peace towards God through our Lord Iesus Christ saith the Apostle Rom. 5.1 Now then this point commeth in That yee are to proue your selues whether ye be in the faith or not as the Apostle saith 2. Cor. 13.5 Proue your selues vvhether ye are in the faith Examine if your soules be seasoned with this faith for if ye haue not faith in Christ Christ is not in you and if Christ be not in you yee are in an euill state ye are in the estate of the reprobate and damned So euery one ought to looke carefully and see if he haue a beliefe in the bloud of Christ or not whether hee belieue to obtaine mercy by his merits and sanctification by his bloud or not For if thou haue no measure of this faith thou hast no measure of peace with GOD by reason our peace with God is ingendered and groweth dailie more and more by true faith in Christ Novv this faith vvhere it is true where it is liuely and couples the heart vvith GOD as I haue alreadie said it must breake foorth in voord and deede it can by no meanes bee held in but it vvill break forth It must breake out in word in glorifying the God of heauen who hath forgiuen vs our sinnes it must break forth in word by giuing a notable confession of those sinnes wherein vvee haue offended him It must breake out in deed in doing good works to testifie to the world that thing which is within thy hart to testifie to the world that thou who hast this faith art a new man that by thy good example of life and conuersation thou maist edify thy brethren the simple ones of the Church of God and that by thy holie life thou maist drawe sinners to repentance that they seeing thy good light may bee compelled to glorifie GOD in thee Then in the first poynt of triall let vs looke to these three to the hart to the mouth to the hand Take heed that there be a harmonie betwixt these three for if the hart be inwardly coupled with God there is no doubt but the mouth vvill outvvardlie glorifie him and if thy hart and mouth bee renevved and bee one of necessitie thou wilt expresse it in thy conuersation There must bee an agreement betwixt the heart and the hand thy conuersation must bee changed with the heart and be holy honest and godly as the heart is So that if thy conuersation be good it is a sure token that thou art at one with God but if thy conuersatiō bee not good speake what thou wilt thy heart is but defiled this true and liuelie faith hath no place in it Then wouldest thou know when thou art at one with God When thy conuersation thy heart and thy mouth say all one thing then without question thou hast the worke of fayth wrought by the holy spirit in thy heart which maketh thee to bee at peace with God This is the first poynt wherein yee should trie your selues The next point is loue yee must trie whether ye be in loue and charitie with your neighbours or not for as thou art not coupled with God but by the hand of faith so thou art not coupled with thy neighbour nor ioyned with any member of Christ in this world but by the hand of loue amitie and charitie Take away loue thou art not a member of this bodie for loue is the maister sinnowe and couples all these members of Christs bodie together and makes them to growe vp in a spiritual and mysticall vnitie loue is the onely marke whereby the children of Christ and members of Christs bodie are knowen from the rest of the world loue is that holy oyle that refresheth our soules makes vs like vnto God and the more we growe in loue the more God by his spirit dwelleth in vs for God is loue So that except in some measure loue towards thy neighbour dwel in thy heart thou canst haue no societie with thy neighbour and far lesse with God If the manners of men were examined by this rule wee should finde a multitude of godlesse people in this countrie who haue their hearts raging with malice one against another and where the diuell and the malicious spirite dwell there is no place for the holy spirit And although the Lord hath gone about by all meanes possible early and late to instruct them and to infuse into them this pretious loue and amitie towards God their neighbour and so to alter their conditions Yet they will not suffer themselues to be wakened vntil the great vengeance and malediction of God fal vpon them This loue this honest and godly conuersation floweth alwaies from the roote of fayth So that if thy heart haue faith in any measure be it neuer so little in that same measure thou must haue loue towards thy neighbour this loue is neuer idle but is vttering it selfe in one effect or other And in respect that faith is the ground whereupon all the rest dependes and in respect that this fayth is such a Iewell as without the which it is not possible for any of you to please God without which all your deedes are abhomination before him without the which you are in the greatest miserie w th miserie is so much the more terrible in that you are ignorant of it Is it not good reason that ye know and vnderstand how this faith is first wroght thē nourisht in your souls by the holy spirit that seeing how it is created the māner how it is brought about ye may examine your cōsciences see whether ye be in the faith or not My purpose was to haue insisted longer