you should see why we are to beleeve the Scriptures but this wee must leave till the next time We will now come to some use of the point for wee are not to dismisse you without some application but we must insert some uses here and there Vse 1 When you heare these arguments and this conclusion proving that there is a God the use you should make of it is to labour daily to strengthen our faith in this principle and to have an eye at God in all our actions for this is the reason given in the Text why one man comes to God because he beleeves that he is and another doth not because he beleeves it but by halves if they did beleeve this fully they would serve God with a perfect heart What is the reason that Moses breaks thorow all impediments he had temptations on both sides Prosperitie and preferment on the one side and adversity and afflictions on the other yet he passeth thorow wealth and povertie honour and dishonour and goes straight on in the way to heaven and 〈◊〉 reason is added in the Text because hee saw him that was invisible even so if you did see him that was invisible the God wee now speake of as you see a man that stands before you your wayes would be more even and wee should walke with him more uprightly than we doe if we did but beleeve that it is he that fills the heaven and earth as he saith of himselfe Ier. 23.24 Some may here say Object How can we see him that is invisible here is oppositum in adjecto to see him that is invisible Answ. Come to the body of a man you can see nothing but the outside the outward bulke and hide of the creature yet there is an immateriall invisible substance within that fils the body so come to the body of the world there is a God that fills Heaven and Earth as the soule doth the body Now to draw this a little nearer that invisible immateriall substance the soule of man which stands at the doores of the body and lookes out at the windows of the eyes and of the eares both to see and heare which yet wee see not yet it is this soule that doth all these for if the soule be once gone out of the house of the body the eye sees no more the eare heares no more than an house or chamber can see when there is no body in it and as it is the spirituall substance within the body that sees and heares and understands all so apply this to God that dwells in Heaven and Earth that as though you see not the soule yet every part of the body is full of it so if we looke into the world we see that it is filled and yet God like as the soule is in every place and fills it with his presence he is present with every creature he is in the aire and in your selves and seeth al your actions and heareth al your words and if we could bring our selves to a setled perswasion of this it would cause us to walke more evenly with God than we do and to converse with him after another manner when a man is present yea are sollicitous thinking what that soule thinkes of you how that soule is affected to you so if you beleeved God were in the world it would make you have an eye to him in all your actions as he hath an eye to you and to have a speciall care to please him in all things rather than to please men And this is the ground of all the difference betweene men One man beleeves it fully that there is such a mighty God another beleeves it but by halves and therefore one man hath a care only to please God in all things and to have an eye to him alone the other beleeving it but by halves he seeketh and earnestly followeth other things and is not so sollicitous what the Lord thinkes of him The thing therfore which we exhort you unto is that you would endevor to strengthen that principle more and more We speake not to Atheists now but to them that beleeve there is a God and yet we do not think our labour lost For though there be an assent to this truth in us yet it is such an one as may receive degrees and may be strengthened for I know that there are few perfect Atheists yet there are some degrees of Atheisme left in the best of Gods children which wee take not notice of for there is a two-fold Atheisme 1 One is when a man thinkes that there is no God and knowes he doth so 2 Another kinde of Atheisme is when a man doubts of the Deity and observes it not There are some degrees of doubting in the hearts of all men as we shall see by these effects that this untaken-notice-of Atheisme doth produce As when men shall avoid crosses rather than sinne not considering that the wrath and displeasure of God goes with it which is the greatest evill that can befall us What is the reason of it That whereas the greatest crosse is exceeding light if the wrath of God be put in the other ballance what is the reason that yet this should over-weigh the other in our apprehension if wee be fully perswaded of this principle that God made Heaven and earth What is the reason that when crosses and sinne come into competition as two severall wayes that we must goe one way why will men rather turne aside from a crosse to sinne against God and violate the peace of their consciences rather than undergoe losses or crosses or imprisonment Againe what is the reason that we are so readie to please and loth to displease men as a potent friend or enemie rather than God If this principle were fully beleeved that there is a God that made Heaven and Earth you would not doe so The Prophet Isaiah doth expresse this most elegantly Isai. 51.12 13 14. Who art thou that art afraid of man that shall die and the sonne of man which shal be made as grasse and forgettest the LORD thy Maker which stretched forth the Heavens and laid the foundation of the Earth As if he should say what Atheisme is this in the hearts of men Whence else are also those deceits lyes and shiftings to make things faire with men when they know that God is offended with it who seeth all things What is the reason that men are so sensible of outward shame more than of secret sinnes and care so much what men thinke of them and speake of them and not what God sees or knows Doth not this declare that men think as those Atheists of whom Iob speakes Iob 22. and doe they not conceive in some degree as those doe as if GOD did not descend beneath the circle of the heavens to the earth and his eyes were barred by the curtaines of the night that he did not take notice of the wayes of men and
