his voice to the great World and the Rocks rend Thunder is the voice of God to the great World and in what Majesty doth he express himself to all Creatures below in that voice As there be Thundrings without so there be Thundrings within In great Majesty doth Christ speak to the soul sometimes Ask your Consciences else ask Faelix the Jaylour and Cain else yea ask your Father Adam else what a case were all these in when Christ did but reason with them Yea I ask you Hypocrites if any here is not the way of Christ full of Majesty What means those loads that gather about your hearts and that fearfulness which surpriseth you Thou dost but touch the mountains and they smoke saith the Psalmist so God doth but touch your Consciences and they smoke he doth but whisper within and your spirits fly about every where into the fingers into the face and up into the head and the heart within beats for want of them ready to swoon away Ask wounded spirits whether Gods Word be not full of Majesty Twenty years time not enough to heal the wound of a word of Gods mouth Oh the Majesty of that word Look upon the whole Creation upon the Earth upon the Sea upon the Heavens do they not all-speak the Majesty of Christ God is mightier than the noise of many waters yea than the Mighty waves of the Sea The tossings rollings and roarings of the Sea Do they not speak loudly the Majesty of Christ But ah sinner The tossings rollings and roarings of a troubled soul speak the Majesty of Christs word much more Knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we perswade men 2. Kingdoms have Supremacy This is Basis Majestatis Christ is a great King over all as the Psalmist titles him Psal 29. God hath set Christ over all so should we as God hath set him so do you over all in all things Now self-denyal is an excellent means that Christ may Reign Thou must deny thy Kingdom that Christ may have his you must lay down your Crowns at his feet that he may wear his Crown upon his Head And this is a sweet Testimony of Grace in the heart if the heart can endure Tribulation that Christ may Reign If it can suffer all things that Christ may do all things if it can lye low that Christ may be exalted when we are most annihilated our Lord and his Mysteries are most admired Sixthly They know thankfully The beams of Knowledg that shine into them melt them into pangs of Thankfulness that they should have the Honour and Happiness to know those things that they know They would not be without Christ whom they know not for a thousand Worlds They would not be without the miracles of love and peace and pardon in Christ which they have and know for all the Worth of India They count themselves to have been no better than brutes and beasts all the time they were without the Knowledg of those Divine Rarities which now they lay up so close in their hearts They adore God that they should know and see those saving secrets which are hid from the eyes of so many round about them Seventhly The true Knowledg of spiritual things doth spiritualize True Knowledg of Religion makes a man Religious Religion in Scripture is called Godliness Without controversie great is the Mystcry of godliness that is The principles of 1 Tim. 3. 15. Christian Religion Godliness is great gain i. e. Christianity The Christian Religion is great gain Thus the Truths themselves are called Godliness Why so Because the true Knowledg of them begets an inward godliness As Religion it self is called Faith and the grace in the soul is also called Faith Why so To shew that Faith begets Faith that is the Truth revealed begets Faith and must be received by Faith Therefore one word includes both the Object the thing believed and likewise the Disposition of the soul to that Object So Religion is called Godliness because the true Knowledg of it begets Godliness Oh! See then what makes a true Christian What when a man nakedly believes Divine Truths When he knows the Principles of Faith doth that make him a true Christian No But when Religion makes him Religious when these Tit. 1. 1. Truths work Godliness for Religion is a truth according to godliness Where the Truths of Religion are embraced there is Godliness with them A man cannot embrace Religion in Truth but he must be godly because Religion is Godliness so it is called for that it tends to beget all Piety and Virtue and Godliness in the heart And therefore if the Mysteries of Heaven work not Godliness a man hath but an Humane Knowledg of Divine things When Lucius a bloody Persecutor offered to confess his Faith hoping thereby to gain an opinion that he was Orthodox Russin Hist Eccles l. 2. c. 6. Moses a Religious Monk refused to hear him saying The eye might sometimes judg of one's Faith as well as the Ear and that whosoever lived as Lucius did could not believe as a Christian ought A man knows no more of Christ than he is sanctified he knows no more of Divine things than he esteems and affects he knows no more of the Mysteries of Heaven than he brings the whole inward frame to be like the things He that saith 1 John 2. 4. I know God and keepeth not his Commandments is a lyar and the truth is not in him No doubt but Hophni and Phineas being Priests had a literal Knowledg of God yet being prophane they are said expresly not to have known him They were sons of Belial they knew 1 Sam. 2. 12. not the Lord. Eighthly If we know God aright we know God in us for we come to know God savingly by Regeneration and so by little and little we come to know God in us knowing in our selves those Divine perfections which the Holy Ghost attributes to God We know the Holiness of God by the Beam of Holiness which he hath irradicated into our hearts We know the love of God by the working of love in us towards him and towards his Saints We know hatred of sin in God by knowing in our selves an hatred of sin we know the Mercy of God by finding in our selves an Image of his Mercy towards our Enemies As Christ saith Be ye merciful as your heavenly Fathers is merciful Luk 6. 36. And it is a clear case We could never know in God Truth Justice Goodness were we not in some measure true just and good it being natural for Man to judg of others according to that which he knows in himself The spirit makes me to know Omnipotency in God through the great Power which he shews in me mortifying me and making me alive The spirit makes me know Wisdom in God by the Wisdom which I get through his Holy Spirit he makes me know Justice in God because he justifieth me in Christ he makes me know Truth
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to a Reprobate mind Vse 8. Try your graces Gifts will not save you see that you have not the gift of Knowledg but the grace of Knowledg not the gift of Prayer but the grace of Prayer See that you have not good parts but parts in Christ as our Lord said Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken Luk. 10. 42. from her No man hath good parts till he hath part in Christ Would you try your graces know then 1. Grace acts inwardly It works upon the heart upon the vitals it works upon the subject it is in as physick works upon Nature so doth grace it works upon the very nature and constitution 2. It acts Divinely it doth all for God and for Divine ends He that hath the gift of Prayer prays for himself that he may shew himself as David said to King Achish Thou shalt 1 Sam. 28. 2. know what thy servant can do But he that hath the grace of Prayer prayeth for God he doth not only pray to God but for God that he may have more of God and less of himself more communion with God less communion with himself he that hath the grace of Prayer prays for grace He that hath the grace of patience suffers Divinely because God will have him suffer as David said concerning Shimei Let him alone saith he for God hath bid him curse David 2 Sam. 16. 10. He that hath the Grace of Obedience obeys Divinely he acts with Divine raptures of love to God and zeal for his Glory 3. It acts universally As the Sun being in the Heavens runs its course over all the World so the soul that is fixed in an Heaven of grace runs its course and motion through all the Commandments As the Apostles being universal pastors were not fixed to any place but went Preaching the Gospel all the world over so those that are universal Saints limit and fix themselves to no Commandment but travel over all the world of Gospel-precepts Vse 9. This speaks admirable comfort to many sorts of men who start up doubts and scruples against themselves and follow the scent of them too far so as to hinder them in the way of believing Dub. 1. Saith a doubting soul I am a poor man and despised in the world and will the Lord reveal his Mysteries of Heaven to me Will the Lord look upon me Sol. And why not upon thee Though the Lord be high yet he looks low He humbleth himself to behold the children of men 1. The Lord will not despise thee in that thou art poor because 't is the condition himself hath put thee in Now the Lord doth never despise his own work he despiseth Satans work and Mans work which is sin but he doth never despise his own work he that made thee poor will not despise thy poverty Thou canst not be worse than a beggar a blind beggar we count a beggar to be in a low condition but a blind beggar that cannot see to work for his living we count him very low and yet Christ gives grace to such Mark 10. 47 He was blind and yet he saw Christ by Faith for as soon as ever he heard it was Jesus He cryed out Jesus thou Son of David i. e. the Messiah have mercy on me Christ Jesus before he came at him sent his spirit to teach him to say Jesus thou Son of David Christ Jesus came by that way on set-purpose to reveal himself to the poor beggar 2. Thy Saviour was poor and therefore no marvel if the poor be saved He that made Christ poor will make the poor Christians 3. To chuse God will reveal his Mysteries to the poor rather than to the rich not that he doth despise riches but because the rich despise him they are proud of their riches and think that God is engaged to save them above others because they are great above others They that are rich in estate are rich in conceit Dub. 2. But I have but an ordinary Trade and will the Lord give grace to me Sol. Why not to thee The Lord had as leif Trade with thee as with any other The Apostles many of them were but Fishermen and yet the Lord Christ caught them in his Net his spirit mov'd upon their Waters and took them out of the depths of sin and revealed the glories of Heaven to them so as to none ever before or after them A Fisherman is as ordinary a Trade as any in the World and yet Christ preferred them above all the World and made them the greatest men in Heaven and Earth for himself sits next the Father and the Apostles next him Dub. 3. But I am a Servant an Apprentice I am an Handmaid whose work is the meanest drudgery in the house and will the Lord reveal to me the Mysteries of Heaven Sol. And why not to thee especially if thou art humble If thy Master trust thee with his Estate and Cash will not God trust thee with his Jewels and Graces God is an humble God and will sit with the servant at the lower end of the Table as well as with the Master at the upper end of the Table Nay with God all are round Tables there 's no upper end he respects not the Master more than the Servant in matters Eph. 6. 9. of grace Thou sayest I am but a servant I sit not down with my Master at Table I wait So doth Free-grace it waits too Thy condition is not so low but Free grace goeth lower God waits to be gracious Isa 30. 18. Dogs are lower than Servants and yet Christ gives grace to Dogs to the Woman of Canaan whom he called a Dog Oh woman great is thy Faith The Children of Israel were but Servants and Bondmen in Egypt and yet God appeared to them not to Pharaoh Thou dost the basest service in the house and they made Brick and yet God appeared to them not to Pharaoh Joseph was but a servant and yet how familiar was God with him It is worth your noting Joseph was a Servant all along A servant to his Brethren they sold him as his Masters into Egypt He was a servant in Potiphar's house and yet God reveals his Presence to him there When his Mistris tempted him saith he How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God A man may be a servant to men and yet not a servant to his lusts and then God appears to thee Joseph when he was cast in the Prison was worse than a servant and yet God was with him there God keeps company with Joseph from service to prison and gives him favour in the Jaylours eyes and he trusts him with all his Prisoners When men have command over their lusts God gives them command over men Dub. 4. But yet saith a soul I am a foolish man an unlearned man and will the Lord reveal his Mysteries to me Sol. And why not to thee The Lord loves to be
habit A man may free himself from his acquired Corruptions he may by care and industry of his own mortifie his acquired depravations of Nature As we read of many Socrates and Plato who by their Wisdom and Industry freed themselves from the slavery of many sensual appetites and passions which their corrupt nature and evil company had led them into and yet the natural corruption remained still Thou thinkest thou art converted because thou hast overcome thy drunkenness but drunkenness is but an acquired corruption thou didst get it by custom and mayst break it by custom and yet nature remain still unchanged 5. The change of the heart chiefly appears in the change of the ultimate or utmost end As the Pollution of the whole man and all his Actions Moral Civil and Religious consists chiefly and appears in seeking self or making our selves our utmost end so our sanctification lyeth in this and appears chiefly in making God the ultimate end of all we do A man before he is sanctified desires God and Christ only to keep his sores from aking for so I look upon all men made up of wants if the body ake with diseases and pains the stomack with hunger conscience for sin all their happiness lyeth in the easing thereof here lyeth their bliss They seek after God only as a Physitian to heal or cure them but not as the end of their cure The sick man sends for the Physitian but his health and recovery is his end so do men before their Conversion in their pangs of Conscience their afflictions their wants and necessities they seek to God and make use of God as an instrument but their ease and interests are their ends Jehu sought the Lord but his last end was himself But when the heart is sanctified then God is their end instead of their lusts and sins God is the only end in their eye instead of the riches or comforts of the World God is the Object in their eye Whom have I in heaven but thee and Psal 73. 25. there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee God was instead of all things to him 1. The soul seeth its own vileness and the Lord in his Glory This is the first Principle of seeking the Lord the soul seeth all his good laid up in the Lord more than in himself nay wholly in the Lord not at all in himself All my springs saith the soul are in thee All my treasures of Righteousness and Redemption all my riches of Wisdom and Sanctification they are all in thee and therefore the Saints when they see their own vileness and the Lord in his Glory are so far from seeking that they loath themselves 2. The soul slights the creatures as vessels of meer vanity Oh try your selves then by this touchstone A carnal heart may cross his own Will but not his own utmost end A man may seek the Lord with delight and follow the Zech. 7. 5 6. Isa 58. 4 5. Ordinances and fast and pray but himself is his end still How shall we know we make God our end 1. When you make him your happiness those that are throughly sanctified make the Lord their last end and happiness Happy art thou O Israel who is like unto thee O Deut. 33. 29. Psal 144. 15. people Happy are those people whose God is the Lord. The full rest and peace of the soul is to be found only in the Presence of God in this Being of Beings his perfections are in himself he keeps a perpetual sabbath of rest in himself And in this rest only the gracious soul seeks his rest God is the journeys-end of all his Labours Life and Travels When Solomon had tyred out himself in his Travels through all the things of this World at last he returns empty and crying home and now when he sums up all his Glory he saith The words of the preacher the Son of David King in Jerusalem Eccl. 1. 1. He stiles himself 1. A man gathered to the Church to be as near God as he can 2. The Son of David to whom the promises were made And then thirdly King of Jerusalem the least and last of all Secondly When you do the Lords work purely for the Lord the Hypocrite will do the Lords work but 't is because his own Interests are bound up with it As a man that goes to the City he will do your business but he would not go unless he had affairs of his own to do there But the gracious heart will go for God and ride for God meerly upon the Lords occasions Thirdly When you carry all things down the stream toward God As a River running toward the Sea many springs fall and run into it but it carrieth them down all with it so the upright soul there are many occasions hinderances businesses but he carrieth them all down along with him they must all go with him they shall not divert him but he will over-master them and lead them his way nay the more he is hindred the more violent is his motion It is time for thee O Lord to work for they have made void thy Psal 119. 126. 127. law therefore love I thy Commandments above gold yea above fine gold Fourthly Therefore they that are sanctified love the Lord fully that is above all A man is highly endeared to that which he makes his end his end commands his affections to love the Lord and to be beloved of the Lord and behold his Glory is the main end of the upright heart Fifthly They that are sanctified dedicate themselves to the Will of God I mean to the whole Will of God Their will is emptied into his will Teach me to do thy will Psal 143. 10. Psal 40. 8. O God I delight to do thy will O my God yea thy law is within my heart The Hebrew word for an holy man is a consecrated man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a man seperated from common to a Divine use The sanctified man is a man separated from his own will and set apart to do Gods Will he is gone out of his own Will and lives at a distance from it he is sorry that he hath served his own will so long and is weary of the service 1. They that are sanctified do Gods Will purely because it is his will because it pleaseth him there is a dear propensity in the Saints to do Gods Will because it pleaseth him Thus saith the Lord unto ths Eunuchs that keep my sabbaths Isa 56. 4. and chuse the things that please me This is their choice it is in their hearts to do it because it pleaseth the Lord I will Psal 69. 30. praise the name of God with a song and magnifie it with thanksgiving This also shall please the Lord better than an Ox or Vers 31. Bullock that hath Horns and Hoofs This is the Motive and loadstone of their Obedience in that it pleaseth him This is the joy
