even as Paul doth in the name of believers from vers 31. to the end Upon these considerations he that cryed out not long ago O miserable man who shall deliver me doth now cry out Who shall condemn me The distressed wrestler becomes a victorious triumpher the beaten Souldiour becomes more than a Conquerour Oh that your hearts could be perswaded to hearken to this joyful sound to embrace Jesus Christ for grace and salvation how quickly would a song of triumph in him swallow up all your present complaints and lamentations All the complaints amongst men may be reduced to one of these three I hear the most part bemoaning theâ—selves thus Alace for the miseries of this life this evil world Alace for poverty for contempt for sickness Oh miserable man that I am who will take this disease away who will shew me any good thing Psal. 4. any temporal good But if ye knew and considered your latter end ye would cry out more ye would refuse to be comforted though these miseries were removed But I hear some bemoaning themselves more sadly they have heard the Law and the sentence of condemnation is within them the Law hath entred and killed them Oh! what shall I do to be saved Who will deliver me from the wrath to come What is alâ— present afflictions and miseries in respect of eternity Yet there is one moan and lamentation beyond all these when the soul finds the sentence of absolution in Jesus Christ and gets its eyes opened to see that body of death and sin within that perfect man of sin diffused throughout all the members then it bemoans it self with Paul Oh miserable man who shall deliver me from this body of death Rom. 7.24 I am delivered from the condemnation of the Law but what comâ—ort is it as long as sin is so powerful in me Nay this makes me often suspect my delivery from wrath and the curse seing sin it self is not taken away Now if ye could be perswaded to hearken to Jesus Christ and embrace this Gospel O! what abundant consolation should ye have what a perfect answer to all your complaints they would be swallowed up in such a triumph as Pauls are here This would discover unto you a perfect remedy of sin and misery that ye should complain no more or at least no more as these without hope You shall never have a remedy of your temporal miseries unlesse ye begin at eternal to prevent them Seek first the kingdom of God and all other things shall be added unto you seek fiâ—st to flee from the wrath to come and ye shall escape it and beside the evil of time-afflictions shall be removed first remove the greatest complaints of sin and condemnation and how easie is it to answer all the lamentations of this life and make you rejoice in the midst of them You have in this verse three things of great importance to consider The great and precious priviledge the true nature and the special property of a Christian. The priviledge is one of the greatest in the world because it s of eternal consequence and soul concernment the nature is most divine he is one that is in Jesus Christ and implanted in him by faith his distinguishing property is noble sureable to his nature and priviledges he walkes not as the world according to his base flesh but according to the spirit All these three are of one latitude none of them reaches further than another that rich priviledge and sweet property concenters and meets together in one man even in the man who is in Jesus Christ whoever enters into Jesus Christ and abideth in him he meets with these two Justification and Sanctification these are no where else and they are there together If ye knew the nature and properties of a Christian ye would fall in love with these for themselves but if theâ—e for your own sakes will not allure you consider this incomparable priviledge that he hath beyond all others that ye may â—all in love with the nature of a Christian. Let this love of your selves and your own wel-being puâ—sue you in to Jesus Christ that ye may walk even as he walked and I assure you if ye were once in Christ Jesus ye would love the very nature and walking of a Christian no more for the absolution and salvation that accompanies it but â—or its oâ—n sweetnesse and excellency beyond all other Ye would as the people of Samaria no moâ—e believe for the report of your own neceâ—â—â—ty and misery but ye would believe in Jesus Christ and walk according to the Spirit for their own testimony they have in your consciences Ye would no more be allured only with the priviledges oâ— it to embrace Châ—istianity but ye would think Christianity the greatest priviledge a reward â—nto it self Pietas ipsa sibi merces eâ—t Godlinesse is great gain in it self though it had not such sweet consequents or companions That you may know this priviledge conâ—â—der the estate all men are into by nature Paul expresses it in shoâ—t Rom. 5. By the offence of oÌ„ne judgemnt came upon all unto condemnation and the reason of this is by one man sin came upon all and so death by sin for death passed upon all because all have sinned vers 18.12 Lo then all men are under a sentence of condemnation once This sentence is the curse of the Law Cursed is every one that abideth not in all things commanded to do them If ye knew what this curse were ye would indeed think it a priviledge to be delivered from it Sin is of an infinite deserving because against an infinite God it s an offence of an infinite Majesty and therefore the curse upon the sinner involves eternal punishment O! what weight is in that word 2 Thes. 1.9 Ye
the power is put in his hand and resigned to him for where he dwells he must rule as good reason is He is about the greatest work that is now to do in the world the repairing and renewing of the ruines and breaches of mans spirit which was the fiâ—st breach in the Creation and the cause of all the rest He is about the cleansing and washing this Temple and we may be perswaded that he who hath begun this good work will perform it untill the day of Christ till we be presented blameless and without spot to our husband Phil. 1.5 6. and this is the grand conâ—olation of believers that they have this presence assured to them by promise that the Spirit is fixed here by an irreovcable and unchangeable Covenant or donation and will not wholly depart from them though he may withdraw and leave you comfortless â—or a season Isa. 59.21 Therefore I would shut up all in a word of exhortation to you that since we have the promise of so noble and happy a guest you would apply your selves to seek him and then keep him to receive him and then retain him It is true that he must first prevent uâ— for as no man can say that Iesus is the Christ but by thâ— Spirit of God so no man can indeed pâ—ay for the Spirit but by the Spirits own intercession within him Where God hath bestowed any thing of this Spirit it is known by the kindly and fervent desires after more of it Now since we have such a laâ—ge and ample promise Ezek. 36.27 Ioel 2.28 of the pouring out of the Spirit and that in as absolute and free a manner as can be imagined and this renewed by Christ and confirmed by his Prayer to the Father for the performance of it Ioh. 14.16 17. and then we have a sweet and affectionat promise propounded in the most moving and loving manner that can be Luk. 11.13 where he encourageth us to pray for the Spirit and that from this ground that our Heavenly Father who placed that natural affection in other fathers towards their children whereby they cannot refuse them bread when they cry for it He who was the Author of all natural affection must certainly transcend them infinitly in his love to his childâ—en as the Psalmist argues Shall not he that planted the ear hear and he that formed the eye see So may a poor soul reason it self to some confidence Shall not He who is the â—ountain of all natural love in men and beasts have much more Himself and if my â—ather will not give me a stone when I seek bread certainly he will far lesse do it Therefore if we being evil know how to give good things to our chilren how much more shall our Heavenly Father give his Spirit to them that ask him Alas that we should want such a gift for not asking it my beloved let us enlarge our desires for this Spirit and seek more earnestly and no doubt affection and importunity will not be sent away empty Is it any wonder we receive not because we ask not or we ask so coldly that we teach him in a manner to deny us qui tiâ—ide rogat I may say frigide docet negare ask frequently and ask confidently and His heart cannot deny O that we could lay this ingâ—gement on our own hearts to be more in Prayer Let 〈◊〉 presse our selves to this and we need not presse Him albeit the first grace be wholly a surprisal yet certainly he keeps this suitable method in the enlargements of grace that when he gives more He enlargeth the heart more after it He openeth the mouth wider to ask and receive and according to that capacity so is His hand opened to fill the heart O why are our hearts shut when his hand is open Again I would exhort you in Jesus Christ to intertain the Spirit suitably and this shall keep Him To this purpose are these exhortations Grieve not the Spirit Eph. 4.30 and quench not the Spirit 1 Thes. 5.19 There is nothing can grieve Him but sin and if you intertain that you cannot retain Him He is a Spiâ—it of holinesse and He is about the making you holy then do not marr him in his work labour to advance this and you do him a pleasure If you make his holy Temple an unclean cage for hateful birds or a Temple for Idols how can it but grieve him and if you grieve the Spirit certainly the Spirit will grieve you will make you repent it at the heart Please him by heaâ—kning to his motions and following his direction and he shall comfort you His office is to be a spring of consolation to you but if you grieve him by walking in the imagination of your hearts and following the suggestions of the Flesh His enemy no doubt that spring will turn its channel another way and dry up for a season toward you It is not every sin or infirmity that grieves Him thus if so be that it grieve thee but the intertaining of any sin and mâ—king peace with any of his enemies that cannot but displease Him and O what losse you have by it You displease your greatest friend to please your greatest enemy you blot and bludder that seal of the Spirit that you shall not be able to read it till it be cleansed and washed again Now if any man have not this Spirit of Christ he is none of his he is not a Christian take this alongs with you who aim at nothing but the external and outward shew or visible standing in the Church if you have not this Spirit and the seal of this Spirit found on you Christ will not know you for his in that day of his appearing SERMON XXVI Rom. 8.10 And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin c. GODS presence is his working his presence in a soul by his Spirit is his working in such a soul in some special manner not common to all men but peculiar to them whom he hath chosen Now his dwelling is nothing else but a continued familiar and endlesse working in a soul till he have conformed all within to the Image of His Son The soul is the office-house or work-house that the Spirit hath taken up to â—rame in it the most curious piece of the whole Creation even to restore and repair that Master-piece which came last from Gods hand ab ultima manu and so was the chiefest I mean the Image of God in righteousness and holinesse Now this is the bond of union between God and us Christ is the bond of union with God but the Spirit is the bond of union with Christ. Christ is the peace between God and us that makes of two one but the Spirit is the link between Christ and us whereby he hath immediat and actual interest in us and we in Him I find the union between Christ and a soul shadowed out in Scripture by the nearest relations among creatures for
and besides it was for a pledge that at the last day all shall not die but be changed The true cause of death is sin and the true nature of it is penal to be a punishment of sin take away this relation to sin and death wants the sting But in itâ— fiâ—st appointment and as it prevails generally over men aâ—uleaâ—a est mors it hath a sting that pierceth deeper and woundeth soâ—er then to the dissolution of the body it goeth in to the innermost paâ—â—s of the soul and wâ—undeth that eternally The truth is the death of the body is not either the first death or the last death it is rather placed in the middle between two deaths and it s the fruit of the first and the root of the last There is a death immediatly hath ensued upon sin and it is the separation of the soul from God the fountain of life and blessedness and this is the death often spoken of you who were dead in sins and trespasses c. Eph. 2.1 Being past feeling and alienated from the life of God Eph. 4.18 19. And truly this is worse in it â—elf then the death of the body simply though not so sensible because â—pirituâ—l the corruption of the best pâ—â—t in man in all reason is worse then the corruption of his worst part but this death which consists especially in the losse of that blessed communion with God which made the soul happy cannot be found till some new life enter or else till the last death come which adds infinit pain to infinit losse Now the death of the body succeeds thiâ— souls death and that is the separation of the soul from the body most suitable seeing the soul was turned from the fountain spirit to the body that the body should by his command return to dust and be made the most defiâ—ed piece of dust Now this were not so grievous if it were not a step to the death to come and a degree of it introductive to it But that statute and appointment of Heaven hath thus linked it after death comes Iudgment Because the soul in the body would not be sensible of its separation from God but was wholly taken up with the body neglecting and miskenning that infinit losse of Gods favour and face therefore the Lord commands it to go out of the body that it maythen be sensible of its infinit loss of God when it is separated from the body that it may then have leasure to reflect upon it self and find its own surpassing misery and then indeed infinit pain and infinit losse conjoyned eternal banishment from the presence of that blessed Spirit and eternal torment within it self these two concurring what posture do you think such a soul will be into There are some earnest of this in this life when God reveals his terrour and sets mens sins in order before their face O how intolerable is it and more insupportable then many deaths They that have been accquainted with it have declared it the terrours of God are like poysonable arrows sunk into Jobs spirit and drinking up all the moisture of them Such a spirit as is wounded with one of these darts shot from Heaven who can bear it not the most patient and most magnanimous spirit that can sustain all other infiâ—mities Prov. 18.14 Now my beloved if it be so now while the soul is in the body drowned in it what will be the case of the soul separated from the body when it shall be all one sense to reflect and consider it self This is the sting of death indeed worse then a thousand deaths to a soul that apprehends it and the lesse it is apprehended the worse it is because it is the more certain and must shortly be found when there is no brazen serpent to heal that sting Now what comfort have you provided against this day what way do you think to take out this sting Truly there is no balm for it no Physitian for it but one and that the Christian is only acquainted with He in whom Christ is he hath this soveraign antidot against the pâ—yson of Death he hath the very sting of it taken out by Châ—â—st death it self killed and of an mortal enemy made the kindest friend And so he may triumph with the Apostle O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory Thanks be to God in Iesuâ— Christ who giveth us the victory 1 Cor. 15.55 The ground of his triumph and that which a Christian hath to oppose to all the sorrows and pains and fears of death mustred against him is threefold one that death is not real a second that is not total even that which is and then that it is not perpetual This last is contained in the next vers the second expressed in this vers and the first may be understood or implyed in it That the nature of death is so far changed that of a punishment it is become a medicine of a punishment for sin it is turned into the last purgative of the soul from sin and thus the sting of it is taken away that relation it did bear to the just wrath of God And now the body of a Christian under appointment to die for sin that is for the death of sin the eternal death of sin Christ having come under the power of death hath gotten power over it and spoiled it of its stinging vertue he hath taken away the poysonable ingredient of the curse that it can no more hurt them that are in Him and so it is not now vested with that piercing and wounding notion of punishment though it be true that sin was the first in-lett of death that it first opened the slâ—ue to let it enter and flow in upon mankind yet that appointment of death is renewed and bears a relation to the destruction of sin rather then the punishment of the sinner who is f`orgiven in Christ And O how much solid comfort is here that the great reason of mortality that a Christian it subject unto is that he may be made free of that which made him at first mortal Because sin hath taken suâ—h possession in this earthly tabernacle and is so strong a poyson that it hath infected all the members and by no purgation here made can be fully cleansed â—ut but there are many secret corners it lurks into and upon occasion vents it self therefore it hath pleased God in His infinit goodnesse to continue the former appointment of death but under a new and living consideration to take down this infected and defiled tabernacle as the houses of leprosie were taken down under the Law that so they might be the better cleansed and this is the last purification of the soul from sin And therefore as one of the Ancients said well That we might not be eternally miserable mercy hath made us mortal Justice hath made the world mortal that they may be eternally miserable but to put an end to this misery
The more the soul be satisfied with eaâ—thly things it is the deeper buâ—ied in the grave of the flesh and the â—urther separated from God Alas many oâ— you know no other liâ—e then that which you now live in the body you neither apprehend what this new birth is nor what the perfect statuâ—e of it shall be afterwards but truly while it is thus you are but walking shadows breathing â—lâ—y and no more A godly man used to calculat the years of his nativity from his second birth his conversion to God in Christ And truly this is the true period of the â—ight calculation of life of that life which shall not see death True life hath but one period that is the beginning of it for end it hath none I beseech you reckon your years thus and I fear that you â—eckon your selves many of you yet dead in sins and trespasses Is that life I pray you To eat to drink to sleep to play to walk to work Is there any thing in all these worthy of a reasonable soul which must survive the body and so cease from such things for ever Think within your selves do you live any other life then this What is your life but a tedious and wearisome repetition of such bruitish actions which are only teâ—minat on the body O then how miserable are you if you have no other period to reckon from then your birth day If there be not a second birth day before your burial you may make your reckoning To be banished eternally from the life of God As for you Christians whom God hath quickned by the Spirit of His Son be much in the exercise of this life and that will maintain and advance it let your care be about your spirits and to hearten you in this study and to beget in you the hope of eternal life look much and lay fast hold on that Life-giving Saviour who by his righteous life and accursed death hath purchased by his own blood both happinesse to us and holinesse Consider what debters ye are to Him who loved not his own life and spared it not to purchase this life to us Let our thoughts and affections be occupied about this high purchase of our Saviours which is freely bestowed on them that will have it and believe in Him for it if we be not satisfied with such a low and wretched life as is in the body He will give a higher and more enduring life and only worthy of that name SERMON XXX Rom. 8.11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Iesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken you c. IT is true the soul is incomparably better then the body and he is only worthy the name of a Man and of a Christian who prefers this more excellent part and imploys his study and time about it and regards his body only for thâ— noble guest that lodges within it and therefore it is one of the prime consolations that Christianity affords that it provides chiefly for the happy estate of this immortal piece in man which truly were alone sufficient to draw our souls wholly after Religion suppose the body should never taste of the fruits of it but die and rise no more and never be awak'd out of its sleep yet it were a sufficient ground of engagement to godlinesse that the life and well-being of the far better part in man is secured for eternity which is infinitly more then all things beside can truly promise us or be able to perform Certainly whatsoever else you give your hearts to and spend your time upon it will either leave you in the midst of your dayes and at your end you shall be a fool or you must leave it in the end of your dayes and find your selves as much disappointed or to speak more properly because when your time is ending your life and being is but at its beginning you must bid an eternal adieu to all these things whereupon your hearts are set when you are but beginning truly to be But this is only the proper and true good of the soul Christ in it most portable and easily carried about with you yea that which makes the soul no burden to it self and helps it to carry all things easily and then most inseparable for Christ in the soul is the spring of a never-ending life of peace joy and contentation in the fountain of an infinit goodnesse and it out-wears time and age as well as the immortal beeing of the soul yea such is the strength of this consolation that then the soul is most closly united and â—ully possessed oâ— that which is its peculiar and satisfying good when it leaves the body in the dust and eâ—capes out of this pâ—iâ—on unto that glorious liberty But yet there is besides this an additional comfort comprehended in the vers read that the sleep of the body is not perpetual that it shall once be awakened and raised up to the fellowship of this glory â—or though a man should be abundantly satisfied if he possesse his own soul yet no man hateth his own flesh the soul hath some kind of natural inclination to a body suitable unto it and in this it differs from an Angel and therefore the Apostle when he expresseth his earnest groan for intimat presence oâ— his soul with Christ he subjoyns this correction not that we desire to be uncloathed but cloathed upon it 2 Cor. 5.1 2 3. If it were possible sayes he we would be glade to have the society of the body in this glory we would not desire to cast off those cloaths of flesh but rather that the garment of glory might be spread over all if it were not needful because they are old and ragged and would not suit well and our earthly Tabernacle is ruinous and would not be fit for such a glorious guest to dwell into and therefore it is needful to be taken down well then here is an overplus and as it were a surcharge of consolation that seing for the present it is expedient to put off the present cloathing of flesh and take down the present earthly house yet that the day is coming that the same cloaths renewed shall be put on and the same house repaired and made suitable to Heaven shall be built up that this mortal body shall be quickned with that same Spirit that now quickens the soul and makes it live out of the body and so the sweet and beloved friends who parted with so much pain and grief shall meet again with so much pleasure and joy and as they were sharers together in the miseries of this life sâ—all participat also in the blessednesse of the next like Saul and Ionathan lovely and pleasant in their lives and though for a time separated in death yet not alwayes divided Now is the highest top of happinesse to which nothing can be added its comprehensive of the whole man and its