looke how men doe this in a greater measure so much greater Atheisme they have Againe if you doe beleeve that there is such a God what is the reason when you have any thing to doe that you runne to creatures and seek help from them and busie your selves wholly about outward meanes and seeke not to God by prayer and renewing of your repentance if you did fully beleeve that there is a God you would rather doe this Againe What is the reason that men are carried away with the present as Aristotle cals it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this same very nunc doth transport a man from the wayes of vertue to vice that they are too busie about the body and are carelesse of the immortall soule that they suffer that to lye like a forlorne prisoner and to sterve within them Would you doe so if you did beleeve that there is such a God that made the soule to whom it must returne and give an account and live with him for ever Againe what is the reason that men doe seeke so for the things of this life are so carefull in building houses gathering estates and preparing for themselves here such goodly mansions for their bodies and spend no time to adorne the soule when yet these doe but grace us amongst men and are only for present use and looke not for those things which commend the soule to God and regard not eternity in which the soule must live I say what is the reason of this if there be not some grounds of secret Atheisme in men What is the reason that there is such stupidity in men that the threatnings will not move them they will be moved with nothing like beasts but present strokes that they doe not fore-see the plague to prevent it but go on and are punished And so for Gods promises and rewards Why will you not forbeare sinne that you may receive the promises and the rewards Whence is this stupiditie both wayes Why are we as beasts led with sensuality that we will not be drawne to that which belongs to God and his Kingdome Is not this an argument of secret Atheisme and impiety in the heart of every man more or lesse Againe what is the reason that when men come into the presence of God they carry themselves so negligently not caring how their soules are clad and what the behaviour of their spirits is before him If you should come before men you would looke that your cloaths be neat and decent and you will carry your selves with such reverence as becomes him in whose presence you stand this proceeds from Atheisme in the hearts of men not beleeving the Lord to be hee that fills the Heaven and the Earth Therefore as you finde these things in you more or lesse so labour to confirme this principle more and more to your selves and you should say when you heare these arguments certainly I will beleeve it more firmely surely I will hover no more about it To what end are more lights brought but that you should see things more clearely which you did not before So that this double use you shall make of it One is to fix this conclusion in you hearts and to fasten it daily upon your soules Vse 2 The second is if there be such a mightie God then labour to draw such consequences as may arise from such a conclusion As if there be such a one that fils Heaven and Earth then looke upon him as one that sees all you doe and heares whatsoever you speake As when you see a ship passe thorow the sea and see the sailes applied to the wind and taken downe and hoysed up againe as the wind requires and shall see it keepe such a constant course to such a haven avoiding the rockes and sands you will say surely there is one within that guides it for it could not doe this of it selfe or as when you look upon the body of man and see it live and move and doe the actions of a living man you must needs say the bodie could not doe this of it selfe but there must be something within that quickens it and causeth all the actions even so when you looke upon the creatures and see them to doe such things which of themselves they are no more able to doe than the body can doe the actions that it doth without the soule therefore hence you may gather that there is a God that fils Heaven and Earth and doth whatsoever hee pleaseth and if this be so then draw nigh to him converse with him and walke with him from day to day observe him in all his dealings with us and our dealings with him and one with another be thankfull to him for all the blessings wee enjoy and flye to him for succour in all dangers and upon all occasions THE SECOND SERMON HEBREWES 11.6 He that commeth to God must beleeve that GOd is c. BEfore we come to the second sort of arguments to prove this principle that GOD is by faith we thinke it necessarie to answer some objections of Atheisme which may arise and trouble the hearts of men Object 1 Men are ready to say that which you shall finde in 2 Pet. 3.4 All things have continued alike since the creation That is when men looke upon the condition of things they see the Sunne rise and set againe and see the rivers runne in a circle into the sea the day followes the night c. the winds returne in their compasses and they have done so continually and there is no alteration therefore they doubt whether there be such a God that hath given a beginning to these things and shall give an end Answ. 1 For answer to this consider that these bodies of ours which we carry about with us which we know had a beginning and shall have an end that there is something in them that is as constant as any of the former as the beating of the pulse the breathing of the lungs and the motion of the heart and yet the body had a beginning and shall have an end Now what is the difference betweene these two It is but small this continueth only for some tithes of yeares but the world for thousands the difference is not great and therefore why should you not thinke it had a beginning as well as your body and likewise shall have an ending See what the Apostle saith in this place though all things continue alike yet there are two reasons whereby hee proves that God made the world and that the world shall have an end 1 The first is laid downe in verse 5. For this they are willingly ignorant of that by the Word of GOD the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the waters and in the waters That is naturally the waters would cover the earth as it did at the beginning for the naturall place of the waters is above the earth even as of the aire above the waters Now
