other fifty And when they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them both Tell me therefore which of them will love him most Simon answered and said I suppose that he to whom he forgave most And he said unto him thou hast rightly judged Those that he forgives most unto will love most Jesus Christ loves to be greatly honored and loved and therefore he is willing to save the greatest sinners But now the greatest sinners are most opposit unto what is good they don't seek after what is good Surely therefore if Jesus Christ would save sinners and the greatest sinners of necessity the Kingdome of Heaven and of Grace must approach unto us before we draw neer to it But you will say Object Zech. 1.3 Jam. 4.8 The Scripture seems to be contrary unto this Doctrine For hath not the Scripture said Turn unto the Lord and he will turn unto you Draw neer to God and he will draw neer to you How is this therfore true That the kingdom of grace mercy and free-remission does first draw neer unto us before we draw neer unto it Yea Hath not our Savior Christ said Matth. 9 13. I came not to cal the righteous but sinners to repentance That is such as are sensible of their sins Surely therefore a man must be sensible of his sins must be sensible first before the kingdome of Heaven of Grace Mercy and Free-remission be brought néer unto him For Answer The Scripture is cleerly with us Answ Joh. 4.19 Joh. 15.16 The Apostle John speaks out expresly We love him because he loved us first And saies our Savior You have not chosen me but I have chosen you I have chosen you you have not chosen me And whereas 't is said That we should turn to God and he will turn to us And draw neer to God and he will draw neere to us That is He wil draw neer unto you again he will turn more unto you not as if we should begin to turn to him and first draw neer to him before he does first draw neer to us at all But draw neer to him and he will draw neer to you And turn to him and he will turn to you That is he will draw more neare to you and he will turne unto you again And whereas 't is said That Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance That is such as are sensible of their sins and men must be first sensible before the offer of grace mercy and free-remission be made unto them I beseech you turn unto the place where the Scripture lies 't is in the 9. Chapter of Matthew at the latter end of the 13. verse I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance This say I is not to be understood of sinners only Sensible of their own sins but sinners indeed Christ came to call sinners indeed yea before they are sensible of their sins For the word Sinner here must be understood as the word sinner before is in the 10. and 11. verse As Jesus sate at meat in the house behold many Publicans and sinners came and sate down with him and with his Disciples When the Pharisees saw it they said unto his Disciples why eateth your Master with Publicans and sinners He did eat with those that were not sensible of their sins Sinners there are not to be meant of those only that were sensible of their sins Christ did not only eat with those that were sensible of their sins Now he gives this account of it I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance That is sinners such as he names before such as he did eat withal and they were not only such as were sensible of their sins Again Our Saviour Christ gives this account at the 12. verse The whole need not the Physitian but those that are sick To answer to this Objection That our Saviour did eat with sinners and converse with sinners Saies he I am a Physitian and Physitians are to go to those that are sick only There is this difference between me a Physitian and other Physitians for I come unsent for but other Physitians come when sent for I as a Physitian come to Cal my Patients but other Physitians are Called in by their Patients Now saies he I am a Physitian and I come not to call the righteous but sinners I come to Call my Pationts Physitians don 't only go to those that are sensible of their disease but if a man be past sence his friends send for the Physitians and the Physitian goes So does Christ here Comes unto his Patients when they are not sensible of their disease many times Again This sutes with that which goes before Go saies he at the 13 verse and learn what that meaneth I will have mercy and not saerifice Sometimes this phrase this sentence is to be understood concerning bodily mercy But here 't is to be understood of mercy to the soule Go ye and learn what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice Ye object to me that I converse with Publicans and sinners not with those that are righteous in their generation go and learn what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice I have more delight in conversing with poor sinners that with those Jews that do offer sacrifice Ang again Gonsider what sense would here be if this should be the meaning I came not to call the righteous but sinners That is I came to call those that are sensible of their sins Then the meaning must be this I came not to call the righteous but men that are penitent men that are sensible of their sins and are penitent If by the calling the sinners we are to understand those that are sensible only then the sense must be this I came not to call the righteous but men that are penitent No no Christ came to cal sinners poor sinners although they were never yet sensible of their sins the Lord Jesus Christ came to call sinners which are so indeed This Doctrine then stands notwithstanding that Objection But you will say Obj. The Prodigal seems to come home unto his father before his father does come to him and to repent before his father shows mercy to him and so our repentance does prevent the Lords mercy and not the Lords mercy prevent our repentance For Answer Ans 'T is good for us alwaies to attend unto the scope of the Scripture in Parables especially The scope of the Parable cannot be according to the tenure of this Objestion for then it should be contrary to the former Parable of the lost sheep Indeed The Prodigal saies he will repent before he goes to his father Luke 15.18 19. I will return to my father and I will say I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and I am not worthy to be called thy Sonne but he never saies so till he came to his father after his father had
persevere in the way that I am in notwithstanding sall thy discouragements Firm against all Afflictions if you want this creature-comfort or the other creature-comfort you will answer I true I want Friends I want Money I want Credit Oh! but yet there 's a Fulness in Jesus Christ and there 's enough in Him and of this Fulness through the Lords mercy I have received Oh! what a drawing what a drawing argument is here me thinks the stoutest sinner in all the Congregation should now come in and close with the Lord Jesus Christ You will say unto me Here are incouragements indeed Quest to Beleevers for the Doctrine runs thus There is a communication of the Fulness of Jesus Christ unto all Beleevers Oh! but what incouragement is here for others that are not Beleevers And truly I am afraid I am even afraid that I am not one of those what incouragement is there for others that are not Beleevers also I pray look into the 68. Psalm Answ and consider it wel at the 18. verse See what is spoken concerning Christ to this purpose that now I am upon Thou hast ascended on high Thou hast led captivity captive Thou hast received gifts for men 't is spoken of Christ yea for the Rebellious Also Mark that word Thou hast received gifts for men yea For the Rebellious Also Well then is there ever a Rebellious Childe in this Congregation Is there ever a Rebellious Drunkard that hath taken up arms against the Lord Jesus Christ Is there ever a rebellious Swearer or an unclean heart here that hath taken up arms against the Lord Jesus Christ Saies the Text He hath received gifts for men yea for the Rebellious Also The Reason why you have not these gifts is because you do not come to Christ Oh! But if you would come to Christ Mark If you would come to Christ you that are Rebellious if you would come to Jesus Christ He hath these gifts or Grace by Him if you would come to Him you should have these gifts from Him Who would not throw down his weapons now Is there ever a Rebel in all this Congregation that hath taken up arms against the Lord Jesus Christ heretofore Me thinks he should be incouraged hence to come unto Jesus Christ Bodin hath a story concerning a great Rebel that had made a great and strong party against a Roman Emperour the Emperour makes Proclamation that who ever could bring in the Rebel either alive or dead should have such a great sum of money The Rebel hearing of this he comes in himself presents himself unto the Emperour and demands the sum of money Saies the Emperour if now I should put him to death the world would think that I did it to save my money notwithstanding all his former rebellion the Emperour pardons him and gave him the sum of money Oh! would a Heathen Emperour do thus by a poor Rebel And if thou man or woman wilt throw down thy weapons and come in unto the Lord Jesus Christ do you think that the Lord Jesus Christ will not give to you those gifts that He hath received for you Certainly He will Oh! me thinks therefore every poor sinner should now hang upon this last word yea For the rebellious Also Hath the Lord Jesus Christ receiued gifts for men and for the rebellious Also I wil for ever hang upon that word Also Oh! I have bin a Rebel I have bin an unclean Rebel I have bin a swearing Rebel I have bin a drunken Rebel Oh! Lord I will throw down my weapon and hang upon this word Also Hath He received gifts for men and for the rebellious Also Oh! I will come in unto Him Oh! what a mighty incouragement is here for all good and bad to come in unto Jesus Christ Come Drunkard Come Swearer Come Unclean heart Come Sabbath-breaker Come lying-Children Come stealing-Servants Oh! Come unto the Lord Jesus Christ that you may be fil'd for ever Oh! Come unto Christ that you may leave your sins Here is incouragement to all good and bad to come unto Jesus Christ One word more of Use unto Beleevers Appli 3. and so I have done Is there a communication of the Fulness of Jesus Christ unto all Beleevers Then Beleevers Own your own own your own labor to strengthen your Assurance of your Union with Jesus Christ and maintain your confidence in Him If you have Assurance of Union with Jesus Christ you may have the comfort of all this truth you may and you will say thus or to the like purpose Hath the Lord given me Christ and will He not with Him give me all things else True indeed I want Grace to do such a work with to pray with to hear with to examine my own heart withal I want Grace to do such a work for God Oh! but there is a communication of the Fulness of Jesus Christ unto all Beleevers and through the Lords Grace I am one There is a communication of the Fulness of the Lord Jesus Christ unto all the Saints and through the Lords Grace I am one and therefore in due time I know I shall have this Grace communicated to me But if you want the Assurance of your Union with Jesus Christ Oh! then you will want the comfort of this Truth then you will break out and say True indeed there is the communication of the Fulness of Christ unto Beleevers but the Lord knows I am none 'T is true indeed there 's a communication of the Fulness of Christ unto al the Saints but the Lord knows I am none I have an unclean heart of mine own the Lord knows I am none Oh! therefore you that have gone doubting up and down and had no assurance of your condition all this while assurance of your Union with Jesus Christ for the love of God get it now as you desire to have the comfort of this truth that now I have bin upon get it now You see Beloved these times we are fallen upon are dying times and truly I may say Dying times and Doubting hearts cannot stand together Oh! Cock up cock up you that have had your evidence for Heaven lying abroad all this while get it in Labor to get assurance of your Union with Jesus Christ and maintain your confidence and assurance and so shall you have the comfort of all this Truth made good unto you And the Lord give it in unto you SERMON III. JOHN 1.16 And of His Fulness have all we received even Grace for Grace Preached at Magnus Aug. 24. 1645. I Have made entrance into these Words in other Congregations And desire to proceed here where I left there The Words are spoken of our Lord and Savior Christ They hold forth Three great grand Propositions First That there is a Fulness of Grace in Jesus Christ Secondly That of His Fulness all we have received Thirdly That of His Fulness all we have received Even Grace for Grace I have done with the
