by meer conviction of the Truth such as wicked Men and Devils may be brought to when they had rather it were false Neither must our believing on Christ be only constrained for fear of Damnation without any hearty Love and Desire towards the enjoyment of him but we must receive the Love of the Truth by relishing the Goodness and Excellency of it and we must account all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord and count them but dung that we may win Christ and be found in him 2 Thess 2.10 Phil. 3.8 9. esteeming Christ to be all our Salvation and Happiness Col. 3.11 in whom all fulness doth dwell Col. 1.19 And this Love must be to every part of Christ's Salvation to Holiness as well as Forgiveness of Sins We must desire earnestly that God would create in us a clean Heart and right Spirit as well as hide his face from our sins Psal 51.9 10. not like many that care for nothing in Christ but only Deliverance from Hell Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled Mat. 5.6 The former of these Acts doth not immediately unite us to Christ because it is terminated only on the means of Conveyance the Gospel yet it is a saving Act if it be rightly performed because it enclineth and disposeth the Soul to the latter Act whereby Christ himself is immediately received into the Heart He that believeth the Gospel with hearty love and liking as the most Excellent Truth will certainly with the like heartiness believe on Christ for his Salvation They that know the name of the Lord will certainly put their trust in him Psal 9.10 Therefore in Scripture Saving-Faith is sometimes described by the former of these Acts as if it were a meer believing the Gospel sometimes by the latter as a believing on Christ or in Christ Rom. 10.9 If thou believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved 11 the Scripture saith Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed 1 John 5.1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God For the better understanding of the nature of Faith let it be further observed that the Second and Principal of it believing on Christ includeth believing on God the Father Son and Holy Ghost because they are one and the same infinite God and they all concurr in our Salvation by Christ as the only Mediator betwixt God and us in whom all the promises of God are yea and amen 2 Cor. 1.20 By him as mediator we believe on God that raised him from the dead and gave him glory that our faith and hope might be in God 1 Pet. 1.21 And it is the same thing with trusting on God or on the Lord which is so highly commended in the whole Scripture especially in the Old Testament as may easily appear by considering that it hath the same Causes Effects Objects Adjuncts Opposites and all the same Circumstances excepting only that it had a respect to Christ as promised before his Coming and now it respecteth him as already come in the Flesh Believing in the Lord and trusting on his Salvation are equivalent terms that explain one another Psal 78.22 I confess that trusting on things seen or known by the meer Light of Reason as on our own Wisdom Power Riches on Princes or any Arm of Flesh may not so properly be called believing on them but trusting on a Saviour as discovered by a Testimony is properly believing on him It is also the same thing that is expressed by the terms of resting relying leaning staying our selves on the Lord because it is the Ground of that Expectation that is the proper Act of Hope though our Believing and Trusting be for the present as well as future benefit of this Salvation The reason why it is so commonly expressed in the Scriptures of the New Testament by the terms of believing on Christ might be probably because when that part of Scripture was written there was cause in a special manner to urge believing the Testimony that was then newly revealed by the Gospel Having thus explained the nature of Faith I come now to assert its proper Use and Office in our Salvation That it is the Means and Instrument whereby we receive Christ and all his Fulness actually into our Hearts This excellent Use and Office of Faith is encountered by a multitude of Errors men naturally esteem that it is too small and slight a thing to produce so great effects as Naaman thought washing in Jordan too small a matter for the cure of his Leprosie They contemn the true means of entring in at the streight Gate because they seem too easie for such purpose and thereby they make the Entrance not only difficult but impossible to themselves Some will allow that Faith is the sole Condition of our Justification and the Instrument to receive it according to the Doctrine maintained formerly by the Protestants against the Papists but they account that it is not sufficient or effectual to Sanctification but that it rather tendeth to Licentiousness if it be not joyned with some other means that may be powerful and effectual to procure an holy Practice They commend this great Doctrine of Protestants as a comfortable Cordial for Persons upon their Death-beds or in Agonies under Terrors of Conscience but they account that it is not good for ordinary Food and that it is Wisdom in Ministers to preach it seldom and sparingly and not without some Antidote or Corrective to prevent the licentiousness to which it tendeth Their common Antidote or Corrective is That Sanctification is necessary to Salvation as well as Justification and that though we be justified by Faith yet we are sanctified by our own performance of the Law and so they set up Salvation by works and make the Grace of Justification to be of none effect and not at all comfortable If it had indeed such a malignant influence upon Practice it could not be owned as a Doctrine proceeding from the most holy God and all the Comfort that it affords must needs be ungrounded and deceitful This Consequence is well understood by some late Refiners of the Protestant Religion and therefore they have thought fit to new-model this Doctrine and to make Saving-Faith to be only a Condition to procure a Right and Title to our Justification by the Righteousness of Christ which must be performed before we can lay any good claim to the enjoyment of it and before we have any right to the actual receiving of it and this they call an accepting of or receiving Christ And that they may the better secure the practice of Holiness by their Conditional Faith they will not have trusting on God
or Christ for Salvation to be accounted the principal Saving-act of it because as it seemeth to them many loose wicked People trust on God and Christ for their Salvation as much as others and are by their Confidence hardened the more in their Wickedness But they had rather it should be Obedience to all Christ's Laws at least in their Resolution or a Consent that Christ should be their Lord accepting of his terms of Salvation and a resignation of themselves to his Government in all things It is a sign that the Scripture-form of Teaching is grown into disesteem with our great Masters of Reason when trusting in the Lord so much commended in Scripture is accounted a mean and ordinary thing They endeavour to affright us from owning Faith to be an Instrument of Justification by telling us that thereby we that use the Instrument are made our own principal Justifiers to the dishonour of God though it might be easily answered that we are made thereby only the principal receivers of our own Justification from God the Giver of it to whom all the Glory doth belong All these Errors will fall if it can be proved that such a Faith as I have described is an Instrument whereby we actually receive Christ himself into our Hearts and Holiness of Heart and Life as well as Justification by Union and Fellowship with him For the proof of it I shall offer the following Arguments First By Faith we have the actual enjoyment and possession of Christ himself and not only of Remission of Sins but of Life and so of Holiness Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith Ephes 3.17 We live to God and yet not we but Christ liveth in us by the Faith of the Son of God Gal. 2.19 20. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the Son and everlasting life that is in him 1 John 5.12 13. John 3.36 He that heareth Christ's word and believeth on him that sent Christ hath everlasting life and is passed from death unto life These Texts express clearly such a Faith as I have described therefore the efficiency or operation of Faith in order to the enjoyment of Christ and his Fulness cannot be the procurement of a bare Right or Title to this Enjoyment but rather it must be an entrance into it and taking possession of it We have our accâ—ss and entrance by faith into that Grace of Christ wherein we stand Rom. 5.2 Secondly The Scripture plainly ascribeth this effect to Faith that by it we receive Christ put him on are rooted and grounded in him and also that we receive the Spirit remission of sins and an inheritance among them which are sanctified John 1.2 Gal. 3.26 27. Col. 2.6 7. Gal. 3.14 Acts 26.18 And the Scripture illustrateth this Receiving by the Similitude of Eating and Drinking He that believeth on Christ drinketh the living water of his spirit John 7.37 38 39. Christ is the bread of life his flesh is meat indeed and his blood drink indeed and the way to eat and drink it is to believe in Christ and by so doing we dwell in Christ and Christ in us and have everlasting Life John 6.35 47 48 54 55 56. How can it be taught more clearly that we receive Christ himself properly into our Souls by Faith as we do receive Food into our Bodies by eating and drinking and that Christ is as truly united to us thereby as our Food when we eat or drink it So that Faith cannot be a Condition to procure a meer Right or Title to Christ no more than Eating or Drinking procureth a meer Right or Title to our Food but it is rather an Instrument to receive it as the Mouth that eateth and drinketh the Food Thirdly Christ with all his Salvation is freely given by the Grace of God to all that believe on him for we are saved by Grace through Faith and that not of our selves it is the Gist of God Eph. 2.8 9. We are justified freely by his Grace through Faith in his blood Rom. 8.24 The Holy Ghost who is the Bond of Union betwixt Christ and us is a Gift Acts 2.38 Now that which is a Gift of Grace must not be at all earned purchased or procured by any Work or Works performed as a Condition to get a right Title to it and therefore Faith it self must not be accounted such a Condition If it be by Grace it is no more of Works otherwise Grace is no more Grace Rom. 11.1 The Condition of a free Gift is only take and have and in this sence we will readily acknowledge Faith to be a Condition allowing a Liberty in Terms where we agree in the thing but if you give a Pepper-corn to purchase a Title to it then you spoil the freeness of the Gift The free Offer of Christ to you is sufficient to conferr upon you a Right yea to make it your Duty to receive Christ and his Salvation as yours and because we receive Christ by Faith as a free Gift therefore we may account Faith to be the Instrument and as it were the Hand whereby we receive him Fourthly It hath been already proved that all spiritual Life and Holiness is treasured up in the Fulness of Christ and communicated to us by Union with him therefore the accomplishing of Union with Christ is the first work of Saving Grace in our Hearts and Faith itself being an holy Grace and part of spiritual Life cannot be in us before the beginning of it but rather it is given to us and wrought in the very working of the Union And the way wherein it conduceth to the Union cannot be by procuring a meer Title to Christ as a Condition because then it should be performed before the uniting Work beginneth but rather by being an Instrument whereby we may actively receive and embrace Christ who is already come into the Soul to take possession of it his own Habitation True Saving-Faith such as I have described hath in its nature and manner of Operation a peculiar aptitude or fitness to receive Christ and his Salvation and to unite our Souls unto him and to furnish the Soul with a new holy Nature and to bring forth an holy Practice by Union and Fellowship with him God hath fitted natural Instruments for their Office as the Hands Feet c. so that we may know by their nature and natural manner of operation for what use they are designed In like manner we may know that Faith is an Instrument formed on purpose for our Union with Christ and Sanctification if we consider what a peculiar fitness it hath for the Work The discovery of this is of great use for the understanding of the mysterious manner of our receiving and practising all Holiness by Union and Fellowship with Christ By this precions Grace of Faith and to make you as it were to see with your Eyes that it is such an Instrument as I have asserted it to be I shall present it to your view
without any further ado and with Assurance that it is mine freely if I do it doubtingly I disparage the Honesty and Credit of the Donor as if he were not a Man of his Word In like manner if fearing to be too confident least we should believe a lie we should come to Christ doubtingly and in mere Suspense whether we shall be freely entertained after all Gods free Invitations and Promises should we not disparage the Faithfulness of God and should we not be guilty of making God a Liar as the Apostle John teacheth because of our not believing the Record which God gave of his Son and this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son 1 John 5.10 11. And what if the Salvation promised be not absolutely intended for all to whom the Gospel cometh it is enough that God giveth us his faithful Word that they that believe shall have it and none else and hath absolutely intended to fulfill his Word that none shall find it to be a lie to them and hath joyned Believing and Salvation together inseparably On this ground God may justly cause the Promise of this Salvation to be published to all and may justly require all to believe on him assuredly for their own Salvation that so it may appear whether they will give him the Glory of his Truth and if they will not he may justly reject them and punish them severely for dishonouring him by their Unbelief in this Case we must not look to the secret Decrees of God but to his revealed Promises and Command Thus God promised to the Israelites in the Wilderness that he would give them the Land of Canaan and would fight for them against their Enemies and required them not to fear or be discouraged that so the Promise might be fulfilled to them yet God never absolutely decreed or intended that those Israelites should enter in as the Event did quickly manifest Deut. 1.20 21 29.30 Yet were they not bound in this case to trust confidently in God to give them Victory over their Enemies and to give them the Possession of the Land had they not sufficient ground for such a Faith was it not just with God to consume them in the Wilderness for their Unbelief Let us therefore fear least a Promise being made of entring into this everlasting Rest through Christ we should come short of it and fall after the same Example of Unbelief Heb. 4.1 11. Fourthly The Professors of true Godliness that we read of through the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament did commonly profess their Assurance and Perswasion of their Interest in God and his Salvation and were directed by the word of God so to do and true Saints had still some true Assurance of it and we have no cause to judge that this Assurance was grounded on the certainty of their own good Qualifications but rather on the Promises of God by the direct Act of Faith We may judge of the ordinary Profession of the Frame of Spirit that was in Saints by some Instances I shall begin with the Profession that the Church made when it was very corrupt at its first coming out of Egypt when few of them could assure themselves by their own good Qualifications that they were in a state of Grace already which many now imagine to be the only way of Assurance Even in that corrupt Time the Children of Israel sung that triuphant Song of Moses The Lord is my strength and my song and he is become my salvation he is my God c. Exod. 15.2 Moses taught them in this Song to assure themselves of their own personal Interest in the Salvation and he guided them to the Practice of their Duty and they did not find fault with Moses as some do with Ministers in these Days for putting them to express more Confidence in their Song than they could find ground for in their Qualifications but they applied themselves to the exercise of their Faith agreeably to the Song and doubtless this Faith was unfeigned in some sew of them though but feigned in others for it is testified of them that then they believed his Words they sang his Praise Psal 106.12 Several other Psalms and Songs that were by divine Appointment in common Use under the Old Testament are as clear an Evidence as we can desire of that Assurance of Faith that was commonly professed and that People were generally bound to under the Old Testament as Psal 23. 