good sayth Christ and then the fruit will be good such as the tree is such will be the fruit such as the Fountaine is such will the streame be And when a mans principles the frame of his heart is nothing but flesh then of necessitie his actions must be fleshly his affections must be fleshly If he have a fleshly mind he must have a fleshly will a fleshly love fleshly hatred a fleshly life fleshly prayers fleshly Sacraments fleshly every thing for every thing must be according to its principle So on the other side where the principle is spirituall there a man will mind spirituall things he will love spirituall things he will doe spirituall things he will delight in spirituall things That is one reason of it And the second is this for I will give you but Reas 2. Carnall men know not spirituall things these two because the cheife thing that I intend at this time is the opening of it fleshly carnall men that are after the flesh they must mind fleshly things because they know not spirituall things they understand not spirituall things Or if you will and it may be that word hath something more in it 1 Cor. 2. They perceive not spirituall things they doe not ken and Perceive them Now you know that a man minds not I meane look upon it as the acting of the understanding a man cannot mind but what he knowes a man cannot think of things he knowes not That is the reason to proove that poore ignorant people speak an untruth and deceive themselves when they say we remember God we mind God wheresoever we are and yet they know not God For God is not minded but when he is knowne As in that place of the Corinthians A naturall man cannot perceive the things of the spirit he doth not know Jesus Christ therefore he cannot mind him he doth not Know the things of the spirit of God therefore he cannot set his heart upon them Without Knowledg the mind cannot be good That is till a man have a stock of knowledg of things he can never act his understanding and mind about it There are two short reasons why those that are carnall and fleshly those that are after the flesh they mind the things of the flesh and they mind nothing else nor cannot and those that are after the spirit mind the things of the spirit because they know them they understand them and understanding them they cannot choose as David saith Psal 1. But excercise themselves in them day and night They excercise their thoughts and affections and all in them Now for the opening of it unto you here are The Point opened by 3 questions three questions First what is meant by beeing after the flesh And Secondly what is meant by the things of 1. What meant by beeing after the flesh the flesh and the things of the spirit I will put them both together For the one will open the other And what is meant by minding the things of the flesh and by minding the things of the spirit First by beâ—ing after the flesh it is in effect the same that I told you before to walk as to the Flesh therefore if you have not forgotten that you will easily understand this But yet to make it clearer you must understand that a man is said to be after the flesh or carnall for so they read it in Latine Qui carnalis c. Men are said to be carnall or after the flesh three wayes The first is when a man is a true Saint but hath 1. VVhen a Saint hath little grace and much corruption but a little measure of grace and hath much corruption much flesh It pleaseth the holy Ghost many times to denominate such a man by the greatest part that is in him which is flesh and so to call him carnall As in Rom. 7. Sayth Paul speaking how spirituall the law is but sayth he I am carnall sold under sin sold to sin Not that there was no grace in Paul but that there was such abundance of corruption at least in his feeling So in 1 Cor. 3. Are yee not carnall sayth Paul have ye not need of milk are ye noâ— Babes When I heare there are such divisions that some are for Paul and some for Apollo and some for Cephas Are yee not carnall are ye not after the flesh That is is there not a World of corruption in you doth not corruption rule and beare sway over that little grace that is in you So in Gal. 6. 1. If any man be overtaken with sin ye that are spirituall restore such done That is as if he had sayd there are some carnall and they cannot keepe themselves from beeing overtaken freequently with sin and much lesse can such restore others but a spirituall man one that the spirit hath prevailed in some measure over the flesh in keeping him from the foyles and falls that weake men fall into and making him able in some measure to rayse and heale others Now so we are not to Understand it here in this place when he sayth They that are after the flesh Secondly a man may be said to be after the Flesh or to be carnall A man that is a true Saint may be 2. VVhen a Saint doth a carnall action called carnall when he doth some one action that may in a sence be wholly carnall For a Saint may doe an action that he nor none about him may perceive any thing but carnallitie in As in Mat. 16. 23. Compared with Mark 8. 