our Assent tho we cannot resolve all the Difficulties that are raised against them 'T is unreasonable to deny what is evident because we cannot unfold what is obscure There is no Doctrine more frequently and emphatically asserted in the Divine Writings than that the Repentance of a Sinner and his acceptance of Pardon and Life is very pleasing to God He assures us in the most sacred and solemn manner of this As I live saith the Lord I have no pleasure in the Death of the Wicked but that the Wicked turn from his way and live He is willing they should be saved and they are wilful to be damned With what render and melting Compassions does he argue with them Why will ye die O House of Israel as if they were upon the brink of Hell and ready to drop into irrecoverable Misery 2. We must distinguish between his directing Will and his approving Will whatever God decrees to effect shall be infallibly accomplish'd but many things that he approves are left undone His Commands are his Will the Rule of our Duty but not of his Purpose what he will do The Scripture mentions the Word of God's Power and the Word of his Holiness The Word of his Power effects all things according to his Will but the Word of his Holiness his Laws declar'd to regulate our Lives are often oppos'd and without Efficacy 3. The Wisdom of God directs all the Operations of his Attributes that orders the Dispensations of Mercy and the Inflictions of Justice When the Apostle had considered the astonishing Oeconomy of Providence with respect to the Jews and Gentiles he breaks forth O the Depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his Judgments and his Ways past finding out That so great a part of the World live in Darkness and die in Darkness and go to their Fathers where they shall never see Light and the Day-spring from on high visits other Nations is according to the Counsel of his Will 4. God does afford assisting Grace to Sinners which if they improved he would not desert them The Gospel is the Ministration of the Spirit to illuminate excite and perswade Sinners not to forsake their own Mercy He strives with them he woes and waits to be gracious till by their obstinate Resistance they quench his holy Motions 'T is true he dispenses Grace in different degrees for he is the Master of his own Favours but tho effectual converting Grace is not bestowed upon all yet there is common Grace that has a tendency to Conversion which if humbly and thankfully improved such is the most free and excellent Goodness of God Men would receive further Supplies But they are careless and opposite to his gracious Operations therefore the Spirit is most righteously withdrawn from them He that in Luxury has wasted his Estate 't is just he dies in Poverty Besides this 't is very considerable that Men shall be condemned at the last Day not for mere Impotence but obstinate Opposition they loved Darkness rather than Light because their Deeds are evil not for the want of that Grace they did not receive but for the neglect to improve that Grace they had received and rejecting what was offered The slothful Servant was condemn'd for hiding his single Talent in a Napkin not because he had not five Talents Secondly 'T is the great Design of God to glorify his Son When he brought his First-begotten into the World the Command was Let all the Angels of God worship him God has given him a Name above every Name that at the Name of Jesus every Knee should bow of things in Heaven and Earth and under the Earth and every Tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father Those who cross his Supreme Wisdom and Soveraign Will shall by a constrain'd Submission acknowledg the high Dignity of his Son The great Command of the Gospel is that Men should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give Repentance and Remission of Sins The Death of Christ may be considered as an Act of Obedience to God and of Love to Men. His Intention was to glorify God by bringing lost Souls to him Now 't is promised as a Reward of his Sufferings he shall see of the Travail of his Soul and be satisfied He is infinitely pleased with the Salvation of Souls as the Fruit of all his Anguish and bloody Agony The Election of a number of the lost World that shall believe in him and be adopted and saved by him has a special respect to his Honour that his Death might not be in vain that the Son of God may be magnified in his unspeakable Love to them and their sincere Obedience to him his relative Glory as Head of the Body will shine in them for ever 'T is also observable the Decree of Election is of infallible Accomplishment both as to the Conversion and Perseverance of the Elect not only because the Divine Will is unchangeable and insuperable with respect to the Events determined by it but with a peculiar regard to the Glory of Christ. No Principle of Opposition in the corrupt Heart of Man can frustrate the Operation of God's Spirit either in the powerful entrance or sure continuance of his Grace Our Saviour tells us All that the Father gives me shall come to me And speaking of his Sheep he saith My Father which gave them me is greater than all and none is able to pull them out of my Father's Hand The Purpose of God and Purchase of Christ secure their Salvation for these our Saviour intercedes Holy Father keep through thine own Name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we are His Mediation is never interrupted when Christ's Prayer and God's Power are ineffectual then may they fall away totally and for ever whom God keeps and Christ commends to his keeping From hence it appears that the Ministers of the Gospel are indispensably obliged zealously to endeavour the Salvation of Souls which the Father has design'd for the Honour of his Mercy and which the Son of God esteems his dearest Glory The APPLICATION 1. From hence there is just cause to admire the glorious Grace of God in converting Sinners and making them willing to comply with the Terms of the Gospel Indeed 't is strange to Amazement that Men involv'd under the Guilt of Sins so numerous and so heinous and liable every hour to the Sentence of the Law so sure and severe Eternal Death for their Sins should neglect a Pardon so dearly purchas'd and so graciously offer'd and not with the deepest Humility with ravishing Joy and the highest Thankfulness receive it Is there no Spirit no Understanding left in them Nay is sensible Nature and its inviolable Inclinations so extinguish'd that they are Enemies to themselves But
