Righteousness satisfying both Gods Commanding and his Condemning Justice doing my services bearing my scourges Hence hee is called Jehovah Tsidkenu The Lord our Righteousness by Faith having communion with this Righteousness as if it were our own a Righteousness wrought by us Hence Job 33.26 God shall render to man his Righteousness that is the Righteousness of Christ which is called ours by Faith and is as much ours to justifie and save us as His to glorifie him Hence the Apostle Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ that is to such as are Beleevers for they are all one And why no condemnation They are sinners as well as others It 's true they are And therefore the Apostle doth not say There is nothing worthy of condemnation in them But There is no condemnation Because Christ hath taken away the guilt and condemning power of sin hee hath answered all our debts canceld all Books satisfied for all our sins which did binde us over to condemnation and wrath of God So that wee may say There is no condemnation to such As for the Law it cannot condemn us because wee appeal from the law to the Gospel from the Court of Justice to the Court of Mercy So that the Law hath nothing to do with us And as for the Gospel that cannot condemn us because wee are Beleevers The Gospel doth not require what sinners wee have been what sins wee are guilty of but whether the appealer do beleeve whether wee bee Beleevers or no which being once cleared wee are justified You see this in the poor Publican Hee was dragged forth into the Court of Justice and was there cast Yet the sentence took no hold of him because of his appeal to the Throne of Grace the Court of Mercy where by Faith pleading nothing but Gods Mercy and his own misery God bee merciful to mee a sinner hee went away justified saith the Text Luk. 18.14 And this is the first Royalty of Faith It is an Heart-clearing-Grace which it doth by producing one who hath cleared all and by making us one with him in all hee hath done giving us an interest in all Second Royalty Second Royalty of Faith It s an Heart-cleansing-Grace 2. Faith is an Heart-cleansing-Grace An Heart-purifying and purging-Grace Hence Act. 15.9 it is said Their hearts were purified by Faith Faith opens a way for a stream of blood to run through the soul whereby the soul is washed not from the guilt of sin only but from the filth of sin also The Blood of Christ doth cleanse us from all sin not only from the guilt but from the filth of sin Hence the Apostle If the blood of Bulls and Goats and the ashes of an Heifer sprinkled upon the unclean did purifie the Flesh How much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without spot purge and cleanse our Consciences from all dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9.13 14. And Faith doth cleanse the Heart 1. Argumentatively 2. Operatively 1. Argumentatively By way of Argument where in Faith takes up Arguments 1. From God 2. From our selves From God and that 1. From his Nature Hee is an holy God and therefore hee will have an holy People A pure God and therefore hee will have a pure People Hence Lev. 11.44 Ye shall be Holy for I am Holy I the Lord your God am Holy The like Lev. 19.2 And Peter urges the same 1 Pet. 1.15 16. As he which hath called you is Holy so be ye Holy in all manner of Conversation For it is written Bee yee Holy for I am Holy 2. From his Mercies 1. In Redeeming us 2. In calling us 3. In Justifying us 4. In promising to glorifie us 1. In Redeeming us Hath Christ dyed for mee and shall not I live to him Hath hee shed his Blood for mee that I should bee Holy and clean And shall I delight in uncleanness Pro me filius Dei jugulatus and filthiness was hee slain for mee and shall I delight in sin Hath hee suffered so much to purifie mee and shall I bee unclean still hath hee done so much to wash mee and shall I bee filthy stil 2. In calling us 1 Pet. 1 15 16. As hee which hath called you is Holy so bee you Holy in all manner of Conversation it is an holy Calling 2 Tim. 1.9 that calleth us to Holiness and Faith a purged ear that hearkeneth to that call 3. In Justifying us Hath hee freed mee from the damning Nature of sin and shall I delight in the defiling nature of sin hath he freed mee from the guilt of sin and shall I love the filth of sin Hath hee done so much to wash mee and shall I bee filthy still Hath hee suffered so much to purifie mee and shall I delight in uncleanness still Hath hee made mee a Member of Christ and shall I bee a filthy Member of so holy a Body Hath hee made mee a Branch and shall I be a polluted-Branch of so holy a Stock Hath hee lifted up the light of his Countenance on mee and shall I ever countenance sin hath hee smiled on mee and shall I ever smile upon sin 4. In Promises to glorifie us 2 Cor. 7.1 Having therefore such precious promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God As if hee had said Seeing God hath been so mercifull and gracious to us to make us precious Promises let this put us on self-purging and self-purifying Thou look'st for an holy-Heaven and wilt thou not bee holy Thou hopest for Salvation and wilt thou not purifie thy self Hee that hath this Hope purifies himself as God is Pure 1 Joh. 3.3 Thus doth Faith take up Arguments from God his Nature his Mercies 2. It takes Arguments from our selves 1. From the necessity of being cleansed 2. From the conveniency thereof 1 From the Necessity Because otherwise wee can have no assurance of Justification They who are freed from the guilt of sin are freed from the filth of sin They who partake of the Blood of Christ for pardon partake of the water of Christ to purge Christ came by Water and Blood They who will have him a Redeemer must have him also a Refiner to take away their Swiniâ—h nature to wash them inwardly not outwardly for so may a Swine bee 2. Because otherwise wee can never have Assurance of Salvation They who look for new Heavens must have new hearts They who look for Glory must have Grace First Grace then Glory For without Holiness no man can see the Lord. No unclean thing shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven hee that hath this hope will fit himself for the Place hee will labour to bee a pure person as hee desires to injoy a pure place Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God A pure God a pure Heaven a pure Place requires a pure
that Act of his patience no less than his power Now I beseech thee let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken The Lord is long-suffering c. where you see he makes his patience his power And so it is indeed if you consider what sin is Shall I say no more of it than this which God saith Levit. 26.21 It is contrary to God 1 It is contrary to the works of God 1 Sin contrary to Gods works As soon as God set up and perfected the frame of the world sin gave a shrewd shake to all it unpin'd this frame and had like to have pull'd all in pieces again And had it not been for the promise of Christ all this frame had fallen in pieces again If a man should come into a curious Artificers shop and should with one blow dash in pieces a Piece of Art which cost him many years study and pains the contriving of it How could he bear with it Thus sin did and yet that God should forbear Oh! Omnipotent patience 2. But yet further It is Contrary to Gods nature 2 Sin contrary to Gods Nature God is holy sin unholy God is pure sin is filthy and therefore compar'd still to the most filthiest things in the world to the Poyson of Aspes to Ulcers Soars c. If all the Noysom Pollutions in the world met in one common Stuk it would never equal the Pollution of sin God is good perfect Good Sin is evil universally evil There is good in all other things Plague Sickness Hell it self in a kinde hath a good in it None in sin Sin is the Practical-blasphemy of all the name of God It is the Dare of his Justice the Rape of his Mercy the Jeer of his Patience the Slight of his Power the Contempt of his Love It is every way contrary to God 3. It is contrary to the will of God God bids us Do this 3 Sin contrary to the will of God Sin saith I will not do it Sanctifie my Sabbath I will not sanctifie it Here is Contradiction And who can endure Contradiction It is set down as a great piece of Christs sufferings Heb. 12.3 That he indured the contradiction of sinners against himself certainly it was a great suffering How can a Wiseman indure to be contradicted by a fool And here that Christ who was The Wisdom of the Father should bear with such contradiction from fools here vvas a great piece of Suffering Now sin is a contradiction of God Sets Will against Wisdom and the Hell of a wicked Will against an Heaven of Infinite Wisdom And that God should bear vvith such sinners here is a Wonder You knovv in all the Creatures Contrariety makes all the Combustion It makes all the War in nature it causeth one Element to fight against another Fire against Water Water against Fire It will make very Stones to sweat and burst asunder Travel through the vvhole Creation and you shall not see Any Creature that can bear vvith its Contrary And that God and Sin should be Contrary and yet the Sinner live in the World Here is a Wonder a VVonder of Patience 2 Admire Gods mercy in pardoning sin 2. Is sin so Great an Evil Let us then fall down and Admire the greatness of Gods mercy in pardoning sin You see how the Prophet cryes out and Admires Mic. 7.18 Who is a God like unto thee That pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the Transgressions of the remnant of his heritage It is one of the Greatest works that God doth in the world To pardon sin A work in which he declares All his glorious Attributes His Wisdom his Power his Justice his Mercy his Holiness c. in pardoning sin Men that have cheap and slight thoughts of Gods Pardoning-Mercy have thereby an evident sign They never had a pardon never knew what it was indeed To have a pardon If ever any work in the world did put God to it then this of the Pardon of sin And if ever God do intend thee any good he will instruct thee and rectifie thy judgement in this Touching the Pardon of sin Therefore doth God humble men at their Bringing-in To raise up their esteem of a pardon To advance the greatness of his own Mercy in Pardoning sin And indeed we should not need such great Preparations and Humiliations in coming to Christ if we had but Greater thoughts of the Pardon of sin Men make no more of a Pardon than to Cry God Mercy Swear an oath and then say God forgive me Or say Lord have mercy on me when I dye It was said of Lewis the 11. King of France that He wore a Crucifix in his hat and when he had sinned he would but kiss his Crucifix and then all was done And so the Papists make it no more but a Crucifix and a Confession Ah! my Brethren if ever God mean good to you he will make you Know what a Pardon is Isa 55.7 when God would draw men up to Shew them a Pardon he calls them Above all the World My thoughts are not as your thoughts nor your ways my ways saith the Lord. If they were then I could not multiply Pardons But as the Heavens are higher than earth so are my thoughts above your thoughts and my ways above your ways I am infinite If Gods creating-Creating-mercy were so great as David vvith doubled Admiration sets it out Psal 8.1 and the last verses O Lord our Lord how wonderful is thy Name in all the world who hast set thy Glory above the Heavens What is then his Pardoning Mercy 3. Lastly Is sin so Great an Evil Then see What cause we have to humble our souls before God this day That vve have had such slight thoughts of sin vvho hath thus judged sin to be the Greatest of all Evils What slight thoughts have vve of sin vve can svvallovv it vvithout fear vve can live in it vvithout sense vve can commit it vvithout remorse All vvhich shevvâ— vve have but slight thoughts of sin vve do not apprehend sin to be such an evil as indeed it is Nay Hovv faulty are Gods people themselves here What mean thoughts have they of sin They are not so watchful against it not so Burdened vvith it not so troubled for it as they ought to be All vvhich shevvs that though sin do appear to them to be A great Evil and The Greatest of all other Evils yet they do not apprehend it to be so Great an Evil as it is Now that you may be able to have some suitable conceptions of sin to the greatness of it that you may be able to see sin exceeding sinful I will briefly present it to you in these Six Glasses 1. Look upon it In the Glass of Nature which though it be but a Dim-Glass a Blown-Glass Sin hath dimmed it yet is this able to discover a great deal of the evil of sin The very Heathen themselves have seen and judged many
is no Grace in Christ appertaining to our sanctification in general which is not in some weak degree fashioned in us And hence the work of Grace and Regeneration is called a forming of Christ in the soul And whiles wee behold him wee are said to bee changed into his likenesse 2 Cor. 3.18 And wee are said to have the same Spirit in us that is in Christ Rom. 8.9 If any man have not the Spirit of Christ hee is none of his And the same Mind is in us that is in Christ Phil. 2.6 There is a bastardly holiness a painted false beauty which is spun out of our selves wrought out of our own Principles with which wee shall lye down with sorrow at last Sparkles of our own kindling But the true holinesse flows from Christ and is imparted from Christ to his Church whereby shee is beautifull with his beauties adorned with his Graces And being thus the Heart of Jesus Christ must needs bee taken with her Thus you see the second Reason why the Heart of Christ is so much taken Because shee is adorned with his Beauties cloathed with his Righteousness adorned and beautified with his Graces which ingageth the Heart of Jesus Christ Hee that loved us in our own blood cannot chuse but love us as wee have his beauty put upon us hee cannot but love himself and delight in himself where-ever hee doth behold himself why these beauties are peeces of himself part of his beauty his rayes wherewith hee himself is adorned And hee cannot look upon any soul cloathed with his Righteousness and beautified with his Graces but his heart is exceedingly taken with them Cant. 6.4 5. Turn away thine eyes from mee for they have overcome mee Christ seems as not able to bear the view of such a beauty Turn away thine eyes c. 2. Because they are the persons upon whom God intended to advance the great design of glorifying the Riches and Freeness of his Grace and Mercy Now those whom God hath intended for so great purposes as these are which are the greatest Purposes that ever came upon his heart his heart must needs bee taken withall You know the more glorious and excellent the End to which any thing serves the more precious is that thing in our eyes Now wee serve for no other End but the expression of his Mercy the advancement of the Glory of his Free-Grace which are Ends as high as himself Purposes as great as himself And therefore God is not only taken with the expression of it but with the persons upon whom hee doth expresse it Therefore I say is the Heart of God so exceedingly taken with his Church Indeed God may single out some men for the purposes of expressing the glory of his Power and Justice the advancement of them and yet God hate the men as you see it plain in Pharaoh who for this cause was set up to advance his Power But God never singled out any to bee the subjects on whom hee doth intend to advance the Riches of his Grace and Mercy but his Heart is exceedingly taken with them Those who serve to such high purposes as these and are designed to such high ends as these The advancement of the Glory of his Grace and Free-Mercy which is the most precious attribute of God and which some think is called his Glory Exod. 33.18 Let mee see thy Glory and if the 19. verse may interpret it that Glory was his Mercy and his Mercy his Glory and therefore such must needs bee precious in his esteem Now his People are they whom God hath singled out for these great purposes for the Expression of more Mercy than wee can express nay than wee can conceive nay than wee can beleeve at all times but weakly at best And therefore the Heart of Jesus Christ must needs bee taken with them My Brethren If God had not singled out some to express himself thus upon God had not been known in the World for there is nothing so much reveals God to bee God as his Mercy and Grace And therefore God singled out a few upon whom hee would advance the riches of his Grace that his Mercy and in that himself might bee made known in the World As Paul saith of himself 1 Tim. 1.16 that hee obtained Mercy that hee might stand up a Pattern of all long-suffering As if hee had said Wee should not have known how patient God is wee should not have apprehended how long-suffering God is to sinners if hee had not had such an example of patience such a pattern of all long-suffering as I was So wee should not have known how Mercifull how Good God is if the choicest attribute of God had been lost to us like as if a great River had run under ground not discerned if God had not singled out some upon whom hee might have expressed the Riches of his Mercy And those whom God doth intend to bee the subjects upon whom hee may advance so high designs so great purposes must needs bee exceeding precious to him My Brethren you that are the People of God are such as hee hath intended to advance his Mercy and Glory of Free-Grace upon You are they hee sent Christ to dye for the greatest work that ever was wrought in the World You are they whom hee reared the fabrick of Heaven for You are they in whom hee intends to delight and with whom hee will solace himself for ever And God looks upon us now not as wee are but what he intends to make us Hee sees to the utmost of his design on you to eternity and loves you now with that love If God should look upon us as wee are hee might see enough in us to withdraw his heart from us or if not yet enough to cool and quench his affections towards us being there is so much blacknesse with our beauty so much deformity with our comlinesse so much corruption with our Graces Nay so much blacknesse and so little beauty and so much corruption and so little Grace But hee looks upon us not as wee are in our selves but as wee are in Christ and not what wee are for present but what hee intends to make us in Christ Hee looks to the end of his design even to that which hee hath designed us to When wee shall bee presented without spot or wrinkle or any such thing holy and without blemish Ephes 5.27 When wee shall bee satisfied with his likeness Psal 17.15 When wee shall bee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like to the Angels nay like unto God Glorious with his Glory as now Gracious with his Grace And therefore God having intended us to such high purposes and looking upon us for present what hee purposes to make us and what hee hath designed us to needs must the Heart of Jesus Christ bee taken with us Thus having shewed you what it is to have the Heart of Christ taken with the Church and proved unto you that the Heart of Christ is
Being justified by Faith wee have Peace with God Rom. 15.13 Now the God of all hope fill you with joy and peace in beleeving An unbeleeving-heart is a stormy heart an unpeaceable-heart All things Above us Within us Quae supra nos Intra nos Infra nos Contra nos Below us are all against us whilst wee are Unbeleevers 1. Above us wee have an angry and displeased God 2. Within us wee have a stormy and troublesome Conscience threatning nothing but death like the troubled Sea casting up mire and dirt as Isaiah speaks Isa 57.20 There is no Peace saith my God to the wicked 3 Below us we have there all the Creatures our enemies ready upon Gods commission to execute his displeasure upon us But now being Beleevers all is at Peace 1. All above us is at Peace The Controversy betwixt God and us is ended Faith takes up the quarrel betwixt God and us Wee have Peace with God Rom. 5.1 2. All within us is at Peace A peaceable God makes all at Peace Tranquillus Deus Tranquillat omnia when once our Peace is made in the Court of Heaven which is upon the first act of beleeving Then follows Peace in the Court of Conscience Peace which passeth all understanding Phil. 4.7 Our rest is to behold God at rest our Peace is to see him at Peace Eum quierem aspicere Quâ—â— esceâ—e est 3. All below us are at Peace with us Wee have Peace with all the Creatures All are now our Friends Job 5.23 The stones of the Field shall bee at league with thee the Beasts of the Field shall bee at peace with thee c. Thou shalt know that Peace shall bee in thy Tabernacle Prov. 16.7 When a mans wayes please the Lord hee will make his enemies to bee at peace with him When before upon our Rebellion with God all the Creatures were our enemies now being reconciled all are made friends 1. Faith makes us the Servants to the God of Peace in whose service there is Peace Prov. 3.17 All his Paths are Peace Every step of Godliness hath Peace with it And the reward of whose service shall bee Peace Psal 29.11 The Lord will bless his people with Peace Psal 85.8 The Lord will speak Peace to his people at the last though they meet with much trouble for the present war within and war without war with lusts war with Satan yet the God of Peace shall tread down Satan under our feet at last and put an end to this war Rom. 16.20 They shall have a Peace in the Conclusion And a Peace after war is the surest and most setledst Peace Psal 37.37 Mark the upright man The end of that man is Peace Though there bee stormes and troubles in the way yet the end of the journey that shall bee Peace A calm after stormes and never shall there arise storme more to all Eternity 2. Faith makes us subjects to the Prince of Peace unto Christ who is called our Peace Ephes 2.14 And our Peace hee is 1. Not only meritoriously by shedding his Blood for the purchase of our Peace Col. 1.20 Christ is our Peace having made Peace through the Blood of his Cross So Isa 53. The chastisement of our Peace was upon him Or that chastisement which did meritoriously procure our Peace was upon him God directed all the war against him that wee might have Peace As Jonah was thrown into the Sea that the storm might cease so Christ upon the Cross into the Grave that God and wee might bee at peace together But Christ is not only our Peace thus meritoriously by procuring Peace for us But also â— Efficiently by working of Peace in us Christ hath not only wrought Peace for us but hee works Peace in us Pacifying our Consciences calming our stormy spirits setling and establishing his Peace in us Christ is called the Prince of Peace as the King is the Fountain of Honours and bestows them where hee will so Christ is of Peace and bestows it when and where hee pleaseth Wee read that Moses was a man of Peace but hee was not a Prince of Peace Hee could not bestow Peace hee could not instill peaceable and calm affections into the mutinous Israelites But Christ hee is not a man of Peace but King of Salem Prince of Peace who is able to bestow Peace who can calm the most stormy and troublesome spirits with as much ease as hee did the Winds and Waters which was but with a word Peace and bee still Now Faith makes us one with Christ who is the Prince of Peace Christ joyned God and us together and Faith joynes Christ and us together in whom wee have Peace John 16 33. â— In mee yee shall have Peace Faith makes us subjects to this Prince of Peace whose Kingdome and reign over his people doth not consist in meat and drink but in Righteousnesse and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost 3. Faith doth interest us into the Covenant of Peace and therefore being Beleevers wee must needs have Peace I say Faith doth interest us into the Covenant of Peace the Gospel of Peace the alone condition whereof is beleeving Whosoever beleeveth shall bee saved Time was that Hoc age do this was the condition of life do this and live So ran the old Covenant But now Crede Beleeve and bee saved The Law required works It 's called a Covenant of Works but the Gospel Faith It s a Covenant of Grace Made out of meer Grace and performed of meer Grace wherein God promiseth pardon of sins upon meer Mercy and Grace 4. Faith doth instate us into the conditions of Peace Faith gives us the grounds of Peace Justification Reconciliation with God pardon of sin and Sanctification of the whole man As there is no Peace where God is not propitious so there 's no Peace where the sinner is not sanctified A Beleeving heart is an holy heart and an holy heart is a peaceable heart Grace and Peace and Righteousnesse and Peace are still coupled together To shew that where there is no Grace there is no Peace and where there is Grace there is Peace though not ever in the Possession Gratia est bonum initiale Pax est bonum finale and sensible injoyment yet ever in the hope and assurance of the promise of Peace Grace is the root and Peace is the fruit A good Conscience is a continual Feast They who do the work of God shall have the Peace of God Gal. 6. They who walk according to this Rule Peace shall bee on them c. Hence the Psalmist Psal 119 165. Great Peace have they that love thy Law They which love the Law of God shall have the Peace of God Object But you will say Many have Peace who yet are not Beleevers Object And many are Beleevers and yet want Peace Therefore Peace is not a Fruit of Faith Ans Now to meet and to resist this Objection Answ which like a two-edged-sword