is to you is laid down as an Argument to believe as a Motive to believe and therefore did belong to them before they did believe for the Cause is before the Effect Yes you will say to them to the Jews but not to us mark the next words And to all that are afar of even to as many as the Lord our God shall call Object But God gives not Grace to all and that 's the thing that fears me Answ What is that to thee As Christ said unto Peter Peter asked Christ such a question Lord what shall this man do Joh. 21. 21 22. saith Christ to him What is that to thee follow thou me So God gives not grace to all What is that to thee follow thou me believe thou in me saith Christ Object Oh! but I am a great sinner and will he pardon me and give grace to me Answ 1. The Covenant of grace is a free Covenant from the Lord 's free favour without any respect to any thing in thee it looks at nothing in thee no worth in thee can procure it The Covenant is not only a Covenant to grace but a Covenant of grace not only a Covenant to grace to give more grace where it is but a Covenant of grace to give grace where is none 2. The greatness of thy sinfulness will manifest and set out the greatness of his mercy For his names sake he pardons iniquity Isa 43. Now the greater and the more thy sins have been the greater will be the name of his mercy Quest But how may we attain the Knowledg of the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Answ 1. Let not sin stand between you and the glorious light of the Mysteries of Heaven Cease love to sin if you would have an Heaven upon Earth a glorious Presence of God in you Render your spirits free to God let them not be ensnared with any lust such entanglement spoils your Glory pure hearts shall see the face of God Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God You poor souls who are purging your selves will you believe your Saviour then you shall see God Purity makes capacity of Heaven The holyest men ever had the most glorious visions as Daniel and John A man may see Hell in his sin but shall never see Heaven 2. Would you have the Knowledg of these Mysteries Then get upon some hill the air of the lower region is thick and misty I mean live above abstract your selves as much as may be from the world God chuseth his place to make Heaven he makes Heaven above in Jerusalem that is above in souls that are above above the vanities of this World he makes an Heaven and there the Mysteries of the Kingdom like so many stars shine Moses is led up to a mount to see Canaan Christ upon a mount had his glorious Transfiguration he had his Heaven upon a mount Love must mount above all these low things ere the soul can see Heaven enjoy glorious Presence It falls out unhappily still with man when he goes about to make an Heaven here when he sets love at work to take her fortune to make her Glory and Felicity here below as she can This checks the working of a glorious light in any heart it sets a Divine Power a working another way to whip the man with vexation of spirit for seeking Heaven in Earth in glorious vanities No man shall have two Heavens or but very few 3. Let thy heart be Crystal The Mysteries of Heaven shining upon such an heart reflect gloriously I mean an heart that is a pure glass clear from all hypocrisie God descended like a Dove upon a Dove sweetly and gloriously upon him In whose mouth there was no guile It was upon Jesus Christ there came a voice from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased God never proclaims himself well-pleased in that heart which makes not him his pleasure A heart and a heart hath none of Gods heart Divine Power works not gloriously where the heart works basely An hypocrite hath least of Heaven of any man and most of Hell 4. As men draw near to God so they see him near to him in Quality and near to him in Duty Sirs We see Heaven best upon out knees At the Throne of grace we find grace Heaven at Gods feet When most in his Presence most in Heaven A man must live in Heaven to have Heaven live in him much going to Heaven brings Heaven at last down along with one Vse last Then Oh ye Saints bless the Lord Admire the Lord that hath revealed his Mysteries to you not to others that ye know those things which others do not Oh! fall admiring God and Free-grace The fourth and last Doctrine Doct. 4. That where there are beginnings of true grace though never so weak God makes rich Additions of more grace Whosoever hath to him shall be given and he shall have more abundance Now to evince this I will give you the Testimony of Scripture And 1. In Phil. 1. 6 Paul cheers up their hearts by telling them that he was confident i. e. assured That God who Phil. 1. 6. had begun a good work in them would perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ The Apostle writing to the Thessalonians praiseth God for them Because saith he your faith grows exceedingly and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth 2 Thes 1. 3. Where God plants he makes to grow and where he sows he watereth into an increase 2dly John 10. 10 I came saith Christ that they might have John 10. 10. life and that they might have it more abundantly or that they might have abundance So Musculus reads it Et abundantiam habeant For it is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Abundantius but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word signifieth Abundantiam copiam affluentiam i. e. Qui vivere dedit dabit reliqua ad vitam hanc caelestem necessaria Nec dabit parce sed liberaliter opulente Musculus in Johan Quid dat formam dat consequentia formam He that gives life will give all things necessary to this Divine life to maintain it richly an abundance and affluence of spiritual and heavenly Additions to the least grace 3dly Isa 42. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break and the Isa 42. 3. smoaking flax shall he not quench The Negative here implieth an Affirmative A bruised reed shall he not break i. e. he shall strengthen it and the smoaking flax shall he not quench i. e. he shall be so far from quenching that he shall make it flame and blow it up into a blaze He shall bring forth judgment unto truth which Matthew following the Septuagint Matth. 12. 20. saith He shall bring forth judgment unto victory And this is the meaning of that Text Of his fulness have John 1. 16. we all received 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
for himself every Principle is for Operation The eye for seeing and the ear for hearing so grace is for work Now I say Christ hath begun a good work in you be you then at his work daily and finish it As it was with Christ the Head so should it be with all his members I have finished the work which thou gavest me Joh. 17. 4. to do The Apostle speaking to the Saints that had grace begun in them saith he As you have yielded your members servants Rom. 6. 19. to uncleanness and to iniquity Even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness Peter writing to them saith The time past of our life may 1 Pet. 4. 3. suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles Sirs before you had grace you served sin and having grace will you not stir up your selves to serve Jesus Christ Your so long service to sin should set a keen edg upon you to serve Jesus Christ You live in Times and Places wherein men have so much work of their own to do that Christ is neglected and few men walk with God or act for God Some take mens Examples for patterns and copies and content themselves to do as others do Others are apt to put off Christ with desires but serve Satan indeed Others are catching at comforts and promises but neglect Precepts the Commands of God are tedious and burthensom to them Surely then you in whom the work of grace is begun it stands you upon to be at work for God whilst others shut up shop and are Bankrupts you should drive on a Trade for him 1. For he hath set you up again he hath underlaid and stockt you with Principles of Action he hath put you into a way of doing and given you wheels to move upon he hath made you Wings to fly Object Many excuse their negligence by pretending inability How often do Saints put a fine dress upon their laziness Alas I am nothing of my self except God give me an heart and strength what can I do Without me saith Christ ye can John 15. 5. do nothing Answ Do not deceive your selves God will not be mocked 1. The words of Christ have this meaning without me that is separate from me ye can do nothing that is till you are planted in me Now you say you are planted in Christ and therefore your excuse is but a lye This expression of Christ speaks no more but this that till you be knit to Christ you are but dead and barren Branches as Christ explains himself As the branch cannot bring forth fruit of it self except it abide in the vine no more can ye except ye abide in Vers 4. me Now you say you are knit and united to Christ and therefore away with these couzening vizors and palliations If you are not yet in Christ then confess it if you say you are in Christ then say not you can do nothing 2. The regenerate have a power to Act for God and to do work for Christ First Else there is no specifical difference between a man regenerate and unregenerate if both were without strength Secondly We should not have as much benefit by the second Adam as we had by the first Adam The first would have communicated his Power to do good and being corrupted doth communicate Power to do evil Therefore much more by Christ have we a Power to act for God in our measure Thirdly If you are in Christ you are living Branches vital Members and all life is a Power to act Fourthly What is grace but a repairing of that Holiness and Image of God which we lost in Adam But that was a Power to do what God required therefore so far as that Image is renewed so far there is a Power And therefore Saints Act for Jesus Christ I say you have wings and therefore fly upon action soar up a lost in Service for Jesus Christ God hath given you feet and therefore run the way of his Commandments God hath said to you as Peter did to the man that was Act 3. lame from his mothers Womb In the name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk and your feet and ancle-bones received strength And therefore God expects that you should be upon employment for him If you say It is true we have habitual grace a new frame of heart but we must have assisting grace and influence else we can do nothing the work is hard and we cannot act without new breathings I say Let the duty be to nature impossible yet the Lord is at hand to help even when there is no strength He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he Isa 40. 29. increaseth strength You know how the Israelites pleaded impossibilities and then the Lords anger rose when they were ready to enter Canaan If you had no Christ no Spirit no Promise to assure you to help you might then let fall Duties and cease to action and say 't is impossible I should ever overcome such sins or attain such a measure of grace or bear the Cross or do any thing But when Promises to assure you and Christ and Spirit to breathe upon you are at hand now to plead impossibility is to reproach the Lord If you were under the Law you might plead this but under Grace 't is horrible to make this excuse Remember therefore Gideon and Sampson and David who went out in the Name and Spirit of the Lord and they were helped 3. Know this that the more difficult any work or duty is the more sweetness shall you find in it if you break through it He that overcomes shall eat of the hidden Manna Have you not found your selves dead to Prayer yet you fell to it and then would not but have took the season for a world The husbandman that hath laboured eats afterward of his 2 Tim. 2. 6. fruit You plead the difficulty of a Christian life and therefore taste not the sweetness of it If you can do no more than what is easie and pleaseth self the Lord will never let you taste the sweetness of pleasing him 4. What do you mean to be Like whom Christ teacheth you to breathe out this Prayer Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Do you look for Heaven and will you not act as they do in Heaven whom do you make your patterns If you are not like Heaven you are Bastards not Sons I am sure Angels are content to come out of Heaven to do the work of God nay the Lord Christ himself came down from Heaven and was made lower than the Angels to do the Work of God and shall your hands shrink at it or will you think your selves too good to do it You have here the noblest patterns and most unparallel'd Copies to write after Like whom then do you mean to be Will you draw back from Angels work from the work the Son of God was
Saints that they may be more serious in their duties 2. The other evil in a slight and formal Communion with God in Duties is unthankfulness Duties of godliness are not only a debt to God but a reward to us Therefore in slightness there is not only unfaithfulness but unthankfulness Both the Majesty and Mercy of God is despised and can God be well pleased with such things 3. There is a third evil in a slight Communion with God in Duties and that is unfruitfulness we get nothing from God in duties we pray slightly and therefore get nothing by Prayer we hear the word slightly and therefore profit not by it Now that the Lord may cure his people of this slightness of heart and make their graces grow he useth this dispensation to leave them in want of assurance 6. God increaseth his Saints graces by terrors within he not only suspends their comforts but afflicts their souls he writes bitter things against them 1. These rowse them up to seek God They that see themselves lost will find a way to God They that have Hell-fire burning in them will value Heaven and pardon and the least drop of Gods love Oh! now promises are precious and Gods love neglected is now sweeter than the honey and the honey-comb Now they cry Come Lord Jesus come quickly 2. These fright them out of their dreams and carnal slumbers as the cry made at midnight that the Bridegroom cometh awoke the virgins out of their sleep Among the other diseases of the soul Divine desertions cure deadness and dulness of heart Sometimes living men are in a lifeless state their hearts are so benummed that they seem to lye among the dead They can hear the word carelesly and sleep out whole Sermons there is no vigour nor activity in their graces at home and therefore the Lord hangs their souls over the mouth of Hell and makes them drink of that red wine the dregs whereof the wicked of the earth shall Psal 75. 8. wring out and drink them that by this strong potion he may rowse them up and quicken their dull and drowsy spirits 3. These terrors work them more closely to Christ And for this cause God gives his People sad visions of sin and wrath he shakes the soul with Earth-quakes that she may stand faster upon her true Basis and Foundation These storms make their hearts gather in to Christ That I may be found in him saith Paul The soul must have some dry land to stand upon and when the flood of Gods terrors overflow the soul then she flyeth to Christ as Noah's Dove to the ark 7thly The Lord increaseth grace in his Saints by afflictions he makes them by marring them Divine Wisdom works by contraries he makes them shine brighter by their Eclipses and clears up their light by darkness Schola crucis Schola lucis And truly It is the property of true-born grace to grow the greater by the cross As the laurel tree is not smitten Plin. Nat. Hist l. 2. c. 55. nor blasted with lightning no more is heaven-born grace hurt by any afflictions but much bettered by them 1. God increaseth his Saints graces by sharp sicknesses by diseases unto death i. e. this startles mightily Oh Lord thou didst surprize me unprovided and if thy hand had cut me off with that disease my soul had been cut off from heaven for ever This enters deep upon the soul and strikes terrour upon the heart the Lord I hope shall never find me so again This stirs up thankfulness to the Lord that hath not only in this tryal saved me from the grave but also from Hell 2. Sicknesses deaden the Saints to the world They that in sicknesses are always leaving the world learn to dye unto the world They have death always in their eye They see themselves still upon the borders of the grave They are ever and anon lanching in eternity and this makes grace grow 3. Sicknesses are searchers Thou enquirest after mine iniquity Job 10. 6. saith Job and searchest after my sin When God smites our bodies he searcheth our hearts and makes enquiry in our lives and now saith the soul Let us search and try Lam. 3. 40. our ways When God is searching VS it is high time for VS to search our selves and this also makes grace to grow 4. Sicknesses dig Wells of godly sorrows in the heart They are as it were Gods Mattocks and Spades whereby he delves deep into the center of the heart and digs Wells of repentance which send forth streams of confession of sin which before would not run because they had no vent being covered and stopt with the earth of lust and hardness and worldliness upon them but now they find a passage When I kept silence my bones waxed old through my roaring all the Psal 32. 3. 4. 5. day long for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me and my moysture is turned into the drought of summer I acknowledged my sin unto thee and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin 2. By poverty and narrowness of estate Many men must Aquilone maxime gaudent densiores ab afflatucjus laetioresque materiae firmioris Plin. Nat. Hist l. 17. c. 2. Jer. 6. 22. be kept short and bare that they may thrive in grace Pliny saith That trees generally like best that stand to the North-wind It causeth them to spread thick and more flourishing and makes the Timber more strong and solid The Lord threatneth the Jews with a people from the North-Countrey the Chaldean Army which should carry them captive into Babylon The North wind winnowed them and fanned all their Idolatry They flourished gallantly in Religion after the North wind had blown upon them 1. The cold blasts of poverty correct pride and moderate high thoughts Make a man poor and you make him humble Pride is an absolute enemy to grace and prosperity is the seminary of pride The North-wind of poverty cools the courage and tames the spirits of men and now they know God and themselves Their Plumes fall and now they will digest a reproof and sit upon even ground with the lower Saints When the world frowns upon them they seek the smiles of God before they were too high for him 2. Poverty teacheth them to pray they can now fall upon their knees those that never called upon God learn now to visit the Throne of grace and cry Lord Give us this day our daily bread Nay they long for the spirit of Adoption crying Abba Father Nay those that have prayed in their fulness now pray feelingly They can go to God in sense of wants before they did not hear nor feel their own Prayers In their prosperity they did not care what Prayers they put off God with Now they set the highest rate upon Prayer for they are fain to live upon Prayer An hungry belly makes a Saint hungry after Ordinances and after Gods Presence When a mans debts and poverty make