18.15 A Prophet will I raise up like unto thee I 'l put My Name in him He shall be called God Jehovah as I am Then the Lord proclaimed before Moses himself to be the Lord gracious merciful forgiving iniquity transgression and sin reserving mercy for thousands Then the Lord gave the Law and least they should think that God intended it as a Covenant of works He did at the same time give the Ceremonial Law that thereby they might reade the satisfaction of Jesus Christ for any sin they should commit against the Moral Law Here was a higher Advance But because this was still under-vail'd And it is a pain to love to conceal it self the Lord does make a further revelation of His Grace of Christ by His servant David for after David and Solomons time we reade of the Eternal generation of Christ Proverbs the 8. Of the Incarnation of Christ Loe I come Psal 40.7 in the volume of thy Book saies the Psalmist Of the Death and Suffering of Christ Psalm the 22.1 and divers other Psalms My God My God why hast thou forsaken me Of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the 118. Psalm and the 16. Psalm Thou wilt not suffer thine holy One to see corruption Of all the Three Offices of Jesus Christ His Kingly Office The second Psalm Yet will I set my King upon my holy Hill His Prophetical Office He shall declare the Decree Psal 2.7 And His Priestly Office Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedech Psal 110. Of the Ascention of Jesus Christ Psal 68. He hath ascended on high and received gifts for men Of the Sitting at the right hand of God the Father the 110. Psal The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou on my right hand Thus you see in Davids time the Gospel had Advance further had gotten a great deal of ground But the Lord was not yet contented but causes more of His Grace to break forth in the times of the Prophets more concerning Christ He tells them of the very Time Christ should be born Daniel the 9. Of the Place where He should be born At Bethlehem The Person that should bear Him Mic. 5.2 Isa 7.14 Mal. 3.1 A Virgin shal conceive Gives them divers Characters whereby they should know Him when He came And I will send my Messenger before Him The voice of one crying in the wilderness He will ride upon an Asses colt Behold thy King Isa 40.3 Zac. 9.9 11.12 Isa 53.5 comes riding upon an Asses colt He shall be sold for Thirty pieces of silver saies the Prophet Zachary He shall die not for His own sins but ours The chastisement of our peace shall be upon Him And as if all this were not enough The Lord speaks out the Covenant of Grace expresly in Jer. 31.31 The daies come saie the Lord that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah verse the 33. This shall be the Covenant that I will make with them after those daies saith the Lord I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying Know the Lord They shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more What a mighty Advance had Grace made now Is there any more yet Yes our Savior Himself comes and then Grace Advances higher by much higher then Grace enlarges her Quarters extending it self unto all the world go teach all Nations Go teach all Nations saies our Savior That house of Israel would serve such a candle as Moses was Mat. 28.19 But when the Sun arises no less then the whol world for him to display his beams upon He had set up a school of Grace in that corner of the world in Jenny But when the Lord Jesus Himself comes a Free-School is set up the School of Free Grace for all the children of men to come unto Go teach all Nations Yea in the second place Although our Savior Christ did go unto our fore fathers the Jews and preach unto them by His Spirit He came to them as Joseph to his brethren at the first in a hidden way under a vail But now the vail of the Temple is rent asunder and the most common people may see into the Holy of Holiest Now we all with open face behold as in a glass the Glory of the Lord. The Jews 2 Cor. 3.18 they had the Shadows and we have as it were the Picture but the Substance the Thing it is yet to come These Three ye find in that first verse of the 10. Chapter to the Hebrews For the Law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very Image of the thing Here 's the Shadow and here 's the Image and here 's the Thing it self The Thing it self it is yet to come They indeed had the Shadow but we have the Image and look how much an Image or the picture of a man goes beyond a shadow So much does the discovery of Christ now go beyond the discoveries of Him then Luther saies The whol world is but one day as it were And as the evening and the morning made the day so saies he our fore fathers the Jews they had the evening but we have the morning Again Though there were many Doctrines of Grace and mercy communicated to our fore fathers the Jews Yet notwithstanding they were so tempered with the Law that the very Gospel seem'd to be Law to them As now we have the Law among us but 't is so temper'd with the Gospel that the Law it self is Gospel-wise to us They had Christ in the hand of Moses and we have Moses in the hand of Christ A mighty difference As we have a Baptized and a Christian Moses so they had a Circumcized and a Mosaical Christ They had Grace in the hand of the Law And therefore you shall observe that when the Lord appear'd unto them in way of greatest mercy He appear'd still with tokens of Majesty and Greatness But now we have Grace in the hand of Grace we have Grace with the tokens of Grace and with the tokens of Love And this difference the Apostle makes out cleerly in the 12. of the Hebrews from the 18. unto the 25. Again Though they had many Doctrins of Grace and of free Grace yet themselves were not made free thereby but they were as the children of the bond-woman they were not free from Ceremonial Rites They had the free use of the creature their hearts were not free and enlarged towards God Indeed those that were Godly among them they were Children Gal. 4.1 4 5 6. But as the Apostle speaks they being under age they differed not
that he beleeved more plainly expressed in the 18. v. Who aginst hope beleeved in hope that he should become the father of many Nations according to that which was spoken so shall thy seed be Aggravated and inlarged in this 19. verse The Matter that he beleeved was inclosed with many difficulties he beleeved that he should be the father of many Nations and that in his seed all the Nations of the world should be blessed herein he had an eye unto Jesus Christ but now his owne body was dead being about an hundred years old and Sarahs wombe dead yet notwithstanding sayes the text Being not weak in the faith he considered not his own body now dead nor yet the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe You will say Obj. How can this be tht the Apostle here sayes Abraham considered not his own body being now dead when we read in the 17. Chapter of Genesis and vers 17. unto which Story this Chapter relates it is said That Abraham fell upon his face and laught in his heart and said Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred yeares old and shall Sarah that is ninety yeares old beare Did not Abraham here consider the deadnesse of his own body and the deadness of Sarahs wombe why does the Apostle say thus then Some answer it thus Answ That the Apostle here speakes of the first giving out of the promise unto Abraham which we read of in the 12. of Genesis but that cannot be he was not then an hundred years old He considered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old and so t' is said he was an hundred years old in the 17. Chapter of Genesis and the 17. verse therefore it must relate unto that Others they answer it thus That Abraham hideed at the first did consider his owne body and did doubt through unbeliefe but afterwards Abraham recollected himself and got over that unbeliefe but the Apostle he speakes the contrary in the 20. verse He staggered not at the promise through unbeliefe Others they answer it by labouring to sind out some mysticall interpretation of those words Shall a child be brone unto him that is an hundred years old and shall Sarah that is ninety years old beare as if Abraham say they had said thus Lord thou hast some secret meaning in these words I pray thee speak it out unto me and tell me plainly thy meaning and therefore say they God answered to that purpose in the 19. verse And God said Sarah thy wife shall beare thee a son indeed I meane according to my words Sarah shall beare thee a Son indeed But we need not straine for any mysticall interpretation or expression when Abraham sayes Shall a child be bron unto him that is an hundred years old In that seventeenth of Genesis and the seventeenth they are words not of Doubting but words of Inquiring Abraham desiring to be further satisfied and rightly to understand the meaning of the promise and rightly understanding the meaning of the promise sayes the Apostle He did not much mind he did not throughly mind he did not stand poring upon or considering the deadnesse of his own body or the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe There are three things especially considerable in these words Frist of all That Abrahams body and Sarahs body are dead after God gives out a promise of a great seed of his Secondly That notwithstanding this yet Abraham beleeved is commended for it He being not weak in the faith considered not his own body being now dead And thirdly That in all this he had an eye unto Jesus Christ as I shall shew you afterward Accordingly I would take up three observations thus First When God intends to fulfill his promise by giving any speciall blessing to the children of Abraham he does first of all put the sentence of death upon the blessing and upon all the means that do lead unto it Secondly That then and then especially it is the duty of all the children of Abraham to trust in God And thirdly That no difficulty can stand before faith true saving justifying faith carries the soule through all difficulties discouragements and naturall impossibilities to Jesus Christ I begin with the first at this time When God intends to fulfill his promise by giving any speciall blessing to the children of Abraham Doct. to beleevers he does first put the sentence of deathupon it and upon all the means that do lead unto it A promise of a great seed like the starres of heaven and the sand upon the sea-shore is given to Abraham but before it is fulfilled Abrahams body is dead and Sarahs wombe dead the sentence of death put upon the mercy and the means that do lead unto it and herein Abraham is held forth for our example it was written not for his sake alone at the 23. verse but for us also to whom it shall be imputed at the 24. verse And as thus it fell out with Abraham so it falls out with all the children of Abraham with all beleevers when God intends to give any speciall or great mercy by fulfilling his promise he does first of all write down the sentence of death upon the mercy and upon the means that do tend unto it The Saints and People of God lsa 62 12. they are called the Redeemed of the Lord not onely because they are redeemed from hell and from wrath but because that they have their mercies and blessings in a way of Redemption there is a line of that great mercy of Redemption that runnes through all the mercies which they have they have Health redeemed our of the hand of Sicknesse they have Liberty redeemed out of the hand of Straitnesse they have peace redeemed out of the hand of Warre they have Assurance redeemed out of the hand of Doubting and Vnbeliefe they have Mercy redeemed out of the hand of Misery they have Joyes and Comforts redeemed out of the hand of Griefe they are the redeemed of the Lord whatsoever great Mercy or Blessing they have they have it in a way of Redemption Thus it was with Abraham And was it not thus with Joseph I shall not have time to speake of the Patriarchs all of them Joseph you know had a promise by way of vision Gen. 37. That his sheafe should be higher then all the sheaves and all the sheaves of his Brethren should bow down to his the Sunne and the Moone should bow down before him his Father and mother this promise was afterward fulfilled when his Brethren went down into Egypt and bowed before him there and his Father went down into Egypt but first of all Joseph is sould into Egypt the sentence of death put upon the Mercy the promise did bring forth but it had a sore and a hard labour first And was it not thus with the People of Israel they had a promise of great increase like the sands upon the sea and that they should be brought
