himself from you I appeal to you suppose you did so depend upon any one man in the world that your life lay at his mercy and if hee should but speak a word you were a dead man or woman would you not when you come into his presence come with fear lest you should displease him would you say what do I care for him let him bee pleased or not pleased what is that to mee you would not dare to do it Now shall wee have less fear because hee with whom wee have to do is the Lord if wee had dependence upon any man in the world as wee have upon God wee would fear him Now I say shall God have the less fear because hee is a God hee should have the more fear Fear him saith Christ that when hee hath killed the body can likewise kill the soul Yea I say unto you fear him Christ puts an I say upon that and truly that soul begins to bee in a way of salvation that begins to have the fear of the great God to fall upon him Most people in the world they walk boldly and presumptuously in the presence of God as if God had nothing to do with them and as if they had nothing to do with God Alas these go on in the waies of death and destruction but that soul that God hath a purpose to save hee begins to reveal his glory to it and to shine upon it as hee did upon Saul when hee did shine from Heaven in a glorious manner and stopt him in his way when hee was riding post unto Hell and destruction hee cries to him I am hee that thou hast sinned against I am hee that thou persecutest then Saul falls down trembling and saith Lord What wiâ—t thou have mee to do as if Saul should say Lord I did not know thee but I see thee now to bee a great and a dreadful God I see that I am in thy hands to save or destroy as thou pleasest and therefore Saul comes with a trembling heart and cries to God Lord What wilt thou have mee to do I hee was in a good way of salvation and so when a vile sinner that hath gone on without the fear of God upon him shall now come in trembling beholding the dreadfulness of the Infinite God that eternal first-beeing that it hath to deal withall and now shall have his fear strike into it this soul is in a good way of salvation it is stopt in the way of destruction and it is in a good way of salvation and that is very observable further in the Text Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that works in you That is a place that many people grosly abuse they think they need do nothing but mark how boldly do these people cross the Spirit of God in the Text for the Spirit of God makes this Argument do you work out your salvation because God works and say they It must bee God that works and therefore I will do nothing Oh! if you should wilfully go on in waies of provocation to God and upon your sick-bed and death-bed cry Oh Lord that now thou wouldest bee pleased to work upon my soul as thou usest to work upon those that thou intendest to save If God should make this answer Thou a bold wretch that hast provok'd the eyes of my glory all thy daies and dost thou now cry to mee to do it If any of you do think that there will ever bee a time when you will stand in need of Gods mercy to save your souls you had need walk with fear and trembling before this God Now I put this to the soul of every one here dost thou not think O thou sinful soul that there will bee a time that thou shalt stand in need of the mercy of God and what course dost thou take now before-hand is that course that thou takest before-hand a continual provocation of God is that a good preparation to that time if there were a man that you lived neer though for the present you care not for him but slighted him yet if you knew that there would bee a time that you must stand in need of that man so as if hee should forsake you you would bee a lost man would you dare to provoke that man wee all know what need wee shall have of the mercy of God and therefore wee had need walk with fear and trembling before him Sixthly Further If thou wouldest have thy soul saved attend upon those means that â—od hath appointed to save souls wait at wisdomes posts Now this one direction being clearly shewn out of Scripture will be enough to confute all that talk against doing If God hath appointed means to save then surely hee hath appointed that wee must attend upon those means Now in Rom. 1.16 The preaching of the Gospel there is called The power of God to salvation Now if you would bee saved you must bring your souls under that which is the power of God to salvation Because the Lord in the Ministry of the Gospel doth use to put forth his Almighty Power for the saving of souls therefore it is that the Gospel is called the power of God to salvation you cannot be saved without the Almighty Power of God and where is that put forth but in the preaching of the Gospel To whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed That is the Arm of God in the preaching of the Gospel so you know what the Apostle saith in Rom. 10. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God You will say can wee do any thing towards our salvation yes you may hear it is the duty of us as creatures to come and hear the Word and Faith comes by hearing so then Faith comes by somewhat that wee do but not so that God hath tied himself to give Faith to every one that hears I would not bee understood so But thus God hath appointed that hearing should bee a means for the working of Faith It is true it is the blessing of God in hearing but hearing is the way that God hath set God indeed can convey Faith from Heaven to any soul immediately I but where there is the preaching of the Gospel there do I expect that these creatures that do intend that I should work Faith in them should come and attend upon the preaching of the Gospel Christ could have opened the blind mans eyes without spitting upon the clay and anointing his face but hee would have that done and that must bee the means by which hee will open his eyes So if God will have hearing the Word of the Gospel to bee the means by which hee will work Faith in the soul take heed how this bee neglected Act. 20.18 Paul was sent to preach to what end To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and
world that knew him not that had no interest in him and the like and then was promised Therefore seeing there are so many poor wretched creatures so many Families that live without a God in the world that know nothing of him and live as if they expected nothing from him and fear no evil to come from him at all therefore wee promised to labour to set forth before you somewhat of God that might help you to know him to shew you what hee is And to that end turn to that Scripture Psal 148. part of the 13. verse For his Name alone is excellent Text. THis Psalm is a Psalm of praise praising of God for all the glorious manifestations of himself in his great Works and calling upon all creatures to praise him because hee is glorious in every creature but the Psalmist rests not in this in praising God for the glory of him that appears in the creatures but hee riseâ— higher and takes indeed the rise from thence to praise and bless God for what there is in himself above that which doth appear in any creature For so it is clear that to this the Psalmist doth arise in my Text Let them praise the name of the Lord for his name alone is excellent his glory is above the Earth and Heaven The Earth and Heaven and all creatures therein are called to praise Gods name and David praises the name of God for what appeared there but saith hee Praise the Lord for his Name alone is excellent and his glory is above the Earth and Heaven His Name the Name of God is either taken for God himself or for the manifestation of God often in Scripture for God himself Prov. 18.10 as The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower the righteous run unto it and are safe that is God himself Hee is the strength and Tower hee is the object of the trust of his people and so other Scriptures or otherwise that whereby God may bee known Psal 76.1 His Name is great in Israel And here we are to understand both for his Name alone is excellent that is God himself is excellent alone the Name of him of him alone is high is lifted up is excellent and that wee are to understand by the Name of God here God himself as well as his Manifestations appears in the words at the end of the verse His glory is above the earth and heaven Now Gods manifestation is either in heaven or earth But there is a further glory of God that is in himself that is beyond all that is or can bee manifested in or to any creature so that from the words thus opened there are these two doctrinal Points one I wil but only touch it is raised from the connexion of the words with the former and the other that is the substance of the Text that wee shall abide a while upon The first is this That a gracious heart is not satisfied with praising God onely for his works but rises higher to praise him and especially to praise him for himself for that that it sees in himself I say a gracious heart doth not stick in the Works of God nor is it onely inlarged to praise God for what it sees in Gods works but it will rise higher than all the works of God and praise him especially for that it sees in himself Thy self O Lord is excellent the glory that is in thy self it is above the earth and above the heaven While wee praise God for what wee see in his works our thoughts and hearts are limited for Gods manifestations of himself are finite and so there is not that spaciousness that a gracious heart desires to let our its self in but when it can rise up to God himself and look at the infinite excellency that there is in himself above all that doth appear in his works then the heart inlarged with grace can expatiate it self to the uttermost and that is that which doth delight him then is a gracious heart indeed in its own element when it is expatiating it self even in God himself And further God in setting himself before the soul in way of Covenant Jer. 31.33.32.39.24.7 Ezek. 11 2â— Gen. 15.1 hee doth not onely tell those that hee takes into Covenant that hee will do such and such things for them but hee would have them to close with himself I will bee your God The Lord told Abraham that hee would bee his exceeding great reward but that would not satisfie Abraham What wilt thou give mee Vers 2. having an eye to Christ and the enjoyment of God in him so let God say that hee will do never such things for a gracious heart that is not enough except God himself bee the portion of the soul the soul cannot bee satisfied with any thing that God doth if God should say to one whose heart he hath inlarged with grace I will give thee all the world to possess thou shalt have all the glory all the pomp all the sweetness all the comforts in the world nay more than that I will make ten thousand worlds more and give thee them all and they shall have all of them more excellency than this present world hath why all this would not satisfie a heart inlarged with grace for the portion of it though such a one sees its self unworthy of the least crum of bread yet it cannot bee satisfied with all the world what then will satisfie him onely God himself for so God propounds himse f unto his people in way of Covenant Psal 16.5 I will bee thy God I will bee your portion And upon this those that are in Covenant with him though they do rejoyce to see God manifesting himself in all his Names they bless God for the beholding so much as they do of him in his works but the thing that their hearts are most upon is God himself the excellency that there is in God above all his works And as it is in praising God so also it is in other workings of the heart towards God as now grace doth not love God so much for what God gives to it as for what God is himself that is the difference between true sanctifying grace and common grace common grace may make mee love God for what I receive from him oâ— for what I hope to receive from him but sanctifying grace makes mee to love God for what is in himself more than for what I receive from him or expect to receive and so there may bee the fear of God for some works of God when God doth manifest his power and dreadfulness in his works in thundring or lightening then the heart of a sinner may fear God though there bee no grace but now where there is grace such a one fears God more because of that excellency hee sees in God himself than from any dreadful works of God and this would bee a good rule to try your selves by You say you
blessed is that man or woman that comes to see this to bee his or her excellency namely that I might lift up Gods Name in the place where hee hath set mee heretofore I have lift up other things as excellent if I could get an Estate c. But the Lord hath made mee to see that hee alone is excellent and his excellency hath darkned all the excellency of the Creature in my eyes I see nothing excellent but God and all in order unto God that is a good sign of the work of grace in a man or woman when hee shall see so much of the excellency of God as Gods excellency shall darken all the excellency in the world The Third SERMON ON The Nature of God PSAL. 148.13 For his Name alone is excellent BUt a second Use is this that wee are now to proceed in Oh how vile is sin then that is committed against such a God as this is there is nothing in the world can shew a soul the evil of sin but the sight of God If wee should tell you never so much of the terrours of the Law and of hell fire though you might see the desert of sin somewhat yet until you come to see with what a God you have to deal you can never know what the evil of sin means Against thee thee onely have I sinned Psal 51.4 saith David that was the thing that strook Davids spirit David knew that it was against God that hee sinned when God shall come to the conscience of a sinner and present himself before his conscience and say Oh wretched sinner it is I that you have sinned against as Christ did in Act. 9. unto Saul Saul Saul why persecutest thou mee Act. 9.4 So when God shall say Sinner sinner why dost thou rebel against mee If God would but give us one sight of himself that wee might behold him as hee is upon his Throne in this excellency of his Name above all things it were impossible but the heart of a sinner should even break at such a sight Certainly one day every sinner shall have a sight of God Happy it is now for us to have such a sight of God here in this world that may cause us to see the evil of our sins for otherwise the sight of God hereafter will certainly sink our souls into the bottomless gulf of horrour and despair When Daniel was about to confess his sin in Dan. 9. Mark how hee begins because hee would get his heart to bee affected with his sin and the sins of the people that there hee confest Mark how hee begins his prayer Dan 9.4 And I prayed saith hee in the 4. verse unto the Lord my God and made my confession and said O Lord the great and dreadful God thus hee begins I made confession saith hee I prayed and made confession of sin and said Oh Lord the great and dreadful God first hee looks upon God how great and dreadful hee was and this it was that caused him to confess his sin with humiliation you that say your prayers and will confess that you are sinners did you but at the beginning of your prayers when you go to confess your sin cast up one eye to heaven and behold this God upon his Throne and see him to bee the great and dreadful God it would cause you to confess sin after another manner than ever yet you have done It is a good thing therefore in our prayers when wee are about to confess sin first to set before our souls the greatness and the dreadfulness of that God that wee have sinned against When this Prophet Daniel would humble that proud Belshazzer in Dan. 5.23 Mark what hee saith And the God in whose hand thy breath is and whose are thy wayes hast thou not glorified This speech set home upon a mans conscience were enough to break the proudest and stoutest heart in the world If so bee that the eyes of the proudest stoutest sinner were opened to see God in his glory and to hear the Lord speak thus to him that God in whose hand is the breath of thy nostrils and all thy wayes that is the God that thou hast not glorified thou doest not think with whom it is that thou hast to deal but that is the God that you have heard preached of thus Whose Name alone is excellent such an infinite and glorious Deity is that Deity that thou hast neglected and despised and preferred thy lusts before Oh if God would but give commission unto your consciences to speak this with power to you that God that is thus glorious and excellent you have sinned against oh it would bee of wonderful force to break the hardest heart of men And in Psal 104.1 2. Psal 104.1 2. Do but see there how David had his heart rising against sin and sinners upon the consideration of the excellency of God there hee speaks of the same argument that wee have here in the Text Bless the Lord Oh my soul my God thou art very great thou art cloathed with honour and majesty and so hee goes on who coverest thy self with light as with a garment Hee proceeds in the Psalm describing the greatness and excellency of God But then when hee had done describing Gods excellency and found his heart warmed and inlarged and raised with the meditation of the excellency of God Mark how hee breaks forth in the last words of the Psalm Let the sinners bee consumed out of the earth and let the wicked bee no more Vers 35. bless thou the Lord Oh my soul As if holy David should have said thus Oh Lord I see thee to bee very great and thou art cloathed with honour and Majesty and thy Name is excellent above all things What And are there any wretched creatures that will dare to presume to rebel against thee who art so great that will dare yet to set their will against thy will and to prefer their lusts before thee Oh cursed bee those sinners Let the sinners bee consumed from the earth and let the wicked bee no more There is infinite reason that wicked wretched creatures should bee for ever consumed that sin against such a God as thou art who art so great as thou art My brethren it is no marvel though the people of God are so afraid of sin many of you wonder at the niceness of the consciences of many people that they dare not commit any known sin for a world you wonder at them why they should bee so nice you think it is foolishness Would you know the reason It is this God hath shewed unto their consciences a sight of himself they have had a sight of the glory of the Majesty of the great God Whose Name alone is excellent and it is that that makes them afraid of sin for ever and makes them look upon sin as the greatest evil and even tremble at the least temptation unto any sin whatsoever And that is the second
knows my Name the Lord haâ—h a hath account of those that know his Name As for those ignorant creatures let them bee what they will in regard of outward things yet if they bee ignorant of God they are vile and low and base in Gods esteem but take a soul that knows Gods Name the Lord will set him on high such a one is high in the very thoughts of God and the Lord doth take pleasure to make such a soul to bee high Paul in Phil. 3.8 did account all things dung and dross for what for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ For indeed in the knowledge of Christ God is known and if you would study the knowledge of God it must bee in Christ you can never know God but in Christ Matth. 11.27 saith Christ there No man knows the Father but the Son and him to whom the Son shall reveal him It must bee Christ that must reveal the glory of God to our souls or else wee can never come to know him savingly Use 6 Sixthly If God bee thus excellent above all and his glory thus above the earth and heavens hence we are taught to labour to keep the sense of the infinite distance that there is between God and his creatures alwayes in our hearts And this is a point of marvellous consequence the sense of the distance between God and us If God bee infinitely above the creature then God expects that wee that profess any knowledge of him that wee should evermore have our thoughts upon Gods excellency raised in a kinde of infiniteness above what wee think of the excellency of any creature and our hearts then should work after God in a kinde of infiniteness more than ever they did work after any creature as there is an infinite disproportion between the excellency of God and the excellency that there is in any creature I beseech you observe what I am speaking for it is of marvellous use to help us to sanctifie God in all our wayes as there is an infinite distance between the excellency of God and of all creatures so there ought to bee in a kinde an infinite distance between what our hearts are in the working after God and the working after the creature otherwise wee lift not up Gods Name in his excellency and glory And indeed a gracious heart will make it so and in this I conceive the very work of grace consists in that it is such a principle in the soul of a man or woman that is converted that though such a one bee a finite creature yet it hath a kinde of infiniteness in the working of it after God You will say Infinite how can that bee True I confess properly it cannot bee infinite but thus it is infinite in its kinde that is such a creature hath such a principle as it would fain if it were possible work infinitely after God And Further This principle of grace doth cause this in the heart that it will never limit its self in any working after God and therefore hath a kinde of Infinitenesse and here is the difference between one that hath true grace and the most glorious hypocrite in the world An hypocrite hee will ever bee bounding his working after God and think thus much is enough what need any more If I do thus and thus why I may do well and go to heaven at last and so doth bound himself But now where there is the least dram of true grace though there bee many weaknesses in the soul yet such a soul doth never bound its seâ—f in working after God I indeed heretofore have â—et out my heart to the creature but now I would fain if I could let out my heart infinitely after God Why For I see an infinite distance between the good there is in the creature and the good there is in God certainly where this is there is grace and this one note were enough to discern the truth of grace in the heart If the sight of God have wrought this that whereas heretofore thy heart hath been let out after such and such creature-comforts now thou dost desire if it were possible to let out thy heart infinitely after God here is the work of grace and in this thou goest beyond any hypocrite Oh keep this constant in thy soul this is the especial sanctifying of Gods Name in all our wayes when wee see that God gives us leave to let out our hearts towards the creature in some measure then there is a great deal of danger that wee should have our hearts stick in the creature and that we should not have that disproportion in the letting out of our hearts to the creature and to God as ought to bee And this is the ground of all Idolatry in the world when men have seen some excellency in the creature they have been taken with it and there have stuck and have not been carried from the creature to God And that is Heathens Idolatry when they see an excellency in the Sun they think that is God So Christians Idolatry may bee in this If there bee any creature-comfort that thy heart closes withall and there thou dost stick and thy heart is not carried to God yea is not carried to God in such a disproportion as there is between him and the creature I say so far as thou wantest that that thou art capable of in this kinde so far thou art guilty of Idolatry Oh that this one note might stick upon us There is none like unto thee O Lord Canst thou say this out of the uprightness of thy soul as in the presence of God Lord thou that knowest all things knowest that though I have a vile heart that is let out after the creatures more than it ought to bee yet Lord thou knowest that my heart is let out after nothing so much as after thee that would bee a good argument of a gracious work of God upon thee Surely if none bee like unto the Lord then our hearts should bee after nothing so as after the Lord Wee must not content our selves with a little love to God Is there such a disproportion between thy love to the creature and thy love to God as there is between God and the creature Thou sayest thou lovest God I but it may bee thou lovest the creature as well Doest thou think that this will satisfie God When thou hearest that Gods Name alone is excellent God expects that thy love to hâ—m should bee in a kinde infinite above that love of thine to any creature else And there is this one thing further with which I will conclude Use 7 Surely if Gods Name alone bee excellent then in a proportion Gods people alone are the excellent people upon the earth According as a mans God is so is hee as you know men conceive their excellency to bee according to the excellency of him whom they serve according as a mans God is I say so is hee Now if God alone
