Peculiar Pure-Mercy a mercy that came from the Bowels of mercy the Heart of Mercy 3. This is the Freest Mercy of all other Pardon of sin 1. There was nothing to ingage God to do it 2. Nor was there any thing we could do to purchase it All our Prayers our Tears our Services could not purchase the Pardon of one sin If for the Active Part we could do as much and for the Passive part we could suffer as much as all the Saints put together have done from the beginning of the world to this day If we should weep as many Tears as the Sea holds drops if we should humble our selves as many days as the world hath stood minutes from the creation c. All this were Too short to purchase us the Pardon of one sin though vve did all vvithout sin But Alas All that ever vve can do is so far from striking off any Former score that we do but set our selves further in debt thereby So far are we from purchasing a Pardon that we do but increase our Treason Operamur non in justificationem sed ex justificatione we must not work that we may be justified but we are justified that we may work So that it is the Freest-Mercy And therefore in Scripture you read it all attributed to Grace Tit. 3.7 We are justified freely by his Grace Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his Grace Rom. 4.5 God justifies the ungodly There is no motive in us All is from God And you shall see it plain one place for two In Isa 43. Verse 23 24 25. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money nor hast thou made me drink with the fat of thy Sacrifices But thou hast made me serve with thy sins thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities I I am he that putteth away thy iniquities for my own names sake and will not remember thy sins Would a man have expected this this sheweth freeness when not onely no deservings as it is v. 23. and former part of v. 24. Thou hast not c. but contrary deservings Thou hast wearied mee with thine iniquities Oh infinite oh freest mercy God is mercifull only because hee will bee mercifull 4 It is an Intituling Mercy A Mercy that Intitles you to more Good than I am able to express or you able to conceive It is a Mercy that doth interest you in all other Mercies It Intitles you to all the Good on Earth to All the glory of Heaven Nay it is a Mercy-making-Mercy A mercy that makes all other things Mercy to you 1. Good things are mercies Your Riches your Greatness your Possessions your Husbands your Wives Children c. all these things are no Blessings till they be joyned with a Pardon and that makes them all blessings Nay not onely Good things But 2. Evil things are Mercies to you Pardon of sin makes Poverty Afflictions Sickness Death it self a Mercy Like the Unicorns horn it takes away the venome and poyson of every Water Like the Philosophers-stone it turns All into Gold So saith the Apostle All things work together for good unto them that love God A Sanctified-Cross is better than an Unsanctified Comfort A loss in Mercy is better than an enjoyment in Wrath. You are never able to make it good that God doth bestow any thing in mercy till sin be forgiven Guilt of sin upon you doth turn the nature of things and makes those things which are good in themselves evil to you 5. It is an irrevocable-mercy God may give in other mercies and call for them again Indeed other things are rather lent than given Lent Husband Lent Wife c. Hence they are said to be but Talents in our hands and we Stewards of them for a time God may call for them when he pleaseth or we may forfeit them and lose them How often do we forfeit and lose good things because of our unworthy walking in the enjoyment thereof Hos 2.8 9 I will take away my corn in the time thereof my wine and my flax in their season Mine It was Gods And would you know the reason see in the former verse Because they did not acknowledge him as the giver of them but bestowed them on Baal as though he had given them But now this Mercy is an irrevocable Mercy A mercy that God never recals A Mercy God never repents of The gifts and graces of God are without repentance And it is a Mercy never forfeited We may forfeit the sense of a pardon we may forfeit the comfort of a pardon nay we may forfeit the knowledge of a pardon I say you may sin away the sense the comfort the knowledge of a pardon as it was with David But we shall never forfeit a pardon Quod Scripsi Scripsi If all this foreseen could not hinder God from giving out a pardon neither can it make God repent of a pardon when he hath given it Now the Stability of the Mercy is that which addes a great deal of worth to the Mercy As things that are Evil so much more things that are good are heightned from the consideration of the continuance of them the Stability and Lastingness of them Now this is a Stable Mercy Take but one Place Isa 54.8 9 10 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth So have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee Yet further For the mountains shall depart and the hills shall be removed but my kindeness shall never depart from thee nor shall the Covenant of my peace be removed This is the difference betwixt the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace The one is Temporary the other is Eternal It is a Temporary Covenant though an Eternal Rule The other is Eternal and Immutable 6. Pardon of sin is an Universal Mercy the Womb of Mercy a Productive-Mercy all other mercies grow upon this Tree of Forgiveness of sin It is a Tree the Root whereof is in Christ and the Fruit thereof are All good things on Earth and Glory in Heaven There are Seven glorious Fruits of Pardon of sin which I will but name and so come to the Last Use 1. Reconciliation with God 2 Cor. 5.19 Admission into his favour He who before was an Enemy is now become thy Friend for nothing makes God an Enemy but sin And such a Friend he is who will be a Friend in life a friend in Death when all other Friends forsake and a Friend after death 2. Adoption of Children which followeth upon our pardon in justification 3. Access to God as to a Father with childe-like boldness Sin was that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that great Gulf betwixt God and us Sin the Partition-wall betwixt God and us now sin being pardoned this Partition-wall is taken down and there is Access to God and Access with boldness 4. Acceptation of our Services Till sin be pardoned
them for his Sons sake So here Wee were guilty of Treason were condemned to death Now this is the dexterity of Faith to make our selves to bee Members of Christ It is Faith that doth ingraft us into Christ whereas before wee grew upon dead stocks now being ingrafted into the stock of Christ the stock of Life wee have Life derived to us It is Faith that marries us to Christ and being married to him hee answers all our debts It is by Faith wee put on Christ by Faith wee are built on Christ as the House on its Foundation And therefore seeing there is no way to bee saved but by our Union with Christ And there is no Union but by Faith Therefore it follows Faith is the great requisite whereby wee must be saved That for Union 2. For our Communion with Christ Faith is necessary There is no way to bee saved but by vertue of communion with the Righteousness of Christ 1 Not by our own any done by us or wrought out of our selves This is too short A menstruous ragge A ragge and not able to cover us as a Garment too narrow for us Wee cannot weave a web of Righteousness of our own able to cover us wee shall but adde sin to sin 2. Not by Righteousness of Saints or Angels 1. Theirs is incommunicable There 's no way whereby wee should have communion with it They are not of our Natures to wit the Angels There must bee an union of Nature before there can bee communion Nay But were it communicable yet it were insufficient It is but a finite Righteousness and therefore not able to answer an infinite debt If the least sin did lye upon the back of the tallest Angel in Heaven it were not enough All the Righteousness hee hath would not bee enough to save him from Hell And therefore theirs can do us no good To make short of it There 's no way to bee justified and saved but by Communion with the Righteousness of Christ the Righteousness of his active and passive obedience Obedientia Legis Obedientia Crucis 1. The one In Precium 2. The other In Praemium By the one answering Gods condemning Justice By the other answering God commanding Justice By the one satisfying his vindictive Justice whereby he did bear our scourges By the other answering Gods remunerative Justice whereby hee did perform our services Now there was no way to have Communion with this Righteousness of Christ but by Faith Faith gives us Union with Christ And by vertue of our Union wee have Communion with him As by vertue of our Oneness with the first Adam His sin was made ours So by vertue of our Oneness with the second Adam His Righteousness is made ours Faith makes us Members of Christ. Faith unites us to Christ And by vertue of our Vnion with him as the Members with the Head wee have derived from him Life and Spirit Sense and Motion Wee have communion with him In his Wisdome to direct us In his Righteousness to justifie us In his Holiness to sanctifie us In his Redemption to glorifie us Christ is made to us Wisdome Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption Faith ingrafts us into Christ as the Branch into the Vine And by vertue of our ingrafture into him wee draw forth life strength and nourishment from him who is our root By Faith wee put on Christ and so have communion with the Robes of his Righteousness whereby wee stand justified in Gods sight As Jacob got the blessing by his elder Brothers apparel So wee by the Robes of Christ which are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Righteousness of Saints By Faith wee are married to Christ and by vertue of this marriage wee have communion with all his Riches as the Wife hath with her Husbands Estate And Christ hath communion with all our debts So that you see Faith is that Grace which gives us union with Christ And by vertue of that union with him we have communion with all of Christ It gives us communion with the Righteousness of Christ Hee is The Lord our Righteousness And by Faith it is as truly ours to save us as his to glorifie him It gives us communion with the Life and Spirit of Christ with the death and sufferings of Christ with the merits and victories of Christ with the priviledges and immunities of Christ as Adoption Son-ship c. It gives us communion with his Wisdome to direct us with his Power to protect us with his Mercy to save us So that As David said God hath sworn in his Holiness He had made a Promise to him And therefore hee saith I will rejoyce I will divide Shechem and mete out the Valley of Succoth Gilead is mine so the soul may say God hath said This Son of mine I have given you Isa 9.6 And therefore Christ is mine 3. Why God should make choice of this Grace for our Justification Not to say any thing of this which might bee one Reason That the Remedy might answer the Fall The Fall was by unbeleeving As you see Hee gave credit to the Serpent and not to God So God would make our Recovery by Faith But this wee pass Wee read in Scripture of four grounds wherefore God made choice of this Grace for the Justification of a sinner 1. That Justification might bee of Grace 2. That the Promise might bee sure 3. That it might bee to all the seed 4. That no man might boast The three former you shall read Rom. 4.16 The last Ephes 2.9 1. For the first God made choice of this that wee should have Justification by way of beleeving That it might bee by Grace If it had been by any other way by reason of any thing wrought in us or by us If it had been by Desert not of Grace of Wages not of Mercy of Debt not of Favour If God had promised Justification upon any work of ours had told us wee must bring so much Humiliation so much Repentance so much brokenness of Spirit so much Grace so many Prayers Alms-deeds and then wee should bee justified It had not then been of Grace not of Free-Mercy And therefore God For the advancement of his Free-Grace and Mercy that wee might cry out with them in Zach. 4.7 Grace Grace That wee might see admire adore the Riches of his Grace The height and depth and breadth and length of his Free-Mercy Therefore hath God chose this way for the Justification of a sinner 2. That the Promise might bee sure If it had been any other way the Promise could not have been sure That which makes the Promise sure is this 1. That it is not founded upon any thing in us If it were it could never bee sure If there were any thing besides the breast of God to bee a bottom and foundation for the Promise It could never bee sure 2. That it is not performed nor contrived for any thing done by us but out of his Free-Mercy and Love If
indeed there had been any thing in us which should have been the ground of the performance of this Promise to us wee had been lost long ago If God had put us upon the condition of Obedience and had given us Grace as hee did Adam yet the Law is strict requiring an exact Personal Universal and constant obedience And every failing would have lost us undone us for ever But now When our Righteousness is in Christ A Righteousness not wrought by us but wrought by Christ himself And freely given to us upon the alone condition of Faith This makes our condition sure 3. That the Promise might bee to all the seed not to them of the Law only but to them who were strangers to the Law of God God had made a promise to bee the Father of Abraham and of his seed Now this Promise could not have belonged unto us If God had not provided a way that wee might bee of his seed Now according to the flesh this was impossible That wee should bee of Abrahams seed and therefore by consequence wee could have had no interest in this Promise And therefore God hath made Faith to bee that Grace which makes us spiritually to bee the Seed of Abraham that so the Promise might belong to us If God had made the Law the condition of the Promise Or if hee had made the Law and Faith together yet then wee had never come to bee of Abrahams Seed Because wee were not under the Law But God having made Faith the Grace which doth make us the Children of Abraham Hence is the Promise to us as to his seed not to that part which is of the Law but to that part which is of the Faith of Abraham who is the Father of all that beleeve Though wee are never so far from the Law and the kindred of Abraham in the flesh yet God hath provided security for us that wee might bee his Children and bee inheritors in the Promise which is by Faith Therefore God chose Faith that the Promise might bee to all the Seed not to the flesh only for then wee should not bee of his seed but to the Spirit 4. The fourth Reason is Ephes 2.9 That no man might boast That is That no man might have cause to glory in himself or rejoyce in himself Now if it had been by any other way by any thing done by us wee should have gloried And therefore God chose this way that wee might glory alone in him 1 Cor. 1.30 31. That no flesh might glory in his presence Christ is made Wisdome Righteousnes Sanctification and Redemption that hee that glories might glory in the Lord Isa 45.24 25. In mee you shall have Righteousness and strength and in mee you shall glory God is exceeding chary of his Glory As in our Salvation hee aimed at the manifestation of his Glory So hee hath had care to bring it about in such a way wherein there may bee the Preservation of his Glory Now if God had pitcht it in any other way than in the way of Beleeving his Glory could not have been preserved wee would have been sharers with God wee should have divided the spoils of Glory with him And therefore God chose this which is A mean Grace in it self And so his Glory shall not bee obscured but more perspicuous as 1 Cor. 1. Nay such a Grace as doth throw a man out of himself empties a man of himself and casts him upon another It is such a Grace as makes the Soul all in another nothing in it self Rich in another poor in it self found in another lost in it self Saved by another damned by it self I live saith Paul yet not I but Christ in mee I live by the Faith of the Son of God or Faith in the Son of God Gal. 2.20 It is such a Grace as makes a man stand upon anothers bottom live by anothers life Rich by anothers riches cloathed by anothers Apparel fed by anothers meat A poor beggarly grace in it self And therefore God chose this It is such a Grace as gives God all the Glory As it was said of Abraham Hee gave glory to God by beleeving Rom. 4. Hee gave glory to his Truth to his Power to his Wisdome to his Mercy So this Grace in the Justification of a sinner it gives God all the glory it robs him not of any peece of Glory it gives him the glory of his Mercy of his Truth Hee that beleeves puts to his seal that God is true It sets up God makes him Alpha and Omega the beginner and finisher of all And therefore it being a Grace that honours God above all therefore God honours it above all other making it the Instrument of Justification And therefore my Brethren if ever you would have pardon from him give him the glory of his own Free-Grace Here is the controversie between God and man to this day God is willing to save us if wee will give him his Glory But our proud hearts will not yeeld to that That God should bee all in all Every man would willingly bee something in himself stand upon his own bottom God is willing to give us a Righteousness wrought out for us But wee would have a Righteousness of our own making Wee love the Spiders motto Mihi soli debeo To owe nothing to any but to our selves Wee are too like that proud Papist who said Hee would not have Heaven Gratis wee would merit it God is willing to give us objective worthiness worthiness in another in Christ But wee would have subjective worthiness A worth in our selves But this will not bee allowed God will have us poor in our selves empty in our selves cast out of our selves unbottomed of our selves Hee will have us poor and blind and naked before hee will bestow mercy on us God will not have us bring our penny to his purchase One dram to this fulness one shred to this garment of Christ. Hee will have it by Faith that so it might bee of Grace that not wee but hee might have all the Glory This is one Reason I am perswaded of the enlargement of our troubles of spirit and breakings Because wee will not let God be all in all wee will not let God have all the Glory Glad we should bee to bee sharers in our own Salvation Glad to do something We would have it of Debt not of Grace of Works not of Faith of Merit not of Mercy God would forgive us our debâ—s but wee would pay them wee are loath to bee proclaimed Banckrupts unable to pay God would willingly cloathe us but wee would make a garment of our own God would give us Heaven but wee would deserve it God would give us pardon upon beleeving that so wee might not glory in our selves but in him But wee would have it by way of working That all or at least something might bee attributed to our selves But you see God hath aimed at the Magnifying of his own Glory and
