lay with his Fathers concubines Amnon had defloured his sister c. Now David looking upon this personall unworthinesse both of his own person and of his children was humbled for it and in sadnesse of heart saith Although my house be not so ordered with God c. Not so ordered as it should be not ordered according to the mercies that I have received from God Yet see how he casts up another eye and views the covenant of God yet saith he The Lord hath made with me an 1. Everlasting covenant 2. Ordered and 3. Sure for this is my salvation c. Christian do thou the like thou porest upon thy self and readest a great deal of personall unworthinesse seest thousands of sins the least of which might damn thee and damn a world seest much mercy bestowed upon thee by God and all mercies abused by thee to the dishonor of God yet comfort thy self by eying Gods covenant and say Although my heart although my life be not so ordered with God although my soul be not so humbled before God yet the Lord hath made with me an everlasting covenant and a sure covenant the covenant of peace and grace with my soul was from eternity and therefore free and without cause in the creature I had neither an hard heart nor a soft heart when God made that covenant with me and it is a sure covenant as God never made a covenant with me for the softnesse and tendernesse of my heart so neither will he cast me off for the hardnesse of my heart and it is a covenant ordered in all things He hath made a covenant with me as to give me salvation so to give me such an heart as he requires of me in order unto my salvation and for this is my salvation I shall not be saved for the worthinesse of my house nor for the worthinesse of my person nor for the tendernesse of my heart but because he hath made a covenant with me Here is the ground-work here is the cause of my salvation Thus Christian eye 1. The eternity of the covenant 2. The surenesse of the covenant 3. The freenesse of the covenant 4. The particularity of the covenant God hath not made his eternall covenant at random with those souls that shall be broken hearted and shall beleeve No saith David he hath made with me a sure well-ordered everlasting covenant the other is Arminian and licentious Doctrine God hath made a covenant with thee and an everlasting covenant with thee and a sure covenant with thee eye this and say Well though my heart be not so humbled before God as it ought to be though my soul be not so broken though my whole man be not so ordered yet God hath made with me in particular an everlasting covenant sure well-ordered and for this is my salvation Secondly Eye the nature of God and Iesus Christ in the dispensations of his grace more The truth of it is the covenant the eternall covenant that God hath made with sinners is but a declaration of his grace but I conceive there may be a difference conceived between Gods declarations of his grace and his dispensations of his grace though that every dispensation of grace be a declaration of his grace yet every declaration of his grace is not a dispensation Declations of Grace may be generall Dispensations of grace are particular God declared his grace and love to mankinde when he made that promise The seed of the woman shall break the serpents head But now he made a dispensation of his grace when he gives a gracious soul power to draw out its part in this promise Now doest thou sit troubled that thy soul is not thus and thus humbled not enough brought low c. eye the dispensations the particular dispensations of Gods grace Consider to whom God hath made dispensations of his grace 1. In what manner God hath dispensed and revealed the dispensations of his Grace Sit down and think of the Saints of God that God hath dealt out his saving grace too and thou shalt finde them the most worthlesse and vile wretches To Paul the persecuter the blasphemer so hard-hearted that he could spill the blood of the tender-hearted Saints of God yet this Paul the Lord humbled and dealt out his grace to To Manasses so hard-hearted that he filled the land with innocent blood that nothing would humble but a gaole and shackles and setters yet this Manasses tasted of the divine dispensations of grace 2. Consider in what manner God hath dispensed his grace and revealed the dispensations of his grace to these poor creatures Indeed I am apt to beleeve that of all those Saints in Scripture not one saw Christ without a weeping eye a mourning heaâ—â— but yet this is certain that God hath not in his word set out to us the like humiliation of Lydia as of Paul and of the Gaoler Though I am of M. Shepheards minde that Lydia was humbled as well as Paul yet I conceive there are two things that we may gather for a souls comfort from the holy Ghosts so variously setting down Gods dealings with those souls whom he hath brought home to himself so fully and deeply expressing the sorrows of some as of Paul and Manasses and the Gaoler and so tacitely concealing the sorrows of others as of Lydia or so moderately revealing of them as concerning those converted at Saint Peters Sermon concerning whose humiliation we have onely this upon record that they were prickt at the heart I say I conceive there are two things that we may gather from it for a souls comfort under this affliction First That Gods dealings in this particular are not alike with every soul that he humbleth some more and deeplyer some lesse for his own end Which I hinted you before Secondly I conceive we may gather this from that various dealing of the holy Ghost in the word of God in expressing Gods way with his people viz. That it is Gods will that souls should not stumble upon this rock and stick here we are not yet enough humbled not thus and thus humbled we ought to look for some but not to stick at the want of the same measure of humiliation which some of the Saints of God have had Consider these things Christian weigh the reason of Gods so various dealing with his converts and various expressions of his dealing with them in his revealed word and let this comfort and direct thee and raise thee up say with thine own heart My soul why should these thoughts hinder thee from going on Gods dealings with all his converts is not alike and God would have in the same even manner surely have revealed the sorrows and humiliations of all his children as of any if he would have had me stumbled at this and made this a block in my way to him Thirdly Eye Gods nature in his promises Mark how the promises run whether absolutely oâ— conditionally and if conditionally whether upon this
