that vanish away in outward rejoycing so as no life in his heart in a manner is left Peter when he had denyed his Master his heart was much oppressed within him he was pricked and wounded with anguish in his soul but there was some life in that But what was it with David after his committing of uncleannesse nine or ten months together he pleaseth himselfe in his pleasures and delights and contentments which his royalty put upon him and made Vriah drunke and did eate and drink himselfe liberally with him and in the end put him to death and that very sleightly and when he heares of it makes no matter of it but the sword devoures one as well as another and had not his pulse beating in him no warme breath comes from him but an empty flourish and outward joyallity as if he had sung all care away and all fear of God out of his heart As if there was no spirituall affection left in his heart of the estate of the whole Church of God whereas his poore servant could say unto him shall I goe home and sollace my self with my wife and children the case standing with the Church so as it doth he would not do so a word that one would have thought would have warmed a good mans heart but he was not warmed with it nor with any lively affection not any beating of his pulse to Christianity nothing stirring but a swounding of the whole man that he that had seen David in such a case and had never known him before he might have written in his forehead a man forsaken of God and void of all feare of his name had he seen him in this case Where was then Davids life all this while It was a fearefull condition and of all we read in the Scripture none so farre forsaken whose whole spirit was so farre benumbed as Davids then was and yet truly life there was stil in him I doubt not though all this while you shal see that either David prayed not all this while and that hath been the case sometimes of right godly men that have sometimes not of three yeares together made a private Prayer in their Closets have been content to come to duties in the Family cause others to perform duties but for their own parts further then a form of religion or shame or satisfying of conscience forces them they let all rest no affection at all to the duty they know God tooke no pleasure in such a soule while they lived in such a course and so would they lye many moneths and yeares and all that while not so much as lift up a private prayer to God and this is a far worse case then the other and yet even this sometimes befalls them when as sinfull lusts have so distempered the life of Christ in them there is still an habit of grace in the soule but yet scarce any life of Religion putting forth it selfe but still where warmth is removed so much life from holy duties is taken away And another answer to this poynt is that even as you see it is by the Almighty power of God that there may be fire and not heat as you see in the fiery Furnace whereinto the three Children was cast though it was made exceeding hot yet it had not power to hurt an haire of their heads nor to swinge a lap of their Garments the power of the sire was propended by the mighty power of God as there is this power in God concerning materiall fire so is there a marvellous hellish and Devillish power in sinne though not an Almighty power yet very like to an Almighty power that that which hath a mighty worke of God by the Almighty power of his grace in the hearts of the Servants of God the work of an Almighty power There is such a venemous power in sin as that it will susspend all acts of grace Power of sinne not so much as shew any act of grace in a Christian soule but the soule and all the graces in it shall lye as the body of a man in a swound not any breathing or sight or hearing or motion nothing to shew of any spirituall life that if he should continue so you would conclude he were dead only this kind of life of grace is there you shall have thus much life in him There is a kinde of unlistinesse and heavinesse of soule to act wickednesse with all that strength and power which sometimes a godly man while he was carnall did reach forth his heart and hand unto a kind of frame of spirit in a Christian when it is at the worst though it can solace it selfe very farre in sinne and goes on hardening its heart in its owne way most desperately and frowardly yet notwithstanding there was alwaies something in his heart that will not suffer his soule to breake out with all that strength of the spirit of wickednesse as it did when it was carnall and the reason of that is because of that speech Gal 5.17 there is flesh and spirit in that soule so as neither can the spirit doe what it would nor the flesh what it would take a Christian when he is most strong and he cannot so glorifie God nor so edifie his brethren as hee would by reason of the body of sinne there is alwaies in the best of a Christian something like the spots in the Moone some darknesse in it not a Christian man but when he is most lively in grace but he hath some darknesse in his best performances so when corruption is most strong and grace most feeble and weake as in the former corruption will weaken the best performances so here corruption cannot carry a Christian man to doe all that wickednesse which else he would breake forth into nor with that strength and vigour which else he would put forth in it though he doe rejoyce in his wickednesse Note this and beare it out yea out-face his very conscience and out-stare the very light of the graces of God within him and goe on pleasing himselfe in the hardnesse of his owne heart yet there is something in the bottome that keeps possession for God and makes him goe about it bunglingly it becomes him not he cannot set it forth with a grace David in his worst comes not off with full power of wickednesse which else his corrupt heart would willingly break forth into were it not for the Spirit of grace that moves slowly in such cases as these be so that still the case stands cleare how much life so much warmth and that warmth will expresse it selfe if any life be there at all So that take a survey of your owne estates by this meanes you would know whether you have Christ or no whether you have life or no If you have the life of grace there is some spirituall warmth in thy soule some heat in thy soule doe but consider then the knowledge that is within thee Is thy knowledge such