to profess and acknowledg their Ignorance Non Pudor est Nescire aliquid sed Discere Nolle Et Pudor Scelus est 4. The Saints are very desirous to know the Reason of Christs Actions Why speakest thou unto them in Parables 5. Beginnings of Grace and Knowledg are very earnest after more Good hearts are very Inquisitive and diligent to ask and understand the Mysteries of Heaven Dub. 1. And indeed it is a wonder that Christ who loved souls so dearly and thirsted after their Salvation who was sent into the world by his Father to Vnmask the way to Heaven and who had before Explained the Law and taken the Vizor off from the face of it and convinced the Proud and Preached so home to the heart that he Preacht with Authority He Preached plainly when he said Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand He preached plainly when he said Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven c. and now to cloathe his Sermons with such dark Parables it is a wonder Resp To this the Lord Jesus Answers That he therefore preached in Parables i. e. darkly and obscurely Because he preached in Judgment unto some that were present He preacht that they might not understand him Dub. 2. But why should his Disciples admire that he preached now in Parables seeing it was always his custom to do so And Parables do illustrate and clear things more to the understanding than plain phrases Resp Christ was wont to preach in Parables and therefore that is not the Disciples Query at least not the meaning of it why he did now use Parables for he did ordinarily use them but when he did use them he did Explain them Luk. 15. 4-7 and 16. 1-8 9. But now Christ did preach in Parables and not Explain them as he was wont to do And before we leave this Query of the Disciples Why speakest thou unto them in Parables Observe further First Their Charity Secondly Their Modesty 1. Their Charity and love to the souls of others Why speakest thou to them in Parables They understand thee not they first ask Christ why he spake to them in Parables before they ask him to Explain the Parables to them Obs Good hearts desire the Salvation of others as well as their own aeque though not aequaliter 2. Their Modesty towards Christ They do not question Christ's Doctrine or manner of Teaching in publick but ask him in private to Explain himself When he was alone Mar. 4. 10. and Mat. 13. 36. Obs People ought not to question and move doubts against their Ministers Doctrine in publick but in private lest they should by their importunity create stirs and tumult and give to others occasion of doing any thing unseasonably and out of due time Therefore his Disciples move questions in private We shall now descend to the words of our Text To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them it is not given For whosoever hath to him shall be given and he shall have more abundance To you The word to you hath Emphasis in it Vobis vestri similibus To you and such as you 1. To you Elect for Christ speaks of the Elect under the Apostles Persons To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven 2. Vobis amantibus videlicet Sicientibusque veritatem To you Guilliandi who love and thirst after Truth to you that are godly and gracious the Spirit gives to you not only to hear and see these things but to know them and believe and feel them in your hearts And therefore these are no mysteries to you but Salvation and truth Revealed 'T is given that is it comes to pass 1. Not Casu by chance 2. Nor Necessitate by necessity 3. Nor Natura by nature or natural industry That you know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven But 't is given He discovers the gift and Grace of God For O man What hast thou which thou hast not received Obs The knowledg of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven is a Supernatural gift a gift from above None can understand the mysteries of Heaven but they to whom it is given The gifts of God are two-fold 1. The gifts of Nature 2. The gifts of Grace It was given them by Nature that they could hear or see But it was given them by Grace that they should hear the Gospel and see the Miracles and Face of Jesus Christ but more Grace yet that they could Receive the Gospel and Believe in Christ and know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven It was outward Grace to have the Gospel given them to hear it and Christ given them to see him It was inward Grace to have knowledg to see into the Mysteries of the Gospel and to have Faith to distinguish and apprehend Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory There 's the Gospel of Grace and the Grace of the Gospel To have the Gospel of Grace preached to them and to have Grace to receive the Gospel is a double Grace The mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Is a Periphrasis of the Gospel and of those things which lye hid in the Gospel Obs The Gospel is a mystery The Doctrines of the Gospel are mysteries Mysterium significat secretum aliquod quod remotum est ab oculis atque absconditum praecipuè vero in verbis ut cùm aliquid dicitur quod obscurum est intellectu difficile Solemus dicere hoc mysterium est Subest his verbis tectum aliquid abstrusum Mysterium sic enim consuevit appellare Scriptura quae praeter spem praeter humanam fiunt Opinionem Ecce mysterium vobis dico Omnes quidem c. Guilliandus in Loc. 1 Cor. 15. The mysteries of God therefore are Faith and the Gospel concerning Christ nay Christ himself is called a mystery because he is a Spiritual thing and remains hid and covered till the Spirit unvail him For whatever the Gospel preacheth they Mat. 11. 25. 1 Cor. 2. 6 7 8. are remote from sense and reason that the whole world cannot apprehend them till they are Revealed by the Spirit You shall see many preach and many hear that Christ was delivered for us to Redeem us but these words are only in ore in the mouth not in corde in the heart For 1. Neque ipsi suis verbis credunt neither do they themselves believe their own words 2. Neque gratiam hanc aliquatenus sentiunt neither do they feel the Grace of the Gospel But to them it is not given Luke hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark hath Luke 8. 10. Mark 4. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qui for is sunt sive exteris To them that are without By which he understands not only them that are strangers all their time from the Kingdom of God as the Gentiles but also all those that have been for a time the children of the
Mystery For take a Saint there 's no man denieth himself so much as he and yet there 's no man 1 Cor. 9. 27. seeks himself so much as he 7. Affliction is a Mystery That God should kill his people and yet love them and put them in his bosom it is a Mystery Again Persecution for Jesus Christ is a Mystery That whosoever Matth. 16. 25 will save his life should lose it save and not save and whosoever will lose his life for my sake should find it lose and not lose it it is a Mystery That a man should hate himself and yet love himself nay love himself best when he hates himself most for God it is a Mystery 8. Patience in Affliction is a strange Mystery for a man to sit down cheerfully and be content with his Condition in all changes and varieties is a Mystery That a man should be tossed and moved up and down and yet be unmoveable it is a Mystery To be at home and yet to be a Stranger and a Pilgrim in his own House and among his own Children is a Mystery And therefore saith St. Paul I know both how to be abased Phil. 4. 12. and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Instituor in sacris i. e. I am instructed in this Mystery 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diodor. Siculus Instituo in sacris Pasor I am instructed in this Holy Mystery both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need 9. When God is destroying his Church he is multiplying his Church when he is pulling her down he is setting her up As when you see a man pulling down an old or deformed house you say surely he is building up a fairer when a Taylor is ripping the Cloath and cutting it into shreds and pieces he is making a comely Garment Again Sometimes when a Sinner is galloping in the high way of Sin and Hell he is in his way of pardon and salvation God meets him in the way and makes his way from Heaven his way to Heaven As Paul when he was going to Damascus Acts 9. went in his Intention to undo the Saints but went in Gods Intention to be made a Saint Doct. 2. It is a matchless and blessed priviledg to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven In my Discourse upon this subject I shall through Divine assistance shew you 1. What are the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven 2. Why it is such a Priviledg to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven 1. What are the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven 1. They are Latent and secret things they are hidden treasures and therefore are they called Mysteries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some derive from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is Claudo to shut up under secrecy For secret things are not spoken but lockt up in the heart But I rather think that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whose root is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to hide or keep close And from the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 came Saturnus who hid himself in Italy as the Poets Fable which was therefore called Latium Upon this account are the matters of the Kingdom of Heaven called Mysteries because they are unknown to Nature they are hidden till they are revealed Man could never have known them had God never revealed them And though they are revealed yet they are still Mysteries to carnal men who hear the Gospel and yet do not understand it 2. They are excellent and stately things because they are the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven They are high Mysteries for they are Mysteries of a Kingdom and of the highest Kingdom too for they are the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Never were there any such Mysteries of State as these and truly they that are acquainted with them are of Gods Privy-Council Thus you see why they are called Mysteries But what are they They are the Plot or Design of Gods wisdom which he hath contrived in order to Mans salvation the sacred Principles and Doctrines of Christian Religion the Plat-form and Draught of his Will according to which he will save Man For the Church is stiled a Kingdom and Jesus Christ is the King and the Laws of this Kingdom are Mysteries because it is a spiritual Kingdom the Kingdom of Heaven they are Laws of an higher and more sublime nature than the Laws that any worldly Kingdom hath If the Common Law of England be a Mystery to silly Countrey-men what are the Imperial Laws of the Crown of Heaven More particularly 1. The Incarnation of Christ is called a Mystery Without controversie great is the Mystery of godliness God manifest in the flesh This is a Mystery not only not known by Nature to humane 1 Tim. 3. 16. Reason but being known and revealed far transcends the conception thereof We do not so much believe it by our understanding as understand it by our belief This is the Mystery of all the Mysteries the Master-piece and flower of all the rest 2. The Vnion and conjunction of Christ and the Church Paul saith This is a great Mystery and I speak saith he concerning Christ and the Church that Christ and his Church should be Man and Wife that there should be a conjugal oneness between them that a person of such Majesty and Distance should marry so poor a Bride and make her his Queen 2. Why is it such a Priviledg to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Reas 1. Because Knowledg is wondrous desirable and satisfactory to the Nature of man for man is a rational creature and therefore desires to know all things that are knowable There 's a rational desire in man breathing after Knowledg Knowledg is as it were mans Element wherein he breathes and lives as sense is the Element of bruits and beasts they wallow in sense and walk within the circumference of sense higher they cannot go so Knowledg is the Element of man his native air as it were wherein he is born and bred and which he sucks in delightfully The air of Knowledg is wondrous pleasant to man and therefore he loves to take the air read Books and search after Knowledg Reas 2. The Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is a Knowledg that will save thee It is Scientia scientiarum the science of sciences the Knowledg of all Knowledges it is a Knowledg that will save thee and do thee most good and stand thee in the greatest stead it is a Knowledg that will do thy soul good a Knowledg that will put thee into Heaven It is the Object that makes the Knowledg Knowledg derives its Excellency from its Object Therefore saith Paul I count all things but loss and dung for the excellency of the Knowledg of Christ Jesus my Lord that I may be found in him The Knowledg
