temptation and all his other fierie darts we may hold forth this buckler of truth That wee are saved by grace through faith Answer him therefore from this truth and he will be silenced Resist him in believing this trueth and hec will flee from thee Jam. 4.7 And the spirit will flie into thy soule to comfort thee So long as Abraham lived he lived as a justified man by faith So long as Paul lived he lived by faith in the Son of God Gal. 2. We dye rather then live when we are not under the power of the spirit enabling us to beleeve We lye downe either in the bed of carnall security or Familisticall Antichristianisme or fal under the bondage of the Law when we step aside from the plaine Doctrine of salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus And therefore the flesh and the Devill the great enemies to a Saints comfort doe joyne themselves together to oppose the doctrine of faith Sathan knoweth that faith and works are inconsistent in point of justification And when hee observeth that we are in some measure convinced that salvation is by faith he endeavours to perswade us that it is by faith and workes And would divide our Justification between faith and works As the harlet cryed out 1 King 3.26 concerning the child Neither mine nor thine but divide it So the Devill would have us divide our Justification attribute halfe of it to faith and give the other part to workes But the beleeving man seeth that there is salvation in Christ and not in any other and that no other name under heaven is given among men whereby they must be saved Acts 4.12 And that we rest upon this name for salvation only by faith In Christ we have boldness accesse with confidence by the faith of him Ephesians 3.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wee are manuduced and lead by the hand as it were with perswasion of Christs goodness to us by faith in Christ Continue in that faith by which Paul was justified who believed that Christ loved him and gave himselfe for him and thy comforts and peace shall be continued unto the. It it Melancthons observation that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate faith doth most usually signifie a firme assent unto a thing usitatissimum est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro firma ascensione dicere doubting is that which is contrary to faith Jam. 1.6 Believe therefore strongly and thou shalt have a strong peace Rom. 5. Beleeve that there is no remission of sinne but by Gods indulgence but beleeve this withall that by him thy sins are forgiven thee sed adde ut credas et hoc quod per ipsum peccata tibi donantur Bern. This is the faith which bringeth peace and consolation to the soule By this we are brought from fin to Christs righteousnesse from mount Sanai to mount Sion from the dominion of the Law to the region of grace from bondage to liberty from death to life from the feare of hell to the assurance of heaven and happinesse Archimedes was so delighted in the study of the Mathematiques that when the enemie who besieged the place where he lived broke in unto it he heard not the noyse and shouting of the souldiers nor the cries of the people So the soule that by faith liveth in Jesus Christ shall be carryed above the noise and troubles of the world and shall enjoy peace in Jesus Christ Let us therefore waite in the heavenly Hierusalem for more of the spirit by faith This lesson will appeare to be very necessary for the Saints if wee consider that the spirit of grace may be so quenched in Saints that they may not for the present be able to goe into the presence of God as Saints but as poore sinners And by the beliefe of this Doctrine a Saint doth easily get out of temptation For hee is taught of God in the Gospell to come unto him as a sinner without works when he cannot come as a Saint And in this way his joy with all the gifts of Gods grace are restored unto him And when they are restored hee doth keepe them by the resting upon God who saveth sinners by grace through faith And therefore the Apostle Peter when hee exhorted Saints to grow in grace doth adde and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.18 By which he doth seem to inform them that there can be no growing in grace unlesse there be a growing in faith which is the knowledge of Christ and the love of his Father in him In the last place here is a foundation of Salvation for all that have eares to heare and hearts to entertaine the report which you have heard of Gods grace which is manifested to sinners through faith Let not any man goe away with a heart of unbeliefe but the Lord open your eares and hearts as he did Lydia's that you may believe what is reported For truly if you believe what I have delivered you may goe away rejoycing and assured of Gods grace beholding your names written in the booke of life The true Gospell believed will remove all objections against your peace and all doubtings out of your spirit If as children of Abraham ye believe as he did Salvation will lye down in your bosomes and the true God in Jesus Christ will give you an answer to whatsoever you can object bring against your own salvation and justification It is not the sight of sinne that shall take away your comfort but you shall rejoyce that Iesus Christ did dye for sinners It is not the want of works that shall send you away without assurance or justification but you shall see that you have good right to lay hold upon Jesus Christ though you have no works because hee justifies none but those that have no works before justification The true God is not a justifier of the holy and righteous but of the ungodly God knoweth that the wisdome of the proud flesh doth strongly perswade sinners to seeke salvation in themselves and their own works The Jaylors question Acts 16. What shall I doe to be saved and the Rulers quaere Luke 18.18 What shall I doe to inherit eternall life is in the heart of every naturall man who is perswaded that there is an eternall life Man thinketh that as he became miserable by his evill works that so hee must be made happy by his good works And therefore God hath given his Law which requireth perfection to bring downe the pride of the flesh ad domandam Superbiam Aug. and confidence in our own works and discovered his free favour to the worst of sinners in the Gospel God hath blocked and stopped up all other ways to life besides the way of his grace in Christ and hath left this way open for the worst of sinners to turne in unto it for salvation So that as good works cannot save us without Christ being but glittering and gilded sins so evill works cannot prejudice the
to the Son that this work may be wrought in us Thinke not that the worke of faith can be wrought by any power which is in our selves it is given to us to believe by the grace of God communicated and extended to us in the Lord Jesus Christ And this is the next thing that lies in the words to be handled Ye are saved by grace through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God But I must leave that to some other time In the mean while look unto the Father of Lights for it is his gift wee cannot bestow it upon our selves Faith is not from our SELVES SERMON IIII. EPHES. 2.8 By grace ye are saved through faith not of your selves it is the gift of God FAith is a work as difficult as it is glorious and as much beyond the creatures strength to worke it in himselfe as his merits to deserve it of himselfe Therefore the Apostle having acquainted us with the excellency of faith through which we are saved doth now inform us concerning the power by which it is wrought in us It is not of our selves but it is the gift of God First he shewes negatively that it is not of our selves And then 2ly affirmatively that it is the gift of God When God doth effectually worke upon a man to make him happy in his Son he worketh two things in a man hee doth take him from himselfe and considence in his owne strength and doth carry him into his owne strength and goodnesse from whence hee receiveth all strength And this is expressed here by Paul who when he saith that faith is not of our selves but that it is the gift of God I shall by the assistance of grace speak of the first of these and endeavour to prove this Proposition That true saving faith is not of our selves When the Apostle Peter made a glorious profession of the Lord acknowledging him to be the Son of God Jesus answered and said unto him Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee but my Father which is in heaven Mat. 16.17 Here our Saviour beares witnesse to the trueth of his faith and to shew him that hee professed not this only in word and in tongue but that hee professed it from the truth of faith which was in him therefore hee acknowledgeth that it was not from flesh and blood but by the Father which had revealed it to him Where we may finde our position clearely confirmed to you that those that truely believe who have the unfained faith of the people of God it is not a faith wrought in them by themselves it doth not flow from any naturall principle but it is the immediate work of the power of God in their hearts As wee did not nor could not make our owne hearts so wee cannot make our heart new hearts Jerem. 13.23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also doe good who are accustomed to doe evill By which the Prophet doth clearly hold forth this truth that sinners can no more by their own strength make themselves saints which is by faith then a Blackmore can change the colour of his skin or the Leopard his spots An Ethiopian may be painted white so an hypocriticall sinner may bee a painted Sepulchre appearing righteous and sound to men when hee is full of rottennesse within But God alone doth change and purifie our hearts by his gift of faith which is not of our selves For the amplifying of this point to you I shal lay down some subsequent considerations by which I shall prove this to you that he that truely believes doth not believe by any power strength or ability in himselfe by which he is in any measure sitted and enabled for this great work of true justifying faith The first consideration shall be drawn from the nature of faith as it is held forth to us in the word of God which faith is the worke of God upon the spirit of a Saint by which the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ is discovered to him and by which he in his heart Rom. 10.9 is made willing to receive Christ and to rest upon him and his righteousnesse alone for his Justification Rom. 10.4 Thus the Scripture speaks of faith First it speakes of faith as it is a light of God in the understanding so wee are bid to look to the Lord Jesus and we shall be saved Isa 45.22 And it is said of the faithfull that by faith they saw the promises afar off Heb. 11.13 They saw Christ not as we see him who behold him as hee hath been offered up as our sacrifice and hath made an end of our sins Dan. 9. But they beheld him as one that was to come and was to make a propitiation for the sins of the world And if wee thus look upon faith as it is a beam from God enlightning us in our understandings to see Gods grace in his Son we shall find that faith is not of our selves Which will appeare if wee consider what our owne understandings are before God doth give us the true knowledge of the Lord Jesus I shall acquaint you here with Scripture expressions which doe sufficiently and clearly hold forth this unto us The first expression is that men without the Lord Jesus Christ are darkened in their understandings The Apostle speaking of the Gentiles that knew not Christ he saith Ephes 4.18 That they have their understandings darkned being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them There is a mist and cloud of darkenesse upon the understandings of all carnall and unbelieving men As the Apostle Paul when he had scales before his eyes was not able to behold the light of the Sun so while the scales of naturall darkenesse and ignorance are upon the hearts and spirits of men they are not able to behold the sun of righteousnesse They may heare Christ preached they may heare the Doctrine of justification freely and fully handled but they are not able to behold any thing of God or Christ because they have their understandings darkened being not enlightned by the spirit of Christ to see Christ 2dly The Scripture doth not onely tell us that they are darkened in their understandings but it tells us that they sit in darknesse Matth. 4.16 The people which sate in darkenesse saw great light Here is the condition of all men without Christ set forth to us they are men that sit in darknesse And Zacharias in his Song speaking of the Lord Jesus saith Luke 1.79 That he is the day spring from on high to give light to them that sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death Though a man have eyes yet if he sit in a dark dungeon he can see no visible object It will therefore be evident that carnall men cannot see of themselves because they are not only darkned in their understandings but they sit in
