Company doth not cure it only seemeth to give ease so when it is gone when the Night comes that the Sick is left alone then the Person grows weary because he feels his Trouble and is sensible of his Pain and gets nothing to divert it Just so if Men would retire from outward Diversions if they would seriously look into themselves and consider their Condition they should find themselves very loathsome they should see in themselves great Cause of Grief and Sorrow this would make their Souls restless and weary then would they turn from side to side and cry out of their wretchedness then the words of Rest and Ease to the Soul would be acceptable and heard with delight then our Text would be received as a Sovereign Cordial and indeed it is prepared only for such It speaks of rest shews where it is but none are invited but such as are sensible of their Misery the weary they who labour and are heavy laden And if such please to listen if such will receive these words and obey them their Minds shall presently be disburdened they shall be eased of all their Grief For the Words of Jesus cannot fail his Advice cannot chuse but be Proper and Effectual and he hath said Come unto me take my Yoke upon you learn of me for I am meek and lowly and ye shall find rest to your Souls In the former Discourse on this Text I shewed what was meant by labouring and being heavy laden and upon what account this Appellation may be given to all Mankind I shewed that all are under the Burthen of a four-fold Misery viz. Affliction Vanity and Dissatisfaction the Fear of Death and the Guilt of Sin As also that a due sense of this Misery was required as a Disposition to the Cure and a necessary Preparation to the obtaining true Rest and Ease to our Souls I intend at this time to consider the other Conditions required which you see are Three viz. 1. Coming to Christ. 2. Taking his Yoke 3. Learning of him The Conditions are not many and they are very reasonable I will begin with the First which is Coming to Christ. None can be so ignorant as to understand this of the Approach of our Bodies towards Christ for they to whom he spake could not come nearer unto him And we now cannot approach him with our Bodies The Rest to which we are called is a Rest of Soul and therefore to obtain this the Motion of the Soul and not of the Body is requisite and proper By this First is meant the giving our selves up entirely to his Counsel and Management The Sick are bidden go to the Physician and they who are injured and oppressed to the Lawyer The meaning of which is not that they should gaze upon their Persons look them in the Face and hear them talk for what Ease or Relief can that be either to the one or the other But thereby is understood the receiving their Instruction and following it And it is Folly to make Application if one be not resolved to take Advice What good can the Physician do if the Patient be willful if he will only receive the Potions which relish with his vitiated Palate and not what the Physician judges best and most proper If one desire to be cured throughly and speedily he ought to yield himself absolutely to the Physician 's Skill Even so if we would have our Souls cured if we would have them eased of all the Trouble with which they labour we ought to apply our selves to Jesus Christ who is the true and only Physician who only can restore Health and give Peace But then our Application ought to be an entire Resignation to his Conduct and should be attended with a full Resolution to be guided by him in every thing We ought not to carry towards him as some peevish and humoursome Patients to their Physician who judge his Prescriptions approve and condemn them as if they had studied the Art and did understand all the Rules of Medicine as well as he Alas Many are of the same unreasonable Temper and do behave themselves thus toward Jesus the great Physician of Souls They come to him but they bring their Humours with them which they will not part with And if his Advice and Prescriptions agree not with their Humours they reject and condemn them And hence it is that they are not the better by coming to Christ. Indeed when we have to do with Men there is no Reason that we should altogether lay aside our own Judgment and follow them in every thing for the most knowing is fallible But Jesus is Infallible he cannot be mistaken Can he err in whom are all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge And can any doubt of his Concernment for our Health Will not he love us who hath done so much for us Will not he seek our good who spared not his own Life for our sakes He has all the Skill and Knowledge and Affection and Concernment which can be desired Therefore we ought to come to him and to come without Reserve we ought to lay aside all Prejudice and should yield our selves wholly to his Conduct and Management that we may the sooner be sensible of his Skill and feel to our Comfort that he is a Physician of great Value But Secondly By coming to Christ is meant believing in him for so we find it expounded in Scripture as appears by these Places Heb. ii 6. He that cometh to God must believe that he is I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in me shall never thirst And as by this and other places it appears That coming to Christ is to be understood of believing in him So the absolute Necessity of Faith in Christ in order to the Participation of his Benefits may be made evident many ways First From express Texts of Scripture I shall instance but in a few of some Hundreds which might be produced Thus Iohn iij. 14. As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life ver 16. For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting live ver 18. he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God 1 John v. 12. he that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life To whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest but to them that believed not so we see that they could not enter in because of Unbelief Heb. iij. 18 19. There is not a Chapter in all the New Testament in which the Necessity of Faith and the Danger of Infidelity is not held
which shall be to all People Unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord Luke ii But to be more particular This was done to declare and demonstrate the infinite Love and Mercy of God who rather than that Mankind should perish would suffer his own Son and his only Son to be thus abased and humbled God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son unto it that the world through him might not perish but that those who believe might have eternal life John iii. 16. and Rom. v. 8. It is said That God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Mankind is but one part of the Creation And though he make a considerable Figure in this lower World yet if we knew all the other parts of the Creation and their Inhabitants perhaps we should find him contemptible and inconsiderable he is certainly inferiour to the Angels what a Demonstration therefore is it of the Mercy of God to his Creatures that he would not suffer such inconsiderable ones to perish But to prevent their eternal Ruin was pleased to give his Son to do and suffer so many things for us And how doth it heighten his Love to us the Sons of Men that he has shewed more Kindness to us than to the Angels who by Nature are so much better than we He passed by the Angels and has had pity on us he has left them to perish in their Apostacy and Disobedience but has sent his Son to save us Secondly Hereby God hath declared his Justice his uncontroulable Authority the Vigour of his Laws and the Certainty of his Threatnings By this it appears that God is just and will not clear the guilty that he will not suffer his Authority to be contemned nor his Laws to be broken and that what he peremptorily threatens to the breakers of them shall come to pass Heaven and Earth may pass away but one Jot or Title of the Law shall not fall and rather than the Transgression of it escape unpunished he will make his own Son an Example Like that King who having threatned the Loss of both Eyes to such as should be guilty of Adultery And his Son having committed that Crime he to keep his Royal Word to maintain the Vigour of his Laws and to strike Terrour into his Subjects but withal to shew some Mercy to his Son pulled out one of his Son's Eyes and gave another of his own God would not remit the Punishment of Sin but to save Sinners he laid the Weight of the Punishment on his own Son Thirdly Hereby