And the truth is there is no such way to set out the Justice of God as to shew the dealing of God with his Son for the sin of man If I would preach but one Sermon that should bee my last of the Terribleness of Gods Justice I would speak of some Scripture that should shew the terribleness of the dealing of God with his Son and that would set out the Justice of God to bee a great deal more glorious than any thing else The glory of Gods Mercy appears in Christ And so the glory of Gods mercy and goodness is more in Christ than any other thing wee injoy these outward comforts as a fruit of the bounty and goodness of God I but what are all these to all the love of God in his Son I remember a learned man compares all the good things wee receive from God from his general bounty and providence and his love and mercy that appears in Christ with a few sparks that come out of a burning furnace and the heat of it within look what difference there is between them such difference is there between the love of God to us in all the comforts in this world and the love of God in Jesus Christ God hee would have an Argument to manifest the infiniteness of his love unto his creatures and no such Argument as this So God loved the world that hee sent forth his onely begotten Son Joh. 3.16 And so the glory of Gods Truth that is manifested in fulfilling Promises The glory of Gods Truth appears in Christ any promise that is fulfilled manifests the glory of Gods truth and faithfulness but now the fulfilling that great Promise of God in sending his Son into the world here the truth and faithfulness of God appears more gloriously than in all other for there was never a promise so difficult as this promise many men can bee content to fulfil promises of smaller moment when there is no great difficulty in the fulfilling of them I but here is the greatest Promise that ever was and there was the greatest difficulty for God to fulfil this promise of any thing that ever God did promise and indeed when as wee hear that Christ was promised some four thousand years before hee came into the world and yet at length hee came into the world it is a good Argument to teach us never to doubt of the fulfilling of Gods promises And indeed the right apprehension of Gods faithfulness in this great Promise of his Son will mightily strengthen the faith of the people of God to beleeve any smaller promises and not to stagger in them and the reason why people are so ready to stagger in their beleef about smaller promises it is because they have not been acquainted with the work of faith in beleeving that great promise that God made with his people in sending his Son into the world so that these Attributes with all other do shine gloriously in Christ No marvel then though the Angels upon the birth of Christ they cry out Glory bee to God on high as if they should say Oh Lord Here is one come into the world wherein thy glory doth appear and by whom thou shalt have glory to all eternity Though Christ was but a Babe in the Manger yet the Angels did see more glory in him than in the highest heavens they did not see so much cause to cry Glory bee to God on high from any object that ever they saw as when they saw the Babe in the Manger then Oh glory bee to God on high wee behold thy glory shining here and blessed are those that shall bee inabled to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ who would not but have beheld the glory of God in his great works what man or woman that hath any knowledge of God at all would for a world but have beheld so much of the glory of God as doth appear in the great Works of Creation and Providence Oh what comfort have the Saints in beholding the glory of the great God when they look up unto heaven and upon the earth and in the seas Oh but then the sweetness and soul-satisfaction that there must needs bee in the beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ And this by the way would bee a good evidence of your faith have you beheld more of Gods glory in the face of Christ than ever you did in all the world besides Yea and hath the glory of God in the face of Christ darkned all the glory of the world besides unto you Have your hearts been taken with that glory more than with all the glory that there is in the world Why here would bee a good evidence of faith indeed that you have had a true and real fight of Jesus Christ wee cannot have a real sight of Jesus Christ but wee must certainly see more of God in him than in all things else The glory of Gods great works in bringing man to his eternal estate appears in Christ Eph. 1.4 And then secondly As the glory of Gods Attributes so the glory of the great Counsels and Works of God especially in the governing of man unto his eternal estate that appears in Christ above all As the great Counsels of God in Election Wee are chosen in Christ the great Counsels and Works of God in Vocation Justification Adoption Reconciliation Sanctification and Glorification these are the great Works that God doth glorifie himself in these are the great things that the thoughts and counsels of God hath been from all eternity exercised about whatsoever your thoughts are exercised about yet I say the thoughts and counsels of God have been exercised from all eternity about these great Works of his Election Vocation Justification Adoption Reconciliation Sanctification Glorification all these Works whereby hee doth order and guide mankinde unto an eternal estate Now the glory of God in all these Works they are in Christ Christ hee is the head of our Election and all are chosen in him what is Vocation but a calling unto Christ and revealing Christ to the soul And so Justification it is in Christ still And wee are made children adopted in him and reconciled in him and sanctified through him and are to bee glorified through him all these great Works about which the heart of God is so much busied the glory of God in all these it doth shine in the face of Christ and without the knowledge of Christ wee could never come to know any of these things What could the heathen know of Gods eternal Election or Vocation or Justification or Adoption or Glorification to speak such words to the Heathens as these are in reference to God it would bee barbarism But now these are the great things of God that are revealed to Christians by Jesus Christ wee come to have all these glorious counsels of God in these great works of his to bee opened to us and Christ
of rejection of Jesus Christ must needs bee a dreadful sin because Jesus Christ is so great a wonder as you have heard The Sixth SERMON ON The Excellency of Christ Isaiah 9.6 And his Name shall bee called Wonderful NOw wee come to the Application of all which is the work of this exercise Application First Certainly Jesus Christ is little known in the world if this bee hee this great wonder of the world Oh how little is Christ known Christ is but a meer Notion and Imagination to most people in the world you heard the very sound of this name and how Christ came into the world to save sinners but I appeal unto your consciences when were your hearts taken with the admiration of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ hath Christ been made the greatest wonder in the world unto you some of you have seen many wondrous works of God some of you perhaps in the Seas or abroad in other Countries or if not there yet you have seen the Heavens and the Earth at which you many times wonder but when did God dart light into your spirits to cause you to see so much of Jesus Christ as made him to bee the great wonder of all his works certainly that soul knows not God nor Christ savingly that knows him not as the wonder of the world it is impossible that such a poor creature as man is should come to understand such great mysteries of godliness as are in Christ in any measure but must needs admire at the glory of that great work and say with acclamation Oh the height and depth and breadth and length of the glory of God his Wisdome and Mercy and Truth and Power Many Notes of Trial there may bee of Faith but I know not any one more familiar than this is at least negatively it must needs bee a true Note that is that there cannot bee Faith without it namely if the heart hath not been taken up with the wonder of Christ so as all the wonders in the world have been darkened in the soul in comparison of Jesus Christ Secondly If Christ bee so great a wonder then O how vile a thing is it for the hearts of men to prefer any base filthy lusts before Jesus Christ when God hath manifested him in that wonderful way unto the children of men and so much of his glory in him yet that their hearts should bee taken off from him and every base lust to bee preferred before him Oh how just must the condemnation of such bee for ever wee may take up that complaint that there was in Psal 106.7 Psal 106.7 Our Fathers understood not thy wonders saith the Psalmist So the truth is as our Fathers did not so few there are that understand the wonders of the Lord in Jesus Christ and therefore every thing is preferred before him with what infinite indignation must God needs look upon that wretched soul that shall prefer every base lust before Jesus Christ I remember a speech of Chrysostome speaking of that Text That our vile bodies shall bee made like unto the glorious body of Christ saith hee were all the world turned into tears yet they were not sufficient to lament the misery of that soul that forsakes Jesus Christ his heart was so much taken with the excellency of Jesus Christ that hee thought it impossible to lament the misery of the creature that should forsake him and so St. Paul having his heart filled with the glorious Mystery of Christ hee breaks forth with this dreadful curse Hee that loveth not the Lord Jesus Christ let him bee Anathema Maran-atha as if St. Paul should say having his spirit filled with the glory of Christ Oh what shall God manifest so much of his glory in his Son and shall base wretched vile creatures prefer their lusts before him and have their hearts taken up with other vain things and not love the Lord Jesus Christ let that soul bee cursed with a bitter curse saith Paul such a soul doth deserve indeed to bee cursed with a bitter and an eternal curse that shall hear so much of Jesus Christ and how God hath revealed himself in that wonderful way in his Son and yet that soul shall not bee willing to forsake a base lust for all the good there is in Jesus Christ let that soul bee cursed with a bitter curse It deserves above all creatures to have the most bitter curse to bee upon it to all eternity certainly the more glory there is in Christ the more dreadful will the condemnation of wicked men bee This is the condemnation that such glorious light is come into the world and men chose darkness rather than light How many hear of Christ and minde little but onely have a noise they hear some strange things of Christ and let them pass by and think there is little reallity in what they hear but the onely real comfort is in satisfying of the flesh in the lusts of it In Act. 13.41 Act. 13.41 wee have an excellent Scripture for the reproof of such that hear the Gospel and minde it not Beware therefore lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the Prophets Behold yee despisers and wonder and perish for I work a work in your daies a work which yee shall in no wise beleeve though a man declare it unto you It is spoken concerning Christ as appears in the verse before And by him all that beleeve are justified from all things by which yee could not bee justified by the Law of Moses Now then it follows Beware therefore lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the Prophets Behold ye despisers and wonder and perish as if hee should say you hear the Gospel about the glorious way that God hath to reconcile sinners to himself to justifie sinners but in the mean time your hearts do close with your own Conceits and your own waies with the Law of Moses and think by your own good meanings and your own good works that you shall do well enough and shall stand before God but saith the Apostle Beware lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the Prophets Behold yee despisers and wonder you perhaps when you hear such things declared unto you you account it strange doctrine and you stand and wonder what the meaning of those things should bee but as you wonder so you do despise you condemn it as a strange thing that you were not wont to hear heretofore and as a thing you cannot understand the reason of this is the usual guize of carnal hearts when they hear any doctrine though there bee never so much of God in it and of the Mystery of the Gospel that is revealed in it yet if they understand not the reason of it if it appear to them as a new thing they wonder indeed but they despise withall and condemn it and slight it and pass it over as they did St.
in Heb. 13.17 Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you Oh it is a sad thing if one that God sends to watch for the souls of people shall bee forced to return his account to God with sorrow of heart and say Lord thou that knowest all things knowest what desires I have had and what indeavours to do good to the souls of this people how it hath been my study my prayer to finde out what might bee most profitable for their souls how willing I was to venture my life in seeking to do good to their souls but Oh Lord I have spent care and study and strength and even almost my life in vain little good do I finde done to the souls of this people Lord they reject thy word they contemn it they minde it not there are other things that their hearts are upon to follow the lusts of their flesh as if so bee they had no immortal souls to look unto I say if any faithful Minister of God shall go to God and make his moan thus unto God with grief and trouble of heart it will bee very ill for you it will bee a fearful moan in the ears of God against a people when any Minister shall justly make this to God against them therefore saith the Apostle here Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief Consider so far as any have charge of souls it is a heavy burden that is upon them a heavy weight surely whosoever should take charge of so many thousand souls as belongs to this Congregation would have weight and burden enough upon his shoulders you should pitty them that have this charge over you I remember Chrysostome in his writing upon this very Scripture saith Hee wonders how any of these that are here said to watch over mens souls how any of them could bee saved because the charge is so great that is upon them And I have read of one being called to the work of the Ministery would by any means avoid it and professes that hee would not for all the world have the charge of a soul one day upon him Certainly it is a great work and requires very much seriousness and diligence to have a soul committed to one If a man had a precious Pearl committed to his charge that were worth ten thousand pound that hee must look to it and keep it hee would hardly bee able to sleep quietly after hee had so great a charge committed to him And truly if men are careful that have but beasts committed to them as Jacob said concerning his Unkle Labans cattel that hee look'd to them so as that hee indured the frost in the night and the heat of the day much diligence and care then should they have that have the charge of souls But wee let that pass Yet in the fourth place If souls have such excellency Use 4 then certainly those who have most soul-excellency are the most excellent people wee may judge here who they are that are the most excellent upon the earth The Righteous is more excellent than his neighbour perhaps his neighbour is richer than hee hath a comlier body than hee but yet hee is more excellent why because all excellency must be judged by that that is most proper to the Creature and that that is the chief part of the Creature as if you would judge of the goodness of a knife you will not judge by the haft of it whether it bee good or no but you will judge by the metal of the knife you judge by that wherein the chief of the knife is so if you will judge of the excellency of a man or woman you must judge of his excellency by the excellency of that that is most proper to him Now for Sense for the body why the brute-beasts they have sense they have flesh and blood as well as wee onely wee differ in these rational immortal souls that God hath given to us therefore such whose souls are filled with divine excellency they are to bee most honoured they are indeed the Lords and Ladies of the world therefore the Scripture speaks of those whose out-sides were mean enough in the latter end of the 11th of the Hebrews that wandered in sheep-skins and goat-skins yet they were such as the world was not worthy of them Indeed a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit wee read of the Ark the outside was of Badgers-skins it had a poor and mean outside but within were the Cherubims and Gold was within And so many have very mean outsides but within there is a great deal of excellency and others that have brave outsides and well clad without yet if you look within them oh what vile souls have they the heart of the wicked is little worth saith the Scripture Perhaps his Land may bee somewhat worth and his House but his heart is little worth As many a man that hath perhaps a hand full of sores yet may have a fine imbroidered Glove upon it and a dunghill may bee strewed with herbs and in the winter time filthy dunghills you know are covered with white Snow that in a fair frosty day look as glistering as the Snow that is upon a fine Meddow but still nothing but filth So it is with many a man that hath a fine outside covered over it may bee with a great many outward excellencies but within their spirits nothing but carrion nothing but abominable stuff that is filthy and loathsome in the eyes of God as a sore legg may have a fine stockin oâ— boot upon it and so a sore putrified soul may have a brave outside upon it But that God that is a Spirit that looks unto Spirit and those men that know what spiritual excellency means if they see a man or woman have a filthy defiled corrupt soul they cannot but esteem of them accordingly Whatsoever the body or the out-side bee those are the most excellent in Gods esteem and the holy Angels and the Saints that have the most excellent souls for that is the best part of man Use 5 But fifthly If the soul of man bee so excellent Oh let us bless God for our souls bless God I say that hath given unto you these immortal souls that are of so great a worth Oh what cause have every one of you to bless God that hee did not make you a Toad a Dog a Snake that hee did not make you any vile brute creature but that when you were before him in the common lump out of which God made his creatures that hee would rather choose you to bee one that should have an immortal soul so precious rather than to bee a
lame in thy body yet if thou canst walk in the wayes of Gods Commandements and run there thou art a happy creature It may be thou wantest food I but if God feed thy soul with spiritual Manna feed thee every day with food from heaven and take care for the feeding of thy soul thou art not so miserable as thou thoughtst thy self thou hast tattered cloaths I but if God hath provided the righteousness of his Son to bee a garment to cloach thy soul every time thou appearest before him thou art a happy creature in that therefore when thy heart is ready to murmure that God hath denied thee bodily mercies that hee hath granted to others think with thy self I but hath not God recompenced mee in soul mercies I make no question but there are many souls that bless God that ever they have lived to this time though they have suffered hard things for their bodies many that have lost and been plundered of all yet bless God that they have lived to the time wherein there was so much plenty of the food of souls Oh those truths of God that have been revealed unto us since those times but had those that had the power before had the power still continued wee had never had such truths made known unto us they account all recompenced in soul-mercies in Eph. 1.3 Blessed bee the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Mark what the Apostle saith there his heart is filled with this Blessed bee God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore that hee hath given us good trading and good incomes that hath given us food and rayment wee are to bless God for this I but the Apostles heart was above this therefore saith hee Blessed bee the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ they are the blessings indeed that wee have cause to bless him for spiritual blessings soul-mercies as for bodily-mercies wee know that the Heathens and Reprobates have had as great a share in as any in the world but blessed bee God though wee bee denied these outward bodily favours yet wee have spiritual blessings Oh thanks bee to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ And this now would bee a good argument that you do know the worth of your souls if you can be blessing of God for spiritual blessings in Jesus Christ above all blessings and account your selves rich enough if you have the riches of spiritual blessings And then further Oh if the soul of man bee so precious What great pitty is it that God should not have the honour of mens souls of such a noble and excellent creature it is great pitty that there should bee any creature under the Sun that God should not have the honour of that God should not have honour from every pile of grass from every bit of bread that is eaten from every stone in the street But now that God should give to mankinde such an excellent spirit a soul more precious than all the world and yet that God should not have the glory of this Oh this is an evil thing under the Sun indeed this must needs go to the heart of God for the truth is God hath his glory from all other creatures by the soul of man As for other creatures hee hath his glory but passively from them but for mans soul hee doth expect to have his glory actively from that that man by his soul should come to know this God the infinite first-being of all things should fear him and worship him and serve him and have communion with him and praise him and therefore David in Psal 103. My soul praise thou the Lord and all that is within mee praise his holy name And again hee concludes My soul praise thou the Lord. And so in Psal 104. Now upon the consideration of what hath been said of the excellency of our souls wee should lay a charge upon them that they do honour God and serve God What a sad charge will this bee to many a man at the great day when God shall say Haddest thou been made a Dog I never had had so much dishonour as I have had I should have had more honour if I had made thee a Dog there I should have had my honour passively and no dishonour from thee But now thou being made an immortal soul as it was capable of honouring mee so of sinning against mee the more excellent a thing is the more capable of evil it is as well as of good no creatures but Angels and men are able to sin against God Oh it is pitty that God should not have the honour of thy immortal soul God had more honour from Nebuchadnezzar when hee was driven out among the beasts than when hee sat upon the Throne as a King And then further that should have been another Use to have laboured to perswade you to take heed of dishonouring these souls of yours God hath put a great deal of glory and excellency upon them do not you dishonour them and many wayes should have been said how men do put dishonour upon their souls only for the conclusion Oh that you would but learn to love your own souls To love them It is a strange exhortation you will say to exhort men to love their souls Oh that you would but do it Psal 22. David calls his soul his Darling the souls of men should bee indeed their Darlings not their bodies It was a speech of a Courtier to his friend saith hee I love you as mine own soul Oh saith hee then you love mee not at all if you had said you had loved mee as your body then I should have thought you had loved mee but I see no love you have to your soul It was the prayer of the Apostle St. John in the Epistle that hee writ to his host Gaius I suppose you that know Scripture are not unacquainted with it in his third Epistle Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and bee in health even as thy soul prospereth I shall close all I intend for the present with this Scripture it seems that Gaius was a holy man but a man of a weakly and sick body and therefore St. John writing to him hee prayes thus Above all things I desire that thy body may but prosper as thy soul prospereth As if hee should say O Gaius thou hast an excellent gracious soul indued with admirable graces of the Spirit of God full of God thy soul is though thy body bee weakly Oh that thou hadst but as good a body as thou hast a soul It seems Gaius had more care of his soul a great deal than of his body but now my brethren consider this Would not this bee a curse to
yet might not I have such a hope as I have in Gods mercy Oh the hope that will bring to salvation is such a hope as is raised by the power of the Holy Ghost Now if our hopes bee raised by the power of the Holy Ghost then they will have much of the Holy Ghost in them and sutable to your hopes so doth the Holy Ghost come into your hearts and dwell in your hearts and if it comes in and dwells in your hearts then it doth inlighten your hearts it doth act and guide you you are lead by the Holy Ghost in your way Now can you say that in the course of your lives it is the Holy Ghost that guides you that you are carried on by the Holy Ghost and not by your own spirits It is true the best of all may bee acted by their own spirits in some time of temptation but for the course of their lives they are acted and guided by the Holy Ghost their lives are such as those that live by them may say here is one that is acted and guided by the Holy Ghost Now can you say so certainly if you have true hopes for salvation it is raised by the Holy Ghost and if it bee raised by the Holy Ghost it doth act your lives in the waies of holiness Thirdly Those hopes must bee rased down that are not lively hopes and purging hopes I will put them both together That are not lively that you have in 1 Pet. 1.3 Blessed bee the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead Here is a great deal in this Scripture First that the hopes of the Saints are lively hopes that is a hope as is mightily working in them it will not suffer their hearts to lye dead in any way of wickedness Indeed it may bee with the hearts of the Saints as it is with a fountain of living water that may have some dirt cast into it but it being a living spring it works out that dirt so the children of God that have some lively hopes may have some dirt cast in by temptation some sin I but if their hopes bee lively it will work it all out And mark you are begotten therefore you see that the hopes of life and salvation it is that that is not bred with us as I spake before but it is that that follows from our new birth And this is by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead The power and the virtue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead being in the soul and putting a new life into the soul begets it to this lively hope And then it is a purging hope 1 John 3.3 And every man that hath this hope purifieth himself even as hee is pure Mark you think what need men bee so pure and strict are there none of you that ever have scorn'd at purity and preciseness and holiness if you have consider of this text upon which your souls lies every man that hath this hope that is to see Jesus Christ and bee made like unto him hee doth here in this world purifie himself as Jesus Christ is pure that is hee doth make Jesus Christ to bee his pattern in all that hee doth and aims at no less purity than the very purity of the Son of God hee doth aim at it hee makes it his work though hee cannot come fully to it and that very hope that is in him doth work him to this Now what hopes you have had that are not such must bee rased down to the ground if ever you would bee saved at last The Ninth SERMON ON The Excellency of the Soul Matthew 16.26 For what is a man profited if hee shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul Question YOu will say Rased down to the ground what is that Answ By that I mean this First You should bee willing to seek to God and that earnestly that hee would never let you bee at quiet in any false hope be earnest with God in prayer O Lord I see that the matter of my salvation is a matter of infinite consequence if I should mistake if I should miscarry in it it had been better for mee never to have been born O Lord therefore help mee in this thing above all that I may never rest my salvation upon any false hopes that so I may not at the last bee disappointed of my last hopes bee earnest thus with God and bee willing to know the worst of your selves Lord if thou seest the work bee not yet done let mee know it let mee know it now before it is too late It is better to know that yet the work is to begin while you have time to work than to know it after when the time is gone And then bee willing to examine your hopes to lay them to the rule of the Scripture and that very narrowly And if you finde your hopes cannot stand with the Word then resolve thus with your selves the work is yet to bee done the very laying of the foundation of that great work of the saving of my soul it is to begin I but you will say God forbid this wee have not lived all this while to begin to lay the work for the saving of our souls now that were an ill thing indeed O I would to God it were not so but this very thought that some have that they are not now to begin the â—aying of the foundation in saving their souls is that that doth destroy them whereas though a man or woman have lived many years yea though they have been Professours of Religion yet if upon examination they can finde that the saving work of God is not wrought in their hearts and upon that can conclude Lord it is to begin for ought I know I must begin the work again and better it is to begin twice than bee damned once therefore whatsoever becomes of mee I will begin again this were a good sign Suppose you should begin again and it may bee you thought too ill of your selves for it may bee there was some truth in your hopes or hearts that you could not see yet there is no great danger in this that that was good will hold though you do not see it it is the safest way for men and women therefore to bee willing to begin often yea and sometimes it is the best and the readiest course for people that have lost their evidences for salvation and they can see no clear evidences out of Gods Word to settle their hearts upon for the great matter of their salvation I say it is the readiest way for them to do as if they were to begin again rather than to spend time in looking out their old evidences as a man perhaps that hath lost his evidences may have them renewed with less charge and cost than hee can