all the Commandements of the Lord Jesus The cause of this legallnesse in their spirits is because they doe not see salvation firmly setled upon him that beleeveth The spirituall man beholdeth justifing grace in beleeving without his obedience to commands for externall worship and good workes and doth live joyfully and comfortably in the sight of his justification though he knoweth that it is possible that he may be ignorant of many things which other Christians may have the knowledge of And in these dayes of darkenesse contention confusion and disorder what man can have solid and lasting joy who is ignorant of free grace for justification If it were necessary to the assurance of justification to know whether the Episcopall Presbyteriall or Independent Government were the Ordinance of the Lord Jesus whether sprinckling of Children or dipping of professing beleevers were the institution of Christ in the Labyrinth of the controversies of our times how few would attaine to an assurance of their justification How would poore creatures be perplexed and disquieted in their consciences not certainly knowing in which of these wayes they should walke for their justification and salvation But that the promise might be sure to all the seed Rom. 4.16 to those who lived in the times of the Law as well as to those who live in these times of the Gospel salvation is promised not to workers but beleevers to all true beleevers in all ages and places to us who live in the time of the Babylonish-Apostacy as well as to those who were hearers of the Apostles and Members of those Congregations which were gathered and governed by them Sixtly By faith the grace of God in Christ is applyed unto us and we are justified by it as the spirituall instrument formed by God in the Spirit for the application of Christs benefits to our consciences A man that lived in the time of the Law looking upon the blood of his sacrifices did behold himselfe purged purified and sanctified in his flesh by it Heb. 9.13 So a sinner looking upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is applyed unto him and his conscience is purged from dead workes to serve the living God ver 14. Faith though it be called a worke 2 Thess 1.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet wee are not justified by it as it is a worke or gracious quality but as it is the hand of the Spirit by which wee receive and are made partakers of those treasures of grace which are freely given unto us in Christ Jesus Christ bath already done what is to be done by way of satisfaction to the justice of his Father and hath already made peace by the blood of his Crosse Col. 1.20 what he doth in us now is to satisfie our consciences concerning our full redemption by him that you in beleeving may be filled with peace of Conscience being perswaded that wee are of the Father in the Son who by the Father is made unto us wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 Faith being nothing but a light comming from God Christ discovering God and Christ to our spirits and uniting our spirits to God in Christ By faith we beleeve what is recorded concerning the grace of God in Christ As the Prophet to my apprehension holdeth it forth in those expressions of his Isa 53.1 Who hath beleeved our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed In the latter part of these words the Prophet doth interpret the former part he beleeveth the report of God to whom the arme of God that is his Sonne Jesus is revealed And when a man beleeveth in Christ Christ is revealed to that man Faith being the first thing that is wrought in the spirit of a man whom God doth justifie in his owne conscience by which the grace of God in Christ is revealed unto him for his justification Justifying faith when it is wrought by the powerfull operation of the Spirit in the heart doth remove prevailing doubts concerning our justification the faithfull beholding the all-righteousnesse of free grace applying to his conscience the clensing vertue of the blood of the Lord Jesus Faith is a gift of the Spirit establishing the soule Isa 7.9 If ye will not beleeve surely ye shal not be established The soule can never be firmely setled and quieted but by beleeving Unbeleife doth question and doubt of the promises of free grace for justification But when in the power of faith we are carried above it with Abraham Rom. 4.20 we stagger not at the promise through unbeleife but the spirit is fixed and stands immoveably upon the truth of grace God saith in the Covenant of his grace Heb. 8.12 I will be mercifull to their unrighteousnesse and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more Hee that beleeveth doth set his Seale to the truth of God in beleeving the promise Iohn 3.33 He is confident that God is faithful who hath made this promise to the children of men and by beleeving the great and precious promises of grace he is made partaker of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 By an heart of unbeleefe wee depart from the living God Heb. 3.12 but by faith wee draw neere to God and apply Christ to our selves Faith being contrary to unbeleife as in the nature of it so in its operations An unbeleever doth not give credit to the truth of the generall promises of Gods grace and so remaineth unjustified in his conscience A beleever in faith nothing wavering James 1.6 doth give credit to what is reported And the Gospel commeth to him not in word only but in power and the holy Spirit and in much assurance 1. Thessalonians 1.5 Object But some may be ready here to object this against what I have delivered that though I doe acknowledge that by faith grace in Christ is applyed unto us yet in effect I say no more then what I delivered before when I proved that by faith the grace of God in Christ is first manifested and made over unto us Answ They misapprehend me when they conclude that I make faith onely an assurance of because I doe maintaine that it is the first evidence and witnesse of our justification Faith doth assure but it doth not onely assure us of Christ but doth apply Christ and makes a difference between assurance and application which I illustrate by this similitude Suppose one should lye in Prison for debt his debts being paid and he not knowing it and afterwards knowing that his debts were paid hee should rejoyce in the newes and enjoy his liberty this man doth not by the newes which he heareth enjoy only comfort but his liberty so it is with us before we beleeve we lie in prison and yet our debts are paid by Iesus Christ when the newes is brought by the spirit to the eare of the soule wee rejoyce in hearing the newes but besides this presently wee enjoy our liberty and all those riches which our
men out of their wits cannot restore to themselves the use of reason so men spiritually mad cannot bring themselves to the light of grace By which expressioons it is plain that faith is not of our selves My last argument to prove that true faith is not of our selves is derived from the Word in which it doth acquaint us with the wickednesse and deceitfulnesse of mans naturall heart Our hearts are deceitfull and hypocriticall and therfore unfeigned faith cannot come from them and no credite is to be given to the perswasions of them our spirits they will deceive us therefore we are not to give any credite to any perswasion that comes from them a perswasion that is a perswasion meerely of our owne spirit is not a true faith or perswasion Who will believe a common cheater cozener lyar or impostor that cares not what he saith or speaks The heart naturally is like unto such an impostor or deceiver according to that of Jeremiah Ier. 17.9 The heart is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked who can know it That faith therefore cannot be true which proceedeth from a naturall heart and that comfort cannot be sound which springeth from such a faith By which and the preceding arguments it doth appeare that the true faith of the Gospell is not of our selves Give mee leave now in a few words to make some deductions from this and so I shall commend what I have delivered and you to the blessing of she Almighty In the first place this may confute the Doctrine of Papists Arminians and Popish protestants that conceive that a man is able to do something to the furtherance of his owne justification and salvation This that hath been delivered being seriously weighed in our spirits is sufficient to overthrow this lying Doctrine which would attribute any thing to man or to the strength wisdome understanding will or affections of the naturall man in point of conversion justification and spirituall renovation One of the Ancients who was more enlightned by the spirit then any of his fellowes for the beholding of the truth of GODS grace doth as boldly as truly assert that whosoever shall pull downe the Doctrine of free grace by exalting mans free will is deceived with an haereticall spirit Haeretico fallitur spiritu Aug. And who will suffer himselfe to be so farre blinded as not to see that magnifiers of free-will doe overthrow the Doctrine of Gods grace and mercy which Paul preached when they shall hear him plainly concluding against all the free willers in the world Rom. 9.16 That it is not in him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy The free grace and mercy which the Scripture acquainteth us with is inconsistent with mans free will to doe good of himselfe As Dagon was tumbled down when the Arke which was a type of Christ and Gods grace in him was brought into the place where Dagon was set up so when Gods grace by the power of the spirit appeareth it tumbleth downe and overthroweth the dagonish conceits Idolatrous apprehensions which men have of the strength which is of themselves to make themselves happy The spirits of men truly perswaded of the strength of grace and their owne weakenesse disclaime their owne strength and selfe-confidences for the making of themselves good And crye out with those in the Prophet Lam. 5.2 Turne thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned But that these men may not say that wee deale unjustly with them in condemning them and not hearing what they can say for themselves let us heare what they doe usually thinke for themselves that so their mouths may be stopped by the truth of God And thus light may shine more gloriously by the dispelling those mists foggs and clouds of errour which would darken it The Scripture that some of them object against this truth is Revel 22.17 The spirit and the Bride say come And let him that heareth say come And let him that is a thirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely From whence they conclude that there is a power in free will to take Christ and that if a man will he may take the water of life freely To this I thus answer that they draw more from the words then the words do hold forth The words say whosoever will may take the water of life freely but the word doth not tell us that any man is able to will this of himselfe It is true whosoever will may take the water of life freely but it is as true that a man of himselfe is not willing God alone enabling us to be willing to take this water of life freely Phil. 2.13 And thus yee see that if this argument be well weighed in the ballance of the Sanctuary it will be found too light to prove that for which it is alleadged But they are ready to reply againe and to demand of us the reason why God doth finde fault with men for unbeliefe reproving them for not comming unto Christ if they are not able of themselves to believe and come to Christ Answ Why should these men thus cavil against the goodnesse of God May not God with good reason and without offence inform us of our sinne though we are not able of our selves to forsake it It is a conclusion spiritually irrationall to say that we have power to amend our fault because God doth reprove us for our fault In these reproofes and the like God sheweth unto us his goodnesse in reproving us for our conviction he doth not inform us of our ability savingly to believe for our conversion But me-thinkes I see them returning upon us againe and making a new assault by another argument with which they thus oppose us or rather the truth and power of Gods grace Why doth God command entreat beseech the creature to beleeve if the creature have no power of himselfe to beleeve Ans Passages to this purpose which wee fiind in Scripture do acquaint us with Gods goodnesse to the creature in his revealed will and the creatures duty towards God they do not acquaint us with the secret effectuall and irrectable Rev. 9.19 will of God concerning the salvation of a creature nor of the creatures power in himselfe to believe of himselfe The conclusions of these men from such precepts exhortations and entreaties are very absurd and irrationall If wee shall seriously weigh them in the scales of right and sanctified reason God say they doth command exhort and entreat men to believe therefore men are able of themselves by some power in themselves to believe May they not upon as good grounds conclude that a carnall man may fulfill the whole Law and be saved by doing of the Law seeing hee is commanded in Scripture to fulfill the whole Law and exhorted and intreated to doe it I shall shut up this use with a sweet speech of a devout and spirituall man seeing man without the