comprehensive of all that can be imagined to be the perfective good of man It is no wonder then that the Apostle reckon this Doctrine of the Resurrection amongst the foundations of Christianity Heb. 6.1 2 for truly these tâ—o the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the mortal body are the two ground-stones or pillars of true Religion which if they be not well settled in the hearts of men all Religion is tottering and ruinous and unable to support it self That the soul cannot taste death or see corruption and that the body shall but taste it and as it were salute it and cannot alwayes abide under the power of it these are the prime foundations upon which all Christian perswasion is built for without these be laid down in the lowest and deepest part of the heart all exhortations to an holy and righteous life are weak and ineffectual all consolations are empty and vain in a word Religion is but an airy speculation that hath no consistence but in the imaginations of men it is an house upon sand that can abide no blast of temptation no wave of misery but must straight way fall to the ground From whence is it I pray you that the perswasions of the Gospel hath so little power upon men that the plain and plentiful publication of a Saviour is of so small vertue to stir up the hearts of men to take hold on him How comes it to passe that the preeepts and prohibitions of the most high God coming forth under his authority lays so little restraint on mens corruptions that so few will be perswaded to stop their course and come off the wayes they are accustomed that men pull away the shoulder and stop the ear and make their hearts as adamant incapable of being affected with either the authority or love of the Gospel that when He pipes unto us so few dance and when he mourns so few laments Is it not because these two foundations are not laid and mens hearts not digged deep by earnest consideration to receive these ground-stones of Christianity the belief of their souls eternal survivance after the dust and of the revivance and resurrection of the body after it hath slept a while in the dust I remember Heathens have had some noble and rare conceptions about vertue and some have laboured to enamour men with the native beauty of it and to perswade them that it was a sufficient reward to it self and truly it would far more become a Christian who knoweth the high and divine pattern of holinesse to be God himself and so must needs behold a far surpassing beauty and excellency in the Image of God than in all earthly things I say it would become him to accustome himself to a dutiful observance of Religion even without all respect to the reward of it he would train his heart to do homage to God out of a loyal affection and respect to His Majesty and from the love of the very intrinsick beauty of obedience without borrowing alwayes from such selfie considerations of our own happinesse or misery Notwithstanding such is the posture of mans spirit now that he cannot at all be engaged to the love of Religion except some Seen advantage concilat it and therefore the Lord makes use of such selfie principles in drawing men to Himself and keeping them still with Him and truly considering mans infirmity this is the spiâ—it and life of all Religion Immortality and Resurrection that which gives a lustre to all and quickens all that which makâ—s all to sink deep and that which makes a Christian stedfast and immovable 2 Cor. 5.8 It is certainly Hope that is the key of the heart that opens and shuts it to any thing These the Apostle Peter 1 Epist. 1. blesseth God heartily for the new birth and in the expressing of it makes hope the very term of that generation and so it must be a substantial thing Blessed be God who hath begotten us again to a lively hope Hope hath a quickning power in it it makes all new where it comes and is full of spirit it is the Helmet and Anchor of a Christian that which bears the dint of temptation and makes him steady in Religion No man will put in his plough in this ground or sow unto the Spirit but in hope for he that soweth must sow in hope else his Plough will not go deep 1 Cor. 9.10 This then is the very spirit and life of Religion the resurrection of the dead without which our faith were in vain and men would continue still in their sins Certainly it is the deep inconsideration of this never-ending endurance of our souls and restitution of our bodies to the same immortality that makes the most part of men so slight and superficial in Religion else it were not possible if that were laid to heart but men would make Religion their business and chief business We have here the two genuine causes of the resurection of the bodies of Christians the resurrection of Christ and the inhabitation of his Spirit The influence that the resurrection of Christ hath on ours is lively and fully holden out by this Apostle 1 Cor. 15. against them who deny the resurrection from the dead If Christ be not raised your faith is in vain ye are yet in your sins and they that are asleep are perished Religion were nothing but a number of empty words of show Preaching were a vanity and imposture Faith were a meer â—ancy if this be not laid down as the ground-stone Christ raised not as a natural person but as a common politick person as the first fruits of them that sleep vers 17 18 19 20. where he alludes to the ceremony of offering the first fruits of their harvest Lev. 23.10 for under the Law they might not eat of the fruits of the land till they were sanctified all was counted prophane till they were someway conâ—ecrated to the Lord. Now for this end the Lord appointed them to bring one sheaf for all and that was the representative oâ— all the rest of the heap and this was waved before the Lord and lifted up from the earth now according to the Apostles argument Rom. 11 16. If the first fruits be hâ—ly so is the lump for it represents all the lump and therefore Iesus Christ the chief of all his brethren was made the first fruits from the dead and lifted up from the grave as the representer of all the lump of his elect and so it must needs follow That they shall not continue in the grave but must in due time partake of that benefite which he was first entred in possession of in their name and for them for if this fiâ—st fruits be holy so the whole lump must be holy and if the first fruits be risen so must the lump You see then the force of the present reason If the Spirit that raised Christ dwell in you He shall also raise you namely because he
raised up Christ the very first fruits of all the rest so that Christs resurrection is a sure pledge and token of yours and both together are the main basis and ground work of all our hope and salvation the neglect and inconsideration whereof makes the most part of pretended Christians to walk according to that Epicurean principle let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die as if there were no life to come they withold nothing from their carnal minds that can satisfie or please their lusts But for you who desire a part in this resurrection and daâ—e scarcely believe so great a thing or entertain such a high hope because of the â—ight of your unworthinesse as ye would be awaked by this hope to righteousnesse and to sin no more vers 34. of that Chap. So you may encourage your selves to that hope by the resurrection of Christ for it is that which hath the mighty influence to beget you to a lively hope 1 Pet. 1.3 Look upon this as the grand intent and special design of Christs both dying and rising again that he might be the first fruits to sanctifie all the lump Nevertheless it is not he defect of your bodies for they are often a great impediment and retardment to the spirit and lodgeth the enemy within their walls when he is chased out of the mind by the Law of the Spirit of life but it is the great design of God through the whole work of redemption and the desert of Christ your head and therefore you may entertain that hope but take heed to walk worthy of it and that is if we have this hope let us purifie our selves let us who believe that we are risen with Christ set our affections on things above else we dishonour Him that is risen in our name and we dishonour that Temple of the Holy Ghost which he will one day make so glorious SERMON XXXI Rom. 8.11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Christ from the dead c. AS there is a twofold death the death of the soul and the death of the body so there is a double resurrection the resurrection of the soul from the power of sin and the resurrection of the body from the grave as the first death is that which is spiritual then that which is bodily so the first resurrection is of the Spirit then the second of the body and these two have a connexion together therefore saith the Apostle Iohn Blessed are they who have part in the first resurrection for on such the second death hath no power but they shall be Priests to God c. Rom. 20.6 Although death must 〈…〉 their bodies yet the sting wherein the strength of it lyes is taken away by Christ that it hath no power to hurt him whose spirit is raised out of the grave of sin and truly it is hard to tell which is the greatest change or the most dificult to raise a Body out of corruption to life or to to raise a Soul out of sin to grace But both are the greatest changes that can be and shadowed out under the similitude of the greatest in nature for our conversion to God is a new birth a new creation and a resurrection in Scripture style and so both require one and the same power the almighty power of his Spirit you who were dead in sin hath He quickned c. O what a notable change it maketh them no longer the same men but new creatures and therefore it is the death of sin and the resurrection of the soul for as long as it is under the chains of darknesse and power of sin it is free among the dead it is buried in the vilest sepulchre old graves and these full of rottennesse and dead mens bones are nothing to â—xpresse the lamentable case of such a soul and yet such are all by nature whatsoever excellency or endowment men have from their birth or education yet certainly they are but apparitions rather then any real substance and which is worse their bodies is the sepulchre of their souls and if the corruption of a soul were sensible we would think all the putrifactions of bodily things but shadows of it And therefore no sooner is there any inward life begotten in a soul but this is the very fiâ—st exercise of it the abhorrency of the soul upon the sight and smell of its own loathsomnesse Now there is no hope of any reviving though all the wisdom and art of men and Angels were imployed in this businesse there is nothing able to quicken one such soul untill it please the Lord to speak such a word as he did to Lazarus Arise come forth and send his Spirit to accomplish his word and this will do it when the Spirit cometh into the soul he quickeneth it and this is the first â—esurrection O blessed are they who have part in this whose souls are drawen out of the dungeon of darknesse and ignorance and brought â—orth to behold this glorious light that shineth in the Gospel and raised out of the grave of the lusts of ignorance to live â—nto God henceforth for such they have their part in the second resurrection to life for you see these are conjoyned If the Spirit dwell in you He shall raise you c. You see here two grounds and reasons of the resurrection of the body Christs rising and the Spirits indwelling now I find these in Scripture made the two fountains of all Christianity both of the fiâ—st and second resurrection The â—esurrection of Christ is an evidence of our Justification the the cause of our quickening or vivification and the ground and pledge of our last resurrection and all these are grounds of strong consolation The first you have Rom. 4.25 Christ died for our sins and rose for our Iustification and the vers 34. of this Chap. Christ is dead yea rather that is risen again who then shall condemn Here is a clear evidence that He hath payed the debt wholly and satisfied Justice fully since He was under the power of death imprisoned by Justice certainly he would not have won free if he had not payed the uttermost farthing therefore his glorious resurrection is a sure manifestation of his present satisfaction it is a publick acquittance and absolution of him from all our debt and so by consequence of all he died for for their debt was laid upon him and now He is discharged and therefore the believing soul may tremblingly boast who shall condemn me for it is God that justifieth Why because all my sins were laid on Christ and God hath in a most solemn manner acquited and discharged him from all when he raised him from the dead and therefore he cannot and none other can sue me or prosecute a plea against me since my Cautioner is fully exonered of this undertaking even by the great Creditor God himself But then his resurrection is a pawn or pledge of the spiritual raising of the soul
from sin as the death of Christ is made the pledge of our dying to sin so his rising of our living to God Rom. 6.4 5. These are not meer paterns and examples of spiritual things but assured pledges of that divine vertue and power which he being raised again should send abroad throughout the world for as there are Coronation-gifts when Kings are solemnly installed in office so there are Coronation-mercies triumphal gifts when Christ rose and ascended he bestowed then on the world Eph. 4. And certainly these are the greatest the vertue of his death to kill the old man and the power of his resurrection to quicken the new and by faith a believer is united and ingraâ—ted into him as a plant into a choice stock and by vertue and sap coming from Christs death and resurrection he is transformed into the similitude of both he groweth into the likenesse of his death by dying to sin by crucifying these inward affections and inclinations to it and he groweth up into the similitude of his resurrection by newnesse of life or being alive to God in holy desires and endeavours after holinesse â—nd obedience And thus the first resurrection of the soul floweth from Christs resurrection But add unto this that Christs rising is the pledge and pawn of the second resurrection that is of the body for He is the head and we the members now it is most incongruous that the head should rise and not draw up the members after him certainly he will not cease till He have drawen up all his memâ—ers to him if the head be above water it is a sure pledge that the body will win out of the water if the root be alive certainly the branches will shoot out in Spring-time they shall live also There is that connexion betwixt Christ and believers that wonderful communication between them that Christ did nothing was nothing and had nothing done to him but what He did and was and sufferd personating them and all the benefiâ—e and advantage redounds to them He would not be considered of us as a person by himself but would rather be still taken in with the children as for love he came down and took flesh to be like them and did take their sin and misery off them and so was content to be looked upon by God as in the place of sinners as the chief sinner so he is content and desirous that we should look on him as in the place of sinners as dying as rising for us as having no excellency or privelege incommunicable to us And this was not hid from the Church of old but presented as the grand consolation Thy dead men shall live â—ogether with my dead body they shall rise and therefore may poor souls awake and sing though they must dwell in the dust yet as the dew and influence of Heaven maketh herbs to spring out of the earth so the vertue of this resurrection shall make the earth and sea and air to cast out and render their dead Isa. 26.19 Upon what a sure and strong chain hangs the salvation of poor sinners I wish Christians might salute one another with this Christ is risen and so comfort one another with these words or rather that every one would apply this cordial to his own heart Christ is risen and you know what a golden chain this draweth after it therefore we must rise and live The other cause which is more immediat and will actively accomplish it is the Spirit dwelling in us for there is a suitable method here too as the Lord first raised the Head Christ and will then raise the Members and he that doth the one cannot but do the other so the Spirit first raiseth the soul from that woful fall into sin which killed us and so maketh it a Temple and the body too for both are bought with a price and therefore the Spirit possesseth both but the inmost residence is in the soul and the bodily members are made servants of righteousness which is a great honour and dignity in regard of that base imployment they had once and so it is most suitable that he who hath thus dwelt in both repair his own dwelling-house for here it is ruinous and therefore must be cast down but because it was once a Temple for the Holy Ghost therefore it will be repaired and built again for he that once honoured it with his presence will not suffer corruption alwayes to dwell in it for what Christ by his humiliation and suffering purchased the Spirit hath this Commission to perform it aâ—d what is it but the restitution of mankind to an happier estate in the second Adam then ever the first was into Now since our Lord who pleased to take on our flesh did not put it off again but admits it to the fellowship of the same glory in heaven in that he died he dies no more death hath no more dominion over him he will never be wearied or ashamed of that humane clothing of flesh and therefore certainly that the children may be like the father the followers their Captain the members not disproportioned to the head the branches not different and heterogeneous to the stock and that our rising in Christ may leave no footstep of our falling no remainder of our misery therefore the Spirit of Christ will also quicken the mortal bodies of believers and make them like Christs glorious body This must be done with divine power and what more powerful then the Spirit for it is the spirits or subtil parts in all creatures that causeth all motions and worketh all effects What then is that Almighty Spirit not able to do You have shadows of this in nature yea convincing evidences for what is the Spring but a resurrection of the earth Is not the world every year renewed and riseth again out of the grave of Winter as you find it elegantly expressed Psal. 107. and doth not the grains of seed die in the â—lods beâ—ore they rise to the harvest 1 Cor. 15. All the vicissitudes and alterations in nature give us a plain draught of this great change and certainly it is one Spirit that effects all But though there be the same power required to raise up the bodies of the godly and ungodly yet O what infinit distance and difference in the nature and ends oâ— their resurrections there is the resurrection of life and the resurrection of condemnation Joh. 5.29 O happy they who rise to life that ever they died but O miserable thrice wretched are all others that they may not be dead for ever The immortality of the souls was infinit misery because it is that which eternizes their misery but when this overplus is added the incorruptibility of the body and so the whole man made an inconsumable subject for that fire to seed upon perpetually what heart can conceive it without horrour and yet we hear it often without any such affection It is a strange life that death is the only
groundless opinions never to question the matter is to leave it alwise uncertain If ye would judge your selves according to the Scriptures many of you have the marks and characters of these who are kept without the City and are to have their part in the lake of fire Is there no condemnation for you who have never condemned your selves Certainly the more you are averse to condemn your selves this sticks the closser to you You are not all in Christ all are not Israel who are of Israel many nay the most part are but said Christians have no real union with Christ or principle of life from him your love you carry to your selves makes you easily believe well of your selves know that self-love can blind the eyes and make you apprehend that God loves you also Nay every one readily fancies that to be which he desires to be I beseech you consider if you have any ground for your hopes and confidences but such as these that will not bear out alwayes It would be no disadvantage to you to have your hope shaken that in stead of a vain presumption you may have the Anchor of hope which shall be fixed within the vail I think one thing keeps men far from the Kingdom of God because they know not that they believe not in him we had gained much ground on you by the Word if we could perswade you that ye believe not and have not believed from the Womb. We might then say to you as Christ to his Disciples ye believe in God believe also in me Ye have given credit to God the Judge and Law-giver pronouncing a curse on â—ou and a sentence that ye have hearts desperatly wicked now believe also in me the Redeemer Ye have believed God in the Law in as far as ye have judged your selves under sin and wrath now believe Me in the Gospel that brings a ransome from wrath and a remedy for sin It s this very unbelief that is the original of the woâ—lds perishing unbelief of the Law ye do not consider ye are under the condemnation of it ye do not believe that ye have not yet â—ed to Jesus Christ to escape and these two keeps souls in a deep sleep till judgement awake them But unto every one of you I would give this Direction Let not examination of what you are hinder you from that which is your chief duty and his chief commandment to believe in him I know many Christians are puzled in the matter of their interest and alwise wavering because they are more taken up with that which is but a matter of comfort and joy then that which is His greatest honour and glory I say to consider the precious promises to believe the excellâ—â—cy and vertue of Jesus Christ and love him in your souls and delight in him is the weightiest matter of the Gospel to go out of your selves daily into his fulness to endeavour new discoveries of your own naughtiness and his grace this is the new and great commandment of the Gospel the obedience of it is the most essential part of a Christian-walk Now again to know that ye do believe and to discern your interest in Christ this is but a matter of comfort and of second concernment Therefore I say when ever ye cannot be clear in this ye should be alwise exercised in the first For its that we are first called to and if Souls were more exercised that way in the consideration and belief of the very general truths and promises of the Gospel I doubt not but the light of these would clear up their particular interest in due time these things ye ought to have done and not to leave the other undone It is still safest to wave such a question of interest when its plunging because it puts you off your special duty and its Satans intent in it It were better if ye do question presently to believe and abide in him till it were put out of question SERMON IV. Vers. 1. That walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit CHrist is made to us of God both righteousness and sanctification And therefore these who are in Christ do not only escape condemnation but they walk according to the spirit and not according to the flesh These two are the sum of the Gospel there is not a greater argument to holy walking then this there is no condemnation for you â—â—â—ther is there a greater evidence of a Soul escaped condemnation then walking â—ccording to the Spirit We have spoken something in general of the evidence that may be had of a mans state from his walking and the Spirits work in him we would now speak of the conjunction of these two and the influence that that priviledge hath on this duty and something of the nature of this description who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit In the creation of man man was composed of soul and body there was a right order and subordination of these suitable to their nature in his soul he reached Angels above in his body he was like the beasts below and this part his flesh was a servant to the Soul that was acted and affected according to the desires and motives of the Soul Now sin entring as it hath defaced all the beauty of the creation as it hath misplaced man and driven him out from that due line of subordination to God his Maker for he would have been equal to God so it hath perverted this beautiful order in men and turned it just contrary hath made the servant to ride on horses and the prince to walk on foot This is the just punishment of our first sin Adams soul was placed by creation under the sole command of its Creator above all the creatures and his own senses but in one sin he proudly exalted himself above God and lamentably subjected himself below his senses by hearkening to their perswasion he saw it was good and tasted it and it was sweet and so he ate of it What a strange way was this to be like God he made himself unlike himself liker the miserable beasts Now I say this is the deserved punishment of man his soul that was a free Prince is made a bond slave to the lusts of his flesh flesh hath gotten the Throne and keeps it and lords over the whole man Now therefore it is that the whole man unregenerat is called flesh as if he had no immortal spirit Iohn 3.6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh and this Chap. vers 8. here a description of natural men they that are in the flesh Because flesh is the predominant part that hath captivat a mans reason and will Nay not only the grosser corruptions in a man that have their use and seat in his flesh and body are under that name but take the whole nature of man that which is most excellent in him his Soul and Spirit his Light and Understanding the most refined principles of his
are swelled above ordinances I fear they be monstrous Christians A man is composed of a spirit and a body acted and quickned by that spirit without either of these he is not a compleat man So I say he is not a Christian that doth not worship God in the spirit and in truth both and it is not Religion that excludes either the inward soul-communion with God or the outward ordinance and appointment of God But alace this may be our complaint we come and worship God and drawes nigh with our bodies but our hearts are far removed Here is the death of many's worship the soul is separated from the body of it there are but pictures and images of Christians we have mouths and faces of Saints but O! how little of divine-affection or of soul-desires breaths in us We are denyers of the power of godliness by resting in a form and this is the great sin of this generation the essentials the vital-spirits of Christianity are exhausted and some dry bones like an Anatomy of a Christian remains behind I beseech you gather your spirits to this spiritual-walking they only can follow the Spirit your bodies are earthly and lumpish and the way is all upward to the holy hill Look inwardly and measure your selves so outward appearance is no just measure retire â—ithin your souls and engage them in this exercise and enter them to this motion and your spirits will sweetly and surely act your bodies and externals in all matters of godliness SERMON VI. Vers. 1. Who walk not after the flesh c. IT is one of the greatest mysteries in a Christians practice to joyn these two together which the Gospel hath conjoined justification and sanctification and to place them in their due order There is much miscarrying in both these either they are sepâ—rated or misplaced But the truth is they cannot really be except they be jointly yet often it falls out that in mens apprehensions and endeavours they are disjoined This then were the argument of a living and believing Christian to joine the study of holinesse with the exercise of â—aith in Christ for remission of sin and righteousnesse and not not only to joyn it but also to derive it from that principle There is both an union between these and an order established in Scripture The most part of these that professe the Gospel are of two sorts they do either divide holinesse from imputed righteousnesse or Christs righteousnesse from holinesse I do not say that any man truly seeks to be covered with the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ and to have his sins freely pardoned but he will also study to walk before God in all well-pleasing but the truth is many do pretend and profess to seek salvation and forgivenness in Christs blood and have the mercy of God and merits of Christ alwayes in their mouth who yet declare by their conversation that they do not so much as desire or purpose to seek after holinesse I do not speak of these who are Antinomians in profession but of a great multitude in the visible Church who are more really Antinomians to wit in practice then most part of professed Antinomians You hear all of free grace and free redemption in Jesus Christ of tender and induring mercies in God and this you take for the whole Gospel and presently upon the notion of mercy and grace you conclude unto your selves not only immunity and freedom from all the threatnings of the Word and from hell but likewise ye proclaim secretly in your own hearts a liberty to sin so much the more securely the door of mercy cast open in the Gospel and the free accesse to Christ manifested therein through the corruption that is within us proves the very occasion of many's giving indulgence to their lusts of delaying reformation and turning to God You all professe that you seek to be justified and saved by Jesus Christ yea you perswade your selves to be escaped condemnation by Christ Now then conjoyn that profession and perswasion with your walk and O! how contrary you may find them to one another your saith is vain for ye are yet in your sins Tit. 2.11 12. The grace of God appearing to some men effectually teacheth them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live righteously soberly and godly c. But if we may conjecture your teaching by your walking it seems the notion of grace and the Gospel that is formed in your minds hath taught you another doctrine to a vow ungodliness and follow worldly lusts Is there so much as a shadow of this spiritual walking in many I confesse it is natural for every man to seek his own righteousnesse and it is the arm of God that must bow men to submit to Christs imputed righteousnesse yet the most part of men seem to be so far from seeking any righteousnesse that they are rather seeking the fulfilling of their own carnal lusts working wickedness with greediness not caring how little they have to put confidence into and yet certain it is that how much forever a man attains to of a form of Religion or civil honesty he is ready to put his trust in it and to lean the weight of his soul upon it But seiâ—g this is natural to you all to seek heaven by doing and working I wonder that ye do no more how do ye satisfie your consciences in the expectation of heaven who take so little pains in Religion and are so loose and profane in your conversation I wonder seing ye have it naturally engraven in your hearts to establish your own righteousnesse that ye labour not to have more of it to fill your eye withall But again on the other hand there are some men who have a form of Religion and labour to be of a blamelesse conversation among men that possibly perswades themselves they are seeking holinesse and walking spiritually but alace you may find it but a painted and seeming Religion that is an abomination in the sight of God because it is to them all the ground of their acceptation before God If ever this question was moved in some of you What shall I do to be saved You have condescended on such a walk such a profession for the answer of it It is natural to all even these who have least apperance of godlinesse to seek heaven by doing Gods will these that have no more to speak of then their Baptism or receiving the Lords Supper or attending well the solemn assemblies will ground their hope of salvation on those things How much more will civil and honest men commonly so called who pray and read and professe godlinesse how much more I say will they establish that which they attain to as the ground of their confidence before God Now this is a general unknown ill that destroys the world and yet few are convinced of it how hard it is to be driven out of our selves and to seek life in another O! know that it is in a
