dependance upon your engaged and promising God 2 Cor. 5. 7. We walk by faith not by sight Hab. 2. 4. The just shall live by his faith Psal 115. 9. O Israel trust thou in the Lord he is their help and their shield ver 10. O house of Aaron trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield ver 11. Ye that fear the Lord trust in the Lord he is their help and their shield And mark the reasons annexed why every one of these should trust in the Lord ver 12. The Lord hath been mindful of us you have had experience of his goodnesse for the time past and therefore trust in him and you shall every one of you finde him to be your good God still for the time to come therefore still trust in him he will blesse us he will blesse us He will bless the house of Israel he will blesse the house of Aaron ver 13. He will blesse them that fear the Lord both great and small There are six Arguments to perswade you unto this one duty viz. to depend Arguments for it upon your God by faith 1. Because he is your God and your Father and this comprehends within He is your God and Father it all the foundations and grounds for your faith and dependance He is an infinite all-sufficiency and goodnesse and he undertakes all your helps and supplies and stands engaged unto you for whatsoever is necessary to life and godlinesse and gives unto you so many promises as so many bonds and assurances that he will do you good and besides all this he is able to performe them and likewise faithful in his word yea and besides all this he loves you above all the people in the world and looks on you with tender compassions 〈◊〉 loving kindnesses and assures you that he will do you good for his own Names sake What can there be more and what can he said more to draw and perswade any to depend on a God and to rely upon him 2. Because you are his people Should not a people seek unto their God You are his people saith the Prophet Esay 8. 19. Whether should children go but to their father I am a Father to Israel and Ephraim is my first-borne Jer. 31. 9. And wilt not thou cry unto me My Father Thou art the guide of my youth Jer. 3. 4. Upon whom should the wife depend but upon her husband why The Lord is married unto you Jer. 3. 14. Thy Maker is thy husband Esay 54. 5. And how is he married unto you why In righteousnesse and in judgment and in loving kindnesse and in mercies and in failhfulnessâ— Hosea 2. 19 20. Truly even this alone that you are his people lays bond enough upon you to depend and trust upon your God for what is it to be his people but to choose him alone to be your God and for to acknowledge him by trusting upon him and loving of him and obeying of him if he be a God not worthy of your trust you are a people not worthy of his love and care 3. Because your God hath given unto you that choice grace of faith for this God hath given faith for this end end to act all along upon the Covenant of grace that he hath given faith unto you it is unquestioanble otherwise you were not his people now your faith is given unto you for foure ends One is for entrance that you might become his people and choose him for your God A second is for acquaintance that you as such a people might hold communion with such a God A third is for discovery that you might be able to finde out and behold all the undertakings and promises of your good God A fourth is for reliancâ— that you might be able to trust upon him for all that good which he hath promised unto you Faith is the eye which is given for to see our good and it is the feet which are given us to carry us to the fountaine of our good and it is the hand which is given to lay hold to take to receive all the good which our God hath promised us 4. Because it concerns you above all people to honour your God And how can you It concerns you above all people to honour your God honour him if you will not trust him faith hath if I may so expresse my thought all the glory of God in its hand you cannot possibly put more honour upon God than by believing and depending on him this is indeed to set him up as a God as the original of all c. 5. Because you know his Name How often have you found it good for you You know his Name to draw near to God And when you have laid the whole burden on his promises by faith you have alwayes found him a very faithful and helpful God Now saith David They that know thy Name will trust in thee 6. Have you any other to depend upon Every creature naturally is in a You have no other to depend upon state of dependency it is weak and wanting and an insufficiency to it self and therefore it must lean upon some stronger prop than it self And do not you finde it so with your selves finde you no wants at all can you be a sufficiency unto your selves under those wants will any or can any but God supply the wants of the people of God Most of your wants are above all Creature helps 2. You who are the people of God should walk in an exceeding love of your Walk in an exceeding love of your loving God good and loving God Matth. 22. 37. Jesus said unto him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy minde 1 John 4. 19. We love him because he first loved us Deut. 11. 1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God Psal 31. 23. O love the Lord all ye his Sairts There is a love of desire O God thou art my God my soul thirsts for thee Psal 63. 1. Of delight Delight thy self in the Lord Psal 37. 4. In thy presence is fulnesse of joy Psal 16. 11. Of Admiratâ—on who is a God like unto thee Micah 7. 18. Of Satisfaction I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likenesse Psal 17. 15. Lord shew us the Father and it sufficeth us John 14. 8. Thy favour is better than life Psal 63. 3. Of Adhaesion never to part with God nor forsake him I held him fast I would not let him go Cant. 3. I and you should love as with the choicest kinde of love Foederal love so with the highest degrees of love you should love him more than all the world and more than all your friends and more than all your kindred more than father or mother sister or brother and more than your nearest relation than husband or wife and more than all your possessions and more than your own safeties and more
with you in your distresses Isa 63. 9. 7. His yearning bowels towards you My bowels are troubled for him Jer. His yearning bowels towards you 31. 20. and longings to do you good He doth waite that he may be gracious unto you Isa 30. 18. 8. His speed to close with you and to shew his affections unto you He flies His speed to close with you upon the wings of the winde and leaps over the Mountains and hastens and runnes to shew himself reconciled unto you Luke 15. 9. His great donations he bestows no lesse on you than Christ and grace and His great donations glory 10. His quick eare to all your petitions and such a full compliance with His quick care to all your petitions you that he will deny you nothing which you ask according to his will If we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us 11. His looking after you and special charge that men speak comfortably unto you Isa 40. 1. 2. and that you never come with fears to him nor go away from His looking after you him with sadnesse Go in peace Be of good comfort Come boldly to the Throne of grace Heb. 4. 12. His gracious entertainment of you and communions with you and manifestations His gracious entertainment of you unto you so that you are as it were many times lifted up to heaven and filled with joy unspeakable and glorious Beloved This is unspeakable comfort and encouragement unto you that your God is a kinde God and will deal with you in loving kindnesses Consider that of necessity you have to deal with him and that every day and houre of your life and that he is not an hard Master nor of an harsh nature nor rough in his words or looks or deeds He will not seek not will he take advantages against you so as that you may come with boldnesse into his presence and need not to fear his intentions or dealings with you Never did father or mother deal more gently with their tender infants never did loving husband deal more kindly with his most beloved wife than your kindest God will deal with you and this affords unto you five comforts 1. You have free access to him the door is alwayes open Should the childe fear to go to his tender Father 2. You may come with full opening of your soul and wants to him he is kind and willing to hear all 3. You may have good hope if any will use you well 't is your kinde God 4. You are sure of quick dispatch kindnesse makes no unnecessary delays no vain excuses 5. When men deal unkindly with you yet you shall finde kinde dealing from your God Psal 27. 10. When my father and mother forsake me then the Lord will take ms up 14. Lastly Eternity is another Attribute of God your God is an eternal God Gods Eternity from everlasting to everlasting thou art God Psal 90. 2. The Eternal God is thy refuge Deut. 33. 27. He inhabits Eternity Isa 57. 15. Eternity is an interminable being and dutation before any time and beyond all time it is a fixed duration without beginning or ending If you should imagine as many thousand myriads of years before time was as there are sands on the Sea-shore and of ten thousand thousand times more myriads after time shall not be you could not in the one or the other make any discovery of the being or duration of God the Eternity of God is beyond all possible conception of measure or time God ever was ever is and ever shall be Though the manifestations of himself unto the creatures are in time yet his essence or being never did nor shall be bound up by time look backward or forward God from Eternity to Eternity is a most self-sufficient infinite perfect blessed being the first cause of our being and without any cause of his own being an eternal infinite fulnesse and possession to himself and of himself what God is he was from Eternity and what God is he will be so to Eternity The comfort of it is This very Attribute is that which drops myrrhe and oyle and honey it is one of the sweetest and strongest comforts unto you who are the people of God 1. It sweetens all his love and mercy and goodnesse unto you God is Eternal It sweetens all his love and mercy and goodnesse to you and his love to you is an Eternal love there never shall come the time when his love or his kindnesse or his goodnesse or his mercy shall cease towards you All the creatures slip away and come to their end and though one creature out-lives another yet every creature at last is at his journies end There is an end of this man and his power and an end of that man and his love but God never comes to an end and his power and his love never comes to an end O what is this that God is God and that he is our God for ever and ever that his love is an Eternal love and his mercy is an Eternal mercy and his fulnesse is an Eternal fulnesse and his blessednesse is an Eternal blessednesse 2. It gives you confidence in all your space of time which you are to live still It gives confidence to live upon God as long as we live to live upon your God for there is no newness nor alteration nor weariness nor weakness in Eternity no want or waste in Eternity Eternity is full to all Eternity God is full of mercy and grace and power c. The Eternal God is in all times the self-same perfection and all-sufficiency there is no variation or diminution or contigency in Eternity his power and mercy and wisdome and knowledge and love and kindnesse are still at the same height 3. The Eternal God hath time enough to make all his promises good unto you He hath time enough to make all his promises good Though life be short yet he hath promised to give eternal life you need not fear that he will dye in debt unto you Eternity never dies but hath time enough in it 4. Though your life be not Eternal but short yet your Eternal God hath promised to give unto you Eternal life 1 John 2. 