Reason and in Accord among themselves there was a perfect Peace but Sin has raised an intestine War in Man's Breast The Law of the Members rebels against the Law of the Mind for there is no Man so prodigiously wicked and spoil'd of his Primitive Endowments but still there remains some Principles of Morality in the Mind so that his Conscience discovers and condemns the Vices he allows and practises which makes the Sinner uneasy to himself and mixes Vinegar with his Wine Besides since the Passions are disbanded into what Confusion is Man fallen How various how violent are they and often repugnant to one another How often do we change their Habits and Scenes in a day Sometimes we are vainly merry and then as vainly sad sometimes desirous and then averse and with respect to ourselves sometimes pleased sometimes vex'd sometimes amiable and sometimes odious we are more mutable than the Planet that is the Emblem of Inconstancy How often do Clouds of Melancholy darken the bright Serenity of the Spirit and cast a dreadful Gloom over it How oft do Storms of Passion disturb its Tranquillity The Breast of Man that was the Temple of Peace is become a Den of Dragons every exorbitant Affection tears and torments him 'T is true this is also a penal Effect from Divine Justice There is no Peace saith my God to the Wickd With which that Saying of St. Austin is consonant Jussit Domine sic est omnis inordinatus affectus est sibi poena 3. Sin has broke our Agreement with one another When there was a regular Consent between the superiour and lower Faculties in all Men they were in Unity among themselves for they were perfectly alike But the tumultuous and tyrannical Passions have engaged them in mortal Enmity 'T is the account St. James gives From whence come Wars and Fightings among you Come they not hence even of your Lusts that war in your Members Sin kindles and blows the Fire of Discord in Families Cities Kingdoms Sin is the Fury that brings a smoaking Firebrand from Hell and sets the World into Combustion Ambition Avarice the greedy Desires of Rule and Revenge have made the World a Stage of not feigned but the most bloody Tragedies In this Men are not like but worse than the Beasts for the fiercest Beasts of Africa or Hyrcania have a respect for their own Likeness tho they devour others yet they spare those of their own kind but Men are so degenerate as to be most cruel against their Brethren These are some of the Evils that proceed from Sin as their natural Cause And from hence 't is evident that Sin makes Men miserable were there no Hell of Torment to receive them in the next State Secondly I will consider the Evils consequent to Sin as the Penal Effects of the Sentence against Sin of Divine Justice that decrees it and Divine Power that inflicts it and in these the Sinner is often an active Instrument of his own Misery 1. The Fall of the Angels is the first and most terrible Punishment of Sin God spared not the Angels that sinned but cast them down to Hell reserved in Chains of Darkness to Judgment How are they fallen from what height of Glory and Felicity into bottomless Perdition How are they continually rack'd and tormented with the Remembrance of their lost Happiness If a thousand of the prime Nobility of a Nation were executed in a day by the Sentence of a righteous King we should conclude their Crimes to be atrocious innumerable Angels dignified with the Titles of Dominions and Principalities were expell'd from Heaven their native Seat and the Sanctuary of Life and are dead to all the joyful Operations of the intellectual Nature and only alive to Everlasting Pain One Sin of Pride or Envy brought this terrible Vengeance from whence we may infer how provoking Sin is to the holy God We read of King Uzziah that upon his Presumption to offer Incense he was struck with a Leprosy and the Priests thrust him out and himself hasted to go out of the Temple a Representation of the Punishment of the Angels by Presumption they were struck with a Leprosy and justly expelled from the Celestial Temple and not being able to sustain the Terrors of the Divine Majesty they fled from his Presence 'T is said God cast them down and they left their own Habitation 2. Consider the Penal Effects of Sin with respect to Man They are comprehended in the Sentence of Death the first and second Death threaten'd to deter Adam from transgressing the Law In the first Creation Man while innocent was immortal for altho his Body was compounded of jarring Elements that had a natural Tendency to Dissolution yet the Soul was endowed with such Vertue as to imbalm the Body alive and to preserve it from the least degree of Putrefaction But when Man by his voluntary Sin was separated from the Fountain of Life the Soul lost its derivative Life from God and the active Life infused by its Union into the Body It cannot preserve the natural Life beyond its limited Term. A righteous Retaliation Thus the Apostle tells us Sin came into the World and Death by Sin Even Infants who never committed Sin die having been conceived in Sin And Death brought in its Retinue Evils so numerous and various that their kinds are more than words to name and distinguish them Man that is born of a Woman is of few days and full of Trouble at his Birth he enters into a Labyrinth of Thorns this miserable World and his Life is a continual turning in it he cannot escape being sometimes prick'd and torn and at going out of it his Soul is rent from the Embraces of the Body 'T is as possible to tell the number of the Waves in a tempestuous Sea as to recount all the tormenting Passions of the Soul all the Diseases of the Body which far exceed in number all the unhappy Parts wherein they are seated What an afflicting Object would it be to hear all the mournful Lamentations all the piercing Complaints all the deep Groans from the miserable in this present State What a prospect of Terror to see Death in its various Shapes by Famine by Fire by Sword and by wasting or painful Diseases triumphant over all Mankind What a sight of Woe to have all the Graves and Charnel-houses open'd and so many loathsom Carcases or heaps of dry naked Bones the Trophies of Death expos'd to view Such are the afflicting and the destructive Effects of Sin For Wickedness burns as a Fire it devours the Briars and Thorns Besides other Miseries in this Life sometimes the Terrors of an accusing Conscience seize upon Men which of all Evils are most heavy and overwhelming Solomon who understood the Frame of Humane Nature tells us The Spirit of a Man can bear his Infirmity that is the Mind fortified by Principles of moral Counsel and Constancy can endure the Assault of external Evils but a
the weak or faint may be restored The first and last Lesson of Pagan Philosophy was to support Men under the Storms to which they are liable in this open State to render the Soul velut Pelagi rupes immota as a Rock unshaken by the Waves But all their Directions were unsuccessful and so could not secure them from Impatience or Despair But the Gospel that assures us of the Love of God in sending Afflictions for our Spiritual and Eternal Good is alone able to compose the Mind And whenever we faint in Troubles 't is either from Infidelity or Inconsideration 't is impossible a Person should be a Christian and be incapable of Comfort in the most afflicted State for we are really so by the holy Spirit who is the Comforter When we speak sometimes to those we judg infirm we speak to Infidels who only receive Remedy from Time which they ought to receive from Faith they they have the Name of God only in their Mouths but the World is in their Hearts Their Passions are strong and obstinate not subject to sanctified Reason The Difficulty they have of being comforted discovers the necessity of their being afflicted They need Conversion more than Consolation others who are sincere in Faith yet are apt to faint under Troubles from an Error like that of the Apostles when their Lord came upon the Waters in a stormy tempestuous Night to their Assistance they thought he was a Spirit So they look on God as an Enemy when he comes to sanctify and save them the Soveraign Remedy of our Sorrows is to correct the Judgment of Sense by a serious Belief of God's Promise Thus we shall reconcile the roughness of his Hand with the sweetness of his Voice he calls to us from Heaven in the darkest Night 'T is I be not afraid