very image of a beast upon his nature to look on that slavery and bondage of his far better part to the worst and bruitish part in him his flesh If a man did wisely consider the constitution of his nature from its first divine original and what a thing the soul is which is truly and more properly himself then his body what excellency is in the soul beyond the body and so what preheminency it advanceth a man unto beyond a beast He could not but account Religion the very ornament and perfection of his nature Reason will say that the spirit should rule and command the body that flesh is but the minister and servant of the spirit that there is nothing the proper and peculiar good of man but that which adorns and rectifies the spirit that all these external things which mens senses are carried after with so much violence do not better a man as man but are common to beasts that in these things mans happiness as man doth not at all consist but in some higher and more transcending good which beasts are not capable of and which may satisfie the immortal spirit and not perish in the using but live with it All these things the very natural frame and constitution of man doth convincingly perswade Now then may a soul think within it self O how far am I departed from my original how far degenerated from that noble and royal dignity that God by the stamp of his image once put upon me How is it that I am become a slave and drudge to that baser and brutish part the flesh I would have you retire into your own hearts and ask such things at them Man being in honour and understanding not is even like the beasts that perish Truly we are become like beasts because we consider not that we are men and so advanced by creation far above beasts The not reflecting on the immortal spiritual nature of our souls hath transformed us in a manner into the nature of beasts perishing beasts Christianity is the very transforming of a beast into a man as sin was the deforming of a man into a beast This is the proper effect of Christianity to restore humanity to elevat it and purifie it from all those defilements and corruptions that were ingrossed and incorporated into it by the state of subjection to the flesh and therefore the Apostle delineats the nature of it unto us and draws the difference wide between the natural man and a Christian The natures of things are dark and hidden in themselves but they come to be known to us by there operations and acting their inclinations and instincts are known this way Grace is truly a very spiritual thing and the nature of it lyes high yet as Christ could not be hid in the house neither can grace be hid in the heart it will be known by its working Christ can better be hid in a house then in the heart because when he is in a heart he is ingadged to restore that heart and soul to its native dignity and preheminency over the flesh and this cannot but cause much disturbance in the man for a season to change governments to cast out usurpers and to restore the lawful and righteous owner to the possession of his right cannot be done secretly and easily it will shake the very foundations of a Kingdom to accomplish it so it is here the restitution of the soul to the possession of its right and dominion over the flesh the casting out of that tyrannous and base usurper the flesh cannot be done except all the man know it feel it and in a manner be pained with it Now the nature of Christianity doth lay it self open to us in these two especially in what it minds and savours and how it causeth to walk life is known especially by affection and motion A feeling thinking â—avouring power is a living power so a moving walking power is a living power and these are here the Christian is shortly described by his nature he is one after the Spirit not after the flesh and by the proper characteristical operations of that nature first minding or savouring the things of the Spirit which comprehends his inward thoughts affections intentions and cogitations all his inward senses are exercised about such objects and then he is one walking after the Spirit his motions are in a course of obedience proceeding from that inward relish or taste that he hath of the things of God It is not without very good reason that the name of a Christian is thus expâ—essed one after the Spirit that is his character that expressed his nature unto us whether ye look to the original of Christianity or the prime subject of it or the chief end of it it deserves to be called by this name The original of it is very high as high as that eternal Spirit as high as the God of the spirits of all flesh Things are like their original and some way participat of the nature of their causes that which is born of the spirit is spirit Joh. 3.6 that which is born of God who is a Spirit must be spirit 1 Joh. 5.1 How royal a descent is that how doth it nobilitat a mans nature Truly all other degrees of birth among men are vain imaginary things that hath no worth at all but in the fancies of men they put no real excellency in men But this is only true nobility this alone doth extract a man deface vulgi out of the dregs of the multitude There is no intrinsick difference between bloods or natures but what this make this divine birth this second birth all other differences are but in opinion this is reality it puts the image of that blessed Spirit upon a man Truly such a creature is not begotten in the womb of any natural cause of any humane perswasion or intising words of mans wisdom of any external mercy or judgment no instruction no peâ—swasion no allurement nor afrightment can make you Christians in the Spirit till the Spirit blow when he pleaseth and creat you again It must come from above that power that can set your hearts aright and make them to look straight above Christ Jesus came down from Heaven into the earth and took on our flesh that so the Almighty Spirit might come down to transform our spirits and lift them up from the earth to the Heaven We cast the seed into the ground of mens hearts and alace it gets entry but in few souls it is scattered rather on the high-way side and cannot reach into the arrable ground of the heart but it can do nothing without the influence of Heaven except the Spirit beget you again by that immortal seed of the Word Therefore we would cease our wondering that all the means of Gods Word and Works do not beget moe true Christians I do rather wonder that any of Adams wretched posterity should be begotten again and advanced to so high a dignity to
can strike hands and engage to serve the Lord as easily as that people in Ioshua 24.18 19. But we may say Oh that there were such a heart in you but alas such a heart is not in you you cannot serve the Lord for He is holy and jealous and ye are not only weak but wicked I beseech you then believe this one testimony that God hath given of man even the choisest thing in man the very wisdom of a natural man It is not subject to Gods Law and it cannot be better neither can it be subject resolution industry vowes and covenants will not effect this till the most High break and bow the heart And not only is this enmity against the old law of commandments an antipathy at them as crossing our lusts but even against the new and living Law of the spirit of life in Christ. Here is your misery you can neither be subject to the Law as commanding to obey it or threatning for disobedience to it nor to the Gospel as promising to believe and receive it The Law commands but your law countermands within The Law threatens and sentences you with condemnation but you have some self-pleasing delusion and dream in your heads and blesses your selves in your own hearts even though ye walk in the imagination of your hearts contrary to the Law Deut. 29. It is strange that you do not sore-apprehend and fear hell but it s this delusion possesses the heart you shall not die It was the first act of enmity not only the transgression of the command but unbelief of the truth of the curse and that which fiâ—st encouraged man to sin encourages you all to ly into it and continue in it a fancy of escaping wrath This noise fills the heart Satan whispers it in the ear go on you shall not die Thus it appears that the natural mind cannot be subject to the Law of God no perswasion no instruction can inforce this belief of your damnable condition upon you But then when the enmity is beaten out of this sort and a soul is really convinced of its desperat and lost estate when the heart is brought down to subjection to take with that dreadful sentence yet there is another tower of enmity in the heart that can keep out against the weapons of the Gospel such as Paul mentions Rom. 10.2 Being ignorant of the righteousnesse of God they went about to establish their own and could not submit to the righteousness of God There is a natural pride and stiffness of heart that we cannot endure but to have something in our selves to rest on and take pleasure into and when a soul sees nothing it rather vexes and torments it self as grieving because it hath no ornament or covering of its own nor rejoiceth and delighteth in that righteousness of God revealed in Christ. O the difficulty to bow down so low as to put on anothers righteousness over our nakedness and should it be called submission is it not rather the elevating and exâ—lting of a soul yet in respect of our natural posture of spirit it is a matter of great difficulty to make a self condemned sinner submit to thiâ— To be saved freely without money or price by anothers ransome What empty vain and frivolous expiation and satisfactions will souls invent rather then trust all to this How long will poor souls wander abroad from hill to mountain seeking some inherent qualification to commend them and leave this Garden and Paradise of delights which is opened up in Christ souls look every where for help till all hands fail and then necessity constrains them to come hither but indeed when necessity bâ—ought in charity and amity keeps in when once he knows what entertainment is in Christ. As for you who as yet have not stooped to the sentence of wrath how will you submit to the righteousness of God but I wonder how you imagine this to be so easie a thing To believe You say You did alwayes believe in Christ and that your hearts are still on him and that you do it night and day Now there needs no other argument to perswade that you do not at all believe in the Gospel who have not apprehended no more difficulty in it no more contrariety to your rebellious natures in it let this one word go home with you and convince you of your unbelief The natural minâ— is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can it be How then do you come so easily by it certainly it must be fained and counterfit SERMON XXII Rom 8.8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God IT is a kind of happiness to men to please them upon whom they depend and upon whose favour their well-being hangs It is the Servants happiness to please his Master the Courtiours to please his Prince and so generally whosoever they be that are joyned in mutual relations and depend one upon another that which makes all pleasant is this To please one another Now certainly all the dependencies of creatures one upon another are but shaddows unto the absolute dependance of creatures upon the Creator for in him we live and move and have our being the dependance of the ray upon the Sun of the stream upon the fountain is one of the greatest in nature but all creatures have a more necessary connexion with this fountain-being both in their being and well being they are nothing but a flux and emanation of his power and pleasure and as the Psalmist expresseth it he hides his face and they are troubled he takes away their breath and they die and return to their dust he sends forth his spirit and they are created and he renews the face of the earth Psal. 104.29 30. You may extend this to the being and well-being happiness and misery of creatures our souls which animat our bodies are but his breath which he breathed into the dust and can retract it when he pleaseth the life of our souls the peace and tranquility and satisfaction is another breathing of his spirit and another look of his countenance and as he pleases to withdraw it or interpose between his face and us so we live or die are blessed or miserable Our being or well-being hath a more indispensible dependance on him then the image in the glasse hath upon the living face If it be so then certainly of all things in the world it concerns us nearest how to please him and be at peace with him If we be in good terms with him in whose hand our breath is and whose are all our wayes Dan. 5.23 Upon whose countenance our misery or felicity hangs then certainly we are happy if we please him it matters not whom we displease for he alone hath absolute uncontrolled and universal power over us as our Saviour speaks over both soul and body We may expect that his good pleasure towards us will not be â—aiâ—fied but in communicating his fulness and manifesting his
God shall dwell in sinful men by his Spirit but in order of nature it hath some influence upon the other without which God could not have dwelt in us There is so much distance and disproportion between his Majesty and us that we could not be well united but by this interveening God coming down fâ—â—st a step into the holy nature of the Man Christ that from thence he might go into the sinâ—ul nature of other men Our sinâ—ul and rebellious nature behoved to be first sanctified this way by the persâ—nal in-dwelling of God in our flesh and this had made an easie passage into sinful Us for His Spirit to dwell into us powerfully and graciously therefore the Spirit of Christ is said to dwell in us Christs Spirit not only because proceeding from Him as from the Father but particularly because the inhabitation or operation of the Spirit in us is the proper result and fruit of that glorious union of our nature with him He took our flesh that he might send us His Spirit And O what a blessed exchange was this He came and dâ—elt in our nature that so He might dwell in us He took up a Shop as it were in our flesh that He might work in us and make us again conformed to God We shall not cut this asunder into many parts you see the words contain plainly The very essential definition of a spiritual man and of a Christian. You find a spiritiual man and a Christian equivalent in this ver that is to say they are taken for one and the self same thing and so they are reciprocal of equal extent and restraint every Christian is one aâ—ter the Spirit and whosoever is after the Spirit is a Christian one of Christs and one aâ—ter the Spirit is one thing Now the definition of the Christian is taken from that which really and essentially constitutes him such He is one in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells that makes him one after the Spirit that makes him one of Christs because it is the Spirit of Christ. As if you define what a man is you could not do it better then thus he is one endowed with a reasonable soul So the Apostle gives you the very soul and form of a Christian which differenceth from all others As the soul is to the body to make up a man so the Spirit of Christ is to the soul and spirit of a man to make up a Christian as the absence or presence of the soul makes or unmakes a man so the absence or presence of this Spirit makes or unmakes a Christian for you see he makes it reciprocal If you be Christianâ— the Spirit dwells in you but if the Spirit dwell not in you you are not Christians A word then to the first of these that a Christian and a spiritual man are commensurable one to another It is true there are Iews who are not Iews inwardly but only according to the letter Rom. 2.28 29. And so there are Christians so called who are but so outwardly and in the letter who have no more of it but the name and viâ—ible standing in the Church but we are speaking of that which is truly that which it is called whose praise is not of men but of God The name of â— man may be extended to a Picture or Image for some outward resemblance it hath of him but it is not a proper speech no more is it proper to extend the Name of Christians unto the Pictures or Images of Christians such as are destitute of this inward life You may be properly according to Scripture-phrase members of the visible body but you cannot have that real and blessed relation to Jesus Christ the Head which shall be the source of happinesse to all the living members I wish you would take it so and flatter your selves no more with Church-titles as iâ— these were sufficient evidences for your salvation You would all be called Christians but it fears me you know not many of you the true meaning and signification of that word the most comfortable sense of it is hid from you The meaning of it is That a man is renewed by Christ in the spirit of his mind As Christ and the Spirit are inseparable so a Christian and a spiritual â—ature are not to be â—ound severed Certainly the very sound of the name whereby you are called imports another nature and conversation then is to be â—ound in many You cannot say that you have a shadow of spirituality either in your affections or actions or that you have any real design and study that way but only to please your flesh and satisfie the customs of the world why do you then usurpe the name of Christianity this is a common sacriledge to give that which is holy unto dogs Others give it to you and you take it to your selves But know that though you please your selves and others in this yet without such a renovation of your natures and such a sincere study to be inwardly and outwardly conformed to the profession and name of Christianity you have not your praise of God and him whom God praises and allows not he cannot blesse for ever I am perswaded there are some who are not only in the letter but in the Spirit whose greatest desire and design is To be indeed what they professe and such their praise is of God and if God praise them now they shall be made to praise him for ever hereafâ—er such are allowed to take the name and honourable style of Christianity unto them You are Christs nearly interessed in him and if you be Christs own he cannot be happy without you for such was his love that he would not be happy alone in Heaven but come down to be miserable with us and now that he is again happy in Heaven certainly he cannot enjoy it long alone but he must draw up his members unto the fellowship of that glory Now the other thing that which gives even beeing to a Christian is The Spirit of Christ dwelling in him Of this inhabitation we shall not say so much as the comparison being strained will yeeld neither expatiat into many notions about it I wish rather we went home with some desires kindled in us after such a noble guest as the Holy Spirit is and that we were begun once to weary of â—he base and unclean guests that we lodge within us to our own destruction That which I said that the Spirit is to a Christian what the soul is to a man if well considered might present the absolute necessity and the excellency of this unto your eyes Consider what a thing the body is without the soul how defiled and deformed a piece of dust it is void of all sense and life loathsome to look upon Truly the soul of man by nature is in no better case till this Spirit enter it hath no light in it no life in it it is a dark dungeon such as is described Ephes. 4.18
and in his own person he submitted to be tempted to sin though it had been evil for us he had been overcome by it yet this brings him a step lower and nearer us and maketh the union more hopeful But since he can come no lower and can be made no liker us in the case we are in then certainly if the match hold We must become liker him and raised up out of our miserable estate to some suitableness to his holy Nature and therefore the love and wisdom of God to fill up the distance compleatly and effectuat this happy conjunction that the creation seemeth to groan for for vers 22. the whole creation is pained till it be accomplished he hath sent his blessed Spirit to dwell in Vs and to transform our natures and make them partakers of the divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 as Christ was partaker of humane nature and thus the distance shall be removed when a blessed Spirit is made flesh and a fleshly man made spirit then they are near the day of espousals and this indwelling of the spirit is the last link of the chain that fastens us to Christ and maketh our flesh in some measure like His holy flesh By taking on our flesh Christ became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh But the union becometh mutual when we receive the spirit we become bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh as it is expressed Eph. 5.30 In allusion to the creation of Eve and her marriage to Adam the ground of the marriage is That near bond of union because she was taken out of man and therefore because of his flesh and bone she was made one flesh with him even â—o the sinner must be partaker of the Spirit of Christ as Christ is partaker of the flesh of sinners and these two concurring these two knots interchanging and woven thorow other we become one flâ—sh with him And this is a great mystery indeed to bring two who were so far assunder so near other Yea it is nearer then that too for we are said not only to be one flesh with Christ but one spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit because he is animated and quickned by one Spirit that same Spirit of Christ and indeed spirits are more capable of union and more fit to embosome one with another then bodies therefore the nearest union conceivable is the union of spirits by affection this maketh two souls one for it transports their spirit out of the body where it lives and setleth it there where it loveth Now my beloved you see what way this great marriage that heaven and earth are in a longing expectation after shall be brought about Christ he did forsake his Fathers house when he lest that holy habitation his Fathers bosome a place of marvellous delight Prov. 8.30 And descended into the lowest parts of the earth Eph. 4.9 And He came out from the Father into the world John 16.28 This was a great journey to meet with poor sinners But that there may be a full and intire meeting you must leave and forsake your fathers house too and forget your own people Psal. 45.10 You must give an intire renounce to all former lovers if you would be His all former bonds and engagments must be broken that this may be tyed the faster And to hold to the subject in hand you must forsake and forget the flesh and be possessed of his holy Spirit as he came down to our flesh you must rise up to meet him in the Spirit the Spirit of Christ must indeed prevent you and take you out of that natural posture you are born into and bring you a great journey from your selves that you may be joyned unto Him This Spirit of Christ is his messenger and ambassadour sent before-hand to fit you and suit you for the day of Espousals and therefore he must have a dwelling and constant abode in you This indwelling imports A special familiar operation and the perpetuity or continuance of it The Spirit is every where in his being and he worketh every where too but here he hath a special and peculiar work in commission To reveal the love of God in Christ to engage the soul to love him again to prepare all within for the great day of Espousals to purifie and purge the heart from all that is displeasing to Christ to correspond between Christ and his Spouse between Heaven and Earth by making intercession for her when she cannot pray for her self as you find here vers 26. and so sending up the news of the souls panting and breathing after Christ sending up her love groans and sighs to her beloved giving intelligence of all her necessities to Him who is above in the place of an Advocat and Interceeder and then bringing back from Heaven light and life direction from her Head for the Spirit must lead in all truth and consolation for Christ hath appointed the spirit to supply his absence and to comfort the soul in the mean time till he come again you have this mutual and reciprocal knot in 1 Ioh. 4.13 Hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us by the spirit that he hath given It is much nearness to dwell one with another but much greater to dwell one in another and its reciprocal such a wonderful interchange in it we in him and he in us for the Spirit carries the soul to Heaven and brings Christ as it were down to the earth He is the Messenger that carries Letters between both our prayers to Him and His prayers for us and love-tokens to us the anointing that teacheth us all things from our husband 1 Ioh. 2.27 and revealing to us the things of God 1 Cor. 2.12 giving us the fiâ—st fruits of that happy and glorious communion we must have with Christ in Heaven as you see ver 23. of this chap. and sealing us to the day of redemption Eph 1.13 and 4.30 Supplying us with divine power against our spiritual enemies fetching alongs from Heaven that strength whereby our Lord and Saviour overcame all Eph. 3.16 Gal. 5.17 This is a presence that few have such a familiar and love-abode But certainly all that are Christs must have it in some measure Now whosoever hath it its perpetual the Spirit dwells in them It s not a sojourning for a season not a lodging for a night as some have fits and starts of seeking God and some transient motions of conviction or joy but return again to the puddle these go through them as lightning and do nâ—t warm them or change them but this is a constant residence where the Spirit takes up house he will dwell he dwelleth with you and shall be in you and abide for ever Joh. 14.16 17. If the Son abide in the house for ever Joh. 8.35 much more the master of the house must abide Now the Spirit where he dwells hath gotten the command of that house all