25. This is the promise which he hath promised us even Eternal life Happiness were not happiness without Eternity Eternity of happiness is a full possession and a present possession and an invincible possession and endless possession of the blessed God for ever and ever and ever 5. This is comfort in all losses I dye but God will surely visit you Comfort in all losses said Joseph as if he had said I cannot live to do you good but God lives for ever what though this comfort dyes yet the God of all comfort lives Thus have you heard the singular and manifold comforts of having God to be your God from the excellency of all his glorious Attributes in respect of
c. Who can pray thus but he who is a child of God but he who hath the Spirit of God to shew unto him his spiritual wants to stirre up in him spiritual and earnest desires to quicken his Faith on God and to depend on his good and faithful Promises in Christ c. Fourthly I will adde one instance more concerning the power in all who have received the Spirit and that is this All who have received the Spirit have received a power to do such works as none else in all the world can do for they are able in the strength and power of the Spirit 1. To abhor the dearest lusts which have formerly been more unto them than their lives and heavenly happiness 2. To forsake Father and Mother Husband and Wife and Children and Friends Houses and Lands for Christ and an afflicted estate with Christ 3. To prize communion with God and to take more satisfying delight therein than in all earthly enjoyments whatsoever But Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me Psal 4. 6. Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us Psal 73. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee c. 4. To live by faith in the times of desertion Though he kill me yet will I trust in him Job 13. 15. and in times of desolation when as creature helps and comforts fail Although the Fig-tree shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the Vine and the labour of the Olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat and the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation Hâ—b 3. 17 18. The Lord God is my strength ver 19. 5. To be contented in every estate and to comply with it Phil. 4. 12 13. and to glorifie God under it O where is this power of the Spirit of God where are any great things or works of the Spirit within us I cannot pray saith one and I cannot leave my sins saith another and I can find and take no delight in God or communion with him saith another and I cannot trust on his Word nor wait upon his Promise c. Few men have any Spiritual power and therefore few men have the Spirit of God Fourthly The Spirit of God is the Spirit of liberty 2 Cor. 3. 17. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty Liberty is a freedom from bondage or slavery and Gospel-liberty which principally respects the soul is a freedom accruing unto us Partly by price and purchace namely by the blood of Christ The Lord Jesus by his death hath purchased many glorious liberties for us he hath freed us from the Law as it is a Covenant of Works Gal. 3. 11 12. and from the curse and wrath ver 13. and from all condemning power of sin c. Rom. 8. 1. Partly by strength and efficacy this liberty comes unto us by the Spirit who puts forth a strong and mighty hand upon all the hearts of all the people of God and rescues and frees them from spiritual slavery under which they were held whiles they were in their natural condition The Spirit of God doth free them First From slavery to sin See Rom. 8. 2 The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death i. e. The power of the Spirit hath freed me out of the hands and power of sin so that it shall not command and rule over me as heretofore it is no longer my Lord nor am I any longer his servant I am delivered and freed from the dominion and tyranny of it and service unto it by the Law i. e. by the powerful and authoritative command and work of the Spirit upon this account the Apostle affirms that all the servants of God are made free from sin Rom. 6. 18 22. they are not in bondage they are not at the command of it sin hath lost its law and authority in them the yoke is broken by the spirit which is given unto them sin indeed will stirre and trouble and usurp but slavery unto it is taken away Isa 10. 27. The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing Secondly From slavery to Satan Before we receive the Spirit of God we are in bondage unto the Divel who rules or works effectually in us Ephes 2. 2. and takes us captive at his will 2 Tim. 2. 26. as one that hath a bird tyed c. O what power hath Satan over a natural man how he fetters and shackles and binds him and imprisons him and makes him to drudge in the fulfilling of his motions and obeying of his suggestions and temptations But now when the Spirit of God comes into us he spoiles the strong man armed and takes from him all the armour wherein he trusted Luke 11. 21 22. For he is stronger than he 1 Joh. 4. 4. He leads captivity captive he turns us from Satan unto God Acts. 26. 18. Object But Satan still tempts and assaults never was man so tempted as I am Sol. Temptation is one thing and salvation is another he bestirred himself in tempting and we obeyed he now tempts and we resist He frees us from him 1. By making us to abhor his Kingdom 2ly By translating us out of his power into the Kingdom of Christ 3ly By arming us with the armour of God against his assaults 4ly By stirring us up to resist him Jam. 4 7. Resist the Divel and he will flee from you And 5ly By strengthening us to overcome him 1 Joh. 2. 13. Ye have overcome the wicked one Thirdly From slavish fear and a slavish spirit in working in this respect he makes us to serve God without fear Luk. 1. 74. that is without servile fear for there is a twofold fear There is Timor filialis which is grounded in the love of God as a Father and there is Timor servilis which looks upon God only as a Judge and hath a respect to fo wrath Now when the Spirit of God is given unto us we do not serve God tor fear of wrath and punishment and damnation but out of love and reverence and ingenuity Though there were no Law to curse us though there were no Conscience to terrifie us though there were no Hell to burn us yet the Lord our God and Father we will love and him will we serve Fourthly From slavish indispositions as averseness to what is good and indelightfulness in it They that are anointed by the Spirit and power of God it makes them ready and willing out of love and working out of love Fifthly The Spirit of God is a Spirit of truth Joh. 14. 16. I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter Ver. 17. even the Spirit of truth John 16. 13. When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide yâ—u into all truth SECT I. THere are divers
many times we know not what to do and cannot do any good that we would and now the Spirit of God comes and strengthens our feeble hands and supports our fainting spirits and puts out his power upon our hearts and carries us on in our wayes and works You do find it thus in several cases viz. 1. Frequently when we are to pray we are at a loss and cannot go on with Gods spirit helps us in prayer the heavenly work our ignorance our unbelief Satans temptations and distractions all these hold us down and bind us up and we cannot help and free our selves But then the Spirit of God comes in with his strength and with his help and stirs up our hearts and enlargeth our hearts and new desires flow and groans abound and affâ—â—ctions work and faith works with confidence to the throne of grace to find grace and mercy to help in time of need 2. Alwayes in our spiritual warfare with our own corruptions with Satans temptations In our spiritual warfare in these conflicts we feel our own weakness and their power and violence so that we many times cry out O wretched men that we are who shall deliver us Rom. 7. 24. Or as Jehoshaphat in another case We have no might against this great company that commeth against us neither know we what to do 2 Chron. 20. 12. And verily we may say concerning our own corruptions what he spake of his enemies If it had not been the Lord who was on our side if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us then they had swallowed us up quick Psal 124. 1,2,3 so if the Spirit of the Lord had not been with us and if the Spirit of the Lord had not strengthened and helped us sin had been too hard for us But in those conflicts the Spirit of God hath made us strong still to pray still to believe still to wait still to resist and at length to conquer 4ly The spirit of God which is given unto us is a reconciling and a restoring spirit He is a restoring spirit he restoreth my soul saith David Psal 23. 3. Even the people of God sometimes are circumvented by Satans temptations and are overpowered by sin that dwelleth in them what I hate that do I saith Paul Rom. 7. 