be likewise said of the worke of our adoption and of the loue of God in making vs his children This is the Lords worke and it is maruellous in our eies This circumstance noted by this word is to bee ioined with the former word Behold the more to prouoke vs to long after the knowledge of the excellencie of the children of God especially after that knowledge that is by experience sense taste and feeling as it were of the excellencie thereof For no man so well knoweth this excellencie or can so well speake or write thereof as he that is partaker of it and findeth the sweetnesse of it in himselfe For this is that white stone promised to them that ouercome wherein is a new name written which no man knoweth sauing he that receiueth it Reu. 2. 17. The rather is this to bee ioined with the former word to make vs more desirous of getting this title and the more carefull to keepe it being gotten yea to carry our selues according vnto it All men doe gaze vpon the honourable titles of the world and are in great admiration of them but no man almost doth once looke after this yea euery man almost in respect of the contempt wherein this name is with the world afterward to be spoken of in handling this obiection is afraid to be called or knowen by this name As many of the chiefe Rulers that beleeued in Christ for feare notwithstanding of the Pharises durst not professe him Ioh. 12. 42. so many hearing so much as often times they do of the dignity of Gods children haue some desire and could be content to bee the children of God but fearing the world and the great men in the world especially such as to whom they doe specially belong are loth to be seene to haue any minde or affection that way But of these more afterward Thus much of the second word in this text preparing vs to thinke the more highly of the dignity of the children of God heere spoken of The third word is Loue. Behold what loue This word setteth foorth the fountaine or principall cause of making vs the children of God to be the loue of God So it is said to bee the cause why God sent or gaue his onely sonne for vs Ioh. 3. 16. and. 1. Ioh. 4. 9. wherof we shall heare more afterward If the loue of God be the fountaine of sending his sonne then also it is of our making or adopting to bee the children of God For whence is it that we are made the children of God Is it not by Iesus Christ It cannot bee denied and it shall afterward bee more plentifully prooued Heerein the Lord differeth from men for men cannot properly bee said to beget children of Note loue There may be and is in men a desire of children but there cannot properly be a loue of children till children bee begotten and borne For how can men loue them that haue no being at all in nature But God is said to loue vs and in loue of vs to make vs his children or to beget vs againe to himselfe and so his loue towards vs is before we are borne againe or begotten againe vnto him As this loue of God was before the action of our regeneration so it continueth euer after Gods loue is vnchangeable As Christ is the same yesterday to day and for euer Heb. 13. 8. so is God in his loue towards them whom he loueth yea there is not only no change in him but also with him there is no variablenesse nor shadow of turning Iames 1. 17. But being to speake of this loue againe afterward this in this place shall be sufficient thereof The fourth word heere to be obserued is the Father As the former word setteth foorth the originall cause of our being the children of God so this setteth foorth the authour thereof and the subject of that loue before spoken of and that to be not onely God barely considered in his diuine essence but as he is inuested with the title of a Father To speake more plainly The loue before spoken of whereby wee are made the children of God doth not come from God as he is God only but as he is a Father and that first of all as he is the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ And therefore when the Apostle Peter speaketh of this matter euen of our regeneration he saith not only Blessed be God but hee saith further euen the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which of his abundant or rich mercy hath begotten vs againe 1. Pet. 1. 3. God was alwaies the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ in the distinction of persons in the diuine essence and so Iesus Christ as the second person in the Deitie was alwaies the sonne of the Father euen before all times so that there neuer was any time when the one of these two persons was not the Father and the other the Sonne Secondly this loue heere spoken of commeth from God not only as he is the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ but also as by Iesus Christ he is our Father To speake this also a little more plainly the Apostle heere speaking of himselfe and of them to whom he did write not only as the people of God nor as the workes of God but as the children of God it was therefore the more sit that hee should describe God by such a title as was most answerable to that respect wherein he speaketh of himselfe the writer and of them to whom he did write These being as they were the children of God it was more answerable to the word children that he should say Behold what loue the Father hath giuen vnto vs then Behold what loue God hath giuen vnto vs. For the word God doth more fitly answer to the word creatures or people and the word Father is a plain correlatiue to the word children Now although euer sithence the creation and sithence the first time that there were any elect and beleeuing men God was alwares their Father yet as God was not so knowen to bee the father of our Lord Iesus Christ in the old Testament and before the mearnation and manifestation of Christ in the fleth as â—â—thence so God also Note did not so plainly open and manifest himselfe to be the father of the elect as he hath done sithence the time of the Gospell And therefore wee finde this title Father ostener attributed vnto God in respect of Christ and of the elect in the new Testament then in the old In the old Testament he is most called and made knowen by the name of The God of Abraham the God of Izaak and the God of Iaacob but in the new Testament he maketh himselfe knowen by the name of The Father of our Lord Ieâ—us Christ and of them that by faith are made members of Christ and flesh of his flesh euen one bodie with him As the grace of God which bringeth saluation vnto all men is said especially to
the wicked haue no part in the foresaid loue of God but it is proper and peculiar only to the children of God And thus we see that the foresaid loue of God towards his children is not only to be considered as the principall and first mouing cause of their regeneration but also as a singular and most honourable benefit and prerogatiue Thus much for the first consideration of the loue of God in making vs his children viz. as it was the cause of our election at the first euen before all times vnto our adoption and regeneration to be made in time Touching the second consideration of Gods loue in making vs his children namely as it hath been declared particularly in giuing his sonne for the effecting of our adoption whereunto we were predestinated and elected it is said So God loued the world that he hath giuen his only begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish c. Ioh. 3. 16. If God so loued the world that he sent his sonne that men might haue euerlasting life by beleeuing in him then also in his said loue he sent his sonne to adopt them vnto God For none can beleeue but such as are adopted and haue the spirit of adoption whereby to beleeue God to be their father And adoption is one necessary step to euerlasting life and without adoption and regeneration can no man enter into the kingdome of heauen as our Sauiour teacheth Nicodemus in the same chapter Neither is it only manifest thus by consequence that God so loued the world that is the elect men in the world that he sent his sonne for their adoption but the Apostle doth also teach the same expresly When the fulnesse of time saith he was come God sent his sonne made of a woman and made vnder the law that is not only borne in the time of the law but also made subiect both to the obedience and to the curse of the law that he might redeeme them that were vnder the law that they might receiue the adoption of sonnes Galat. 4. 4. 6. By these testimonies it is manifest not only that God declared his great loue towards vs in sending his own and only sonne into the world to make vs his children but that also God the sonne was a principall agent in the work of our adoption and regeneration as well as God the father and that wee could no more haue been made the children of God without the worke of God the sonne then without the worke of God the father The same is yet further manifest by the Euangelists interpretation of the propheticall words of Caiph as spoken as hee was high Priest touching the necessity of the death of one for the people and that the whole nation should not perish For this saith the Euangelist spake hee not of himselfe but being high Priest that same yeere he prophecied that Iesus should die for that nation and not for that nation only but that he should gather together the children of God that were scattered Ioh. 11. 