give all the respect that may bee to him because hee is the onely Saviour of souls And for the blood of the Covenant take heed you sin not against that let it not bee accounted as a common thing Oh do not prize the satisfying of your own lusts rather than the blood of the Covenant and all the good that was purchased by that blood when any wretched sinner shall hear the Gospel preached to him and yet shall prize the living in any base wicked way of sin I say such a one doth trample the blood of the everlasting Covenant under his feet and the language of his heart and actions is nothing but this whatsoever is spoken concerning the blood of the everlasting Covenant revealed in the Gospel I do prize the satisfying the lusts of mine own heart more than all the good that is in the Covenant now do you think can such a soul as this bee saved now you sin against the blood of the Covenant when you come hand over head to the Sacrament and thereby you come to bee guilty of the body and blood of Jesus Christ People are mighty earnest about coming to Sacraments now do but read 1 Cor. 11. It is a Scripture which I know you that are acquainted with Scripture are not unacquainted with vers 27. Whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall bee guilty of the body and blood of the Lord And what then vers 29. Hee eateth and drinketh his own damnation When you would have the Sacrament as the seal of the blood of Christ and yet come in your sin and filthiness and do not discern the Lords body you come to bee guilty of the blood of Christ and so to bee guilty of your own damnation and so many think to seal their souls by eating and drinking the damnation of their souls for there is nothing set out in Scripture that furthers more the damnation of a soul than to sin against the blood of the Covenant I know some make that Scripture their damnation to themselves that is that they are onely to bee reproved and condemned for doing so but wee are to inlarge Scripture to the uttermost that may bee and seeing the Scripture hath made the sin against the blood of Christ in other places so dreadful wee may very well understand that place in the most dreadful sense that may bee Now if in case you come unworthily you hear what the Scripture speaks it is guiltiness of the blood of Christ and eating and drinking your own souls damnation And then take heed of sinning against the mercy of God let not mercy harden you but let it soften your hearts Oh that soul is in a good forwardness to bee saved that every time it thinks of the mercy of God it findes it self to melt before the Lord and mourn bitterly for sin when as it applies the mercy of God to it self I that is a good evidence but now when you think or speak of Gods mercy you finde your hearts the more hardened in sin Oh this is dreadful for how can such a soul be saved that sins against the mercy and love of Jesus Christ for who shall hear and plead for thy soul before God when as thou art guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ and what is it that shall bee thine attonement before the Father It must bee blood Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin And what blood must bee for the remission of thy sin when as thou tramplest the blood of the Covenant under thy feet and when thou sinnest against mercy what is it that must recover thee but the mercy of God when thou comest to God in the anguish of thy soul Now if thy case bee thus that Jesus Christ shall plead against thee and say Oh Father Father avenge thy self upon this wretch that hath not onely sinned against thy work of Creation but against the work of Redemption that I went into the world to work Father let this soul perish eternally that hath rejected mee and received every base wretched lust before mee now shall that soul bee saved that shall have the blood of the Covenant cry against it and mercy it self cry to the Lord against it Lord avenge my cause for I have been most abominably and cursedly abused by this wretch when not onely the Law of Gods Justice and Satan accuses thee but Christ and his blood and the Gospel it self how shall such a soul bee saved now then if you would have your souls saved take heed of sinning against Jesus Christ against the Gospel and against the blood of God and against the mercy of God Eleventhly If thou wouldest have thy soul saved take heed of sinning against the Spirit of Grace the good Spirit of God that must draw thee to Christ and guide thee in the way of salvation if ever thou beest saved Now take heed of sleighting the motions of Gods Spirit oh do not sleight any motion of the Spirit of God how dost thou know but when there comes in any motion of Gods Spirit it comes in to save thee at this time thou canst not tell but that at any time when Gods Spirit doth assist his Word thy soul may depend upon that time so as God may say had this soul followed on the work at this time it might have been saved but upon it s not following it on it shall not bee saved doth Gods Spirit begin to move thy soul when thou art hearing the Word Oh do not go into wicked company and so lose all again but get alone in thy closet and fall down even upon thy face and cry to God that hee would follow on the work of his Spirit that hee hath begun in thee Oh Lord I lived a long time in a dead-hearted condition never minding the good of my soul but thou hast begun to stir mee and Lord I hope it is the beginning of thy saving work upon my soul Oh that thou wouldest go on with it How many upon their sick-beds and death-beds would give a thousand worlds if they had them that they could have such stirrings of the Spirit of God as sometimes they have felt Oh now when the Spirit stirs and temptation stirs take heed of listening to temptation and rejecting the motions of Gods Spirit but think of that that wee read on of the people of Israel when they were going to Canaan they were very near Canaan and when they were upon the borders of it they refused to go into the Land when God would have them and upon that The Lord did swear in his wrath Psal 95.10 that they should never enter into his rest So when the Spirit of God begins to bring thee near to salvation that it may bee said of thee as Christ to the young man Thou art not far from the Kingdome of Heaven O take heed of hearkening to temptation lest the Lord swear that thou shalt never enter into
drop of excellency in it and so a third a third every creature hath its particular excellency in it but God is an universal good all excellencies in all creatures are in God all beauty all comfort all goodness whatsoever hath any loveliness or desireableness in it I say it is all in God and I know not any one consideration that will help us more to understand God while wee are here in the flesh than this for in regard of our weakness wee can know little or nothing of God but by looking into the creature and so rising from them Now then when wee come to look upon the creatures and wee see an excellency in one creature and another in another Now if wee can conceive as it were the quintessence of all these excellencies drawn out and conceive a being that hath all these together in him this being is an excellent being indeed this would make us to look upon God above the creature when wee look upon every thing that is good in the creature to bee in God himself why then what ever the creature hath to draw the heart why that the soul saith is in God and indeed this one consideration of God and the presenting of God to the soul in this manner is a special work of Gods converting a soul to himself when I say the Lord intends to draw a soul to himself to have the heart that was let out after creature-comforts now to close with himself and choose himself for his portion the Lord doth shew this to the soul Soul what wouldest thou have thou wouldest have this comfort and the other comfort to delight and content thee Know there can bee nothing in any creature that thou seest but thou mayest have it in mee Now this indeed wee cannot by sense see the comforts of the creature are sensibly before us and wee see them by our senses but now God is above our sense God hee is above our reason and there must bee faith to close with him but now when God would convert a soul to himself hee doth shew himself in such a way to the soul as the soul doth see that there is all good in him that there is in the creature and that it is in God in a more satisfying and eminent manner Certainly whatsoever there is in the effect it must needs be in the causes now as all effects are to be resolved into the causes so all causes are to bee resolved into this excellent being that is the first cause of all things for these creaures that are effects they have other causes of them yet those causes are effects of some higher causes at length wee must come to the first cause and all must bee resolved into that nay all excellencies in the creature are more in God than the excellency of the effect is in its causes for the causes when an effect is resolved into them the causes if they bee not united to produce such an effect they cannot do immediately that thing that the effect could do but now all excellency is so in God as look what power any creature hath or what thing it can do by any excellency it hath that God can do look what comfort it can bring by any good it hath in it the same comfort God can bring so that all is to bee resolved into God not that God hath all formally in him as fire air meat and drink but what good there is here what excellency there is here it is eminently in God that is God is able to do of himself by his own being whatsoever any creature is able to do though all the creatures in the world should bee annihilated taken away and thou onely let live God by his immediate power is able to let out to thee all those variety of comforts that all the creatures the world had before could do Now when wee can finde all made up in God as we say sometimes that in some one good dish there is all dishes made up that is but a similitude but here it is really that whatsoever any childe of God loses in the creature such a one can finde it to bee made up in God Indeed this is the art and skill of Religion Godliness doth teach this art and skill to make up whatsoever is wanting in a creature in God himself and that is the chief ground of the satisfaction and contentment of a gracious heart in the want of creature-comforts and because the men of the world have no skill in this mystery they think it a meer notion a conceit of men they are not able to apprehend any reallity in it therefore it is that they vex and fret so much when they want creature-comforts for they know not whither to go to make them up in any other being But the Saints know that all is in God all excellency in all creatures is in God therefore when you look thus upon God as having all good that all creatures have and that in himself and when you come thus to God as such a being so much above all creatures then you have in some measure a right apprehension of God And that is the fifth thing 6 But sixthly The Name of God is excellent above all For not onely all excellencies in the Creature are in him but all those varieties of excellencies that are scattered up and down severally in Creatures are united into one excellency in him for a water may have the quintessence of many herbs in it there are many things in the water at that time though but one drop of water yet there are many things in it So there is such an union of all excellencies in God that I say it is but one in God there is an indivisible union of all variety Things that are various in the Creature they are all united in one in God that must needs be a glorious excellency indeed If one man had all the beauty and strength and all the wisdome that all the men in the world ever had or have and united into one what beauty what strength what wisdome would that one man have now it is so in God that all beauty and wisdome and strength are united into one excellency so that God he is one otherwise than any other Creature can be one other Creatures may bee made one by composition but now God hee is not one by the union of many things together for there is but one thing in God God is but one there is a variety as wee conceive as the Sun when it shines upon different glasses red or blew or yellow it hath a variety I but all this is but one Sun so all the attributes of God that we speak divers times of these are the several manifestations of that one excellency that there is in God all united into one therefore by this the Saints come to be the more happy for they may not onely enjoy all the good that there is in the Creature but injoy
Use Great is the evil of sin if committed against such a God Use 3 Thirdly Hence then if God bee thus excellent above all from the meditation of the Excellency of God and his glory wee see cause to bee vile in our own eyes the higher wee see God to bee the lower wee should bee in our own eyes there is nothing will take down the spirit of a man more than God I dare say of every proud heart in the worâ—d such a one knows not God never had a sight of the glory of God that hee hath to do withall the sight of God will wonderfully humble the heart before him Job 42.5 is very famous for this Job saith With the hearing of the ear I have heard of thee but now mine eyes have seen thee what follows then upon that Wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes Vers 6. Job that was a holy man yet hee confesses that hee had but even heard of God hee never had such a sight of God as God gave him at this time and upon the sight that hee had of God though hee were a holy and a gracious man and could stand in his uprightness yet saith hee Mine eyes have seen thee and therefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes Oh that God would give such a fight of himself to all your souls to those proud stout and rebellious sinners that have gone on in wayes of rebellion against him You have heard of God by the hearing of the ear but have your eyes ever seen him If God would but give you a sight of what I have briefly spoken to you you would certainly fall down before him and abhor your selves in dust and ashes So the Prophet Isaiah though a godly man yet in Isa 6. hee heard the Cherubins and Seraphins praising of God and crying Holy Holy Isa 6.1 2 3. Holy is the Lord of Hoasts And there was a vision of God upon his Throne to the Prophet what follows saith the Prophet Woe unto mee for I am undone Why For I am a man of polluted lips and I dwell among a people that are of unclean lips Woe unto mee for I am undone for I have seen the King the Lord of Heasts I see the Lord upon his Throne and I behold the blessed Angels how they admire at his glory Oh woe to mee I am undone If so holy a man shall thus cry out upon the sight of God and say Woe to mee I am undone because I am a man of polluted lips Oh what mayest thou do then that art a man of polluted lips and polluted heart and polluted life Oh how are thy lips polluted The Prophet Isaiah hee was no swearer neither was hee one that would talk filthy unclean talk but yet hee complains hee was a man of polluted lips and cryes Woe to mee I am undone because I have seen the Lord Oh how would thy heart then bee humbled What cause at least is there that thy heart should bee humbled that art so polluted as thou art the sight of God should mightily humble us before God Psal 8 the beginning Oh Lord our Lord how excellent is thy Name in all the earth saith the Prophet David and so hee goes on to shew the excellency of God then hee cryes out in verse 4. What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him Lord thou that art so excellent in thy self above all things it is a wonder that thou shouldest vouchsafe so much as to look upon man It may bee thou lookest high because thou art a little above thy brethren but if thou hadst a sight of God thou wouldest wonder that this God should look to thee Psal 113.6 there you have such an expression That God doth humble himself to behold the things that are done in heaven Why what an expression is hereof Gods excellency God is so excellent that hee doth humble himself to behold the things that are done in heaven now if hee bee so excellent as to humble himself to the beholding of the things in heaven then how doth God humble himself to behold things done in earth to behold such wretched vilde creatures as thou art Oh bee vile in thine own eyes upon the sight of the great God and by these three Uses you may have three Notes whether ever God hath made known himself to you or no. First Are you ashamed and confounded in your thoughts for those low poor thoughts you have had of God Secondly Hath the sight of God caused you to see the dreadfulness of the evill that there is in sin Thirdly Hath the sight of God made you to bee vile in your own eyes That is a good evidence that you have had some sight of God indeed In the fourth place If God bee thus excellent and his Use 4 glory so great above the earth and heavens Hence wee may learn to know the vanity of the creature Set but God now and the creature together nay all the creatures in the world together Oh how is the vanity of all creature-comforts in the world made known to us There are many wayes to convince us that there is a vanity in all things in the world by the strength of reason wee may bee convinced and by experience A man sometimes that hath an estate God doth but touch his body and layes him upon his sick-bed such a man saith Oh what a poor thing is it to injoy all the world had I all the world at my command I could have no comfort in it and therefore what a vanity is there in the creature And another perhaps by arguments and reasons will tell you that every thing is vain and there is no contentment nor continuance in any thing in the world When wee see men that are rich and great dye and carry nothing with them wee are ready to say Oh how vain the world is these are some means to cause us to see the vanity of the creature But what are all these to the sight of God The sight of the glory of God it is infinitely more powerful to discover the vanity of all things in the world to us That man or woman that hath had once a real sight of this God in his infinite excellency wil not much regard what becomes of him concerning outward things in this world Hee that sees God to be great will see all other things to bee small And indeed wee never see God to bee truly excellent except wee see him alone to bee excellent Thou thinkest thou knowest somewhat of God I but still the excellency of the creature is glorious in thy eyes Certainly thou dost not know God aright If thou knowest God aright in his excellency thou knowest him Alone to bee excellent and therefore if thou knewest no other excellency but God all other things would bee but vanity in thine eyes In 2 Cor. 3.10 saith the Apostle there concerning the glory of
the Law compared with the glory of the Gospel That that which was made glorious now had no glory by reason of a greater glory that is come So I may say in this case the things of the world that were glorious in thine eyes before yet now they are not glorious but all darkned because there is a greater glory that now comes and shines in upon thee If a man had lived in a dark Dungeon under the ground all the dayes of his life and never had the glimpse of any light whatsoever never since hee was born if on a sudden a candle should bee brought to him hee would admire at that glory but now if this man should afterwards bee brought into the world and see the glory of the Sun the glory of the candle would bee nothing to him So the men of the world because they live as it were in darkness they have some comforts in the creature and they think them to bee glorious for they know no better But that soul that hath had a sight of God comes to see that all things in the world are but darkness to him There is nothing can disingage the heart of a man from the creature so as a sight of God You have a notable Scripture for that how a sight of God doth dis-ingage the heart of a man from the creature in Act. 7.2 And hee said Men Brethren and Fathers hearken The God of glory appeared unto our Father Abraham when hee was in Mesopotamia before hee dwelt in Charran and said unto him Get thee out of thy Country and from thy kindred and come into the Land which I shall shew thee And so hee shews how Abraham was content to forsake all his friends and Country Why the God of glory appeared to him it is said upon this when the Holy Ghost would shew what it was that brought Abraham out of his Country that took off his heart from all his friends and Country to go into a strange Country saith the Holy Ghost The God of glory appeared to our Father Abraham Let a mans heart bee never so much glewed to any contentments that are here in the world let but the God of glory appear to that man and all things are vanity then the heart quickly comes off from any thing And indeed though there may bee many arguments that may make men and women to deny themselves very much the use of creature-comforts yet the heart is never throughly taken off till the God of glory appear to the soul A notable example of self-denial it that of Moses Moses that might have had all the riches and glory of Egypt might have been next to the King himself an heir for so some write that Pharaoh had no son and that Pharaohs daughter did adopt Moses to the end that hee might bee an heir to the Crown and yet Moses that had all riches and the treasures of Egypt at command yet hee forsakes aâ—l but though hee forsook all for a while yet you will say did hee not repent him afterward No saith the Text Heb. 11.27 By faith hee forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King for hee indured as seeing him that is invisible that was the thing that did it it made Moses forsake all the riches of Egypt and indure to go on and never repent him for making such a choice What was the great thing that did take Moses off from the creature It was the sight of God that God that was invisible My brethren the sight of God it puts a mighty magnanimicy upon a mans heart there is nothing great to a great spirit nor nothing can greaten the spirit of a man or woman so as the sight of the great God no men and women in the world have such great spirits as those that have seen the great God And the oftner any one hath the sight of the great God I say the greater will such mens and womens spirits bee they are raised to that height that all the world will not satisfie such a soul for the portion of it And this again in the fourth place may bee a Note of Trial whether ever you have seen God alone to bee excellent Hath it taken off your hearts from the creature Hath it ingaged your hearts fully to God himself that you can say There is none in heaven Psal 73.25 nor none in earth that I desire in comparison of thee In the fifth place Is Gods Name alone excellent Oh my Use 5 brethren study to know God then Labour to search into this Excellency so far as wee may and God gives us leave God hath revealed much of himself to us in the Scripture and in the book of the creature and God expects that what is revealed of him in the Scripture and in the book of the creature that the rational creatures Angels and Men should labour and search to know There is nothing so sweet so amiable so lovely so delightful unto a rational creature if it bee purged from the filthiness and corruption of sin as the sight of the infinite first being of all things Why here is concluded all excellent sights whatsoever some men are takeâ— with such a sight to behold fair buildings and others to behold brave pictures one with one thing and another with another Oh but the sight of God hath all sights in it that may delight the soul and give content to the heart of Man or Angel and therefore labour to know the excellency of God You poor creatures that have minded little all this while but meerâ—y to understand your Trades and how you may get a shilling or two to provide for your families Oh but know there is a higher obâ—ect for you to busie your thoughts and hearts about Learn to know this God who alone is excellent and bee not discouraged at those things that have been spoken though they are above thy reach at first yet if your hearts bee pure and cleansed from filthinesse you have the promise in Matth. 5.8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God It may bee you that are poor people you can never come to get learning to have the knowledge of Arts and Sciences and such things I but if you have clean hearts you are blessed in this God saith you shall see him Labour to study God and labour to know God more Psal 91.14 Mark how acceptable it is to God for his creature to labour to know him I will set him on high because hee hath known my Name Thy Name O Lord alone is excellent and thy glory above the heavens and earth And I will set him on high because he knows my Name Oh saith God yonder is a poor creature that above all things in the world desires to know mee hee hath had a little glimpse of â—y glory and oh how earnest is his heart to know mee I will reveal more of my self to him and then I wil set him on high because hee
