practical Faith which I have described eyes as well the condition upon which the saving Benefits are promised through Christ as the Promise it self of those benefits and expects the enjoyment of those benefits upon God's Promise and Christ's Purchase no otherwise than as he with the assistance of God's Grace is careful to perform the Condition Which belief of his makes him as careful to perform the Condition in discharge of his own duty therein as ever he hopes to enjoy the promised Pardon and Salvation by Christ and to escape the Damnation threatned against those who perform not the condition So that a Man by this practical Faith belives one part of God's Declaration in the Gospel as well as the other and his own duty to be as well necessary to his Justification as the condition appointed by God as the Grace of God through Christ it self is upon another account And by this belief he is effectually moved as well to act in a way of duty to God as to expect mercy from him considering how his Happiness is concerned in both when he hath the whole of God's Declaration in all the parts taken together in prospect as the Object of his Faith When he hears that God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life When he hears that God hath set forth Christ to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood And when he hears again that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them he believes all this to be true as coming from God that cannot lye and accordingly is incouraged to hope in God's Mercy and is comforted thereby But then when he hears again that except we repent we shall all perish that except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God That without holiness no man shall see the Lord and that the pure in heart shall see God That not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of the Father which is in Heaven That the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angles in flaming fire to render vengeance to all those that know not God and which obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ But that he is the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that obey him I say when he hears all this he as verily believes this part of God's Declaration in the Gospel to be the faithful and true Sayings of God as he acounted the other to be And accordingly doth as seriously and sincerely set upon the Work of Repentance and as carefully useth God's appointed means for the changing of his Heart and renewing of his Nature for the purifying of himself as God is pure and doth as carefully obey all the Precepts of the Gospel as he hopes upon the account of Christ's Sufferings and God's Promise to be Pardoned and Saved as beliving that those Benefits are neither promised nor can be obtained but in this way of performing the Condition And I doubt not to say that this practical Faith as it respects God's Declaration touching Man's duty in conjunction with his own Grace in Christ is where the Gospel comes the only saving justifying Faith 3. Come we now to shew Reason why Faith is made the Condition of the Promise 1. It is of Faith that it might be of Grace saith the Apostle Rom. 4.16 It is that the Grace of God to miserable Men might the more shew it self For so it doth not only in promising unspeakably great things through Christ to Man who is not only undeserving but illdeserving also but also in that these are promised upon such a possible practical easie Condition as Faith is considering the means and assistance promised by God to work it And considering also that the Promise is made to the truth unfeignedness and sincerity and not to perfection of Faith Repentance and new Obedience in their utmost degree So that Christ might well say my Yoke is easie and my Burden light Matth. 11.30 Whereas the old way of promising the Inheritance on the Law-terms would have been to have promised it upon impossible conditions as the case now is with fallen Man And if God should have promised never so great things to Man in his impotent and miserable state upon an impossible condition he would have been so far from manifesting abundance of Grace Compassion and Love to him in that condition as that he would rather have seemed to insult over him in it And therefore if the Promise should have run upon the Law-terms and not of Faith it would utterly have frustrated God's design of manifesting his Grace to Man and of recovering Man's Love and Loyalty to him thereby Rom. 4.14 If they which are of the Law be Heirs Faith is made void and the Promise made of none effect But it is of Faith that it might be by Grace to the end the Promise might be sure to all the Seed not to that only which is of the Law but to that also which is of the Faith of Abraham ver 16. 2. This may be another reason why such a Faith as I have described is made the condition of the Covenant of Salvation viz. Because it best answers God's design in this Covenant of renewing the Nature of Man in Holiness and Righteousness and by that means restoring it to Happiness For by Faith Men are born of God or made the Children of God Gal. 3.26 Ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus Joh. 1.12 13. As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to those that believe on his Name Which are born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Now to be born of God or which is the same to be made the Child of God is to have ones Nature restored to the likeness of God in which Man was first made and is the same thing with that which is called Regeneration and a being born again and a new Creature Which new Creature or the Nature of Mâ—n renewed by Faith is also called the new Man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Ephes 4.24 To be born again is to have the Faculties of Mans Nature restored to a rectitude in their motions and operations in reference both to God and Man to be restored to their proper moral use for which they were made It is in a word that which is called a being made partakers of a Divine Nature For those which are begotten of God are begotten in or to his likeness Men can adopt those which are not their natural Children to inherit their Estates but they cannot adopt them to a participation of their Moral Endowments But God adopts his Children to a participation with him in the
it might give Light to all that are in the House ver 15. And therefore Let your Light so shine before Men that others may see your good Works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven is the Inference the Command of Christ the great Captain of our Salvation ver 16. And moreover Sixthly Every Christian has commonly that in his particular Name â—I 〈◊〉 Chriâ—◠〈◊〉 Iames 〈◊〉 some 〈…〉 of 〈…〉 which 〈…〉 whereby he may be excited to some noble strain of Vertue It seldom happens that any one has a Name given him of which there has not been some One before him renown'd in History either in the Scripture or elsewhere for some noble Exploit of Vertue or other And now my Young Disciple search the Scripture and other Histories who or what He or She was and wherein thy Names-sake did excel in any Goodness Christians to an Imitation of those who were Eminent under those Names and propose such a One for thy particular Example to whose Eminency in the like Vertue do thou all thou canst to arrive Do thou John bethink thy self often of that great Contempt of the World that One of thy Name viz. John the Baptist did shew and of that burning Love to God and Men which the other viz. the Apostle of that Name did express and let the One excite thee likewise to the like Contempt of the World and the other to the like Love of God and Men. A Peter should do well to call to Mind the ready Confession of Christ that the Apostle of that Name did make and the speediness and sorrowfulness of his Repentance after he had Sinn'd and let the Thoughts of him make thee ready to give Testimony to the Truth and Faith of Christ and put thee upon a speedy Repentance after every fall and backsliding into Sin Let every Anne call to Mind that Widow of her Name mentioned Luk. 2.37 Who though a Widow of fourscore Years and four departed not from the Temple but served God with Fasting and Prayers night and day And let the Example of this devout and happy Woman of thy Name call thee Anne to the first beginning of Prayers Sacraments and Sermons Let every Mary bethink her-self of those Mary's Famous in the Gospel the One for her chast Virginity the Other for sitting so Attentive at JESUS's Feet to whom the Lord gave this honourable Testimony that she had Chose the better part and prefer'd her before her Sister Martha who disturb'd her-self too much with worldly Business Luk. 10.40 41. and from her Example learn not to entangle thy self too much with the Cares of this Life but chiefly to take care of Heavenly things and to apply thy self to Hearing and Devotion Lastly Let me give it in Charge to you that are Parents And therefore Parents are Advis'd to choose for their Children the Names of Persons Eminent for Vertue not Infamous for Vice not to give to your Children any other Names but what are of Note for their eminent and good Examples that they may have always before their Eyes whom they may imitate in their Vertue Give them such Names as if not Signalized in Scripture are at least in other Histories for some Good they have done Or if you give them the Names of any of your Ancestors let it be of those whose Vertues have adorn'd not whose Vices have disgrace'd the Age they liv'd in Or of such who have left behind them a good Name to be Imitated nothing Ill to be Abominated by their Posterity for those only are worthy to have their Memory continued in the Names of their Posterity but these are fit to be Eternally forgot And thus my Christian Disciples having shew'd you the great the very great Obligation lying upon you even from your Christian Names to square your Lives according to the Christian Rules those Rules that you have taught you and shall hereafter with God's Assistance be explain'd to you in the Exposition I shall give you of your Catechism And from several Considerations having therefore urg'd you to live with all the Care you can according to that most holy Religion to which in your Baptism you have given up your Names and under your several Names have Listed your selves to maintain and cleave unto What then remains my Christian Disciples but that you apply your selves with the greatest Diligence in order to your living good Lives to understand throughly that Religion to which you have given up your Names There shall be nothing wanting I do assure you on my part for I design by God's assistance to Instruct you in all the Articles of the Covenant of Grace and which are each of them contain'd in your Church-Catechism It lies on your parts to be teachable Disciples constantly to repair here to be Catechized and Instructed by me to have attentive Ears open Hearts and faithful Memories And Oh! That I might always find you such What Satisfaction would then accrue to my self What Profit to you And how great and eternal Rewards to us both And that it may thus succeed with all of us Pray let it be our constant and fervent Desires to God thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE Fourth Lecture Quest Who gave you that Name Answ My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism wherein I was made a Member of Christ a Child of God and an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven Quest What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you Answ They did promise and vow three things in my Name First That I should Renounce the Devil and-all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly That I should keep God's holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my Life Quest Dost thou not think that thou art bound to Believe and to do as they have promised for thee Answ Yes verily and by God's help so I will And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath called me to this State of Salvation through Iesus Christ our Saviour And I pray unto God to give me his Grace that I may continue in the same unto my Lives end AS the Compilers of the Catechism did very wisely begin with a Question and Answer about your Christian Name to the End that at the mention thereof you might take occasion to consider the great Obligation which lies upon you to live according to that most Holy Religion which under that Name you have receiv'd so in Commenting upon that Question and Answer about your Christian Name I have given you my self some preparatory Admonitions accordingly to make that good Use of those Instructions shall be given you from your Catechism as to live suitably to them And being thus well prepar'd I hope to receive Benefit from what shall hereafter be deliver'd what remains but that I proceed to instruct you
from the Faith and a Denial of the Truth Our Blessed Saviour tells us that Whosoever he be that forsaketh not whatever he hath for his sake and the Gospels he cannot be his Disciple and to leave Houses Lands Possessions and whatever worldly Enjoyments if you will not Renounce the Gospel it self or those Truths contain'd therein and will not embrace Errors contrary to it is always the hard Condition that Christians are put upon in Times of Persecution But how hard a thing is it for a Rich Man to do this A poor Wretch may be content to leave his uncomfortable Mansion and to resign this laborious tedious Life in hopes of gaining Rest and eternal Glory thereby rather than strain his Conscience But for a Rich Man to take a Farewel of his stately Houses delightful Gardens his silent Grots and shady Walks his rich Furniture goodly Farms and his heaps of Silver to leave these and fly into Banishment endure Poverty labour with Hunger and starve with Nakedness all this to preserve a good Conscience It is a hard Saying a shrewd Temptation He will be apt to desire his Settlement may be on this side Jordan rather than he will pass over the Flood into the Land of Canaan He will be very apt to build his Tabernacle on this side Heaven The Temptation is indeed Great and many have fallen under the Power of it Several have past very shrewd Brushes in their way towards Heaven and yet have not been able to withstand the Shock of this Temptation We have a famous Instance of this in the Young Man in the Gospel Matth. 