this Treatise are so unlike understand 1. That they are for various uses The first Part to make men willing by awakening perswasions and the rest to direct them in the exercises of Faith who are first made willing 2. That I write not to win thy praise of an artificial comely Structure but to help souls to Holiness and Heaven and to these ends I labour to suit the means 3. That the first Sermon was published long ago and the Bookseller desiring me to give him some additions to it I thought meet first to make up the exciting part in the same style and then to add a Directory for the practice of judicious Believers 2. And if it offend thee that the second Part containeth but such matter as I have already published in my Reasons of the Christian Religion understand 1. That I perceived that that Treatise was neglected by the more unlearned sort of Christians as not descending enough to their capacities and that it would be useful to the confirmation of their Faith to draw forth some of the most obvious Arguments in as plain a manner and as briefly as I could that length nor obscurity might not deprive them of the benefit who are too slothfull or too dull to make use of more copious and accurate discourse 2. And I knew not how to write a Treatise of the Uses of Faith which should wholly leave out the Confirmations of Faith without much reluctancy of my Reason 3. And again I say I can bear the dispraise of Repetition if I may but further mens Faith and Salvation 3. And if it offend thee that I am so dull in all the Directive part I cannot well do both works at once awaken the Affections and accurately direct the mind for practice Or at least if I had spoken all those Directions in a copious applicatory Sermon style it would have swelled the Book to a very tedious costly volume And Affection must not too much interpose when the Judgment is about its proper work And being done in the beginning it may be the better spared afterward 4. If it offend you that I open the Life of Faith in somewhat an unusual manner I answer for my self that if it be Methodical true and apt for use I do that which I intend And on a subject so frequently and fully handled it were but an injury to the Church to say but the same which is said already Mr. John Ball Mr. Ezekiel Culverwell and Mr. Samuel Ward in a narrower room have done exceeding well upon this subject If you have nothing more than they have said read their Books only and let this alone 5. If it offend you that the Directions are many of them difficult and the style requireth a slow considerate Reader I answer the nature of the subject requireth it and without voluminous tediousness it cannot be avoided Blame therefore your unprepared ignorant minds and while you are yet dull of hearing and so make things hard to be uttered to your understanding because you have still need of Milk and cannot digest strong meat but must again be taught the principles of the oracles of God Heb. 5.11 12 13 14. think not to gâ—t knowledge without hard study and patient learning by hearing nothing but what you know already or can understand by one hasty reading over lest you discover a conjunction of slothfulness with an ignorant and unhumbled mind Or at least if you must learn at so cheap a rate or else stick still in your Milk and your Beginnings be not offended if others out-go you and think knowledge worthy of much greater diligence and if leaving the principles we go on towards perfection as long as we take them along with us and make them the life of all that followeth while we seem to leave them And this we will do if God permit Heb. 6.1 3. R. B. Feb. 3. 1669. The Contents of the first Part. The SERMON WHat Faith is page 2. The Text opened p. 4. The grounds of the certaâ—nty of Faith briefly intimated p. 5 c. Why God will have us live by Faith and not by sight p. 1â— c. Use 1. To inform us what a Christian or Believer is described p. 15 Use 2. The Reason why Believers are more serious in matters of Religion than unbelievers are Use 3. Of Examination p. 29 The misery of unbelievers p. 30 Marks of a true Faith p. 32 Use 4. Exhortation to the serious exercise of Faith p. 37 Some assisting suppositions p. 38 How those will live who thus believe opened in certain Questions p 4â— Motives to live by a foreseeing Faith on things not seen p. 45 The Conclusion 1. Exhorting to live by Faith 2. And to promote this life in others p. 46. The Additions Cap. 1. The conviction and reproof of Hypocrites Who live contrary to the Faith which they profess 48 Cap. 2. A general Exhortation to live as Believers 56 Cap. 3. An exhortation to the particular duties of Believers 63 The Contents of the Second Part. Chap. 1. The Believers Directory must shew him I. How to strengthen Faith 2. How to use it And I. For the first the order of the presupposed Natural Verities is briefly mentioned 8â— Chap. 2. The true Method of enquiry into the supernatural evidences of Faith and the Rules therein to be observed 87 Chap. 3. The proper Evidence of Faith The SPIRIT and the Image of God himself 97 Chap. 4. The Image of Gods Wisdom on the Christian Religion It 's wonderful Method opened in thirty instances Six more instances 99 Chap. 5. The Image of Gods Goodness and Holiness on the Christian Religion in thirty instances 108 Chap. 6. The Image of Gods Power upon the Christian Religion in twenty instances 115 Chap. 7. The means of making known all this to us infallibly How the first witnesses knew it How the next Age and Churches knew it How we know it Twenty special historical Traditions of Christianity and matters of fact What the Spirits Witness to Christianity is 125 Chap. 8. Twelve further Directions to confirm our Faith 136 Chap. 9. Twenty General Directions how to use Faith or to live by it when it iâ— confirmed What Christian Faith is Errours about it 148 The Contents of the third Part. Chap. 1. How to live by Faith on God 168 Chap. 2. How to live by Faith on Jesus Christ 188 Abuses of the Doctrine of Redemption The extent of it Of Christs Office His Merits and Sacrifice Example c. Chap. 3. How to live by Faith on the Holy Ghost Of the Trinity Several doubts resolved about believing in the Holy Ghost Of giving the Spirit His operations Whether Love to God or Faith in Christ go first exactly answered And consequently whether Faith or Repentance be first Of the Spirit in Christ and the Apostles Of sufficient Grace How Faith procureth the Spirit Whether desires of grace be grace 20â— Chap. 4. How to live by faith as to Gods Commandâ— The admirable
low so dark to question the eternal God concerning the reason of his Laws and dispensations Do we not shamefully forget our ignorance and our distance 2. But if you must have a reason let this suffice you It is fit that the Government of God be suited to the nature of the reasonable subject And Reason is made to apprehend more than we see and by reaching beyond sense to carry us to seek things higher and better than sense can reach If you would have a man understand no more than he sees you would almost equalize a wise man and a fool and make a man too like a beast Even in worldly matters you will venture upon the greatest cost and pains for the things that you see not nor ever saw He that hath a journey to go to a place that he never saw will not think that a sufficient reason to stay at home The Merchant will sail 1000 miles to a Land and for a Commodity that he never saw Must the Husbandman see the Harvest before he plow his Land and sow his seed Must the sick man feel that he hath health before he use the means to get it Must the Souldier see that he hath the victory before he fight You would take such conceits in worldly matters to be the symptoms of distraction And will you cherish them where they are most pernicious Hath God made man for any end or for none If none he is made in vain If for any no reason can expect that he should see his end before he use the means and see his home before he begin to travel towards it When children first go to School they do not see or enjoy the learning and wisdom which by time and labour they must attain You will provide for the children which you are like to have before you see them To look that sight which is our fruition it self should go before a holy life is to expect the end before we will use the necessary means You see here in the government of the world that it is things unseen that are the instruments of rule and motives of obedience Shall no man be restrained from felony or murders but he that seeth the Assizes or the Gallows It is enough that he foreseeth them as being made known by the Laws It would be no discrimination of the good and bad the wise and foolish if the reward and punishment must be seen what thief so mad as to steal at the Gallows or before the Judge The basest habits would be restrained from acting if the reward and punishment were in fight The most beastly drunkard would not be drunk the filthy fornicator would forbear his lust the malicious enemy of godliness would forbear their calumnies and persecutions if Heaven and Hell were open to their sight No man will play the adulterer in the face of the Assembly The chast and unchast seem there alike And so they would do if they saw the face of the most dreadful God No thanks to any of you all to be godly if Heaven were to be presently seen or to forbear your sin if you saw Hell fire God will have a meeter way of tryal You shall believe his promises if ever you will have the benefit and believe his threatnings if ever you will escape the threatned evil CHAP. 2. Some Uses Vse 1. THis being the nature and use of Faith to apprehend things absent as if they were present and things unseen as if they were visible before our eyes you may hence understand the nature of Christianity and what it is to be a true Believer Verily it is another matter than the dreaming self-deceiving world imagineth Hypocrites think that they are Christians indeed because they have entertained a superficial opinion that there is a Christ an immortality of souls a Resurrection a Heaven and a Hell though their lives bear witness that this is not a living and effectual faith but it is their sensitive faculties and interest that are predominant and are the byas of their hearts Alas a little observation may tell them that notwithstanding their most confident pretentions to Christianity they are utterly unacquainted with the Christian life Would they live as they do in worldly cares and pampering of the flesh and neglect of God and the life to come if they saw the things which they say they do believe Could they be sensual ungodly and secure if they had a faith that serv'd instead of sight Would you know who it is that is the Christian indeed 1. He is one that liveth in some measure as if he saw the Lord Believing in that God that dwelleth in the inaccessible light that cannot be seen by mortal eyes he liveth as before his face He speaks he prayes he thinks he deals with men as if he saw the Lord stand by No wonder therefore if he do it with reverence and holy fear No wonder if he make lighter of the smiles or frowns of mortal man than others do that see none higher and if he observe not the lustre of worldly dignity or flâ—shly beauty wisdom or vain-glory before the transcendent incomprehensible light to which the Sun it self is darkness When he awaketh he is still with God Psal 134.8 He sets the Lord alwaies before him because he is at his right hand he is not moved Psal 16.8 And therefore the life of Believers is oft called a walking with God and a walking befâ—re God as Gen. 5.22 24. 6.9 17.1 in the case of Henoch Noah and Abraham All the day doth he wait on God Psal 25 5. Imagine your selves what manner of person he must be that sees the Lord and conclude that such in his measure is the true believer For by faith he seeth him that is invisible to the eye of sense and therefore can forsake the glory and pleasures of the world and feareth not the wrath of Princes as it 's said of Moses Heb. 11.27 2. The Believer is one that liveth on a Christ whom he never saw and trusteth in him adhereth to him acknowledgeth his benefits loveth him and râ—joyceth in him as if he had seen him with his eyes This is the faith which Peter calls more precious than perishing gold that maketh us love him whom we have not seen and in whom thâ—ugh now we see him not yet believing we rejoyce with unspeakable and glorious joy 1 Pet. 1.8 Christ dwelleth in hâ—s heart by faith not only by his Spirit but objectively as our dearest absent friend doth dwell in our estimation and affection Ephes 3.17 O that the miserable Infidels of the world had the eyes the hearts the experiences of the true believer Then they that with Thomas tell those that have seen him Except I may see and feel I will not believe will be forced to cry out My Lord and my God Joh. 20.25 c. 3. A Believer is one that judgeth of the man by his invisible inside and not by outward appearances with a fleshly
let me begin to plead it with your consciences Are you Believers Do you live the life of Faith or not Do you live upon things that are unseen or upon the present visible baits of sensuality That you may not turn away your ears or hear me with a sluggish sensless mind let me tell you first how nearly it concerneth you to get this Question soundly answered and then that you may not be deceived let me help you toward the true resolution 1. And for the first you may perceive by what is said that saving Faith is not so common as those that know not the nature of it do imagine All men have not faith 2 Thes 3.2 O what abundance do deceive themselves with Names and shews and a dead Opinion and customary Religion and take these for the life of faith 2. Till you have this faith you have no special interest in Christ It is only Believers that are united to him and are his living Members and it is by faith that he dwelleth in our hearts and that we live in him Ephes 3.17 Gal. 2.20 In vain do you boast of Christ if you are not true Believers You have no part or portion in him None of his special Benefits are yours till you have this living working Faith 3. You are still in the state of enmity to God and unreconciled to him while you are unbelievers For you can have no peace with God nor aâ—â—ess unto his favour but by Christ Rom. 5.1 2 3 4. Ephes 2.14 15 17. And therefore you must come by faith to Christ before you can come by Christ unto the Father as those that have a special interest in his love 4. Till you have this Faith you are under the guilt and load of all your sins and under the curse and condemnation of the Law For there is no Justification or forgiveness but by Faith Act. 26.18 Rom. 4 5 c. 5. Till you have this sound Belief of things unseen you will be carnal minded and have a carnal end to all your actions which will make those to be evil that materially are good and those to be fleshly that materially are holy Without Faith it is impossible to please God Rom. 8.5 8 9. Prov. 28.9 Heb. 11.6 6. Lastly Till you have this living Faith you have no right to Heaven nor could be saved if you die this hour Whoever believeth shall not perish but have everlasting life He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not iâ— condemned already He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that bâ—lieveth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abidâ—th on him Joh. 3.16 18 36. You see if you love your selves it concerneth you to try whether you are true Believers Unless you take it for an indifferent thing whether you live for ever in Heaven or Hell it 's best for you to put the question close to your consciences betimes Have you that Faith that serves instead of sight Do you carry within you the evidence of things unseen and the substance of the things which you say you hope for Did you know in what manner this question must be put and determined at judgement and how all your comfort will then depend upon the answer and how near that day is when you must all be sentenced to Heaven or Hell as you are found to be Believers or Vnbelievers it would make you hearken to my counsel and presently try whether you have a saving Faith 2. But lest you be deceived in your trial and lest you mistake me as if I tryed the weak by the measure of the strong and laid all your comfort upon such strong affections and high degrees as fight it self would work within you I shall briefly tell you how you may know whether you have any faith that 's true and saving though in the least degree Though none of us are affected to that height as we should be if we had the sight of all that we do believe yet all that have any saving belief of invisible things will have these four signs of faith within them 1. A sound belief of things unseen will cause a practical estimation of them and that above all earthly things A glimpse of the heavenly glory as in a glass will cause the soul deliberately to say This is the chief desirable felicity this is the Crown the Pearl the Treasure nothing but this can serve my turn It will debase the greatest pleasures or riches or honours of the world in your esteem How contemptible will they seem while you see God stand by and Heaven as it were set open to your view you 'l see there 's little cause to envy the prosperous servants of the world you will pitty them as miserable in their mirth and bound in the fetters of their folly and concupiscence and as strangers to all solid joy and honour You will be moved with some compassion to them in their misery when they are braving it among men and domineering for a little while and you will think alas poor man Is this all thy glory Hast thou no better wealth no higher honour no sweeter pleasures than these husks With such a practical judgement as you value gold above dirt and jewels above common stones you will value Heaven above all the riches and pleasures of this world if you have indeed a living saving faith Phil. 3.7 8 9. 2. A sound belief of the things unseen will habitually incline your wills to embrace them with consent and complacence and resolution above and against those worldly things that would be set above them and preferred before them If you are true believers you have made your choice you have fixâ— your hopes you have taken up your resolutions that God must be your portion or you can have none that 's worth the having that Christ must be your Saviour or you cannot be saved and therefore you are at a point with all things else they may be your Helps but not your Happiness you are resolved on what Rock to build and where to cast anchor and at what port and prize your life shall aim You are resolved what to seek and trust to God or none Heaven or nothing Christ or none is the voice of your rooted stable resolutions Though you are full of fears sometimes whether you shall be accepted and have a part in Christ or no and whether ever you shall attain the Glory which you aim at yet you are off all other hopes having seen an end of all perfections and read vanity and vexation written upon all creatures even on the most flattering state on earth and are unchangeably resolved not to change your Master and your hopes and your holy course for any other life or hopes Whatever come of it you are resolved that here you will venture all Knowing that you have no other game to play at which you are not sure to lose and that you
can lay out your love and care and labour on nothing else that will answer your expectations nor make any other bargain whatsoever but what you are sure to be utterly undone by Psal 73.25 4.6 7. Mat. 6.20 21. 13.45 46. Luke 18.33 3. A sound belief of things invisible will be so far an effectual spring of a holy life as that you will seek first the Kingdom of God and its Righteousness Mat. 6.33 and not in your Resolutions only but in your Practices the bent of your lives will be for God and your invisible felicity It is not possible that you should see by faith the wonders of the world to come and yet prefer this world before it A dead opinionative belief may stand with a worldly fleshly life but a working faith will make you stir and make the things of God your business and the labour and industry of your lives will shew whether you soundly believe the things unseen 4. If you savingly believe the invisible things you will purchase them at any rate and hold them faster than your worldly accommodations and will suffer the loss of all things visible rather than you will cast away your hopes of the glory which you never saw A humane faith and bare opinion will not hold fast when trial comes For such men take Heaven but for a reserve because they must leave earth against their wills and are loth to go to Hell but they are resolved to hold the world as long as they can because their faith apprehendeth no such satisfying certainty of the things unseen as will encourage them to let go all that they see and have in sensible possession But the weakest faith that 's true and saving doth habitually dispose the soul to let go all the hopes and happiness of this world when they are inconsistent with our spiritual hopes and happiness Luke 14.33 And now I have gone before you with the light and shewed you what a Believer is will you presently consider how 〈◊〉 your hearts and lives agree to this description To know Whether you live by faith or not is consequentially to know whether God or the world be your portion and felicity and so whether you are the heirs of Heaven or Hell And is not this a question that you are most nearly concerned in O therefore for your souls sakes and as ever you love your everlasting peace Examine your selves whether you are in the faith or not Know you not that Christ is in you by faith except you be reprobates 2 Cor. 13.5 will you hearken now as long to your consciences as you have done to me As you have heard me telling you what is the nature of a living saving faith will you hearken to your consciences while they impartially tell you whether you have this life of faith or not It may be known if you are willing and diligent and impartial Iâ— you search on purpose as men that would know whether they are alive or dead and whether they shall live or die for ever and not as men that would be flattered and deceived and are resolved to think well of their state be it true or false Let conscience tell you What eyes do you see by for the conduct of the chief imployment of your lives Is it by the eye of sense or faith I take it for granted that it 's by the eye of Reason But is it by Reason corrupted and byâ—ssed by sense or is it by Reason elevated by faith What Countrey is it that your hearts converse in Is it in Heaven or Earth What company is it that you solace your selves with Is it with Angels and Saints Do you walk with them in the Spirit and joyn your eccho's to their triumphant praises and say Amen when by faith you hear them ascribing honour and praise and glory to the ancient of daies the Omnipotent Jehovah that is and that was and is to come Do you fetch your Joyes from Heaven or Earth from things unseen or seen things future or present things hoped for or things possessed What Garden yieldeth you your sweetest flowers Whence is the food that your hopes and comforts live upon Whence are the spirits and cordials that revive you when a frowning world doth cast you into a fainting fit or swoun Where is it that you repose your souls for Rest when sin or sufferings have made you weary Deal truly Is it in Heaven or Earth Which world do you take for your pilgrimage and which for your home I do not ask you where you are but where you dwell not where are your persons but where are your hearts In a word Are you in good earnest when you say you believe a Heaven and Hell And do you think and speak and pray and live as those that do indeed believe it Do you spend your time and chuse your condition of life and dispose of your affairs and answer temptations to worldly things as those that are serious in their belief Speak out do you live the life of faith upon things unseen or the life of sense on things that you behold Deal truly for your endless â—oy or sorrow doth much depend on it The life of faith is the certain passage to the life of glory The fleshly life on things here seen is the certain way to endless misery If you live after the flesh ye shall die but if ye by the spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live Rom. 8.13 Be not dâ—ceived God is not mocked â— for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap everlasting life Gal. 6.7 8. If you would know where you must live for ever know how and for what and upon what it is that you live here Vse 4. Having enquired whether you are Believers I am next to ask you what you will be for the time to come will you live upon things seen or unseen While you arrogate the name and honour of being Christians will you bethink you what Christianity is and will you be indeed what you say you are and would be thought to be Oh that you would give credit to the Word of God that the God of Heaven might be but heartily believed by you And that you would but take his Word to be as sure as sense and what he hath told you is or will be to be as certain as if you saw it with your eyes Oh what manner of persons would you then be how carefully and fruitfully would you speak and live How impossible were it then that you should be careless and prophane And here that I may by seriousness bring you to be serious in so serious a business I shall first put a few suppositions to you about the invisible objects of faith and then I shall put some applicatory questions to you concerning your own resolutions and
grace and therefore he is an heir of Hâ—ll and belongs to me I ruled him and I must have him What would you think of a life of sin if once you had heard such accusations as these How would you deal by the next temptation if you had heard what use the tempter will hereafter make of all your sins 7. What if you had seen the damned in their misery and heard them cry out of the folly of their â—mpenitent careless lives and wishing as Dives Luke 16. that their friends on earth might have one sent from the dead to warn them that they come not to that place of torment I speak to men that say they are believers what would you do upon such a fight If you had heard them there torment themselves in the remembrance of the time they lost the mercy they neglected the grace resisted and wish it were all to do again and that they might once more be tried with another life If you saw how the world is altered with those that once were as proud and confident as others what do you think such a sight would do with you And why then doth the believing of it do no more when the â—hâ—ng is certain 8. Once more suppose that in your temptations you saw the tempter appearing to you and pleading with you as he doth by his inward suggestions or by the mouths of his instruments If you saw him and heard him hâ—ssing you on to sin perswading you to gluttony drunkenness or uncleanâ—ess If the Devil appeared to you and led you to the place of lust and offered you the harlot or the cup of excess and urged you to swear or curse or raâ—l or scorn at a holy life would not the sight of the Angler maâ— his gâ—me and 〈◊〉 your courage and spoil your sport and turn your stomâ—chs would you be drunk or filthy if you saw him stand by you Think on it the next tâ—me you are tempted Stout men have been apaled by such a sight And do you not believe that it 's he indeed that tempteth you As sure as if your eyes behâ—ld hâ—m â—t's he that prompteth men to â—â—er at godâ—iness and puts your wanton ribbald speeches and oaths and curses into yoâ—r mouths He is the Tutor of the enemies of grace that teacheth them docâ—è delâ—rare ingeniosè insanire ingeniously to quarrel with the way of life and learnedly to confute the arguments that would have saved them and subtilly to dispute themselves out of the hands of mercy and gallantly to scorn to stoop to Christ till there be no remedy and with plausible eloquence to commend the plague and sickness of their souls and irrefragâ—bly maintain it that the way to Hell will lead to Heaven and to justifie the sins that will condemn them and honourably and triumphantly to overcome their friends and to serve the Devil in mood and figâ—â—re and valiantly to cast themselves into Hell in despite of all the laws and reproofs of God or man that would have hindered them It being most certain that this is the Dâ—vils work and you durst not do it if he moved you to it with open face how dare you do it when faith would assure you that it 's as veriâ—y he as if you saw him More distinctly answâ—r these following Questions upon the foregoing suppositions Qâ—est 1. If you saw but what you say you do believe would you not be convinced that the most pleasant gainful sin is worse than madness and would you not spit at the very name of it and openly cry out of your open folly and beg for prayers and love reprovers and resolve to turn without delay Quest 2. What would you think of the most serious holy life if you had seen the things that you say you do believe would you ever again reproach it as preciseness or count it more ado than needs and think your time were better spent in playing than in praying in drinking and sports and filthy lusts than in the holy services of the Lord would you think then that one day in seven were too much for the work for which you live and that an hour on this holy day were enough to be spent in instructing you for eternity Or would you not believe that he is the blessed man whose delight is in the Law of God and meditateth in it day and night Could you plead for sensuality or ungodly negligence or open your mouths against the most serious holiness of life if Heaven and Hell stood open to your view Quest 3. If you saw but what you say you do believe would you ever again be offended with the Ministers of Christ for the plainest reproofs and closest exhortations and strictest precepts and discipline that now are disrelished so much Or rather would you not desire them to help you presently to try your states and to search you to the quick and to be more solicitous to save you than to please you The patient that will take no bitter medicine in time when he sees he must die would then take any thing When you see the things that now you hear of then you would do any thing O then might you have these daies again Sermons would not be too plain or long In season and out of season would then be allowed of Then you would understand what moved Ministers to be so importunate with you for conversion and whether trifling or serious preaching was the best Quest 4. Had you seen the things that you say you do believe what effect would Sermons have upon you after such a sight â—s this O what a change it would make upon our preaching and your hearing if we saw the things that we speak and hear of How fervently should we importune you in the name of Christ How attentively would you hear and carefully consider and obey we should then have no such sleepy preaching and hearing as now we have Could I but shew to all this Congregation while I am preaching the invisible world of which we preach and did you hear with Heaven and Hell in your eye sight how confident should I be though not of the saving change of all that I should this hour teach you to plead for sin and against a holy life no more and send you home another people than you came hither I durst then ask the worst that heareth me Dare you now be drunk or gluttonous or worldly dare you be voluptuous proud or fornicators any more Dare you go home and make a jest at piety and neglect your souls as you have done And why then should not the believed truth prevail if indeed you did believe it when the thing is as sure as if you saw it Quest 5. If you had seen what you say you do believe would you hunt as eagerly for wealth or honour and regard the thoughts or words of men as you did before Though it 's only the Believer that truly honoureth his Rulers for none else honour
wonder that such men can believe themselves when they say they do indeed believe the Gospel And shews what a monster the blind deceitful heart of an impenitent sinner is In good sadness can they think that they truly believe that God is God and yet so wilfully disobey him that Heaven is Heaven and yet prefer the world before it that Hell is Hell and yet will venture upon it for a lust or a thing of nought What! believe that there is at hand a life of endless joy and no more mind it but hate them that set their hearts upon it Do they believe that except a man be converted and new born he shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven as Christ hath told them Matth. 18.3 John 3.3 5. and yet never trouble their minds about it to try whether they are converted and new born or not Do they believe God that no man shall see him without holiness Heb. 12.14 and yet dare they be unholy and perhaps deride it Do they believe that Christ will come in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power 2 Thes 2.8 9. and yet dare they disobey the Gospel Do they take God for their absolute Lord and Governour while they will not so much as meditate on his Laws but care more what a mortal man saith or what their flesh and carnal reason saith than what he saith to them in his holy Word Do they take Christ for their Saviour and yet would not be saved by him from their sins but had rather keep them Do they take the Holy Ghost for their Sanctifier while they will not have a sanctified heart or life and love it not in those that have it Do they take Heaven for their endless home and happiness while they neither mind nor seek it in comparison of the world And do they take the world for vanity and vexation while they mind and seek it more than Heaven Do they believe the communion of Saints while they fly from it and perhaps detest and persecute it Is light and darkness more contrary than their words and deeds And is not HYPOCRISIE as visible in their practice as Christianity in their profession It is the complexion of their Religion HYPOCRITE is legibly written in the forehead of it They proclaim their shame to all that they converse with When they have said they believe the life to come they tell men by your ungodly worldly lives that they are dissemblers When their tongue hath loudly said that they are Christians their tongue and hand more loudly say that they are Hypocrites And when they profess their Faith but now and then in a lifeless outside piece of worship they profess their Hypocrisie all the day long in their impious neglect of God and their salvation in their carnal speeches in their worldly lives and in their enmity to the practice of the same Religion which they profess Their Hypocrisie is a web so thin and so transparent that it leaves their nakedness open to their shame They have not Profession enough to make a considerable cover for their unbelief They hide but their tongues the rest even heart and all is bare O the stupendious power of self love the wonderful blindness and stupidity of the ungodly the dreadfulness of the judgement of God in thus dâ—serting the wâ—lful resisters of his grace That ever men in other things of seeming wisdom should be such strangers to themselves and so deceived by themselves as to think they love the thing they hate and to think that their hearts are set upon Heaven when they neither love it nor the way that leadeth to it but are principally bent another way that when they arâ— strangers or enemies to a holy life they can yet make themselves believe that they are holy and that they seek that first which they never seek and make that the drift and business of their lives which was never the serious business of an hour O Hypocrites ask any impartial man of reason that sees your lives and hears your prayers whether you pray and live like men that believe that Heaven or Hell must be their reward Ask your families whether they perceive by your constant prayer and diligent endeavours and holy conversations that your hearts are set on a life to come It was a cutting answer of a late Apostate to one that told him of the unreasonableness of Infidels that denyed the life to come saith he There 's none in the world so unreasonable as you Christians that believe that there is an endless life of joy or misery to come and do no more to obtain the one and escape the other Did I believe such a life as this I would think all too little that I could do or suffer to make it sure Who sees the certainty greatness and eternity of the Crown of Life in the resolvedness fervency and constancy of your holy labour You take up with the picture of Sermons and Prayers and with the name of Christianity and holy obedience A little more Religion you will admit than a Parrot may learn or a Poppet may exercise Compare your care and labour and cost for Heaven and for this world That you believe the flattering deceitful world we see by your daily solicitousness about it You seek it you strive for it you fall out with all that stand in your way you are at it daily and have never done But who can see that you seriously believe another world you talk idly and wantonly and proudly by the hours but you talk of Heaven and holiness but by the minutes You do not turn the glass when you go to your unnecessary recreations or your vain discourse or at least you can stay when the glass is run But in hearing the most necessary truths of God or in praying for everlasting life the hour seems long to you and the tedious Preacher is your weariness and molestation You do not feast and play by the glass but if we do not preach and pray by it exactly but exceed our hour though in speaking of and for eternity we are your burden and put your languid patience to it as if we were doing you some intollerable wrong In worldly matters you are weary of giving but seldom of receiving you grudge at the asker but seldom at the giver But if the gift be spiritual and heavenly you are a weary to hear talk of it and expostulate the case with him that offereth it and he must shew by what authority he would do you good If by serious holy conference he would further your preparations for the life to come or help you to make sure of life eternal he is examined what power he hath to meddle with you and promote your salvation And perhaps he is snappâ—shly told he is a
me How long O scorner wilt thou delight in scorning How long wilt thou go on impenitently in thy folly And now I must cry out How long How long must I feel the wrath of the Almighty the unquenchable fire the immortal worm Alas for ever When shall I receive one moments ease when shall I see one glimpse of hope O never never never Now I perceive what Satan meant in his temptations what â—in intended what God meant in the threatnings of his Law what grace was good for what Christ was sent for and what was the design and meaning of the Gospel and how I should have valued the offers and promises of life Now I understand what Ministers meant to be so importunate with me for my conversion and what was the cause that they would even have kneeled to me to have procured my return to God in time Now I understand that holiness was not a needless thing that Christ and Grace deserved better entertainment than contempt that precious time was worth more than to be wasted idly that an immortal soul and life eternal should have been more regarded and not cast away for so short so base a fleshly pleasure Now all these things are plain and open to my understanding But alas it 's now too late I know that now to my woe and torment which I might have known in time to my recovery and joy For the Lords sake and for your souls sake open your eyes and foresee the things that are even at hand and prevent these fruitless lamentations Judge but as you will all shortly judge and live but as you will wish that you had lived and I desire no more Be serious as if you saw the things that you say you do believe I know this serious discourse of another life is usually ungrateful to men that are conscious of their strangeness to it and taking up their portion here are loth to be tormented before the time This is not the smoothing pleasing way But remember that we have flesh as well as you which longs not to be accounted troublesome or precise which loves not to displease or be displeased And had we no higher light and life we should â—aâ—k as men that saw and felt no more than fight and flesh can reach But when we are preaching and dying and you are hearing and dying and we believe and know that you are nâ—w going to see the things we speak of and death will straightway draw aside the veil and shew you the great amazing sight it 's time for us to speak and you to hear with all our hearts It 's time for us to be serious when we are so near the place where all are serious There are none that are in jest in Heaven or Hell pardon us therefore if we jest not at the door and in the way to such a serious state All that see and feel are serious and therefore all that truly believe must be so too Were your eyes all opened this hour to see what we believe we appeal to your own consciences whether it would not make you more serious than we Marvel not if you see Believers make another matter of their salvation than those that have hired their understandings in service to their sense and think the world is no bigger or better than their globe or map and reacheth no further than they can kennâ— As long as we see you serious about Lands and Lordships and titles and honours the rattles and tarrying Irons of the cheating world you must give us leave whether you will or no to be serious about the life eternal They that scramble so eagerly for the bonds of worldly riches and devour so greedily the drâ—ffe of sensual delights methinks should blush if such animals had the blushing property to blame or deride us for being a little alas too little earnest in the matters of God and our salvation Can you not pardon us if we love God a little more than you love your lusts and if we run as fast for the Crown of Life as you run after a feather or a fly or if we breath as hard after Christ in holy desires as you do in blowing the bubble of vain-glory If a thousand pound a year in passage to a grave and the chains of darkness be worth your labour give us leave to belieâ—â— that mercy in order to everlasting mercy grace in order to glory and glory as the end of grace is worth our labour and infinitely more Your end is narrow though your way be broad and our end is broad though our way be narrow You build as Miners in Cole-pits do by digging downwards into the dark and yet you are laborious Though we begin on earth we build towards Heaven where an attractive loadstone draws up the workmen and the work and shall we loiter under so great encouragements Have you considered that Faith is the beholding grace the evidence of things not seen and yet have you the hearts to blame Believers for doing all that they can do in a case of such unspeakable everlasting consequence If we are Believers Heaven and Hell are as iâ— were open to our sight And would you wish us to trifle in the sight of Heaven or to leap into Hell when we see it as before us what name can express the inhumane cruelty of such a wish oâ— motion or the unchristian folly of those that will obey you O give us leave to be serious for a Kingdom which by Faith we see Blame us for this and blame us that we are not beside our selves Pardon us that we are awake when the thunder of Jehovah's voice doth call to us denouncing everlasting wrath to all that are sensual and ungodly Were we asleep as you are we would lie still and take no heed what God or man said to us Pardon us that we are Christians and believe these things seeing you profess the same your selves Disclaim not the practice till you dare disclaim the profession If we were Infidels we would do as the ungodly world we would pursue our present pleasures and commodity and say that things above us are nothing to us and would take Religion to be the Troubler of the world But till we are Infidels or Atheists at the heart we cannot do so Forgive us that we are men if you take it to be pardonable Were we bruits we would eat and drink and play and never trouble our selves or others with the care of our salvation or the fears of any death but one or with resisting sensual inclinations and meditating on the life to come but would take our ease and pleasure while we may At least forgive us that we are not blocks or stones that we have life and feeling Were we insensate clods we would not see the light of Heaven nor hear the roaring of the Lion nor fear the threats of God himself we would not complain or sigh or groan because we feel not If therefore we may
and use the language the motives and the employments of the Country and people where they live so he that is most familiar with such as live by Faith upon things unseen and take Gods promise for full security hath a very great help to learn and live that life himself Heb. 10.24 25. 1 Thes 4.17 18. Phil. 3.20 21. Direct 20. Forget not the nearness of the things unseen and think not of a long continuance in this world but live in continual expectation of your change Distant things be they never so great do hardly move us As in bodily motion the mover must be contiguous And as our senses are not fit to apprehend beyond a certain distance so our minds also are finite and have their bounds and measure And sin hath made them much narrower foolish and 〈◊〉 sighted than they would have been A certainty of dying 〈◊〉 last should do much with us But yet he that looketh to live long on earth will the more hardly live by Faith in Heaven when he that daily waiteth for his change will have easily the more serious and effectual thoughts of the world in which he must live next and of all the preparations necessary thereunto and will the more easily despise the things on earth which are the employment and felicity of the sensual Col. 3.1 2 3. Phil. 1.20 21 22 23. 1 Cor. 15.31 As we see it in constant experience in men when they see that they must presently die indeed how light then set they by the world how little are they moved with the talk of honour with the voice of mirth with the sight of meat or drink or beauty or any thing which before they had not power to deny and how seriously they will then talk of sin and grace of God and Heaven which before they could not be awakened to regard If therefore you would live by faith indeed set your selves as at the entrance of that world which faith foreseeth and live as men that know they may die to morrow and certainly must be gone ere long Dream not of I know not how many years more on earth which God never promised you unlâ—ss you make it your business to vanquish faith by setting its objects at a greater distance than God hath set them Learn Christs warning to one and all To watch and to be alwaies ready Mark 13.33 35 37. 1 Pet. 4 7. Mat. 24.44 Luke 12.40 He that thinketh he hath yet time enough and day-light before him will be the apter to loiter in his work or Journey When every man will make haste when the Sun is setting if he have much to do or far to go Delaies which are the great preventers of Repentance and undoers of the world do take their greatest advantage from this ungrounded expectation of long life When they hear the Physician say He is a dead man and there is no hope then they would fain begin to live and then how religious and reformed would they be whereas if this foolish errour did not hinder them they might be of the same mind all their lives and might have then done their work and waited with desire for the Crown and said with Paul For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but to them also that love his appearing 2 Tim. 4.6 7 8. And so much for the General Directions to be observed by them that will live by Faith I only add that as the well doing of all our particular duties dependeth most on the common health and soundness of the soul in its state of grace so our living by Faith in all the particular cases after instanced doth depend more upon these General Directions than on the particular ones which are next to be adjoyned CHAP. I. An Enumeration of the Particular Cases in which especially Faith must be used 1. How to live by Faith on GOD. THE General Directions before given must be practised in all the Particular Cases following or in order to them But besides them it is needful to have some special Directions for each Case And the particular Cases which I shall instance in are these 1. How to exercise Faith on GOD himself 2. Upon Jesus Christ 3. Upon the Holy Ghost 4. About the Scripture Precepts and Examples 5. About the Scripture Promises 6. About the Threatnings 7. About Pardon of sin and Justification 8. About Sanctification and the exercises of other Graces 9. Against inward vices and temptations to actual sin 10. In case of Prosperity 11. In Adversity and particular Afflictions 12. In Gods Worship publick and private 13. For Spiritual Peace and Joy 14. For the World and the Church of God 15. For our Relations 16. In loving others as our selves 17. About Heaven and following the Saints 18. How to die in Faith 19. About the coming of Christ to Judgement GOD is both the object of our knowledge as he is revealed in Nature and of our Faith as he is revealed in the holy Scriptures He is the first and last object of our Faith It is life eternal to know him the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent Ye believe in God believe also in me was Christs order in commanding and causing Faith Joh. 14.1 Seeing therefore this is the principal part of Faith to know God and live upon him and to him I shall give you many though brief Directions in it Direct 1. Behold the glorious and full demonstrations of the Being of the Deity in the whole frame of nature and especially in your selves The great argument from the Effect to the Cause is unanswerable All the caused and derived Beings in the world must needs have a first Being for their cause All Action Intellection and Volition all Power Wisdom and Goodness which is caused by another doth prove that the cause can have no less than the total effect hath To see the world and to know what a man is and yet to deny that there is a God is to be mad He that will not know that which all the world doth more plainly preach than words can possibly express and will not know the sense of his own Being and faculties doth declare himself uncapable of teaching Psal 14.1 49.12 20. Isa 1.2 3. It is the greatest shame that mans understanding is capable of to be ignorant of God 1 Cor. 15.34 and the greatest shame to any Nation Hos 4.1 6.6 As it is the highest advancement of the mind to know him and therefore the summ of all our duty Prov. 2.5 Hos 6 6· 2 Chron. 30.21 22. Isa 11.9 2 Pet. 2.20 Rom. 1.20 28. Joh. 17.3 Direct 2. Therefore take not the Being and Perfections of God for superstructures and
to despise the Idol of the ungodly and to lay that under our feet which is nearest to their heart and to be able without impatiency to be scorned spit upon buffeted and abused to be poor and of no reputation among men and though not to enslave our selves to any but if we can be free to use it rather 1 Cor. 7.21 yet to be the loving and voluntary servants of as many as we can to do them good and not to desire to have a great retinue and to be such voluntary burdens to the world as to be served by many while we serve none as if we who are taught by Christ and Nature that it is more honourable to give than to receive and to be helpful unto many than to need the help of many would declare our impotency to be so great that when every poor man can serve himself and others we are and had rather be so indigent as not to live and help our selves without the help of many servants yea scarce to undress and dress our selves or to do any thing which another can do for us Only such persons are willing to eat and drink and sleep for themselves and to play and laugh and to sin for themselves but as to any thing that 's good and usefull without their present sensitive delight they are not only unserviceable to the world but would live like the lame or dead that must be moved and carryed about by others Among Christs servants he that is the chief must be the chief in service even as a servant unto all Luke 22.26 Matth. 23.11 And all by love must serve one another Gal. 5.13 4. His submission unto death and conquest of the natural love of life for a greater good even the pleasing of God and the Crown of Glory and the good of many in their salvation To teach us that not only the pleasures of life but life it self must be willingly laid down when any of these three ends require it Matth. 20.28 John 10 11. 15.13 1 John 3.16 Joh. 10.17 Acts 20.24 Matth. 10.39 16.25 Mark 14.26 Phil. 2.30 1 John 3.16 Rev. 12.11 Direct 16. Let Faith behold Christ in his relation to his universal Church and not unto your selves alone 1. Because else you overlook his most honourable relation It is more his glory to be the Churches Head and Saviour than yours Ephes 5.23 1.21 22. And 2. You else overlook his chief design and work which is for the perfecting and saving of his body Ephes 1.23 Col. 1.24.18 And 3. Else you overlook the chief part of your own duty and of your conformity to Christ which is in loving and edifying the body Ephes 4.12 16 Whereas if you see Christ as the undivided and impartial Head of all Saints you will see also all Saints as dear to him and as united in him and you will have communion by faith with them in him and you will love them all and pray for all and desire a part in the prayers of all instead of carping at their different indifferent manner and forms and words of prayer and running away from them to shew that you disown them And you will have a tender care of the unity and honour and prosperity of the Church and regard the welfare of particular Brethren as your own 1 Cor. 12. throughout John 13.14 34. 15.12 17. Rom. 13.8 stooping to the lowest service to one another if it were the washing of the feet and in honour preferring one another Rom. 12.10 Not judging nor despising nor persecuting but receiving and forbearing one another Rom. 14. throughout 15.1 2 3 4 7 8. Gal. 5.13 6.1 2 3. Ephes 4.2 32. Col. 3.13 Edifying exhorting and seeking the saving of one other 1 Thes 5.11 4.9 18. Heb. 3.13 10.24 Not speaking evil one of another James 4.11 Much less biting and devouring one another Gal. 5.15 But having compassion one of another as those that are members one of another 1 Pet. 3.8 Rom. 12.5 Direct 17. Make all your opposition to the temptations of Satan the world and the flesh by the exercise of Faith in Christ From him you must have your weapons skill and strength It is the great work of Faith to militate under him as the Captain of our salvation and by vertue of his precepts example and Spirit to overcome as he hath overcome Of which more anon Direct 18. Death also must be entertained and conquered by Faith in Christ We must see it as already conquered by him and entertain it as the passage to him This also will be after spoken to Direct 19. Faith must believe in Christ as our Judge to give us our final Justification and sentence us to endless life Rom. 14.9 10. John 5.22 24 25. Direct 20. Lastly Faith must see Christ as preparing us a place in Heaven and possessing it for us and ready to receive us to himself But all this I only name because it will fall in in the last Chapters CHAP. III. Directions to live by Faith on the Holy Ghost THis is not the least part of the life of Faith If the Spirit give us Faith it self then Faith hath certainly its proper work to do towards that Spirit which giveth it And if the Spirit be the worker of all other grace and Faith be the means on our part then Faith hath somewhat to do with the Holy Ghost herein The best way that I can take in helping you to believe aright in the Holy Ghost will be by opening the true sense of this great Article of our Faith to you that by understanding the matter aright you may know what you are here both to do and to expect Direct 1. The name of the Holy Ghost or Spirit of God is used in Scripture for the third person in the Trinity as constitutive and as the third perfective principle of operation and most usually as operating ad extra by communication And therefore many Fathers and ancient Divines and Schoolmen say That the Holy Ghost the third person and principle is THE LOVE OF GOD which as it is Gods Love of himself is a constitutive person or principle in the Trinity but as it is pregnant and productive it is the third principle of operation ad extra and so that it is taken usually for the pregnant operative Love of God And thus they suppose that the Divine POWER INTELLECT and WILL or Wisdom and Love are the three constitutive persons in themselves and the three principles of operation ad extra To this purpose writeth Origen Ambrose and Richardus the Schoolman but plainlier and fullier Damascene and Bernard and Edmundus Cantuariensis and Potho Prumensis cited by me in my Reasons of the Christian Religion page 372 373 374. Augustine only putteth Memory for Power by which yet Campanella thinketh he meant Power Metaphys par 2. l. 6. c. 12. art 4. pag. 88. what Caesarius and many other say de triplici lumine I pass by The Lux