is declared the heinous Nature of Sin how odious it is in the Sight of God how impossible it is to be reconciled to him or to expect his Favour unless it be expiated Let Fools now make a mock of Sin if they dare Let Men consider what the Son of God hath done and suffered to take away the Sins of the World let them call to mind what Obedience what Agony what Shame and Pain the Holy and Innocent Jesus hath been put to what it hath cost him to take away the Guilt of it and to free Men from the Punishment of it And when they have seriously considered all this let them say if they can whether Sin be to be sported with whether it may be safely cherished and indulged Fourthly This setteth forth the Dignity of the Humane Nature How highly is that to be esteemed which God has thought worthy of so strict an Alliance with himself and to save which the Eternal Son of God the Second Person of the blessed Trinity he who thought it not Robbery to be equal with God even he was pleased to make himself of no Reputation to take upon him the Form of a Servant to humble himself and to become obedient unto Death This is Immortal Honour unto Mankind which the Devils envy and which the highest Angels admire and therefore it is said that even they desire to look into it This is the Glory of Man and that which sets him farthest above all his Fellow Creatures in this World The Bodies of other Animals are not much inferiour to ours for they are all of almost the same Nature Composition and curious Contrivance and whatever be the inward Principle of their Life and Actions whatever it be that guides them their Actions are more regular than ours and certainly the Effects of greater Reason Knowledge and Wisdom than what we can by Speculation Study or Experience arrive at But neither Cherubim nor Seraphim nor any of the Celestial Order of Intelligent Beings can boast a Privilege above or even equal to what Man hath by the Incarnation of the Son of God and what followed upon it He took not on him the nature of Angels but the seed of Abraham God has espoused our Nature and thereby made us more honourable than other Creatures and as we have by this the highest Honour so all the Happiness that can be desired For what greater Happiness What can we desire more than what the Love and Friendship and Favour of God can bestow Fifthly As this shews the Dignity of the humane Nature so wherein the Perfection of it consists even in a perfect Obedience unto God such as we shewed that Jesus Christ did pay unto him Adam ruined the humane Nature by his Disobedience Jesus Christ has repaired it by being entirely obedient even unto Death and no Man can arrive at Perfection but by the Imitation of Jesus in a perfect Subjection to the Will of God To make Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof is never to aim higher than Beasts and inferiour Animals to walk by Sense will stifle our Reason to follow the Imaginations and Devices of our own Hearts or only what our own Reason suggests we shall never surmount a natural imperfect State nor have any other Perfection than what cometh from our selves But if we give our selves up to the Conduct of God if we will follow his Will and Providence and never dispute or cavil at his Pleasure we shall far out-grow our natural State our minds shall receive the Light of Divine Illumination our Spirits shall be fortified by the Almighty Spirit of God and we shall at last become Partakers of the Divine Nature which is as high as any can aspire Sixthly I will only give one Instance more which is that the Incarnation of Jesus Christ his Obedience and Sufferings were appointed to the end that he might merit the Glory Honour and sovereign Power which God had design'd for him before the Foundation of the World Wherefore as it follows our Text God hath highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every Name that at the Name of Iesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Iesus
and Consummation of this visible Frame at the last Day all these things I say and more than we know were designed for the Glory and Honour of Christ And as they have all a reference to him so the Beauty and Wisdom and Goodness of those Divine Transactions are not cannot be seen but by Establishing the Incarnation of the Son of God and Therefore to reject this great Mystery is to set at nought the Eternal Purposes of God and all those Glorious Designs which his Infinite Wisdom and Goodness have Devised This is to smother the Divine Wisdom and Goodness which is conspicuous in these things and to deny and deprive him of that Glory which so much Wisdom and so much Goodness and so many and so great Expressions thereof do bring unto him Wherefore not to acknowledge Jesus to be the Son of God our Lord and God as it is wilful and unaccountable Obstinacy there being so many Irrefragable Testimonies and unquestionable Proofs thereof so it is inexcusable Impiety and downright Rebellion against God He who doth not receive the King's Vicegerent nor will own him whom he Deputes and Entrusts with the Government both affronts the King's Authority and reproacheth his Conduct he reflects alike on his Prudence and Authority And is he not guilty of the same Crime Is he not equally wicked against God who rejecteth his own Son whom he hath sent into the World for to this purpose God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Iesus every knee should bow of things in Heaven and things in Earth and things under the Earth and that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Now this owning and acknowledging of Jesus Christ the receiving him as the Son of God is what the Apostle calls the having the Son as appears from the following Verse where he expounds it by believing on him And in the following Epistle Verse 9. he makes it to be the abiding in his Doctrine He then hath the Son who believes in him who receives his Gospel who gives a full and hearty assent to the truth of all that is said of him either as to his Nature or Offices the Dignity of his Person or the Power and Privilege he hath received from the Father In a word he hath the Son who stedfastly believes whatever he has Revealed concerning God or Man our present Condition or Original State our Duty here or Reward hereafter for if we believe him to be the Son of God we will believe also whatever he hath delivered and will not fail to adhere to this Belief and Perswasion Thus we see That it is Faith in Christ to which Life is here promised But we deceive our selves if we think it any kind of Faith a bare knowledge or naked Speculation of Gospel Truths a mere and simple assent to them which rests in the Brain and Understanding and goes no farther No this is not that Faith which is so magnified in Scripture and to which so many glorious things are promised Many may have all that this comes to and yet fall short of Life Many will say to me in that day saith Christ Lord Lord have we not prophecied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils and in thy Name done many wonderful Works And then I will profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity True Faith is always Lively Active and Operative it is not barren and Unfruitful it ever worketh by Love and keepeth the Commandments it purifieth the heart of Pride and Lust and casteth down Imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringeth into Captivity every thought to the Obedience of Christ it rectifies all inward Disorders and makes us New Creatures framed according to the Image of God in Christ it so renews us to the Spirit of our Minds and so conforms us to the Son of God that our Thoughts are his Thoughts his Ways our Ways we love what he loves hate what he hates believe what he Promises and obey what he Commands so that our Life is hid with Christ in God And of every true Believer it may be said as St. Paul saith of himself I am Crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Look what those Saints and Worthies recorded in the Epistle to the Hebrews did through Faith they subdued Kingdoms wrought Righteousness obtained Promises stopt the mouths of Lions quenched the violence of Fire escaped the edge of the Sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to flight the Armies of Aliens c. Was not this a strong and a noble Faith Now such must our Faith be for as our Apostle tells us Verse 4. of this Chapter it must overcome the World he that believeth that Iesus is the Son of God he it is that overcometh the world and all that is in the world viz. the lust of