truly these are but shadows and that is the body or substance and because an union that is mutual is nearest it is often so expressed as it imports an interchangeable relation a reciprocal conjunction with Christ. The knot is cast on both sides to make it strong Christ in us and we in him God dwelling in us and we in Him and both by this one Spirit 1 Joh. 4.13 Hereby we know that God dwelleth in us and we in him by his Spirit which he hath given us You find it often in Iohn who being most possessed with the love of Christ and most sensible of his love could best expresse it I in them and they in me He that keepeth his commands dwelleth in Him and he in Him as the names of married persons are spelled through other so doth he spell out this in-dwelling it s not cohabitation but inhabitation neither that alone singlely but mutual inhabitation which amounts to a kind of Penetration the most intimat and immediat presence imaginable Christ â—welleth in our hearts by faith and we dwell in Christ by love Eph. 17. and 1 John 4. Death bringeth him into the heart for it is the very â—pplication of a Saviour to a sinfull soul. It is the very applying of his blood and sufferings to the wound that sin hath made in the conscience the laying of that sacrifice propitiatory to the wounded conscience is that which heals it pacifies it and calms it A Christian by receiving the offer of the Gospel cordially and affectionatly brings in Christ offered into his house and then salvation comes with him Therefore believing is receiving John 1. the very opening of the heart to let in an offered Saviour and then Christ thus possessing the heart by faith He works by love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him Love hath this special vertue in it that it transports the soul in a manner out of it self to the beloved Cant. 1.9 anima est ubi amat non ubi animat the fixing and establishing of the heart on God is a dwelling in Him for the constant and most continued residence of the most serious thoughts and aâ—fections will be their dwelling in the all fulness and riches of grace in Jesus Christ as the spirit dwelleth where he worketh so the soul dwelleth where it delighteth its complacency in God maketh a frequent issue or outgoing to Him in desires and breathings after Him And by means of this same God dwelleth in the heart for love is the opening up of the inmost chamber of the heart to Him it brings in the beloved in to the very secrets of the soul to lye all night betwixt His breasts as a bundle of myrrhe Cant. 1.13 And indeed all the sweet odours of holy duties and all the performing of good works and edifying speeches spring out only and are sent forth from this bundle of myrrhe that lyes betwixt the breasts of a Christian in the inmost of his heart from Christ dwelling in the affections of the soul. Now this being the bond of union betwixt Christ and us it follows necessarily that whoever hath not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His and this is subjoyned for prevention or removal of the misapprehensions and delusions of men in their self-judgings Because self-love blinds our eyes and maketh our hearts deceive themselves we are given to this self-flattery to pretend and claim to an interest in Jesus Christ even though there be no more evidence for it then the external relation that we have to Christ as members of his visible body or partakers of a common influence of his Spirit There are some external bonds and tyes to Christ which are like a knot that may easily be loosed if any thing get hold of the end of it as by our relations to Christ by baptisme hearing the word your outward covenanting to be his people all these are loose unsure knots It is as easie to untie them as to tie them yea and more easie and yet many have no other relation to Christ then what these make But it is only the Spirit of Christ given to us that intitles and interesseth us in Him and Him in us it s the Spirit working in your souls mightily and continually making your hearts temples for the offering of the sacrifice of prayer and praises casting out all idols out of these temples that He alone may be adored and worshipped by the affectionate service of the heart purging them from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit It is the Spirit I say thus dwelling in men that maketh them living members of the true body of Christ lively joyned to the head Christ this maketh him yours and you his by vertue of this He may command you as His own and you may use and imploy Him as your own Now for want of this in most part of men they also want this living saving-interest in Christ they have no real but an imaginary and notional propriety and right to the Lord Jesus for Christ must first take possession of us by His Spirit before we have any true right to Him or can willingly resign our selves to Him and give Him right over us What shall it profite us my beloved to be called Christians and to esteem our selves so if really we be none of Christs shall it not highten our condemnation so much the more that we desire to passe for such and give out our selves so and yet have no inward aquaintance and interest in Him whose name we love to bear Are not the most part shadows and pictures of true Christians bodies without the soul of Christianity that is the Spirit of Christ whose hearts are treasures of wickednesse and deceit and storâ—-houses of iniquity and ignorance It may be known what treasure fills the heart by that which is the constant and common vent of it as our Saviour speakes Matth 15.19 and 12.34 35. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks the feet walks and the hand works Consider then if the Spirit of God dwelleth in such unclean habitations and dark dungeons certainly no uncleanness or darkness of the house can hinder him to come in but â—t is a sure argument and evidence That he is not as yet come in becausâ— the Prince of darkness is not yet cast out of many souls nor yet the unclean spirits that lodge within these haunt your hearts and are as familiar now as ever Sure I am many souls have never yet changed their guests and it is as sure that the fiâ—st guest that taketh up the soul iâ— darkness and desperat wickedness with imparalelled deceitfulness there is an accurâ—ed trinity in stead of that blessed Tâ—inity the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and when this holy Tâ—inity cometh in to dwell that other of Hell must go out Now my beloved do you think this a light matter To be disowned by Jesus Christ Truly the word of Christ which is the
character of all our evidences and rights for Heaven disowns many as bastards and dead members withered branches and certainly according to this word He will judge you the word that I have spoken shall judge you in the last day O that is a heavy word you have the very rule and method of proceeding laid down before you now which shall be punctually kept at that great day Now why do you not read your ditty and condemnatory sentence here registred If you do not read it now in your consciences he will one day read it before men and Angels and pronounce this I know you not for mine you are none of mine But if you would now take it to your hearts there might be hope that it should go no further and come to no more publick hearing there were hope that it should be repealed before that day because the fiâ—st entry of the Spirit of Christ is to convince men of sin that they are unbelievers and without God in the world and if this were done then it were more easie to convince you of Christs righteousnesse and perswade you to embrace it and this would lead in another link of the chain the conviction of judgement to perswade you to resign your selves to the Spirits rule and renounce the kingdom of Satan this were another trinity a trinity upon earth three bearing witnesse on the earth that you have the Spirit of God Vers. 10. All the preceeding verses seem to be purposly set down by the Apostle for the comfort oâ— Christians against the remnants of sin and corruption within them â—or in the preceeding Chapter he personâ—â—â— the whole body of Christ militant shewing in his own exâ—mple how much sin râ—mains in â—he â—â—lieâ—t in this life and this he rather instances in his own person then another that all may know that matter of continual sorrow and lamentation is furnished to the chiefest of Saints and yet in this chapter he propounds the consolation of Christâ—â—ns more generally that all may know That these priviledges and immunities belong even to the meanest and weakest of Christians that as the best have reason to mourn in themselves so the worst want not reason to rejoice in Jesus Christ. And this would alwayes be minded that the â—mplest grounds of strongest consolation are general to all that come indeed to Jesus Christ and are not restricted unto Saints of such and such a grouth and stature the common principles of the Gospel are more full of this milk of consolation if you would suck it out of them then many particular grounds which you are laying down for your selves God hath so disposed and contrived the work of our sâ—lvation that in this life he that hath gathâ—red much in some respect hath nothing over that is to say hath no more reason to boast then another but will be constrained to sit down and mourn over his own evil heart and the emptiness of it and he that hath gathered lesse hath in some sense no want I mean he is not excluded and shut out from the right to these glorious priviledges which may expresse gloriation and rejoycing from the heart that there might be an equality in the body he maketh the stronger Christian to partake with the weaker in his bitter things and the weaker with the stronger in his sweet things that none of them may conceive themselves either dispised or alone regarded that the Eunuoh may not have reason to say I am a dry tree Isa. 56.3 For behold the Lord will give even to such a place in his house and a name better then of sons and daughters The soul that is in sincerity aming at this walk and whose inward deâ—ires â—â—irrs after more of this holy Spirit he will not refuse to such that name and esteem that they dare not take to themselves because of their seen and selâ— unworthinesse Now in thiâ— vers he proceeds further to the fruits and effects of sin dwelling in us to enlarge the consolation against that too Now if Christ be in you the body c. Seeing the word of God hath made such a connexion between â—in and deâ—th and death is the wages of sin and that which is â—he 〈◊〉 compence of enmity and rebellion â—gainst God the poor tâ—oubled soul might be ready to conceive That is the body be adjudged to death for sin that â—he rest of the wages shall be payed and sin haviâ—g so much dominion as to kill the body that it should exerce its full power to destroy all seing we have a visible character of the curse of God engraven on us in the mortality of our bodies it may look with such a visage on a soul troubled for sin as if it were but earnest of the full curse and weight of wrath and that sin were not fully satisfied for nor Justice fully contented by Christs ransome Now he opposes to this misconception the strongest ground of consolation If Christ be in you though your bodies must die for sin because sin dwelleth in them yet that spirit of life that is in you hath begun eternal life in your soulâ— your spiâ—its are not only immortal in being but that eternal happy being is begun in you the seeds of it are cast into your souls and shall certainly grow up to perfection of holiness and happiness and this through the righteousnesse of Christ which assureth that state unto you The comfort is it is neither total for it is only the death of your bodie nor is it perpetual for your bodies shall be raised again to life eternal vers 11. And not only is it only part and for a season but it is for a blessed end and purpose it is that sin may be wholly cleansed out that this tabernacle is taken down as the â—eprous houses were to be taken down under the Law and as now we use to cast down Pest-lodges the better to cleanse them of the infection It is not to prejudge him of life but to install him in a better life Thus you see that it is neither total nor perpetual but it is medicinal and profitable to the soul it is but the death of the body for a moment and the life of the soul for ever SERMON XXVII Rom. 8.10 And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin c. THis is the high excellency of Christian Religion that it contains the most absolute precepts for an holy life and the greatest comforts in death for from theâ—e two the truth and excellency of Religion is to be measured if it have the highest and perfectest rule of walking and the chiefest comfort withall Now the perfection of Christianity you saw in the rule how spiritual it is how reasonable how divine how free from all corrupt mixture how transcending all the most exquiâ—ite precepts and laws of men deriving a holy converâ—ation from the highest fountain the Spirit of Christ and conforming it to the highest pattern the will of God And
Christ hath continued our mortality Else he would have abolished death it self if he had not meant to abolish sin by death and indeed it would appear this is the reason why the world must be consumed with fire at the last day and new Heavens and earth succeed in its room because as the little house the body so the great house the world was infected with this leprosie so subjected to vanity and corruption because of mans sin therefore that there might be no remnant of mans corruption and no memorial of sin to inteâ—upt his eternal joy the Lord will purify and change all all the members that were made instruments of unrighteousness all the creatures that were servants to mans lusts a new form and fashion shall be put on all that the body being restored may be a fit dwelling place for the purified soul and the world renewed may be a â—it house for righteous men Thus you see that Death to a Christian is not real death for it is not the death of a Christian but the death of sin his greatest enemy it is not a punishment but the enlargement of the soul. Now the next comfort is that which is is but partial it is but the dissolution of the lowest part in man his body so far from prejudging the immortal life of his spirit that it is rather the accomplishment of that Though the body must die yet eternal life is begun already within tâ—e soul for the Spirit of Christ hath brought in life the Righteousnesse of Christ hath purchased it and the Spirit hath performed it and applyed it to us not only there is an immortal being in a Christian that must survive the dust for that is common to all men but there is a new life begun in him an immortal well being in joy and happinesse which only deserveth the name of life that cometh never to its full perfection till the bodily and earthly house be taken down If you consider seriously what a new life a Câ—â—istâ—â—n is â—â—â—aâ—lated unto by the operation of the Holy Ghost and the ministration of the word it is then most active and lively when the soul is most retired from the body in meditation the new life of a Christian is most perfect in this life when it carrieth him the furthest distance from his bodily senses and is most abstracted from all sensible engagements as you heard for indeed it restores the spirit of a man to its native rule and dominion over the body so that it is then most perfect when it is most gâ—thered within it self and disingaged from all external intanglements Now certain it is since the perfection of the soul in this life consists in such a retirement from the body that when it is wholly separated from it then it is in the most absolute state of perfection and its life â—cts most purely and peâ—fectly when it hath no body to communicat with and to entangle it either with its lusts or necessities The Spirit is life it hath a life now which is then best when furthest from the body and therefore it cannot but be surpassing better when it is out of the body and all this is purchaâ—ed by Christs righteousnesse As mans disobedience made an end of his life Christs obedience hath made our life endlesse He suffered death to sting him and by this hath taken the sting from it and now there is a new statute and appointment of Heaven published in the Gospel whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life Now indeed this hath so intirely châ—nged the nature of death that iâ— hath noâ— the most lovely and desirable aspect on a Christian that it is no more an object of fear but of desire amicable not terrible unto him since there is no way to save the passenger but to let the vessel break he will be content to have the body splitted that himself that is his soul may escape for truly a mans soul is himself the body is but an earthly tabernacle that must be taken down to let the inhabitant win out to come near his Lord the body is the Prison-house that he groans to have opened that he may enjoy that liberty of the sons of God And now to a Christian death is not properly an object of patience but of desire rather I desire to be dissolved and be with Christ Phil. 1.23 He that hath but advanced little in Christianity will be content to die but because there is too much flesh he will desire to live but a Christian that is riper in knowledge and grace will rather desire to die and only be content to live he will exercise patience and submission about abiding here but groanings and pantings about removing hence because he knoweth that there is no choice between that bondage and this liberty SERMON XXIX Rom. 8.10 The body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life c. IT was the first curse and threatning wherein God thought fit to comprehend all misery Thou shalt die the death in that day thou eatest though the sentence was not presently executed according to the letter yet from that day â—orward man was made mortal and there seemeth to be much mercy and goodness of God interveening to plead a delay of death it self that so the promise of life in the second Adam might come to the first and his posterity and they might be delivered â—rom the second death though not from the first Alwayes we bear about the markes of sin in our bodies to this day and in so far the threatning taketh place that this life that we live in the body is become nothing else but a dying life the life that the ungodly shall live out oâ— the body is a living death and either of these is worse then simple death or destruction of beeing The serious contemplation of the miseries of this life made wise Solomon to praise the dead more then the living contrary to the custom of men who rejoyce at the birth of a man-child and mourn at their death yea it pressed him further to think them which have not at all been better then both because they have not seen the evil under the Sun this world is such a Chaos such a masse of miseries that if men understood it before they came into it they would be far more loath to enter into it then they are now afraid to go out of it And truly we want not remembrances and representations of our misery every day in that children come weeping into the world as it were bewailing â—heir own misfortune that they were brought forth to be sensible subjects of misery And what is all our life-time but a repetition of sighs and groanâ— anxiety and satiety loathing and longing dividing our spiâ—its and our time between them How many deaths must we suffer before death come for the absence or losse of any thing much desired is a sepâ—ration no lesse gâ—ievous to the hearts of men
then the paâ—ting of soul and body for affection to temporal peâ—ishing things unites the soul so unto them that there is no parting without pain no dissolution of that continuity without much vexation and yet the soul must suffer many such tortures in one day because the things are perishing in their own nature and uncertain What is sleep which devours the most part of our time but the very image and picture of death a visible and daily representation of the long cessation of the sensitive life in the grave and yet truly it is the best and most innocent part of our time though we accuse it often there is both lesse sin and lesse misery in it for it is almost the only leniment and refreshment we get in all our miseries Iobâ—ought â—ought it to asswage his grief and ease his body but it was the extremity of his misery that he could not find it Now my beloved when you find that which is called life subject to so much misery that you are constrained often to desire you had never been born you find it a valley of tears a house of mourning from whence all true delight and solid happiness is banished seing the very Officers and Serjeants of death are continually surrounding us and walk alongs with us though unpleasant company in our greatest contentments and are putting marks upon your doors as in the time of the Plague upon houses infected Lord have mercy upon us and are continually bearing this motto to our view and â—ounding this direction to our earâ— cito procul diu to get soon out of Sodom that is appointed for destruction to fly quickly out of our selves to the refuge appointed of God even one that was dead and is alive and hath redeemed us by his blood and to get far off from our selves and take up dwelling in the blessed Son oâ— God through whose flesh there is accesse to the Father seing all these I say are so why do not we awake our selves upon the sound of the promise of immortality and life brought to our ears in the Gospel Mortality hath already seized upon our bodies but why do ye not catch hold of this opportunity of releasing your souls from the chains and setters of eternal dâ—ath Truly my beloved all that can be spoken of torments and miseries in this life I suppose we could imagine all the exquisite torments invented by the most cruel tyrants since the beginning to be combined in some one kind of torture and would tâ—â—n stâ—etch our imagination beyond that as far as that which is compoâ—ed of all torments surpasseth the simplest death yet we do not conceive nor expresse unto you that death to come Believe it when the soul is out of the body it is a most pure activity all sense all knowledge and seing where it is dulled and dampished in the body it is capable of so much grief or joy pleasure or pain we may conclude That being loosed from these stupifying earthly chains that it is capable of infinit more vexation or contentation in a higher anâ— purer strain Therefore we may conclude with the Apostle that all men by nature are miserable in life but infinitly more miserable in death only the man who is in Jesus Christ in whose spirit Christ dwells and hath made a temple of his body for offering up reasonable service in it that man only is happy in life but far happier in death happy that he was born but infinitly more happy that he was born mortal born to die for if the body be dead because of sin the spirit is life because of righteousnesse Men commonly make their accompts and calculat their time so as if death were the end of it truly it were happinesse in the generality of men that that computation were true either that it had never begâ—n or that it might end here for that which is the greatest dignity and glory of a man his immortal soul it is truly the greatest misery of sinful men because it capacitats them for eternal misery But if we make our accompts right and take the right period truly death is but the beginning of our Time of endlesse and unchangeable endurance either in happinesse or misery and this life in the body which is only in the view of the short-sighted sons of men is but a strait and narrow passage into the infinit ocean of eternity but so inconsiderable it is that according as the spirit in this passage is fashioned and formed so it must continue for ever for where the tree falleth there it lyeth There may be hope that a tree will sprout again but truly there is no hope that ever the damned soul shall see a spring of joy and no fear that ever the blessed spirits shall find a winter of grief such is the evennesse of eternity that there is no shadow of change in it O then how happy are they in whose souls this life is already begun which shal then come to its Meridian when the glory of the flesh falls down like withered hay into the dust the life as well as the light of the righteouâ— is progressive its shining more and more till that day come the day of Death onâ—y worthy to be called the present day becâ—â—se it brings perfection it mounts the soul in the highest point of the Orb and there is no declining from that again The spirit is now alive in some holy affâ—ctions and motions breathing upwards wrestling towards that point the soul is now in paâ—t united to the fountain of life by loving attendance and obedience and it iâ— longing to be more clâ—â—ly united the inward senses are exercisâ—â— about spiritual thingâ— but the burden of this clayie mansion dotâ— much dull and damp them and proves a great Remora to the spiriâ— the body indispoâ—es and weakens the soul much its life as in an Infant though a reasonable soul be there yet overwhelmed with the incapacity of the organs this body is truly a prison of restraint and confinement to the â—oul and often loathsome and ugly through the filthinesse of sin But when the spirit is delivered from this necessary burden and impediment O how lively is that life it then lives then the life peace joy love and delight of the soul surmounts all that is possible here further then the highest exercise of the soul of the wisest men surpasses the bruitish-like apprehensions of an infant and indeed then the Christian comes to his full stature and is a perfect man when he ceaseth to be a man How will you not be perswaded beloved in the Lord to long after this life to have Christ foâ—med in your hearts foâ— truly the generality have not so much as Christ fashioned in their outward habit but aâ—e within daâ—knâ—sse and eaâ—thinesse and wickednesse and without impiety and prâ—fanity will you not long for this life for now you are dead while you live as the Apostle speaks of widows that live in pleasure