19. This Person came to our Saviour with a mighty Desire to know what he should do to Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and reckon'd up a many extraordinary Acts that he had done already in order to it insomuch that in another Gospel it is recorded our Saviour Loved him very much But the Holy Jesus told him that if he would Be perfect he must go and sell what he had and give to the Poor and he should have Treasure in Heaven and that he must in Poverty and Affliction come and follow him When the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful for he had great Possessions says the Text ver 22. And thus you see what Temptations Riches will give you whether you consider your selves as Getting as Possessing or as Parting with or Losing of them In what sence and how far Riches are to be renounced And now the great Question will be In what sence and how far you must Renounce the Riches of this World in all these respects And in the General I can safely tell you that Riches are not of that evil Nature in themselves that you must absolutely Renounce or Reject them We read of a peevish Philosopher In general being they are not Evil in themselves they are in Cases only to be renounced by us wherein we cannot without Sin Pursue Possess or retain them amongst the Grecians One Crates who threw all his Wealth into the Sea he would have nothing to do with it And there are a sort of Men amongst the Romanists those whom they call Begging-Friars who Vow Poverty and place a very great Part of their Religion in that very sinful Trade if there be not a very great Necessity for it of Begging But Riches are not of that Nature that they need be so absolutely Renounced and Rejected by us They may be Innocently enough both Sought Possest and Retain'd And it is only in such cases wherein you cannot without Sin Pursue Possess and Retain 'em that you are oblig'd by your Baptismal Vow to Renounce and Reject 'em and that is in these Cases following And First as to the Getting of Riches As First Riches considered in the getting no Man must so put his Heart upon 'em as to esteem 'em his chiefest Good and Happiness you must not set your Heart upon 'em so as to esteem 'em your chiefest Good and Happiness for this is an eternal and an unalterable Rule both in Reason and Religion That the chiefest and most absolute Good deserves our chiefest Esteem and choicest Affections And that lesser Goods to be less esteem'd and lov'd And therefore God and Heavenly Things being our chiefest Good and the Riches of this World being Good only by Derivation from him and that in infinitely lower Degrees we must by no means suffer the Riches of this Life to have an equal share in our Esteem and Affections with God and Heavenly Things No Mammon is too base a Competitor that we should divide the Empire of our Hearts betwixt God and him No man can faithfully serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve God and Mammon says our Saviour Mat. 6.24 And You must by no means labour after the Riches of this World with immoderate Care Nor must he labour after 'em with immoderate Care so as to neglect the great Duties of Religion Devotion so as to neglect the great Duties of Religion and Devotion Martha you know was much troubled about her Houshold Affairs at a Time and Opportunity given her to hear our Saviour's Heavenly Discourses and Divine Instructions and our Saviour rebuked her for it telling her that Mary had chosen the better Part in laying aside her worldly Business to attend that more important Affair the Enriching of her Soul Matth. 10.41 42. And you must take care lest you also Incurr that and a worse Rebuke by spending the Lord's-Day set apart by Divine Appointment wholly to the Service of God lest you spend it I say in worldly Business and in Projects of Gain Or indeed any Day in immoderate Carkings so as to omit either your Family or Private Devotion And must Seek first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these other things shall be added unto you in such measures as shall be needful for you and you must therefore after lawful Endeavours leaving the Success to God Take no further Thought for the Morrow Matth. 6.33 34. But above all in your Pursuits after this world's Wealth Especially he must beware of Enriching himself by unjust Means You must beware of Enriching your selves by any unjust Means This is call'd by the Wise-man A making hast to be Rich because that those who are bent upon unlawful Gain think plain and honest Dealing too slow a way of encreasing their Substance But he withal tells 'em that They who do so shall not be Innocent Prov. 28.20 that is shall involve themselves in great and terrible Guilt as has been shew'd you And let me tell you withal when-ever you shall come to cast up your Accounts between God and your own Souls a Thorn will not prick your Flesh with half that Anguish as the Reflection upon an Ill-gotten Estate will pierce your Consciences So that above all things it does
Pray that he would Sanctifie our Vnderstandings that being transform'd by the renewing of our Minds we may be able to have a Spiritual discerning of the things of God being wise to that which is good but simple and harmless to that which is Evil. Let us therefore Pray that he would Sanctifie and Reform our Wills that we may in every thing submit them unto his delighting to do his Will Not seeking our own Will but the Will of him that sent us And let us therefore Pray that he would Sanctifie and Circumcise our Hearts that we may set our Affections on things above and not on Earthly Matters Farther yet Let us therefore particularly pray that having Sanctify'd us throughly in our Understandings Wills and Affections he would enable us to perform each of the Conditions of our Covenant That he would strengthen our Faith and enable us to hold the Profession of our Faith without wavering that he would grant unto us Repentance That no longer spending the rest of our Time in the Flesh to the Lusts of Men but to the Will of God the time past of our Lives may suffice to have served divers Lusts and that for the future we may walk as Obedient Children not fashioning our selves according to the former Lusts in our Ignorance but as he who hath called us is Holy so we may be Holy in all manner of Conversation And Lastly Let us pray unto him to give us his Grace that we may thus continue and persevere in Repentance Faith and Obedience unto our Lives end that being stedfast and unmovable always abounding in the Work of the Lord we may patiently continme in well-doing without weariness as knowing that in due time we shall reap if we faint not which that we may do God Almighty grant of his infinite Mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord to whom and the Holy Ghost be ascribed all Might Majesty and Dominion both now and for evermore Amen THE XXX Lecture VVherein I was made IN several foregoing Lectures upon the Words of the Catechism having explained all that I suppose necessary to be known by you concerning the general Nature and Substance of the Covenant of Grace the Solemnity whereby you entred into it the Obligations upon you to perform it and the Means whereby you shall be enabled to discharge it I come now to do the like as to those Circumstances relating to your entrance into it and requisite also to be consider'd by you These Circumstances are Two First The Time when Secondly The Persons by whom as by Proxies you were Initiated into the Covenant of Grace I. I will consider the Time when which because it was as to most of you in your Infancy as is imply'd in these words Wherein I was made a Time thought unseasonable by some Persons for so grand an Undertaking therefore I will endeavour to Justifie the having been admitted into the Covenant of Grace by Baptism in the time of your Infancy This I say is what these words Wherein I was made do signifie to us viz. That it was sometime heretofore that you were Baptized and entred into Covenant with God which was you know as to the Children of most Believers in the Age of Infancy And now I will justifie the thing the being admitted into the Covenant of Grace by Baptism If the Children of Believing Parents even at such an Age. Children of Believing Parents have a right to be Baptized prov'd from 1 Cor. 7.14 I say If the Children of Believing Parents for that such have a greater Priviledge than others and with reference to this very particular of being Baptized and â—onfederated with God may be very fairly gathered from that of St. Paul 1 Cor. 7.14 For the Vnbelieving Husband is Sanctify'd by the Wife and the Vnbelieving Wife is Sanctify'd by the Husband else were your Children unclean but now are they Holy for the understanding which difficult place we must consider the occasion of the Words and the import of this Expression Else were your Children unclean but now are they Holy Now the occasion of the Words was a Question propounded to the Apostle Whether a Believing Wife or Husband ought to dwell with an Unbeliever which the Apostle resolves that either of 'em might and uses this Argument for it That the Unbeliever may by the Conversation and Perswasion of his Wife in time be Sanctify'd and Converted himself to Christianity however if he be not his Children on the account of the Mother being a Christian are not Vnclean but Holy for the understanding of which Expression it is to be consider'd that there is a twofold Holiness ascribed to Persons in the New Testament to omit some other Acceptations in the Old First There is a Spiritual and Inherent Holiness which is a necessary Qualification to make us capable of Happiness in the Life to come and Members of the Church Triumphant in Heaven according to that of St. Paul Without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 Secondly There is a Relative and outward or Privilegial Holiness upon the account of Persons being seperated from the rest of the World to the pure and Holy Service of a pure and Holy God such as is the Holiness of all the Members of the Church Militant here on Earth those I mean who are called into the Covenant of Grace as you may see 1 Pet. 2.9 where speaking to the whole Catholick Church of Christians as Christians he calls 'em a Chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood a Holy Nation a peculiar People A Holy Nation do ye see he calls 'em which was spoke on the account of that Holy Profession they were Baptized into tho' all of 'em in their own Persons were not Inherently Holy no more than all that are called to the Profession of the Gospel are chosen to the Salvation of it So that by these Expressions Else were your Children Vnclean but now are they Holy must be meant a Relative and Privilegial Holiness they have by being descended from a Christian Parent whereby they are capable of being Members of the Catholick Church that Holy Nation meant in St. Peter capable I say of being made so by Baptism the only Door of entrance into it And if the Children even of one Believing Parent are thus Relatively and Privilegially Holy by being within the Covenant or capable of being took into it by Baptism on the account of having one Christian Parent much more should the Children of those be so accounted both of whose Parents are Christians Possibly one reason wherefore the Child of one Christian Parent is thus Holy as to be reputed capable to be a Covenanted Member of Christ's Church is because it may be fairly presum'd the Christian Parents Zeal for God's Glory will make He or She train up that Child to the Knowledge and Belief and Service of the One True God Father Son and Holy Ghost And if it may be fairly presum'd that where there is but one Christian
Deliver and Bless them that turned to him to serve him only Which seems to be his meaning when he saith he will be sanctified before the Heathen when he should gather them from among the people where they were Captives and that the Heathen should know that he was the the Lord Ezek. 20.41 and 36 23. And by this means he brought them to fear and worship the God of Israel Psal 102.13 15. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion So the Heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord and all the Kings of the Earth thy glory When the Lord turned again the Captivity of Sion they said among the Heathen The Lord hath done great things for them Psal 126.1 2. 6. The whole Law was given to be a Political Instrument of Governing the Israelites according to that state of their minority as a peculiar Republick of which God himself was the Soveraign Legislator But of this more afterward CHAP. III. Shewing by what Faith and Practice the Jews under the Law were Saved I Come now to shew by what Faith and Practice the Jews under the Law were Saved And doubtless whatever it was it became available to that end upon the account of what Christ was to suffer when he should come For as I shewed before that God's Covenant with Abraham and his Seed by virtue of which the Faithful then were saved was confirmed in Christ was established with them in reference to what he was to do and suffer as Mediator afterwards Gal. 3.17 And by means of his Death there was Redemption for the transgressions that were under the first Testament Heb. 9.15 And the Sacrifices and Priesthood were a Figure for the time then present of what Christ should afterwards do and suffer and for what end But when I say so I do not say that all that were Saved did understand so much For we see the Apostles of Christ though they did believe him to be the Messias which the Jews expected yet they did not understand or expect that he should suffer Death as a Sacrifice till he told them so Nay the thing was so far from their thoughts as that they did not understand him when he plainly foretold them of his Death Luke 18.32 And if the Doctrine touching the resemblance that is between the Priesthood of Melchizedech and the Priesthood of Christ was not in the Apostles sense Meat which Babes in Christianity could well digest in their Understandings but was Meat for strong Men Heb. 5.10 14. we may well guess by that how little the Jews understood the Typical and Spiritual sense of those Types about which they were frequently conversant and therefore it 's said that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John the Baptist though he was so great that there was none greater before him Hence we may see that one reason why those Jews were all their life-time under a Spirit of Bondage to fear was the great Obscurity of the Declaration of God's purpose of Grace to the World through Christ and the Way and Method of Salvation by him Moses was but a servant for a Testimony of those things which were after to be spoken and so declared afterwards as that the Typical meaning of them might be understood Heb. 3.5 In the mean while as touching those things they were shut up unto the Faith which should afterwards be revealed Gal. 3.23 It is said of the Prophets whereof Moses was one that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto us by them that have preached the Gospel to us 1 Pet. 1.12 Add we to all this Heb. 9.8 where having spoken in ver 7. of the High Priests entering alone into the Holy of Holies with the Blood of the Sacrifice in behalf of the People once every Year he saith The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first Tabernacle was yet standing By the Holiest of all here is meant Heaven signified of old by the Holy of Holies as appears ver 12 24. And the plain meaning seems to be this That the peoples entring into Heaven by the Sacrifice and Blood and Intercession of Christ was not made manifest while the Tabernacle-worship continued For Christ is our Way into Heaven to the place within the Veil by his Blood shed as a Sacrifice Heb. 10.19 20. Having therefore Brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the Veil that is to say his Flesh But this Way he tells us was not made manifest while the first Tabernacle was standing But as obscure as this way was as to what was to be done and suffered in particular by the Messias yet they had some general grounds of Faith and Hope That upon their Faith Repentance and sedulous Endeavours to walk in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord they should obtain remission of their sins and a future Happiness in another World Among which gounds these were not the least 1. They had the knowledge of the Promise of Blessedness to all Nations in Abraham's Seed and of the Promise of those other Benefits which were promised to Abraham and his Seed 2. They had an addition of several other Predictions concerning the Messias both by Moses and other Prophets that perhaps were somewhat more express such as in Deut. 18.16 Isa 53. Dan. 9. and others These Promises and Predictions put them in great expectations of Special Benefits by the Messias and wrought in them a longing after his Day Upon which account our Saviour said to his Disciples Blessed are your Eyes for they see and your Ears for they hear For I say unto you that many Prophets and Kings and Righteous Men have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them Mat. 13.16 17. Luke 10.23 24. 3. They had large significations from God of his special Favour to them above all people as in chusing them to be his peculiar People and in declaring himself to be their God in giving visible signs of his Presence among them and excellent Laws and Promises to them and sending his Prophets amongst them and working many Wonders for them and casting out the Nations before them to make room for them and the like Deut. 7.6 7 8. and 26.18 19. Psal 147.19 20. Rom. 9.4 5. 4. They had express Declaration from God of the Goodness of his Nature and of his Compassion towards Sinners and of his readiness to Pardon such as should Repent and return to their Duty in loving him and keeping his Commandments As for instance Exod. 34.6 7. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed The Lord The Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and