Parent The Master to the Servant The Servant to the Master c. Faith is the great Task-Master of the Soul But it is not like Pharaohs Task-Master to command burdens and afford no help To require the Tale of Brick and give no Straw This indeed the Law doth It is an hard Task-Master It commands but gives no ability Jubet fed non juvat Efficit quod imperat Jubet juvat But not so Faith It commands and laies in strength to do It gives what it commands by going over to Christ and fetching strength from him whereby the soul is inabled to obey what it is commanded It is said of Christ That His Government shall bee upon his shoulders Not only in his hand having a Scepter only to command but upon his shoulders wherein there is support to obey commands So it may bee said of Faith which governeth from Christ and by Christ Its Government is upon its shoulder inabling the soul to do what it commands 1. Faith begets Soul-inabling-Principles Principles in the soul suitable to the things commanded whereby a man is inabled to obey All strength for new Obedience ariseth from a new Nature And this new Nature is nothing else but that conformity to the Law of God whereby a man is not only able to obey but willing to obey when Principles are wrought in our hearts suitable to the Precepts when there is a Law within us answering to the Law without us It will be meat and drink it will be natural to obey it is not now hard to pray to clear The yoak is easy the burden is light These things are not tasks but delights not medicines but meat not physick but food Psal 40. I delight to do thy Will saith David and what was the ground Thy Law is in my heart There were Principles agreeable to the Precepts and that made him not only to obey but to obey with delight 2. Faith supplies a man with Soul-inabling-Strength from without Wee have need not only of preventing but assisting Grace not only of operative but cooperative strength not only of inherent but of assistant the continual succours aids and supplies of the Spirit of Christ And Faith doth supply the soul with strength from him without whom wee can do nothing and through whose might wee are inabled to do all things Faith laies in supplies of strength from Christ wherewith wee are inabled for any service It calls in for all the strength of Christ the aids of the Spirit whereby wee are strengthened 2. Faith doth furnish a man with Soul-inabling-considerations 1. From God the mercies of God the goodness and sweetness of God All which do incourage and inable the soul to obey A loving Master makes a diligent Servant A mercifull God a working Christian Nothing doth so prevail with the heart as love The Love of Christ constrains us When Faith shall discover to the heart what we were what we are what God might what God hath done with us it will break out with David with a Quid Retribuam c. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows c. Psal 116.12 This overcomes the Soul with Love That heart that is overcome with the sweetness of mercy is prepared to overcome any difficulty of service My heart is prepared my heart is prepared 2. From the work Faith furnishes a man with soul-inabling-considerations from the excellency of the imployments hee sees a peece of Heaven in tem hee sees these services full of beauty sweetness desireableness No service to the service of the King Oh! what then is the service of the King of Kings 3. From the rewards which God hath promised to obedience And these rewards Faith makes use of to quicken and stir up the soul to Obedience to bee spurs and incentives to us as they were to Moses who had an eye to the recompence of the Reward as they were to Christ himself who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the shame Heb. 12.2 and Heb. 11.26 All which have a mighty influence into the soul to inable and quicken it to Obedience 2. Faith inables the Soul to suffer Yea and to suffer the sufferings of the greatest magnitude You see Heb. 11. Through Faith they were stoned they were sawn asunder were slain with the sword 1. It puts the soul into a suffering frame It deadens a mans heart to the world mortifies a man to to the world and makes a man alive to God A man dead to the world doth not much care either to leave the world or any thing in the world now Faith deadens a mans heart to the World 1. Faith puts the Judgement into a right frame It makes the Judgement lightly to esteem of earthly and highly to esteem of Heavenly things lightly to esteem the favours and frowns of men highly to value the favour and fear the frowns of God 2. Faith prevails with the Will to chuse God above all and to part with all the leave all if they come in competition with God This Faith doth habitually in habituall preparations in the work of Grace when first the Will chuseth with Christ Thus Faith inables the soul to do actually when ever it is brought to tryall 3. Faith works upon the Affections to love God above all to delight in God to fear him c. A man who loues any thing chuseth any thing prizeth any thing above God is a man unfit for sufferings hee is not in a sufering frame If God and these things come in competition they with Demas will forsake God and cleave to the present world Men whose hearts are too much ingaged to the World whose affections are too much set upon the Creature men whose wills chuse any thing more than God whose Judgements do prize and esteem of any thing more than God to whom God is little and the world is great these men are unfit for tryals And therefore this is the first way whereby Faith doth inable the Soul by putting it into a suffering frame 2. Faith doth furnish the soul with suffering Resolutions A beleeving heart is a resolved heart Nothing causeth a suspension in the Will more than Unbeleef Hee that doubteth is like a wave of the Sea sometimes going this way and sometimes carried back again Whereas Faith doth resolve the heart makes the soul resolve as Peter but in a better strength I will dye rather than deny thee Faith doth cloathe the soul with suffering resolutions to go through a Sea through a Wilderness through the hottest Skirmishes the hardest Tryals for Christ You see it every where in Scripture In Michaiah in Jeremiah in the three Children in Daniel in the Apostles And to these I might adde many more As that of old Polycarp when hee was perswaded to deny Christ rather than to dye for Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
light into the world saith Christ that whosoever beleeveth in mee should not abide in darknesse The least touch of Christ by Faith doth raise up and revive the Soul in this sad Condition As the dead man was raised to life and revived but by touching the dead bones of Elisha 2 King 13.21 so the Dead Soul if it do but touch the Dead and crucified body of Christ by Faith is raised up and revived Such a vertue and influence comes from Christ as doth raise up and comfort the Soul Thus Faith doth raise the heart by laying hold of Christ He who raised up himself will raise up all his members If our head had been still under water wee had then perished but he being risen will raise us up also being his members 4 Faith inables a man to put up Soul-raising-prayers indites Soul-raising-prayers strong Prayers and cries to God As Prayer helps Faith So Faith helps Prayer It inables a man to wrestle with God now in the Dark of desertion as it did Jacob in the Dark of the Night Yea and to wrestle with him by his own strength the strength of his Covenant of his promise of his Christ In which Encounter Faith will take up arguments 1 From it self 2 From God 1 From it self By presenting its miserable Condition in the absence of God That all his own work is ready to sink and dy to come to nothing if hee help not Oh! will Faith say Lord my flesh fails my heart fails my strength fails my spirit fails Oh! Come down before I dye come strengthen the things that are ready to dye in me This argument David took up Psal 143.7 Hear me speedily O Lord my spirit fails Oh! Hide not thy face from mee lest I bee like unto them that go down into the Pit So Psal 39.10 12 13. Take thy plague from mee I am consumed by the stroke of thy hand c. Hear my prayer O Lord hearken to my cry Keep not silence at my tears for I am a stranger with thee a sojourner as all my Fathers were Oh! spare a little that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more 2 Faith will take up arguments from God 1 From the justice and truth of God He hath promised never to leave nor forsake his people 2 From the immutability of God Thou art JEHOVAH thou changest not therefore the Sons of Jacob are not consumed Mal. 3.6 Thou never repentest of thine own work Thou never hast wooed my heart to lose it again Thou never tookest my heart to leave it again and take thy heart clean away Thou never didst set thy heart on mee to take it off again 3 From the power of God Abraham at a plunge was supported with this strong staff of Comfort when though by Gods command hee was to sacrifice his Sonne Isaac yet hee accounted that God was able to raise him up even from the dead Heb. 11.19 Lord if thou wilt thou canst Mat. 8.2 4 From the mercy of God Lord thou art gracious and merciful ready to relieve It 's true I am a sinner but thou art a Saviour I am sinful but thou art mercifull I am impious but thou art gracious I have done that Ego admisi undè me damnare potes Tu non amisisti undè me salvare soles for which thou mightest damn mee but thou hast not lost that by which thou mayest save mee True I am not worthy of a smile from Heaven I have deserved to bee sent from darkness here to everlasting darkness hereafter from this partial to total and universal darkness But Lord proportion not thy dealings to mee according to my deservings from thee Let not the strong God take a pattern from my weakness good God do not ever remember my evil least thou forget thine own goodness thine own mercy O bone Do-â—â— mine noli recordare malum moum ne obliviscaris bonum tuum But thou who art found of them who seek thee not Oh! Be mercifully found of a soul who seeketh thee Thus will Faith work it self out of trouble and gather arguments to prevail with God for deliverance It will take up arguments From Soul-raising-Attributes From Soul-raising-Promises From Soul-raising-Relations From Soul-raising-Experiences It will incompass God with Gods own strength And God cannot because hee will not deny God will not reject his own strength not strive against his own mercy not resist his own Spirit not falsifie his own Truth but will raise up and revive the Soul Thus you see Faith is a Soul-raising-Grace Where Unbeleef holds the soul under water buries the soul in these sad conditions Faith raiseth up and reviveth it A beleeving soul cannot long lye under trouble If all the Power Truth and Mercy of God will fetch him out hee shall bee sure to bee delivered Faith ingages and sets a work all these to help Oh! The Reason my Brethren why you lye so long in spiritual Agonies buried up in spiritual troubles is because you let not Faith come in to work for you let Faith have her perfect work and it will raise you Sixteenth Royalty 16. Faith is an Heart-chearing-Grace 16. Royalty Faith is an Heart-chearing Grace Faith is such a Grace as doth chear and comfort the soul with unexpressible Consolations It is such a Grace as makes an inlet of all the Consolations of God into the Soul Faith brings a report to the Soul that God is his God Christ is his Christ that his Name is written in the Book of Life his sins are pardoned his soul shall bee saved And such news as this must needs fill the soul with unexpressible Consolations with joyes unspeakable and full of glory All other joyes are but mad and disorderly joyes They are carnal not spiritual outward not inward joyes they are but painted not true Joyes imaginary not real Joyes unsatisfying not tull Joyes inconstant not stable Joyes The best false Raptures Anabaptistical Illusions not true Joyes But this Joy The Joy of Faith it is grounded joy it is 1. A spiritual Joy for the Nature of it 2. A Hearty Joy for the Nature of it 3. A Satisfying Joy for the fulness of it 4. A Constant Permanent Joy for the duration of it My Joy shall no man take from you Alas what are all other joyes to the Joy of Faith The least morsel of this Joy is worth all the full meals of worldly delights The least gleaning of this Joy is worth the whole Harvest of carnal mirth The least drop of this is worth an Ocean of any other There is more moisture in one drop of this than in a flood of temporal and carnal delights True Joy grows upon the stock of Faith Where there is no Faith there is no true Joy Faith is the Root and Joy is the Fruit. It is call'd The Joy of Beleevers Beleevers are the Subjects of it and a Joy in Beleeving Beleeving is the Root of it Rom. 5.1.2 Being justified by Faith wee have
wee are ready to look above us who is higher richer not below us who is poorer But in spirituals wee look below us not above us behind us not before us how many come short of our measure not how many do out-strip us And therefore wee content our selves with that wee have But let us labour to forget all behind and to presse forward to the mark of the Rich calling of God in Christ Jesus as the Apostle did If thy Faith bee true it is of a growing Nature Now to all this I will adde some means 1. To get Faith 2. To increase Faith 1. Means for the begetting of Faith 1. Labour to keep close to Faith-begetting Ordinances These are 1. The Word 2. Prayer 1. Frequent the powerful and sincere preaching of the word of God a Faith-begetting-means Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10.17 True Faith is the Daughter of Mercy For this end God hath set up this Ordinance in the Church that it might bee a means for the begetting Faith in the hearts of unbeleeving men And God doth often in the opening of Scripture open our understandings that wee may beleeve Luk. 24.45 John 20.31 And in the hearing of the Word keep thy Ear open to hear what God saith by his Spirit in the Gospel Faith comes not by mercy of the Law but of the Gospel And in the Gospel dwell upon Faith-breeding-Promises Indeed all the Promises tend to beget Faith but especially such wherein the good Will of God and the Heart of God is discovered such wherein the freeness and richness of Gods Promises are discovered Promises are of two sorts 1. Either such as are conditional granted upon the performance of some duty in us As such as these Beleeve and thou shalt bee saved Repent and thy sins shall bee forgiven thee 2. Or such as are made and performed in meer Mercy such wherein God promises to give that condition which hee requires to the Promise Wee have not only promises of giving pardon and remission to the beleeving sinner but wee have promises of bestowing Faith upon the unbeleeving sinner There are some Promises wherein wee are to bring Faith to the Promise As here whoever beleeves shall bee saved And There are some Promises that wee must go unto for Faith Some that wee must bring Faith to and some that wee must go to for Faith as those free and absolute Promises I will take away your stony hearts and give you hearts of flesh And such wherein hee hath said Hee will work all our works in us and for us Oh! say some If I had but so much Repentance so much brokenness of heart if but so much love then I could beleeve Alas wee must not bring our penny to the Promise We must beleeve and then all the rest will come in The way to have a broken heart is to beleeve The way to repent the way to love God 2. The second Ordinance is Prayer Though none of this Faith bee in Heaven yet all Faith comes from Heaven It is the gift of God And therefore wee are to seek to him for it Wee may joyn our selves to Faith-begetting-means But it is God that must make the means effectual for the working of Faith It is a grace above the power of man and therefore requires the power of God to work it I say 1. It requires the Power of God Nay not only the Power but 2. It requires the greatness of his Power Nay 3. The excess of greatness of his Power Nay 4. The mightiness of that excess Yea and 5. The working of all this mighty Power As the Apostle shews Ephes 1.19 where wee have all those five particulars set down And therefore there is need of calling in for all the help of God all the power of God for the working of it It is the hardest thing in the World to cast a man out of himself to cut a man off his own stock to throw a man off his own foundation And when that is done it is as hard a work to bring this man over to Christ to make a man to lye full and flat upon the promise of Grace for mercy And therefore how much need is there of stirring up our hearts How much need of calling in for the strength of God by prayer This is the second Prayer is a fruit of Faith and yet prayer is a means for the begetting of Faith As the Spirit is a fruit of Prayer so prayer is a fruit of the Spirit As you see Luk. 11.13 compared with Rom. 8.15 In the one place the Spirit is said to bee the fruit of Prayer Hee will give his Spirit to them that ask him In the other Prayer is the fruit of the Spirit You have received the Spirit of adoption whereby you cry abba Father 3. Have much to do with Faith-begetting-Company Faith-begetting-conference Where thou shalt hear the discoveries how God hath wrought Faith in them and how God doth work Faith in the hearts of unbeleeving men Did not our hearts burn within us when hee talked with us by the way and when hee opened to us the Scriptures said those two Disciples after their conference with Christ travelling in company together to Emmaus Luk. 24.32 The like of Aquilla and Priscilla with Apollo Act. 18.26 4. Dwel much upon and cherish Faith-begetting-considerations which are 1. Thoughts of our selves 2. Thoughts of God Thoughts of our emptiness and thoughts of Gods fulness Considerations of our own misery and thoughts of his love and mercy Omnes post te currimus audientes quod nullum spernis peccatorem Bernard Think how God hath dealt with you and how God hath dealt with other sinners who have come to him Such were Manasses Mary Paul Wee all run after thee O Lord seeing thou despisest no sinners Thou despisedst not the weeping Mary the begging Canaanite Et si his peccatoribus veniam dâ—disti paratus es nobis si modo impetramur the intreating Publican the confessing Theef the Adulterous Woman the denying Disciple the persecuting Paul And if thou refused'st not those thou wilt not reject mee If thou pardonedst them thou wilt pardon mee if I beleeve in thee But in particular cherish these three thoughts 1. The consideration of thy own vileness and emptiness thy sin and misery by reason of sin And this will drive thee out of thy self 2. The consideration of the fulness riches and al-sufficiency of Christ who hath all fulness in him who is able to save to the utmost a bottome able to hold up any weight of sin 3. The consideration of the freeness of Christ and the Promise God keeps open house invites intreats beseecheth us to beleeve and come in Ho! Every one that thirsteth come yee to the Waters come buy yee that have no silver and eat Come buy Wine and Milk without mony c. Isa 55 1. And Hee that comes to mee saith Christ Joh. 6.37 I will by no means cast out Let him that