Righteousness satisfying both Gods Commanding and his Condemning Justice doing my services bearing my scourges Hence hee is called Jehovah Tsidkenu The Lord our Righteousness by Faith having communion with this Righteousness as if it were our own a Righteousness wrought by us Hence Job 33.26 God shall render to man his Righteousness that is the Righteousness of Christ which is called ours by Faith and is as much ours to justifie and save us as His to glorifie him Hence the Apostle Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ that is to such as are Beleevers for they are all one And why no condemnation They are sinners as well as others It 's true they are And therefore the Apostle doth not say There is nothing worthy of condemnation in them But There is no condemnation Because Christ hath taken away the guilt and condemning power of sin hee hath answered all our debts canceld all Books satisfied for all our sins which did binde us over to condemnation and wrath of God So that wee may say There is no condemnation to such As for the Law it cannot condemn us because wee appeal from the law to the Gospel from the Court of Justice to the Court of Mercy So that the Law hath nothing to do with us And as for the Gospel that cannot condemn us because wee are Beleevers The Gospel doth not require what sinners wee have been what sins wee are guilty of but whether the appealer do beleeve whether wee bee Beleevers or no which being once cleared wee are justified You see this in the poor Publican Hee was dragged forth into the Court of Justice and was there cast Yet the sentence took no hold of him because of his appeal to the Throne of Grace the Court of Mercy where by Faith pleading nothing but Gods Mercy and his own misery God bee merciful to mee a sinner hee went away justified saith the Text Luk. 18.14 And this is the first Royalty of Faith It is an Heart-clearing-Grace which it doth by producing one who hath cleared all and by making us one with him in all hee hath done giving us an interest in all Second Royalty Second Royalty of Faith It s an Heart-cleansing-Grace 2. Faith is an Heart-cleansing-Grace An Heart-purifying and purging-Grace Hence Act. 15.9 it is said Their hearts were purified by Faith Faith opens a way for a stream of blood to run through the soul whereby the soul is washed not from the guilt of sin only but from the filth of sin also The Blood of Christ doth cleanse us from all sin not only from the guilt but from the filth of sin Hence the Apostle If the blood of Bulls and Goats and the ashes of an Heifer sprinkled upon the unclean did purifie the Flesh How much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without spot purge and cleanse our Consciences from all dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9.13 14. And Faith doth cleanse the Heart 1. Argumentatively 2. Operatively 1. Argumentatively By way of Argument where in Faith takes up Arguments 1. From God 2. From our selves From God and that 1. From his Nature Hee is an holy God and therefore hee will have an holy People A pure God and therefore hee will have a pure People Hence Lev. 11.44 Ye shall be Holy for I am Holy I the Lord your God am Holy The like Lev. 19.2 And Peter urges the same 1 Pet. 1.15 16. As he which hath called you is Holy so be ye Holy in all manner of Conversation For it is written Bee yee Holy for I am Holy 2. From his Mercies 1. In Redeeming us 2. In calling us 3. In Justifying us 4. In promising to glorifie us 1. In Redeeming us Hath Christ dyed for mee and shall not I live to him Hath hee shed his Blood for mee that I should bee Holy and clean And shall I delight in uncleanness Pro me filius Dei jugulatus and filthiness was hee slain for mee and shall I delight in sin Hath hee suffered so much to purifie mee and shall I bee unclean still hath hee done so much to wash mee and shall I bee filthy stil 2. In calling us 1 Pet. 1 15 16. As hee which hath called you is Holy so bee you Holy in all manner of Conversation it is an holy Calling 2 Tim. 1.9 that calleth us to Holiness and Faith a purged ear that hearkeneth to that call 3. In Justifying us Hath hee freed mee from the damning Nature of sin and shall I delight in the defiling nature of sin hath he freed mee from the guilt of sin and shall I love the filth of sin Hath hee done so much to wash mee and shall I bee filthy still Hath hee suffered so much to purifie mee and shall I delight in uncleanness still Hath hee made mee a Member of Christ and shall I bee a filthy Member of so holy a Body Hath hee made mee a Branch and shall I be a polluted-Branch of so holy a Stock Hath hee lifted up the light of his Countenance on mee and shall I ever countenance sin hath hee smiled on mee and shall I ever smile upon sin 4. In Promises to glorifie us 2 Cor. 7.1 Having therefore such precious promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God As if hee had said Seeing God hath been so mercifull and gracious to us to make us precious Promises let this put us on self-purging and self-purifying Thou look'st for an holy-Heaven and wilt thou not bee holy Thou hopest for Salvation and wilt thou not purifie thy self Hee that hath this Hope purifies himself as God is Pure 1 Joh. 3.3 Thus doth Faith take up Arguments from God his Nature his Mercies 2. It takes Arguments from our selves 1. From the necessity of being cleansed 2. From the conveniency thereof 1 From the Necessity Because otherwise wee can have no assurance of Justification They who are freed from the guilt of sin are freed from the filth of sin They who partake of the Blood of Christ for pardon partake of the water of Christ to purge Christ came by Water and Blood They who will have him a Redeemer must have him also a Refiner to take away their Swiniâ—h nature to wash them inwardly not outwardly for so may a Swine bee 2. Because otherwise wee can never have Assurance of Salvation They who look for new Heavens must have new hearts They who look for Glory must have Grace First Grace then Glory For without Holiness no man can see the Lord. No unclean thing shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven hee that hath this hope will fit himself for the Place hee will labour to bee a pure person as hee desires to injoy a pure place Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God A pure God a pure Heaven a pure Place requires a pure
Being justified by Faith wee have Peace with God Rom. 15.13 Now the God of all hope fill you with joy and peace in beleeving An unbeleeving-heart is a stormy heart an unpeaceable-heart All things Above us Within us Quae supra nos Intra nos Infra nos Contra nos Below us are all against us whilst wee are Unbeleevers 1. Above us wee have an angry and displeased God 2. Within us wee have a stormy and troublesome Conscience threatning nothing but death like the troubled Sea casting up mire and dirt as Isaiah speaks Isa 57.20 There is no Peace saith my God to the wicked 3 Below us we have there all the Creatures our enemies ready upon Gods commission to execute his displeasure upon us But now being Beleevers all is at Peace 1. All above us is at Peace The Controversy betwixt God and us is ended Faith takes up the quarrel betwixt God and us Wee have Peace with God Rom. 5.1 2. All within us is at Peace A peaceable God makes all at Peace Tranquillus Deus Tranquillat omnia when once our Peace is made in the Court of Heaven which is upon the first act of beleeving Then follows Peace in the Court of Conscience Peace which passeth all understanding Phil. 4.7 Our rest is to behold God at rest our Peace is to see him at Peace Eum quierem aspicere Quâ—â— esceâ—e est 3. All below us are at Peace with us Wee have Peace with all the Creatures All are now our Friends Job 5.23 The stones of the Field shall bee at league with thee the Beasts of the Field shall bee at peace with thee c. Thou shalt know that Peace shall bee in thy Tabernacle Prov. 16.7 When a mans wayes please the Lord hee will make his enemies to bee at peace with him When before upon our Rebellion with God all the Creatures were our enemies now being reconciled all are made friends 1. Faith makes us the Servants to the God of Peace in whose service there is Peace Prov. 3.17 All his Paths are Peace Every step of Godliness hath Peace with it And the reward of whose service shall bee Peace Psal 29.11 The Lord will bless his people with Peace Psal 85.8 The Lord will speak Peace to his people at the last though they meet with much trouble for the present war within and war without war with lusts war with Satan yet the God of Peace shall tread down Satan under our feet at last and put an end to this war Rom. 16.20 They shall have a Peace in the Conclusion And a Peace after war is the surest and most setledst Peace Psal 37.37 Mark the upright man The end of that man is Peace Though there bee stormes and troubles in the way yet the end of the journey that shall bee Peace A calm after stormes and never shall there arise storme more to all Eternity 2. Faith makes us subjects to the Prince of Peace unto Christ who is called our Peace Ephes 2.14 And our Peace hee is 1. Not only meritoriously by shedding his Blood for the purchase of our Peace Col. 1.20 Christ is our Peace having made Peace through the Blood of his Cross So Isa 53. The chastisement of our Peace was upon him Or that chastisement which did meritoriously procure our Peace was upon him God directed all the war against him that wee might have Peace As Jonah was thrown into the Sea that the storm might cease so Christ upon the Cross into the Grave that God and wee might bee at peace together But Christ is not only our Peace thus meritoriously by procuring Peace for us But also â— Efficiently by working of Peace in us Christ hath not only wrought Peace for us but hee works Peace in us Pacifying our Consciences calming our stormy spirits setling and establishing his Peace in us Christ is called the Prince of Peace as the King is the Fountain of Honours and bestows them where hee will so Christ is of Peace and bestows it when and where hee pleaseth Wee read that Moses was a man of Peace but hee was not a Prince of Peace Hee could not bestow Peace hee could not instill peaceable and calm affections into the mutinous Israelites But Christ hee is not a man of Peace but King of Salem Prince of Peace who is able to bestow Peace who can calm the most stormy and troublesome spirits with as much ease as hee did the Winds and Waters which was but with a word Peace and bee still Now Faith makes us one with Christ who is the Prince of Peace Christ joyned God and us together and Faith joynes Christ and us together in whom wee have Peace John 16 33. â— In mee yee shall have Peace Faith makes us subjects to this Prince of Peace whose Kingdome and reign over his people doth not consist in meat and drink but in Righteousnesse and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost 3. Faith doth interest us into the Covenant of Peace and therefore being Beleevers wee must needs have Peace I say Faith doth interest us into the Covenant of Peace the Gospel of Peace the alone condition whereof is beleeving Whosoever beleeveth shall bee saved Time was that Hoc age do this was the condition of life do this and live So ran the old Covenant But now Crede Beleeve and bee saved The Law required works It 's called a Covenant of Works but the Gospel Faith It s a Covenant of Grace Made out of meer Grace and performed of meer Grace wherein God promiseth pardon of sins upon meer Mercy and Grace 4. Faith doth instate us into the conditions of Peace Faith gives us the grounds of Peace Justification Reconciliation with God pardon of sin and Sanctification of the whole man As there is no Peace where God is not propitious so there 's no Peace where the sinner is not sanctified A Beleeving heart is an holy heart and an holy heart is a peaceable heart Grace and Peace and Righteousnesse and Peace are still coupled together To shew that where there is no Grace there is no Peace and where there is Grace there is Peace though not ever in the Possession Gratia est bonum initiale Pax est bonum finale and sensible injoyment yet ever in the hope and assurance of the promise of Peace Grace is the root and Peace is the fruit A good Conscience is a continual Feast They who do the work of God shall have the Peace of God Gal. 6. They who walk according to this Rule Peace shall bee on them c. Hence the Psalmist Psal 119 165. Great Peace have they that love thy Law They which love the Law of God shall have the Peace of God Object But you will say Many have Peace who yet are not Beleevers Object And many are Beleevers and yet want Peace Therefore Peace is not a Fruit of Faith Ans Now to meet and to resist this Objection Answ which like a two-edged-sword
light into the world saith Christ that whosoever beleeveth in mee should not abide in darknesse The least touch of Christ by Faith doth raise up and revive the Soul in this sad Condition As the dead man was raised to life and revived but by touching the dead bones of Elisha 2 King 13.21 so the Dead Soul if it do but touch the Dead and crucified body of Christ by Faith is raised up and revived Such a vertue and influence comes from Christ as doth raise up and comfort the Soul Thus Faith doth raise the heart by laying hold of Christ He who raised up himself will raise up all his members If our head had been still under water wee had then perished but he being risen will raise us up also being his members 4 Faith inables a man to put up Soul-raising-prayers indites Soul-raising-prayers strong Prayers and cries to God As Prayer helps Faith So Faith helps Prayer It inables a man to wrestle with God now in the Dark of desertion as it did Jacob in the Dark of the Night Yea and to wrestle with him by his own strength the strength of his Covenant of his promise of his Christ In which Encounter Faith will take up arguments 1 From it self 2 From God 1 From it self By presenting its miserable Condition in the absence of God That all his own work is ready to sink and dy to come to nothing if hee help not Oh! will Faith say Lord my flesh fails my heart fails my strength fails my spirit fails Oh! Come down before I dye come strengthen the things that are ready to dye in me This argument David took up Psal 143.7 Hear me speedily O Lord my spirit fails Oh! Hide not thy face from mee lest I bee like unto them that go down into the Pit So Psal 39.10 12 13. Take thy plague from mee I am consumed by the stroke of thy hand c. Hear my prayer O Lord hearken to my cry Keep not silence at my tears for I am a stranger with thee a sojourner as all my Fathers were Oh! spare a little that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more 2 Faith will take up arguments from God 1 From the justice and truth of God He hath promised never to leave nor forsake his people 2 From the immutability of God Thou art JEHOVAH thou changest not therefore the Sons of Jacob are not consumed Mal. 3.6 Thou never repentest of thine own work Thou never hast wooed my heart to lose it again Thou never tookest my heart to leave it again and take thy heart clean away Thou never didst set thy heart on mee to take it off again 3 From the power of God Abraham at a plunge was supported with this strong staff of Comfort when though by Gods command hee was to sacrifice his Sonne Isaac yet hee accounted that God was able to raise him up even from the dead Heb. 11.19 Lord if thou wilt thou canst Mat. 8.2 4 From the mercy of God Lord thou art gracious and merciful ready to relieve It 's true I am a sinner but thou art a Saviour I am sinful