forth as the mark of an Hypocrite Now you have heard the law requires inward as well as outward perfection perfect holiness within as well as righteousness in the outward man I verily believe want of this conviction upon the soul sends more souls to Hell than any other thing in the world besides how confident are poor Creatures if they are a little consciencious in dealing and sober and blameless to men this you may be and be no better than Devils as in your selves in Gods account and thy best Character from Jesus Christ Mat. 23.26 is a Blind Pharisee Every place I fear abounds with them therefore this inveterate cursed plea of being outwardly blameless in keeping the Law will not in the least render you more accepted with God but 't is at the best but painted Hypocrisie And yet wretched souls that you are none so well perswaded of themselves as these This is the fourth Reason 5. All the best keeping of the Law doth not cannot make satisfaction to God for one sin of thy soul therefore 't is worth nothing Gods Justice is wronged and if the sinner be remitted God must be satisfied by the sinner himself or by another Now all the obedience of a sinner cannot make satisfaction to God in the least if he had the whole world to offer up to God it could not satisfie him for the wrong of one Sin See that known place Micah 6.6 7. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God shall I come before him with burnt offerings with Calves of a year old will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl shall I give my first born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul Implying that there is nothing that a poor sinner of himself can offer up to God to make atonement of satisfaction to God for the least sin of his soul should he offer up thousands of prayers rivers of tears whole ages spent in services to God take up to a severe new obedience if you should so take to a new course as never to sin more all your days it would not make God satisfaction or atonement for one evil thought of thy soul Now observe this for if thou art not rightly convinced of this thing thou art lost for ever 'T is naturally upon every man and womans heart that hath sinned to imagine that when they have sinned they can put off God as to his displeasure with something or other they will reckon what good they have done gone to Church as you style it given Alms been just to Men or some such thing and the poor blind Creature imagines and pleaseth himself in it that this good thus done will well enough pacifie God for his sins or at least he will go over some prayers and be strict for a little while and then they doubt not but God because also he presently smites not with judgment is well enough appayed and he need no more trouble himself Is not this the very way of your hearts hath not the word found you out Object But you will say why cannot these duties and this obedience satisfie and pacifie God well enough for sin Answ 1. Because there is sin mixt in them they come from a prophane heart as is shew'd in the last reason thou thou ignorantly because thou knowest not thy heart call'st it a good heart Now that which is in it self sinful cannot sure satisfie for sin 2. Because of the infiniteness of God's justice as well as purity of it a finite creature cannot offer up a proportionable attonement to an infinite God Suppose a poor man were under the guilt of treason and condemn'd to dye and he should go and offer up a little course broken bread to the Prince would any one think that this would satisfie the Prince for his treason So poor deceived creature thou art guilty of treason and rebellion against the great and most high God and thou comest and offerest up to him thy poor polluted broked obedience and duties and thinkest he will be satisfied with this whereas God may in the same moment justly send thee to Hell for the iniquity of them A poor sinful soul thinks that because such doings and services do satisfie himself his own conscience therefore he thinks they will satisfie God also because they quiet him upon any trouble for guilt he thinks they will also quiet God and take off his anger and justice from punishing him Poor Creature this thy way is thy folly and the ready way to come under the severe justice of the Almighty who will not thus be dealt with nor be thus bribed with thy cursed sacrifices this is a further convincement of the point all the creature can do cannot pacifie God for one sin and therefore all his best keeping of the law cannot justifie a poor sinner before God nor give him acceptance in the least with him till he sees pacification another way and takes up obedience from another principle and to another end as we are to shew 6. All a mans endeavour in setting himself to keep the law to the utmost cannot give him acceptance with God because it cannot give life to the soul Gal. 3.21 For if there had been a law which would have given life verily righteousness had come by the law Man hath procured death and weakness upon his soul and the law cannot give life nor strength to obey it All that righteousness which leaves the soul dead comes to nothing while a soul is under the law and upon the fulfilling of it as he hopes in a good measure still the soul is as dead as sin left it and void of the life of God True a poor soul thinks himself alive by his legal performances as Paul thought Rom. 7.9 but he is dead in sin and under the sentence of death by the Law and all the performances towards the keeping of it can never give a drop of life to such a poor soul They are dead works and there 's no life in them or from them therefore they stand no soul instead while under the law as under it he is whiles he goes upon this account 7. The main reason of all which is now but to be touched is this If a soul endeavouring to keep the law of God as well as he can may be accepted of God thereby what need Jesus Christ to have dyed 'T is Pauls great argument Rom. 8.3 4. For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us c. Mark ye what the law could not do that it could not give us a righteousness whereby God might accept us therefore God sent his Son in the flesh and condemned sin upon him which otherwise had been condemned
