which God hath given to the Saints to study in this state of distance till they come to behold his face the book of nature and the book of Scripture and there are three things the Saints have mainly to do in this life 1. To obey his precepts 2 To beleive his promises 3 To submit to his providences The Angels in heaven behold his face in glory which is to them Cognitio meridiana as the Schoolmen speak yet they study the word and the works of God and know much of the will of God by them Unto Angels and principalities and powers is made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God Ephes 3.10 They are indeed present in our assemblies and therefore women are exhorted to have power upon their heads because of the Angels 1 Cor. 11.17 They do not come to our assemblies to be instructed by any of our ordinances for they know much more then any of the Saints do We know in part and prophesie in part but by the Church is meant By the works of God toward the Church and his severall dispensations therein And this is their Cognitio vespertina the knowledg which they get by their own experience and observation of the works of God in the world but especially toward the Church 2. This Will manifested being the rule of duty the Saints ought neither to speak nor act against it 1. A man must not speak against the will of Gods as manifested First not against his commanding will a man must not dispute any command of God for God only is the Lord of his own law and therfore every thought and reasoning of ours must be brought into subjection thereunto 2 Cor. 10 5. Here an implicite faith is only necessary to obey when a man sees no reason for it Therefore the Apostle condemns those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â— Tim. 6.5 perverse disputings of the commands of God by men of torrupt minds destitute of the truth Not against the effecting will of God when God hath done any work â—nd therein manifested his will we must not speak against it Levit. 10. â— Aaron held his peace And David â—ept silence because it was the Lords doâ—ng Hab. 2. last Zach. 2. last Be â—lent oh all flesh before the Lord. It is â—poken of the effecting will of God in the Churches deliverance The Lorâ— will inherit Judah his portion in the holy land and again chuse Ierusalemâ— Against this there was like to be 〈◊〉 great deal of reasoning and murmuâ—ring and that from the Saints aâ— well as from the enemies but thâ— Lord puts it to silence when he wâ—â— do the work do not dispute do noâ— rail do noit reason againstit 3. Noâ— against the permitting will of God if he will suffer the Caldeans to plundâ— Iob of his substance and Satan to bâ—reave him of his children and givâ— him power over the winds to thâ— end yea if he will give him powâ—â— over his body so as to smite him wiâ— plague-sores for the same word 〈◊〉 used that is used of Hezechias sicknesâ— which by the medicine of a bunch 〈◊〉 green figs is guessed by interpreteâ— to be a plague-sore yet he must 〈◊〉 reply against it not speak a woâ— but with thankfulness submit unâ—â— the will of God as manifested thereiâ— If God will suffer Shimei to curse Dâ—vid he must not so much as say Wâ—â— hast thou done so 2 Sam. 16.10 therebe a messenger of Satan to buffet Paul so as he must fight it out with a champion sent from hell immediately and if the Lord will have it to continue upon him and will not grant his prayer for the removing of it he must not speak against it but sit down and say Thy grace is sufficient for me 2. As the Saints must not speak against the will of God when it is manifested so they must not act against it We have in Scripture three famous instances hereof First when the Lord had declared his will that he would give up Jerusalem and the King thereof into the hands of the King of Babylon Now the will of God is manifested may they not use all lawfull means for their defence and stand it out to the last man they can but be delivered into his hands at last but when the will of God is made known Zedekiah must not oppose but he must go forth to the King of Babylon yield up himself give up his City and then the promise is Thou shalt live thou and thy house Ier. 38.17 18. verses 2. The Lord had manifested his will for the destruction of the house of Ahab that wicked and idolatrous family Jehosaphat joyns with Ahab in a War that he might contrary to the revealed will of God preserve him and his house from ruine 2 Chron. 