him he hath so done both in offending God and his Brethren then thou shalt forgive him our Saviour said so Luke 17.4 and the like you read Eph. 4. so that when the Holy Ghost commends this as a property of love that it covers a multitude of sins he meanes not that it covers them in silence or forgetfulnesse or carelesnesse as if we never meant to meddle nor make with them in a carelesse silence and in an indifferent putting of the matter from us as if it nothing concerned us but cover them by wisdome faithfulnesse and compassion even such as God for Christs sake hath shewed to us Object But you say againe but if a man be thus willing to see and observe the failings of his brethren It may be he shall be counted a busie body in other mens matters a Bishop in another mans Diocesse meddling in matters that concerns him not and makes us to do there where we have nothing to doe Answ We may be so counted but it is not to be doing where we have nothing to doe for God would have us to take notice of one anothers failings God and Christian love requires it it is not out of our element and charge but God layes a charge upon us to keepe and looke to this and that mans soule As it was said to the King of Israel keep this man and if he be gone thy soule shall goe for his soule It is for us to keepe diligent watch and to consider one another and to take heede there bee not an evill heart of unbeleefe one in another and therefore wee must not onely have respect to the wayes and words of our brethren but to the healing of their hearts to see there be no deceitfulnes in the bottome God therefore requires that we should exhort one another daily while it is called to day If therfore you do but keep your selves within these termes not medling with other mens sinnes with an hypocriticall eye to condemne them and to justifie our selves nor with a sensorious envious malicious wanton eye but with an eye of wisdome faithfulnesse and compassion in such a case you do not go beyond your Commission Object But you say I shall be more busie then I shall have thanke for my labour I may bee worse and they never the better Answ It may be they will be the worse for the while and never the better but he that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour then he that flattereth with his tongue Prov 28.23 A man must sow this seed in patience It may be a winter wil follow upon it but at length he shall find the fruits of his labours even as the Husband-man waiteth with long patience til the season and time of harvest yeeld him a comfortable increase he that deales plainly with his neighbour shall find more favor at the length then he that flatters him If you loose his favour it is but for a season and if a man in this case have been more busie then for the present he gets thankes for yet God will blesse it and recompence it and God wil not let such a man go without finding favour with himselfe how ever he may from others Doct. Vpon the sight of a mans brothers sin a faithfull man is to pray for him If any man see his brother sin let him aske So did holy Moses Exod. 32.31 32 33. This was the first worke he had to doe upon their sin and he spent forty dayes and forty nights about that worke when he saw it was a sin and punished it as a Magistrate he satisfies not himselfe in so doing but he gets to God and wrastles with him about it and layes his owne soule to pawne to God either pardon that sinne or if he do condemn them condemn him with them The like did God direct Iob to doe he bids his three friends goe to Job and he shall pray for you him will I accept Job 42.7 8. God would have it so Iob must pray for them when he sees them in a sinne And Ieremiah speaks to the same purpose Chap. 13.17 My soule shall mourne and weep in secret for you and the patterne of our Saviour is without exception Luke 23.34 happy was he that could doe him a mischeife and all men cried out away with him crucifie him crucifie him that when one would thinke a mans heart should burst with indignation yet he prayes to his father Father forgive them they know not what they doe he prayes for pardon of their sin when they use him most wickedly one that had never done them wrong And so you read of Stephen the first Christian Martyr Act. 7 60. when they flung stones about his ears he kneeled down and cryed with a loud voyce Lord lay not this sinne to their charge Reas 1. It is first taken from the compassion which we owe to our brethrrn we ought to pray for them if they had been but sick Psal 35.13 When they were sick I mourned for them my prayer shall be for them in their misery Now if a man should pray for men in any calamity how much more in this the greatest of all the rest we ought most to pray for our Brethren when they sinne Reas 2. Taken from the duty that lyes upon a Christian to exhort his brethren Heb. 3.12 13. and Levit 