thoughts of that will be a good meanes for we must empty our selves of that we are that we may be filled with that we are not and we must daily consider the emptinesse of the creature wherewith we labour to support our selves For when men have no goodnesse in themselves they will have an excellency in the creature therefore when wee see our selves out of Christ to be nothing but fuell for Gods vengeance and see that the creature can afford us nothing but vexation these thoughts that these things are so and out of experience will make us draw neere to God upon all occasions it will make us glorifie him and abase our selves what made Iob abase himselfe and glorifie God when he drew neere to God and God drew neere to him I abhorre my selfe and so we see in Abraham Let us draw neere to God upon all occasions in the Word and Prayer and in the Sacrament and this will make us see our owne nothingnesse and Gods greatnesse for that is the way to honour him to see his greatnesse and a nothingnesse in the creature that all things in him are so excellent and out of him nothing and worse then nothing Now wee are to draw neere to God in the Sacrament and the neerer to God the more we honour him who honours God most surely Christ because he is so neere him being God and man in one Person and next to him the blessed Angels glorifie God they are neere him therefore in Isay 6. they cover their faces it being impossible for the creature to comprehend the great Majestie of God and they cover their feet in modesty the neerer we draw to God in the meditation and consideration of his excellencie in the ordinances the more humble and abased wee shall be in our selves and the more we shall honour God seeing his excellency especially of his love So next to the Angels the Saints All thy workes praise thee Psal. 145. They give matter and occasion but Thy Saints blesse thee If it were not for a few Saints on earth though all the workes of God are matter of praise they could not praise God Thy Saints blesse thee and the neerer we come to God the fitter we are for this Now there is a wondrous neere comming to God in the Sacrament if we come prepared we come to have communion and strengthening in Christ he is both the Inviter and the Feast it selfe we come to be made one with him bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh therefore if wee come prepared this is the way to bring us to a disposition to glorifie God you see here the wondrous infinite love of God in the Sacrament to stoupe so low to his creature to strengthen our faith by giving us these things God had beene good to us whether he had given us his Oath and his Seale or no but he knowes we are weake and unbeleeving and doubting therefore to helpe us he hath given us not onely his promise but his Oath and besides his Oath hee hath given us signes and Seales here is wondrous mercy Let us be encouraged to come in and admire the love of God not onely in giving his Sonne Christ for us but in affording us other meanes to strengthen our faith Let none be discouraged in the sight and sense of their owne sinnes but let them come in and they shall glorifie God the more where sinne hath abounded in their sence and feeling there grace shall more abound And those that have beene good and have slipped any way let them consider Gods infinite love in Christ it is not a Cisterne but a Spring Gods mercy in Christ and the blood of Christ is a Fountaine opened for Iudah c. that is it serves not for our first conversion onely but every day upon every occasion when we have made any breach with God we may come and wash in that Bath Christs blood The blood of Christ purgeth it is in the present tense it runnes continually in the vigour of it There is a spring of corruption in us there is a Spring of mercy in God there is a Spring of Christs blood that hath a perfect efficacy to wash our soules Therefore if we have not yet beene converted and humbled and cast downe â—or our sinnes let us now come in and give God the glory of his mercy and if we have fallen againe consider there is a Fountaine opened for Iudah and Ierusalem to wash in and let us come and renew our repentance and faith at this time Peace on Earth The same holy affection in the Angels that moved them to wish God to have his due of glory from the creature it moves them to wish peace to men likewise to shew this by the way that There can be no true zeale of Gods glory but with love to man-kind They were not so ravished with the glory of God as to forget poore man on earth oh no they have sweet pure affections to man a poorer creature then themselves Therfore let them that are injurious and violent in their dispositions and insolent in their carriage never talke of glorifying God when they despise and wrong men there are some that overthrow all peace in the earth for their owne glory but he that seekes Gods glory will procure peace what he can for they goe both together as we see here Glory to God in the highest peace on earth Now their end of wishing peace upon earth it is that men might thereby glorifie God that God being reconciled and peace being stablished in mens consciences they might glorifie God hence observe this likewise that We cannot glorifie God till we have some knowledge of our peace with him in Christ. We must have the first act to cast our selves upon Gods mercy in Christ and adhere and cleave to that mercy and then we shall feele so much comfort as shall make us glorifie God though we may question it in desertion sometimes here the Angels intending that God should have glory of all they wish peace on earth in the consciences of men especially The reason is peace comes from righteousnesse Christ is first the King of righteousnesse and then King of peace righteousnesse causeth peace now unlesse the soule be assured of righteousnesse in Christ it can have no peace what saith the Virgin Mary My soule doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour she begins with magnifying the Lord but what was the ground she rejoyced in God as a Saviour therefore she magnified him so in the Lords Prayer wee say Our Father which is a word of the Covenant of grace when the soule conceives of God as a gracious Father reconciled in Christ and then comes Hallowed be thy Name insinuating that till we know in some measure God to be our Father we cannot with a gracious spirit say Hallowed be thy Name for can we heartily wish for the manifestation of the glory of
of some conceit he hath besides the Word and he that lives ill though he beleeve well shall be damned too Therefore a Christian hath godly Principles out of the Gospel and a godly carriage sutable to those Principles And indeed there is a force in the Principles of Godlinesse from Gods love in Christ to stirre up to godlinesse the Soule that apprehends Gods Truth aright cannot but be godly Can a man know Gods love in Christ incarnate and Christs suffering for us and his sitting at the right hand of God for us the infinite love of God in Christ and not be carryed in affection backe to God againe in love and joy and true affiance and whatsoever makes up the respect of godlinesse It cannot be Therefore it is not a cold naked apprehension but a spirituall knowledge when the Soule is stirred up to a sutable disposition and carriage that makes godlinesse Now this godlinesse is A Mysterie What is a Mysterie The word signifies a hidden thing it comes of Muin which is to shut or stop the mouth from divulging As they had their Mysteries among the Heathen in their Temples which they must not discover therefore there was an Image before the Temple with his finger before his mouth shewing that they must be silent in the discoverie of hidden Mysteries Indeed the Mysteries of the Heathens were so shamefull that they did well to forbid the discoverie of them but I speake onely to unfold the nature of the word which is to shut or keepe secret A Mysterie is a secret not onely for the present but that it was a secret though it be now revealed for the Gospel is now discovered It is called a Mysterie not so much that it is secret but that it was so before it was revealed In the second place that is called a Mysterie in the Scripture which howsoever it be cleare for the manifestation of it yet the reasons of it are hid As the conversion of the Gentiles that there should be such a thing why God should be so mercifull to them it is called a Mysterie So the calling of the Iewes it is called a Mysterie though the thing be revealed yet that God should be so wondrous mercifull to them that is a Mysterie When there is any great reason that wee cannot search into the depth of the thing though the thing is selfe be disoovered that is a Mysterie as the conversion both of Iewes and Gentiles In the third place a Mysterie in Scripture is taken for that that is a Truth hid and is conveyed by some outward thing Marriage is a Mysterie because it conveyes the hidden spirituall Marriage betweene Christ and his Church The Sacraments are Mysteries because in the one under Bread and Wine there is conveyed to us the benefits of Christs body broken and his bloud shed and in the other under Water a visible outward thing there is signified the bloud of Christ. In a word to cut off that which is not pertinent Mysterie in Scripture is either the generall body of Religion or the particular branches of it The generall body of Religion is called a Mysterie in this place the whole Christian Religion is nothing but a continued Mysterie a continuation of Mysteries a chayning together of Mysterie upon Mysterie And then the particular branches are called Mysteries as I said before The conversion of the Iewes and likewise of the Gentiles before it was accomplished it was a Mysterie so the union betweene Christ and the Church is a great Mysterie Ephes. 5. but the whole Gospel is here meant as Christ saith Marke 4. The Mysteries of the Kingdome of God that is the description of the Gospel What is the Gospell The Mysterie of Gods Kingdome of Christs Kingdome a Mysterie discovering how Christ reignes in his Church and a Mysterie of bringing us to that heavenly Kingdome So then the whole Evangelicall Truth is a Mysterie For these Reasons First of all because it was hid and concealed from all men till God brought it out of his owne bosome first to Adam in Paradise after the fall and still more clearely afterwards to the Iewes and in Christs time more fully to Iewes and Gentiles It was hid in the brest of God it was not a thing framed by Angels or men After man was fallen to that cursed state this Plot of saving man by Christ came not into the head of any creature to satisfie justice by infinite mercie to send Christ to die that justice might be no loser it could come from no other brest but Gods it must be a Divine heavenly Wisedome Therefore it was a Plot devised by the blessed Trinitie the Father Sonne and Holy-Ghost it was hid in the secret Closet of Gods brest Christ brought it out of the bosome of his Father No man hath seene God at any time Christ the onely begotten Sonne in the bosome of the Father he discovers the Father and his meaning to mankind Who ever could have thought of such a depth of mercy unto fallen man when God promised the blessed Seed Gen. 3. if God himselfe had not discovered it Therefore this reconciling of justice and mercy it is a Mysterie of heavenly wisedome that the creature could never thinke of as it is excellently set downe 1 Cor. 2. through the whole Chapter Againe it is a Mysterie because when it was revealed it was revealed but to few it was revealed at the first but to the Iewes God is knowne in Iewry c. it was wrapped in ceremonies and types and in generall promises to them it was quite hid from most part of the world Againe when Christ came and it was discovered to the Gentiles yet it is a Mysterie even in the Church to carnall men that heare the Gospel and yet doe not understand it that have the veile over their hearts it is hid to them that perish though it be never so open of it selfe to those that beleeve In the fourth place it is a Mysterie because though we see some part and parcell of it yet wee see not the whole Gospel we see not all nor wholly We see but in part and know but in part so it is a Mysterie in regard of the full accomplishment Yea and in the next place it is a Mysterie in regard of what we doe not now but shall hereafter know How doe we know Divine Truths now In the Mirror of the Word and Sacraments we know not Christ by sight that manner of knowledge is reserved for Heaven so here wee know as it were in a kind of Mysterie wee see divine things wrapped up in the Mirror of the Word and the Mysteries of the Sacraments Indeed this comparatively to the Iewish Church is to see the face of God in Christ a cleare sight but compared to that we shall have it is to see in a Glasse or Mirror if we looke backe it is a cleare sight if
then those things wherin they dissent from us that were neither held from the Apostles times for they were the inventions of Popes one after another their fooleries wherein they differ from us they are late inventions and we hold them not they are lesse Catholike then that that they and we and all Christians hold ever since the Apostles times But to come to a use of practice Therefore when we have the Truths of Religion discovered to us by the Ministerie or by reading c. when they are conveyed to our knowledge by any sanctified meanes let us propound these Quaere's to our owne soules Are these things so or no Yes Doe I beleeve them to be so or no Yes If I doe beleeve them then consider what the affection and inward disposition is whether it be sutable to such things and so worke upon our hearts that our knowledge may be affective knowledge a knowledge with a taste that sinkes even to the very affections that pierceth thorow the whole soule that the affections may yeeld as well as the understanding and let us never cease till there be a correâ—pondence betweene the affection and the Truth Are they true beleeve them Are they good embrace them Let us never rest till our hearts embrace them as our understanding conceives them And let us thinke there is a defect in our apprehensions that we call them into question if the affections embrace them not for alway answerable to the weight and the depth of the apprehension of the Truth is the affection stirred up and the will stirred up to embrace it A man knowes no more in Religion then he loves and embraceth with the affections of his soule The affections are planted for this â—nd upon the report of that which is good to them to embrace it to â—oyne with it therefore let us never thinke our state good till we find our hearts warmed with the goodnes of divine supernaturall Truths Oh how doe I love thy lawâ— saith David He wonders at his own affections Let us labour to have great affections answerable to the things and never leave till we can love them and joy and delight in them as the greatest things and with blessed S. Paul account all as dâ—ng and drosse in comparison of them That knowledge is only saying knowledge that workes the heart to a love to a joy and delight that workes the whole man to practise and obedience that is onely spirituall knowledge All other knowledge serves for nothing but to minister God matter of justifying our damnation that our damnation wil be just that knowing these things we doe not worke our hearts to love them but we rest in the naked barren knowledge of them It is a pittifull thing to know things no further and no deeper then to minister matter of our just damnation Now all that have not a transforming knowledge that have not a spirituall knowledge they are in this state Therefore we should labour to see spirituall things in a spirituall Light for where spirituall Light is there is alway spirituall heat where spirituall evidence is in the understanding there is spirituall embracing in the affections evidence brings quicknesse supernaturall light and supernaturall life they goe together Let us labour therefore that our apprehension of these great Mysteries may be supernaturall and spirituall and then as the judgement apprehends them without controversie to be true the affections will be present to close with them So much for the Preface Without controversie great is the Mysterie of Godlinesse Now wee come to the particulars of this great Mysterie God manifested in the flesh This and the other branches that follow they are all spoken of Christ. Indeed the Mysterie of Godlinesse is nothing but Christ and that which Christ did Christ was manifested in the flesh justified in the Spirit seene of Angels preached to the Gentiles beleeved on in the World received up in Glorie So that from the generall we may observe this that Christ is the scope of the Scripture Christ is the Pearle of the Ring Christ is the maine the Center wherein all those Lines end take away Christ what remaines Therefore in the whole Scriptures let us see that we have an eye to Christ all is nothing but Christ. The Mysterie of Religion is Christ manifested in the flesh justified in the Spirit c. all is but Christ. And that is the reason the Iewes understand not the Scriptures better because they seeke not Christ there Take away Christ take away all out of the Scriptures they are but empty things Therefore when we reade them thinke of somewhat that may lead us to Christ as all the Scriptures lead one way or other to Christ as I might shew in particular but I onely name it in generall He begins here with this God manifest in the flesh not God taken essentially but God taken personally God in the second Person was manifested all actions are of persons the second Person was incarnate The three Persons are all God yet they were not all incarnate though God were incarnate because it was a personall action of the second Person And why in that Person Because he was the Image of God And none but the Image of God could restore us to that Image He was the Sonne of God and none but the naturall Sonne could make us Sonnes He is the Wisedome of the Father to make us wise and he is the first beloved to make us beloved Such reasons are given by the Schoole-men and not disagreeable to Scripture for indeed it is appropriate to the second Person the great worke of the Incaâ—nation God in the flesh Therefore they usually compare the Incarnation of Christ to a Garmeâ—t made by three Virgins Sisters and one of them weares it So all the three Persons had a hand in the Garment of Christs flesh the Father had a worke in it and the Holy-Ghost sanctified it yet he onely wore it therfore the second Person is God manifest in the flesh By flesh here is meant humane nature the propertie of humane nature both body and soule And by flesh also is usually understood the infirmities and weakenesse of man the miserable condition of man So God manifest in the flesh that is in our nature and the properties of it he put that on and not onely so but our infirmities and weakenesse our miseries and which is more he tooke our flesh when it was tainted with Treason our base nature after it was fallen which was a wondrous fruit of Love As if one should weare a mans Colours or Liverie after he is proclaymed Traytor it is a great grace to such a man For Christ to weare our garment when we were proclaimed Traytors after wee were fallen it was a wondrous dignation And he tooke not onely our nature but our flesh he was God manifest in the flâ—sh that is in the infirmities of our nature he tooke