upon the sinner himself Another place to this purpose is Gal. 2. last I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain If there were a possibility of a Creatures attaining to such a degree of keeping the law as well as he can that might render him accepted with God and procure pardon wherein he failed then the dying of Jesus Christ was in vain to no purpose at all Take heed you that are outwardly righteous that you do not frustrate the grace of God and the death of Jesus Christ for ever to your own souls by thinking you endeavour to keep Gods law as well as you can and make some conscience of it and there fix your hope wholly or in part and so be undone for ever Another place in the same Epistle Gal. 4.4 5. speaks out the same truth But when the fulness of time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons What need Jesus Christ to have dyed to redeem the elect from under the law if they had been able to reach forth to such a keeping of it that God might be well pleased with and with them in it Now Jesus Christ's being made under the Law implies these things which I now but hint forth 1. His being under the punishment of the Law which was due to such as were under it what ever the Law pronounced to the Transgressors of it Jesus Christ in effect did undergo it See Gal. 3. Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the law being made a curse for us If good prayers making a conscience in dealing outward sobriety harming no body giving of Alms to poor people could have taken away the curse did the wise and blessed God do well in giving out his Son to be made a curse were prayers righteousness good deeds made a Curse They will be indeed in another sense if thou thinkest to be accepted by them 2. Jesus Christ being made under the Law was to satisfie Gods offended justice for the breach of the Law for such as shall be saved to make attonement for God Rom. 5.11 If now all that thou hast done or shalt ever do could make the least satisfaction or attonement to God in thy good keeping the Commandments as well as thou canst as hath been shew'd God might have kept his Son in Heaven and not sent him to make attonement for any sinners 3. To reconcile sinners unto God Rom. 5.10 When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son c. If reconciliation to God can be had no other way but by the death of Jesus Christ will thy good endeavours for the time to come to keep the Law of God as well as thou canst and take up from a loose course will those I say reconcile thee to God See poor creature how little need thou thinkest thou hast of Jesus Christ and what a meer notion a Saviour is to thee when it comes to the Tryal 4. Jesus Christ died to work out Righteousness for all that shall be saved Now if thou could'st come up to such a degree of being righteous by thy fair and good carriage as thou thinkest to God and Man this righteousness of Jesus Christ was to little purpose Rom. 10.4 Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth Now see mistaken Soul how they hope to please God well enough and make him amends for thy sin by thy good endeavours to serve him in his Law as well as thou may'st makes void the whole design of God in the glorious gift of his eternal Son as much as in thee lyeth and robs him of the Glory of his Grace and makes thy Salvation if it might be had in such a way not of Grace but of Debt Rom. 4.4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of debt but of grace and thus thou in effect becomest thy own Saviour Yet bear with me a little further because a sinner can never be too thoroughly convinced of this matter let me shew you some examples in the Scriptures of such that thought as you do and as all men naturally do that they by their honest and conscionable endeavour to worship God and harm no body they should be saved and yet were found light in the ballance The first is that Pharisee Luke 18.11 He thanks God he was not as other men are Extortioners Vnjust Adulterers c. Here was hope for his acceptance with God He was not so bad as others as many riotous prophane persons were not unjust in his dealings no Adulterer and should any one question his Salvation and going to Heaven Enough for great sinners to miss of Heaven and not such as he was reputed a good and honest man in his Country and amongst his Neighbours well thought of by most And yet for all this confidence and security a great sinner was accepted before him and he not justified in the sight of the God though he was in his own sight and the sight of others See another Mat. 19.20 which place hath been at large opened to you There came a young man a man of parts with the