Hebrew runs Any way of pain or of grief or of provocation that is any course of sin that is grievous or provoking to the eyes of divine glory A real Saint can neither allow of sin nor wallow in sin nor be transformed into the image of sin nor mix it self with sin 'T is possible for a sincere Christian to step into a sinful path or to touch upon sinful facts Gal. 6.1 Prov. 16.17 and now and then in an hour of temptation to slide to trip and to be overtaken unawares but his main way his principle work is to depart from iniquity As a true traveller may now and then step a few steps out of his way who yet for the main keeps his way keeps the road or as a Bee may now and then light upon a thistle but her main work is to be gathering at the flowers or as a Sheep may now and then slip into the dirt or into a slow but its main work is to be grazing upon the mountains Certainly O soul if sin be now thy greatest burden it shall never hereafter prove thy eternal bane God never yet sent any man to hell for sin to whom sin has commonly been the greatest hell in this world God has but one hell and that is for those to whom sin has been commonly a heaven in this world That man that hates sin and that daily enters his protest against sin that man shall never be made miserable by sin Sin in a wicked man is like poyson in a serpent it is in its natural place it is delightful to a sinner but sin in a Saint is like poyson in a man's body it is offensive and the heart rises against it and is carried forth to the use of all divine Antidotes whereby it may be expelled and destroyed nothing will satisfie a gracious soul but the heart bloud of his lusts Now he shall never be damned for his sins whose heart is set upon killing his sins Seventeenthly Such a poor soul that dares not say that God is his God or that Christ is his Redeemer or that he has a work of grace upon his heart yet can say with some integrity of heart before the Lord that if God and Christ grace and glory holiness and happiness were offered to him on the one hand and all the honours pleasures profits delights and carnal contents of the world were offered him on the other hand he had infinitely rather ten thousand thousand times chuse God and Christ grace and glory holiness and happiness than the contrary Certainly such a soul has true grace in him and a saving work past upon him for none can freely seriously habitually resolutely chuse God and Christ grace and glory holiness and happiness as their summum bonum chiefest good but such who are really good 1 John 4.19 Deut. 7.6 7 8 9. 26.17 18 19. Look as our love to God is but an effect of his love to us We love him because he first loved us so our chusing of God for our God is but an effect of God's chusing us for his people we chuse him because he first chose us Such who in their serious choice set up God and Christ above all other persons and things such God will certainly make happy and blessed for ever God never did nor never will reject those or damn those who really chuse him for their God and for their great all The greatest part of the world chuse their lusts rather than God and the creatures rather than Christ Luke 12.21 they chuse rather to be great than gracious to be rich in this world than to be rich towards God to be outwardly happy than to be inwardly holy Mat. 10.42 to have a heaven on earth than to have a heaven after death and so they miscarry for ever That soul that with Mary has chosen the better part that soul with Mary shall be happy for ever every man must stand or fall for ever as his choice has been But Eighteeenthly Canst thou truly say in the presence of the great and glorious God that is the searcher of all hearts Psal 139.23 24. that thou hast given up thy heart and life to the rule authority and government of Jesus Christ and that thou hast chosen him to be thy Soveraign Lord and King and art truly willing to submit to his dominion as the only precious and righteous government and as the only holy and heavenly sweeâ— and pleasant profitable and comfortable safe and best dominion in all the world and to resign up thy heart thy will thy affections thy life thy all really to Christ wholly to Christ Isa 26.13 and only to Christ Canst thou O poor soul look up to heaven and truly say O dear Lord Jesus other Lords viz. the world the flesh and the devil have had dominion too long over me but now these Lords I do heartily renounce Isa 33.22 I do utterly renounce I do for ever renounce and do give up my self to thee as my only Lord beseeching thee to rule and reign over me for ever and ever O Lord though sin rages and Satan roars and the world sometimes frowns and sometimes fawns yet I am resolved to own thee as my only Lord and to serve thee as my only Lord and my greatest fear by divine assistance shall be of offending thee and my chiefest care shall be to please thee and my only joy shall be to be a praise a name and an honour to thee O Lord I can appeal to thee in the sincerity of my heart Psal 65.3 Rom. 7.23 that though I have many invincible sins weaknesses and infirmities that hang upon me and though I am often worsted by my sins and overcome in an hour of temptation yet thou that knowest all thoughts and hearts thou dost know that I have given up my heart and life to the obedience of Jesus Christ and do daily give them up to his rule and government and 't is the earnest desire of my soul above all things in this world that Jesus Christ may still set up his Laws in my heart and exercise his dominion over me Now certainly there is not the weakest Christian in all the world but can venture himself upon such an appeal to God as this is and without all peradventure where such a frame and temper of spirit is there the dominion of Jesus Christ is set up and where the dominion of Christ is set up there sin has no dominion for the dominion of sin and the dominion of Christ are inconsistent and therefore such a soul is happy and will be happy to all eternity But Cant. 8.5 Acts 11.21 22 23 Psal 71.16 Isa 61.10 Nineteenthly That man that will venture his soul upon Christ and that will lean upon Christ and cleave to Christ with full purpose of heart and that will cleave to his bloud and cleave to his righteousness and cleave to his merits and satisfaction in
heaven for his being a soul famous in uprightness and holiness than Jobâ— as you may see Job 1.8 And the Lord said unto Satan hast thou conâ—â—â—â—ed my servant Job than there is none like him in the earth a perfect and an upright man one that feareth God and escheweth evil Job was high in worth and humble in heart Job 42.5 6. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine â—â—e seeth thee I abhor my self in dust and ashes This expression is the deepest act of abhorrency abhorrency strictly taken is hatred wound up to the height I abhor my self The Hebrew word that is rendred abhor signifies to reject to disdain to contemn to cast off Ah sayes Job I abhor my self I reject my self I disdain my self I cast off my self I have a very vile and base esteem of my self David was a man of great integrity a man after Gods own heart and yet he looks upon himself as a Flea 1 King 15.5 and what is more contemptible than 〈…〉 looks upon himself as a Flea so he looks upon himself as a worm 1 Sam. 26.20 I am a worm and no man The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tolagnath Psal 22.6 that is here rendred a worm signifies a very little worm which breedeth in scarlet a worm that is so liâ—â—l◠〈◊〉 that a man can hardly perceive it A worm is the most despicable creature in the world trampled under foot by man and beasts he who was in God's eye a man after his own heart is in his own eye but a despicable worm A sincere Christian is a little little nothing in his own eyes So Paul who had been caught up into the thâ—â—d heavâ—â— Chrysostom 〈◊〉 learned his divinity among the Angels as one speaks and had such glorious Revelations as could not be uttered yet he accounts himself less than the least of all Saints Ephâ— â— 8â— Unto me who am less than the least of all Saints Vide Esâ—ius â—â—â—â—m c. The Greek is 〈◊〉 comparative made of a superlative less than the least 〈…〉 Saints is a double diminutive and signifies lesser than the least if lesser might be not that any thing can be less than the least Paul's rhetorick doth not cross Aristotles Philosophy the original word being a double diminâ—tive his meaning is that he was as little as could be therefore he put himself down so little as could not be less than the least Here you have the greatest Apostle descending down to the lowest step of humility great Paul is least of Saints 1 Tim. 1.15 last of the Apostles and greatest of sinners So Peter Depart from me for I am a sinful man O Lord Luke 5.8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as the Greek runs A man a sinner a very mixture and compound of dirt and sin a meer bundle of vice and vanity of folly and iniquity So Luther I have no other name than sinner sinner is my name sinner is my sirname this is the name by which I shall be alwayes known I have sinned I do sin I shall sin in infinitum saith Luther speaking vilely and basely of himself Lord I am hell and thou art heaven said blessed Hooper I am a most hypocrital wretch not worthy that the earth should bear me said blessed Bradford Thus you see by these several instances that sincere Christians do as it were take a holy pleasure and delight to debase humble and villifie themselves But this is a work hypocrites are meer strangers to there is not an hypocrite under heaven that loves to debase himself or that makes it his duty conscientiously to villifie and lessen himself that Christ may be set up above all Augustin Humility is a grace hardly attained unto Many saith one can more easily give all they have to the poor than themselves become poor in spirit But Ninthly No hypocrite will long hold out in the work and wayes of the Lord in the want of outward incouragements and in the face of outward discouragements An hypocrite is an Apostate cased and an Apostate is an hypocrite uncased Job 27. ver 8. For what is the hope of the hypocrite though he hath gained when God shall take away his soul Ver. 10. Will he delight himself in the Almighty Will he alwayes call upon God Or as the Hebrew runs Will he in every time call upon God It may be he may formally call on God in time of prosperity but can he seriously do it in time of adversity Sometimes when the rod is upon them then they will pour out a prayer to God Isa 26.16 In their affliction they will seek me earthly When he slew them then they sought him and they returned and enquired after God Hos 5. ult Psal 78 34. But this was not the standing frame of their hearts Ver. 36. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth and they lyed unto him with their tongues Ver. 47. For their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant When Pharoah was upon the wrack he could roar out a confession Exo. 10.16 17. Ver. 19.20 and earnestly cry out for a prayer but when the judgment was removed Pharoah was as proud and hard and blind as ever 1 King 1.50 51 When Adonijah was in danger of death then he could hang on the horns of the Altar When Ahab was threatned with utter desolation then he could fast and lye in sackcloth and so did the Minivites Jonah 3. But all this was but like Ephraim and Judah's goodness that as a morning cloud and as the early dew passeth away Will the hypocrite alwayes or in every time call upon God will the hypocrite call upon God as often as providence calls him to call upon God will he call upon God as often as judgments call him to call upon God will he call upon God as often as conscience calls him to call upon God will he call upon God as often as 't is his duty to call upon God will he call upon God as often as others call upon him to call upon God Oh no. The hypocrite will not alwayes call upon God he will not persevere in prayer he will not hold on nor hold out in prayer he is short spirited he can't alwayes pray and not faint or shrink back as sluggards do in work or cowards in war as the original word in Luke imports Luke 18.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An hypocrite for want of an inward principle can neither delight in God nor alwayes call upon God If God comes not at his call if he opens not as soon as he knocks he is out of patience and ready to say with that proud prophane Prince Behold this evil is of the Lord and what should I wait for him any longer 2 Kings 6 33. If any hypocrite obtains the mercy he desires then he will throw off prayer as he said Take away
though he cannot see all those signs in him there is no Saint but may perceive one sign in him when he cannot another Now he that can groundedly be perswaded of any one sign of grace he may safely conclude he hath all the rest though for the present he can neither see them nor feel them in himself But The fifth Maxim or Consideration FIfthly consider That the promises of God are a Christians Magna Charta his chiefest evidences for heaven divine promises are Gods Deed of Gift they are the only assurance which the Saints have to shew for their right and title to Christ to his bloud and to all the happiness and blessedness that comes by him Look Gen. 38 18-27 as Judah by pleading and bringing forth the signet the bracelets and the staff saved her life so we by believing pleading and bringing forth the promises must save our own souls the promises are not only the food of faith but also the very life and soul of faith they are a Mine of rich treasures a garden full of the choicest and sweetest flowers in them are wrapt up all celestial contentments and delights And this is most certain that all a Christians conclusions of interest in any of those choice and precious priviledges which flow from the bloud of Jesus Christ ought to be bottomed grounded and founded upon the rich and free promises of grace and mercy Quest But how may a person come to know whether he has a real and saving interest in the promises or no Now to this great Question I shall give these nine following Answers First A holy relyance a holy resting a holy staying of thy soul upon the promises makes the promises thine own yea it makes all the good and all the sweet and all the happiness and blessedness that is wrapt up in the promises thine even as thy staying relying and resting on Christ makes Christ thine and all that is in him and that comes by him thine so thy staying and resting upon the promises makes them thine Secondly If thy heart ordinarily habitually lyes under the word of command then the word of promise does assuredly belong to thy soul 'T was a good saying of Augustin Da quod jubes juhe quod vis Give what thou commandest and command what thou wilt To such a frame the promises belong Numb 13.28 to the end Psal 119.6 Act. 13.22 Luke 1.5 6. There is no soul under heaven that commonly lyes under the commanding power of the Word but that soul that has an interest in the word of Promise men that have no interest in the word of Promise commonly live in the neglect of the word of command if the word of command commonly carries thy soul then the word of promise without all peradventure belongs to thy soul Many deal with the commands of God as the Heathens dealt with the commands of their gods When their gods called for a man they offered a candle or as Hercules offered up a painted man instead of a living man Such as deal thus with the commands of God they have no interest in the promises of God flesh and bloud looks upon the commands of God as impossible to be obeyed like the unbelieving spies O we cannot conquer the Land but faith and love like Caleb and Joshua conclude the Land may be conquered the commands may be Evangelically obeyed and accordingly they readily â—ndertake it Now to such a frame of heart the promises are entail'd But Thirdly If in the face of all objections The longer said the Emperor's son the Cooks are preparing the meat the better chear I shall have His meaning was that the longer he staid for the Empire the better and greater it would be so the longer the soul waits for a mercy the better and greater it will be when it comes c. discouragements and difficulties thy soul be kept up in a waiting frame for the fulfilling of the promises as Abrahams was Rom. 4. then certainly the promises belong to thee There are some promâ—ses that relate to the subduing of sin as that Jer. 33.8 Ezek. 36.25 26 27. Mich. 7.19 Psal 65.3 And there are other precious promises that relate to a growth in grace as that Mal. 4.2 Job 17.9 Psal 92.12 13 14. Prov. 4.18 Hos 14.5 6 7. Now if thy heart be kept up in a waiting frame for the accomplishment of these promises then they do certainly belong to thee the same I may say of all other promises The waiting soul shall be sure to speed Psal 40.1 2 3. Isa 40.29 30 31. Isa 30.18 Heb. 6.12 c. God never did nor never will frustrate the expectations of the patient waiter c. But Fourthly He that hath those divine qualities or supernatural graces in him to which the promises are made as faith repentance love fear hope uprightness patience a waiting frame c. He has an undoubted interest in the promises he may lay his hand upon any promise and say this promise is mine and all the blessings the benefits the heavenly treasure that is laid up in it is mine But Fifthly He that lives upon the promises as his daily food he has an unquestionable interest in the promises wicked men may make use of promises as of physick in some cases as when they are under anguish of spirit or gripes of conscience or in fear of hell or else when they are under some outward wants or streights c. but he that lives upon them as his daily food he has a most assured interest in them our outward man lives not upon kickshaws though now and then we may taste of them but we live upon wholsom food so here no man lives upon the blessed promises as his appointed food but he that has a real interest in the promises Look as there is a nourishment proper to every Animal Spiders feed on flies Moles on worms the Horse on gâ—ass the Lion on flesh c. so there is food nourishment that is proper for mens souls viz. the precious promises and Christs flesh which is meat indeed and his bloud which is drink indeed Iohn 6. and he that daily feeds on this food will be happy for ever But Sixthly If you are united and married to Christ by faith then you have a real a saving interest in the promises Gal. 3.29 Gal. 4.28 Heb. 1.2 Rev. 21.7 And if you be Christs then are you Abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise The promise is the Jointure and there is no way under heaven to enjoy the Jointure but by matching with the person of Christ And faith is the grace of graces by which the soul gives both its assent and consent to take the Lord Jesus Christ as he is tendered and offered in the Gospel and is therefore called sometimes a receiving of Christ Iohn 1.12 The only way to enjoy a Ladies Jointure is to marry her person and so the only way to enjoy the promise of Christ is
that Jesus Christ may still set up his Laws in my heart and exercise his dominion over me Now doubtless there is not the weakest Christian in the world but can venture himself upon such an appeal to God as this is and without all peradventure where such a frame and temper of spirit is there the dominion of Jesus Christ is set up and where the dominion of Christ is set up there sin has no dominion Mat. 6.24 but where the dominion of Christ is not set up there sin is in full dominion Christ's dominion cannot consist with sins dominion nor sins dominion cannot consist with Christ's dominion Now by these eight things if men are not resolved before hand to put a cheat upon their own souls they may know whether their sins have dominion over them or no and so accordingly conclude for or against themselves But Fifteenthly and lastly A godly man may argue thus There is no condemnation to them who walk not after the flesh Walking in Scripture signifies to hold on a course of life Gen. 5.22 17.1 but after the spirit Rom. 8.1 But I walk not after the flesh but after the spirit therefore there is no condemnation to me Walking after the flesh notes a course of sin and walking after the spirit notes a course of godliness Now to such as keep off from a course of sin and that keep on in a course of godliness there is no condemnation there is not one condemnation for God the father won't condemn such a person nor Jesus Christ won't condemn such a person nor the holy spirit won't condemn such a person nor the word of grace won't condemn such a person nor no commandment or threatnings will condemn such a person no nor such a mans own heart nor conscience if it be rightly informed won't condemn him and therefore well may the holy Ghost say to such a one there is no condemnation to such a one there is not one condemnation c. ☞ Now thus you see by comparing spiritual things with spiritual things and by a rational arguing from Scripture a man may attain unto a comfortable certainty of his gracious state and safely and groundedly conclude his interest in Christ Now this assurance of Gods favour by the witnessing of our own spirits which assurance is deduced by way of argument syllogistically is more easily attained than many may I not say than most Christians imagine for let a gracious man but clear himself of heart-condemning sins 1 Joh. 3.20 21. and rationally argue as before has been hinted and he will speedâ—ly reach to some comfortable supporting soul-satisfying and soul-quieting assurance there being an infallible connexion between the forementioned graces and future glory These fifteen arguments may well be lookt upon as fifteen sure and infallible evidences of the goodness and happiness of a Christians estate O that you would often every day think on this viz. That the undoubted verity of Gods promises proveth an inseparable connexion between true faith and eternal glory John 3.14 15 16. And as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life John 5.24 Verily verily these serious asseverations or protestations amount almost to an oath I say unto you he that heareth my words and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death to life John 3.36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life He hath it in the promise he hath it in the first Fruits Rom. 8.23 he hath it in the earnest Ephes 1.13 14. and he hath it in Christ his Head Ephes 2.6 Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is Baptised shall be saved he that believeth not shall be damned 1 Pet. 2.6 Behold I lay in Sion a chief Corner stone Elect precious and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded John 6.40 And this is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day Verse 47. Verily verily I say unto you he that believeth on me hath everlasting Life John 2.25 Jesus said unto her I am the Resurrection and the Life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live Verse 26. And whosoever liveth and believeâ—h in me shall never dye John 20.31 But these are written that ye may believe that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his name Look as certainly as the unbeliever shall be cast into outer darkness so certainly shall the Believer be partaker of the glorious inheritance of the Saints in light for certainly the Promises are as true as the threatnings Acts 16.30 31. Believe on the Lord Iesus Christ and thou shalt be saved Josh 23.14 chap. 21.45 The Apostle speaks not doubtingly perhaps thou shalt be saved nor they do not say Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and it may be thou mayest go to Heaven but they speak boldly confidently peremptorily believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved O my Soul what greater certainty and security can any man have than the infallible promise of that God that is truth it self who will not who cannot deny his word but the same love and free Grace that moved him to infuse grace into his childrens souls will move him also to keep the word that is gone out of his mouth and to make good whatever he hath promised thus you evidently see that the Promises prove an inseparable connexion between Grace and glory between Faith and everlasting Life so that let me but prove that I have a saving Faith and the Scriptures last cited prove infallibly that I shall be saved O labour as for life daily to give a firm and fixed assent to the truth of those blessed Promises last cited and hold it as an indisputable and inviolable Principle That whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ or whosoever hath received Christ as his Lord and Saviour shall be certainly saved 1 Tim. 1.15 1 John 1.9 Heb. 6.17 18. â—zek 32.11 and chap. 18.32 1 John 5.10.14 Jam. 2 19. This is the person that hath the Word the Promise the Covenant the Oath of that God that cannot possibly lye or dye for the pardon of his sin and for the Salvation of his Soul Now O my Soul what security couldest thou ask more of a deceitful man than that which the great Iehovah â—he faithful God of his own accord hath given to thee viz. his word and his Oath Now not to believe God upon his Promise and Oath is to make him a Lyar yea the worst of Lyars yea 't is
known in prosperity nor hid in adversity True love is like that of Ruth's to Naomi that of Jonathan's to David permanent and constant Job 6.15 16. Many there be whose love to the Saints is like Job's brooks which in the Winter when men have no need of them overflows with tenders of service and shews of love but when the season is hot and dry the poor thirsty traveller stands in most need of water to refresh him then the brooks are quite dried up They are like the Swallow that will stay by you in the Summer of prosperity but flie from you in the Winter of adversity It is observed by Josephus of the Samaritans Joseph Anti. lib. 11. p. 286. that when ever the Jews affairs prospered they would be their friends and profess much love to them yea they would vaunt of their alliance saying That they were near akin and of the race of Ephraim and Manasses the sons of Joseph But when the Jews were in trouble and affliction and brought to an under then they would not own them Lib. 11. p. 272. Lib. 12. p. 304. Lib. 13. p. 322 323. c. nor have any thing to do with them yea then they would set themselves with all their â—ight against them as the same Historian tells us This age is full of such Samaritans yet certainly such as truly love they will alwayes love such as truly love the people of God they will love them to the end In the primitive times it was very much taken notice of by the very Heathen that in the depth of misery when fathers and mothers forsook their children Christians otherwise strangers stuck closs one to another their love of Religion and one of another proved firmer than that of nature They seem to take away the Sun out of the world said the Orator who take away friendship from the life of man for we do not more need fire and water than constant friendship Though wicked men may pretend great love to the Saints yet their love is not constant Gen. 31.24 29. 33 1 2 3 4 5. Dan. 6. God sometimes indeed over-rules their spirits with a very strong hand as he did Laban's and Esau's or as he over-ruled the spirits of the Lions to preserve Daniel and of the Ravens to feed Elijah but so soon as that over-ruling providence is over they are as they were befoâ—e God for a time gave the Israelites favour in the eyes of the Egyptians but before and after they were their utter enemies But now a gracious soul he loves the Saints at all times his love to them is constant But Fourteenthly That soul that dares not say that he has grace yet can truly say before the Lord that he prizes the least dram of grace above ten thousand thousand worlds certainly that soul has true grace in him Doubtless there are none that can prize grace in their understandings and judgments above all the world Mic. 6.6 7. Phil. 3.18 19. Mat. 19.16 to 25. Psal 2.21 but such as are first taken out of the world by grace There is no man on earth whose heart is void and empty of grace but sets a higher value and price upon his lusts or upon his relations or upon his honours or riches or pleasures or upon this or that worldly enjoyment than he does upon grace or the fountain of grace yea how many thousands are there that set a higher price or value upon a Hound a Hawk a Horse a Harlot a good Trade a fair Estate a rich inheritance yea upon the very toyes and trifles of this world than they do upon God or Christ or grace 'T was never yet known in the world that ever God sent such a man to hell who prized grace above heaven it self who had rather have grace and holiness without heaven than heaven it self without grace and holiness Fifteenthly That soul that dares not say that his condition is good yet can say in truth of heart before the Lord that he would not change his condition with the vain carnal formal and prophane men of the world for ten thousand worlds that man is certainly for heaven and heaven is certainly for that man we may be very highly and groundedly confident that God will never cast that man to hell among devils and damned spirits at the great day who in his day of life would not chuse to be in the condition of the men of the world for as many worlds as there be men in the world Look as none meet in heaven but such as are like to like in their renewed natures principles and practises so none meet in hell but such as are like to like in their old natures Deut. 22.10 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16 17 18. principles and practises That God that would not suffer an Ox to be yoked with an Ass in this world nor a Believer with an Infidel will never suffer such to be yoked with devils and damned reprobates in that lower world who would not to gain many worlds be willingly yoked with wicked men in this world certainly they shall never be a Christians companions in that other world whose society and company and whose wickedness and baseness have been a grief a torment a hell to him in this world Psal 119.53 136. Jer. 9.1 2. Ezek. 9.4 6. 2 Pet. 2.7 8. When Mrs. Katherine Brettergh was upon her dying bed and most grievously assaulted by temptations in the midst of her sore conflicts this was no small support and comfort to her That surely God would not send her to hell to live for ever among such wicked persons whose company and whose sin was a burden to her in this world c. But Sixteenthly James 3.2 Eccles 7.20 Prov. 20.7 Joh. 1.1 8. That soul that dares not say that he does not sin For in many things we offend all and there is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not and who can say I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin And if we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us yet can say in uprightness before the Lord that he would not willingly resolutely maliciously wilfully wickedly and hab tually sin against the Lord to gain a world that soul that don 't nor won't through grace assisting Psal 119.1 3. 1 John 3.9 allow himself or indulge himself in a course of sin or in a trade of 〈◊〉 in the common practise of any known sin that soul is certainly a gracious soul Rom. 7.15 The evil that I do I allow not 'T is one thing for a man to sin 't is an other thing for a man to allow himself in sin 't is one thing for a godly man to step into a sin Psal 139 24. and 't is another thing to keep the road of sin Search me and try me and see if there be any way of wickedness in me or as the
