therefore when once Divine truth gets entry into the heart of a man and becomes one with his will and affection it will quickly command the whole man to practise and execute and then he that receiveth the truth in Love is found a walker in the truth Many persons captivate truth in their understandings as the Gentiles did they held or detained it in unrighteousnesse but because it hath no liberty to descend into the heart possesse that Garrison it cannot command the man But O it's better to be truths captive then to captive truth saith the Apostle ye obeyed from the heart the truth to which ye were delivered Rom. 6. O a blessed captivity to be delivered over to truth that is indeed freedome for truth makes free Ioh. 8. And it makes free where it is in freedome give it freedome to command thee and it shal indeed deliver thee from all strange Lords and thou shalt obey it from the heart when it is indeed in the heart When the truth of God whether promises or threatnings or commands are impressed into the heart you shal find the expressions of them in the conversation Faith is not an empty assent to the truth but a receiving of it in love when the truth is received in love then it begins to work by love Faith works by love saith Paul Gal. 5. 6. That now is the proper nature of its operation which expresses its own nature Obedience proceeding from love to God flowes from Faith in God and that shews the true and living nature of that Faith If the soul within receive the seal and impression of the truth of God it will render the image of that same truth in all its actions Love is put for all obedience it s made the very summe and compend of the Law and fulfilling of it for the truth is it s the most effectual and constraining principle of obedience and withall the most sweet pleasant The love of Christ constrains us to live to him not henceforth to our selves 2 Cor. 5. 15. As I said a man and his will is one if you ingage it you bind all if you gain it it will bring all with it As it is the most ready way to gain any party to engage their head whom they follow and upon whom they depend let a mans love be once gained to Christ the whole train of the souls faculty of the outward senses and operations will follow upon it It was an excellent and pertinent question that Christ asked Peter when he was going away if Peter had considered Christs purpose in it he would not have been so hasty and displeased Peter lovest thou me then feed my sheep If a man love Christ he will certainly study to please him and though he should do never so much in obedience it s no pleasure except it be done out of love O this and more of this in the heart would make Ministers feed well and teach well and would make people obey well If ye love me keep my commands Love devouts and consecrats all that is in a man to the pleasure of him whom he loves therefore it fashions and conforms one even against nature to anothers humor and affection it constrains not to live to our selves but to him its joy delight is in him and therefore all is given up resigned to him Now as it is certain that if you love much you will do much so it is certain that little is accepted for much that proceeds from love therefore our poor maimed and halting obedience is called the fulfilling of the law he is well pleased with it because love is ill pleased withit love thinks nothing too much all too little and therefore his love thinks any thing froÌ„ us much since love would give more he accepts that which is given the lovers mite cast into the Treasure is more then ten times so much outward obedience from another man He meets love with love if the souls desire be towards the love of his name if love offer thogh a farthing his love receiving it counts it a Crown love offering a present of duty finds many imperfections in it and covers any good that is in it seems not to regard it and then beholds it as a recompence his love receiving the present from us covers a multitude of infirmities that are in it And thus what in the desire and endeavour of love on our part and what in the acceptation of what is done on his part love is the fulfilling of the Law It s an usuall proverb all things are as they are taken Love is the â—…ulfilling of the Law because our loving Father takes â—…t so he takes as much delight in the poor childrens willingnesse as in the more aged's strength the offer â—…nd endeavour of the one pleaseth him as well as the â—…erformance of the other The love of God is the fulfilling of the Law for it 〈◊〉 a living Law it is the Law written on the heart it is â—…e Law of a spirit of life within Quis legem detamen â—…bus major lexamor sibi ipsi est You almost need not prescribe any rules or let over the head of love the authority and pain of a command for it is a greater Law to it self it hath within its own bosome as deep an engagement and obligation to any thing that may please God as you can put upon it for it is in it self the very engagement and bond of the soul to him This it is indeed which will do him service and that is the service which he likes it is that only serves him constantly and pleasantly and constantly it cannot serve him which doth it not pleasantly for it is delight only that makes it constant Violent motions may be swift but not durable they last not long fear and terrour is a kind of externall impulse that may drive a soul swiftly to some duty but because that is not one with the soul it cannot endure long it s not good company to the soul. But Love making a duty pleasant becomes one with the soul it incorporates with it and becomes like its nature to it that though it should not move so swiftly yet it moves more constantly And what is love but the very motion of the soul to God! and so till it have attained that to be in him it can find no place of rest Now this is only the service that he is pleased with which comes from love because he sees his own image in it for love in us it s nothing else but the impression and stamp that Gods love to us makes on the heart it 's the very reflection of that sweet warm beam so then when his love reflects back unto himself carrying our heart and duty with it he knoweth his own superscription he loves his own Image in such a duty He that loveth me and continueth in my love I will love him and I and my Father will come and
make our abode with him Ioh. 14. 23. Here now is an evidence that he likes it for he must needs like that place he chooses to dwell in he who hath such a glorious Mansion and Palace above he must needs love that soul dearly that he will prefer it to his high and holy place Now I know it will be the secret question and complaint of some souls How shal I get love to God I cannot love him my heart is so desperatly wicked I cannot say as Peter Lord thou knowest that I love thee I shal not insist upon the discovery of your love unto you by marks and signs only I say if thou indeed from thy heart desires to love him art grieved that there is not this love in thy soul to him which becomes so love-worthy a Saviour then thou indeed lovest him for he that loveth the love of God loveth God himself And wherefore aâ—…t thou sad for want of that love but because thou lovest him in some measure and withall finds him beyond all that thou canst think and love But I say that which most concerns thee is to love still more and that thou wouldest be more earnest to love him then to know that thou loves him Now I know no more effectuall way to encrease love to Jesus Christ then to believe his love Christ Jesus is the Author and Finisher both of Faith and Love and we love him because he first loved us Therefore the right discovery of Jesus Christ what he is and what he hath done for sinners is that which will of all things most prevail to engage the soul unto him But as long as ye suspend you Faith upon the being or encrease of your Love and obedience as the manner of too many is you take even such a course as he that will not plant the Tree till he see the fruit of it which is contrary to common sense reason Since this then is the sum of true Religion to believe in Christ and to love him and so live to him we shal wind up all that is spoken into that exhortation of the Apostles Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard You have this Doctrine of Faith and Love delivered unto you which may be able to save your souls Then I beseech you hold them fast salvation is in them they are sound words and wholesom words words of life spirit life as Christ speaks as well as words of truth But how will you hold them fast that have them not at all that know them not though you hear them You who are ignorant of the Gospel and hear nothing but a sound of words in stead of sound wholesome words how can you hold them fast Can a man hold the wind in the hollow of his hand or keep in a sound within it You know no more but a sound a wind that passeth by your ear without observing either truth or life in it But then again you who understand these sound words and have a form of knowledge of the Letter of the Law what will that avail you You cannot hold it fast except you have it within you and it is within you indeed when it is in your heart when the form of it is engraven upon the very soul in love Now thogh you understand the sound of these words the sound of truth in them yet you receive not the living Image of them which is Faith and Love Can you paint a sound Can you form it or engrave it on any thing Nay but these sound words are more substantial solid they must be engraven on the heart else you will never hold them they may bee easily plucked out of the mouth and hand by temptation unlesse they be enclosed and laid up in the secret of the heart as Mary laid them The truth must hold thee fast or thou canst not hold it fast it must captivate thee and bind thee with the Golden chains of affection which only is true freedom or certainly thou wilt let it go Nay you must not only have the truth received by love into your heart but as the Apostle speaks you must also hold fast the form of sound words Scripture words are sound words the Scriptures method of teaching is sound and wholesome There may be unsound words used in expressing true matter and if a man shal give liberty to his own luxuriant Imagination to expatiat in notions and expressions either to catch the ear of the Vulgar or to appear some new discoverer of light and Gospel-mysteries he may as readily fall into error and darknesse as into truth and light Some men do busk up old truths Scripture-truths into some new dresse of language and notions and then give them out for new discoveries new lights but in so doing they often hazard the loosing of the truth it self We should beware and take heed of strange words that have the least appearance of evil such as Christed Godded let us think it enough to be wise according to the Scripturs and suspect all that as vain empty unsound that tends not to the increase of faith in Christ and love and obedience unto him As ordinarily the Dialect of those called Antinomians is giving and no granting that they had no unsound mind yet I am sure they use unsound word to expresse sound matter the cloaths should be shaped to the person Truth is plain and simple let words of truth also be full of simplicity I say no more but leave that upon you that you hold fast even the very words of the Scriptures and be not bewitched by the vain pretentions of Spirit all Spirit pure and spiritual service and such like to the casting off of the word of truth as Letter as Flesh and such is the high attainment of some in these daies an high attainment indeed and a mighty progresse in the way to destruction the very last discovery of that Antichrist and Man of sin Oh make much of the Scripture for you shal neither read nor hear the like of it in the world Other books may have sound matter but there is still something in manner or words unsound no man can speak to you truth in such plainnesse and simplicity in such soundnesse also But here is both sound matter and sound words the truth holden out truly health and salvation holden out in as wholsome a manner as is possible Matter manner are both divine Exod. 3. 13 14. When they shal say unto me What is his Name What shal I say And God said I AM THAT I AM. WE are now about this question What God is But who can answer it Or if answered who can understand it It should astonish us in the very entry to think that we are about to speak and to hear of his Majesty Whom eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath it entered into the heart of any creature to consider what he is Think ye blind
as the misapprehension of the thing it self for as long as they mistake it in its own nature no sign no mark can satisfie in it You take Faith to be a perswasion of Gods love that calms and quiets the mind Now such a perswasion needs no sign to know it by it is manifest by its own presence as light by its own brightnesse It were a foolish question to ask any How they knew that they were perswaded of anothers affection The very perswasion it self maketh it self more certain to the soul then any token So then while you question whether you have Faith or not and in the mean time take Faith to be nothing else but such a perswasion it is in vain to bring any marks or signs to convince you that you have Faith for if such a perswasion assurance were in you it would be more powerfull to assure your hearts of it self than any thing else and while you are doubting of it it is more manifest that you have it not than any signs or marks can be able to make it appear that you have it If any would labour to convince a blind man that he saw the light and give him signs tokēs of the lights shining the blind man could not believe him for it is more certain to himself that he sees not than any evidence can make the contrary probable You are still wishing and seeking such a Faith as puts all out of question Now when Ministers bring any marks to prove you have true Faith it cannot satisfie or settle you because your very questioning proves that ye have not that which ye question if you had such a perswasion you would not question it So then as long as you are in that mistake concerning the nature of Faith all the signs of the word cannot settle you But I say if once you understood the true nature of Faith it would be more clear in it self unto you than readily marks and signs could make it especially in the time of temptation If you would know then what it is indeed Consider what the Word of God holds out concerning himself or us the solid belief of that in the heart hath something in the nature of saving Faith in it The Lord gives a testimony concerning Man That he is born in sin that he is dead in sin and all his imaginations are only evil continually Now I say to receive this truth into the soul upon Gods Testimony in a point of Faith the Lord in his Word concludes all under sin and wrath ◅o then for a soul to conclude it self also under sin and wrath is a point of Faith Faith is the souls testimony to Gods truth the Word is Gods Testimony Now then if a soul receive this testimony within whether it be Law or Gospel it 's an act of Faith if a soul condemn it self judge it self that is a setting to our seal that God is true who speaks in his Law so it s a believing in God I say more To believe with the heart that we cannot believe is a great point of found belief because it 's a sealing of that Word of God The heart is desperatly wicked and of our selves we can do nothing Now I am perswaded if such souls knew this they would put an end to their many contentions and wranglings about this point and would rather blesse God that hath opened their eyes to see themselves then contend with him for that they have no Faith It is light only that discovers darknesse and Faith only that descerns unbelief Its life and health only that feels pain sicknesse for if all were alike nothing could be found as in dead bodies Now I say to such souls as believe in God the Law-giver believe also in Christ the Redeemer and what is