sin And when he delivered them his Law with the greatest terrour and astonishment to them yet even then he assured them That he would shew Mercy to Thousands of them that love him and keep his Commandments as in the Second Commandment And in ease of their miscarriage to the drawing down of God's Judgments upon them he bespeaks them thus When thou art in tribulation and all these things are come upon thee even in the latter days if thou turn to the Lord thy God and shalt be obedient to his Voice for the Lord thy God is a merciful God he will not forsake thee nor forget the Covenant of thy Fathers Deut. 4.31 and 30.1 2 3. Levit. 26.39 c. From all which grounds the Faithful among them had such a hope and confidence of pardon of Sin and of a future Happiness in another Life upon their Repentance and sincere Obedience as did effectually induce them to have good thoughts of God to love him and to endeavour to please him by having respect unto all his Commandments This made him say Psal 130.4 There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared And under this hope and confidence the twelve Tribes did instantly serve God day and night and grounded this Hope of theirs upon the Promise made of God unto their Fathers as St. Paul tells us Acts 26.6 7. And indeed it was the unanimous Faith of the most eminent among them from Age to Age that God had both made and would keep a Covenant to shew Mercy to those that love him and keep his Commandments or that walk before him with all their Heart For that they looked upon as the Condition of God's Promise of shewing Mercy This we may see in Moses David Solomon and in Daniel and Nehemiah Deut. 7.9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keepeth Covenant and Mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandments So David Psalm 103.17 18. The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to such as keep his Covenant and to those that remember his Commandments to do them And thus Solomon 1 Kings 8.23 And he said Lord God of Israel there is no God like thee who keepest Covenant and Mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart So Daniel in his 9th Chap. 4th ver O Lord the great and dreadful God keeping the Covenant and Mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his Commandments And Nehemiah likewise Chap. 1.5 I beseech thee O Lord God of Heaven the great and terrible God that keepeth Covenant and Mercy for them that love him and observe his Commandments This we see was the serious and constant Profession of the Faith of the Servants of God in those Times And in this Faith and Practice doubtless it was that they lived and died and were saved CHAP. IV. That the Law contained a Covenant different from that with Abraham IN the next place I am to shew That the Law of Moses did contain a Covenant distinct and of a different nature from the Covenant which God made with Abraham and his Spiritual Seed Besides the general Promise which God made to Abraham respecting the Gentiles as well as the Jews In thee all Nations of the Earth shall be blessed he made a Special Covenant with him as a Reward of his signal Faithfulness to give unto his Natural Seed the Land of Canaan Nehem. 9.8 Thou foundest his heart faithful before thee and madest a Covenant with him to give the Land of the Canaanites to his Seed In order to the fulfilling of which Promise after he had brought them out of Egypt he united them under himself as Head in one Political Body by a Political Covenant Exod. 19. c. which is the Covenant I am now to discourse of In which discourse I would 1. Shew in what respect the Law of Moses is said to contain a Covenant of a different nature from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham 2. Prove that it did contain such a different Covenant 3. For farther illustration consider it in its parts and their relation one to another 4. And in what respect this Covenant is called the first Covenant when as the Covenant of Grace was made before it 1. In what respect the Law of Moses is said to contain a Covenant of a different nature from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham The Law of Moses comes under a twofold consideration 1. As in conjunction with the Promise to Abraham to which it was annexed it made up one entire Law by which the Israelites were to be governed and directed in the way to Eternal Life And in this conjunction the Promise was the Life and Soul as it were of the Body of the Mosaic Law properly taken And in this sense as the word Law signifies the Pentateuch or five Books of Moses which contain the Promise as well as the Law it is sometimes used in the New Testament Gal. 4.21 22. 1 Cor. 14.34 Luke 16. And in this sense doubtless we are to understand the Law upon which David bestowed so many glorious Encomiums as he did saying The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul c. Psal 19.2 We are to consider the Law of Moses as given at Sinai in a stricter sense as it was an Instrument or Rule of Government in the Commonwealth of Israel The Law in the former sense of it promised Eternal Life though but obscurely to those that did believe its Promises and sincerely obey its Precepts In the latter sense it promised only temporal Blessings to those that strictly observed it in all the parts of it and threatned those with temporal Calamities that did not The same Laws materially of this Political Covenant related to both the Covenants As Eternal Life was promised in the Covenant of Grace upon condition of sincere Obedience to those Laws as an effect of Faith in the Promise so those Laws in conjunction with the Promise were as I may so say Evangelical But as temporal Benefits only were promised in that Covenant upon condition of strict Obedience to those Laws and as those Laws were enjoyned under temporal Penalties as they were Commonwealth-Laws so that Covenant containing those Laws was Political and in this Political respect it was another Covenant If the Law of God and the Law of Man command or forbid things materially the same yet if the one command or forbid them under pain of Damnation and the other only under temporal Penalties these Laws are not formally the same The Commonwealth of Israel had no Commonwealth-Laws but what God himself gave them the which Laws they also Covenanted with him to observe by which Covenant they were united under him as Head of that Political Body And therefore when they would needs choose them a King like other Nations God told Samuel saying They have not rejected thee but they have rejected me that I should not
act with that Decency and Becomingness as shall advance the Reputation thereof Hence the Lawyer as he cannot ordinarily endure except he be a profligate Person his Profession of the Law nor the Physician his nor the Tradesman his to be run down Expos'd and made Ridiculous so each of these will be as much as possible for maintaining in their several Dealings a Reputation of Fairness and Honesty as that alone which will raise and Preserve an Esteem for them And how then comes it about that a Christian can endure to hear his Christian Profession reproach'd and scorn'd by reason of his scandalous Living Whence is it but from the greater Zeal Men generally have for the Honour of their worldly Callings and Professions than for the Honour of their Christian Religion Profession and Calling And now therefore Thirdly Let me Exhort you An Exhortation therefore to Christians to stand upon the Dignity of their Christian Name and Profession to stand upon the Dignity of your Christian Name and Profession by living such good Lives as may be an Honour not a Disgrace unto it Let me therefore Admonish you from this very Name wherewith you are Honoured to render your selves wholly conformable to those Christian Principles and Doctrines to which you have given up your Names to be governed by and which being taught you in your Catechism I shall by God's leave with all the Plainness and in the most useful manner I can explain unto you And pray let me Entreat you my Dear Youth seriously and diligently to hearken to me your Spiritual Father that studies no less the Eternal Interest of your Souls and to make you Heirs of Heaven than your Natural Parents do your Temporal Interest to gather you Riches and to leave you Estates in this World You have been Ask'd and you have Answer'd to your Christian Name and you see with what Title you are dignify'd viz. with the Name of Christians And First Wonder not at what I say those Titles of Honour I. As that which is more considerable than Titles of Honour which we daily hear sounding in our Ears and which are so much admired and doted upon I mean the Titles of Emperors Kings Dukes Earls Lords ought to be accounted as very inconsiderable in respect of our Christian Title They are but Earthly Glories and will soon decay and vanish away but this is of a Divine Original which will never fade but will Ennoble you to all Eternity I beseech you therefore seriously consider this and let a due Honour and Regard to so worthy a Name continually admonish every one of you that you never commit in your whole Lives any thing that does unbecome it I do also Secondly II. Because of that near Alliance there is between the Christian Name and Profession Entreat every One of you to consider the near Alliance there is betwixt your Christian Names and your Christian Profession insomuch that they both began and will both end together In your Baptism you put on both your Name and your Profession of Christianity together and if ever you should abjure your Religion which God forbid you must also therewith abjure your Christian Names so near are they linkt one with another And therefore let this ever admonish you to Adorn your selves with Christian Graces Temperance Chastity Charity Justice Piety and not to defile your selves with Heathenish Brutish Vices Drunkenness Uncleanness Cruelty Infidelity Thirdly III. Because the primitive Christians did in vertue of the Christian Name resist the fiercest Temptations And is it Examples of this good Use of your Christian Name that you want Why the Christians of old took Courage from this very Name whereby they overcame all their Enemies both Bodily and Ghostly the World the Flesh and the Devil and encourag'd themselves thereby to the Discharge of their Christian Duties In the Vertue of this Name they extinguisht their Lusts they overcame Tyrants they put to flight the Devil Their Persecutors with Fire and Fagot and all manner of cruel Torments would have forc'd them to Blaspheme Christ to sacrifice and burn Incense to Devils to worship Idols But they in the midst of Flames and Torments would answer with Smiles on their Faces We are Christians we cannot do these Things Forbear your Assemblies and Church-meetings would the Heathen Persecutors say We are Christians and must not therefore Forsake the Assembling our selves together would they answer Such great things did the Primitive Christians perform under the Power of the Christian Name And let your very Christian Names likewise my Christian Youth encourage you to all manner of Vertuous and Religious Practices in imitation of those Blessed Primitive Christians and to the Examples of those that shall come after you IV. Because of the Indecency of Living unsuitable to the Christian Name and Profession Nay Fourthly Look upon it ever as a most monstrous piece of Wickedness for Christian Men to live Antichristian Heathenish Lives but on the contrary ever look upon your selves as you are Christians bound even in Decency to Abstain from all Appearances of Evil 1 Thess 5.22 What shall you that have given up your Names to Christ and are in Covenant with God fight the Devil's Battels Know you not that your Bodies are the Members of Christ and shall you take the Members of Christ and make them the Members of an Harlot God forbid 1 Cor. 6.15 Shall you that are Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven walk in Darkness Have you Renounced the Devil the World and the Flesh and shall you for all that yield your selves slaves to the Devil the World and the Flesh You Believe the Gospel and all the Articles of your Christian Faith and shall any of you live as those that neither know nor fear God nor dread the Devil You have vowed Obedience to God and shall you trample under Foot all Laws Divine and Humane You have been dedicated to God and have given up your Names to him in your Baptism and shall you live as if you had been Listed in Satan's Service Nothing so contrary so contradictory as these things V. That to quite other Purposes we gave up our Names to be Christians Alas Consider Fifthly That you have given up your Names unto Christ for other Reasons than that you should fight under the Devil's Banner and do the works of the Flesh Namely that you might ever live to the Honour of God You have been call'd forth out of the World not that you should add by your own to the Iniquities of the Times but to nobler Purposes that you might re-establish the World now tottering and ready to sink under the weight of Wickedness that you might re-establish it I say by the Practice of all Christian Graces and Vertues And for that reason it is you must consider that you Christians are called the Salt of the Earth Matth. 5.13 the Light of the World ver 14. A Candle put upon a Candlestick that
