will and be it little or much yet it is all amiable in the eye of a Saint and operative in his soule my meaning is this you are not to conceive as though it were the glorious priviledge of a Saint to see one side of God as it were and not another but that that is most terrible in God to wicked men that is also I say amiable and lovely in the eye of a Saint As the power of God the greatnesse of God the Justice of God Even these things that the wicked abhorre and hate the Lord useth to reveale them to his Saints in Excellent Glory That is an other thing 3. God sheweth himself variously Then thirdly God doth shew himselfe to his children by various manifestations My meaning is this God doth not alway shew himselfe in the same manner and fashion to his child God as it were comes in a new dresse every day to the Soule of his Child all the dayes of his life in this world and for ought he knowes for ever in the world to come As it is unspeakable to say how God appeares to the soule of a Saint so the manifestations are innumerable the strange ways that God comes to the soule he shews himself to day this way to morrow after another and the third day after another The Lord manifests himself variously That is another thing Then fourthly it is by various means also that God 4 By various meanes comes in by You must understand he comes alwayes through Jesus Christ but then for other lower meanes he chooseth what meanes he pleaseth he comes in somtimes by afflictions and corrections somtimes by common providence sometimes in the word preached sometimes in meditation sometimes in prayer some times one way sometimes another The Lord can take any way any creature any providence any thing to convey himselfe by to the Soule of his Child in a saving way 5 It is not constant Then lastly this sight of God which is the priviledge of the Saints it is not constant for ought I know to any Saint no not under the New Testament much lesse under the Old but the Saints have their desertions in the new Testament God hides his face though not as oft as he did in the old Now let me desire you to lay up these things because they will be necessary when we come to speak of the other doctrine So much concerning the manner how God reveales himself to his children I shall now come to the Uses of this and then way will be made for the other point to shew how this sight of God doth truly kindly and savingly humble us For the Use of this First this shews the happy estate Use 1. The happy estate of a Saint in this world of a Saint in this world that he hath as it were a heaven upon earth because he sees God If thou wouldest consider seriously that there is such a glorious priviledge as this thou wouldest say blessed is the man that hath it and cursed and unhappy is the man that hath it not it is our Saviours word in the beginning of his Sermon Math. 5. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Now purity of heart is not the blessing properly but the seeing of God He that is pure in heart is a blessed man saith Christ for he shall see God So that if thou wilt believe Christ Jesus If thou be a Saint and see God and canst say the Lord hath revealed his glory to my soule in Jesus Christ then oppose that to any miserie that can be in this world Put any miserie that makes a man unhappy in this world in the one scale and that priviledge of seeing God in Christ in the other scale and surely thou wilt see that thou art a blessed and happy man As suppose thou art a poore man a plundred man a persecuted man or a sick man or woman be it what it will if thou canst see God in the face of Jesus Christ if thou wilt believe Christ who is the truth thou art a blessed man a blessed woman Suppose a man were sick and should never see health suppose he were weake and should never see strength suppose he were poore and should never see wealth suppose he were banished and should never see his Countrey or his Friends Nay suppose a man were starke blind and should never see the naturall Sun yet if he have a pure heart he shall see God and if thou wilt believe Christ Jesus thou art a blessed man or woman All the blessednesse in this world put together all that mankind ever enjoyed from the creation is not worthy to be compared with one glance of that sight that a Saint hath thousands of in his life of the glory of God in Jesus Christ We are wont to say that there is this difference The beatifical vision in this life and only this difference betweene heaven and earth that glory differs from grace but only in degrees that glory and grace are the same and that glory is the perfection of grace That is very true I deny it not for we shall be clothed upon with glorie But some conceive that the beatificall vision that blessed sight is not in this world we shall not have it till we come to Heaven It is true we shall not fully and perfectly but it is not true any otherwise then as the part differs from the whole For here even in this world a Saint in some measure hath it he sees God as truly and rightly as ever he shall hereafter in Heaven therefore you may see what it is to be a Saint If God should take a poor Drunkard or Swearer and but shew his Soule as it were through his fingers or through a gold ring one glance of this sight he would never be a Drunkard or Swearer he would never be a Railer and live as a Sott againe all the dayes of his life No it is a glorious condition that a Saint is in Therefore meet God and labour to know his glory in Christ And for shame be not discouraged for every trifle in the world When you heare that wicked men prosper that they have wealth and they see their children before their eyes and their Bull gendereth and their Cow calveth as it is in Job envy not their quality one glance of this blessed sight is worth more then all that ever they had or shall have therefore pitty them Nay if thou wert in prison to night and shouldest dye to morrow the most cruell death that ever was yet if the face of God shine on thee thou art a blessed man it is a glorious condition thou mayest say with David My lot is fallen in a good ground I have a goodly heritage The Lord hath denyed me worldly things wit and wealth and honour and credit but God hath been pleased to bestow this the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Therefore
while thou livest and to let Christ be wisedome in thee that thou wouldest be a poore infirme fraile creature and let Christ Jesus be thy righteousnesse that thou art content to walke in raggs and let Christ be thy riches This is one thing In that place Rom. 10. 3. It was the pride of the Jews that kept them from salvation by the righteousnesse of the Gospell they would not submit to the righteousnesse of God they were a proud people So that is it that keeps many a soule that hears the word it is that that keepes you weake What it is that keepes men in inward trouble and full of woe and sorrow all your dayes You thinke it is the want of this grace and the want of that grace and other things but it is nothing but your owne stubborne heart that you will not submit to the righteousnesse of Christ You would have this grace and that grace that is you would fill up every corner of your owne shop and you would amend your owne trading but you would not shut up shop and be journey-men as I may speake with reverence to Jesus Christ That is one thing Then againe the second particular I have to demonstrate 2. To take the righteousnes of Christ on his bare word that whether you be humbled or no is this whether the Lord have brought you to be content to take the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ upon his owne bare and naked word Whether now you can say there is Jesus Christ full of righteousnesse for me and my own righteousnesse is full of raggs What evidence have you for it Here is a word Jesus Christ is come to dye for sinners I find nothing in me but here is a bare word and hereupon I am content to take his righteousnesse and throw away mine owne I doe not say but that a good Christian may Christians may make use of signes make good use of signes and marks even in earthly things Christians see the love of God by temporall outward things for God useth what Pipes he pleaseth to convey his love But the question is in matter of believing whether I should not throw away my owne righteousnesse and wholly believe in Jesus Christs righteousnesse before I see any grace or any signe A humble heart can doe it and is content that marks should come after he believes after I believe God will sanctifie me and worke grace and then I shall see his love more But the first bargain betweene God and me is his bare word therefore that Rom. 10. is glorious and cleare and comfortable The Apostle lays downe the difference betweene salvation by the Law and by faith saith he the Righteousnesse of the Law speaketh on this wise The man that doth these things shall live by them but the righteousnesse which is of Faith speaketh on this wise say not in thy heart who shall ascend into Heaven or who shall descend into the Deepe but he that believeth shall be saved Marke it this is the straine and streame and language of the Gospell that is salvation by Jesus Christ and whosoever believeth on that salvation shall not be ashamed he shall be sure of it But how shall we come to believe and to be sure of this salvation Say not in thy heart who shall goe up to heaven or who shall