15. They do many times fall very grievously and sadly and are not able by their own strength to rise again but there they lye with their weakness and losses and complaints and tears Now in this condition the Spirit of God puts forth his hand and recovers and raises them up again he doth not leave them when they are fallen but by the power of his assisting grace 1. He awakens them out of their sleep by a quick conviction upon their consciences He awakens out of spiritual sleep to see the great evil which they have done I have sinned saith David as soon as Nathan said Thou art the man 1 Sam. 12. 2. He melts their hearts into singular grief for that evil which they have done Melts their hearts into grief David watred his couch with tears Psal 6. 6. And Peter goes out and weeps bitterly Luk. 22. 62. he makes them to mourn and to be ashamed and to loath themselves 3. He stirs up their hearts to confess and acknowledge their sinnings and to judge themselves before the Lord for their unfaithful dealings and unworthy walking Stir them up to confess their sins and likewise earnest wrestlings and strivings with the Lord by prayer for pardoning mercy and restoring grace and a more stedfast spirit Psal 51. 9. Blot out all mine iniquities Ver. 10. Renew a right spirit witbin me Ver. 12. Vphold me by thy free spirit 4. He enables them by faith to lay hold on Christ to be their peace and to Enables by Faith to lay hold on Christ make Reconciliation and thus doth the Spirit of God recover and restore their fallen souls and assures them that their sin is pardoned Fifthly the Spirit of God which is given unto you is a comforting Spirit Christ He is a comforting spirit himself calls him the Comforter Joh. 14. 16. and you find him actually comforting the people of God Acts 9. 31. They walked in the comforts of the Holy Ghâ—st He is called the Comforter by way of Eminency and Excellency there is no such Comforter as the Siprit of God Psal 77. 2. For 1. He can comfort your very souls with proper comfors and consolations Thy Comforts the soul comforts delight my soul Psal 94. 19. 2. He can comfort you against all your discomforts 2 Cor. 1. 4. Who comforteth Comforts against all discomforts us in all our tribulations 1. From Conscience 2. From the Divel and the world 3. From Providence when it seems to be cross to us 3. He can comfort you under all absences when there is neither Father nor In all absence and wants Mother nor Husband nor Wife nor Child nor Friend nor Land nor House yet he can comfort you he alone can shew you the salvation of the Lord speak peace and joy and assure you of mercy and cause you to rejoyce in believing Psal 27. 10. When my Father and my Mother for sake me then the Lord will take me up 4. He can comfort you and none can hinder him nor men nor Divels nor fears nor doubts for he can create you peace and create you joy and create He cannot be hindred in comforting us you comfort he himself alone is a sufficient cause of comfort Object How so how doth the Spirit comfort Sol. 1. By opening all the springs of comfort unto you the fountain of mercy How the Spirit comforts By opening the springs of comfort By actuating our Faith Zech. 13. 1. the Fountain of grace the Fountain of the blood of Christ and of justification 1 Joh. 2. 1 2. Rom. 5. 11. We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the attonement 2. By actuating your faith to behold all these fountains of joy and to dig water out of the wells of salvation and making you to suck the brests of consolation 3. By applying them to your very souls clearing and witnessing your right unto By opplying them to our souls them your propriety in them that Christ dyed for your sins that God is reconciled to your souls that you are justified and accepted unto life and that you are the children of God Rom. 8. 4. By enabling conscience to testifie 2 Cor. 1. 12. Our rejoycing is this By enabling Conscience to testifie the testimony of our Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation Sixthly The Spirit which is given unto you is dwelling and an abiding spirit He is a dwelling spirit in all the people of God Rom. 8. 11. By his Spirit that dwelleth in you Joh. 14. 16. I will pray the Father and he
God is al-sufficiency and this is engaged Gen. 17. 1. i. e. I am an infinitely perfectâ—fulness to my self and of my self I am absolutely enough and need or want nothing and I will be enough I will be a fulness to you you shall not need any other but my self to supply you with any good which you shall want or to secure you from any evil which you fear This is al-sufficiency To be enough and to be without any want and to be enough to us and to fill up all our wants and this al-sufficiency God doth â—ngage himself to be unto every one with whom he is a God in Covenant Gen. 15. 1. Fear not Abraham I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward What is that It is as much as if he had said I am thy al-sufficiency and will see unto thee that thou shalt have enough thou shalt not want any thing Psal 23. 1. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want Psal 34. 9. There is no want to them that fear him Psal 84. 11. The Lord God is a Sun and shield The Lord will give grace and glory no good thing will he with-hold from them that walk uprightly Now this is the comfort belonging to you That your God is al-sufficiency and he is your al-sufficiency all that you have comes from him and all that you want shall be supplyed by him and he hath enough of his own fully to help you in any condition and at any time and he alone is enough unto you Consider any want whatsoever whether spiritual or temporal whether inward or outward your God will be an al-sufficiency to you Do you want grace do you want peace in conscience do you want the joy of the holy Ghost do you want strength against corruptions or against temptations God is sufficient for them all He can and will give more grace Jam. 4. 6. He can and will speak peace unto his people Psal 85. 8. He can and will give you fulnesse of joy Psal 16. 11. Exceeding joy like that in harvest Isa 9. 3. and in Isa 12. 3. With joy shall ye draw waters out of the wells of salvation and he can and will be sufficiency against your corruptions Sinne shall not have dominion over you for you are under grace Rom. 6. 14. And against your temptations Mâ— grace is sufficient for thee and my strength is made perfect in weaknesse 2 Cor. 12. 9. And for any outward want My God saith Paul in Phil. 4. 19. shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus Bread shall be given him and his water shall be sure Isa 33. 16. The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof If all the earth can help you you shall not want any good nay if the earth or meanes do faile God himself will not fail you but will create good and help and salvation for you 2. God is mercifulnesse The Lord the Lord God merciful c. Exod. 34. 6. The Lord your God is merciful 2 Chron. 30. 9. Turn unto the Lord your God God is mercifulnesse for he is gracious and merciful Joel 2. 13. Mercifulness or mercy doth especially denote two things in God 1. One is tender compassion and therefore the mercies of God are frequently Mercy denotes in God Tender compassion stiled his bowels Psal 25. 6. Remember O Lord thy tender mercies or thy bowels of mercies So Psal 51. 1. According to the multitude of thy bowels of mercies and so in the New Testament Through the bowels of the mercy of our God Luke 1. 78. It is remarkable that the same word in the Hebrew Chalde Syriack and Arabick which signifies bowels is used for mercy which notes two things 1. That the mercies of God to his are most inward tender affectionate compassions like the bowels of a father and of a mother to his dearest children being in misery 2. That not only the effects of mercy are the portion of Gods people but the very heart of God acts towards them and yearns over them when he shews mercy to them mercy comes from his very heart and bowels 2. Another is forgiveness of sinnes that essential propension in God to pardon sinne to pass by transgression to blot out iniquity and never to remember Forgivenesse of sins sinne any more This is the Attribute of God which is his great glory and his great delight and our only hope and life There is a depth in this mercy more than that in the Sea and a height in this mercy above all the thoughts of men and a bredth in this mercy it can pardon many sins great sinnes abundant sinnes and a length in this mercy it is everlasting and endures for ever This is the mercy or mercifulness of God! And to enjoy God in this Attribute as our merciful God as pitying as pardoning us as forgiving and forgetting all our sins and never remembring them any more O what a comfort what a settling what a joy and a rest is this Consider 1. It is the great care and the great desire almost of every man especially in distresses of conscience and times of sickness and death Be merciful unto me O Lord Lord be merciful unto me a sinner O that my sinnes were pardoned and how shall I get my sinnes pardoned He that doth not regard the holy doth yet prize and esteem very much the merciful God Every sinner doth like and long for mercy 2. All Controversie is at an end when mercy pardons sinne Now enmity is slain and wrath and curse go off for these follow sinne as unpardoned but if sin be pardoned all punishment is pardoned and God is reconciled and your souls are graciously accepted and clasped with love and favour 3. When mercy pardons sinne then conscience is at rest The broken bones are at ease and rejoyce Psal 51. True peace follows full remission of sinnes and then joy comes into the heart Be of good comfort thy sinnes are forgiveâ— And then confidence of access unto God comes into the soul and then hope of salvation is raised in the soul Now mark what I say If God be your God then he is your merciful God And God is your merciful God Heb. 8. 10. This is his Covenant I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people Ver. 12. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sinnes will I remember no more Isa 40. 1. Comfort ye comfort ye my people saith your God Ver. 2. Speak ye comfortably to Hierusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished that her iniquity is pardoned Jer. 33. 8. I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against me Micah 7. 19. Thou wilt cast all their sinnes into the depth of the sea Ver. 20. Thou wilt performe the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham Six comforts to those who have God their merciful God