strength of that spirit that commands them from the grave of sinne to the land of the living While Ezekiel prophesied over the dead bones breath came into them and they lived Ezek. 37.10 So while the Prophets of the Lord do preach over their sinfull impenitent hearers who are like the Prophets drye bones the breath of Heaven the spirit of the most High in the Ministery of the Gospell enters in into them and not by working but believing they are made new creatures and see the Kingdome of God In the next place you see faith is not of our selves it is not in any thing in man or in mans wisdome that man is enabled to believe what is reported concerning Gods grace in Jesus Christ Therefore this may convince us that that faith which is of our selves is a false faith and not the true justifying faith of the Saints The good fruit of faith cannot grow out of a wicked heart And the heart of a man naturally is wickednesse and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is vanity and only evill continually Gen. 6.5 Psalm 94.11 When God lookes downe from Heaven upon the children of the first Adam hee seeth that there are not any that doe understand and seek God They are all gone aside they are all become filthy there is none that doth good no not one Psal 14.2.3 And the Lord Jesus dyed for us when wee were enemies unto him and without strength to do any thing for our owne salvation Rom. 5.6 That faith therefore which is wrought by the strength of nature is not that true faith of the Gospel which is only wrought by the spirit of the Gospel According to that of the Apostle where he affirmeth that the Saints are justified by the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 1 Cor. 6.11 Therefore if thy faith be a working or perswasion of thine own spirit If it be framed and hammered by thy selfe upon the anvile of thy owne spirit it is a counterfet perswasion and will not be able to advantage thee in the great day of the Lord Jesus As wee read in the Prophet Jeremiah of the visions of a mans owne heart and the visions of God So there is a two-fold faith there is the faith or perswasion of a mans own heart and a perswasion of the Spirit of God And as the visions of a mans owne heart are false dreames lies and deceits and are justly reprehended by the Prophet Jerem. 23.26 So the perswasions of a mans owne heart they are false dreames and lying perswasions we are to give no credite to them As we should not believe a common lyer So we are not to believe the perswasions of our own hearts The same Prophet in the 28. ver compareth lying Prophesies to chaffe and the Prophesies of truth to wheat what saith he is the chaffe to the wheat So true faith is like unto wheat and faith of our selves is like unto chaffe As the winde driveth away the chaffe Psalm 1.4 So the blasts of Gods wrath and the winds of temptation will blow away the chaff of a false faith while true faith shall be preserved by God and we through it shall be preserved unto the day of redemption Wherefore brethren we are to try whether or no we doe truly believe Examine your selves saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 13.5 Whether ye bee in the Faith As we have a touch-stone to trye gold so God hath left a spirituall touch-stone by which true faith may be tryed As there are counterfet pieces of gold which can bee hardly distinguished from true gold until they are brought to the touch-stone so there is a counterfeit faith which can hardly be distinguished from true faith untill it be brought unto the spiritual touch-stone Therefore it will be the wisedome of every one of you to try what faith you have It is not enough to be perswaded that you shall be saved and that Christ is yours and that your names are written in heaven Alas there are false perswasions as well as true There are multitudes of Libertines who turne the grace of God into wantonnesse and make their bellies their Gods and minde earthly things Phil. 3. And yet have strong perswasions that they are in the grace and favour of God There are Pharisees who are perswaded that they are in the love of God the Pharisee had an assurance and gave God thankes for it too Luke 18.11 God I thanke thee I am not as other men are And yet hee was but an hypocrite all the while deluded with the proud conceits of his owne righteousnesse The unbelieving Jewes professed with a great deale of boldnesse and confidence that God was their Father John 8.41 We have one Father even God And yet our Saviour tells them plainely that though they had these strong perswasions that God was their Father yet in truth the Devill was their Father Ye are saith he vers 44. of your Father the Devill A man may be perswaded that Christ will save him and goe to hell and be damned with that perswasion We see by experience that many Apostates who have made a profession of Christ have had strong perswasions of the love of God have fallen from the Gospell to prophanenesse Arminianisme and diabolicall Familisme Our blessed Emanuel doth plainly prove this truth unto us by acquainting us with some who when they shall be brought before his judgement-seate shall be confident of their interest in him whom neverthelesse hee will not own to be his Matth. 7.21 22. Not every on that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven Many shall say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name have cast out Devills and in thy Name done many wonderfull workes Yet you see what Christ will professe unto them I never knew you depart from me yee workers of iniquity As if he had said It is true you had a strong perswasion that you should be heires in my Kingdome it is true you thought that you should be saved if any in the world were saved but I tell you for all that I know you not depart ye workers of iniquity Wherfore it concerns all men to know whether their faith be a right faith Self-ish faith is no right faith if it arise from no higher a fountaine then our own natural reasons wisdomes and understandings our faith is from our selves and we may carry it to hell with us and find as good faith there in the Devills as this is Though this which I have spoken concerning the tryall of faith doth chiefly concerne such who are deceived with a false faith of their owne making yet it will be very advantagious for the true Saints likewise to try their faith Wherefore before I presse this farther upon such who are under a spirit of delusion I shall speak a word unto the Saints unto
Sermon no preaching that will not open their mouths further then it is opened with a key of gold or silver yet they professe they are the people of God and make a great shew of Religion and blinde the eyes of poor ignorant people that conclude they are the only zealous holy men in the world though their covetousnesse basenesse and vilenesse in running after Livings and great preferments may appear evidently to children Ye see by this that people may lean upon God desire to be accounted his people and be confident that he is their Father Ioh. 8. And yet may have no true faith but may be self-imposters deceiving themselves with the perswasions of their own spirits whereas true faith is onely from God bestowed upon us by him as a free gift which let the good God worke in our hearts by his grace through Christ Amen SERMON V. Faith is the gift of God EPHES. 2.8 By grace ye are saved through faith not of your selves it is the gift of God THere is nothing doth lay the creature lower in the presence of God then a cleare apprehension of the Creators favour and goodnesse in giving all things freely to the creature The Apostle to beat down the pride of man in spirituall gifts doth make use of this quaere 1 Cor. 4.7 What hast thou that thou hast not received As if he had said if thou dost but seriously consider that thou enjoyest no spirituall gift but it hath been freely given unto to thee thou wilt not see any cause why thou shouldst be proud of it And in these words for the humbling and abasing of man and for the exalting of Gods grace in Jesus Christ he doth set downe this in the last place That true faith is the gift of God I shall illustrate this two manner of wayes First I will shew you that it is the gift of Gods power For this the Apostle drives at here when he opposeth faith as the gift of God to what he had said before maintaining that it was not of our seves Man being not able to believe of himselfe it will necessarily follow that it is onely the power of Almighty God that is able to enable a man truly to believe in his grace through Christ In the second place I shall shew you that faith is the gift of Gods grace As God alone by his almighty power is able to enable a man to believe so God alone can give us this excellent and precious gift of faith by which we are made partakers of the divine nature and carried to heaven to behold the glory of our God in the face of Jesus Christ First faith is the gift of the power of God and therefore Isaiah 53.1 we read of the arm of God which is to be put forth for the enabling of men to believe the Gospell Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed The strength of a man doth usually lye in his arme wherefore God to shew that few doe believe John 12.38 doth prove it by this because his arme or strength â—s revealed to few The arm power strength of God must be put forth and revealed to men or else men will never be able indeed and in truth to believe what God hath related and reported concerning his glorious grace in Jesus Christ This will appeare by some few considerations First it is the prerogative of Gods powerful will to shew mercy by giving faith for salvation to whom he will and therefore it is not â—n the power of sinfull man effectually to will his owne salvation Rom. 9.18 Jam. 1.18 Of his owne will he begot us God is the God of salvation and therefore the creature cannot be a Saviour to himselfe Save me saith the Psalmist for thy mercy sake Psal 31.16 Why should the Psalmist have prayed unto God to save him if hee had beene able to save himselfe by working faith in his owne heart wee are all sinners saved by obtaining a Psalme of mercy And it is God that granteth us a psalm of mercy for the saving of our lives and giveth us learning by which wee are enabled for to â—ead it The will of God is the supream ruler and governour in all things and therefore in this for the giving of faith unto whom hee pleaseth for salvation Man lies under unbelief many yeares when God once comes and speakes the word to command light to shine then presently we are enlightned He created light by the word of his power and made the heavens so by the same omnipotent word and power of his he is pleased to create and set up new light in the understandings of those whom hee intends to save giving to them the knowledge of the sweetnesse of his grace and glory in the countenance of Jesus Christ Secondly It is the gift of his irresistable power His will and power cannot be resisted Rom. 9. If there were not such an irresistable power in grace no man could ever be made a partaker of grace All the strength of the naturall man doth fight against grace and taketh up armes against Jesus Christ so that if God did not work irresistably there would never bee wrought the work of grace in the heart of any man If God will perswade Japhet hee shall dwell in the tents of Shem Gen. 9.27 will worke saith God and who shall let it Isa 43.13 That is none shall let it All the Devils in hell cannot hinder the worke of faith when God intendeth to work it As many aâ— are ordained unto eternall life shall believe Acts 13.48 All Christs sheep shall hear his voyce Ioh. 10.16 The gathering of the people shall be unto Shilo Gen. 49.10 God hath determined the thing to be done before it is done And all his counsells of olde are faithfulnesse and truth Isa 25.1 He should be unfaithfull if his determinations should not come to passe The Apostle in the Ephes 1.11 saith that the Saints have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of God who worketh all things according to his owne will And if we consider the eternall Counsell and determination forgiving faith to some particular person we shall finde that it is impossible that these men should not believe in that moment in which God hath appointed to worke faith in their heart and therefore the Apostle doth acquaint us with the immutability of this counsell Heb. 16.17 And James saith Jam. 1.17 That with God there is no variablenesse nor shadow of turning Wherefore seeing God doth dispense the gifts of his grace unto his people according to his unalterable decrees and unchangeable counsells it will be evident that he worketh upon men irresistably God should erre in his prescience or fore-knowledge of things if he should fore-see and determine that a man should believe and that man at the same time should remaine in unbeliefe As an Astrologer would be deceived if he should fore-see and fore-tell that a thing should
those who cry up the strength of mans will and his precedent qualifications of righteousnesse and holinesse for the making of some men worthy to close with Christ in a promise of free grace rather then great sinners 2ly This may informe us that such shall certainly believe whom God will enable to believe through grace Acts 18.27 An infinite power is of such strength that a finite power is not able to resist it but whatsoever power there iâ— in the creature by which it may resist thâ— worke of Gods grace it is but finite and thâ— grace whereby we are enabled to believe iâ— infinite therefore we are not able to resist thâ— infinite power of the grace of God by which we are enabled to believe Take the Devill and all the powers of hell with all that is iâ— the heart of man all his sinnes ignorances and corruptions conjoyning their forces tâ— hinder the worke of faith in the spirit of man all these together are but a finite power but when God comes hee comes with an infinite power to enable us to believe Therfore I conclude that wee are not able to resist the power of God when hee is determined to give us faith Faith being the gift of his Almighty power But some may here object with the Arminiaus that place of Stephen Acts 7.51 Ye stiffe-necked and uncircumcised in heart and eares yee have alway resisted the holy Spiri Here say they you see that men have resisted the holy Spirit therefore God doth not so worke upon men by the power of his grace that he leaves them altogether unable to resist To this I answer that there is a two-fold power that God puts forth An ordinary power in the preaching of his Word when by intreaties beseeching and promises and the like he allures and enticeth men in the preaching of the Word and knocking at the doores of their hearts for entrance This common worke of the spirit may be resisted and so all wicked and ungodly men in this sense resist the Spirit of God and reject the Lord Jesus Christ But there is another power of the spirit and that is that inward spirituall power by which God comes on those whom he intends to save thus he comes not only in the preaching of the Word in the language of man but in the power of heaven And though the former worke of the Spirit