50. By gathering together he meaneth adopting and by the children of God he meaneth not them that were already in act the children of God but that were appointed and predestinated so to be as before we heard It is also in the said place to be obserued Note that he speaketh not passiuely but actiuely He saith not that the children of God might be gathered together but he saith that he might gather together c. So he noteth that the gathering together and adopting of the children of God is a worke of Iesus Christ as well as of God the father The same our Sauiour himselfe testifieth saying Other sheepe I haue also which are not of this fold them also must I bring Ioh. 10. 16. he saith not they shall be brought but that he himselfe must bring them Peter accordeth with both the former testimonies making this to be the end of Christs suffering once for sinnes c. not that we might be brought only to God but also that he might bring vs vnto God 1. Pet. 3. 18. As therefore we could not haue been saued without Christ so neither could we haue been adopted without him Therefore also as before we heard the dignity of Gods children to be the greater by the worke of the father so it is also the greater hereby that the father worketh herein by the sonne and the sonne worketh with the father as well in this our second creation as in the first For Christ is the same in glory and excellency with the Father Whatsoeuer is spoken of the Father according to the Deity the same may also be sayd of the sonne For I saith Christ himselfe and my Father are one Ioh. 10. 30. and the Apostle saith that hee being in the forme of God thought it no robbery to be equall with God Philip. 2. 6. And he is called the heire of all things by whom God the Father made the world and the brightnesse of the glory and the ingraued forme of his fathers person Heb. 1. 2. 3. Neither was Christ only so excellent as he was God but he was also very excellent in his humanity the same being conceiued in the wombe of a virgin by the immediat operation of the holy ghost and being personally vnited to the Godhead that both natures might make one person and so vnited being also altogether without sinne vnspotted vndefiled most holy and righteous In his offices also he was most honorable being the onely King Priest and Prophet of his Church yea such a King Priest and Prophet as of whom Dauid and Salomon and all their kingly posterity with the Priests of the law and the Prophets extraordinarily raised vp and sent to the ancient people of God were but types figures and shadowes The more excellent therefore that Christ is and was before his sending into the world and afterward the more hath God dignified his children in sending him so into the world to make them his children The more honorable persons that any Prince doth imploy for the good of any other the more is he dignified and graced for whose good such honourable persons are so imployed Did not Balak King of Moab much honour Balaam by sending vnto him first some of the Elders and Princes of Moab and Midian Num. 22. 5. 7. and 13. and afterward more Princes and more honorable then the former vers 15. Was it not a great honor to the Prophet Isaiah that Hezekiah sent Eliakim the steward of his house and Shebna his Chauncellor and the elders of the Priests to aske counsell of him touching Rabsheka 2. King 19. 2. May not the like be sayd of Iosiahs sending Hiâ—kia the Priest Ahâ—kan the sonne of Shaphat Achbor the sonne of Michaiah Shaphan the Chancellor and Asahia the Kings seruant to Huldah the Propheâ—esse for counsell from the Lord touching the finding of the laweâ— 2. King 22. 12. That the Centurion sent not one of his own seruants but the
hatred is said to haue been more against Tamar then his loue had been towards her 2. Sam. 13. 15. Dogs loue in this manner for let their masters that doe alwaies feed them but vnawares tread a little vpon their foot and they will be ready to bite them by the leg if not to slie in their face It is far otherwise with the children of God For so many as are new borne not of mortall but of immortall seede by the word of God hauing purified their soules in obeying the truth to loue brotherly without feining doe accordingly loue with a pure heart feruently 1. Pe. 1. 23. Now although that place be vnderstood specially of brotherly loue yet he that loueth them that are begotten will much more loue him that hath begotten And indeed how can the children of God but loue him whom they know by his word to be so mighty so infinit so wise so iust and euery way so good in himselfe and so gracious so louing and so mercifull towards them whom he hath so loued as to make them his children in such manner as hitherto we haue heard and shall further heare As touching the loue of the children of God towards men especially towards such as are the children of God with themselues how can they but loue them that are his creatures and the workmanship of his hands yea and which doe resemble their heauenly father and their eldest brother and that are stamped with the same spirit wherewith themselues are stamped that are heires likewise of the same inheritance and for the loue of whom there be so many precepts to command it so many sentences to commend it so many promises to prouoke it so many examples to encourage vnto it In all these respects the said loue is very excellent and precious the more because it doth not only come from God alone but also because that thereby we know that wee are translated from death to life and that we are of the truth and shall before him assure our hearts 1. Ioh. 3. 14. The Apostle saith not that Note thereby we are translated and that thereby we are assured but only that we know our selues so to be So then this loue is a speciall part of the euidence of our saluation and of our comfortable appearance before him both in this life and also in the life to come euen in the great day when all flesh shall be gathered together and when the books of all mens actions known and secret shall be opened before him That which the Apostle in the former Chapter vers 29. had ascribed to the whole worke of regeneration is in the places before alledged ascribed to this one point thereof viz. our vnfeined loue towards other the children of God because indeed all other things are nothing without it 1. Cor. 13. 1. 2. and where that is there are all other graces either as causes working it and by it or as effects and fruits thereof comming from it and therefore as before we haue heard it is called the fulfilling of the law and the bond of perfection Our Sauiour also saith that vpon these two commandements Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy soule with all thy strength and with all thy minde and thy neighbour as thy selfe hangeth the whole law and the Prophets Mat. 22. 40 So that these two points either as they are to be performed by vs or as they Note be performed for vs by our Sauiour Christ Iesus are the text as it were of all the rest of the word of God which is so excellent that when Dauid had learned much thereof yet he praieth the Lord to open his eyes that he might see the wonders of his law Psal 119. 18. thereby nothing that the wonders of the law of God which he did see he accounted in a manner as nothing in respect of those which he did desire further to behold So also in further commendation of the excellency of the said law he saith againe Thy testimonies are wonderfull therefore doth my soule keepe them vers 129. If therefore the word of God be so excellent is not that also excellent that is the chiefe subiect matter thereof and whereunto all that is contained in the word some way or other may well be referred Notwithstanding although this loue be so excellent yet it is not as the papists blurt it out and stoutly defend it the forme of faith For then should it be a part of faith yea the chiefe part of faith and that part without which faith should haue no being at all because the forme doth giue being to that which is formed and so it should be no otherwise distinguished from faith then as a part of faith it selfe which is directly repugnant to that place which they especially plead for the magnifying of loue And now abideth faith hope and loue these three 1. Cor. 13. 