father but when he was yet a great way off his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell upon his neck and kissed him Qu. But what are the properties or qualifications of that right turning from sin which brings poor sinners within the compass of the promise of forgiveness of sins Now to this great question I shall give these four following Answers First Answer Ans 1 First That turning from sin which brings a man within the compass of the promise of forgiveness of sin is a cordial turning from sin Joel 2.12 Turn ye even to me with all your heart 2 Chron. 6.38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul Ver. 39. Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication and forgive their sins Deut. 30.10 If thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul c. Jer. 3.10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart but feignedly saith the Lord. Chap. 24.7 And I will give them an heart to know me that I am the Lord and they shall be my people and I will be their God for they shall return unto me with their whole heart Wicked men are serious and cordial in their sinning and they must be as serious and cordial in their returning or they are lost and undone for ever The true penitent turns from sin with his heart with all his heart and with all his soul he is turned in good earnest from his sins whose heart is turned from his sins if the heart turns not all is naught all is stark naught he that turns from sin but not with his heart turns but feignedly partially hypocritically deceifully God is a just and a jealous God and he will never endure corrivals or copartners in the throne the heart of man a holy God will never divide with an unholy Devil The true God is a righteous God and he will never share his glory with another the true God must be served truly heartily he loves neither halting nor halving Such as divide the rooms of their souls betwixt God and sin God and Satan God and the world that swear by God and Malcham that sometimes pray devoutly and at other times curse most hideously that halt betwixt God and Baal are meer Heteroclites in Religion and such whom God abhors When a man's heart gives a bill of divorce to his sins when his heart breaks the league with sin when his heart casts it off and casts it out as an abominable thing then the heart is turned from sin really effectually c. If notwithstanding all the professions that a man makes against his sins his heart still loves them and delights in them and he will still retain them and welcom them and cleave to them and make provision for them c. his repentance is feigned and not real c. But The second Answer Secondly A true penitential turning is an universal turning Ans 2 a turning not from some sins but from all sins Ezek. 18.30 Repent and turn your selves from all your transgressions Ver. 31. Cast away from you all your transgressions 2 Cor. 7.1 Let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit Psal 119.101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way Ver. 128. I hate every false way Ezek. 14.6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel thus saith the Lord God repent and turn your selves from your idols and turn away your faces from all your abominations Chap. 18.28 Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed he shall surely live he shall not die True repentance is a turning from all sin without any reservation or exception he never truly repented of any sin whose heart is not turned against every sin The true penitent casts off all the rags of old Adam he throws down every stone of the old building he will not leave a horn nor a hoof behind That which Nehemiah speaks of himself in that Neh. 13.7 8. is very observable to our purpose And I came to Jerusalem and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God and it grieved me sore but he rests not there but goes further therefore I cast forth all the houshold-stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber What should Tobiah do with a chamber therefore he not only outs Tobiah but outgoes all his stuff too Thus the true penitent when he considers all the evil that sin has done how it has taken up not only one chamber but every chamber in the soul and how it has for many years quite shut out God and Christ and the Spirit and every thing that is good he is grieved sore and so falls upon the outging of every lust being highly resolved that neither Satan nor any of his retinue shall ever find the least entertainment in his soul any more Such as are resolved against turning from any sin are horrible profane such as turn from some sins but close with others are hideous hypocrites such as turn from one sin to another or change their sins as men do their fashions are most sadly blinded and desperately deluded by Satan but such as turn not from some sins but from every sin are sincerely penitent And certainly there are very greaâ— reasons why the true penitent does turn and must turn from sin universally As First 'T is to no purpose for a man to turn from some sins if he does not turn from all his sins James 1.26 If any man seem to be religious and bridle not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this mans Religion is in vain This at first sight may seem to be a hard saying One stab at the heart kills one act of treason makes a Traitor one spark of fire sets the house on fire one flaw in a diamond spoyls the price of it one puddle if we wallow in it will defile us one head of garlick will poyson a Leopard say the Naturalists that for one fault for one fault in the tongue all a mans Religion should be counted vain and yet this you see the holy Ghost does peremptorily conclude Let a man make never so glorious a profession of Religion yet if he gives himself liberty to live in the practise of any known lust yea though it be but in a sin of the tongue his Religion is in vain and that one lust will separate him from God for ever If a Wife be never so officious to her Husband in many things and though she gives him content several wayes yet if she entertains any other Lover into his bed besides himself it will alienate his affections from her and for ever separate him from her The application is easie To turn from one sin to another is but to be tossed from one hand of the Devil to another it is
in Psal 29.1 2. There are three gives in those two verses Give unto the Lord give unto the Lord give unto the Lord the glory that is due unto his name Glory iâ— God's right and he stands upon his right and this the sincere Christian knows and therefore he gives him his right he gives him the honour and the glory that is due unto his name But pray do not mistake me I do not say that such as are really sincere do actually eye the glory of Christ in all their actions Oh no this is a happiness desirable on earth but shall never be attained till we come to heaven By and base ends and aims will be still ready to creep into the best hearts but all sincere hearts sigh and groan under them they complain to God of them and they cry out for justice justice upon them and it is the earnest desires and daily endeavours of their souls to be rid of them and therefore they shall not be imputed to them nor keep good things from them But now take a sincere Châ—istian in his ordinary usual and habitual course and you shall find that his aims and ends in all his actions and undertakings are to glorifie God to exalt God and to lift up God in the world If the Hypocrite did in good earnest aim at the glory of God in what he does then the glory of God would swallow up all his by aims and carnâ—l ends as Aarons rod swallowed up the Magicians rods Look as the Sun puts out the light of the fire Exod. 7.10 11 12. so the glory of God where it is aimed at will put out and consume all by and base ends This is most certain that which is a man's great end that will work out all other ends he that sets up the glory of God as his chief end will find that his chief end will by degrees eat out all low and base ends Look Gen. 41.4 as Pharaoh's lean kinâ— ate up the fat so the glory of God will eat up all those fat and worldly ends that crowd in upon the soul in religious work Where the glory of God is kept up as a man's greatest end there all by and base ends will be kept at an under By what has been said 't is most evident that an Hypocrite in all his transactions looks at himself and designs the advance and advantage of himself An Hypocrite is as well able to make a world and to unmake himself as he is able to make the glory of God the exaltation of God his highest end his utmost aim in what he does But Fifthly No Hypocrite can live wholly and only upon the righteousness of Christ the satisfaction of Christ the merits of Christ for justification and salvation The hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees prayed and fasted Mat. 6. Luke 18.11 12. ponder upon that Rev. 3.16 17 18. and kept the Sabbath and gave almes c. and in this legal righteousness they rested and trusted Upon the performance of these and such like duties they laid the weight of their souls and the stress of their salvation and so perished for ever An Hypocrite rests upon what he doth and never looks so high as the righteousness of Christ he looks upon his duties as so much good moneys laid out for heaven he weaves a web of righteousness to cloath himself withal he never looks out for a more glorious righteousness to be justified by than his own and so puts a slight upon the righteousness of Christ Rom. 10.3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God The first step to salvation is to renounce our own righteousness the next step is to embrace the righteousness of Christ which is freely offered to sinners iâ— the Gospel but these things the Hypocrite minds not regards not The righteousness of an Hypocrite is not only imperfect but impure a rag a filthy rag and therefore he that rests upon such a righteousness Isa 64.6 must needs miscarry to all eternity O Sirs who will say that that man needs a Saviour that can flie to heaven upon the wings of his own duties and services If a man's duties can pacifie an infinite wrath and satisfie an infinite justice then farewel Christ and welcom duties He that will rest upon his own righteousness for life and justification must needs sit down on this side salvation he that rests upon his duties and that rests upon a gift of knowledge a gift of utterance a gift of memory or a gift of prayer though he may come near to heaven and bid fair for heaven yet he will never be able to get into heaven Now how sad is it for a man to lose himself and his soul in a wilderness of duties when he is upon the borders yea the very brink of the holy Land he that rests upon any thing in him or done by him as a means to procure the favour of God or the salvation of his soul will put such a cheat upon himself as will undo him for ever Non-submission to the righteousness of Christ keeps Christ and the hypocrite asunder Christ will never love nor like to put the fine clean Rev. â—9 7 8. white linnen of his own righteousness upon the old garment the old rags of an hypocrites duties Mar. 9.16 17. neither will Christ ever delight to put his new wine into such old bottles An hypocrites confidence in his own righteousness Prov. 21.27 turns his righteousness into filthiness But now a sincere Christian he renounces his own righteousness he renounces all confidence in the flesh Phil. 3.3 he looks upon his own righteousness as dung yea as dogs meat as some interpret the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicuntur quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vide Bezam vide a LapÃde Phil. 3.8 he will say no more to his duties to the works of his hands ye are my Gods Hos 14.3 When they look upon the holiness of Gods nature the righteousness of his government the severity of his Law the terror of his wrath they see an absolute and indispensable necessity of a more glorious righteousness than their own to appear before God in A sincere Christian sets the highest price and value upon the righteousness of Christ Psal 71.16 I will make mention of thy righteousness even of thine only Mark the Emphasis doubled of thine and thine only a sincere Christian is convinced of the nature worth and excellency of the righteousness of Christ and therefore he cryes out I will make mention of thy righteousness of thine only The costly cloak of Alcisthenes which Dionisius sold to the Carthaginians for an hundred Talents was indeed a mean and beggarly rag in a sincere Christian's eye to that embroidered mantle of righteousness that Christ puts upon his A sincere Christian rejoyces in the righteousness
A CABINET OF CHOICE JEVVELS OR A Box of precious Ointment Being a plain Discovery of or what men are worth for Eternity and how 't is like to go with them in another World Here is also a clear and large Discovery of the several rounds in Jacob's Ladder that no Hypocrite under Heaven can climb up to Here are also such closs piercing distinguishing and discovering evidences as will reach and suit those Christians who are highest in Grace and spiritual Enjoyments and here are many Evidences which are suited to the Capacities and Experiences of the weakest Christians in Christ's School And here Christians may see as in a Glass what a sober Use and Improvement they ought to make of their evidences for Heaven and how in the use of their gracious evidences they ought to live First upon the free grace of God Secondly upon the Mediatory righteousness of Christ Thirdly upon the Covenant of Grace With several other Points of grand Importance c. By Thomas Brooks formerly Preacher of the Gospel at St. Margarets New-Fishstreet Brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 Examine your selves whether ye be in the faith prove your own selves know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unapproved or rejected Omnis anima est aut sponsa Christi aut adultera Diaboli Austin London Printed and are to be sold by John Hancock at the first Shop in Popes-Head-Alley in Cornhil at the sign of the three Bibles or at his Shop in Bishops-Gate-Street near great St. Hellins 1669. To the Right Worshipful Sir John Frederick Knight and the Lady Mary Frederick his pious Consort To Mr. Nathaniel Herne and Mrs. Judith his vertuous Wife All confluence of blessings both for this Life and for that which is to come from the Father of Mercies and God of all Consolations Honoured and Beloved in our Lord Jesus THough I croud your Names together yet I owe more than an Epistle to each of your Names but the Loâ—d having made you near and dear one to another more wayes than one I take the boldness to present this Treatise to you jointly Here is nothing in this Book that relates to the Government of Church or State The design of this Treatise is to shew what men are worth for Eternity and how it is like to go with them in another World Granctensis tells of a woman that was so affected with souls miscarryings that she besought God to stop up the passage into hell with her soul and body that none might have entrance O anima Dei insignita imagine desponsata fide donata spiritu c. Bern. O divine soul invested with the image of God espoused to him by faith c. There are none of the sons of men but bear about with them precious and immortal souls that are more worth than ten thousand thousand worlds if the soul be safe all is safe if that be well all is well if that be lost all is lost The first great work that men are to attend in this World is the eternal safety and security of their souls the next great work is to know to be assured that it shall go well with their souls for ever And these are the main things that are aimed at in this Discourse The soul is the better and more noble part of man upon the soul the Image of God is most fairly stampt the soul is first converted and the soul shall be first and most glorified the soul is that spiritual and immortal substance that is capable of union with God and of communion with God and of an eternal fruition of God Plato though a Heathen could say That he thought the soul to be made all of eternity and that the putting the soul into the body was a sign of great wrath from God Each living corps must yield at last to death Pindarus And every life must leese his vital breath The soul of man that only lives on high And is an image of Eternity The Romans when their Emperors and great Ones died and their bodies were buried they caused an Eagle to mount on high thereby to signifie the souls immortality and ascent He gave good counsel who said Play not the Courtier with your soul the Courtier doth all things late he rises late and dines late and sups late and repents late A Scythian Captain having for a draught of water delivered up his City cryed out Quid perdidi quid prodidi What have I lost what have I betrayed So many at last will cry out What have I lost what have I betrayed I have lost God and Christ and Heaven and have betrayed my precious and immortal soul into the hands of divine Justice and into the hands of Satan Who these men are that will at last thus cry out this Treatise does discover I have read that there was a time when the Romans did wear jewels on their shoes Most men in this day do worse for they trample that matchless jewel of their souls under feet and who these are this Treatise does discover One well observes Chrysost That whereas God hath given many other things double two eyes to see with two ears to hear with two hands to work with and two feet to walk with to the intent that the failing of the one might be supplied by the other but he hath given us but one soul and if that be lost hast thou saith he another soul to give in recompence for it Now who those are whose souls are in a safe estate and who those are whose souls are in danger of being lost for ever this Treatise does plainly and fully discover Psal 15. Psal 144.15 To describe to the life who that man is that is truly happy in this world and that shall be blest for ever in the other world is the work of this ensuing Treatise The grace of the Covâ—nant in us is a sure evidence of Gods entring into the Covenant of grace with us To be in a gracious state is true happiness but to know our selves to be in such a state is the top of our happiness in this world A man may have grace and yet for a time not know it 1. Joh. 5.13 The child lives in the womb but does not know it A man may be in a gracious state and yet not see it Psal 77. Psal 88. he may have a saving work of God upon his soul and yet not discern it he may have the root of the matter in him and yet not be able to evidence it Now to help such poor hearts to a right understanding of their spiritual condition and that they may see and know what they are worth for another world and so go to their graves in joy and peace I have sent this Treatise abroad into the world Will you give me leave to say First Some men of name
and before our evidences for heaven are cleared it will kill us everlastingly it will kill us eternally Time travelleth with God's decrees and in their season brings them forth but little doth any man know what is in the womb of to morrow till God hath signified his will by the event Boast not thy self of to morrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth That man that knows what himself intends to bring forth does not know what the day will bring forth the next day is not so neer the former in time as it may be remote from it in the effects of it Seneca could say Seneca Epist 102. Nihil est miserius dubitatione venientium quo evadunt There is nothing more miserable than the doubtfulness of things to come to what they will come Providence in this life is the Map of changes Ezek. 1.16 the picture of mutability Who can sum up the strange circumferences and rare circuits and labyrinths of providence Providence is as a wheel in the midst of a wheel whose motion and work and end in working is not discerned by every common eye Three dreadful judgments God hath lately visited us with viz. Sword Pestilence and Fire but who repents who smites upon his thigh Isa 1.16 17. Psal 106.23 who finds out the plague of his own heart who sayes what have I done who ceases from doing evil who learns to do well who turns to the most High who layes hold on everlasting strength who makes peace with God who throws himself into the gap c. Are not multitudes grown much worse after judgments than they were before Don't they bid higher defiance to heaven than ever and therefore who can tell what further controversie God may have with such a people especially considering that terrible Scripture Levit. 26.14 to the 34. vers with scores of others that sound that way Were our forefathers alive how sadly would they blush to see such a horrid degenerate posterity as is to be found in the midst of us How is our forefathers hospitality converted into riot and luxury their frugality into pride and prodigality their simplicity into subtilty their sincerity into hypocrisie their charity into cruelty their chastity into chambering and wantonness their sobriety into drunkenness their plain-dealing into dissembling and their works of compassion into works of oppression c. And may we not fear that even for these things God may once more visit us The Nations are angry and we are low in their eyes our enemies are not asleep abroad and are not we too secure at home and what further conclusions may be in the world who can divine I point at these things only to provoke all those into whose hands this Treatise may fall to make sure work for another world to make sure their evidences for heaven and to keep their evidences for life and glory alwayes sparkling and shining and then I am sure the worst of calamities the sorest of judgments shall but translate them from earth to heaven from a wilderness to a paradise from misery to glory from mixt and mutable enjoyments to the pure everlasting enjoyments of God Christ the Angels and the spirits of just men made perfect Heb. 12 22 23 24. But Sixthly and lastly In this Treatise as in a Glass all sorts of profane persons and all sorts of self-flatterers and all sorts of hypocrites may see 1. That their present state and condition is not so safe nor yet so happy as they judge it to be Again in this Treatise as in a Glass all sorts of profane persons and all sorts of self-flatterers and all sorts of hypocrites may see 2. The happy and blessed state of the people of God against whom their spirits rise and swell c. Again in this Treatise as in a Glass all sorts of profane persons and all sorts of self-flatterers and all sorts of Hypocrites may see 3. What those things are that they need and that they ought to beg of God Again in this Treatise as in a Glass all sorts of profane persons and all sorts of self-flatterers and all sorts of hypocrites may see 4. What those things are without which they can neither be happy here nor hereafter Now were there no other Reasons for my sending forth this Treatise into the world this alone might justifie me But Honoured and Beloved before I close up this Epistle give me leave to say That there are two sorts of men that my self and all the world are bound 1. Highly to prize 2. Cordially to love And 3. Greatly to honour above all other men in the world and they are these First men of publick spirits Secondly men of charitable spirits men of merciful spirits men of tender and compassionate spirits First Men of publick spirits my self and all others are bound 1. Highly to prize 2. Cordially to love And 3. Greatly to honour above all other men in the world and that First Because a publick spirited man is a common good a common blessing all in the Family all in the Court all in the City all in the Countrey fare the better for that Christians sake that is of a publick spirit All in Laban's family did fare the better for Jacob's sake Gen. 30.27 19.21 22 23 24. 41. c. and all in the City of Zoar did fare the better for Lot's sake and all Pharoah's Court and the whole Countrey of Egypt did fare the better for Joseph's sake Sodom was safe whilst Lot was in it Eliah was a man of a publick spirit 2 King 2.12 and he was the chariots and horsemen of Israel Moses was a man of a publick spirit and he often diverted ruining judgments from falling upon Israel Psal 106.23 Num. 16.46.49 Phineas was a man of a publick spirit and he takes up his Censer and stands between the living and the dead Though I do not I dare not say that every publick spirit is a gracious spirit yet this I must say that every gracious spirit is a publick spirit and the Plague was stayed Men of publick spirits are publick mercies publick blessings a man of a publick spirit is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a publick diffusive blessing in the place where he lives men of publick spirits are the true Atlasses both of Church and State they are the Pillars on whom all do rest the Props on whom all do lean do but overturn these Pillars and all will fall about your ears as the house did about the Philistines when Sampson shook it wrack but these and Kingdoms and Commonwealths shall be quickly wrackt themselves When Metellus heard of the death of Scipio Africanus a man of a publick spirit he ran out into the Market-place and cryed out O Citizens come forth and consult what is to be done for the walls of your City are fallen down But Secondly Because publick spirited Christians are most like to Christ and to the choicest and
most excellent Saints John 17. Heb. 2. Isa 63.3 Rom. 8.30 31 32 33. Heb. 7.25 John 14.1 2 3 4. Acts 10.38 Phil. 2.4 5. Christ made himself poor to make others rich but men of narrow souls make others poor to make themselves rich 1 Cor. 6.8 2 Cor. 8.9 Christ left his Fathers bosom for a publick good he assumed our nature for a publick good he trod the wine-press of his Fathers wâ—ath for a publick good he died for a publick good and he rose for a publick good he ascended to heaven for a publick good and he continues in heaven for a publick good when he was in this world he went up and down doing good he healed others but was hurt himself he fed and filled others but was hungry himself Christ was all for a publick good Look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus Though self be a great stickler yet he that will write after Christs Copy must neglect himself to serve others That Christian acts most like Christ who prefers the publick interest before his own private interest The Stars have their brightness not for themselves but for the use of others and the Sun hath her shining light but not for her self but for others In the natural body every member is diffusive the eye conveys the light the head spirits the liver blood c. And why should it not be so in the politick body also And as Christ so Moses was a man of a publick spirit when God made a very fair profer to him that he would make him a great Nation Exod. 32.10 11 12. So Num. 14 4 10 13 14. if he would but stand Neuter till he had revenged himself upon a rebellious people but Moses had no mind to preserment upon those terms he preferr'd the publick good before his own honour profit and advancement and therefore follows God closs and never gives over pleading for them till he had procured their pardon Ver. 13.14 and turned away the wrath of God from them So Joshua was a man of a publick spirit Josh 19.49 When they had made an end of dividing the Land for inheritance by their coast the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them Joshua might have served himself first and he might have taken as large an Inheritance as he had pleased but he preferr'd the good of the people before his own he who had divided the Land to others was himself contented with very mean preferment for his inheritance was among the barren Mountains Hierom. as some observe So Jehoiada was a man of a publick spirit 2 Chron. 24.16 you read that they buried him in the City of David among the Kings because he had done good in Israel both towards God and towards his house Men of publick spirits shall be honoured both living and dying Neh. 5.14 15. So Nehemiah was a man of a brave publick spirit he holds on twelve years together in publick work upon his own cost and charge Esther 4.16 So Esther was one of a publick spirit and therefore she takes her life in her hand and goes in to the King with an If I perish I perish And so Mordecai was a man of a publick spirit Mordecai the Jew was next unto King Ahashuerus and great among the Jews Esth 10.3 and arcepted of the multitude of his brethren seeking the wealth of his people and speaking peace to all his seed Mordecai was more mindful and careful of his peoples peace prosperity and welfare than he was of his own concernments And so Dâ—vid was a man of a publick spirit for after he had served his own generation he fell asleep Acts 13.36 The spirit of the Lord has put this upon record for Davids honour and our imitation Davids soul did not live in a narrow Bowling-alley he was not a man of so poor low and narrow a spirit as to make himself the center of his designs and actions David was a man of a generous noble spirit the publick good lay nearest his heart and to serve his generation he was willing to spend and be spent The publick spirited man of all men is most like to Christ and to those Worthies who were once glorious on earth and are now triumphing in heaven The Apostle speaks of some who are lovers of themselves 2 Tim. 3.2 and who are seekers of themselves Phil. 2.21 and who are minders of themselves Phil. 3.19 They mind earthly things Of all these we may say as God speaks of Israel Israel is an empty vine Hos 10.1 he brings forth fruit unto himself yea of all these we may say that light is not more contrary to darkness heaven to hell glory to shame than these are contrary to Christ and to those precious servants of his who are crown'd and chronicled in the blessed Scriptures for their publick spiritedness and publick usefulness in the world But Thirdly Men of publick spirits are rare men excellent men of all men they most resemble God Mat. 5.45 Vir bonus magis aliis prodest quam sibi who does good to all there are none so excellent and truly honourable as these All the Instances cited to make good the second particular evidences this to which I may add that of Daniel who was a man of a publick spirit and of that excellent spirit as that he carried the Bell from all the Presidents and Princes of Darius his Court Dan. 6.3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the Presidents and Princes because an excellent spirit was in him and the King thought to set him over the whole Realm I might give you many other Instances from the Patriarchs and Apostles but what need that when blind nature speaks so loud in the case Men of publick spirits have been very excellent and honourable in the very eyes of all the Heathen Take a few Instances among the many hundreds that might be produced M. Attilius Regulus was a man of that publick spirit In Austins account he was the gallantest of all the old Romans that he valued neither State nor Life to serve his Countrey and preserve his own honour he got very much for his Countrey but little for himself seven Acres of Land being all that ever he had he was a man highly honoured among the Romans Titus Vespasian was a man of a publick spirit he governed so sweetly moderately and prudently that he was generally termed Delitiae humani generis the delight of mankind he was greatly honoured whilst he lived and when he died the people wept so bitterly for him as if they had been resolved to have wept out their yes Curius Dentalus was a man of a publick spirit and very victorious when his Countrey was setled he was found at dinner feeding hard on a few parched Pease when the Ambassadors were