may be resisted this latter cannot be resisted Though wee may reject the Word of God preached in the letter and some common workings of the spirit in our owne hearts and not give entertainement to Jesus Christ when hee knockes at the doore of our hearts in the preaching of the Word yet when it comes downe with power to open the heart as he did Lydia's we are not able to prevail against him when God intends powerfully to open the doore of our spirits we are not able to keepe it lockt he will sweetly force us to open the door and by his spirit and grace breaâ— in upon us and not suffer us to shut him out 〈◊〉 our hearts and wee are bound to blesse Goâ— that it is so for unlesse it were so no man iâ— the world should ever be saved no man in the world should ever receive Christ unlesse God did come with an infinite power and pleasâ—â—â—â— violence force him to believe If it were not thus that God did worâ— this unresistable way in those whom he intenâ— to save there must of necessity be an uncertainty whether ever any man or woman should ver be saved by Jesus Christ For if every mâ— and woman in the world had power to reâ—â— grace offered not to believe at all then 〈◊〉 must follow that it might be impossible aâ—â—â— the fall that never a man or woman in the world should ever be saved by Christ And this absurdity will follow from it that God after mans fall could not be certaine that any man should be saved by Christ and so it would take away the fore-knowledge of God because he could not know but that every man in the world might resist reject Jefus Christ Thirdly This may give in some support to some trembling hearers who are convinced by the spirit of unbeliefe and are not able to believe in Jesus Christ Thou art ready to despaire when thou apprehendest that it is impossible for thee truly to believe of thy selfe but let thy spirit be upheld with this consideration that God is able to give thee faith while I am speaking of faith and shewing thee the worker of it It may be thou thinkest that thou shalt never have joy comfort and assurance of salvation but by believing and yet thou are not able to believe and therefore comfort thy selfe in this though thou canst doe nothing God is able to enable thee to doe all things Phil. 4.13 As the Martyr when some told him that when he came to suffer he wold rather deny his tenets then burn It is true said he I of my selfe should doe so but God is able to enable me So though thou knowest that thou of thy selfe canst not believe know that God is able to enable thee presently to believe Thou that hast had experience of thy unbelieving heart and of that mountaine of infidelity that lies upon thy spirit and that thou art able to say I shall never be able to believe of my selfe while the world stands know that God is ablde in this momentt to give thee faith Fourthly This may informe us concerning the nature of true faith by which it may bee distinguished from the faith of hypocriticall Formalists The hypocrite not being acquainted with his owne disability for the working of saving faith in his owne heart doth apprehend that he can doe the worke of God by himselfe in his own strength like the carnall hearers of our Saviour John 6.28 What shall wee doe that wee may worke the worke of God And when he apprehendeth that he doth believe he gloryeth more in his owne actings labourings and endeavours by which hee conceiveth that he hath obtainned faith then in the grace of the Lord Jesus having no spiritual knowledg of that faith which is wrought by the Almightines of Gods powerful irresistable grace But if it is otherwise with a true sonne of Abraham his faith is of another nature having a spirituall and heavenly tincture in it from that spirit by whom it â—â— wrought He prizeth not his faith of the naturall spirit but the faith of his heavenly spirit He can set his seale to that truth of our Saviour John 6.65 That no man can come unto him except it were give a unto him of his Father he is not proud of his faith because hee looking upon it in the glasse of Gods free grace doth account it rather Gods worke then his owne According to that of our Saviour John 6. This is the worke of God that ye believe Vpon which words one of the Ancients hath this observation Non dixit hoc
not required but forbidden God doth not bid us to worke but he forbids us to worke for justification It is not he that worketh that is justified but he that worketh not but beleeveth in him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousnesse Rom. 4.5 When the Apostle presseth men to beleeve and perswadeth them to entertaine the doctrine of grace that he preached in those Exhortations there is a vertuall forbidding of working for life When he bids them onely to beleeve Act. 16.3 it is as much as if he had bid them not to work Consonant to that speech of his A man is not justified by the works of the Law but by the faith of Christ Gal. 2.16 He excludeth works that he may establish men in the doctrine of faith and prohibiteth working for justification Lastly We are not to desire the presence of good works that we may be justified A man is not onely to goe thus farre to be convinced that he is not justified by works but he is to be convinced of this that the presence of good works are not needfull and necessary to him when he comes to God for justification I am not onely to professe that my works have no influence into my justification or are the cause of it but that good works in the presence of them are not needfull and necessary to justification Good works are inefficatious to justification and not needfull to be present in the person that is to be justified Here some flie off from the truth they acknowledge that we are not justified by works yet they require the presence of good works in the person who is to be justified But God when he efficatiously works upon us convinceth us that not onely our good works have no causalitie in justification but likewise convinceth us that there is no necessitie for the presence of good works in us before justification And this is cleare because when the Spirit comes he shews us that we are to come to the throne of grace not as men already made righteous and holy but as men unrighteous and unholy to be made holy by Jesus Christ So that good works are not necessary as a qualification or disposition in the person to be justified This is that glorious Gospel which carnall reason cannot apprehend mans learning cannot reach which the worlds wisdome accounteth foolishnesse and which the Devill and worldly men will alwayes oppose and persecute What saith the zealous Pharisee Will the God of love justifie him that hates him Will the God of justice sitting upon the throne pronounce the sinner guiltlesse Yea Pharisee he will What saith the Scripture He justifieth the ungodly What is an ungodly man but he that hates God that is an enemy to God that doth not for the present love God And when a man looks to his grace he must looke on himselfe as an unrighteous as an unholy ungodly man He is not bound to come as the Pharisee but as the Publicane He is not to come thus qualified I love God and the people of God I desire to obey God I am thus qualified therefore I shall be justified and no sinfull man that hath not these qualifications to fit him for justification God bids sinners while they are in their bloud to live Ezek. 16.6 Christ cometh to call sinners to repentance or changednesse of heart by the discoveries of grace For God doth not command us to come as men loving him or loving his people that we may be justified but when we see our selves sinners ungodly and the chiefe of sinners then he commands us to come to the throne of grace and offers justification and salvation to us freely without works as Paul saith This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chiefe 1 Tim. 1.15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am the first of sinners so it is in the Greek Primus non tempore sed malignitate The first not in time but in sin and malignitie This is the truth which Paul preached and which he accounted not onely worthy of acceptation but all acceptation for the sweetnesse and excellency of it If other truths are worthy of acceptation this is worthy of all acceptation If a man seeth that he hath a heart that will not suffer him to love God that he hates the people of God yet heareth the Gospel preached that there is grace offered to sinners to the chiefe of sinners if this man beleeve if he come and trust the grace of God he hath as good an assurauce for heaven as heaven can give as God gives to any that he intends to save and make happy with himselfe to eternitie By this wee see that wee are not to bring good works because their presence is not necessarily required Though wee see all evill present with us and all good absent wee may rest upon the promises of grace for justification which is the plaine direct way to true and perfect holinesse Now in the next place I shall give you considerations to prove that wee are not justified by works that are done after conversion This will appeare as clearly as that which I have delivered concerning the needlesnesse of the works of the Law for our justification before our justification The first reason which I shall lay down is this Those things are not the cause of justification which follow justification and true faith but good works follow justification and true faith therefore good works are not the causes of justification The cause precedes the effect good works are the effect of justification right reason therefore will teach us that they cannot precede justification The worke of the justification of a sinner is done compleated before works are done and therefore works can have no hand in our justification That old rule is as old as the doctrine of justification and as true as it is old Bona operanon praecedunt justificandū sed sequuntur justificatū Good works doe not precede in the person who is to be justified but follow the person that is justified From which it will follow that a man is not justified for good works that follow faith because he is justified before he hath those good works good works in order of nature following true faith true faith working by love Gal. 5.6 I am not to love that I may beleeve but I must beleeve Gods love that I may love God Joh. 4.19 Wee love him because he first loved us Wee are first purged from dead works by beleeving and then wee serve the living God Heb. 9.14 God hath sworn that justification shall goe before sanctification Luk. 1.73 He first delivereth us from our sinnes our soules deadly enemies and then wee serve him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse as Zachariah being filled with the holy Spirit doth sweetly powre forth the holy water of this soule-refreshing truth Luk. 1.74 75. Redemption doth antecede
thee For other foundation can no man lay then that which is laid which is Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 3. Though a spirituall man can make a good use of marks and signes as of love to God and Saints when he seeth them in the light of the Spirit as fruits proceeding from faith as the roote yet by drawing a conclusion from the sight of such things which we apprehend to be in our selves of our happinesse and good estate before God wee shall not so truely comfort as certainly deceive our selves Fourthly This is for the reprehension of blind ignorant Formalists who place Religion rather in conformity to outward formes of Government and submission to externall Ordinances then in the faith of the Gospel which is operative by love Justification doth not lye in our obedience to the Ordinances of Jesus Christ but in Jesus Christ Wee are not made Saints by being made members of any Church or Congregation but by faith in the head of the Church Woe to him that maketh his obedience and submission to any Ordinance the ground of his comfort as too many zealous Formalists do who run from Congregation to Congregation from one Ordinance to another to get solid comfort to their soules apprehending that they are undone creatures and cannot be true Saints unlesse they be under the true practise of all Ordinances whereas it is a plaine truth revealed in the Gospel of truth that neither submitting to an Ordinance can make a true Saint nor the want of Ordinances un-saint any man that is made one with Christ in beleeving He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. So he is a true Saint who is not a visible member of a Congregation but he whose life of faith is hidden in Jesus Christ He is baptized not whose body is washed with water but whose soule is washed in the bloud of Christ 1 Pet. 3.21 He is a good Communicant and breaks bread who doth not breake bread outwardly but by faith doth inwardly feed upon the bread of life Wee are not justified by works of the Law done before or after justification nor by yeelding obedience to any command concerning outward Ordinances but by our submitting in our Judgements to the truth of Gods Grace in Jesus Christ for justification without these I would not here be mistaken as though I did speake against any Saints or any who are spirituall and faithfull in the observation of any externall Ordinances But against zealous Formalists who doe make Saintship and fellowship to depend upon these things and are not spiritually acquainted with the truth of Gods Grace but are perverters of the Gospel In the next place here lyeth Consolation for all that heare me this day in that which I have delivered if God shall give unto them beleeving hearts Hast thou never done any good worke hast thou hated the wayes of God and his people hast thou never looked after the discipline government and ordinances of Christ Yet here is a ground for thee to come in unto Christ we are justified by grace through believing not through working Therefore