Satan alas your own strength is insufficient to conquer for you 〈…〉 maintain the fight for you unlesse the Spirit of God put forth his actual help unlesse he take your part what one temptation of lust of doubt of feare is not too hard for you and what one temptation from Satan is not too strong for you Every little touch throws down or hazards the weak child so this c. But this is your comfort that in all your spiritual conflicts you are sure of the Spirits presence to own his own graces and to defend and secure them His gracious presence shall be sufficient for you 2 Cor. 12. 9. and his power makes it self manifest in your weaknesse he will be near to help you strengthen you to make you to resist and to conquer and to be more than conquerours through Christ that loved you We are strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Eph. 6. 10. 5. The Spirit helps them in the darknesses upon their spirits my meaning is In the darkness of our spirits in all the with-drawments of Gods favour and light of countenance and in all the sad apprehensions of their own spiritual condition when they think God is become their enemy and that themselves are forgotten of God and cast off by God and have no interest nor hope in Christ Now in these times the Spirit of God works and helps supplies supports stirs up faith against hope to believe in hope and against our own feelings yet to pray and trust and wait and look for God 6. He helps them in the captivities of their souls As when sinne or Satan In the captivity of our souls in this or that particular have been too subtile and too strong for them and have prevailed over them so that they are fallen and not able to rise even then in this condition doth the Spirit of God by his wonderful graces help them up again he makes them to see their sinnes and bewail them and raise them by renewing and strengthening faith on the Lord Jesus Christ Thus he dealt with David with Peter c. As the finding of us in our lost estate so the raising of us from our fallen estate is done by the help of the Spirit 5. The Spirit is yours in respect of his joyes â—r comforts You read of the He is ours in respect of his joyes and comforts joy of the holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. And of the comforts of the holy Ghost Acts 9 31. And that Christ himself calls him the Comforter John 16. 7. The Spirit is given unto you not only to unite you to Christ not only to conform you unto Christ not only to lead you in the wayes of Christ not only to help you in the services of Christ but also to comfort your hearts in Christ The Spirit is a comforter in three respects He is a Comforter As he opens to us all the springs of comfort As he actuates our faith in theÌ„ As he applies them to our souls 1. He opens unto you all the true springs of comfort It is he who opens unto you the fountain of mercy and the fountain of the love and grace of God and the fountain of the blood of Christ 2. He actuates your faith to look on all these fountains of joy and wells of comfort as set open for the good and help of your souls 3. He applies all of them unto your souls he makes it evident that God loves your souls and that Christ died for your souls and that you are justified by faith in him and are reconciled and pardoned and accepted unto life and hereupon he fills you with all joy in believing even with joy unspeakable and glorious You cannot imagine what a comfort it is to have the Spirit of God to be our comfort for 1. His comforts are choice comforts There is no more comparison 'twixt the His comforts are choice comforts comforts of the world and the comforts of the Spirit than between the light of the Candle and the light of the Sunne they are the very comforts of God they are the very drops out of the Wells of Salvation they are drawn out from the proper and only grounds of joy They are comforts which of all other do most punctually answer the distresses of your souls 2. He can comfort you under all your discomfirts Who comforteth us in all our He cancomfort under all discomforts tribulations 2 Cor. 1. 4. Yea under the deepest and saddest disconsolations In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul Psal 94. 19. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death c. thy rod and thy staffe they comfort me Psal 23. 4. He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds Psal 147. 3. 3. He can comfort you when there is none else to comfort you when you have He can comfort when there is none else to comfort neither father nor mother sister nor brother companion nor friend when you are in prison in exile in the losse of all yet he alone when you are alone can comfort your souls he can shew you the salvation of the Lord speak peace assure you of mercy and cause you to rejoyce 4. Hâ— can comfort you and none shall hindâ—r him neither men nor divels He can comâ—ort and none â—hall hinder â—im nor your own fears and doubts He can create your peace and joyes and make comfâ—rts for you and make you to drink of them And as none can take away your joyes so none shall be able to hinder them 6. The Spirit is yours in respect of his offices There are three special offices beloâ—ging He is ours in respect of his offices Three offices of the Spirit To make all the Ordinances of Christ effectual to us unto the Spirit 1. One is to make all the Ordinances of Christ powerful and effectual unto you Take the doctrines of the Gospel they are not effectual without the Spirit and take the seâ—ls of the Gospel they are not effectual unto you without the Spirit There are excellent precepts in the Gospel and excellent offers in the Gospel and excellent promises in the Gospel the Gospel commands us to repeâ—t to mourn to deny our selves to renounce all for Christ to come and believe on Christ but it is the Spirit which makes all these commands effectual and the Gospel offers Jesus Christ to poor sinners and thiâ—sty sinners and presents singular arguments to perswade and allure and draw the hearts of sinners but it is the Spirit which makes all those offers and all those arguments effectual and the Gospel promiseth all heavenly good of love of grace of peace of joy c. but it is the Spirit which makes all these effectual And therefore the New Testamâ—nt is called the mâ—nâ—stration nâ—t of the Letter but of the Spirit who giveth lâ—fe 2 Cor. 3. 6. And the Gospel hath excellent seals
heart Faith 4. A fourth is Faith Faith is a receiving grace therefore believing is stiled receiving To as many as received him he gave this dignity to be thâ— Sonnes of God even to them â—hat believe on him Faith receives Christ and receives mercy and receives love and receives righteousnesse and receives blessings and receives all the gifts of God Though God hath all to give yet you have no hand to receive untill you get faith 3. Is the Covenant a giving Covenant Is it such a Covenant wherein the Lord undertakes to give all the good mentioned therein This then yields Comfort to the people of God Hence they may conclude manifold comfort to the people of God who are in Covenant with him 1. If God undertakes to give all then certainly he undertakes to finde all good for us If he undertakes to give a Christ he must finde out that He will find all good for us Christ and if he undertakes to give you mercy he then must finde out that mercy c. 2. If God undertakes to give all then he must finde all from himself and And find all from himself of his own Men many times give away that which is none of their own but God gives nothing but what is his own but what comes out of his own stock and treasury 3. If God undertakes to give all in the Covenance then you shall be surely helped You shall be surely helped you have good reason to expect it for your Father hath all to give How much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask will not a father give to his poor child Certainly your God is an infinite God a most gracious and glorious God and perfectly al-sufficient he hath heaven and earth in his own possession he hath all the good to dispose of which is good he must needs be infinite in mercy who can give all mercies and infinite in grace who can give all grace and infinite in glory who can give all glory c. For as this shews his infinitenesse that he hath all good to give so this shews his perfection that when he hath given all this yet there is no diminution made in his stock at all 4. If God undertakes to give you all that is in his Covenant then unquestisnably Then he doth unquestionably love you he loves you Indeed he gives many things to the wicked his enemies whom he hares but to undertake to give all the good in the Covenant this proceeds from his great love and from his special love Doth not God love you who is willing to give you his love and to give you his Christ the Son of his love and to give you all the graces of his Spirit the fruits of his love Then God will not deny the least mercies 5. If God undertakes to give you all even the greatest of mercies can you reasonably imagine that he will stick with you for the least of necessary mercies and blessings How shall he not with him freely also give â—â— all things SECT IV. A fourth property of this Covenant is this It is a free or gracious Covenant It is a free and gracious Covenant By grace are ye saved Ephes 2. 5. By grace are ye saved Verse 8. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father who hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace 2 Thes 2. 16. Being justified freely by his grace Rom. 3. 24. I will love them freely Hosea 14. 4. Whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely Revel 22. 17. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely Revel 21. 6. He freely forgave them both Luke 7. 42. The things that are freely given unto us of God 1 Cor. 2. 12. This Covenant is gracious or free in three respects 1. For the constitution of Free in three respects it 2. For the reception into it 3. For the donations from it 1. For the exceeding framing out or constituting of this Covenant when For the constitution of it in respect of was it and with whom was it and whence was it All these will plainely demonstrate that this Covenant is a very free and gracious Covenant 1. Consider the time when it was made and set forth why immediately upon The time when it was made the fall then when man-kinde had sinned and transgressed the first Covenant then when God might have glorified his justice upon all sinners yet then was the time that he promised this Covenant The seed of the woman shall break the Serpents head Gen. 3. 