refreshment of it and yet this may not be had they shall seek death and it shall flee from them Now my beloved I would desire this discourse might open way for the hearty and cordial intertainment of the Gospel and that you might be perswaded to awake unto righteousness and sin no more 1 Cor. 15.34 Be not deceived my brethren flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God Certainly if you have no other image then what you came in the world withall you cannot have this hope to be conformed one day to the glorious Body of Christ What will become of you in that day who declare now by the continued vent of your hearts that this holy Spirit dwells not in you and alas how many are such Oh pity your selves your souls and bodies both If for love to your bodies ye will follow its present lusts and care only for the things of the body you act the greatest enmity and hostility against your own bodies Consider I beseech you the eternal state of both and your care and study will run in another channel And for you who have any working of the Spirit in you whether convicing you of sin and misery and of righteousness in Christ or sometimes comforting you by the word applyed to your heart or teaching you another way then the world walks into I recommend unto you that of the Apostles 1 Cor. 15.58 Wherefore my brethren be stedfast c. alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord knowing your Labour is not in vain SERMON XXXII Rom. 8.12 Therefore brethren we are debters not to the flesh to live after the flesh c. ALL things in Christianity have a near and strait conjunction it is so intire and absolute a piece that if one link be loosed all the chain falls to the ground and if one be well fastned upon the heart it brings all alongs with it some speak of all truths even in nature that they are knit so together that any truth may be concluded out of every truth at least by a long circuit of deduction and reasoning but whatsoever be of that certainly Religion is a more intire thing and all the parts of it more nearly conjoyned together that they may mutually enforce one another Precepts and promises are thus linked together that if any soul lay hold indeed upon any promise of grace he draws alongs with it the obligation of some precept to walk suitable to such precious promises There is no encouragement you can indeed fasten upon but it will joyn you as nearly to the commandment and no consolation in the Gospel that doth not carry within its bosome an exhortation to holy walking Again on the other hand there is no precept but it should lead you straight way to a promise no exhortation but it is invironed before and behind with a strong consolation to make it pierce the deeper and go down the sweeter Therefore you see how easily the Apostle digresseth from the one to the other how sweetly and pertinently these are interwoven in his discourse The first word of the Chapter is a word of strong consolation there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ and this like a flood carries all down with it all precepts and exhortations and the soul of a believer with them and therefore he subjoyns an exhortation to holy and spiritual walking upon that very ground and because commandments of this nature will not float so to speak unlesse they have much water of that kind and cannot have such a swift course except the tide of such encouragements flow fast therefore he openeth that spring again in the preceeding words and letteth the rivers of consolation flow forth even the hope of immortality and eternal life and this certainâ—y will raise up a soul that was on ground and carry him above in motion of obedience and therefore he may well in the next place stir them up to their duty and mind them of their obligation Therefore brethren we are debters not to the flâ—sh To make this the more effectual he drops it in with affection in a sweet compellâ—â—ion of love and equality Brethren There is nothing so powerful in perswation as love it will sweeten a bitter and unpleasant reproof and make it go down more easily though it maketh lesse noise than threatnings and severity and authority yet it is more forcible for it insinuats it self and in a manner surpriseth the soul and so preventeth all resistance as when the Sun maâ—e the traveller part with his cloak whereas the wind and rain made him hold it faster so affection will prevail where authority and terrour cannot it will melt that which a stronger power cannot break the story of Elijah 1 King 19. may give some representation of this the Lord was not in the strong wind nor in terrible earth-quake nor yet in the fire but in the calm still voice The Lord hath chosen this way of publishing his grace in the Gospel because the sum of it is love to sinners and good-will towards men he holds it forth in the calm voice of love and these who are his ambassadors should be cloathed with such an affection iâ— they intend to prevail with men to engage their affections O that we were possessed with that brotherly love one towards anotâ—er for the salvation one of another especially that the Preachers of the Gospel might be thus kindly affectioned towards others and that ye would take it thus the calling you off the wayes of sin as the act of the greatest love But then consider the equality oâ— this obligation for there is nothing pressed upon you but what lyeth as heavily upon them that presseth it this debt binds all O that the Ministers of the Gospel could carry the impression of this on their hearts that when they perswade others they may withall perswade themselves and when they speak to others they may sit down among the hearers If an Apostle of so eminent dignity levelleth himself in this consideration Therefore brethren we are debters how much more ought Pastors and Teachers come in the same rank and degree of debt and obligation with others Truly this is the great obstruction of the successe of the Gospel that these who bind on burdens on others do not themselves touch them with one of their fingers and while they seem serious in perswading others yet withall declare by their carriage that they do not believe themselves what they bear upon others so that preaching seemeth to be an imposture and affections in perswading â—f otheâ—â— to be borrowed as it were in a scene to be laid down again out of it But then again there is a misconceit among people that this holy and spiritual walking is not of common obligation but peculiar to the preachers of the Gospel Many make their reckoning so as if they were not called to such high aims and great endeavours but truly my beloved this is a thing of common concernment
is no other thing then what we owe to our selves and to our own natures so to speak for truly there is a conâ—ormity and suitablenesse of some things to the very nature of man that is beautiful some things are decent and becomes it other things are undecent and uncomely unsuitable to the very reasonable beeing of man so that they put a stain and blot upon it Now indeed there is nothing can be conceived more agreeable to the very constitution of mans nature then this that the far better and more excellent part should lead and command and the baser and earthly part should obey and follow that the flesh should minister and serve the spirit Doth not even Nature it self teach it and yet no heavier yoke is put upon us then what our own nature hath put upon 〈◊〉 already which indeed is wonderful and certainly this wonderful attempering of his Laws unto the very natural exigence of the spirit of man make the transgression of them so much the more hainous Now all these three forementioned bonds do joyntly bind on this Law upon man in general they oblidge strongly to subjection and obedience to the will of God but particularly they have a constraining influence upon this living after the spirit not after the flesh our very creation speaks this forth when God made man after his own Image when he beautified the spirit of man with that divine similitude and likenesse in that he breathed a spirit from Heaven and took a body out of the dust and then exalted that heavenly piece to some participation of his own nature Doth not all this cry aloud upon uâ— that the order of creation is now dissolved that the beauty of it is maâ—â—ed that all is turned up â—ide-down when mens passions and senses are their only guiâ—s and the principles of light in their conscience are choakt and â—â—iâ—â—led Doth not all this teach us plainly that we should not live after the flesh that we owe not so much to this bruitish part as to enthrone it and impower it over us that it were the vilest Anarchy and most intoleâ—able confusion and usurpation to give it the power over uâ— as most men do that there can be no order or beauty in man till the spirit be unfettered from the chains of fleshly lustâ— and restored to the native dignity and preheminency and so keep the body in subjection And indeed Paul was so 1 Cor. 9.27 I keep my body in subjection and beat it down because it is an imperious slave an usurping slave and will command if not beaten and kept under Again Christ hath put a bond upon us to this very same he hath strengthned this obligation with a neâ— cord in that he gave his precious life a ransome for the souls of men this was the principal thing he payed for the body only being an accessory and appendix to the soul for it is said The redemption of the soul is precious and ceaseth for ever Psâ—l 49.8 and What can a man give in exchange for his soul Mark 8.37 For what material thing can equalize a spirit Many things may be had more preciouâ— and fine than the body but all of them have no proportion to a spiritual being Now then in that so dear a ransome and so infinit a pâ—ice must be given for the spirit of man it declares the infinit worth and excellency of it above the body and above all visible things and here indeed the greatest confirmation that can be imagined God hath valued it he hath put the soul of man in the ballance to find something equal in weight of dignity and worth and when all that is in Heaven and Earth is put in the other scale the soul is down-weight by far there is such distance that there is no proportion only the life and blood of his own Son weighs it down and is an overvalue and thus in our redemption we have a visible demonstration as it were of the infinit obligation of this Law not to live after that contemptible part our flesh but to follow after the motions and directions of an enlightned spirit not to spend our thoughts care and time upon the body and making provision for the lusts thereof as most men do and all by nature aâ—e now inclined to do but to be taken up wiâ—h the immortal preciouâ— Jewel that is within how to have it 〈◊〉 and cleansed from all the filth that sin and the flesh hath cast 〈◊〉 and restored to that native beauty the image of God in righteousness and holiness If you in your practice and affectiâ—n 〈◊〉 the scales otherwise and make the body and things of the body â—uppose the whole world down-weight in your affection and imagination you have pâ—ainly contâ—adicted the just measuâ—e of the Sanctuary and in effect you declare that Christ died in vain and gave his life out of an errour and mistake of the worth of the soul you say he needed not have given such a price for it seing every day you weigh it down with every triffle oâ— momentany fleshly satisfaction Lastly the Spirit binds this fast upon us for the soul of man he hath chosen for his habitation and there he delights to dwell in the heaâ—t oâ— the contrite and humble and this he intends to beautifie and garnish and to restore it to that primitive excellency it once had The Spirit of man is neaâ—er his nature and more capable of being conâ—oâ—med unto it and therefore his peculiar and special work is about our spirits first to enlighten and convince them then to reform and direct them and lead them and this binds as foâ—cibly and constraineth a believer certainly to â—esign himself to the Spirit to study how to order his walk aâ—ter that diâ—ection and to be more and more abstracted from the satisfaction of his body else he cannot choose but gâ—ieve the Spirit his bâ—st friend which alone is the fountain oâ— joy and peace to him and being grieved cannot but grieve himself next Now my beloved conâ—â—der if you owe so much to the flesh whether or not it be so steadable and profitable unto you and if you think it can give you a sufficient reward to compense all your pains in satisfying it go on But I believe you can â—eckon no good office that ever it did you and your expectation is lesse what fruit have you of all but shame and vexation of conscience and what can you expect but death the last fruits of it whaâ— then do you owe unto it are you debters to its pleasure and satisâ—â—ctiâ—n which hath never done you good and will do you eternal hurt consider whether you are so much bound and oblidged to it as to lose your souls for it one of them must be and whether or not you be not more oblidged to God the Father and his Son Iesus Christ to live after the Spirit though for the present it should be painful to beat down your body You
ver 16. Here the Spirit not casting out the Word but bringing it in plentifully and sweetly agreeing with it The Spirit that Christ sent did not put men above Ordinances but above corruptions and the body of death in them It s a poor and easie victory to subdue Grace and Ordinances every slave of the Devil doth that I fear as men and Angels fell from their own dignity by aspiring higher so these that will not be content with the estate of Christ and his Apostles but soar up in a higher strain of spirit and trample on that ministration as fleshly and carnal I fear they fall from Jesus Christ and come into greater condemnation It s true indeed 2 Cor. 3.6 The Letter killeth that is the Covenant of Works preacheth now nothing but condemnation to men but the Spirit of the Gospel giveth life nay even the Gospel separated from the Spirit of life in Jesus is but a savour of death to souls Shall we therefore separate the Spirit from the Gospel and Word because the Word alone cannot quicken us David knew how to reconcile this Quicken me O Lord according to thy Word Psal. 119.25 Thy Spirit is good lead me into the land of uprightness and quicken me Psal. 143.10 11. The Word was his rule and the Spirit applyed his soul to the rule the Word holds out the present patteâ—n we should be conformed unto now if there be no more a man may look all his dayes on it and yet not be changed but the Spirit within transforms and changes a mans soul to more and more conformity to that pattern by beholding it If a man shall shut his eyes on the pattern he cannot know what he is and ought to be if he look only on the Spirits work within and make that his rule he takes an imperfect rule and an incompleat copy and yet this is the highest attainment of these aspirers to new light they have forsaken the Word as their rule and instead of it have another Law within them as much as is already written on their hearts which is in substance this as they suppose I am bound to do no more then I have already power to do I am not to endeavour more holiness then I have already These men are indeed perfect here in their own apprehension and do not know in part and believe in part and obey in part because they are advanced the length of their own Law and rule their rule being of no perfection Paul was not so but forgetting what he had attained he followed on to what was before him and was still reaching forward Let not us my brethren believe every spirit and every doctrine that comes out under that name Christ hath forwarned us Let us pray for more of that Spirit which may quicken the Word to us and quicken us to obey the Word there must be a mutual enlivening the Word must be made the ministration of life by the Spirit of Jesus which can use it as a sword to divide the soul and spirit and we must be quickned to the obedience of the truth in the Word The Word is the seed incorruptible but it cannot beget us or be a principle of a new life within us except a living spirit come alongs to our hearts Know that the Word is your pattern and rule the Spirit your leader and helper whose vertue and power must conform you that rule 1 Pet. 1.22 Peter joyns these two the purification and cleansing of the soul which Christ attributes to the Word ye are clean through the word I have spoken Joh. 15.3 Peter attributes it to the Spirit working according to the pattern of truth It s true the Spirit of God needs no pattern to look to nay but we must have it and eye it else we know not the Spirit of truth from a lie and delusion we cannot try the spirits but by this rule and it is by making us stedfastly look on this glorious pattern in the Word and the example of Christ Jesus his life that we are conformed unto Christ as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.13 Certainly that must be fleshly walking which is rather conformed unto the imaginations of a mans own heart then the blessed will of God revealed in his Word Can such walking please God when a man will not so much as hearken to what is Gods will and pleasure As other heresies so especially this is a work of the flesh Now there is another principle amongst many of us we account it spiritual walking to be separated from the gross pollutions of the world to have a carriage blameless before men this is the notion that the multitude fancy of it Be not deceived you may pass the censure of all men and be unreproveable among them and yet be but walkers after the flesh It is not what ye are before the world can prove you spiritual men though it may prove many of your carnal Your out-side may demonstrate of many of you that ye walk after the flesh and if ye will not believe it I ask you if ye think drunkenness a walking in the Spirit Do ye think ye are following the Spirit of God in uncleanness Is it not that Holy Spirit that purgeth from all filthiness Look but what your walk is ye that are not so much as conformed to the Letter of the Word in any thing who cares not to read the Scriptures and meditate on them Is this walking after the Spirit of truth If drunkenness railing contention wrath envy covetousness and such like be the Spirits way then I confess many of you walks after the Spirit but if these be the manifest works of the flesh and manifestly your way and work then why dream ye that ye are Christians But I suppose that you could be charged with none of these outward things that you had a form of Religion and Godliness yet I say all that is visible before men cannot prove you to be spiritual walkers Remember it is a spirit ye must walk after now what shall be the chief agent here sure not the body what fellowship can your body have with him that is a Spirit the body indeed may worship that eternal Spirit being acted by the Spirit but I say that alone can never prove you to be Christians we must then layaside a number of Professors who have no other ground of confidence but such things as may be seen of men if they would enter their hearts how many vain thoughts lodge there how litle of God is there God is not almost in all our thoughts we give a morning and evening salutation but there is no more of God all the day throughout and is this walking after the Spirit which imports a constancy And what part can be spared most but the spirit of a man The body is distracted with other necessary things but we might alwayes spare our souls to God Now thus should a man obey that command Pray alwayes
The love of Christ would be an inward principle of motion and would make our spiritual actings as easie and pleasant as natural motions are Fear is but a violent principle that is like the impulse of a stone thrown upward as long as that external impression remains it moves but still slower and slower and at length evanisheth But if ye believed in him and your hearts were engaged to love him O! how would it be a pleasant and native thing to walk in his way as a stone goeth downward Consider your principles that acts you to matters and duties of Religion Many men there be in whom appears no difference of their work to beholders but O! how wide a difference doth God discern in them Ingines and artifice may make dead and lifeless things move and walk as orderly as things that have life But the principle of this motion makes a huge difference the one is moved from without the other from it self The most part of us act as irrational and bruit beasts in Religion nay we walk as inanimat and senseless creatures It s some one or other consideration without us moves us Custome censure education and such like Ah! these are the principles of our Religion How many would have no Religion no form of it if they were not among such company and therefore we see many change it according to companies as the fish doth its skin according to the colour of that which is nearest it How many would do many things they dare not for punishment and censure and for that same daâ— not leaveâ— other things undone In a word the most part of us are such as would walk in no path of godliness if it were not the custome of the time and â—ear of men that constrained us But my brethren let it not be so among you you who are in Christ Iesus let this be the predominant in your hearts to constrain you not to live to your selves but unto God even this that ye believe Christ hath died for sinners that they might live from sin and from this let your hearts be inflamed with his love that it may carry you on in a sweet and blessed necessity to walk in all well pleasing Let the consideration of his love lay on a constraint but a constraint of willingness to live to him who hath thus loved you But as the principle is spiritual so must the end be and I think these two compleat the mystery of the practice of Christianity to act from another principle unto another end even as these two make up the mystery oâ— iniquity in our hearts to act from our selves unto our selves every man naturally makes a god of himself is his own Alpha and Omega the beginning of his actionâ— and the end of them which is proper to God As the fall hath cut off the subordination of the soul to God in its actions that it cannot now derive all from that blessed fountain of all-being and well-being so is this channel of reference of all our actions to God stopped that they do not tend unto him as they are not derived from him and thus they return unto a mans self again There is one point of self and making it our aim and design which possibly many doth not take heed unto It is ordinary for us to act and walk in Christian duties for our salvation for obtaining of life eternal as our chief and only end which is but an inferiour end because we ought not to walk mainly for life but to life we should not walk after the command only for Heaven but in the way of it unto Heaven Our spiritual walking can never purchase us right unto the leaâ—t of his mercies when we have done all this should be our souls language we are unprofitable servants our righteousness extends not to thee What gain is it to the Almighty that thou art righteous Yet for the most part we make our walking as a hire for the reward The Covenant of Works doing for life is some way naturally imprinted in our hearts and we cannot do but we would live in doing we cannot walk unto all well-pleasing but we would also walk unto pacifying of God Self-righteousness is mens great idol which when all other baser and grosser idols are down they do still seek to establish But Christians observe this evil in your selves and suffer this mystery of godliness to be wrought in you the abasing of your selves the denyal of your selves I would have you in respect of diligence and earnestness doing walking and running as if ye were to be saved by it only But again you must deny all that and no more consider it or lean weight upon it then if ye ought to do nothing or did nothing But your ends should be more divine and high as your nature is to glorifie God in your mortal bodies since ye are hiâ— and bought with a price O how ought ye not to be your own The great purpose of your obedience should be a declaration of your sense of his love and of your obligation to him Ye ought to walk in his way because ye are escaped condemnation and saved by him and not that ye may be saved only It is the glory of our Heavenly Father and the honour of the Redeemer for Christians to walk even as he walked and follow his footsteps it commends the grace of Jesus Christ exceedingly Therefore this cannot but be the choise and delight of a believing soul to walk unto all well-pleasing to have the glory of him as their great design to aim at who for our salvation laid aside his glory and embraced shame and reproach We use to walk in obedience to God that we may pacifie God for our disobedience but let a Christian abhor such a thought Christs blood must pacifie but the walking of his child pleaseth him in his welbeloved Son When he is once pacified for sin when he once accepts your persons your performances are his delight Now this should be the great scope of a soul that all its powers should be fixed on to please him and live to him Now these three being established we must conceive that the chief agent and party in this walking must be spiritual therefore mens bodies are not capable of this walk after the Spirit principally Outward Ordinances are but the shell wherein the kirnel must be inclosed all our walkings that is visible to men is but like a painted or engraven Image and Statue that hath no breath or life in it unless the Spirit actuat and quicken the same I say not only the Spirit of God but the spirit and soul in man for the Spirits immediat and divine operations are upon such a suitable subject as the immortal soul. Verily there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding We must not abolish the outward â—oâ—m because it hath some divinity in it even the stamp of Gods authority and therefore these who