13. For in this place we see the Apostle as plainly to distinguish loue from faith as he doth distinguish hope and to make these to be three How could this be if loue were a part of faith and if faith were no faith without loue Indeed there is no faith without loue but if therefore we should make loue to be the principall part of faith we should make many a mad conclusion Againe loue by the doctrine of the Papists vpon the former place is better then faith Can a part be better then the whole Then it should be better then it selfe with addition of another good thereunto Loue also is an effect of faith as before we heard out of 1. Tim. 1. 5. therefore it cannot be the forme of faith Last of al by faith we meane faith in Iesus Christ and euery mans beleeuing of the particular forgiuenesse of his own sinnes and of his own particular saluation by Iesus Christ The loue that is required of vs was in Adam before his fall in whom there was no such faith But to returne to the excellency of the loue before spoken of as we haue heard the loue of the wicked to be very variable and soone quenched yea turned oft times into extreme hatred so the loue of the children of God is most constant and abideth to the end Loue doth neuer fall away though that prophecying be abolished or the tongues cease or knowledge vanish away 1. Cor. 13. 8. The loue of the children of God being sincere without dissimulation Rom. 12. 9. well rooted and grounded Ephes 3. 18. vpon the word and in Christ Iesus it is constant without wearinesse either in affection or in action Gal. 6 9. As God loueth to the end whomsoeuer he loueth Ioh. 13. 1. so his children walke in the steps of the same loue Ephes 5. 1. 2. To conclude this point the more excellent this loue is a speciall point wherein consisteth the matter of our regeneration the more excellent also is the estate and condition of all the children of God so regenerated in whom alone it
obtaine mercy Matt. 5. 7. then much more blessed and much more may they hope for mercy that iudge wisely of the godly and that shew mercy to the children of God Againe the Prophet praieth or exhorteth to pray that they may prosper that loue Ierusalem Psal 122. 6. by Ierusalem there meaning not only the publike state of the Church but euery particular member thereof because it cannot goe well with the whole except it goe also well with euery member Now although that bee a praier or exhortation to praier yet the matter thereof insinuateth a promise for neither the Church nor any part thereof may pray for any thing in their owne behalfe or in behalfe of any other whereof they haue no promise Forasmuch therefore as the Church praieth or exhorteth to pray for them that loue Ierusalem viz. that such may prosper it followeth that there was and is a promise of the prosperitie of all those that loue Ierusalem that is of the Church and whole compaine of Gods children and euerie part thereof that is of euery one of Gods children therein or thereunto belonging Our Sauiour speaketh yet more plainly and expresly saying that he that receiueth arighteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receiue thereward of a righteous man and that whosoeuer shall giue vnto one of his little ones that is to one of the smallest and meanest children of God a cup of coldwater only in the name of a disciple verily he should not lose his reward Matt. 10. 41. Thus much briefly for the promises of God to all that shall shew any kindnesse to any of his children Touching the threatnings against all that shall deale vnkindly with them first all that our Sauiour speaketh of offending generally any one of his little ones Match 18. 6. Mark 9. 42. Luk 17. 2. may particularly be applied to this purpose If the Angell of the Lord also as Dâ—borah reporteth said Curse yee Meroz Curse yee the inhabitants thereof because they came not to helpe the Lord to helpe the Lord against the mightie Iudg. 5. 23. so condemning them not to haue helped the Lord that did not helpe his people how much more doth the curse of God belong to them that go out to hurt the children of God or that doe any thing for the damnifying of them When the Prophet Ieremiah had said that Israel was as a thing hallowed vnto the Lord and his first fruits presently hee addeth All they that eat it shall offend euill shall come vpon them saith the Lord Ier 2. 3. By eating there the Prophet meaneth the offring of any indignity vnto them For in the time of the Law when things according to the Law were consecrated vnto God what common person soeuer not of the stocke of the Priests did eat of them they did greatly sinne against the Lord and prouoked his heauy indignation against themselues When the Prophet Zecbariah had said He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his ete immediately he addeth this commination against such persons saving For behold I will life vp mine hand vpon them and they shall be a spoile to those that serued them c. Zech. 2. 8. The Prophet Amos saith against the rich men of Israel that dealt hardly with the poore buying them for siluer and for old shoes selling vnto them the refuse of the wheat c. as many rich men doe in these daies the Prophet Amos I say speaketh thus against such The Lord hath sworne by the excellencie of Iaacob Surely I will neuer forget any of their workes Amos 8. 6. Did the Lord with an oath so threaten them that dealt hardly with the poore of Israel who long before were fallen away from God What then doe we thinke threatneth he against all those that any waies deale hardly with them whom in his abundant mercy he hath begotten againe vnto himselfe and whom so begotten he loueth with an euerlasting loue and wil neuer cast them off When Amalek came out to fight against the children of Israel as they came out of the land of Egypt and were trauelling by the wildernesse towards the land of Canaan the Lord spake thus vnto Moses Write this saith hee for a remembrance in the booke and rehearse it vnto Ioshua who was to succeed Moses and in his stead to fight the Lords battles against the enemies of Israel for I will vtterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from vnder heauen Also hee said The Lord hath sworne that hee will haue warre with Amalek from generation to generation Exod 17. 14. and 16. Though this were spoken and threatned particularly against the Amalckits yet it insinuateth a generall commination against all the like enemies of the children of God To conclude this point of Gods promises to them that shew kindnesse to his children and of his threatnings against those that doe shew them any vnkindnesse to conclude I say this point as I beganne the same viz. with a sentence comprehending both so let vs remember that our Sauiour applieth the parable of the vnrighteous Iudge and of the poore widow in this manner Heare what the vnrighteous Iudge saith Now shall not God auenge his elect which cry day and night vnto him yea though hee suffer long for them I tell you hee will auenge them quickly Luke 18. 6. 7. This word to auenge seemeth to import not onely a promise of deliuering the elect from all their wrongs but also a threatning of a iudgement against them that had wronged them All this of Gods promises to the friends of his children and Note of his threatnings against their enemies is much more to bee vnderstood of all good towards them that are any furtherers of their saluation and of all euill against them that doe any wates oppugne and hinder their said saluation Therefore as such loue to the Saints is reckoned vp as a thing accompanying saluation Heb 6 9. 10. so also to hate and persecute the children of God is set downe as a token of perdition Phil. 1. 28. The more excellent also the person of the children of God is to whom any kindnesse is shewed the greater promise is made vnto him that sheweth such kindnesse Therefore in the place before alleged Matt. 10. 41 it is said that He that recesueth a Prophet in the name of a Prothet shall receiue a Prophess reward The same is to bee vnderstood of threatnings The more excellent the person is that receiueth any wrong the more is threatned to him that doth the wrong Thus much of these promises and threatnings Touching the performance of them the Scripture affoordeth vs many examples to witnesse the same As Ebedmelech a stranger none of the people of Israel but a Black-moore had made request to the king of Iuda for Ieremiah being in prison and so had deliuered him Ier. 38 8. c. so when the city of Ierusâ—lem was taken by the Babylonians according to the word of the Lord before spoken by Ieremiah in
