Paul's Doctrine touching God's Grace and Long-suffering and wrest several passages in his Epistles and other Scriptures to their own destruction we are told by St. Peter also 2 Pet. 3.15 16. And account that the long-suffering of the Lord is Salvation even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given him hath written unto you as also in all his Epistles speaking in them of these things In which are some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the other Scriptures to their own destruction And after St. Paul in his 2 Tim. 3.2 3 4 5 verses had by many black Characters described a sort of Christians that had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof In ver 8. he further describes them by that which was the cause of the forementioned unsavoury fruits of the Flesh to wit that they were men of corrupt minds or understandings and reprobate concerning the Faith or void of Judgment concerning the Faith as the Margin hath it They were Men of corrupt Principles and injudicious concerning the Doctrine of Faith They did not discern Faith to be necessary in the operative and practical nature of it But as they did satisfie themselves with a form of Godliness without the power so they did likewise with a formal inefficacious and liveless Faith which made them so unsavoury in their Lives And St. John after he had in his first Epistle antidoted the Christians against the pretentions of the Gnosticks who held a bad Life consistent with Communion with God through illumination of mind and the Christian Faith deceiving themselves and labouring to deceive others in thinking they might be Righteous without doing Righteousness 1 Joh. 3.7 He towards the conclusion of that Epistle sums up his general scope in it in these words These things have I written unto you that believe in the Name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have Eternal Life and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God Chap. 5.13 His meaning is as I conceive that he wrote this Epistle first to the end they might be the better assured of Salvation by Christ upon their rightly Believing on him And secondly To the end they might not be drawn into mistakes in the point of Believing as if any Faith less than such as is accompanied with a constant adherence to Christ's Doctrine and Example touching a holy Life would give them that Assurance He wrote to them that did Believe that they might Believe that is that they might Believe yet more understandingly more groundedly and so perseveringly against all temptations to Apostacy from the profession of the Faith or to loosness in the profession of it St. Jude also ver 3 4. stirred up the Christians to contend earnesâ—ly for the Faith the Doctrine of saving Sinners in the way of Believing because as he told them there were certain Men professing Faith but of ungodly Lives that were among them that turned the grace of God into lasciviousness so understanding the Law of Grace the Gospel as if it had been a Proclamation from Heaven of a general Pardon for Christ's sake and through Faith in him of as many sins as Men had a mind to commit The which Error led them into those Monstrous Impieties charged upon them in that Epistle By reason of which the way of Truth the right Faith they pretended to was evil-spoken of in the World as St. Peter notes they being indeed Spots and Blemishes to the Christians and Christian-profession so long as they were admitted to their Feasts of Charity as owned by them to be of their Number This was indeed an ungodly Faith But the Faith which he exhorted them to contend for and to build up themselves upon as on a sure Foundation he calls their most holy Faith vers 20. such a Faith as is an Operative Principle of a holy Life And they were such Christians as St. James in his Epistle did expostulate with that did lean so much upon a meer Believing upon a meer Assent of the mind unto the truth of certain Propositions as that they were careless in the subduing of their Passions and bridling their Tongues and regulating their Actions as if these had not been necessary to Salvation But thought themselves safe upon account of their barren Faith though they were Proud and Conceited of their Knowledge and Attainments Censorious and Contentious Unmercifull and Uncharitable In a word they were such as were injudicious concerning the Faith that will Save and under mistakes of the Apostles Doctrine about it All this will easily appear to any that shall but with a competent measure of Understanding view and consider the scope and contents of that Epistle And thus you see how plainly it appears by the Epistles of the Apostles that the Doctrine of Justification by Faith without Works in the sense in which the Apostles asserted it was misunderstood by many Gnosticks carnal Gospellers or Solifidians The sense in which the Apostles did assert it was that Faith justifies without Works Antecedent to Believing and without Works as the Works of a literal observation of Moses's Law which was opposed by the Jews to Faith as having Christ Crucified for its Object and Repentance Regeneration and sincere Obedience in a holy Life for its inseparable Effects But these deceived Souls that deceived their own Hearts seem to have understood the Apostles as if they had taught Justification by Faith considered only as having the Death of Christ and the Atonement made thereby for its Object without respect to Regeneration and new Obedience as any part of the Condition And it had been much better for the Christian World if those corrupt Notions about the Doctrine of Faith as Justifying had died with those Men which in the first Ages of the Christian-Church were infected with them But alas it is too apparent that the same or much of the same dangerous and destructive mistakes have been transmitted to or revived in these latter Ages of the Church For we find by experience in this present Age that very many of those who are called Christians presume themselves to be Christians indeed and such as shall be saved by Christ though their Lives declare them to be far from being New Creatures from being renewed in the Spirit of their Minds Wills Affections and Conversations as those are that have been taught as the Truth is in Jesus Ephes 4.21 24. For they are confident they Believe all the Articles of their Creed and in doing so they are confident they shall be Saved and so they would if that Belief of theirs were but so effectual and operative as to produce such a change in Heart and Life as would denominate them New Creatures But the mischief is they deceive themselves in the nature of their Faith it being but an Opinionative Inoperative and dead Assent to the Truth of the Gospel such as is only an
his upon the Divine Promises was a sign of the good Opinion he had of God's Power and Fidelity and was therefore most graciously accepted by him Rom. 4.18 19 20 21 22. Now this as the Apostle goes on v. 23 24 25. was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we Believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead who was delivered for our Offences and was raised again for our Justification That is in this Act of Faith also in a steddy Reliance upon the Promises of God was Abraham a Pattern to us whereby we may see that if we distrust not his Power and Goodness in Matters of the greatest difficulty but firmly Relie upon him without Doubt or Dispute this will render us acceptable to him But especially it will be a most acceptable Act of Faith in us wholly to Relie upon his Promises in Christ who became a Sacrifice for our Sins that all our most heinous Offences will be pardon'd if we unfeignedly Repent and our imperfect Obedience will be eternally rewarded if it be but sincere in Testimony and Assurance of which Promises God has raised our Saviour from the dead And thus you plainly see what sort of Faith or Believing it is that must now Justifie and Save us It must not be only giving up the Assent of our Minds that all that God has spoken is true but we must with all our Hearts Consent to a sincere and faithful Obedience to all his Commands such as may be expected from those who are undoubtedly perswaded of the Truth of all the Articles of the Christian Faith which are every one of 'em Doctrines very apt to move us to Holy Living And moreover it must be a firm Reliance on God's Truth that all his Promises shall certainly be made good to us on Condition of our Performances Especially as the case now stands with us Christians it must be an Entire Dependance upon Christ that through his Mediation with the Father on our account we shall be Justify'd Pardon'd and Sav'd on Condition we perform the Covenant of Grace that is Believe and sincerely Obey the Commands of God given us in the Gospel Reliance upon God's Promises of Pardon to us through Christ an essential Act of Faith incumbent upon us as the case now stands with us Christians I say as the case now stands with us Christians for all Mankind by reason of Adam's and our own Transgressions were liable to the Wrath of God and had been condemn'd to eternal Destruction had not Jesus Christ interpos'd betwixt his Father and us and Mediated with him that we might have Pardon and Happiness on Condition we would turn from our evil Ways and sincerely Obey him for the future so that through the Blood of Jesus Christ it is that we have Redemption and the Forgiveness of Sins according to the Riches of his Grace Eph. 1.7 And as in him are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises 2 Pet. 1.4 so all the Promises of God in him are Tea and in him Amen 2 Cor. 1.20 That is upon the account of Christ all his Promises of eternal Life and Happiness shall be certainly and infallibly made good to us on condition we forsake our Sins and obey him And yet when we have done all things which are commanded us we are to account our selves but unprofitable Servants having done no more than was our Duty to do Luke 17.10 And we cannot lay claim to those unspeakable Rewards laid up for his Obedient Servants meerly upon our own Deserts as if we had merited and deserved 'em but that no Flesh might Glory in his Presence it is Jesus Christ who is made unto us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 That is it is Jesus Christ who is the cause of our Justification and Sanctification and by the Merit of what he has done for us shall our imperfect Righteousness be so accepted of by God that we shall be unspeakably rewarded for it And if so if all our holy Performances shall be Accepted and Rewarded only through Christ it is on Him then and not on any thing that we have done our selves that we must depend and Relie for Pardon and Happiness For without his Merits to supply our Defects our best Performances will want Pardon and all that we can do will not merit nor deserve eternal Life and Glory Thus we must Believe that is Relie on Christ and we shall not perish but have everlasting Life John 3.16 And indeed this Reliance and Dependance upon God for Mercy Because it excludes Confidence in our own Merits and Boasting in our own Performances on the account of what Christ has Merited for us not on the account of any Deserts of our own appears in the Scriptures as I before said to be an Act of Faith more well-pleasing to God and acceptable unto him in that it excludes Boasting or Glorying in our own Righteousness which the Apostle makes very necessary to Justification Rom. 3. and expects the Reward meerly from God's Free Mercy in Christ without any Reliance upon our own Performances For as it is vers 23 24 25 26. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God being Justified freely by his Grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood to declare his Rightoousness that he might be Just and the Justifier of Him that Believeth in Jesus Where is Boasting then It is excluded By what Law The Law of Works Nay but by the Law of Faith therefore we conclude a Man is Justify'd by Faith without the Deeds of the Law Which brings me III. To shew you in what sence we are said to be Justify'd by Faith 3. In what sence we are said by S. Paul to be Justified by Faith without the Deeds of the Law without the Deeds of the Law Both this Text of the Romans now mentioned and that Parallel place Gal. 2.16 seem to exclude Good Works from being at all necessary to our Justification And yet by what has been already said from St. Paul it does appear that Repentance and Obedience are Conditions equally requisite to our Justification with Faith Or when Faith alone is mentioned it is as including the other two and St. James also does most expresly assert that by Works a Man is Justified and not by Faith only Jam. 2.24 So that to clear the Holy Scripture from any Contradiction in this case it will be requisite to consider what St. Paul means by the Law and by the Deeds of the Law when he excludes either from having any thing to do in our Justification and what that Faith is upon which he does sometimes seem to lay the whole stress in that great Affair By Law in St. Pual's discourse with the Jews was meant both the Law of
openly which to do was necessary to make them capable of the Promise of Salvation by him Joâ— 12.42 43. Among the chief Rulers many believed on him but because oâ— the Pharisees they did not confess him lest they should be put out of the Synagogue for they loved the praise of Men more than the praise of God These had more understanding than the common People who as they said knew not the Law John 7. and yet not so many of them as of the people believed on Christ so as to confess and follow him because their worldly interest being greater it held them faster and had the greater power over their Wills The unbelief then of Men where the Gospel comes is generally to be resolved into the obstinacy of their Wills in opposition to the convictions of their Understanding John 5.40 Ye will not come to me that ye might have life How oft would I have gathered you and ye would not Mat. 23.37 O that my people had hearkened to my counsel But Israel would none of me Psal 81.11 They did not chuse the fear of the Lord Prov. 1.29 They chose their own ways their Souls delighted in their abominations Isa 6.3 Thus much in general But I would shew yet more particularly how the Will doth obstruct the perfecting the work of Faith after it 's begun in the Understanding And it doth it as I conceive 1. By calling off the Understanding from a frequent consideration of that evidence by which it was first convinced of the Truth of God's Testimony touching the Promised Benefits and the Condition and Means of obtaining them and from a frequent application of it to the Will And this the Will can do For as the Understanding hath a power over the Will so far as to represent its apprehensions to the Will in order to its acting thereupon according to a Man 's own concerns therein so also the Will hath a kind of power over the Understanding both to put it upon frequent consideration to strengthen it self in the belief of that which the VVill would have to prove true and to be believed and also to call it off from so doing when there is a great reluctancy in the VVil against having that prove true which the Understanding represents as true And if the Understanding be taken off so that it hath not frequent recourse to that evidence which first procured its Assent unto the Truth of God's Testimony in the Gospel that it might be thereby nourished strengthened and maintained that Faith in the Understanding will languish and grow weak and so have no powerful operation upon the VVill to change and renew it and to procure its effectual consent to perform the Condition of the Promise when the Will stands disinclined of it self to the Verdict of the Understanding Besides if the Understanding doth not ply the VVill and frequently inculcate upon it it s own apprehensions concerning God's Testimony and the consequence and concernment of it to a Man 's own self thereby to make the VVord believed to be an ingrafted Word it will not work any Cure upon it or any thorough change in it The unwillingness in Men to have their Minds ingaged in the consideration of God's ways and their own is the reason of their turning back from him Job 34.27 They turned back from him and would not coâ—sider any of his ways As on the contrary the Scripture represents th conversion of a sinner as proceeding from the consideration of the bad tendency of his evil ways Ezek. 18.28 Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions which he hath