32. There you shall see a godly Saint Peter by name when his Master was Preaching to him what he should suffer at Jerusalem and how he should be put to death and the like Then Peter tooke him and began to rebuke him saying be it farr from thee Lord this shall not be unto thee This was a Fleshly Speech a meere carnall Speech Christ was going to Jerusalem to die for Peter and for other poore sinners and Peter takes him aside and rebukes his Master and tells him it should not be so Farr be it from thee Christ takes him and tells him Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence to mee for thou savourest not the things of God but the things of men Thou speakest as a carnall fleshly man thou hast no tast of spirituall things If thou diddest looke on it spiritually thou wouldest rejoyce and pray the Lord to help thee to suffer in that temptation with thy Master or to make a spirituall use of it but thou art carnall and savourest of Flesh Now when the Apostle sayth here They that are after the Flesh doe mind the things of the flesh he doth not properly meane that neither But thirdly and lastly a man is sayd to be after the Flesh when he is in his pure naturalls when he 3. VVhen men are meerly carnall is meerly carnall when he is wholly flesh when he is destitute of the spirit of God when
Reas 2 All that is in God is of a humbling nature nature I find that God manifesting any attribute of his at any time to any of his children it doth humble them as for instance let the Lord shew his greatnesse in a spirituall way I meane as he 1 Gods greatnesse did to David Psal 8. when he saw the greatnesse of God that the Sun and Moone were the workes of Gods fingers then David cries out VVhat is man Lord that thou doest respect him It made poore David to be as nothing So also his goodnesse his love 2 Gods goodnesse as that in Samuell when David daunced before the Arke he cries I will be yet more vile Why so Because God hath chosen me saith he to Michel rather then thy Fathers House He saw the goodnesse of God therefore he would be more humble and more vile And so I might shew of all the rest There is nothing in God if it be discovered to a poore creature that is a sinner but it dasheth and abaseth and humbleth him I will not speake of the Scriptures that positively and punctually prove it for I spake something of them before to you But if you aske how can that be that the Quest looking upon God should make one humble how can the beholding of God worke such a grace in the heart Beloved I have told you a little how it doth Answ it and I can tell you no more and if this will not serve if you cannot see clearly how this can be I must referre you to the works of God in the creature and there you shall see some resemblance of Secret works in grace and nature it if you can tell me how Labans sheep conceived spotted Lambs by beholding the peeled rods or if you can tell me how the men were healed of their wounds by looking on the brazen Serpent then I will tell you how a man by seeing of God in a speciall manner in Christ is humbled We see in nature many such strange mysteries that we cannot unfold As they say the Basiliske with her eye will kill a man at a distance and as we see here in our owne home an onion will make a man weep at a distance Wee can give something that wee call reason but there are a world of things in the creature as the ebbing and flowing of the Sea and the like that we cannot give a reason of And if it be so in the creature why should it not in this that a poore sinner beholding God in Christ by faith spiritually should receive grace for grace from him And if we be posed in knowing the particular reason of the strange operations of God in the work of creation we might wel cease our disputes how God humbles the soule even by beholding him when God beholds the soule or the soule beholds God But the last thing I shall open is this why the Quest Lord hath ordered it that that shall be the way to humble our soules Answ Why the Lord will humble men bâ— the fight of him We cannot goe far in asking such questions as these Why God will work it thus but yet I will give you these two reasons instead of all The first is this that I find that it is a generall rule with God towards all creatures marke it all good is in God every good and perfect gift comes from him and I find that it is a generall rule God will have all to looke to him in giving that when God gives any thing to Man or Beast or Bird to soule or body he will make them looke up to him that is the giver As in Psal 145. 15. The eyes of all saith David wait on thee and thou givest them meat in due season thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing That is the meaning is that all the creatures though you know not how it is yet God makes the Birds and Beasts in the Wildernesse he makes them to eye and to looke after him Another thing is this the Lord will doe this as God will draw our hearts to him by a fight of him Christ said in another sence that he might draw mens minds and hearts to him just as we use to do when we have a mind to bring our children to love us we will have some fine thing to give them we will give it and the child must come to us there is nothing in the childs comming to make us give it but because we will not only bestow the thing on the child for his good but win his affections and bring him to know us and love us and make a Leg and to thanke us and the like so the Lord will not give any thing to us but we must come and looke to him that we may not so much love the thing as fall in love with that blessed hand that gives Therefore our life is hid with Christ in God Why so that our affections may be above where Christ is Collos 3. 