27. 46. Many other Psalms or Expressions in Psalms might be alledged The Spirits of few in comparison could have throughly complyed with such Psalms though they were true Believers if all the Assurance of the Love of God must altogether depend upon the certain Knowledge of the sincerity of their own Hearts We have a great Cloud of Witnesses gathered out of the whole History of the Old Testament Heb. 11. who did and suffered and obtained great things by Faith whose Examples are produced on purpose that we may follow them in believing to the saving of our Souls Heb. 10.39 And if we consider these Examples particularly we shall find that many of them do evidently guide us to such a saving Faith as hath an Assurance of the Effect contained in the nature of it I confess we read several times of the Fears and Doubtings of the Saints under the Old Testament but we read also how their Faith opposed such Fears and Doubts and how they themselves condemned them as contrary to Faith as in the Psalms Psal 42.11 Psal 31.22 77.7 10. The most mournful Psalm in Scripture begins with an Expression of some Assurance Psal 88.1 And we may note that the Doubtings that we meet with of the Saints of old were commonly occasioned by some Extraordinary Affliction or some hainous Transgression not by common Failings or the common Original Depravation of Nature or the Uncertainty of their Election or any Thought that it is Humility to doubt and that they were not bound to be confident of Gods Salvation because then many might be bound to believe a Lie It is hard to find any of these Occasions of doubting under the Old Testament though they are grown so rise amongst us now under the New Testament In the time of the Apostles we may well expect that the Assurance of Faith grew higher because the Salvation of Christ was revealed and the Spirit of Adoption poured forth plentifully and the Church made free from its former Bondage under the terrifying Legal Covenant Paul could prove to primitive Christians by Appeals to their own Experience that they were the Children and Heirs of God because they had not received the Spirit of Bondage again to fear but the Spirit of Adoption whereby they cry Abba father the Spirit it self bearing witness with our spirits or beareth our spirits witness as the Syriaok and vulgar Latin render it and as the like Greek Phrase is rendred Rom. 9.1 That
any present interest in Christ and shall never attain unto Holiness or Happiness until they learn a better way of Religion 4. Think not that you can effectually encline your Heart to the immediate practice of Holiness by any such practical Principles as do only serve to bind press and urge you to the performance of holy Duties But rather let such Principles stir you up to go to Christ first by Faith that you may be effectually enclined to the immediate practice of Holiness in him by Gospel Principles that strengthen and enable you as well as oblige you thereunto There are some practical Principles that do only bind press and urge us to holy Duties by shewing the reasonableness equity and necessity of our Obedience without shewing at all how we that are by Nature dead in sin under the wrath of God may have any Strength and Ability for the performance of them As for Instance the Authority of God the Law-giver our absolute dependance on him as our Creator Preserver Governour in whose hand is our Life Breath and all our Happiness here and for ever His All-feeing Eye that searcheth our Heart discerneth our very Thoughts and secret Purposes his exact Justice in rendring to all according to their works his Almighty and Eternal Power to reward those that Obey him and to punish transgressors for ever The unspeakable Joy of Heaven and terrible Damnation of Hell Such Principles as these do bind our Consciences very strictly and do work very strongly upon the prevalent Affections of Hope and Fear to pross and urge our Hearts to the performance of holy Duties if we believe them assuredly and work them earnestly upon our Hearts by frequent serious lively Meditation And therefore some account them most forcible and effectual means to form any Vertue in the Soul and to bring it to immediate performance of any Duty tho never so difficult and that the Life of Faith consisteth principally in our living to God in Holiness by a constant Belief and Meditation on them And they account those things that serve to mind them of such Principles very effectual for Holiness as looking on the Picture of Death or on a Deaths-head keeping a Coffin by them ready made walking about among the Graves c. But this is not that manner of living to God whereof the Apostle speaketh when he saith I live yet not I but Christ that liveth in me and the Life that I live in the Flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me If a Man make use of these obliging Principles to stir him to go to Christ for Strength to Act holily he walketh like one that hath received Christ as his only Life by Faith otherwise he walketh like other Natural Men. For the Natural Man may be brought to Act by these Principles partly by Natural Light and more fully by Scripture-Light without any true knowledge of the way of Salvation by Christ and as if Christ had never come into the World And he may be strictly bound by them and vehemently urged and pressed to holy Duties and yet all this while is left to his own Natural Strength or Weakness being not assured by any of these Principles that God will give him Strength to help him in the performance of these Duties and can do nothing aright until he get new Life and Strength in Christ by a more precious saving Faith There would be no need of a new Life and Strength by Christ if these Principles were sufficient to bring us to a holy Conversation Therefore this manner of practice is no better than walking after the flesh according to our corrupt state and a seeking to be made perfect in the flesh No question but Paul was very diligent in it while he was a blind Pharisee Yea the Heathen Philosophers might attain to it in some measure by the Light of Common Reason The Devils have such Principles as they do believe assuredly yet they are never the better for them It s a part of that Natural Wisdom whereby the world knew not God not that Wisdom of God in a Mystery discovered in the Gospel which is the only sanctifying Wisdom and Power of God unto Salvation VVhat can you produce but corruption by pressing with Motives to Holiness one that hath no soundness in him from the sole of the foot even to the head only wounds and bruises and putrified sores He that is made truly sensible of his own vileness and deadness by Nature will despair of ever bringing himself to Holiness by Principles that afford him no Life and Strength but only lay an Obligation upon him and urge and press him to Duty What are meer Obligations to one that is dead in sin While the Soul is without spiritual Life sin is the more moved and enraged by pressing and urging upon the Soul the Obligations of the Law and its Commands The motions of sin are by the Law and sin taking occasion by the Commandment worketh in us all manner of Concupiscence Rom. 7.5 7 8. And yet these obliging Principles are very good and excellent in this right Gospel use of them as the Apostle saith of the Law that it is good if it be used lawfully 1 Tim. 1.7 The humbled sinner knoweth well his Obligations but it is Life and Strength that he wanteth and despaireth of walking according to such Obligations until he get this Life and Strength by Faith in Christ Therefore these obliging Principles do move him to go in the first place to Christ that so he may be enabled to answer their End by the strengthning and enlivening Principles of Gods Grace in Christ Some there are that make use of Gospel-Principles only to oblige and urge to Duty without affording any Life and Strength for the performance as they that think that Christ dyed and rose again to establish a New Covenant of Works for our Salvation and to give us a pattern of Good Works by his own Obedience rather than to purchase Life Obedience and good Works for us Such as these do not understand and receive the Principles of the Gospel rightly but they pervert and abuse them contrary to their true Nature and Design and thereby they render them as ineffectual for their Sanctification as any other natural or legal Principles 5. Stir up and strengthen your self to perform the Duties of Holiness by a firm perswasion of your enjoyment of Jesus Christ and all spiritual and everlasting Benefits through him Set not your selves upon the performance of the Law with any prevailing thoughts or apprehensions that you are yet without an Interest in Christ and the love of God through him under the Curse of the Law the power of Sin and Satan having no better Portion than this present World no better strength than that which is in the purposes and resolutions of your own Free-will While such thoughts as these prevail and influence your Actings its evident that you
judge that from the same cause proceedeth the continual Malice Rancour Rage Blasphemy of the Devil and many notorious wicked Men against God and Godliness Some may think Job uncharitable in suspecting not meerly that his Sons had sinned but that they had been so abominably wicked as to curse God in their Hearts Job 1.5 but Job well understood that if the guilt of any ordinary Sin lie upon the Conscience it will make the Soul to wish secretly that God were not or that he was not so just a Judge which is a secret Cursing of God that cannot be avoided until our Consciences be purged from the guilt of Sin by the offering of Christ for us which was then figured out by the Burnt-offerings of Job for his Sons Fifthly God hath abundantly discovered to us in his Word that his method in bringing Men from Sin to Holiness of Life is first to make them know that he loveth them and that their Sins are blotted out When he gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai he first discovered himself to be their God that had given them a sure Pledge of his Salvation by their Delivery from Egypt in the Preface Exod. 20.2 And during all the time of the Old Testament God was pleased to make the entrance into Religion to be by Circumcision which was not only a Sign but also a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith whereby God justifieth People while they are considered as ungodly Rom. 4.11.5 and this Seal was administred to Children of eight Days old before they could perform any Condition of sincere Obedience for their Justification that their Furniture for an holy Practice might be ready before hand Furthermore in the time of the Old Testament God appointed divers Washings and the Blood of Bulls and Goats and the Ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean to prepare and sanctifie them for other Parts of his Worship in his Tabernacle and Temple to figure out his purging of their Consciences from dead works by the Blood of Christ that they might serve the living God Heb. 9.9 10 13 14 22. This I say was then figurative Sanctification as the word Sanctification is taken in a large Sense comprehending all things that prepare us for the Service of God chiefly the Remission of Sin Heb. 10.10 14 18. Though if it be taken in a strict sence respecting only our Conformity to the Law it must necessarily be placed after Justification according to the usual Method of Protestant Divines God also minded them of the necessity of purging away their guilt first that their Service might be acceptable by commanding them to offer the Sin-offering before the Burnt-offering Levit. 5.8 and 16.3 11. And least the guilt of their Sins should pollute the Service of God notwithstanding all their particular Expiations God was pleased to appoint a general Atonement for all their Sins one day every Year wherein the Scape goat was to bear upon him all their Iniquities unto a Land not inhabited Levit. 16.22 34. Under the New Testament God useth the same Method in loving us first and washing us from our Sins by the Blood of Christ that he may make us Priests to offer the Sacrifices of Praise and all good Works to God even the Father He entreth us into his Service by washing away our sins in Baptism he seedeth and strengtheneth us for his Service by Remission of Sins given to us in the Blood of Christ at the Lord's Supper He exhorteth us to obey him because he hath already loved us and our Sins are already pardoned Forgive one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ hath loved us Ephes 4.32 and 5.1 2. I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven you for his name sake Love not the world neither the things of the world 1 Jo. 2.12 15. I might quote abundance of Texts of the same nature We may clearly see by all this that God hath accounted it a matter of great Importance and hath condescended to take wonderful care in providing plentiful means both under the Old and New Testament that his People might be first cleansed from guilt and reconciled to himself to fit them for the acceptable Practice of Holiness Away then with all the contrary Methods of the new Divinity The Third Endowment necessary to enable us for the Practice of Holiness without which a Perswasion of our Reconciliation with God would be of little efficacy to work in us a rational Propensity to it is that we be perswaded of our future Enjoyment of the everlasting heavenly Happiness This must precede our holy Practice as a cause disposing and alluring us to it This Affertion hath several sorts of Adversaries to oppose it some account that a Perswasion of our own future Happiness before we have persevered in sincere Obedience tendeth to Licentiousness and that the way to do good Works is rather to make them a Condition necessary for the procuring of this Perswasion Others condemn all Works that we are allured or stirred up to by the future Enjoyment of the heavenly Happiness as legal mercenary flowing from self-love and not from any pure Love to God and they figure out sincere Godliness by a Man bearing Fire in one hand to burn up Heaven and Water in the other to quench Hell intimating that the true Service of God must not proceed at all from hope of Reward or sear of Punishment but only from Love To establish the Truth asserted against these Errors that are so contrary to it and to each other I shall propose the ensuing Considerations First The nature of the Duties of the Law is such that they cannot be sincerely and universally practiced without this Endowment That this Endowment must be present in us is sufficiciently proved already by all that I have said concerning the necessity of the Perswasion of our firm Reconciliation with God by our Justification to prepare us for this Practice because that includeth a Perswasion of this future Happiness or else it is of little worth All that I have to add here is that sincere Obedience cannot rationally subsist except it be allured encouraged and supported by this Perswasion Let me therefore suppose a Sadducee believing no Happiness after this Life and put the Question Can such an one love God with his whole Heart Might and Soul Will he not think it reasonable rather to lessen and moderate his Love towards God lest he should be overmuch troubled to part with him by Death We account it most reasonable to sit loose in our Affections from things that we must part with Can such an one be satisfied with the Enjoyment of God as his Happiness Will he not rather account that the Enjoyment of God and all religious Duties are Vanities as well as other things because in a little time we shall have no more Benefit by them than if they had never been