haue as it were broken foorth thorow all the clouds of ceremonies and other things whereby before it was obscured and so to haue shined more clecrelie and brightly now then euer before it did Tit. 2. 11. so God doth make himselfe knowen by this blessed sweet and gratious name of Father more now in the time of the Gospell then euer he did before This is the reason why the Apostle heere rather saith Behold what loue the Father hath giuen vnto vs c. then Behold what Ioue God hath giuen vnto vs And although the name God bee in the very next words vsed that wee should bee called the children of God yet this is only to teach vs that we are to consider and apprehend God not onely in his diuine Maâ—estie which consideration is enough to swallow vs vp and to make vs feare and tremble but also in the person of a Father and as hee is our Father Notwithstanding this that I haue hitherto said of this word the Father is not so to be restrained to the first person in the Godhead but that therein also is included the Sonne As in the former Chapter vers 22. 23. and 24. the Apostle had ioined them together making the deniall of the Sonne to be the deniall of the Father and the continu ince in the Sonne and in the Father to be all one And as our Sauiour himselfe doth the like saying that He that honoureth not the Sonne the same honoureth not the Father that hath sent him Ich. 5. 23. so in this place the word Father is not personally to be vnderstood but rather essentially as comprehending the Sonne as well as the Father Therefore as there it is said Behold what loue the Father hath giuen vnto vs that we should be called the Children of God so it is also said by the same spirit that directed the pen of this Apostle euen of the Sonne that he came to his owne and his owne receiued him nâ—t but as many as receiued him to them hee gane power to be made the children of God Iohn 1. 12. Therefore the spirit of God which is the immortall seed whereby we are begotten againe vnto God and made the children of God as afterward we shall heare Rom. 8. 9. c. and 1. Pet. 1. 11. and often elswhere is called the spirit of Christ as well as the spirit of the Father and therefore also Christ in that respect may be as well said to beget vs againe vnto God to make vs the children of God and to giue vs this loue that wee should be called the children of God as the Father and the first person in the Deitie To conclude this point as when we pray and say Our Father which art in heauen we direct our praiers immediately to the person of the Father by a kinde of excellencie because he is Principium Deitatis not in time but in order the beginning of the Deitie and yet in the Father we pray also to the Sonne and to the holy Ghost so in this place this word the Father is to be vnderstood as well of the Sonne as of the Father Theresore in the very next verse without any further expresse mention of the Sonne vsing only a relatiue and thereby making a relation to that before spoken in this verse the Apostle saith that we know that when hee shall appeare or be made manifest we shall be made like vâ—to him These words must needs bee vnderstood espâ—câ—ally of the Sonne because the Father shall not appeare or be made manifest but in the Sonne But so neere is the coniâ—â—ction or rather vnion betwixt the Father and the Sonne that heere and elswhere the holy Ghost meaneth both by vsing a continued speech of one for both Furthermore the addition of this word serueth to teach that we are not made the children of God by the gifts labour and industrie of any man or Angell but onely by God himselfe Therefore our Sauiour forbiddeth this name Father to bee attributed to any other then to God alone Call no man saith hee your Father vpon the earth for there is but one your Father which is in heauen Matth. 23. 9. The Apostle Paul according with our Sauiour saith there is one God and Father of vs all Ephes 46. and so by ioining these two words God and Father together and vniting them in one hee teacheth that it is as absurd in religion to say there are diuers fathers as to say there are diuers Gods and that we may as well say there are diuers Gods as diuers fathers Whereas the Apostle calleth himselfe the father of the Corinthians saying Though ye haue ten thousand instructers in Christ yet haue yee not many fathers for in Christ Iesus I haue begotten you through the Gospell 1. Cor. 4. 15. he speaketh of himselfe only as the instrument of God in their regeneration He derogateth nothing from God neither arrogateth that to himselfe that was proper to God but sheweth only that God had vsed him as his instrument of their first conuersion to him Therefore before he had sharphe rebuked them for saving I am Pauls I am Apollos his I am Cephas his and I am Christs Chap. 1. 12. And againe Who is Paul who is Apollos 〈◊〉 but the Ministers by whom ye beleeued and as the Lord gaue to euery man I haue planted Apollos watered but God gaue the increase 1. Cor. 3. 5. 6. Doe wee not heere plainly see that hee maketh God all in all in our regeneration So doth the Apostle Peter in the place before alleged 1. Pet. 1. 3. So doth the Apostle Iames not only generally saying of all good and perfect gifts that they come from the Father of lights but also adding immediately touching the worke of our regeneration Of his owne will begat he vs c. Iames 1. 17. 18. I might confirme this against Papists and also other Patrons of mans free will by many other testimonies and proue our regeneration to be wholly the worke of God by shewing euery part thereof in our soule and in our body to be attributed vnto God and by diuers other arguments but because I shall I trust doe this in another place and deale with this point againe in this Treatise afterward therefore this shall suffice thereof in this place And thus much also for the fourth particular word in this text The fift followeth hath giuen This word is added for two Hath giuen conâ—iderations The first is to preuent an obiection and to take away all conceit of our worthinesse of this honour of being Gods children and that no man might thinke God so to hâ—â—â— loued him for any goodnesse that was in him This I say hee preuenteth by shewing the manner of Gods loue in making vs his children It is indeed an vnproper phase to say that God or any other doth giue loue It is more apt to say that he sheweth loue and therefore some Translators have so turned this woâ—d in this place But
though this phrase of shewing loue be more apt yet the other phrase of giuing loue is more naturall and agreeable to the proper signification of the woâ—d heere vsed And it is not to be doubted but that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it of purpose first to exclude all merits and worthinesse of our selues for dâ—seruing this loue of God towards 〈◊〉 making vs his children and to shew that this loue of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aâ—d without any respect of any good in vs. So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 words loue and giuing lâ—ue are as much as the word 〈◊〉 other places which is all opposed to merits in vs in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of God 〈◊〉 is called election of grace and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 be of grace it is no more of worke or else were gâ—â—â—e no mâ—â—◠〈◊〉 but if it be of workes it is no more grace or 〈◊〉 were worke no more workes Rom 11. 5. 6. So in the same 〈◊〉 it iâ—â—aâ—d in these me epistle before that are the children were borne viz. Iaâ—cob and Esau and when they had done neither good nor â—uiâ—l that the purpose of God might remaine according to election not by â—â—â—kes but by hâ—m that calleth it was said vnto her The elder shall sâ—â—ue the younger Rom 9. 11. 12. And 〈◊〉 afterward he concludeth So then it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercy vers 16 Can there be a more plaine and manifest opposition and contrariety then this is Verily it is so plaine and manifest that all the cauilling and quarrelling wit in the world cannot wash the same away Touching â—ustification it is said that God hath saued vs not by the workes of righteousnesse which wee had done but according to his mercy Tit. 3. 5. And againe By the workes of the Law no flesh shall be iustified Rom. 3. 20. and that we be iustified freely by his grace verse 24. Touching both our iustification and calling whereby wee are made the children of God the same Apostle also saith that God hath saued vs and called vs with an holy calling not according to our workes but according to his owne purpose and grace 2. Tim. 1. 