his sake we have communion with the blessed Angels These things may be of some use but it is not that I mainly intend thus much for the Apparition Now the celebration is a Multitude of the heavenly Host praising God The word signifies singing as well as praise it implies praise expressed in that manner and indeed praising God it is the best expression of the affection of joy The Angels were joyfull at the birth of Christ their Lord. Joy is no way better expressed then in praising God and it is pitty that such a sweet affection as Joy should runne in any other streame if it were possible than the praising of God God hath planted this affect on of joy in the creature and it is fit hee should reape the fruit of his owne garden it is pitty a cleare streame should run into a puddle it should rather runne into a garden and so sweet and excellent affection as Joy it is pitty it should be imployed otherwise then in praising God and doing good to men They expresse their joy in a sutable expression in praising God the sweetest affection in man should have the sweetest imployment the sweetest imployment that joy can have is to be inlarged in love to praise God and for Gods sake to doe good to others See here the pure nature of Angels they praise God for us we have more good by the Incarnation of Christ then they have yet notwithstanding such is their humility that they come downe with great delight from heaven and praise and glorifie God for the birth of Christ who is not theirs but our Redeemer Some strength they have there is no creature but hath some good by the Incarnation of Christ to the Angels themselves yet however they have some strength from Christ in the increase of the number of the Church yet he is not the Redeemer of Angels in some sort he is the head of Angels but he is our Redeemer To us a child is borne to us a Sonne is given And yet see their nature is so pure and so cleare from envie and pride that they even glorifie God for the goodnesse shewed to us meaner creatures then themselves and they envie not us though we be advanced by the Incarnation of Christ to a higher place then they For beloved the very Angels have not such affinity to Christ in this as wee they are not the Spouse of Christ they make not up mysticall Christ the Church doth the Church is the Queene as Christ is the King of all it is married to Christ Angels are not and yet although they see us advanced in diverse respects above them yet they are so pure and free from envie that they joyne in praising God here in love to us Let us labour therefore for dispositions Angelicall that is such as may delight in the good of others and in the good of other meaner then our selves And learne this also from them shall they glorifie God for our good especially and shall we be dull and cold in praising God on our owne behalfe Shall they come suddenly from heaven and cheerefully and willingly and to praise God for his goodnesse to us and shall we be frozen and cold in this duty that is for our good more especially I hasten to that that followes What is the matter of their celebration and gratulation Glory to God in the highest In earth peace Good will towards men There is some difference in the readings some copies have it On earth peace to men of good will to men of Gods good will and so they would have it two branches not three if the word be rightly understood it is no great matter First the Angels begin with the maine and chiefe end of all it is Gods end it was the Angels end and it should be ours too Glory to God on high Then they wish the chiefe good of all that whereby we are fitted for the maine end Peace God cannot be glorified on earth unlesse there be peace wrought for man else conceives God as an enemy by this Peace we are fitted to glorifie God if wee find reconciliation with God through Iesus Christ then the sence of Gods love in the worke of reconciliation will enflame our hearts to glorifie God therefore next to the glory of God they wish Peace on earth Then thirdly here is the ground of all happinesse from whence this peace comes from Gods good will from his good pleasure or free Grace To men of Gods goodwill So if we goe back againe The good will and pleasure of God is the cause and ground of peace in Christ and peace in Christ puts us into a condition and stirs us up to glorifie God so we see there is an order in these three To begin with the first Glory to God in the highest The Angels those blessed and holy Spirits they begin with that which is the end of all It is Gods end in all things his owne glory he hath none above himselfe whose glory to ayme at And they wish Glory to God in the highest Heavens Indeed he is more glorified there then any where in the world it is the place where his Majestie most appeares and the truth is we cannot perfectly glorifie God till we be in heaven there is pure glory given to God in Heaven there is no corruption there in those perfect soules there is perfect glory given to God in heaven Hâ—re upon earth God is not glorified at all by many The whole life of many being nothing but a dishonouring of God by abusing his ordinances trampling upon his Church and children by slighting his word and Sacraments there is little honour given to God in the world but only by a few whom he intends to glorifie for ever and indeed if we will glorifie God here we must raise our thoughts to heaven at that time raise them above the world to heaven where we shall for ever glorifie him where we shall joyne with the blessed Saints and Angels and sing holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts c. In the meane time let me adde this by the way that in some sort we may glorifie God more on earth then in heaven It may seeme a Paradox but it is true that is thus here upon earth we glorifie God in the middest of enemies he hath no enemies in heaven they are all of one spirit here upon earth we live not onely among Devils but among men led with the spirit of the Devill where God is dishonoured and if here we take Gods side and the truth and Gospels side and stand for Gods cause in some sort we honour God more here then we are capable to doe it in heaven where there is no opposition In this respect let us be encouraged to glorifie God what we can here for if we begin to glorifie God here it is a signe we are 〈◊〉 number that he intends to glorifie with him forever
at the birth of Christ Good will to men All these agree very well Châ—â—sts free grace and faith For what wee have by grace wee have onely by Christ because he hath given satisfaction to Gods Justice that so grace may be conveyed and derived unto us without prejudice to any other Attribute in God and then the imbraceing power and grace in us is faith so these three agree I say whatsoever wee have from Gods free love now wee have it in Christ the free love of God is grounded in Christ wee in our selves especially considered in the corrupt masse cannot bee the object of Gods love God cannot looke upon us but in him the best beloved first therefore all is Christ in the carriage of it wee are elected in Christ called in Christ justified by Christ sanctified by the Spirit of Christ glorified in Christ We are blessed with all spirituall blessings in heavenly things in Christ. This is my beloved Sonne I am well pleased in him it is the same word there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In whom I delight Isay 42. Out of which the Father takes his speech This is the Sonne I delight in Now all Gods delight is first fixed in his Sonne and in us because we must have communion with the Sonne so the first object of Gods free love is Christ and then he lookes upon us in him The Trinity have a wondrous complacencie in looking upon mankind now in Christ God loves us as redeemed by Christ Christ loves us as electeâ— by the Father and given by the Fathers choyce to him to redeeme the Holy Ghost hath a speciall liking to us as seeing the love of the Father in chusing us and of the Son in redeeming us And surely if wee would see likewise those sweet interviewes of God the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost it should be our maine delight too to see how God hath chosen us and given us to Christ to save how Christ hath redeemed us from this very respect that the Father hath chosen us and given us to him as it is in Iohn 17. Thine thâ—y were thou gavest them me and how the Holy Ghost is a spirit of communion the Communion of the Holy Ghost that hath communion with the Father and the Son and issueâ— and proceedes from them both how he witnesseth this love to our soules and applies it to us the Holy Ghost applies all the Father decreed and ordained all the Sonne workes and dispenseth all the consideration of the point is wondrous comfortable Whatsoever good will the Father hath to us it is as we are in Christ. And why in Christ Because Christ is the first thing that God can love hee is the onely begotten Sonne of God whosoever is loved to glory in a spirituall order is loved in the first beloved Christ is loved of God as the character of his owne image the Sonne represents the Father he is loved of God as Mediator by office so God lookes upon us in Christ as the Sonne of his love so he is called by Saint Paul Coloss. 1. Then if we consider our selves this must bee so alas we are not objects of Gods love in our selves nor cannot be but in some other that is loved first for what are we and what is the glory to which God loves us To love such as wee to such glory and to free us from such misery due it must be by another foundation then our selves therefore Gods good pleasure is founded upon his Son Christ this is a cleare point the Scripture beates much upon it hee is our elder brother and wee must bee conformed to him To make some use of it First of all then we see here that all that are not in Christ lye open to the vengeance and wrath of God his good wil towards men is only in Christ. Againe if all Gods good will and pleasure be in Christ as our high Priest without whom we can offer no sacrifice as wee know whatsoever was not offered by the high Priest it was abhominable Therefore wee should looke to God in Christ love God in Christ performe service to God in Christ pray to God in Christ give thanks to God in Christ desire God in Christ to to make all things acceptable for Christs sake because it is in Christ that God hath any good will and pleasure to us It is a point of marvellous comfort that Gods love and good pleasure is so well founded as in Christ he loves Christ eternally and sweetly and strongly is not Gods love to us the same doth he not love us with the same love that hee loves his Son he loves his mysticall body with one love that is Christ head and members Iohn 17. That the love thou bearest to me may bee in them what a sweet comfort is this God loves Christ and me with one love he loves me strongly and sweetly and constantly as hee doth his owne Sonne his love to me is eternall because the foundation of it is eternall it is founded upon Christ. The love of a Prince if it be founded on a Favourite he loves dearely must needs be firme and strong Now Gods love to Christ is ardent and strong and sweet as possibly can be conceived therefore it is so to us his good will to us being founded on Christ. Why should a believer feare that God will cast him away he will as soone leave his love to his owne Sonne as to us if we continue members of his Sonne it is an undefeasable love it is a point of wondrous comfort What shall separate us saith the Apostle Rom. 8. from the love of God founded in Christ neither things present nor things to come nor life nor death nor any thing many things may sever the soule and body but there is nothing in the world but sinne that shall sever either soule or body from the love of God in Christ because both body and soule are members of Christ therefore let us treasure it up as a point wondrous comfortable To come to an use of tryall how shall wee know wither Gods good will be to us in Christ or no how shall I know that he loves my person that I am in the state of grace and love with him The Holy Ghost must ascertaine this for as the worke of salvation was so great that onely God could satisfie God so the doubts of mans heart and the guilt of his conscience when it is upon him and the feare of Gods wrath upon just guilt is such that God must assure him that God is reconciled to him God the Sonne must reconcile God the Father and God the holy Ghost must seale and ascertaine this to the soule The soule will never bee quiet before it see and know in particular God reconciled in Christ the Spirit that is God that is above conscience must seale it to the Soule being above conscience he can set downe and quiet our conscience Now
upon him and be ruled by him and they will not it shall be easier for Sodome and Gomorrha for Jewes and Turkes and Pagans and those that worship Devils then for us for when God offers his free love and mercy in Christ if we will entertaine it and we will none of it then justice alone shall not condemne us but mercy shall condemne us wee will none of mercy There is not the worst man but would have pardoning mercy hee is content to have God pardon his sinne but hee will not take the whole mercy and love of God in Christ curing healing mercy there are those that live in filthy courses in prophanenesse in swearing c. it is food to them to be malicious to deprave the best things Serpents feed on poyson They are content to have their sinnes pardoned if God will let their filthy nature alone their poysonfull blasphemous disposition that exalts it selfe against God and let them goe on in their course they will have one mercy but not another but wee shall never be saved without entire mercy healing as well as pardoning whom God loves hee doth not onely pardon their sinnes but heales their nature and makes it like unto Christs holy and pure Those that have not the Spirit in them desiring altering and changing and healing grace as well as pardoning grace they are hypocrites Let us remember this especially because it is most usefull and most men are deceived in this they thinke oh God is mercifull and his love is free in Christ and though I be unworthy yet God will have mercy upon me but hast thou a secret desire to partake of Gods whole mercy and love to make thee good as well as to make thee his sonne and intitle thee to heaven to have thy nature altered to see the deformity of sinne and the beauty of grace if thou hadst rather to have the Image of God upon thee more then any favour in the world that thou hadst rather be free from the bondage of sinne then any other deliverance if it be thus thy state is good To hasten considering Gods free love opened now in Jesus Christ I beseech you let us study Christ and labour to get into Christ daily more and more that wee may be members of Christ and desire God daily more and more to reveale himselfe in Christ to us that we may see his face in Christ that wee may know him in the sweet relations hee hath put on him in the Gospell To know God in generall as a Creator and doing good c. the Heathens did that by the light of nature but we should labour to â—ee him in the face of Christ that is to see him appeased and loving us wishing us well concerning eternall glory that must be by the light of the Gospell and by the Spirit therfore in hearing of the Word and reading and meditating desire God above all to reveale by his Spirit his gracâ—ous face in Christ that in Christ we may see him as a Father as a Husband as a Friend in those sweet relations of love that he hath taken upon him It should be our daily desire of God to manifest his love more to us in Christ Iesus then in any other fruits of his love for there be common fruits as to give us health and friends and liberty and quiet governement which are great favours that we see denyed to many nations oh but the soule that is touched with the spirit of God and the sence of his owne condition by nature is thus disposed Lord I desire that thou wouldest shew the fruits of thy love to me but I desire not so much those common fruits that the reprobates may have as well as I oh shew me by thy holy spirit that thou hast a particular and peculiar love to me in Christ and for this end give me grace to know the mistery of Christ more and more the mystery of my naturall corruption that knowledge that may drive me to make much of thy love and grace in Christ. Now the Spirit that knowes the deepe things of God the depth of Gods love to any one in particular and the depth of our hearts if we begge the Spirit to reveale the good pleasure of God to us in time God will shew unto our soules that he delights in us and that he is our salvation this shewes that the soule is an excellent temper that it sets a right price and value on things that it prizeth Gods favour above all things that is the nature of faith for what is faith onely to believe in generall that Christ dyed c No but to esteeme Gods love better then all the world for Gods love is entire in pardoning and curing too by this the soule is raysed up to esteeme the love and mercy of God in pardoning and healing sinne above life it selfe Psal. 63. Thy loving kindnesse is better then life To conclude all with this one motive the loving kindnesse of God when wee have it once it is no barren complementall kindnesse it is a loving kindnesse that reacheth from everlasting to everlasting from Gods love in chusing to his love in glorifying us it is a love that reacheth to the filling of nature with all the happinesse it is capable of In this world in all misery one beame of Gods loving kindnesse will scatter all clouds whatsoever what raised the spirit of Daniel in the Lions Den of the three young men in the middest of the Furnace of St. Paul in the Dungeon the beames of Gods love in Christ brake into the prison into the Dungeon a few beames of that will enlarge the heart more then any affliction in the world can cast it downe It is excellent that Moses saith Deut. 33. The good pleasure of him that dwelt in the bush c. You know that God appeared in the bush when it was flaming the flaming bush shewed the state of Israel in the middest of the Furnace of persecution yet notwithstanding the bush was not consumed why because the good will of God was in the bush so let us be in any persecution put case wee bee like Moses bush all on fire yet the fire shall not consume nor hurt us why the good pleasure of him that dwelt in the bush is with us in Isai 43. I will bee with thee in the fire and in the water not to keepe thee out but I will be with thee in it so that in the greatest persecutions that can be in the fiery tryall as Saint Peter cals it the good will of him that dwelt in the bush will bee with us so that wee shall not be consumed though we bee in the fire afflicted but not despaire why the good pleasure of God dwels in the bush in the Church in the middest of afflictions and persecutions hee is with us who can bee miserable that hath the presence of God the favour and good will of God
