in thy stead and answered Justice for all thy sins 3. Divine justice will not desire a double satisfaction It will not require satisfaction from thee and from thy surety too The quarrel ceaseth 'twixt thee and God for Christ hath by his own blood taken that up As Elihu spake of uprightnesse that I say of believing in the Lord Jesus if thou doest then the Lord will be gracious unto thee and will say deliver him from going down to the pit for I have found a ransome Job 33. 23 24. Obj. But I who am I so totally unworthy there is nothing in me to move Christ to engratiate me he will never bestow himself on such an one as I am will ever Christ look on such a dead dog as I am I answer to this 1. Personal unworthinesse it is no prejudice You read in Mat. 7. Things 8. 8. that the Centurion came to Christ for his servant and believed on him and sped well Yea will you say but he was worthy nay he professeth the Obj. contrary Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof Sol. as if he should say I have nothing in me to demerit and challenge this gracious act of thine nothing and yet I believe that thou canst and wilt heal my servant so the Prodigal I am not worthy to be c. 2. Nay the humble sense of our unworthinesse it is a furtherance Christ doth not expect any excellencies and meritorious motives from thee thou must come unto him as an empty vessel the full soul and the sound spirit is not for him bring a soul to Christ which is spread all over with misery and need why such a soul is a proper object for mercy to deal with bring a soul to Christ which is all over with lostnesse with poverty with sicknesse with unworthinesse why this is the soul upon which Christ will look It s never well with a man untill he can take Christ upon his knee upon a bare knee with an empty hand that is till he be brought to be poor in spirit that he is nothing and deserves nothing and begs of Christ to accept of him even for Christs sake The Lord be merciful to me a sinner went home justified when the thank God I am not as other men returned as he came a proud Pharisee You shall finde it thus that God looks most on him who looks least on himself The humble and contrite spirits which are broken out of themselves and can cry out O Lord I am really vile and mostly unworthy These the high God who inhabits the lofty places doth behold And Christ is ready to take him by the hand who thinks himself unworthy to touch his feet There are two tempers which like Christ well one is a beleeving heart and another an humble soul 3. Personal worthinesse is not the motive nor designed ground for faith in Christ The ground of belief that which invites the soul to draw on it self to Christ is no deserving or eminent quality in our selves but the goodnesse and fidelity of the promise and the gracious offer of Christ himself to the soul Behold he calls thee why this is enough if thou canst finde God holding forth the golden Scepter offering Christ unto thee upon such and such termes and thou consent unto them with all thy heart thou mayest confidently close and lay hold on Christ by faith This is the wise skill of a Christian truly to observe the proper rise of faith When God promised Abraham a son the text saith he did not consider his own body Rom. 4 19. that is he did not consult with the strength of his own nature what an able principle there was in himself to compass such an effect but he was fully perswaded that what God had promised that he was able to performe The ability and fidelity of Gods promise exceedingly enclined his heart to believe So is it here about faith in Christ if thou doest consider thy own body thy own deserts thy own excellencies thou shalt never beleeve for faith can finde no ground in these to encourage the soul but the ground of faith is without our selves Why God offers me Christ and Christ calls me unto him being heavy laden and he saith that he who beleeves in him shall have eternal life Now this is a word of truth and this word of his is worthy of all acceptation I will venture my soul upon it It is with faith as with a bird cast him into the water he cannot flie that element is too grosse for him he cannot gather and beat his wings there and therefore is kept down but cast him into the aire which is a more pure element then he can clap and â—pread the wings and mount why faith is the wing of the soul and the promise is that spiritual element that aire which breaths a life and motion to faith faith is raised by it alone and it is checked and hindered whiles the soul would force it to act it self upon those poor and grosse excellencies in our selves Faith desires no better object then Christ nor suâ—â—r pawnes then Gods promâ—se Fourthly to receive Christ by faith it is not a matter of merit but a point of duty When God commands a sinner to repent and to forsake his sinnes and take him he shall have mercy iâ—â—e will do it This may not now be said O Lord I am not worthy to obey thee in this duty if I were worthy to repeâ—t I would repent nay but O man divine commands are to be obeyed it is thy duty to repent So God commands the soul to beleeve in Christ to accept of him The soul now looks on the excellencies of the gift but forgets the obligation of duty It s true Christ is a most excellent gift and blessing there is not such a thing in all the world for a poore sinner as Christ but then know that his excellencies may not take thee off from thy duty This is his Commandment that we beleeve on the Name of his Sonne Brethren you are mistaken to beleeve in Christ being proposed unto us in the Gospel it is not a matter of indifferency I may or I may not nor is it a matter of curtesie as if we did a work of supererogation more then God requires nay but it is a matter of conscience a man sinnes he violates a command an evangelical precept if he doth not beleeve It is not a dispute of worthinesse or unworthinesse but it is obedience to the Command which thou art to look upon 5. Christ is given out of rich grace and mercy and love and therefore none can receive him but the unworthy There is this difference 'twixt the reward of Justice and the gift of graciousnesse Justice hath an eye upon the disposition and acts of the person and according unto their qualities and degrees doth it commensurate reward or punishment But graciousnesse hath an eye only upon it self the free
I would have the present grants are not satisfying of my desires yet something is got by every faithful seeking there is not one faithful prayer which thou hast dispatched to heaven but it delivers thy message and is returned with a blessing Either it gets more additions to some grace or other or more alienation from some sinne or other or more dispotion to some duty or other or more resolution to seek or more strength to waite Like the many Bees which go out every one comes home with some thing one with honey another with wax so every faithful prayer flies up to heaven and gathers something or other from the good promises and though not so much as thou desirest yet alwayes more then thou deservest though not so much as to satisfie yet as to help 5. Suppose that yet you are not answered it is then a sinne to murmur and quarrel but it is thy duty to wait I observe this 1. That God never gives thee so large an almes but that thou needest the next houre to become a farther Petitioner 2. That God is pleased to make the beggar to stay sometimes at door he doth not alwayes presently give what he intends certainly to bestow but as his own free grace is the treasury of our gifts and supplies so his own wisdom is the dispensor of the time and season Now then as the goodnesse of the promise should draw us to beleeve so the fidelity and certainty of it should cause us to wait and expect God doth give thee leave to urge him but he likes it ill to hasten him if God doth promise then it is thy duty to believe and if he stayes then it is thy duty to wait for God doth wait that he may be gracious and blessed are all they that wait for him CHAP. XVII Of living by faith HAving formerly shewed unto you what it is to beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ and earnestly pressed upon you to get faith in him I now proceed to another Use which supposing that Vse 5 by this time you have attained unto faith shall be to excite and perswade you then to live by that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Beloved there be two offices of faith One is to breed conjunction and acceptance and this is done when the heart is upon good and choise and deliberated grounds effectually inclined to content and take whole Christ upon his own terms Another is to breed dependance and this is done when the beleeving soul makes continued use of that fulnesse and vertue which is in Christ touching the continued exigencies of its state and condition in this life As it is with a woman she first gives her consent and becomes a wife and then being a wife she looks upon her husband as the onely person to supply her direct her comfort her provide for her and hers So is it with faith first it doth espouse the soule to Christ it takes him as Lord and husband and then it casts all the provisions of the soule upon him all the supplies and helps it trusts on him for righteousnesse on him for pardon of sinnes on him for grace one him for strength on him for comfort on him for eternal life c. Now because this is a point of singular consequence give me leave therefore and it matters not if now and then I make a little digression to unfold these particulars that you may the better understand and be assisted how to use that faith in Christ which you have to live upon him by it 1. What it is in the general to live by faith 2. To what states the life of faith may extend 3. What it is more particularly to live by faith on Christ 4. What arguments and enducements I have to presse not only the getting of faith but also the living by faith on Christ 5. In what particulars the Beleevers should live by faith on Christ 6. What things oppose the life of faith 7. Tryals if so that we live by faith 8. What good helps may be found out to assist and more and more to encline and enable the beleeving heart still to live by faith If any other profitable and pertinent enquiry may hereafter fall in for the better information and direction besides those particular heads which I have now propounded unto you you shall have a view of them likewise but for the present I can think of no more Now the God of mercy and Father of all consolations direct and blesse their deliveries so unto you that you may not only have that precious faith but live by faith nay and die in faith and so receive the end of your faith even the salvation of your soules SECT I. Quest 1. VVHat it is in the general to live by faith Sol. I will not now stand on the several kindes and sorts of life viz. That there is a life of vegitation which the trees and plants do live and a life of sense which the beasts and cattel do live and that there is a life of reason and knowledge which man doth live and that there is a life of faith which the Christian either doth or should live Neither will I stand upon the opposition 'twixt the living by faith and living by works one being a legal life and upon our selves the other being an evangelical life and upon Christ Nor now of that opposition 'twixt the life of faith and the life of sense the one being a life in hand the other in promises That depending upon our eye this upon our eare that is sense dwelling on what it can see and faith on that good word which it doth hear These things being passed over I conjecture that to live by faith may be thus described It is an heavenly and dutiful committing of our whole persons To live by faith what and of our whole estates unto God with a pious depending upon his faithful and good promises in Christ for sutable and seasonable supplies in all our exigences occurrences and changes whatsoever Here are divers things observable First to live by faith is to commit all to God It is as it were to intrust him with our selves and ours I know saith Paul whom I have beleeved and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him 2 Tim. 1. 12. As if he should say I have put my very soul and life into the hands of Christ who I know will look to it take care of it for ever David makes this to be the putting of our selves under God as our Shepherd Psal 23. 1. and as our Keeper Psalm 121. 5. Mark this a man lives not by faith when he undertakes to be himself the Lord of himself or a God to himself when he trusts to his own heart or will subsist by his own arme or when he puts his confidence in any arme of flesh O no faith gives God the honour of our beings and safeties and resignes up all to be