Mysteries of Heaven to you there may be a great deal of Riches wrapped up in a Treasury but this opens and unlocks the Treasury The Ministry of the Word is ordained to lay open the Treasure to Gods People that they may know what Riches they have by Jesus Christ There be rich Mines in the Scripture but they must be digged up The Ministry serves to dig up those Mines and lay them open above-ground that the Saints may see them and be in love with them 2. The Preaching of the Gospel casts the sweet savour of the Mysteries of Heaven abroad the World and renders them lovely As the Woman that brought her Box of Oyntment to anoint the Lord Jesus with it when she opened the Box the room was filled with the Odour of the Oyntment were not the Box opened the Oyntment would not smell so the preaching of the Word is the opening of the Box. The Gospel which is a rich compound made up of the Fragrant spices and Mysteries of Heaven I say the Gospel is a Box of sweet Oyntment and the Preaching of it is the opening of the Box if it be not opened it casts not its sweet savour abroad the World The publishing of the Word is the opening of the Box and the casting of the perfume of it abroad the World Hence saith the Apostle Now thanks be unto God 1 Cor. 2. 14. which always causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the SAVOVR of his Knowledg by us in every place 3. The preaching of the Gospel applies the Mysteries of Heaven to mens Souls in particular It distributes the portion to every Child of God The Ministers of God are the Stewards of God to distribute the Mystery of comfort and the Mystery of pardon and peace to whom they belong Now where there is an equal and convenient distribution of the portion to every one this makes the Ordinance of God so beautiful and the Mysteries of Heaven so delicious this makes the people taste them taste the Mystery of comfort and the Mystery of peace and pardon when the Waters of Life are derived from the spring of the Scriptures to every mans particular use they taste them and relish them And 't is this that makes the Word in the Application of it so sweet a thing I say the Word in the Application of it is a sweet thing for good things the nearer they are brought home the more delightful they are as a Rose on the Tree is a sweet thing whether you smell it or smell it not 't is sweet but if it be brought home to you and put into your bosom then you smell it sweet So the Mystery of peace and pardon as it grows upon the Tree of the Promise is a sweet thing but if the Hand of Application bring it home to you and put in thy bosom there thou art sweetned with it Vse 2. England See thy priviledg God hath revealed to thee the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Ah London See thy priviledg Thy Fleece is wet with the dew of the Mysteries of Heaven Thou art Goshen when the greatest part of the Kingdom is Egypt dark Egypt And the rather oh England see and prize thy priviledg The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven lest God remove them lest God depart from us The Glory of God departed out of the Temple before the Destruction of Jerusalem so the Glory of God departs from a Church the Beauties and Excellencies of God remove when we esteem them not And if any thing in the World make God to leave a Church as he left the Jews and as he may leave any particular Church it is because there is not a prizing of the Heavenly Mysteries we have For however we esteem these things God sets an high price upon them and if we do not God will deprive us of them and of the Power and Beauty of them Vse 3. Oh the love of God that will communicate the Knowledg of himself unto us that is not content we should know any thing unless we know him 1. He knows himself to be our chiefest good and therefore knows that the Knowledg of all other things would do us no good without the Knowledg of himself All the Creatures are but his Servants the Sun Moon and Stars are but the Creatures and Servants of the High God and to know them and all their motions would not advantage us unless we know their Master As a man that is ambitious of Honour and high places he useth acquaintance with a Kings Servants but as an Introduction to acquaintance with their Lord and Master He knows that the Donation of Honours and Collation of places and offices is in the hand of the King and therefore to know his Servants will do him no good only the Knowledg of the King himself So God is the Fountain of Honour and Glory all the Creatures have but a Glory Derivative from God they can confer no Glory on their fellow-Creatures and they will part with none of their own There 's no Creature will part with its Glory or lose its Glory to confer it on thee The Sun will not lose its Light and Place in the Heavens to translate it to thee if they would it is not their own to dispose of Besides the Sun may shine upon thee but cannot shine Peace of Conscience into thee The earth may afford thee Wine and Oyl but cannot yield thee the grapes of saving joy and the Oyl of gladness to anoint thy soul with To know any thing the Knowledg of Jesus Christ would be of greatest worth unto thee and yet to know Christ would not advantage thee but as a means and door to let thee in to acquaintance with God himself The Knowledg of Christ would not save thee did not the Knowledg of him lead thee into the Knowledg of and acquaintance with God himself And therefore saith Christ I am the way not the end no man John 14. 6. comes unto the Father but by me Thou must not terminate the Knowledg of Christ in Christ himself but use it as a Medium and Way to bring thee to the Father Therefore saith the Text Who by him do believe in God that raised him up from 1 Pet. 1. 21. the dead and gave him Glory THAT YOVR FAITH AND HOPE MIGHT BE IN GOD. 2. It is a wondrous priviledg that any man affords us to let us know him and to be intimate with him What can he do more than to unvail himself to us and let us see his inside and let us peep into the Cabinet of his secrets and make us acquainted with all his Excellencies It is the greatest love that can be A man may invite us often to his Table and make us sit down with him and yet not let us know himself nay you may live with him all your days and converse with him and yet he not let you know his inward self nor what is in himself Hee
discovers are no other for substance but those very things which are in Scripture only he gives a clearer light to discern them by To Instance That God is Every man saith he knows this and believes it as well as the godly doth But I must tell him That the godly man seeth a great deal further into it he seeth that God is as truly as he seeth that the Sun is when it shines upon him And therefore God is in all his thoughts The wicked man will tell you he knows that God is present in all places and yet he will be drunk in God Presence swear and lye in Gods Presence cheat and deal unjustly in Gods Presence How can this man say he believes that God is present where he is But now the godly Man seeth that God is present in all places as clearly as if God appeared visibly to him Secondly They know feelingly they feel what they know what they know in the head they feel in the heart And they count themselves to know no more than they feel as Melancthon makes mention of a godly Woman who having strong conflicts upon her Death-bed and was afterwards much comforted brake out into these words Now and not till now I understand the meaning of those words Thy sins are forgiven thee The Knowledg of Divine Mysteries is rather a spiritual sensation than speculation It lyeth more in sense and feeling than in understanding of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the soul it self hath its sense as well as the body And therefore when David would teach us how to know what the Divine goodness is he calls not for speculation but sensation Taste and see how good the Lord is Know God as thou wouldest have God know thee know Christ as thou wouldest have Christ know thee Thou wouldest have God know thee and take care of thee so must thou know him and take care of his Glory Thou wouldest have God know thee and succour thee in dangers as the Disciples when the Waves covered the ship said to Christ Master carest thou not that we perish So must thou Mark 4. 38. know God and his Cause so as to prop it up in difficult times lest it perish Thou wouldest have Christ know thee so as to dye for thee Lord if thou dye not for me I must be damned so must thou know Christ so as to dye for him and his Truth I am ready Acts 21. 13. not only to be bound but to dye at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus Thou wouldest have Christ know thee so as to love thee and put thee in his bosom Who loved me and gave himself for me Gal. 2. 20. So must thou know Christ so as to love him and put him into thy bosom Lord thou knowest that I love thee John 21. 16. Charity or love is the most eminent of all the Graces inasmuch as Faith shall fail when there shall be nothing to believe nor to have confidence in and Hope shall fail when Christ returning and the resurrection of the just being made there shall be nothing more to hope for Only Love shall never fail for there shall be always what to love and what to taste For in eternal life we shall love God and Christ and we shall find a perpetual relish and savour in the contemplation of God and of Jesus Christ Know the things that are prepared and given thee of God Therefore is the spirit given us that me may know the things 1 Cor. 2. 12. that God hath given us What is it to know Heaven unless thou knowest that Heaven is given thee of God What is it to know Christ unless thou knowest that Christ is given thee of God What is it to know God himself unless thou knowest him to be thy God What is it to know the Scriptures unless Valdesso Consid 70. thou believest and holdest for certain all that is contained in the Scriptures and hast confidence in the Divine promises as if to thee properly and principally they had bin made Forgiveness of sin is a blotting out of iniquity as a cloud Isa 44. 22. A Cloud is by the Power of the Heavens nullified neither form nor matter to be found not any circumstances like it to note that ever such a thing was Forgiveness notes Remission which is the Term in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Remission Remittere quasi Remittere to send a thing back again the unravelling and undoing of a thing misdone the nullifying of an unlawful Action As sin makes void the Law and nullifies it so doth forgiveness nullifie and make void sin When we are remitted we are retromissi sent back again to our first Condition as when we were in Paradise no more mentioned and no more thought of than of Adam before his fall Know thy self what need thou hast of them a Damned man and therefore need of eternal life a guilty man and therefore need of Justification a lost man and therefore need of a Saviour A man under Satans power and therefore need of Redemption Thirdly They know powerfully Their Knowledg comes like an Armed man upon them and carrieth them Captive into the Tents of those things they know 2 Cor. 10. 5. And therefore Christ is said To ascend up on high and to lead Psal 68. 18. captivity captive It binds the soul up in chains Lord I am thy Prisoner I yield to thee and will be no more a Rebel It layeth a soul flat at the feet of Christ as it did Paul he fell to the Earth Lord what wilt thou have me to do I 'le swear no more only pardon me Lord and I 'le be drunk no more I 'le persecute the Saints no more pardon me only and I 'le deal unjestly no more I 'le serve thee upon thine own terms and do what ever thou bidst me Fourthly They know delightfully Their Knowledg stamps upon their hearts Impressions of delight in the things they know because true Knowledg presents the Mysteries of Heaven lovely to them and layeth a Net to catch their souls in love with them Spiritual Science is steeped in affection taking delight in the things known not barely apprehending but relishing and savouring what it apprehends with abundance of love and complacency Fifthly They know admiringly Their Knowledg catcheth them up into the third Heaven of admiration They that know aright the Mystery of Redemption know and admire the Wisdom of God in contriving such a curious piece of reconciling Justice and Mercy to save a poor sinner As Paul calls it The manifold wisdom of God For consider Gospel-Mysteries Eph. 3. 10. are the Mysteries of a Kingdom and fit for admiration For 1. Kingdoms have Majesty Solomon had Lyons about his Throne to set forth the Majesty of it to make Transaction between that and all other people with Awe So Christ manageth his way in this World with Majesty Heaven and Earth tremble at his Presence he utters
in God because he keeps promise with me he makes me know goodness and mercy in God because he bears with my slothfulness and sins Ninthly This leads me to another much like it true Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is experimental A man never stands firm and solid and constant in the Faith till he hath in himself some experience of that which he knows and believes And 't is certain That he holds so much firmness as he holds of experience in himself and no more It befalls us in believing and knowing the Gospel as it doth in knowing at first some wise and godly Man As long as we know the Wisdom and Godliness of such a man only by the relation of other men we are so disposed that other men coming and making a contrary relation we change our opinion we had of him at least doubt of it till at last having strict familiarity with him our selves we know by experience that the relation of him is true which was made to us and then no man is able to perswade us to the contrary So long as we believe the Gospel and the Mysteries of Heaven only by the relation of Preachers we believe it till other Preachers come and tell us the contrary and then we believe the other way or at least doubt of the Truth we had from the first Preacher till by having experience of that which is preached in the Gospel we stand firm and constant in that which we know and believe and then all the men in the World are unable to unsettle or change our Faith and Knowledg after 't is confirmed by our own experience As for example here 's a Gospel-Mystery That God hath punished all our sins upon Christ and redeemed us from wrath if we believe in him Now thy great work and design should be to get the experience of this Mystery in thee that God hath punished thy sins in Christ and redeemed thee from wrath Quest You will say how is the experience of Faith gotten Answ Then a man hath experience of that which he believes when he hath peace in his Conscience when he hath the fruit of that which he believes in himself being assured in himself that he can appear in the Judgment of God with that self-same security wherewith he would have appeared if he had lived with that innocency wherewith Christ lived and had by Gods will fuffered that which Christ suffered Vse 5. If it be such a transcendent priviledg to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Oh then act your souls with disires and endeavours after the Knowledg of these Divine things For 1. Our souls are made for these things What are our souls made for but for excellent things And what is excellent but the Mysteries of Heaven Is the soul made to lay her mouth to the breasts of the World and suck in wealth and riches which she must spit out again I tell you these are but dunghils to a soul 2. They put Glory upon the soul They are glorious and make us glorious The Knowledg of God in Christ is a glorious Knowledg and the Gospel is called a glorious Gospel these things put a Glory upon our souls VVhat a glorious thing is it when by the Mysteries of Heaven a weak man shall have power againsta a strong Devil VVhen a poor Creature flesh and blood shall by some virtue distil'd through the Mysteries of Heaven into him have such a strong Faith in the promise of forgiveness of sins and such a mighty Faith in the promise that all shall turn to his good that all the gates of hell shall not prevail over that weak soul VVwhat a glorious thing is this And what a glorious thing is it when an impotent and unable soul shall by an Ordinance of God have strength over those corruptions and sins which others are slaves to That mean men of low and cheap education and parts should not be taken with those things that others are besotted with that are of more excellent natural parts than they VVhat a glory of grace is this 3. Did ye know the Mysteries of the heavenly Kingdom ye would wonder at nothing in the world besides VVhat is the reason that silly men are taken up with admiration of small and poor things here below but because their thoughts are not employed nor raised up to these high and great Excellencies The Poet saith Nil admirari prope res est una numici Hor. Epist 1. Epistol 6. Solaque quae possit facere servare beatum To wonder at nothing is the only thing to make us happy VVhilst men stand wondring at the glory and foolish lustre of the VVorld Oh! this honour and that greatness is a goodly thing they are undone they are taken with it and so undone This makes those whose names are not written in the book Revel 17. 8. of life to wonder at the beast as it is in the Text saying Oh! what a godly order have they among them one under another And this makes them worship him as it is in another Text All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him Revel 13. 8. whose names are not written in the book of life As the Philosophers speaking of the Knowledg of Causes say That the Knowledg of the cause takes away admiration O 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that wonders seems to be ignorant Arist 1. Metaph cap. 2. As Countrey-men that wonder at the Eclipse of the Sun or at a Blazing-star or at an Earth-quake it is from their Ignorance of the Causes a Philosopher wonders not at these things And therefore Pythagoras said That the end of Philosophy is that we should wonder at nothing So They that wonder at the Glory of the World and of earthly Dignities Oh! It is a fine thing to be rich and to shine in greatness it springs from their Ignorance It is the nature of shallow men to wonder at the things of this World A wise man wonders at nothing because he knows greater things he hath seen greater matters than those the world can shew Do you think a wise Christian will stand wondring at great and rich men at great places and honours and such things Alas He hath had greater matters in the eye of his soul and what can be great in this world to him to whom the World it self is not great What is great in this world to him that hath seen Christ and conversed with God Oh! come then and know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven These will so dazle your eyes with their glory that you shall wonder at nothing in the world besides To dwell in the favour of men and to rise up into high places and have the world smile upon you are these the things ye wonder at Truly Sirs If we would wonder let us come to Religion there we have him whose name is Wonderful that is Jesus Isa 6. Christ There we have his Laws and Testimonies