descend into the deep but what saith it the word is nigh thee that is God hath given a word and he will give a spirit of faith with it and there are but two words to the bargaine there is the spirit in thee and the word without thee and this is the righteousnesse of God the righteousnesse of faith saith so Say not who shall goe up to heaven or downe to the earth For the eyes of a fool are scattered about the world And when men come to believe in Christ they aske who shall ascend into Heaven how shall I come to know that I am a Saint and that I am predestinated The Lord would have us believe the word that Christ Jesus came to save sinners of whom I am chiefe Here is a word if the heart now could apply this by the spirit of faith That is another thing I would have you thinke on Your ordinary Professors most of them they Why ordinary professors want assurance have not assurance of salvation why They cannot believe Why so because they finde so many corruptions in them and they finde so many graces wanting and they have ill memories and hard hearts and if it were not for these things they could believe What is the meaning of it It is as if they should say I will never trust God in the righteousnesse of the Gospell upon his bare word God will have us trust him ere he will trust us we must take God upon his word God wil bring every child of his to this to take his salvation upon a bare word and he will blesse his name for it I have but one soule and if I had a thousand I would venture them all upon his word and say there my soule lyes sinck or swim or goe to heaven or hell here is the word that Christ came to save sinners of whom I am chiefe Now if there be pride in the heart it will not come and rest on a bare word The Lord make you understand these things that they may not be lost Thirdly a humble heart will be content not only 3. With a generall word with a bare word but with the least word and the most generall word A proud heart will not be content unlesse he hath a perticular word For my part I may mistake but I will tell you my opinion that those men how Christ dyed not for all ever otherwise they be godly some of them that doe hold that Christ did dye for all men and that he came to save Judas as well as Peter If Christ came to save all and yet many shall goe to Hell how come they to be saved It is a proud thought in the heart that would teach God how to speake and how to make promises and we poore wretched damnable creatures must shew him what language he shall speake in whereas now a humble heart will take the least and most generall word and thanke God as we see in the woman of Canaan Christ gives her never a word a great while but frownes and then he gives her a terrible word and bids her goe he calls her Dogg why that was something a Dogg hath some priviledge he hath the crums that fall from the Table he looks for outward mercies and therefore in that he calls me Dogg I have so much of that word that I will follow him for the crums Saith Christ to her O Woman great is thy faith be it unto thee as thou wilt So Benhadads servants when they came with Halters about their necks saith the King Is my brother Benhadad alive that was a comfortable word they harpt upon
never look dejected or sad more envie others no more but pitty them and weep for them thou hast infinitly a greater treasure as the Apostle saith we have this treasure in earthen Vessels What is that treasure Nothing in the world but the manifestation of God in Christ therefore bring thy soule to the resolution of that Disciple Lord shew us the Father and we are satisfied So say to God Lord shew me thy glory in Jesus Christ and I have enough though I have not wealth nor glory nor money nor any thing let the world have all I have a good bargaine I will blesse and praise thee world without end And if this be the priviledge and blessednes of a St. The miserie of wicked men to see God Then see also what a miserable condition thou art in that art a poore carnall man that though it may be thou seest thy wealth increase and thy Children playing in the streets yet thou never sawest God thou never hadst one glimpse of this glorious priviledge that I now speak of Therefore as it is the chiefe thing in Heaven to see God so doubtlesse it must be the chief thing in Hell to be throwne away from Gods presence not to see God Therefore in 2 Thess 1. it is said that wicked people shall be punished from his presence that is the maine thing in Hell to be thrown from the presence of God never to see his face more so a carnall man hath a Hell upon Earth thou that art not a new creature thou art in Hel as it were already because the main thing to be had in this world and in the world to come thou dost wholly want That is the first thing Secondly if this be so that there is such a glorious Use 2. The fight of God should humble Saints prerogative of the Saints to see God then this above al things in the world should most humble thy soule for thy sins as hereafter I shall shew more fully this should move thee to mourne for thy sins Why so You all know it is not properly at least not meerly the knowing of sin and of the wrath and curse that will melt the heart that of it self hardens the heart but you know by your owne experience that when you come to the veine where those sweet teares of repentance lye it is the seeing of the kindnesse of God of the goodnesse of God of the mercy of God and then to think that I should be such a wretch as to abuse his goodnes to grieve and provoke him that is my Father and to crucifie him again and again that is my Saviour Mercies even common mercies Common mercies abused humble a Saint melt the heart when a man considers I was the other day sick and God restored me and that I should be such a wretch since this grates upon the heart as in 2 Sam. 12. 7 8. Where God by the Prophet tels David of his sin and as a motive to humble him saith he I made thee King of Israel and Judah and if that were too little I gave thee wealth I gave thee thy Masters house and thy Masters wives into thy bosome I tooke thee when thou wert a little lad following the sheep and I made thee King of Israel and if this had been too little I would have given thee more but that thou shouldest play the villaine that thou shouldest goe and take an honest mans wife he that had but one sheep and play the Beast and doe folly in Israel this was that that wounded the heart of Dauid and thereupon he went and penned 7. penitentiall Psalmes and goes and cries have mercy upon me O God according to the multitude of thy mercies These mercies that are ordinary when we walke unworthily they grate the heart But if a man can come and say God hath bestowed Spirituall mercies abused cause greatest humbling that on me that he hath not upon any reprobate the knowing or the enjoyment of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ O as it is a mercy unutterable and invaluable that the soule is not able to expresse it when it hath it Indeed the soule can say it never found the creature but it left the Soule unsatisfied or worse then it was but saith the soule if Gods face shine but a quarter of an houre if it be but in a bush or in a Garret I am satisfied I desire no more if this might but continue As a man prizeth this more then any thing in this world so if a man doe but consider that I should be so base as to anger that God that bestowed this as I doe when I sin and have knowledge enough to know it to be sin when I look through the doore and know it is a Thiefe and might keep him out yet that I should be so proud and so vaine and so idle that I should let goe so many glorious opportunities in such and such places and times O this is that that troubles a Saint Therefore we see in 1 King 11. When the Lord would humble Solomon the Son of David for his sins and bring him to repentance It is said there he went not fully after the Lord as David his Father did the more too blame he he built high places for Chemosh and Molech Solomon built Altars and offered sacrifice to Idols and likewise he did it for all his strange wives And the Lord was angrie with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel which had appeared to him twice which had appeared twice to him there is the motive to aggravate it The Lord was angry not so much because he had so many sins and had built so many Altars but this was the aggravation because the Lord had appeared twice to Solomon so as he had never done to any other from the beginning of the world the Lord appeared savingly and spiritually to him and yet he sinned against him Now if God appeared to Solomon but twice and his sin is aggravated by that how great is my sin in the Gospel where things are more clearly presented then ever they were in those times and God hath appeared two hundred times two thousand times to my soule I have seene him one while in the Sacrament I have seen him among the Saints I have seene him in such a country in such a condition in such a place in such a medow in such a wood when I read his word and called upon his name and yet that I should be such a Villaine that I should be thus proud and thus froward and love the world so much and so easily provoke God and lie so sottishly in it when I have done it is one of the greatest motives in the World to move a spirituall heart to be abased and humbled for sins past And likewise to preserve it from sin for the time Sight of God a preservation from sinne to come I have
