him he also sets his love upon him and manifests it unto him So that as election to life is by God the Father and redemption by God the Son so justification sanctification and restauration into the Image of God is by the Holy-Ghost So that in the unity of the God-head there be three of one substance power and eternity God the Father God the Son and God the Holy-Ghost the Father is of none other begotten nor proceeding the Son is eternally begotten of the Father the Holy-Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son See Math. 3. 16 17 28. 19. 2 Cor. 13. 1 4. 1 Joh. 1. 14. And that the Holy-Ghost is God will appear by these Scriptures Act. 5. 3 4. Peter reproving Annanias for lying said he did lie to the Holy-Ghost and so he lyed not to men but to God so again Isa 6. 9. I heard the Lord speaking which place Paul expounds of the Holy-Ghost Act. 28. 25. Of Gods Decrees WHatsoever God doth in time that did he decree to do from all eternity So that Gods decree is that whereby he hath from all eternity set down with himself whatsoever shall come to pass Ephes 1. 11. If any ask what things are decreed by God I answer 1 all things 2 with their causes 3 with their effects 4 circumstances and 5 manner of being Act. 2. 23. 4. 27 28. Ephes 1. 11. 1. This decree is most wise Rom. 11. 33. 2. Just Rom. 9. 13 14. 3. Eternall Ephes 1. 4 5. 1 Cor. 2. 7. 4. Unchangeable Heb. 11. 17. 5. Most free Rom. 9. 18. 6. The cause of all good Iam. 1. 17. Now the parts of this decree is two-fold first concerning Angels Secondly concerning man and of this decree concerning man there be two parts First Election Secondly Reprobation 1 Thes 5. 9. Iudg. 4. 5. As concerning Angels they also are of two sorts First good Secondly bad First good or excellent 1. For their nature 2. For their gifts 3. For their offices 4. For their estate Secondly bad or evill Angels God from all eternity hath determined of all things together with their causes effects circumstances of place and time means manner and end to the manifestation of his own glory Psal 99. 4. Mat. 10. 29. Rom. 9. 20 21. 11. 36. Pro. 16. 4. Of Election ELection is the decree of God of his free love and grace and mercy choosing some men to Faith holiness and eternall life for the praise of his glorious mercy 1 Thes 1. 4. 2 Thes 2. 13. Ephes 1. 4 5 6. Rom. 8. 29 30. The causes of election was none other but his meer good will and pleasure Luk. 12. 32. Rom. 11. 5. 9. 11. 16. Ephes 1. 5. 2 Tim. 1. 9. The end of election is the manifestation of the riches of his grace and mercy Rom. 9. 23. Ephes 1. 6. Quest Was not Christ and faith and holiness the causes of election Answ No the sending of Christ faith holiness and eternall life are only the effects of Gods love by which he manifesteth the infinite riches of his grace Ioh. 3. 16. 1 Ioh. 4. 10. Acts 13. 4. Titus 1. 1. Col. 1. 12. Rom. 6. 23. God â—eerly out of his good pleasure without the fore-fight of any good in the creature according to his unlimited soveraignty elected a certain number by name unto eternall salvation and he hath decreed to effect all the wayes and means for them and in them to bring them thereto see 2 Tim. 1. 9. 1 Pet. 2. 8. So some are elected unto life out of all sorts of people Mat. 20. 16. Rom 9. 24. Rev. 7. 9. That unto which God hath elected them is 1. To the Adoption of Sons 2. Sanctification of life here 3. And eternall life hereafter The first and only moving cause of Election is the good pleasure and love of God Ephes 1. 5. Rom. 9. 18. Ephes 1. 11. So that Faith is not the cause but the effect of election Act. 13. 48. God is no respecter of persons and yet he elected some and left others when he found no difference A man may come to know in time that he was elected before time 1. We come to apprehend this by Faith 1 Thes 1. 4. 2. By our effectuall calling 3. By our justification 4. By our sanctification Rom. 8. 30. 5 By the testimony of Gods Spirit Rom. 8. 9 16 17. 1 Cor. 2. 10 11 12. 2 Pet. 1. 2 3. 2Cor 1. 21 23. Of Reprobation REprobation is the wise just and absolute decree of God passing by and leaving some men unto themselves to suffer them to fall and to enflict upon them eternall punishment deserved by their sins for the praise of his unspeakable great justice Rom. 9. 11 13 22. Iude 4. Ier. 6. 30. The causes of this decree is the absolute will and good pleasure of God Mat. 11. 26. Rom. 9. 13. The end of this decree is not the condemnation of the creature 〈…〉 â—â—â—ifestation of Gods Justice Rom. 9. 22. Yet election and reprobation in a sense are not the causes of salvation and damnation but Christ is the proper and meritorious cause of salvation and sin the proper and meritorious cause of damnation Election and reprobation they are but precedent acts or decrees and the causes of salvation and damnation they come in between the causes and the execution thereof It is the fore-appointment of certain Angels and men unto everlasting dishonour God of his own free will determining to pass them by refuse or cast off and for sin to condemn and punish them with everlasting death Prov. 16. 4. Exod. 9. 16. Rom. 9. 17. 2 Tim. 2. 20. Mat. 25. 41. Of the Creation ALthough God made man of the dust of the earth yet he could have made him of nothing as he made all things else of nothing in six daies Heb. 11. 3. Exod. 20. 11. 1. In the first day were created the heavens and the earth and light Gen. 1. 1 2. Iob 38. 7. 2. In the next day was the out-spreading firmament or heavens the division of the waters above from the waters beneath Gen. 1. 6 7. 3. In the third day there was a two-fold work first a gathering of the waters in one place secondly a bringing forth of hearbs Gen. 1. 9 10 11 12. 4. In the fourth day was made the Sun Moon and Stars to give light on the earth and to be for signs and seasons and for dayes and years Gen. 1. 14 15 16 17. 5. In the fift day there was a twofold work the creation of all sorts of fish in the sea and fouls in the air Gen. 1. 22 23. 6. In the sixth day there was also a twofold work the creation of all sorts of beasts upon the earth and the creation of man whom the Lord made in his own Image Gen. 1. 24 25 26 27. 7. The seventh day the Lord made a Sabboth of rest and blessed that day above all other dayes and did also sanctifie it The
rely upon his providence for all the means of this temporal life and to rest contented with that allowance which he shall think fit for us Psal 4. 11 12. Yea in this petition we beg health wealth food sleep rayment house c together with all the helps and means to attain them and that he would give us care and conscience to get those needfull things by lawfull means that labouring with our hands the thing that is good we may eat our bread Eph. 4. 28. 2 Thes 3. 12. 5. The fifth petition And forgive us our debts as even we forgive them that are debtors to us In this petition there is a frank and humble confession that we have sinned and stand guilty of original and actual transgressions and that there is no power in us to make satisfaction sor our sins for by the Law as by an obligation every man standeth bound to keep it holy and continually Deut. 27. 26. Gal. 3. 10. James 2. 10. So that the breach thereof even once and in the least point maketh us debtors presently as having forfeited our obligation So that no man can make amends unto God for it considering that whatsoever he doth after the breach is both imperfectly done and if it were perfect yet it is due by obligation of the Law and therefore cannot go for payment no more then a man can pay one debt with another 6. The sixt and last petition And lead us not into temptation but delievers from evil In this petition we pray that not only our sin may be pardoned but also that it may be mortified Rom. 6. 1 2. and that we may be either kept from temptation or preserved by his grace from being hurt thereby 1 Cor. 10. 13. 2 Cor. 12. 9. The effect of temptation without the special grace of God is extreamly evil to wit sin and damnation 1 Tim. 6. 9. Now seeing we cannot be tempted without the will of God Job 1. 10. nor resist without his power 2 Cor. 12. 9. If it be his blessed will that he would not let us fall into the one unless he preserve us in the other and that he would tie up Satan and restrain his malice and power or else make us wise to know and avoid his stratagems Of the World Flesh and Devil the three great enemies of man First of the World TAke the world in all its beauty bravery and glory and you shall find sorrow attend worldly joy danger attend worldly safety and loss attend worldly joy labours and tears attend worldly prosperity Where one thousand are destroyed by the worlds frowns ten thousand are destroyed by the worlds smiles it sings to us and sinks us it kisseth us and betrayeth us Let heaven be a mans object and the world will soon be a mans subject the fashion of this world passeth away why should we set our eyes upon that which is not heaven hath a foundation the earth hath none again worldly light is mixt with darkness Joy with sorrows pleasure with pain honour with dishonour riches with want wine with water honey with gall and our Sugar with wormwood and roses with prickles in a word worldly comforts entertained with great delight are seldom lost without exceeding great Sorrow and grief Of the Riches of this world THE good things of this world are not so absolutely given us but that God retains still a right to it and an interest in it and may demand it how and when he please And usually the worst of men have most of these outward things and the best of men have least of earth and most of heaven A man may be great and graceless with Pharaoh honourable and damnable with Saul rich and miserable with Dives A man may have enough of the world to sink him but he can never have enough of the world to save him A man may as soon fill a bag with wisdom and a chest with vertue or a circle with a tryangle as the heart of man with any thing here below therefore it is better to be gracious then great inwardly holy then outwardly happy the riches of this world although well gotten are but like the manna those that gathered less had no lack and those that gathered more had little or none to spare the consideration of this raysed up the spirits of those Saints Heb. 11. to triumph upon all the beauty bravery and glory of the world they having acquaintance with and an interest in a better and more durable riches these are uncertain riches For one storm at Sea one coal of fire one false friend or one unavised word may make a rich man a beggar and a prisoner altogether Oh how do riches hinder the actings of Faith upon God how do they interrupt our sweet communion with God how doth it abate our love to the people of God and cool our love to the things of God oh the deadness dulness and the barrenness that attend men having large possessions in this world and when they fall sick a crown of Gold cannot cure the head ach nor a velvet slipper the gout nor a chain of gold about the neck cannot take away the pain of the teeth Many times he that we account the richest man is the poorest man in the world VVE account him a poor man that doth want meat for his belly cloaths for his back and money in his purse and a house to put his head in and in this respect every man that is out of Christ although the most richest and honourablest man in the worlds account is but a poor man 1. He is a poor and beggarly man that hath no money in his purse now if your bags be full of gold and silver and your hearts empty of grace you are poor and beggarly in a Scripture account yea you are poor and blind and miserable and naked Rev. 3. 