2. So the Lord will not bestow any thing upon us but he will have our eye upon him that we may love and delight in him that bestowes all upon us So much briefly for the opening of it Now I shal conclude at this time with a word or two of use leave the rest for another opportunity The Use for the present is this that you may clearely learne hence that sinners and carnall men men that are not borne againe or are not new Use 1. Unregenerate men cannot be truly humbled creatures they cannot be truly humbled they can have no true humiliation because as it is evidently proved in the doctrine before they have no true sight of God therefore they cannot be truly humbled they may keep Fasts and come to church and heare Sermons and do a great many things but they cannot be truly humbled They may have divers things like humiliation but it is not true Gospell Yet he may 1 See his sins saving humiliation As for instance a wicked carnall man he may see his sins and he may be convinced of them in a naturallway just for all the world as a man by the Statutes of England if he have broken any of them if he read the Statutes by the strength of reason he may say I have brok the Statute And so he may by reading the book of God God saith that whormongers drunkards and coveteous shal not enter into the Kingdome of God and he may say but I am such a one he may doe this in a naturall way alas this is farre enough from humiliation Nay farther the Lord may put wrath in the 2 He may be terrefied Law he may put wrath in judgements and afflictions and he may be terrified and wofully troubled because of sinne and yet not be humbled So the Devils in Hell though they have enough of that yet they are not humbled So Judas and Cain and Saul they were troubled
So the reasonings of the soule are the chiefest weapons of the minde because I told you that these they doe come immediately from it The third thing was that the reasoning is the chief character of a man as reason in a man considered in a naturall way is the most proper way of distinguishing of him from other things because it is most essentiall to him for you cannot distinguish a man so properly from a horse because he hath two leggs and that a horse hath foure but by his essence he is a rationall creature and therefore I told you a man may know good excellently a man may love good and godlines and a man may do good and suffer for good and yet be an hypocrite yet be a carnall man Why Because he may doe good and love good and suffer for good and all out of carnall reasoning he may love the good because of some fine circumstantiall things And therefore I concluded last day with two words of use but I must endeavor to make good my promise Now the last thing is how it comes to passe for I have as in reference to the Doctrine you heard That spirituall men are swayed 3. How it comes that Saints are guided by spirituall reason with spirituall reasons How comes it to passe that they are enabled so to reason and to be so guided by such Reasons Beloved in generall certainly it is only by the same spirit of God for I must advance the spirit still Not in opposition to the Scriptures mistake me not for the spirit takes of the things of By the spirit Christ and in the Scriptures sheweth you them but it is the Spirits teaching you And therefore it is said they are after the spirit that doe mind spirituall things because it is the spirit that doth worke them to mind spirituall things yee would never mind spirituall things else All the Learning in the World and all the wit in the World will never teach a man to make one sincere argument to doe good or draw him from evill But you will say how doth the Spirit doe this Beloved I told you heretofore that I doe not approove of those that doe endeavour to shew you too particularly and disbiastly how the spirit of God works in the soule as many men have done and many a godly man but they have lost much time and have puzelled the soules of poore people for thou knowest not how a Child is formed in the VVombe how his eye is made and how his Nose is made And how are we able to discover how the Spirit of God works grace in the soule which ordinarily is done that he doth this first and then that and will not doe this untill he hath done that which hath brought forth a deale of curiositie and needlesse distinctions troubling the People of God But I will give you some particulars how he doth it The wayes whereby he doth it without curiositie not saying he doth this first or that first He doth it by a Creation by spirituall Creation 1. By a creation he doth make a Caeation in the soule which is called the new man Thou that art there now sitting in the Pew that creature that old creature cannot reach the spirit of God It cannot be mended for we have hearts of stone that will not be cobled nor mended but taken out wholly our natures are so naught that they cannot be mended but God comes and by his Holy spirit makes a new Creature in the soule As man is said to be a man and hath not his denomination from the grosser