bee excellent and hee bee thy God then thou art excellent the people of God are therefore excellent because their God is so excellent this is the reason of that phrase that you have in Prov. 12.26 The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour Why is a righteous man more excellent than his neighbour It may bee the righteous man is a poor man and his neighbour is a rich man perhaps this poor good mans next neighbour is a Knight or a Noble-man yet hee is more excellent than his neighbour Why because his God is more excellent because the infinite Lord of heaven and earth is the portion of a righteous man If God bee alone excellent then the righteous is alone excellent and I will give you a Scripture or two to shew that according to the excellency of God in a proportion doth appear the excellency of the children of God compare Deut. 33. and the 26. verse and the 29. verse together In verse 26. There is none like unto the God of Jesurun then in vers 29. Happy art thou O Israel who is like unto thee You see that there is a reflection of the glory of God upon his Saints there is none like to God and there is none like to Gods people And so in 2 Sam. 7.22 you have an expression to the same purpose Wherefore thou art great O Lord God for there is none like thee neither is there any God besides thee according to all that wee have heard with our ears then in verse 23. And what one Nation in the earth is like thy people So that wee see here that according to the rise of Gods excellency so is the rise of the excellency of his Saints In a proportion they rise in their excellency as God rises in his If God be alone excellent certainly they are the excellent people in the world And why because the excellency of God is manifested over them to do them good Note Here is a note that hath abundance of soul-satisfying incouragement to all the Saints of God in any of their afflicted conditions whatsoever thou hast heard that Gods Name is alone excellent so adde this to it for thy comfort who art one of Gods that God accounts his chief excellency in his manifestation of himself in all the world to bee that hee might let out himself for thy good and do good to thee and that I will shew you by a Scripture or two in Psal 68.34 His Excellency saith the Text is over Israel Oh Lord there is an excellency in thee and how doth this work where doth this excellency of thine appear why it is over Israel The Excellency of God it is over Israel saith God I have chosen out my Church and mine Excellency shall bee over them and manifested towards them for good therefore in Exod. 15.7 there where Moses is praising God for the great things that hee doth for his people saith hee in the Greatness of thine Excellency thou hast done this thing ☞ so that God doth delight to shew his Excellency yea to shew the Greatness of his Excellency for the good of his people Oh how should the Saints of God make their boast of their God and rejoyce in him and bee incouraged in God alone though thou hast no other portion then God alone thou hast portion enough In Micah 5.4 there is an admirable Scripture for the incouragement of the hearts of Gods people in God alone And hee shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord in the Majesty of the Name of the Lord his God It is a Prophecie there of Christ and as it is true of Christ so of all the members of Christ they may stand when the world falls whatsoever becomes of the world whatsoever troubles are about them they are to stand and rejoyce themselves in the Name of the Lord in the strength of the Lord and in the Majesty of the Lord their God the knowledge of this reference that the Saints have to God it is that that should put courage and boldness into their hearts before all the world Rev. 22.4 And they shall see his face and his Name shall bee in their fore-heads They shall see the face of God and what then then the Name of God shall bee in their fore-heads they shall have a boldness and courage in the cause of God whatsoever becomes of the world yet wee have happiness enough in God Oh rejoyce rejoyce in this I say you that are the people of God for there is none excellent so as you are excellent and if so be that God now invests you with this excellency Two or three more Uses might bee to finish the Point What cause then hast thou to fear this God and to serve this God in all thy wayes and to worship him as a God whose Name is alone excellent Who would not fear thee there is none like unto thee Jer. 10.7 Who would not fear thee Oh King of Nations c. Let this God bee feared by us let us labour to hold forth the excellency of this our God in our lives and conversations in our whole course Oh that it might bee written upon our lives The Name of God is alone excellent all you that profess to have any interest in this God you should walk so in your conversations that it may bee written upon your lives The Name of God is alone excellent and his glory is above the earth and heavens Oh take heed that this blessed Name of God that is alone excellent bee not dishonoured and polluted by you that wee might have been large in if wee had time James calls it about Jam. 2.7 That worthy Name of the Lord you that profess your selves to bee Christians and profess godliness more than others know that you have the Name of God upon you and this Name of God it is excellent and glorious let it not suffer by you Oh woe to you that ever you were born if you should bee instruments of polluting the Name of God Mee thinks any one that makes profession of Gods Name should think with himself it were better that I were dead and rotten under the clods than that ever I should live to pollute this blessed Name of God that is so excellent What was I born that I might live to have my hand in so great a mischief as that this glorious Name of God should bee darkned by mee Oh the Lord forbid Know what the Name of God is that you profess and meditate how excellent it is and let this bee a strong argument to keep you from sin When any temptation comes oh set this against it Shall I pollute this Name of God that is so infinitely excellent No man or woman can dye with peace and have peace upon their sick-beds except they can bee able to look back into their lives and to say Lord though there hath been much weakness in mee and in many things I have dishonoured thee yet it hath
been my care in my generation and in the place that thou hast set meeâ— to lift up thy Name and I have done some thing through thy grace to lift up thy Name Oh that I could leave this point upon your hearts that every one of you might go home and make but this one Use of it I have heard That the Name of God is excellent alone and his glory is above all This likewise I have heard to bee my duty that this was the great work that I was born for that I should do some thing to make Gods Name great before all those with whom I do converse think every one of this how long hast thou lived Many of you will bee ready to say I have lived thus long in such a place and it may bee that you can say that you have done no man wrong but good But what canst thou say to this Question I appeal to thy conscience Hath the Name of God been made great by thee Hast thou done any thing to lift up this glorious Name of God in the place wherein God hath set thee It may bee thou hast not thought that this was thy work but this is the work that God expects from thee that thou shouldest give up thy self to study by all the means that possibly thou canst to lift up Gods Name and deny thy own Name no matter though that bee cast into the dirt so bee it the Name of God bee lifted up with this resolution Oh that you would but go away and that this one note might stick in your hearts I am convinced that the Name of God is infinitely glorious and therefore for the time to come through his Grace whatsoever becomes of mee yet I will do what I can to lift up his Name Consider what hath been said in the Text and the Lord give you understanding The First SERMON ON The Excellency of Christ THere is nothing of greater concernment than to know God and his Son whom hee hath sent into the world Even this is eternal life saith Christ Joh. 17.3 Wee have therefore endeavoured to open somewhat to you concerning God that you may have right apprehensions of him of that God with whom you have to deal out of that Scripture in Psal 148.13 His Name alone is excellent his glory is above the earth and heaven and concluded what for the present I intended to present before you about God with the meditation of the excellency of the state of those who have this God to bee their God who is thus excellent and glorious The Church makes her boast of her interest in God in Psal 84.14 For this God is our God Oh happy are they that having heard what a glorious God God is are able to say This God is our God this is my God in whom my soul hath interest And if the Name of God bee so excellent and glorious as you have heard there is infinite cause that we should fear him and sanctifie his Name in our conversations Job 13.11 Shall not his Excellency make you afraid Oh where is that soul that shall dare to walk before this God with boldness and presumptuousness considering what a God hee is that it hath to deal with Shall not that excellency of his that hath been opened unto you make you afraid and cause you to fear such a God Now then having spoken somewhat about the Excellency of God and what apprehensions wee are to have of God in all our wayes wee are now to speak somewhat concerning the Excellency of Christ and to shew you what apprehensions you are to have of Jesus Christ For this is eternal life to know thee and thy Son to know God and not to know him in Christ is to very little purpose It is no saving knowledge of God if wee were able to discourse never so much of him except wee know him in Jesus Christ in his Son And therefore for the knowledge of Christ which I shall endeavour to present as briefly as I did the knowledge of God You may bee pleased to turn to that Scripture in Isaiah 9. part of vers 6. onely in these words And his Name shall bee called Wonderful Text. IF you read this verse and that that follows you might think that you were rather reading an Evangelist than a Prophet one rather relating a History of what was done than a Prophecie of what was to bee done Isaiah here prophesies clearly of Christ as if hee had been come at that time and yet it was between seven and eight hundred years before the coming of Christ that this Prophecie was Unto us a childe is born unto us a Son is given and the Government shall bee upon his shoulder And his Name shall bee called Wonderful But it is the usual way of Scripture to set before us things to bee done as if they were already done to note the certainty of what God reveals to bee done and faith will make things that are not to bee as if they were really present And indeed faith never hath a proper work so much as in this in making things that are not present to bee as if they were present to make them real It was a time of great distress and trouble to the Church God when this Prophecie was as will appear from the seventh Chapter even unto this Prophesie And frequently wee finde in Scripture in times of the greatest distress of the Church there were the clearest Prophesies of Christ of the Messias to come Gen. 49.10 Dan. 9. Jacob Prophesies of Shiloh when hee was in Egypt and Daniel of the Messias when hee was in Captivity in Babylon and Isaiah here To us a Childe is born unto us a Son is given whose Name is Wonderful Counsellor the mighty God when the people were in great distress And there are four reasons why the Lord would have the Prophesie of the Messias at those times especially when the Church was in a sad in a suffering condition First Because that the onely comfort of all the Saints of God then was their expectation of the Messias to come God would therefore propound Christ unto them as that that might lighten all their darkness that might sweeten all their sorrows and troubles and indeed there was enough in this in their expectation of the Saviour that was to come this was that that made their hearts rejoyce in the middest of all their sorrows Abraham saw his day and rejoyced Joh. 8.56 and was glad Secondly Therefore had they the clear manifestation of Christ in the time of their outward troubles to confirm their faith in this that how-ever their enemies prevailed much against them yet it was impossible that they should root out the Nation of the Jews for the great Saviour of the world was to come out of them therefore they were under Gods protection and though they might suffer somewhat yet they could not cease from being a Nation because that the Messias was to
higher than naturalness of the place If I shall make this place by the consecration of man to bee used as an Ordinance to draw mee nearer to God or God nearer to mee that is to think that my prayers in that place are more acceptable than in another that because I perform services in that place it shall bee more accepted Here I say man raises it higher than natural and puts a Divine Institution upon it and so it comes to bee sinful and so now you may come to know what the meaning is when wee say that Christ only can make Lawes for his Church and Officers for his Church Why because whatsoever is spiritual it must bee only by the Authority of Jesus Christ this great King of his Church 6 And then Sixthly Christ is a wonderful King in this that his Soveraignty is absolute which no Kings power is though they have great power in the world yet they have not an absolute power to doe what they list and certainly no Subjects are bound so farre to the humours of men that they shall doe what they list there is no absolute power that one man hath over another bur the power that Jesus Christ hath is absolute an absolute Kingly power his Will it is the Law no mans will in the World is sufficient to be a law but the will of this King it is sufficient 7 And then in the Seventh place hee hath power to bind Conscience his Laws are such as lay obligations and bonds upon the Consciences of men no Law that would be made by all the Angels in heaven could lay bonds upon conscience but the Lavv only of Jesus Christ all the Lavves that men can make must receive their povver and authority especially from the end of them and therefore if they should not conduce unto that end for vvhich God sets up Magistracy over men that is for the good of the place then the rule vvill hold that if there be not scandal or contempt there is no obligation upon a mans conscience meerly because it is the will of man But now the Lavves of Christ vvhatsoever they are they lay bonds upon consciences and if I doe offend them never so secretly I stand as guilty before the great God and that is the seventh thing 8 And then in the Eighth place Christs Kingly power it reaches to mens hearts I must not as I goe along enter into the large opening of any thing that may be controversal but meerly present vvhat at large might be opened to you about the Kingly povver of Christ I say Christs Kingly povver is vvonderful in this in that it rules over the hearts of men as vvell as their consciences Christ by his povver is able to subue the vvills of men and bring their hearts to obedience to him all the power there is in the World cannot doe this vvhy the Kings of the earth if they vvere put all together they could not subdue the heart of any one poor man in the world the will of the poorest Creature in the world cannot be subdued by all the powers of all the Potentates and Emperours upon the face of the earth they may beat his body or torter his body or kill his body but to subdue his heart to make his soul to bee subject and obedient to them that I say all the powers of all the Potentates in the world nay all the Angels in heaven cannot doe it the will of a man or woman is such that all the Angels in heaven cannot bring it down only God himself you many times say you will break the will of such a one that is you will make them not to doe such a thing but you are never able to break their wills Kings may prevail over their subjects to make them to doe what they would have them doe and their Estates and Liberties may come to be at their dispose but all this while it may be he hath never a one of their hearts and that is but a very mean kind of Kingly power only to rule over men by fear and they not to love him But now Christ in his Church he hath never a subject that is truly under his Kingly power but he rules his very will and hath never a subject but loves him where Christ doth rule Spiritually in the hearts of his people though they were never so stubborn and rebellious before yet when Christ comes and brings them under his power hee brings their wills and their hearts to him and that is the glory of the Kingly power of Christ 9 And then in the Ninth place Christ is a wonderful King in this that he hath the perfect knowledge of all his Subjects and of their wants alas Kings and Princes in great States they know but very few Subject that they have but now Jesus Christ takes notice of every subject that is in his Kingdom and knowes all their thoughts and all their vvayes and all their vvants all their conditions he knovves them all perfectly Oh this is the glory of this King and vvonderful is hee in his Kingly povver in this 10 Hee is present vvith them all in all the Administration of Justice the King hee cannot administer Justice but hee must use Instruments to doe it and hee cannot bee present alvvayes but Jesus Christ hee is alvvayes present in the Administration of vvhat ever is administred to any of his Subjects he stands by and looks upon them all 11 Christ is such a King as he hath no need of any Instruments at all hee may make use of them sometimes but he hath no need of any Kings can doe but very little vvithout some Instruments vvhat can a King doe for the ruling of a Kingdom but vvith such and such Instruments But Jesus Christ is vvonderful in his Kingly povver in that hee hath no need of any Instruments for the administration of any Justice but he can doe it all immediately himself if he pleases 12 Christ is glorious in his Kingly power in this that he doth over-rule all the plots and counsels of all the enemies of his Subjects for the furtherance of the glory of his Kingdome and the good of his Subjects now my brethren look upon these things as real and certainly by faith they are made real to the hearts of the Saints and they doe rejoyce in this if we had such kind of Governours that had power over all the plots and designs of the enemies what a happy condition would we think our selves to be in Now this is in our King the Lord Jesus Christ he hath power over all the plots and endeavours of all adversaries to work them all for the good of his Church 13 Further the Lord Christ is wonderful for his Kingly power in regard of his righteousnesse Thy scepter is a righteous scepter he is King of righteousnesse and so King of peace as Melchisedeck was It is a happy thing when people live under righteous Governours that they
salvation and the Covenant of Grace but not distinctly It may bee after this beam of light is darted in God may come over again distinctly and reveal to him his miserable estate by nature and humble him more and so hee may have a little glimpse of this at one Sermon and a little more at another but at that very instant there may bee that let into the heart that possibly may unite the heart to Jesus Christ and save it if it should dye at that present here is a wonderful work in the Prophetical Office of Jesus Christ 6 And then Christ is wonderful in his Prophetical Office in this he teaches the heart no men nor Angels can teach the heart but Jesus Christ though men or Angels may present truths before another man and so convince the understanding yet there is no men nor Angels can bee able to say thus I will so make known such a truth to this man or woman as I will gain his heart by it it shall transform his heart into the very image of that truth that I shall present unto him no man nor Angel can do it but Christ hee teaches so as no man teaches Job 36.22 Behold God exalteth by his power who teacheth like him Now God teacheth by Christ in the administration of his Prophetical Office Man may come and tell us this and the other thing ought to bee done Oh but who teaches like Jesus Christ none teaches the heart but Jesus Christ Job 38.36 Who hath put wisdome in the inward parts or who hath given understanding to the heart certainly none living no Angel can do it nor no man can do it it is onely Jesus Christ in the administration of his Prophetical Office it is hee that teaches and prevails with the heart when hee comes with truths therefore when you see people come to hear many truths and sit under a clear and distinct Ministry that opens many truths unto them it may bee many will get brain-knowledge that shall make them to confer about those truths but yet not changed you will say What should bee the reason why they that have so much knowledge live wickedly why here is the ground Jesus Christ hee hath not exercised this Prophetical Office of his so far upon them to over-power their hearts Here is the reason why such men have had knowledge in the brain and yet lived wickedly a long time yet if they belonged to Christ at some other time they shall come to hear the Word of God they shall hear the very same truths they heard before and perhaps delivered in a weaker manner than they have heard it and yet their hearts shall bee a hundred times more wrought upon at that time than ever they were wrought upon before Sometimes a man comes by accident into a Congregation and hears a Minister upon such a subject and it may bee a Minister by the by speaks of something that hee little thought of perhaps before hee came up and this man hath heard the same truth largely handled perhaps many Tractates about it heretofore and his heart never touch'd but now hearing it mentioned by the by his heart is mightily wrought upon and he goes away and saith Verily God is in this place What is the reason why here Christ speaks to the heart and before man only spoke to the ear this is a wonderful thing in the Prophetical Office of Christ that hee speaks to the heart and thus should wee exercise our faith upon Christ in this when wee come to the Word look upon Christ by the eye of faith as the great Prophet of the Church that teaches so as no man teaches that doth not onely speak unto the ear but speaks unto the heart 7 Further Chrâ—â—t is wonderful in his Prophetical Office in this In that hee teaches immediately himself indeed hee doth teach mediately that is by his Ministers therefore you shall finde Act. 1.1 there St. Luke speaking of Christs teaching when hee lived here upon the earth saith hee in vers 1. The former Treatise have I made O Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach why Luke is hee that writ the Gospel and the Acts hee writ the summe of what Christ did teach in the whole course of his life and yet here hee tells us that hee did make a Treatise and did relate what Jesus Began to do and teach if one should have said to Luke Why did you not relate all that Jesus did do and preach why Christ is dead now But the meaning is this That indeed all that Christ did preach personally when hee was here in the world it was but a Beginning Christ was to teach afterwards to the end of the world and that hee was to do partly by his Ministers that should bee to the end of the world hee doth exercise his Prophetical Office by them And by the way whensoever you come to hear any Minister of God to reveal any thing of the Gospel to you you are to look upon it as Christ exercising his Prophetical Office in this way hee is wonderful in teaching in this that hee doth not onely by instruments but immediately himself many times where there is want of means wee may there expect Jesus Christ immediately to reveal the Will of his Father to those souls that do belong to Election 8 And then Christ is wonderful in teaching for hee teaches infallibly which none can do Likewise many other particulars might bee named in the wonder of Christs Prophetical Office but time doth slip mee therefore wee will proceed to the next thing in the wonder of Christ onely take this along with you That in your beleeving in Jesus Christ you must beleeve in him as Christ that is Anointed by the Father King Priest and Prophet and when you exercise your faith upon him in all these three of his Offices then you will know what it is rightly to beleeve indeed But to go on The Third SERMON ON The Excellency of Christ Isaiah 9.6 And his Name shall bee called Wonderful Christ Wonderful in his Miracles CHrist is wonderful in the Miracles that hee wrought here in the World while hee lived in the second of Acts vers 22. Yee men of Israel hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among you by Miracles Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of you as yee your selves also know Never did any come into the Woâ—ld to work such great Miracles and Wonders as Christ did and indeed all that ever did Miracles and Wonders they did doe them by Jesus Christ Josephus that was no great friend to Christ hee was a Jew and did not acknowledge Christ to be the Messias yet he writing the Story of those times could not but take notice of such an one as Christ hee did professe that at such a time there was a Wise man did arise which they did call by the Name of Jesus that did work a great
