revive his Faith if Actual and Particular Faith and Repentance were necessary to actual Remission Though it 's certain that many great sins are remitted upon a General Repentance if sincere 5 That 51. Psalm wherein we have so full an expression of serious Repentance and a very lively faith was not made by a new faith upon a new Regeneration but by his former faith which for the time was Dormant and as it were dead 6 The divine Apostle saith unto his little Children The annoyntment which ye have received abideth in you 1 Iohn 2. 27. And the seed of God is not onely in him who is born of God but remaineth in him Chap. 3. 9. And hereby we know that God not onely is but abideth in us by his Spirit which he hath given us ver◠24. Upon what other ground could Paul be perswaded that nothing could separate true believers from the love of God Rom. 8. 38. And except there were some promise in the Covenant to this purpose why should he be so confident of this very thing that God who had begun a good work in the Philippians would perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ Phil. 1. 6. And lest he should terrifie the Hebrews by his doctrine of the peremptory rejection and perdition of Apostates as though he understood it of them personally He explaines himself saying But beloved we are perswaded better things of you and things that accompany Salvation though we thus speak For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have shewed to his name in that ye have ministred to the Saints and do minister Heb. 6. 9 10. Where reall love to Christ and his Saints is joyned with salvation as having an inseparable connexion with it by vertue of the divine ordination Yet he doth not cease in these places and others to presse duties and perseverance because the performance of their duty and endeavour of perseverance was a meanes of Perseverance And surely that God who never deserts man before man deserts him will never totally desert man before man totally deserts him Certainly there is a state of confirmation in this life wherein by vertue of the earnest of the Spirit the Sons of God may be certain of their present right unto and thier future Possession of eternall glory Though few attain to this till the end of thier lives But of this more fully upon another occasion in mine exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews For the present we may observe these particulars 1. That we may make our calling and election sure in this life For we are commanded even in this life to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure For if we do these things we shall never fall 2 Pet. 1. 10. 2. That the highest degree of sanctification in any intellectuall subject Men or Angels may be lost 3. That the perpetual continuance thereof in a created subject depends upon an extrinsecal cause which is Gods perpetual conservation 4. The certainty of our perseverance in this life both for the thing it self and the certain knowledge of it depends upon a promise in the Covenant of grace in Christ. 5. The controversy in this point between the Contra-remonstrants and Remonstrants if both parties had dealt plainly had been near an end and so far more easily determinable For if God hath made a promise that he will put his fear into the hearts of his Children in this life so that they shall not depart from him though they may sin and fail in many Particulars grievously then if the question be rightly stated the quarrel is ended 6. The first proof of the Remonstrants out of Scripture which by some is held unanswerable out of Ezek. 18. it nothing at all to purpose Because it speaks of the judgment of God and his judicial proceedings with Israel according to the Law and Covenant made at Horeb which the Apostle saith expresly is a distinct Covenant from the Covenant of grace Heb. 8. 9. But for the present to lay aside the controversy let us every one endeavour and give all diligence to persevere and every day pray for perseverance for that will be better then to dispute because by this meanes we may attain to that which many do deny But this you must know that no promise can give us comfort upon and in the time of disobedience and neglect of duty Thus far § XIII the continuance of Regeneration The continuance of Reconciliation and Adoption follows which makes our condition to be a condition of peace and joy in this Vale of Death In this I shall be brief because I have spoken more at large of the nature of both formerly It 's God's Will that the continuance of these should depend upon the continuance of Sanctification For no man can be happy if he be not first holy Therefore he that hath the hope of glory and joy upon that hope doth purifie himself 1 Joh. 3. 3. The more God continues to sanctifie and assist us the more we improve our Heavenly Graces the more diligently we practise pray and watch the greater evidence we shall have of the continuance of our Reconciliation Adoption and the greater will be our assurance of God's special love unto us And the greater this Assurance of His love shall be the greater our peace and joy will be The more we love God and the more we keep His Commandements the more He will love us He loved us much before we loved Him and even then He gave His Son to be the Propitiation for our sins But when we receive His Son He loves us more and several ways discovers that His love to us loving Him is everlasting and far greater then the heart of man can imagine And nothing can more quiet and content the heart of miserable man then assurance that God loves him with a special love which He hath manifested already and will manifest it more on Earth and most of all in Heaven For when we are fully glorified we shall fully know how much He loved us And for the present what can disquiet our hearts within when the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us and continued within us Surely no tribulation without no muttering of the Conscience within can disturb our peace abate our joy diminish our comfort We joy in Tribulation and in the midst of greatest Afflictions we can quietly repose our minds in God and sweetly rest in His Fatherly Affection Yet this requires an heart above the Earth and such a measure of Faith as to overcome fears and desires of the World For if we love our God above the World desire Heaven as infinitely more excellent then the Earth scorn the menaces of the Devil and wicked men disdain to look upon the glory and prosperity of the World as not worth the seeking so that no Worldly Cross nor Crown can work upon us to affect
too For he doth not say to our first Parents Go ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels But you shall suffer Temporal punishments yet so that through my Grace and sanctifying Spirit they shall be Corrections and Chassisements for Humiliation Mortification and Reformation and you shall be banished out of Earthly Paradise and from this Tree of Life that you may more earnestly long after and seek the Paradise and Tree of Life in Heaven For you shall know that it 's a bitter thing to forsake your God and disobey his Command Yet this was the great punishment that the Spirit of Sanctification and Comfort was departed and no ways to be recovered but by Jesus Christ the great Redeemer as a gift of Free-grace And now consider all Mankind in Adam as innocent and obedient they are innocent and obedient Consider them in him as sinful guilty convicted they are sinful miserable convicted and in a lost condition Consider them in him as receiving the Promise of Christ they are in a possibility of Salvation and Deliverance And all such as are born in the Bosome of the Church and under the means of Conversion are in a better condition then such as are strangers from the Covenants of Promise as all Children or Apostlates are Yet we must understand and take special notice of it that after the Fall there is not any thing in man tending either to holiness or happiness or the abatement of sin or misery but from the mere mercy of God which doth shine forth most clearly in two things The first is the giving of Christ or the Promise to give him and this was not upon any merit no nor of Christ himself And howsoever all other Spiritual Mercies may be promised and given for and in respect of the satisfaction and merit of Christ yet the gift of Christ was from purest love without any respect to any merit at all The second is in calling wherein he prevents both by giving the means of Conversion and the grace of his Spirit to make them effectual Therefore the Scripture so much magnifies God's abundant love and free grace manifested in both 1. For the first it 's said God so loved the World that he gave his onely begotten Son Joh. 3. 16. And God commendeth his love towards us in that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners Rom. 5. 8. And in this was manifested the love of God towards us because that God sent his onely Begotten Son into the World that we should live by him Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the Propitiation for our sins 1 Joh. 4. 