15. Surely this must needs be gracious then to set up a Throne of grace when sinful man was to receive his sentence at the Bar of Justice 2. Consider the persons with whom this Covenant is made It was made not The persons with whom the Covenant is made with fallen Angels but with men why not with them as well as with us no answer can be given but this of grace I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy Nay and why with fallen men at all no answer can be given for this neither but only the grace of God and his own good pleasure so it pleased him and so it seemed good unto him 3. Consider whence the making of this Covenant did arise Did it arise from Whence the making of this Covenant did arise any goodnesse in any man O no All the world was found guilty before God and every mouth was stopped by reason of sinne Rom. 3. 19. Or did it arise from any desire or entreaty of man not at all but as man first brought in sinne and death so God first thought of mercy and life He is found of them that sought him not Isa 65. 1. O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self but in â—â— is thy help Hosea 13. 9. The Lord set his love upon you to take you into Covenant c. because he loved you Deut. 7. 7 8. 2. For the reception into this Covenant here the graciousnesse or freenesse of it For our reception into it will also manifestly appear Consider the persons taken or brought into this Covenant either absolutely in The persons taken into the Covenant considered themselves or respectively in their dealing towards God or comparatively with others As to all these considerations this Covenant is a very gracious and free Covenant 1. Consider the persons now taken into Covenant what they were is themselves In themselves The Prophet tells you what they were in Ezekiel 16. 3. Thy birth and thy Nativity was of the Lord of Canaan thy Father was an Amâ—rite and thy mother an Hittite Ver. 4. Thy navel was not cut neither wast thou wasted in water to supple thee thou wast not salted at all nor swadled at all Ver. 5. No eye
a distance so that they cannot close that same hinders union Now there are four things which keep the soule and Christ at a distance Christ and we cannot close whiles they continue and faith breaks them all down 1. A proud conceit of our own fulnesse Righteousness sufficiency I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance said Christ And the whâ—le need From a proud conceit of our own fulnesse no physitian but the sick And the Son of man is câ—me to seek and to save that which was lost Now faith that unites to Christ breaks this partition wall and levels this mountain it empties the sinner of himself it takes away all confidence in himself and will by no means suffer him to rest upon or to be found in his own righteousnesse Phil. 3. 3. We rejoyce in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh verse 9. And be found in him not having mine own righteousnesse which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ 2. A love of sin This is likewise an absolute hindrance of union with Christ From a love of sin That heart cannot close with Christ which closeth with sin and Christ will not close with that heart which is joyned to sin Ephraim is joyned to Idols let him alone Hosea 4. 17. as if he should say his heart loves Idols and therefore I will have nothing to do with him So Joh. 3. 19. This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light Christ is that light and he presented and offered himself to sinners but they loved thier sins and would not part with them to joyne with Christ Now faith which brings a soule to Christ hath parted that soule and sin it hath given a bill of divorce unto sin it takes off the heart from sin what shall I prefer hell before heaven shall I prefer damnation before salvation shall I for this sinful lusts-sake deny Christ my heart refuse to marry him who is the Son of God the Lord of glory the Prince of Peace the Saviour of sinners What have I to do any more with Idols said Ephraim Hosea 14. 8. Get thee hence said they in Isa 30. 22. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein Rom. 6. 2. 3. A love of the world He that loveth Father or Mother more than me is not From a love of the world worthy of me and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me Matth 10. 37. If a man saith I will have my ease and I will have my liberty and I will have my pleasures and I will have my profits and I will have my friends and I will have my honours and I will not have Christ with any losse or crosse this man loves the world and this hinders union with Christ The young man lost Christ upon this very account Luke 18. 22 23. But if Faith indeed be wrought in the heart all this language is removed out of the way Faith overcomes the world 1 Joh. 5. 4. The Merchants sold all for to buy the pearle of great price and Moses in Heb. 11. 24 25 26. We have forsaken all and followed thee said the Disciples When a man hath faith he can be content to be Fatherlesse and Motherlesse to be friendlesse and landlesse to part with all rather than he will be Christlesse Faith sees enough in Christ though he should enjoy no more but Christ Faith will enable us to trample upon the world so that we may enjoy Christ it will enable us to break off with all and to breake down all to possesse him who is better than all 4. Vnbelief This locks and shuts up the heart that it cannot move at all to From unbelief Christ cannot see Christ nor hear Christ nor desire Christ nor give consent to Christ But faith breakes down unbelief breaks open the prison and breaks asunder all the shackles and fetters of unbelief answers all exceptions reasonings cavils delayes fears doubts and sets the soule at liberty and works in the whole soule to Christ O beloved try your hearts by what I have spoken in this particular you think that you have this uniting faith But what hath that faith wrought upon you and within you to bring you and Christ together It is not so easie a work to match Christ and the soule together nothing can do that but faith and no faith can do that but such a faith which presents Christ in that height of goodness and beauty and excellency that the soul is drawn out with that strength and vehemency of desire after Christ as to part with all to enjoy Christ c. And who hath found it thus Is there not yet something or other which stand between Christ and our hearts c. 3. Thirdly you may know whether your faith be indeed a faith of union by The acts by which the soul is brought into union those acts or workings in the soule immediately and necessarily to make up an union between a soule and Christ unto which when the soule attains then Christ is ours and we are Christs For as there are some acts which are immediate to constitute a conjugal union twixt person and person without which there is no conjugal relation between them and upon which the relation is immediately made so there are some acts of the soul immediate to the being of the Spiritual union twixt a person and Christ without which there is no relation and upon which there is an immediate relation twixt him and Christ There are two acts upon the soule when the union is made between Christ and us 1. One is an act or work of the Spirit on the behalf of Christ testifying unto our An act of the Spirit testifying that Christ is willing to be ours hearts and perswading our hearts that Jesus Christ is contented is very willing to become ours to be an Husband to us to be our Head to be our Saviour Jesus Christ doth outwardly expresse his consent in the Gospel but he inwardly delivers it unto us by his Spirit As by the spirit he becomes ours If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Rom. 8. 9. So by the Spirit he testifies his willingness and consent to be ours yea and that he is ours Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us 1 Joh. 3. 24. 2. The other is the act or effect of faith on our behalf For the Spirit in testifying unto us the willingnesse and consent of Christ to be ours doth at the same An act of faith in a Reciprocal câ—nsent from us to Christ time work faith in our hearts which draws out a reciprocal consent from us to Châ—ist And therefore as Christ is said to abide in us by his Spirit so he is said to dwell in us by faith These
Christ is Man who is the Mediatour but it doth not say that he is Mediatour only as Man yea and the next verse may satisfie us that he must be considered as God as well as Man being Mediatour For it followeth in verse 6. who gave himsel a Ramsome for all c. Now Christ giving himself a Ransome was was not Man only but God also therefore the same Apostle saith that God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself 2 Cor. 5. 19. and that by his own blood he purchased the Church Acts 20. Ob. But it is there said The Man Christ Jesus and why is it said the Man but to shew that only as Man he is Mediatour So Bellarmine Sol. 1. By the same reason we may argue that Christ only as Man doth forgive sins Because it is said in Matth. 9. 6. The Sonne of Man hath power to forgive sins 2. But the reason why he saith the Man Christ Jesus is not that as so only he was Mediatour but that he might teach Believers not to despaire oâ— any sorts of men for whom he before wills them to pray Because Christ was made Man and sustained the person of all sorts of men 3. As it is there said the Man so it is said the Man Christ Jesus That Man is the Mediatour who is Christ the Annointed of God and Jesus who is so called because he saves his people from their sins But as meere man he cannot do so it is no meer Man but God who is the God of salvation And although Christ might die meerely as man yet as a Medâ—atour he must also conquer death which he could not do but as he was God Object But the Apostle distinguisheth the Mediatour there from God saying one God and one Mediatour thus Bellarmine argues Sol. And so the Apostle in another place distinguisheth Christ from man Gal. 1. 