Tim. 6.17 4.10 Psal 49.6 52.7 But yet because the hypocrite knoweth that he cannot live here alwaies but must die and his riches must be parted with at last and heareth of a life of glory afterwards he would fain have his part in that too when he can keep the world no longer And so he taketh both together for his part and hope viz. as much bodily happiness as he can get in this world and Heaven at last when he must die not knowing that God will be all our portion and felicity or none and that the world must be valued and used but for his sake and in subordination to him and a better world 5. Yet some hypocrites seem to go further though they do not for they will seem even to themselves to resign goods and life and all things absolutely to the will of God But the reason is because they are secretly perswaded in their hearts that their resignation shall no whit deprive them of them and that God will never the more take it from them but that they may possess as much present corporal felicity in a life of Religion as if they lived in the dangerous case of the ungodly or at least that they may keep so much as not to be undone or left to any great sufferings in the world or at least their lives may not be called for For they live in a time when few suffer for Christ and therefore they see little cause to â—eâ—r that they should be of that smaller number and it is but being a little the more wise and cautelous and they hope they may scape well enough And if they had not this hope they would never give up all to Christ But like persons that will be liberal to their Physician they will offer a great deal when they think he will not take it but if they thought he would take all that is offered they would offer less Or as if a sick person should hear that such a Physician will give him no very strong or loathsome Physick and therefore when the Physician telleth him I will be none of your Physician unless you will absolutely promise to take every thing which I shall give you He promiseth that he will do it but it is only because he supposeth that he will give him nothing which is troublesome And if he find his expectation crost he breaketh his promise and â—aith If I had known that he would have used me thus I would never have promised it him So hypocrites by promise give up themselves absolutely to God and to bâ— wholly at his will without excepting life it self But their hearts do secretly except it For all this is because they doubt not but they may save their earthly prosperity and lives and be Christians too And if once Christ call them to suffer death for him they shew then what was the meaning of their hearts To reassume the former similitude If Christ on earth should offer to convey you to a Kingdom at the Antipodes where men live for ever in glorious holiness if you will but trust him and go in his Ship and take him for your Pilot Here one saith I do not believe him that there is such a place and therefore I will not go that is the Infidel Another saith I like my merry life at home better than his glorious holiness that 's the open worldling and prophane Another saith I will live in my own Country and on my own estate as long as I can and when I find that I am dying and can stay here no longer that I may be sure to lose nothing by him I will take his offer Another saith I will go with him but I will turn back again if I find any dangerous storms and gulfs in the passage Another saith I will take another Ship and Pilot along with me lest he should fail me that I may not be deceived Another saith I am told that the Seas are calm and there is no danger in the passage and therefore I will absolutely trust him and venture all but when he meets with storms and hideous waves he saith This is not as I expected and so he turneth back again But another the true Christian saith I will venture all and wholly trust him And so though he is oft afraid in dangers when he seeth the devouring gulfs yet not so fearful as to turn back but on he goeth come on it what will because he knoweth that the place which he goeth to is most desirable and mortality will soon end his old prosperity and he hath great reason to believe his Pilot to be trusty By all this you may see how it cometh to pass that Christ who promiseth life to Believers doth yet make self-denyal and forsaking all that we have even life it self to be also necessary and what relation self-denyal hath to faith Luke 14.26 3â— Nearer by far than most consider You may see here the reason why Christ tryed the rich man Luke 18.22 with selling all and following him in hope of a reward in Heaven And why he bid his Diciples Luke 12.33 Sell that ye have and give alms provide your selves bags which wax not old a treasure in the Heavens which faileth not And why the first Christians were made a pattern of entire Christianity by selling all and laying down at the Apostles feet And Ananias and Saphira were the instances of Hypocrisie who secretly and lyingly kept back part You see here how it comes to pass that all true Christians must be heart-martyrs or prepared to die for Christ and Heaven rather than forsake him You may plainly perceive that Faith it self is an Affiance or Trusting in God by Christ even a Trusting in God in Heaven as our felicity and in Christ as the Mediator and the Way and that this Trust is a venturing all upon him and a forsaking all for God and his promises in Christ And that it is one and the same Motion which from the terminus à quo is called Repentance and forsaking all and from the terminus ad quem is called Trust and Love They that are willing to see may profit much by this observation and they that are not may quarrel at it and talk against that which their prejudice will not allow them to understand And by all this you may see also wherein the strength of Faith consisteth And that is 1. In so clear a sight of the evidences of truth as shall leave no considerable doubtings Mat. 21.21 So Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God Rom. 4. 2. In so confirmed a Resolution to cleave to God and Christ alone as leaveth no wavering or looking back that we may say groundedly with Peter Though I die I will not deny thee which doubtless signified then some strength of faith And as Paul I am ready not only to be bound but to die for the Name of the Lord
very brief I. For the first Case before sickness cometh Direct 1. Be sure that you settle your Belief of the life to come that your Faith may not fail Direct 2. Expect Death as seriously all your life as wise Believers are obliged to do That is as men that are alwaies sure to die as men that are never sure to live a moment longer as men that are sure that life will be short and death is not far off and as foreseeing what it is to die of what eternal consequence and what will then appear to be necessary to your safe and to your comfortable change Direct 3. All your daies habituate your souls to believing sweet enlarged thoughts of the infinite Goodness and Love of God to whom you go and with whom you hope to live for ever Direct 4. Dwell in the studies of a crucified and glorified Christ who is the way the truth and life who must be your hope in life and death Ephes 3.17 18 19. Direct 5. Keep clear your evidences of your right to Christ and all his Promises by keeping grace or the heavenly nature in life activity and increase 2 Pet. 1.10 2 Cor. 13.5 John 15 1 c. 1 John 3. Direct 6. Consider often of the possession which your nature in Christ hath already of Heaven and how highly it is advanced and how near his relation is and how dear his love is to his weakest members upon earth And that as souls in Heaven have an inclination and desire to communicate their own felicity to their bodies so hath Christ as to his body the Church John 17.24 Ephes 5.25 27 c. Direct 7. Look to the Heavenly Host and those who have lived before you or with you in the flesh to make the thoughts of Heaven the more familiar to you as in the former chapter Direct 8. Improve all Afflictions yea the plague of sin it self to make you weary of this world and willing to be gone to Christ Rom. 7. Direct 9. Be much with God in Prayer Meditation and other heart-raising duties that you may not by strangeness to him be dismayed Direct 10. Live not in the guilt of any wilful sin nor in any slothful neglect of duty lest guilt breed terrour and make you fly from God your Judge But especially study to redeem your time and to do all the good you can iâ— the world and to live as totally devoted to God as conscious that you live to no carnal interest but desire to serve him with all you have and your consciences testimony of this will abundantly take off the terrours of death whatever any erroneous ones may say to the contrary for fear of being guilty of conceits of merit A fruitful life is a great preparative for death 2 Tim. 4.8 2 Cor. 1.12 c. Direct 11. Fetch from Heaven the comforts which you live upon through all your life And when you have truly learned to live more upon the comforts of believed glory than upon any pictures or hopes below then you will be able to die in and for those comforts Matth. 6.20 21. Col. 3.1 4. Phil. 3.20 21. 1 Thes 4.18 Phil. 1.21 23. Direct 12. The Knowledge and Love of God in Christ is the beginning or foretaste of Heaven John 17.3 1 Cor. 13. c. and the foretastes are excellent preparations Therefore still remember that all that you do in the world for the getting and exercising the true Knowledge and Love of God in Christ so much you do for the foretastes and best preparations for Heaven 1 Cor. 8.3 If any man love God the same is known of him with approbation and love II. In the time of sickness and near to death Direct 1. Let your first work when God seemeth to call you away be to renew a diligent search of your hearts and lives and to see lest in either of them there should be any sin which is not truly hated and repented of Though this must be done through all your lives yet with an extraordinary care and diligence when you are like to come so speedily to your tryal For it is only to Repenting Believers that the Covenant of Grace doth pardon sin And the impenitent have no right to pardon Though for ordinary failings which are forgotten and for sins which you are willing to know and remember but cannot a general Repentance will be accepted as when you pray God to shew you the sins which you see not and to forgive those which you cannot remember or find out Yet those which you know must be particularly repented of And Repentance is a remembring duty and will hardly forget any great and heinous sins which are known to be sins indeed If your Repentance be then to begin alas it is high time to begin it And though if it be sound it will be saving that is If it be such as would settle you in a truly godly life if you should recover yet you will hardly have any assurance of salvation or such comfort in it as is desirable to dying man Because you will very hardly know whether it come from true conversion and contain a Love to God and Godliness or whether it be only the fruit of fear and would come to nothing if you were restored to health But he that hath truly repented heretofore and lived in uprightness towards God and man and hath nothing to do but to discern his sincerity and to exercise a special Repentance for some late or special sins or to do that again which he hath done unfeignedly before will much more easily get the assurance and comfort of his forgiveness and salvation Direct 2. Renew your sense of the Vanity of this world Which at such a time one would think should be very easie to do When you see that you are near an end of all your pleasures and have had all except a grave to rot in that ever this world willd o for you may you not easily then see whether the godly or the worldly be the wiser and the happier man And what it is that the life of man should be spent in seeeking after Matth. 6.33 Isa 55.1 2 3. Eccles 7.3 4 5 6. Direct 3. Remember what Flesh is and what it hath been to you that you may not be too loth to lay it down Of the dust it was made and to the dust it must return Corruption is your Father and the Worm is your Mother and your Sister Job 17.14 Drought and beat consume the Snow-waters so doth the grave those which have sinned The womb shall forget him the Worm shall feed sweetly on him Job 24.20 Flesh and blood shall not inherit the Kingdom of God but this mortal must put on immortality by being made a spiritual body 1 Cor. 15. And this flesh hath cost you so dear to carry it about so much care and labour to provide it food to repair that which daily vanisheth away and so many weary painful hours and so many fearful
Nos quoque floruimus sed flos fuit ille caducus Flammaque de stipula nostra brevisque fuit Ov. VERA EFFIGIES RICHARDI BAXTERI MIN IES CH IN OP ET PATA FIDEI SPEI ET CHARITATIS An. 1670. AETAT SUAE 55º Farewell vaine World as thou hast been to me Dust and a Shadow those I leave with thee The vnseen Vitall Substance I committ The Leaves Fruit are dropt for soyle and Seed Heaven's heirs to generate to heale and feed Them also thou wilt flatter and molest But shalt not keep from Everlasting Rest THE LIFE OF FAITH THE Life of Faith In Three PARTS The First is a Sermon on Heb. 11.1 formerly preached before His Majesty and published by his Command with another added for the fuller Application The Second is Instructions for confirming Believers in the Christian Faith The Third is Directions how to live by Faith or how to exercise it upon all occasions By RICHARD BAXTER 2 Cor. 5.7 For we walk by faith not by sight 2 Cor. 4.16 17 18. For which cause we faint not but though our outward man parish yet the inward man is renewed day by day For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal Heb. 12.27 By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King for he endured as seeing him that is invisible LONDON Printed by R. W. for Nevill Simmons at the three Crowns over against Holbern Conduit 1670. To the Worshipfull my much honoured Friend Richard Hampden of Hampden Esquire and the Lady Laetitia his Wife Grace and Peace be multiplied SIR YOur Names stand here in the front of this Treatise on a double account First that the custom of Writers having given me such an advantage I may tell the present and future Ages how much I love and honour your Piety Sobriety Integrity and Moderation in an Age when such Vertues grow into contempt or into lifeless Images and Names And how much I am my self your debter for the manifold expressions of your love and that in an Age when 〈…〉 the superioâ—â—â—â—culties is ouâ— of fâ—shion and towards such as I is grown â— crime Sincerity and 〈◊〉 are things that shall be honourable when Hypocrisie and Malice have done their worst But they are most conspicuous and refulgent in times of â—â—rity and when the shame of their contraries seâ— them off Secondly To signifie my Love and Gratitude by the best 〈◊〉 which I can make which is by tendering to you and to your family the surest Directions for the most noble manly life on earth in order to a blessed life in Heaven Though you have proceeded well you 〈…〉 need of help so great a 〈…〉 for skilfull counsel and 〈…〉 and industrious and unweaâ—â—◠〈…〉 And your hopeful children may 〈…〉 to learn this excellenâ— Life from these Directions for the love of your prefixed Names And how happy will they bâ— if they converse with God 〈…〉 are wallowing in the 〈◊〉 of 〈…〉 When the dead heaâ—ted sinner thinketh not of 〈…〉 be dragg'd out of 〈◊〉 paâ—pered corruptible flesh to divinie 〈◊〉 and â—â—â—with the beginnings of endless 〈◊〉 to the world where they might have found everlasting rest what joy will then be the portion of mortified and patient Believers whosâ— Treasâ—â—â—s and Hearts and Conversatiâ—â— in Heâ—ven are now the foretaste of their possession as the Spirit of Christ which causeth this iâ— the seâ—â— of God and the pledge and earnest of their inheritance If a 〈◊〉 pleasing life in a dark distracted 〈◊〉 world were better than a life with God and Angels methinks yet they that know they cannot have what they 〈◊〉 should make sue of what they may haâ—â— And they that cannot keep what they 〈◊〉 should learn to 〈◊〉 what 〈◊〉 may keep Wonderfull stupidity â—hâ—t they 〈…〉 dead bodies 〈…〉 grave is as common a work 〈…〉 children into the world and that this life is but the road to another and that all men are posting on to their 〈…〉 should think no more considerately whither so many thousand souls do go that daily shoot the gulf of death and return no more to the world which one they called their home That men will have no house or home but the ship which carryeth them so swiftly to eternity and spend their time in furnishing a dwelling on such a tempestuous Sea where winds and tide are hasting them to the shore and even to the end are contriving to live where they are daily dying and care for no â—â—bitation but on horse-back That almost all men die much wiser than they lived and yet the certain foreknowledge of death will not serve to make them more seasonably and more safely wiâ—e Wonderful that it should be possible for a man awake to believe that he must shortly be gone from earth and enter into an unchangeable endless life and yet not bend the thoughts of his soul and the labours of his life to secure his true and 〈…〉 Adam hath given sin the 〈…〉 grace and madness the priority to wisdom and our wisdom health and safety must now come after by the way of recovery and cure The first born of lapsed man was a malignant persecuting Cain The first born of believing Abraham was a persecutor of him that was born after the Spirit 1 John 3.12 Gal. 4.29 And the first born of this Isaac himself was a profane Esau that for one morsel sold his birth-right Heb. 12.16 And naturally we are all the off-spring of this profaneness and have not acquaintance enough with God and with healthful holiness and with the everlasting heavenly Glory to make us cordially preferr it before a forbidden cup or morsel or a game at foolery or a filthy lust or before the wind of a gilded fools acclamation and applause or the cap and counterfeit subjection of the multitude But the fortunae non tua turba ut Ov. quos sportula fecit amici ut Juv. who will serve mens lusts and be their servants and humble attendants to damnation are regarded more than the God the Saviour the Sanctifier to whom these perfidious rebels were once devoted That you and yours may live that more wise and delightful life which consisteth in the daily sight of Heaven by a Living Faith which worketh by Love in constant Obedience is the principal end of this publick appellation That what is here written for the use of all may be first and specially useful to you and yours whom I am so much bound to love and honour even to your safe and comfortable life and death and to your future joy and glory which is the great desire of Your obliged Servant RICH. BAXTER Feb. 4. 1669. THE PREFACE Reader 1. IF it offend thee that the Parts of
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Assent p. 540. l. 21. put out and p. 582. l. 11. r. friends THE Life of Faith HEBREWS 11.1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen THough the wicked are distinguished into Hypocrites and Vnbelievers yet Hypocrites themselves are Vnbelievers too They have no faith which they can justifie by its prevailing efficacy and works and therefore have no faith by which they can be justified Because their discovery is needful to their recovery and all our salvation depends on the sincerity of our faith I have chosen this text which is a description of faith that the opening of it may help us for the opening of our hearts and resolving the great question on which our endless life depends To be a Christian and to be a Believer in Christ are words in Scripture of the same signification If you have not faith you are not Christians This faith hath various offices and objects By it we are justified sanctified and saved We are justified not by believing that we are justified but by believing that we may be justified Not by receiving justification immediately but by receiving Christ for our justification not by meer accepting the pardon in it self but by first receiving him that procureth and bestoweth it on his terms Not by meer accepting health but by receiving the Physician and his remedies for health Faith is the practical Believing in God as promising and Christ as procuring justification and salvation Or the practical belief and acceptance of life as procured by Christ and promised by God in the Gospel The everlasting fruition of God in Heaven is the ultimate object No man believeth in Christ as Christ that believeth not in him for eternal life As faith looks at Christ as the necessary means and at the divine benignity as the fountain and at his veracity as the foundation or formal object and at the promise as the true signification of his will so doth it ultimately look at our salvation begun on earth and perfected in Heaven as the end for which it looketh at the rest No wonder therefore if the holy Ghost here speaking of the Dignity and Power of faith do principally insist on that part of its description which is taken from this final object As Christ himself in his Humiliation was rejected by the Gentiles and a stumbling stone to the Jews despised and not esteemed Isa 53.2 3. having made himself of no reputation Phil. 2 7. So faith in Christ as incarnate and crucified is despised and counted foolishness by the world But as Christ in his glory and the glory of believers shall force them to an aweful admiration so faith it self as exercised on that glory is more glorious in the eyes of all Believers are never so reverenced by the world as when they converse in Heaven and the Spirit of Glory resteth on them 1 Pet. 4.14 How faith by beholding this glorious end doth move all the faculties of the soul and subdue the inclinations and interests of the flesh and make the greatest sufferings tollerable is the work of the holy Ghost in this Chapter to demonstrate which beginning with the description proceeds to the proof by a cloud of witnesses There are two sorts of persons and imployments in the world for whom there are two contrary ends hereafter One sort subject their reason to their sensual or carnal interest The other subject their senses to their reason cleared conducted and elevated by faith Things present or possessed are the riches of the sensual and the byas of their hearts and lives Things absent but hoped for are the riches of Believers which actuate their chief endeavours This is the sense of the text which I have read to you which setting things hoped for in opposition to things present and things unseen to those that sense doth apprehend assureth us that faith which fixeth on the first doth give to its object a subsistence presence and evidence that is it seeth that which supplieth the want of presence and visibility The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is that which quoad effectum is equal to a present subsistence And the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the evidence is somewhat which quoad effectum is equal to visibility As if he had said Though the glory promised to Believers and expected by them be yet to come and only hoped for and be yet unseen and only believed yet is the sound believer as truly affected with it and acted by its attractive force as if it were present and before his eyes as a man is by an inheritance or estate in reversion or out of sight if well secured and not only by that which is present to his view The Syriack Interpreter instead of a Translation gives us a true exposition of the words viz. Faith is a certainty of those things that are in hope as if they did already actually exist and the revelation of
great a likeness of the holy and heavenly nature in the Saints to the heavenly life that God hath promised that makes it the more easily believed 4. And it exceedingly helpeth our Belief of the life that 's yet unseen to find that Nature affordeth us undeniable Arguments to prove a future Happiness and Misery Reward and Punishment in the general yea and in special that the Love and Fruition of God is this Reward and that the effects of his displeasure are this Punishment Nothing more clear and certain than that there is a God He must be a fool indeed that dare deny it Psal 14.1 as also that this God is the Creatour of the rational nature and hath the absolute right of Soveraign Government and therefore that the rational Creature oweth him the most full and absolute obedience and deserveth punishment if he disobey And it 's most clear that infinite goodness should be loved above all finite imperfect created good And it 's clear that the rational nature is so formed that without the hopes and fears of another life the world neither is nor ever was nor by ordinary visible means can be well governed supposing God to work on man according to his nature And it is most certain that it consisteth not with infinite wisdom power and goodness to be put to rule the world in all ages by fraud and falshood And it is certain that Heathens do for the most part through the world by the light of nature acknowledge a life of joy or misery to come And the most hardened Atheists or Infidels must confess that for ought they know there may be such a life it being impossible they should know or prove the contrary And it is most certain that the meer probability or possibility of a Heaven and Hell being matters of such unspeakable concernment should in reason command our utmost diligence to the hazard or loss of the transitory vanities below and consequently that a holy diligent preparation for another life is naturally the duty of the reasonable creature And it 's a sure that God hath not made our nature in vain nor set us on a life of vain imployments nor made it our business in the world to seek after that which can never be attained These things and much more do shew that nature affordeth us so full a testimony of the life to come that 's yet invisible that it exceedingly helpeth us in believing the supernatural revelation of it which is more full 5. And though we have not seen the objects of our faith yet those that have given us their infallible testimony by infallible means have seen what they testified Though no man hath seen God at any time yet the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father hath declared him Joh 1.18 Verily verily saith our Lord we speak that we know and testifie that we have seen Joh. 3.11 Vers 31 32. He that cometh from Heaven is above all and what he hath seen and heard that he testifieth Christ that hath told us saw the things that we have not seen and you will believe honest men that speak to you of what they were eye-witnesses of And the Disciples saw the person the transfiguration and the miracles of Christ Insomuch that John thus beginneth his Epistle 1 Cor. 1.1 2 3. That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the Word of life for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and shew it to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you So Paul 1 Cor. 9.1 Am I not an Apostle have have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord 1 Cor. 15.5.6 7. He was seen of Cephas then of the twelve after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once of whom the greater part remain unto this present Heb. 2.3 4. This great salvation at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by them that heard him God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the holy Ghost according to his own will 2 Pet. 1.16 17. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eye-witnesses of his Majesty For he received from God the Father honour and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And this voice which came from Heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy Mount And therefore when the Apostles were commanded by their persecutors not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus they answered We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard Acts 4.18 20. So that much of the objâ—cts of our faith to us invisible have yet been sâ—en by those that have instrumentally revealed them and the glory of Heaven it self is seen by many millions of souls that are now possessing it And the tradition of the Testimony of the Apostles unto us is more full and satisfactory than the tradition of any Laws of the Land or History of the most unquestionable affairs that have been done among the people of the earth as I have manifested elsewhere So that faith hath the infallible Testimony of God and of them that have seen and therefore is to us instead of sight 6. Lastly Even the enemy of faith himself doth against his will confirm our faith by the violence and rage of malice that he stirreth up in the ungodly against the life of faith and holiness and by the importunity of his oppositions and temptations discovering that it is not for nothing that he is so maliciously solicitous industrious and violent And thus you see how much faith hath that should fully satisfie a rational man instead of presence possession and â—ight If any shall here say But why would not God let us have a sight of Heaven or Hell when he could not but know that it would more generally and certainly have prevailed for the conversion and salvation of the world Doth he envy us the most â—ffâ—ctuaâ— means I answer 1. Who art thou O man that disputest against God shall the thing formed say to him that formed it Why hast thou made me thus Mâ—st God come down to the bar of man to render an account of the reason of his works Why do ye not also ask him a reason of the nature situation magnitude order influences c. of all the Stars and Superiour Orbs and call him to an account for all his works when yet there are so many things in your own bodies of which you little understand the reason Is it not intollerable impudency for such worms as we so
they become the heirs of that Righteousness which is by faith and condemn the unbelieving careless world that take not the warning and use not the remedy By this time you may see that the Life of Faith is quite another thing than the lifeless opinion of multitudes that call themselves believers To say I believe there is a God a Christ a Heaven a Hell is as easie as it is common But the faith of the ungodly is but an uneffectual dream To dream that you are fighting wins no victories To dream that you are eating gets no strength To dream that you are running ridâ— no ground To dream that you are plowing or sowing or reaping procureth but a fruitless harvest And to dream that you are Princes may consist with beggery If you do any more than dream of Heaven and Hell how is it that you stir not and make it not appear by the diligence of your lives and the fervour of your duties and the seriousness of your endeavours that such wonderful unexpressible over-powering things are indeed the matters of your belief As you love your souls take heed lest you take an image of faith to be the thing it self Faith sets on work the powers of the soul for the obtaining of that joy and the escaping of that misery which you believe But the image of faith in self-deceivers neither warms nor works it conquereth no difficulties it stirs not up to faithful duty It 's blind and therefore seeth not God and how then should he be feared and loved Iâ— seeth not Hell and therefore the senseless soul goes on as fearlesly and merrily to the unquenchable fire as if he were in the safest way This image of faith annihilateth the most potent objects as to any due impression on the soul God is as no God and Heaven as no Hâ—aven to these imaginary Christians If a Prince be in the room an image reverenceth him not If musick and feasting be there an image finds no pleasure in them If fire and sword be there an image fears them not You may perceive by the senseless neglectful carriage of ungodly men that they see not by faith the God that they should love and fear the Heaven that they should seek and wait for or the Hell that they should with all possible care avoid He is indeed the true Believer that allowing the difference of degrees doth pray as if he saw the Lord and speak and live as alwaies in his presence and redeem his time as if he were to die to morrow or as one that seeth death approach and ready to lay hands upon him that begs and cries to God in prayer as one that foreseeth the day of judgement and the endless joy or misery that followeth that bestirreth him for everlasting life as one that seeth Heaven and Hell by the eye of faith Faith is a serious apprehension and causeth a serious conversation for it is instead of sight and presence From all this you may easily and certainly infer 1. That true faith is a Jewel rare and precious and not so common as nominal careless Christians think What say they Are we not all believers will you make Infidels of all that are not Saints are none Christians but those that live so strictly Answer I know they are not Infidels by profession but what they are indeed and what God will take them for you may soon perceive by comparing the description of faith with the inscription legible on their lives It 's common to say I do believe but is it common to find men pray and live as those that do believe indeed It is both in works of charity and of piety that a living faith will shew it self I will not therefore contend about the name If you are ungodly unjust or uncharitable and yet will call your selves Believers you may keep the name and see whether it will save you Have you forgotten how this case is determined by the holy Ghost himself James 2.14 c. What doth it profit my Brethren if a man say he hath faith and hath not works Can faith save him Faith if it hath not works is dead being alone Thou believest that there is one God thou dost well the Devils also believe and tremble If such a belief be it that thou gloriest in it 's not denyed thee But wilt thou know oh vain man that faith without works is dead c. Is there life where there is no motion Had you that Faith that is instead of sight it would make you more solicitous for the things unseen than you are for the visible trifles of this world 2. And hence you may observe that most true Believers are weak in Faith Alas how far do we all fall short of the love and zeal and care and diligence which we should have if we had but once beheld the things which we do believe Alas how dead are our affections how flat are our duties how cold and how slow are our endeavours how unprofitable are our lives in comparison of what one hours sight of Heaven and Hell would make them be O what a comfortable converse would it be if I might but joyn in prayer praise and holy conference one day or hour with a person that had seen the Lord and been in Heaven and born a part in the Angelical Praises Were our Congregations composed of such persons what manner of worship would they perform to God How unlike would their heavenly ravishing expressions be to these our sleepy heartless duties Were Heaven open to the view of all this Congregation while I am speaking to you or when we are speaking in prayer and praise to God imagine your selves what a change it would make upon the best of us in our services What apprehensions what affections what resolutions it would raise and what a posture it would cast us all into And do we not all profess to believe these things as revealed from Heaven by the infallible God Do we not say that such a Divine Revelation is as sure as if the things were in themselves laid open to our sight Why then are we no more affected with them Why are we no more transported by them Why do they no more command our souls and stir up our faculties to the most vigorous and lively exercise and call them off from things that are not to us considerable nor fit to have one glance of the eye of our observation nor a regardful thought nor the least affection unless as they subserve these greater things When you observe how much in your selves and others the frame of your souls in holy duty and the tenour of your lives towards God and man do differ from what they would be if you had seen the things that you believe let it mind you of the great imperfection of faith and humble us all in the sense of our imbâ—cility For though I know that the most perfect Faith is not apt to raise such high affections in
degree as shall be raised by the beatifical vision in the glorified and as present intuition now would raise if we could attain it yet seeing Faith hath as sure an Object and Revelation as sight it self though the manner of apprehension be less affecting it should do much more with us than it doth and bring us nearer to such affections and resolutions as sight would cause Vse 2. If Faith be given us to make things to come as if they were at hand and things unseen as if we saw them you may see from hence 1. The reason of that holy seriousness of Believers which the ungodly want 2. And the reason why the ungodly want it 3. And why they wonder at and distaste and deride this serious diligence of the Saints 1. Would you make it any matter of wonder for men to be more careful of their souls more fervent in their requests to God more fearful of offending him and more laborious in all holy preparation for eternal life than the holiest and precisest person that you know in all the world if so be that Heaven and Hell were seen to them Would you not rather wonder at the dulness and coldness and negligence of the best and that they are not far more holy and diligent than they are if you and they did see these things Why then do you not cease your wondering at their diligence Do you not know that they are men that have seen the Lord whom they daily serve and seen the glory which they daily seek and seen the place of torments which they fly from By Faith in the glass of Divine Revelations they have seen them 2. And the reason why the careless world are not as diligent and holy as Believers is because they have not this eye of Faith and never saw those powerful objects that Believers see Had you their eyes you would have their hearts and lives O that the Lord would but illuminate you and give you such a sight of the things unseen as every true Believer hath What a happy change would it make upon you Then instead of your deriding or opposing it we should have your company in the holy path You would then be such your selves as you now deride If you saw what they see you would do as they do When the heavenly light had appeared unto Saul he ceaseth persecuting and enquires what Christ would have him to do that he might be such a one as he had persecuted And when the scales fell from his eyes he falls to prayer and gets among the Believers whom he had persecuted and laboureth and suffereth more than they 3. But till this light appear to your darkned souls you cannot see the reasons of a holy heavenly life and therefore you will think it hypocrisie or pride or fancy and imagination or the foolishness of cracktâ—brain'd self-conceited men If you see a man do reverence to a Prince and the Prince himself were invisible to you would you not take him for a mad man and say that he cringed to the stools or chairs or bowed to a post or complemented with his shadow If you saw a mans action in eating and drinking and see not the meat and drink it self would you not think him mad If you heard men laugh and hear not so much as the voice of him that gives the jeast would you not imagine them to be brain-sick If you see men dance and hear not the musick if you see a Labourer threshing or reaping or mowing and see no corn or grass before him if you see a Souldier fighting for his life and see no enemy that he spends his stroaks upon will you not take all these for men distracted Why this is the case between you and the true Believers You see them reverently worship God but you see not the Majesty which they worship as they do You see them as busie for the saving of their souls as if an hundred lives lay on it but you see not the Hell from which they fly nor the Heaven they seek and therefore you marvel why they make so much ado about the matters of their salvation and why they cannot do as others and make as light of Christ and Heaven as they that desire to be excused and think they have more needful things to mind But did you see with the eyes of a true Believer and were the amazing things that God hath revealed to us but open to your sight how quickly would you be satisfied and sooner mock at the diligence of a drowning man that is striving for his life or at the labour of the City when they are busily quenching the flames in their habitations than mock at them that are striving for the everlasting life and praying and labouring against the ever-burning flames How soon would you turn your admiration against the stupidity of the careless world and wonder more that ever men that hear the Scriptures and see with their eyes the works of God can make so light of matters of such unspeakable eternal consequence Did you but see Heaven and Hell it would amaze you to think that ever many yea so many and so seeming wise should wilfully run into everlasting fire and sell their souls at so low a rate as if it were as easie to be in Hell as in an Ale-house and Heaven were no better than a beastly lust O then with what astonishment would you think Is this the fire that sinners do so little fear Is this the glory that is so neglected You would then see that the madness of the ungodly is the wonder Vse 3. By this time I should think that some of your own Consciences have prevented me in the Vse of Examination which I am next to call you to I hope while I have been holding you the glass you have not turned away your faces nor shut your eyes But that you have been judging your selves by the light which hath been set up before you Have not some of your consciences said by this time If this be the nature and use of Faith to make things unseen as if we saw them what a desolate case then is my soul in how void of Faith how full of Infidelity how far from the truth and power of Christianity How dangerously have I long deceived my self in calling my self a true Christian and pretending to be a true Believer When I never knew the life of Faith but took a dead opinion bred only by education and the custom of the Countrey instead of it little did I think that I had been an Infidel at the heart while I so confidently laid claim to the name of a Believer Alas how far have I been from living as one that seeth the things that he professeth to Believe If some of your consciences be not thus convinced and perceive not yet your want of faith I fear it is because they are seared or asleep But if yet conscience have not begun to plead this cause against you
them for God but use them for themselves yet wonder not if he fear not much the face of man and be no admirer of worldly greatness when he seeth what they will be as well as what they are Would not usurpers have been less feared if all could have foreseen their fall Even common reason can foresee that shortly you will all be dust Methinks I foresee your ghastly paleness your loathsome blackness and your habitation in the dark And who can much envy or desire the advancements that have such an end One sight of God would blast all the glory of the world that 's now the bâ—â—t for mans perdition Quest 6. Would temptations be as powerful as now they are if you did but see the things you bear of Could all the beauty or pleasures in the world entice you to filthiness or sensuality if you saw God over you and judgement before you and saw what damned souls now suffer and what believers now enjoy Could you be perswaded by any company or recreation to waste your precious time in vain with such things in your eye I am confident you would abhor the motion and entertertain temptations to the most honoured gainful pleasant sin as now you would do a motion to cut your own throats or leap into a coal-pit or thrust your head into a burning-oven Why then doth not faith thus shame temptations if indeed you do believe these things Will you say It is your weakness you cannot â—husâ— or that it is your nature to be lustful revengeful sensual and you cannot overcome it But if you had a sight of Heaven and Hell you could then resist you cannot now bâ—cause you will not But did you see that which would make you willing your power would appear The sight of a Judge or Gallows can restrain mâ—n The sight of a person whom you reverence can restrain the exercise of your disgraceful sins much more would the sight of Heaven and Hell If you were but dying you would shake the head at him that would then tempt you to the committing of your former sins And is not a lively foreseeing faith as effectual Quest 7. Had you seen what you say you do believe you would not so much stick aâ— sufferings nor make so great a matter of it to be reproached slandered imprisoned or condemned by man when God and your salvation command your patience A sight of Hell would make you think it worse than madness to run thither to escape the wrath of man or any sufferings on earth Rom. 8.18 Quest 8. And O how such a sight would advance the Redeemer and his Grace and Promises and Word and Ordinances in your esteem It would quicken your desires and make you fly to Christ for life as a drowning man to that which may support him How sweetly then would you relish the name the word the waies of Christ which now seem dry and common things Qâ—est 9. Could you live as merrily and sleep as quietly in a negligent uncertainty of your salvation if you had seen these things as now you do Could you live at hearts ease while you know not where you shall be to morrow or must live for ever Oh no Were Heaven and Hell but seen before you your Consciences would be more busie in putting such questions Am I regenerate sanctified reconciled justified or not Then any the most zealous Minister is now Quest 10. I will put to you but one Quâ—stion more If we saw God and Heaven and Hell before us do you think it would not effectually reconcile our differences and heal our unbrotherly exasperâ—tions and divisions would it not hold the hands that itch to be using violence against those that are not in all things of their minds what abundance of vain controversies would it reconcile As the coming in of the Master doth part the fray among the School-boyes so the sight of God would frâ—ghten us from contentions or uncharitable violence This would teach us how to preach and pray better than a storm at Sea can do which yet doth it better than some in prosperity wâ—ll learn Did we see what we preach of it would drive us out of our man pleasing self-seeking sleepy strain as the cudgel drives the beggar from his canting and the breaking loose of the Bear did teach the affected cripple to find his legs and câ—st away his câ—utchâ—s I would desire no better outward help to end our controversies about indifferent modes of worship than a sight of the things of which we speak This would excite such a serious â—rame of soul as would not suffer Religion to evaporate into formality nor dwindle into affectation complement and ceremony nor should we dare to beat our fellow-servants and thrust them out of the vineyard and say you shall not preach or pray or live but upon these or those unnecessary terms But the sense of our own frailty and fear of a severe disquisition of our failings would make us compassionate to others and content that necessaries be the matter of our unity unnecessaries of our liberty and both of charity If sight in all these ten particulars would do so much should not faith do much if you verily believe the things you see not Alas corrupted reason is asleep with men that seem wise in other things till it be awakt by faith or sight And sleeping reason is as unserviceable as folly Iâ— doth no work it avoids no danger A Doctor that 's asleep can defend the truth no better than a waking child But reason will be reason and conscience will be conscience when the dust is blown out of mens eyes and sight and feeling have awakened and so recovered their understandings or Faith more seasonably and happily awaked them AND O that now we might all consent to addict ourâ—selves to the Life of Faith And 1. That we live not too much on visibles 2. That we live on the things invisible 1. One would think that worldliness is a disease that carryeth with it a cure for it self and that the rational nature should be loth to love at so dear a rate and to labour for so poor a recompence It is pitty that Gehezi's leprosie and Judas's death should no more prevent a succession of Gehezi's and Judas's in all generations Our Lord went before us most eminently in a contempt of earth His Kingdom was not of this world No men are more unlike him than the worldlings I know necessity is the pretence But it is the dropsie of Covetousness that causeth the thirst which they call Nâ—câ—ssity And therefore the cure is non addere opiâ—us sed imminuere cupiditatem The disease must not be fed but healed Saâ—s est divitiarum non amplius velle It hath lately been a controversie whether this be not the golden age that it is aetas ferrea we have felt our demonstrations are undeniable that it is aetas aurata we have sufficient proof and while gold is the god that rules
Wisdom and that parts with Heaven for a few merry hours and hath not wit to save his soul When they see the end and are arrived at eternity let them boast of their Wisdom as they find cause We will take them then for more competent Judges Let the Eternal God be the portion of my soul let Heaven be my inheritance and hope let Christ be my Head and the promise my security let Faith be my Wisdom and Love be my very heart and will and patient persevering Obedience be my life and then I can spare the wisdom of the world because I can spare the trifles that it seeks and all that they are like to get by it What abundance of complaints and calamity would foresight prevent Had the events of this one year been conditionally foreseen the actions of thousands would have bâ—en otherwise ordered and much sin and shame have been prevented What a change would it make on the judgements of the world how many words would be otherwise spoken and how many deeds would be otherwise done and how many hours would be otherwise spent if the change that will be made by Judgement and Execution were well foreseen And why is it not foreseen when it is foreshewn When the omniscient God that will certainly perform his Word hath so plainly revealed it and so frequently and loudly warns you of it Is he wise that after all these warnings will lie down in everlasting woe and say I little thought of such a day I did not believe I should ever have seen so great a change Would the servants of Christ be used as they are if the malicious world foresaw the day when Christ shall come with ten thousands of his Saints to execute Judgement on all that are ungodly Jude 14 15. When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that do believe 2 Thes 1.10 When the Saâ—nts shall judge the world 1 Cor. 6.2 3. and when the ungodly seeing them on Christs right-hand must hear their sentence on this account Verily I say unto you in as mâ—ch as you did it or did it not to one of the least of these my Brethren you did it unto me Matth. 25. Yet a few daies and all this will be done before your eyes but the unbelieving world will not foresee it Would malignant Cain have slain his brother if he had foreseen the punishment which he calleth afterward intollerable Gen. 4.13 Would the world have despised the preaching of Noah if they had believed the deluge Would Sodom have been Sodom if they had foreseen that an Hell from Heaven would have consumed them Would Achan have medled with his prey if he had foreseen the stones that were his Executioners and his Tomb Would Gehezi have obeyed his covetous desire if he had foreseen the leprosie Or Judas have betrayed Christ if he had foreseen the hanging himself in his despair It is fore-seeing Faith that saves those that are saved and blind unbelief that causeth mens perdition Yea present things as well as future are unknown to foolish Unbelievers Do they know who seeth them in their sin and what many thousands are suffering for the like while they see no danger Whatever their tongues say the hearts and lives of fools deny that there is a God that seeth them and will be their Judge Psalm 14.1 You see then that you must live by Faith or perish by folly 4. Consider that things visible are so transitory and of so short continuance that they do but deserve the name of things being nothings and less than nothing and lighter than vanity it self compared to the necessary eternal Being whose name is IAM There is but a few daies difference between a Prince and no Prince a Lord and no Lord a man and no man a world and no world And if this be all let the time that is past inform you how small a difference this is Rational foresight may teach a Xerxes to weep over his numerous Army as knowing how soon they were all to be dead men Can you forget that death is ready to undress you and tell you that your sport and mirth is done and that now you have had all that the world can do for those that serve it and take it for their part How quickly can a feaver or the choice of an hundred Messengers of death beâ—eave you of all that earth afforded you and turn your sweetest pleasures into gall and turn a Lord into a lump of clay It is but as a wink an inch of time till you must quit the stage and speak and breath and see the face of man no more If you foresee this O live as men that do foresee it I never heard of any that stole his winding-sheet or fought for a Coffiâ— or went to Law for his grave And if you did but see as wise men should how near your Honours and Wealth and Pleasures do stand unto Eternity as well as your Winding sheets your Coffins and your Graves you would then value and desire and seek them regularly and moderately as you do these Oh what a fading flower is your strength How soon will all your gallantry shrink into the shell Si vestra sunt tollite â—a vobiscum Bern. Buâ— yet this is not the great part of the change The terminus ad quem doth make it greater It is great for persons of renown and honour to change their Palaces for graves and turn to noisom rottenness and dirt and their Power and Command into silent impotency unable to rebuke the poorest worm that sawcily feedeth on their hearts or faces But if you are Believers you can look further and foresee much more The largest and most capacious heart alive is unable fully to conceive what a change the stroak of death will make For the holy soul so suddenly to pass from prayer to Angelical praise from sorrow unto boundless joyes from the slanders and contempt and violence of men to the bosom of eternal Love from the clamours of a tumultuous world to the universal harmony and perfect uninterrupted Love and Peace O what a blessed change is this which believing now we shall shortly feel For an unholy unrenewed soul that yesterday was drowned in flesh and laught at threatnings and scorned reproofs to be suddenly snaâ—cht into another world and see the Heaven that he hath lost and feel the Hell which he would not believe to fall into the gulf of bottomless eternity and at once to find that Joy and Hope are both departed that horrour and grief must be his company and Desperation hath lockt up the door O what an amazing change is this If you think me troublesom for mentioning such ungrateful things what a trouble wil it be to feel them May it teach you to prevent that greater trouble you may well bear this Find but a medicine against death or any security for your continuance here or any prevention of the Change and I have