head when the sentence of death is put upon the Mercy and blessing which you do most desire This is Gods way when he intends any great Mercy to any of his children he puts a sentence of death first upon it Oh! when death sits upon the meanes Psal 116.11 then we conclude all 's dead the Mercy dead all 's gone and we are very apt to have despairing thoughts and to make despondent conclusions I said in my hast sayes he all men are liars Samuel sayes I shall have a Kingdome the sentence of death is put upon the businesse All men are liars Psal 31.22 So in another place I said in my hast I am cast out of thy sight shall I see the face of God nothing but death upon all the means Isai 38.11 I am cast out of thy sight So with Hezckiah I said saies he I shall be cast out of the Land of the living And so now adayes I thought indeed that we should have had a Reformation but now nothing but sad Division I thought we should have had free enjoyment of al the Ordinances but now the sentence of death put upon all I had thought I should have had Assurance and never doubted again but now death put upon it and upon all the means that do lead unto it all 's dead all 's gone Oh! we are very apt to be much discouraged to make strange conclusions when death comes upon the meanes 't is a hard thing to keep from such conclusions For the businesse comes to a Vote as it were it comes to a Vote before the Soule The question is sayth the Soule whether I shall be saved or no As many as are for the Affirmative say I I sayes the Promise As many as are for the Negative say No No sayes Threatnings and No sayes guilty Conscience No no no sayes a thousand sinnes The question is whether I shall be delivered or no I am in such an Alliction and straitnesse the question is whether I shall be delivered or no As many as are for the Affirmative say I I sayes the Promise As many as are for the Negative say No No sayes Providence No say all second Causes and all the meanes round about No no no say a thousand sinnes Now my beloved it s a hard thing for a poor Soule to give an Affirmative with the bare Promise when all else gives a Negative but the reason is because this truth that now I am upon is not by you were but this truth by you it were easy to give an Affirmative with the bare Promise when death sits upon all the meanes As for example Suppose our Army by in the field engaged with the enemy a Troupe routed a Regiment routed a Wing routed Come sayes a carnall Souldier fellow Souldiers shift for your lives for we are all undone and spoil'd Nay not so stay sayes the beleeving Souldier this is Gods way when God intends any great Mercy to his people he does first of all put the sentence of death upon it and upon all the meanes that do lead unto it and therefore come fall on fall on brave hearts fall on for this is Gods way ans so it proves many times Or suppose a man be in some personall straite or affliction the Devill the Tempter he comes ye see in what straite ye are ther 's no meanes at all for your deliverance you had as good take such and such an indirect course why should you waite any longer Nay sayes the Soule but I have learned otherwise when God intends any great Marcy to his children he does first of all put the sentence of death upon it and upon all the meanes that do lead unto it and therefore I will waite on God still I may be in Gods way this may be Gods way it may be the Lord is in a way to give me a greater Mercy then ever I had in all my dayes Oh! my Beloved that you would but gird this truth upon your thigh how might you cutt off all discouragements as they rise upon you You will say Quest How does this cutt off discouragements some things there are that die and never rise again as Beasts some things there are that die and do rise again as Men The sentence of death is upon the Mercy that I do much desire and did I know indeed that it should rise again it were a matter of great Incouragement to me but that I do not know For Answer Answ I shall onely say thus much to it A may be of Mercy is a sufficient ground for our reliance and support of the Soule upon God Marke there is two acts of Faith the Faith of Reliance and the Faith of Assurance Assurance that causes Joy Reliance that causes Quietnesse Accordingly there are two Objects of Faith A shall be of Mercy that is the Object of Assurance A may be of Mercy that is the Object of Reliance Ye shall observe therefore that when the Lord would call out his people to an act of Reliance upon him he holds out a may be of mercy to them Zeph. 2.3 Seeke the Lord ye meeke of the earth seeke righteousnesse seeke meeknesse it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lords anger ye know the place in Zephaniah And if you looke into the 1 Samuell the 14. Chapter ye shall find that this may be was that encouraged Jonathan at the 6. verse Jonathan said to the Young man that born his Armour Come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised it may be that the Lord will worke for us for there is no restraint with the Lord to save by many or by few It may be the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint with the Lord to save by many or by few This encouraged Jonathan and hereby he incourages his Armour-bearer So when a man can say thus it may be the Lord will show Mercy to me in such a work or in such a businesse there is no restraint with him it causes the Soule to rely on God Now this Doctrine it holds forth a may be to you a may be of Mercy to you though you have not an Assurance that this mercy that hath the sentence of death upon it will certainly rise againe yet notwithstanding seeing it is Gods way this is Gods way with the Children of Abraham when he intends to give a speciall Mercy he does put a sentence of death upon it This holds forth a may be unto you a may be of Mercy this Doctrine holds forth unto you Why therefore my beloved should we not relie upon God when the sentence of death is put upon the meanes upon all the meanes that does lead unto the Mercy that you most desire But you will say unto me Is there no way Quest no meanes to spy out Gods meaning in this particular Oh! that I did but know whether this Mercy that hath the sentence of death upon it shall
into his soule Answerable to that a chaine of gold is hung about his necke Joseph a poor stranger brought as low as ever man was Answerable to that he is made next in the Kingdome to Pharoah Beloved if the dead Mercy rise as your bodies when they rise they rise in glory So when the Mercy rises it will rise a glorious Mercy And as it shall be the greatest Mercy that ever you had so it shall be the surest That is most certain that is certain after uncertainty Whose assurance was like to Thomas's Oh! sayes Thomas My Lord and My God two My's My Lord and My God it came out of doubting A Tree that stands after shaking stands the most firmly Assurance after doubting is the strongest Assurance surest Assurance As 't is the greatest Mercy so I say it shall be the surest Mercy if ever the Mercy rise And then againe Lastly As the surest so it shall be the sweetest Mercy The children of Israel they had wholesome meat and water and drinke but the sweetest water was that which they had after no water water out of a rocke that was like hony And a Mercy that comes out of a rocke that comes from out of the sentence of death from under death it shall be the sweetest Mercy You know what the Father of the Prodigall sayes when his son was come home he cals his friends together Lak 15.32 Come sayes he and make merry with me for this my son was dead and is now alive Cals his friends together and speaks thus unto them So shall it be with the Soule when the Mercy lost is found when the Mercy dead is raised then the Soule shall call in his friends Come O my friends Come I le tell you what the Lord hath done for my Soule here here is a Mercy dead and 't is now alive Come make merry with me O my friends this my Assurance it was even dead and 't is now alive Oh! this Blessing this Blessing it was dead but 't is now alive Come and make merry with me O my friends for this Mercy was dead and 't is now alive Thus I say if this Mercy rise that hath the sentence of death upon it it shall be the greatest Mercy it shall be the surest and it shall be the sweetest Mercy that ever you had in all your dayes And therefore who would not waite upon the Lord who would not waite upon the Lord when the sentence of death is put upon the Mercy and upon all the manes that do lead unto it Oh! my beloved in the Lord that you would but possesse your hearts of this one Truth this Mercy how quiet would your Soules be under all the distempers and the troubles of the time Nationall distempers Personall distempers When you look upon the troubles that are abroad yet your hearts would be quiet and you would say well but yet notwithstanding we may be in the way to the greatest Mercy that ever England saw why should we be thus discouraged Oh! my Soule waite upon God this is Gods way he never gives any great Mercy to any of his people but first he does put a sentence of death upon it and upon all the meanes that do lead unto it And therefore notwithstanding all yet we may be in Gods way Therefore Oh! my Soule waite on him Thus much for this time Rom. 4. vers 19. And being not weak in faith he considered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old neither yet the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe THe words as ye heard the last day are spoken concerning Abraham Preached-at Margarets New fishstreet March 2. 1645. And they hold forth three great Truths unto us The First is this That when God intends to fulfill his promise by giving any speciall blessing to the children of Abraham he does first put the sentence of death upon the blessing and upon all the meanes that do lead unto it Abrahams body is dead and Sarahs wombe is dead when God had promised him a great seed The Second is this When God is thus pleased to put the sentence of death upon a blessing or the meanes that do lead thereto Then and then especially 't is the duty and commendation of all the children of Abraham to beleeve in God and not to stand poring upon the meanes and the deadnesse thereof He considered not his own body being dead nor the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe The Third is this That no difficulty can stand before Faith true saving justifying Faith carries the Soule through all difficulties discouragements and naturall impossibilities to Jesus Christ Thus it was here with Abraham he being not weak in Faith he had an eye unto Jesus Christ I have done with the First and my desire is now at this time to dispatch the Second When God is pleased thus to put the sentence of death upon a blessing Doctr. or the meanes that do lead unto it it is the duty of the children of Abraham then to trust in God not to stand poring upon or considering of the meanes and the deadnesse thereof Thus it was here with Abraham God made Abraham a promise that his seed should be like the sand and like the starres for multitude But Abrahams body is dead and his wives body is dead Notwithstanding Abraham considered not the deadnesse of the meanes And in all this he is held forth for our Example as you heard the last day As he did therefore so must we do The Doctrine is somewhat large I shall break it asunder into three parts and endeavour to cleare up these three Propositions unto you for the proof of the whole First That a meere rationall considering of the meanes and the deadnesse thereof is a great and a speciall enemy to the work of beleeving Secondly That when all means faile 't is the duty and commendation of the children of Abraham then to beleeve Thirdly That so to do is exceeding pleasing to God and most acceptable First That a meere rationall considering of the meanes the straitnesse or scantinesse narrownesse or deadnesse of the meanes is a great and a speciall enemy to the work of beleeving Abraham being not weak in Faith considered not his own body being dead If he had considered he might have been hindered in his Faith Ye reade of Zacharias that good man Father of John the Baptist that when the Angell brought him tidings of a child in way of his speciall Mercy he would not beleeve it And in the 1. of Luke and the 20. verse ye reade how he was punished for it Behold thou shalt be dumbe and not able to speak untill the day that these things shall be performed because thou beleevest not my words But what hindred him what kept him off from this work of beleeving you shall find at the 18. verse too much attendance unto and considering of the meanes and the deadnesse thereof Zachary said unto the Angell Whereby shall I know