the Flesh the lust of the Eyes and the pride of Life Thus you see what Faith is that it is no mean and silly thing that it is no dull lazy unactive Principle but that it is strong and mighty quick and powerful in its operation Be not deceived then my Friends Examine well whether you believe in Christ whether or no you have the Son of God dwelling in you by Faith and do not flatter your selves with the conceit unless it be so indeed Consider O Man and tell me Art thou sensible of thy Misery by Nature of thy guilt thrô thy manifold Transgressions Dost thou feel the Necessity of a Saviour Dost thou run to that Fountain which is opened to the House of David and to the Inhabitants of Israel for Sin and for Uncleanness Dost thou hope in the Mercy of God and rely upon the Merits of Christ And art thou therefore humble and penitent and ready to forgive and resolved to amend thy Life Dost thou or art thou sincerely resolved to resist the Devil and wrestle against all Temptations not in thy own but in the Name and Strength of Christ Can'st thou despise the Vanities of the World all sublunary Riches and Pleasures can'st thou freely quit them rather than offend thy God Is thy Heart with God and can'st thou confidently trust him with thy self and all thy Concernments and wait for the accomplishment of his Promises Is thy Care are thy Thoughts and Endeavours chiefly employed about the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof how to grow in Grace and the Knowledge of Christ how to abound in good Works and to bring forth Fruit unto Holiness that thy End may be Eternal Life Can'st thou answer to those things positively Dost thou find
to eat the forbidden Fruit and was the Occasion of all that Misery which came upon them and us both But behold we are now to become as God in a higher better and truer sense than what they aimed at or could have come to by any Fruit tho' it had not been forbidden Behold what manner of Love is this wherewith the Father hath loved us that we should be called the Sons of God! What ineffable Glory What high Dignity is this that Man is now exalted to Lord what is Man that thou art so mindful of him And the Son of Man that thou visitest him Thou hast made him but a little lower than the Angels here in this World and hereafter thou designest to make him equal to them yea like unto thy self How astonishing are the Thoughts of this What Admiration may they breed Especially when all this Glory and Honour is not for a Day a Month or a Year but to all Eternity The Duration of this State is another Reason why the Apostle calls it Life What is short and momentany deserves not the Name of Life and therefore our Life in this World is reckoned in Scripture but as a Breath a Vapour it is to be esteemed but as a Puff of Wind. But that Life above suffers no Changes it is unalterable it never hath an end it lasts not only a thousand thousand Years but for ever and ever Here we think much if we have a few Days Peace and Contentment But they who are in Heaven are eternally happy Thus we see what sort of Life it is our Text speaks of If you ask to whom are we indebted for it Look to the preceeding Verse and there you will find it This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son It is to Jesus Christ only that we owe the Obligation it is by him and through him and for him that we come to Life for he only is the Discoverer of it he only is the Author of it and only hath the disposing and giving of it First he is the Discoverer thereof he hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel Before the Gospel was published Men were ignorant of this Life neither the Certainty nor Nature of it were known The Wise Heathens indeed had some Notion of a Life after this they judged it reasonable that the Soul should survive the Body But however all they talkt were mere Conjectures they had no Assurance of the Truth And tho' it be certain that the Jews had the Promise of Eternal Life as well as temporal good things and that all the pious and holy Men among them lived in Expectation of it yet it was so darkly revealed even to them that you know there was one Sect amongst them who denied the Resurrection altogether and even those who believed it had no very right and worthy Thoughts thereof or else they might have soon refuted the Sadducees gross Apprehensions But whatever Knowledge either Jews or Heathens of old had of another Life it is to be ascribed to Christ for he is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World And now he hath put this Matter clearly out of Doubt Neither the Resurrection from the dead nor the Life hereafter needs now be disputed as doubtful Problems for Jesus Christ hath given evident Demonstrations of the Truth of them by his plain Assertions and express Promises and his own Resurrection But Secondly Christ is not only the Discoverer of Eternal Life but the Author thereof also There was more required to the attaining this than the mere Discovery of it This was above humane reach It was too great a height for Man of himself to climb to If any had attempted this trusting in his own worth he had been certainly baffled and defeated His Boldness as it served to be laught at so it should have been punished But as Christ hath shewed us this so he hath purchased it for us It is the Merits of Christ which have opened the Kingdom of Heaven and it is by his Strength that we perform the Conditions of entering into it And when we have performed the Conditions it is even he himself who bestows it on us for he is that holy one who hath received the key of David who openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth It is he who putteth on us the Crown of Life When we have done our Work it is from him that we receive Reward and this Reward is promised to all who believe Which leads us to the last particular namely to shew That all who have the Son have Life This is a Point we need not stand much upon for it is so clear and evident not only through this Epistle but the whole New Testament there is not the least shadow of pretence for the doubting of it Verily verily I say unto you saith Christ he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into Condemnation but is passed from death unto life And again it is said he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God Believers have full assurance of Eternal Life for their Faith unites them to Christ. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood that is believeth in Christ dwelleth in me and I in him See also Chap. xvii Now Christ and his Members will not be divided where the one is the other will be also Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me And we are sure the Father heareth the Son Believers also have good ground to hope for Eternal Life for Faith is the very Seed and Principle from which it flows The Life of Faith is the beginning of the Life of Glory the one is but the Perfection and Completion of the other Blessed is he therefore who believeth for there shall be a Performance of those things which are told him from the Lord. It is Faith then and Faith only which giveth us a title to Eternal Life such a Faith I mean as was formerly described He that so believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him They who do not and will not embrace Christ here shall not be Embraced by him hereafter They who refuse his Yoke in this World shall in the World to come be cast out of his glorious Kingdom and thrown to that place of darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Now that we may draw to a close what an Influence should these Considerations have upon our Souls What a holy disdain should they work in us