9 10. For some mercies we receive from God loving us before we love him as these two Some after we begin to love him 2. For the second we read that God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ by grace we are saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together with Christ Jesus in Heavenly places Eph. 2. 4 5 6. Yet this latter is merited by Christ. Besides the manifestation of these Attributes it 's remarkable that God exercised his transcendent and absolute power above his Law For to reverse the Law of Works to require and accept satisfaction and the same made by another even Christ and not the Delinquents and thereupon to promise Pardon and Eternal Life upon condition of Faith were acts of Him as above his Law and dispensing with it in his judicial proceedings For if he had according to his ordinary power made the Law of Works requiring perfect and perpetuall obedience as the onely condition of life the rule of judgment he could have done none of the fore-mentioned Acts but must have condemned man unto Death and punished him according to the demerit of his sin which if he had done neither Adam nor any Son of Adam could have had the least possibility of Salvation So that in this Judgment the Foundation of the second Government of greatest mercy was laid and then even then God began to constitute another Form of Government over Man and to administer the same And the former continued but a little while and the latter hath continued long and shall be An everlasting Kingdom The Second Scheme Acquired by the Word made Flesh by His Conception Birth Anointed King Priest Prophet in His Humiliation taking upon Him the form of a servant being obedient unto Death which presupposing His former Holiness and Obedience was an act of Obedience unto the great Command of His Father accepting Him as the Surety and Hostage of Mankind laying on Him the iniquities of us all a Sacrifice offered to God as Supream Judge to expiate the sin of Man and being accepted did satisfie Divine Iustice offended merit for Himself Eternal Glory and Power sinful Man immediately the Abrogation of the Law of Works Covenant of Grace Power of the Spirit to enable Him to keep it These Effects formally include exclude no person mediately upon the Covenant observed Iustification Glorification Exercised in the Constitution which determines the Sovereign God-Redeemer Administrator-General Christ at the right hand of God Enemies Devils Men Rebels Apostates Subjects men who being reduced by Vocation according to Predestination do voluntarily submit and that sincerely to God-Redeemer their Soveraign Administration considered in general according to the degrees alterations from the time of Adam till the Commencement of that glorious Reign wherein God shall be all in all special in giving Laws which being Moral considered as given to Adam Innocent continued to Gentiles Iews Christians with the different Obligations thereof determines man's duty to God Creator Redeemer Man Positive in Ceremonies especially Sacrifices Ilastical Eucharistical Sacraments of the Law extraordinary ordinary Gospel Baptism Eucharist an Examination by whom to whom How these may be admiâ—â— are a rule of Man's duty in Precepts Prohibitions God's judgment in Promises Threatnings Iudgment particular in Punishments Temporal Spiritual in this life upon single persons Societies Ecclesiastical Civil after Death before the Resurrection Rewards Temporal Spiritual in this life Conversion Iustification begun continued in the state thereof after Death before the Resurrection Universal determining and rendring the Eternal Punishments Rewards of Men Angels THE DOCTRINE OF The Kingdom of God OR The Government of God-Redeemer The Second BOOK CHAP. I. Concerning the Power of God-Redeemer and by whom it was acquired WHen the first Government did determine § I the second did begin For after the Fall of two of God's most noble Creatures there followed a great alteration in the World and such that if God had followed strictly the Rules of his former Government all Mankind must needs have perished But this his Mercy could not suffer therefore his Divine Wisdom contriveth a way how to recover Man fâ—llen and began to govern him according
his sin confess it be sensible of it hate it resolv against it return unto his God rely upon his Saviour who must plead his cause with his own blood and the sinner must be washed in that blood and sanctified by his Spirit before he can be admitted to the Throne of Grace and have accesse unto and acceptation with his God And he must be cleansed fully from all sin before he can enter into Glory and no man must expect eternall life upon other Terms The Mercy § XI Love and free Grace of God appears in that he was willing to save man though a grievous offender that he would transfer the punishment due to us and deserved by us upon another and he must be his onely begotten that must bear it that he doth all this freely when there was nothing out of himself to move him of merit it for us That he should do thus for unworthy Wretches enemies ungodly miserable base polluted deserving to be cast out of his presence and condemned to eternall death Upon the very foresight of our sin and misery he out of love decrees to send his Son and give him unto death and in him elects us and predestinates us unto eternall Glory When man was created had sinned he promiseth Christ renews this promise often in fulnesse of time he sends him and severely punisheth our sins in him accepts his suffering and sacrifice as a sufficient satisfaction for all our sins and meritorious of Remission and eternall life He reveales him in the Gospell offers him unto us calls us gives his Spirit and with patience and long-suffering waits for our Repentance abrogates the law of works and promiseth eternall life anew upon fairest terms constitutes him an High-Priest in Heaven and ever hears his Intercession which he ever lives to make for us Nay upon this suffering of Christ foreseen and fore-accepted he gives his Spirit who justifies and saves all Believers of the World who lived before his Incarnation and the finishing the work of Redemption When we cry to him with penitent and believing hearts and come unto our Saviour our sins though many and grâ—evous are pardoned and Christ hath a charge given him to receive us have a care of us protect us guide us raise us up at the last day and give us everlasting life Angells must be ministring Spirits to guard us all things must work together for our good And this is strange The Son of God must be punished that we might be spared must be condemned that we may be justified dy that we may live be humbled very low that we may be exalted very high endure most bitter pains that we may enjoy eternall pleasures and be miserable that we may be for ever happy But what Tongue of Men or Angells is able to expresse the exceeding greatnesse of his Love to us which was the greatest that ever God did manifest Who is able to number and reckon up the particular mercyes and benefits which Christ did merit and we receive by him This Mercy in Christ is to be remembred not onely on earth but to be matter of eternall praise and thanksgiving in Heaven The subject of this discourse is the Acquisition of a new Power § XII and by all this dâ—th appear not onely that another power is acquired and added to that of Creation and preservation but also that it was acquired by the humiliation of the Son of God made Man And now man in respect of his spirituall capacity and eternall estate is wholly Gods and subjected to him anew and now are we not our own for we are bought with a price 1 Cor. 6. 19 20. And Christ hath given himself a Ransome for us 1 Timothy cap. 2 ver 6. And we are redeemed by his pretious Blood as of a Lamb without blemish and immaculate 1 Pet. 1. 19. And as God acquired a new right unto us by Redemption so likewise by Regeneration which is a new creation so that our spirituall being is wholly his and he hath acquired a new power to dispose of us and give us laws and bind us to obedience and his service upon another account For wee are delivered out of the hands of our enemies to serve him without fear in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of our life This power being acquired we must consider to whom it was acquired and to whom it was communicated God acquired this power unto himself and he communicates it to Christ as man so farr as he is capable That God did acquire it 't is evident for he sent Christ he gave him he transferred the punishment of our sins upon him he accepted his death and sacrifice as a full propitiation He regenerates and renews us by his spirit and gives us our new being And if althese be his works then the Power as also the Glory is his and he hath a new propâ—iety inus For the Word made flesh was his son The work of Redemption and Humiliation of this son was his work Therefore we are said to be purchased by his Blood his own Blood Act. 20. 28. We are said to be his workmanship created anew in Christ Jesus Ephes. 2. 