He corrects us with the Heart and Hand of a Father A due Consideration of these things will produce a glorified Joy in the midst of our Sufferings Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our Learning that we through Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures might have Hope SERMON VI. LUKE xiv 23. The Lord said to the Servant Compel them to come in that my House may be full OUR Blessed Saviour in the days of his Humility among other Instances of his admirable Condescension was pleased in his Sermons to stoop to the Capacity of the Hearers and instruct them in a familiar easy way The infirm Eye of Flesh cannot behold Spiritual Things in their immediate Purity and Glory but as shadowed under sensible Comparisons Therefore his excellent Goodness made use of Parables to illustrate and explain by Representations and Patterns borrowed from things common and known things of a sublimer Nature and more distant from our Apprehensions and by this ingaging lively manner to awaken the Spirit to consider by what is said what is signified and to insinuate into the Affections Divine Truths so pleasingly conveyed to us Now of all the Parables in the Gospel this of the Marriage-Feast both in respect of the Excellence of the Matter and the manner of Expression sutable to our Capacity deserves the serious Application of our Minds and Hearts I will make some Observations upon it that may be useful and introductive to the following Discourse Two general Parts are to be considered in it viz. I. The Narrative of the Prepations and the Persons invited to the Feast II. The Success of the Invitation In unfolding these Generals I shall consider the Substance of the Parable without straining it by far fetch'd Parallels beyond the Intention of our Saviour 'T is a curious Folly to turn every Figure in Scripture into an Allegory The Parable is the same in Substance with that in the 22d Chapter of St. Matthew from the 2d Verse to the 15th that indeed has more of Circumstance and Magnificence in the Relation The certain Man that made the Feast is there stiled a King that is the blessed God and the Feast is for the Marriage of his Son Under this Figure of a Royal Marriage is represented the Mystical Marriage between Christ and his Church and the Type is infinitely excell'd by the Reality If we consider the Persons join'd in this Divine Alliance the Son of God of the same Nature of equal and eternal Greatness with his Father to unite himself to sinful miserable Creatures in a Conjugal Relation the most tender and entire What an immense distance was to be overcome What a seeming Disparagement was it to him In order to this it was necessary there should be a Conformity of Nature between us he therefore was made Flesh that we might be one Spirit with him he assumed our Nature in a Personal Union to the Diety that he might marry our Persons in a Spiritual Union He was a Saviour to redeem us that he might be a Husband to inrich us Astonishing Love The Lord of Glory higher than the Heavens stoop'd so low as to espouse poor Dust he gave his Life for us and himself to us for ever What Honour and Happiness accrues to us by this Alliance the Lord of Angels is our Husband His Gifts are answerable to his Love he is Heir of all things and endows his Church with Heaven and Earth the Apostle assures Believers all things are yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's Our Communion with him is so perfect that he discharges us of all the Evils that we cannot bear our Sins and the Curse due to them by taking them upon himself and bestows upon us all the Blessings and Blessedness we are capable to enjoy Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption By the great Supper prepar'd we are to understand the Manifestation of the Messiah with all the most precious and unvaluable Benefits purchased and conferr'd by him upon Believers the Pardon of Sins Adoption into God's Family the Graces and Comforts of the Spirit and eternal Glory the becoming Testimonies of his Greatness and Love The prime Guests invited to this Feast are the Jews the select People of God to whom pertained the Adoption and the Glory and the Covenants and the giving of the Law and the Service of God and the Promises Whose are the Fathers and of whom concerning the Flesh Christ came who is over all God blessed for ever When other Nations were excluded from the Alliance of God his Presence and Worship was their Privilege and for them this Feast was principally intended The Servants employed in the Invitation were first Moses and the Prophets inclusively to John the Baptist all to whom the Oracles of God were committed and by whom the eternal Counsels of his Wisdom were declar'd concerning the Messias All their Prophecies as so many Lines meet in this Centre The other Servants were the Apostles who were commanded to preach the Gospel first at Jerusalem The first order of Servants and the second both proposed the same Messias as the Object of our Faith
Wit to dispute and deride the most sublime and sacred Truths out of the World Their Faces are full of Death the Tokens of Reprobation are visible upon them The Issue will discover them to be the wretched Examples of that fearful Rule Those who are destin'd to final Ruin are infatuated Others are Believers in Profession and their own Conceit but Infidels in Practice Their Faith is but a vain Opinion a loose Assent to the Christian Doctrine because 't is the Religion of the Country but with our Radication and Establishment This is evident considering that the Doctrines of the Gospel are not meerly intellectual the Objects of Theory and Speculation but moral and practical the Objects of our choice and seeking This is a faithful saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Jesus Christ is come into the World to save Sinners Accordingly the unfeigned belief of them is seated not only in the Mind but in the Heart and is correspondent to the infallible Truth and transcendent Goodness of the thing revealed they make such an Impression on the Soul that the value of them is above Life and whatever comes in Competition is with despising Disdain rejected But when Men seldom remember and little regard eternal Things how specious soever the Profession is can there be a reasonable Belief of their Words against their Works Therefore in the Language of the Scripture all that do not first seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the Righteousness thereof are Unbelievers it being morally impossible that Men should sincerely believe and have a due Apprehension of it but it must be the great Design of their Souls and the main Business of their Lives to obtain it 2. Security is the constant Effect of Infidelity and hardens Men in their Sins and the neglect of Salvation so dearly purchas'd and graciously offered to them in the Gospel Direct Infidels set their Mouth against Heaven and defy the Furnace of Hell They are blindly bold and fearless of that Judgment that makes the Devils tremble Others tho not open and palpable Infidels are in a dead Calm not sensible of their Sins and have slight Apprehensions of their great Danger Infidelity lies at the bottom of their Security As the Egyptians in the thick Darkness that covered the Land moved not from their Places so many in ignorant Darkness sit down and are at rest careless of the Saviour that can deliver from the Wrath to come Only those who have strong Apprehensions