which are wonderful Thy testimonies are wonderful therefore doth my soul Psal 119. 129. keep them There is peace that passeth all understanding joy unspeakable and full of glory There we have the ways of his Wisdom and his dealings with the Saints which are wonderful as Job saith Things too Job 42. 3. wonderful for me which I knew not To bring us to life by death to glory by shame to perfect his work in abasement to bring it low that he may raise after But how may we know these Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven 1. You must use all means you must read and hear and discourse you must study the things of God and converse with the Saints to whom God hath revealed these Mysteries The Ministry of the Word is the golden pipe through which these Divine Mysteries flow down into your Knowledg And then meditate of these things till the heart be warmed fasten your thoughts on them every day It is your Wisdom to spend consideration on them Oh that my people were wise that they would consider their latter end I say it is your wisdom to consider the Excellency of these Mysteries of Religion the Beauty of them in themselves the fruit and sweetness of them in this world and in the world to come An ingredient in the use of means after this Knowledg is that you must search for it The promise of finding Knowledg is only to such as search for Knowledg It is such a precious treasure that it lyeth deep in the bowels of Scripture Thou Prov. 2. 4. shalt find wisdom if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures There are two places two veins especially where wisdom is to be found there is the Book of Gods Word and the Book of Gods Works the Book of Scripture and the Book of Providence In these two Books we are to search and study out the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven The Word reveals them the hand of Providence doth dispense them The Word unfolds them Providence makes all things to further them in the soul And let me tell you One great means to irradiate your Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is to know that Mystery of sinfulness that is in you and that Mystery of misery that lieth upon you It is not to be conceived as Jeremy saith How deceitful the heart is and how desperately wickea what a depth of corruption lyeth there The cursed and woful state we are in by nature is not to be conceived Man's apprehension is too little to take in all the Dimensions of it to lye under the eternal wrath of God what head can comprehend it VVhat created soul can fathom in her widest thoughts the wrath of an infinite God Who can tell what Hell is And how hot the fire is which Gods Almighty wrath hath kindled to all eternity As eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for those that love him so neither hath eye seen nor ear heard nor can the heart of man conceive those depths and treasures of misery that men are in by nature Here we may cry out Oh the depths Therefore the more transparent Knowledg we have of the Mystery of Corruption and of the dreadful misery we are in by sin the more we shall wonder at the unparalell'd goodness of God in the Mystery of our salvation the one will sharpen the appetite of the other Truly Sirs if you are yet in the state of sin consider how little there is between you and eternal Death you are ready to drop into Hell immediately and irrecoverably Did these things sit sadly and seriously upon your spirits how would it advance the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven 2. That you may know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven bring Humility and self-denial Humble reason and make her give place to Faith for the humility we here speak of is a Denial of our own Parts and Wits though they be never so capacious In this case the Intellectus must be rasa tabula I say the understanding must be as a Table scraped all the Writings and Notions of humane Wit and Reason must be scraped out It must be like the Wax that hath no Character that it may receive the Impression of the Seal That which reason should do in supernatural things is to stoop to Faith to believe the things of God upon the sole Authority of God Here it is the greatest reason to yield to Faith In Divine Mysteries Faith is the reason of reason and the highest reason is to yield to God that hath revealed them And therefore Faith stands with the greatest reason that can be for is it not the greatest reason in the world to believe him that is Truth it self Reason it self saith It is the greatest reason to believe God who is the first Truth 3. Wait upon the spirit Give the spirit that Honour to reveal these Mysteries to you For your eyes are blind you have an inward darkness upon you the Gospel takes away the Vail from the things but the spirit takes away the Vail from our souls The Jews had a Vail of types and shadows thrown over the things themselves now I say Our Gospel takes away the Vail from the things but the spirit must take away the Vail from our hearts In Nature there is need of a double light that we may behold Objects 1. A light someness upon the Object it self through the Medium and therefore men cannot see in the night because the air which is the Medium is dark 2. A light besides in the Organ that is the eye and therefore blind men cannot see in the day because though the Sun shines and things may be seen in themselves yet they want a light in the eye So though the former darkness which lay upon the Mysseries of Heaven be taken away those legal shadows and curtains are removed and the Sun of the Gospel shines full upon our faces yet we are blind within there lyeth an inward darkness upon our faculty and the spirit must open our eyes and give us a vital light to joyn with the outward light 4. Send up your prayers to Heaven The holy Vapours of Prayer ascending the spirit comes down in showres upon the soul The earth must send up Vapours before the Clouds can give down rain And therefore Paul prays for the Ephesians That God would give them the spirit of Wisdom and Revelation Eph. 1. 17 18. that the eyes of their understanding being enlightned they might know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints 5. He that would find the knowledg of Divine Mysteries must seek it with a sanctified mind That which enables us to know and understand aright the things of God must be a living principle of Holiness in us As Plotinus saith The eye cannot behold
the Sun 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 En. 1. l. 6. unless it be Sun-like and hath the form and resemblance of the Sun drawn in it so neither can the soul of Man behold God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unless it be God-like hath God formed in it and made partaker of the Divine Nature As in the natural body it is the heart that sends up good blood and warm spirits into the head whereby it is best enabled to its several Functions So in the spiritual fabrick 't is the heart that sublimates the head and stores it with pure influences the affections beget imaginations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. Iliad T. v. 44. As the Treasurers of an Army give out Corn and Provision to the Soldiers Some men have too bad hearts to have good heads they cannot be good at Theory who are so bad at the Practice Our Lord Christ hangs all true acquaintance with Divine Truths upon the doing of Gods will If any man will do his John 7. 17. will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God Such as set themselves to do the will of God shall know the Doctrines and Mysteries of God Corrupt passions and earthly affections are apt of their own nature to disturb all serene thoughts to precipitate our Judgments and warp our Understandings There is an inward sweetness and deliciousness in Divine Truth which no sensual mind can taste or relish And therefore the Platonists solicite so much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A separation from the body in all those that would 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 purely understand truth The more our souls dive into our bodies the more will reason and sensuality run into one another and make up a most unsavoury and muddy kind of Knowledg And therefore wicked men let them imagine what they please have no true Knowledg of God Such as men themselves are such will God himself seem to be It is the Maxim of most wicked men that the Deity is some way or other like themselves their souls do more than whisper it though their lips speak it not That Idaea which men generally have of God is nothing else but the picture of their own complexion 6. Know things as God doth know them God to exercise the wisdom that he hath given to man hath planted a difference in the Creatures and hath given a faculty to man to know and make a right choice in those differences and then man doth know things aright when he knows them as God knows them and then man makes a right choice when he chuseth as God chuseth Now God knows that riches are but little things and that credit in the world is but a shadow and that honours in high places are but like leaves on the top of a tree And who would climb a tree to fetch a leaf But God knows that pardon of sin is a choice rarity 7. Know things and judg of them as they are in another world Whilst thou livest in the world and hast all things before thee know and judg of them as thou wilt when thou art going out of the world and hast all things behind thee ah my Beloved when thy last sand is run out thou wilt have a far different opinion of the World from what now thou hast Vse 7. As I desire you to know the Mysteries of Heaven so I would have you to know your selves that you have an Interest in these blessed Mysteries that they are yours Salvation is a Mysteries but if you know that salvation is yours and the way to salvation is a Mystery but if you know that you are in the way Ah! this is the soul and sweetness of the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaveb This is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Greece of Greece the wheel in the wheel the Heaven of that heavenly Knowledg It is to no purpose to know that these things are Mysteries unless we know they be for us and for our good that Christ is ours and that God is reconciled to us Vse 8. You Saints and Children of God who enjoy this great priviledg Oh! go you and bless God For unto you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Would it not have greatly ravisht your hearts had you been the persons present to whom Christ spake these words Surely it would But though Christ be in Heaven yet he hath left this Text behind him to speak to you and to tell you It is given unto you to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them it is not given Observe here two things 1. It is a gift To know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven saith Christ it is given to you Dear souls Flesh and Hath 16. 17. blood hath not revealed these things unto you but your Father which is in heaven Now gifts are received with thankfulness even small gifts are taken thankfully 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom Odys Plutarch de Artaxcrxe Longimen It is said of Artaxerxes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There was no gift so small which he received not kindly I say we take small gifts thankfully how much more spiritual gifts Such gifts as have Heaven and Salvation wrapt up in them Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Eph. 1. 3. Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ These gifts are blessings and for such blessings Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Being is a gift but grace added to it is a blessing to be born is a gift but the new birth put to it is a blessing otherwise It had been good for that man saith Christ if he had never been born To have Understanding and Knowledg is a great gift but to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven is a great blessing Blessed are the eyes which see the things that Luke 10. 23. ye see 2. They are Mysteries and will ye not bless God that he should make Mysteries known to you They are Mysteries of his bosom and is it nothing to be Gods bosom-friends They are the Mysteries of his secret wise and eternal Counsels And is it nothing to be Gods Privy-Counsellors They are the Mysteries of eternal life And is it nothing to know the Rolls and Records of eternity Saints God hath made ye his Cutodes Rotulorum is not eternal life a delicate flower to smell at Is it nothing to see within the vail Surely it is a great priviledg therefore you may rejoyce in it and bless God for it And this leads us to the third Doctrine which is this Doct. 3. The Divine Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is given to some not to others In this Doctrine there are three things clear and obvious 1. The Knowledg of Divine Mysteries is a gift To you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven What is given is a gift Divine Knowledg is a
not see the way they would not and now they shall not Oh that thou hadst known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes They did hide their eyes from their peace and now their peace is hid from their eyes Consider What are the things whose Knowledg is not given you The Mysteries of the Kingdome of Heaven What Sirs Is it the matters of Heaven that are kept from you A curtain drawn between you and heaven Now God's angry indeed A cloud set up to darken salvation and eternal life from you Lord here is thy greatest severity Nay he infatuates the wise and takes the understanding from the prudent He is a severe God to those that act against the light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Homer Odys Ψ. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God hath made thee mad who can make the wisest man a fool and strip him of his Intellectuals Do we not see men whom we call wise damn themselves understandingly God draws an horrid Eclipse upon their minds and their See Isa 29. 10 11 12 13 14 verses Sun of Wisdom sets upon them they run madly upon their ruine and most skilfully plot their own destruction God struck Nebuchadnezzar mad and he was driven from Dan. 4. 33. men and did eat grass as Oxen his hairs were grown like eagles feathers and his nails like birds claws he was turned into a beast by the Judgment of God And therefore Sinners are called in Scripture Lyons and Bears and Wolves and Dogs God bereaves them of their understanding they bark against Religion like Dogs and bite the Saints like Dogs they run about snarling and snapping at Gods ways and his People like mad Dogs Thus God is severe in his spiritual Judgments he infatuates the wise and makes them fools they carry on most artificially their own damnation Vse 6. Sinners see your spiritual misery and my God open your eyes that you may see it 1. You have seen many things and if you see not your own misery you see nothing It may be you have seen miserable Objects but if you see not your soul-misery you have seen nothing You have seen War in the Land you have seen garments rolled in blood you have seen your own or other mens estates plundred you have heard the noise of the Trumpet and the beating of the Drum in your streets But now if in a day of peace you see not God at War with your selves if you see not the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven denied to you if you see not your selves plundred of Heaven and stript of light and life if you see not your spiritual estate wallowing in its blood if you hear not the Trumpet of the Gospel calling you to Repentance if you hear not the Drum of Conscience beating against sin in your own bosoms whatever you have heard or seen you have seen and heard nothing 2. Much communicable and nothing had is not this miserable Heaven drops and it drops fatness and yet your souls so lean is not this a Mystery So much to be had and so little enjoyed makes me wonder and grieve Light communicable and yet men have no light Grace communicable and yet men without grace Heaven communicable and yet men drop every day to Hell This is an aggravation of Misery Ah sinners in your Fathers house is bread enough feasting banquetting glorious dishes in Wisdoms house how is it that you have nothing 3. Your sins are aggravated and so will your condemnation be you seeing see not and hearing you hear not you hear and see and yet understand not Doth not this aggravate your sins and make them exceeding sinful You are called and yet you have refused God hath stretched out his hands and yet you have not regarded you shut your eyes and stop your ears lest you should be converted and doth not this greaten your sins and make them odious Glorious power works in the world and yet men lye in their sins Power works gloriously but you feel none you are under the power of sin as if there were no Power of God at all working in the World Sinners this leaves you wholly without excuse there is power enough working to subdue the strongest lust what can you plead How great is that sin which is committed under the neglect of glorious power within the reach of a glorious arm As there is a glorious power so there be glorious sins splendida peccata scarlet crimson sins and these are such as are committed against glorious means glorious light grace and aid Men sin and lay it upon their weakness and so rest and rub on Ah Lord what a life is this God will judg you and lay it upon your wickedness and wilfulness for is not glorious Power present to raise you up Weakness becomes wickedness when it is rested in and pleaded for A soul given to shifting hath no mind to leave his sin there is no damning temper like this you say you have no power to come out of sin 't is not fo there is the Power of God in the Gospel present and ready for you to lift you up And therefore there must be no pleading for sin no not for any sin though never so great and strong The remedy the power is so gloriously All-sufficient Dub. But I pray you Sir tell us How shall we know that the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is not given unto us Answ 1. You that sleep in your lost estate to you the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven is not given The Mysteries of Hell and Damnation are made known to you and yet you awake not What soul is there that doth awake 2. When a man can love a sin in the very face of Divine Mysteries in the very face of Mercy and the face of Glory 3. When the more God forbids a sin the more you bid for it When the more the Commandment comes sin becomes the more sinful and the heart the more stubborn when the more the spirit strives the more sin thrives the more the spirit strives against thy lust the more thou strivest to hold fast thy lust From this man is the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven shut up let him look to himself be-times Vse 7. Sinners go not on to provoke God to deny you the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven I told you in the Explication of this Point that God in denying to some the Knowledg of the Mysteries of Heaven observes a Method of Justice that is Sinners deserve it and procure it at the Hands of God I say Sinners deserve blindness and obduration First sensu Negativo in a Negative sense because they deserve not softness of heart that God should mollifie them they deserve not this special mercy Secondly They deserve blindness and hardness of heart in an Affirmative sense because by their Additional sins and daily resistings they deserve a further Hardness and Tradition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