thorow performance For as it was in the old law a lame sacrifice was accepted as none so a lame prayer a lame hearing the word a lame performance of any exercise God reckons as none Therefore in these things God sends them away empty as they came What better are they doe their hearts get any thing Beloved God is a fountaine and if he meet with a fit pipe as is an ordinance rightly performed there he usually conveyes his grace but if he meet with a foule pipe and obstructed there hee doth not conferre any blessing Now if thou saist I have thus behaved my selfe and have not beene answered Doe not deceive thy selfe for if it be truly performed you shall be answered so that looke if it be truly done expect a blessing GOD will not suffer his ordinance at that time to be a pen without inke or a pipe without water I hope there be none of us here that neglect prayer to GOD morning and evening that live as if there no GOD in the world as if they were not his subjects if there be GOD will wound the hoary scalpe of such But these are not the men I speake to but they are those that doe it from day to day they pray from time to time and omit it not these are the men whom wee are to advertise in this case Take heede though you pray every day yet it may be thou hast not made a prayer all thy life yet and this is the case of many For if thou considerest what an ordinance is indeed thou shalt know that the Lord doth not reckon all petitioning as a prayer nor set it downe for the ordinance And it may bee the case of the Saints sometimes though we speake not now to them they may pray often and yet the Lord not register nor set it downe for a prayer and therefore it may never come into remembrance before him And this I take to be Davids case in the time of his adultery the ground of which you shall see Psal. 51.16 17. Open thou my lips O LORD and my mouth shall set forth thy praise David had as it were mistaken himselfe he thought that he had prayed and offered a sacrifice but saith he I was deceived all this while I was not able to open my mouth to any purpose therefore Lord open thou my mouth I brought sacrifice in but thou regardest it not till my heart was humbled Therefore a broken and a contrite heart O GOD thou wilt not despise Therefore you deceive your selves that goe on in a customary performance of holy duties and thinke that you pray for all this that thinke this worship to be in the spirit onely when your outward man carries it selfe negligently this is but a lame performance they must goe both together Therefore looke that it be an ordinance which then it is when not onely the spirit of a man is well set but the whole man is applied to the duty that is when all the strength of a man goes to it Object If you say May not a man pray sometimes when he is walking or lying or riding by the way or the like Answ. I answer There be two times of prayer one is ordinary and in private when you may have all opportunity to doe it in a holy and solemne manner and then you ought to doe it solemnly The other is when you pray occasionally and there the occasion and disposition doth not admit such outward solemnity as when a man gives thankes at meate or prayeth when hee rides Here the Lord accepts the will for the deed GOD requires not this upon all occasions yet when you may you ought to doe it in a reverent manner not onely of spirit but of the bodie also You may gather it from Christ he fell on his face and prayed Luke 22.42 and Daniel and Abraham it is said that they bowed themselves to the ground And it is said of Christ that hee lifted up his eyes to heaven when he blessed the loaves Why are these set downe If any man might be freed Iesus Christ might but it pleaseth the holy Ghost to set downe that circumstance of him that he fell on his face and that hee lift up his eyes to heaven Indeed in this case when it is hurtfull to the body there it may be omitted the Lord will have mercie rather than sacrifice even mercie upon your bodies So also when you finde that it hurts the inward man and hinders it when the heart doth it out of a conceit that it may performe it the better then there is a libertie left unto you to dispense with it As I say for prayer so for other duties when a man comes to heare the word hee saith my minde is intent enough though I make not such a shew yet notwithstanding know this that thou must behave thy self reverently when thou commest before God You shall see in Luke 4. when Christ preached it is said that the eyes of all the people were fastened upon him Why is such a corporall gesture noted in the text is it in vaine No because it is a comely gesture therefore it is to be regarded Quest. 2 How should we conceive of GOD in prayer seeing he is a Spirit and a Spirit we never saw what conceit and apprehension of GOD should we have then when we come to call upon his name Answ. Wee may not conceive him under any corporeall shape for he is a Spirit and therefore they that thinke they may worship the humanity of Christ disjoyned are deceived we are not to worship it as separated from his Deity for we are to worship the Trinity in the Vnity and the Vnity in Trinity which we cannot doe if we worship his humanitie as separated from his Deity Therefore when you come to pray before GOD you must remember that he is a Spirit filling heaven and earth strong gracious mercifull full of goodnesse and truth c. concerning which three things are to bee considered First That he is a Spirit Object But how shall I conceive of a Spirit Answ. How doest thou conceive of the soule of another man when thou speakest to him thou never didst see it yet thou knowest that there is such a spirit that fills the body and that doth understand what thou sayest and speakes to thee againe so remember this of the Lord that he is a Spirit Compare Ier. 23.24 with this Can any man hide himselfe in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord Doe not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord Secondly That the Lord fills heaven and earth as the soule fills the body so that thou must thinke that hee sees all things and heares all things Indeed the Lord is not in the world as the soule is in the body but in an incomprehensible manner which we cannot expresse to you yet this is an expression which wee may helpe our selves by and is used every where