part as his Legs or the like but from the more noble part his soule and his mind for where as in one place it is said What will it availe a man to get the World and loose his soule in another it is loose himselfe So as my soule is my selfe So there is an old man not according to outward age but according to the inward Now he makes thee a new creature not New legs and hands but new mind new affections and new powers in thy soule Now most people say that the Lord doth infuse new qualities into the soule that whereas thou hast an under standing and it is rotten and all is full of bad qualities thou shalt have new qualities thou shalt have an under standing that will mind More then new qualities in Saints Heavenly things Beloved that is true but I very much doubt whiter there be not something more because the Lord calls it a man and we never Reade in the Scripture where he will worke new qualities but a new man We are created a new Creature Now that is the way and therefore if ever thou wilt be a spirituall man thou must have the Lord to make thee a new creature Now the Saints heretofore pray understand me did not looke upon things as we doe we have had so many false distinctions and subdistinctions we have not the same notions and distinctions they had They alwayes looked upon rhe inward man or the new craature Now we looke without saith Paul my inward man gaineth dayly If any man be in Christ he is a new Creature Beloved that ye may understand this beare with me a little I doe find in the Scripture that a man is made a Saint made spirituall and holy two wayes One is by renewing a man to that which he was in Old Adam Secondly by creating things in him that were never there before And we have these two expressions A Saint made spirituall how in Scripture Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and created unto good works So that a Saint he is made up unto that condition two wayes Either God hath renewed in him those things he had in Adam Or else God hath created in him that which was never there before As for instance God revealeth in him Sobrietie and continuance and the like These things were in Adam and now when a man is made a Saint they are renewed only upon a new Foundation And withall the Lord creates some things that were never in Adam as for instance he creates faith there that is the the faith of the Gospell There was a faith in Adam without doubt but that faith of the Gospell to beleive in another to renounce his owne righteousnesse this was not in Adam because it was point-blanke contrary to his owne condition for he was to have righteousnesse in himselfe and to renounce it was contrary to his condition Now God Creates such a faith in us And Beloved there is another thing and it may be there are many things more I have had many thoughts of it with submission to the godly and wise I thinke that Gospell-goodnesse is a peice of the new man which was not in Adam Some thing in Saints that was not in Adam as to doe good to Enemies to love them that hate us to give drinke to a thirstie Enemy When one is wicked and
c. The Lord helpe thee to looke to this SERMON VIII Rom. 8. 5. For they that are after the flesh doe minde the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit I Have spoken of these words in generall and now I will according to the strength that God shall give me speak of them a little in partiticular that seeing those that enjoy this great priviledg to have the law fulfilled in them are those that walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit That we may find whether we walke after the flesh or after the spirit I would urge it a little further and that according to the Apostles method He pitcheth upon the mind and the mind not simply considered but as it is acting and setting forth the mind in minding therefore as he takes the chiefest facultie to judge the rest by so I will take the chiefest act in that facultie that so you may judge of the rest by that one and so keep to the Apostles method Now the chiefest act of the mind doubtlesse The chiefe act of the mind is the reasoning part of the mind There are many acts in the mind as it understands it thinks it imamagines but especially the reasoning part It belongs to the mind to reason concerning things and reason is the chiefest part and is called and accounted by Schollers the chiefest part of man and therefore they say that man is a reasonable creature Now I say if we will find out by the Scriptures what we are whether we be according to the flesh or according to the spirit for there is the hinge of it we must examine it by the mind not by the mind simply as it is a faculty but the mind acting and exercising And if we speak of the exercise of it let us take the reasoning part of it that is he best part for of all the acts of the mind the reasoning is the strongest and that that most immediatly flowes from the understanding therefore if the reasoning of the soule be carnall the whole soule is so and if the reasoning of it be spiritual the whole soule is spiritual that was one thing that did move me to pitch upon that it being the chiefest Besides I find that the Apostle in 1 Cor. 5. 