sufficieut to constitute this sin it may be a persâ—cution out of ignorance as Pauls was and God pardoned it 1 Tim. 1. 13. It must be first an hatred of and opposition against the truth and godlinesse of such men Not when thou malicest godlinesse because it is in him that hath done thee a personall injury but when thou malicest and hatest a man because he is holy and loves the truth of God and lives before God strictly Secondly It must be with a secret desire to extinguish and spoil the credit of God and his truth When a wretch is mad to see Gods name exalted and to see the truth of God prosper and would fain spoil all its market Thirdly And it must be an opposition to the truth that to the wretch is known and he is convinced that this is a truth of Jesus Christ yet he hateth a person because he entertains it and walks accordingly and seeketh how to cut off him and the truth such manner of malice was the Pharisees malice Mat. 12. 31. Yet alas saith a poor Christian Since I have received the Holy-ghost and tasted his guifts I have sinned thousands of sin renewing them every day c. From what hath been already said That this sin must be an opposition a knowing wilfull open malicious opposition to the truth of Christ were enough to answer this But consider Seventhly It must be a totall falling away from the truth Religion and profession of Iesus Christ Heb. 4. 6. Many are the Saints failings this must be a totall falling from all grace and holinesse When a man clear leaves all manner of profession of holinesse and falls into all manner of wickednesse Now darest thou accuse thy heart of this Christian or doest thou sometimes slip but presently renew thy covenant made with God by a seasonable repentance praying crying bettering thy life and conversation c. Never fear this sin it hath many drâ—ms of the weight of hell in it more then thou complainest of Eighthly It is not probable saith Master Rutherford That thou shouldst be guilty of that sin against the Holy-ghost and none but thy self complain of it It ordinarily breaketh out into prodigious acts of wickednesse it is no chamber closet sin though it be hatcht in thy heart yet it goes into the mouth and defiles that that sinner with that reviles and raves and blasphemes Christ and commonly it shews it self further the sinner with Iulian persecuteth the Saints whom his heart knows are Saints with fire and sword didst thou ever do any of these things Christian mistake not thy self be humbled for thy sins and failings but transgresse not by despairing without a cause Consider further Ninthly If thy sin that thou complainest of so to be the unpardonable sin as thou unwarrantably thinkest be a trouble and a grief of heart to thee thou mast be sure that it is not that sin that thou takest it for Heb. 4. 6. It is impossible saith the Apostle that they that commit it should be renewed again by repentance The meaning of which place is not that if they do repent yet it is impossible that they should be pardoned that were to put a lye upon the promises of the Gospel But it is impossible that ever they should repent to be renewed Aus T. 10. Ep. de Verbis Domini 11. p. 45. This makes Saint Austine determine finall impenitency to be the unpardonable sin when the wretch abusing the mercy of God that should leade him to repentance according to the hardnesse of his heart refuseth repentance and treasureth up wrath against the day of wrath Now though I do not think with Saint Austine that this is the whole formality of that sin nor yet with Aquinas and the Papists that it can be properly called a species of that sin yet I think with almost all sober Divines that it is an undoubted consequent of that sin God after the commission of that sin by any poor wretch giving him over to a blindnesse of minde and a finall hardnesse of heart that he cannot repent But like Esau If he seeks repentance carefully with tears yet he finds it not Now if thy sin be a trouble and grief of heart to thee thou mayst be assured it is not that sin for the undoubted consequent of that is an hardnesse of heart and a reprobacy of minde Tenthly Consider The â—in against the Holy-ghost neither in respect of it self and its own greatnesse nor yet in respect of the power of Gods mercy is unpardonable Be it never so great it is not infinite as the mercies of thy God are It is indeed a scarlet sin But scarlet sins to the returning penitent may be pardoned Isai 1. 16. Isai 1. 16. It is unpardonable say some in respect of Gods will God can but he neither ever did nor will pardon it for it is a sin of malice directly against pardoning mercy Gods mercy would be stained in the pardoning of it Secondly It is unpardonable say others and those the most In regard that it is impossible that the sinner should repent and beleeve without which there is no hope of pardoning mercy from any Gospel promise And this is questionlesse true for God hath said Perditio tua ex te Thy damnation O Israel is of thy self not of me Though a poor wretch be damned for this sin yet he may proximately thank the hardnesse and impenitency and unbeleef of his own heart not Gods will But yet further consider Eleventhly That this can be no sufficient excuse for thee for not beleeving becâ—use though it doth take away from thee the power of beleeving yet it doth not excuse thee from the duty of beleeving Beleeving is a Gospel duty it is a law enjoined to all every one is called to it Ioh. 3. 16. Mat. 11. 29. Isai 55. 1 2 3. Yea salvation is proffered to all those that do beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ doth the Gospel any where say Come you that have not sinned the sin against the Holy-ghost come and beleeve and you shall not perish No surely it calls to all be you what you will let your sins be what they can how many how great soever they can come beleeve and you shall not perish It is unwarrantable then to disobey a Gospel precept upon a beleeving the temptations of thine enemy the Devil or the groundlesse suggestions of thine own spirit Lastly Consider If thou hadst sinned that unpardonable thou couldst not by any infallible demonstration conclude thyself guilty of it before thy dying day and hour How wilt thou demonstrate it from thy hardnesse of heart and going on in unbeleef thou must do it so or no way for though thou beest a malitious persecutor and hater of God and goodnesse yet according to the tenour of the Gospel promises if thou repentest and beleevest thou art forgiven now if this hardnesse of heart joined with thy malice and unbeleef be not finall it is no infallible effect of
the soule yet it layes hold if Christ will not save me saith the poor soule sure I am nothing else can to him I will go and me thinks it goes as the Messengers of Benhadad to Ahab 1 King 20. Behadad there had wrong'd Ahab and through the help of God his Army was routed and Benhadad was glad to hide himselfe in one of Ahabs Townes in an inner Chamber and sends to Ahab his servants v. 31. said to him We have heard that the Kings of the house of Israel are mercifull Kings let us put sackcloth on our loynes and put ropes about our heads and go out to the King of Israel peradventure he will save thy life so they did and said Thy servant Benhadad sayes I pray thee let me live And he said is he yet alive he is my brother the men catcht his words and they said Thy brother Benhadad and he said Go and bring him and accordingly he came and Ahab took him up into his Charriot So it is with the poor soule when the soule hath fought against God by sin the Lord overthrowes it by desertion yet it lives but dare not be seen so openly it is hidden under the dark cloud of desertion it squilks as in an inner chamber it is sensible how it hath deserved death yea ten thousand deaths But the liâ—e of grace being yet in the soule it sayes within it selfe I have heard that the King of Heaven the Lord Iesus Christ is a mercifull Christ come therefore I will send my Messengers of Faith and Prayer they shall put sackcloth-upon their loynes and ropes upon their heads and go out to the Lord Iesus Christ peradventure he will save my soule and I shall