done But that which unavoidably must be seen should be foreseen But the unseen world is not thus mutable Eternal life is begun in the Believer The Church is built on Christ the Reck and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Fix here and you shall never be removed 4. Hence followeth another difference The mutable creature doth impart a disgraceful mutability to the soul that chuseth it It disappointeth and deceiveth And therefore the ungodly are of one mind to day and another to morrow In health they are all for pleasure and commodity and honour and at death they cry out on it as deceitful Vanity In health they cannot abide this strictness this meditating and seeking and preparing for the life to come but at death or judgement they will all be of another mind Then O that they had been so wise as to know their time and O that they hâ—d lived as holily as the best They are now the bold opposers and reproachers of an holy life But then they would be glad it had been their own They would eat their words and will be down in the mouth and stand to never a word they say when sight and sense and judgement shall convince them But things unchangeable do fix the soul Pâ—eâ—y is no matter for Repentance Doth the Believer speak against sin and sinners and for an holy sober righteous life He will do so to the last Death and Judgement shall not change his mind in this but much confirm it And therefore he perseveres through sufferings to death Rom. 8.35 36 37. For this cause we faint not but though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory While we look not at the things that are seen but at the things which are not seen For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal 2 Cor. 4.16 17. 6. Lastly let this move you to live by a foreseeing Faith that it is of necessity to your salvation Believing Heaven must prepare you for it before you can enjoy it Believing Hell is necessâ—ry to prevent it Mark 16.16 John 3.18 36. The just shall live by Faith but if any man draw back or be lifted up the Lord will have no pleasure in him Heb. 10.38 Hâ—b 2.4 Take heed that there be not in any of you an evil heart of unbelief to depart from the living God Heb. 3.12 And be not of them that draw back to perdition but of them that believe to the saving of the soul Heb. 10.39 It is God that saith They shall all be damned that believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thes 2.10 11 12. May I now in the conclusion more particularly exhort you 1. That you will live upon things foreseen 2. That you will promote this life of faith in others according to your several capacities Princes and Nobles live not alwaies You are not the Rulers of the unmoveable Kingdom but of a boat that is in an hasty stream or a ship under sail that will speed both Pilot and Passengers to the shore Dixi estis Dii at moriemini ut homines It was not the least or worst of Kings that said I am a stranger vpon earth Psal 119.19 Vermis sum non homo I am a worm and no man Psal 32.6 You are the greater worms and we the little ones but we must all say with Job ch 17.13 14. The grave is our house and we must make our beds in darkness Corruption is our Father and the Worm our Mother and our Sister The inexorable Leveller is ready at your backs to convince you by unresistible argument that dust you are and to dust you shall return Heaven should be as desirable and Hell as terrible to you as to others No man will fear you after death much less will Christ be afraid to judge you Luke 19.27 As the Kingdoms and glory of the world were contemned by him in the hour of his temptation so are they inconsiderable to procure his approbation Trust not therefore to uncertain riches Value them but as they will prove at last As you stand on higher ground than others it is meet that you should see further The greater are your advantages the wiser and better you should be and therefore should better perceive the difference between things temporal and eternal It is alwaies dark where these glow-worms shine and a rotten post doth seem a fire Your difficulties also should excite you You must go as through a Needles eye to Heaven To live as in Heaven in a crowd of business and stream of temptations from the confluence of all worldly things is so hard that few such come to Heaven Withdraw your selves therefore to the frequent serious fore-thoughts of eternity and live by faith Had time allowed it I should have come down to some particular instances As 1. Let the things unseen be still at hand to answer every temptation and shame and repel each motion to sin 2. Let them be still at hand to quicken us to duty when backwardness and coldness doth surprize us What shall we do any thing coldly for eternity 3. Let it resolve you what company to delight in and what society to be of even those with whom you must dwell for ever What side soever is uppermost on earth you may foresee which side shall reign for ever 4. Let the things invisible be your daily solace and the satisfaction of your souls Are you slandered by men Faith tells you it is enough that Christ will justifie you O happy day when he will bring forth our righteousness as the light and set all strait which all the false histories or slanderous tongues or pens in all the world made crooked Are you frowned on or contemned by men Is it not enough that you shall everlastingly be honoured by the Lord Are you wronged oppressed or trodden on by pride or malice Is not Heaven enough to make you reparation and eternity long enough for your joyes O pray for your malicious enemies lest they suffer more than you can wish them 2. Lastly I should have become on the behalf of Christ a petitioner to you for protection and encouragement to the heirs of the invisible world For them that preach and them that live this life of faith not for the honours and riches of the world but for leave and countenance to work in the Vineyard and peaceably travel through the world as strangers and live in the Communion of Saints as they believe But though it be for the beloved of the Lord the apple of his eye the people that are sure to prevail and raign with Christ for ever whose prayers can do more for the greatest Princes than you can do for them whose joy is hastened by that which is intended for their sorrow I shall now lay
abroad the world And then how the Roman Empire was brought in and subdued to Christ and Crowns and Scepters resigned to him and all this according to his own prediction that when he was lifted up he would draw all men to him and according to the predictions of his Prophets But that which I would especially open is the POWER which is manifested in the work of the Spirit on the souls of men both then and to this day Hitherto what I have mentioned belonging to the Scripture it self it is to be taken as part of our Religion objectively considered But that which followeth is the effect of that even our Religion subjectively considered To observe how God maketh men Believers and by believing sanctifieth their hearts and lives is a great motive to further our own believing Consider the work 1. As it is in it self 2. As it is opposed by all its enemies and you may see that it is the work of God 1. As the Goodness so also the Greatness of it is Gods own Image It is the raising up of our stupid faculties to be lively and active to those holy uses to which they were become as dead by sin To cause in an unlearned person a firmer and more distinct belief of the unseen world than the most learned Philosophers can attain to by all their natural contemplations To bring up a soul to place its happiness on things so high and far from sense To cause him who naturally is imprisoned in selfishness to deny himself and devote himself entirely to God to love him to trust him and to live to him To raise an earthly mind to Heaven that our business and hope may be daily there To overcome our pride and sensuality and bring our senses in subjection unto reason and to keep a holy government in our thoughts and over our passions words and deeds And to live in continual preparation for death as the only time of our true felicity And to suffer any loss or pain for the safe accomplishment of this All this is the work of the POWER of God 2. Which will the more appear when we consider what is done against it within us and without us what privative and positive averseness we have to it till God do send down that Life and Light and Love into our souls which is indeed his Image How violently our fleshly sense and appetite strive against the restraints of God and would hurry us contrary to the motions of grace How importunately Satan joyneth with his suggestions What baits the world doth still set before us to divert us and pervert us And how many instruments of its flattery or its cruelty are still at work to stop us or to turn us back to invite our affections down to Earth and ensnare them to some deluding vainty or to distract us in our heavenly design and to aâ—right or discourage us from the holy way And if we think this an easie work because it is also reasonable do but observe how hardly it goeth on till the POWER of God by grace accomplish it what a deal of pains may the best and wisest Parents take with a graceless child and all in vain what labours the worthiest Ministers lose on graceless people and how blind and dead and senseless a thing the graceless heart is to any thing that is holy even when reason it self cannot gainsay it And God is pleased oft-times to weary out Parents and Masters and Ministers with such unteachable and stony hearts to make them know what naturally they are themselves to bring them to the more lively acknowledgement of the POWER which is necessary to renew and save a soul But having spoken at large of this in the formentioned Treatise I shall take up with these brief intimations 19. And the preservation of that Grace in the soul which is once given us is also an effect of the POWER of God Our strength is in the Lord and in the power of his might Eph. 6.10 It is our Lord himself who is the Lord of life and whose Priesthood was made after the power of an endless life Heb. 7.16 who giveth us the Spirit of Power and of Love and of a sound mind 2 Tim. 1.7 or of received wisdom for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sound understanding received by instruction And this text expresseth the three parts of Gods Image in the new Creature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And as Power is given us with Love and Wisdom so Power with Love and Wisdom do give it us and Power also must preserve it 1 Pet. 1.5 We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation 2 Tim. 1.8 According to the power of God who hath saved us The Gospel is the Power of God that is the instrument of his Power to our salvation Rom. 1.16 So 1 Cor. 1.18 To us that are saved it is the power of God because Christ whom it revealeth is the power and wisdom of God v. 24. And thus our faith standeth in the power of God 1 Cor. 2.5 2 Cor. 6.7 And the Kingdom of God in us doth consist in power 1 Cor. 4.20 The mind of man is very mutable and he that is possessed once with the desires of things spiritual and eternal would quickly lose those desires and turn to present things again which are still before him while higher things are beyond our sense if the Power and Activity of the divine life did not preserve the spark which is kindled in us Though the doctrine of Perseverance be controverted in the Christian Church yet experience assureth us of that which all parties are agreed in Some hold that all true Christians persevere and some hold that all confirmed Christians persevere that is those who come to a strong degree of grace but those that think otherwise do yet all grant that if any fall away it is comparatively but a very few of those who are sincere When none would persevere if Omnipotency did not preserve them 20. Lastly The POWER of God also doth consequently own the Christian Religion by the Preservation of the Church in this malicious and opposing world as well as by the preservation of grace in the soul which will be the more apparent if you observe 1. That the number of true Christians is still very small in comparison of the wicked 2. That all wicked men are naturally by the corruption of nature their enemies because the precepts and practice of Christianity are utterly against their carnal minds and interests 3. That the doctrine and practice of Christianity is still galling them and exciting and sublimating this enmity into rage And God doth by persecutions ordinarily tell us to our smart that all this is true 4. That all carnal men are exceeding hardly moved from their own way 5. That the Government of the Earth is commonly in their hand because of their numbers and their wealth For it is commonly the rich that rule and the rich are usually bad
though we must not with Fanatical persons put first our own interpretation upon Gods works and then expound his Word by them but use his works as the fulfilling of his Word and expound his Providences by his Precepts and his Promises and Threats Direct 7. Mark well Gods inward works of Government upon the soul and you shall find it very agreeable to the Gospel There is a very great evidence of a certain Kingdom of God within us And as he is himself a Spirit so it is with the Spirit that he doth most apparently converse in the work of his moral Government in the world 1. There you shall find a Law of duty or an inward conviction of much of that obedience which you owe to God 2. There you shall find an inward mover striving with you to draw you to perform this duty 3. There you shall find the inward suggestions of an enemy labouring to draw you away from this duty and to make a godly life seem grievous to you and also to draw you to all the sins which Christ forbiddeth 4. There you shall find an inward conviction that God is your Judge and that he will call you to account for your wilful violations of the Laws of Christ 5. There you shall find an inward sentence past upon you according as you do good or evil 6. And there you may find the sorest Judgements of God inflicted which any short of Hell endure You may there find how God for sin doth first afflict the soul that is not quite forsaken with troubles and affrightments and some of the feeling of his displeasure And where that is long despised and men sin on still he useth to with hold his gracious motions and leave the sinner dull and senseless so that he can sin with sinful remorse having no heart or life to any thing that is spiritually good And if yet the sinner think not of his condition to repent he is usually so far forsaken as to be given up to the power of his most bruitish lust and to glory impudently in his shame and to hate and persecute the servants of Christ who would recover him till he hath filled up the measure of his sin and wrath be come upon him to the uttermost Ephes 4.18 19. 1 Thes 2.15 16. being abominable and disobedient and to every good work reprobate Titus 1.15 16. Besides the lesser penal withdrawings of the Spirit which Gods own servants find in themselves after some sins or neglects of grace 7. And there also you may find the Rewards of Love and faithful duty by many tastes of Gods acceptance and many comforts of his Spirit and by his owning the soul and giving out larger assistance of his Spirit and peace of conscience and entertainment in prayer and all approaches of the soul to God and sweeter forecasts of life eternal In a word if we did but note Gods dreadful Judgements on the souls of the ungodly in this age as well as we have noted our plagues and flames and if Gods servants kept as exact observations of their inward rewards and punishments and that in particulars as suited to their particular sins and duties you will see that Christ is King indeed and that there is a real Government according to his Gospel kept up in the consciences or souls of men though not so observable as the rewards and punishments at the last day Direct 8. Dwell not too much on sensual objects and let them not come too near your hearts Three things I here perswade you carefully to avoid 1. That you keep your hearts at a meet distance from all things in this world that they grow not too sweet to you nor too great in your esteem 2. That you gratifie not sense it self too much and live not in the pleasing of your taste or lust 3. That you suffer not your imaginations to run out greedily after things sensitive nor make them the too frequent objects of your thoughts You may ask perhaps what is all this to our faith why the life of faith is exercised upon things that are not seen And if you live upon the things that are seen and imprison your soul in the fetters of your concupiscence and fill your fancies with things of another nature how can you be acquainted with the life of faith Can a bird flye that hath a stone tyed to her foot Can you have a mind full of lust and of God at once Or can that mind that is used to these inordinate sensualities be fit to rellish the things that are spiritual And can it be a lover of earth and fleshly pleasures and also a Believer and lover of Heaven Direct 9. Vse your selves much to think and speak of Heaven and the invisible things of Faith Speaking of Heaven is needful both to express your thoughts and to actuate and preserve them And the often thoughts of Heaven will make the mind familiar there And familiarity will assist and encourage faith For it will much acquaint us with those reasons and inducements of faith which a few strange and distant thoughts will never reach to As he that converseth much with a learned wise or godly man will easilier believe that he is learned wise or godly than he that is a stranger to him and only now and then seeth him afar off So he that thinketh so frequently of God and Heaven till his mind hath contracted a humble acquaintance and familiarity must needs believe the truth of all that excellency which before he doubted of For doubting is the effect of ignorance And he that knoweth most here believeth best Falshood and evil cannot bear the light but the more you think of them and know them the more they are detected and ashamed But truth and goodness love the light and the better you are acquainted with them the more will your belief and love be increased Direct 10. Live not in the guilt of wilful sin For that will many waies hinder your belief 1. It will breed fear and horrour in your minds and make you wish that it were not true that there is a day of Judgement and a Hell for the ungodly and such a God such a Christ and such a life to come as the Gospel doth describe And when you take it for your interest to be an unbeliever you will hearken with desire to all that the Devil and Infidels can say And you will the more easily make your selves believe that the Gospel is not true by how much the more you desire that it should not be true 2. And you will forfeit the grace which should help you to believe both by your wilfull sin and by your unwillingness to believe For who can expect that Christ should give his grace to them who wilfully despise him and abuse it Or that he should make men believe who had rather not believe Indeed he may possibly do both these but these are not the way nor is it a thing which we can expect
3. And this guilt and fear and unwillingness together will all keep down your thoughts from Heaven so that seldom thinking of it will increase your unbelief and they will make you unfit to see the evidences of truth in the Gospel when you do think of them or hear them For he that would not kâ—â—w cannot learn Obâ—y therefore according to the knowledge which you have if ever you would have more and would not be given up to the blindness of Infidelity Direct 11. Trust not only to your understandings and think not that study is all which is necessary to faith But remember that faith is the gift of God and therefore pray as well as study Prov. 3.5 Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not to thy own understanding It is a precept as necessary in this point as in any In all things God abhorreth the proud and looketh at them afar off as with disowning and disdain But in no case more than when a blind ungodly sinner shall so overvalue his own understanding as to think that if there be evidence of truth in the mystery of faith he is able presently to discern it before or without any heavenly illumination to cure his dark distempered mind Remember that as the Sun is seen only by his own light so is God our Creatour and Redeemer Faith is the gift of God as well as Repentance Ephes 2.8 2 Tim. 2.25 26. Apply your selves therefore to God by earnest prayer for it As he Mark 9.24 Lord I believe help thou my unbelief And as the Disciples Luke 17.5 Increase our faith A humble soul that waiteth on God in fervent prayer and yet neglecteth not to study and search for truth is much liker to become a confirmed Believer than ungodly Students who trust and seek no further than to their Books and their perverted minds For as God will be sought to for his grace so those that draw near him do draw near unto the Light and therefore are like as children of Light to be delivered from the power of darkness For in his light we shall see the light that must acquaint us with him Direct 12. Lastly What measure of Light soever God vouchsafeth you labour to turn it all into Love and make it your serious care and business to know God that you may love him and to love God so far as you know him For he that desireth satisfaction in his doubts to no better end than to please his mind by knowing and to free it from the disquiet of uncertainty hath an end so low in all his studies that he cannot expect that God and his grace should be called down to serve such a low and base design That faith which is not employed in beholding the love of God in the face of Christ on purpose to increase and exercise our love is not indeed the true Christian Faith but a dead opinion And he that hath never so weak a faith and useth it to this end to know Gods amiableness and to love him doth take the most certain way for the confirmation of his faith For Love is the closest adherence of the soul to God and therefore will set it in the clearest light and will teach it by the sweet convincing way of experience and spiritual taste Believing alone is like the knowledge of our meat by seeing it And Love is as the knowledge of our meat by eating and digesting it And he that hath tasted that it is sweet hath a stronger kind of perswasion that it is sweet than he that only seeth it and will much more tenaciously hold his apprehension It is more possible to dispute him out of his belief who only seeth than him that also tasteth and concocteth A Parent and child will not so easily believe any false reports of one another as strangers or enemies will because Love is a powerful resister of such hard conceits And though this be delusory and blinding partiality where Love is guided by mistake yet when a sound understanding leadeth it and Love hath chosen the truest object it is the naturally perfective motion of the soul And Love keepeth us under the fullest influences of Gods Love and therefore in the reception of that grace which will increase our faith For Love is that act which the ancient Doctors were wont to call the principle of merit or first meritorious act of the soul and which we call the principle of rewardable acts God beginneth and loveth us first partly with a Love of complacency only as his creatures and also as in esse cognito he foreseeth how amiable his grace will make us and partly with a Love of benevolence intending to give us that grace which shall make us really the objects of his further Love And having received this grace it causeth us to love God And when we love God we are really the objects of his complacential Love and when we perceive this it still increaseth our Love And thus the mutual Love of God and Man is the true perpetual motion which hath an everlasting cause and therefore must have an everlasting duration And so the faith which hath once kindled Love even sincere Love to God in Christ hath taken rooting in the heart and lyeth deeper than the head and will hold fast and increase as Love increaseth And this is the true reason of the stedfastness and happiness of many weak unlearned Christians who have not the distinct conceptions and reasonings of learned men and yet because their Faith is turned into Love their Love doth help to confirm their Faith And as they love more heartily so they believe more stedfastly and perseveringly than many who can say more for their faith And so much for the strengthening of your faith CHAP. IX General Directions for exercising the Life of Faith HAving told you how Faith must be confirmed I am next to tell you how it must be used And in this I shall begin with some General Directions and then proceed to such particular cases in which we have the greatest use for Faith Direct 1. Remember the necessity of Faith in all the business of your hearts and lives that nothing can be done well without it There is no sin to be conquered no grace to be exercised no worship to be performed nor no acts of mercy or justice or worldly business to be well done without it in any manner acceptable to God Without Faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 You may as well go about your bodily work without your eye-sight as about your spiritual work without Faith Direct 2. Make it therefore your care and work to get Faith and to use it and think not that God must reveal his mind to you as in visions while you idly neglect your proper work Believing is the first part of your trade of life and the practice of it must be your constant business It is not living ordinarily by sense and looking when God will
man to God to love him and be beloved by him so the true use of Faith in Jesus Christ is to be as it were the bellows to kindle love or the burning-glass as it were of the soul to receive the beams of the Love of God as they shine upon us in Jesus Christ and thereby to enflame our hearts in love to God again Therefore if you would live by Faith indeed begin here and first receive the deepest apprehensions of that Love of the Father Who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And by these apprehensiâ—ns stir up your hearts to the Love of God and make this very endeavour the work and business of your lives Oh that mistaken Christians would be rectified in this point how much would it tend to their holiness and their peace You think of almost nothing of the life of Faith but how to believe that you have a special interest in Christ and shall be saved by him But you have first another work to do You must first believe that common Love and Grace before mentioned John 3.16 2 Cor. 5.19 20.14 15. 1 Tim. 2.6 Heb. 2.9 And you must believe your own interest in this that is that God hath by Christ made to all and therefore unto you an act of oblivion and free deed of gift that you shall have Christ and pardon and eternal life if you will believingly accept the gift and will not finally reject it And the belief of this even of this common Love and Grace must first perswade your hearts accordingly to accept the offer and then you have a special interest and withall at the same time must kindle in your souls a thankful love to the Lord and fountain of this grace and if you were so ingenuous as to begin here and first use your Faith upon the foresaid common gift of Christ for the kindling of love to God within you and would account this the work which Faith hath every day to do you would then find that in the very exciting and exercise of this holy Love your assurance of your own special interest in Christ would be sooner and more comfortably brought about than by searching to find either evidence of pardon before you find your love to God or to find your love to God before you have laboured to get and exercise it I tell you they are dangerous deceivers of your souls that shall contradict this obvious truth that the true method and motive of mans first special love to God must not be by believing first God 's special love to us but by believing his more common love and mercy in the general act and offer of grace before mentioned For he that believeth Gods special love to him and his special interest in Christ before he hath any special love to God doth sinfully presume and not believe For if by Gods special love you mean his love of complacency to you as a living member of Christ to believe this before you love God truly is to believe a dangerous lie and if you mean only Gods love of benevolence by which he decreeth to make you the objects of his foresaid complacency and to sanctifie and save you to believe this before you truly love God is to believe that which is utterly unknown to you and may be false for ought you know but is not at all revealed by God and therefore is not the object of Faith Therefore if you cannot have true assurance or perswasion of your special interest in Christ and of your justification before you have a special love to God then this special love must be kindled I say not by a common Faith but by a true Faith in the General Love and Promise mentioned before Nay you must not only have first this special love but also must have so much knowledge that indeed you have it as you will have knowledge of your special interest in Christ and the love of God for no act of Faith will truly evidence special grace which is not immediately and intimately accompanied with true love to God our Father and Redeemer and the ultimate object of our Faith Nor can you any further perceive or prove the sincerity of your Faith it self than you discern in or with it the Love here mentioned For Faith is not only an act of the Intellect but of the Will also And there is no volition or consent to this or any offered good which hath not in it the true nature of Love and the intention of the end being in order of nature before our choice or use of means the intending of God as our end cannot come behind that act of Faith which is about Christ as the chosen means or way to God Therefore make this your great and principal use of your Faith to receive all the expressions of Gods Love in Christ and thereby to kindle in you a love to God that first the special true belief of Gods more common love and grace may kindle in you a special love and then the sense of this may assure you of your special interest in Christ and then the assurance of that special interest may increase your love to a much higher degree And thus live by Faith in the work of Love Direct 7. That you may understand what that Faith is which you must live by take in all the parts at least that are essential to it in your description and take not some parcels of it for the Christian Faith nor think noâ— that it must needs be several sorts of Faith if it have several objects and hearken not to that dull Philosophical subtilty which would perswade you that Faith is but some single physical act of the soul 1. If you know not what Faith is it must needs be a great hinderance to you in the seeking of it the trying it and the using it For though one may use his natural faculties which work by natural inclination and necessity without knowing what they are yet it is not so where the choice of the rational appetite is necessary for it must be guided by the reasoning faculty And though unlearned persons may have and use Repentance Faith and other graces who cannot define them yet they do truly though not perfectly know the thing it self though they know not the terms of a just definition and all defect of knowing the true nature of Faith will be some hinderance to us in using it 2. It is a moral subject which we are speaking of and terms are to be understood according to the nature of the subject therefore Faith is to be taken for a moral act which comprehendeth many physical acts Such as is the act of believing in or taking such a man for my Physician or my Master or my Tutor or my King Even our Philosophers themselves know not what doth individuate a physical act of the soul Nay they are not
not by Faith chosen and used by us under the notion of a Mâ—diatour or Means to our first act of love and consent but is a Means to that of the Fathers chusing only but is in that first consent chosen by us for the standing means of our Justification and Glory and of all our following exercise and increase of love to God and our sanctification so that it is only the assenting act of faith and not the electing act which is the efficient cause of oâ— very first act of Love to God and of our first degree of sanctification and thus it is that Faith is called the seed and mother grace But it is not that saving Faith which is our Christianity and the condition of Justification and of Glory till it come up to a covenant-consent of heart and take in the foresaid acts of Repentance and Love to God as our God and ultimate end The observation of many written mistakes about the order of the work of grace and the ill and contentious consequents that have followed them hath made me think that this true and accurate decision of this case is not unuseful or unnecessary Direct 12. The Holy Ghost so far concurred with the eternal Word in our Redemption that he was the perfecting Operator in the Conception the Holiness the Miracles the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Of his Conception it is said Mat. 1.20 For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost And vers 18. She was found with child of the Holy Ghost And of his holy perfection as it is said Luke 2.52 that he increased in wisdom and stature and favour with God and men meaning those positive perfections of his humane nature which were to grow up with nature it self and not the supply of any culpable or privative defects so when he was baptized the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a Dove upon him Luke 3.22 And Luke 4.1 it is said Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost c. Isa 11.2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the Spirit of wisdom and understanding the Spirit of counsel and might the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord and shall make him quick of understanding in the fear of the Lord c. Joh. 3.34 For God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him Acts 1.2 After that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments to the Apostles whom he had chosen Rom. 1.4 And was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness that is the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead Mat. 12.28 If I cast out Devils by the Spirit of God c. Luke 4.18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor he hath sent me to heal c. Isa 61.1 In all this you see how great the work of the Holy Spirit was upon Christ himself to fit his humane nature for the work of our redemption and actuate him in it though it was the Word only which was made flesh and dwelt among us John 1.3 Direct 13. Christ was thus filled with the Spirit to be the Head or quickening Spirit to his body and accordingly to fit each member for its peculiar office And therefore the Spirit now given is called the Spirit of Christ as communicated by him Rom. 8.9 If any man have not the Spirit of Christ the same is none of hiâ— Joh. 7.37 This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe should receive viz. it is the water of life which Christ will give them 1 Cor. 15.45 The last Adam was made a quickening Spirit Gal. 4.6 God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts whereby we cry Abba Father Phil. 1.19 Through the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ See also Ephes 1.22 23. 3.17 18 19. 2.18 22. 4.3 12 16. 1 Cor. 12 c. Direct 14. The greatest extraordinary measure of the Spirit was given by him to his Apostles and the Primitive Christians to be the seal of his own truth and power and to fit them to found the first Churches and to convince unbelievers and to deliver his will on record in the Scriptures infallibly to the Church for future times It would be tedious to cite the proofs of this they are so numerous take but a few Matth. 28.20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you that 's the commission Mark 16.17 And these signs shall follow them that believe c. Joh. 20.22 Receive ye the Holy Ghost c. 14.26 But the Comforter the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you Joh. 16.13 When the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth c. Heb. 2.4 God also bearing them witness both with signs and wâ—nders and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will Direct 15. And as such gifts of the Spirit was given to the Apostles as their â—ffice required so thâ—se sanctifying graces or that spiritual Life Light and Love are given by it to all true Christians which their calling and salvation doth require John 3.5 6. Except a man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven That which is born of the flâ—sh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit Heb. 12.14 Without holiness none shall see God Rom. 8.8 9 10 14. They that are in the flesh cannot please God But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his See also v. 1 3 4 5 6 7 c. Titus 3.5 6 7. He saved us by the washing of Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life But the testimonies of thâ—s truth are more numerous than I may recite Direct 16. By all this it appeareth that the Holy Ghost is both Christs great witness objectively in the world by which it is that he is owned of God and proved to be true and also his Advocate or great Agent in the Church both to indite the Scriptures and to sanctifie souls So that no man can be a Christian indeed without these three 1. The objective witness of the Spirit to the truth of Christ 2. The Gospel taught by the Spirit in the Apostles 3. And the quickening illuminating and sanctifying work of the Spirit upon their souls Direct 17. It is therefore in these respects that we are baptizâ—d into the Name of the Holy Ghost as well as of the Father and the Son
3 4. 1 Cor. 13. Heb. 11. Mat. 6.20 21. 3. It is the turning away from and refusing all other seeming felicity or ends and casting all our happiness and hopes upon God alone 4. It is the chusing Jesus Christ as the only way and Mediator to this end with the refusing of all other Job 14.6 and trusting all that we are or hope for upon his Mediation III. In the Vital Power it is the casting away all inconsistent fears and the inward resolved delivering up the soul to the Father Son and Holy Spirit in this Covenant entering our selves into a resolved war with the Devil the World and the Flesh which in the performance will resist us And thus Faith or Trust is constituted and completed in the true Baptismal Covenant Direct 28. In all this be sure that you observe the difference between the truth of Faith and the high degrees The truth of it is most certainly discerned by as consisting in THE ABSOLVTE CASTING or VENTVRING not part but ALL YOVR HAPPINESS and HOPES VPON GOD and the MEDIATOR ONLY and LETTING GO ALL WHICH IS INCONSISTENT WITH THIS CHOICE and TRVST This is true and saving Faith and Trust Pardon me that I sometime use the word VENTVRING ALL as if there were any uncertainty in the matter I intend not by it to express the least uncertainty or fallibility in Gods Promise For Heaven and Earth shall pass away but one jot or tittle of his Word shall not pass till all be fulfilled But I shall here add 1. True Faith or Trust may consist with uncertainty in the person who believeth if he believe and trust Christ but so far that he can cast away all his worldly treasures and hopes even life it self upon that trust Every one is not an Infidel nor an Hypocrite who must say if he speak his heart I am not certain past all doubts that the soul is immortal or the Gospel true but I am certain that immortal happiness is most desirable and endless misery most terrible and that this world is vanity and nothing in it worthy to be compared with the hopes which Christ hath given us of a better life And therefore upon just deliberation I am resolved to let go all my sinful pleasures profits and worldly reputation and life it self when it is inconsistent with those hopes And to take Gods Love for my felicity and end and to trust and venture absolutely all my happiness and hopes on the favour of God the mediation of Christ and the Promises which he hath given us in the Gospel I know I shall meet with abundance of Teachers and people that will shake the head at this doctrine as dangerous and cry out of it as favouring unbelief that any one should have true saving Faith who doubteth or is uncertain of the immortality of the soul or the trâ—th of the Gospel But I see so much in hot-brained proud persons to be pittied and so much of their work in the Church to be with tears lamented that I will not by speech or silence favour their brainsick bold assertions nor will I fear their phrenetick furious censures If it be not a mark of a wise and good Minister of Christ to be utterly ignorant of the state of souls both his own and all the peoples then I will not concur to the advancement of the reputation of such ignorance It is enough to pardon the great injury which such do to the Church of God without countenancing it Though this one instance only now mind me of it abundance more do second it and tell us that there are in the Churches through the world abundance of Divines who are first taught by a party which they most esteem what is to be held and said as orthodox and then make it their work to contend for that orthodoxness which they were taught so to honour even with the most unmanly and unchristian scorns and censures when as if they had not been dolefully ignorant both of the Scriptures and themselves and the souls of men they would have known that it is the fool that rageth and is confident and that it was not their knowing more than others but their knowing less which made them so presumptuous and that they are themselves as far from certainty as others when they condemn themselves to defend their opinions Even like our late Perfectionists who all lived more imperfectly than others but wrote and railed for sinless perfection as soon as they did but take up the opinion As if turning to that opinion had made them perfect So men may pass the censure of hypocrisie and damnation upon themselves when they please by damning all as hypocrites whose faith is thus far imperfect but they shall never make any wise man believe by it that their own faith is ever the more certain or perfect As far as I can judge by acquaintance with persons most religious though there be many who are afraid to speak it out yet the far greater number of the most faithful Christians have but such a faith which I described and their hearts say I am not certain or past all doubt of the truth of our immortality or of the Gospel but I will venture all my hopes and happiness though to the parting with life it self upâ—n it And I will venture to say it as the truth of Christ that he that truly can do this hath a sincere and saving faith whatsoever Opinionists may say against it For Christ hath promised that he that loseth his life for his sake and the Gospels shall have life everlasting Mat. 10.37 38 39 42. 16.25 19.29 Luke 18.30 And he hath appointed no higher expressions of faith as necessary to salvation than denying our selves and taking up the Cross and forsaking all that we have or in one word than Martyrdom and this as proceeding from the Love of God Luke 14.26 27 29 33 Rom. 8.17 18 28 29 3O 35 36 37 38 39. And it is most evident that the sincere have been weak in faith Luke 17.5 And the Apostles said unto the Lord Increase our faith Mark 9.24 Lord I believe help thou my unbelief Luke 7.9 I have not found so great faith no not in Israel The weak faith was the more common 2. And as true Faith or Trust may consist with doubts and uncertainty in the subject so may it with much anxiety care disquietment and sinful fear which sheweth the imperfection of our Faith Shall â—e not much more clothe you O ye of little faith Mat. 16.8 O ye of little faith why reason you among your selves c. Mat. 8. â—6 Why are ye fearful O ye of little faith Mat. 14.31 Peter had a faith that could venture his life on the waters to come to Christ as confident of a miracle upon his command But yet it was not without fear v. 30. When he saw the wind boisterous he was afraid which caused Christ to say O thou of little faith wherefore didst
him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses Acts 26.18 To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith that is in me 1 John 1.9 If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Heb. 8.12 I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more Acts 10.43 To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins Luke 24.47 That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his Name to all Nations 2. Promises of Salvation from Hell and possession of Heaven John 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life v. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned v. 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life 1 John 5.11 12. And this is the record that God hath given us eternal life and this is in his Son He that hath the Son hath life Acts 26.18 before cited 1 Tim. 1.15 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners Heb. 7.25 He is able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him Heb. 5.9 And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved John 10.9 By me if any man enter in he shall be saved John 10.27 28. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I will give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish Rom. 5.9 10. Being justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him Much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life See Luke 18 30. John 4.14 6.27 40 47. 12.50 Rom. 6.22 Gal. 6.8 1 Tim. 1.16 3. Promises of Reconciliation Adoption and acceptance with God through Christ 2 Cor. 5.18 19 20. God hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses to them and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation Now then we are Ambassadours for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye reconciled unto God For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him Rom. 5.1 2 10. Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoyce in hope of the glory of God When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son 2 Cor. 6.16 17 18. I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people I will receive you and be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Almighty Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit John 1.12 As many as received him to them give he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flâ—sh nor of the will of man but of God Acts 10.35 In every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of him Ephes 1 6 He hath made us accepted in the Beloved Ephes 2.14 16. Col. 1.20 John 16.27 The Father himself loveth you because ye have loved me and believed that I came out from God 4. Promises of renewed Pardon of sins after conversion 1 John 2.12 If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world Matth. 6.14 Forgive us our trespasses For if we forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you James 5.15 If he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him Matth. 12.31 I say unto you All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men but the blasphemy against the Spirit Psal 103.3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities 1 John 1.9 If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 5. Promises of the Spirit of Sanctification to Believers and of divine assistances of grace Luke 11.13 How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him John 7.37 38 39. If any man thirst let him come to me and drink He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water This he spake of the Spirit which they that believe on him shall receive John 4.10 14. If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given thee living waters Ezek. 36.26 27. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh and I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes Ezek. 11.19 And I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within you Acts 2.38 39 Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call Gal. 4.6 And because you are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father Prov. 1.23 Turn you at my reproof behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you I will make known my words unto you Rom. 8.26 Likewise the Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intecerssion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered 6. Promises of Gods giving his grace to all that truly desire and seek it Matth. 5 6. Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled Isa 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no mony come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without mony and without price Hearken diligently to me and eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight it self in fatness Encline
of sight to the blind and to set at liberty them that are bruised James 4.6 He giveth grace to the humble Matth. 18.4 Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 23.12 He that shall humble himself shall be exalted James 4.10 Humble your selves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up Prov. 3.34 He giveth grace to the lowly 12. Promises to the peaceable and peace-makers Matth. 5.9 Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called the children of God James 3.17 18. The wisdom from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be intreated And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace 2 Cor. 13.11 Be perfect be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace and the God of Love and Peace shall be with you Prov. 12.20 To the councellours of peace is joy Rom. 15.33 16.20 Phil. 4.9 The God of peace shall be with you c. shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly Grace and Peace are the blessing of Saints 13. Promises to the diligent and laborious Christian Heb. 11.6 He that cometh to God must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Prov. 13.4 The soul of the diligent shall be made fat 1 Cor. 15.58 Be stedfast unmoveable alwaies abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 2 Pet. 1.10 Give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if ye do these things ye shall never fail 2 Pet. 1.5 8. Giving all diligence add to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge c. For if these things be in you and abound they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 5.9 Wherefore we labour that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him Matth. 6.33 Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you 1 Cor. 3.8 Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour Matth. 11.12 The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force See Prov. 3.13 c. 4. to 14. 6.20 c. 7.1 c. 8 9. throughout 14. Promises to the patient waiting Christian Heb. 6.11 12. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end that ye be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises James 1.3 4. Knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience but let patience have its perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing Psal 27.14 Wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart wait I say on the Lord. Psal 37.7 9 34. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him Those that wait on the Lord shall inherit the earth Wait on the Lord and keep his way and he shall exaâ—â— thee to inherit the Land Prov. 20 22. Wait on the Lord and he shall save thee Isa 30.18 Blessed are all they that wait for him Isa 40.31 They that wait on the 〈…〉 renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not be faint Isa 49.23 They shall not be ashamed that wait for me Lam. 3.25 The Lord is good to them that wait for him to the soul that seeketh him 26. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Rom. 8.25 But if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it Gal. 5.5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith 2 Thes 3.5 The Lord direct your hearts into the Love of God and the patient waiting for Christ Rom. 2.7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory honour and immortality eternal life Heb. 10.36 Ye have need of patience that after ye have done the will of God ye may inherit the promise 15. Promises to sincere Obedience Rev. 22.14 Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in by the gate into the City John 3.22 Whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his Commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight v. 24. He that keepeth his Commandments dwelleth in him and he in him John 14.21 He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest my self to him John 15.10 If ye keep my Commandments ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my Fathers Commandments and abide in his love 1 Cor. 7.19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing but the Commandments of God See Psal 112.1 119.6 Prov. 1.20 21 22 c. Isa 48.18 Psal 19.8 9 c. Heb. 5.9 He became the Author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him Rev. 14.12 Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the 〈◊〉 of Jesus 1 John 5.3 For this is the Love of God that we keep his Commandments Eccles 12.13 14. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole duty of man for God shall bring every work unto judgement c. Matth. 5.8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God James 2.24 You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only Rom. 2.6 7 10. Who will render to every man according to his deeds To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal life Glory honour and peace to every man that worketh good Acts 10.35 In every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him Rom. 6.16 Of obedience unto righteousness 1 John 3.7 He that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous James 3.18 The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace Gal. 6.8 He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit â—â—ap life everlasting Rom. 8.13 If by the Spirit ye mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live 16. Promises to them that love God Rom. 8.28 All things work together for good to them that love God 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath it entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him James 1.12 He shall receive the Crown of life which God hath promised to them that love him James 2.5 Rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him John 14.21 He that loveth me shall