16. How Paul distinguisheth Saints and others he distinguisheth those that walke according to the flesh from those that walke according to the spirit by the reasoning part for saith he Henceforth know we no man after the flesh yea though we have knowne Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth know we him no more We doe not saith he henceforth walke according to the flesh and we know it by our knowledge we do know things not according to the flesh but according to the spirit if Christ himselfe were here we would not looke upon him with a fleshly eye What this knowledge is you may see in the verses before For the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge we thus reason that if one dyed for all then were all dead and that he dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which dyed for them and rose againe We know saith he that we are spirituall and not fleshly by our judging of things by our reasoning of things for thus we judge or thus we reason that if one man dyed for all that is did dye for others then surely we all are dead And we reason further that if one man did dye for us and we are suffered to live we should imploy our life not for our selves but for him that dyed for us This kind of reasoning we have that walke after the Spirit and not after the Flesh therefore I will pitch upon that And the rather because the Lord hath been pleased for ends best knowne to him to keep that in my mind and to fix it so on my thoughts that I could not passe it by and I usually judge in such cases that God doth often doe it for your sakes And therefore according to this method wee shall observe this Doctrine or this lesson that Doct. Carnall men guided by fleshly reasoning Those that are according to the flesh or that walke according to the flesh are swayed and guided by fleshly reasonings and those that are according to the Spirit are swayed and ruled by spirituall reasonings True Gospell Beleivers are ruled and swayed with spirituall reasonings and all carnall fleshly men are ruled by carnall fleshly reasonings For such as the mind is so is the whole man and if your reasoning be right then I dare say that all the acts of your mind are right for that is the cheifest you may judge of all the acts of your mind by your reasoning and therefore we cull out that for the triall of the rest I say carnall men are swayed and led with fleshly reasonings and spirituall men with spirituall reasonings And this is the most distinguishing Character that I know in the Booke of God betweene a Christian and another man And as the Lord presents it unto me I shall a little open unto you these termes reasoning spirituall reasoning and fleshly reasoning That you may understand these you must conceive that there are three sorts of mindes in the World and therefore there be three sorts of reasonings Three sorts of minds For our Reasonings are according as the minde is There is first a corrupt mind as you have it 1. Corrupt Ephes 4. The old man that is corrupt that is to speake in your language or according to your thoughts a sinfull mind a mind that is exercised about sinfull things When a mans mind is an evill one simplie evill Secondly there is a naturall mind 1 Cor. 2. at 2. Naturall the latter end it is called there the naturall man where I would have you observe by the bye that the mind is called the man there the naturall man that is the naturall mind The naturall man knoweth not the things of God that is the naturall mind for a man is denominated by his excellentest part which is his mind as I told you before And there is also the spirituall mind which is 3. Spirituall called there the spirituall man The spirituall man judgeth all things that is the spirituall mind judgeth all things for it is the mind properly that doth judge and the man is said to judge because he hath the mind or the mind is in the man according Three sorts of reasonings to these three sorts of minds flow forth sorts of reasonings One is corrupt reasoning and that is when men 1. Corrupt doe reason meerly sinfully according to that in 1 Cor. 15. The Apostle useth their carnall phrase Let us eate and drinke for tomorrow we shall die Now here was a kind of reasoning in this here was an argument to morrow we expect to die that is shortly therefore let us
infallible if they be truly and clearly drawne So then the meaning of it is that all the principles of the Gospell they are cleare and plain they are demonstrations infallible to a spirituall mind a carnall man may doubt of them but wee speak wisedome to them that are perfect Thirdly and lastly the facultie of the soule whereby we do apprehend this light and in which we retain these principles it is a great deal more exlent I say the facultie that is the spirituall minde for I told you before there were three minds This spirituall minde is nothing else but the new Spirituall mind what Creature there is in a Christian the old Creature and the new Creature and the Scripture ordinarily calls it the old man and the new man What is the new man Nothing in the world but God puts as it were a new understanding in him that is he puts a new light in his understanding and frames his understanding to be capable of that new light For the minde we have naturally cannot receive spirituall things Therefore it is not only a new quality there is somthing more or else