Fears The difference betwixt the godly and the wicked may be compared to that of two Persons at Sea in a most dangerous Storm where there is Hope of saving Life but nothing else But the one has a goodly Inheritance to live upon when he comes to Land and therefore cannot be much cast down whereas the other having lost his whole Stock and Substance is not only miserably damped with Grief for the Loss of that but also quite confounded with the Thoughts of his after Poverty and Misery Thirdly This Doctrine of the Certainty of another better Life serves greatly to comfort us under the Miseries and Calamities of this and therefore that we may have this Comfort let us both firmly fix the Belief of it in our Hearts and also frequently meditate thereon It is in vain for any to expect to pass thorow this World without Trouble and Affliction and there is no true support under any Affliction but the lively hope of that glory which is to be revealed with this one may bear the heaviest Cross chearfully and without it the lightest Affliction may overwhelm the spirit For this cause saith St. Paul we faint not for though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Cheer up thy Spirit whosoever thou art that liest under the pressure of any Affliction if thou repentest of thy Sins if thou lovest God and be resolved to walk so as to please him why shouldst thou be cast down Lift up thine Eyes unto yonder Regions above and consider what an Interest thou hast there what a blessed Inheritance is there reserved for you Is thy condition here uneasie and troublesom and art thou still tossed about remember when thou comest there thou shalt have all Rest and Peace Art thou hated by Men and persecuted with their Hands and Tongues let not that vex thee seeing thou art Beloved of God and hast Friends Above who will shortly receive thee unto their everlasting Habitations where are good things which neither eye hath seen nor ear heard nor can the heart of man conceive them Take the spoiling of your Goods joyfully knowing that ye have in Heaven a better and an enduring substance Dost thou here suffer the want of all things bear it for a while patiently for when thou ascendest Heaven and enter'st into the presence of God thou shalt find fulness of joy and rivers of pleasures for evermore The bitterness of this Life shall be abundantly recompenced by the sweetness and happiness of the other There it is where we shall be comforted for all the days wherein we have been afflicted For there men shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes When Columbus set first out to Sea in order to discover a New World he suffered unspeakable Straits Hardships and Difficulties The very reading of them is astonishing yet he still bore out by the hope of discovering Land which was very faint and uncertain for he only conjectured that there might be such a thing Now if such a faint and uncertain hope of an Earthly Country could make one run upon so many Hazards and bear up under such Disasters what a support to our Minds and a Comfort to our Spirits should the hope of an Heavenly Country be a Country whose Riches and Glory and Felicity we poor Mortals cannot conceive much less express And which is no Dream or Conjecture but which is clearly demonstrated to us by the Word of God And from which nothing can obstruct us if we be but stedfast and immoveable and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Death might have prevented Columbus's Discovery and robb'd him of that Satisfaction but Death cannot impede our passage unto Heaven for it is the very means of entring into it It is the very loosing of the Fetters and removing the Cloggs which detain us in this miserable Life and a setting us at Liberty to return to God whence we came and to take possession of that glorious Life which Christ hath purchased for us Fourthly and lastly Is there a Life after this and a blessed Life too Then certainly it becometh us to give all diligence to secure it for our selves 't is no less our Interest than our Duty It will not fall to our Lot by Chance and without we use true endeavours after it It is true Jesus Christ hath purchased this Life for us and payed the price of it without which no Man could ever have expected it But still it lies on us to qualifie our selves for it by the Performances of those Conditions on which it is granted and these are Faith and Holiness First We must have Faith for without this saith the Scripture it is impossible to please God And if it be impossible to please him without Faith it is impossible to expect Heaven without it for he will never admit one there who doth not please him He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him If you ask what Faith is It is to believe the Existence of God his Almighty Power his Infinite Wisdom his Incomprehensible Goodness and his most Wise and Watchful Providence It is to give a most hearty assent to the Truth of his Word to the Authority and Goodness of his Laws to the ineffable greatness of his Promises and to the Justice of his Threatnings It is to receive with Zeal and Affection the Lord Jesus Christ to own the miraculous Nature and Dignity of his Person and to acknowledge the Necessity Vertue and Usefulness of his Offices of Prophet Priest and King Finally it is to admit by a profound Humility the Incomprehensible Mystery of the Trinity and to depend upon the Influence and Operation of the Holy Spirit the third Person of the God-head Our Faith must comprehend all this And without this Faith no Man can be saved For unless a Man believe all that God has clearly proposed he not only does not honour God as he ought but he actually dishonours and affronts him Now the true evidence of this Faith is Holiness which is also the other Condition required of those that would be saved Faith without works saith St. Iames is dead And without holiness saith St. Paul no man shall see the Lord Heb. xii 14. How fit and proper unsanctified Persons may be for settling and propagating Christ's Kingdom upon Earth I do not well know but this I know and am sure of that none shall share of his Heavenly Kingdom but they who are pure as he is pure
p. 123 SERMON VI. On Easter Day 1 Pet. I. 3 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Iesus Christ from the Dead To an inheritance incorruptible and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you p. 166 SERMON VII On Easter Day 1 John V. 12. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life p. 195 SERMON VIII On Easter Day 1 Cor. XV. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable p. 228 SERMON IX Rev. II. 17. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it p. 261 SERMON X. Luke VI. 46. Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say p. 296 SERMON XI A Preparation to the Holy Communion Heb. X. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our Bodies washed with pure Water p. 340 SERMON XII Hosea X. 12. Sow to your selves in Righteousness reap in Mercy Break up your fallow Ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain Righteousness upon you p. 385 SERMON XIII Hosea V. 13 14 15. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Iudah saw his Wound Then went Ephraim to the Assyrian and sent to King Iareb yet could he not heal you nor cure you of your Wound For I will be unto Ephraim as a Lion and as a young Lion to the house of Iudah I even I will tear and go I will take away and none shall rescue him I will go and return unto my Place till they Acknowledge their Offence and seek my Face in their Affliction they will seek me early p. 416 SERMON XIV Micah VII 8 9. Rejoice not against me O mine Enemy when I fall I shall arise when I sit in Darkness the Lord shall be a Light unto me I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him until he plead my Cause and execute Iudgment for me he will bring me forth to the light and I shall behold his Righteousness p. 446 SERMON XV. 1 Tim. V. 23. Drink no longer Water but use a little Wine for thy Stomachs sake and thine often Infirmities p. 479 SERMON I. On Matth. XI 28. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest THESE words are worthy of all acceptation they ought to be listned to most earnestly and deserve our most serious Consideration if either we regard the Person who uttered them or the Matter contained in them For here is promised what all Men seek after here is a free and gracious Invitation to what all Men would be at to that which they toil and labour for with all their might The Wise and the Unlearned the High and the Low and all the World pursue this tho' they entertain different Sentiments and follow various Courses yet still they agree in this that they all would be at rest Rest to the Soul is a common End which all aim at for without this there is no happiness What is the true way to this has been the Enquiry of Philosophers and of all wise and thinking Men in all Ages The several Sects of Philosophers pretended to teach it and the same is done by all the Parties who now divide the World One alledgeth the way to rest and happiness is with them another saith it is with them But we may trust him who speaketh here we may safely rely on his Word and have reason to believe him with an implicite Faith for he neither can be deceived himself nor will he deceive others He who giveth this Invitation and maketh this Promise of Rest is