and Soul is and the Spirits lively Instrument rather than the principal Cause Neither will a Believer be necessarily perfectin Holiness here by or Christ made a Sinner for Christ knoweth how to dwell in a Believer by certain measures and degrees and to make them holy so far only as he dwelleth in them And though this Union seem too high a Preferment for such unworthy Creatures as we are yet considering the preciousness of the Blood of God whereby we are redeemed we should dishonour God if we should not expect a miraculous Advancement to the highest Dignity that Creatures are capable of through the Merits of that Blood Neither is there any thing in this Union contrary to the Judgment of Sense because the Bond of the Union being Spiritual falleth not at all under the Judgment of Sense Several learned Men of late acknowledge no other Union betwixt Christ and Believers than such as persons or things wholly separated may have by their mutual relations each to other and accordingly they interpret the places of Scripture that speak of this Union When Christ is called the Head of the Church they account that a Political Head or Governour is the thing meant when Christ is said to be in his People and they in him they think that the proper meaning is that Christ's Law Doctrine Grace Salvation or that Godliness is in them and embraced by them so that Christ here must not be taken for Christ himself but for some other thing wrought in them by Christ When Christ and Believers are said to be one Spirit and one Flesh they understand it of the Agreement of their Minds and Affections as if the greatness of the Mystery of this Union mentioned Ephes 5.32 consisted rather in a harsh Hope or a dark improper Expression than in the depth and abstruceness of the thing it self and as if Christ and his Apostles had affected obscure intricate Expressions when they speak to this Church of things very plain and easie to be understood Thus that great Mystery the Union of Believers with Christ himself which is the Glory of the Church and hath been highly owned formerly both by the ancient Fathers and many eminent Protestant Divines particular Writers concerning the Doctrine of the Lord's Supper and by a very general Consent of the Church in many Ages is now exploded out of the new Model of Divinity The Reason of exploding it as I judge in Charity is not because our late learned Refiners of Divinity think themselves less able to defend it than the other two mysterious Unions and to silence the Objections of those proud Sophisters that will not believe what they cannot comprehend but rather because they account it to be one of the Sinnews of Antinomianism that lay unobserved in the former usual Doctrine that it tendeth to puff up Men with a Perswasion that they are justified and have eternal Life in them already and that they need not depend any longer upon their uncertain Performances of the Condition of sincere Obedience for Salvation whereby they account the very Foundation of a holy Practice to be subverted But the Wisdom of God hath laid another manner of Foundation for an holy Practice than they imagine of which this Union which the Builders refuse is a principal stone next to the head of the corner And in opposition to their corrupt Glosses upon the Scriptures that prove it I assert that our Union with Christ is the cause of our Subjection to Christ as a Political Head in all things and of the abiding of his Law Doctrine Grace Salvation and all Godliness in us and of our Agreement with him in our Minds and Affections and therefore it cannot be altogether the same thing with them And this Assertion is useful for a better Understanding of the Excellency of this Union It is not a Priviledge procured by our sincere Obedience and Holiness as some may imagine or a reward of good works reserved for us in another World but it is a Priviledge bestowed upon Believers in their very first entrance into an holy state on which all ability to do good works doth depend and all sincere Obedience to the Law doth follow after it as Fruit produced by it Having thus far explained the Direction I shall now shew that though the Truth contained in it be above the Search of Natural Reason yet it is evidently discovered to those that have their Understandings opened to discern that supernatural Revelation of the mysterious way of Sanctification which God hath given to us in the holy Scriptures First There are several Places in Scripture that do plainly express it some Texts shew thâ—â— all things pertaining to our salvation are treasured 〈◊〉 for us in Christ and comprehended in his fulness 〈◊〉 that we must have them thence or 〈◊〉 at all Col. 1.19 It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell And in the same Epistle Col. 2.11 12 13. The Apostle sheweth that the holy Nature whereby we live to God was first produced in him by his death and resurrection in whom also ye are circumcised in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh buried with him quickened together with him when you were dead in your sins Ephes 1.3 Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. An holy Frame of Spirit with all its necessary Qualifications must needs be comprehended here in all spiritual Blessings and these are given us in Christ's Person in heavenly places as prepared and treasured up in him for us while we are upon Earth and therefore we must have our holy Endowments out of him or not at all In this Text some chuse rather to read heavenly things as in the Margent because neither places nor things are expressed in the Original but the former textual reading is to be preferred before the Marginals as being the proper Sense of the Original Greek Phrase which is and must necessarily be so rendred in two other Places of this same Epistle Chap. 3.10 6.12 Another Text is 1 Cor. 1.30 which sheweth that Christ is of God made unto us Sanctification by which we are able to walk holily as well as wisely by the Wisdom of which we are savingly wise and Righteousness by the Imputation of which we are justified and Redemption whereby we are redeemed from all Misery to the Enjoyment of his Glory as our Happiness in the heavenly Kingdom Other Texts of Scripture shew plainly that we receive our Holiness out of his fulness by Fellowship with him Joh. 1.16 17. Of his fulness have we all received and grace for grace And it is understood of Grace answerable to the Law given by Moses which must needs include the Grace of Sanctification 1 Joh. 1.3 5 6 7. Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. God is Light if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another Hence
we may infer that our Fellowship with God and Christ doth include particularly our having Light and walking in it holily and righteously There are other Texts that reach the Proof of the whole Direction fully shewing not only that our holy Endowments are made ready first in Christ for us and receiv'd from but that we receive them by Union with Christ Col. 3.10 11. Ye have put on the new man which is renewed after the image of him that created him where Christ is all and in all 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit Gal. 2.20 I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me 1 Joh. 5.11 12. This is the recerd that God hath given to 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 Can we desire that God should more clearly teach us that all the fulness of the New Man is in Christ and all that spiritual nature and Life whereby we live to God in Holiness and that they are fixed in him so inseparably that we can not have them except we be joyned to him and have himself abiding in us Take heed lest through Prejudice and Hardness of Heart you be guilty of making God a Liar in not believing this eminent Record that God hath given to us of his Son Secondly God is pleased to illustrate this mysterious manner of our Sanctification by such variety of Similitudes and Resemblances as may put us out of doubt that it is Truth and such a Truth as we are highly concern'd to know and believe I shall endeavour to contract the chief of these Resemblances and the force of them briefly into one Sentence leaving it to those that are Spiritual to enlarge their Meditations upon them We receive from Christ a new holy frame and nature whereby we are enabled for an holy Practice by union and fellowship with him in like manner as Christ lived in our nature by the Father Joh. 6.57 As we receive original sin and death propagated to us from the first Adam Rom. 5.12 14 16 17. as the natural Body receiveth Sense Motion Nourishment from the Head Col. 2.19 As the Branch receiveth its Sap Juiceand fructifying Virtue from the Vine Jo. 15.4 5 As the Wife bringeth forth Fruit by Virtue of her Conjugal Union with her Husband Rom. 7.4 As Stones become an holy Temple by being built upon the Foundation and joyned with the chief corner-stone 1 Pet. 2. 4 5 6. As we receive the nourishing Virtue of Bread by eating it and of Wine by drinking it Joh. 6.51 55 57. Which last Resemblance is used to seal to us our Communion with Christ in the Lords Supper Hear are seven Resemblances instanced whereof some do illustrate the Mystery spoken of more fully than others all of them do some way intimate that our New Life and Holy Nature is first in Christ and then in us by a true proper Union and Fellowship with him If any should urge that the Similitude of Adam and his Seed and of married Couples do make rather for a Relative than a real Union betwixt Christ and us let them consider that all Nations are really made of one Blood which was first in Adam Acts 17.26 and that the first Woman was made out of the Body of Adam and was really bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and by this first married Couple the mystical Union of Christ and his Church is eminently resembled Gen. 2.22 23 24. with Ephes 5.30 31 32. And yet it supposeth both these Resemblances in the nearness and fulness of it because those that are joyned to the Lord are not only one Flesh but one Spirit with him Thirdly The end of Christ's Incarnation Death and Resurrection was to prepare and form an holy Nature and Frame for us in himself to be communicated to us by Union and Fellowship with him and not to enable us to produce in our selves the first Original of such an holy Nature by our own Endeavours By his Incarnation there was a Man created in a new holy Frame after the Holiness of the first Adam's Frame had been marred and abolished by the first Transgression and this new Frame was far more excellent than ever the first Adam's was because Man was really joyned to God by a close inseparable Union of the divine and humane Nature in one Person of Christ so that these Natures had Communion each with other in their Actings and Christ was able to act in his humane Nature by Power proper to the divine Nature wherein he was one God with the Father The words that he spake while he was upon Earth he spoke not of himself by any meer humane Power but the Father that dwelt in him he did the Works Joh. 14.10 Why was it that Christ set up the fallen Nature of Man in such a wonderful Frame of Holiness in bringing of it to live and act by Communion with God living and acting in it One great End was that he might communicate this excellent Frame to his Seed that should be born of him and in him by his Spirit as the last Adam the quickning Spirit that as we have born the Image of the earthly Man so we might also bear the Image of the heavenly 1 Cor. 15.45 49. in Holiness here and in Glory hereafter Thus he was born Emanuel God with us because the fulness of the Godhead with all Holiness did first dwell in him bodily even in his humane Nature that we might be filled up with that fulness in him Mat. 1.23 Col. 2.9 10. Thus he came down from Heaven as living Bread that as he liveth by the Father so those that eat him may live by him Joh. 6.51 56. By the same Life of God in them that was first in him By his Death he freed himself from the Guilt of our Sins imputed to him and from all that innocent Weakness of his humane Nature which he has born for a time for our sakes And by freeing himself he prepared a Freedom for us from our whole natural Condition which is both weak as his was and also polluted with our Guilt and sinful Corruption Thus the corrupt natural State which is called in Scripture the Old Man was crucified together with Christ that the Body of Sin might be destroyed And it is destroyed in us not by any Wounds that we our selves can give to it but by our partaking of that Freedom from it and Death unto it that is already wrought out for us by the Death of Christ as is signified by our Baptism wherein we are buried with Christ by the Application of his Death to us Rom. 6.2 3 4 10 11. God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful Flesh for Sin or by a Sacrifice for Sin as in the Margent condemned Sin in the Flesh that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us that walk not after the Flesh but
that we may live And they plead not for doing of Duties as obliged thereunto by the Authority of the Law given of God by Moses but only in obedience to the Commands of Christ in the Gospel Neither do they plead for Salvation by sincere Obedience without Christ but only by Christ and through his Merit and Righteousness and they acknowledge that both Salvation itself and sincere Obedience are given to them freely by the Grace of Christ so that all is of Grace They acknowledge also that their Salvation is by Faith because sincere Obedience is wrought in them by believing the Gospel and is included in he nature of that Faith which is the entire Condition of our Salvation And some call it the resignating Act of Faith but all these Reasons are but a fallacious Vizard upon a legal way of Salvation to make it look like pure Gospel as I shall evince by the following particulars First All that seek Salvation by the sincere performance of good Works as the procuring Condition are condemned by the Apostle Paul for seeking Righteousness by the Works of the Law and not by Faith Rom. 9.32 and for seeking to be justified by the Law and falling from the Grace of Christ Gal. 5.4 This one Assertion if it can be proved is enough to pluck off the fallacious Vizard from the Condition of sincere Obedience and to make men abhor it as a damning legal Doctrine that bereaveth its Followers of all Salvation by Christ And the proof of it is not difficult to persons that warily consider a point of so great moment for their Salvation The Jews and Judaizing Christians against whom the Apostle chiefly disputeth in this whole Controversie did not profess any hope of being justified by perfect Obedience according to the rigour of the Law but only by such Obedience as they accounted to be sincere and not hypocritical And we have no cause to doubt but that the Judaizing Galatians had learned by the Gospel to distinguish sincere Obedience from Hypocrisie The Jewish Religion bound all that professed it to acknowledge themselves to be Sinners as appeareth by their anniversary Humiliation at the day of atonement and several other Rights of the Law and many clear Testimonies in the Oracles of God that were committed to them Psal 143.2 Prov. 10.9 Eccles 7.20 Yet they knew they were bound to turn to the Lord with all their Hearts in Sincerity and Uprightness and that God would accept of sincere Obedience for which Cause they might better put it for the Condition of the Law than we can of the Gospel Psal 51.6 10. Deut. 6.5 Deut. 30.10 So that if the Apostle had disputed against those that held only perfect Obedience to be the Condition of Justification he had contended with his own shadow And they might as readily judge sincere obedience to be the condition of Justification under the Law as we can judge it to be the condition under the Gospel Neither doth the Apostle condemn them meerly for accounting sincere Obedience to the Law as given by Moses to be the Condition of their Justification but more generally for seeking Salvation by their own Works And he alledgeth against them That Abrabam who lived before the Law of Moses was not justified by any of his Works though he did perform sincere Obedience and that David who lived under the Law of Moses was not justified by his Works though he performed sincere Obedience and was as much bound to obey the Law given by Moses as we are to obey any Commands of Christ in the Gospel Rom. 4.2 3 5 6. Neither doth he condemn them for seeking their Salvation only by Works without respecting at all the Grace and Salvation