reason of it but because he wanted the spirit and on the contrary when the Disciples had received the Spirit They spake with boldnesse The fourth effect that the spirit begets i holy and heavenly desires in the soul therefore the Church in Cant. 2 is marvellous inquisitive to find Christ and what is the reason there is in men such a want of holy desires but because they have not the spirit The fifth effect is That the spirit begets holy indignation holy anger is an effect of the spirit and therefore thé Apostle saith in 1 Cor. 7. What indignation and wrath This he speaks in the commendation of the Corinthians men will not be angry with sin as an evil untill they get the Spirit The sixth effect of the spirit is holy affections It will make you have heavenly affections towards God to grace to the Saints Therefore the Lord saith Eze. 26. 21. I will give you a new heart Carnal men they may do some things to make their children to reverence them as to love them in regard of some donation that is they may proffer an object but they cannot beget holy affections That is the onely work of the Spirit thus to change the heart The seventh effect of the spirit is this It will purge the soul i. e. it will cast out all rubbish out of the soul There fore the Lord saith that he will purge the sons of Levi as silver That is that they may be fit for the service of the Priesthood he will purge out of them by the spirit that which other wayes would make them unfit And David in Psal 51. often prayes That the Lord would purge him and then after he prayes for the restoring of the spirit making the absence of the spirit the cause of his uncleanness The eighth effect of the spirit is It kindles holy affections to good in us and this is that that giveth us great advantage against sin I say we have no small advantage against the devil when the heart is full of heavenly affections and that for these reasons First because the more holy affections the better man That is God accompts more of him A man is esteemed of God as he hath or hath not holy affections a man is that which he is in his affections that is a man is not a good man because he knowes much but he is a holy man because he hath holy affections when he is full of love to God to Christ and to the Saints The second reason is because holy affections are a means or a second cause of good That is they are the cause of good actions as for example for a man to suffer for Christ and yet not to do it with holy affections out of love unto Christ That is nothing worth Therefore when the affections are ripe they are drawn upwards by the spirit both to do and to suffer The third reason is because holy affections they widen the soul that is they make the soul large for when holy affections are dead in you the soul will begin to shrink in even as cloth that is not thorowly made when water fals upon it it will run in but if you stretch it it will come to its own length again so when the spirit comes and â—…rks holy affections they widen the soul and make it large and firm Therefore that you may have large hearts in prayer and in meditation labour to get the spirit that you may have holy affections kindled in you The fourth benefit that a Christian hath by the Spirit is this it will make the heart good because it is the proper work of the holy ghost to sanctifie the heart that is to cleanse and change it and so make it good It is the work of the Spirit to work repentance a thorow change because men for the most part mistake repentance That is men do think that if they be turned this way and that way from this sin and from that sin though it be not from every sin and evil way that they have true repentance but they are deceived For repentance is a true change of the whole man consisting both of soul and body whereby the parts and faculties of both are turned a quite contrary way That is the heart is turned out of the way of sin into the way of holiness Now that a partial turning is not repentance I will make it clear by this comparison Take any natural thing that is of an earthly substance whose nature is to go downwards Yet you may force it upwards by means that you may use As for example Water you know is of an earthly substance and the nature of it is to descend yet you see by the force and strength of the sun it is drawn upwards first into vapors and then congealed into ice and snow and rain and then it will not rest till it descend again But there is another motion of things light and spiritual clouds ascend upwards and are not forced but naturally do it Even so a carnal man may do the same things that a spiritual man doth he may keep down some lust and he may forsake some evil That is he may forsake his drunkenness and his uncleanness and his old evil haunts but yet he doth not forsake all neither doth he keep out sin by the spirit but by a natural strength if he do a good action itâ—… by constraint he is forced by something to do it but it changeth not his heart a whit he may take a resolution to be good and to be better yet to change his own nature is not in his own power for this is the work of the holy Ghost Thus much for this use and for this point We now come to a third point the Apostle saith he would have them To be strengthened by the spirit in the inward man noting thus much that God must give them the spirit before they could have him The point is this That The Spirit is a free gift I say that the sanctifying Spirit is a free gift I gather it thus The Apostle here prayes That God would give them the Spirit Not that they had deserved it and so should have it by merit as the Papists teach but he must give it them freely without defert of their own I need not stand in the proving of it long That the Spirit is a free gift onely I will shew you briefly how the Spirit is a free gift and this shall be in these five particular things First the Spirit is a free gift and it must be free because the Spirit is a gift and what more freer as we use to say then a gift is Now it is a free gift because it is not merited by us at Gods hands it is not extorted and drawn from God by force nor merited by desert because all the good that is in us is wrought by God it is God that
as well as the eye so in the body of Christ there are members of all sorts In a great house there is use of vessels of divers degrees so in the church of Christ there is use of mean christians of those of lower parts there is need I say of them as well as of those of more excellent gifts therefore you must remember this that though God be rich in mercy yet he takes not away those differences and degrees that are amongst men and if you ask how then he is rich in mercy I say every man hath the mercies that belongeth to him in his kinde a man of a lower degree hath so much mercy as he is able to receive he hath the mercies that belong unto him and it is enough for him for we say if a man have his appetite filled it is enough take a man that is lower his appetite is lower and the mercies that he hath are sufficient to give him satisfaction for the appetite followeth the form and when that 's satisfied every creature is in its perfection Secondly For the other part of the objection concerning those afflictions wherewith God seemeth to afflict those that are his children we answer That his love is to them constant as unto sons but his carriage to them is different The reasons are many he knoweth their constitutions best he knoweth their conditions best as a stander by a sick patient is not able to tell what the physician doth although the physician knoweth so God layeth sharp afflictions upon his children he himself knoweth the reason although men are not able to discern it Again there are different causes it may be upon some men he meaneth to bestow more grace then upon others therefore he afflicteth them more he will have them purer then others therefore they are oftner in the fire some he intendeth for more special use therefore he thresheth them cleaner then others the seed corn you know is commonly more clean threshed and winnowed then that which is for ordinary use so God dealeth with his children In general this you may be sure of that God will deal mercifully with you he is not ready to afflict you you shall not tast of any sharp dealing from him except it be in these cases 1. If there be any sin that lyeth unrepented of then look to be scourged by affliction When Iosephs brethren had forgot their sin God calleth them back again by affliction Or Secondly in case they go about any evil thing or any indifferent thing in an evil manner then oftentimes God meeteth them with affliction so he dealt with Iehosophat because he went about an evil enterprize to joyn himself with Ahazia king of Israel a man who did very wickedly to make ships to fetch gold from Tarshish the ships were broken that they were not able to go Or Thirdly in case they need deeper humiliation then they must look for affliction David was humbled when Nathan came to him but yet you may see Psalm 51. which was made a great while afterwards that he had need to be more humbled for there he complaineth that his bones were broken Or Fourthly in case of scandal they may be afflicted lest the enemies of God should blaspheme for this cause saith Nathan to David because thou hast given occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme the sword shall not depart from thy house so when the Saints fall into scandalous sins in this case they must look for afflictions Or Lastly to prevent an inward disease and thus Saint Paul was afflicted for when he was taken up into the third heaven he had pride growing upon him and began to be exalted above measure therefore the Lord sent a messenger of Satan to buffet him and though he took it at the first somewhat amiss yet when God had informed him that it was to heal a greater disease he was well contented in this case therefore God often afflicteth to prevent sin beginning when his children begin to be stubborn he teacheth them by affliction to be obedient Christ himself learned obedience by affliction so if his children begin to over-value earthly things to delight over much in them to wean them now from the world and to teach them to know the vanity of the creature he afflicteth them still I say either to bring them back to repentance or to meet with them when they go about an evil enterprize or to bring them to deeper humiliation or when they fall into scandalous sins or lastly to prevent a further sinning except in these cases you are sure alwayes to have mercy for God is exceeding rich in mercy And so much for this point According to his glorious riches or the riches of his glory The next point to be observed is this that God reckoneth it his Glory to be merciful his mercy is his glory therefore it is called the riches of his glory that is those riches of mercy are glorious which will appear by these reasons First When God promised to shew Moses his glory for that was Moses his request that God would shew him his glory you see there what God did he made known his mercy for that was all he did when he proclamed his name to Moses he made known his mercy to him therefore his glory consisted in that for when he would make known his glory he manifested his mercy Secondly That which is the object of praise must needs be glorious â—ow the mercies of God you shal finde are still the object of the praises of the saints Look into the book of Psalms and you shall see how abundant David is in praising God for his mercies look into all the songs made by Moses or Deborah or Esaiah or by any other in the scripture all the object of their praise was his mercy now whatsoever the object of praise is that is glorious Thirdly God made the world you know for his glories sake to make manifest that now that which he did in making the world was to communicate his mercy and his goodness to the creature for this was the primary and first intent of God and that indeed was all that he did he explicated his goodness to the creature and then made angels and men to behold it now I say if he made the world for his glory in the world he communicated his mercy and goodness to the creature his mercy then must needs be his glory Lastly He hath put into men a natural self-love every creature desireth the preservation of it self now the mercies of God tend to the preservation and advantage of the creature therefore the creature is apt to give him praise for it It is his mercy that the creature is ready to magnifie with al propenseness of heart with all readiness of disposition now when God had man in his hands as the potter the clay seeing he hath so fashioned him that he is apt to praise him