sent to tender him a great sum of gold which he refused saying He had rather be at his pease while they whom he ruled over had the gold than he to have the gold and they the Pease When some unworthy persons once accused him for keeping back somewhat from the publick he brought forth a wooden platter and did swear That it was all he had reserved to himself of the spoyls He was had in great honour and reputation among the people That Pilot dies nobly saith Seneca who perisheth in the storm with the Helm in his hand Aristides was a man of a publick spirit after the overthrow of the Persians when there was a Mass of treasure gold silver and rich apparel he would not touch it nor take so much as one farthing of it to himself he was in high esteem among the people Tully in his Book of Scipio's dream brings in a dead Father now in heaven as he supposed encouraging his son to do service for his Countrey wherein himself had given him a most noble and notable example upon a very high consideration viz. There is a most sure and certain place in heaven for every man that shall procure the weal of his Countrey either by freeing it from peril or increasing the happiness of it any way To hear a Gentile tell of heaven as of a thing certain to hear him tell of certain places provided there for those that should do vertuously to have the service of ones Countrey pressed on his soul with so celestial an argument what matter of wonder and admiration is it Another speaking of men of publick spirits saith Such ennobled spirits they are the dear off-spring Cicero the delight and care of God a divine race it is from the heavens they come down to us and to the heavens again when ever they take their leaves of us shall they triumphantly return A Cataline sayes the Satyrist a trouble of mankind grows as the weed Jur. almost every where but a Brutus a worthy Patriot that bears the welfare of others the true prosperity of his native Land upon his heart and sets his eyes perpetually thereon for good such an one is a rare jewel worthy of all honour and embraces where ever he is found Men of publick spirits of all men 1 Sam. 2.30 do most exalt the Lord and honour the Lord and therefore the Lord first or last will most exalt them and honour them In all the Ages of the world and in all the Nations of the world men of most publick spirits have been best beloved and most highly honoured A man of a narrow spirit is like the Hedge-hog that never goes abroad but to gather what he can for himself who ever suffer by it but a man of a publick spirit is like the Pellican that draws out her own blood for the good of others and therefore the light of nature as well as the Law of grace will lead men by the hand to honour such Fourthly Men of publick spirits do most and best answer to one of the noblest and highest ends of their creation Doth the Bee gather honey for it self Doth the Sheep yield wool for it self Doth not all creatures serve the community Non nobis solum nati said the Heathen By the Law of creation every man is bound to serve the publick to serve his generation A narrow a private spirited man is a shame to his Creation because he walks so contrary to the great intendment of God in it 'T is a base and unworthy spirit for a man to make himself the Center of all his actions The very Heathen man could say That a mans Countrey and his Friends and others challenge a great part of him That man sins against the very Law of his being who is swallowed up in his own private interests Men of publick spirits should not bear the sword of justice in vain for by the Law of creation they are bound so to handle it as to be a terror to evil doers Rom. 13.3 4 and a praise to them that do well 'T is cruelty to the good to spare the bad 't is wrong to the Sheep to let the Wolves alone 't is the death of the Lambs to spare the Lions If you will pity Cataline sayes one pity Rome much more let the whole have a share in your pity rather than a part Pereat unus magis quam unitas better have one injurious person sit mourning than a whole Nation languishing c. Men of publick spirits should be for the ease of all and the peace of all and the comfort of all and the encouragement of all and the safety of all But this Age is full of Droans and Cyphers and of spiritless lifeless men who look at nothing who design nothing who aim at nothing and who endeavour nothing but how to raise themselves and greaten themselves and inrich themselves and build up themselves though it be upon others ruinnes How many are there who are so swallowed up in their own interests and private concernments that Gallio-like they care not whether the publick sink or swim Acts 18.7 These put me in mind of Jothams Parable Judg. 9.8 9 10 11 c. The Trees went forth to anoint a King over them They go to the Olive to the Fig-tree and to the Vine but shall I leave my fatness saith the Olive shall I leave my sweetness saith the Fig-tree and shall I leave my wine saith the Vine and go up and down for other Trees This is the very temper spirit and carriage of many in our day If you go to them and desire them to lay out themselves for the publick good What say some shall we leave our ease our pleasure our profits And say others Shall we run this and that hazard Shall we lose such and such friends and create to our selves such and such enemies to serve other men to save other men to advantage other men we cannot do it we will never do it Learned Tully was a zealous Patriot and lover of his Countrey he wished two wishes though he never saw either of them effected one was That he might see Rome setâ—led in its just liberties and the other was That he might see every mans estate pâ—oportionable to his affection and love to the publick Deubtless if Tullies wish might take place in our times the purses of many would be more empty and the publick Coffers would be more full But Fifthly Of all men on earth there are none that have such a stock of prayers going for them as men of publick spirits Men of publick spirits are not only most highly prized and cordially loved and greatly honoured but they are also most upon the hearts of all sober and serious Christians when they are in the Mount with God The lives of such are most desirable and the deaths of such will be most lamented who make it their business to serve their generation 2 Chron. 21.20
that is sins own work and not ours but he sayes Let it not reign in you for when a King reigns the Subjects do â—s it were actively obey and embrace his command whereas they are rather patients than agents in a tyranny a regenerate mans will riseth against his sin even then when he is worsted by sin and led captive by sin A Tyrant is obeyed unwillingly the wills of his subjects rise up against his commands and if his power were not superior to their wills they would never obey him Sin is no King but a Tyrant in the souls of the Saints and therefore their wills so far as they are renewed can't but rise against it O Sirs remember this for ever that the molesting vexing and tempting power of sin does not speak out its dominion for sin may molest and vex and tempt as an enemy where it doth not rule and reign as a King as you see this day in many Nations of the earth there are many enemies that do molest vex and tempt the subjects of those Nations who yet are far enough off from having any rule or dominion over them but then sin is in dominion when it commands in the heart as a King in his Throne or as a Lord in his house or as a General in his Army freely boldly universally cheerfully and when the soul doth as freely boldly universally and cheerfully subject it self to sins commands where men commonly yield up their wills and affections to the commands of sin there sin reigns and this is the case of every unregenerate man but where the will does commonly make a stout opposition to sin there it reigns not now this is the case of every regenerate man That Prince cannot truly be said to reign in that Kingdom where commonly he meets with stout opposition So 't is here A sincere Christian makes it the great business and work of his life above all other things in this world to make all the opposition he can against his lusts and is throughly resolved to die fighting against his sins as Pietro Candiano one of the Dukes of Venice died fighting against the Nauritines It is a harder thing to fight with a mans lusts than to fight with the cross Augustine with the weapons in his hand Aâ— Caesar said in a battel he fought against one of Pompey's sons at other times I fought for honour but now I fight for my life so a sincere Christian fights against his sins as for his life Castellio's opinion was vain viz. That men are of three sorts some unregenerate some regenerating and others regenerated and that these last have no combat betwixt flesh and spirit which is quite cross to Scripture Rom. 7 14-24 Gal. 5.17 c. and contrary to the experience of all Saints in all the ages of the world But Thirdly When a man is usually peremptory in his sinnings in the face of all reprehensions and arguments that tend to disswade him from sin Prov. 29.1 Jer. 5.3 4. 44.15 16 17. then sin is in dominion when the constant bent of the heart is inflamed towards sin and when the desires of the soul are insatiably carried after sin and when the resolutions of the soul are strongly and habitually set upon sin Hos 2.6 7. then sin is in the Throne and then it reigns as a King when God hedges up the sinners way with thorns yet the sinner will break through all to his sin when life and death heaven and hell glory and misery are set before the sinner Deut. 30.15 19. 11.26 27 28.29 yet the sinner will be peremptory in his sinnings though he lose his life his soul and all the glory of another world then sin reigns But Fourthly When men ordinarily habitually commonly are very careful studious and laborious to make provision for sin then sin reigns Rom. 13. ult Make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof or as the Greek has it David in an hour of temptation once made provision for his lusts 2 Sam. 11.14 15. but this was not his course his trade c. Make no projects for the flesh or cater not for the flesh when a mans head and heart is full of projects how to gratifie this lust and how to satisfie that lust and how to fulfil t'other lust then sin reigns then 't is in its throne Jam. 4.3 Ye ask and receive not because you ask amiss that ye may consume it upon your lusts Both the Law of God and nature requires me to make provision of raiment food and physick for my body and for theirs that are under my charge but it may cost me my life my estate yea my very soul to make provision for my lusts Such as ask amiss shall be sure to ask and miss he that would make God a Baud to his lusts may ask long enough before God will answer of all affronts there is none to this of making God a servant to our lusts Hos 2.8 and where this frame of spirit is there sin is in dominion He that abuses mercies to serve his lusts fights against God with his own weapons as David did against Goliah and as Benhadad did against Ahab with that very life that he had newly given him such a soul like the waters of Jordan will at last certainly drop into the dead lake But Fifthly When sin is commonly habitually sweet and the soul takes a daily pleasure and delight in it then it reigns as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the margenâ— together Joh 20.12 13. Prov. 2.14 Amos 6.13 Zeph. 3.11 2 Thes 2.12 when a man daily takes as joyful contentation and satisfaction in his lusts and in walking after the wayes of his own heart as he does in his highest outward enjoyments oâ— in his nearest and dearest relations then certainly sin is in dominion Such men as can go constantly on in a way of wickedness meerly to delight and content the flesh such men are certainly under the power and reign of sin Many of the Heathens who knew what rational delights were scorned sensual delights as inferior to them These will one day rise in judgment against many of the Professors in our dayes I know there is no real pleasure or delight in sin if intemperance could afford more pleasure than temperance then Hiliogabalus should have been more happy than Adam in Paradise yea if there were the least real delight in sin there could be no perfect hell where men shall most perfectly sin and most perfectly be tormented with their sins Heark Scholar said the Harlot to Apulciuâ— 't is but a bitter sweet that you are so fond of Pâ—â—â—rh When an Asp stings a man it doth at first tickle him and make him laugh till the poyson by little and little gets to his heart and then it pains him more than before it delighted him 'T is so with sin it may tickle the soul at first but it will pain
honest thoughts such gracious thoughts of himself or of the goodness or happiness of his condition as he should entertain and as he would entertain if once he could but be too hard for the World the Flesh and the Devil O that you would remember this for ever viz. That the Lord never makes any Promises to support comfort cheer and encourage his people against their sadness darkness doubts and droopings but they shall support comfort cheer and encourage his poor people in that condition for otherwise the Lord should provide means for an end out of his infinite Wisdome love and tender care and compassion towards his people and yet they should never attain that end but thus to imagine is no small folly yea 't is little less than Blasphemy Well Sirs this is to be for ever remembred viz. That whatsoever gift or Grace of God in man brings him within the compass of Gods Promises of eternal favours and mercies that giâ—t that Grace must needs be an infallible sign or evidence of Salvation but such are the gifts and Graces specified in the fifteen particulars but now cited and therefore that Soul that really finds those gifts and Graces in himself or any of them shall certainly be saved But The Ninth Maxim or Consideration NInthly Consider this That in divers men there are divers degrees of Assurance and in one and the same gracious Soul there are different degrees of Assurance at divers times but there is in no man at any time in this life perfection of degrees for our understanding and knowledg in this Life is imperfect both as to the faculty and its acts 1 Cor. 13.12 For now we see through a glass darkly Gr. in a Riddle but then face to face Now I know in part but then shall I know even * As is not a note of equality but likeness so that the sense may be this look as God knoweth me after a manner agreeable to his infinite excellency so shall I know God according to my capacity not obscurely but perfectly as it were face to face as also I am known A clear distinct immediate full and perfect knowledg of God is desirable on earth but we shall never attain to it till we come to Heaven this Well is deep and for the most part we want a Bucket to draw withal the best of men can better tell what God is not than what he is the most acute and judicious in Divine knowledg have and must acknowledg their ignorance witness that great Apostle Paul who learned his Divinity among the Angels and had the Holy Ghost for his immediate Tutor yet he confesses that he knew but in part certainly there is no man under heaven that hath such a perfect compleat and full assurance of his Salvation in an ordinary way as that one degree cannot be added to the former Neither is there any repugnancy in asserting an infallible assurance and denying a perfect assurance for I infallibly know that there is a God and that this God is holy just and true and yet I have no perfect knowledg of a Deity nor of the holiness justice and truth of God for in this life the most knowing man knows but in part Dear friends in the Church of Christ there are Believers of several growths there are Fathers young men Children and Babes 1 John 1.13 14. 1 Pet. 2.2 And as in most families there are commonly more Children and Babes than grown men so in the Church of Christ there are commonly more weak staggering doubting Christians than there are strong ones grown up to a full assurance Some think that as soon as they be assured they must needs be void of all fears and filled with all joy in believing but this is a real mistake for glorious and ravishing joy is a separable accident from Assurance nor yet doth Assurance exclude all doubts and fears but only such doubts and fears as ariseth from infidelity and reigning hypocrisy But The Tenth Maxim or Consideration TEnthly Consider we have no ground from Scripture to expect that God should either by a Voice from Heaven or by sending an Angel from about his Throne or by any glorious apparitions or strong impressions or by any extraordinary way of Revelations assure us that we do believe or that our Grace is true or that our interest in God and Christ is certain or that our pardon is sealed in Heaven or that we are in a justified state and that we shall be at last undoubtedly saved O no! But we are to use all those blessed helps and means that are appointed by God and common to all Believers for the obtaining of a particular Assurance that we are Believers and that our state is good and that we have a special propriety in Christ and in all the fundamental good that comes by him Mark he that will receive no establishment no comfort no peace no assurance except it be administred by the hand of an Angel and witnessed to by some Voice from Heaven c. will certainly live and dye without establishment comfort peace or assurance Gregory tells us of a Religious Lady of the Empresses Bed-Chamber Vide Gregorii Epistolae á Lapide in 8. ad Rom. v. 16. whose name was Gregoria that being much troubled about her Salvation did write unto him That she should never cease importuning of him till he had sent her word that he had received a Revelation from Heaven that her sins were pardoned and that she was saved To whom he returned this Answer That it was a hard and altogether a useless matter which she required of him It was difficult for him to obtain as being unworthy to have the secret Counsels of God to be imparted to him and it was as unprofitable for her to know and that first because such a Revelation might make her too secure and secondly because it was impossible for him to demonstrate and make known unto her or any other the truth and infallibility of the Revelation which he had received to be from God so that should she afterwards call into question the truth of it as well she might her troubles and doubtings concerning her Salvation would have been as great as they were before O therefore let all Believers that would have sure establishment sound comfort lasting Peace and true and sweet assurance of the love of God and of their interest in Christ c. take heed of flying unto Revelations Visions or Voices from Heaven to assure them of their Salvation and of the love of God and of their interest in Christ c. If you who are advantaged to consult H story please to do it you will find upon Record that where one hath been mistaken about searching his own heart and trying his wayes and observing the frame and temper of his own spirit many hundreds have been eternally deceived and deluded by Voices Visions Apparitions Revelations 2 Thes 2.9 10 11 12. and strange impulses and strong
my Soul be thou much in adoring and admiring of free and infinite Grace that hath wrought all these thâ—ngs in thee and for thee But now dear hearts that this eleventh particular concerning probabilities of Grace may the better stick upon you and be the more seriously minded and weighed by you I beseech you often to ponder upon these six following things First That you have deserved Hell and therefore for you to have but a probability of going to Heaven is infinite grace and mercy you have deserved to be shut up in chains of darkness with Devils and damned Spirits to all eternity Jude 6. and therefore for you to have a probability of enjoying for ever the presence of God Heb. 12.22 23 24. Isa 33.14 Christ the glorious Angels and the Spirits of just men made perfect in Heaven is a mercy more worth than ten thousand worlds you have deserved to dwell with a devouring fire and to lye for ever under those flames and torments that are easless endless and remediless Psal 16. ult and therefore for you to have a probability of satiating and delighting your souls in that fulness of joy and in those everlasting pleasures that be at Gods right hand is Grace yea glorious Grace upon the Throne c. But Secondly Consider that if you cast up a true and faithful account you will certainly find that the comfort the peace the joy the quiet the rest the satisfaction the content that the generality of Saints do enjoy is more from probabilities of Grace than t is from any certainty or assurance that they have of Grace being in their Souls t is more from probabilities of an interest in Christ than from any assurance of an interest in Christ t is more from probabilities of being saved than t is from any special perswasions that they shall be saved t is more from probabilities of going to Heaven than t is from any raised fixed confidence that they shall go to Heaven and therefore the people of God have very great cause to bow before the Lord and to adore his Grace and for ever to speak well of his name for the very probabilities of Grace and of an interest in Christ and of being saved and glorified Thirdly Consider that there have been very many under such dreadful horrors and terrors of Conscience and under such wrath and displeasure of an angry God and that have lain trembling upon their dying beds and that have been even ready to be swallowed up in the gulf of despair who would have given all the world had it been in their power for the very probabilities of Grace He dyed desperately who dyed with this desperate saying in his month Spes fortuna valete Farewell life and hope together Despair is Satans master-piece it carries men headlong to Hell as the Devils did the herd of Swine into the deep Spira being in a deep despair for renouncing of those Doctrines of the Gospel which he had once stoutly profest said That he would willingly suffer the most exquisite tortures of Hell fire for the space of ten thousand years upon condition he might be well assured to be released afterward He further added in that hellish and horrible fit that his dear wife and children for whose sake principally he turned away from the Gospel to embrace this present world appeared now to him as Hangmen Hags and torturers A despairing Soul is Magor Missabib a terror to himself his heart a Hell of horrour his Conscience an Aceldama a Field of black Bloud So that as Augustin describes such a one flying from the Field to the City from the City to his house from his house to his Chamber from his Chamber to his bed c. So that he can rest no where but is as if infernal Devils in fearful shapes were still following of him and still terrifying and tormenting his distressed and perplexed Soul Now doubtless such poor souls would have given ten thousand worlds had they so many in their hands to give and that for the very probabilities of Grace and how many tempted deserted clouded wounded and benighted Souls are there who would think it a Heaven on this side Heaven if they could but see probabilities of Grace in their Souls O therefore let not the probabilities of Grace be a small thing in your eyes but bow the knee and let the High Praises of God be found in your mouths even for probabilities of Grace But Fourthly Consider that Saâ—an is a very deadly enemy to the least probabilities of grace and will do all he can to cloud darken and obscure probabilities of Grace since divine vengeance has cut him off from the least hopes from the least probability of ever obtaining the least dram of Grace or mercy Let not any think saith Luther the Devil is â—ow dead no nor yet asleep for as he that keepeth Israel so he thaâ— hateth Israel never slumbreth or sleepeth O how does he storm and take on against every probability of Grace and mercy that God vouchsafes to his people for their comfort and encouragement Satan is an old experienced enemy almost of six thousand years standing and he very well knowes that probabilities of grace will certainly arm a Christian against many temptations and sweetly support him under many afflictions and exceedingly heighten and raise his resolutions he knows that probabilities of grace will turn crosses into Crowns storms into calms and Winter nights into Summer dayes Satan knows that probabilities of grace will make every bitter sweet and every sweet seven times more sweet and therefore his spirit rises and swells against every probability of grace Now the greater Satans rage is against the probabilities of grace the more thankful we should be for the probabilities grace t is good to move and act cross to him who in all his actings loves to act cross to the glory of God and the good of our Souls But Fifthly Consider that from probabilities in outward things men commonly gather a great deal of comfort support quietness and satisfaction when the Physitian tells the Patient that t is probable yea very probable that he will recover live and do well O what a support comfort and refreshing is this to the languishing Patient when there is but a probability of a good Market how does the Market-man smile when there is but a probability of good Trading how does the Tradesman cheer up when there is but a probability of a good Voyage how does the Merchants and the Marriners spirits rise when there is but a probability of a good Harvest how does the Husbandman sing when there is but some hopes some probability of a Pardon for a Condemned man how does his spirits revive and how does his heart even leap and dance for joy and so when a Christian has but some hopes some probabilities of grace of an interest in Christ and of being saved he may well cheer up and maintain his ground against
all fears and doubts objections and temptations But Sixthly and lastly Consider there is a great deal of grace and mercy in Scripture peradventures Exod. 32.30 1 Sam. 9.6 1 Kings 20.31 1 Tim. 2.25 as you may easily see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margent together Scripture peradventures ought to keep down despair and raise our hopes and our hearts to know that God is favourable and that sin is pardonable and that mercy is attainable and that Hell is avoidable is no small comfort to a poor doubting trembling Christian And as there is a great deal of grace and mercy in Scripture peradventures so there is a great deal of grace and favour in Scripture may-be's as you may see by comparing these Scriptures in the Margent together Now if Scripture-peradventures 1 Sam. 14 6. 2 Sam. 16.12 2 Kings 19.4 Isa 37 4. Ezek. 14 11. Amos 5 15. Zeph. 2 3. Dan. 4.27 and Scripture may-be's afford so much support relief and comfort to your souls as indeed they do then doubtless probabilities of grace of an interest in Christ of going to Heaven and of being saved ought very much to support relieve cheer and comfort the hearts of all those that have such probabilities A gracious soul may say when he is lowest and weakest Well though I dare not say that I have Grace yet I have a peradventure for it and though I dare not I cannot say I have an interest in Christ yet if I have a may-be for it I ought to bear up bravely and comfortably against all fears and doubts yea and to take the comfort and the sweet of all those blessed probabilities of grace of an interest in Christ and of being saved and of all the peradventures and may-be's that are scattered up and down in the Book of God and with Hannah to walk up and down without a sad countenance 1 Sam. 1.18 The Twelfth Maxim or Consideration TWelfthly Consider that t is a Christians greatest Wisdom and highest concernment to take the most commodious time for the casting up of his spiritual accounts If I would know what I am worth for another World and what I have to shew for the inheritance of the Saints in light then I am to take my heart when t is at best and when I am most divinely prepared and fitted for this great service then to enter upon it T is no wisdom for a man to go to see his face in troubled waters or to look for a Pearl in a puddle There are some particular times and seasons in which t is no way safe nor convenient for a Christian to enter upon the tryal of his Spiritual estate Times of desertion and temptation are rather times and seasons for mourning watching restling and seeking of God than for judging and determining of our conditions As first when the body is greatly distempered 2. When the Soul is greatly tempted by Satan or sadly deserted by God 3. When the Conscience is so deeply wounded by some great falls as that the Soul is filled with exceeding great fear terror and horror it is with many poor Christians in this case as it hath been with some who have been so struck with the fear and horror of death before the Judg that though they were good Schollars and able to read any thing yet fear and horror hath so surprised them that when their lives have been at stake and the Book hath been given them to read they have not been able to read one line one word So many of the precious servants of Christ when they have been under wounds of Conscience and when they have been filled with fears terrors and horrors they have not been able to look up to Heaven nor read their evidences nor turn to the breasts of the Promises Psal 40.12 Psal 77. Psal 88. Job 23.8 9. nor call to mind their former experiences nor behold the least glimpse of Heavens glories No man in his wits if he were to weigh gold would weigh it in the midst of high winds great storms and horrible tempests which would so hurry the ballance up and down this way and that that it would be impossible for him to weigh his gold exactly Now the tryal of our spiritual estates is like the weighing of gold Job 31.6 Dan. 5.27 for we are all to weigh our selves by the ballance of the Sanctuary God himself will one day weigh us by that ballance and if we hold weight when he comes to weigh us we are safe and happy for ever But when he comes to weigh us in the ballance of the Sanctuary if we shall then be found too light it had been good for us we had never been born when Belshazzar saw the hand-writing upon the wall his countenance was changed Verses 5 6. and his thoughts troubled and the joynts of his loyns were loosed and his knees smote one against another but what was all this to an everlasting separation from God and to those endless easless and remediless torments that such must endure 2 Thess 1.7 8 9 10. who when they are weighed in the ballance shall be found too light A man that would weigh gold to a grain The candle will never burn clear whilst there is a thief in it sin indulged in the conscience is like Jonah in the ship which causeth such a tempest that the Conscience is like a troubled Sea whose waters cannot rest or it is like a more in the eye which causeth a perpetual trouble while it is there must weigh it in a quiet still place And so a man that would make an exact tryal of his spiritual estate he must take his Soul when t is most serious quiet still and composed he must take his heart when it is in the best frame and most disposed to solemn and weighty work There are some times which are very unapt for a gracious person to sit as Judg upon his Spiritual estate and to pass sentence upon his own Soul The best Christians under Heaven do meet with divers inward and outward changes sometimes the light shines so clear that they can see things as they are but at other times all is dark and cloudy and tempestuous and then they are apt to judg themselves by feeling and new representations and not according to the truth O Sirs remember this once for all that times of inward or outward distresses are best for Praying and worst for judging If a man will at such times pass sentence on himself or his estate as a Judg he will certainly judg unrighteous judgment for then the Soul is not it self and is very apt and prone to take Satans work for his own and to side with him against it self yea and then usually it will see nothing it will think of nothing it will dwell upon nothing but what makes against it self 4. When God exercises a man with some exceeding severe and unusual Providences when God steps out of his ordinary way