is weake there is so much weaknesse and earthinesse and frailty sometimes a mans heart is right for God yet his head akes or his stomack is full of wind or he is weary and wants sleep there is some frailty or other This is all earthly Adam all this shall be gone and this kind of body and soule shall be altered and changed to the Image of the blessed second Adam we shall put off our earthynesse as well as our sinfulnesse and have his blessed compleat Image Now how glorious that shall be as you never The glory of Saints in Heaven unspeakable saw the first Adam but onely by hear-say and by reading of the Word of God so you have not seen the second Adam but you may partly know by the manifestation of his glory on earth you have heard much of his glory We saw his glory as of the onely begotten Son of God we shall then see him Phil. 3. 19. Our conversation is in Heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile bodies He meanes vile not onely in respect of sinfulnesse but of dustinesse of earthynesse and weaknesse that they may be like his glorious body according to his mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himselfe that is according to his usuall manner of working he can doe what he will in Heaven and Earth We cannot conceive what an Imnge we shall have upon our bodies and soules but according to his wisedome and mighty power whereby he is able to subdue all things he will doe it Therefore let me tell you this I finde few or Saints formerly had more lively expectations of glory by Christ none that have those live by expectations in these times of that glory that is to be revealed that the Saints of old had See how they speake of it What manner of love is this that we should be called the Sons of God But yet it doth not appeare what we shall be for we shall be like him And gird up the loynes of your minds be sober and watch for the glory that shall be revealed The Saints heretofore more then halfe their hearts were in Heaven before hand That is the meaning of that Our conversation is in Heaven Just as you see men that goe a long journey or as you see people that have been plundered that are returning to their owne homes their conversation is there halfe a yeare before their hearts and their thoughts are there and they wish they were there and think the time long and are thinking what they will doe and what they will be when they come there So our conversation is in Heaven the Saints doe so long after the glory that is to be revealed in the day of adoption and redemption of our bodies that the most part of them is there already Now we doe not consider of this because the new Jerusalem is not yet come into our hearts We have not that Gospel-temper and frame of spirit that the Saints had before That which remaines is a little to shew you what your duty is that the Lord hath brought up to walk according to the spirit And two or three words I have to shew you how you should every one endeavour to attaine to it or to attaine it more and more But I shall leave that till the after-noone SERMON V. Rom. 8. 4. Who walke not after the flesh but after the spirit IT is the Foundation of all our happinesse to have the righteousnesse The foundation of a Christians happinesse of the law fulfilled in us for thereby we are exempted from all misery freed from all our enemies and therby we are made capable to enjoy all happinesse and blessednesse For all the misery that man suffers here and hereafter is because he hath not a righteousnesse to fulfill the law And therefore whatsoever man or woman it is that the Lord hath bestowed this great priviledge upon they must needs be in a blessed condition Now that we may know whether we are of that number the Apostle tells us that they that have this priviledge they walk not according to the Flesh but according to the spirit which was the last thing I was upon I told you what was meant by walking after the flesh and what by walking after the spirit I gave the Reasons of it and made two or three Uses There are two things remaine which I shall endeavour to speake of at this time First you that have received the spirit of God Vse 4. Exhortation to those that have the spirit how to walke and in some measure doe walk according to the spirit and not according to the flesh that the new-Jerusalem from Heaven is in some measure come into your hearts I will give you a few Exhortations from the Lord how you should carry your selves That is the first thing I shall doe and that shall be in four or five short words The first is this that the Lord having called 1. Not to abuse this liberty you to this glorious free estate to this free condition that you would take heed of abusing your liberty that you would take heed of turning the grace of God into wantonnesse as many doe And by that I meane but two things That you would take heed of using your liberty as an occasion for the flesh And Secondly of using your liberty so as to give offence to your Brethren or indeed to any I say first beware of using your liberty for an occasion 1. Not to use it as an occasion to the flesh to the flesh That you shall have Gall. 5. 13. For Brethren sayth the Apostle you have been called to liberty only use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh but by love serve one another The Apostle shewes them in that Epistle the glorious condition and estate that they were in through grace And here in this Verse there are two things that he tells them the one is implied it is worth observing yee are called to liberty That The Gospell brings liberty is there is a freedome there is a liberty in the Gospell in diverse things that did seeme to be sinfull when ye were under the law for else what sence can you make of this ye are called to liberty onely use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh For we find that the people under the law eyther they made the law stricter or looser then it was And there is no man in the World that walks according to the law but he makes many lawes to himselfe that Christ hath not made Now when the Gospell coms in clearly all those lawes that you made of your owne head vanish Ye are called to liberty that is you see more freedome you are not bound to every thing that before you were Before you must not smile it was a sin if you seemed to laugh or smile and a hundred such things Now
set God saith David at my right hand that I might not sin against him that is I will keep God in my eye The Eye of God is a meanes to keep a man from sin for who will sin in the eye of God therefore saith God to Abraham walk before me and be perfect The Servant may doe ill behind his Masters back but walk before me and then thou wilt be upright therefore when men sin they are said to leave God but saith David I have set God at my right hand that I might not sinne against him I will alway see God as I see a man that walks at my right hand Thirdly if there be such a sight of God to be Use 3. Highly to prise the preaching of the Gospell enjoyed in this world and that by his word and Spirit me thinks this might teach you highly to prize and esteeme the preaching of the Gospell the word of Christ Truly beloved if you doe not look on the Gospell with a spirituall consideration to a carnall eye it is the poorest and driest and most beggarly thing in the world for there are none that have more weaknesses then the dispensers of it It is a thing that should fill men with admiration to consider what it is to have poore creatures to doe the work of God that have a world of weaknesses more then other men who are more exact in their wayes as Lawyers and Tradesmen c. To a carnall eye the preaching of the Gospell is a dead drousie thing a man shall heare many things that he heard before and be taught till he sleep and be tyred out unlesse he look on it with a spiritual eye As the East-India Merchant when he sees such a shell he considers what is in it there is a glorious Pearle in it and for that he goes many a Mile So doe you consider that the preaching of the Gospell by poore and weake meanes it is that shell that Cabinet wherein these glorious treasures are found therefore esteeme it and prise it highly look on it with reverence look for the Pearle in it prise it and praise God for it It may be some of you that are sleepy Why men see not the excellency in the Gospel creatures may say I cannot tell that there is any such thing in it others are so sottish to this day that they no more know nor understand what we have bin doing in the preaching of the word these 12. moneths then a Post It is not because the treasure is not here but you shal see the reason 2 Cor. 4. 4. the reason why you see it not is because The God of this world hath blinded your eyes that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God should not shine upon your Soules God shines upon one mans Soule and not upon another another sees nothing but a poor Preacher full of weaknesses so he gos away remembers little or nothing or it may be sleeps all the while Beloved for the Lord Jesus sake trifle not It makes me tremble to consider seriously how those decrees that are infinite and innumerable that were before the beginning of the world are to be opened when we preach the word yonder man and yonder woman we know not whether of them belong to God or the Devill but when we preach the decree is opened there is a poor man or a poore woman that belongs to life it makes him a new creature another is as very a Sot at the yeares end as at the beginning who would not tremble when God threatens to seale up your condition by it O! it is a glorious thing the Gospell Look to it you sottish people that are like the Foole in the Proverbs that tell him a tale and when you have done he will aske what is the matter or as a man asleep that knows nothing what he hath been doing For the Lords sake consider what we are doing and what the Gospell is and what it is to have one day of the Son of man it is a very strange word in Luk. 17. 