the Blessed Jesus that is the greatest Person who ever appeared in Human likeness the very eternal Son of God Wisdom and Truth it self No Falsehood can come from him and he is willing that all come to the Knowledge of the Truth He loves us and wisheth our happiness more than we our selves do He had no other Errand to this World but only to procure our happiness and to direct us in the way to it We ought therefore to receive his Instruction and when he promiseth rest we have all reason to expect it and no cause to fear the missing it O! with what joy should we hear these words from him Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden c. First you see the Invitation is general to all Persons whatsoever Jesus Christ excludes none from his Mercy who do not exclude themselves by their contempt hardness and impenitency As his Benefits are highly to be valued and most desireable so they are freely and kindly offered to every one he is willing that all partake of them The Favours of Kings and Princes are reserved to a few special Friends and Favourites either because they would exhaust themselves if they bestowed many or because they are afraid of rendering them contemptible if they make them common But as Jesus Christ is an inexhaustible Treasure of all desireable riches as he is a Fountain which can never be drained so he doth not shut himself up he freely communicateth of his fulness to us If we be miserable we have only our selves to blame if we lack any thing it is because we do not ask if we cannot rest it is because we do not apply unto him We find him complaining of Mens backwardness to their own happiness but there was never any instance of his hard-heartedness Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life And to give all Confidence and Encouragement and to manifest his free and unlimited Goodness towards all therefore it is written by the Prophet Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price Again And the Spirit and the Bride say come and let him that heareth say come And let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely So here it is Come unto me all ye that labour c. The adding this doth not restrain the Invitation or make it less general for this Epithet may be made of equal extent with Mankind it self for saith the Son of Sirach great travel is created for every man and an heavy yoke is upon the Sons of Adam from the day that they go out of their mothers womb till the day that they return to the mother of all things Ecclus. xl 1. By the words of labouring and
forgive Sins This saith St. Paul is a faithful saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief 1 Tim. And if the chief be saved others have no cause to fear The blood of Iesus Christ saith St. Iohn cleanseth from all sin 1 Joh. i. This is that Fountain which was opened to the House of David and to the Inhabitants of Ierusalem for Sin and Uncleanness The Reason why Jesus can ease us of the Burden of Sin and take away the Guilt and free us from the Punishment of it is because he hath in his own Person born our Sins and satisfied for them he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our Iniquities and by his stripes we are healed and God laid on him the Chastisement of us all Isa. liii The Iust died for the Unjust and he who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God through him In the next place as Jesus Christ taketh away the guilt and burden of our Sins so he freeth us from the fear and terrour of Death For asmuch saith the Apostle as the Children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the power of Death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of Death were all their life time subject to bondage Heb. ii 14 15. Jesus Christ hath brought Life and Immortality to Light he hath discovered a Life far better than this a State in which there is fulness of Joy and Rivers of Pleasure for evermore a Life which admits neither Hunger Thirst Nakedness Cold nor Heat and where all Tears are wiped away And he hath made Death the necessary Passage to this blessed State so that instead of fearing Death Men desire to Depart And whereas before it was reckoned a loss to die now it is counted gain O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Iesus Christ 1 Cor. XV. 55 c. He hath purchased to himself the Keys as of Hell and Death so of Life and Immortality and has Power to admit whomsoever he pleaseth It is he that hath the key of David that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day saith Christ. And again I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me tho' he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die But Thirdly Jesus Christ not only giveth rest to the Soul and ease to our Minds by begetting in us a lively hope of future Bliss but also he greatly refresheth us at present by settling our Minds in Peace and giving them a secret Pleasure which cannot be uttered The Happiness of a Christian is not all in Reversion he has some in hand that the deferring of his hope may not make him faint he has a present Possession given him which yields abundant Satisfaction to stay the longing of the Soul and to prevent its languishing That Contentment which Men do in vain seek among the Creatures is only to be found in him therefore St. Paul counted all things but loss and dung to the knowledge of Iesus Christ He is a Fountain of living Waters and none but he can quench or satisfie the thirst of the Soul Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again but whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up to eternal life said he in his Conference with the Woman of Samaria Joh. iv 13. My flesh saith he is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed that is true Meat and Drink which both nourish and satisfie for it is proper and well suited to our Natures Every Creature has its proper Food nothing but that can satisfie it when that is wanting it languisheth So our Souls which are of a spiritual and heavenly Nature cannot feed upon earthly things nothing can be Food to them but that bread which came down from Heaven The Contemplation of Christ and his Doctrine can only cheer them up These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full which St. Peter saith is a joy unspeakable and full of glory Lastly Jesus Christ giveth his Disciples rest under Afflictions Indeed he doth not promise them an exemption from Trouble and Affliction nay on the contrary they are forewarned to look for this more than others but he makes them very light and supportable by the Strength and Instruction which he gives He doth not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able and with every temptation sends a way by which they may escape that they may be able to bear it 1 Cor. X. he abates the Grief and Molestation which Troubles and Afflictions were wont to procure by clearing the Divine Oeconomy in disspensing them by shewing the Nature and Use of them and by giving Rules how to improve them to our Perfection and Happiness So that what was wont to fright Men is now become matter of Joy and Gladness Count it all joy saith St. Iames when ye fall into divers temptations Thus you see what a blessed and desirable Rest may be expected by coming to Christ. O fortunatos nimium O happy we if we knew our own Happiness Here is the place where we may put off all that burden which lieth heavy upon us Here is an opportunity of being eased of all the Misery which we are born to Bodily or Spiritual Temporal or Eternal Here we may refresh our wearied Minds and get that perfect rest we would be at there is nothing to let or hinder us there is nothing to obstruct this Happiness but our own carelesness and contempt We are freely invited and shall we refuse Do we sit still unconcernedly Will we delay so great Happiness Shall we be so ungrateful to him who makes the offer as to slight it Shall we be so cruel to our selves as to neglect rest when it may be had Will ye thus requite the Lord O O foolish people and unwise O ye sons of men how long will ye love vanity and seek after leesing How long will ye spend your Labour for that which profiteth not How long will it be e're ye have pity on your own Souls Turn ye turn ye why will ye die Why will ye weary your selves in a vain and dangerous Chace The World where you have been all this while hunting is a dry and barren Wilderness in which you may perish before