19 2. the Lord sends a prophet to reprove him Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord therefore is wrath upon thee from the Lord for he will rise up against the house of evill doers and against the help of them that work iniquity If his will be manifested to destroy a family let not the best men interpose and act against the will of God as manifested for they will be so farr from recovering it that they will perish with it proud helpers shall stoop before him 3. When the Lord is accomplishing his own great work against Babylon Mystery Babylon the great the mother of harlots against all humane inventions under all forms the worship of God as taught by the precepts of men and when the will of God is manifested by the pouring out of severall vials after all this the kings of the earth shall be gathered together to the great battell at Armageddon for Antichrists restitution and establishment Rev. 16.16 This gathering together and rallying their scattered troops is their sin and shall be their snare and ruine For if the will of God be manifested it will be the down-fall of all that come in to joyn with them in ways of opposition against it 3. The grounds of this doctrine are these Reas 1. The will of God hath a majesty and a soveraingty goes with it for he is the great the only potentate King of Kings and Lord of Lords none governs by will as an absolute monarch but himself And therefore Austin commends those Princes as happy men qui potestatem suam divinae majestati famulam faciunt And if there be a soveraignty then every disobedience unto this will and every opposition against it whether in word or action is rebellion 1. Sam. 15.23 There is a rebellion against God because his will hath a soveraignty in it and his law is a royall law Therefore the Lord cals the Babylonians who were a disobedient people the land of rebels Jer. 50.21 For to speak or act against the will of God as manifested is a rebellion against the Lord. Ier. 28.16 The Lord saith I will put an iron yoke upon the neck of these nations and they
The main power of sin lies in the will and therefore the main power of Grace must lie there also Ephe. 4.22 23. Sin and Grace must have the same subject the image of God and the image of the Devil Now it will appear that the main power of sin lies in the will because this of all faculties is most desperately shut against God and Christ Therefore in all ungenerate men the blame is still laid upon the will Mat. 23.37 I would have gathered you but you would not Joh 5.40 Psal 81.11 Jer. 44.16.17 Ye will not come to me that ye may have life Israel would none of me The Word that thou speakest to us in the name of the Lord we will not do but we will do whatsoever proceeds out of our own mouths And usually when the understanding is convinced and the conscience silenced yet the will holds out and therein the power of sin doth mainly consist If the will write its fiat for sin it carries it thorow the whole man if the will give Duty its non placet all the faculties are becalmed none of them acts for God while the will resists Act. 7.51 Therefore men are said to resist the holy Ghost For hardness is that a thing does not yield to the touch Forma duritiei est resistentia seu vis resistendi tactui ut plane non cedat vel difficulter cedat cum exploratio fit per contactum mediatum vel immediatum Wendel phy sic part 1. pag. 548. Durum est quod non cedit tactui the main hardness lies in the will the stone of the heart is there So Augustine confesseth of himself Cui rei ego suspirabam ligatus non ferro alieno sed mea ferrea voluntate Velle meum tenebat inimicus inde mihi catenam fecerat constrinxerat me Confess l. 8. cap. 5. that this was the great impediment in his conversion his conscience was convinced all his reasonings were answered yet the speaking of the will was noli modo I will but not now and so I remained saith he bound with the Iron Chains of my own will 5. The main work of the Spirit in the omnipotency of it lies in the will to subject it unto the will of God There is saith the Apostle an exceeding greatness of power Ephes 1.19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that works in them that beleive Populus erit maxime voluntarius liberatissimo ingenio praeditus quali summos principes esse decet And this power is mainly put forth upon the will Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is both in the abstract and in the plural Veri Christiani habent Christi ingenium ut ille sponte suâ patri obediebat c. Tar. in Psal passion Victorque volentes per populos dat jura c. Virgil de Aug. 1 Cor. 5.17 Eph. 2.10 oblationes voluntariae so rendred giving themselves to God as Free-will-offerings But this is an act of the Spirit in the day of his power when he puts forth that exceeding greatness of power upon the soul Now where the main work of the Spirit is there the power of his Grace is principally seen But that is mainly upon the will though there be a new creation in the whole man therefore the power of godliness is chiefly there 6. Godliness doth especially consist in a conformity of our will to the will of God because when this conformity shall be perfected then shall our Graces also be perfected We read Heb. 12.23 Of the souls of just men made perfect In Heaven there shall be a perfection of all the faculties but the glory of the Saints is expressed by this Math. 22.30 that they shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Angels of God in Heaven Now the glory of the Angels doth not consist so much in the perfection of their knowledge though they behold the face of God continually but in the perfect subjection of their wils Matth. 