of Evils imminent and destructive will fly to Christ as a Sanctuary and Shelter and submit to his Terms of saving them Secondly The Corrupt Nature will not submit to the Sanctity and Purity of the Gospel The forecited Scripture tells us the Carnal Mind is Enmity against God and that Enmity is arm'd with many strong Lusts-opposing his Law The principal Cause of rejecting the Gospel is common to all We will not have this Man to reign over us 'T is observable that as Holiness is that Attribute wherein God doth most excel and Men are most defective so the corrupt Will is most opposite to it The Justice and Power of God in some cases Men do approve and apply themselves to if injuriously accused or opprest they desire his Justice to vindicate their Innocence and revenge their Wrongs if in Distress and Exigencies they pray that his powerful Providence may regard and relieve them but they are extreamly averse from his Holiness shining in his Laws which excites his Justice and Power to punish those who rebel against it They are ready to say to Christ what the rebellious Israelites said to Rehoboham Thy Father made our Yoke grievous now therefore make thou the grievous Service of thy Father and his heavy Yoke which he put upon us lighter and we will serve thee They will measure out the scantling of their Obedience how far he shall rule and farther they will not yield But our Saviour declares I am not come to destroy the Law but to fulfil it 'T is true the Gospel is a Covenant of Grace a soveraign Composition of precious Promises of recovering Grace and pardoning Mercy but 't is also a Law and enjoins Repentance towards God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As without Compensation to the Justice so without Conformity to the Holiness of God we can never be restored to his Favour and enjoy him as our Felicity Our Saviour prescribes this indispensable Rule to his Disciples If any Man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me This is a comprehensive Fundamental Duty and the natural Man has a strong Reluctancy to every part of it 1. Self-dependance upon our own Vertues and Duties for the obtaining the Favour of God and the Eternal Reward is very natural to Men it was the Condition of the first Covenant to which they cleave Men of a fair Conversation and unblemish'd in the Eyes of the World have some Sparks of the Pharisee in them who justified himself that he was no Extortioner nor Unjust nor an Adulterer nor as the profane Publican and that he fasted and paid Tithes Upon such Reasons many presume of the Goodness and Safety of their Spiritual State they take Pride and Content in themselves in their Moral Goodness and do not feel the want of a Saviour nor apply themselves with humble mournful Affections to him for Reconciliation to God Others think by the Worthiness of their Works to compensate for the Unworthiness of their Sins to commute one Duty for another and ballance their Accounts with Heaven not considering that if their Works were perfectly good they are but the Performance of their Duty if they had never sinn'd It was one great Obstruction that hinder'd the Jews from receiving the Gospel They being ignorant of God's Righteousness and going about to establish their own Righteousness did not submit themselves to the Righteousness of God One of a high Spirit will rather wear a mean Garment of his own than a rich Livery the Mark of Servile Dependance Pride resists Grace and Grace resists Pride The Law of Faith requires us to renounce not only our Unrighteousness but our Righteousness even the most excellent Graces and the Fruits of them in comparison of Christ and as a Foundation of obtaining the Pardon of Sin and Salvation for ever Our Righteousness is defective and defiled and cannot endure the trial of God's inlightning Tribunal All our Doings and Sufferings cannot expiate the least Sin we must only rely upon the Lord our Righteousness to reconcile us to God and that we may stand in Judgment He was made Sin for us who knew no Sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him not in our selves How hard it is to awaken Men out of the Pharisaical Dream of their own Righteousness is evident both in the Doctrine and Practice of those of the Roman Communion They assert the formal Cause of our Justification in
and the Terrors of Conscience he will blow them up again Now any reigning Lust is a Viceroy of Satan's and keeps Possession for him and consequently excludes the Son of God from Admission into the Heart 3. He perswades Men that Religion in its Power and Strictness is not necessary the abstaining from enormous Crimes and the performance of some outward Service will be available for Salvation Hell is the Portion of the Devil and his Children and none are of his Race but incarnate Devils unclean Spirits in brutish Bodies He makes use of carnal Men under the pretence of Friendship to perswade those who make a Shew of Conscience to be less tender and vigilant by telling them this Strictness is superfluous 't will spoil you make you unsociable and odious the Wise and Learned that think to go to Heaven with the first take a greater liberty they will say Moderation is a Vertue and by the pretence of Temper cherish the loathsom Distemper of Lukewarmness that is as fatal as a deadly Coldness The Tempter will permit Men to make use of Religion as a Medicine a little in fainting Fits to relieve and recover them but not as our daily Food not to be their diligent and constant Practice The crafty Serpent will abuse the Words of the holy Spirit Be not righteous overmuch As Judas said of the precious Ointment poured upon our Saviour Why was this waste so carnal Men are apt to say Why these severe Restraints from satisfying the natural Appetites Why such Circumspection in our walking Why keep the Lord's-day so religiously Is it not enough to hear the Sermons May we not afterwards unbend and enjoy free Society and recreate our selves with carnal Contentments They do not believe that God is so strict in his Commands nor will be so exact in requiring an account for them fond Creatures to entertain such carnal Conceits of God to think him like themselves They are apt to say the Ministers will fetter them all by imaginative Rules of Holiness unprescribed in the Scriptures For Men would fain have the Light and the Law that regulates them to be sutable to their Appetites and Actions But are we not commanded to imitate and honour our Pattern to be holy as our Heavenly Father is holy in all manner of Conversation Are we not enjoined to work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling to cleanse our selves from all Pollutions of Flesh and Spirit and to perfect Holiness in the Fear of God to follow Holiness with the most zealous and unsatisfied Desires that if it were possible we might anticipate Heaven on Earth Can there be any Excuse for neglecting these holy Duties There are none more dangerously deceived than those that think they are holy enough and make no question of the Favour of God and their final Happiness They condemn profane outragious Sinners those who visibly come short of them they think will fall short of Salvation but to excel them they think is a needless Preciseness a Pride of Singularity a Mask of Hypocrisy 'T is one of Satan's Arts to conceal the Good that is in the Saints that they may condemn themselves and to conceal the Evil that is in the Unregenerate that they may flatter themselves How many fall as deep as Hell from such high Hopes for he that does not seriously desire and endeavour to be renewed into the unspotted Image of God was never truly renewed SERMON VIII LUKE xiv 23. The Lord said to the Servant Compel them to come in that my House may be full 3dly IF Conscience be not seared and senseless but awakens Sinners to reflect upon their Condition and to seek for the pardoning Mercy of God he deceives them with false Notions of Faith and Repentance and hinders their entire Compliance with the Terms of Mercy offered in the Gospel Final Unbelief and Impenitence utterly exclude Men from Salvation for the Death of Christ was not appointed to be a Sacrifice for those Sins There is no Salvation to be obtain'd without the Remission of Sin no Remission without the Blood of Christ no Application of that precious Blood without Faith This is the vital Qualification required in all justified Persons for it has a peculiar Efficiency in receiving Christ and Pardon and ascribes the Glory of it intirely to the Mercy of God and Merits of Christ. 