and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world But I perceive by this objection that thou accountedst this a doctrine of libertie to declare the free love of God in Iesus Christ and thou thinkest it were better to hide this from the people and to terrifie them with Hell fire with wrath and iudgement and with the fierie flashings of Mount Sinai and to keepe them in bondage I can hardly refraine from giving thee very evill language that art thus presumptuous and audacious to contradict the Lord Iesus who hath given commandement that the Gospel of peace should bee preached to all Nations I will spare to speake what I think and commend unto thy consideration the iudgment of one of our owne Countrimen whose learning was by his adversaries commended whose constancie and patience in his martyrdome was admired it was Iohn Fryth who writeth to this effect Thou maist preach hell and damnation and the rendring of a terrible account to a severe Iudge c. seven yeares together and yet not make one good Christian man Hee that would make a good Christian let the love of God be the first stone which he layeth for the foundation Thus hee speaketh And indeed what motive to obedience so strong as love Many waters cannot quench love neither can the flouds drowne it Cant. 8.7 What greater feare then that which proceedeth from love If wee have an enemy whom we hate wee sheath a sword it his bowels or cleave his head with a Polax and cry him no mercy but how carefull are we not to do the least iniury to a friend if we tread on his singer we are sory at the heart What greater aggravation of sinne then to sin against love Were not he an ungracious and rebellious sonne amongst men who should reason thus I have an indulgent Father who loveth me exceedingly deemeth nothing too good for me who hath given mee assurance and possession of his whole inheritance therefore I will surely neglect him I will shew my selfe undutifull against him I will no more regard his commands or attend unto his precepts but whatsoever will grieve him that will I doe What heart could not afford to cast a stone at the head of such a sonne of Belial as this to dash out his brains For shame let the mover of this obiection blush and hide his head let him consider his folly The case is thine thou art the man because God aboundeth in free love mercy and kindnesse therefore thou wilt abound in wretchednesse I cease to speak any farther of this to thy greater shame The fifth obiection followes which is indeed more mannerly than the former Object 5. If God love us bee reconciled unto us before our faith and our conversion then a man may possibly dye without faith and yet be saved I answer This followeth not because God hath ingaged himselfe to the contrary which if he had not dore much might have beene said But wee see hee that cannot lye hath ingaged himselfe unto his people I will put my Law into their hearts in their minds will I write them Heb. 10.6 And all shall know me from the least to the greatest Heb. 8.11 All thy children shall bee taught of God Iohn 6.54 Isaiah 54.13 So that we say He that beleeveth not shall bee damned Not because his believing doth alter or change his estate before God but because the God of truth hath promised that hee will not onely give us remission but that he wil also give faith for our consolation and so faith becommeth a note and mark of life everlasting and finall infidelity a sure 〈◊〉 of eternall condemnation that whosoever or whatsoever he be in life or conversation yet hee that beleeveth not shall be damned Thus much for the fifth Object 6. The sixth obiection If God love us as you say why doth he suffer us to live in 20.50 or 60. yeares I answer What art thou that repliest against God How unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes past finding out Rom. 11.33 Againe let us aske Paul why the Lord suffered him being an elect and chosen vessell to persecute his Saints unto death and bonds and to cause many to blaspheme and hee will tell us that in him first Iesus Christ might shew forth all long suffering for a patterne to them which should hereafter beleeve on him to life everlasting 1 Tim. 1.16 Thirdly thou mayest as well obiect seeing that God is of infinite power why doth he suffer sinne in the world if thou shouldest the Lord will give answer My grace is sufficient for thee 2 Cor. 12.9 Thus farre for the obiections now wee come to the third thing propounded The application of what hath been spoken Applicat 1. In the first place we will observe the difference betweene the true Religion and the false from that which hath been spoken There are many religions in the world And it fareth with diversities of Religions as with diversities of opinions there is a possibility that they may be all false but it is altogether impossible that they should be all true There is but one true Religion but there are many false the false Religions seeming to differ exceedingly amongst themselves in very many things even in the obiect of worship and in the matter and manner yet be they never so different there is one common foundation wherein they doe all agree and wherein they differ from the true The true Religion propoundeth unto us