10. All that we are in respect of our spirituall estate we are wholly wholly his and al things that we have as New-creatures are from him who quickned us raised us up set us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Though it be said that Christ is our Lord § XIII our Head our Saviour who hath washed us in his blood redeemed us out of all Nations made us Kings and Priests to God for ever and reconciled us to the Father so that whether we live or dy we are the Lords because to this end Christ both died and revived and rose again that he might be Lord both of the living and the dead Rom. 14. 8 9. Yet God did all this likewise and put him to death and raised him up again and made him Lord and King This power therefore is Christs but so as that it is derived and communicated unto him from his heavenly Father For he gave him power as he himself confesseth over all flesh he exalted him and gave him a name above all names he by his mighty power raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places farr above all principality power and might and Dominion And though he had all power in heaven earth yet he acknowledgeth it as given him The son hath an universal jurisdiction yet all judgment was committed unto him Joh. 5. 22. so that he hath it by commission From all this it 's evident that God acquired this power and Christ acquired it God hath it Christ hath it God hath it originally and primitively Christ hath it derivatively as man and by commission God is the principall cause of the work of Redemption Christ as man united to the Word is the ministeriall agent And as God by Christ did
Hatred The Subject and Persons who shall suffer are not onely Superstitious and Idolatrous Parents but their Children The extent is to the third and fourth Generation This punishment threatned is expressed in the word Visit I will visit God doth visit sometimes in mercy sometimes in justice and displeasure Here it 's Visitation in justice rendred by the Septuagint in this place by a word signifying to render and in many other places by a word signifying to Revenge Both these together teach us that here to visit is to render vengeance and justly to punish And when God saith He will do it it informs us of His determination that it is such that upon the Commission of the Sin the Punishment shall certainly be due and the Delinquent liable unto it and shall unavoidably suffer it if it be not prevented by timely repentance and God's Pardon This punishment is either Temporal or Eternal private or publique Sword or Famine or Pestilence and sometimes the Captivity sometimes the ruine of Families Cities States Nations besides the Eternal Poenalty This Commination was effectual and Israel found this Judgment certain and felt it often lye heavy upon them This as other sins against other Commandements bring the like Judgments upon Christians under the Gospel Yet so that as it was pardonable unto them upon repentance by vertue of the Promise So upon the like tearms it is to us by vertue of Repentance and Faith in Christ already come The Sin which makes liable to this Punishment is hatred of God Of those that hate me The Sin of such as hate Him in this place is the making and worshipping of Images To hate in Hebrew is many times not to love or not to love so much as 〈◊〉 due we should And as a Woman who affects another man besides her Husband though she may love her husband yet doth not love him so much as she should do Her love is not the love of a Wife as a Wife to her Husband as her Husband for that should be singular and exclude all Corrivality and So 〈◊〉 So whosoever is inclined and affâ—cted to Image-worship cannot love God as God who is jealous and can endure no Competitour To serve God and Baal is impossible according to His Rules The subject of this Punishment and Visitation is the Fathers that is the Idolatrous Fathers And these are principally in the sin and so principal in the punishment These are the Authors and first beginners of this sin and by their example instruction and direction cause their Posterity to sin and that long after they are dead So Jeroboam made Israel to sin and his institution and example began that sin I which once begun continued till the time of that Kingdoms ruine many years after The extent of this Penalty is such that it doâ—h not stay in the Parents but proceeds and reacheth the Children and not onely the immediate Children but Posterity to the third and fourth Generation This is not so to be understood as though the period wherein the penalty expires were the fourth Generation But in Scripture three and four Generations are many Generations and God doth not precisely limit Himself to this or that determinate number It 's true that in the time of four Generations the Posterity of some Idolaters may be either cut off or reformed Yet it seems unreasonable that Children should bear and suffer the Punishments of their Fathers sins And therefore some restrain the Visitation to Temporal Punishments and determine the Children to be onely such as continue in their Fathers sins And it 's true that the Children by repentance many times escape the Punishments deserved both by their own and their Fathers Crimes and no person truly pâ—nitent shall suffer Eternal Penalties for the sins of their Fathers no not of their Father Adam Yet this is certain that not onely penitent Children but such as were never guilty of their Parents Idolatry may suffer for the sins of their Fathers at least Temporally So Daniel with his three Associates and Fellow-Captives Ezra Nehemiah Zorobabel Joshuah the High-Priest lay unâ—er the guilt of their Fathers Idolatry as one person in God's own account with them Yea God doth inflict not only temporal but spiritual Judgments for the sins of Ancestours So the cursed Posterity of Ham must be Servants many years for his sin The Posterity of the first Apostate Gentiles lay under God's displeasure destitute of the means of Conversion for 2000 years at least And the Children of the unbelieving Jews who crucified the Lord Jesus and refused to believe the Gospel abide in Bâ—indness and under the Curse for these 1600 years and upward The Countries and the Eastern Empire where Image-Worship was establisht in * a General Councel is over-run and lyes now under the power of the Turk that great Oppressour of Christians and Enemy to Christ and the greatest part of them are deprived of the Gospel And all the Western-Nations and other Countries and People who received at the hands of the great Whore the Cup of Fornication are delivered up to strange Doctrines and God hath sent them strong Delusions that they should believe a Lye and many false Miracles and other things contrary not onely to Scripture but Reason and Sense and this for many years The pretence of the Worship of the true and living God and Jesus Christ His Blessed Son and the subtile Distinction devised to mâ—intain their Image Worship will not justifie them but prove that the great City built upon seven Hills which in the time of the Divine Apocalyptist reigned over the Nations even whilest She professeth her Self Christian is Babylon in a Mystery Histories tell us that the Old Babylon which once was an Imperial Seat and now a ruinous Heap was the first and most Idolatrous Ciâ—y in the World and that Image Worship and Idolatry was there first established by a Law But her Whoredoms were open and manifest and she profest her self to be what she was Yet Babylon in a Mystery professeth to believe in one onely true God and to renounce all false gods yet in practice is fearfully Idolatrous The last Reason is § VIII from the Promise of mercy to a thousand Generations of them that love God and keep His Commandements By Mercy understand such Blessings as God promised in the Law to Israel which are often mentioned in the Books of Moses especially Levit. 26. Deut. 28. The Subject of these Mercies are the Israelites 1. As loving God 2. Keeping His Commandements 1. The love of God in this place is opposed to the former Hatred and is that pure and chaste affection of the Soul towards God whereby it abhors all Image-Worship and even the appearance of it in toying with Images or the use of any thing in Religious Service invented by Man Therefore as Superstition Idolatry and all Worship of Images is called Fornication and Adultery contrary to the Contract and Covenant made with God as our God