resolved for God you who are bound for Heaven that you would get better evidences than the bare and naked performance of duties will afford you All which may bee done and thou sink into Hell at the last Nay get better evidences than duty it self performed at the best is able to afford unto you 1. Because evidences of this kinde are obscure full of ambiguity full of intricate disputes and controversies There will bee Objection upon Objection and controversy upon controversy will arise And all must bee cleared and all Objections answered before ever wee can conclude our estates by them I say Evidences of this kinde they must bee put in suit and pass a long scrutiny and tryal where there must bee Evidences upon Evidences and no end of them before ever wee can have any comfort in them You will finde that the clearing of the truth of these Evidences will bee as difficult if not more than the compassing of the Evidences themselves 2. Wee are to seek out for better Evidences than duty performed at the best can afford us because these kinde of Evidences are not only obscure full of ambiguity and so uncertain But because these kinde of Evidences they are unconstant they are instable they may appear to day and vanish to morrow You know my Brethren that a man is not alwayes in the same temper of spirit his spirit is subject to varying and alteration in the performance of duties And therefore though a man may fetch an Evidence out of the Court of duty at this time yet it may bee at another time the Court will not afford it A man may bee cleared to day by duty and condemned to morrow This day hee may thence have an evidence and hee may bee cast in the same Court to morrow Our comforts fetcht hence are lyable to change They vary as wee vary change as wee change This is certain That the Peace which is wrought out of our selves is again lost by our selves And the comfort gotten by duty at one time is lost by duty at another time Well then I call you out to seek out for better evidences Such as will afford you more fulness of peace and will minister to you more stability of comfort than these can do Fetch your Evidences from your Justification your interest in Christ in the Covenant You will finde an emptiness in all only a fulness here Draw your waters of comfort from the highest springs the springs of Justification These are 1. The clearest 2. The purest 3. The most satisfying 4. The most constant Evidences 1. These are the clearest Evidences They are fetched from the Spring Other waters are muddy and disturbed but Spring-waters are clear So Evidences taken from other things often run muddy and are disturbed but those from Justification are the cleanest and run the clearest Though these kinde of Evidences are hardest to clear It will cost a man something before he reach to these Evidences before he can make out these Evidences to himself yet they are the most perspicuous being cleared The Testimony of blood is the hardest and darkest Testimony to make out but none is more clear than that when once you have made it out to your souls So that it is worth all your labour and pains you take in the clearing of it Other Evidences are liable to dispute But what can Satan dispute against this Doth hee say Thou art a sinner Yea but maist thou say God justifies sinners hee justifies the ungodly Though sin hath weakened the Law and made that unable to do us good yet it hath not weakened Christ and Free Grace nor should it weaken our Faith if now wee bee returning sinners If Sin it self were a just Obstacle then there could never bee any who could bee Justified or fetch comfort from their Justification because all were sinners I am a sinner so was Abraham the Father of the Faithful so the best of Gods worthies Doth hee say our sins are great Yet wee may say they are not greater than God can pardon They are not greater than 1. The Mercy of God to pardon them or 2. The Righteousness of Christ to cover them 1. For the Mercy of God The Apostle tells us there was more than enough to pardon him who was the greatest of sinners 1 Tim. 1.13 14 15 16. The Grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant The word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Did superabound was more than enough more than might serve the turn for him who was the greatest of sinners 2. And for the Righteousness of Christ it is said to bee an everlasting Righteousness more than eternity of sinning is able to expend and draw drye It is a Righteousness which as it cannot bee over-clasped by any Faith So can it not bee posed non-plust by any sin You see Rom. 1.17 It is a Righteousness revealed from Faith to Faith The more Faith not the lesse but the more Righteousness is discovered And as it cannot bee over-clasped by any Faith so it cannot bee exceeded by any sin Thus you see Evidences from our Justification they are the clearest Evidences the freest from disputes and if any Objections do arise they may bee the more quickly laid But now it is not so with other kinde of Evidences If a man take an Evidence from Duty there will bee controversies Objection upon Objection will arise and there must bee Evidence upon that Evidence before ever a man can make out the truth of them Nay though Evidences bee taken from Graces themselves yet you will scarce finde a bottome without much search Suppose a man come to bring in his Love to Christ for an Evidence yet this is liable to dispute You know there is a False-Love as well as a True a counterfeit as well as a sound And therefore this must bee examined by the Nature of your Love the workings of your Love towards Christ the expressions of your Love in all the wayes of Obedience And I must tell you of great latitude and extent in this tryal There will bee long debates before you come to the utmost And the like I may say of any Grace besides Therefore these from Justification are the clearest Evidences from disputes and controversies 2. These are the purest Evidences Spring-waters are the purest waters so these Evidences fetched from the Spring scil from your Justification and interest in Christ these are the purest I say these kinde of Evidences are the purest and most unmixed Evidences You shall see all other kinde of Evidences they are not so pure they have mixtures in them 1. Are they taken from Prayer yea and Prayer at the best yet these are not pure they have mixtures in them Our best Duties are mingled with imperfections They have a tang and taste of the flesh in them You know there is much deadness with our chiefest Life much formality in our best Power much coldness with our heats much of the flesh in all the imployments
for ever Oh! make not that your joy which was Christs sorrow and will be yours eternally if now your joy in sin be not turned to sorrow for sin 6. Consectary 6. If sin be the Greatest evil 6. Consectary Then see the utter impossibility of any thing under heaven to relieve and help us from under the guilt of sin save JESUS CHRIST onely Hast thou committed but one sin thou hast done that which all the Treasures of Righteousness in Heaven and Earth are not able to relieve thee or help thee in save JESUS CHRIST There is as much required for the answering the guilt of one sin as the guilt of a thousand Infinite Righteousness is required for one and no more is required for a thousand And that Righteousness none but Christ alone hath Nothing can relieve us but that which is Adequate in righteousness to the Evil of sin Now there is no righteousness in the world that is proportionable to the Evil of sin but the Righteousness of Christ 1. Our own you know is too short it is called A menstruous rag A rag and therefore cannot cover us Menstruous and therefore though it should cover us yet it would but cover filth with filth as the Prophet speaks Isa 30.1 They cover but not with the covering of my Spirit that they might adde sin to sin that is the sin of their righteousness to the sin of their unrighteousness They cover a blot with a blot adde sin to sin dung to dung 2. Nor will the righteousness of the Law be large enough if it were supposed that a man were able to fulfil all that righteousness and keep the whole Law Present obedience though supposed to be Adequate to the Righteousness of the Law will never answer for former offences and disobediences The Law indeed is strong enough to damn a thousand but cannot save one it can pour Hell and Wrath and Condemnation upon a World of sinners but is not able to pour Grace or to give Justification to one The Apostle tells us Rom. 8.3 4. What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh The same Apostle also tells us Gal. 3.21 If there had been a Law given which could have given life righteousness should have been by the Law The Apostle tells us again Gal. 3.17 The Law was given four hundred and thirty years after the promise to shew we must not work that we may be justified but be justified that we may be able to work If God had intended The Law the instrument of Justification he would have given the Law Four hundred and thirty years before the Promise 3. Nay yet further It is not the righteousness of Angels which yet is a Greater Righteousness than that of the Law inasmuch as the Angels were above Man in Innocency because this also is but a created Righteousness a finite Righteousness and no way proportionable to the evil of sin If it had one sin had not spoiled those glorious Angels of their Goodness at once and made them Devils which that sin doing shews There was more evil in sin than Good or Righteousness in them Well then This shews the utter impossibility of any other under heaven or in heaven to Free us from the Evil of sin but JESUS CHRIST Nothing but Infiniteness can deal with sin It must be Infinite wisdom To finde out a way It must be Infinite mercy To pardon Infinite power To subdue Infinite merit To purge and cleanse And Infinite Grace To destroy sin However you think of sin yet this hath been the Great Enemy which God and Grace have been contending withal ever since the world began And it hath put All-God to it even the Infiniteness of the infinite God to rescue us and to save us out of the Hands and Power of sin His infinite Wisdom Power Mercy Truth Holiness have been all imployed to conquer sin I say so to conquer sin as to save you the sinners The Great design of God in sending Christ into the world his Incarnation Humiliation Death Passion all were about this The conquering and destroying of sin How Great an Enemy was this that God must send out his Son to conquer it He can arm Flyes Lice Frogs the meanest of Creatures to overthrow the Greatest Power and Puissance of the earth but no less than his Son was strong enough to conquer sin You may think of sin as meanly as you will swallow it without fear live in it without sense commit it without remorse yet assure your selves that this you make so slight of required No less than the infinite power of God to conquer the infinite mercy of God to pardon the infinite merit of Christ to answer for it It was that which fetcht the Dearest Blood from the Heart of Christ and will have Thine too if thou gettest not an interest in him 7. Consectary 7. Consectary 7. If sin be the Greatest Evil Then see how much we are bound to CHRIST who hath born your sins who hath born All this evil for you you who have an Interest in him Oh the Love of CHRIST that he should bear sin which is more than all miseries a greater evill than Death than Hell it self is If there were one in the world that were content to be Poor for you to Bear Pains for you to be Sick for you to be Arrested for you to go to Prison for you to Dye for you nay to Bear the Wrath of God for you nay the pains of Hell for you How would you think your selves bound to such an one for doing it Why This hath CHRIST done for you He hath Born sin which is a Greater Evil than all these An evil that hath All these evils in the bowels of it Such as none but Christ was Able to Bear If God laid the least sin upon thee pure sin which none but CHRIST did ever bear here in this world it would crush thee to pieces with the weight of it though all the Pillars of Heaven all the Glorious Angels should contribute their strength to thee to help thee to bear thee up The least sin doth deserve and draw down an infinite wrath which nor thou nor all the Angels in Heaven are able to stand under The Damned bear it in Hell They bear it and cannot bear it They are slain with it but cannot dye Ever consuming never consumed And therefore how much are you bound to CHRâ—ST who hath Born sin a Greater evil than All other Evils and with sin All the Torments and Wrath and Justice due to sin All the world is not able to express that Torment which Christ indured when he did Bear sin when he did sweat drops of blood clods of blood when he wrestled with the justice Grumos Sanguinis did bear the wrath of God when he cryed out My GOD my GOD Why hast thou
Beware of all the Occasions Allurements c which might draw you to sin You would watch in all Times in all Companies good and bad in all Places None are so secure but you may fall into sin if you be neglective of your Christian Watch. Thus where fâ—â— is apprehended to be the Greatest Evil there will be the Greatest care and circumspection against sin Such a man 1. He is Acquainted with the falls of others which are to him not Land-Ma ks to Walk by but Sea-Marks and Rocks to Shun 2. He is Acquainted with the weakness and wickedness of his own heart and spirit and therefore watches He knows he cannot trust any member alone without a Guard upon it The eyâ— are full of sin Adultery Pride Envy lusts of the Eye 1 Jonn 2.16 And he cannot trust his eyes without Jobs Covenanâ— I have made a Covenant with mine eyes why then should I think â—n a maid Chap. 31.1 The Tongue is full of sin Of Cursings Murmurings Revilings Vain-Communications And there is no trusting of it without David Bridle Psal 39.7 I will keep my mouth as with a Bridle that I â—ffend not with my Tongue He knows his own weakness and wickedness and therefore dares not trust any member without his Keeper 3. Such a man he is acquainted with the power and policy of Satan who as Luther calls him is Non Promotus sed Expertus Doctor A subtle enemy whose Temptations are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rev. 2.24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 2.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 4.14 He suits his temptations according too 4. Such an one he is acquainted with the danger and deceitfulness of sin and how it is 1. Deceitful in its Object 2. Deceitful in its Arguments 3. Deceitful in its Pretences and Excuses Nullum vitium sine patrocinio 4. Deceitful in its Incroaches 5. Deceitful in its Promises And therefore will he keep an holy circumspection an humble awful jealous fear over his own spirit lest he should fall into sin He looks on sin as his Greatest Evil and his Greatest care and endeavors are to avoid sin 4. If sin be the Greatest Evil 4. Sin calls for greatest endeavors to be rid of it Then should it be our chiefest endeavors to be rid of sin Every man would labor to be rid of an Evil and the Greater the Evil the greater is our desire to be rid thereof Now sin is the Greatest of Evils How much more then should we labour and endeavor to be Rid of the Greatest of Evils Alas Alas what are all other Evils to the Evil of Sin which makes our good evil And yet to see the vileness of mens spirits they would fain be rid of all other evils but not of Sin so Pharaoh Take away this Death this Plague They complain of the evil caused but not of the evil causing of the evil punishing but not of the evil punished Flagella dolent Quarè Flagellantur non dolent saith Augustine They howl under the present scourges and afflictions but never lament the sin they would fain be rid of the Pain but yet they would fain keep the Tooth Whereas alas till sin be removed the afflictions will not be removed If they be yet not in mercy but in judgement And your Present Deliverance doth but Reserve you for a severer stroke Where on the contrary If sin be removed the affliction will be removed They are like the Body and the Shadow Remove the Body and the Shadow must needs be removed Sin is the Body and afflictions be but the Shadow Or if the Afflictions do continue yet if God take away sin the Evil of the Evil is taken way Sin is the sting of every Affliction Sin is that which imbitters every Cross And sin being taken away that which is Vindictive is taken way and that which is Medicinal and for Salvation doth remain It is more fruitful than penal All for merciful ends and out of merciful respects when sin is taken away 1. If sin be the Greatest Evil Then let us rather choose to fall into the Greatest Evil in the world than into the least evil of sin All other Evils have some Good in them and are to be the Objects of Choice in case we cannot avoid them but we must admit of sin Thus you see Moses did as you may read Heb. 11. He chose rather to be afflicted with the people God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season But now sin it is All-evil and No-good and there is nothing in the world should make us to chuse sin 2. Is sin the Greatest Evil Let this then put us on to pity and pray for such who are under a state of sin You pity sick Friends poor Friends undone Friends But alas what are all these evils to the evil of sin what is Poverty what is Sickness what is anything to the Evil of Sin All these are but Outward this is an Inward Evil. All these are but of a Temporal nature Death but a Conclusion to them all But this is of an Eternal nature All other will never make you the Object of Gods wrath and hatred And therefore spend some tears put up some prayers for such who are under the state of sin O saith Abraham that Ismael might live in thy sight So say thou There is such a Friend and such a Friend a Brother a Father c. who lies under sin is in a state of sin Oh! that thou wouldst pity their souls Oh! that thou wouldst snatch them out of the state of sin 3. If sin be so Great an Evil Let us then fall down and Admire 1. The greatness of Gods Patience in bearing with sinners 2. The greatness of Gods mercy in pardoning sin 1. Admire Gods patience in bearing with sinners 1. Here Admire the greatness of Gods patience in bearing with sinners It may be thou hast been an Unclean Sinner a Drunken sinner a Swearing-wretch these twenty thirty forty it may be threescore years and more And hath God spared thee Oh! here see the wonder of Gods patience If it were not that God is Almighty in the power of his patience it had been impossible he should have spared thee so long He tells us so Hos 11.9 I am God and not man I will not enter into the city viz. to destroy it So Mal. 3.6 I am JEHOVAH I change not Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed Implying if he had not been God if he had not been Almighty in the power of his patience they had certainly been cut off long before If men be daily provoked and irritated with injuries and do not come out to revenge we attribute it either to their Pusillanimity or to their Impotency either to their want of courage or want of Power But now it is not so with God His patience is his power Numb 14.17 18. when God had threatned to destroy them Moses prays to God to forbear them and he calls
appear Bigger than it is The sufferings of the Saints the sorrows of the Saints the sufferings of the Damned are too short The Glass ot the Law the Glass of Christs sufferings which is the greatest this doth not shew sin greater than it is It doth but discover sin in its Just Proportions and Dimensions It had not been justice in God to have required more blood and to put his own Son to more suffering than sin deserved Nor would this have stood with Gods Love his Pity and Mercy to his Son to have put him to more than sin deserved Though now there be mercy more than enough for the greatest sinners as the Apostle saith 1 Tim. 1.14 yet there was not Justice more than enough exercised upon Christ for the demerit and guilt of sin The Death of Christ was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An Adequate Ransome for our souls and sins And yet there is a Redundancy of merit an Overflowing of merit in the Satisfaction of Christ to Ransome a thousand worlds more to that if need were As sin is infinite in regard of the Object so Satisfaction is infinite in respect of the Merit Hence Christs death is not onely said to be A Satisfaction but A Purchase not onely A Payment but A Purchase A Satisfaction it was to the Justice of God for sin Full. And A Purchase of all good things from the Mercy of God to which his Justice in respect of the Validity and Worth of Christs Satisfaction is bound to us But this by way of Digression See then what need there is To Aggravate sin to the utmost because we cannot multiply sin to the greatness of it There will be many singular fruits of so doing 1. This will breed shame and confusion of spirit for sin 2. This will make you advance and relish mercy better When the debt seems little we are ready and apt to undervalue a pardon But when sin appears exceeding sinful this doth make us value mercy prize a pardon When sin is seen the greatest Evil Mercy and Pardon will be apprehended the greatest Good 3. This puts us into the neerest disposition To forsake sin As he who extenuates sin is resolved to continue in sin so he who truly aggravates sin desires to be rid of it 4. Besides It breeds a Displacency with our selves when we consider How ill we have dealt with God 5. It produceth self-judging and self-condemnation as we see in David Psal 51. 6. It will produce spiritual softness and tenderness of heart for sin But this I must pass over USE If sin be the Greatest Evil Then it is the Greatest Mercy in the world to be rid of sin The greater the evil is the greater is the mercy to be rid of it But now sin is the Greatest Evil. And therefore you shall see it set down as the only mercy that comes in by Christ Mat. 1.25 He shall be called JESUS because he shall save his people from their sins As if all other things coming in by Christ were included in this one He shall save his people from their sins He doth not say Hee shall save his people from Hell c but From sin From no other evil in the world And this is the Greatest Mercy When God would speak the utmost even the greatest thought of Mercy that ever came upon his heart when he would set down the greatest work of Mercy that ever the God of Mercy wrought he saith no more but He shall save his people from their sins Sin was the utmost Evil and therefore the saving from sin was the greatest good And hence David Psal 32.1 2. saith Blessed is he whose iniquity is forgiven and whose sin is covered Blessed is that man to whom the Lord imputeth not sin Indeed we have mean thoughts cheap thoughts of pardon of sin and the reason is because we have slight thoughts of sin But if God once open our understanding and make us see the vastness and wideness of the evil of sin and if that he should joyn a feeling sense to that sight and make us feel what sin is if he should let but the least sparkle of his wrath fall upon our spirits for sin it would make our faces gather blackness we should quickly change our note and say Oh! Blessed and for ever blessed are they whose iniquity is forgiven and whose sin is covered But lest I should seem to Beat the aire we will therefore Circumstantiate this Mercy a little and you shall see the Greatness of it Though indeed this were enough to tell you that sin is the Greatest Evil Thence would necessarily follow That it is the Greatest Mercy in the world To be rid of sin which will more fully appear if we consider the following particulars 1. First then The pardon of sin is the dearest-bought Mercy and that is something to shew the Greatness of the Mercy You know the Greater the sum is that is to be paid for the Purchase of a thing provided there be no want of wisdom in the Buyer nor want of Honesty in the Seller the Greater still and of more worth is the Thing bought or Purchased But now This Mercy Pardon of sin was a Mercy dear-bought It cost Blood Mat. 26.28 and that Not the blood of Bulls and Goats for that it was impossible it should take away sins as the Apostle hath it Heb. 10.4 What then was it Why it was The Precious blood of Christ 1 Pet. 1.18 19. You were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and spot And this The Blood of God Acts 20.28 Feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own Blood Now sit down and think what a Mercy that must needs be which is the Price of blood and that of the Son of God There was no Want of Wisdom in the Buyer he could not be over-reacht he knew the worth of the Commodity Nor was there want of justice or goodness in the Seller He was just and would not take one drop of blood more than the thing was worth And he was A Father too and therefore would not put his Son to more sufferings and require more than the thing was worth 2. This is the purest Mercy of all other The Pardon of sin A mercy that comes from the Heart and Good-will of God to you God may give you all other things and hate you You may be Rich and yet Reprobates Great in the world here and be Damned hereafter Dives may have wealth Herod Eloquence Saul Command Agryppa Glorious Apparel a man may do wickedly and yet prosper These things are not Truly good nor Truly evil If good the wicked should not have them If evil the Saints should not have them These are such things as God reacheth from his Hand not from his Heart they are general favors not special Love But this is a Peculiar-Favor the Saints