that It is not to know that I have Interest in him No that must come after it is the Spirits sealing after believing which puts it self out of question when it comes and so if you had it you needed not many signs to know it by at least you would not doubt of it more than he that sees the light can question it But I say to believe in Christ is simply this I whatsoever I be ungodly wretched polluted desperate am willing to have Jesus Christ for my Saviour I have no other help or hope if it be not in him it is I say to lean the weight of thy soul on this foundation stone laid in Zion to embrace the promises of the Gospel albeit generall as worthy of all acceptation wait upon the performance of them It is no other thing but to make Christ welcome to say even so Lord Jesus I am content in my soul that thou be my Saviour to be found in thee not having my own righteousnesse I am well pleased to cast away my own as dung find my self on other not an ungodly man Now it is certain that ◅any souls that are still questioning whether they have Faith yet do find this in their souls but because they know not that it is Faith which they find they go about to seek that which is not Faith and where it is not to be found and so disquiet themselves in vain and hinder fruitfulnesse Now the Faith of a Christian is no fancy it 's no light vain imagination of the brain but it dwells in the heart with the heart man believes and it dwels with love Faith and love we need not be curious to distinguish them it is certain that love is in it from it it s in the very bosome of it because faith is a soul embracing of Christ it 's a choosing of him for its portion and then upon the review of this goodly portion and from consideration what he is and hath done for us the soul loves him still more is impatient of so much distance from him We find them conjoyned in Scripture but they are one in the heart O that we studied to have these joyntly engraven on the heart as they are joyned in the word so our heart should be a living Epistle Faith and Love are two words but one thing under different notions they are the out-goings of the soul to Christ for life the breathings of the soul after him for more of him when it hath once tasted how good he is Faith is not a speculation or a wandring thought of Truth it 's the truth not captivated into the mind but dwelling in the heart getting possession of the whole man you know a man and his will are one not so a man and his mind for he may conceive the truth of many things he loves not but what ever a man loves that and he in a manner becomes one with another Love is unitive it 's the most excellent union of distant things The will commands the whole man and hath the office of applying of all the faculties of their proper works Illa imperat aliae exsequuntur
and creating goodnesse but we must have some desire to cleave to him and some confidence to trust in him Now this is to know him When we think on his unchangeablenesse let us consider our own vanity whose glory and perfection is like a summer flower or like a vapour ascending for a little time whose best estate is altogether vanity Our purposes are soon broken off and made of none effect our resolutions change This is a Character of Mortality we are not alwayes alike Non sibi constare nec ubique semper sibi parem eundemque esse To be now one thing and then another thing is a property of sinfull wretched man therefore let us cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils and not trust in Princes who shal die far lesse in our selves who are lesse then the least of men But let us put our trust in God who changes not and we shal not be consumed our waters shal not fail we shall never be ashamed of any hope we have in him There is nothing else you trust in but undoubtedly it shal prove your shame and confusion in sum whatever you shal hear or know ofGod know that iâ—… is vain empty unlesse it descend down into the heart to fashion it to his fear and love and extend unto the outward man to conform it to obedience you are but vain in your imaginations and your foolish hearts are darkned while when you know God you glorifie him not as God If that be not the fruit end of knowleâ—…ge that knowledge shal be worse to thee than ignâ—…rance for both it brings on judicial hardning here and will be thy solemn accuser and witnesse against thee hereafter Rom. 1. 21 24. The knowledge of Jesus Christ truly so called is neither barren nor unfruitfull for out of its root sap springs out humility self-abasing confidence in God patience in tribula ions meeknesse in provocations temperance sobriety in lawful things c. 2 Pet. 1. 5 6 7 8. Exod. 24 5 6 7 8. The Lord the Lord God mercifull and gracious c. THere is nothing can separate between God a people but iniquity and yet he is very loath to separate even for that he makes many shews of departing that so we may hold him fast and indeed he is not difficult to be holden He threatens often to remove his presence from a person or Nation he threatens that he may not indeed remove but that they may intreat him to stay he is not hard to be entreated Who is a God like unto him slow to anger and of great mercy he is long of being provoked and not long provoked for it is like the anger of a Parents love Love takes on anger as the last remedy if it prevail it is as glad to put it off as it was unwilling to take it on You may see a lively picture of this in Gods dealing with Moses this people in the preceeding Chapter He had long endured this rebellious and obstinate people had often threatned to cut them off yet as it were loath to do it repenting of it he suâ—…ers himself to be entreated for them but all in vain to them they corrupted their way still more And in the 32. Chap. falls in grosse Idolatry the great trespasse that he had given them so solemn warniâ—…g of often whereupon great wrath is conceived And the Lord Chap. 33. 1. threatens to depart from them Go your way saith he to Canaan but I will not go with you take your venture of any judgements the people of the Lands cruelty Here is a sad farewell to Israel who would think he could be detained after all that Who would think that he could be entreated And yet he is not entreated he is not requested before he give some ground of it and before he fiâ—…st condescends Go saith he and put off thy ornaments from thee that I may know what to do unto thee Will he then accept a repenting people and is there yet hope of mercy Should he that is going away shew us the way to keep him still And he that flees from us will he strengthen us to pursue follow after him This is not after the manner of men it is true whose compassion fails when their passion ariseth but this is the manner method of grace or of him who waits to be gracious He flees so as he would have a follower yea while he seems to go away he draws the soul that it may run after him hence is that word Psal. 63. 8. My soul follows hard after thee thy righe hand upholds me Well the people mourns and puts off their ornaments in sign of humiliation abasement but all this deth not pacifie and quench the flame that was kindled Moses takes the Tabernacle out of the Camp the place of judgement where God spake with the people and the cloud the sign of Gods presence removes In a word The signs of Gods loving kind presence departs from them to signifie that they were divorced from God and in a manner the Lord by Moses excommunicates all the People and Rulers both and draws away these holy things from the contagion of a prophane people But yet all is not gone he goes far off but not out of sight that you may alwayes follow him if you follow he will stand still he is never without the reach of crying though we do not perceive him Now in this sad case you may have a tryal who is godly Every one that seeks the Lord will separate from the unholy Congregation follow the Tabernacle And this affects the whole people much that they all worship in the tent-doors Now in the mean time God admits Moses to speak with him though he will not speak to the people yet he will speak with their Mediator a typicall Mediator to shew us that God is well pleased in Christ so all Christs intercessions and requests for us will get a hearing when they are come once in talking the businesse is taken up for he is not soon angry never implacably angry slow to anger and keeps it not long Moses falling familiar with God not only obtains his request for the people but becomes more bold in a request for his own satisfaction and confirmation He could not endure to lead that people except God went with him having the promise of his going with them he cannot endure distance with him but aspires to the nearest Communion that may be Oh that it were so with us His request is That the Lord would shew him his glory Had he not seen much of this already And more than any man ever saw when he spake in the Mount with God c. Nay but he would see more for there is alwayes more to be seen there is in a godly soul alwayes more desire to see it the more is seen the more is loved and
THE COMMON PRINCIPILES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION Clearly proved and singularly improved Or a Practical CATECHISM wherein some of the most concerning-foundations of our Faith are solidely laid down And that Doctrine which is according to Godliness sweetly yet pungently pressed home and most satisfyingly handled By that worthy and faithfull Servant of Iesus Christ Mr. Hew Binning late Minister of the Gospel at Goven The 5. Impression carefully corrected amended 1 Tim. 4. 6. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things thou shalt be a good Minister of Jesus Christ nourished up in the Word of faith and of good Doctrine whereunto thou hast attained Heb. 5. 12. For when for the time ye ought to be Teachers ye have need that one teach you again which be the first Principles of the Oracles of God 1 Pet. 2. 2. As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby Joh. 17. 3. And this is life eternall that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent Printed by R. S. Printer to the Town of Glasgow 1666. TO THE READER Christian Reader THe holie and learned Author of this little Book having out-run his years hastned to a maturity before the ordinary season in so much that ripe Summer Fruit was found with him by the first of the Spring for before he had lived twenty five years compleat he had got to be Philologus Philosophus Theologus eximius whereof he gave sutable proofs by his labors having first professed in Philosophy three years with high approbation in the Universitie of Glasgow and thence was translated to the Ministrie of the Gospel in a Congregation adjacent where he laboured in he work of the Gospel near four years leaving an epistle of commendation upon the hearts of his Hearers But as few burning and shining lights have been of long continuance here so he after he had served his own generation by the wil of God and many had rejoiced in his light for a season was quicklie transported to the land of Promise in the 26th year of his age He lived deservedly esteemed beloved and died much lamented by all descerning Christians who knew him And indeed the loss which the Churches of Christ in these parts sustained in his death wâ—…â—…he greater upon a double account First that he was a person fitted with dexteritie to vindicate School divinitie and Practical Theology from the superfluity of vain and fruitless perplexing questions wherewith latter times have corrupted both and 〈◊〉 it upon his spirit in all his way to reduce that native Gospel-simplicitis which in most parts of the world where literature is in esteem and where the Gospel is preached is almost exiled from the School and from the Pulpit a specimen whereof the judicious Reader may find in this little Treatis Besides â—…e was a person of eminent moderation and sobrietie of spirit a rare grace in this generation whose heart was much drawn forth in the study of healing wayes and condeseensions of love among Brethren one who longed for the recovering of the Humanity of Christianity which hath been well near lost in the bitter divisions of these times and the animosities which have followed therupon That which gave the rise to the publishing of this part of his manuscripts was partly the longing of many who knew him after some fruit of his labours for the use of the Church and partly the exceeding great usefulness of the Treatise wherein I am bold to say that some fundamentals of the Christian Religion great Mysteries of Faith are handled with the greatest Gospel-simplicity most dexterious plainness are brought down to the meanest capacitie and vulgar understanding with abundant evidence of a great height and reach of usefull knowledge in the Author Who had he lived to have perfected the explication of the grounds of Religion in this manner as he intended in his opening the Catechisme unto his particular Congregation he had been upon this single account famous in the Churches of Christ But now by this imperfect opus post humum thou are left to judge ex ungue leonem The Authors Method was his peculiar gift who being no stranger to the Rules of Art knew well how to make his method subserve the matter which he handled for though he tell not alwayes that his discourse hath so many parts thou mayst not think it wants method it being maximum artis celare artem that the same spirit which enabled him to conceive communicate to others these sweet mysteries of Salvation may help thee with profite to read and peruse them is the desire of him who is Thine in the service of the Gospel PATRICK GILLESPIE THE CONTENTS SERMON I. Rom. 11. 36. Of him and through him c. 1 Cor. 10 31. Of the chief End of Man THe Fundamentals of Religion necessary to be pondered and imprinted into the soul. Page 1. Our chief end first to be considered p. 2 God is independent and self-sufficient but the most perfect of the Creatures are from another as their first cause and for another as their last end p. 3 Self-seeking in Creatures monsterous p. 4 What self-seeking in God is ibid. Man is in a peculiar way for God p. 5 Sin hath exautorated Man ibid. What it is to glorifie God and how Gods glorifying of us and our glorifying of him differs p. 6 7 How proper it is for man to praise God p. 8 Whether we can alwayes have an express particular thought of God and his glory in every action p. 9 Man is come short of all he was created for ibid. Glorifying of God the end of Mans second Creation p. 10 We are to consider for what purpose we were made p. 11 Believing the most compendious way of glorifying God ib. p. 12. SERMON II. Psal. 73. 24 25. c. 1 Joh. 1. 3. Joh. 17. 21 22. Union and Communion with God the principall end and great design of the Gospel GODS glory and mans happiness inseparably linked together p. 13 Mans dignity above the rest of the creatures p. 14 A twofold Union betwixt God and Adam whence communion with him flowed p. 14 15 The Fall hath broken off Communion with him by dissolving the Union p. 16 Christ the repairer of the breach betwixt God and man p. 17 18. There is neither full seeing of God nor full enjoying of him here p. 19 The Union of a believing soul with God is a great depth p. 20 Love an uniting and transforming thing ibid. Christ's Union with the Father is the foundation of our Union with God and among ourselves not simply that Union of Essence between the Father and the Son but the Union of God with Christ as Mediator p. 21 How should an Union and Communion with God draw forth our souls in desires after such a blessedness p. 22 The enjoyment of God the scope and design which few drive ibid. He who ingages