forth It is the express Condition of all the Promises and without Faith it is declared That we cannot look for Mercy Pardon or eternal Life And this is not a new thing introduced by the Gospel But the Divine Oeconomy from the beginning of the World did require Faith which is a Second Proof of its being absolutely necessary now As it appears now to be the chief Condition required of Men under the Gospel so it was under the Law as St. Paul declares Heb. ii Nay before the Law as appears from Abraham and the other Patriarchs Of Abraham it is said That he believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness Gen. xv 6. Moreover Faith was exacted of Man even before the Fall while he was in a State of Innocence For the two Trees of Knowledge and of Life which God set apart in Paradise and the Interdiction of the First by that severe Sanction in that day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die was to try and exercise Man's Faith Thus the Divine Oeconomy before the Fall and ever since before the Law under the Law and by the Gospel hath always required Faith as a necessary Condition to the obtaining God's Favour In respect to the certain and unalterable Order and Method of which Oeconomy it is that St. Paul saith without faith it is impossible to please God And tho' the Counsel of God be secret and his Methods for the most part unaccountable yet the Reasonableness of this doth appear from this that without Faith in this present State we neither can acknowledge all the Divine Attributes nor yet worship him with all our Faculties His Veracity Truth and Faithfulness cannot be owned otherwise than by Faith by believing his Word assenting to his Declarations relying on his Promises and trembling at his Threatnings And as all those Divine Attributes can only be acknowledged by Faith so it is only by Faith that we worship him with our Understandings It is reasonable that we worship God with the whole Man all our Faculties ought to pay him Homage But how can he have Homage from our Understandings unless we believe It is only by Acts of Faith that we declare the Submission of our Judgment to God for if we will admit or receive nothing but what is demonstrable and what we can clearly comprehend then we deny God's infinite Wisdom and Knowledge and refuse to own his Reason to be above our own which is intolerable Pride and Insolence For this Cause even to try our Faith and to give us occasion to pay him this due Homage of our Reason and Understanding it is that God proposeth to us Mysteries which are incomprehensible and hence it is also that he often absconds himself as it were he worketh not always in a God-like manner that is in a splendid glorious or such a visible Way as may force Acknowledgment from Men but often after a secret and covert manner under the Shadow of Means and Instruments of divers sorts that hereby it may be proved whether we believe him Almighty and the wise Disposer of all things and Author of all Events In the other World Faith shall cease there will be no place for it because there will be a present immediate Intuition of the Divine Nature and Attributes but now that we are absent from the Lord we walk by Faith Thus you see that as Faith is required here so it is necessary and why it is so I have also briefly laid before you And as the Text obliged us to speak of this so the times we live in make it necessary for Atheism and Infidelity are setting up their Heads and some have the Impudence in this licentious Age to dispute both the Reasonableness and Necessity of what God has clearly revealed As for you My beloved I beseech you build your selves up in your most holy Faith and let not the weak Efforts of insolent Wits shake your Faith Stand up and strive vigorously for the Faith of the Gospel which has been confirmed by so many Miracles and Prophecies by such evident Demonstrations of the Spirit and Power that if it be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not least the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine unto them Take heed Brethren saith St. Paul lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God When we let go Faith and entertain an Heart of Unbelief we depart from God lose the Promises forfeit Heaven render our selves uncapable of Mercy and give our selves to a reprobate Mind here and to Damnation hereafter He that layeth aside Faith may also put off the Name of a Christian and all the Pretensions which that Name may give to Blessings earthly or heavenly bodily or spiritual temporal or eternal For Faith is necessarily implyed in that Name and as requisite to him that would deserve it as the Skill of Law or Physick to one that sets up for a Lawyer or Physician or Philosphy to a Philosopher Seeing therefore we own our selves to be Christians that we may be worthy of so sacred a Name let us evermore pray God with the Man in the Gospel Saying Lord encrease our Faith and help our Unbelief But now it may be very pertinently asked what this Faith is which is thus required In answer to this St. Paul hath told us the first and lowest Acts of Faith when he saith He that cometh to God must first believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him We must begin with the Belief and Perswasion of God's Existence Power Wisdom Providence and what else Reason and the Light of Nature teacheth of him But then that our Faith may be perfect we must add to it Knowledge and extend it to all the Manifestations which God hath made of himself from time to time we must embrace all the Divine Revelations and what they contain All the Declarations Laws Promises and Threatnings in God's Word are proposed as Objects of Faith and by Faith we ought to receive them that is we must own and acknowledge them to be of God and by a constant regard to them in all our Actions testifie the Firmness and Sincerity of this Belief and Perswasion More particularly our Faith must respect the Person Offices Doctrine and Actions of the Lord Jesus Christ we must receive him as the Person who was promised to Adam Abraham and the Patriarchs who was foretold by the Prophets prefigured by the Law expected by the Jews and even waited for by the Gentiles we must receive him and rely upon him as the Son of God and Saviour of the World we must embrace him as the Person whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation for Sin and the Mediator by whom and through whom only we have access unto
making Man's Life so much shorter now than what it was at first in the Patriarchs timse is so far from being a Matter of Complaint that it is indeed a great Blessing He who must run will not complain of the shortness of the Race especially if the way be not good but rough and uneven The shortest Life is long enough if it be well employed If we can be so wise as to live well it is our Happiness to die soon for then Death is but the ending of our Misery and a wafting us over to eternal Bliss And this is it which St. Iohn here calls Life it is that glorious and happy State in the other World which God hath prepared for all true Believers That it is this which is here meant we need no further Proof than to look to the Verse before and after our Text for there he names it expressly Eternal Life This is indeed the End of our Faith the Completion of the Promises the great and last Design of Christianity All other are subordinate to this Whatever else is given is either to further the Attainment of this or to cherish the Hopes of it For this end Christ was born for this end he died and rose again for this end the Gospel was preached and thither tend all the Dispensations of the Divine Providence even to bring Men to Eternal Life which also is called by other glorious Names in Scripture as Heaven the Kingdom of God the Kingdom of Glory If you ask why the Apostle should call this State Life simply when Men do live who are not in this State The Answer is he calls it Life by way of Eminence and Excellency no State being comparable to it It is deservedly called Life if we either consider the Felicity or Duration of it First it deserveth the Name of Life upon the Account of the Felicity and Happiness it affords for Life and Happiness are often used as Reciprocal Terms as Words of one Importance according to that Saying non est vivere sed valere vita to live merely to have a being and no more is not worth the Name of Life A Man would chuse to be dead rather than miserable Wherefore it is also that St. Paul calleth this Life a dying daily He only is said to live truly who liveth happily And there is no true Happiness but in this Life which the Apostle here speaks of What and how great this