prerogative if thou looke upon future times as thine and sayeth with the rich man in the Gospel now soule take thy rest this is sacrilege against God It is as if a man should say I have three thousand acres of land when he hath not three foot or if a man should say I have three thousand pound and hath not three pence It is the use made of it in Iames 4.13 14. Goe to now yee that say to day or to morrow we will goe into such a Citie c. Whereas yee ought to say if the Lord will we shall live and doe this or that if hee will give us leave to come in upon his ground This phrase is out of use with many men as clothes that are out of use we are unwilling to weare them but Christians should bring them into use againe and say if the Lord please let them labour to doe this in feare and trembling Thou shouldst thus thinke of time thou shouldst looke upon it as on a large field given by God and nothing of it belonging otherwise unto thee and looke what ground the Lord God gives thee thou art to sow seed in it and apply it to seeke him that thou mayest receive an harvest in future time and let men not say I will repent and turne to God hereafter but doe it presently in feare and trembling Boast not of time why doest thou deferre the time thou breakest into the Lords right and oftentimes he cuts thee off for it because thou breakest into that which doth nothing belong unto thee THE TENTH SERMON EXODVS 3.13 14. And Moses said unto God Behold when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them the God of your fathers hath sent mee unto you and shall say unto me what is his name what shall I say unto them And God said unto Moses I AM THAT I AM And he said thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel I AM hath sent me unto you WEE come now to the next Attribute and that is the Simplicity of God he is without all composition without any parts not having soule and body as we have not being compounded of substance and accident as we are but hee is simple without all composition Which I gather out of these words I AM WHAT I AM that is whatsoever is in mee it is my selfe I am a pure act all being a whole entire simple and uniforme being without parts not like to the creature for the best of them is compounded of actions and qualities but whatsoever is in me it is my selfe Now in this simplicity and immixture of God wee will first fall upon that which the Scripture sets downe in plaine words Iohn 4.24 God is a Spirit that is he is not mixt he is not compounded of body and soule as men are but he is a Spirit The word Spirit both in the Hebrew Greeke and Latine tongue doth signifie breath A breath is indeede a body but because it is the finest body the most subtile and most invisible therefore immateriall substances which we are not able to conceive are represented to us under the name of a spirit or breath Besides this is to be added though God bee said to be a spirit yet he is not properly a spirit as Angells are for an Angell is a creature and though it want a body and be a spirit yet it is a created substance but yet because that is neerest to the pure and incomprehensible nature of God therefore he calls himselfe a spirit as Angells are and our soules are To shew you what a spirit is these foure things are to be considered 1 It is proper to a Spirit to be invisible impalpable not to bee discerned by any sense Therfore Christ bids his Disciples to feele him Behold my hands and my feete saith he that it is I my selfe handle and see for a Spirit hath not flesh and bones as I have A Spirit is that which is drawn from the sight of any corporeall sense whatsoever and in this sense God is called a Spirit because he is invisible and therefore Moses is said to see him that is invisible not by any bodily eye but by the eye of faith 2 Every Spirit moves it selfe and other things also The body is but an earthy piece that is not able to stirre it selfe at all as you see it is when the soule is gone out of it it is the spirit that both moves it selfe and carries the body up and downe where it listeth and it moves it selfe with all speed and agility because it finds no resistance Bodies beside their elementarie motion vpward and downeward have no voluntarie motion they cannot move themselves whither they will as spirits doe And this I gather out of Ioh 3.8 the Holy Ghost is compared to the wind that blowes where it listeth 3. It is the propertie of every Spirit to move with exceeding great force and strength and with much vehemency so that it farre exceeds the strength of any body Therefore in Isa 31.3 speaking of the strength of the Aegyptians he saith that they are flesh and not spirit as if hee should say all flesh is weake but the spirit is strong Therefore you see the Divells that are spirits what strength they have and the man in the Gospell that was possessed it is said that he could breake the strongest bonds and you see it commonly in those that are possessed and you read how he threw downe the house over Iobs children This is the strength of the spirit exceeding the strength of any body 4 It insinuates it selfe and enters into any bodily substance without all penetration of dimension that is it is not held out of any place by reason of a body that is in it it may be in it though the place be otherwise full as you see the soule is in the body you shall find no where an emptie place the body is every where whole yet the Spirit insinuates it selfe in every part and no body can keepe it out And so is God he is invisible not seene by any eye hee moves himselfe and all things in the world as he lists and he doth what he doth with exceeding great strength and then hee fills every place both heaven and earth what bodies soever be there yet he may be there notwithstanding And thus you see in what sense this is to be understood God is a Spirit Now we will come to apply this Vse 1 If God be a Spirit first then this we may gather from it 1 That his eye is cheifely vpon the spirits of men There are many things in the world which his hand hath made but that which he chiefely lookes to is the minde and spirit of man Whereas a man consists of two parts a body and a spirit it is the spirit that is like to God and in regard of the spirituall substance of the soule it is said