32. consider of it thou poore sottish creature When Christ was demanded of the Pharisees when the Kingdome of God should come he answered them The Kingdom of God commeth not with observation Neither shall they say lo here or lo there for behold the Kingdome of God is within you or among you And he said unto his Disciples the dayes will come when ye shall desire to see one of the dayes of the Sonne of man and ye shall not see it And yet he saith after they shall see the day of the Son of man We are to consider the sonne of Man the Lord Jesus Christ hath two sorts of dayes He hath one 2 Sorts of dayes of the Sons of man day that every wicked man shall see when they shal be eating and drinking as in the dayes of Noah When the Son of man shall come to judge according to my Gospel as Paul preacheth according to the Gospel The day of judgement that you have here preached That is one day of the Son of man And thou that wilt not receive Christ thou shalt have thy belly full of that day it will be a terribble day a day of blacknes and darknes when the earth shall reele as a drunkard and the heavens shall be gathered together as a scrowle and the world shall be on fire and thou shalt be at thy wits end it will be a terrible day the Lord deliver thee from that day But the Son of Man hath another day that is The day of grace the day of grace the day wherein the Son of man in the preaching of the Gospell would bestow grace upon thy Soule Why doth he call that the day of the Son of man more then the other He delights more in it he delights not in the death of a sinner This is that sweet day that Jesus Christ delights in to offer himself to thee and to lay before thee life and salvation by his death These things were not written for them only but for us also Remember the day will come when thou shalt desire to see one day of the son of Man but shalt not see it Thou wilt say O that I had one such day as we have now in this place when the Preacher told me of seeing God and Christ O that I had but one day but one motion in my heart by the Spirit that I had then and yet I sotted it out and did forget it O that God would smile as he did then but it shall not be Therefore the Lord help you that you doe not trifle out your salvation as abundance in this Nation and in this Citty doe between sottishnes and formalitie Abundance of People heare the word but here is abundance of formalitie few men consider with whom they have to do when they heare the word of God and what the busines is but in a trifling manner
in respect of lust and sin and the world and the Devill yet it creates and begets in the soule a greater thirst for more of that apprehension Therefore we see clearely Phil. 3. where Paul runs a race as it were after the knowledge of God in Christ See what the Apostle saith I account all as Dung and Drosse for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord for whom I have suffered the losse of all things and account them Dung I have lost all and I am not sorry for it And why is all this That I may know him and the power of his resurrection Now Paul was a Preacher and did he not know Christ there had been a blind Preacher He was an Apostle and Doctor of the Gentiles and did he not know the resurrection Yes but the meaning is this He forgate that which was behind as we see after that is all that apprehension he had of God in Christ he forgate it in regard of the affection to desire more he did not eye what he had Therefore saith he I say not as though I apprehended but I desire to apprehend him by whom I am comprehended to see the glory of God that comprehends me in Jesus Christ I speake not saith he as though I had attained as if he had said I know nothing in comparison of the insatiable desire I have to know more And that is the reason why Hypocrites are very loath to dye when danger and death approacheth Hypocrites loath to dye Why whereas a right Saint is wondrous desirous to dye Why so Saith the Apostle That I may be with Christ Phil. 1. Whereto compare that in Joh. 17. that I may see God and have the same glory with Jesus Christ Therefore thou mayest trie thy selfe by this if thou hast something that is like the apprehension of God I speak not to dull creatures that are altogether in the world all the yeare long but if God work on thee in his word and there is some light come in and some sweetnesse yet if thou be glutted with this and when thou commest home thou throwest God away and thou lookest after thy lust and after thy sin thou never yet hadst a right appresion of God For if thou see God aright thou wilt looke for more and more and for ought I know thou wilt have more and more world without end Thirdly and lastly these apprehensions are precious 3 They are accompanied with transcendent joy because there is a transcendent super-excellent exceeding joy and delight in the enjoyment of them Abraham saw my day and rejoyced saith Christ He did not see his day as an animate creature but he saw the misterie of God that should be fulfilled in those dayes that is the meaning so Araham saw my day and rejoyced So there is a very pregnant word concerning this in Isa 35. The Desart shall rejoyce and the VVildernes shall be glad By the Wildernesse and Solitary place is meant the barren Soule the Wildernes of thy heart where God will dwell The VVildernes shall be glad and the Desart shall rejoyce O! that God would make it so to us It shall blossome abundantly and rejoyce with singing The glory Lebanon shal be given unto it c. Why is all this They shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God This makes the sad Soule rejoyce and makes the barren heart blossome as a Rose when they see the glory of the Lord and the Excellency of our God Nay it is such a joy as he saith after that The Eyes of the blind shall be opened and the Eares of the deafe shall be unstopped then the lame Man shall leap and the Tongue of the dumb shall sing It is such joy as will make a dumb man sing it will make a mellancholy heavy mopish creature that naturally never smiled God manifested in Christ will make him sing and the lame man to leap for joy it is a transcendent exceeding high joy and this joy it will be the same joy Joy of Heaven What in Heaven that we had on Earth It is not Eating and Drinking and Marrying and Buying and Selling that will be the joy in Heaven but the great joy will be the beholding the Glory of God in Christ that will be the great Joy Therefore thou mayst know by this it may be thou hast a little joy Thou rejoycest in the hearing of the Word but is there not some other Joy that thou preferrest Art thou not more glad when thou hast a good bargaine or when thy affaires Psal 137. goe on in the World What is thy chiefe joy As David saith If I prefer not Hierusalem to my chief joy If this apprehension worke in thee a joy transcending all the joy in the world and make all other joyes to vanish it is a right apprehension So you see these apprehensions are First cleare Apprehensions Secondly precious Apprehensions Thirdly they are Perpetuall they are lasting Apprehensions 3 Perpetuall apprehensions By that I doe not meane that they are lasting alwayes but that they may be somtimes dimme and sometimes darke but I meane they goe not utterly out as it is said Job 21. How oft is the Candle of the wicked put out The Candle of the Hypocrite goeth out it may be he hath a little apprehension of God and then it is out it may be for half a yeare and in time it infallibly goes quite and cleane out Therefore in Heb. 6. the Hypocrite for the Apostle lays down there the estate of Hypocrites after they were enlightned c. they fell away The light was gone it only blazed a while and there was an end of it But it is not so with a Saint though God may for a moment hide his face yet as Mr. Calvin saith that light that came first into the soule of a Saint that that came first it leaves such a sent and a savour that a man can never forget it it is never quite out He may forget that he hath done naturall things We may forget what wee did twenty or thirty yeares agone we may forget where we were and may forget our Friends c. But when God reveales himselfe first to the Soule If a man could live in this World a thousand yeares the apprehension that he had of God at the first it would be as fresh as ever it was because it is an eternall thing it is a thing that we shall have more and more in Heaven it is not crruptible Triall of apprehensions by their lasting and therefore it goes not out Now it may be thou hast been a Professor before and God hath stamped a great deale of joy on thee and now it is gone and thou art poor wretch a poore drie creature as drie as a Chipp and a man can scarce see any thing in thee to distinguish thee from a carnall man trie thy self by this These apprehensions if they be right they