Happiness is is not yet known Some late Enthusiasts and Visionaries have taken upon them to describe this future State as particularly as if they had already lived some time in it But St. Iohn saith It doth not yet appear what we shall be and we have Reason to believe that there was as much revealed to him as to them What he says is certain what they add ought to be rejected as presumptuous Dreams and Delusions God has revealed clearly that there is another Life and has assured us that it is more than a sufficient Recompence for all our Labours and Services and that it will afford perfect Contentment and Satisfaction But the particular Circumstances of that Life are yet kept secret partly because we could not conceive or comprehend them We are not capable of a full Discovery of that Life for it exceeds our highest Thoughts and best Apprehensions Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him The Scripture speaks to us of Rivers of Pleasure Kingdoms Scepters and uncorruptible Crowns But we are to understand this no otherwise than as Similitudes representing something of exceeding great Worth and Value As our greatest Thoughts of God fall short of what he is so also all our Apprehensions of Heaven for the Happiness of Heaven is infinite like the Nature of God Kings and Princes study to have their Courts answerable to their Magnificence and Dignity How Glorious and Magnificent then must Heaven be the Court of the great King Whose Power is Almighty whose Wisdom is Infinite and all whose Perfections are past finding out either by Men or Angels Surely God shall there display himself and his Attributes most clearly and most fully to all Beholders St. Iohn who had a clearer Prospect of Heaven than ever any mortal Man tells us That there is no manner of Imperfection there The city saith he had no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof And there is no night there and they need no candle neither light of the Sun for the Lord God giveth them light There is also he tells us a Freedom and absolute Exemption from all Misery Pain and Trouble they who are there shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them neither any heat for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and lead them to living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their Eyes There we shall not be clogged and fettered to a weak infirm sickly Body as now for then this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal immortality and Christ Iesus shall change this vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself And if our Bodies shall suffer such glorious Changes what think you shall be done to our Souls those precious and better parts of us It is not to be doubted but they also shall be highly exalted and perfected we shall not be liable to Ignorance and Error but shall be enlightned with the Knowledge of all Truth for as St. Paul saith Now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face now we know in part but then shall we know even as we are known There shall be excellent choice and most desirable Company not only all Saints and the Spirits of just Men made perfect but Angels and Arch-Angels Cherubims and Seraphims And we shall not only have the Pleasure of their Company but shall be equal unto them as our Saviour tells us Nay which is yet more there we shall enjoy Christ and God and not only enjoy them but be transformed into their Likeness Beloved saith St. Iohn now we are the Sons of God and it doth not appear what we shall be but this we know that when he doth appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Seeing this doth appear what needs more there is no climbing higher God is the Height of Perfection and the Fountain of all Happiness And it is impossible to conceive greater Felicity than what this Enjoyment of God and Likeness to him amount to The highest Creatures are not capable of more The aspiring to be as Gods was the Sin of our first Parents and did tempt them
In the following Chapter verse 12. There is express mention of Christ's New Name By which we are to understand the new clear full and perfect Manifestation of the Truth and Importance of his Name Jesus Christ for as when God appeared to Moses Exod. vi 3. He called Iehovah a New Name not known to the Patriarchs because he executed the Promise made to them and so manifested his Faithfulness and Unchangeableness signified by that Name For otherwise it cannot be said but that this particular Name was known before as well as that of Almighty So because hereafter there shall be a clear Discovery of the Signification of Jesus Christ and of the Truth of that Signification because the Salvation and Redemption implied in this Name shall be fully revealed therefore it is called his New Name At present we call him Jesus Christ our Lord but hereafter we shall see and feel him effectually to be so now the Salvation he hath purchased is the Object of our Hope but then we shall behold it with our Eyes and be made to contemplate the Glory of his Kingdom to our unspeakable Comfort and Satisfaction But seeing it is said a New Name and not my New Name therefore it would seem that we are to understand it of the Name of him who receives it and seeing Names are the Marks of things and are often taken so in Scripture therefore by New Name we ought to understand the New State and Condition which the Saints and those whom God honoureth shall be put into The Name given to the first Man was Adam and it is common to us all for it sheweth our Original and Condition to be earthly we came from the Dust and to the Dust we must return Our present State is corruptible and makes us liable to Death The Immortality Man would have had in Paradise if he had continued his Integrity would not have been the Effect of his natural Force but of a supernatural Vertue for the natural Composition of our Body tends to Corruption But when this corruptible State is done away there shall succeed another better State even an Heavenly and Incorruptible one which is implied by this New Name As is the earthy such are they also that are earthy and as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly and as we have born the image of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality 1 Cor. xviii 48 58. There remains no more to be explained but the very last words of the Text the sense of which seems not to be very obvious for if the white stone and new name be to be understood of our Iustification and Glorification as I have said how then can it be said that no man knoweth it but he who receiveth it For will not our Absolution be pronounced before all the World is not God to justifie us in the General Assembly of Angels and Men Will not the Devil and Damned behold the Saints entrance into Glory which will not a little aggravate their Misery The Triumph of Iesus Christ is too glorious to be concealed and the Glory which he will bestow on his faithful Servants is too Splendid to be hid But to this it may be replied First That indeed the matter of this Joy and Glory may and will be known unto others but none except those who possess it can have a true sense of it or understand it The Sentence of our Absolution shall indeed be pronounced before all the World The wicked yea the Devils themselves shall hear these blessed Words which proceed from our Saviour's Mouth Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you but none except those to whom they are spoken shall understand or comprehend the fulness of the Consolation which they give The outside of Mens Condition may be seen and the external matter of their Happiness may be known but no view of things can make any taste the sweetness of them or be sensible of the Delectation which they afford any who hath the use of Reason may perswade himself that the state of the Saints in Heaven will be magnificent and glorious even to Admiration But without the actual possession of that State it is simply impossible to conceive or to have any true sensation of the Joy and Delectableness thereof as none can have a true Idea of the Beauty of Colours or the Harmony of Musick or the Sweetness of Honey but by Seeing Hearing and Tasting of them Notwithstanding of what has been revealed of Heaven St. Iohn saith It doth not yet appear what we shall be But Secondly Some put another gloss upon the words and considering that they run in the Present Tense and not in the Future for it is None knoweth it but he that receiveth and not none shall know but he that shall receive Therefore