live Without question Benhadads servants went with trembling hearts and yet relied upon this as the onely meanes to save Benhadad their Master alive So the soule sends out at such a time a trembling faith and trembling prayers and yet truly relies upon Christs mercy and favour and the soule sayes to God Lord thy backsliding revolting servant sayes Let me live let my backslidings be healed let my renewed sinnes be yet pardoned Christ will say Thou art my brother and take thee into the Charret but yet thy faith trembles and thy prayer trembles And indeed there is very great reason for it if we secondly consider that the very essence of desertions is Gods withdrawing of his manifestative love from the soul that the soul though it be loved with Gods elective love in and under desertions yet it wants the apprehensions and manifestations of his love Now that which onely can keep the soule from its naturall temper of trembling is the apprehended manifestations of Christs love to it which being withdrawn the soule falls a trembling again and yet the life of grace being not extinct it still trusts yea though he kills the soule yet it trusts in him So I have done with the sixth proposition That the soule may depend tremblingly upon the Lord Iesus Christ and yet depend truly I come now to the seventh and last Proposition to shew what weaknesse and doubting may consist with true faith in the soule that I shall doe in a seventh proposition thus Thou mayest truly rely and depend upon the promises of God and upon the Lord Iesus Christ for everlasting salvation and dwell upon them and yet not be able fully and truly to appropriate and peculiarize all the promises to thy selfe and act accordingly to them at all times There are distinctions of promises and distinctions of times from whence will arise distinctions of causes which would be understood To make out this certaine truth 1. You must know that there is a distinction of promises the promises are many wayes distinguished there are generall and particular promises absolute and conditiall promises Promises that concerne some particular people as the people of the Iews and particular persons as to David and Herekiah and other of the people of God which if we should apply we should misapply to our selves I shall not meddle with all the distinctions of these promises but onely with what shall conduce now to my purpose to make out this truth I have laid down in my proposition and so I shall distinguish of two promises two wayes First They are temporall or spirituall Secondly They are absolute or conditionall First there are temporall promises which are or may be called temporall either in respect of the matter of the promise or circumstance of time limited in the promise There are some promises that were made for a certaine time and at the time expired were paid and now the bonds are cancell'd these were particular Such were many promises made to the people of the Iewes and to particular persons amongst them Now these wee must not look to peculiarize and appropriate to our selves they are done with Secondly There are temporall promises so called in respect of the things promised being things temporall for the body or estate for protection of our selves wives estates families Now for these promises thou mayst not peculiarize them and yet have true faith for salvation salvation and heaven being not the thing promised in them and besides there may be cause why thou mayest not have so good ground to rely and confidently rest upon God for the fulfilling of these promises as I shall shew you more when I come to handle the distinction of times and as I shewed you the last time in the case of David 2 Sam. 12. But secondly there is a second distinction of promises I meane of spirituall promises which it is our duty at all times to apply and rest upon yet these are either absolute or conditionall It is a note that I have before somewhere noted that the promises of Gods first mercies in a way of saving grace to the soule are ordinarily absolute I will give and I will give without any praevious conditions to be found in the soule as his promises of inlightning grace Jer. 24. v. 7. I will give them an heart to know me that I am the Lord and they shall be people and I will be their God And for the grace of humiliation Ezek. 36. 26. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put upon you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and will give you an heart of flesh and so for his grace by which he convinceth Ioh. 16. 8. The spirit should convince the world of sinne of righteousnesse and of judgement Now these promises are altogether absolute being the free promises for dispensations of the first graces in order to a poor soules salvation Now there are other promises of God for spirituall mercies in order to the soules salvations which are second dispensations and these are propounded with conditions as the promises of heaven for power to rely on Jesus Christ peace assurance c. Isa 55. 1. Mat. 11. 29. and again to him that overcometh will I give to drink
hath said to Sathan after much intreaty Behold all his comfort and peace and quiet and yet that but for a moment a little moment neither is in thy power only upon himself his life and being thou shalt not put forth thy hand Thou shalt saith God if thou wilt be a combatant but he shall be the conquerour There is scarce a child of God but hath his heart full of ensigns conquered colours of his enemy hanging up there Now Christians by this you shall know whither your doubts bee such as are consistent with saving faith in your soules have not you gotten the day over some of your doubts concerning which you can say The God of peace hath already trodden Sathan under your feet and doe â—ot you fight against your present doubts with great hopes that shortly you shall tread upon the necks of these too have you not found that Sathan hath put his strongest cavalry in the front and most assaulted you in the morning of your conversion unto God have not you found that those doubts which you have since met with are fewer and weaker then those of the first sort doth not Sathan begin to draw his bow as if hee wanted strength and his arm were now grown feeble and he began to quit the field hath he not done his worst think you have not you found that the clouds that have past are vanished doe you finde your conquered enemies revive or are they not rather slain before you their not returning as it proceeds from Sathans policy that will not rally his beaten forces againe for feare of a second rout so it also proceeds from the encrease of knowledge and grace in your soules These are notes that may assure you your doubtings are not the doubtings of carnall despairing wretches their doubts return still they are at the same stumble God will not save us he cannot save us Let us doe what we will yet say they there is no hope But I hasten to a conclusion Fifthly and lastly therefore you may difference your doubtings from the doubtings of unbelieving wretches by the effects Let us see a little what the effects of doubtings are both in unbelieving wretches and also in the servants of God Quest What are the Effects of those doubtings which are in unbelieving wretches Answ A going away from God they say It is in vain to serve Lord in vaine to pray more or heare more in vaine to wait upon God This evill is of the Lord said that wretch Why should I wait for him any longer So these say our damnation is of the Lord why should we pray to him any longer Why should we mourn any more There is no hope No Come let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall dye Mark this in that 18th of Ier. 11. 