and when peace comes there will then be a discovery of rotten hearts then much more then in these times yet in these times there are abundance of rotten hearts discovered that were not knowne before The Lord comes near the quick of our profession in these times there are abundance that have been professors that now jeere the Saints and dishonour God and imbrace the VVorld but in times of mercie there will be more the sun makes the Traveller put off his cloake when the wind cannot But to open it to you as I did the former that which I shall doe shall be to discover to you what the carriage of a humble heart is and what our carriage should be when God shewes mercie to us when the Lord deales kindly with us in the way of his mercy What is the posture of a humble heart then I answer First of all a humble heart he can be 1. A humble heart content to be denyed any mercy content that the Lord should denie him any mercie let it be never so deare or pretious to him though he prize it high and pray earnestly for it and wayt long for it yet if God come at last and say thou shalt not have it he can be content patiently and meekly to take a denyall from God and goe away contented if it must be so Indeed there is a kind of earnestnesse that should be in us and in a sence we should take no deniall from God we should not be easily put off As we see in Mat. 15. That Woman of Canaan when Christ put her off shee comes again and again and again But if God say say no more it shall not be so rhen a man should quietly submit himselfe to God though like Hannah he desire Children and pray earnestly and seek God againe and againe and seeme to be near towards it sometimes but at last if God come and say thou shalt never have a child then sayth a proud heart Give me children or I die I will give you an instance or two of this in 2 Sam 15. 25. David there was in a poore condition he was pursued by his enemy by Absalom his owne son and David David had the Arke and Zadock the Preist But sayth the King to Zadock carry back the Arke of God into the City if I shall finde favour in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me again and shew me both it and his habitation But if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here I am let him doe to me as seemeth good unto him As if he had said I am in a miserable condition but I will not trouble thee or indanger the Arke if I have found favour in the eyes of God he will bring me again to my house and to his but sayth he if he thus say I have no delight in him Behold here I am let him doe to me as seemeth good in his eyes God will bring me back to Jerusalem if I have found favour with him but if God say David I have no delight in thee thou shalt never see my house more Loe here I am let him doe as seemeth best to him This is the posture of a humble soule that desireth this and that and the other mercy yet if God say I have no delight in thee I will doe none of these things he can say here I am doe as it seemeth good in thine eyes I will give you one instance more in Deut. 3. 24. You have Moses there praying and he desires a great request and that earnestly of God Moses O Lord thou hast begun to shew thy seruant thy greatnesse and thy mighty hand for what God is there in Heaven or in Earth that can doe according to thy might I pray thee I pray thee Lord see how familiar he is with him Let me goe over and see that good land that is beyond Jordan and that goodly Mountaine and Lebanon Moses was going towards Canaan that was a type of the Kingdome of grace under the Gospell and a type of Heaven and they had travelled forty yeares in the VVildernesse I pray thee sayth he let me goe over and see that good land and see Lebanon that goodly forrest But sayth he the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes and would not heare me and the Lord said unto me let it suffice thee speak no more unto me of this matter Let it suffice I will heare no more concerning this thing Get thee up into the top of Pisgah I will give thee leave to looke on it but thou shalt not goe over Now in the Chapter following Deut. 4. 21. Sayth he The Lord was angrie with me for your sakes It was for their sakes that God denyed him And he sware that I should not goe over Jordan and that I should not goe in unto that good land which the Lord thy God hath given thee for an inheritance but I must die in this Land It is a broken speech I must die he doth not say it in passion must I die must I lead this people forty yeares and when there is any good to be had I must be cut off he spake it not on that fashion but sayth he I must not goe over but you shall goe over and possesse it He submits to Gods will and rejoyceth that they should goe over though it was for their sakes that he was crossed And he shewes them how they should carry themselves there A proud heart would have sayd you may get you over if you will and if it had not been for you I might have gone too but I may thanke you that I must stay and die here But sayth he God hath sayd I shall speake no more of that matter it is my lot I submit So in all the mercies of God to thee if thou canst quietly as Moses and David submit in silence when he denies thee any mercy though it be never so deare it is a signe thou hast a humble heart Truely some godly men are of opinion that a Saint can come to this to be content that God should deny him everlasting Salvation for his soul I have read of one and I have spoken with another I have knowne two godly men in that posture the one was so and the other seemed to be so by his writing that if after all the meanes used he cannot come to beleive as others doe that he can have no assurance or hope of life from God but that God almost in every Ordinance doth as much as tell him thou shalt be damned yet he can be content to goe to Hell it selfe I have seen a glorious Saint that hath said that if God should tell him he should be damned yet he could submit without murmuring Such a thing may be but I think it is not ordinary neyther Grace crosseth not principles of nature doth God expect it because grace never crosseth the ground principles of nature and of all this
likenesse of sinfull flesh like one of us and he hath fulfilled the law of God and condemned sin therefore there is no sin to condemne us nor no jot of the law that is not fullfilled therefore we are just and righteous and cleare There is no condemnatiom to them that are in Christ Jesus For God hath sent his son to condemne sin c. Now in this fourth Verse it is more particularly expressed That the righteousnes of the law might be fullfilled in us who walke not after the flesh but after the spirit I shall not orderly goe over to shew the Coherence distinctly as I might but breifly as I can come to those lessons that the Lord is to teach us That the righteousnesse of the law might be fullfilled in us c. There are in the words two things Here is a great priviledge as any can be to have the righteousnesse of the law fullfilled in us And here are secondly the parties that have the benefit of this priviledge Those that walke not after the flesh but after the spirit Concerning the priviledge to understand the words a little That the righteousnesse of the law might be fulfilled in us That the law might be fully satisfyed in poynt of righteousnesse that the law might have such a righteousnesse which indeed the law requires that it might have a full and compleat righteousnesse in us So that breifly these are the lessons which I shall open from hence which I desire that our souls may feed upon First that The law requires of every man a righteousnesse to fulfill it Or that Every man is bound to get him a righteousnesse to fulfill the law of God Every man is bound to fulfill the law of God That is one thing The second lesson will be this that The law is perfectly fulfilled or satisfied in all true beleivers And thirdly that All those that are true beleivers or that have these priviledges they are those that walke not according to the flesh but according to the spirit These are the three lessons I shall speake of I say first The law requireth a righteousnesse from every Doct. The law requires a perfect righteousnesse man to fulfill it Or Every man is bound to fulfill the law of God That is the first thing The grounds of that are these I shall but touch them First because that God made man man was his creature and the Lord was his soveraigne and Reas 1. From Gods soveraignty when God made all Creatures you know hee made Lawes for them hee made a Law for the Sunne and Moone and Starres c. and every thing goes according to the law that God determined for it Now when God made man who was but his creature though he were a more excellent creature he made a law for him this blessed law of God which is in his booke here the Covenant of works as it was sometimes called therefore as all other creatures were bound to goe in their course and keep their peculiar laws that God layd on them so man also was bound to keepe the law of God that God made for him Another thing is this that besides the soveraigntie 2. From mans covenant with God of God that might impose a law upon him there was secondly a compact between God and man and so there was a kind of bargaine for God layd that law upon man and Adam as a publike person he undertooke to keepe that law by a