same confidence to reason with Jesus Christ about his condition the man conceived he wanted nothing that a man should have or do for Heaven All these things said he I have kept from my youth up meaning especially the second Table of the Law which Christ gave out not as thereby to put him upon the Law but to find him out and discover him under the Law When Jesus Christ searched the mans heart and finds him under the power of the love of the world as a reigning Soul damning Sin for all his outward blamelesness and so to discover his heart to himself puts him upon tryal of Self-denial away the man packs as mute as a fish and would hear no more as worldlings now of such Doctrine unless he could be a Disciple and part with nothing lose or venture nothing he would rest as he was and hope his being an honest sober man and well thought of would bring him to Heaven and so for ought appears cheated his Soul to Hell The case of Paul hath been often shew'd you he was as many of you think your selves blameless Phil. 3.6 lived in no known sin outwardly against the Law frequented the publick Worship made Conscience of his dealings was zealous of the traditions and customs of his Fathers and yet do you not hear him crying out of it all as loss ver 7. and 8. He thought it was his gain before that it would have gained him Heaven but now t is all loss his keeping the Church his outward blamelesness stands him not in the least stead but cryes out 't is All all loss for Jesus Christ the same Paul that before boasted and thought
the law Now mark you The same Law can't at once justifie and condemn bless and curse quit and judge save and condemn if it therefore condemn in the least it cannot quit by all that ever a soul hath done or may do towards fufilling it I instanced before if a man that lives under the law of England all the laws of it and he be found a transgressor of one law that is to be punished with death it will not be a good plea for him that he never brake any other law that deserves death No saith the Judge you must dye for this so as I have shew'd the law pronounceth death to the breach of any one Commandment any part of one as well as to the breach of the whole Therefore he that pleads as the Pharisee did and was never the more accepted that he is no murtherer no blasphemer no thief no adulterer 't is all one as if thou hast ever had an unholy thought in thy heart as thou hast had thousands as thou art under the Law thou art condemned if this indeed had been the tenour of the law as it was a Covenant between God and the first Adam that if thou and thy posterity shall endeavour to keep the law as well as you can though you sail in some part yet you shall be accepted then this had been a good plea before God that you have so endeavour'd to keep it but 't is not so the Covenant doth not run so but as hath been shewed it runs thus Here 's a holy and righteous law saith God the matter of the Covenant between us if you break it in any one least part of it and but once you are condemn'd and all your other righteousness shall not be imputed to you This hath been proved from several Scriptures and I think 't is the hardest thing in the World to be spiritually and practically convinced of it such is the exactness of the Law that it admits of no bartering of no terms whatsoever it still crys fulfill me to the utmost or dye 3. The third Reason which strikes off all hope of acceptance with God by keeping the Law as well as you can is taken from the sinfulness of those very duties and works which you place such acceptance in There is a sinfulness in every such duty though the matter of the duty be good yet the manner of performing it by any natural man is wholly sinful yea there 's a mixture of sin in the most holy performances of any regenerate soul in the world which he is sensible of but I am dealing with the natural man as to his opinion of his good keeping the law I say there 's nothing but sin in their performances the principle they proceed from is wholly sinful viz. a corrupted polluted heart and nature Can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit Mat. 7.18 Can a corrupt fountain send forth sweet waters James 3.11 No more can a corrupt defiled heart bring forth any duty or work but what is loathsome to God full of all impurity This a natural man is not able to see nor consider of till convinc'd by the Holy Ghost and therefore 't is that he rests only in performing the matters and bulk of duties to God and his Neighbour but with what heart and the unholiness of it he weighs not Upon this account it is that the Scriptures speak at such a rate of natural Men that they are an abomination to the Lord Prov. 15.8 That his soul hates them he cannot away with them they are iniquity they are a trouble to him Isa 1. And that he casts them back as dung upon their faces Mal. 2.3 Therefore if there be more than sin enough in that best keeping of the Law towards God or Man to damn a soul for ever Certainly a soul shall be never the better nor at all accepted for such a keeping of it That which in it self hath sin nothing but sin in the manner of it cannot be a means to quit a soul from other sin by which he hath brought guilt upon himself let this be well considered and nothing but a Christ would be your cry to purpose indeed 4. The fourth Reason or Convincement of this truth that the best endeavour to keep the law will not give you more acceptance with God