their hands And Paul that was the meanes of converting so many thousands he ascribes nothing to himselfe but it was the grace of GOD that was with him So Samson was strong but yet he had his strength from God and therefore this is an argument that the Scriptures were written by holy men inspired by the Holy Ghost Seeing we have such just ground to beleeve that there is a GOD that made Heaven and Earth and that this word which testifies of him is indeed the word of GOD. This use we are to make of it that it might not be in vaine to us it should teach us to confirme this first principle and make it sure seeing all the rest are built upon it therefore we have reason to weigh it that we may give full consent to it and not a weake one Object But you will say this is a principle that needs not to be thus urged or made question of therefore what need so many reasons to prove it Answ. Even the strongest amongst us have still need to increase our faith in this point and therefore we have cause to attend to it and that for these two reasons Because these principles though they be so common yet there is a great difference in the beleefe of the Saints and that with which common men beleeve them the difference is in these foure things both of them doe beleeve and they speak as they thinke yet you shall find this difference A regenerate man hath a further and a deeper insight into these truths he gives a more through and a stronger assent to them but another man gives a more slight and overly assent that faith with which they beleeve them is a faith that wants depth of earth therefore if any strong temptation comes upon them as feare of being put to death c. they are soone shaken off and doe often fall away when they are put to it they shrink away in time of persecution for their faith wants depth of earth that is the assent they give to the Scripture is but an overly and superficiall assent it doth not take deep root in their soule and therefore it withers in time of temptation they doe not so ponder them as others doe and therefore they are not so grounded in these first principles as others are though they have some hold 〈◊〉 yet not so great a hold as the godly have So as they are not so firmely established so grounded in the present truth they are not so rooted as the Saints are That which breeds this assent in them is but a common gift of the Holy Ghost but that with which the Saints beleeve them is a speciall grace infused wrought by the Holy Ghost now that which hath a weaker cause must needs have a weaker effect that which is wrought by a common cannot be so strong an assent as that which is wrought by an infused habit of the Holy Ghost therefore the faith of the Saints is stronger than the faith of the wicked The Saints the regenerate men build their hope comfort and happinesse upon the truth of these principles as that there is a GOD that rules Heaven and Earth and that the Scriptures are his Word and whatsoever is in them is truth they build all upon these therfore if any doubts arise they can never be at rest till faith hath resolved them and wrought them out with another man it is not so he takes these things upon trust and beleeves them as others do but he doth not much trouble himselfe about them and therfore if any doubts come against them he suffers them to lye there and goes on in a carelesse manner But with the Saints it is not so they building their hope upon them doe therefore resolve to suffer any thing for God they will be content to lose all for Him if occasion requires and therefore they are upon sure ground but the other they doe but receive upon trust and therefore they doe not cleave to him in that manner that the Saints doe Regenerate men have a lively and experimentall knowledge that there is a GOD and that the Scriptures are his Word from the communion that they have had with this God and from the experience they have had of the truths delivered in the Scripture They know very well and that experimentally what difference there was betweene what they were once and what they are now what it is to envie the Saints and what it is to have an affection of love to them they know the time when they slighted sinne when they made no reckoning of it they know againe the bitternesse and sorrow of sin when the commandement came and shewed it unto them in its colours they know a time when they judged perversely of the wayes of God when they had a bad opinion of them and how now they are changed besides they know how that once they did admire and magnifie worldly excellencie and preferment but since they were inlightned their opinion is otherwise I say they know all this experimentally Take the whole worke of regeneration they know it in themselves and so for God himselfe as hee is described in the Scriptures such have they found him to themselves Now where a man doth know things thus experimentally it is another kinde of knowledge than that which is by heare-say so that though there is a beleefe in them both yet there is a great difference betweene them We must labour to confirme our faith in these principles because they are of exceeding great moment and consequence in the lives of men though they seeme to be remote yet they are of more moment than any other as of a house you see a faire top but yet the foundation is of more moment and that cannot be seene the streames are seene but the Well-head cannot so all the actions of the lives of men are built upon these principles and as they are more strongly or weakly beleeved so have they more or lesse influence into the hearts and lives of men As take a man that beleeves fully that there is a GOD and that the Scriptures are his Word this breeds an unresistable resolution to serve and please him notwithstanding all oppositions he meets with Take the greatest things that use to daunt men as take a man that is to die if he considers that there is a God with whom he is to live for ever what is death then no more than the stones flying about Stevens eares when he beheld the heavens opened so when men speake against him and slander him when they scoffe and revile him and trample upon him yet if God be with him he can boldly say I care not for mans day nor for the speaking against of sinners he is not moved a whit with them they passe away as a vapour that moves him not so when hee sees the current of the times to runne against him yet when he