let it be supposed that thou art without works yet thou hast good ground to take comfort in that which hath bin delivered believe and thou art in a happy condition though thou hast never done a good worke Thou art not to come to Jesus Christ as a righteous man But thou are to come unto him that thou maist be made a righteous man If thou seest thy selfe a vile sinner cast thy selfe into the armes of the grace of the Father by Jesus Christ and thou shalt be made the righteousnesse of God in him 2 Cor. 5. Promises of Grace are left by God upon record in the Scripture of truth for sinners for ignorant sinners Isa 29.24 They that erred in Spirit shall come to understanding For sinners that murmure against him his wayes truths Prophets as it followeth in the same verse They that murmured shall learne Doctrine For backsliding sinners Hosea 14.4 I will heale their back flidings I will love them freely Him that cometh unto him he will in nowise cast out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here are two Negatives in the Greeke which doe strengthen the Negation Iohn 6.37 By which speech our Saviour doth assure poore sinfull creatures that if in truth they come unto him they shall not be rejected by him or ejected from the armes of his love and mercy Christ's invitation is to all sinners All that will may lay hold of him not only the righteous but the unrighteous If thou canst not love God thou maist looke on the Grace of God and take comfort that God loves thee Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners the cheifest and vilest of sinners to repentance Therefore come as a sinner as the cheifest of sinners come I say and welcome The Lord Jesus keeps open-house for all commers the blinde the lame shall not finde the doores shut upon them They shall be wellcome as sinners that cannot be entertained as Saints It is reported of Romes first Founder that wanting Subjects he sent forth some to make known his will to all people who lived about him that if any malefactors or such who were oppressed in the places where they lived did come in unto him they should live peaceably in his Kingdome and he would protect them against any that should pursue them and by this meanes he became suddenly the King of a numerous people So Christ doth send forth his Proclamations to assure sinners and vile malefactors that if they will come under his Scepter they shall live peaceably under his Government and that hee will safe-guard them from all their enemies which shall pursue them and by this meanes his dominions are enlarged from Sea to Sea and sinners doe rejoyce in the King of Sion This doctrine if it were received would answer all the objections which are raised in the hearts of men against their happinesse by Jesus Christ Is there any sad comfortlesse soule which would not be comforted if this truth were received What canst thou object against thy selfe to bereave thy selfe of peace which would not be removed if this were throughly believed Art thou a sinner Christ offereth himselfe to sinners Art thou an old sinner An old sinner is but a sinner Hast thou bin a Pharisee like Paul persecuting Christ and the doctrine of Grace A persecuting Pharisee is but a sinner And Paul was received to mercy that such might not be without hope of mercy 1 Tim. 1.16 Art thou an Hypocrite An Hypocrite may come as a sinner to Christ Bring what objection thou canst and a perswasion concerning the truth of Gods grace shall answer it and if thou doest believe thou hast as good
an assurance as any is in Heaven which will hold good when the hope of the Hypocrite will come to nothing Let no objection keepe thee from comfort but believe what thou hast heard if thou art a sinner conclude not that Christ belongs not to thee because thou art a sinner but say I am a sinner therfore Christ belongs to me Christ came to save sinners As the bright beames of the Sun dispell all mists and clouds so the truth of this doctrine if thou understand it in the light of the Spirit will dispell all thy doubts and objections of unbeliefe They will vanish and thou that camest hether under a spirit of bondage shalt goe away with a spirit of adoption and assurance The true Gospel believed will quickly bring true comfort to thy soule If any of you want comfort and assurance it is because you believe not Christ doth knock at the doore of our hearts and if by believing the doore be opened He will feast with us It is unbeliefe which doth bolt the doore doth keepe him out and doth keepe joy from us The gates of Heaven are shut upon workers and open to believers shut to those who come with money in their hands but open to those who are content to enter without paying any thing for their entrance The gift of God is eternall life through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6. ult Whosoever will may drinke of the waters of life freely Rev 22.21 But if wee will not drinke without money wee shall not drinke one drop of the water of life We see that at a play-house they will not open the doore and let people in without they give mony But it were a disgrace for a King if none should see his Pallace but such who would give money If wee thinke to enter into heaven by doing good workes that wee may be saved by what we doe wee make heaven like a play-house but if wee looke on heaven as the Pallace of the great King of heaven and earth let us know that wee may enter without money It were a disgrace to the King of heaven if he should suffer none to come within his doores to come into his Pallace but those that would give something to come into it if wee have nothing to give for heaven wee have as much as God demands if wee doe nothing wee doe as much as God requires Manifestè beati sunt quibus sine labore vel opere aliquo remittuntur iniquitates et peccata teguntur Nulla ab his requiruntur paenitentiae opera nisi tantum ut credant Ambrose It is plaine that they are blessed unto whom without any labour or paines sinnes are remitted and iniquities covered No workes of repentance are required of these this is onely required of them that they doe believe For he that worketh not but beliveth in him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousnesse Rom. 4.5 So much for this time Salvation is only by Gods grace SERMON II. Ephesians 1.8 For by grace are yee saved through faith and that not of your selves c. I proved the last day that there is no salvation for any man by any workes or righteousnesse of his owne I shall now proceed in the next place to prove that Wee are saved by grace onely By grace in this place wee are to understand the free favour of God to his poore undeserving creatures That which is translated grace here in other places is translated ravour So it is said that our blessed Lord and Saviour increased in wisdome and stature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in favour with God and men Luke 2. ult So it is said that Joseph found favour in the sight of Pharaoh King of Egypt Act. 7.10 And it is said that David found favour before God ver 46. The grace of God is the same with his favour This grace or free favour of God to poore creatures is held forth to us in Scripture First as it is in God and so it is set forth to us as that grace and favour of his which is as eternall as himselfe And in this respect we are said to be saved from eternitie in this eternall grace and favour of his as the Apostle sets it forth 2 Tim. 1.9 where he saith that wee are saved not according to our works but according to his owne purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began This grace is the primary cause of our justification God justifies and saves none in time but those who were justified and saved before him from eternity It is said of Abraham that hee was the Father of many Nations Rom. 4.17 He was not then the father of many nations if we look upon his progenie posteritie for he had not a grand-child then but he was the Father of many Nations before him whom he believed even God that quickenth the dead and calleth things that are not as if they were So wee were saved before God in the eternall grace of God before we had a being among the creatures In the same sense that God is said to determine the times and the bounds of all mens habitations from eternity Act. 17.26 So wee are said to be saved by the grace of God Because God from eternity loved us in Christ and saw us in his own eternall grace and favour Otherwise wee should make God like unto the creature which seeth things when they are done and are visible among the creatures but God hee foresaw things from eternity He speakes of things as being when indeed they have not a being among the creatures but have a being in his owne eye And so wee had a being in the grace of God and in the eye and sight of God before wee had a being in our selves and a being among the creatures And we are in this grace of God from eternity not for any works that God foresaw would be done by us God did not love us from eternity because he foresaw that wee would be industrious painfull and zealous to glorify his name There was nothing at all in the eye of God from eternity that moved God to set his grace and favour upon us but his grace It is contrary to truth which is affirmed by some that God foreseeing that some men would be industrious painefull doe good workes and live holily and righteously did therefore make choice of them and set his grace on them And that foreseeing the idlenesse sloath prophanenesse ungodlinesse and impenitencie of others he rejected them God as hee loves us in his grace from eternity so this grace was placed upon us without any foresight or prevision of our own workes The Apostle doth clear this plainly to us in the forementioned place where he saith not according to our workes but according to his owne purpose and grace intimating thus much to us that it was onely the eternall grace of God which moved God to be good and gracious to us
and these urgodly men are of the number of the damned We wonder to see a generation of men sprung up among us that make nothing of Christ or the Father wee wonder to see men undervaluing and vilifying the grace of God neglecting all Christian duties and denying the word of God to be the word of God But it was so in the Apostles times there were such crept into their Congregations and why should it seeme a strange thing unto us that it is so now in these dayes of Babylonish confusion and Egyptian-darknesse seeing it was so in the bright dayes of light in which the Apostles lived who Prophecyed that in these latter dayes perilous times should come and men should depart from the faith That wee may not stumble in our Christian race at these abusers and scandalizers of grace let us know that grace is grace though men abuse it think not that grace is not grace because it is abused but know that the true doctrine of grace may and must be abused by wicked and ungodly men As the spider sucks poyson where the Bee sucks honey So where the Saints suck sweetnesse and honey the wicked and ungodly men suck poyson Where the godly fetch all their joy and comfort delight and refreshment there wicked men meet with their ruine and destruction The wayes of Gods truth and grace are right and the just and faithfull shall walke safely in them but the transgressors shall fall therein Hosea 14.9 Marke the place and what God speaketh In the same way in which the Saint doth walke to salvation the wicked shall stumble and fall into condemnation A Libertine hearing the doctrine of Grace sucks nothing but his bane from it Though the word be the savour of life unto life to them that believe yet is it the savour of death unto death to some 2 Cor. 2.16 I remember one saith of Medicaments that if they be given by a skilfull Physitian they are the helpfull hands of God auxiliares dei manus but if by one that is unskilfull they are poyson So the doctrine of grace when it is skilfully applyed when the Spirit of God teacheth us to make a right use of it it is the power of God to salvation as the Apostle saith I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ which is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth Rom. 1.16 But when it is unskilfully applyed when the flesh only makes use of this doctrine of grace and there is not the spirit of God to teach us to make a right use of it wee turne it into venome and wee are poysoned to our destruction But let us not be offended at the doctrine of Christ for this It hath bin so formerly it is so and will be so Neverthelesse let us continue in the grace of God and looke up to God that wee may continue in it I have one worde now to speake unto those who for the present are not apprehendors and partakers of this grace and shall conclude for this present You see it is onely by grace that you are saved it is only grace that brings salvation to the sonnes and daughters of men Therefore if God hath convinced you that you are sinners now is the day of grace now is the day of salvation I will shew a short and compendious but a true way to happinesse happy are all you that beleeve what is brought to your eares this day concerning Gods free grace God promised to meet his people at the mercy-Seate Exod. 25. which was a type of Christ and wee can never meet with God to the salvation of our soules but by meeting with his grace in the Lord Jesus The Law is the ministery of death it is the Gospel of grace which is the ministery of life and salvation Looke therefore beyond the Law which is a ministery of condemnation 2 Cor. beyond thy own righteousnesse which is impurity to the eye of Justice beholding thee under the Law beyond thy selfe who art an object of misery horrour and confusion and by a spirituall eye of Gods owne making behold his grace in Christ for lost and undone sinners Hearken to what God speakes to thee he invites thee exhorts thee