weary of the exercise of his Mercie and therefore hee goes on to adde Mercy to Mercy Wee say the Bee gives Hony naturally the sting only when shee is forced to it So God it is natural to him to shew Mercy but hee is provoked to exercise Judgement Hence hee is called the Father of Mercies begets Mercy Mercy is the Issue of God most natural to God and being so hence Mercy pleaseth him Actions of Nature are Actions of Delight God is never so well pleased with any carriage towards his Church as those which are in the wayes of mercy Nay if hee do afflict his Church it is to shew Mercy Mercy is the end of all his dealings towards his Church and therefore Mercy being so natural so pleasing and that the Mercy of God is the ground of his expressions of love to us as it is though our sins may draw out the expressions of his Justice yet his Mercy doth arise from himself Hence wee may have a ground to expect yet greater things than ever 6. Consectary If the heart of Christ bee so much taken with his Church Then see with what confidence wee may pray for the good of the Church of Christ Christs heart is taken with it A man may pray for himself and doubt of hearing because hee is not able to make out his particular interest in Gods Love But if a man pray for the good of the Church hee is sure to have hearing because the heart of Christ is taken with it Let us then make use of all our interest and acquaintance in Heaven in the behalf of the Church at this time 1. It is a thing which God commands 2. A thing which God expects 3. A thing which God rewards 4. A thing which God threatens the neglect of Much might bee said to move you Your good and your evil lies in the Churches As Jeremy used this as an argument why to pray for the civil estate of Babylon because in the peace thereof they should have peace if theirs in Babylons how much more ours in Sions 7. Consectary If the heart of Christ bee so much taken with his Church Then what will become of those who are enemies to his Church and People Is the heart of Christ so much taken with his Church and People Then woe bee to them that offend his Church If you touch them you touch the apple of his eye Gods People are dear to God They are his Spouse his Children his Members purchased with the price of his bloud his inheritance his Portion all his commings-in Those hee dyed for shed his bloud for one drop whereof is worth a thousand Worlds And therefore those whom hee was content to shed his bloud for certainly hee doth more esteem than all the World besides Wee say whiles the Iron is in its own nature you may handle it and meddle with it but if once the nature of fire bee added unto it if you touch it it will burn you So whiles the Children of God are but the Children of men you may deal with them as with other men but if once the nature of God bee stamped on them the Image of Christ bee drawn upon them it will bee dangerous for you to meddle with them least fire break out of their mouth to devoure you Wee read Zach. 12.3 God said hee would make his Church a burthensome stone c. St. Jerom on that place saith it was a Metaphor taken from the custome of the Jews who to try their strength had at the gates of the City great stones if they could lift them well and good but if not they crushed themselves with them So God will make his Church a burthensome stone Whoever lifteth at it shall crush himself whoever seeks to hurt it shall ruine himself You see it in Pharaoh Haman Achitophel Julian Haman lifted so long at this stone that it fell on him at last and crushed him Pharaoh followed the Children of Israel so long that hee could not return at last but was overwhelmed in the Waters Julian attempted it so long till at last himself was overthrown Hee that shoots in a Peece over-charged strikes down himself not that which hee aimed at Hee who intends evil against the Church shoots in a Peece over-charged and is sure to bee struck down with his own recoil Wee see it in our dayes They who have digged pits for us have fallen into them themselves They who laid snares for us in them is their own foot taken They have but made Rods for their own backs paved a way to their own destruction digged graves to bury themselves in seeking our ruine The Scepter of Christ hath been too strong for the Principality of Satan hee hath a Rod of Iron a Scepter of Power Eris sub pedibus an arm of strength to crush in peeces all his enemies And therefore as Pilates wife said of Christ Have nothing to do with that just man So I to thee seest thou a godly man beware of having any thing to do with him by way of offence For their Angels alway behold the face of their heavenly Father 8. Consectary If the heart of Christ bee so much taken with his Church Then see here the Ground of Acceptation of the services of his people God being taken with the Persons is taken with the performances of his People Hee had respect to Abel and then to his Offering Christ his heart was taken with the person and then with his performance Hence Christ saith to his Church Cant. 2.14 Let mee see thy Countenance let mee hear thy voice for thy Countenance is comely and thy voice is sweet Indeed if Acceptation should arise from the worthiness of our duties wee should never look to bee accepted There is so much sin in our services so much evil in our good so much coldness in our best heats so much formality in our chiefest power so much deadness in our best life so much of the World so much of our earth in our imployments for Heaven And if Acceptation should arise from any worth in them wee should bee sure to miss of it But arising from his good will and Mercy to us his heart being first taken with us is taken with our performances Hence the Assurance of Acceptation Nay and not only of our purest and perfectest services but even of our poor and imperfect duties such as wee throw away for dead and cast prayers Cant. 5.1 Hee drinks the Milk as well as the Wine Wee look upon a prayer accompanied with deadness distraction as a cast prayer Oh! say wee how can God accept of such impure imperfect services But hence it ariseth not from the excellency of your prayers but from the indulgency of his Grace It is the voice of his Spouse though never so weak It is the cry of a Member of his though never so faint And hee can put his odours his incense to them though never so impure and make them acceptable Rev. 8.4
a glass the glory of the Lord wee are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 In nature the meat is digested into the nature of the eater Here the eater is turned into the nature of the meat The contemplation of his Glory makes you glorious They will bee 5. Soul-winning Thoughts Love you know is of an attractive nature Amor amoris Magnes Nothing wins more than Love Love is the Loadstone to draw Love again As the Sun shining upon a Glasse begets a reflection of the beams back again so the love of God shed abroad in our hearts begets a reflection of love back again toward God You see Mary Much was forgiven her shee had tasted of much love from God and shee returned much love again to him Shee loved much The Power of God doth shake the heart The Majesty of God doth dread the heart The Justice of God doth awe the heart But it is the Mercy of God the Love of God which doth perswade win and draw the heart Nothing wins a mans heart to God but his Love The fear of God dread of God may bring a mans feet into his wayes but it is the Love of God which brings his Heart into his wayes They are 6. Soul-quickening 7. Soul-comforting thoughts Oh then that wee were but wise to improve this Doctrin this truth to the good of our souls I tell thee Christian if thou wouldest give this truth but scope in thy heart it would help thee and relieve thee of all the burdens under which thou groanest 1. Dost thou labour under a proud heart this would humble thee 2. Dost thou labour under a dejected heart this would raise thee 3. Under a dark heart this would comfort revive thee 4. Under a dead heart this would quicken thee and put the Spirit of Heaven into thee whiles thou art on earth 5. Under an hard heart this would break thee Nay this would melt thee dissolve thee into waters I say the more thou gets up with Elijah into this Chariot of love the more would the mantle of sin and corruption depart from thee 6. Under a worldly heart This would dead thy heart for ever to the World and set thee all on flame with the fire of heavenly affections I am confident of it whatever a Christian desires to injoy whatever a Christian desires to bee rid of if hee can but dwell upon this truth and bee able to manage it Hee shall have it more fully hee shall have it more quickly than any other way Wouldest thou bee rid of a proud heart wouldest thou have an humble heart wouldest bee rid of a dead heart and desirest a quick heart wouldest bee rid of an hard heart and have a broken heart wouldest bee rid of an unbeleeving of a doubting of a dejected heart and wouldest bee mighty in Faith full of comfort Why do but let thy soul bee carried captive with this Truth bee but content this Truth should master thee bee but willing to entertain it beleeve it imbrace it I am confident on it all this will bee done I may set down a probatum est to it Oh! That wee were wise to manage this Truth There are many look upon this but as a pleasant dream a Chimera a fiction And some beleeve it but slightly there wants depth of earth And some there are poor souls to whom the comfort of this truth belongs who think this is too good news for them They think if they should own it it would bee but too great a sale for too small a Boat rather overturn them than do them good rather ruine them than help them And therefore they must feed upon black thoughts upon Hell upon justice upon sin upon their corruptions Ah! Poor souls Satan deludes you you take a way to undo your selves Either to discourage you to say there is no hope or else to break you that you shall never bee able to do God service Look as long as you will into Hell pry as long as you will into the dark vaults of your souls rake as long as you will into the kennel of your hearts You shall finde nothing in Hell but Hell in your hearts but sin and having found it run from him That man looks too much on sin who shutteth his eyes from a mutual interview of love between God and his soul And hither you must come at last Free-Grace must bee owned Free-Mercy must bee acknowledged and advanced by you if ever you would bee saved if ever you would bee comforted You mâ—y think what you will but sure I am 1. There are no Christians more chearfull 2. None are more thankfull 3. None are more humble 4. None are more beleeving 5. None are more active 6. None are more couragious 7. None more serviceable and usefull toward God and men than they who lye continually at the breast of the promise than they who set up Gods Free-Grace and own that good which God makes out to them Thou mayest bee a Christian but thou wilt bee a sad Christian an uncomfortable Christian a dark Christian a deserted Christian a dead Christian an unserviceable Christian if thou dost go on to feed upon black thoughts and wilt not own that comfort which Christ tenders imbrace that good which Christ speaks and beleeve the Riches of his Grace and Mercy to poor sinners Do but sit down and from the sight and sense of thine own unworthiness take but occasion to advance Free-Grace and Mercy Let there bee place for that to come in Let those thoughts finde entertainment And thou shalt quickly finde a strange change in thy spirit 1. Thou who couldest not mourn before shall now bee able to poure our tears as if thou wert all turned to water 2. Thou who before couldest not beleeve couldest not bee comforted wilt even think it a wonder that ever thy heart should bee so dark so doubtful 3. Thou who before wast dead shalt now finde a spirit of life come into thee and make thee active in the work of the Lord. Make but the Experiment and thou wilt converse more with the promise with the Love of Christ with the Free-Grace of God whiles thou livest if you would but remove your unbelief But who shall remove this stone God alone must do it But if this were done this truth would let in a flood of mercy upon you and even sink and over-whelm you in a Sea of mercy and glory where now you go drooping and hang down your heads because you will not own that portion which Christ hath left you nor that comfort which Christ doth tender and speak to you 4. Direction to them of the Church 4. Direction to them of the Church 4. Labour for a reciprocall affection a mutual taking between Christ and us Is Christs heart taken with you Oh! let your hearts bee taken with him Doth Christ love you Oh! do you love Christ Are you
them for his Sons sake So here Wee were guilty of Treason were condemned to death Now this is the dexterity of Faith to make our selves to bee Members of Christ It is Faith that doth ingraft us into Christ whereas before wee grew upon dead stocks now being ingrafted into the stock of Christ the stock of Life wee have Life derived to us It is Faith that marries us to Christ and being married to him hee answers all our debts It is by Faith wee put on Christ by Faith wee are built on Christ as the House on its Foundation And therefore seeing there is no way to bee saved but by our Union with Christ And there is no Union but by Faith Therefore it follows Faith is the great requisite whereby wee must be saved That for Union 2. For our Communion with Christ Faith is necessary There is no way to bee saved but by vertue of communion with the Righteousness of Christ 1 Not by our own any done by us or wrought out of our selves This is too short A menstruous ragge A ragge and not able to cover us as a Garment too narrow for us Wee cannot weave a web of Righteousness of our own able to cover us wee shall but adde sin to sin 2. Not by Righteousness of Saints or Angels 1. Theirs is incommunicable There 's no way whereby wee should have communion with it They are not of our Natures to wit the Angels There must bee an union of Nature before there can bee communion Nay But were it communicable yet it were insufficient It is but a finite Righteousness and therefore not able to answer an infinite debt If the least sin did lye upon the back of the tallest Angel in Heaven it were not enough All the Righteousness hee hath would not bee enough to save him from Hell And therefore theirs can do us no good To make short of it There 's no way to bee justified and saved but by Communion with the Righteousness of Christ the Righteousness of his active and passive obedience Obedientia Legis Obedientia Crucis 1. The one In Precium 2. The other In Praemium By the one answering Gods condemning Justice By the other answering God commanding Justice By the one satisfying his vindictive Justice whereby he did bear our scourges By the other answering Gods remunerative Justice whereby hee did perform our services Now there was no way to have Communion with this Righteousness of Christ but by Faith Faith gives us Union with Christ And by vertue of our Union wee have Communion with him As by vertue of our Oneness with the first Adam His sin was made ours So by vertue of our Oneness with the second Adam His Righteousness is made ours Faith makes us Members of Christ. Faith unites us to Christ And by vertue of our Vnion with him as the Members with the Head wee have derived from him Life and Spirit Sense and Motion Wee have communion with him In his Wisdome to direct us In his Righteousness to justifie us In his Holiness to sanctifie us In his Redemption to glorifie us Christ is made to us Wisdome Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption Faith ingrafts us into Christ as the Branch into the Vine And by vertue of our ingrafture into him wee draw forth life strength and nourishment from him who is our root By Faith wee put on Christ and so have communion with the Robes of his Righteousness whereby wee stand justified in Gods sight As Jacob got the blessing by his elder Brothers apparel So wee by the Robes of Christ which are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Righteousness of Saints By Faith wee are married to Christ and by vertue of this marriage wee have communion with all his Riches as the Wife hath with her Husbands Estate And Christ hath communion with all our debts So that you see Faith is that Grace which gives us union with Christ And by vertue of that union with him we have communion with all of Christ It gives us communion with the Righteousness of Christ Hee is The Lord our Righteousness And by Faith it is as truly ours to save us as his to glorifie him It gives us communion with the Life and Spirit of Christ with the death and sufferings of Christ with the merits and victories of Christ with the priviledges and immunities of Christ as Adoption Son-ship c. It gives us communion with his Wisdome to direct us with his Power to protect us with his Mercy to save us So that As David said God hath sworn in his Holiness He had made a Promise to him And therefore hee saith I will rejoyce I will divide Shechem and mete out the Valley of Succoth Gilead is mine so the soul may say God hath said This Son of mine I have given you Isa 9.6 And therefore Christ is mine 3. Why God should make choice of this Grace for our Justification Not to say any thing of this which might bee one Reason That the Remedy might answer the Fall The Fall was by unbeleeving As you see Hee gave credit to the Serpent and not to God So God would make our Recovery by Faith But this wee pass Wee read in Scripture of four grounds wherefore God made choice of this Grace for the Justification of a sinner 1. That Justification might bee of Grace 2. That the Promise might bee sure 3. That it might bee to all the seed 4. That no man might boast The three former you shall read Rom. 4.16 The last Ephes 2.9 1. For the first God made choice of this that wee should have Justification by way of beleeving That it might bee by Grace If it had been by any other way by reason of any thing wrought in us or by us If it had been by Desert not of Grace of Wages not of Mercy of Debt not of Favour If God had promised Justification upon any work of ours had told us wee must bring so much Humiliation so much Repentance so much brokenness of Spirit so much Grace so many Prayers Alms-deeds and then wee should bee justified It had not then been of Grace not of Free-Mercy And therefore God For the advancement of his Free-Grace and Mercy that wee might cry out with them in Zach. 4.7 Grace Grace That wee might see admire adore the Riches of his Grace The height and depth and breadth and length of his free-Free-Mercy Therefore hath God chose this way for the Justification of a sinner 2. That the Promise might bee sure If it had been any other way the Promise could not have been sure That which makes the Promise sure is this 1. That it is not founded upon any thing in us If it were it could never bee sure If there were any thing besides the breast of God to bee a bottom and foundation for the Promise It could never bee sure 2. That it is not performed nor contrived for any thing done by us but out of his Free-Mercy and Love If
indeed there had been any thing in us which should have been the ground of the performance of this Promise to us wee had been lost long ago If God had put us upon the condition of Obedience and had given us Grace as hee did Adam yet the Law is strict requiring an exact Personal Universal and constant obedience And every failing would have lost us undone us for ever But now When our Righteousness is in Christ A Righteousness not wrought by us but wrought by Christ himself And freely given to us upon the alone condition of Faith This makes our condition sure 3. That the Promise might bee to all the seed not to them of the Law only but to them who were strangers to the Law of God God had made a promise to bee the Father of Abraham and of his seed Now this Promise could not have belonged unto us If God had not provided a way that wee might bee of his seed Now according to the flesh this was impossible That wee should bee of Abrahams seed and therefore by consequence wee could have had no interest in this Promise And therefore God hath made Faith to bee that Grace which makes us spiritually to bee the Seed of Abraham that so the Promise might belong to us If God had made the Law the condition of the Promise Or if hee had made the Law and Faith together yet then wee had never come to bee of Abrahams Seed Because wee were not under the Law But God having made Faith the Grace which doth make us the Children of Abraham Hence is the Promise to us as to his seed not to that part which is of the Law but to that part which is of the Faith of Abraham who is the Father of all that beleeve Though wee are never so far from the Law and the kindred of Abraham in the flesh yet God hath provided security for us that wee might bee his Children and bee inheritors in the Promise which is by Faith Therefore God chose Faith that the Promise might bee to all the Seed not to the flesh only for then wee should not bee of his seed but to the Spirit 4. The fourth Reason is Ephes 2.9 That no man might boast That is That no man might have cause to glory in himself or rejoyce in himself Now if it had been by any other way by any thing done by us wee should have gloried And therefore God chose this way that wee might glory alone in him 1 Cor. 1.30 31. That no flesh might glory in his presence Christ is made Wisdome Righteousnes Sanctification and Redemption that hee that glories might glory in the Lord Isa 45.24 25. In mee you shall have Righteousness and strength and in mee you shall glory God is exceeding chary of his Glory As in our Salvation hee aimed at the manifestation of his Glory So hee hath had care to bring it about in such a way wherein there may bee the Preservation of his Glory Now if God had pitcht it in any other way than in the way of Beleeving his Glory could not have been preserved wee would have been sharers with God wee should have divided the spoils of Glory with him And therefore God chose this which is A mean Grace in it self And so his Glory shall not bee obscured but more perspicuous as 1 Cor. 1. Nay such a Grace as doth throw a man out of himself empties a man of himself and casts him upon another It is such a Grace as makes the Soul all in another nothing in it self Rich in another poor in it self found in another lost in it self Saved by another damned by it self I live saith Paul yet not I but Christ in mee I live by the Faith of the Son of God or Faith in the Son of God Gal. 2.20 It is such a Grace as makes a man stand upon anothers bottom live by anothers life Rich by anothers riches cloathed by anothers Apparel fed by anothers meat A poor beggarly grace in it self And therefore God chose this It is such a Grace as gives God all the Glory As it was said of Abraham Hee gave glory to God by beleeving Rom. 4. Hee gave glory to his Truth to his Power to his Wisdome to his Mercy So this Grace in the Justification of a sinner it gives God all the glory it robs him not of any peece of Glory it gives him the glory of his Mercy of his Truth Hee that beleeves puts to his seal that God is true It sets up God makes him Alpha and Omega the beginner and finisher of all And therefore it being a Grace that honours God above all therefore God honours it above all other making it the Instrument of Justification And therefore my Brethren if ever you would have pardon from him give him the glory of his own Free-Grace Here is the controversie between God and man to this day God is willing to save us if wee will give him his Glory But our proud hearts will not yeeld to that That God should bee all in all Every man would willingly bee something in himself stand upon his own bottom God is willing to give us a Righteousness wrought out for us But wee would have a Righteousness of our own making Wee love the Spiders motto Mihi soli debeo To owe nothing to any but to our selves Wee are too like that proud Papist who said Hee would not have Heaven Gratis wee would merit it God is willing to give us objective worthiness worthiness in another in Christ But wee would have subjective worthiness A worth in our selves But this will not bee allowed God will have us poor in our selves empty in our selves cast out of our selves unbottomed of our selves Hee will have us poor and blind and naked before hee will bestow mercy on us God will not have us bring our penny to his purchase One dram to this fulness one shred to this garment of Christ. Hee will have it by Faith that so it might bee of Grace that not wee but hee might have all the Glory This is one Reason I am perswaded of the enlargement of our troubles of spirit and breakings Because wee will not let God be all in all wee will not let God have all the Glory Glad we should bee to bee sharers in our own Salvation Glad to do something We would have it of Debt not of Grace of Works not of Faith of Merit not of Mercy God would forgive us our debâ—s but wee would pay them wee are loath to bee proclaimed Banckrupts unable to pay God would willingly cloathe us but wee would make a garment of our own God would give us Heaven but wee would deserve it God would give us pardon upon beleeving that so wee might not glory in our selves but in him But wee would have it by way of working That all or at least something might bee attributed to our selves But you see God hath aimed at the Magnifying of his own Glory and