a God in chiefe reconciled pacified pleased a justice already satisfied a propitiation made sinnes taken away and we have not one jote not one apex in all the new Covenant to be found of reconciling God to us but of our reconciliation to God The new Covenant manifesteth unto us a God already reconciled to us and the whole ministery of reconciliation propoundeth our reconciliation to God Now this is the common character of all false religions of what sort soever Iews Turks Papists pharisaicall Protestants Heathen all propound in some degree or other an angry God a deity not reconciled and then prescribe certain means and services whereby to appease his wrath and to quench his displeasure and to obtaine his love and favour Man doth not oftner seeke after salvation but hee naturally stumbleth upon this principle What shall I doe to be saved The world would bee saved by doing Martin Luther speaking of this difference doth more than once compare the false religions unto Sampsons foxes Iudg. 15.4 their heads looking divers wayes but they were fastned together by the tayles This comparison wee doe imbrace yet I had rather compare them to Gentlemens Spaniels which are fastned together by the necks but loose at the tayles They differ indeed in some circumstances but in the main substance they agree in one Doe wee not see some men contending with the Papist with wonderfull eagernesse doe we not see others tugging and haling one one way the other another one for
to come but also from everlasting age etnall in respect of that which is past Gods mercies are not onely without beginning but also without ending as it is so often repeated even 26 times Psal 136. his mercy endureth for ever This is it that is written by the prophet I the Lord I change not Therefore yee sonnes of Iacob are not consumed Mal. 3.6 Would you know the true reason why the sons of Iacob are nor consumed it is this I change not should the Lord change as often as we change should his love increase and decrease towards us as often as our love to him and obedience to his Maiesty ebbeth and floweth the Lord should be more variable then the wind more changeable then the Moon that the Lords love altereth not although it hath beene sufficiently proved by that which hath been spoken yet to the praise of the glory of his grace I will proceed to shew you by more restimonies that the Lord loveth all his elect with his great love even then when as they lie weltring in their sinnes transgressions Vnto this the Holy Ghost bears witnesse Rom. 5. verse 6. When we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly For whó Christ died them the Father the Son loved but Christ died for the ungodly that were without strength Therefore such were undoubtedly beloved of God Lest wee should think the first of these propositions to be weake it is confirmed verse 8. God commendeth his love to us in that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us And very worthy of observation is that which is spoken verse 10 When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Sonne Here we have more proved than I have yet undertaken for my task is to prove that God was reconciled to us whilst we were enemyes This text saith not onely so but that we were recontiled to God when we were enemies But of this more shall be spoken hereafter only for the present we disire to have it granted that when we were reconciled to God he was without all doubt reconciled to us for our reconciliation to him is not the cause of his reconciliation to us but contrary his reconciliation to us is the cause of our reconciliation to him Now let us see the argument once againe For whom Christ died those he loved But Christ died for vngodly for sinners for enemies Therefore hee loved ememies sinners ungodly And with such a love as is not onely verball but reall not in word but in deed in truth as doth already appeare by his death and will yet more plainly appeare those acts of love communicated unto us even when wee were in the state of vngodlinesse in the worst estate and condition Let us consider that place so full of the glory of God which is writen Ezek. 16.2.3 verses unto the 15. verse Thou wast cast out in the open field to the loathing of thy Person in the day that thou wast born And when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood I said unto thee in thy blood yea I said unto thee in thy blood â—ive Why doth the Lord use this Insemination In thy blood In thy blood 〈◊〉 it not because he knoweth how hardly we are drawne to beleeve the glory of his grace and how ready we are to rob him of the honour of his infinite mercy The Lord doth as it were say I know you will wonder at this that I should say Live before you were washed salted or swadled while you were in your blood But I remember the act of my grace which passed upon you even in blood I he Lord loved us not because we were washed and cleansed but therefore he washed and cleansed us because he loved us See the freenes of Gods love God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten sonne that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3.16 This place is wel known unto you it may be here lies hid something which many of you never