Eph. 4. It takes Christ so as none with Christ or besides Christ The Patriarchs had most of them a wife and a concubine it is not so here Faith doth match with an absolute exclusion of all other matches It is not the soul and Christ and sin nor the soul and Christ and the world nor the soul and Christ and the Devil it is not the soul and Christ in chief and sinne in service as a deputy or a corrivall a secondary thing c. Fourthly this taking is freed from mistaking Faith knowes what it doth it sees its way it understands 1. Who that is whom it takes 2. Upon what termes he will be taken 3 Its grounds of taking First who it is viz. the Son of God God and man a most holy person a mighty Redeemer and Saviour Secondly upon what termes viz. He will not come in by the by he will not be taken as a vassaile as a captive as a drudge he will not be taken for base and changeable reasons meerly to stop a gap in the conscience or only in faire weather but he will be taken as Lord and King to command all the heart to dispose all the wayes to rule our very thoughts he will be taken for his own sake out of a judicious love and estimation of his person he will be taken with all the estates and conditions that befall on the crosse crucified as well as in the way to Hierusalem magnified as one persecuted and distressed on earth as well as one raised and glorified in heaven and thus true faith takes Christ Thirdly upon what grounds viz. upon Gods offer of Christ and promise that whosoever believes on him c. and on his commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son whereupon faith brings in the soul to Christ it believeth that God saith true that he doth not call upon men he doth not command men he doth not promise men and all this to delude men so that if you should ask faith what warrant had you to bring in such a soul to Christ Why saith faith God revealed and offered his Sonne and commanded me to believe and promised not to cast off any that come c. Fifthly this taking is resolved against untaking All takings are not of the same force and power if I take a servant I take him so that upon good reasons and occasions I can put him off againe but if I take a wife there can be no untaking on my part unless God takes her I must never forsake her Faith takes Christ this way to be a Saviour for ever to be a Head an Husband a Lord for ever I observe that there are two kindes of taking Christ to be a Lord one is compulsory and violent as when an enemy is made to rule a man in a sicknesse in a terror of conscience in a day of wrath in an expectation of death he will take Christ to be his Lord he will say Oh! sinne is vile I abhor it I will become a new man I will have none but the Lord Christ and he only shall be my Lord and hereupon the man sets about the work of shewing that Christ is his Lord he will command his servants to pray to heare to read to keep the Sabbath c. Yet this man as soon as Gods hand is off as soon as ever he is freed from his bands he will like a lewd apprentise break loose from his Lord and Master he will serve Christ no longer he will to his sins again to the world again to his base society again c. Why because this accepting was only violent and no actions are stedfast or constant whose causes are compelling and violent Another is ingenious of faith and this taking of Christ is grounded onely in Christ in its excellencies beauties perfections which are not like the light of a candle this houre very cleare and the next none at all but like light in the Sunne still abiding and remaining and therefore when a man doth by faith take Christ he takes him for ever for faith can never change for the better and it sees stedfast reason in Christ to cleave to Christ Now I come to the consequent object of faith and that is remission of sinnes and righteousnesse and whatsoever good comes from Christ For thus it is faith doth order its motions or actions according to the word Now the word reveales and offers Christ first and then the benefits next It is not whosoever beleeves eternal life shall have Christ the Sonne of God but whosoever beleeves on the Sonne of God shall have eternal life Nor is it whosoever beleeves the remission of sinnes shall have Christ but whosoever beleeves in Christ shall have the Remission of sinnes Yet when faith hath made the soule to take Christ it goes then from the person to the portion from Christ to the good in Christ and by him for if Christ be ours all is ours saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 2. SECT VI. I Will therefore speak a word of faith as conversant about First Remission of sinnes Secondly Righteousnesse For the first of these viz. the pardon or remission of sinnes Consider That remission of sinnes is an Action of God acquitting the gilt and the punishment so that he will never reckon with the soul any more in a judicial way for those sinnes which are pardoned As when the King throughly pardons a Malefactor he dischargeth him and takes off the gilt we speak of it in respect of redundancy that it shall not now prejudice the person any longer so doth God when he pardons sinne Though he doth not in this annihilate the sinne that is make that to be no sinne which was sinne yet he doth prejudice sin that is he takes off the guilt that it shall never redound to the damnation of the sinner no nor to his dammage Jesus Christ hath procured remission or pardon of sinne for us hence Ephes 1. 7. In whom you have redemption through his blood even the forgivenesse of your sinnes His blood was shed for many for the remission of sinnes Mat. 26 that is he did die and by his death hath merited and procured our pardon and discharge God offering Christ offers with him the purchase of Christ viz. the pardon of sinnes If you will take my Sonne I will pardon your sins Now faith inclines the soul which is sensible of its sinful guilt to put it self on Jesus Christ for the discharge of them As the wife looks for none and goes to none but to her husband to discharge her debts so faith goes to none for to procure remission of sinnes but only to Christ and on him doth it rest O Lord Christ saith Faith thou didst take these my sinful debts upon thee and thou didst undertake to satisfie for them and to get them to be blotted out yea and I know that thou didst make a full satisfaction Now I renounce all hope of pardon from any thing in me
is like the starres twinkling though placed in the heavens and every duty though it be a motion yet it is like that of Jacobs thigh which was touched and halted to his dying day So that if God should enter into judgment with the righteous person even the righteousnesse that is in him would not be safety and defence unto him As a man that hath a precious â—â—ding dares not to adventure it in any crackt and broken vessel so no Christian may or can dare to adventure the safety of his soul upon the leaking vessels and bottoms of his own holinesse or services This very smoak of doubtings which still mount up with our flames of faith and the grosse affections which cling to the root of our most heavenly love and part of that rock of hardnesse is seated and complanted with the freshest spring of softnesse and mournings and those infinite and frequent intermissions both of our prayers and hearings and readings and any kinde of dutiful doings that we are so shufled away from our devotions by the invasions and entertainment of strange thoughts in the times of our devotion I say those and infinite emaculations or spots do so adhere and cling about and defile our selves and that which comes from us that in proceeding of pure justice we may cast down our selves on the ground and beg for mercy much rather then to stand at the barre and plead for reward But now here is the great stay of a beleeving soul which hath truly received Christ that Christ will finde a full exact compleat most acepâ—able righteousnesse for it in which the soul shall stand boldly before the judgement seat Rom. 3. 19. By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous 2 Cor. 5. 21. We are made the righteousnesse of God in him 1 Cor. 1. 30. Ye are of him in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdome and righteousnesse c. Jer. 23. 6. In his dayes Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is the name whereby they shall call him The Lord our righteousnesse The righteousnesse of Christ is therefore called the righteousnesse of God Rom. 8. 17 because it is it which God hath designed and which God doth accept for us in our justification and for and in which he doth acquit and pronounce us righteous Now in this lies our comfort thus viz. 1. That though our inherent holinesse be imperfect yet Christs righteousnesse is absolute 2. That as it is a full righteousnesse and every way answerable so it was designed by God to be that which should justifie the beleeving sinner 3. That God accepts of that righteousnesse and will clear any who hath it 4. That if by faith we have taken Christ Christ doth assuredly bestow his righteousnesse on us not by putting it into our persons but by improving it to our good It is though not infused into us yet imputed unto us and God will through it pronounce us clear SECT III. THirdly a third comfort to a beleever in Jesus Christ is this That he is in singular Covenant with God for the Covenant is with faith in Jesus Christ it was to Abraham and to his seed that is to all the faithful Observe a few things here 1. The Covenant of grace in the offer and revelation of it is the treaty of eternal happinesse 'twixt God and sinners whatsoever good a soul can desire to exempt it from misery and to make it truly happy there it is 2. The Covenant of Grace in respect of our entrance and admission into it is a most gracious and spiritual and firme engagement of God to be our God and to performe all the good which he hath there undertaken I will be a God unto you I will shew mercy unto you you shall have loving kindnesse I will give you grace in all kindes I will not faile to assist and guide and lead and uphold you I will be a father to you a rock to you a Sanctuary an alsufficiency an exceeding great reward So that if you need any thing come to me I have it for you and do not fear to come for I will assuredly do you good I am willing to do it for I have promised it and be you confident to possesse for I have obliged my self by Covenant to performe 3. He that beleeves in Jesus Christ is assuredly in the Covenant for Christ on whom he beleeves is the Messenger of the Covenant and his blood is the blood of the Covenant and in him all the promises of the Covenant are Yea and Amen If thou hast given thy consent to Christ if thou hast bestowed thy heart on him if thou hast truly received him to be thy Lord and Saviour undoubtedly God is become thy God and all those ample and rich and congruous and blessed undertakings in his Covenant they are all for thee thou art the man to whom God saith I will surely have mercy on him and to whom he saith Sin shall not have dominion over him for he is under grace and to whom he saith I will hear him and heale him and guide him and keep him Thou mayest go to all those treasures of divine promises as to thy own garden and take of any flower lay hold on any promise respecting thy particular exigence and say this is mine When thou lookest down into thy self thou mayest reade many wants with wet and sad eyes but then if thou look up to the Covenant thou mayest by faith espy all thy supplies with a glad heart Why God did put thy good into the Covenant and there thou shalt assuredly finde it Doest thou read of any altering grace of any pardoning grace of any enlarging grace of any preventing grace of any assisting grace of any preserving and upholding grace of any recovering and raising grace of any pacifying and comforting grace why all this is for thee and all that God hath there undertaken is thine SECT IV. FOurthly if you do beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ you may then with boldnesse approach the throne of grace Ephes 2. 18. For through him we both have accesse by one Spirit to the Father Heb 10. 21. Having an high Priest over the house of God Ver. 2â— Let us draw neer with a true heart in full assurance of faith 1 John 5. 13. These things I write unto you that beleeve in the Name of the Sonne of God Ver. 14. And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us Obj. You shall finde in your heart many sinful modesties you are afraid to be so bold with God and whether God will do such great matters for you yea and there are many unbeleeving fears our broken services shall never be accepted and who are we that the Lord should regard our prayers Sol. But if a man doth truly beleeve in Jesus Christ 1. His way is open to Heaven 2. He hath a friend and not an