12. And they said there is no hope What then Wee will walk after our own devises and we will every one doe the imagination of his own heart Here 's the effect that the doubting of unbelievers works in their hearts a wilfull desperate departing from God and resolving to walk contrary unto him But now on the other side Quest. What Effects doth doubting work in the the hearts of believers Ans I conceive that the doubtings of the Saints of God produce these foure or five contrary Effects in the hearts of them that feare God First A complaining unto God The believer runs to God and sayes Ah Lord I know not what to do but my eyes are towards thee Ah Lord I know not what to answer Lord doe thou answer for me I have a base heart cloudy Lord cleare it yea and he complaines of himselfe he sayes with Iob Iob 10. v. 1. I will leave my complaint upon my selfe The unbelieving wretch he complaines indeed but he leaves his complaints upon God A second Effect that the believers doubts work in his heart is a begging mercy of God Lord help saith he my eyes are to thee Lord satisfie my poore doubting soule Thus did Iob and David constantly The unbeliever never carries the burthen of his spirit to Jesus Christ that he might have ease The believer never keeps his burthen upon his own shoulders till it break his back The unbeliever sayes there is no hope his dead heart hath no principle of life in it in the world to carry it out to God but he sincks like lead in the mighty waters A third Effect that the believers doubts work in his heart is a striving and struggling against them He strives thus to make his calling and election sure he looks out for strength searches the Word of God to satisfie him in his scruples enform him in his mistakes to deliver him from his feares and comfort him in his sadnesses and dejections of spirit he enquires at the mouth of Gods Ministers he goes about the City and streets and broad places enquiring saw yee him whom my soule loveth If hee meeteth with the watch-men hee enquires of them Cant. 3. 4. He doth not look upon it as his duty to sit still as dead On the contrary the other strives not he sayes There is no help To what purpose is striving then A fourth Effect that the doubts of the believer produce is a waiting for God his sight is cloudy yet hee waits I will stay saith he and see if God will not satisfie my soule in this difficulty The other sayes as he 2 King 6. 33. This evill is of the Lord why should I wait for him any longer The Saint sayes Yes Is 8. 17. I will wait upon him that hides his face from the house of Iacob I will wait upon him that yet covereth me with a cloud and makes darknesse to be round about me hee stands at Gods doore yet crying craving waiting till the Lord comes into his soule A fifth Effect which shall be the last I will name which doubting produceth in the believing soule is a walking with God What sayes the doubting believer Well though I doe not know whither I am enough humbled yet I am weary I will goe to Christ for ease though I doe not know whither I be chosen of God or no yet I will chuse God to be my God I will not depart from him though he kills me I will walk as neare as I can according to the rule of his word though I be full of feares I will not start from his precepts though thou killest me yet I will trust in thee The wicked doth contrary as you heard before from Ier. 18. 11 18. And now Christians try your selves by this note what effects doe your doubtings work in your hearts You doubt sometimes possibly whither you belong to God or no doe you then resolve to make sure of it by a wilfull departure from God and a rebellion against God or doe you at this time complaine to God cry unto him to lift up the light of his countenance upon you strive against your doubts wait for Gods Revelations of his love and
not beleeve that is apprehend and apply and rest upon Christ as my Saviour We speak not of Faith as it is an infused habit and the gift of God to us but as it is an inherent grace and operative in us Now then we will 1. Enquire what the causes of such complaints in gratious souls may be 2. We will consider how to satisfie the soul in such troubles and scruples For the first complaint I cannot I dare not rest upon Christ and beleeve in him There are many causes of it which I shall speak to One ordinary cause of it is Scrap 1. The souls to much eying of preparatory qualifications I do not say the souls eyeing but the souls too much eying of them Hence it is that if you ask a poor soul under that trouble what 's the reason thou darest not rest thy self upon Christ Faith is a pretious flower that grows as well in the poorest beggars as the greatest Princes garden The meanest arm may as boldly lean on Christs shoulder as that which is gayed with gold-lace Alas saith such a poor soul Gods justice proceeds according to method First he useth to pull down and then to exalt First to lay the soul low licking the dust then to say to it I am thy salvation Alas I was never enough humbled I never saw hell yet would God rend my heart in pieces I could beleeve he would bind it up would he humble me c. Now in order to the satisfaction of a soul under this trouble it would be first enquired 1. Whether humiliation goeth before Faith or no. 2. If it doth what may comfort a soul under this affliction of spirit and what it ought to do in relation to its peace For the first it is a question variously tossed and determined understood and concluded in these times in which God hath cast our lot some utterly denying any such work some too eagerly contending for measure some limitting Gods dealings others misinterpreting if not wilfully mistaking the terms It will not therefore I trust be a lost labour first to enquire the truth of that question which is ordinarily thus termed Quest Whether Faith goeth before Repentance or Repentance before Faith Now for the fuller determination of it I shall first explane the terms Then conclude the truth and prove it by Scripture and Reason And lastly answer those Objections ordinarily made against it First I will spend a little time to open the terms which when rightly explaned I am confident will put the question out of question to those Christians that have any experience of the Lords dealings for the ambiguity of every term hath onely darkned the clearnesse of this truth First let us understand what is meant by Faith both in the kinde and in the act There are divers kinds and divers acts of Faith There is an historicall Faith which consists onely in the knowledge and assent to the truth of an History There is a Faith of miracles There is a temporary Faith and there is a true justifying Faith The question is onely to be understood of the latter which hath also severall Acts. First 〈◊〉 Secondly Relyance Thirdly Perswasion The question is to be understood of the second Act Whether God gives the soul power comfortably and truely to relye upon Christ and the promises for salvation before he hath wrought repentance in the