committed he shall surely live he shall not dye And our Saviour seems to cast mens profiting or not profiting their Belief or not Belief by hearing God's Testimony in the Gospel upon their considering or not considering of it Mark 4.24 And he said unto them Consider what you hear so Dr. Hammond reads it for with what measure ye meet viz. in considering or not considering it shall be measured to you again in profiting or not profiting which is to be understood according to God's ordinary proceeding with Men. The reason why the Faith of those resembled by the stony ground doth not abide or come to perfection is because they have no Root in themselves and that comes to pass for want of much consideration and a frequent working the first conviction of the mind from the evidence of Truth into the Will and Affections by a constant Consideration and close Application of it Acts 17.11 They searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so and therefore they Believed 2. When men hold fast their Lusts out of their great love to them notwithstanding their conviction in their Understandings and are not willing to part with them upon any terms the Fumes of those Lusts continually ascending will cloud and darken the Understanding as a thick Fogg doth the Sun and by degrees make it less capable of discerning its Object viz. saving Truth in its clear evidence and proportionably hinder its operation upon the Will The cares of this World and the deceitfulness of Riches and the lusts of other things choak the Word and it becometh unfruitful Mar. 4.19 He that hateth his Brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whether he goes because darkness hath blinded his eyes 1 John 2.11 3. Sinful Mens Understandings are not so uncorrupt but that they are apt to be bribed by their Wills to cast about and devise how to evade the force and edge of their own Notices and Dictates and to attempt and baffle their former apprehensions and convictions to the end they may still retain their lusts without any great disturbance from their Understandings This when it is yielded to and put in practice is that which in Scripture is called Mens closing their eyes lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and should be converted and healed Mat. 13.15 And when this takes place in Professors of Christianity that do believe that Faith Repentance and Obedience are necessary to Salvation as the Condition on which it is promised the way by which they usually deceive their own Hearts is by perswading themselves that they do perform the Condition of the Promise in these when indeed they do not but frame to themselves Notions of saving Faith Repentance and Obedience different from the Scripture Notions of them as I shall shew in each of them 1. Many delude themselves by taking up a wrong Notion of Saving Faith and so think they have it when they have it not They believe indeed Christ to be the Son of God and Saviour of the World and that those shall be saved that believe in him and those damned that do not because the Scripture which they believe to be the Word of God saith so And thus far they believe rightly objectively But then they deceive their own Souls by
perswading themselves that a meer Assent of their minds to the Truth of these and other Evangelical Verities is the Faith to which the promised Justification and Salvation is made though it hath no such powerful operation upon their Wills as to make them new Creatures to make any thorow change in the temper of their Hearts and tenor of their Lives And many doubtless have been greatly strengthened in this delusive confidence by having been taught that Faith justifies without any VVorks at all And these again perswade themselves that they believe in Christ to the saving of their Souls because they rely on him alone for Salvation and upon what he hath done and suffered for them though they love their sins and live in them still Just like some Jews of old who though they were very bad in their Lives yet leaned upon the Lord and said is not the Lord among us None evil can come upon us Mich. 3.11 Isa 48.1 2 They leaned upon God's Promise of being their God as those do upon Christ's undertaking to be a Saviour although they overlooked the Condition to be performed by them in being a People unto him in loving and serving him as those Christians I speak of also do Though Christ alone is to be relyed on for Salvation as touching all that is proper to the Mediatory Office and VVork yet no Man is to rely on him so as to think he should excuse him if he do not Repent or be not Regenerate or as if he did Repent or were Regenerate for him If they do they promise themselves from him that which he never promised or undertook but hath told them plainly That except they themselves Repent they shall Perish and that except they themselves be Born again they cannot see the Kingdom of God 2 They deceive their own Hearts also in the nature of Repentance their Notion of it being one thing and the Scripture-Notion of it quite another So that tney perswade themselves they have Repented when indeed they have not They know and believe perhaps Repentance to be necessary to Salvation because Christ hath said that except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish But then they mistake in perswading themselves that they do repent because they are frequently sorry for what they have done tho' they cease not to do the same again Indeed when the pleasure of Sin is over and rebukes of Conscience come in the room of them these trouble their minds for what they have done which was the Repentance of Judas and there is no peace to the wicked who are like the troubled Sea Now this they count Repentance though it work no effectual and thorow change in Heart and Life but when that sad fit is over they appear to be the same Men they were before by returning to the same sins And herein the Romish Church hath most unhappily laid a Snare which as is to be feared catcheth multitudes of Souls to their Destruction in asserting Contrition yea Attrition with Confession to be Repentance sufficient to Salvation VVhereas sorrow alone though it be godly sorrow is not Repentance but as St. Paul saith Godly sorrow worketh Repentance 2 Cor. 7.10 But Repentance it self which is Saving consisteth chiefly in a real change in Mens apprehensions of and affections to both Sin and Duty and in ceasing to do evil and learning to do well Others again deceive themselves in taking a partial Reformation for true Repentance Because they have left some sins which they could best spare as blemishing their Reputation or impairing their Estates or their Health And because they have done many things which yet Herod also did Mar. 6. they think they have Repented and are Converted though they retain others which are more gainful or yield them more pleasure VVhereas the sincerity of Repentance can be nothing less then a hatred of and turning from sin as sin and so from all sin by diligent and careful endeavours 3. They deceive themselves by a false Notion of that Obedience which is necessary to Salvation They believe in the gross indeed that Obedience to the Commands of God to the Rules and Precepts of the Gospel is necessary to Salvation because the Scripture so plainly declareth it to be so But then they deceive their own Hearts in thinking and perswading themselves that they have performed this part of the Condition of the Promise when as they have not performed one half of it They have been it may be somewhat careful to be found in acts of External Worship and Devotion both publick and private and to keep themselves from Idolatry Swearing Cursing Sabbath-breaking Murder Adultery Stealing False-witness-bearing and the like in the outward and gross acts of them But all the while have made no conscience of governing their Thoughts Affections and Passions nor their Tongues neither as to many things And in all this wherein do they exceed the Pharisees whom if we exceed not in Righteousness Christ hath told us who best knows that we shall never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 5.20 They were strict and zealous in the observation of the Laws for Circumcision Sacrifices Sabbaths Tythes and other positive Precepts and that to a tittle And Fasted often and made long Prayers and gave Alms and made Ostentation also that they were not as others were Extortioners Unjust Adutlerers nor as the Publicans And why would not all this bring them to Heaven Because all this notwithstanding as they had not Faith in Christ so they were Covetous Proud and Ambitious seeking Honour one of another contemning and despising others they were Envious and Malicious Cruel and Ill-natured Unmerciful and Persecuting such as faithfully reproved them They made clean the outside of the Cup and Platter and so far as they did so they did well But that for which Christ denounced Woe to them was that their inward part was full of ravening and wickedness and for want of love to God and of Judgment Mercy and Fidelity God is a Spirit and the Service that is acceptable to him as being most agreeable to his Nature is that which is done in Spirit and Truth And therefore his Precepts are given to govern the inward Man as well as the outward He that said Thou shalt not kill hath said also Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart nor be Angry with him without a cause or bear a grudge against him He that said Thou shalt not commit Adultery hath said also Thou shalt not lust after a Woman in thy heart And he that said Thou shalt not steal hath said also Thou shalt not covet and the like And therefore they that think themselves to be Obedient Children to God upon account of their abstaining from outward gross Sins and of being outwardly Righteous and do not truly endeavour and make a business of it to mortifie and subdue their Pride Covetousness love of the World Envy Hatred Malice thoughts of Revenge the unruliness of Passions and all
Condition of Repentance and new Obedience together with his Faith gives a Man hope and confidence of obtaining these great benefits upon the terms on which they were promised The hope of this Happiness causeth a Man to be willing to comply with the Condition upon which it is promised in order to the obtaining the Happiness itself There is a Principle of Self-love planted by God in the Nature of every Man by which he doth naturally desire and aspire after the happiness of his own Being And that will put a Man upon the use of such Means and the performance of such a Condition without which he believes and is verily perswaded he cannot be happy Now every Man in whom there is the Faith of Assent unto the Trutâ— of God's Testimony in the Gospel firmly fixed being verily perswaded that everlasting Happiness is not attainable without Repentance Regeneration and sincere Obedience because God hath declared this as plainly as he hath done any thing And it is the nature of Faith to acquiesce in his Testimony The love of the End which is Man's own Happiness makes him in love with the Means such as is Repenting Mortifying and Obeying without which he cannot attain his end in being Happy This Principle of Self-love under the conduct of a Man's Understanding and Reason enlightned and regulated by a Declaration of the Divine Will and influenced by a firm belief of it will work in a Man new Apprehensions of and new Affections to both Sin and Duty and will cause him to abandon the little pleasures of sin which are but for a season that he may come to the fruition of that fulness of joy and those Rivers of pleasure which are in the presence of God at his right hand for evermore when once he knows and firmly believes that they cannot otherwise be obtained Thus by Faith is the victory over the world obtained in all its Temptations from Honours Profits and Pleasures 1 Joh. 5.4 For by such a Faith a Man well perceives that the World offers him to his unspeakable loss though it should offer him all of these that it is able to confer upon him if it be upon condition of doing or omitting to do that by which he shall certainly deprive himself of that Glory Honour and Immortality which he is well assured of through Faith in God's Promise if he overcome We see Men are so commonly governed by a Principle of Self-love in parting with a lesser Good or Conveniency for a greater even in the things of this Life that they are worthily and deservedly counted Fools that do the contrary And therefore those are guilty of so much the greater Folly and Madness who deprive themselves of the Happiness of Heaven by a sinful seeking or possessing of the Honours Profits or Pleasures of this Life As the Happiness of Heaven exceeds the enjoyments of this World in kind and height of Satisfaction and in continuance and duration so Rational a thing it is to live and walk by Faith of unseen things and Unreasonable and Unmanly to be governed by the sense of present things in opposition thereunto 2 Thess 3.2 2. The Faith of Assent in the Understanding worketh a Consent in the VVill to the Condition of the Promise as the passion of Fear is awakened by believing God's Threatnings against such as do not observe and fulfil that Condition There is a Principle of Self-preservation planted by God in every Man's Nature by which he fears and abhors that which he knows and verily believes tends to the infelicity and misery of his Being and which puts him upon the avoiding of that which he believes hath such a tendency in order to the declining the Misery or Destruction itself VVhen a Man receives such sayings into his Understanding as threaten that if ye live after the flesh ye shall die that except ye repent ye shall all perish that without holiness no Man shall see the Lord and the like and doth Assent unto them as the true sayings of God which Assent is his Faith the fear of the Misery threatned and the Principle of Self-preservation work in him a desire and endeavour to have his sinful Inclinations and Appetites Mortified and a care to avoid the outward acts of sin as really and truly as he desires to escape Eternal Destruction itself as believing and knowing they tend thereto and that he cannot escape the one without a sincere desire and endeavour to destroy and avoid the other And in this way Faith is a Believer's Victory by which he also overcomes the World when it tempts him to sin by threatning him with Disgrace loss of Estate or Liberty or with enduring of corporal Punishment or Death itself For he believes the Punishments in the other VVorld to be of such a nature and duration as that the worst things which Man can inflict are altogether inconsiderable in comparison of them By which Belief he is so far guided that he chuses to suffer the less when his faithfulness to God and his own best interest doth expose him to it rather than to expose himself by unfaithfulness to infinitely the greater to avoid the less And thus Faith purifies the Heart of all inordinate Affection to Riches Honour Ease and Pleasures Acts 15.9 III. The Faith of Assent or Credence in the Understanding touching the exceeding greatness of God's Love to Mankind in the gift of Christ for their Redemption and in his great and precious Promises made in him upon a very gracious Condition works in the Will a love to God and so a love to please him in doing those things which he hath made the Condition of his Promise When once the Understanding represents it to the Will as a certain Truth upon clear Evidence that notwithstanding Mens Apostacy from God and Rebellion against him and the Condemnation they are under thereby yet God is Reconcilable to them yea willing and so desirous to Reconcile them to himself that as an Evidence and Proof of it he hath given his own Son Christ Jesus to become a Ransom for them and that he hath made a new Covenant declaring that upon account of his Son 's undertaking for them he is not only abundantly willing to pardon all such as shall unfeignedly Repent of their disloyalty and sincerely return to their Duty but that he will also bountifully reward their future sincere Obedience with perfect and perpetual Happiness I say when all this is represented to the Will as unquestionably true it will work in it a love to that God and Saviour that hath been so loving if it be but kept close to it A manifestation of such love and goodness to Man and that while yet in enmity against God so ill deserving and so obnoxious to the power of his wrath when he hath no need of him nor can be profited by him will create good thoughts of God and reconcile Man's Mind to him and work melting Affections in him to God when heartily