17. 2. He is a poor man that hath no meat to put in his belly but every man that is out of Christ doth not nor cannot feed upon that true manna the bread of life nor drink of that water of life John 6. 55. 3. He is a beggarly man that hath not an house to put his head in this is the case of all those that have no interest in Christ when death cometh they know not what to do nor where to go unless it be into a dungeon of darkness full of devils and damned Spirits Mat. 25. 41. 4. He is a poor man that hath no clothes to put on his back thus every man out of Christ is not only poor but naked too Rev. 3. 17. surely he is the poorest man in the world for he wanteth an interest in God Christ the Spirit and promises he wanteth peace with God and peace in conscience he wanteth acceptation and reconciliation he wanteth righteousness Justification and adoption and redemption he wanteth the pardon of sin and power against sin and freedom from the reign of sin he wanteth those riches that perish
miserable then the beast that perisheth in the ditch for I must go to answer before the Judgement seat of the Righteous judge of heaven and earth where I shall have none to speak for me and I cannot excuse my self my own heart already condemns me I must needs therefore be condemned before his Judgement seat me thinks I hear that doleful sentence Mat. 25. 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his Angels If I should say Lord If I must depart from thy blessed presence then bles me before I go Then he will answer me as in the text Depart ye cursed Lord if I must depart and depart without a blessing and with a curse let me go into some good place no saith the Lord in the same text Depart ye cursed into Hell fire but Lord if I must depart and depart cursed and be cast into Hell fire Let me stay but a little while there then the Lord will answer as in the same text Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire But Lord saith the damned soul if I must depart and depart cursed into everlasting fire Let me have good company there no saith the Lord Depart into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels These shall be thy companions Oh horror to to think Oh grief to consider Oh cursed be the day wherein I was born cursed be the man that shewed my Father saying a child is born unto thee Cursed be the man because he shew me not Oh that my mother might have been my grave How is it that I came forth of the womb to endure these hellish Sorrows and that my daies should thus end with eternal shame And thus he who made earth his Paradise his belly his God his lust his Law and so sowed vanity now he reapeth misery in his prosperity he neglected to serve God in his adversity God refuseth to save him and the Devil whom he served now at at last pays him his wages thus far of the miseries of the soul and body in Death which is but cursedness in part Of the sad Condition and Misery of all out of Christ after death ANd here I shall not say much but only give the Reader a tast of that state and then speak at large to this thing towards the close of this book when we speak of the last Judgment and end of all things Now the misery of the soul after death is either particular or general particular is that which liteth upon the soul immediately as soon as she is separated from the body she is said to stand before the throne of God and so forthwith she is carried by the evil Angels with violence into hell where she is kept as in a prison in everlasting pains and chains under darkness unto the Judgement of the great day but not in that extremity of Torments which she shal receive at the last day there thy lascivious eyes shall be afflicted with sights of ghostly spirits Thy curious ears shall be affrighted with hinous noyse of howling Devils and the gnashing teeth of damned Reprobates thy dainty nose shall be cloyed with noysom stench thy delicate taste shall be pined with intolerable hunger and thy drunken throat shall be parched with nnquenchable thirst thy mind shall be tormented to think how foolishly thou hast lost heaven and gotten hellish pains for momentary riches thou hast lost the eternal treasure and changed heavens felicity for hells fury where thou shalt have punishment without pitty misery without mercy sorrow without succour crying without comfort mischief without measure torment without ease where the worm dyeth not and the fire is never quenched where the wrath of God shall fall upon the soul and body as the flame of fire doth on the Lump of pitch or brimstone in which flame thou shalt ever be burning and never consumed ever dying and never dead ever roaring in the pangs of death and never rid of those pangs this is the second death which every damned Reprobate must suffer so long as God and his Saints shall enjoy bliss and felicity in Heaven for evermore Hitherto of the misery of man in the state of corruption now followeth the means that every one should use to escape this sad condition that they may not go out as the snuff of a candle but lay down their lives in peace in assurance or at least some hope of their salvation A Preparation for death that it may not come upon us before we are ready to dye DEath having something to say to every man in every state and condition it is but reason that all should hearken to the message Now he that desires to live sweetly and die comfortably let him observe these and the like Rules First there are six things to be considered Secondly there are seven things to be practised First of the first there are six things to be considered viz. 1. The fewness of our years moneths weeks and dayes 2. The frailty of our Nature 3. The Many dangers we every day pass through 4. That death is no respecter of persons 5. That death to the godly is but a change of place not of company 6. Consider that death to a Christian is but a house a bed a sleep a rest c. 1. The fewness of our years moneths weeks and dayes here in this life is swifter then a weavers shuttle Job 7. 6. It is a shrub a leaf a reed a rush a grass a smoak a cloud a wind a water a bubble a vapour a shadow a nothing and so at our best estate altogether vanity Psalm 39. 5. Isa 64. 6. Psalm 102. 3. 2 Sam. 14. 14. Jam. 4. 14. 1 Chron. 29. 15. 2. Consider the frailty of our nature Psal 39. 4. Lord make me to know my end and the measure of my dayes what it is that I may know how frail I am such is the swiftness of mans dayes and shortness of mans life and frailty of his nature that the swiftest shortest and frailest things for the most part that we read of are not swift frail and short enough to compare mans life unto mans body is but a magazine and hospital of diseases and diseases are but the messengers or forerunners of death when diseases are in the house then death is at the threshold when sickness is in the chamber death is at the window our body is but a cottage of clay and that so frail and crasie as were it not once or twice every day daubed over it would fall about our ears wheresoever we go we are fain to drag this clod this clay whereas Angels free from the shakles of flesh can move from earth to heaven and from heaven to earth even as swift as can our thoughts Oh that we were as low in heart as condition 3. Consider the many dangers we every day pass through 2 Cor. 11. 26. In perils of waters in perils of Robbers in perils amongst our friends and foes in perils in
sleep and other former helps 2. They shall be raised as before in incorruption whereby they shall never be subject to any manner of imperfection blemish sickness or death 3. In Glory whereby their bodies shall shine as bright as the Sun in the firmament Three glimpses of which Glory were seen first in Moses face secondly in the transfiguration thirdly in Stephens countenance Three instances and assurances of the Glorification of our bodies at that glorious day see Exod. 34. 27. Mat. 17. 2 3 4. Acts 6. 15. 4. In agility whereby our bodies shall be like Angels free from these shakles of clay and so move from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven even as swiftly as can our very thoughts they shall saith the Prophet renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Aeagles they shall run and not be weary they shal walk and not faint Now if any ask how long it shall be after this first resurrection before the rest of the dead shall rise then I answer we find it recorded Rev. 20. 5. But the rest of the dead lived not untill the thousand years were finished I dare not expound this text for want of Light Now as we read of a first and second resurrection so we read of a first and last Judgement or of a particular and general Judgement Viz. Every man in particular appears before the Judgement after the hour of his death Heb. 9 27. But fully and generally upon all men after the second coming of Christ Act. 17. 