Body are so far bound to take notice of such an Excommunication as to disown and discard such a Person and to have no Society with him so 1 Corinthians 5.11 If any Man that is called a Brother be a Fornicator or Covetous or an Idolater or a Railer or a Drunkard or an Extortioner with such a one after Excommunication they were not to Eat In such Cases as these indeed an Evil Member becomes no Member and is to be to the rest as a Heathen Man and a Publican that is One that is out of the Church Matth. 18.17 And so likewise is he who cuts himself off from that mystical Body the Church by a causless Schism and Separation from any of its sound Parts Or till he cuts himself off by a causless Schism and Separation from any of its sound Parts I say any of its sound Parts for where-ever there is a true Church if there be nothing in its Doctrine nor Worship that is sinful every Person is bound to Continue stedfastly in the Doctrine Prayers and Sacraments and Fellowship of that Church as in the Apostle's times they did Act. 2.42 and to reject the Communion of all other Parties and Sects of Christians or otherwise he will cut off himself from the Church and will cease to be a real Member of it as the Finger ceases to be of the Body when it is cut off from the Arm. Thus in either of these Cases indeed shall a Person discontinue to be a Member of Christ's Church when either he is Cut off by the just Sentence of those Governours in the Church who have the Power of the Keys to Receive in or Shut out or when he Cuts himself off by a causless Separation and Schism from any of its sound Parts But otherwise all Persons who have Enter'd into Covenant with God and have been Admitted into it by Baptism are Members of Christ's Church as has been already sufficiently prov'd and need not again be repeated And so shall Partake of those exceeding great Priviledges which belong to the Members of it which what and how great they are I come next to declare unto you THE Sixth Lecture Wherein I was made a Member of Christ BY the Church of Christ as has been shew'd is meant a Visible Society of Men call'd forth of the World to the Knowledge Belief and Service of the One True God Father Son and Holy Ghost and Professing the same in Opposition to the Service of Satan and all false Gods whatsoever and also to all those vicious and immoral Practices which did so notoriously accompany the Pagan Worship and indeed professing an utter Hatred to all Sin of any kind And it is a Society as has been shew'd you combin'd into one Covenant with God by outward Sacraments and holding Communion with each other under Jesus Christ its Head And a Member of Christ's Church you have also seen is every One who has been Enter'd into this visible Society of Holy Men and into this Covenant with God by Baptism and who holds a constant Communion without swerving aside into separate Assemblies with that Particular True and Orthodox Church whereof he is a Member and in whose Verge he lives Every such Person I have shew'd you is a Member of Christ's Church and will continue such except his Lawful Governours therein should cut him off by a just Excommunication or he should cut off himself by a sinful and unnecessary Separation And now having sufficiently made it appear in the former Discourse to this purpose First what kind of Body that is which is call'd the Church of Christ and also Secondly having shew'd you what it is to be a Member of it it will be now requisite that I should also Demonstrate to you in order to make you sufficiently sensible of which the Two former Points have been so largely treated of Thirdly what vast and invaluable Priviledges do accordingly belong to every Member of Christ's visible Church I say to Every Member of Christ's visible Church for it is not my Business here to Enlarge on the more peculiar Priviledges of those who are styl'd Members of the Invisible Church who are the sincere Part only of Christ's visible Church Those perhaps I may also declare in few words by the By. But the Priviledges which I am here concern'd to Treat upon and to Acquaint you with are such as belong to every Member of the Church I have been speaking of And these Priviledges The Priviledges of our being Members of Christs Church which do peculiarly belong to all the Members of Christ's Church as they are the Members of such a Body whereof he is the Head are these Two First a most reasonable and excellent Body of Religion and Laws together with most profitable and edifying Institutions and Ordinances appointed by Him our supreme Head and Governour to conduct us to Heaven Secondly a sufficient measure of Divine Grace and Assistance deriv'd down upon us from Him our mystical Head and convey'd by those his Ordinances to Enable us to conform to his Religion and Obey those Laws And the first great Priviledge I. A most excellent Body of Religion Laws and Ordinances which does peculiarly belong to all the Members of Christ's visible Church as they are the Members of such a Society Is a most reasonable and excellent Body of Religion and Laws together with most profitable and edifying Institutions and Ordinances given and appointed us by him our supreme Head and Governour to Conduct us to Heaven We do enjoy I say thereby The Christian Religion and Laws far exceed the Pagan Mahometan or Jewish The Priviledge of a most reasonable and excellent Body of Religion and Laws far exceeding what any other People have ever enjoy'd to Conduct us to Heaven This is clearly to be seen Heb. 8.8 9 10 11. where God himself finding Fault with the Jewish Covenant and Laws as what could not make the Comers thereunto perfect saith Behold the days come when I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the Covenant that I made with their Fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt for this is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days saith the Lord I will put my Laws into their Minds and write them in their Hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People And they shall not teach every man his Neighbour and every man his Brother saying Know the Lord for all shall know me from the least to the greatest which remarkable Words spoke first by the Prophet Jeremy as a Prophecy of the most happy State of the Christian Church by reason of the most excellent Covenant and Laws that would be given it beyond what was the State of the Jewish do import that even the Jewish Covenant was not in it self
Good Matth. 5.45 was as it were a New Commandment to them Joh. 13.34 And yet such an unbounded Charity and Kindness as this is the great and necessary Duty of Christianity So that Judaism at the best and before that it was Corrupted by the false Interpretations put upon the Law by the Scribes and Pharisees was but an imperfect Draught of Religion begun by Moses but left to be finished by the more perfect Stroaks of our Saviour's Pencil afterwards who is therefore said to have Come not to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fill 'em up Matth. 5.17 Thus Imperfect at best was the Jewish Law But now consider Fourthly The whole Body of that Religion Christianity a most excellent Religion which Christ our supreme Head and Governour has given us and under whose Guidance we have the Happiness to be as we are the Members of Christ's Church and nothing can represent God in more Noble Characters and Glorious Perfections nothing can give a more Honourable and Rational Account of his Proceedings with Man both in his Creation and Redemption of him than it does And as his Laws are infinitely beyond what the Wisdom of any Humane Law-givers did ever yet contrive for the good Order of Man in this World and his real Happiness both in this and the World to come so no Motives nor Reasons can possibly be more Powerful than those which Christianity does give us to Obey those Laws It gives a most excellent Representation of God As to the Nature of God Christianity does plainly represent him as a Being that has no manner of Imperfection in his Nature but as One that is adorn'd with all the most glorious Attributes and highest Perfections possible It represents him to us so infinitely Wise Just and Holy and yet so wonderfully beyond all Comparison Good and Merciful and to add to all this so intimately Present to all we say or do so Omniscient in discerning the very Thoughts and Intents of our Hearts and withal so absolutely Powerful in doing whatsoever he pleases in Heaven and in Earth that Shall not this his Excellency make us afraid Job 13.11 It gives an Honourable account of his Proceedings with Mankind with reference both to his Creation and Redemption of us And then as to his Proceedings with Man both in his Creation and Redemption of him Christianity gives us the most plain and rational account thereof in the World It gives us to know how that God made man Upright and being so we were at perfect Agreement with him but that afterwards we fell by Transgression from him and must have suffered the Doom of Rebels for so doing It lets us then know That God taking Pity of us in this miserable Case sent his own Son to Preach Repentance and to offer Terms of Reconciliation to us And moreover because it was not consistent with God's Holiness nor with his Wisdom and Justice as Governour of the World to let Sin go unpunish't or to accept of a Sacrifice and Satisfaction less infinite in Value than he was in Majesty who was Offended that he therefore gave this his only Begotten Son also to Dye for us and accepted of his infinitely meritorious Sufferings here instead of our suffering Eternally hereafter and as a sufficient Satisfaction to his injur'd Justice which we in our own Persons could not pay without perishing Everlastingly Christianity does withal Reveal to us that this our High-Priest after having Offer'd himself for us here on Earth a Sacrifice for our Sins he is now gone into Heaven to Intercede with the Father in the merit thereof that it may be accepted to the Pardon of ' em And it also informs us that being ascended to his Father which is in Heaven in order fully to reconcile him to Man he has substituted his Holy Spirit here on Earth to perfect the Reconciliation and Conformity of our Natures to God by moving and moulding our Hearts to true Repentance and Faith in him This is in short that account which Christianity gives us both of our Creation and of our Redemption And so every way Rational it is in it self and so exceedingly agreeable to the wisest Methods of Government in the World that tho' it was beyond the reach of our Reasons before this whole Mystery of Redemption was reveal'd to us in the Gospel to think of such an extraordinary way for our Recovery out of a lost and undone Condition and of Reconciliation to God yet now since it is revealed all the reason of Mankind whose Vnderstandings the God of this world hath not blinded must own that there is no method of Proceeding in such a Case could be more worthy of the Holiness Justice Mercy and Wisdom of God nor so likely to work Repentance in Man not consequently more agreeable to the wise Governour of the World to take than this So agreeable to the best improved Reason of Mankind are the Doctrinal and even the most mysterious Parts of the Christian Religion that Religion which it is our Happiness as we are Members of Christ's Church to be under the direction of Nor can any thing be better contriv'd for the Happiness of Men Its Laws are excellently contrived for the good Order and Happiness of mankind with relation to themselves or others than what the Laws of our Saviour do directly tend to As to our selves they do so powerfully tend to mortify our Lusts and Appetites those Rebels to our own Reason to moderate our Passions and Affections which so violently rack and disturb our own Breasts and they are excellently fitted also to make us so Humble and Self-denying so Temperate and Sober so Chast and Pure as Men on Earth would appear to be Angels come from Heaven were the Laws of Christ universally followed And lastly as to Others such Justice and Uprightness such Charity and Kindness such Quiet and Peaceableness does Christianity incline men to upon which account the State of the Gospel is represented as that In which nothing should destroy nor hurt in the holy Mountain Isa 11.9 And let me also add such Prudent and Fatherly Care of Children Servants and Dependants do the Laws of Christ prescribe as would make a Heaven here upon Earth were they universally Obey'd I say were they universally Obey'd And yet to add to all this Excellency of Christ's Government and Laws over us already seen And are enforc'd by most powerful Principles Motives so powerfully is our Obedience to all these Laws Enforc'd by those mighty Principles and Motives of Christianity viz. The Articles of our Christian Faith I mean so very Perswasive and Forcible are the Motives which Christ does give us to the Practice of these Vertues beyond what was in any Reasons and Motives which the Philosophers or even Moses did give the Gentiles or the Jews to be in any degree Vertuous that this is another addition to our Advantage in having Christ for our Supreme Head and Law-giver and in
of Living under a Government wholly made up of manifold Graces and Favours having a most Gracious God governing us by most Gracious and Reasonable Laws The Kingdom of Grace the Gospel State affording us a plentiful Measure of Divine Grace and Assistance to perform these Laws and proposing to us most Encouraging Rewards in Heaven to stir us up to a diligent Observance of ' em It is this happy State of Things under the Title of the Kingdom of Heaven whose near Approach John the Baptist foretold in the Wilderness saying Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand that is the Kingdom of the Messiah or the State of the Gospel whose Great Fundamental and Gracious Law is this that all Sinners must Repent 'em of all their former Sins and upon their Repentance they shall have most Eminent Mercies bestowed upon ' em And it was this State also concerning the undue Entertainment of which by the Scribes and Pharisees our Saviour complain'd Matth. 11.12 saying that From the days of John the Baptist even till then the Kingdom of Heaven suffered Violence so that the Violent took it by force that is the Publicans and Sinners and Gentiles who were look'd upon by the Jews as those who had no Right to the Messiah and so as violent Persons as Invaders and Intruders did croud into the Church at the Preaching of the Gospel whilst the Scribes and Pharisees ungratefully and proudly stood off So again Matth. 13.24 The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good Seed in his Field that is the State of the Gospel or the Success of our Saviour's Preaching in the World is so resembled And so likewise in several other Parables of the like Nature by the Kingdom of Heaven is to be understood the State of the Gospel here on Earth which sure does shew the exceeding great Dignity Worth and Excellency of the Gospel State far beyond any other Dispensation either Patriarchal or Mosaical which the World had ever receiv'd from Heaven before The reason why the Gospel State should be dignified with the Title of the Kingdom of Heaven And indeed upon a near View of the Nature and Design of the Gospel Dispensation we shall see sufficient reason why that State above any other should be so Honourably Entitled the Kingdom of Heaven And the reason is not only because the same God governs us and that by the same Laws of Eternal Unalterable Righteousness and Goodness as in Heaven but also because this Blessed Government of God over us by the Laws of the Gospel does directly tend to render us so exactly like the Blessed Saints those Inhabitants of Heaven viz. Because it so directly tends to render Men so exactly like the Blessed Saints the Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Heaven for where the Gospel of Christ does so far prevail upon Men as through the Grace of God to make them diligent and careful to Obey him according as they have Covenanted with him it does bring in such an excellent State of Things as makes a kind of Heaven here upon Earth for where the Gospel does so far prevail as to be sincerely Obey'd it causes that The Wolf shall dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid and the Calf and the young Lion and Fatling together and a young Child shall lead them and it causes that they shall not hurt nor destroy in all the holy Mountain for the Earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea as was long time since Prophecy'd Isa 11.6 7 8 9. concerning the State of the Gospel that is it files off the roughness and sweetens the cruel and savage Humours of Men so that instead of tearing and tormenting one another like Beasts and Devils it makes Men Gentle and Kind and good Natur'd like Angels like Gods to one another A State certainly which may very well deserve the glorious Title of the Kingdom of Heaven being so contrary to the Kingdom of Darkness and the State of Hell where there is nothing but Malice Rancour and Rage do reign among those unhappy Beings that do inhabit that Place And thus you see that in Scripture by the Kingdom of Heaven is sometimes meant the State of the Gospel the same God governing us therein and by the same everlasting Laws of Goodness as in Heaven and so as to render us of like Tempers and Dispositions with the Saints in Heaven A State so nearly resembling that of Heaven that the Condition of the meanest Christian now under the Gospel is for that reason prefer'd before that of the greatest of Prophets under the Law Verily I say unto you among them who are born of Women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven that is the Gospel State is greater than he Matth. 