28.19 20. Go and Disciple all Nations baptizing them c. Rom. 4.16 That the promise might be sure to all the seed And 9.8 The children of the Promise are counted for the seed Matth. 19.13 14. Jesus said suffer little children and forbid them not to come unto me for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven 27. Promises to the Church of its increase and preservation and perfection Rev. 11.15 The Kingdoms of the world are become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ Luke 1.33 He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no end Matth. 13.31 33. The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of Mustard-seed which a man took and sowed in his field which is indeed the least of all seeds but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs and becometh a tree so that the birds of the air lodge in the branches of it The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was levened John 12.32 And I if I be lifted up will draw all men unto me Dan. 2.44 In the daies of these Kings shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people but it shall break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms and it shall stand for ever Matth. 16.18 Upon this Rock will I build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Ephes 4.12 16. For the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ that henceforth we may be no more children tossed to and fro and carryed about with every wind of Doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in wait to deceive but speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things who is the head Christ from whom the whole body fitly joyned together and compacted by that which every joynt supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body to the edifying of it self in Love Ephes 5.25 26 27. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word that he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinckle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish Read Rev. 21 22. Matth. 28.20 Lo I am with you to the end of the world Matth. 24.14 And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all Nations and then shall the end come Matth. 21.44 Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder The obscure Prophetick passages I pass by So much for living by Faith on the Promises of God CHAP. VI. How Faith must be exercised on Gods Threatnings and Judgments THE exercise of Faith upon Gods Threatnings and Judgments must be guided by such rules and helps as these Direct 1. Think not either that Christ hath no Threatning penal Laws or that there are none which are made for the use of Believers If there were no penalties or penal Laws there were no distinguishing Government of the world This Antinomian fancy destroyeth Religion And if there be threats or penal Laws none can be expected to make so much use of them as true Believers 1. Because he that most believeth them must needs be most affected with them 2. Because all things are for them and for their benefit and it is they that must be moved by them to the fear of God and an escaping of the punishment And therefore they that object that Believers are passed already from death to life and there is no condemnation to them and they are already justified and therefore have no use of threats or fears do contradâ—ct themselves For it wâ—ll rather follow Therefore they and they only do and will faithfully use the threatnings in godly fears For 1. Though they are justified and passed from death to life they have ever faith in order of nature before their Justification and he that believeth not Gods threatnings with fear hath no true Faith And 2. They have ever inherent Righteousness or Sanctification with their Justification And this Faith is part of that holiness and of the life of grace which they are passed into For this is life eternal to know the only true God and Jesus Christ John 17.3 And he knoweth not God who knoweth him not to be true And this is part of our knowledge of Christ also to know him as the infallible Author of our Faith that is of the Gospel which saith not only He that believeth and is baptiz'd shall be saved but also He that believeth not shall be damned Mark 16.16 And this is the record which God gave of his Son which he that believeth not maketh him a lyar that God hath given us eternal life and this life is in his Son He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life 1 John 5.12 Yea as he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life so he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him John 3.36 And therefore 3. The reason why there is no condemnation to us is because believing not part only but all this Word of Christ we fly from sin and wrath and are in Christ Jesus as giving up our selves to him and walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit being moved so to do both by the promises and threats of God This is plain English and plain and necessary truth the greater is the pitty that many honest well-meaning Antinomians should fight against it on an ignorant conceit of vindicating Free Grace If the plain Word of God were not through partiality over-lookt by them they might see enough to end the controversie in many and full expressions of Scripture I will cite but three more Matth. 10.28 and Luke 12.5 But fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell or when he hath killed hath power to cast into Hell yea I say unto you fear him Doth Christ thus iterate that it is he that saith it and saith it to his Disciples and yet shall a Christian say it must not be preached to Disciples as the Word of Christ to them Hâ—b 4.1 Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it Heb. 11.7 By Faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet that is of the deluge
general in the wars against his enemies shall have pardon and lands and honours and further rewards after this service here the Prince himself doth deliver them by his ransom and enrich them by his lands and honour them by his honour or power c. But their act of giving up themselves to him under the notion of a Ransomer doth no more to their deliverance than their giving up themselves to him under the notion of a General or Ruler c. Because it doth not free them as it is such an act but as it is an act made the condition of his gift And note that I have before proved that even as to the object Christ justifieth us in all the parts of his office Errour 27. That believing in God as God and our Father in Christ is not an act of Justifying Faith but only a consequent or concomitant of it Contr. 1. No doubt but God must some way be believed in in order of nature before Christ can be believed in as is proved who can believe that Christ is the Son and Messenger of God who believeth not that there is a God Or that Christ reconcileth us to God before he believe that he is our offended God and Governour 2. But to believe in God as the end of our Redemption to whose love and savour we must be restored by Faith in Christ and who pardoneth by the Son is as essential an act of Justifying Faith as our belief in Christ Object But not quatenus justificantis not of Faith as justifying Answ If by as justifying you mean not as effecting Justification it is a false supposition There is no such Faith If you mean not as the condition of Justification it is false It is as essential a part of it as the condition If you mean not as Faith is denominated Justifying from the consequent benefit it s true but impertinent For the same may be said of Faith in Christ it is not called Faith in Christ as it is called by you Justifying And yet I may add that in the very physical nature of it Belief in God as our God and End is essential to it As consenting to be healed is essential to consenting to the Physician and consenting to be reconciled is essential to our consenting to a Mediation for that end Because the respect to the end is essential to the Relation consented to All the Faith described Heb. 11. in all those instances hath special essential respect to God So hath Abrahams faith Rom. 4.3 Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness v. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth on him on God that justifieth the ungodly his Faith is counted for righteousness v. 8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin v. 17. Before him whom he believed even God who quickeneth the dead v. 20. He staggered not at the Promise of God Being fuly perswaded that what he had promised he was also able to perform v. 21 22. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead Abundance such testimonies are obvious in Scripture but this being as plain as can be spoken he maketh his own Faith who refuseth to believe it Our Faith in God as God hath as much hand in our Justification as our Faith in Christ as Mediatour But the form of the Baptismal Covenant which the Church ever used fully proveth it as is aforesaid though to answer all ignorant cavils against it as an unnecessary tediousness I pass by Errour 28. The belief of Heaven or the life to come is no essential part of Justifying Faith as such Contr. The last answer to this Errour is sufficient Heaven is the everlasting vision and love of God and therefore we are justified by believing it though not it alone It is essential to our Saviour to save and bring us to the fruition of God Errour 29. That Justifying Faith is a believing that I am justified or elect and shall be saved by Christ Errour 30. That this Faith is a full assurance or perswasion at least excluding doubting Contr. 1. We are justified by believing and accepting God for our God and Christ for our Saviour that we may be justified and not by believing that we are justified 2. It is false and ever will be that any of the praesciti as Austin and Prosper call them or the Non-Elect are elect or justified or will be saved But the Non-Elect are commanded and bound to believe with that same kind of Faith by which we are justified Therefore to believe that they themselves are elect justified and shall be saved is not that kind of Faith by which we are justified No men are bound by God on pain of damnation to believe a lye nor damned for not believing it 3. Assurance of personal pardon is the happiness but of few true Christians in this life And where it is it is only an effect or consequent participating of Faith See Mr. Hickman on this subject Errour 31. The meaning of that Article of our Creed I believe the remission of sins is I believe that my own sins are forgiven to me personally Contr. Though worthy Mr. Perkins and other ancient Divines have too much countenanced this exposition it is false The meaning of that Article is but this I believe that a sufficient provision for pardon is made by Christ both for sins before regeneration and after-fault which shall be repented of and that a pardoning Covenant is made to all if they will repent and believe and to me as well as others and I accept of that gracious offer and trust in that Covenant in Christ It s dangerous misexpounding Articles of the Creed Errour 32. At least it is an act of Divine Belief to believe that I am elect and justified and shall be saved Contr. Many have been a great scandal or snare to harden the Papists by asserting this But the truth is it is but a rational conclusion from two premises the one of which is of Divine Revelation and the other of inward experience and all that is capable of being a controversie to the judicious is only de nomine whether logically the conclusion be to be denominated from the more debile of the premises or from both by participation as being both an act of Faith and of Reason secundum quid and of neither simpliciter But it is commonly concluded that the more debile of the premises must denominate the conclusion And it is certain de re that the conclusion can be no more certain than it Object But when the Scripture saith He that believeth shall be saved it is equipollent to this I John believe and therefore I shall be saved Answ A gross deceit That I believe is no where in the Scripture If it
other The Fanaticks or Enthusiasts who raâ—l against us for trying the Spirit by the Scriptures when as the Spirit was the Author of the Scriptures do but rave in the dark and know not what they say For the Essence of the Spirit is every where and it is the effects of the Spirit in both which we must compare The Spirit is never contrary to it self And seeing it is the Sunshine which we here call the Sun the question is but where it shineth most whether in the Scripture or in our hearts The Spirit in the Apostles indited the Scriptures to be the Rule of our faith and life unto the end The Spirit in us doth teach and help us to understand and to obey those Scriptures Was not the Spirit in a greater measure in the Apostles than in us Did it not work more compleatly and unto more infallibility in their writing the Scriptures than it doth in our Vnderstanding and obeying them Is not the seal perfect when the impression is oft imperfect Doth not the Master write his Copy more perfectly than his Scholars imitation is though he teach him yea and hold his hand He that knoweth not the Religious distractions of this age will blame me for troubling the Reader with the confutation of such dreams But so will not they that have seen and tasted their effects 4. Hence we may learn that he that would know what the Christian Religion is indeed to the honour of God or their own just information must rather look into the Scripture to know it than into Believers For though in Believers it be more discernable in the kind as mens lives are more conspicuous than Laws and Precepts and the impress than the seal c. yet it is in the Laws or Scriptures more compleat and perfect when in the best of Christians much more in the most it is broken maimed and confused 5. This telleth us the reason why it is unsafe to make any men Popes or Councils or the holiest Pastors or strictest people the Rule either of our faith or lives Because they are all imperfect and discordant when the Scripture is concordant and compleat He that is led by them may erre when as the Scripture hath no errour And yet it is certain that even the imperfect knowledge and grace of faithful Pastors and companions is of great use to those that are more imperfect than they to teach them the Scriptures which are more perfect than they all 6. Hence we see why it is that Religion bringeth so much trouble and so little comfort to the most or too many that are in part Religious Because it is lame and confused in them Is it any wonder that a dâ—splaced bone is painful or that a disordered body is sick and hath no great pleasure in life or that a disordered or maimed watch or clock doth not go right O what a life of pleasure should we live if we were but such as the Scripture doth require and the Religion in our hearts and lives were fully agreeable with the Religion described in the Word of God 7. And hence we see why most true Christians are so querulous and have alwaies somewhat to complain of and lament which the sensless or self-justifying hypocrites overlook in themselves No wonder if such diseased souls complain 8. And hence we see why there is such diversity and divisions among Believers and such abundance of Sects and Parties and Contentions and so little Unity Peace and Concord And why all attempts for Unity take so little in the Church Because they have all such weakness and distempers and lameness and confusedness and great disproportions in their Religion Do you wonder why he liveth not in peace and concord and quietness with others who hath no better agreement in himself and no more composedness and true peace rt home Mens grace and parts are much unequal 9. And hence we see why there are so many scandals among Christians to the great dishonour of true Christianity and the great hinderance of the conversion of the Infidel Heathen and ungodly world What wonder if some disorder falshood and confusion appear without in words and deeds when there is so much ever dwelling in the mind 10. Lastly Hence we may learn what to expect from particular persons and what to look for also publickly in the Church and in the world He that knoweth what man is and what godly men are but as well as I do will hardly expect a concordant uniform building to be made of such discordant and uneven materials or that a set of strings which are all or almost all out of tune should make any harmonious melody or that a number of Infants should constitute an Army of valiant men or that a company that can scarce spell or read should constitute a learned Academy God must make a change upon individual persons if ever he will make a great change in the Church They must be more wise and charitable and peaceable Christians who must make up that happy Church state and settle that amiable peace and serve God in that concordant harmony as all of us desire and some expect CHAP. XII How to use Faith against particular sins THE most that I have to say of this is to be gathered from what went before about Sanctification in the general And because I have been so much longer than I intended you must bear with my necessary brevity in the rest Direct 1. When temptation setteth actual sin before you or inward sin keeps up within look well on God and sin together Let Faith see Gods Holiness and Justice and all that Wisdom Goodness and Power which sin despiseth And one such believing sight of God is enough to make you look at sin as at the Devil himself as the most ugly thing Direct 2. Set sin and the Law of God together and then it will appear to be exceeding sinful and to be the crooked fruit of the tempting Serpent You cannot know sin but by the Law Rom. 7.14 c. Direct 3. Set sin before the Cross of Christ Let Faith sprinkle his blood upon it and it will die and wither See it still as that which killed your Lord and that which pierced his side and hanged him up in such contempt and put the gall and vinegar to his mouth Direct 4. Forget not the sorrows and fears of your conversion if you are indeed converted Or if not at least the sorrows and fears which you must feel if ever you be converted God doth purposely cast us into grief and terrours for our former sins that it may make us the more careful to sin no more lest worse befall us If the pangs of the new birth were sharp and grâ—â—vous to you why will you again renew the cause and drink of those bitter waters Râ—member what a mad and sad condition you were in while you lived according to the flesh and how plainly you saw it when your eyes were opened And
and beastly pleasures why should you expect to have them continued or at least why should he not use you as Nebuchadnezzar and take away your reason and turn you into beasts if the life and pleasure of a beast be all that you desire Could not you eat and drink and sleep and play without an intellectual soul Cannot the birds make their nests and breed and feed their young and sit and sing without an intellectual nature Cannot a swine have his ease and meat and lust without reason what should you do with reason for such uses 5. You shew a stupid sensless heart that can live idly and have so much to do and have so many spurrs to rouse you up To live continually in the sight of God to have a soul so ignorant so unbelieving so unholy so unfurnished of faith and love so unready for death so uncertain of salvation nay in such apparent danger of damnation and to be still uncertain of living one day or hour longer and yet to live idly in such a case as if all were well and your work were done and you had no more to fear or care for O what a mad what a dead what a sottish kind of soul is this to see the graves before your eyes to see your neighbours carryed thither to feel the tokens of mortality daily in your selves to be called on and warned to prepare and yet under this to live as if you had nothing to do but to shew your selves in the neatest dress and as a Peacock to spread your plumes for your selves and others to look upon or to pamper a carkass for worms and rottenness O what a deplorable case is this The Lord pitty you and awaken your understandings and bring you to your wits and you will then wonder at your own stupidity 6. Idleness is a sin which is contrary to Gods universal Law The Law which extended to all times and places Adam in innocency was to labour He that had all things prepared for his sustenance by God was yet himself to labour He that was Lord of all the world and was richer than any of our proud ones whosoever was yet to dress and keep the garden Cain was a tiller of land and Abel was a keeper of cattel when they were heirs of all the earth Noah also was Lord of all the world and richer than you and yet he was an Husbandman Abraham Isaac and Jacob were Princes and yet keepers of sheep and cattle It is not a bare permission but a precept of diligence in the fourth Commandment Six daies shalt thou labour and do all that thou hast to do Christ himself did not live idly but before his Ministry they said Mark 6.3 Is not this the Carpenter And afterward how incessantly was he doing good to mens bodies and souls And what laborious lives did his Apostles live See 2 Cor. 6.5 11.23 Acts 18.3 And are you exempt from the universal Law 7. You shew a base and fleshly mind The noblest natures are the most active and the basest the most dead and dull The earth it not baser than the fire in a greater degree than an idle soul is baser than one that is active and spendeth themselves in doing good Methinks your Pride it self should keep you from proclaiming such a dead and earthen disposition 8. Idleness is of the same kind with fornication gluttony drunkenness and other such beastly sins For all is but sinful flesh-pleasing or sensuality The same fleshly nature which draweth them to the one doth draw you to the other and they do but gratifie their flesh in one kind of vice as you do in another And it 's pitty that Idleness should be in so much less disgrace than they And truly if you cannot deny your flesh it's ease I cannot see if the temptation lay as strong that way how you should deny it in any of those lusts so that you sâ—em to be vertually fornicators gluttons drunkards c. and ready to commit the acts 9. And hereby you strengthen the flesh as it is your enemy for the time to come When you have long used to please it by idleness it will get the victory and must be pleased still And then you are undone for ever if grace do not yet cause you to overcome it For if you live after the flesh you shall die but if by the Spirit you mortifie the deeds of the body you shall live Rom. 8.13 None are freed from condemnation nor are members of Christ but they that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8.1 For the carnal mind is enmity against God v. 7. 10. Idleness is a sin much aggravated by its continuance A drunkard is not alwaies drunken nor a swearer is not alwaies swearing nor a thief is not alwaies stealing but an idle person is almost alwaies idle whole hours and daies if not weeks and years together O what a continual course of sin do our rich and gentile drones still live in As if they were afraid to do any thing which when death cometh they could comfortably be found doing 11. And O what a time-wasting sin is Idleness O precious time how art thou despised by these drowsie despisers of God and of their souls O what would the despairing souls in Hell give for some of that time which these Bedlams prate away and game and play away and trifle and fool away and sleep and loiter away And what would they give for a little of it themselves upon the same terms when it 's gone and when wishing is too late 12. Idleness is a self-contradicting sin None are so much afraid of dying as the idle and I do not blame them if they knew all and yet none more cast away their lives They die voluntarily continually He that loseth the use and benefit of life doth lose his life it self For what is it good for but as a means to its ends What difference between a man asleep and dead but only that one is more in expectation of usefulness when he awaketh It is a pittiful sight to a man in his wits to see the Bedlam world afraid of dying and trembling at every sign of death and in the mean time setting as little by their lives as if they were worth no more than to spend at cards or dice or stage-playes or dressings or feastings or ludicrous complements 13. You teach your servants that life which yet you will not endure in them For why should they be more careful and diligent in the work which you command them than you in the work which God commandeth you Are you the better Masters or will you find them better work or will you pay them better wages I know God needeth not your service as you do theirs But he commandeth it for other ends though he need it not And should any be more carefulâ— to please you that are but worms and dust than you should be to please your Maker If an idle
a word or two or none at all in the daily prayers of most Professors And it is rare to hear any to pray with any importunity for their conversion Is this mens love to mankind Is this their love to the Kingdom of Christ or to God and Godliness Is God of as narrow a mind as you Are you and your party all the world or all the Church or all that is to be regarded and prayed for Direct 2. Do not only pray for them but study what is within the reach of your power to do for their conversion For though private men can do little in comparison of what Christian Princes might do who must not be told their duty by such as I. Yet somewhat might be done by Merchants and their Chaplains if skill and zeal were well united and somewhat might be done by writing and translating such books as are fittest for this use And greater matters might be done by training up some Scholars in the Persian Indostan Tartarian and such other languages who are for mind and body fitted for that work and willing with due encouragement to give up themselves thereto Were such a Colledge erected natives might be got to teach the languages and no doubt but God would put into the hearts of many young men to devote themselves to so excellent a service and of many rich men to settle Lands sufficient to maintain them and many Merchants would help them in their expedition But whether those that God will so much honour be yet born I know not Direct 3. Pray and labour for the Reformation and Concord of all the Christian Churches as the most probable means to win to Christ the world of Heathens and Vnbelievers If the Protestant Churches were more pure and peaceable more holy and more unanimous and charitable to each other it would do much to win the Papists that are near them And if the Papists and Greeks and Armenians and Abassines were more reformed wise and holy it would do much to win the Heathens and Mahometanes round about them They would be the salt of the earth and the lights of the world and the leaven which must leaven the whole lump The neighbouring Mahometanes and Heathens would see their good works and glorifie God Matth. 5.16 A holy harmless loving conversation is a Sermon which men of all languages can understand Thus as Apostles we might preach to men of several tongues though we have but one O that the sanctifying Spirit would teach Christians this art and reform and unite the Churches of Christ that they might be no longer a scandal to hinder the saving of the world about them It is the sense of Christs prayer before his death John 17.21 22 23 25. that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that the world may believe that thou hast sent me I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in One and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me Direct 4. Be sure at least that your holy loving and blameless loves be an example to these that are about you If you cannot convert Kingdoms nor get other men to do their duty towards it be sure that you do your part within your reach And believe that your lives must be the best part of your labours and that good works and love and good example must be the first part of your doctrine Direct 5. When you see that the world lyeth still in wickedness and there seemeth to be no possibility of a cure yet search the Scripture and so far as you can find any Prophecy or Promise of their conversion believe that God in his time will make it good Direct 6. But take heed that on this pretence you plunge not your selves into any inordinate studies or conceited expositions of the Revelations and other Scripture Prophecies as many have done to the great wrong of themselves and the Church of God By inordinate studies I mean 1. When you begin there where you should end and before you have digested the necessary greater truths in Theology you go to those that should come after them 2. When an undue proportion of your zeal and time and study and talk is bestowed upon these Prophecies in comparison of other things 3. When you are proudly and causlesly conceited of your singular expositions That when of ten of the learnedest and hardest studied Expositors of the Revelation perhaps in many things scarce two are of a mind yet when you differ from them all or all save one you can be as peremptory and confident in your opinion as if you were far wiser or more infallible than they 4. When you place a greater necessity in it than there is as if salvation or Church-communion lay upon your conceits Whereas God hath made the points that are of necessity to salvation to be few and plain Direct 7. When you look on the sin and misery of the world and see small hope of its recovery look up by Faith to that better world where all is Light and Love and Peace And pray for that coming of Christ when all this sin shall be brought to Judgment and wisdom and godliness be fully justified before all the world Let the badness of this world drive up your hearts to that above where all is better than you can wish Direct 8. When you are ready to stumble at the consideration of Gods desertion of so great a part of the world quiet your minds in the implicite submission to his infinite wisdom and goodness Dare you think that you are more gracious and merciful than God Or that it is meet you should know all the secrets of his providence who must not know the mysteries oâ— Government in the State or Kingdom where you live He that cannot rest in the wisdom will and mercies of infinite Goodness it self but must have all his own expectations satisfied shall have no rest And think withall how little a spot of Gods Creation this earthly world is and how incomprehensibly vast the superiour Regions are in comparison of it And if all the upper parts of the world be possessed with none but holy Spirits and even this lower earth have also many millions of Saints prepared here for the things above we have no more reason to judge God to be unmerciful because this lower world is so bad than we have to judge the King unmerciful when we look into the common Jayle nor to judge of his government by the Rogues in a Jayle but by his Court and all the subjects of his Kingdom If God should forsake no place but Hell of all his Creation you could not grudge at him as unmerciful And it is a very hard question whether this earth and the air about it be not the place of Hell when you consider that the Devils are cast down from Heaven and yet that they dwell and rule in
and not to our own commodity in the world 2. No man can deny this principle but by setting up natural self-love or appetite and making the rational stoop to that which would infer as well that we may love our selves better than God himself and that our sense is nobler than our reason and must rule it 3. We find our own reason tell us much more of our duty in this than our corrupted wills do follow The best way therefore to discern the truth is to treat with reason alone and leave out the will till we have dispatcht with reason And you will find that the common light of nature justifieth this Law of God 1. He that would not confess that it is better he had no being than that there were no God or no world besides him is a monster of selfishness And if a man say never so much I cannot do so yet while he confesseth that this should be his desire it sufficeth to the decision of our present case 2. He that will not confess that it is better that he himself should die than all the Church of Christ or the whole Kingdom die is unreasonably selfish in the eyes of all impartial men The gallant Romans and Athenians had learnt it as one of their plainest greatest Lessons to prefer their Country before their lives And is not that to love their Countryes better than themselves 3. For the same reason many of them saw that it was the duty of a good subject or a gallant souldier to save the life of his King or General with the loss of his own Because their lives were of more publick utility And the ground of all this was these natural verities The best should be best loved Goodness must be measured by a higher rule than personal self-interest Multitudes are better than one c. 4. All men acknowledge that a man of eminent Learning Piety Wisdom and Vsefulness to the Church or World should be loved and preserved rather than a wicked sottish worthless child of our own Yea God himself requireth that Parents procure the death of their own children by publick Justice if they be obstinately wicked Deut. 21. 5. The same Reasons plainly infer that I ought rather to desire the life of a much more worthy useful instrument for the Church and State than my own and so to love a better man better than my self if I be acquainted sufficiently with his goodness And if this be all so sure and plain hence observe 1. How much humane nature is corrupted Alas how rare is this equal Love 2. How few true Christians are and how defective and imperfect grace is in the best Alas how strange are many Christians to the extent of this duty and how far are we all from practising it in any eminent degree 3. Wherein it is that natures corruption most consisteth and what is the chief part of the nature and work of sanctifying grace and reformation 4. Whence come all the oppressions injuries persecutions frauds and cruelties on the earth For want of loving mens neighbours as themselves Otherwise how tenderly would they handle one another How easily would they pardon wrongs How patiently would they bear the dissent of honest upright Christians who cannot force their judgments to be of other mens mould and size How apt would men be to suspect their own understandings of weakness presumption or errour rather than to rave with the fury of the Dragon against all others who think them to be mistaken How safely and quietly might we live by them in the world if they loved their neighbours as themselves I do not say now How plentiful would men be in doing good to others I am but pleading a lower cause How seldom they would be in doing hurt But alas miserable Brittain It was in thee that one extraordinary Emperour Alexander Sevetus was betrayed and murdered who made that Christian precept his Motto and wrote it on his doors and books and goods Do as you would be done by In thee it is that Love hath been beheaded while nothing hath been more acknowledged and professed If Love be treacherous hurtful envious scandalous ensnaring and plotting for mens destruction If Love teach proud and vicious sots to take themselves for Deities and Oracles and all for Vermine that must be hunted unto death who bow not to their carnal erroneous conceits and do not with the readiest prostitute consciences serve their carnal interests and ends If Love be known by reviling those that are much better than our selves and stigmatizing the faithfullest servants of Christ with the most odious character that lyes can utter If it was Love that called Paul a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition among the people and represented Christ as an enemy to Caesar and his followers as the filth and off-scouring of the earth then happy age in which we live and happy they that are possessed with the proud and factious spirit But if all be otherwise alas where be they and how few that love their neighbours or betters as themselves 5. You see here what a plague sin is to the earth and how great a punishment may I call it or rather a misery to the sinner and to the world 6. And you see how joyful and heavenly a life we should live if we did but follow Gods commands And what a felicity Love it self is to the soul 7. And you see by what measure to try mens spirits and to know who are the best among all the pretenders to goodness in the world Certainly not the most censorious contemptuous backbiters and cruel that seek to make all odious that are not for their interest But those that most abound in Love which Faith it self is given to produce Object All this is true but still we find it a thing impossible to love our neighbour equally with our selves Can you teach us how to do it Answ It is that I have been teaching you in the ten Directions before set down But it is this which I have reserved to the close that must do the work indeed and without it nothing else will do it Direct 11. Make it the work of all your lives by Faith in Christ to bring up your souls to the unfeigned Love of God and then it will be done For then you will love God above all and love God in all and love your selves and your neighbours principally for God Then Gods Image and Glory and Will will be Goodness or Amiableness in your eyes and not carnal pleasure honour or commodity And then it will be easie to you to love that most which hath most of God You will then easily see the reason of this seeming Paradox and that the contrary is most unreasonable You will then be as Timothy who had a natural Love to others as others have to themselves and who sought the things of Jesus Christ when all others even the best Ministers too much sought their own Phil. 2.20 21. You
made universally to mankind in Adam Those after the flood were under the same Covenant renewed universally to mankind in Noah The Israelites were under the same Covenant renewed to them specially in Abraham with special additions and after under that Covenant seconded with the Law which was given to Moses And all Christians after Christs Resurrection are under the perfected Covenant of Grace and have the same word of salvation for their rule even the Gospel of Christ which is the power of God to the salvation of every one that believeth Rom. 1.16 5. They had but the same Promises in this Covenant to believe and to assure them of the salvation which they now possess They had no other charter from God to shew nor any but this universal act of oblivion to trust to for the pardon of all their sins which we have to trust to for the pardon of ours John 3.16.18 Mark 16.16 The promise which was made to the Jews and to their children was made also to them that are afar off and to as many as the Lord shall call Acts 2.39 For the promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham or his seed through the Law but through the righteousness of faith Rom. 4.13 And therefore it was of faith that it might be by grace to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed not only to that which is of the Law but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all v. 16. That it might appear that God justified not Abraham for any peculiar carnal priviledge but as a Believer which is a reason common to him with all Believers To whom also their faith shall be imputed for righteousness v. 24. Godliness still is profitable to all things having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4.8 Yea what difference there is in both these forementioned respects it is to our advantage we have the most perfected Rule and the fullest Promises and we have many Promises fulfilled to us which were not fulfilled to them in their daies Heb. 11. last And we are nearer the final accomplishment of all the promises 6. They had the same Motives to faith and patience and godliness as we have They could have no greater happiness offered them nor any greater punishment threatned to drive them from sin by fear They could have no higher ends than ours nor any nobler reasons to be religious The same reasons and ends did bring them through all temptations and difficulties to everlasting life which we have also to satisfie us and to carry us on 2 Tim. 4.8 7. The same spirit did illuminate sanctifie and quicken them which is illuminating sanctifying and quickening us All the most excellent and heavenly endowments and workings of their souls were wrought by the same operator who is still at work in all the Saints Rom. 8.9 There are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit 1 Cor. 12.4 We have the same Spirit of Faith 2 Cor. 4.13 All that are Sons have the same Spirit of the Son even the Spirit of Adoption Gal. 4.6 Rom. 8.16.26 which is the Spirit of Power of Love and of a sound mind 2 Tim. 1.7 We have the same Almighty Power within us to destroy our sins to raise up our sluggish hearts to God to keep us in his Love to overcome the flesh which did all these excellent works in them We are sealed with the same seal and are known by the same mark 1 John 3.24 and are actuated by the same heavenly principle as they were 8. We are members of the same universal Church which is the body of Christ For there is but one body whatever diversity of the members there be Ephes 4.4 5 6 7 12. 1 Cor. 12. We are members of the same City and Family of God Ephes 2.19 We are in the same Ship which conveyed them to the Haven We are Disciples in the same School where they learnt the way to life eternal We are workmen in the same Vineyard where they procured their reward 9. They had the same work to do as we have the same God to love and serve the same Christ to believe in the same Spirit to obey the same things to believe in the main the same things to desire and pray for the same things to love and the same to hate the same things in the main which are sin to us were sin to them and the same life of holiness temperance and righteousness which is commanded us was commanded them They had the same temptations to resist and the same fleshly mind to overcome and the same senses and appetites and passions to rule the same enemies to overcome and the same or greater sufferings to bear as is said before 10. They had but the same means and helps as we have except some Prophets and Apostles and extraordinary persons in one age And what they received of the Lord they have delivered unto us 1 Cor. 11.23 We have the same Gospel to to teach us the same Sacraments to initiate and confirm us the same Pastors and Teachers for office to instruct us Ephes 4.12 13 14 16. Matth. 28.20 Fasting and Prayer and Thanksgiving and Church-communion and mutual Exhortation which are our helps and means were theirs 11. The same method of Providence which carryed them on is still on foot for all the Saints Psal 145.9 18. 86.5 He broke them and bound them up he cast them down and raised them as he doth us now He made them contrite and then did comfort them He led them through as rude a wilderness and they had as many wild beasts to assault them and as many dangers round about them as we have They had seasons of adversity and seasons of prosperity their stormy and their sunshine daies their troubles which quickened their cryes to God and the gracious answer of those cryes and were led to Heaven in the same course of providence as we are 12. And to conclude the same Heaven is prepared for us and offered yea given to us which they possess It is ours in right though our title be not absolutely perfect till we have finally presevered and overcome We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ having his seal and earnest if so be that we suffer with him that we may be glorified with him Rom. 15.16.17 The Kingdom is prepared for all them that love him Christ prayed for all that the Father had given him and for all that should believe by his Word John 17.2 20 27. even that they may have eternal life and may be with him where he is to see his glory Whosoever believeth shall not perish but have everlasting life John 3.16 In all this you may see how like their condition in this world was unto ours and that our way is the same which all those have gone that are now past all these snares and dangers
those in Heaven you will quite misunderstand the providences of God in the prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of the Saints and the changes that are usually made on Earth You will begin to think that sin is safe and the wicked are not so miserable as they are nor godly diligence so profitable a thing you will not know the reasons of providence unless you can see unto the end And the ultimate end is not on Earth But go into the Sanctuary and take the prospective of the promise and look to the blessed souls with Christ and all the riddle will be expounded to you and you will be reconciled to all the providences of God You are strange to truth if you are strange to the triumphing Saints in Heaven 8. The progressive nature of your faith and godliness requireth it You are travelling to Heaven where the blessed are and are nearer to them than when you first believed And the nearer you are to them the more you should mind them and by Faith and Love be familiar with them And when you are almost at home you should be even ready to embrace your friends at the meeting 9. Your Relation to the blessed Spirits doth require it and your Christian and ingenuous disposition towards them 1. Are they not such as were latety near you in the flesh some of them your dearest companions and friends and should you causlesly forget them 2. Are they not not now your friends who love you better than they could do on earth Doubtless their knowledge and memory is not grown less to forget you if once they knew you but they are like to know much more And their Goodness being increased their Love is increased and not diminished 3. And you belong to the same Society with them even to the Body or Church of Christ whose nobler part above and inferiour part on Earth do make up the whole Is it not expresly said Heb. 12.22 23. that we are come unto Mount Zion and unto the City of the Living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels and to the general Assembly and Church of the first born which are written in Heaven that is to those which as the first born are most noble and possessed of the heavenly inheritance and are there entered inhabitants already And to God the Judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus the Mediatour of the New Covenant c. And what is it to come to them but to come or be joyned to that Society of which they are the nobler part Will you be Fellow-Citizens with them and have no communion with them nor seriously remember them How can you remember God himself and not remember those that are his Courtiers and nearer to him than you are And how can you think of Christ and not think of his Body Or how can you think of his Body and forget the most excellent and honourable parts Or how can you remember your selves and forget your chiefest Friends and Lovers 10. The very nature of the Life of Faith requireth us to look much to the departed Saints The Life of Faith consisteth in our conversing with the things unseen as the life of sight or sense is our conversing with things seen If you love and think on none of the Saints but those that are within your sight you live so far but as by sight Though Faith live not upon Saints properly but on God and our Redeemer yet it liveth and converseth with the Saints If it work aright it will as it were set you among them and make you live on Earth as if you heard their songs of praise and saw their Thrones of Glory 11. The present necessities of your condition in this world do require you to look much to the Saints above as is before shewed in the benefits recited We live here among such persons and things as are objects of continual sorrow to us And have we not need of some more comfortable company If you had nothing at home but chiding and discontent and poverty you will be willing of so much recreation as to be invited to feast sometimes where there is plenty pleasure and content If you lived among groaning sick or melancholy persons in an Hospital you would be glad sometimes of merryer company a little to refresh your minds Alas what a deal of sin do we daily see or hear of and what a deal of sorrow is round about us What are our News-books filled with or the daily reports which come to our ears but sin and sorrow vanity and vexation what is the employment of most of the world what is it that Court and Country City and all Societies ring of but vanity and vexation sin and sorrow And is not a walk in Heaven with better company a pleasure desirable in such a case What grief must needs dwell on the minds of sober Catholick Christians to see the Church on earth so torn so worryed so reproached as it is throughout the earth so torn in pieces by its zealous ignorant self-conceited Pastors and Members so worryed by its open and secret enemies even by the usurping tyrannizing Wolves in Sheeps cloathing who spare not the flock Matth. 7.15 10.16 Acts 20.29 so reproached by the world of Infidels and Heathens who fly from it as from an infected City and say Christians are drunkards and deceivers and lyars they are all in pieces among themselves they revile and persecute one another we will therefore be no Christians How sad is it to see the one part of the world professing Christianity to make it odious by their wickedness and their divisions and the rest of the world abhorring it because these have made it seem odious to them How sad is it to hear all Christians speak of love and Concord Unity and Peace while few of them know the way of Peace or how to hold their own hands from tearing the Church into more pieces while these peaceable words are in their mouths To see the Pastors and People as if it were for Unity and Peace contriving the ruine of all that are not of their Party and Way and studying how to extirpate one another and multiplyjng snares and stumbling blocks as necessary means to heal the Church How sad is it to see so great a faction as the Roman Kingdom for it is more properly a Kingdom than a Church to lay the necessary Vnity and Communion of all the Churches upon so many forgeries of their own upon the supposed certainty of the falseness of all mens senses in the point of Transubstantiation and upon the subjection of the Church to an universal usurpes and to keep up ignorance lest knowledge by reading the translated Scriptures and such Books as do detect their frauds should mart their markets and spoil their trade To see their Prelates take their own domination wealth and greatness to be really the prosperity of the Church and
thoughts of dying that methinks you should quietly resign it to the grave which hath been so long calling for it Especially considering what it hath done by the temptations of a vitiated appetite and sense against your souls into how many sins it hath drawn you and what grief and shame it hath procured you and what assurance and heavenly pleasures it hath hindered and how many repentings and purposes and promises it hath frustrated or undone Methinks we should conceive that we have long enough dwelt in such an habitation Direct 4. Foresee by Faith the resurrection of the body when it shall be raised a spiritual body unto Glory and shall be no more an enemy to the soul Direct 5. Renew your familiarity with the blessed ones above Remember that the great Army of God the souls of the just from Adam till now are all got safe through this Red Sea and are triumphing in Heaven already and that it is but a few straglers in the end of the world that are left behind And which part then should you desire to be with And remember how ready those Angels which rejoyced at your conversion are to be your Convoy unto Christ Luke 16.23 Direct 6. But especially think with greatest confidence and delight that Jesus your Head is entred into the Heavens before you and is making intercession for you and is preparing you a place and loveth your company and will not lose it You shall find him ready to receive your souls and present them spotless unto God as the fruit of his mediation He will have you be with him to behold his glory and none shall take you out of his hands Let his Love therefore draw up your desires and stablish your hearts in confidence and rest Direct 7. Remember that all that are living must come after you and how quickly their turn will come and would you wish to be exempt from death alone which the whole world below must needs submit to Direct 8. Think still of the Resurrection of Christ your Head that you may see that death is a conquered thing and what a pledge you have of a life to come Direct 9. Dwell still in the believing fore thoughts of the blessedness of the life to which you go as it is your personal perfection and the perfect Love and fruition of God with his perfect joyous praise Remember still what it is to see and know the Lord and all things else in him which are fit for us to know And labour to revive your Love to God and then you revive your desires and preparations Direct 10. Give up your selves wholly to the Will of God and think how much better it is for upright Souls to be in Gods hand than in your own The Will of God is the first and last the Original and End of all the creatures Besides the Will of Infinite Goodness there is no final Rest for humane souls But mans will is the Alpha and Omega the beginning or first efficient and the ultimate end of all obliquity and sin Be bold then and thankful in your approach to God remembring how much more safe and comfortable it is to be for life and death at Gods disposal than our own Bâ—sides these read the Directions against the fear of death in my Book of Self-denyal and what is said in my Saints Rest and other the Treatises before mentioned CHAP. XXVIII How by Faith to look aright to the Coming of Jesus Christ in Glory BEcause I have said so much of this also in my Saints Rest and in many other Treatises I will now pass it over with these brief Directions Direct 1. Delude not your souls nor corrupt your faith and hope by placing Christs Kingdom in things too low or that are utterly uncertain Think not so carnally of the second coming of Christ as the Jews did of the first who looked for an earthly Kingdom and despised the spiritual and heavenly And make not the unknown time or other circumstances of his coming to be to you as the certain and necessary things lest you do as many of those called Millenaries or Fifth-Monarchy men among us who have turned the doctrine of Christian hope into an outragious fury to bring Christ down before his time and to make themselves Rulers in the world that they might presently reign under the name of the Reign of Christ and have by seditious rebellious railing at Christs Ministers and hating those that are not of their mind done much to promote the Kingdom of Satan while they cryed up nothing but the Kingdom of Christ Direct 2. Do all that you can in this day of grace to promote Christs present Kingdom in the world and that will prove your best preparation for his glorious coming To that end labour with all your might to set up Life and Light and Love abhorring Hypocrisie Ignorance and Vncharitableness turn not Religion into a ceremony carkass or dead Imagery or Form Nor yet into Darkness Errour or a humane wandering distracting maze Nor into selfish proud censorious faction Build not Christs Kingdom as the Devil would do by hypocritical dead shews or by putting out his Lights or by schism division hatred and strife Read James 3. Direct 3. Yet leave not out of your faith and hope any certain part of Christs glorious Kingdom We know that we shall for ever be with the Lord and in the presence of the Father in heavenly glory and withall that we shall be in the New Jerusalem and that there shall be a new Heaven and a new Earth in which shall dwell righteousness and that we shall judge the Angels and the world And if we know not the circumstances of all these parts let not therefore any of them be denyed 1 Thes 4.11 2 Cor. 5.1 3 8. Rev. 20. 22. 2 Pet. 3.13 Direct 4. Think what a day of Glory it will be to Jesus Christ Matth. 25.31 O how different from his state of humiliation He will not come again to be despised spit on buffeted blasphemed and crucified Pilate and Herod must be arraigned at his bar it is the marriage-day of the Lamb a day appointed for his glory Rev. 21 22. Direct 5. Think what a day of honour it will be to God the Father how his Truth will be vindicated his Love and Justice gloriously demonstrated Matth. 25. 2 Thes 1.8 9. Direct 6. Think what a day it will be to all the children of God to see their Lord when he purposely cometh to be admired and glorified in them 2 Thes 1.11 12. To see him in whom they have believed whom they loved and longed for 2 Pet. 3.11 12 13. 1 Pet. 1.8 To see him who is their dearest Head and Lord who will justifie them before all the world and sentence them to life eternal To see the day in which they must receive the end of all their faith and hope their prayers labours and patience to the full 1 Pet. 1.8 9. Rev. 2 3.
