I conclude now that the Lord is willing to be reconciled to me and why then should I be unbelieving any more why should I have hard thoughts of God any more why should I remaine in my doubting condition any longer thou canst not be more desirous of the salvation of thy soul then God is of magnifying his grace and mercy and God hath done more for thee then thou canst possibly do for the salvation of thy soul Besides t is a mighty drawing argument for by this meanes the infinite distance that conicience apprehended to be between God and the soul is taken away for when the soul sees it hath to deal with an infinite deity that is so farre above it it stands shaking and trembling and dares not draw nigh to God What have I to doe saith the soul with such a God as this is who is so infinitely above me but now when thou knowest that Christ is between God and thee then this distance needs not scare thee yea now all thy guiltinesse and all the filthinesse and pollution of thy soul and all that the law hath to say against thee need be no discouragement to thee when thou seest thou hast to deal with God through Jesus Christ Therefore no soul can stand off and say how doe I know it belongs to me doe but take this one rule for that there is nothing can interest the soul in Christ but Christ himself there is no preparation to Christ but Christ must be all in all in it therefore stand not off and say how shall my heart be wrought to these and these preparations and work thus and thus before I have part in Christ no puzzle not thy self about thy preparations but set before thy soul the mystery of the Gospell in this glorious way of Gods communication of himself to thee and of reconciling man unto himself and the very efficacy of these truths will have a power upon thy heart to draw thee unto God in this way of reconciliation and that is the way of true comfort The Gospell it self though there be no preparation before yet hath an efficacy to draw the heart to Christ for Christ is all in all in that And doe not say I am a poor meane creature I can doe nothing I cannot remember a Sermon I cannot pray or performe any good duty as I ought why remember soul Christ is all in all true if any thing were required of thee in the businesse of salvation it were somewhat but know that God hath laid help upon one who is mighty therefore t is not thy weaknesse nor the distance between God and thee that can hinder if thou rightly apprehendest God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself Another reason might have been this God doth it to indeare his mercy to his Saints for ever for indeed nothing indeares Gods mercy to them so much as this that they see it come to them in such a way of conveyance and that which will indear mercy to the Saints in heaven to all eternity and for which they shall be full of the praises of God shall not be so much for the good things they enjoy as for that strange and wonderfull way by which they come to enjoy them This I say is that which shall take up the hearts and be a great part of the work of the glorified Saints in Heaven to all eternity even their admiring adoring and praising God in Jesus Christ And then God delights to honour his Son and that he might set him up he makes him to be the meanes of conveyance of all good to those he intends it to as if a King were to honour his Son what way can he take to doe it more effectually then this that all the favour he meanes to shew to any shall be only through his Son so when God the Father would honour his Son he appoints from all eternity that all the grace and mercy that any shall have from him shall be only through his Son Therefore as Christ saith All judgement is committed to the Son that all men might honour the Son as they honour the Father So I may say of the work and dispensation of Gods grace that all is conveyed to Christ and by him communicated to those that have interest in him that the Son might be honoured to all eternity I shall conclude in a few words of application to work upon you this that hath been said First if it be thus let us stand a while and admire at the depths of the councel of God and the infinite glory of the riches of his grace to mankinde that God should ever have such thoughts towards such poor wormes as we are that he should not rather have let such despicable creatures eternally perish then goe in such a strange way to shew mercy to them Truly brethren God hath done more in bringing a poor soul to himself then in creating Heaven and Earth the work of creating Heaven and Earth is but a low piece of work in comparison of this wonderfull way of Gods conveying his grace and mercy to the children of men through his Son this is the master-piece of the workes of God which he hath already done or will ever doe to all eternity and God therefore is to be admired and adored in this We are to glorifie God in every creature but how is God to be glorified then in his Son wherein so much of his glory doth appeare If it be a sinne for us not to sanctifie the name of God when we behold his glory in his meanest workes O what a sinne is it not to sanctifie the name of God in beholding the mystery of the Gospell and his glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ God expects brethren that those who live under the Gospel should spend their dayes and thoughts and talk about that glory which he hath manifested in his Son O you that have such chaffy drossy spirits that can spend your precious thoughts upon such poor things as you doe know that here is an object to take up your thoughts and your sinne is abundantly the greater in this that you spend your thoughts about such vanities when God sets before you so glorious an object to raise up your hearts unto himself and you that spend a great deal of your lives in vanity know that this day you have heard of a truth that above all things in the world should take up your time and thoughts in the contemplation of it And you that have more time and greater estates then others and are not put upon it to get your bread as others are and so have greater opportunities for the worship and service of God and for searching into his truth yet how doe you spend your time in vanity and light things as if there were no greater matters to take up your hearts It is a signe of a vaine and frothy spirit that when God propounds such glorious things to you that yet