soul Secondly the term Repentance is subject to ambiguity too Repentance is sometimes taken largely for the whole work of conversion and so Godly sorrow is an effect of it sometimes strictly and when we speak of Repentance in the question we onely understand the first parts of it consisting in conviction contrition and humiliation by which the soul is carried out into a loathing of it self both for its sins and in its righteousness And the question is Whether God doth not work in a soul a sorrow of heart and loathing of it self for sin before the soul hath power to rest upon Christ for salvation and relye upon him as its Saviour Lastly we must safely understand what is also meant by going before First we do not understand by going before a precedency in Gods hidden operation he at once infuseth the habits of grace into the soul But secondly by going before we understand a going before in a gratious Act and in a comfortable apprehension Neither farther is the question to be understood as if we thought Humiliation went before Faith as a work wrought by our own strength We acknowledge Humiliation to be a work of Gods speciall grace in the soul And the question is plainly thus Whether God ordinarily gives a poor soul power to act Faith by relying upon Christ and the promises of life and salvation before in some measure he hath brought the soul to be sensible of its lost and undone condition We say he doth not We will grant to our Brethren that are unsatisfied concerning this truth First That a man must beleeve before he can mourn But how not by any saving act of justifying Faith He must beleeve there is a sin-pardoning Saviour that hath fulnesse and freenesse of mercy and enough in his fulnesse for him and that though he hath sinned yet there is hope in Israel concerning this thing Then he puts his mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope Secondly we will easily grant that a man must have saving and justifying Faith before the work of repentance and humiliation will be perfect in his soul As we maintain it to be a precedent work so we denye it not to be a subsequent effect Thirdly we will grant that it is not a work to be done by our own strength it is Gods work onely our dispute is concerning Gods usuall order in working The same spirit that works a power in the soul of dependence upon Christ takes also away the heart of stone and gives an heart of flesh Fourthly we will grant that the habits of these graces are both together in the soul We onely question which God gives the soul power to act first Fiftly We dispute not concerning the measure but concerning the thing We do not question whether the soul must be thus far or thus much or thus long humbled before God will give it power to act Faith by a comfortable reliance on Christ We onely say it must be humbled Sixtly We do not limit the workings of God and say it is so necessary on Gods part that he cannot give the soul power comfortably to apply Christ and the promises but we say it is not his usuall course and ordinary may of dispensing grace to do it Yet his dealings are various he works not alike to all he may and sometimes doth go out of his beaten road The question is not concerning a necessity on Gods part but onely concerning a necessity on our part not concerning his miraculous power but his gracious will nor concerning any extraordinary operation but concerning his ordinary way of dispensations
them he saves We say no for even the works of Gods spirit of grace acting in us are our works and salvation is not of works but of grace And this Evangelicall lesson is hinted to us even in the Ceremoniall Law The Lord commands a yearly day of atonement Levit. 16. for the sins of the holy Place To prove this I might instance in all those Text of Scripture of which the Epistle to the Romans and Galatians are especially full and so the Epistle to the Ephesians which treat concerning the Doctrine of Justification and clear it not to be of works neither internall nor externall but of grace But I will instance but in one Titus 3. 5 6 7. But after that the kindenesse saith he and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared Not by works of righteousnesse which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration Mark ye by it not for it Gods mercy and free-grace is the ground of the souls acceptation and therefore consider upon what principle thou runnest that concludest I have not yet been enough humbled for to be accepted as if thy humiliation were the reason and ground of Gods acceptation Indeed we ought never to think that we are enough humbled yet we ought alwayes to think that humiliation too much and that sense of our sins too much which hinders Faith for it destroyes its end Therefore why art thou thus troubled Christian with this conceit that your Faith is no Faith because before it you wept not just so many tears It is Faiths work to beleeve and apprehend the souls acceptation before God Now Gods acceptation as you have heard is never for the souls humiliation and therefore what should hinder thy Faiths working in apprehending thy acceptation before God because thou art not accepted for this work any more then any other Nay Secondly Thy humiliation is not a ground of Faith Thou doest not therefore apply Christ because thou art so and so humbled Put case that a great Prince should be willing to bestow his son in marriage upon a poor peasant onely saith he I will make this term or condition that when you come to marrie him you shal come in sackcloth to shew what ye are he shal give you a better garment afterwards wil any one say that this maids coming to the marriage arraied in sackcloth is a ground of her so rich mariage or will any say it is a meritorious condition that she deserveth such a match to come so attired Surely no the ground of all is the Princes delight in her this is the ground of his taking her to wife and yet the King commanded that attire So the Lord saith Poor vild wretch I will give thee my Christ in marriage but thou shalt come weeping to shake hands with him weeping for thy sins he shall afterwards take off thy sackcloth garments Can any say that this is either a meritorious cōdition or a ground of acceptation or Faith Consider Christian wert thou never so much humbled thou couldst not say I will therefore beleeve because I am humbled Humiliation is a necessary antecedent to Faith 〈◊〉 ground of Faith Let 〈◊〉 that therefore be a stumbling block to thee which cannot be a pillar and foundation to thee if thy Faith cannot stand upon it let it never stumble upon it And thus I have done with the second thing I propounded which was to propound such considerations to such souls as were under this temptation as might comfort their hearts and strengthen and stablish them Onely I beseech you remember to whom I have been speaking all this while not to hard-hearted stony souls but to broken and humbled souls not to those that regard not to get their souls humbled at all but to those that are humbled that they can be humbled no more and that groan under the hardnesse of their own hearts not to those that presume to apply their hot boiling lusts and corruptions to the blood and wounds of Jesus Christ flattering themselves with a notion of Faith and conceiting they do beleeve but to those that are humbled though they cannot