9. In all these places and touching these points who seeth not a most euident opposition of Gods grace to our worthlnesse and that Gods grace doth exclude our worthinesle I grant sometime grace mentioned and sometime mercie and that there is some distinction betwixt grace and mercie as afterward shall be shewed yet there is also such affinity betwixt them that as two brethren being very like one another are sometimes taken one for another so also these two words in this argument especially are confounded and the one vsed for another Now let it bee noted that I said grace was opposed to our Note worthlnesse â—ot to all worthinesse When we heare that God hath freely of his owne loue made vs his children this indeed excludeth al worthinesse of vs and in vs from being any cause of making vs the children of God Notwithstanding if wee looke to Christ Iesus and to that that he hath done it is certain that God hath not either saued vs freely or freely maâ—e vs his children saue in the sending or giuing his sonne freely and of his owne onely loue grace and mercy for the sauing vs and for the making vs his children that so by adoption we might be capable of saluation Otherwise if we looke to that which Christ did for vs being so freely giuen or sent in the world in our behalfe it is certaine that Christ Iesus by his passiue and actiue righteousnes that is by those things which hee suffred and by that obedience which otherwise he performed vnto God his Father for vs hath both iustified vs and also purchased this honour for vs of being the children of God Though therefore wee haue this honour freely and only of Gods free grace in respect of our selues yet it is not so free in respect of Christ his sending only of Gods free grace excepted because as we shall afterward heare more largely Christ hath most deerely bought all that wee haue and most sweetly paid for it in the satisfying the iustice of God in our behalfe Thus much for the first consideration why the Apostle vseth this phrase that God hath giuen vs this lone of calling vs his children The second consideration is for the distinguishing of vs from Christ Iesus and to teach that though wee bee the children or sonnes of God yet there is great difference betwixt Christ and vs in this behalfe Christ as hee is the second person in the Deity is the Sonne of God immediately by nature by communication of the whole essence of the Father vnto him and from all eternitie before all times so that there neuer was any time when God was not his Father c. as hath beene before said As Christ also was man he was the Sonne of God by miraculous conception of the holy Ghost and by a most wonderfull coniunction of the godhead and manhood together hypostatically in one person But we are the sonnes or children of God immediately and only by grace by gift by adâ—ption in by and through Christ Iesus being incorporated and ingrafted into him that is in himselfe the naturall the eternall the only sonne of God hauing no fellowes either amongst men or amongst Angels Therefore hee is called Gods owne Sonne Rom. 8. 32. his first be gotten Sonne Heb. 1. 6. and his only be gotten Sonne Iohn 1. 14. and 3. 16. and 1. Iohn 4. 9. Now as heere it is said that God hath giuen vs this loue to be called his children so it is also said that to as many as receiued him that is Christ hee gaue prerogatiue to be the sonnes of God euen to them that beleeue in his name Ioh. 1. 12. In which place the holy Ghost sheweth the meanes more plainly whereby we are the sonnes or children of God namely by receiuing Christ by faith and by being through faith ingrafted into Christ Howsoeuer therefore wee bee called the sonnes of God as well as Christ yet there is great difference betwixt Christ and vs in this behalfe and Christ is in a farre more excellent maner the Sonne of God then either we or the Angels can claime the same title and prerogatiue Let vs heere note one thing more viz. that the Apostle Note speaketh not in the present time saying doth giue but in the time past saying hath giuen This obseruation is not to bee vnderstood onely of the first actuall beginning of our adoption and regeneration but also of Gods eternall election of vs thereunto before the making of the world For so the same phrase in the same tense importeth elsewhere The Father that hath giuen them vnto me c. Iohn 10. 29. As thou hast giuen him power ouer all flesh that he should giue eternall life to all them that thou bast giuen him Iohn 17. 2. And againe I haue declared thy
only hath begotten them againe vnto himselfe and that no other can worke the worke of our regeneration so now to set foorth the same further by the first and principall cause thereof viz. by that which first mooued God so to regenerate and adopt vs vnto himselfe let vs a little more consider of the infinit loue of his towards vs in this behalfe whereof before we haue heard euen that that loue is the principall cause of our adoption and regeneration This loue of God is here to be considered two waies First as the cause of election before the foundations of the world were layd both to adoption whereof now we speake and also to the fruition of all other mercies in this life and the life to come Secondly as it was afterward in the fulnesse of time declared by the sending specially of his sonne into the world for the effecting of that our adoption Touching the first it hath been before noted that the Apostle in this very place speaking of the loue of God as of the cause of making vs his children doth not speake in the time present but in the time past by that circumstance of time signifying the said loue of God not to be a new loue or a present loue only but an ancient loue euen from the beginning The same besides the Scriptures before alledged is expresly testified by the Apostle Paul who not only saith that God hath elected vs before the foundation of the world but also touching the cause and the end of our said election hee addeth that God hath then predestinated vs to be adopted or to bee made children through Iesus Christ vnto himselfe according to the good pleasure of his will Ephes 1. 5. that is according to his meere and most free grace without respect of any worthinesse of them whom he hath chosen and the words following of the principall end of our election viz. the praise of the glory of his grace do further manifest his free grace to haue beene the principall cause of election to adoption and to the sonneship if I may so speake of God For if there were any other principall cause thereof then only Gods free grace then also the praise of the said cause should be the end of our election as well as the praise of the free grace of God As also it is said that God chose the children of Israel to be his speciall people because only he loued their fathers Deut. 4. 37. and as Samuel saith it had pleased the Lord to make them his people 1. Sam. 12. 22. insinuating by that phrase the meere pleasure of God to haue bin the cause of making them his people so and much more may be said touching our adoption to bee the children of God Yea so also it is said that God of his own will hath begotten vs againe c. that is of his meer loue Iam. 1. 18. As this loue of God afterward declared by the act it selfe of adopting vs to be his children was thus eternall without beginning so also it is eternall in respect it shal be without end Therefore it is called euerlasting loue Ierem. 31. 3. and Iohn saith that whom God loueth once he loueth to the end Iohn 13. 1. And indeed whatsoeuer is without beginning is also without end Many things haue beginning which shall haue no end as all Angels good and bad and the spirits of all men but nothing shall haue end that hath no beginning Therefore as before we heard that all that are regenerated haue beene beloued of God without beginning of his loue so Peter saith that such also are kept by the power of God vnto saluation c. 1. Pet. 1. 5. But of this before Chap. 2. Neither only is that loue of God towards the regenerated euerlasting and without end because it is without beginning but for the same reason also it is the more free and without all respect of any worthinesse in them that are without beginning beloued For how can they pretend any worthines in themselues to haue beene the cause of that loue that was more ancient then themselues yea then the world The cause must be before the effect and not the effect before the cause In this respect therefore the dignity of Gods children is so much the greater first because they are beloued of God secondly because they haue been so long beloued of God thirdly because they haue been and are freely beloued of God fourthly because the loue of God is euerlasting Concerning the first if the fauor of a king be as the dew vpon the grasse Pro. 19. 12. and if in the light of a Kings countenance be life and his fauour be like a cloud of the latter raine Pro. 16. 15. what shall we say of the fauor of God and of the light of his countenance that is king of kings The same is to be said of the antiquity of Gods loue For as it is the greater grace and honor for a subiect the longer he hath been in fauor with his Prince so likewise that all the children of God haue been so long in fauour with God and that God hath so long loued them it cannot but be the greater honor vnto them Thirdly the freenesse of Gods loue without respect of any desert in his children doth as much dignifie his said childreÌ„ as the free grace of a Prince without any desert or gifts whereby to procure the Princes fauor doth the more honor such a subiect as is in such free fauour with his Soueraigne Fourthly and principally the loue of God is the more honorable in respect that it is euerlasting because we see the grace and fauour of all Princes to be mutable Though Haman were in such grace with Ahashuerosh that hee procured him to write his royall letters for the destruction of all the Iewes yet we know what a change fell out afterward Yea how soone and vpon how light an occasion euen vpon the false report only of flattering Ziba was the great loue of Dauid quaâ—led towards Mephibosheth the sonne of his ancient and most faithfull friend Ionathan Sith therefore the loue of mortall Princes is so vncertaine it cannot but be the greater honor to the children of God that they are so rooted and grounded in grace and fauor with God that nothing whatsoeuer shall euer bee able to disgrace them with him so as that he shall for euer cast them off But this shall further appeare by other things afterward handled concerning their further dignity All this of the loue of God of his ancient loue and of his free loue and of his vnchangeable loue towards his children is the more honor vnto them because as it is said Iacob haue I loued and Esau haue I hated Rom. 9. 17. so it is said that the Lord hateth all the workers of iniquity Psal 5. 5. and that his face is against them that do euill to cut off their remembrance from the earth Psal 34. 16. And therefore