it should be the content of your souls to baffle out your time in vanity and things that will not profit Well if you would have an evidence to your souls that Christ is all in all to you and shall be to all eternity take it in this if ever God hath opened thine eyes to see his glory in the mystery of the Gospell and that thy heart is taken with it and overcome by it it is an argument that thou art indeed the soul which God hath received to mercy in his Christ but sayes the Apostle 2 Cor. 4. 3. If our Gospell be hid it is hid to them that are lost There are a great many to whom the Gospell is preached and yet t is hidden to them and it is hidden to you if you speak of Christ only in a formall way and think it enough to say I hope to be saved by God in Jesus Christ but doest thou see that in the Gospell which raises thy heart with admiration and that darkens all the glory of the world doest thou see more of the glory of God shining in that one sentence God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life then thou seest in the whole frame of the creation of Heaven and Earth thou hopest thou sayest to get to Heaven but what wouldest thou doe there the work of Saints and Angels in Heaven joyned together is to magnifie God for this great work of his doe thou then begin this work here and give God his glory for the great things he hath done for the children of men The Second use should have been this If Christ be thus all in all then let us blesse God that ever we knew Christ and that the mystery of the Gospell hath been revealed to us for otherwise we had been without God in the world and what would have become of us had not this grace of God in the Gospell been revealed to us could you ever have thought of it your selves could it ever have entered into your hearts certainly no nor into the heart of any creature in Heaven or Earth therefore blessed are your eares that heare the things which you heare and blessed are your eyes that see the things which you see and know that when you come to live under the Ministry of the Gospell you enjoy the greatest mercy that ever you enjoyed since you were borne the coming under a powerfull Ministry that reveals Christ and brings the day of salvation to the soul it is no other then the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ for that soul compare Isaiah 49. 8. with 2 Cor. 6. 1. 2. and you shall see this Isaiah 49. 8. Thus saith the Lord in an acceptable time have I heard thee and in a day of salvation have I helped thee c. Now it is apparent by the context that this is to be understood of Christ that God the Father speakes there to his Son well what is this acceptable time and day of Salvation in which Christ is heard look 2 Cor. 6. 1. 2. in the chapter before he had told them That they were ambassadors for Christ We then as workers together with God beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vaine Now what is this grace of God t is the Ministry of the Gospell For he saith I have heard thee in a time accepted and mark how he applyes it Behold now is the accepted time behold now is the day of salvation As if he should say the acceptable time and day of salvation in which God the Father hath heard Christ is now now that we the ambassadors of Christ come and open the mystery of the Gospell to you now is the time wherein God the Father hears the Son for you what a mercy is this and what an engagement upon you that when you heare any thing of the mystery of the Gospell opened to you you are to look upon it as the fruit of the prayer of Jesus Christ and so when Gods sends a faithfull Minister to any congregation t is the fruit of the prayer of Christ Christ prayes O Father that there might be an acceptable time for such a people for such a man and woman it may be they have gone on a long time in ignorance and prophanesse I but Christ hath been praying to the Father for them and when this acceptable time comes then God disposes of them that this man shall goe out of such a wicked family and shall live in a godly family or shall come to such a Sermon and there shall heare the wonderfull things of the Gospell opened to him and shall come to understand this great mystery of Gods letting himself out through Christ unto his people and there the Lord will renew him by a work of grace and bring his heart over unto himselfe this is the acceptable time when God reveales the mystery of the Gospell to any soul therefore blesse God for this Thirdly this shewes how dear Jesus Christ should be unto us O how should we delight and take contentment in him that brings the Treasuries of grace from the bosome of the Father and opens them unto us and not only opens the minde of God the father to us but comes and lets out the treasure of Gods goodnesse to us It was stopt before I but Christ he opened as it were the flood gates and lets the current of grace and mercy in upon us O how deare therefore should Christ be unto us it was the speech of that Martyr Master Lambert None but Christ none but Christ Yea when he suffered Martyrdome for Christ then none but Christ was deare to him because he saw that Christ was the way of conveyance of all good unto him as if God now make a man a meanes of conveyance of a great deal of good to a nation every man will be ready to have his eye upon that man I but there was never such a way of conveyance of good to us as Christ is therefore how should our hearts love him and prize him and rejoyce at the very thoughts of him If you have a friend and God makes that friend an instrument of mercy to you O how doth it indeare you to that friend if the husband be an instrument of good to the wife or the wife to the husband if a Minister to his people or people to their Minister and so in all relations when we can look upon others as a meanes of conveyance of Gods mercy to us it is a mighty argument to knit our hearts unto them and indeed this is the way to obtain love It may be the wife complaines she hath not love from her husband or the husband complaines he hath not love from his wife Why now be as instrumentall as you can to convey the goodnesse of God to them and this will mightily indeare and knit them to you and if it doth