19.17 and neither of these can prevaile without prayer for this as wel as any thing else is sanctified by the Word and prayer 1 Tim. 1.4 5. Reas 3. Taken from the desperate danger of sin and the helplesnesse of a man under sinne unlesse God put in and therefore in some case though if man be too weake he may call in others to help yet however amongst the rest call for Gods help for unlesse we doe so all helps without him are in vaine though good helpes are of speciall use God blessing them to save and lift up a poore soule out of sin but know this that it is a worke of an Almighty power to deliver a soule from sinne no lesse then the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ He redeemes Israel from all his iniquities Psal 1 30. last unlesse he put forth a redeeming hand there will be no good done there is such a deceitfulnesse in sin as that it will harden a man Sinne is of the nature of poyson it stiffens and hardens the body puts out the eyes and so inflames it with heate that it is not possible to quench it so when a man hath once sinned against God he presently looseth his eyes Satan and his Lusts having gotten him into sinne they first put out his eyes that he shall see no danger nor hurt in it and then he is so hardened with the sin he hath committed that no counsels or admonitions can recover him out of it but only the mighty hand of God and therefore prayer must be made to God for him Reas 4. Taken from the displeasure that God takes if he
also The life of Justification you heard hath these three effects or fruits in the heart Peace Quietnesse and Assurance for ever Care to keepe our conscience pacified in some measure carefull to maintaine that peace we have had so much ado to get And also love of God according to the abundance of sin that hath been pardoned to us We are now speaking of the effects of life and now to speake of the effects of the life of our sanctification Life of Sanctification Hee that hath the Son hath life not only in the pardon of his sin but he hath likewise the graces of Gods spirit which are the life of sanctification A frame of grace wrought in the soule which is the life of holinesse Now because Sanctification is found partly in the heart and partly in the life Let me now shew you some such effects of spirituall life as are found in the heart of a Christian And breathe forth themselves in his life by those habits and gifts which are principally within And the sum of what I shall now say is thus much There are certaine variety of the graces of God in themselves so different and opposite As that in nature they are seldome compatible to one person at one and the same time or least of all to be found in one and the same businesse And yet are found where ever the heart of a man is sanctified by the Spirit of grace where you have the life of sanctification in a Christian you shall finde variety of graces in them some of them of such diversity and opposition one to another that in nature the like temper is not to be found in one person at the same time and in the same businesse They are certaine kind of conjugations or companions of grace so fitted and joyned together in the heart of a man as that nature is not able to compact such sanctified affections unto such uses upon any occasion much lesse able to bring them forth upon any occasion they are so different in themselves to name some of them in particular First if you looke at the grace of God as it workes in the heart Ioy and griefe in the soule sanctified at once and exercises it selfe in the conversion of a sinner you shall finde that when the soule discernes any life of grace in its heart that sin is now pardoned and God is pleased to frame it anew and to give it a new life at that time the heart is taken up with these two contrary effects it is both inlarged with no small measure of joy that ever God should redeeme him from such a desperate condition as his soul lay in and yet withall full of grief of heart that ever he should have so much displeased that God that hath done so much for him and so plaine as that you shall evidently discerne the voyce of your own joy from the voyce of your owne griefe I know not better how to instance in it then to fetch a resemblance from the returne of the Children of Israel from captivity to Ierusalem read Psal 126.2 3 4. When God turned the captivity of his people this was their affection then was their mouth filled with laughter and their tongue with singing c. Now the same people that so rejoyce to see themselves redeemed by the Arme of the Lord when they doe rejoyce to see themselves set at liberty from the captivity they doe at the same time as sadly grieve and weepe to consider the unkindnesse they have put upon God and their unworthinesse of such a mercy from him as you may read Jer. 50. 