that Wine that is sharp and harsh A little grace will make a very glorious shew in such men and women whose very natural tempers are sweet soft gentle meek affable courteous when a great deal of Grace is hardly discernable in those men and women whose very natural tempers are cross crooked cholerick fierce passionate ruff and unhewen As a good man said of an eminent light now in Heaven That he had Grace enough for ten men but scarce enough for himself his natural temper was so bad which he would himself often lament and bewail saying to his friends That he had such a cross crooked nature that if God had not given him grace none would have been able to have lived one day quietly with him A sincere Christian may have more roughness of nature and more sturdiness of passions than is in many a moral man he that hath more Christianity may have less Morality as there is more perfection of animal and sensitive faculties in some bruits than in some men T is an old experienced truth that those sins are with the greatest pains labour travel and difficulty subdued and mortified which our natural tempers complexions and constitutions do most strongly incline and dispose us to and were but those lusts subdued and brought under it would be no difficult thing to bring all other sins to an under when Goliah was slain the Philistims fled when a General in an Army falls 1 Sam. 17.51 52. the common Souldiers are quickly routed So t is here get but the sins of your natural tempers complexions and constitutions under your feet and you will quickly ride in a holy triumph over the rest When Justice is effectually done upon your constitution sins 2 Sam. 18.14 ult other sins will not be long lived thrust but a dart through the heart of Absolom and a compleat conquest will follow Now before I close up this particular let me advise you frequently to consider that you can never make a true a right a serious judgment of your selves or of your spiritual estates and conditions without a prudent eye upon your natural tempers complexions and constitutions granting to your selves such indulgence and grains of allowance upon the account of your natural tempers as will stand with sincerity and the Covenant of Grace But The Sixteenth Maxim or Consideration SIxteenthly Consider If you cannot if you dare not say that you have grace Mark 4.26 27 28. yet do not say that you have no Grace for the being of Grace in the soul is one thing and the seeing of Grace in the Soul is another thing A man may have Grace and yet not know that he has Grace he may have a seed of God in him and yet not see it 1 Joh. 5.13 he may believe and yet not believe that he does believe the child lives before it knows that it lives If you cannot say that your Graces are true yet do not say they are counterfeit lest you bear false witness against the real work of the Spirit in you There are none so apt to question the truth of their Grace as those are that are truly gracious though Satan cannot hinder the holy Spirit from working true grace in the Soul 1 John 4.4 Psal 77. yet he will do all he can to fill the Soul with fears and doubts and jealousies about the truth of that grace that the holy Spirit has wrought in it When did you ever know the Devil to tempt an Hypocrite to believe that his Graces were not true and that certainly he had not the root of the matter in him if you cannot say that you have an interest in Christ yet do not say that you have no interest in Christ for a man may have an interest in Christ and yet not see his interest in Christ not know his interest in Christ there are many precious Christians that walk in darkness who yet have an interest in that Jesus that is all Light Life Isa 50.10 and love if you cannot say that your pardon is sealed in the Court of your own Conscience yet do not say that t is not sealed in the Court of Heaven for many a Christian has his pardon sealed in the Court of Heaven Psal 51. before t is sealed in the Court of his own Conscience A Pardon sealed in the Court of Conscience Rev. 2.17 is that new name and white stone which God does not give to every one at first Conversion God will take his own time to Seal up every Christians Pardon in his bosome If you cannot say that your name is written in the Book of life yet do not say that t is not written in the Book of life the Disciples names were first written in Heaven before Christ bid them rejoyce Luke 10.20 because their names were written in Heaven A man may have his name written in Heaven and yet it may be a long while before God may tell him that his name is written in Heaven I you cannot say that the precious Promises are yours yet do not say that they are childrens Bread and such dainties that your Soul shall never tast of t is not every precious Christian that has an interest in the Promises Psal 77. Psal 88. 1 Pet. 1.4 that can run and read his interest in the Promises If you cannot say that the heavenly inheritance is yours yet do not say that t is not yours do not say it shall never be yours A Christian may have a good title to the heavenly inheritance and yet not be able to make good his title to clear up his title as a child in the arms or in the Cradle may be heir to a Crown a Kingdom and yet he is not able to make good his title If you cannot say that you have Assurance yet do not say that you shall never have Assurance for a man may want Assurance one year and have it the next one Moneth and have it another Luke 19 1-10 Acts 16 29-35 Rom. 11.33 one week and have it another one day and have it another yea one hour and have it another If you cannot say that you shall certainly go to Heaven yet do not say that you shall undoubtedly go to Hell for who made you one of the Privy Counsellors of Heaven who acquainted you with the secret decrees of God c. Now were this Rule but throughly minded and conscientiously practised O how well would it go with many tempted troubled bewildered and clouded Christians O how would Satan be disappointed and poor souls quieted composed and refreshed But The seventeenth Maxim or Consideration SEventeenthly When ever you cast your eye upon your gracious evidences it highly concerns you seriously to remember that you have to deal with God in a Covenant of Grace and not in a Covenant of Works Every breach of peace with God is not a breach of Covenant with God Though the Wife hath many weaknesses and infirmities hanging upon
won the man So when sin hath lost the will it hath lost the man The will is the heart My Son give me thy heart is My Son give me thy will the will is the Fort-Royal of the Soul t is that strong hold that stands out stoutest and longest against all the Assaults of Heaven when the will is won all is won the Castle is won the heart is won the man is won when the will is won A mans judgment and reason may say I ought tâ—â—â—rn from sin and his Conscience may say I must turn from sin or it will be bitterness in the end and yet the work not done nor the Soul won but when the heart sayes the will sayes I will turn from sin then the work is done and the man is won Where reason saith these lusts ought to be subdued and the Conscience saith these lusts must be subdued and the Will saith these lusts shall be subdued Psal 65.3 As for our transgressions thou shaâ—t purge them away there is a saving work upon the Soul When the will ceases to sin as Ephraim said to his Idols Get you hence what have I any more to do with you then the work of God is begun in power upon the Soul A universal willingness to be rid of all sin speaks the heart to be sound and sincere with God the enmity that Grace works in the heart against sin is against the whole kind t is against all sin as well profitable and pleasurable sins as disparaging and disgracing sins and as well against small sins as agâ—inst great sins true Grace strikes at root and branch at head and members at father and son A true Israelite would not have one Canaanite left in the Holy Land he would have every Egyptian drowned in the Red Sea of Christs bloud Psal 119.104 I hate every false way Psal 139. ult Search me O Lord and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting Saving Grace makes a man as willing to leave his lusts as a Slave is willing to leave his Gally or a Prisoner his Dungeon or a Thief his Bolts or a Beggar his rags But now take a man that is in his natural condition and he is as unwilling to part with his sins as Abraham was to turn Hagar and Ishmael out of doors Ambrose reports of one Theotimus that having a disease upon his body the Physician told him That except he did abstain from intemperance drunkenness uncleanness c. he was like to lose his eyes his heart was so desperately set upon his lusts that he answered Vale lumen amicum Farewel sweet Light then he had rather lose his eyes than leave his sins So they in Micha 6.6 7. do make very large offers for a dispensation to live in their sins They offer Calves of a year old they offer thousands of Rams and ten thousand Rivers of Oyl yea they offer their first born for theiâ—â—â—ansgressions the fruit of their bodies for the sin of their souls Sinners hearts are so glued to their lusts that they will rather part with their nearest dearest and choicest enjoyments than part with their sins yea when they are put hard to it they will rather part with God Christ and all the glory of another world than they will part with some base bosom lust witness that young man in the Gospel who went away sorrowful because he had great possessions Matth. 19.21 22. Look as a man leaves his Wife and Children Gen. 21.11 Matth. 19 21 22. 2 Sam. 3.15 16. Augustin in his youth before his Conversion prayed thus I said indeed with my lips Lord give and yet in my heart I was too willing to give longer day and could have said Lord pray not yet I was even afraid lest thou shouldst hear me too soon and too soon heal and subdue my corruption for me Aug. Con. his Countrey Estate and Trade with tears in his eyes and sorrow in his heart so does an unregenerate man leave his lusts with tears in his eyes and sorrow in his heart Very observable is the story of Phaltiel David had Married Michol Saul injuriously gave her to another when David came to the Crown and was able to speak a word of command he sends for his wife Michol her Husband dares not but obey he brings her on her journey and then not without great reluctancy of spirit takes his leave of her But what was Phaltiel weary of his Wife that he now forsakes her O no he was forced to it and though she was gone yet he cast many a sad thought after her and never leaves looking till he sees her as far as Bahurim weeping and bemoaning her absence And just thus t is with carnal and unregenerate men who though for fear or some other reasons they shake hands with their sins yet they have many a longing heart after them they part but t is upon a force they part and yet they are very loath to part asunder Look as the Merchant throws away his goods in a storm because he cannot keep them so carnal â—en in times of sickness and distress or in times of horror and terror of Conscience or when death the King of terrors knocks at their doors or when they see Hell gaping to devour them and God as a terrible Judg standing ready to pass an eternal doom upon them then they are willing to cast overboard their usury their drunkenness their Swearing their Cursing their Lying their Flesh-pleasing c. but not out of any hatred to their lusts but out of love to themselves and out of fear of being damned c. for could they but enjoy their sins and Heaven too sin and they would never part But now were there no danger no wrath no hell no damnation no seperation from God attending sin yet a gracious Soul would be heartily willing to part with all sin and to be rid of all sin upon the account of the vile nature of sin upon the account of the defiling and polluting nature of sin of all things in the World sin is the most defiling thing it makes us red with guilt and black with filth t is compared to a menstruous cloath Isa 30.22 which of all unclean things in the Law was the most unclean as some observe and upon this very account a gracious soul would be willingly rid of it Secondly A constant habitual willingness to be rid of all sin is an infallible evidence of the truth of grace in the Soul 't is not a transient willingness to be rid of sin when a man is either under some outward trouble or some inward distress that speaks out the truth of saving grace but a permanent lasting and abiding willingness to be rid of sin does Pharaoh in a fit in a fright when Thunder and Hail and Frogs and Flies were upon him was then willing to let Israel go but when his fright was over and the Judgments removed he grew prouder
A gracious heart that is weary of sin will certainly and habitually fall a striving against it Gal. 5.17 The flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh for these two are contrary the one to the other Now contraries are naturally expulsive each of other Such a pair as a Jacob and an Esau such Twins as an Isaac and an Ishmael cannot lye quietly together in the same womb no nor live quietly together in the same house but there will be a mutual prosecuting and persecuting each of other Fire and Water may as well agree in the same Vessel as grace and sin in the same heart True Grace hath a real repugnancy and contrariety to all sin and remember this once for all that saving Grace is not contrary to sin because it is open and manifest nor to sin because it is private and secret nor to sin because it is of this or that consequence but to sin as sin whether publick or private because both the one and the other are contrary to the Law of God the will of God the glory of God the nature of God the designs of God c. As it is with true light though it be but a beam yet it is universally opposite to all darkness or as it is with heat though there be but one degree of it yet it is opposite to all cold So true Grace it is opposite to all sin it cannot comply with any known sin Look as sin and Grace were never born together and as sin and Grace shall never dye together so sin and Grace can never be reconciled together There is a natural contrariety between sin and Grace and therefore you can never reconcile them in the heart The opposition that Grace makes against sin is inward as well as outward 't is against sin wheresoever it is Nothing will satisfy a gracious soul but the destruction of sin Rom. 6.6 Knowing this that our old man is Crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin The Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is here rendred destroyed signifies weakned and the strength of it broken and made idle fruitless and uneffectual So Psal 51.2 Wash me throughly or multiply to wash me or play the Fuller upon me from mine iniquity David looked upon his sin his stain to be so inveterate so ingrained that it would hardly be ever gotten out till the cloth were almost rub'd to pieces and cleanse me from my sin David was as desirous to be cleansed of the Leprosy of sin as ever any poor Leper was willing to be cleansed of his Leprosy under the Law And so ver 7. Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow All the Sacrifices of expiation of sin in the old Law were done by blood and that blood was sprinkled upon the people by a bunch of Hyssop so called from the Hebrew word Ezob by reason of the nearness of the sound In the legal sprinklings made with Hyssop was shadowed out the washing away of sin through the blood of Christ Rev. 1.14 Job 9.30 The Brides garments are made white in the blood of the lamb and not by any washings in Snow water When a gracious Soul looks upon sin he cries out Lord raze it raze it down to the ground Lord let not one stone be left upon another In every gracious Soul there is such a detestation and such an indignation against sin that neither Mountains of Gold nor Rocks of Pearl nor honour nor applause nor favour on the one hand nor frowns nor threats nor neglects nor scorns nor contempt on the other hand 〈◊〉 win the Soul over to sin or make the Soul one with sin Look how it was between the Lord and Amalek so it is between a gracious soul and his sins Now if you turn to that Exod. 17.16 you shall find how it was between the Lord and Amalek Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from Generation to Generation Or as the Hebrew has it The hand upon the throne of the Lord Gods hand is laâ—d upon his own Throne as swearing to root out Amalek or because Amaleks hand is lifted up against Gods Throne that is the Church so called in Jer. 4.21 and Crown of Glory Isa 62.3 therefore God will have perpetual wars with Amalek God could as soon be reconciled to Amalek as a gracious Christian can be reconciled to his sins Others sense the words thus that Moses had a solemn Oath as it were laying his hand upon Gods Throne for asseveration and assurance that he and the people will have an irreconcilable war with the posterity of Amalek And so every gracious soul is resolved to make an irreconcileable war with sin But now where there is only common Grace there a man deals by his sins as David did by his son Absolom banish him his Court for a time and afterwards receive him into full favour and court him as much or more than before An unsound heart may fall out with his sin and be very angry with its sin for the consequence of it for the shame it brings upon his person for the blot it leaves upon his name and for the stinging guilt and convulsion fits which it causeth in his Conscience and yet this very person be in a very close and strict league with sin and his heart inwardly and strongly adhering unto sin But a gracious heart will be still a restraining of sin a curbing of sin a crossing of sin a making head against sin and a withstanding it in all its workings Anger may be reconciled but hatred cannot Eightly Where the very prevailings of sin are ordinarily made serviceable to high and holy to gracious and spiritual ends Ezek. 16.61 63. Ephes 2.7 6 7. there certainly is a saving work of God upon that mans soul As when they produce more Soul-loathing Soul-humiliation Self-judging Self-abasement Self-abhorring or when they fill the Soul with a grea◠〈◊〉 admiration of the freeness and riches of Grace or when they keep down pride and prevent the despising of others or produce holy shame or when they make the blood of Christ more precious and dear to the Soul or when they engage a Christian so much the more to watch and pray and pray and watch that he may either be kept from the hour of temptation or in the hour of temptation or when every fall makes sin more bitter to the soul than ever and Christ more sweet to the Soul than ever and all the means of Grace more delightful to the Soul than ever and heaven more desirable to the Soul than ever or when sin is made the prevention of sin or when sin through the over-ruling hand of Grace is made an occasion of more Grace as that good man said As I get hurt by my Graces So I get good by my sins You know all the
to glory of For necessity is laid upon me yea wo is unto me if I Preach not the Gospel Now 't is infinitely better to fall under the displeasure of men than to fall under the woes of God The Jews under a pretence of their Authority command the Apostles not to Preach Jesus to the people but the commands of Christ carry it with the Apostles against all their contrary commands The Apostles who were like to Bottles of new Wine that must either vent or burst knew very well that 't was not obedience to mens commands that could excuse their disobedience to Gods commands So in that third of Daniel the commands of the great God carried it with the three Children against all the dreadful threatnings proud boastingâ— and Idolatrous commands of King Nebuchadnezzar Certainly the commands of sin are of all commands the vilest commands they are all illegal sin hath no ground no reason to command our souls Sin is but a Usurper a Traitor and therefore hâ—s no Authority over us All sins commands are purely sinful they are plain and notorious rebellions against the Laws of Christ the life of Christ and against the Crown Honour and Dignity of Jesus All sins â—ommands are grievous burthensome and painful commands of all yoaks none so heavy as that which sin layes upon the sinner hence sin is compared to a talent of Lead Zach. 5.7 to shew the weightiness and burthensomness of it and hence 't is that sinners are said to weary themselves in committing iniquity Jer. 9.5 And hence 't is that wicked men are laid to travel with iniquity Psal 7.14 to shew what anxious pain and trouble they have in bringing about their wickedness Behold he travelleth with iniquity or as the Hebrew has it he shall travel or he continually travelleth he takes as great pains to go to Hell as a travelling woman doth to be delivered Wicked men are as laborious and as restless and unquiet in the practice of wickedness Prov. 4.14 15 16. as a woman in labour is when the pangs of Travel are upon her Sugred poisons go down pleasantly O but when they are down they gall and gnaw and gripe the very heart-strings asunder 't is so with sin Lastly the commands of sin are extreamly unreasonable what an unreasonable thing is it to command a man to run into the fire or to drown himself in the water or to strangle himself c. Now all the commands of sin tend directly and intentionally to the burning drowning strangling and destroying of the sinner All sins commands tend to the dishonour of God the breach of his righteous Laws and the damnation of the precious and immortal Soul Now where the commands of God do commonly carry it against all the commands of sin there the Soul is certainly sincere with Goâ— That we owe perfect obedience to Gods will to Gods commands is evident enough several wayes and in particular from the universal obedience of all Creatures I mean those which are without reason sense or life for they inviolably observe his commands Isa 48.13 Mine hand hath laid the Foundations of the earth and my right hand hath spann'd the Heavens when I call to them they stand up together as prepared to execute his commands The insensible parts of the world are so compliant with his will as to contradict their proper natures to serve his glory Fire descends from Heaven at his command Gen. 19.24 2 Kings 1.10 11 12. And the fluid Sea stands up at his command Exod. 14.22 Now what a sad thing is it that Christians should at any time prove disloyal and rebellious when all inferiour Creatures do with one consent serve and glorify the great God But c. Tenthly Constant desires and earnest and constant endeavours to avoid and shun all known appearances of sin Where do you read in all the Scriptures of any one Hypocrite that ever made Conscienâ—e of shunning and avoiding the appearances of sin evâ—dences the truth and reality of Grace in the Soul Certainly that man is a true Nathaniel that makes it his business his work to abstain from all appearances of evil An Hypocrite loves the appearance of good more than goodness it self and a sincere Christian hates the very appearance of evil as well as the evil it self He who hates a person loaths his very picture A wicked man may abstain from broad-fac'd evils but commonly he is very bold and ventrous upon appearing evils O what vain Apologies do many make in these dayes for long hair gaudy Apparel Antick Fashions Spotted Faces Naked Breasts Wanton Behaviours Effeminate Dalliances and a thousand other suspicious practices and vanities But now a man that is truly gracious he makes Conscience not only of shunning real gross known evils but also of shunning the very likeness of evil His heart does not only rise against real sins but he is very shy of that which looks like sin When Josephs Mistris took hold of him and said Lie with me he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out Gen. 39.12 Joseph would not be found in the company of his impudent brazen-fac'd Mistris that could so barely and basely so boldly and frequently sollicite him to defile his Masters bed and to damn two Souls at once her own and his that so he might avoid the very appearance of evil the very suspition of sin By wanton touches and dalliance mental Adultery is often committed and therefore Joseph flies as being unwilling to touch her or to be touched by her 1 Cor. 9.11 12 13 14 15. And so Paul refused the using his liberty in taking a lawful maintenance for his labours lest a sinister interpretation of covetousness and mercenary affection should have been put upon it by his Adversaries And so the same Apostle would needs have Titus and two others chosen by the Church to joyn with him in carrying the benevolence of the Church of Macedonia to Jerusalem because he was very careful to avoid all suspition of dealing ill in that business 2 Cor. 8.20 21. Avoiding this that no man should blame us in this abundance that is Ministred by us Providing for honest things not only before the Lord but also before men So Daniel would not defile himself with the portion of the Kings meat that is say some Dan. 1. â— he would not defile his Conscience by eating such unclean meats as were forbidden under the Law for the Babilonians did eat of divers meats as of Swine Hares c. and of sundry sorts of Fishes and Fowls which were forbidden by God unto the children of Israel Levit. 11. Deut. 14 nor with the wine which he drank but in the Hebrew the plural number is used of his drinks whence some gather that the King drank divers sorts of Wines which were also set before Daniel and his companions therefore he requested of the Prince of the Eunuchs that he might not defile himself Daniels living at a full Table
couragious and be valiant or sons of valour as the Hebrew runs And so a Christian must lay the command of God before him as his highest encouragement to do what God requires of him c. Fifthly and lastly Our obedience must be bottomed and grounded upon the commands of God to difference and distinguish our selves from all hypocrites formalists superstitious and prophane persons whose obedience is sometimes bottomed upon the Traditions of men and sometimes upon the commandments of men 'T was the sin of the Ten Tribes that they complyed with the command of Jeroboam and his Princes Isa 29.13 14. Mat. 15.1 to 10. Mark 7.8 to 10. Hos 5.11 12. to worship the Calves at Dan and Bethel and for this the wrath of the Lord fell heavy upon them Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment because he willingly walked after the commandment And sometimes their obedience is bottomed upon the examples of men sometimes their obedience is bottomed upon the examples of their forefathers and ancestors Jer. 44 17 18 c. Joh. 7.48 49. Jer. 10.3 The customs of the people are vain c. and sometimes upon the examples of great men This was that which the Pharisees objected against believing on Christ Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him but this people who knoweth not the Law are cursed And sometimes they bottom their obedience upon the example of the multitude This was Demetrius his argument against Paul Acts 19.26 27. on the behalf of Diana that all Asia and the world did worship her and therefore the doctrine of Paul that they be no Gods which are made with hands was falfe and not to be suffered This hath alwayes been and is still the common plea of many We do but as the most do and sure a great many eyes can see more than one or two And hereupon they exclaim against others for their singularity because they won't do as the rest of their neighbours do But Thirdly That obedience that springs from faith is a growing obedience 't is an abounding obedience such a man's desires will study and labour is to get up to the highest pitch of obedience to get up to the highest round in Jacob's ladder Rev. 2.19 I know thy work and charity and service and faith and thy patience and thy works and the last to be more than the first The Angel of the Church of Thyatira 'T is not every believers happiness always to make a progress in grace Solomon and Asa and others run retrograde Saints have their winter seasons they have their decaying times and withering times as well as their thriving times their flourishing times Rev. 2.4 is commended First for his love 2. For his charity 3. For his faith And 4. For his patience And in the general course of his life he daily became more excellent for his latter works were more than the first that is they were more manifest proofs of his constancy and more worthy of praise than the first This faithful Pastor is commended for his holy progress in grace and holiness So Paul Phil. 3.12 Not as though I had already attained either were already perfect but I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Ver. 13. Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before Ver. 14. I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus The Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth emphatically import a pressing with an eager pursuit after the mark It is the same word that signifies to persecute because the earnestness of his spirit in pressing toward the mark now is the same that it was in the persecution of those that pressed toward the mark before Look as good runners when they come near unto the mark stretch out their heads and hands and whole bodies to take hold of them that run with them or of the mark that is before them so he in his whole race so laboured unto that which was before as if he were still stretching out his arms to take hold of it If such a man might have his choice he would be the most humble the most holy the most heavenly the most mortified the most patient the most contented the most thankful the most fruitful the most active the most zealous and the most self-denying Christian in the world 1 Pet. 1.15 16. Mat. 5. if he might have his choice he would be holy as God is holy and perfect as his heavenly father is perfect he would do the will of God on earth as those Princes of glory the Angels do it now in heaven viz. freely readily cheerfully delightfully universally reverentially and unweariedly c. if he might have his choice Eccl. 9.10 he would exercise every grace and perform every duty with all his might he sees so much excellency and beauty in God and Christ that he can't be at rest till he be swallowed up in the enjoyment of them he sees so much excellency in grace that nothing but perfection of grace will satisfie him he makes perfection not only his utmost end but he also labours after perfection with his utmost strength and endeavours When God is made the one of a mans desires the one of a mans affections the one of a mans life and comfort then will he be the one of a mans endeavours too That obedience that springs from faith when 't is not winter-time with a Christian is a fruitful obedience 't is an abounding obedience 't is a progressive obedience Look as the mercy and favour of God to a believer is not stinted nor limited so the obedience of a believer to God is not stinted or limited but now the obedience of hypocrites is alwayes stinted and limited this command they will obey but not that this duty they will do but not that this work they will attend but not that c. Fourthly That obedience that springs from faith is the obedience of a son not of a slave 't is a free voluntary evangelical obedience and not a legal servil and forced obedience Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness in the Hebrew 't is willingness in the plural number to shew their exceeding great willingnesses Psal 27.8 When thou saidest seek ye my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek By face is meant 1. God himself Exod. 20.3 Before my face that is before me 2. His favour Jer. 18.17 I will shew them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity Now no sooner had God given forth a word of command for the Psalmist to seek himself and to seek his favour but presently his heart did eccho to that command Thy face Lord will I seek So Jer.