she yea the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table As if she might say Be it so Lord Jesus I am no better then a dogge an unworthy creature yet let me have the compassions to a dogge though not plenty yet the crumbs Now what saith Christ of her Then Jesus answered and said unto her O woman great is thy faith Remember it that the faith which can bring up the soul which can lead it up to heaven against discouragements Though God doth not answer yet I will seek though he kill me yet I will trust in him I say such a faith is strong an expostulating faith a faith which will make the soul to presse on after denials Job after suspensions it is come to a great measure of faith which will not be answered or will not be gone a faith that will not let God go or Christ until it speed Jacob was as a wrestler he would not let God go except he blessed him A faith that can dispute it much with God which will in a holy reasoning take and urge God with God and will so enforce the promises on him which he hath made that God is even faine to yeild Be it unto thee as thou wilt this is faith ripened 3. The more entirely the soul is carried to expectation from the sole strength of a Divine promise the greater and the stronger is that faith As in Abrahams case He wanted a sonne and God promised him an Isaac Abraham did not now stagger through unbelief he did not consult the truth of it from his own natural abilities How unable he was that he neglected but how able God was to perform his own word upon this his faith did pitch And for this the text saith that he was strong in faith Rom. 4. 20. Remember this that the more sensible helps the soul needs to draw out the act of beleeving the weaker is the faith as the man is judged to be very weak who cannot go without many crutches and holdings But the more strength a naked promise hath with the soule when it alone puts life and quietnesse into us now faith is grown As David said The Lord is on my side I will not fear what man can do unto me So when we can quash all our troubles with the sight of a promise I have Gods word for my pardon his word for my help his Word for my comfort I desire no better pay-master then God no better security then his own promise though all things stand contrary in sense and feeling yet all is sure in Gods promise and there I will settle this argues a great faith 4. The more ability a man hath to deny himself in neare and great occurrences the greater is his faith Abraham in leaving of his countrey parting with Isaac The more easily we can beleeve great things and part with great things the stronger is our faith There is nothing more hard then to give up a mans self There is a threefold self First his sinful self in respect of old and dear sins Secondly his natural self in respect of the separation of soul and body Thirdly his temporal self in respect of the comforts of this life And it must be a strong faith which must enable to strong denials of our selves when a thing comes nearer to the quick either when God denies a man a special comfort or draws off from him a special comfort now to submit now to be quiet I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me said Paul I know how to want and how to abound to be exalted and to be abased I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be contented To have the heart pleased with Christ alone and satisfied with his presence mark it the more entirely that the soul makes up its state in Christ and the lesse power that the world imprints upon the heart in its changes this imports the faith is come to strength Strong faith is like a strong tree which holds its body unmovable against great tempests but weak faith is like a plant which every winde makes almost to touch the ground Fifthly the weaker the arguments of distrust grow in the heart this is a signe that the faith is got to a strength This I conjecture that the strength or weaknesse of faith is not to be judged by the multiplicity of distrustful arguments but by the force and efficacy of them It is possible that manifold arguments of feare and doubts may present themselves to the minde of a strong beleever as well as unto the judgement of a weak beleever but then if faith be strong it doth weigh them down it doth prevaile over them that is it brings the soul to Christ it cleaves still unto him The soul maintaines its title to Christ and owns God in his promises it will not cast away its hope nor its strength wherein the soul can habitually foyle the reasonings which crosse its way and can cleare up and vindicate its state what God is to it and Christ is to it and what it hath received from them this is an argument that it is not weak but strong Sixthly the more easie compliance with change of a mans condition is an evidence of a faith which is more strong There are several changes incident to mans temporal life the Moon sometimes is ful and anon it is in the Eclipse our sea doth ebb and flow sometimes prosperity like the candle of the Lord shines upon us by and by adversity like the winde blows out the candle sometimes we abound and our mountaine seemes strong anon we are stript and our mountaine is shaked one while health and presence of friends another while sicknesse and losse of all Now in these changes not to be changed like the ship right up in a calme but tossing and reeling in a storme but to be as the rock fixed and setled holding up and rejoycing in the God of our salvation and encouraging our selves in the Lord our God and willing to be any thing in any condition yea to blesse God for all as Job did If I die I shall go to God If I live I will serve my God If I enjoy I will be fruitful If I want I will be thankful The more Passive the heart is the more active and strong the faith is Paul had been learning that lesson In every state therewith to be content O when a Christian can comply with contrary states not through an insensiblenesse of Spirit but from an apprehension and approbation of divine wisdome goodnesse love and authority his faith is singularly cleared and well improved 7. The more satisfaction and quiescence that the soul hath in Christ alone the greater is the faith when a naked Christ is the centre and loadstone and the All in all As the Sunne to make day I desire to know nothing but Christ crucified said Paul 1 Cor. 2. 2. Whom have I in heaven but thee and there
at the Pool and so will weak faith it will be at the meanes of strength It loves to be doing about Christ and to be where the strength of Christ is revealed It is wise to observe the grounds of its fears and doubtings and carefull to remove them O how earnest is the weak believer to heare what God will speak unto him and if at any time the soul can get by the assistance of the Word to close with mercy and Christ it is revived with joy of tears and falls down with thanks Lord what is thy servant Nay if it hath apprehended but a hint but a crevise if it be enabled but a little to step above its dark doubtings to apprehend but a darting beame any perswasion that all is well or will be so it is refreshed and saith that God is good I observe that the weak childe will be much after the breasts and the weak man will handle his staffe much and the weak believer will be much at the places and ordinances and wayes of more strength It is with faith as it is with a blade of corn at the first the eare of graine is quite skinned over yet it breaks open aside and at length is the very top of the stalk So faith at first is swathed over with doubtings none but a tender and merciful God can see that little mustard-seed but at length it opens to more adherence on God and Christ and promises and in time it can triumph against its former feares and suspitions Or it is like a weak man recovering if he can but stand it s well then if he can set on in a few paces with his staff then if his motion can be single then if longer then if stronger so is it with faith if it can make the soul to look upon Christ then if it could look on him as mine then if so without fear then if so with joy then if so with strength and stedfastnesse It will not rest in weakness though it begins in weakness but like the weak Ivie which is winding up the tree so will faith be winding up the soul higher and higher into Christ by the help of his Spirit of his Promises of his Word and of his Sacraments 5. Weak faith will yet venture the soul upon Christ though it cannot cleare its title nor answer its feares nor to it s own sense rely on Christ yet if the soul be put and determined to one of these either to renounce all hope in Christ and so to be lost or to put it self upon Christ though it hath no inward encouragement from it self I say at such a time even weak faith will discover it self it will not renounce its hidden interest in Christ but will roule the soul on him If I perish I perish yet I will cleave to Christ yet I will cast my soul on him and on his blood and righteousnesse SECT VI. THe third general which we observed to the former scruple 6. The concordance of all faith in foure things was the concordance of all faith which is true whether strong or weak in fundamentall comforts First every believer hath a sure interest in Christ It is with the members of Christ as with the members of the body though they are not all of equall strength in a comparison one with the other yet they are of equall conjunction in a relation of all of them to the head So one believer exceeds another in a special measure of faith yet every believer is a member firmly and surly knit to Christ the head of all believers Christ is not the Saviour and Lord only of the strong but also of the weak not only the old man nor only the young man but also the children the little children to whom Saint John wrote they are all in Christ 1 Joh. 2. There is a wide difference 'twixt reflexive certainty and 'twixt real certainty of interest strong faith hath the pre-eminence of weak faith in respect of a reflexive and sensible certainty but not in respect of a reall certainty this is univocal the union 'twixt Christ and the soul doth not depend upon the strength but upon the truth of faith If my will consents unto Christ if my heart accepts of him upon his own tearmes if I take his whole person and his whole condition the match is truly made 'twixt Christ and me he is surely mine and I am surely his Although I am not in an assured condition yet I am in a sure union Christ doth certainly own that soul which by faith doth truly embrace him All mine are thine and thine are mine saith Christ Joh. 17. 