nor take away any guilt from off thy soul is because such duties and keeping the Law are but of the outward man which is far from reaching the Compass of the law The law is spiritual Rom. 7.14 that is it reacheth to the inwards parts to the motions of the heart as hath been before hinted and not only to the outward man therefore our blessed Lord seeing the Jews insisting so much that they were outwardly blameless spends a large discourse Mat. 5.6 7. to beat them off their confidence in being outwardly righteous and proves a man a murderer by the Law for one wrathful thought in his heart Mat. 5.21 22. Upon this conviction you have him as oft as he spake to the Jews that we may see the weight of this Doctrine See Luke 16.19 15. And the Pharisees also who were covetuous heard all these things and they derided him And he said unto them ye are they which justifie your selves before men but God knoweth your hearts for that which is highly esteemed amongst men is an abomination in the sight of God Jesus Christ was convincing the wickedness of a covetous heart the Jews who were carnal and formal made a slight matter of this seeing they were outwardly blameless and wronged no body Ay but saith Christ God knoweth your hearts and his eye is most upon them and though you are outwardly righteous before men and this is a matter highly esteemed of among men that you are righteous and blameless yet 't is an abomination to God see how severe the Lord is in pressing of this it being the great let of his Ministery and of the Jews stumbling at the Gospel as it is with us Mat. 23. his last Sermon I conceive he preacht to them verse 25. Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye make clean the outside of the cup and platter but within they are full of extortion and excess so with the same woe pronounced verse 27. Ye are like unto whited sepulchers which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead mens bones and of all uncleanness verse 28. Even so also ye outwardly appear righteous unto men but within ye are full of Hypocrisie and iniquity Mark the Lords words within ye are thus and thus as if the Lord should say God regards not what you are outwardly and your observing the law with the outward man seeing you have abundance of all iniquity within which every unregenerate soul in the world hath so you may see that an outward keeping of the law stands for nothing in the account of God whatever it do with men and your selves which you hear Jesus Christ gives
that this is a way of God's own ordaining Jesus Christ was set forth for this very end even by God himself and therefore the soul is brought to this conclusion to venture the Issue of its life and eternal salvation upon it and so throws it self as in a sinking condition upon the grace blood righteousness of Jesus Christ sink or swim live or perish saved or damned there the soul casts Anchor there it pitcheth to this it will stand or fall before the righteous God if there be not enough in the blood of Jesus to give it acceptance with God the Soul resolves to Hell it must There saith a poor self-emptied Soul I cast even away my self if it might be upon it Phil. 3.9 3. The soul is brought on to believe the report that God in his word makes concerning his Son Jesus Christ and of the price value merit and all-sufficiency of his blood to save a poor sinner even to the utmost that comes to God by him Heb. 7.25 to answer all the wants and distresses of a poor soul namely in pacifying the Justice of God fulfilling the Law making attonement removing guilt procuring remission of sins reconciling to God Rom. 5.9 10. Much more being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his Life In all which things the soul is enabled to believe the report of the Gospel that the blood and death of Jesus Christ can do all this for poor sinners that shall pitch upon it 4. In this working of faith the soul comes to see and fasten upon an absolue unlimited Free promise where any sinner that will may come to Jesus Christ and so have the vertue of his death and blood applied to it and therefore that he as well as any other sinner in the world may come to him and make claim to his blood and plead it before God whosoever will let him come Rev. 22. Now saith a poor self-emptied sinner I do not find that I am any where excluded but invited and called upon to come to the Lord Jesus and claim an interest in his blood and that I may plead it even at the throne of his Justice and that I may warrantably safely upon good grounds given out from the mouth of God himself take hold of the Lord Jesus in such a Promise and there is no sin or unworthiness can exclude me unless I will frowardly and wretchedly exclude my self I do not find saith the poor soul that any sin is too great for the Sacrifice of that blood of Jesus so the sinner will come to it yea that 't is the greatest sin and the top of condemnation not to come to it that I more injure God by standing off from Jesus Christ than by all the filthiness blasphemies ungodlinesses my Soul ever wallowed in Heb. 10.29 The Blood of Christ is a price sufficient for the sins of the whole World therefore saith a poor soul for mine He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world and therefore he can take away mine and I am freely called and invited to it and 't is my Rebellion not to come what can I have more And so sense of Peace and Reconciliation falls in upon the Soul 