and falling at his feet thou ragest Well Christ rides on still in the Chariot of his word conquering and to conquer one or other way conquer he will if he cannot conquer thee with love he 'l kill thee in wrath Those that do yield he saves those that will not he slays 4. Christ will Preach over all these Truths again in Hell-flames to thee Thou keepest thy sins and lusts and wilt by no means send them away thou makest nothing of the Word of God because dispensed by Man I tell thee all the Sermons thou now hearest against thy sins all the Truths of God shall one day be Preach'd over again in flames of Fire to thine eternal horrour and that will be a long Sermon All the Sermons of Repentance and Grace thou heard'st here in thy life-time shall in Hell be brought fresh to thy memory thy Conscience shall then Preach them all over to thee in Hell-flames and then 't wil be a woful Sermon Now the Sermon is but an hour long look upon the glass 't is turned and while the glass is running we are Preaching Preaching thee if it be possible into a state of grace this Sermon is but a short Sermon it will end anon and while this glass is running thy glass is running and thy life is hastening but in Hell there 's no glass turned up This and all the Sermons thou ever heard'st will there in flames be Preach'd over to thee again throughout eternity Oh tremble at it It will be a woful Sermon and a long Sermon 't will never have an end Vse 3. Here 's rare comfort to weak grace To them that are but new beginners you complain your grace is but little My Beloved you shall have more 1. Grace at first is but little An Infant when 't is new-born is but little a Tree when 't is first planted is but a little Graff The Cloud that over-spreads the Heavens was at first no bigger than a mans hand Object 1. But I am a Christian of long standing and yet my grace is but little Were I but a new beginner 't were something but I am a long stander yet a short Christian Answ 1. Truly my Beloved blame thy self then chide thy self that thou art a Christian of a long standing and of a short stature It is a disgrace to be so as 't is a disgrace to be an old man and yet a dwarf Christ chides his Disciples for it though they were but of one or two years standing in his School yet he chides them because they had so little Matth. 8. 26. Faith Besides Those that have less Grace shall have less Glory But yet I must say this much 2. That every thing in this life is but little David saith Psal 39. 5. Thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth A small measure the Lord knows David lived in all probability threescore years and ten he was King of Judah and Israel forty years and yet he called it but an hand-breadth 3. Thou measurest thy grace with what thou should'st be and then it seems but little A great deal of grace measured with what thou should'st be is but little As Augustine saith Maxima eorum quae scimus Minima eorum quae Ignoramus The much nay most we know is the least of what we do not know so the most we are is the least of what we should be the most we do is the least of what we should do Great Saints are but little to what they should be 4. Compare thy grace with times past and then it may be it is not little and that thou must do Object 2. But I have trifled away my time the time I should have got grace in The Ant provides her meat in summer and gathers her food in the harvest But I have spent my time of gathering and is there any hope that I shall have more 1. Humble thy self for 't is a wondrous sin to lose time because we have but a time to glorifie God here and by our losing of time God doth lose his Glory 2. Yet though thou hast loytered away thy time do not limit Gods time because thou hast past away thy time do not say that Gods time is past 3. It may be thy time of growing is not come yet As Children some shoot up presently in their first years others do not grow till they are sixteen or twenty years and these at last out-grow the others some Saints grow more at first others grow more at last Trees bring forth their fruit in different seasons some sooner and some later There is the first ripe fruit and there is the latter fruit some Trees have their fruit ripe and ready with the spring others not till August others not till Winter there 's the Summer-fruit and there is the Winter-fruit One tree goeth before and hath her fruit ripe one month another hath its fruit the next month another follows and hath its fruit the next month after that And this is the Masters Wisdom that he may have new fruit every month to serve his Table and please his palate so doth God Object 3. But I am a withered tree I did bear fruit but now do not I was once fresh and green but now am dry and blasted I am in part an Apostate I am fallen from my first love I was good and now am worse I do not bear the fruit I did Is there any hopes for me Answ Yes thou mayst recover and therefore away to Prayer and send quickly for the spirit Lose no time I will give you an Instance in another case Nebuchadnezzar was a great tree whose height did reach Dan. 4. 11. 12 14 15. to heaven and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth The leaves thereof were fair and the fruit thereof much the beasts of the field had shadow under it and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof and all flesh was fed of it And this great Tree Nebuchadnezzar was lopt down fearfully and withered dreadfully he was driven from among men and cast off from his Kingdom seven years But yet the stump of his roots was left in the earth with a band of Iron and Brass To signifie that his Kingdom was reserved for him and that he should revive again So thou hast been it may be an high Tree whose top of profession did reach up to Heaven and all the fowls of the air the Saints that live about thee were wont to fly and sit under the boughs and branches of thy gifts to receive Counsel and Direction from thee And now thy leaves are fallen and thy branches cut thy graces lopt thy gifts withered and thou thinkest therefore thou art forsaken But oh man Is not there a stump of thy roots left in the earth with a band of Iron and Brass A stump of Faith and Repentance and panting after Christ As long as there is a stump left thou wilt revive again Vse 4. Shall more grace
be given to them that have grace be it never so small Then Saints see what your work is What 's that to receive How may we receive more grace First Open thy soul to receive grace For to receive a thing is sometimes a motion of the subject or faculty opening it self to receive it As the hand doth open it self to receive a gift and a vessel must be opened to receive oyl or cordial pour'd into it The earht opened her mouth and swallowed up Corah And Numb 16. 32. Gen. 4 11. the earth as God said to Cain opened her mouth to receive thy brothers blood from thy hand Now the opening of the soul to receive Grace consists in these three Things 1. In believing the Promise when the soul believes its door stands open to receive the golden Treasures of Grace that are brought into it out of the store-house of the Promise And therefore saith the Text They rehearsed all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith unto Acts 14. 27. the gentiles 2. In love to grace promised for love is an opening grace When a man loves a friend dearly he opens his Arms to embrace and receive him so when a man loves grace he opens his heart to welcom grace into it And therefore ye shall find this passage between Christ and his Spouse saith Christ Open to me my love And saith the Spouse I rose up to open to Cant. 5. 2. Vers 5. my beloved He that loves Christ will open the two-leav'd gates of his soul to let in Christ with all his train 3. In desire after grace promised for the desire of grace is an opening of the soul to receive grace As the Lord saith Psal 81. 10. Open thy mouth wide i. e. ask freely open thy mouth in Prayer as wide as thou wilt And I will fill it 2dly Lye low The valleys that receive all the showres and floods into their bosom lye low under all the high hills and proud mountains so the humble Saints that lye in the bottom of self-abhorrence under all the rest receive the showres of grace the floods stay upon them and they drink them in they are overflown like your low grounds with abundance of grace 3dly Accept of grace to receive grace is to accept of grace As Jacob said to his brother Esau Nay I pray thee if now I Gen 33. 10. have found grace in thy sight then receive my present at my hand i. e. accept of my present at my hand Vse 5. What shall I do that have no grace To him that hath shall be given But what shall I do that have not Consider grace is a gift and therefore 1. God can give grace where it is not he gives grace where is none he doth good to them that are not good A gift is bestowed where it is not See Isa 44. 3 I will pour water upon Isa 44. 3. him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine off-spring i. e. as I pour Water and Floods upon the dry and thirsty ground that hath none so will I pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine off-spring Where observe God gives showres of grace where there 's not a drop before 2. He can give grace to whom he will he can love whom he will and he can give grace to whom he will this is the Prerogative of Gods Love he can love any one Man being a narrow creature cannot love any one one that is fowl and ugly and crooked but God can love any one he can love unhandsom and deformed Creatures and marry them and make them lovely Naaman the Syrian was a Leper and therefore wondrous ugly he was a Leper in Body and Mind too The beauty of the mind presents a crooked person comely to us but Naaman had beauty in neither part he was a Leper in body and an Idolater in mind and yet God loved him and by a poor maid in his house sent him to the Prophet of Israel and healed his outside and healed his inside made his Body comely and made his Soul comely 3. He makes notorious sinners noteable Saints he makes Persecutors Preachers As he did Paul and all the Church admired it But they had heard only that he who persecuted us Gal. 1. 23. in times past now PREACHETH the faith which once he DESTROYED See the Work and Free-grace of God! Would God shew mercy to him that destroyed the Faith Yes he gave Faith to him that destroyed the Faith Paul if he could would have kil'd Christ and yet God gives him Christ The Gentiles were the greatest Sinners in the World and they were at the height of sin when the Gospel began to be Preached to them they were counted unclean the unclean Act 10. 14 15. beasts swine and other Beasts which the Jews under the Law might not eat did signifie the Gentiles and the Jews not eating the unclean beasts did signifie that they should have no communion with the unclean Gentiles yet on the GENTILES Vers 45. Acts 11. 17. also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost And forasmuch as God gave them i. e. the Gentiles the like gift as he did unto us 4. Sometimes God makes his greatest Act of Love to pass upon the greatest sinner Paul you know was a Saul indeed chief of sinners he saith it of himself and yet notwithstanding Acts 9. 3 4. Christ Preached from Heaven to him he sent men to Preach to others as Philip to the Eunuch but Jesus Chrrist doth himself Preach to Paul Jesus Christ when he was on Earth in the form of a servant called the other Apostles as Matthew at the receipt of custom and Peter when he was fishing follow me but when he was on his Throne in Majesty he Preacht from Heaven to Paul Wondrous love to a wondrous sinner 5. He bids thee pray and he 'l give Ask and it shall be Matth. 7. 7. Luk. 11. 13. given you But you 'l say he saith this to Saints Sol. See what our Lord Christ saith to the Woman of Samaria If thou knew'st the gift of God and who it is that saith John 4. 10. to thee Give me to drink thou would'st have asked of him and he would have given thee living water Dub. But I ask and yet 't is not given Resp Questionless he that bids us ask means to give As we bid our Children say I pray you father give me such a thing we do it not but when we mean to give it them Object But I cannot pray I cannot pray for grace Answ 1. He that will give thee grace when thou prayest will give thee grace that thou mayest pray As God first formed Adams body and it lay dead before him on the ground without breath or life or soul in it and God breathed into his nostrils the breath
at If you mean to shine as Angels do the Work of God with Angels if you would be where Christ is be at the work that Christ was And let me tell you your time is but short and you have done but little work none at all to purpose and 't is not long till your Crown shall be put upon your head and will you not be ashamed then to wear so rich a Crown for so poor a Service To have God pay you so great wages for so little work done Certainly if ever it come to your share to be saved you will when the Crown is putting upon your head blush for shame to think of your cowardise and your laziness that you should wear a Crown that have done so little work Fifthly The Lord will do thy work do thou but his work and he will do thine The Lord will take the care and charge of thee to bring about thy ends for thee many of you are sparing in Christs work because of so many distractions of your own others of you wave Christs work out of love to your own I mean the World What will become of my Family Wife and Children Oh unbelieving wretches set your hearts to do Gods Work and he 'l take the care of your Families and Children upon himself set thy face to the Sun and these shadows will follow you The Lord is a sun and a shield the Psal 84. 11. Lord will give grace and glory the Lord will give grace i. e. honour and esteem among men the favour of men and glory too in the World No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly Set thy face then toward this glorious Sun serve him and these shadows will follow thee Solomon you know askt for Wisdom that he might discern between good and bad and judg the people and God tells him because thou hast asked this thing and hast not asked riohes and honours therefore I will give thee riches and honours Solomon his great care and work was to rule a State well and the Lord gave him all the rest he set his face to the Sun and the shadows followed him Oh then Sirs Act for God up and be doing do his work and he 'l do yours There are these three Things attend the man that gives himself to do work for God 1. There shall not any evil hurt thee The three children were in the fire and yet the fire did not could not hurt them In the fire and in the water saith God I will be with thee there shall not any evil hurt thee Whereas if thou dost not thy good things shall they shall hurt thee Thy riches and thine honours they shall lift thee up and there make thy head giddy upon the top of thy glory and then thou comest tumbling down like a drunken fool into shame and hell it self Tolluntur in altum ut lapsa graviore ruant 2. All creatures in Heaven and Earth shall serve the man that serves his God The Whale shall serve Jonah to carry him to the shore Indeed the poor man at that time ran from Gods work yet because he was his Servant the fish shall swallow him that it might save him The Ravens shall feed Elijah I will hear the heavens saith God and they shall Hos 2. 21. 22 hear the earth and the earth shall hear the corn and the wine and the oyl and they shall hear Jezreel Thus all creatures in Heaven and Earth shall serve that man that serves his God Whereas else they all groan under thee and above thee The Heavens above groan over the sinner and cry out How long Lord how long shall we bestow our influence upon this Enemy of thine The Earth groans under the unprofitable servant and crys out How long Lord how long shall I bear this useless burden Nay Christ himself is weary of this fruitless Tree how long shall we stand Cut it down why cumbers it the ground 3. Thou that art at thy Lords work the Angels shall come out of Heaven to guard thee thou art a greater man than the greatest General under the Sun thou hast the Angels to be thy Life-guard Are they not all ministring spirits Heb. 1. 14. sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation And therefore let 's see who dare touch thee Take heed Matth. 18. 10. saith Christ that ye despise or hurt not one of these little ones For I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven Jacob saw a ladder reaching from Earth to Heaven and Angels descending and ascending Vse 10. The last Vse shall shew you how God makes Additions to his Saints graces And herein his Methods are various if not unsearchable yet by fathoming we may sound some of them though not the bottom As grace it self is a Mystery so the increase of grace especially being carried on by such Mysteries And therefore the contrivement whereby God increaseth grace is excellent worth the knowing that we may know what he is doing with us in his Providences and may read the Mind of God in many of his proceedings In a word how shall we help on the work if we know not Gods Method in working 1. The Lord increaseth grace in his People by their Faith Faith is one of the Graces and therefore needs support her self but she is the mouth of all the rest that speaks for them to God in Prayer and sucks nutriment for them out of the Breasts of the Promises Sirs The case is this Faith lives upon Christ and all the Graces live upon Faith When there is a famine in the Land of the soul Faith goeth up to our Brother Joseph in Egypt and brngs home Corn Faith is the Mother-grace and as the old bird the Dam flyeth abroad and fetcheth in food to her young ones and distributes it to them all in the nest So Faith takes Wing when the graces sit hungry and in want at home I say then Faith takes Wing and flyeth to Christ in the promise she comes home with her mouth full and serves all the graces they are fed by her And therefore the Scripture saith That the just lives by faith Which expression the Apostle Paul makes use of in two of his Epistles First in Rom. 1. 17 The just shall live by faith that is in respect of forgiveness of sin and in respect of Righteousness or Justification before God But in Heb. 10. 38 where he useth this same phrase The just shall live by faith The Apostle speaks of the Saints perseverance and standing fast in all their troubles and temptations Now Faith is the prime grace that helps and succours all the rest Hope lives upon Faith for the hope of a Christian is but poor in fruition we can hope no longer than we believe He that hopes and expects the things promised must by Faith live upon the certainty of the promise