the natural man doth not hate the evil of sin otherwise then as it brings punishment Secondly I do delight in the Law of God in the inward man That is howsoever I am captivated and violently carryed unto the committing of sin yet it is against the desire of my soul he hath no pleasure he can take no delight in it for his delight is in the Inward man But the natural man looks upon the Lawes of God as burthens and therefore he will not submit himself unto them because he is not strong in the Inward man he promiseth but he performs not he yields and yields not That is to some thing but no to every thing thus much for this last difference betwixt natural strength and the spiritual strength Secondly is it so that the strength of the inward man is to be desired above all things then in the second place it may serve for exhortation to all men that they would labour to grow strong in the Inward man And that they would now at the last gather the fragments of their thoughts and desires which have been formerly set to get other things wholly to imploy them for the getting of this strength And so much the rather because other things are as the husk without the kernel or as the scabberd without the sword which will do a man no good when he stands in need of them As for example to be strong in riches honour credit and this is all the strength that most men desire what good will these do when you come to wrestle with sin and death yet men are violent after these but to be strong in the Inward man who seekes or inquires after it I know every man desires to be strong in all earthly strength but I beseech you above all things labour to be strong in the Inward man It is the folly weakness and sickness of men they look all without doors and upon outward things That is to the strength of the outward man but they seldom or never look within at all that is to strengthen the Inward man Oh that I could perswade you as I said before to gather up your thoughts and desires together and set the soul in assurance of grace that you may mortifie these inordinate affections which keep back the strengthening of the Inward man as covetousness pride pleasure self-self-love vain glory and the like Then it would be an easie work and no burthen unto you to strengthen the Inward man but here men stick the way is too narrow it is a hard matter to perswade men to it That is To make them believe there is such excellencie in the one not in the other that grace is the better part Therefore that I may the better prevail with you to attend to the strengthening of the Inward man I will lay down some motives to incite you to it The first motive to move you to strengthen the inward man is this Because your comfort lies most in the Inward man There is all your comfort and therefore to strengthen that is to adde unto your comfort As for example the sun brings comfort with it because that bringeth light so the more of the Inward man you have the more light and joy Now the reason wherefore the strengthening of the Inward man brings the more comfort is because it is the greater facultie and the greater the faculty is the greater is the joy or sorrow As for example take a man that is troubled in mind none so humble none so Penitent none so sorrowful as he and therefore it is said that a sound heart will bear his infirmities but a wounded spirit who can bear That is a man may be able to speak of any grief but the grief of a troubled minde who can expresse On the contrary take a man that is at peace with God who so joyful and comfortable as he Now the outward man is the lesser facultie and therefore it is capable of the lesse comfort That is It doth not in any measure know what true comfort and joy there is in the Inward man Again what joy the outward man hath in these outward things it is but according to the opinion of the inward man That is the comforts is no more then they are esteemd of the Inward man If the inward man do not esteem them as worthy the rejoycing in they will not bring comfort Again all the pains and labour and all things else you do bestow upon the outward man is but lost labour that will do no good brings no sound peace to the spirit and who will bestow labour on a vain thing but if you strengthen the Inward man the labour that you take about that will bring you great advantage it will arm you against all losses and Crosses and reproach and povertie that you shall meet withall in the world whiles you are in the way to Heaven Again consider that though you be strong in the outward man yet you are moveable subject to shaking and fleeting but it is otherwise with the Inward man it makes a Christian stedfast and immoveable That is it will so establish the heart in grace that he will stand firm unto Christ in all estates It is with the outward man as it is with the seas Though he strength of the stream run one way yet the winde blowes contrary it moves and stirrs and strives and disquiets it when losses and crosses come they break the frame and strength of the outward man but the Inward man is like the firm ground let the winde blow never so violent yet it moves not it stands fast Again in the abundance of outward things there is no true contentment neither in the want of them But where the strength of the Inward man is there is no cause of dejectedness this difference we shall see in Adam and Paul Adam though he was Lord of all things and had the rule of all the creatures Yet when he was weak in the inward man what joy had he nay what fear had he when he hid himself in the garden Again look upon Paul who in the want of these outward things is not dejected at all as in Acts 16. It is said that when Paul and Silas were in prison in the stocks the prisoners sung for joy Now what was the reason of it but this because they were strong in the Inward man and therefore you see that all true peace is that which cometh from within and when you rejoyce in that your rejoycing is good that is you stand upon a good bottom Alas you think to have contentment in your riches but you will be befooled they will deceive you If you build upon them you will build without a foundation and go upon another mans leggs Now were it not far better for you to get leggs of your own and to build upon a sure foundation And this you shall do if you strengthen the inward man Again consider if you
is a Lion That is he is strong in grace secondly be is a grey hound That is he is swift in the performance of all holy duties Thirdly a hee goat serviceable to God and profitable to the Church fourthly a King to rule and over-rule his Iusts Every spiritual man is a King because he bears rule in the inward man but it is not so with a wicked man his lusts rule him that he is a slave and not a King and therefore the Apostle saith let not sin reign in your bodies to obey it in the lusts thereof That is if it once reign it will rule and if it rule you must obey whatsoever drudgery or slavery is injoyned you Therefore labour to get strength in the Inward Man And know also that you shall not only be free from the slavery of sin but you shall also keep your excellencie And therefore it may be said of every one that is weak in the inward man as Iacob said of Reuben in the 42. of Genesis Thou art become as weak as water That is thou wast that which thou art not now thou wast excellent but now thou hast lost it So I say unto you if you lose the strength of the inward man you will lose your excellency Now no man would willingly lose his excellencie if you would not lose you must keep strength in the inward man In the 1. Psal. the Psalmist sets forth the excellencie of that man that is strong in the Inward man He shall be like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water First he sets forth the propertie of the spiritual man he shall be green secondly he shall be as a tree planted that is that shall not easily be plucked up Thirdly his perpetuitie his branches shall shall never wither That is he shall never grow unseemly Fourthly his fruitfulness he shall bring forth fruit in season that is he shall be fruitful in grace But on the contrary when a man grows weak in the inward man it will be far otherwise with him he will be like a tree that hath lost both sap and root leaf and fruit set in an barren soil with withered branches and fruitless fit for nothing but the fire but if a man can keep the strength in the Inward man neither reproach disdain nor shame or the Divel shall be able to make a man miserable Therefore keep the vigour of the inward man safe whatsoever becomes of the outward man And there is good reason why you should keep the inward man safe because it keepes the soul and directs it to that right end In the 1. Eccles. The wise man saith all things are vanitie and vexation of spirit That is when a man loseth his happiness in the Inward man Though he keep the outward man secure yet it is but vanitie and vexation of spirit That is he goes besides the rule he should go by For there is a rule unto every creature that he is to go by And the nearer the creature comes unto the rule the more excellent is the creature but if it go besides the rule it looseth its excellency As for example the fire and water they are excellent creatures if they keep to their rule But if they exceed their rule they become hurtful so the rule of the soul is the law put into the Inward man And the closer you keep to this the more excellent you are Therefore that you may keep your excellency which you cannot do except you strengthen the Inward man let this move you to a diligent attendance to it In the third place this may serve for direction for you may say unto me you have shewed us what this inward man is And the differences betwixt the inward strength and the outward strength And you have also laid down Motives to move us to strengthen the inward man But alas how shall we strengthen the Inward man To help you in this work I will lay down some means by the use of which you may be strengthned But before I come unto the particulars it will not be amisse to stand upon the general That is to perswade you a little to desire to be strong for if you could but bring your hearts unto this but desire to be strengthned it will be a great means to move us to prevail against whatsoever may seem to hinder us from it I say if you did but desire it that is if you did but know the excellency of the Inward man it would work a holy desire in you and a true desire will let no means escape that will further a man This is the same means that Christ useth to his Disciples when he would have them in love with faith If you have faith saith he but asmuch as a grain of Mustard seed you shall be able to remove mountains That is if you did but know the excellency of this grace of saith you would desire it and if you did but desire it you would never rest till you had got it so if you did but prize grace and the worth of the Inward man at a high rate you should be sure to gain it Therefore you know the promise in the 5. of Matthew Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after vighteousness for they shall be satisfied Therefore if you would but bring your hearts unto this frame as to hunger after the strength of the Inward man you shall have it or if you can but bring your hearts to this temper as to desire and seek after the strength of the Inward man you shall find it as in Prov. 2. 7. If thou searchest for her as for silver and diggest for her as for hidden treasure then thou shalt find her That is if thou didst but esteem the Inward man as men do silver and prize it as a rich treasure at a high rate Then the effect would follow you shall find it So then if you will desire salvation and happiness and the strength of the Inward man you shall have it for you will never thrive in grace until you have a desire to thrive grace will not grow till there be a desire wrought in the soul for when men do not delight in the inward man they never grow in grace and holiness That is they are not as trees planted that bring forth seasonable fruit but are barren do what you will to it the soul is naught for the spirit hath not yet tilled the heart and sown in it the first beginning of the seed of grace which is an earnest desire after it Now as it is good in the bodily â—â—ckness to know the means of recovery so in the sickness and weakness of the Inward man it is good to know the means by which it may be strengthned Therefore we will come to the particular means for the strengthning of the Inward man The first means to strengthen the Inward man is to abound in spiritual knowledge because the more