heaven and earth to be so busied abroad to know other things and then to know and consider nothing of that which of all things most nearly concâ—rns us our selves what shall it profite a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul for that is himself And what shall it proâ—â—t to know all and not know his soul to be every where but where he ought to be Well a Christian is one called home from vain impertinent diversions one that is occupyed most about his soul and spirit how to have all the disorders hâ—â—â—â—ds in himself ordâ—rd all these distempers cured all these defilements washed this is the business he is about in this world to wash his heart from wickedness Jer. 4.14 To cleanse even vain thoughts and shut up from that ordinary repair his own heart he is about the inclosing it to be a garden to the welbeloved to bâ—ing forth sweet fruits he is about the renewing of it the adorning of it with the new man against that day of our Bridegrooms appearing and bringing him up to celebrate the marriage Though he be in the flesh yet he is most taken up with his Spirit how to have it restored to that primitive beauty and excellency the Image of God in it how to be cloathed with humility and to put on the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit that he accounts his beauty how to rule his own spirit that he accounts only true fortitude and thinks it a greater vassalage and victory to overcome himself then his enemy and esteems it the noblest revenge not to be like to other men that wrong him he is occupyed about the highest gain and advantage viz to save his spirit and soul and accounts all loss to this to bring Jesus Christ into the heart that is the jewel he digs for and esteems all duâ—g in comparison of it If you be Christians after the Spirit no doubt you are busied this way about your spirits For others they are busied about the flesh to make provision for its lusts and there needs no other mark to know them by Alas poor souls that you have never yet adverted that you have spirits immortal beings within you which must survive this dust this corruptible flesh What will you do when you cannot have flesh to care for when your spirits can have nothing to be carried forth into but must eterternally dwell within the bosome of an evil conscience and be tormented with that worm the bitter remembrance of the neglect of your spirits and utter estrangement from them while you were in the body then you must be confined within your own evil consciences and be imprisoned there for ever because while yet there was time and season you were alwayes abroad and every where but within your own hearts and consciences and is not that a just recompence Then again as Christianity descends from the Father of spirits into the spirit of a man to lodge there for a while it doth at length bring up the spirit of a man and unites it to that eternal Spirit and so as the Original was high and divine the end is high â—oo It issues out of that fountain and returns with the heart of man to imbosome it self in that agâ—in And truly this is the great excellency of true Religion above all these things you are busied about that it elevats the spirit of a man to God that it will never rest till it have carried it above to the fountain-spirit Our spirits are sparks and chips to speak so with reverence of that divine beeing but now they are wholly immersed and sunk into the flesh and into the earth by sin till grace come down and renew them and extract them out of that dung-hill and purifie them and then they are as in a state of violence alwise striving to mount upwards till they be embodied or rather inspirited so to speak in that Original spirit till they be wholly united to their own element the Divine Nature You know Christs Prayer Ioh 17. that they may be one as we are one I in them and they in me that they may may be made perfect in one v. 22 23. then spirits have attained their perfection then will they rest from their labours when they are one with him this is the only Center of spirits in which they can rest immoveable You find all the desires and affections of the Saints are as so many breathings upward pantings after union with him and longings to be intimatly present with the Lord therefore a Christian is one after the spirit groaning to be all spirit to have the earthly house of this tabernacle dissolved and to be cloathed upon with that house from heaven He knows with Paul that he is not at home though he be at home in in the body because the body is that which separats from the Lord which partition wall he would willingly have taken down that his spirit might be at home present with the Lord 2 Cor. 6.1 c. Who knoweth saith Solomon the spirit of a man that ascends upward and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth Eccles. 3.21 Truly the natural motion of mans spirit should be to ascend upward to God who gave it When this â—rail and broken Vessel of the body is dissolved into the Elements the higher and purer nature that lodged within it should flee upwards to Heaven even as the spirit of the beasts being but the prime and fiâ—er part of the body not different in nature from the earth naturally falls down to the earth with the body and is dissolved into the Elements But I think the consideration of that woful disorder that sin hath brought into the world that all things in man are so degenerated and become bruitish both his affections and his conversation that carnal and sensual lusts have the whole dominion over men I say the serious and earnest view of this might make a man suspect and call in question whether or not there be any difference between men and beasts whether or not there be any spirit in the one of an higher nature then in the other Truly it would halâ— peâ—swade that there is no immortal spirit in man else how could he be such a beast all his time serving diverse lusts Can it be possible might one think that there is any spirit in men that can ascend to heaven when there is no motion thither to be observed among men I beseech you consider this the spirit must either ascend or descend when it goes out of the body as now in affection and endeavour it ascends or descends while it is in the body there is an indispensible connexion between these what way soever the spirit aims at which way soever it turns and direct its flight thither it shall be constrained to go eternally Do you think my Beloved while you are in the body to bow down your selves to the Earth to descend unto the service of
the flesh all your time never once seriously to rise up in the consideration of eternity or lift up your heads above temporal and earthly things and yet in the close to ascend unto Heaven No no do not deceive your selves you must go forward this life and eternity makes one straight line either of ascent or descent of happinesâ— or misery and since you have bowed down alwayes while in the body there is no rising up after it forward you must go and that is downward to that element which you transformed your spirits into that is the earth or below the earth to hell your spirits hath most affinity with these and down they must go â—s â— stoâ—e to the earth But if you would desire to have your spirits ascending up to heaven when they are let out of this prison the body take heed which way they turn bend and strive while here in the body If your struglings be to be upward at God if you have discovered that blessedness is in him and if this be the predominant of your spirit that carries it upward in desires and endeavours and turns it off the base study of satisfying the flesh and the base love of the world if thy soul be mounting alost on these wings of holy desires of a better life then can be found in any thing below certainly the motion of thy spirit will be in â— straight line upward when thou leaves thy dust to the earth Anâ—els waits to carry that spirit to that bosomâ— of Christ where it longed and liked most to be but devils do attend the souls of most part of men to thrust them down below the earth because they did still bend down to the earth SERMON XVII Rom. 8.5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh c. THough sin hath taken up the principal and inmost Cabinet of the heart of man though it hath fixed its Imperial Throne in the spirit of man and makes use of all the powers and faculties in the soul to accomplish its accursed desires and fulfill its boâ—ndless lusts yet it is not without good reason expressed in Scripture ordinarily under the name of flesh and a body of death and men dead in sins are said to be yet in the â—lesh The reason is partly because this was the rise of mans first ruine or the chiefest ingredient in his first sin his hearkning to the suggestions of his flesh against the clear light and knowledge of his spirit The Apple was beautiful to look on and sweet to the taste and this engâ—ged man thus the voluntary debasement and subjection of the spirit which was breathed in of God unto the service of that dust which God had appointed to serve it hath turned into a necessary slavery so that the flesh being put in the Throne cannot be cast out and this is the righteous judgment of God upon man that he that would not serve so good and so high a Lord should be made a drudge and slave to the very dregs of the Creation Partly again because the flesh hath in it the seeds of the most part of these evil fruits which abound in the world the most part of our corruptions have either their rise or their increase from the flesh the most part of the evils of men are either conceived in the flesh or brought forth by it by the ministry and help of our degenerat spirits And truly this is it that makes our returning to God so hard and difficult a work because we are in the flesh which is like stubble disposed to conceive flame upon any sparkle of a temptation there are so many dispositions and inclinations in the body since our fall that are as powerful to carry us to excess and inordinatness in affection or conversation as the natural instincts of beasts do dâ—ive them on to their own proper operations You know the flesh is oftâ—n times the greatest impediment that the spirit hath because of its lumpishness and earthly qâ—ality how willing would the spirit be how nimble and active in the wayes of obedience if it were not â—etarded dulled and clogged with the heavy lump of our flesh The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak saith Christ Matth. 26.41 Truly I think the great reâ—issness negligence weaknesâ— fainting of Christians in their race of Christianity ariseth ordinarily from this weight that is carried about with them that is must be some extraordinary impulse of a higher spirit to drive us on without wearying And because of this indisposition of the flesh we are not able to bear much of Gods presence in this life it would certainly confound mortality if so much were let out of it as is in Heaven no more then a weak eâ—e can endure to behold the Sun in its brightness Anâ— then the flesh as it is the greatest retardment in good it is the greatest incitement to evil it is a bosome-enemy that betrays us to Satan it is near us and connatural to us and this is the great advantage Satan hath of a Christian he hath a fâ—iend within every Christian that betrays him often You know the most part of temptationâ— from without could have no such force or strength against us if there were not some predisposition in the flesh some seeds of that evill within if they were not presented with some suitableness to our senses and they being once engaged on Satans side they easily draw the whole man with them under a false colour and pretence of friendship therefore they are said to war against the soul 1 Pet. 2.11 And they are said easily to beset us Heb. 12.1 Truly it is no wonder that the enemy storm our City when the out-works yea the very Ports of the City are possessed by traitors no wonder Satan approach near the walls with hiâ— temptations when our senses our fleshly part is so apt to receive him and ready to entertain all objects without difference that aâ—e suitable to affect them You see then how much power the flesh hath in man so that it is no wonder that every â—atural man hath this denomination one after the flesh one carnal from the predomining part though the worst part Every man by nature till a higher birth come may be called all flesh all fashioned and composed of the flesh and after the flesh even his spirit and mind fleshly and earthly sunk into the flesh and transformed into a bruitish quality or nature Now the great purpose of the Gospel is to bring alongs a deliverer unto your spirits for the releasing and unsettering of them from the chains of fleshly lusts This is the very work of Christianity to give liberty to the captive souls of men and the opening of the prison to them that are bound Isai. 63.1 The souls oâ— men are chained with their own fleshly â—usts and if at any time they can break these grosser chains aâ—â—ome â—iner spirits have escaped out of the vilest
things Hos. 8.12 As thingâ— that you have not much to do with Do you not let the Officers of Jesus Christ all the sweet invitations of the Gospel passe by as strangers and as if ye were unconcerned in them What taste have they more then the white of an egg How unsavoury a discourse or thought to a carnall heart is it to speak of subduing the lusts of the flesh of dying to the world of the world to come Who findeth their hearts inwardly stirred upon the proposal of Jesus Christ But if any matter of petty gain were proffeâ—ed O! how would men listen with both their ears How beautiful in the eyes of the covetous mind is any gain and advantage the sound of money is sweeter to him then this blessed sound of peace and salvation How sweet is pleasure to the voluptuous What suitablenesse and conveniency is apprehended in these perishing things but how little moment or weight is conceived and believed to be in things eternal O how substantial do things visible seem to men and how triffling do other things invisible appear But for you whose eyes are opened to you Christ is precious to you the things of the Spirit are beautiful and all your grief is that you cannot affect them according to their worth or love them according to their beauty I say some there are who do see a substance and subsistance only in things not seen Heb. 11.1 And for things that are seen and visible in this world they do account them shadows only in comparison of things invisible The world apprehend no realities but in what they see but a Christian apprehends no solide reality in that he sees but only in that he sees not and therefore as in his judgment he looks upon the one as a shadow the other as a substance so he labours to proportion and conform his affection to a suitable intertainment of them to give a shadow or show of affection to the things of this life but the marrow and substance of his heart to the things invisible of another life Thus the Apostle 1 Cor. 7.29 c. Rejoycing as if we rejoyced not enjoying as if we possessed not using as if we used not half acts for half objects if we give our whole spirits the strength of our souls and minds to them we are as foolish as he that strikes with all his strength at the air or a feather there is no solidity or reality in these things able to bottom much estimation or affection only mind them and use them as in the by as in passing through towards your Countrey SERMON XVIII Rom. 8.5 6. For they that are after the flesh do mind c. For to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minminded is life and peace THere are many differences among men in this world that as to outward appeaâ—ance are great and wide and indeed they are so eagerly pursued and seriously minded by men as if they were great and momentous You see what a strife and contention there â—s among men how to be extracted out of the dregs of the multitude and set a little higher in dignity and degree then they how do men affect to be honourable above the base how do they seek to be rich and hate poverty These differences of poor and rich high and low noble and ignoble learned and unlearned the thoughts of men are wholly taken up with But there is one great difference that is most in Gods eye and is both substantial and eternal and so infinitely surpasseth all these dâ—ffeâ—ences that the minds of men most run out upon and it is heâ—e the great difference between flesh and spirit and them that are after the flesh and them that are after the spâ—rit This is of all other most considerable because widest and durablest I say it is the widest of all for all otherâ— put no great difference between men as men they do reach the peculiaâ— excellency of a man that is the true and proper good of his spiritual and immortal part they are such as befalls alike to good and bad and so cannot have either much good or much evil in them I have seen folly set in great dignity and Princes walking on foot Eccleâ— 10.6 7. Then certainly such titles of honour and dignity such places of eminency erected above the multitude have little or nothing worth the spirit of a man in them seeing a fool a wicked man is as capable of them as a wise man or a man of a princely spirit and â—o of all others they do not elevat a man as a man above others A poor unlearned mean man may have more real excellency in him then a rich learned and great person But thiâ— draws a substantial and vast difference indeed such as is between flesh and spirit such as is between men and beasts You know what pâ—eheminency a man hath over a beast there is no such wide distance among the sâ—ns of men as between the lowest and meanest man and the chiefest beast There is a spirit in man saith Elihu Job 32.8 An immortal eternal substance of a far higher nature and comprehension You know what excellency is in the spirit beyond the flesh such as is in heaven beyond the earth for the one is breathed from Heaven and the other is taken out of the dust of the earth the one is corruptible yea corruption it self the other incorruptible How swiâ—t and nimble are the motions of the Spirit from the one end of Heaven to the other How can it compasse the earth in a moment Do but look and see what a hudge difference is between a beautiful living body and the same when it s a dead carcass rotten and corrupted It is the spirit dwelling within that makes the odds that makes it active beautiful and comely but in the removal of the spirit it becometh a piece of the most defiled and loathsome dust in the world Now I say such a vast and wide difference there is between a true Christian and a natural man even taking him in with all his common indowments and excellencies the one is a man the other a beast the one is after the flesh the other after the spirit It is the ordinary compellation of the Holy Ghost man being in honour and understanding not is like the beasts that perish Psal. 49.20 and Psal. 94.8 Vnderstand ye bruitish among the people c. and Psal. 92.6 The bruitish man understands not this And Eccles. 3.18 That they themselves may know that they are but beasts Therefore you find the Lord often turning to beasts to insensible creatures thereby to reprove the folly and madness of men Isa. 1.2 and Ier. 8.7 Man hath two parts in him by which he hath affinity to the two mâ—st distant natures he stands in the midle between Angels and beasts in his spirit he riseth up to an Angelick dignity and in his body he fallâ— down to a bruitish condition Now which
in lesser things and shall we be mad self-willed and refractory in the greatest thing that concerns us eternally O! unbelief is that which will condemn the world the unbelief of this one thing that the walking aâ—â—er and minding of the flesh is mortal and deadly Though all men confesse with their tongues this to be a truth yet it is not really believed the deep inconsideration and slight apprehension of this truth makes men boldly to walk and violently to run on to perdition Did you indeed believe that eternal misery is before you at the end of this way and would you be so cruel to your selves as to walk in it for any allurement that is in it Did you really believe That there is a precipice into utter darkness and everlasting death at the end of this alley would the pleasure and sweetness of it be able to inâ—atuat you and besott you so far as to lead you on into it like an Ox to the slaughter and a fool to the correction of the stocks It is strange indeed thou you neither will believe that death is the end of these things nor yet can you be perswaded that you do not believe it there is a twofold delusion that possesses the hearts of men one is a dream and â—ancy of escaping death though they live in sin another is a dream and fancy that they do believe that death is the wages of sin We might wonder how they consist together if we did not find it by so many experiences Your way proves that you do not believe it that death is the end of it and then your words evidence that you do not believe That you are unbelievers of that O! how desperat is the wickedness and how great is the deceitfulness of the heart The false Prophet that is in every mans bosome deceives him that it may destroy him As Satan is a liar and murderer and murders by lying so the heart of man is a self-murderer and self-destroyer and that is done by lying and dâ—ceiving There is some lie in every â—in but there is this grosse black fundamental lie at the bottom of all sin A conceit of immunity and freedom from death and hell a strong imagination of escaping danger even though such a way be chosen and walked into as of its own nature inevitably leads to destruction And there is something of this bloody murdering flattery even in the hearts of Christians therefore this Apostle gives us an antidot against it and labours often to purge it out by stirring up that knowledge they have received Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 Be not deceived God is not mocked for what a man soweth that he shall reap he that soweth to the flesh shall reap corruption c. Gal. 6.7 8. O! that you might listen to this word to this watch word given you and stop your course at least for a season to think what shall be the latter end know ye not that such shall not inherit the Kingdom know you not that the way to heaven lyes upward know you not that your way lyes downward towards the flesh and the earth are you so far demented as to think to come to Heaven by walking just downward in the lusts of the flesh Truly this is the strongest and strangest inchantment that can be that you think to sow one thing and reap another thing to sow darkness and reap light to sow corruption and reap incorruption Is that possible in nature to sow nettle-seed and think to â—eap barley or wheat Be not deceived O that you would undeceive your poor deluded souls and know that is as natural for Death and Hell to grow out of sin and walking after the flesh as it is for every seed to yeeld its own fruit and herb Do you then think to disolve the course and order of nature Truly the flesh is mortal in it self it s ordained for corruption you see what it turns to after the life is out that is an embleme of the state of the fleshly soul after death As you did abase your spirits to the service of the flesh here and all your plowing and labouring and sowing was about it the seed which you did cast in the ground was Fleshly lusts earthly things for the satisfaction of your flesh so you shall reap of the flesh Corruption death and destruction that shall make your immortal spirits mortal and corruptible and subject them to death and corruption with the body as far as they are capable it shall deprive them of all that which is their proper life and refreshment and separat them eternally from the fountain of blessedness and banish them out of Heaven unto the fellowship of devils and Oh! that corruption of the incoruptible spiâ—it is worse then the corruption of the mortall flesh corruptio optimi pessima Now who ever of you is thus far undeceived as to believe your danger and misery and to discern that imbred delusion of your hearts be not discouraged utterly there may be hope of recovery when you see your disease I say if you see that hell is at the end of your way then know that He who sent that voice to call you off that way of death He leaves you not to your own wits to guide you into the right way but He follows with a voice behind you â—aying Here is the way walk in it turn not out of it to the right hand or left and this voice sounds plainly in the Word and it is nothing elâ—e but the sound of the Gospel that blessed sound that invites and allures you to come in to Jesus Christ the way truth and life the true way to the true life All other wayes all other lifes have no truth in them it s but a cloud a fancy that men apprehend and lay hold on But come to this way and it will truly lead thee to the true life eternal life if you flee unto him out of the apprehension of your danger you have a clear way to come to God and as plain a way to attain life and peace Being in Christ you have assurance of not falling into condemnation He is such a way as will hold you in and not suffer you to go out of it again to the way of Death And therefore he will give you a Tutor a guider and directer in this way to life and peace and that is the Holy Spirit to lead in all truth and to guide your feet in the way of his Commandments so that in this new and living way of Christ you shall have both light of the Word to know where to walk and life of the Spirit to make you walk toward that eternal life and thus grace and truth is come by Christ. Indeed you must suffer the mortification of your flesh you must endure the pain of the death of your lusts the cutting off your right hand and plucking out your right
indeed in the first word of this vers there is something of the excellent nature of Christianity holden out If Christ be in you which is the true description of a Christian one in whom Christ is which imports The divine principle and the spiritual subject of Chriâ—tianity The principle is Christ in a man Christ by His Spirit dwelling in him This great Apostâ—e knew thiâ— well in his own experience and therefore he can speak best in this style I live yet not I buâ— Christ in me Gal. 2.20 Importing that Christ and His Spirit is to the soul what the soul is to the body that there is a living influence from Heaven that acts and moves the soul of a Christian as powerfully yet as sweetly and pleasantly as if it were the natural motion of the soul and truly it is the natural motion of the soul it s that primitive life which was most connatural to the soul of man which sin did deprive us of all the powerful constraint and violence that Christ uses in drawing the souls of men to him and after him is as kindly unto them and perfects them as much as that impulse by which the soul moves and turns the body a sweet compuâ—â—ion and blessed violence Now this should make Christians often to reflect upon another principle of their life then themselves that by looking on Him who is the resurrection and the life who is the true Vine and abiding in Him by faith their life may be continued and incâ—eased It is certainly much reflection on Him who is all in all and lesse upon our selvâ—s that maintains this life and therefore the most part of men being wholly strangers to this whether in their purposes or practices or judgings of both unacquainted with any higher look in Religion then they use in their natural and civil actings it doth give ground to assure us that they are strangers alienated from the life of God without God and without Christ in the world But then the spiritual subject of Christianity is here Christ in you not Christ without you in ordinances in profession in some civil â—arriage but Christ within the heart of a man thâ—t as a Christian It is the receiving of Châ—ist into the soul and putting Him on upon the inner man and renewing it that makes a Christian not being externally cloathed with him or compassed about with him in the administration of the Ordinances It fears me most part of us who bear that name of Christianity have no character of it within if we were looked and searched Many are like the sepulchres Christ speaks of without painted and fair within nothing but rottennesse and dead bones What have many of you more oâ— Christ then what a blind man hath of light it is round about him but not within him The light hath shined in darknesse but your darknesse cannot comprehend it You are environed with the outward appearances of Christ in his Word and Ordinances and that is all but neither within you nor upon many of you is there any thing either of his light or life not so much as any outward profession or behaviour suitable to the revelation of Christ about you as if you were ashamed to be Christians you maintain grosse ignorance and practise manifest â—ebellion against his known will in the very light of the Gospel How few have so much tincture of Christ so much as to colour the external man or to cloath it with any blamelessness of walking or form of Religion How few so much as Christians in the Letter for you are not acquainted either with Letter or Spirit either with knowledge or affection or practice But suppose that some have put on Christ on their outward man and colour over themselves with some performances of religious duties and smooth themselves with civility in carriage yet alas How few are they who are renewed in the spirit of â—heir mind and have put Christ on their inward man who have opened the secrets of their hearts and received him to ly all night between their breasts How â—ew are busied about their hearts to have any new impression and dye upon their affections to mould them after a new manner to kill the love of this world and the lusts of it and cast out the rottenness and superfluity of naughtiness which â—bides within But some there are who are peâ—swaded thus to do to give up their spirits to Religion and all their business and care is To have Christ within as well as without Now if the â—est of you will not be perswaded to be of this number consider what you pre-judge your selves of of all the comfort of Religion and then Religion is no Religion and to no purpose if you have no benefit by it And certainly except Christ be in you as a King to rule you and a Prophet to teach you to subdue your lusts and to dispel your darknesse when he appears he cannot appear to your comfort and salvation You are deprived of this great cordial against death death must seise upon all that is within you soul and body since Christ the Spirit of life is not within you Happiness without you will not make you happy salvation round about you will not save you If you would be saved there must be a near and immediat union with happinesse Christ in the heart and salvation cometh with him A Christian is not only Christ without not imputing his sins to him clothing him with His righteousnesse but Christ within too cleansing the heart from the love of sin perfecting holinesse in the fear of God Do not think you have any share in Christ without you except you receive Christ within you because Christ is one within and without and His gifts are undivided Therefore true â—aith receives whole Christ as a compleat Saviour even as He is intirely offered so He is undividedly received as He is without saving us and within sanctifying us Christ without delivering from wrath and Christ within redeeming from all iniquity these cannot be parted more then His coat that had no seam It is a heavy and weighty word of this Apostles 2 Cor. 13.5 examine your selves whether ye be in the faith know ye not your selves that Christ is in you except you be reprobates I wish ye would lay it to heart who have never yet returned to your hearts If Christ be not formed in you as Gal. 4.19 You are as yet among the refuse drâ—sse and that which must be burnt with fire you cannot but be cast away in the day when he makes up his jewels Where Christ is He is the hope of glory he is an immortal seed of glory How can you hope for Christ who have nothing of Him within you Now the other touch-stone of true Religion is the great comfort it furnishes to the soul And of all comforts the greatest is that which is a cordial to the heart against the greatest fears and evils Now certainly the matter of