on this matter then this time will suffer Now therefore as time wil permit and GOD shall giue grace I will let you vnderstand how the H. spirit imployes his trauaile in the heart minde of man what paines the holy Ghost taketh in creating and forming this Iewell of fayth in your soules Yet before I enter this work to let you see the trauailes of the spirit of God in working of this fayth in your hearts It is necessarie and more then necessarie that yee vnderstand first your owne miserie and infirmitie and that yee knowe how the Lord was induced to recouer you out of your old estate and to recreate you who were lost by the fall of your father Adam Then to consider of this matter more deepely I offer to your remembrances this ground That man vniuersally and euery one particularly being corrupted being lost and that by our first fathers fall for if there were no more but that same first faulte and sinne of his wee are all of vs iustly condemned to a double death both of bodie and soule for euer Man thus vniuersally and particularly being vtterly lost without any hope at all of recouery left in his soule without any sense of the recouery of that fromer estate or repairing of that Image which hee had lost through sinne long
presently your selues yet when yee visite them that are troubled in conscience let these things be proposed to them as cōforts and vse them as medicines most meet to apply to the griefe of the inward conscience so ye shal reape fruit of this doctrine and possesse your soules in a good estate Thus farre for the first poynt vvherein euery one of you ought to try and examine your ovvne consciences The second point is this Of loue which is the secōd point of our triall Try vvhether yee haue loue towards your neighbour or not For as we are coupled with God by faith so by the band of loue we are coupled with our neighbour and if yee want loue yee can haue no societie with your neighbour for loue is the chiefe principall branch that springs from the root of faith Loue is that celestiall glew that conioynes all the faithfull members in the vnity of a mysticall body And seeing that religion was instituted of God to serue as a path-way to conuey vs to our chiefe felicity and happy we cannot be except wee be like vnto our GOD like vnto him we can not be except we haue loue For as it is 1. Iohn 4.8 GOD is loue So seeing God is loue it selfe who-soeuer will resemble him must be indued vvith the oyle of loue This onely one argument testifieth to vs that this loue is a principall head vvhereunto all things that are commaunded in religion ought to be referred To spend long time in the praise of loue I hold it not necessarie seeing the holy Scripture resounds in blasing the commendations of it but that we speak not of any thing ambiguous I will let you see how this word is considered taken in the Scriptures How the word loue is taken in the Scriptures Loue is considered either as a spring or fountaine from whence the rest proceedes that is for the loue whereby we loue God And as loue commeth first from God and is poured by his holy Spirit into our harts So it first redownds vpward and strikes backe vpon himselfe for the loue of GOD must euer goe before the loue of the creature Next we take this word for that loue whereby wee loue Gods creatures our neighbours and especially them that are of the family of faith And thirdly It is taken for the deeds of the second Table which flowe from this loue Now when I speake of loue I speake of it as in the second signification to wit as it is taken for the loue of our neighbour The definitiō of loue And taking it so I call loue The gift of God poured into the harts of men and women by the which gift we first loue God in Christ our Sauiour and next in God for Gods cause we loue all his creatures but chiefly our bretheren that are of the family of faith the children of one common father with vs. Wee will examine this definition I say Of our loue toward God first the loue of God as it commeth frō GOD it returneth to God as it comes downe from him so it strikes vpward to him againe And is it not good reason And why Let thy hart fix thy loue as long as thou wilt vpon the creatures thou shalt neuer be satiate nor thy affection shall neuer be content except thou lay hold on God but if once thou loue God in thy hart and cast thy affections vpon him once takest hold on him the longer thou louest him the greater satietie and contentment shalt thou haue thou shalt not thirst for any other For as to the creatures there is neuer a creature that God hath created but it is stamped with his owne stamp euery creature beareth his Image and looking to the Image of God in the creature should it not draw thee to him that thou fix not thy hart vpon the creature for his owne Image in his creature should lead thee to himselfe And therefore the more that thou knowest the creatures and the greater varietie of knowledge that thou hast of them the more shold euery particular knowledge of them draw thee to God the more shouldest thou wonder at thy God and knowe thy duty towards him And seeing that delight flovveth from knowledge euery knowledge hath his owne delight as the variety of knowledge