see his face in ioy Certainly it had been altogether impossible if our Lord Jesus Christ had not come who is the light and life of men the Father shines on him and the beams of his love reflects upon us from the Sun The love of God and his favourable countenance that cannot meet with us in a direct and immediate beam they fall on us in this blessed compasse by the intervention of a Mediator We are rebels staning at distance with God Christ comes between a Mediator and Peace-maker to reconcile us to God God is in Christ reconciling the World God first makes an union of Natures with Christ and so he comes near to us down to us who could not come up to him and then he sends out the Word of Reconciliation the Gospel the tenor wherof is this 1 Ioh. 1. 3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye may have fellowship with the Father and his Son It is a voice of peace and invitation to the fellowship of God Behold then the happinesse of man is th◅very end and purpose of the Gospel Christ is the repairer of the breaches the second Adam aspired to quicken what Adam killed He hath slain the emnity and cancelled the hand-writing that was against us and so made peace by the blood of his crosse and then having removed all that out of the way he comes and calls us unto the fellowship which we were ordained unto frō our Creation We who are rebels are called to be friends I call you not servants but friends It is a wōder that the creature should be called a friend of God but O great wonder that the rebell should be called a friend and yet that is not all we are called to a nearer union to be Sons of God this is our priviledge Ioh. 1. 12. This is a great part of our fellowship with the Father and his Son we are the Fathers children and the Sons brethren acd if children then heirs and heirs of God and if brethren then co-heirs with Christ Rom. 8. 17. Thus the Union is begun again in Christ but as long as sin dwels in our mortall bodies it is not perfect there is alwayes some separation and some enmity in our hearts so there is neither ful seeing of God for we know but in part and we see darkly nor full enjoying of God for we are saved by hope we live by faith and not by fight But this is begun which is the seed of eternall communion we are here partakers of the Divine Nature Now then it must aspire unto a more perfect union with God whose Image it is And therefore the Soul of a Believer is here still in motion towards God as his element There is here an union in affection but not compleated in fruition affectu non effectu the soul pants after God Whom have I in heaven or earth but thee My ◅esh and my heart faileth a believing soul looksupon God as its only portion accounts nothing misery but to be separated from him nothing blessednesse but to be one with him this is the Load-stone of the affections and desires the Center which they move towards and in which they will rest It is true indeed that oftentimes our hearts our flesh faileth us we become ignorant and brutish our affections cleave to the earth and tentations with their violence turn our souls towards another end than God as there is nothing more easily moved and turned wrong then the needle that is touched with the Adamant yet it settles not in such a posture it recovers it self and rests never till it look towards the North and then it is fixed even so tentations and the corruptions and infirmities of our hearts desturb our spirits easily and wind them about from the Lord towards any other thing but yet we are continuing with him and he keeps us with his right hand and therefore though we may be moved yet we shal not be greatly commoved we may fall but we shal rise again he is the strength of our heart and therefore he will turn our heart about again and fix it upon its own portion Our Union here consists more in his holding of us by his power then our taking hold of him by faith Power and good-will encamps about both faith and the soul we are kept by his power through faith 1 Pet. 1. And thus he will guide the soul and still be drawing it nearer to him from it self from sin and from the world till he receive us into Glory and untill we be one as with the Father and the Son he in us and we in him that we may be made perfect in one as it is in the words read This is strange a greater unity and fuller enjoyment a more perfect fellowship then ever Adam in his innocency would have been capable of what soul ca conceive it What tongue expresse it None cann for it's that which eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor entered into Mans heart to concive We must suspend the knowledge of it till we have experience of it Let us now believe it and then we shal find it There is a mutual inhabitation which is wonerfull Persons that dwel one with another have much society and fellowship but to dwel one in another is a strange thing I in them and they in me and therefore God is often said to dwel in us and we to dwel in him But that which makes it of all most wonderful and incomprehensible is that glorious unity and communion between the Father and the Son which it is made an Embleme of As thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us Can you conceive that unity of the Trinity Can you imagine that reciprocall inhabitation that mutuall communion between the Father and the Son No it hath not entered into the heart to conceive it Only thus much we know that it is most perfect it is most glorious so much we may apprehend of this unity of the Saints with God O love is an uniting and transforming thing God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him He dwelleth in us by love this makes him work in us and shine upon us love hath drawn him down from his seat of Majesty to visite poor Cottages of sinners Isa. 66. 1 2. 15 47. And it is that love of God reflecting upon our souls that carries the soul upward to him to live in him and walk with him O how doth it constrain a soul to live to him and draw it from it self 2 Cor. 5. 15. Then the more unity with God the more separation from our selves the world the nearer God the farther from our selves the farther from ourselves the more happy and the more unity with God the more unity among our selves among the brethren of our family Because we are not fully one with our Father
visions were indeed from the Lord And that they did not frame any imagination in their own hearts and taught it for his Word as many did I say you need no more ask that than ask How shal a man see light or know the Sun-shine light makes it self manifest and all other things it s seen by its own brightnesse even so the holy men of God needed not any mark or sign to know the Spirits voice his revelation needed not the light of any other thing it was light it self he would certainly over power the soul and mind and leave no place of doubting God who cannot be deceived and can deceive no man hath delivered us this Doctrine O with what reverence should we receive it as if we heard the Lord from heaven speak If you ask How you shal be perswaded that the Scriptures are the Word of God his very mind opened to men made legible Truly there are some things cannot be well proved not because they are doubtfull but because they are clear of themselves and beyond all doubt and exception Principles of Arts must not be proved but supposed till you find by triall and experience afterward that they were indeed really true There are no question such characters of Divinity and Majesty imprinted in the very Scriptures themselves that whosoever hath the eyes of his understanding opened though he run he may read them and find God in them What Majesty is in the very simplicity and plainnesse of the Scriptures They do not labour to please mens ears and adorn the matter with the curious garments of words and phrases but represent the very matter it self to the soul as that which in it self is worthy of all acceptation and needs no humane eloquence to commend it Painting doth spoil native beauty external ornamēts would disfigure some things that are of themselves proportioned and lovely therefore the Lord choses a plain and simple style which is foolishnesse to the world but in these swadling cloaths of the Scriptures and this poor Cottage the Child Jesus the Lord of Heaven and Earth is contained There is a jewel of the mysterious wisdom of God and mans eternal blessednesse in the Mineral What glorious and astonishing humility is here What humble and homly Glory and Majesty also He is most high and yet none so lowly What excellent consent and harmony of many writters in such distant times Wonder at it All speak one thing to one purpose to bring men to God to abase all glory and exalt him alone Must it not be one Spirit that hath quickned all these and breathes in them all this one heavenly Song of Glory to God on high and good will towards men Other Writers will reason these things with you to convince you and perswade you and many thinks them more profound and deep for that reason and do despise the basenesse of the Scriptures But to them vvhose eyes are opened the Majesty and authority of God commanding and asserting and testifying to them is more convincing from its own bare assertion then all humane reason Although there be much light in the Scriptures to guide mens vvay to Gods glory and their own happinesse yet certainly it vvill all be too smal purpose if the eyes of our understanding be darkned and blinded If you shal surround a man vvith day-light except he open his eyes he cannot see The Scriptures are a clear Sun of life and righteousnesse but the blind soul compassed vvith that light is nothing the vviser but thinks the lamp of the Word shines not because it sees not it hath its own dungeon vvithin it therefore the Spirit of God must open the eyes of the blind enlighten the eyes of the understanding that a soul may see vvonderfull things in Gods Law Psal. 119. 5. 8. Ioh. 1. 5. The light may shine in the darknesse but the darknesse cannot comprehend it I vvonder not that the most part of men can see no Beauty no Majesty no excellency in the holy Scriptures to allure them because they are natural and have not the spirit of God and so cannot know these things for they are spiritually discerned 2 Cor. 2. 14. c. Therefore as the inspiration of God did conceive this writting at first and preached this Doctrine unto the world so there can no soul understand it or profite by it but by the inspiration of the Almighty Verily there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding saith Iob. When the spirit comes into the soul to engrave the Characters of that Law and truth into the heart which were once engraven on Tables of Stone and not written with Pen and Ink then the spirit of Christ Jesus writes over and transcribes the Doctrine of the Gospel on fleshly Tables of the heart draws the lineaments of that faith and love preached in the word upon the soul then the soul is the Epistle of Christ written not with ink and pen but with the spirit of the living God 2 Cor. 3. 3. And then the soul is manifestly declared to be such when that which is impressed on the heart is expressed in the outward man in walking that it may be read of all men Now the soul having thus received the Image of the Scriptures on it understands the Spirits voice in them and sees the truth and divinity of them The eye must receive some species and likenesse of the object before it see it it must be made like to the object ere it can behold it Intelligens in actu fit ipsum intelligible So the soul must have some inspiration of the holy Ghost before it can believe with the heart the inspyred Scriptures Now for the utility and profit of the Scripture who can speak of it according to its worth Some things may be over-commanded nay all things but this one God speaking in his word to mankind Many Titles are given to humane writings some are called accurate some subtile some ingenious and quick some profound and deep some plain some learned But call them what they please the Scriptures may vindicate to it self these two Titles as its own prerogative Holy and profitable The best speaker in the world in many words cannot want sin The best Writer hath some drosse refuse but here all is holy all is profitable Many Books are to no purpose but to feed and inflame mens lusts many serve for nothing but to spend drive over the time without thought most part are good for nothing but to burden and over-weary the world to put them in a fancy of knowledge which they have not many serve for this only to nourish mens curiosity and vain imaginations and contentions about words and notions but here is a Book profitable all profitable If you do not yet profit by it you can have no pleasure in it it s only ordained for souls profiting not for pelasing your fancy not for matter of curious speculation not for
will not satisfie that promise therefore thou must be turned over from the promise of life to the curse and there thou shalt find thy name written Therefore it is absolutely necessary that Jesus Christ be made under the Law and give obedience in all things even to the death of the Crosse and so be made a curse for us and sin for us even he who knew no sin and thus in him you find the law fulfilled Justice satisfied and God pleased in him you find the promise of life indeed established in a better surer way than was first propounded you find life by his death you find life in his dying for you And again consider the Ceremonial Law What were all those Sacrifices and Ceremonies Did God delight in them Could he savour their incense and sweet smels and eat the fat of Lambs and be pacified No he detastes and abhorres such imaginations because that people did stay in the Letter and went no further then the Ceremony he declares that it was as great abomination to him as the offering up of a Dog while they were separated from Jesus Christ in whom his soul rested and was pacified they were not expiatious but provocatious they were not propitiations for sin but abominations in themselves But take these as the shadows of such a living substance take them as remembrances of him who was to come and behold Jesus Christ lying in these swadling cloaths of Ceremonies untill the fulnesse of time should come that he might be manifested in the flesh and so you shal find eternall life in those dead beasts in those dumb Ceremonies If you consider this Lamb of God slain in all these Sacrifices from the beginning of the world then you present a sweet smelling savour to God then you offer the true propitiation for the sins of the world then he will delight more in that sacrifice than all other personall obedience But what if I should say that the Gospel it self is a killing Letter ministration of death being severed from Christ I should say nothing amisse but what Paul speaketh that his Gospel was a savour of death to many take the most powerfull Preaching the most sweet discourse the most plain Writings of the free grace salvation in the Gospel take all the preachings of Jesus Christ himself and his Apostles you shal not find life in them unlesse ye be led by the Spirit of Christ unto himself who is the resurrection and the life It will no more save you than the Covenant of works unlesse that word abide and dwell in your hearts to make you believe in him and imbrace him with your souls whom God hath sent suppose you heard all and heard it gladly and learned it and could discourse well upon it and teach others yet if you be not driven out of your selves out of your own righteousnesse as well as sin and persued to this City of refuge Jesus Christ you have not eternal life Your knowledge of the truth of the Gospel and your obedience to Gods Law will certainly kill you and as certainly as your ignorance and disobedience unlesse you have imbraced in your soul that good thing Jesus Christ contained in these truths who is the Diamond of that Golden Ring of the Scriptures and unlesse your souls imbrace these promises as soul-saving as containing the chief good and worthy of all acceptation as well as your mind receive these as true and faithfull sayings 1 Tim. 1. 15. Thus ye see Christ Jesus is either the subject of all in the Scriptures or the end of it all he is the very proper subject of the Gospel Paul knew nothing but Christ crucified in his preaching and he is the very proper end and scope of the law for righteousness Rom. 10. 