Thus Sampson by the power of the spirit had power to use his strength And in the Acts 4 32 it is said that the Apostles spake boldly That is they had power for you must know that there may be habits of grace in the heart and yet want of power but when the spirit comes then it puts strength in the inward man to do Thus it is said that the spirit came upon Saul and he prophesied That is he was able to do more then before he could do and yet know that you may have true grace and yet now and then for the present want action that is power to do yet is but then when the spirit seems to absent it self from the soul and this was that which the Apostle speaks of Heb. 12. 12. Brethren you have forgotten the Consolation That is your spiritual strength may lie hidden dead and forgotten but the spirit will return and then you shall finde good again The fourth way whereby the spirit strengthens grace in the soul is by giving efficacie and power unto the means of growth which is a special advantage for strengthening of the inward man for as he sets up the building and furnisheth the Roomes and gives power unto the soul to use them so that which makes all these effectual is this when he gives power and efficacie unto the means that are for the strengthening of the inward man Now you know that the word is the onely ordinary means to work new habits and qualities in us that is to câ—lâ—…s and beget us into Christ but if the spirit should not add this unto them namely efficacie they will never beget us into Christ Therefore this is the means to make all effectual that is it gives a blessing to the means of grace The word alone without the spirit is as I told you as a scabberd without a sword or bâ—t as a sword without a hand that will do no good though you should stand in never so great need therefore the Aâ—ostle joyns them together in the Acts 20. he cals it the word of his grace that is the spirit must work grace or else the word will nothing avail you Again prayer is a means to strengthen the inward man but it the spirit be not joyned with it it is nothing worth and therefore the scripture saith Pray in the Holy Ghoâ—t That is if you pray not by the power of the Holy Ghost you will never obtain grace or sanctification The spirit is unto the means of grace as rain is unto the plants that is as rain makes the plants to thrive and and grow so it is the spirit that makes the inward man to grow in holiness Therefore it is the promise which God makes unto his Church in Isai. 44. 3. He will pour water upon the dry ground That is the heart which was before barren in grace and holiness shall now spring up in holiness and grow strong in the inward man and this shall be when I pour out my spirit upon them Therefore you see how the spirit doth strengthen grace in the soul by setting up the building of grace in the soul and then by furnishing the Roomes with new habits and qualities of grace And then by giving power unto the soul to use those habits And then by giving a blessing unto all the means of grace The use of this stands thus If the spirit be the onely means to strengthen the inward man then it will follow that whosoever hath not the Holy Ghost hath not this strength And whatsoever strength a man may seem to have to himself if it proceed not from the spirit it is no true strength but a half and counterfeit seeming strength For a man may thus argue from the cause to the effect That that is the true cause of strength must needs bring forth strong effects And on the contrary That which is not the true cause of strength cannot bring forth the effects of strength so that no natural thing can bring forth the strength of the inward man because it wants the ground of all strength which is the spirit And therefore you may have a flash or a seeming power of strength such as the foolish virgins had in Matth. 25. which seemed to be strong in the inward man but it was but a feigned strength because they had not the spirit It is the spirit that must give you assurance of salvatiâ—n and happiness And I have chosen this point in regard of the present occasion the receiving of the Sacrament before which you are especially to examine your selves whether you have this or no which if you have not then you have neither strength in the inward man nor any right or interest unto Christ. for I may well follow the Apostles rule It is the sign of those that are Christs they have the spirit In the 1 Cor. 2. 10. The spirit searcheth the deep things of God which he hath revealed unto us by his spirit And in the Ephesians 1. You were sealed with the spirit of Promise and in the Rom. 8. That they should be raised by the spirit which dwelleth in them and again As many as are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God Thus you see that it stands you upon to examine your sâ—lves whether you have the spirit but above all places there are 2. places which prove the necessitie of having the spirit The one is this place which is my Text That you may be strengthened by the spirit in the inward man and the other place is that which Saint Iohn hath in the 1 Iob. 3. 14. By this we know that we are translated from death unto life because we love the Brethren That is if we be united in the bond of love that is a sign that we have the spirit and having the spirit it is the cause that we are translated that is changed we must be changlings from sin to grace before we can be saved Therefore examine what effectual spiritual strength you have what spiritual love there is amongst you And so accordingly you may judge of your estates whether you have any right or interest unto Christ And that I may help you in this thing I will lay down some signs by which you may know whether you have the spirit or no. The first sign whereby you shall know whether you have the sanctifying spirit or no is this if you have the sanctifying spirit you will be full of fire That is it will fill you with spiritual heat and zeal now if you find this in you then it is the sanctifying spirit and therefore Iohn saith of Christ in Matth. 3. That he will baptize them with the spirit and with fire That is he will baptize them with that spirit whose nature is as fire that will fill you full of spiritual heat and zeal and therefore it is said in Acts 2. that they had tongues
if you find your own spirit dead in you and Christs spirit quick and lively in you And this you shall know also by your affections That is if you have other affections both to God and Christ to holiness and to the Saints then you had before it is certain you have the spirit for this is that which followes the spirit for when the sanctifying spirit comes into the heart of a Christian it works another kinde of love in a man then a man naturally hath and again it makes a man live another kind of life then he did before Thus it was with Paul in 2 Gal. 20. I live but not I but Christ in me That is there is a proportion and likeness between the life of a Christian and Christ. That is when the spirit enters into the heart Then it will begin to put off the old man and to put on the new man it will put off their own power and strength to good and put on Christ onely Yet mistake me not I say not the substance of the soul is changed for the soul in substance is the same as it was before But here is the difference when the spirit comes it puts new qualities and habits unto it it alters and changes the disposition of it it gives it that sense which before it felt not and the sight which before it saw not hence it is throughly changed in regard of the qualitie and disposition of what it was and yet in substance remains the same as for example put iron into the fire the iron is the same it was in substance before it came into the fire but now it hath another qualitie it was cold and stiffe and hard and unpliable but now it is hot soft and plyable and this change is throughout in every part of it and yet it is iron still So it is with the spirit when it comes into the heart of a Christian he mingleth and infuseth spiritual life into all the parts of the soul and therefore it is said if the Spirit of Christ be in you the body is dead as touching sin but the Spirit is alive That is he is like a tree that wants both sap and root or as a man that is dead that wants a soul he is now dead whatsoever he was before Therefore examine if this thorow and great change be you see then what death there is in you to sin and what life unto holiness I call it a thorow and great change because a little one will never bring you into such a frame as to be fit for Heaven And again the Apostle cals it a great change in Rom. 12. 2. Be you met amorphosed That is throughly changed new moulded again In the 1 Cor. 3. You are saith the Apostle changed from glory to glory and therefore consider that every change will not serve the turn but it must be a great change the changing of Christs spirit for your own spirit which if you have then shall you come out of every affliction every difficulty like gold out of the furnace like cloth out of the die of Lions you shall be made Lambes of Serpents Doves Therefore see if this change be in you or no. If this change be in you Then when your old guest that is your old lusts shall come and find that their old companions be cast out of doors and that the soul is swept and changed they will not stay but seek abiding elsewhere And on the contrary if your opinions of sin be the same if you have the same lusts reigning in you if you use the same evil company and have the same haunts that ever you had you have not the spirit And so long as you remain thus do you think that Christ will come and sup and dine with you And yet you will not erect a building for him in your hearts Therefore if you would have Christ and the spirit labour to get holiness The fourth sign whereby you may know whether you have the spirit is this If it be but a common spirit you shall find that it will do by you as the Angels do by assumed bodies They take them up for a time and do many things with them to serve their own turns but they do not put life into them So in like manner examine whether the spirit makes you loving men or no. That is when the sanctifying spirit shall joyn with the soul of a man it will make him do sutable things and brings forth sutable actions The body is dead without the soul so the soul hath of it self no spiritual life to good without the spirit Therefore that which Paul speaks of unchaste widowes that they are dead while they live so I may say of every man that hath not the Spirit they are dead men dead to good to grace to holiness I say there is no life without the Spirit Men are not living men because they walk and talk and the like but they are living men that live in the Spirit and by the Spirit And on the contrary there is no true life neither are men to be esteemed living men that want the spirit Now the difference between the assumed bodies and the bodies which have the souls joyned with them are these By the examinnation of which it will appear that the most men which think they have the spirit are deceived with the common spirit That is beause they do the actions of assumed bodies The first property of an assumed body is this we have but an assumed body of grace and holiness when in the practise of life we take unto our selves the things that are evil and leave the things that are truely holy and good I do not say when I hate good but when I prefer evil before good setting it at the higher end of the Table and serving it first and attending on it most That is when holy duties become troublesome and wearisom unto you when it goes against the hair as we say that they crosse our nature and yet you will not crosse it for the love of Christ when it is thus with you whatsoever you think of your selves you have not the sanctifying spirit but a common spirit without life The second propertie of an assumed body of grace is if you have it not in a feeling manner The sanctifying spirit works a spiritual sence and taste in the soul. That is if you have the sanctifying spirit then holy things will have a good taste it will be sweet unto you it will purge out that which is contrary to the growth of the inward man On the contrary the common spirit will never make you to taste grace as it is grace or because it is grace That is grace will not be a daintie thing and it will be without a good savour therefore examine what taste of good you have whether you can relish grace or no if not you have not the sanctifying Spirit but an
assumed body and shew of grace That is a common spirit without the life of grace The third propertie of assumed bodies they are unconstant That is assumed bodies walk for a time but they walk not alwayes even so if you have but a common spirit you will not be constant in good but off and on from the Rule A man that is living in Christ you shall find him living and moving and doing the Actions of the new man A man that hath a common spirit may do some things that are good he may keep and press down sin for a while but not alwayes nor then neither as it is sin but because it crosseth his profit or pleasure or some such thing Again he may have some taste or relish o spiritual things But he is not cleansed or purged by them Again they may walk as a living man walks That is perform holy duties but they are not constant in holy duties neither do they perform them in obedience but out of self love That is they are still ebbing and seldom flowing They omit ostner then they perform Therefore let me exhort you all You that are alive and have been dead be you careful to prize your life And you that have been alive and now are dead That is you that have faln from your holiness and zeal and have lost your first love and strength labour now to renew it again But you that are alive and yet are falling let me exhort you to strengthen the things that are ready to die If there be any here such let them now humble themselves and seek the spirit with earnestness That they may be renewed That they may be strengthned and quickned to good and received to favour again But if you will not but continue in this condition still you have but a name that you are alive but indeed you are dead In Rom. 6. it is said That they that die in Christ shall live in him That is if you once live the life of grace and have received the sanctifying spirit you shall never die but live for ever in Christ. This was the promise that Christ made unto his Disciples and in them unto every Christian. That he would send the spirit and he should abide with them for ever Therefore examine if the Spirit do remain in you and make you constant in good if not it is not the sanfying spirit The fifth sign whereby you shall know whether you have the sanctifying Spirit is this examine whether it be the Spirit of adoption That is if it make you to call God Father Then it is the sanctifying Spirit in Galat. 