but thou art mercifull I am impious but thou art gracious I have done that Ego admisi undè me damnare potes Tu non amisisti undè me salvare soles for which thou mightest damn mee but thou hast not lost that by which thou mayest save mee True I am not worthy of a smile from Heaven I have deserved to bee sent from darkness here to everlasting darkness hereafter from this partial to total and universal darkness But Lord proportion not thy dealings to mee according to my deservings from thee Let not the strong God take a pattern from my weakness good God do not ever remember my evil least thou forget thine own goodness thine own mercy O bone Do-â—â— mine noli recordare malum moum ne obliviscaris bonum tuum But thou who art found of them who seek thee not Oh! Be mercifully found of a soul who seeketh thee Thus will Faith work it self out of trouble and gather arguments to prevail with God for deliverance It will take up arguments From Soul-raising-Attributes From Soul-raising-Promises From Soul-raising-Relations From Soul-raising-Experiences It will incompass God with Gods own strength And God cannot because hee will not deny God will not reject his own strength not strive against his own mercy not resist his own Spirit not falsifie his own Truth but will raise up and revive the Soul Thus you see Faith is a soul-raising-Soul-raising-Grace Where Unbeleef holds the soul under water buries the soul in these sad conditions Faith raiseth up and reviveth it A beleeving soul cannot long lye under trouble If all the Power Truth and Mercy of God will fetch him out hee shall bee sure to bee delivered Faith ingages and sets a work all these to help Oh! The Reason my Brethren why you lye so long in spiritual Agonies buried up in spiritual troubles is because you let not Faith come in to work for you let Faith have her perfect work and it will raise you Sixteenth Royalty 16. Faith is an Heart-chearing-Grace 16. Royalty Faith is an Heart-chearing Grace Faith is such a Grace as doth chear and comfort the soul with unexpressible Consolations It is such a Grace as makes an inlet of all the Consolations of God into the Soul Faith brings a report to the Soul that God is his God Christ is his Christ that his Name is written in the Book of Life his sins are pardoned his soul shall bee saved And such news as this must needs fill the soul with unexpressible Consolations with joyes unspeakable and full of glory All other joyes are but mad and disorderly joyes They are carnal not spiritual outward not inward joyes they are but painted not true Joyes imaginary not real Joyes unsatisfying not tull Joyes inconstant not stable Joyes The best false Raptures Anabaptistical Illusions not true Joyes But this Joy The Joy of Faith it is grounded joy it is 1. A spiritual Joy for the Nature of it 2. A Hearty Joy for the Nature of it 3. A Satisfying Joy for the fulness of it 4. A Constant Permanent Joy for the duration of it My Joy shall no man take from you Alas what are all other joyes to the Joy of Faith The least morsel of this Joy is worth all the full meals of worldly delights The least gleaning of this Joy is worth the whole Harvest of carnal mirth The least drop of this is worth an Ocean of any other There is more moisture in one drop of this than in a flood of temporal and carnal delights True Joy grows upon the stock of Faith Where there is no Faith there is no true Joy Faith is the Root and Joy is the Fruit. It is call'd The Joy of Beleevers Beleevers are the Subjects of it and a Joy in Beleeving Beleeving is the Root of it Rom. 5.1.2 Being justified by Faith wee have
shall never bee able to strengthen Faith that lives in himself 5. Walk in the Earth of the Law As Faith strengthens Obedience so Obedience strengthens Faith As Faith multiplies so let duty multiply The way to nourish the one is the way to increase the other 6. Make it your chief riches to bee rich in Faith And then all your designs and indeavours will bee for the increase of it The wordly man labours toils sweats here for the World And what is the reason but because hee makes this his riches so it is here 7. Exercise Faith much And this is the way to increase it Men that can imploy a greater measure of Faith shall have it Bee careful that the exercises of Faith may bee proportionable to the measure of Faith received It is the way to get it increased God will not have the stock lye dead in our hands Hee will not give more than wee can imploy The Talents were according to their several abilities Some had two some one some five When God sees a man of great layings out hee laies in moâ—e still Exercise Grace For within the compass of the exercise of Grace lies that which will nourish and increase Grace 8. Treasure up sound Evidences of Faith The stronger our Evidences the stronger our Faith And therefore store up sound Evidences One falshood among thy Evidences staggers thy Faith 9. Bee thankful for the measure thou already hast Thankfulness is a Grace big with Mercy Men are often injurious to the increase of Faith by unthankfulness for that measure they have Wee are too much like covetous men looking after further degrees so much as to overlook that which God hath already bestowed Our complaints would bee others contents others would bee glad of them Therefore let us get an heart inlarged for the measure wee have It is the way for God to inlarge his hand to bestow more upon us 10. Maintain Humility an humble spirit God gives Grace and hee gives increase of Grace to the humble Humility is the Nurse of Grace The empty heart shall bee filled Nature abhors emptiness Grace much more 11. Bee much in acquaintance with God Know more of his mind more of his heart Read him as hee hath discovered himself in the Word in his Christ 12. Gather and lay up Faith-strengthening-Experiences Keep a Catalogue of holy Experiences of Gods Love and goodness to thee All these are fuel to nourish and strengthen Faith And now having done with the Doctrin of Faith I must conclude with a Doctrin of works Wherein I shall desire your practice of it This upon occasion of a collection for the Poor as soon as I have done the preaching of it It is very orderly that works should follow Faith Your works of Charity our Doctrin of Faith The Papists do charge us that wee cry down works and preach nothing but Faith Faith making it Titulum sine Re. I hope it will bee seen at this time that preaching Faith Formalitèr I preach works Eminentèr And I could not possibly have taken up a better ground for works than to preach the Doctrin of Faith first Indeed wee preach Faith without works in Justificationem as touching Justification But wee say Faith and works must go together in our conversation As Faith doth Justifie our Persons so works do justifie our Faith And thus Abraham was justified by works his works declared him to bee just Good works are the breath of Faith as the word in James signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And as the body without breath is dead so Faith without works is dead also Good works are the fruit of Faith the Children and Issue of Faith As Rachel said Give mee Children else I dye so Faith Give mee Children give mee works else I dye otherwise I have not a living but a dead Faith So you see wee set up works too though wee cry them down in the matter of Justification Are good works good for nothing because not good to justifie The Sun is not good to give light to blind men Is it therefore good for nothing Gold is not good to asswage hunger Is it therefore of no use Wee say works are necessary 1. In respect of God 2. In respect of our selves 3. In respect of others 1. In respect of God 1. To shew our Obedience 2. To glorifie his Name 3. To testifie our Thankfulness 4. To beautifie his Gospel 2. In respect of our selves 1. To make our Calling and Election sure 2. To declare our Sincerity 3. To procure Mercy 3. In respect of others 1. To refresh the Bowels of the Saints 2. For example of Vertue 3. To stop the mouthes of wicked men who would else take occasion to blaspheme the Gospel and speak evil of Profession 4. To winne others to gain enemies to the embracing of the Truth And therefore seeing good works are thus necessary bee you stirred up to so concerning a duty The Apostle saith Whiles you have opportunity to do good do good to all men Here is now an opportunity Take it God honours thee if hee give thee an heart to do such a good work Your Bounty is your Honour A TREATISE OF THE Slownesse of Heart TO BELEEVE BY SAMVEL BOLTON D. D. And MASTER of C.C.C. LONDON Printed by Robert Ibbitson for Thomas Parkhurst and are to be sold at his Shop over against the Great Conduit in Cheapside 1656. A TREATISE OF THE SLOWNESSE OF HEART TO BELEEVE JOHN 1.50 Jesus answered and said unto him because I said unto thee I saw thee under the Fig-tree beleevest thou thou shalt see greater things than these IN the latter part of this Chapter wee see that goodness is of a diffusive and spreading nature If thou bee good thou wilt desire and indeavour to make others good when Christ hath once revealed himself to any soul it will bee very studious to make him known to others So vers 35 36. you read that God having revealed Christ to John hee makes him known to his Disciples one of whom was Andrew vers 40. hee could not conâ—eal the good news but makes it known to his Brother Peter vers 41. Afterward Christ reveals himself to Philip vers 43. and upon it Philip makes him known to Nathaniel vers 45. so communicative and diffusive is goodness like the liquid Elements of Air and Water which cannot bee kept in their own bounds and limits From the forty fifth verse to the end of this Chapter there is contained a discourse 1. Between Philip and Nathaniel And then 2. Between Christ and Nathaniel The first between Philip and Nathaniel is from the 45. to the 47. verse where you have 1. Philips discovery of Christ to him vers 45. wee have found him of whom Moses and the Prophets did write 2. Nathaniels harsh entertainment of it vers 46. can any good thing come out c. 3. Philips care to resolve him and to take away this prejudice in the latter part of the 46. verse come
God do wonders for his Church Then let us fall down and adore this God who can do wonders for us Who would not fear thee O King of Nations saith the Prophet Jer. 10.7 It was the speech of an Heathen King when hee had seen the Wonders that God had done Let all men fear and tremble before the God of Daniel Dan. 6.26 When Christ had done that great wonder in calming the rage of the sea the Text tels us They all fell down at the feet of Jesus and worshipped him Gods wonders for us call out for our Worship of him Fall down then at the feet of this God and Worship him Fall down at the feet of his Power and dread it Fall down at the feet of his Mercy and adore it Fall down at the feet of his Wisdome and admire it Admiration is sutable to Wonders It is said Hee shall bee admired in his Saints When wicked men tremble do you fall down and admire and blesse that God adore that God who alone doth wonders 7. Use Doth God do wonders for his Church 7 Use and are wee now in a sad condition A people that shall bee made a wonder unlesse God do a wonder for us Oh! then let us carry our selves in such a deportment and demeanour as is sutable to such who are expectants that God should do wonders for us Oh! that wee could put our selves in a posture fit for mercy and deliverance Seeing you look for a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness saith the Apostle what manner of persons ought you to bee So seeing you look you expect that God should do wonders for you Oh! What manner of persons ought you to bee in Holiness of Life how holy how humble how spiritual ought you to bee in all manner of conversation Oh! take heed of sinning in the face of mercy in the face of deliverance Lye not swear not c. It was a sad aggravation of Israels sin They provoked God at the Red-Sea even at the Red-Sea it is doubled to put a greater Emphasis on it Psal 106.7 It is nothing but our sins which hinders the current and stream of Mercy if these were removed mercy would come amain Whereas on the contrary sin will not only make our but even the good purposes of God to become abortive to us You see it in Jer. 18.9 10. At what time I shall speak concerning a Nation or a Kingdome to build and to plant it If it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voice Then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them Many buds and many blossoms of future deliverance have appeared Oh! it were a sad thing if our sins should blast all these and rob us of the fruit of our hopes of our prayers and tears Our sins put obstructions to all Gods proceedings of Mercy And therefore you see when the Temple was to bee built and great things were to bee done for them The Prophet by way of necessary preparation exhorts the people to repentance to cast away their sins Hag. 1.6 knowing this that though God had begun yet if they continued their sins they would quickly make a stop of Gods mercy God would soon repent of his mercy to them God had brought Israel out of Egypt and brought them near Canaan yet their sins comming betwixt them and Canaan turned them back again into the Wildernesse and there they walk in a Round forty years before they could finde admission into Canaan God is gone out before us triumphing in the greatnesse of his strength preparing a way hewing down difficulties levelling mountains turning all our oppositions into good But if you do not leave your sins you will make God quickly to leave you so to work your own confusion Well then You are all expectants of Mercy let every one of you labour to put himself into a posture fit to receive mercy Let every one walk and demean himself as such as looks for great things from God And then that God that hath begun will assuredly make an end Hee that hath laid the foundation and is laying stone after stone upon it every day will not desist till the building bee perfected 8 Use 8 Use Is it so that God doth wonders for his Church then learn 1. To trust in God You see Hee is a God doing wonders And as Christ said Learn 1 To trust in God Mark 9.23 If thou canst but beleeve All things are possible to him that beleeveth Wonders are possible There is nothing too hard for God to do if there bee nothing too hard for you to beleeve There is nothing difficult but to beleeve Hee that hath conquered and overcome his own unbeleef hath done all All things are possible to the Beleever Do not you stick at beleeving and God will not stick at doing wonders for you Heb. 11.33 34. By Faith they subdued Kingdomes stopped the mouthes of Lions quenched the violence of fire c. As Unbeleef doth imprison Gods power mercy and goodnesse It is said Hee could not do much because of their unbeleef And they limited the holy One of Israel So Faith sets God at liberty sets the power of God at liberty Nay it puts on the power and mercy of God Therefore exercise Faith The time of our trouble should bee the time of our trust As Mordecai said to Esther God set her up for such a time as that So I may say of Faith God set up Faith for such a time as this When means fail when there is nothing but weaknesse below when sense and reason are put to it then is it Faiths work to come in And therefore exercise Faith Let not any difficulty undermine Faith Let not any seeming discouragement come between your souls and the promise Zach. â— 6 Things marvelous to you are familiar with God things wonderful to you are easy to God You have Bibles Oh! that you had Faith to make use of them you would there finde all things are possible with God and therefore nothing impossible to Faith 2. Bee incouraged to Prayer This is the great work of our times 2 To pray to God Faith and Prayer will do wonders Faith and Prayer have had an hand in most of the wonders that ever were done in the Earth These will set the great God on doing wonders for us A Prayer made up of promises and put up by Faith will shew wonders in Heaven and in Earth You read what wonders Gods people have wrought by Prayer They have dryed up the Sea Exod. 14.21 brought fire from Heaven 2 King 1.10 Caused the Sun to stand still Josh 10.13 Vanquisht the enemy Exod. 17.12 Praying-Moses did more than fighting-Joshua The day would fail to tell you of all See what wonders followed upon Davids Prayer Psal 18.6 In my distress I called upon the Lord I cryed to my God hee heard my voice out of his Temple my cry came unto his