11.11 But tho' this be very frequently the meaning of the Kingdom of Heaven in the New Testament and for that reason This is not the meaning of the Kingdom of Heaven here in the Catechism I have took such particular Notice of it that so you may know how to understand that Metaphorical Expression in those many Scriptures where you will meet with it in that sence yet it is not the proper and immediate Meaning of the Word in Scripture nor is it so to be understood here in your Catechism But Secondly the Kingdom of Heaven does if not most frequently II. The Kingdom of Heaven signifies the Kingdom of Glory at least most properly signify in the Scripture the Kingdom of Glory and accordingly here in your Catechism it is solely to be understood of the glorious and happy State of Angels and Saints with God in Heaven For Instance In this sence it is to be understood Mat. 5.3 where the Kingdom of Heaven is promis'd as the Reward of the Poor in Spirit And so ver 20. where it is said that Except our Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees we shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven that is into the State of Glory And in this sence only it can be understood Mat. 7.21 where our Saviour declares that Not every one that saith unto him Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of the Father which is in Heaven that is not those who barely profess Christianity but those who sincerely Practice according to such a Belief and Profession shall be received into Glory The Profession alone will gain Admittance into the Visible Church here on Earth but nothing less than a Living up to it will give an Entrance into the Kingdom and State of Glory with God and his Holy Angels and Saints in the highest Heavens And a most Noble and Glorious State we may be sure this is This a most noble and glorious State as being dignify'd with so honourable and
glorious a Title as the Kingdom of Heaven or else it would not be Dignify'd with so Honourable and Glorious a Title as the Kingdom of Heaven a Kingdom being the Top and Height of all Earthly Glories as Heaven is a Place which comprehends all future Excellencies To denote therefore that most exalted State of Bliss in Heaven it is that this State is call'd the Kingdom of Heaven And truly there is nothing in this World wherein we can imagine the greatest Glory and Happiness as a Kingdom a Crown a Throne a Marriage a Feast but are set forth as Emblems to represent to us the Joys and Glories of our future State And yet as if a Kingdom a Crown a Throne were infinitely too short to set forth the Joys and Glories of Heaven and those infinite Blessings Hence all those things in this world wherein we conceive the highest Glory and Happiness are us'd as Emblems to set off our future Glory that do await the Sons of God Saint John tells us It doth not yet appear what we shall be 1 Joh. 3.2 Beloved now we are the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be only this we know says he that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Nay and as if the highest Contentments and Satisfactions of this Life were but meer Nothings as to any thing in 'em whereby they may represent the Joys above St. Paul tells us 1 Cor. 2.9 That Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for those that love him Nay and tho' he was caught up to the Third Heaven into Paradise and so did both see and hear the Glories and Triumphant Joys of that Place All which things come short of expressing it yet the Things which he saw and heard were unspeakable he tells us which it is not possible for man to utter for so it may be render'd 2 Cor. 12.4 So that in short the Kingdom of Heaven does import a State of the most excessive Glory and Happiness that our Natures can be capable of receiving A State so unspeakably Honourable and Delightful that tho' the choicest Things of this World those Things that yield the vastest Contentments are made use of in Scripture to represent them to us yet they are but the meer shadows of the Glories and Joys in the Kingdom of Heaven and after all there is abundantly more than can be Exprest or Imagin'd by us And therefore this must suffice here for the Explication of what is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven the particular Character of whose Joys being what more properly belongs to that Article of your Creed The Life Everlasting shall there be given you And now An Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven What Secondly Let us next see what it is to be an Inheritour of it An Inheritour or Heir both in Scripture and in common Language does import something of Priviledge more than ordinary Thus Gen. 21.10 we find that Sarah would not endure that the Son of the Bond-woman should enjoy the Priviledge to be Heir with her Son And as to common Account every Body knows that an Heir has a considerable Priviledge above the rest of the Children and what it is I shall Define as follows An Heir is one who has a legal Right and Title to a Possession made over to him An Heir amongst Men is one that receives from Parents or Predecessors either by Nearness of Blood or by Adoption by Entail or by Will or whatever other Method of Conveyance a sure Right and Title to a Possession And here perhaps it might not be difficult to shew how that an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven is made such by something that bears a near Resemblance at leastwise to all these Ways and Methods whereby Men become Heirs to Temporal Possessions But not to insist upon any nice Comparison in these Matters it is sufficient to Ensure unto us the Benefits of Heirship even to the Kingdom of Heaven that those who are in Covenant with God are frequently in Scripture styl'd Heirs and particularly Heb. 1.14 Heirs of Salvation and that they are in like manner and to all Intents and Purposes as much Heirs Such who have Enter'd into the Covenant of Grace are in like manner as Children are Heirs for thus the Apostle argues If Children then Heirs Heirs of God and Joint-heirs with Christ Rom. 8.17 And if a Son then an Heir through Christ Gal. 4.7 So that we may safely say That as an Heir is One whose Estate is not precariously depending upon the meer Will and Pleasure of another but so setled and secur'd to him Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven as Children are Heirs as to give him a Legal Claim and Title thereto so long as he does not forfeit his Title by not performing the Condition on which his Title depends so an Heir of the Kingdom of Heaven is One who does not depend meerly upon the Vncovenanted Goodness of God for his hopes of Heaven and Happiness but he is One to whom God through Christ has vouchsafed to grant a Legal Claim and Title thereto by giving his solemn Promise and engaging his Truth for the Performance that he will infallibly bestow upon him the most unspeakable Joys of Heaven provided he swerves not from his Allegiance and Obedience to him but Renouncing all God's Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil will Believe in him and Obey him truly and faithfully all the days of his Life I do say and pray mark it That God through Christ It is through Christ alone not owing to the Merit of our Obedience that we are Intitled to the Inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven has vouchsafed to grant us a Legal Claim and Title to this Inheritance for so it is said that we are Heirs through Christ Gal. 4.7 And far be it from any to imagine that there is any thing of Merit or Worth in our imperfect Obedience whereby of it self it should deserve such a precious Inheritance It would be an Arrogance and Presumption in the highest Saint that ever liv'd and such as would render him more liable to be Punisht for his Pride than rewarded for his Vertue should he pretend to Claim Heaven meerly upon the Score of his own Sanctity or should he pretend a Claim and Title to the Inheritance of Heaven at all otherwise than through Christ and because God has promis'd it However since God has been pleas'd to Ensure it to us by Covenant we may safely call it a Right which God who is Faithful in all his Promises and Just in all his Dealings will never debar us of except by our Disloyalty and Disobedience to him we forfeit all Right and Title to it Which brings me to my Third Proposal which was to lay before you the Vastness of our Priviledge in being
made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven The Vastness of a Christian's Priviledge in being made an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven And if we do but consider it it will soon appear to be both in it self very great and in Comparison of what the rest of the World enjoys a very singular Priviledge this of being made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven I say In it self very Great Indeed what can be greater than to have the invaluable Possessions of Heaven I. It is in it self a very Great Priviledge to have the invaluable Possessions of Heaven so setled and ensur'd as to have a legal Claim and Title thereto made over to One. so setled and ensur'd to us as to have a Legal Claim and Title thereto made over to us in Christ We see as to those Earthly Possessions how an Heir does value his Condition above the rest of the Children not only on the account of a greater share commonly in the Estate than the rest but because of the greater security he has of Enjoying those Earthly Possessions An Inheritance being an Estate for which he does not so precariously depend as has been shew'd upon the meer arbitrary and uncertain Will and Pleasure of another but a Right which without Breach of Justice cannot be detain'd from him It is the Priviledge of an Heir that he has all the Security that the Engagements of an Honest Person and the Solemnities of a Covenant can give him to make him a Title but when the Kingdom of Heaven is the Possession and when he who cannot deceive has solemnly setled this Inheritance upon us this is a Priviledge so much beyond what Words can express that it is far easier to be Admir'd than Utter'd II. If compared with what others enjoy it is a singular Priviledge And as it is in it self exceeding Great so it is if compar'd with what Others enjoy a very singular Priviledge This of being made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven To be made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven I say is a very singular Priviledge which those who are without Christ and who are Strangers to the Covenants and Promise do not enjoy True it is a few of the more Contemplative and Thinking amongst the Gentile Philosophers did raise to themselves some faint Hopes The best amongst the Moral Heathens could have but faint Hopes built upon uncertain Conjectures of a future Happiness and doubtful Expectations of a future Happiness after this Life They consider'd the noble Nature of the Soul of Man to be such that nothing in this Life is of that Excellency as to give it a full Satisfaction and as to the Body they look'd upon it more as the Prison of the Soul than any Advantage to it and therefore they did hope to be deliver'd one Day from its Incumberance that the Soul might be at liberty to act freely without such a Clog of Flesh trashing it in all its noble Flights and Operations But then all this was in them but Conjecture what possibly might be not what certainly would be their Happiness And being but a faint Hope And their Hopes being faint they could not in the Strength thereof overcome great Temptations But the Christian's Hopes are sure and stedfast being sounded upon the express Promises and Covenant of the God of Truth and uncertain Expectation built upon doubtful Reasonings of their own and more their Wishes and Desires than what they could certainly promise themselves they were not able to support their drooping Spirits under any great Difficulties and to overcome in the Strength of such an Expectation the greater Temptations and Tryals of their Vertue But did generally shrink from their Vertuous Professions when to act honestly was become dangerous But the Christian's Expectation of an Inheritance in Heaven being founded upon the Express Promises of the God of Truth and those Promises given in Covenant and so Confirm'd by an Oath as it were For God willing more abundantly to shew to the Heirs of Promise the Immutability of his Counsel confirmed it by an Oath that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie we might have a strong Consolation These things being so the Christian has a hope which as an Anchor of the Soul is both sure and stedfast Heb. 6.17 18 19. And his Hope being thus built not upon uncertain Conjectures but upon the express Promises of God who cannot lie And being such there is no Temptation so alluring nor Suffering so great which he may not overcome there is no Temptation so alluring nor Suffering so great that such a Hope will not be able overcome But he that hath this Hope purifieth himself even as God is pure 1 Joh. 3.3 And may with St. Paul be perswaded That neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor Height nor Depth nor any other Creature shall be able to separate him from the Love of God which is in Christ Rom. 8.38 39. Thus certain are the Christian's Hopes of Heaven it being instated upon him as an Inheritance And having his Hopes so well grounded there is no difficulty in the way of Duty so great which he may not overcome by the Strength thereof Whereas the best of the Moral Heathens had but uncertain Conjectures to ground their Expectations of future Happiness upon and their Hopes thereof being so Weak they presently yielded to the Assault of every great Temptation But besides whatever Certainty an honest Pagan And whatever Certainty an honest Pagan might have that God would reward his Vertue yet depending only on the Vncovenanted Goodness of God he could promise himself no greater a measure of Happiness than what his good Deeds did of themselves deserve which must fall vastly short of what is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven that liv'd up to the Light of Nature and the Dictates of Right Reason if any of 'em can be suppos'd to have done so might have that the good God would reward his Vertue Yet having only the Equity and Vncovenanted goodness of God to depend upon he could promise himself no greater a Measure of Happiness than what his good Deeds did of themselves deserve which considering the Imperfection of the best Actions of the best of Men whoever liv'd how short must that fall of what is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven * But a Christian to whom God has Covenanted to make sure a Crown of Glory may without Presumption rely upon him to make good the same But the Christian whom God has Covenanted withal and to whom he has condescended to oblige himself to make sure a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 5.4 may without Presumption rely upon God's both Truth and Goodness to make good to him the same notwithstanding when he does all that he can consider'd in himself he is but an Vnprofitable Servant as the best are I have