10. He speaks of the Disciples and of all the Elect who were the fathers in respect of a gracious election and gift and Christs in respect of a tender affection and union So that here is one concordance of all faith in respect of fundamentall comfort viz. that the objective unity is one and common the weak and the strong eye meet in the same colours as the object and weak and strong faith are two different hands yet both of them upon one and the same Christ Secondly every believer hath a beneficial interest in Christ that iâ— weak faith hath an interest in the benefits of Christ as well as the strong faith I will instance in some special and choise benefits First Redemption from the Malediction of the Law Christ took that off He was made a curse for all that believe on him He did not stand in the room only of eminent but of every believer and endured the wrath to the utmost for every one who doth believe on him Thou art freed from a cursed estate by the least faith every degree of true faith makes the condition to be a state of life and passeth us from death and condemnation There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8. 1. Secondly Remission of sinnes what Christ said to that impotent person Sonne be of good cheer thy sinnes are forgiven thee that is true of every beleever Christ hath purchased a pardon for him Acts 13. 38. Be it known unto you men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgivenesse of sinnes Ver. 39. And by him all that beleeve are justified c. If any believer went without his discharge then probable it is that the weakest should be he but the Scripture speaking of the weakest faith makes it an hand holding a pardon in it 1 John 2. 12. I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven you for his names sake though children though little children yet pardoned children and mark it the cause of that pardon was common to them with the stronger men viz. for his Names sake a man is not pardoned for the strength of his faith nor debarred of it for the weaknesse of his faith but both th' one and the other enjoys it for his Names sake that is for Christs sake Nay observe it that
a right answer of great means To whom much is given of them much is required Pharaohs leane kine are called ill-favoured because in a great and large pasture All is not right when the breasts are full and the child is still weak The Gospel should be revealed from faith to faith Rom. 1. 3. The greater faith is the greater perfection every degree of farther grace is like a star of greater magnitude which differ in glory from another an addition of faith to faith is an adding to the treasury an enriching of the soul a farther clarifying of it The lesse of grace the more of corruption and the more of corruption the more of imperfection 4. The greater faith the greater comfort the Minde will have fewer doubts Will hath fewer fears Conscience more settledness the soul more sights of God and tastes of Christ Experiences in life and confidence in death 5. The greater faith will be the greater help in times of desertion in times of tryal in times of temptation in times of affliction and greater help to all active duty and passive changes Thou knowest not what may befall thee in evil times then thou wouldest be able to commit to submit to conquer to suffer to do much better if thy faith were much greater CHAP. XVI Exhortations to labour for saving faith IF to beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ be the way to be saved Then be exhorted to labour Vse 4 for and to get this saving faith Let not the consolations of God seeme small unto thee said he to Job so say I let not the salvation of thy soul seem a light thing unto thee If a man were wounded deeply and there were but one plaister which could cure and this were presented unto him would he not put out his hand to receive and apply it the love of life would easily incline him Why brethren not a man of us but hath a deadly wound by sinne and there is no remedy for the sinful soul but in the blood of Christ O if the love of life will constraine us much let the love of eternal life the love of our souls of our salvation perswade us much more to get faith which gets Christ who gets salvation for our souls There are divers things which I will touch upon in the finishing 4. Branches of this Use viz 1. The Motives to perswade and draw the heart to put out for this saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 2. The impediments and hindrances which stop the soul from believing on the Lord Jesus Christ which we must assay to answer and remove as he did the body of Asabel which stayed the people in their pursuit 3. The means or adjuments and furtherances to breed this believing quality in the souf 4. The resolutions or answerings of several doubtful grounds and arguments which intangle the heart of a sensible sinner and which he holds out as strong pretences why he should not by faith close with Jesus Christ Now that great and holy God who is the Author of faith and finisher thereof whose word is the word of faith and by whose Almighty working the hearts of men are perswaded to believe let him so direct me in speaking and all of us in hearing that after all his gracious and manifold revelations and offers of our Lord Jesus Christ our unbeleeving hearts may be subdued and true faith may be wrought in us all to receive the Lord Jesus Christ to our eternal salvation SECT I. First the Motives I speak this day to an understanding and sensible people to whom the doctrinal parts of our natural misery and of our purchased felicity are not hidden mysteries and therefore I trust that the succeeding arguments and motives shall finde little stop in your understandings but shall the more easily and powerfully passe down into your hearts and affections to perswade and excite you to lay out all your strength and that speedily to get this faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Thus then First sadly and seriously consider the state of Positive infidelity A twofold indelity Divines observe a twofold infidelity One is Negative which is amongst the Heathens to whom Christ is not revealed and therefore they do not believe it consists both in the absence of the quality of faith as also in the object and doctrine of faith This Sunne of the Gospel hath not risen unto them and therefore they sit still in the regions of darknesse and for ought we know in the valley of death Another is Positive which is incident unto us Christians to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed Christ is manifested as the body of the Sun by the beams of light so he by the brightnesse and evidence of the Gospel and yet the soule knows him not receives him not doth not take him both as Lord and Saviour Of this there are several degrees and all of them fearfully dangerous to speak the truth plainly damnable 1. A carelesse neglecting of the Lord of life a not minding of that singular mercy and goodnesse which God hath treasured in Christ and reveales and offers to sinful men 2. A slighting of him and his excellencies which is a preferring as it were Barrabas before him a bestowing of our hearts and studies and labours and delights and services not on him but either on our sinnes or upon the world in the rivers of its pleasures and in the mountaines of its profits 3. A refusing of his Articles and Covenants which is a breaking off and vile disliking of those tearms upon which he offers himself to be ours we would bring him to termes of competition with sinne or the creature we would abridge his holy and Lordly Scepter like what we please do what we list have him to be our Saviour and sinne to be our Ruler we would bestow our safeties on him and our services upon the world we will not freely and fully consent to all that he is nor submit to all that he proposeth or may befall us with him and for him And so like the vaine Merchant we misse the pearle because we will not go to the price We enjoy our selves still and our sinnes and our world too but we forsake our mercies for lying vanities the soul is Christlesse still because thus sordidly unbeleeving 1. But then know of all estates in the world none so fearful so damnable as the unbeleeving estate A man may lose every farthing of his inheritance and yet faith will bring him to heaven he may lose every friend that he hath and yet faith may bring him to heaven He may lose every spirit in his members and every drop of blood in his body and yet faith may bring him to heaven He may be as poor as Job as distressed as David as sick as Lazarus as forsaken as Paul as derided as Christ and yet faith may bring his soul to heaven But if a man had as much wisdome as Solomon greatnesse as Nebuchadnezzar strength as
any such displeasures nor torments that thus it shall be indeed Now how can the soul be inclined to believe in Christ to part with its deare lusts with its worldly advantages and pleasures and to submit it selfe to the Lawes and Scepter of Christ when as it doth expressely or vertually deny the nature of God and the power of his truths Didst thou indeed beleeve that there was a God didst thou indeed believe that his revelations of mans sinful misery and of his singular mercy in Christ were true and real Didst thou believe that God hath wrath and blacknesse of darkness and vials of vengeance for ever to be poured on the unbeliever and that the lake which burnes with fire and brimstone must be thy assured portion as God hath spoken how couldst thou sit still content thy heart neglect thy salvation by Christ stand off from the wayes and endeavours for faith Therefore to remove this impediment beg of God to forgive and cure the Atheisme of thy Spirit Strive to set up the true God in thy understanding and to believe that he is the Lord who will not lye Whatsoever he hath revealed himself to be and to do Why that he is and that he will performe that it is thy duty to return from sinne to him in Christ and if thou dost returne he will in mercy spare and deliver thy soul from the pit because he hath found a ransome but if thou wilt not return he wil bathe the sword of his flaming justice for ever in the blood of thy soul 2. A second impediment to the getting of faith is grosse ignorance Whatsoever is contrary to knowledge that same is contrary to faith for though faith sees not its ground in natural reason yet it must have divine evidence to shew it its object and way and causes or else it cannot be wrought in the soul The soul must have light for all its apprehensive operations for the eye to see and the understanding to perceive and for the heart to embrace Now this is it which keeps men off from beleeving they are extreamly ignorant First of their own sinful condition they do not know their nativity and conception what sin is nor what belongs to sinners â—â—w abominable and vile their natures are without all good and like a fountaine full of all wickednesse how dead in trespâ—sses and sins how totally defiled from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot How perpetually rebellious against every precept of heaven and how slâ—ghting of the tenders of salvation and mercy Secondly of Gods just disposition towards the sinful person They see him not armed and setting out against them in all the threatnings and curses of his Law as Balaam in his passage he adventured on for he saw not the Angel of the Lord with a sword in his hand ready to cleave him asunder So men rest securely in their natural state talk what you will of Christ and of God and of sinne and of faith they are not moved they know not the fearful issues of a natural and unbeleeving condition they know not that God will judge them and condemn them for ever Thirdly of the excellencies of Christ what he is whither God or man or both even as it pleaseth him but favourly what he is in respect of his Natures in respect of his Offices in respect of his Actions in respect of his Passion in respect of his Benefits in respect of his Vertues they understand not these things How God hath manifested love in Christ how Christ manifested love to them to what end he was made man why Ministers preach him so much what is more in him then in any other Alas they think not of these things they know them not Now brethren how is it possible for the soul to believe or to be perswaded to believe in Christ or to labour for this precious faith which is a stranger to it self to God to Christ Didst thou indeed know thy condition to be the condition of death wouldest thou not make out for the Lord of life didst thou indeed know thy condition to be the condition of enmity wouldest thou not strive to get unto the Prince of peace So againe as Christ spake to the woman If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee give me to drink thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have given thee living water John 4. 