given to Profuse Living Then he is Covetous Is he Conscientious in maintaining the Dues of his Church and will not suffer 'em to be Lost or Invaded by the Sacriledge of Covetous Worldlings Then he is Litigious and given to Law he is Covetous and what not So exceeding Industrious are Satan and his Agents to Blacken the Reputation of the Ministers of True Religion I say of True Religion for you may always observe with what Industry the real Vices of those who are Ministers in Heresy and Schism are kept secret And the only Reason thereof is this to lessen the Authority of their Precepts and Example in the World that they should not do that Good that otherwise they might It does in Truth so exceedingly concern the Interest of Christianity that the Reputation of its Ministers should be preserv'd unfully'd It wonderfully Concerns the Interest of Religion that the Reputation of its Ministers be kept unfully'd and so injurious to Religion it self are the Defamations of such Persons that St. Paul was careful to warn Timothy that against an Elder that is against a Minister He should not receive an Accusation under Two or Three Witnesses 1 Tim. 5.19 Tho' a single Evidence that was Credible was sufficient against any other Person But so much on the contrary it is to the Advancement of Satan's Kingdom Hence Satan and Satanical men so industrious to blast it and so Satanically are the greatest Part of the World dispos'd that a vilifying Story or a scandalous Report against them is more readily invented more easily heard and sooner believ'd nay without any Ground at all surmis'd than against any other Person whatsoever But let me tell you that no good Christian that desires the Destruction of Satan's and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom in the World will be forward to hear much less to Believe and Propagate Defamations of the Clergy as knowing it is the Policy of Satan to put it into the Hearts of uncharitable Spirits to surmise and raise and aggravate little vilifying Stories of those in Holy Orders as of some Indiscretion committed This to make 'em cheap and more scandalous and false Reports of Debauchery and Immorality to render 'em Odious in the World and both on purpose to render their Labours and Endeavours useless and ineffectual to the Reformation and Amendment thereof In short Satan matters it not so much whether by real Sin or by slanderous Reports he lessens the Authority and Influence of the Clergy And slanderous Reports lessen the Authority and Influence of the Clergy almost as much as real Sin his Avow'd Enemies whose peculiar Business it is to destroy his Usurpt Dominion and to Propagate the Kingdom of God in the World By real Sins indeed he would rather choose if he could and does therefore mainly Endeavour to have the Clergy Blemisht but meerly by raising the Scandal be it as well False as True he gains his End according to Machiavel his great Secretary's Maxim Fortiter accusare aliquid adherebit Throw Dirt upon a Man and the Stain will in some measure stick Such is the Censorious Humour of the World as to think there must be something in it when a Slander is broacht and so maliciously are wicked Men bent against the Ministers of Religion especially as greedily to swallow every thing that tends to lessen their Reputation In a word By both he gains his End which is to have Religion it self wounded through the sides of its Ministers And whether any of 'em shall really mis-carry or be falsly Defam'd for so doing he knows the World upon either account will Abhor the Offerings of the Lord and even a meer Slander will be such a stumbling Block to many As to make the Lord's people to transgress It behoves the Clergy therefore so far to Renounce and Resist the Devil's Temptations as to take care not only to be really Blameless but also to Abstain from all Appearance of Evil. And this being so since it is so much the Interest of the Devil's Kingdom to have us Ensnar'd by his Temptations for which reason he does therefore Ply us especially And since the Generality of the World are so Satanically dispos'd as easily to receive the worst Impressions of us it concerns us therefore of every Order to follow these excellent Directions given by the Apostle more immediately to the Higher 1 Tim. 3.2 3 4.6 7. And we must take heed therefore that we be Blameless Vigilant Sober of good Behaviour apt to Teach not given to Wine no Strikers not greedy of filthy Lucre but Patient not Brawlers not Covetous but such as rule well our own Houses having our Children in subjection with all Gravity not Novices lest being lifted up with Pride we fall into the Condemnation of the Devil And moreover it concerns the Interest of Christ's Kingdom that we have A good Report of those who are without lest we fall into the Condemnation of the Devil And in a word of all Others we must therefore take care not only to be really Blameless but also to Abstain from all appearance of Evil 1 Thes 5.22 III Such as are of signal for their extraordinary Piety Vertue Good Men the Devil knows will be scandalized at such a one 's Fall Lastly The Devil is most incessantly buisied to Tempt to the Commission of some scandalous Enormity any Person indifferently who is more than ordinarily Holy Satan exactly knows the Temper of the World that if such a Person chance to fall at any time into some notorious Sin tho' he suddenly rise again by Repentance those who are Good will be mightily Scandaliz'd and Offended thereat and will be apt to despair of themselves when they see one so much beyond 'em in Piety fall before 'em that the less serious and looser sort of People will rejoyce to see a Good Man Trip because this they think will countenance them in their Impieties and vicious Course of Living And as for the Atheistical and Debauch'd People of the World And the Atheistical will Triumph therein And withal the laps'd Person will be rendered almost incapable ever after c. that they will Triumph in it and cry down all Religion for Hypocrisy when they see its greatest Examples commit any thing that is ill This the Devil knows very well and withal that after such a Fall the Laps'd Person shall be render'd almost incapable ever after of Converting others by his Example or Exhortations For as to his Example tho' he Repent never so heartily and recover his former State with Advantage yet it will be a continual Blot in his Scutcheon that he did so and so like that Excepting the matter of Vriah was in David's And as for his Exhortations let him be who he will whether Minister Magistrate Parent or Master that goes about to Reprove and Admonish others the Criminal instead of being Convinc'd and Better'd thereby will presently Return upon him in Thought at
therefore no Man that owns himself a Christian ought to be silent when the Creed is rehearsed in Divine Service but every particular Person ought to signifie his firm Belief and Assent to the same by openly and solemnly rehearsing it together with Christ's Ministers I say by openly and solemnly rehearsing it for because that this Body of Christian Truths ought in the most open and solemn manner to be confess'd our Church has appointed that the Creed should not only be rehears'd and pronounc'd by every particular Member of the Congregation so often as it occurs in Divine Service but also that it should be done standing In the Creed Libertas Ecclesiast p. 458 we do professedly says the Learned Faulkner acknowledge the Three Persons in the Glorious Trinity to be the only true God and our only Lord and a standing posture well becometh a Servant in his professed owning and attending upon his Master We openly declare every one for himself in the Words I believe the Ground of our Christian Hope and Comfort that in believing in the Father who made the World and in the Son who Died and Rose again Ascended and shall judge all Men and in the Holy Ghost that we have Expectation in the Church of God and the Communion of Saints of obtaining Forgiveness of Sins a Resurrection and Everlasting Life and do also acknowledge all these Articles of the Christian Faith And a standing Gesture is very suitable to any solemn Declaration of our Minds in Matters of moment and concernment And as the open Profession of Faith includeth a stedfast Resolution to continue firm in the Acknowledgment of the Christian Doctrine this in particular is so properly signified by the standing Gesture that standing to a thing Deut. 25.28 and in several other Scriptures signifies an asserting and professing a thing with Resolution so that you ought both openly with an audible Voice to Rehearse your Belief after the Minister in Divine Service And to signifie your stedfast Resolution to stick to your Faith and to remain unshaken in such your Belief you ought to stand up when you so Rehearse and Profess it 3. But yet farther 3. It may remotely imply God's Command to all Christians to confess him upon other occasions This Word Rehearse may be interpreted remotely to imply that other great Christian Duty which may lye upon you and that is frankly and openly to own the Belief and Perswasion of any or all these Christian Truths when at any time there shall be occasion given for such a Declaration tho' it may be to the hazard of your Lives and the loss of Goods Livelihood or all that is dear to you or tho' you shall suffer the utmost Scorn and the Reproaches of profane and wicked Men for such your Belief and Confession And the two great Occasions for such a Declaration are when the Superiour Powers shall demand it in order to persecute you for the same or when through a general Indifference to Religion impious and wicked Men do take courage to run it down and that the more for the Cowardice of the Orthodox Professors of it as if afraid or asham'd to own it But upon both these or on any other occasion you must be ready always to give an Answer to every Man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear 1 Pet. 3.15 First Now as to the first of these Occasions the Primitive Christians were often put upon this Duty of openly and publickly Confessing their Faith when such a Confession was certain to bring upon them the severest Torments that the Malice of Men or Devils could inflict For the then Princes of the World were Pagans and Worshippers of false Gods who would often force the Christians either to Renounce their Belief in the one True God the God of Israel and in Christ his only Begotten Son or they would tear their Flesh with burning Pincers would throw 'em to be devoured by wild Beasts rend their Limbs asunder on Racks and put 'em to infinite other Tortures But such was the Constancy of those Christians that they would not through Fear dissemble their Faith but would openly before the Heathen Tribunals declare their Belief of the True God and of Jesus Christ his only Begotten Son And this their Declaration of their Christian Faith in the Language of the Scripture and of the Ancient Church was call'd a Confessing of Christ and the Persons that did so were intituled with the Glorious Name of Confessors And thus to confess Christ by openly declaring your Belief in Him and in God the Father and God the Holy Ghost and likewise your Belief in any other the Articles of the Christian Faith whatever should be the danger in so doing is expresly made your Duty Rom. 10.9.10 and has Salvation promis'd as the Reward of it If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved for with the heart man believeth unto Righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation Where you see that an open Confession and Profession of your Faith with the Mouth is made as necessary to Salvation as to Believe it in the heart Secondly A second Occasion for a frank and open owning of the Great Truths of Christianity is when through a general Indifference to Religion impious and wicked Men do take Courage to run it down and that the more for the Cowardice of the Orthodox Professors of it as if afraid or asham'd to own it God be praised it is not now made by the Powers that are above us in this Nation a Matter worthy of Death or of Sufferings for any to own himself an Orthodox Believer yet so many are the profane and ungodly Persons the Men of no Religion abroad in the World that they will scoff at those who seem to believe and dare to own the Principles of Christianity And so few are those who have the Courage to stand up in Vindication of the Truth the Generality of Lay-Christians Gallio like seeming to care for none of these things and thinking it only the Clergy's Business to contend earnestly for the Faith that the Adversaries to Religion are mightily embolden'd thereby to bear it down deriding all serious Christians and true Believers as a Company of credulous and easie People and applauding themselves as the only Men of Reason and Free because Licentious Thinkers But now whenever it shall be the Lot of any of you to fall amongst such who will scoff at you for believing and professing that you believe the Articles of the Faith you must boldly oppose 'em and let 'em know that you are not afraid nor asham'd of the Gospel of Christ nor to own your selves Christians Rom. 1.16 And you must not through Fear Bashfulness or Cowardice dissemble such your Faith lest God if you deny or dissemble your owning of him here should
hereunto do our Antinomians teach their Disciples That saving Faith is nothing but our Perswasion or absolute concluding within our selves That our Sins are pardoned and that Christ is ours But this is a most false and dangerous account of Divine Faith False because God has no-where in Scripture told any Man amongst us that he in particular is Justified and shall be certainly Saved And Dangerous also because it tends to nourish Presumption in Men's Hearts and to make 'em Believe better of their State than it is God does indeed declare in his Word to all Men in General and Conditional Terms Mark 16.16 That whosoever believeth shall be saved and That Blessed are they who keep his Commandments that they may have right to the Tree of Life Rev. 22.14 And all Christians are to examine themselves whether they be in the Faith and to prove their own selves 2 Cor. 13.5 and if upon strict search he finds himself to have Repented throughly to have Believed practically and to have Obey'd sincerely he may have strong Hopes that his Sins are pardon'd and his Righteousness through Christ accepted only because the Heart is deceitful above all things so that no Man knoweth it Jer. 17.9 Let him be careful he does not deceive himself with false shews of Faith and Repentance and let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall 1 Cor. 10.10 But as for a Divine Faith which is a full Perswasion founded upon the Testimony of God in Scripture no Man can be said to have that concerning his own Acceptance because no Man has any Scripture-Revelation testifying it to him in particular And if Persons of Antinomian Principles shall say that the Assurance kindled in the Heart by the Spirit of God is a Divine Testimony to them and therefore may be sufficient to denominate such Assurance a Divine Faith then it must be granted by 'em that the written Word of God is not a sufficient Rule of Faith as not containing all Truths necessary to be Believed in order to Salvation amongst which they count this particular Assurance to be the chief which Persons of Protestant Principles will not own Nor indeed can any so far derogate from the Perfection of Scripture as to say that other Truths are necessary to be Believed in order to Salvation besides what are contained therein except it be such who are not afraid of those Words wherewith the Holy Canon is closed Rev. 22.18 If any Man shall add unto these things God shall add unto him the Plagues of this Book So that those Revelations only which are contained in Scripture are the proper Object of a Divine Faith But whatever is revealed in the Word a Christian must Believe And whatever is revealed in the Word a Christian must Believe as true for the Authority of God who declar'd it such And in the Holy Writings are contain'd Declarations of Divers kinds some of less others of greatest Consequence whereof the first need not to be so expresly apprehended but the latter must be both clearly Apprehended and firmly Believed A very great part of these Scripture-Truths of Consequence to be Believed are those various Precepts of Holy Living and Duties to God our Neighbour and our selves declared