31. The death of every one severally goeth immediately before the particular Judgement so the general resurrection of all goeth before the final judgement which shall be at the last day but there shall be a great distance of time between the resurrection of the Elect and the reprobate So there shall be a great difference between the resurrection of the one and of the other c. Viz. 1. The Elect shall be raised as members of the body of Christ by vertue derived from his resurrection the reprobate as malefactors shall be brought forth of the prison of the grave by vertue of the Justice of God 2. The Elect shall come forth to everlasting life which is called the resurrection of life The reprobate to shame and perpetual contempt called the resurrection of Condemnation 3. The bodies of the Elect shall be spiritual that is glorious powerful nimble Phil. 3. 21. But the bodies of the Reprobates shall be full of uncomeliness and horror and lyable to extream torment Of the Reign of Christ or kidgdom of Christ in this world though not of this world AS to this point I cannot write as to the former but under correction and with submission to better Judgements I crave leave to present mine and then let me tell the Reader I have seriously read once and again over and over all that I have heard of and met with both for the personal Reign and also against the personal Reign of Christ and searched the Scriptures and debated and reasoned with Christians many times for many moneths and I cannot yea I dare not positively affirm any such thing nor totally in any sense warily understood deny it For the Scriptures seem to point at such a thing although I do not find it so fully confirmed as many people of note pretend it doth so then although I dare not say the Kingdom of Christ is of this world yet I dare not deny but his Kingdom in a sense may be in this world Though I cannot affirm that he shall Reign personally on earth a thousand years yet I have some ground to affirm that he shall Reign spiritually aâ—d have a spiritual Kingdom for a season or else what means that Scripture Rev. 11. 15. And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying the Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign Doth not this Scripture point to the same thing Dan. 7. 27. And the Kingdom and Dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heavens shall be given to the people of the Saints of the most high and all Nations shall serve and obey them Doth not the Prophet Isaiah speak to the same thing Isal 2. 2 3. And it shall come to pass in the last daies that the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hils and all Nations shall flow unto it for out of Sion shall go forth the Law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem Isai 1. 26. And I will restore thy Judges as at the first and thy Counsellors as at the beginning Jer. 3. 15. And I will give you Pastors according to mine heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the Light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be seven-fold Isai 11. 6. Then shall the Wolf dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid c. Vers 7. And the Cow and the Bear shall feed their young and the Lion shall eat straw like the Ox. ver 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea Jer. 32. 39. And I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me for ever Zech. 14. 9. Then the Lord shall be one and his name one Zeph. 3. 9. For then will I turn to the people a pure language that they may all call upon the Lord to serve him with one consent Act. 3. 19. Is not this the times of refreshing that shall from the presence of the Lord Acts 3. 21. Is not this the time of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his Prophets since the world began Compare this with Acts 19. 21. and Rom. 8. 19 20 21 22. Shall not the Jews be converted and imbrace the Gospel and the fulness of the Gentiles come in Rom. 11. 12. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles How much more their fulness ver 15. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world What shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead ver 26. And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob Isa 35. 6 7. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for in the wilderness shall waters break forth and streams in the desart and the parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of water Deut. 28. 13. Dan. 7. 27. Then the Lord shall make his people the head and not the tail Zeph. 3.
understand these four choise things viz. 1. That Christ by the will of God gave himself a Ransome and sacrifice of a sweet smelling Savour unto God in behalf of the Elect Joh. 6. 7. Heb. 5. 10. 10. 9 10. Eph. 5. 2. 2. That this ransome was alone and by it self a perfect satisfaction to Divine Justice for all their sin Heb. 1. 3. When he had by himself purged our sins sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high Heb. 10. 10. by the which will we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all verse 14. For by an offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified 1 John 1. 7. The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin 3. That God accepted it and declared himself well pleased and fully satisfied therewith Mat. 3. 17. And loe a voice from heaven saying this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Isa 4. 2. 1 4 6. I will give thee for a Covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles c. God was so well pleased in him that he hath Covenanted and sworn that he will never remember their sins nor be wroth with them any more Isa 43. 25. 4. That by this ransome of his we are delivered from the curse of the Law Gal. 3. 13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us To close up all as to the nature of this Covenant Let me tell thee the main substance of the Covenant is in these words I will be their God and they shall be my people but sprinkling with clean water taking away the stony heart and giving a heart of flesh all these are nothing but the fruits of the Covenant So Christ is given for a Covenant to the people that is the Covenant of Grace takes its being from Christ to us Adam was all mankind as all mankind was in Adam in the loyns of Adam so Christ is the Covenant and all the Covenant is as it were in the loins of Christ and springs to us out of him in this sense he is the Covenant-maker he is the Covenant-undertaker he is the Covenant-manager he is the Covenant-dispenser he doth every thing in the Covenant he makes the articles he draws God the Father to an agreement unto the articles Psal 110. 3. thy people shall be a willing people in the day of thy power and God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself 2 Cor. 5. 9. Hence Christ is also called the Mediator of the Covenant that is he is one that hath the managing of it on both sides and he alone is able to bring both sides together and make up a conclusion and thus Christ is the Covenant and the Mediator of the Covenant c. The second thing to be enquired into is with whom this Covenant was first made THis Covenant was not made with us but with Christ for us God did not immediately make this Covenant with us we were children of disobedience and of wrath who were not capable of any such Covenant and conditions but it was made with Christ for us that upon the making of his soul an offering for sin he would give unto his seed eternall life Zech. 9. 11. As for thee also by the blood of thy Covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water Adam lost his righteousness the foundation of the first Covenant But the righteousness of Christ the second Adam can never be lost it being grounded upon better promises Heb. 8. 6. The Covenant made with Christ hath these promises Gen. 12. 3. In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed 2 Cor. 1. 20. All the promises of God are Yea and Amen in him so then this Covenant was made with him actively as a person that performed all the conditions upon which the promises were grounded but with us passively as the Persons to whom the benefits of these promises do belong if Christ merited nothing for himself but wholly for the Elect of God then all the promises made to him do belong to them or the Covenant which was made with him as Mediator doth belong to us for whom he doth mediate Now the parties concerned in this Covenant are first God the Father and Jesus Christ the Mediator and the Church or body of Christ for whom he was to mediate Now this Covenant being made with Christ he as a Surety is bound to perform and see performed all the duties that God requires of believers so he was arrested and brought to the bar of Gods justice where he is convicted adjudged and arraigned as a sinfull transgressor so he suffered the uttermost rigor of the Law and not one grain of justice abated him nor a farthing of the debt forgiven him no nor so much as one sin unaccounted for or blotted out till satisfaction was first made and given But after the full account and perfect payment this Surety Christ Jesus pleaded for a dismission and discharge and so got a generall discharge acquittance and releasment under the King of Heavens hand and seal for us c. If any man desire further satisfaction whether this Covenant was first made with Christ for us yea or no. Let him consult with these precious Scriptures Psalm 89. 24 27 28. Hebr. 13. 20. Isaiah 42. 6. Isa 55. 3. Zach. 6. 13. Isa 50. 56. Zach. 9. 11. Isa 53. 10. Now if any one ask what were the conditions between the Father and the Son when this Covenant was made they are as followeth First see what God the Father promised unto Christ on his part 1. That he would anoint him and fill him with the Spirit above all others Heb. 1. 9. Isa 11. 2. 2. That he would prepare him a body to sacrifice for sins Heb. 10. 5 10. 3. That he would uphold him and strengthen him that he should not be ashamed by the things he should suffer Isa 42. 6. 50. 5 7. 4. That he would justifie and glorifie all his seed Isa 50. 8. Joh. 17. 22 24 Isa 53. 11. 5. That he should see and enjoy the travell of his soul and the purchases of his blood Isa 53. 10. Heb. 2. 7. 6. That he should have all power in heaven and in earth given him till all his enemies were made his footstool Ephes 5. 25 27 Matthew 28. 18. 1 Cor. 15. 28. Next let us examine what Christ did perform or promise to perform on his part 1. To become a Mediator Surety and Saviour for all those that his Father should give him Heb. 8. 6. Heb. 7. 22. Act. 13. 23. Ioh. 17. 11 12. Ephes 1. 10. Col. 1. 20. 1 John 2. 1. 2. To take upon him the nature of man and so to become flesh in his Fathers appointed time Gal. 4. 4. Mat. 11. 27. John 17. 4. 3. That he would glorifie his Father by keeping revealing and doing his will John 15. 10. John 6. 39. 4.