in regard of a particular Family in a Town 't is said concerning the Jailors family that they were all baptized they all beleeved but how did the Jailors family come and seek after the Kingdom of Heaven before the Kingdom of Heaven was brought unto them No The Apostles were brought into prison God works a miracle the Kingdom of Heaven grace and free remission is brought to the prison and is brought to the Jaylors family before ever the Jailor did stir after it And so ye know it was with the family of Zacheus Luke 19 9. Zacheus saies our Saviour This day is salvation come to thine house Pray consider it a little did Zacheus's house go to seek for salvation or rather did not salvation come and seek for Zecheus's house Indeed Zecheus out of a curiosity ran and got up into a tree that he might see the out-side of Jesus Christ but our Lord and Saviour Christ cals him down Zacheus saies he I must dine with thee invites himself he carries salvation unto his family Thus God deals by Families He deals thus by the World He deals thus by Nations He deals thus by Towns He deals thus by Families And he deals thus by particular Persons also Was it not thus with Matthew the Publican He sate ye know in his Custome-house and Christ came and found him out there he did not first go and seek after Christ but Christ came first unto him and found him out in his trade and said unto him 1 Tim. 1.13 follow me And was it not thus with Paul Saies Paul I was a blasphemer and a persecutor But I obtained mercy I was breathing out threatenings against the Saints and against the Disciples of Jesus Christ but as I was breathing out threatenings against them the holy Ghost breath'd upon my heart and met me in the way and unhorst me and showed me mercy the Kingdom of Heaven did approach unto Paul before ever Paul sought after it And as 't is with a particular Person in regard of his first Conversion and first Repentance So in regard of his After-Repentance Peter sins and before ever Peter repents Christ looks back upon him that is the first then Peter wept bitterly Johah sin'd and sin'd greatly in running away from God before ever Johah could find in his heart for to seek unto God God works a miracle provides a chamber of preservation even in the belly of destruction in the Whales-belly for him God brought neer his pardoning mercy and grace to him before ever Jonah came neer to it And as 't is in regard of a mans first second and after Prepentance So 't is also in regardof a mans Comfort and Consolation O Lord saies David Make me to receive joy Psal 51.8 Psa 77.2 and comfort that the bones that thou hast broken may rejoyce My soul refuseth comfort saies he As if he should say thus Lord I have been a great Surgeon at other mens hearts and I have been able to set their bones that have been out of joynt but now mine own bones are broken I have fallen greatly and now my own bones are broken I cannot set mine own bones My soul refuseth comfort and the promise is to my heart-like a bank of Ice that my heart slips off and Lord if thou doest not uphold my heart with a promise I shall never have comfort Make me to see comfort O Lord. Thus you see where ever you look in the Scripture 't is full of the truth that is here before us namely That the Kingdome of Heaven grace mercy and free-remission does approach unto us before we draw neer to it Evidences of it The First is Taken from our own Condition Naturally we are lost sheep so we are called by Christ Man in his natural state is compared unto the lost son the lost groat and the lost sheep Now you know when a sheep is lost it does not lie where it is lost if you lose your purse or if you lose a ring it will lie where it was lost unless it be taken up but now if a sheep be lost the sheep wanders up and down and doth not lie where it was lost but wanders up and down over one mountain to another through one thicket to another through one dirty place to another and of all creatures the lost sheep does not seek the way home again A dog lost will seek the way home again a Cat and such like creatures lost will seek the way home again but a sheep lost does not seek the way home again Now we are all lost sheep wandring up and down One he wanders over the mountain of Pride another through the thicket of the World another through some unclean Slough but all wandring and no man able to find his home till he be first found Therefore saies our Saviour Christ Luke 19.10 I came to seek and to save those that are lost He does not say barely I came to save those that are lost but I came to seek and to save those that are lost And truely we must be sought all along Saies David in the 119. Psalme and the last Lord I have gone astray like a lost sheep O seek thy servant We have need of continual seeking as long as there is continual wandring we have need of such a shepheard as may seek us out But first of all the Kingdom of Heaven does seek us out before we do seek it when we are found then we seek but we never seek till we are first found A Second Evidence I take from Christs willingness for to save sinners There is an infinite willingness in our dear Saviour for to save poor sinners He came from Heaven for that end and purpose If a man come a thousand miles upon a business will ye not think he is willing to do it Jesus Christ came from Heaven for this business for to save sinners Is He not then willing to do it I may say that Jesus Christ is more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved by him The Prodigal goes home to his father but when the father sees him after off he runs the Prodigal goes and the father runs to meet him with mercy Yea and our Savior Christ seems to be most willing to save the greatest sinners the greatest Saints have bin made up out of the greatest sinners When the Lord Jesus Christ was upon the earth did he not carry his grace and mercy and the doctrin of free remission to the greatest finērs Peloved consider of it I pray you The greater the sinner is the more is Christ honored in getting out his Pardon and in satisfying for such a finner and so he will love Christ the more Look I pray into the 7 Chap. of Luke Simon saies Christ I 'le propound thee a parable Master say on saies he Then saies our Savior at the 41 vers There was be certain Creditor that had two Dobters the one ought five hundred pence and the
when as the Lord does thus prevent us with his grace and is at our bed-side with his grace when we lie sleeping and never think of mercy and grace an ingenious soul should say thus What is all this but a plain rebuke to the slothfulness of my duty Come up prayer up duty oh my soul be up sooner Yea through the Lords grace I will be up sooner at Heaven gate in duty than ever I was before His preventing grace teaches me thus much that I am not soon enough at Heaven gate with my duty Again 2. Duty Hath the Lord prevented any of you with grace and caused the Kingdom of Heaven to draw neer to you before you drew neer to it Do you do the like labour in your love to be like to Christ to be like to God We stand upon our terms when we have to deal with men upon our terms of State had Jesus Christ stood upon terms of State when he came to save sinners what had become of us We say we will forgive such a man for wrong done to us upon his acknowledgement Oh! but did Christ do so Did not Christ prevent us Beloved ye see how 't is with the water it moves downward but if the fire get into it if there be water in a pot upon the fire and fire get into the water the fire makes it move upward it moves according to the nature of the fire then So now if the love of Jesus Christ get into our hearts it will make us move like unto Christ How does the love of Jesus Christ move Oh saies Christ Father forgive them they know not what they do Luke 23.34 Christ did not stay for acknowledgement a poor and a low thing for a Christian Enough for a Heathen to say so I will forgive such a man for wrong done to me upon his acknowledgment Let our love be like unto Christs and labour to prevent others with our love as Jesus Christ hath prevented us Thirdly Then let all men waith upon others 3 Duty with all longsufforing and patience for their Conversion and the revelation of truth unto them Thou art a Parent and desirest thy Child may be Converted and hast taken a great deal of pains with him for his Conversion and yet it will not be Thou art a governour of a family and would'st fain have such a servant converted to Christ and hast taken a great deal of pains and yet it won't be A friend you have and you would fain that he knew such a Truth and much pains you have taken to beat such a Truth into him and he don't take it and you are ready to be angry but remember this The Kingdom of Heaven draws neer to us before we draw neer to it Grace must come to thy Childs soul first before it does come to Christ Mercy must come to the soul and the Lord must come and bring truths unto the soul What is then to be done Then be not angry with him wait with all long suffering and all patience and go to God go to God for thy Child go to God for thy friend go to God for thy servant upon this ground Because the Kingdom of Heaven must come to us first before we can come to it But Especially 4. Duty and Fourthly Trust in the Lord for ever Oh! all you that are the servants of the Lord upon this ground Trust in the Lord for ever Does the kingdom of Heaven approach and draw neer to us before we draw neer unto it Then say within your souls Doubting shall be no more Some there are that doubt of their salvation because of the lgnorance that is in them darkness causes fear they don't know the mercifull disposition of Jesus Christ and so they doubt of his love The Devil as he labours to change himself into an angel of light so he labours to change Christ into an angel of darkness But beloved ye have heard of the merciful sweet disposition of Jesus Christ he is willing to save sinners and the greatest sinners brings neer the Kingdom of Heaven to us before we draw neer to it Oh! wilt thou doubt again poor Christian wilt thou doubt again Some there are that doubt of their salvation because they are afraid their duties shall not be accepted prayers shall not be accepted Oh! if I could but be perswaded saies one that the Lord would hear my prayer and accept of my duty then I should know indeed I should be saved but I am afraid the Lord doth not hear my prayers and accept of my duties and therefore I fear I shall not be saved Man or woman where ever thou standst or art hear the Word of the Lord. Does the Lord cause the Kingdom of Heaven to approach and draw neer to us before we draw neer to it will the Lord be found of those that seek him not and will he not be found of you that do seek him Will the Lord come with his grace and make an offer of grace and mercy to a sinner and a great sinner and will not the Lord receive you when you do come unto him Think of this and surely then you will say Doubting shall be no more Some there are that doubt of their salveation because they cannot pray their hearts are dead pray I cannot and hear I cannot and reade I cannot performe duty I cannot and therefore I have cause to fear I shall never come to Heaven Well but though you cannot Man or Woman Christian pray as thou art able and hear as thou art able and reade as thou art able the Lord Christ is of this sweet disposition That he does canse the Kingdom of Heaven to draw neer to us before we draw neer to it Oh! therefore you that are the servants of the Lord Trust in the Lord for ever for ever trust in the Lord and let doubting be no more I conclude all with one word of Exhortation Applic. 2 and it is unto those that have not yet submitted unto this Kingdom of Heaven this Kingdom of Grace Is there a truth in this Doctrine That the Kingdom of Heaven grace mercy and free remission does approach unto us before we draw neer unto it and that because indeed we are not able to draw neer to it before it draws neer unto us Then all you that have not yet submitted unto this Kingdom of grace and the offer of grace and mercy in the Gospel when ever any offer shall be made unto ye take heed that ye neglect not so great salvation You see how 't is with the sea-man because the sea-man is not able to raise a wind or turn the wind when 't is raised he lies upon the sea-coast ready waiting upon the wind and when the wind turns then he hoists up his sailes for saies he now the wind is come about and if I lose this gale I am likely to lose my voyage I cannot turn the wind I cannot make the wind So