fought a good fight I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith henceforth says the Apostle and so may every good Christian say the same there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which God the righteous Judge shall give me at that Day and not to me only but to all them who love his appearing 2 Tim. 4.7 8. Such is the Christian's Priviledge above a Pagan's in being made an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven in that being his Inheritance he may assure himself of it tho' his imperfect Vertues consider'd in themselves could never Entitle him to such an eternal and exceeding weight of Glory In short It is Jesus Christ alone who hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1.10 As Life and Immortality is brought to light through the Gospel so by embracing it and by coming into Covenant alone Salvation can be expected And as he only has brought it to light that is made a clear Revelation of that Life and immortal Happiness laid up for Righteous Men in Heaven which was not before so plainly Reveal'd so it is only through him and by Believing and Embracing and Coming into his Covenant the Gospel that Salvation must now be hop'd for by any for thus we are assur'd Acts 4.12 that There is no other Name under Heaven given among Men but Jesus only whereby we must be saved so that this Invaluable Priviledge this exceeding great Advantage of being made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven is made over and certainly Ensur'd to such only who are in the Covenant of Grace and is the Third and Last of those excellent Priviledges and Advantages contain'd and held forth therein And to a sincere Christian who is faithful in the Covenant the Heavenly Inheritance is certain But then the Kingdom of Heaven is the certain Inheritance of the sincere Christian who in the Exercise of Mercy Meekness Piety and all other Christian Vertues which he has Covenanted with God to perform does faithfully discharge his Part of the Covenant as is most solemnly declar'd Matth. 25.31 32 33 34.46 with which I shall conclude this Point Says our Blessed Saviour there When the Son of Man shall come in his Glory and all the Holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the Throne of his Glory And before him shall be gathered all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth the Sheep from the Goats and he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on the left Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand to his Charitable and Pious and Faithful Servants Come ye Blessed of my Father Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World And as the Wicked shall go into everlasting Punishment so the Righteous into Life Eternal And now to summ up those infinitely Gracious and Invaluable Priviledges made over to us on Uod's Part in the Covenant of Grace A summ of those invaluable Priviledges made over to us on God's Part in the Covenant of Grace hereby we are made First Members of Christ that is are made Members of that Body of which Christ is the Head viz. The Church and so have together with a most excellent Body of Religion and Laws all necessary Grace and Assistance Convey'd and Communicated to us Members from Him the Head to Enliven Support and Enable us to go through all our Task of Religious Duties and Christian Performances requir'd at our Hands The Second Priviledge is That we are also hereby made Children of God that is having Embrac'd Christianity and being Incorporated into the Church of Christ we are thereby Adopted and Chosen out of the rest of the World by God to enjoy this grand Priviledge of Sons to have Pardon granted us when with the Prodigal Son we return Home to Him our Offended but Gracious Father by Repentance And we shall find him not over-severe in respect of our lesser Failings and the unavoidable Infirmities of our Nature but shall always have him ready to hear our Prayers for Mercy both in respect of our greater and lesser Transgressions And Lastly The Third Priviledge you have been now told is this that to compleat All We are made Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven that is have secur'd to us a Right and Title to the unspeakable Joys and Glories of Heaven A Priviledge which consider'd in it self is exceeding Great and as all the rest if compar'd with what Others enjoy is a very singular One These now are the inestimable Priviledges made over to us in the Covenant of Grace Priviledges which as they are of infinite Advantage to us so we shall never fail of obtaining 'em if we will but take care to perform the Conditions requir'd on our Parts and so First Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Secondly Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of our Lives Which Conditions and what they Import I come next to declare unto you THE Ninth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked world and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh I Have already Expounded those infinitely Gracious and Invaluable Priviledges made over to us on God's Part in the Covenant of Grace having shewed you what it is to be a Member of Christ what it is to be a Child of God and lastly what to be an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven as also what are the vast Benefits contain'd in those several Articles I am now come to Explain to you likewise the Conditions of the Covenant those Conditions without the Performance of which those Mercies will not be Confer'd on us For this we must seriously consider that the Benefits now mention'd to be made over to us as they are in themselves exceeding great so as almost to equal us with the Blessed Angels and as they were purchas'd for us at no less a Rate than the precious Blood of the Son of God so we must not expect that Benefits so infinitely great and dearly purchas'd should be Confer'd upon us without any thing to be done on our Parts to express our Value of them much less if we continue in Rebellion against God and instead of him serve under his Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil or will be Infidels and Unbelievers and will remain Disobedient to all his most Just and Righteous Commands No it is not to be imagin'd that God will be so Easy so fond of Sinners as would reflect upon the Wisdom and Discretion of a meer Man But as he does propose to us Invaluable Blessings so he does require from us a Reasonable Service and the Performance of most Equitable Conditions amongst which this is the First
Sin most truly Diabolical for it is to be consider'd That tho' the Devil be the first Author of all Sin and instigates to every Kind yet there are many which Satan himself cannot commit As for Instance He cannot be Drunk nor commit Lewdness and the like himself because these are committed only in and by the Body whereas he is a Spirit but yet he is Naturally Proud and Ambitious And therefore tho' those other as being more visible and sensible are more Scandalous in the Eyes of Men yet this more Spiritual Wickedness Pride and Ambition and a Pharasaical Censoriousness and Thinking more Highly of One-self and more Disrespectfully of Others than is meet are more truly Diabolical and have more in their Nature of the Devil's Temper And as Pride so Envy Envy is another of the Devil's Qualities The Devil through his Pride and Rebellion having lost that high Station and Dignity he once enjoy'd in Heaven and seeing Man exalted to a Capacity of obtaining a Share in that Glory and Happiness from which he is excluded He is possest with the utmost Envy both towards God and Man Envying God the Service of us his Creatures and us both the Happiness of serving so Good a Master and those infinite Rewards which will be given us for our faithful Service and Obedience to him And from this his Envy proceeds that Rancourous Malice Malice also wherewith he is ever since Acted so as to be continually Contriving how to do us the greatest Mischief from whence he is called our Adversary the Devil 1 Pet. 5.8 Envy and Malice are indeed the very Natural Temper and Disposition of Satan so that he seems to be wholly made up thereof 'T was Pride as One said made him Envious his Envy that made him Spiteful and Malicious all which together make him a Devil And therefore as you would not appear to have something Diabolical in your very Natures Let all Bitterness and Wrath and Anger and Clamour and Evil-speaking be put away from you with all Malice and be Kind one to another Forgiving one another even as God for Christ's Sake hath Forgiven you Eph. 4.31 32. III. Such as are more the practice of Satan himself than other Sins viz. Murder Lastly There are some Sins more the Devil 's own Practice than others and do therefore deserve to be more particularly Styl'd the Works of the Devil And there are these Three Apostacy Murder and Lying which are expresly mention'd as his own Sins in that One remarkable Place of Scripture Joh. 8.44 The Devil was a Murderer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth because there is no Truth in him When he speaketh a Lie he speaketh of his own for he is a Liar and the Father of it He was a Murderer from the beginning He delights in humane Gore and no doubt the vast Slaughters of Men which have been made in Bloody Wars have been through the Instigation of Satan stirring up Ambitious Princes unjustly to Invade their Neighbours Countries that he might Glut his Appetite with Blood And for the same Reason he Oblig'd the Pagans his Worshipers to offer Men in Sacrifice to him And there is no Duel fought but he is first at the making of the Challenge and then at the Murderer's Elbow to direct the fatal Thrust In these last sort of Murders he hopes to do Two Works at once to destroy both Body and Soul in one instant and to be sure he will never fail being present where he can to all Intents and Purposes so effectually do the work of a Destroyer as he is styl'd Revel 9.11 He abode not in the Truth Hereby is denoted his Apostacy Apostacy and Falling off from God and his Service another of Satan's principal Works of Sin And if any of you who have given up your Names to Christ to be his Disciples and Followers should hereafter instead of Renouncing the World the Flesh and the Devil as you have solemnly Professed in your Baptism give your selves up to the Service of Satan of Mammon and of your filthy Lusts why you will be reckon'd amongst those that are Apostates from God and are turned aside after Satan 1 Tim. 5.15 Nay and if you should fall off from the Truth as it is here Profest in this Church of which you are Members to any Heretical Doctrines you will Imitate Satan in his Apostacy who abode not in the Truth Lying and especially Calumniating and Evil-speaking When he speaketh a Lie he speaketh of his own for he is a Liar and the Father of it A Lie was that whereby he deceiv'd and ruin'd Man at first Ye shall not surely dye said Satan Gen. 3.4 So contrary to what God himself had Threaten'd our First Parents in case they should Eat of the forbidden Fruit And it is by erroneous and false Doctrines which as Tares he sows in the Field of the Church whereby he has undone so many Souls ever since You must therefore Abhor a Lye or Speaking that which you do not Know to be exactly agreeable to the Truth of Things as you will not make your Selves Children of such a Father the Devil And especially you must beware of that sort of Lying whereby you will most nearly Resemble him and that is in Slandering and falsly Accusing of any One to the Ruine of his good Name Satan is particularly Stigmatized in Scripture for this sort of Lying and is therefore called The Accuser or Slanderer of the Brethren which accuseth them before God Day and Night Rev. 12.10 and it is observable that 1 Tim. 3.11 where Women are charged not to be Slanderers nor false Accusers the Word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to be Devils which should be a Warning to them as they would dread so Black a Character to avoid Entertaining one another with Backbiting and speaking Evil of their Neighbours which yet I am afraid is the most usual Conversation when that Sex do meet together Indeed as the pernicious Lye utter'd for the Hurt or Disadvantage of our Neighbour is the most truly Diabolical So all sorts of Lying whatsoever renders such as are Notorious for it Contemptible and Vile amongst Men and Odious to God as does sufficiently appear by the Place and Company they are Rank'd with Rev. 22.15 Without that is Hell are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whoremongers and Murderers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a Lye which should make you of all things in the World my Dear Youth to Beware of this Odious Hellish Sin of Lying and I do the more earnestly press you to Hate and Abhor it because Youth are most apt to be Addicted to it And so much for Sin consider'd as a Work of the Devil And now Secondly We should proceed to consider that other great Work of Satan his Tempting of us to Sin But this as it has been his great Employment ever since the Creation of Mankind and will be so as long