4. 6. We have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father That is this is the property of the holy man no wicked man can call God Father because he hath not any such relation unto God he neither loves God nor God loves him The Apostle saith unto the Church I do this to prove or know the naturalness of your â—â—ve That is they that have the spirit they have as it were a natural inclination wrought in them to love God again to delight in God and in the Communion of Saints And therefore our Saviour saith in Iohn 4. It is my meat and drink to do the will of my Father That is he that hath God for his Father will serve him willingly without constraint as willingly as a man will eat and drink without wages that is he needs not to have wages to do that so he that hath the spirit he will delight in doing Gods will he will serve God though he should give him nothing And in this that God is our Father it will raise some like affections in us to love God again so likewise in prayer to have God to be our Father it likewise raiseth Son-like affections in us whereby we do not only believe that the things we pray for we shall have but we have also boldness to come unto him as unto a Father which no man can do till he have this spirit of adoption Therefore examine with what confidence and boldness you pray with what reverence you hear with what affection you love That is examine whether you have the spirit that doth make you to call God Father The sixt sign whereby you shall know whether you have the spirit or no is this you shall know it by the manner of working That is if it change you and lie combating in you as in Galat. 5. The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh That is if you have the Spirit you will have continual fighting and striving in the soul and this will not be onely against some or more particular lusts but against all that it knowes to be a sin I say not onely that there is a striving or a suppressing but it is by way of lusting Because a natural man that hath not the sanctifying spirit may keep down a lust for â—â—me by-respects but it is not from a 〈◊〉 That is it is not because his heart hates it oâ—â—…sses it by another power then a natuâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 love of sin still But the opposing and resisting of sin in the godly is by way of lusting because they hate the sin and they fight against it with courage Therefore examine what lusting there is in you that is what hating of sin and then see with what courage and power you go about the subduing of it It is said that Iohn Baptist came in the spirit of Elias that is he came with that spirit that is full of power I say you will fight faintly against sin except you have the Spirit when the Disciples had received the Spirit in Acts 4. They spake with great boldness That is they had greater power to speak then before Therefore the Lord exhorts all men in Isai. 30. 3. Trust not in them they are men and not Gods As if the very name of men were weakness That is they are men that have no power it is God that hath power and therefore trust not in them but in every thing labour to see the power of God in it and seek for all spiritual power to good by God and examine your selves what power you have when you pray what power have you to go through to the end when you hear what power have you to edification when you see evil what power have you to avoid it when you are offered the pleasures and profits of the world what power have you to forsake them if they may prove hurtful unto the inward man if you have strong lusts in you what power have you to suppresse and lust against them Therefore you shall know by this whether you have the sanctifying spirit or no by the working of it The seventh sign whereby you shall know whether you have the sanctifying spirit or no is this you shall know it by your carriage in your words and actions and by your
Rom. 6. 1. the Apostle abhors even so much as to think of his former conversation to live in the corruption of it They that have this faith indeed there is an uproar as it were in their hearts against sin and when they are overtaken and stumble 2 Cor. 7. oh how careful are they to repent and pray to God to be washed from their sins And all this may serve to shew what kind of persons they be even the most fearful to sin and careful to please God of all others Paul after he was converted would rather never eat then he would justly offend his Brother and all because God had given him this triumphing faith This care and fear should be in all of us for he that is bold in sin say what he will he finds not this faith nor can triumph in it Sixthly It a man have this then is he the most forward unto and fruitfulness and abounding in good works above all others in the world for this faith it transplants and sets us being by nature wilde olives into Christ the true Vine who is no barren root but fruitful 2 Cor. 9. this we may see in the believing Corinthians charity he speaks of there and in the woman that cast all that she had into the Treasury and in Zacheus that gave half his goods to the poor faith opened his heart that before was nigardly and so Iohn 12. how did Mary pour out the ointment and that good woman Act. 9. 36. so full of chastity so also Acts 2. 4. they were now content all should be for Christ. Now these examples with many more are all set down for our learning and imitation if we will find indeed such a faith as will save our souls another day Seventhly he that hath this insulting faith he doth already conquer his enemies he finds the power of it dayly in giving him victory in some kind over his in-dwelling sin and strengthening him against the world and temptations leading him to sin though he find them not fully conquered yet is not his heart so fully and altogether taken up but that he hath some freedom in the midst of all the affairs and businesses of this world to set some time apart for Divine exercises to honour God he is not a slave to the world 1 Iohn 1. 5. this faith lifts him so up as he is above the dominion of the world though he may be often foiled yet gets he up again and gets ground of lusts daily and is not as many that are led away and made slaves to their pleasures profits c. This faith gets victory over the immoderateness of recreations and delights in some sort Lastly This faith 't is no phantasie of a mans brain but that which Gods Word is the ground of and therefore he that hath it it makes him receive the Ministers testimony to Gods Word which is true Now this faith it carries life in it whereby a man may know he hath it the Scripture is manifest for this Gal. 2. 20. The life that I live is by faith in the Son of God Hab. 2. 4. The just shall live by his faith and that righteousness which brings into Gods presence and favour it hath a light within which consists 1. In that if thou hast this triumphing faith then thou hast a sweet apprehension of Gods favour by an inward feeling of a reconciliation with an angry God whom thou hast so offended 2. In some peace of Conscience 3. Unspeakable joy in the Holy Ghost even when the world sets against thee and sorrows oppress thee 4 In a change a new creature the Dâ—vils image defaced and the Image of God that was lost restored 5. It shews it self also in warranting thy actions and letting thee see that the thing thou dost in regard of the substance is good also it covers the defects of thy actions in Christ and tells thee that God accepts of thy poâ—r endeavours in him and hereupon it is that Gods children when they find God reconciled to them and themselves once brought into his favour are so stirred up to good works and prayer also in afflictions that it is which keeps the heart close to God in his promises neither tying God to time means nor manner but waiting patiently for deliverance This faith also it hath his sence an eye an ear a hand c. likewise its voice both inward and outward when God sayes believe it makes a man find a spirit within sayâ—ng Lord I believe indeed it makes him also outwardly with the Publican confess his sin and wretchedness as also how doth a true believer pray he not onely speaks but even speaks because he doth believe Now of the lets to this faith there are a world of hindrances the Devil blows into the brains of men by ordinary conceits arising in their imaginations to hinder and keep them from such a faith as may assure their hearts that there is no condemnation belonging to them and so go on cheerfully about their business having all their wants supplied And there is indeed no Christian that is in Christ that can possibly be clean without them onely the difference is some have more some less but let us all well weigh them and they will appear all but conceits and to have no reality and truth in them 1. Now the first of these is That it is presumption which is a conceit the Papists take up and is in us all so far as we are naturally Popish we think this faith is but a presumption yet this is but a meer conceit for if we have faith it assures us through Christ that nothing can destroy us All presumption is either upon a mans own merit or Gods mercies as Divines acknowledge Now that faith doth neither of these it is plain for he first that knows Christ according to his Word layes hold on Christs merits and Gods mercy in him and so applies and rests thereupon before God labouring to bring forth fruit and so is assured of Gods love And this is no presum tion for he relies not upon his own merits but Christs 2. This faith builds not on Gods mercy at large but on his mercy in Christ he believes on him that hath satisfied Gods justice and therefore knows that God cannot but must needs shew mercy If this were presumption who would seek after it to lose his labour but this the Lord commands and therefore it is no presumption but obedience and duty to do it Nay if thou shouldst not seek after this faith and assurance it were a neglect and contempt of the Commandement of God A second impediment that keeps men from seeking this faith is a conceit that it is impossible ever to get it and this sticks too much in our unbelieving hearts and is strongly rooted in our ignorant Protestants that give themselves to other Books but not to the careful and conscionable reading of Gods Book
should be the deeper yet know this till thou art in Christ all is abominable before God and but lâ—st labour Phil. 3. 5 6. Paul he had a zeal enough in him before he came to believe in Christ and not only a good meaning but thought he did more and better then others and for his righteousness towards man he was unrebukeable none could come neer him but after he came to see it was a hindrance for that it was without Christ and so made him to run so far out of the way and therefore we must cast off all our own righteousness before we can be in Christ. This Paul saw and that made him come to Christ and say that he counted all loss yea but dung that he might win Christ and be found clothed in that righteousness which is by faith in him which before he could not attain unto notwithstanding he might have stood upon his priviledges and have boasted of the excellent things he had done yet was he fain to cast away all his confidence in the flesh that is his prerogatives righteousness and zeal c. and so must we cast away all our own righteousness and goodness and fetch all from God and serve God according to his wil and not after ourown phantasies or the prescripts of man dealing also truly with every one we have to do withall 'T is not our own righteousness but the relying on it that hinders and keeps a man from faith without which all is but abominable even our eating drinking and whatsoever we do is odious before God untill we come to get this true faith to triumph over condemnation A man when he is naked in in himself is then the fitter to be cloathed with Christs robe every thing is then sweet to him and so he comes to desire and say Come Lord Iesus A fourth means is a poor spirit and beggarly that is such a one as hath neither comfort within nor without when nothing will now so comfort him as the thinking of his present estate will humble him And this will make a man poor indeed though he be never so rich and bring him with David to say I am poor and needy Lord help me Psal. 70. 5. This will let him see that he is a poor Lazer begging at the gates of God who is rich in mercy And it is a further degree to bring him to Christ and make Christ to enrich him That which hinders many from coming to Christ is that they are full enough these whatsoever they say in words they indeed cast off Christs righteousness because their spirits are not cast down to beg at Gods hand if they have children honour wealth and professions tell them of condemnation they are proud and think themselves well enough they will tell you that they hope to be saved as well as the best But let such know all fulness dwells in Christ none at all in us in the matter of salvation Get Christ first to raign in thee that thou mayest after come to raign with him in glory A fifth means is the fair free large and great offer of Grace made in the Gospel where are they now that say they would and so would indeed believe Iohn 3. 