God would not call it the new man but the new quality which he doth no where in Scripture the Lord frames in the soule a capabillity a faculty to apprehend and reason upon Spirituall things and this is called the new man and this comes from Jesus Christ and his holy Spirit and is upon the growing hand more and more Now the other facultie the naturall facultie is corrupt with lusts The old man is corrupt And when I say the old man you must take the naturall Old man what man as well as the sinfull man The old man is corrupt what is that he is corrupt that is he is rotten How comes he to be rotten He is corrupt by reason of the lusts of it As it is with Timber it would continue a long time if it have not rayne come upon it but if rayne fall on it it makes it decay so the naturall mind the naturall Sin corrupts the naturall faculties facultie in Adam before he sinned was great deale more cleare and therefore Adam was a better naturalist then any man then all the men in the world Adam was a better Navigator a better Phisitian a better any thing But as sinne raised the Law of God out of mans heart so sinne begun to rot and corrupt the naturall excellencies of man as his mind c. and that right reason that Adam had before his fall you see how he did name all the creatures and what wisedome he had but after his fall sinne had not been long in him but he was more corrupt As you see in a house where there is a hole in the thatch if the raine come in but two or three dayes the Timber will not be much rotted but in time it will spoyle it So wee see after when sinne came to increase more in the dayes of Cain man was more tainted and yet surely then naturall knowledge was more excellent then now it is for you see what inventions they had Gen. 4. of musick and building and Tents and many things that they invented in Arts. But you will say it is an easie thing to make Tents and Organs It is an easie thing to perfect a thing that hath been 5000. yeares finding out but were you now to find out the thing it were not easie Now I say that sinne doth rott and rust the nature of man more and more and as sinne gets head more so more and more it will rot the faculties of man but the facultie we have in the new man it is new it was never tainted never any drop came into it to corrupt it for when God creates the new Creature he makes it a more excellent peice then he did the old and this growes more and more therefore seeing there is clearer light excellenter principles a profounder facultie there must needs be a more blessed and glorious way of reasoning in a spirituall way then in a naturall way I had thought to have gone over the other two things premised but the time is past and therefore I will only now conclude this with one or two short words of use And first of all I will here in love admonish Use 1. Not to reject all reason in godlinesse you that are the people of God to take heed of that devise of Satan whereby he would perswade the Saints that there is no reason in godlinesse Reason is a word that is much prejudiced among Professors and if a man speake of reason they are ready to slight it and say shew me Scripture as if sound spirituall reason and the Scripture were contrary one to another they are readie to say what doe you talk to me of reason shew me a Text for it It is true we must not talk of carnall corrupt reason that is abhominable nor of naturall reason that is too short but we may and must in any thing belonging to godlinesse take in spirituall reason and if it hold not with spirituall reason doe not admit of it let it be what Opinion it will Most of your wandrings and mistakes doe arise from want of observing spirituall reason we reject reason and goe and take a place of Scripture and so hand over head goe along and not deduct things as Paul and Abraham did But beware of this for there is nothing in godlinesse but thon mayest find sound reason in it there is no absurdity in godlinesse absurdity belongs to wicked men that have not faith Take heed of rejecting all kind of reason in godlinesse reject carnall reason and expect godlinesse to be above naturall reason but if there be not spirituall reason in what thou doest it is not of God Secondly it is a word of exhortation or invitation Use 2. Invitation to come to Christ to you that are carnall that you would come in and receive Jesus Christ that you would imbrace Christ and godlinesse by him Why so Because there is nothing in nature that may take with man but there is that and that in a more excellent way in grace if men had grace to heed it You know what takes with men in nature ordinarily most of mankind are weake and come not up so high as to action and contempldtion but you know what takes with them Riches and Honour c. Now the Scripture tells us in Christ we shall in herite all these things some affect Liberty here is that also If the Son make you free you shall be free indeed And whatsoever men can fancie saith Christ Come and buy of me gold and Rayment and milk and honey and Kingdomes and Crownes and whatsoever the nature of man is capable of But there are some that feed not upon sensuall things and to tell them of pleasures and Honour and Riches by Christ doth not so much take them but thou art it may be an intellectuall man