the waters move though the ship stand still there is motion but God stands still and all things stand still to him likewise Doe not wonder therefore that the Churches lye so long in misery that the injuries of the Saints are so long unrevenged doe not accuse God doe not mistake him doe not thinke amisse of him doe not thinke that hee is forgetfull and doth not remember that hee is slacke and doth not regard that hee cannot or will not helpe Beloved it is not so you shall see the very same use made of it 2 Pet. 3. if you compare vers 4 and 8 9. together In the latter dayes there shall come scoffers c. saying where is the promise of his comming for since the Fathers fell asleepe all things continue as they were from the creation vers 8 9. But be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the LORD as a thousand yeares and a thousand yeares as one day The LORD is not slacke concerning his promise as some men count slacknesse but is long suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance It is not slacknesse in God For saith the Apostle a thousand yeares with him are as one day We thinke it a great matter that the Church should lye so long and cry How long LORD and yet no remedie saith the Apostle thinke not much at it For a thousand yeares with him are but as one day Vse 3 If God be eternall then consider with whom you have to doe even with him whose love and enmity are eternall with him whose soveraignty and power is eternall if a man be angry we regard it the lesse if we know it is but for a fit but consider what it is to have to do with him whose love and enmitie are eternall Therefore learne not to regard men as wee doe but to regard the Lord only and that in these three respects 1 Learne to trust the Lord and not man for God is an everlasting refuge Psal. 146.3 4. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no helpe c. that which they can doe for you is but for this life at most trust in him that is able to defend you for all eternitie for he that made heaven and earth hee continues for ever This use you have made of it in Psa. 90.1 LORD thou hast beene our habitation for ever and ever as if hee should say Lord thou wast an habitation that is a refuge as our house is to the Churches thou wast so in Abrahams time in Pharaohs time Consider that God is not onely an habitation to his Church from generation to generation but also from everlasting to everlasting 2 Learne from hence likewise to feare him feare him that can cast body and soule into hell for ever his eternity should make us to feare him Feare not man Isai. 5.13 14. Why because he is of short continuance and if he can do you any hurt it is but for a short time for he shall be made as the grasse but feare the Almighty GOD who laid the heavens and stretched the foundations of the earth Vse the Lords arguments they are the arguments that can work on the soule it is the holy Ghosts argument why we should feare him because he is eternall as the opposition in that place shewes 3 Labour to serve him 1 Ioh. 2.17 The world passeth away and the lusts thereof but hee that doth the will of the LORD abides for ever that is the world cannot make you to abide for ever it passeth away if you fulfill the lusts thereof if you fulfill your owne will you are not able to continue your selves but you will passe away what should wee doe then why fulfill the will of the Lord consider what he would have you doe and so you shall abide for ever Vse 4 If God be eternall then we should learne hence to comfort our selves when we looke upon the mutabilitie that we and all creatures are subject unto in this vale of misery it is a thing that may comfort us exceeding much if wee serve him who is constant without change who is eternall that can make up the changes that we are subject unto it is the use that is made of it in Psal. 102.11 12. My dayes are like a shadow that declineth and I am withered like grasse but thou O LORD shalt endure for ever and thy remembrance unto all generations Why doth he put these two together thus my shadow and Gods enduring for ever c. as if he should say this is my comfort that though I am of short continuance yet God with whom I shall live for ever hee is eternall and abides for ever It is as if the beame should reason thus though I am brickle and fading yet the Sun that maintaines me abides for ever or if the streame should reason thus though I may be dried up in Summer yet the fountaine that maintaines me continues for ever So though men be subject to change yet the Lord that maintains them is immutable and abides for ever You that have the life of Christ in you have the beginning of this eternity and though the old building be pulled downe yet you have a building not made with hands eternall in the heavens even as when one skin fals off another comes on and what though the outward man perish yet the inward man growes daily more and more till it come to perfection This is not only a comfort to us but also it is a great motive and we should use it as a great argument to God that because we are subject to change yet because hee is immutable therefore he should helpe us Psal. 102.26 27. The heavens shall wax old as doth a garment but thou endurest for ever and ever therefore cast me not off in the midst of my dayes as if he should say Lord thou hast Time enough to bestow thou art full of eternitie the heavens that seeme to be of long continuance yet are nothing to thee therefore I pray thee to fill up my wants and make me eternall with thee so because thou inhabitest eternity therefore comfort mee Isai. 57.15 Seeing God is eternall learne hence to know that he is the Lord of all Time Vse 5 Doe not thou looke upon Time as belonging to thee but to him he overflowes all it is the phrase used in Psal. 90.5 Thou carriest them away as with a floud they are as sheepe c. that is all times are subject to him he over-reaches them and makes them long or short as it pleaseth him he is not only in himselfe eternall but hee is the lord of all and hee disposeth all times and appoints the seasons to every thing if hee be thus then take heed of looking upon future times as thine owne thou breakest in now upon the Lords