that is by Christ for the Judaizing Galatians were yet Professors of the Grace and Salvation of Christ though they thought Obedience to the Law a necessary Condition for the partaking of it as also many other Judaising Believers did And doubtless they accounted themselves obliged thereunto not only by the Authority of Moses but of Christ also whom they owned as their Lord and Saviour And we may be sure it was no damning Error to account Moses's Law obliging at that time for many thousands of the Jews that were sound Believers held the Ceremonies of Moses to be in force at that time and Paul was tender towards them in it Acts 20.20 21. Acts 15.5 And other Jews sought Justification not only by their sincere Works but also by trusting on the Promise made to Abraham and on their Priesthood and Sacrifices which were Types of Christ And the most legal Pharisees would thank God for their good Works as proceeding from his Grace Luke 18.11 And they could as well acknowledge their Salvation to be by Faith as the Assertors of Salvation by sincere Obedience can in these days for they accounted that their sincere Obedience was wrought in them by believing the Word of God which contained Gospel as well as legal Doctrin in it and therefore that it must be included in the nature of Faith if Faith were taken for the Condition of their whole Salvation Let the Assertors of the Condition of sincere Obedience learn from hence that they are building again that Judaism which the Apostle Paul destroyed whereby the Jews stumbled at Christ Rom. 9.32 And the Galatians were in danger of falling from Christ and Grace Gal. 5.2 4. And let them beware of falling under that Curse which he hath denounced on this very occasion against any Man or Angel that shall preach any other Gospel than that which he hath preached Gal. 1.8 9. Secondly The difference betwixt the Law and Gospel doth not at all consist in this that the one requireth perfect doing the other only sincere doing but in this that the one requireth doing the other no doing but believing for Life and Salvation Their terms are different not only in degree but in their whole nature The Apostle Paul opposeth the Believing required in the Gospel to all doing for Life as the Condition proper to the Law Gal. 3.12 The Law is not of Faith but the man that doth them shall live in them Rom. 4.5 To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his Faith is counted for righteousness If we seek Salvation by never so easie and mild a Condition of Works we do thereby bring our selves under the Terms of the Law and do become Debtors to fulfill the whole Law in perfection though we intended to engage our selves only to fulsill it in part Gal. 5.3 for the Law is a compleat Declaration of the only Terms whereby God will judge all that are not brought to despair of procuring Salvation by any of their own Works and to receive it as a Gift freely given to them by the Grace of God in Christ So that all that seek Salvation right or wrong knowingly or ignorantly by any works less or more whether invented by their own Superstition or commanded of God in
Can any Man rationally expect strength to obey sincerely by following a Doctrine that doth not so much as promise it The true Gospel is of a more benign Nature For it promiseth that God would pour out of his spirit upon all flesh Acts 2.17 And will put his law in our mind and write them in our bearts Heb. 8.10 And will cause us to walk in his statutes that we shall keep his judgments and do them Ezeck 36.27 This word of God's Grace that requireth not Holiness of us as a Condition but promiseth it to us as a Free-gift must needs be the only Doctrine that is able to build us up and to give us an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified Acts 20.32 Seeing it pleaseth God to bring us to Holiness by believing a Doctrine we may reasonably expect that God should work upon us suitably to the nature of the Doctrine which we believe that he should give by a giving Doctrine and exact by an exacting Doctrine 4thly The way of procuring Life and Happiness by the condition of perfect or sincere Works is not a rational method for the Recovery of fallen Man though it were good for the preserving of Life before the Fall it prescribeth the immediate Practice of Holiness to recover a Man dead in Sin As if one should say to the sick of the Palsie Arise up and walk and then you shall be whole and able to walk We sometimes say jestingly to a Child that is fallen on the ground Come hither and I will help thee up but if we should say to one that is cast on his Bed by a dead Palsie we should be guilty of mocking and cruel insulting over the Afflicted Those that are humbled and made sensible of their original Sin and natural Deadness know that they must first live by the Spirit before they can act holily Gal 5.25 They will enquire How shall we have strength to perform the Duty required If you answer that they must trust in God and Christ to help them they may readily reply They have no sure Ground to trust on God or Christ for any saving Grace according to this Doctrine before they have performed this Condition at least in a sincere Resolution of Obedience and that they are as unable to bring their Hearts to such a Resolution as a dead Man is to raise himself out of the Grave Take another Instance the method of the Doctrine of Works is you must love God first and then on that Condition he will love you again whereas on the contrary we love God because he loved us first 1 Joh. 4.19 and if God suspend his Love to us upon any condition our Love to him will not be absolute but suspended upon the same condition and no way contrary to an actual hating of him 5thly The Law is so far from healing our sinful Corruption that it proveth rather an Occasion of sinful motions and actings in those that seek Salvation by the Works of it This cometh to pass by reason of the Power of our natural Corruption which is stirred up and rageth the more when the holy and just Law of God is set in opposition against it so that the fault is not in the Law but in our own hearts Those that find not this by their own Experience should believe the Apostle Paul who teacheth it plainly and that from his own Experience Rom. 7.5 to the 14. He affirmeth that there are motions of Sin by the Law in a fleshly State and that Sin taketh occasion by the Commandment Thou shalt not covet wrought in him all manner of Concupiscence deceived him flew him became exceeding sinful and that without the Law he was alive and sin dead but when the Commandment came Sin revived and he died He sheweth that the cause of this irreconcileable enmity and contrariety betwixt his sinful Nature and the Law the law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin Take notice here that the Reason given by the Apostle that the Doctrine of Salvation by sincere Obedience will have the same event Corrupt Nature is contrary to sincere Obedience as well as perfect and if we make it the condition of our Salvation Sin will take the same occasion by it to become exceeding sinful in its motions and actings The Success of legal Doctrine upon the natural Man is according to the Proverb Reprove not a scorner lest he hate thee Prov. 9.8 Rebuking a mad Man is the way to enrage him and such is the natural Man in spiritual things since he fell out of his right Mind by the Sin of Adam We find by manifold Experience that though Men be generally addicted to the Principle of Salvation by Works yet multitudes of of them hate all strict Preachers and Professors of true Holiness because they are a Torment to their Consciences They endeavour to shelter themselves in Ignorance of the Law accounting that the less they know the less they shall answer for and therefore they would not have right things prophesied unto them Is 30.10 And they have prevailed generally in the World to darken the natural knowledge of moral Duties in such a Degree that there is a necessity of learning them by divine Revelation out of the Scriptures We may find how prone Legal-writers are to corrupt the Sense of the Law that they may leave starting holes for their Corruptions by the corrupt Glosses of the Scribes and Pharisees from which Christ did vindicate it Matth. 5. And as far as I have observed none more endeavour to discover the Purity and Perfection of the Law than those that seek Holiness and Salvation without any Legal Condition by the meer Free grace of God in Christ The Doctrine of Salvation by sincere Obedience is but a mincing of the Perfection required in the Law and yet how is this Doctrine minced again and again until it be come so small that the Substance of all true Obedience is lost without any farther Practice of Holiness A willingness to be saved according to Christ's terms or a Consent that Christ should be our Lord or a Resolution to obey his Commandments which is little more than ignorant men trust on when they say that they hope God will save them because they have a good meaning tho' they live in the neglect of all Religion shall pass with many for enough sincere Obedience both to enter them into a State of Salvation and to continue them in it so that they shall never be accounted Breakers of the Gospel-covenant while so much can be pretended The most that is made necessary for Salvation shall be only to endeavour to do what we can to obey Christ's Commands tho' all that the most can do is nothing that is truly good Those that have a little more Zeal for their Salvation by Works are prone to spend it in superstitious Observances because they suit better with their carnal Nature than the spiritual Commands of God and Christ I doubt not but this
Sinai-covenant would have proved to them an occasion of no Happiness but only of sin Despair and Destruction Of it self it was only a killing Letter the ministration of death and condemnation and therefore it is now abolished 2 Cor. 3.6 8 9 11. We have cause to praise God for delivering his Church by the Blood of Christ from this Yoke of Bondage and we have cause to abhor the Device of those that would lay upon us a more grievous and terrible Yoke by turning our very New covenant into a Covenant of sincere works and leaving us no such better Covenant as the Israelites had under their Yoke to relieve us in our Extremity DIRECTION VII We are not to imagine that our hearts and lives must be changed from Sin to Holiness in any measure before we may safely venture to trust on Christ for the sure Enjoyment of himself and his Salvation .. EXPLICATION WE are naturally so prone to ground our Salvation upon our own works that if we cannot make them procuring Conditions and Causes of our Salvation by Christ yet we shall endeavour at least to make them necessary Preparatives to fit us for receiving Christ and his Salvation by Faith And Men are easily perswaded that this is not at all contrary to Salvation by Free-grace because all that is hereby ascribed to our works or good Qualifications is only that they put usin a sit posture to receive a Free gift If we were to go to a Prince for a Free gist good Manners and due Reverence would teach us to trim our selves first and to change our slovenly Clothes as Joseph did when he came out of the Dungeon into the presence of Pharaoh It seemeth to be an impudent slighting and contemning the Justice and Holiness of God and Christ and an insufferable affront and indignity offer'd to the divine Majesty when any dare presume to approach into his Presence in the nasty pickle of his Sins covered all over with putrifying Sores not at all clo'sd boundeup or cleansed much more when they endeavour to receive the most holy One into such an abominable stinking Kennel as a Sinners heart is before it be at all reformed The Parable concerning the Man that was to be bound hand and foot and cast into outer Darkness for coming to the Royal Wedding without a Wedding garment seemeth to be intended as a Warning against all such Presumption Mat. 22.11 13. Many that behold with terrour the abominable Filth of their own hearts are kept off from coming immediately to Christ by such Imaginations which Satan strongly maintaineth and increaseth in them by his Suggestions so that they can by no means be perswaded out of them until God teacheth them inwardly by the powerful Illumination of his Spirit they delay the saving act of Faith because they account that they are not yet duly prepared and qualified for it On the same Account many weak Believers delay coming to the Lord's Supper for many Years together even as long as they live in this World and would be as likely to delay their Baptism if they had not been baptized in Infancy Against all such Imaginations I shall propose the following Considerations First This Error is pernicious to the Practice of Holiness and to our whole Salvation in the same manner with that treated of in the foregoing Direction and may be confuted by the same Arguments which are there produced whether Holiness be made a procuring Condition of our Salvation through Christ or only a Condition necessary to qualifie us for the Reception of Christ we are equally brought under those Legal terms of doing first the Duties required in the Law that so we may live Therefore we are equally bereaved of the Assistance of those means of Holiness mentioned in the foregoing Directions as Union and Fellowship with Christ and the Enjoyment of all his sanctifying Endowments by Faith which should go before the Practice of Holiness that they may enable us for it and we are equally left to labour in vain for Holiness while we are in our cursed natural State whereby our sinsul Corruption will be rather exasperated than mortified so that we shall never be duly prepared for the reception of Christ as long as we live in the world Thus while we endeavour to prepare our way to Christ by holy Qualifications we do rather fill it with stumbling-blocks and deep pits whereby our Souls are hindered from ever attaining to the Salvation of Christ 2dly Any the least change of our hearts and lives from Sin to Holiness before our receiving of Christ and his Salvation by Faith is not at all necessary according to the Terms of the Gospel nor required by any one Syllable in the Word of God Christ would have the vilest Sinners come to him for Salvation immediately without delaying the time to prepare themselves for him When the wicked Jaylor enquired what he must do to be saved Paul directed him forthwith to believe on Christ with a Promise that in so doing he should be saved and straitway he and all his were baptized Acts 16.30 33. Paul doth not tell him that he must reform his heart and life first though he was in a very nasty pickle at that time having but a little before fastened Paul and Silas in the Stocks and newly attempted an horrid wilful self-murder Those three thousand Jews that were converted by Peter's Preaching and added the same day to the Church by Baptism Acts 2.41 seemed to have as much need of some considerable time to prepare themselves for receiving of Christ as others because they had but lately polluted themselves with the Murder of Christ himself v. 23. Christ commands his Servants to go out quickly into the Streets and Lanes of the City and to bring in to his Feast the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind yea to go out into the high ways and to compel them to come in without allowing them to tarry away until they had cleansed the sores and shifted off their filthy rags and swarms of lice Christ would have us to believe on him that justifieth the ungodly and therefore he doth not require us to be godly before we believe Rom. 4.5 He came as a Physician for the Sick and doth not expect that they should recover their Health in the least degree before they come to him Mat. 9.12 The vilest Sinners are fitly prepared and qualified for this Design which is to shew forth the exceeding riches of Grace pardoning our sins and saving us freely Eph. 2.5 7. For this end the Law of Moses entered that the offence might abound that so where sin abounded grace might much more abound Rom. 5.20 He loved us in our most loathsom sinful Pollution so as to die for us and much more will he love us in it so as to receive us when we come to him for the purchased Salvation He hath given full satisfaction to the Justice of God for sinners that they might have all
