and Drink and be merry in the Lord. I will suffer patiently in the Lord. I will Live and Die in the Lord. Tell me not of Temptations I know who is on my side and will deliver me Tell me not of Tribulations I know who will Save me Tell me not of Death and Hell I know who will Redeem me Yea He hath Delivered He hath saved He hath Redeemed me already The Forgiveness of my Sins past present and to come is already present with me The Deliverance from all my Sufferings is already present with me Eternal Life and Salvation is already present with me I know in whom I have Trusted Here will I fix say the World the Flesh or the Divel what they will or can But with a Carnal Life Chap. 11. Carnal mâ—n this Faith and Hope cannot consist Of all Tempers these are most opposite to Faith 1. Outward uncleanness Rioting and Drunkenness Chambering and Wantonness Strife and Envy Cursing Damning Oppression and Cruelty and such like 2. Inward Hypocrisy Lying and Cheating c. 3. Open Rebellion Sacriledge Sedition and murmuring and such like The Carnal mind understandeth not the things of God neither indeed can it because they are spiritually discerned Thus it becometh us to Preach and you to practice Grace Faith Repentance Patience c. It is too Legal to preach Laws Duties Curses Threatnings Damnation The Gospel is Faith Love Hope Joy in the Holy Ghost Grace mercy pace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ Till we perswade you to Faith we shall never do our work nor your work for you Believe only and you shall be saved This will bring works and duties and mortifications and all shall be pleasing to God and without this nothing shall be pleasing unto him for without Faith it is impossible to please God Say not You cannot understand this Spiritual Doctrine of the Gospel and this Rule is too high for you to walk by it is too hard a Taske to lead this life of Faith Sol. I answer Chap. 12. Gospel Easy It is easy to understand this Doctrine and he that is willing shall be made to know the mind of God and to do the same It is as easy to understand this Gospel-Precept Thou shalt not Lust or Hate as to understand this Legal Command Thou shalt not commit Adultery or Thou shalt not Kill It is as easy to understand That the thoughts of the Heart and the desires of the Will are to be regulated as the words of the Tongue or the works of the Hand It is as easy to understand Faith as Works to Believe as to Live To accept of the Covenant of Grace as of works As for the Mysteries of Faith in the Trinity Incarnation Descension Intercession of Christ and such like They are more easily and safely to be believed then disputed And the spirit is given to all that Believe that they might understand and do the Will of God That they might know the heighth and length and breadth and depth of the Love of God which passeth all knowledg It is as easy and farre more to hear of Grace Mercy and Peace as to hear of Law Curses and Damnation It is as easy to hope as fear to rejoyce as to mourn to be free as to be slaves to walk in light as in darkness To understand the good of the Soul as of the Body the life to come as this life present Wise are we to know this World Gain Honor pleasure c. and wiser we might be to know the World to come Ob Ob. A hard saying who can hear it Sol. Sol. An easy and true saying and very pleasant and may be heard Yea and he that hath Ears to hear let him hear for he may hear if he will none so deaf as they that will not hear The Charmer charmes often and wisely unless we stop our Ears with the deaf Adder and refuse to hear the voice of this Charmer though he charms unto us never so often never so wisely There is a voice behind us yea within us which saies unto us This is the way walk in it Turn from the ways of wickedness pass by them and come not neer unto them for fear iniquity be your Ruin for why will ye Dye O when will it once be The Sun of the Gospel shines very cleerly but the World shuts her eyes upon it The light is come into the world but men loved darkness rather then light because their deeds are evil The opposers of this heavenly way of walking with God in Faith and spiritual Duties are 1. Outward Formalists and Will-worshippers Chap. 13 â—ormaliâ—ts which rest in the Letter and in the outward work done as in Fasts Feasts Forms Austerities Almes Justice Temperance c. yet there is a more excellent way to go on to perfection not to draw neer to God with our Lips but our hearts As the proud Pharisee that fasted twice in the Week that made long Prayers that paid Tithe of all that he possessed that thanked God that he was not like other men nor as that Publican But the poor Publican went home to his house Justified rather then the other And the very Publicans and Harlots shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven by their Faith when these Hypocrites shall be shut out 