3. All the preaching of a covenant of works all the curses and threatnings of the Bible all the rigidexactions of obedience all come to this one great design not that we may set about such a walking to please God or do something to pacifie him but that we being concluded under sin and wrath on the one hand and an impossibility to save our selves on the other hand Gal. 3. 22. Rom 5. 20 21. may be pursued into Jesus Christ for righteousness life who is both able to save us and ready to welcome us Therefore the Gospel opens the door of salvation in Christ the Law is behind us with fire and sword and destruction pursuing us and all for this end that sinners may come to him and have life Thus the Law is made a Pedagogue of the soul to lead to Christ Christ is behind us cursing condemning threatning us and he is before us with stretched-out arms ready to receive us blesse us and save us inviting promising exhorting to come and have life Christ is on mount Sinai delivering the Law with thunders Act. 7. 38. and he is on mount Sion in the calm voice he is both upon the mountain of cursings and blessings and on both doing the part of a Mediator Gal. 3. 19 20. It is love that is in his heart which made him first cover his Countenance with frowns and threats and it is love that again displayes it self in his smilling countenance Thus souls are inclosed with love pursuing and love receiving And thus the Law which seems most contrary to the Gospel testifies of Christ it gives him this testimony that except salvation be in him it is no where else The Law sayes it is not in me seek it not in obedience I can do nothing but destroy you if you abide under my jurisdiction The Ceremonies and Sacrifices say if you can behold the end of this Ministery if a Vail be not on your hearts as it was on Moses face 2 Cor. 3 13 14 you may see where it is it s not in your obedience but in the death sufferings of the Son of God whom we represent Then the Gospel takes all these Coverings and Vails away and gives a plain and open testimony of him There is no Name under heaven to be saved but by Christ's The Old Testament speak by figures and signs as dumb men do but the New speaks in plain words and with open face Now I say for all this that there is no salvation but in him yet many souls not only those who live in their grosse sins and have no form of godlinesse but even the better sort of people that have some knowledge and civility and a kind of zeal for God yet they do not come to him that they may have life Rom. 10. 1 2 3. they do not submit to the righteousness of God Here is the march that divides the wayes of Heaven and Hell coming to Jesus Christ and forsaking our selves the confidence of these souls is chiefly or only in that little knowledge or zeal or profession they have they do not as really abhore themselves for their own righteousnesse as for their unrighteousnesse they make that the covering of
their nakednesse and filthinesse which is in it self as menstruous and unclean as any thing It is now the very propension and naturall inclination of our hearts to stand upright in our selves Faith bowes a souls back and take on Christs righteousnesse but presumption lifts up a soul upon its own bottom How can ye believe that seek honour one of another The engagement of the soul to its own credit or estimation the engagement of self-self-love and self-honour do lift up a soul that it cannot submit to Gods righteousnesse to righteousnesse in another And therefore many do dream and think that they have eternall life who shal awake in the end and find that it was but a dream or night-fancy Now from all this I would enforce this duty upon your consciences to search the Scriptures if you think to have eternall life search them if you would know Christ whom to know is eternal life then again search them for these are they that testifie of him Searching imports diligence much diligence it s a serious work it s not a common seeking of an easie and common thing but it s a search and scrutiny for some hidden thing or some special thing It s not bare reading of the Scriptures that will answer this duty except it be diligent and daily reading and it s not that alone except the Spirit within meditate on them and by meditation accomplish a diligent search There is some hidden secret that you must search for that is inclosed within the covering of words and sentences there is a mystery of wisdome that you must apply your hearts to search out Eccles. 7. 5. Jesus Christ is the Treasure that is hid in this field O precious treasure of eternall life Now then souls search into the fields of the Scriptures Pro. 2. 4. for him as for hid treasure It is not only truth you must seek and buy and not sell it but it is life you would search Here is an object that may not only take up your understandings but satisfie your hearts Think not you have found all when you have found the truth there and learned it no except you have found life there you have found nothing you have missed the treasure If you would profite by the Scriptures you must bring both your understandings your affections to them and depart not till they both return full If you bring your understanding to seek the truth you may find truth but not truly you may find it but you are not found of it you may lead truth captive and unclose it in a prison of your mind and encompasse it about with a guard of corrupt affections that it shal have no issue no out going to the rest of your soul and wayes and no influence on them you may know the truth but you are not known of it and brought in captivity to the obedience of it The Treasure that is hide in the Scriptures are Jesus Christ whose intire and perfect Name is Way Truth and Life He is a living truth and true Life Therefore Christ is the adaequat object of the soul commensurable to all its faculties He has Truth in him to satisfie the mind and he has Life and Goodness in him to satiate the heart therefore if thou wouldst find Jesus Christ bring thy whole soul to seek him as Paul expresseth it He is true and faithfull and worthy of all acceptation then bring thy judgement to find the light of truth and thy affections to imbrace the life of goodnesse that is in him Now as much as ye find of him so much have ye profited in the Scriptures If you find commands there that you cannot obey search again and you may find strength under that command digg a little deeper you shal find Jesus the end of an impossible command when you have found him you have found life and strength to obey you have found a prepitiation and sacrifice for trantgressing not obeying If you find curses in it search again you shal find Jesus Christ under that made a curse for us you shal find him the end of the curse for righteousnesse to every one that believes When you know all the Letter of the Scripture yet you must search into the Spirit of it that it may be imprinted into your spirits all you know does you no good but as it s received in love unlesse your souls become a living Epistle the Word without be written on the heart you have found nothing As for you that cannot read the Scriptures if it be possible take that pains to learn to read them O if you knew what they contain whom they bear witnesse of you would have little quietnesse till you could read at least his love-epistle to sinners And if you cannot learn be not discouraged but if your desires within be servent your endeavours to hear it read by others will be more earnest But it is not so much the reading of much of it that profiteth as the pondering of these things in our hearts and digesting them by frequent meditation till they become the food of the Soul This was Davids way and by this he grew to the stature of a tall well-bodied Christian. Eph. 2. 20. And builded upon the foundation of the Apostles c. BElievers are the Temple of the living God in which he dwels and walks 2 Cor. 6. 16. Every one of them is a little Sanctuary and Temple to His Majesty Sanctifie the Lord of Hosts in your hearts though he be the high lofty one that inhabits eternity yet he is pleased to come down to this poor Cottage of a creatures heart and dwell in it Is not this as great a humbling and condescending for the Father to come down off his Throne of Glory to the poor base foot-stool of the creatures soul as for the Son to come down in the state of a servant and become in the form of sinfull flesh But then he is a Temple and Sanctuary to them and he shal be to you a Sanctuary Isa. 8. A place of refuge a secret hiding-place Now as every one is a little separated retired Temple so they all conjoyned make up one Temple one visible body in which he dwels Therefore Paul calls them living stones built up into a spiritual house to God 1 Pet. 2. 5 All these little Temples make up one house Temple fitly joyned together in which God shews manifest signs of his presence and working unto this the Apostle in this place alludes The Communion Union of Christians with God is of such a nature that all the relations and points of conjunction in the creatures are taken to resemble it hold it out to us We are Citizens saith he Domesticks houshold men so dwel in his house and then we are his House beside Now ye know there are two principal things in a House the Foundation and the Corner-stone the one supports the building the
himself thus and sought out to himself such sad inventions Eccles. 7. 29. and having destroyed himself Hos. 13. 9. What think ye Should any pity him If he had fallen in such a pit of miserie ignorantly and unwillingly he had been an object of compassion but having cast himself headlong into it who should have pity on him Or who should go aside to ask how he doth or bemoan him Ier. 15. 5. But behold the Lord pities man as a Father doth his Children Psal. 103. His compassions fail not He comes by such a loathsome and contemptible object and casts his skirts over it and saith Live Ezek. 16. And maketh it a time of love I say no flesh could have expected any more of God than to make man happy and holy to promise him life in well-doing But to repair that happinesse after it's wilfully lost and to give life to evil doers sinners O how far was it from Adams expectation when he fled from God Here then is the wonder that when men Angels were in expectation of the revelation of his wrath from heaveÌ„ against their wickednesse the execution of the curse man was concluded under that even then God is pursuing man pursues him with love and opens up to him his very heart and bowels of love in Jesus Christ Behold then the second revelation manifestation of God in a way of grace pure grace of mercy pity toward lost sinners The kindnesse of God hath appeared not by Works but according to his abundant mercy shewed in Christ Iesus Tit. 3. 4. 5. So then we have this purpose of Gods love unfolded to us in the Scriptures and this is the substance of them both Old and New Testament or the end of them Rom. 10. 4. Christ is the end of the Law to all sinners concluded under sin and a curse by it our Lord Jesus the good Ebedmelech comes and casts down a cord to us draws us up out of the pit of sin and misery he comes to this prison and opens the doors to let captives free so then we have holden out to us a Redeemer as a repairer of our breaches God in Christ reconciling the world O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thy Help found Hos. 13. 9. He finds to himself a ransome to satisfie his justice Job 33. 24. He finds a propitiation to take away sin a sacrifice to pacifie and appease his wrath he finds one of our Brethren but his own Son in whom he is well pleased And then holds out all this to sinners that they may be satisfied in their own consciences as he is in his own mind God hath satisfied himself in Christ you have not that to do he is not now to be reconciled to us for he was never really at odds though he covered his countenance with frowns threats since the Fal hath appeared in fire and hunders and whirlwind which are terrible yet his heart had alwayes love in it to such persons and therefore he is come near in Christ about reconciling us to himself Here is the business then to have our souls reconciled to him to take away the enmity within us and as he is satisfied with his Son so to satisfie our selves with him be as wel pleased in his Redemption and purchase as 〈◊〉 â—…er is and then you believe indeed in him Now if this were accomplished what have wee more to do but to love him and to live to him when you have found in the Scripture and believed with the heart what Man once was and what he now is what God once appeared and what hee now manifests himself in the Gospel ye have no more to do but to search in the same Scriptures what ye henceforth ought to be Ye who find your estate recovered in Christ ask what manner of persons we ought to be And the Scripture shal also give you that form of sound words which may not only teach you to believe in him but to love him and obey his coÌ„mands The Law that before condemned you is now by Christ put in your hands to guide you and conduct you in the way teacheth you to live henceforth to his glory The grace of God that hath appeared to all men Tit. 2. 12. teacheth us that denying ungodlinesse and worldlie lusts we should live godly and righteously and soberly in this present world Here is the summe of the rule of your practise and conversation piety towards God equity towards men and sobriety towards our selves self-denyal and world-denyall and lust-denyal to give up with the world and our own lusts henceforth to have no more to do with them to resign them not for a time not in part but wholly and for ever in affection and by parts in practice and endeavour and then to resign and give up our selves to him to live to him and live in him Thus we have given you a summe of the Doctrine of the Scriptures of that which is to be believed and that which is to be done as our duty Now we shall speak a word of these two Cardinall Graces which are the compend of all Graces as the objects of them are the Abridgement of the Scriptures Faith Love these sound words can profite us nothing unlesse wee hold them fast with Faith and Love Faith is like the Fountain-grace streams come out of it that cleanseth the Conscience from the guilt of sin and purifieth the heart from the filth of sin because it is that which cometh to the Fountain opened up in the house of David draweth water out of these Wells of Salvation If you consider the fall and ruine of Mankind you will find infidelity unbelief the fountain of it as wel as the seal of it Unbelief of the Law of God of his promises and threatning This was first called in Question and when once called in Question it is half denied Hath God said so that you shal die It s not far off you shall not surely die Here then was the very beginning of mans ruine he did not retain in his knowledge and believe with his heart the truth and faithfulnesse and holinesse of God which unbelief was conjoyned intermingled with much pride you shal be as Gods he began to live out of God in himself not remembring that his life was a stream of that Divine Fountain that being cut off from it would dry up Now therefore our Lord Jesus Christ an expert Saviour and very learned and compleat for this work he brings man up out of this pit of misery by that same way he fell into it he fell down by unbelief and he brings him up out of it by faith This is the cord that is cast down to the poor Soul in the Dungeon or rather his Faith is the dead grip of the cord of Divine Promises which are sent unto the captive prisoners and by vertue thereof he is drawn out into the light