and beseecheth thee to be reconciled he tells thee that thou canst not be justified by thine owne workes but by his free grace that thou art not to be saved by what thou hast done but by what Christ hath done and suffered Though thou hast broaken the Law Jesus Christ hath kept it He is the end of the Law for righteousnesse for every one that beleeveth in and by the grace of God Behold God standing at the doore of thy heart in the Ministery of the Gospel of grace and salvation let the doore of thy hears fly open unto him by beleeving and he will feast thy soule As Christ said to Zacheus so I may say to thee who beleevest what I speake this day salvation is come into thine house God is the God of grace therefore thinke not to please him by any thing but by eyeing of his grace Christ is the Sonne of grace he came to reveale the grace of his Father If thou wouldest with Simeon take Christ and salvation in thine armes graspe not thine owne workes for justification but beleeve what is proclaymed forth to the world concerning salvation onely by grace The Spirit is the Spirit of grace and if thou beleeve thou shalt be assured of sealed to redemption by grace There is no salvation but by grace and no apprehension of grace but by beleeving which is the next thing presented in the Text to our consideration Salvation is not by working but beleeving yee are saved by grace through faith But wee must be enforced to let alone the fuller enlarging of this point untill God shall give us another opportunity For the present I have done * ⎠* Salvation onely by Beleeving SERMON III. Ephesians 2.8 9. c. For by grace yee are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God IT hath allready been proved unto us that good workes cannot save us And likewise the grace of God for the salvation of sinners without works hath presented it selfe unto us with the strength sufficiency and glory of it It may now be questioned by some by what meanes the Grace of God in Christ may bee applyed unto our selves and apprehended by us Our Apostle doth fully satisfie us concerning this affirming that it is not through working but beleiving Yee are saved by grace through faith The Apostle doth not affirme that wee are saved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 propter fidem for our faith for the worth merit dignity or excellency of it But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 per fidem through faith faith being the gift of grace by which grace is revealed and applyed unto us Grace is the principall cause of our justification faith is the Organ or instrument given unto us by God for the
sinner faith hath made thee just it found thee wicked whom it should make just The second reason why it is thus by faith alone is because it is by grace unlesse we were justified by faith we were not we could not be justified by Grace This reason the Apostle lays downe Rom. 4.16 Therefore it is of faith that it might bee by Grace As if he should have said unlesse you hold that there is a justification by faith alone without workes you deny Grace if you will bee justified by faith and workes conjoyned you destroy Grace Therefore it is by faith alone that it may be by Grace When we have a true sight of Grace wee see a sufficiency in that Grace to doe us good for our justification and salvation soe that there is nothing needfull necessary besides grace In which respect Luther saith that workes are not necessary to justification but pernitious to salvation the gospell requiring faith only according to that of the Apostle Gal. 3.12 The Law is not of faith the law hath nothing to doe with beleeving that doctrine which bids a man to beleeve that he may bee saved that is the doctrine of the gospell the law biddeth us not to beleeve but the man that doth it shall live in it The law bids us worke but the Gospell bids us beleeve not worke and beleive but beleive only We confound the Covenant of workes and the Covenant of Grace if wee presse an absolute necessity of doing good workes for justification This was the Divinity of the blood-sucker Bishop Bonner who in a Sermon propounding this quest How grace is to be applyed to us for justification doth answer by beleeving rightly and living uprightly joyning faith and holinesse for justification by grace whereas by the Scripture of truth it is manifest that faith alone doth lay hold of Christ and doth appropriate him unto us And that holinesse doth flow and streame from the apprehension of our free justification by grace through faith alone though faith is not alone but is accompanyed with other fruits of the Spirit which follow it This must be well understood or else we shall nullifie the grace of God wherefore God enableth true beleevers to see this truth plainly and clearly Vilesceret redemptio sanguinis Christi nec miserecordiae dei humanorum operum praerogativa succumberet si justificatio quae sit per gratiam meretis precedentibus deberetur Ambros Redemption by the blood of Christ would be vilified the prerogative of mans workes would not stoop to Gods mercy if justification which is by grace were due to preceding workes A man that truely beleives he sees not any holinesse or qualification in himselfe that makes him more worthy of salvation then another man he sees that he hath deserved damnation as well as any one who is now in the place of torment and yet hee sees that such is the Grace the unspeakeable grace of God to his poore souâ—â— that though he deserve to lye as low in hell as Iudas for his sin yet he shall be raised as high as heaven by the grace of the father made knowne to him in Iesus Christ Brethren if upon examination you finde that your joy comfort and assurance have in the first place proceeded from any workes which you have in your selves which make you conclude that you shall rather be saved then another man your assurance is not a right assurance But if your assurance be right it is by beleeving that which is reported concerning the grace of God that so salvation may be by grace It is possible for men to deceive themselves in obtaining an assurance of Gods love and their happinesse therefore I will a little digresse to open this to the ignorant It may be thou takest comfort to thy selfe by looking on workes wrought by thy selfe and not by looking on Christ it may be thou conceivest that thou lovest God and from thence concludest that God loveth thee though thou hast not seen his free love to sinners this is a bastardly assurance brought forth by thine owne lying spirit and not the true assurance of the Spirit of grace in beleeving In a true assurance by faith God hath the glory of his grace But in this kind of assurance God hath not the glory of his grace therefore it is not a true assurance Another deceiveth his soule and thinketh hee is in a good condition because he resteth upon a promise of God Christ saith Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest A man doth apprehend himselfe to be heavy laden and from the sight of his burthen doth conclude hee hath rest and is in a good condition but hee deceiveth himselfe with a false perswasion for the promise is not made to the qualification of wearinesse but the promise is made to the commers to Jesus Christ Cain was heavy laden with his sin and it lay so heavy on him that he concluded that the punishment was greater then he was able to beare or else that his sin was greater then it could be forgiven and yet died miserable without mercy Wee find that the sin of Judas lay so heavy on him that he repented that he had shed innocent blood yet for all this hee went to his owne place Therefore if thy comfort and assurance come from a sight of what is in thy selfe and not from the discovery of grace as it is layd forth in the Spirit of grace thy assurance will not advantage thee in the day of wrath Though God hath convinced thee of sin and there may be some legall repentance reformetion wrought in thee and something which thou mayst miscall a true love to God thou canst not from the sight of these things rightly conclude that thou art in the love of God before a discovery of free love be made forth to thee a sinner For God doth not apply his grace or his Sonne to any man for justification but through beleeving that justification may evidently appeare to the sons of men to bee by his owne grace Which will appeare if in the third place we doe more fully consider that God doth save us through beleeving that hee may have the glory of his grace God as hee is glorious in his grace by which hee justifies sinners so he will be glorified in the hearts and consciences of those who are justified by grace that he may have the ful glory of his grace when he hath justified them Non est quò gratia intret ubi jam meritum occupavit Bern. There is no roome for the glory of Gods grace where the worthinesse of our workes hath filled up the place Where the creature may have glory in his owne workes there God loseth the glory of his grace Where God doth any thing for the creature by grace there it is not of our works otherwise grace is no more grace If it be of workes then it is no more of grace
est opus vestrum sed hoc est opus Dei He said not this is your worke but the worke of God Our Saviour speaking to his Disciples Mar. 4.11 To you saith he it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God but unto them that are without all those things are done in parables The Gospell of the Lord Jesus is a mystery and parable unto many untill the Lord doth give us the precious gift of faith by which we understand these mysteries of God so that he that truly understands the mysterie of the Kingdome doth look upon his spirituall knowledge as a gift What is compleat and perfect faith but the gift of God by which we believe that all our spirituall good things and faith it selfe is freely given unto us by God Quae est plena et perfect a fides Quae credit ex Deo et omnia bona nostra et ipsam fidem Aug. Fifthly This may convince those of their errour who being convinced of sinne do refuse to turne into the true way of salvation by believing supposing in the pride and ignorance of their hearts that this is too short and neare a way to Justification and happinesse These will first doe good workes get strength against all their corruptions be made holy sanctified men and then they thinke that they may safely make bold to lay hold of some promise of grace for justification and salvation It was thus with me when God did at first begin to awaken my conscience with the dreadfull fight of my sins and course of prophanenesse in which I had lived and some months I went in this way never in the spirit considering that the object of Gods justifying grace was an ungodly man and a sinner and not knowing that spirituall regeneration is not by the workes of the Law but the doctrine of the Gospel though I could then in a carnall way as many blind Protestants now can have spoken and preached more gloriously with rhetoricall words and flourishing expressions of justification by faith without workes then now I can or will But as God who from all eternity had singled me out unto salvation by Jesus Christ was pleased to convince mee of my ignorance and to bring mee to rest upon his grace in his sonne as a poore wretched sinner enabling me to believe that my sins were blotted out for his owne Names sake though my sins did testifie against me So these who are in the same condition in which I then was if they are in the number of those whom God hath given unto his sonne Jesus Christ shall be convinced that by faith through Christ wee have accesse to the Throne of grace with boldnesse and that faith is not given in consideration of any preceding acts of holinesse or sanctification but as the free gift of our heavenly Father That they who have thus erred in spirit Isa 29.24 may come unto understanding and such who have murmured against the truth of Gods grace may learn doctrine Give me leave briefly to lay downe some convincing considerations which may bring to your remembrance those things which we have more fully handled 1 Consi The word and promises which we doe enjoy are fre gifts of Gods favour What reason can we give why we should enjoy the outward meanes of grace rather then Americans but his owne free grace Psalm 147.19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob his statutes and his judgements unto Israel It is the Lord that bringeth the externall meanes and word of grace as a gift more worth then the whole world unto a people According to that sweet promiâ—e of God Ezek. 29 21. I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them The great and precious promises by the believing of which we are made partakers of the divine nature are freely given unto us 2 Pet. 1.4 2 Consi The power of God doth make the difference between men who doe enjoy the outward means 2 Pe. 1.3 His divine power hath given us all things that pertaine unto life and godlinsse through the knowledge of him who hath called us to glory and vertue If God did put forth that omnipotent power in all which he doth in some who heare the Gospell all as well as some should believe 1 Cor. 3.7 Neither he that planteth is any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the encaease Upon which words one giveth us this observation As all things which are planted and watered do not spring up thâ—â—â— and prosper but those whom God doth blesse So all men who are planted in the Church of Ghrist and watered by the preaching or the Word doe not truly believe but those upon whom God bestoweth faith Nec omnium est 〈◊〉 qu◠〈◊〉 verbum sed quibus deus partâ—â— mâ—nsuram â—idei sicut nec omnia germinant quae plantamu â—t rigantur But I have touched upon this before 3 Consi Gods good grace doth prevent mans good workes in his justification God in his grace must give us a new creation heavenly being in his word made flesh 1 Joh. before good workes can be wrought by us Sicut creatore opus habemus ut essemus sic salvatore ut revivisceremus Aug. As it was necessary that wee should have a Creator to give us beings as creatures so it is necessary that wee should have a Saviour to make us new creatures through faith 4 Consi Gods grace doth not only prevent our works but faith it self Faith is an effect of Gods grace and therefore God is gravious before we beleeve It is a blessing of the new Covenant and therefore in this respect it may be truly said that we are under the new Covenant before we do believe By which we may plainly see that faith is a free gift Mercy is shewed unto the faithfull and it is shewed unto us to make us faithfull Fideli datur quidem miserecordia sed data est etiam ut esset fidelis Aug. One saith that mercy was shewed unto Paul not only because he was faithfull but that he might be faithfufull The Apostle to prove the freenesse of grace in bestowing faith as a gift upon us hath these three expressions within the limits of three verses Rom. 5.15 16 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 calling faith a gift and a gift of grace and a gift of grace for righteousnesse 5. Consi There is no way to happinesse for thee but by grace and no closing in any sure or comfortable way with grace but through faith We are all condemned by the Law and there is no escaping for us but by that pardon which the King of Heaven in the prerogative of his grace doth give unto us and no way for us to be able to read our pardon unlesse God teach us And therefore God hath promised Isa 14.3 To give us rest from our sorrow feare and hard bondage with grace Psal 84.11 knowledge Ezek. 29.21 Faith Rom. 11.26 Strength and peace Psalm