asse having goodly trappings should boast it selfe against the horse which is a goodly creature because it hath goodly trappings or as if a mud-wall that the Sunne shines upon should boast it selfe against a wall of marble that stands in the shadow Therefore consider of this that so thou maist labour to beautifie thy spirit if there were no other reason but that he is a Spirit and that he beholdes the excellency of the spirit this were sufficient Take all other excellencies in the world they make thee onely excellent in the sight of man but this makes thee excellent before God this is a solid thing all the glory of the world is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 empty glory but that which makes thee excellent before God is this As it is Iam 2.5 Hath not God chosen the poore of this world rich in faith and heires of the kingdome which he hath promised to them that love him As if he should say that which makes men glorious is their faith and holines within that is the thing that makes us excellent in Gods sight and inables us to doe higher workes all other things habilitate us but to the things of this life but grace makes thee strong and makes thee to serve the Lord with fear and reverence Heb. 12.28 And therfore this is to be sought of us Phil. 4.8 The world seekes other things after their owne fancie but seeke you these things this is the excellency that we should seeke for this adornes thy spirit And now if I should aske any man whether is it not better to have Gods image renewed in him and to be like to him than to have the excellency of humane knowledge every one would say that to have Gods image renewed in them were the best but then why doest thou not busie thy selfe about it why doest thou not labour for it why doe you studie much and pray so little So if I should aske another whether grace or outward excellency were better he would say grace but then why doe you not bestow some time about it to get it It is a great signe that the heart is right when we can judge aright of the excellency that is to be sought by us 2 Cor. 5. It is made a signe of a new creature that he doth judge aright of spirituall things Iam 1..10 It is made a signe of a man converted to God when he is brought low that is he is drawne from that high esteeme of outward excellency which before he had when he sees that they are but fading flowers things of no worth and thus the soule gets strength to it selfe When thou hast cleansed thy spirit when thou hast adorned it with such spirituall beauty so that God is delighted in thee then thou must goe yet further thou must let it have rule and dominion thou must let it have the upper hand of the body in all things Let thy spirit be still advanced that is let it not bee drowned with the body but be emergent still aboue it kept from all base affections let it be cleare from all corporeall drosse that is from those bodily affections of meate drinke uncleannesse sports pastime c. wherewith the body is delighted for this spirit is the most excellent thing in thee therefore it is meete that it should have dominion that it should not be brought into subjection no not by any spirituall lust that ariseth from the spirit that the body is not capable of much more then a shame is it to be brought into subjection by any bodily lust that wrongs the Father of spirits 1 Cor. 6.12 13. All things are lawfull to me saith the Apostle but I will not be brought under the power of any thing Meat is for the belly and the belly for meat but God shall destroy both it and them His meaning is this I see that it is not convenient for me to eate flesh I doe not deny but that I have a desire to eate flesh as well as others but because it is not convenient therefore I will bridle that appetite for Meat is for the belly and the belly for meat but God shall destroy both it and them If that appetite should prevaile the body would rule over the soule but that I will not suffer that my spirit should be brought into subjection by any bodily appetite And consider what an unreasonable thing it is that the spirit should be brought under the body There are but two parts of a man and they draw us two wayes the spirit drawes us upward to the Father of spirits as it is a spirit and the body drawes us downeward Now consider which should have the vpper hand they will not goe both together Now know this that if the spirit bee under the body it will breede confusion It is so in other things looke into the Common wealth if you should see servants riding and Princes going on foot looke into nature if the fire and aire should bee below and the water and earth aboue what confusion would there bee So is it in this case The Apostle compares them to bruite beasts 2. Pet. 2.12 and the wise man compares them to a citie whose walls are broken downe so that there is an vtter ruine Saith the Apostle Peter in the place forenamed that they as naturall bruite beasts made to bee taken and to be destroyed who speake evill of the things they understand not and shall utterly perish in their owne corruption that is if a man will come to this to suffer such a confusion as this they shall even bee served as bruite beasts are Nay beloved if it were with us as it is with beast we might giue libertie for these corporall appetites to rule over the soule as take a horse if he hath no rider then you blame him not though he runne and kicke up and downe for he is a beast and hath no rider to sit him but when he is under the bridle then if he doth not doe that which he should doe then you blame him But a man hath reason to guide him and hee hath grace to guide reason now to cast off both these is more than brutish Consider that all things the more refined they are the better they are for they come neerer to the spirit So then doe thou looke vpon thy selfe and say with thy selfe the more that spirit within me is advanced the more it is suffered to rule without impediment it is the better for me To give you an instance or two that you may see the practise of the Saints in this case Iob he saith I esteemed thy word as my appointed meales c. I will rather restraine my body in this then I will suffer my soule to want that which belongs to it as he saith for eating and drinking so saith David for sleepe rather then my soule should not doe its duty I will deprive my body of sleepe saith he So Iesus