from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. This Scripture hath very much in it hee speaks of the Gospel and compares that to a Glass wherein the glory of God shines so as wee may behold it with open face and so behold it as that we are changed into the very same image of it from glory to glory from one degree unto another Wee may behold the glory of God in the glass of the creature and never bee changed into the same image but when wee behold the glory of God in the glass of the Gospel wee then come to bee changed into the same Image and still to bee changed more and more and with open face wee do behold it And in chap. 4. vers 6. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ Mark it hee is the knowledge of God the light of the knowledge of God and the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and all this is in the face of Jesus Christ in the face of the creature there may bee the knowledge of God but the light of the knowledge of the glory of God this is in the face of Jesus Christ Hee that hath seen mee hath seen the Father saith Christ to Philip It was a maxim among the Fathers in the time of the Law that no man could see God and live God was so glorious that they thought that hee could not bee seen but it would overwhelm any creature that was in the flesh that should see him but now mark in that Prophecy that wee have of the times of the Gospel in Isa 40.3 There is a Prophecie of Christ that is apparent The voice of him that cryeth in the wilderness prepare yee the way of the Lord which is in express words applied to John the Baptist the forerunner of Christ And in the very same words make streight in the Desart a high way for our God every valley shall bee exalted and every mountain shall bee made low and the crooked shall bee made streight and the rough places plain Then it follows in the fift verse And the glory of the Lord shall bee revealed and all flesh shall see it together before no man could see God and live Flesh was not able to behold God but now when the Word was made Flesh when the times of the Gospel came wherein God would make himself appear through his Son more clearly and fully now all Flesh shall see it shall see the glory of the Lord now the glory of God appears wonderfully in Christ in these four or five particulars The Power of God appears in Christ First The glory of Gods Attributes do shine more brightly in the face of Christ than any other wayes As for instance The power of God appears infinitely more in Christ than in making heaven and earth for God to unite God and man together in one Person is a greater work than making heaven and earth there is more power of God put forth in the hypostatical union of the Natures of Christ besides all the power of God that appears in the great Works that Christ did do and in carrying Christ through all those great Works that hee was carried through than in making of heaven and earth There is more power of God appears in the conversion of one soul to Christ than in making heaven and earth Then what power of God appears in Christ himself And the wisdome of God appears more in Christ than in the creation of heaven and earth The Wisdome of God appears in Christ Now for God to finde out such a glorious way of Reconciliation as hee hath found out in his Son in this the wisdome of God is more glorious than in all his works infinitely the glory of Gods wisdome in other things is darkned in comparison of his wisdome in this If God had put it to Angels to finde out a way of Reconciliation they could never have guest at such a way as this is that wee should bee reconciled in Christ here is the glory of wisdome There likewise doth appear the glory of Gods holiness more in Christ than in any other way it is true The Holiness of God appears in Christ the Law is a glass of Gods holiness and those that cast reproach upon the Law they spit in the very face of Gods holiness I but that is no such glass as Jesus Christ is there wee see the holiness of God in another manner than wee can do it in the holy Law that God hath made God never shewed his hatred of sin so much as hee did in Christ and it cannot bee devised by all Angels and men how it were possible to have such an Argument to manifest the hatred of sin so as it is manifested in Christ that God should deal so with his Son as hee hath done for the sin of man I say if an infinite Wisdome should set it self on work never so much to finde out an Argument to manifest the hatred of sin there could not bee a greater Argument So that when God sent his Son into the world to dye for mans sin hee did as it were say I have many wayes to manifest my holiness to the children of men how infinitely I do hate sin but here is a way that it shall appear to the uttermost they shall see it in my dealing with my Son certainly in Christ Gods wisdome hath found out an Argument to make us all to bee convinced of the infinite holiness of God that God hates sin more than hell its self and that wee should do so too Again the Justice of God appears in Christ more than in any thing else It appears not so much in all the torments of the damned as in Gods dealings with Christ The Justice of God appears in Christ in that hee required such satisfaction from him as hee did when as wee hear of the dreadful curses of the Law and of the torments that are in hell wee may thereby be put in minde of an infinite Justice Oh how righteous is God in his wayes there and his Justice seems to bee wonderful unto us But when you behold in this red glass of the blood of Christ Gods Justice it is a great deal more glorious here than in all the damned in hell If God should grant to any of you to stand upon the very brink of hell and there to look into the pit and see all the torments and tortures there and hear all the cries there then you think your hearts would bee affected with the Justice of God to fear it I but when God makes himself known to you in Christ when you hear of the sufferings of Christ for sin God would have you to bee more affected with his Justice and to fear it more than if you saw all the Torments of hell
manner of his proceedings in bringing forth all the books of Gods forbearance and the books of mens conscience and the book of the word to proceed with men and Angels for their eternal estate in this Christ will appear then to bee wonderful Thus Christ is wonderful in his humiliation and in his exaltation But further a word or two more Christ wonderful in his working towards his Saints and in the high esteem that the Saints have of him Great and marvellous are thy works O Lord God Almighty who would not fear thee O thou King of Saints The great things that Christ doth in the world towards his Churches are wonderful and the great esteem his Saints have of him they account all things as dung and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ And hee shall bee wonderful eternally hereafter in the highest Heavens and there hee will bee the matter of the wonder of all the Angels and Saints and the matter of the admiration and the praises that God shall have to all eternity it shall bee from what the Angels and Saints do see in Jesus Christ therefore surely hee will bee wonderful in Heaven And then wonderful when the understandings of the Saints shall bee elevated to the highest pitch that they are capable of sometimes wee do wonder at things because of our ignorance ignorant people will wonder almost at any thing at the works of Arts and Sciences they wonder because they know but little but now that that the most understanding man in the world shall wonder at certainly it hath some great excellency in it Now Christ shall not bee the wonder of the Saints onely while they are here in in this world but when they shall bee in Heaven and have their understandings enlightened and enlarged to the height that possibly they can bee enlarged to and yet even then Christ shall bee their wonder and they shall wonder at Christ more than they do now abundantly Certainly that hath real excellency in it indeed and great excellency that the more understanding a man is the more hee shall admire at it perhaps poor people they may wonder at some men for their parts yet if they had any great understanding themselves they would see such a mans parts had little in them but if a man had such parts that the more any man came to understand him the higher in degree their understandings were the more they should wonder certainly this man had a great deal of excellency in him indeed So it is in Christ that when the Saints shall bee elevated to the height they shall so much the more admire at him Further In Heaven Christ shall bee wondred at for ever many things are wondred at for the present I but the wonder quickly ceases wee use to say of strange things they are but of nine daies wonder but Jesus Christ is not onely a wonder at first when the soul comes first to embrace Jesus Christ It is true poor sinners at their first embracing Jesus Christ for the very novelty of those things they see in him they do admire at them they never did understand such things before but the truth is if that grace bee true thou shalt not onely wonder when thou comest to Christ at first at the excellency in him but the longer thou continuest a Beleever the more thou wilt wonder and when thou comest to Heaven after thousand millions of millions of years thou wilt wonder as much at him as thou didst the first moment those men that have made profession of Religion and seem'd to come to Christ they wonder at first hearing of the Gospel like the stony-ground that received the word with joy Oh how wonderfully are they affected at the first hearing of the glorious things of the Gospel but now mark their wonder quickly ceases and their joy ceases within a little while they do not now see so great excellency to admire at it neither have they so great joy but where there is true Faith there the soul doth not onely wonder at Christ at his first comming to Christ but still more and more to all eternity And now my Brethren mee thinks that all wonders in the world should lye by a while upon this wonder of Christs being presented to you and as wee read in Dan. 6. of one that came in a vision and said Gabriel make this man to understand the visioâ— so shall I call to a Gabriel no to Jesus Christ to the Immanuel hee that is the great wonder Oh blessed blessed Redeemer make these souls to understand these things to understand somewhat of this wonder wee have many wonders of our own and wee tell this and that news but O that Christ would but shew himself now to your souls that you may understand somewhat of this wonder that your hearts may bee for ever taken off from wondring at any thing in this world I have seen saith David an end of all perfection but thy Law is very broad So wee may say and the heart would say that were brought to Christ Oh Lord I have seen an end of all the great things in the world but Jesus Christ is very great and glorious indeed it is hee that hath darkened all the glory that there is in the world but now I may say of all these things as it is said of Daniel in chap. 12. vers 10. None of the wicked shall understand but the wise shall understand these things that are spoken of Christ the wicked they will not understand those that God hath not given unto Jesus Christ will not understand but they will bee content to part with Christ for any thing for all this O detestable wickedness that there is in the heart of man that after this that hath been revealed to you about Christ so much of his glory held forth for the wonder of the world that after this yet thou shouldest prize thy base lusts before all the good and the glory that there is in Jesus Christ certainly that man or woman must needs have the Angels in Heaven and all the Saints to acknowledge the righteous judgement of God in the condemnation of them that hath lived under the Gospel and hath heard what a wonderful Saviour is come into the world if such a one should yet go away and prize a base filthy lust before all the good and glory that there is in Jesus Christ take heed of this certainly if it bee so if any of you bee found at the great day still going on in the waies of known fins this will bee your charge You lived in such a place wherein you heard that my Son was the great wonder of the world and glorious things were shewed you to allure you to beleeve in him and yet hee was nothing in your eyes but your own vile lusts were more glorious in your eyes O just and righteous is the condemnation of this creature for ever certainly the sin of unbeleef the sin
as if there were no other saved in all the world but thy self yet Jesus Christ will manifest himself wonderful in thy salvation for indeed that is that that hee aims at to bee wonderful in the salvation of his Saints in bringing them unto glory and that is the comfort of all Beleevers from this title of Christs being wonderful But now then as thy comforts art great from this title so thy duties should bee some way proportionable too thou shouldest therefore honour God the Father of Christ as a wonderful Saviour Labour therefore first to search into this deep mystery of the Gospel Oh what a shame is it that those that do profess themselves Christians should understand so little of Jesus Christ this is that that God expects I say that wee should study the Gospel search into the Gospel that wee may see more of Christ the more wee see the more still wee shall wonder for Christ is an infinite depth and the more wee search into him the more wee shall see cause to wonder In the first of the Ephesians mark what a prayer Paul makes for the Ephesians in the 17 and 18. verses hee told them before that hee did not cease to give thanks for them making mention of them in his prayers to what end That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdome and Revelation in the knowledge of him Hee doth not onely pray that they might have some knowledge of him but that they might have a Spirit of Wisdome and Revelation in the knowledge of Christ and this from the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and from the Father of Glory Mark what titles hee gives to God when hee prayes for them that they might have the knowledge of Jesus Christ it must bee the God of our Lord Jesus Christ that must do it and the Father of Glory God doth never shew himself to bee the Father of Glory so much as when hee gives the knowledge of Jesus Christ to a soul then God doth make himself to appear indeed to bee the Father of Glory And further The eyes of your understanding being enlightened that yee may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his Inheritance in the Saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who beleeve And in the third of the Ephesians from the 14 verse to the 20. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole Family of Heaven and Earth is named that hee would grant you according to the riches of his Glory to bee strengthened with might by his Spirit in the Inner-man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith that yee being rooted and grounded in love All this now is but a preparation to what hee would desire further and that is this That so you may bee able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that yee might bee filled with all the fulnesse of God This is a most admirable Scripture surely the Spirit of Christ filled the heart of Saint Paul and such kind of Scriptures as these are mighty strong Arguments to evince the Scripture to bee the Word of God when wee read such passages as these that have a spirit in them beyond the spirit of any man certainly it was beyond the spirit of any man to expresse himself in such a manner That hee bowed his knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that they might comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth length depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that they might bee filled with all the fulnesse of God and that is that which I would especially observe that Christians should not content themselves with a little knowledge of Christ but they should labour to comprehend what is the length breadth depth and height they should labour to dive into the Mâ—steries of the Gospel as it is said of Moses when hee saw that wonderful work in the wildernesse saith hee I will now turn aside and see this great sight you have it recorded in the seventh of the Acts and 31. vers There appeared to him in the wildernesse of Mount Sina an Angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush When Moses saw it hee wondred at the sight and as hee drew near to behold it c. Hee had a sight of it at a distance and yet so much as hee wondred at it and then hee drew near and the Lord spake to him So it should bee with us wee have some sight of Christ but is it not at a distance wee hear a Minister speaking of Christ to us the great wonder of the world and it may bee at the hearing wee are ready to think there is somewhat in Christ beyond what wee have apprehended heretofore I but I beseech you Brethren let it not passe away so those things that have been spoken concerning Christ God will require an account of and know it is a dangerous thing to have the glory of Jesus Christ to pass by any soul and to do it no good If wee had been preaching to you of Moral Virtues or any deep discourse about any point save about Jesus Christ there had not been so much danger of letting it passe without profit but when God sets before you the glory of his Son know there is a great deal of danger upon the hearing of such things without profit therefore you had need say upon the hearing of such things as Moses said That you will draw near you will go and pray over these again and beseech the Lord that hee would reveal these things unto you Pray with David O Lord open mine eyes that I may see the wonderful things of thy Law By Law there is meant those things that were revealed in the Word of God and surely upon our hearing what God hath revealed in his Word wee have cause to pray with more earnestnesse Lord open our eyes that wee may see the wonderful things of thy Gospel but mark When Moses drew near Then God spake to him and revealed himself further to him If Moses had stood wondring at this sight and went no further it may bee hee had not had God revealing himself so clearly to him but when hee draws near then God speaks to him So if your hearts bee taken with what you hear of this wonderful Saviour and then you draw near and take pains in your closets by meditation and prayer to see what is the meaning of this wonder Why Lord shall I hear of such things and not understand them they are things that do nearly concern mee and shall I not understand them If you labour to draw near God will speak and reveal further of his mind to you But further of
oh how humble and submissive now hee can deny himself of any thing As wee read of Christ that when hee commanded the winds and the waves the Text saith all people wondred at him So when the winds of thy passion are up if thou canst but bid them bee still all would wonder at it Oh how comes there so great a change such a one that was impatient before in any suffering now what ever hee suffers how like a Lamb is hee and opens not his mouth Now in the midst of afflictions and pains and troubles hee can lye rejoycing and praising God And such a one though hee hath never such strong temptations to draw him on the other side yet now hee can resist the strongest temptations before if a companion did but hold up his finger hee must go but now I say hee can resist strong temptations and oh how hee accounts it his glory and happinesse to suffer for Jesus Christ Now this doth manifest Christ a wonderful Saviour As it was the speech of a Heathen seeing the Christians suffer with so great patience hee cries out Of a truth the God of the Christians is a great God that doth inable them to do such great things So thou must so walk in thy life that thou must manifest that Jesus Christ is a wonderful Saviour And bee ashamed to complain of any difficulty in any duties that thou art set about thou art set about such a duty and oh thou complainest they are hard and difficult and tedious Is it for thy Saviour that thou doest it thou shouldest bee willing to go thorow fire and water and in this one thing the wonderfulness of the change of a soul doth appear as much as in any thing That those things that before were accounted burdens now the soul accounts them as a priviledge and the joy of its heart others cannot do so Now the Gospel makes such a change and in this change of thy heart and of thy life Jesus Christ is held forth in the world to bee a wonderful Saviour but now if thou canst do no more than those that are strangers to Jesus Christ what honour hath Christ in thy life and conversation One passage or two more If Christ bee a wonderful Saviour hence then every one that hears of Christ should think it to bee a dreadful thing to misse of Jesus Christ Oh then let all souls to whom Christ is made known make after him Oh thou wretched soul that hast not yet understood the way of God towards man-kind now labour to know it If the Lord hath wonderful thoughts for the saving of man-kind then let thy thoughts bee such And after all this shall my soul perish eternally shall I bee cast away notwithstanding God hath wrought in such a glorious and wonderful way for the salvation of souls must I perish at last for all this Thy heart should make towards God and bee incouraged in this because the way of salvation is so wonderful why may not thy soul come in likewise and bee saved there is not the worst of you all but here is help in this wonderful Saviour to help you and redeem you had you but hearts now to come in and to fall down before the Lord when you get alone in your closets and say Lord I have heard that there is a wonderful Saviour come into the world and hath done wonderfully for the redeeming of man-kind Oh that hee might bee wonderful in my salvation also that I may bee among the number of those that may to all eternity bee admiring at thy glory in Jesus Christ many of you rejoyce in this that God hath wrought wonderfully to preserve you some times out of dangers I but what are all the wonderful works of God towards you except you have your part in him whose Name is called wonderful And last of all Let us long for that time when Jesus Christ shall appear in all his glory hee doth appear now to the souls of his Saints very wonderful as hee is set out in the Word but there is a time when Christ shall come and appear in all his glory in another manner than wee are able to set him out After the blowing of the seventh Trumpet that you read of in the book of the Revelations then is the Mystery finished and what is the finishing of it in chap. 11. then is the voice heard saying Rev. 11.15 The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and hee shall reign for ever and ever Then shall the Lord Jesus Christ come and appear in all his wonderful works to the children of men and to bee admired in the Saints then shall bee fulfilled the Scripture wee have in John 14.20 21. Mark what Christ promises there to his Disciples At that day yee shall know that I am in my Father and you in mee and I in you hee that hath my commandements and keepeth them hee it is that loveth mee and hee that loveth mee shall bee loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him At that day you shall know it It seems his Disciples understood but little of this Mystery before but saith Christ there is a day that you shall know that I am in my Father and you in mee and I in you And bee of good comfort all beleevers there is a time coming that you will see Christ more wonderful than now you do you do now see Christ to bee wonderful and your hearts are taken in some measure taken off from all the Creatures to admire at Jesus Christ in Act. 3.11 12. when the people wondered at the cure that the Apostles wrought upon the lame man mark at the 12th vers When Peter saw it hee answered unto the people Yee men of Israel why marvel yee at this or why look yee so earnestly on us as though by our own power or holiness wee had made this man to walk The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob the God of our Fathers hath glorified his Son Jesus c. As if they should say Why do you wonder aâ— us know that the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob hath glorified his Son Jesus it is hee that you are to wonder at The Saints have their hearts taken off from Creatures from men from instruments and they look upon him that the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob hath glorified even Jesus Christ and hee is the matter of their wonder But dost thou wonder at Jesus Christ now know Christ will come ere long in another manner to bee admired at by his Saints in all his glory Christ was wonderful when hee came with sin and when hee comes without sin hee shall bee more wonderful hee shall come in all his glory with his holy Angels to make good all that hee hath promised and to bring with him all that hee hath purchased and then wee shall see him as