2. Law-Preachers Chap. 14. Law-Preachers and hearers of Curses and Damnation Are we Saved by the Works of the Law or by the Faith of the Gospel By the works of the Law no flesh living shall be justified What Law had the Heathens Preached unto them They were never under the Law they needed it not after they did believe nor Wee God did write in the Law in their hearts by his Spirit in the dayes of the Gospel and the Kingdome of Heaven is within us The royal Law of Love The perfect Law of Liberty is written upon the Tables of our hearts and this is a sufficient Rule to bring us to Heaven Mockers of Faith Chap. 15 Mockers Self-denyal Mortification Purity of heart Poorness of Spirit Mourning Meekness hungring and thirsting after Righteousness Mercifulness Peace-making Suffering Persecution Rejoycing in Persecution which are the spiritual commands of Christ to which Blessedness is promised Such Prophets as speak of these things are counted Fools and such spiritual men esteemed mad by the voluptuous and Luxurious men of the World and by the Zenonian Fatalists that depend upon absolute Decrees and put all to a venture What then remains but that all Reasonable men should be satisfied with this reasonable service of Faith which is above their Carnal Reason but agreeable with all spiritual and Right Reason and none but unreasonable and absurd men will deny it I will resolve therefore with my self Chap. 16. Soul-Resolution to go out of my self and trust no longer in my Flesh nor in any Creature I will resolve with my self to understand better things and to know my self more perfectly 1. How
as present and visible then she believes and hopes For hope that is seen is not hope Rom. 8.24 25. for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for But if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it A great Argument to Patience by having an Eye to the Recompence of the Reward and to the Price of the high Calling which is layd up for us in Christ which causeth us to endure the Crosse and despise the Shame A great Argument to live by Faith as if the Things were sensibly present and seen yea by Faith they are made present and seen for Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of Things not seen Where therefore these Two Principles and Arguments are they do necessarily inferre true Faith and they do shew the excellency thereof by the great effects of Patience and Courage which were wrought in the hearts of those famous Worthies whereby they obtained so good a Report from God who highly favoured them and rewarded them for all their sufferings The several Instances are very remarkable Chap. 2. of Examples of Faith Ver. 3. The World framed by Gods Word Things seen made of Things that do not appear but are understood by Faith By the Things now seen we have a sight of things unseen done long before our times The Scripture makes Faith of it Let there be light Gen. 1.3 Ps 33.6 and there was light c. By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made c. He spake the word and it was done We now see Trees of Trees Living Creatures from Living Creatures Men from Men but these first Trees Creatures and Men had not their beginning from these we now see Wisd 11.17 but from the Chaos or Deep without Form Ver. 4. Abel offered a more excellent Sacrifice than Cain by Faith he leaves out Adam for his Sin Abels Sacrifice was not more valuable than Cains but more acceptable for his Faith The other was the Sacrifice of a Fool i.e. a sinner this of a wise man i. e. just Vers 5. Enoch was translated by Faith Gen. 5.21 for he walked with God and so pleased God how but by Faith for without Faith it is impossible to please God Vers 7. Noah prepared an Arke by Faith i. e. in hope of Gods promises He had a sight of Things unseen i.e. of the Floud yet to come a Subsistence of Things hoped for i. e. safely from the Universal Deluge Vers 8. Abraham sojourned and looked for a City to come by Faith Vers 27. and offered up Isaac the Child of Faith in the Promise not Nature Vers 11. Sarah by Faith conceived in her old Age above the strength of Nature Vers 20. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come in the Promised Land Vers 21. Jacob dying in Faith and worshipping blessed his Sons to the Promised Land Vers 22. Joseph by Faith gave Commandement concerning his bones to be buried in Canaan Vers 23. Moses by Faith was saved from drowning and refused to be called the Son of Pharaohs Daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the People of God than to enjoy the Pleasure of sin for a season Vers 30. The Walls of Jericho fell down by Faith Vers 31. Rahab by Faith perished not with the Unbelievers So Gideon Barak Sampson Jephthah and David Samuel and the Prophets who by Faith subdued Kingdoms and wrought Righteousness obtained the Promises endured tortures stopped the mouths of Lyons