innoble his members p. 97 3 Faith puts us upon soul-innobling imployment p. 97. 4 Faith intitles us unto a soul-innobling inheritance p. 98 12 Royalty Faith is a soul-fatning grace which it doth after this manner 1 By destroying soul-consuming lusts p. 99 100 2 Faith puts a man into a soul-fatning pasture p. 100 3 Faith feeds upon soul-fatning dainties p. 101 1 On the Promises 101. 2 Upon a soul-fatning Christ. Faith feeds upon Christ 1 In the Word 2 In the Sacrament p. 102 103 13 Royalty Faith is a heart-emptying grace Ibid. 1 Of opinion of Righteousnesse in our selves p. 104 105 2 Of all opinion of strength to help our selves p. 106 107 14 Royalty Faith is an heart-inriching and filling grace p. 108 109 1 It inricheth the head with knowledge p. 110 2 The heart with grace p. 111 Four invaluable things 1 Favour of God in Christ 2 Souls of men 3 The Spirit 4 The Graces of the Spirit â—hese are such riches God bestowes upon none but beleevers Ibid. A Beleever the poorest and richest man in the world p. 112 15 Royalty Faith is an heart-raising grace 1 From the death of sin p. 113 2 From the death of inward trouble p. 114 1 By looking back upon soul-raising experiences p. 115 2 Looks upon soul-raising promises Ibid. 3 Layes hold upon a soul-raising Christ p. 116 4 Indites soul-raising prayers uses Arguments from it self from God p. 117 16 Royalty Faith is an heart-chearing grace p. 118 This joy of Faith is First Spiritual Secondly Hearty Thirdly Satisfying Fourthly Constant p. 119 Faith will inable to rejoyce 1 In Bonds 2 In Sicknesse 3 In Poverty Ibid. Five grounds of rejoycing p. 120 Objection Who more sad than Beleevers Answered 120 to 122 Five grounds of Sorrow arraigned at the bar of right reason p. 122 1 Is it thy former sin 2 Is it thy present corruption 3 Is it thy imperfections 4 Is it thy afflictions 5 Is it because under some present temptation Ibid. Matter of joy if Faith to see Gods aims in six particulars p. 122 123 17. Royalty Faith is an heart-guiding grace p. 124 It guides the heart in difficult cases p. 125 Faith will not own the flesh as a King nor as a Counsellor p. 126 18. Royalty Faith is an heart-establishing grace p. 127 Unbeleef unsettles the soul Ibid. Two things Faith establisheth the soul against First Against fears Secondly Against falling Against five sorts of fears p. 128 1 Of Men. 2 Of Want Ibid. 3 Of Death p. 129 4 Of Hell Ibid. 5 Of Judgement p. 130 2 Faith establisheth the heart against falling 1 Against total Apostacy p. 130 2 Against final Apostacy p. 131 1 Faith sets the soul upon a soul-establishing bottome 2 Interests the soul in a soul-establishing covenant Ibid. 3 Doth beget in a man soul-establishing principles p. 132 Six Principles Faith begets in a man p. 132 133 Use 1 Of Tryal incouragement to it 1 It is possible p. 134 135 2 Though possible yet it is difficult 1 In respect of the deceits p. 136 2 In respect of the doubts and mis-givings of our own heart at all times especially at three times First Of Humiliation p. 137 Secondly Of Temptation Ibid. Thirdly of Desertion p. 138 Secondly It is necessary to know whether wee are beleevers First In respect of comfort Ibid. Secondly In respect of Obedience p. 139 140 Two Rules observed in the Tryals following First Grand Rule the Word of God Secondly To lay down such evidences as are universal to all beleevers weak as strong p. 140 Method observed for Tryal are evidences taken First From the usual manner of Gods working Faith Secondly From the grace it self wrought First The manner of Gods working Faith 1 By discovering sin p. 141 2 By discovering the fulnesse and al-sufficiency that is in Christ p. 142 3 The freenesse of his Righteousnesse to all commers 4 Stirs up the soul to persevere 5 How God works Faith p. 142 143 Secondly Some evidences taken from the grace it self 1 Of a weak 2 Of a strong Faith Ibid. 1 The weakest faith hath strong desires after Christ wherein is shewed the difference between an unbeleevers desires and a beleevers p. 143 144. 2 A Weak faith will close with the precepts of God p. 144 145 3 Weak faith is joyned with mourning and sorrow for the weaknesse of it Ibid. 4 Weak faith is unfeigned faith not counterfeit 5 Weak faith is a holy faith accompanied with holinesse of heart holinesse in life p. 145 146 6 A weak faith doth not rest in weaknesse 7 A weak faith will cleave to Christ Five things by way of support to a weak faith 1 The smallest degree if true is saving p. 146 2 Though weak yet it is a growing 3 The weakest gives the soul union with Christ 4 It gives communion with Christ 5 It hath equal share in Gods love Difference between want and weaknesse p. 147 Evidences of a strong faith 1 An high prizing of Christ p. 148 Two things make Christ precious to a mâ—n 1 The knowledge of Christ and that 1 The want of Christ 2 The worth of Christ Ibid 2 The apprehension of the souls interest in him this a strong beleever doth p. 149. Four Tryalls whether we prize Christ p. 149. Some things more peculiar to a strong Faith than to a weak Faith p. 150 151. 2 Strong in Faith and strong in hope and expectations of the thing beleeved p. 152. Strong Faith and strong Patience Ibid. Strong in Faith and strong in Obedience p. 153. Strong for active and passive obedience p. 154 3 A strong Faith will beleeve nothing contrary to his beleefe Ibid. Though Satan takes up arguments from God 1 Inward or p. 155 2 Outward dealing with him p. 155 156 4 A strong Faith will trust God in difficulties 1 With small means p. 156 2 Without means p. 157 3 Against means p. 158 5 A strong Faith is accompanied 1 VVith much peace p. 158. 2 VVith much joy p. 159 6 Strong Faith will subdue strong corruptions Ibid. 7 Overcome strong temptations Ibid. 8 Over come strong doubts 159. 9 Strong Faith and strong prayers Strong 1 To wrestle with God p. 160 2 To prevail with God p. 160 161 10 Strong Faith can take 1 Long delays p. 161 2 Strong denials from Gods hand p. 161. 162. 11 Strong Faith hath strong desires 1 To go to Christ by death 2 That Christ would come to judgement p. 163 Use of Exhortation First To get Faith Motives 1 From the greatnesse of the sin of unbeleef it offers injury to all-God 1. VVisdome 2 Mercy and Love 3 Power 4 Truth p. 164 165 2 Unbelief is a mother sin the womb of sin entertainer maintainer of sin p. 165. 3 Unbeleef is a soul-killing sin p. 167. 2 Motive from the necessity of Faith 1 Needfull in respect of our persons Our persons are 1 Under the guilt 2 Power 3 Dominion of sin p. 167. 2 In respect of
our performances Faith is the salt that seasons all p. 167 168. 2 Branch of the Exhortation to those that have Faith to exercise Faith 1 In matter of Justification under the guilt of sin trust in God for pardon of sin p. 169. 2 Trust in him for sanctification 3 Trust in him for Mortification of thy Lusts five Scriptures to incourage us 170. 4 Exercise Faith in case of difficulties Ibid. 5 Exercise Faith in case of desertion p. 171. 6 In case of Calamity Nationall or personal p. 172. 3 Branch of the exhortation let us grow up in trust Ibid. Incouragements 1 The more Faith the more in love and favour with God p. 173. 2 The more Faith Grace more love of God more Patience Courage Obedience 3 The more spiritual comfort 4 The more strength to prevail with God Ibid. Means for the begetting of Faith 1 Keep close to Faith-begetting Ordinances 1 Word p. 174. 2 Prayer p. 174 175. 2 Have much to do with Faith-begetting company Faith-begetting Conference p. 175. 3 Cherish Faith-begetting considerations 1 Thoughts of our selves p. 175. 2 Of God cherish especially three thoughts p. 176. Two doubts keep men off from beleeving Ibid. Wee must do as those Lepers 2 King 7.3 4. p. 177. 12 Means for increasing Faith A conclusion p. 178. 179. With the doctrin of Works p. 180 181. The Contents of The slownesse of Heart to believe JOHN 1.50 Jesus answered and said unto him because I said unto thee I saw thee under the Fig-tree beleevest thou thou shalt see greater things than these PArts of the Chapter p. 185 186. Parts of the Text. 187. 1 Question arising out of the words p. 187. Answered Ibid. and p. 188. 2 Question for unfoulding of the words answered p. 188. Doctrins from the scope of the Text. 1 Doct. The eyes of Christ run through the world and behold the evil and the good Three Uses made of it p. 189. 2 Doct. Such is the goodnesse of God that hee commends us for that which is his own Two Uses made of this p. 189. Doctrins the Text more fully holds forth First That slownesse of heart to beleeve is a temper of spirit very offensive unto God Secondly It is very pleasing unto God when we will beleeve in him upon small Revelation Thirdly God will reveal great things to them who do so beleeve in him The first Doctrin cleared p. 190 191. That we are slow of heart to beleeve demonstrated in five particulars The 1 Greatnesse of that power put forth in the working Faith p. 191 192. 2 The complaints of sinners when they come first to beleeve p. 192 193. 3 Rhetorick work God useth to a poor humbled cast down sinner to bring him to beleeve p. 193. 4 Way God takes to confirm the covenant of mercy to beleevers p. 194. 5 Complaints of the Preacher p. 195. Grounds of the slownesse of heart to beleeve First From Satan who hath two stratagems p. 195 196 197. Secondly From themselves 1 From ignorance p. 197. 2 Pride 3 Too much tendernesse p. 198 199. 4 Doubt of Gods will p. 200. 5 Some rest on this side Christ p. 200 201. 3 Ground why wee are slow of heart to beleeve is taken from others p. 202. 1 Wee look upon their height p. 203. 2 Upon others depths p. 204. 205. 206. Three Reasons why this frame of spirit is so offensive to God 1 It argues and speaks a corrupt heart p. 207. 2 As much as in it lyes it makes void all the stupendious things of God p. 107. in particular 1 The great counsel of God 2 The thoughts of his mercy 3 The purposes of Gods mercy to thee p. 20. 4 Frustrates the expectation of God p. 209. 5 Gods end in sending Christ 6 The death of Christ 7 The promises of God to Christ p. 209. 3 Reason this keeps a man in an unserviceable condition both to God and Man p. 210 211. Use See how Satan doth delude their souls whom hee perswades not to beleeve is a vertue is a thing pleasing unto God p. 212. Reasonings of poor souls why they must not beleeve p. 213. 2 Use of Exhortation to three things 1 To bee convinced of the greatnesse of the sin 1 You wrong God 2 You gratify Satan Satan hath two glasses to discover sin p. 215. Quest How shall I know when God and when Satan discovers sin p. 216. A sinful looking on sin in seven particulars p. 217. 3 You injure your selves in three particulers 2 Be humbled for it p. 219. 3 Be quickned to beleeve p. 219 220. Consider 1 It is Gods command and that is first a sufficient warrant 2 It is sufficient security p. 220. 2 Consider you can do God no greater pleasure than to come in and beleeve in him p. 221. Faith a weapon to be weilded against seven charges of Satan p. 221 222. THE CONTENTS OF HYPOCRISY ISAIAH 58.2 THe World divided into four ranks of men p. 26 Those that are in the pale of the Church ranked in three sorts ibid. Those that are pretenders for Heaven into two sorts of which are the 1 Formal Christian ibid. 2 Upright and sincere Christian ibid. The Text opened ibid. Doct. That it is possible for a man to do much in the wayes of God even to abound in all outward performances and yet bee false at heart and have an unsound spirit here and miss of Heaven hereafter p. 263 The Doctrin proved and cleared by diverse Particulars as The first Particular is 1 Hee may hear the Word p. 265 2 May abound in hearing ibid. 3 May hear with affection ibid. Four kindes of affections that a Formalist may hear with 1 With affection of wonder and astonishment p. 266 2 Affection of fear and trembling ibid. 3 With delight and some kinde of love ibid. 4 With affection of Joy ibid. Secondly A man may not only hope but pray too nay make many Prayers ibid. And hee may joyn fasting to prayer ibid. Thirdly A man may seem to bee humbled to mourn and to weep for sin and yet bee unsound p. 267 There are four sorts of tears ibid. 1 Tears of Anger ibid. 2 Tears of desparation such as are the damned in Hell ibid. 3 Tears of compassion ibid. 4 Tears of Godly-sorrow ibid. Fourthly A man may seem to do much walk in many wayes of duty in outward shew of obedience to the letter of command ibid. Fifthly A man may cast up his vomit disgorge himself of all his old wayes p. 268 Hee may leave sin either 1 Out of fear of evil ibid. 2 Out of a wearinesse of it ibid. 3 Out of love of some contrary sin ibid. 4 Out of want of fit Instruments and means to compass his sin ibid. Sixthly A man may accompany himself with the People of God ibid. Seventhly A man may not only do but suffer too and yet bee unsound ibid. Reasons are 1 Reas Because no unsound spirit hath any thing in it which is essential to a
Christ is such a Rock as doth derive vertue and strength unto the structure and building Indeed a man may build a weak house upon a strong foundation and the house fall for all that because the rock is a dead thing and cannot impart any of its strength unto the structure But it is not so here Bee the building never so weak yet this Rock can hold it up because it diffuseth its strength into the building Hence 1 Pet. 2.4 5. Christ is called a living not a dead Rock A living stone To whom comming as to a living Stone wee also as lively-stones are built up a spiritual house Which shews the transformation of the building into the nature and firmnesse of the Rock Thus you see Faith is a soul-securing-grace It sets a man upon a soul-securing-bottome It makes God our security who is called The strong-God The mighty-God The Rock of Refuge A defense A Shield A Tower A Fort. An High-place Mich. 4.8 The Tower of his Flock The strong hold of the daughter of Sion A Covert from the storm Isay 32.1 2. Faith makes All-God our security It ingages all-God to be our security His Power And is not this able to secure us His Wisdome And will not this secure us His Truth And will not this secure us His Mercy And cannot all this secure us Hee who trusts in the Lord Mercy shall compasse him on every side Hee is hemm'd in with Mercy Or mercy imbraceth him on every side to secure him As trust doth compasse mercy so mercy doth compass trust As trust imbraceth mercy so mercy imbraceth trust It is not Faith it self that doth secure us But Faith doth make God our security It sets a man upon a soul-securing-bottome on a soul-securing-God on a soul-securing-Power on a soul-securing-soul-securing-Mercy Therefore needs must a Beleeving a Trusting-soul be secure 2. It instates the soul in soul-securing-promises The promises of preservation from trouble Promises of Deliverance out of trouble All the promises which God hath made of Security Faith instates the soul into them all Hee hath promised When wee passe through the waters he will be with us and the waters shall not overflow us When we pass through the fire the flame shall not kindle upon us Isa 43.2 Hee hath promised Hee will stand at our right hand and wee shall not bee moved Psal 16. He will never leave us neither forsake us Heb. 13.6 The Gates of Hell shall never prevail against us Mat. 16.18 Hee hath promised to bee a Tower a Rock a Refuge a Covert from a storm an hiding place in time of Danger c. And it is faith that doth instate us into these Soul-securing-Promises As there is no promise to us till wee beleeve so if once wee beleeve all the Promises are ours Look into the word of God and what promises soever there are made for securing the soul All these are thine 3. Faith doth instate us into soul-securing-Priviledges 1 It makes us the Sons and Daughters of God John 1.12 13 As man as received him to them hee gave power or priviledge to become the Sons of God Even to as many as beleeved in his name Gal. 3.26 You are the children of God by faith in Christ And will not a father secure his child 2. Faith makes us the Spouse of Christ the members of Christ It ingrafts us and unites us into him And will he not secure his members 3. It make us the inheritance of Christ Hee hath promised to bee a Tower to his Flock A strong-hold to the Daughters of Sion These are all soul-securing-priviledges And therefore beleeving souls shall be secure Oh! Then Would you bee secured from the evil-day would you bee secured in the evil day Labour for Faith This alone secures the soul It sets a man upon a soul-securing-bottome Instates a man in soul-securing-promises Gives him right to soul-securing-priviledges Abrogate fears Surrogate Faith Down with fears which betray the succour of the soul and set up beleeving Sixth Royalty 6 Faith is an heart-humbling Grace 6 Royalty of Faith It s a soul-humbling Grace Whether it bee a Legal or whether it be an Evangelical Faith it works humiliation The one a Legal humiliation and casting down The other an Evangelical-humiliation we shall in this cheifly deal with the first It is said of Ahab that he humbled himself put on sackcloath and went softly And this was the fruit and effect of his Legal-Faith whereby hee beleeved the truth and certainty of Gods Judgements denounced against him and his house The men of Nineveh when Jonah preached that sad Sermon Jonah 3.4 Yet forty days and Nineveh shall bee destroyed It is said They beleeved God That is The truth of that message which Jonah brought from God And it follows as an effect of this Faith They humbled themselves and proclaimed a fast and put on Sack-cloath and sate in ashes from the King upon the Throne to the meanest of them And my Brethren Faith hath a great influence into the work of self-humbling 1 It takes up self-humbling Considerations From God the justice of God the threatnings the curses God hath denounced against sin 2. Faith doth Realize all this to the Soul which God hath said against sin Faith doth not make these things more reall then they are but doth Realize things to the Soul not imaginary but real things which being lookt upon as reall things do humble This is the Reason why one when he hears of Gods threatnings denounced against Sin goes home and lyes in the dust is humbled and cast down as Josiah when hee read the book of the Law And another stands up out-faceth Hell and the curse He is never humbled nor cast down It is because the one he looks upon these things are reall and true the other hee looks upon them as fancies Imaginary things If men beleeved that all that evil which God hath threatned against Sin were true they could not drink down sinne as water nor eat the bread of Sin with such delight as they do If the swearer did beleeve there were a flying Rol gone out against him as Zachary saith If the Drunkard did see death in the Pot c. If I say wicked men beleeved the Reality and Truth of these things they could not go on so quietly in their wicked courses but would be humbled Hence the Apostle sets this down for the ground why the Preaching of the word was not profitable to them Because it was not mixed with Faith in them that heard it They did not beleeve what they heard and so neither the word of Terror nor the word of Comfort did profit them As the promises of God are not quickning raising comforting except there bee Faith so the Threats are not Killing humbling working if Faith be not there Wee may preach till our spirits fail and spend our labour in vain our strength and pains for nought if the things which God speaks and we preach be not beleeved If you