contract or bargaine If God as it were had had no right before to lay it on him yet now man undertooke it by way of bargaine to keep the law of God Adam first did it and might have done it and afterwards the people of Israell professe to doe it All these words we will doe we will keepe them That is another reason whereby it appeares that every man and woman in the World is bound to fulfill the law of God Thirdly another thing is this if you consider 3. Nothing can exempt man from it what there is that might free a man from keeping a law that is layd upon him you shall see that there are none of those things that can help him in this As First of all our laws many times are repealed 1. It is not repealed and that law that a man was bound to keepe a few yeares agoe he is bound to protest against now as the Service-booke the common prayer c. There is that penaltie now for using it as there was for not using it a few yeares since now it is not so with the law of God Heaven and Earth shall passe away but one jot or tittle of the law shall not passe That law is an eternall law there is no repealing of it Then Secondly you know Judges and Law-givers 2. The Law-giver cannot be bribed among men may be corrupted and bribed and may be brought to dispense with their owne laws nay sometimes to goe against their owne laws but God is a just God and when his owne son the son of his love did take upon him to be borne under the law and to be a suretie for man he endured the smart of the law and was dealt with as if he had been another Then there is no evasion or escaping among 3. There is no escaping men there is If a man breake the law and goe into another Countrie he is cleare and free but here is no escaping one cannot goe away VVhither shall I goe from thy presence sayth David where Psal 139. shall I hide my selfe from thee A man can goe no where but the law of God will be on him So that every man and woman in the World are still bound to fulfill the whole law of God or to get a righteousnesse a perfect righteousnesse to satisfie the law of God Now there are but three wayes in the World 3. Wayes to fulfill the law to fulfill the law of God Eyther a man must doe it in his owne person as 1. In a mans owne person most men doe besides Papists more or lesse they will goe and doe their best and doe the good leave the evill and performe duties and they think by their doing to keepe the law Or else secondly by suffering that is partly in 2. By suffering this World and afterwards in Hel for that is the businesse of Hell for Hell is nothing but the place where people are fulfilling the law of God What doth Caine and other wretches doing in hell They are paying the debt fulfilling the law of God to eternity by suffering because they did not fullfill it by doing while they were here That is the reason that they are in Hell for ever because they can never pay the debt therefore they must abide there for ever for if it could be supposed that they could give a compleat righteousnesse that might satisfie the law they should stay in Prison no longer they should be in Hell no more Then
him as I shall shew after you shall have a righteousnesse that hath fulfilled the law Let every man say I see here is a law that God hath layd upon me I am subject to it and this law must be fulfilled there is no helpe for it every man is bound to it he must have a righteousnesse to satisfie the law Heaven and Earth shal passe away rather then that shal not be Now there are but three ways to fulfil it either in mine owne person here or to suffer for ever in hell or else to beleive in and receive another that may doe it for me Now we neyther by our doing or suffering can get such a righteousnesse that is cleare therefore there is but one way that is in Jesus Christ there is a perfect righteousnesse in him he hath fulfilled the law get into him and be one with him and then we shall be able to say perfectly with Paul That the righteousnesse of the law might be fulfilled in us that beleive and are in Jesus Christ There is but that one way now when there is Where there is but one way there needs no deliberation but one way me thinks there needs no deliberation or consultation In Worldly things when there are diverse wayes and courses that a man may take he will consult with his friends which to take this or that or the other but when there is but one way there needs no consultation So if there were two or three or many wayes to Heaven we might consult which way to take if there were as many wayes as you imagine and make in your owne heads if Antinomianisme were the onely way or Presbyterians or Independents were the onely way men might demurr but in Gods language there is but one way and that is the way the truth and the life Jesus Christ is the way goe out of that and you wander for ever he is the only sacrifice miss that and there is no more sacrifice for sin There is but this one thing necessarie there is no other way in the World but Jesus Christ there is no other name under Heaven by which you can be saved Therefore we should doe in our condition just as a man that were fallen into a great pit that were full of stones and snakes and serpents and sire and all that we can imagine to be terrible and miserable and there comes a man and casts a rope into this great deep pit you need not perswade the man to lay hold of it he would presently catch at it as soone as it comes Why so Because he knowes he is in a miserable case and there is no other way to help him but that VVe are fallen into such a pit where there are snakes and scorpions and serpents fire the sting of sin the curse of the law the wrath of God we are in the pawes of the Devill we are in a manner in hell already and God hath sent his son Christ and hath put righteousnesse in him and he hath let down this rope that poor sinking miserable creatures might lay hold on it Therefore what shall I say to you but this I beseech you stand not trifling and dallying and whâ—nâ—ing and goe to this Preacher and say what shall I doe Siâ— and to that Christian what course shall I take as though there were many wayes and you had choyce of things What shouldest thou doe but studie Jesus Christ throughly and roundly make a worke of it or else thou wilt be damned There is no other way left there is no other meanes to be had God will not abate one farthing token the law must be satisfied as the people of Israell in Aegypt when they made brick they must bring in such a number so the law must be perfectly satisfied and thou art not able to doe it by doing here or by suffering in hell therefore what shall I doe Receive Jesus Christ studie Jesus Christ and resigne thy selfe wholly up to Jesus Christ and stand not trifling and dallying till thou goe to the Devill in hell as many doe if there were twenty wayes to Heaven God might say I wonder not that yonder people stand musing and consulting a twelve-month together but when there is but one way and yet people stand mopeing it is that that angers God Therefore remember that in Zephan 2. 1. Gather your selves together before the decree bring forth before the day passe as the chaffe c. Seeke yee the Lord c. Gather your selves together He doth not meane in companies as you use to meet in the Guyld-hall but the meaning is when he sayth gather your selves together that man is a worried creature a shattered thing as Solomon sayth The eyes of a wiseman are in his head but the eyes of a foole are over the World There are abundance of men that have their understandings goe in the World this way and that way but gather your selves together How To get into Christ you heare that there is no righteousnesse but his will serve the turne gather your selves to studie Christ to obey Christ to receive Christ to love Christ and to resigne your selves to Jesus Christ in whome there is a perfect righteousnesse That is one lesson you should desire the Lord to teach you hence The next lesson is this that The righteousnesse of the law is fulfilled in all Doct. 2. The righteousnesse of the Law fulfilled in all true beleevers true beleivers Sayth the Apostle That the law might be fullfilled in us In us we are not to understand it personally as though any Saint though it were Abraham himself were able in his owne person to fulfill the law but the meaning of it is in respect of the unyon that we have with Jesus Christ who is our Husband and our head The law is perfectly fulfilled by him therefore it is perfectly fulfilled by me because I am unyted to him The law is not perfectly fulfilled by me because I doe more good or doe lesse evill then another but only the law is fulfilled and hath reason to be satisfied because I am married to one that hath done it and that perfectly Now you shall see diverse Scriptures that hold it forth blessedly As those phrases that you have in Gall. 2. the latter end where it is sayd we are dead to the law I through the law am dead to the law I am crucified with Christ I am dead to the law What is the meaning of that That is I am dead to the We are dead to the law as a Covenant of works law as it is a Covenant of works the law hath no more to doe with me then the Lawes of men have to doe with a man that is in debt when he is dead when he is dead he is free from it So the law is paid by Jesus Christ it is fully satisfyed I owe not one farthing or farthing worth to the law I am dead to the law And so in Rom.