we must perceive it to make us love him for if we look upon him as a God contrary to us that hateth us and will damn us our own innate Self-love will breed hatred and heart-risings against him in spite of our Hearts that love which is the end of the Law must flow from Faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1.5 And if Hatred work in thee more than Love how canst thou expect good thoughts of God or any other than blaspheming or at least murmuring thoughts of him in this condition ill-will never speaketh or thinketh well The first right holy Thoughts thou canst have of God are thoughts of his Grace and Mercy to thy Soul in Christ which are included in the Grace of Faith Get these thoughts first by believing in Christ and they will breed in thee love to God and all good thoughts of him and free thee from blasphemous and murmuring Thoughts by degrees for love thinks no evil 1 Cor. 13.9 Then wilt thou be able to account God just and merciful if he had damned thee and extended his Grace to others and thou wilt be able to think well of his Holiness and of his Decrees which many cannot endure to hear of The way to get rid of thy raging Lusts is by Faith that purifieth the Heart and worketh by Love Act. 15.9 Gal. 5.6 The Soul must be brought to take pleasure in God and Christ by Faith or else it will lust after fleshly and worldly Pleasures and the more you strive against Lusts without Faith the more they are stirred up though you prevail so far as to restrain the fulfilling of them beg a holy Fear of God with fear of coming short of the promised Rest through unbelief Heb. 4.1 Such a Fear is an Ingredient of Faith and it will breed in us a reverential yea a Child-like fear of God and his Goodness Heb. 12.28 Hos 3.5 We must have Grace whereby we may serve God with Reverence c. It is in the Margent we must have or hold fast Grace and there is no other way to hold fast Grace but by Faith and this will quickly calm all pannick and tormenting Horror And if you would be free from carelesness and slightning the Wrath of God your way is first to avoid dispairing by believing for People grow careless by dispairing and for their own quiet they will endeavour to slight Evils which they have no hope to prevent according to the Proverb Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die 1 Cor. 15.32 True Humiliation for Sin is either a part or fruit of Faith for on our believing we shall remember our own evil ways and doings that were not good and shall loath our selves in our own sight for all our Abominations Ezek. 36.31 We shall also then willingly renounce our own Righteousness and account it but dung that we may win Christ by Faith Phil. 3.7 8. But Beggars will make the most of all their nasty Rags till they be furnished with better Cloaths and Cripples will not cast away their Crutches until they have a better support to lean on Godly Sorrow for Sin is wrought in us by believing the pardoning Grace of God as it is found by experience that a Pardon from a Prince will sometimes sooner draw tears from a stubborn Malefactor than the fear of a Halter will thus the sinful Woman was brought to wash Christ's Feet with her Tears Luke 7.37 38. We are not like to be sorry for grieving God with our Sins while we look upon him as an enemy that will ease himself well enough of his burthen and right himself upon us by our everlasting destruction The belief of God's pardoning and accepting Grace is a necessary means to bring us to an ingenuous Confession of Sins The People freely confessed their sins when they were baptized of John in Jordan for the remission of sins Mark 1.4 5. The Confession of Despairers is forced like the extorted Confessions and Cryings out of Malefactors upon the Rack A Pardon sooner openeth the Mouth to an ingenuous Confession than confess and be hanged or confess and be damned therefore if you would freely confess your sins believe first that God is faithful and just to forgive your sins through Christ 1 Joh. 1.9 And if you would pray to God or praise him with lively Affections you must first believe that God will hear you and give you what is best for you for Christ's sake Joh. 16.23 24. otherwise your praying will be only from the Teeth outward for how shall you call on him on whom you have not believed Rom. 10.14 You must come first to Christ the Altar by Faith that by him you may offer the Sacrifice of Praise to God continually Heb. 13.10 15. Finally to pass from Particulars to the general Assertion laid down in the Direction if you ask What shall we do that we may work the Works of God or get any saving Qualifications I must direct you first to Faith as the Work of Works and the great saving Preparatory to all good Qualifications by answering in our Saviour's words This is the Work of God that ye believe in him whom he hath sent Joh. 6.28 29. DIRECT VIII Be sure to seek for Holiness of Heart and Life only in its due order where God hath placed it after Vnion with Christ Justification and the Gift of the Holy Ghost and in that order seek it earnestly by Faith as a very necessary part of your Salvation EXPLICATION I Hope the Reader will observe warily in all these Directions that the Holiness aimed at as the great End in the whole Discourse consisteth not in the Grace or Act of Faith required peculiarly by the Gospel which though it be a saving Gift of Christ yet is here considered rather as a means precedent to the Reception of Christ and all his Salvation then a part of his Salvation received But the Holiness aimed at consisteth in Conformity to the whole Moral Law to which we are naturally obliged if their had never been any Gospel or any such Duty as believing in Christ for Salvation Now in this Direction three Things are contained that are very necessary to guide us to the attainment of this great End and therefore worthy of our serious Consideration First It is a Matter of high concern to be acquainted with the due Place and Order wherein God hath settled this holy Practice in the Mystery of our Salvation and a great Point of Christian Wisdom to seek it only in that order we know that God is the God of Order and that his infinite Wisdom hath appeared in appointing the Order of his Creatures which we are forced to observe for attainment of our ends in worldly things so also in Spiritual things God hath made an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure 2 Sam. 23.5 the Benefits of it have an orderly dependence each upon other as Links of the same golden Chain though several of them and a Title to them
the Spirit whereby we are made good Trees that we may bring forth good Fruit. Though they are given before the sincere Practice of the Law yet they are not given to us in our corrupt sinful Nature but in and with the new holy Nature which immediately produceth a holy Practice though it must necessarily go before as the Cause before the Effect and they are no other than Comforts of those spiritual Benefits by which our new Estate and Nature is produced and of which it is constituted and made up as the Comforts of Redemption Justification Adoption the Gift of the Spirit and the like Neither do I intend here any Transport or Ravishment of Joy and Delight but only such manner of Comfort as rationally strengthens in some measure against the Oppression of Fear Grief and Despair which we are liable unto by reason of our natural Sinfulness and Misery This Explanation of the Sense of my Assertion is sufficient to answer some common Objections against it and I hope the Truth of it will be fully evidenced by the following Arguments First This Truth is a clear Consectary from those Principles of Holiness that have been already confirmed I have shewed that we must have a good Perswasion of our Reconciliation with God and of our Happiness in Heaven and of our sufficient Strength both to will and to do that which is acceptable to God through Jesus Christ that we may be rationally inclined and bent to the Practice of Holiness and that these Endowments must be had by receiving of Christ himself with his Spirit and all his Fulness by trusting on him for all his Salvation as he is freely promised to us in the Gospel and that by this Faith we do as really receive Christ as our Food by eating and drinking Now let right Reason judge can we be perswaded of the Love of God of our everlasting Happiness and our Strength to serve God and yet be without any Comforts Can the glad Tidings of the Gospel of Peace be believed and Christ and his Spirit actually believed into the Heart without any Relief to the Soul from oppressing Fear Grief Despair Can the Salvation of Christ be comfortless or the Bread and Water of Life without any sweet Relish to those that feed on him with hungring and thirsting Appetites God will not give such Benefits as these to those that do not desire and esteem them above the World and certainly the very receiving of them will be comfortable to such except they receive them blindfold which they cannot do when the very giving and bestowing of them openeth the Eyes of a Sinner and turns him from Darkness to Light whereby he doth at least in some measure see and perceive Spiritually the things that concern his present and future Peace and reap some encouraging and strengthning Comfort thereby to the Practice of Holiness Secondly Peace Joy Hope are recommended to us in Scripture as the Spring of other holy Duties and Fear and oppressing Grief forbidden as Hinderances to true Religion The peace of God keepeth our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus Phil. 4.7 Be ye not sorry for the joy of the Lord is your strength Nehem. 8.10 Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure 1 John 3.3 Fear hath torment he that feareth is not made perfect in Love 1 John 4.18 This is the Reason why the Apostle doubleth his Exhortation to rejoyce in the Lord always as a Duty of exceeding weight and necessity Phil. 4.4 What are such Duties but Comfort it self and can we think that these Duties are necessary to our continuance in an holy Practice and yet not to the beginning of it where the Work is most difficult and Encouragement most needful Therefore we must make haste in the first place to get a comfortable Frame of Spirit if we would make hastâ— and not delay to keep Gods holy Commandments Thirdly The usual Method of Gospel-Doctrine as it is delivered to us in the holy Scriptures is first to comfort our Hearts and thereby to establish us in every good Word and Work 2 Thess 2.17 And it appears how clearly this method is adjusted in several Epistles written by the Apostles wherein they first acquaint the Churches with the rich Grace of God toward them in Christ and the spiritual Blessings which they are made Partakers of for their strong Consolation and then they exhort them to an holy Conversation answerable to such Priviledges and it is not only the Method of whole Epistles but of many particular Exhortations to Duty wherein the comfortable Benefits of the Grace of God in Christ are made use of as Arguments and Motives to stir up the Saints to a holy Practice which comfortable Benefits must be first believed and the Comfort of them applyed to our own Souls or else they will not be forcible to engage us to the Practice for which they are intended To give you a few Instances out of a Multitude that might be alledged we are exhorted to practice holy Duties because we are dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6.11 And because sin shall not have dominion over us for we are not under the law but under grace Rom. 6.14 Because we are not in the flesh but in the spirit and God will quicken our mortal bodies by his spirit dwelling in us Rom. 8.9.11 12. Because our bodies are the members of Christ and the temples of the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6.15 19. Because God hath made him sin for us who knew no sin that we might be the righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5.20 21. And hath promised that he will dwell in us and walk in us and be to us a Father and we shall be to him sons and daughters 2 Cor. 7.1 Because God hath forgiven us for Ghrist's sake and accounteth us his dear children and Christ hath loved us and given himself for us and we that were sometimes darkned are now lightened in the Lord Ephes 4.32 5.1 2 8. Because we are risen with Christ and when Christ who is our Life shall appear then we shall also appear with him in glory Col. 3.1.4 Because God hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Heb. 13.5 Because of the many promises made to us 2 Cor. 7.1 Search the Scriptures and you may with delight see that is this the Vein that runneth through Gospel Exhortations and you may find the like Vein of Comfort running through the Prophetical Exhortations in the Old Testament Some may object that the Apostles used this Method in their Writings to Saints that had practised Holiness already that so they might continue and increase therein But to that I may easily reply If it be a Method needful for grown Saints much more then for Beginners that find the Work of Obedience most difficult and have most need of strong Consolation and I hope to shew how we may be able to lay hold
this be truly believed it will exclude Doubtfulness concerning your Salvation Secondly Several places of Scripture declare positively and expresly that we are to be assured of our Salvation in that Faith whereby we are justified and saved I shall produce some Instances We are exhorted to draw near to God with full assurance of faith Heb. 10.22 Many apply this Text to that which they call the reflect Act of Faith because they imagine that all Assurance must needs be by Reflection but the Words of the Text do clearly teach us to understand it of that Act of Faith whereby we draw near to God that is the direct Act and it is that very Faith whereby the Just do live even justifying saving Faith verse 38. And this Assurance must be full at least in the true and proper Nature of it in Opposition unto mere Doubtfulness and Uncertainty though we are yet further to labour for that which is full in the highest Degree of Perfection And the same Faith whereby we are exhorted to draw nigh unto God and whereby the Just liveth is a little after Chap. 11.1 affirmed to be the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Why should saving Faith have these high Titles and Attributes given to it if it did not contain in it a sure Perswasion of the great things of our Salvation hoped for which maketh them to be evident to the Eyes of our Mind as if they were already present in their Substance though yet not visible to our bodily Eyes that Faith whereby we are made Partakers of Christ and to be Christ's House must be worthy to be called Confidence and accompanied with reioycing Hope Whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end Heb. 3.6.14 What is Confidence concerning any thing but trusting concerning it with a firm Perswasion of the Truth of it If we have only a strong Opinion concerning a thing without any absolute certainty we use to say that we are not altogether confident of it The Faith whereby we are justified must be in a measure like to the Faith whereby Abraham against Hope believed in Hope that his Seed should certainly be multiplyed according to the Promise of God though by reason of the Deadness of his own Body and of Sarah's Womb he could have no Evidence from his own Qualifications to assure himself of it but all Appearances were rather to the contrary as the Apostle teacheth clearly Rom. 4.18 19 23.24 As absolute as this Promise was thus made Abraham yet it was not to be fulfilled without this Assurance of Faith and by the like Faith the free Promises of Salvation by Christ will be absolutely fulfilled to us The Apostle James expresly requireth that we should ask good things of God in Faith nothing doubting which includeth Assurance manifestly and he telleth us plainly that without it a Man ought not to think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord therefore we may firmly conclude that without it we shall not receive the Salvation of Christ James 1.6 7. And that which the Apostle James requireth us not to doubt of is the obtaining the things that we ask as we may learn from an Instruction to the same purpose given to us by Christ himself What things soever ye desire when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them Mark 11.24 More places of Scripture might be alledged to the same purpose but these are sufficient to evince that we are bound to assure our selves of our Salvation in Faith it self or else