'T is said To as many as received him he gave Power to become the Sons of God to those who believed on his Name Receiving is relative to God's Offer of Christ to the Condemned and Miserable and implies the taking him in all the Essentials of his Office as a Prophet to instruct us in our Duty and Happiness by his Word and Spirit as a Priest to atone the Divine Displeasure by his Propitiation and Intercession as a King to govern us by his Law and to bestow spiritual and eternal Blessings on us Faith receives whole Christ as a Kingly Priest and a saving Prince he is stiled a Priest upon a Throne a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Remission of Sins He purchas'd the Forgiveness of Sins as a Priest by his Sufferings on the Cross and pardons as a King upon the Throne from hence it necessarily follows that Faith receives Pardon from him in that Relation wherein he procur'd it and confers it The Apostle declares He died for our Sins and rose again for our Justification and thereby redeem'd us and acquir'd a Dominion over us then 't is clear and consequent that saving Faith receives him for all those Uses for which God did appoint him and accordingly purifies the Heart overcomes the World works by Love and Love is the Spring and Substance of every Duty the fulfilling of the Law Now Carnal Men are deceived in this Imagination that the single Act of resting upon Christ is sufficient to entitle them to the Promise of Salvation to all that believe in him they desire an Interest in Christ to quiet their Consciences and the World to satisfy their Affections They will rest on him as a Redeemer but reject him as a Lord they would enjoy his Salvation but will not endure his Dominion they will come to partake of the Festival-Entertainment the Pardon of their Sins but not for the Honour of the Bridegroom As if the Gospel were a free Charter to Sin and gave an impure Indulgence to the vicious Affections which is as inconsistent with it as the Darkness of the Night with Noon-day in the same Hemisphere for then it would foil it self and frustrate its own End Our Saviour first redeems from Sin from the vain Conversation then from Hell There can be no regular saving Trust on his Death without an unfeigned Resolution to live within the Compass of his Laws He is the Author of Eternal Salvation to all that obey him 'T is a blasphemous Conceit that he will save Men with their Sins If they will die in such a pleasing Dream who can prevent it
Grace in the Gospel The Sum of what has been discoursed of sinful and miserable Man is this The Understanding the directing Faculty is in ignorant Darkness and a dead Slumber not apprehensive of his Misery A dead Eye does not see its want of Sight nor a dead Heart feel its want of Life If the Head be obstructed with clammy Humours the whole Body is without Sense for the Nerves have their Root in the Brain and are the Channels to convey powerful Spirits to give Sense and Vigor and Motion to all the Parts The Will is a fierce and free Faculty commanding and active perverted and stubborn against the holy Law of God The Affections are exceedingly disordered and strongly inclin'd to sensual Things that flatter them with Satisfaction and very tumultuous and fiery against whatever shall cross their natural Inclinations Now how can one so stupid and refractory be made soft and flexible to the Call of Mercy As the Epicurean in Tully objects against the making of the World quae machinae qui vectes What Engines what Leavers were used in raising this vast Fabrick What he spoke in Derision may be said with Wonder What Engines what Instruments are used in craning up a Soul sunk below the Center to the highest Heaven What in making the new Creation that is more glorious and lasting than the first 'T is a Work respectively impossible not absolutely it can only be effected by the Power of God There is no Principle of Recovery left in fallen Man The Conversion of him from Sin to Holiness and from the Creature to God is a Miracle of Grace if he converted himself it were super-miraculous God can by his commanding Power bring Light out of Darkness but 't is plainly impossible that Darkness should produce Light The external Ministration of the Gospel without the concomitant Ministry of the Spirit is ineffective The Divinest Preacher cannot soften the Iron Sinew nor melt the Heart of Stone nor make the Rock to tremble The Prophet Isaiah whose sublime Eloquence overcomes all the admired Orators of the World yet complains Who has believed our Report to whom is the Arm of the Lord reveal'd The Angels of Light if they were sent from Heaven and were in this sense ministring Spirits they could not by their Seraphick Zeal and most excellent Eloquence change and reform Sinners One evil Angel seduced and corrupted the best Man Adam in the State of Innocence and Happiness but a Council of good Angels cannot restore one Man tho the least tainted to Holiness and Felicity No Creature can be a Creator the Sanctification of a Sinner is a new Creation 'T is only the Word of Life spoken by the Lord of Life that can raise dead Bodies and dead Souls Suppose the Word of God be assisted by his Rod yet that will be ineffectual to cleanse and change their Hearts without Divine Grace 'T is according to the wise Order of God whom the Word does not convert the Rod is made use of to cure and whom the Rod does not cure the Sword cuts off Prosperity furnishes the Carnal Appetites with delightful Objects and Men are easily induced to neglect their Duty like Children that forget their Lesson when they are at play Sense that reigns in Beasts and should serve in Men is then predominant But Affliction imbitters the carnal Sweets and is a proper Means to fix the Thoughts and restore the Mind to its Right and Jurisdiction as Blows and hard Usage bind up the ranging Fancy in distracted Persons tames and tires them and thereby reduces them to Sobriety Thus God is often pleased by Afflictions to shew Men their Transgressions to open their Ears to Discipline and effectually command them to return from their Iniquities But without the Instruction of his Spirit joins with the Voice of the Rod the utmost Effect of even sharp and long Afflictions is a forc'd and fading Repentance Constrained Devotion is like Fire struck out of a Flint hardly got and soon gone Thus 't is said of the Israelites in the