least-wise if not in Word with a Why did you do so your self And now for these Reasons I say the Devil lays a close Siege against a Person of Exemplary Piety and Goodness As for those who are already Vicious he reckons himself secure of them so he does not so much concern himself about them He only throws a Temptation now and then into their way leaving 'em for the most part to follow the Bent of their own Inclinations But against this Bulwark of Religion a Person of bright and shining Graces he draws up all his Artillery Against this Bulwark of Religion therefore the Devil draws up all his Artillery and levels all his Instruments of Battery Thus he attackt Holy Job when he found that Prosperity would not corrupt him he goes another way to work and with unheard-of Afflictions one following upon the heels of another he endeavour'd to force him to Blaspheme his Maker and desperately to Curse God and dye He is a great Master of Politicks and therefore takes such Measures as a Crafty General in the Conquest of an Enemies Country A wise Commander will always lye down the before Place of greatest Consequence and upon the Taking of which the rest will fall in of Course so the Devil his great Attempt is to Foil an exemplary Pattern of Religion whose Fall he thinks will shrewdly stagger many others But the incessant Industry of Satan to overcome a more than ordinary Piety and the Pride he takes therein The Pride and Pains he takes in overcoming such a One represented in a Parable I cannot better represent to you than in the following Parable given us out of Antiquity Lucifer having sent forth his Officers to fill the World with Death and Ruine they all went on their several Errands Upon their Return he demands an account of their Proceedings What Mischiefs they had done what Plagues they had scatter'd and what Calamities they had sent amongst affrighted Mortals One of them more forward than the rest Replies He had been a Fortnight wandring about and at last had Over-turn'd some Merchant-Ships at Sea insomuch that both Men and Goods were lost The Prince of Darkness enrag'd at his Laziness instead of a Reward gave him an Hundred Stripes because he had done no more Hurt all that time Another Spirit stands forth and Boasts that he had been for a Month together Contriving how to set such a City on Fire and had at last Effected it and he also was severely Punisht for his Idleness and neglect of Accomplishing his Design sooner At last comes forth a Third that had been Fourty Years absent and being ask'd how he had Promoted the Interest of the Black-Empire answer'd Those Fourty Years have I been Tempting such a Religious Man to Fornication and have at last prevail'd and at this time he wallows securely in his Sin Beelzebub immediately rises from his Throne hugs the mischievous Fiend Embraces the Child of Darkness and with Rhetorick fetcht from Hell Commends him before all the howling Crew as having done a greater Exploit after Fourty Years Travel than the other did by Afflicting and Consuming so many Men Ships and Houses in a few Days and Weeks The Moral and Design of the Fable is no other than this That if he can make a sincere Believer weary of his Heavenly Mindedness and burning Zeal to God's Glory he values that Piece of Mischief more than if he Tempted a great many of those who are already Wicked to greater Impieties And that not only because of the Pride and Glory he takes in Conquering such a Heroe in Christianity but because to make One who by his Exemplary Piety and Vertue was an Eminent Instrument in the Advancement of God's Glory to become by his Revolt from God as great an Engine in promoting the Kingdom of Darkness is to his Credit and Interest both And this consider'd the more Exemplarily Pious therefore any Man is the more it concerns him to beware of the Devil The more Exemplarily Pious therefore any Man is the more it concerns him to beware of the Devil and all his Temptations and not to think himself secure on this side Heaven from Satan's Temptations but He that thinketh he standeth should take heed lest he fall 1 Cor. 10.12 And therefore I shall bespeak such in the words of St. Peter 2 Epist 3.17 18. Ye therefore Beloved seeing ye know these things before beware lest ye also being led away with the Error of the Wicked fall from your own stedfastness but grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ In a word and to summ up in short what has been spoke on this Point I have at length shew'd you that next to the Destroying and Perverting of whole Churches the Devil 's great Industry is to gain over to his Party or to Tempt to the Commission of some grievous Sin such Persons as are more than ordinarily Eminent for their Rank or Quality their Order or their Piety in the Church of God And this being so since such are the great Mark of Satan it concerns those excellent Persons who are eminently Great or Good that they do especially and above all other Men absolutely and entirely and utterly Renounce and resist all and every the Temptations of Satan so as not to yield to any of ' em Such are to look upon themselves as the great Commanders in the Church Militant who are to lead and to go before others in the Battles of the Lord against Sin and Satan but if any such should Cowardly Give back in the day of Battle and Temptation they put a stumbling Block and are an occasion to fall in their Brother's way Rom. 14.13 And what says our Saviour in such a Case Matth. 18.6 7. Whoso shall offend One of those little Ones which Believe in him that is discourage and drive from the Christian Practice by his scandalous Life any the meanest of his Disciples It were better for him that a Mill-stone were hanged about his Neck and he were drowned in the Depth of the Sea Woe unto the World because of Offences he adds It must needs be that Offences come but Woe to that Man by whom the Offence cometh So much it concerns Persons Eminent in any Kind that they be Good as well as Great THE Thirteenth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh HAVING shew'd you Who the Devil is and What are his Works of Sin and how we must Absolutely Renounce both him and them And as to that other great Work of his his Tempting of us to Sin having shewed you First By what Methods he over-threw the whole Race of Mankind at first and Secondly How he does still endeavour the Ruine of the Church of Christ and especially Thirdly Of those who are most considerable for their Rank or Order or Piety therein I
I have hitherto according to the best of my Skill been explaining to you And now if there be any thing farther necessary to a full and compleat Explication of the Nature of this Covenant it must be this in the second place to shew you How that thereby you are restored to a state of Salvation Thirdly By whose Mediation you obtained so gracious a Covenant and are put thereby into a state of Salvation It was through Jesus Christ our Saviour Fourthly By whom and how we have been Call'd to this state of Salvation It was our Heavenly Father who hath called us to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And lastly What infinite reason you have heartily to thank Almighty God our Heavenly Father that he hath Called you to this state of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath Called me to this State c. And as all these Points are fairly taught you in these Words of your Catechism so in commenting upon these I will by God's Assistance open and explain these several Points to you To proceed therefore in order to a more compleat understanding of the whole Nature of the Covenant of Grace let us see Secondly How this Covenant whose Terms and Conditions I have been explaining to you does restore us to a State of Salvation That in the Covenant of Grace we are restored to a State of Salvation Salvation does import a Deliverance from Danger or Misery and a State of Salvation does import the being put into a Condition of Safety where one may be safe and secure from Danger and Misery if he please For our understanding therefore how this Covenant of Grace is a means of restoring us to a State of Salvation we must look back and consider how we brought our selves into a State of Danger and Misery before and how by the Covenant of Grace we are put again into a State of Safety and Security if we please How we brought our selves into a state of Misery before And to this purpose we must know That God Almighty created Man at first in such a state of Perfection with such an enlightned Mind such a regular Will to the Laws of right Reason and with such obedient Appetites and Affections that he might if he would have continued in perfect Innocency And now making him thus upright and capable to perform such an Obedience God did very reasonably make this Covenant with Man That he should perform a Perfect Exact Vnsinning Obedience and live for ever But upon the least Sin the eating of the Fruit of one Forbidden Tree he should surely Die The Event of which Proceeding was that Man hearkning to the Suggestions of the Devil did thereby Rebel against his Maker take part with Satan and so did forfeit all his Right and Hopes of Happiness which upon the faithful Performance of his Covenant he would have had was shut out of Paradise and condemn'd to Death as you will see largely described in the Third Chapter of Genesis Thus did Man by the breach of his Covenant with God bring himself into a state of Danger and extream Misery How by the Covenant of Grace we are put into a state of Security if we please And now here it comes in for us to consider the Second Covenant as that which restores us to a State of Salvation Had the First remained uncancelled and in full force we must have all perished without remedy upon a double account It required an unsinning Obedience and we had sinned It allowed no place for Repentance after Sin and yet we had brought our selves into that State that except we should repent and our Repentance be accepted we must all undoubtedly have perished We were unavoidably therefore bound up by that First Covenant as the case then stood with us to Death and Misery and it was not possible for the Wit of Man to contrive any way to escape it And now when we were in this irrepairable State was God of his own Goodness graciously pleased to cancel the First Covenant blotting out the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to the Cross of Christ Col. 2.14 By which place is more immediately meant I must confess his cancelling and making void as to any condemning Power in it the Covenant of Works made with the Israelites by the hand of Moses but not so as to exclude his cancelling all former Covenants that were too rigorous and impossible for Man in his fallen State to perform I conclude therefore that God was graciously pleased to cancel and make void the First Covenant under which Man was created and which he was uncapable of performing and receiving Benefit by having forfeited that perfect Light and perfect Strength which should enable him to perform it and become very defective and weak both in Knowledge and Ability of performing his Duty towards his Creator And he was pleased to grant unto us and to establish with us a Second by way of Remedy against the Rigour and Extremity of the First wherein God as it were descending from his Majesty and Glory does oblige himself to make good to such as shall enter into it and continue faithful therein those inestimable Favours and Benefits which do vastly exceed those of the former For in the first place whereas the First Covenant did not as far as I can find in Scripture any where Expresly promise Eternal Life in Heaven to those that were faithful in it The Covenant of Grace whereunto you are called does in innumerable places propose immortal Life and Happiness to all those that do Believe its Doctrines and Articles and do sincerely Obey its Precepts as has been shewed you for it is Jesus Christ who hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1.10 And then secondly whereas under the First there was no place for Repentance but nothing less than an Exact and Unsinning Obedience was the Condition of this Life and Happiness And upon the first and least Offence all was become forfeit and lost Herein we have this relaxation of Rigour and exceeding Favour That even the greatest Sinners upon their Repentance and Return to God should be saved and our Saviour therefore left Commission with his Disciples That Pardon and Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name amongst all Nations Luk. 24.47 Thus in the Covenant of Grace is Repentance like a Plank thrown out which if Shipwrack'd Sinners lay hold on they may save themselves and the Covenant it self like a Ship like Noah's Ark whereinto those that enter and will continue in it may be landed safe in the Kingdom of Heaven So that the Covenant of Grace in whose Terms and Conditions you have been lately instructed does restore us you see into a state of Salvation whereby we are put again into a state of Safety and Security
shall obtain those Blessings and upon that Assurance the strongest Consolations and Comforts also to chear us in going through the Difficulties we shall meet with in performing those Conditions whereby only we shall obtain such unspeakable Blessings By having GOD in Covenant with us I say we have the greatest Assurance possible that we shall obtain his Favours To which purpose those words of St. Paul are very remarkable Gal. 3.15 16. Brethren says he I speak after the manner of Men tho' it be but a Man's Covenant yet if it be confirmed no Man disannulleth or addeth thereto now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promises that is the Covenant made Which words do import that if deceitful Man will scarcely fail to perform what he has once obliged himself by Covenant to do it is impossible that the God of Truth should fail to make good to the utmost those Blessings he has ensured to Abraham and his Seed that is to all whom he has vouchsafed to enter into Covenant withal And such Assurance given by GOD does yield also the strongest Consolations and Comfort For why If you will compare one Scripture with another you will find that that which Gen. 17.2 GOD does call his Covenant Heb. 6.13 is called his Promise upon Oath And what says the Apostle in that Case Why GOD says he vers 17 18 19 20. willing more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the Immutability of his Counsel confirmed it by Oath or by Covenant that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have strong Consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us which Hope we have as an Anchor of the Soul sure and stedfast and which entereth into that within the Veil whither the FORE-RVNNER is for us entred even Jesus That is GOD having ascertained to us his Blessings by Promise upon Oath or which is tantamount by Covenant we cannot upon such Assurance but have the greatest Comfort and Hopes of obtaining those Blessings and so of following e're long that Jesus which is gone before us into Heaven To prepare a Place for us that where he is there we may be also Joh. 14.2 3. So that it is an invaluable Priviledge this of which the World can never be sufficiently sensible nor thankful to God for that he vouchsafed to ensure his Mercies to 'em by Covenant But Or secondly Our singular Happiness therein above the fallen Angels or the rest of Mankind Secondly The occasion of your Thankfulness is yet greater if you consider your own singular Happiness in being called into this Covenant of Grace and in having all God's Mercies thereby secured to you when so many Millions of his Creatures do want this Favour The words of your Catechism do teach every one of you to consider his own particular Interest in this Covenant as the proper matter of his Thanksgiving to God Every one of you is taught to answer for himself in particular I thank God our Heavenly Father that he hath called me to this State of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And indeed if we are naturally most affected with and most sensible of those Benefits which we see so many besides our selves to want here is occasion for the deepest Sense and utmost Acknowledgments of GOD's Goodness to you that you have been called into this State of Salvation when so many millions besides both Angels and Men do want the Benefit of it As to the fallen Angels the Covenant of Grace was a Favour never afforded by God to them for Christ that he might deliver them who all their life-time were subject to Bondage verily took not on him the Nature of Angels but took upon him the Seed of Abraham Heb. 2.15 16. And as to Men alas there are many Nations now in the World who have not yet enjoyed so infinite a Blessing as this happy Call into a State of Salvation who have not yet heard of a Saviour nor the good Tidings of the Gospel or Covenant of Grace who have had no Apostles no Evangelists no Pastors nor Teachers amongst 'em and who therefore still lie groping in Darkness and the shadow of Death And perhaps amongst those Nations that are called there are not any that enjoy the Means of Salvation the Worship of GOD the Administration of Sacraments and the Preaching of the Word in