18.10 Therefore Christ doth not teach us to pray that we might know so much as the Angels but that we might do his will Matth. 6.10 Ad modum adimplendi voluntatem Divinam refertur scil promptè perfecte perpetuò Cajetan Splendidissimè celerrimè efficacissimè A lap 1 Cor. 13.12 as it is done in Heaven with the same readidiness and with the same subjection of will as they do going and coming like Lightning Ezek. 1.14 And when we come to Heaven though our knowledge shall be perfected for we shall know as we are known yet if there were a rising of will in the least degree against the will of God the soul were not made perfect And in this did the perfection of the Vaction of Christ consist 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. in Esay 9 6. Joh. 6.38 Joh. 4.34 1 Joh. 2.20 Psal 133.2 A Christo Christiani dicimur hâ—e unctionis sanctae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ps 45.7 Heb. 1.9 non â—nim titulum gerunt sine re sed qui dicuntur verè Christiani 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ctiam obtinent Glass 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 144. that as he was the Angel of the great Councel and knew perfectly the will of his Father so his will came freely and fully off unto it I come to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work and it was his meat and drink so to do We partake with Christ in the same Vnction the Oyl poured upon him as the head ran down unto the hem of his garment that which was therefore the perfection of his Vnction must be also the perfection of ours That I may further open this truth to you there is a double distinction to be observed Voluntas Dei una tantuÌ„ est quia unus est Deus per suaÌ„ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 volens tamen diverso respectu multiplex est Zanch. de nat Dei l. 3. c. 4. q 3. First of the will of God Secondly of the will of man 1. The will of God here spoken of is threefold not that there are three wils in God for his will as himself is but one But there is a threefold consideration of the same will First Voluntas praecepti quam Deus velit fieri à nobis cujus objectuÌ„ Officium est voluntas Metaphoricè dicta There is his commanding will commonly called the will of his precept that which concerns mans duty which God would have us to do This is the good and the acceptable will which we must prove Rom. 12.1 2. This is the will of God even our Sanctification 1 Thes 4.3 Secondly Voluntas propositi quam Deus velit facere de nobis cujus objectuÌ„ eventus est Voluntas proprie dicta A. quin. p. 1. q. 19. a. 11. There is his effecting will what he himself will do in the actings of his providence and in the Government of
the World For he works all things according to the counsel of his own will Ephes 1.11 This also is in a great measure revealed unto us in the Promises and Prophecies written in the Scriptures of Truth But especially since Christ took the sealed Book out of his Fathers hand Zanch de nat Deâ— l 3. c. 4 â—einolds in Hose 14. p. 75. and loosed the Seals and opened the Book Rev. 5. Thereby declaring unto his people the several designs that he hath upon the World and for his Church until the time of the end Thirdly There is his permitting will Voluntas permittens est qua Deus vult malum fieri voluntate transeunte in rem permissam cujus objectum peccatum est which concerns all the evill actions of the Creatures which though they effect yet God doth permit They that crucified Christ did act according to Gods determinate Councel that is what his will had before determined to permit them to do Acts 2.23 When the Devil did seduce Ahab in his false Prophets Deus neque vult mala ficri neque vult mala non fieeri sed vult permittere mala fieri Aquin. p 1. q. 19. a. 9. Quod Deus non impedit ideo evenit quia non impedit si cut nihil boni potest esse aut fieri nisi Deo faciente ita nil mali potest caveri nisi Deo impediente Perk. ab eo dicitur voluntas generalis Twisse vindic l. 2. p. 127. 