called the things of 2 Carnall priviledges the flesh it is carnall priviledges either men that are Fleshly mind their justification out of Christ or else their carnall priviledges I told you before that those are called Flesh saith the Apostle if any might I may glory in the Flesh What is that I am an Hebrew of the Hebrews c. and so the Jews in Mat. 3. Joh. 8. and 2. Cor. 11. They were apt as to stablish their own righteousnes so to glory in their priviledges we are the children of Abraham we were never slaves nor Servants We have not their priviledges to glory in yet this is a maine piece of old Adam a great part of the things of the Flesh outward priviledges let them be Church-priviledges or what you will when people rejoyce and mind and contemplate outward priviledges and doe not regard the inward power nor what is in and through and by them this is but flesh I feare you will not beare with me you will account me your enemy for telling you the truth but I am perswaded there are many among us that talke of churches and government and ordinances and priviledges and yet all is but flesh and you cannot well judge of them by their strictnesse in it for flesh will goe as strictly in its way as the Spirit but it is to be feared that diverse build of it and glory in it and it is a great part of their religion I warne you in love to looke to it and if those priviledges were taken away as Christ takes away the priviledge of being the Children of Abraham from the Jewes such people would be poore carnall people Take heed of it and let him that glories glory in the Lord. Thirdly and lastly the things of the flesh for 3 To fulfill sinfull lusts all old Adam is included in these three things that fleshly men mind is to fulfill their lusts which are many To make provision for the flesh Rom. 13. that is to be casting how to feed one lust or other Now if you would know what those lusts are in particular though in a sort it be generall you have it in 1 Joh. 16. saith he all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life These are the lusts of the world all the lusts in the world may be reduced it seemes to those 3. heads so I say these are the fleshly things that al Carnall people mind all their thoughts throughout the yeare every one runns either in stablishing their own righteousnes or in glorying and contemplating their outward priviledges or in projecting for the fulfilling of some lust or other thus they spend their whole life these are the things of the flesh that carnall men mind Now the other the things of the Spirit that are contrary to these you may comprehend them all Things of the spirit in three words That is They are either the things of faith Or else their hope and happinesse in Jesus Christ Or else their Obedience to the will of Christ All the things of the Spirit are comprehended in these three Either the things of faith They mind the 1 The things of faith things of the Spirit that is they alway mind and study how to believe in Jesus Christ and how to lay firmer and righter hold on him how they may know him more distinctly and hold him more firmly and get fuller assurance this is their worke Or they are excercised about the things of hope 2. The things they hope for by Christ that is they are contemplating and rejoycing in their happinesse by Christ how their persons are justified and their sins pardoned and the righteousnesse of the law fulfilled in them and all in Heaven and earth bestowed on them As Paul sayth Phil. 3. This is our Religion we glory in the flesh as if not but we reioyce in Jesus we have no confidence in the flesh but we rejoyce in Jesus that is in all the happinesse we have in Jesus Christ Or thirdly and lastly the things of the spirit 3 Obedience to the wil of Christ are the will of God or the commands of Jesus Christ they alway studie how they may obey and fulfill the good and acceptable and perfect will of God So that a Saint if he be spirituall he is alway either acting his faith and increasing and strengthening that or he is contemplating his happinesse in Jesus Christ Or studying which way to glorifie God to know what part of the will of God he knowes not and to studie what part of the will of God he knowes and remembers this is his excercise And let this suffice to shew what the things of the Flesh and what the things of the spirit are Now the third question breifly is what is meant Quest 3. VVhat meant by minding the things of the flesh and of the spirit by the minding of the things of the Flesh and the things of the spirit You must understand first that the meaning is not as though a man might not think upon Fleshly 1. Not but that a Saint may provide outward things things For a spirituall Saint oft thinks upon Fleshly things in a spirituall manner as to consider his sins to bewayle and to mourne for them and he may mind Earthly Worldly things to provide things honest to provide for his Familie as the Apostle saith he may think of his businesse Therfore the holy Ghost here doth not use the word Frounesis but Frounena Frounesis signifies prudence or discretion or providence in businesse He doth not use that least we should think that the holy Ghost forbids to provide to be mindfull and carefull of Worldly businesse but Frounena that signifies a further thing as I shall shew presently Now then you must understand this also 2. The understanding is not only meant that when the Apostle sayth they mind the things of the Flesh The word doth not onely signifie the understanding but it signifies all the affections also I could give you divers places of Scripture where this word is set downe to expresse the working of any affection in the soule Therefore the meaning is not only of the mind that studies but his affections his will the way of his delight his joy is in earthly things his care is after fleshly things But in particuler there are these four or five Five things meant by minding of fleshly things things implied in the word when they are said to mind the things of the Flesh The first is that the very care of his heart as 1. The caâ—e of the heart is fleshly I told you before is Fleshly and carnall A Christian hath outward VVorldly things in an outward Roome and Jesus Christ next his heart There is sayth one godly man a closet in the heart of a Saint onely to entertaine Jesus Christ. Which the Scripture calls the spirit frequently I worship God in
heare not Many times a man heares a sound and is neare enough yet hearing he heares not so it is with many among us the Lord pittie them my heart is readie to burst every day more and more to consider and think of it hearing they heare not all the yeare long there is not one notion or exhortation from the word that sticks on their soules the reason is they mind not they mind the things of the Flesh they are feeding some lust they are providing for some fancie or when they are best they are contemplating to set up a way of justification by works and all because they mind not these things Therefore saith the Lord I say 1. Heare O Heavens and give eare O Earth I may well say so of diverse among us heare O Heavens and give eare O Earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me The Oxe knoweth his owner and the Asse his Masters crib but Israelld oth not know my people doth not consider Heare O Heavens and hearken O Earth As if he had said I expect that Heaven should heare and that Earth should heare as soone as this people and yet there is nothing further from hearing then Heaven and nothing dulier then the Earth and yet the Prophet would Preach to Heaven and Earth before he would to this dull peoplo and saith he The Oxe and the Asse know their owners but my people have not knowne me Why They doe not consider they doe not mind So you doe not mind what we spake before that you that are drunkards and Whoremongers and Swearers that wast your Estates and soules and bodies in the service of the Devill that you are under the curse of God and must perish that there is nothing that you doe that is pleasing to God till you be borne againe did you ever mind these things and lay them to heart Did you ever say yonder man speaks really and tells us the truth But you goe home when Sermon is done and say there was a great Company a throng and he Preached a little too long and we must goe to him againe after Dinner and so you mind not the Lord Jesus pittie you that is the reason that you are ignorant and will be World without end because you mind not spirituall things And this is the reason also why you have carnall VVhy people care not for Gods Ordinances people that care not for the ordinances of God they care not to use those meanes of grace that the poor Saints doe why they mind not spirituall things they are like Gallio he cared not for those things he was busie about naturall things It is likely he was a wise judicious man but he cared not for these things So to heare Sermons or discourses or conference of thy Neighbors or at thy table of spirituall things thou art like Gallio thou carest not for them and therefore thou respectest them not Therfore desire the Lord to put his Law in thy mind O! the maine misery of a man is in his mind the man is nothing but his mind in a manner the maine happinesse of a man is in his mind if the Law of God be there Therefore before ever thou canst have thy heart good or thy wishes or prayers good thou must get a good mind desire God to put his Law in thy mind for there is the first and maine worke So also for the poore Saint this