in the Gospel as necessary to be discharged by us in order to Salvation And it is as necessary an Act of Faith as any to Believe that our sincere Obedience to all the Divine Commandments is an indispensable Condition of Life and Happiness Again in the Holy Scriptures as we have Promises of inestimable Rewards to those who shall walk uprightly in the fear of God and on the other side Threatnings of the severest Punishments and that to all Eternity to all such as shall persist in Rebelling against Him So as to both these Promises and Threats we are to be undoubtedly perswaded of the Truth of 'em and that God's Veracity and Sincerity in the delivery therein is such that not a tittle of either shall fail But since neither the Fear of God's Threatnings nor the Encouragements of his Promises can prevail upon us in this our corrupt State to perform a perfect and unsinning Obedience to all God's Commands so that the best of Men will be found Sinners before God and will need a Mediator to compass their Reconciliation with him amongst all the Divine Revelations 3. Therefore 3. The Articles of our Christian Faith the chief amongst Scripture-Truths necessary to be Believ'd because 1. Therein are declar'd the only Method of Reconciliation betwixt God and Man through Jesus Christ and especially we are to be thus undoubtedly perswaded of the infallible Truth and Certainty of those main and fundamental Truths of Scripture the Articles of our Christian Faith wherein are declared the only Method of Reconciliation betwixt God and Man through our Saviour Jesus Christ as well as the strongest Motives to a Holy Life The Articles of our Creed do import as has been already spoke and shall hereafter by God's Assistance be fully explain'd and prov'd this comfortable Scheme of Divine Truths viz. That a God of infinite Perfection and most Glorious Attributes did at first create and give us our Being and that the same Almighty Father has from the beginning and will for ever exercise a Wise Just and Gracious Providence over all his Creatures that Man the work of his hands having rebell'd against his Maker God the Father did in his wise and good Providence so order it that His only Begotten Son taking our Nature upon him and being God-Man should come into the World amongst us and afterwards return to our Father which is in Heaven to mediate a Reconciliation betwixt him and us And to the end his Mediation might be effectual to salve the Dishonour done to God by our Revolt and reduce us to our Allegiance and Obedience to him that this Second Person in the Glorious Trinity did take upon him to discharge a Threefold Office viz. that of Prophet Priest and King By the first whereof he declar'd to us that Covenant and those Conditions on which God would receive us to Mercy By the second that of Priest he made way through the satisfaction he gave for the breach of our first Covenant for the Divine Goodness to receive us to Favour according to the Terms of the second and does still interceed with the Father for our Acceptance in the performance of such Conditions And by his Kingly Office he so governs by his Holy Spirit and Righteous Laws those who abandoning the Kingdom of Satan are admitted into his Kingdom the Holy Catholick Church that they shall be made meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light And in the Execution also of this his Royal Office having by his Almighty Power rais'd all Men from the Dead he will come again to judge 'em according to their Works forgiving the Offences of those who are penitent and allotting them to an Everlasting Life of Happiness and dooming the Impenitent to
an endless Life of Misery in another World This in few Words is the main scope and purport of those great and fundamental Truths of our Religion the Articles of our Christian Faith as they relate to the Method of Reconciliation betwixt God and Man And the same are every one of 'em the most powerful Motives to a Holy Life as shall be hereafter shewed 2. The most powerful Motives to a Holy Life And therefore to be undoubtedly perswaded of the infallible Truth and Certainty of these main Truths of Scripture must in a peculiar manner be incumbent upon us All Scripture is indeed given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works 2 Tim. 3.16.17 That is all the Parts of Scripture are more or less serviceable to our Salvation and therefore far indeed be it from a Christian to entertain in his Breast a doubt of the Truth of any thing which God has reveal'd in his Word However this undoubted Perswasion which is necessary to constitute a true Believer must in an especial manner be had of the most important Truths because more does depend upon our having a stedfast and unwavering Belief of them than of others The Belief of these is the very Foundation of the Christian Life and the distinguishing Character of a Disciple of Christ if therefore our Faith should stagger as to these upon every Temptation there will ensue a Fall if not a Falling away and a total Apostacy from the Christian Religion And therefore the Belief of these Articles concerning the Transaction between God the Father and God the Son with relation to Man is made the great Condition of Man's Salvation This is Life Eternal to know that is to Believe Thee the only true GOD and JESVS CHRIST whom thou hast sent Joh. 17.3 4. To Believe is to be perswaded of all Revealed Truths in such manner and with such Acts of the Mind as is agreeable to the Nature of those several Truths 1. It is firmly to assent with the Mind to all Scripture-Truths indifferently 4. And as to Believe is to be undoubtedly perswaded of the Infallible Truth and Certainty of Divine Revelations so in such a manner and with such Acts of the Mind as is agreeable to the Nature of those several Revealed Truths For why The Nature of those Things of whose Truth we are to be perswaded are very different and therefore it must needs be that the Acts of Mind which cannot but receive their stamp and modification from the Things Believed must with reference thereunto be accordingly various As 1. There are several Truths contained in the Scriptures especially of the Old Testament which however they concern'd the Jews whilst their Religion was in force are not of that great Concernment to us Christians And therefore the Belief or Perswasion that may suffice us to have in respect of these or the like which are not of great Importance is only a general firm Assent of the Understanding whereby we yeild that these things are certainly so as God has declar'd because he who alone is True has spoke it Rom. 3.4 And indeed to all Scripture-Revelations indifferently considered and of what kind soever they be we must yeild a firm Assent because of the Authority of God declaring 'em to us 2. It is to Consent with the Will to live agreeably to the Importance of practical Truths 2. But besides some things of lesser Moment there are several Doctrines of weighty Importance and Concernment to us Reveal'd in the Holy Writ concerning which it is not sufficient that we only Assent unto 'em with our Minds that they are true but it is moreover necessary to give us the Title of True Believers that in reference to such Concerning Truths we should withal give up the Consent of our Wills to live as is fit for Persons of such Perswasions Thus we are taught in the Gospel That God has sent unto us his Onely Begotten Son to declare on what Covenants and Conditions he will receive us to Mercy And that this same Jesus will hereafter come as a King in all Pomp and Glory to Judge both the Quick and the Dead to pass Sentence upon us either of Happiness or of Misery according as we have performed or not performed that gracious Covenant he has made with us These are some of those weighty and important Truths contained in the Scriptures and which in the Creed are particularly proposed to our Belief and these that we may be said to Believe and to be throughly perswaded of the Truth of 'em it is not sufficient that we barely Assent and yield that they are true but we must Consent with our whole Wills that we will live and act as those who are fully perswaded of such Truths That is if we are throughly perswaded that Jesus Christ by being Crucify'd Dead and Bury'd has purchas'd Pardon for none other but those who abandoning their evil Ways do in the sincerity of their Hearts endeavour to please him we shall consent to Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and to walk in the same all the Days of our Life And again if we are undoubtedly perswaded that he will finally come to Judge both the Quick and the Dead according to their Works we shall heartily Consent to conform our selves in Thought Word and Deed to his Holy Will and Pleasure To be undoubtedly perswaded of such Truths as these which do so much concern us does almost inseparably carry in the Notion of it a Consent of the Will to live as may be expected from such as are perswaded of the Truth of such Things and a bare Assent of the Mind that those Things are so will not be enough to give a Man the Title of a True Believer To Believe indeed in Propriety and Strictness of Speech may seem to signifie an Act of the Intellect only assenting to the Truth of a Proposition But in the Scripture Believing is a more practical Word and includes a Compliance of the Will with such Practices and Courses as are consequent upon such Belief if hearty and sincere And this is that which the Apostle Rom. 10.9 10. calls a Believing with the Heart for with the Heart Man believeth unto Righteousness And this was the Faith of those mention'd Acts 11.21 of whom it is said That many Believed and turned unto the Lord Not to instance here in Abraham's Faith of which I shall speak hereafter So that in short the Scriptural Notion of Faith or Belief with respect to those Practical Truths revealed to us in the Gospel is nothing else but a true serious resolute embracing of Christianity not only a being perswaded that all the Doctrines of Christ are true but a consenting and submitting to his Will and Commands in all things It is a Receiving and Accepting of Him as our Prophet to Instruct
Leaning and Rolling themselves upon the Promises of Christ for Salvation But for any to expect to be Justify'd and Accepted by God without forsaking their evil Ways and without working out also their own Salvation with fear and trembling that is without being extreamly careful themselves to be Obedient to God's most Holy Laws is gross Hypocrisie and will miserably deceive us Hypocrisie is with vain Shews and Pretences to deceive our selves or others and to be only Hearers or Believers of the Word and not Doers is to deceive our selves St. James tells us 1. 22. And a greater than he even our Blessed Saviour himself hath assured us Mat. 7.21 That not everyone who saith unto him Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of his Father which is in Heaven And as for the Pretence they have to live securely in unrepented Habits of Sin that the Grace and Mercy of Christ is more Magnify'd the greater Sinners they are I answer That the greater Sinners they have been the greater is the Mercy which Forgives 'em when they do repent according to that of the Apostle Rom. 5.20 21. Where Sin abounded Grace did much more abound that as Sin hath reigned unto Death even so might Grace reign through Jesus Christ our Lord. But to make the Magnifying of God's Grace a Reason for Security whilst Men continue in Sin this indeed was a false Conclusion that some in the First Times as well as now were apt to draw from St. Paul's Doctrine of Justification but which that Great Apostle rejected with the utmost Indignation and Abhorrence in the next Chapter v. 1 2. What shall we say then Shall we continue in Sin that Grace may abound God forbid How shall we that are dead to Sin live any longer therein No sure the Doctrine of Christianity tho' it lays aside the Original Law of Righteousness and the Law of Moses from being either of 'em a Rule of Righteousness in conforming to which we shall be Justify'd yet this Doctrine most strictly obliges us to a sincere Reformation from all former Sins and to a Newness of Life as the indispensible Condition of being Justify'd by God Nor is there the least occasion given us by this Doctrine to value our selves upon our own Righteous Performances when it is only of Grace that we are able to do any thing which is good and the Acceptance of the Good we do is owing to the Mediation of Christ who obtained such Gracious Terms and Conditions of Justification for us Which Considerations as I have already made appear do sufficiently shew that we are Justify'd freely by God's Grace in Christ and do exclude all Grounds and Occasion of Boasting A summary account of justifying Faith In a word and to conclude this whole Point the only Faith or Belief that will Justifie and Save us must be such a full Perswasion of the Truth of Christianity and all its Great Doctrines those I mean which are in a peculiar manner call'd the Articles of our Christian Faith it must be such a through Perswasion I say of those great and powerful Truths as will purifie us in Heart and Life and will effectually excite us to live up to the Rules of Christianity and make us sincerely and heartily to Obey God in all his most Holy and Righteous Laws And it must be such withal as will cause us to depend solely upon God's Mercies in Christ for the Acceptance of our imperfect Righteousness to our Justification And all those kinds of Faith call 'em what you will which are barren of unfruitful in Good Works or if they stir us up to encounter some Difficulties do not bear us up under all Temptations nor enable us to perform the more difficult Instances of Christian Duty and Obedience those which are most contrary to our Lusts and Interests as well as the more easie which are agreeable to our Profit or Pleasure The Faith that is not powerful enough to carry us through all Temptations is defective to the great Purposes of Justifying and Saving us The necessity of our often incalculating such a Faith And moreover I must acquaint you that the necessity of a working Faith to that end as it is the great Doctrine of Christianity so it ought to be throughly explain'd and often insisted upon by us Ministers of the Gospel for fear of People's Mistakes in this matter which will be most dangerous to their Souls And accordingly St. Paul lays a solemn Charge upon us Tit. 3.8 that we should in the same manner I have already done explain and inculcate the Doctrine of Faith unto you This is a faithful Saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have Believed in God might be careful to maintain Good Works for these things or these Doctrines are profitable unto Men. THE XXXI Lecture I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth I Have already shew'd you what it is to Believe that our Faith must be such as rectifies and renews our Corrupt Nature as moves us to the performance of the most difficult Instances of Christian Duty and such as after all causes us to relie solely upon the Mercies of God in Christ for the Acceptance of our imperfect Obedience to our Justification And now by the Divine Assistance I shall proceed to explain unto you all those sacred Truths contain'd in your Creed which are of such mighty Importance And there are not a few such powerful and practical Truths imply'd in this one Article I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth Towards the full Explication of which that it may effectually work a blessed Change both in our Hearts and Lives I will do these Things I. I will in some measure declare unto you the Nature and Infinite Perfections of that Divine Being which we call God I Believe in God II. I will prove to you that this Infinitely perfect Being out of his Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness made the Heaven and the Earth and all Things both Visible and Invisible therein contain'd Maker of Heaven and Earth III. I will explain and prove that this same God who made the Heaven and the Earth does now exercise a most Wise Just and Good Providence over it and every thing therein contain'd which is the Importance of the Word Almighty in this Article as shall be shew'd hereafter IV. I might here demonstrate to you that there is but one God for so the Nicene Creed which is but a Paraphrase upon this does teach us I Believe in one God And Lastly that in the Vnity of the Godhead there is a Trinity of Persons Father Son and Holy Ghost I Believe in God the Father And the other two Persons are also mention'd in their proper place But because I would be as little guilty as possible in this Exposition of repeating hereafter what I have said before I shall referr the Doctrine of