4 5. speaking of the same people and of the same time their return from the captivity and he tels you They shall come going and weeping shall they goe and seek the Lord God and aske the way to Zion with their faces thitherward If the Psalmist speakes of it he saith they were out of and beyond themselves for joy as in a comfortable dreame the newes seemed to be too good to be true and they rejoyced with exceeding great joy and if the Prophet Jeremy speake of the very same people and the same time and the very same action he tells you They goe to Jerusalem weeping they goe to seek the Lord and aske the way to Zion they rejoyce at the greatnesse of the mercy and weep in sence of their unworthinesse of it And truly this kinde of combination shall you finde stirring in every soule that is converted to God when the pardon of its sin is sealed to its heart it breeds a certaine kind of inward joy and comfort in the Lord that hath thus graciously pardoned their iniquity and yet more abundantly mourning for the evils it hath so displeased God with nor is there any mourning so deeply woundeth the soule as that which ariseth from the sight of Christ crucified then the soule mournes full bitterly Zach. 12.10 He wil mourne exceedingly to thinke that he should deale so unworthily against that God that hath all this while had such wonderfull thoughts of peace towards him This is the first combination of graces that is found in the soule after sinne is pardoned and the heart restored to a new life for wee spake before of prizing Christ in our judgements by certaine preparative graces but now we speak of that kind of life of sanctification which puts forth it selfe after some sence of our justification this life of the mixture of joy and mourning beares witnesse to our life of sanctification Secondly in the worshipping of God in those duties of the life of sanctification 2. Joy and feare you shall finde another combination of mixed affections the like of which are not and cannot be found in nature and that is joy and feare according to Psal 2.11 Serve the Lord with feare and rejoyce with trembling A Christian man when he is in a good frame and the life of grace most stirres in his spirit he never comes to an holy duty but with some holy fear and trembling before God before whom he then stands and yet there is no duties he goes about with more comfort and joy then those when his heart is not dead It is true a dead hearted Christian comes to good duties like a Beare to a stake while they are in such a temper if they can shun duties they wil but take the heart of a Christian when it is alive and then they are a willing people Psal 110.3 they come with some inward gladnesse of heart it is the joy of their spirits to heare of an opportunity when they may heare the Word and pray or performe any duty acceptable to God but how when their hearts are most joyful and they goe about duties most willingly yet then most awfully for take you a Christian when he comes unwillingly his heart is not much affected with feare and trembling but then he is most awfull when his heart is in the best frame towards holy duties these
about such duties meerly for themselves they are wanting of this spirituall life So then doe but lay these things together doe you finde a man that is desirous to be doing good duties but is it to please others or is it out of the bonds of authority that lyes upon him Doe you see them have affection to duties but out of their place and calling or in their calling they doe such duties but rather out of their own strength then from the strength of Christ and not out of a conscionable respect to all the Commandements of God or if it be from outward principles and to wrong ends the glory of God not sought after nor tending to the building up themselves nor others in grace all these are such as men may be carried to doe from outward respects they may doe something that one would thinke would argue life but all the duties they doe by their owne strength is like a Spider that weaves a webbe out of her owne bowels we follow not the rule of the Word exactly but are ever wheeling about to our owne ends and to those respects that concerne our selves rather then to the glory of God and the Churches good it is true no man that hath common graces men that have gifts of preaching and gifts of praying may love to act and move them or any other zealous gift but yet notwithstanding you shal finde this to be true that till the heart be sanctified by the life of Christ we ever detaine all the graces of God in unrighteousnesse as the Romans and Gentiles did detaine the truth of God in unrighteousnesse Rom. 1.18 So we by a spirit of ypocrisie detaine all the graces of God in unrighteousnesse and in Hypocrisie whereas God hath given us every grace and the manifestation thereof to edifie himselfe and to glorifie God withall We wonderfully magnifie our selves withall and make our selves goodly in the eyes of men we are full of our selves and thinke we have this and that in us that will serve our turne and reach our owne ends this is not a life of grace but is indeed a dead worke all that we doe and therefore rest not in any such kinde of life and motion But if you finde an inward inclination of soule to Spirituall duties and to those duties in speciall that are pertinent to your place and if they be not within the compasse of your calling you dare not reach unto them and in your calling you do them not out of desire to be seen of men but you are doing good duties out of a sence of your owne inability to reach any duty in your calling much lesse of Gods service and in them all you observe every commandement of God and the ends you aime at are singly that God may be glorifyed and that God may see you and not man that good may be done by you in your places in Church and Family and Commonwealth and that thereby others might be brought on to God and his Kingdome increased this very motion and inclination of your hearts is an argument that you have a stirring spirit to spiritual duties and this is spirituall life in Christ And therefore by how much the more God shall give you an heart to bee doing your works and duties in this order so much the more comfort you shal gather to your souls that undoubtedly Christ hath shed abroad his spirit in you by which you are able to doe that which else you could not have reached unto Quest You say unto me may not a good Christian man