have a good thought of themselves I would not be misunderstood to have spoken one word to slight the work of humiliation or to cherish that licentious novell Doctrine that there is no need at all of it and a Christian shall not need regard it but what I have spoken hath been not for dead men what should they do with cordialls but for dying fainting swooning Christians not for them that consider their sins too little but for them that so dim their eyes with poring on them that they cannot see the absolute covenant of God and the free-grace of Christ and lay hold upon the promises of life There is an extream on either side the sober Christian avoids either and keeps the mean So I have done with the second thing I propounded viz. to propound some considerations which might comfort the afflicted soul under this affliction and strengthen it to resist this temptation For without question as the Devil hath a designe upon many a soul to run it upon a rack of presumption and carry it on in a blind notion of Faith so he hath a designe upon some souls to wrack them upon the sands and sink them in a pit of despair The Devils devouring voice to souls is either There is no need of humiliation or there is no humiliation enough I come now to the last thing which I propounded which is to give some directions to such souls as are burthened with this affliction and groan under this temptation how to demean themselves and what to do I will reduce all that I shall speak by way of direction to these heads First Eye the nature of the covenant and grace and promises of God more Secondly Eye the nature and cause of humiliation more Thirdly Labour to get thy heart more humbled First of all Eye the nature of God declared in the free dealings out of his grace to thee This I shall enlarge in three instances 1. Eye Gods covenant and the nature of that 2. Eye Christs grace and the nature of that 3. Eye the Promises and the nature of them First Eye the nature of God in his covenant more The cause of this affliction is Christians too much eying and poring upon their sins and themselves the penitent beleever ought to have two eyes one to look downward another to look upward This is that which David comforted himself with when he considered his own unworthinesse and the unworthinesse of his house 2 Sam. 23. 5. Although my house be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is my salvation and all my desire although he maketh it not to grow David though a man according to Gods own heart yet had a wicked house Absolom had slain his brother rebelled against his Father
his soule out of his body Another time hee cryes O spare a little give me space that I may recover strength before I go from hence and be no more and again Take me not away with the wicked One while David is troubled to see the wicked flourish like a green Bay tree and himselfe like a withered tree without a leafe another time hee is not troubled at it but can as well trust God when he sends to Nabal for almes as when he sits at his Kingly Table and yet his faith was alwayes true Faith may be interrupted that the pulse of it cannot alwayes beat alike and yet while there is life the pulse of Faith beates though by reason of some sicknesse in the soule the pulse may beat more faintly and deadly then at other times Corruptions though they are never wholly the Christians Masters yet they may be their Masters sometimes more then others the minde may be more clouded with earthly thoughts the tide of passions may bee higher and the stream of Lusts greater the body may be sometimes sick and lesse active and yet living So the soule may be sick and Faith act more weakly then at other times yet Faith may be alive Fifthly Thou mayest not so fully and equally rely upon some promises as upon other and yet truly rely upon all It is a truth that the true beleever closeth with every promise but it is also true that the best Beleever findes a great deal of difficulty more for his soule to close with and rely upon some particular promises then upon others and a beleever shall finde if he be put to it that it is harder to rely upon God for his promises for this life then for his promises for eternall life God hath made promises for this life Earth is made over by Indenture to the Saints as well as Heaven Mat. 6. 32. God hath made promises of protection in times of danger of sufficiencie in time of peuury now a Christian will finde it harder if he be put to it for want of bread to rely upon Gods feeding promises then upon his promises for eternall life O it is hard for a poor creature to trust God for bread and water Hence comes distrusting and distracting care hence covetousnesse and earthlymindednesse in Gods own people And if a Christian be surrounded with swords and be in the midst of dangers it is a hard thing now confidently and without feare to rely upon Gods shield and buckler and trust himselfe within the Castle of his providence I am confident when David manifested such an evident distrust of Gods promise for protection of him 1 Sam. 27. 1. he did not at all distrust God for saving of him we read not a word of such a distrust Now I conceive the reason of it may be two-fold First Because here the flesh is sensible and concerned in it Dangers are obvious to sense The eye sees swords and trembles it sees present dangers but it sees not that speedy reliefe which the promises hold out it must be the spiritually enlightned eye of the soul must see that Elisha's man could see the mountain about Elisha full of charrets and horses but it was onely Elisha himselfe that could see the power of God assisting and defending Elisha was faine to pray before his man could have the scales fall from his eyes to see that Now for beleeving those promises where flesh and sense have a share and a present share the soule will finde it hard for though the flesh will never help the soule in relying and resting upon any promise yet it will hinder the soul very much and very often I appeal to any of you whether you have not found it an easier thing to rely upon a promise for salvation and strengthning and quickning grace which meerely concerns the soule then when you have been in some bodily straights you have found it to rely upon the promises for succour and support and deliverance As take a married man that hath a minde to the warres possibly the man is a very valiant and couragious man and values his life at as cheap a rate as any but his wife cryes and keeps a stirre that if hee were single though the designe were the same and the danger the same yet hee findes it ten times more hard then if hee were to goe a single man So the soule married to the body is ten times more troubled to close with a promise and venture into thickets of a danger by the bawlings and fearings of the flesh then it would be if it were to act single in statu separato or then it doth when it acts clearly for it self There is also a second reason may be given of this viz. Because wo may have more cause to feare Gods fulfilling his promises for this life and for temporall mercies in this life then it hath or can have to feare his promises for spirituall mercies and for eternall life The soule that findes an heart changed and walkes with God can give no reason why it should not beleeve Gods spirituall promises I meane the promises for spirituall mercies and his promises for eternall life What reason canst thou give why thou shouldest not beleeve Gods promises for pardon of sinnes What because thou art a backslider The promise is made to such Hos 14. 