is for our good if he send poverty and disgrace it is for our good to fit us for a better state God in his infinite wisdome knowes better what is good for us then we doe for our selves In the want of any thing let us beleeve that Christ is given as a publike treasure to the Church Thus we may improove the grace and riches we have in Christ. Againe let us labour to make a good use of every favour we enjoy of our liberties and recreations we have all by the poverty of Christ therefore let us use them in a sober manner not as the fashion is to cast off all care of Christ to powre out our selves to all licentiousnesse Let us consider this liberty and refreshing that I have it is from the blood of Christ as Davids Worthies when they brake through w th the danger of their lives to get him water Oh saith he I will not drink it it is the blood of these men so whatsoever liberties and good things I have I have it by the poverty of Christ by the blood of Christ and shall I misuse it And certainely it will make us esteeme more highly of our spirituall priviledges then of outward considering they cost Christ so deare He became poore to set us up when we were utterly banckrupt he stripped himselfe of all to make us rich shall we not therefore esteeme and use these things well And when we are tempted to sinne this will be a great meanes to restraine us I am freed from sinne by the blood of Christ shall I make him poore againe by committing sinne Shall I wrong him now he is in Heaven The Iewes despited him on earth in the forme of a servant but our sins are of a higher nature of a deeper double dye we sin against Christ in Heaven in glory When we are tempted to sinne this consideration will make us ashamed to sin since Christ hath bought our liberty from sinne at such a raâ—e shall we make light of sinne that cost him his deare bloud and the sense of his fathers wrath that made him cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me It is impossible that any man should powre out himselfe to sin that hath this consideration Christ became poore that we through his poverty might be made rich The next thing is the ground or spring from whence all this comes it is from grace you know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ. It was his meere grace There was nothing that could compell him God the Father could not compell him because he was equall with his Father being God there was an equality of essence And then what was there in us that should move him to abase himselfe so low was there any worth in us No we were dead was there any strength in us No we were dead in sins was any goodnesse in us No we were Christs enemies was there any desire in us No we were opposite to all goodnesse in our selves there was no desire in us to be better then we were if God should have let us alone to our owne desires we were posting to Hell It is the greatest misery in the world next to Hell it selfe to be given up to our owne desires A man were better to be given up to the Divill then to his owne desires he may torment him and perhaps bring him to repentance but to be given up to his owne desires leads to Hell It is meerely of grace grace it was the grace of God the Father that gave his Son and it was grace that the Son gave himselfe What is grace It is a principle from whence all good comes from God to us As God loves us men and not Angels it is Philanthropia as Gods affection is beneficiall to our nature so it is love as it is to persons in misery so it is mercy as it is free without any worth in us procuring it so it is grace It is the same affection only it differs outwardly in regard of the object Hence we see that Christ must be considered as a joynt cause of our salvation with the Father It is the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ you see here he became poore to make us rich Indeed he was sent and anointed and sealed and had authority of his Father yet notwithstanding his joynt grace and consent went with it Therefore he was a principle as Chrysostome speaks with a principle he differs nothing at all from his Father but in order of persons first the Father and then the Sonne both being joyntly God and both joynt causes of the salvation of mankinde The Father chose us to salvation the Sonne paid the price for us and the Holy Ghost applyes it and sanctifies our natures God the Father loved the world and gave his Sonne Christ loved the world and gave himselfe he loved mee and gave himselfe for mee saith S. Paul Therefore wee should think of the sweet consent of the Trinity in their love to mankinde so the Father loved us that he gave his Sonne so the Sonne loved us that he gave himselfe so the Holy Ghost loves us that he conveighs all grace to us and dwels in us and assures us of Gods love Wee must not thinke of Christ as an underling in the worke of salvation hee is a principle in the worke from his Father The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ it is the cause of all It was the cause why hee was man It is the cause of all grace that is in us that that is the cause of the cause is the cause of the â—hing caused The grace of Christ is the cause of all in us because it was the cause of Christs suffering from whence we have grace Grace was the cause that Christ was man and that he suffered therefore it is the cause of grace in us Christ was a gift the Father gave him and he gave himself If thou hadst knowne the gift of God saith Christ to the Woman of Samariah Oh it is the greatest gift that ever was Therefore when wee thinke of any one of the Persons in the Trinity we must not exclude the rest but include all which is a comfortable consideration because there is a sweet union of all the three Persons in the great work of salvation As Christ saith I in the Father and the Father in me not in essence alone he is God and I am God but I am in the Father and he in me I consent with the Father and the Father with me we both agree in the great worke of salvation Therefore we should returne the glory of all the good wee have to God the Father and to Christ and as it is in Revel 5. Worthy is the Lambe because he hath redeemed us When we think of the good we have by Christ worthy is the Lambe because he shed his blood for us The Lambe of God that takes away the sinnes of the
consideration of this till we feele our hearts warmed If one passe through the Sunne shine it doth not much heat but if the Sunne beat upon a thing there will be a reflection of heat so let us stay upon this consideration of the infinite love and mercy of Christ to us wretches and this warming the heart it will transforme us to the likenesse of Christ as the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 3.18 We all as in mirrour beholding the Glory of God he meanes the glory of Gods mercy in Christ We are transformed and changed from glory to glory from one degree of grace to another The serious consideration of the love and mercy of God in Christ it is a wondrous sweet thing and it hath a transforming power with it And that is the reason why the Gospell converts men and not the Law The Law never converts a man but together with the Spirit it will cast him downe but the Gospell which is the promulgation of grace and mercy to penitent sinners that confesse their sinnes and forsake them and come under a new government of grace the publishing of this hath the spirit of grace with it to worke conversion therefore it is called the ministery of the Spirit because the Spirit goes with the doctrine of grace to change us and make us gracious to perswade us that God loves us and to stir us up to performe all duties in that sweet affection that God requires in the Gospell the affection of love Therefore if we bee or ever were converted it is this way our hearts are wrought on by the consideration of the love and mercy of God in Christ so that love begets love and mercy begets a sweetnesse in us to God againe In the nature of the thing it cannot be otherwise when the soule stands convinced of the sweet mercy of God in Christ and of the sweet love of Christ who being God became man to take our nature and suffer the punishment that was due to us and is now in Heaven appearing and making intercession for us it cannot bee but the soule will be stirred up to a desire of conformity to this blessed Saviour Therefore let us let goe all disputing of election concerning Gods decree and let us doe our duty and depend upon God in the use of the meanes Let us labour to see the love of God in Christ and that will put all questions out of question though in some cases we must labour to know how to vindicate the truth but when it comes to our owne particular lay other things aside let us doe our duty in the use of meanes and thinke of the end of the Gospell of the end of Christs incarnation and death namely to reveale the bowels of Gods mercy to sinners and then we shall finde the intendment of all working upon us that God had an eternall purpose to save us Againe if we would make good use of the example of Christ we must converse with those that have the Spirit of Christ in them as Christ is in every good Christian and see what lovely things the Spirit of Christ discovers in them that will have a transforming power likewise And certainly next to the meditation of Christ and the excellencies that are in him I know no way more effectuall then holy communion with those that are led with the Spirit of Christ when we see the sweet fruit of it in others It hath beene a meanes sanctified to do a great deale of good to many those that delight not in it they never knew what the likenesse of Christ meant for those that desire to be like to Christ they love the shining of Christ in any In these carelesse times all companies are alike one with another indeed when mens callings thrust them upon it they must be allowed to converse with all men but in familiar and intimate society those that doe not make choise of those that finde some worke of grace on their hearts by the Spirit of God they may well doubt of their condition for grace it will make us love the like As we see creatures of the same kind they love and company one with another Doves with Doves and Lambes with Lambes so it must bee with the children of God or else we doe not know what the Communion of Saints meanes which indeed is a thing little understood in the world These times of security are times of confusion affliction will make us know one another better Againe if we would make use of the example of Christ let us put cases some times to our selves what Christ would doe or not doe in such a case I professe my selfe to be a member of Christ to bee one with him and hee one with mee Would CHRIST bee cruell if hee were on earth would he sweare and looke scornefully upon others would he undermine others and cover all with a pretence of justice Oh no it is the Devils worke to doe so If we be not members of Christ woe unto us and if we be doe such courses suit with such a neerenesse to Christ Either let us be religious to purpose or else disclame all for it is better a great deale never to owne religion then to owne it and to live gracelesse lives under the profession of Christ. Now to stir us up to expresse Christ in our lives and conversations Let us consider The more like we are to Christ the more he delights in us for every one delights in those that are like them and what a sweet state is it for God and Christ to delight in us â—od the Father will delight in us because we are like the Son of his delight whom doth God delight most in In his owne blessed Sonne and who come neerest in his delight to his Sonne Those that expresse him in their lives and conversations The more like we are to Christ the more like we shall be one to another As if there be one Statue or Picture or Effigies that is set for the first sample the neerer the rest come to that the more like they are one to another so I say the neerer Christians come to the first paterne of goodnesse Christ himselfe who is Gods master-piece as it were that which he glories in the more we come to be like one another and love and joy one in another What is the sweet communion that we shall have one with another for ever in Heaven Is it not that the Spirit shall be all in all in every one and each shall looke upon another as perfect in grace and love and so shall solace and delight themselves first in God and Christ and then in one another admiring and reverencing the graces and sweetnesse one of another This is the very joy of Heaven it selfe and it is the Heaven upon Earth when we can joy and solace our selves one in another as we are good Now the neerer wee come to Christ who is the Image of God
the more we shall attaine this Therefore let us labour that Christ may be all in all in us that as the soule doth act the body so the Spirit of Christ may act us that Christ may speake in us and think in us and love in us by his Spirit that he may dwell in us and joy and hate in us by his Spirit that we may put off our selves and our carnall affections and the Spirit of the world and that we may put on Christ and be clothed with him that we may say with S. Paul I live not but Christ lives in me by his Spirit whence was Paul stirred up to that Oh saith he Christ loved me and gave himselfe for me Gal. 2. The grace of Christ stirred him up Christ loved me and gave himselfe for me and by his Spirit he witnesseth to my soule that he did so Therefore the life that I live is by the Spirit of Christ Christ lives in me But to come to the particular duty whereunto the grace and example of Christ should stir us up to be like him that is in kindnesse and mercy and bounty to the poore Saints for that is the scope of the Apostle here in this and the next Chapter You know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ who though he was rich he became poore c. Wherfore doth the Apostle bring all this To move them to the duty of bounty and liberality This duty it is legall from the example of Christ it is a thing that hath much equity in it and it is enough to a Christian heart that hath the love of God to put him in minde of the grace of God to him you need not beat upon him or presse him further then thus You know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ remember you are a Christian you have felt the experience of Gods love in Christ every man will judge of the equity that we should therefore be gracious and kinde and loving to others in imitation of Christ because he hath beene so to us Wherein stands the equity First it may appeare in this if we consider in how neere a relation those that need our help are to us and likewise to Christ. First what is their relation to us Not only that they are our flesh for so are all men but they are heires of the same salvation bought with the death of the same Christ such as Christ feeds with his owne body and blood such as he clothes with his owne righteousnesse they are fellow members with us fellow heires of Heaven and members of Christ such as he died for to redeeme with the price of his owne blood there is an undeniable equity if we consider their condition their relation to Christ and to us Againe there is a marvellous binding equity to see the grace of God to us in particular Christ became poore to make us rich in grace here and in glory hereafter and shall not I out of my riches give somewhat to the poore Is it not equall Christ from Heaven came in my nature and flesh to visit me as it is in the Song of Zachary The day spring from on high hath visited us and shall not I visit Christ in his members He came from Heaven to Earth to take notice of my wants and miseries to doe and suffer that that I should have done and suffered he feeds me with his body and blood that is with his satisfaction to Divine justice by his death and shall not I feed his poore members Christ clothes me with his righteousnesse and shall not I cloth Christ in his poore members In the consideration of these things the Spirit of God will be effectuall to stir us up to this marvellous neglected duty of kindnesse and mercy to those that stand in need And because Christ is our paterne herein let us labour to imitate Christ in the manner of releeving and shewing kindnesse and communicating to others that we may doe it as CHRIST hath done How is that First Christ prevented us when we never desired him so we should prevent others Sometimes the modesty of those that want is such that they will not lay open their wants we should see it and prevent it he gives too late oft times that gives to a man that asks him Therefore herein let us imitate Christ to consider of the miseries of others he looked on and considered the miseries of mankinde and it drew him from Heaven to the Virgins wombe from thence to the Crosse to the grave even as low as Hell in his preventing love and mercy Therefore when wee see any need especially if there be any worth in them in any kinde let us not stay till it be wrested from us by intreaty for it is dearely bought oft times that comes that way but prevent them in mercy as Christ hath done to us Secondly what Christ did for us he did marvellous chearfully and readily oh what a desire he had to eate his last Passeover a little before he was crucified With a desire have I desired to eat this passeover with you he was chearfull in it he had a great desire to doe us good and as he saith Ioh. 4. when his disciples put him in mind of eating when he had not eat in a long time before saith he It is meat and drink to me to do the will of my Father so whatsoever we do to others we should do it chearefully and readily as he did Againe whatsoever Christ did for us he did it out of love and grace and mercy he did it inwardly from his very bowels so when we do aâ—ny thing for others we should not onely doe the deed but doe it from an inward principle of love and mercy Therefore the Scripture phrase is powre out thy bowels and saith S. Iohn if a man see his brother in need and pretend he loves God and yet relieves him not how is there bowels in such a man and so in Micah 6. He hath shewed thee oh man what is good to love mercy not onely to be mercifull to do works of mercy but to love it to do what we do out of love and affection and powre out thy heart to thy flesh as it is in I say to give the heart and affection when we do any thing or else we may give with the hand and denie with the heart A man may give a thing so untowardly that one may see it comes against his heart and will Therefore let us labour to doe that we doe with our whole man especially from our heart and affection and bowels It is said of Christ in the Gospell when he saw the people in misery his bowels yearned within him the workes of grace and mercy in Christ they came from his bowels first Let us worke our hearts to pitie and love and mercy first that it may come from the soule as well as from the outward man Againe Christ
because as the things are great so they require a sutable carrage not a common carriage We prophane the Sacrament if we take the Bread and Wine as a common Feast as S. Paul saith You discerne not the Lords Body We prophane Mysteries when we discerne not Beasts and beast-like men discerne not the relation of things that these outward elements have reference to great matters to the Body and bloud of Christ they doe not discerne them from common Bread and Wine though they be used to rayse up our soules to the Bread of Life So likewise when we come to the Word of God and looke not to our feet but come to the Church as if we went to a Play or some common place without prayer without preparation when wee come with common affections this is to come prophanely Here we come to Mysteries to high things to great matters Therefore when wee come to converse with God we must not come with common affections wee must carry our selves holily in holy businesse or else we offer to God strange fire God was in this place sayth Iacob and I was not aware of it So when we come to heare the Word when we goe to pray when we receive the Sacrament God is herâ— and Mysteries are here and we are not aware of it It is a shame for us not to labour to bring sutable dispositions It is a matter of that consequent life or death depends upon it You know what S. Paul sayth 1 Cor. 11. For this very cause some are sick and some weake and some sleep some die Why For comming with common affection for not discerning the Lords Body for not examining our selves for not having answerable dispositions to the greatnesse of the Mysteries we goe about Let us not thinke it enough to come to the Sacrament and then to let the reines loose to all kind of vanitie the very Heathens would be ashamed of that It is the bane and blemish of Religion and such a thing for which wee may feare that God will give whole Christendome a purge I meane for our excesse There is a lawfull use of Feasting and comely Recreations but to come with unjustifiable Vanities that are not fit at any time when wee should honour God for the greatest Gift that ever was for the Incarnation of his Sonne to be more prophanely disposed then and to give our selves to more loose courses then at other times how can it but provoke the Justice of God especially it being common Amongst other things we may justly looke for the Vengeance of God for this not onely upon this or that place for it is the fault of Christendome Shall we carry our selves thus prophanely at these times when we should walke in a holy disposition Is this the way to be thankefull to God Let us labour to entertaine and embrace these Mysteries of the Gospel as wee should with a sutable carriage to them for the Gospel will no longer tarry then it hath sutable love and affections to the greatnesse of the thing The Gospel may leave us we know not how soone and goe to people that are as barbarous as we were before the Gospel came to us The Romans thought they had Victory tyed to them but we have not these Mysteries of the Gospel tyed to us If we labour not for an answerable carriage as God hath removed the Gospel from the Easterne Churches of Asia that are under the tyrannie of the Turks now so he may and we know not how soone take away these blessed and glorious Mysteries Let us reverence these Mysteries and blesse God for them and labour to expresse our thankfulnesse in our lives and conversations that God may delight to continue with us and continue his blessed Truth among us Doe but conceive in your owne selves what equity is it that Truths should be obtruded to men that care not for them That live under the mysteries of the Gospell with as much liberty to the flesh as if they had never heard of it that their lives are not better then Pagans perhaps worse When these things grow generall will God continue these Mysteries to us when there is such a disproportion of affection and carriage Judge of these things God should deale justly with us if he should leave us to the darknesse of Gentilisme and Poperie and confusion and carry the Gospel further West still to a people that never heard of it where it should have better entertainment then it hath had of us I beseech you let us labour to carry our selves answerable to this blessed and great Mysterie if wee would have it continued longer among us Againe are these things Mysteries great Mysteries Let us blesse God that hath revealed them to us for the glorious Gospel Oh how doth S. Paul in every Epistle stirre up people to be thankfull for revealing these Mysteries What cause have the Gentiles that were in the shaddow of death before to be thankfull to God What kind of Nation were we in Iulius Caesars time As barbarous as the West Indians the Canibals were as good as we We that were so before not onely to be civillized by the Gospel but to have the meanes of salvation discovered what cause have we to be enlarged to thankfulnesse And shall we shew our thankefulnesse in provoking his Majestie There is nothing in the world that is a ground of that thankfulnesse as the glorious Gospel that brings such glorious things as it doth Men are thankfull to men for teaching and discovering the Mysteries of their Trades and shall God discover the great Mysteries of the Gospell of Christ and shall not we be thankfull Are there not thousands that sit in darknesse The Romish Church is it not under the Mysterie of Iniquitie And that we should have the glorious Mysteries of the Gospel revealed to us that the Veile should be taken off and we should see the face of God in Christ what a matter of thankfulnesse is it to all gracious hearts that ever felt comfort by it Againe it is a Mysterie Therefore it should teach us likewise not to set upon the knowledge of it with any wits or parts of our owne to thinke to search into it meerely by strength of wit and study of Bookes and all humane helpes that can be it is a Mysterie and it must be unveiled by God himselfe by his Spirit If we set upon this Mysterie onely with wits and parts of our owne then what our wits cannot pierce into we will judge it not to be true as if our wits were the measure of Divine Truth so much as we conceive is true and so much as we cannot conceive is not true What a pride is this in flesh in wormes of the Earth that will make their owne apprehensions and conceits of things the measure of Divine Truth as Heretikes heretofore have done It was the fault of the Schoolemen in later times they would come with their Logick