16. God so loved the world c. Here is a means to bring thee to believe indeed A strange thing that the Judge and partie offended should thus offer to every soul to whom the Gospel comes his Son that God himself should offer a pardon who would not strive with himself and sigh and groan yea even burst his heart in pieces to believe This is one of the specialest means of all to bring a man to believe that God himself the party offended should come and say here is my Son take him unto thee Labour therefore to get him lay fast hold on him and he will bless and comfort thee for ever If thou doest open thy heart and let him in he offers his son to thee to believe in And why Is it because thou art such a beautiful and great person c. No it comes from the love of his own heart and therefore it is free As thy righteousness cannot further it so thy sins cannot hinder it if thou lay but hold on it The offer is not onely to noble rich young c. But to all whosoever believes though never so mean poor old may take him go away with him and live with him for ever Many think they should have something of their own No God looks at his own love and so do thou that his love mercy grace may be magnified in thee Let us therefore stir up our sevâ—s and look and seek to God He will give his spirit to all his at one time or another A sixth means is to know that there is not onely a free offer but also a commandment to enjoyn us not to refuse and neglect Gods offer that is the greatest blessing that can be to have him come unto thee to raign over thee and subdue thy sin It is the spirit of God that would draw thy heart to believe open therefore and receive it Consider for this 1 Ioh. 3. 23. This is his commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Iesus Christ And search thy heart to try if thou hast gotten such a faith God commands thee to believe and therefore it is not indifferent whether thou hast it or no or to think onely that thou hast it And this is a further means and that which leaves us without all excuse if we obey not A man oft times will do a thing upon command that else he would not do A Seventh means is to remember the fearful threatnings Ioh 3. 18. He that believeth not is condemned because he hath not believed in the Name of the onely begotten Son of God God sees all is little enough we have such carnal hearts consider that well and it will awaken thee out of thy security and make thee see thou canst not tell what to do if thou dost not get this faith which except thou dost seek to God for and get even this that here hath been said shall stand up in Judgement against thee another day Now to encourage thee hereunto know this that God hath promised that though thou canst not do it yet if thou seek to him he will help thee Go to God therefore upon his promise if thou wouldest not have thy portion with the condemned Devils He that will not believe hath nothing to uphold him against the guilt of conscience then the which there needs no more He that hath the wrath of an infinite God to wrestle withall cannot but be condemned The care of this therefore ought to be above all other care for wife children or any thing else in the world whatsoever But you are very strict and hard may some possibly say If thou think strange of this think strange of God for here is nothing spoken but from
add further that as all grace is from him so in him there is enough grace to be had We all of his fulness receive grace for grace that is we receive the variety of graces that he had grace for grace As the child receives limb for limb or as the wax receives of the seal character for character print for print so we receive the quantity of grace that we have from that fulness that is in him But how is this grace received from Christ We take it not immediately out of the fountain but it is derived to us by certain conduit-pipes therefore take heed of that of expecting to receive grace from Christ without these means Again we must not think that these means will do it without him we must not break off the conduit-pipes from the Well-head as we must not go to the Well-head without them Now the means whereby we receive grace is by the Word and Sacraments we are not born of him by carnal generation as Adam but instead of that generation when we have taken him there is a spiritual relation instead of it in Gods sight and by vertue of that we receive grace and strength from him Therefore if ye would receive more grace increase of grace labour to draw near him and then you drawn near him when your will is brought to a greater degree of willingness to have him for your husband But yet in general we must know that grace is received from Christ as we receive corruption from Adam the old man he doth not more powerfully communicate corruption and sin to us then the new man is powerful to communicate grace and life So that when we are once in Christ as we are in Adam we are sure to have grace from him and then we are in Christ when we have taken him and are matched with him and united to him As a man may be matched to his wife after the match is past in a greater degree of will when there is a greater degree to have such a woman for his wife or a women to have such a man for her husband The will may be wound to a higher degree and peg of willingness Therefore our business is when we come to receive the Sacrament to labour to increase that willingness to labour to add to that resoluâ—ion of taking Christ. Now that is done by a distinct and clear apprehension of Christs willingness to match with us we must know that the gift of righteousnes is freely offered there is nothing required but that we be willing to take it there is nothing required but sincerity on our part Now this false opinion that there is more then that required is that which keeps us asunder Now to bring our hearts nearer to Christ for when we are near him then we receive most grace from him first I say the apprehension of that must be clear Then secondly we must labour to be divorced from all other husbands when the mind is weaned from all earthly things to which they are too much wedded to have those lingrings cut off when we affect riches or pleasures too much or whatsoever the heart is taken up aboâ—t in what measure a man is earthly minded in that measure his heart is disjoyned from Christ. Now the way to bring our hearts nearer is to be divorced from these But when is this love inordinate Then you may know it is inordinate and adulterous love when it is a let of your love to your Husband God gives you leave to take and to use outward comforts you may rejoyce in them he commands you so to do onely this you must take care of that your love to your Husband be not lessened If a man be so busie in his calling and business that he find himself more indisposed to draw near to his Husband the Lord that he is more unfit to pray and to holy conference it is an adulterous occupying of himself about the works of his calling So when he loves his children or friends his sports and recreations whatsoever his mind is occupyed about look how far it lessens his love to God and daunts and hinders and interrupts that in the same measure it is adulterous Therefore if you would draw near to Christ consider how your affections run out for he looks on you with a jealous eye And you must take pains with your hearts to labour to have those lusts mortified you must reason out the mattâ—r with your selves for there is no man that loves any thing inordinately but it ariseth from deceit and there is nothing so good but we must let it go and cleave to Christ and if we cannot do it with ordinary pains we must do more then ordinary There are some lusts as some Devils that will not be cast out without fasting and prayer Now when we loose our hearts from these things that is a means to draw near the Lord. Lastly to add to this consider the need we stand in of Christ and to that add the vertues of our Husband what need we have of him and what benefit we have by him Consider thy need of him thou art in such a case that when thou art out of him thou art subject to an extent and to be laid in prison but when thou hast him for thy Husband thou art under cover But you will say I hope I am past this Thou must know that thou hast continual need of it thou hast need of him every day thou hast need of him to redeem thee from every evil that thou escapest from day to day thou hast need of him to help thee to every comfort thou hast need of him to assist thee to every duty thou performest And withal consider when thou feest thy need for therfore we do not prize Christ because we know him not and we know him not because we know not our selves how impotent and weak we are without him we are able to do nothing without him I say when we have considered what our need is of him then let us consider the vertues of our Husband and the portion we have with him Consider the vertues of our Husband we are all too short in this consider the excellency that is in Christ the beauty that is in him to draw us near to him Thou must look on him as one full of beauty the fairest of ten thousand as we do with men that we converse with if it be a man that hath worth in him that you daily converse with now you see one excellency and then another now one spark appears and then another so learn to know Christ by experience continually And then as we must know him by the description of himself in his Word so to know him by his actions by all his carriage to see what a one he is There is no Husband so kind as he there is no master so bountiful as he there is no friend so loving as he
of any interest in Christ if thou think him not worthy of this he that hates not son and daughter that neglects not that natural love to them for me is not worthy of me GODLINESS OUR GLORY 2 Tim. 3. 5. Having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away THis duty which is commended to us in these words will well fall in with our general scope which we have told you was to shew you First What we are out of Christ. Secondly What we have by him and how we are ingrafted into him And thirdly What we are to do for him Now we have told you that you are to labor for faith and love and good works which we have already finished But men are apt to have a form a shew and appearance of all this whenas they have not the life and power Therefore that you may not be deceived we have thought good to add this to all the rest take heed how you content your selves in having a form of godlinesse onely without the power of it The Apostle in this place as you may see intends to describe the diseases of the latter times which are the times into which we are fallen And you may see in the former part of the Chapter how many the diseases of the soul are so that the diseases of the body as many as they are do hardly exceed the diseases of the inward man He tells them that in the latter times there should be men that should be lovers of themselves coveteous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy without natural affection truce breakers false accusars incontinent fierce despisers of those that are good Traytors heady high minded lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God And then he puts this as the last of all having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof There is something in that why he puts it down last for when men hear themselves accused of all those things formerly named by the Apostle perhaps they will be ready to answer We hope we are not so bad I hope we serve God I hope we are worshippers of God as well as others I hope we are not Athiests Saith the Apostle deceive not your selves in that I deny not saith he but that notwithstanding all these diseases which are all mortal diseases you may yet have a form of godlinesse but it is such a form as is disjoyned from the power of it therefore even that he puts among the rest having a form of godlinesse but denying the power thereof It is true this form is good his meaning is not to reject that for wheresoever there is the power of godliness there is also the form that you must take for granted it is impossible that they should be disjoyned Wheresoever there is true gold there will be a yellownesse there will be all the qualities of gold though many times you have counterfeit pieces that carry the colour having not the true qualities of the mettal So here the Apostles intent is not to reject the form but all the scope of the Apostle and the main matter which he drives at is that men should not have the form without the power and life having a form of godliness but have denyed the power thereof The first point that we will commend to you out of these words for you see they need not much explication they are very plain it is this before we come to that which is the main that It is Godliness which is required by God and that is onely acceptable to him You see that lieth in the front of the text and first offereth it self to our view For when the question is about the form and the power of godliness it must needs be taken for granted that godliness is a thing required by God of every man The very light of nature will teach a man so much that there must be godliness Now when we come to consider what this godliness is then there comes in a second consideration not a form of it but the power So we will begin with that first that godliness is here required of every man It is godliness which is not in the form but in the power So then here first of all we must consider that