10. O if men did know what a gift Christ was If heaven and earth men and Angels had studyed the helps of a poore sinner they could never have imagined such a remedy as God found in giving his own Sonne Now if men did know him aright what a Redeemer what a Lord he is what living water is in him That in him only there is life for the dead recovery for the sinner satisfaction for guilt sanctification for the soul atonement for trespasses comfort for distresses balme for wounds salvation for their persons Why how could it be but that they should ask of him for a drop at least of water for some faith to receive him who is the fountain of grace and life 3. A third impediment to the endeavours for faith is a vain confidence of natural righteousnesse This was it which kept off many of the Pharisees the Text saith That they trusted to their own righteousnesse Yea this is called the stumbling of the Jewes it cast them flat that they doted so on legal abilities When a base heart hath proud imaginations of Christ and peace and safety from something within it self why It will never look after Christ A proud person who hath mony in his house he scornes to be beholding to his neighbour the proud sinner who conceives that all is well 'twixt him and God and that he hath done no man wrong and none can say black is his eye he is neither whore not thief and his heart is as good as the best and his meanings are alwayes honest and none can tax him for injustice and he hath kept all Gods Commandments as well as ever he could and he hath had a good belief he thanks God ever since he was borne I tell you such a person will not be beholding to God for Christ for he in his opinion being so whole needs not the Physician neither shall you perswade him to mourn for his sinnes or to repent and to part with all for Christ to deny himself and all his own vaine confidences and to put himself only upon Jesus Christ he trusts to be saved by his good deeds and by his good meanings Ah foolish and seduced soul Who hath bewitched thee to forsake thine own mercies Thinkest thou that God would have sent his onely Sonne and to poure out his own soule for sinners if that yet there had been ability in sinful man to have purchased his own safety and happinesse And doest thou see no sinne in thy self which may therefore for ever thrust thee off from
So c. Secondly consider his many personal invitations he hath from his own mouth both counselled and envited the poore sinner unto him I counsel thee to buy gold and raiment and eye salve Rev. 3. 18. The Spirit and the bride say come and let him that heareth say come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely Rev. 22. 17. Ho! every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and be that hath no money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight it self in fatness Encline your eare and come unto me and your soul shall live And I will make with you an everlasting Covenant even the sure mercies of David Isa 55. 1 2. 3. Behold I have given him for a witnesse to the people Ver. 4. Jesus stood and cryed saying If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink John 7. 37. Thirdly consider he hath assured thee of acceptance Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out John 6. 37. He will not shut the door against thee when he hath envited thee but thou shalt be a welcome guest nay he will surely do thee good Mat. 11. 28. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Fourthly there was never any one who did come unto him but sped well Thou canst not finde any one Iota of unwillingnesse nor of his disregard but all have found him to be a merciful High Priest and a compassionate Saviour who have accepted of him Fifthly consider that he doth still negotiate with thee Though he be returned to the highest heavens yet he hath dispatched Embassadors in his Name to publish and to call upon thee and to beseech thee 2 Cor. 5. 19. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation Ver. 20. Now then we are Ambassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled to God V. 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousnesse of God in him Object If there were any hope of reconciliation may a man reply then I should believe Sol. Why saith the Apostle God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself Object But if God had commanded any in his Name to publish this Sol. He hath committed to us the word of Reconciliation Object But you may do it out of your compassion not from a commission Sol. We are Embassadours for Christ and pray you in Christs stead Object But our sins will prejudice the Reconciliation Sol. He hath made him to be sin for us Sixthly consider his marvellous patience If he were not willing he would never have re-inforced his suit but would have taken the first denial But he hath followed them who have fled from him He hath gone after the sinner who hath many times turned his back Rom. 10. 21. All the day long have I stretched out my hand unto a disobedient and gainsaying people In this sense we may apply that of the Prophet He doth wait that he may be gracious and yet continues his Embassadors to bring thee home unto him Seventhly consider His sad complaints for thy holding off and not beleeving when he came neer to Hierusalem he wept over it and said How often would I have gathered thee Matth. 23. 37. And O if thou hadst known even thou at the least in this thy day the things which concern thy peace Luke 19. 41 42. And why will you not come unto me John 5. 40. As if you did see a tender father pursuing a rebellious childe and working upon him by counsel and entreaties and by hands of bounty and he will not yet hearken the father steps to a friend and powers out tears O I cannot win him I cannot turn him doth not this shew a willingnesse So c. Lastly consider his Will is exhibited to us in all the kindes of willingnesse I observe that his will may be manifested three wayes First in commands and there is a preceptive will and Christ commands thee to beleeve Secondly in promises and there is a gracious and encouraging will and Christ hath promised himself and all that he hath done and suffered if thou wilt beleeve in him Thirdly in threatnings and there is a just and vindictive will and Christ hath pronounced an abiding wrath and an everlasting death against him that will not beleeve So that this is most clear that Christ is most willing that a poor sinner should come in and embrace him and be saved by him Secondly The order of assurance But then for the order of assurance that Christ is willing Observe that there is a double assurance 1. One which is precedent and grounds the soul to beleeve 2. Another is subsequent and attends the soul after its beleeving That precedent assurance consists in a clear and convincing demonstration that Christ is willing to be taken by the sinner This subsequent assurance consists in a reflexive perswasion that he is my Christ and Saviour being by faith taken and accepted Now if a sinner expects this latter assurance before he will beleeve he doth preposterously and vainly perplex his soule nay it is an impossibility to lead on the soul this way nay it were a falshood and a delusion to the soul if it had a reflexive assurance that Christ and his benefits are mine before the heart did by faith beleeve in him and accept of him I did cousen my soul with a lie for Christ is not that mans who doth not yet beleeve on him the ways of this kinde of assurance is as it were the eccho of the original wayes of faith a consequent of it but never an antecedent For a man to solace himself that the estate is his before the person is his or that the person is his before he hath accepted of the person Why this is but the fruit of a vain and idle fancy But the former assurance that is a sweet inducement unto the soul to beleeve viz. when the soul ban get three things cleared and resolved 1. The certainty of a Saviour 2. The alsufficiency of him 3. His willingnesse to embrace and accept of a beleeving sinner Now this assurance is to be drawn from the very nature and offices and dispositions of Christ and from the command and invitations and promises of the Gospel which when the soul hath throughly perused and scanned it shall clearly see and freely acknowledge if it wil not blasphemously suspect Gods own truths for lies that Christ is both an able and also a willing Saviour not only willing to lay down his life but most willing that sinners should come to him and believe in him and so
find eternal life So that you may from this take notice of three things One That to be assured of Christ as mine is no ground for to move a man to believe but it is a consequent of it Another that to be assured that Christ is willing and ready to be mine and to accept of me this is a sweet motive and an encouraging ground for the soul to believe A third there is no better way to feel the sweetnesse of Christs being willing to bestow himself upon a man then by believing first on him for it is faith in Christ which opens to a man all his interests in Christ And if this be sure that Christs willingnesse prevents thine if therefore thou be willing to accept the very nature of the treaty and match assures thee sufficiently that Christ was ready long ago 5. Obj. But then saith the sensible sinner I am not prepared and humble enough Christ is to binde up the broken hearted but my heart is still hard and Christ is to open the prison for them that are bound but I am not at least in sufficient bondage and he is to give the oile of joy for mourning but I have no melting nor mourning spirit and therefore I may not believe on him nor take him for I am distinguished Sol. I shall not need to say much to this because I have touched heretofore upon in the Exposition of Mal. 1. 