by unbelief do slight all the threats of God denounced against sin if you make childs play of them as the word signifies 2 Pet. 3.3 If you look upon these but as Bug-bears things to keep men in awe and not real things No marvel if you bee not Humbled But if by Faith you would Realize these things to your selves and behold them not as Fancies and sad dreams but such things as are infallibly true real things not as painted Hell painted fire but as reall you would them finde them to work These mingled with Faith would lay a man in the dust Now this is a property of Faith to Realize the Object or thing beleeved and hence comes an influence on the soul to humble and abase it 3 Faith doth not only take up humbling Considerations and Realizeth all these to the Soul But Faith makes all this present Faith doth give a present being to all this Hence Heb. 11.13 Faith imbraceth the promise The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith kisseth the promise gives a present being to the promise And as it gives a present being to the promise or word of comfort so to the threatning and word of terror Faith discovers death and hell and all at hand for Sin Faith looks upon sinne in all it's Doomes-day apparrel and array smels fire and Brimstone in sin Whereas unbeleevers they look on these things at the wrong end of the Prospective and that makes things neer seem a far off and that afar off is not seen at all But Faith looks upon them through the right end of the prospective And there things a far off are seen at hand present Hence it is called The Evidence of things not seen As it was said of Abraham Hee saw the day of Christ and rejoyced and yet Abraham was dead many hundred of years before Christ yet by vertue of his prospective by vertue of his Faith hee saw it as if it had been present though it were never so far off So here though the second day of Christ the day of judgement bee a far off yet Faith sees it and is humbled Faith gives it a present Being 4. Faith applies and brings home all this to Soul As the word of Comfort the Promise is applyed and brought home to the Soul by Faith so the word of Terror the Threatning is brought home to the soul by the same Faith by which the Soul is cast down and humbled The manner of Faiths Application is by a practical Syllogisme where the Major or first Proposition is the Word of God The Assumption or second Proposition is the Testimony of Conscience and the conclusion is inferred from them both as hee that beleeveth not but continueth in sir is for the present guilty and obnoxious to wrath at the last Judgement But I beleeve not but continue in sin Therefore I am for the present guilty and obnoxious to wrath to bee inflicted at the last Judgement Seventh Royalty 7. Faith is an Heart-softening-Grace Such a Grace as doth not only humble us but soften us not only break us 7. Royalty of Faith It s an Heart-softening-Grace but melt us In the Law it humbles us it breaks us but the heart like a flint every dust still reteins its flinty stony Nature is a stone And therefore in the Gospel it melts us it dissolves us Thunders of Sinai terrifie but Dews of Sion mollifie So much Faith so much Sorrow they are like the Fountain and the Stream whereof the one ariseth no higher than the other So much Faith and apprehension of Mercy so much brokenness of spirit for sin Where Unbelief doth stony the Heart harden the Heart dries up the spring and issues of sorrow No Heart is so hard as an Unbeleeving-heart neither the Promises nor Threatnings neither Mercy nor Justice neither Word nor works will melt it Faith on the contrary turns the Soul into Water dissolves a man into tears opens all the deep springs of sorrow in the Soul 1. Faith looks upon Heart-melting-Promises Takes a survey of the Riches of Gods Love and Mercy in making such precious Promises which doth exceedingly melt 2. Faith takes up Heart-softening-Considerations from the Love and Mercy of God towards us which are Heart-melting-Mercies from the goodness and sweetness of God Faith makes us see God as hee is It makes God no otherwise than hee is not more gracious not more merciful than hee is But Faith discovers him as hee is a gracious and a mercifull God It doth but undraw the Curtain but take off the Mask which Satan and Infidelity have put on and makes us to behold God as hee is in all his glorious excellencies Soul saving attributes and Mercies which who can behold by Faith but must needs mourn and dissolve into tears that they have offended him Thus you see Ezek. 36.31 when God had discovered himself in his pardoning-Pardoning-Mercy his washing Forgiving-Mercy to the beleeving soul then they shall mourn and bee humbled Oh! There is nothing breaks the heart more than Mercy nothing melts a man more than the smiles of God the Mercies of God which being discovered to the Soul the Soul is not able to stand stubborn under it 3. Faith looks upon a Soul-melting a Soul-softening Object upon Christ a wounded a broken Christ And who can behold him but with an Humbled and a broken-heart A bleeding Christ without a bleeding Heart Oh! Here is enough in this Object to open all the springs of sorrow in us wee need not to go to Bellarmines Twelve Considerations to open the Fountain of tears in us wee need not bring in the miseries of mankind for one nor the sad condition of the Souls in Purgatory for another Wee need not bee beholden to him for such considerations as these to help us to mourn Oh! Here is enough in Christ in a broken and wounded Christ to open all the springs in thee and if thou hadst a Fountain of tears to spend them all The Considerations of his sufferings 1. Either in themselves 2. Or in their cause 3. Or as the Effects of sin 1. The Considerations of his breakings and sufferings as they were in themselves 1. The sufferings of his Body What woundings breakin gs scourgings crownings peircings did hee endure upon his Body 2. The sufferings on his Soul What conflict and struglings with the wrath of God the powers of darkness what weights what burdens what wrath did hee undergo when his Soul was heavy unto death be set with terrors as the word implies When he drunk that bitter Cup that Cup of bitterness that Cup mingled with Curses which made him sweat drops of blood which if men or Angels had but sip's of 't would have made them reel stagger and tumble into Hell 2. The Consideration of his sufferings in the Cause as the meriting cause of all our good procurer of all our Peace Life Salvation Hee was wounded that wee might bee healed scourged that wee might bee solaced drank the
Parent The Master to the Servant The Servant to the Master c. Faith is the great Task-Master of the Soul But it is not like Pharaohs Task-Master to command burdens and afford no help To require the Tale of Brick and give no Straw This indeed the Law doth It is an hard Task-Master It commands but gives no ability Jubet fed non juvat Efficit quod imperat Jubet juvat But not so Faith It commands and laies in strength to do It gives what it commands by going over to Christ and fetching strength from him whereby the soul is inabled to obey what it is commanded It is said of Christ That His Government shall bee upon his shoulders Not only in his hand having a Scepter only to command but upon his shoulders wherein there is support to obey commands So it may bee said of Faith which governeth from Christ and by Christ Its Government is upon its shoulder inabling the soul to do what it commands 1. Faith begets Soul-inabling-Principles Principles in the soul suitable to the things commanded whereby a man is inabled to obey All strength for new Obedience ariseth from a new Nature And this new Nature is nothing else but that conformity to the Law of God whereby a man is not only able to obey but willing to obey when Principles are wrought in our hearts suitable to the Precepts when there is a Law within us answering to the Law without us It will be meat and drink it will be natural to obey it is not now hard to pray to clear The yoak is easy the burden is light These things are not tasks but delights not medicines but meat not physick but food Psal 40. I delight to do thy Will saith David and what was the ground Thy Law is in my heart There were Principles agreeable to the Precepts and that made him not only to obey but to obey with delight 2. Faith supplies a man with Soul-inabling-Strength from without Wee have need not only of preventing but assisting Grace not only of operative but cooperative strength not only of inherent but of assistant the continual succours aids and supplies of the Spirit of Christ And Faith doth supply the soul with strength from him without whom wee can do nothing and through whose might wee are inabled to do all things Faith laies in supplies of strength from Christ wherewith wee are inabled for any service It calls in for all the strength of Christ the aids of the Spirit whereby wee are strengthened 2. Faith doth furnish a man with Soul-inabling-considerations 1. From God the mercies of God the goodness and sweetness of God All which do incourage and inable the soul to obey A loving Master makes a diligent Servant A mercifull God a working Christian Nothing doth so prevail with the heart as love The Love of Christ constrains us When Faith shall discover to the heart what we were what we are what God might what God hath done with us it will break out with David with a Quid Retribuam c. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows c. Psal 116.12 This overcomes the Soul with Love That heart that is overcome with the sweetness of mercy is prepared to overcome any difficulty of service My heart is prepared my heart is prepared 2. From the work Faith furnishes a man with soul-inabling-considerations from the excellency of the imployments hee sees a peece of Heaven in tem hee sees these services full of beauty sweetness desireableness No service to the service of the King Oh! what then is the service of the King of Kings 3. From the rewards which God hath promised to obedience And these rewards Faith makes use of to quicken and stir up the soul to Obedience to bee spurs and incentives to us as they were to Moses who had an eye to the recompence of the Reward as they were to Christ himself who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the shame Heb. 12.2 and Heb. 11.26 All which have a mighty influence into the soul to inable and quicken it to Obedience 2. Faith inables the Soul to suffer Yea and to suffer the sufferings of the greatest magnitude You see Heb. 11. Through Faith they were stoned they were sawn asunder were slain with the sword 1. It puts the soul into a suffering frame It deadens a mans heart to the world mortifies a man to to the world and makes a man alive to God A man dead to the world doth not much care either to leave the world or any thing in the world now Faith deadens a mans heart to the World 1. Faith puts the Judgement into a right frame It makes the Judgement lightly to esteem of earthly and highly to esteem of Heavenly things lightly to esteem the favours and frowns of men highly to value the favour and fear the frowns of God 2. Faith prevails with the Will to chuse God above all and to part with all the leave all if they come in competition with God This Faith doth habitually in habituall preparations in the work of Grace when first the Will chuseth with Christ Thus Faith inables the soul to do actually when ever it is brought to tryall 3. Faith works upon the Affections to love God above all to delight in God to fear him c. A man who loues any thing chuseth any thing prizeth any thing above God is a man unfit for sufferings hee is not in a sufering frame If God and these things come in competition they with Demas will forsake God and cleave to the present world Men whose hearts are too much ingaged to the World whose affections are too much set upon the Creature men whose wills chuse any thing more than God whose Judgements do prize and esteem of any thing more than God to whom God is little and the world is great these men are unfit for tryals And therefore this is the first way whereby Faith doth inable the Soul by putting it into a suffering frame 2. Faith doth furnish the soul with suffering Resolutions A beleeving heart is a resolved heart Nothing causeth a suspension in the Will more than Unbeleef Hee that doubteth is like a wave of the Sea sometimes going this way and sometimes carried back again Whereas Faith doth resolve the heart makes the soul resolve as Peter but in a better strength I will dye rather than deny thee Faith doth cloathe the soul with suffering resolutions to go through a Sea through a Wilderness through the hottest Skirmishes the hardest Tryals for Christ You see it every where in Scripture In Michaiah in Jeremiah in the three Children in Daniel in the Apostles And to these I might adde many more As that of old Polycarp when hee was perswaded to deny Christ rather than to dye for Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
will bee nothing to the soul that loves him Love is as strong as Death You see it in the Apostles They counted not their lives too dear to give to death for the Love of Christ It is not the Bloud which is in the veins the spirits which are in the arteries the Life in the Body which will be too dear There is a kinde of unquenchablenesse in Love like the stone in Thracia which burns in the Water Much Water cannot quench Love 1. Much Afflictions from God cannot quench our Affections to God As all our dealings to God doth not alter Gods affections to us so all Gods dealings to us will not alter our affections to God Si diligis Domine fac quicquid vis was the speech of Calvin Lord if thou love mee do what thou wilt And Jobs Though thou kill mee yet I will still trust in thee And the Church professeth the like Psal 44.17 18 19. All this is come upon us yet do wee not forget thee nor have wee dealt falsely in thy Covenant Our heart is not turned back nor have our steps gone out of thy paths Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death c. 2. Much afflictions for God shall not cool our affections to God Wee shall bee ready to go through a Sea through a Wildernesse through the sharpest incounters for Christ Nothing shall pose a strong Beleever When once the soul is perswaded of the Love of God by Faith then there follows abundance of love to God again 1 John 4. from 15. to 19. Whosoever confesseth that Jesus is the Son of God in him dwelleth God and hee in God And wee have known and beleeved the Love that God hath to us God is Love and hee that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him c. wee love him because hee loved us first And that of Mary Much was forgiven her and therefore shee loved much Whiles a man looks upon God as an enemy who hates him hee can never love him But when once the soul by Faith doth apprehend Gods love to him then doth the soul love God again The love of God begets love in the soul to God Amor Dei amorem animae parit No mans heart is warmed with the sense of Gods love but it is inflamed with love to God again As the Sun beams shining upon a Glasse begets a reflection of the Beams upon the Wall So the Love of God shed abroad in our hearts breeds a reflection of love back again to God 2. Strong in Faith and strong in Hope and expectations of the thing beleeved which is that which holds up our head and keeps the soul from sinking in the midst of all these worldly troubles 3. Strong Faith and strong Patience A strong Faith will bear strong Afflictions with strong Patience Faith doth strengthen a mans shoulders to bear evils and troubles with Patience A weak Tree is blown down with that which moves not a stronger Tree Weak shoulders sink under that burden which a strong one will bear away So a weak Faith would sink with that tryal which a strong Faith is able to undergo with strength of Patience And therefore it is Gods goodnesse still to proportion the Tryal to the strength A strong Faith can receive a mercy and bee thankful and can render a mercy and bee patient A strong Faith can injoy a blessing and bee chearful and can lose it and bee contented Hence saith Paul I have learned in all estates therewith to bee content