sins But I pray what works the heart over to this acknowledgment When David had Saul at a great advantage and spar'd him Saul breaks forth into this expression O my son David thou art more righteous than I O David thou art a righteous man but I am an unrighteous man So when the soul sees what infinite advantage the Lord hath it at and how the Lord spareth then the soul breaks forth and saies The Lord is righteous I am unrighteous I am unrighteous this works an acknowledgment Sixtly A Repenting person does not only acknowledge his sin as occasion serves but he labours to un-sin his sin and truely else it is no Repentance He does walk contrary unto himself and his former self he does labour to undo what he had done before sinfully he does labour to unsay what he had said before wickedly Before the Jaylor was converted he clap't up the Apostle into close prison and either he whipt him there or else being whipt he did not relieve him and wash his wounds But the Jaylor Repenting mark how he walks contrary to himself Repenting he opens the prison door he washes the Apostles wounds brings him into his own house sets meat before him Those Sorcerers Acts 19. repenting burnt their books which before they prized and studies much How did Manasses walk contrary to himself when he once Repented Well But what is that that will bring the soul to this disposition to walk contrary to ones former self If you look into the 116. Psalm ye shall find there how the Psalmist eats up his former words I said in my hast all men are lyers It was amiss in me I eat my words I am sorry for it what made him do it Saies he at the 3. verse The sorrows of death compassed me about and the pains of hell gate hold upon me I found trouble and sorrow Then called I upon the Name of the Lord O Lord I beseech thee deliver me at the 5. verse Gracious is the Lord and righteous yea our God is mercisul Now having had a tast of Gods grace and God mercy now he eats his former words And so the good man Hezekiab I said saies he I am cut off from the land of the living Isa 38.11 He did eat his words I repent it was suddenly done How was he wrought off to this He had tasted of the love and grace and goodness of God and this made him do it So that now look into the bowels of Repentance and the several workings thereof and ye shall find there is no such way or means or motive to bring a soul unto Repentance as the approaching of the Kingdom of Heaven the word and work of Gods grace and love of God in Jesus Christ Would you know the Reason Briefly thus Repentance is a fruit of faith Ye have a notable expression of godly sorrow to the height in the 12. of Zachary the latter end of the 10 11 and 12. verses speaking of the Call and Conversion of the Jews They shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him the latter end of the 10. verse as one that is in bitterness for his first-born Bitterness upon bitterness and mourning And in that day at the 11. verse there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon And the land shall mourn every family apart the family of the house of David apart and their wives apart Here is great mourning and sorrow What caused this saies he at the 10. verse They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn They shall look upon me whom they have piercit This is the eye of faith and all true mourning and sorrow does come from thence All tears of Repentance flow from the eye of faith the more a man by faith is able to see a pierced Christ the more his heart is pierced for sin committed the more by faith a man is able to see a wounded Christ the more will his heart be wounded for sin committed Faith works Repentance but what worketh faith Surely the Gospel the preaching of the Gospel Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the preaching of faith He does not say by the preaching of the Gospel but by the preaching of faith The Gospel is called faith not only because 't is the Cbject of faith but that by which faith is wrought Again As Repentance is a fruit of faith So also it does flow from love Amor doloris causa Love is the cause of grief The more a man loves another or apprehends that he is loved of him the more he grieves if he hath any way injured him If you at un-awares do strike another and one tell you that he is your enemy ye grieve not ye are not troubled unless it be in regard of some mischief that may come to your self But if one tell you that he is a friend a specialfriend that grieves you So now if by my sins I have striken at God if I look upon God as an enemy I am not grieved much I am not troubled much But when I consider him as my father the best friend I have in the world and consider how by my sins I have stricken at him this makes me grieve Oh! that ever I should wound the name of him whom my soul loves She loved much saies our Saviour concerning the weeping woman she loved much for much was forgiven her He does not say she wept much for much was forgiven her there was no mention before of her love but only of her weeping and yet saies our Saviour she loved much because he would shew what it was that drew up the sluce of these tears it was her love And what causeth love Love causeth love The more a man sees and apprehends the love of Christ towards him the more his heart is drawn out in love towards Christ again And what greater act of love than this That the Kingdom of Heaven approaches that the Kingdom of Heaven should come and make it's approach to such a poor sinner as I am Surely therefore the approaching or drawing neer of the Kingdom of Heaven is the highest and greatest motive in the world unto true Repentance You will say Experience seems for to speak the contrary for arguments drawn from Hell and the wrath of God seem to be more powerful and efficacious in the working of Repentance I have will some say sometimes considered the wrath of God and let out my heart upon arguments drawn from thence and then I have bin much humbled broken been much affected yea the truth is I have been more humbled and more broken and more affected and more troubled for sin than when the Gospel the word of the Kingdom hath been preach'd and opened unto me How therefore is this true Experience seems to speak the contrary I answer Quicquid recipitur c.
of God Page 206 7 It fils the soul with Gods infinitness Page 207 Application If Difficulties arise here is the way to grapple with them Page 207 Object How shall a man use his faith that be may break through all difficulties Answered 1 Exercise your faith in the promise before you speak with the difficulties Page 208 2 When you do look upon them look upon them as your trials many times as the Devils Engins to work your hearts off again Page 208 3 Set your selves now especially with al your might to venture upon Jesus Christ Page 209 4 The greater difficulties your graces are recovered out of the hands of the more sweet will they be unto you Page 210 5 Study Jesus Christ more ibid Object Suppose a man hath bin in Jesus Christ a great while and then discouragements arise to beat him out of the ways of Christ how shal he raise his faith to work through these Answered 1 Consider your call often Page 211 2 The more you beleeve in the ful of difficulty the more you please God ibid 3 Talke often one to another what great things God hath done that he hath promised Page 212 4 Consider what great difficulties Jesus Christ hath broke thorow to come to you ibid 5 Never speak with your difficulties apart from a promise ibid Matthew 3.2 SERMON I The text opened and explained Page 216 Doct. The kingdom of Grace mercy forgiveness comes to us before we com to that Page 211 Proved Page 218 Evidenced 1 From our own condition Lost sheep Page 228 2 From Christs willingness to save sinners Page 224 Objections answered Page 225 Reas 1 That God may be known to be God Page 229 Reas 2 That men may be made the more gracious ibid Reas 3 That no flesh may glory in it self nor any thing it doth Page 231 Application 1 Consider whether God have dealt thus by our souls or no Page 232 If so learn these duties 1 Be sooner at heaven gate with your duties hereafter than you were before Page 234 2 Labour to be like God in this particular ibid 3 Wait with long suffering for the conversion of others Page 235 4 Trust in God for ever Page 236 Application 2 You that have not received the Kingdome of Grace Take heed how ye neglect so great salvation Page 237 SERMON II Matth. 3.2 Doct. 2 The drawing nigh of the kingdom of grace is the greatest motive to true Repentance Page 240 Opened by considering the particulars of Repentance and you shall find the grace and love of God hath influence upon them all Viz. 1 Sight and knowledge of sin Page 242 2 Be humbled for it Page 243 3 Loath himself ibid 4 Be ashamed of it ibid 5 Acknowledge it Page 244 6 Labor to unsin it it ib. Reason 1 Because Repentance is a fruit of faith Page 245 Reas 2 Because it flows from love Page 246 Object Arguments drawn from Hell and the wrath of God seem to work Repentance more than the love of God Page 247 Answered by distinctions 1 It is one thing to be troubled in conscience and another thing to be humbled for sin Page 248 2 It 's one thing to be prickt at heart and another thing to repent ibid 3 It 's one thing to repent of sin in regard of the inconvenience of it and another thing to repent in regard of the morral evil of it ibid 4 It s one thing to be broken with the weight of sin and another to have the soul melted for it Page 249 5 Its one thing to have sorrow repentance in the Ore and another thing to have it refined ibid 5 It is one thing for repentance to be more in view another to be mort in spirit Page 250 7 It is one thing for our Repentance to affect our own heart much another thing for to affect the heart of God much Use 1 What a sad condition are those in to whom the kingdom of God hath come and yet they are not moved to repentance Page 251 Use 2 The reason why our hearts are no more humbled is because we do not labor to bring the kingdome of God neere to our souls Page 252 Use 3 What infinit cause we have to repent Page 254 1. The more evangelical our repentance is the more it will cure our souls and not hurt our bodies Page 255 2 The more you wil be grieved for sins against the Gossel Page 256 3 It is a friend to spiritual joy ibid 4 The more you hope your sin is pardoned the more you will grieve for it Page 257 5 The more your heart will be enlarged to and for Christ ibid 6 The more of the Gospel is in your repentance the more of the Gospel will be in your obedience Page 257 7 The more your hearts will be sweetned towards the Saints Page 258 FINIS Grace FOR Grace OR THE OVER-FLOVVINGS OF CHRISTS-FULNES Received by all SAINTS JOHN 1.16 And of His Fulness have all we received even Grace for Grace Preached at Dunstans in the East March 16. 1644 HERE in this Chapter are Two choice Spirits John the Baptist and John the Evangelist both agreeing in this To advance the Honor of Jesus Christ John the Baptist is brought in by John the Evangelist giving as you reade in this first Chapter Four great Testimonies of Jesus Christ The first begins at the 15. verse John bare Witness of Him and cryed saying This was He of whom I spake Wherein John the Baptist doth prefer Jesus Christ above himself both in regard of His Person and in regard of His Office In regard of His Person as you reade in the latter end of the 15th This was He of whom I spake He that cometh after me is preferred before me for He was before me In regard of His Office at the 16 the 17 and 18. verses And of His Fulness have al we received even Grace for Grace For the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ c. I confess there are Learned Interpreters as Cyril and Chrysostome that do conceive the words of my Text to be the words of John the Evangelist the 15. verse having as they say relation unto Johns speech in the latter end of the 14. verse Full of Grace and Truth But Origen and others unto whom I rather incline think that they are the words of John the Baptist because they are knit unto the former by the copulative And And of His fulness have all we received Grace for Grace He therefore that spake the words of the former verse in all likelyhood spake these words He that spake the words of the former verse was John the Baptist and therfore these words being linked unto the former by the word And in all likelyhood are the words of John the Baptist The Words of themselves fall into these Three Propositions First That there is a fulness of Grace in Jesus Christ Secondly That of this