that ariseth from the creatures should make the minde to mount vp to the knowledge of God so the variety of delights that arise vpon the diuersitie of this knowledge should moue the hart vpward to the loue of God and the hart getting hold of God and beeing seised with the loue of God and the minde being occupied with the true knowledge of God so soone as hart and mind is full of God the hart is quiet and the minde is satisfied So that the more this knowledge groweth in thy minde the greater contentment thou hast and the more the loue of God groweth in thy hart the greater ioy reioycing hast thou in thy soule And why In God ye haue not only all the creatures but ye haue himselfe besides the creatures and therefore in God ye haue all the knowledge and delight that can arise of the creatures and beside the creatures yee haue God himselfe vvho is the Creator And so I say The mind of man can neuer quiet it selfe in the knowledge nor the hart can neuer settle it selfe in the loue of naked creatures in respect they are flowing vanity as Salomon calls them But in the infinite God rightly known and earnestly loued the mind shal finde a ful rest and the hart shall haue a perfect ioy For our affection is so insatiable that no finite thing thing will satisfie it nor there can be no solide settling vpon the thing that is transitory So the loue ought to moūt vpward first to God in whose face the hart shal find full and perfect ioy The second Argument that I vse is this Seeing there is onely one precept left by our Master in recommendation to be obserued by vs namely Of loue towards our neighbour That euery one of vs should loue another therefore our wise Master vnderstanding wel that where loue vvas there needed no more lawes that the life of man by loue onely behooued to be most happy left onely the same in chiefe recommendation and takes vp the whole Law Gospel in one word Loue. And if the hart of man were indued with loue his life might be most happy and blessed for there is nothing maketh this life happy but the resemblance and likelihood that we haue with God The neerer we drawe to God the more blessed is our life for there cannot be so happy a life as the life of God In the first Epist of Iohn 4.8 God is loue therefore the more we are in loue the more neer we are to that happy life for we are in God partakers of the life of God When I speake this yee must not thinke that loue in God and loue in vs is one thing for loue is but a quality in vs and it is not a quality in God There is nothing in God but that which is God so loue in God is his owne essence therfore the more that ye grow in loue the neerer ye draw to God to that happy blessed life For there is nothing more profitable more agreeable and cōuenient vnto nature then to loue and aboue all things to loue God And therefore it is that God his Angels are most happy blessed because they loue all things desire euer to do good On the other side there is nothing more vnhappy nothing more noysome more hurtfull and that eates vp nature more then to burn with enuy and hatred and therfore it is that the diuells are most miserable who torment themselues vvith continuall malice and hatred burning with a vehement appetite to be noysom to all creatures So as the life of the diuel is most vnhappy because he is full of enuy malice so our life wil be most happy if we be full of loue I will no further speake of loue Onely if yee haue loue mark the effects of it set down 1. Cor. 13.4.5.6.7 verses which effects if ye haue not in some measure yee haue not true loue I end heer Conclusion with an exhortatiō Ye see in what points euery one of you ought to be prepared Yee must be indued with this loue ye must be indued with faith if ye haue these in any small measure goe boldly to the hearing of the vvord to the receiuing of the Sacraments This is the preparation that we allow of I grant the Papists haue a preparation farre differing from this and therfore they can haue no warrant from the word of God Last of all seeing that we are commanded to try our selues He that lacketh knowledge cannot try himselfe A mad man cannot try himselfe A child cannot try himselfe therfore they ought not to come to the Lords Table All these things being considered aright he that hath faith loue in any kinde of measure let him come to the Table of the Lord And all these things serue as wel for the hearing of the vvord fruitfully as for the receiuing of the Sacrament Therefore the Lord of his mercy illuminate your mindes and work some measure of faith and loue in your harts that yee may be partakers of that heauenly life offered in the vvord and Sacraments that yee may beginne your heauen heere and obtaine the full fruition of the life to come and that in the righteous merits of Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holie Ghost be all honour praise and glory both now and for euer Amen FINIS