greatest fear is death not so much because of it self but chiefly because of that eternity of unchangeable misery that naturally it transmitts them unto Now it is only Christian Religion possessing the heart that aâ—mes a man compleatly against the fear either of death it self or the consequents of it it giveth the most powerful consolation that not only overcometh the bitternesse and taketh out the sting of death but changeth the nature of it so far as to make it the matter of triumph and gloriation There is something here supposed the worst that can befall a Christian it is the death of a part of him and that the worst and ignoblest part only the body is dead because of sin Then that wâ—ich is opposed by way oâ— comfort to counterballance it is the life of his better and more noble part And besides we have the fountaâ—ns both of that death and this life mans sin the cause of bodily death Christs righteousnesse the fountain of spiritual life Of death many have had sweet meditations even among these that the light of the Word hath not shined upon and indeed they mâ—y make us ashamed who prosesse Christianity and so the hope of the resurrection from the dead that they have accounted it only true wisdom and sound Philosophy To meditat often on death and made it the very principal point of living well To be alwayes learning to die and have applyed their whole studies that way neglecting present things that are in the by have given themselves to search out some comfort against death or from death Yea some have so profited in this that they have accounted death the greatest good that can befall man and perswaded others to think so Now what may we think of our selves who scarce apprehend mortality especially considering that we have the true fountain of it revealed to us and the true nature and consequents of it All men must needs know that death is the most universal King in the world that it reigns over all ages sexes conditions nations and times though few be willing to entertain thoughts of it yet sooner or later they must be constrained to give it lodging upon their eye lids and suffer it to storm the very strongest tower the heart and baâ—â—er it down and break the strings of it having no way either to flee from it or resist it Now the consideration of the general inundation of death over all mankind anâ— the certain approâ—ching of it to every particular mans door hath made many serious thoughts among the wise men of the world But being destitute of this heavenly light that â—hineth to us they could not attain to the original of it but have conceived that it was a common tribute of nature and an universal Law imposed upon all mankind by nature having the same reason that other mâ—tations and changes among the creatures here below have and â—o have thought it no more strange thing then to see other things dissolved in their elements Now indeed seeing they could apprehend no other bitter ingredient in it it was no wonder that the wisest of them could not fear it but rather wait and expect it as a rest from their labours as the end of all their miseries But the Lord hath revealed unto us in his Word the true cause of it and so the true nature of it The true cause of it is sin sin entred into the world and death past upon all for that all have sinned Rom. 5.12 Man was created for another purpose and upon other conditions and a Law of perpetual life and eternal happinesse was past in his â—avours he abiding in the favour and obeying the will of Him that gave him life and being Now sin inteâ—posing and separating between man and God loosing that blessed knot of union and communion it was this other law that succeeded as a suitable recompence Thou shall die It is resolved in the Council of Heaven That the union of man shall be dissolved his soul and body separated in just recompence of the breaking the bond of union with God This is it that hath opened the sluce to let in an inundation of misery on mankind this was the just occasion of that righteous but terrible appointment It is appointed that all men once should die and after death cometh to Iudgment Heb. 9.27 That since the body had inticed the soul and suggested unto it such unnatural and rebellious motions of withdrawing from the blessed fountain of life to satisfie its pleasure the body should be under a sentence of deprivement and â—orfeitour of that great benefite and priviledge of life it had by the souls indwelling and condemned to return to its first base original the dust and to be made a feast of worms to lodge in the grave and be a subject of the greatest corruption and rottennesse because it became the instrument yea the incitement of the soul to sin against that God that had from Heaven breathed a spirit into it and exalted it above all the dust or clay in the world Now my beloved do we not get many remembrances of our sin Is not every day presenting our primitive departure from God our fiâ—st separation from the fountain of life by sin to our view and in such sad and woeful effects pointing out the hainousnesse of sin Do you not see mens bodies every day dissolved the tabernacle of earth taken down and the soul constrained to remove out of it But what influence hath it upon â—s what do the multiplied funeralls work upon us It may bâ— sorrow for our friends but little or no apprehension of our own mortality and base impression of sin that separats our souls from God Who is made sadly to reflect upon his original or to mind seriously that statute and appointment of Heaven in that day thou shalt die It is strange that all of us fear death and few are afraid of sin that carrieth death in its bosome That we are so unwilling to reâ—p corruption in our bodies and yet we â—re so earnest and lâ—borious in sowing to the flesh Be not deceived for you are dayly reaping what you have sowen And O that it were all the harvest but death is only the putting in of the sickle of vengeaâ—ce the first cut of it But O to think on what follows would certainly restrain men and cool them in their fervent pursuits after sin SERMON XXVIII Rom. 8.10 The body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousnesse THE sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law saith our Apostle 1 Cor. 15.56 These two concur to make man mortal and these two are the bitter ingredients of death Sin procured it and the Law appointed it And God hath seen to the exâ—ct execution of that Law in all ages for what man liveth and shall not taste of death Two only eâ—caped the common lot Enoch and Elias for they pleased God and God took them
disposal who hath the sole soveraign right to them and therefore you may take up the hainousnesse of sin how monstruous and misshappen a thing it is that breaks this inviolable Law of creation and withdraws the creature from subjection to Him in whom alone it can subsist O how disordered are the courses and lives of men men living to themselves their own lusts after their own will as if they had made themselves men using their members as weapons of unrighteousnesse against God as if their tongues and hands and feet were there own or the devils and not Gods Call to mind this obligation Remember thy Creator that memento would be a strong engagement to another course then most take how absurd would you think it To please your selves in displeasing Him if you but minded the bond of creation But when there are other two superadded what we owe to the Son for coming down in the likenesse of sinfull flesh for us and what we owe to the Holy Ghost for quickening our spirits and afterward for the resurection of our bodies whose hearts would not these overcome and lead captive to his love and obedience SERMON XXXIII Rom. 8.12 Therefore brethren we are debters not to the flesh to live after the flesh Vers. 13. For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die c. WAS it not enough to contain men in obedience to God the very essential bond of dependence upon God as the original and fountain of his beeing and yet man hath cast away this cord from him and withdrew from that alledgiance he did owe to his Maker by transgressing his holy commandments But God not willing that all should peâ—ish he hath confirmed and stâ—engthned that primitive obligation by two other as strong if not more if the Father did most eminently appear in the first the Son is manifested in the second and that is the work of the redemption of man no lesse glorious then his first creation He made him first and then He sent his own Son in the likenesse of sinfull fleâ—h to make him again by his Spirit and now a threefold cord is not easily broken It seems this should bind invincibly and constrain us not to be our own but the Lords and now truly they who are in Jesus Christ aâ—e thrice indebted wholly to God But the two last obligations are the most special and most wonderful that God sent His Son for us to redeem us from sin and misery and to restore man to happinesse took on a miserable and accursed habit that so glorious a person gave Himself for so base that so excellent a Lord became a servant for the rebell that He whose the earth is and the â—ulness thereof did â—mpty Himself of all to supâ—ly Vs and in a word the most wonderful exchange â—e made that ever the Sun saw God for men His life a ransome for their life all the rare inventions and â—ancied stories of men come infinitly short of this The light never saw Majestty so abased and love so expressed as in this matter and all to this purpose that we who had undone ourselves might be made up again and the righteouâ—nesse of the Law fulfilled in us At first He made us but it cost Him nothing but a word but now to buy that whicâ— was taken captive by sin and aâ— so dear a rate ye are bought with a price and this price more precious than the sum of Heaven and Earth could amount to suppose by some raâ—e Alâ—bymie the earth were all converted into Gold and the Heavens into Precious Stones yeâ— these corruptible and material things come as far short of this â—ansome as an heap of dung is unproportioned to a masse of Gold or heap of Jewels Now you that are thus bought may ye not conclude therefore we are debtters and whereof of our selves for we our persons estates and all were sold and all are bought with this price therefoâ—â— we are not our own but the Lords and therefore we ought to glorifie God in our bodies and spirits which are his 1 Cor 6.20 Should we henceforth claim an interest and propriety in our selves Should we have a will of our own Should we serve our selves with our members O how monstruous and absurd were that Ceâ—tainly a believing heart cannot but look upon that as the greatest indignity and vilest impiety that ever the Sun shined upon Ingratituâ—e hath a note of ignominy even among Heathens put upon it they eâ—â—eemed the reproach of it the compend of all reproaches Ingrâ—tum si dixeris omnia dixeris And truly it hath the most abominable visage of any vice yea it is all sâ—ns drawn through other in one Table Certainly a godly heart cannot but account this execrable and detestable henceforth to have any proper and peculiar will and pleasure and cannot but devout it self wholly to His will and pleasuâ—e for whose pleasure all were first created and who then redeemed us by the blood of His Son I wish we could have this image of ingratitude alwayes observant to our eyes and minds when we are inticed with our lusts to study our own satisfaction But theâ—e is another bond superadded to this which mightily aggravats the debt He â—ath given us his Spirit to dwell within as well as his Son for us And O the marvellous and strange effects that this Spirit hath in the â—avouâ—s of men He truly repairs that image of God which sin broke down He furnisheth the soul and supplies it in all its necessities He is a light and life to it a spring of everlasting life and consolâ—tion so that to the Spirit we owe that we are made agâ—in after his Image and the precious purchase of Christ applyed unto our souls For Him hath our Saviour left to execute his latter-will in behalf of his children And these things are but the first fruits of the Spirit any peace or joy or love or obedience are but an earnest of that which is coming we shall be yet more beholden to Him when the walls of flesh are taken down he will carry forth the soul into that glorious liberty of the sons of God and not long after he shall quicken our very dust and raise it up in glory to the fellowship of that happinesse Now my beloved consider what all this tends to mark the inference you should make from it Therefore we are debters debters indeed under infinit obligations for infinit meâ—cies But what is the debt we owe truly it might be conceived to be some rare thing equivalent to such unconceivable benefits But mark what it is to live after the spirit and not after the flesh to conform our affections and actions and the tenor of our way and course to the direction of the Spirit to have our spirits led and enlightned by the Holy Spirit and not to follow the indictment of our flesh and carnal minds Now truly it is a wonder that it is noâ— other thing then this for this
are debters indeed but you owe nothing to the flesh but stripes and mortification SERMON XXXIV Rom. 8.13 For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if ye through the Spirit c. THough the Lord out of his absolute Soveraignty might deal with man in such a way as nothing should appear but his supream Will and Almighty Power he might simply command obedience and without any more perswasions either leave men to the frowardnesse of their own natures or else powerfully constrain them to their duty yet he hath chosen that way that is most suitable to his own wisdom and most connatural to mans nature To lay out before him the advantages and disadvantages and to use these as motives and perswasives of his Spirit for since He hath by his first creation implanted in mans soul such a principle as moveth it self upon the presentation of good or evil that this might not be in vain he administers all the dispensation of the Law and Gospel in a way suitable to that by propounding such powerful motives as may incline and perswade the heart of man It is true there is a secret drawing withall necessary the pull of the Fathers arm and power of the Holy Ghost yet that which is visible or sensible to the soul is the framing of all things so as to engage it upon rational terms it is set between two contraries death and life death which it naturally abhoâ—reth and life which it naturally loveth an even ballance is holden up before the light of the conscience in which obedience and sin are weighed and it is found even to the convincing of the spirit of man that there are as many disadvantages in the one as advantages in the other This was the way that God used fiâ—st with man in Paradise you remember the terms â—un to what day thou eats thou shalt die he hedged him in on the one side by a promisâ— of life on the other by a threatning of death and these two are very rational restraintâ— â—uited to â—he â—oul of man and in the inward principles of it which are a kind of instinct to that which is appâ—ehenâ—ed good or gainfull Now this vers â—uns even so in the form of words If ye live after the flesh ye shall die you see thiâ— method is not changed under the Gospel for indeed it is natuâ—al to the spiâ—it of man and he hath now much more need of all such peâ—swasions because there is a great change of mans inclination to the woâ—st side all within is so disordered and perverse that a thousand hedges of perswasive grounds cannot do that which one might have done at fiâ—st then they were added out of superabundance but now out of necessity then they were set about man to preserve him in his natural â—â—ame and inâ—linations but now they are needfull to change and alter them quite which is a kind of creation therefore sayeth David creat in me a new spirit and therefore the Gospel abounds in vaâ—ieâ—y of motives and inducementâ— in greater variety oâ— far moâ—e powerâ—ul inducements then the Law Heâ—e is that grâ—aâ— peâ—swasiâ—n tâ—kâ—n fâ—om the infinit gain or lâ—sse of â—â—e â—â—ul of man which is any thing be able to prevail this must do seing it is seconded wiâ—h some natural inclination in the soul of man to seek its own gain Yet there is a diâ—â—erence between the nature of such like promises and threatningâ— in the fiâ—st covenant and in the second In the fiâ—st covenant though life was freely promised â—et it was immediatly annexed to perâ—ect obedience as a consequent â—eward oâ— it it was fiâ—stly pâ—omised unto compleat â—ighteousnesse of mens persons But in the second covenant firstly and principally liâ—e eteâ—nal grace and glory is promised to Jesus Christ and his â—eed antecedent to any condition or qualification upon their part and then again all the promises that run in way of condition as he that believeth shâ—ll not perish c. If ye walk after the Spirit ye shall live these aâ—e all the consequent fruits of that absolute gracious disposition and resignation of grace and life to them whom Christ hath chosen and so their believing and walking and obeying cometh in principally as parts of the grace promised and as witnesses and evidences and confirmations of that life which is already begun and will not see an end Besides that by vertue of these absolute promises made to the seed of Christ and Christs compleat performance of all conditions in their name the promises of life are made to faith principally which hath this peculiar vertue To cary forth the soul to anothers righteousnesse and sufficiency and to bottom it upon another and in the next place to holy walking though mixed with many infirmities which promise in the first covenant was only annexed to perfect and absolute obedience You heard in the preceeding vers a strong inducement taken from the bond debt and duty we owe to the Spirit to walk after it and the want of all obligation to the flesh Now if honesty and duty will not suffiâ—e to perswade you as you know in other things it would do with any honest man plain equity is a sufficient bond to him yet consider what the Apostle subjoynes from the dammage and from the advantage which may of it self be the Topickes of perswasion and serves to drive in the nail of debt and duty to the head if ye will not take with this debt ye owe to the Spirit but still conceive there is some greater obligation lying on you to care for your bodies and satisfie them then I say behold the end of it what fruit you must one day reap of the flesh and service of sin If ye live after the flesh ye shall die but then consider the fruit you â—hall reap of the Spirit and holy walking ye shall live It is true the flesh may flatter you more for the present but the end of it will be bitter as death amplâ—ctitur ut strangulet the flesh imbraces you that it may strangle you and so if you knew all well you would not think you owed it any thing but enmity and hatred and mortification If your duty will not move you let the love of your selves and your souls perswade you for it is an irrepealable statute The wages of sin is death Every way you choose to fulfill the lusts of your flesh and to make provision for it neglecting the eternal welfare of your souls certainly it shall prove to you the tree of the knowledge of good and evil it shall be as the forbidden fruit which in stead of performing that was promised will bring forth death the eternal separation of the soul from God Adam's sin was an Breviary or Epitome of the multiplied and enâ—arged sins of mankind you may see in this tragedy all your fortuns so to speak you may behold in it the flattering insinuations and deceitful promises of sin and Satan who is a liar
and murderer from the beginning and murdered man at first by lying to him you find the hook covered over with the varnished bâ—it of an imaginary life and happinesse satisfaction promised to the eye to the taste and to the mind and upon these inticements man bewitched and withdrawn from his God after these vain and empty shadows which when he catched hold upon he himself was caught and laid hold upon by the wrath of God by death and all the miseries before it or alter it Now here is the Mapp of the World for all that is in the world is but a larger volume of that same kind the lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh and the pride of life Albeit they have been known and found to be the notablest and grossest deceivers and every man after he hath spent his dayes in pursuit and labour for them he is constrained to acknowledge at length though too late that all that is in the world is but an imposture a delusion a dream and worse yet eveâ—y man hearkens after these same flatteries and lies that hath cast down so many wounded and made so many strong ones to fall by them every man trusts the world and his own flesh as if they were of good report and of known integrity and this is mens misery that no man will learn wisdom upon others expences upon the woâ—ul and tragical example of so many others but go on as confidently now after the discoverie of these deceivers as if this were the first time they had made such promises and used such fair words to men Have they not been these six thousand years almost deluding the world And have we not as many testimonies of their falshood as there hath been persons in all ages before us After Adam hath tasted of this tree of pleasure and found another fruit growing on it that is death should the posterity be so mad as to be medling still with the forbidden tree and therefore forbidden because destructive to our selves Know then and consider beloved in the Lord that you shall reap no other thing of all your labours and endeavours after the flesh all your toyling and perplexing cares all your excessive pains in the making provision for your lusts and caring for the body only you shall reap no other harvest of all but death and corruption Death you think that is a common lot and you cannot eschew it however nay but the death here meant is of another sort in respect of which you may call death life it is the everlasting destruction of the soul from the presence of God and the glory of his powerâ— it is the falling of that infinit weight of the wrath of the Lamb upon you in respect of which mountains and hills will be thought light and men would rather wish to be covered with them Rev. 6.16 Suppose now you could swim in a River of delights and pleasures which yet is given to none for truly upon a jâ—st reckoning it will be found that the anxiety and grief and bitteâ—nâ—sse that is inteâ—mingled with all earthly delights â—wallows up the sweetnesse of them yet it will but carry you down ere you be aware into the Seâ— oâ— deâ—th and destruction as the fish that swim and sport for a while in Iordan are carried down into the dead Sea of Sodom where they aâ—e presently suffocated and extinguished or as a Malefactor is carried through a pleasant Palace to the Gallows so men walk thâ—ough the delights of their flesh to their own endlesse torment and destruction Seing then my beloved that your sins and lusts which you are inclined and accustomed to will certainly kill you if you inteâ—tain them then nature it self would teach you the Law of self-defence To kill ere you be killed to kill sin eâ—e it kill you to mortifie the deeds and lusts of the body which aboâ—nd among you or they will certainly mortifie you that is make you die Now if self love could teach you this which the love of God cannot perswade you to yet it is well for being once led unto God and moved to change your course upon the fear and apprehension of the infinit danger that will ensue ceâ—tainly if you weâ—e but a little aâ—quainted with the sweetnesse of this life and goodnesse of your God you would find the power of the former aâ—gumenâ— Ã debito from debt and duty upon your spirit let this once lead you in to God and you will not want that which will constrain you to abide and never to depart from Him If you mortifie the deeds of the body you shall live as sin decayes you increase and grow as sins die your soulâ— live anâ— it shall be a sure pledge to you of that eternal life and though this be painful and laborious yet consider that it is but the cutting off of a rotten member that would corrupt the whole body and the want of it will never mâ—im or mâ—tilat the body for you shall live perâ—ectly when sin is perfectly expired and out of life and according aâ— sin is nearer expiring and nearer the grave your souls are neaâ—â—â— that endlesse life If this do not move us what can be said nâ—xt What shall he do more to his Vineyard SERMON XXXV Rom. 8.13 14. But if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Vers. 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God THE life and being of many things consists in union separat them and they remain not the same or they losse their vertue It is much more thus in Christianity the power and life of it consists in the union of these things that God hâ—th conjoyned so that if any man pretend to one thing of it and neglect the other he hath really none of them and to hold to the subject in hand there are three things which joyned together in the hearts of Christians have a great deal of force the duty of a Christian and his reward and his dignity his worke and labour seems hard and unpleasant when considered alone but the reward sweetens it when it is joyntly believed his duty seems too high and his labour great yet the consideration of the real dignity he is advanced unto and priviledge he hath received will raise up the spirit to great and high attempts and to sustain great labours Mortification is the work and labour life eternal life is the reward following the Spirit is the Christians duty but to be the son of God that is his dignity Mortification sounds very harsh at first the hearts of men say It is a hard saying who can bear it And indeed I cannot deny but it is so to our corrupt nature and therefore so holden out in Scripture the words chosen to press it express much pain and pains much torment and labour it is not so easie and trivial a business to forsake sin or subdue it as many think