practical Faith which I have described eyes as well the condition upon which the saving Benefits are promised through Christ as the Promise it self of those benefits and expects the enjoyment of those benefits upon God's Promise and Christ's Purchase no otherwise than as he with the assistance of God's Grace is careful to perform the Condition Which belief of his makes him as careful to perform the Condition in discharge of his own duty therein as ever he hopes to enjoy the promised Pardon and Salvation by Christ and to escape the Damnation threatned against those who perform not the condition So that a Man by this practical Faith belives one part of God's Declaration in the Gospel as well as the other and his own duty to be as well necessary to his Justification as the condition appointed by God as the Grace of God through Christ it self is upon another account And by this belief he is effectually moved as well to act in a way of duty to God as to expect mercy from him considering how his Happiness is concerned in both when he hath the whole of God's Declaration in all the parts taken together in prospect as the Object of his Faith When he hears that God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life When he hears that God hath set forth Christ to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood And when he hears again that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them he believes all this to be true as coming from God that cannot lye and accordingly is incouraged to hope in God's Mercy and is comforted thereby But then when he hears again that except we repent we shall all perish that except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God That without holiness no man shall see the Lord and that the pure in heart shall see God That not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of the Father which is in Heaven That the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angles in flaming fire to render vengeance to all those that know not God and which obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ But that he is the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that obey him I say when he hears all this he as verily believes this part of God's Declaration in the Gospel to be the faithful and true Sayings of God as he acounted the other to be And accordingly doth as seriously and sincerely set upon the Work of Repentance and as carefully useth God's appointed means for the changing of his Heart and renewing of his Nature for the purifying of himself as God is pure and doth as carefully obey all the Precepts of the Gospel as he hopes upon the account of Christ's Sufferings and God's Promise to be Pardoned and Saved as beliving that those Benefits are neither promised nor can be obtained but in this way of performing the Condition And I doubt not to say that this practical Faith as it respects God's Declaration touching Man's duty in conjunction with his own Grace in Christ is where the Gospel comes the only saving justifying Faith 3. Come we now to shew Reason why Faith is made the Condition of the Promise 1. It is of Faith that it might be of Grace saith the Apostle Rom. 4.16 It is that the Grace of God to miserable Men might the more shew it self For so it doth not only in promising unspeakably great things through Christ to Man who is not only undeserving but illdeserving also but also in that these are promised upon such a possible practical easie Condition as Faith is considering the means and assistance promised by God to work it And considering also that the Promise is made to the truth unfeignedness and sincerity and not to perfection of Faith Repentance and new Obedience in their utmost degree So that Christ might well say my Yoke is easie and my Burden light Matth. 11.30 Whereas the old way of promising the Inheritance on the Law-terms would have been to have promised it upon impossible conditions as the case now is with fallen Man And if God should have promised never so great things to Man in his impotent and miserable state upon an impossible condition he would have been so far from manifesting abundance of Grace Compassion and Love to him in that condition as that he would rather have seemed to insult over him in it And therefore if the Promise should have run upon the Law-terms and not of Faith it would utterly have frustrated God's design of manifesting his Grace to Man and of recovering Man's Love and Loyalty to him thereby Rom. 4.14 If they which are of the Law be Heirs Faith is made void and the Promise made of none effect But it is of Faith that it might be by Grace to the end the Promise might be sure to all the Seed not to that only which is of the Law but to that also which is of the Faith of Abraham ver 16. 2. This may be another reason why such a Faith as I have described is made the condition of the Covenant of Salvation viz. Because it best answers God's design in this Covenant of renewing the Nature of Man in Holiness and Righteousness and by that means restoring it to Happiness For by Faith Men are born of God or made the Children of God Gal. 3.26 Ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus Joh. 1.12 13. As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to those that believe on his Name Which are born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Now to be born of God or which is the same to be made the Child of God is to have ones Nature restored to the likeness of God in which Man was first made and is the same thing with that which is called Regeneration and a being born again and a new Creature Which new Creature or the Nature of Mâ—n renewed by Faith is also called the new Man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Ephes 4.24 To be born again is to have the Faculties of Mans Nature restored to a rectitude in their motions and operations in reference both to God and Man to be restored to their proper moral use for which they were made It is in a word that which is called a being made partakers of a Divine Nature For those which are begotten of God are begotten in or to his likeness Men can adopt those which are not their natural Children to inherit their Estates but they cannot adopt them to a participation of their Moral Endowments But God adopts his Children to a participation with him in the
Circumcision 1 Cor. 7.19 But I shall have occasion to improve these Scriptures further upon another Head of this Discourse And by the way we may observe that those who build their hopes of future Happiness upon their having been Baptized and their being of the Church without the inward Grace signified by Baptism which is the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost they are much a-kin to those miserable mistaken Jews 2. They not understanding the Typical and Spiritual use of the Legal Sacrifices as they did prefigure the Death and Suffering of Christ and the general Atonement which was to be made thereby nor yet the Predictions of the Prophets touching his Death they ran into another gross Error and that was That the promised Messias should not by suffering death become a Sacrifice for sin And therefore they said to him when he spoke to them of his Death We have heard out of the Law that Christ abideth for ever and how sayest thou the Son of Man must be lift up Joh. 12.34 They did not dream of his Dying but of his Reigning visibly as a Mighty Monarch among them and subduing all Nations under them Because they knew him not nor yet the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath-day they have fulfilled them in condemning him Acts 13.27 Their Ignorance in the meaning of the Types and Predictions touching the Death of the Messias would have been the more excusable if they had not wilfully and obstinately persisted in that Error after those Types and Prophecies were fulfilled and explained to them Ignorance in this matter was found in Christ's own Disciples a great while but their slowness to believe those Types and Prophecies after they were fulfilled was a thing which our Saviour rebuked them for saying O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory Luke 24.25 26. But the unbelieving Jews were tenacious of this Opinion after they had sufficient means to have been convinc'd of their Error in it In opposition to which Opinion the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews argues at large the necessity of Christ's Suffering by Death As first he argues it from his Priesthood For having proved him according to Prophecy to be a Priest not after the Order of Aaron but of Melchizedeck and so a Priest of greater Dignity Chap. 5. and 7. He infers Chap 8. that as a Priest he must have something to Offer in Sacrifice and that of greater value than what was Offered by Priests under the Law that were but of an inferiour Order and that he shews to have been Himself and his own Blood as the Antitype of all those Legal Sacrifices Chap. 9. Secondly He proves his Death necessary for the confirmation of the second and New Covenant as he was Mediator of it As the first Testament was not dedicated without Blood so neither is the second For where a Testament is saith he there of necessity must also be the death of the Testator Chap. 9.15 -23. Thirdly His Death was necessary for the obtaining of Remission of Sins a Benefit promised in the New Covenant For without shedding of Blood saith he there is no Remission of Sin Chap. 9.22 with Chap. 10 5-18 And indeed it was a good part of the Apostle's work to beat down this Opinion that the Messias was not to dye Acts 17.3 St. Paul as his manner was went into them and three Sabbath-days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures opening and alledging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead Yea this Opinion had so generally obtained among them in our Saviour's time that it seems the Apostles of Christ at first were not free from it For when our Saviour told them that at Jerusalem he should be delivered to the Gentiles and that they should scourge him and put him to death and that the third day he should rise again it 's said they understood none of these things and that this saying was hid from them neither knew they the things which were spoken Though they were spoken plainly and in no Parable Luke 18.32 33 34. Christ's being Crucified became a stumbling-block to the Jews through this Error of theirs and that which they insisted upon as a Reason why they would not receive him as the Christ of God 1 Cor. 1.23 3. They held another Error which probably was Mother or Daughter of the former and that was That the Legal Sacrifices did expiate and take away Sin not only so as to free them from Legal Penalties and Temporal Punishments as in many cases they did but so also as to free them from all obligation to Eternal Punishment And so they did attribute to those Sacrifices the same atoning Virtue and purging Efficacy as is proper only to the Blood of Christ In opposition to this Opinion it is maintain'd 1. That those Legal Sacrifices were but Figures of the great Sacrifice Christ Jesus Heb. 9.10 11 12. and 10.1 2. It was argued that it was impossible that the blood of Bulls and of Goats should take away Sin because these were offered year after year over and over in the day of general Atonement for the same sins And that if the former Sacrifices which were first offered had taken away sin the latter could not have been necessary to the same purpose Heb. 10.1 2 3 11. The often repetition of Sacrifices for the same sins argues that the Worshippers had a secret sense in their Conscience that those Sacrifices were not of a competent Value nor a sufficient Price to Redeem their Souls from Sin as it exposeth to Eternal Punishment however they might sanctifie as to the purifying of the flesh yet they could not make any perfect as pertaining to the Conscience Heb. 9.9 and 10.1 2. 3. It was argued from a Prophetical passage in Psal 40. in which Christ is brought in speaking thus Sacrifice and Offering thou would'st not but a Body hast thou prepared me In burnt Offerings and Sacrifice for sin thou hast had no pleasure Then said I Lo I come to do thy will O God From whence he infers that the first sort of Sacrifices were taken away as insufficient that the second might be established By the which will saith he we are sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus once for all Heb. 10.5 10. This Opinion of theirs that Legal Sacrifices did expiate all their Sins did keep up in them a hope of Impunity here and hereafter under many Immoralities and great Transgressions in the course of their Lives Though they multiplied Transgression yet if they multiplied Sacrifices too they thought they should escape well enough Amos 4.4 5. Come to Bethel and transgress at Gilgal multiply transgression and bring your Sacrifice every morning and your Tythes after three years and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with Leaven and proclaim and publish your free-Offerings
Act of the Mind or Understanding and doth not powerfully influence the Will and so it is not a believing with all the Heart but is the act only of one such faculty of the Soul A Belief it 's probable may be found in the Devil himself And such a Belief was found in some who were so convinced by the power of Christ's Miracles in concurrence with his Doctrine and Life that they could not choose but believe him to be an extraordinary Person sent from God though their carnal Interest prevailed so much in them as that it would not suffer them to confess him openly because they loved the praise of Men more than the praise of God Joh. 12.42 43. And besides these Men deceive themselves about their Faith in this also that they do not heartily Believe the whole Doctrine of the Gospel but are partial in their Faith They in a sort believe Christ to be the Son of God and that he came into the World to save sinners and that he Died for our sins and the like But then they do not heartily believe his Doctrine touching the necessity of Repentance of being born again of denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts and of living righteously godly and soberly in this present world Or else they frame such Notions of these things unto themselves of Repentance and Regeneration as that they think they believe Christ's Doctrine touching them when they believe only the lying Imagination of their own Brains And there is too much ground to fear that many Mens ill managing the Doctrine of Justification by Faith hath not a little strengthened Men in this vain confidence For while Evangelical Obedience it self under the Notion of those Works to which Faith is opposed hath been decryed as Popish when interessed in Justification and Justification asserted to be by Faith alone in opposition to all Works whatsoever Inward and Outward as well Evangelical as Legal as well those after Conversion as those before yea and the disposition thereunto the Flesh and the Devil to help it hath got great advantage thereby to perswade Men against the necessity of a holy Life in such a sense of a holy Life as the Scripture makes absolutely necessary to Salvation For though it 's true that good Works have been acknowledged and pressed too as necessary to Salvation yet when withal they have been denied to be necessary to Justification and Men have been taught that when once they are Justified they can never fall away from a State of Justification they have easily been drawn to believe that good Works are not absolutely necessary to Salvation no more than to Justification but Faith only And upon supposition that the other two Points of Doctrine are true it would be but rational for them so to believe For if good Works be not necessary to Justification at all And if it is impossible but that those who are once justified should be saved how should Men chuse but infer from hence that good Works are not absolutely necessary to Salvation Unless it shall be said that Men are not put into an immediate capacity of Salvation by being justified Which to affirm would be to say Men are not freed from Condemnation by being freed from Condemnation which would be a contradiction in terms For to be justified is to be freed from Condemnation Rom. 8.33 34 and 5.16 18. and therefore Justification must needs put Men into an