I know how to abound and how to suffer want c. Hee was a man strong in Faith And the ground of all is this because a strong Faith having dear evidence and apprehensions that God is a Father doth conclude that all his dealings are for good All things shall work together for good to them that love God And hee hath said Hee will never depart from us from doing us good Faith like the Philosophers stone turns all into Gold sees all Gods dealings to bee for good If God then afflict a man why will Faith say It 's for good I have need of such Afflictions to work out such a strong corruption Are the Afflictions many why will Faith say I have need of many Afflictions because I have many corruptions Are they long why I have need of that too because sin and I are so hardly parted It is so hard to make a divorce betwixt sin and my soul and therefore the afflictions had need to continue long Faith sees that God aims at this to wean us from the World to win us closer to him to exercise and increase our Graces to weaken sin and corruption to make us more fruitful Therefore doth hee prune us that wee might grow more If a man lop Trees at sometimes they will wither and dye but if at other times they will be made more fruitful God useth to afflict the wicked at such time But the Saints when they may grow the more Therefore God winnows us fannes us to blow away the chaff Therefore hee puts us as Gold into the fire that wee may come out much more pure Strong Faith and strong Obedience Obedience is proportionable to our Faith The greater the Faith the more the Obedience A little Tree a young Tree may bring forth good fruit as well as a greater but not in equal quantity to the greater so hee that hath the least degree of true Faith lives a godly life brings forth some fruits of Obedience but they are not so plentiful in good works as those whose Faith is come to an higher degree Weak Faith doth obey and this Obedience is a willing a chearful a fruitful a constant an universal Obedience both 1. In respect of the Subject The whole Man and 2. In respect of the Object The whole Law There is a willing yeelding of the soul up to God to walk in every way of God As David Lord I am thine or as the Prophet Isaiah One shall say I am the Lords Otherwise it were not true Obedience But they are not able to act so much as the stronger They are as large in desires in affections to obey but not in expressions of Obedience But the stronger the Faith the stronger is the Obedience the stronger the Will the stronger the Affections and the spirit in his Obedience A Child may do actions as well as a Man but not with that strength as a man doth them hee cannot do them so strongly so vigorously A weak Beleever may pray hear c. but not pray so strongly so powerfully as others who have more Faith So that you see where there is strong Faith there is strong Obedience A strong Faith will follow God fully in every way In losing waies as well as in gaining waies In suffering waies as well as in doing waies In discountenanced waies as well as in such as the World doth countenance In strait waies
as well as in broad waies in rugged waies as well as in plain smooth waies In difficult as well as in easie waies You see this in Abraham concerning the sacrificing of his son In which act hee might seem to disobey in his Obedience And the dutiful yeelding to it might seem to contradict duty There seemed not only Nature and reason to cry down this act of Obedience but even the word too The yeelding of Obedience did seem to justle against the Precept of Obedience Yet you see hee obeyed God It is said By Faith Abraham obeyed God By Faith indeed It was a strong Faith That strong Faith that beleeved hee should have a Son did now obey God in offering of his Son Strong Obedience proceeded from his strong Faith Strong Faith produceth strong Obedience 1. Strong for Active 2. Strong for Passive Obedience The same Faith doth supply the soul with Active strength for doing duties and with Passive strength for suffering duties 1. A strong Faith is strong to bear Reproaches for Christ As Moses Hee esteemed the Reproach of Christ greater riches than the Treasures of Egypt Heb. 11.26 And Paul Therefore wee labour and suffer Reproach because wee trust in the living God 1 Tim. 4.10 2. A strong Faith is strong to bear losses for Christ As they Heb. 10.34 Who took joyfully the spoiling of their goods as if the enemy had done them a great courtesie A strong Faith is strong to bear Persecutions Scourges Death it self for Christ You see what the Apostles indured what Stephen indured Why saith the Text Hee was a man full of Faith Act. 5.8 Strong Faith did inable them to suffer and bear and to go through difficulties prisons persecutions scourgings c. for Christ A strong Beleever doth rejoyce if hee can hold up God as it were though himself bee down if hee can raise up Gods Glory though it bee by the ruine of himself save his honour by losse of himself What Epaminondas said who having resolved concerning his Buckler either to defend it or to dye for it being wounded to death brake forth into these words Num salvus est Clypeus meus Is my Buckler safe If that bee safe I am well So the Beleever in the midst of all his sufferings if hee can keep his Buckler safe hold up God and his Glory All is well 3. A strong Faith will beleeve nothing contrary to his belief All the temptations of Satan all the arguments of men shall never bee able to reason him out of his Faith A weak Faith is quickly brought to deny his conclusion to yeeld up the cause Satan may make a man unsay what formerly hee hath said But a strong Faith will hold the conclusion against all Satans sophistry His Faith hath been gotten up by many invincible experiences from Gods behaviour to him as a Father from the souls behaviour to him as a Child And all that Satan can do shall not out-reason his Faith What a man saith by feeling a temptation may make him unsay but what a man saith by Faith nothing can make him unsay If Satan do assault such a man and tell him God doth not love him God is not his Father yet will the soul binde it self to this Mast and hold his conclusion against all with the Church Isa 63.16 Doubtless thou art our Father thou Lord art our Father our Redeemer Say Satan takes up arguments from Gods 1. Inward Or 2. Outward dealings with us 1. From his Inward dealings May bee a man is in some present Desertion and wants the clear Evidences which formerly hee had and Satan from thence doth argue That God is not our God hee is not our Father yet will not a strong Faith bee reasoned out of his Faith The soul will yet conclude it though it cannot clear it and beleeve it when it cannot see it The strong Christian lives by Faith not by feeling and knows God may bee His God though by sense it bee not discerned but that God is not his God You see this in Psal 22.1 My God! My God! There 's Faith Why hast thou forsaken mee There 's sense Faith held the conclusion against sense That God was his God though sense could not apprehend but that hee was forsaken of God And therefore when the eye of Sense and Evidence is put out yet hee hath the eyes of Faith to see and beleeve And Blessed is the man saith our Saviour to Thomas who beleeves and sees not Joh. 20.29 A strong Faith will trust God further than hee sees him Faith is the Evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 Faith will trust upon the Promise of Mercy in the want of Sense of Mercy Our Faith is not begotten by sense and feelings but by the Promise and therefore in the want of sense and feelings the soul may beleeve Isa 50.10 Though a man walk in darkness and sees no light yet may hee trust in the Lord and lean upon his God A weak Faith if it want feeling it is gone but the strong Faith will Hope against Hope Beleeve against Sense Reason and present Evidence and can say God is mine though it want the present Sense and Evidence of it It will trust in God a Father when his dealings seem to argue him an Enemy Faith will read Love in his angry looks and look through the mist of Desertion and see the affections of a Father under the expressions of an Enemy Thus did Job by Faith Though thou kill mee yet will I trust in thee Full well it knows Though God hide his face yet hee cannot deny himself 2. Say hee takes an argument from Gods outward dealings in chastising and afflicting of us and say If God loved thee hee would not so afflict thee If God were thy Father hee would not so chastise thee However the weak Faith may bee born down with such a temptation as this yet the strong Faith is not moved with such a temptation it is able to retort on Satan because God loves mee therefore hee scourgeth mee that I might not bee condemned with the World That I might not love the World therefore hee suffers the World to frown on mee That I might bee crucified to the World therefore hee suffers mee to bee crucified in the World Because I am a Child therefore hee afflicts mee Hee scourgeth every Son whom hee receiveth Rom. 12.6 7 8.9 c. God takes liberty to chastise our bodies to save our souls And God loves tenderly when hee corrects severely Job 5.17 Pro. 3.11 Thus doth a strong Faith hold up the conclusion of Faith against all the Reasonings of Satan against it Let him produce never so many Evidences to the contrary yet will hee not bee born down in it It 's a maxime of Faith hee will hold to against all opposition whatsoever You see it was thus in Job When God had taken away his goods when his hand was upon his body and upon his spirit too not only withdrawing himself from
is stated on thee Rom. 15.13 The God of all Consolation fill you with all Joy and Peace in beleeving Such a man hee hath Peace above him Peace with God Hee hath Peace within him a peaceable conscience not a dead Peace a sleepiness of Conscience like unto the calmness of the dead Sea whose calmness is not of Nature but from a curse But a sound Peace a spiritual Peace a Peace after VVar a Peace joyned with VVar and Conflict the surest Peace of all 2. With much Joy So much Faith so much Joy Rom. 15.13 1 Pet. 1.8 In whom beleeving yee rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and full of Glâ—ry There 's attending a strong Faith a full Joy an Harvest-Joy Such a Joy as will hold out in troubles Joy that 's Persecution-Proof Prison-Proof Tribulation-Proof Rom. 5.3 Wee joy in Tribulations Other men may joy in Prosperity in Abundance But this is a Joy that out-lasts Riches out-lasts Comforts a Joy which nothing can quench 6. Strong Faith will subdue strong corruptions strong sins strong lusts those Sons of Zerviah that are too hard for us Faith makes use of Sin-subduing Promises of a Sin-subduing Christ And the more Faith the more Strength is conveyed from Christ to us Faith sets the Power of Christ against the power of lust the strength of Christ against the strength of corruption who is able to subdue all things unto himself and to conquer the most untamed corruptions 7. Strong Faith will overcome strong Temptations Temptations from the World Temptations from Satan Strong Faith subdues where weak Faith is blown down with every blast of Temptation not being able to stand out against the assaults of Satan Strong Faith overcomes the allurements and threats of the World it overcomes all This is our victory whereby wee overcome the World even our Faith 8. Strong Faith overcomes strong doubts answers strong Objections in the soul Such doubts and objections move not them that are ready to overwhelm a weak Faith It will flye away with such twigs as will hinder the flight of weaker Christians There are doubts in the best Beleevers So long as there is flesh Fides non omnem dubitationem expellit sed vincet so long there will bee doubts but strong Beleevers are not overcome with doubts but will overcome doubts Though Faith doth not expel yet it conquers doubts Rom. 4.20 Abraham staggered not through unbelief but being strong in Faith gave Glory to God That is though there might bee some doubts yet they prevailed not to the staggering of his Faith His Faith overcame his doubtings A weaker Faith is full of doubts making the soul like a pare of Ballances the scales whereof are wavering sometimes this way sometimes that The mind hath now its assenting and by and by its dissenting Now it saith God is my God Christ is my Christ and anon it fears Christ is not his God is not his Now it hopes its sins are pardoned anon it fears its sins are not pardoned Now the soul thrusts out for Comfort and by and by draws back with discouragement On this side it sees ground why it should beleeve it shall bee saved yet on the other side sees ground whereby to fear it shall bee damned But a strong Faith overcomes all these doubts having strong perswasions of its interest in Christ It saith Christ is mine and nothing shall make it unsay Christ is not mine It is able to answer all 9. Strong Faith and strong Prayers 1. Strong to wrestle with God 2. Strong to prevail with God 1. Such are strong to wrestle with God Faith doth furnish a man with a deep sense of his wants with strong affections with strong Promises to wrestle with God to have those wants supplied Jacobs Prayer was called a wrestling with God It was a wrestling-prayer such an one as proceeded from a strong Faith as you may read in the story Gen. 32.24 to the 30. where hee incounters God with Gods own strength the strength of his Promise the strength of his Covenant O God of my Fathers Abraham Isaac Thou hast said thou wilt bless mee thou badst mee return into my own Country and thou wouldest deal well with mee Deliver mee now then I beseech thee from the hand of my Brother c. Moses Prayer was a wrestling-Prayer Exod. 32.10 to the 16. where hee was so strong as to stop the proceedings of God against a rebellious people insomuch that God bids him let mee alone It was a Beleeving-Prayer So may it bee said of Hezekiahs Prayer Daniels Prayer They were wrestling-Prayers strong-Prayers I will instance but in one The Woman of Canaan Mat. 15.22 to the 28. where you see how shee wrestled with Christ Her case was doubtfull for a long time shee went through great temptations shee is reported to bee a Woman great in Faith 1. There was Tentatio Taciturnitatis There was the tryal of silence Shee prayes and Christ answers her not a word Here was a great tryal when God shall hide himself in a Cloud and not answer her prayers 2. There was Tentatio Particularitatis first nothing then worse than nothing vers 24. I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel As if hee had said Thou dost not belong to the election of Grace thou art not in Covenant I came only to mine own not to thee therefore I will not help thee 3. There was Tentatio Indignitatis The tryal of Indignity vers 26. It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and cast it unto Dogs Yet see the strength of her Faith how it inabled her to out-wrestle these temptations how it inabled her to follow God True Lord but yet the Dogs may eat the crumbs Bee it that I am but a Dog yet thy Dog And if thou wilt not give mee leave to eat of Childrens morsels deny mee not Childrens crumbs such as fall from their Table such as they have no need of Thus you see strong Faith produces strong Prayers strong to wrestle with God himself 2. Strong to prevail with God They are not only wrestling but prevailing-Prayers Jacob wrestled and Jacob prevailed Moses wrestled and Moses prevailed David wrestled and hee prevailed The Woman of Canaan wrestled and shee prevailed vers 28. Oh Woman great is thy Faith Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt So the Church for Peter and they brake open the Prison doors and set him free They are called availing Prayers Jam. 5.19 The effectual fervent Prayer of a Righteous man availeth much Thus strong Faith hath strong Prayers And let mee adde this more A strong Faith doth not only make strong Prayers But a strong Faith can take 1. Long Delaies 2. Strong Denyals well at Gods hand 1. A strong Faith can take long Delaies well at Gods hand Hee that beleeves makes not haste Such a man can wait upon Gods time for the bestowing of a Mercy Such a man knows that God hath a fulness of time to bestow mercy in And