nature is not enough but there must be godliness Nature is not enough that is natural vertues for God hath caused nature to bring forth many excellent vertues which are the common gifts of the holy Ghost as they are called For there is a natural patience a natural weakness a natural temperance Some men by nature are more sober more temperate more abstenious from inordinate and loose courses but it is not this that will be accepted with God It is true indeed these are very beautiful and aimable in their kind considered in their own sphear As you know the flower that the grass beareth hath a beauty in it and all natural vertues are like the flower of the grass that is nature is but flesh and this flesh hath a flower growing upon it and that flower hath a beauty and excellency in it yea it is a flower of Gods own making but yet God doth not accept this as a thing wherein he delighteth because these natural vertues they neither come from him that is not from his sanctifying spirit neither do they look to him and therefore it must be godliness and not nature Secondly It must be godliness and not moral vertues for that goeth a step beyond nature natural vertues are bred and born with us but moral vertues are something more for they are begotten or acquired in us by practise and education and the engraving of the moral Law concurring together And these have an excellency much beyond natural vertues and they are very fair in the eyes of men but abhominable in the sight of God because these moral vertues have no respect to him therefore the Lord hath no respect to them Wherefore I say as it must be godliness and not nature so it must be godliness and not moral vertues But yet you must go one step further it must be godliness and not onely the actions of Religion and worship which may be exhibited and offered to God and yet may proceed from self-self-love and may tend to a mans self as making himself the utmost end of it For you must know that a man may go far in the duties of godliness and in the outward actions of Religion and yet I say all that he doth may proceed from self-love and he may make himself the utmost end of all That is when a man considers that God is the governor of the world that he alone hath the keyes of hell and of death the power of salvation and damnation and of all good and evil in this life which are but degrees and stairs which lead to those two ends hereafter A man when he considers this may out of the strength of natural
I have declared to you what it is to win your hearts to a more full assent to this that nothing but godliness is accepted we will shew you some reasons for it For a man will ask this What is the reason that God delights not in nature or natural vertues or in moral habits Why doth he not delight in these Why will he accept of nothing but godliness First there is this reason for it because the Lord loves nothing but that which is like himself as indeed no man doth nor no creature No man loves any thing but that which hath a likeness a consimilitude with something within himself For all love you know comes from similitude all delight comes from likeness Therefore the things that have no similitude with us we neither love nor delight in them Now therefore when God looks upon man and sees his own Image upon him when he sees that stamp upon a man he loves it and delights in it for it is like himself But now whatsoever is from nature whatsoever is but moral vertues it is but from the earth and is earthly it is but from the flesh and it is fleshly But that which is supernatural that which is infused into us from God that Image of his which is stamped upon us is from Heaven and is heavenly it is from the Spirit and it is spiritual Now God that is a Spirit and is holy he loves that which is spiritual and holy he loves his own Image wheresoever he finds it Now godliness is onely heavenly for all other beauties that seem so gaudy to us are but from the earth and are the beauty of the flesh therefore the Lord delights not in them the Lord loves it not with the love of complacency so as to be well pleased with it That is one reason Secondly the reason why the Lord doth love nothing but godliness that he loveth none of the rest so as to delight in them for there is a kind of love that he gives them as you know our Saviour Christ looked on the young man in the Gospel and loved him but I say he doth not delight in them he loves them not with that special and peculiar love because all these ornaments they do but beautifie the creature in it self Now no creature may rejoyce in it self or boast in it self no creature may magnifie it self which it would do if it might find an excellency in it self Therefore the Lord will have the creature to find no excellency in it self and therefore he doth not magnifie these things he sets no price upon them And the Lord would have the creature to know so much he onely magnifies and esteems that which draws the creature from it self makes the creature his therefore he prizeth and esteemeth onely the emptying graces You shall see the Scripture doth not magnifie those moral vertues that Aristotle and Plutarch and Seneca and the rest of those Heathens magnified For the scope of the Scripture looks another way and magnifieth those emptying graces most As faith for instance which emptyeth the creature of it self and makes a man to see nothing in himself not to trust in himself but teacheth a man to look for all from God therefore the Scripture magnifieth faith O woman great is thy faith that is this is the thing that onely makes thee amiable this is it that makes me set a high price upon thee And so in that speech to the Centurion I have not found so great faith no not in Israel It was that which set Iacob in that high esteem with God that which got him that title of honour to be called Israel it was his faith And why is it but because the Lord regards that onely in the creature which makes a man his which draws a man nearer to him and more out of himself Now this godliness doth for it makes a man to see nothing in himself but all in God and therefore to follow God altogether to seek God altogether Now all other ornaments all natural and moral vertues do beautifie and adorn the creature within himself they make a man to see something within himself now no creature is to do this no not the creature when it was in the flower of all its bravery When Adam and the Angels would begin to look on something in themselves and forget God and to think that they were some body and would stand upon their own bottom then they fell For the creature of it self is as a glass without a bottom if you set it down it breaks for it hath nothing to sustain it but as long as a man holds it in his hand so long it is safe Such a thing is every creature in it self Angels and men they are without a bottom when the Lord doth not hold them in his own hand when they will go about to stand of themselves they fall and break and that was the cause of the fall of the Angels and the fall of Adam and of all of us in him viz. self-dependance Our repairing again the restoring of the creature must be by learning to be altogether Gods to magnifie God to look to God and to look to him altogether for that is indeed onely prized and magnified by him And this is the second reason wherefore godliness is only accepted by God because it teacheth a man onely to mind him to look to him to draw near to him it makes a man altogether his and not his own We will add one more the Lord regards onely godliness and nothing else because it gives him all the glory Now onely the Lord may seek his own glory because he hath no other end beyond himself Every creature you know is made for a further end and therefore is bound to seek something above it self even as it stands subordinate to that Every man is subordinate a man in the Common-wealth must seek the good of that Every man is subordinate to God therefore he must seek the glory of God for the subordination will so carry it But now the Lord he hath none above himself therefore he may and doth seek his own glory now nothing gives glory to God but godliness In 1 Cor. 11. The man is the glory of God and the woman is the glory of the man The meaning of it is this look how the woman is the glory of the man so is the man the glory of God that is a man must have nothing in himself for then he would have some glory to himself but he must be wholly the Lords he must be wholly fashioned and accommodated to him as the woman to the Husband for then he is the Lords glory Even as a picture you know it hath nothing of it self but all from the Painter therefore the picture is the glory of the Painter we use to phrase it so because it hath all from him we call it the glory of the Painter because it shews his glory And so a
his power no question to strike dumb the swearer as soon as the blasphemy is out of his mouth and to strike the Adulterer yet these are wrapt up in silence they hear no news from heaven of anger What is the reason of this because God hath made a day of great assize a more honourable day and he hath reserved this honor for that day to make that a notable day as the Scripture calls it Secondly I answer to the last objection and that is more pertinent and comfortable to the heart when we question how we shall do in the mean time till deliverance be sent if we be put upon hard service and tryals I answer it is a most usual and common thing in the providence of God and the dispensation of his goodness to his Church when men are at the lowest ebbe in the world and outwardly then he makes a more plentiful supply of the inward comforts and consolations of his spirit Mark and remember for now it is not a thing thaty ou must look to find till there be occasion A man cannot know whether this be true or no till he have experience that the world leave him when he hath little comfort in the world then he shall find the truth of this You heard that place opened at large in the forenoon 2 Cor. 5. 16. though our outward man perish our inward man is renewed day by day He saith not there after our outward man is perished when God hath pulled down the old building he will build a new house no but in the while he takes the ruins a pieces the timber of the outward man and builds a new house he makes it up in other comforts so in 2 Cor. 1. 3. 4. blessed be God the father of Christ c. Who comforteth us in all our tribulations he saith not that comforteth us after tribulation but in the time of tribulation so in 2 Cor. 11. When I am weak then I am strong This sounds as a riddle that is when I am full of infirmities when I am compassed with heavy dangers I am at the best pass and strongest in the inward man So David Psalm 94. 14. he saith there in the midest of my sorrowes and troubles thy comforts refreshed my soul. David stayed not till his sorrow was past but then when his troubles were about him the Lords hand was to comfort him And so diverse other places you shall find to the like purpose Now if you look you shall find examples of this When had Abraham the father of the faithful those frequent apparitions and revelations from God was it not after he had left his countrey When he was in his own land among his possessions there was nothing but silence but after he was abroad the Lord appeared to him from time to time And so in one place after this As long as Lot was with him to comfort him there is no mention that the Lord revealed himself to him but that is the particular expression Gen. 18. 6. Then saith he after Lot was departed from him the Lord came to Abraham and fell a talking with him and renewed that great promise that in him all the Nations of the world should be blessed So Iacob in his journey when a man would have thought he had had the hardest nights lodging that ever he had since he was man upon the earth when he had nothing but heaven for his Canopy and a hard stone for his pillow he had the most glorious and blessed vision of the ladder that had the top of it in heaven and the foot on earth So Hagar she never had an Angel to comfort her till she wept by the well and was cast out of her mistresses house And so in the story of Ioseph we shall not finde it expresly said that God was with him till he was in prison and there you shall find these very words Not to name all passages to this purpose in Dan. 3. Those three children as they are called they never had the familiar presence of the fourtâ— man till they were cast into the furnace They might have gone long enough and served God and faithfully too and yet never have had that interview that presence in a visible manner of the Sonne of God standing by them if they had not been cast into the furnace So Christ himself till he sweat drops of blood we read not of Angels sent from Heaven but then they were present to comfort him Luke 23. 43. And so in the history of the Acts we shall find still the Apostles when they were brought to any danger any trouble any imprisonment or the like evermore there were messengers sent from Heaven to them So we may assure our selves out of all these promises and experiences of the Saints of God that then we are likeliest to have the quickest commerce and the clearest interview between Heaven and us we are like to hear oftest from Heaven and have more plenty of comforts from God when we are deepest in trouble when we are plunged in troubles in the World then the Lord reacheth most plenty of joy from Heaven Therefore as Christ saith Iohn 16. concerning his presence with his Disciples It is expedient that I go the Comforter cannot come else but if I go I will send him to you So I say it is true it is expedient for us that God depart from us in outward things for till he leave us in these the comforts of the Holy Ghost come not so purely to us I say there is need that they should leave us that we may have those comforts This is the sixth means for us to assure our selves and know this with Saint Paul that all things shall work for the best There is onely one more remains that is that which must go along with all the rest Prayer You know there is a large Charter granted to prayer but besides that general oue Whatsoever we ask according to his will we shall receive there are special particular promises in this case that if any man be driven to a strait and necessity if he send this messenger into the presence of God he shall have a guard sent down presently to him Look in that place Phil. 4. 6. In nothing be careful saitâ— the Apostle but let your prayers and requests be made known to the Lord. And what follows The peace of God which passeth understanding shall keep your hearts and mindes in the Love of God through Christ Iesus As if he should say do but this if you be in any extremity or distress trouble not your selves and your thoughts about it but this is your course your onely wisdom is let your requests be made known to God with thanksgiving I told you before we must give thanks whatsoever the case was because light is working out for us as David saith Light is sown for the righteous therefore a man hath cause to thank God