elders of the Iewes vnto our Sauiour in behalfe of his sicke seruant Luc. 7. 3. was it not to doe the more honour to our Sauiour If the sending of such honourable messengers were some honour to them to whom they were sent what shall we thinke of Gods sending his owne sonne to vs and for vs to make vs his children Doth not God thereby greatly honor vs verely it cannot be denied sith the sending of Christ was more then if he had sent all the Angels in heauen For Christ is made so much more excellent then the Angels by how much more he hath obtained a more excellent name then they Heb. 1. 4. This is so much the more because God sent not his sonne in glory and to liue here in glory but in basenesse and in forme of a seruant cloathed with our base nature yet purged from all corruption as soone as it was separated in the wombe of the Virgin to be that which afterward it was and so to liue a while in pouerty in shame and in all contempt and at the last to be put to the most shamefull death of the crosse as though he had been a worme and no man or as though he had been the vilest man that had before come into the world Were it not a very great honor to a poore yea to a trayterous subiect being somewhere in captiuity bondage and great misery if his Prince should abase his only sonne and send him disguised in base apparell and to vndergoe much pouerty and other hardnesse with shame also and contempt for a time for the redeeming the said subiect and to bring him home to the Court of the Prince there to eat meat with the Prince his sonne and to be accounted as a companion of his How great then is this honour that God hath done vnto vs in sending his own sonne and in exposing him to many yea to all indignities to redeeme vs that we might receiue the adoption of sonnes Before I proceed any further let me here insert another principall cause of our regeneration viz. the mercy of God This may seeme to be all one with the loue of God before handled And indeed it is so like thereunto that it is often confounded therewith so that the word loue is often taken for mercy and mercy is often taken for loue when there is speech of the dealing of God with men especially in the matter of election calling and saluation This may be obserued in diuers places before alledged and therefore I stand not vpon it But although there be great similitude betwixt them yet Note they are also to be distinguished For first of all both are in God towards man but both cannot be in man towards God Loue may be and must be in man towards God but it is very absurd to say that a man may shew mercy vnto God Againe the loue of God hath respect vnto vs as being only the creatures of God euen base creatures such as were altogether vnworthy so great honour of being made the children of God But the mercy of God hath respect and relation vnto vs not only as we are creatures base and vnworthy of the foresayd loue but also as we were miserable especially polluted with infinit 〈◊〉 yea dead in all sinnes and trespasses more then vnworthy of his fauour euen such as had deserued his euerlasting displeasure and indignation as hauing been traitors and rebells against him in the highest degree Furthermore the loue of God is in order before the sending or giuing of Christ being the cause both of our election and also of sending or giuing Christ Iesus as hath beene shewed touching election out of Ephes 1. 5. 6. and touching the sending of Christ out of Ioh. 3. 16. But the mercy of God is only in Christ Iesus and for Christ Iesus his sake as afterward shall appeare Whereas it is said that we are elected in Christ that is not to be vnderstood simply of election itselfe but rather of the ends whereto we are elected viz. adoption and saluation To speake simply of election itselfe it was meerly of the free loue of God and the efficient cause thereof was only in God himselfe And so God hauing eternally decreed our saluation did also at the same instant decree the meanes of our saluation namely the giuing of his only sonne to be made man for vs. We were first in order elected to be saued and then Christ was appointed and at the same instant destinated to be the person by whom we should be saued Therefore as Peter saith that the Iewes had put Christ to death by the determinate counsell and foreknowledge of God Acts 2. 23. so he calleth Christ alambe vnspotted c. ordained before the foundations of the world 1. Pet. 1. 20. Notwithstanding this priority of decreeing our saluation before the sending of Christ was decreed must be vnderstood of a priority in order in the nature of things not of a priority in time For both being eternall and before all times to wit the decree for sauing vs and the decree for sending Christ to worke out that saluation for vs one could not bee before an other in time For in things eternall there can be neither priority or posteriority in time Thus then we see a plaine distinction betwixt the loue of God and the mercy of God either in our election or in the worke of regeneration or in any other thing That the mercy of God was one of the principall mouing causes of our regeneration viz. which moued God to worke this worke in vs it is manifest also by the testimony of Peter For he in his first Epistle and Chapter hauing after his Apostolicall maner saluted the Christians to whom he wrote maketh this entrance into the rest of the Epistle saying Blessed be God the father of our Lord Iesus Christ who according to his abundant or rich mercy hath begotten vs againe c. 1. Pet. 1. 3. Is it not in these words plaine that the Apostle doth make the mercy of God a principall cause first mouing God to beget vs againe So the Apostle Paul in the worke of our saluation ioineth together the mercy of God and the washing of the new birth Tit. 3. 5. So also particularly speaking of his owne conuersion from blaspheming and from persecuting and oppressing of the Church to the true feare of God and loue of his Saints he attributeth the same to the mercy of God saying I was a blasphemer and a persecuter and an oppressor but I was receiued to mercy or I found mercy By the mercy of God here I vnderstand the pity and compassion that God tooke vpon vs beholding vs in our miserable state by nature being blind deafe dumb lame sicke dead c. as hath been said and so his bowels of compassion being moued towards vs and neuer ceasing to worke as it were in him till by the worke of our regeneration he had released and discharged vs from
moued vpon the waters or sate vpon the waters and vpon the whole matter of all things before created euen as a bird sitteth vpon her egs to bring the said first matter into forme and fashion and so did immediatly execute that in the first creation which God the father had decreed and which God the sonne had spoken concerning the said creation so in our second creation and adoption God the father and God the sonne work not immediatly but by God the holy ghost The same holy ghost also is he by whom the comming of Christ into the world his death and other things he suffered euen the whole price which hee gaue of his actiue and passiue obedience for vs is applied vnto vs. Our Sauiour likewise attributeth our regeneration to the spirit as well as it is elsewhere ascribed to the father Except a man be borne of water and of the spirit c. That which is borne of the flesh is flesh and that that is borne of the spirit is spirit c. and againe The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it commeth nor whither it goeth so is euery man that is borne of the spirit Ioh. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. Yea the spirit of God seemeth to be that very immortall seed of our new birth whereof Peter speaketh 1. Pet. 1. 