4. Is it because thou hast an hard heart the promise is made to such Ezek. 11. 19 20. But now come and ask the soule when dangers are at hand and the soul is ready to mistrust Gods protecting promises here the soule will tell you Alas I have been a backsliding creature and though the sins and backslidings of Gods people be no sufficient reason to warrant the soules distrust for salvation yet there is a great pretence of reason that the soul hath from hence why it should a little fear Gods wonted dispensations of temporall mercies to it for this is a sure rule that although when God hath elected and justified any he hath made a sure promise they shall never again be cast out of his eternall favour and love yet for their sins he will let them know his anger by withdrawing his temporal dispensations of love and mercy in relation to which are the promises of protection and temporall mercies given to chasten them with the rods of men and with the stripes of the children of men 1 Sam. 7. 14 15. See an experience of this in in David when he had backsliden so far as to commit those two great sins of Murder and Adultery 2 Sam. 12. David testified his repentance and Nathan said to him the Lord hath put away thy sinne thou shalt not dye v. 13. but the sword should never depart from his house v. 10. his wives should be given to be defloured by his Neighbour v. 11. The childe should die v. 15. Now though that David could not reasonably because of this backsliding distrust Gods promise for the pardon of his backsliding yet
of the water of life freely with many such more not as if man could fulfill these conditions in the soule and prepare his owne heart No we abhorre that Popish doctrine though some falsly charge us with it But because Christ wil fulfill them before he bestowes those higher degrees of mercy and favour upon them he will make the soul hunger and thirst before hee will let it know it shall live Is 55 1. and give it power to come unto him Mat. 11. 9. hee will make the soule weary and heavie laden with sin before he will give the soule power to rely upon him comfortably for salvation â—zek 11. 19. He will take away the heart of stone out of the soule and give it an heart of flesh before he will give it power to walk in his statutes and keep his ordinances and do them before he will let it know that he is its God and that it is Gods chosen vessell And thus I have shewed you the distinction of promises and what we shall conclude from hence for our purpose I will shew you by and by when I have done with the distinction of times which I come to The Soule hath its winter and summer 2 Distinction its cloudy and black dayes and its lightsome and glaring dayes First it hath its lightsome summer Sun shine dayes when it is not conscious 1. Of any great sinne committed against knowledge such as Tertullian calls Peccata devorantia salutem Sinnes that swallow up heaven and salvation in the soule 2. When it hath no naturall distempers of body no cloudy melancholy vapours for the soule being to act through the body doth something suffer by it and as it is with a man that looks at the reflection of his face in a glasse if there be a wetnesse or dust upon the glasse he cannot see clearly So the soule if there be a mist or dust of melancholy oppresses the body the soule cannot see and act clearly Or 3. When the body is not under some harsh affliction for the soule sympathiâ—eth with the body and in its acting through the organs of it shewes the affection that it hath with the bodies sufferings and so also there are black and dark dayes for as it is summer time with the soule and day-light when it is not sad and darkned with desertion and when the body is not oppressed with melancholly or affliction or persecution So on the contrary it is winter and a dark time with the soule when the soule hath sinned some great sinne for which the soule looks up trembling to God and looks upon him as an angry revengefull God or when the body is heavy and oppressed with melancholy vapours stopping the passages of the soule or under heavy and grievous affliction that it is born down even to a back-breaking under them even as it is with a fountaine that runs through Conduit-pipes of lead c. or wood into any house if the fountaine be dirty and muddy in it self dirty water comes into the house or if the Conduit-pipes through which it passeth be dirty and tainted the water bringeth the pollution and tang of bitternesse c. that was in the pipe into the house otherwise if both the fountaine be cleare and sweet and the Conduit-pipes be not stopped nor tainted nor dirty then 〈◊〉 water runs sweetly into the place to which the Pipes lead it So it is with the soule that is the fountaine that runs into acts but through the Conduit-pipes of the body if the pipes be stopt or oppressed or muddy or cleare such is the actings of the soule And thus I have shewed you the distinctions both of times and promises now I shall conclude the truth of this proposition in some four or five Conclusions First of all Particular promises must not be expected to be peculiarized we may not expect that those promises which were made to the people of the Jewes in particular should be made good to us because they had promises to be delivered out of Babylon and Egypt at such a prefixt time it were madnesse in us to beleeve that the Church of God should be now delivered just after 70. years or 400. years and so likewise what promises were made to any particular persons amongst the Jewes as for any now to apply that promise made to Hezekiah I will adde to thy life 15. years I think we have a rule here in Land That if an inheritance be intailed by name it cannot be translated to any other these promises were entail'd by name these thou canst not nay oughtst not to apply they are not a portion by thy father design'd for thee Secondly It may possibly be that in some times thou mayest not be able to appropriate the temporall promises that God hath made to his children amongst which thou art included 1. In the darke time of want and penury to beleeve for bread to eate when I see none like to come O it is hard feeding upon Scripture leaves I shewed you this the last day 't is nothing to doe it or at least to think we doe it in times of prosperity Habakuks faith Hab. 3. 17. was an hard faith though it were a strong and precious one 2. In the dark time of desertions It is hard as I shall shew you by and by to apply those promises that are of neerest concernment to our salvation much more those which are at so remote a distance 3. In a time when melancholy dark cloudy vapours of the body cast a wist before the soules eye and will not give it leave to act clearly 4. In a time when the soule hath sinned thou mayest not fully rely and be so confident as before To peculiarize these promises I shewed you the ground of this before because though God hath promised that his Saints shall never eternally fall out of his favour yet he hath and will punish his Saints for sinne with the substraction of temporall favors as I shewed you before in the case of David and I take that to be an old Antinomian errour instead of a new truth That God doth not with temporall afflictions correctively punish his best servants for sin Lastly It doth not argue a nullity of faith and true saving faith at any time not to be able to appropriate outward temporall promises for although it is our duty to rely and depend upon all the promises yet if wee through infirmity be not able to rely upon these I conceive it doth not null the verity of our faith salvation being not the thing promised in these Thirdly For those that are conditionall promises in dark times the soule may not be able clearly and fully to apply them rest upon them and particularly apply them and yet at the same time truly dwell and rest upon them What spirituall promises are made conditionally in Scripture I have shewed you before now it may possibly be that even these though of great concernment to the soule