Wilderness When he slew them they sought him they return'd and sought early after God but their Heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant How many open Rebels have been awaken'd by the fear of Death and when they have tasted and seen the Terrors of the Lord what Addresses what Submissions what Promises have they made to God but after their Reprieve how soon have they forgot the past Terrors and broke all the Bars of Reason and of their Resolutions and been as unreform'd as ever The wise Man tells us Bray a Fool in a Mortar pound him in pieces his Folly will remain in him Nay Miracles without the Application of them by Grace to the Spirits of Men are ineffectual to work Faith and Repentance The End of them is by the Evidence of Sense to excite the Mind to consider the Power that works them But they may astonish the Sense and the Mind not be convinc'd or if convinc'd yet they leave no permanent Operation upon the Hearts of the Spectators Moses charges the Israelites that notwithstanding they had seen all the miraculous Strokes of God's Power upon Pharaoh and his Servants yet the Lord hath not given you an Heart to perceive and Eyes to see and Ears to hear to this day When the Son of God appear'd in his own Likeness and did such numerous and conspicuous Miracles that compell'd the most stubborn Devils to acknowledg his Deity yet the Pharisees remained obstinate and inconvincible The Souldiers who saw him rising in Power and Glory and were almost frighten'd to Death at the sight yet continued obdurate in their Infidelity Our Saviour assures us No Man can come to him except the Father which hath sent me draw him The Words are full of Emphasis No Man the Negation is universal not only the Act is denied No Man comes but the Power can come no less than Omnipotent Grace draws him A carnal Man will not come to Christ for Life and he cannot will to come for his Mind is so fore-laid with Prejudice and his Will is so depraved and intangled with the love of Sin that he cannot sincerely desire to be set free Every delightful Sin is like a charm'd Circle out of which the Sinner cannot move We are not to conceive of this Disability as if Sinners had not deliberative and elective Faculties to consider and choose what is best such a Disability would be an Argument for their Innocence and Justification Neither as if Men had a Will to forsake Sin and wanted Power like a miserable Slave that sighs after Liberty but is fasten'd by heavy Fetters but the perverse Will keeps them in Bondage They serve divers Lusts and Pleasures and delight in their Fetters 'T is a voluntary culpable Impotence join'd with a strong Reluctancy to Grace 't is the impudent imperious Weakness of the Whorish Woman charged upon the Israelites and
Greatness to be frequently in so mean a Work as Preaching whereas the Son of God was a Preacher of the Gospel Others make a Gain of the Flock but put off the Instructing and Care of it to others They will serve Christ by Proxy who died for us in his own Person How can they commit to others the Charge immediately entrusted to themselves What Exemption can they plead what Account can they give to the great Shepherd Thirdly Let Ministers that they may be successful adorn the holy and without Holiness dangerous Office of the Evangelical Ministry by a sutable Conversation Innocence and Abstinence from foul Sins is not sufficient to recommend them but the Power of Godliness and the Beauty of Holiness must shine in their Lives They can never effectually teach others what they do not practise themselves if any Sin reigns in them their Prayers cannot ascend with Acceptance to God and descend with a Blessing on the People Let a Minister preach Divine Doctrine yet if his Conversation be Earthly and Sensual he is more likely to harden Sinners than to convert them How unbecoming and disgraceful are unholy Ministers to their Profession What a Scandal do they give to the Profane and occasion to blaspheme their high and holy Calling Let such prepare themselves for many Stripes they cannot escape a double Damnation for the Neglect of their own Souls and the Souls of others committed to them Though a Heavenly Light shines in their Sermons if in their Practice they are dark Clouds the Blackness of Darkness is reserved for them for ever Fourthly Union among Ministers is a happy Advantage to recommend their Doctrine to the People Division and Jealousy will lessen the Authority and Efficacy of their Preaching If one Dog opens the Deer is not alarm'd but the full Cry rouses him When Ministers with one Consent declare the Wrath of God from Heaven against Sin the Profane and Secure are afraid and the awful Fear of Justice makes them seek for Mercy 'T is true there cannot be expected an entire Conformity in Opinions among the wisest and best Men therefore in Doctrines not so clear nor of that moment as the great Truths a mutual Forbearance is our Duty But to coin Controversies about clear and necessary Truths and obscure them by Opposition is a great hinderance to the Success of the Gospel Some worthy Men earnestly deny the Gospel to be a Law Will they reform the Scripture Is not the Gospel called the Law of Faith the Law of Liberty the Law of the Spirit of Life 'T is true the Gospel is a Covenant of Grace but it has all the Essentials of a Law 't is the revealed Will of the Soveraign Law-giver commanding Sinners to repent and believe upon no less Reward and Penalty than Eternal Life to penitent Believers and Eternal Death to those who disobey the Gospel Now the Command and Sanction are the proper Characters of a Law If we duly consider it the Soveraignty of God is such that whatever Covenant he offers to the reasonable Creature has the Force and Obligation of a Law I instance in this one Point that of late has occasion'd an unhappy Difference O the blessed State above where Ignorance and Strife are abolish'd for ever Fifthly Frequent and earnest Prayer to God is a powerful Means to render our Ministry successful Paul plants and Apollos waters but God gives the Increase Let a Minister be compleatly furnish'd with Learning Judgment Eloquence yet all his Labour will be fruitless without Divine Grace A Key that is exactly fit to all the Wards of a Lock cannot open it without a Hand to turn it Let the most proper and powerful Motives to work upon the reasonable Nature be represented yet they cannot open the Heart unless they are manag'd by the holy Spirit 'T is very observable that in the Narrative of the Miracles by the Prophets some Circumstances are related that declare they were done by the Divine Power Sometime the Command of God was before the Performance thus in all the astonishing Works done by Moses the Command of God was the beginning Take thy Rod stretch out thy Hand and others Orders that demonstrate the miraculous Actions not to proceed from an inherent Virtue in his Person but from a superiour and borrowed Power Sometimes Prayer was addrest to God before the Miracles were done Thus Joshua first speaks to the Lord before he commands the Sun to stand still upon Gibeon and the Moon in the VÃ lley of Ajalon Thus Elias and Elisha revived the Dead by Prayer to the Lord of Life This was declaratory that the Prophets were but Instruments and that God was the absolute Author of them Accordingly in the Conversion of Souls which is a Work as miraculous as any of those illustrious Miracles there must be the Divine Appointment of the Means and