as it was said of the sending of Christ that universal Mercy that summum genus of Mercy when the fulness of time was come God sent his Son So when the fulness of time is come God will send us our desires bestow the Mercy And therefore hee can wait A weak Faith is quickly worn out it cannot wait if God come not presently it is cast down and can wait no longer You see this in the Two Disciples going to Emmaus Wee hoped that this should have been hee that should have delivered Israel but hee is dead and this is the third day They might have waited a little longer they were too quick and hasty what though the third was come it was not yet expired great things might have been done yet before night But weak Faith is impatient of delayes This evil proceedeth from the Lord shall I wait on him any longer was the voice of that wicked King 2 King 6.33 Every vision faileth Ezek. 12.22 so they and too often many better than they But now a strong Faith will hold out in delaies yea and pray more earnestly As you see David did who though his Eyes failed his Flesh failed though his Heart failed yet hee renewed his supplication from day to day The like in Daniel in the Woman of Canaan in Hannah and in the Blind man hee was blamed for his importunity and was yet the more importunate Such a man knows that hee who hath any thing from God must continue in Prayer Jacob all night David day and night Jonah three dayes and nights Daniel one and twenty dayes and nights Moses forty dayes and forty nights God often defers his people to inhance and raise up the price of mercy to make them more fit for mercy more thankfull for mercy And therefore hee can wait 2. Strong Faith cannot only take long delaies But denyals well It can submit to denials as well as to grants You see it in David Hee had strong desires for the continuance of the life of his Child God denyed it See how calm how submissive hee was in the denyal insomuch that hee was a wonder to all his servants A weak Faith doth faint and is discouraged at the denyals of requests It cannot tell how to take a denyal of God but a strong Faith can take denyals as well as grants A strong Faith is clear in this that God is a Father and therefore his denyals are in mercy all is for good hee knows if God hear him not according to his will Etsi non ad voluntatem tamen ad sanitatem yet according to his good A strong Faith submits to Gods wisdome and Gods will who is the only VVise Wee may desire a thing at Gods hand and in our wisdome may judge it to bee good But God in his Wisdome who knows the issue of things sees it will bee for our hurt and therefore denies it And Faith submits to his wisdome and follows him as a blinde man his guide Wee may ask some things too earnestly which are more profitably denyed then granted As Solomon said of Adonijahs request so I may say of many of ours Wee ask our lives wee desire our Bane such things as would hurt us and undo us And are not those things mercifully denyed which without hurt cannot bee granted This is to cross us with a Mercy A child desires a knife of the Father The Child sees no hurt in it but the Father doth And shall wee not then submit to the Wisdome of our Father A man may desire this evil to bee taken away this cross this affliction to bee removed this temptation this corruption to bee taken away God denies it seeing it best for a man to bee exercised with them And Faith will submit Again a man desires this outward mercy it may bee Riches may bee Honours the great things of the World And thinks it may bee if God did raise him hee would raise God if God would make him great hee would make God great But now God denies this God sees it is better that thou want them than injoy them And Faith submits to Gods Wisdome Voluntas Dei optima si optima optima vult and to Gods Will in it Gods Will is his will and saith Not my will but thy will bee done Gods will is the best and being best wills what is the Best both for his own glory and our good Again thou desirest some spiritual mercy from God Perhaps thou desirest Perfection of Grace in this life and God sees it is better that corruptions should dwell in thee as the Lees among the Wine to keep the Wine sweet to humble thee or that they might bee as pricks in thy eyes and goads in thy sides to make thee more forward and fervent in holy performances Perhaps thou desirest a great deal of Knowledge with Saul to bee higher by the head and shoulders than thy fellow Christians Or with David to bee wiser than thy Teachers God denies it and Faith takes the denyal knowing all is for the best It may bee it might beget pride this would puff up it would bee too great a sail for so smal a Boat and rather over-turn thee than set thee forward Perhaps thou desirest to injoy the continual light of Gods countenance to bee like the Island of Rhodes in perpetuo Sole in continual Sun-shine But God denies it thou art sometimes in the valley of tears as well as sometimes in the Mountain of Joy Thou hast cloudy and clear dayes calmy and stormy seasons And Faith submits to this denyal It sees all is for the best That wee should not have our Heaven upon Earth This might occâ—sion spiritual Pride as you see in Paul It might occasion a common esteem of so great a mercy And therefore submits Thus you see how a strong Faith is strong in Prayers can take long delaies and submit to denyals too from God My Brethren this is the strength of Faith that can bee so strong in Desires so patient in Delayes so submissive in Denyals Here is strong Faith 10. Strong Faith hath strong desires to go to Christ by death and that Christ should come to him by Judgement 1. To go to Christ by death A Beleever hath Vitam in Patientiâ Mortem in Desiderio Hee hath Life in Patience Death in Desire Life is his Sea where hee meets with nothing but storms Death is his Harbour Life is his way his Inne at the best But Heaven is his Home There his best Friends are there his chief businesse lies there is his abiding-place and thither hee desires to go A weak Faith is loath to dye is afraid of death hee hath not yet gotten his Evidence sealed his hope in his hand But when this is done then with Paul I desire to bee dissolved Or with Simeon when hee had once gotten Christ into his armes Lord Now lettest thou thy servant depart in Peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation You hear how
David cryes Psal 42.1 2. As the Hart panteth for the Water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O Lord. My soul thirsteth for God when shall I come and appear before God! 2. Strong Faith hath strong desires that Christ would come to Judgement It is not well contented there should bee a distance betwixt Christ and it And therefore cryes with the Spouse Cant. 8.14 Make haste my Beloved VVhy are the Chariots so long in comming Though in another case it bee true that the Prophet saith Hee that beleeves makes not haste yet in this case Hee that beleeves most makes most haste Here are but some broken Rings passing betwixt Christ and us Here is but the contract and espousals made betwixt Christ and the soul But the day of Judgement is the great solemnization of the marriage As the espoused Bride longs for the marriage day so the soul that is espoused to Christ longs for the consummation of this blessed marriage Weak Faith desires the comming of Christ but yet would fain bee fitter and readier for him as the Wife desires the presence of her Husband but yet would have her house in order before hee come so they But a strong Faith hath all in readiness and desires nothing more than a consummation of these daies of sin and the eternal fruition and injoyment of her best Husband Use of Exhort Wee are now fallen at last upon the last use the Use of Exhortation wherin I shall exhort you 1. To get Faith 2. To exercise Faith 3. To grow in Faith 1. Let mee exhort you to labour to get Faith Let the chief of your pains and choice of your indeavours bee for the getting of Faith It is a thing to bee lamented how men do labour and toil for earthly things and how they neglect Heavenly Oh! That men should rise up early and go to bed late and eat the bread of carefulness for the compassing of earthly things But in the mean time the things of Heaven are neglected no man labours for them Faith and Grace are the great druggs of the World they lye upon our hands they will not off no man bids mony for them no man indeavours the compassing of them Oh! that men should care for the Body and neglect the Soul feed the Body and starve the Soul cloathe the Body and the Soul go naked That men should labour after other things and never set themselves to the indeavour and compassing of this one thing necessary Shall I urge some motives 1. Consider the greatness of this sin of Unbelief 2. The Necessity of Faith 3. The Excellency of it 1. Consider the greatness of the sin of Unbelief It is such a sin as offers injury and wrong to All-God It wrongs all the attributes of God As Faith doth honour all Gods attributes It is said of Abraham that Hee gave glory to God by beleeving Rom. 4.20 Hee honoured his Mercy his Wisdome his Power c. So on the contrary unbeleif is such a sin as wrongs all The Wisdome Power Mercy Truth and Justice of God 1. You wrong the Wisdome of God you slight and undervalue the Glorious thoughts of his Wisdome Rejecting the Counsel of God against your selves Luk. 7.30 2. You wrong the Mercy and Love of God even the most precious thoughts of Mercy that ever his breast did conceive towards sinful men the most glorious expression of love Angels wonder 3. You wrong the Power of God you straiten and limit his Power Psal 78.41 They tempted God and limited the holy one of Israel in the wilderness by their Unbelief So wee read in the Gospel Mark 6.5 Christ could not do any miracles in that place because of their Unbelief 4. You wrong his Truth As Hee that beleeves hath put to his seal that God is true that his Word is true his Promise true hee will save sinners so on the contrary Hee that beleeves not makes God a Lyar 1 Joh. 5.10 Indeed God is true and whether wee beleeve or beleeve not God is faithful as the Apostle hath it 2 Tim. 2.13 But inasmuch as in us lies wee make God untrue make him a Lyar. Our unbelief doth give God the real lye in all And of what a fearful nature then is Unbelief God hath promised the pardon of sin and hath annexed his Oath to his Promise and his Seal to his Oath and if wee beleeve not Uae nobis si nec juranti Deo credimus wee make him untrue in his Promise his Oath his Covenant c. 2. Unbelief is a Mother-sin it is a Root-sin the summum genus of sin such a sin as hath all sins folded up in the bowels of it a catholick sin And therefore the Apostle expresseth sinners of all sorts under this general Children of Unbelief which is as much as Children of all ungodliness such as had all sin in them Unbelief is the Womb of sin If you could rip up Unbelief you shall finde all sin in the bowels of it There is Pride Prophaneness Rebellion contempt of God contempt of his Word hardness of Heart love of the World Covetousness There is all all sins lye in the belly of this monster Unbelief An unbeleeving man is a proud Person an unbeleever is an hard-hearted person an unbeleeving person is a prophane spirited person a rebellious man hee is all Unbelief is both the Entertainer and Maintainer of sin It is not only the Mother but the Nurse of sin Every sin doth suck the dug of Unbelief It is a sin-succouring a sin-nourishing sin Not only the Breeder but the Feeder of sin Not only the Begetter but the Nourisher of sin It is such a Root as doth nourish and succour all the branches of sin There is nothing holds up the Kingdome of sin but Unbelief If men would beleeve the Kingdome of sin would totter and come down But whiles men beleeve not the hands of sin are strengthened the kingdome of sin is held up in us Sin goes to Unbelief for protection and there it hath it Unbelief will bee a shield to keep off any blow that is given to sin Sin goes to Unbelief for security and unbelief secures and warrants sin sin dwelleth where unbelief keeps the house sin sits down securely under the shadow of unbelief Let curse and Hell bee threatned against sin yet unbelief will secure it It makes but childes-play of all the threats of God Sin keeps the house and unbelief bars the door and keeps out all that would indanger sin It will secure it Sin goes to unbelief not only for defence but for maintenance and unbelief will maintain sin it will fetch in provision for lust It is not only the Entertainer but the Maintainer of sin It shall want no morsels unbelief will furnish it 3. Unbelief is a soul-killing-sin a Soul-damning-sin It is a controversy among many Whether Negative unbelief damn men But wee will not enter on the controversy For Positive unbelief of which nature ours is now
you all to tremble And do you think the word Promising Beseeching Intreating could bee so unprofitable if you had Faith to mingle with it to apply it to your selves It is because you bring no Faith to the Word that the Word of God is not a raising a quickening a comforting word to your souls That it is not an inlightening a convincing a converting and a reforming word So for the Sacraments Could these bee so unprofitable could you live under them and get no further victory of lust no more increase of Grace if you did bring and exercise Faith here to fetch from this treasure opened It is necessary to every Ordinance necessary to your Callings necessary to every condition Wee had need of Faith to go through all the conditions of this life Through Prosperity Adversity Sickness Health Losses and Injoyments As the Apostle said of Patience the Daughter so I say of Faith the Mother You have need of Faith that after yee have suffered the Will of God yee might inherit the Promise Heb. 10.36 If our condition bee prosperous wee had need of Faith to see all is for good and need of Faith to inable us to make a good use of it 1. You had need of Faith to see the Tenor of your injoyments That you injoy them not only out of leave but out of Love not only from a general Providence but from a particular Promise 2. You had need of Faith to see further than your present Estates to look upon these pence and farthings as earnests of better things as something in hand for those things in hope 3. You had need of Faith to see the heart of the giver in the gifts his Affection in the expression the God of Mercy in the injoyment of Mercy to taste the fountain in the stream An unbeleeving man hee is not able to clear this Hee may have prosperity in Judgement and heap up Riches to his own destruction All his Wealth may bee but fuel to that fire to make Hell hotter as Oile to kindle the flame of lust so fuel to increase the fire of torment hereafter So if our condition bee troublesome and afflicted wee had need of Faith to see all is for the best and need wee had of Faith to make the best use of it to humble us wean us winne us c. Faith can see good in all making all good to him though in themselves never so evil 3. There are Motives drawn from the excellency of Faith I shall say no more of it but what I have already said and you may read in these several Royalties of Faith already laid down The second branch of the Exhortation is to you that have Faith Let mee exhort you to exercise your Faith 1. In matter of Justification under the guilt of sin Trust in God for Pardon for Justification What though thy sins bee never so great Iniquity Transgression and sin sins of Nature sins of Course sins of Custome what though they bee bloody and crimson sins yet hee can pardon hee can forgive them Thy sins are great his Mercy is greater Thy sins are many His Mercies are more Thy sins have abounded His Mercy superabounds As thou hast been plentiful in sinning so hee is in Mercy for pardoning sin Isa 1.18 Though your sins were as crimson they shall bee made white as Snow though as red as Scarlet they shall bee as Wooll Isa 55.7 Let him return to the Lord and hee will have mercy upon him and to our God for hee will multiply pardons Though thy sins have weakened the Law and made that unable to save thee or do thee good Rom. 8 3. yet they have not weakened Christ and Grace Christ is able to save to the utmost even to the utmost of your sins the utmost of your doubts and fears Non datur summum malum There is neither quality nor quantity of sins that can pose the fulness of Christ There is not so much evil in sin in all thy sins as there is Mercy in him If thou canst beleeve all things are possible to the Beleever They are Christs own words Mark 9.23 It is possible for thy greatest rebellions to pass away as a cloud and to bee dispelled and scattered as a mist if thou canst beleeve Hee can drown Mountains as well as Molehils 2. Trust in him for Sanctification Christ is full of all Grace and Truth Joh. 1.14 hee is able to fill a World of hearts with Grace Thou desirest more love brokenness of heart sincerity fruitfulness Christ is able to afford thee all of all this 3. Trust in him for mortification of thy lusts and corruptions Go over to Christ for power to subdue your lusts and unruly corruptions If ever you would make any happy conquest of lust by Faith have recourse to Christ there you shall have strength against your unruly affections Christ is as able to cleanse as to clear to purge to subdue and take down the power of sin as to take away the guilt of sin 1. Wee have his Prayer to subdue and conquer our lusts to sanctifie our Natures John 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy Truth 2. Wee have his Promise I will subdue your iniquities Micah 7.19 Sin shall no more have dominion over you Rom. 6.14 3. Wee have his Power who is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3.21 Hee will trample Satan under our feet 4. Wee have his office and fidelity to appeal unto where wee may complain of our own flesh Hee undertook it as a part of his business to purge and cleanse his people Tit. 2.14 Hee came not only to bee a Redeemer but to bee a Refiner a Purifier Hee gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquitie and to cleanse and purifie us to bee his peculiar people zealous of good works 5. Wee have his Merits as a Sanctuary to fly to as to a Laver as to a Fountain set open to wash us from all sin filthiness and uncleanness Zach. 13.1 4. Exercise Faith in case of Difficulties 1. In case of Temptation Thou art it may bee in many Temptations Exercise Trust. Thou knowest who hath conquered Death Hell who hath overcome Principalities and Powers all the Powers of Darkness who hath led captivity captive and triumphed over all on the Cross Trust therefore in him 1. For support and strength in the Combat Hee hath promised My Grace shall bee sufficient 2 Cor. 12.9 God is faithful who will not suffer you to bee tempted above what you are able But will with the Temptation give an issue that wee may bee able to bear it 1 Cor. 10.13 2. Trust in him for deliverance out of it and victory over it That hee should conquer the strong man and snatch us as brands out of the fire and tread down Satan under our feet Rom. 16.20 Deliver us out of Temptations 2 Pet. 2.9 The Lord knâ—ws how to deliver his out of temptations 5. Exercise Trust in case of Desertions When God