many more such like which make the child of God doubt and take him at another time when Sathan doth not batter him when the sense of his unworthynesse doth not terrifie him when God hath not withdrawn himselfe from his soule when hee is not opprest with a floud of danger suddenly overwhelming him the man doubteth not at all But now the reprobates doubts are occasioned by despairing thoughts God sayes to him as Ier. 2. 25. Withhold thy foot from being unshod and thy threat from thirst but thou saidst there is no hope the case is desperate with me and there is good reason for his despairing for at that same time that he sayes There is no hope he also sayes no For I have loved strangers and after them will I go I have loved my sinnes and lived in them yea and I will love and live in them and for such wretches they truly say There is no hope Here 's a great difference betwixt the Beleever and the Reprobate in doubting the Reprobates hope is cut off from before the Lord their hope is as the giving up of the ghost as Iob speakes Iob 11. v. 20. Now the Saint of God though hee doubts yet hee doubts not without abundance of hope hee hath a strong and lively hope for that concerning which he doubteth The Lord sayes to the wicked Returne you now every one from his evill way and make your wayes and your doings good the blessing upon it is not exprest And they There is no hope and what then Wee will walke after our owne devices and we will every one do after the imagination of his evill heart Now the Beleever although he be ready to dye with doubting yet he hopes Pro. 14. 32. The righteous hath hope in his death So that the occasion of the wicked wretches doubting is either an atheisticall ignorance or a plain despair of mercy They say there is no hope and hence it is that terrors make the wretches afraid and this is easily seen for if despaire be their principle or occasion they will resolve to damne themselves to purpose and say with the Iewes Wee will walk after our own wayes c. seeing there is no hope as we conceive that God will doe us good we will resolve to do him as much mischiefe as we can this is the second note Now Christian examine thy doubtings by it doest thou think there is no hope and therefore doubtest whether the promise belongs to thee or no or hath Sathan been busie with thy soule by his temptations or hath God withdrawn his comfortable presence a little or art thou under the sense of a present sad danger and have these occasioned thy present doubting Thus the best Saints of God may doubt Thirdly thou mayest distinguish thy doubting by the object about which thou doubtest examine the object of thy doubting 1. Something in God is ordinarily the object of the wickeds doubt but the object of the Beleevers doubting is ordinarily something in himselfe something below the Creator The Beleever hath ordinarily high thoughts of God and Jesus Christ his low base thoughts are of himself he lookes upon God as a God mighty in his power of mercy free of his loving heart to poor creatures but he sayes Lord I am unworthy that thou shouldst come under my roofe therefore I doubt whether thou wilt or no will the Lord pardon one that hath refused pardon denyed him slidden back from him the Beleever sayes not God cannot save me nor yet God will not save me but I will not bee saved Ah! Sir it is my base heart is my damnation I cannot goe to Iesus Christ. Ah! I cannot beleeve therefore I am full of doubts hee doubts of his own goodnesse not of Gods he hath all this while high admiring thoughts of the free grace of a sinne-pardoning Saviour Now the wicked wretch he sayes God is not mercifull enough God doth but juggle with sinners his Gospell cals all sinners his election book sayes he will call but some I doubt whether I be one of those that am called but not chosen thus the wretch layes all the fault upon God Christ never dyed for me c. God will never save me c. still the the wretch makes the mole in Gods eye and forgets the beame which is in his owne eye the power of God the free will and grace of God upon these is all the blame laid and concerning these he doubts The reason of this difference is very plaine First because it is naturall to every carnall wretch to exalt himselfe no fault must be in themselves no they pray they fast they are good Churchmen they read c. they beleeve as well as any in the Country where they live they tythe mint and annise now therefore if God will not save them it is not because of their blindnesse and sin for are they blinde like the Papist if he misseth Heaven it shall not be because he doth not merrit it but meerely because God will not giue it him like those Matth. 7. 24. Lord wee have prayed in thy name and we have prophesied in thy name and in thy name we have cast out Devills therefore open to us Naturall unbeleeving wretches build Castleâ— in the ayre have high opinions of their owne doings they never doubt their owne worthinesse but Gods willingnesse It is not a doubting of humility Lord who am I c. Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roofe but it is a doubting of Gods willingnesse Secondly It is not a doubting of Gods willingnesse bottomed upon a deep and horrid sense of their own unworthinesse but a doubt of Gods willingnesse yet supposing their owne worthinesse The best child of God may sometimes have so low apprehensions of himselfe and his own vilenesse and unworthinesse that he may seeme a little to doubt of Gods willingnesse or at least dispute he may disceptare if not dubitare say will God be mercifull to such a wretch as I am though hee hath a good measure of confidence and perswasion in the interim that he will not understanding that even in this there is a secret dishonouring of God and slandering of the Charter of free grace Secondly now on the contrary the childe of God makes something in himselfe the object of his doubting in regard of the exceeding low thoughts of himselfe and present understanding of infinite love he looks upon himselfe all filthy and polluted a monster of sinning a â—it object for wrath upon all his righteousnesse as a menstruous cloth and a filthyrag and cries out what is thy servant a dead dog that my Lord should make this promise to me no surely it is to some else that is not of so unclean an heart that hath not so base an heart as I have though yet I say here is a misunderstanding of infinite love for Christ came not to call the Righteous but â—inners to repentance hee that comes as a buyer of