dumbe element and therefore these wordes cannot bee directed to the elements Thirdly looke to the end wherfore this Sacrament vvas appointed Is it not to lead vs to Christ Is it not to nourish my faith in Christ Is it not to nourish me in a constant perswasion of the Lords mercy in Christ Was this Sacrament appointed to make the elements Gods No for if ye marke Gods purpose in this institution yee shall finde that Christ hath not ordained this institution to nobilitate the Elements to fauour and respect the Elements which were Bread and Wine yesterday to be Gods to day Wee on the contrary say plainely that the institution of Christ respecteth not the elements to alter their nature Indeed it is appointed to alter vs to change vs and to make vs more and more spirituall and to sanctifie the elements to our vse But the speciall end is this To make vs holie and more more to growe vp in a sure faith in Christ and not to alter the Elements nor to make them gods And therefore by all these three Arguments it is euident that the words ought not to be directed to the Elements but to the people and faithfull Communicants Now to come to an end There is one thing Conclusion with an exhortatiō without the which wee cannot profit let vs discourse neuer so long vpon the right vnderstanding of the Sacrament Ye see now how all that is spoken concerning the Sacrament is grounded and dependeth vpon faith Let a man haue faith be it neuer so little hee shall get some hold of Christ and some insight in the vnderstanding of this Sacrament but wanting faith though a man endeuour himselfe to make the Sacraments neuer so sensible it is not possible that hee can gette any hold of Christ or any insight of him For without faith we cannot be Christians we can neither get a sight of God nor feele God in Christ without faith Faith is the onely thing that translates our soules out of that death and damnation vvherein vvee vvere conceiued and borne and planteth life in vs. So the vvhole studie and endeuour of a Christian should tend to this To craue that the Lord in his mercie vvould illuminate his minde vvith the eye of faith and that hee would kindle in his heart a loue of faith and vvorke in his hart a thirst and desire of the obiect of faith more and more to thirst and hunger for the foode of faith that nourishes vs to life eternall Without this faith hovv-soeuer the naturall man vnderstanding naturally would flatter himselfe surely there is no blessednesse but all his life is more then terrible misery For what-soeuer it be that flatters and pleaseth thee now be it a thought or motion of the minde or an action of the body that pleaseth thee now without faith the same very motion cogitation or action shall torment thee heereafter So vvithout faith it is not possible to please GOD and vvhatsoeuer pleaseth not GOD is done to torment thee Therefore craue mercie for whatsoeuer motion cogitation or action vvherein thou hast offended GOD or for the same God shall offend and torment thee And to eschevv the offence of God there is no meanes but by true faith therefore the studie of a Christian should be to grow in faith Now by hearing of the vvord thou gettest faith and by receiuing this Sacrament thou obtainest the increase of faith and hauing faith the receiuing of the Sacrament shall be fruitfull but vvithout faith thou eatest thineowne condemnation Then the whole study of a Christian is to get faith and this faith cannot be obtained with idlenesse but by earnest prayer therefore let euery one of vs fall downe and craue earnestly this faith and the increase of it whereby we may be worthy Receiuers of this blessed Sacrament and that for the righteous merits of Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all honour praise and glory both now and euer Amen THE FOVRTH Sermon vpon the preparation to the Lords Supper 1. Cor. 11.28 Let euery man therefore examine himselfe and so let him eate of this Bread and drinke of this Cup. THough the doctrine of our triall and due examination well-beloued in Christ Iesus ought to goe before the doctrine and receiuing of the Sacrament yet notwithstanding seeing that preparation is alwaies at all times as well necessary for the hearing of the simple word as for the receiuing of the visible Sacrament for no man can heare the word of God fruitfully except in some measure he prepare his soule and prepare the eares of his hart how to hear therefore the doctrine of preparation and due examination must come in it ovvne place and be very necessary for cuery one of you The Apostle in the words vvhich we haue read deliuereth his counsaile and giueth his aduise and not onely giues his aduise but giues his admonition and commaund That we should not come to the Table of the Lord That we should not come to the hearing of the word rashly but that euery one of vs should come to this holy worke with reuerence that wee should prepare and sanctifie our selues in some measure And seeing we go vnto the King of heauens Table it becomes vs to put on our best array In a word hee deliuereth the whole doctrine and matter of this preparation when he saith Let euery man and let euery woman try and examine themselues As if he would say Let euery one of you try and examine your soules That is try the estate of your owne harts and condition of your owne consciences Marke and behold in vvhat estate you heart is with GOD and in what estate your conscience is with your neighbour He bids not your neighbour to try you hee bids