140 c. Aug. de civit Dei l. 11. c. 17. de grat lib. arbitr c. 20.21 he did it by the permitting will of God who said thou shalt perswade him and prevail go forth and do so When the ten Kings who make up one body with the Beast in reference to his Civil power did give their Kingdoms to the Beast it was to fulfil Gods will Rev. 17.17 It was their sin and hath been the great cause of all the sufferings that have befallen the ten Kingdoms ever since and yet there was an act of Gods permitting will therein for the accomplishment of the great designs that he had upon the World Now the power of Grace lies in a submission of the will of the Creature to Gods will in all these 2. The will of man which is to be subjected to this will of God is twofold First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is voluntas peccati The will of the flesh and of the minde Eph. 2.3 which is nothing else but the will of the Devil in the man Joh. 1.13 Ex voluntate carnes est ex propriis viribus intellectus voluntatis quae non nisi caro est h.e. corrupta for his lusts sinners do Joh. 8.44 This will of man standing wholly in opposition to the will of God and being at emnity and irreconciliable thereunto is utterly to be rejected and absolutely to be denyed Secondly There is Voluntas naturae which was in Christ when he said Ex voluntate viri h.e. ex conatibus desideriis extra Christum etiam illorum qui pro viris in mundo sc sapientissimi sanctissimi habentur Glass exegesis Evangelic part 1. p. 593. not my will but thy will be done The will of Nature sought his preservation and that is lawful so it be subordinated unto the will of God which is to be unto the creature the highest Rule of goodness Gods will is not to be co-ordinate unto any Though it be good in it self it is not to be set up equal with Gods will The supremacy is to be placed there alone I now come to speak distinctly unto each of these particulars First The power of Grace is mainly seen in the subjection of mans will unto the commanding will of God And so Grace in the will subjects it unto the will of God in these four Acts thereof 1. Consensus the consent of the will Consentire est cum aliis sentire in alterius sententiam descendere hoc voluntatis proprium est importat non solum determinationempassivam sed activam Ante consensum praecedit consilium c. Capreol l. 1. Sent. dist 1. q. 2. conclus 5. Aquin. 1. 2ae q. 15. a. 2.3 That is when the will of God is manifested as the Rule of Duty the will doth not stand up in a way of emnity and opposition against it but approves it as good and the Rule of goodness Thus it was in Christ Psal 40.8 I come to do thy will thy Law is in the midst of my bowels It was indeed a difficult service for he came to be a sacrifice and yet his will consented unto the will of God therein I lay down my life This commandment I have received from my Father Joh. 10.18 This submission also was in Paul I consent to the Law that it is good Rom. 7.12 Every unregenerate man when he doth the will of God Lex quamvis bona auget prohibendo desiderium malum per hoc fit non absolutionis adjutorium sed vinculum criminis Aug. de spirit lit cap. 4. Jam. 2.8 consents not to his will he wishes there was no such Law looks upon the ways of God as unequall his Commandments grievous This is a hard saying who can bear it The consent of their will fals not level with the Law as the Rule of Duty But when a mans will consents to the Law not only for the soeveraignty of it as it is a Royal Law but for the goodness of it I consent to the Law that it is good then is the will of man subjected unto the commanding will of God 2. Electio est finis mediorum 〈◊〉 finis poâ—a ur pro finc ultâ—â—o in communi de co non est dâ—liberatio ergo nec electio at si de fine ultimo in particulari ut Deus 〈◊〉 vâ—sin Dei de hoc datur deliberatio deinde electio Medina in 1. 2ae q 13. a. 3. Electio the choyce of the will having once consented unto the goodness of the Law the will doth chuse it as that which is best and best for him as the only way to happiness and the only Rule of life This act of submission Davids will puts forth Psal 119.30.173 I have chosen thy precepts The word in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie both examinavit elegit to try and examine and upon tryal to chuse Every man doth chuse what God he will serve and by what Rule he will walk The Lord will not force himself upon any man he doth deal with a reasonable creature in a Covenant way Deut. 26 17. Electio sequitur judicium quo aliquid reputatur meâ—â—us in ordine ad finem Aquin. 1. 2ae q. 13. a. 3. unto which the Election and the Consent of the Creature is essentially required The Lord doth not only give them a Law for that is an act of Soveraignty and binds whether the Creature consent or no but in