set out very fully They lie upon beds of Ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches and eat the Lambes out of the flock and the Calves out of the midst of the stall they chant to the sound of the violl and invent to themselves instruments of musick they drink wine in bowles c. and in verse 13. it comes all to this Ye rejoyce in a thing of naught in that which hath nothing in it there is no reallity no substantiall excellency in all these things neither in riches honours or pleasures but marke now how the holy Ghost judges of spirituall things what substance there is in them which are only conceits to carnall hearts Prov. 8. 20 21. sayes wisdome there I lead in the way of righteousnesse c. that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance to inherit that which is so Tremelius as if nothing had a being but that which wisedome causeth to inherit And Hebr. 10. 33 34. You were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions and took joyfully the spoyling of your goods c. but how came this to passe marke knowing in your selves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance So that that which was but a conceit and notion to the world by their faith they saw it to be substantiall unto them and Hebrewes 11. 10. It is said of Abraham that he looked for a City with foundations there was no City in the world that had foundations in Abrahams eye but only the City that he looked for and it was his faith that gave that City foundations Thus we see the different judgement of the holy Ghost and the world As now while we live upon the earth we think the earth to be very great and the Sun and Moon and Stars to be but little things and they seem so to us but were we in heaven we should then see the Sun and Moon and Stars to be great and vast bodies and the earth to be but a point in comparison of them so while men have earthly hearts they look upon the things of heaven as conceits and poore small inconsiderable things not worth looking after but if by divine principles they were once lifted up to heaven and could converse there then they would see the things of heaven to be great matters and the things here below to be but a point to be but poor low inferiour things not worth minding or affecting Those things that are the objects of faith are substantiall things and faith gives them that substance And they are substantiall things First because they have in them more then appeares to be in them we count that substantiall which hath in it more then it appeares for those things that make a great shew and have not that in them which they make shew of we count them vain and without substance as a piece of cloth that hath not that in it which it shewes for we say it hath no substance in it Now the things of God have more in them abundantly then they shew for and therefore they are substantiall hence it is that when Christ shall come in glory the Text sayes He shall be admired in all them that believe 2. Thes 1. 10. They see for the present a great deal of excellency in Christ and they love him and their hearts are towards him for that they see in him now but hereafter he shall appeare abundantly more glorious then they thought for then they shall say indeed we did see much in Christ but we see now infinitely more glory and excellency then ever we imagined Secondly the things of heaven that are the objects of faith are substantiall because there is most of God in them Now God is the infinite first being of all and gives being to all that therefore which hath most of the first being in it must needs be the most substantiall and reall good Now though it be true that all creatures are filled with Gods excellencies yet spirituall and heavenly things are above all other most filled with God the very divine of nature of God is in them and there is the very life of God and the Image and glory of God and there God doth especially communicate himself God hath two wayes of his communication the one is to his Son and that is in an infinite way that we understand not and the other is to his creatures and his speciall communication of himself to his creatures is in spirituall and heavenly things therefore they must needs be the most substantiall and reall things to the soul And then Thirdly they are substantiall things and not notions and conceits because they are the very center of the thoughts and intentions of God himself and that which he aimes at in all his workes towards his creatures and the very center of the happinesse of the most excellent creatures that ever God made Now that which is the very issue of the great designe of God in making the world and of all the workes he doth in the world and the highest good any creature is capable of certainly it is no conceit but hath a great deal of substantiall being in it but the good we have in spirituall and heavenly things is the very issue of Gods designe from all eternity in his full communication of himselfe unto his creature and it is the highest good any creature is capable of therefore spirituall things are reall and substantiall Againe reall and substantiall things they are because we finde they have a reall and substantiall operation upon the souls of those that are acquainted with them O the mighty work that appeares upon the hearts of the godly from the apprehension of spirituall things that are the objects of faith how doe spirituall things tune and raise the hearts of men that were low and base and drossy and vile before to converse with God in the highest way and kinde that it is possible for a creature to converse with God in and what great things doe they enable the soul to doe those things that have such a substantiall operation must needs be reall and substantiall Lastly they have an eternall subsistency that shall never vanish or fade away that when all other things shall wither as the grasse spirituall and heavenly things shall abide for ever therefore they are the only substantiall things But then as they are thus in themselves so how come they to be thus to the soul why it is by faith faith gives them the bottome the foundation the substantiallity of their being And I note this the rather because the great reason why our hearts are not taken with spirituall things is because we doe not see into the reallity and substantiallity that is in them and into the presentnesse of the good they have Now faith gives them this their substantiall being First because it is faith that carries the soul to contemplate upon God himselfe and enables the soul to discerne the