find blessedness in him Though you find him yet can you search him out unto perfection Then what you have found were not God How is it possible for such narrow hearts to frame an apprehension or receive an impression of such an immense greatnesse and eternall goodnesse Will not a soul lose its power of thinking and speaking because there is so much to be thought and spoken and it so transcends all that it can think or speak Silence then must be the best Rhetorick and the sweetest eloquence when eloquence it self must become dumb and silent it is the abundance excesse of that inaccessible light that hath no proportion to our understandings that strikes us as blind as in the darknesse the want of light All that we can say of God is that whatsoever we can think or conceive he is not that because he hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive and that he is not like any of these things which we know unto which if he be not like wee cannot frame any similitude or likenesse of him in our knowledge What shall we then do Seek him and search him indeed but if we cannot know him to reverence fear and adore what we know So much of him may be known as may teach us our duty shew unto us our blessednesse let then all our inquiries of him have a special relation to this end that we may out of love and fear of such a glorious good God worship and serve him compose ourselves according to his will and wholly to his pleasure what ever thou knowes of God or searches of him it is but a vain speculation and a work of curiosity if it do not lead to this end to frame fashion thy soul to an union communion with him in love If it do not discover thy self unto thy self that in that light of Gods glorious Majesty thou mayest distinctly behold thy own vilenesse and wretched misery thy darknesse deadnesse utter impotency The Angels that Isaiah saw attending God in the Temple had wings covering their faces wings covering their feet those excellent spirits who must cover their feet from us because we cannot behold their glory as Moses behooved to be vailed yet they cannot behold his glory but must cover their face from the radiment and shining brightness of his Majesty yet they have other two wings to flee with and being thus composed in reverence fear to God they are ready to execute his commands willingly and swiftly Isa. 1. 2 3. c. But what is the use Isaiah makes of all this glorious sight Wo is me I am a man of polluted lips c. Oh all is unclean People and Pastor He had known doubtlesse something of it before but now he sees it of new as if he had never seen it the glory of God shining on him doth not pull him up in arogancy conceit of the knowledge of such profound mysteries but he is more abased in himself by it it shines into his heart whole man and lets him see all unclean within without so it was with Iob. Iob 42. 5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but as long as it was hear say I thought my self something I often reflected upon my self actions with a kind of self complacency and delight But now saith he since I have seen thee by the seeing of the eye I abhorre my self in dust and ashes I cannot look upon my self with patience without abhorrency and detestation self-self-love made me loth other mens sins more then mine own self-self-love did cover mine own from me it presented me to my self in a seigned likenesse but now I see my self in my true shape all coverings stripped off Thy light hath pierced into my soul behold I cannot endure to look upon my self Here now is the true knowledge of Gods Majesty which discovers within thee a mystery of iniquity and here is the knowledg of God indeed which abases all thing beside God not only in opinion but in affection that attracts and units thy soul to God drawes it from thy self all created things this is a right discovery of Divine purity glory that spots even the cleannesse of Angels and stains the pride of all glory much more will it represent filthinesse as filthiness without a covering It s knowledge science falsly so called that pusseth up for true knowledge emptieth a soul of it self and humbleth a soul in it self that it may be ful of God He that thinks he knowes any thing he knows nothing as he ought to know This then is the first property or mark of saving knowledge of God it removes all ground of vain cōfidence that a soul cannot trust unto it self and then the very proper intent of it is that a soul may trust in God and depend on him in all things For this purpose the Lord has called himself by so many names in Scripture answerable to our several necessities and difficulties that he might make known to us how all-sufficient he is that so we may turn our eyes and hearts towards him This was the intent of this name I am that Moses might have a support of his faith for if he had looked to outward appearance was it not almost a rediculous thing and like a vain fancy for a poor inconsiderable man to go to a King with such a message that he would dismisse so many subjects And was it not attempt of some mad man to go about to lead so many thousands from a wicked tyrannicall King into another Nation Well saith the Lord I am I who give althings a being will give a being to my promise I will make Pharoah hearken and the people obey Well then what is it that this name of God will not answer It is a creating Name a Name that can bring all things out of nothing by a Word if he be such as he is then he can make of us what he pleases If our souls had this name constantly engraven on our hearts O what power would Divine promises and threatnings have with us I even I am he that comforteth thee saith he If we believed that it were he indeed the Lord Jehovah how would we be comforted How would we praise Him by His Name IAH How would we stoop unto him and submit unto His blessed will If we believed this would we not be as dependent on him as if we had no being in our selves Would we not make him our habitation and dwelling-place And conclude our own stability and the stability of his Church from his unvariable eternity as the Psalmist Ps. 90. 1. Ps. 102. ult How can we think of such a foūtain being but we must withal acknowledge our selves to be shadows of his goodnesse and that we ow to him what we are and so consecrate and dedicate our selves to his glory How can we consider such a self being independent
mercy make thee not fear and tremble before him and do not separate thee from thy sins if remission of sins be not the strongest perswasion to thy soul of the removing of sin certaiuly thou dost in vain presume upon his mercy Now consider what influence all this glorious Proclamation had on Moses it stirs up in him reverence and affection reverence to such a glorious Majesty great desire to have him amongst them and to be more one with him If thy soul rightly discover God it cannot but abase thee he made bade haste to bow down and worship O Gods Majesty is a surprising and astonishing thing it would bow thy soul in the dust if it were represented to thee labour to keep the right and intire representation of God in thy sight his whole Name Strong Mercifull Iust Great and Holy I say keep both in thy view for half representations are dangerous either to beget presumption and security when thou looks on mercy alone or despair when thou looks on Justice and power alone Let thy soul consider all joyntly that it may receive amixed impression of all this is the holy composition and temper of a Believer Rejoice with trembling love with fear let all thy discoveries of him aime at more union communion with him who is â—…ch a self-sufficient al-sufficient and eternal Beeing Joh. 4. 24. God is a Spirit and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth WE have here something of the Nature of God pointed out to us somthing of our duty towards him God is a spirit that is his Nature and man must worship him that is his duty that in spirit in truth that is the right manner of the duty if these three were right pondered till they sink in to the bottome of our spirits they would make us indeed Christians not in the Letter but in the Spirit That is presupposed to all Christian worship walking to know what God is it s indeed the Primo cognitum of Christianity the first Principle of true Religion the very root out of which springs grows up walking sutably with worshipping answerably of a known God I fear much of our Religion be like the Athenians They builded an Altar to an unknown God and like the Samaritanes Who worshipped they know not what Such a Worship I know not what it is when the God worshipped is not known The two parents of true Religion are the knowledge of God and of our selves this indeed is the beginning of the fear of God which the wise Preacher cals the beginning of wisdom And these two as they beget true Religion so they cannot truly be one without the other It is not many notions and speculations about the Divine nature it is not high strained conceptions of God that comprises the true knowledg of him many think they know something when they can speak of these mysteries in some singular way and in some tearms removed from common understandings which neither themselves nor others know what they mean thus they are presumptuous self-conceited knowing nothing as they ought to know there is a knowledge that puffes up there is a knowledge that casts down a a knowledge in many that doth buâ—… swell them not grow them It s but a rumor full of wind a vain and empty and fâ—…othy knowledge that is neither good for edifying others nor saving a manâ—… self a knowledge that a man knows and reflects upon so as to ascend upon the height of it and measure himself by the degrees of it this is not the true knowledge of God which knows not it self looks not back upon it self but straight towards God his holinesse and glory our basenesse misery and therefore it constrains the soul to be ashamed of it self in such a glorious presence and to make haste to worship as Moses Iob Isaiah did This definition of God if we did truly understand it we could not but worship him in another manner God is a spirit Many ignorant people form in their own mind some liknesse and Image of God who is invisible you know how ye fancy to your selves some bodily shape when you conceive of him you think he is some Reverend and Majestick Person sitting on a Throne in Heaven But I beseech you correct your mistakes of him there is outward idolatry and there is inward there is idolatry in action when men paint or ingrave some similitude of God there is Idolatry in imagination when the fancy and apprehension runs upon some Image or likenesse of God The first is among Papists but I fear the latter be too common among us it is indeed all one to form such 〈◊〉 similitude in our mind and to ingrave or paint it without so that the God whom many of us worship is not the living and true God but a painted or graven Idol When God appeared most visible to the world â—…s at the giving out of the Law yet no man did see any liknesse at all he did not come under the percepâ—…ion of the most subtile sense he could not be perceived but by the retired understanding going aside â—…om all things visible therefore you do but fancy â—…n idol to your selves in stead of God when you apâ—…rehend him under the likenesse of any visible or senâ—…ble thing so what ever love or fear or reverence â—…ou have it is all but mispent superstition the love â—…nd fear of an idol 1. I know then that God is a Spirit and therefor he is like none of all these things you see or hear or smel or taste or touch The heavens are glorious indeed the light is full of glory but he is not like that If all your senses should make an inquiry and search for him throughout the world you should not find him though he be near hand every one of us yet your eyes and ears all your senses might travel the length of the earth and breadth of the sea and should not find him even as you might search all the corners of heaven ere ye could hear or see an Angel if you saw a man asunder and resolve him in atomes of dust yet you could not perceive a soul within him why Because these are spirits and so without the reach of your senses II. If God be a Spirit then he is invisible dwels in light inaccessible which no man hath seen or can see then ouâ—… poor narrow minds thaâ—… are drowned as it were and immersed into bodies of clay in this state of mortality receives all knowledge of the senses cannot frame any suitable notion of his spiritual and abstracted nature We cannot conceive what our own soul is but by some sensible operation flowing from it and the height that our knowledge of that noble part of our selves amounts to is but this dark confused conception that the soul is some inward principle of life and sense and reason
that they do also agree in one common Testimony to the Mediator of men yet moreover they are one They not only agree in one but are one God one simple undivided self-being infinite Spirit holden out to us in three Persons the Father Son and Holy Ghost to whom be praise and glory Deut. 6. 4. and Ioh. 5. 7. ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God it is profitable for instruction for direction c. There is no refuse in it no simple and plain History but it tends to some edification no profound or deep mysterie but it is profitable for Salvation whatsoever secrets there be in the mysteries of God which is reserved from us though it be given us but to know in part darkly thorow a vail yet as much is given us to know as may make the man of God perfect in every good work as much is given us to know as may build us up to eternall salvation if there were no more use of these deep mysteries of the Holy Trinity c. but to silence all flesh restrain the unlimited spirits of men and keep them within the bounds of Sobriety and Faith It were enough That great secret would teach as much by its silence darknesse as the plainer truths do speak out clearly O that this great mystery did compose our hearts to some reverend awfull apprehension of that God we have to do with did imprint in our soul a more feeling sense of our darknesse and ignorance this were more advantage than all the gain of light or increase of knowledge than can come from the search of curiosity If men would labour to walk in that light they have attained rather than curiously enquire after what they cannot know by enquiry they should sooner attain more true light if men would set about the practice of what they know without doubt they would more readily come to a resolution clearnesse in doubtful things Religion is now turned into questions School-debates Men begin to believe nothing but dispute every thing under a pretence of searching for light and resolution but for the most part while men look after light they darken themselves this is the righteous judgement of the Lord upon the world that doth not receive the truth in love or walk in the light of what they have already attained therefore he gives men up to wander in their search into the dark dungeons of humane wisdome and fancy and to lose what they have already If those things which are without all Controversie as the Apostle speaks 1 Tim. 3. 16. were indeed made conscience of and imbraced in love and practised it were beyond all controversie that the most part of present controversies would cease But it fals out with many as with the dog that catching at a shadow in the water lost the substance in his teeth so they pursuing after new discoveries in contraverted things and not taking a heart-hold and inward grip of the substantiall truths of the Gospell which are beyond all controversie do even lose what they have Thus Even that which they have not is taken from them because though they have it in judgment yet they have it not surely and solidly in affection that it may be holden So to this present point if we could learn to adore and admire this Holy Holy Holy One If we could in silence and faith sit down and wonder at this mysterie it would be more profitable to us and make way for a clearer manifestation of God than if we should search and enquire into all the Volums that are written upon it thinking by this means to satisfie our reason I think there is more profoundnesse in the sobriety of Faith than in the depths of humane wisdome and learning when the mysterie is such an infinite depth O but mens eloquence and wisedom must be shallow far too shallow either to find it out or unfold it But there is yet both more instruction and consolation to be pressed out of this mysterie and therefore If you cannot reach it in it self O consider what it concerns us how we may be edified by it for this is true Religion Look upon that place of Moses what is the great instruction he draws from this unity of Gods Essence v. 5. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart Since God is one then have no God but one and that the true and living God and this is the very first command of God which flowes as it were immediatly from his absolute Onenesse and perfection of Beeing There is no man but he must have some God that is something whereupon he placeth his affection most every man hath some one thing he loves and respects beyond all other things some Lord and Master that commands him therefore saith Christ No man can serve two Masters before a man will want God to love and serve he will make them and then worship them yea he will make himself his belly his back his honour pleasure a God and sacrifice all his affections and desires and endeavours to these The naturall subordination of man to God the relation he hath as a Creature to a Creator is the first fundamentall relation beyond all respects to himself or other fellow-creatures This is the proto-naturall Obligation upon the Creature therefore it should have returned in a direct line to his Majesty all its affections and endeavours But mans Fall from God hath made a wretched throw crâ—…ok in the soul that it cannot look any more after him but bows downward towards creatures below or bends inwardly towards it self so since the Fall man hath turned his heart from the true God set it upon vanity upon lying vanities upon base dead Idols which can neither help him nor hurt him your hearts are gone a whoring from God O that ye would believe it none of you will deny but ye have broken all the Commands yet such is the brutish ignorance stupidity of the most part that you will not confesse that when it comes to particulars and especially if you should be challenged for loving other things more than God or having other Gods besides the true God you will instantly deny it that with an asseveration aversation God forbid that I have another God Alas this shews that what you confesse in the generall is not believed in the heart but only is like the parting of children whom you may learn to say any thing I beseech you consider that what you give your time pains thoughts and affections to that is your God you must give God all your heart and so retain nothing of your own will if God be your God but do ye not know that your care and grief and desire and love vents another way towards base things You know that you have a will of your own which goeth quite contrary to his holy vvill in all things therefore Sathan hath bewitched
you your hearts deceive you when they perswade you that you have had no other God but the true God Christianity raises the soul again and advances it by degrees to this love of God from which it had fallen the soul returns to its first husband from vvhom it vvent awhooring now the stamp of God is so upon it that it is changed into his Image and glory having tasted how good this one self-sufficient-good is it gladly easily divorces from all other Lovers it renounces formall lusts of ignorance and now begins to live in another Love transplants the soul into God and in him it lives and vvith him it vvalks It 's true this is done gradually there is much of the heart yet unbroken to this sweet and easie yoke of love much of the corrupt nature untamed unreclaimed yet so much is gained by the first conversion of the soul to God that all is given up to him in affection and desire he hath the chief place in the soul the disposition of the Spirit hath some stamp and impression of his Onenesse singularity My beloved is one Though a Christian is not wholly rid of strange Lords yet the tye of subjection to them is broken they may often intrude by violence upon him but he is in an hostile posture of affection and endeavour against them I beseech you since the Lord is one and there is none beside him O let this be engraven on your hearts that your inward affections and outward actions may expresse that one Lord to be your God and none other beside him It is a great shame and reproach to Christians that they do not carry the stamp of the first Principle of Religion upon their walking the condition conversation of many declares how little account they make of the true God vvhy do ye enslave your souls to your lusts the service of the flesh if ye believe in this one God Why do ye all things to please your selves if this one Lord be your God As for you the Israel of God who are called by Jesus Christ to partake with the Common-Wealth of Israel in the Covenant of promises hear I beseech you this and let your souls incline to it and receive it Your God is one Lord have then no other Lords over your souls and consciences not your selves not others But in the next place let us consider to what purpose John leads such three witnesses that we may draw some consolation from it The thing testified and witnessed unto is the ground-work of all a Christians hope and consolation that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and Saviour of the World one able to save to the utmost all that put their trust in him so that every soul that finds it self lost and not able to subsist nor abide the judgement of God may repose their confidence in him and lay the weight of their eternal well-fare upon his death sufferings with assurance to find rest and peace in him to their souls He is such a one as faith may triumph in him over the world all things beâ—…de A Beleever may triumph in his victory and in the faith of his victory over hell and death and the grave many overcome personally for this is our victory over the world even our faith vers 4. And how could a soul conquer by Faith if he in whom it believes were not declared to be the Son of God with power there is nothing so mean weakly as Faith in it self it s a poor despicable thing of it self and that it sees and that it acknowledges yea faith is a very act of its self denyall it s a renouncing of all help without and within it self save only that which is laid on Christ Jesus therefore it were the most unsuitable mean of prevailing and the most insufficient weapon for gaining the victory if the object of it were not the strong God the Lord Almighty from whom it derives and borrows all its power vertue either to pacifie the conscience or to expiate sin or to overcome the world Oh! consider Christians where the foundation of your hope is scituated it is in the divine power of our Saviour if he who declared so much love good-will to sinners by becoming so low suffering so much have also all power in Heaven and Earth if he be not only man near us to make for us boldnesse of accesse but God near God to prevail effectually with God then certainly he is asure foundation laid in Sion elect and precious he is an unm oveable Rock of ages whosoever trusts their soul to him shal not be ashamed I am sure that many of you considers not this that Christ Jesus who was in due time born of the Virgin Mary died for sinners is the eternall Son of God equall to his Father in all glory and power O how would this make the Gospel agreat mystery to souls the Redemption of souls a precious and wonderfull work if it were considered Would not souls stand at this Anchor immoveable in tentation if their faith were pitched on this sure foundation and their hope cast upon this solid ground O know your Redeemer is strong and mighty and none can pluck you out of his hand and himself will cast none out that comes If the multitude of you believed this you would not make so little account of the Gospel that comes to you make so little of your sins which behoved to be taken away by the blood of God could be expiated by no other propitiation you would not think it so easie to satisfie God with some words of custome and some publick services of forme as you do you would not for all the World deal with God alone without this Mediator and being convinced of sin if you believed this solidely that he in whom forgivennesse of sin and salvation is preached is the same Lord God of whom you hear in the Old Testament who gave out the Law and inspired the Prophets the only begotten of the Father in a way infinitly removed from all created capacities you could not but find the Father well satisfied in him find a sufficient ransome in his death doings to pacifie God to settle your consciences But as the thing testified is a matter of great consolation so the witnesse testifying to this foundamentall of our Religion may be a ground of great encouragement to discouraged souls It is ordinary that the apprehensions of Christians takes up Jesus Christ as very lovely and more loving than any of the Persons of the God-head either the Father or the Holy Ghost there are some thoughts of estrangednesse and distance of the Father as if the Son did really reconcile and gain him to love us who before hated us and upon this mistake the soul is filled with continual jealousies and suspicions of the love of God but observe I beseech you the Father the Son
without previous fore-sight or consideration of their doings preparing men to eternall wrath for the praises of his Justice without previous consideration of their deservings passing a definitive sentence upon the end of all men before they do either good or evil When ever any secret â—…urmises rise in thy heart against this learn to answer this enter not the lists of disputation with corrupt reason but put in this bridle of the fear of Gods greatnesse and the conscience of thy own basenesse labour to restrain thy undaunted wild mind by it Ponder that well who thou art who disputes who God is against whom thou disputes if thou have spoken once thou wilt speak no more what thou art who is as clay formed out of nothing what he is who is the former and hath not the Potter power over the clay Consider but how great wickednes it is so much as to question him or ask an account of his matters after you have found his will to be the cause of all things then to enquire further into a cause of his wil which is alone the self-rule of righteousnesse it is to seek something above his will and to reduce his Majesty into the order of Creatures it is almost abominable usurpation and sacriledge for both it robes him of his royall prerogative and instates the base foot-stoole in his Throne But know that certainly God will overcome when he is judged Psa. 51. 6. If thou judge him he will condemn thee if thou opugâ—… his absolute and holy Decrees he will hold thee fast bound by them to thy condemnation he needeth no other defence but to call out thy own conscience against thee bind thee over to destruction therefore as on saith well Let the rashnesse of men be restrained from seeking that which is not lest peradventure they find that which is Seek not a reason of his purposes lest peradventure thou find thy own death and damnation infolded in them Paul mentions two Objections of carnal fleshly wisdome against this Doctrine of Election and reprobation which indeed contain the sum of all that is vented and invented even to this day to defile the spotlesse truth of God all the whisperings of men tend to one of these two either to justifie themselves or to accuse God of unrighteousnesse And shal any do it and be guiltlesse I confesse some oppose this Doctrine not so much out of an intention of accusing God as out of a preposterous ignorant zeal for God even as Iobs friends did speak much for God nay but it was not wel spoken they did but speak wickedly for him some speeak much to the defence of his righteousnesse and holynesse and under pretence of that plea make it inconsistent with these to fore-ordain to life or death without the fore-sight of their carriage But shall they speak wickedly for God or will he accept their person He who looks into the secrets of their heart knows the rise and bottome of such defences and appologies for his Holinesse to be partly self-self-love partly narrow and limited thoughts of him drawing him down to the determination of his own greatest enemy carnall reason Since men will ascribe him no righteousnesse but such a one of their own shaping conformed to their own modell do they not indeed rob Him of His Holinesse and Righteousnesse I find two or three Objections which it may be reduced to this Head First it seems unrighteousnesse with God to predestinate men to eternal death with out their own evil deserving or any fore-thought of it that before any man had a being God should have been in his Counsel fitting so many to destruction Is it not a strange mocking of the creatures to punish them for that sin and corruption unto which by his eternal Counsel they were fore-ordained This is even that which Paul objects to himself is there unrighteousnesse with God Is it not unrighteousness to hate Esau before he deserves it Is he not unrighteous to adjudge him to death before he do evill vers 14. Let Paul answer for us God forbid VVhy there needs no more answer but all thoughs or words which may in the least reflect upon his holinesse are abomination though we could not tell how it is righteous and holy with him to do it yet this wee must hold that it is It is his own property to comprehend the reason of his Counsels it is our duty to believe what he reveals of them without further enquiry he tells us that this it is clearly in this Chapter this far then we must believe he tells us not how it is then further we should not desire to learn God in keeping silence of that may put us to silence make us conceive that there is a depth to be admired not sounded Yet he goeth a little further and indeed as high as can be to Gods will he hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardeneth now further he cannot go for there is nothing above this we may descend from this but we cannot ascend or rise above it But is this any answer to the Argument A Sophister could presse it further and take advantage from that very ground What is not this to establish a meer tyranny in the Lord that he doth all things of meer will and pleasure distributes rewards punishments without previous consideration of mens carriage But here we must stand and go no further than the Scriptures walks with us what ever reasons or causes may be assigned yet certainly we must at length come up thither All things are because he so willed and why he willed we should not ask a reason because his will is supream reason and the very self-rule of all Righteousness Therefore if once we know his will we should presently conclude that it is most righteous and holy If that evasion of the fore-knowledge of mens sins and impenitency had been found â—…id certainly Paul would have answered so not â—…ve had his refuge to the absolute will and pleasure â—…f God which seems to perplex it more but he knew well that there could nothing of that kind whether good or evill either actually be without his wil or be to come without the determination of the same will and so could not be foreseen without the Counsel of his will upon it and therefore it had been but a poor shiâ—… to have refuge to that starting hole of fore-knowledge out of which he must presently flee to the will pleasure of God so he betakes him straight way to that he must hold at and opposes that will to mans doings It is not of him that willeth c. If he had meant only that Iacob and Esau had actuallie done neither good nor evill he needed not return to the sanctuary of Gods will for still it might be said it is of him â—…hat runs and wills and not of Gods will as the first Original because their good and evill