for all the duties that they have hindered Judg. 16.28 Sampson pleads hard with God that he might be avenged on the Philistines for his two eyes and so doth the gracious soul plead hard with God that he may be avenged on his bosom lusts on his complexion sins which have put out his two eyes which have so blinded him that he has not for a long time been able to see God or Christ or the things that belong to his external internal or eternal peace The next of kin in the Law was alwayes the avenger of bloud and to him it appertained to hunt after the murderer to bring upon his head the innocent bloud that he had shed if therefore we will shew our selves brethren or sisters of Christ or any thing of kin unto him we must even be the avengers of his bloud upon bosom sins upon complexion sins for for them as well as others was his bloud shed O Sirs what bosom sin is there so sweet or profitable that is worth a burning in hell for or worth a shutting out of heaven for surely none This a gracious soul seriously weighs and accordingly he sets himself against the Toad in his bosom against his darling sins against his complexion sins But now unsound hearts are very favourable to bosom sins to complexion sins they say of them as Lot of Zoar Gen. 19.20 Is it not a little one and my soul shall live And as David once said concerning Absalom 2 Sam. 18.5 Deal gently for my sake with the young man even with Absalom beware that none touch the young man Absalom Ver. 12. And the King said is the young man Absalom safe Ver. 29. An unsound heart is as fond of his bosom sins 2 King 5.18 of his complexion sins as Jacob was of his Benjamin or as Jeha was of his calves or as Naaman was of his Idol Rimmon or as Judas was of bearing the bag or as Herod was of his Herodias Acts 19. or as Demetrius was of his Diana or as the Pharisees were of devouring widows houses Mat. 23. and of having the uppermost seats in the Synagogues and of being saluted in the market places with those glorious titles Rabbi Rabbi The besotted sinner is most engaged to his bosom sins his complexion sins and therefore 't is as bitter a thing as death for him to part with them Mich. 6.6 7. he had rather part with burnt-offerings and calves of a year old he had rather part with thousands of Rams and with ten thousand Rivers of oyl yea he had rather part with his first-born than with his bosom sin Job 20.12 13. he is ready to give the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul Let God frown or smile stroke or strike lift up or cast down promise or threaten yet he will hide and hold fast his bosom sin let God set life and death heaven and hell glory and misery before him yet will he not part with his bosom sins let God wound his conscience blow upon his estate leave a blot upon his name crack his credit afflict his body Jer. 20.3 4. write death upon his relations and be a Magor-missabib a terror to his soul yet will he not let go his darling sins An unsound heart will rather let God go and Christ go and heaven go and all go than he will let his darling lusts go But now a sound Christian a throuhgout Christian he sets himself most against the Dalilah in his bosom against the Benjamin the son the sin of his right hand A sincere Christian looks upon bosom sins upon complexion sins as the most God-provoking sins there are no sins so provoking to Gods jealousies and justice as bosom sins he looks upon bosom sins complexion sins a the most dangerous sins he looks upon bosom sins complexion sins as the worst thing in all the world he looks upon bosom sins complexion sins as more ugly and horrid than the devil himself or than hell it self he looks upon bosom sins as the great make-bates between God and his soul and between his conscience and his comfort Isa 59.1 2. Lamen 3.8 44. he looks upon bosom sins as those enemies that have provoked God often to turn a deaf ear to all his prayers he looks upon his bosom sins as so many Judas's that have often betrayed him into the hands of the devil he looks upon his bosom sins as the waters of Marah that has imbittered all his mercies he looks upon his bosom sins as the only things that have often clouded the face of God he looks upon his bosom sins as dead flies in the box of precious ointment that spoyls all and accordingly with all his might he sets himself against them 1. He fights most against these 2. He weeps most over these 3. He watches and aâ—ms most against these 4. He prayes most against these 5. He resolves most against these And 6. He layes the axe of repentance most to these c. But pray Sir before you close up this Chapter lay down some sure and infallible evidences of the goodness graciousness and happiness of their estates and conditions who are but weak in grace who are but babes of grace that so they may have their portion satisfaction support and consolation as well as others Ans I shall endeavour to do it and therefore thus Sixthly True desires of grace is grace true desires after Christ and grace and holiness is grace he who does sincerely desire to believe he does really believe and he that does sincerely desire to repent he does really repent and he that does sincerely desire to obey the Lord 1 Pet. 2.3 4. 2 Chron. 30.18 19 Mat. 7.8 Psal 42.1 2. Psal 63.1 c. and to fear the Lord and to serve the Lord he does really obey the Lord and fear the Lord and serve the Lord. It is the first step to grace for a man to see his heart void of grace and it is the first degree of grace for a man to desire grace Mark all true desires of grace have the very nature and truth of grace in them As there is true fire in a spark as well as in a flame and true water in a drop as well as in a stream and true light in a beam as well as in the Sun and true gold in the very filings of gold as well as in the whole wedge of gold the least of any thing partakes of the nature of the whole Isa 55.1 2. 65. 1. John 7.37 True desires of grace argues a state of grace and salvation Psal 38.9 Lord thou knowest all my desire my groanings is not hid from thee Mat. 5.6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled or as the Greek runs after the participle of the present tense they that are hungering and thirsting intimating that where ever this is the present disposition of mens souls they are blessed
present or absent we may be accepted of him The Apostles made it their ambition to get acceptance in heaven riches and honours and gifts and arts and parts c. may commend us to men but 't is only grace that commends us to God and that renders us lovely in his eyes 12. Grace will eternalize your names grace will perfume and embalm your names Heb. 11.2 By faith the Elders obtained a good report Ver. 39. And these all having obtained a good report through faith received not the promise Nothing raises a mans name and fame in the woâ—ld like grace A man may obtain a great report without grace nothing below grace will perpetuate a mans name Acts 6 5 3. The seven Deacons that the Church chose were gracious men Act. 10.1 2 3 4 22. and they were men of good report they were men well witnessed unto well testified of as the Greek word imports Act. 9.10 20. compared with Chap. 22.12 Cornelius was a gracious man and he was a man of good report among all the Nation of the Jews Ananias was a gracious man and he was a man of a good report Gaius and Demetrius they were both gracious men and they were men of good report witness that third Epistle of John How renowned was Abraham for his faith and Moses for his meekness and Jacob for his plain-heartedness and Job for his uprightness and David for his zeal and Joshua for his courage Heb. 11.4 Psal 112.6 Prov. 10.7 Holy Abel hath been dead above this five thousand years and yet his name is as fresh and fragrant as a Rose to this very day Grace will make your names immortal The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance The memory of the just is blessed but the name of the wicked shall rot Wicked men many times out-live their names but the names of just men out-live them when a gracious man dies he leaves his name as a sweet and as a lasting scent behind him his fame shall live when he is dead According to the Hebrew the words may be read thus The memory of the just shall be for a blessing the very remembring of the just shall bring a blessing upon them that remember them When a gracious man dies as he carries a good conscience with him so he leaves a perfumed name behind him Grace is the image of God the delight of God the honour of God the glory of God grace is the purchase of Christ and the birth of the Spirit and the pledge of glory grace is the joy of Angels the glory of man and the wonder of the world what 's the body without the soul what 's the cabinet without the jewels what 's the Sun without light what 's the fountain without water what 's Paradise without the Tree of Life what 's Heaven without Christ That 's a soul without grace Now every gracious soul sees a real internal excellency beauty and glory in grace and accordingly it is carried out in its desires after it it sees such an innate excellency beauty and glory in that faith wisdom humility meekness patience zeal self-denial heavenly-mindedness uprightness c. that sparkles and shines in such and such Saints that it many times strives with God in a corner even to sweat and tears that it may be bedecked and inriched with those singular graces that are so shining in others O that I had the wisdom of such a Christian and the faith of such a Christian and the love of such a Christian and the humility of such a Christian and the meekness of such a Christian and the zeal of such a Christian and the integrity of such a Christian c. O that my soul was but in their case I don't covet their riches but their graces Oh that I had but those graces Oh that I had much of those graces that sparkles and shines in the hearts and lives of such and such Christians I see a beauty and glory upon Sun Moon and Stars yea upon the whole Creation but what 's that to that beauty and glory that I see stampt upon grace And this fires his heart with desires after grace But Eighthly No man can sincerely desire all grace every grace or the whole chain of graces but he that has true grace 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7 8 9. Vain men when they are under some outward or inward distresses may to serve their present turns desire in a cold formal customary way patience or contentation or meekness or hope or faith c. but they don't nor can't whilst they are wicked whilst they are in their natural estate Act. 8.19 to 25. whilst they are in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity sincerely desire every grace especially those particular graces that are most opposite to their master sin to their darling lusts to their constitution sins to their complexion sins to those particular lusts that are to them as dear as their right eyes or right hands Austin before his conversion he was much given to whoredom and he would often pray Lord give me continency but not yet Lord give me continency but not yet he was afraid lest God should have heard him to soon as himself confesseth Wicked men would be very sorry if God should take them at their words and in good earnest answer the cold and lazy desires of their souls If when the drunkard in a good mood should desire sobriety God should take him at his word he would be very angry or if when the unclean person should desire chastity continency God should answer his desires he would not be very well pleased if when the covetous person should under some pangs of conscience desire a free a charitable a noble generous spirit God should take him at his word he would be sorely displeased The same may be said of all other sorts of sinners but now a real Christian though he be never so weak yet he seriously desires every grace he is for every link of the golden chain of graces he finds in his own heart sins that are contrary to every grace and therefore he desires every grace that he may make head against every sin and he finds his heart and life so attended and surrounded with all sorts and kinds of temptations that he earnestly seriously and frequently desires the presence and assistance of every grace that so he may be temptation-proof yea victorious over every temptation and he sees and feels the need of every grace to fill up every place station and condition wherein the Lord has set him and therefore he begs hard for every grace and he sees a beauty and a glory and an excellency upon every grace and therfore he desires every grace as well as any one single grace which no hypocrite or prophane person in the world does But Ninthly No man can sincerely and seriously desire grace for gracious ends and purposes but he that has true grace in his soul Joh.
the face of all fears doubts disputes cavils and objections and though it cannot clear its title to Christ yet will stay and hang it self upon Christ for life and happiness that man is certainly a Believer and will be everlastingly saved Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 if I must die I will die at his feet and in the midst of death expect a better life Mat. 15.22 to 28 that man acts faith to purpose that can love a frowning God and hang upon an angry God and follow hard after a withdrawing God Psal 63.1 8. yea and trust in a killing God as here Job had his Feverish sits and his impatient slips and yet he kept up his heroical resolution to lean upon the Lord whilst he had but one minute to live and this speaks out not only the truth but also the strength of Job's faith in the midst of his extraordinary combats when the soul is peremptorily and habitually resolved to cleave to the person of Christ and to cleave to the merits of Christ Gen. 2.24 Ruth 1.14 15 16 17. Est 4.16 and to cleave to the transactions of Christ with the Father for the salvation of sinners as the wife cleaves to her husband or as the child cleaves to the father or as Ruth cleaved to Naomi or as the Ivy cleaves to the Oak with an If I perish I perish then 't is safe then 't is happy then 't is out of the danger of hell then 't is within the Suburbs of heaven God never did nor never will cast such a man to hell whose soul is drawn forth to a secret resting saying leaning and relying alone upon Christ for the obtaining of all that good and all that glory that he has purchased and his father has promised But Lastly That man that makes it his principle care his main business his work of works to look to his heart to watch his heart and to reform his heart that man doubtless has a saving work of God upon his heart There are two things which a gracious soul most looks at his God and his heart Though a gracious man looks to the cleansing of his hands yet his principle care is the reformation of his heart the cleansing of his heart according to that of the Apostle James Cleanse your hands ye sinners and purifie your hearts ye double minded And that of the Prophet Jeremiah James 4.8 Jer. 4.14 O Jerusalem wash thine heart from wickedness that thou mayest be saved Man must labour after a clean inside as well as a clean outside the conversation must not be only unspotted before the world but the heart also must be unspotted before God the heart is as capable of inward defilements as the body is of outward defilements 2 Cor. 7.1 O Sirs though heart-defilement is least taken notice of yet heart-defilement is the worst defilement and the most dangerous defilement in the world heart-defilement is spiritual defilement Eph. 6.12 Vide â—â—za and spiritual defilement is the defilement of divels which of all defilement is the most hateful odious and pernicious defilement The hypocrites only care is to keep his life from defilement but the sincere Christians care is mainly to keep his heart from defilement for he very well knows that if he can but keep his heart clean he shall with more ease keep his life clean if the fountain be kept pure the streams will run pure The heart is the spring of all actions and therefore every action is as the spring is from whence it flows if the spring be good the action is good that flows from it if the spring be evil the action is evil that flows from it Mâ—â— 2.35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things Certainly the great work of a Christian lieth with his heart the reformation of the heart is the highest and choicest part of reformation Prov 23.26 because it is the reformation of the noblest part of man and is that which God looks most after The reformation of the heart is indeed the heart of reformation there is nothing reformed to purpose till the heart be reformed if the heart be naught all is naught if that be very naught all is very naught if that be stark naught all is stark naught but if that be reformed all is reformed A gracious man's watch is mainly about his heart Create in me a clean heart Psal 51.10 Psal 86.11 Psal 119.36 Psal 119 80. Psal 27.8 See Psal 119.2 Acts 8 37. Heb. 8.10 Jer. 31 33. O God and renew a right spirit within me Unite my heart to fear thy name Incline my heart unto thy testimonies Let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I be not ashamed When thou saidest seek my face my heart answered Thy face Lord will I seek Psal 119.10 With my whole heart have I sought thee Ver. 11. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee Incline my heart unto thy testimonies and not unto covetousness Rom. 1.9 The heart of man is the fountain of life or death and therefore sin in the heart in some respects is worse and more dangerous than sin in the life and hence 't is that the sincere Christian doubles his guard about his heart Luther hit it when he said I more fear what is within me than what comes from without the storms and winds without do never move the earth 't is only vapours within that causeth earth-quakes as Philosophers observe Mat. 23 25-30 Hypocrites as our Saviour testifies are all for the outside they wash the platters and the cups and beautifie the tombs like an adulteress whose care is to paint and set a fair face upon a foul matter but now a sincere Christian Psal 50.23 though he has a special respect to the well-ordering of his life yet his main business and work is about his heart O that this ignorant heart were but more enlightned O that this proud heart were but more humble O that this prophane heart were but more holy O that this earthly heart were but more heavenly O that this unbelieving heart were but more believing O that this passionate heart were but more meek O that this carnal heart were but more spiritual O that this luke-warm heart were but more zealous for God and Christ and the Gospel and the great concernments of eternity O that this slight heart were but more serious O that this dull heart were but more quickned O that this dead heart were but more enlivened c. The highest and hardest work of a Christian lieth with his heart Mark common light common conviction education enforcement of conscience principles of common honesty and morality the eye of man the fear of man the examples of man the laws of man and
and diligent guard about them that nothing may pass in or out that may be either displeasing provoking or grieving to them But Fourthly The word signifies to keep as a man keeps his life Job 10.12 Thy visitation hath preserved here is Shamar my life Now with what care with what diligence with what labour with what watchfulness do men labour to preserve their natural lives what a guard what a watch do men daily set about their lives the same they should set about their hearts But Fifthly Men should keep their hearts as they keep a rich treasure of money or jewels or plate Now to preserve a rich treasure what locks what bolts what bars All our spiritual riches are in our hearts A good man may say with Bias omnia mea mecum parto all my goods I carry about with me what chains are made use of Our hearts are jewels more worth than all the Kingdoms Crowns and Scepters of this world There are few men that know how to value a God a Christ a Gospel a Covenant of grace a Heaven or their own hearts as they should What are mountains of gold and rocks of pearl to the heart the soul of man The heart is that pearl of price for which a man should venture his all and lay down his all O then what a guard what a watch should a man continually keep upon his heart The heart is Camera omnipotentis Regis the presence chamber of the King of heaven and upon this account it becomes a Christian alwayes to keep a guard upon his heart he keeps his heart best who keeps it as his choisest treasure c. But Sixthly Men should keep their hearts as a fond father keeps his only child the fond father will still keep his child within doors he will still have him under his eye and in his presence that so no hurt no harm may befal him day or night Our eye should be still upon our hearts or else they will give us the slip and play the wantons with us But Seventhly Men should keep their hearts as Lovers keep the love-tokens that are mutually sent one to another they love to be often a looking upon them and a thinking of them and a talking of them and will be sure to keep the strictest and the strongest guard upon them So a Christian should still be a looking upon his heart and a thinking upon his heart and a speaking of his heart either of the badness of it or of the wants of it and a keeping of the strictest and strongest guard upon his heart But Eighthly A man should keep his heart as a man keeps his house when he is afraid and in danger of being robbed by thieves in the night O! how wakeful and watchful and active will a man now be but what 's a man's house to his heart A mans heart is in ten thousand times more danger than his house and accordingly his guard should be most about his heart But Ninthly A man should keep his heart as men keep their gardens that are full of choice rich rare ripe fruits and dowers Now what care cost and pains men are at to keep such gardens you well know And O that you did but every day more and more experimentally know what it is to spend your greatest care and pains about your hearts which are Christ's garden his bed of spices where all graces flourish Cant. 4. ult Tenthly and last A man should keep his heart as spruce men and women do their fine cloaths O they won't endure a speck a spot upon them 'T is your wisdom and O that you would more and more make it your work to keep your hearts from all sinful specks and spots Let not others be more careful to keep their outsides clean than you are to keep your insides clean for what are clean cloaths to a clean heart 'T is better to go to heaven in ragged cloaths with a clean heart than to go to hell in fine cloaths with an unclean heart Doubtless that man that makes it his business to keep his heart as men keep dangerous Fellons or Traitors or as soldiers keep their Garrisons or Castles when closly besieged or as the Priests and Levites kept the Sanctuary of God or as a man keeps his natural life or as a man keeps a rich treasure or as a fond father keeps an only child or as Lovers keep their love-tokens or as a man keeps his house when he is in danger to be robbed or as a man keeps his pleasant garden or as spruce men and women keep their fine cloaths that man is doubtless a true Nathaniel a man that has a work of God past in power upon his soul yea that man whose sincere desires and whose gracious purposes and fixed resolutions and faithful endeavours is to guard and watch his heart according to the particulars we have now hinted that man without a peradventure is a gracious man and one that has the root of the matter in him and shall be happy to all eternity Look as no man can hear as he would and should nor pray as he would and should nor believe as he would and should nor repent as he would and should nor walk as he would and should so no man can keep his heart as he would and should but if a man makes it his great business and work to keep his heart to watch his heart to reform his heart to better his heart he is accepted of God and shall be blessed for-ever 'T is one of the greatest and cleerest evidences of grace for a man to make it his greatest business work and concernment in this world to keep his heart alwayes in a gracious frame Cant. 5.2 2 Kings 22.19 2 Chron. 32.26 James 5.11 Eccles 5.1 2. Col. 3.1 2. 2 Cor. 7.11 to keep his heart alwayes in a wakeful frame in a watchful frame in a tender frame in a believing frame in a repenting frame in an humble frame in a patient frame in a serious frame in a heavenly frame and in a jealous frame for the more gracious the heart is the more suspicious it will be Satan has a strong party a numerous party an old party a subtil party in all our hearts and therefore it highly concerns us to watch our hearts with a holy jealousie O Sirs God hath never said Above all keepings keep your Shops or above all keepings keep your Estates or above all keepings keep your Flocks or above all keepings keep your Bags or above all keepings keep your Friends or above all keepings keep your Bodies or above all keepings keep your Names or above all keepings keep your Conversations but he hath said above all keepings keep your hearts Look Fron. lib. 2. as the heart is the fountain of natural life and if it fail life fails and therefore it is strongly secured with ribs about it it is guarded in a castle of flesh and bones so is the soul the fountain
delivered from sin 6. Concomitant of godly sorrow Sixthly Yea what zeal Zeal is an extream heat of all the affections set against sin and working strongly towards God David's zeal did eat up his sin as well as himself And Paul was as zealous in propagating the Gospel as he had been furious in persecuting of it Many mens zeal is hot and burning when scorns and reproaches are cast upon them but the penitent man's zeal is most hot and burning when Religion is scorned Saints persecuted truth endangered and the great and dreadful name of God blasphemed c. The zeal of a true penitent will carry him on in a course of godliness and in a course of mortification in spight of all the diversions and oppositions that the world the flesh and the devil can make Holy zeal is a fire that will make its way through all things that stands between God and the soul The true penitent is unchangably resolved to be hid of his sins what ever it cost him who ever escapes who ever lives he is fully determined his lusts shall die for it only remember this though zeal should eat up our sins yet it must not eat up our wisdom no more than policy should eat up our zeal Seventhly Yea what revenge The true penitent revenges himself upon himself for his sins 7. Concomitant of godly sorrow not by whips and scourges as the Papists do 1 Cor. 9.27 A penitent sinner loaths the very scars of his sins after they are healed Nazian but by buffetting the flesh and bringing it into subjection by fasting and prayer and by crossing of his lusts and loading of them with chains and by diâ—â—ding the sword of mortification against them and by with-holding from them that fuel that might feed them and by the use of all other holy exercises whereby the old man the body of sin and death may be subdued to the obedience and discipline of the Spirit of God Holy revenge will shew it self by contradicting of corrupt self and by a severe chastising and punishing of all those instruments that have been servants to the flesh as you may see by the daughters of Israel in dedicating their looking-glasses by which they had offended Exod. 38.8 to the service of the Sanctuary Acts 19.19 and as you may see by the Ephesians burning of their costly and curious books before all men Luke 7. and by Mâ—ry Magdalens wiping of Christ's feet with her hair wherewith formerly her fond and foolish lovers were inticed and intangled And the same spirit you may see working in Zacheus Luke 19.8 9. and in the Jailor Acts 16.23 24 29 30 31 33 34. And so blessed Cranmer thrust his right hand first into the fire that being the hand by which he subscribed the Popish Articles revengfully crying out This unworthy right hand this unworthy right hand as long as he could speak The common language of holy revenge is this Lord pour out all thy wrath and all thy fierce anger and all thy fiery indignation upon this lust and that lust Lord bend thy bow and shoot all the arrows of thy displeasure into the very heart of my strong corruptions Lord when wilt thou rain hell out of heaven upon this proud heart this unbelieving heart this unclean heart this worldly heart this froward heart this treacherous heart of mine c. I have read of Hannibal that when he saw a pit full of the bloud of his enemies he cryed out with much content and delight O beautiful sight So when a penitent Christian sees his spiritual enemies his strong corruptions all in a goar bloud O! how delightfully and rejoycingly does he cry out O beautiful sight O blessed sight that ever I have seen Exod. 15. When the children of Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the Sea-shore then they sang a song of praise the Application is easie O Sirs let no man deceive his own immortal soul for 't is most certain that repentance to life hath all these lively companions attending of it Sound repentance and the companions of it are born together and will live and continue together till the penitent soul changes earth for heaven grace for glory And let thus much suffice for the first part of true repentance c. The second part of true repentance lyes in confession of sin which flows out of a contrite heart I mean not a bare formal empty confession such as is common amongst the worst of sinners as that we are all sinners and stand in need of a Saviour God help us God be merciful unto us c. but of such a confession of sin as ariseth from a true sight and full sense of sin and from the due apprehensions of a righteous Law that is transgressed and a holy God that is provoked c. When tongue and heart goes together when the tongue speaks out of the abundance of the heart when the tongue is the faithful interpreter of the heart freely ingenuously and humbly acknowledging iniquity transgression and sin and the penitent judging himself worthy of death of wrath of hell and unworthy of the least mercy and favour from God c. Now such a confession as this is you shall find in repenting sinners and if you look again you shall find those persons so confessing to be under the capacity of the promise of the forgiveness of their sins c. First You shall find repenting sinners confessing their sins Ezra 9.6 O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face unto thee my God for our iniquities are increased over our head and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens Repenting sinners confess their sins c. Ver. 10. And now O our God what shall we say after this for we have forsaken thy commandements c. Psal 51.3 I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me Ver. 4. Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight Dan. 9.4 5. I prayed unto the Lord my God and made my confession and said O Lord the great and dreadful God c. We have sinned and committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments c. Ver. 8. O Lord righteousness belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of face as at this day Luke 15.18 I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him father I have sinned against heaven and before thee Ver. 19. And am no more worthy to be called thy son c. 1 Cor. 15.9 For I am the least of all the Apostles that am not meet to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the Church of God 1 Tim. 1.13 Who was before a blasphemer and a persecuter and injurious c. Isa 53.6 All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all I might easily