1. Paul an Apostle not of man nor by man but by Jesus Christ yet hence it will not follow that Christ only according to his Divine Nature did call Paul to be an Apostle no more doth it here because he distinguisheth God and the Mediatour that therefore the Mediatour is not God But now to return to the proof of the Assertion that Christ is a Mediatour in respect of both his Natures as he was God and Man not as God only nor as Man only but as God Man many Arguments there are to evidence it Arguments to prove it Christ layed down his life and raised it again according to both Natures He is our Priest Prophet and King according to both Natures 1. According to what Nature Christ did lay down his life and raised it again according to that Nature is Christ a Mediatour this cannot be denyed because Christ as Mediatour died and rose again for us but to lay down his life and raise it again was an act of his Divine Nature as well as of his Humane Ergo. for he died as man and raised himself as God 2. If Christ in respect of both his Natures be our Priest and Prophet and King Then according to both his Natures he is a Mediatour But c Ergo. 1. He is a Priest as to both his Natures This will appear if you consider Psal 110. 4. Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedeck Heb. 7. 2. This Melchizedeck was King of Righteousness and King of Peace and verse 3. Without Father and without Mother without descent having neither beginning of dayes nor end of life but was like the Son of God and abideth a Priest for ever Why here is a clear Type of the Person of Christ as out Priest and Mediatour unto which Christ doth perfectly answer and if as thus considered he answer to Melchizedek then he must be as Melchizdeck was without Father and without Mother And indeed so Christ was in a different respect to both his Natures For as to his Humane Nature he was without Father and as to his Divine Nature he was without Mother And moreover as such a Priest he must be without beginning of dayes and end of life which cannot be affirmed of him but as God Again Melchizedeck as Priest is said to be like the Son of God if so then Christ as the Son of God is a Priest but as the Son of God he is God Ergo. as God he is our Mediatour Jesus Christ as a Priest must have not only a Sacrifice to offer but an altar on which that sacrifice must be offered The Sacrifice was himself in respect of his Humane Nature the Altar to sanctifie that Sacrifice was his Divine Nature and himself offering and sacrificing was the Priest consisting of both those Natures 2. He is a Prophet in respect of both Natures for in both his Natures he reveales the will of his Father unto us In respect of his Humane Nature he doth so Heb. 1. 2. God in these last dayes hath spoken unto us by his Son and in respect of his Divine Nature it is said Joh. 1. 9. That was the true light that enlightneth every man that cometh into the world and certainly to open the heart and mind as Christ did Acts 16. 14 Luke 24. 32 45. is the work only of God 3. He is also a King in respect of both his Natures nor can his Divine Nature be secluded in this for to call out a people to himself and to renew their hearts and to subdue their sins and to rule in their hearts by his Spirit belongs to Christ as King but these cannot be erected by Christ but as God Ergo SECT V. 5. I Now proceed unto the fifth particular viz. What did concern Christ to do and What did concern Christ to do and suffer for us as a Mediatour Whatsoever we were bound to do and suffer that did Christ do and suffer for us suffer for us as our Mediatour The answer is this That whatsoever we are bound to do or to suffer by the Law of God all that did Christ do and suffer for us as being our Surety and Mediatour Now the Law of God hath a double challenge or demand upon us One is of Active Obedience in fulfilling what it requires The other is of passive obedience in suffering that punishment which lies upon us for the transgression of it in doing what it forbids For as we were created by God we did owe unto him all obedience which he required and as we sinned against God we did owe unto him a suffering of all that punishment which he threatned And we being fallen by transgression can neither pay the one debt nor yet the other We cannot do all that the Law requires nay of our selves we can do nothing neither can we so suffer as to satisfie God in his Justice wronged by us or to recover our selves into life and favour again And therefore Jesus Christ who was God made Man did become our Surety and stood in our stead or room and he did perform what we should but
either the power or else the purpose of Gods mercy but this dark and sad conceit falls off again from the soul upon conference upon better information upon prayer upon hearing the Word and upon clear consideration of the Covenant of grace and the terms of it and of the riches of Redemption by Christ this kind of despair doth not prejudice you in the capacity of forgiving mercy but then there is a setled and permanent despair which is total and final wherein the soul is swallowed up and for ever lies under water and never riseth more with any hope of possible mercy conceiving of the guilt of sin so superlatively that neither the merits of the blood of Christ nor the riches of mercy in God can or will reach to the forgiveness of it This poor sinner puts himself out of all capacity of forgiveness and that upon a treble account 1. The infinite dishonour which he puts upon Gods throne of grace and mercy he gives reproach and the lye unto God who saith he is rich in mercy and delights in mercy 2. His utter incompliance with Christ and riches of all Gospel invitations promises and assurances 3. The confirming of his heart in impenitency seeing there is no hope of mercy Seventhly they likewise do put themselves out of a capacity of the forgiveness They who rely upon their own righteousnesse as the cause of fornesse of their sins who do rest and rely upon their own righteousness and good works as the cause of forgiveness 'T is true that you must be holy and righteous and do good works and walk in them and abound in them But if you rely on them as the reasons and causes why God will forgive your sins you will certainly lose the forgiveness of them For 1. What is this but to set up a Covenant of Works and to look for life by the Law and Justification by something of our own and what says the Scripture to this Rom. 3. 20. By the deeds of the Law there shall be no flesh justified in thy sight Tit. 3. 5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he hath saved us Gal. 3. 10. As many as are of the workâ— of the law are under the curse for it is written cursed is every one c. 2. This is to take away the Crown from Christ and it is to make Christ to die in vain to lose the end of shedding his blood for the remission of sins the Scripture saith Acts 4. 12. There is no salvation in any other for there is no other Name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved but you will have it in your own name Matth. 26. 28. This is my blood which was shed for the remission of sins 1 Joh. 2. 2. He is the propitiation for our sins Eph. 1. 7. In his blood we have redemption the forgiveness of sins Gal. 5. 4. Christ is become of none effect unto you whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from grace therefore take heed what you do and how you place your confidences for the remission of your sins you must neither renounce good works nor must you rely on them but only on Christ for pardon else you debar your selves of all benfit by Christ Eighthly Lastly they do put themselves out of a capacity of the forgiveness of their sins who are unmerciful implacable revengeful and will not forgive others They who will not forgive others their offences done against themselves their offences and trespasses or wrongs done against themselves Quest You will say this is strange Doctrine that God will not forgive me if I do not forgive others Sol. 1. Nay it were more strange that thou shouldest expect forgiveness who wilt not forgive thy brother but peruse the Scriptures Matth. 18. 32. O thou wicked servant I forgave thee all that debt ten thousand talents ver 24. because thou desiredst me ver 33. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant even as I had pity on thee ver 34. And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormenters till he should pay all that was due unto him v. 35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you if you from the heart forgive not every one his brother their trespasses Math. 6. 15. If you forgive not men their trespasses neither will your heavenly father forgive your trespasses 2. Again see the express command for this by Christ in Luke 17. 3. If thy brother trespass against thee rebuke him and if he repent forgive him ver 4. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turn again unto thee saying I repent thou shalt forgive him Thirdly I now proceed unto a third Position and Conclusion viz. That there Who are in a right capacity of pardon Such as do truely repent Four things demonstrate this Scripture exhortations are some who are in a right capacity and may safety lay hold on and own the promise of the forgivenesse of their sins First All who do truely repent of their sins there are four things will demonstrate this unto us 1. Scripture exhortations to repent that so our sins may be forgiven Ezek. 18. 30. Repent and turn your selves from all your transgressions so iniquity shall not be your ruine Acts 2. 38. Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins Act. 3. 19. Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out 2. Expresse promises that our sins shall be forgiven upon our repentance Expresse promises 2 Chro. 7. 14. If my people shall turn from their evil way then will I forgive their sin Prov. 28. 13. Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall finde mercy Ezek. 18. 21. If the wicked will turn from all his sins which he hath committed and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die ver 22. All his transgressions which he hath committed they shall not be mentioned unto him 3. Assurance of the forgiveness of sins upon repentance though they have been Assurance of the pardon of great sins upon repentance very great and hainous Isa 1. 16. Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings cease to do evil ver 17. learn to do well ver 18. Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wooll 4. Expresse Records and Instances of forgiveness unto such as have repented Express instances 2 Sam. 12. 13. And David said unto Nathan I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said to David the Lord hath also put away thy sin Jer. 31. 18. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself and Turn thou me and I shall be turned c. Ver.