have his heart so dead that he is unfit to pray or preach or to instruct his Family or for the duties of his calling fit and good for nothing And is a soule in such a case as this altogether void of spirituall life and sanctification is there not sometimes a kind of a coath come upon a Christian that so benumbs his spirit that he performes no duties at all but if he might have his owne mind he would not pray at all nor receive Sacraments Is not this sometimes the case of Christian and will you say that such an one is a dead soule because he is altogether listlesse and dead-hearted to move to any spirituall duty Answ It is true there may fall such a deadnesse upon the heart of Christian men that they are both unable and unwilling to any spiritual duty Which commonly God leaves his servants unto when he hath found them acting and moving in their own strength and upon their detaining of the graces of God in unrighteousnesse Causes of deadnes of heart and diverting them rather to their own praise in the world then the edifying of the people of God or the glorifying of his own name when God sees we are much of our selves and thinke we can doe much by the strength of grace we have received then God is wont to leave us cold and dead so as we know not in the world what to doe nor are we willing to do any thing The very presence of a duty and the thoughts of it is an horror to such soules in such cases we have been too busie in our own strength and too mighty in the grace we have received and rather aimed at our selves then at him and then no marvaile if God leave us to a world of deadnesse But when God hath thus by this meanes let us see that all our life is in him and that we are dead hearted further then we have life from him then God is wont not to faile but to help us thus farre at the least to looke with a wist and a sad eye upon the forlornnes of our estates and to cry out of our selves O what dead hearted Creatures and dull spirited things are we and bemoane our selves as Paul did Rom. 7.18 I see that in me that is in my flesh Remedies against deadnesse dwels no good thing Sometimes I have a minde to doe good duties but I finde that I have no strength to performe Paul comes to Macedonia and he had an open doore a faire calling to preach but he had no heart to it because he found not Titus his brother there Now when this is the case of a Christian man that he is strait and dead hearted he groanes under the burthen of it and he lookes at it with sad countenance and sees he is not well but is ready to complaine of it now this sence and complaint of deadnesse and using the best meanes to raise himselfe up out of this deadnesse this is an action of Spirituall life It is an act of Spirituall life for a man to be sensible of his owne deadnesse which in time workes the soule of a Christian to a more constant dependance upon Christ for life and makes him more observeable of the Word and more ingenuous and sincere in looking at the glory of God and the Churches good more then his owne and by how much the more we come to this passe and
1.17 Gal. 2.20 A man doth nothing Christianly and spiritually but by his faith Faith profitable to all things now when faith must be the instrument to helpe us to work all our workes spiritually we had need to grow to some life and fruitfulnesse in faith and if our faith be not fruitfull we shall make but hard work of our daily imployments how shall we depend upon God and do all in the name of Christ and doe all in obedience to a commandement and live by a promise for Gods presence and blessing in it how shall a man do this if he have not faith yea if he have not some dexterity of faith A weake faith will then slug it when a man stands in most need to use it and therefore that a man may be ready to shew his faith upon every occasion in prayer in conference in every thing both concerning this life and another A man had need of a great deal of faith and therefore this is an evident signe that a mans faith is well wrought a sound and a lively faith if it be a growing faith But if you heare men saying they thanke God they have a strong faith and they alwayes beleeved on Christ and fie upon them that doe not let me say this is a presumption of faith but is no faith yea it is the badge of the want of faith when therefore you see the Apostle writes to them that beleeve that they may beleeve more certainly and more strongly that is a true faith and it will grow Vse 2 It serves to reprove the most sacrilegious and uncharitable faith of the Papists that take away these writings from the people John writes this Epistle to the intent that beleevers may beleeve you heard that the word dispensed in any ordinance is of mighty power to increase faith where it is begun and to beget it where it is wanting Take away reading of the Scriptures and conference about them Infidell practise of Papists and you take away all And therefore an infidell practise to go about to take away the faith of Gods Elect. God sent us the Scriptues to the end that we might beleeve and if this be the nature of faith to desire that themselvs and others might grow in faith what are they but Infidells in truth who as much as in them lyes lock up the Scriptures in a strange tongue that the people may not understand what is read unto them and as much as in them lyes drives the Bibles out of their houses And it is heretical presumption for such and such men to use the Scriptures this is infidelity and most sacrilegious to God And it is likewise uncharitable and injurious to the faith of Gods people An evident argument of infidelity how can you charge