5. The Soul by its often renewing of such Acts of Believing comes at last to see the blood of Jesus Christ appropriated to him now it can stay it self upon the word of promise and can sometimes rejoyce in believing If I roll my self upon the blood of Jesus I have the Word of God for it that I shall be saved we shall be saved from Wrath through him not it may be but we shall be saved and all upon the account of being justified by his blood Rom. 5.9 which justification ariseth upon this believing we have mentioned Thus have I opened the nature of Faith as it is precisely justifying as it applies and appropriates the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus for Remission of sins and Justification unto eternal Life I might insist upon the discovery of the effectual operations of Faith in the Soul as may distinguish it from a meer belief of the History of the death of Jesus Christ take two or three 1. When the Soul by Faith doth act upon the blood of Jesus Christ for justification it doth also bring the power and efficacy of it for purging of the Soul Heb. 9.14 How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offer'd himself without spot to God purge your Conscience from dead works to serve the living God So Acts 15.9 Purifying your hearts by faith There is a purifying vertue in the blood of Jesus Christ upon the souls of Believers they are for the purging away the filth as well as the guilt of sin there 's no believing soul but crys out Purge me Oh Lord purge me and throughly from my filth 2. The soul hath a secret yet real fellowship with the death of Jesus Christ to crucifie and destroy the body of sin in a justified believer which ariseth from its union with Christ Rom. 6.5 6. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection knowing that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin Every true believer can really say I am or I would be Crucified with Christ Gal. 2.20 Which the Apostle there brings in as an effect of Justification by Faith 3. Every justified believer looks upon this as one great end of his Justification that he might live to God Gal. 2.19 That I might live unto God Likewise reckon ye your selves to be dead indeed unto him but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6.11 Every justified Believer doth thus reckon of himself I am to be dead to sin but alive to God I am to yield my self to God verse 13. To have my fruit unto Holiness verse 22. 4. Faith that justifies doth through the Spirit work the Soul to Gospel-obedience to all the Laws and Ordinances of Jesus Christ which shall be revealed to be the Will of Christ from the Command of Jesus Christ and from a principle of love to Jesus Christ John 15.10 5. A justifi'd believer will deny himself for Christ take up his cross and follow him let any sufferings be proposed to a called believer and let him know it is for Jesus Christ and that soul unless under a temporary desertion or temptation will choose and embrace those sufferings and undergo them with some chearfulness Luke 14.26 27. 7. Every justified believer hath a Marriage Vnion with Jesus Christ Ephes 5.25 26 32. The soul hath chosen Jesus Christ having broken off from all other lovers hath betrothed it self unto Christ in an
in them and by this others are brought on to glorifie God on their behalf 1 Pet. 2.12 Vse 1. It may serve for instruction and information of your Judgments and Consciences that there are other blessed and necessary and holy Ends in the Sanctification and Obedience of a Believer though they do not pacifie God nor justifie the Believer nor procure mercy by way of worthiness to a poor Soul called thereunto which may therefore serve to discover the damnableness of such kind of Doctrines that teach and cry in this day Grace is free Christ hath done all what need you pray and have Ordinances and be holy This is of the wicked one and comes from his Instruments and Factors who are sent abroad to damn Souls You may see that not one of those Ends mentioned but is of weight enough to convince a Soul of the necessity of Holiness Duties and Obedience and such mens pretenâ—es are not a Scripture-way of Free grace 2. If there are blessed and holy Ends of a Believers Duties and Obedience though he is not thereâ—y justified it may serve to take off that prejudice of heart through misunderstanding and Ignorance that is apt to be upon the hearts of such as are Carâ—al when they hear that all their Duties Sobriety and Righteousness is to be accounted as loss for Christ You see there are good and necessary Ends of all Duties of Obedience only still take this with you and to your Consciences that till you come as poor and naked to Jesus Christ for your justifying Righâ—â—ousness and so get life in and from him and so are â—â—rried on in a way of Duty else your Duties serve â—u for no end and purpose unless for a lesser degree of Torment in Hell only be encouraged to wait upon the means for the receiving of the Spirit for the Knowldge of Jesus Christ And these things I have spoken may be your Experience 3. It may further direct Believers what ends they are to propose to themselves in the way of their Duties and Obedience to be carried on in them through the Grace of GOD and the daily supply of the Spirit as one great end of your Redemption that you should serve the Lord in Holiness to eye the Soveraign and Absolute Command of God over you that thereby you are made conformable to