1. and Ephes. 3. he prayes for the Spirit of revelation that God would vouchsafe that Spirit to take away the veile of ignorance and unbeleefe from our soules that we may see and as it is Ephes. 3. that we may comprehend the height and breadth and length and depth and all the dimensions of Gods love in Christ. This must be done by the Spirit of God for as S. Paul divinely reasons in 1 Cor. 2. Who knowes the things of God but the Spirit of God Therefore wee must plow with Gods Heyfer if we would know the things of the Spirit we must have the same Spirit Now the Spirit doth not onely teach the Truths of the Gospel but the application of those Truths that they are ours this Truth of the Gospel is mine the Sacrament seales it to me The preaching of the Word takes away the veile from the things and the Spirit takes away the veile from our soules It is the office of the Spirit to take the veile off the heart and to lighten our understandings and likewise to be a Spirit of application to us in particular It is to â—o purpose to know that these things are Mysteries unlesse they be for us and for our good that we know Christ is ours and that God is reconciled to us Therefore saith the Apostle hee hath given us the Spirit to know the things that are given us of God in particular So the Spirit doth not onely bring a blessed Light to the Scriptures and shew us the meaning in generall but it is a Spirit of application to bring home those gracious promises to every one in particular to tell us the things that are given us of God not onely the things that are given to the Church but to us in particular For the Spirit of God will tell us what is in the brest of God his secret good will to the Church he loves the Church and he loves thee sayth the Spirit therefore he is called an earnest and a seale in our hearts because he discovers not onely the Truth at large but he discovers the truth of Gods affection in all the priviledges of the Gospel that they belong to us What a blessed discovery is this that not onely reveales Divine Truths to us but reveales them so to us that we have our share and interest in them Therefore whensoever we take the Booke of God into our hands when we come to heare the Word beg of God the Spirit My House sayth God shall be called the House of Prayer not onely the House of Hearing of Divine Truths but the House of Prayer In the use of meanes we must looke up to God and Christ it is impudencie and presumption to come to these things without lifting up our soules to God Therefore there is so little profit under these glorious Mysteries because there is so little prayer lifting up the heart to God We should goe to Christ that opens and no man shuts and shuts and no man opens he hath the Key of David goe to him therefore that he would both open the Mysteries and open our hearts that they may close with them In Revel 5. Saint Iohn wept when the Booke with seven Seales could not be opened he wept that the Prophesie was so obscure that it could not be understood but then Christ takes the Booke and opens it So when we cannot understand divine Mysteries let us groane and sigh to Christ he can open the Booke with seven Seales and he layes open all the Mysteries as farre forth as it concernes us to know Gods children grieve when things are not discovered to them There is a contrarie disposition in Gods people to carnall Papists they vex that Mysteries should be discovered Gods people grieve that they are not discovered enough they make a perverse use of this divine Truths are Mysteries therfore they may not be published to people nay divine truths are Mysteries therefore they must be unfolded Hence comes the necessity of the Ministery for if the Gospel be a Mysterie that is a hidden kind of knowledge then there must be some to reveale it God hath therfore stablished an Office in the Church with which he joynes his owne sacred Spirit that both Ordinance and Spirit joyning together the veile may be taken off How can they understand without a Teacher And To us is committed the dispensation to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ sayth S. Paul Therefore there is this Ordinance to unfold these depths as much as may serve for us Prophane people they thinke they know enough they need not be taught as if this were a shallow Mysterie or none at all It argues a prophane and naughty heart not to attend upon all sanctified meanes all is little enough And sometimes God will not grant his Spirit in one meanes because hee will make us goe to another and from that â—o another and runne thorow all He denyes his Spirit of purpose in hearing because he will have us to read and denyes it in that because he will have us conferre and practise the Communion of Saints and all little enough to apprehend this glorious excellent Mysterie A man may know a prophane heart therefore by despising the improovement of any meanes of knowledge It is a Mysterie therefore Gods people desire to have it taught Againe if we would understand these Mysteries let us labour for humble spirits for the Spirit workes that disposition in the first place The humble God will teach Psal. 25. the humble that will depend upon his teaching Now this kind of humilitie here required it is a denyall of our owne wits though they be never so capacious for the things of the world We must be content to become fooles that wee may be wise wee must denie our owne understandings and be content to have no more understanding in Divine things then wee can carry out of Gods Booke then wee can be taught by Gods Word and Ordinances This humilitie we must bring if wee will understand this Mysterie And bring withall a serious desire to know with a purpose to be molded to what we know to be delivered to the obedience of what wee know for then God will discover it to us Wisedome is easie to him that will Together with prayer and humilitie let us but bring a purpose and desire to be taught and we shall find divine wisedome easie to him that will None ever miscarry in the Church but those that have false hearts they have not humble and sincere hearts willing to be taught For if they have that then God that hath given this sinceritie and will this resolution that they will use the meanes and they will be taught hee will suit it with Teachers God usually suites men with Teachers fit for their dispositions Let a man have a naughtie heart and he shall find flatterers to build him up in all violent and naughtie courses God in judgement
meerely with the Word and with suffering their weapons were nothing but patience and Preaching offering the Word of Christ to them and suffering indignities as S. Austin sayth the World was not overcome by fighting but by suffering So the Lambes overcame the Lyons the Doves overcame the Birds of prey the Sheep overcame the Wolves I send you sayth Christ as Sheepe among Wolves and how by nothing but by carrying a Message and suffering constantly and undauntedly for going with their Message for they had cruell bloody Lawes made against them that were executed to the utmost yet by these meanes they overcame by Preaching and sealing the Truth that they taught by suffering a strange kind of conquest The Turks conquer to their Religion but it is by violent meanes it is a Religion of blood but here as I sayd meanenesse overcame greatnesse ignorance overcame learning simplicity overcame pride basenesse overcame glory a Mysterie in this respect Againe if wee consider the Truth that they taught being contrarie to the nature of man contrarie to his affections to enforce selfe-denyall to men that naturally are full of self-selfe-love that make an Idoll of their wit and will for them to come to be taught to be fooles in respect of wit and to resigne up their wills to the will of another for these men to beleeve things that are above beleefe to carnall men as St. Austin observes it was the wonder of the world what a kind of doctrine was this to win such entertainment in the world as it did yet it did make men denie themselves denie their wits their wills their goods their lives Therefore in this respect it was a great Mysterie that Christ should be beleeved on in the World Againe if we consider another circumstance it addes to the Mysterie that is the suddennesse of the conquest the world was conquered to the Faith and obedience of Christ. In a short time after Christ one man S. Paul spread the Gospel almost all the world over he conquered almost all the world he spread the savour of the Gospel like Lightning suddenly and strongly because there was an Almighty Power and Spirit accompanying the glorious Gospel and thereupon it came to be thus effectuall with the world Againe it is a wonder in respect of Christ whom the world beleeved on What was Christ Indeed he was the Sonne of God but he appeared in abased flesh in the forme of a servant he was crucified and for the proud world to beleeve in a crucified Saviour it was a Mysterie Lastly it is a great mysterie especially in respect of Faith it selfe Faith being so contrarie to the nature of man For the heart of man where Faith is wrought to go out of it selfe and to embrace a beginning and Principle and rising of life from another to seeke justification and salvation by the righteousnesse and obedience of another for the proud heart of man to stoupe to this to acknowledge no righteousnesse of its owne to stand before the Tribunall of God but to have all derived from Jesus Christ to fetch forgivenesse of sins out of the death of another to wrap it selfe in the righteousnesse and obedience of Christ given of God for it the heart of man without a supernaturall worke of the Spirit to subdue it will never yeeld to this because proud flesh and bloud will alway have somewhat in it selfe to dote upon and to set it out before God and when it finds nothing in it selfe then it despaires for the heart of man thus to goe out of it selfe and rely onely upon the righteousnesse of Christ not having its owne righteousnesse this is the greatest Mysterie Especially for a guiltie Soule that hath its eyes opened to discerne of its owne estate for a conscience awakened to trust in God being a holy God a just God for these two to meet together God and a doubting galled misgiving conscience fore-casting the worst for such a conscience to find peace by this act of Faith casting it selfe upon Christ this is more then can be done by any power of nature There is somewhat in nature for all legall obedience man naturally hath some seedes to love his Parents to hate Murther and the like but to go out of himselfe and cast himselfe upon Gods love and mercy in Christ there is no seeds of this in nature but all against Faith in Christ oft times when a man is cast downe all in the world seemes to make against him and then for a man to have his heart raysed up by an Almightie power to beleeve certainely this must be a Mysterie I say when all makes against him his Conscience makes against him and the Judgement of God against him and Satans temptations against him all the frame of things present seemes to be against him God himselfe oft times seemes to be against him to be an offended God justly offended with his sinnes for the soule in this case to cast it selfe upon God in Christ there must needs be a hidden and excellent deepe worke on the soule This is the greatest Mysterie the greatest difficultie is in this branch considering how contrarie to the heart of man Faith is Let us take heed of shallow conceits of Faith as if it were an easie common universall grace to beleeve No beloved it is a supernaturall powerfull worke Saint Paul sets it out divinely and largely in Ephes. 1.18 Hee calls it the Mightie power of God it requires not onely a Power but an Almighty Power to rayse the heart of man to beleeve For even as the worke of Redemption by Christ is a greater worke in it selfe then the worke of Creation so also the worke of Conversion though they be all one to an infinite Power yet the thing it selfe is more difficult to make the heart of man to beleeve then to make a world of nothing for when God made the world there was nothing to oppose there he had to doe with simple nothing but when God comes to make the heart beleeve he findes opposition and rebellion he finds man against himselfe he finds the heart and conscience against it selfe he finds opposition from Satan that helps mans distrustfull heart then all meet together afflictions the sense of Gods anger and mans guiltie conscience now to make such a man beleeve is more then to create a world And as God shewed more power so he shewed more mercy in the worke of Redemption then in the Creation In the Creation there he did good to a good man Adam was created good and he should had he stood have continued in a good condition but in the worke of Redemption God doth good to evill men God transcends in his love because the glory of his mercie reignes in the worke of Redemption so that the power and wisedome and mercie being greater in the worke of Redemption it requires a more super-natural power in the soule to apprehend this
sets Christ as wooing us first in his Ministers inviting us alluring us commanding us removing objections from our unworthinesse Come unto me all ye that are wearie and havie laden and objections from our want of any goodnesse Come and buy without Money the all-sufficiency of Christ. Hereupon Faith comes to quiet the soule in the sweet course that Christ takes to bring the soule to him being so able and willing and shewing his willingnesse by all means that may procure love that the soule may rest without doubting Sayth the soule Surely Christ intends well to me being so able God in the flesh and setting up an Ordinance a Ministerie whereby he invites me and allures me and commands me and then also I have examples before me of wicked men that have beene converted hereupon the soule comes to be at rest Faith hath a quieting power And then againe there is presently an alteration of the course Iordan goes backward there is a turning of a man wholly for Faith is a turning of the soule cleane another way it turns the soule from the world to God and Christ from the present evill world to a better world We see as soone as Zacheus beleeved his thoughts were altered his esteeme of the things of this life was altered halfe my goods I give to the poore We see in the Acts of the Apostles as soone as they beleeved they burned their Bookes As soone as a man beleeves in Christ downe goes the esteeme of the world and all worldly things whatsoever because he sees a higher excellency in Christ. The poore Gaoler when he had mis-used the Apostles as soone as he beleeved we see how he neglects all and makes a Feast for them presently As soone as Faith enters into the soule there is a meane and base esteeme of all things and a high esteeme of Christ All is dung in comparison of Christ There is a change of the soule and an esteeme that goes before that change We worke as we esteeme as soone as we beleeve we esteeme Christ and the things of a better life above all other things And thereupon goes the whole soule and the bent of it that way though with some conflict We see in the Epistles of Saint Paul before those men beleeved in Christ the Ephesians the Colossians the Romanes c. what wicked people they were before and how they were changed as soone as they beleeved then they were Saints Againe where this Faith is it is a triumphing a conquering grace a prevailing grace it overcomes the world and whatsoever is opposite for it sets before the soule greater things then the world can The world presents terrors what are these to the glorie that shall be revealed The world sets out pleasures to allure us and profits and favours and this and that but what are all these to the favour of God in Christ what are they to Heaven What can the world set before the soule of a beleever that is not beneath Faith can rayse the soule above all worldly things it subdues the naturall doubts and loves the feares of troubles and cares for the world and all the affections that were before ruling in the soule Faith comming into the soule subdues all to it selfe and makes them all serviceable Thus it prevailes if not at the first yet in the continuance of time it prevailes by little and little in the hearts of all beleevers It is a victorious grace as we see in Moses and Abraham c. how it prevailed against all obstacles whatsoever How many discouragements had blessed Abraham to leave his fathers house and to goe he knew not where and after to sacrifice his sonne Yet Faith overcame all So Moses to leave the Court and to cleave to a despised people what a worke of Faith was there Faith is victorious Therefore when people are drawne away with any thing that the lookes of any man skares them that the very noise of danger affrights them when the hope of any rising will make them warpe to doe any thing when the hope of any gaine will make them cracke their conscience where is the triumph of Faith As I said before there is a prevailing power in Faith because Faith sets before the soule that which is incomparably better and incomparably worse What is all that man can doe in comparison of Hell and Damnation conscience saith if you doe this ye shall die And on the other side what is all the world can give in comparison of Heaven which Faith presents to the eye of the beleever Againe where this beleeving is it is a working grace it works by love by the love to God it desires the communion and fellowship of that it desires and it workes by love to other beleevers it workes towards Satan hatred toward wicked men strangenesse in conversation It is a working grace it workes by love to all good to God and Gods people and to our selves it makes us have too high esteeme of our selves to be stained with the base services of sinne it workes every way and indeed it must needs be so when Faith sets before the soule the love of God in Christ Hath God loved me so to redeeme me from such misery by such a course as this God manifest in the flesh to advance me to such happinesse being such as I was before a sinner Oh the thought of this will constraine us as the phrase of the Apostle is The love of Christ constraineth me and then the soule will be active and earnest in any thing that may be for the honour of Christ. Hath Christ thought nothing too deare for me not his owne blood for the salvation of my soule is the price of his blood He came downe from Heaven he was God manifest in the flesh on purpose in love to my soule and shall I thinke any thing too deare for him And thereupon Faith workes and stirres up love and when it is stirred up by it it is acted by it it useth the love of God in all the performance of worship to God and in doing all good to our brethren and to our selves to carry our selves as we should every way We see the Woman in the Gospel Luke 7. when she had 〈◊〉 forgiven her she loved much All duties come from Love What need I speake of particular branches Christ brings all to Love he includes all duties in that one in Love because they come from Love and have Love to carry them and to mingle it selfe with them and Love comes from Faith Faith working by Love evidence that we beleeve where there is no Love there is no Faith Therefore let us labour 〈…〉 affection of Love kindled if 〈…〉 kindled we must stirre it up by â—aith You see then that this beleeving is the leading grace Let us labour by all meanes therefore to water this Root When we would have Trees flourish and thrive we poure water to the Roots of them Now