we are never likely to enjoy it and that it is not Humility but rather proud Disobedience to live in a state of mere Suspense and Doubtfulness concerning our Salvation and that this Assurance must be in the direct Act of Faith whereby we are justified and saved For as for that which is called the Reflect Act of Faith it is a certain Truth and generally owned that it is not absolutely necessary to Salvation to any and that it is sinful and pernicious to many to believe that they are already entred into a state of Grace and Salvation Thirdly God giveth us sufficient ground in Scripture to come to Christ with confident Faith at the very first trusting assuredly that Christ and his Salvation shall be given to us without any Failing and Delay however vile and sinful our Condition hath been hitherto The Scripture speaketh to the vilest Sinners in such a manner as if it were framed on purpose to beget Assurance of Salvation in them immediately Acts 2.39 Chap. 3.26 This Promise is unversal That whosoever believeth on Christ shall not be ashamed without making a Difference between Jew and Greek Rom. 10.11 12. And this Promise is confirmed by the Blood of Christ who was given for the World and lifted up upon the Cross for this very end that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life John 3.14 15 16. His Invitation is free to any If any man thirst let him come to me and drink and this Drink is promised to every one that believeth John 7.37 39. The Command of believing is propounded not only in general but in particular and the Promise of Salvation upon believing is also applyed personally and that to such as have been hitherto in a state of Sin and Wrath as to the wicked persecuting self-murdering Jaylor Acts 16.31 Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved and thine house God commanded them that walked altogether in Sin hitherto to call him their own Father in their very first returning Jer. 3.4 So Hos 2.23 God saith he will say Thou art my people and they shall say Thou art my God confidently averring their personal Interest in him God hath joyned Confidence and Salvation inseparably together In returning and rest ye shall be saved in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength Isai 30.15 What a poor slender Use and Improvement do many make of these Discoveries of the rich Grace of God towards Sinners who say that if we see that we have performed the Condition of believing then we may take Christ confidently as our own they skip over the first and principal Use they ought to make of them the very Performance of the Condition is to take Christ as our own immediately and to eat him and drink him by believing consiently on him for our Salvation If an honest rich Man say to a poor Woman I promise to be thy Husband if thou wilt have me say but the Word and I am thine may not she presently answer confidently Then thou art my Husband and I claim thee for my Husband and should she not rather say so then say I believe not what thou sayest If an honest Man say Do but take this Gift and it is your own do but eat and drink and you are freely welcome may not I take the Gift and eat and drink at first
foregoing Directions That Faith in Christ is the Duty with which a holy Life is to begin and by which the Foundation of all other holy Duties is laid in the Soul It is before sufficiently proved That Christ himself with all Endowments necessary to enable us to an holy practice is received actually into our hearts by Faith This is the uniting Grace whereby the Spirit of God knitteth the knot of mystical Marriage betwixt Christ and us and maketh us Branches of that noble Vine Members of that Body joyned to that excellent Head living Stones of the spiritual Temple built upon the precious living Corner-stone and sure Foundation partakers of the Bread and Drink that came down from Heaven and giveth Life to the World This is the Grace whereby we pass from our corrupt natural State to a new holy State in Christ also from Death in Sin to Life in Righteousness and whereby we are comforted that so we may be established in every good Word and Work If we put the Question what must we do that we may work the works of God Christ resolveth it That we believe on him whom he hath sent Joh. 6.28 29. He putteth us first upon the work of believing which is the work of God by way of eminence the work of works because all other good works proceed from it The scope of the present Direction is to put you upon the performance of this great work of believing on Christ and to guide you therein for which end you are to consider distinctly four things contained in it 1. The first is you are to make it your diligent endeavour to perform the great work of Believing on Christ Many make little Conscience of this Duty It is not known by Natural Light as many moral Duties are but only by supernatural Revelation in the Gospel and it is foolishness to the natural Man These are sometimes terrified with apprehensions of other sins and will examine themselves concerning them and it may be will write them down to help their Memories and Devotion but the great sin of not believing on Christ is seldom thought of in their self-examinations or registred in the large Catalogues of their sins and even those who are convinced that Believing on Christ is a Duty necessary to Salvation do neglect all diligent endeavours to perform it Either because they account that it is a motion of the heart which may be easily performed at any time without any labour or diligent endeavour or on the contrary because they account it as difficult as all the works of the Law and utterly impossible for them to perform by their most diligent endeavours except the Spirit of God work it in them by its mighty power And that therefore it is in vain for them to work until they feel this working of the Spirit in their Hearts Or because they account it a Duty so peculiar to the Elect that it would be presumption for them to endeavour the performance of it until they know themselves to be elected to Eternal Life through Christ I shall urge you to a diligent performance of this Duty notwithstanding all these Impediments by the following consideration It is worthy of our best endeavours as appeareth by the preciousness excellency and necessity of it already discovered If the Light of Nature were not darkned in the matters of Salvation then it would shew us that we cannot of our selves find out the way of Salvation and would condemn those that despise that Revelation of the way of Salvation that God hath given us in the Gospel declared in all the holy Scriptures The great end of Preaching the Gospel is for the Obedience of Faith Rom. 1.5 that so we may be brought to Christ and all other Obedience yea the great end of all revealed Doctrines in the whole Scriptures is to make us wise to Salvation by Faith that is in Christ Jesus 2 Cor. 3.15 The end of the Law given by Moses was for Righteousness to every one that believeth Rom. 10.4 and Christ was that end for Righteousness The moral Law it self was revealed in order to our Salvation by believing on Christ or else the knowledge of it had nothing availed fallen Man that was unable to perform it Therefore they that slight the Duty of Believing and count it foolishness do thereby slight despise and villisie the whole Counsel of God revealed in the Scripture The Law and the Gospel and Christ himself are become of none effect to the Salvation of such the only fruit that such an one can attain to of all the saving Doctrines of the Scripture is only some hypocritical moral Duties and slavish performances which will be as filthy rags in the sight of God in the great day However many mind not the sin of unbelief in their self-examinations and write it not in their Scrouls yet let them know that this is the most pernicious sin of all All the sins in their Scrouls would not prevail to their Condemnation yea they would not prevail in their Conversation were it not for their unbelief This one sin prevailing maketh it impossible for them to please God in any Duty whatsoever Heb. 11.6 If you will not mind this one main sin now God will at last mind you of it with a Vengeance For He that believeth not on the Son shall not see Life but the wrath of God abideth on him Joh. 3.36 The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven in flaming fire taking Vengeance on those that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Thes 1.5 2. Believing on Christ is a work that will require diligent endeavour and labour for the performance of it we must labour to enter into that rest lest any man fall by unbelief Heb. 4.11 we must shew diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end that we may be followers of them who through Faith and Patience inherited the promises Heb. 6.11 12. It is a work that requireth the exercise of Might and Power and therefore we have need to be strengthned with might by the Spirit in the inward Man that Christ may dwell in our hearts by Faith Eph. 3.16 17. I confess it is easie pleasant and delicious in its own nature because it is a motion of the heart without any cumbersome bodily Labour and it is a taking Christ and his Salvation as our own which is very comfortable and delightful and the Soul is carried forth in this by Love to Christ and his happiness which is an Affection which maketh even hard works easie and pleasant yet it is made difficult to us by reason of the opposition that it meeteth withall from our own inward Corruptions and from Satans temptations It is no easie matter to receive Christ as our happiness and true Salvation with true confidence and lively affection when the guilt of sin lyeth heavily upon the Conscience and the wrath of God manifested by the Word and terrible Judgments especially when we have been
past and gone Joh. 3.8 we must therefore begin the work before we know that the Spirit doth or will work in us savingly And we shall be willing to set upon the work if we Believe for thy People shall be willing in the day of thy Power Psal 110.3 It is enough that God discovereth to us before-hand in the Gospel what Faith is and the ground we have to Believe on Christ for our own Salvation and that God requireth this Duty of us and will help us in the performance of it if we apply our selves heartily thereunto Fear not I command thee to be strong and of good courage Josh 1. Arise and be doing and the Lord will be with thee 1 Chron. 22.16 Therefore whoso receiveth this Gospel-discovery as the Word of God in hearty Love is taught by the Spirit and will certainly come to Christ by Believing Joh. 6.45 Every one that receiveth it not despiseth God maketh him a lyar and deserveth justly to perish for his Unbelief 4. Tho the Spirit worketh saving Faith only in the Elect and others believe not because they are not of Christ's Sheep Joh. 10.26 and on that account its called the Faith of Gods Elect Tit. 1.1 yet all that hear the Gospel are obliged to the Duty of Believing as well as to all the Duties of the moral Law and that before they know their own particular Election and they are lyable to Condemnation for Unbelief as well as for any other sin He that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed on the Navie of the only begotten Son of God Joh. 3.18 The Apostle Paul sheweth That the Elect Israelites obtained Salvation and the rest that were not Elected were blinded and yet even these were broken off from the good Olive-tree because of their Unbelief Rom. 11.7 20. We cannot have a certain knowledge of our Election to Eternal Life before we do Believe it is a thing hidden in the unsearchable Counsel of God until it be manifest by our effectual Calling and Believing on Christ The Apostle knew the Election of the Thessalonians by sinding the evidence of their Faith that the Gospel came to them not in Word only but also in Power and in the Holy Ghost and in much Assurance and that they had received the Word in much affliction with joy in the Holy Ghost 1 Thes 1.4 5 6. We are to see our Calling if we would find out that God hath chosen us 1 Cor. 1.26 27. therefore we must Believe on Christ before we know our Election or else we shall never know it and shall never Believe and it is no presumption for us to trust confidently on Christ for Everlasting Life before we have any good evidence of our Election because God that cannot Lye hath made a general promise That whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed without making the least difference among them that perform this Duty Rom. 10.11 12. The Promise is as firm and sure to be fulfilled as any of Gods Decrees and Purposes and therefore it is a good and sufficient ground for our Confidence It is certain that all that the Father hath given to Christ by the Decrees of Eternal Election shall come to Christ And it is as really certain that Christ will in no wise cast out any that cometh to him whosoever he be Joh. 6.37 And we need not fear that we shall infringe God's Decree of Election by Believing on Christ confidently for our Salvation before we know what God hath decreed concerning us For if we Believe we shall at last be found among the number of the Elect. And if we refuse to Believe we shall thereby wilfully sort our selves among the Reprobates that stumble at the Word being disobedient whereunto also they are appointed 1 Pet. 2.8 I shall add further that tho we have no Evidence of our particular Election before we Believe yet we are to trust on Christ assuredly to make it evident to us by giving us that Salvation which is the peculiar Portion of the Elect only All spiritual saving Blessings wherewith God blesseth his People in Christ are the peculiar Portion of them whom God hath chosen in Christ before the foundation of the World Eph. 1.3 4. yet we must necessarily trust on Christ for those saving Blessings or have none at all We are to pray in Faith nothing doubting that God will remember us with the favour that he beareth to his People that we may see the good of his Chosen and glory with his Inheritance Psal 106.4 5. therefore we are to trust assuredly on God that he will deal with us as his Chosen People Thus it appeareth that it is not presumption but your bounden Duty to apply your selves to the great work of Believing on Christ for Salvation without questioning at all before-hand whether you are Elected or no Secret things belong to God but those things that are revealed belong unto us that we may do them Deut. 29.29 The second thing directed to is that you should endeavour for a right manner of performing this Duty This is a point of great concernment because the want of it will render your Faith ineffectual to Sanctification and Salvation The great Duty of Love which is the end of the Law and the principal fruit of Sanctification must flow from Faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1.5 There is a feigned Faith that doth not really receive Christ into the Heart and will not produce Love or any true Obedience such as Simon Magus had Acts 8.13.23 for notwithstanding his Faith he was in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity And such as those Jews had to whom Christ would not commit himself who did not confess him lest they should be put out of the Synagogue Joh. 2.23 and 12.42 and such as the Apostle James speak of What doth it profit you my Brethren if a man say he have Faith and have not Works Can that Faith save him The Devils also believe and tremble Jam. 2.14 19. Take heed therefore lest you deceive your Souls with a counterfeit Faith instead of the precious Faith of God's Elect. The way to distinguish the one from the other is by considering well what is the right manner of that Believing which is effectaal to Salvation Hypocrites may perform the same Works for the matter with true Saints but they are defective in the manner of performance wherein the excellency of the Work doth chiefly consist One great reason why many strive to enter in at the strait Gate and are not able is because they are ignorant and defective in the right manner of Acting this Faith whereby they are to enter Now I confess that God only is able to guide us effectually in the right way of Believing and we have this great Consolation when we see our own folly and proneness to mistake our way that if we heartily desire and endeavour to Believe on Christ aright we may considently trust on Christ to guide