quenched the violence of Fire waxed valiant in fight 2 Mace women received their dead raised to life again c. Heb. 11.35 All this Faith arose not from any cleer Promise of a Resurrection Chap. 3. Acts of Faith but hoping in Gods Power and Goodness beyond this Life they endured all things here patiently Much more may we that have a full and open Promise and Example of the Resurrection by him that first brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel and is the first born from the Dead and the first fruits of them that slept Thus the Things that are absent from us and do subsist in themselves are made to subsist to us by our Faith As Christs Birth Life Miracles Suffering Death Resurrection Ascension Glory all real in themselves subsisting though before our times yet are made present by Faith So our Resurrection Ascension and Glory Eternal not yet come nor seen but are made present and visible by Faith anticipating their being to us before they be For we live by Faith here and not by Sense And blessed are those that have seen Christ in the Flesh and the works that he did and heard his words yea but much rather blessed are they that have never seen nor heard him or his Works or Doctrine and yet have believed And this is truly to know Christ and by this knowledg of Faith Christ is in us and we in Christ For we know not Christ now after the Flesh but after the Spirit i.e. as he is spiritually present with us by Faith and will be eternally present with us by sight For although we had lived in his time and known him after the flesh or been his Natural Mother Sisters or Brethren yet from henceforth by our Faith we should have known him no more in that state of weakness and Mortality of Flesh but in a farre better state of Eternal Glory and Power in the Spirit And in the Union and Communion with him by Faith And so we do know him and by the hearing and believing of his Word we are made one with him and he with us are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone are his spiritual Mother Sisters and Brethren Having fellowship already with the Father and with the Son by the Spirit of the Father and the Son and are already in heavenly places in Christ Jesus For Faith is the Substance of things hoped for and the Evidence of things not seen Doctrine 1. The Subject of this Text is Faith 2. The Circumstances are two 1. The Substance of things hoped for 2. Chap. 4. Of the fruits of Faith The Evidence of things not seen 3. The Reason is Because Faith obtains a present Right to a future Blessing and an earnest and assutance thereof and an Expectation of the full Possession 4. The Reason of this Reason is from the Nature of Faith which is not only an Assent to the Truth of Gods Promises with a Reliance and Dependency upon God for the performance of them but an acceptation and embracing them upon the condition of Holiness that they are offered unto us which Faith is therefore accounted unto us for Righteousness That is whereby we have a true Right Interest Title and Claim to the Inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven which is the Thing promised unto us This Description of Faith is thus illustrated unto us Chap.
go along with them and for ever despair of Gods Mercies Let them enjoy this World no wise man will envy them They are left to themselves They that are wilful let them be wilful still Ob Many say they know no better Ans There are many things they might know if they had a mind to know but these men revel away all their Time and never regard to know any thing that is good Who can pretend ignorance that there is a God and that he should do as he would be done by Not one For these are Common Principles And as for Consequences men might easily make them if they would take the pains upon several occasions in life As to say when they dissemble How do I look when I Lye Do I not hide falsehood under my Tongue and is there not a Lie in my right hand Do I spend vast Sums upon vanity of Apparel and Riotous living and should I grutch to pay the Minister his small dues or to give a little to the Poor No man but might say and do these things and such as these whensoever occasion is offered in his business amongst men But men sleep or Pot away their dayes and forget all goodness and in a moment they go down to the Grave and Rottenness takes fast hold upon them In a Word for there is no end of writing Books upon such Subjects to informe and rebuke all men at all times as they have need for all their wild Extravagancies Let us hear all in a little Fear God and keep his Commandments keep Faith and a good Conscience yet more briefly Love is the fulfilling of all Gods Commandements FINIS An APPENDIX for PEACE Transition I Have in my former Discourses endeavoured to satisfy and comfort weak fearful and melancholy spirits who though they have true Faith yet by reason of their own