discovered namely that Christ given is the effect of Gods love not the cause And that the love of God goes before the gift of his son as the cause goeth before the effect He therefore gave his sonne because he loved If this seem strange that Gods love should be more ancient in order of causes then the gift of his sonne Because that in him God doth communicate all things unto us I answer that Christ is God manifested to him in the flesh 1 Tim 3.16 And that all the blessings of that love wherewith the Lord loved us eternally are manifested onely in Christ Iesus And in him they are fully manifested to have been for ever in the bosome of the Father So that for us to say or think that Christ purchased the love of the Father for us is that which I am confident the redeemer of the world will not chalenge unto himself But say as in another case it is not mine to give but it was given to them to whom it is given before the foundation of the world was laid This is all that I am able to speak unlesse it should be lawfull for me in so reverend a mystery to use a distinction and to consider in the love of God the original of his love and the continuation thereof and to say that the original of his love was before the gift of his sonne as the cause before the effect But that the continuation of love is to be referred unto the propriation of the redeemer as the effect of that sacrifice which he offered To speak plain Gods love was before the gift of his son as the cause before the effect But the continuation of that love that he should loveus for ever requires a foregoing propitiation satisfaction But when we shal say thus we fall into a depth unsearchable when we shall ask why the continuation of his love should rather require a foregoing propitiation then the originall setting of his love upon us I confesse I cannot tell what to say for to cleare this but tremble to speak of this glerious mystery And desire to refer my self to the iudgement of the spirituall who are able to iudge all things and to be instructed by them whether it be not safer to rest in that which was said before then with subtilty of distinctions to wade into the depth unsearchable We see the great love of God to us in our bloud how that he so loved us that he gave us his sonne I will now be bold to step a step higher if higher may be and to shew you that God did not onely love us in our bloud with his great love But that his love to us in our broud was as great as ever afterwards He loved us I say with as great love when we were in bloud and polltion as he did afterward when we were cleansed I know the Pharisee
Christ in the second I say he speaketh of our Actuall reconciliation wherein our consciences become reconciled to God through the apprehension of the reconciliation which Christ hath wrought for us First of all I must speak of our Originall reconciliation And there I lay downe this proposition that we were reconciled to God by the death of his Sonne without any previous conditions in us or performed by us You see it is the act of Christ upon the Crosse it was done by his death The Lord Christ being a common person taking our nature upon him we are said to doe that which he did and to have that done upon us which was done upon him As in the first Adam we all sinned before we were or bad committed any Actuall transgression so in the second Adam we were reconciled As by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous Rom. 5.19 I say we are said to doe that which he did as to be buried with Christ by baptisme into death Rom. 6.4 We are said to be crucified with Christ as our old man is crucified with him Rom. 6.6 to be dead and alive with him Reckon yee also your selves to be dead indeed unto sinne but alive unto God through Iesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6.11 We are said to be risen with him Coloss 3.1 which is elegantly set forth by the Prophet Hosea speaking of the resurrection of Christ He speaketh on this wise After two dayes he will revive us and the third day he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight Hose 6.2 Yet more we are said to be placed together in heavenly places with him Eph. 2.5.6 This is that which I call Originall reconciliation Whereby we see that not onely God was reconciled unto us but also that our nature was reconciled unto God by the death of his Sonne without any condition or qualification wrought in us Thus much for our Originall reconciliation Now followes our Actuall reconciliation to wit the manifestation of Gods reconciliation to us and of the reconciliation of our nature to God in Jesus Christ Here I lay downe this proposition Mans Actuall reconciliation to God requireth previous conditions and qualifications to be wrought in man by the spirit of God before man can be Actually reconciled to God or Gods reconciliation manifested unto him Althogh this proposition need no proofe in regard that the world so far doteth on conditions that they will hardly admit God to be reconciled to man without performances in man Surely much lesse will they thinke it possible that Man should be reconciled unto God without something wrought in man yet for our better understanding I will shew you the