with them and rather the Devils sin than theirs because they are hurried into them sore against their wills but if their Hearts be somewhat polluted with them Christ testifieth that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven besides blasphemy against the Holy Ghost Mat. 10.31 And as for those that are guilty of Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost the reason why they are never forgiven is not because of any want of sufficiency in the Blood of Christ or in the pardoning mercy of God but because they never repent of that sin and never seek to God for mercy through Christ but continue obstinate until Death for the Scripture testifieth that it is impossible to renew them again by Repentance Heb. 6.5 6. So that the Merits of Christ are sufficient for all that seek to him for mercy by Believing There are others that despair of ever getting any Victory over their Lusts because they have formerly made many Vows and Resolutions and have used many vigorous Endeavours against them in vain such are to persuade themselves that the Grace of Christ is sufficient for them when all other means have failed as the Woman that had the Issue of Blood and was nothing bettered but rather grew worse by any Remedies that Physicians could prescribe yet persuadeth her self that if she might but touch the Cloths of Christ she should be whole Mar. 5.25 28. Those that despair by reason of the greatness of their Guilt and Corruption do greatly dishonour and undervalue the Grace of God his infinite mercy and the infinite merits of Christ's Blood and power of his Spirit and deserve to perish with Cain and Judas Abundance of People that give up themselves to all Licentiousness in this wicked Generation lye under secret Despair which maketh them so desperate in Swearing Blaspheming Whoring Drunkenness and all manner of Wickedness How horrid and hainous soever our sins and corruptions have bin we should learn to account them a small matter in comparison to the Grace of Christ who is God as well as Man and offered himself by the Eternal Spirit as a Sacrifice of an infinite Value for our Salvation and can create anew as easily as he created the World by a word speaking 4. You are to be fully perswaded of the Truth of the General Free Promise in your own particular case that if you believe on Christ sincerely you shall have everlasting Life as well as any other in the World without performing any condition of Works to procure an Interest in Christ For the Promise is Universal Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashanted Rom. 9.32 without any Exception and if God exclude you not you must not exclude your selves but rather conclude peremptorily that how Vile Wicked and Unworthy soever you be yet if you come you shall be accepted as well as any other in the World you are to believe the great Article of the Creed the Remission of Sins in your own case when you are principally concerned or else it will little profit you to believe it in the case of others This is that which hinders many broken wounded Spirits from coming to the great Physician when they are convinced of the abominable Filthiness of their Hearts that they are dead in Sin without the least spark of true Grace and Holiness in them they think that it is in vain for such as they are to trust on Christ for Salvation and that Christ will never save such as they are why so They can be but lost Creatures at worst and Christ came to seek and save those that are lost If they that are Dead in Sin cannot be saved then all must Despair and Perish for none have any Spiritual Life until they receive it by Believing on Christ Some think themselves to be worse than any others and that none have such wicked Hearts as they and tho others be accepted yet they shall be rejected but they should know that Christ came to save the Chiefest of Sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 and that the design of God is to shew the exceeding Riches of his Grace in our Salvation Eph. 2.7 which is most glorified by pardoning the greatest Sinners and it is but our ignorance to think our selves like no Body for all others as well as we are naturally Dead in Trespasses and Sins their Mind is Enmity to God and is not subject to his Law nor can be Rom. 8.8 and every Imagination of the Thoughts of their Hearts are only evil and continually so Gen. 6.5 they have all the same corrupt Fountain of all Abominations in their Hearts tho we may have exceeded many others in several actual Sins Others think that they have out-staid their time and therefore now they should find no place for Repentance tho they should seek it carefully with Tears Heb. 12. but Behold now is 〈◊〉 accepted time now the day of Salvation 2 Cor. 6. ◠even as long as God calleth upon you by the Gospel And altho Esau was rejected that sought rather the Earthly than Spiritual Blessings of the Birth-right yet they shall not be rejected that seek the Enjoyment of Christ and his Salvation as their only Happiness If you come into Christ's Vinyard at the eleventh Hour of the day you shall have your Penny as well as those that come early in the Morning because the Reward is of Grace and not of Merit Matt. 20.9 10. and here you must be sure to believe stedfastly that Christ and all his Salvation is bestowed as a Free Gift upon those that do not work to procure any Right or Title to him or meetness or worthiness to receive him but only believe on him that justifieth the ungodly Rom. 4.5 if you put any condition of Works or good Qualifications betwixt your selves and Christ it will be a Partition wall that you can never climb over 5. You are to believe assuredly that it is the Will of God that you should Believe in Christ and have Eternal Life by him as well as any other and that your Believing is a Duty very acceptable to God and that he will help you as well as any other in this work because he calleth and commandeth you by the Gospel to Believe in Christ This maketh us to set carefully upon the work of Believing as when Jesus commanded the blind Man to be called they said unto him Be of good comfort and rise he calleth thee Mat. 10.29 A Command of Christ made Peter to walk upon the Water Mat. 14.29 And here we are not to meddle with Gods secret of Predestination or the purpose of his Will to give the Grace of Faith to some rather than others but only with his revealed Will in his gracious Invitations and Commands by which we are required to Believe on Christ This Will of God is confirmed by his Oath As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner but that the wicked turn from his way and live Turn ye turn ye
from your evil ways for why will ye die O house of Israel Ezek. 33.11 Christ testifieth that he would often have gathered the Children of Jerusalem as a hen c. and they would not Mat. 23.37 And the Apostle Paul testifieth that God will have all men to be saved c. 1 Tim. 1.4 you are to reject and abandon all thoughts that are contrary to this persuasion What if few be saved Thy Salvation will not make the number too great for few will follow thee in the Duty of Believing What if the Wrath of God be revealed from Heaven against thee in many terrible Judgments and the Word and thine own Conscience condemn thee and Christ seem to reckon thee no better than a Dog as he did the Woman of Canaan Mat. 15.26 Thou art to make a good interpretation of all these things that the end of them is to drive thee to Christ as this was the End of the Curses of the Law and all the terrible Dispensations of them Rom. 10.4 If a Prophet or Angel from Heaven sent of God on purpose to declare that the Sentence of Everlasting Damnation is declared against thee it would be thy Duty to believe that God sent him to give thee timely warning for this very end that thou mightest Believe and turn to God by Faith and Repentance Jeremiah prophesied against the Jews that God would pluck them up pull them down and destroy them for their sins yet he himself taught them If they turned from their evil ways God would repent of the evil Jer. 18.7 8 11. Jonah preached nothing but certain Destruction of Nineveh to be executed upon them within 40 days Chap. 3.4 yet the intent of that terrible message was that those Heathenish People might escape Destruction by Repentance The most absolute and peremptory denunciations of Divine Vengeance against us while we are in this World must be always understood with a secret reserve of Salvation for us upon our Faith and Repentance And we are to account that the reason why God doth so terribly denounce his Judgments against us by his Word is that we may escape them by flying for Refuge to his free Mercy in Christ Take heed of fostering any thoughts that God hath absolutely decreed to shew no saving Mercy to you or that you have already committed the unpardonable sin or that it is in vain for you to attempt the work of Believing because God will not help you in it If such thoughts prevail in your hearts they will do you more hurt than the worst blasphemous thoughts that terrifie you or any of the grossest Abominations that ever you were guilty of because they obstruct your Believing on Christ for Salvation The Spirit and the Bride say Come Christ saith Whosoever will let him take of the water of Life freely Rev. 22.17 Therefore we are to abandon all thoughts that hinder our coming to Christ as very sinful and pernicious arising in us from our own Corruptions and Satan's Delusions and utterly opposite to the mind of Christ and teachings of the Spirit and what ground can we have to entertain such unbelieving thoughts Hath God made us of his Privy-Council that we should be able to know that God hath decreed us to Damnation before it be manifest by our final unbelief and impenitence As for the unpardonable sin it consisteth in renouncing the way of Salvation by Christ with the whole heart after we have attained to the knowledge of it and are convinced of the Truth of it by the Gospel It s the sin that the Christian Hebrews would have bin guilty of if they had revolted from Christianity to the Religion of the unbelieving Jews that accounted Christ to be an Impostor and were most rancorous persecutors of him and his ways Heb. 6.4 5. They that have committed that sin continue implacable malicious Enemies to Christ and his ways to the end without any repentance Therefore if you can but find that you desire seriously to get an interest in Christ and to be better Christians than you are if you be troubled and grieved that your Hearts and Lives are so wicked and that you want Faith Love and true Obedience yea if your Hearts be not maliciously bent to persecute the Gospel and prefer Atheism Licentiousness or any false Religion before it you have no cause to suspect your selves to be guilty of this unpardonable sin 6. Add to all these a full persuasion of the incomparable glorious Excellency of Christ and of the way of Salvation by him You are to esteem the enjoyment of Christ as the only Salvation and true happiness and such an happiness as hath in it unsearchable Riches of Glory and will make our Cup to run over with exceeding abundance of Peace and Joy and full of Glory to all Eternity We must account all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord c. Phil. 3.8 Incline your Wills and Affections to choose and embrace Christ as the Chief Good and never to rest satisfied without the Enjoyment of him and to reject every thing that stands in Competition with him or the Enjoyment of him Christ is precious in the esteem of all true Believers 1 Pet. 2.7 Their high esteem of his incomparable preciousness and excellency induceth them to sell all that they may buy this Pearl of great price Mat. 13.46 this maketh them to say Lord evermore give us of this Bread that cometh down from Heaven and giveth Life to the World Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the Words of Eternal Life Joh. 6.32 33 68. because of the savour of his good Ointments his Name is as Ointment poured forth therefore do the Virgins love him Cant. 1.3 They are sick of love to him because he is in their Eyes the chiefest of ten thousand Cant. 5.8 10. As the Glory of God that appeared in the wonderful Beauty of the Temple and in the Wisdom and Glory of Solomon drew Worshipers to God from the utmost parts of the Earth so the unparallel'd excellency of Christ which was prefigured by the Glory of Solomon and the Temple doth more powerfully draw Believers in these Gospel-days The Devil who is the God of this World knows how necessary it is for our Salvation to discern all the Glory and Excellency of Christ and therefore where the Gospel is preached he maketh it his great work to Eclypse the Glory of Christ in the Ministry and to blind the minds of the People lest the Light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine into them 2 Cor. 4.4 One that is convinced of the truth of the Gospel may be averse to the embracing of it until he see also the goodness of it that Christ is altogether lovely and excellent I come now to the second principal Act of Faith whereby Christ himself and his Spirit and all his saving Benefits are actually received into the Heart which is Believing on Christ as revealed and freely
mis-spending the precious time of their Health and Strength which is most meet for the performance of this great Work They highly provoke God never to give them Time or Grace to Repent hereafter Others imagine that after they have heard the Gospel of Salvation by Christ they may lawfully defer the Believing of it until they have sufficiently examined the Truth of some other different Doctrin or until God be pleased to afford them some other means to assure them fully of the Truth of the Gospel Thus they that are called Seekers mis-spend the day of Grace ever learning but never coming to the knowledg of the Truth 2 Tim. 3.7 But the Truth of the Gospel doth so clearly evidence its self by its own Light That if People do not wilfully shut their Eyes or blind themselves by their own Pride and love of their Lusts they would easily perceive that it is the Truth of God because the Image of his Grace Mercy Power Justice and Holiness appears manifestly engraven upon it It is a sign People are Proud when they consent not to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Doctrine which is according to Godliness 1 Tim. 6.3 If they were humble and sincerely inclined to do the Will of God they would know whether the Doctrine be of God or no Joh. 7.17 They would quickly be persuaded of the Truth by Moses and the Prophets Christ and the Apostles spoken to them in the Scripture and if they will not hear them neither will they not be persuaded tho one rose from the dead or whatever other Miracle be wrought to confirm the Divine Authority of the Gospel Luke 16.31 Another sort of People there are that delay the great work of Believing to the ruin of their Souls upon the outward means of Grace and Salvation instead of any endeavours to receive Christ by Faith tho they be convinced of the Truth of the Gospel This they call waiting upon God at the doors of his Grace and Salvation in the use of Means appointed by him and sitting under the droppings of the Sanctuary But let them know that this is not the right waiting on God required in Scripture it is rather disobedience to God and to the Name of his appointment which requires that we should be doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving our selves Jam. 1.22 and that we should come in to the spiritual Feast Luke 14.23 and not only stand at the door or sit under the droppings of the House of God lest Christ repute us no better than eve-droppers That holy waiting on the Lord commended to us in Scripture is ever accompanied with Believing and Hoping in the Lord and dependeth thereon I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living Psal 23.13 14. It is good that a Man should both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord Lam. 3.26 What is it that these deluded ones wait for before they perform the Duty of Believing Is it for more knowledge of the Gospel The way to encrease thy Knowledge as well as any other Talent is to make use of what thou hast received already Believe heartily on Christ for all thy Salvation according to that little knowledge of the Gospel which thou hast and thou wilt have an interest in the promise of knowledge contained in the New Covenant They shall all know me from the least to the greatest of them saith the Lord Jer. 31.34 Is it for the appointed time of thy Conversion