those things that are not seen Or you may take the sense in this Proposition which I am next to open further and apply viz. That the nature and use of faith is to be as it were instead of presence possession and sight or to make the things that will be as if they were already in existence and the things unseen which God revealeth as if our bodily eyes beheld them 1. Not that faith doth really change its object 2. Nor doth it give the same degree of apprehensions and affections as the sight of present things would do But 1. Things invisible are the objects of our faith 2. And Faith is effectual instead of sight to all these uses 1. The apprehension is as infallible because of the objective certainty though not so satisfactory to our imperfect souls as if the things themselves were seen 2. The will is determined by it in its necessary consent and choice 3. The affections are moved in the necessary dâ—gree 4. It ruleth in our lives and bringeth us through duty and suffering for the sake of the happiness which we believe 3. This Faith is a grounded wise and justifiable act an infallible knowlâ—dge and often called so in Scripture John 6.69 1 Cor. 15.58 Rom. 8.28 c. And the constitutive and efficient causes will justifie the Name We know and are infallibly sure of the truth of God which we believe As it 's said John 6.69 We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the living God 2 Cor. 5.1 We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the Hâ—avens Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God 1 Cor. 15.58 You know that your labour is nâ—t in vain in the Lord Joh. 9.29 We knâ—w God spake to Moses c. 31. We know God heareth not sinners John 3.2 We know thou art a Teacher come from God So 1 John 3.5 15. 1 Pet. 3.17 and many other Scriptures tell you that Believing God is a certain infallible sort of knowledge I shall in justification of the work of Faith acquaint you briefly with 1. That in the Nature of it 2. And that in the causing of it which advanceth it to be an infallible knowledge 1. The Believer knows as sure as he knows there is a God that God is true and his Word is true it being impossible for God to lie Hâ—b 6.18 God that cannot lie hath promised Titus 1.2 2. He knows that the holy Scripture is the Word of God by his Image which it beareth and the many evidences of Divinity which it containeth and the many Miracles certainly proved which Christ and his Spirit in his servants wrought to confirm the truth 3. And therefore he knoweth assuredly the conclusion that all this Word of God is true And for the surer effecting of this knowledge God doth not only set before us the ascertaining Evidence of his own veracity and the Scriptures Divinity but moreover 1. He giveth us to believe Phil. 1.29 2 Pet. 1.3 For it is not of our selves but is the gift of God Ephes 2.8 Faith is one of the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5.22 By the drawing of the Father we come to the Son And he that hath knowledge given from Heaven will certainly know and he that hath Faith given him from Heaven will certainly believe The heavenly Light will dissipate our darkness and infallibly illuminate Whilest God sets before us the glass of the Gospel in which the things invisible are revealed and also gives us eye sight to behold them Believers must needs be a heavenly people as walking in that light which proceedeth from and leadeth to the celestial everlasting Light 2. And that Faith may be so powerful as to serve instead of sight and presence Believers have the Spirit of Christ within them to excite and actuate it and help them against all temptations to unbelief and to work in them all other graces that concur to promote the works of Faith and to mortifie those sins that hinder our believing and are contrary to a heavenly life So that as the exercise of our sight and taste and hearing and feeling is caused by our natural life so the exercise of Faith and Hope and Love upon things unseen is caused by the holy Spirit which is the principle of our new life 1 Cor. 2.12 We have received the Spirit that we might know the things that are given us of God This Spirit of God acquainteth us with God with his veracity and his Word Heb. 10.30 We know him that hath said I will never fail thee nor forsake thee This Spirit of Christ acquainteth us with Christ and with his grace and will 1 Cor. 2.10 11 12. This heavenly Spirit acquainteth us with Heaven so that We know that when Christ appeareth we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is 1 Joh. 3.2 And we know that he was manifested to take away sin 1 Joh. 3.5 And will perfect his work and present us spotless to his Father Eph. 5.26 27. This heavenly Spirit possesseth the Saints with such heavenly dispositions and desires as much facilitate the work of Faith It bringeth us to a heavenly conversation and maketh us live as fellow-citizens of the Saints and in the houshold of God Phil. 3.20 Eph. 2.19 It is within us a Spirit of supplication breathing heaven-ward with sighs and groans which cannot be expressed and as God knoweth the meaning of the Spirit so the Spirit knows the mind of God Rom. 8.37 1 Cor. 2.11 3. And the work of Faith is much promoted by the spiritual experiences of Believers When they find a considerable part of the holy Scriptures verified on themselves it much confirmeth their Faith as to the whole They are really possessed of that heavenly disposition called The Divine Nature and have felt the power of the Word upon their hearts renewing them to the Image of God mortifying their most dear and strong corruptions shewing them a greater beauty and desirableness in the Objects of Faith than is to be found in sensible things They have found many of the Promises made good upon themselves in the answers of prayers and in great deliverances which strongly perswadeth them to believe the rest that are yet to be accomplished And experience is a very powerful and satisfying way of conviction He that feeleth as it were the first fruits the earnest and the beginnings of Heaven already in his soul will more easily and assuredly believe that there is a Heaven hereafter We know that the Son of God iâ— come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is true even in his Son Jesus Christ This is the true God and eternal life 1 Joh. 5.20 He that believeth on the Son hath the witness in himself Vers 10. There is so
practice thereupon 1. Suppose you saw the Lord in glory continually before you When you are hearing praying talking jâ—sting eating drinking and when you are tempted to any wilful sin Suppose you saw the Lord stand over you as verily as you see a man As you might do if your eyes could see him for it 's most certain that he is still present with you suppose you saw but such a glimpse of his back parts as Moses did Exod. 34. when God put him into a cleft of the Rock and covered him while he passed by Chap. 33.23 when the face of Moses shined with the sight that he was fain to vail it from the people Exod. 34.33 34 35. Or if you had seen but what the Prophet saw Isa 6.1 2 3 4 5 6. when he beheld the Lord upon a Throne high and lifted up c. and heard the Seraphim cry Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole earth is full of his glory When he said Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes haue seen the King the Lord of Hosts Or if you had seen but what Job saw Job 42.5 6. when he said I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes What course would you take what manner of persons would you be after such a sight as this If you had seen but Christ appâ—â—ring in his glory as the Disciples on the holy Mount Matth. 17. or as Paul saw him at his conversion when he was smitten to the earth Acts 9. or as John saw him Rev. 1.13 where he saith He was cloathed with a garment down to the fooâ— and girt with a golden girdle his head and his hairs were white like Wooll or 〈◊〉 and his eyes were as a flame of fire and his feet like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters and he had in his right hand seven Stars and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged Sword and his countenance was as the Sun shineth in his strength and when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead and he laid his right hand upon me saying unto me fear not I am the first and the last I am â—e that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the keyes of hell and death What do you think you should be and do if you had seen but such a sight as this Would you be godly or ungodly after it As sure as you live and see one another God alwaies seeth you He seeth your secret filthiness and deceit and malice which you think is hid he seeth you in the dark the locking of your doors the dâ—aâ—ing of your curtains the setting of the Sun or the putting out of the Candle doth hide nothing from him that is Omniscient Psal 94.8 9. Vnderstand oh ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise He that planted the ear shall be not hear he that formed the eye shall he not see The lust and filthiness and covetousness and envy and vanity of your very thoughts are as open to his view as the Sun at noon And therefore you may well suppose him present that cannot be absent and you may suppose you saw him that still seeth you and whom you must see Oh what a change a glympse of the glory of his Majesty would make in this Assembly Oh what amazements what passionate workings of soul would it excite Were it but an Angel that did thus appear to you what manner of hearers would you be how serious how affectionate how sensible And yet are you Believers and have none of this when faith makes unseen things to be as seen If thou have faith indeed thou seest him that is invisible thou speakest to him thou hearest him in his Word thou seest him in his Works thou walkest with him he is the life of thy comforts thy converse and thy life 2. Suppose you had seen the matters revealed in the Gospel to your faith as to what is past and done already If you had seen the deluge and the Ark and preservation of one righteous family the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from Heaven and the saving of Lot whose righteâ—â—â— soul was grieved at their sins and hunted after as a prey to their ungodly rage because he would have hindered them from transgressing Suppose you had seen the opening of the Red Sea the passage of the Israelites the drowning of Pharaoh and his Aegyptians the Manna and the Qâ—ails that fell from Heaven the flaming Mount with the terrible Thunder when God delivered the Law to Moses what manner of people would you have been what lives would you have led after such sights as all or any one of these Suppose you had seen Christ in his state of Incarnation in his examples of lowliness meekness contempt of all the glory and vanities of this world and had heard him speak his heavenly Doctrine with power and authority as never man spake Suppose you had seen him heal the blind the lame the sick and raise the dead and seen him after all this made the scorn of sinners buffeted spit upon when they had crowned him with thorns and arrayed him gorgeously in scorn and then nailed between malefactors on a Cross and pierced and die a shameful death and this for such as you and I. Suppose you had seen the Sun darkned without any ecclipse the Vail of the Temple rent the Earth tremble the Angels terrifying the Keepers and Christ rise again Suppose you had been among the Disciples when he appeared in the midst of them and with Thomas had put your fingers into his wounded side and had seen him walking on the waters and at last seen him ascending up to Heaven Suppose you had seen when the Holy Ghost came down on the Disciples in the similitude of cloven tongues and had heard them speak in the various languages of the Nations and seen the variety of Miraclâ—s by which they convinced the unbelieving world What persons would you have been what lives would you have led if you had been eye-witnesses of all these things And do you not profess to believe all this and that these things are as certain truths as if you had seen them why then doth not your belief affect you or command you more why doth it not do what sight would do in some good measure if it were but a lively saving faith indeed that serveth instead of sense Yea I must tell you Faith must do more with you in this case than the sight of Christ alone could do or the sight of his Miracles did on most For many that saw him and saw his works heard his Word yet perished in their unbelief 3. Suppose
you saw the everlasting Glory which Christ hath purchased and prepared for his Saints That you had been once with Paul rapt up into the third Heavens and seen the things that are unutterable would you not after that have rather lived like Paul and undergone his sufferings and contempt than to have lived like the brain-sick brutish world If you had seen what Stephen saw before his death Acts 7.55 56. the Glory of God and Christ standing at his right hand If you had seen the thousands and millions of holy glorious spirits that are continually attending the Majesty of the Lord If you had seen the glorified spirits of the just that were once in flesh despised by the blind ungodly world while they waited on God in faith and holiness and hope for that blessed Crown which now they were If you had felt one moment of their joyes if you had seen them shine as the Sun in glory and made like unto the Angels of God if you had heard them sing the song of the Lamb and the joyful Hallelujahs and praise to their eternal King what would you be and what would you resolve on after such a sight as this If the rich man Luke 16. had seen Lazarus in Abrahams bosom in the midst of his bravery and honour and feasting and other sensual delights as afterwards he saw it when he was tormented in the flames of Hell do you think such a sight would not have cooled his mirth and jollity and helpt him to understand the nature and value of his earthly felicity and have proved a more effectual argument than a despised Preachers words at least to have brought him to a freer exercise of his Reason in a sober consideration of his state and waies Had you seen one hour what Abraham David Paul and all the Saints now see while sin and flesh doth keep us here in the dark what work do you think your selves it would make upon your hearts and lives 4 Suppose you saw the face of Death and that you were now lying under the power of some mortal sickness Physicians having forsaken you and said There is no hope Your friends weeping over you and preparing your winding sheet and coffin digging your graves and casting up the skulls and bones and earth that must again be cast in to be your covering and company Suppose you saw a Messenger from God to tell you that you must die to morrow or heard but what one of your predecessors heard Luke 12.20 Thou fool this night shall thy soul be required of thee then whose shall these things be that thou hast provided How would such a Message work with you would it leave you as you are If you heard a voice from God this night in your chamber in the dark telling you that this iâ— the last night that you shall live on earth and before to morrow your souls must be in another world and come before the dreadful God what would be the effect of such a Message And do you not verily believe that all this will very shortly be Nay do you not know without believing that you must die and leave your worldly glory and that all your pleasures and contents on earth will be as if they had never been and much worse O wonderful that a change so sure so great so near should no more affect you and no more be fore-thought on and no more prepared for and that you be not awakened by so full and certain a fore-knowledge to be in good sadness for eternal life as you seem to be when death is at hand 5. Suppose you saw the great and dreadful day of Judgement as it iâ— described by Christ himself in Matth. 25. When the Son of man shall come in his glory and all his holy Angels with him and shall sit upon his glorious Throne and all Nations shall be gathered before him and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats and shall set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left v. 31 32 33. and shall sentence the righteous to eternal life and the rest into everlasting punishment If you did now behold the glory and terrour of that great appearance how the Saints will be magnified and rejoyce and be justified against all the accusations of Satan and calumnies of wicked men and how the ungodly then would fain deny the words and deeds that now they glory in and what horrour and confusion will then overwhelm those wretched souls that now out-face the Messengers of the Lord Had you seen them trembling before the Lord that now are braving it out in the pride and arrogancy of their hearts Had you heard how then they will change their tune and wish they had never known their sins and wish they had lived in greater holiness than those whom they derided for it What would you say and do and be after such an amazing fight as this Would you sport it out in sin as you have done Would you take no better care for your salvation If you had seen those sayings out of the holy Ghost fulfilled Jude 14 15.2 Thes 1.7 8 9. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power What mind do you think you should be of What course would you take if you had but seen this dreadful day Could you go on to think and speak and live as sensually stupidly and negligently as now you do 2 Pet. 3.10 11 12. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the bravens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent beat the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up Is it possible soundly to believe such a day so sure so near and no more regard it nor make ready for it than the carelâ—ss and ungodly do 6. Suppose at that day you had heard the Devil accusing you of all the sins that you have committed and set them out in the most odious aggravations and call for justice against you to your Judge If you heard him pleading all those sins against you that now he daily tempts you to commit and now maketh you believe are harmless or small inconsiderable things If you heard him saying At such a time this sinner refused grace neglected Christ despised Heaven and preferred Earth at such a time he derided godliness and made a mock of the holy Word and Counsels of the Lord at such a time he prophaned the name of God he coveted his neighbours wealth he cherished thoughts of envy or of lust he was drunk or gluttonous or committed fornication and he was never thorowly converted by renewing
the most we will not deny it to be aetas aurea in the Poets sense Aurea nunc vere sunt secula plurimus auro Vaenit honos auro conciliatur amor This prevalency of things seen against thing unseen is the Idolatry of the world the subversion of nature the perversion of our faculties and actions making the soul a drudge to flesh and God to be used as a servant to the world It destroyeth Piety Justice and Charity It turneth JVS by perversion into VIS or by reversion into SVI No wonder then if it be the ruine of societies when Gens sine justitiâ sine remige navis in undâ It can possess even Demosthenes with a Squinancy if there be but an Harpalus to bring him the infection It can make a Judicature to be as Plutarch called that of Rome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 impiorum regionem contrary to Cicero's description of Sulpitius who was magis justitiae quam juris consultus ad facilitatem aequitatemque omnia contulit nec maluit litium actiones constituere quam controversias tollere In a word if you live by sense and not by Faith on things present and not on things unseen you go backward you stand on your heads and turn your heels against Heaven you cause the beast to ride the man and by turning all things upside down will turn your selves into confusion 2. Consider that it is the unseen things that are only Great and Necessary that are worthy of a man and answer the excellency of our nature and the ends of our lives and all our mercies All other things are inconsiderable toyes except as they are dignified by their relation to these Whether a man step into eternity from a Palace or a Prison a Lordship or a Lazarus state is little to be regarded All men in the world whose designs and business take up with any thing short of Heaven are in the main of one condition and are but in several degrees and forms in the School of folly If the intendment of your lives fall short of God it matters not much what it is you seek as to any great difference If lesser children play for pins and bigger boyes for points and pence and aged children for lands and money for titles of honour and command What difference is there between these in point of wisdom and felicity but that the little ones have more innocent delights and at a cheaper rate than the aged have without the vexatious cares and dangers that attend more grave and serious dotage As Holiness to the Lord is written upon all that is faithfully referred to his Will and Glory so Vanity and Sin is written upon all that is but made provision for the flesh and hath no higher end than Self To go to Hell with greater stir and attendance and repute with greater pomp and pleasure than the poor is a poor consolation a pitiful felicity 3. Faith is the wisdom of the soul and unbelief and sensuality are its blindness folly and brutishness How short is the knowledge of the wisest unbelievers They know not much of what is past and less they would know if Historians were not of more credit with them than the Word of God But alas how little do they know of what is to come sense tells them where they are and what they are now doing but it tells them not where they shall be to morrow But Faith can tell a true Believer what will be when this world is ended and where he shall live to all eternity and what he shall be dâ—ing what thoughts he shall be thinking what affections shall be the temper and employment of his soul what he shall see and feel and enjoy and with what company he shall converse for ever If the pretenders to Astrological prediction could but foretel the changes of mens lives and the time and manner of their deaths what resort would be to them and how wise would they be esteemed but what is all this to the infallible predictions of the All-knowing God that hath given us a prospect into another world and shewed us what will be for ever more certainly than you know what a day may bring forth So necessary is fore-knowledge in the common affairs of men that without it the actions of the world would be but mad tumultuary confusion What would you think of that mans understanding or how would you value the imployments of his life that lookt no further in all his actions than the present hour and saw no more than the things in hand What would you call him that so spends the day as one that knoweth not there will be any night and so past the night as one that looked not for that day that knew not in the Spring there would be an Harvest or in the Summer that there would be any Winter or in Youth that there would be Age or Death The silly brutes that have no fore-knowledge are furnished with an instinct that supplieth the want of it and also have the help of mans fore-knowledge or else their kind would be soon extinct The Bees labour in Summer as if they foresaw the Winters need And can that man be wise that foreseeth not his everlasting state Indeed he that knoweth not what is to come hath no true knowledge of what is present For the worth and use of present things is only in their respect to things eternal And there is no means where there is no end What wisdom then remains in Unbelievers when all their lives 〈◊〉 mis-imployed because they know not the end of life and when all their actions are utterly debased by the baseness of 〈◊〉 brutish ends to which they serve and are referred 〈◊〉 is truly wise or honourable that is done for small and 〈◊〉 things To draw a curious picture of a shadow or elegantly write the history of a dream may be an ingenuous kind of foolery but the end will not allow it the name of Wisdom And such are all the actions of the world though called Heroick Valiant and Honourable that aim at transitory trifles and tend not to the everlasting end A bird can neatly build her nest but is not therefore counted Wise How contrary is the judgement of the world to Christs When the same description that he giveth of a fool is it that worldlings give of a wise and happy man Luke 12.20 21. One that layeth up riches for himself and is not rich towards God Will you perswade us that the man is wise that can climb a little higher than his neighbours that he may have the greater fall That is attended in his way to Hell with greater pomp and state than others That can sin more Syllogistically and Rhetorically than the vulgar and more prudently and gravely run into damnation and can learnedly defend his madness and prove that he is safe at the brink of Hell Would you perswade us that he is wise that contradicts the God and Rule of
by any further suit on their behalf But for your selves O use your seeing and fore-seeing faculties Be often looking through the prospective of the promise and live not by sense on present things but live as if you saw the glorious things which you say you do believe That when worldly titles are insignificant words and fleshly pleasures have an end and Faith and Holiness will be the marks of honour and unbelief and ungodliness the badgeâ— of perpetual shame and when you must give account of your Stewardship and shall be no longer Stewards you may then by brought by Faith unto Fruition and see with joy the glorious things that you now believe Write upon your Palaces and goods that sentence 2 Pet. 3.11 Seeing all these things shall be dissolved What manner of persons ought ye â—o be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hasting to the coming of the day of God! HEBREWS 11.1 Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen CHAP. I. For Conviction IN the opening of this Text I have already shewed that it is the nature and use of Faith to be instead of presence and sight or to make things absent future and unseen to be to us as to our Estimation Resolution and Conversation as if they were present and before our eyes Though not as to the degree yet as to the sincerity of our acts In the handling of this Doctrine I have already shewed that this Faith is a grounded justifiable knowledge and not a fancy or uneffectual opinion having for its object the infallible Revelation and certain Truth of God and not a falshood nor a meer probability or verisimile I have shewed how such a Faith will work how far it should carry us if its evidence were fully entertained and improved and how far it doth carry all that have it sincerely in the least degree and I have shewed some of the moving considerations that should prevail with us to live upon the things unseen as if they were open to our sight I think I may suddenly proceed here to the remaining part of the Application without any recital of the explication or confirmation the truth lying so naked in the Text it self The Life of Faith and the Life of Sense are the two waies that all the world do walk in to the two extreamly different ends which appear when death withdraws the veil It is the ordination of God that mens own estimation choice and endeavours shall be the necessary preparative to their Fruition Nemo nolens bonus aut beatus est Men shall have no better than they value and chuse and seek Where earthly things are highest in the esteem and dearest to the mind of man such persons have no higher nor more durable a portion Where the heavenly things are highest and dearest to the soul and are practically preferred they are the portion of that soul Where the Treasure is the heart will be Matth. 6.21 The sanctifying spirit doth lead the spiritual man by a spiritual Rule in a spiritual way to a spiritual glorious durable felicity The sensual part with the sensual inclination communicated to the corrupted mind and will doth by carnal reasonings and by carnal means pursue and embâ—ace a present fading carnal interest and therefore it findeth and attaineth no more The flâ—sh lusteth against the Spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other Gal. 5.17 They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit To be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace Because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God If any man have not the Spirit of Christ the same is none of his If we live after the flesh we shall die but if by the spirit we mortifie the deeds of the body we shall live Rom. 8. to v. 14. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap everlasting life Gal. 6.7 8. As a man is so he loveth and desireth as he desireth he seeketh and as he seeketh he findeth and possesseth If you know which world what riches a man prefers intends and liveth for you may know which world is his inheritance and whither he is going as to his perpetual abode Reason enableth a man to know and seek more than he seeth And Faith informeth and advanceth Reason to know that by the means of supernatural Revelation that by no other means is fully known To seek and hope for no better than we know and to know no more than is objectively revealed while we hinder not the revelation is the blameless imperfection of a creature that hath limited faculties and capacities To know what 's Best and yet to chuse and seek an inferiour inconsistent Good and to refuse and neglect the Best when it is discerned is the course of such as have but a superficial opinion of the good refused or a knowledge not wakened to speak so loudly as may be effectual for choice and whose sensuality mastereth their wills and reason and leads them backward And those that know not because they would not know or hear not because they would not hear are under that same dominion of the flâ—sh which is an enemy to all knowledge that is an enemy to its delights and interest To profess to know good and yet refuse it and to profess to know evil and yet to chuse it and this predominantly and in the main is the description of a self-condemning Hypocrite And if malignity and opposition of the Truth professed be added to the Hypocrisie it comes up to that Pharisaical blindness and obdurateness which prepareth men for the remediless sin Consider then but of the profession of many of the people of this Land and compare their practice with it and judge what compassion the condition of many doth bespeak If you will believe them they profess that they verily believe in the invisible God in a Christ unseen to them in the Holy Spirit gathering a holy Church to Christ and imploying them in a communion of Saints that they believe a judgement to come upon the glorious coming of the Lord and an everlasting life of joy or torment thereupon All this is in their Creed they would take him for a damnable Heretick that denyeth it and perhaps would consent that he be burnt at a stake So that you would think these men should live as if Heaven and Hell were open to their sight But O what an Hypocritical Generation are the ungodly how their lives do give their tongues the lye Remember that I apply this to no better men It is a
busie sawcy fellow and you bid him meddle with his own matters and let you speed as you can and keep his compassion and charity for himself you give him no thanks for his undesired help The most laborious faithful servant you like best that will do you the most work with greatest skill and care and diligence But the most laborious faithful instructer and watchman for your souls you most ungratefully vilifie as if he were more busie and precise than needs and were upon some unprofitable work and you love a superficial hypocritical Ministry that teacheth you but to complement with Heaven and leads you such a dance of comical outside hypocritical worship as is agreeable to your own hypocrisie And thus when you are mocking God you think you worship him and merit Heaven by the abuse Should a Mâ—nister or other friend be but half as earnest with you for the life of your immortal souls as you are your selves for your estates or friends or lives in any danger you would take them for Fanaticks and perhaps do by them as his carnal friends did once by Christ Mark 3.21 that went out to lay hold on him and said He is beside himself For trifles you account it wisdom to be serious but for everlasting things you account it folly or to be more busie and soliciâ—ous than needs You can believe an act of pardon and indempnity from man when as you are little solicitous about a pardon from God to whose Justice you have forfeited your souls and if a man be but earnest in begging his pardon and praying to be saved from everlasting misery you scorn him because he does it without book and say he whines or speaks through the nose forgetting that we shall have you one of these daies as earnest in vain as they are that shall prevail for their salvation and that the terrible approach of death and judgement shall teach you also to pray without book and cry Lord Lord open to us when the door is shut and it 's all too late Mat. 25.11 O Sirs had you but a lively serious foreseeing faith that openeth Heaven and Hell as to your sight what a cure would it work of this Hypocrisie 1. Such a sight would quicken you from your sloth and put more life into your thoughts and words and all that you attempt for God 2. Such a sight would soon abate your pride and humble you before the Lord and make you see how short you are of what you should be 3. Such a sight would dull the edge of your covetous desires and shew you that you have greater things to mind and another kind of world than this to seek 4. Such a sight would make you esteem the temptations of mens reports but as the shaking of a leaf and their allurements and threats as impertinent speeches that would cast a feather or a fly into the ballance against a mountain or against the world 5. Such a sight would allay the itch of lust and quench the drunkards insatiable thirst and turn your gulosity into moderation and abstinence and acquaint you with a higher sort of pleasures that are durable and worthy of a man 6. Such a sight would cure your desire of pastime and shew you that you have no time to spare when all is done that necessity and everlasting things require 7. Such a sight would change your relish of Gods Ordinances and esteem of Ministers and teach you to love and savour that which is spiritual and serious rather than hypocritical strains and shews It would teach you better how to judge of Sermons and of Prayers than unexperienced minds will ever do 8. Such a sight would cure your malignity against the waies and diligent servants of the Lord and instead of opposing them it would make you glad to be among them and fast and pray and watch and rejoyce with them and better to understand what it is to believe the communion of Saints In a word did you but see what God reveals and Saints believe and must be seen I would scarce thank you to be all as serious and solicitous for your souls as the holiest man alive and presently to repent and lament the folly of your negligence and delaies and to live as men that know no other work to mind in comparison of that which extendeth to eternity I would scarce thank the proudest of you all to lie down in the dust and in sackcloth and ashes with tears and cryes to beg the pardon of those sins which before you felt no weight in Nor the most sensual wretch that now sticks so close to his ambition covetousness and lust that he saith he cannot leave them to spit them out as loathsome bitterness and be ashamed of them as fruitless things You would then say to the most godly that now seem too precise O why do you not make more haste and lay hold on Heaven with greater violence why do you pray with no more fervency and bear witness against the sins of the world with no more undaunted courage and resolution and why do you not more freely lay out your time and strength and wealth and all that you have on the work of God Is Heaven worth no more ado than this Can you do no more for an endless life and the escaping of the wrath to come Shall worldlings over-do you These would be your thoughts on such a sight CHAP. II. Vse of Exhortation WHat now remains but that you come into the light and beg of God as the Prophet for his servant 2 King 6.17 to open your eyes that you may see the things that would do so much That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give you the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints Ephes 1.17 18. O set those things continually before your eyes that must forever be before them Look seriously into the infallible word and whatsoever that fore-tells believe it as if it were come to pass The unbelief of Gods threatnings and penal Laws is the perdition of souls as well as the unbelief of Promises God giveth not false fire when he dischargeth the Canons of his terrible comminations If you fall not down you shall find that the lightening is attended with the thunder and execution will be done before you are aware If there were any doubt of the things unseen yet you know it is past all doubt that there 's nothing else that 's durable and worthy of your estimation and regard You must be Knights and Gentlemen but a little while speak but a few words more and you 'l have spoke your last When you have slept a few nights more you must sleep till the Resurrection awake you as to the flesh Then where are your pleasant habitations and contents
increase the flame And Satan hath still the bellows in his hand He knoweth that if he can corrupt or win the Commander he can rout the Army and ruine them with the greatest ease It hath been Satans grand design since the Christian name was known on earth to advance the selfish interest of men against the interest of Christ and to entangle the Rulers of the world in some cause that Christ and his Word and Servants cannot favour and so to make them believe that there is a necessity on them to watch against and subdue the interest of Christ As if it were necessary that the shore be brought to the boat and not the boat to the shore And that the Physician be brought to the Patients mind or else destroyed or used as his enemy I am afraid to speak out the terrible words of God in Scripture that are against such persons lest you should misunderstand me and think I misapply them But Christ feareth no man and hath not spoken his Word in vain and his Messengers must be faithful for he will bear them out and preventive cautions are easier and safer than reprehensive corrasives I will but refer you to the texts that you may peruse them Matth. 21.44 Matth. 18.3.6 Matth. 25.40 45. Luke 18.7 Psal 2. Luke 19.27 Acts 9.4 5. 1 Thess 2.15 16. Read them with fear as the Words of God Blessed are those Rulers and Nations of the Earth that perceive and escape this pernicious snare of the grand deceiver that with all his subtilty and industry endeavoureth to breed quarrels and sow dissentions between them and the universal King The more God giveth to the carnal and unwise the more they think themselves engaged against him because by his commands he seems to take it from them again by crossing the flesh which would use it only to fulfil its lusts Like a Dog that fawneth on you till he have his bone and then snarleth at you lest you take it from him and will fly in your face if you offer to meddle with it Men readily confess that they have their wealth from God because it cannot be denyed and because they would use the name of God as a cover to hide their covetousness and unlawful waies of getting But if you judge by their usage of it and their returns to God you would think that they believed that they had nothing at all from God but some injuries and that all their benefits and good were from themselves The Turkish and Tartarian Emperour will say that all his grandeur and power is from God that by making it most Divine he may procure the more reverence and obedience to himself But when he hath said so for his own interest he useth the same power against God and his interest to the banishing of his Word and holy Worship and the forbidding the preaching of the Gospel of salvation and to the cherishing of tyranny pride and lust As if God had armed them against himself and made his Officers to be his enemies and gave them power that they might powerfully hinder mens salvation and made great to be great oppressors As a believing Pastor is a Priest that standeth between God and the people to mediate under the great Mediatour to receive from God his Word and Ordinances and deliver them to the flocks and to offer up supplications in their names to God So believing Governours of civil Societies or Families receive from God a power to rule the subjects for their good and they use it to make the subjects good that God may be pleased and honoured by all And the obedience which they require is such as may be given to God in them They take power from God to use it for God and are so much more excellent than the greatest of ambitious carnal Princes as the pleasing and honouring of God is a more excellent design and work than the gratifying of fleshly lust and the advancement of a lump of clay The Kingdoms of the world would all be used as the Kingdoms of the Lord if the everlasting Kingdom were well believed The families of men would be sanctified as Churches unto God if the eternal house not made with hands were truly taken for their home and their trade were to lay up a treasure in Heaven In Cities and Countries Brethren would dwell in holy peace and all concur in honouring God if once they were made fellow Citizens with the Saints and their Burgeship and conversation were in Heaven Ephes 2.19 Phil. 3.20 21. 6. Resist Temptations as Believers If you live by Faith then fight against the world and flesh by Faith Faith must be your helmet and the Word of Faith must be your shield Eph. 6.16 And your victory it self must be by Faith 1 Joh. 5.4 If Satan tell the flesh of the preferment riches or the pleasures of lust answer him with a believing foresight of Gods Judgement and the life to come Never look on the baits of sin alone but still look at once on God and on Eternity As a just Judge will hear both parties speak or see their evidences before he will determine So tell the Tempter that as you have heard what fleshly allurements can say you will see also what the Word of God saith and take a view of Heaven and Hell and then you will answer him 7. Rejoyce as Believers Can Faith set open the windows of the soul and no light of heavenly pleasures enter Can it peruse the Map of the Land of Promise or see and taste the bunch of Grapes without any sweetness to the soul That is the truest Belief of Heaven which maketh men likest those that are in Heaven And what is their character work and portion but the Joyes of Heavenly Light and Love Can we believe that we shall live in Heaven for ever Can we believe that very shortly we shall be there and not rejoyce in such believing I know we commonly say that the uncertainty of our proper title is the cause of all our want of joy But if that were all if that were the first and greatest cause and our belief of the promise it self were lively we should at least set our hearts on Heaven as the most delightful and desirable state and Love would work by more eager desires and diligent seekings till it had reacht assurance and cast out the hinderances of our joy How much would a meer Philosopher rejoyce if he could find out natural evidence of so much as we know by Faith You may perceive what their content in finding it would be by their excâ—eding pains in seeking The unwearied studies by day and night which many of them used with the contempt of the riches and greatness of the world do tell us how glad they would have been to have seen but half so far as we may If they could but discover more clearly and certainly the principles and elements and forms of Beings the nature of spirits the causes of motion
the nature and cause of light and heat the order course and harmony of the universal systeme of the world what joyful acclamations would this produce in the literal studious sort of men what joy then should it be to us to know by Faith the God that made us the Creation of the world the Laws and Promises of our Creatour the Mysteries of Redemption and Regeneration the frame of the new Creature the entertainment of the spirits of the just with Christ the Judgement which all the world must undergo the work and company which we shall have hereafter and the endless joyes which all the sanctified shall possess in the sight and Love of God for ever How blessed an invention would it be if all the world could be brought again to the use of one universal language Or if all the Churches could be perfectly reconciled how joyful would the Author of so great a work be should we not then rejoyce who foresee by Faith a far more perfect union and consent than ever must be expected here on earth Alas the ordinary lowness of our Comforts doth tell us that our Faith is very small I say not so much The sorrows of a doubting heart as the little joy which we have in the fore-thoughts of Heaven when our title seemeth not much doubtful to us For those sorrows shew that such esteem it a joyful place and would rejoyce if their title were but cleared But when we have neither the sorrow or solicitousness of the afflicted soul nor yet the joy which is any whit suitable to the belief of such everlasting joyes we may know what to judge of such an uneffectual belief at best it is very low and feeble It is a joy unspeakable and full of glory which unseen things should cause in a Believer 1 Pet. 1.6 7 8. Because it is an exceeding eternal weight of glory which he believeth 2 Cor. â— 17 18. 8. Finally Learn to Die also as Believers The life of Faith must bring you to the very entrance into glory where one doth end the other begins As our dark life in the womb by nutriment from the Mother continueth till our passage into the open world You would die in the womb if Faith should cease before it bring you to full intuition and fruition Heb. 11.22 By faith Joseph when he died made mention of the departing of the children of Israel Josephs faith did not die before him Heb. 11.3 These all died in faith confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth and declaring that they sought a better Country They that live by faith must die in faith yea and die by faith too Faith must fetch in their dying comforts And O how full and how near a treasure hath it to go to To die to this world is to be born into another Beggars are best when they are abroad The travail of the ungodly is better to them than their home But the Believers home is so much better than his travail that he hath little cause to be afraid of coming to his Journeys end but should rather every step cry out O when shall I be at home with Christ Is it Earth or Heaven that you have prayed for and laboured for and waited and suffered for till now And doth he indeed pray and labour and suffer for Heaven who would not come thither It is Faith which overcometh the world and the flesh which must also overcome the fears of death and can look with boldness into the loathsome grave and can triumph over both as victorious through Christ It is Faith which can say Go forth O my soul depart in peace Thy course is finished Thy warfare is accomplished The day of triumph is now at hand Thy patience hath no longer work Go forth with joy The morning of thy endless joyes is near and the night of fears and darkness at an end Thy terrible dreams are ending in eternal pleasures The glorious light will banish all thy dreadful specters and resolve all those doubts which were bred and cherished in the dark They whose employment is their weariness and toil do take the night of darkness and cessation for their rest But this is thy weariness Defect of action is thy toil and thy most grievous labour is to do too little work And thy uncessant Vision Love and Praise will be thy uncessant ease and pleasure and thy endless work will be thy endless rest Depart O my soul with peace and gladness Thou leavest not a world where Wisdom and Piety Justice and Sobriety Love and Peace and Order do prevail but a world of ignorance and folly of bruitish sensuality and rage of impiety and malignant enmity to good a world of injustice and oppression and of confusion and distracting strifes Thou goest not to a world of darkness and of wrath but of Light and Love From hellish malice to perfect amity from Bedlam rage to perfect wisdom from mad confusion to perfect order to sweetest unity and peace even to the spirits of the just made perfect and to the celestial glorious City of God! Thou goest not from Heaven to Earth from holiness to sin from the sight of God into an infernal dungeon but from Earth to Heaven from sin and imperfection unto perfect holiness and from palpable darkness into the vital splendour of the face of God! Thou goest not amongst enemies but to dearest friends nor amongst meer strangers but to many whom thou hast known by sight and to more whom thou hast known by faith and must know by the sweetest communion for ever Thou goest not to unsatisfied Justice nor to a condemning unreconciled God but to Love it self to infinite Goodness the fountain of all created and communicated good to the Maker Redeemer and Sanctifier of souls to him who prepared Heaven for thee and now hath prepared thee for Heaven Go forth then in triumph and not with terrour O my soul The prize is won Possess the things which thou hast so long prayed for and sought Make haste and enter into thy Masters joy Go view the glory which thou hast so long heard of and take thy place in the heavenly Chore and bear thy part in their celestial melody Sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God! And receive that which Christ in his Covenant did promise to give thee at the last Go boldly to that blessed God with whom thou hast so powerful a Mediatour and to the Throne of whose grace thou hast had so oft and sweet access If Heaven be thy fear or sorrow what can be thy joy and where wilt thou have refuge if thou fly from God If perfect endless pleasures be thy terrour where then dost thou expect content If grace have taught thee long ago to prefer the heavenly and durable felicity refuse it not now when thou art so near the port if it have taught thee long ago to be as a stranger in this Sodom and to renounce this