immediate capacity of being saved And as there is great reason to think that the Doctrine of Justification by Faith alone in opposition to the Works of Evangelical Obedience hath been a stumbling-stone unto many and a back-friend to the power of Godliness so there is another which hath been wont to be joyned with it that hath rendred it the more dangerous and it self no good friend to holy Living and that is the Doctrine of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness unto Justification in that way in which it hath been managed by very many For otherwise there is a sense as I have shewed in which it is a great and a comfortable Truth For when Men have been taught to esteem their own Righteousness but as filthy rags not only because of its utter insufficiency to justifie instead of Christ or as he justifies in which respect indeed it is no better but also as any part of a Condition of Justification or of our acceptance with God And when they have been taught also that upon their Believing only Christ's Righteousness in fulfilling the Law for them becomes imputed to them in it self and not only as the procuring cause of their Justification upon the terms of the Gospel so that they are looked upon as having themselves perfectly kept the Law in him it hath doubtless infeebled their endeavours after an inherent Righteousness and proved a temptation to them to think that so long as they have such anothers Inherent Righteousness essentially in it self imputed to them as Christ's is they have no great need to find it in themselves considering also that if they had it they must rather loath themselves for it than take any comfort in it But let no man deceive you saith St. John he that doth righteousness is righteous as he is righteous 1 Joh. 3.7 I do acknowledge that many of them have been worthy Men who yet have propagated these Opinions But that makes the Opinions never the better but have done more hurt in gaining thereby the more credit It is true also that those worthy Men have zealously pressed the necessity of Repentance Regeneration and a Holy Life Which proved indeed an Antidote against the Poyson of the other Opinions so that they did not become Mortal to many as otherwise they would have done And indeed they would have made mad work if they had not been yoaked with wholesomer Doctrine as we see they did among Antinomians Ranters and other carnal Christians that have followed the Ducture of those Opinions but have been shy of letting the Doctrines of Mortification and strict Living to have any power over them But then if the preaching of those sounder Doctrines of Repentance Regeneration and a holy Life have done much good notwithstanding they have been clogged with Opinions of another tendency it is easie to imagine that they would have done much more good if they had not been checkt by those unsound Principles But I shall say no more of this though more might be said because I hope I may say that most of those who have formerly imbibed these Opinions are now come to deliver themselves with more caution than heretofore And so I shall proceed to the last thing I propounded to touch upon and that is to shew CHAP. VII That the Doctrine of St. Paul and of St. James about Faith and Works in reference to Justification do not differ but are wholly one IT is true indeed though the Doctrine of St. PAVL and St. JAMES was in nothing opposite the one to the other yet the nature
of God's Promise until it hath produced that Repentance Regeneration Love and Obedience Which is a full and an undeniable proof of the necessity of such a consent of the Will as aforesaid to render Faith justifying and saving Now this Consent and resolution of the Will to Repent and Obey Christ and to forsake all for him is the Moral Change of the Soul and the New Life in its first beginning And so a Man's first effectual Belief is his whole Christian Life in its beginning And a Man's first Faith is perfected afterwards by Works Jam. 2.22 as a Child is perfected in his manly state as he grows up to manly actions or as the Seed is perfected when it grows to a full Ear. By this first Consent of the Will we restipulate and strike Covenant with God and not only so but we hereby begin also to keep and perform Covenant with him on our part When this Consent is first wrought in the Will then the Laws of the new Covenant are first put into the Mind and written in the Heart And by this we first begin to become savingly a People unto God to Believe in him to Love and Serve him as he by Covenant and Promise becomes a God unto us to make us Happy Heb. 8.10 This is the Covenant that I will make I will put my Laws into their mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People 3. The other act of the Soul which I call the act of the Understanding and of the VVill conjunct is an Affiance in God through Christ a trusting in him or a relying on him for the fulfilling of his Promise of saving Benefits while we continue sincerely to Consent resolve and endeavour to perform the Condition on our part This is that or part of that which is called a Believing on God a Believing on Christ and a Trusting in him Noting the Souls dependence upon Christ for the saving Benefits which accrue to Men by his Mediation Office and Undertaking and on the Truth and Faithfulness Power VVisdom and Goodness of God to perform all that he hath promised them through his Son and upon the terms he hath promised and not otherwise For the Promise of saving Benefits being made but upon the Condition before-mentioned a true Believer or he that is Rational and Wise considers as well upon what terms the Benefits are promised as who hath promised them and what they are and expects the one no otherwise than as he sincerely resolves and endeavours to perform the other And therefore if any shall Rely on God and Christ for those Benefits in whom yet the qualifying Condition of the Promise of them is not found such a Reliance is but a groundless Presumption and not Faith or Affiance duly so called For such do not only rely on Christ for that for which they have no promise but for that which God hath expresly declared they shall have no share in whilst they remain destitute of that qualification which is the Condition upon which and not without it the promise of those Benefits is made These three acts of the Soul exercised on their Objects do make up that Faith which is justifying and saving And when justifying Faith in the compleat nature of it is spoken of in Scripture all these three acts of the Soul are to be understood and especially the two first though perhaps they are many times mentioned severally and apart Faith being described sometimes by one of them and sometimes by another As God himself is represented to us sometimes by one Attribute sometimes by another CHAP. II. Wherein the Defect lies of that Faith which is not saving BY what hath been discoursed touching the nature of that Faith which is saving it is easie to discern wherein the defect lies of that Faith which is not so And the defect lies chiefly in the Will in its not Consenting to perform the Condition of the Promise in Repenting and in receiving Christ as Lord to be governed by his Laws I will not deny but the defect in part may be in the Understanding when its Assent unto the Truth of Divine Revelation is so weak as that it can make but a too weak and faint impression upon the Will to procure its Consent unto the Condition of the Promise But then that defect in the Assent of the Understanding doth usually at least in great part proceed from the Will as I shall shew afterwards Now that the defect lies mainly in the Will 's not Consenting to the Condition of the Promise appears by this because unregenerate Men may assent unto the truth of God's Testimony and may trust that they shall be saved by Christ which contain the other two acts of the Soul but no Man truly consents to perform the Condition of the Promise but in doing so he is Regenerate in the first Act and Justified 1. Unregenerate Men may have the same Faith of Assent in the Understanding to a degree as the Regenerate may They may believe God to be the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth and Jesus Christ to be his only Son and the rest of the Articles of the Creed and they may believe in great part that to be their Duty both towards God and Man which is so indeed and yet hold that Truth in unrighteousness which they do believe Rom. 1.18 Many of the chief Rulers believed on Christ who yet loved the Praise of Men more than the praise of God and durst not confess him Joh. 12.42 43. As also did many others when they saw his Maricles who yet were such as Christ had no mind to commit himself to Joh. 2.23 24. And Simon Magus believed wondering and being astonished at the signs which were done by Philip who yet remained in the bond of iniquity Acts 8. Such as are resembled by the stony Ground believed who yet loved their ease and worldly Interest more than Christ and those that St. James expostulates with Chap. 2. were thus far Believers also 2. Excepting the Consent of the Will to the Condition of the Promise Unregenerate Men may hope to be saved by Christ and rely on him for Salvation as well as the Regenerate Only for want of their performing the Condition of the Promise their hopes and confidence are groundless and will deceive them But otherwise Men that are but carnal and live in some known sin may and oftentimes do perswade themselves that they shall be saved by Christ Jesus because they believe that he died for Sinners and because they ask God forgiveness and perform some acts of Religion Our Saviour saith Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord open unto us Have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name have cast out Devils and done many wonderful works We have eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets To whom he will say for all that Depart from
immoderate Affections but indulge themselves in these or any of these or the like they deceive themselves whatever their External Conformity to Divine Precepts otherwise may be They are the pure in heart that shall see God And they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts God observes more what Men are inwardly than what they are outwardly and judges of them accordingly He is not a Jew nor he a Christian who is one outwardly in the flesh but he who is so inwardly in heart whose praise is not of Men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. And therefore St. James counted them but Earthly Sensual and Devilish in their Profession of Christianity how high soever they professed and such as did lye against the Truth that indulged bitter envying and strife though it were but in their hearts Jam. 3.14 15. And if Lusts and Passions within shall break out in an unbridled Tongue in Slandering Reviling Back-biting Evil-speaking rash and uncharitable Censuring or the like how Religious soever such a Man may otherwise seem to himself or others yet St. James hath plainly determined his case such an one hath deceived his own heart and his Religion is vain Jam. 2.26 Mat. 5.22 Men may go a great way in Religion yea so far as until they are not far from the Kingdom of God Yea many shall seek to enter in by doing many things in order thereto and yet shall not be able for want of striving to do all that is necessary thereto And for that very reason and because of the great danger of Christians falling short tho' they have gone far and done much are they so earnestly Exhorted to work out or to work through their own Salvation with Fear and Trembling with a fear of falling short Phil. 2.12 And not only so but to fear even a seeming to come short of the promised Rest Heb. 4.1 Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his Rest any of you should seem to come short of it The matter is of that huge consequence that every wise Man that doth not despise his own Soul should be afraid to do or omit to do any thing that hath but the least seeming shew or apperance of putting his Salvation into any hazard And therefore All diligence is not too much for the wisest Man living to use to make his calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 Thus when Mens Understandings are bribed by their corrupt Wills they then take up with a partial Faith a partial Repentance and a partial Obedience instead of that which is Evangelically compleat and hope it is a fulfilling of the Condition of the Promise And when Men shut their own Eyes and stop their own Ears against the evidence of the Word of Salvation that they may the more quietly enjoy the pleasures of any sin God many times in his Righteous Judgment after much striving and long-suffering withdraws the Assistance of his Grace and Spirit and leaves them to themselves and their own Delusions and to be practised upon by the Devil for their farther hardening according to that dreadful Prophesie in Isa 6.9 10. mentioned no less than five or six times in the New Testament Mat. 13.14 Mar. 4.12 Luke 8.10 Joh. 12.40 Acts 28.26 Rom. 11.8 Go tell this people hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their Ears heavy and shut their Eyes c. When Men will not receive the love of the Truth that they might be saved but have pleasure in Unrighteousness God sometimes sends them strong delusions to believe a lye 2 Thes 2.10 11 12. Whereas on the contrary the good-ground hearers are dâ—scribed by the honesty of the Heart into which they receive the Word They study no tricks or shifts nor use any shuffling upon the account of any dishonest interest to evade the plain Truth but are content that should take place and all other things give place to it They suffer that Word which was received and assented to in the Judgment before in order of Nature to sink down into their hearts by which the Will and Affections become changed CHAP. IV. How and after what manner Faith in the Vnderstanding works savingly upon the Will THE Faith of Assent in the Understanding worketh a Consent in the Will unto the Condition of the Promise by its operative and affecting influence upon the Passions of Hope Fear and Love the powerful Principles of Action in Man For tho' Faith in the Understanding is the first Principle of Action as Christian yet not that but the Will as it is affected with Hope Fear or Love is the next and immediate Principle of Action The Understanding when it rightly performs its Office doth not only assent unto the Truth of Divine Revelation upon competent Evidence that it is from God but also considers and weighs as in a balance the import of it and how a Man is concerned in it as whether it betoken Good or Evil to him and how much and upon what terms whether Absolutely or Conditionally and what the Condition is All which when brought down to the subordinate Faculties of the Soul the Will and Affections is apt to affect them and work upon them more or less according as the things believed are apprehended more or less to concern a Man And the things believed Eternal Life and Eternal Death in another World being Invisible and absent things it is a Man's Faith touching the reality of them that supplies the room or absence of sense For Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 We neither see nor feel the glorious things promised nor the dreadful things threatned in another World otherwise than by Faith which gives the Believer a prospect of them But a Man by his Faith in that Gospel by which they are revealed hath a foresight of them as Abraham had of Christ's Day and that fills the Soul with Hope and Fear and a sense of God's love in giving such an Hope And this Hope Fear and Love puts Men upon more or less Care Diligence and Industry in doing what is necessary for the obtaining of the one and escaping the other as they are more or less influenced by a Faith that is weaker or stronger or more or less active and exercised about these things And hence comes that change which is made in the Hearts and Lives of true Believers who walk by Faith and not by Sight that is they govern their Lives by the belief of invisible and not sensible things 2 Cor. 5.7 This in general But more particularly the Faith of Assent in the Understanding works the Faith of Consent in the Will by its operation upon those three Passions or Affections of the Will Hope Fear and Love 1. As a firm assenting to the Truth of God's Promise through Christ of pardon of Sin and Eternal Life upon