not your companion to try your hart but he biddes your selfe in person to try your owne conscience hee biddes your selfe try your owne hart because none can be certaine of the estate of your hart or of the condition of your conscience but your selfe Now he excludes not others from the tryall of you neither for it is lawfull for the Pastor to try you but others cannot try you so narrowly as ye your selues may for no man can know so much of mee as I know of my selfe No man can be certaine of the estate of your hart and condition of your conscience yet you your selues may be certaine of it As for others men may iudge of your hart and conscience according to your works and effects and except your works effects bee very wicked and altogether vitious we are bound in conscience to iudge charitably of your harts and consciences Therefore there is none so meet to try the spirit of a man to try the hart or conscience of a man as is the man himselfe Now The heads to be intreated in this Sermons that this tryall may be the better made ye haue first to vnderstand what it is that ye
inward and renewed vnderstanding whereby wee get the first apprehension of Christ Now if this first apprehension of Christ like vs well then the next followeth Wee beginne to cast the affection of our harts on him we haue good will to him for all our affections proceed from our will and our affections beeing renewed and made holy wee sette them wholly vpon Christ We loue him and if we loue him we take hold on him we eate him and digest him that is we apply him to our soules and so of this loue and liking of him the second apprehension doth follow But if we haue no will to him if wee haue no loue nor liking of him what doe we Then we reiect him and preferre our owne Idol and the seruice of our own affections to him and so the second apprehension followeth not Wee cannot digest him and if wee digest him not that spirituall life cannot growe in vs for marke in vvhat place the eye serues to the bodie in the same roome serueth knowledge and vnderstanding to thy soule and looke in vvhat place thy hand and thy mouth thy taste and thy stomack serue vnto thy body in that very place serue the hart and affections to thy soule So that as our bodies cannot be nourished except our hands take and our mouthes eate the meate whereby the second apprehension may follow likewise our soules cannot feede on Christ except we hold him and imbrace him hartilie by our wills and affections For we come not to Christ by any outward motion of our bodies but by an inward motion and apprehension of the hart For God finding vs all in a reprobate sense he brings vs to Christ by reforming the affection of our soules by making vs to loue him And therefore the second apprehension wherby wee digest our Sauiour will neuer enter into our soules except as hee pleaseth the eye so he please the will and the affection also Now if this come to passe that our wills affections are wholly bent vpon Christ then no doubt vvee haue gotten this Iewell of faith Haue yee such a liking in your minds and such a loue in your harts of Christ that ye will prefer him before all things in the world then no question faith is begun in you Now How faith is nourished and entertained in vs. after a thing is begunne there is yet more required for though this faith be formed in your mindes in your harts and soules yet that is not enough but that which is formed must be nourished and hee who is conceiued must be entertained and brought vp or else the loue that is begunne in mee by the holy spirit except by ordinary meanes it be daily entertained and nourished it will decay except the Lord continue the working of his holie Spirit it is not possible that I can continue in the faith And how must we nourish and continue faith in our soules Two manner of waies First wee nourish faith begunne in our soules by hearing of the word not of euerie word but by hearing of the vvord of God preached and not by hearing of euery man but by hearing the word preached by him that is sent For this is the ordinarie means wherunto the Lord hath bound himselfe hee will work faith by the hearing of the word and the receiuing of the Sacraments And the more that thou hearest the vvord and the oftner that thou receiuest the Sacraments the more thy faith is nourished Now it is not onely by hearing of the word receiuing of the Sacraments that we nourish faith The word and the Sacraments are not able of themselues to nourish this faith in vs except the working of the holy Spirit be conioyned vvith their ministery But the word and the Sacraments are said to nourish faith in our soules because they offer and exhibite Christ vnto vs who is the meat the drink and life of our soules and in respect that in the word and Sacraments wee get Christ who is the foode of our soules therefore the word and Sacraments are said to nourish our soules As it is said Acts 2.42 The Disciples of Christ continued in the Apostles doctrine and fellowshippe and breaking of bread and prayers by these means entertaining augmenting and nourishing the faith that was begunne in them Then the holy Spirit begets this faith works this faith creates this faith nourisheth