own things and therefore to spend time in proving the point were a needlesse labor our business will be to perswade you to the duty And to that end we will use no more motives but those in the text The one is taken from our selves and the other from Christ. There is this reason from your selves why you should seeke the things oâ— Jesus Christ because God hath commanded you so to do You know this is the command Thou shalt love the Lord above all and thy neighbor as thy self Christ is to be loved above all above your selves Now for the most part when we hear such a command as this we look upon it as a legal precept which onely shewes a man his sin and to be as a Scholemaster a precept that no man can keep But you must know that it is not so for every command is to be kept by every regenerate man It is said that not the least tittle of the Law shall perish heaven and earth shall passe away first The meaning is not that no man can be saved nor no man is in Christ but he that keeps every jot and little of the Law but we must endeavour to keep even the very least tittle of Gods commands with all our might If God will not suffer the least command to pass but you must bend your selves with all your strength to keep it then this which is a main command to Love God above all you must think you are bound to keep it and every regenerate man doth keep it in some measure he keeps it in sincerity and truth with an upright heart though he cannot rise to that degree and height as he should do Now I say it is not onely a command but it is best for every man to deny himself and not to seek his own things partly because his good is contained in God more then in himself and so he shall provide better for himself in self-denial by seeking God then by looking directly to his own matters The beeing of the beams you know are in the Sun more then in themselves So is every mans good contained in God from whom it floweth even as the beam doth from the Sun A man shall provide better for himself in seeking Gods glory then in looking immediately to his own preservation Therefore you shall find Deut. 10. 13. This is that the Lord thy God requires of thee that thou keep his commandments that he hath given thee for thy wealth Mark it the commands of God are given for our advantage Whensoever a man is a looser by keeping any command though it appear so he is not so indeed for every command is for our wealth So I say it is best for us partly because our good is contained in God And partly also because God is the end of every creature now you know the perfection of every creature stands in obtaining its end Whatsoever the end of any thing is when it hath gotten that end it is brought into a perfect condition For there are certain rules that God hath given to every creature to walk by to attain its end that in attaining thereof it might attain perfection so he hath given to the fire and to the water c. when they kept close to that rule there is the perfection of them So he hath given a rule to the reasonable creatures to walk by that is to walk in his commands now in keeping close to them that creature attains his happiness he puts himself into a happy condition Now God is not bound to this because he is the utmost end the utmost cause there is nothing beyond him and therefore he may do all for himself but if the creature do all things for himself he destroyes himself because there is a cause an end beyond him Now as there is this reason for the duty why we should do it in regard of our selves So also in regard of Christ. Partly in respect of his love and goodness he hath already shewed to us you know when a man hath done much for one he hath reason to respect him When Christ hath done so much for us if there were nothing to come there is reason and justice and equity to seek him to do whatsoever may be for his advantage that we should seek not our own things but the things of Jesus Christ. And partly also why we should seek the things of Jesus Christ is in regard of the wages which are to come they are so large that he is not worthy to have them he is not worthy to be saved by him that will not do something for him that will not deny himself and neglect his own things for his sake So you see what reason there is for this duty why we should do Now to make use of it if this be a duty that lies upon every man not to seek his own things but the things of Jesus Christ what remains but that you consider how you have kept this and if you be failing in it that you stir up your selves to do it in a better manner then you have done formerly Let every man therefore ask this question with himself have I sought the things of Jesus Christ have I not many times sat stil for my own ease for my own safety for my credit and profit when if I had stirred I might have done something for the advantage of Jesus Christ And consider that our behaving of our selves after this manner is not onely sinful but it is very unreasonable and disadvantagious for our selves for the more we lose for Christ the more we gain heâ— that will be content to be no body in the flesh he shall be the more in the spirit For that rule holds true he that will lose his life shall save it I say it holds true in every thing else he that will lose his credit shall gain his credit he that will be content to let go his friends or profits or advantages he shall be a gainer by it So that he that is most prodigal of all these things to spend them for Christs advantage he that is most forward to suffer imprisonment and loss of goods to indure infamy and disgrace for Christs sake he is the wisest man the happiest man he provides best for himself For alas my brethren what is it that we have of all our labors under the Sun but onely the riches of good works those onely go with us The good that we do is onely a foundation sure and stedfast as you have it 1 Tim. 6. 19. Laying up a sure foundation that is a foundation upon which you may build All other things that you have in this life are of a contingent nature but your good works the things you do for God your seeking after the things of Christ they are of a sure nature and will not fail you Therefore let us consider what we do in this case when we come to any business wherein we are
and that a man doth easily but to seek the things of Jesus Christ that is above nature and then there must be much intention a man must have something in him to move him to mind it most and above all other things When a boat goes against the streame and against the wind you know there must be much labour to drive it on So to seek the things of Christ it being above the the stream of nature there must be anintention from above you must beseech God to keep it in the intention of your hearts Now again to these two when a man hath given up himself to Christ and when he doth mind it and intend it and pray for it you must add to this faith without which no man can do it for this objection presently cometh what must I seek the things of Jesus Christ and not mine own what will then become of me how shall I provide for my self or for my family and those that depend upon me Now there must be faith to give this answer the Lord will provide for thee For till a man think that there is another that hath will and power to take care for him and to provide for him it is impossible that he should seek the the things of that other but believe this once that God will take care for thee and then thou wilt be content to deney thy self As if a Master should say to his servant be you diligent in my service I will take care for your meat and drink and clothing and when your apprentiship is out I will give you sufficient to live upon if the servant believe this he will be willing to neglect all other things and to seek his Masters profit and to intend his Masters business So here we should seek the things of Jesus Christ for saith he I will provide for you I will take care for you you shall want nothing in this present life you shall have all things necessary and when your appentiship is at an end I will provide an inheritance for you If you will believe these things and these promises you will then seek the things of Jesus Christ and not your own things You have a promise for this Mat. 6. seek ye first the Kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof that is mind this one thing seek not your own things seek the Kingdom of God and then all things else shall be ministred unto you that is God will undertake to provide for you the things of this life you shall have enough of them Now to believe this promise this faith in the promise is that which prepares and enables the heart not to seek its owne things but the things of Christ. Now you must have not onely faith in the promise but faith in the providence of God for a man may believe the promise but because he doth not believe the particular providence of God that he is not onely able but that he doth bring things to pass and that all things are guided by him he is ready to doubt and to fear a loss if he seek the things of Jesus Christ. As Iacob and Rebecka they had both faith in the promise but because they had not a faith in the particular providence of God about the bestowing of the blessing therefore we know how they missed So Moses had faith in the promise that God would provide meat for a moneths time but he knew not how therefore you see how many objections he brought shall all the fishes of the sea be brought together and all the beasts of the field c. Therefore I say put these together when a man hath faith in both that is in the promise of God and in the particular providence of God that enableth a man not to seek his own things You shall see them joyned together 2 Tim. 3. for I know saith the Apostle whom I have trusted and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him to that day Mark it as if he should say do not wonder at me that I am willing to lose my liberty and my ease or to endure so much cold and nakedness to expose my self to so many perills as I do for I trust God I believe God I have committed my safety and my life and my health and all that belongeth to me to him and I know he is able to keep it So I say now when you are about any business of Christ in which there is any difficulty or any hardness or any likelyhood of losing any thing except thou believe the particular providence of God and canst commit that which thou hast to God and say I dare trust him and I know that he will keep it for me thou wilt never be able to deny thy self and to do the things of Jesus Christ but if thou think that what thou losest for God God will keep it for thee thou wilt say thus wiâ—h thy self I will commit this unto God I know it shall be reserved for me and therefore whatsoever becomes of these things I will do the work I will do the business of Christ I will imploy my self in his service this makes a man bold in the most difficult cases So David I will lay me down saith he and sleep because the Lord sustaineth me That is I care not for any thing I have committed my self and my safety and all unto God and therefore when his heart was quieted and setled upon this that he knew whâ—m he had trusted he had faith in God in his promise and in his providence he had ground enough for rest This is the third thing that prepares us to give up our selves to Jesus Christ. Now fourthly Wee must adde to our faith Love for Love enableth a man to seek the things of Jesus Christ. Therefore 1 Cor. 13. it is said that Love seeketh not her own things If you would bring your hearts not to seek your own things but the things of Christ get Love That is you must know that self-love seeks its own things and the more self-love is in any man the more respect he hath to himself the more he seeks his own things which tend to his own advantage but the love of another makes a man seek the things of another it makes a man bountiful as Saint Paul saith I am ready to be bestowed for your sakes And therefore you have that saying that love edâ—fieth that is it makes the magistrate to take care for the good of the people the Minister for his charge c. The Mother and the nurse where they love you see what pains they take what neglect they expresse of themselves and all that they may do good to the Child for that is the nature of love And therefore when we do not seek the things of Christ it is an argument that we want the love of Christ and the love of God You see the