the wisdome of God of more folly and lightnesse God sends his word to his servants that they might be reading and hearing and conferring of it and that by beleeving they might beleeve These men to cast an imputation of folly upon God they are afraid that God did not consider the danger of it if beleevers should fall a reading and poore tradesmen a conferring about the Scriptures they are afaid they will be distempered with heresie and so trouble the whole Church do not they by so doing set the wisdom of God at naught and shew themselves sacrilegious against the truth of God Vse 3. It may serve to exhort us all since the holy ghost did write these things to the intent that you that beleeve on the name of the Sonne of God might beleeve First to you that beleeve and then to you that beleeve not You that have been diligent in hearing and reading the word be diligent in it stil and make it a point of your Christian practise not to faile to read some part of it every day unlesse you be necessarily hindred or if you have been necessarily hindred by busines from reading yet be sure nothing hinder you from meditating upon it the blessed man meditates on Gods word every night and every day though he takes the shorter time to it yet he must have some time for meditation upon the word upon something he heard this day or something hee hath sometimes read and you shall finde a mighty power in it to fructifie as if you were planted by the Rivers of waters Mighty power in meditating upon the word for the spirit of God breaathing in the word and your hearts sucking it up and by meditating upon it you grow in more knowledge in the object of your faith in the rootednesse in the sence and in the acts and fruites of your faith and this by hearing and reading and meditating read therefore the King himselfe must doe it daily Kings must read the Word of God daily who hath more businesse then any man Deut. 17.19 And if he doe so God will learne him the feare of his name now if God will not excuse Kings much lesse private men who have lesse affaires then Kings have and therefore be reading every day and when you cannot read be sure you meditate upon some part of Gods Word every day and every night As ever you desire to beleeve use the meanes that you may beleeve this being sanctified of God to that end then be not you wanting to use it and doe not only so but heare it likewise and conferre upon it and search it daily whether it be true or no use the meanes that God hath sanctified his Word to be dispensed in and by which he will blesse it to his people and then you shall finde this In beleeving you shall beleeve you shall grow from faith to faith and from sence to sence and in the fruits of faith till you be perfect in Christ Jesus be diligent in hearing Gods Word for it is the mighty power of God unto salvation and conferre of it there is a mighty power in the Word being conferred upon take heed ye neglect not occasions in this kinde and search the Scriptures and examine what you heare and you will finde a mighty power in it to increase faith Since therefore God hath given you his Word and shed abroad the water of his Spirit to run through every line of the Scriptures Note this so that the more you shall read and heare conferre and meditate and search the Scripture the more you shall finde the life of faith increased in you and therefore you must not wonder if you see Christian men that neglect these duties complaine of the deadnesse of their hearts Doest thou doubt in thy perswasion is thy confidence mixed with much diffidence then aske thy heart this question Whether hast thou used the Scriptures for those ends God hath appointed them and hast thou been diligent in conferring about them and searching of them whether what is delivered be suitable to them or no and meditated of them and brought them home to thy house and compared them together and meditated
him to attend and stay there a signe he meanes to take it into consideration at least and good hopes it will be accepted Now God consults with no body but if he give us a heart to waite and stay assure your selves he meanes not to send you empty away but it is an undoubted argument he will give us an answer because thou canst thus waite upon him Fourthly There is a fourth worke of this unction and it tends marvellously to the speeding of our requests and that is that which you read Psal 145.19 He will fulfill the desires of them that feare him Doest thou finde that the Lord hath wrought a spirit of feare in thy heart so as that thou walkes awfully before him and in the feare of his name goes about every duty and in his feare dependest upon him and endeavourest to approve thy selfe before him truly he will assuredly fulfill the desires of them that feare him when we reverence him in his Ordinances pray with reverence and in an holy feare Psal 2.11 Them that goe about holy duties in a reverent and holy feare doe all things in the feare of the Lord he hath a spirit of power to prevaile with God this is such a feare as whereby a man keeps Covenant with God and consequently prevailes with God to keep Covenant with them Jer. 32.40 This feare is it which makes us keep Covenant with God this feare of God alwaies keeps possession for God so as that we dare not doe that which is unlawfull we dare not sinne against God nor performe good duties carelesly and fearelesly for the feare of God bowes us to goe about holy duties in an holy and reverent manner and blessed is that man that so feareth alwaies If therefore God take from us a wanton and wilde heart a loose and unreverent heart and worke in us an awfull