1. yet I will touch a little at this time 1. There is a twofold humbling according to a double cause of it One is in the exceedings beating of the conscience with inward terrors and feares springing from the Power of the Law which quickens the conscience and wounds it with the expresse sense of former guilt and which presents God in all the glories and terrors of his justice and as the great and sure avenger of an unrighteous person When the soul is in this kinde of humbling it is filled with exquisite sense and exquisite torment like a man with a burning arrow in his thigh or like a thief hearing the sentence of death pronounced upon him by the judge Now this kinde of humbling though sometimes it may be an antecedent to faith in Christ for God doth many times bring a man to heaven by the gates of hell he doth bruise and wound and even kill him by the terrors of the Law and then revive him with the workings and tender goodnesse of the Gospel yet it may be possibly without any future accesse of the soul to Chrâ—st For this mark that though God doth many times graciously superad another work of conversion to this of legall affliction yet he may and doth many times distribute these sorrows in wrath and they are but the testimonies of his pure and displeased justice even in this life to begin an hell of anguish in the conscience of a proud and daring sinner Another is in the tender abasings and sweet bathings or mournings of the affections when there is a fountaine of sorrow set open within the soul giving out it self in severall streames of melting because of sin and transgression Now this latter is not an antecedent but a consequent of faith in Christ as you shall hear presently A man cannot rightly judge of his fitnesse to lay hold on Christ by the meer strength or measure of any legall humbling but by the Issue and event of them If instead of one item from conscience thou shouldest now heare an hundred and instead of one lash from conscience thou shouldst now feel a thousand though thy heart were broken into as many pieces as the glasse which is dashed against the wall though thy spirits did even fry within thee for the heat of horror and that thou didst roare day and night for the disquietment of thy guilty conscience yet couldst thou not confidently affirme by all this I am now for Christ and Christ will assuredly accept of me I shall not misse of him Reasons whereof are these 1. Because these may be Gods tokens of just vengeance on thee meer punishments and judicial acts 2. The soul under these may be rather taken up with the stinging guilt and feares of sin then with the foul vilenesse and base nature and acts thereof standing in contrariety to the holy and good will of a gracious God 3. The thus afflicted soul may cry out for Christ meerly out of self-love to ease the burden but not to cure the nature to deliver it from paine but not to heal it of the sinfull inclination Therefore this I would say to any legall broken spirit do not judge of fitnesse meerly by the strength or depth of teares there is a threefold enough 1. Intensive for the degree 2. Extensive for the time 3. Dispositive for the efficacy therefore do but observe what disposition attends and follows these There be five things which if they follow upon legall humblings may be subordinate encouragements to the heart to put it self upon Christ First if quite driven out of ones self Secondly if sin comes to be felt as the basest evil as the guilt of it hath been found the sorest paine A third is if the heart finds it self any way loosened from the league of iniquity yea and that a secret war is begun now 'twixt the soul and the sinner Fourthly an high estimate and valuation of Christ as the only and choisest good of my soul and hope c. An active and fervent desire to put the soul under the Government of the Lord Iesus Whether thy legall humblings be great or small long or short more or lesse that 's not the thing but if they be thus attended thou mayest safely venture thy soul upon the Lord Jesus thou mayest believe and he will in no wise refuse thee 3. Faith in Christ will not hinder the humblings or meltings of thy soul I observe when there is a Thunder-clap then there is such a hurry in the cloud that fire flasheth out and the cloud is brust insunder and a mighty deluge of water is thrown down and you may likewise observe that the Sun doth though there be no storme draw up and sweetly open and pierce the clouds which thereby give down the most seasonable and refreshing showres of rain The Law is like a Thunder-clap it doth many times so tosse and hurry and vex the conscience that infinite sighes and feares and teares gush out But then faith makes the Sun of righteousnesse to arise within the soul and nohing melts the heart more then Christ apprehended by faith Zach. 12. 10. They shall look upon him whom they pierced and they shall mourne for him as one mourneth for his onely son and they shall be in bitternesse for him as one that is in bitternesse for his first-born For faith First sees the greatest love the sweetest kindnesse the freest pardons 3. Reasons of it the readiest acceptations all which do even me it the heart into a river and works the greatest mournings I doubt not but
make his addresse unto the Lord Jesus for cure and health and that he should by faith accept of him and trust upon him for the healing of his soul and the subduing of his sins and then verily you shall finde vertue to come from Christ raising a greater hatred of sin war with it in the very fountaine watching and praying against it and the power of the ordinance successively weakening and crucifying the power of sin Lastly know this that the time of contrariety is the time for faith to work When a man sees death then is it the time for faith to believe life When he sees the grave then is it the time for faith to believe a resurrection when he sees guilt then is it the time for faith to believe pardoning mercy when he sees himself a sinner then is it the time for faith to believe a Saâ—iour when he sees strong corruptions then is it the time for faith to believe great grace when he sees great discomforts then is it the time for faith to believe strong consolations the exigences of sense and the reliefes of the promises are quite contrary what I feel is one thing what God doth promise is another thing That which the patient observes in himself is sicknesse and that which he hopes for in the medicine is health Hath God made thee sensible of thy sins dost thou finde thus much that al that thou canst do wil not become a rebuke of corruption thou art able now to see the strength of thy sinfull nature but to remove it thou art utterly unable Why what is now to be done truly as in the sense of the guilt of sin we must then flye by faith to God and put our soules upon his free mercy for pardon so in the sense of the filthy strength of sin we must to heaven by faith and put our soules on Gods faithful promises in Christ for the healing and subduing of it This is the way and therefore strive to walk in it you may try other waters but they shall not help you and perplex your own thoughts but they shall not availe you the cure of the sinful soul is only in heaven and it is faith only which can lift up a soul to God and Christ which puts it into the Pool When sin is felt then let faith work If thou canst finde any one promise which God hath made of sanctifying and healing and subduing Why here 's ground for faith yea for thy saith for in these promises are the cures of thy sinful nature and faith it is which will apply the healing medicines to thee 8. Obj. Yet I am not satisfied saith the sensible sinner and fearfull soul Why Because First I cannot finde an heart to duty to pray and seek of God and surely if God did purpose and mean any good to me he would in some measure frame and encline and excite my heart towards him Secondly yea and againe though I do sometimes seek and entreat yet I observe that what I was that I am nothing comes of it how then can I may I should I be enduced to believe Sol. Here are two sore and real scruples which do indeed vehemently beat upon a sensible sinner I shall endeavour to assoyle them successively 1. I cannot finde an heart to any duty to pray for faith c. I Answer 1. As the inability to holy duties depends on natural corruption so the indisposition towards them depends exceedingly upon unbelief There is nothing disheartens a man more towards God then it For bâ—sides this that unbelief in its own nature is a departure from God it is a bias drawing the soul downwards This also is true of it that it represents God to the soul in all the appearances and methods of discouragements It makes the soul to see nothing in God or from God which might encline it to him O saith unbelief there is such holinesse and purity in him that he will never endure thee there is such truth and justice in him that he will surely be avenged of thee There is such strength and power in him that he will certainly meet with thee and lay load on thee There is I confesse a mercifulnesse in him but alas his tender bowels of compassion his ready forgivenesse extends not to thee there are many sweet intimations in his promises but they concern not thee there is a mighty salvation in Christ and powerful intercession to ingratiate some persons and their services but what of this to thee He is a God hearing prayer yea but he will not regard the cryes nor tears of some but their Sacrifices are an abomination unto him And thus doth unbelief set up God utterly against the soule so that the poor soul conceiving of God as an enemy dares not come neer it flies off it is even afraid to speak to him It is perswaded by unbeliefe that God will frowne upon all that is done whereupon the spirit sinks the affectionâ— are flatted I have no minde nor heart am like a lump a stock a stone Secondly it is faith which will fetch up the soul Psal 27. 13. I had fainted unlesse I had beleeved to see the goodnesse of the Lord c. As if he should say my spirits were even breathing themselves out I was even sinking down giving up all unlesse I had beleeved but that confidence of Gods goodnesse towards me that did put life into me that did fetch me again that did put heart into me You see now the spring is coming on that those seemingly dead branches of the trees they begin to thrust out some hopeful sproutings and put on another colour of freshnesse why because the root is now more fed and warmed It is faith which will put colour into our faces and spirit into our hearts and life into our duties For 1. Faith sets open the mercy-seat It represents God to the Two reasons of it soul in all his attributes of graciousnesse not as an hard tyrant but as a good God willing to give audience to the humble requests and suit of a poore sinner Nay willing to dispatch and grant his requests What is thy request said Ahashuerus to Queen Ester it shall be granted thee c So saith the Lord What wouldest thou have of me Is it mercy I do promise it unto thee Is it grace I promise that unto thee Is it strength is it comfort is it deliverance whatsoever it be if thou beleeve on me I will not fail to give to thee Nay I will do it freely nay cheerfully with all my heart and with all my soul Jer. 32. Yea this makes the soul to come unto God as the ship into the haven with full speed and stretched sailes O the soul bends the knee with cheerfulnesse when it sees it shall be raised up with kindnesse a man may have some heart to pray when he knows My God will hear me that God hath a readiness to answer 2. Faith sets the soul in