sinful world and flesh linger not now as unwilling to depart repent not of thy choice when all that the world can do for thee is past repent not of thy warfare when thou hast got the victory nor of thy voyage when thou art past the storms and waves and ready to land at the haven of felicity Thus Faith may sing our Nunc dimittis when the flesh is lothest to be dissolved But we must live by faith if we would thus die by faith Such a death doth not use to be the period of a fleshly worldly life nor of a careless dull and negligent life Nature which brought us into the world without our forecast or care will turn us out of the world without it But it will not give us a joyful passage nor bring us to a better world without it It costeth worldlings no small care to die in an honourable or plentiful estate that they may fall from an higher place than others and may have something to make death more grievous and unwelcome to them and may have a greater account to make at Judgement and that their passage to Heaven may be as a Camels through a Needle And may a believing joyful death be expected without the preparations of exercise and experience in a believing life Nature is so much afraid of dying and an incorporated soul is so incarcerated in sense and so hardly riseth to serious and satisfying apprehensions of the unseen world that even true Believers do find it a work of no small difficulty to desire to depart and be with Christ and to die in the joyful hopes of faith A little abatement of the terrours of death a little supporting hope and peace is all that the greater part of them attain instead of the fervent desires and triumphant joyes which the lively belief of endless glory should produce O therefore make it the work of your lives of all your lives your greatest work your constant work to live by faith that the faith which hath first conquered all the rest of your enemies may be able also to overcome the last and may do your last work well when it hath done the rest CHAP. I. Directions how to live by Faith And first how to strengthen Faith And secondly the natural Truths presupposed to be considered THe Directions which I shall give you as helps to live by Faith are of two ranks 1. Such as tend to the strengthening of your Faith 2. Such as tell you how to use it The first is the greatest part of our task for no man can use that faith which he hath not nor can use more of it than he hath And the commonest reason why we use but little is because we have but little to use But on this subject supposing it most weighty I have written many Treatises already The second part of the Saints Rest The Unreasonableness of Infidelity And last of all The Reasons of the Christian Religion Besides others which handle it on the by And somewhat is said in the beginning of this discourse But yet because in so great a matter I am more afraid of doing too little than too much I will here give you an Index of some of the chief Helps to be close together before you for your memories to be the constant fuel of your Faith In the work of Faith it is first needful that you get all the prerequisite Helps of Natural Light and be well acquainted with their Order and Evidence and their Vsefulness to befriend the supernatural revelations For it is supposed that we are men before we are Christians We were created before we were redeemed And we must know that there is a God before we can know that we have offended him or that we need a Saviour to reconcile us to him And we must know that we have reasonable souls before we can know that sin hath corrupted them or that grace must sanctifie them And we must know that whatsoâ—ver God saith is true before we can believe that the Scripture is true as being his revelation Faith is an act of Reason and Believing is a kind of knowing even a knowing by the testimâ—ny of him whom we believe because we have sufficient reason to believe him 2. And next we must be well acquainted with the evidence of supernatural Truth which presupposeth the foresaid Natural Verities I shall set both bâ—fore you briefly in their order 1. Think well â—f the nature of your souls of their faculties or pâ—wers their excellency and their proper use And then you will find that you are not meer brutes who know not their Creatâ—ur nor live noâ— by a Law nor think not of another world nor â—â—ar any â—â—fferings after death But that you have reasâ—n free-will and executive power to knâ—w your Maker and to live by â—ule aâ—d to hope for a Reward in another life and to fear a pâ—nâ—shmeâ—t hereafter And that as no wise Artificer maketh any thing in vain so God is mâ—ch less to be thought to havâ— given you such souls and faculties in vain 2. Coâ—sidâ—r next how all the world declareth to you that there is a Gâ—d whâ— is infiniteâ—y pâ—werful wise and good And thaâ— it is not possible that all things which we see should have no cause or that the derived Power and Wisdom and Goodnesâ— of the creature should not proceed from that which is more excellent in the first and total cause Or that God should give more than he had to give 3. Consider nexâ— in whâ—t Relation such a creature must needs stand to such a Creatour If he made us of Nâ—â—hing 〈◊〉 is not pâ—ssible but that he must be 〈◊〉 Owner and wâ— aâ—d all things absolutely his Own And if he be our Maker and Owner and be infinitely powerful wise and good and we be Reasonable-free-agents made to be guided by Laws or Moral Means unto our end it is not possible but that we should stand related to him as subjects to their rightful Governour And if he be our Creatour Owner and Ruler and also infinitely Good and the grand Benefactor of the world and if the nature of our souls be to Love Good as Good it cannot be possible that he should not be our End who is our Creatour and that we should not be related to him as to the Chiefest Good both originally as our Benefactor and finally as our End 4. And then it is easie for you next to see what duty you owe to that God to whom you are thus related That if you are absolutely his Own you should willingly be at his absolute dispose And iâ— he bâ— your Soveraign Ruler you should labour most diligently to know his Laws and absolutely to obey them And if he be infinitely Good and your Benefactor and your End you are absolutely bound to Love him most devotedly and to place your own felicity in his Love All this is so evidently the duty of man to God by nature that nothing but madness can deny
these things and to expound all these Solemnities Laws and Ceremonies to them so that the frame of Church and State and Families was a preservative hereof 5. But to pass by all the rest in the Old Testament the Incarnation of Christ was such a work of Omnipotent Love as caâ—not by us be comprehended That God should be united to humanity in person that humanity should thus be advanced into union with the Deity and Man be set above the Angels that a Virgin should conceive that men from the East should be led thither to worship an Infant by the conduct of a Star which Caesarius thinketh was one of those Angels or Spirits which are called a flame of fire Psal 104.4 That Angels from Heaven should declare his nativity to the Shepherds and celebrate it with their praises that John Baptist should be so called to be his forerunner and Elizabeth Zachary Simeon and Anna should so prophesie of him That the Spirit should be seen descending on him at his Baptism and the voice be heard from Heaven which owned him that he should fast forty daies and nights and that he should be transfigured before his three Disciples on the Mount and Moses and Elias seen with him in that glory and the voice from Heaven again bear witness to him These and many such like were the attestations of Divine Omnipotency to the truth of Christ 6. To these may be next joyned the whole course of miracles performed by Christ in healing the sick and raising the dead and in many other miraculous acts which are most of the substance of the Gospel-history and which I have recited together in my Reasons of the Christian Religion see Heb. 2.2 3 4. 7. And to these may be added the Power which was given over all the creatures to Christ our Mediatour All power in Heaven and Earth was given him Joh. 17.2 13.3 Mat. 28.19 Rom. 14.9 Ephes 1.22 23. He was made Head over all things to the Church and all principalities and powers were put under him And this was not barely asserted by him but demonstrated He shewed his power over the Devils in casting them out and his power over Angels by their attendance and his power of life and death by raising the dead and his power over all diseases by healing them and his power over the winds and waters by appeasing them and his power over our food and natures by turning water into wine and by feeding many thousands miraculously yea and his power over them into whose hands he was resolved to yield himself by restraining them till his hour was come and by making them all fall to the ground at his name and his power over Sun and Heaven and Earth by the darkening of the Sun and the trembling of the Earth and the rending of the Rocks and of the Vail of the Temple Mat. 27.45 51. And his power over the dead by the rising of the bodies of many Mat. 27.52 And his power over the Saints in Heaven by the attendance of Moses and Elias and his power to forgive sins by taking away the penal maladies and his power to change hearts and save souls by causing his Disciples to leave all and follow him at a word and Zacheus to receive him and believe and the thief on the cross to be converted and to enter that day into Paradise 8. And his own Resurrection is an undoubted attestation of Divine Omnipotency If God gave him such a victory over death and raised him to life when men had killed him and rolled a stone upon his Sepulchre and sealed and guarded it there needeth no further evidence of the Power of God impressing and attesting the Christian Religion than that which ascertaineth to us the truth of Christs Resurrection For he was declared to be the Son of God by POWER by resurrection from the dead Rom. 1.4 9. And his bodily appearance to his congregated Disciples when the doors were shut his miracle at their fishing his walking on the Sea his vanishing out of their sight Luke 24. when he had discoursed with the two Disciples his opening their hearts to understand his Word c. do all shew this part of Gods Image on our Religion even his Power 10. And so doth his bodily ascending into Heaven before the face of his Disciples Acts 1. 11. But especially the sending down the Holy Ghost upon his Disciples according as he promised To cause them that were before so low in knowledge to be suddenly inspired with languages and with the full understanding of his own will and with unanimity and concord herein this made his Disciples the living monuments and effects of his own Omnipotency Acts 2. 12. And accordingly all the miracles which they did by this power recorded partly in the Acts of the Apostles or rather the Acts of Paul by Luke who was his companion which you may there read and no doubt but other Apostles in their measures did the like as Paul though they are not recorded for they had all the same Promise and Spirit This is another impression of POWER 13. Whereto must be added the great and wonderful gifts of communicating the same Spirit or doing that upon which God would give it to those converted Believers on whom they laid their hands which Simon Magus would fain have bought with money Acts 8. To enable them to speak with tongues to heal diseases to prophesie c. as they themselves had done which is a great attestation of Omnipotency 14. And the lamentable destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans foretold by Christ was an attestation of Gods POWER in the revenge or punishment of their unbelief and putting Christ to death 15. And so was the great fortitude and constancy of Believers who underwent all persecutions so joyfully as they did for the sake of Christ which was the effect of the corroborating Power of the Almighty 16. And so was the Power which the Apostles had to execute present judgements upon the enemies of the Gospel as Elimas and Simon Magus and on the abusers of Religion as Ananias and Saphyra and on many whom they excommunicated and delivered up to Satan 17. The same evidence is found in Christs Legislation as an universal Soveraign making Laws for heart and life for all the world Taking down the Laws of the Jewish Polity and Ceremonies which God by Moses had for a time set up Commanding his Ministers to proclaim his Laws to all the world and Princes and people to obey them And by these Laws conferring on Believers no less than forgiveness and salvation and binding over the impenitent to everlasting punishment 18. But the great and continued impress of Gods Power is that which together with his Wisdom and Love is made and shewed in the conveâ—sion of mens souls to God by Christ You may here first consider the numbers which were suddenly converted by the preaching of the Apostles at the first And in how little time there were Churches planted
the Scripture it self it is evident that the Churches and the Apostles used this day accordingly And it hath most infallible history impossible to be false that the Churches have used it ever to this day as that which they found practised in their times by their appointment And this is not a bare narrative but an uninterrupted matter of publick fact and practice So universal that I remember not in all my reading that ever one enemy questioned it or ever one Christian or Heretick denyed or once scrupled it So that they who tell us that all this is yet but humane testimony do shew their egregious inconsiderations that know not that such humane testimony or history in a matter of publick constant fact may be most certain and all that the nature of the case will allow a sober person to require And they might as well reject the Canon of the Scriptures because humane testimony is it which in point of fact doth certifie us that these are the very unaltered Canonical Books which were delivered at first to the Churches Yea they may reject all the store of historical tradition of Christianity it self which I am here reciting to the shame of their understandings And consider also that the Lords day was settled and constantly used in solemn worship by the Churches many and many years before any part of the New Testament was written and above threescore years before it was finished And when the Churches had so many years been in publick possession of it who would require that the Scriptures should after all make a Law to institute that which was instituted so long ago If you say that it might have declared the institution I answer so it hath as I have shewed there needing no other declaration but 1. Christs commission to the Apostles to order the Church and declare his commands 2. And his promise of infallible guidance therein 3. And the history of the Churches order and practice to shew de facto what they did And that history need not be written in Scripture for the Churches that then were no more than we need a revelation from Heaven to tell us thas the Lords day is kept in England And sure the next Age needed no supernatural testimony of it and therefore neither do we But yet it is occasionally oft intimated or expressed in the Scripture though on the by as that which was no further necessary So that I may well conclude that we have better historical evidence that the Lords day was actually observed by the Churches for their publick worship and profession of the Christian Faith than we have that ever there was such a man as William the Conquerour in England yea or King James much more than that there was a Caesar or Cicero 8. Moreover the very Office of the Pastors of the Church and their continuance from the beginning to this day is a great part of the certain tradition of this Religion For it is most certain that the Churches were constituted and the Assemblies held and the worship performed with them and by their conduct and not without And it is certain by infallible history that their office hath been still the same even to teach men this Christian Religion and to guide them in the practice of it and to read the same Scriptures as the word of truth and to explain it to the people And therefore as the Judicatures and Offices of the Judges is a certain proof that there have been those Laws by which they judge especially if they had been also the weekly publick Readers and Expounders of them and so much more is it in our case 9. And the constant use of the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ hath according to his appointment been an infallible tradition of his Covenant and a means to keep him in remembrance in the Churches For when all the Churches in the world have made this Sacramental Commemoration and renewed covenanting with Christ as dead and risen to be their constant publick practice here is a tradition of that faith and Covenant which cannot be counterfeit or false 10. To this we may add the constant use of Discipline in these Churches it having been their constant law and practice to enquire into the faith and lives of the members and to censure or cast out those that impenitently violated their Religion which sheweth that de facto that Faith and Religion was then received and is a means of delivering it down to us Under which we may mention 1. Their Synods and Officers 2. And their Canons by which this Discipline was exercised 11. Another tradition hath been the published confessions of their Faith and Râ—lâ—gâ—on in those Apologies which persecutions and calumnies have caused them to write 12. And another is all those published Confutations of the many heresies which in every age have risen up and all the controversies which the Churches have had with them and among themselves 13. And another is all the Treatises Sermons and other instructing writings of the Pastors of those times 14 And another way of tradition hath been by the testimony and sufferings of Confessors and Martyrs who have endured either torments or death in the defence and owning of this Religion In all which waies of tradition the doctrine and the matter were joyntly attested by them For the Resurrection of Christ which is part of the matter of fact was one of the Articles of their Creed which they suffered for And all of them received the holy Scriptures which declare the Apostles miracles and they received their faith as delivered by those Apostles with the confirmation of those miracles So that when they professed to believe the doctrine they especially professed to believe the history of the life and death of Christ and of his Apostles And the Religion which they suffered for and daily professed contained both And the historical Books called the Gospels were the chief part of the Scripture which they called The Word of God and the Records of the Christian Religion 15. To this I may add that all the ordinary prayers and praises of the Churches did continue the recital of much of this history and of the Apostles names and acts and were composed much in Scripture phrase which preserved the memory and professed the belief of all those things 16. And the festivals or other dayes which were kept in honourable commemoration of those Apostles and Martyrs was another way of keeping these things in memory Whether it were well done or not is not my present enquiry only I may say I cannot accuse it of any sin till it come to over-doing and ascribing too much to them But certainly it was a way of transmitting the memory of those things to posterity 17. Another hath been by the constant commemoration of the great works of Christ by the dayes or seasons of the year which were annually observed How far here also the Church did well or ill I now meddle
cast in the light of Faith extraordinarily which is indeed the life of Faith Nor is it seeming to stir up Faith in a Prayer or Sermon and looking no more after it all the day This is but to give God a salutation and not to dwell and walk with him And to give Heaven a complemental visit sometimes but not to have your conversation there 2 Cor. 5.7 8. Direct 3. Be not too seldom in solitary meditation Though it be a duty which melancholy persons are disabled to perform in any set and long and orderly manner yet it is so needful to those who are able that the greatest works of Faith are to be managed by it How should things unseen be apprehended so as to affect our hearts without any serious exercise of our thoughts How should we search into mysteries of the Gospel or converse with God or walk in Heaven or fetch either joyes or motives thence without any retired studious contemplation If you cannot meditate or think you cannot believe Meditation abstracteth the mind from vanity and lifteth it up above the world and setteth it about the work of Faith which by a mindless thoughtless or worldly soul can never be performed 2 Cor. 4.16 17 18. Phil. 3.20 Mat. 6.21 Col. 3.1 3. Direct 4. Let the Image of the Life of Christ and his Martyrs and holiest servants be deeply printed on your minds That you may know what the way is which you have to go and what patterns they be which you have to imitate think how much they were above things sensitive and how light they set by all the pleasures wealth and glory of this world Therefore the Holy Ghost doth set before us that cloud of witnesses and catalogue of Martyrs in Heb. 11. that example may help us and we may see with how good company we go in the life of Faith Paul had well studied the example of Christ when he took pleasure in infirmities and gloryed only in the Cross to be base and afflicted in this world for the hopes of endless glory 2 Cor. 11.30 12.5 9 10. And when he could say I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable to his death Phil. 3.8 9 10. No man will well militate in the life of Faith but he that followeth the Captain of his salvation Heb. 2.10 who for the bringing of many Sons to glory even those whom he is not ashamed to call his Brethren was made perfect as to perfection of action or performance by suffering thereby to shew us how little the best of these visible and sensible corporeal things are to be valued in comparison of the things invisible and therefore as the General and the souldiers make up one army and militate in one militia so he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one Heb. 2.10 11 12. Though that which is called the life of Faith in us deserved a higher title in Christ and his faith in his Father and ours do much differ and he had not many of the objects acts and uses of Faith as we have who are sinners yet in this we must follow him as our great example in valuing things invisible and vilifying things visible in comparison of them And therefore Paul saith I am crucified with Christ Nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Gal. 2.20 Direct 5. Remember therefore that God and Heaven the unseen things are the final object of true Faith and that the final object is the noblest and that the principal use of Faith is to carry up the whole heart and life from things visible and temporal to things invisible and eternal and not only to comfort us in the assurance of our own forgiveness and salvation It is an exceeding common and dangerous deceit to overlook both this principal object and principal use of the Christian Faith 1. Many think of no other object of it but the death and righteousness of Christ and the pardon of sin and the promise of that pardon And God and Heaven they look at as the objects of some other common kind of Faith 2. And they think of little other use of it than to comfort them against the guilt of sin with the assurance of their Justification But the great and principal work of Faith is that which is about its final object to carry up the soul to God and Heaven where the world and things sensible are the terminus à quo and God and things invisible the terminus ad quem And thus it is put in contradistinction to living by fight in 2 Cor. 5.6 7. And thus mortification is made one part of this great effect in Rom. 6. throughout and many other places and thus it is that Heb. 11. doth set before us those numerous examples of a life of Faith as it was expressed in valuing things unseen upon the belief of the Word of God and the vilifying of things seen which stand against them And thus Christ tryed the Rich man Luke 18.22 whether he would be his Disciple by calling him to sell all and give to the poâ—r for the hopes of a treasure in Heaven And thus Christ maketh bearing the Cross and denying our selves and forsaking all for him to be necessary in all that are his Disciples And thus Paul describeth the life of Faith 2 Cor. 4.17 18. by the contempt of the world and suffering afflictions for the hopes of Heaven For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal Our Faith is our victory over the world even in the very nature of it and not only in the remote effect for its aspect and believing approaches to God and the things unseen and a proportionable recess from the things which are seen is one and the same motion of the soul denominated variously from its various respects to the terminus ad quem and à quo Direct 6. Remember that as God to be believed in is the principal and final object of Faith so the kindling of love to God in the soul is the principal use and effect of Faith And to live by Faith is but to love obey and suffer by Faith Faith working by Love is the description of our Christianity Gal. 5.6 As Christ is the Way to the Father Joh. 14.6 and came into the world to recover Apostate
the term from which and the former from the respect to part of the term to which the soul is moving And Faith is oft taken as containing somewhat of Love and Desire in it and he that will without any prejudice and partiality study Paul where he opposeth Faith and Works as to our Justification shall find by his almost constant naming the Works of the Law or by the context and analysis that indeed his chief meaning is to prove that we are justified by the Christian Religion and must be sâ—ved by it and not by the Jewish which the adversaries of Christianity then pleaded for and trusted to Direct 12. Set not the helps of Faith as if they were against Faith but understand their several places and offices and use them accordingly Do not like those ignorant self-conceited Hereticks who cry out It is by Believing and not by Repenting or Reading or Hearing Sermons or by Praying or by forbearing sin or by doing good that we are justified and therefore it is by Faith only that we are saved the same which is sufficient for our Justification being sufficient for our salvation seeing the Justified cannot be condemned and Justification and Salvation are both equally ascribed to Faith without the works of the Law by the Apostle For we are justified only by such a Faith as is caused by Gods Word and maintained and actuated by Hearing Reading Meditation Prayer and Sacraments and as is accompanied by Repentance and worketh by Love and is indeed the beholding of those invisible and glorious motives which may incite our Love and set us on good works and obedience to our Redeemer And he that by negligence omitteth or by errour excludeth any one of these in the Life of Faith will find that he hath erred against his own interest peace and comfort if not against his own salvation And that he might as wisely have disputed that it is his eyes only that must see his way and therefore he may travel without his legs Direct 13. Take heed left a misconceit of the certainty of some common Philosophical Opinions should make you stagger in those Articles of Faith which seem to contradict them Not that indeed any truths can be contrary one to another For that which is true in Philosophy is contrary to no one truth in Theology But Philosophers have deceived themselves and the world with a multitude of uncertainties and falsities and by straining them to subtil niceties and locking them up in uncouth terms have kept the common people from trying them and understanding them and thereby have made it their own prerogative explicitely to erre and the peoples duty not to contradict them but to admire that errour as profound parts of learning which they cannot understand And then their conclusions oft go for principles which must not be gainsayed when they are perhaps either false or non-sense And then when they meet with any thing in Scripture which crosseth their opinions the reputation of humane folly maketh them despise the wisdom of God I have given you elsewhere some instances about the immortality of the soul They know not what Generation is they do not know it nor what are the true principles and elements of mixt bodies nor what is the true dâ—fference between immaterial and material substances with an hundred such like And yet some expect that we should sacrifice the most certain useful truths to their false or uncertain useless suppositions which is the true reason why Paul saith Col. 2.8 9 10. Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit not true Philosophy which is the true knowledge of the works of God but the vain models which every Sect of them cryed up after the tradition of men that is the opinions of the Masters of their Sects after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily and ye are compleat in him See Act. 17.18 It is Christ who is the kernel and summary of the Christian Philosophy who is therefore called The Wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1.24 30. both because he is the heavenly Teacher of true Wisdom and because that true Wisdom consisteth in knowing him And indeed even in those times the several Sects of Philosophers accounted much of each others principles to be erroneous and the Philosophers of these times begin to vilifie them all and withall to confess that they have yet little of certainty to substitute in the room of the demolished Idols but they are about their experiments to try if any thing in time may be found out Direct 14. Especially take heed lest you be cheated into Infidelity by the Dominicans Metaphysical Doctrine of the necessity of Gods Physical predetermining promotion as the first total cause to the being of every action natural and free not only in genere actionis but also as respectively and comparatively exercised on this object rather than on that I add this only for the learned who are as much in danger of Infidelity as others and will use it to the greater injury of the truth I will meddle now with no other reasons of my advice but what the subject in hand requireth If God can and do thus premove and predetermine the mind will and tongue of every lyar in the world to every lye or material falshood which ever they did conceive or speak there will be no certainty of the Gospel nor of any Divine Revelation at all Seeing all such certainty is resolved into Gods Veracity that God cannot lye And God speaketh not to us by any but a created voice and if he can thus predetermine others to those words which are a lye rather than to the contrary which are true there would be no certainty but he may do so by Prophets and Apostles and let them tell you what they will of the greater certainty of Inspirations and Miracles than of Predeterminations it will be found upon tryal that no man can prove or make it so much as probable that any inspiration hath more of a Divine Causation than such a premoving predetermination as aforesaid doth amount to much less so much more as will prove that one is more certain than the other This Doctrine therefore which undeniably whatever may be wrangled taketh down Christianity and all belief of God or man is not to be believed meerly upon such a Philosophical conceit that every Action is a Being and therefore must in all its circumstances be caused by God As if God were not able to make a faculty which can determine its own comparative act to this rather than to that by his sustentation and universal precausation and concourse without the said predetermining premotion When as an Action as such is but a modus entis and the comparative exercise of it on this rather than on that is but a modus vel circumstantia modi And they leave no work for gracious determination because that natural determination doth
all the same thing equally to duty and sin without it Direct 15. Consider well how much all humane converse is maintained by the necessary belief of one another and what the world would be without it and how much you expect your selves to be believed And then think how much more belief is due to God Though sin hath made the world so bad that we may say that all men are lyars that is deceitful vanity and little to be trusted yet the honesty of those that are more vertuous doth help so far to keep up the honour of veracity and the shamefulness of lying that throughout the world a lye is in disgrace and truth in speech and dealing is well spoken of And the remnants of natural honesty in the worst do so far second the true honesty of the best that no man is so well spoken of commonly in the world as a man of truth and trustiness whose Word is his Law and Master and never speaketh deceitfully to any Nor no man is so commonly ill spoken of as a knave as he that will lye and is not to be trusted In so much that even those debauched Ruffians who live as if they said in their hearts There is no God will yet venture their lives in revenge against him that shall give them the lye Perhaps you will say that this is not from any vertue or natural Law or honesty but from common interest there being nothing more the interest of mankind than that men be trusty to each other To which I answer that you oppose things which are conjunct It is both For all Gods natural Laws are for the interest of mankind and that which is truly most for our good is made most our duty and that which is most our duty is most for our good And that which is so much for the interest of mankind must needs be good If it were not for credibility and trustiness in men there were no living in families but Masters and Servants Parents and Children Husbands and Wives would live together as enemies And neigbours would be as so many thieves to one another There could be no Society or Common-wealth when Prince and people could put no trust in one another Nay thieves themselves that are not to be trusted by any others do yet strengthen themselves by confederacies and oaths of secrecy and gather into troops and armies and there put trust in one another And can we think that GOD is not much more to be trusted and is not a greater hater of a lye and is not the fountain of all fidelity and hath not a greater care of the interest of his creatures Surely he that thinketh that God is a lyar and not to be trusted will think no better of any mortal man or Angel and therefore trusteth no one and is very censorious and would be thought no better of himself and therefore would have none believe or trust him For who would be better than his God Direct 16. Consider also that Veracity in God is his nature or essence and cannot be denyed without denying him to be God For it is nothing but his three Essentialities or Principles Power Wisdom and Goodness as they are expressed in his Word or Revelations as congruous to his mind and to the matter expressed He that neither wanteth knowledge to know what to say and do nor Goodness to love truth and hate all evil nor Power to do what he please and to make good his word cannot possibly lye because every lye is for want of one or more of these Heb. 6.18 Titus 1.12 And there as it is said that he cannot lye and that it is impossible so it is called a denying of himself if he could be unfaithfull 2 Tim. 2.13 If we believe not yet be abideth faithful and cannot deny himself Direct 17. Exercise Faith much in those proper works in which self and sense are most denyed and overcome Bodily motions and labours which we are not used to are done both unskilfully and with pain If Faith be not much exercised in its warfare and victorious acts you will neither know its strength nor find it to be strong when you come to use it It is not the easie and common acts of Faith which will serve turn to try and strengthen it As the life of sense is the adversary which Faith must conquer so use it much in such conflicts and conquests if you would find it strong and usefull Use it in such acts of mortification and self-denyal as will plainly shew that it over ruleth sense Use it in patience and rejoycing in such sufferings and in contentment in so low and cross a state where you are sure that sight and sense do not contribute to your peace and joy Use it not only in giving some little of your superfluities but in giving your whole two mites even all your substance and selling all and giving to the poor when indeed God maketh it your duty At least in forsaking all for his sake in a day of tryal Faith never doth work so like it self so clearly so powerfully and so comfortably as in these self-denying and overcoming acts when it doth not work alone without the help of sense to comfort us but also against sense which would discourage us Luke 18.22 23. 14.26 33. 2 Cor. 5.7 Direct 18. Keep a constant observation of Gods converse with your hearts and workings on them For as I said before there are within us such demonstrations of a Kingdom of God in precepts mercies rewards and punishments that he which well worketh them will have much help in the maintaining and exercising his belief of the everlasting Kingdom Especially the godly who have that Spirit there working which is indeed the very seal and pledge and earnest of life eternal 2 Cor. 1.22 5.5 Ephes 1.13 14. Gal. 4.5 6. Rom. 8.16 17. There is so much of God and Heaven in a true Believers heart that as we see the Moon and Stars when we look down into the water so we may see much of God and Heaven within us if the heart it self be throughly studied And I must add that Experiences here must be carefully recorded and when God fulfilleth promises to us it must not be forgotten Direct 19. Converse much with them that live by Faith and fetch their motives and comforts from the things unseen Converse hath a transforming power To converse with them that live all by sense and shew no other desires or joyes or sorrows but what are fetched from fleshly sensible things is a great means to draw us downwards with them And to converse with them who converse in Heaven and speak of nothing else so comfortably or so seriously who shew us that Heaven is the place they travel to and the state that all their life doth aim and who make little of all the wants or plenty pains or pleasures of the flesh this much conduceth to make us heavenly As men are apt to learn
a God is it whom I am bound to serve and who hath taken me into his Covenant as his child How happy are they who have such a God engaged to be their God and Happiness And how miserable are they who make such a God their revenging Judge and enemy Shall I ever again wilfully or carelesly sin against a God of so great Majesty If the Sun were an intellectual Deity and still looked on me should I presumptuously offend him Shall I ever distrust the power of him that made such a world Shall I fear a worm a mortal man above this great and terrible Creator Shall I ever again resist or disobey the word and wisdom of him who made and ruleth such a world Doth he govern the whole world and should not I be governed by him Hath he Goodness enough to communicate as he hath done to Sun and Stars to Heaven and Earth to Angels and Men and every wight and hath he not Goodness enough to draw and engage and continually delight this dull and narrow heart of mine Doth the return of his Sun turn the darksome night into the lightsome day and bring forth the creatures to their food and labour doth its approach revive the torpid earth and turn the congealed winter into the pleasant spring and cover the earth with her fragrant many-coloured Robes and renew the life and joy of the terrestrial inhabitants and shall I find nothing in the God who made and still continueth the world to be the life and strength and pleasure of my soul Psal 66.1 c. Make a joyful noise unto God all ye Lands sing forth the honour of his Name make his praise glorious say unto God How terrible art thou in thy works Come and see the works of God He is terrible in his doing towards the children of men He ruleth by his power for ever his eyes behold the Nations let not the rebellious exalt themselves O bless our God ye people and make the voice of his praise to be heard who holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved Psal 86.8 9 10. Among the gods there is none like unto thee O Lord neither are there any works like unto thy works All Nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord and shall glorifie thy Name For thou art great and dost wonderous things thou art God alone Psal 92.5 6. O Lord how great are thy works thy thoughts are very deep a bruitish man knoweth not neither doth a fool understand this Faith doth not separate it self from natural knowledge nor neglect Gods Works while it studyeth his Word but saith Psal 143.5 I meditate on all thy Works I muse on the work of thy hands Psal 104.24 O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches so is the great and wide Sea c. Nay it is greatly to be noted that as Redemption is to repair the Creation and the Redeemer came to recover the soul of man to his Creator and Christ is the way to the Father so on the Lords day our commemoration of Redemption includeth and is subservient to our commemoration of the Creation and the work of the ancient Sabbath is not shut out but taken in with the proper work of the Lords day and as Faith in Christ is a mediate grace to cause in us the Love of God so the Word of the Redeemer doth not call off our thoughts from the Works of the great Creator but call them back to that employment and fit us for it by reconciling us to God Therefore it is as suitable to the Gospel Church at least as it was to the Jewish to make Gods works the matter of our Sabbath praises and to say as Psal 145.4 5 10. One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts I will speak of the glorious honour of thy Majesty and of thy wonderous works And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts and I will declare thy greatness All thy works shall praise thee O Lord and thy Saints shall bless thee Psal 26.6 7. I will wash my hands in innocency and so will I compass thine Altar O Lord that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wonderous works Psal 9.12 I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will shew forth all thy marvelous works Direct 14. Let Faith also observe God in his daily Providences and equally honour him for the ordinary and the extraordinary passages thereof The upholding of the world is a continual causing of it and differeth from creation as the continued shining of a Candle doth from the first lighting of it If therefore the Creation do wonderfully declare the Power and Wisdom and Goodness of God so also doth the conservation And note that Gods ordinary works are as great demonstrations of him in all his perfections as his extraordinary Is it not as great a declaration of the Power of God that he cause the Sun to shine and to keep its wonderous course from age to age as if he did such a thing but for a day or hour and as if he caused it to stand still a day And is it not as great a demonstration of his knowledge also and of his goodness Surely we should take it for as great an act of Love to have plenty and health and joy continued to us as long as we desired it as for an hour Let not then that duration and ordinariness of Gods manifestations to us which is their aggravation be lookt upon as if it were their extenuation But let us admire God in the Sun and Stars in Sea and Land as if this were the first time that ever we had seen them And yet let the extraordinarniess of his works have its effects also Their use is to stir up the drowsie mind of man to see God in that which is unusual who is grown customary and lifeless in observing him in things usual Pharaoh and his Magicians will acknowledge God in those unusual works which they are no way able to imitate themselves and say This is the finger of God Exod. 8.19 And therefore miracles are never to be made light of but the finger of God to be acknowledged in them whoever be the instrument or occasion Luke 11.20 There are frequently also some notable though not miraculous Providences in the changes of the world and in the disposal of all events and particularly of our selves in which a Believer should still see God yea see him as the total cause and take the instruments to be next to nothing and not gaze all at men as unbelievers do but say This is the Lords doing and it is marvelous in our eyes Psal 118.23 Sing unto the Lord a new song for he hath done marvelous things Psal 98.1 Marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well
Psal 139.14 Direct 15. But let the chief study of Faith for the knowledge of God be of the face of Jesus Christ and the most wonderful mystery of his Incarnation and our Redemption For God is no where else so fully manifested to man in that Goodness Love and Mercy which it most concerneth us to know and the knowledge of which will be most healing and sanctifying to the soul But of this I must speak more in the chapter next following Direct 16. Let Faith make use of every mercy not only to acknowledge God therein but to have a pleasant taste and rellish of his Love For thus it is that they are all sanctified to Believers and this is the holy use of mercies Remember that as in order to Vnderstanding your eyes and ears are but the passages or inlets to your minds and if sights and sounds went no further than the senses you would be no better if not worse than beasts So also in order to Affection the taste and sense of sweetness or any other pleasure is to pass by the sense unto the heart and what should it do there but affect the heart with the Love and Goodness of the giver A beast tasteth as much of the sensitive sweetness of his food and ease as you do But it is the Believer who heartily saith How good is the Author and end of all this mercy whence is it that this cometh and whether dâ—th it tend I love the Lord because he hath heard the voice of my supplication Psal 116.1 O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness Psal 145.15 16. The eyes of all things wait on thee thou givest them their meat in due season Thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desires of every living thing He leaveth not himself without witness in that he doth good and giveth us Rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness Acts 14.17 The near conjunction of soul and body and the near relation of God and his mercies do tell us plainly that every pleasure which toucheth the sense should touch the heart and reach unto the soul it self and that as the creature is fitted to the sense and God is suitable to the soul so the creature should be but Gods servant to knock and cause us to open the door to himself and the way of his communication and accession to the heart Therefore so great a judgement is threatned against the Israelites in their prosperity if they did not serve God with jâ—yfulness and gladness of heart for the abundance of all things Deut. 28.47 And therefore the daies in which men were to rejoyce in God with the greatest love and thankfulness were appointed to be daies of feasting that the pleasure of the bodily senses might promote the spiritual pleasure and gratitude of the mind 2 Chron. 19.21 29.30 Neh. 8.17 12.27 Esth 9 17 18 19. Numb 10.10 Direct 17. Let Faith feel Gods displeasure in every chastisement and judgement For we must be equally careful that we despise them not and that we faint not under them Heb. 12.5 They that pretend that it is the work of faith to see nothing in any affliction but the love and benefit do but set one act of faith against another For the same word which telleth us that it shall turn to a true believers good doth tell us that it is of it self a natural evil and that as the good is from Gods Love so the evil is from our sins and his displeasure and that he would give us the good without the evil if man were without sin He therefore that believeth not that it is a castigatory punishment for sin is an unbeliever as well as he that believeth not the promise of the benefit Rom. 5.12 14 16 17 18. 1 Cor. 11.30 32. Jer. 5.25 Micah 1.5 Amos 3.2 Yea this opinion directly frustrateth the first end and use of all chastisements which is to further mens Repentance for the evil of sin by the sense of the evil of punishment and the notice of Gods displeasure manifested thereby And next to make us warnings to others that they incur not the same correction and displeasure as we have done For he that saith there is no penalty or evil in the suffering nor no displeasure of God exprest thereby doth contradict all this But as it is a great benefit which we are to reap by our corrections even the furtherance of our Repentance and amendment so it is a great work of faith to perceive the bitterness of sin and the displeasure of God in these corrections of which more anon Direct 18. Faith must hear the voice of God in all his Word and in all the counsel which by any one he shall send us When sense taketh notice of nothing but a book or of none but a man faith must perceive the mind and message of God Not only in Preachers 2 Cor. 5.19 20. 1 Thes 2.13 Titus 2.5 Heb. 13.7 but also in the mouth of wicked enemies when it is indeed the will of God which they reveal And so David heard the curse of Shimei speaking to him the rebukes of God for his sin in the matter of Vâ—iah 2 Sam. 16.10 11. And Paul rejoyced that Christ was preached by men of envy and strife who did it to add affliction to his bonds Phil. 1.18 Moses perceived the will of God in the counsel of Jethro even in as great a matter as the governing and judging of the people Exod. 18.19 The counsel of the ancients which Rehoboam forsook was the counsel of God which be rejected 1 King 12.8 David blessed God for the counsel of a woman Abigail Whoever be the Messenger a Believer should be acquainted with the voice of God and know the true significations of his will The true sheep of Christ do know his voice and follow him because they are acquainted with his Word and though the Preacher be himself of a sinful life he can distinguish betwixt God and the Preacher and will not say it is not the Word of God because it cometh from a wicked mouth For he hath read Psal 50.16 where God saith to the wicked What hast thou to do to take my Covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest instruction and hast cast my words behind thee But he never read to the godly saith God Why didst thou hear a wicked Preacher He hath read The Scribes and Pharisees fit in Moses chair hear them but do not as they do But he never read Hear none that live not according to their doctrine An unbeliever will not know Christs Word if a Judas be the Preacher of it but a Believer can read the commission of Judas or at least can understand whose counsel he delivereth and though he would be loth to chuse a Judas or to prefer him before a holy man yet if workers of iniquity do preach in Christs Name he leaveth it to Christ to say at Judgement I know you not Mat.