sin not to swear and whore and curse and be drunk and prophane Sabbaths and dispise Ordinances yea there are many that are so far from being ashamed of their abominations that they even glory in them like those in that Phil. 3.19 They shew their sins as Sodom they make both a sport of acting and a jest of confessing their sins Thus Austin confesseth that it was sometimes with himself before the Lord wrought upon him I was stricken with such blindness as that I thought it a shame unto me to be less vile and wicked than my companions whom I heard boast of their leudness and glory so much the more by how much they were the more filthy therefore saith he lest I should be of no account I was the more vicious and when I could not otherwise match others I would feign that I had done those things which I never did lest I should seem so much the more abject by how much I was the more innocent and so much the more vile by how much I was the more chast But for a close remember this The true penitent knows that the more God has been displeased with the blackness of sin the better he will be pleased with the blushing of the sinner and therefore he can't but blush when either he looks upon sin within him or God above him But Seventhly Penitential confession 't is believing and fiducial 't is mixt with some faith Hosea 14. â— though not alwayes with a strong faith 't is not like the confession of a Malefactor to the Judge but like the confession of a child to his father or like the confession of a sick man to his Physician As a penitent man has one eye of sorrow upon his sin so he has another eye of hope upon pardoning grace Thus David Psal 51. though he had sinned greatly yet he hangs upon free mercy and begs his pardon believingly Thus Daniel Dan. 9.9 To the Lord our God belongs mercies and forgivenesses though we have rebelled against him Thus Sechaniah Ezra 10.2 Ezra 10.2 And Sechaniah the son of Jehiel one of the sons of Elam answered and said unto Ezra we have trespassed against our God and have taken strange wives of the people of the Land yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing If it were not for hope the heart would break there was hope among them that Israel would repent and there was hope among them that God would have mercy upon their repentance And the same spirit was working in the Prodigal I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him father I have sinned against heaven and before thee Luke 18.18 Though he was a Prodigal yet he would go to God as to a father who knew how to pity and forgive the mourning and repenting child When confessions of sin are mingled with hopes of mercy and the soul draws neer to God as a father then the heart breaks most and melts and mourns most That confession of sin that is not mixt with some hope of pardon and with some faith in the mercy of God is not penitential but desperate Cain in some sort confesses Gen. 4.16 but then he flies into the Land of Nod and there he falls a building and planting partly in contempt of the dreadful doom God had past upon him and partly to drown the noise of his conscience and despairing of ever obtaining pardon in this world 2 Cor. 5.1 2. or enjoying a house not made with hands in another world Judas likewise confesses his most hainous sin I have sinned in betraying innocent bloud but having no hope of pardon Mat. 27.3 4. no faith in that innocent blood he had shed he goes out and hangs himself Judas had no faith to mingle with his confession he confesses despairingly not believingly and so goes forth and strangles himself Since Adam fell in paradise there has not been one wicked man in the world continuing in that state that has ever mixt faith with his sorrows believing with his confessing 't is only the penitent man that confesseth sin believingly and that is pardoned graciously The confessing penitent reasons thus with God Lord though I am a sinful creature yet thou art a merciful God though I am unworthy of mercy yet thou forgivest sins freely though my sins reach as high as heaven yet thy mercies teach above the heavens I am here ready and willing to accuse and condemn my self and therefore be thou as ready and as willing to absolve me and forgive me O Lord though my sins are very many yet thy mercies are exceeding more though I have multiplied my sins yet thou canst multiply thy pardons though I am a sinner a very great sinner yet there is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared and loved served and trusted and therefore in the face of all my sins provocations and unworthiness I will look up for mercy and wait for mercy But Eighthly and lastly True penitential confession is joyned with reformation That confession of sin that carries forgivness of sin with it Psal 51.10 is attended with serious desires and earnest endeavours of reformation therefore forsaking of sin is annext to confession of sin Prov. 28.13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy Confession of sin must be joyned with confusion of sin or all 's lost God will never cross the book he will never draw the red lines of Christ's bloud over the black lines of our transgressions except confessing and forsaking go hand in hand He that does not â—orsake his sin as well as confess it forsakes the benefit of his confession And indeed there is no real confession of sin where there is no real forsaking of sin 't is not enough for us to confess the sins we have committed but we must peremptorily resolve against the committing again the sins we have confest we must desire as freely to forgo our sins as we do desire God to forgive us our sins Confession of sin is a spiritual vomit now you know a man that is burdened in his stomack is heartily willing to be rid of that â—oad on his stomack that doth oppress nature and so a man that is real in his confession of sin is as heartily willing to be rid of his sin that lyes as a loâ—d upon his conscience as any sick man can be heartily willing to be rid of that load that lyes upon his stomack The penitential confessor doth as heartily desire to be delivered from the power of his sins as he does desire to be delivered from the sting and punishment of his sins This is observable in the confession of good Sechaniah Ezra 10.2 3. We have trespassed against our God and taken strange wives of the people of the Land Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and such as are born of them
according to the counsel of my Lord and those that tremble at the commandement of our God and let it be done according to the Law And this was the former practise of the children of Israel who joyned reformation with their confession as you may see in that Judg. 10.15 We have sinned Ver. 16. And they put away the strange Gods from among them and served the Lord and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel That Job 34.31 32. is observable Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born chastisement I will not offend any more that which I see not teach thou me if I have done iniquity I will do no more And the same spirit you may find working in those that were once given up to sorcery and witchcraft Act. 18. And many that believed came and confessed and shewed their deeds Ver. 19. Many also of them which used curious arts brought their books together and burned them before all men Penitential confession leaves a holy awe and dread on the soul to take heed of committing sins confest Though a godly man may in an hour of temptation or in a day of desertion or in a season of God's with-holding the gracious influences of heaven from falling upon his soul commit a sin which he has seriously confest and sadly bewailed yet he retains in his course and practise such a holy fear and awe upon his heart as in some measure proves armour of proof against future commissions of sin But now wicked men are very ready bold and venturous to commit the same sins they have confest as you may see in Saul one while you shall have him confessing his sinful injuries against David with tears and soon after you shall find him pursuing of him in the wilderness of Zaph with three thousand chosen men at his heels Compare 1 Sam. 24.16 17. with Chap. 26.2 3 4 Exod. 9 27 34. The same evil spirit was predominant in Pharaoh one day you shall have him confessing his sin and promising to let Israel go and the next day you shall find his heart hardned and he peremptorily resolved that Israel shall not go And so the Harlot made the confession of her sin Prov. 7.14 to be but a provocation to more sin The wicked sometimes confess their sins but they never forsake their sins 2 Pet. 2. ult after confeâ—sion they commonly return with the dog to his vomit as Fulgentius Fulgent de Rem peccat l. 1. c. 12. hath worthily observed Many saith he being pricked in conscience confess that they have done ill and yet put no end to their ill deeds they humbly accuse themselves in God's sight of the sins which oppress them and yet with a perverse heart rebelliously heap up those sins whereof they accuse themselves The very pardon which they beg with mournful-sighs they impede with their wicked actions they ask help of the Physician and still minister matter to the disease thus in vain indeavouring to appease him with penitent words whom they go on to provoke by an impenitent course Well remember this real confession of sin is alwayes attended with real endeavours of turning from sin Look as the Patient layes open his diseases to the Physician for this very purpose that he may be cured and healed so the penitent soul confesses his sins to the Physician of souls on purpose to be cured and healed The daily language of the penitent soul is this Lord when wilt thou heal the maladies of my soul when wilt thou heal my unâ—elief and heal my pride and heal my vain glory and heal my hypocrisie and heal my impurity and heal my hard heartedness and heal my carnalness and heal my worldliness and heal my selfishness c. Lord I do as earnestly beg grace to heal my soul as I do mercy to pardon my soul And let thus much suffice for the second part of true Evangelical repentance The third part of true Repentanceâ— lyes in turning from all sin to God That great and precious promise of forgiveness of sin is made over to repenting and â—â—â—â—ning from sin all who truly repent of their sins and turn from their sins shall receive the forgiveness of their sins pardon of sin is for that man and that man is for pardon of sin who truly repents and returns from his sin Four things speak out this c. First Scripture exhortations to repent that so our sins may be forgiven Ezek. 18.30 Repent and turn your selves from all your transgressions so iniquity shall not be your ruine Acts 2.38 Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins Acts 3.19 Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out c. Secondly Express promises that our sins shall be forgiven upon our repentance 2 Chron. 7.14 If my people shall turn from their evil way then will I forgive their sin Prov. 28.13 Whose confesseth and fâ—rsaketh his sin shall find mercy Ezek. 18.21 If the wicked will turn from all his sins which he hath committed and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die Ver. 22. All his transgressions which he hath committed they shall not be mentioned unto him Thirdly A most certain assurance of the forgiveness of sins upon repentance though they have been never so great and hainous Isa 1.16 17 18. Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings cease to do evil learn to do well Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be reâ— like crimson they shall be as wool Fourthly Express records and instances of forgiveness unto such as have repented and turned from their sins 2 Sam. 12.13 And David said unto Nathan I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said to David the Lord hath also put away thy sin Jer. 31.18 19 20. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself turn thou me and I shall be turned c. Surely after that I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I sâ—ote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth Is Ephraim my dear son â—s he a pleasant child for since I spake against him I do remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercy upon him saith the Lord. Luke 7.38 And shee stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment Ver. 47. Wherefore I say her sins which were many are forgiven Chap. 15.18 19 20. I will arise and go to my father and will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son And he arose and came to his
sin commonly disposes the heart to another sin a small sin many times draws the heart to a greater â—nd one great sin draws the heart to another great sin and that to a greater till at last the soul comes to be drowned in all excess Augustine relates this story of Manicheus who being tormented with Flies Exposit in Evang S. John Tract cap. 1. tom was of opinion that the Devil made them and not God why then said one that stood by â—f the Devil made Flies then the Devil made Worms and not God for they are living creatures as well as Flies true said he the Devil did make Worms But said the other if the Devil did make Worms then he did make Birds Beasts and Man he granted all And thus saith that old Father by denying God in the Fly he came to deny God in Man and so consequently the whole Creation And thus yielding to lesser sins draws the soul to the comm ssion of greater yea often to the greatest of all I have both heard and read a story of a young man who being often tempted by the Devil and his own wicked heart to commit three sins viz. to kill his father to lye with his mother and to be drunk the two former his heart would not yield to as being things abhorrent to the light and law of nature and therefore to free himself from the temptation he yielded to the last and least but when he was drunk he killed his father and ravished his mother Thus these two abominable sins Murder and Incest were ushered in by one that was not of so deep a dye There is something in sin like the radical vertue that is in the seed of Herbs and Plants the seed is but a small inconsiderable thing in it self yet let it be but cast into the ground and there rest quietly a time and it will take root and grow up to a great stock and bring forth many flourishing branches like the grain of mustard-seed Mat. 13.31 32. which though it be the least of seeds yet being cast into the ground grows up to be the greatest among herbs and becometh a Tree so that the birds of the Air come and lodge in the branches thereof Satan will be sure to nest himself to lodge himself in the least sins as birdsnest and lodge themselves in the smallest branches of a Tree and there he will hatch all manner of wickedness A sinful motion if it be not rejected will procure consent and consent will break forth into act and one act will procure another act until the multiplying of acts have begot a habit and that habit hath choakt and stifled conscience and when once conscience is stifled and benummed it will be ready upon all occasions to lay the soul open and to prostrate it to the basest and worst of sins O! there is a prodigious evil in the least of sins it will quickly multiply it self into all manner of evils unless sin be cut off in the first motion it will proceed to action and from action to delectation and from delight to custom and from custom to a habit and so the soul will be in eminent danger of being undone for ever A little thief put in at the window may open the doors for stronger and greater to come in that may take away both life and treasure at once A little wedge makes way for a greater and so do little sins make way for greater Satan and our own hearts will be modest at first and therefore they are often in a combination first to draw us to lesser sins and then to greater and so from sins less obnoxious to sins more scandalous till we come to be â—bominable to God hateful to others and a terror to our selves Such as live in one sin God will in justice give over to other sins The Gentiles gave up themselves to idolatry Rom. 1.23 And God gave them up to uncleanness ver 24. 'T is impossible for any man to take one sin into his bosom and to shut all others out he that lives but in the allowance of himself in one sin will find that sin at last to shut the door of heaven against him and therefore the true penitent turns from sin universally Fourthly The reasons of turning from sin are universally binding to a penitent soul There are the same reasons and grounds for a penitent man's turning from every sin as there is for his turning from any one sin Do you turn from this or that sin because the Lord has forbid it why upon the same ground you must turn from every sin As in a Harp to make the musick good and harmonious it is not enough that all the strings be right tuned except one one string that jars will spoyl the sweetest musick The application is easie c. for God has forbid every sin as well as this or that particular sin there is the same authority forbidding or commanding in all and if the authority of God awes a man from one sin it will awe him from all There is one and the same Law-giver in respect of all the commandements he that gave one commandement gave also another therefore he that observes one commandement gave in obedience unto God whose commandement it is will observe all because all are his commandements and he that slights one commandement is guilty of all because he doth contemn the authority and will of him that gave them all even in those commands which he doth observe he hath no respect to the will and authority of him that gave them Therefore there is no obedience towards God where there is not an uniform endeavour to please God as well in one thing as in another The same God that hath inhibited one sinful act hath inhibited every sinful act and therefore he that out of conscience and respect to God's will and word and authority turns from any one sin or abhors any one sin he will out of conscience of the same will and word and authority turn from every sin and abhor every sin because the same God in his word hath alike forbidden all O Siâ—s how is it possible for a man truly to repent of this or that sin because 't is contrary to the Law will and authority of God but he must needs repent of whatsoever he knows to be contrary to the Law will and authority of God He that turns from any one sin because it is a transgression of the holy and righteous Law of God he will turn from every sin upon the same account he that turns from any one sin because 't is a dishonour to God a reproach to Christ a grief to the Spirit a wound to Religion c. will upon the same grounds turn from every sin he that turns from any one sin because of the curse the threatnings the judgments the wrath the hell that hangs as it were over the head of that sin he will turn from every sin because the curse
the threatnings the judgments the wrath the hell that hangs over the head of that one sin hangs over the head of every sin By these hints 't is most evident that the reasons of turning from sin are universally binding to a penitent soul and therâ—fore he turns not from some sins only but from every sin he sayes not to one but to all his Idols Get you hence for what have I any more to do with you Fifthly One sin allowed wallowed and tumbled in is sufficient to deprive a man for ever of the greatest good Moses came within the sight of Canaan but for one sin viz. not sanctifying God's name at the water of Meribah he was shut out for him to be so neer the holy Land Exod. 22. and yet so far off from entring into it was doubtless of all stroaks the hardest that ever he felt In the Law Levit. 13. the Leper that had the spot of leprosie in any one part of his body was accounted a Leper although all the rest of his body were sound and whole and accordingly he was to be shut up and shut out from the society and company of the people of God so one sin one leprous spot allowed and beloved will for ever shut a man out from the glorious presence of God Christ the Spirit Angels and the spirits of just men made perfect one sin wallowed in will as certainly deprive a man of the blessed vision of God and of all the treasures pleasures and delights that be at God's right hand as a thousand It was a sore vexation to King Lysimachus that he should lose his earthly kingdom for one draught of water O Sirs 't will be an everlasting vexation to such who for one lust shall at last lose not an earthly but a heavenly kingdom One sin stript the fallen Angels of all their glory and one sin stript our first parents of all their dignity and excellency Gen. 3.4 5. Satan by one loud lye to Adam and Eve made fruitless all that God had preached to them immediately before Job â—0 13 To turn from some sins but not from all is gross hypocrisie one sin set up in the love and service of it will keep Christ out of his throne it speaks sin to be rampant and Satan to be victorious and what can be the issue of these things but ruin and damnation Rom. 6.16 One flye in the box of precious ointment spoyls the whole box one thief may rob a man of all his treasure one disease may deprive a man of all his health one strong wind may blow down and blow away all a man's comforts and so one sin delighted and wallowed in will make a man miserable for ever Though this or that particular sin be very pleasant to the flesh and delightful to the fancy yet he is the wisest man and he is the best man and the only blest man in all the world that keeps furthest from it and therefore the true penitent turns not meerly from this or that sin but from every sin Sixthly The principle of Regeneration and seed of grace which God layes into the soul of every penitent person at first conversion is a universal principle a principle that spreads it self over all the faculties of the soul 1 Thes 5.23 and over all the members of the body Psal 45.13 The Kings daughter is all glorious within her cloathing is of wrought gold In regeneration there is infused the habits or principles of all grace Mat. 13.33 which like a divine leaven spreads it self over the whole man Look as Absalom's beauty was spread all over him 2 Sam. 24.25 even from the crown of his head to the soals of his feet so grace spreads it self over every faculty of the soul and over every member of the body Look as Solomon's Temple was all glorious both within and without so that grace which a man receives at first conversion makes him all glorious both within and without John 1.16 Look as Adam's sin spread it self over the whole man so that grace which we receive from the second Adam spreads it self over the whole man And as that grace which was in Christ did diffuse and spread it self over all of Christ so that grace which is in the true penitent does diffuse and spread it self all over the penitent Now look as heaven is contrary to all of hell and as light is contrary to all darkness and heat to all cold so that divine that noble that universal principle of grace which God at first conversion infuses into the penitents soul is contrary to all sin and therefore the penitent turns from all sin But Seventhly The true penitent would have God to forgive him not only some of his sins but all his sins and therefore 't is but just and equal that he should turn from all his sins If God be so faithful and just to forgive us all our sins 1 John 1.9 we must be so faithful and just as to turn from all our sins The plaister must be as broad as the sore and the tent as long and as deep as the wound It argues horrid hypocrisie damnable folly and wonderful impudency for a man to beg the pardon of those very sins that he is resolved never to forsake Look as he that hath any one sin forgiven hath all sins forgiven so he that hath sincerely turned from any one sin he hath turned from every sin and he that hath not repented him of all known sin he hath not yet sincerely repented of any known sin nor as yet experienced the sweetness of forgiveness of sin He that will not renounce those sins that he would have God to remit shall be sure to have a hell of guilt in his conscience Of all fools there is none to him that is very importunate with God to forgive those sins which he is resolved before-hand to commit for what Prince in his wits will pardon his treasons that is resolved to continue a Traitor or what Judge will forgive his thievery that is peremptorily determined to continue a thief or what Husband will pardon his Wife that is resolved to defile his bed with other Lovers Such as continue in the practise of those very sins which they beg a pardon of shall certainly go without their pardon Pardon of sin is for that man and that man is for pardon of sin that is as truly willing to forsake his sins as he is to receive the pardon of his sins Who would not look upon that man as a mad man who should earnestly beg his pardon and yet before his pardon is sealed should afresh cut purses and murder persons before the eyes of the Judge The pardoned soul is the repenting soul and the repenting soul is the pardoned soul Psal 32.2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guil He that begs pardon of sin and is resolved against
turning from sin shall find no more sweetness in that grand promise of pardon Prov. 28.13 than devils or damned spirits do Look as one sin unforgiven will as certainly undo and damn a man as a thousand so one sin unforsaken will as certainly undo and damn a man as a thousand The true penitent is as willing to turn from all his sins as he is willing that God should pardon all his sins But Eighthly and lastly There is in every penitent a sincere hatred of sin a universal hatred of sin Psal 97.10 Ye that love the Lord hate evil Prov. 8.13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil True hatred is to the whole kind Arist Amos 5.15 Hate the evil and love the good Psal 119.104 Through thy precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way Ver. 128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way Ver. 113. I hate vain thoughts but thy Law do I love Ver. 163. I hate and abhor lying but thy Law do I love True hatred is universal 't is of the whole kind he who hates a toad because it is a toad hates every toad he that hates a serpent because it is a serpent hates every serpent he that hates a wolf because 't is a wolf hates every wolf he that hates a man because he is holy hates every man that is holy and so he that hates sin because it is sin hates every sin and therefore he can't but turn from it and labour to be the death and ruin of it Holy hatred is an implacable and an irreconcilable affection you shall as soon reconcile God and Satan together Christ and Antichrist together heaven and hell together as you shall be able to reconcile a penitent soul and his sin together A true penitent looks upon every sin as contrary to the Law of God the nature of God the being of God the glory of God and accordingly his heart rises against it he looks upon every sin as poyson as the vomit of a dog as the mire of the street as the * Pliny saith that the very trees with touching of it would become barren menstrous cloth which of all things in the Law was most unclean defiling and polluting and this turns his heart against every sin he looks upon every sin as having a hand in apprehending betraying binding scourging condemning and murdering of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ and this works him not only to refrain from sin but to forsake it and not only to forsake it but also to abhor it and to loath it more than hell it self The penitent soul will do all he can to be the death of every sin that has had a hand in the death of his Lord and Master he looks upon the sins of his body to be the tormentors of Christ's body and the sins of his soul to be the tormentors of Christ's soul to be those that made his soul heavy to the death and that caused the withdrawings of his father's love from him and that forced him in the anguish of his soul to cry out Mat. 27.46 My God my God why hast thou forsaken me And this raises up in him a universal hatred of sin and a universal hatred of sin alwayes issues in a universal turning from sin Now these eight arguments do sufficiently prove that a true penitential turning is a universal turning a turning not from some sins but from all sins But some may be ready to object Object and say Sir this is a hard saying who can hear it who can bear it John 6.60 who shall then be saved for if a man repents not unless he turns from every sin then there is not a man to be found in all the world that repents for there is not a man in all the world that turns from every sin that forsakes every sin c. 1 King 8.46 For there is no man that sinneth not Prov. 20.9 Who can say Job 9.30 31. Psal 130.3 2 Chron. 6.36 Job 14.4 Psal 51.5 Ponder upon these Scriptures c. I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin It is a question that implyes a strong denial Who can say it and say it truly that he is pure from his sin surely none He that shall say that he has made his heart clean and that he is pure from his sin sins in so saying and commonly there are none more unclean than those that say they have made their hearts clean nor none more impure than they that say they are pure from their sin Eccl. 7.20 For there is not a just man upon the earth that doth good and sinneth not These words in their absolute sense are a full testimony of the imperfection of our inherent righteousness in this life and that even justified persons come very short of that exact and perfect obedience which the Law requireth James 3.2 For in many things we offend all or as the Greek has it we stumble all 'T is a metaphor taken from Travellers walking on stony or slippery ground who are very apt to stumble or slide This Apostle was worthily called James the just and yet he numbers himself among the rest of the sanctified ones that in many things offended all The Apostle does not say in many things they offend all but in many things we offend all We that have more gifts than others we that have more grace than others we that have more assurance than others we that have more experiences than others we that have more preservatives to keep us from sin than others even we in many things offend all nor the Apostle doth not say in some things we offend all but in many things we offend all the Apostle speaking not of the singular individual acts of sin but of the divers sorts of sin nor the Apostle does not say in many things we may offend all but in many things we do offend all 1 John 1.8 If we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us The Apostle does not say if thou sayest thou hast no sin thou deceivest thy self as if he spake to some particular person only but if we say we have no sin we deceive our selves nor the Apostle does not say if ye say ye have no sin ye deceive your selves as if he intended weak or ordinary Christians alone but if we say we have no sin we deceive our selves we Apostles we that in all grace and in all holiness and in all spiritual enjoyments exceed and excel all others even we sin as well as others He that is so ignorant and so impudent so saucy and so silly as to say he has no sin sins in saying so and has no sincerity no integrity nor no ingenuity in him Ver. 10. If we say we have not sinned we make him a lyar and his word is not in us As much as in us lyes we make
God a lyar if we say we have not sinned he that says he has no sin he does no sin he does by consequence charge God with falshood who hath frequently told us in that word of grace that can't deceive us that all men are sinners and that they have all gone astray and that they all need pardoning and purging grace and that upon these very accounts he sent his beloved Son to lay down his dearest life Isa 53.3 Rom. 10.23 5.12 c. and to make himself an offering for sin Now from these Scriptures these two things are most evident First that sinful qualities do remain in the most sanctified persons Secondly that these sinful qualities are sometimes very prevalent over the most sanctified persons and therefore I shall answer the objection thus Ans viz. That a true penitential turning from all sin consists in these six things First In the alienation and inward aversation and drawing off of the soul from the love and liking of all sin and from all free and voluntary subjection unto sin the heart being filled with a loathing and detestation of all sin Psal 119.104 128. as that which is most contrary to all goodness and happiness Secondly In the wills detestation and hatred of all sin When the very bent and inclination of the will is set against all sin and opposes and crosses all sin and is set upon the ruin and destruction of all sin then the penitent is turned from all sin Rom. 7.15 19 21 23. Isa 30.20 Thou shalt cast them away as a menstrous cloth thou shalt say unto it get thee hence Hosea 14.8 Ephraim shall say what have I to do any more with Idols When the will stands upon such terms of defiance with all sin as that it will never enter into a league of friendship with any sin then is the soul turned from every sin When the will is set upon avenging it self upon all sin and upon daily endeavours to mortifie and crucifie all sin then is the penitent turned from all his sins when those sins that were once to the will as Dalilah to Sampson are now to the will as Tamar to Amnon then is the soul turned from sin with a witness Thirdly In the judgments turning away from all sin by disapproving disallowing and condemning of it Rom. 7.15 For that which I do I allow not for what I would that do I not but what I hate that do I. O saith the judgment of a Christian sin is the greatest evil in all the world 't is the only thing that God abhors and that brought Jesus Christ to the Cross that damns souls that shuts heaven and that has laid the foundations of hell O it is the pricking thorn in my eye the deadly arrow in my side the two-edged sword that hath wounded my conscience and slain my comforts and separated between God and my soul O it is that which hath hindred my prayers and imbittered my mercies and put a sting into all my crosses and therefore I can't but disapprove of it and disallow of it and condemn it to death yea to hell fâ—om whence it came I thus preach and thus think saith Chrysostom that it is more bitter to sin against Christ than to suffer the torments of hell Plutarch reports of Marcus Cato that he never declared his opinion in any matter in the Senate but he would close it with this passage Methinks still Carthage should be destroyed So when ever a penitent looks upon his sins in his judgment he is still saying Methinks these sins should be destroyed methinks this pride this unbelief this earthly-mindedness this hypocrisie this vain glory c. should be destroyed Fourthly In the purpose and resolution of the soul the soul sincerely purposing and resolving never willingly wilfully or wickedly to transgress any more The true penitent holds up his purposes and resolutions to keep off from sin and to keep closs with God though he be not able in every thing and at all times to make good his purposes and resolutions c. Psal 17.3 I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress The general purpose and resolution of my heart is not to transgress though particular failings may attend me yet my resolutions and purposes are firmly fixt against evil Psal 39.1 I said I will take heed to my wayes that I sin not with my tongue I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me David highly resolves so to bridle and muzzle up his mouth that he would not break out into any impatient or unbeseeming speeches that might give the wicked any advantage to reproach Religion or to blaspheme the holy One of Israel c. Anselme was a man of a holy resolution I had rather saith he go to hell pure from sin than to heaven polluted with that filth And saith another I will rather leap into a bonfire than wilfully to sin against God When Valens the Emperor threatned Basil with imprisonment banishment death Threaten sayes he your Boyes with such fray-bugs and your purple Gallants that give themselves to their pleasures I am resolved neither menaces nor flatteries shall silence me or draw me to betray a good cause or a good conscience c. Fifthly In the earnest and unfeigned desires and careful endeavours of the soul to abandon all sin to forsake all sin to be rid of all sin Rom. 7.22 23. Now where God sees this frame of spirit there he will certainly pardon the failings and pass by the imperfections of his people and he will spare them as a man spareth his son that serveth him Mal. 3.17 Now you know when a prudent tender indulgent father sees his child to fail and come short in that which he enjoyns him to do yet knowing that his desires and endeavours is to please him and serve him he will not be harsh rigid sowre or severe towards him but will spare him and exercise much tenderness and indulgence towards him and will God will God whose mercies reach above the heavens and whose compassions are infinite and whose love is like himself carry it worse towards his children than men do carry it towards theirs surely no. God's fatherly indulgence accepts of the will for the work Heb. 13.18 2 Cor. 8.12 As a father will accept in his child the desire for the deed and if there be a blemish in his child he will pity it and cast a mantle of love over it A sick man is not more desirous to be rid of all his diseases nor a prisoner to be freed from all his bolts and chains than the true penitent is desirous to be rid of all his sins c. Sixthly and lastly In the ordinary declining shunning and avoiding of all known occasions temptations provocations inducements and inticements to sin c. That royal Law 1 Thes 5.22 Abstain from all appearance of evil is a Law that is very precious in a penitent man's eye See Jude 23.