and entertaineth this faith in our soules by hearing of the word preached and by the receiuing of the Sacraments which are the ordinary meanes whereby the Lord nourisheth vs and continueth this spirituall foode with vs. For obserue by what meanes the spirituall life is begun by the same meanes it is nourished and entertained as this temporall life is entertained and nourished by the same meanes whereby it is begun Then seeing by these meanes Conclusion with an exhortatioÌ„ the holy Spirit begets this vvorke of faith in our soules It is our dutie to craue that hee would continue the worke which hee hath begunne And for this cause we should resort to the hearing of the vvord when it is preached and to the receiuing of the Sacraments when they are ministred that we may be fedde in our soules to life euerlasting But alas wee are come to such a loathing disdaine or reiecting of heauenly foode in this Countrey that where men in the beginning would haue gone some twentie miles some fortie miles to the hearing of this vvord they vvill scarcelie novv come from their houses to the Church and remaine there but one houre to heare the vvord but rather abide at home VVell I say too much vvealth vvith-drawes their hearts and the aboundance of this vvord ingenders such a loathsomnesse that it is a rare thing to finde out any that haue that thirst and desire to heare the vvord as they vvere wont to haue in the beginning And for those that are in higher places they will heare it sildome or not at all for they cannot indure to heare the thing that accuseth them and conuicts them and therefore they auoyde it But they should not doe so they should not shunne Christ nor abstaine from â—is vvord that accuseth them but they should heare the vvord and as the vvord accuseth them they should accuse themselues also that thereby they may come to a confession of their sinne and obtaine mercy for the same So vvhen Christ accuseth thee thou shouldest not runne from him but thou shouldest draw neere to him thou shouldest threaten kindnesse of him and as it vvere make a breach and forcible entry into his kingdome It is not the way vvhen thy sinnes touch thee and when Christ accuseth thee to runne from him no thou shouldest then turne to him thou shouldest confesse thy sinne cry Peccaui and seeke mercy and after that thou hast obtained mercy this word shal becom as pleasant to thee and thou shalt take as great delight to come to the hearing of it as euer thou delightedst to flie from it before
and stormes are remoued with this peace is conioyned a taste of the powers of the world to come The heart gets a taste of the sweetnesse that is in Christ of the ioy which is in the life euerlasting which tast is the onely earnest pennie of that full and perfect ioye which soule and bodie in that life shall inioye And the earnest penny as yee know must bee a part of the summe of the nature of the rest of the summe And therefore that earnest penny of ioy assures vs that when wee shall get possession of the whole summe it it shal be a strange ioy And these documents lift vp the heart and make it not to linger nor wearie in the expectation of that life but being refreshed now and then therewith by so many earnest pennies they assure vs of the full fruition of that ioye for the which in patience wee will sustaine all troubles So as the holy spirit worket a thirst in vs to bee with Christ a thirst of mercy and reconciliation with him The same holy spirit disappointeth not that same expectation and thirst but putteth the soule and heart in possession of Christ by the which the conscience is pacified the heart is reioyced and we get a taste of the sweetnes and of the powers of that life to come The sensible feeling of the which taste that passeth all naturall vnderstanding what doth it in my heart and conscience It worketh a wonderfull assurance and perswasion that God loueth mee The feeling of his mercie in the bowels of my heart in the bottome of my conscience worketh a certaine assurance and perswasion that he is my God that he will saue me for Christs cause that the promise of mercie which I durst not apply vnto my consciēce before now by the feeling of mercy I dare boldly applie and say mercie appertaineth to me life saluation belongeth to me For the conscience being exceedingly terrified and seeing nothing in God but fire and wrath it is not possible but it must she from him it cannot approche to a consuming fire But from the time that the conscience getteth a taste of this peace mercy and sweetnes how fast soeuer it fled from the presence of God before now after this reconciliation it will runne as fast to him and will possesse him more and more fully So the assurance and perswasion of mercie ariseth from the feeling of mercie in the hart and conscience And except the heart feele it and taste it in some measure no conscience dare apply God and his mercie to it selfe I may be sure in generall that all my sinnes are remissible and that I may obtaine mercie before I feele it But to applie this mercy particularly to my selfe vntill I feele a taste of it I dare not So this particular application whereby wee claime God and Christ as a propertie to