fulness we have all received Thirdly That we have all received even Grace for Grace There is a great Controversy upon the latter Clause what should be meant by those Words Even grace for grace But because the Determination thereof fals properly within the compass of the Third Proposition and will have little influence upon the first which I intend God willing to speak unto at this time therefore I pass by that Controversy and come presently unto the First Proposition which is this Doct. That there is a fulness of Grace in Jesus Christ Fulness is here attributed you see unto Jesus Christ The word in the Original sometimes is taken for Abundance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psa 24.1 The Earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof So here it is not taken here it is too narrow for there is not only Plenitudo abundantiae but Plenitudo redundantiae not only a fulness of Abundance but a fulnesse of Redundancy an over flowing of fulness in Jesus Christ Sometimes the word is used for Fulfilling and Perfecting of a thing So Love is said to be the Fulfilling of the Law So it is not taken here for though Christ be the end of the Law yet notwithstanding the Fulness spoken here is that which we do receive and that is the Fulness of grace The word Firstly and Properly is given unto Vessels that are brim-ful of liquor and so Metaphorically appli'd here unto our Lord Jesus Christ who is brim-ful of grace in whom there is no emptyness there is no evacuity While I speak of Jesus Christ I mean Christ as Mediator as God-man There is a Fulness in Christ as God That is not the fulness so Christ is not taken here by what is said in the verse before the Text the 14 verse And the Word was made flesh And of His Fulness we have all received So that it is the Fulness of Christ as Mediator there is a Fulness of grace in Christ as Mediator I shal keep me close unto the words The Fulness is here spoken of which we are said to receive of which we receive we receive grace for grace 't is the Fulness therefore of grace that is in Christ that I am now speaking of Now the word Grace sometimes it is taken for the Love and Favour of God We are saved by Grace That is Eph. 2.5 we are saved through the Love and Mercy of God Sometimes this word in the Original is used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Coll. 3.16 or put for Holiness Singing with grace in your hearts that is with Holiness in your hearts And sometimes 't is used for Excellency 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Donum quodquis gratificatur for Gifts or Ability as in Ephes 4.7 and in al these respects there is a fulness of grace in Christ First of all Take grace for Love and Bounty and Mercy and so there is Plenitudo bonitatis there is a Fulness of Love in Christ The heart and love of Christ now in Heaven is the same toward poor sinners toward His Children toward Beleevers toward Men as it was when He was upon the earth when Christ was upon the earth First There was a fulness of Pardoning Love in Him Then He would pardon men before they did come for pardon Father Luk. 23.24 saies Christ Father forgive them they know not what they do Ye count it a great act of love where the fault is great to forgive a man upon his acknowledgment of the fault Our Lord Christ did not stay for their acknowledgment but whilst they were reeking in their sins He forgives Father forgive them forgive them they know not what they do Yea if you look into the Gospel ye shall find that when men were putting forth the highest acts of fin He was putting forth the highest acts of His love When Christ was suffering for Peter Peter was denying Christ Peter denying Christ and Christ suffering for Peter When He was upon the earth He did not only pardon once but He would pardon again and again if men sinned again He would pardon again The Disciples slept and Christ Pardon'd They slept again and Christ pardon'd again they slept again and Christ pardon'd again Yea and when He had pardon'd He would not upbraid them with their former sins or with His own mercy After His Resurrection not a word to Peter of all his denial or of Christ mercy Beloved Christ is the same in Heaven He is the same in Heaven now Again when Christ was upon the Earth His first and His great care was Matt. 5.3 4. for those that were weak in grace The first Sermon that He Preached Blessed are the poor in spirit and blessed are those that mourn He doth not say blessed are those that have assurance of the love of God and blessed are those that have the sence of His Love in their hearts but blessed are the Poor and blessed are they that mourn And when any poor doubting trembling soul came unto Him He would not cast away their service because it was accompanied with infirmity but He would rather passe by their infirmity because it was accompanied with some sincerity So the Woman that came behind Him So Nicodemus And when any poor soul could not come to Christ could not come to Christ in Christs way Christ would come down to him in his way Thomas saith He Thou sayest thou wilt not beleeve unless thou thrust thy hands into My side Thomas Thou wilt not honour Me by beleeving unless thou seest Thomas Thou wilt not come up to Me in My way Well I will come down to thee in thy way Come reach hither thy fingers and thrust thy hands into My side and be not faithless but beleeving Oh! the admirable condescention of the love of Jesus Christ Beloved He is the same now in Heaven Again When He was upon the Earth He professed that His heart and His love and affections was as much if I say not more unto one Saint Rev. 22.14 Matt. 12 47.50 as unto all His kindred that are such Blessed are those that keep Thy Commandements Bebold say they Thy Mother and Thy Brother and Sister are without to speak with Thee Saies He Whosoever shall do the Will of My Father which is in Heaven the same is My Brother Sister and Mother As if He should say You count My kindred happy because they are neer unto Me but do you see one poor beleeving trembling gracious soul I tel you the soul that keeps My Commandements is as much unto Me as all My kindred that are such Here is love And I say the Lord Jesus His heart is the same still in Heaven And therefore you shall observe that when He was risen and came amongst His Disciples the dore being shut He comes into the room and He saies unto them Luke 24.36 Peace be unto you Why Peace be unto you the ordinary way and manner of Salutation As if He would say thus much
when you have no meanes Thus Abraham did he considered not his own body being dead nor Sarahs wombe being dead for this his faith is commended So shall you be Oh! that our faith were right Oh! that we could learn to live by faith at a higher rate then ever yet we have done Time yet may come for ought we know that you may find more use of this point But you will say unto me I am afraid I shall presume Obj. trust in God when all meanes faile meanes for my soule and meanes for my body and meanes for my family trust in God now I am afraid I shall presume presumption is a great sinne Marke I shall onely tell you what 't is to presume Answ in answer to this praesumo is to take a thing before 't is given or offered Mercy 't is alwayes offred to a poore sinner Jesus Christ came to save sinners and die for sinners thou canst not take mercy before 't is offred For a man to thinke that he shall fly in the ayre with wings like a bird this is to presume for a man to put God upon provision for his lust this is to presume for a man to put God upon extraordinary where ordinary may be had this is to presume But for a man to relie upon God for necessities in extraordinary cases when ordinary cannot be had this is no presumption but Faith Mark I say to put God upon extraordinary when ordinary may be had this is presumption But to rely upon God for necessities in an extraordinary case when it cannot be had in an ordinary this is no presumption at all Beloved 't is presumption in the highest degree for you and mee poore creatures to tye up the hands of God to labour to do it is dangerous As for example one poore Subject to go to his Prince and tye up his hands and feet or to go to his Pallace and nayle up all his doores and leave him but one little wicket to come out at this is presumption And so for a man to tye God to meanes to tye God to a time to tye God to this or that meanes to tye God to meanes in generall this is presumption Marke Some there are that tye God to a Time Oh! if mercy does not come by such a day or such a time I am undone for ever Others they won't tye God to a Time but they will tye God to this or that particular meanes Oh! if mercy come not that way or by that meanes I am gone I am lost for ever Others they won't tye God to time nor to particular meanes but they will tye God to meanes in generall they won't beleeve God a whit beyond meanes and so tye God to meanes in generall Ah what is this but ranke presumption for a poore creature to tye up the hands of his Creator the fin that you seeke and thinke to avoid you fall into This is presumption And beloved do you know how prejudiciall this is to your selves As a dishonour to God so a great hinderance to your selves to doe thus it turnes God out of the way of his mercy Nay sayes God seeing you will have no mercy but in a roade of meanes you shall have none but in a roade of meanes so mercy comes thinne and scant and by little drops whereas otherwise mercy would come thick and full and large Hereby you are put upon indirect meanes to get out of trouble pray what is the ground that causes men to use indirect meanes to get out of trouble is not this at the bottome you thinke meanes must be used this is at the bottome Beloved in the Lord as you do desire God may not be dishonoured that Mercy may come full and not scant unto you learne to beleeve at another rate then ever you have done when all meanes faile and seeme to lie dead before you then beleeve so for thy Soule so for thy Body so for thy Estate You will say How should I do this Quest to beleeve when all meanes faile and lie dead before me I have a great prospect in my sinnes the guilt of one sinne comes and that hath a blow at my conscience and the guilt of another sinne that comes and that gives a blow to my conscience and my conscience is all blacke and blue with blowes and they all cry out and say poor damn'd damn'd and undone creature and I see no way no meanes at all left for my salvation Ah! Lord what shall I do to beleeve now when all meanes faile I shall onely speake a word to it and so winde up all Answ thus Know that thou mayest trust God that thou mayest find Mercy that thou mayest beleeve in such a case as this is Beloved therefore thou hast not beleeved in such a case heretofore because thou didst think thou mightst not beleeve But now know from the Lord 't is no temptation 't is no presumption in such a case as this thou mayest leane thy poor guilty soule upon God this day I am loath to make comparisons between one duty and another but if there be any compares this act of beleeving when all meanes seeme to lie dead before us is more then all thy prayers and teares Thou criest out and sayest Oh! that I had teares in prayer Oh! that God would inlarge my heart in prayer Oh! that God would breake this hard heart and blessed be the Lord indeed when so it is But now art thou in such a case hast thou a prospect of all thy sins and all means seem to lie dead before thee and doest thou now go unto Jesus Christ saying to him Ah Lord I have been a great and a wretched sinner yet now hearing of thy free and rich grace I do throw my selfe upon thee Lord if thou killest mee yet I will trust in thee through thy grace I will never returne againe unto folly onely Lord I do leane my Soule upon thee as for comfort Lord give me comfort when thou wilt onely I leane my Soule upon thee I tell thee this act of thy Faith is more pleasing to God then thy twenty years teares then thy twenty years prayers if there be any compare But why then my Beloved should you look at this as a matter of presumption to trust upon God and upon Christ in this condition know 't is your way unto Jesus Christ when all meanes faile Oh! 't is the only way for your deliverance deliverance from your sinnes and the feare of your sinnes carry this rule home along with you deliverance is then nearest when Faith workes highest and Faith then workes highest when all means are lowest Do not stand poring then Christian don 't stand poring upon the deadnesse of the meanes or the deadnesse of thine owne heart As the sight beholding and gazing upon beauty is a snare and a temptation to those that are given to wantonnesse and the sight of much gold and silver and fine houses a temptation to those