Exod. 23.7 Prov. 22.3 27.12 Prov. 5.8 and commonly lyes warm upon a penitent man's heart so that take him in his ordinary course and you shall find him very ready to shun and be shie of the very appearances of sin of the very shews and shadows of sin Job made a covenant with his eyes Job 31.1 and Joseph would not hearken to his bold tempting Mistris to lye by her or to be with her Gen. 39.10 and David when himself would not sit with vain persons Psal 26.3 4 5. 2 Sam. 24.20 ult and at another time he refused to take the threshing floor Oxen and threshing instruments of Araunah as a gift but would buy them because he would avoid the very shew of covetousness as some conceive Austin being often ensnared in uncleanness in his younger dayes before his conversion he was exceeding careful to avoid all occasions of it afterwards Now a true penitential turning from all sin lyes in these six things and therefore you had need look about you for if there be any one way of wickedness wherein you walk and which you are resolved you will not forsake you are no true penitents and you will certainly lose your souls and all the great and glorious things of another world The third Answer Ans 3 Thirdly A true penitential turning is a constant and continued turning from sin 2 Chron 7.15 As it is total in respect of the act so it is final in respect of the time True repentance takes an everlasting farewel an everlasting adieu of sin it saith with the Spouse Cant. 5.3 I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have found the smart of sin I have put off the garments of the old man the rags of old Adam and how shall I put them on again The burnt child will dread the fire The man that hath smarted for Suretyship will by no means be perswaded to come again into bonds though you urge him to it never so frequently never so strongly never so rhetorically yet he will tell you he has smarted for it he has paid dear for it and therefore you must excuse him he is peremptorily resolved nay he hath seriously vowed against it and though he be never so much intreated and by variety of arguments importuned yet still he remains inexorable A Christian that hath truly repented is so sensible of the freeness and sweetness of the grace of God on the one hand and of the weight of sin and wrath of God on the other hand that he is highly resolved never to have any more to do with Idols Psal 40.12 Hos 14.8 never to meddle more with those burning coals True repentance is a continued act a repentance never to be repented of The true penitent is every day a turning further and further from sin and neerer and neerer to God There is nothing that fetches so many tears from a penitent man's eyes nor so many sighs and groans from a penitent man's heart as this that he can get no further off from sin and that he can get no neerer nor no closser to God Repentance for sin and a willing continuance in sin cannot consist in the same subject A sincere penitent makes as much conscience of repenting daily as he doth of believing daily and he can as easily content himself with one act of faith or love or fear or hope or joy or obedience as he can content himself with one act of repentance My sins are ever before me Psal 51.3 This is the voice of every true penitent Oh that I might sin no more Oh that I might never dishonour God more Oh that I might never walk contrary to Jesus Christ more Oh that I might never grieve the spirit of grace more To sin is common to man 1 John 1.8 10. 5.19 Isa 28.15 18. Psal 139.24 Rom. 7.22 23. yea to the best man in all the world but to continue in a course of sin is only proper to a wicked man To err and fail that 's humane but to maintain a league or friendship with sin that is diabolical Though a true penitent dares not continue in a trade a path of sin whilst he lives in this world yet sin will continue in him whilst he continues in this world though sin and grace were not born together and though sin and grace shall never die together yet whilst a penitent man lives in this world they must live together 'T is one thing for sin to continue in us and 't is another thing for us to continue in sin The Apostle having closed the fifth Chapter of his Epistle to the Romans in the triumph of Gospel grace That as sin hath reigned unto death so grace might reign through righteousness â—nto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6.1 2. begins the next with a prevention of the abuse of this grace What shall we say then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound God forbid How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein To live in sin in the face of Gospel-grace is most unreasonable and to a gracious and ingenious nature impossible the very question implyes a kind of impossibility Such as were once dead in sin and now by Gospel-grace are dead to sin such can no longer continue in sin Look as 't is not the meer falling into the water that drowns a man but his lying and continuing in it so it is not a meer falling into sin that damns a man that drowns a man that everlastingly undoes a man but his living in it his continuing in it It is bad to sin but 't is infinitely worse to continue in sin The first best is not to sin the next best is not to continue in sin no not for an hour as Paul speaks in another case Gal. 2.5 To whom we gave place by subjection no not for an hour Certainly to argue from Gospel-mercy to sinful liberty is the Devil's Logick The more a man lives in the sight of Gospel-grace the more sin will be discountenanced resisted hated and totally displaced A man may as truly assert that the Sea burns or that the fire cools or that the Sun darkens the Air as he may assert that the sight sense or sweet of Gospel-grace will breed security or carnality loosness or wickedness in a gracious heart The true penitent never ceases repenting till he ceases living he goes to heaven with the joyful tears of repentance in his eyes he knows that his whole life is but a day of sowing tears that he may at last reap everlasting joyes True repentance makes a final and everlasting separation between sin and the soul it makes such an absolute and compleat divorce between sin and the soul and casts them so far asunder that no power nor policy can ever bring them to meet as lovers together The true penitent looks upon sin as an enemy and deals with it as Amnon dealt with Tamar 2
of Christ above all Isa 61.10 I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord my soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath cloathed me with the garments of salvation he hath covered me with the role of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments and as a bride adorneth her self with her jewels It is matter of joy Knolls Hist and a sign of great favour from the great Turk when a rich garment is cast upon any that comes into his presence O then what matter of joy must it be to a sincere Christian Isa 28.16 to have the rich and royal garment of Christ's righteousness cast upon him A sincere Christian rests on the righteousness of Christ as on a sure foundation Isa 45.24 Surely shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength It was a very sweet and golden expression of one when he thought himself to be at the point of death I confess said he I am not worthy I have no merits of mine own to obtain heaven by Guliel Abbâ—s in vita Bern. lib. 1. cap. 12. but my Lord had a double right thereunto an hereditary right as a son and a meritorious right as a sacrifice he was contented with the one right himse f the other right he hath given unto me by the vertue of which gift I do rightly lay claim unto it and am not confounded A sincere Christian looks upon the righteousness of Christ as that which renders him most splendid and glorious in the eyes of God Phil. 3.9 And â—e found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith The Church saith Marlorat which puts on Christ and his righteousness is m re illustrious than the Air is by the Sun A sincere Christian looks upon the righteousness of Christ as his only security against wrath to come 1 Thes 1. ult wrath to come is the greatest wrath wrath to come is the purest wrath wrath to come is infinite wrath wrath to come is everlasting wrath Now the sincere Christian he knows no way under heaven to secure himself from wrath to come but by putting on the robe of Christ's righteousness The story tells us if we may believe it that Pilate being called to Rome to give an account unto the Empeperor for some misgovernment and male-administration Rom. 13.14 he put on the seamless coat of Christ and all the time he had â—hat coat upon his back Caesar's fury was abated There is nothing that can abate the wrath and fury of a sin-revenging God but the seamless coat of Christ's righteousness Well for a close remember this There is never an hypocrite in the world that is more pleased satisfied delighted and contentâ—d with the righteousness of Christ than with his own c. Though an hypocrite may be much in duties yet he never lives above his duties he works for life and he rests in his work and this proves his mortal wound But Sixthly An Hypocrite never embraces a whole Christ he can never take up his full and everlasting rest satisfaction and content in the person of Christ in the merits of Christ in the enjoyment of Christ alone No hypocrite did ever long and mourn after the enjoyment of Christ as the best thing in all the world no hypocrite did ever prize Christ for a sanctifier as well as a Saviour no hypocrite did ever look upon Christ or long for Christ to deliver him from the power of his sins as much or as well as to deliver him from wrath to come no hypocrite can really love the person of Christ or take satisfaction in the person of Christ 1 Thes 1.10 the rayes and beamâ— of Christs glory has never warm'd his heart he never knew what bosom communion with Christ meant An hypocrite may love to be healed by Ch ist and to be paâ—doned by Christ and to be saved by Christ c. but he can never take any complacency in the person of Christ his heart never seriously works after union with Christ The love of a sincere Christian runs much out to the person of Christ heaven it self without Christ Cant. 5.10 Phil. 1.21 3.7 8 9 10. would be to such a soul but a poor thing a low thing a little thing an uncomfortable thing an empty thing 't is the person of Christ that is the sparkling Diamond in the ring of glory No hypocrite in the world is sincerely willing to receive Christ in all his Offices and to close with him upon Gospel terms 1 John 11 13. Mat. 16.24 The terms upon which God offers Christ in the Gospel are these viz. That we shall accept of a whole Christ with a whole heart Now mark a whole Christ includes all his Offices a whole heart includes all our faculties Christ as Mediator is King Priest and Prophet and so God the Father in the Gospel offers him Salvation was too great and too glorious a work to be perfected and compleated by any one Office of Christ Christ as a Prophet instructs us and as a Priest he redeems us and intercedes for us and as a King he sanctifies and saves us The Apostle hit it when he said He is made to us of God wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption Consider Christ as our Prophet and so he is made wisdom to us 1 Cor. 1.30 consider him as our Priest and so he is made righteousness and redemption to us consider him as our King and so he is made sanctification and holiness to us An hypocrite may be willing to imbrace Christ as a Priest to save him from wrath from the curse from hell from everlasting burning but he is never sincerely willing to imbrace Christ as a Prophet to teach and instruct him and as a King to rule and reign over him many hypocrites may be willing to receive a Christ Jesus that are not willing to receive a Lord Jesus they may be willing to imbrace a saving Christ but they are not willing to imbrace a ruling Christ a commanding Christ Luke 19 27. This man shall not rule over us O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets how often would I have gathered thy children together Mat. 23.37 Psal 2.2 3. John 5.40 John 1.11 Isa 8 14. 1 Pet. 2.7 8. even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not And ye will not come to me that ye might have life He came to his own and his own received him not An hypocrite is willing to receive Christ in one office but not in every office and this is that stumbling stone at which hypocrites stumble and fall and are broken in pieces Certainly Christ is as lovely and as comely â—s desirable and delightful as eminent and excellent in one office as he is in another and therefore 't is a just and righteous thing with God that
say I hate every false way but a sincere Christian he hates all sinful wayes but his own first and most 1 Kings 5.18 an upright heart leaves no nest-egg for Satan to sit on but the hypocrite alwayes does Mark in true hatred there are six things observable First True hatred includes an extream detestation every dislike is not hatred but true hatred is an extream loathing Thou shalt cast them away as a menstrous cloth Isa 30.22 thou shalt say unto it Get thee hence Chap. 2.20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold which they made each one for himself to worship to the Moles and to the Bats Their detestation should be so great that they should cast their most costly idols of silver and gold into the most dark nasty dusty corners to testifie the sincerity of their conversion to God they should hate and abhor abandon and abolish their gold and silver idols which they valued above all others Secondly True hatred includes an earnest separation He that hates his sin would fain be separated from his sin 2 Cor. 5.4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened A sincere Christian finds no burden to lay so heavy and weighty upon his spirit as sin and therefore he groans to be delivered from it In the Law Deut. 24.3 he that hated his Wife did sue out a bill of divorce from her He that truly hates sin puts in many a bill into the Court of Heaven that he may be for ever divorced from his sin Thirdly True hatred includes an irreconcilable alienation He that hates sin has his heart for ever alienated from sin he who hates sin can never be one with sin Two angry men may be made friends Lawyers often fall out at the Bar but are very well agreed when they meet at the Tavern but if two men hate each other all friendship is everlastingly broken betwixt them A man may be angry with sin and yet made friends with sin again but if once he comes to hate his sin then all friendship with sin is everlastingly broken When Christ and the soul comes to be really one then sin and the soul comes to be everlastingly two c. Fourthly True hatred includes a constant and perpetual conflict the flesh will be still lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh Gal. 5.17 Rom. 7.22 23. Though sin and grace were not born together and though sin and grace shall never die together yet whilst a believer lives in this world they must live together and whilst sin and grace do cohabit together they will still be opposing and conflicting one with another That man that truly hates sin will everlastingly conflict with sin he will die fighting against his sins as one of the Dukes of Venice died fighting against his enemies with his weapons in his hand Well Christians remember this Though to be kept from sin brings most peace and comfort to us yet for us to oppose sin and for God to pardon sin that brings most glory to God 2 Cor. 12.7 8 9. Fifthly True hatred includes a deadly intention and destruction for nothing satisfies hatred but death and ruin Saul hated David 1 Sam. 26.19 20. 1 Sam. 23.23 Est 5.14 and sought his life he hunted him up and down as a Partridge in the mountains he left no stone unturn'd nor no means unattempted whereby he might revenge himself upon David Haman hated Mordecai and nothing would satisfie him but to bring him to a shameful death to see him hang'd on a gallows fifty cubits high which was design'd saith Lyra to put Mordecai to the greater shame for he hanging hâ—gh every one might see him and point to him Now when there was but one night betwixt Mordecai and a shameful death divine providence opportunely strook in and saved hâ—m from Haman's malice and caused the mischief which he had plotted against Mordecai suddenly to fall upon his own pate for he who was highly feasted with the King one day 2 Sam. 13.22 28 29 30 31 32 33. was made a feast for crows the next day Absalom hated Amnon and killed him Julian the Apostate hated the Christians with a deadly hatred he put many thousands of them to death and threatned and vowed that at his return from fighting against the Persians he would put all the Christians in his Empire to the sword but God prevented him by cutting him off in that expedition A Christian that hates sin can't be satisfied but in the death and destruction of it in all his duties the language of his soul is Lord let my sins be destroyed whoever escapes let not my sins escape the hand of thy revenging justice And in all Ordinances the language of his soul is O Lord when shall my sins be subdued and mortified when shall my cursed corruptions be brought to an under yea when shall they all be drowned in the Red-Sea of my Saviours bloud c. Sixthly True hatred includes an impartial aversation true hatred is of the whole kind but of this before To wind up all ask thy heart what is it that thou abhorrest as the superlative evil what is that which thou wouldst have separated as far from thee as heaven is from hell what is that thy heart will never renew league or friendship with any more what is that against which thy soul doth rise and with which as Israel with Amalek thou wilt have war for ever Exod. 17.16 what is that which thou wilt be avenged of and daily dost endeavour the mortifying and crucifying of what is that which thou settest thy heart against in the comprehensive latitude thereof whether great or little open or secret if it be sin if it be thy sins if it be all thy sins then assuredly here is a true hatred of sin and assuredly here is a most distinguishing character of a child of God of a sound conversion and of a saving change It was not wont to be thus with thee nor is this findable in any hypocrite Judg. 14.3 7. or in any unconverted person upon the face of the earth 2 Sam. 13.15 sin was once to thee as Dalilah to Sampson but now it is to thee as Tamar to Amnon Job 20.12 13. once it was a sweet morsel which thou heldst fast and wouldst not let it go Isa 30.22 but now it is the menstruous cloth which thou castest away Hos 14.8 saying Get thee hence Now with Ephraim thou cryest out What have I to do any more with Idols O if it be indeed thus with thee then thou hast cause for ever to be much in blessing and in admiring of the Lord for his distinguishing grace and favour towards thee O Sirs the world is full of baits snares and temptations but whilst the hatred of sin burns in your breasts you may cast up your caps and throw the Gantlet to the
of the heart Hypocrites are heartless in their cryes and therefore they cry and howl and howl and cry and all to no purpose they cry and murmur and they howl and repine they cry and blaspheme and they howl and rebel and therefore they meet with nothing from heaven but frowns and blows and disappointments Isa 29.13 Wherefore the Lord said for as much as this people draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have removed their heart far from me Ezek. 33.31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh and they sit before thee as my people and they hear thy words but they will not do them for with their mouth they shew much love but their heart goeth after their covetousness Though this people flocked to the Prophet in troops as men and women do to places of pleasure and though they carried it before the Prophet as if they were Saints as if they were the people of God as if they were affected with what they heard as if they were resolved to live out what the Prophet should make out to them yet their hearts run after their covetousness Though these hypocrites profest much love and kindness to the Prophet and paid him home with smooth words seemed to be much affected delighted ravished and taken with his person voice and doctrine yet they made no conscience of bringing their hearts into their duties An hypocrite may look at some outward easie ordinary duties of Religion but he never makes conscience of bringing his heart into any duties of Religion When did you ever see an hypocrite a searching of his heart or sitting in judgment upon the corruptions of his soul or lamenting and mourning over the vileness and wickedness of his spirit 'T is only the sincere Christian that is affected afflicted and wounded with the corruptions of his heart When one told blessed Bradford that he did all out of hypocrisie because he would have the people applaud him He answered It is true the seeds of hypocrisie and vain glory are in thee and me too and will be in us as long as we live in this world but I thank God it is that I mourn under and strive against How seriously and deeply did good Hezekiah humble himself for the pride of his heart 2 Chron. 32.25 out of the eater came meat out of his pride he gat humility O Sirs A sincere Christian makes it his great business to get his heart into all his Religious duties and services to get his heart into every way and work of God 2 Chron. 17.6 Psal 86.12 Jehoshaphats heart was lifted up in the wayes of the Lord. So David I 'le praise thee 2 Chron. 22.9 Cant. 3.1 2 3 4 5 6. It is reported that when the Tyrant Trajane commanded Ignatius to be ript unbowelled they found Jesus Christ written upon his heart in characters of gold here was a heart worth gold That 's the golden Christian indeed whose heart is writ upon all his duties and services O Lord with all my heart And so Psal 119.7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart Ver. 10. With my whole heart have I sought thee So Jehoshaphat he sought the Lord with all his heart Isa 26.8 The desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee Vers 9. With my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early Lamen 3.41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens Rom. 1.9 For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of his Son Pauls very spirit his very soul was in his service Phil. 3.3 For we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoyce in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh Rom. 7.22 I delight in the Law of God after the inward man Ver. 25. With the mind I my self serve the Law of God A sincere Christian is alwayes best when his heart is in his work and when he can't get his heart into his duties Oh how does he sigh and groan and complain and mourn at the foot of God Lord my tongue has been at work and my head has been at work and my parts have been at work and my eyes and hands have been at work but where has my heart been this day Oh it is and must be for a sore and sad lamentation that I have had so little of my heart in that service that I have tendered to thee This is the daily language of an upright heart But now all the work of an hypocrite is to get his golden parts into his duties and his silver tongue into his duties and his nimble head into his duties but he never makes conscience of getting his heart into his duties If any beasts sacrificed by Heathens who ever lookt narrowly into the intrails was found without heart this was held ominous and construed as very prodigious to the person for whom it was offered as it fell out in the case of Julian Hypocrites are alwayes heartless in all the sacrifices they offer to God and this will one day prove ominous and prodigious to them But Eleventhly An hypocrite never performes religious duties from spiritual principles nor in a spiritual manner An hypocrite is never inclined moved and carried to God to Christ to holy duties by the power of a new and inward principle of grace working a sutableness between his heart and the things of God An hypocrite rests himself satisfied in the meer external acts of Religion though he never feels any thing of the power of Religion in his own soul An hypocrite looks to his words in prayer and to his voice in prayer and to his gestures in prayer but he never looks to the frame of his heart in prayer An hypocrites heart is never toucht with the words his tongue utters an hypocrites soul is never divinely affected delighted or graciously warmed with any duty he performs An hypocrites spiritual performances never flow from spiritual principles nor from a heart universally sanctified though his works may be new yet his heart remains old his new practises alwayes spring from old principles and this will prove the hypocrites bane Vide Isa 1.10 to 16. as you may see in that Isa 1.15 When you spread forth your hands to heaven I will hide my eyes and when you make many prayers when you abound in duty adding prayer to prayer as the Hebrew runs I will not hear your hands are full of blood These were unsanctified ones their practises were new Mat. 6. chap. 23 Luke 18. but their hearts were old still The same you may see in the Scribes and Pharisees who fasted prayed and gave alms but their hearts were not changed renewed sanctified nor principled from above and this proved their eternal bane Nicodemus was a man of great note name John 3.4 No man can understand
spiritual mysteries by carnal reason and fame among the Pharisees and he fasted and prayed and gave alms and paid tythes c. and yet a meer stranger to the new birth Regeneration was a paradox to him How can a man be born when he is old can he enter the second time into his mothers womb and be born This great Doctor was so great a Dunce that he understood no more of the doctrine of Regeneration than a meer child does the darkest precepts of Astronomy 1 Cor. 2.14 Look as water can rise no higher than the spring from whence it came so the natural man can rise no higher than nature An hypocrite may know much and pray much and hear much and fast much and give much and obey much and all to no purpose because he never manages any thing he does in a right manner he never carries on his work from inward principles of faith fervency life love delight c. Will the hypocrite delight himself in the Almighty Ans No he cannot delight himself in the Almighty Job 27.10 Job speaks of the hypocrite as is evident ver 8. 1. To delight in God is one of the highest acts of grace and how can an hypocrite put forth one of the highest acts of grace who hath no grace An hypocrite may know much of God and talk much of God and make a great profession of God and be verbally thankful to God but he can never love God nor trust in God nor delight in God nor take up his rest in God c. 2. An hypocrite knows not God and how then can he delight in that God whom he does not know An hypocrite has no inward saving transforming experimental affectionate practical knowledge of God and therefore he can never take any pleasure or delight in God 3. There is no sutableness between an hypocrite and God and how then can an hypocrite delight himself in God There is the greatest contrariety imaginable 'twixt God and an hypocrite God is light and the hypocrite is darkness 2 Cor. 6.15 16 God is holiness and he filthiness God is righteousness and he unrighteousness God is fulness and he emptiness Now what complacency can there be where there is such an utter contrariety 4. Every hypocrites heart is full of enmity against God and how then can he delight himself in God The carnal mind is enmity against God Rom. 8.7 To delight in God is Christianorum propria virtus saith Hierom. for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be The best part of an hypocrite is not only averse but utterly adverse to God and all goodness The Eagle saith the Philosopher hath a continual enmity with the Dragon and the Serpent And so an hypocrites heart is still full of enmity against the Lord and therefore he can never delight himself in the Lord. 5. The stream cream and strength of an hypocrites delight runs out to himself and to this lust or that to this relation or that to this creature-comfort or that to this worldly enjoyment or that or else to arts parts gifts priviledges c. and therefore how can he delight himself in the Almighty An Hypocrite alwayes terminates his delight in something on this side God Christ and Heaven Look as the Apricock-tree though it leans against the wall yet it is fast rooted in the earth so though an hypocrite may lean towards God and towards Christ and towards heaven yet his delight is still rooted fast in one creature-comfort or another c. Mark 6. God nor Christ is never the adequate object of an hypocrites delight An hypocrite is never principled to delight himself in a holy God neither can he cordially divinely habitually delight himself in holy duties An hypocrite may reform many evil things and he may do many good duties and yet all this while it is only his practises but not his heart or principles that are changed and altered Mark though an hypocrite hath nothing in him which is essential to a Christian as a Christian yet he may be the compleat resemblance of a Christian in all those things which are not essential to him An hypocrite in all the externals of Religion may be the compleat picture of a sincere Christian but then if you look to his principles and the manner of his managing of holy duties there you will find him lame and defective and as much unlike a sincere Christian 1 Sam. 19.13 16. as ever Michal's Image was unlike to David and this will prove the great crack the great break-neck of hypocrites at last O Sirs It is considerable that outward motives and natural principles have carried many Heathens to do many great and glorious things in the world Did not Sisera do as great things as Gideon the difference did only lye here that the great things which Gideon did he did from more spiritual principles and raised considerations than any Sisera was acted by Heb. 11. And did not Diogenes trample under his feet the great and glorious things of this world as well as Moses The difference did only ly in this that Moses trampled under his feet the gay and gallant things of this world from inward gracious principles viz. faith love c. and from high and glorious considerations viz. heaven the glory of God c. whereas Diogenes did only trample upon them from poor low prineiples and from meer outward carnal external considerations The favour of men the eye of men the commendations of men the applause of men and a great name among men were golden apples great things among the Philosophers The application is easie Mark A sincere Christian he looks to the manner as well as to the matter of his duties he acts and performs duties not only from strength of parts and acquired qualifications but from strength of grace and infused habits Rom. 11.24 Ezek. 36.25 Jer. 31.33 Rom. 3.5 2 Cor. 5.19 2 Pet. 1.4 Eph. 3.17 2 Cor. 13.5 he acts from God and for God he acts from a new heart he acts from the Law written in his heart he acts from the love of God shed abroad in his heart he acts from the divine nature communicated to him he acts from the spirits in-dwelling in his heart he acts from the fear of God establishing his heart These be the springs and principles of a sincere Christians spiritual life and actions and where they act and bear rule it is no wonder if such motions and performances as the world may admire but not imitate Sauls life after his conversion was a kind of constant miracle 2. Cor. 11. so much he did and so much he suffered and so much he denyed himself that if he lived in these dayes his life would be a miracle but yet if we consider the principles that he was acted by the great wonder will be not that he did so much but that he did no more Gal. 2.20 For saith he