that against fundamentals of Faith Christ and his Offices those are fundamentals 1 Cor. 3. 11. Eph. 2. 20. yet the Apostles as we said before till the sending of the Holy Ghost upon them were in an errour about Christs Kingly Office taking it to be temporal rather then spiritual Justification by Faith alone is a Fundamental Rom. 3. 28. Gal. 4. 5 6. yet for a season as before the Galatians lay under that gross errour of that necessity of Legal works with Faith But it is a dangerous thing for any of the Lords people to fall into such gross errours hereby their minds are darkened Eph. 4. 18. and corrupted 2 Cor. 11. 3. bewitched Gal. 3. 1. Now consider how grievous it is to have a mans mind corrupted if the mind be darkness how great is that darkness c. Oh here is the love of God in restoring his people again into the truth and yet for all this he calls them the children of truth 1 Joh. 3. 19. they can do nothing against the truth but for the truth 2 Cor. 13. 8. their loins are girt about with truth Eph. 6. 14. whereas carnal men remain in errour and are men 1. Of corrupt minds destitute of the truth 2 Tim. 3. 8. and turning away their ears from the truth 2 Tim. 4. 4. 2. Or they hold the truth in unrighteousness Rom. 1. 18. 3. Or they are not able to come to the knowledge of the truth 2 Tim. 3. 7. 4. They have no love to the truth 2 Thes 2. 9 10. and no wonder if such persons be unstable and led away with the errour of the wicked c. Of Knowledge first of God secondly of our selves the properties of it and means of attaining it and the benefits we have by it Of Knowledge TO lack knowledge is a very evil thing to scorn to learn is worse and to hate knowledge is worst of all Hos 6. 6. I desired the Knowledge of God more then burnt offerings Hos 4. 1. The Lord hath a controversie with the inhabitants of the Land because there is no knowledge of God in the Land 1 Cor. 15. Some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame Hos 4. 6. My people perish for want of knowledge Prov. 1. 22. How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and fools hate knowledge Prov. 2. 16. When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul discretion shall preserve thee understanding shall keep thee Eph. 2. 17. Therefore be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is What shall I say more knowledge is that understanding which we have both of God and his Word and Will and of our own selves it is a store-house of all wisdom and the beginning of salvation it is a spiritual vertue to speak little and well words are the shadow of works and works the substance of words much talking and little practising is like to an empty vessel that doth give a greater sound then they that be full much knowledge little practise is like a great tree that makes a large shew but bears no fruit To close up this first of knowledge in general let me tell the Reader that a man without knowledge is as a workman without hands or as a painter without eyes or as a traveller without legs or as a ship without sails or as a bird without wings or as a body without a soul there is a threefold knowledge or illumination First general and natural the light of Reason Secondly spiritual and supernatural Thirdly there is a knowledge of middle illumination betwixt these two more then meerly natural but less then truly supernatural Of the knowledge of God SOme have not the knowledge of God saith the Lord by his servant Paul I speak this to your shame 1 Cor. 15 c. Again another Scripture saith This is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent John 17. 3. Again it is death to be ignorant of him for he will come in flaming fire rendering vengeance on them that know him not 2 Thes 1. 8. So that all regenerate persons have true knowledge though it be an imperfect knowledge they do truly though weakly know God as doth appear in these Scriptures Jer. 31. 34. John 6. 45. 1 Cor. 13. 9 12. 1 John 5. 20. In a word to know him is to know all things for they have their being from him to be ignorant of him is to be ignorant of all things So that such an one doth know nothing as he ought to know Let the reader turn to the first page of this book where I have laid down as much as I understand in this mysterie Of the knowledge of our selves IT is a most excellent thing for a Christian to know himself and then at the best he would see himself to be but vanity and an unpofitable servant to God and so begin to cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils Oh what are the best of men they have no better lodging for his noble soul then a cottage of clay and that so frail and crasie as were it not once or twice a day dawbed over it would fall about his ears and wheresoever he goes he is forced to carry this clog this clay Whereas Angels free from these shakels of flesh can move from heaven to earth even as swiftly as can our very thoughts Nay take the best piece in man his soul search and see his understanding is full of darkness blindness and vanity Psal 94. 11. 1 Cor. 2. 24. Unteachableness and incredulity See 2 Cor. 4. 4. Secondly the will of man is wholly depraved as being contrary to God his will word and spirit in all things it will not depend nor wait on God it is unconstant in good resolutions it is very apt to disobey the will of God as we may see in Father Adam Thirdly as for the memory that is also full of corruption that it will forget the things that it should remember and remember the things it should forget it will hold fast trifles and let go matters of moment Fourthly The Conscience that is wholly corrupted that is without feeling whereas it should excuse or accuse It doth abuse and pervert the light it hath by making great sins small and small sins great Fifthly Our affections they are also corrupted they come as a tempest and carry us away either to make us over-love or over-grieve or over-joy and so we hate our brother whom we should love and love our lusts whom we should hate What shall I say our understanding is darkened our will depraved our affections disordered our memory misimployed and conscience benummed c. We were conceived in sin brought forth in iniquity we have lived in vanity and without the riches of Gods grace we shall dye in misery The Charecters or Properties of true knowledge 1. THE knowledge that is from God subjects the soul
promises will support a distressed soul and reduce a wandring soul hope in the promises will confirm staggering souls and some undone souls The promises are the Anchor of hope as hope is the Anchor of the soul See Rom. 8. 24. Gal. 5. 5. Tit. 1. 2. 3. Hope hath much in reversion though little in possession hope can see a glimpse of heaven through the thickest cloud hope can see light through darkness life through death smiles through frowns and glory through misery hope holds life and soul the together it holds the soul and the promises togeit holds the soul and heaven together 4. Hope never takes off but puts the soul upon doing and obeying 1 Pet. 1. 3. it gives life and strength to all our duties 1 Cor. 9. 10. 5. Hope will enter into that within the vail Heb. 6. 19. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast which entreth into that within the vail 6. Another property of hope is this it will help a soul to wait patiently upon God for any thing it doth stand in need of Rom. 8. 25. For if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it Of the encouragements to encourage us to hope in God 1. FIrst this is the way for a Christian to enjoy himfelf and to have God take pleasure in him also Psal 147. 11. The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy Psal 33. 18. Behold the eye of the Lordis upon them that fear him upon them that hope in his mercy to deliver their souls from death c. 2. A believers comfort hope joy and confidence should be the same at all times and that for these five unanswerable reasons 1. Because God is unchangeable John 13. 1. 2. Because God ever looks upon his as they are in Christ Gal. 5. 17. Psal 103. 14. 3. Because the hope and comfort of a believer depends not upon his own doings but upon Christs holiness and righteousness 1 Cor. 1. 30 2 Tim. 1. 9. Heb. 13. 8. 4. Because Christ and all true believers in a sense are one 1 Cor. 12. 12 13. Ephes 5. 30. Heb. 2. 11. 5. Because we are not beloved for our own sakes but for Christs sake Mat. 3. 17. compared with Isa 43. 25. Mich. 7. 18 19 20. 6 I might speak of many more encouragements viz. As God doth command us to hope in him and commends us for so doing and blames and threatens us for not hoping in his mercy But if I should speak of every thing distinctly I perceive my book would swell to a greater volumn then I intended Of the distinguishing Characters between a well grounded and a presumptuous hope 1. FIrst the hopes of a regenerate man it is gotten by and grounded upon the word of God and therefore it is called the hope of the Gospel Col. 1. 23. Rom. 15. 4. But now the hopes of wicked men as they are gotten they know not how so neither do they know upon what they are grounded c. 2. True hope is bottomed upon the mercies of God and the merits of Christ and hence it is that Christ is called our hope 1 Tim. 1. 1. Because he is the foundation upon which believers do build all their hopes But now the false and presumptuous hopes of the wicked are built upon their own duties what they have done for themselves Mich. 3. 11. 3. True hope doth as well act for heaven as hope for heaven Psal 37. 3. Trust in the Lord and do good here is trusting and doing put together true hope doth act for heaven as well as hope for heaven But a presumptuous hope that hopes for heaven as its end but never acts holiness as its way to heaven in a word false hope doth hope much and act little Wicked men will hope for salvation but not work out their salvation c. 4. He that hath true hope doth make conscience to keep his heart pure and free both from the love of sin and the dominion of sin 1 John 3. 