stones and the gravell the Leather weares thin and weares out But if a man goes barefoot though the skin of his foot be tinner the skin does not weare out but growes thicker as Indians they go barefoot and their skin of their feet weares thicker by going upon the gravell and upon the stones What is the Reason The Leather of a mans shooe is a dead thing but the foot is a living thing And so Faith is a living thing and will carry a man over gravell and stones and difficulties but morrall vertues they are but dead things and though they be never so thick they will grow thin and weare out and come to nothing Bare morrall vertues won't do it And then againe Gifts and Parts and Gospel inlargements cannot do it they leave black ashes upon the Soule they are a blaze they make a great blaze Straw that is burnt makes a great blaze but it leaves black ashes upon the harth So where these are without saving Faith they may make a great blaze but the end of them is black ashes upon the Soule Jedas ye know he had great Gifts and Gospel-parts but that would not doe it would not carry him through all his Temptations and difficulties to Jesus Christ Pray do but compare Nicodemus and Judas Nicodemus was but in his Catechisme of Christianity when Judas was a preacher Nicodemus comes to Christ by night when Judas preaches Christ openly but in the end Nicodemus ownes Christ when he is dead and Judas betrayes him when he is living Nicodemus had a true saving-faith Judas had onely gifts Gosper gifts and Gospel-enlargements that will not do it neither And then againe The experience of Gods former dealings providentiall dealings and preservation that won't do it You know how it was with those Spies that was sent into the Land of Canaan there were two sorts of Spies There were good Spies and there were bad spies The good Spies brought up a good report of the Land and the evill Spies brought up an evill report How Why Consider but a little The good Spies they met with many troubles when they were sent out to spy out the Land faine to be hidden in Rahahs house and then they fled to the mountaines and there they lay They come home and they say The Lord hath delivered this people into our hands The other Spies now that brought up the evill report they met with no such hard fare that we reade of and yet they come home and they say The men of the Countrey are the children of Anak and the Cities are wall'd up to Heaven they had experience of Gods preservation in a speciall manner and yet notwithstanding that would not do it Bare experience of Gods preserving mercy that will not do it 1 Iohn 5.4 2 Coâ— 1.2.4 't is only faith will do it saving justifying faith will do it This is the Victory whereby you overcome the world your faith By faith yea stand Looke upon your dangers under a Sea-notion and Faith it is called your Anchor Looke upon your dangers under a land-notion and faith it is called your Shield nothing but faith can doe it You will say to me in the Fourth place What is it in this saving justifying faith that is able thus to carry the soule through all Difficulties and discouragements and naturall impossibilities to Iesus Christ How does faith do it Give me leave to stay here First Faith shewes the soule the glorious invisible things of God and of his grace and brings them neare unto the soule It was a hard thing for Moses to leave all the pleasures and profits and preferrements of Egypt he did it though choosing rather the afflictions of Pharoah with Gods people Why saies the. 11. of the Hebrews He saw him that is invisibel But how did he see him By faith saies the text by faith he saw him that is invisible Faith opens the eyes for to see that a man hath more with him then against him and the workes of God in Christ are not seene by the world Gods pardoning mercy not seene by the world The Vnion with Iesus Christ and the priviledge thereof not seene by the world The satisfaction of Iesus Christ for a poor Sinner not seen by the world The great Power of God not seen or if so yet at a distance it don't much affect Faith is the substance of things not seene Heb. 11.1 it does not only shew a man things that are otherwise unseene but brings them neare Salvation near pardoning mercy near the Priviledges of Union with Christ neare Christs satisfaction neare and so when Difficulties and Discouragements do arise saies the soule through faith Why should not I be satisfied with any condition seeing Christ hath satisfied for me I am one with Christ Christ is a common person When Christ died I died when Christ rose I rose when Christ ascended I ascended Christ sitting in Heaven I sit there Thus faith it elevates and raises up the soule into heaven it carries it over all difficulties and discouragements that it can meet withall Againe true saving faith 2. 1 Cor. 3.22 it tels the soule that all things are its owne All things are yours saies the Apostle things present and things to come life and death all things are yours Faith speakes the same language All things are yours Soule all things are yours Difficulties are yours and naturall impossibilities are yours things present are yours and things to come are yours Will you be afraid of that which is your owne Will the owner be afraid of his owne dog a mastiffe he fals upon a stranger and worries him and a stranger is a afraid of him but the owner is not afraid he leapes and fawnes upon him but does not worry him Sayes faith all these Difficulties and all these Temptations they are your owne they won't worry you they may leape upon you they may fawne upon you but they won't worry you they are all your owne part of the purchase that Jesus Christ hath made for you all these are your owne Faith holds this steadily upon the soule and so a man breaks through Difficulties Againe thirdly True saving justifying faith it shewes a man greater excellencies in Christ then all difficulties and natur all Discour agements can amount unto on the other side You know how 't is with a dog the Grey-hound if hee sees the game a great way off he gives it over but when he comes neare he will rush through the very bushes for to take the Hare throw himselfe upon his back that he may take it a naturall hope makes him do it Faith it raises a mighty hope in the soule presents the soule with many Excellencies and raises a mighty hope in the soule for the obtainment of them it does spread more Excellencies before the soule then can be lost by the hand of Difficulties for example If a man hath beene a Prodigall and now is returning to Christ the world sayes friends
fallen upon his neck and forgiven him and showed mercy to him then he said so and not before And saies the text when his father saw him a far off Notwithstanding he had resolved to go home yet he was far off from mercy his father saw him a far off and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kis't him preventing of him by his grace this makes it more prevalent But yet you will say Object How can this be can God love sinners can God set his love upon poor sinners that are so What saies the Apostle in Rom. 4.5 Answ He justifies the ungodly not in their sins but from their sins through Christ 'T is not in Gods love as in our love you love because the thing loved is lovely but Gods love does make lovely your love finds lovely and Gods love makes lovely You love a person because of some beauty but Gods love does make beautiful You love a person because of some good you do find before you love but Gods love brings the goodness with it Gods love makes the person good that he does love His love is the original root of all our obedience and sanctification Though the Root lies under ground all the branches are beholding to it and the fruit have their sap and life from it So though Gods reconciling love lies under ground and ye see it not yet 't is the Root of all your obedience of all your sanctification Ye may observe therefore that in the Epistle to the Romans to the Galatians to the Hebrews when the Apostle would stir up the Romans Galatians Hebrews to holiness of life that he laies his Exhortation upon the Doctrine of free-grace love justification by faith alone and the sulness of Christs satisfaction for poor unworthy sinners In the book of the Romans he begins to state the Doctrine of free justification of sinners and remission by Christ alone In the book of the Galatians he begins with free-remission of sins and justification by faith alone So in the book of the Hebrews But the end and conclusion of all these Epistles to the Romans Galatians Hebrewes is Obedience Repentance and holiness of life As if this were the great Root that all our obedience did grow upon even free remission of sins and Justification by faith alone And if justificiation do go before our sanctification then of Necessity there must be an approaching of the Kingdom of Heaven to us before we do come to it Give me leave to give you Two or Three Reasons of it and so I will come to the Application First of all Reas 1 God doth so order things in the dispensations on s of his grace and administration thereof as that he may be known to be God Jehovah that all flesh may see his glory What is the glory of God His free-grace is his glory And therefore ye shall observe that when Moses begs to see Gods glory Lord saies he show me thy glory Exo. 33.18 19. The Lord made him this answer Moses would'st thou see my glory What otherwise than thou hast seen it in the Mount Moses here is my glory I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy The Lord read him a lecture of his free-grace Moses here 's my glory my free-grace is my glory And how can Gods freegrace be more seen and manifest than in such a way Causing the Kingdom of Heaven of grace and free remission to draw neer to us even before we do stir towards it Secondly Reas 2 God does so order things in the dispensations of his grace as that men may be made the most gracious The sight of Gods grace wil make a man gractions the more ye see the grace of God in Christ the more gractious ye wil be And pray mark that instance which ye have in the 7. of Luke the same that Inamed before consider it well at the 37. verse Behold a woman in the City which was a sinner it seems she was a very wicked woman a sinner when she knew that Jesus Christ sate at meat in the Pharisees house brought an Alabaster box of ointment and stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his seet with teares and did wipe them with the haires of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment What 's the reason of this Saies our Saviour Christ I say unto thee at the 47. verse Her sins which are many are forgiven her for she loved much She wept much because she loved much and she loved much because much was forgiven her The Papists and those that do follow them say indeed That her forgiveness was a fruit of her love because 't is said here Her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much But good people makr it and you-will find that first of all there is forgivenss and thereupon the woman loved and her loving much was but a sign of her being much forgiven For this is sutable with the latter end of the 47. verse Her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much Much forgivenss is the ground of loving much and loving much is a fign of much forgiveness for it follows But to whom little is forgiven the same loveth little And this sutes also with the Parable that ye have before at the 41. and the 42. and the 43. verses Which is brought in upon occasion of this womans loving thus much A certain Creditor had two debtors the one ought five hundred pence and the other fifty and when they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them both Tell me therefore which of them will love him most Simon answered and said I suppose that he to whom he forgave most Marke the scope of the parable and you will find it is to show That love flows from forgiveness The Papists and others that cleave to them therefore go against the scope of this Parable And now my beloved if all our love be upon forgiveness and forgiveness goes first Oh! what free-grace is here We Repent and we Weep because we love and we love because we are forgiven but forgiveness goes first Oh! what grace and love is here Paul was so taken with this that to me he seems to be more taken with it than with the vision that he had in the third Heaven saies he I knew a man whether in the body 2. Cor. 12.2 or out of the body a man saies he wrapt up into the third Heaven and heard unspeakable words which is not lawful to be uttered And this Paul speaks of but once But saies Paul I was a blasphenter 1. Tim. 1.13 I was a persecutor but I obtained mercy This story he tels three times he tels the other story but one time but this story this story of free grace how he was a blasphemer and a persecutor and how he obtain'd mercy this was never out of his mind As if he were more refresh't with the thought of