And certainly if troubles come we should many of us be better then we are now afflictions would be so farre from doing us harme that they would refine us we shall lose nothing but that that doth us hurt that that we may well spare that that hinders our joy and comfort But I say let us comfort our selves in respect of the present state of the Church Christ rules in the midst of his enemies in the midst of crosses and persecutions not to free us alway from them but he rules in turning them to good in strengthning exercising our graces and he rules in the midst of his Church at this time by turning his enemies cruelty to the good of the elect As he ruled in the Israelites when he suffered Pharaoh to goe on in the hardnesse of his heart but he had a time for Pharaohs ruine so Christ hath a time for the persecutors of the Church as he had for all the ten persecuting Emperours that came to fearefull and base ends Was there ever any man fierce against God and prospered sayth Iob. Was there ever any that set themselves against the Church of God and prospered No No It is with the Church as it was with Christ to have looked on Christ hanging and bleeding on the Crosse to have seen him groveling on the ground in the Garden men would be readie to take offence what he the Saviour of the world But stay and see him in the Text assumed to Glory and then there would be no offence taken at Christ. So it is in the Church You see the Church suffers persecution but lay one thing with another see the Church in Heaven with the Head of the Church see the Church advanced see it in glory ere long see it refined and fitted by sufferings to come better out of afflictions then it went in and then none will take scandall at the afflictions of the Church as they ought not at the abasement of Christ for though he was God manifest in weake flesh yet we see he ascended up in glory There is a comfortable speech Ierem. 30.7 It is even the time of Iacobs trouble but he shall be delivered out of it So we may say This is the time of the Churches trouble but the Church shall be delivered out of it The enemies have their time to afflict and trample upon the Church but Christ hath his time to trample on them Let us wait and expect with comfort better times The Kingdomes of the world will be knowne to be the Lord Iesus Christs there will be a further subjection to Christs Kingdome then ever there was since the first times when the fulnesse of the Gentiles and the conversion of the Iewes shall be Let us comfort our selves with the times to come Christ is in glory and he will bring his Church to further glory even in this world besides eternall glory at the latter day Rejoyce not over me oh mine enemie for though I be fallen yet shall I rise Let not the enemies of the Church insult over-much though the Church be fallen yet she shall rise againe after three dayes sayth the Prophet Christ though he were abased as low as possible he could be yet after three dayes he arose so the Church shall rise out of her troubles after three dayes that is after a certaine time that we know not but the exact time is onely in the hands of Christ but certainely there are glorious times of the Church comming Consider the wonderfull love of Christ that would suspend his glory so long the glory of Heaven was due to him upon his Incarnation by vertue of the union of his humane nature with the divine for that nature that was united to the God-head it must needs have right to glory by that very union What should hinder when it was so neere to God as to be one Person to be taken into the union of the Person Oh but where had our salvation beene then if Christ had entred into glory upon his Incarnation if he had not shed his blood if he had not beene abased to the death of the Crosse Therefore the Schoole-men speake well he enjoyed the presence of God affectione justitiae with the affection of Justice and all Vertues that is he was as gracious from the beginning from his Incarnation for matter of Grace and love of all that is good yet not affectione accommoda There was a neerenesse to God in pleasure and joy and comfort this he denyed himselfe till he was assumpted to glory after his Resurrection and this he did in love to us that he might suffer and be abased to worke out our Salvation that redundance of glory that should have beene upon his Person presently upon the Union it was stayed till his Resurrection that he might accomplish and fulfill our Salvation What a mercie and love was this So it is with the Church it is glorious as it hath Union with Christ Is not the Church a glorious thing that is joyned to Christ that is Lord of Lords and King of Kings the Ruler of Heaven and Earth What is the reason the Church is so abased thâ—n If the Church were not abased it could not be conformed to Christ. Christ that he might worke our Salvation he must be abased and have suspension and stopping of the glory due to him till the Resurrection Of necessitie we must be conformed to Christ as farre as we may and that we may be conformed to him in abasement and suffering there must be a stop of our glory till we be dead and turned to dust untill we rise againe untill Christ come to be glorious in his Saints If Christ as I formerly sayd had shewed all his glory in his abasement hee could never have suffered the Devill himselfe would have done him no harme there had beene no pretence the Pharises would never have persecuted him and hated him if they had seene him to have beene such a person as he was but he veiled his glory that he might suffer If the World did but see the thousand part of the glory that of due belongs to Christians would they revile them and disgrace and maligne and trample on them Certainely they would not This is discovered in Scripture but the World to discover their Atheisme that they beleeve not the Word of God take no notice of it And that the children of God may be conformed to their Head and that way may be made to the malice of wicked men to trample upon them they goe in the shape of miserable men Therefore let us not be discouraged for any abasement we have a glorious life hid with Christ which shall be revealed one day in the meane time in the midst of abasement let us beleeve Glory And let me adde this to the rest As the same Body wherein Christ was spit upon and mangled and crucified in the same Body he rose againe and in the same Body ascended
come without repentance What saith the Apostle For this cause because you come unreverently to the things of God some are sicke and some weake and some sleepe God strucke them with death for it And it is a great cause why many are hardned in their sinnes and goe on still because God executes these spirituall judgements for prophaning these holy things thinking to daube with God and to complement with him in an easie performance I know those that belong to God are suffered sometimes to doe things amisse and to fall into errours and miscarriages that they may know themselves better And indeed much of our spirituall wisedome is gotten by the sight of our owne errours we grow more stablished after against the like temptations for the time to come and we can say by experience it is good that I know the foolishnes of my own heart c. but hee that God hath no delight in he swells and rages against any admonition though it be in love to his soule I hope there are none such here therefore those that have made their peace with God let them come to these holy mysteries with comfort notwithstanding any thing before for God hath prepared these things not for Angels but for weake men whose faith stands in need to be strengthned And let us not thinke that Christianity is a matter of complement that because we are baptised and come to heare the Word and receive the Sacrament all is well for wee may doe all this and yet be greater sinners then Turkes or Jewes or Pagans for the most horrible sins are committed in the Church Where is the sinne against the Holy-Ghost committed sins against light and against conscience but where the conscience and understanding is most enlightned there be the horrible provoking sinnes where there is more light and direction to live in another way When the grace of God and the riches of Christ are opened and yet men live in their sinnes against conscience and the light of the Gospell so farre is the outward performance from excusing in sickenesse and at the houre of death that it aggravates our guilt and damnation when we make not a right use of the holy things of God That which I shall next stand upon shall be to shew How we may know whether we glorifie God for Christ or no. And then the hindrances that keepe us from glorifying God for this excellent good And the meanes how we may come to glorifie God For the first of glorifying God in generall I will not speake much it would be large and the point of glorifying God is most sweetly considered as invested in such a benefit as this when we thinke of it not as an Idea onely but thinke of it in Christ for whom we have cause to glorifie God and for all the good wee have by him First then we hold tune with the blessed Angels in giving glory to God when we exalt God in our soules above all creatures and things in the world when we lift him up in his own place and let him be in our soules as he is in himselfe in the most holy God is glorious especially in his mercy and goodnesse let him be so in our hearts in these sweet Attributes above all our unworthinesse and sinne for God hath not glory from us till we give him the highest place in our love and joy and delight and all those affections that are set upon good when they are set upon him as the chiefe good then we give him his due place in our soules wee ascribe to him that Divinity and excellency and eminency that is due to him And this especially appeares in competition and opposition of other things when we will not offend God for any creature when we can say as the Psalmist Whom have I in heaven but thee and what is there in earth in comparison of thee Therefore let us aske our owne thoughts often what that is that our affections of delight and joy and love and all the sweetnes and marrow of our soules is spent on and runs after is it the sweet love of God in Christ the excellent state we have in Christ it is an excellent signe Surely the blessed Saints in heaven and those that are in earth that looke for heaven are thus disposed for the most part especially when they set themselves in their devotions before God Let us examine what is highest in our soules The loving kindnesse of the Lord is better then life it selfe saith the Psalmist Then we give God glory when we set light by life it selfe as holy Saint Paul could say What doe you tell me of suffering at Ierusalem I am not onely ready to doe that but to die for the name of Christ and in Philip. 1. So God may be magnified by my life or death I am at a point so if the question be whether we shall sacrifice this blood and life of ours or dishonour God and wrong the Gospell or be any way prejudiciall to the truth knowne when wee are ready to part with all with father and mother and houses and lands and all for Christ then with the Angels we say Glory be to God on high therefore in a state of opposition when we cannot enjoy both let us leave the creature and cleave to God Then againe we give glory to God for Christ when we take all the favours wee have from God in Christ when we see Christ in every thing All things are ours because we are Christs It is by Christ that wee are heires that we have any comfortable interest therefore when wee accept all in Christ and give God in Christ the glory of all we practice this that the Angels doe here we give glory to God Then againe we give glory to God when we stirre up others all the Angels consent there was no discord in this harmony of the Angels When we all joyne together and stirre up one another and labour to promote the knowledge of God in Christ all the wayes we can every one in our place and calling Magistrates and Ministers and every one in our families labour that Christ may rule there that God in Christ may be knowne In Psal. 103. there the Psalmist stirres up himselfe to glorifie God and he stirres up the Angels and here the Angels stirre up men Glory to God on high c. Where there is a zeale of Gods glory and a disposition fit to glorifie God there will be a stirring up one of another Angels men and men Angels and a wishing that God may have glory in heaven and earth Therefore those that labour not in their places that the truth may be made known that for base and worldly ends are opposers of the publishing of the Gospell any way as it is the fashion now they will not appeare openly but cunningly undermine the Gospell under pretences they beare no tune with these blessed Angels for those
the soule being the most excellent thing in the world it is fit it should be set on the excellentest duty man being in such an excellent condition being heire of heaven and having an understanding soule it is fit the most excellent part of the most excellent creature should be set upon the most excellent object Now the most excellent part of the soule is the understanding it kindles all the affections and leades all the rest therefore let us take some time to meditate and thinke of these things What we are by nature and the misery we are exposed to by sinne that whatsoever we have more then hell is more then we deserve and then withall thinke what we are advanced to in Christ what we are freed from that cursed condition and what we shall be freed from the sting of death and all that wee feare for the time to come thinke of what we are freed from and what we are advanced to and by whom by God becomming man a mysterie that might nay that doth ravish the very Angels themselves God-man now in heaven making good what he did on earth by his Intercession and then the ground of all the infinite love and mercy and bounty of God to poore distressed man The thought of these things will inflame the heart now they never worke upon the heart thorowly till they end in admiration and indeed the Scripture sets it downe in termes of admiration So God loved the world So how So as I cannot tell how I cannot expresse it and What love hath God shewed us that we should be called the sonnes of God And then the fruits that we have by this Incarnation of Christ and by his death they are admirable Peace that passeth understanding joy unspeakable and glorious so that the mysterie is wonderfull and the dignity wonderfull and the fruits the comfort and peace and joy wonderfull every thing is an object of admiration therefore when wee thinke and meditate of these things let us never end till our soules be wound up to admiration of the excellent love of God Wee wonder at things that are new and rare and great is there any thing more new and rare then that that never was the like for God to become man Is there any thing more excellent then the benefits wee have by Christ becomming man to free us from so great misery and to advance us to so great happinesse If any thing be an object of admiration surely it must be this Therfore the Apostle doth well to give all the dimensions to the love of God in Christ height and breadth and depth and length it is a love passing knowledge Eph. 3. What good will come by this When the soule is thus exercised then it will be fit to glorifie God when it is in this frame it will thinke it selfe too good for any base service of sinne Eagles will not catch at flies when the soule is lift up to consider Gods love and mercy in Christ will it be catching at every base thing in this world No it will not the soule never sinnes but when it looseth this frame to have a judgement sutable to things when our judgement and affections are lost of the best things then comes in a judgement and affection to other things as better so losing that frame the soule should be in we fall to the creature to commit spirituall fornication with that Let us labour to keepe our soules in this temper begin every day with this meditation to thinke what we were what we are now in Christ what we shall be and by what glorious meanes all this was wrought that so the soule may be warmed with the love of God in Christ this frame of spirit will not suffer the soule to sinne to stoope to base sinfull lusts Now to helpe this in the next place begge of God the spirit of revelation to discover to us these things in their owne proper light for they are spiritually discerned Now the Spirit knowes the brest of God what the love of God is to every one in particular and he knowes our hearts too Therefore the Apostle desires of God the Spirit of wisedome and revelation to discover these things to us not onely that they are truths but that they are truths to us for unlesse we know these things belong to us in particular wee cannot glorifie God as wee should they are in themselves glorious things to heare of Gods mercy in Christ of God becomming man to heare of Kingdomes and Crownes oh but when there is a spirit of appropriation to make these our owne that God in Christ loves us Who loved me and gave himselfe for me Gal. 2. then the soule cannot but breake forth with the Angels here Glory to God on high therefore begge the Spirit to reveale to us our part and portion that he would shew his face to us that he is to us a Father in Christ surely in hearing meditation and prayer c. wee shall finde a secret whispering and report from heaven that God is our Saviour and that our sinnes are forgiven especially when wee stand in most need of this comfort let us therefore begge of God to take away the vayles of Ignorance and Unbeleefe and openly to reveale his Fatherly bowels and tender mercy to us in Christ to discover to us in particular more and more our interest in the same by his Spirit that onely knowes the secret of our hearts and being above our hearts can settle our doubts onely the Spirit can doe it for as God onely works salvation so the Spirit only can seale to our soules our salvation this is one excellent way to helpe us to glorifie God And adde this as motive as a plea not to move God so much as to move and to satisfie our hearts and to strengthen our faith that it is the end of our lives and the pitch of our desires to glorifie God therefore we desire God to reveale himselfe so farre to us to be our Father in Christ that we may glorifie him surely it is a forcible plea God will doe that that is suteable to his end He hath made all things for his owne glory especially the worke of Redemption in Christ is for the glory of his rich mercy and we desire the sense of his mercy and love for this end that we may be fitter to glorifie God it is a prevailing argument fetched from Gods owne end And let us labour daily more and more to see the vanity of all things in the world put the case we have honours and large possessions in the world that we wanted nothing if this were severed from Gods love in Christ for life everlasting what comfort could wee have in this especially at the houre of death let us see therefore the vanity and emptinesse of all things else out of Christ and the good we have by Christ what all will be ere long the daily