thereof After conversion there are two sorts of sins incident unto us 1. Daily sins of ignorance and infirmity and they are so many that we know not the number of them yet all of them do need forgiving mercy 2. Voluntary sins and of a very gross and hainous nature which make a deep wound and raise an hideous cry in the conscience and shake all our foundations and lie as an heavy burden upon us and they do the more wound and afflict us because committed after mercy and against mercy Now in such a self-wounding and self-judging and self-humbling condition what should the ashamed and confounded sinner do why he should return speedily to his God and with tears and shame spread his sins before the Lord and acknowledge that he is unworthy of any more mercy and yet beseech the Lord to shew him mercy again who hath promised to forgive all the sins of his people and he should hearken what God the Lord will speak for he will speak peace unto his people but let them return no more to folly Psal 85. 8. SECT V. Vse 3 THE third Use of this Point shall be partly of Comfort and partly of Encouragement First Of Comfort to all who are brought into Covenant with God especially Comfort to such as have stood out a long time and have abounded in transgressions who have made the very creature groan with the burden of their many sins why all these are forgiven as soon as God hath brought you into the Covenant Luke 7. 47. Her sins which are many are forgiven 1 Tim. 1. 13. Who was before a Blasphemer and a Persecutor and injurious but I obtained mercy O what a day of salvation is the very day when God brings a man into Christ and into the Covenant all his enemies that pursued him are drowned not one of them is left so all his sins are forgiven and not one of them is alive to his condemnation Secondly Of Encouragement to come out of a sinful and unbelieving condition Encouragement and to yield up our selves to Christ and to be willing to become the people of God and to walk in his ways why all the sins that ever you have committeâ— shall be forgiven you they shall not be mentioned unto you your Drunkenness Swearing Whordome Theft Lying Sabbath-breakings all your sins of Omission and of Commission sins against the Law and sins against the Gospel sins that your own hearts can charge you with and that God himself can charge upon you all forgiven any one of them would damn you and now all shall be pardoned if you will hear and believe and repent c. Cast away all your transgressions repent return and live why will ye dye O house of Israel I offer to you life and death choose life Do not for lying vanities forsake your mercies A greater offer there cannot be than Christ nor motive than the pardon of all your sins EZEK 36. 25. From all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you HAving spoken somewhat unto the extensive part of promised forgiveness that it reacheth all the sins of all the people of God I now proceed unto the Intensive part of that promised The intensive part forgiveness which respects the greatness and hainousness of sin as well as the number and multitude of sins from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you whence you may observe CHAP. IV. Doctr. 2 THat although the sins of persons have been exceeding great yet when these persons become the people of God in Covenant even those sins also are forgiven them from all your filthiness and from all your Idols Great sins are forgiven to the people of God in Covenant will I cleanse you forgiveness reacheâ—â— to the greatest sins which the people of God have been guilty of this assertion 1. I shall clear from the Text it self 2. From other Scriptures Proved 3. Demonstrate by some Arguments and Reasons 4. And then apply it unto our selves SECT I. 1. THE Text clearly holds out the Assertion for God doth give here By the text instances of two great kinds of sins One against the second Table all your filthiness and the other against the first Table all your Idols in the one is implied the great injury done unto our Neighbour and in the other the great injure done unto God yet God promiseth to forgive both I will speak something of both these sins and something of the greatness of them both which yet God promiseth c. First From all your filthiness that word filthiness is sometimes taken What is meant by filthiness for any sin every sin is a pollution and uncleanness a filthiness therefore the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 7. 1. Let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit there are bodily sins which the Apostle here calls the filthiness of our flesh and there are spiritual sins arising from and acted in the soul which the Apostle here calls the filthiness of the spirit Sometimes that word filthiness is taken restrictively for bodily pollution or uncleanness when the bodies of men and women are defiled and polluted and do defile and pollute themselves Several kinds of it Bestiality of which in Scripture you finde several sorts and kinds 1. Bestiality that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 abomination not to be named it is confusion you read of this sin in Lev. 18. 23. and of the punishment of it with death Lev. 20. 15 16. 2. Sodomy of this horrid sin and the punishment thereof you read in Sodomy Lev. 20 13. This is not only a sin but also a recompence of other sins and for which God gives men over to a reprobate mind Rom. 1. 27 28. and for which he destroyed those five Cities with fire from heaven Gen. 19. 24 25. 3. Incest ubi servatur sexus sed non gradus it is the sin cum agnata Incest or cognata with a kinswoman of the fathers or the mothers side yea and with ones fathers wife see Lev. 20. 17. and with ones brothers wife 4. Fornication which is between single persons Fornication Adultery 5. Adultery which is uncleanness between persons married to others or when one of them is married to another and yet defileth himself with a stranger some of these sins of uncleanness are so horrid that they are said to be against nature yea against corrupt nature the very natural light in natural conscience condemns and opposes them and the rest of them as fornication and adultery the Scripture sets them out as very odious in the eyes of God and very foul transgressions and extreamly pernicious in them you may read ten things concerning Ten things concerning these â—hese sins First That they are the express fruits of a vile and naughty heart out of the heart proceedeth fornications adulteries saith Christ Matth. 15. 19. The works of the flesh are manifâ—â—â— which are
adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness Gal 5. 19. Secondly The Apostle reckons them up amongst the most detestable sins which the most loathsome Gentiles were guilty of who were filled with all unrighteousness Thirdly They are so vile sins that Christians may not once name them without detestation Ephes 5. 3. But fornication and all uncleanness let it not be once named among you as becometh Saints Fourthly They are such sins as are repugnant unto and inconsistent with Christian society Christians must not entertain fellowship with persons guilty of them 1 Cor. 5. 11. If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator c. with such an one no not to eat Fifthly They are sins especially adultery against the three persons of the Trinity 1. Against God the Father who created the man and the woman and married them to each other and said they two shall be one flesh Gen. 2. 24. Now by adultery they are separated whom God hath joined together and made one yea God hath made Marriage a resemblance of Christ and his Church Ephes 5. but adultery brings contempt upon this resemblance of union 2. Against God the Son Jesus Christ hath payed a price for our bodies as well as for our spirits and upon that account we are to glorifie him in both 1 Cor. 6. 20. nay saith the same Apostle Ver 15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ Now to alienate Christs purchase from Christ and to bestow it upon an Harlot and make the members of Christ the members of an Harlot as every adulterer doth is exceedingly injurious unto Christ Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of an Harlot God forbid so the Apostle in ver 15. 3. Against God the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6. 19. Know you not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost and Chap. 3. 17. If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is holy which Temple ye are Sixthly Of all sins these are the most brutish making persons like the beasts and therefore in Scripture unclean and adulterous persons are compared to beasts To the Oxe Prov. 7. 22. He goeth after her as an Oxe to the slaughter To the Horse Jerem. 5. 8. They were as fed Horses every one neighed after his Neighbours wife and Jer. 13. 27. I have sâ—en thy adulteries and thy neighings the lewdness of thy whoredomes c. To the Dog Deut. 23. 18. Thou shalt not bring the hire of an Whore or the price of a Dog into the house of the Lord. By Dog here is meant an unclean adulterous person An persona Canina ego replied Abner to Ishbosheth am I a person like a Dog who charged him that he lay with his fathers Concubine Rizpah 2 Sam. 3. 