congregation in particular From hence ariseth a relation of Pastour and People The Duty of the people is to esteem their Pastours and Teachers highly in love for their works sake 1 Thes. 5. 13. To obey them and submit unto them Obey them saith the Apostle who have rule over you and submit unto them for they watch over your Souls Heb. 13. 17. They must atttend unto their Doctrine and follow their good example Heb. 13. 7. They must maintain them and provide for them For Christ hath ordained that they who preach the Gospell should live of the Gospel 1 Cor. 9. 14. And let him that is taught in the Word communicate to him that teacheth in all his goods Gal. 6. 6. The Duty of Ministers and Pastours amongst others are these To be rightly qualified and also called to their places binding themselves to do Christ service in that Office They must plant and water preach catechize and edifie the people wholly in the saving Doctrine of the Gospel and though they cannot confirm their Doctrine by Miracles yet let them do it by good example They must administer the Sacraments according to Christ's institution pray for the People perform all publick services of Religion and do all things that tend to the conversion confirmation and Salvation of the People The Sins of the People § XIX as subject to their Pastours are many amongst the rest these They neglect and contemn their persons places doctrines reprooâ—s admonitions good example They deny them maintainance have itching ears affect novel opinions are carried away with strange Doctrine They prove schismaticall desert their faithfull Pastours vex them persecute them Ministers offend when not rightly qualified enter upon the place without a due call and in an undue manner when their end is gain not the good of the peoples souls when they neglect their calling or are carelesse or remisse in the discharge of the Ministery preach false or unprofitable Doctrine give bad example corrupt Religion are Authors of Schism Faction Rebellion and so disgrace their calling dishonour Christ and drive multitudes to Hell Many of these are ambitious and insolent domineering over men's Consciences Christians may associate for Discipline § XX and the outward Government of their Society and that in greater and lesser Associations and for this end declare and constitute Canons and Orders chuse and ordain Officers erect several Courts of Jurisdiction Spiritual In these Ecclesiastical States the Supream Power of the Keys or Church-Government is in the whole Combination the delegated Power is in their Officers and in their Representatives This Constitution finished the Superiours and Governours are the Officers and Representatives whereby the whole Church doth exercise her Power and every particular member whether Officer or any other is subject This Constitution should be agreeable to Christ's Institution and it 's no ways safe that the Association should be of too little or too great extent And most certain it is that Christ did never ordain that there should be one Universal Supream Court in any part of the World to which all Christian of all Nations should submit or make Appeals The Duty of the People and Members of this Spiritual Common-wealth and every particular Person Officer or any other is to submit to this Order once established according to the Laws and Rules of Christ obey the Canons acknowledge the Officers receive their Jurisdiction The Duty of the Governours is to consider whether the Constitution be according to the Gospel to have a special care to make good Canons and to constitute able prudent pious and sit Officers to inform the Ignorant reform the Scandalous reprove admonish suspend or excommunicate absolve and in such a manner that Doctrine and Discipline may be preserved pure the People reformed the Church edifyed and Christ glorified And the Civil Magistrate should countenance protect assist them so far as his Civil Power in this particular may be useful The Discipline is easily corrupted hardly reformed the Primitive and Apostolical Order little known And in this point many are our Divisions Men have their several conceits of it Every Party fancy their own way to be the Pattern in the Mount and few are impartial and unprejudiced and though a good Discipline may be proposed yet the greatest part cannot endure it Schools § XXI Colledges Vniversities are a kind of little Common-Wealth wherein we have Ordinem Imperii Subjectionis wherein the Governours have power the governed are subject according to their Charters and Statutes and as there be Duties so there are contrary Offences in both There be also Superiours and Inferiours in respect of excellency and age yet without any power Those who for Wisdom Parts Experience rare Exploits do excel others should according to their eminency benefit others and others should honour them Yet Pride is the usual sinne of the one and Envy of the other Age and the gray-head if accompanied with Wisdom and Vertue should be reverenced and it 's a bad sign of a declining State when the Child shall behave himself proudly against the Ancient and the Base against the Honourable Esa. 3. 5. CHAP. XII The Sixth Commandement GOD § I by the former Commandement determined the right of Persons and in this He begins to define man's right in things which He commands to be observed The first and principal thing which a man hath right unto is his life and therefore after the duty to be performed to our Parents by whom we receive life from Him he takes care and provides for the safety of man's person and the preservation of his life by prohibiting Murder This Commandement presupposeth that God alone according to his absolute propriety hath the absolute power to dispose of man's life and can take it away and that justly at will and pleasure and that no man can do without Warrant extraordinary or ordinary from him Man hath no absolute right to dispose of his own life whereof he hath onely the possession and use but not the propriety and therefore he must not so much as hazard it without Divine Warrant The subject therefore of this Commandement § II is this mortal and bodily life of man which we receive by Conception and Birth and part with by Death It consists in the union of Soul and Body which is not so firm since that sin entred into the World but that it easily may be dissolved For man consists of two parts Soul and Body The Soul in it self is incorruptible and immortal and no man can kill it though man and many things else may separate it from the Body and the Body from it Therefore in the profession of the Gospel we need not fear men who kill the Body but are not able to kill the Soul Math. 10. 28. The malice and violence of man may make the Body an unfit Habitation for the Soul to dwell in and no fit Instrument for the Soul to act by and then the Soul no ways able to animate the
unto our Neighbours as our selves or any degree thereof is here prohibited From all this it 's evident that the principal thing commanded and required in this Commandement is the love of our Neighbours as our selves So to do as we would be done unto For the more full understanding of this we must observe and consider some things concerning 1. Love in general 2. Our Neighbour as the Object of this Love here required 3. The measure and quality of it 4. The end whereat it aims 1. Love is of persons or of things This is a love of persons And it presupposeth a Knowledge antecedent to direct it The act of it is to wish well desire intend the good of the person beloved and therefore is called Amor Benevolentiae the love of good-will There is indeed a love of others for our own ends advantage interest but this is either Lust and not Love or love of our selves not of our Neighbours As this Love wisheth and desireth the good of another so the good is either Temporal or Spiritual and Eternal For the good desired by this Love here commanded is any kind of good whereof he is capable which may conduce unto his happiness Therefore the principal thing desired is Eternal Life as it is an Estate of perfect Holiness and Happiness And it 's such a love and so vigorous as it will stir us up effectually to use all means to procure this good 2. As the Object of the highest degree of our love is God § VI so the Object of this love required in this last Commandement is our Neighbour This our Neighbour is 1. All Mankind so far as capable of our love 2. Some part of Mankind and so our Neighbour is either publike or private Publike is either Civil or Ecclesiastical the State or Church whereof we are members and in both first the Superiours and publike and most eminent persons Our private Neighbours are not onely Father and Mother Wife Children Friends Servants Benefactors but also strangers yea and Enemies as God in his Divine Providence shall make them immediate Subjects in particular of our love 3. The quality and measure of our love § VII is implyed in these words As thy self It 's not said as God for that 's too high Nor before or more than our selves for that 's too much So that in these words we have both the quality and the quantity or measure of this love determined For the quality it must be real hearty and sincere for so we love our selves It must be real for in some Cases we must hazard yea lay down our lives and give our goods for to save relieve and help our Brethren in their miseries wants extremities We must lay down the lives of our Bodies for the Salvation of their Souls and with the Widow cast in all that we have into the Treasury This love must be without dissimulation Rom. 12. 9. And we must not love in word neither in tongue but in deed and in truth 1 Joh. 3. 