a sign There is another asking of a sign when it is to confirm our faith when the intention is good and the heart is upright Thus Hezekiah asked a sign and the Lord gave him a sign hence observe that The Lord tenders a weak faith He will not quench the smoaking flax nor break the bruised reed but he is ready to supply it when it is but as a grain of mustard-seed When Hezekiah had not faith enough to believe what the Prophet had told him from the mouth of the Lord the Lord added a sign But I come to the next words And Hezekiah did not render according to the mercies the Lord bestowed upon him Whence this is the observation I will deliver to you that When the Lord bestowes a mercy he looks for praise and thankfulness and that it should bear a proportion to the blessing received For so the words are brought in Hezekiah prayed and the Lord answered him and gave him the thing he desired but Hezekiah rendered not to the Lord according to the Mercies bestowed upon him implying that the Lord looked for something at his hands he expected that he should be thankful Hezekiah was ready to glorifie himself when the Amhassadors came from the King of Babylon and he did not render according to the mercies received This the Lord observed and it is set down noting that when the Lord bestowes a mercy he looks that we should be thankful and that our thankfulness should be according to the mercies This is a point that needeth no proof that the Lord looketh for thankfulness Onely I will shew you why this is a thing that the Lord makes so great account of You must consider that this duty of thankfulness of all other that we can offer to the Lord it is the most free it is the greatest testimony of sincerity and ingenuity in us for when we pray to the Lord it may proceed out of self love but when we are thankful that comes out of love to the Lord prayer may tend to our own profit but thankfulness tends to Gods Glory therefore we should be the more abundant in this duty because the nature of this duty is such as is more commendable it is more free it is a testimony of more sincerity and ingenuity in us Besides it is a duty that stirs us up more to think well of the Lord and to speak well of him for when we come to give thanks for mercies it pitcheth our thoughts upon his goodness and upon the great works he hath done for us and this causeth us to think better of the Lord and makes us the more willing to obey him and therefore it is an acceptable duty Again it is a commendable thing Psal. 33. 1. Rejoyce ye righteous for it is a comely thing to praise the Lord. That is it is a duty of that nature that it is not onely comly at some times as things are comely commonly with reference for nothing in it self is comely but in reference to such and such things but now thankfulness is of that nature that it is alway beautiful and comely at all times because it iâ— simply so and therefore it continues for ever You know it is the commendation of love that it shall continue when prophesie and faith and other graces shall faile so it is the commendation of thankfulness that even in heaven it is comely for there we shall praise the Lord for ever But now you must know that the Lord doth not onely look for thankfulness but that we should render according to the mercies we have received so that in our thankfulness there must be these four conditions First you must consider that when you come to give thanks for any mercy to the Lord it is not such a free-will offering as that you may chuse whether you will do it or no but you must know that you are bound to it therefore this word yielding here it shewes that it was such a debt as Hezekiah did owe to the Lord. When you are to give thanks therefore you must not go about this duty as if you might do it or not do it and it is no great matter but that it is such a thing as the Lord requires For when the Lord bestowes any mercy upon us he keeps this property still in his own hands to have thanks rendred to him Sutable praise and thanksgiving is the rent and fine as I may say which the Lord would have us give him for all the things we enjoy Now when we do not give him praise we with hold that from him which is his due As when a rent is due to a Land-lord and is not paid him you detain that from him which is his right And you see in this verse that when Hezekiah did not render according to the mercies received wrath came upon him When wrath shall come upon a man for neglecting of a duty it is an argument that it is not so free as that he might neglect it if he please but that he must do it of necessity This is the first thing that you are to consider that the Lord requires it exactly at your hands it is a thing that you owe to the Lord. Secondly you must render according to the mercies received that is there must be a suitableness and proportion between your thankfulness and the mercies bestowed Wherein two things are to be observed One is when you have many mercies you must be much in thankfulness when all that you have are mercies you must alway be giving thanks You shall see it 1 Thes. 5. In all things give thanks for that is the will of God towards you that is it is not enough to be thankful to God for some mercies no nor for mercies in general to say God be thanked for all his benefits and so to name them in the gross but in all things give thanks that is for every particular thing for every mercy received And this is a special thing and a thing that we are exceedingly apt to fail in that we do not give thanks for all things If we could come once to take notice and to particularize the variety of mercies that we have received they would be as so many sparks to kindle a flame of love and to knit us to the Lord when as it may be mercies in the general will not so much affectus And besides when we give thanks so in the general onely we are apt to forget them but when we give thanks in particular for things this quickens us and keeps us near to the Lord. Therefore you must remember this that in your giving thanks you are to remember every thing in particular to render to the Lord according to the mercies bestowed Again Thirdly according to the mercies received This is another condition that the extent of your thankfulnesse be according to the greatnesse of the mercies For you shall observe in the
and about us Therefore we must exercise faith in his providence that is labour to see God through every mercy Those that want this eye of faith it is impossible for them to be thankful If we had the eye of faith the creatures would be as a glass to help us to see God better When Esau was kind to Iacob he saw the face of God in Esau I have seen thy face as the face of God saith he that is he saw the face of God through Esaus face It is not the creature it is not thy friend that brings thee comfort But as we say of a messenger that brings good tidings it is not the messenger that comforts the heart but the good tidings that he brings this is to lift up the heart to the Lord the contrary is to lift up the heart to vanity Secondly to lift up the heart that is by reason of that strength and those riches by reason of that wealth and plenty which he had his heart began to swell within him he began to bear himself aloft too much upon it to think himself secure this caused him to forget the mercies received Indeed there is a double exaltation of the mind One is when a man lifts up his heart because he hath the Lord to be his God this is a holy magnanimity this makes a man to keep on his course like a Lion and in this we are all defective But there is another lifting up and height of the heart when we think we are secure by reason of that support that we have of the creature and so we begin to settle upon our bottom to rest on the creature this was Hezekiahs fault You shall see the same phrase used 2 Chron. 26. 16. It is said there of Vzziah that the Lord helped him till he was mighty but when he was strong his heart was lifted up he thought himself secure now he thought he could do well without God and so his heart was lifted up So Rehoboam when the Kingdom was strengthened in his hand he forsook the Law of the Lord that was the lifting up of his heart The last is when the heart is lift up with a carnal rejoycing You shall see this in the text in Hezekiah when the Ambassadours came to him he was glad of them there was a false joy Outward blessings the more they have of our love the less God hath of our thankfulness Indeed there is a spiritual joy and the more of that the more thankfulness but in Hezekiah it was a carnal joy a secure rejoycing in the outward things that God had bestowed upon him and that made him to forget his thankfulness There is a joy that the Lord calls for in his people Deut. 26. 11 12. he requires this that they should rejoyce in any case because they should be thankful therefore they are put together often in the Psalm as Psal. 33. and Psal. 107. rejoyce in the Lord and be thankful but when the joy is carnal when we rejoyce immediately in the very creature this is that which hinders our thankfulness FREE GRACE MAGNIFIED REVEL 22. 17. Let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take of the waters of life freely NOt to stand to open the words we may observe in them five parts First an offer to all men Secondly that God calleth and inviteth us to come Thirdly that whosoever will come must thirst Fourthly that if they so come they shall take of the water of life Fifthly and that freely I purpose at this time to speak of the second viz. That God inviteth man to come The point wee will deliver is not a point of controversie which we rather decline but a point of singular and great comfort and that is that â—â—â—rious Gospel which Paul did so much magnifie that mystery the Angels did so much labour to prie into that secret that was so much kept from the Iewes and revealed in due time to the Gentiles and that is the offer of Christ to all men in the world that would take him without all exceptions of persons or sins God doth not onely or meerly offer Christ but he sendeth out his Ministers and Ambassadours beseeching us to be reconciled he doth not onely tell us that there is a Marriage of his Son and that whosoever will come may come but he sendeth Messengers to beseech and to use an holy violence and earnest perswasion yea and not onely thus but he commandeth men and chargeth them upon their allegiance to come this is his commandment saith the Apostle that ye believe on him whom he hath sent yea he chargeth us upon death and damnation to come If you believe you shall be saved If you believe not you shall not be damned The first reason of this is because God would not have the death of his Son to be of none effect he would not have the blood of his Son spilt in vain and therefore he doth not make a bare offer of Christ but he beseecheth and compelleth men to come and believe on him Saint Paul useth the same reason why he would not preach with eloquent words because then he should convert none to Christ and if none be converted to Christ the death of Christ would be in vain and of none effect so say I if God did not send out his Messengers to beseech and perswade and command men to believe the death of Christ would be in vain The second reason is to shew forth the riches of Gods mercy and the abundance of his love to mankind the same motives he had to give Christ the same motives he hath to entreat men to believe and this is his love and this he sheweth to the elect that they might know the greatness and largeness of his love to them and to the wicked that the glory of his justice might appear in their damnation when they shall see that they have displeased and despised so gracious an offer The third reason is because it is acceptable to God that the Gospel should be obeyed that is that men should believe that they might live and not dye and therefore he saith he desireth not the death of a sinner and so are many speeches scattered in the Scripture Oh that my people would harken why will ye die O ye house of Israel these and many more sheweth that it is a thing very pleasing to God that men should not perish but that they come in and believe and live for ever But here may objections arise for when you hear that it is a thing pleasing to God that all men should believe here it may be objected How can these two stand together that God desires that men should believe and live and he it is that must give them ability to believe and yet doth not he hath it in his power to make them to believe and yet will not notwithstanding he expresseth in the forenamed places of scripture