8. Seventhly Adultery in some respect is worse than many other sins against our Neighbours it is a very great sin to slander the name of our Neighbour and to bear false witness against him it is very bad by theft to take away the goods of our Neighbour it is yet worse to kill and take away the life of our Neighbour but adultery is in some respect more sinful than any one of these v. g. In all these sinnings the person sinning brings a guilt only upon himself for when he defames another though he casts reproach on him yet he makes him not guilty and in stealing from another though he brings loss to him yet he makes him not guilty and when he kills another he brings death to him yet he makes him not sinfully guilty but in adultery there is a mutual consent to sin and a mutual contract of guilt and although the one party should repent and so escape wrath yet the other party repenting not hath a soul which for this sin must be cast into hell Eighthly They are such sins for which God himself will judge the offender though possibly they may escape the hands of men Hebr. 13. 4. Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge and verily God hath severely judged persons for these sins even in this life The Old World was drowned for them Gen 6. 2 3 c. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire Gen. 19. Twenty and foure thousand destroyed with the plague Num. 25. 9. The Tribe of Benjamin was almost extinguished and rooted out upon this account Judg. 19. 28. The Land of Canaan spued out her Inhabitantt for them Lev. 18. 28. How often doth God make these sins in this life a punishment unto those who are guilty of them by causing unto themselves most loathsome and irksome and incurable diseases such as make them odious to others and a shame and burden to themselves Ninthly They are such sins as many times do bring with them an universal losse and ruine 1. To our name Prov. 6. 33. A wound and dishonour shall he get and his reproach shall not be wiped away 2. To our estate Prov. 5. 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth and thy labours be in the house of a stranger Job 31. 11 22. it roots out all our increase 3. To our health ib. ver 11. And thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed 4. To our consciences Prov. 7. 23. till a dart strike through his liver c. The great terrors of conscience usually arise from these sins Job 24. 17. If one know of them they are in the terrors of the shadow of death 5. To our souls and as unto them you shall find three very sad expressions in the Word of God 1. That they are the way to hell Prov. 7. 27. Her house is the way to hell going down to the chambers of death and Prov. 9. 18. Their guests are in the depths of hell 2. That they destroy the soul He that committeth adultery with a woman destroyeth his own soul Prov. 6. 32. 3. That they exclude from the Kingdome of God nor adulterers nor fornicators nor effeminate nor defilers ef themselves with mankind shall inherit the Kingdome of God 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. Tenthly They are such sins as whereof persons cannot easily repent they do exceedingly dispose the soul to hardness and impenitency they darken the mind and infatuate the judgement and harden the heart and so make the sinners condition almost desperate Hose 4. 11. Whoredom and wine take away the heart Prov. 2. 19. None that go unto her return again neither take they hold of the paths of life None i. e. very few repent of these sins For her heart is snares and nets and her hands are bands Eccles 7. 26. All these things do abundantly show what an exceeding great sin the sin of uncleanness is yet God hath pardoned them unto his people Lot was pardoned and Davids adultery was pardoned and the fornications and adulteries and effeminateness and Sodomies of the Corinthians were pardoned 1 Cor. 6. 11. Such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye
run to hell 3. If you would enjoy liberty indeed then become the servants of God and walk in his wayes If the Son shall make you free then are you free indeed Joh. 8. 36. Now your shackles and fetters and prison doores are broken open we are freemen in a spiritual sense when we are freed from sin Rom. 6. 18. Being then made free from sin we became the servants of Righteousness We are freed from all slavish fears by reason of sinne when we receive the free spirit of liberty we become a voluntary people to serve the Lord with newness of spirit and freeness of spirit Dsal 116. 16. O Lord truly I am thy servant thou hast loosed my bonds 4. Object But men will disesteem us neglect us cast us out of their favour and But then we shall be disesteemed reproach us if c. Sol. 1. It is their sin to do so but it is our duty to walk as God would have us to walk 2. What men will do so none but ungodly men who speak evil of us because 1. we run not with them to the same excess of riot 2. A goodly conversation is a reproach to their ungodly life and shames them 3. Regard not the praises of men but the praise of God this you shall be sure to meet with he will own you and honour you though men do not Psal 27. 10. When my Father and my Mother forsake me then the Lord shall take me up The Pharisees reviled and cast out the blind man cured by Christ but Christ met with him and owned and saved him Joh. 9. 35 36 c. 4. You will give a fair account to God that you feared man more than God Lord I should have walked in thy wayes but c. 5. Object Then I will walk in these statutes hereafter Then I will do it hereafter Sol. 1. Hereafter may be too late Gods command is for all our dayes and for the set time whiles it is called to day c. Secondly Continuance in sinful wayes will harden your hearts in them keep up the love of sinne and render the wayes of God more distastful unto you Thirdly And God may in judgement give you up to your own hearts lusts to walk in the counsels of them because you do not hearken unto him See Psal 81. 11 12. 6. Object But I have assayed aad can make no work of it But I find I cannot do it Sol. First Because you assayed slightly and not with all your heart Secondly And because you assayed in your own strength 7. Object But it is a great work however to walk in Gods statutes and How shall we get power to do it what shall I do for power to enable me to walk in them Sol. God who requires us to walk in his statutes doth promise to give us power I will cause you to walk c. Ezek. 36. 27. And cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Judgements and do them THese words as I have heretofore observed contain in them two parts 1. The work or duty which concerns the people of God viz. to walk in his statutes c. this Subject I finished the last Lords day 2. The help or sufficiencies for all that work and duty I will cause you to walk in my statutes whence observe CHAP. XV. Doctr. TThat the people of God have the promise of God to enable them to God will enable his people to walk in his wayes walk in the statutes of God I will cause you c. Zech. 10. 12. I will strengthen them in the Lord and they shall walk up and down in his Name saith the Lord. Phil. 2. 13. It is God which worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure Isa 26. 12. Thou hast wrought all our works in us Chap. 45. 24. Surely shall one say In the Lord have I righteousness and strength For the opening of this excellent and comfortable Truth I will shew unto you five things 1. The many parallels 'twixt Gods command of our duties and Gods promise of help for these duties 2. The parallels 'twixt promises to and instanceâ— in Gods people 3. The several wayes how God doth cause or enable his people to walk in his statutes and do them 4. How far the Lord doth engage his strength of grace to enable his people to walk in his statutes 5. The Reasons both in respect of God and in respect of his people why he will cause them to walk in his wayes or statutes c. 1. The parallels 'twixt Gods commands and his promises or 'twixt the Parallels betwixt Gods commands and his preceps duties commanded by him and the helps promised to enable his people First The Lord commands his people to know him and his wayes 1 Chron. 28. 9. Know thou the God of thy Father c. And God doth promise to cause them to know him Jer. 24. 7. I will give them an heart to know me that I am the Lord. And Jer. 31. 34. They shall all know me from the least of them to the greattest of them saith the Lord. Secondly The Lord commands his people to trust upon him Psal 62. 8. Trust in him at all times Isa 26. 4. Trust ye in the Lord for ever c. And God doth promise to enable his people to trust on him Zeph. 3. 12. I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people and they shall trust in the Name of the Lord. 3ly The Lord commands his people to fear him Deut. 6. 13. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him So Deut. 8. 6. Thou shalt keep his Commandements and walk in his wayes and fear him This likewise hath God promised unto his people Jer. 32. 40. I will put my fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from me Fourthly The Lord commands his people to love him Deut. 11. 1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God Psal 31. 23. O love the Lord all ye his Saints and God doth promise to give them an heart to love him Deut. 30. 6. The Lord thy God will circumcise the heart and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul Fifthly The Lord commands his people to pray unto him and to call upon his Name Call upon me Psal 50. 15. Pray without ceasing 1 Thes 5. 17. I will that men pray everywhere 1 Tim. 2. 8. And the Lord hath promised to give unto them a spirit of prayer Zech. 12. 10. I will poure upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and the Spirit of supplication Sixthly The Lord commands his people to mourn for their sinnes and to loath their sins and to turn from their sins Isa 22. 12. In that day did the Lord call to weeping and to mourning Jam. 4. 10. Humble your selves in the sight of the Lord And