reverent feare of his name in every duty of his service and our owne callings that keeps us from departing from God and it keeps God from departing from us that we alwaies have him neare at hand to heare all the desires of them that feare him It is that spirit of which you read spoken of concerning our Saviour in which he shall prosper in all the workes of his hands Esa 11.2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him c. A spirit of power and of the feare of the Lord and that shall make him quick of understanding and so shall prosper which is a blessing promised our Saviour Esa 53.10 It pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to griefe but the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand This is the end of this blessing when God puts us to griefe and humiliation and so workes in us the feare of his great name which ever accompanies those dispensations then the worke of the Lord prospers in our hands If God give us a Spirit of his holy feare in any duty we goe about then it will assure us that God will heare our desires Fifthly But yet further there is a spirit of obedience which doth marvellously seale up unto us the hearing and granting of all our prayers and petitions 1 Joh. 3.22 Whatsoever we aske we receive of him because we keepe his Commandements and doe those things which are pleasing in his sight It is of necessary use that when God gives us hearts to listen to every word of his mouth he will then listen to the desires of our soules Prov. 28.8 The prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord but the desires of the righteous are his delight and he that turneth away his care from hearing the Law his prayer shall be abominable But if a man lend a listening eare to Gods Law it makes his prayer acceptable hearken to the Lord and the Lord wil hearken to you else not It is to this purpose what you read Judg. 9. latter end of the seventh verse Hearken unto me that God may hearken unto you If God gave them hearts to hearken to what he spake to them in Gods name then God will hearken to them If we speake and doe as Eli taught Samuel to say Speake Lord for thy servant heareth 1 Sam. 3.10 If we come before God with such a resolution that whatever God speakes to us we will heare it and doe it we shall finde this upon it whatsoever we speake to God he will answer us and worke it for us so that an obedient Christian is a powerfull petitioner he is powerfull in prayer And this we may attaine to by making use of this holy Epistle of John that is written to all that beleeve on the name of Christ this is a fourth direction that Iohn gives us in this Epistle whereby you see how mighty this same Epistle is to satisfie and fill our hearts with fulnesse of joy Reas The reason of this confidence springs from the promises and the discerning of them clearly to belong to us now all these things discover to us many promises confidence springs partly from Gods nature and partly from Gods promise and partly also from our owne experience and these are the staffe of our confidence and from hence it is that we grow to see many promises belong to us we see the nature of God become fatherly to us and we from hence in time gather many experiences of Gods acceptance of us and this strengthens our confidence in his hearing of our petitions Our Adoption assures us of Gods nature to be ours whereby God takes us to be his Children and he is one that is full of grace and goodnesse nothing is wanting on his part he is a Father to us and that is a great matter And in regard that Christ is our Advocate and Attonement he brings all the promises to us which in Christ are all yea and amen 2 Cor. 1 20. And this holy Spirit of God gives us experience of all that goodnesse that is in God and the truth in his promises yea and it gives us experience in this also that he that hath given us his owne Sonne will not be give us all things else Rom. 8.32 He gives us Election Redemption fatherly Adoption and effectuall Vocation to the wayes of his grace and so he gives us experience of the greatest matters and from hence we know that he will not deny us smaller things as victory against the remnant of our corruptions the greatest part of them is scattered before the staffe and strength of them already broken and we now conflict but with remnants of corruption But now when the Holy Ghost saith we know this it goes farre for confidence and faith springs from the testimony of him that speakes or from the nature of him upon whom we trust but knowledge doth not so much spring from the testimony of any either God or man but is commonly gathered from sence and experience and experience is both a ground of confidence and knowledge and hence comes the knowledge of all
Arts and Sciences whence is their knowledge but from their observation of many experiences Phisitians know it and they therefore set it downe in their bookes they know it is so Things that we gather from sence and experience we are said to have the knowledge of now this experience doth not only give us confidence but knowledge for by the unction that we have received we doe know the love of God that passeth knowledge Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith we come to know the love of God towards us Eph. 3.17.19 There is not any thing that concernes the love of God towards us but the Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts by faith it comes to passe that we are able to comprehend the height and depth length and breadth of the love of God towards us This Spirit of God in our hearts gives us sensible experience and knowledge of Gods love