3. He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself as he is pure that is he doth endeavour so to do at least But now a false hope will hope for heaven though he walk on after the imaginations of his own heart as in Isaiah 51. 10. Thou hast walked in the greatness of thy wicked waies yet sayest thou not there is no hope though they had great sins yet they had great hopes for heaven but this hope is only a presumptuous hope 5. True hope flows from a long and well grounded experience in the waies of God and from an experience of the grace and beauty and love of God to him and from experience of the goodness and mercy and promises of God and also from an experience from his own heart which in some measure is enabled by Christ to withstand temptations subdue corruptions Such experiences as these are inlets to a well grounded hope But now the hopes of wicked men and women are only the results of ignorance deluding and presumptuous hopes without any former experience of the ways of God surely such hopes are vain and empty hopes that will end in miserv Prov. 11. 7. The hope of the wicked shall be cut off and when he dies his expectation shall perish See Job 8. 14. Whose hope shall be cut off and whose trust shall be a spiders Web. See Job 11. 20. Their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost therefore let us take heed that we do not fancie to our selves false hopes of heaven on the one hand and have as much care on the other hand that you do not cast off grounded hopes and say there is no hope and have as much care that you do not harbour in your hearts common and ordinary conceits of this grace of hope for there is the same certainty the same excellency and the same efficacy in this grace of hope as there is in Faith and love First there is the same certainty in it Heb. 6. 11. It is called the full assurance of hope Secondly there is the same excellency in it Tit. 2. 13. It is called a blessed hope and there is also the same efficacy in it for as faith is said to purifie the heart Act. 15. 9. So likewise doth hope 1 John 3. 3. Every man that hath this hope in him doth purifie himself as he is pure Again there is the same difficulty in getting hope as there is in getting Faith for as it is gotten by the word preached so is hope too Col. 1. 23. And if Faith be wrought in us by the power of God as Heb. 12. 2. So is hope likewise wrought in us by the power of the Holy Ghost Rom. 15. 13. That ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost let our faith and hope then â—e in God 1 Pet. 1. 21. and let us not be moved away from the hope of
prayers and resolutions This doth add perjury to our Iniquity Quest Who are those that are nearest related one to another in this life amongst the sons of men Answ The members of Christ whether strong or weak high or low Religion puts men into the nearest Union and the most endeared Relations they who are united together in the blood of Christ are knit together in the strongest bands Quest Whether sin may be dying when in our own apprehnesion and in the apprehension of others it is rather increasing Answ Corruption may be then most enfeebled when in our own apprehension it is most enraged viz. A coal of fire glows most a little before it goes out and a candle burning into the socket gives a blaze even as it is going out a long dark night sometimes is most darkest a little before break of day the devil rageth most when he is nearest chaining up many a Fowl fluttereth most when his neck is broken or his head cut off Quest Seeing all men under heaven are either in the state of Nature or in the state of Grace how may we know who is in the state of Nature and who is in the state of Grace or what are the distinguishing Characters of the one and also of the other 1. A man in the state of Nature is one that doth live and walk in an open or secret course of sin contrary to the Scriptures and the light of Nature 2. He is one that doth live quietly and securely and contentedly in a secret state of ignorance 3. He is one that doth rest upon and glory in a form without a power 4. He doth in his judgement prefer and in his will deliberately chuse the things of this world before the things of Christ 5. He is one that doth contemptuously turn his back upon the Ordinances of God and tenders of Jesus Christ 6. He is one that is apt to persecute with his hand and revile with his tongue the people of God Phil. 1. 28. 7. He is one that will cloud and colour wicked practices with specious pretences devour widdows houses and for a pretence make long prayers 8. He is apt to be a great exactor of holiness upon others but he will do but little himself bind heavy burdens and lay them upon others c. 9. He is apt to be carefull in small matters and negligent in great things 10. And lastly a man may seem to make a great progress in Religion and yet be but in a state of condemnation viz. It is said of Simon Magus that he believed Act. 8. 13. It is said of Judas that he repented others did hear the word with joy and some partake of the heavenly gift and powers of the world to come and were sanctified Numb 24. 2 Balaam is said to have the Spirit of God and to have his eyes opened and to have heard the word of God and to have seen the visions of the Almighty so that he prophesied of the Kingdom of Christ ver 19. So Jam. 1. 26. If a man amongst you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue this mans religion is vain Quest What are the Characters of a true Christian by which I may be able to discern between him and a man in the state of nature Answ There are many external discernable Characters of a true Christian and there be also many internal evidences First there are many external Characters 1. He that doth see his interest in the promises he will let us know it by cleansing himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7. 1. 2. He that is a servant unto God will let us know it by his obedience to him Rom. 6. 16. 3. If you say that you are Christs sheep let it appear by your hearing his voice Joh. 10. 27. 4. If you say that you do abide in him let us know it by your endeavouring to walk as he walked 1 Joh. 2. 6. 5. If Christ hath dyed for you let us see it by your living unto him 2 Cor. 5. 15. 6. If you do know him so as to have an interest in him let it appear by keeping his commandments 1 Joh. 2. 4. 7. If you have received a Kingdom that cannot be moved let us see it by your serving him with reverence and godly fear Heb. 12. 28. 8. If you be the spouse of Christ let us know it by your enquiring after him Cant. 5. 6. 9. 9. If you be his Disciples let us know it by your love one to another Joh. 13. 35. 10. If you say you live in the spirit let us know it by your walking in the spirit Gal. 5. 25. 11. If you do abide in the true Vine let us know it by your fruitfulness Joh. 15. 5. 12. If you say that you are indeed Christs let us know it by your crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5. 24. 13. If you are indeed planted in his house let us know it by your flourishing in his Courts Psal 92. 13. 14. If Christ hath chosen you to salvation let us know it by your sanctification of the spirit and the belief of the truth Ephes 1. 4. 15. If you say that you do live in his will let us know it by your doing his will 16. If you say that you have faith in Christ let us see it so appear by its works Jam. 2. 18. 17. Who is a wise man amongst you all and endued with knowledge let him shew out of his good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom Jam. 3. 13. Quest But are there not some things in a Christian that cannot be in an hypocrite if so pray let me know what they are Answ There are some flowers that grow not in natures garden and some pearls that are not to be found in the worlds field and some precious things in a true Christian that were never found in a cast-away viz. 1. A true Christian indeed will mourn in secret confess to God and judge himself for those sins that no man can spot him for his greatest and hottest conflicts are against inward pollution obvious only to the eye of God and our selves 2. A true Christian indeed doth as earnestly desire to have his sin purged as pardoned and himself fitted to do or suffer for the name of Christ 3. He doth loath hate and abhor and refrain sin from a right principle to a right end and so in his heart saith with Joseph how shall I do this evil and sin against God 4. He is willing to be searched be any Christian in any thing and many times he entreats the Lord to search him Psal 139 23 24. 5. He labours in all duties and services to approve his heart to God 6. In respect of the general bent and srame of his heart subjects to Christ 1. Freely and sweetly 2. Universally in one thing as well as another without any exception or reservation 3. This he doth constantly and unwearyedly at least in desire