and glory to his ever glorious Name for whom are all things There is none but they will allow God some government in the world Some would have him as a King commanding and doing all by Deputies and Substitutes Some would have his influence generall like the Suns upon sublunary things but how shallow are all mens thoughts in regard of that which is God has prepared indeed his Throne in heaven that is true that his glory doth manifest it self in some strange and majestick manner above but he whole tenour of Scripture shews that he is not shut up in heaven but that he immediatly cares for governs disposes all things in the world for his kingdome is over all It is the weaknesse of Kings not their glory that they have need of Deputies it is his glory not basenesse to look to the meanest of their creatures it is a poor resemblance empty shadow that Kings have of him He rules in the Kingdomes of men to him belongs the dominion the glory he deserves the name of a King whose beck Heaven earth obeyes Can a King command that the Sea flow not Can a Parliament act and ordain that the Sun rise not or will these obey them Yet at his decree and command the Sun is dark the Sea stands still the Mountains tremble at thy rebuke the Seafled Alas What do we mean that we look upon creatures act our selves as if we were independent in our being and moving How many things fall out you call them casuall attribute them to Fortune How many things do the World gaze upon think upon and discourse upon and yet not one thought one word of God all the time What more contingent than the falling of a sparrow on the grōnd And yet even that is not unexpected to him but it flows from his will counsel What lesse taken notice of or know than the hairs of your head yet these are particularly numbred by him and so no power in the World can add to them or diminish from them without his counsell O what would the belief of this do to raise our hearts to sutable thoghts of God above the creatures to encrease the fear faith and love of God and to abate from our fear of men our vain and unprofitable cares and perplexities How would you look upon the affairs of men the counsels contrivances endeavours successes of men when they are turning upside down and plotting the ruine of his people establishing themselves alone in the earth What would you think of all these revolutions at this time Many souls are astonished at them and stand gazing at what is done and to be done and this is the very language of your spirits and wayes The Lord hath forsaken the earth the Lord seeth not this is the language of our Parliaments and people they do imagine that they are doing their own businesse and making all sure for themselves But O what would a soul think that could escape above them all and arise up to the first wheele of present motions A soul that did stand upon the exaled Tower of the Word of God and looked off it by the prospect of faith would presently discover the circle in which all these wandrings and changes are confined and see Men States Armies Nations and all of them doing nothing but turning about in a round as horse in a Mill from Gods eternall purpose by his Almighty Power to his unspeakeable glory you might behold all these extravagant motions of the creatures inclosed within those limits that they must begin here and end here though themselves are so beastly that they neither know of whom nor for whom their counsels and actions are Certainly Satan cannot break without this compasse to serve his own humour principalities and powers cannot do it if they will not glorifie him he shal glorifie himself by them and upon them Gen. 2. 17. In that day thou eatest thou snalt die the death Gen. 1. 26. Let us make man according to our image THe state wherein man was created at first you heard was exceeding good all things very good and he best of all the choisest externall visible peece of Gods workmanship made according to the most excellent pattern after our Image though it be a double misery to be once happy yet seeing the knowledge of our misery is by the grace of God made the entry to a new happinesse it is most necessary to take a view of what man once was that we may be more sensible of what he now is You may take up this Image and likenesse in three branches First there was a sweet conformity of the soul in its understanding will and affections unto Gods holinesse light A beautifull light in the mind dirived from that fountain-light by which Adam did exactly know both divine and naturall things What a great difference doth yet appear between a learned man and an ignorant rude person though it be but in relation to naturall things the one is but like a beast in comparison of the other O how much more was there between Adams knowledge and that of the most learned The highest advancement of Art and Industry in this life reaches no further then to a learned ignorance of the mysteries in the works of God and yet there is a wonderfull satisfaction to the mind in it But how much sweet complacency hath Adam had whose heart was so enlarged as to know both thing higher and lower their natures properties vertues and severall operations No doubt could trouble him no difficulty vex him no controversie or question perplex him but above all The knowledge of that glorious eternall Being that gave him a being and iniused such a spirit into him the beholding of such infinite treasures of wisdome and goodness power in him what an amiable and refreshfull sight would it be when there was no cloud of sin and ignorance to interpose and eclipse the full enjoyment of that increated light When the Aspect of the Sun makes the Moon so glorious beautifull What may you conceive of Adams soul framed with a capacity to receive light immediatly from Gods countenance How fair and beautifull would that soul be until the dark cloud of sin did interpose it self Then consider what a beautifull rectitude and uprightnesse what a comely order and subordination would ensue upon this light and make his will and affections wonderfull good Eccl. 7. 29. God made man upright There was no throw or crack in all all the powers of the sou bending upright towards that fountain of all gooness now the soul is crooked bends downward towards those base earthly things that is the abasement of the soul then it looked upright towards God had no appetite no delight but in him and his fulnesse and had the Moon or changeable World under its feet there was a beauty of holynesse and righteousnesse which were the colours that did perfect
Lord in his infinite goodness love to add a promise and threatning to that Law Command so turnes it to the nature of a voluntary Covenant and agreement vvhereby he doth mitigate and sweeten his Authority and Power and condescends so low to man as to take on himself a greater obligation than he puts upon man Do this and thou shalt live He might then out of his absolutenesse power have required at the creatures hand any termes he pleased even the hardest could be imagined and yet no injustice in him he might have put Laws on men to restrain all their naturall liberty and in every thing to proclaim nothing but his own supremacy But O vvhat goodnesse and condescension is even in the very matter of the Law then in the manner of prescribing it vvith a promise In the matter so just equitable to convince all mens consciences yea even engraven on their hearts that he layes not many burdens on but vvhat mens consciences must lay on themselves that there is nothing in it all when summed up harder than this love God most of all thy neighbour as thy self which all men must proclaim to be due though it had not been required And but one precept added by his meer Will vvhich yet was so easie a thing as it was a wonder the Lord of all put no other conditions on the creature And then for the manner that it is propounded in Covenant-wise with a promise not to expect the creatures consent for it did not depend on his acception he being bound to accept any termes his Lord propounded but because the matter and all was so equitable the conditions so ample that if it had been propounded to any rational man he would have consented with an admiration at Gods goodnesse Indeed if we speak strictly there cannot be a proper Covenant between God and man there is such an infinite distance between such unequal parties our obedience and performance being absolutely in his power we cannot promise it as our own and it being but our duty we cannot crave or expect a reward in justice neither can he owe any thing to the creature yet it pleased his Majesty to propound it in these termes and to stoop so low unto mens capacities and as it were come off the throne of his Soveraignty both to repuire such duties of men and to promise unto them such a free reward and the reasons of this may be plain upon Gods part upon ours in such dealing he consulted his own glory mans good His own glory I say is manifested in it chiefly the glory of his goodnesse love that the most High comes down so low as to article with his own foot-stool that he changes his absolute right into a moderate and temperate Government and tempers his Lordly truly Monarchicall power by such a commixâ—…ure of gentlenesse goodnesse in requiring nothing but what man behoved to call reasonable and due and in promising so much as no creaâ—…ure could challenge any title of it When the Law was promulgate Do this Eat not of this Tree Adams conscience behoved to say Amen Lord all is due all the reason in the Word for it But when the promise is added the Trumpet sounds longer thou shalt live O more than reason more then is due must his conscience say It vvas reason that the most high Lord should use his foot-stool as his foot-stool set his servant in the place of a servant and so keep distance from him But how strange is it that he humbles himself to make friendship with man to assume him in a kind of familiarity equality And this Christ is not forgetfull of vvhen he restores men he puts them in all their former dignities I call you not servants but friends Next his wisdome doth appear in this that when he had made a reasonable creature he takes a way of dealing suitable to his Nature to bring forth willing and free obedience by the perswasion of such a reward and the terror of such a punishment He most wisely did inclose the will of man as it were one both sides with hedges of punishment and reward which might have been a sufficient defence or guard against all the irruptions of contrary perswasions that man might continue in obedience and that when he went to the right hand or left he might be kept in by the hope of such an ample promise the fear of such a dreadfull threatning But then the righteousnesse of God doth appear in this for there is nothing doth more illustrate the justice of the Judge then when the Malefactor hath before consented to such a punishment in case of transgression when the Law is confirmed by the consent and approbation of man now he has man subscribing already to his judgment and so all the world must stop their mouth and become guilty in case of transgression of such a righteous command after such warning But in the next place it s no lesse for mans good What a honour and dignity was put upon man when he was taken into friendship with God To be in covenant of friendship with a King O what a dignity is it accounted And some do account it a great priviledge to be in company and converse with some eminent and great person But may not man say vvith the Psalmist Lord what is man that thou art so mindfull of him or the Son of man that thou visitest him Psal. 8. Again what way more fit and sutable to stir up and constrain Adam unto a vvilling and constant obedience When he had the encouragement of such a gracious reward the determent of such a fearfull punishment Between these two banks might the silver streams of obedience have run for ever vvithout breaking over He was bound to all though nothing had been promised But then to have such a hope what spirits might it adde to him The Lord had been free upon mans obedience either to continue him his happy estate or to denude him of it or to annihilate him there was no obligation lying on him but now what confirmation might man have by looking upon the certain recompence of reward When God brings himself freely under an Obligation of a Promise and so ascertains it to his soul vvhich he could never have dreamed of gives him liberty to challenge him upon his faithfulnesse to perform it And then lastly there was no way so fit to commend God and sweeten him unto his soul as this Adam knew that his goodnesse could not extend to God that his righteousnesse could not help him nor his wickednesse hurt him and so could expect nothing from his exact obedience but now vvhen Gods goodnesse doth so overflow unto the creature and the Lord takes pleasure to communicate himself to make others happy though he had need of none O how must it ingage the heart of man to a delightfull remembrance and converse vvith
that God As his authority should imprint reverence so his goodnesse thus manifested should engrave confidence And thus the life of man vvas not only a life of obedience but a life of pleasure and delight not only a holy but a happy life yea happy in holinesse Now as it was Pauls great businesse in preaching to ride marches between the covenant of grace and the covenant of works to take men off that old broken ship to this sure plank of grace that is offered by Jesus Christ to drowning souls So it would be our great work to shew unto you the nature of this Covenant and the terms thereof that you may henceforth find and know that salvation to be now impossible by the Law which so many seek in it We have no errand to speak of the first Adam but the better to lead you to the second Our life was once in the first but he lost himself and us both but the second by losing himself saves both We have nothing to do to speak of the first Covenant but that we may lead you or pursue you rather to the second established upon better tearms and better promises The tearms of this covenant are Do this and live perfect obedience without one jot of failing or falling an intire and universall accomplishment of the whole will of God that is the duty required of Man there is no latitude left in the bargain to admit endeavours in stead of performance or desire in stead of duty there is no place for Repentance here if a Man fall in one point he falls from the whole promise by the tenour of this bargain there is no hope of recovery If you would have the duty in a word It s a love of God with all our heart and soul our Neighbour as our self that testified verified in all duties offices of obedience to God love to men without the least mixture of sin infirmity Now the promise on Gods part is indeed larger then that Duty not only because undeserved but even in the matter of it it 's so abundant Life eternal life continuance in a happy estate There is a threatning added In what day thou eatest thou shalt die that is thou shalt become a mortall and miserable creature subject to misery here and hereafter which is more pressingly set down in that Word Cursed is he that abides not in all things written in the law to do them It is very peremptory that men dream not of escaping wrath when they break but in one suppose they did abide in all the rest Cursed is every man from the highest to the lowest the Lord Almighty is engaged against him his countenance his Power is against him to destroy him make him miserable whoever doth fail but in one jot of the commands he shall not only fall from that blessed condition freely promised but lose all that he already possessed fall from that image of God dominion over the creatures and incur in stead of that possessed and expected happinesse misery here on soul body in pains sicknesses troubles griefs c. And Eternal misery on both without measure hereafter Eternall destruction from the presence of the Lord the glory of his power Now This Law is not of Faith saith the Apostle This opens up the nature of the bargain and the opposition between the present Covenant that which is made with lost sinners in a Mediator This Covenant is called of Works Do this and live To him that worketh is the promise made though freely too It is grace that once a reward should be promised to obedience but having once resolved to give it herein justice appears in an equall and uniform distribution