hee is Now wee see Jesus Christ but thorow a glass and yet our hearts are taken with him and wee wonder at him now but oh how shall wee wonder when wee come to see him as hee is when wee shall behold his face in glory wee see now the Lord Christ in his Ordinances but as in a picture As at the first when there are treaties between one Prince and another about a march the first sight that they have of one another it is but by a picture and if they bee delighted with but seeing the picture one of another much more will they bee delighted and inamoured with the person when they come to see it its self so it is with the Saints here all that the Saints can see of Jesus Christ that makes them so wonder at him and to account him to bee the chiefest of ten thousand all is but by seeing of him by a picture Jesus Christ is in Heaven and hee sends us his picture in his Ordinances so St. Paul saith in Gal. 3. concerning the Ministry of the Word that Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth crucified among them Now are your hearts taken with the sight of Christ when you see him as it were in a picture know as Christ said to Nathanael Because I said unto thee I saw thee under the Figg tree beleevest thou thou shalt see greater things than these So thou shalt ere long see Jesus Christ as hee is Wee are now the Sons of God but it appears not what wee shall bee for when hee shall appear wee shall bee like him for wee shall see him as hee is And thou shalt not onely see him but so see him as hee shall never go out of thy sight thou hast but a little glimpse of him now for the present and thy soul rejoyces in that the time is coming when thou shalt see him and thy eyes shall feed upon him for ever the Lord Christ shall go up and down the Heavens as the wonder of the Angels and all the Saints shall bee following wondring at him to all eternity The luster of the deity shall bee shining thorow the humanity of Christ and men and Angels shall stand gazing and wondring at the glory of Jesus Christ to all eternity Oh let us comfort one another with these sayings and in the expectation of the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ And those that shall long for the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ upon the seeing of him here have a good evidence that they do belong to Jesus Christ and shall bee partakers of the wonderful things that Jesus Christ hath wrought and purchased with his own blood And thus wee have opened to you and applied this glorious wonder of Jesus Christ His Name shall bee called Wonderful hee is wonderful in the Word Oh that hee may bee wonderful in your hearts and in your lives THE CONTENTS OF THE EXCELLENCY of the SOUL Matthew 16.26 For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his own Soul c. THe Text divided into two general parts 1 That there is in every man a Soul a spiritual substance besides what is visible and sensible p. 203 2 That this Soul is more worth than all the world Ibid. The tearms of the Text explained sheweth what is meant by Soul ibid. That every man hath a soul and the necessity of looking to it for five Reasons p. 204 1 Wee see there are Actions in men that are beyond that which concerns the body at all ib. 2 There is a power in man to curb his body to deny himself of that which is most suitable to the body ib. 3 That which the Scripture makes the chief Actions of man to consist in which have any reference to God is such things as are done by somewhat beyond the body ib. 4 When this bodily substance is decaying mouldring away there are many thoughts in a man about his Eternal Estate p. 205 5 For wee know that there are real pains and torments upon a mans spirit ib. Doct. Did they but know the worth of their souls it could not but raise them very high above these empty vanities p. 208 The Excellency of the Soul discovered 1 In its Relations to God p. 208 2 The soul is onely commended by God 209 3 It is under the power of no man to inflict evil upon it ib. 4 It is of large extent and capacity to receive the Image of God ib. For 1 It is that that is capable to have the Image of God stampt upon it ib. 2 It is able to work as God himself works p. 210. 3 It is capable of enjoying communion with God himself ib. 4 It is capable of the communication of those Excellencies that ever God did or will communicate to any p. 211 5 The Contiguity it hath with God himself p. 212 A second Excellency of the Soul discovered in Relation to the Angels p. 213 A third in the Indeavour of it ib. A fourth in the Immortality p. 214 A fifth in the Measure of all other Excellencies p. 215 A sixth in the Price that was paid for it p. 216 A seventh in regard of the Body p. 217 God onely can satisfie the soul p. 219 The Devil himself esteems it p. 220 Use 1 Sheweth that wee ought to look upon every childe of man with some reverence esteem and honour 221 Use 2 How can wee look upon many people without having our hearts raised with the meditation of the dreadfulness of Gods Justice upon men for sin ib. Use 3 It must needs bee an honourable work to bee busied about souls 223 Use 4 Those that have most Soul-Excellency are the most excellent people 226 Use 5 Let us bless God for our souls 228 For hence it is that 1 You are look'd upon by the Angels themselves ib. 2 The Providence of God is more towards you ib. 3 You are such as are capable of all the good Christ hath purchased 229 6 Bless God for Soul-Mercies above all other 231 7 What a pitty is it that God should not have the honour of mens souls 232 8 Take heed of dishonouring these souls of yours 233 Question How may a man dishonour his soul Answer 236 1 When hee lives idlely and makes no use of it ib. 2 When hee emploies it about low and mean things 237 3 When hee defiles his soul 238 4 When hee make it a drudge to his body ib. 5 When hee grudges the time and cost hee spends upon it 239 6 When hee laies not up provision for it against an evil day 240 7 When hee thinks to satisfie it with any thing but God ibid. Next Use shews how to put honour upon our soul ib. And that 1 By having your thoughts often upon them ib. 2 By keeping your bodies under them 241 3 By adorning your souls with beauty 242 4 By providing for them ib. 5 By imploying them in things suitable to them ib. 6 By bringing them to
thy soul such a soul as this is I say if it should now depart would bee lost for God doth not save souls but by manifesting himself to them Phil. 2.12 hee would have all to work out their salvation with fear and trembling Certainly though the principle of our salvation bee without us yet the Lord that made us without our selves will never save us without our selves whosoever God doth save hee doth make them solicitous and careful about the work of the salvation of their souls Now if thy conscience tells thee that to this day thy care hath been about many vanities but as for having thy heart taken up with the saving thy soul thou knowest not what belongs to this I say if God should work no more in thee than hee hath done if thou shouldest now die thou wouldest bee lost Thirdly That soul to whom the Lord hath not revealed the glory of the mysteries of the Gospel that yet hath the Gospel kept hidden from it that doth not see into the glorious work of God in the covenant of Grace in those great counsels of God and great things that God hath done for the salvation of mankind in Jesus Christ that soul would bee lost if it should now go from the body and no further work of God upon it That Scripture that divers times you have heard named is proof sufficient for it If our Gospel bee hidden it is hidden to those that are lost 2 Cor. 4.3 Now certainly my brethren if God hath revealed to your souls the glorious things of the Gospel they cannot but bee taking things to you they cannot but cause much stirring much activeness mighty workings in your souls when once the glorious light of the Gospel comes into a soul I say it cannot but cause mighty stirrings and workings in such a soul When I see people sit deadly and dully under the means of Grace under the preaching of the glorious things of the Gospel I cannot but think with my self Lord do these people know what Jesus Christ is and understand what the great things are that God hath done for the salvation of man-kind certainly did they but know the wonderful and strange works of God about the salvation of the souls of the children of men their hearts could not but stir within them and work in another manner than yet they have done Fourthly That soul that hath no other righteousness to tender â—p unto God but its own righteousness if now it should depart would bee lost eternally Whatever man or woman it bee that have lived the most unblameable in his life and conversation that hath been the most righteous that no man could bee able to blame him for any thing yet I say if this man or woman hath no other righteousness to tender up unto God but his own certainly this soul would bee a lost soul for ever the truth is even the soul of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the souls of all the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs all of them would bee lost eternally had they no other righteousness to tender up to God but their own much more those who have only a Civil righteousness and a meer natural righteousness such righteousness as is attainable by the very light of nature such a righteousness as St. Paul speaks on in the 3. of the Philippians that hee lived unblameably how hee was a Pharisee and hee accounted that righteousness of his conversation to bee gain yet afterwards when Christ was revealed to him hee accounted it but loss for hee saw that it would endanger the loss of his soul eternally the resting upon that Quest You will say the soul that hath no other righteousness but his own to tender up to God is that soul lost why what other righteousness is there besides that which is a mans own Answ To that I answer There is a supernatural righteousness the righteousness of a Mediatour God-Man that is come into the world to stand between lost souls and an infinite provoked God and that is made over to the soul by Faith and that soul that is saved by the hand of Faith doth tender up the righteousness of that Mediatour God-Man for the satisfaction of infinite divine Justice and the appeasing of infinite wrath and that is the soul that is saved but that soul that is not acquainted with such a righteousness that hath not such a righteousness made over to it by Faith the righteousness of the Son of God the righteousness that is by Faith in Christ that soul if it should now depart from the body and the Lord work no otherwise upon it than hee hath yet done certainly hee would bee a lost soul and that is the fourth evidence of a soul that would presently bee lost if it should now depart from the body Fifthly A fifth evidence is this That soul that God hath not made in some measure at least to feel the weight and burden of sin discovered sin unto it as a greater burden than all burdens whatsoever if such a soul should depart it would prove to bee lost and that upon this Reason Because without repentance a soul must needs bee lost Except yee repent Luk 13.3 yee shall all likewise perish saith Christ Now repentance cannot stand with feeling sin light much less with joy in sin Repentance whether before Faith or after wee will not now speak of whether a Legal repentance or an Evangelical repentance yet it must bee such a repentance as must bee apprehensive and sensible of sin as a greater evil than all the evils that it is liable to here in the world It must feel sin as it is against God feel sin as sin so as to bee a burden to it the measure of it how far and how weighty sin should bee wee do not now stand upon but that sin should bee found a great burden yea an intollerable burden so that were it not for an infinite Mediatour the soul could not stand under the burden that is necessary in the work of repentance and so the soul to come to sorrow for sin as sin and this is the repentance which is unto life which cannot bee except the soul doth feel in some measure the weight and burden of sin Sixthly Again that man or woman that walks after the flesh in a course of sin to give satisfaction and contentment unto the flesh that makes it to bee the great care and indeavour of it for to satisfie the flesh such of you whose consciences tell you that the contentment of your hearts is some fleshly thing and that in the course of your lives you walk after the flesh certainly if you should now die your souls would bee lost and that is clear out of Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus that walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Therefore those that do not walk after the spirit but after the flesh there is condemnation unto them at the present O!
if men had but enlightened and stirring consciences how easie would it bee for men and women to see themselves in a restless condition and to conclude that if these things be the truths of God then I am in such a condition and though I do not know what God may work for time to come yet if I should now die my soul would bee lost eternally and so that other place in Rom. 8. They that live after the flesh shall die that is perish eternally if your hearts bee after the flesh after fleshly things and they are the things that you minde and if you would speak as in the presence of God you cannot but acknowledge that the things of the flesh are the things that do take up your hearts that are the adequate objects of your spirits and you think your great good and contentment lies in them so that if so bee you might but live alwaies in this world and have those contentments to the flesh as you desire you would care for nothing else but your hearts would bee fully satisfied this is living after the flesh now the Scripture tells us clearly that those that live after the flesh thus shall die It is your great care that the flesh bee satisfied and it is Gods threat that when you make it thus your great care to satisfie the flesh that you shall die so that this is a perishing condition unto you Seventhly Yea further what soul soever is but under the dominion of any one lust that soul if it should now depart would certainly bee lost Not onely such as live in all kind of sins that the constant course of their lives is in every kind of sin but if there bee but any one reigning ruling sin if there bee but any one sinful way that God hath convinc'd thy conscience of to bee a sin and yet because of gain or delight or pleasure or honours or respects thou dost go on in a constant course and way and practice of that sin though it bee but one sin so that thou art a slave to any one lust certainly this soul of thine if God works no ootherwise upon it than yet hee hath done will certainly be lost and that is clear out of Rom. 6.14 For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the Law but under grace I would reason from this Scripture thus what soul soever is not under grace under the covenant of grace and under the mercy that there is in that covenant that soul if now it should depart must perish eternally but whosoever is under the dominion of any one sin is not under grace for the Scripture plainly saith That sin shall not have dominion over us if wee bee under grace If our souls bee in such an estate as they bee under the grace of the Gospel then there must not any one sin have dominion over them there may some sin dwell there but not reign there there is a great deal of difference between sins being in the soul and ruling over the soul Quest You will say then What is it for sin to have dominion Answ When sin shall set up a kind of Throne in the soul and give Laws as a King and thou shalt obey It is one thing for an enemy to come with violence and take possession and hurry one on to do that one would not do and another thing to bee subject and to yeeld to the laws and commandements of sin Now sin hath dominion when it is as a King upon his Throne that thou yeâ—ldest subjection unto it and for the satisfying of thine own lusts thou art willing that this sin should rule over thee Now that you may know a little further for the meaning of this sin and Jesus Christ cannot have dominion both together Then thus far wee may go safely that except Jesus Christ hath dominion over you then sin hath But how shall I know whether Christ hath dominion I will but appeal to you in this plain and familiar kinde of expressing of my self canst thou say as in the presence of God that seeth and searchest thy heart O Lord thou knowest that I have given up my heart to the Rule of Jesus Christ I would put this to every soul here present and I beseech you weigh it for wee are speaking of matters of life and death of salvation and damnation now therefore I put this unto you and think of it canst thou appeal to God in the sincerity of thy heart and say Lord thou art the seer and searcher of all hearts and thou knowest that though I have many weaknesses and infirmities and am often overcome by temptation yet thou knowest that I have given up my heart to the obedience of Jesus Christ and I do give it up and it is that that my soul desires above all things that Jesus Christ may rule in it that Christ may have dominion that his Laws may bee set up and if I knew any more of the mind of Jesus Christ whatsoever it cost mee thou that knowest all things knowest I would submit unto it and if there bee any thing that is against the mind of Jesus Christ if it bee but known to mee thou knowest that my heart is against it and I would rather than a world that I were delivered from the power of it canst thou speak thus as in the presence of God and certainly a Christian though a weak Christian can appeal to God in the sincerity of it and is able to venture its self upon such an appeal to God And if there bee not this dominion of Jesus Christ then there is the dominion of sin and then thou art not under grace therefore if God doth not more in thy soul than hee hath done thou shalt perish for ever and that man or woman that can sleep quietly so hath a strange pillow to sleep upon It is reported of Augustus Caesar that hearing of a Gentleman that was much in debt hee sent to buy his pillow saying Surely there is a great deal of virtue in that pillow that such a man could sleep on who was so much in debt Truly I may say so it is a strange kinde of pillow that men can sleep upon who are in such a condition that if God do no more for than hee hath done would certainly perish Eighthly But further That man or woman that hath not yet had such a change wrought by the power of the Spirit of God as is a new birth a resurrection from death a new creation that soul if it now depart would certainly perish Certainly every one of you as you come into the world as you are by nature your souls are in a lost estate and in such a lost estate as except the Lord make such a change in your heart as is a new birth by which you come to bee born again as is a new resurrection by which you come to bee raised from the dead as is a new creation
to himself as ever was I think since the beginning of the world and the Devil knowing that hee could not get them to turn to lewdness and prophaneness presently again therefore hee labours to put them upon turning all their Religion into questions about controversal things which they could not be able to mannage and understand and so puts them off the thoughts of that great question What they should do to bee saved But O labour to inquire and to bee satisfied and resolved in that question betimes Secondly If you ask this question as you are to do it betimes so do it earnestly do it with a great deal of fervency of spirit as a matter of infinite concernment so in Matth. 10.17 When hee was gone forth into the way there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him good Master what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life Hee came running with a great deal of fervency and earnestness about the business and the fervency that youth hath should bee manifested in this in being earnest in the inquiring after the way of salvation people that are elder they think they are well enough and they have not lived so long they think as not to know how to bee saved all this while and therefore will not enquire so that their spirits do not boil with that fervency and heat as young ones do hee came running to Christ Thirdly If you do inquire inquire sincerely with a heart truly willing to do whatsoever God shall make known to you wee are this day about this great question what a man should do to save his soul I suppose many of you would bee glad to know what should bee done and mee-thinks every one is ready to ask such a question as this is But before wee come to answer it let mee speak to you as in the Name of God do you desire to know it with a heart truly willing to yeeld to whatsoever should out of Gods Word bee revealed to you put this to your own hearts before wee come to give any answer otherwise what do you hear this day if there bee not such a heart as this that you can appeal to God and profess that whatsoever this day the Lord shall reveal unto meâ— from his Word that I should do to save my soul here I am and profess to yeeld my self up to the truths of God if your hearts bee so fram'd then wee may have incouragement to come and shew you what should bee done Fourthly And you must inquire constantly too if you should not bee satisfied at one time never bee at rest till you are satisfied do not ask what I should do and come to hear what you should do and then pass it over and let every little thing take this out of your minds again but when you begin to bee inquiring after the way of salvation resolve that you will never give rest to your souls till you have gotten this question answered to you And there is a great deal of reason that wee should ask this question in such a way For Reas First Every one of your souls are in a lost condition naturally therefore it concerns you to bee inquiring after the way of salvation Secondly The salvation of a soul is the most difficult thing in the world if ever thy soul bee saved it must cost more than Heaven and Earth is worth to save it it is not therefore such a trifling business the saving of souls This I dare avouch as in the Name of God that the soul of the poorest girl or servant that is here if it bee saved it must cost more than Heaven and Earth is worth to save it therefore there is a difficulty in it Thirdly and lastly There are but few that shall bee saved there is nothing more clear in the Word of God than that that there are but few souls that shall bee saved wee cannot tell as I have said that this or the other soul cannot bee saved wee are not to enter into Gods counsels concerning particular souls but this wee may say Matth. 7.13 compared with Luk. 13.24 and have warrant from the Word to say that there are but few souls that shall bee saved Strive to enter in at the strait gate for strait is the gate and narrow is the way and few there bee that enter And upon that ground Christ himself raises that exhortation therefore strive therefore inquire you after the way of salvation with all your might if there should a voice come from Heaven at this time and say there are but few in this Congregation shall go out alive it would put every one to a stand every one would think with himself Oh Lord must I die here why there is this voice from Heaven that there are but few souls in the world but shall perish eternally then certainly it is not for us to bee quiet but it concerns us to bee restless in our conditions and every one to say what is it I what is it I when Christ did but say that one of you shall betray mee every one was inquiring Is it I Is it I but when it is said that there shall bee but few saved the flock of Christ is but a little flock the words in the original are two diminutives and may be translated a little little flock Oh it concerns you all to look about you But now these things being premised for the putting of you on to the enquiring after salvation with all your might now wee come to the answer of this question What wee should do that our souls may bee saved And in the answer to this wee must premise further First There is nothing that any man can do that saves him there must bee somewhat higher that what hee can do and yet God requires that hee should do what hee can do Indeed what any man can do of himself yea or by assistance from common grace yea wee will say further by assistance from any grace whatsoever though it may help forward his salvation by an ordinance of God yet it cannot be the thing that saves him the thing that saves him is higher than what is done by the creature it is what is done by Christ or what is suffered by Christ it is that that saves the soul and not I say what is done or suffered by us But yet now wee must not make such a vain and foolish and dangerous inference that therefore nothing is to bee done because the things that wee do are not the things that save us there is a great deal of evil comes from men and womens presuming to draw consequences they think that if this bee true the other will follow and so through the weakness of their understandings Ephes 2.1 John 15.5 they come to draw dangerous consequences from true positions Why wee are dead in sins by nature and without mee yee can do nothing saith Christ upon this here is this consequence drawn by
to the contrary which was required in the spiritual meaning of the Law that forbids covetousness and requires that wee should bee willing to part with all for God when hee calls for it Go and sell all that thou hast and follow mee and take up thy cross and follow mee saith Christ I but the young man hee had great possessions but because â—â—e was no swearer nor stealer nor murderer nor lyar hee thought hee had fulfilled the Law but Christ by putting that to him did as much as if hee should say poor young man thou art deceived thou thinkest that thou are able to do what God requires in his Law but didst thou but understand the spiritual part of the Law thou wouldest see that thou art so cast by it that all that thou art able to do in thy obedience to the Law cannot bee sufficient through the sinfulness of thy heart and nature but thou must perish if thou takest such a course as that is to think to bee saved by the Law certainly this it is upon which thousands of souls do perish they think indeed they are sinners but they hope they shall do better and they are able they think though not without God God must help them to do that that the Word of God requires of them whereby they may come to bee saved now certainly thou knowest not thy fallen condition and how far off thou art from God and what thy sinful estate is naturally that hast such thoughts as these But secondly If thou wouldest have thy soul saved break off the acts of thy sin at least you will say why do we speak to men to break off the acts of their sin why certainly wee may well speak for God doth give men power for outward acts very far thou canst not do it of thy self that is true but there is a common work of Gods Spirit that doth inable men and women for outward acts very far Let him that stole steal no more A man now at the day of judgement cannot say Lord I continued in theft because I was not able to forbear it though thou canst not change thy heart indeed yet forbear the outward act thou canst one that is dumb might say if hee could speak Lord I was no swearer because I could not speak otherwise thou art ready to say I cannot help it but God will finde it otherwise at the great day Certainly if thou wouldest but put thy self upon what strength God gives thee thou mayest as well go to a Sermon as to an Ale-house It is a very false reasoning of people that because they have not true grace therefore God inables them to do no outward acts therefore do what in thee lies to break off the outward acts of thy sin Thou that art a company-keeper a Sabbath-breaker a swearer an unclean person take heed of continuing in the outward way of sinning against God resolve this day against those outward acts of thy sin do but do thus much because thou thinkest thou canst do nothing do but profess thus to God in his presence when thou art gone get alone and say Lord it is true I can do nothing-without thee but here I do ingage my self to joyn with whatsoever thou hast given mee or shalt give mee to abstain from those acts of sin which I have lived in and this Lord I ingage my self to do as ever I expect to bee saved in the day of Jesus Christ canst thou not say these words express thy self but thus to God and certainly these things thou mayest say and that is somewhat That man and woman that shall wilfully go on in those vile gross acts of sin that are against the very light of nature and the light of their consciences for them to come and say What shall I do to bee saved and yet still continue in their sins it is but a trifling with God and taking Gods Name in vain except it bee with a resolution to go thus far Thirdly Thou must labour to take off thine heart as much as thou canst from the things of the world from these outward contentments here from seeking after them as thy greatest good that that was thy chief desire heretofore thou must labour to take off thy heart from and possess thy soul vvith the one thing necessary to conclude thus with thy self it is not necessary that I should be rich that I should bee honourable that I should have these and these outward comforts in the world but it is necessary that I should look to the salvation of my soul when God hath a purpose to save hee doth take the heart off very much from creature-comforts Oh if peoples hearts were but taken off from the world to seek after salvation in a constant way as they are at some flashes when they hear some truths that come near to their hearts or when they are upon their sick-beds Oh how far might they have been gone in the way of salvation but the thoughts of the world hath taken their hearts and all other things have vanisht and come to nothing Fourthly If thou wouldest have thy soul saved thy great care and indeavour must bee to acquaint thy self with the knowledge of the Mysteries of the Gospel of the covenant of grace of the way that God hath chalkt out for salvation let a man or woman have never so good meanings never such good desires and affections live never so fairly and civilly in the world yet if they bee not acquainted with the way that God in the Gospel and in the Covenant of Grace hath revealed for the salvation of souls they may perish for all that God hath appointed but one way to save souls and hee is set upon it and determined that whosoever misses that way must perish whatsoever good thoughts and desires they have otherwise The Eighth SERMON ON The Excellency of the Soul Matthew 16.26 For what is a man profited if hee shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul Quest NOw you will say What is it in the Gospel and in the Covenant of Grace that wee must labour to inform our selves in that wee may bee saved Answ First Thou must labour to inform thy self of the absolute necessity of satisfaction to divine Justice that is revealed in the Gospel and that thou must come to know I am a sinful wretched creature my soul is in a damnable condition now that that must save mee must satisfie Gods infinite Justice I may not bee saved meerly by my crying to God for mercy no if there were nothing else but my crying to God for mercy yea put all my good deeds into the scale put what I have done what I can do what I can bee inabled to do all my prayers my cries this will not do It is true there is not enough in mee but will not Gods mercy eke it out No it is neither what thou doest or canst do or canst be inabled to do and put Gods mercy meerly without