vs as if no man had title to him but wee and to call him my God my Christ and to claime his promises as if no man had interest in them but wee This commeth of the sence and feeling of mercie in the hart and the more that this feeling grovveth and the greater experience that we haue in our owne harts of this peace and mercy the more increaseth our faith and assurance Our perswasion becommeth so strong that wee dare at the last say with the Apostle What can separate vs from the loue of GOD Neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the loue of GOD which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. This particular application which ariseth no doubt vpon the feeling and sense of mercie is the speciall difference the chiefe mark and proper note wherby our faith vvho are iustified in the bloud of Christ is discerned from that generall faith of the Papists Our faith by this particular application is not onely discerned from the generall faith of the Papists but it is discerned from all the pretended faiths of all the Sects in the world For the Papist dareth not apply the promise of mercie to his owne soule he accounteth it presumption to say I am an elect I am saued and iustified And from whence floweth this Onely from hence That in their consciences they haue neuer felt mercie they haue neuer tasted of the loue fauour and sweetnes of God For looke hovv fast the conscience flieth from GOD before it gette the taste of his sweetnesse it runneth as diligently to him and threatneth loue on him after that it hath gotten that taste So they miserable men content themselues with this generall faith which is no other thing but an historicall faith which groundeth onely on the truth of GOD whereby I knowe that the promises of God are true But the Papists dare not come and say They are true in mee Why Because they haue not felt it and their harts are not opened But our iustifying faith as I told you consecrateth the whole soule vnto the obedience of God in Christ So that it resteth not onely vpon the truth of GOD nor it resteth not onely vpon the power of God though these be two chiefe pillars of our faith also but especially and chiefely it resteth vpon the mercy of God in Christ It resteth also vpon the truth and power of God but especially vpon the promise of grace and mercy in Christ The soule of the Papist beeing destitute of the feeling and taste of mercy dare not enter into this particular application so he cannot be iustified Yea no doubt so many of them as are iustified in the mercy of God get a taste of this mercy kindnesse before they depart this life Thus farre concerning the effects Then yee haue onely this to remember The opening of the hart the pacifying quieting of the conscience they worke an assurance a strong perswasion of the mercy of God in Christ The more that the hart is opened the more that the conscience is pacified the more that the taste of that sweetnes continueth and remaineth the more art thou assured of Gods mercy So then wouldest thou knowe whether thy faith be strong or not vvhether thy perswasion of Gods mercy be sure or not Looke to thy conscience If thy conscience be wounded assuredly thou vvilt doubt and if thou doubtest thou canst not haue such a strong perswasion as otherwise thou wouldest haue if thy doubting were remooued Not that I will haue faith to be so perfect in this life that there be alwaies no doubting ioyned with it I require not that perfection but I say that a wounded conscience must euer doubt and the more wee doubt the lesse is our perswasion So the more that thou woundest thy conscience the lesse faith thou hast Then thou must come to this poynt Keepe a sound conscience entertaine peace in thy conscience thou shalt keepe faith and shalt haue thy perswasion in that same measure that thou hast of
without great bitternesse and continuall remorse And these sparkles where they are will make the soule vvherein they dwell to vtter these speeches at one time or other once in the twenty-foure houres Alas I am dooing the euill vvhich I vvould not doe if I had power or strength to resist my affection and if I might be maister of my affections I would not for all the world doe the euill which I doe Againe if I had power to doe the good vvhich I vvould doe I vvould not leaue it vndone for all the vvorld So these sparkles though they haue not such force and strength presentlie aâ— to resist the affection and abstaine from dooing euill deedes yet perpetually in the hart they are finding fault with thy corruption and suffer thee not to take thy pleasure without paine but last of all force thee to vtter these speeches If I had strength to resist I vvould not doe the euill vvhich I doe Where these speeches are no question they are the words of a soule vvhich the Lord hath begunne to sanctifie and beeing once sanctified in despight of the diuell and of the corruption that is in vs this faith shall neuer perish but if the whole soule without contradiction vvith a greedie appetite and pleasure be carried to euill and hath no sorrow for it that soule is in an ill estate I can looke for nothing in such a soule but death except the Lord of his great mercy preuent it