ardent Prayer to God for his Blessing 'T is the great Encouragement of Ministers in their Service that whatsoever is God's Ordinance shall effect that for which it is ordain'd the Rod of Moses was powerful to subdue Egypt to drown Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea Three hundred Souldiers with Gideon only arm'd with Lamps and Pitchers destroyed the numberless Army of the Midianites Astonishing Victory And the Gospel is the Power of God to Salvation But Prayer is requisite to obtain the holy Spirit by whose Influence the Word is effectual to recover lost Souls to Heaven And 't is evident that numerous and entire Conversions of Sinners have been by the Ministry of holy Men who made it their great and earnest Request that they might be successful in bringing Souls to Christ. Cold Formalities are unacceptable to God and without Efficacy but Prayer actuated with Life and holy Heat of Affection ascends to Heaven and prevails And what is more worthy of our constant and most ardent Desires than the Salvation of precious and immortal Souls II. To excite Ministers to a faithful Discharge of their Duty let them consider 1. The Example of our blessed Saviour It was one principal Part of his Office to preach the Gospel this he undertook in wonderful Mercy and perform'd with amazing Diligence He rises before Day and retires himself into a solitary Place to pray that he may lose no time in Preaching He preach'd on the Mountain in the Desert in the Ship in the Synagogues in the High-way in the House no Place no Persons no Time was unseasonable It was his Meat and Drink to do the Will of his Father Thus constant and delighted was the Son of God who laid aside his Majesty and Glory that he might instruct the People without terrifying them in his blessed Work How does his Example reprove and upbraid our Negligence How should it inflame us to imitate and honour him 2. His Love to us should make us ardent and active to save Souls as a Testimony of our Love to him Thus he speaks to Peter Lovest thou me
Scepter of David so great a King the Royal Branch of his Family degenerated into a poor Carpenter The greatest in the World and the most proud of their Greatness the Luxurious Voluptuaries shall their Pomp and Delights continue with them in the Grave Can they reign and revel when their Bodies are in the Dust and their Souls in Hell Where is their admir'd Happiness Is it not all dead with them nothing will then remain but the tormenting Remembrance of their Folly But the Word of the Lord endures for ever 'T is an immortal Seed and makes the Ground 't is planted in to live for ever We are assur'd he that does the Will of God abides for ever The Blessedness of Heaven is everlasting as God the Object of it and the Soul that enjoys it There is nothing defective in the State above where Happiness is surrounded with Eternity This is worthy of our most aspiring Ambition of all our Hopes and Desires Now is it possible that the present World as empty as the Froth of the Sea as vanishing as a Puff of Air should be chosen before Celestial Happiness It is by the most so prodigiously are Carnal Men sway'd by Sense that like Brute Beasts they are violently drawn by present Things and little moved by Things spiritual and future The Devil brings ready Money in his Hands and tempts them with this present World The Son of God offers in his Word Eternal Happiness which is despised in the Comparison If one should choose a small Sum at present before the sure Reversion of an Estate that would enrich him all his Life would he not be despised by all for want of Understanding Yet Men allow that Folly in their own Practice that they would condemn in others But such is the Mercy of God that to perswade and prevail with us he uses all the Arguments that can work upon the Minds of Men. Hope and Fear are the strongest Springs to move us he therefore sets before us Heaven and Hell to attract our Hope and excite our Fear He makes use of Hell to kindle our Zeal in seeking the Kingdom of Heaven The most violent Passions are over-ruled by Fear Now in the threatning of Hell all the Motives of Fear are united Little Evils are despised not feared great Evils that may be easily avoided or apprehended very remote are not fear'd But Evils that are imminent and destructive are the most powerful Objects of Fear Now every Man in his sinful State hangs by slender Strings over the bottomless Pit and for his under-prizing and neglect of Heaven falls under the Sentence that determines his State in an everlasting Hell There is no dawning in that Darkness of Sorrow no refreshing in those Flames There is a restless Remembrance of what is lost as a Light that comes through a Cranny in a Dungeon that the forlorn Caitiff may remember the pleasant reviving Light of which he is deprived A thousand Years of Torment cannot expiate the Offences of those who disobey the Gospel they are full of Misery and fuller of Guilt that remains in its Weight upon them for ever The fear of this if duly believed and considered will bridle the strongest Desires after this vain World and make Men wise that they may not perish in their Choice To conclude Let those who are invited to this Heavenly Feast come with the Wedding-Garment 't is an Allusion to the decent Custom of wearing rich Apparel for Ornament and Lustre at Marriage-Solemnities to express Joy and to honour the Persons that are married Accordingly all that are in the Visible Church should adorn the Gospel by a Conversation becoming the Dignity and Purity of their high and holy Calling Unfeigned Faith that unites us to Christ and is effectual and evident in all good Works is the Wedding-Garment The Apostle exhorts the Romans to walk honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envy and whereas it might seem congruous to have added in direct Contrariety to those foul Sins Put on Temperance Chastity Patience and Charity he directs them to put on the Lord Jesus Christ because he is the only Fountain of supernatural Grace by which our Lusts are mortified Faith covers us with the Robe of his Righteousness and clothes us with the Garment of Salvation A counterfeit Livery of Profession will not make us accepted of God Is there any real Christianity without Faith in Christ and is there a lively Faith without Obedience to him Can you be a Subject without Subjection Christ is the King of Saints they are the Citizens of his Kingdom and only enjoy the Privileges of it How many are Christians in Title and Infidels in Practice They live in the bold Contempt of the Divine Law as if they were afraid the Justice of God should not have cause enough to condemn them or they would put it to a ventâ—â—e whether he would be true to his Threatning and punish accordâ—ng to his Law Others tho of a fair Conversation are but haâ—f-Christians they do not sincerely and entirely comply with the Terms of the Gospel to receive Châ—ist for their Prince and Saviour Let such remember the King came iâ— to see the Guests and saw a Man without a Wedding-Garment this signifies God's judicial Observation of all that are in his Church not one can escape his all-discerning Eye â—â—e closest Hypocrite is transparent in his Sight It follows in the Parable He saith unto him Friend How camest thou in hither withouâ— a Wedding-Garment Nothing will be available in Judgment not the most specious and glittering Profession without Faith in Christ and a renewed Heart and Life