any more that doth it but it is a satisfaction to justice a price paid for the soul no soul is ever saved but it is saved in the way of a price that is paid for it and this thou must acquaint thy soul with which thousands of people are ignorant of yet they hope to bee saved but how they will pray to God that they may bee saved and that God would have mercy upon them and is here all certainly this is not the way of the Gospel but the way of the Gospel it is that that reveals unto the soul the price that is paid for a soul even the blood of Christ That in Christ the great Mediatour of the second Covenant there is a perfect satisfaction to Gods Infinite Justice this indeed is a great part of the Mystery of the Gospel this is the saving truth of the Gospel and thou must acquaint thy soul with this truth if thou bee saved And when thou hearest of this truth perhaps thou canst not understand it for the present Oh then thou hadst need go to God in secret and bee crying to him that hee would reveal this truth unto thee But you will say it is not our crying It is true it is not meerly our crying but there is something of God further But God hath made many gracious promises of answering our cries and now that so hee may make good his promises hee will further reveal this Mystery of the Gospel to thee that there is a necessity of satisfaction to divine Justice for thy sin that hath brought thy soul into a lost condition Secondly And further A necessity of a perfect Righteousness wee will not speak of any thing controversal about it which way it comes to bee applied but this all will grant that there is a perfect Righteousness that wee have need of the way of salvation is a perfect Righteousness thou must have a surety that must have a perfect Righteousness for thee Thirdly And then the way of salvation is this it reveals an absolute necessity of the Application of the satisfaction and Righteousness of Jesus Christ the Application of that that it must bee made thine some way that thou must have thy part and share in it by thy union unto Christ and by being made one mystically with him through Faith so that the soul is not meerly saved through mercy Nor thus that Christ hee hath come and done such and such things and therefore saith God the Father for the sake of Jesus Christ I will save thee for hee hath satisfied mee by what hee hath done No but there is somewhat more I confess it is true in the conclusion wee are saved for the sake of Christ but it is by our union with Christ wee are united to Christ and made one with him and so what Christ hath done for our salvation is tendred up to the Father as ours wee being one with Jesus Christ so that now if thou shouldest know thy miserable estate by nature and thereupon inquire after salvation and cry to God that hee would bee merciful unto thee that is not enough but the Gospel reveals further Suppose thou comest to know more than thou canst understand by the light of nature but yet the Gospel doth reveal to thee that not onely thou must bee saved by Christ but thou must bee united to Christ by Faith there must bee a spiritual marriage between the Son of God and thy soul thou must have Christ to bee a head and thou a member hee thy husband and thou his Spouse thou must inquire after this union and that is the way of beleeving and the substance of the Apostles words to the Jaylor when hee cryed what hee should do to bee saved why saith hee Beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt bee saved It must bee through Jesus Christ the great Mediatour of the second Covenant by thy beleeving in him and being made one with him that thou must come to bee saved Fourthly And then the Gospel it reveals further as necessary to salvation a necessity of Regeneration of being born again of having the Image of God renewed in the soul by the Spirit of Jesus Christ of being a new Creature the want of which if the soul should now depart it must certainly perish under but now if it come to bee saved it must have this revealed to it for in the Gospel there is held forth the great work of God in begetting that soul anew to himself that hee doth intend to save in putting a new life into it in sending the Spirt of Jesus Christ into it whereby it lives and acts and works being now carried on not by its own spirit but by the Spirit of the Son of God this is necessary to salvation to do acts of Regeneration so Christ tells Nicodomus hee must bee born again and this onely the Gospel reveals and thus our souls should labour to acquaint themselves with the great things of the Gospel and as the wise man saith concerning instruction in Prov. 4.13 Take fast hold of instruction let her not go keep her for shee is thy life So I say of these instructions that are revealed in the Gospel keep them for they are your lives do not think that God though hee is infinitely merciful yet that hee will save souls any other way for God hath set this way and it is an infinite mercy that wee are to admire at and adore and praise his Name for that there may bee salvation any way and if there may be salvation any way oh you poor wretched children of men know that you should be restless till you come to understand further that one way Oh that wee could make it to bee the great business of our lives to search into the Gospel and finde out these things for it is through this that we come to have eternal life Fifthly A fifth rule for the salvation of your souls If God hath put it into your hearts to seek to have them saved you must walk with fear and trembling before the Lord all the daies of your lives the fear of God must bee mighty and strong upon your spirits if you would bee saved and you must labour to keep the fear of the great God upon your spirits that place is famous for this in Phil. 2.12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his own good pleasure As if the Holy Ghost should say you had need walk with fear before the Lord for the truth is hee hath you at such infinite advantage as you are not able to stir one foot to do any thing for the deliverance of your souls from eternal wrath without the work of God upon you you had need take heed what you do that you do not provoke this infinite God that hath you under his feet that you are able to do nothing towards your salvation if hee withdraw
inheritance among them that are sanctified by Faith that is in mee Saith the Lord Christ to Paul I will send thee to open the eyes of men and to turn them from darkness unto light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and this is the great ordinance that I intend for this end and that I will accompany to those that I purpose to save at any time Therefore when you come to hear the Word you should come to it as the great Ordinance that God hath appointed to save souls by Is there any soul that begins in this Congregation to bee awakened and to think with it self Oh Lord What shall I do to bee saved I tell thee that every time thou comest to hear the Word preached thou shouldest come to it with such thoughts as these Now am I going to that great Ordinance that the Lord hath appointed to convey his power thorow to the salvation of those souls that are appointed to eternal life I am going to the Pool of Bethesda and there will I wait until the Lord shall bee pleased for to send his Angel to stir in my heart and I have begun to feel some power of Christ already which doth incourage mee to hope for further power There is many a soul hath met with Jesus Christ and hee hath brought it from the power of Satan to his own Kingdome of light and why may not my soul meet with the same power of Jesus Christ however I am resolved that as long as I live I will wait upon God in the way that hee hath appointed Oh the Word it hath a great deal of efficacy for the salvation of souls therefore if thou wouldest have thy soul saved attend upon it for that end I shall apply one Scripture which may bee for the preparation to what remains You are about inquiring how you should bee saved and wee are about answering Oh take heed that you bee not found in this like unto those wretched Jews which God forbid that there should bee any one in this place found like unto that would fain have the Prophet Jeremiah be inquiring what the mind of God was concerning them and they profest that whatsoever the Lord should reveal by him that they would do but when it came loe they fling off all and it was to no purpose the Scripture is in Jer. 42.5 Then they said to Jeremiah The Lord bee a true and a faithful witness between us if wee do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us Wee desire thee to go and know the mind of God and tell it us and here wee profess and call God to witness that wee will do what lies in us to perform all that the Lord thy God shall require This was a very fair promise and I hope there are some souls if not generally all of you have such a kinde of disposition Oh let his servant search his Word and finde out what should be done and whatsoever hee shall speak according to his Word that will wee do and God forbid it should bee otherwise it were just with God that our souls should perish if wee should do otherwise but there is a mighty deal of deceitfulness in the hearts of men Jeremiah went and did as they desired him but mark chap. 44. 16. and you shall see what a different disposition there was in them to what there seemed to bee before first you shall finde in chap. 43. they begin to wrangle at what Jeremiah spake to them all the proud men began to wrangle at what Jeremiah spake mark it is all the proud men they are proud spirits that do contend with Gods Word but mark first they wrangle chap. 43.2 and then they grow resolute and stubborn chap. 44.16 As for the word that thou hast spoken to us in the Name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee why what are these the men that called God to witness that whatsoever Jeremiah should declare in the Name of God they would do it and yet now first they wrangle at what he saith and then they resolve that as for what hee hath spoken to them in the Name of the Lord they will not hear it Now God forbid that ever there should bee found among any of you such wrangling spirits with the Word of God certainly God will justifie the words of his servants that they speak in his Name one day and will make them good upon you and they may lye heavy upon the soul that shall neglect them but then where there is first wrangling at the Word of God there usually grows an impudent proud stubborn casting off the Word of God As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord wee will not hearken unto thee Why should not wee do what wee have a mind to why should not wee take our liberty on the Lords day as vvee vvere vvont and follovv our business as vvee vvere vvont let them say vvhat they vvill vvee vvill do as vvee vvere vvont to do and vvee vvill keep our company as vvee vvere vvont to do let them speak vvhile their heart akes this vvas the very guize of this people that made such a profession before the Lord but oh the Lord forbid that it should bee so vvith any of you But Seventhly If thou vvouldest have thy soul saved thou must take heed of resting upon false hopes of thy salvation you must rase down even to the very ground all your false hopes of salvation there is nothing in the vvorld hinders the salvation of souls more than false hopes vvhen men dare build their eternal salvation upon every sleight and vain hope that they hold The hope of the Hypocrite the Scriptuie saith is like the Spiders-webb spun out of thine ovvn conceits but every little touch is enough to strike it dovvn again Oh the poor things that people thus venture their souls upon I shevved you in the opening of vvhat did cause the loss of souls that one thing vvas by venturing and their vain hopes vvas one novv these must bee ras'd dovvn you vvill say vvhat are those vain hopes that must first bee ras'd dovvn and vvhat do you mean by rasing of them dovvn That I may speak plainly in this thing that concerns the poorest and meanest that is of the meanest capacity in the world as well as the most able or learned for the poorest hath a soul to save as well as the richest and the weakest as well as the learnedst if such a one should say What are those things that are to bee rased down to that I answâ—â— First Such hopes as are not Scripture-hopes if they bee not Scripture hopes they must bee rased down Rom. 15.4 Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that wee through patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope Wee have hope through patience and comfort
of the Scripture how doth the hopes of those that shall bee saved arise Why they rise thus either by reading or hearing something out of the Word of God and God darting some light some truths into their souls through his Word they come to receive it and there it lies working in them till at length their souls relish it and they taste the sweetness of the Word and come to have comfort in it and so through patience and comfort of the Scriptures their hope comes to bee raised the Scripture in raising hopes first it works patience it usually beats down the soul first and speaks hard things to it and the soul that God over-powers to himself it is willing to lye under the power of the Scripture and bee patient notwithstanding the Scripture doth reveal such hard things and puts it upon never such hard duties the heart I say yeelds to it and at length the soul comes to finde sweetness out of the Scripture and so hopes comes to bee raised that is the soul sees some eternal truth out of the Word of God the truth of God himself that is eternal a divine truth that it dares venture its eternal estate upon and upon this it doth raise its hope it is able to give an account from some place of the Scripture upon what grounds it doth hope I hope that God will shew mercy to mee and save my soul in the day of Christ will some say I but what ground have you for your hopes Now if your hopes bee right then there is somewhat in this Book of God to bee shewed as the ground of this and indeed you can have but little comfort of your hopes except you bee able to hold forth some Scripture of other upon which you build your hopes for when you say you hope you may not mean that you think and aâ—e perswaded that it is so but what Scripture have you for iâ—â—â— you will say what Scriptures have any to ground their hopâ—s of salvation upon what Scriptures a great many I will give you but this one that many have to ground their hopeâ— upon Rom. 8.1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Upon this now saith a soul that God brings to himself What doâ—h God say in his Word that word upon which my soul stands and must bee cast one day for eternity that those that are in Christ Jesus shall never bee condemned I but who are they such as walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit such as the bent of whose hearts and the indeavours of whose souls are not after fleshly things the comforts of this world but after spiritual things such whom the Lord hath made to be sensible of spiritual things and such as the Lord doth act and guide by his holy Spirit in their waies and conversations God saith such shall never be condemned then upon this I will build my hopes for I feel that the Lord hath been pleased to work so on mee as to bring mee to Jesus Christ to see him to close with him and to relye upon him and I feel the fruit of the Spirit of Christ in mee that whereas before I walked after the flesh and spiritual things I did not savour now I finde that the lusts of the flesh are mortified and I should wrong the grace of God if I should deny the actings and the guidings of the Spirit in my soul and therefore I will build my hopes and rest upon this Scripture And the more any soul rests upon any Scripture if it rests truly the more shall it finde the power of that Scripture upon it Therefore you shall know the difference between an hypocrites resting upon Scripture and one that rests through the work of Gods Grace an Hypocrite rests upon such a Scripture and conceits that his heart is according to the Scripture but now hee doth not finde that the more hee rests the more his heart is wrought upon by the Scripture and daily grows to bee liker and liker to the Scripture to come nearer and nearer to what is required in the Scripture but now when a gracious heart doth rest upon Scripture it findes that daily it doth grow nearer and nearer to the Scripture and that works daily more and more upon it and indeed this is the way to grow in sanctification and to make our hearts like to the Scriptures Fall upon several places and let your souls rest upon them for eternity and so you will finde your hearts to grow more and more like to those Scriptures and the power of those Scriptures will appear more and more in your hearts and conversations This is the way of the Saints that have hopes to bee saved Secondly Again those hopes that are to be rased are hopes that are not wrought in the soul by the power of the Holy Ghost in the forenamed Chapter The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in beleeving that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost That hope that is right for salvation is such a hope as is wrought through the power of the Holy Ghost Now then that hope that is in men and women which is born with them and hath lived with them all their daies that springs from the root of nature for so that that is born with us and grows up with us all the daies of our lives I say it springs from a root of nature and so the hopes of most people they are no other but such as springs from a root of nature come from one to another and ask them do you think to bee saved I I hope so how long have you hoped so ever since I can remember I thank God I I thought so it is a hope that springs out of the root of nature and therefore you have had it alwaies whereas the true hope of the godly for salvation it is a hope wrought in their hearts by the Almighty power of the Holy Ghost And I appeal to you now what Almighty power of the Holy Ghost have you felt in your hearts to raise up those hopes that you have in you For certainly the grace of hope hath a difficulty in it as well as any grace whatsoever now all people almost finde an easiness in that but here the Scripture makes it to bee the glory of the Holy Ghost to raise hopes in any creature therefore those hopes that arise from a root of nature that are not wrought by an Almighty power of the Holy Ghost in the heart must bee rased down Do but put your souls to this question I have hopes to bee saved but Lord how are they wrought what power of the Holy Ghost hath been in my heart to raise these hopes Suppose there were no Holy Ghost as they said in the Acts that they had not so much as heard whether there were any Holy Ghost or no
beleeves that now surely the Lord intends salvation to mee the Lord hath laid such a ground-work upon my soul as I dare venture all upon it and now I have cause to hope that the hazard of miscarrying to all eternity is over O this is that that is the joy of the Holy Ghost joy unspeakable and glorious when the soul upon good grounds can have hopes that the hazard of its miscarrying to all eternity is over now My soul return unto thy rest Psal 16.7 saith such a one so that that is the next thing the rasing down of the old and raising up the new foundation Ninthly If thou wouldest have thy soul saved thou must keep thy soul under the authority of the Word and maintain the authority of the Word and the authority of conscience over thee this is the way if thou meanest to go in Gods way for salvation First For the Word The soul that God intends to save hee doth reveal unto it a dreadful authority that there is in this Book of God this is that word saith God to the soul wherein I have revealed my mind to the children of men Those counsels of my will that concern the eternal good of the children of men are in this book and all your souls are to be cast by this book by this word for eternity Now this being revealed to the soul the soul stands in awe of this word and trembles at this word fears the authority of it looks upon every threatning in the Word every command in the Word every promise in the Word as having a divine authority stampt upon it sees the broad Seal of Heaven stampt upon every thing in this Book and dares not wilfully transgress against any thing in the Word and so continues in keeping its self under the dreadful authority of the Word and that soul is in a good forwardness to bee saved that is kept under the dreadful authority of Gods Word in the constant course of it Now I appeal to you you would fain have your souls saved but can you say thus Indeed I have many sins yet God knows that knows all things that my soul it is kept under the dreadful authority of his Word continually and this I labour to do more and more and I am willing it should bee so I am not willing to have the authority of Gods Word cast off but I am gâ—ad that ever God did discover to mee the dreadful authority that there is in his Word Secondly And then the next thing is the authority of conscience if conscience have any enlightening it is that that will discover very much of the mind of God unto thee there is nothing will discover Gods mind more unto the heart of a man or woman than an enlightened conscience and it will discover it with power a Minister speaks and his words many times vanish in the Air but when conscience comes to discover Gods mind it comes with power and speaks particularly to this soul and the other soul and conscience when it hath light will bee pleading of Gods cause and admonishing and plucking the soul out of the waies of death and perdition and it will not easily bee put off you may easily put off the counsels of such and such friends but conscience will not easily bee put off it will come with such majesty upon the heart of a sinner that there is no gain-saying of it conscience will not regard the vain shifts that people have but still comes in a commanding power Oh keep the authority of conscience many men and women because they cannot go on freely in the waies of sin where conscience and the word have much authority over them therefore they seek to cast off the authority of the word and conscience but know this for a truth that that soul that hath cast off the authority of the word and conscience is going apace to Hell is going apace to destruction All the while the word and conscience kept thee under thou wert in some forwardness towards the way of life but if thou hast once cast off that then Oh how doth the soul grow hardened in sin how easily are the truths of God rejected and then it goes with greediness to satisfie the lusts of the flesh and ten thousand to one but such a soul perishes eternally Oh if there bee ever a soul in this place that had the authority of Gods word and conscience to bee over them with power and now through the violence of their lusts have cast it off Oh let such a one take notice of what is said unto them in the Name of God Oh thy soul is going apace to destruction But as for you that begin to feel any authority of the word or of conscience upon you Oh keep it for this it is that will carry and guide thee in the way that will bring to life at the last Tenthly If thou wouldest have thy soul bee saved take heed of sinning against the price of thy soul against the blood of the covenant and against mercy take heed of these three things take heed of sinning against Jesus Christ that paid the price against the Gospel that revealed the price of thy soul Oh take heed above all things of turning the grace of God into wantonness let not the free grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ bee turned to bee a means to harden thy soul in sin to think thou mayest take the more liberty to have the satisfaction of the lusts of the flesh why because Jesus Christ came to save sinners let mee say to thee as Peter to Simon Magus Oh Pray if it bee possible that the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee If thou hast ever had such reasonings in thy heart why Jesus Christ came to save sinners and the grace of the Gospel that is free and full enough to save souls though they bee never such great sinners and upon that thou hast taken more liberty Oh thou hadst need fall down before the Lord and cry If it bee possible that such a thought of thy heart might bee forgiven thee if you look into the Epistle of Jude you shall finde a dreadful passage against such as turn the grace of God into wantonness it is made a sign of a Reprobate and it is as black a brand of a Reprobate as any one to turn the grace of God and especially that grace of God that is in the price that is paid for souls to turn that into wantonness is the most dreadful hinderance of saving of a soul that possibly can bee Oh take heed of sinning against Jesus Christ the great Saviour of souls but honour Jesus Christ all the waies you can would you fain have your souls saved Christ is the great Saviour of souls and you had need honour him Kiss the Son lest hee bee angry and love him Psal 2 1â— you had need love his ordinances and all his members and all his people you had need