But where this remorse and sorrow and such speeches are in the soule that soule in the time that God hath appointed shall recouer strength The Lord shall neuer suffer those sparkles to bee vvholly taken away but in his own time he shall fortifie them and make them to breake out before the world in good works The Lord in his owne time will sanctifie them hee will scatter the ashes of corruption stirre vp the sparkles make them to breake out into a better life then euer they did before as ye may cleerely see that Dauids repentance hath done more good to the Church of God then if hee had neuer fallen Thus far concerning the effects Though the effects of repentance bee interrupted Similitudes shewing that the sparkles of faith thogh they be couered are not extinguished yet those sparkles are not extinguished For there is no man will thinke that the fire vvhich is couered with ashes is extinguished but beeing stirred vp in the morning it will burne as cleerely as it did the night before There is no man wil think the trees that now in the time of Winter want leaues fruit and externall beauty to be dead There is no man will thinke the Sunne to be out of the firmament though it be ouershadowed with a clowd of darknes and mist There is great difference between a sleeping disease and death for men are not dead though they be sleeping and yet there is nothing liker vnto death then sleep As there is great difference betwixt a drunken man and a dead man so there is great odds betwixt the faith that lieth hid for awhile vttereth not it selfe and the light that is vtterly put out When we breake not forth into outvvard deedes GOD forbid that vvee shold think that these sparkles are wholly extinguished Indeed the soule which is visited after foule and heinous backslidings from his calling and against his knowledge before this foule recouer the former beautie it is in a strange danger For if the Lord suffer thy corruption to get loose in such sort that it cary thee as it will and by all meanes possible maketh thee to labour to put out the sparkles of regeneration vvhen the Lord beginnes to challenge thee or to make thee render an account of this life past the soule of that man when it is challenged is in great danger So that no question when the Lord beginnes to lay to your charge your dissolute life the contempt and abuse of your calling assuredly your soules are so neere to the brinke of desperation that there can be nothing neerer For vvilt thou looke to GOD thou vvilt see nothing but his anger kindled as a fire against thee wilt thou looke to thy selfe thou wilt see nothing but sinne prouoking his anger thou wilt see the contempt and abuse of thy calling enlarging his anger thou wilt see nothing but matter of despaire And what is the best pillar and surest retreat whereupon such a soule that is so neere to the brinke of desperation may repose A sure retreat to repose on in highest tentations I will shew you the helpe whereupon When thou art assaulted by all the greatest tentations thou canst imagine when there is nothing before thee but death when thou seest the diuill accusing thee thine own conscience bearing him witnes against thee thy life accusing thee and the abuse of thy calling accusing thee whither shalt thou goe Looke back againe to thy forepast experience cast ouer thy memorie and remember if God at any time and in any measure hath loued thee if euer thou hast felt the loue and fauour of GOD in thy hart and conscience Remember if euer the Lord hath so disposed thy hart that as hee loued thee thou louedst him hadst a desire to obtaine him Remember this and repose thine assurance on this that as hee loued thee once he will loue thee euer and will assuredly restore thee to that loue before thou departest this life The hart that felt once this loue of God shall feele it againe and looke vvhat gift or grace or what taste of the power of the world to come that euer the Lord gaue to his creatures in this life to that same degree of mercy hee shall restore his creature before it depart this life So the soule that is tossed with high assaults and great dangers where present things will not helpe it is necessary that it haue recourse vnto things past and keepe in memory the afore-past experience of mercy which the Lord hath freely shewed towards that soule This same memory shall be so pleasant to the soule that it shall stay it presently from desperation and vphold it vnto the time the Lord pacifie that hart giue comfort to that soule which beeing done that soule shall see that hovv-soeuer GOD was angry hee was angry onely for awhile I speake these things not that I think that euery one of you hath tasted of them and yet in some measure the seruaunts of GOD must taste of them and yee that haue not tasted of them may taste of them before yee die And therefore whether ye haue tasted or not tasted of them it cannot be but profitable for you to look vp this lesson in your harts and remember it faithfully that if the Lord at any time strike at your harts yee may remember and say with your selues I learned a lesson To looke backe vnto my fore-past experience A lesson and thereon to repose And though yee be not touched