of the reward according to Works So that where there is an equality of works there shall be an equality of reward and no difference put between persons equall Which is the very freedome of the Covenant of grace that it passes overall such considerations and deals equally in mercy with unequall sinners unequally it may be with them that are equall in nature You may ask was not Adam to believe in God did not the Law require faith I answer Christ distinguishes a twofold faith You believe in God believe also in me No question he was called to believe in God the Creator of the VVorld and that in a three-fold consideration First to depend on God the self-beeing and fountain-good his own goodnesse was but a fluxe and emanation from that Sun of righteousnesse so was to be perpetuated by constant abiding in his sight the interposition of mans self between him and God did soon bring on this eternal night of darknesse Nature might have taught him to live in him in whom he had life beeing and motion and to forget look over his own perfections as evanishing shadows But this quickly extinguished his life when he began to to live in himself Next he was obliged to believe in Gods word both threatning and promise to have these constantly in his view And certainly if he had kept in his serious consideration the inestimable blessing of life promised and the fearful curse of death threatned if he had not been induced first to doubt and then to deny the truth and reality of these he had not attempted such a desperate rebellion against the Lord. Then thirdly he was to believe and perswade himself of the Lords fatherly love and that the Lord was well pleased with his obedience and this faith would certainly beget much peace quietnesse in his mind and also constrain him to love him and live to him who loved him and gave him life and happinesse out of love yet this holds true that the Apostle saith the law is not of faith to wit in a Mediator and Redeemer it was a bond of immediate friendship there needed none to mediate between God and man there needed no reconciler where there was no ods nor distance But the Gospell is of Faith in a Mediator it s the souls plighting its hope upon Jesus Christ in its desperate necessity so supposes man sinfull and miserable in himself and in his own sense too and so putting over his weight burden upon one whom God hath made mighty to save The Law is not of Faith but of perfect works a watch-word brought in of purpose to bring men off their hankering after a broken and desperate Covenant It admits no repentance it speaks of no pardon it declares no Cautioner or Redeemer there is nothing to be expected according to the tenor of that Covenant but wrath from Heaven either personall obedience in all or personall punishment for ever that is the very tearms of it it knows no other thing Either bring compleat righteousnesse and holinesse to the promise of life or expect nothing but death This may be a sad meditation to us to stand and look back to our former estate compare it with that into which we
are fallen that Image we spoke of is defaced and blotted out which was the glory of the Creation and now there is nothing so monstrous so deformed in the world as man the corruption of the best thing is alwayes worst the ruines of the most noble creature are most ruinous the spot of the soul most abominable we are nothing but a masse of darknesse ignorance errour inordinate lust nothing but confusion disorder and distempers in the soul and in the conversation of men in sum that blessed bond of friendship with God broken discord enmity entered upon our side separated us from God and so we can expect nothing from that first Covenant but the curse and wrath threatned By one mans disobedience sin entered upon all death by sin because in that agreement Adam was a common person representing us and thus are all men once subject to Gods judgement come short of the glory of God fallen from life into a state of death for any thing could be expected irrevocably But it hath pleased the Lord in his infinite mercy to make a better Covenant in Christ his Son that vvhat vvas impossible to the Law by reason of our vveakness and vvickedness his Son sent in the flesh condemned for sin might accomplish Rom. 8. 3. There is some comfort yet after this that Covenanâ—… vvas not last and that sentence vvas not irrevocable He maketh a new transaction layes the iniquity of his elect upon Christ and puts the curse upon his shoulders vvhich vvas due to them Justice cannot admit the abrogation of the Law but mercy pleads for a temperament of it and thus the Lord dispenses vvith personal satisfaction vvhich in rigour he might have craved and finds out a ransom admits another satisfaction in their name And in the Name of that Cautioner and Redeemer is salvation preached upon better terms Believe and thou shalt be saved Rom. 10. Thou lost and undone sinner vvhoever thou art that findest thy self guilty before God and that thou canst not stand in judgement by the former Covenant thou vvho hast no personal righteousness and trusts in none come here embrace the righteousness of thy Cautioner receive him and â—…est on him and thou shalt be saved Eccles. 7. 29. God made man upright but he sought out many inventions THe one half of true Religion consists in the knowledge of ourselves and the other half in the knowledge of God and vvhatever besides this men study to know and apply their hearts unto it 's vain and impertinent and like medling in other menâ—… matters neglecting our own if vve do not give our minds to the search of these All of us must needs grant this in the general that it is an idle and improfitable wandering abroad to be carried forth to the knowledge and use of other things and in the mean time to be strangers to our selves vvith vvhom vâ—… should be most acquainted If any man vvas diligenâ—… and earnest in the enquiry and use of the things of the vvorld Solomon vvas he applyed his heart to seek out vvisdom and vvhat satisfaction vvas in the knowledge of all things natural and in this he attained a great degree beyond all other men yet he pronounces of it all after experience and tryal that this also was vanity and vexation of spirit not only empty and unprofitable and not conducing to that true blessedness he sought after but hurtful and destructive nothing but grief and sorrow in it After he had proved all vvith a resolution to be vvise yet it vvas far from him I said I will be wise but it was far from me verse 23. And therefore after long vvandering abroad he returns at length home to himself to know the estate of mankind Lo this only have I sound c. ver 29. When I have searched all other things found many things by search yet saith he vvhat doth it all concern me vvhen I am ignorant of my self There is one thing concerns me more then all to know the original of Man vvhat he once vvas made and to know how far he is departed from his Original This only I have found profitable to men and as the entry and preparation to that blessedness I enquire for To have the true discovery of our misery There are two things then concerning man that you have to search to know that not in a triâ—…ing or curious manner as if you had no other end in it but to know it as men do in other things but in a serious earnest way as 〈◊〉 a matter of so much concernment to our eternal well-being In things that relate particularly to our selves vve labor to know them for ome advantage besides the knowing of them even though they be but â—…mal and lower things how much more should vve propose this unto our selves in the search and examination of our own estate not meeâ—…ly to â—…now such a thing but to know it that vve may be 〈◊〉 up and provoked in the sense of it to look after the remedy that God holds forth There are two things that you have to know What man once vvas made and how he is now unmade how happy once and how miserable now And answerable to these two are the branches of the Text God made manâ—…upright that he was once and they have fought out many inventions not being contented vvith that blessedness they vvere created into by catching at a higher estate of vvisdom have fallen down into a gulf of misery as the man that gazed on the stars above him and did not take notice of the pit under his feet till he fell into it and thus man is now So you have a short account of the two estates of men of the estate of grace and righteousness vvithout sin and the estate of sin and misery 〈◊〉 grace You havâ—… thâ—… 〈◊〉 story of man from the creation unto his present condition But all the matter is to have the lively sensâ—… of this upon our hearts I had rather that vve vvent home bewailing our loss and lamenting our misery and longing for the recovery of that 〈◊〉 then that vve vvent out vvith the exact memory of all 〈◊〉 is spoken and could repeat it again God made man upright At hiâ—…â—…st moulding the Lord shewed excellent Art and Wisdom and Goodness too Man did come forth from under his hand in the first edition very glorious to show vvhat he could do Upright that is all right very exactly conformed to the noble and high pattern endowed vvith divine vvisdom such 〈◊〉 might direct him to true happiness and furnished vvith a divine vvillingness to follow that direction The command was not above his head as a rod but within his heart as a natural instinct all that vvas vvithin him vvas comely beautiful for that glorious light that shined upon him having life and love vvith it produced a sweet harmony in the soul he knew his duty and loved it and vâ—…as
able to perform it O! how much is in this one word Upright Not only sincerity and integrity in the soul but perfection of all the degrees and parts no part of holiness wanting and no measure of these parts no mixture of darkness or ignorance no mixture of indisposition or unwillingness godliness vvas â—…weet and not laborious the love of God possessing the heart did conform all vvithin and vvithout to the vvill of God and O how beautiful vvas that conformity and that love of God! the fountain-being did send forth as a stream love and good-will to all things as they did partake of Gods Image and so holiness towards God did beget righteousness towards men and made men to partake of one anothers happiness This is a survey of him in his integrity as God â—…de him but there follows a sad but a sad and vvoâ—…l exception but they have sought out many inventions We cannot look upon that glorious estate vvhereinto mâ—…n was made but straightway we must turn our eyes upon thâ—… misery into which he hath plunged himself and be the more affected with it that it was once otherwise It is misery in a high degree to have been once happy this â—…ost of all agredges our misery and may encrease the sense of it that such Man once was and such we might have been if we had not destroyed our selves Who can look upon these ruins and refrain â—…ouring It 's said that those who saw the glory of the first Temple weâ—…t when they beheld the second because it was not answerable to it in magniâ—…ence and glory So I say it might occasion much â—…ness grief even to the children of God in whom that Image is in part repaired and that by a second Creation to think how much more happy and blessed Man once was who had grace and holiness without sin But certainly it should and must be at first before this Image be restored the bitter lamentation of a soul to look upon it self wholly ruinous and defaced in the view of that glorious stately fabrick which once was made How lamentable a sight is it to behold the first Temple demolished or the first Creation defaced and the second not yet begun in many souls the foundation-stone yet not laid It was a sad and dolâ—…ul invention which Satan inspired at first into mans heart to go about to find out another happiness to seek how to be wise as God an invention thaâ—… did proceed from hell how to know evil experimentally and practically by doing it that invention hath invented and found out all the sin and misery under which the world groans It is a poor invention to devise misery and torment to the creature this was the height of solly and madness for a happy creature to invent how to make it self miserable and all others Indeed he intended another thing to be more happy but pride and ambition got a deserved fall the result of all is sin and misery And now from this first devillish invention the heart of man is possessed with a multitude of vain imaginations Man is now become vain in his imaginations and his foolish heart is darkned that divine wisdom he was endowed withall is eclipsed for it was a ray of Gods countenance and now he is left wholly in the dark without a guide without a director or leader he is turned out of the path of holiness and so of happiness a night of gross darkness blindness is come on the way is full of pits and snares the end of it is at best eternal misery and there is no lamp no light to shine in it to show him either the misery that he is posting unto or the happinesse that he is flying from There is nothing within him sufficient to direct his way to blessednesse and nothing willing nor able to follow such a direction And thus Man is left to the invention and counsel of his own desperately wicked and dâ—…ful heart and that is above all plagues to be given up to a reprobate mind He is now left to such a tutor and guideâ—… and it is full of inventions indeed But they are all in vain that is all of them unsufficient for this great purpose all of them cannot make one hair that is black white much lesâ—… redeem the soul but besides they are destructive they pretend to deliver but they destroy a desperate wicked heart imagineth evil continually evil against God and evil to our own souls and a deceitful heart â—…mooths over the evil and presents it under another notion and so under pretence of a friend it 's the greatest enemy a man hath a bosome enemy Al mens inventions thoughts cogitations projects and endeavors what do they tend to but to the satisfaction of their lusts either the lusts of the mind as Ambition Pride Avarice Passion Revenge and such like or the lusts of the body as pleasure to the ears and to the eyes and to the flesh Man was made with an upright soul with a dominion over that brutish part more like Angels But now all his invention run upon that base and beastly part how to adorn it how to beautifie it how to satisfie it and for this his soul must be a drudge and slave And if men rise up to any thoughts of a higher life yet what is it for but to magnifie and exalt the flesh to seek an Excellency within which is lost and so to satisfie the pride and self-love of the heart If any man comes this length 〈◊〉 to apprehend some misery yet how vain are his inventions about the remedy of it not knowing how desperate the disease is men seek help in themselves think by industry and care art to raise themselves up in some measure please God by some expiations or sacrifices of their own works Now this tends to no other purpose but to satisfie the lust of mans pride and so it increases that which was mans first malady and keeps them from the true Physician In a word all mens inventions are to hasten misery on him or to blindfold himself till it come on all his invention cannot reach a delivery from this misery Let us therefore consider this which Solomon hath found out and if we carefully consider it and accurately ponder it in relation to our own souls theÌ„ have we also â—…ound it with him Consider I say what man once was and what you are now and bewaile your misery and the fountain of it our departure from the fountain of life and blessednesse know what you are not only weak but wicked whose art and power lyes only in wickednesse skilful and able only to make your self miserable and let this consideration make you cast away all your confidence in your selves and carry you forth to a Redeemer who hath â—…ound a ransome who hath found out an excellent invention to cure all our distempers and desperate diseases The counsel of the holy Trinity that met about