wind will blow and the rain will fall and the earth will bear fruits whether we know it or not so our knowledge of it is not at all necessary to any Divine Efficiency as such The Spirit by which we are regenerate is like the wind that bloweth whose sound we hear but know not whence it cometh nor whither it goeth no nor what it is John 3.6 7 8 9. But all those things which are necessary to work objectively and morally on the soul do work in esse cognito and the knowledge of them is as necessary as the operation is It was of absolute necessity to the salvation of all before Christs coming and among the Gentiles as well as the Jews that the Spirit should sanctifie them to God by possessing them with a predominant Love of him in his Goodness and that this Spirit proceed from the Son or Wisdom of God But it was not so necessary to them as it is now to us to have a distinct knowledge of the personality and operations of the Spirit and of the Son And though now it is certain that Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life and no man cometh to the Father but by the Son Joh. 14.6 Yet that knowledge of him which is necessary to them that hear the Gospel is not all necessary to them that never hear it though the same efficiency on his part be necessary And so it is about the knowledge of the Holy Ghost without which Christ cannot be sufficiently now known and rightly believed in Direct 4. The presence or operation of the Spirit of God is casually the spiritual Life of man in his holiness As there is no natural Being but by influence from his Being so no Life but by communication from his Life and no Light but from his Light and no Love or Goodness but from his Spirit of Love It is therefore a vain conceit of them that think man in innocency had not the Spirit of God They that say his natural rectitude was instead of the Spirit do but say and unsay for his natural rectitude was the effect of the influx or communication of Gods Spirit And he could have no moral rectitude without it as there can be no effect without the chief cause The nature of Love and Holiness cannot subsist but in dependance on the Love and Holiness of God And those Papists who talk of mans state first in pure naturals and an after donation of the Spirit must mean by pure naturals man in his meer essentials not really but notionally by abstraction distinguished from the same man at the same instant as a Saint or else they speak unsoundly For God made man in moral dispositive goodness at the first and the same Love or Spirit which did first make him so was necessary after to continue him so It was never his nature to be a prime good or to be good independently without the influence of the prime good Isa 44.3 Ezek. 36.27 Job 26.13 Psal 51.10 12. 143.10 Prov. 20.27 Mal. 2.15 John 3.5 6. 6.63 7.39 Rom. 8.1 5 6 9 13 16. 1 Cor. 6.11 2.11 12. 6.17 12.11 13. 15.45 2 Cor. 3.3 17. Ephes 2.18 22. 3.16 5.9 Col. 1.8 Jude 19. Direct 5. The Spirit of God and the Holiness of the soul may be lost without the destruction of our essence or species of humane nature and may be restored without making us specifically other things That influence of the Spirit which giveth us the faculty of a Rational Appetite or Will inclined to good as good cannot cease but our humanity or Being would cease But that influence of the Spirit which causeth our adherence to God by Love may cease without the cessation of our Beings as our health may be lost while our life continueth Psal 51.10 1 Thes 5.19 Direct 6. The greatest mercy in this world is the gift of the Spirit and the greatest misery is to be deprived of the Spirit and both these are done to man by God as a Governour by way of reward and punishment oft-times Therefore the greatest reward to be observed in this world is the increase of the Spirit upon us and the greatest punishment in this world is the denying or with-holding of the Spirit It is therefore a great part of a Christians wisdom and work to observe the accesses and assistances of the Spirit and its withdrawings and to take more notice to God in his thankfulness of the gift of the Spirit than of all other benefits in this world And to lament more the retiring or withholding of Gods Spirit than all the calamities in the world And to fear this more as a punishment of his sin Lest God should say as Psal 81.11 12. But my people would not hearken to my voice Israel would none of me so I gave them up to their own hearts lusts to walk in their own counsels And we must obey God through the motive of this promise and reward Prov. 1.23 Turn you at my reproof behold I will powre out my Spirit unto you I will make known my words to you Joh. 7.39 He spake this of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive Luke 11.13 God will give his holy Spirit to them that ask it And we have great cause when we have sinned to pray with David Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit in me Restore to me the joy of thy salvation and stablish me with thy free Spirit Psal 51.10 11 12. And as the sin to be feared is the grieving of the holy Spirit Ephes 4.30 so the judgement to be feared is accordingly the withdrawing of it Isaiah 63.10 11. But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit therefore he was turned to be their enemy and fought against them Then he remembred the daies of old Moses and his people saying Where is he that brought them up Where is he that put his holy Spirit within them The great thing to be dreaded is lest those that were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost should fall away and be no more renewed by repentance Heb. 6.4 6. Direct 7. Therefore executive pardon or justification cannot possibly be any perfecter than sanctification is Because no sin is further forgiven or the person justified executively than the punishment is taken off and the privation of the Spirit being the great punishment the giving of it is the great executive remission in this life But of this more in the Chapter of Justification following Direct 8. The three great operations in mâ—n which each of the three persons in the Trinity eminently perform are Natura Medicina salus the first by the Creator the second by the Redeemer the third by the Sanctifier Commonly it is called Nature Grace and Glory But either the terms Grace and Glory must
his blood and resurrection is unto them When it hath cost Christ so dear to procure them certainly God will not break them A Promise ratified in the blood of the Son of God called the blood of the everlasting Covenant Heb. 13.20 and by his rising from the dead can never be broken If the Law given by Moses was firm and a jot or tittle should not pass away till all were fulfilled much more the word and testament of the Mediatour of a better Covenant 2 Cor. 1.20 All the Promises in him are Yea and Amen that is they are asserted or made in him and they are ratified and shall be fulfilled in him Heb. 8.6 He hath obtained a more excellent Ministry by how much also he is the Mediatour of a better Covenant which was established on better Promises And those that are better cannot be less sure It is the sure mercies of David that are given us by a Promise which is sure to all the sâ—ed Acts 13.34 Isa 55.3 Rom. 4.16 Direct 4. Consider well that it is Gods own interest to fulfil his Promises for he attaineth not that glory of his Love and Grace in the perfection of his people till it be done which he designed in the making of them And certainly God will not fail himself and his own interest The happiness will be ours but it will be his everlasting pleasure to see his creatures in their perfection If he was so pleased after the Creation to see them all good that he appointed a Sabbath of Rest to celebrate the commemoration of it how much more will it please him to see all restored by Jesus Christ and brought up to that perfection which Adam was but in the way to when he sinned and fell short of the Glory of God He will not miss of his own design nor lose the everlasting complacency of his love Direct 5. Consider how great stress God hath laid upon the belief of his Promises and of how great use he hath made them in the world If the intimation of another world and reward which we find in Nature and the Promise of it in Scriptures were out of the world or were not believed and so men had nothing but temporal motives to rule their hearts and lives by O what an odious thing would man be and what a Hell would the world be I have elsewhere shewed that the Government of the world is mainly steered by the hopes and fears of another life and could not be otherwise unless man be turned into far worse than a beast And certainly those Promises cannot be false which God hath laid so great a stress on and the belief of which is of so great moment For the wise and holy and powerful God neither needeth a lye nor can use it to so great a work Direct 6. Take notice how agreeable Gods Promises are to the Nature both of God and man It is not only Gods Precepts that have a congruence to natural Reason but his Promises also It is agreeable to the Nature of Infinite Goodness to do good And yet we see that he doth not do to all alike He maketh not every creature an Angel nor a man How then shall we discern what he intendeth to do by his creatures but by their several natures The nature of every thing is fitted to its use Seeing therefore God hath given man a nature capable of knowing loving and enjoying him we have reason to think he gave it not in vain And we have reason to think that nature may be brought up to its own perfection and that he never intended to imploy man all his daies on earth in seeking an end which cannot be attained And yet we see that some do unfit themselves for this end by turning from it and following vanity and that God requireth every man as a free Agent to use his guidance and help aright for his own preparation to felicity Therefore reason may tell us that those who are so prepared by the nearest capacity and have a love to God and a heavenly mind shall enjoy the Glory which they are fitted for And it helpeth much our belief of Gods Promise to find that Reason thus discerneth the equity of it Yea to find that a Cicero a Seneca a Socrates a Plato c. expected much the like felicity to the just which the Scripture promiseth Direct 7. Be sure to understand Gods Promises aright that you expect not that which he never promised and take not presumption to be Faith Many do make promises to themselves by misunderstanding and look that God should fulfil them and if any of them be not fulfilled they are ready to suspect the truth of God And thus men become false Prophets to themselves and others and speak words in the Name of the Lord which he hath never spoken and incur much of the guilt which God oft chargeth on false Prophets and such as add to the Word of God It is no small fault to father an untruth on God and to call that his Promise which he never made Direct 8. Think not that God promiseth you all that you desire or think you want in bodily things It is not our own desires which he hath made the measure of his outward gifts no nor of our own Opinion of our Necessity neither else most men would have nothing but riches and health and love and respect from men and few would have any want or pain or suffering But it is so much as is good 1. To the common ends of Government and the Societies with which we live 2. And to our souls which God doth promise to his own And his Wisdom and not their partial conceits shall be the Judge Our Father knoweth what we need and therefore we must cast our care on him and take not too particular nor anxious thoughts for our selves Mat. 6.24 to the end 1 Pet. 5 7. Direct 9. Think not that God promiseth you all that you will ask no not that which he commandeth you to ask unless it agree with his promising will as well as with his commanding will That promise of Christ Ask and ye shall receive c. And whatsoever you ask the Father in my Name according to his will he will give it you are often misunderstood and there is some dâ—fficulty in understanding what Will of God is here meant If it be his Decreeing Will that is secret and the promise giveth us no sure consolation If it be meant of his Promising Will what use is this general promise for if we must have a particular promise also for all that we can expect If it be meant of his Commanding Will the event notoriously gainsayeth it For it is most certain that since the Church hath long prayed for the conversion of the Infidel world and the reforming of the corrupted Churches c. it is not yet done And it is all Christians duty to pray for Kings and all in Authority and to ask that wisdom
means is a condition of our further reception of more grace And perseverance in true holiness with faith is the condition of our final Justification and Glorification of which more anon Direct 24. You can no further believe the fulfilling of any of these conditional Promises than you know that you perform the condition It is presumption and not faith for an impenitent person to expect the benefit of those Promises which belong to the penitent only And so it is for him that forgiveth not others to expect to be forgiven his particular sins And so in all the rest of the Promises Direct 25. But be sure that you ascribe no more to your selves for performing any condition of a Promise than God doth A condition as such is no cause at all of the performance of the Promise either natural or moral only the non-performance of the condition is a cause of the non-performance of the Promise For the true nature of a condition as such is only to suspend the benâ—fit Though naturally a condition may be meritorious among men and for their own commodity which God is not capable of they ordinarily make only meritorious acts to be conditions As God also doth only such acts as are pleasing to him and suited to their proper ends But this is nothing to a condition formally which is but to suspend the benefit till it be done Direct 26. When you find a Promise to be common or universal apply it as boldly as if your name were written in it and also when you find that any particular Promise to a Saint is but a branch of that universal Promise to all Saints or to all that are in the same case and find that the case and reason of the Promise proveth the sense of it to belong to you as well as them If it be said that whosoever believeth shall not perish but have everlasting life John 3.16 You may apply it as boldly as if it were said If thou John or Thomas be a Believer thou shalt not perish but have everlasting life As I may apply the absolute Promise of the Resurrection to my self as boldly as if my name were in it because it is all that shall be raised John 5.22 24 25. 1 Cor. 15. So may I all the conditional promises of pardon and glory conditionally if I repent and believe And you may absolutely thence conclude your certain interest in the benefit so far as you are certain that you repent and believe And when you read that Christ promiseth his twelve Apostles to be with them and to reward their labours and to see that they shall be no losers by him if they lose their lives c. You may believe that he will do so by you also For though your work be not altogether the same with theirs yet this is but a branch of the common Promise to all the faithful who must all follow him on the same terms of self-denial Luke 14.26 27 33. Mat. 10. Rom. 8.17 18. And on this ground the promise to Joshua is applied Heb. 15. I will never fail thee nor forsake thee because it is but a branch of the Câ—venant common to all the faithful Direct 27. Be sure that you lay the stress of all your hopes on the Promises of God and venture all your happiness on them and when God calleth to it express this by forsaking all else for these hopes that it may appear you really trust Gods word without any secret hypocritical reserves This is the true life and work and tryal of faith whether we build so much on the Promise of God that we can take the thing promised for all our treasure and the Word of God for our whole security As Faith is called a Trusting in God so it is a practical kind of Trust and the principal tryal of it lyeth in forsaking all other happiness and hopes in confidence of Gods promise through Jesus Christ To open the matter by a similitude Suppose that Christ came again on earth as he did at his Incarnation and should confirm his truth by the same miracles and other means and suppose he should then tell all the Country I have a Kingdom at the Antipodes where men never die but live in perpetual prosperity and those of you shall freely possess it who will part with your own estates and Country and go in a ship of my providing and trust me for your Pilot to bring you thither and trust me to give it you when you come there My power to do all this I have proved by my miracles and my love and will my offer proveth How now will you know whether a man believe Christ and trust this promise or not why if he believe and trust him he will go with him and will leave all and venture over the Seas whithersoever he conducteth him and in that ship which he prepareth for him But if he dare not venture or will not leave his present Country and possessions it is a sign that he doth not trust him If you were going to Sea and had several Ships and Pilots offered you and you were afraid left one were unsafe and the Pilot unskilful and it were doubtful which were to be trufled when after all deliberation you chuse one and refuse the rest and resolve to venture your life and goods in it this is properly called trusting it So trusting in God and in Jesus Christ is not a bare opinion of his fidelity but a PRACTICAL TRVST and that you may be sure to understand it clearly I will once open the parts of it distinctly Divines commonly tell us that Faith is an Affiance or Trust in God and some of them say that this is an act of the understanding and some that it is an act of the will and others say that Faith consisteth in Assent alone and that Trust or Affiance is as Hope a fruit of Faith and not Faith it self And what Affiance it self is is no small controversie And so it is what Faith and Christianity is even among the Teachers of Christians The plain truth is this as to the name of Faith it sometime signifieth a meer Intellectual Assent when the object requireth no more And sometime it signifieth a practical Trust or Affiance in the Truth or Trustiness of the undertaker or promiser that is in his Power Wisdom and Goodness or honesty conjunct as expressed in his word and that is when the matter is practical requiring such a trust The former is oft called The Christian Faith because it is the belief of the truth of the Christian Principles and is the leading part of Faith in the full sense But it is the latter which is the Christian Faith as it is taken not secundum quid but simply not for a part but the whole not for the opinion of men about Christ but for Christianity it self or that Faith which must be profest in Baptism and which hath the promise of Justification and Salvation And
For he that mistaketh the extent of the Promise and thinketh that it belongeth not to such as he would believe and trust it if he understood it that it extends to him as well as others And he that doubteth of his own Repentance and Faith may yet be confident of the truth of Gods Promise to all true penitent Believers I mention this for the cure of two mischiefs The first is that of the presumptuous Opinionist who goeth to Hell presuming that he hath true saving faith because he confidently believeth that he himself is pardoned and shall be saved The second is that of the perplexed fearful Christian who thinks that all his uncertainty of his own sincerity and so of his salvation is properly unbelief and so concludeth that he cannot believe and shall not be saved Because he knoweth not that faith is such a belief and trust in Christ as will bring us absolutely and unreservedly to venture our all upon him alone And yet I must tell all these persons that all this while it is ten to one but there is really a great deal of unbelief in them which they know not and that their belief of the truth of the immortality of the soul and the life to come and of the Gospel it self is not so strong and firm as their never-doubting of it would intimate or as some of their definitions of Faith and their Book-opinions and Disputes import And it had been well for some of them that they had doubted more that they might have believed and been settled better Direct 30. Think often of the excellencies of the life of faith that the Motives may be still inducing you thereto As 1. It is but reasonable that God should be trusted or else indeed we deny him to be God Psal 20 7. 2. What else shall we trust to shall we deifie creatures and say to a stock Thou art my Father Jer. 2.27 Lam. 1.19 Shall we distrust God and trust a lyar and a worm 3. Trying times will shortly come and then woe to the soul that cannot trust in God! Then nothing else will serve our turns Then cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and withdraweth his heart from the Lord he shall be like the barren wilderness c. Then none that trusted in him shall be ashamed Jer. 17.5 6. Psal 25.3 4. Psal 73.26 27 28. 4. Gods Alsufficiency leaveth no reason for the least distrust There is the most absolute certainty that God cannot fail us because his veracity is grounded on his essential perfections 5. No witness could ever stand up against the life of faith and say that he lost by trusting God or that ever God deceived any 6. The life of faith is a conquest of all that would distress the soul and it is a life of constant peace and quietness Yea it feasteth the soul upon the everlasting Joyes Though the mountains be removed though this world be turned upside down and be dissolved whether poverty or wealth sickness or health evil report or good persecution or prosperity befall us how little are we concerned in all this and how little should they do to disturb the peace and comfort of that soul who believeth that he shall live with God for ever Many such considerations should make us more willing to live by faith upon Gods Promises than to live by sense on transitory things Direct 31. Renew your Covenant with Christ in his holy Sacrament frequently understandingly and seriously For 1. when we renew our Covenant with Christ then Christ reneweth his Covenant with us and that with great advantage to our faith 1. In an appointed Ordinance which he will bless 2. By a special Minister appointed to seal and deliver it to us as in his Name 3. By a solemn Sacramental Investiture 2. And our own renewing our Covenant with him is the renewed exercise of faith which will tend to strengthen it and to shew us that we are indeed Believers And there is much in that Sacrament to help the strengthening of faith Therefore the frequent and right using of it is one of Gods appointed means to feed and maintain our spiritual life which if we neglect we wilfully starve our faith 1 Cor. 11.26 28 c. Direct 32. Keep all your own promises to God and man For 1. Lyars alwaies suspect others 2. Guilt breedeth suspiciousness 3. God in justice may leave you to your distrust of him when you will be perfidious your selves You can never be confident in God while you deal falsly with him or with others The end of the Commandment is Charity out of a pure heart a good conscience and faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1.5 Direct 33. Labour to improve your belief of every promise for the increase of holiness and obedience And to get more upon your souls that true Image of God in his Power Wisdom and Goodness which will make it easie to you to believe him 1. The more the hypocrite seemeth to believe the promise the more he boldly ventureth upon sin and disobeyeth the precept because it was but fear that restrained him and his belief is but presumption abating fear But the more a true Christian believeth the more he flyeth from sin and useth Gods means and studieth more exact obedience and having these promises laboureth to cleanse himself from all filthiness of flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God 2 Cor. 7.1 And receiving a Kingdom whih cannot be moved me must serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Heb. 12.28 29. 2. The liker the soul is to God the easier it will believe and trust him As faith causeth holiness so every part of holiness befriendeth faith Now the three great impressions of the Trinity upon us are expressed distinctly by the Apostle 2 Tim. 1.7 For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear but of Power of Love and of a sound mind 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Power Love and a sound mind or understanding do answer Gods nature as the face in the glass doth answer our face and therefore cannot chuse but trust him Direct 34. Lay up in your memory particular pertinent and clear Promises for every particular use of faith The number is not so much but be sure that they be plain and well understood that you may have no cause to doubt whether they mean any such thing indeed or not Here some will expect that I should do this for them and gather them such promises Two things disswade me from doing it at large 1. So many Books have done it already 2. It will swell this Book too big But take these few 1. For forgiveness of all sins and Justification to penitent Believers Acts 5.31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins Acts 13.38 39. Be it known unto you that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by
saved 24. Promises to believers in sickness and at death 1 Cor. 11.32 But when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world Heb. 12.6 7 8 11. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every Son whom he receiveth If ye endure chastening God dealeth with you as with Sons Shall we not be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live But he for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby James 5.14 Is any sick let them send for the Elders of the Church The prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him John 11.3 He whom thou lovest is sick Psal 41.1 2 3. Blessed is the man that considereth the poor the Lord shall deliver him in time of trouble The Lord shall preserve him and keep him alive The Lord will strengthen him upon the bâ—d of languishing Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness 2 Cor. 5.1 c. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven For we that are in us tabernacle do groan being burdened not for that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that mortality may be swallowed up of life Now he that hath wrought this for the self same thing is God who also hath given to us the earnest of the Spirit Therefore we are alwaies confident knowing that whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith not by sight we are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Phil. 1.20 21 23 Now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Luke 23.43 To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Rev. 14.13 I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them Heb. 2.14 Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage Psal 68.20 He that is our God is the God of salvation and to God the Lord belong the issues from death 2 Tim. 1.10 Who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel 1 Cor. 15.54 O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 25. Promises to persevering Believers of the Resurrection unto life and of Justification in Judgement and of Glorification 1 Cor. 15. throughout John 5.22 24 28 29. He that heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death to life The hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good to the resurrection of life and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation John 14.19 Because I live ye shall live also Col. 3.1 3 4. If ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in glory 2 Thes 1.10 He shall come to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe Matth. 25 34 46. Come ye blessed c. The righteous into life eternal John 12.26 If any man serve me let him follow me and where I am there shall also my servant be If my man serve me him will my Father honour John 14.1 2 3. Let not your heart be troubled In my Fathers house are many mansions I go to prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to my self that where I am there ye may be also John· 17.24 Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold the glory which thou hast given me John 2.17 GO TO MY BRETHREN and SAY VNTO THEM I ASCEND TO MY FATHER and YOVR FATHER TO MY GOD and TO YOVR GOD. 1 Cor. 6.2 3. Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the world Know ye not that we shall judge Angels Acts 3.19 Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord and he shall send Jesus Christ Luke 14.14 Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just Let the Reader here take notice of that most important observation of Dr. Hammond that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Resurrection doth often signifie in general our living in the next world or our next state of life in the Scriptures and not the last Resurrection only unless it be called The Resurrection of the flesh or of the body for distinction or the context have before explained it otherwise By which 1 Cor. 15. and Christs answer to the Sadducees may be the better understood 26. Promises to the godly for their children supposing them to be faithful in dedicating them to God and educating them in his holy waies Exod. 20. Commandment 2d Shewing mercy to thousands in them that love me and keep my Commandments Acts 2.39 For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all that are afar off c. Psal 37.26 His seed is blessed 1 Cor. 7.14 Else were your children unclean but now are they holy Matth. 23.37 O Jerusalem Jerusalem how oft would I have gathered thy children together even as a Hen gathereth hee chickens under her wings and ye would not Rom. 11.11 Through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles 16 17 18 c. shew that they were broken off by unbelief and we are graffed in and are holy as they were Matth.
that ever will be committed is forgiven absolutely 6. The kind of our presenâ— Justification is imperfect it being but in Covenant-title and some part of execution the full and peâ—fâ—ct sentence and execution being at the day of Judgment I leave them therefore to say Christs Righteousness imputed to us is perfect therefore we are as perfectly just and justified as Christ who know not what Imputation here is nor that Christs personal Righteousness is not given to us as proprietors in it self but in the effects and who know not the difference between believing and blaspheming and making our selves as so many Christs to our selves and that know not what need they have of Christ or of Faith or Prayer or of any holy endeavour for any more Pardon and Righteousness or Justification than they have already Or who thinke that David in his Adultery and Murder was as perfectly pardoned and justified as he will be in Heaven at last And in a word who know not the difference between Earth and Heaven Errour 12. That Christ justifieth us only as a Priest Or say others only as obeying and satisfying Contr. Christ merited our Justification in his state of humiliation as the Mediator subjected to the Law and perfectly obeying it and as a sacrifice for sin But this is not justifying us Christ offered that sacrifice as the High Priest of the Church or world But this was not justifying us Christ made us the New Covenant as our King and as the great Prophet of the Father or Angel of the Covenant Mal. 3.1 And this Covenant giveth us our pardon and title to impunity and to life eternal And Christ as our King and Judge doth justifie us by a Judiciary Sentence and also by the execution of that sentence so that the relations most eminently appear in our Justification are all excluded by the foresaid errour Errour 13. That we are justified only by the first act of Faith and all our believing afterwards to the end of our lives are no justifying acts at all Contr. Indeed if the question be only about the Name of Justifying if you will take it only for our first change into a state of righteousness by pardon it is true But the following actâ— of Faith are of the same use and need to the continuing of our Justification or state of Righteousness as the first act was for the beginning of it Errour 14. That the continuance of our Justification needeth no other conditions to be by us performed than the continuance of that Faith on which it was begun Contr. Where that first Faith continueth there our Justification doth continue But that Faith never continueth without sincere obedience to Christ and that obedience is part of the condition of the continuance or not losing our Justification as is proved before and at large elsewhere The Faith which in Baptism we profess and by which we have our first Justification or Covenant-right is an accepting of Christ as our Saviour and Lord to be obeyed by us in the use of his saving remedies and we there vow and covenant future obedience And as our marriage to Christ or Covenant-making is all the condition of our first right to him and his benefits without any other good works or obedience so our Marriage-fidelity or Covenant keeping is part of the condition of our continuance herein or not losing it by a divorce John 15. Col. 1.23 c. Errour 15. That Faith is no condition of our part in Christ and our Justification but only one of Gods gifts of the Covenant given with Christ and Justification Errour 16. That the Covenant of Grace hath no conditions on our part but only donatives on Gods part Errour 17 That if the Covenant had any conditions it were not free And that every condition is a meritorious cause or at least some cause Contr. All these I have confuted at large elsewhere and proved 1. That Faith is a proper condition of those benefits which God giveth us by the conditional Covenant of Grace but not of all the benefits which he any other way giveth us It was not the condition of his giving Christ to live and die for us nor of his giving us the Gospel or this Covenant it self nor of his giving us Preachers or of the first motions of his Spirit nor was Faith the condition of the Faithâ—â—â—elf â—â—â—elf because all these are not given us in that way by that Covenant but absolutely as God shall please 2. That some Promises of God of the last mentioned gifts have no condition The promises of giving a Saviour to the world and the promise of giving and continuing the Gospel in the world and of converting many by it in the world and of making them Believers and giving them new hearts and bringing them to salvation c. have no conditions But these are promises made some of them to Christ only and some of them to fallen mankind or the world in general or predictions what God will do by certain men unborn unnamed and not described called the Elect. But all this giveth no title to Pardon or Justification or Salvation to any one person at all Remember therefore once for all that the Covenant which I still mean by the Covenant of Grace is that which God offereth men in Baptism by the acceptance whereof we become Christians 3. That Gods gift of a Saviour and New Covenant to the world are so free as to be without any condition But Gods gift of Christ with all his benefits of Justification Adoption c. to individual persons is so free as to be without and contrary to our desert but not so free as to be without any condition And that he that will say to God Thy grace of pardon is not free if thou wilt not give it me but on condition that I accept it yea or desire it or ask it shall prove a contemner of grace and a reproacher of his Saviour and not an exalter of free grace There is no inconsistency for God to be the giver of grace to cause us to believe and accept of Christ and yet to make a deed of gift of him to all on condition of that Faith and acceptance no more than it is inconsistent to give Faith and Repentance and to command them of both which the objecters themselves do not seem to doubt For he maketh both his command and his conditional form of Promise to be his chosen means and most wisely chosen of working in us the thing commanded 4. That a condition as a condition is no cause at all much less a meritorious cause But only the non-performance of it suspendeth the donation of the Covenant by the will of the Donor Or râ—â—her it is the Donors will that suspendeth it till the condition be done And some conditions signifie no more than a term of time and some in the matter of them and not in the form are a not-demeriting or not-abusing the Giver or not-despising the gift
be doth the Scripture say that all men believe or only some If some doth it name them or notifie them by any thing but the marks by which they must find it in themselves Object But he that believeth may be as sure that he believeth as that the Scripture is true Answ But not that he is sincere and exceedeth all hypocrites and common believers At least there are but few that get so full an assurance hereof Object The Spirit witnesseth that we are Gods children And to believe the Spirit is to believe God Answ The Spirit is oft called in Scripture the witness and pledge and earnest in the same sense that is it is the evidâ—nce of our right to Christ and life If any man have not his Spirit he is none of his Rom. 8.9 And hereby we know that he dweleth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us As the Spirits Miracles were the witness of Christ Heb. 2.3 c. objectively as evidence is called witness 2. And withall the Spirit by illumination and excitation helpeth us to see it self as our evidence 3. And to rejoyce in this discovery And thus the Spirit witnesseth our adoption But none of these are the proper objects of a Divine Belief 1. The objective evidence of holiness in us is the object of our rational self-acquaintance or conscience only 2. The illuminating grace by which we see this is not a new Divine Testimony or proper Revelation or Word of God but the same help of grace by which all other divine things are known And all the Spirits grace for our understanding of divine Revelations are not new objective Revelations themselves requiring a new act of Faith for them A word or proper Revelation from God is the object of divine belief otherwise every illuminating act of the Spirit for our understanding Gods Word would be it self a new word to be believed and so in infinitum Errour 33. Doubting of the life to come or of the truth of the Gospel will not stand with saving Faith Contr. It will not stand with a confirmed Faith but it will with a sincere Faith He that doubteth of the truth of the promise so far as that he will not venture life and soul and all his hopes and happiness temporal and eternal upon it hath no true Faith But he that doubteth but yet so far belâ—eveth the Gospel as to take God for his only God and portion and Christ for his only Saviour and the Spirit for his Sanctifier and will cast away life or all that stand in competition hath a true and saving Faith as is before proved Errour 34. That Repentance is no condition of Pardon or Justification for then it would be equal therein with Faith Contr. I have elsewhere at large proved the contrary from Scripture Repentance hath many acts as Faith hath To repent as it is the change of the mind of our Atheism Idolatry and not loving God and obeying him is the same motion of the soul denominated from the terminus à quo as Faith in God and Love to God is denominated from the terminus ad quem This is Repentance towards God Repenting of our Infidelity against Christ is the same motion of the soul as believing in Christ only one is denominated from the object-turned from and the other from the object-turned to By which you may see that some Repentance is the same with Faith in Christ and some is the same with Faith in God and some is the same with Love to God and some is but the same with the leaving of some particular sin or turning to some particular fore-neglected duty And so you may easily resolve the case how far it is the condition of Pardon Repentance aâ— it is a return to the Love of God as he is our God and End and All is made the final condition of further blessings as necessary in and of it self as the end of Faith in Christ And Repentance of Infidelity and Faith in Christ is made the Mediate or Medicinal Condition As consenting to be friends with your Father or King after a rebellion and consenting to the Mediation of a friend to reconcile you are both conditions one the more noble de fine and the other de mediis or as consenting to be cured and consenting to take Physick They that will or must live in the darkness of confusion were best at least hold their tongues there till they come into distinguishing light Errour 35. That all other acts of Faith in Christ as our Lord or Teacher or Judge or of Faith in God or the Holy Ghost all confessing sin and praying for pardon and repenting and forgiving others and receiving Baptism c. are the works which Paul excludeth from Justification And one act of faith only being the Justifying Instrument he that looketh to be justified by any of all these besides that one act doth look for Justification by Works and consequently is fallen from grace Contr. This is not only an addition to Gods Word and Covenant not to be used by them that judge it unlawful to add a form or ceremony in his worship but it is a most dangerous invention to wrack mens consciences and keep all men under certain desperation For whilest the world standeth the subtilest of these Inventers of new doctrines will never be able to tell the world which is that one sole act of Faith by which they are justified that they may escape looking for a legal Justification by the rest whether it be believing in Christs Divinity or Humanity or both or in his Divine or Humane or Habitual Righteousness or his Obedience as a subjâ—ct or his Sacrifice or his Priest-hood offering that Sacrifice or his Covenant and Promise of Pardon and Justification or in God that giveth him and them or in his Resurrections or in Gods present sentential or executive Justification or in his final sentential Justification c. No man to the end of the world shall know which of these or any other is the sole justifying act and so no man can scape being a legal adversary to grace Unhappy Papists who by the contrary extream have frightened or disputed us into such wild and scandalous inventions Of this see fully my Disput of Justification against the worthy and excellent Mr. Anthony Burgess Errour 36. That our own Faith is not at all imputed to us for Righteousness but only Christs Righteousness received by it Contr. The Scripture no where saith that Christ or his Righteousness or his Obedience or his Satisfaction is imputed to us And yet we justly defend it as is before explained and as Mr. Bradshaw and Grotius de satisfact have explained it And on the other side the Scripture often saith that Faith is imputed for Righteousness and shall be so to all that believe in God that raised Christ Rom. 4. And this these objectors peremptorily deny But expounding Scripture amiss is a much cleanlier pretence for errour than a flat
denyal of its truth And a true Exposition is better than either The same God who hath given us a Saviour to satisfie legal Justice and to merit our Justification against the charge that we are condemnable by the Law of Works hath thought meet to convey our title to this Christ and Justification by the Instrumentality of a new Covenant Testament or pardoning Act in which though he absolutely give many antecedent mercies yet he giveth these and other Rights by a conditional gift that as the Reward of Glory should have invited man to keep the Law of Nature and his Innocency so the Reward should be a moving means to draw men to believe So that there is a condition to be performed by our selves through grace before we can have the Covenant right to Justification Now when that is performed Christ then is our only Righteousness as aforesaid by which we must answer the charge of breaking the first Law and being condemnable by it But we can lay no claim to this Righteousness of Christ till we first prove that we are our selves inherently righteous against the charge of being impenitent Vnbelievers This false accusation we must be justâ—fied against by our own Faith and Repentance that we may be justified by Christ against the true accusation of sinning against the Law and thereby being condemnable by it Now as to our Legal Righteousness or Pro-legal rather by which this last must be avoided it is only the merits of Christ given to us in its fruits in the New Covenant even the merits of his obedience and sacrifice But our Faith it self is the other Righteousness which must be found in our persons to entitle us to this first And this being it and being all in the sense aforesaid that is made the condition of our pardon by the New Covenant therefore God is said to impute it it self to us for a Righteousness because that condition makeeth it so and to impute it to us for our Righteousness that is as all that now by this Covenant he requireth to be personally done by us who had formerly been under a harder condition even the fulfilling of the Law by innocency or suffering for sin because he that doth not fulfil nor satisfie as is said yet if he believe hath a right to the Justification merited by Christ who did fulfil and satisfie This is easie to be understood as undoubted truth by the willing and the rest will be most contentious where they are most erroneous Errour 37. That sincere obedience and all acts of Love Repentance and Faith save one do justifie us only before men and of that speaketh St. James ch 2. Contr. I must refer the Reader to other Books in which I have fuly confuted this How can men judge of the acts of Repentance Faith Love c. which are in the heart And James plainly speaketh of Gods imputing Righteousness to Abraham James 2.21 23. And how should men justifie Abraham for kâ—lling his only Son And how small a matter is Justification by man when we may be saved without it 2. Sincere Obedience to God in Christ is the condition of the continuance or not losing our Justification here and the secondary part of the condition of our final sentential and executive Justification Errour 38. That our inherent Righteousness before described hath no place of a condition in our Justification in the day of Judgement Contr. The Scriptures fully confuting this I have elsewhere cited All those that say we shall be judged according to our works c. speak against it For to be judged is only to be justified or condemned So Rev. 22.14 Matth. 25 c. Errour 39 That there is no Justification at Judgement to be expected but only a declaration of it Contr. The Decisive sentence and declaration of the Judge is the most proper sense or sort of Justification and the perfection of all that went before If we shall not be then justified then there is no such thing as Justification by Sentence Nay there is no such thing as a day of Judgement or else all men must be condemned For it is most certain that we must be justified or condemned or not-judged Errour 40. That no man ought to believe that the conditional Covenant Act or Gift of Justification belongeth to him as a member of the lost world or as a sinner in Adam because God hath made no such gift or promise to any but to the Elect. Contr. This is confuted on the by before Errour 41. That though it be false that the non-elect are elect and that Christ dyed for them yet they are bound to believe it every man of himself to prove that they are elect Contr. This is confuted on the by before God bindeth or biddeth no man to believe a lye Errour 42. That we must believe Gods Election and our Justification and the special Love of God to us before we can love him with a special Love Because it will not cause in us a special love to believe only a common love of God and such as he hath to the wicked and his enemies Contr. No man can groundedly believe the special Love of God to him nor his own Election or Justification before he hath yea before he find in himself a special love to God Because he that hath no special love to God must believe a lye if he believe that he is justified or that ever God revealed to him that he is elect or specially beloved of God and no man hath any evidence or proof at all of his election and Gods special love till he have this evidence of his special love to God Till he know this he cannot know that any other is sincere 2. They that deny or blâ—spheme Gods common love to fallen man and his universal pardoning Covenant do their worst to keep men from being moved to the special Love of God by his common Love But when they have done their worst it shall stand as a sure obligation Is there not reason enough to bind men to love God above all even as one that yet may be their happiness in his own infinite Goodness and all the revelations of it by Christ and in his so loving the world as to give his only Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And in his giving a free pardon of all sin to mankind and offering life eternal to them so that none but the final refusers shall lose it and intreating them to accept it c Is not all this sufficient in reason to move men to that love of God if the Spirit help them to make use of Reason as he must do what Reasons soever are presented to them unless men think that God doth not oblige them by any kindness which they can possibly reject or by any thing which many others do partake of Yet here note that Gods common love to man I do not mean any which he hath to Reprobates under
his due And that every good man and every good action deserveth praise that is to be esteemed such as it is And that there is also a comparative merit and a not meriting evil As a Believer may be said not to deserve damnation by the Covenant of Grace but only by or according to the Law of Nature or Works But to pass from the word merit which I had rather were quite disused because the danger is greater than the benefit the thing signified thus by it is past all dispute viz. that whatever duty God hath promised a Reward to that duty or work is Rewardable according to the tenour of that promise And they that deny this deny Gods Laws and Government and Judgement and his Covenant of Grace and leave not themselves one promise for faith to rest upon So certainly would all these persons be damned if God in mercy did not keep them from digesting their own errours and bringing them into practice Errour 47. God is pleased with us only for the righteousness of Christ and not for any thing in our selves Contr. This is sufficiently answered before He blasphemeth God who thinketh that he is no better pleased with holiness than with wickedness with well doing than with ill doing They that are in the flesh cannot please God Rom. 8.6 7. but the spiritual and obedient may Without faith it is impossible to please him because unbelievers think not that he is a Rewarder and therefore will not seek his reward aright But they that will please him must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Heb. 11.6 They forget not to do good and distribute because with such sacrifices God is well pleased Heb. 13. And in a word it is the work of all their lives to labour that whether living or dying they may be accepted of him 2 Cor. 5.8 9. and to 〈◊〉 â—uch and to do those things as are pleasing in his sight Nay 〈◊〉 add that as the glory of God that is the glorious demonstâ—â—â—ion or appearance of himself in his works is materially the ultimate end of man so the pleasing of himself in this his glory shining in his Image and Works is the very apex or highest formal notion of this ultimate end of God and of man as far as is within our reach No mans works please God out of Christ both because they are unsound and bad in the spring and end and because their faultiness is not pardoned But in Christ the persons and duties of the godly are pleasing to God because they have his Image and are sincerely good and because their former sins and present imperfections are forgiven for the sake of Christ who never reconciled God to wickedness Errour 48. It is mâ—rcenary to work for a reward and legal to set men on doing for salvation Contr. It is legal or foolish to think of working for any reward by such meritorious works as make the reward to be not of grace but of debt Rom. 4.4 But he that maketh God himself and his everlasting love to be his reward and trusteth in Christ the only reconciler as knowing his guilt and enmity by sin and laboureth for the food which perisheth not but endureth to everlasting life and layeth up a treasure in Heaven and maketh himself friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness and layeth up a good foundation for the time to come laying hold upon eternal life and striverh to enter in at the strait gate and fighteth a good fight and finisheth his course for the Crown of Righteousness and suffereth persecution for a reward in Heaven and prayeth in secret that God may reward him and alwaies aboundeth in the work of the Lord because his labour is not in vain in the Lord and endureth to the end that he may be saved and is faithful to the death and overcometh that he may receive the Crown of Life this man taketh Gods way and the only way to Heaven and they that thus seek not the reward being at the use of reason are never like to have it Errour 49. It is not lawful for the justified to pray for the pardon of any penalties but temporal Contr. The ground of this is before overthrown Errour 50. It is not lawful to pray twice for the pardon of the same sin because it implieth unbelief as if it were not pardoned already Contr. It is a duty to pray oft and continuedly for the pardon of former sins 1. Because pardon once granted must be continued and therefore the continuance must be prayed for If you say It is certain to be continued I answer then it is as certain that you will continue to pray for it and to live a holy life 2. Because the evils deserved are such as we are not perfectly delivered from and are in danger of more daily And therefore we must pray for daily executive pardon that is impunity and that God will give us more of his Spirit and save us from the fruit of former sin Because our right to future impunity is given before all the impunity it self 3 And the compleat Justification from all past sins is yet to come at the day of Judgement And all this besides that some that have pardon know it not may and must be daily prayed for Errour 51. The Justified must not pray again for the pardon of the sins before conversion Contr. What was last said confuteth this Errour 52. No man at all may pray for pardon but only for assurance For the sins of the Elect are all pardoned before they were born and the non-elect have no satisfaction made for their sins and therefore their pardon is impossible Contr. Matth. 6. Forgive us our trespasses c. These consequences do but shew the falshood of the antecedents Errour 53. No man can know that he is under the guilt of any sin because no man can know but that he is elect and consequently justified already Contr. No infidel or impenitent person is justified Errour 54. Christ only is covenanted with by the Father and he is the only Promiser as for us and not we for our selves Contr. Christ only hath undertaken to do the work of Christ but man must undertake and promise and covenant even to Christ himself that by the help of his grace he will do his own part Or else no man should be baptized What a Baptism and Sacramental Communion do these men make He that doth not covenant with the Father Son and Holy Spirit hath no right to the benefits of Gods part of the Covenant And no man at age can be saved that doth not both promise and perform Errour 55. We are not only freed from the condemning sentence of the Law but freed also from its commands Contr. We are not under Moses Judaical Law which was proper to their Nation and their Proselites Nor are we under a necessity or duty of labouring after perfect obedience in our selves as the condition of our