incense to God dayly when they offer up their souls desires in simplicity and sincerity Certainly this is a spiritual thing derived only from the fountain of Spirts this grace of pouring out our souls into him and keeping communication with him the variety of words and riches of expression it is but the shell of it the external shadow And all the life consists in the frame of the heart before God And this none can put in frame but he that formed the Spirit of man within him some through custom of hearing and using it attain to a habit of expressing themselves readily in it it may be to the satisfaction of others but alas they may be strangers to the fiâ—st letters and elements of the life and spirit of prayer I would have you who want both look up to heaven for it many of you cannot be induced to pray in your family and I fear little or none in secret which is indeed a more serious work because you have not been used or not learned or such like Alas beloved this cometh not through education or learning it cometh from the Spirit of adoption and if ye cannot pray ye say ye have not the Spirit and if ye have not the Spirit ye are not the Sons of God Know what is in the inevitable sequel of your own confessions But I haste to the qualifications of this divine work fervencie reverence and confidence Fervencie in crying reverence and confidence in crying Abba Father for these two suit well towards our Father the first I fear we must seek it elsewhere then in prayer I find it spent on other things of lesse moment Truly all the Spirit and affection of men runes in another channel in the way of contention and strife in the way of passion and miscalled zeal and because these things whereabout we do thus earnestly contend have some interest or coherance with Religion we not only excuse but approve our vehemency But O! much better were that imployed in supplicationâ— to God that were a divine channel Again the marrow of other mens Spirits is exhausted in the pursuit of things in the world the edge of their desires is turned that way and it must needs be blunted and dulled in spiritual things that it cannot pierce into Heaven and prevail effectually I am sure many of us useth this excuse who are so cold in it that we do not warm our selves and how shall we think to prevail with God our spirits make little noise when we cry all the loudest we can scarce hear any whisper in our hearts and how shall he hear us Certainly it is not the extension of the voice pleaseth Him it is the cry of the heart that is sweet harmony in his ears and you may easily perceive that if you but consider that he is an infinit Spirit that pierceth into all the corners of our hearts and hath all the darknesse of it as light before him how can you think that such a spirit can be pleased with lip-cryes how can he endure such deceit and â—alshood who hath so perfect a contrariety with all false appearances that your heart should lye so dead and flatt before him and the affection of it turned quite another way There were no sacrifices without fire in the Old Testament and that fire was kept-in perpetually and so no prayer now without some inward fire conceived in the desires and blazing up and growing into a flame in the presenting of them to God The incense that was to be offered on the Altar of perfume Exod. 30. it behoved to be beaten and prepared and truly prayer would do well to be made out of a beaten and bruised heart and contrite spirit a spirit truly sensible of its own unworthinesse and wants and that beating and pounding of the heart will yeeld a good fragrant smel as some spices do not till beaten The incense was made of divers spices intimating to us that true prayer is not one grace alone but a compound of graces It is the joynt exercise of all a Christian graces seasoned with all every one of them give some peculiar fragrancy to it as Humility Faith Repentance Love c. The acting of the heart in supplication is a kind of compend and result of all these as one perfume made up of many simples But above all as the incense our prayers must be kindled by fire on the Altar there must be some heat and servour some warmnesse conceived by the holy Spirit in our hearts which may make our spices send forth a pleasant smell as many spices do not till they get heat Let us lay this engagement on our hearts to be more serious in our addresses to God the Father of spirits above all to present our inward soul before him before whom it is naked and open though we do not bring it And certainly frequency in prayer will much help us to fervency and to keep it when we have it SERMON XL. Rom. 8.15 VVhereby we cry Abba Father ALL that know any thing of Religion must needs know and confess that there is no exercise either more suitable to him that prosesseth it or more needful for him then to give himself to the exercise of prayer but that which is confessed by all and as to the outward performance gone about by many I fear it is yet a mystery sealed up fâ—om us as to the true and living nature of it There is much of it expressed here in few words whereby we cry Abba Father The divine constitution and qualification of this divine work is here made up of a temper of fervency reverence and confidence The first I spoke of before but I fear our hearts was not well heated then or may be cooled since It is not the loud noise of words that is best heard in Heaven or that is constructed to be crying to God No this is transacted in the heart more silently to men but it striketh up into the ears of God His ear is sharp and that voice of the souls desires is shrill and though it were out of the depths they will meet together It is true the vehemency of affection will sometimes cause the extension of the voice but yet it may cry as loud to Heaven when it is kept within I do not presse such extraordinary degrees of servour as may effect the body but I would rather wish we accustomed our selves to a solid calm seriousnesse and earnestnesse of spirit which might be more constant then such raptures can be that we might alwayes gather our spirits to what we are about and avocat them from impertinent wanderingâ— and fix them upon the present object of our worship this is to worship him in spirit who is a Spirit The other thing that composes the sweet temper of prayeâ— is reverence and what more suitable whether you consider Him or your selves If I be your Father where is my honour and if I be your Master where is my fear
its impossible that he should do nothing else but pray in an express formal way but the souls walking with God between times of Prayer should compense that and thus Prayer is continued though not in it self yet in meditation on God which hath in it the seed of all worship and is virtually Prayer and Thanksgiving and all duties Let us then consider If our bodies be not more exercised in Religion then our souls yea if they be not the chief agents how many impertinencies and roveries and wandrings are throughout the day the most part of our conversation if it be not profane yet it is vain that is unprofitable in the World it neither advantageth us spiritually nor glorifies God it is almost to no purpose and this is enough to make it all flesh And for our thoughts how do they go unlimited and unrestrained like a wilde Ass traversing her wayes and gadding about fixed on nothing at least not on God nay fixed on any thing but God If it be spiritual service should it not carry the seal of our spirit and affection on it We are as so many shadows walking as pictures and statues of Christians without the soul and life which consists in the temper and disposition of the spirit and soul towards God SERMON V. Vers. 1. That walk not after the flesh but after the spirit IT is no wonder that we cannot speak any thing to purpose of this Subject and that ye do not hear with fruit because it is indeed a mystery to our judgements and a great stranger to our practice There is so litle of the Spirit both in Teachers and those that come to be taught that we can but speak of it as an unknown thing and cannot make you to conceive it in the living notion of it as it is Only we may say in general It is certainly a divine thing and another thing then our common or religious walk is It is little experience so we can know the less of it but this much we should know it is another thing then we have attained it s above us and yet such a thing as we are called to aspire unto How should it stir up in our spirits a holy fire of ambition to be at such a thing when we hear it is a thing attainable nay when Christ calls us unto himself that we may thus walk with him I would have Christians men of great and big projects and resolutions of high and illimited desires not satisfied with their attainments but still aspiring unto more of God more conformity to his will more walking after the Spirit more separation from the course of the World and this is indeed to be of a divine spirit The divine Nature is here as it were in a state of violence out of its own element Now it s known by this iâ— it be still moving upwards taking no rest in this place and these measures and degrees but upon a continual motion towards the proper center of it God his holiness and Spirit We desire to speak a word of these three 1. The nature of this spiritual walking Next Its connexion and union with that blessed state of non-condemnation And then of the order of this how it flows from a mans being implanted in Christ Jesus Which three are considerable in the words This spiritual walking is according to a spiritual rule from spiritual principles for spiritual ends These three being established aright the walk is even the motion of a Christian within the compass of these it is according to the word as the holy rule it s from the faith love of Jesus Christ as the predominant principleâ— Nay from the Spirit of Jesus living in the heart by faith and dwelling in it by love as the first wheel of this motion the Primum Mobile and as it begins in the Spirit so it ends there in the glory of Jesus Christ and our heavenly Father Consider this then it is not a lawless walking and irregular walk it is according to the rule and the rule is perfect and it is a motion to perfection not a rest in what is now attained to The course of this world is the way and rule of the children of disobedience Eph. 2.2 There is a spirit indeed that works in them and a rule it works by the spirit is that evil spirit contrary to the holy Spirit of God you may know what spirit it is that works by the way it leads men unto a broad way path'd and troden in by many travellers it s the Kings high street the common way that most part walkes into according as their neighbours do as the most do But â—hat King is the Prince of this World satan who blinds the eyes of many that they may not see that pit of misery before them which their way leads them to A Christian must have a kind of singularity not in opinion but in practice rather to be more holy and walk more abstracted from the dregs of the worlds pollution this were a divine singularity Indeed men may suspect themselves that separats from the godly in opinion they have reason to be more jealous of themselves when they offend against the generation of the just but if this were the contention and design of men to be very unlike the multitude of men nay to be very unlike the multitude of Professors in the affection and practice of holiness humility and spiritual walking I think this were an allowed way though a singular way Men may aspire to as great a difference as may be from the conversations and practice of others if there be a tending to more conformity to the Word the rule of all practice The Law is spiritual and holy saith Paul but I am carnal this therefore were spiritual walking to set that excellent spiritual rule before our eyes that we who are carnal may be transformed and changed into more likeness to that holy and spiritual Law If a man had not an imperfect rule of his own fancy and imagination before his eyes he could not be satisfied with his attainments but with Paul would forget them in a manner not know them but reach forward still to what is before because so much length would be before us as would swallow up all our progress this would keep the motion on foot and make it constant A man should never say Master let us make tabernacles its good to be here no indeed the dwelling place and resting would be seen to be above As long as a man had so much of his journey to accomplish he would not sit down on in his advancement he would not compare with others and exalt himself above others Why because there is still a far greater distance between him and his rule then between the slowest walker and him This made Paul more sensible of a body of death Rom. 7 then readily lower Christians are Reflections on our attainments and comparisons with others which are so often the
work of our Spirits are a retrograde motion it makes no way but spends the time is a returning as we go whereas we ought to go straight forward I beseech you Christians consider what ye are doing if ye would prove your selves so indeed I know not how you can evidence it better then by honouring and esteeming his Word and Commandments exceeding large and precious no end of their perfection the word is much undervalued in the opinions of many but it is as little cared for in the practice of most there is certainly little of God there where this is not magnified and honoured There must be darkness in that way where this candle which was a lamp to Davids feet shines not Some promise to us liberty but they themselves are the servants of corruption it is no liberty to be above all law and rule It was innocent Adams liberty to be conformed to a holy and just command nay this was his beauty The Spirit indeed gives liberty where he is but this liberty is from our sins and corruptions not to them it looses the chains of a mans own corrupt lusts off him to walk at freedom in the way of his commandments the Spirit inlargeth the prisoners heart and then he runs but not at random but the way of his commands Psal. 119.32 It was our bondage to be as wilde Asses traversing our wayes to be gadding abroad to change our way Now here is the Spirits liberty to bring us into the way and that way is one Let us then learn this one principle the Word must be the rule of your walking both common and religious Alas it s not spiritual walking to confine Religion to some solemn duties Remember it s a walk a continued thing without interruption therefore your whole conversation ought to be as so many steps progressive to Heaven Your motion should not be to begin only when ye come to pray or read or hear as many men do they are in a quite different way and element when they step out of their civil callings into religious ordinances but Christians your motion should be continued in your eating and drinking and sleeping and acting in your callings that when ye come to pray or read ye may be but stepping forward in the way out of one darker obscurer path into a more beaten way Remember this word can make us perfect to Salvation It is a principle in the hearts of folks which is vented now by many that the Word doth not reach their particular carriages and conversations in civil matters these are apprehended to be without the sphear and compass of the Word while it is commonly cast up to Ministers meddle with the word and spiritual things and not with our matters Truly I think if we separate these from the Word we may quickly separat all Religion from such actions and if such actings and businesses be without the Court of the Word they are also without the Court of Conscience Conscience Religion and the Word being commensurable Therefore I beseech every one of you take the Word for the ruling of your callings and conversations among men extend it to all your actions that in all those ye may act as Christians as well as men It is certainly the licentiousness of the spirits of men that cannot endure the application of the Word unto their particular actions and conversations Now this spiritual walk proceeds from spiritual principles It is certain the Spirit of Jesus Christ is he in whom we live and move and have our being spiritually without him we can do nothing and therefore Christians ought to walk with such a subordination to and dependence on him as if they were meer instruments and patients under his hand though I think in regard of endeavoured activity they should bestir themselves and give all diligence as if they acted independently of the Spirit yet in regard of denial of himself and dependence on the Spirit each one ought to act as if he did not act at all but the Spirit only acted in him This is the Divinity of Paul I laboured more abundantly then they all yet not I but grace in me I live yet not I but Christ in me O how difficult a thing is it to reconcile these two in the practice of Christians which yet cannot really be except they be together It is certainly one of the great mysteries of Christianity to draw our strength and activity from another to look upon our selves and our actings as these that can do nothing as empty vines and that notwithstanding of all inâ—used and acquired principles Whatever we ought to do in judging and discerning of our condition yet sure I am Christians in the exercise and practice of godliness should look upon themselves void of any principle in themselves either to do or think not that we are sufficient of of our selves The proficient and growing Christian should look no moâ—e on his own inclinations and habits thâ—n if he had none he should consider himself an ungodly man that no fruit can grow upon one that cannot pray as he is in himself Buâ— alace we come to duties in the confidence of qualifications â—or duties acts more confidently in them because accustomed to them and so makes Grace and Religion a kind of Art and Discipline that use and experience makes expert into Learn now this one thing which would be in stead of many rules and doctrines to us to shut out of your eyes the consideration of what ye are by Gifts or Grace or experience Do not consider that but rather fix your eyes on the grace of Jesus Christ and upon the power and vertue of the Holy Spirit which is given by promise that when the way is all the easiest to you both by delight and custom yet ye may find it to your natural principles as insuperable as at the beginning and may still cry Draw me and I will run after thee lead me and I will walk with thee Do not measure thy call into duties by the strength thou finds in thy self but look unto him who strengtheneth us with all might Now the Spirit worketh in us by subordinat spiritual principles as believing in Christ and loving of him as our Lord and Saviour and these two acts drives on a soul sweetly in the way of obedience Fear where not mixt in its actings with faith and love is a spirit of bondage but the Christian ought to walk according to the Spirit of Adoption which cryes Abba Father Yet how many Christians are rather in a servile and slavish manner driven on by terrours and chastisements to their duty then by love There is a piece of liberty in Christian-walking when there is not a restraint upon the spirit by this slavish fear this I say is not beseeming these that are in Christ Jesus ye ought to have the Spirit of your Father for your leader and guide O! how sweet and how certain and necessary also would this walking be
of these hath the preheminency that he is If the spirit be indeed elevated above all sensual and earthly things to the life of Angels that is to communion with God then a man is one after the Spirit an Angel incarnat an Angel dwelling in flesh but if his spirit throw it self down to the service of the fâ—esh minding and favouring only things sensual and visible then indeed a man puts off humanity and hath associated himself to beasts to be as one of them And indeed a man made thus like a beast is worse then a beast because he ought to be far better it is no disparagement to a beast to mind only the flesh but it is greatest abasement of a man that which draws him down from that higher station God had set him into to the lowest station that of beasts and truly a Nebuâ—hadnezzar among beasts is the greatest beast of all far more bruitish then any beast Now such is every man by nature that which is born of the flesh is flesh even man as he comes out of the womb is degenerated and fallen down into this bruitish estate to mind to savour to relish nothing but what relates to this fleshly or temporal being The utmost sphear and comprehension of man is now of no larger extent then this visible world and this present life He is blind and seeth not far off 2 Pet. 1.9 Truly such is every man by nature whereas the proper native sphear of the spirits motion and comprehension is as large as its endurance that is as long as eternity and as broad as to reach the infinitness of God the God of all spirits now through the slavery and bondage of mens spirits to their flesh it s contracted into as narrow bounds as this poor life in the flesh he that ought to look beyond time as far as eternity and hath an immortal spiâ—it given â—or that end he is now half blind the eye of the mind is so over-clouded with lusts and passions that it cannot see far off not so far as to the morrow after death not so far as to the entry of eternity And truly if you compare the context you will find that whosoever doth not give all diligence to add to faith vertue to vertue knowledge to knowledge temperance to temperance patience and to patience godliness c. He that is not exercised and imployed about this study how to adorn his spirit with these graces how to have a victory over himself and the world and in respect of these accounts all things beside indifferent such a man is blind and seeth not far off he hath not gotten the sight of eternity he hath not taken up that everlasting endurance else he could not spend his time upon the provision for the lusts of the flesh but he behoved to lay such a good foundation for the time to come as is here mentioned If he saw afar off he could not but make acquaintance with those courtiers of Heaven which will minister an entrance into that everlasting Kingdom But truly while this is not your study you have no purpose for Heaven you see nothing but what is just before your eye and almost toucheth it and so you savour and mind only what you see Is not this then a wide difference between the children of this world and the children of God Is it not very substantial all others are circumstantial in respect of this this only puts a real difference in that which is best in men viz. their spirits The excellency of nature is known by their affections and motions so are these here the spiritual man savours spiritual things the carnal man carnal things every thing symphathizes with that which is like it self and is ready to incorporat into it things are nouâ—ished and preserved by things like themselves You see the Swine embraces the dung-hill that stink is only savoury smell to them because its suitable to their nature but a man hath a more excellent taste and smell and he savours finer and sweeter things Truly it cannot choose but that it must be a nature more swinish or bruitish then â— swine that can relish and savour such filthy abominable works of the flesh as abound amongst some of you The works of the flesh are manifest Gal. 5.19 and indeed they are manifest upon you acted in the very day time out-facing the very light of the Gospel you may read them and see if they be not too manifest in you Now what a base nature what abominable and bruitish spirits must possesse men that they apprehend a sweetnesse and fragrancy in theâ—e corrupt and stinking works of the old man O how base a scent is it to smell and savour nothing but this present world and satisfaction to your senses Truly your scent and smell your relish and taste argues your base degenerat and bruitish natures that you are on the worst side of this division after the flesh But alace it is not possible to perswade you that there is no sweeâ—nessâ— no fragrancy nothing but corruption and rottennesse such as comes out of Sepulchres opened in all these woâ—ks of the flesh till once a new spirit be put in you and your natures changed no more then you can by eloquence perswade a sick man whoâ—e pallat is possessed with a vitiated bitter humour that such things as are suitable to his vitiated taste are indeed bitter or make a swine to believe that the dunghill is stinking and unpleasant Truly it is as impossible to make the multitude of men to apprehend to relish or savour any bitterness or loathsomnesse in the wayes and courses they â—ollow or any sweetness and fragrancy in the wayes of Godlinesse till once your tastes be rectified your spirits be transformed and renewed And indeed when once the spirit is renewed and dispossessed of that malignant humour of corruption and fleshly affection that did present all things contrary to what they are then it is like a healthful and wholsome pallat that tastes all things as they are and finds bitter bitter and sweet sweet or like a sound eye that beholds things just as they are both in colour quantity and distance Then the soul savours the sweet smell of the fruits of the Spirit vers 22. Love joy peace long-suffering meekness temperance c. these are fragrant and sweet to the soul and as a sweet perfume both to the person that hath them and to others round about him and to God also these cast a savour that allures a soul to seek them and being possessed of them they cast a sweet smell abroad to all that are round about and even as high as Heaven a soul that hath these planted in it and growing out of it is as a garden inclosed to God These fruits are both pleasant and sweet to the soul that eats them and as the pleasantness of the apple allured man to taste it and sin so the beauty and sweetnesse of these fruits of the Spirit