God and shew forth his Image and to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that there is an equity and goodness in all the Holy and Righteous Ways of God And see that the Love of God be shed abroad in your hearts to draw out your love to him and so be acted in your Obedience Get your hearts taken with the beauty and glory of the Lord Jesus and so long after likeness to him See that you look after Communion with God in your Duties and that you do not neglect your Evidence for the Pardon of your sins by the sight of your sanctification and your Universal Obedience And perform them not as to procure mercy by any proportion thereunto is your Duties but as Returns to God and consider how much God is glorified in the World by the Obedience of his people And thus may you carry on your progress in Holiness and a sweet and coscientious performance of Duties and walking with God and yet live by your Faith for your justification by the rich and Free grace of God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ as if you had never obeyed at all In a word If thou hast felt the power and vertue of the blood of Jesus Christ upon thy soul coming as a poor naked polluted guilty Soul unto it as thou hast been shewed and hast received life from Jesus Christ by a believing closing with him and art waiting for a sight and sense of thy justification but doest yet want it remember still that in the performance of thy Duties thy Heart which it is very apt to do lays no stress upon them as in them to appear before God and to procure the favour of God but still go forth to the grace blood righteousness promises of Christ and there fix for thy acceptance with God and be much in renewing of Acts of Faith that is casting thy Soul upon them and Evidence will come in yet go on in humbling praying waiting reforming sanctifying obeying as to the ends mentioned and the peace of God fill thy heart 2. Believers that have some sense of your justification do you remember that you obey God not that thereby you were are or ever may be justified but because you are justified Therefore you obey the Lord and delight in his ways keep this in your eye and 't will keep the heart from going to bottom upon your selves as gracious and partly righteous which mixtures render Duties uncomfortable and keep souls from Assurance No Believer performs his Duties so spiritually sweetly and comtably as that soul that labours to keep the sight of his Justification still upon the Account of Free-grace and out of himself that soul enjoys sweetest Communion with God in the way of his Duties and gets to Heaven with most comfort and assurance AMEN The Third Treatise Shewing the Gospel-Evidences of a True Christian as they are experienced by these who are truly Believers and the false Appearances thereof plainly refuted 2 COR. 5.17 If any man be in Christ he is a New Creature I Have been opening the difference between the Righteousness of the Law and the Gospel shewing the Necessity Nature and Way of obtaining Gospel-justification by the Blood of Jesus Christ and have discovered a Soul estated therein I shall now endeavour to open the Gospel New Creature peculiarly as distinguisht from that which is called in appearance a Legal-New-Creature c. Now let a soul fail in either of these and lost for ever fail of a saving close with Jesus Christ for righteousness or being a New Creature in Christ and you perish in your sins and the wrath of God will overtake you I shall not now take up time in opening the coherence of the words nor will it much be desired as to our design I shall therefore draw this plain conclusion from them Namely Observ There 's an absolute necessity in order to the Salvation of every soul to become a New Creature in Christ Having proved it we shall open the way of being a New Creature and how in Christ Then how distinguisht from an appearing New Creature but not so indeed and so give forth the Evidences of it Those Scriptures that speak of the necessity of being born again of the Spirit John 3.3 5. And of being converted Mat. 8.3 do evince the same truth Gal. 6.15 Neither Circumcision nor Vncircumcision avail any thing but a New Creature For we are his Workmanship created unto Christ Jesus c. Ephes 2.10 He that hath wrought us for the self same thing is God and hath given us the earnest of his Spirit 2 Cor. 5.5 The necessity of this New-Creature doth arise
these are things worthy the thoughts of Saints indeed 4. They have to take up their thoughts the glorious blessedness of the forgiveness of their sins What a blessed state a state of forgiveness in the blood of Jesus Christ is Blessed Oh blessed for ever are they whose iniquities are forgiven Bless the Lord O my soul who forgiveth all thine iniquities c. Psal 103. God hath not appointed me to wrath but to obtain salvation through my Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes 5. Oh blessed extasie for a poor called pardoned Believer to be in 5. Such as are New-Creatures in Christ they have the Mystery of the New-Covenant the everlastingness of it to bring their hearts to and to work the Promises thereof upon their hearts to muse on the returns of their Prayers to behold the continual Providences of God towards them and his ways of mercy and kindness to them 6. They have the shortness of their time the vanity of their lives the certainty of Death to muse on Lord make me to know the number of my days that I may know how