just God and Listed our selves to be the Souldiers and Servants not of a Lewd Jupiter a Wanton Venus a Fiery Mars a Revengeful Juno a Drunken Bacchus and a Thievish Mercury Such were the Heathen Gods and no wonder then that they who did worship them should also imitate them But we have given up our Names and Listed our selves the Servants of A God that hath no pleasure in Wickedness neither shall any Evil dwell with him in whose sight the Foolish shall not stand and who hateth all the workers of Iniquity who will destroy all men that speak leasing that are crafty to cheat and deceive and will abhor the blood-thirsty and deceitful man Psal 5.4 5 6. Nay who will rain upon the Wicked Snares Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest this shall be the portion of their Cup for the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness his Countenance doth behold the Vpright Psal 11.6 7. III. To fight against the World the Flesh and the Devil Such is the God to whom we have given up our Names to serve And we have Listed our selves in our Baptism under our several Christian Names to fight under his Banner against the World the Flesh and the Devil so as not to be tempted or drawn off to commit any Injustice or Unmercifulness any Intemperance or Filthiness any Act of Ungodliness or Profaneness In a word IV. Asunder that Name he professes to Believe such Articles as are the most powerful Motives to deny all Vngodliness any Sin against him We have engaged our selves under our several Names in the strongest Covenants in hopes of the most glorious Rewards and out fear of the sorest Punishments to be Faithful in our Obedience to him We have openly Profest under our respective Christian Names firmly to believe such a Set of Articles those of our Christian Faith as are every one of them as shall hereafter be made appear the most powerful Motives in the World to make us Deny all Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present evil World And under the same Christian Names we have all of us profest V. To obey the most Righteous Laws To be governed by such Laws and Commands of Vertue and Goodness of Piety towards God of Righteousness to our Neighbours and which lay down such incomparable Rules concerning the Government of our selves as the like are not to be found in any other Philosophy And Lastly Lastly as having under that Name received Promises of most powerful Assistances to do all this We profess to have such Assistances derived to us from God by Prayer and Sacraments those Means of his own Appointment to convey down his Aid and Assistance to us to Enable us to do these Things as will make it not extreamly difficult to us to live very excellent and good Lives Thus have we Christians under our several Christian Names as under Hand and Seal profest our selves the Disciples of a Religion that does infinitely exceed all others in the Powerfulness of its Principles and Doctrines and the Holiness and Strictness of its Precepts and Rules Of a Religion that can work if its Dictates be follow'd the greatest Miracles in the changing Men's Natures and Tempers from worse to better that can turn a ravenous Wolf into a harmless Lamb a furious Lion into a tender Kid that is the most savage and violent Dispositions of Cruelty and Pride into perfect Charity and Meekness And now if we Christians should be found as Debauch'd and Evil Livers as Unconverted Heathens as Lewd as Turks as Griping as Jews as Impious and Profane as Atheists how severely and that deservedly will the rest of the Infidel World upbraid us What Dishonour shall we thereby do to the true God and our most Holy Religion Which brings me to the Second Thing propos'd which was to remind you that the bad Lives of those who bear the Name of Christians do an infinite Prejudice and Dishonour to Christianity The bad lives of Nominal Christians do an infinite Prejudice Dishonour to Christianity And alas What bitter Reproaches have the Unchristian Lives of Christian Professors put into the Mouths of our Enemies making them to say That if we Christians did but Believe our selves those Promises in Scripture of such mighty Rewards to Holy Honest and Good Living we should sure our selves live better Lives And when any of our Christians would perswade them to forsake their own Superstition and Idolatry and to Embrace our most Holy Religion our unanswerable Lives have provok'd them to return smartly enough upon us Would ye have us to believe the Truth of your Religion which you do not seem to believe your selves It hinders the Conversion of Infidels And alas This is the main Thing the very Unsuitable Lives of us Christians that so Prejudices the Infidel Part of the World Pagans Turks and Jews against our most Holy Religion and hinders their Conversion It is the Cruelty and Covetousness of our Christian Merchants in the Indies that makes the poor Indians even Abhor our Religion and scornfully to say That Gold not Jehovah is our God Thus Is the Name of God blasphemed amongst the Gentiles through us Rom. 2.24 It is the Idolatry of the Church of Rome which makes Turks and Jews both of them mortal Haters of Idols to loath and despise the Christian Worship It puts bitter Reproaches in the mouths of Atheists especially when Wickedness is commited under the disguise of Religion But not to Travel so far as the Indies or Turkey to find out how much our Living so unbecoming our most Holy Profession has scandaliz'd Persons so as to Abhor it Observe the Men of No Religion amongst our selves our Atheists and Libertines and what bitter Scoffs and Jeers may we daily hear them cast forth upon Religion it self when they see some that make great outward Professions there guilty of so much Hypocrisy Cheating Cruelty and Rebellion making their very Religion a Cloak for the carrying on the most wicked Things as if the least Religious the most honest Man And now if there were but the least spark of Love and Honour in our Hearts for God and our most Holy Religion this were enough to make us careful to lead innocent and inoffensive Lives if it were only that we might not dishonour God and Religion thereby and might not bring a Reproach upon our Christian Name Every Man that desires the Honour and Reputation of his Calling and Profession whatever it is will live answerable to his Character and not so as to be a Scandal to his Place Few men will endure their worldly Calling to be put at naught and Reproacht And therefore as we seldom see a Person of so abject and mean a Spirit as to endure with Patience whatever Art or Profession he is of to be set at naught and spoke against so Men are generally with respect to the Credit of their worldly Professions careful to
am now Lastly Lastly what Temptations Satan levels against all Persons indifferently consider'd in order to a more full Display of that great Work of the Devil his Tempting us to Sin to discover to you some of the more remarkable Temptations at least-wise whereby he applies himself to all Persons indifferently consider'd in the Church of Christ be they High or Low to draw them into Sin In the former Attempts upon all Mankind upon the Church of God and upon those considerable and leading Persons therein whose Fall sweeps Multitudes along with 'em into Sin and Ruine Satan shew'd more of his Ambition and Pride as in setting up for a Dominion in direct Opposition to God's So in waging a War with the greatest Bodies of Men and the most considerable Leaders in the Church Militant But in these his latter Attempts upon particular Persons whereby that Spirit appears not content to Foil greater Numbers but moreover pursues his Victory to the picking up here and there every particular Stragler he expresses more of his inveterate Malice in that he is so wholly bent upon Mischief and Destruction as to stick at no Pains and to leave no Methods untry'd whereby he may destroy every particular Soul amongst the the Sons of Men. And indeed the Devil's Temptations are the more dangerous The Devil's Temptations not easily known to be his nor always distinguishable from those of the World and the Flesh which are manag'd and directed by him in that they are not easily known when they are his and cannot always be distinguisht from such as the World and our own Flesh do give us for which Reason at the motion of these two latter we do those things without Fear which if we knew the Devil had a Hand in we should tremble at the Thoughts of Committing And indeed it is but seldom the Devil does immediately by himself actuate any One to do Evil but generally he makes use of the World and our own Flesh as his immediate Instruments to move us to it Whilst he himself stands behind the Curtain managing and directing those our other Enemies to take their Advantages against us However so far as the Scripture does discover to us any Methods of Temptations to be his Some of the most considerable of his Methods of Tempting us discover'd we may safely ascribe 'em unto him And some of the more considerable and dangerous of 'em I will lay before you As First The Devil does miserably delude People into his Power by letting 'em alone to be Obedient to God in some Particulars the better to detain 'em perfect Slaves to himself in others I. He permits if not furthers some in a partial Obedience to God in some Particulars the better to detain them perfect Slaves to himself in others This is call'd a Dividing between God and Mammon Matth. 6.24 And indeed amongst the manifold Delusions of Satan there is not a more fatal and mischievous One to the Souls of Men than the Hypocrisy of a partial and Un-uniform Obedience which the Devil does willingly enough allow us in I say The Devil does willingly enough allow Persons to be partially or in part Obedient for when this cunning Deceiver cannot prevail on some to be meer Libertines to throw off all the Bonds and Ties of Religion to be as Outragious in Profaneness Impieties Villanies Whoredoms and all sorts of Wickednesses as some of his Black Disciples are he is then willing to Compound the matter with such and so that they will be his a little he 'll contentedly allow 'em to be God's very much Knowing very well that if we hold out one disloyal Fort against God retain but one Rebel-Lust and give not up the whole Man unto Christ it will as certainly Condemn us tho' not to so great Degrees of Punishment as if we were wholly Devoted to Satan and gave our selves up to follow all our Brutish Lusts the Word of God assuring us that Whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one Point he is guilty of all Jam. 2.10 And our Saviour declaring to us that he will not be serv'd by Halves nor endure the Devil to share with him in his Kingdom over us Ye cannot serve God and Mammon Luk. 16.13 Thus the Devil knows it is his Interest to allow Men to be partially Obedient to God And There is not a more fatal and mischievous Delusion of Satan than this is especially when the partially Obedient exchanges some Sins of a scandalous Name for their contrary Vertues but lives notwithstanding in other Impieties of a higher Nature This a most fatal Delusion when some Sins only of a scandalous Name are exchanged for contrary Vertues but with the Retention of Impieties of a higher Nature I say when he changes some particular Sins only of a scandalous Name as his former Debaucht and Lewd Course of Life for a quite contrary One of Temperance and Chastity He now assures himself it was by the motion of God's Holy Spirit he is become a New Man as he thinks and that he is now infallibly safe Thus have I often known those of the Sect of Quakers who have formerly been loose and riotous Livers Triumph very much in their present State as certainly from God because they no sooner became of this way but they ceas'd to be Drunkards and Swearers and lewd Companions and the like Whereas alas The deluded Wretch has but Exchang'd some gross Sins of a more scandalous Name for other Impieties of a higher Nature For now instead of the former more Carnal Sins he has receiv'd into his Heart the more Spiritual and Devilish Ones of Pride and Haughtiness and Contempt of others being so far from In Honour preferring other Men that he will not give the least Honour to whom Honour is due He now decries the inspir'd Writings of God as a dead Letter and Blasphemously entitles every foolish and deceitful Imagination of his own corrupt Heart to the motion of the Holy Spirit preferring the latter infinitely before the former Nay he now denies all the great Principles of Christianity the Divinity Sufferings and Satisfaction of Christ with the Resurrection of the Body as most of our present Quakers do and so is turn'd meer Deist at the best And now who that considers this can think otherwise but that the Vnclean Spirit went out of that Man only to return into the house from whence he went out and to take with himself seven other Spirits more wicked than himself that they entering in and dwelling there the last State of that man might be worse than the first Matth. 12.43 44 45. This is certain Such the most Irreclaimable of all Sinners the most Irreclaimable of all Sinners are those who have exchang'd some ill Practices for others equally Wicked and for impious Principles for such do fix themselves in a full Perswasion That their present Way is of God seeing it is contrary to the former which was
pick Quarrels with our Duty our Wills then begin to be averse and our Affections to cool towards it And because in this Obedience of our Works and Actions And therefore endeavoured to be shifted off there is so much of difficulty therefore are most People so desirous to shift it off and so forward to take up with any thing which will save them the labour of it They perswade themselves that God will admit of easier Terms and build their Hopes on cheaper Services as particularly that it will be sufficient to Salvation that they Believe the Gospel and that Jesus Christ died for them that God will accept of the Will for the Deed that God will excuse their Disobedience because when they fall it is by reason of strong and violent Temptations And lastly that it is not without Reluctancy and great Unwillingness that they disobey But all these are deceitful Imaginations for howsoever we are against Sin in our Thoughts and Minds and Desires the working Wickedness will make us in God's account Sons of Sin and Disobedience and will be sure to render such Children of Wrath and Destruction If you live after the Flesh saith St. Paul you shall die Rom. 8.13 And whatever Men think in their Minds or desire in their Hearts or profess in their Words to the contrary if for all that they continue to commit Sin in their Actions Christ has told them plainly That he will pronounce when he comes to sit as Judge Depart from me all ye that work Iniquity Matth. 7.23 And thus you see what is in the first place necessary to make up an Entire Obedience that our Obedience might be that of the whole Man and that it may be such we must have our Minds our Wills our Affections and lastly our outward Actions in Obedience to the Laws of the Gospel that all these several Powers must unite in God's Service before it will be Vpright and Compleat such as at present his Law requires and such as at the last Day he will accept of and reward us for II. It must be an Obedience to to the whole Law Secondly As it is necessary to the Integrity of our Obedience that we Obey his Holy Will and Commandments with our whole Man with our Minds our Souls our Wills and our Strength so that we Obey his whole Law and Conform our selves to every of his Commandments We must not think to pick and chuse in the doing of our Duty for if we do not Obey all we Obey not right in any because all the Laws of God are bound upon us by the same Power and enjoined by the same Authority So that if we fulfill any one upon this account of his having required it the same reason holds for the fulfilling of all the rest This indeed is very hardly believed because it is so hard to practise for almost every Man has some Sin or other which he can as well Die as part with It has got his Heart and is become the Master of his Affections and since he loves it so dearly he hopes God will bear with it too And when Men are thus desirous to Obey God by halves and would hope that this might serve the turn they take to themselves false Grounds and Confidences under which they shelter themselves in the allowance or indulgence of such Sins as they are resolved to practise and when they do wilfully continue in the practice of any Sin they usually plead one or more of these Things in excuse This endeavoured to be evaded by Excuses First That they Sinn'd for the Preservation of their Religion and themselves in times of Danger and Persecution Or secondly for the supply of their Necessities by sinful Arts Compliances and Services and in times of Want and Indigency Or thirdly for the satisfaction of their Flesh in Sins of Temper Age or Way of Life But in vain But whosoever would Obey God's Laws to the Salvation of his Soul must Obey in every Instance and continue wilfully to transgress in none he must never hope to please God in nothing but what he lists himself For the Obedience of the Covenant whereinto Christ commissioned his Apostles to Baptize Converts is nothing below an Entire Obedience Go says he Baptize all Nations teaching them to observe all Things whatsoever I have commanded you Matth. 