5. Not able to perfect it when it is begun to our hands Isa 26.12 Lord thou hast wrought all our works in us or for us So Rom. 7.18 To will is present with mee but how to perform that which is good I finde not There is a partial impotency in the hearts of the best and this is more or less according to the vigor and power of corruption in us As you see in Rom. 7.18 For I know that in mee that is in my flesh dwels no good thing for to will is present but not to perform But there is a total universal impotency in unregenerate men Every Imagination motion figment of his heart being evil only evil every day But admit wee could do any thing could make as many prayers as stars in Heaven weep as many tears as the Sea holds drops Nay could wee do as much as the tallest Angel in Heaven all this would be too short to winde us out of our misery that sin casts us into 2. Wee are not able to suffer and by our sufferings to help our selves out of this If wee should macerate and afflict our bodies suffer all the miseries in the world in way of satisfaction for the least sin Alas all would bee too little too short would not amount and come up to the least debt But what do I speak of this If wee could suffer as many thousand millions of years torments in hell as the World hath stood minutes from the Creation Nay and God should widen the capacities of the Soul make a man more strong and able to bear more wrath make a man a larger vessel to receive more torments that so in time the springs of his Justice may bee drawn dry the treasures of his wrath might bee expended and a full satisfaction bee made yet there would bee no time no eternity of torment wherin there would bee enough endured as a full satisfaction for the least sin for the least oath thou hast ever sworn for the least idle thought thou hast ever conceived c. The reason is all this is but finite and therefore cannot come up to satisfie for an offence of infinite demerit Thus Faith empties a man not only of opinion of Righteousness in himself but of opinion of helping himself by any strength of his own out of this Faith will tell thee There is an eternal Law violated and thou canst not make up that there is guilt of sin and thou art not able to satisfie for that God is an enemy and thou art unable to make him thy friend God is angry and thou art unable to appease him thou art liable to wrath and not able to avoid it thou art under the Curse and art unable to undergo it art cast into debt and art unable to make payment All which being discovered to the soul the soul falls down at Gods feet and saith not with him in the Gospel Have patience with mee and I will pay thee all But Have mercy upon mee for I am unable to pay God bee merciful to mee a sinner Oh! This will make a soul fall down at the feet of God and implore that mercy of God that hee would cancel all the obligations reverse all his Proceedings cross all Books pardon all debts between him and the soul Fourteenth Royalty 14. Royalty of Faith It s an Heart-inriching-Grace 14 Faith is an Heart-inriching and filling-Grace When Faith hath once emptied a man of himself makes him a fit receptacle then it fills his soul with Christ when it hath strip'd a man of his own rags then it puts on the Garments of Christ when it hath made a man poor in himself it inriches the soul with Christ when wee are nothing in our selves then Christ is made all to us Cor humile est vacuum spirituale Wisdome Justification Sanctification and Redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 An humble empty heart is the vessel of all Grace So much Emptiness so much Grace Because humility doth empty the heart for God to fill it If the heart bee emptied once it must needs bee filled Non datur vacuum Nature abhors emptiness Grace much more Faith doth inrich the soul with all the merits of Christ with the Spirit of Christ Christ imputed Christ imparted Christ infused with the Righteousness of Christ for Justification with the Holiness of Christ for Sanctification Faith will not want it if Christ have it Faith will not bee poor if Christ bee rich will not bee empty if Christ bee full Ego non sum meriti inops quamdiu ille non est inops miserationum Bernard I cannot bee poor saith Bernard so long as God is rich his Riches are mine Of his fulness I receive Grace for Grace Christ indeed is a Fountain but hee is a Fountain sealed up Hee is a Treasure but hee is a Treasure lockt up to an unbeleeving heart Faith is the Key that unlocks this Treasure opening the Treasuries of Heaven making an inlet of all the Glory of Christ Faith gives the soul communion with all the Riches of Christ So far as it is possible for Christ to bee communicated hee is made ours by Faith by it there is a conveyance made of all the great revenues of Christ. The great stock which Christ did purchase by his Blood is passed over to the beleeving soul There is a Deed of Gift made to such wherein I say Not the whole Righteousness of the Mediator Non tota Justitia Mediatoris sed Justitia tota Mediatoria his essentiall and incommunicable Righteousness but his whole Mediatory Righteousness that Righteousness which Christ purchased for us as Mediator the Righteousness of his active and passive obedience by the one doing our services by the other bearing our scourges by the one as was said before answering Gods commanding Justice by the other answering Gods condemning Justice the one in Praemium to free us from wrath the other in Pretium to intitle us to Glory all this is made ours As Boaz said to his Kinsman Marry the Woman and the Field is thine So when once by Faith wee are married to Christ his Blood is ours his merits ours his Spirit ours all are ours Faith gives us a propriety in all Tu vita mea ego mors tua Tu coelum meum ego gehenna tua Tu Justitia mea ego pâ—ccatum tuum Tu divitiae meae ego paupertas tua So that Faith may break forth into this rapture with that Father Lord I am thy death thou art my life I am thy Hell thou art my Heaven I am thy sin thou art my Righteousness I am thy poverty thou art my Riches And all the Riches which Christ did purchase with his Blood and sit down and think what the Blood of Christ the Blood of God as the Apostle calls it by communication of Properties what this might buy out at the hands of a Father why all this is made thine by Faith So that you see Faith
souls that they are Beleevers go with a spark in stead of a flame And as you live so you will dye without Comfort if you do not take care to evidence this to your souls And this were a sad condition Whatever a man hath in this life yet when hee comes to dye hee would willingly have all the Comfort possible Though a man may bee content to go Quarter-sail and Quarter-wind here in this life yet when hee comes to dye hee would willingly go Full-sail to Heaven Lesse Comfort may serve a man to live by than to dye by because whiles a man lives other things come in to make up the want of Comfort every thing casts in something to make the soul a stock of Comfort But if this will not do if a man cannot peece up his Comforts with other things yet whiles a man lives there 's hope and expectation still of more Comfort But when a man comes to dye that hope is gone There 's no hope then of ever getting more And this is a sad condition And My Brethren It is a thing which God doth often deny at death because wee have been no more solicitous to clear our Evidences in our life I say God doth now withhold the Comfort of Faith because wee have neglected to clear our Evidence of Faith which is a sad condition Though the condition of the soul bee never the less safe yet the condition is less comfortable to our souls 2. It 's necessary in respect of our more lively obedience The knowledge of this will make us lay out our selves for God It will make us industrious and active in all holy Obedience It will make us burn out not smother out wear out not rust out It will make a man a Volunteer in Gods work to sweat and take pains in the Vineyard of the Lord. It 's false what the Popish Doctors say That the knowledge of our good condition should slack the hand make a man Supine and remiss in holy Obedience As much as it will make a Travailer slack his pace because hee knoweth hee is in his way and that by making speed in it hee shall come to the end of his journey Oh then Is it a thing possible to bee attained Is it necessary why then are wee so injurious to our selves to rob our selves of that Comfort which the Knowledge of our Faith would contribute to our souls afterward Do you delight to know all things else and bee ignorant of your selves will you prove all things else and not your selves you will prove your Gold you will prove your Silver you will prove your Evidences and will you not prove your selves There 's nothing of worth that a man will take upon trust without tryal Do you delight to bee kept upon the rack of fears and perplexities of spirit do you delight to hang between Heaven and Hell As Absolom between Earth and Heaven and not know what shall become of your eternal souls to all eternity Why if you do not thus then take some pains in the search and examination of your selves Prove your selves whether you are in the Faith or no Thus having premised this upon which I have on purpose insisted the more largely in respect of the Necessity of this duty of Self-Examination wee will now come to lay down some Rules whereby wee may discover to them who are willing to take pains in the search of their own hearts whether they have Faith or no. In the laying down of which that I may not erre I shall desire to go by these two Rules 1. The grand Rule is the Word of God The Book shall try you That Book that shall save or damn you at the last day shall try you now whether you have Faith or no. And I hope if the Word convince you that you have not Faith you will subscribe to the conviction If the Word say it I hope you will conclude it But whether you will or no That which the Word saith is true That conviction which the Word doth fasten upon you shall lye upon you at the great day if now you get it not off 2. The Second Rule I shall desire to go by is this to lay down such Evidences as are universal and belong to all Beleevers weak as well as strong the least degree of saving Faith as well as the highest measure of it I shall desire so to comfort the strong as not to discourage the weak so to satisfie the strong as I may also establish the weak For I conceive There 's a great Error committed in the laying down of Evidences to take an Evidence from the highest degree of Faith As when wee should lay down an Evidence of Faith wee take our Evidence from Assurance This is a great Error By this means wee shall cast out many thousands who are true Beleevers and yet want Assurance And yet my care shall bee as not to quench the smoaking flax so not to cherish a false flame as not to discourage the meanest so not to encourage the strongest if false as not to discountenance a true so not to countenance a false But that the false may have no Comfort the true no discouragement Now the Method that I will observe to evince this to your souls whether you have Faith or no shall bee some Evidences taken 1. From the usual manner of Gods working of this Grace of Faith in the hearts of Unbeleeving men 2. From the Grace it self wrought in the soul 1. From the manner of Gods working this Grace which is this 1. God doth use to discover sin to the soul Awakens a mans conscience makes a man to see his sin and his misery by reason of sin that hee lies under the wrath of God by reason of sin and that there 's an utter impossibility in him to winde or free himself out of this condition This is the first work Men will not beleeve nor come over to Christ till they first bee humbled till they see and feel the want of Christ. This you see in the Prodigal in the Woman with the Bloody Issue It was Misery brought them home Men must bee cut off their own stock before they can bee ingrafted upon another Thrown off their own bottom before they can cast themselves on Christ the true Foundation The Termes of Mercy are too hard the Yoke of Christ is too strait for such men who were never humbled What! To deny themselves to cut off their right hand to forsake their beloved sins But Mercy upon any Termes to the humbled is desireable No Potion can bee too bitter for the Recovery of a dying man No hard hold too sharp for a drowning man to take hold of So no Termes too hard for an humbled sinner Whereas before a man bee humbled the Proposition of Mercy and Pardon is but all lost labour Hee makes Light of Mercy Light of Christ Light of a Pardon as they did that were invited to the Supper It 's said They made
under the light of the Gospel It is agreed upon all sides that this is damning Hee that beleeves shall bee saved but hee that beleeves not shall bee damned Mercy it self saith so Hee that you look to bee saved by saith it Mark 16.16 Nay not only damned but the sorest damnation of all the deepest Cellars of Hell the lowest Vaults of Hell are reserved for such who are Unbeleevers now under the Gospel This is condemnation that is the sorest condemnation That Light is come into the VVorld that a Christ is tendred to you a Christ is offered to you and men love darkness rather than light yet men will not beleeve John 3.19 There is no fall into Hell like such an one as is taken at a stumble at Christ No damnation like that which is pronounced in the Court of Mercy An Unbeleever is condemned in the Court of Mercy And when Mercy it self condemns as it shews the offence to bee hainous so it makes the condemnation the more heavy As the sowrest Vineger comes from the sweetest VVine so out of the sweetest Mercy the sorest condemnation It will bee ten thousand times easier for those who are condemned under the Law their torments will not bee so heavy Hell will not bee so hot to them as to such who are now condemned under the Gospel It had been better for you that you had been born Turks and Heathens such as never heard of Christ than Christians if you live and dye in an unbeleeving condition Thus you see Unbelief is a remediless sin Such a sin as there is no remedy for it no plaister for it All other sins have a Remedy and Christ is the Remedy But unbelief denies the Remedy There is a plaister for Drunkenness for Swearing for Murder c. All other sins have a Plaister and Christ is that Plaister But Unbelief denies the Plaister God gives the Mercy of the Book to all other sins if sinned against the Law and condemned by the Law yet hee tenders the Mercy of the Book Hee that beleeveth shall bee saved But Unbelief rejects this Mercy It will not read If the Law condemn us wee are suffered to appeal to the Gospel If Justice condemn us wee are suffered to appeal to Mercy As you see the Publican who was arraigned sentenced and condemned by the Law But hee appeals to the Court of Mercy God bee merciful to mee a sinner And you see the Sentence took no hold on him But now If Mercy condemn us if the Gospel condemn us whither shall wee appeal whither shall wee go Now it is Mercy that condemns unbeleeving men they are condemned in the Court of Mercy Hence one There is no sin that doth peremptorily Non filios Diaboli faciunt quaecunque peccata Filios Diaboli infidelitas facit and Quoad eventum damn us but unbeleeving There is no sin that doth de facto bring death but unbeleeving Other sins do create a merit of death but unbelief doth actually bring death upon the soul While a man beleeves not hee is under the Covenant of Works and there sin doth de facto bring death it bindes all sin upon the conscience makes a man to stand out to answer for his own guilt bear his own curse and therefore it is said Joh. 3.18 Hee that beleeves not is condemned already Hee is condemned in all Courts 1. In the Court of Justice The Law condemns him Cursed is every man that continues not in every thing that is written in the Law to do the same Gal. 3.10 2. In the Court of Mercy That condemns him This is the sentence there Hee that beleeveth not shall bee damned Mark 16.16 3. In the Court of Conscience Hee is self-condemned and hath a beginning of the execution Thus then you see of what a fearful nature is this sin of unbelief It is the greatest damning sin now under the Gospel 2 Motives from the necessity of Faith 1. In respect of our Persons 2. In respect of our Performances 1. Faith is needful in respect of our Persons Our Persons are 1. Under the guilt of sin of many thousand sins And without Faith there is no Justification 2. Under the power of sin of lust And without Faith no subduing 3. Under the pollution and filth of sin And wee had need of Faith for the purifying of our hearts So that Faith is needful for the justifying of our Persons the subduing of our lusts the purifying of our hearts 2. Faith is needful in respect of our Performances Faith is necessary to every work of a Christian needful to every Ordinance Wee must pray in Faith hear in Faith receive in Faith do all things in Faith Faith must incorporate it self with every duty Whatever is not of Faith is sin Rom. 14.23 Whatever is before Faith is only the issue of a corrupt nature and of a corrupt conscience and therefore it cannot please God Tit. 1.15 Rom. 10.14 Faith is the salt which seasons and sweetens every duty It is the life and soul of every performance without which all are but dead and stinking works and cannot please God Faith is to duty as the Soul is to the Body When you go to Prayer you had need of Faith whereby you may Cry Abba Father without which Prayer is but the complaint of Nature or the cry of a hopeless and desperate heart When you go to hear you had need of Faith to incorporate it self with the word heard without which the word will not profit us nor the word Promising nor the word threatning the one to humble us the other to raise us and comfort us When you go to receive you had need of Faith Hee goes to work without tooles that goes to any Ordinance without Faith You have need of Faith to give you admission into Gods Presence Draw neer with a true heart in assurance of Faith Heb. 10.22 You have need of Faith to give you acceptance in the work You have need of Faith to procure a blessing when all is done Faith is the great Grace that is to bee imployed in all the Ordinances of God This must run through every Ordinance if you would profit by them The word must bee mingled with Faith Prayer with Faith c. Unbelief makes every Ordinance of God unprofitable to us What is the reason that men hear the Word and get no more benefit but because they beleeve not Heb. 4.2 The Word preached did not profit them because it was not mingled with Faith in them that heard it Do you think the word of Threatning could bee heard and you not bee humbled if you did beleeve the Truth of all who were able to lift up his head nay to stand under the threats of the great God of Heaven and Earth if hee did beleeve It is said The Devils beleeve and tremble Jam. 2. And had you but as much Faith as they to beleeve the truth of what God threatens against sin it would make the stoutest sinner of