18. Yet this love of our selves cannot be a Rule of the love of our Neighbours except it be regular For it may be fond foolish vain irregular and inordinate Therefore it must be regulated by the Word of God issue from Faith in Christ and our love of God in Christ and we must love in obedience to his Commandement and aym at His Glory and seek the true especially the spirituall and eternall good of our brethren And if we thus love our selves then we may make this love of our selves the measure of our love to others The measure and quantity of this love is also here implied in the foresaid words For we must love God more then any thing more then any person more then our selves and the more wee love God the more we love our selves in God Therefore because we must love our selves lesse then God we must love our Neighbours lesse then him otherwise our love will prove inordinate In loving others we may love our selves first and in that respect more then our neighbours And in this love of our neighbours there be degrees to be observed For we must love our Country under what form of Government so ever it be before any particular person the Whole more then the Part the publick more then the private and because we our selves are but private Persons and a part therefore we must love the whole State in some cases more then our selves And in the State we must love and seek the good of such persons upon whom the safety and peace publique much depends more then others We must also love the Church more then the State and our brethren in Christ more then any particular persons in the world In the fourth place § VIII the End of this love is that we may do as we would be done unto For as we love or hate others so we do unto them so we deal with them well or ill If we love our selves aright and love others as our selves we will neither think nor devise nor intend nor endeavou◠to do him any evill but we will desire devise intend endeavour his reall good And as we would have others to do all things so as that they may tend unto our Temporall peace and spirituall Welfare so we must do all things so as to design their perfect happinesse so well as our own And as we desire that others may do nothing prejudiciall to our joy comfort happinesse so we must do nothing that may tend unto or end in our neighbours hurt so as to make them either sinfull or miserable All obedience without this love is but a carkeise Therefore though the heathens did the things conteined in this Law yet because they were devoid of the Love of God and this love of our Neighbours issuing from the love of God and faith in Christ their obedience was not sincere and such as this Law required To give all our goods unto the poor and our bodies to be burned and not out of love is nothing This love will think well wish well do well speak well It will be patient and long-suffering yea it will be kind unto enemies and such as hate us and if they thirst will give them drink if they hunger feed them and in their miseries relieve them It will blesse them that curse us and pray for them that hate us and despightfully abuse us It will return blessing for cursing do good for evill and seek to overcome evill with good It 's an evidence of a sincere faith a confirmation of our union with and interest in Christ it 's the character of a reall Christian and a proof that we are passed from death to life By it we resemble God who is love by it we imitate Christ by it we are cemented together amongst our selves by it we rejoyce with them that rejoyce and mourn with them that mourn it makes all men one and every man part of ourselves it 's the union of Souls the
mother of concord the harmony of the world Therefore let us love our neighbour him more then his and endeavour by all means to observe this Commandement Though I have delivered many things concerning this Law § IX before I entred upon the Exposition of the several Commandements and therefore might immediately proceed to the Ceremonials and Positives yet it will not be amiss to add some Observations unto the former And 1. Obedience to this Law pre-requires the knowledge of the excellency and power of the Law-giver the matter of the Law it â—elf the binding force of it and the measure of this Obligation 2. These things first known we must consider the Wisdom of the Law-giver who knowing the Nature of Man and his very inward frame and so much the more perfectly because He made us He chiefly in this looked at the Immortal Soul and in the Soul at the Heart and Will which is the Queen and hath an Imperial Power over the whole Man and is resident in the Throne of the Soul and in the Heart at Love which is the principal Act of the Heart and is called Pondus Animae the Poise of the Soul inclining and carrying it whither it pleaseth 3. This love He directs by this Law upon the right Objects and gives it a right measure in respect of every Object whether God or our selves or our Neighbour 4. When we consider the right Objects and the right measure of love required in this Law and how far we observe both we shall find our obedience either to be disobedience or to be far short of what is required 5. By this we easily understand that by the obedience to this Law no man living can be justifyed and that after the Fall of Man it was never given or renewed for that end for if it had it must needs have proved ineffectual and such as could never reach that end 6. Yet it was an excellent means to discover unto man his sin let him see his misery and the necessity of a Saviour And when we make use of it to that end we must not onely examine whether we be Worshippers of Images perjured persons Prophaners of the Sabbath disobedient to Superiours Murderers Adulterers Fornicators Thieves False-Witnesses but how our very Hearts stand affected and in what measure we love God and our Neighbours Whether our love be rightly qualifyed fully extended and intended And by this we shall easily find the best imperfect the most abominably corrupted and few sincere and all of us by Nature before we be in Christ to be base and cursed Caitiffs And till by the first and last Commandements we see the inward depravation and the deep stain of our Souls we cannot throughly be humbled noâ— sincerely penitent nor truly reformed nor vehemently and effectually desirous of Christ for pardon of sin past and grace of Sanctification for time to come 7. It 's an excellent Rule of Obedience yet except we have a special care in the first place to observe the first and last Commandements all our performances are greatly defective and no ways acceptable 8. Though Faith as fixed in Christ dying for our sins and rising again for our Justification and Repentance as a return to God Redeemer be not commanded in this Law as given to Adam innocent yet both Faith and Repentance in their general Nature abstracted from their proper and formal notions in the Gospel are required in this Law For Faith as an assent to God's infallible truth revealed or as a reliance on God for his Blessings and Happiness is commanded in the first Precept Repentance as it 's an hatred of sin and an obedience to God in general is required in all the Commandements But Faith as presupposing the Party believing a sinner and guilty and as fixed upon Christ saving from sinne and Repentance as a return to obedience after disobedience and an hatred of that sin which is in us they cannot any ways belong to this Law as given at first or so understood 8. When we fell in Adam we lost our power to believe and return to God again otherwise what need is there to be born again of the Spirit And why are Faith Hope and Charity Gifts of the Spirit merited by Christ and given freely of God Actual Faith in God-Redeemer by the Word made Flesh they never had and therefore could never lose it 9. This Faith considered in general is a Moral Duty required in the Moral Law otherwise it could have no aptitude to be a condition of Justifycation and Eternal Life 10. Yet we by this Faith could not obtain either Justifycation or Eternal Life except Christ had merited and God had promised and ordained and that freely that upon Faith both should follow and Faith as a Moral Duty or a part of inherent Righteousness is not that whereby we are justifyed but as fixed on Christ and uniting us unto him 11. This Faith as a practical assent to the Truths of the Gospel which reveal the love of God in Christ suffering for our sins is a most excellent principle of obedience and love in the highest degree as it 's a confidence in God saving us onely for Christ's sake it tends most effectually to God's Glory and empties man wholly of all power and merit in himself as a base and miserable Wretch CHAP. XVII Of Positive and Ceremoniall Laws ordained by God HItherto of the morall Laws of God § I as a rule of obedience The Ceremonials and Positives come next to be considered And I will first enquire into the nature of a Ceremoniall Law in generall and so proceed to the more particular handling them according to their severall differences and distinctions The generall nature of these is 1. That they are Laws of God have a binding force and that upon the conscience The speciall nature and difference of them whereby they are distinguished from morall Laws is 1. In the matter which in it self is neither good nor evil morally 2. They differ in this also that they are religions rites which are compounded of outward and inward visible and invisible corporeall or sensible and spirituall sacred hidden parts In respect of the invisible and spirituall part and as instituted by God They are called Sacred and Religious Rites and if Ceremonia come of the Hetruscan word Cerus Sanctus then in the same respect they are called Ceremoniall too They are called Positive that is Arbitrary because they principally depend upon the arbitrary institution and position of the Law-giver The outward part may be performed without any respect to the inward and so ignorant and wicked men may observe them Yet the performance of them is never acceptable without the moral qualification of the party performing them in obedience to the institution and also joyning the practise of Morall duties with them This is evident out of many places of Scripture where men are reproved 1. For performing them with impure hearts and polluted hands 2. For neglecting the