is the reason VVhy the Saints take injuries patiently why the people of God are so weaned from the world those that are spirituall Christians you can easily cozen and cheat them and take away all from them and they beare it very well Why so they mind not earthly things fleshly things Let the Devill come with all the policie and power of hell to cheat them in spirituall things to take away their peace and crack their communion with God they will see be wise and resist but come and cheat them in worldly things poore creatures they are quiet and part with them as it is the manner of many of you that are rotten Professors and self-seekes you make it a trade to abuse them but they are quiet they mind spirituall things As a cut-purse that comes into your shop and a man minds other things he may easily steale So the poore Saints are made poore and suffering because they mind God and heavenly things or else I tell you if their minds were not imployed elsewhere a Saint could be as cunning and as wise and worldly as thou but thou mayst easily steale any thing from him and cheat and cozen him because his mind is upon other things it is upon heaven and those blessed things Therefore learne that one thing learne to understand that the maine of thy happinesse or misery is in thy mind beg of the Lord to give thee a good mind to write his Law in thy mind without knowledge the mind is not good Therefore when the Lord gave the people of Israell up it is said the misery came upon their minds blindnesse of heart is hapned to Israell that is blindnesse of mind there was the maine And there is the excellency of the Saints When Paul saw nothing but flesh yet he rejoyced in God in the law of his mind therefore look on it as the fountaine of all good and evill if thy mind be fleshly and carnall thou wilt mind fleshly things and love fleshly things and walke fleshly but if the Lord sanctifie thy mind the Lord will give thee sanctified affections SERMON VII Rom. 8. 5. For they that are after the flesh doe minde the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit IN the former Verse I told you The scope of the Apostle the Apostle holds forth unto us a great priviledge the greatest that I know that a man can have that the righteousnesse of the law might be fullfilled in us For it doth protect a man from all evills for all evill is founded upon this that a man hath not a righteousnesse to fulfill the law and he that hath this priviledg it doth lead him to the enjoyment of all good for if a man hath a righteousnesse to fulfill the law then there is nothing that can keepe the Creature from a full enjoyment of his Creator Now this priviledg being so great the Apostle shews us who they are that are Partakers of it who have the actuall enjoyment of it for the worst Fleshly carnall man may come to be a Partaker but he shewes who are for the present and saith he they are those that walke not after the flesh but after the spirit That is a sure way to know and distinguish them but it is a generall way and therefore the Apostle drawes downe some particulars from this generall that are more known and easie to be discerned As in 1 Joh. 5. 1. You shall see there
ungodly and doth deale despightfully with us as Christ saith then to doe him good and blesse when he curseth and pray for him that injureth us Beloved this is Gospell goodnesse I have had many thoughts of it had I time to proove that this Gospell goodnesse is a peice of the new Creature that was not in old Adam There was goodnesse in Adam but not this as for instance there are diverse things we find among Professors that in the last day will be found to be nothing but the Old Adam but Ishmaells that are humbled to the height and ye shall see in them a great deale of diligence in Gods service but where will you finde a Professor one of 500. and I speake with the least that you may clearly reade Gospell goodnesse in him that you may say younder is a man that if you curse him he will love you and if you doe him hurt and that despitefully he will pray for you It is an easie thing to kindle a brand that hath been once lighted to doe that which Adam did but to doe this is a higher matter As man was created after the Image of God so the Creatures in a sort were created after the Image of man Now as in Creatures in a Dogg there is love and the like But where is there a Creature that if you doe him mischiefe will not endeavour to doe you the like againe or at least wise runne away But where is a piece in the Old creation that doth lâ—ve his enemies And whereas it is said Adam was created after the image of God and God loves his enmies I answer God then in that Covenant was not in a disposition to love his enemies but to hate his enemies and sinners and curse them and damne them but now in Jesus Christ he loves his Enemies and therefore according to his minde he revealed to Adam it was not so and many other reasons I had but this I present to you with submission I doe not speake curiosities but I finde and see very little of this scarcely any there was a candid goodnesse in the primitive Church which is not now to be which is not now to be found now nothing but biting and teareing and devouring one another well there is one word he doth it by a spirituall Creation 2. By spirituall illumination Then Secondly he brings the soule to this way of spirituall reasoning by spirituall illumination he created faculties before and now he casteth in light as he did in the old creation you know he made Heaven and Earth in the lumpe and then said let there be light Now that is the reason when the Gospell is Preched and there is the spirit of God going with the Word and thou are darke and canst not receive this light the new creature is not framed in thee if thou hast no eyes thou canst not see and if a man have eyes he cannot see in a darke roome Now when the new man is made then the Lord sends in light and it is not every light for there are many lights a blind man as it were hath an Hypocrite hath them but it is a powerfull light that God Saints have a powerfull light puts in for we doe finde that there is a kinde of light in Hypocrites but yet there is not power in them there is not light to bring them to such kinde of reasoning as will bring them to any good or from any evill they will talke of drunknesse and Whoredome and the like but have not power to bring them off from any of these things Indeed a Saint may be overcome of his lusts that warre in his Members but there is a law in his mindâ— that is there is a light that is like unto a Law that hath power in it that he seeth Christ doing them away I am sorry I have not time to open this unto you farther but remember it Thirdly the Lord will doe it by suggestion that is the spirit of God puts light into the soule he puts a measure of light to dwell in every new creature and that powerfully But because the way of of the Saints are so darke in this World and thorow so much difficulty the spirit of God prompts a Saint allwayes when he is at a loss As among Schollers we shall see somtimes a man is almost borne downe and then another giveth him an Argument or distinction to helpe him and then he carries it and so the flesh hath reasons and arguments as we are going along and now though there be a measure of light a stock of light dwelling in us yet we are nonplussed by the flesh and then the spirit of God suggesteth somwhat to us and we are carried thorow as you have it in Mat. 20. When you are brought before Governours it is not you that speake but the spirit of God that prompteth you Fourthly the spirit doth it by Conviction that 4. By conviction is another way we have it Joh. 16. Saith Christ when I goe I will send my spirit and my spirit shall convince the World of sin reproove you have it he shall convince the World of sin of righteousnesse judgement The word signifies when he saith the spirit will convince that is by way of Argument the meaning is that in every carnall mans heart there are arguments against faith and for his owne destruction and strong ones too And when we Preach to you ye bring reason against reason and so goe away unconvinced unconverted but the spirit will ronvince you that is he will bring such strong arguments as Doctor PRESTON saith from Heaven that will convince you As when a stronger man commeth he disarmeth the other as before we thought godlinesse nothing but Heresie and Puritansme and the like but now the spirit convinceth you you see this is the only way and out of this way I shall never see God and the like Another way I find the spirit doth it by is by 5. By commemoration commemoration by minding us of what we have heard or somthing we have knowne before it is our remembrance Therefore saith Christ I will send my spirit and he shall bring to your remembrance what you have heard not that you shall remember a whole Sermon and Repeate it every word but thus it is he will either suggest thoughts Nenever had before or bring to our remembrance a word we have heard of such a Preacher in such a place or Read in such a place or thought in such a walke or the like and so setteth on and carrieth on the worke And he doth it by consolation he is the Comforter 6. By consolation the consolation of the spirit Beloved this is certaine that ye know trouble of mind exceedingly hinders the acts of reason That 's the reason men are madd because some fumes rise up in the braine and trouble the mind that they cannot reason but are madd Beloved our troubles of mind and soule