frail I am Yea they have a future and eternal state of Blessedness and Glory to have their thoughts swallowed up into That they shall one day see Jesus Christ as he is in all his glory and never look off him any more They shall do nothing else but love him enjoy perpetual communion of Saints be praising admiring adoring the blessed Majesty of God for ever and ever Oh! If there are such excellent and blessed things for the thoughts of the holy-ones of God to be exercised in Oh! what base Dunghil hearts have such that pore upon nothing but earth and filth Let it not be so with such that have tasted the good and sweetness of those things that have real substantial soul-filling goodness in them What matter of Complaint to God's poor Children whose hearts are too too apt to sink earthwards pois'd with weights that they cannot keep them up in the vision of God his Christ and what ever is blessed in him Oh! when the thoughts of your hearts must be taken up with your Callings which cannot be done without it keep a Watch over them let them not run forth to sinful distempers but that you may be fit to go to God and converse with him and get the blessed savour of these things upon your hearts and do not let out your thoughts to idleness and soul-defiling vanity and feed upon vanity when there are such solid glorious things to feed upon which you expect to be taken up with in an infinite unwearied delight to all eternity And do not suffer the Devil to take up his abode by his subtle and sudden suggestions or more close insinuations upon you If he make his Inroads resist check defie with abhorrency his first Attempts before he work up corruption in you And remember still your spirits and bodies are the Temples of God and the Temple of God must be holy 1 Cor. 6.19 20. What know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost that is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God with your spirits and bodies which are Gods And thus much of this special evidence of the New-Creature in the newness of his thoughts and the acting of them 8. The Eighth Discovery of the New-Creature is this The New-Creature hath a new Lip a new Tongue let loose to speak of God and for God And this also I shall a little insist upon Saith our blessed Lord A good man out of the good Treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things Matthew 12.35 Good and wholsom and savoury Words To this we find the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures often pressing saith the wise man Prov. 20.15 The Lips of knowledge are a precious Jewel The mouth of a righteous man is a well of Life The lips of the righteous feed many Prov. 10.11 12. So the Apostle Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your Mouth but that which is good to the use of Edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers Ephes 4.29 Let your speech be always with grace seasoned with salt c. Col. 4.6 By which places 't is evident that a special discovery of the New-Creature is herein manifested 1. The New-Creature hath a New Tongue to speak Savourly and Experimentally of the things of Christ and the work of the Spirit Because that which the heart is exercised with it will be bringing forth Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh an evil man out of the abundance of evil in his heart bringeth forth evil things as a good man doth good things Matth. 12.25 28. If the heart and affections be spiritually exercised the Tongue will be speaking forth 2. Because thereby a New-Created Soul doth give glory to God they speak of the Testimonies works goodness grace and the wonders of the Love of God to poor sinful Creatures And hereby God is much glorified Come and hear all ye that fear God and I will tell what he hath done for my Soul Psal 66.16 3. Gracious hearts do hereby stir up the Grace of Christ in them 't is like the blowing of a spark and makes the heart to glow e're it is aware gracious Conference is the very breath of the Spirit which kindles all our Graces afresh as it was with the Disciples going to Emaus Luke 24.32 Did not our hearts burn within while he talked with us by the way 4. Good Souls do not only profit themselves in receiving good but they profit others one of the best ways that we do good is in profiting weak Saints or Sinners how hath a word spoken from a savoury person humbly and wisely dropt in upon the Soul of a sinner which hath been its first awakening And so upon a poor weak tempted Child of God how seasonably hath God ordered a word for a poor soul from conference with another Vse If a New-Creature in Christ hath a New Tongue as well as a new heart then let it be for Conviction of sinners whose Tongues as well as hearts are exercised in vanity altogether in prophane or vain or carnal or worldly Discourses this shews there is no good treasure in the heart The Apostle James follows this Conviction very closely and makes it the Character of a carnal pretending Believer or false and dead Faith James 1.26 If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this mans religion is vain 'T is but a seeming to be religious a vain Religion where the tongue hath a carnal Liberty and he calleth the Tongue a world of iniquity set on fire of Hell Jam. 3.6 an unruly evil full of deadly poison ver 8. The evils of the Tongue that bespeak a sinner unregenerate are these and they are frequent among this generation 1. Speaking evil of the Spirit of God and