will come whoever hath a mind let him come Bee his sins what they will bee for nature for number for continuance yet come and finde acceptance Who is a God like unto thee That pardonest iniquity and passest by the transgressions of the Remnant of thy heritage Thou reteinest not anger for ever for thou delightest to shew mercy Mic. 7.18 There are two things when men are humbled which keep them off from beleeving either 1. A doubt of Gods Power Lord if thou canst 2. A doubt of his Will Lord if thou wilt 1. Some doubt of his Power Oh! Is God able to pardon such a sinner as I have been Can hee pardon so great so bloudy so crimson sins If they were but such or such I should not doubt But being so great how can God pardon 2. Others doubt of his Will They will bee ready to say They know there is a fulness of Power in God hee is able to forgive my sins let them bee what they will bee hee hath a Sea of Mercy able to drown Mountains as well as Mole-hills But alas I doubt of his Will whether hee will shew mercy to such a sinner And therefore if ever you would beleeve you must get an heart convinced of the 1. Fulness and al-sufficiency of Christ to pardon 2. And of the freeness and willingness of Christ to shew mercy to such as do beleeve Dwell upon such considerations as these are being means to beget Faith When men are once convinced of the fulness of God they will come over to him if withall they bee fully convinced of their own need It is possible for a man to beleeve this fulness in Christ and yet not bee able to clear his acceptance Wee read of the Lepers who seeing nothing but death in their condition 2 King 7.3 4 resolved not to stay there but to go over to the Camp of the Assyrians If they save us alive say they wee shall live and if they kill us wee can but dye And there were many reasons which might cause them to expect no better but death from them 1. They were Jews and so their enemies 2. They might bee suspected for Spies 3. If not yet they were Lepers good for no service such as might infect the whole Camp Yet seeing their Misery in want of bread and knowing that there was bread to bee had they resolved to adventure So if there were but a through discovery 1. Of our own Misery a conviction of that 2. Of the fulness and all-sufficiency of Christ it were possible so far to prevail with a man as to throw himself on Christ though hee bee not yet able to clear whether God will ever accept him But when wee take that other consideration in and do think of the sweetness and freeness of Gods love and mercy to accept of poor returning sinners what should then hinder but the soul should come over and beleeve in him And therefore if ever thou wouldest have Faith cherish these thoughts dwell much upon such considerations as these Men say they would beleeve but in the mean time they never cherish such thoughts and considerations as may beget Faith If there bee any thing in the Word which makes against them this they will harbor and cherish they will feed upon the Wormwood and the Gall but if there bee any thing to nourish and cherish Faith this they will suppress They have an ear open to hear what the Law what sin what Satan saith but none to hear what God saith in the Promise They will promote the Devils cause his arguments sharpen his weapons against themselves But they will silence the pleadings of Gods Spirit in them They will look upon the dark side of the Cloud not the light side The threatnings of the Law they will apply and set on with all their might But if Promises come they finde no acceptance with them They will nourish considerations of their sins their guilt their misery by reason of sin and aggravate it to the utmost but the thoughts of Gods Love of the freeness of his Mercy of the promises of pardoning sins these they reject My Brethren This is not the way to get Faith If ever you would beleeve you must study the freeness of Gods Mercy in Christ his willingness to pardon and forgive poor sinners if they come over to him 2. The second means for the strengthening of Faith are these 1. Make use of the Ordinances 1. The Word 2. The Sacraments 3. Prayer 1. The Word Wee say The same way things are begotten the same way they are nourished Corpora naturalia eodem modo quo generantur nutriuntur Faith is begotten by the Word and Faith is nourished by the Word It is both the Begetter and the Nourisher both the Breeder and the Feeder of Faith Rom. 15.4 1 Joh. 4. 2. The Sacraments which were instituted and set up for this end to increase your Faith God knew hee had to deal with unbeleeving persons and therefore hee doth not only give the Promise his Covenant and Oath for the confirmation of us but to all these hee annexed his Seal the Sacraments Mountains upon Mountains to confirm us A man would not desire so much of any honest man as God hath here condiscended to for the confirmation of our Faith One would have thought his bare word had been enough considering the Truth and sufficiency of the Person that spake it But hee hath given his Oath Nay but hee rested not there but his Seal too The Sacraments And therefore make use of them 3. Bee much in Prayer that God would strengthen and increase thy Faith Prayer is the fuel of Faith the food of Faith A man may as well live without meat as Faith without Prayer As the soul lives by Faith so Faith lives by Prayer Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith again As there is a Communion among the Ordinances every Ordinance doth help another The Word helps Prayer and Prayer helps the Word So there 's a Communion between Ordinances and Graces Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith Prayer cannot say of Faith I have no need of thee nor Faith of Prayer What need have I of thee As there is a mutual dependence of one Christian on another a means to nourish Communion as Christians help one another One may say Help my Zeal and I will increase thy knowledge strengthen my Faith and I will inflame or kindle thy affections so here There is a mutual dependence between Faith and Prayer Faith saith to Prayer Help mee to beleeve and I will help thee to pray And Prayer to Faith Help mee to pray and I will help thee to beleeve Such a Communion there is And therefore bee much in prayer for strength 4. Live much in the Heaven of the Promise Feed upon the freeness and sweetness and fatness of the Promise Delight your selves in fatness Let your way lye much above live much out of your selves This is your way A man
shall never bee able to strengthen Faith that lives in himself 5. Walk in the Earth of the Law As Faith strengthens Obedience so Obedience strengthens Faith As Faith multiplies so let duty multiply The way to nourish the one is the way to increase the other 6. Make it your chief riches to bee rich in Faith And then all your designs and indeavours will bee for the increase of it The wordly man labours toils sweats here for the World And what is the reason but because hee makes this his riches so it is here 7. Exercise Faith much And this is the way to increase it Men that can imploy a greater measure of Faith shall have it Bee careful that the exercises of Faith may bee proportionable to the measure of Faith received It is the way to get it increased God will not have the stock lye dead in our hands Hee will not give more than wee can imploy The Talents were according to their several abilities Some had two some one some five When God sees a man of great layings out hee laies in moâ—e still Exercise Grace For within the compass of the exercise of Grace lies that which will nourish and increase Grace 8. Treasure up sound Evidences of Faith The stronger our Evidences the stronger our Faith And therefore store up sound Evidences One falshood among thy Evidences staggers thy Faith 9. Bee thankful for the measure thou already hast Thankfulness is a Grace big with Mercy Men are often injurious to the increase of Faith by unthankfulness for that measure they have Wee are too much like covetous men looking after further degrees so much as to overlook that which God hath already bestowed Our complaints would bee others contents others would bee glad of them Therefore let us get an heart inlarged for the measure wee have It is the way for God to inlarge his hand to bestow more upon us 10. Maintain Humility an humble spirit God gives Grace and hee gives increase of Grace to the humble Humility is the Nurse of Grace The empty heart shall bee filled Nature abhors emptiness Grace much more 11. Bee much in acquaintance with God Know more of his mind more of his heart Read him as hee hath discovered himself in the Word in his Christ 12. Gather and lay up Faith-strengthening-Experiences Keep a Catalogue of holy Experiences of Gods Love and goodness to thee All these are fuel to nourish and strengthen Faith And now having done with the Doctrin of Faith I must conclude with a Doctrin of works Wherein I shall desire your practice of it This upon occasion of a collection for the Poor as soon as I have done the preaching of it It is very orderly that works should follow Faith Your works of Charity our Doctrin of Faith The Papists do charge us that wee cry down works and preach nothing but Faith Faith making it Titulum sine Re. I hope it will bee seen at this time that preaching Faith Formalitèr I preach works Eminentèr And I could not possibly have taken up a better ground for works than to preach the Doctrin of Faith first Indeed wee preach Faith without works in Justificationem as touching Justification But wee say Faith and works must go together in our conversation As Faith doth Justifie our Persons so works do justifie our Faith And thus Abraham was justified by works his works declared him to bee just Good works are the breath of Faith as the word in James signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And as the body without breath is dead so Faith without works is dead also Good works are the fruit of Faith the Children and Issue of Faith As Rachel said Give mee Children else I dye so Faith Give mee Children give mee works else I dye otherwise I have not a living but a dead Faith So you see wee set up works too though wee cry them down in the matter of Justification Are good works good for nothing because not good to justifie The Sun is not good to give light to blind men Is it therefore good for nothing Gold is not good to asswage hunger Is it therefore of no use Wee say works are necessary 1. In respect of God 2. In respect of our selves 3. In respect of others 1. In respect of God 1. To shew our Obedience 2. To glorifie his Name 3. To testifie our Thankfulness 4. To beautifie his Gospel 2. In respect of our selves 1. To make our Calling and Election sure 2. To declare our Sincerity 3. To procure Mercy 3. In respect of others 1. To refresh the Bowels of the Saints 2. For example of Vertue 3. To stop the mouthes of wicked men who would else take occasion to blaspheme the Gospel and speak evil of Profession 4. To winne others to gain enemies to the embracing of the Truth And therefore seeing good works are thus necessary bee you stirred up to so concerning a duty The Apostle saith Whiles you have opportunity to do good do good to all men Here is now an opportunity Take it God honours thee if hee give thee an heart to do such a good work Your Bounty is your Honour A TREATISE OF THE Slownesse of Heart TO BELEEVE BY SAMVEL BOLTON D. D. And MASTER of C.C.C. LONDON Printed by Robert Ibbitson for Thomas Parkhurst and are to be sold at his Shop over against the Great Conduit in Cheapside 1656. A TREATISE OF THE SLOWNESSE OF HEART TO BELEEVE JOHN 1.50 Jesus answered and said unto him because I said unto thee I saw thee under the Fig-tree beleevest thou thou shalt see greater things than these IN the latter part of this Chapter wee see that goodness is of a diffusive and spreading nature If thou bee good thou wilt desire and indeavour to make others good when Christ hath once revealed himself to any soul it will bee very studious to make him known to others So vers 35 36. you read that God having revealed Christ to John hee makes him known to his Disciples one of whom was Andrew vers 40. hee could not conâ—eal the good news but makes it known to his Brother Peter vers 41. Afterward Christ reveals himself to Philip vers 43. and upon it Philip makes him known to Nathaniel vers 45. so communicative and diffusive is goodness like the liquid Elements of Air and Water which cannot bee kept in their own bounds and limits From the forty fifth verse to the end of this Chapter there is contained a discourse 1. Between Philip and Nathaniel And then 2. Between Christ and Nathaniel The first between Philip and Nathaniel is from the 45. to the 47. verse where you have 1. Philips discovery of Christ to him vers 45. wee have found him of whom Moses and the Prophets did write 2. Nathaniels harsh entertainment of it vers 46. can any good thing come out c. 3. Philips care to resolve him and to take away this prejudice in the latter part of the 46. verse come
humbled which hee doth these wayes 1. Either by perswading them they are no sins they live in and here hee tells the Prodigall hee is but liberal the drunkard hee is but sociable the covetous person hee is but frugal the proud person hee is but comely and handsome c. wee say nullam vitium sine patrocinio Sauls Covetousness in sparing the best of the flock t was his devotion 't was his zeal to Sacrifice the Pharisees Covetousness had an act of devotion to patronize or set it off with So Jezabel paints her face to make it seem comely 2. Or else if hee cannot perswade them to that that they are no sins but conscience is inlightened and quickned and checks him for them hee cannot stand against his own light nor under his own reproofs Then hee perswades them they are but veniall and small sins or if great yet pardonable nay and that at any time as the Theef upon the Cross what sayes hee God is mercifull and if but at the last thou canst say God bee mercifull to mee Lord have mercy upon mee why then all is well there is no doubt of mercy And because men are better versed in the Service-book than in the Scripture perhaps hee will cite a Text out there At what time soever a sinner c. This is the first stratagem to keep presumptuous sinners from being humbled And if hee prevail not then but that notwithstanding all these good words a soul is convinced of sin and humbled for it then hee hath a second 2. A second Stratagem and that is to keep humbled sinners from beleeving and that hee doth these wayes 1. Hee labours to have them despair of a pardon and that upon one of these two grounds 1. Hee will now tell you either that your sins are greater than can bee pardoned As Cain Gen. 4.13 So it is in the Original my sins are greater than can bee pardoned Hee will so aggravate mens sins and heighten mens trespasses and so lessen and streighten Gods mercy that hee will indeavour to perswade their sins are above a pardon they are greater than Gods mercie to pardon and that is the first way which hee deals with ignorant consciences in trouble 2. Or if hee cannot perswade in that then hee hath another way to bring men to despair and that is from the will of God Why will hee say though thy sins are not greater than God can pardon yet they are greater than God will pardon hee will never bee mercifull to such a wretch as thou hast been dost thou think God will ever shew mercy to such a vile sinner as thou hast been what one who hath sinned against such a light such means such mercies and committed so horrible sins and continued in them And thus hee aggravates sin As before hee lessened sin all hee could to keep men from being humbled so now hee aggravates sin all hee can to keep men from beleeving As before hee inlarged Gods mercy above the bounds of the Law now hee inlargeth Gods Justice above the bounds of the Gospel Before hee presented to you Gods mercy in a false glass to make you presume And now hee presents Gods Justice to you in a false glass to make you despair And indeed of the two hee is better able to set out Gods Justice than his Mercy because hee feels the one and knows what it is but hee shall never taste of the other hee can therefore better present Gods Justice as it is than Gods Mercy as it is 2. Or if hee cannot bring men to despair upon these grounds yet another stratagem hee hath to keep men from beleeving 3. And that is thirdly by telling them they are not disposed and fitted for mercy you are not broken for sin you do not love God c. And in this stratagem hee labours to hinder us by telling us wee want such dispositions as follow beleeving more than such as go before Faith yet hee oftentimes useth the other and tells men they are not humbled enough not broken enough before they were humbled then any thing would serve the turn to dispose and fit them for Mercy and now they are humbled hee tells them they are never humbled enough Before a sigh in a good mood was enough to qualifie them for Mercy and the Promise Now sighs groans tears daily breakings under the burthen of sin is all nothing all is too little Indeed hee fain would have thee to lye in Hell and stay there or if hee doth not object against thy soul the want of humiliation Why then hee will tell thee thou wants Faith if thou had'st Faith then thou might go over to the promise but thou wants Faith and what doth hee mean by that why that is thou wants assurance hee would put men to assurance before they do beleeve hee would put them to the evidence Christ is their Saviour before hee suffer them to rest upon Christ as a Saviour Or if not this yet hee will tell thee thou want'st such and such dispositions before thou can beleeve hee would fain have men either to bring something of their own to the Promise or hee would have men to expect these things before they go to the Promise when indeed these things follow upon the souls closing with the Promise Thus doth Satan keep many poor souls in a hoodwinkt condition and hinders them from going over to Christ and the Promise And that is the first 2. The second ground why men are so slow to beleeve and that is taken from themselves 1. It doth arise from their ignorance they know not the tenor of the Covenant the tearms of Mercy Men brought out of a sinfull condition once awakened to see their sins can think of nothing but working themselves to life licking themselves whole therefore they fall upon prayers duties as I have sometimes told you as so many bribes for a pardon as so many pennies laid out for the purchase of Mercy Wee run naturally to the Covenant of works but wee must bee drawn before wee can go to the Covenant of Grace No man can come except c. Joh. 6.44 A convinced man runs to the Covenant of works but hee must bee a converted man that goes truly to the Covenant of Grace 2. It doth arise from our pride often that wee will not take Mercy gratis wee will not deny our selves and close with Mercy as God tenders it You have a strange phrase in Rom 10.3 they would not submit to the Righteousness of Faith here are proud hearts indeed that it should bee matter of submission for a condemned man to take a pardon a wounded man to take a plaister a sick man a cordiall a naked man cloathing a lost sinner a Saviour One would think this is strange that it should bee a matter of submission to accept of the Righteousness of Christ to bee saved But wee like well of the Spiders motto mihi solo debeo I owe all to my self and would
bee content to climb to Heaven by a thread of our own spinning God is willing to give and wee would deserve hee would have all of Grace and wee would have all of debt Wee would fain bring our penny to the Promise yea when wee are nothing wee would bring our own nothingness So hard it is to make a soul empty and when that is done to bring that empty soul over to the Promise 3. A third ground from our selves which makes men humbled so slow to beleeve It may bee too much tenderness they are affraid of abusing Gods Justice in their closes with his Mercie Oh say they I am affraid of presuming of Mercy It was their fault before to presume the fear of it their fault now I say to presume of Mercy was their fault before and the fear of presuming is their fault now One would think this to carry a fair forehead they dare not beleeve say they and why so because they are affraid to presume is not this a good pretence But ah here is the Prince of darkness like the Angel of light let us examine it thou sayest thou darest not beleeve because thou art affraid to presume And why dost thou fear to presume It is presumption to beleeve Mercy and yet continue in a way of sin and it is presumption to expect Mercy in a way of unbelief but it is no presumption to beleeve Why dost thou fear thou shalt presume thou canst not say thou takes that which doth not belong to thee for it belongs to whoever can take it But it may bee thou sayest thou art not fitted for Mercy thou art then fit for Mercy when thou art made willing to close with Mercy in the tearms of Mercy that is to take Mercy as to render up thy self to duty as to give up thy self to obey But thou sayest thou shalt presume for thou art not worthy of Mercy And wouldest thou bee worthy of Mercy dost thou know what thou sayest wouldest thou deserve Mercy where then were Grace This overthrows the Covenant of Grace it cannot bee a Covenant of Grace if there should bee any thing of thy bringing which is not of Gods bestowing May wee not say to thee truly what Eliab Davids Brother falsely said to him when hee told him hee came out for Gods Glory Hee tells him no it was the pride of his heart 1 Sam. 17.28 So thou pretends Gods Glory thou sayest because thou wouldest not wrong Gods Justice and make Gods Mercy a sinfull mercy therefore thou doest not beleeve but take heed it bee not the pride of thy heart If the time would permit I would put something to thee 1. By way of Question 2. By way of Supposal 1. That which I should have put to thee by way of question should have been 1. Couldst thou not have beleeved God would bee mercifull unto thee if thou wert not so sinfull 2. If thou wert more humble if thou hadst more Grace couldst thou not bee content to pennance thy self for a time for thy former sin were not this good and what were this but to make thy humiliation a step to Mercy to a pardon 2. That which I would put by way of supposal Suppose thou hadst been a Traytor and thy Prince should offer thee a pardon for all thy treason upon condition of acceptance and rendring up thy self to him for service And thou shouldest refuse a pardon because thou art a Rebel or Traitor or because thou doubt'st of the truth and reality of thy Princes tender or else because thou thinkest thou art not able to do him service for future therefore wilt not accept of a pardon for present what should wee think of this Or suppose a Creditor should tell thee if thou wouldest but bring thy books come to him and reckon with him and acknowledge thy debt hee would pardon thy debt And the debtor should now refuse to come 1. Either because hee is not able to pay 2. Or because hee thinks hee shall bee able to discharge all himself in time 3. Or else because hee doubts of the truth of his intention in stead of bringing him to reckon that hee might pardon him hee intends to arrest him and cast him into prison Is not here a great deal of pride and unbeleef and wronging of love And how shall wee interpret this standing off is not the case alike God tenders mercy to thee as a Prince a pardon and thou refusest why either thou beleevest not the truth of this that God offers pardon upon beleeving or else thou thinks to deserve thine own pardon So God offers thee an acquittance if thou wilt bring thy book and come and reckon with him confess sin acknowledge Mercy but thou commest not and what is the reason either thou beleevest not the truth of this this is too good news to bee true thou thinkest it is but to take advantage against thee You think when you go to God in confession you go as a debtor into the hands of a hard Creditor who doth but wait to arrest him You cannot beleeve the truth of this offer or else you think you shall bee able to pay your own debt in time 4. Another ground from our selves why wee are so slow to beleeve is that wee doubt of Gods will wee doubt whether God will have mercy on us yea or no. It is with us as with a Prince or Creditor as before were wee but well setled in the Major of the Gospel in these truths 1. That God sent his Son for this end into the World to save poor sinners 2. That Christ was able to save to the utmost 3. And that Christ was as willing as hee is powerfull wee should not bee so slow of heart to beleeve My Brethren what can God do more to perswade you of his willingness nay more what could Christ do more than is done Will you go by his revealed will and that you shall bee judged by at the last day why there you see nothing but willingness of God and Christ to accept of them who come If you should go by the revealed will of man you may bee deceived they may speak one thing and intend another But if you go by the revealed will of God you cannot miscarry because Gods heart is really the same that his word is hee speaks not a syllable more than hee will make good Men speak often more than their hearts or they may speak contrary to their hearts but God doth not hee really intends what hee speaks And his revealed will tells thee that hee would have thee saved by comming c. that if thou wilt beleeve thou shalt bee saved That if thou confess c. therefore no cause to doubt of Gods will 5. A fifth ground of our slowness to beleeve It may bee you finde some rest to your souls on this side Christ It may bee you have been troubled for sin have been in anguish of conscience and you have prayed you have mourned