23. I know that other doe interpret the word to be that immortall seed there spoken of because it is said not of mortall but of immortall seede by the word Notwithstanding to me it seemeth otherwise because the Apostle changeth the first preposition of vsed in the first place into another viz. into by vsed in the second place in speaking of the word And therefore I doe rather thinke the word there to be noted as the instrument onely whereby that immortall seed of our new birth before spoken of is conueied into vs. This I say I doe the rather thinke because of the change of prepositions the Apostle not saving being borne anew not of mortall but immortall seed of the word but saying in this last clause by the word Yea I am and shall be the more fully perswaded of this interpretation to be the right till I shall heare or see better reason then I haue done for the former because of the places before alleged to proue our regeneration to be of the spirit of God as well as of the father and of the sonne and because the preposition of first vsed in that place of Peter is so constantly vsed in all the former places concerning the spirit viz. Ioh. 1. 13. and 3. vers 5. 6. and 8. I acknowledge the word to be called seed in respect of the fruits of righteousnesse Luk. 8. 11. but for the reasons before alleged I cannot yet thinke it to be there vnderstood for the seed of our regeneration any otherwise then it is the instrument of conueying the spirit of God into vs. Moreouer the spirit is called the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba father that is whereby we call God our father and whereby we are called the children of God Yea it is further said that the same spirit beareth witnesse to our spirits that we are the children of God Rom. 8. 15. 16. So then the holy ghost doth both immediatly beget vs to God and is also a witnesse of that our begetting again to God and of our being the children of God But I will stay no longer in this point To conclude therefore all the former arguments hitherto vsed for the dignity of Gods children sith they haue so honourable a father and sith their adoption is thus honored with the worke of all the three persons in the Deity and sith the originall cause of the said adoption is both the free loue of God the father in sending his owne and onely sonne and of the sonne in comming so willingly and submitting himselfe so cheerfully to so base a condition for the effecting of the said adoption and sith also he gaue so great a price for it it cannot be but the worke it selfe is very honorable Thus we see that they that be againe so regenerated of him and by him by whom they were at the first made haue obtained a new state and condition and are not as they were of the world worldly of the earth earthly and of flesh fleshly but of heauen heauenly of God the father of whom the whole family in heauen and in earth is named Ephes 3. 15. called his children of Christ denominated Christians Acts 19. 26. and of the spirit said to be spirituall 1. Cor. 2. 15. So they are not only humane by the humane nature but also diuine by participation of the diuine nature 2. Pet. 1. 4. not touching their substance but touching diuine qualities and operations Such therefore and only such may truly speake of nobility For only they may most truly say they are borne of God as we haue seen before chap. 2. 29. and as the Apostle speaketh afterward chap. 4. 7. And they onely may most truly also say further that they are the generation of God Acts 17. 28. and that in such maner as that thereby they are citizens of heauen and inhabitants together with the glorious Angels as afterward we shall heare more at large In respect of this nobility and without this all other nobility is nothing in Gods sight Yea that which our Sauior speaketh of the Iewes particularly may be said generally of al that are not the children of God They do the works of their father the diuell and the lusts of their father they will doe Iohn 8. 41. 44. Not much vnlike also is that description of the King that is the sonne of nobles that eat in time for strength and not for drunkennesse Eccles 10. 17. For what doth Salomon by this description teach els but that such kings are most renowned and noble which doe adorne their kingly descent with true piety and sobriety And though Salomon speake but of eating in time for strength and not for drunkennesse yet by this one vertue hee meaneth all other And of this vertue he maketh choice aboue other because it is in a manner the rarest of all other especially in kings It is hard to find any man that hath abundance to be sober and moderate in the vse of meats drinke and to eat both only in time and also for strength not for excesse and pleasure I may also apply to this purpose that which is said by the Prophet which confoundeth them that are excellent or noble in the earth with the Saints and the Saints with them Psal 16. 3. thereby teaching that the Saints onely haue the best excellency and nobility and that none may rightly be called excellent or noble but such as are Saints And indeed seeing all that are not sanctified cannot but be of the diuell as doing his works what greater basenesse vilenesse and ignobility can there be then to be such Seeing
mouth is full of eursing and deceit and fraude Vnder his tongue is mischiefe and iniquity he heth in wait in the villages in the secret places hee doth murther the innocent his eies are bent against the poore He lieth in wait secretly euen as a lion in denne Hee lieth in wait to spotle the poore when he draweth him into his net Psal 10 56. 7. 8. 9. c. Yea he had said before in the same Psalme verse 2. The wicked doth persecnte the poore c. he hath made boast of his owne hearts desire and contemneth the Lord. No maruell then though such contemne men especially their inferious And thus indeed wee daylie see how the wicked abuse all the mercies of God either by all in temperancy as if they were absolute Lords of all that they haue and were not to giue any account to any or by extreme pride and cruelty carrying themselues like Lords and Kings ouer other scorning them contemning them and oppressing them at their pleasure But the children of God on the contrary knowing that they are but for a time the Lords ftewards of all that they haue vse this world and all things they haue in this world honors riches authority friends c as though they had them not that is they so possesse them and so dispose them that they be no hinderances vnto them but rather furtherances of them concerning the life to come Therefore if they be rich in this world they put not their trust in vncertaine riches but in the liuing God and they be rich in good workes distributing and communicating vnto other according to need and so laying vp a sure foundation to themselues against the time to come towards eternall life 1. Tim. 6. 18. c. They eat not their bread alone but the fatherlesse eat thereofwith them They see not any to perish for want of clothing nor the poore to goe without a couering but doe cause their loines to blesse them They lift not vp their hand against the fatherlesse when they see they may helpe them in the gate c. Iob 31. 17. c. They make not their gold their hope neither say they to the wedge of gold thou art my confidence vers 24. Thus did Iob. Thus did other that haue receiued the same spirit of adoption that Iob had Is not this excellent wisedome so to prouide towards eternall life as before we heard and so to make themselues friends with the riches of iniquity that when they shall want they may be receiued into euer lasting habitations Luk. 16. 9. Let the world account of this as they will All they that vse it shall find it a principall part of wisedome The like may be said of their vsing authority and honours not to the vexing or oppressing of any but to the good and comfort of all They open their mouth for the dumbe in the cause of the children of destruction they open their mouth and iudge righteously and iudge the afflicted and the poore Pro. 31. 8. 9. They deliuer the poore that crâ—e and the father lesse and him that hath none to helpe him The blessing of them that are ready to perish are vpon them and they cause the widdowes heart to reioice They put on iustice and couer themselues Their iudgement is as a robe and a crowne They are eyes to the blind and seet to the lame They are fathers to the poore and when they know not their cause they seeke it out diligently They breake the iawes of vnrighteous men and plucke the prey out of their teeth Iob 29. 12 c. Thus the children of God goe vpright in their prosperity they reele not neither stagger either to the right hand or to the left hand as drunke with their riches and honours but walke on right in the way that God hath laid out before them towalke in But what doe they in aduersity The braines as I may so speake of their mindes are no more distempered neither are the affections of their hearts any more disordered therewith then before with prosperity For they carry not themselues as men without hope but cheerfully and comfortably they looke to the cause in themselues to the hand from heauen that sendeth the same to the loue from which it doth proceed to the end why it is sent they remember what a blessed end other haue had of the like afflictions and they forget not what comfort themselues haue had in former times in the like perhaps also in greater dangers According to these things they make such vse of all their afflictions that they shall be able truly to say It is good for vs that we haue been afflicted that we may learne thy statutes Psal 119. 