love saith the Apostle He will remember the good works of men borne of God at the great day of judgement The good workes of some are manifest before-hand and they that are otherwise cannot be hid 1 Tim. 5.15 They cannot for ever be hid because God will make mention of them at that day But hee hath engaged himselfe by oath to remember our sins and sinfull actions Hebr. 8. And therefore the works of the spirituall man are not sin or sinfull Arg. 8. There is no law against the workes of a spirituall man or the fruits of the spirit of grace and therefore they are not sin because where there is no law there is no transgression But there is no law against these This is plain by that passage of the Apostle Gal. 5.22 The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance against such there is no law Object They are here considered as they are precisely the fruits of the spirit and as they ought to be done by us and so they are no sins but consider them as acted by us even with the spirits assistance and so they are defective and sinfull Answ The Apostle doth not speake of the fruits of the spirit as Tully of his Oratour Plato of his Common-wealth Moor of his Utopia as of things no where to be found But be speaks of the spirit as in us and the fruits of it as in us And doth plainly tell us that if we are led by the spirit we are not under the law and that there is no law against the fruits of the spirit But I shall have occasion hereafter to speake more fully of some places where the Apostles and servants of God doe speak plainly of these works as done in us that so I may break the neck of this distinction which is made as a Catholicon or salve for every sore Arg. 9. God doth give a testimony concerning his Saints that they are righteous and holy which is spoken in reference to their spirituall nature and actings and therefore they are righteous and holy The judgment of God is according to truth hee being the God of truth Doth not God give this testimony of Job Job 1.1 That he was a perfect man and upright one that feared God and eschewed evill And though man may oppose this yet it feemeth by Gods speech to Sathan that the Devill could not contradict it Job 2.3 And the Lord said unto Sathan hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the earth a perfect man upright one that feareth God and escheweth evill Did any thing which was sin or sinful procure this honourable title to David that he was a man after Gods owne heart 1 Sam. 13.14 Doth not the Scripture of truth inform us concerning Zacharias and Elizabeth his wife that they were both righteous before God walking in all the Commandements of God blamelesse Luke 1.6 They did not onely walk in the great Commandement of God concerning faith for Justification but in all the Ordinances and Commandements of God Is not Lot called a just and righteous man who was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked 2 Pet. 2.7 And was his sinfull soule vexed with their evill deeds or his righteous soul speak in the language of Gods Word and ye must acknowledge that it was his righteous soule vers 8. God is not like unto some indulgent parents who by their fond indulgency doe account that to be a vertue which is the fault of their children and them to be vertuous who are vile God calleth nothing righteousnesse which is sin or sinfull Nor those to be perfect and upright which are not so indeed and therefore seeing God doth call his children righteous holy and perfect wee may not be affraid to call them so unlesse wee will be affraid to follow his judgment Object They were righteous before God by Justification and before men by holy walking Ans We deny not their justification before God by faith but with all we affirme that they were righteous before him by their holy walkings As these places doe sufficiently prove with others which we shall hereafter speak of Let us not delude ous soules to think that righteousnesse sanctification is to the eye of men only The purest sanctification of a Saint is not so visible to men as unto God Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visite the fatherlesse and Widowes in their affliction and to keepe himselfe unspotted from the world which will be further manifested by our next argument Arg. 10. Almighty God is a God of pure eyes who cannot behold any iniquity any sinfull thing or sin with an eye of approbation But this God who cannot approve what is sin and sinfull this God approveth and professeth that he is well pleased with the performances of his Saints therefore the performance of the Saints cannot be sin or sinfull The Apostle in Philip. 4.18 Professeth that the worke of the Philippians in sending to relieve his wants was an odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God God hath pure eyes and pure nostrils and therefore if it had been sin or sinfull it could not have pleased his eye nor have beene an odour of a sweete smell unto his nostrills Object They are so but not in their owne nature Answ If they be not so in their own nature they are filthy and odious in their own nature and yet accepted by grace If one thing which is filthy and odious in its owne nature be accepted why should not other things which are filthy and odious in their owne nature be accepted for good workes If this can be made good Whoredome and Adultery will prove good works which hath been asserted by some who have said that the filthinesse of whoredome being done away the action is well-pleasing to Almighty God as well as any good work Arg. 11. One end and intention of God in electing of us was that he might make us holy that he might make us good trees to bring forth good fruit Though God doth not elect us because wee doe believe or because wee doe love yet hee hath elected us that wee may believe and that we may love So that wee frustrate one end that God hath in electing us if we doe not grant that God gives us a new nature and new hearts According to that of the Apostle 2 Thes 2 13. We are chosen unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth And in Eph 1.4 He hath chosen us in him that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Object We doe apprehend our election imperfectly which is the cause of the sinfulness of our works Answ By reason of that which is in the flesh we cannot so perfectly see our election as wee shall doe hereafter Yet in the spirit for the present we doe so fully apprehend it
thy sight But suppose wee should grant you this it doth still stand true that our service is in holinesse and righteousnesse And can any man be so blinde to thinke that a man shall serve in righteousnesse under Gods protection that hee should not see the righteousnesse which iâ— wrought under his protection and if it be righteousnesse which he seeth then it is righteousnesse before him or in his sight Arg. 15. To deny the purity of the man born of God is to deny one end for which Christ dyed for Christ dyed to bring us to be partakers of a pure Divine nature in which pure nature we are to live move and act holily The place by which I shall confirme this is in Heb. 9.14 The blood of Christ who through the eternall spirit offered himselfe without spot God shall purge our consciences from dead workes to serve the living God We are therefore washed from sin in our Justification that we may serve God by Sanctification And what spirituall man will call that the service of God which is sin or sinfull For to doe that which is sin or sinfull is to doe the Devils service or else I am to learne that which we need not be taught to wit what it is to doe the Devils service Arg. 16. The resurrection of Christ doth teach spirituall men to act purely in their new nature to the glory of their Father Rom. 6.4 As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we should walke in newnesse of life To walk in newnesse of life is it to walk in the oldnesse of that which is sin or sinfull let any Spirituall man judge Arg. 17. We may draw another argument from the Kingly office of Christ He as a King hath a command over his Subjects but he hath not the command over us when we doe that which is sin or sinfull and therefore wee doe something good as his Subjects in obedience to his commands bona bene Good things must be done well And therefore Christ doth not onely enable us to doe that which is righteous but hee doth enable us to doe it righteously Why is Christ King but that we should live under his commands Why are we his subjects why are we his servants but because wee are under his commands and under his laws You know the Jewes said they would not have Christ to be their King but the voyce of every Christian is to cry up Christ to proclaime him King and to owne him only as their Ruler And Christ being King rules and reigns in the hearts of his people by lawes and commandements and precious statutes worthy of such a King Now Christ gives us not a law as Moses gave a law that was grievous to those that heard it but Christ gives a law of love a lawâ— of sweetnesse by which hee rules in the midst of his enemies in our hearts what is in the flesh in us is an enemie to Jesus Christ but Christ Jesus sitting upon his Throne as King in our renewed regenerated and enlightned spirit rules in the midst of our sins his enemies which oppose him Christ is not such a King as other Kings other Kings make lawes and adde penalties to their laws for those that break them but they have no power to enable their Subjects to keep them But here is the priviledge and prerogative of our King when Christ makes lawes he doth not only give us lawes and bid us keepe them but he hath power in himselfe by which he enableth us to do that which he commands us to doe If Christ should command us to love should not enable us to doe that which he commands he should be such a Law-giver as Moses that gave a Law but gave no power to doe it But Christ is not such a Law-giver as Moses As he is not a rigid Law-giver to bid Saints doe it upon penalty of damnation or to worke for life and salvation so neither is he like Moses who could give them no power but there is a power and strength goes with Christs commands to enable us to doe what Christ the King commands Therefore if any of you give Christ the glory of his grace by believing that he hath abolished all your sins by his death be not dismayed at the sight of your corruptions Fight the good fight of faith Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world Christ that commands you to obey his Father will enable you to obey his Father Christ reignes in the hearts of his people not only by making known to them the covenant of his owne grace but by supplying them with strength to doe his will Lord give what thou commandest said one and command what thou wilt Christ commands us what to doe and gives us power to doe that which he commands Such a King is Christ that frees his people not onely from the condemnation of sin but from the power and dominion of sin in their spirits lives and conversations Blessed be God saith the Apostle that ye were the servants of sin Are they so still now they are under grace No but being made free from sin ye are the servants of righteousnesse sinne shall not have dominion over you why ye have a new King ye are under grace ye are under King Jesus If a Tyrant should tyrannize over Subjects and depose their lawfull King if this King afterwards should overthrow this Tyrant and deliver his Subjects from tyranny and bondage by overcomming the Tyrant would hee suffer this Tyrant to tyrannize over them or his people to be under the lawes of the Tyrant We were under Satan the Tyrant under his lawes and commands under the law of sinne and concupiscence but Christ comes and overcomes the Tyrant that ruled tyrannically in our hearts and will hee suffer that Tyrant still to rule us by those commands which he gave us when wee were in bondage to him No we shall not be under the bondage of the flesh if we understand the liberty of grace and of the Spirit The Apostle saith that we doe not live nor eate nor drinke nor doe any shing to our selves because Christ dyed and rose and revived that he might be Lord of quicke and dead Rom. 14.8 9. Christ dyed and rose that he might be Lord and King and reigne and set up his Scepter of holinesse in the hearts of his people This was prophesied in Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power When Christ as King comes with power his people shall be willing Christ bids them believe and they believe he bids them love and they doe love they run through fire and water they lay downe their honours and riches at his feet and love not their lives unto the death Object The enabling of Christ in working is not of the same extent with his command Answ In the spirituall and regenerate part the power of Christ is as large as