smelling savour Ephes 3. 19. To know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fulnesse of God Yea Paul himself doth suggest unto us this love of Christ unto him as the singular ground why he did by faith live upon him Gal. 2. 20. The life which â—now live I live by the faith of the Sonne of God who loved me and gave himselfe for me Though I dare not trust an enemy yet I dare to trust my friend though I will not depend on him for help yet on my friend I will Why a friend loves at all times and love is the principle of bounty and of kindnesse He that loves much will do much beneficence and readinesse to help they grow in love as the branches in the root and therefore Christ is ready to help because exceeding in love to his members Observe the Apostle to this very thing in another place Heb. 4. 16. Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtaine mercy and finde grace to help in time of need There is need in us of mercy for we sinne dayly and need in us of grace for we are still weak but in heaven there is a throne of grace there is mercy enough and grace enough to help Obj. I confesse there is so saith the beleeving person but I am afraid to approach thereunto Sol. No be not afraid but come boldly unto the throne of grace saith the Apostle There is a twofold boldnesse There is a boldnesse of ignorance of this the Apostle speaks not There is a boldnesse of holy affiance of this he speaks Thus he comes boldly who presents all his needs and requests in the Name of Jesus Christ and confidently relies upon him for supply and acceptance Obj. But may the soul reply what encouragement have I to raise this confident affiance Sol. See the Apostle ver 15. For we have not an high Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities As if he should say I beseech you but to remember what your Christ is and then you may boldly come you are sensible why he is much more sensible of your infirmities he knows your wants yea he feels them feels them how there is a feeling by way of passion and change so indeed he does not feel them and there is a feeling by way of compassion so he feels them that is he is tenderly sensible of them he is very compassionately ready to help them As a mother she feels the want of bread of heat of cloaths of liberty in her child she is infinitely ready to relieve him such a kinde of feeling is there in Christ to his members in their need Ergo come boldly to him crave of him trust and rely on him for help Why else is he called a merciful High Priest What is mercifulnesse If you look upon it in man it is the sounding of his bowels it is a compassionate sympathy joyned with a singular readinesse to releeve And if you look upon it in God or Christ it is a most tender sense of mans infirmities and necessities accompanied with an exceeding propension or readinesse to forgive the repenting soule and to help and succor and comfort the Beleever Obj. Thou art truly grieved and humbled for thy sinnes and yet darest not to live by faith upon Christ that he will get thee the pardon Sol. Why O man Christ is a merciful high Priest Here am I saith Christ I am very ready to offer up the vertue of my blood for thee So thou art much distressed about the want of grace and the insolency of sin and Satan why saith Christ loe here I am I am very willing very ready to do thee good to give thee more grace to conquer thy sins for thee and Satan for thee I am a merciful high Priest my bowels are troubled for thee I love thee earnestly I remember thee still 5. His conjunction and relation I pray you consider of this How stands it 'twixt Christ and a beleever what union is there what relation hath Christ no reference unto him or hath he none unto Christ that he afraid to live upon him To trust to depend on him for his supplies Two things I will briefly touch 1. The neernesse of their relations Two things I will briefly touch 2. The ground from them to live by faith First there is a neer relation 'twixt Christ and a beleever see Cantiles 6. 3. I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine Why this is a neer relation indeed a relation of mutual propriety that Christ doth say of a Beleever Thou art mine and the beleever can reciprocally affirm of Christ thou art mine As Adam said of his wife Gen. 2. 23. Thou art bone of my bone and flesh of flesh that same doth the Apostle apply back from the Church to Christ Eph. 5. 30. we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones Of all rational relations none so neare so dear so tender as that of a man and his wife yet in such a relation doth Christ and a beleever stand Again he is the head of his body the Church Ephes 1. 22. the whole Church is his body every Beleever a member Christ the Head I spare the citation of more as of the tree and the branches the foundation and the building Secondly Now this relation is the ground of affiance a direct reason why we should live upon Christ by faith For First doth not special relation give special title If a man becomes an husband hath not the wife hereupon a title to the benefits and comforts of his estate his riches are for her good and his houses are for her good and his land for her good It holds just so here faith espouseth a man to Christ now Christ is mine and I am his and then the Apostle infers the title presently 1 Cor. 3. 21. All things are yours Ver. 22. Whither Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come all are yours Ver. 23. For ye are Christs and Christ is Gods Secondly hath not special relation a special obligation Why though a man be not bound but in a bond of charity to relieve and help a woman before he is married yet when once he is married then by vertue of that relation there lies upon him the bond of plaine and particular duty he is bond to love his wife as himself Eph. 5. 28. and to nourish and cherish her v. 29. Maâ—k now how the Apostle states our matter even here too Even as the Lord the Church as if Christ were the very pattern of this love of this cherishing and of this nourishing of thâ—s supplying and helping Thirdly hath not special relation a special affection I will do much for my servant I will do more for my childe but I will do most of all for my wife Why because she is neerer then all she is my very
is really his as certainly he is thine as thy husband is thy husband so the Christian is obliged to assure his heart thereof Which I shall easily clear by Argument 1. We are bound to draw neer unto God in the full assurance of faith Heb. 10. 22. Which is 〈◊〉 conceive in a cleare perswasion that we shall not faile but enjoy the good which he promiseth now this cannot be unlesse a man be assured and perswaded that God is his God and Christ is his Christ for as much as perswasion of audience doth always arise from a presupposed persâ—asion of personal and mutual interest I cannot by faith be perswaded that God wil give such a good thing or such unless I am first perswaded that he is my God that God is my God or Christ is my Christ It is a fundamental perswasion upon which all others are built for this gives life and settlement to my doubting soul I many times doubt but shall I have this thing which I ask yes sayes the beleeving heart but how are you assured of it I reply because God is my God he hath given himself unto me Ergo he will give this but how know you that God is your God Upon good ground why saith the beleeving soul of that I am abundantly perswaded I doubt it not hereupon the soul raiseth it self to that other assurance of acceptance and audience why then I will nor doubt of this I will be confident that then the Lord will heare for he is my God and David goes this way very often 2. We are bound all our dayes to give God thanks for his greatest mercies now I think that the bestowing of Christ upon the soule is as great a mercy as ever poore sinners had Obj. It is so but what of this Sol. But we cannot give God hearty thanks whiles we are doubtful of our particular interest in Christ Can'st thou go unto the Lord and say O Lord I blesse thee from my soul for all the mercies which thou hast conferred on me health I have and I know it for which I do thank thee riches I have and friends and this I know too and for them I thank thee too I thank thee also exceedingly from the bottome of my soul for that thou hast given thy own Sonne to me Jesus Christ but truly I know not whether thou hast given him to me or no I thank thee exceedingly for the pardon of my vile sinnes in this blood but verily I am not sure of this I rather think they are not pardoned Nay this will not runne smooth and the reason is because so much particular evidence as God gives a man of his personal interest in himself or Christ or his merits so much and no greater thankfulnesse will the soul be brought unto SECT IV. Quest 4. WHat Arguments to move beleevers to labour for the assurance of faith Sol. There are many 1. As he said to Job Do the consolations of God seem small unto thee That I say here doth assurance seeme a small thing unto thee Consider seriously the matters and things about which this assurance is conversant and thou shalt finde them of the greatest consequence in the world What doest thou think of Jesus Christ for a sinner Can there be a more excellent good then Christ I count all things but drosse and dung for the excellency of Christ said Paul Phil. 3. or can there be a more necessary good for thee then Christ Tell me in sad thoughts that if thou hadst all the pleasures of the world and all the honours ours of the world and all the riches of the world and yet wast Christâ—esse that is thou hadst no portion in Christ why what avails all this as long as thou art Christless as Abraham said seeing I am childlesse In whom is God reconciled unto thee but in Christ and how wilt thou stand before God if thou have not Christ by whom canst thou get salvation but by Christ and why then wilt not thou force thy soul to give all diligence to make thy part in Christ sure to thy soul that thou mayest come in all cases to that of Job I know that my Redeemer liveth and with Paul He loved me and gave himself for me Again what doest thou think of the pardon of sinnes verily the time was once even then when thy spirit did roare all the night and thou foundest no quiet in the day when thy moysture was turned into the drought of Summer and thy soul was disquieted within thee I say in that time thou couldest with many teares break out and say with David Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sinne is covered Psal 32. 1 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity O what wouldest thou have given to have beleeved that thy sinnes should be pardoned thou couldest then discover death in so unpardoned a state and life then in a discharged and absolved condition Why I pray you is pardon of sinne so precious a thing and is the assured knowledge thereof a small thing Is it not enough to have the pardon passe not onely the seale of the King but the eye also of the malefactor Yea yet further what think you of eternal life what is it O I cannot reach it by thoughts much lesse by words Life no such thing on the earth as it eternal life what thing in heaven more then it To see my God my Christ to be gloriously united to them to be filled with the perfections of holinesse brightnesse of glory to know him as we are known to love him in the transcendency of love I know not what I say for I speak of eternal life O! if the the glimpse of divine favour here be the admiration of our soules the perfection of our joyes the heaven on earth tell me what is the fulnesse of his favour what is the full evidence of his favour what is the everlasting evidence of his favour Now eternal life is all this all this alas I have said nothing of it yet Eye hath not seen ear hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man what God hath c. And is not this a matter to be determined and ascertained to our souls what to let eternal life hang in suspense verily though until we do mount and rise to the assurance of faith we leave for our part though the thing may be sure in it selfe even this also our eternal life as a thing doubtful Thou wile not hold the least quillet of thy land upon unevident and unsure term yet wilt thou c. 2. Assurance will marvellously settle and quiet the soul David expresseth so much Psal 4. 6. Lord life thou up the light of thy countenance upon us Ver. 7. Thou hast put gladnesse in my heart more then in the time that their corn and wine increased Ver. 8. I will lay me down and sleep The ship at anchor is safe but in a calme