of heaven is approaching Surely therefore this is the great Motive the motive of motives In the invitation to the great Supper spoken of in the Gospel what is the motive used for to bring men unto the supper but this Come for all things are now ready Mercy is ready the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is ready Come for all things are now ready this is the motive that is used there And if ye look into the 12. Chapter of Paul to the Romans ye shall find at the 1. verse That when the Apostle doth exhort them to present themselves a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God he perswades by this motive of mercy I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice I beseech ye therefore That Therefore sends us unto the former Chapter to enquire what these mercies were At the 30. verse of the former Chapter he saies unto them For as ye in times past have not beleeved God yet now have obtained mercy through their unbeliefe The Jewes were cast off and the Gentiles these Romans received to mercy the Kingdom of Heaven did come to them the Gospel effectually preach't to them the Doctrine of free-remission of poor sinners Now saies he I beseech you by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice The Scripture is full of this But for our better opening and clearing of this Truth Let us I pray descend into the particulars of Repentance and consider how the grace and mercy and love of God in Christ which is the substance of this Kingdom of Heaven hath an influence upon them all and how all of them are caused thereby First A man that does Repent must see and know his sins true-sight of sin is requisite to true Repentance Indeed a man may in some measure attain unto the knowledge and discovery of his sin by some Affliction when Adoni-bezek had his fingers and toes cut off you know what he said Thus have I done Afflictions do un-leave a man take off his leaves when the leaves are off the hedges ye see those birds-nests that ye could not see before when the leaves were on And so when affliction hath made one naked and taken ones leaves off a man is able to see those nests of corruption in his own heart that he never did see before The Apostle saies By the Law is the knowledge of sin but now though by the Law as by a rule we come to the knowledge of our sin and by Affliction we are help't to see the nests of our own hearts yet notwithstanding a man cannot see his sins fully but by Gospel-light it is a work of the Spirit to convince of sin I will send the Spirit the Comforter and he shall convince the world of sin And where does the Spirit breath but in the Gospel the Kingdom of Heaven the preaching of the Gospel Received ye the Spirit saies the Apostle by the works of the Law or by the preaching of faith When once Esay the Prophet had had a fight of Christ he cries out Vae mihi I am undone We is me I am undone I am unclean Again for I will but touch upon these As a man must know his sin So if he will repent truly he must be grieved and humbled for it If you look into the 7. of Luke ye may see what work it had A woman a great sinner comes to Christ and she washes his feet with her teares what made her do so She loved much for much was forgiven her So that the more the love and mercy of God in Chrst is opened in the Gospel or does make it's approach unto a soul the more the soul is set a weeping and mourning for sin committed Again As a man Repenting must be grieved for sin committed So he must and he will loath himself self-loa-thing is requisite to Repentance If a man have taken a surfet by cating or drinking he does not only loath the meat which caused the surfet but he loaths the very Vessel that hath the smell of the meat or the liquor in it So now when a man comes to Repent he does not only loath his sin but he loaths himselfe the vessel where the sinne was Oh! these filthy eyes of mine Oh! these vile hands Oh! this vile heart of mine hee loaths himself But what causes this self-loathing Th Prophet Ezekiel will tell ye in the 20. of Ezekiel the 41 42 and 43. verses Then shall ye loath your selves when I am pacified or when God had shown them mercy caused his love to approach unto them Then should they loath themselves 'T is not all your Afflictions nor all my Threatnings saies God that will make ye to loath your selves but when ye see my love my grace my pardoning mercy then shall ye loath your selves not your sins only but your selves also Again A Repenting person does not only loath himself for his sin but he is ashamed of it he is ashamed of his former evil waies What fruit have ye of those things whereof ye are now ashamed not before but wereof ye are now ashamed So long as a man walks in the dark he does not blush he is not ashamed though his Cloaths be ragged and torne and his naked flesh appears because he is in the dark But if he come to the light then he blushes that his nakedness appears And so long as men are in their sins and are in darkness they are not ashamed of their sins because they are in darkness But when once they come to the light then they blush and then they are ashamed What light is that that will ashame one of sin there is light enough in hel-fire for the damned there to reade their sins by but that don't make them ashamed where the light of the Gospel the opening of the Kingdom of Heaven is and pardoning love is there is shame Ye shall see therefore how Ezra bulshes when he considered the love of God and their sins together in the 9. of Ezra and the 6. verse And he said O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face unto thee my God Why for our iniquities are increased Is that all No saies he at the 8. verse for a little space grace hath been shewed us from the Lord our God to give us a remnant to eseape and to give us a nail in his Holy place we were bond-men yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage And now O our God what shall we say after this after this The sight of their own sins and the remembrance of Gods love together made him blush Ye know the place in Ezekiel Then shall ye be confounded and ashamed when I am pacified towards ye The more a man knows that God is pacified towards him the more he is ashamed Again A Repenting person is not only ashamed of his former evil waies but as occasion serves he will acknowledge his
those Luke-warm I would thou wert hot or cold but seeing thou art Luke-warm I will vomit thee out of my mouth Luke-warm person worse than prophane and yet behold Jesus Christ stands at a luke-warm persons door knocking and tendering mercy to a luke-warme Laodicean person I but stay May be they were weary and heavy laden first before they were invited Reade the 17. verse Because thou saiest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wrethed and miserable and poor and blind and naked Were these weary and heavy laden think ye And yet at this door behold at this door the Lord Christ stands knocking Oh! grace Oh glorious rich grace Oh! you that have stood at a distance from the promise and dared not draw neer to the promise said it did not belong to you you were not invited to mercy Consider do you consider what great enemies ye are unto your own breakings and humblings that ye do so much desire The approaching of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Doctrine of grace and of free-remission unto a poor sinner is the greatest means and motive in the world to break ones heart Oh! therefore as ever you desire to have your hearts broken and to be humbled look much to the Kingdom of Heaven and the Doctrines thereof and never say it does not belong unto you But Thirdly Vse 3 If these things be so if there be a truth in this Doctrine what infinite cause have we all for to Repent to mend our lives and to turn to God The Kingdom of Heaven hath approach't Beloved hath not the Kingdom of Heaven approach't unto our Nation Take the Kingdom of Heaven for the Kingdom of Glory and in these dying times how hath the Kingdom of Heaven approach't in that sense Take the Kingdom of Heaven for the State of the Church and how many Church-truths hath broken out in these daies that were not known before Take the Kingdom of Heaven for the Gospel and the preaching of the Gospel how hath God gone up and down in these latter times even in these times of trouble preaching free-grace to poor England Witness all these Victories ye have had notwithstanding all your sins Oh! England England now Repent and turn unto the Lord Surely if ever the Kingdom of Heaven is come to you yea hath not the Kingdom of Heaven approach't unto many of your souls in particular are there not some here great sinners that have been invited to mercy are there not some here great sinners that have received mercy hath the Kingdom of Heaven approach't unto you and will not you Repent and will not you turn to God and will not you amend your lives You will say This work is not now to do we have Repented already But pray give me leave Have ye have ye Repented upon Gospel-Motives have ye Repented upon this ground because the Kingdom of Heaven hath approach't Oh! how many legal Professors are there among Professors As there are Two sorts of men in the world Some that live in dark places and prisons And others that walk up and down in the light So some there are among Professors some legal that woak up and down in the dark and see no light Others again that walk up and down in the light of the Gospel many many legal Professors Beloved The more Evangelical your Repentance is the more it will cure your souls and not hurt your body Legal Repentance soakes into the body and frets out the very strength of ones body Pray look a little into the 33. Chapter of Job See what the holy Ghost saies there God speaks once yea twice yet man percieves it not here is man in his natural pure natural state In a dream at the 15. verse in a vision of the night when deep sleep falleth upon men in stumbrings upon the bed that is before a man is aware Then he openeth the ears of men and sealeth their instruction That he may withdraw man from his purpose and hide pride from man What then He is chastened also with pain upon his bed and the multitude of his bones with strong pain So that his life abhorreth bread and his soul dainty meat Verse the 21. His flesh is consumed away that it cannot be seen and his bones that were not seen stick out His soul draweth neer to the grave and his life to the destroyers Here 's Legal work Then comes the Gospel If there be a messenger with him an Interpreter one of a thousand to show unto man his uprightness Then he is gracious unto him and saith Deliver him from going down to the pit I have found a ransome Then at the 25. verse His flesh shall be fresher than a childs he shall return to the daies of his youth His flesh shall be fresher than a childs Thus Evangelical Repentance is a friend both to soul and body Meer Legal Repentance eats out the strength of ones spirit even of ones very body Again The more Evangelical your Repentance is the more you will be humbled and grieved for sins against the Gospel I will send saies Christ the Comforter and he shall convince the world of sin what sin of sin and of unbeliefe Oh! saies the soul that Repents Evangelically who more guilty of unbelief than I Oh! never any one more Ignorant of Christ than I Oh! the unkindness of my soul towards Christ Legal Repentance it pitches upon some breach of the Law and there it rests Again Enangelical Repentance complies with spirituall joy and is a friend unto it You grieve for sin and you rejoyce in God and when you rejoyce in God you grieve for sin I will send the Comforter saies our Saviour He does not say I will send the Spirit No but I will send the Comforter and he shall convince the world of sin and of unbelief The Comforter because it shall be a work of Comfort unto the soul that is convinced of sin Gospel-wise and the more a man rejoyces in Christ the more he grieves for sin and the more he grieves for sin the more he rejoyceth in Christ again Again When your Repentance is Evangelical The more you apprehend or hope that your sin is pardoned the more you wil grieve for it Ye reade in the Psalms of one special Penitential Psalme of David the 51. Psalme But when was that made A Psalme of David when Nathan the Prophet came to him that is after the Prophet Nathan had been with him And what did Nathan the Prophet say to him Saies Nathan Thy sin is forgiven thee Upon that message David fals into a Penitential Psalme a Psalme of Humiliation and of Repentance The more a man hath assurance that his sin is pardoned the more he doth grieve for it And the more Evangelical your Repentance is the more your heart will be inlarged to and for Christ The sight of Gods free-love in Christ will make your heart free in love unto Christ and