impartiality of his justice c. by all which it doth appear most certain that Christ will come Psalm 50. 3. Luke 21. 27. Mat. 25. 31. Mat. 24. 30. Jude 14 15. 2 Cor 5. 10. 2 Pet. 3. 2. That day is very near although no man knows the time of Christs coming exactly in respect of the day and hour yet there are signs set down by Christ and his Apostles shewing that that day is not far off and further it doth plainly appear it is near yea very near by these demonstrations 1. By the fulfilling of prophesies 2. By the appearances of providences 1. By the fulfilling of prophesies viz. We have seen the Father against the son and the son against the father and the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother wars and rumors of wars and a great falling away and perillous times as earth-quakes many false prophets and Doctrine of Devils and some coming in the name of Christ saying I am he the unbelief that is in most and that state of security and falling from the truth once professed and the revealing of the man of sin 2 Thess 2. 1 2. These and the like are clear testimonies that the day of the Lord is at hand 2. This day is near as appears by the appearance of providences as it was in the dayes of Noah and as it fell out in the dayes Lot c. 1 Thes 5. 3. When they shall say peace and safety then suddain destruction cometh upon them 2 Tim. 3. 1 5. This know that in the last dayes perillous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy without natural affection truth-breakers false accusers fierce despisers of those that are good c. Surely these things do now abound by which we know the day is near the Lord hath promised to avenge his people speedily Luk. 18. 5. Zeph. 1. 14. The great day of the Lord is near is near Isa 13. 6. Howl ye for the great day of the Lord is at hand Joel 1. 15. For the day of the Lord is at hand Joel 2. 1. For the day of the Lord is come for it is nigh at hand Heb. 10. 37. Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Object But that day and hour knoweth no man Answ Men may guess at the time and not miss much for all that for instance did not Moses through faith see the redemption of the first captivity Daniel of the second and Abraham the day of Christ and the spouse her beloved coming skiping upon the mountains and a few in Israel were found waiting for their redemption doth not the foot-steps of Christs coming begin to appear The manner of his coming THe Lord Jesus will certainly and surely like a Soveraign like a King in Majesty triumphing in much glory attended with the Arch-Angel and all the host of heaven the trumpet will be sounding the world burning the earth shaking mens hearts failing Psal 46. 6. And then the Lord will roar out of Sion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and earth shall shake Joel 3. 16. A fire stream came forth from before him thousands ministred unto him Dan. 7. 10. And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him this day of the Lord is great and terrible who can abide it the sight of Christs presence shall be doubtless an incredible brightness and majesty in which he shall appear for he shall come in the clouds of heaven Mat. 26. 64. with incredible glory Mat. 25. 31. accompanied with the whole Army of his Angels as before and with a great shout and voice of the Arch-Angel 1 Thes 4. 16. And by reason of his brightness the Sun and the Moon shall be darkned as lesser lights by the greater and stars shall fall from heaven that is they shall seem as it were to fall and the powers of heaven shall be shaken Mat. 24. 29. Mat. 13. 24. Yea at his sight heaven and earth shall fly away Rev. 20. 11. There shall not be a destruction of the nature of the Sun Moon and Stars as some say for the Scripture doth speak of a new heaven and new earth old renewed and so at Christs second coming he shall renew all things See Ezek. 32. 6 7. Act. 3. Rom. 8. he shall come in the glory of his Father Mat. 16. 27. with power and great glory Mat. 24. 30. the glory of a thousand Suns made into one will be but as sackcloth to that wherein Christ shall appear in mans nature the wicked shall be punished with everlasting destruction from his presence and the glory of his power 2 Thes 1. 9. and when his glory shall be revealed the Saints shall be glad with exceeding joy 1 Pet. 4. 13. The signs of Christs coming ALthough no man knows the time of Christs coming exactly in respect of the day and hour yet there are signs set down by Christ and his Apostles shewing that that day is not far off what extream security and impiety false prophesie false Christs pestilence famine earth-quakes treacheries want of faith and charity have not these things already abounded Mat. 24. 32 33. When ye see these things the end is near 1 Thes 5. 1 2 Concerning the times and seasons brethren it is not needfull that I write unto you for you your selves know well that that day of the Lord will come as a thief in thâ— night therefore learn a parable of the fig-tree when its branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves ye know that summer is nigh so likewise ye when ye shall see all these things come to pass know that it is near evâ—n at the door Christ shall come visibly VVE read Mat. 24. 64. hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory Rev. 1. 7. Behold he cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him the damned shall see him to their amazement and the godly shall him to their joy and consolation Rev. 22. 4. They shall see his face and his name shall be in their forâ—heads Acts 1. 11. This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven that is Christ going up into heaven was visible so Christs coming out of heaven shall be visible Matthew 26. 64. The posture a Christian should be in at his coming BE ye also ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh hold out faith and patience but a little and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Mat. 24. 44. Luke 12. 35 Let your loyns be girt about and your lamps burning and you your selves looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Tit. 2. 13. Be ye
19 20. Behold at that time I will undo all that afflict thee and will save her that halteth and will get them a praise and a fame in every land where they have been put to shame for I will make you a name and a praise unto all people of the earth when I turn back your captivity before your eyes saith the Lord. Hold out faith and patience but a little and he that shall come will come and will not tarry but bring his Reward with him and so bring about a swifter a fuller and a more universal happiness then any could imagine Before Sion travelled she brought forth and at even-tide it shall be Light Zach. 14. 6. Oh who would but Love the appearing of Christ in spirit and look for and hasten to the coming of this day of Restitution Let our note become O why are his chariots so long in coming the sweeter the enjoyment the stronger should be the desires Oh that the day should be so great and our desires so small the spouse doth desire the day of her marriage the prisoner his liberty the malefactor his pardon the Labourer his rest and Heir his inheritance an Apprentice his freedom the Marriner his port and shall not we live in a continual expectation of that day which removes every sorrow and supplies with every comfort In a word this day will be a clearing from all undue imputations Now a Christian is sometimes called Dissembler Anabaptist Separate Hyppocrite and what not But he may say when Christ doth appear his Innocency shall appear too all slanders and defamations shall fall off from the Saints and their very enemies shall be fain to confess that these people whom they have hated are those whom the Lord hath blessed c. The blessedness of this state doth consist in these and the like things 1. A clear Apprehension of God reconciled to us in Christ 2. Cor. 5. 19. Col. 1. 20 21. 2. A clear apprehension of our selves cloathed with the Righteousness of Jesus Christ Col. 1. 28. 3. A clear apprehension that all sin is forgiven Isai 53. 6 1 Pet. 2. 24. 4. A clear apprehension of our Consciences being purged in the blood of Christ Hebrews 9. 14. 5. A clear apprehension of the Law perfectly by Christ fulfilled for us Rom. 10. 4. 6. A clear apprehension of that real close spiritual glorious and inseparable Union that there is between Christ and our souls 7. A clear apprehension of that saving testimony of the Spirit of God ratifying and testifying all this in the soul We find that the Apostles themselves and also Churches with whom they walked made use of these benefits and priviledges that they should have at Christs next coming to bear up their spirits under their sufferings here viz. 1 Pet. 1. 13. Wherefore gird up the loyns of your mind be sober and hope to the end for the Grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ James 5. 8. Be ye also patient stablish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh Heb. 9. 28. Vnto them that look for him he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation 1 John 3. 2. Beloved Now we are the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Rev. 22. 20. He which testifieth these things saith surely I come quickly Let us all say with the Church Amen even so come Lord Jesus The divers expressions in Scripture concerning the coming of Christ which set him forth as coming in various Dresses Viz. Sometimes as a Bridegroom sometimes in Fire sometimes as a Warriour sometimes as a Judge are not to be understood of divers Comings but one and the same coming in divers Respects as to his people he comes as a Bridgroom when in respect of the wicked he comes in fire and as a Judge I shall close up this point with two Scriptures Isaiah 61. 5 6. And strangers shall stand and feed your Flocks and the sons of the Alian shall be your Plough men and your Vine-dressers But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord men shall call you the Ministers of our God Chap. 14. 2. They shall take them captive whose captives they were and they shall rule over their oppressors c. Of the last judgement the signs that go before it what is meant by it the place where the person who the time how long the judgement shall last out of what we shall be judged this day shall be a great Day 1. Of the Signs that go before the last judgement THE signs foretokening the last judgement are certain nottable changes in the world in Church and State some farther off some nearer unto the coming of the great judge 1. The publishing and the sound of the Gospel throughout the whole world 2. The Apostacy of many professors losing their first love and drawing back c. 3. The revealing of Antichrist that man of sin and child of perdition 2 Thes 2. 8. 4. Common corruptions in manners joyned with security as in the dayes of Noah and Lot 5. Wars commotions and troubles both in the world and in the Church of Christ 6. False Christs attended with false Prophets and armed with false miracles 7. The calling of the Jews into the faith of the Gospel 8. Signs in heaven earth and all the elements 2 Pet. 3. 7. Mat. 24. 30. What is meant by judgement BY Judgement is meant the pronouncing and executing of the irrevocable sentence of absolution or condemnation in which the Godly shall be judged one way and the wicked another way for the first shall be Judged but not condemned the latter shall be judged and condemned Of the place where the Lord will judge the world THE place where the Lord Christ shall sit in Judgement is verily thought to be in the air over the Vally of Jehosaphat by mount Olive near to Jerusalem Eastward from the temple 1 Thes 4. 17. this might be confirmed by these reasons 1. Because we find some ground in the word of God for this Joel 3. 2. and ver 11. compared with Zech. 14 4 5. 2 Because as Christ was there abouts crucified and put to open shame so over that place his glorious throne shall be erected when he shall appear in judgement to judge the world in righteousness where he himself was unjustly judged and condemned 3. Because that the Angels shall be sent to gather together the elect from the four winds from one end of the earth to the other it is most probable that the place where they shall be gathered together shall be near Jerusalem which is the center of the earth as may be proved 4. Because the Angels told the disciples that as they saw Christ ascend from Mount Olivet which is by the valley of Jehosaphat so shall he in like manner come down from heaven but I