much agitated and to speak distinctly and pertinently We may consider faith in Christ alone propitiating and interceding for sinful man as a duty and as a duty 1. In generall commanded by God Redeemer 2. As this particular duty receiving Christ as Priest in this matter But neither of these wayes considered is it a receiving Christ as Lord and King but presupposeth him as so received For so to receive him is the act of submission or subjection which is necessarily antecedent to the performance of any particular obedience to any particular command as this faith in Christ is Submission hath for object the power of the supreme Lord Duty looks at the command of the Lord acknowledged 2. Faith this faith may be considered as looking back upon the command or forward at the benefit In the former respect it 's a duty properly in the latter respect it 's a condition the performance whereof leads unto the receiving of the benefit 3. Faith may look at the command or at the promise both parts of the Law and it 's justifying as looking at the promise not as resting in the performance of the duty though without the performance it cannot be justifying For these things which God hath joyned together no man must put asunder 4. Faith may be considered as having connexion with the reward and benefit of justification or as having an aptitude for the connexion The connexion with the benefit is not Physicall that 's certain but it 's morall and divine and ariseth from Christs merit and Gods promise with respect unto the merit If Christ had not merited God had never promised If God had never promised justification had never followed upon this faith For let a man believe with the highest degree of â—aith in Christ and in the greatest sincerity yet justification had never followed thereupon nor could have been expected with any certainty except God for Christ's sake had promised that upon such a duty performed justification should have followed So that the indissoluble connexion of this faith and justification is from Gods institution whereby he had bound himself to give the benefit upon the performance of the duty to him that performeth it Yet there is an aptitude in this duty in this faith to be made a condition and have connexion and such an aptitude as can be in no other duty For no other duty commanded by God-Redeemer nor any other act of faith but this can receive Christ as Priest propitiating and pleading the propitiation and the promise of God for his sake as such to give the benefit As receiving Christ and the gracious promise in this manner it acknowledgeth mans guilt and so renounceth all righteousnesse in himself acknowledgeth God the Father and Christ the Son the onely Redeemer and so gives God the greatest glory of justice wisdome mercy and free grace and doth virtually acknowledge it self to be a gift and performed by the Spirit of God Redeemer and that as a duty a work an act of obedience it cannot challenge any right to justification This no other duty no other act of faith no good works can do Therefore God in his infinite Wisdome thought good to pitch upon this and make it the meanes the only meanes whereby justification both for the right unto it and the possession of it should be derived from Christ meriting and himself promising for Christs merit This aptitude is intrinsecall to the duty it self the connexion is extrinsecall for Christs merit and Gods promise This act of faith must look not only at the promise but at Christ not onely at Christ but the Promise too It must look at Christ as sufficiently and abundantly meriting and that without any Promise and at the Promise as grounded upon Christs merit not adding any Meritorious Vigour unto it but as added for mans sake that when the benefits were merited already man might know them have some hope of them and a remote conditional right unto them Christ is the speciall object of our faith and He is so not onely in respect of His Person Natures Acts but also of His Offices For He is King Priest and Prophet and faith receives Him in all His Offices But this act of saith as a duty presupposeth Him as you heard before received as King or else this act is no duty no obedience and as Prophet or else this act could not be a belief of the truth revealed and taught by him infallibly as a Prophet Yet if we consider the matter of this particular act believed formally and properly it 's Christ as a Priest Now let us abstract though not seperate the generall nature of this act as it is a duty and a belief according to both which though not without either because presupposed both must be it cannot be justifying faith then it will appear that it 's properly particularly justifying as receiving Christ as a Priest and as having formerly received Him as King and Prophet For there can be no justification of sinful man if we believe the whole tenour of the Gospell but as merited by Christ alone and promised as merited and procured by Him alone But it s no wayes merited and procured by Him but as a Priest And if it be so represented ex parte objecti it must be so received by this act of faith ex parte subjecti As the act must be conformable so it must be commensurable to the object represented it must neither exceed and be greater nor contract and be lesse If it be not conformable it 's irregular if not commensurable it 's either imperfect and defective or or else falls and fancy But the truth is it 's impossible for an act to exceed its object as its object To say that faith as a duty is justifying will bring in all other good works and duties to share with it in justification But this act of faith truly understood renounceth all good works even at the last judgment as giving any right unto justification and eternall life It annihilates all righteousnesse merit confidence in it self or any other thing but Christ It rests in Christ alone and pleads for pardon only in his name and urgeth Gods promise as made only for his sake It s the most glorifying and magnifying act that ever was performed by Man or Angel It glorifies Gods mercy and free grace in the highest degree It acknowledgeth on Earth as it will be perpetually acknowledged in Heaven that the whole Salvation of sinfull man from the very First beginning unto the Last degree thereof whereof there shall be no end is from God's freest love Christs merit and intercession his own free and gracious promise and the power of his own holy spirit And since the first sin and fall of man it could not be otherwise For man lost all power to save himself forsook the fountain of his happinesse made himself a slave to Sathan his deadly enemy and deserved eternall death This is the duty which qualifyes the
is justifiable by Law But whether this be all the justification the Scripture speaks of especially the Writings of the Apostles shall be considered hereafter 3. It cannot be the sentence only of the Church or Minister because they do not alwayes judge and absolve Clave non errante infallibly and so one may be absolved on Earth and not in Heaven or in Heaven and not on Earth either in foro interiori aut extâ—riori as many use to expresse themselves It 's true that when it is exactly agreeable to Gods rule then it 's ratified in Heaven that is by Christ and manifested so to be by the execution For Gods sentence is not a bare word or distinct sound in the Aire 4. It 's not the sentence of the conscience For conscience is neither the supreme judge nor infallible 5. That it 's not pronounced by inspiration or enthusiasm as the words are ordinarily taken will easily be granted 6. Whether it be signified to the soul in man by some real operation with some execution is more disputable That it is signified by some real operation of the spirit with execution seems very probable if not very certain But let others judge when they have considered these places following The justified by faith have peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ by whom also they have accesse by faith into his grace wherein they stand and rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God c. And the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts by the holy Ghost which is given them Rom. 5. 