he that readeth Law-books or Philosophy or Medicine it is to learn Law Philosophy or Physick so whenever you read the Gospel meditate on Christ or hear his Word if you are askt why you do it be able to say I do it to learn the Love of God which is no where else in the world to be learnt so well No wonder if Hypocrites have learned to mortifie Scripture Sermons Prayers and all other means of grace yea all the world which should teach them God and to learn the letters and not the sense But it is most pittiful that they should thus mortifie Christ himself to them and should gaze on the glass and never take much notice of the face even of the Love of God which he is set up to declare Direct 4. Therefore congest all the great discoveries of this Love and set them all together in order and make them your daily study and abhor all doctrines or suggestions from men or devils which tend to disgrace diminish or hide this revealed Love of God in Christ Think of the grand design it self the reconciling and saving of lost mankind Think of the gracious nature of Christ of his wonderful condescention in his incarnation in his life and doctrine in his sufferings and death in his miracles and gifts Think of his merciful Covenant and Promises of all his benefits given to his Church and all the priviledges of his Saints of pardon and peace of his Spirit of Holiness of preservation and provision of resurrection and justification and of the life of glory which we shall live for ever And if the Faith which looketh on all these cannot yet warm your hearts with love nor engage them in thankful obedience to your Redeemer certainly it is no true and lively Faith But you must not think narrowly and seldom of these mercies not hearken to the Devil or the doctrine of any mistaken Teachers that would represent Gods Love as vailed or ecclipsed or shew you nothing but wrath and flames That which Christ principally came to reveal the Devil principally striveth to conceal even the Love of God to sinners that so that which Christ principally came to work in us the Devil might principally labour to destroy and that is our love to him that hath so loved us Direct 5. Take heed of all the Antinomian Doctrines before recited which to extol the empty Name and Image of Free Grace do destroy the true principles and motives of holiness and obedience Direct 6. Exercise your Faith upon all the holy Scriptures Precepts Promises and Threatnings and not on one of them alone For when God hath appointed all conjunctly for this work you are unlike to have his blessing or the effect if you will lay by most of his remedies Direct 7. Take not that for Holiness and Good Works which is no such thing but either mans inventions or some common gifts of God It greatly deludeth the world to take up a wrong description or character of Holiness in their minds As 1. The Papists take it for Holiness to be very observant in their adoration of the supposed transubstantiated Host to use their reliques pilgrimages crossings prayers to Saints and Angels anointings Candles Images observation of meats and daies penance auricular confession praying by numbers and hours on their beads c. They think their idle ceremonies are holiness and that their hurtful austerities and self-afflictings by rising in the night when they might pray as long before they go to bed and by whipping themselves to be very meritorious parts of Religion And their vows of renouncing marriage and propriety and of absolute obedience to be a state of perfection 2. Others think that Holiness consisteth much in being rebaptized and in censuring the Parish-Churches and Ministers as Null and in withdrawing from their communion and in avoiding forms of prayer c. 3. And others or the same think that more of it consisteth in the gifts of utterance in praying and preaching than indeed it doth and that those only are godly that can pray without book in their families or at other times and that are most in private meetings and none but they 4. And some think that the greatest parts of Godliness are the spirit of bondage to fear and the shedding of tears for sin or finding that they were under terrour before they had any spiritual peace and comfort or being able to tell at what Sermon or time or in what order and by what means they were converted It is of exceeding great consequence to have a right apprehension of the Nature of Holiness and to escape all false conceits thereof But I shall not now stand further to describe it because I have done it in many Books especially in my Reasons of the Christian Religion and in my A Saint or a Bruit and in a Treatise only of the subject called The character of a sound Christian Direct 8. Let all Gods Attributes be orderly and deeply printed in your minds as I have directed in my book called The Divine Life For it is that which must most immediately form his Image on you To know God in Christ is life eternal John 17.3 Direct 9. Never separate reward from duty but in every religious or obedient action still see it as connext with Heaven The means is no means but for the end and must never be used but with special respect unto the end Remember in reading hearing praying meditating in the duties of your callings and relations and in all acts of charity and obedience that All this is for Heaven It will make you mend your pace if you think believingly whither you are going Heb. 11. Direct 10. Yet watch most carefully against all proud self-esteeming thoughts of proper merit as obliging God or as if you were better than indeed you are For Pride is the most pernicious vermine that can breed in gifts or in good works And the better you are indeed the more humble you will be and apt to think others better than your self Direct 11. So also in every temptation to sin let Faith see Heaven open and take the temptation in its proper sense q. d. Take this pleasure instead of God sell thy part in Heaven for this preferment or commodity cast away thy soul for this sensual delight This is the true meaning of every temptation to sin and only Faith can understand it The Devil easily prevaileth when Heaven is forgotten and out of sight and pleasure commodity credit and preferment seem a great matter and can do much till Heaven be set in the ballance against them and there they are nothing and can do nothing Phil. 3.7 8 9. Heb. 12.1 2 3. 2 Cor. 4.16 17. Direct 12. Let Faith also see God alwaies present Men dare do any thing when they think they are behind his back even truants and eye-servants will do well under the Masters eye Faith seeing him that is invisible Heb. 11. is it that sanctifieth heart and life As
the Attributes of God are the seal which must make his Image on us so the apprehension of his presence setteth them on and keepeth our faculties awake Direct 13. Be sure that Faith make Gods acceptance your full reward and set you above the opinion of man Not in self-conceitedness and pride of your self-sufficiency to set light by the judgment of other men That is a heinous sin of it self and doubled when it is done upon pretence of living upon God alone But that really you live so much to God alone as that all men seem as nothing to you and their opinion of you as a blast of wind in regard of any felicity of your own which might be placed in their love or praise Though as a means to Gods service and their own good you must please all men to their edification and become all things to all men to win them to God Gal. 1.10 11. Rom. 15.1 2. Prov. 11.30 1 Cor. 9.22 10.33 yea and study to please your Governours as your duty Titus 2.9 But as man-pleasing is the Hypocrites work and wages so must the pleasing of God be ours though all the world should be displeased Matth. 6.1 2 3 5 6 c. 2 Tim. 2.4 1 Cor. 7.32 1 Thes 4.1 2 Cor. 5.8 9. 1 Thes 2.4 1 John 3.22 Direct 14. Let the constant work of Faith be to take you off the life of sense by mortifying all the concupiscence of the flesh and over-powering all the objects of sense The neerness of things sensible and the violence and unreasonableness of the senses and appetite do necessitate Faith to be a conflicting grace It s use is to illuminate elevate and corroborate Reason and help it to maintain its authority and government The life of a Believer is but a conquering warfare between Faith and Sense and between things unseen and the things that are seen Therefore it is said that they thâ—â— are in the flesh cannot please God because the flesh bâ—ing the predominant principle in them they most savour and mind the things of the flesh and therefore they can do more with them than the things of the Spirit can do when both are set before them Rom. 8.5 6 7 8. Direct 15. Let Faith set the example first of Christ and next of his holiest servants still before you He that purposely lived among men in flâ—sh a life of holiness and patience and contempt of the world to be a pattern or example to us doth expect that it be the daily work of Faith to imitate him and therefore that we have this Copy still before our eyes It will help us when we are sluggish and sit down in low and common things to see more noble things before us It will help us when we are in doubt of the way of our duty and when we are apt to favour our corruptions It will guide our minds and quicken our desires with a holy ambition and covetousness to be more holy It will serve us to answer all that the world or flesh can say from the contrary examples of sinning men If any tell us what great men or learned men think or say or do against Religion and for a sinful life it is enough if Faith do but tell us presently what Christ and his Apostles and Saints and Martyrs have thought and said and done to the contrary Mat. 11.28 29. 1 Pet. 2.21 John 13.15 Phil. 3.17 2 Thes 3.9 1 Tim. 4.12 Ephes 5.1 Heb. 6.12 1 Thes 1.6 2.14 Direct 16. Let your Faith set all graces on work in their proper order and proportion and carry on the work of holiness and obedience in harmony and not set one part against another nor look at one while you forget or neglect another Every grace and duty is to be a help to all the rest And the want or neglect of any one is a hinderance to all As the want of one wheel or smaller particle in a clock or watch will make all stand still or go out of order The new creature consisteth of all due parts as the body doth of all its members The soul is as a musical instrument which must neither want one string nor have one out of tune nor neglected without spoiling all the melody A fragment of the most excellent work or one member of the comliest body cut off is not beautiful The beauty of a holy soul and life is not only in the quality of each grace and duty but much in the proportion feature and harmony of all Therefore every part hath its proper armour Ephes 6.11 12 13 14. And the whole armour of God must be put on Because all fulness dwelleth in Christ we are compleat in him as being sufficient to communicate every grace Epaphras laboured alwaies fervently in prayers for the Colossians that they might stand perfect and compleat in all the Will of God Col. 4.12 James 1.4 Let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing We oft comfort our selves that though we want the perfection of degrees yet we have the perfection of parts or of integrity But many are fain to prove this only by inferring that he that hath one grace hath all but as to the discerning and orderly use of all they are yet to seek CHAP. XI Of the Order of Graces and Duties BEcause I find not this insisted on in any Writers for the peoples instruction as it ought I will not pass over so needful a point without some further advertisement about it I will therefore shew you 1. What is the compleatness and the harmony to be desired 2. What are our contrary defects and distempers 3. What are the causes of them and what must be the cure 4. Some useful Inferences hence arising I. He that will be compleat and entire must have all these Graces and Duties following 1. A solid and clear understanding of all the great the needful and practical matters of the sacred Scriptures 2 Tim. 3.16 And if he have the understanding of the Scripture languages and the customs of those times and other such helps his understanding of the Scripture will be the more compleat Acts 26.3 If he have not he must make use of other mens 2. A settled well grounded Belief of all Gods supernatural Revelations as well as the knowledge of natural verities 3. Experience to make this knowledge and belief to be satisfactory powerful and firm Especially the experience of the Spirits effectual operations in our selves by the means of this word Rom. 5.4 8.9 Gal. 4.6 4. The historical knowledge of the Scripture matters of fact and how God in all ages since Scripture times hath fulfilled his Word both promises and threatnings and what Christ and Satan Grace and Sin have been doing in the world Therefore the Scripture is written so much by way of history and therefore the Jews were so often charged to tell the history of Gods works to their children 1 Cor. 10.1 2 6 7
How ill they bear the least contempt neglect or disrespect How abundantly they overvalue their own understandings and how wise they are in their own conceits and how hardly they will think ill of their most false or foolish apprehensions and how proudly they disdain the judgments of wiser men from whom if they had humility they might learn perhaps twenty years together and yet not reach the measure of their knowledge and what a strange difference there is in their judging of any case when it is anothers and when it is their own And among how few is the sin of flesh-pleasing sensuality mortified abundance take no notice of it because it is hid and can be daily exercised in a less disgraceful way If they be rich they can enjoy that which is their own and they can cleanlily do as Dives did Luke 16. and take their good things here Having enough laid up for many years they think they may take their case and eat drink and be merry without rebuke Luke 12.19 10. They that are the most zealous in strict opinions and modes of Worship can live as Sodom did in pride fulness of bread and abundance of idleness and use meat for their lusts and make provision for the flesh to satisfie those lusts and yet never seem to themselves nor those about them to offend much less to do any thing that is grosly evil Ezâ—k 16.49 Psal 78.18 30. Rom. 13 13 14. They drink not till they are drunk they eat not more in quantity than others they labour as far as need compels them and this they think is very tollerable And because the Papists have turned the just subduing of the flesh into hurtful austerities or formal mockeries therefore they are the more hardened in their flesh pleasing way They take but that which they love and that which is their own and then they think that the fault is not great and what Christ meant by Dives his being cloathed in purple and silk and faring sumptuously every day they never truly understood Nor yet what he meaneth by the poor in spirit Matth. 5.3 which is not at least only or chiefly a sense of the want of grace but a spirit suited to a life of poverty contrary to the love of money and of fulness and luxury and pride When we are content with necessaries and eat and drink for health more than for pleasure or for that pleasure only which doth conduce to health and when we will be at no needless superfluous cost upon the 〈◊〉 but â—hâ—se the cheapest food and rayment which is sufficient to our lawful ends and use not our appetites and sense and fantasie to such delight and satisfaction as either increaseth lust or corrupteth the mind and hindereth it from spiritual duties and delights by hurtful delectation or diversion nor bestow that upon our selves which the poor about us need to supply their great necessities This is to be poor in spirit and this is the life of abstinence and mortification which these sensual professors will not learn Nay rather than their throats shall not be pleased if they be children in their Parents Families or Servants they will steal for it and â—â—ke that which their Parents and Masters they know do not consent to nor allow them And they are worse thieves than they that steal for hunger and meer necessity because they steal to satisfie their appetites and carnal lusts that they may fare better than their superiours would have them And yet perhaps be really conscientious and religious in many other points and never humbled for their fleshly minds their gluttony and thievery especially if they see others fare better than they and they quiet their consciences as the most ungodly do with putting a hansome name upon their sin and calling it taking and not stealing and eating and drinking and not fulness of bread or carnal gulosity Abundance of such instances of mens partiality in avoiding sin I must omit because it is so long a work 6. Yea in the inward exercise of Graces there are few that use them compleatly entirely and in order but they neglect one while they set themselves wholly about the exercise of another or perhaps use one against another Commonly they set themselves a great while upon nothing so much as labouring to affect their hearts with sorrow for sin and meltingly to weep in their confessions with some endeavours of a new life But the Love of God and the thankful sense of the mercy of Redemption and the rejoycing hopes of endless Glory are things which they take but little care about and when they are convinced of the errour of this partiality they next turn to some Antinomian whimsie under the pretence of valuing Free Grace and begin to give over perâ—ileâ—s 〈◊〉 and the care and watchfulness against sin and diligence in a holy fruitful life and say that they were long enough Legalâ—sts and knew not Free Grace but lookt all after doing and something in themselves and then they could have no peace but now they see their errour they will know nothing but Christ And thus that narrow foolish soul cannot use Repentance wiâ—hout neglecting Faith in Christ and cannot use Faith but they must neglect Repentance yea set Faith and Repentance Love and Obedience in good works like enemies or hindrances against each other They cannot know themselves and their sinfulnâ—ss without forgetting Christ and his righteousness And they cannot know Christ and his Love and Grace without laying by the knowledge or resistance of their sin They cannot magnifie Free Grace unless they may have none of it but lay by the use of it as to all the works of holiness because they must look at nothing in themselves They cannot magnifie Pardon and Justification unless they may make light of the sin and punishment which they deserve and which is pardoned and the charge and condemnation from which they are justified They cannot give God thanks for remitting their sin unless they may forbear confessing it and sorrowing for it They cannot take the Promise to be free which giveth Christ and pardon of sin if it have but this condition that they shall not reject him Nor can they call it the Gospel unless it leave them masterless and lawless whereas there is indeed no such thing as Faith without Repentance nor Repentance without Faith No love to Christ without the keeping of his Commandments nor no true keeping of the Commandments without Love No Free Grace without a gracious sanctified heart and life nor no gift of Christ and Justification but on the condition of a believing acceptance of the gift and yet no such believing but by Free Grace No Gospel without the Law of Christ and Nature and no mercy and peace but in a way of duty And yet such Bedlam Christians are among us that you may hear them in pangs of high conceited zeal insulting over the folly of one another and in no wiser language than if you
be but to do as the Papists when we have sinned by fallibility to keep off repentance by the conceit of infallibility 9. We are in great danger of sinning in cases where we are ignorant For who can avoid the danger which he seeth not And who can walk safely in the dark Therefore we see that it is the ignor anter sort of Christians and such as Paul calleth Novices that most erre especially when Pride accompanyeth Ignorance for then they fall into the special condemnation of the Devil 1 Tim. 3.6 Study therefore painfully and patiently till you understand the truth 10. But above all we are in danger of those sins which are masked with a pretence of the greatest truths and duties and use to be fathered on God and Scripture and so under the specious titles of Holiness and of Free Grace For here it is the understanding chiefly that resisteth while the very names and pretences secretly steal in and bring them into love and reverence with the Will And the poor honest Christian is afraid of resisting them lest it should prove a resisting God What can be so false that a man will not plead for if he take it to be a necessary truth of God And what can be so bad that a man will not do if he take it once to be of Gods commanding The foresaid instances of the Munster and Germane actions with those of the followers of David George in Holland who took himself to be the Holy Ghost or the immediate Prophet of his Kingdom and Hacket and his Grundletonians and the Familists the Ranters the Seekers the Quakers the Church-dividers and the Kingdom and State-overturners in England have given so great a demonstration of this that it is not lawful to overlook it or forget it The time cometh that they that kill you shall think that they do God service Joh. 16.2 And then who can expect that their consciences should avoid it Why did Paul persecute the Christians and compel them to blaspheme Because he verily thought that he ought to do many things against the Name of Jesus Acts 26.9 O it is religious sins which we are in danger of such as come to us as in the Name of God and Christ and the Spirit such as pretend that we cannot be saved without them and such as plead the holy Scriptures such as James 3. is written against when a wisdom from beneath which is earthly sensual and devilish working by envy and strife unto confusion and every evil work pretendeth to be the wisdom from above when Zeal consumeth Love and Vnity under pretence of consuming sin which made Paul and John require us not to believe every spirit but to try the spirits whether they be of God 2 Thes 2.2 1 Thes 5.20 21. 1 Joh. 4.1 2 3. And made Paul say If an Angel from Heaven bring you another Gospel let him be accursed Gal. 1.7 8. And more plainly 2 Cor. 11.13 14. Such are false Apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ and no marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an Angel of light therefore it is no great thing if his Ministers also be transformed as the Ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works And Acts 20.30 Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them And what need any Disciple of Christ greater warning than to remember that their Saviour himself was thus assaulted by the Devil in his temptation with It is written Yet let no Papist hence take occasion to vilifie the Scripture because it is made a plea for sin For so he might as well vilifie humane Reason which is pleaded for all the errours in the world and vilifie the Law because Lawyers plead it for ill Causes yea and vilifie God himself because the same and other sinners plead his will and authority for their sins when contrarily it is a great proof of the Scripture Authority and Honour that Satan himself and his subtilest instruments do place their greatest hope of prevailing by perverting and misapplying it which could be of no use to them if its authority were not acknowledged 11. We are in constant danger of those sins which we think we can conceal from men Therefore suppose still that all that you do will be made known and do all as in the open streets It 's written by two in the life of holy Ephrem Syrus that when a Harlot tempted him to uncleanness he desired but that he might chuse the place which she consenting to he chose the open market-place among all the people and when she told him that there they should be shamed for all would see he told her such a lesson of sinning in the sight of God who is every where as was the means of her conversion Conceit of secrecy emboldeneth to sin 12. We are in constant danger of sins of sudden passion and irruption which allow us not season to deliberate and surprize us before our reason can consider 13. We are in danger of sins that come on by insensible degrees and from small beginnings creep upon us and come not by any sudden wakening assaults Thus pride and covetousness and ambition do infect men And thus our zeal and deligence for God doth usually decay 14. Lastly We are in much danger of all sins which require a constant vigorous diligence to resist them and of omitting those duties or that part or mode of duty which must have a constant vigorous diligence to perform it Because feeble souls are hardly kept as is aforesaid to constant vigorous diligence Quest 2. Wherein differeth the sins of a sanctified person from other mens that are unsanctified Answ 1. In a sanctified man the habitual bent of his will is ever more against sin than for it however he be tempted into that particular act 2. And as to the Act also it is ever contrary to the scope and tenour of his life which is for God and sincere obedience 3. He hath no sin which is inconsistent with the true Love of God in the predominant habit It never turneth his heart to another End or Happiness or Master 4. Therefore it is more a sin of passion than of settled interest and choice He is more liable to a hasty passion or word or unruly thoughts than to any prevalent covetousness or ambition or any sin which is a possessing of the heart instead of God 1 John 2.15 James 3.2 Though some remainders of these are in him they prevail not so far as sudden passions 5. There are some sins which are more easily in the power of the will so that a man that is but truly willing may forbear them as a drunkard may pass by the Tavern or Ale-house or forbear to touch the cup and the fornicator to come neer or commit the sin if they be truly willing But there be other sins which a man can hardly forbear though he be willing because
his body is a little weary his mind is so too and suffereth the weariness of the body to prevail Because the flesh is King within them Nay a slothful mind doth oft begin and they are weary to look upon their work or to think of it before it hath wearyed the body at all And what they do they do unwillingly because they are in love with idleness Mal. 1.13 But the lowly and laborious are in love with diligence and work and therefore though they cannot avoid the wearyness of the body their willing minds will carry on the body as far as it can well go The diligent woman worketh willingly with her hands her candle goeth not out by night c. Prov. 31.13 c. Servants must do service with good will as to the Lord Ephes 6.7 If Ministers preach and labour willingly they have a reward 1 Cor. 9.17 But not if they are only driven on by necessity and the fear of woe 1 Pet. 5.2 What shall we do willingly if not our duties He that sineth willingly and serveth God and followeth his labour unwilingly shall be rewarded according to his will 6. The idle Sodomite doth love and chuse that kind of life which is easiest and hath least work to be done This is the chief provision by which he fulfilleth his fleshly lust An idle servant thinketh that the best place in which he shall have most ease and fulness An idle Parent will cast all the burden of his childrens teaching upon the Schoolmaster and the Pastor An idle Minister thinketh himself best where he may have no more labour than what tendeth to his publick applause and when he hath the most wealth and honour and least to do he taketh that to be the flourishing prosperity of the Church And indeed if our calling were like the souldiers to kill men and not liker the Surgeons to cure them we might think it is the best time when we have least employment But the faithful servant will be most thankful for that state of life in which he doth most good And as he taketh doing good to be the surest way of getting and receiving so he taketh the good of another as his own and anothers necessity is his necessity He knoweth that he is best who is likest unto God and that is he that is the most abundant in love and doing good Like the Sun that never resteth from moving or giving light and heat The running spring is pure when the standing water is muddy and corrupt The cessation of motion quickly mortifieth the blood He that said as to works of charity Be not weary of well doing for in due time you shall reap if you faint not Gal. 6.9 hath said so too as to our bodily labour in our common callings in the world 2 Thes 3.13 I know that a servant may be glad of a place where he is not oppressed with unreasonable labour and where he hath competent time for the learning of Gods Word And a poor man may be glad when he is freed from necessity of doing that which is to his hurt But otherwise no man but a fleshly bruit will wish or contrive for a life of idleness Object Is it not said Blessed are the dead for they rest from their labours Rev. 14.13 Ans True but mark that their works follow them And what are the works which follow you And note that it is not work or duty that they shall rest from For they rest not crying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty c. But it is only their labours that is the painful sort of work and suffering proper to this sinful life The blessed indeed are freed in Heaven from this because they were not freed 〈◊〉 it on earth as the ungodly and slothful servant are 7. Lastly Idleness is seen by the work that is undone Pro. 24.30 The sluggards Vineyard is overgrown with weeds If your souls be unrenewed and your assurance of salvation and evidences yet to get and few the better for you in the world and you are yet unready for death and judgment you give too full a proof of idleness The diligent woman Prov. 31.16 c. could shew her labours in her treasures her Vineyard the cloathing and provisions of her family c. shew yours by the good which you have done in the world and by the preparation of your souls for a better world Let every man prove his own work that he may have rejoycing in himself alone and not in another Gal. 6.3 4. What case are your children in Are they taught or untaught What case is your soul in your fruit must judge you III. The mischiefs of this Sodomitical Idleness and the reasons against it are briefly these 1. It is contrary to the active nature of mans soul which in activity exceedeth the fire it self It is as natural for a soul to be active as for a stone or clod of earth to lie still And this active nature animateth the passive body to move it and use it in it's proper work And should this heavenly fire be imprisoned in the body which it should command and move Psal 104.23 Man goeth forth to his work and to his labour till the evening 2. It is contrary to the common course of nature Doth the Sun shine for you as well as for others or doth it not Doth all the frame of nature continue in its course the air the waters the summer and winter for you as well as for others or not If not then you take not your selves beholden to God for them And if you have no use for the Sun and other creatures you have no use for life for by them you live But if yea then what is it that they serve you for Did God ever frame you so glorious a retinuue to attend you only to sleep and laugh and play and to be idle what is all this for no higher an end or rather do you not by your idleness forfeit life and all these helps and maintainers of your lives 3. It is an unthankful reproach and blasphemy against the God of Nature yea and against the Lord your Redeemer to think that the wise Almighty God did make so noble a thing as a soul and place it in so curious an engine as the body where spirits and blood and heart and lungs are never idle but in constant motion and that he hath appointed us so glorious a retinue as aforesaid and all this to do nothing with or worse than nothing To sleep and rise and dress your selves and talk and eat and drink to tell men only that you are not dead lest they should mistake and bury you alive what is it but to put a scorn on your Creator and Redeemer to live as if he had created and redeemed you for no better and nobler ends than these 4. You do as it were pray for death or provoke God to take away your lives For if they be good for nothing else but idleness
consenteth not to when his sinful pleasure is revived by the next temptation 3. But the true penitent Christian is both willing to be changed and had rather have his lusts to be killed than pleased and also willing to use Gods means both to mortifie the inward lust and to overcome the outward sin And this in sincerity is his habitual state Direct 3. Never forget that 1. The gracious nature of God 2. The sufficiency of Christs Sacrifice and Merit And 3. The truth of the universal â—ffer or promise of pardon to all if they will accept the offer are the foundation of all our faith and comforts and are that universal grace which is before our special grace or faith and is presupposed to it On this foundation all our faith and peace is to be built Direct 4. The particular application of this to our selves is 1. By Believing and then by knowing that we do believe and then by discerning our priviledges upon believing 1. Our believing it self is 1. Our Ascent to the truth of the Gospel 2. Our Acceptance of the good even Christ and life which is offered in it and consent to the Baptismal Covenant with God the Father Son and Holy Spirit And 3. Our Affiance in Christ and his Covenant 2. To know that we do believe somehow is easie when we do it But to be sure that this belief is sincere and saving is more difficult because of the deceitfulness of the heart of man and the mixtures of unbelief and other sins and the weakness of grace where it is true and the counterfeits of it and the insufficient degrees which are in Hypocrites so that it is not easie to discern whether the faith which we have be sincere and predominant above our sense and our unbelief as it must be But yet it may be known by such means as these 1. By labouring to strengthen and increase our faith and grace that it may not by the smalness be next to undiscernable 2. By subduing all contrary inward corruptions which obscure it 3. By frequent exercising it seeing habits are discerned only in their acts 4. By resisting and conquering temptations and doing all the good we can in the world and living as wholly devoted to God above all worldly fleshly interest that so 1 Faith may be evidenced by its fruits 2. And God may reward the faithful soul with his assuring seal and light and comfort 5. By escaping all those lapses into heinous and wilful sin which cause wounds and sears and hinder assurance peace and joy 6. By a wise and constant examination of the heart and observation of it in the time of tryal and finding the habits and strength of faith and of unbelief in their several actings and prevalencies in their conflicts 7. And withall escaping those ignorances and errours about the nature means causes and signs of grace and assurance which keep many from it who have justifying faith These seven are the true and necessary means to get assurance of your own sincerity and that indeed you have the true seal and earnest and witness of the Spirit of Christ 3. When you have first truly believed or consented to the Baptismal Covenant of Grace and next got assurance that you do this in sincerity the last part is the easiest which is to gather up the priviledges or comfortable conclusions which follow hereupon Which are your pardon and justification your adoption and right to life eternal and to all the benefits promised by God in that Covenant to which you do consent which are all comprehended in the three great Relations established by the Covenant viz. that God is your Reconciled God and Father Christ in your Head and Saviour and the Holy Spirit is your Life and Sanctifier These three works which make up assurance are contained in the three parts of this syllogism 1. He that truly believeth is justified and adopted and an heir of life But I do truly believe Therefore I am justified adopted and am an heir of life Or thus to the same sense Every one who truly consenteth to the Baptismal Covenant hath right to the blessings of the Covenant God is his Father Christ is his Saviour and the holy Spirit is his Sanctifier But I do truly consent to the Baptismal Covenant Therefore I have right to all the benefits of it God is my Father c. Direct 5. Remember that when you have got assurance and have truly gathered this conclusion the continual and lively exercise of faith is still necessary to your actual joy For it is possible for a man to have no notable doubtings of his own sincerity or salvation and yet to have such dulness of soul and such diversions of his thoughts as that he shall enjoy but little of the comforts of his own assurance Therefore true joy requireth much more than bare self examination and discerning of our evidences and right to life Direct 6. When doubts and troubles are caused by ignorance or errour about the true nature and signs of grace and the way of assurance which is very common nothing then is more necessary than a sound and skilful Teacher to work out those mistakes and to help the ignorant Christian to a clearer understanding of the terms of the Covenant and the sense of the Promise and the true methods of Christ in his gifts and operations Otherwise the erring soul will be distracted and lost in a wilderness of doubts and either sit down at last presumptuously on false grounds or turn to one errour to cure the troubles of another or languish in despair so lamentable a thing is it to be possessed with false principles and to attempt so great a work in the dark Direct 7. And here there are these two extreams to be carefully avoided 1. That of the Infidel and Justiciary who trusteth and teacheth others to trust to his own vertues and works without a Saviour or ascribeth the part of a Saviour to them 2. The Antinomian and Libertine who teach men not to look at any thing in themselves at all no not as an evidence or condition or means much less as any cause of life but to trust to Christs blood to be to you instead of Faith and Repentance and Obedience and all your use of means and do ascribe the part of these duties of man to the blood of Christ as if it did belong only to Christ to do that same thing which belongeth unto them Therefore here you must be sure to be well acquainted what is truly the office and part of Christ and what is truly the office and part of Faith of Repentance of Confession of Prayer c. And to be sure that you wholly trust Christ for his part and joyn not Faith nor any of your own works or duties in the least degree of that trust or honour which belongeth to Christ and his office and work And that you faithfully use yea I will say Trust too though ignorance snarl at
sins and miseries in the presence of their Lord. Direct 5. When you have made these comparisons think next what an excellent benefit it will be to you to look thus believingly and frequently to the Saints that are gone before you into glory All these unspeakable benefits will follow it 1. It will much quicken and confirm our faith As we do the more easily trust the boat and boat-man when we see many thousand passengers safely landed by him And we easily trust the Physician when we see many thousands cured by him who were once in our case so it will greatly satisfie the soul against the suspicions and fears of unbelief when faith seeth all the glorified Saints that are actually saved by Christ already and have obtained all that we believe and seek Methinks I hear Henoch Joshua Abraham Peter Paul John Cyprian Macarius Augustine Melancthon Calvin Zanchius Rogers Bradford Hooper Jewel Grindal Vsher Hildersham Ames Dod Baines Bolton Gataker with thousands such as men standing on the further side of the river and calling to us that must come after them Fear not the depths or storms or streams trust boldly that vessel and that faithful Pilot we trusted him and none of us have miscarried but all of us are here landed safe We were once in storms and doubts and fears as you now are but it is our diffidence and not our confidence which proved our infirmity and shame Who would not boldly follow such a multitude of excellent persons who have sped so well 2. It will also much confirm our hope that is our glad expectation of the Crown when our apprehensions of it grow dull and slack and our feare do grow upon us and we are ready to question whether ever such a happiness will be our lot the sight of these that are now triumphing in the actual possession will banish despair and much revive us We cannot but think they were once as low and bad as I and had as many difficulties to overcome and why may not I then be as holy and as happy as they 3. Such a sight will greatly quicken our desires to attain their happiness and to go their way As when worldlings see the grandeur and honours and power of Great men as they are yet called it maketh them think how brave a life is this And as the sensual when they see their companions in the Tavern or Gaming-house or Play-house or the merry fool-house as Solomon accounteth it Eccles 7.4 do long to be with them and to partake of their beloved pleasure so when by faith we see the departed Saints in glory and think where our old acquaintance are and the multitudes of wise and holy souls that are gone before it will greatly stir up our sluggish desires and make us long for the same felicity and to be as near to God as they are 4. And it will do much to direct us in the way For we must follow them as they followed Christ As the history of the Wars of Alexander Caesar Tamerlane c. will teach men how to fight for temporal tyrannical domination so the history of the Saints do teach us how to fight against spiritual wickednesses and powers and how to take the prospering way It is easie there to find whether laziness or labour whether sensuality or spirituality hath alwaies been the way to Heaven Whether Saints were gluttons drunkards whoremongers riotous licentious and proud or temporate chaste mortified and humble whether the Saints were the scorners or the scorned the oppressors or the oppressed the persecutors or the persecuted the burdens or the blessings of the times they lived in When the world is divided about matters of Religion and every Party hath a several way for the Unity and the Reformation and the Communion of the Churches and the right Government Discipline and Worshiping of God how easie and safe is it in the main and in all things of necessity to look back and see which way it was that Peter and Paul did go to Heaven by and what terms they were on which their Union Communion Government Discipline and Worship were performed 5. The sight of blessed souls by faith will also increase the Resolution and Fortitude of the mind Faintness and pusilanimity seize upon us when we look only on the difficulties and dangers But when we see the thousands that have overcome them all by the same means which we are called to use it steeleth our courage and maketh us resolve to break through all When we think only how mortal our diseases are our hearts do fail us But when all that were cured of the very same do call to us and say Never fear there is no disease too hard for your Physician he hath cured us of the very same and cureth all that ever trust him and use his remedies This will embolden a fainting mind Therefore in the fore-cited text Heb. 6.12 It is said Be not slothful which there meaneth such as faint with despondency despair or fears but followers of them who by faith and patience inherit the promises When we look on the Saints tribulations for the faith we are apt to faint as some do that stand by another that is under the Surgeons hands Ephes 3.13 But when we see them in triumph it cureth our cowardize and it is they only that labour and faint not that are crowned and that reap in due season c. Rev. 2.3 Gal. 6.9 that is who faint not into cessation or so as to be overcome Do you think when the Israelites passed through the Red Sea that the Leaders had not the greatest tryal and that it was not an exceeding increase of their courage who came after in the rear when they saw most of their brethren safely passed through Look believingly upon the souls in Heaven and you will do or suffer any thing to follow them 6. And it will greatly provoke us to diligence in well doing Look up to your Brethren and you will mend your pace If a horse be going towards his Pasture he will go chearfully especially when he seeth his companions there It will make us pray hard and meditate studiously and work laboriously and watch diligently that we may be with Christ where our Brethren are and receive the end of our faith and labour 7. And to see our Brethren in Heaven before us will greatly help us to suffer for Christ and to be patient in any tribulation which befalleth us When we see them in glory we shall source stay to complain of the soulness or narrowness of the way but look before us and go on through all Or if the flesh do repine and our hearts begin to fail us it will make us lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and make strait paths for our feet Heb. 12.12 13. and to gird up the loins of our minds and be sober and hope to the end 1 Pet. 1.13 When we look forward to the end of former
of the soul in God and the highest praises and thanksgivings with the readiest and chearfullest obedience And what kind of Religious performances are most excellent which we must principally intend Groans and tears and penitent confessions and moans are very suitable to our present state while we have sin and suffering But surely they are duties of the lower rank For Heaven more aboundeth with praises and thanksgiving and therefore we must labour to be fitter for them and more abundant in them not casting off any needful humiliations and penitent complaints but growing as fast as we can above the necessity of them by conquering the sin which is the cause So ask what is it that would make the Church on Earth to be likest to that part which is in Heaven Is it striving what Pastors shall be greatest or have precedency or be called gracious Lords or Benefactors Luke 22.24 25 26. 1 Pet. 5.3 4 5. Or is it in making the flock of Christ to dread the secular power of the Shepherds and tremble before them as they do before the Wolf Or is it in a proud conceit of the peoples power to ordain their Pastors and to rule them and themselves by a major vote Or in a supercilious condemning the members of Christ and a proud contempt of others as too unholy for our communion when we never had authority to try or judge them Is it in the multitude of Sects and divisions every one saying Our party and our way is best Surely all this is unlike to Heaven It is rather in the Wisdom and Holiness and Vnity of all the members When they all know God especially in his Love and Goodness and when they fervently love him and chearfully and universally obey him and when they love each other fervently and with a pure heart and without divisions do hold the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and with one heart and mind and mouth do glorifie God and our Redeemer Leaving that Church-Judgment to the Pastors which Christ hath put into their hands and leaving Gods part of Judgment unto himself This is to be like to our heavenly exemplar and to do Gods Will on Earth as it is done in Heaven Ephes 4.2 3 4 11 12 16. 9. And we must also look back to the examples of their lives while they were on earth and see wherein they are to be imitated as the imitators of Jesus Christ which way went they to Heaven before us 10. Lastly We must give God thanks on their behalf for making them so perfect and bringing them so near him and saving them from sin and Satan and the world and bringing them safe to Heaven through so many temptations difficulties and sufferings For making them such instruments of his glory in their times and shewing his glory upon them and to them in the Heavens For making them such blessings to the world in their generations and for giving us in them such patterns of faith obedience and patience and making them so great encouragements to us who may the more boldly follow them in faith duty and sufferings who have conquered all and sped so well For shewing us by faith their present state of glory with Christ for our confirmation and consolation Thus far in all these ten particulars we must have a heavenly conversation with the glorified by Faith Direct 8. Consider next wherein your imitation of the example of their lives on earth consisteth And it is 1. Not in committing any of their sins nor indulging any such weaknesses in our selves as any of them were guilty of 2. Nor in extenuating a sin or thinking ever the better of it because it was theirs 3. Nor in doing as they did in exempted cases wherein their Law and ours differed as in the marriage of Adams children in the Jews Polygamy c. 4. Nor in imitating them in things indifferent or accidental that were never intended for imitation nor done as morally good or evil 5. Nor in pretending to or expecting of their extraordinary Revelations Inspirations or Miracles 6. Nor in pretending the high attainments of the more excellent to be the necessary measure of all that shall be saved or the Rule of our Church-Communion Our imitation of them consisteth in no such things as these But it consisteth in these 1. That you fix upon the same ultimate Ends as they did That you aim at the same Glory of God and chuse the same everlasting felicity 2. That you chuse the same Guide and Captain of your salvation the same Mediator between God and man the same Teacher and Ruler of the Church and the same sacrifice for sin and Intercessor with the Father 3. That you believe the same Gospel and build upon the same Promises and live by the same Rule the Word of God 4. That you obey the same Spirit and trust to the same Sanctifier and Comforter and Illuminater to illuminate sanctifie and comfort your souls 5. That you exercise all the same graces of Faith Hope Love Repentance Obedience Patience as they did 6. That you live upon the same Truths and be moved by the same Motives as they lived upon and were moved by 7. That you avoid the same sins as they avoided and see what they feared and fled from and made conscience of that you may do the same 8. That you chuse and use the same kind of company helps and means of grace so far as yours and theirs are the same as they have done And think not to find a nearer or another way to that state of happiness which they are come â—o Phil. 3.16 Walk by the same Rule and mind the same things and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal even this unto you If any preach another Gospel let him be accursed Gal. 1.7 8. Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them Rom. 16.17 Heb. 6.11 We desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end that you be not slothful but followers of them c. 9. That you avoid resist and overcome the same temptations as they did who now are crowned 10. That you bear the same cross and exercise the same faith and hope and patience unto the end 1 Pet. 4.1 Arm your selves with the same mind c. In brief this is the true imitation of the Saints Direct 9. Never suffer your life of sense to engage you so deeply in sensible converse with men on earth as to forget your heavenly relations and society but live as men that unfeignedly believe that you have a more high and noble converse every day to mind If you are Believers indeed let your faith go along with the souls of your departed friends into glory And if you have forgot them by an unfriendly negligence renew your acquaintance with them Think not that those only that live on earth are fit for our
be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Prov. 8.17 I love them that love me John 14.15 If ye love me keep my Commandments and I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever John 16.27 The Father himself loveth you because ye have loved me and believed 17. Promises to them that love the godly and that are merciful and do the works of love John 13.35 By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one to another Gal. 5.6 13 22. In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith which worketh by love By love serve one another for all the Law is fulfilled in one word in this Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness Against such there is no Law Heb. 6.10 God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love 1 John 3.14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren 18. My little children lâ—t us not love in word nor tongue but in deed and in truth And hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him 1 John 4.7 Beloved let us love one another for love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God v. 16. God is Love and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him v. 12. If we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us 2 Cor. 9.7 God loveth a chearful giver v. 6. He that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully Mat. 5.7 Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy Matth. 10.41 42. He that receiveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophets reward and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous mans reward And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a Disciple verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward Matth. 25.34 40 46. Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom Verily I say unto you in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me The righteous shall go into life eternal Heb. 13.16 But to do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased Phil. 4.17 I desire fruit which may abound to your account 2 Cor. 9.9 As it is written He hath dispersed abroad he hath given to the poor his righteousness remaineth for ever 18. Promises to the poor and needy Christians Matth. 6.30 32 33. If God so clothe the grass of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the Oven 〈◊〉 he not much more clothe 〈◊〉 O ye of little faith Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you Heb. 13.5 Let your conversations be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have for he hath said I will never fail thee nor forsake thee James 2.5 Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom Psal 34.10 They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing Psal 23.1 The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want Psal 4.19 My God shall supply all your need Phil. 4.11 12 13 I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need Psal 9.18 The needy shall not alway be forgotten the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever 19. Promises to the oppressed and wronged Christian Psal 12.5 6 7. For the oppression of the poor and for the sighing of the needy now will I arise saith the Lord I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him Thou shalt keep them O Lord thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever Psal 35.10 All my bones shall say Lord who is like unto thee which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him yea the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him Psal 40.17 But I am poor and needy yet the Lord thinketh on me thou art my helper and deliverer Psal 42.2 4 12 13. He shall judge thy people with righteousness and thy poor with judgement He shall judge the poor of the people he shall save the children of the needy and shall break in pieces the oppressor For he shall deliver the needy when he cryeth the poor also and him that hath no helper He shall spare the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the needy He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence and precious â—â—all their blood be in his sight Psal 113.7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill See Isa 25.3 4 5. 14.30 Zech. 9.8 Isa 51.13 Eccles 5.8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor and violent perverting of judgement and justice in a Province marvel not at the matter for he that is higher than the highest regardeth and there be higher than they 20. Promises to the persecuted who suffer for righteousness Matth. 5.10 11 12. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake Rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you Matth. 10.28 29 30 31 32. Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul Are not two Sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father But the very hairs of your head are all numbered Fear you not therefore ye are of more value than many Sparrows Whosoever shall confess me before men him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven v. 39. He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it Matth. 19.29 And every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my Names sake shall receive an hundred-fold and shall inherit everlasting life 2 Thes 1.4 5 6. Your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations which ye suffer is a manifest token of the righteous judgement of God that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which ye
also suffer seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you and to you who are troubled rest with us when Christ shall come to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe Acts 9.4 Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Read Rom. 8.28 to the end Rev. 2. 3d. Heb. 11. 12. 1 Cor. 10.13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it 2 Tim. 2.9 10 11 12. I suffer trouble as an evil doer unto bonds but the Word of God is not bound I endure all things for the Elects sake It is a faithful saying For if we be dead with him we shall also live with him If we suffer we shall also reign with him Rom. 8.17 18. If so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory ready to be revealed on us 2 Cor. 4.17 For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory 1 Pet. 3.14 15. But if ye suffer for righteousness sake happy are ye and be not afraid of their terrour neither be troubled Read 1 Pet. 4.12 13 14 15 16 18 19. Rom. 5.1 2 3 4. 1 Pet. 5.10 The God of all grace who hath called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you 21. Promises to the faithful in dangers daily and ordinary or extraordinary Psal 34.7 The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them v. 17. The righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles v. 19 20 22. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all He keepeth all his bones nor one of them is broken The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate Psal 91.1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the tabernacle of the Almighty v. 2 3. I will say to the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress my God in him will I trust Surely he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome Pestilence v. 5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terrour by night v. 11 12 For he shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy waies They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone Read the whole Psal 121.2 3 4 5 6 7 8. My help cometh from the Lord which made Heaven and Earth He will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber The Lord is thy keeper the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul The Loâ—d shall preserve thy going out and coming in from this time forth and even for ever more Psal 145.20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him Psal 31.23 97.10 116.6 Prov. 2.8 Isa 43.2 When thou passest thorow the waters I will be with thee 1 Pet. 5.7 Casting all your care on him for he careth for you 22. Promises fâ—r help against Temptations to believers 1 Cor. 10.13 before cited 2 Pet. 2.9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations Compare Matth. 4. where Christ was tempted even to worship the Devil c. with Heb. 4.15 2.18 For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are without sin Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things God-ward for us For in that he himself hath suffered bâ—ing tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted James 1.2 My Brethren count it all ioy when ye fall into divers temptations that is by sufferings for Christ v. 12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tryed he shall receive the Crown of life 2 Cor. 12.9 My grace is sufficient for thee My strength is made perfect in weakness Phil. 4.13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me 1 Pet. 5.9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith with v. 10. James 4.7 Resist the Devil and he will flee from you Eph. 6.10 11 c. Rom. 6.14 For sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace John 16.33 Be of good cheer I have overcome the world 1 John 5.4 This is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith 23. Promises to them that overcome and persevere Rev. 2.7 To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God V. 11. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death V. 17. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone c. V. 10. Be faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of life V. 26 28 He that overcometh and keepeth my words unto the end to him will I give power over the Nations and he shall rule them with a Rod of Iron Even as I received of my Father and I will give him the morning star Rev. 3 5. He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white rayment and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life but I will confess his name before my Father and before his Angels V. 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out And I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the City of my God New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God and my new name V. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit down with me on my Throne even as I overcame and am set down with my Father on his Throne John 8.31 If ye continue in my word then are ye my Disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free Col. 1.22 23. To present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel John 15.7 If ye abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you Matth. 10.22 He that endureth to the end shall be