28.19 20. And threatens Matth. 5.19 That he who breaks the least of these Commandments shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven or none at all which is the sence of the Hebrew Phrase So that the Obedience upon which alone we must expect to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven must be a Faithful and Entire Obedience to all the Laws and Commands of the Gospel Thus we must Obey all God's Holy Will and Commandments which brings me III. To my general Proposal which was to shew you What it is to Walk in the same all the Days of our Lives III. What it is to Walk in the same all the Days of our Lives we must continue in such a Sincere and Entire Obedience even to the End of our Lives We must not think to please God by an Obedience that comes and goes by Fits or by serving him only at such times as we are in Humour and have no Temptation to the contrary but our Service of Him must be Constant and Vniform we must obey him in all things and wilfully transgress in none Some indeed there are who parcel out their time and divide it betwixt God and their Sins they observe a constant Course of Transgressing and Repenting of Sin and Sorrow for they are always won when they are tempted and they are always sorrowful when they have done And others there are who wholly fall off at last and sin against God for altogether But now as for such a broken Service as this is God will not endure a constant Revolution of Sin and Repentance God will by no means accept of it For when Christ comes to Judgment he will pass Sentence upon Men according to what they are then and not according to what they have been formerly If the righteous Man turn away from his Righteousness and commit Iniquity and do according to all that the wicked Man doth Shall he live No by no means For all his Righteousness that he hath done formerly shall not be mentioned but in his Trespass that he hath since trespassed and in his Sin that he hath since sinned in them shall he die Ezek. 18.24 And it is they which by patient continuing in Well-doing seek for Glory and Immortality that shall inherit eternal Life Rom. 2.6 7. But as for all those who fall off from a good Course and turn Apostates from Obedience their Case is desperate and their Condition extreamly Damnable For if after Men have once escaped the Pollution of the World through the Knowledge of Christ's Gospel they are again entangled therein and overcome then is the latter End worse
Spirit may strive in vain with us no doubt as it did with the old World as you may see Gen. 6.3 yet by the opening of the Heart as it did the Heart of Lydia so that it shall attend to the Word Acts 16.14 by fixing of the Mind to consider and by enlightning it to discern the Nature Tendency and Usefulness of things reveal'd in the Gospel Also by sweetly disposing the Will to weigh the Importance of Divine Truths and by giving it to taste and feel the Goodness of Spiritual Things by these Methods it adds such a Perswasiveness in the Word of God that the most wickedly dispos'd Persons shall be thereby Converted and chang'd into most Vertuous and Good Tempers Hence from this powerful Concurrence and Co-operation of Grace whereby it has an Edge given it to pierce the most stony'd harden'd Hearts of Men is the Word of God said Heb. 4.12 To be quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edg'd Sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit and of the Joynts and Marrow and that is a Discerner of the Thoughts and Intents of the Heart And hence St. Paul speaking of the Gospel which he preach'd unto the Thessalonians 1 Epist 1.5 tells them that the Gospel came not unto them in Word only but also in Power and in the Holy Ghost that is it came accompany'd not only with the Power of Miracles as some do interpret it but with a great internal Power and Efficacy of the Holy Spirit working in the Hearts of those to whom it was preach'd as others do rightly expound it It came indeed accompany'd with both in those days both the Extraordinary Gifts and the more Ordinary Graces of the Holy Spirit made way for its Entrance and Entertainment in their Hearts And so great is the Measure of Grace afforded now under and accompanying the preaching of the Gospel to what was given under the Law that the Gospel is dignify'd 2 Cor. 3 6. with the Title of Spirit whereas the Law is stil'd the Letter the Apostle making this difference betwixt 'em that the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth Life Here the Gospel is call'd by this Title of the Spirit says a learned Commentator because Grace is a Gift of the Spirit and is now joined to the Gospel which was not to the Law which Administration of the Spirit and annexing of it to the Word under the Gospel gives Men the Means to attain Eternal Life when the Law is the Occasion and by accident the Cause of Death to 'em in denouncing Judgment against Sinners and yet not giving Strength to obey And indeed lastly well may it be stil'd the Spirit since so great a proportion of Grace is afforded us now under the Gospel to work in us a Change and Reformation and so main and principal a Means is the Grace of God of such a Change that the whole Work of Regeneration is call'd Tit. 3.5 6. the renewing of the Holy Ghost and so little Efficacy is attributed barely to the preaching of the Word in comparison of what is attributed to the Grace of God going along with it that St. Paul tells the Corinthians 1 Epist 3.7 who by preferring one Teacher above another and dividing into Parties and Factions thereupon seem'd to impute the whole Success to the Excellency of some Men's Preaching above others He tells them that neither is he that planteth any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the Increase where the whole Success of our Preaching in rendring it effectual he tells us is from God's Grace not from our Skill who preach it So that intensively it appears God's Grace is very strong mighty and powerful in working a Change and Reformation in us To conclude then this Second Means of performing our Covenant with God As great as our natural Weakness is since our Fall you see we have the Grace and Assistance of God ready at hand to restore in us the Image of God consisting in that Righteousness from which we fell by Transgression We shall have that Grace and Assistance I say which is extensively very diffusive and large so as to renew in us all those Powers and Faculties of our Nature which by Sin have been deprav'd and intensively very strong mighty and powerful in working a Change and Reformation within us And this is a second Means whereby we shall be enabled to perform our Covenant with God The Third Means whereby we shall both obtain the Divine Assistance and be thereby enabled to discharge our Covenant is Prayer unto God to give us his Grace that we may continue faithful in our Covenant unto our Live's End But of the Efficacy of Prayer I shall speak the next Opportuntty THE XXIX Lecture And I pray unto God to give me his Grace that I may continue in the same unto my Live's End HAving fully explained to you so far as lead thereunto by the Words of our Church-Catechism in the Preliminary Questions and Answers thereof the Nature Terms and Conditions of the Covenant of Grace the Solemnity whereby you enter'd into it and the mighty Obligations lying upon you to perform it I am now upon shewing you the Means whereby we shall be enabled to perform this so important a Covenant wherein all our Happiness both in this and the other World is contain'd and wrapp'd up a thing indeed which it does exceedingly concern you to be well inform'd about it being impossible to perform any thing as it ought without the Knowledge of its due and proper Means And the First Means in order to perform your Covenant as I have show'd you is a Holy Christian and Firm Resolution to be faithful in the same the Importance of these Words So I will But a Resolution it must be which is taken up not in Confidence of our own Strength but of God's Help And therefore Secondly The next necessary Means to enable us to discharge our part of this Covenant must be the Grace and Assistance of God which you have taught you in these Words And by God's Help so I will And concerning this I have also spoke all that I think is necessary to be shew'd you in this Place For 1st I have declar'd to you in what Necessity we do stand by reason of our own Natural Weakness of the Divine Assistance to enable us to overcome the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil and to perform our Covenant with God And 2dly I have shew'd you what the Divine Assistance is and what Measures of it proportionably to such our Necessity God will bestow upon us to enable us to perform our Covenant with him And now the Third Means whereby we shall both obtain the Divine Assistance and be enabled also to discharge our Covenant is Prayer unto God to give us his Grace that we may continue faithful in our Covenant unto our Lives end I shall not here undertake to treat of the whole Subject of Prayer in the
our evil and corrupt Affections and daily proceeding in all Vertue and Godliness of Living So that hereby it does appear that the Engagement of the Godfathers and Godmothers is in the first place that they will take care to have those Infants whom they have presented to Baptism Catechised in the Nature of that Covenant they have in the way of Proxy for them enter'd into which is the Importance of these Words Remember that it is your Parts and Duties to see that this Infant be taught so soon as he shall learn what a solemn Vow Promise and Profession he hath here made by you which is the proper Work of Catechising to teach ' em They are also for their farther Edification in this grand Matter of their Covenant to call upon 'em to hear Sermons which are a Method of Instruction design'd to improve 'em in all that necessary Knowledge the beginnings of which was laid by Catechising But especially their Care must be to have 'em throughly Catechised which lays the Foundation of Divine Knowledge in the Principles of Religion without which there can be no bottom for their Edification any other way Chiefly says the Exhortation ye shall provide that they may learn the Creed the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments in the Vulgar Tongue and all other things which a Christian ought to know and believe to his Soul's Health which I say is the proper work of Catechising to teach ' em Secondly Secondly It is the Office of these Sureties to admonish the Child to live according to his Baptismal Engagements Having thus took care to have 'em well instructed by Catechising and Preaching in the Articles and Conditions of their Covenant their next Care must be to admonish and advise 'em seriously to apply themselves to live according to those Obligations laid upon 'em in their Covenant with God Youth of all Persons want good Monitors as being of themselves giddy and inconsiderate and too regardless of what does mainly concern 'em and their Sureties ought to make it a part of their Care peculiarly to admonish such as they have a band in bringing into the Covenant that they live according to it so it follows in that most Excellent Exhortation Ye shall take care that this Child may be vertuoulsy brought up to lead a Godly and a Christian Life c. Thirdly And then as for the last thing Thirdly And to take care that at Years of Discretion the Child should take his Vow upon himself before the Bishop in Confirmation wherein I said consists the Office of Sureties in Baptism viz. that they take care their Youth after all due Instruction in the Nature of the Covenant should personally for their own parts take it upon themselves before the Chief Minister of Christ the Bishop This you have deliver'd plainly and fully in the Charge given about Confirmation running in these Words Ye are to take care that this Child be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him so soon as he can say the Creed the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments in the Vulgar Tongue So that if you will allow the Blessed Authors of our most Divine and Excellent Liturgy the Liberty to explain themselves The utmost Importance of these Words They did promise and vow three things in my Name is 1. an Engagement to Christ and his Church in the behalf of the Baptized Infant that so soon as he becomes capable he shall be instructed in his Covenant 2. that he shall be admonish'd to live according to it and 3. that he shall solemnly declare his sincere Intentions so to do III. The Reason the Church has to require Sureties III. And now let us see what reason the Church had to appoint Godfathers and Godmothers not only to represent but thus to engage for the Infant in Baptism It is for the better Order and Decency of the Administration that some should be the Mouth of the Child And truly as to the representing part there seems to me to be as great reason for that as that all things in Divine Administrations should be done decently and in order as the Apostle commands 1 Cor. 14.40 For why You are not again to be told that this whole Solemnity of Baptism is the transacting of a Covenant with God a Covenant wherein both Parties concerned are either personally themselves or by others as their Proxies to make mutual Engagements one to another to perform each his Part of the Covenant Now God who is the first and prime Party in this Covenant He true it is is sufficient for these things of himself and needs no other to engage for him yet in Compassion to our Infirmities who cannot bear the Majesty of God's Presence hence the Israelites after the Thunder and Lightning on Mount Sinai prayed he would speak to them by his Servant Moses lest they should dye Tho' God need not I say to treat with us by Proxy yet in conformity to our Weakness he hath substituted the Priest in his stead to assure us of the Promises his part of the Covenant And what then shall the Infant do who is so far uncapable of transacting personally the Covenant and engaging by himself to perform its Conditions that he does not nor cannot understand the Conditions of it what I say shall he do Why it is fit that he likewise by his Sureties as by Proxy should engage that he will do his part To this purpose saith a Father since for want of Age Children cannot believe with the Heart to Righteousness nor confess with the Mouth unto Salvation therefore others answer for 'em that the Sacrament may be admitted compleatly to ' em It would indeed seem to me a very odd and indecent and disorderly thing extremely unlike the usual way of transacting Covenants when one and He so great a Party concern'd as God should vouchsafe to make over by his Proxy the Minister of the Covenant express Assurances of Infinite Mercies the other Party a poor wretched Creature in whose Favour this is done should not have a Mouth either by himself or others to make an open and solemn Protestation of Acceptance of those Gracious Terms and of sincere Resolutions to perform his part A silence on his side wou'd look like a sullen ungrateful refusal of such Gracious Overtures and Terms of Mercy the most indecent and disorderly thing in the World The Administration would be extreamly indecent without a Proxy to Represent the Infant And indeed so much is the Honour of God and of the Church It is of concernment to the Church that Security be given that every one who is admitted a Member into it should live to the Reputation and Interest of it and of the Christian Religion concern'd that no Person be enter'd into the Profession of the Gospel who will not live answerably to it that it is highly fit it is extreamly requisite all possible Security shou'd be first given to God and his Church