because you fall short of that eminency in them you are thereupon dâ—â—couraged and wounded in your comforts But admit that others of the Saints were as excellent as thou seest them as thou apprehends them and grant it that thou wert weak and full of many imperfections Yet why should this keep thee off from Christ and the Promise It is strange that that which should draw thee to the promise should drive thee from the Promiâ—e will a man refuse physick because hee is sick a cordial because hee is faint meat because hee is hungry mony because hee is poor cloathing because naked you would think this to bee unreasonable and why not the other Assure your selves that is not a good sight of imperfection that shall either blinde or bleer the eye of Faith and hinder us from beholding Christ and the Promise or that shall discourage and deter us from going over to Christ and the Promise Thou would'st bee as others of the Saints before thou didst beleeâ—e thou must beleeve before thou can bee as others are that which put a difference between thee and him was Faith there is the same treasury and the same fulness in Christ for thee as for others if thou get Faith to make use of it Besides why should imperfections keep thee off What man will reject a present pardon because hee sees himself unable to do the Prince future service who will not take it and bee more thankfull and the more admire the Princes clemency that should accept of him after all his rebellions when yet hee could have no eye or respect to any future service of advantage hee could do the Prince And why then should wee reject Gods pardon because wee see not our selves able to do him future service You should take it and bee more thankfull more admire the riches and freeness of Gods Grace who justifies the ungodly Ceâ—tâ—inly that which gives you the advantage and puts you into the way of the admiration of God serves the end most which God aimes at in giving of pardon therefore hee pardons that you might admire and say Micah 7.8 Who is a God like unto thee pardoning iniquity but the more sin the more imperfections the more advantage you have to admire the riches and freeness of Gods Grace and Mercy therefore why should this discourage you Besides though Princes may pardon former treason yet they cannot change the traiterous heart nor can they inable them for the future to bee loyal and obedient But now God can with the pardon of sin hee can and doth change the heart of the sinner hee sends him away with another heart with the forgiveness of former disobedience hee gives strength and ability to obey for future and therefore why should either present sense of sin and imperfection or the apprehension of the want of future ability keep us off from closing with Christ and the Promise seeing by this the sin is pardoned the nature is healed and the soul inabled to future service Indeed the way to do him service is to come in c. 2. As wee look upon others heights so wee look upon others depths and by that keep off from the Promise It may bee wee see and hear of others of the Saints who have been exercised with great troubles terrors legal breakings c. and have been in sad conditions it may bee for many months nay years and thou reflectest upon thy self and seest thou was never thus humbled thou never had experience of such legal breakings either none at all or not in that measure which others have had and thereupon thou concludest certainly the Promise doth not belong to mee And this is another ground which prevails with many c. Now to take off this in a few words 1. Why should anothers humiliation bee a pattern for thee when it may bee that which inlarged his troubles were 1. Some outward cross and affliction which was joyned to his inward trouble as when the fountains from below and windows from above were opened there was a great flood a deluge So when afflictions from beneath and troubles from above concurre this is a deluge of sorrow 2. Or may bee that which inlarged another mans trouble was some horrible temptations injections of Satan blasphemous bloudy thoughts c. 3. Or may bee some bodily distemper the predominancy of some humour as melancholly which gives edge and entertainment to terrors and spiritual troubles 4. Or may bee his ignorance in the Covenant of Grace the tearms of Mercy 5. Or may bee the long concealing of his trouble as you see David Psal 32. 6. Or may bee giving credit to the lying suggestions of Satan 7. Or may bee his pride his unbelief jealousy frowardness of spirit as it is with such as will nourish themselves in a needlesse bondage and will not hearken after comfort making their chains heavier than God hath made them who will not suffer a thought of hope or comfort to enter through the anguish of their bondage Like the Children of Israel in Egypt Exod. 6.9 God sent them delivery but they looked not after it through the extreamity of their bondage And is there any reason then that others humiliation should bee a pattern to thee Thou mightest as well desire part of their cross which yet thou wouldst not do for a great part of many mens humiliations is either their sin or their cross c. 2. Why should other mens humiliations bee a pattern for thee when yet God doth not require the same measure nor is the same measure alike necessary to all neither in respect of God or of men 1. Not in respect of man some need not so much as others As some mens flesh is harder to heal than others so some mens hearts A Needle may do that to one which a lance will not do to another A frown to one which blows will not do to another Some men are of crabbed and untoward spirits and knotty blocks had need of hard wedges 2. Some men have longer scores greater reckonings have been greater sinners than others and though not ever yet ordinarily God doth proportion the sorrow to the sin 3. Some men of greater parts of greater places who are not so easily humbled many things may bee in the subject which may vary the case And as the same measure is not necessary in respect of man so the same is not necessary in respect of God his ends are various 1. Some men hee intends to bestow greater measure of grace upon than upon others and hee layes a proportionable foundation 2. Some hee intends to use as one of a thousand to comfort others therefore hee doth exercise them with difficulties with humiliations eclipses of his favour with temptations injections of Satan decayes relapses that they may bee experimentally able to settle and comfort others 2 Cor. 1.4 3. Some hee intends for great services great imployments to make them Champions in his cause And therefore hee doth humble them
c. for the supply of strength 3. You make your selves every way unserviceable to God as I shewed you you make your selves unable to do unable to suffer for him You make your selves good for nothing unserviceable to God to the Church to his cause to your selves too c. Many there are that think they can do God better service in standing off than in comming in by Fear than by Faith They think that in nourishing their doubts and their fears they do cherish their care watchfulness humility And on the contrary they think that if once they should come to beleeve then they should bee more loose and careless and take more liberty to themselves Indeed you would have more liberty to service not to sin You would not bee tyed to service with coards of fear but with bands of love your principle of service and your manner of service would bee changed where now you serve nim out of fear then out of love now out of convictions of conscience then out of propensions of a divine nature now you serve him as slaves involuntarily then as sons with willingness and delight c. Now you do duty as a task then as your trade And you will walk in the wayes of duty though you see no commings in As a man that loves his trade that loves his calling hee will hold it up and follow it though hee get nothing by it though no gain or comming in by it So the soul which hath a Principle bred in him suitable to the things of God which is wrought by Faith hee will hold up to pray and to do duty though hee finde not commings in there is a natural agreeableness between him and duty between his spirit and the work and though hee never get good by it yet hee will hold up his spirit to the doing of it As it is with a man whose nature is sensualized that hath sinned away the very common Principles pluckt up the very senses of nature hee will drink and bee drunk though hee undo himself by it though hee hurt his body impoverish his estate yet hee will drink c. As Solomon saith a Whore will bring a man to a morsel of bread will undo a man yet hee will go on in sin hee will not leave his sin though undone by it hee will sin not only though hee get nothing but though hee get hurt though hee undo himself thereby yet hee will go on in sin and the reason is that universal sutableness that is between his soul and sin So on the other side a godly man hee will serve God hee will hold on in duty in obedience though hee finde no comming in by it There is such a sutableness between the spirit of a beleever and the work that though there is no commings in though hee finde no peace no comfort in the wayes of God yet hee will hold up to the work Where now an unbeleever if hee do not by these things get peace which is all hee looks after in the doing of it if he do not get comfort at last hee throws off all because there was no Principle of sutableness to hold him to the duty Therefore you see how Satan deludes you Faith alone is the spring of action that which sets us a work and quicken us in working if Faith bee up all his Graces will bee so too and if that bee down all other Graces are weak and down with it As Parisiensis saith it is the vertue of a Christal when the vertues of other precious stones are extinct to raise them and revive them again So doth Faith with our Graces when Davids heart was down in Psal 43.5 you see hee recovers himself by his Faith no sooner did hee exercise his Faith but his heart is raised That which quickeneth you to service and inables you in service is Faith and that which deads your spirit and makes you unserviceable is unbeleef and therefore bee convinced of your sin 2. Bee humbled for it this is the great sin the womb of sin the Mother and Nurse of sin as I have shewed That which holds up Satans Kingdome in you is your unbeleef if this fort were once taken all the rest would quickly yeeld up You see when Christ would conquer covetousness hee labours to conquer unbeleeving as you see Mat. 6.25 to the end That being overcome all the rest yeeld up and are vanquisht Nay it is a sin which doth not only uphold particular sins but the state of sin It is called a state of unbeleef wee do not say a state of drunkennesse a state of swearing c. but a state of unbeleef others are but particular this an universal sin And is there not then cause to bee humbled for it you see what a sin it is how you wrong God how you gratifie Satan how you injure your selves and is there not cause then to bee humbled for it Men are hard to bee humbled for this sin because hard to bee convinced either that they are guilty of it or that it is a sin Prophane and wicked men worldly men they will not bee convinced that they do not beleeve Though there bee nothing more plain if the Devil did not delude them for Faith and sin cannot stand together you can no more separate Holiness and Faith than Light and the Sun And humbled men they are hard to bee convinced that it is a sin Though it is easy to convince them that they do not beleeve they are sensible enough of that yet it is hard to perswade them that it is a sin not to beleeve that it is their duty to beleeve they think they do well in keeping off from the Promise they express their tenderness of Gods justice and holiness and judge it a great wrong to both that God should bee merciful to such sinners as they But I must tell thee it is a greater sin than all thy sins a killing a murthering an undoing sin It is a finishing sin that seals thee up in a state of sin and therefore you had need to bee convinced of it and humbled for it 3. Bee yee quickned to beleeve What shall I do now to perswade with you who are slow of heart to beleeve to come in and beleeve Alas all that I can say is nothing if God do not mightily work upon your hearts and perswade with you Shall I tell you there is an inexhaustible fulness of mercy in God and merit in Christ for the greatest sinner among you and this is something Shall I say that God is willing to forgive the greatest sinner of you if you will now come in and beleeve If you will go by Gods revealed will and thou hast no other rule to go by nor to bee judged by there God tells thee that hee keeps open house hee invites hee excites hee intreats hee beseeches to come these were something to perswade with our hearts But I shall pass them I will only name these two
a nobis accipiendo sed omnia nobis promittendâ— Aug. because he hath ingaged himself to us by many great and precious Promises Gods Promises are ingagements upon him God hath made himself our Debter Not by receiving any thing from us but by promising all things to us God hath made many precious promises to us 1 Promises of Preservation Isa 33.16 Hee shall dwell on high his place of defence shall bee the munition of rocks bread shall bee given to him his waters shall bee sure A Promise than which I know none more full in the Book of God wherein all Objections that a fearful heart might raise are answered and taken away Let us view it over 1 Hee shall dwell on high If hee were among his enemies hee might bee in danger But hee shall dwel on high nay on heights as the Word is many Ascents many Heights above the reach of danger out of Gun-shot 2 But suppose they could raise up Mounts and come as high as hee yet they shall not hurt him Hee is in a place of defence 3 But what then His defence is not so strong but it may bee broken thorough No saith the Text that is impossible for his place of defence shall bee the Munitions of Rocks many Rocks and many Munitions of Rocks and therefore impregnable to guard him 4 Why but hee may bee starved out his supply will not alway last There is no plowing and sowing upon Rocks hee may bee famisht out No saith the Text. Bread shall bee given him Hee shall bee provided for 5 But what shall wee do for Water There is no Water to be had out of Rocks You see it was that which posed the Faith of Moses to fetch Water out of a Rock But saith the Text hee shall have Water too 6 Yea but his Water may be spent It will not alway last No saith the Text His Waters shall be sure never failing Waters sure Waters Again in the same Chapter vers 21. The Lord will bee to us a place of broad Rivers and streams wherein shall go no Gallie with Oares nor shall gallant ship pass thereby Shewing the defence God would bee to his People Hee will bee a Stream nay a River between us and our enemies And a broad River a River that cannot bee passed over Why but they may use Oares No saith the Lord Hee will bee a River wherein no Gally with Oares shall pass But a Ship may No nor gallant ship shall pass thereby for the Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King hee will save us But what if any ship should attempt You shall see vers 23. God will untackle them Thy tacklings are loosed they could not well strengthen their Mast they could not spread the saile 2. And as hee hath made promises of Preservation from So hee hath made promises of Deliverance out of trouble Psal 34.19 Many are the troubles of the Righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all So Psal 50.15 Call upon mee in the time of trouble I will deliver thee So Psal 91.15 I will bee with him in trouble and will deliver him So Isa 54.17 No weapon formed against thee shall prosper And an excellent promise wee have Isa 43.3 4. I gave Egypt for thy ransome Ethiopia and Seba for thee God speaks here as the Lord and Possessor of the whole Earth Egypt was his and Ethiopia was his and both these hee gave for to redeem his Church The Church was in bondage and captivity you know in Egypt And God gave Egypt for her ransome And how because shee could not bee ransomed and delivered without the loss of Egypt Therefore God gave Egypt for her That is hee would rather lose all the Land of Egypt than his people should not bee ransomed hee would sink the whole Kingdome of Egypt if it stood betwixt his People and Deliverance And so it follows in the 4. vers I have loved thee therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life As if hee had said I love thee thou art more dear to mee than all the World and I do not stick to give the lives of thousands to uphold thine Multitudes shall bee destroyed rather than thou shalt not bee preserved I love thee and therefore I will give men for thee Thus you see God is ingaged to do wonderful things for his Church because of his Promise That love which hath moved him to make these precious promises to us will never give him rest till it hath caused him to make good those promises which hee hath made 3. A third loving Ingagement which causes God to do wonders for his People is because they trust in him Trust is a kinde of Ingagement upon a man although hee had made no promise A man will not deceive another who reposeth his whole trust in him though hee were not ingaged by Promise There is a kinde of Ingagement in Trust it self And shall wee then think that God will when hee hath made so many precious promises to us This were the greatest deceit in the World a Soul-deceit If God should call us off from all other succours from other shelters and tell us that if wee will trust in him hee will bee our succour our security And should God fail the soul this were an undoing-deceit the greatest deceit in the World No my Brethren there was never man who laid up his confidence in God but hee found God to bee that to him which hee expected Faith ingageth all the Power all the Wisdome all the Mercy and Truth of God to help us And if the Power Wisdome c. of God can do wonders for thee God will then do wonders for thee if thou beleeve in him Beleeve saith Christ and thou shalt see the wondrous works of God 4. A fourth Ingagement which causeth God to do wonders for his People is because they seeke him Hee doth not say to the seed of Jacob seek yee mee in vain Hee hath stiled himself The God hearing prayers and bids us call upon him in the day of trouble and hee will hear The Prayers of Gods People they are as so many Ingagements upon God to move him to do for them Faith and Prayer will set All-God awork It will set the Power Wisdome Mercy of God a work for you Faith and Prayer will remove Mountains Nothing shall bee too hard for that people to do whose hearts and spirits God holds up to beleeve and to pray Bee it to thee even as thou wilt Luther having been in his study and earnest with the Lord about the business of the Church receiving a gracious answer hee comes down and cryes Wee have overcome the day is ours And so it fell out saith the story For the Church prevailed There is a kinde of Omnipotency in Faith and Prayer because these two set the Omnipotent God and the Omnipotency of the Power of the Omnipotent God to work for us And I beleeve