the words untill I came and mine eyes had seene it and behold the halfe was not told me thy wisdome and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard Fame commonly exceeds the thing which is reported but Solomons glory exceeded the fame of it So we heare of great and glorious things which shall be at the resurrection the joy and glorie that the Saints shall have and we take paines to illustrate it by earthly joyes and spirituall comfort which is the best thing to shadow it But all that can be said is far short of setting forth to the full the glorie and joy of it And therefore seeing that the thing farre exceeds the discourse and apprehension of any man seeing words cannot set forth what glorie and joy this is I will not lay downe any more considerations to shadow forth to you this joy which I professe I want language fully to expresse Wherefore give me leave to make a little use and I shall put a period for the present of speaking of this joy which is unspeakable In the first place seeing there will be great joy at the resurrection therefore wee should rejoice in it before-hand God will not faile in giving you of any thing that he hath promised you will find the joy a hundred thousand times greater then any man on earth is able to expresse it to you As God when he promised the people of Israel the Land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey he did not faile of any thing he had promised to them all came to passe as you have the storie Joh. 21.45 So God hath promised a heavenly Canaan of glorie an everlasting Kingdome a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Heb. 11.10 Palaces that shall stand fast and firme upon their basis and foundation to the dayes of Eternitie He hath promised to put Scepters into our hands Crowns of glory upon our heads And he that hath promised these things to his people will not faile it performance he is just and faithfull he iâ— not like man he cannot lie he cannot repent of the good he intends to doe for his people Therefore you that are his people rejyocein your portion and inheritance A the young Ward in his non-age or minority when little iâ— allowed him for the present doth rejoyce in foreseeing what large possessions he shall be master of for the future when the time of his Wardship shall be expired So let us who are the Heires of Heaven happinesse and glorie here though wee shall not have the fruition of it untill hereafter rejoyce here as though wee were in the full enjoyment and possession of it Suffer not any wicked unbelieving spirits to bereave you of your joy and comfort by leading you into errour concerning the resurrection O what enemies are these people to the spirituall joy of Gods people that goe about to sow this seed of false Doctrine among them by perswading them that there shall be no resurrection of the bodie but onely a spirituall resurrection here How doe these with specious shewes of truth bereave people of that spirituall joy comfort and contentment that they might take in believing the Doctrine of the resurrection Beloved you meet with many Arguments against the resurrection that baffle carnall reason I professe that if I should follow carnall reason I know there are such strong Arguments against the resurrection that I should easily yeild the bucklers and contend no more for the point but conclude that there would be no resurrection of the bodie but when I looke upon the power of him that hath promised when I consider that God hath said it it answers all objections of carnall reason Therefore shew your selves children of faithfull Abraham stagger not at this promise he believed above hope and against hope It is above hope and against the hope of naturall reason that this bodie should be raised yet give God the glory of his power God hath said that this bodie shall rise and rise as the body of his Sonne that we shall awake and sing and the Earth shall cast forth her dead Consider a authorem tolle dubitationem Ter. Consider the power of the agent and all doubting will be removed He that hath promised it is power love and faithfulnesse he will doe what he hath promised for his people what they expect and beyond their thoughts desires and expectations therefore 1 Thess 4. ult Comfort your selves with these words There is no Doctrine that brings so much spirituall consolation to the soule as this it is the spring of spirituall joy in the hearts of the Saints Take away the Doctrine of the resurrection of bodies and take away all spirituall joy and comfort And then look no longer upon the Saints as glorious and happie creatures but as the most miserable abjects that you behold upon the face of the earth If there be no resurrection of the dead saith the Apostle We are of al men most miserable Saints professe themselvs the most happie and joyfull people in the world and rejoyce in their portion and blesse themselves in their happinesse and inheritance But take this Doctrine away let it be granted that there shall be no resurrection let it bee granted that Christ is not risen in his humane bodie and that the Saints shall not rise in their humane bodies as Christ did and be happie in their humane bodies it will damp all the joy of the Saints presently it will quench the Spirit of joy in the people of God For there can be no cause of rejoycing to the Saints but in this assurance that their sinnes are pardoned that they are in Covenant with God that God having loved them from eternitie will love them to eternitie and preserve them in happinesse with himselfe Therefore you that truly believe this Doctrine rejoyce in it and suffer not the scoffing enemies of this Doctrine to draw you from it and so from the comfort that will flow into your hearts while you believe it Take heed lest there be in any of you a heart of unbeliefe to depart from the living God And iâ— there be any poore weak Christians here that have been misled by these miscreants and ungodly men let them looke up to God beholding his power and faithfulnesse in their Redeemer that they may see all those objections of carnall reason by which they have been deluded and misled easily answered that so their former joy and consolation may returne to them by believing the Doctrine and joy of the resurrection And let me adde this also that as this is a Doctrine of great joy so it is a Doctrine that obligeth us to great holinesse The Doctrine of Christ in every part and branch of it leads to holinesse If thou meet with any tenent or opinion that furthereth not holinesse looke on that opinion as an errour for whatsoever is the truth of the Lord it is a truth that leads us to holinesse of life and conversation
awake and sing and be happie in a more full enjoyment of God and this is the desire of those that are truly faithfull When Christ saith He will come and appeare What doe the Saints answer Even so come Lord Jesus come quickly Rev. 22.2 If a naturall carnall man should speake forth that which lies at the bottome of his heart when Christ saith He will come he would say O Lord never come I am not conformed to thine Image I am not made a new creature by hearing of thy Gospel O let me never see the face of Christ But the man that knows the love of God and truly understands the everlasting Gospel when he heares Christ say I come presently there is this eccho by which he answereth the Lord Christ in his owne Spirit Even so come Lord Jesus come quickly When the Judges are in their circuits malefactors tremble and quake but an innocent man that hath a good cause expects and desires to have it heard and is glad that they are come so wicked and ungodly men who are theeves robbers murtherers and malefactors guiltie of all sinnes and lie in imprisoned shackled in their own consciences when they heare that the Lord Jesus shall rid his circuit and appeare as a Judge unless◠they have seared consciences they cannot but tremble and quake But the other when Christ shall be as a Judge to the wicked he shall be as a Saviour to them therefore they cannot but desire the coming and appearing of the Lord. Wherefore let us desire the appearing of the Lord Jesus let us not live as the men of the world that are afraid and tremble quake when they heare of a Judgement day Christ coming to judge every man according to his workes but let us continue in the assurance of Gods grace beleeving that our sinnes are pardoned Let not the coming of Christ be our feare but our desire let us desire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to wait as one doth upon one that he would speake with for the Sonne who shall deliver us from the wrath to come and shall put a Crowne of glory on our heads which he hath promised to all those that love him Againe that I may draw to a conclusion let this sweeten all miseries troubles and afflictions that we shall meet with here below If wee meet with persecution with imprisonment with hatred in the world with reproaches from men let this be sufficient to sweeten all Consider the day is coming it is at hand Christ is at the dore Jam. 5.10 and you shall awake and sing while these that now rejoyce shall howle and lament Beloved Thinke it not strange concerning the fiery triall which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you But rejoyce in as much as yee are partakers of Christs sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed yee may be glad also with exceeding joy 1 Pet. 4.13 14. God leads his people to happinesse by straits Heaven is a Palace of glory a spacious place but the way to it is narrow the gate is straite by which wee must enter in unto it Let the joyes provided for us at the end of our journey sweeten unto us the troubles and difficulties of the way God intended to make Job a great man but before God brings him to his full height of greatnesse God first brings him to the dunghill So God will bring us first to the dunghill he will lay us in the dust and then make us such glorious creatures as you have heard the Saints shall be at the resurrection Joseph was to be ruler in Aegypt but first he must be laid in prison so God layes his first in prison he brings them to a low condition to be nothing in the world and afterward layes them in the prison of the grave and then hee raiseth them to be Kings Priests Rulers and Judges with the Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore let this meditation of the resurrection sweeten trouble and persume the grave unto us And let it likewise sweeten all the comforts that wee enjoy here by looking upon them as pledges of the joy which wee shall have at the resurrection Let it sweeten the mercies of this day which will have little relish in them without this Alas what is it to looke on Nationall deliverances mercies victories and conquests over our enemies unlesse you see your happinesse in the Lord Jesus What is it if the Land have peace if thou hast not peace of conscience by beleeving What is it if the enemies of thy body of the State and Kingdome be wholly routed and put under the feete of those that desire to stand for the liberties of the Subject if in the meane while thou be a vassall and a slave to the Prince of darknesse What is it for thee to be free from corporall enemies and yet to be under the power and led captive by the enemy of thy soule What is it if thou be a freeman in thy body and a slave in thy soule to all lusts filthinesse and ungodlinesse What is it to keepe such a day as this and to rejoyce in a carnall way for outward mercies when thou doest not spiritually rejoyce in the first place that God hath freed thee from the enemies of thy eternall salvation Rejoyce not onely as a Heathen may for nationall blessings but rejoyce as a Christian seeing God reconciled to thee in the Sonne of his love let the joy of the resurrection both sweeten thy troubles and adde spirituall fewell to the flame of thy joy for temporall mercies Truly wee then rejoyce in temporall things and in creature-comforts and mercies aright when we rejoyce in them in a spirituall way when wee see all sweetened to us in the Lord Jesus Therefore improve to the full this doctrine for the heightening of your joyes this day Let there not be an evill heart of unbeliefe in any to keepe him from rejoycing Though there were great plentie of Corne in Samaria yet the Lord that would not beleeve what the Prophet said though he saw it he did not taste of it 2 Kings 7.19 I tell you of great plentie and happinesse I have set it before your eyes as God hath enabled me but unlesse you beleeve you shall never taste of this heavenly Manna you shall never drinke of these rivers of pleasure Here is a cup of salvation you that have the lips of faith drinke and your soules shall be refreshed and comforted in the enjoyment of it but if you lie in unbeliefe you may want the joy and comfort that you might have of it here and you may want the enjoyment of it to all eternitie Therefore beleeve what hath been spoken what God hath promised and rejoyce in it here being confident that thou shalt enjoy what God hath promised And what thou hast in spe in hope here thou shalt hereafter have in re in full fruition serving God chearfully joyfully and comfortably in the assurance of