that purity and force as we in this Church and Nation do It is indeed an unspeakable Blessing we enjoy above many other People For now in Jesus Christ we who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the Blood of Christ who is our Peace Ephes 2.13 14. And are no more Strangers and Forreigners but Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God vers 19. It is counted a great Privilege amongst Men but to enjoy the Freedom of a City or Corporation as that which puts those who enjoy it above the Condition of Strangers and gives 'em to partake of many singular Advantages which Forreigners want But by being taken as Fellow-Citizens of the Saints and of the Houshold of God into Covenant with him we are Enfranchized Citizens of the New Jerusalem whereby we are entituled to all those Privileges which Christ has purchased for us which are unspeakable and invaluable and which does place us as has been often said in so much a better State and Condition than the rest of Mankind Such infinite reason have we heartily to Thank Almighty God our Heavenly Father that he hath Called us to this State of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour THE XXV Lecture In my Baptism Wherein I was made AS to what concerns the Nature and Substance of the Covenant of Grace I have already opened and declared to you I have shewed First What are its Terms Secondly That it restores us to a State of Salvation Thirdly By whose Mediation we obtained so gracious a Covenant and were restored thereby into a State of Salvation Fourthly By whom we have been Called into it And Lastly What mighty Thanks we do owe unto God that we have been called into so gracious a Covenant and happy state of Salvation My next Business must be to treat upon the Sacrament or Solemnity by which you Entred therein For the declaring whereof and the full Explication of these Words In my Baptism wherein I was made it will be requisite That I should in some measure so far as relates to the Sealing of the Covenant of Grace open unto you the Nature and End of Baptism And not to give you now a full and particular account of the whole Nature and Meaning and End of Baptism which shall be more conveniently done when we come to the latter part of your Catechism where the whole Doctrine of that and the other Sacrament is taught you it may suffice to our present purpose to tell you That Baptism what Baptism is an outward Rite or Ceremony of our
the contrary I will make appear viz. that the Infants of Believers are capable of Covenant-Priviledges and of Covenant-Engagements too and if of those then the Signs and Seals whereby such Priviledges are ensur'd unto 'em can in no Reason and Equity be deny'd ' em Infants not uncapable of entring into Covenant with God prov'd from Deut. 29. Now that Infants are capable to enter into Covenant with God is apparent in general from Deut. 29.10 11 12. Ye stand this Day all of you before the Lord your God your Captains your Tribes your Elders and your Officers with all the Men of Israel your little Ones your Wives and the Stranger that is in thy Camp that thou should'st enter into Covenant with the Lord thy God and into his Oath which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this Day Here you see that the very Little Ones were call'd upon to enter into Covenant with God as well as the Elders of the Tribes of Israel And that Circumcision the Sign or Token of the Covenant Gen. 17.11 that this was to be imprinted on Children not exceeding Eight Days Old is what every body knows that reads the Scripture so that there is nothing in the nature of a Covenant in general that should make it unreasonable that Children and Infants should enter into it except you will accuse God himself of appointing things unfit or unreasonable which were meer Blasphemy but to imagine As also from the Nature of the thing Nor is there any thing in the Nature of the Covenant of Grace in particular that should exclude Infants from being Parties in it It consists as has been more than once told you of certain and invaluable Priviledges and Benefits made over to us on God's part and of certain very reasonable Conditions to be performed on ours They are capable of having Priviledges confer'd upon them But as for the Priviledges which of 'em is it which may not be Seal'd and Confirm'd to an Infant May not such a one be made a Member of Christ's Church when our Saviour hath told us that of such is the Kingdom of Heaven May not a Child or Infant be Adopted a Child of God and so be brought into a condition of Pardon as well as the Child or Infant of an Attainted Rebel by the Grace and Favour of his Prince be restored to his Blood and to all the Priviledges of a Free-born Subject And Lastly may not such be made an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven when of such as was before said must consist the Kingdom of Heaven There is nothing in the nature of the thing that should hinder Priviledges from being confirm'd unto and conferr'd upon Children as well as Elder People and we do daily see it practic'd in other concerns Infant Princes are sometimes Crown'd in their Cradles and Children to their great Advantage are often left Executors to great Fortunes and Estates In both which Cases as there are usually very great Priviledges redounding to 'em as well as Engagements lying upon 'em so it is not thought that they are uncapable of ' em Nor is it more unreasonable And of being bound to Conditions that they should be oblig'd to perform certain Duties as Conditions of enjoying those Priviledges The Covenant before-mention'd that the Little Ones as well as Elders were call'd to enter into Deut. 29. as it had this Priviledge made over to 'em on God's part that He would be unto them a God which indeed was a happiness to 'em beyond what all the Nations on Earth besides did enjoy and was in it self inestimable so the Counter part was that they should be unto him a People Ver. 13. a People that would not turn away from the Lord their God to go and serve the Gods of other Nations And Circumcision which was Imprinted on Infants of Eight Days old did not only confer on 'em this Priviledge that they should be God's peculiar People but withal laid upon 'em this Obligation to observe the whole Law for I testifie for ye said St. Paul to every Man that is Circumcised that he is a Debtor to do the whole Law Gal. 5.3 And surely we do daily see that a Man may bind his Heir whilst an Infant True it is this cannot be done by the Infant himself nor by any other for him but in such Cases where it will be very much for the Interest of the Infant to be so bound not unless he is to be a gainer by the Bargain But provided the Infant shall gain considerable Advantages by the Covenants that shall be made in his behalf and without his express consent by his Parents or Tutors or Guardians then he shall stand oblig'd in all Law and Equity to what Conditions they have promis'd for him We see it often so Adjudg'd in our Courts of Justice And the Case is the very same here The Conditions of the Covenant of Grace are of some difficulty true it is to be perform'd yet have such invaluable Benefits annexed to 'em that the Tongue of Men and Angels are not sufficient to express the value of 'em and they were worth our utmost endeavours to obtain tho' by the severest Penances and Services of a Thousand Years and therefore it ought not to be thought any unreasonable thing that others should be engag'd in our Name for our performance of such Conditions or that we should be accounted as Engag'd our selves for what our Guardians our Godfathers and Godmothers did Promise for us for this indeed which was the VI. And Last thing I propos'd to speak on this Argument VI. Because it is a great Advantage to Infants to be Baptiz'd We are to account it the greatest Happiness to those Infants that were so early enter'd into Covenant with God in order to the Enjoyment of such inestimable Priviledges and to their Engagement into such reasonable Services First I say First On the account of enjoying thereby such inestimable Priviledge We are to account it the highest Happiness to those Infants that have been so early enter'd into Covenant with God on the account of their enjoying thereby such inestimable Priviledges for being Baptized and having once Covenanted with God they are now no more under the Condemnation of the first Covenant made with Adam nor shall be prejudic'd by the forfeiture of Mercies which he had incurr'd for himself and his Posterity by his breach of that Covenant Their Original Sin is now wash'd off and shall be no more imputed to 'em that is the former Covenant which was at first Cancell'd by being nail'd to the Cross of Christ is now particularly Cancell'd and put out of any force with respect to them they being Baptized and thereby enter'd into a Covenant of Grace so that whatever Guilt might have been imputed unto 'em by reason of Adam's Transgression shall now be clean done away from 'em which seems to me to be the meaning of our Original Sin being wash'd away by the
be less efficacious to the subduing the Temptations arising from the Flesh that is from our own Lusts and Appetites there being no Considerations of that force to oblige us to deny all Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World as all the Articles of our Creed particularly the looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious Appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us that he might Redeem us from all Iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar People zealous of Good Works Tit. 2.12 13 14. A thorough Perswasion apply'd home to the Heart by serious Consideration that the Son of God did Himself descend from Heaven by wonderful and amazing Methods to rescue us from the Slavery of our brutish Lusts and Appetites and that he will again come in Glory to Judge and Reward us for the Victory we shall gain over 'em are enough to work upon all Reasonable and Thinking Creatures and nothing can prevail with us to abandon our Lusts if these will not And III. Lastly but above all 3. The Devâ—â— the great Power and the glorious Effects of Faith are seen in the Victories it will enable us to obtain over that Great Adversary the Devil We had need to put on the whole Armour of God that we may be able to stand against the Wiles of the Devil For we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood a contemptible Enemy in comparison but against Principalities against Powers against the Rulers of the Darkness of this World against spiritual Wickedness in High Places Wherefore St. Paul does warn us to take unto us the whole Armour of God that we may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand But above all to take the Shield of Faith wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery Darts of the Devil Eph. 6.11 12. The Temptations and Assaults of the Devil which the Apostle does here so solemnly rouze us up to resist are I suppose the terrible Persecutions that Satan does in all Ages raise against one part or other of the Church and these tho' dreadful indeed and most likely to over-power us yet are conquerable by a firm Faith Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the Shame and is set down on the Right hand of the Throne of God For if we consider him that endured such contradiction of Sinners against himself we shall not be weary nor faint in our Minds Heb. 12.2 3. So that in short the true and genuine Effects of Faith are constant and perpetual Victories against the World the Flesh and the Devil and an universal Obedience notwithstanding any of 'em to the Commands of God And therefore since so much depends upon a true Faith that he who believeth shall be saved Mark 16.16 And by the Grace of God we are saved through Faith Eph. 2.5 It does infinitely concern you to examine your selves whether ye be in the Faith and to prove your selves 2 Cor. 13.5 And the only way to prove the Sincerity of your Faith is by examining the fore-mention'd Fruits of it in your own Lives and Conversations and by seeing whether it produces a good Life For this we may assure our selves having the Authority of an Apostle for it Jam. 2.26 That as the Body without the Spirit is dead so Faith without Works is dead also So that except upon examination you shall find your spiritual Enemies in a great measure subdu'd and an Habit of Vertue rooted in your Souls your Faith is not sincere THE XXX Lecture I Believe HAving already explain'd and laid before you the Nature and Effects of Faith or Believing I might now proceed to the Consideration of those main Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity summ'd up in the Apostles Creed and which are to be Believ'd accordingly But since so great Weight is laid in the Covenant of Grace upon Faith that on Condition thereof we are said to be sav'd Sirs said the Keeper of the Prison to Paul and Silas What must I do to be saved And they said Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy House Act. 16.30 31. since whosoever Believeth in Christ shall receive Remission of Sins c. 10 43. And which has most perplexed Persons Heads to understand the meaning of it and from the misunderstanding of which the most Fatal Errors have ensu'd since a Man is Justified by Faith without the Deeds of the Law Rom. 3.28 And being Justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 5.1 And lastly since a true state of this Doctrine of Justifying Faith will above any other single Doctrine excepting that of the Covenant of Grace let you into the full Understanding of the Nature Texture and Constitution of the Whole Christian Religion For all these Reasons I think I ought not to dismiss this Subject of Faith without giving you a State of the Doctrine of Justifying Faith and without distinguishing betwixt it and other sorts of Faith which will fail us in the great Business of Justification and Salvation And in order to the Explication of so considerable a Point I. I will give you to understand what is meant by Justification II. I will then shew by what sort of Faith we are accordingly Jâ—nstified And III. And lastly in what sence we are said to be Justified by Faith without the Deeds of the Law And I. I will give you to understand what is meant by Justification Justification defin'd And Justification is God's Adjudging us through Christ as Just and Righteous according to the Terms of the Covenant of Grace and his acquitting of such from the Punishment of those Sins of which according to the Terms of the First Covenant there was no place for Pardon To make this Description more plain to you I will a little enlarge upon it and prove the several Parts thereof And 1. There are Just and Righteous Persons since the Fall First I say there are those who even in this lapsed and fallen state of Man have the Testimony of God Himself that they are Just and Righteous Men. Thus Abel obtained witness that he was Righteous God testifying of his Gifts Heb. 11.4 And Lot is also mention'd in Scripture as a Righteous Man 2 Pet. 2.8 And Joseph Simeon Cornelius and others are said in the Gospel to be Just Men and at the end of the World the Angels shall come forth and separate the Wicked from the Just Matth. 13.49 Which supposes that all those who shall be saved shall be Just and Righteous Persons 2. It is according to the Terms of the Gospel that any are such Secondly Those who are thus Just and Righteous are such according to the Terms of the Gospel Justice and Righteousness are to be measured according to some Rule in conformity to which