great ends thereby to try and prove the obedience of the Saints such works are a stumbling block unto ungodly men and thereby a great difference is put betwixt them and others It is as great a judgment to stumble at the works as it is at the word of God 2. We are to consider the dangerous use that the devil makes of an unquiet spirit he loves it being unto him a sutable habitation Ephes 4.27 Let not the sun go down upon your wrath neither give place to the devill If once a mans spirit be in a disturbed frame there is a doore set open for Satan to enter at and the use that he doth make of such a frame of spirit is commonly this 1. He doth hereby keep the soul in a continual tumult that a man shall not be able to make a supplication unto God it shall disturb him in all his duties See it in Jonah ch 4. v. 2 3. when his spirit was in an unquiet frame see what an angry pecvish prayer he made and offers up unto God No man is fit to have communion with God that hath not the command of his own spirit 2. Another use the devil makes of it is this to imbitter a man against God and all the Instruments that God doth use This we finde to be in Saul 1 Sam 16.14 The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord vexed him So that all the actions that afterward he did were by the impulse of the evil Spirit It is observed by Interpreters that this was a perverse and melancholy temper into which Saul was cast by Satan through the just Judgement of God It was saith Peter Martyr something more then natural Vel si antea in eo fuerit â bono Spiritu reprimebatur It is reported of Dioclesian the Emperour out of meer melancholy and discontent he gave over the Government of the Empire and be took himself to a private life because he could not root out the Christians whom with the uttermost violence he had persecuted This was the Judgement that befell Nebuchadnezzar for seven years he lived the life of a beast and was banished the society of men secundum imaginationem suam though not secundum imaginem And therefore Ierome observes his figure and shape was not changed for he saith My understanding returned unto me Ostendit non formam se amisisse sed mentem he lost not the shape but the understanding of a man being given up to a melancholiness and madness delivered over to a delusion and rage of the unclean spirit Suitable to which the Lord threatens Deut. 28.28 The Lord shall smite thee with madness and with blindness and with astonishment of heart To be delivered over to the discontents of a mans spirit is the next way thereunto There is a degree of madness in all the ways of sin There is madness in the heart of a man while he lives Eccles 9.3 And these were not Judgements proper and peculiar to those times but such as the Lord will inflict also in all Ages suitable to their discontents But in an especiâ—â— manner this is to be taken noticeâ—â— in the fourth and fifth Vial when the Vial is poured out upon the Sun Rev. 16.9 Men were scorched with heat and blasphemed the name of God There is no element whose torment is so exquisite as that of fire as Herodotus reports of the Atlantici men that live under the South Pole qui omnibus diris solem execrantur because they are scorched by it therefore it is called the Torrid Zone The Holy Ghost notes by it as Brightman observes Mirae inusitatae erunt acerbitates a strange kind of bitterness of spirit shall be poured out upon men in Judgement So in the fifth Vial which is upon the Seat of the Beast Men shall gnaw their tongues for pain and blaspheme the God of heaven Gnaw their tongues prae rabie furore their grief and rage shall be such as they shall gnaw their tongues and gnash their teeth as wicked men in hell are said to do yet this is the plague that shall follow they shall blaspheme the God of heaven Non est existimandum apertam fore blasphemiam It shall not be open direct blasphemy but as Antichrist doth open his mouth against God his name his worship his tabernacle his Church and his Saints they that dwell in heaven To be given up to either of these is the common use the devill makes of all the discontents of the spirits of men at any of the dealings of God 3. Satan makes use of it to this end to make their lives uncomfortable for they have no peace in their dayes no comfort in their callings because their wills are engaged against the will of God and God carries on things against them and they cannot attain their end but every thing in providence falls cross and therefore they are exceedingly displeased they have no joy in their lives for men may rise up to such discontent that their very lives may be a burthen to them Psalm 112.10 The horne of the righteous shall be exalted with honour the wicked shall see and gnash their teeth and melt away The word in the original signifies to melt by degrees not all at once but by little and little It is the same word that is used of the melting of wax before the fire Psalm 68.3 So that mens rage and discontent shall consume them It