1. 2 5. Believers in Christ by the spirit mortifie the lusts of the flesh and are led moved acted by this spirit have received the spirit of Adoption whereby they cry Abba Father This spirit witnesseth to their spirit that they are the Sons of God having the first fruits of the spirit they groan within themselves waiting for the Adoption the Redemption of their body Rom. 8. 13 14 15 16 23. Now he that stablisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of the spirit in our hearts 2 Cor. 1. 21. 22. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the Brethren 1 Ioh. 3. 14. God will give him that overcommeth a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it Rev. 2. 17. 1. All these places with many more speak not onely of Believers but Believers justified and in this life 2. All these places either expresly or by consequence speak of the Spirit of God and of this Spirit in us and the effects of this Spirit in particular persons 3. The Effects are Divine and such as onely God can produce 4. These Effects are the shedding of the love of God that is the Manifestation the evident and abundant manifestation of God's special love accepting us to Eternal Life the Sanctification of the Spirit and enabling them to mortifie the Deeds of the Flesh and acting them to Obedience Adoption whereby call upon God as a Father their Father and giving them boldness and confidence to approach the Throne of Grace testifying inwardly testifying in them and to them that they in particular are the Sons of God and Heirs of Glory giving them assurance of Eternal Glory as giving the first-fruits thereof being a Seal and Earnest of the same making them know and certainly know that they are passed from Death to Life and that God is in them and they in God and that God abides in them and they abide in God 5. All these signifie and declare and that evidently that there is a great change wrought in them both for disposition and condition For disposition they are regenerate and sanctified For condition they are in the state of Life not of Death of Salvation not of Damnation and neither of these can be without Justification actual And this change is the more evident because the Spirit abides in them constantly as a constant Spring of Sanctification and unspeakable consolation and joy 6. Therefore God by this Spirit in them by these Effects and real operations speaks plainly with some execution that particular persons in this life are justifyed not merely by the Promise of the Law but the Sentence of the great Judge God's Word is not like man's word which is a bare sound but it 's a Word with power It 's like the Word of Creation saying Let there be Light and there was Light like the Word of Christ to the man of the Palsie Arise take up thy bed and walk and presently the thing is done Health and Strength is given He takes up his bed and walks and so his sins were forgiven and the remission was signified by a real operation and word of power And certainly there is no greater Evidence of sin past forgiven then power given to subdue sin for the time to come and after fear sorrow and trouble of men sweet peace joy and Heavenly Consolation 〈…〉 this Word which the Spirit speaks within is the very same Word with 〈…〉 Word which the Spirit speaks without us in the Scripture Yet with this difference that there it is a Promise made to all Believers in general here a Word with performance unto particular Believers The Word is not the Sentence of the Conscience The Witness of the Spirit is not the Witness of Conscience The Sentence of the Spirit is infallible the Sentence of the Conscience is fallible The Spirit is the Supream Judge by which God so justifies as no man can condemn the Conscience is an inferiour and subordinate Judge and the Sentence thereof may be revoked and made void The Spirit speaks with power and produceth Divine Effects and in the very Soul and such as neither Man nor Angels can produce These or like Effects the Conscience cannot reach If any say or ask How can God pass this Sentence but by the Conscience It 's answered That such men seem to be ignorant what the Conscience is and what the Sentence of it is what the different Sentences of the Conscience before and after Justification be The Sentence of the Spirit is a principle but that of the Conscience a conclusion And the Spirit must speak by these real Effects before Conscience can certainly conclude Justification to be past or the state of Justification to be present But this Point will receive some further Light § VIII after that we understand what this Judicial Act of Justification is Yet here ye must know that the act of Justification is one thing and the state of the party justified is another and they must be distinguished as cause and effect The general nature of it is that it is not the Promise of the Law nor the convention of the party to be judged nor the discussion of the cause but it 's a Sentence Yet because there 's a Sentence against a party and a Sentence for
absolute Power might have done so yet His Wisdom did not think good to do it neither do we read that he doth it The principal thing to be noted is that this is the principal if not the onely place that speaks of Imputation of Righteousness and this Imputation is Remission of Sinne by a Sentence of the Supream Judge 3 Remission and Justification and Eternal Life is ascribed to the Sacrifice of Christ's Death as the meritorious cause thereof in many other places especially Heb. 9. And Christ is said by one Offering to have perfected that is consecrated the Sanctified for ever Hebr. 10. 14. To be consecrated for ever is to be made compleat Priest to serve the Living God in the Temple of Heaven and to be eternally glorified And this is ascribed to the Death and Offering of Christ. QUESTION III. Whether Justification continued and finally consummate be by Works and not by faith alone as the first Justification is MIne Answer hereunto is negative § XII that neither Justification continued nor finally consummate is by Works but faith onely though that faith be not alone For the Scriptures inform us that there is but one way of Justification of a sinfull man and that is by faith in Christ. For seeing the Apostle determines but two wayes possible the one by Works the other by faith and proves that no man living by Works can be justified in God's sight because all are sinfull no man no not the best without sin no man performs perfect and perpetuall Obedience it seems strange to me that any man should affirm that Justification either continued or finall should be by Works If it be by Works then the reward of Righteousnesse is of debt according to the Law of Works and then it 's not of Grace If it be by works then works must be perfect and such as can endure the severity of God's Justice at our last triall If by works then the worker is so righteous in himself by reason of them that no one can lay any thing to his charge For Justification first and last must look upon man as chargeable with no sin otherwise he will not be justifiable by the most just God But no works of man are such If by works then by faith as a work we may be justified but that cannot be If by works then works may receive Chirst as our Propitiatour and Intercessour But that 's the proper act of faith If by works then we receive not the reward of righteousnesse and eternall Glory as merited by Christ and derived immediately from Christ to us as believing on him and renouncing all righteousnesse in our selves If by works then our finall Justification is not a Remission of sin If by good works then our good works may be pleaded in the title unto righteousnesse and eternal life before the Tribunal of God But the Promise it self and the Reward promised were merited by Christ and God promiseth this righteousnesse and reward for Christ's sake and for his sake alone and he promiseth it unto him and onely unto him that resteth upon Christ and Christ alone for it and pleads Christ's merit and onely Christ's merit upon the promise of God If by good works then good works can expiate our sins and satisfy for our evill works If by works then there is some promise made in the Gospel to justifie us by them and as righteous through them and so righteous that we need not plead Christ or remission upon Christ's propitiation But there is no such promise in the Gospel The Law indeed saith Do this and live But the Gospel saith Confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead and thou shalt be saved Rom. 10. 9. If by works then why doth the Apostle say By Grace you are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works c. Why might he not as well have said By Grace ye are saved through faith and works It was as easy for him to say the one as the other The power to do good works and our doing of them is a reward derived from Christ by faith For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works Ephes. 