Heaven The Spirit of God which is like unto the Dove in the Ark perhaps it comes into thy heart once and it comes in again and thou sendest it out again but take heed of sending it out the third time lest it should never come in to thee again Gen. 6.3 but that the Lord should say Spirit never strive more with such a soul Oh when God begins to stir it doth concern you to say with Samuel Lord speak for thy servant hears You that have been forward heretofore and have lost the work of Gods Spirit you had need look about you for it is a dangerous thing to draw back My soul saith God Heb. 10.38 shall have no pleasure in those that shall draw back And if the soul of God will have no pleasure in thee how shall thy soul bee saved Twelfthly Whosoever would have their souls saved let them take this course account the preciousness of the time of your lives to consist in this that it is a day of salvation account it therefore a mercy of God that your lives are continued upon this reason not because you may get great estates and live and have your pleasures and delights but because God hath appointed the time of mans life here in this world to bee the time to provide for his eternity few men and women in the world know how to judge aright of the preciousness of their time the time of their lives and that man or woman that comes to know aright how to judge of the preciousness of this time of life and of what doth depend upon it such a one is in a good forwardness to salvation Thirteenthly The last thing that I shall Name is this bee sure to go with those that go in the safest way and the straightest way many of you you question about many things that others do whether they need do so or no why can none bee saved but those that do so but I appeal to your consciences do not you think the strictest way of godliness is the safest way for salvation now if it bee the safest if you did but understand the infinite consequence of the salvation of your souls there need bee no other Argument to perswade you to any strict way of godliness but this whatever it bee whether absolutely necessary or no I am sure it is the safest way and I am sure there was never yet any upon his sick-bed that did repent him that hee was too strict and too precise but I have known many that have repented them of being too loose and too careless Now in a matter that is of great consequence you will bee sure to take the safest way If there bee any people in the world that walk so as your consciences tell you they are in a more strict way than others more holy more close to God more self-denying more faithful it doth concern you to inquire after those and to walk after those and joyn with them surely those that go on in the safest way for the salvation of their souls those I will make a pattern to mee I will not look what the common course of the world and the generality of the world doth The Scripture tells us that There are but few that shall bee saved And therefore the fewness of men shall never discourage mee bee they never so few bee they never so mean If I am perswaded in my conscience it is the safest way that is the way that I will walk in and surely it is the way for the soul to have comfort at the great day when it shall appear before the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ I beseech you consider of this if you were all now to appear before Jesus Christ to have your eternal estates determined of in what mens conditions would you wish your selves to be in if it might bee at your liberty and Christ should say now I am to pass the sentence of eternity upon you for your salvation or damnation now what kind of mens estates would you wish your selves to be in who would you rather be like unto who would you venture most upon to be dealt withall according as your consciences do think they are most like to bee dealt with I am perswaded if this were the case most loose and prophane and ungodly men would run and cling unto those that now they scorn and contemn unto those that walk with the most strictness and holiness in their conversations Certainly if you would do so Then it is your wisdome to do so Now that which will bee true then certainly is true now and therefore that is a good way for the helping to save your souls to joyn with those that walk in the strictest and the holiest way to do that now that if you were to die you would wish you had done and to bee with them now that if you were to have the sentence of eternity past upon you you would wish you had been withall But this shall suffice for what is to bee said concerning that great Question about the preventing the loss of our souls and what wee should do to bee saved Now for the conclusion you have heard divers things already about the way and direction for the saving of souls I suppose when first the Question was raised every one of you would bee greedy to hear an answer There was never a one in this place but would fain have his soul saved eternally what do you mean to do now what are your thoughts there hath been a question and I have indeavoured in the Name of God to answer it Now this is that that I desire of you even before you sleep get into the presence of God alone and give in your answer to God what you mean to do are you resolved upon it will you ingage your souls now to God this evening that that little time that hee will let you live in this world that your indeavours shall bee according to those particulars that have been opened unto you Oh blessed bee God if this bee but in any one soul but can any one think that among such a multitude as this is but that the Lord would bee pleased to dart some thing or other into one or more Let mee conclude at this time as the servant of Naaman said to him when the Prophet gave him direction what hee should do to bee cleansed hee began to bee angry and was loath to do what the Prophet bid him why saith his servant to him My Father If the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing wouldest thou not have done it how much rather then when hee saith to thee wash and bee clean So I say to you considering what the worth of your souls is and the danger there is of your eternal miscarrying how if God should have said this That so your souls may bee saved I require of every one of you that you should for forty fifty years lie as a head-block at
lest hee should have his portion in these outward things and here should bee all hee breaks forth in this expression fearing lest God should give him his portion here I did saith hee protest to God with all my power and strength that hee should not put mee off so with these things hee would not bee content with them that is the first Use Little cause to envy at the men of the world for the truth is it is but a poor pittance they have and they have made a most miserable bargain If you should see one that professes himself to be a Merchant and hee should venture many thousand pounds but bring home nothing but a fair painted bauble for children to play with would you envy it to him Just thus it is with the men of the world they flatter and please themselves with their baubles but their souls are gone in the mean time Secondly Wherefore in the second place let all those that do seek to get the world in those waies wherein they are like to lose their souls let them lay this Scripture to heart and O that God would settle it upon their spirits that you might when you awake in the night season think of it when you walk up and down when you are in your shops in your business think but of this Text I remember I told you in the beginning of one that counselled one of the Kings of Portugal to think of this Text a quarter of an hour every day O that you would every time you awake especially you that have been seeking after much of the world think seriously of this Scripture Am not I the man or woman that have hazarded my soul for seeking after somewhat of the world hast thou never sought to gain any thing of the world in a way of sin and to this day thy heart not thorowly humbled for it nor repented it may bee not to this day made restitution hath not the eager pursuit after the things of this world taken thy heart up so much that thou hast not favoured the things of God and eternal life thou lookest upon the things of the world as if they were the onely realities but for spiritual things they are imaginations have not the things of this world so taken up thy spirit as made thee to have sleight thoughts of spiritual and heavenly things hast not thou blest thy self in the injoyment of these things though in the mean time God hath not made known to thee the riches of his Kingdome yet thou hast thought thy self to have enough in the enjoyment of what thou hast hast not thou often when thou hast been at the Word had thy thoughts and spirits about the things of the world as the things suitable to thee but the things of the Word thou hast not relisht yea and any thing in the Word that hath come close to that covetous corruption of thine thy heart hath secretly derided it there are no men in the world that do more secretly condemn and deride the things of God spiritual things than worldly-minded men In Luk. 16.14 wee read that Christ preaching to the Pharisees against their covetousness and telling them That no man could serve two Masters but either hee will hate the one and love the other or else hee will hold to the one and despise the other yee cannot serve God and Mammon saith Christ You cannot think to have your hearts set upon the world and your gain and yet serve the Lord but if your hearts bee set so upon your estates you will make bold with God you will venture upon the waies of sin for the gaining of the things of this world but mark The Pharisees also who were covetous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 heard all these things and they derided him the word in the Greek is They blew their noses at him as a man when hee scorns and derides another hee will sâ—ew it by his nose so they in a kinde of speaking in their nose in a jeering scorning way they derided Jesus Christ that talk'd after this fashion What that a man cannot serve God and Mammon too that a man cannot look after the things of the world and the things of God too Carnal hearts they do hear things in Religion as unsavoury things whose hearts are after the things of the world And so not onely for Riches but for thy Credit Hast thou not often ventured to lye to save thy credit in something and hast been more troubled when thou hast been discovered in any thing that makes against thy credit and esteem than in the sin that thou hast committed against God Now by such kinde of evidences it is clear that men injoy the world in such a way as wherein they are like to lose their souls to all eternity and now Oh do but look upon your estates that you have and do but think what they cost you and little comfort you will have in them It is observed of David when hee did long for the waters of the Well of Bethlehem and there were men ventured their lives to get him the water when it came to him hee would not drink of it Oh it is the price of blood so when thou lookest upon thy estate and fittest at thy table and seest that thou hast more there than other men and lookest into thy Chest and there thou hast plenty of Garments and thy children are fine and brave and the like these are pretty things for a while to please the fancy with I but what do they cost as hee that would reckon his cloath hee reckons that the dying and the spinning it cost him so much I but what cost the wooll why that was his own and hee accounted nothing of that So such and such things that thou hast what do they cost they cost thus much and thus much I but hath not thy soul gone into the bargain and canst thou have pleasure in it when it cost thee so dear as it hath Psal 31.6 the spirit of holy David rises up in indignation against such men as these are I have hated them that regard lying vanities My spirit cannot but with indignation and abomination rise up against them what that men should follow after vanity when there are such glorious things to bee followed after when there is the blessed God and the glorious Riches of Grace and Salvation that are revealed in his Word that may take the hearts of the children of men and yet they follow after vain things men that have immortal souls capable of eternal communion with the Lord in the highest Heavens for them to follow after vanity and satisfie themselves in such things I hate them saith David certainly it is the curse of God that is upon the hearts of men that suffers them to follow after such things and especially in the times of the Gospel when such glorious things are revealed to their souls I say the curse of God is upon them Isa 44.20
Hee feedeth on Ashes a deceived heart hath turned him aside that hee cannot deliver his soul nor say is there not a lye in my right hand Hee feedeth of Ashes A deceived heart hath turned him aside that hee cannot deliver his soul there lies the sore evil of it A deceived heart hee needs not cast it upon the Devil but it is his own bare filthy corrupt heart that dares not trust God for his soul for eternity hee will have present things come of it what will come hee knows what the meaning of present things are but what those are that are to come hee knows not a deceived heart hath seduced him and hee cannot deliver his soul nor say Is there not a lie in my right hand that is is not the strength of my indeavour set upon falshoods the chief of my strength and indeavours is it not set upon a lie Chrysostome saith If hee were to preach to all the world hee would chuse that Text as soon as any Oh yee children of men why do yee love vanity and follow after leasing And it were happy if it were alwaies sounding in the ears of every one whose hearts are after present things so that such a one may hear a voice behinde him saying This is not the way but this is the way walk in it Thou hast deceived thy soul all this while and wearied thy self and that through the curse of God upon thy heart as Hab. 2.13 Behold is it not of the Lord of Hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity Is not this of the Lord of Hosts So when wee see men and women why they have understanding in the things of the world yet for the matter of God they have none at all They are very industrious and laborious to get outward things and outward comforts of this world and tire themselves can sit up late and rise early Oh is it not of the Lord of Hosts that people should thus weary and tire themselves by way of similitude wee may apply it to the spirits of men that are wearying and tyring of themselves after vanity it is the Lords curse that is upon their hearts It is said I remember of Dionysius that when hee was upon his sick-bed hee hears Thales the Philosopher discoursing excellently about divers excellent moralities and hee curses those pleasures and delights that had taken off his heart from attending to such things When thou comest upon thy sick-bed what will comfort thee then it cannot bee thy silver nor gold therefore oh that the Lord would make thee now for the present to see thy vanity and folly before it be too late and thou curse thy self and there bee no hopes for thee But it is this point shews the folly and madness of those that seek after never such great things in the world with the hazard of their souls but then what shall wee say to those that will hazard their souls for every trifle Wee spoke of that in the aggravation of the dreadfulness of the loss of the soul onely a word or two more of it here In Amos 2.6 God complains there that the righteous were sold for silver and the poor for a pair of shooes That they put such a poor price upon righteous men and upon poor men as if God should say Know I put a greater price upon my righteous servants than all the silver in the world Oh now the complaint may bee against many people that sell their souls for silver yea even for a pair of shooes for a trifle for a toy for nothing not for all the world but for every little pittance what is that that thou hast or art like to have why very poor things in comparison of the world I remember it is reported of Alcibiades a young Gallant that Socrates comes in a jeering way unto him for his pride and brings him a Map of the world and saith hee to him Shew mee I pray thee where lies thy Land here Now if I were to speak to Princes and Emperours yet this Text would speak dreadfully to them that they should venture their souls for Kingdomes and Empires but now for you that are never like to have any such things for you to set your hearts upon such trifles and so to damn your souls what can you get look upon a Map and see what all England is Europe is but a fourth part of the world that is known I but then what is England to Europe and then to all the world and then what is one County in England and one City or one House I have a great many Tenements saith one in a Parish but what is all this to the world and all this world unto Heaven and Heaven and the world unto God but now to think that thou art blessed because thou hast but a few rotten Tenements Oh what a seduced heart hath deceived thee that thou canst bee satisfied with such things as these are this one meditation mee thinks might sink into the hearts of those that will venture their souls for every trifle If ever thy soul bee saved God must set such a price upon it that hee must give more than a thousand worlds are worth to save it hee must give no less than the blood of his Son and canst thou think that the infinite God should prize thy soul at such a high rate when thou thy self dost prize it at such a low rate If so bee that a man had lost any thing of his estate and it could not bee redeemed without some great summe of mony If his friends come to know that hee doth not prize what hee hath lost will any friend bee so mad as to lay down five hundred pound to redeem that for his friend which hee knows aforehand that hee doth noâ— prize at twelve pence So canst thou think that that soul of thine that thou prizest at nothing that the Infinite God should lay down such a price to redeem it Thirdly From the consideration of the comparison of the gain of the world to the loss of the soul It is a Use of exhortation To teach us to answer all temptations or to work this upon our hearts the answering of all temptations to any way of sin To answer all with this you offer mee too little whatsoever you can offer mee to draw mee to think well of sin certainly it is too little for it indangers my soul the thorow understanding of this point and the working of it upon the heart is a very great help against whatsoever temptation should come to draw thee to sin Surely If these things bee so then this can bee no Argument for mee to neglect any duty that God calls for at my hands or to venture upon any way that my conscience tells mee is sin Oh but if I do thus it will indanger my estate but if I do such a thing I shall get so much by it
Certainly there can bee no strength in this if what hath been spoken out of this Text bee true But now when there comes a temptation and prevails over thee thou dost deny this Scripture to bee the Word of God and thou settest thy judgement against the truth of God but now consider with thy self which is like to stand know that God will make his Word stand hee will make it good when thou and a thousand thousand such as thou art shall perish for ever and therefore as you that are chapmen when men offer you less than your ware is worth you scorn and contemn them so you should do when temptation offers you less than your soul is worth Wee read of Saul when hee saw the people following David saith hee What can the son of Jesse do for you Can hee give you Olive-yards and Vine-yards and the like So when temptation to sin comes ask it what can you do for mee can you save my soul in the time of distress you would draw mee to such and such courses such and such companions would draw mee to such and such waies I but you may put them off with this Is this the way to save my soul if it bee then I will do it but if it will not do that God forbid that I should meddle Oh therefore remember remember that the fashion of this world passeth away 1 Cor. 7.30 31. The Apostle would take off the hearts of men from the things of this world and bring this Argument saith hee The fashion of this world it passeth away Therefore use the world as not abusing it That that you have in your English book passes away it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and I finde two very learned Writers translate it by a word that signifies to deceive The fashion of the world will deceive you at last and another by a word that signifies To go quite cross These two significations it hath it doth deceive or it goes quite cross the outward shew of the world oh it doth deceive thousand thousands of souls to their eternal perdition and it goes quite cross it seems to promise thee thus and thus much but it will go quite cross in the conclusion and will bee thy undoing if thou dost not take heed and therefore let not any thing in the world bee a temptation to thee for the least sin that possibly may bee I remember Austin in his book about an officious lye hath this passage saith hee A man must not tell an officious lye that is a lye without an intention to do any body hurt for the gaining of the world nay for the gaining of all the souls in the world the least sin is a greater evil than the gain of all the world is a good because that it is dangerous to the soul upon that very ground and therefore it is said of Basil when the persecutors terrified him with the loss of all that hee had but that did not prevail then they made him fair proffers and great advantages that hee should have I but Basil laught at them and bid them go and proffer such things to children So the story of the Martyrs tells us of Austinius that godly man that having been a means to demolish a place for Idol worship The Idolaters afterwards came upon him and put him to extremity of torments and set children upon him to rake his flesh with their knives but at length they would bee content if hee would but give never so little for the building up of the Idol Temple again to let him go free No saith hee not one half-penny Certainly this point will bee enough to justifie any that shall lose estate or indure any thing in the world rather than do any thing that may in the least degree hazard their souls And so that Martyress Juletta when one accused her and said that shee was a Christian nay then saith the Judge you must not have liberty of the Law No saith shee then farewel riches and life and all shee would bee sure to keep her soul safe whatsoever became of all other things The last Use is an Use of Incouragement to those that will rather venture all in the waies of God than to hazard their souls thou art the wise Merchant that art willing to sell all for the Pearl and bless thy self in God for this that ever God hath put this into thy heart to look to that which is the main chance as wee use to say If God had left thee to thy self thou mightest have gone on in such waies as others do but canst thou say the Lord hath caused the fear of himself and the fear of eternity to fall upon my soul and I can appeal to him that whatever comes of mee in regard of outwards mee thinks I can bee satisfied so bee it all things bee well with my soul I say bless thy self in God a man is not to praise himself but in God that is thus When thou dost consider how God hath drawn thy heart to him and thy interest in God thou mayest bless thy self in God in the grace of God that hath given thee a heart taken off from creature-comforts dis-ingaged from them and set upon the things that concern the eternal salvation of thy soul bless thy self in God and bee not troubled though thou beest cut short in the things of this world One would think that that which hath been said about the vanity of the things of this world should make people that are crossed in them if they bee godly to bee satisfied What if thou art plundered of all and â—ast little pâ—ovision for thy family and â—ast bread for one day and knowest not where to get bread for the next I but is thy soul safe I remember wee read in Genesis of the King of Sodome hee could say to Abrâ—ham Give mee the souls and take the goods to thy self though hee were but a Heathen King hee spake of their natural lâ—ves So do you whose hearts God hath inclined to soul-saving waies say to the men of the world Do you take the riches but let mee have the safety and welfa e of the soul Oh if God have assured thee upon good grounds that thy soâ—l is safe thy sin pardoned what great matter though thou hast not some of the lumber of this world If a malefactour that were in danger to die should go to seek for a pardon for his life well when hee hath gotten it and is coming from the presence of the King perhaps hee loses his glove or handkerchief upon the staires were it not an unseemly thing for such a man to fall a crying and wringing of his hands because hee had lost his glove Just thus for all the world is the madness and folly of people that say they have some comfortable hope that God will have mercy upon their souls and will save them for ever yet when they are crost and wronged they cry out they are undone man