yet may fondly dream they may be saved tho not sanctified He was speechles reduced to a defenceless Silencâ— and Confusion The Heart of Man is deceitful above all things and above all things deceitful to it selâ— How often in the trial of his Spiritual State by Excuses and faâ—se Glosses he deceives and satisfies himself But there are no Apologies before the King all things are entirely open to his Eyes the Thoughts of Men will be their Accusers and their Works will depose against them And how fearful is the Judgment that follows Then said the King to the Servants Bind him Hand and Foot and take him away and cast him into outer Darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth Bind him Hand and Foot the Expression signifies that the revenging Power of God is inevitable and irresistible Cast him into outer Darkness that signifies the Separation from the reviving Presence and Communion of God there is weeping and gnashing of Teeth the Expression signifies the deepest Sorrow and higest Fury in the Damned What a Discord and Tumult of the tormenting Passions is there What Misery when the quickest Sense to feel and the greatest Evils to be felt are there Hell is an intolerable Climate where cold Despair and hot Rage are in
Extremity for ever FINIS ERRATA PAge 208. line 10. for tost read lost P. 209. l. 10. f. brightest r. highest P. 225. l. 15. f. rest on r. restore P. 232. l. 18. f. Revelation r. Eievation P. 248. l. 7. dele Can. l. 20. f. of r. to P. 251. l. 23. f. furiously r. furious P. 259. l. 8. f. make a shew r. feel the Restraints l. 24. f. our r. their P. 274. l. 20. f. take r. taste P. 350. l. ult f. Sin and the Judgment r. the Sin P. 351. l. ult f. 't is r. his P. 360. l. 7. f. frequently r. frequent P. 324. l. 1. f. it r. and. P. 336. l. 13. f. directing r. decreeing P. 341. l. 7. f. is r. which is l. 10. del not only l. 13. f. but with r. hath ☞ P. 372. l. 19. f. mortal r. immortal Books writ by William Bates D. D. THE Harmony of the Divine Attributes in the Contrivance and Accomplishment of Man's Redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ Or Discourses wherein is shewed how the Wisdom Mercy Justice Holiness Power and Truth of God are glorified in that great and blessed Work In Octavo Considerations of the Existence of God and of the Immortality of the Soul with the Recompences of the future State To which is now added The Divinity of the Christian Religion proved by the Evidence of Reason and Divine Revelation for the Cure of Infidelity the Hectick Evil of the Times In Octavo The Soveraign and Final Happiness of Man with the effectual Means to obtain it In Octavo Several Sermons upon Death and Eternal Judgment In Octavo The Four last Things Death and Judgment Heaven and Hell practically considered and applied in several Discourses In Octavo The Danger of Prosperity discovered in several Sermons upon Prov. 1. 17. In Octavo The great Duty of Resignation in Times of Affliction c. In Octavo A Funeral-Sermon preached upon the Death of the Reverend and Excellent Divine Dr. Thomas Manton who deceased October 18 1677. To which is now added the last publick Sermon Dr. Manton preached In Octavo The sure Trial of Uprightness opened in several Sermons upon Psal. 18. 23. In Octavo A Description of the Blessed Place and State of the Saints Above in a Discourse on John 14. 2. Preached at the Funeral of Mr. Clarkson The Way to the highest Honour on John 12. 26. Preached at the Funeral of Dr. Jacomb The speedy Coming of Christ to Judgment on Rev. 22. 12. Preached at the Funeral of Mr. Benj. Ashurst A Sermon at the Funeral of the Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter ADVERTISEMENT NEwly printed the Holy Bible containing the Old Testament and the New With Annotations and Parallel Scriptures To which is annex'd The Harmony of the Gospels As also The Reduction of the Jewish Weights Coins and Measures to our English Standards And a Table of the Promises in Scripture By Samuel Clark Minister of the Gospel Printed in Folio of a very fair Letter the like never before in one Volume Likewise his Analysis Or A Survey of the whole Bible containing an Analytical Account or Division of all the Holy Scriptures affording a pleasant Prospect into the several Rooms of this sacred Edifice and the Variety of Furniture contained in them Now in the Press Both sold by J. Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-yard Regeramus ipsae crimen atque ultro impiam Venerem arguamus scelere velandum est scelus Senec. Hippolitus 1 Joh. 3. 9. Psal. 100. Psal. 12. 4. Dan. 7. 10. Psal. 103. 20. 2 Cor. 4. 4. Ephes. 2. 2. 1 Tim. 1. James 4. 11. Psal. 19. Psal. 119. 140. Rom. 11. Rom. 1. Psal. 139. 14 15 16. Job 10. 8. Rev. 4. 11. Rom. 7. 10. * Omnes Deos colendos esse sapienti Cur ergo à numero caeterorum ille rejectus est nihil restat ut dicant hujus Dei sacra recipere noluerint nisi quia solum se coli voluerit Aug. de Consens Evang c. 17. Jer. 2. 12 13. Psal. 50. Deut. 29. 17 19 20. Psal. 50. Job Job 22. 13 14. Prima haec est ultio quod se judice nemo nocens absolvit Luke 15. 28. * Lumine qui semper proditur ipsi suo 1 Pet. 1. 22. 1 Joh. 4. 7. John 15. 12. Psal. 15. Psal. 16. Psal. 128. Neh. 2. 1 Joh. 3. 16. Heb. 13. 16. 1 Cor. 10. 31. Phil. 3. 10 11. 1 Joh. 5. 3. Tert. Apol c. 33. James 2. Psal. 19. 7 8. Psal. 119. Luke 16. 17. Mat. 6. 2. 1 Joh. 3. 14. Prov. 3. 12. I. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Job 5. 6. Amos 3. 6. Exod. 10. 13 19. 1 Kings 22. 34. 1 Sam. 16. 11. Mic. 6. 9. Job 11. 12. Psal. 58. 4. Hosea 7. 11. Isa. 26. 11. 2 Sam. 15. 30. Jer. 5. 3. Heb. 3. 13. Zech. 7. 12. Luke 21. 34. 1 Kings 16. Joshua 6. 26. Isa. 9. 9 10. II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prov. 19. 14. Psal. 73. 14. III. Heb. 12. 9. 1 Joh. 4. 9. Job 22. 21. Isa. 1. 5. Levit. 26. 23 24. Amos 3. 5. Prov. 21. 16. Vid. Mr. Mede in loc Rev. 21. 8. Rev. 3. Rom. 12. 12. IV. Amos 3. 4. Job 15. 25 26. 2 Chron. 28. Job 34. 31 32. Psal. 89. 30 31 32. Deut. 8. 5. Ver. 8. In Psal. 25. Ver. 9. 2 Sam. 7. 14. 1 Cor. 10 13. 1 Cor. 11. 32. Rom. 15. 4. Rom. 9. 4 5. Rom. 3. 2. Deut. 18. Psal. 2. Isa. 40. Luke 24. Luke 14. 18 19 20. Ver. 21. Ver. 22. Ver. 23. Ver. 24. Isa. 4. 9 6. Ephes. 2. 12. Rev. 19. 15. 2 Cor. 10. 4 5. Luke 9. 55. Luke 24. 29. Gal. 2. 14. Rom. 8. Gal. 1. 1 Pet. 1. Psal. 49. Job 12. 4. Isa. 6. Deut 25. 17 18 19. Mat. 22. 2 Tim. 1. 1 Cor. 2. 14. Rom. 5. 2 Pet. 1. Eccles. 9. 3. 1 Cor. 1. Rom. 10. 8. Mat. 9. 28. 2 Pet. 3. 5. Luke 15. 14. 1 Kings 12. 4. Mat. 5. Rom. 10. 3. 2 Cor. 5. 21. Luke 16. Mat. 5. Mark 9. Tit. 2. John 6. 64. Mark 6. 20. John 5. 2 Chron. John 1. 12. 1 Pet. 1. 18. Jer. 8. 7. Isa. 53. Job 36. Deut. 29. 4. John 6. 44. * Nec te posse carere velim Ephes. 1. Ephes. 1. 2 Cor. 5. James 1. Exod. 20. 1. Deut. 5. 4. Heb. 4. 12. Mark 1. Rom. 1. 1 Joh. 2. Prov. 3. 17. John 17. 3. Isa. 30. 15. Psal. 37. Rom. 6. Psal. 19. Psal. 84. 2 Cor. 5. Ezek. 33. 11. Rom. 11. 33. John 3. 19. Mat. 25. Heb. 1. 1 Joh. 3. 23. Acts 5. 31. John 6. 37. John 10. 29. John 17. 11. Ephes. 1. Rom. 8. Ephes. 1. 2 Thess. 2. Acts 13. John 12. Luke 13. 28. John 3. 36. Luke 19. 42. John 3. 19. Isa. 1. 10. Heb. 2. 2 Tim. 3. Mat. 24. 45. Prov. 11. 30. Isa. 49. 15. Psal. 7. 11 12 13. 2 Tim. 4. 1 2. Exod. 7. 16 19. 8. 5. 16. 9. Josh. 10. 12. 1 Kings 17. 20 21. 2 Kings 4. 33 34. Mark 8. 35. Mat. 5. 1. Mark 6. 36. Mat. 13. Luke 10. 39. John 4. 34. 1 Cor. 6. 10. Rom. 5. 2 3. 1 Joh. 2. 17. 1 Pet. 1. 25. Isa. 61. 10. Mat. 22. 11 12.