2 8 9 10. After that we are once ingrafted into Christ Jesus we derive all the good from first to last whether for duty or reward from him All the vertues which we have all the good works which we do on earth or in heaven presuppose us in Christ and justified by and for his merits All good works of regenerate persons are virtually in faith receiving Christ and no such faith continuing can be without good works It is certain that as God in the Gospell commands good works commends such as do them promiseth rewards unto Well-doers â—o he will in his last Judgment justifie good Works and the doers of them so as Wisdom is justified of her Children But this Justification is onely Approbation whereby man may justify God as well as God justify man in this manner Therefore we must needs say that as good Works are commanded by God pleasing unto God so they are approved and rewarded of God They so farr as good prevent future guilt take away no former guilt do evidence our faith and Title unto everlasting Glory strengthen our union with Christ because they strengthen faith confirm our hope glorify God give good example unto men make us more capable of Communion with God tend towards the possession of Glory distinguish us from the prophane and hypocrites give some content to our Consciences and there is a kind of happinesse in the doing of them and in the remembrance of them done Blessed are they who alwayes abound in them For they know that their labour is not in vain in the Lord. Yet Bellarmin though a great advancer of Merit thought it not onely safe but the safest Way to put our whole and sole trust not in these our good Works but in Christ. But it is not onely the safest but the onely way so to do if we would be justified before God To say that good Works are a condition of the Covenant of Grace we shall be judged according to our works remission of Sin is promised to such as forgive others and that such as love God fear him serve him do his commandements shall be rewarded and have eternall life therefore We are not justified by faith alone but by good works also is no good arguing If the Sequel be denied as it must be no wit of man can prove it and make it good They may be a condition of the Covenant yet not such a condition as faith receiving Christ as Propitiatour and Advocate and resting upon God's Promise in him alone and such must of necessity be that condition whereby we are justified and stand blamelesse and without Spot before the Throne of God Though we shall be judged according to our works it
when we are once in Christ and the Spirit is derived from him to us in him to abide as a constant Spring of Regeneration at the first is that I call Regeneration as a Branch of Justification and as neither before nor after the first judgment of justification 3 This Sanctification active not being perfect in respect of the Subject is continued For we being in Christ as Branches in the Vine derive continual Sap or sanctifying Vigour from him that we may bring forth Fruit. Christ communicating this continually unto us by his Spirit may be said to continue to sanctifie us From all this you may understand a three-fold Sanctification 1 Preparing 2 Initiating us prepared 3 Continued to consummate us For the First Work of the Spirit is to prepare us and ingrast us into CHRIST The Second Is to regenerate and renew us once in CHRIST at the first The Third Is a continuance of the Second to perfect us In the first sense it seems to be taken 2 Thes. 2. 13. 1 Pet. 1. 2. In the second sense Joh. 15. 1 2 3 c. Rom. 6. 4 5 c. 1 Cor. 6. 11. In the third sense 1 Thes. 5. 23. Yet this must be known that Regeneration Sanctification Renovation are taken for the same several times and Sanctification in Scripture is taken for Justification and that we call Sanctification too as Ephes. 5. 26. Heb. 9. 15. 10. 10 14. 13. 12. and many other places Sometimes it 's taken for that purity we acquire by the Works of Sanctification and the constant practise of Righteousness as Rom. 6. 19 22. As for Sanctification Passive it 's easily understood by the Active This Sanctification differs from that of Adam § IX and the Blessed Angels for this finds us unsanctified corrupted unclean perverse and blind Therefore it 's called Regeneration and Renovation and Cleansing the other did not find them such What this doth at first it continues to do it makes us at the first Righteous and holy and imprints God's Image upon us and continued it continues us such and makes us more and more holy And the more we exercise this Active Power the more we are sanctified according to that Promise To him that hath that is useth and exerciseth it shall be given that is more shall be given It 's a Reward given at the first and it 's a Reward continued enabling us to perform Duty that the Reward may be greater and greater For the effect of it is to cause us to walk in God's Statutes and the more our obedience is improved the more our comfort is increased because our estate of Justification and our Title to Eternall Glory is thereby the more evident There is an ablute necessity of the continuance thereof For if God desert us but a moment there presently follows a Relapse The subject of it is the whole man Soul and Body the Soul chiefly and primarily the Body secondarily In the Soul it enlightneth the Understanding more and more and dispelleth the Mists of Ignorance and Errour and rect fies the Heart declining it from sin inclining it to Righteousnesse It fixeth it upon the right Object Christ and Eternal Glory in Him and continues to strengthen and incite us to the performance of Obedience and the practise of those Duties whereby Eternall Life is obtained All the Motions and Inclinations and Dispositions and those we call Affections are by it set in a right order especially the Affections of Love and Hatred which principally move and sway the Soul It limits and directs the Sensitive Appetite and makes the Body and the Members thereof Instruments of Righteousness to Holiness Yet this Sanctification was neither given to expiate sin past nor merit life to come but to prevent sin and bring forth the fruits of Righteousness In respect of Sin and Corruption yet inherent it 's called Mortification in respect of righteousnesse this heavenly active power is called Vivification And by vertue of Christ's death it destroies Sin and by vertue of Christ's Resurrection it quickens us to an heavenly life Yet this Mortification and Vivification are not properly integrall Parts but onely Adjuncts of this Sanctification For take away Corruption wholly there will be no Mortification because there remains nothing to be mortified Because this regenerate power is not consummated at the first § X therefore it will meet with continuall opposition from Corruption within and the Devill and the World without For in every regenerate man there is in this life Flesh and Spirit Corruption and Grace and these two being contrary one unto another have continuall conflicts both habituall and actuall Yet Grace and the Spirit is predominate otherwise Regeneration could not be Regeneration These are Jacob and Esau continually striving in the Bowels and Womb of our Souls The Assistants to the Flesh are the Devill and the World The Assistants of Grace are the Father Son and Holy Ghost the blessed Angels Ministers and sanctified Christians For as God useth the Ministery and Discipline of the Church in the declaring outwardly with the Word the Sentence of Absolution so he useth them to stir up continually to holy Duties to restrain Sin to strengthen us and promote our Sanctification And I cannot see but the blessed Angels should have as much power to help us as the Devill to hurt us For they are ministring Spirits not onely for temporall Safety but spirituall Assistance And from this opposition ariseth that spirituall Warr so much mentioned in Scripture in respect of which all spirituall and heavenly Vertues are called Armour the Armour of God and the more we exercise them with Prayer and Watchfullnesse the more and the faster we gird them upon us the stronger and safer we are Some of these though onely the principall are named Ephes. 6. 11 12 13. c. 1 Thes. 5. 8. Yet all are understood for Sanctification inclines to Obedience and fenceth us against all Sin The event of this War is either intermediate § XI or finall The intermediate from the first Regeneration is often and for the most part Victory yet not without many wounds hurts foils falls and the same sometimes very grievous And though Grace in us be habitually predominant yet actually it is not alwayes so We may neglect our watch be too carelesse and then we suffer Yet the weaker by Humility Prayer Watchfulnesse may stand when the stronger fall And the Victory doth not depend so much upon the eminent degrees of gifts and graces in us as upon divine Assistance from without The more we fight according to the rules of this war the stronger we are by God's Assistance and our Saviours intercession who prayed that Peter's faith and so ours though fearfully sometimes shaken might not fail This war is to be waged not onely by strength but policy and holy prudence whereby we foresee dangers to prevent them and take all opportunities and advantages for our safety and our Enemies ruine Because our weaknesse