ever doubt of I say Satan tempts before Conversion namely to hinder us from entring the ways of grace and to keep us out of Christ For if we be once in Christ we are gone from him he can hurt us no more than he can Christ and you may see how far his malice can reach The seed of the woman shall break the serpents head that is his power The seed of the serpent shall bruise his heel that is his humanity When thou art once in Christ he can bruise but thy heel he may stir up affliction bring thee to thy grave but shall never bring thy soul to Hell At the best pain can but restrain your lusts it cannot heal them A disease can but abate the acts of sin it can never destroy the life of sin Death it self cannot kill sin the sins of wicked men live when they are dead The grave cannot consume them nor the fire of hell waste their strength the sins of unbelievers shall remain not only in their guilt but in their power to all eternity Quest But how does Satan hinder our conversion Answ By kindling a stronger love in us to sin There is in all men by nature a love to sin and Satan comes and blows that fire into a flame and so our love becomes predominant and afterwards it becomes a great work to un-love that sin 2. Satan tempts the unconverted these two ways 1. By inspiring his false Prophets and Ministers Thus he 1 King 22. 22. 1 King 22. 4 5. devised Ahabs destruction I will go forth and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets And again Ahab King of Israel asked Jehosaphat King of Judah who came to see him whether he would go with him to Battel to Ramoth Gilead Well the King of Judah promised the King of Israel and told him saying I am as thou art my people as thy people my horses as thy horses Afterwards Jehosaphat said nnto the King of Israel enquire I pray thee at the word of the Lord to day Then the King of Israel gathered the prophets that is Vers 6. the false prophets inspired by Satan together about four hundred men and said unto them Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battel or shall I forbear and they said go up for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the King Consider it seriously They that admininister the Oracles of God are the greatest mercies or greatest curses When they drop from their lips nothing but Gods mind they are mercies if not they are curses 2. Satan tempts the unconverted by numbering more false prophets than true For when Satan cannot act for Truth on his side he will act by number He will weigh the balance by number when he cannot by truth he will disgrace truth by the greatness and multitude of number against it for he knows what will take among carnal and ignorant men they are carried with quantity more than quality What are you saith Satan that are but one or two wiser than so many Can truth sit upon the lips of so few If it were truth why should not others know it as well as you Why should so many be ignorant of it Thus he carried his device upon the wings of multitude against Ahab to hatch his design against 1 Reg. 22. 6. Ahab he did sit upon the spirits of four hundred prophets against one Micajah so there are many loose lives against one Christ though there be many now a days that teach men by their words and doings that men may live loosely yet Christ saith Broad is the way to destruction and narrow is the way to life So that the fewness of those that carry on the way to life is a Testimony of the truth of it 3. Satan tempts the unconverted by putting men out of conceit with the godly that they are proud and Hypocrites Secondly Satan tempts men in conversion He can play his part here also he is cunning everywhere to destroy if he cannot keep sinners from conversion he will hinder them in conversion Now Satan temps men in conversion 1. By putting hard thoughts of God himself into them and therefore no marvel if they have hard thoughts of godly men When such a soul is coming unto God he is by Satan way-laid with this namely that God will never pardon him he would repent but dares not he takes God for his Enemy Satan would fain make a poor soul that 's coming unto God think that God is his Enemy and will not save him it is one of his Master-pieces to bring the love and good-will of God into suspition Oh! saith he why should I repent I shall not be accepted and this is no small weapon And thus Satan deals with grown Saints and strong Christians and therefore surely the temptation is a strong Engine it hath more than ordinary strength in it He practised thus against Job 1. 16. Job The fire of God saith the messenger is fallen from heaven and hath burnt up the sheep Mark ye why did Satan consume Jobs sheep with fire He stirred up the Sabeans Vers 14 15. to take away his Oxen and Asses and why not the sheep why to provoke Job if he could to be passionate against God and for that was his great design to curse and blaspheme God to beget an opinion in Job that God was now his Enemy as well as Man The fire of God is fallen upon the sheep thou canst not put this off as thou mightst do the other and say this is but the malice or covetousness of the Sabeans that rob me of my goods no thou shalt see now that God himself is angry heaven frowns upon thee the fire of God consumes thee Turn over the Records of all antiquity and see whether ever God dealt thus with any but those cursed Sodomites upon whom God rained fire from heaven Was God their enemy in that punishment Behold he sends such an one upon thee though God hates nothing so much as sin yea nothing but sin yet he would fain save the sinner Now then bring your souls to this either I will be a natural man still or else I will get into Jesus Christ Sirs If you live in sin you will lose your souls if you throw away sin you shall be received into the bosom of Christs love 2. In conversion one device by which Satan tempts is when poor creatures are coming home to God to fright them with fearful blasphemies As for example he will first tempt or suggest to thee that there is no God and this temptation springs immediately from Satans hatred of God he would annihilate God But now to oppose Satan in this his device how shall I encounter him Thou must arm thy self against this temptation thus Answ 1. Tell him Satan thou knowest there is a God thou wouldst have me believe there is no God and yet thou knowest that there is a God The Devils also believe
first shew people that he hath elected them and then and thereby perswade and bring them to believe But election is concealed as a secret thing and by Gods offering Christ freely to every one to be had by believing his free offer doth encourage them to believe and God giving them the gift of Faith they believe and come to know that they are elected unto life eternal There was never in the Divine will any such decree of damning any man though he should believe and live holy yea God hath established and published unto all men a quite contrary decree that whosoever believeth in his Son shall not perish but have John 3. 16. everlasting life You must lay hold on Christ and hang there and continue hanging there Object But I shall never hold out It is to no purpose at all for me to lay hold on Christ for I shall not hold my hold I shall be beaten off again Answ 1. It is true you should be beaten off again you could not hold your hold did you lay hold either by your own strength or upon your strength But when you lay hold on Christ you are kept not by your own power but by the power of God through faith unto salvation When you lay hold 1 Pet. 1. 5. on Christ Christ layeth hold on you and keeps you safe by his power for heaven before a man casts himself upon Christ or is in Christ he is his own keeper and therefore hath but a poor keeper 2. Another soul-staying argument to assure thee of thy keeping thy perseverance is this When once a soul is taken into Christ it hath not only all sins past pardoned but also pardon laid up for all sins to come There is forgiveness with thee Psal 130. 4. that is there 's a perpetual stock of pardon going in God for all our daily sinning and therefore doth Christ bid us still pray Forgive us our trespasses because there lye pardons with God ready before-hand for all sins that we do act as well as for what we have acted And for all that is to come as well as for that which is past And therefore Paul tells you There is no Rom. 8. 1. condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus that is after they are in Christ there is no instant of time wherein it can be said that they are under the sentence of Condemnation Now were it not that there is pardon laid in before-hand for all sin that is to come it might upon every acting of a new sin be said that now they are under condemnation for if the least sin be not pardoned there is condemnation but this cannot be 3. Perseverance is a gift that is purchased by Christ Christ hath as truly and as really laid down his blood to purchase thy perseverance as thy pardon and therefore canst thou be sure of any thing by vertue of Christs purchase thou mayst he as sure of perseverance God knew at first that thou couldst no more keep thine hold on Christ than thou couldst at first lay thine hold on Christ And therefore To you that mind not Christ at all but are still bent upon your lusts and sins and will not let him rule over you oh receive Christ be exhorted to come in and believe in him Else 1. You shall have as much fear of Christ as of God and as much danger from Christ as from God for Christ will be angry with you as well as God Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye Psal 2. 12. perish from the way 2. Such shall not only perish but perish worse than others they are dead already but shall dye worse they are faln in Adam but shall fall further And Simeon blessed them and Luk. 2. 34. said unto Mary his mother behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be Matth. 10. 12 14 15. spoken against One Text more And when ye come into an house salute it And whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words when ye depart out of that house or city shake off the dust of your feet Verily I say unto you It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city And thus I have shewed you how Satan hinders thee in conversion by tempting thee that thou canst not believe thou art dead in sin arm thy self against this temptation thus I know I cannot belleve of my self And this is the first thing thou must do namely to believe that thou canst not believe of thy self and thus thou mayst overshoot Satan in his own Bow and when thou seest thy self so lost that thou canst not believe of thy self thou art a step in thy way to heaven And know this that it is the condition of all till they have new hearts and new spirits And now observe you that will not believe till you are sanctified and find something in your selves 1. You keep your selves off from believing for you cannot believe that Christ is yours till you believe in Christ 2. 'T is pride in you that you will not have all ground of hope and mercy to be in God and none in your self For observe it you will ground your salvation only on Christ but you must see somewhat in your selves before you will believe 3. You Eclipse the shining forth of Gods free grace you darken its Beams for Gods grace is free grace now whilst ye will not believe but first will be able to do somewhat you make not Christ nor Justification a free gift nor can it be free grace in God and so whilst you do not see Gods free grace you do not exalt him nor magnifie him so much as you should 4. It is a darkning of Gods Truth for you dare not venture yours souls on Gods bare word but you must see somewhat done in you before you will credit him for though he saith that whosoever comes to Christ and believes in him shall be saved and sanctified yet you will not believe till ye find your selves sanctified and so dare not trust his word and therefore it is that the Scripture makes an unbeliever to make God a 1 John 5. 10. lyar 5. You totter your assurance and make it reeling and unstable Timo. Rogers in his right way to believe p. 93 96. for if you ground your assurance upon your graces then as they have risings and abatings so will your assurance rise and fall ebb and flow Oh then be exhorted to believe for you that believe but weakly oh believe more and strengthen your Faith for you that believe but weakly you wrong God and Christ and your selves very much as if Christ the second Adam were not as good to help you as the first Adam was to hurt you Vse last I shall conclude with this point look for a day of temptation and prepare for a day of
him off But it was a great sin insomuch that Christ saith If I wash thee not thou hast no part in me So again when the Samaritans would not receive Christ his Luk. 9. 54. Disciples James and John said Lord wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them even as Elias did 7thly Satan tempts to extreams Satan will not have you do a thing in season and when it is too late then he will make you mad upon doing of it Thus he would not let the children of Israel go into Canaan when they had the gate of season open and when they had Gods good will to go in But when 't was too late when 't was a sin to desire to go when God had shut the gate of opportunity and set a lock of prohibition on it as you know when you walk or travel you shall find gates not only shut but a lock also put upon them for security and then you conjecture that not only you cannot but you must not go through such a place or piece of ground or where there was a stile to go over a mans land when you come again and find the stile taken up and a hedg made you conclude that now it is not the owners pleasure that any passengers should make a thorow-fare there any more So it was with Israel God offered them and made a stile for them to step over into Canaan The Lord thy God hath set the Deut. 1. 21. land before thee go up and possess it and then they would not for they sent spies to search the land and upon their report wept and murmured and wisht Would God we had dyed in this Numb 14. 2. wilderness Vse 2. If Satan be so learned and exquisite an Artist in the Trade of deceiving souls then humble your selves in that you are so capable and receptive of Satans motions He is a willing agent so we are willing patients we are wont to say that the receiver is as bad as the thief and the harlot that entertains the motion is as bad as the adulterer So my Beloved when Satan tempts and you sin you are as bad as the tempter you are his Harlots that consent to his adulterous motions thy consent to his temptation makes thee one with him What makes two persons at any time one Consent Thus consent makes two persons one in marriage and consent makes two persons one in a Design or Action so thy consent with Satan makes thee one with Satan and as bad as he is If an adulterer should tempt a mans wife to lewdness though he would hate the Adulterer yet he would lay the greatest blame upon his wife and take it most unkindly from her and break his heart with grief that she whom he loved so well should deal so ill with him So when Satan that great Adulterer tempts thee to sin though Christ hates him for it and will at last be revenged on him for jealousie is the rage of a man Prov. 6. 34. therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance yet he takes it most unkindly at thee that thou Saint whom he loved so well that thou sinner for whom he shed his blood that thou professor who art his bride should hearken to such a base fellow as Satan is And therefore do not put your sins off from your selves to Satan do not think that because he tempts you you shall not answer for them I will give you two noted Instances to the contrary The first is Adam and Eve Eve was tempted by 2 Cor. 11. 3. 1 Tim. 2. 14. 1 Chr. 21. 1. the Serpent and mark ye she was deceived and beguiled by him and yet see how God curseth Adam and Eve for that sin and entails curses to all their posterity for it The second Instance is that of David who was tempted by Satan to number the people Now to discover our vileness note these two things 1. Satan cannot compel us to sin only perswade us he hath only a perswading slight not an enforcing might And therefore James tells you that every man when he is tempted is enticed James 1. 14. and drawn away of his own lust Though Satan hath a hand and that no small one in tempting of us yet because he doth only allure us and lay baits for us but not constrain us because he cannot make us sin against our wills because our own lust carrieth the chiefest stroke therefore he saith Every man is tempted and drawn away not by the Devil but by his own lust for Satan can do nothing but by our own lusts 2. Because in obeying Satans Temptations we do our own wills We do not sin to serve Satan but to please our selves Eph. 2. 2 3. As wicked men in doing Gods work aim at themselves so in doing Satans work we do it to serve our own selves and therefore it is our sin Vse 3. If Satan be so learned and exquisite an Artist in the Trade of deceiving souls then watch against Satan 1. We talk of Travellers that have seen the world over 1. Satan a Traveller one ever saw so much as Satan he hath seen Earth seen the Sea seen Hell seen Heaven as he saith himself that he came from compassing or from going to and fro in the earth 2. Great Conquerors have been crowned for Victories and 2. Satan a Conqueror Extention of their Kingdoms Satan is beyond them all Saul hath slain his Thousands David his ten thousands but Satan his millions 3. If we know that we have an adversary at the next door 3. Satan an Accuser that pryeth into all our courses and upon the least error will sue us on an Action of Trespass we will be circumspect to disable him of advantage Satan no sooner spies our wandrings but he presently runs with a complaint to God and prefers Bills against us in the Star-chamber of Heaven where the matter would go hard with us but for the Great Lord Chancellor of Peace our Advocate Jesus Christ Vse 4. Resist him It is the Apostles precept Whom resist 1 Pet. 5. 9. stedfast in the faith Quest But you will say How shall I resist him Answ 1. Resist thy self and thou resistest Satan I say thou must resist him by resisting thy self Resist thy self and thou shalt resist Satan for Satan tempts thee by thy self he tempts us by making us do our own works oppose thy self and thou opposest Satan stand on thy guard against thy self for Satan tempts thee by thy self Store up Wisdom against him that thou mayst be an Artist against his Temptation Encounter with him find out the out-goings of Satan Answ 2. Satan doth tempt thee by not tempting thee As God is said to punish us by not punishing us not to punish us Hos 4. 14. is the greatest punishment so Satan doth tempt you by not tempting you he tempts you to pride by not tempting you to gross