great in respect of the greatness of their rewards and recompences there will be the loss of Gods presence to the one and the freedom of all misery to the other and the stamp of eternity put upon both it shall be a righteous sentence every cause shall be judged rightly Christ is called a righteous Judge 1 Tim. 4. 8. in righteousness doth he judge Rev. 19. 11. The Scepter of his Kingdom is a rigâ—teous Scepter he loves righteousness Psal 45. 6 7. The day of judgement is a day of the revelation of the righteous judgement of God righteousness shall be the girdle of his loyns this Judge cannot be byassed by favour there is no respect of persons with God he regardeth not the persons of men To draw towards a close let the reader consider that in this great day of judgement God will bring in every secret thing whether it be good or bad Eccles 12. 14. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5. 10. For he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness Act. 17. 31. Oh did we meditate sometimes on this day and think of the preparations to it and the acting of it and the execution of the sentence we should tremble at his word surely at this day our consciences shall be so enlightned that all shall perfectly remember what ever good or evil they did in the time of their life the secrets of all hearts being then revealed and some shall be judged according to the Law of God which hath been revealed unto men whether it be the Law of nature only which is written in the hearts of all to leave them without excuse or that written word of God First the Old Testament and after also of the New as the ground of faith and the rule of life Romans 2. 12. and so by the evidence of every mans conscience bringing all his works to remembrance bearing witness with him or against him together by the testimony of such who by Doctrine or example have approved or condemned him What shall I say more this will be a great day in this respect also viz. as Christ doth come to judge things that are not judged so also he doth come to judge over again things that are judged amiss Eccles 3. 16 17. Moreover I saw under the Sun the place of judgement that wickedness was there and the place of righteousness that iniquity was there Then I said in my heart God shall judge the world in righteousness yea he shall judge both the righteous and the wicked Mark 13. 32. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man no not the Angels which are in heaven neither the Son but the Father See Mat. 24. 36 c. God is a knowing Judge a righteous Judge a powerful Judge I shall now proceed in order to speak of the state of both the damned and saved after the judgement is over and the sentence given and so close up all with a few words of advice and so of the end of the world Of the sad condition of a man out of Christ after his death judgement and sentence passed viz. Go ye cursed VVE find it written Mat. 25. 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels consider five things in these words 1. Depart from me there is a separation from all joy and happiness 2. Ye cursed there is a dreadful excommunication 3. Into fire there is unexpressible pain 4. Everlasting there is the duration of punishment 5. Prepared for the Devil and all his angels â—ere are the tormented and tormenting companâ—ons the 〈…〉 isery of this dâ—leful state may be reduced to these three heads 1. The unexpressible pains that they shall endure 2. The companions wicked men evil angels or devils 3. The duration of this miserable estate 1. The unexpressible pains that they shall endure the devil and his angels who being tormented themselves shall have no other ease but to wrack their fury in tormenting thee where shall be punishment without pitty misery without mercy sorrow without succour crying without comfort mischief without measure torment without ease where the worm dyeth not and the fire is never quenched in which flame thou shalt ever be burning and never consumed ever dying and never dead c. 2. Thy companions shall be wicked men evil angels or devils from the judgement seat thou must be thrust by Angels together with all the damned devils and reprobates into the bottomless lake of utter darkness that perpetually burns with fire and brimstone where thou shalt ever lament and none shall pitty thee thou shalt alwayes cry for the pain of fire and yet gnash thy teeth for the extremity of cold thou shalt weep to think that thy miseries are past remedy 3. The duration of this miserable estate doth multiply and aggravate thy misery this eternal condition admits of no change or alteration decay or consumption mans eternal condition admits of no future hopes or expectation waste or diminution mans eternal condition admits of no mixture or moderation mans eternal condition admits of no events or issues of providence mans eternal condition admits of no comparison or revocation there is no sounding a retreat after we are lanched into the Ocean mans eternal condition admits of no conclusion mans eternal condition admits of no conception Millions of ages pass away and yet not one minute wasted so that after thou hast endu ed them so many thousand years as there are grass on the earth or sands on the sea shore thou art no nearer to have an end of thy torments then thou wast the first day that thou wast cast into them yea so far are they from ending that they are ever beginning but if after a thousand times so many thousand years thy damned soul could but conceive a hope that these her torments might have an end this would be some comfort to think that at length an end will come but as oft as the mind thinketh of this word never it is as another hell in the midst of hell This is the second death the general perfect fulness of all cursedness the damned shall remain for ever in unspeakable torment of body and anguish of mind being cast out from the favourable presence of God and Christ and his Saints into utter darkness blackness of darkness weeping and gnashing ofteeth the worm that never dyeth the fire that never goeth out c. Of the happy and blessed estate of the Elect in Heaven THey shall be unspeakably and everlastingly blessed and glorious in boâ—y and soul being freed from all imperfections and infirmities and endowd with perfect wisdom and holiness possessed with all the pleasures that are at the right hand of God seated as Princes in thrones of Majesly crowned with crowns of Glory possessing the third Heaven wherein
love thereof they willingly parted with much of their earthly goods and possessions to lay up treasure in heaven Abraham and Sarah left their own country and possessions to look for a City whose maker and builder is God Heb. 11. 10 15 16. David preferreth one day in this place before a thousand elsewhere Psal 84. 10. Elias earnestly besought the Lord to receive his soul into his Kingdom and went willingly though in a fiery Chariot King 19. 4. Saint Paul having once seen heaven continually desiâ—eth to be dissolved that he might be with Christ Phil. 1. 23. Saint Peter having espyed but a glimpse of eternal glory in the mount wished that he might dwel there all the dayes of his life Mat. 17. 4. saying Master it is good for us to be here c. Christ a little before his death prayeth his Father to receive him into that excellent glory Joh. 17. 5. And the Apostle witnesseth Heb. 11. 2. that for the joy which was set before them they endured the cross and despised the shame 1 Pet. 5. 4. and when the chief Shepheard shall appear ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away c. this eternal condition admits of no change or alteration decay or consumption waste or diminution mans eternal condition admits of no comparison revocation or conclusion c. What use we may make of all these precious things 1. EXcellent arguments may be drawn to pres-Christians to a holy life 2 Pet. 3. 11. see ing then that all these things must be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness and ver 14. Wherefore seeing ye look for such things give diligence that ye may be found in him in peace It is our duty to live in a continual expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus with our loins girt and our lamps burning for blessed is that servant whom his master when he cometh shall find so doing 2. Consider that here is a fountain opened for Christian comfort and ground for patience in all troubles that there shall be an end a Christians hope shall not be cut off if in this life only we had hope we were of all men most miserable 1 Cor. 15. 19. But here lyes the comfort and patience of true Christians theywait for another world and they know it is a just thing with God to give them rest after their labours 2 Thes 1. 9. and a crown after their combate 2 Tim. 4. 8. and after their long Pilgrimage an everlasting habitation 2 Cor. 5. 1. Be patient saith the Apostle and settle your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh James 5. 