in Scripture Thirdly consider his Attributes that hee is a Spirit filling heaven and earth and hee is exceeding fearefull powerfull almighty exceeding gracious and long-suffering abundant in mercy and truth that hee hath pure eyes and cannot see any iniquity Deut. 24. So Exod. 34.6 As Moses could not see him but his Attributes his backe parts so thou must conceive of him that he is exceeding strong potent and fearefull one that will not holde the wicked innocent but shewes mercie to thousands of them that feare him and to sinners if they will come in unto him And thus you must conceive of him when you come before him FINIS THE TVVELFTH SERMON EXOD. 3.13 14. And Moses said unto God Behold when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them the God of your fathers hath sent mee unto you and shall say unto me what is his name what shall I say unto them And God said unto Moses I AM THAT I AM c. HAVING finished that point that GOD is a Spirit which is a particular expression of the Simplicity of GOD we come to speake of the Simplicity it selfe which is that Attribute by which he is one most pure and entire essence one most simple being without all composition so that there is no substance and accident matter and forme body and soule but he is every way most simple nothing in him but what is God what is himselfe The rise that it hath from hence we shall see hereafter All those phrases of Scripture where God is said to be love truth light and wisedome it selfe all these shew the Simplicity of God for of no creature can you say so The creature is wise and just and holy and true but to say it is truth it selfe love it selfe light it selfe or wisedome it selfe that cannot be attributed to any creature So that this you must know that God is one most pure intire and uniforme being or essence I AM shewes that he is a being and if we should aske what kinde of being he is he is a most simple and uncompounded being And that hee is so wee will make it cleare by these reasons Because if there be many things in him they must not be the same but different if different one hath one perfection which another wants if so there must be something imperfect in God for if the defect of that were made up it would be more perfect If there be two things in God then there is multiplication now all multiplication ariseth from some imperfection from some want and defect for if one would serve two would not be required As if one could draw a ship or boate up the streame two were needlesse if one medicine would cure two would be unnecessary so in all things else so that the reason of multiplication is because one will not serve the turne Therefore GOD being all-sufficient it is not needfull yea it cannot be that a breaking into two should be admitted in him and consequently he must be most simple without all composition a pure and intire essence full of himselfe and nothing besides If GOD should have love in him or justice or wisedome or life or any other quality different from his essence as the creatures have them he should be what he is not originally of himselfe but derivatively and by participation and so imperfectly as to be fiery is more imperfect than to be fire it selfe to be gilded is more imperfect than to be gold it selfe So to be wise loving holy that is to be indewed with the qualities of wisedome love holinesse is more imperfect than to be wisedome and love and holinesse it selfe Therefore there is not a substance and a quality in GOD as in the creature but he is love and light and wisedome and truth and so the Scripture expresseth him Wheresoever there is any composition there must be two or three things so that there may be a division they are seperable though not separated but where division may be there may be a dissolution and destruction though it never be But of GOD we cannot say that this may be and consequently there cannot be two things in him but what he is he is one most simple most pure and most intire being without all composition and multiplication If GOD be not simple there must be parts of which he is compounded But in GOD blessed for ever there are no parts because then there should be imperfection for every part is imperfect Againe Parts are in order of nature before the whole but in God there is nothing first or second because he is simply first Againe Parts cannot be united and knit and compounded together without causes to doe it but here is no cause to knit and unite any part together because he is without all cause as hath beene shewed before I will conclude this with a reason out of the text He is a being I AM hath sent mee unto you If he be a being then either the first or second being A second being he cannot be for then there should be some before him and above him upon which he should be dependent but this cannot be therefore hee is absolutely the first being Adam was the first man but God onely is the first absolute being Now the first being was never in possibility to be and therefore he is a pure act in regard of his essence Againe there are no qualities springing from him for if there were they should have had sometimes no being and so in possibility to be and consequently have a beginning and be a creature Therefore there is neither Potentia substantialis nor accidentalis in him and so hee must be purus actus as the Schoolemen say and therefore he is most simple without all composition This I speake to schollers for it is a mixt auditory and therefore you must give mee a little liberty Now I come to those Consectaries which flow from hence and they are these three If God be such a simple first pure and absolute being then hence you may see what a stable foundation our faith hath to rest upon we are built upon the lowest foundation in all the world that is upon the first most absolute and simple and pure and intire being which I say is the lowest foundation that depends upon no other but all upon it and this is the happy condition of all Christians and of them alone Angels men heaven and earth are foundations to some things which are built upon them but they are all built upon this and therefore dependent For if this foundation shake it selfe for so he hath power to doe they all fall to ruine But God is the first simple and lowest foundation being the first absolute and simple being therefore he that is built upon him hath the greatest stability which is the transcendent happinesse of Christians above all men in the world And this is a great priviledge