proofe of this by certaine texts As Except a man be borne of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdome of God Iohn 3.5 Except a man be borne againe he cannot see the kingdome of God vers 3. To enter into and to see the kingdome of God is that which I call reconciliation to God to know the favour and love of God towards us in Christ requires you see the condition of being borne againe of water and of the spirit which is not to be baptized as the Papists would have it but to have such fruits and effects of Gods spirit wrought in us as purifie the heart as water doth the body Secondly except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his bloud you have no life in you Iohn 6.53 Marke I pray you he doth not say that except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his bloud yee have no life in God or in Christ but yee have no life in you Now you see we must eat the flesh of Christ and drinke his bloud or else we can have no life in us To eate his flesh and to drink his bloud is to beleeve in him to have life in you is to know Gods favour in Iesus Christ as much as if he should say except yee beleeve yee cannot know Gods favour to you in Iesus Christ Vnto this we may adde in the third place Except yee repent yee shall all likewise perish Luke 13.3 And to this place we may also referre that place of which we had occasion to speake somewhat before without holinesse no man shall see God Heb. 12.14 not onely that holinesse is concomitant or companion of our seeing of God but that faith being a part of yea the first fruits of holines is that whereby the soule is brought to the sight of God in Jesus Christ But I am not willing to spend time in larger proofe though you cannot but perceive I might be very large herein but I will for your better understanding confine my selfe and goe on to shew you in particular what Conditions are required in us before we can be reconciled to God And here I have occasion for the better explaining of this to commend unto you three sorts of conditions 1. Antecedent 2. Present 3. Consequent Antecedent Conditions I call those which are necessarily presupposed in us before we can submit unto God or be reconciled unto him They are such conditions as may be seperated from reconciliation in time yea they are such conditions as are and may be in them which are not reconciled nor yet ever shall be so that they are proper Omnibus sed non solis electis to all the elect but not onely to the elect 2. Present conditions I call them that goe before reconciliation as the cause before the effect yet are never seperated from reconciliation in time but are indeed the very thing whereby the holy spirit of God doth reconcile man to God 3. Consequent conditions I call them which doe alwayes follow reconciliation as the effect the cause although they are inseperable in respect of time And I therefore undertake to speake of these although the curious may thinke me blame-worthy for transgressing the rules of method that we might be warned of a rock and shelfe namely that we doe not confound these conditions together and to take those for antecedent which are onely consequent which to my knowledge hath made some souls to make shipwrack for a time when as they would have in them before they beleeve such conditions as are onely consequents and not antecedents of faith First to speake of Antecedent conditions which necessarily goe before our reconciliation to God They shall be referred unto two heads the first is the knowledge of sinne with whatsoever is requisite unto the knoweledge of sinne The second is the knowledge of the depth of misery by sinne to be such as we can neither help our selves neither is it in the power of any other creature for to helpe us but that we are undone for ever in respect of whatsoever we can doe or any other for us for untill the soule be brought to this there is no hope of reconciling it unto God for you
must know that it is meere necessity that drives us we are by nature haters of God and cannot be brought to come to God in love before we perceive God to love us such is the malignant nature of man that if he could make any shift in the world hee would not bee beholding to God for helpe The prodigall sonne will never returne to his father so long as he can get cloaths for his backe and meate for his belly elsewhere but when he is brought to that passe that he would fain have filled his belly with husks which the swine did eate and no man gave unto him Luke 15.16 Then he is contented to thinke of submitting to his father but not before if he could have got a living by keeping of Hogs hee would not have returned Thus is it with man so long as he is in any hope to escape misery any other way there is no hope of his returning to God They that be whole need not the Physitian but they that are sick Mat. 9.12 The Pharisee thinketh himself able to establish his owne righteousnesse and therefore he will not submit to the righteousnesse of God Rom. 10.4 He cares not a pinne for Christ he is whole he cares not for the Physitian If any man will come after me let him deny himselfe and take up his crosse daily and follow me Luke 9.23 No man can follow Christ except he deny himselfe