to us of his attonement and grace to us our Consciences that had hels in them before all such darksome evils are now vanisht and scattered and we know that sensibly we had power given us to pray and to beleeve that our prayers are granted and can wait upon God and feare God and make conscience of obeying his will Now this Spirit of prayer that discovers these things plainly to our inward man the sence and experience of it makes a Christian able to know what God hath done for him and makes him able to beleeve what God hath promised him and thus now when we aske any thing according to Gods will he doth not only say It is well said but he takes a course to answer our requests we have certaine grounds to move us in what we aske and the ends of our requests are right Now God considers not alwaies so much the letter of our prayers as the grounds and ends of them the scope we ayme at and God will so accordingly answer us Vse 1. Let it be first a ground of encouragement to every Christian soule that beleeves in the name of Jesus Christ trust not in your owne good parts and good gifts if any such things increase set not your hearts upon them trust not in any worldly blessing but beleeve on the name of Christ And therefore that you may beleeve humble your soules before him in regard of your sins and pray heartily in the faith of Christ And why so The ground is in the text you shall not only be confident and assured of your salvation which is a great mercy of God to my soule and a greater then all the whole Church of Rome would grant they may goe to Rome and from thence to Jerusalem and from one place to another to have sought for pardon of sin and yet not so much comfort promised them that after all this they shall finde it but in the end to Purgatory they must goe and that is as ill as Hell fire say they save only in durance and this is all the helpe they have they might whip and scourge themselves and give all their goods away to the poore and themselves goe in sackcloth and ashes all their dayes and when all comes to all they must not be sure of any mercy or favour from God which to beleeve would be Hereticall presumption but they must notwithstanding all this rest in Hell fire till the day of Judgement unlesse they will be at cost to purchase freedome from it and which is strange though they would not suffer them to beleeve a release by Christs pardon yet upon the Popes pardon they might have hope and so they take more pains for an uncertainty then we for certainty and knowledge but you shall not only attaine certainty of salvation but certainty of the granting of all your requests no peace to the peace of a Beleever and therefore lay aside all your confidence in the world but be confident in the name of the Lord Jesus and be certaine of Gods favour and goodnesse to you in him and then here is such blessings as will keep a mans heart warme in the worst houres Vse 2. To teach such as beleeve on the name of the Lord Jesus how you may come to be confident and certaine of the hearing and granting your petitions How may wee come to that Hast thou good evidence to thy soule of thy Adoption that God is thy Father then meditate well upon this point that Christ is thy Advocate to make intercession and Attonement for thee in case thou hast displeased thy heavenly Father These two things will much prevaile they be strong helps to a weake faith and then consider what unction thou hast received and look up to God that he would give thee a spirit of prayer to pray feelingly and fervently and humbly before him and then labour for a spirit of faith which if God give thee so much faith as to perswade thee thy requests are heard and to wrastle against discouragements and that the spirit of faith doth worke in thee grace to hope and waite upon God and withall an holy feare of his name and obedience to walke obediently in doing his will and patiently to suffer his will under his hand and observe how the Spirit speakes evidently in this and that kinde and it will be a notable means to helpe thee to grow confident and certaine that all thy prayers are heard Now many a Christian soule falls short of this he considers not the Attonement of Christ in his prayer but many times thus stands the case with them there is much desolutenesse in their lives and loosenesse and fearlesnesse in their hearts before God rejoyce not with trembling God sees his Servants loose in their obedience and when disobedient they seek not to Christ for Attonement whence it is that many times they are so full of doubts Vse 3. Of much consolation to all those that beleeve on the name of the Lord Jesus and make use of these blessed meanes this is our confidence that whatsoever petitions we aske he heareth us and we know it See how comfortable a Christians estate is he growes certaine not only of his owne salvation but he is certaine of the hearing and granting of all his petitions if he can but pray well he makes account all is well let his distresses be what they will be SERMON XVI 1 JOHN 5.16 17. If any man see his brother sinne a sinne which is not unto death he shall aske and he shall give him life for them that sinne not unto death There is a sinne unto death I doe not say that he shall pray for it THese words containe a third motive to encourage us unto that duty which is the maine scope of this Epistle to wit to beleeve on the name of the Sonne of God whereto the Apostle exhorts us vers 13. and propounds first this motive to wit A blessed confidence of the hearing of all our petitions Secondly a certaine knowledge verified that he not only heares but grants our desires Now he