therefore his office is to bring God and man together It is fit it should be so in regard of God who being a consuming fire will no peace with the creature without a Mediator it stands not with his Majestie neither can there euer be peace with us otherwise Now Christ is a fit Mediator being a friend to God as the Son of God and a friend to us taking our nature upon him to be a mercifull Redeemer It was also fit in respect of us it should be so Alas who can dwell with everlasting burnings who can have communion with God who is a consuming fire No we cannot indure the sight of an Angell the Israelites could not indure the sight of Moses when he came from the mout his face shone so can we indure the glorious presence of God who dwelleth in light that none can attaine unto Therefore God derives all good to us in our flesh that though we cannot see God directly in himselfe yet in the flesh we can see God Incarnate we may see the Sunne in the water though we cannot directly looke on that creature without hazard It was a comfort to the Patriarches that they had Ioseph their brother the second man in the Kingdome So it may be to every Christian that now we have the second Person in heaven our brother in our nature he is the Steward of heaven and earth to dispense all Gods treasures to us Will not he acknowledge us that are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh When he tooke our nature for this end to be a mercifull Redeemer It is most suteable to our condition that Christ should be the foundation of our peace If we looke to Christ himselfe he being Gods Sonne and the Sonne of his love for him to make us sonnes and sonnes of Gods love is it not most agreeable that he that is the Image of God should againe renew the Image of God that we lost Iacobs Ladder knit heaven and earth together so Christ knits heaven and earth God and us together You know if a Ladder lye upon the ground it doth no good or if it be kept above it serves for nothing so if Christ were onely God or onely man there could be no Union wrought betweene God and man but now being both he is a fit Mediator betweene both Christ is the foundation of our peace in the gracious Covenant that God hath made with us in all his Offices For as a Prophet he proclaimes peace he preached before 〈◊〉 the time of Noah he published peace as the Prophet of his Church in himselfe when hee lived and by his Ministers when he left the world And as a Priest he did worke our reconciliation offering himselfe a Sacrifice he made a peace betweene God and us and is now in heaven to make intercession betweene God and us And as a King he subdues the corruptions of our soules he puls downe the pride of our thoughts to bring the heart into subjection to him by his mighty power which indeed requires an almighty power also by his Kingly office he rules and governes and subdues all the enemies of his Church without and within You see then without further illustration that Christ is the foundation of our peace by his Incarnation death Resurrection and Ascension This should teach us first that whatsoever entercourse we have with God the Father wee should take Christ take our Benjamin our beloved with us we must not offer Sacrifice without the high Priest let us offer nothing to God without Christ there is no entercourse betweene God and us till wee be reconciled in Christ in whom we must offer all our Sacrifices and indeavours Therefore let us not owne an absolute God in our devotious let us thinke of God reconciled in Christ and at peace with us and a Father in Covenant in Christ and then our persons and prayers and all shall be accepted for the Sacrifice of Christ in whom he smells a sweet savour as it is said concerning Noah hee offered a Sacrifice to God a sweet smelling Sacrifice of rest so doth God in Christ he is the true mercy seate in Christ in looking to whom God frees us from the curse of the Law Ierusalem was the glory of the world and the Temple was the glory of Ierusalem but the mercy-seate was the glory of the Temple because that pointed to Christ the mercy-seate in whom we have intercourse with God the Father We conceive not high enough of the Majestie of God when wee goe to him immediatly we must goe to him in his Sonne whom he hath sent and annoynted and set forth as the Propitiation for our sinnes and him hath God the Father sealed he commeth with authority therefore God will be reconciled in Christ we may bind God himselfe when we offer Christ he is the foundation of reconciliation and peace by Gods appointment he is The Prince of peace of his owne annointing therefore we may goe boldly to God to the Throne of grace in Christ. And let us often seriously meditate of the sweet favour and reconciliation stablished now betweene God and us through Christ it is the sweetest meditation First to thinke in what ill tearmes we are with God by nature and then thinke how neare wee are now to God in Christ that wee are at peace with him Me thinks the word is too short there is more meant then is spoken At peace with God in Christ nay nay now we are friends nay we are sonnes and heires fellow heres fellow Kings with Christ for Gods favours are compleat as a God he stablisheth not a peace as men doe onely to doe them no harme that they are at peace with but where he makes a peace he conferres all that is good reconciliation adoption giving us the liberty of sonnes and friends to goe boldly to God as a Father in all our wants let us thinke more of this and improve this blessed priviledge every day Peace upon Earth Why doth he say Peace on Earth Because peace was here wrought upon earth by Christ in the dayes of his flesh when he offered himselfe a Sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour to his Father Because here in earth we must be partakers of it we oft times deferre to make our peace with God from time to time and thinke there will be peace made in another world◠oh beloved our peace must be made on earth We must live godly and righteously and soberly in this present world we must enter into the Kingdome of heaven here Further entrance must be ministred here by growing in grace daily more and more If heaven be not entred into here it shall never be entred afterwards for the Church is the seminary of the heavenly Paradise all that are taken to heaven to be set there for ever they are set in the Church before◠they are planted and grow up there a while under the meanes of
ready to serve the Lord of Hosts against his enemies as hee saith Isay 1. Ah I will be avenged on mine enemies Indeed here God shewes his patience and our long life that we thinke a great favour It is a treasuring up of wrath against the day of wrath and then when Gods wrath comes at the day of Judgement when God hath forsaken sinfull men when God the Judge of all hath said depart ye cursed no creature shall minister them the least comfort the Sunne shall shine upon them no more the earth shall beare them no longer as wee see Dives hee had not a drop of water to comfort him in those flames therefore if wee be not at peace with the Lord of Hosts every creature is ready to be in armes against us As for the Devils they will be ready to be tormentors they that are incentives to sinne will be tormentors for sinne afterwards As for the Church what comfort can a wicked man looke for from the Church whom he hath despised and whose Ministery he hath rejected And for the damned spirits they are all in that cursed condition with himselfe therefore Where shall the ungodly appeare ere long whence shall hee hope for comfort neither from God nor Angels nor Devils nor wicked men nor good men none of them all will yeeld him a dram of comfort Let us not therefore delude our selves but get into Christ get into the Arke in time that when any publike calamity shall come wee may be safe in Christ if wee be at peace with God by repentance of sinnes and by faith in Christ every thing will minister thoughts of comfort to us we cannot thinke of God but as our Father of Christ as our Redeemer and reconciler that hath brought God and us together the Holy-Ghost takes upon him the terme of a comforter for such Angels they are ministring Spirits as for the Church it selfe Gods people they all have a common stocke of prayers for us every one that saith Our Father thinks of us and all other things they are at peace with us as Iob saithâ— The stones in the street nay the stone in a mans body the terrible pangs that comes from that disease they have a blessing upon them in the greatest extremities a soule that is at peace with God however God doe not deliver him from the trouble yet he delivers and supports him in the trouble and as the troubles increase so his comforts increase and the very troubles themselves are peace with him all worke for the best to them that love God And in the greatest confusions and tumults of States yet the righteous is affraid of no ill tydings Psal. 112. Because his heart is fixed upon Gods love in Christ. The wicked when warre and desolation and signes of Gods anger appeare from heaven they shake as the trees of the Forrest as a wicked Ahaz Isay 7. as Belshazzer when there is but a feare of trouble how did he know that the hand-writing was against him it was nothing but this naughty conscience hee knew not what it was till it was expounded so when any troubles comes upon wicked men their consciences upbraâ—d them with their former life their knees knocke together and they grow pale as Belshazzar oh the misery of a man that hath not made his peace with God in the evill day and the comfort of a man that hath there is the difference betweene godly and ungodly man consider them in calamities the one is at peace with God in the middest of all calamities and troubles nay as I said even troubles themselves are peaceable to him Yea when death comes which is the upshot of all the sting of it is taken away and it is for our greatest good he that hath made his peace with God hee can say with old Simeon Lord now let thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seene thy salvation mine eyes have seene Christ with the eye of â—aith he is willing to yeeld his soule to God because he is at peace with God their graves are their beds and their soules rest with God they dye in peace and commend their soules to God as to a faithfull Creator with a great deale of confidence as Saint Paul saith I have fought the good fight I have kept the faith I have runne my race henceforth is reserved for me a Crowne of righteousnesse and not for me onely but for all those that love the blessed and glorious appearing of Christ oh the comsort of a gracious soule in the houre of death that hath made its peace with God when the King of feares death shall looke with a gastly terrible looke upon men that have not made their peaâ—e but to the other it is the end of misery the in let to eternall happinesse Blessed are those that dye in the Lord in the peace of the Lord They rest from their labours from the labour of sinne of callings of afflictions there is no resting till then Saint Paul himselfe was troubled with the remainders of sinne with afflictions and troubles of his calling but blessed are they that dye in the peace of God in Christ they rest from their labours And after death what comfort are those in that have made their peace with God in Christ then their Saviour is to be their Judge hee that makes intercession for them in heaven will be their Judge and will the head give sentence against the members the Husband against the Wife and Spouse oh no therefore the godly have comfortable and sweet thoughts of those blessed times that astonisheth wicked men they have a glorious expectation of the times to come they cannot thinke of death and judgement when their soules are in a good frame without much comfort Lift up your heads for your redemption drawes neere Therefore let us not conceive sleightly of this peace it is not a freedome from petty ills and an advancement to a little good but it is a freedome from ills that are above nature from the wrath of God before which no creature can stand no not the Angels themselves from hell and damnation the curse of God from the Kingdome of Satan it is a freedome from that condition that all the powers of the world shall tremble at how can they stand before the Anger of God and it is an advancement to the greatest good a freedome from bondage an advancement to Son-â—hip therefore let us have high thoughts of this peace as the Angels had when they sang Glory to God on high on earth peace Good will towards men Divers Copies have it otherwise On Earth peace to men of good will some have it Good will towards men the sence is not much different Peace on earth To men of Gods good will of Gods good pleasure that God hath a pleasure to save or good will towards men of Gods good pleasure Peace on earth to men of Gods good will
this Spirit that worketh this in us and assures us of Gods good pleasure it alters and changeth our dispositions that wee shall have a good pleasure in God for there is a mutuall good pleasure God hath a good pleasure in us as his and we have a good pleasure in God wrought by the Spirit the Spirit not onely witnesseth but worketh this sweet and gracious disposition to God God delights in us and we in God God delights in the Church above all things the Church is his wife and Spouse his body his friends his children and those that have the Spirit of God delight in them too Psal. 16 All my delight is in the excellent and Pro. 8. My delight is in the Sonnes of men saith Christ which he shewed by taking the base nature of man upon him so all that have the Spirit of Christ delight in the Church and people of God All my delight is in the Saints on earth God saith his delight is in his Church Hos. 2. So all that have the Spirit of God they delight in the people of God God delights in obedience more then Sacrifice Gods people that he delights in they yeeld their bodies and soules a Sacrifice to God Rom. 12. They will seeke out what is well pleasing and acceptable to God God accepts them in Christ and he is acceptable to them in Christ Iesus and they seeke out what pleaseth him and is acceptable to him as the sonnes of Isaac sought out what might please their old father what he could relish so Gods children seeke out what duties God relisheth best Thanksgiving is a Sacrifice with which God is well pleased is it so then they will seeke out that that may please him God by his Spirit will worke in them a disposition to please him in all things therefore the people of God are said to bee a voluntary free people zealous of good workes being set at liberty the Spirit infusing and conveying the love and good pleasure of God in Christ to them it sets their wils at liberty to devise to please God in all things they have as David prayes Psal. 51. A free Spirit As God not out of any respect from us but freely from his owne bowels loved us and gave Christ to us and delighted in us so the soule freely without any base respects loves God againe Those therefore that doe duties for base aymes and forced as fire out of a flint not as water out of a spring that duty comes not naturally and sweetly from them God hath no pleasure in them because they have none in God but the good they doe is extorted and drawne from them Let us try our selves therefore if wee have tasted Gods good will towards us we will have a good pleasure to him againe whatsoever is Gods pleasure shall be our pleasure what pleaseth him shall please us If it please him to exercise us with crosses and afflictions and losses what pleaseth God shall please me for when he hath once loved me freely in Christ every thing that comes from him tastes of that free love if hee correct me it is out of free love and mercie all the wayes of God are mercy and truth his way of correction and sharp dealing it is a way of love and free mercy therefore if it please him it shall please me my will shall be his will Againe if wee finde the free love of God to us in Christ it will quicken us to all duties and strengthen us in all conditions but these evidences shall suffice let us search our hearts how we stand affected to God and to the best things wee delight in them if God delight in us And if wee doe not find our selves yet to be the people of Gods delight towards whom God hath thoughts of love as the Prophet speaks what shall we doe Attend upon the meanes of salvation the Gospell of peace and reconciliation and wayte the good time and doe not stand disputing this is that that hinders many their disputing and cavilling that perhaps God hath not a purpose to save me and that the greatest part of mankind goe the broad way c. Leave disputing and fall to obeying God hath a gracious purpose to save all that repent of their sinnes and believe in Christ this is Gospell I will leave secret things they belong to God revealed things belong to me I will desire of God his Spirit to repent of my sinnes and to believe and cast my selfe in the armes of his mercy in Christ and then let God doe as hee please if I perish I will perish in the armes of Christ let us labour to bring our hearts to waite in the use of the means for Gods good Spirit to inable me to see my state by nature and to get out of it by casting my selfe upon Gods love in Christ. And object not the greatnesse of any sinne to hinder the comfort of Gods mercy it is a free mercy the ground of it is from himselfe and not from thee It was free to Manasses that had sinned no man more being a King and being the sonne of a good father his sinnes spread further then ours can doe answerable to the greatnesse of his person being an infinite and free mercy it extends to the greatest sinners let no man pretend any sinne or unworthinesse if he seriously repent if any sinne or unworthinesse could keepe it backe it were something but it is a free mercy and love from Gods owne bowels in Christ. And consider how God offers this in the Gospel and layes a command it is thy duty to have a good conceit of God in Christ We ought not to suspect a man that is an honest man and will God take it wel at our hands to suspect him that he is so and so he maks a shew of his love mercy in Christ but perhaps he intends it not put it out of question by believing if thou have grace to believe the mercy of God in Christ thou makest thy selfe a member of Christ and an heire of heaven thou questionist whether thou bee one that Christ dyed for or no believe in him and obey him and thou puttest that question out of question thou doubtest whether God love thee or no cast thy self upon the love of God in Christ and then it is out of question whosoever hath grace to cast himselfe upon the free love of God he fulfils the covenant of grace stand not disputing and wrangling but desire grace to obey and thâ—n all questions concerning thy eternall estate are resolved all is cleare If these things will not move you then let all men know that live in a sinfull condition that they had better have lived in any part of the world then in these glorious times and places of light for when they heare the love of God in Christ laid open to them if they will come in and receive Christ and cast themselves