they conclude that the Receiving and Knowledge meant of relate to something in this present Life and not to that which is to come and that so the meaning must be that none at present knoweth these things or has any sense or apprehension of them but they who have received by the Grace and Spirit of God an earnest of them that they are unintelligible Mysteries to all except to them who believe None other do regard them or are sensible of the worth of them As the Cross of Christ is a stumbling-block to the Iews and foolishness to the Greeks so the Glory and the Happiness of the other Life are reckoned Dreams and Ravings by the Men of the World who are void of Faith whereas Faith both discovers the certainty and also gives some fore-taste of the unspeakable excellency thereof For faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence or Conviction of things not seen As God gave Moses a sight of the Land of Canaan on the top of Pisgah so Christians by Faith have a sweet and desireable Prospect of Heaven and the Happiness of the other World It not only assures them that there is such a thing but also makes them sensible that it excelleth all the Delights and Enjoyments under the Sun that nothing in this World is worthy to be compared unto that which is to be revealed As Faith is the chief Weapon and Instrument to be used in gaining this Spiritual Victory so it ascertains us of our Reward and convinceth us of the greatness thereof If we have Faith we shall easily overcome and also be fully perswaded that our labour shall not be in vain Do you Believe I hope you do why then sit you still Why go you not out to fight the Battles of the Lord Arise I pray you and prove your Strength and Valour against his Enemies and your own they are now busy and there is no Truce to be granted unto them Bestirr your selves therefore suffer them not to catch any advantage over you
all his Promises Yea and Amen Why art thou perplext Why art thou cast down O my Soul Wouldst thou be reading thy Destiny in the hidden Books of Fate Wouldst thou fain know what these secret Decrees say of thee O foolish Soul Why so curious to know things too high for thee which are hid from thee and therefore hid because the Knowledge of them is of no Use to thee nor would it give thee any Satisfaction Whatever be the secret Decrees they do not they cannot contradict those Eternal and Immutable Purposes which are revealed viz. That they who repent and believe and obey the Gospel shall be saved this Sentence cannot be reversed Believest thou this if you believe do accordingly and there is no Cause of Fear whatever come of others you are surely predestinated to Eternal Life If thou canst believe all things are possible Blessed are they who believe for there shall be a performance of those things which are told them of the Lord. Some are not contented with this Assurance That God has certainly declared his infallible Purpose of accepting returning Sinners but they would be infallibly assured that they themselves are actually accepted and justified which I confess would be a great Comfort neither do I doubt but some Men have this Infallible Assurance but it is an unreasonable and preposterous thing for any to expect it at their first Approaches to God or in the beginnings of their Conversion This were to ask Fruit before the due time as if one should seek Fruit on the Tree he hath but newly planted This Assurance never goes before our Reconciliation to God though sometimes of his extraordinary Mercy it may follow after and therefore we cannot expect it let us desire it never so much until we have really performed the Conditions here required If thy Assurance be built on another Foundation 't is not to be trusted to and if thou knowest that this Foundation is laid if thou canst say that in all Sincerity thou hast done what was sought of thee what makes thee not to have a rational and comfortable Assurance All Doubts of our Salvation should only arise from our Doubts of performing our part And if upon a strict and impartial Examination of our selves we find that we have performed our part then we ought to have such a comfortable Degree of Assurance as may quiet our Consciences and support us against our natural Fears because God cannot but perform his most gracious Promises But that particular infallible sort of Assurance which some Men cannot be satisfied unless they have is an extraordinary Gift which God is pleased sometimes to give tho' he is not bound to give it He hath sometimes refreshed the Souls of Martyrs and Confessors with it to support them in the midst of their Torments but it is not of ordinary Dispensation and therefore not to be expected because it is a miraculous Gift which is not to be asked but with great Submission to the Will of God who knows when it is fit for the Support and Consolation of a pious Soul But to proceed The Third Qualification here is that we have our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience which with what follows is the inseparable Effect of the two former they cannot be first and the other cannot be without them we must have true and believing Hearts before we can be sprinkled from an evil conscience or have our bodies washen but once having this the other will follow for Light and Heat may be as well disjoined from the Sun as Purity of Heart and Holiness of Life from true Faith and a sincere Mind to God Many pretend Faith but the tree is known by its fruit hereby may it be known whether thy Faith be good if so be thy heart be sprinkled from an evil conscience In this Speech the Apostle alludes to the Rites and Ceremonies under the Law 't was the Custom then to sprinkle both the Priests and the People in their Solemn Approaches to the Lord sometimes with Blood sometimes with Water Oyl or Ashes But now these legal Ceremonies are laid aside yet the thing signified by them is still required viz. What the Apostle makes mention of here that our hearts be sprinkled from an evil conscience By the heart is meant the Soul or inner Man by the evil conscience those things which pollute the Soul which keep one from having a good conscience void of offence towards God and Man such as brutish Lusts inordinate desires unworthy Passions evil Thoughts and sinful Inclinations whether born with us or contracted afterwards All these must be mortified and purged out before we can be throughly reconciled to God for as Iehu said to Ioram when he ask'd Is there Peace what peace so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Iezabel and her witchcrafts are so many So I say to those who draw near to God how can they look for Peace from him while their Pride Vain-Glory Malice Wrath Covetousness and other filthy and ungodly Lusts live and reign in them God is willing to be reconciled to our Persons but not to our Sins we must part with them or if our Sins and we cannot be separated we must give up Fellowship with God Truly God is good to Israel but 't is to such only as are clean in heart He cannot love foul polluted Souls he cannot chuse but loath and hate them for he is not a God that hath Pleasure in Wickedness neither shall evil dwell with him As therefore when we entertain great Persons we use to remove all things nasty and unhandsome and whatsoever may readily offend them or shame our selves and are careful to have all things about us decent and fashionable so being to approach the holy Presence of God let us lay aside every thing offensive and unsuitable viz. the Love and Inclination to every Sin for he is of purer eyes than that he can behold iniquity he naturally abhorrs it and let us give all Diligence to adorn our Souls with holy Thoughts and heavenly Dispositions for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright But if this be wanting we can have no Acceptance If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me saith David Psal. lxvi 18. Even David shall be rejected if he regard Iniquity Some will say if the Case be thus none can have Hopes or who can say their Heart is clean 'T is true in our present State our Hearts cannot be so clean as to have no Blemish there will be ever some Remainders of Sin in us and now and then perhaps some sinful Motions will arise in the best but this will not be imputed to us neither hinder our Reconciliation with God unless we regard them with Love and Delight cherish and follow them If we look on these Irruptions of our corrupt Nature with Sorrow and Regret if we take care to prevent and suppress them and are filled with Grief when they