that thou waitest then thou waitest as those impotent folk lay at the Pool of Bethesda waiting for the Season when the Angel would come down and move the Water know then that if thou enter into Christ now by Faith thou shalt find in him Waters of Life and the Spirit moving them for the Healing and Quickning of thy Soul God hath appointed by his Word that it shall be thy Duty to endeavour that the present time should be the time of thy Conversion as the Holy Ghost saith To day if thou wilt hear his Voice harden not thy Heart Heb. 3.7 8. and thou shalt never know at what time God hath purposed in his Secret Counsel to give Faith to thee until thou dost actually believe Dost thou wait for any Manifestations or Flowings in of Gods saving Love to thy Soul Then the way to obtain it is to believe that the God of Peace may sill thee with all Joy and Peace in Believing Rom. 15.13 Thou hast sufficient Manifestation of Gods Love to thy Soul by the free Promises of Life and Salvation by Christ do but trust on the Name of the Lord and stay upon thy God when thou walkest in Darkness and seest no Light of sensible Comforts any other way Otherwise thou waitest for Comfort in vain and this thou shalt have at the Lords hand thou shalt lye down in Sorrow Isa 50.10 11. Dost thou wait for any Qualifications to prepare thee for the work of Believing If they be good and Holy Qualifications thou canst not have them before Faith but they are either included in the Nature of Faith or they are Fruits of it as hath been largely proved If they be bad and Sinful it 's strange that any should wait for them and yet no more strange than true Some foolishly wait to be terrified with the Sense of Gods Wrath and despairing Thoughts and these they call the Pangs of the New Birth tho in their own Nature they are rather the Pangs of the Spiritual Death and bring forth Hatred to God rather than Holiness and therefore we should strive to prevent them by believing Gods Love in Christ rather than to wait for them It is true that God maketh these despairing Thoughts as well as other Sins work for good to them that are delivered from them by Faith in Christ they are moved thereby to hate Sin and to prize Christ the more and the Comforts of his Gospel and to loath and abhor themselves yet many are brought to Christ without them by Gods giving them the knowledge of their own Sins and of Christ's Salvation together several Examples of these were above mentioned who received the Word with Joy at the first hearing of it And we must not desire or wait for any evil of Sin such as these despairing thoughts are that good may come of it Neither should we expect to be worse before we be better when we may and ought to be better presently by believing on Christ 4. In the direction it is that we should continue and increase in the most Holy Faith and that we may we must not think that when we have once attained to the Grace of saving Faith and thereby are begotten anew in Christ our Names are up in Heaven and perfect we may lye in Bed till Noon but as long as we continue in this Life we must endeavour to continue in the Faith grounded and setled not moved away from the
or New Testament which is the Ministration of the Spirit and the Power of God unto Salvation 2 Cor. 3.6 8. Rom. 1.16 7. For the performance of other Duties of the Law you are to consider not only these Endowments Priviledges and Properties of their new State which are meet and forcible to enable you to the Love of God and Universal Obedience but also those that have a peculiar force and aptitude suitable to the special Nature of such Duties And you must endeavour to assure your selves of them by Faith that you may be encouraged and strengthned to perform the Duties I shall give you some instances of this manner of practice in several Duties whereby you may the better understand how to guide your selves in the rest And as to the Duties of the first Table if you would draw near to God in a Duty of his Worship with a true Heart you must do it in full assurance of Faith concerning your enjoyment of Christ and his Salvation And would you perform the great Duty of trusting on the Lord with all your Heart easting your Care upon him and committing the disposal of your self to him in all your Concerns Perswade your self through Christ that God according to his Promise will never fail you nor forsake you that he taketh a Fatherly Care of you that he will with-hold no good thing from you and will make all things to work for your Good And thus you will be strong and couragious in the practice of this Duty Whereas if you live in a meer suspence concerning your Interest in the Priviledges you will be subject to carnal fears carping cares in despite of your Heart and you will be prone to trust on the Arm of Flesh tho your Conscience tell you plainly that in so doing you incur the hainous guilt of Idolatry Would you be strengthned to submit to the hand of God with a chearful Patience in bearing any Affliction and Death it self The way to fortifie your selves is to Believe assuredly that your Afflictions that are but for a moment do work for you a far more exceeding eternal weight of Glory that Christ is your gain in death and life that his Grace is sufficient for you and his strength made perfect in your weakness and that he will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able and will at last make you more than Conquerours over all evil Until you attain to such perswasions as these you will be prone to fret and murmur under the burden of Affliction and to use indirect means to deliver your selves notwithstanding the clearest Convictions to the contrary Would you limit your selves to the Observation of Gods own Institutions in his Worship Believe that you are compleat in Christ and have all perfection of spiritual Blessings in him and that God will build you up in Christ by the Ordinances of his own Appointment This will make you account his Ordinances sufficient and Mens Traditions and Inventions needless in the Worship of God Whereas if you do not apprehend all fulness in Christ you will be like the Papists prone to catch at every Straw and to multiply Superstitious Observations without end for the supply of your spiritual Wants Would you confess your sins to God pray to him and praise him heartily for his Benefits Would you praise him for Afflictions as well as Prosperity Believe assuredly that God is Faithful and Just to forgive your sin through Christ that you are made an Holy Priesthood to offer spiritual Sacrisices of Prayer and Praises that are acceptable to God through Christ and that God heareth your Prayers and will fulfill them so far as they are good for you and that all Gods ways are Mercy and Truth toward you whether he prosper or afflict you in this life If you be altogether in doubt or otherwise perswaded concerning these Priviledges all your Confessions Prayers and Praises will be but heartless Lip-labours Slavish or Pharisaical Works In like manner you will be enabled to hear and receive the Word as the Word of God and to meditate on it with delight and you will be willing to know the strictness and spirituality of the Commands of God and to try and examine your ways impartially by them if you believe assuredly that the Word is the Power of God to Salvation and that Christ is your great Physician willing and able to heal you be the case never so bad And where your sin abounds his Grace towards you doth so much the more abound Whereas without these Comfortable Apprehensions all the works of Hearing Meditation Self-examination will be but uncouth heartless Works and they will be performed negligently and by halves or hypocritically and out of slavish Fear with much reluctancy without any good will or readiness of mind So also for the right receiving of the Sacraments you will find your selves much strengthned by Believing that you may have Communion with God and Christ in them and that you have a great High-Priest to bear the Iniquity of your holy things and to make you for ever accepted before the Lord. In the same way you are to apply your selves to all Duties towards your Neighbour required in the second Table of the Law by Acting in a perswasion of such priviledges of your new Estate as have a peculiar force to encourage and strengthen you for the performance of them That you may love your Neighbour as your self and do to him in all things as you would he should do to you without partiality and self-seeking that you may give him his due Honour and abstain from injuring him in his Life Chastity worldly Estate good Name or from Coveting any thing that is his according to the several Commands in the second Table of the Decalogue You must walk in a perswasion not only that these things are just and equitable toward your Fellow-Creatures and that you are strictly bound to the performance of them but that they are the will of your heavenly Father that hath begotten you according to his own Image in Righteousness and true Holiness and hath given you his Spirit that you may be like-minded to him in all things And that they are the mind of Christ who dwelleth in you and you in him That God and Christ are kind tender-hearted long-suffering full of goodness to Men whether good or bad Friends or Enemies Poor or Rich and that Christ came into the World not to destroy but to save and that you are of the same Spirit that the Injuries done to you by your Neighbours can do you no harm And you need not seek any good for your selves by injuring them because you have all desirable happiness in Christ and all things tho intended by your Enemies for your hurt certainly work for your good through Christ Such apprehensions as these wrought in us by the Spirit of Faith do certainly beget in us a right frame of Spirit throughly furnished for every good work towards our Neighbour
bring us at last to perfection of Holiness through Jesus Christ our Lord. And we should carefully observe in all things that good Lesson of the Apostle not to think of our selves more highly than we ought to think but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every Man the measure of Faith Rom. 12.3 DIRECT XIII Endeavour diligently to make the right use of all meansappointed in the word of God for the obtaining and practising of Holiness only in this way of believing in Christ and walking in him according to your new State by Faith EXPLICATION THis might have been added to the Instructions in the Explication of the former Direction because its Use is the same to guide us in the mysterious manner of practising Holiness in Christ by the life of Faith but the weight and comprehensiveness of it maketh it worthy to be treated of by it self as a distinct Direction Two things are observable in it First That though all Holiness be effectually attained unto by the life of Faith in Christ yet the use of any means appointed in the Word for attaining and promoting Holiness is not hereby made void but rather established This is needful to be observed against the Pride and Ignorance of some carnal Gospellers that being puft up with a Conceit of their feigned Faith imagine themselves to be in such a state of Perfection that they are above all Ordinances except singing Halelujahs And also against the Papists that run into the contrary Extream by heaping together a multiude of means of Holiness which God never commanded neither ever came they into his Heart and that Slander the Protestant Doctrin of Faith and Free Grace as if it tended to destroy all diligent use of the means of Holiness and Salvation and to breed up a company of lazy Solifidians We do indeed assert and profess that a true and lively Faith in Christ is alone sufficient and effectual through the Grace of God to receive Christ and all his Fulness so far as is necessary in this Life for our Justification Sanctification and eternal Salvation But yet we also assert and profess that several means are appointed of God for the Begetting Maintaining and Increasing of this Faith and the Acting and Exercising of it in order to the attainment of its End and that these means are to be used diligently which are mention'd in the Sequel True Believers find by Experience that their Faith needeth such Helps and they that think themselves above any need of them do reject the Counsel of God against themselves like to those Prond Pharisees and Lawyers that thought it a thing beneath them and refused to be baptized of John Luk. 7.30 yet we account no means necessary or lawful to be used for the attainment of Holiness besides they that are appointed by God in his Word We know that Holiness is a Part of our Salvation and therefore they that think that Men may or can invent any means effectual for the attainment of it do ascribe their Salvation partly to Men and rob God of his Glory in being our only Saviour and they do thereby plainly shew That though they draw nigh unto God with their mouth and honour him with their lips yet their hearts are far from him and in vain do they worship him teaching for Doctrins the commandments of men Mat. 15.7 8 9. The Second thing observable and principally design'd in this Direction is the right manner of using all the means of Holiness for the obtaining and practising of it in no other way besides that of believing in Christ and walking in him according to our new State by Faith which hath been already demonstrated to be the only way whereby we may effectually attain to this great End We must use them as helps to the life of Faith in its Beginning Continuance and Growth and as Instruments subservient to Faith the principal Instrument in all its Acts and Exercises whereby the Soul receiveth Christ and walketh in all Holiness by him We must beware lest we use them rather in Opposition than in Subordination to the way of Sanctification and Salvation by Free Grace in Christ through Faith and lest by our Abuse of them they be made rather Hindrances than Helps to our Faith We must not Idolize any of the means and put them into the place of Christ as the Papists do by trusting in them as if they were effectual to conferr Grace to the Soul by the work that is done in the use of them Neither may we use them as works of Righteousness to be performed as Conditions for the procuring of the Favour of God and the Salvation of Christ Neither must they be accounted so absolutely necessary to Salvation as if a true Faith were void and of none effect when we are debarred from the Enjoyment of several of them The holy Scriptures with all the means of Grace appointed therein are able to make us wise unto Salvation no other way than by faith in Jesus Christ 2 Tim. 3.18 and therefore our wise Endeavour must be not to use â—hem in any opposition to the Grace of God in Christ For God's Ordinances are like the Cherubims of Glory made with their Faces looking towards the Mercy-Seat They are made to guid us to Christ for Salvation by Faith alone If any turn them to another use it is a great Violation of divine Institutions as if any Sacrilegious Person had presumed to turn the Faces of the Cherubims from the Mercy-Seat some other way This right use of the means of Grace is a Point wherein many are Ignorant that use them with great Zeal and Diligence and thereby they do not only lose their Labour and the benefit of the means but also they wrest and pervert them to their own Destruction The Jews under the Law of Moses enjoyed many more Ordinances of divine Worship than we do under the Gospel but their Table became their Snare and they fell miserably from God and Christ because the Veil of Ignorance was upon their Hearts that they could not look to the end of those Ordinances even to the Lord Jesus Christ And they sought not salvation by faith but by the ordinances as works of righteousness and by other works of the law for they stumbled at the stumbling stone Rom. 9.31 32 and 10.4 5. 2 Cor. 3.13 14. That you may not stumble and fall by the same pernicious Error I shall shew particularly how several of the principal means of Holiness appointed in the Word of God are to be made use of in that right manner expressed in the Direction 1. We must endeavour diligently to know the Word of God contained in the Holy Scripture and to improve it to this end That we may be made wise unto Salvation through saith which is in Christ Jesus 2 Tim. 3.15 Other means of Salvation are necessary to the more abundant well-being of our Faith and of our new State in Christ but this is absolutely