pardon and to crown him with eteâ—nal glory Beleeve it assurance will make thy life more fruitful and thy heart more suffering Faith will make holy duties to be no harden and assurance will make it a delight Faith will make a man to bear the Câ—osse â—nd assurance will make a man to triumph under it We are more then conquerours said perswaded Paul Seventhly Assurance of faith it is a bathing spring to all our graces Shall I instance in some 1. The mourning heart doth much depend upon the assured minde No man ever did or ever shall take God by the hand as reconciled to him or look on Christ as redeeming him or read his pardon with assurance but his heart shall be full of joy and his eyes full of teares They shall look on him whom they have pierced and shall mourne as a man mournes for his only childe Zach. 12. 10. There is nothing softens the heart so well as faith and which melts it so much as assurance The powers of the greatest kindnesse and most gracious love do open the fountain of godly sorrow within the soul 2. Love kindles in the heart upon assurance To whom much is forgiven the same will love much said Christ Luke 7. 47. We love him because he loved us first said John The love of God to us is the cause of our love to him againe and againe and the more that love is cleared to us the more is our love rekindled to him goodnesse is a cause of love here it is bountifulnesse is a cause of love here it is knowledge of both a special provocation of love in assurance here it is What a thing is this that God should give his Covenant to me his Sonne to me his Mercies to me his loving kindnesse to me his glory in heaven unto me I love a man who defends my Name I love a man who gives me a book I love a man who gives me my ransom I loue a man who gives me a meales meat Ah! poore things in comparison how do I then infinitely exceed in love to my God who I know hath pardoned hath justified hath accepted will save me for ever More might be said of all particular graces whatsoever 8. Assurance by faith doth but ease us of the world and mounts the soul above it 1. It easeth us of the world How can he walk with cares who is indeed perswaded that God is his Father he that gave him Christ will give him all other things freely God will not stand for a little earth who hath bountifully given a whole heaven and he will surely finde me food and rayment for my body who found mercy and the blood of his own Sonne for my soul 2. Nay it mounts us above the world they do observe that these lower things grow little and lesse by how much the higher a man is seated If a man could be elevated to one of the celstial orbes the whole world would seeme but a narrow spot of ground unto him In one point this is most true the neerer God draws unto the soule the more nothing doth this world appeare O the blessed favour of God! the evidences of our union with Christ This is like the light of the Sunne which puts out the light of ten thousand candles Thou wouldest never complaine of too little in the world if thou haddest so much as made up a true assurance of heaven 9. Lastly Assurance will breed comfort in life and confidence in death Object Why are Gods people afraid many times to die they cannot say with Christ I will go to my Father They have the bond but see not the seale They are not assured of Reconciliation of pardon of salvation But if they could with Simeon Take Christ into their armes if once they could be assured Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation He who by assurance looks Christ in the face may with cheerful confidence look death in the face I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ said Paul Phil. 1. 23. How so verse 21. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gaine But how knows he that 2 Tim. 1. 12. For I know whom I have beleeved and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day So 2 Cor. 5. 1. For we know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens SECT V. Quest 1. NOw I come to the last inquiry by what means the soule mâ—y get up to this assurance Sol. I shall only 〈◊〉 be such rules as reach a beleeving person Thereâ—oâ—e 〈◊〉 1. If thou be a bâ—â—eever and wouldest be assured then preserve the sense of thy own natural wretchednesse and of the darknese of thy souls state without assurance Christ came to Mary when shee was weeping and the Great God looks down upon thâ— broken Spirit The highest mountaine hath the first sight of the Sunne but the lowest Christian hath the first sight of God When the people of God were mourning then saith God Comfort ye comfort ye my people and say unto them your sins are pardoned You shall finde this That the truely sensible heart hath Note three properties in it which envite the Lord much to gratifie it with assurance viz. One that is very humble Another that is much in the prizing of Gods love and mercy And a third that it is exceeding thirsty after a good look from God after some taste of Christ and God will satisfie all these 2. Be no strangers to the Ordinances you shall finde this that the ripening of faith belongs to them as well as the seeds of it The word you know is the soule of faith it was that which did incline the heart to yeild which did make it to accept of Christ and it is that also which can make us to know our possessions 1 John 15. 13. These things have I written vnto you that beleeve on the Name of the Sonne of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life So 1 John 1. 4 These things we write unto you that your joâ— may be full More plainly In whom after you heard the Word of truth ye beleeved in whom also after that ye beleeved ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise Ephesians 1. 13. For look as the Word hath promises which draw the soul to Christ so it hath promises to clear the soul in its interest in Christ to answer all doubts and feares and to answer the feare about acceptance so it removes doubts which strive against evidence and propriety The Sacrament you know it is the Seal of righteousnesse which is by faith Rom. 4. 11. Look as a Seale doth distinguish and confirme and settle the minde so is the Sacrament ordained to satisfie and perswade the heart of a beleever God appointed this
heart p. 178 Our natural condition what to be convinced of about it p. 179 Need. We have extream need of a Lord Jesus Christ p. 163 Christ is every way fitted to our need p. 164 O Offended A heart apt to be offended at the estate of Christ shews faith is weak p. 135 Opposition A manifold opposition against Christ his person condition Scepter and government and his righteousnesse p. 8. 82 83 Ordinances Ordinances are meanes to grow up unto assurance p. 280 P Peace Peace in the conscience what it is p. 148 Peace of a Christian must be ratified in a double Court p. 148 The difference betwixt the peace of a strong and weak believer p. 148 Power No natural power in man to produce faith p. 176 Persevering Persevering vertue from Christ p. 144 Preaching Preaching the Word the ordinary means by which God works faith p. 177 Prayer Prayer a meanes of assurance p. 281 Priest Christ anointed to be a Priest p. 21 A satisfactory Priest p. 21 An expiatory Priest p. 21 22 Christ how the Priest and Altar p. 23 The efficacy of his Priestly sacrifice p. 24 Christ a Priest by way of intercession vid. Intercession Prophet Christ anointed to be a Prophet p. 26 What it implies p. 27 Presumption vid. Faith Presumption a most confident work but a very loose quality p. 100 101 A pregnant difference betwixt Presumption and faith p. 208 209 Promise A Divine promise entirely rested on an Argument of strong faith p. 126 Many promises believed at once the stronger is our faith p. 130 Discouraging objections about the promises answered p. 235 Vid. Truth R. Receive It is very unequal and unreasonable not to receive Christ so offered p. 166 Redemption Redemption all beleevers have a share in it p. 140 141 Refusal Former refusals of Christ should not keep us off from present accepting of him p. 20 The sinfulnesse and danger of such refusals yet even such have encouragement to beleeve p. 201 202 Such have the more reason to come in and not to refuse any longer p. 204 Relation A near relation betwixt Christ and a beleever p. 253 A special Relation gives special title and a special obligation and hath a special affection p. 254 Remission Remission of sins what it is p. 48 74 The soul sensible of sinne puts it self on Jesus Christ for remission of sin p. 49 Remission of sinnes belongs to justification p. 74 How far remission of sinnes extends in Justification p. 75 Remission of sinnes every beleever hath an interest in it p. 141 Righteousnesse A twofold Righteousnesse inherent and imputed p. 51 Faith rests only on imputed Righteousnesse for justification p. 51 The Righteousnesse of Jesus Christ is that by which only we are justified p. 76 What is meant by the righteousnesse of Christ p. 76 Several objections against the imputation of righteousnesse answered p. 76 77 Whether this righteousnesse imputed be the passive or active and passive reasons of the latter p. 78 Christ bestows his righteousness upon us the comfort of it p. 113 Confidence in natural righteousnesse an impediment to faith p. 171 S Sacrifice vid. Priest Sacraments Sacraments meanes of assurance p. 281 Salvation Salvation some things have reference to it by way of proper causality and some things by way of order p. 54 Vid. Grace Salvation is conferred in such a way wherby God only may have the glory of it p. 63 Salvation is not sure but by beleeving p. 64 Sanctity vid. Change Satisfaction Satisfaction of soul in Christ alone an Argument of a strong faith p. 129 Saviour Christ is a singular Saviour how p. 14 Difference betwixt him and other Saviours p. 14 A General Saviour in what sense p. 15 A mighty Saviour how this appears p. 16 A perfect Saviour in what this consists p. 16 The alonenesse fulnesse and efficacy of his Salvation p. 16 Scorners Scorners will become troublers p. 3 Seeking Many seekings and yet nothing comes of them should not discourage from beleeving p. 213 Efficacy of seeking wherein it consists p. 213 Right seekings shall alwayes come to something p. 214 A double answer to the seeking of the soul p. 214 Something may come in upon every faithful seeking p. 215 Self-denyal Self-denyal in near and great occurrances an argument of strong faith p. 127 A threefold self to be denyed p. 127 Sense Sensible A double sense of sin p. 206 Sensible sinners are inquisitive p. 5 Reasons of it p. 6 Sinners some hardned some made sensible p. 5 Sensible sinners are resolved for the meanes as well as for the end p. 9 Two sorts of sinners generally corrupted and sensibly experienced p. 34 Several degrees of sensiblenesse in sinners p. 35 Some sensiblenesse of our sinful condition must go before faith taking Christ as a Lord and Saviour p. 91 What is a sweet and a safe course for a sensible sinner p. 183 The truly sensible heart hath three properties in it that do invite the Lord to gratifie it with assurance p. 280 Sick Christ is a Physician to a sick sinner p. 207 Christ will not loath thee because of thy sinful nature but will help thee because thou art a sick person p. 208 Sin Sinning When sin decayes in strength faith is strong p. 129 The league of the heart with sin an impediment to beleeving p. 153 Greatnesse of sinning a strong reason to compel the soule to Christ p. 184 Sorrow Sorrow for sin and faith in Christ go together p. 108 Soul None have right to thy soul but God and Christ p. 166 Christ out-bids all Merchants for thy soul p. 166 How shameful and unreasonable it is to keep the soule from Christ p. 167 Spirit Spirit of God the immediate and sole cause of faith p. 176 177 Studied What things to be principally studyed by him that would get a beleeving heart p. 178 179 Strength Present corruptions in exceeding strength no prejudice to faith p. 205 206 Suspect To suspect Gods favour and Christs love a signe of weak faith p. 132 T Taking Taking of Christ is of all Christ p. 46 It is only of Christ. p. 46 This taking is freed from mistaking p. 46 Vpon what grounds the soul takes Christ p. 47 This taking is resolved against untaking p. 47 Two grounds of taking Christ to be a Lord compulsory and ingenuous p. 47 48 Thanks What is a weakning of faith is a lessening of thanks p. 153 Temptations Two sorts of temptations against which assurance doth arme a beleever p. 272 Temporary vid. Faith Tendernesse Gods tendernesse most towards weak beleevers p. 146 Troubled A troubled soul looks mainly how to save it self p. 6 Reasons of it p. 7 They are not troubled for sinne who do not strive to be saved p. 8 Troubled soules must be directed to Christ p. 12 Reasons of it Ibid Truth Truth and fidelity as applyed to promises consists in three things p. 236 V Vertue Vertual A vertual interest in Christ every Beleever partakes of