tree of knowledg was a standing object in our parents eye to try them every day It was there in their eye yet forbidden fruit they could not but see it yet they must not touch it So Sirs Gods Providence presents you with various objects it presents some with beauties with honours with a rich protion with a wedg of gold What should we do now in this case say here 's a temptation a trial from the Lord upon me and be sure we be jealous of our eye and affections Some it may be will think Providence lays this object in my way therefore I may be medling with it Oh no we must not make the Providence but the Precept of God our only Rule and know that God tempts us and tries us by objects and occasions 6. God tempts by delays Sinners tempt God by their delays of repentance and God tempts his people by his delay of answers they pray and he defers they press him to answer and he delays God as you heard promised Abraham a Son and by his delay as it were denieth performance for delay bears the image and semblance of denial and God makes him wait five and twenty years for performance Afflictions are heavy they are biting and cutting temptations A short affliction seems long but length of affliction adds weight unto it and puts many grains into it Oh! it is a sore temptation and yet thus God tempts and tries his people they call to day and he comes not then they cry and cry aloud and yet he hears not and this makes them cry How long how Psal 35. 17. long Lord Lord how long wilt thou look on Rescue my soul from their destructions my darling from the lyons How long Psal 79. 5. Lord wilt thou be angry for ever shall thy jealousie burn like fire These how longs are great temptations to our natures and this may be thy case poor soul and then you will find this how long a bitter temptation 7. God also tempts by way of Denial and in some things this is a sore trial for if delay be a great temptation Denial must needs be a very great one we sue to God for a thing that is desirable we long for it and God saith no to our suits We ask for the life of such a friend or relation and God replies with a negative vote we lift up our hands for deliverance out of the Cloud of such afflictions and the hand of God makes it thicker and darker on us we move God for great mercies and he gives us great Denials This is to put our submission to the trial to put our resignation to his Will and Wisdom to the trial our patience under his Soveraignty to the trial Vse 1. Did God tempt Abraham what Is God himself wont to tempt and try his people How should this make us walk before the Lord in fear and trembling Pray and tremble profess and tremble meditate and tremble Sirs It is no wonder to hear that Satan will tempt us or that the world will tempt us or to hear that our own flesh or corruption will tempt us all this is no wonder but to hear that the Great God himself will try and tempt us that God will be at this work with us and set upon us ah what a wonder and astonishment is it How should it fill our hearts with fear and reverence How should we entertain this truth with holy and humble trembling Surely this should extinguish onr frolicks and annihilate our pride and awaken our security God himself is resolved to be a tempter I mean to try his people and call their graces out to service Oh! then watch and pray and fear for the Devil to come and charge you with his Pistol is matter of fear enough but if God himself will come with his Pistol cock't and charg'd upon you oh this is formidable I say then watch and pray and fear Vse 2. Learn here to act faith you must act faith in the greatest and most gain-faying temptations Difficulties and Impossibilities are the true objects of faith you must believe when it seems a contradiction to believe Abraham was to believe that he should have an innumerous posterity in Isaac and yet he is commanded to kill Isaac Can these two stand together Isaac shall live to be the Father of many Nations and yet Isaac shall dye by the hand of his Father When Isaac is once gone where is my seed where is my blessing And yet Abraham believes and his faith triumphs over the difficulty his faith makes him an acute logician and solves the knot of contradiction Abraham knew that he had to do with a God he believed that God for his promise sake would raise up the same Isaac when he had kill'd him Sirs It is hard and mysterious to believe when Gods own Providences seem to cross his own promises Yet then we must believe I say believe in God when his own Providences seem to go against his own promises God will one time or other be as if he were killing you now Sirs to believe is a work indeed and you must now believe Quest How shall we in this ease at this dead-lift believe and act faith Answ 1. Fill the soul with Gods infiniteness Gods way is not your way saith faith nor his thoughts as your thoughts but as the Heavens are above the earth so are his thoughts beyond yours and his ways beyond yours Faith lodgeth this principle in the soul that God is infinite and having laid that principle there when difficulties and discouragements arise saying You see now in what distress you are brought now you see there is no hope at all of your deliverance true indeed saith the believer I see there 's no way in reason in any ones reason but God is infinite I see many difficulties but God is infinite the soul by faith being filled with the apprehensions of Gods Infiniteness is carried unto him through all difficulties and discouragements Now to him that is able to Eph. 3. 20 21. do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us Vnto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end Amen 2. Let thy faith lay up and lay hold on this principle that Gods love is immutable Soul whom God once loves he ever loves hath he loved thee then he can never unlove thee With him there 's no variableness nor shadow of turning Fix here then it is a strong electuary in a day of fainting afflicted Saint what 's the matter My stroaks are from God himself yet he loves thee But God hath hid his face from me yet he loves thee 3. Act faith in temptation that God will be with you he will be at thine elbow you know that blessed promise I will not fail thee nor forsake thee 4. In trials and temptations act your faith in this that God governs and moderates all
live godly in Christ Jesus they derive it from him and direct it to him they breath for him and bring forth all their actions for him for this is essential to an Evangelical life to do all in the strength of Christ as their root and to do all for Christ as their end And if this be a godly life to live to Christ then let us so think of him and so do that from henceforth our hearts and mouths may neither speak nor think but of him that all things else may be of no savour to us that nothing enter our spirit which resenteth not the Spirit and Odour of Jesus Christ and respires not his honour and glory I say let us be vigilant and faithful to do and desire nothing but the honour of Christ to regard nothing but his pleasure and glory so as to have no eyes but for Jesus no more life but what is consecrated to the honour of his Soveraignty and Greatness Vse We have shewed you what a godly life is and how you may attain a godly life Let us now stir you up to attain this godly life 1. Let me take St. Pauls word to Timothy that which he recommends to him is Piety Exercise thy self unto godliness 1 Tim. 4. 7. Truly all virtues are good and all suitable to the state of a Christian the acquisition and practise of them all useful and necessary but he would have his prime and chief care be To exercise thy self unto godliness for godliness is the Ornament and Mistress of all other virtues it leads us to God and makes use of all virtues to conduct us thither and having no Object but God teaches us the worship and honour that we must render to him and like a good mistress puts us into a ready and easie practise of virtues and entertains us in the exercise of actions that honour God and are acceptable to him 2. Godliness is profitable as Paul saith in the same place Bodily exercise profiteth little but godliness is profitable to all 1 Tim. 4. 8. things having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come True godliness is one of the principal foundations on which Christian perfection stands and is supported In the conduct of men all actions and exercises of their life are ruled according to the Piety and as we commonly say according to the Devotion they have If their Piety be not well-laid the rest of the Christian life will be unconstant and its exercises very uncertain and superficial as we see in the devotion of many which is only in the exterior Who as the Apostle saith having the form of godliness deny and despise the power thereof In such souls we see nothing solid nothing but inconstancy in their lives imperfection in their actions disquiet disturbance and adherence to several creatures in their spirits a small blast of adversity over-turns them Object But it is an hard thing to be godly we have Satan opposing us and he is too hard for us besides our own corruptions and strong temptations Answ While we strive to be godly we may safely expect the Presence of God he is never wanting to those that seek after him and never fails those that engage in his quarrels As he who plots sin shall be sure to find Satan standing at his right hand so he that pursues after God and Holiness shall find God nearer to him than he is to himself God hath not forsaken the earth but as he sustains the whole universe much more those who are seeking grace and participation of himself Are you then striving to be godly and aiming at a Divine life His almighty arms will bear you up and he 'l cherish you with his own goodness Wheresoever God beholds any breathings after himself he gives life to them as those which are his own breath in them where there is any serious and sober resolution against sin any real motion towards God there 's the blessing of heaven in it He that planted it will also water it and make it to bud and blossom and bring forth fruit Object But a godly life is an afflicted life Answ You have heard that grace in us is the life of Jesus in us We ought then to know what his life was The life of Jesus is Divinely Humane and Humanely Divine he is God and Man and therefore lives a life Divine and a life Humane As God he lives the life of God in the bosom of his Father a life of Glory Power and Majesty As Man he lived the life of Man in lowness humiliation in impotence in sufferings so that at the same he is living in the bosom of his Father and dying on the arms of the Cross There he reigns and governs and judges all the world here he is accused and accursed condemned and crucified at the same instant he is in the exaltation and greatness of his Majesty and in the lowness and humiliation of our Humanity Such also ought the Christian life to be on the one side it is great seeing grace makes us the Children of God elevates and unites us to God On the other side the same life is obscured dejected wholly in the spirit of humiliations and privations for grace cannot reign in the soul without operating therein annihilation death and humility Again The Saint by his Union to the Son of God is raised Eph. 2. 6. up and made to sit in heavenly places in Jesus Christ And at the same time the life of a Christian is exposed here to Temptations derided by men and condemned by the world at the same time it is in the greatest cherishing of God and under the fiercest agitation of the Cross So that an afflicted godly life should be no wonder being compared with the life of Christ Besides God enlightens the soul by grace 't is granted but 't is in annihilation he upholds her but 't is in confounding her he unites her to him but it is in separating her sometimes from himself and she remains separated from God as long as she remains upon earth While we are in the body we are absent from the Lord 2 Cor. 5. 6. so she is at once united and separated Again This is the Conduct of God over his Church If we reflect upon the highest works we shall find he puts not on the Ornament of Grace he lays not the foundation of her estate but in lowness his grace his gifts his spirit and his communications When did he come down from heaven and give her his law with such appearance of glorious Majesty as never the like was but when he had brought her into a wilderness When the Lord Christ instituted the Sacraments which are Conduit-pipes to convey his graces to his Church he chose bread water such things as are mean little or nothing esteemed among men In the Birth of the Church he took the Cross for the Throne of his Empire a Calvary for his Seat-Royal he rejected an estate by Poverty Sufferings and Martyrdom and at this day he doth the same in the Regency of his Church And according to Gods proceedings in the Conduct of his Church is likewise his carriage in the sanctification and government of our souls he leads them by the Cross he retires from them he hides himself he leaves them in privations he humbles them annihilates them smites them overthrows them Whereby is discovered how they are as I think deceived who in their devotions and religious exercises seek resentments enjoyments content and satisfaction and would know and feel the excellency and elevations of grace I call it a deceit as I suppose for Christian grace consists chiefly in privations in lowness in rigours and that is it they stand most in fear of and avoid But as the life of Jesus began in poverty and ended on the Cross so a perfect Christian who would live a life of grace must resolve to walk among Thorns to bear privations and sustain desertions for the Cross and Thorns are things proper to Christian-grace and to the love of Jesus Let us not so much seek after assurance of heaven as a thing to come as after heaven it self present in us For where Heaven comes into a heart it will bring its own light comfort and assurance along with it Get Heaven into your soul and you will easily have the assurance of Heaven Let us have a fire in a room and we shall quickly have the light and warmth of it there also Men seek the assurance of Heaven as a thing to come but neglect the present power and possession of Heaven it self in their souls Oh! let us get the Sun it self into us and then we shall not be without its shine and smiles within us FINIS Books Printed for and are to be Sold by Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers-Chappel PResent State of New-England Burges's Husbandmans Companion Burges's Englands Bond. Adams's Catechism Survey of Quakerism A view of Antiquity by J. Honner Abyssus Mali or Man's Corruption by Nature by W. G. England's present and most great incumbent Duty by Robert Perrott The Ark of the Covenant opened or a Treatise of the Covenant of Redemption Janewayes Life Meads Almost Christian Mr. Cawtons Funeral Sermon Preached by Mr. Vincent and Mr. Hurst Phelpes Caveat against Drunkenness Wadsworths last Warning unto secure Sinners Kidder on the Sacrament Wells Funeral Sermon by Mr. Tho. Watson Mr. Wadsworths Funeral Sermon Preached by Mr. Bragg Bishop Reynholds Meditations on the Fall and Rising of St. Peter Practical Divinity of the Papists proved to be destructive unto Christianity and Mens souls Burroughs's four Treatises Dr. Collins on the Canticles