his own Righteousnesse and holinesse would you know a reason under the determinate counsell of God why the Publicans and Harlots received Christ but the holy Pharisees rejected him a true paterne of our dayes the Pharisees thought themselves able to stand upon their owne legs they were alive in their conceits and for them to heare of righteousnesse in another was too great a disparagement unto them and their holinesse when the publicans and strumpets being convinced of sinne and having no righteousnesse of their owne they are contented to accept it upon any terms A rich man he sometimes scorneth a gift and saith nay but I will buy it I will give satisfaction for it but the poor naked man is glad to receive what he wanteth Thus before the soule of man be brought to be reconciled unto God it is necessary that it see it selfe a sinfull creature yea so sinfull That neither crying nor howling can wash it away yea so sinfull that no correction or amendment of life is able to make satisfaction Thus farre of the antecedent conditions which as I said before are proper to all but not onely to them that are reconciled to God for these that I have shewed hitherto may be found in the not reconciled even as in the reconciled yea in the reprobate even as in the elect The second sort of conditions are present which go before reconciliation as the cause before the effect but is never separated from it as being the thing I say whereby the holy Spirit of God doth actually reconcile the soule to God Of this sort I finde but one only condition namely of faith or beleeving Here are two things to be pondered The first That without beleeving the soule remaining in the body cannot be reconciled unto God The second That by beleeving the soule is actually reconciled unto God For the first it is proved He that beleeveth not the Sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Iohn 3.36 To be reconciled to God is to see life therefore he that beleeveth not shall not be reconciled to God but the apprehension of the wrath of God shall torment his wakened conscience He that beleeveth not shall not see life he shall see nothing but wrath Secondly He that beleeveth not God hath made him a lyar 1 Iohn 5.10 That is hath accounted him a lyar Now who can finde in his heart to be reconciled to a lyar Wherby it is plain that without or before faith man cannot be reconciled unto God For the second that by beleeving the soule becomes to be reconsiled unto God is proved He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seale that God is true John 3.33 As many as received him to them he gave power to become the sonnes of God even to them that beleeve on his name Iohn 1.12 Whosoever beleeveth hath power to cry Abba Father And to this place we refer that knowne text Rom. 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ And this is the proper office of faith as it justifieth to reconcile the soule and conscience unto God and to make us at peace with him by assuring us of his favour and good will towards us in Jesus Christ manifested in that God gave his only Sonne to be a propitiation for our sinnes and to satisfie whatsoever the justice of God required at his hands And this is our receiving of Christ our putting on of Christ and our living by faith if we take faith for beleeving And thus much of the second condition which is present Now followes the third sort of conditions which are consequent unto our reconciliation and things that accompany our salvation These conditions are first Ioy in the Holy Ghost Secondly Love to God and his Church Thirdly New obedience in newnesse of spirit and not in oldnesse of the letter First Ioy in the Holy Ghost is a necessary consequent and an inseparble companion to our reconciliation by faith as appears by that which hath been spoken before touching joying in beleeving with joy unspeakable and full of glory And indeed how can it be that it should be otherwise can the men of this world hear of great possessions fallen unto them without joyfulnesse How then is it possible that the children of the living God can come to the apprehension of the fatherly love of God in Christ but they must needs sing a new song yea break forth into singing and cry aloud with the blessed Virgin saying My soule doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour Luke 1.46 If I could this day bring you happy tydings of reconciliation betweene King and Parliament which the God of heaven effect what joy would this work in the hearts of every man here present How much more shall the tydings of eternall peace by Jesus Christ affect the soule with extraordinary comfort Here what the Lord speaks concerning the new Jerusalem God shal wipe away all teares from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying c. Rev. 21.4 Let others think what they will I firmely beleeve the new Ierusalem to be the glorious kingdome of Iesus Christ which is righteousnesse and peace and joy in the holy Ghost advanced in the conscience and hither also are to be referred those glorious things that are spoken of the City of our God by the Gospell Prophet in these words The ransomed of the Lord shall returne and come to Sion with songs and everlasting joy upon