Distempers within and the Temptations without complain for want of that Faith and Assurance which they have already 1. It remains that I should farther put on to satisfy concerning Children that dye before they attain to Faith or the use of Reason in what condition their souls are in 2. As also concerning Innocents and Fools that all their life long are suspended from the use of Reason 3. As also concerning Mad-men who after the Exercise of Reason have been deprived thereof for ever or have lost it for a time and then recovered it and lost it again 4. As also of them that perish by Fire or Water or dye suddenly by any other accident 5. As also concerning them that in their health of Body enjoy health of mind but when Sicknesses have violently seized upon their Bodies their Souls have lost all sober use of understanding will or memory to the outward appearance only the Fancy abounds with absurd Idaeas and representations of things never acted by them or sometimes by any other And thence proceed expressions of Blasphemy Uncleanness Nonsense to the great trouble and amazement of their weak friends especially if they chance never to recover their wits again 6. And lastly concerning those honest Heathens that have excelled in virtue and the fear of God either upon the stock of natural knowledge and their own practice or some farther secret Revelation that God hath made unto them In what state or condition their Souls may be thought to be in And these are all the cases of doubt that I can think on upon this present Subject To these I shall strive to give a modest answer with submission to better Judgments being farr from a Magisterial Spirit of absolute Determination in any thing save what God hath most cleerly revealed to all 1. I say then as to the first Case of Infants that dye in that estate Chap. 1. I think their souls are in a very safe condition Reason And the Reason is from Gods infinite justice as well as Grace That though their Fathers have eaten sown Grapes yet they their childrens teeth shall not be set on edge They must dye because they are the children of the first Adam by Nature that brought in death by his Sin which is the wages thereof But they shall not dye everlastingly because they are the children of the Second Adam by Grace that brought in life everlasting by his Righteousness which is the Reward thereof As for their actual non-stipulation such as is required in ordinary Covenants and in the Covenant of Grace I suppose their incapacity which God puts them in of such Stipulation for want of Power to use Reason shall not render them incapable of the Grace of God to excuse them by extraordinary favour for what they could not help For notwithstanding the impossibility of actual acceptation of their Will yet probably God may convey that Grace unto them which he hath promised to the faithful and their Seed though at present they do not know it yet hereafter they shall know it to their great admiration of that Grace that brought them unto Glory And what should hinder them from being susceptible of the benefit of Gods Promises although they understand not Faith For are they not innocent and will God condemn the innocent as he doth the wicked shall not the Judge of all the World do right This be farre from God to judge unrighteous Judgment and this be far from us to think of God after such a fashion Are not Infants free from all love of the World or malicious wilfulness to put by Grace or to grieve the Spirit of God whereby they are sealed unto the day of their Redemption And is it not an exuberancy of Love and such as becomes the God of Love to help those poor creatures that cannot help themselves And can he in Justice create such innumerable and helpless Souls and give them but a short life without all knowledge or sense of pleasure on purpose to damn them to everlasting pain and make them fuel for Hell-fire only to shew what he can do Certainly Gods thoughts are not like mans thoughts so cruel neither are his wayes like mans wayes so unjust But they are of a better fashion neither may we think God to be such a one as our selves Secondly concerning Innocents and Fools Chap. 2. that have lived long and yet never attained to the use of a Rational Soul I think these are more miserable wretches then children that dyed in their Infancy but not more sinful but both are alike innocent and harmless before God That stained condition that they as Sons of Traitors are in by Law that have forfeited their Estates is a sufficient punishment for this World by Grace they are most certainly free from the punishment of the next World For these poor Lambs what have they done that never were in a capacity so much as to will good or bad And 't is a true saying Nihil ardet in inferno nisi propria voluntas Nothing suffers in Hell but the sinful Will What does Baptisme consign Chap. 3. but an