that for the compleater deliverance of the Church So it follows They know not the thoughts of the Lord for he shall gather them They gather themselves together and yet saith the Text God gathers them They gathered themselves to ruine the Church and God gathers them to ruine themselves Hee shall gather them as sheaves into the floor and the fuller the load the more welcome to the Husbandman And then Arise and thresh 4. A fourth time wherein God doth wonderful things for his Church is When the enemyes of the Church are carried on with most rage and promise themselves most success against the Church and people of God You see that in the verses before the Text 9 10. when the enemy said in his heart I will pursue I wil overtake I will divide the spoil my lust shall bee satisfied on them I will draw my sword my hand shall destroy them Here they exprest their fury and rage and promist themselves good successe in all And this was the time for God to do Wonders you see in the next vers Thou didst blow with thy wind the Sea covered them they sank as lead in the mighty waters It was so in the Powder-Plot A Plot never to bee forgotten When they had intended to have blown up King People Nobles Commons Senators Senate Laws and Law-makers nay three kingdomes at a blast They could have buried all in one grave and consumed all in one Bonefire Here was their rage their fury And did they not also promise to themselves as good successe in their way Had they not then in their purposes disposed of Crown and kingdom and all the Chief Offices and Revenues in the Land And now was the time for God to shew a wonder for the deliverance of his Church which you know he did A wonder of wisdome in the discovery of the Plot and a wonder of mercy in disappointing of it 5. When Gods People are brought low when all humane helps fail when the Arme of flesh is weak when the stream of second Causes is dry Then is Gods time to shew a wonder for their releif when wee cannot be releeved without a wonder then God works wonders for our relief You see this Deut. 32.35 36. The Lord shall judge his People and repent himself concerning his servants when hee seeth that their power is gone and there is none shut up nor left When Israel was brought to those straits the Red-sea before them the Egyptians behind them and mountains on each side them then saith Moses fear not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord Exod. 14.13 As if he had said you are now in straits your extremities are great and now is the time for God to help now is Gods time to do wonders for you There are two times 1. Mans Time 2. Gods Time Mans time is when ever wee are in need when ever we are in trouble but Gods time is only when all helps fail when no releif is in the arm of flesh then all is in God God is ever ready to put forth himself in desperate cases because then his mercy and power will bee most conspicuous his People most thankfull and deliverance most glorious It is an old experienced Truth Mans extremity is Gods opportunity The depth of Mans misery calls in for the depth of Gods mercy It may bee observed in all Ecclesiastical Histories that when deliverance approached then was persecution the hot rest The Scribes and Pharisees blasphemed most when their Kingdome was neerest to ruine In this like the Devil who roars most when his time is shortest The greatest darknesse is before the morning watch when the morning is darkest then comes the day when trouble is greatest then comes deliverance You know when the task of bricks was doubled then was Moses sent to deliver The Ancient Tragedians when things were brought to that strait that there could bee no possibility of humane help imagined they used to bring down some of their Gods out of the Clouds and thence was the phraise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was not much differing from that among the Jews In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen Gods promises are never neerer fulfilling than when to sense and reason they seem furthest off from fulfilling This was Abrahams case when at Gods command hee was about to sacrifice his Isaca 6. The time when God doth wonders for his Church is When God doth give and hold up a mighty spirit of Prayer in his People to seek You see this in the deliverance of the Church out of the Babylonish captivity In which deliverance God expressed many wonders of mercy to his Church At which time God raised up A mighty Spirit of Prayer in them to seek As you see in Dan. 9.2 3. And this was prophesyed in Psal 102.13 14 15 16 17. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to favour her the set time is come Why how shall wee know that Now is the time hee shews in the 14th verse For thy Servants take pleasure in the stones and favour the dust thereof that is they mourn and they Pray And therefore it is time for thee to help and deliver as you see in the 17th vers Thou shalt regard the Prayer of the desolate and not despise their Prayer As when the Lord hath an intent to destroy a People he doth either expresly charge them not to pray for them as hee did Jeremy chap. 14.11 Pray thou not for this people and chap. 7.16 Pray not thou for this people neither lift up cry nor Prayer for them neither make intercession to mee For I will not hear thee Or hee doth secretly dead and straiten their spirits that they cannot Pray So when hee doth stirre up the hearts of his People to seek him It is an evident demonstration that God will do great things for that People Hee hath told us that Hee will not forsake them that seek him when the eyes and hearts of Gods People are big with sorrow then is Gods mercy big with deliverance ready to be delivered Wicked men have a measure of sin to fill as God said of the Amorites The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full And Christ to the Scribes and Pharisees Fill you up the measure of your Fathers Mat. 23.22 When the Harvest is ripe then will God put in his Sickle Joel 3.13 put in the Sickle for the Harvest is ripe for the wickedness is great In a word God hath a bag for the sins of the wicked Job 14.17 And God hath a bottle for the tears of his servants Psal 56.8 Hee bags up sins and hee bottles up tears And when once his bag is full of the transgressions of the wicked and his bottle is full of the tears of the Saints Then shall salvation come to Zion then will God stir up himself for the relieving and succouring of his Church When wicked men are ripe for Destruction the Church ripe for
as indeed hee hath let us hereby bee taught three lessons 1. Of Thankfulness 2. Of Obedience 3. Of Dependence 1. Here is a lesson of thankfulness to bee learned Wee 1. Thankfulness even wee stand before God this day the subjects of abundance of mercies Many mercies God hath bestowed on us and long continued to us Many evils hee hath kept from us and many evils hee hath freed us from Wee stand before God this day the brands of many glorious deliverances which God hath wrought for us Wee have received more mercy and have had experience of more goodnesse preventing delivering mercy within these three years than others have had in three Generations God hath discovered the wonders of his wisdome the wonders of his power the wonders of his mercy and love in many a glorious deliverance which hee hath wrought for us And how ought wee to bee carryed out with praises under the injoyments of so many mercies how should our souls being warmed with the sense and consideration of these mercies burst forth into a flame of praises to God But alas It is with us as with the Children of Israel Wee are very solicitous wanters but wee are forgetful injoyers And that which should bee a means of drawing us nearer to God is a means of further distance from him I must tell you that your unthankfulness under all these receits of mercy is a great and a provoking sin and might justly make a stop of mercy now 1. It is an inhumane sin against the very principles of Humanity A beastly sin nay worse for the Oxe knows his owner and the Asse his Masters crib It s a devilish sin 2. It is a sinning sin a productive sin a womb of sin it brings forth many more sins 3. It is the abuse of a good God Who can least of all indure to bee abused in his mercies 4. It is the grave of Mercy Where all Gods mercies are buryed and lost a very land of forgetfulnesse 5. It is the destruction of mercy Hos 2.8 9. Shee knew that I gave her Corne and Wine and Oil and that I multiplyed her silver and gold c. Therefore will I return and take away my Corn in the season thereof and my Wine in its season and I will recover my Wool and my Flax. That which gives birth to mercy is Prayer and tha which gives breath to mercy is Thankfulnesse Mercy is but short breathed short lived when men are unthankful Unthankfulnesse cuts the throat of Mercies Unthankful persons are never long injoyers of mercies 2. A lesson of Obedience 2. Learn a Lesson of Obedience Let the Mercy of God quicken you to duty Look upon every mercy as a further ingagement to you to walk more holily and more exactly with God As all the spiritual mercies of God Election Redemption Justification Sanctification promises of Glorification were all bestowed as ingagements to Obedience So all the temporal mercies also 1 Sam. 12.24 Therefore fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your hearts and consider what great things hee hath done for you When mercies are spurs to duties when mercies make the least addition to graces God is well pleased with the bestowing of mercy and where God sees such ground hee delights to sow the seed of mercy 3. A lesson of Dependence 3. Learn a lesson of Dependence upon God It is a shame that wee should bee afresh to seek in every new difficulty It was that which God blamed the Children of â—srael for That notwithstanding the great and wonderful works hee had done in their sight and eyes yet they did distrust him all was not enough to work up their hearts to beleeve God and trust in him And David blames them for the same Psal 78.19 20. They spake against God can God furnish a Table in the wilderness Indeed hee smote the Rock that the waters gushed out and the streams overflowed But can hee give bread also Can hee provide flesh for his people One would think this a senselesse reasoning But Unbeleef is a senselesse sin One would think that they did sufficiently answer themselves That what went before had been answer sufficient to what followed after The same power was required for the doing of the one that was for the other and when they had seen the power of God to work the greater 't was strange they should doubt of the lesse but here is the basenesse of our spirit Though God have given us never so many experiences yet wee are still to seek in every new act of dependence on him And without further grace wee cannot do it Wee think when wee are in straits and difficulties if God would but help us through this strait if hee would but relieve us in this difficulty wee should never distrust God whilst vvee lived wee should depend on him in the saddest conditions whiles wee have a being But these are but our present thoughts and without future assistances and supplies wee are as far to seek in another as wee were in the first Well My Brethren God hath wrought many great things for us every one of them should bee a Life-mercy a standing-mercy a mercy to bee set up to incourage us to depend on him for ever Mercies that wee should live on in straits and feed upon in difficulties mercies that should bee for store to feed upon for a long time You have an expression Psal 74.14 Thou brakest the head of the Leviathan in peeces and gavest him to bee meat to thy people in the Wilderness By Leviathan is meant Pharaoh and God gave him to bee meat to his people in the wildernesse That is Hee wrought that deliverance for them before they entred into the wildernesse that this might bee meat for them to feed upon and strengthen their Faith in dependence upon God in the wildernesse where they were put to it by so many difficulties This mercy was to bee a standing-dish not for a meal only but for store meat laid in to feed on to strengthen their dependence Faith is called Feeding John 6. And the experience of Gods goodnesse is Pabulum Fidei the meat of Faith That mercy is never well digested that is not fed upon Hee that doth not feed upon a mercy gets no nourishment by a mercy no good You take the Name of God in vain that is his works his experiences which are part of his Name you take them in vain All this is but food cast away upon you if thereby you are not strengthned for the Fuller dependence upon God And now my brethren wee have had many Glorious experiences of Gods goodness to us and all these are meat to feed upon You are now in new straits and difficulties bring out your standing-dishes the former mercyes and experiences to feed upon to refresh your Faith to inable you to depend upon God afresh Hee that is not a good Treasurer a good Storer of mercys hee is never out of straits hee
God do wonders for his Church Then let us fall down and adore this God who can do wonders for us Who would not fear thee O King of Nations saith the Prophet Jer. 10.7 It was the speech of an Heathen King when hee had seen the Wonders that God had done Let all men fear and tremble before the God of Daniel Dan. 6.26 When Christ had done that great wonder in calming the rage of the sea the Text tels us They all fell down at the feet of Jesus and worshipped him Gods wonders for us call out for our Worship of him Fall down then at the feet of this God and Worship him Fall down at the feet of his Power and dread it Fall down at the feet of his Mercy and adore it Fall down at the feet of his Wisdome and admire it Admiration is sutable to Wonders It is said Hee shall bee admired in his Saints When wicked men tremble do you fall down and admire and blesse that God adore that God who alone doth wonders 7. Use Doth God do wonders for his Church 7 Use and are wee now in a sad condition A people that shall bee made a wonder unlesse God do a wonder for us Oh! then let us carry our selves in such a deportment and demeanour as is sutable to such who are expectants that God should do wonders for us Oh! that wee could put our selves in a posture fit for mercy and deliverance Seeing you look for a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness saith the Apostle what manner of persons ought you to bee So seeing you look you expect that God should do wonders for you Oh! What manner of persons ought you to bee in Holiness of Life how holy how humble how spiritual ought you to bee in all manner of conversation Oh! take heed of sinning in the face of mercy in the face of deliverance Lye not swear not c. It was a sad aggravation of Israels sin They provoked God at the Red-Sea even at the Red-Sea it is doubled to put a greater Emphasis on it Psal 106.7 It is nothing but our sins which hinders the current and stream of Mercy if these were removed mercy would come amain Whereas on the contrary sin will not only make our but even the good purposes of God to become abortive to us You see it in Jer. 18.9 10. At what time I shall speak concerning a Nation or a Kingdome to build and to plant it If it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voice Then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them Many buds and many blossoms of future deliverance have appeared Oh! it were a sad thing if our sins should blast all these and rob us of the fruit of our hopes of our prayers and tears Our sins put obstructions to all Gods proceedings of Mercy And therefore you see when the Temple was to bee built and great things were to bee done for them The Prophet by way of necessary preparation exhorts the people to repentance to cast away their sins Hag. 1.6 knowing this that though God had begun yet if they continued their sins they would quickly make a stop of Gods mercy God would soon repent of his mercy to them God had brought Israel out of Egypt and brought them near Canaan yet their sins comming betwixt them and Canaan turned them back again into the Wildernesse and there they walk in a Round forty years before they could finde admission into Canaan God is gone out before us triumphing in the greatnesse of his strength preparing a way hewing down difficulties levelling mountains turning all our oppositions into good But if you do not leave your sins you will make God quickly to leave you so to work your own confusion Well then You are all expectants of Mercy let every one of you labour to put himself into a posture fit to receive mercy Let every one walk and demean himself as such as looks for great things from God And then that God that hath begun will assuredly make an end Hee that hath laid the foundation and is laying stone after stone upon it every day will not desist till the building bee perfected 8 Use 8 Use Is it so that God doth wonders for his Church then learn 1. To trust in God You see Hee is a God doing wonders And as Christ said Learn 1 To trust in God Mark 9.23 If thou canst but beleeve All things are possible to him that beleeveth Wonders are possible There is nothing too hard for God to do if there bee nothing too hard for you to beleeve There is nothing difficult but to beleeve Hee that hath conquered and overcome his own unbeleef hath done all All things are possible to the Beleever Do not you stick at beleeving and God will not stick at doing wonders for you Heb. 11.33 34. By Faith they subdued Kingdomes stopped the mouthes of Lions quenched the violence of fire c. As Unbeleef doth imprison Gods power mercy and goodnesse It is said Hee could not do much because of their unbeleef And they limited the holy One of Israel So Faith sets God at liberty sets the power of God at liberty Nay it puts on the power and mercy of God Therefore exercise Faith The time of our trouble should bee the time of our trust As Mordecai said to Esther God set her up for such a time as that So I may say of Faith God set up Faith for such a time as this When means fail when there is nothing but weaknesse below when sense and reason are put to it then is it Faiths work to come in And therefore exercise Faith Let not any difficulty undermine Faith Let not any seeming discouragement come between your souls and the promise Zach. â— 6 Things marvelous to you are familiar with God things wonderful to you are easy to God You have Bibles Oh! that you had Faith to make use of them you would there finde all things are possible with God and therefore nothing impossible to Faith 2. Bee incouraged to Prayer This is the great work of our times 2 To pray to God Faith and Prayer will do wonders Faith and Prayer have had an hand in most of the wonders that ever were done in the Earth These will set the great God on doing wonders for us A Prayer made up of promises and put up by Faith will shew wonders in Heaven and in Earth You read what wonders Gods people have wrought by Prayer They have dryed up the Sea Exod. 14.21 brought fire from Heaven 2 King 1.10 Caused the Sun to stand still Josh 10.13 Vanquisht the enemy Exod. 17.12 Praying-Moses did more than fighting-Joshua The day would fail to tell you of all See what wonders followed upon Davids Prayer Psal 18.6 In my distress I called upon the Lord I cryed to my God hee heard my voice out of his Temple my cry came unto his
compast by our own strength and industry but freely imparted and given of God As our Righteousness is freely imputed so our Holiness is freely imparted That thou art not a killing Cain a self murdering Saul a despairing Judas a prophane Esau a drunken Baltazar a filthy Sodomite it ariseth from this meer Mercy But that God hath not only restrained thee but renewed thee not only chained up thy spirit but changed thy spirit This is Free-Mercy And so the Scripture tells us 1. Pet. 1.3 Blessed bee the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who of his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again Not only Mercy but abundance of Mercy So James 1.18 Of his own free-will begot hee us And that in John 1.13 Wee were born again not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man But of God Not of blood Nor great men nor good men can do it Regeneration comes not by Generation Nor of the will of the flesh Our will is but a fleshly will and cannot beget a spiritual nature Nor of the will of man It is not all the indeavours of holy men who labour to do us good can do it But the Will of God It is a mercy wee give least concurrence to of all other When wee have Grace then wee are helpers for the growth and increase of Grace but who shall give Grace When the Candle is lighted it will burn but none but God can light up the Candle In after Sanctification wee concurre There is no concurrence in Regeneration This is the freest Mercy of all other When God hath wrought Grace there is some ingagement for God to go on but there is nothing to move him to bestow Grace Here is the ground His heart is taken therefore hee sanctifies us His heart is taken with us therefore 4. Hee glorifies us As our Justification so our Sanctification and Glorification arise from the same ground His heart is taken with us The Papists indeed would have us to merit Heaven And the Councel of Trent denounce a curse upon those who say Quid sunt omnia opera ad tantam gloriam Bern. Si homo mille annis serviet A Justified person cannot merit Heaven But alas What are all our deserts to this Glory If a man should serve God and suffer a thousand years what were this to merit eternity in Glory No here is the ground of all His heart is taken with us and therefore hee glorifies us And so the Scripture speaks plain Eph. 2.5 By Grace yee are saved And lest hee should never make it firm enough hee adds in the 8 and 9. verses By Grace yee are saved not of works So that you see into what to resolve the higher streams of his Love his chusing us his justifying his sanctifying and his glorifying us His heart is taken with us therefore hee chose us therefore hee justifies us c. 2. As you may see into what to resolve all the higher So the lower streams of his love to his Church All into this His heart is taken with his Church His heart is taken with us therefore hee doth protect us His heart is taken with us therefore hee will preserve us His heart is taken with us therefore hee will support us His heart is taken with us therefore hee will deliver us All the good wee have in Hand and all the good wee have in Hope All the Mercies bestowed and all those which God is bestowing on us Look upon all as a continued threed spun out of the bowels of Free-Grace and Mercy God hath done great things for us and from this they have arisen His Heart is taken with us his Love towards us Jer. 31.3 4. I loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee Alas If God had looked upon us and taken either ground or motive from any thing in us to do this for us wee should never have injoyed it 1. There was no ground no foundation of desert in us Wee abhorre the thoughts of it for God to raise such a fabrick of mercy upon as hee hath done If any thing in his Church were the foundation of the structure of mercy which wee expect God to raise wee might look for a mean building Such weak foundations must have as weak a structure A building must bee proportionable to the foundation But seeing Gods own heart is the foundation his own mercy and good will towards us which is so strong so firm so full a foundation Hence it is that wee may expect a structure of mercy suitable to the foundation And as this is the foundation of all those great and stupendious things which God hath done for us So it is a ground for us to expect that God will yet do greater things for us than ever hee hath done Indeed when wee look upon our selves wee are at an end in our thoughts and think God is at an end in his Mercy but when wee look up toward God and see there the ground of what wee have this keeps up our hearts from sinking and causes us to look upon all wee have as an earnest of more Men that are at the top of an high place if they look downwards their eyes dazle and their heads grow dizzy but if they look up towards Heaven they recover themselves again God hath raised us up to some height of mercy and if wee look downwards if wee look upon our selves wee are driven past the utmost of our thoughts but let us look up to Heaven whence this mercy wee have hath its spring and foundation and wee shall quickly recover Though there bee nothing in us yet there is something in God and that which is in God is the ground of this mercy and therefore will hee go on in the wayes of his own mercy I have often thought within my self how far God at this time hath out-gone his people in Mercy Hee hath not only out-gone the deservings of his People but out-gone the desires of his people the prayers of his People And consulting below I am ready to think God is at an end of his Mercy But when I recover my self and look upon the ground of Gods doing good to his Church and People Not to bee any goodness in the Church but meerly his own goodness This doth revive mee again put heart into mee that God will yet do greater things for his Church than yet hee hath done As I said before when God doth execute Judgements upon his Church hee adds Judgement to Judgement so much more when hee comes in a way of Mercy to his Church hee adds Mercy to Mercy God is oftentimes weary in going on in a way of Judgement because the exercise of his Judgements are drawn out by us our sins Hee is said not to afflict willingly and his Judgements hee calls his strange work It is not so natural to God and therefore he is quickly weary of it But God is never