shall be such a constant griefe and vexation of spirit And this shall be the misery of those that are enemies to the two witnesses Revel 11.12 having been brought to a low ebb they shall lie dead for three years and a halfe and then they shall ascend up into heaven that is be exalted unto the highest honour by a voice from heaven that is supremi magistratus jussu and their enemies shall behold them The devill could not wish a man a worse mischife then that his heart should be engaged against any work of God that he will carry on and be greived to see it prosper Acts 4.2 It is said that they were greived that the Apostle taught the people There cannot be a greater mischiefe befall a man then this which is the ground which inrages the devill himself and is the cause of all the blasphemy in hell that their minds are contrary to the will of God which yet they cannot withstand 4. Satan makes this use of it to keep men off from receiving direction from God let God speak what he will the soul is in a disturbance cannot hear as it is to speak to a man in a tumult so it is with the noise and the rising that is in a mans heart Exod. 6.9 It was a welcom message a man would think to men in affliction that God would deliver them and that they should inherit the promise made to their fathers yet they hearkned not to Moses because of the anguish and bitterness of their spirits This
Spirit is substituted by Christ as his prorex p. 154. Spirit of God teaches a man not only to act grace but to expect a reward p. 196. Spirit how he led Christ into the wilderness p. 220. Spirit contradicting to be given over unto is one of the greatest plagues p. 242. Spirit of God hath undertaken the Saints guidance p. 263. Spirit unquiet its sinfulness p. 279. Spirit unquiet the use the devil makes of it p. 290. Spirit quiet its excellency p. 298. In its sutableness p. 300. In its cheerfulness p. 306. Spirit quiet how a man should attain to it p. 309. Subjection of the will See godliness Submission of will by this the Saints highly exalt God in their hearts p. 114. Submission the kinds of its acts that must be in us unto Gods permitting will p. 236. T. TEmple by the Smoak in the Temple What interpreters understand p. 186. Temptations Some come upon the soul with a great deal of horror p. 231. See Satan Things all put under his feet What is means by that p. 145. Things Some there are that God works by his own immediate power p. 199. Times two when men should be silent p. 328. V. VIal fourth God is pouring out upon the Sun p. 190. Vial fifth now pouring out upon the throne of the beast is not consented unto p. 193. Unction of Christ the perfection of it wherein it consists p. 31. W. WAlk of a Christian must be regular p. 13. Wicked God suffers to thrive and prosper in an evil way for a time p. 213. Will of God as far as it concerns mans duty is manifested and made known p. 19. Will of man subjected to Gods will See godliness Will of God is three-fold p. 32. Will of man is two-fold p. 34. See grace Will of ours to subject it unto Gods commanding will several considerations p. 42. Will of man how the Lord subdues it to his commanding will p. 52. Will of God good perfect and acceptable rules to know what it is p. 69. Will of God in doubtful cases particular directions to know it p. 73. Will of God effecting extends it self p. 80 Will of man subjected unto Gods will by several acts p. 87. Will of man not subjected unto Gods will sins against him p. 129. and that in an high degree p. 130. Will of God effecting and commanding how to know they are the same p. 167 174. Will of God permitting what it is p. 198. Will of God permitting respects only the reasonable creature p. 200. Will of God permitting is only conversant about the sins of the reasonable creature p. 202. Wills prejudiced and ingaged must be laid aside p. 174. Will of God is the rule of goodness p. 242. Will of God permitting is but for the time of this life p. 245. Will of God submitting the fruit of such a spirit expressed by a Greek word variously used p. 249. Will of man when concluded under Gods will it s under two principles pag. 273. Will of God manifested is to be the rule of our wills and ways pag. 312. Will of God is made known both by his word and works p. 315. Will of God being manifested Saints must not 1. Speak against it p. 227 317. 2. Act against it p. 319. 3. The grounds of it p. 321. 4. The directions not to speak against it p. 328. 5. The considerations not to act against it p. 332. Wisdom of God must be acknowledged pag. 237. Word of God in submission to this lies mainly the power of Godliness pag. 123. Worlds great Harvest when it shall be pag. 189 Worlds continuance is only to advance the end of Christs Kingdom p. 152 Works of God See Kingdom FINIS