71. So they neither be too much cast down with that which the righteous Lord laieth vpon theÌ„ neither do they make too light account thereof If they lose all that euer they had wealth and honor and friends in one day they murmur not against God but humble themselues and say Naked came we out of our mothers wombes naked shall we returne thither The Lord hath giuen The Lord hath taken Blessed be the name of the Lord. Iob 1. 21. This sober cheerful cariage of themselues in such a state is the greater point of wisedom if we shal cosider how the wicked are either hardned like brawne that they make no reckoning of it yea that they scarce feele it as Belshazaer in the midst of his cups hearing that he was found too light and that the Medes and Persians should come and take from him his kingdome and his life was not a whit moued with it but in a brauery for all that commanded Daniel to be clothed with purple and to haue a chaiue of gold put about his necke c. Dan. 5. 29 or else they are moued with it only for a time as Ahab 1. Kings 21. 27. returning afterward to their former sinnes that procured it or els they fret and rage like mad men as they are not only being most impatient towards all about them but also blaspheming the God of heauen himselfe But I will not stand vpon these things being especially more particularly handled by M. Rogers in his sixt treatise viz. of the priuiledges of Christians and hauing my selfe some occasion to speake of them afterward in this treatise In the meane time we see the wicked in euery condition of life to reele and stagger like drunken men in either of both conditions falling most dangerously and as Salomon speaketh of drunkards Pro. 23. 29. euery where meeting with woe with sorrow with strife c. with wounds without cause The like may be said of the children of God touching the moderation and sobriety of all their affections anger ioy greefe loue feare c. in other matters as also of the distemper of the affections of the wicked As the children of God are sober according to that before spoken so likewise they are alwaies in such sort watchfull that
thereof verily it was and therefore the remembrance of it afterward was that whereby he was healed of that wound Mat. 26. 75. What was the cause why the angell of the Church of Sardi was so wounded that though he had a name to be aliue yet hee was dead that is ready to die and at the point of death Euen because he had let go his hold of the sword of the spirit Therfore for curing of his said wound our Sauiour biddeth him to remember how he had receiued and heard to hold fast c. Reuel 3. 2. 3. the like may be said of all wounds of any other of the children of God at any time Thus the children of God must vse the word of God viz. not as a thing to play or sport with or whereof to make iests Note for the mirth of other but as a weapon and as a sword to fight with yea thus they will vse it that are indeede the children of God If at any time they be prouoked by other or by their owne hearts to distrust Gods prouidence they will defend themselues by many precepts for trusting in the Lord Psal 37. 3. and 62. 8. and for casting their care vpon God Psal 37. 5. and 52. 22. and 1. Pet. 5. 6. and by such sentences of scripture as pronounce him blessed that trusteth in the Lord Psalm 40. 4. and 84. 5. and 12. by many promises to them that so do annexed expresly for the most part to the former commādements by the iudgements of God vpon such as haue murmured against God Num. 11. 1. vpon such as haue doubted of Gods promises as vpon the noble man of Samaria that would not beleeue the Prophet in the name of the Lord prophecying of great plenty the next day 2. Kings 7. 2. and 20. yea vpon Moses himselfe for his distrust Num. 20. 12. and 27. 14. and Deut. 32. 50. 51. and lastly by the prouidence of God towards the widow of Zarepta and the Prophet Elijah 1 Kings 17. 6. and 8. c. and towards a widdowe of one of the sonnes of the prophets 2. Kings 4 1. c. and towards many thousands that following our Sauiour for foode of their soules were fed likewise abundantly and miraculously with corporall foode Mark. 6. 36. and 8. 2. c. If they be prouoked to security they can draw out this sword and plead Blessed is the man that feareth alway c. Pro. 28. 14. and that they are commanded to spend the time of their welling here in feare 1. Pet. 1. 17. and the iudgement of God threatned to them that were at ease in Zion c. Amos 6. 1. c. and the fearefull fall of Dauid by security 2. Sam. 11. 2. c. If they be prouoked to idolatry they can draw out the second commandement and many other scriptures as commentaries vpon the said commandement so also that that is written of the wrath of God against Israel for their golden Calfe Exod. 32. and for their other idolatry Iudg. 10. and often els where The like is to be said of tentations against the third and fourth commandement When they are moued to pride they can call to mind the manifold precepts and sentences against it Deut. 8. 14. Psal 75. 4. Pro. 6. 17. and 16. 5. Iames 4. 6. 1. Pet. 5. 5. so also the examples of Haman and Nebuchadnezer with Sancherib and the iudgements of God not onely vpon them but also vpon Vzzia King of Iuda for presuming to meddle with the Priests office in offering of sacrifice 2. Chron. 26. 20. and vpon Dauid for numbring the people in a kind of pride 2. Sam. 24. and vpon Hezekiah for hauing his heart lifted vp after the recouery of his health 2. Chron. 32. 25. c. Being tempted to dishonor of parents they can repell such tentations by the fift commandement and by many other Scriptures against the same sinne as also by Agars curse against the eye that mocketh his father and despiseth the instruction of his mother viz. that the rauens of the valley shall pluck it out and that the yong Eagles shall eat it Pro. 30. 17. as also they can remember the examples of Absalom and of Adonijah and the iudgements of God vpon them Being enticed by Papists or other to rebellion treason or lifting vp their hand against Princes and the Lords annointed they can oppose the contrary commandements for obedience and subiection in the Lord of euery soule to the higher powers Rom. 13. 1. 1. Pet. 2. 13. and the fearefull iudgements of God vpon Corah Dathan and Abiram with their complices yea the deposing also of Abiathar the high Priest from the priesthood by Salomon because he had ioyned with Adonija for preuenting Salomon of the Crowne before he was King 1. Kings 1. 7. and 2. 35. If either their owne hearts or any other perswade them to contempt of the ministers of the Gospell either for plaine rebuking them for their sinnes or for any other causes they can obiect that the Lord hath commanded such to be had in singular loue for their works sake 1. Thes 5. 12. 13. that our Sauiour hath said He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me Luk 10. 16. and that It shall be easier for them of the land of Sodome and Gomorrha in the day of iudgement then for that City and consequently for that family and for those persons that shall not receiue such nor heare their words Mat. 10. 13. 14. and that likewise the Lord did not only not prosper good king Asa after that he had put Hanani the Seer into prison for rebuking him for resting vpon the king of Aram c. 2. Chro. 16. 10. but that also he did send two beares out of the forrest that tare in pieces 42. of those wanton children that had reuiled mocked the Prophet Elisha and said vnto him Come vp thou bald-head Com vp thou bald-head 2. King 2. 23. 24. and that yet the least minister of the gospell is greater then Iohn Baptist who notwithstanding was greater then any Prophet Mat. 11. 11. Being moued to murder or to any other cruelty they can hold out the sixt commandement Luk. 6. 36. the commendation of mercy aboue sacrifice Hose 6. 6. and that Iames saith there shall be iudgement or condemnation mercilesse to him that sheweth no mercy Iam. 2. 13. the iudgement of God vpon Cain for the murder of Abel Gen. 4. and vpon the Egyptiās for their cruelty towards the Israelites and vpon all Israel by a great famine towards the latter end of the raign of Dauid for the cruelty of Saul against the Gibeonites 2. Sam. 21. 1. c. and after that vpon Iuda long after the death of Manasses as for other sinnes of Manasses so also for the innocent blood that he had shed 2. Kings 24. 4. Against temptations to adultery fornication and other vncleannesse