8. 2 Pet. 2. 9. When they that have sown in tear shall reap in joy Psal 126. 5. 3. Consider that assurance of that blessed state may be attained in this life we know faith Paul 2 Cor. 5. 1. That if our earthly house of this tabernacle be destroyed we have a building not made with hands eternal in the heavens these things saith John I have written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life 1 John 5. 13. I am sure saith Job 19. 25 26 27. that my Redeemer liveth and he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet shall I see God in my flesh whom I my self shall see and mine eyes shall behold when I awake saith David I shall be satisfied with thy Image Psal 17. 15. 4. The consideration of this should provoke us to be such as may be made meet for this inheritance of the Saints in light and to endeavour to attain and retain the earnest of the Spirit whence we may be alwaies able to say we are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5. 8. and to fill the soul with strong consolation against the sufferings of life and the fear of death and to work an answerable conversation that whether absent or present we may so walk as we may be accepted of him 5. The consideration of this should put us upon a patient waiting for and a longing expectation of our change which draweth on a pace and not to put that off as most do to the last year and when that is come to the last moneth of that year and then to the last week of that moneth and then to the last day of that week and then to the last hour of that day and then to the last minute of that hour and so time shall be no more and we shall not find repentance although we seek it with tears 6. Consider that the cause of our salvation and so of our glorious condition is Gods meer love and favour without any merit of ours Luke 12. 32. It is our Fathers good pleasure to give us a Kingdom Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son Ephes 2. 8. By grace we are saved through faith and not of our selves it is the gift of God Rom. 6. 23. everlasting life is the gift of God and though eternal life be called a reward yet it is not of merit but of mercy let this be grounded in our hearts that the Kingdom of heaven is not a stipend of servants but an inheritance of Sons which they only obtain that lay hold on his mercy Romans 5. 8. compared with 1 Tim. 6. 12. and 19. 2. Now as hath been said as the love of God is the cause of our salvation fo Jesus Christ is the way Joh. 10. 9. Joh 14. 6. 3 The holy Spirit is the guide in that way as in Joh. 16. 13. 4. The Scriptures of truth is the rule Gal. 6. 16. Isa 8. 20. 5. The evidence of this salvation is faith Heb. 11. 1. It is true the instrumental cause offering and proclaiming salvation is the Gospel but the instrumental receiving and applying it is faith and the cause sealing it inwardly to our souls is the Spirit of God the external and instrumental seals thereof are the two confirming Ordinances Baptism and the Lords Supper 6. The anchor of this salvation is hope Heb. 6. 19. 7. The effects of this salvation is love to God because he loved us first and a holy conversation if ye love me saith Christ keep my commandments and they that have believed in Christ must be careful to maintain good works which are found and required in the way to the Kingdom but they are not the cause of reigning Of the end of the world THE consequents of the last judgement is life eternal in heaven or hell and the end of the world having finished the former let me point to the latter and I have finished what I intended we read Mat. 24. 3. that Peter James John and Andrew Mark 13. 3. came to Christ and desired him to satisfie them in these three questions 1. Concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple 2. Concerning
Christs second coming and the signs thereof 3. Concerning the end of the world c. The answer to the first question is from ver 4. to ver 23. The answer to the second is from ver 24. to ver 36. The answer to the third question is from ver 36. to the end of that Chapter In which Christ tels them that the very day and hour no man knoweth that day is hidden from us that we might not be secure but alwayes prepared expecting the day of his coming and hope for it and have a special care that that certain uncertain hour come not upon us unawares Luke 12. 40. The end of the world is the destruction of this visible universe as the wicked are thrust into hell and the godly entred into heaven this is called the consummation of the world it shall be destroyed by fire 2 Pet. 3. 6 7 10 12 c. but what kind of fire this is he only knows who is himself a consuming fire Some understand that this world shall be destroyed only in its quality others in its substance they who think it shall be destroyed only in qualities mean a purging and restauration of it to its primitive institution But the reader may do well to take notice that it is one thing to be restored and changed into a better state and another thing to wax old like a garment and to vanish like smoak to be dissolved to melt to be burned to pass away to be no more as these Scriptures affirm 1 Cor. 7. 31. Psal 102. 26 27. and Heb. 1. 11. Isa 51. 6. Mat. 24. 35. 2 Pet. 3. 7 10 12. Rev. 21. 1. FINIS An Alphabetical Table of the principal matters contained in this Book A OF assembling our selves together Pag. 199. Of admonition publike and private p. 282. Of assurance of salvation p. 285. 1. The nature of it p. 286. 2. Whether assurance may be attained in this life yea or nay p. 287. 3. The sorts or degrees of it p. 288. 4. Of the trials of assurance p. 289. 5. It is our duty to labour for it p. 290. 6. Of the benefits of it p. 291. 7. Of the springs of assurance p. 292. 8. Of the impediments of it p. 294. 9. Of our sad condition without it p. 295. 10. Many have it not that think they have it p. 297. 11. Of the reasons wherefore the Lord doth not give it speedily p. 298. 12. It is very hard to recover it if once lost p. 299. Of afflictions p. 323. Why the Lord doth afflict his own people p. 324. He doth try their truth and strength by it p. 325. How to know what sin God aims at in affliction p. 327. Of Angels p. 9. How a man should act p. 88. B. OF the Ordinance of Baptism p. 254. 1. Of the essence of it ibid. 2. Of the exercise of it p. 255. Of the condition of man in his birth p. 385. Of the bill of inditement of twenty Articles brought against man upon his sick bed p. 392. C OF the Creation p. 8. Of the Covenant of Grace p. 20. 1. What is the sum or substance of it ibid. 2. With whom this Covenant was first made p. 25. 3. When this Covenant was made p. 28. 4. Whether there be any conditions of it and if so what they are p. 30. 5. Whether it be one and the same Covenant of grace that was in force before the Law and under the Law and now under the Gospel p. 35. 6. Whether this Covenant may not be broken as was the Covenant of works p. 38. 7. What means one should use to get into this Covenant p. 41. 8. When one may be said to be in this Covenant p. 44. 9. Wherein the Covenant of grace and the Covenant of works do differ p. 47. 10. What is Gods order and method in bringing a people into Covenant p. 50. 11. What are the blessings and benefits of this Covenant p. 53. 12. Whether most men and women in the world are not under a ovenant of works p. 56. Of the ten Commandments and what each of them doth prohibit and enjoyn The first Commandment doth enjoin nine things and forbid three things p. 303. The second Commandment doth prohibit seven things and enjoyn six things p. 304. The third Commandment doth prohibit four things and enioin five things p. 305. The fourth Commandment doth prohibit five things and enjoin five things ibid. The fifth Commandment doth enjoin fourteen things p. 306. The sixth Commandment doth prohibit five things and enjoin fourthings p. 307. The seventh Commandment doth prohibit eight things and enjoin seven things p 308. The eighth Commandment doth prohibit seven things and enjoin five things p. 308. The ninth Commandment doth prohibit seven things and enjoin five things p. 309. The tenth Commandment doth prohibit four things and enjoyn four things p. 310. The order of causes how the Lord comes down from the causes to the effects p. 336. 1. Of the coming of Christ p. 414. 2. The time of his coming is near p. 418. 3. Of the manner of his coming p. 421. 4. Of the signs of his coming p. 422. 5. Christ shall come visibly p. 423. 6. The posture that a Christian should be in at his coming p. 423. 7. It is the duty of all to wait for his coming p. 424. 8. Of the benefits that a Christian shall have at Christs coming p. 425. 9. What should the consideration of his coming put us upon p. 427. 10. The sad condition of all out of Christ at his coming p. 428. 11. He shall come terribly p. 430. The right constitution of a Church of Christ or the way at first to gather a Church p. 201. There are four things that Christ hath already done five things he is now doing and six things more he will do when he cometh p. 431. D. A Rule to try Doctrines by p. 231. The Lord doth not despise the day of small things p. 334. Several Divine sentences p. 340. The miseries attending both body and soul at the hour of death p. 391. Of the sad condition of all out of Christ after death p. 399. In order to our preparation for death consider p. 400. 1. The fewness of our dayes ibid. 2. The many dangers we every day pass through ibid. Death to a Christian is but a change of place not of company p. 401. Death is no respecter of persons ibid. Death to a Christian is but a house a bed a sleep ibid. Of the duration of the miserable estate of the damned in hell p. 452. Of the Devil p. 321. E. OF Election p. 6. Of Experience p. 167. Of Excommunication p. 284. How far a true Christian may be tainted with error in judgement and yet be restored p. 155. Of enjoyment p. 168. Of the end of the world p. 466. F. OF the faith of Gods Elect. p. 108. 1. Of the nature of it ibid. 2. The Object of this faith p. 109. 3. The Subject of it