delight in the Word but not as it was a holy Word a pure Word for then they would have rejoyced and delighted themselves in the whole Word of God every part of God's Word being pure and holy Hypocrites are sometimes affected and delighted with the Word as it is drest up with fine high notions which are but mysterious nothings they are taken with the Word as it is cloathed with arts parts and elegancy of phrase they are pleased with the Word as it is apparelled with a spruce wit or with silken expressions or with some delicate elocution Ezek. 33.32 So thou art to them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument or as the Hebrew may be read Thou art as one that breaks jests These hypocrites lookt upon the solemnity and Majesty of the Word but as a dry jest the Prophet being eloquent and having a pleasing delivery they were much taken with it and it was as sweet and delightful to them as a fit of musick but they were not at all taken or delighted with the spirituality purity and holiness of the Word as is evident in ver 31. And they come unto thee as the people cometh and they sit before thee as my people and they hear thy words but they will not do them for with their mouth they shew much love but their heart goeth after their covetousness It was a very smart reproof of Chrysostom Chrysost to his Hearers This is that saith he which is like to undo your souls you hear your Ministers as so many minstrels to please the ear not to pierce the conscience Augustin confesseth that the delight which he took before his conversion in Saint Ambroses Sermons was more for the eloquence of the words than the substance of the matter Hypocrites are taken more with the wit eloquence of speech action quickness of fancy smoothness of stile neatness of expression and rareness of notion than they are with the spirituality purity and holiness of the Word which they either hear or read These hypocrites are like those children who are more taken with the fine flowers that are strewed about the dish than they are with the meat that is in the dish and that are more taken with the red weeds and blew bottles that grow in the field than they are with the good corn that grows there But now look as the prudent Farmer is taken more with a few handfuls of sound corn than he is with all the gay weeds that be in the field so a sincere Christian is more taken with a few sound truths in a Sermon than he is taken with all the strong lines and high strains and flourishes of wit or than he is taken with some new coyned phrases or some quaint expressions or some seraphical notions with which a Sermon may be deckt or drest up Some are taken with the Word as the profession of it brings in customers into their Shops and keeps up their credits in the world others are taken with the Word as it seems to tickle their ears and please their fancies Some are affected with Sermons because of the elegancy of the stile delicacy of the words smoothness of the language and gracefulness of the delivery And these deal by Sermons as many do by their Nosegays that are made up of many pickt sweet flowers who after they have smelt to them a while cast them into a corner and never mind them more so these after they have commended a Sermon after they have highly applauded a Sermon they cast away the Sermon they smell to the Sermon if I may so speak and say it is sweet it is sweet and presently they throw it by as a Nosegay that is withered and of no further use But now a sincere heart savours the Word and relishes the Word and is affected and taken with the Word as it is a holy Word a spiritual Word a pure Word which the most refined hypocrite under heaven never was affected or taken with nor can be whilst hypocrisie keeps the throne in his soul But Thirteenthly and lastly An hypocrite can't endure to be tryed and searcht and laid open an hypocrite hates the light and had rather go to hell in the dark than come to be weighed in the ballance of the Sanctuary John 3.20 A soul-searching Ministry is to an hypocrite a tormenting Ministry that 's no man for his money that will never let his conscience alone he knows he is like a velvet saddle velvet without and straw within he knows he is like a whited supulcher Mat. 23.27 28. glorious without and dead bones within and therefore his heart rises and swells against such a man and such a Ministry that is all for the anatomizing and laying of him open to himself and to the world But now look as pure gold fears neither fire nor furnace neither test nor touchstone neither one ballance nor another so a sincere heart dares venture it self upon tryal yea upon the very tryal of God himself Psal 139.23 Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts A sincere Christian prayes his friends to search him and he prayes soul-searching Ministers to search him but above all he begs hard of God to search him See Job 31.5 6 Search me O God The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Imperat Kal he commands God to search him The original word signifies a strict curious diligent search A sincere Christian is very willing and desirous that God should throughly search him that God should search into every corner and cranny of his heart Psal 26.2 Examine me O Lord and prove me try my reins and my heart Every word here has its weight Examine me O Lord. The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifiâ—s to melt and so to try which makes the most intrinsecal and eâ—act discovery O Lord let my heart and reins be melted that it may be known what metal they are made of whether gold or tin Prove me The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to view as when a man gets upon some high Tower or Hill to see all from thence Mount aloft O Lord take the high Tower take the Hill that thou mayest see what is in me try me and know my thoughts The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nasah which properly signifies to take away and is applied to Abrahams taking away of his son Gen. 22.1 Lord saith the Prophet if upon searching and examining of me thou shalt find any sin any creature any comfort any enjoyment that lyes in thy room take it away that thou mayest be all in all to me A sincere Christian knows that God never brings a pair of scales to weigh his graces but only a touch-stone to try the truth of his graces he knows if his gold his grace be true Mat. 12.20 though it be never so
mercies and in my own outward mercies O! how much more then ought I to rejoyce in the saving and distinguishing graces of the Spirit especially when I consider that the least dram of grace is more worth than ten thousand thousand worlds Hab. 3.18 Gal. 6.14 Phil. 3.3 as every awakened conscience will tell you when they come to dye Mark firstly mostly and chiefly a Christian is to rejoyce in God and Christ but secondarily and subordinately he may rejoyce in those graces and in those gracious evidences that God has given into his soul Firstly mostly and chiefly a Wife is to rejoyce in the person of her Husband but secondarily subordinately she may rejoyce in the bracelets in the ear-rings in the jewels in the gold chains that are given her by her Husband But The tenth Proposition is this viz. That that assurance that the people of God may rise to by the sight of their graces and upon the sight of their gracious evidences in the light of the spirit is not so clear and bright and high and full a that it utterly excludes all fears doubtings conflicts 1 Cor. 13.12 Phil. 3.12 13 14. or spiritual agonies Our knowledge of God of Christ of our selves and of the blessed Scripture which is the Rule of tryal is imperfect in this life And how then can our assurance be perfect David a man eminent in grace and holiness had his up-hills and his down-hills his Summer days and his Winter nights Psal 73.25 Psal 42.5 11. Now you shall have him upon the Mountains singing and saying The Lord is my portion and presently you shall have him in the Valleys sighing and saying Whâ— art thou cast down O my soul why art thou disquieted within me Job 3. Psal 77. Psal 88. The same is evident in Job Heman and Asaph Such an assurance as shall exclude all fears doubts conflicts agonies iâ— very desirable on earth but shall never be obtained till we come to heaven The grievous assaults of Satan the power of unbelief and the prevalency of other corruptions in a Christians heart may be such as may shake I don't say overturn that assurance which a Christian may gather from the sight and evidence of his graces in the light of the spirit Gal. 5.17 The flesh lusteth as well against the spirit as it is a spirit of consolation as it lusteth against the spirit as it is a spirit of sanctification and therefore such an assurance as shall exclude all sorts and degrees of fears and doubts Doubting is not a vertue as the Papists would make us believe but 't is a fruit of the flesh and a thing most contrary and opposite to the nature of faith Jam. 1.5 Mat. 21.21 13.31 And therefore Christians should pray hard to be rid of their doubts is not attainable in this life whilst we are in this old world we shall have water with our wine gall with our honey and some clouds with our brightest Sun-shiny dayes c. Most Christians think that as long as they have any doubtings they have no assurance but they consider not that there are many degrees of infalible certainty below a perfect or an undoubting certainty Doubtless some darkness more or less will overspread the face of every Christians soul and unbelief in one degree or another will be making head against their faith and hypocrisie in one degree or another will be making head against sincerity and pride in one degree or another will be making head against humility and passion in one degree or another will be making head against meekness and earthly-mindedness in one degree or another will be making head against heavenly-mindedness c. yet as long as a Christian has the sight of his graces or his gracious evidences he may and ought to walk in much peace comfort and joy Such Christians as are resolved to lye down in sorrow till they have attained to a perfect assurance must resolve to lye down in sorrow till they come to lay down their heads in the dust Our graces are imperfect and therefore that assurance that arises from the sight and evidence of them must needs be imperfect 1 Thes 3.10 perfect signs of grace can never spring from imperfect grace Now if this were seriously apprehended studied and minded by many weak Christians they would not at every turn call their spiritual estates into question as they do because they find some seeds and stirrings of pride hypocrisie vain-glory and other sinful humours and passions working in them But The eleventh Proposition is this viz. When all your signs and evidences of the happiness and blessedness of your condition fails you and are so clouded obscured darkned and blotted that you can't read them that you can't take any comfort from them then it highly concerns you to keep up high and precious and honourable thoughts of God of Christ of his word and of his wayes in your souls Psal 97.2 Cant. 5.6 7. When Christ was withdrawn from his Spouse and when the watchmen that went about the City had smote her and wounded her and when the keepers of the walls had took away her vail from her yet then she keeps up in heart very high precious and honourable thoughts of Christ Ver. 10. My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand Ver. 16. His mouth is most sweet and he is altogether lovely or his mouth is sweetnesses and he is altogether desirablenesses or all of him is desires or he is wholly desirable Here she breaks off her praises in a general Elogy which no words can express enough Alas saith the Spouse I want words to express how sweet how lovely how comely how desirable how eminent and how excellent Christ is in my eye and to my soul Hag. 2.8 he is the desire of all Nations de jure and all that is perfect in heaven or earth is but a dim shadow of his excellency and glory Where Christ is there is heaven heaven it self in the Spouse's eyes without Christ would be but a low little thing The Spouse looks upon Christ as the sparkling Diamond in the ring of glory So David when he was wofully clouded and benighted when all was dark within him and dark about him and dark over him Psal 73. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain See Psal 77. Psal 88. 1 Sam. 30.6 and washed my hands in innocency Ver. 21. My heart was grieved and I was pricked in my reins Ver. 22. I was as a beast before thee or I was as a great beast or as many beasts in one as the Hebrew word Behemoth imports Ver. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth that is my outward man and my inward man faileth me And yet mark at this very time when the Psalmist was thus overcast he keeps up in him very high precious and honourable thoughts of God Ver. 1. Truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean
You know in time of War there are the outworks and there are the royal Forts Now when the Soldiers are beaten out of their out-works they retire to the royal Forts and there they are safe and then they cast up their caps and bid defiance to their proudest enemies Now our graces and our gracious evidences they are our out-works and from these we may be beaten in a day of desertion and temptation c. Now if we make our retreat to the five following royal Forts we may in a holy sence cast up our caps and bid defiance to an host of Devils yea to all the powers of darkness Qu. But Sir Pray let us know which are these Royal Forts Ans They are these three that follow The first is the free rich infinite soveraign and glorious grace of God Gen. 6.8 Exod. 19.5 Eph 1.5 6 7. 1 Tim. 1.13 14 15 16. The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant The original word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was over full redundant more than enough more than might serve the turn for him who was the greatest of sinners By free-grace you are to understand the gracious good will or favour of God whereby he is pleased of his own free love to chuse and accept of some in Christ for his own This we call first grace because it is the fountain of all other grace and the springs from whence they flow and it 's therefore called grace because it makes a man gracious with God Now mark there have been many Christians who have had no assurance of the love of God no sight of their interest in Christ no sealing of the spirit nor no one clear evidence of grace that they durst rest the weight of their souls upon nor no one promise in the whole Book of God that they durst apply or rest upon who yet daily casting or rowling themselves their souls and their everlasting concernments upon the infinite free rich and soveraign grace of God in Christ have found some tolerable peace comfort and refreshment in such a practise all their dayes A Christian may lose the sight of his graces and the evidences of his gracious estate he may be so much in the dark he may be so much benighted and bewildered in his spirit that there may be no way under heaven left to him to enjoy peace comfort rest quiet settlement or contentment but by casting or rowling of his soul upon the free rich infinite and soveraign grace of God in Christ and here casting anchor the poor bewildered deserted tempted Isa 50.10 tossed soul may be safe and at rest The free love and favour of God will be a lamp to the soul in the darkest night Psal 4.6 Socrates prized the Kings countenance above his coyn What is then the countenance of a God to a gracious soul it will be a sweet lump that will sweeten the bitterest cup it will be a singular cordial against all faintings it will be armour of proof against all temptations it will be an everlasting arm to you under all afflictions it will be a Sun and a shield to you in every condition Psal 80.3 Cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved Divine favour is that pearl of price that is most desirable Dan. 9.17 The Lord make his face to shine upon his sanctuary that is desolate for the Lords sake Numb 6.24 The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you Psal 67.1 God be merciful to you and bless you and cause his face to shine upon you Job 2.4 Life is a very desirable thing skin for skin yea all that a man hath will he give for his life and yet the loving kindness of God is better than life Psal 63. Thy loving kindness is better than life The Hebrew word is Chajim lives to note that the loving kindness of God is better than many lives yea than all lives and the revenues of life put many lives together put all lives together and yet there is more excellency in the least discovery of divine love than in them all Many a man has been weary of his life but who have ever been weary of divine love Dear Christians are your graces or gracious evidences shining and sparkling O then solace your selves mostly in the free love and favour of God for in his free favour lyes the life of your souls the life of your graces the life of your comforts yea in his free favour your all is bound up If your graces or evidences are so clouded and darkned that you are in a stormy day beat out of your out-works O now run to the free grace and favour of God as to your Royal Fort as to your strong Tower as to your City of Refuge where you may be safe and happy for ever In such a day ponder much upon these Scriptures Hos 14.4 I will heal their back-sliding I will love them freely God's love is a free love having no motive or foundation but within it self all the links of the golden chain of salvation are made up of free-grace The people of God are freely loved Deut. 7.6 7 8. and freely chosen John 15.16 19. Eph. 1.4 and freely accepted Eph. 1.6 and freely adopted Eph. 1.5 Gal. 4.5 6. and freely reconciled 2 Cor. 5.18 19 20. and freely justified Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his grace and freely saved Eph. 2.5 By grace ye are saved Ver. 8. For by grace are ye saved Tit. 3.5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us Thus you see that all the golden rounds in Jacob's Ladder that reaches from heaven to earth are all made up of free-grace Free-grace is the foundation of all spiritual and eternal mercies free-grace is the solid bottom and foundation of all a Christians comfort in this world Were we to measure the love of God to us by our fruitfulness holiness humbleness spiritualness heavenly-mindedness or gracious carriages towards him how would our hope our confidence every hour Rom. 4.16 yea every moment in every hour be staggered if not vanquished Bâ—t all is of grace of free-grace that the promise might be sure and that our salvation might be safe O Sirs it is free-grace that will strengthen you in all your duties and that will sweeten all your mercieâ— Rom. 8.33 34 35 36. and that will support you under all your changes and that will arm you against all temptations answer all objections and take off all Satans accusations that may be cast in to disturb the peace and quiet of your souls and therefore whether your graces or gracious evidences do shine or are clouded yet still have your recourse to the free-grace of God as to your first Royal Fort your first City of Refuge and still cry out Grace grace When your gracious evidences are clearest and fullest it then concerns you to look upon free grace as your choicest and safest City
with those who say it is an Hebraism the plural righteousnesses noting that most perfect compleat absolute righteousness which Christ is pleased to put upon his people Upon the account of this righteousness of Christ the Church is said to be without spot or wrinkle Eph. 5.27 and to be all fair Thou art all fair my love Cant. 4.7 Col. 2.10 there is no spot in thee And to be compleat And ye are compleat in him which is the head of all principality â—nd power Rev. 14.5 And to be without fault They are without fault before the throne of God And so Col. 1.21 And to present us holy and unblamable and unreprovable in the sight of God But Fourthly This righteousness of Christ will answer to all the fears doubts and objections of your souls How shall I look up to God the Answer is in the righteousness of Christ How shall I have any communion with a holy God in this world the Answer is in the righteousness of Christ How shall I find acceptance with God the Answer is in the righteousness of Christ How shall I dye the Answer is in the righteousness of Christ How shall I stand before a Judgment-seat the Answer is in the righteousness of Christ Your sure and only way under all temptations fears conflicts doubts and disputes is by faith to remember Christ That was a rare speech of Luther Ipsâ— videret ubi anima mea mansura sit qui pro ea sic solicitus fuit ut vitam pro ea posuerit let him see to it where my soul shall rest who took so much care for it as that he laid down his life for it and the sufferings of Christ as your Mediator and Surety and say O Christ thou art my sin in being made sin for me and thou art my curse in being made a curse for me or rather I am thy sin and thou art my righteousness I am thy curse and thou art my blessing I am thy death and thou art my life I am the wrath of God to thee and thou art the love of God to me I am thy hell and thou art my heaven O Sirs if you think of your sins and of God's wrath if you think of your guiltiness and of God's justice your hearts will fail you and sink into despair if you don't think of Christ if you don't rest and stay your souls upon the Mediatory righteousness of Christ But Fifthly and lastly The righteousness of Christ is the best title that you have to shew for a Kingdom that shakes not Heb. 12.28 1 Pet. 1.3 4 5. 2 Cor. 5.1 2 3 4. for riches that corrupt not for an inheritance that fadeth not away and for an house not made with hands but one eternal in the heavens The righteousness of Christ is your life your joy your comfort your crown your confidence your heaven your all and therefore whether your graces or gracious evidences do sparkle and shine or are clouded or blotted yet still keep a fixed eye and an awakned heart upon the Mediatory righteousness of Jesus Christ for that 's the righteousness by which you may happily live comfortably die and boldly appear before a Judgment-seat But The third Royal Fort that Christians should have their eyes their hearts fixed upon whether their graces or gracious evidences sparkle and shine or are obscured and clouded is the Covenant of grace The Covenant of grace is a new compact or agreement which God hath made with sinful man out of his own meer mercy and grace Deut. 4.23 Isa 55.3 54.7 8 9 10. Jer. 31.31 Psal 50.5 c. Hos 14.4 Tit. 3.6 Eph. 1.5 6 7. Chap. 2.5 7 8. Rom. 9.18 23. Jer. 32.38 39 40 41. Ezek. 36.25 26 27. wherein he undertakes both for himself and for faln man wherein he engages himself to make faln man everlastingly happy All mankind had been eternally lost and God had lost all the glory of his mercy for ever had he not of his own free-grace and mercy made such an agreement with sinful man This Covenant is called a Covenant of grace because it flows from the meer grace and mercy of God There was nothing out of God nor nothing in God but his meer mercy and grace that moved him to enter into Covenant with poor sinners In the Covenant of grace there are two things considerable First the Covenant that God makes for himself to us which consists of these Branches 1. That he will be our God 2. That he will give us a new heart a new spirit 3. That he will not turn away his face from us from doing of us good 4. That he will put his fear into our hearts 5. That he will cleanse us from all our filthiness and from all our Idols 6. That he will rejoyce over us to do us good Secondly here is the Covenant which God doth make for us to himself which consists in these things 1. That we shall be his people 2. That we shall fear him for ever 3. That we shall walk in his Statutes keep his Judgments and do them 4. That we shall not depart from him Upon many accounts I may not enlarge on these things but by these short hints 't is evident that the Covenant of grace is an entire Covenant made by God both for himself and for us O Sirs in the Covenant of grace God stands engaged to give whatsoever he requires 1 Chron. 28.9 First He requires us to know him and he has engaged himself that we shall know him Jer. 24.7 I will give them a heart to know me that I am the Lord. And Jer. 31.34 They shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them Heb. 8.11 But Secondly The Lord frequently requires his people to trust in him Psal 62.8 Isa 26.4 2 Chron. 20.20 And he has engaged himself that his people shall trust in him Zeph. 3.12 I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. But Thirdly The Lord frequently commands his people to fear him Deut. 6.13 Chap. 8.6 And he has engaged himself that they shall fear him Jer. 32.40 I will put my fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from me Hos 3.5 They shall fear the Lord and his goodness But Fourthly The Lord frequently commands his people to love him Deut. 11.1 Psal 31.23 O love the Lord all ye his Saints And he has promised and engaged himself that his people shall love him Deut. 30.6 The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul But Fifthly The Lord frequently commands his people to call upon him and to pray unto him Psal 50.15 1 Thes 5.17 c. And he has promised and engaged himself to pour upon them a spirit of prayer Zech. 12.10 I will pour upon the house of
wanting to relieve a people so that must needs be a well ordered Covenant where there is nothing wanting to govern poor souls or to relieve poor souls or to save poor souls and such a Covenant is the Covenant of grace And sure the Covenant of grace is a sure Covenant Jer. 31.31 33 35 36 37. Psal 19.7 Rev. 3.14 Isa 54.10 Deut. 7.9 The Lord thy God he is God the faithful God or the God of Amen which keepeth Covenant with them that love him Psal 89.33 My Covenant will I not break Hebrew I will not prophane nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips All God's precepts all God's predictions all God's menaces and all God's promises are the issue of a most just faithful and righteous will God can neither dye nor lye Tit. 1.2 In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lye promised before the world began There are three things that God can't do 1. He can't dye Nor 2. He can't lye Nor 3. He can't deny himself Josh 23.14 And behold this day I am going the way of all the earth and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you all are come to passe unto you and not one thing hath failed thereof O Sirs the Covenant of grace is bottomed upon God's everlasting love John 13.1 upon Gods unchangable love upon God's free love whom God loves once he loves for ever Jer. 31.3 I have loved thee with an everlasting love God can as well cease to be as he can cease to love those whom he has taken into Covenant with himself And as the Covenant of grace is bottomed upon God's everlasting love so 't is bottomed upon Gods immutable counsel Heb. 6.17 God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath And as the Covenant of grace is bottomed upon the immutable counsel of God so it is bottomed upon the free purpose of God 2 Tim. 2.19 The foundation of God standeth sure that is the decree and purpose of God's election stands firm and sure Now the purpose of God's election is compared to a foundation because it is that upon which all our happiness and blessedness is built and bottomed and because as a foundation it abides firm and sure And as the Covenant of grace is bottomed upon the free purpose of God so 't is bottomed upon the glorious power of God The power of God is an infinite power Isa 33.11 Isa 41.2 Mal. 4.1 1 Cor. 1.25 it is a supream power a power that overtops the power of all mortals What 's the stubble to the flames the chaff to the whirlwind no more is all created power to the power of God The weakness of God is stronger than men and did not Pharaoh find it so and Haman find it so and Sennacherib find it so and Nebuchadnezzar find it so and Belshazzar find it so and Herod find it so In all the ages of the world the power of God hath bore down all before it the power of God is an independant power a matchless power an incomparable power an enduring power an eternal power And as the Covenant of grace is bottomed upon the power of God Heb. 6.17 18 Psal 89.34 35. so it is bottomed upon the oath of God Luke 1.72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy Covenant Ver. 73. The oath which he sware to our father Abraham To think that God will break his oath or be perjured is an intollerable blasphemy Once more give me leave to say the Covenant of grace is bottomed not only upon the oath of God but also upon the precious blood of Christ The blood of Christ is called the blood of the everlasting Covenant Heb. 13.20 Mat. 26.28 This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins Heb. 9.15 And for this cause he is the Mediator of the New Testament that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the fiâ—st Testament they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance Ver. 17. A Testament is of force after men are dead It is called a Covenant and a Testament 1. A Covenant in respect of God and a Testament in respect of Christ 2. A Covenant in respect of the manner of agreement and a Testament in respect of the manner of confirming Jesus Christ died as a Testator and by his death confirmed the Testamentary gift before made of Life and Salvation Now the Covenant of grace being thus gloriously bottomed as you seâ— it must roundly and undeniably follow that thâ— Covenant of grace is a sure Covenant For this is all my salvation and all my desire i. e. This is the great ground of all my hope concerning my salvation and of all the happiness and blessedness which I look for in another world This everlasting Covenant this sure Covenant is the great Charter of Charters that I have to shew for eternal bliss David was drawing neer to his eternal home and whether his graces and gracious evidences for heavens happiness were bright and shining or blotted and clouded I shall not at this time stand to enquire it is enough that he stayes his soul upon the Covenant of grace and that he comforts and solaces his soul in the Covenant of grace And O that all Christians when their graces and gracious evidences are either clouded or blotted or else sparkling and shining that they would frequently eye these three royal Forts viz. 1. The free-grace and favour of God 2. The Mediatory righteousness of Christ 3. The Covenant of grace Now that I may the more effectually prevail with you to look upon these royal Forts and to delight in these royal Forts and to prize these royal Forts and to improve these royal Forts Give me leave to offer these three things briefly to your consideration First Our best graces and performances are not commensurate and square payment in the eyes of pure justice all of them as inherent in us and acted by us are but imperfect excellencies No man hath so much grace and holiness as is required nor doth he so much as he is obliged to do Every particular grace though it be of an heavenly and divine original yet it is like the Stars twinkling though placed in the heavens so that if God should enter into judgment with the most righteous person even the righteousness that is in him Psal 143.2 Job 14.3 4. Rom. 3.20 would not be safety and defence unto him for what a deal of pride have we mixt with a little humility and what a deal of passion have we mixt with a little meekness and what a deal of hypocrisie have we mixt with a little sincerity and what a deal of earthly-mindedness have we
Christ and of the singular manifestations of the love of Christ to their souls The great reason of reasons why the springs of comfort of joy of inward peace and of assurance rises no higher in many Christians souls is because the springs of grace and holiness rises no higher in their souls Had Christians more grace and more holiness in their hearts and lives God would quickly bring down more of heaven and assurance into their souls There is a blessed assurance as I have told you before which arises from the discovery of grace in the soul Now the more ample large and full the matter of our assurance is the more ample large and full must our assurance be Methinks the connexion of these four verses in Titus 2.11 12 13 14. shews this When grace that appears to us teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts c. See what follows then we are most likely to look for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And that prayer of the Apostle for his Ephesians Eph. 3.16 17 18 speaks as loudly in the case That God would grant them to be strengthned by the Spirit c. to be rooted and grounded in love And what then That ye may comprehend with all Saints the length and breadth of the love of God Suppose in health or sickness living or dying a man should labour to support comfort and chear up his spirit in the thoughts or meditations of his eternal election and free justification And suppose that at that very time the Spirit of God his own conscience â— Thes 2.13 14. a faithful Minister or an experienced Christian should tell him That if he be really justified he is really sanctified Now if this man should say What do you tell me of sanctification or I know not whether I am sanctified or no or I look not to sanctification I mind not holiness I regard not the fruits of the Spirit will not the holy Spirit will not an enlightned conscience will not a faithful Minister will not an experienced Christian reply Then certainly thou art not elected thou art not justified for it is a truth as clear as the Sun a truth that will admit of no dispute viz. Rom 8.1 13 29 30. That none are eternally elected and freely justified but they are sanctified and that they that are not sanctified are not justified Mark there is a closs connexion of sanctification with justification in the promises of the Covenant sanctification and justificatiòn go hand in hand they come forth like twins out of the womb of free-grace as you may see in these remarkable Scriptures Jer. 33.8 Bern. in Cant. Serm. 37. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against me Here you see them both expressed together in the same deed I will cleanse them from all their iniquity there is our sanctification promised And I will pardon all their iniquities there is justification promised So Mich. 7.19 He will subdue our iniquities and thou wilt câ—st all their sins into the depths of the Sea Here you find justification and sanctification again in the promise He will subdue our iniquities This is sanctifying And he will cast all their sins into the depths of the Sea This is justifying Heb. 8.10 I will put my Laws into their minds and write them in their hearts there is the promise of sanctification Vâ—r. 12. And I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more There is the promise of justification 1 John 1.9 If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins There is our justification promised And to cleanse us from aâ—l unrighteousness There is the promise of sanctification Ezek. 36.25 From all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you There is the promise of sanctification Ver. 29. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses There is the promise of justification 1 Cor. 6.11 But ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified Justification and sanctification are inseparable companions distinguished they must be but divided they can never be where sin is pardoned the gift of sanctity is still conferred 'T is weakness 't is wickedness for a man to conclude that he is in an elected and justified estate when he has nothing when he has not the least thing to evidence himself to be in a sanctified estate Both justification and sanctification have a necessary respect to the salvation of all those that shall go to heaven He that will go to heaven must be sanctified and he that will go to heaven must be justified No man can go to heaven without both no man can go to heaven unless he be justified Rom. 8.30 Whom he called them also he justified and whom he justified them he also glorified None are justified but such as are called and none are glorified but such as are justified And as no man can go to heaven but he that is justified so no man can go to heaven but he that is sanctified John 3.5 Jesus answered and said unto him verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God Ver. 5. Jesus answerd verily verily I say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God See my Treatise on Holiness Heb. 12.14 And holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. By these Scriptures 't is evident that there is an absolute necessity both of sanctification and justification in reference to salvation Now as sanctification and justification are linkt together so the more clear the more full the more evident and the more eminent a mans sanctification is the more clear the more full the more evident and the more eminent will the evidences of his justification be The greatest evidences of our sanctification carries with them the greatest assurance of our justification and of our salvation But The fifteenth Proposition is this When your graces are strongest and your evidences for heaven are clearest and your comforts rise highest upon the sight of your graces or gracious evidences then in a special manner it concerns you to make it your great business and work to act faith a fresh to act faith with a greater strength upon the free rich and glorious grace of God and upon the Lord Jesus Christ 'T is reported of the Chrystal that it hath such a vertue in it that the very touching of it quickens other stones and puts a luster and beauty upon them This is most true of faith faith is a grace that gives strength and efficacy to all other graces it is like a silver thred that runs thorow a chain of pearl it hath an influence upon all other graces