upon their outward condition that judge by appearance because they are outwardly poore they think they have no riches at all but judge not by appearance as Christ saith the life that we have is hidden our happinesse and riches are hidden with God yet those that we have now are worth all the world Is not a little peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost and assurance that God is ours worth all worldly things The least measure of grace and comfort is worth all and yet what we have here is nothing to that we shall have in Heaven We may be ashamed the best of us all that we live not answerable to our estate Wee are oft times poorer in grace then we need to be having such a Fountaine so neare us to perish for thirst to be at a feast and to perish for hunger to be at a Mine and to come away beggers It is a signe we want spirituall senses it is a signe of infidelity that we are not capable of our spirituall wants that we should professe our selves to be Christians to be members of Christ and yet have no grace no spirituall ornaments no garments to hang on our soules it is a signe there is no union because there is no communion We draw nothing from Christ we are Christians without Christ we have no anointing from Christ. Let us take heed that we be not titular Christians to have only the name of Christians let us labour to be Christians indeed and for that end consider what was the end why Christ became poore to make us rich why should we frustrate his end Therefore let us search what riches wee have from Christ whether our debts be paid whether our sins be forgiven we may know we have our sins forgiven if we have sanctifiing grace God never payes our debts but he gives us a stock of grace let us examine therefore what riches we have Some Christians are rich but they are deceived in their owne condition they think they are poore and beggerly and have nothing when they are rich what is it that deceives them Sometimes it is because they have not so much as others therfore they think they have nothing not considering the degrees in Christianity Or because they have not so much as they would have as a covetous man he alwayes lookes forward he is never satisfied so a Christian out of a spirituall covetousnesse by looking to that he wants forgets that he hath Sometimes a Christian in case of temptations ' and desertion conscience may suggest his wants altogether God wil humble him this way though it may be an error in conscience yet I would there were more of this kinde such people are to bee encouraged as in Revel 2 Thou sayest thou art poore and the world thinkes so but thou art rich so there are many that are poore in their owne conceits that think they have nothing but indeed they are rich and they discover their interest in the true riches by their desire and hungring and thirsting after grace by their care to please God in all things to approve themselves to God to doe nothing against conscience by their care in using the meanes of salvation and their walking circumspectly a man may see and discover their riches in their carriage and if there be he least degree of grace it is great riches in regard of inferiour things though it be little in regard of that wee shall have in Heaven Let us search what wee have that we may walke thankfully and comfortably We see worldly men how they set themselves out in a little riches and swell in their owne conceits A Christian hath that that is infinitely better and shall hee alway droope and be cast downe If he be a sound Christian that hath any goodnesse in him let him walk a comfortable and cheerfull life answerable to his riches We account them base minded men that being very rich yet they live as if they had nothing so Christians are too blame that having great riches in Christ they live as uncomfortably as if they had none What is the reason Christ being so rich that Christians have no more grace Sometimes it is because they search not their owne estates for good as well as bad And then they doe not empty themselves enough that Christ may fill them They are not thankfull enough for that they have for thankfulnesse is the way to get more How shall we carry our selves that we may improve Christs riches to be made rich in grace by him First let us labour for the emptying grace of humility which will empty the soule and make it of a large capacity to containe a great measure of grace God fils the hungry with good things he resists the proud but he gives grace to the humble let us labour to see our wants and necessities and the vanity of all earthly things and then we shall be fit to receive grace And then labour to see the excellency of the grace we want and that will stretch and inlarge our desires And withall see the necessity of grace we must have faith hope and love we cannot live as Christians else we must have contentation we shall live miserably else we cannot be like Christ without grace And withall know that Christ is rich for us he hath not only abundance of the Spirit but redundance to overflow to us his members as the head hath redundance of spirits and senses for the use of the whole body it sees and feeles and smels for the use of the whole body whatsoever Christ hath he hath for us Let us labour to know our riches as we are Christians as we grow in other things so to be acquainted with that we have in Christs As Children that are heires to great things at the first they are ignorant of what they have but as they grow in yeares so they grow in further knowledg of that that belongs to them and they grow in spirit answerable and suitable to that they shall have let grace agree with nature in this let us desire to know our riches in Iesus Christ. And not only know that they are ours but use ours to our own good and benefit upon all occasions If we offend God as every day we doe make use of our riches in Christ for the pardon of our sinnes he is full of favour he is our High Priest he makes intercession for us If we want knowledg he is a Prophet to teach us by his spirit If we finde our natures defiled and want power over our corruptions he is a King to guide and lead us in the midst of all our enemies to Heaven If we finde our consciences troubled consider what peace we have in Christ. If we want outward things let us consider we are under age great persons enjoy not their inheritances when they are under yeares if God dispense outward things to us it
world he is worthy of all praise and honour we should honour the Father and honour the Sonne and the holy Spirit that applyes the good we have by Christ to us When we glorifie God let us glorifie Christ too Who together with the Father is to be glorified because it was his grace to give him selfe he made himselfe poore for us We cannot honour the Father more then by honouring the Sonne for God the Father will be seene in his Sâ—nne as the Apostle saith In Christ we behold the glory of God therefore what he saith of Christ here tends to the glory of the Father Christ not only as God is gracious and was willing to the woâ—k of salvation but as the meritorious cause of the grace of his Father for grace should not have beene derived to us from the Father unlesse first it had beene seated on Christ in our nature and in him derived to us The worke of salvation as it is from Christ so it is from the grace of Christ therefore it was free and voluntary what so free as grace Therefore Christs abasement and poverty it was meerely voluntary if it had not beene voluntary it had not beene meritorious and satisfactory It was a free-will offering it was of grace not forced and commanded without his owne consent it was meerely of grace for our good and salvation that we might have the more comfort it was a free-will offering He seemed as man to decline death to shew the truth of his manhood but when againe he considered wherefore his Father sent him Not my will but thine be done and with joy With a desire have I desired to eat my last Passeover with you and I have a baptisme and how am I payned till I bee baptized with it How ever to shew the truth of his manhood he feared Death yet when he considered what he was sent for it was with a resignation to the Divine Nature so it was a free-will offering and a sacrifice of a sweet smel to God the Father Therefore when wee thinke of Christ let us thinke of no thing but grace or when we think of Heaven or of any blessing by Christ al comes under the notion of grace because all comes from meere favour There are foure descents of grace First grace as it is in God and Christ in their owne breasts the favour of God resting in his own bosome And then this grace and favour shewed in grace that is in habituall grace in bestowing grace upon our natures to sweeten and sanctifie it to fit it for communion with God And then actuall grace the movings of the Spirit to every good worke to every action of grace And then every gift of God every blessing as a grace because it riseth from grace as we say of the gifts of a great person this is his grace or favour so every good thing we have is a grace It is the favour of God in Christ that sweetneth all let us labour to see grace in all especially the fundamental grace the favour of God and of Christ the cause of all And let us see any grace in us as from that grace and every good act wee doe a grace from meere favour and every blessing wee have is a grace if our hearts be good as the Apostle cals the Macedonians benevolence a grace every thing that is good is a grace Therefore not unto us not unto us but unto thy name be the glory both of thy favour and of al that comes from it all that we have is sweet because it issues from grace The favour in the thing is better then the thing it selfe as we say of gifts we care not for the gift but for the love of him that gave it so the good things that we have are not so sweet as the favour of him that gives it when we deserve not so much as daily bread but that also is of grace The sourse and spring of all that is in us is free grace in the breast of God and Christ. In the controversie between us and the Papists when we say we are justified by grace we must not understand it of inherent grace whereby our natures are sanctified and that but in part but it is meant of the free grace and mercy of God in Christ and the free grace of Christ in his owne breast Let us take heed that we build not our justification and salvation upon a false title the title is the grace of Christ and of God the Father Now the grace we have in Christ in the breast of God is either the good will of God whereby he is disposed to give Christ and to doe all good to us there is no cause of that at all Christ as God joynes with the Father in that grace which is Amor benevolentiae the grace of good will Christ as Mediator is the effect of that grace But then there is the grace of complacency whereby God delights in us this is bestowed upon the creature in effectuall calling then God shewes the grace of delighting in us ingrafting us into Christ by faith for though before all worlds God had a purpose to doe good to us yet that is concealed till we beleeve As water that runs under ground it is hid a long time till it break out suddenly and then we discover that there was a streame runne under ground as Arethusa and other Rivers so it is with the favour of God from eternity it runnes under ground till we be called we see not Christs good wil to us but when we beleeve become one w th Christ God lookes upon us with the love of complacency with the same love wherewith he loves Christ because we are in Christ as it is in Iohn 17. I in them and they in me God loves the head and members with the same love Christ as God was freely disposed to choose men but Christ as Mediator continues this favour and mercy of God when we are grafted into him to shine on us continually It is this second that we must labour for as a fruit of the first Let us labour not only to know that there was an eternall love of God to some that are his but labour by faith in Christ to know that he shines upon us in Christ and all other graces within us and all other gifts are from this first grace therefore they have the name Why doe we call Faith Hope and Love graces but because they issue from the mercy and favour and love of God in Christ and as I said before why doe we call any benefit we have a grace because it comes from grace all good things have the terme of grace on them to shew the Spring from whence they come I will not enter into dispute with points of Popery that stincks now in the nostrils of every man that hath but the use of ordinary reason it is so full of folly and blasphemy
them or else we shall find no grace we must be poore in Spirit and sensible of our misery for God inricheth those that are empty and poore The rich he sends empty away We must sue to God for grace by the Spirit of grace and take heed that we turne not these offers of grace to occasions of wantonnesse and so divide Christ to take out of Christ what we list and leave what we list we must know that Christ as he is our Iesus to save us so he is our Lord as he saith here The Lord Iesus Christ we must submit to him for the time to come and then we shall finde experience of his sweet grace The next thing I obserue briefly is that This grace must be knowne Saith the Apostle here you know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ. A man may know his riches he may know his interest in Christ. The Apostle useth it here as an argument to perswade them to good works that that is used as an argument must be knowne before the thing can be perswaded A thing cannot be made light by that which is darker then it selfe but the Apostle here useth this as an argument you know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ so that these truths are taken for granted That all grace comes by the poverty of Christ. And then that we may know our selves to be interessed in it that Christs poverty was for us A man that is a true Christian may know his share and interest in the grace of Christ or else how should he be perswaded by this as an argument if he know it not Or how shall he be comfortable excepâ— he know that he hath interest in Christ It may be knowne out of the Scriptures as a history that Christ is gracious for matter of fact the Devils know it as well as we and Iudas knew it but hee speakes here of a knowledge with interest you know it by experience the Spirit witnesseth to your spirits so much that Christ gave himselfe for you I know the grace of Christ as mine as belonging to me as if there were no man in the world besides and as this knowledge is with interest so it stirs up to due All other knowledge but knowledge with interest may stand with desperation and what good will it doe to know in generall that Christ came to save sinners and yet go to Hell for all that It is the knowledge that applyes Christ in particular that saves a man that knowledge that determines the generall to my owne person Therefore we must labour for this Christ was poore for me He loved me and gave himselfe for me The love and free grace of Christ it may and it ought to be knowne We ought to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure It may be knowne but it cannot be knowne without a great deale of diligence and selfe deniall This knowledge is a super-added grace It is one thing to be a sound Christian and another thing to know it A man cannot know it by reflexion but he must first be good in exercise he must finde grace working he must give all diligence to make his calling and election sure to him It may be sure in it selfe but it cannot be sure to him without diligence therefore those that know their estate in grace they are fruitfull growing carefull watchfull Christians It is no wonder that in these secure times if we aske many whether they know themselves to be in the state of grace upon sound grounds they wish well and they have many doubtings There are many that have the seeds and the worke of grace in them but the times are so secure that they know it not Vsually it is made knowne to us in the worst times either in the time of affliction and temptation and triall or after when wee have fought the good fight and overcome our corruptions To him that overcommeth will I give of the hidden Mannah that is he shall have a sweet sense of Christ to be Mannah to be bread of life to him to him that conflicts and gets the victory over his corruptions The reason why many feele not that sweet comfort from the Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ it is because either they doe not conflict with their base corruptions or if they doe strive they get but a little ground of them And let us take heed of that cold and injurious conceit as if it were a thing not to be known whether we belong to Christ or no. What doe we think that Christ would come in the flesh and become poore nay become a curse for us and that he is now in Heaven for us and all that we should doubt whether we be in his love or no and that we should not labour to finde our portion in that love What a wrong is this to the grace of Christ Is not all his dealing towards us that we might be joyfull in our selves and thankfull and fruitfull to him and how can this be without some knowledge that our state is good How can wee live well and dye comfortably without it Therefore let us make it the maine scope and aime of our indeavour Oh the happinesse of that Christian that is good and knowes himselfe to be so What in this world can fall very uncomfortably to such a man Nothing in the world can take downe his courage much whereas another man that doubts of this can never be comfortable in any condition he cannot be joyfull and thankfull in prosperity he cannot be comfortable in adversity for hee knowes not from what ground this comes whether it be in love to him or no. You see from hence likewise that grace is no enemy to good workes neither the freedome of Gods favour being without any merit on our part nor the knowledge and assurance of salvation it is no enemy to diligence and to good works nay it is the foundation of them The Apostle doth not use it here as an argument to neglect good workes no he stirs them up by it If any thing in the world will worke upon a heart that hath any ingenuity it is the love and favour and grace of God the love of Christ constraineth the love of Christ as knowne it melts the heart The knowledge of the grace of Christ it is very effectuall to stir us up as to all duties so especially to the duty of bounty and mercy for experience of grace it will make us gracious and kinde and loving and sweet to others Those that have felt mercy will be ready to shew mercy those that have felt grace and love they will be ready to reflect and shew that to others that they have felt themselves Those that are hard hearted and barren in their lives and conversations it is a signe that the Sunne of righteousnesse never yet shined on them There is a power in grace and grace knowne to assimilate the soule to be
like unto Christ it hath a force to stirre us up to that that is good Tit. 2.11.12 The Apostle enforceth selfe-denial a hard lesson and holinesse to God justice to others and sobriety to our selves What is the argument he useth The grace of God hath appeared The grace of God hath shined as the word signifieth He meanes Christ appeared but hee saith The grace of God hath appeared when Christ appeared grace appeared Christ is nothing but pure grace clothed with our nature What doth this appearing of grace teach us To deny all ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live holily and righteously and soberly c. Holily and religiously in regard of God justly in regard of men and not only justly but bountifully for bounty is justice It is justice to give to the poore With hold not good from the owners they have right to that we have Grace when it appeares in any soule it is a teacher it teacheth to deny all that is naught and it teacheth to practise all that is good it teacheth to live holily and righteously in this present evill world Many men like the Text thus farre The grace of God bringeth salvation Oh it is a sweet Text I but what followes what doth that grace teach thee It teacheth to deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts it doth not teach men to follow and set themselves upon the workes of the Devill but to live soberly and justly and righteously in this present evill world It is said of the Woman in the Gospell She loved much because much was forgiven her what made that blessed woman so inlarged in her affection and love to Christ She had experience of the pardon of many sins and having felt the love of Christ she loved him againe And what is the reason that those that are converted from dangerous courses of life do often prove the most fruitfull Christians Because they have felt most love and mercy Who was more zealous then the blessed Apostle S. Paul Oh he found rich and abundant love How large is he in fetting forth the mercy of God Oh the height and breadth and depth Nothing contents him no expressions when he speakes of Gods mercy because he had beene a wretched man and found mercy Let no man be discouraged if he have beene never so sinfull if he come in The more need he hath of mercy the more aboundant God is as the Apostle saith here You know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ. And those that have felt most grace will bee most wrought on to shew the fruits of that grace in all good workes in duties towards God and men And if we finde not our hearts wrought on by the confideration of the grace of Christ apprehended and knowne to this end We turne the grace of God into wantonnesse it is a sign of an ill condition the Scripture speakes nothing but discomfort to such that take occasion from the free grace and infinite and boundlesse mercy of God to be loose and carelesse in their lives and conversations that think it is a time of liberty and we may doe what we list though the tongues of men say not so nor they dare not for shame yet their lives speak it would men else live in swearing and other debaucht carriage that is offensive to God and men Do they know that there is a God a Christ and mercy Doth mercy and grace teach them that lesson No it teacheh us to deny such base lives and lusts and to live holily and soberly and justly in this world Therefore such men are Atheists either they must not beleeve the Scriptures or else exclude themselves from interest in mercy for as yet they are not in the state of grace in whom the consideration of mercy and grace doth not worke better effects then these The Gospell hath as strong encouragements and stronger to be good and gracious then the Law Grace inforceth strictnesse of life more sweetly and strongly then the Law The Law saith We must not take the name of God in vaine and we must be subject to our superiours and to live chastly c. under a curse Doth not the grace of God teach this as well as the Law and from a higher ground It teacheth the same thing by arguments taken from love and grace A man perisheth by the Law in such sins but then there is a pardon offered if men will come under the government of Christ and lead new lives but if men refuse there is a superadded guilt not only justice condemnes such wretches but mercy it selfe because they refuse mercy upon these termes rather then they will leave their sinfull courses mercy and justice both meet to condemne such persons Let us take heed therefore of abusing the mercy and love of God for then we quite overthrow Gods end in the Gospell for why doth he conveigh all to us by love and mercy and grace but that it may worke the same disposition againe in us to him or else we overturne the end of the Gospell Let us take heed of this as ever we will finde interest in this grace without which we are the miserablest wretches that live it were better for us that we had never heard of Christ and the Gospell then to live in sins against conscience under the manifestation and publication of grace Now together with the grace of Châ—ist the Apostle brings the example of Christ that both may stirre them up to the duties of mercy and bounty and fruitfulnesse Indeed the grace of Christ makes his example more sweet Men willingly looke upon examples The examples of great and excellent Persons The example of loving and bountifull Persons The example of such as are loving and bountifull to us in particular The example of such as we have interest in that are neere and deere to us and we to them These foure things commend examples Now is there any greater or more excellent person then Christ Is there any fuller of love and mercy and grace then he that hath made himselfe poore to make us rich And all of us if we be Christians indeed we have interest in this our hearts and consciences by the Spirit of God have some perswasion of this And then againe he is deare and neere unto us he is our Head and Husband he is all in all unto as Therefore the example of Christ joyned with his grace it is a wondrous forcible example How shall we make this example of Christ profitable to us First of all let us looke often into the grace of Christ the grace and free mercy of God in giving Christ consider how God hath laid forth all his riches in Christ and consider how miserable we had beene without Christ even next unto Divels in misery A man is the most miserable creature under Heaven if he have not interest in Christ he is a lost creature Let us dwell upon the meditation and
and praying to him and then using the meanes with dependance upon him Let us therefore acknowledge God this way by committing our wayes and affaires to him Wee need knowledge and strength and a comfortable issue for all that is necessay in our affaires let us acknowledge God and fetch all these from him Well the last thing that wee have any use of trusting God withall is when we are dying to trust our soules to commit them to God and yeeld them up to him our depositum to lay it with him He that hath inured himselfe to trust God all his life and to live by faith he will be able at length with some comfort to dye by faith Hee that hath trusted God all his life with all things that God hath trusted him he can easily trust God with his soule and he that hath not inured himselfe to trust God in this life undoubtedly he will never trust God with his soule when he dies it is but a forced trust Thus you see in all the passages of our lives we must learne to trust God and to make use of God for God is so abundant that hee is never drawne dry he joyes when he is made use of it is an honour to him Let us try our selves by that I have said whether we truly trust God or no let us not deceive our owne soules but labour to trust God for all things Let it be our daily practise in the use of meanes look to the course that he prescribes us and then looke up to him for strength and blessing and successe This ought to be the life of a Christian Oculus ad Coelum as they say of the Governour of a Ship he hath his hâ—nd to the Sterne and his eye to the Pole-star to be directed by that so the life of a Christian he must have his hand to the sterne he must be doing that that God prescribes him and hee must have his eye to the Starre to be guided in his course by Gods direction he that doth not this knowes not what it is to trust in God How shall we bring our soules to this so necessary a duty Indeed it is a very hard matter we know what it is to live by our wits by our wealth by our lands but what it is to live by faith in depending upon God few soules are acquainted with that Therefore in the first place learne to know God you see here we must trust in his name We know men by their names God and his name are all one his name is himselfe and himselfe is his name Therefore let us learne to know God as he hath discovered himselfe know him in his workes but especially in his word know him by that worke is he hath discovered himselfe in his word Let us know his promises and have them in store for all assaies whatsoever promises fâ—r grace and for direction in this world God will not faile us nor forsake us he will be in all extremities with us In the fire and in the water and the promises of issue All things shall work for good to them that love God and the promise of his Spirit He will give his holy Spirit to them that ask him Besides particular promises a world of them in Scripture let us know God in these promises they are our inheritance our portion And if we should go to God and not be acquainted with these he will aske us upon what ground How shall wee bee able to go to God But when we have his promise we may say boldly with the Psalmist Lord remember thy promise wherein thou hast caused thy servant to trust We may put God in remembrance not that he forgets but he will have us mindfull of what he promiseth and put him in minde Aâ—d it is an evidence to our soules that he will grant any thing when we have faith to put him in minde of his promise Lord remember thy promise wherin thou hast caused thy servant to trust Lord thou canst not deny thy word and thy truth and thy selfe and they promise and thy name by which thou hast made thy selfe knowne Thus we should know God in his word as it is Psal. 9. They that know thy name will trust in thee oh Lord. We never trust a man till we know him and those that are not good we say they are better knowne then trusted but the more we know God the more we shall trust him And know him in his speciall Attributes that the word sets him out in besides the promises that we may know that he is able to make good all these promises and then wee shall trust him What are those Attributes He hath made himselfe knowne to be All-sufficient what a world of comfort is in that He saith to Abraham I am God All-sufficient walk before me and be perfect take thou no thought for any other thing I am God All-sufficient There is in him whatsoever may be for an object of trust he is All-sufficient he hath power our trust is in the name of the Lord that made Heaven and Earth There is a consideration to strengthen faith there is power enough we beleeve in a God that made Heaven and Earth and there is will to helpe us he is our God and there is skill to helpe us as S. Peter saith he knowes how to deliver it is his practise he hath used it from the beginning of the Chuâ—ch and will to the end hee knowes how to deliver them to protect and stand by them he hath power and will and skill to doe it And then againe he is every wheâ—e he is such a Castle and Tower and defence we have him neere us in all times he is a present helpe in trouble as it is Psal. 46. what an object of trust is here if we had buâ— faith to make use of it Let us therefore know God in his word in his Attributes and this will bee a meanes to strengthen trust as it is Psal. 36. How sweet is thy goodnesse therefore shall the sonnes of men trust under the shaddow of thy wings Why come we under the shaddow of Gods wing Because his goodnesse is sweet he is a fit object for trust The things of this world the more wee know them the lesse we trust them for they are but vaine but there is such infinitenesse in God that the more we know him the more we shall trust him therefore let us grow in the knowledge of Gods word and truth And adde experimentall knowledge it helpes trust marvellously the experience of others and our owne experience when wee see God hath helped his Church in all times especially when they have sought him by fasting and prayer Our Fathers trusted in thee and were not confounded Psalme 22. Therefore if we trust in thee we shall not be confounded So for our owne experience Thou hast beene my God from my mothers wombe I have depended
Christian. True Christian who 1 6 Church Angels attend on the Church 1 211 Greatest sinnes committed in the Church 1 231 Church of God will be after us 2 85 Civill Civill men who 1 91 Comfort To comfort others an Angelicall worke 1 210 Gods love in Christ ground of comfort 1 287 See Time Conformity Conformity to Christ wherein 1 179 Conscience Comfort when conscience is awaked 1 60 What to do in trouble of conscience 1 61 Constant. Good works must be done constantly 2 73 Contraries A Christians estate in contraries 2 30 Controversie Godlinesse a mystery without controversie 1 42 Covenant Covenant renewed to maintaine peace 1 269 Covenant of grace 1 283 Courage Ground of courage in Christs cause 1 188 Crosse. See humble D Death COnfidence in death 1 277 Comfort after death 1 278 Comfort before death 2 72 Comfort in death 2 77 Trouble in death whence Ibid. To trust God with our soules in death 2 147 Debt Our debts discharged by Christ 2 18 Delight Delight in God how wrought 1 289 Despaire Comfort against despaire 1 58 145 2 54 Difference Difference of people 2 83 Diligence Diligence to know Christs grace 2 56 Discretion Discretion in almes-giving 2 74 Disgrace Comfort in disgrace 1 80 Doubting Doubting the cause of it 2 57 Earth HOw to glorifie God on earth 1 216 Why the Angels wish peace on earth 1 261 Enemy Gods enemies must be ours 1 264 Envie Nature of Angels without envy 1 213 See Angels Esteeme From what ground to esteeme our selves 2 37 Evill Freedome from evill by Christ 2 25 Example Example forcible 2 5 Example of Christ should move us 2 62 How to profit by Christs example 2 63 Motives to follow Christs example 2 66 Excellency Excellency of people what 1 136 Experience Experience of our miseries in Christ 1 53 F Faith REason must stoope to faith 1 22 Faith marries the soule to Christ 1 138 Faith the grace of application 1 140 Christ the object of faith 1 142 What conceit to have of faith 1 151 Faith put for all graces 1 153 Trials of faith 1 155 Faith to be cherished 1 161 Faith in those that do good in their life time 2 72 Faith the nature of it 2 135 See Nature Fall Fals of Gods children why suffered 1 230.2 117 Favour How to know we are in Gods favour 2 53 Feare Faith keepes out base feare 2 139 Few Gods children few 2 86 Flesh. What meant by Christ manifest in the flesh 1 52 Free All good by Christ free 1 283 Fruitfull Fruitfulnesse whence it is 2 112 See Love and Grace G Gentiles GEntiles what they were 1 128 Why they were not called before 1 129 Calling of them a mystery 1 130 Why they were not called till Christ came 1 131 Glory Glory what 1 165 217 Whence we have glory 1 175 Glory of Christ suspended why 1 185 Angels wished glory in heaven why 1 215 Glory of God our chiefe aime 1 218 Glory of God wherein shewed most 1 219 Glory of God to Moses wherein 1 224 How to know we glorifie God 1 232 Hindrances of Gods glory 1 238 How to glorifie God 1 243 Riches of glory by Christ 2 21 First fruits of glory 2 22 See Peace God God how a Spirit 1 71 Christ God before he was man 2 7 Our Mediatour must bee God why 2 9 Afflictions bring us to God 2 100 Godlinesse Godlinesse what 1 4 Godlinesse what breeds it 1 5 From what reasons we must be godly Ibid. Good Christ to be imitated in doing good 2 70 Bounty must bee especially to the good 2 74 Good-will Good-will of God the ground of all good 1 282 Gospell What our affections and carriage must be to the Gospell 1 48 The manner of publishing the Gospell 1 119 Double spring of the Gospell 1 131 What use to make of the Gospell 1 131 Sinnes against the Gospell 1 134 High esteeme of the Gospell a signe of peace 1 266 Gospell why it converts 2 64 Grace Grace the ground of peace 1 280 Christians why poore in grace 2 40 Excellency of grace 2 41 All our riches from Christs grace 2 43 47 Grace what 2 44 Christ the meritorious cause of grace 2 47 Foure descents of grace 2 48 We are justified by grace 2 49 Grace twofold Ibid. Grace of Christ fruitfull 2 52 We cannot pray for grace of our selves 2 118 Works of grace not to be denied 2 127 Two graces alway requisite 2 132 See Mystery and Diligent Great What makes times and persons great 1 36 Christ at the lowest did the greatest works 1 75 H Hate MEn by nature hate God 1 263 Hatred of sinne a signe of peace with God 1 265 Heaven See Earth Hidden Riches of a Christian hidden 2 26 Holinesse Holinesse enforced from Christs ascension 1 190 Host. Angels called an host why 1 205 Humble Humility Humility to understand Gods mysteries 1 28 Humility to improve Christs riches 2 41 Crosses should humble us 1 102 I Ignorance IGnorance hinders Gods glory 1 238 Imputation Imputation of Christs righteousnesse a part of our riches 2 19 Incarnate Second person incarnate why 1 51 Incarnation of Christ the ground of other benefiâ—s 1 218 See wonder Independent Love of God independent 1 282 Infirmities What infirmities Christ took 1 52 Comfort in daily infirmities whence 1 177 Infidelity Signe of infidelity 1 195 Inwardly We must do good to others inwardly 2 71 Ioy. Ioy how to be imployed 1 212 Iustifie Iustified Iustified what 1 71 Christ justified in spirit how 1 75 To whom Christ is justified 1 77 Why Christ justified himselfe 1 78 Iustification double 1 85 How we justifie Christ Ibid. How we jâ—stifie our profession 1 88 To justifie God in our abasement 2 97 Spiriâ—uall poverty in justification 2 113 Iudgement Gods children suffer sometimes in common judgements 2 90 K Knowledge Knowne WHat knowledge condemns 1 49 Grace may be knowne 2 55 What knowledge this 2 56 God trusted as he is knowne 2 134 148 Knowledge experimentall 2 150 L Ladder â—Acobs Ladder what it signified 1 100 Law Law why preached 1 118 The Law implied in the Gospell 1 119 Liberality Christs example should stirre up to liberality 2 68 Liberty Liberty to the throne of grace 2 20 Life Life the end of it what 1 247 Love Love to men 1 251 Love to mans nature 1 281 Love of God to us how knowne 1 288 Love of God how gotten 1 291 Love of God fruitfull 1 296 Greatnesse of Christs love 2 31 M MArriage See Faith Mediator See Beginning Meditate Order to meditate on Christ 1 197 Meditation 1 243 Men. Why the Gospel dispensed by men 1 120 See God Meritorious See Grace Mercy Mercy-seat Mercy-seat a type of Christ 1 99 Mercy in God answereth all objections 1 225 Some thinke their sins greater than Gods mercy 1 241 Meditation of Gods mercy a help to glorifie God 1 243 Mistake in applying Gods mercy 1
of Gods glory 6 6 When it works a glorious joy The hinderances of Gods glory 1 1 Ignorance 2 2 Vnbeleefe 3 3 Too much light When wee thinke our sins greater then Gods mercy Doting on outward things How to come to glorifie God Meditations of Gods mercy in Christ. Ephes. 3. Question Answer The benefit of this meditation 2 2 Begge the spirit of revelation Gal 2. To glorifie God the end of our life 3 3 See the vanity of all things else Draw neere to God Application to the Sacrament Esay 6. Psal. 145. They that glorifie God also love men We cannot glorifie God till we know we are at peace with him Whence peace comes Peace what Ephes. 1.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Out of Christ a separation 1 1 Betweene man and God 2 2 Betweene man and Angels 3 3 Betweene man and man 4 4 Betweene man and other creatures 5 5 Betweene man and himselfe Christ our peace Ephes. 2. Esay 9.7 Peace founded on Christ. Question Answer Why peace is wrought by Christ. 1 1 In regard of God 2 2 In respect of us 3 3 In regard of Christ. Simile No entercourse with God without Christ. Meditate of this peace Question Answer Why is it said peace on earth How to know God and we are at peace 1 1 If God be reconciled to us we are reconciled to him 2 Cor. 5.19 Man naturally hates God 2 2 Gods friends and enemies are ours 3 3 Boldnesse of spirit Iob 22. Acquaintance with God 4 4 Hatred of knowne sins 5 5 High esteeme of the Gospell 2 Cor. 5. 6 6 Peaceablenes with others Isay 11. Danger of false peace Necessitie of application How to maintaine this peace Watchfulnes 2 2 Renewing our Covenant 3 3 Prayer to God Phâ—lâ—p 4. 4 4 Good imployment Philip. 4.8 Motive to unregenerate men to get peace To stirre us up to search the grounds of this peace 1 1 The danger without it In respâ—ct of God 2 2 Christ. Psal. 2. 3 3 The Holy-Ghost 4 4 Creatures Esay 1. 5 5 Devils 6 6 The Churchâ—â— 7 7 Damned spirits Exhortation to make our peace Happinesse of him that is at peace with God Afflictions sanctified to those that are at peace with God Difference of men in trouble Psal. 112. Confidence of Christianâ— in death Comfort after death Peace comes from grace Gods good pleasure to men To love mankind Gods good will the gâ—ound of all good Gods love independent Deut. 7.8 Covenant of grace Foundation of the covenant free Rom. 8. All good by Christ free To empty our selves Gods free love onely in Christ. Iohn 17. Why Godâ— love to us is in Christ. Col. 1. Vse The misery of man out of Christ. To looke to God in Christ in what we do Gods love in Christ ground of comfort Rom 8. How to know Gods love to us The Holy Ghost testifies Gods love The Spirit alters mans disposition to delight in God Psal. 16. Hos. 2. Rom. 12. Psal. 51. Love of God quickeneth to dutie Direction to those that find not God love to them Greatnesse of sin hinders not Gods love To have a good conceit â—o God Danger of neglecting Gods offer Mistake in aâ—plying Gods mercy Study Christ daily Beg the Spirit of revelation Psal 63. Gods love fruitfull Deut. 33. Isay. 43. Simile Scope of the words Examples forcible Example more prevalent then precepts Doct. 2. Christ was rich Riches what Psal. 24. Christ God before he was man Arius Phil. 2.6 Christ a Mediator from the beginning Simile Quest. Answ. Our Mediator must be God 1 1 For the greatnesse of the ill wee were in 2 2 In regard of the good wee have by him Doct. 2. Christ became poore 1 1 He tooke our natuâ—e 2 2 Our nature fallen 3 3 Our condition 4 4 Our misery 5 5 Our sinnes How farre Christ tooke our sinnes Simile Simile Particulars of Christs poverty Iohn 4. Aggravation of Christs poverty Christs riches vailed in his poverty Simile Christ no begger Bellarmine Doct. 3. Christs Poverty our riches Not for himselfe Not for Angells Christs poverty to make us rich Quest. Answ. Quest. Answ. What riches we have by Christ. 1 1 Our debts discharged We are rich by imputation By infusion In prerogatives Adoption Liberty to the throne of grace Ephes. 3. All things turned to good Rom. 5.10 Riches of glory Ephes. 3.8 First fruits of glory Quest. Answ. We are inriched by Christs poverty 1 1 Because wee fell by pride 2 2 We must be restored by satisfaction Else we could not have the spirit No riches by Christ without union Colos. 1.27 Freedom from evill by Christ. Conveyance of all good Object Answ. Christians richâ—s hidden Object Answ. Christians riches chiefly spirituall Christ provides for his Want of outward comforts supplied Simile Christians rich in promises Christians have a rich pawne Poverty a part of our riches Vse 1. A Christians state in contraries Greatnesse of Christs love Bernard How to bee thankefull to Christ. If we be rich by Christs poverty much more by his riches Rom. 5.10 Not to despise men for poverty Heb. 11.38 Christ came not to purchase outward riches Digression concerning the feast of Christs Nativitâ— 1 1 They are not our owne Luke 16. 2 2 They are not true riches 1 1 They make not a man better Simile 2 2 A man out-lives them Simile 3 3 They are not proportionable to the soule From what ground to esteeme our selves and others Our own fault if we want spirituall riches To examine what riches we have from Christ. Christians are rich and know it not Rev. 2. Why Christians are so poor in grace Quest. Answ. How to improve the riches by Christ. 1 1 Humility 2 2 See the excellency of grace 3 3 Know Christs riches for us 4 4 To make use of them for our selves To make good use of recreations Whence to esteeme of our priviledges All our riches from Christs grace Grace what it is Christ a joynt cause of our salvation Chrysost. How to think of the â—ersons in Trinity Revel 5.6 Christ the meritorious cause of grace Christs abasement voluntary All we have of Christ is by grace Foure descents of grace We are justified by grace how meant Grace twofold Simile Iohn 17. How to value blessings Christs grace fruitfull Simile How to know we are in Gods favour Not to despaire Christs grace is free Doct. 5. Grace may be knowne What knowledge this is It requires good diligence Cause of doubting Assurance of salvation no enemy to good workes Titus 2.11.12 Luke 7.47 The Gospell forceth strictnesse of life Doct. 6. The example of Christ should move us to good Christs example our pâ—tern Quest. How profit by Christs example Answ. 1 1 The consideration of Christs mercy Simile 2 Cor. 3 18. Why conversion wrought by the Gospell not by the Law 2 2 Converse with those that