seems to hide himself or withdraw himself from our souls withholding either his quickening or his comforting Spirit yet trust still You that walk in darknesse and see no light Trust in the Name of the Lord and rest upon your God Isa 50.10 Trust in God in the darkest night of Desertion cast anchor there as the Apostle did What though the soul were as dark as Hell yet God can make it as light as Heaven That God that caused light to shine out of darkness can also shine into our dark hearts What though there bee nothing within thee nothing without thee nothing round about thee to comfort thee yet there is something above thee Cast anchor in Heaven there 's an Almighty God to stay thy soul upon The Name of the Lord is a sufficient prop and rock to rest upon in any condition The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower the Righteous flye to it and is exalted Prov. 18.10 or is in safety There 's safety in the Tower when all other sorts and Bulwarks are gone when Out-works are taken and Walls are scaled there is yet safety in the Tower So here when all Out-works are gone when all our Evidences seem to bee gone when nothing appears to comfort us yet the Name of the Lord is a strong Tower to flye to a rock to rest on whereupon being exalted wee are delivered from danger and set out of gun-shot Hence wee read the Name of the Lord opposed to all staies and props which Faith had to rest on Isa 50.10 Hee that walks in darkness and hath no light let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God Here is such a bottom for Faith to rest upon that if Faith should fail All God would fail with it His Mercy His Truth His Wisdome His Power c. Let us then cast anchor here and wait till the time of refreshment come wait till all storms and clouds bee blown over Light is sown for the Righteous and joy for the upright in heart But wee must wait with the Husbandman with patience till the crop bee throughly ripe Thou must not look for clear day so soon as thou hast taken shelter nor a calm so soon as thou hast cast anchor but there thou must abide ride at anchor wait till the time of Refreshment shall come from the Lord. Godly security and apprehension of safety do not ever attend the act of Faith at the heels To trust is the act of Faith and apprehended security is the fruit of beleeving and therefore comes not till afterwards Here is thy comfort as was said before if thou diest whilst thou lyest at anchor having anchored on this rock thou dyest in the ship not in the Sea thou dyest in the Covenant and there is safety though the storm never cease Thy condition is safe and secure though thou do not yet apprehend the safety and security of it Never soul miscarried in a trusting way There is not one example in the Word no not one in the World where ever man trusted in God and was ashamed Psal 22.4 5. Our Fathers trusted in thee They trusted and were delivered God hath ingaged himself hee hath not only set the Sun and the Moon and Stars to pawn not only Heaven and Earth but even himself too Hee hath ingaged his Truth his Mercy his Promise his Wisdome and Power to save and keep them who trust in him All Heaven would sink if that soul that truly leans and trusts in God should miscarry 6. In case of outward Calamity not only Personal but National Other Nations God hath dealt withal as with Jerusalem Hee turned them upside down as a Dish and wiped them 2 King 21.13 Indeed wee have injoyed Peace and Plenty Peace with Plenty and Plenty with Peace How many ships deep laden with Mercy hath the stream of the Gospel brought to our shore But yet our sins may give us occasion to suspect the water heating for us Rods are preparing for us except wee return Would you then bee safe in the evil day Trust in the Lord. Hee that trusts in the Lord Mercy shall compass him about Psal 32.10 Hee shall bee begirt with Mercy Mercy shall imbrace him on every side As Faith doth compass Mercy so Mercy compasseth Faith As the Beleever imbraces Mercy so Mercy imbraces him Hee shall bee begirt with Mercy And not Mercy only but all Gods attributes are for him As whilst a man is an Unbeleever all God is against him All the Power of God the Wisdome of God the Justice of God is against him so if one bee a Beleever all is for him Faith makes all God ours his Mercy ours his Power his Justice c. As Jehoshaphat said to Ahab I am as thou art and my people as thy people 2 Chron. 18.3 So God to a beleeving soul all hee is or hath is for its use Faith doth initiate us into Covenant with God And there being a Covenant All God is for us Well then Let this exhort us all to bee resolute and peremptory in beleeving as Esther If I perish I perish in a beleeving way 3. Let this exhort us to grow up in Trust to grow to Perfection There is a Perfection 1. Of Nature 2. Of Degrees All Beleevers have the same Perfection of Faith for kind but all have not the same Perfection of degrees Well then You have that Perfection in the kind labour for this Perfection of degrees also Grow up from trust of Affiance to the trust of Assurance Let us not ever bee staggering and doubting but come to some grounded perswasion of Gods Love labour to bee rooted and grounded in love labour to work out all doubts and fears whereby wee dishonour God wrong our selves 1. Weakening our Faith 2. Hindring our growth 3. Disabling our selves to work 4. Discouraging our selves in our Christian way 5. Gratifying Satan And let us labour to grow up to higher measures in Beleeving Many incouragements might bee named 1. The more thou growest in Faith the more thou growest in the love and favour of God the more thou win'st his Love There is nothing in the World doth so much win Gods favour as a great degree of Faith Abraham was therefore called the friend of God And therefore though thou mayest bee saved with a less degree yet if thou wouldest grow more in Gods favour grow more in Faith 2. The more Faith the more Grace the more love of God the more Hope the more Patience the more Courage Obedience Repentance Humility Thou weak Christian if thou desirest more brokenness of heart for sin more love to God c. Why the way is to strengthen thy Faith 3. The more Faith the more spiritual Comfort the more Peace Joy and consolation These are the fruits of Faith 4. The more Faith the more strength to prevail with God in Prayer And therefore let this put you on to labour for the increase of Faith Grow from Faith to Faith In Temporals
wee are ready to look above us who is higher richer not below us who is poorer But in spirituals wee look below us not above us behind us not before us how many come short of our measure not how many do out-strip us And therefore wee content our selves with that wee have But let us labour to forget all behind and to presse forward to the mark of the Rich calling of God in Christ Jesus as the Apostle did If thy Faith bee true it is of a growing Nature Now to all this I will adde some means 1. To get Faith 2. To increase Faith 1. Means for the begetting of Faith 1. Labour to keep close to Faith-begetting Ordinances These are 1. The Word 2. Prayer 1. Frequent the powerful and sincere preaching of the word of God a Faith-begetting-means Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10.17 True Faith is the Daughter of Mercy For this end God hath set up this Ordinance in the Church that it might bee a means for the begetting Faith in the hearts of unbeleeving men And God doth often in the opening of Scripture open our understandings that wee may beleeve Luk. 24.45 John 20.31 And in the hearing of the Word keep thy Ear open to hear what God saith by his Spirit in the Gospel Faith comes not by mercy of the Law but of the Gospel And in the Gospel dwell upon Faith-breeding-Promises Indeed all the Promises tend to beget Faith but especially such wherein the good Will of God and the Heart of God is discovered such wherein the freeness and richness of Gods Promises are discovered Promises are of two sorts 1. Either such as are conditional granted upon the performance of some duty in us As such as these Beleeve and thou shalt bee saved Repent and thy sins shall bee forgiven thee 2. Or such as are made and performed in meer Mercy such wherein God promises to give that condition which hee requires to the Promise Wee have not only promises of giving pardon and remission to the beleeving sinner but wee have promises of bestowing Faith upon the unbeleeving sinner There are some Promises wherein wee are to bring Faith to the Promise As here whoever beleeves shall bee saved And There are some Promises that wee must go unto for Faith Some that wee must bring Faith to and some that wee must go to for Faith as those free and absolute Promises I will take away your stony hearts and give you hearts of flesh And such wherein hee hath said Hee will work all our works in us and for us Oh! say some If I had but so much Repentance so much brokenness of heart if but so much love then I could beleeve Alas wee must not bring our penny to the Promise We must beleeve and then all the rest will come in The way to have a broken heart is to beleeve The way to repent the way to love God 2. The second Ordinance is Prayer Though none of this Faith bee in Heaven yet all Faith comes from Heaven It is the gift of God And therefore wee are to seek to him for it Wee may joyn our selves to Faith-begetting-means But it is God that must make the means effectual for the working of Faith It is a grace above the power of man and therefore requires the power of God to work it I say 1. It requires the Power of God Nay not only the Power but 2. It requires the greatness of his Power Nay 3. The excess of greatness of his Power Nay 4. The mightiness of that excess Yea and 5. The working of all this mighty Power As the Apostle shews Ephes 1.19 where wee have all those five particulars set down And therefore there is need of calling in for all the help of God all the power of God for the working of it It is the hardest thing in the World to cast a man out of himself to cut a man off his own stock to throw a man off his own foundation And when that is done it is as hard a work to bring this man over to Christ to make a man to lye full and flat upon the promise of Grace for mercy And therefore how much need is there of stirring up our hearts How much need of calling in for the strength of God by prayer This is the second Prayer is a fruit of Faith and yet prayer is a means for the begetting of Faith As the Spirit is a fruit of Prayer so prayer is a fruit of the Spirit As you see Luk. 11.13 compared with Rom. 8.15 In the one place the Spirit is said to bee the fruit of Prayer Hee will give his Spirit to them that ask him In the other Prayer is the fruit of the Spirit You have received the Spirit of adoption whereby you cry abba Father 3. Have much to do with Faith-begetting-Company Faith-begetting-conference Where thou shalt hear the discoveries how God hath wrought Faith in them and how God doth work Faith in the hearts of unbeleeving men Did not our hearts burn within us when hee talked with us by the way and when hee opened to us the Scriptures said those two Disciples after their conference with Christ travelling in company together to Emmaus Luk. 24.32 The like of Aquilla and Priscilla with Apollo Act. 18.26 4. Dwel much upon and cherish Faith-begetting-considerations which are 1. Thoughts of our selves 2. Thoughts of God Thoughts of our emptiness and thoughts of Gods fulness Considerations of our own misery and thoughts of his love and mercy Omnes post te currimus audientes quod nullum spernis peccatorem Bernard Think how God hath dealt with you and how God hath dealt with other sinners who have come to him Such were Manasses Mary Paul Wee all run after thee O Lord seeing thou despisest no sinners Thou despisedst not the weeping Mary the begging Canaanite Et si his peccatoribus veniam dâ—disti paratus es nobis si modo impetramur the intreating Publican the confessing Theef the Adulterous Woman the denying Disciple the persecuting Paul And if thou refused'st not those thou wilt not reject mee If thou pardonedst them thou wilt pardon mee if I beleeve in thee But in particular cherish these three thoughts 1. The consideration of thy own vileness and emptiness thy sin and misery by reason of sin And this will drive thee out of thy self 2. The consideration of the fulness riches and al-sufficiency of Christ who hath all fulness in him who is able to save to the utmost a bottome able to hold up any weight of sin 3. The consideration of the freeness of Christ and the Promise God keeps open house invites intreats beseecheth us to beleeve and come in Ho! Every one that thirsteth come yee to the Waters come buy yee that have no silver and eat Come buy Wine and Milk without mony c. Isa 55 1. And Hee that comes to mee saith Christ Joh. 6.37 I will by no means cast out Let him that
will come whoever hath a mind let him come Bee his sins what they will bee for nature for number for continuance yet come and finde acceptance Who is a God like unto thee That pardonest iniquity and passest by the transgressions of the Remnant of thy heritage Thou reteinest not anger for ever for thou delightest to shew mercy Mic. 7.18 There are two things when men are humbled which keep them off from beleeving either 1. A doubt of Gods Power Lord if thou canst 2. A doubt of his Will Lord if thou wilt 1. Some doubt of his Power Oh! Is God able to pardon such a sinner as I have been Can hee pardon so great so bloudy so crimson sins If they were but such or such I should not doubt But being so great how can God pardon 2. Others doubt of his Will They will bee ready to say They know there is a fulness of Power in God hee is able to forgive my sins let them bee what they will bee hee hath a Sea of Mercy able to drown Mountains as well as Mole-hills But alas I doubt of his Will whether hee will shew mercy to such a sinner And therefore if ever you would beleeve you must get an heart convinced of the 1. Fulness and al-sufficiency of Christ to pardon 2. And of the freeness and willingness of Christ to shew mercy to such as do beleeve Dwell upon such considerations as these are being means to beget Faith When men are once convinced of the fulness of God they will come over to him if withall they bee fully convinced of their own need It is possible for a man to beleeve this fulness in Christ and yet not bee able to clear his acceptance Wee read of the Lepers who seeing nothing but death in their condition 2 King 7.3 4 resolved not to stay there but to go over to the Camp of the Assyrians If they save us alive say they wee shall live and if they kill us wee can but dye And there were many reasons which might cause them to expect no better but death from them 1. They were Jews and so their enemies 2. They might bee suspected for Spies 3. If not yet they were Lepers good for no service such as might infect the whole Camp Yet seeing their Misery in want of bread and knowing that there was bread to bee had they resolved to adventure So if there were but a through discovery 1. Of our own Misery a conviction of that 2. Of the fulness and all-sufficiency of Christ it were possible so far to prevail with a man as to throw himself on Christ though hee bee not yet able to clear whether God will ever accept him But when wee take that other consideration in and do think of the sweetness and freeness of Gods love and mercy to accept of poor returning sinners what should then hinder but the soul should come over and beleeve in him And therefore if ever thou wouldest have Faith cherish these thoughts dwell much upon such considerations as these Men say they would beleeve but in the mean time they never cherish such thoughts and considerations as may beget Faith If there bee any thing in the Word which makes against them this they will harbor and cherish they will feed upon the Wormwood and the Gall but if there bee any thing to nourish and cherish Faith this they will suppress They have an ear open to hear what the Law what sin what Satan saith but none to hear what God saith in the Promise They will promote the Devils cause his arguments sharpen his weapons against themselves But they will silence the pleadings of Gods Spirit in them They will look upon the dark side of the Cloud not the light side The threatnings of the Law they will apply and set on with all their might But if Promises come they finde no acceptance with them They will nourish considerations of their sins their guilt their misery by reason of sin and aggravate it to the utmost but the thoughts of Gods Love of the freeness of his Mercy of the promises of pardoning sins these they reject My Brethren This is not the way to get Faith If ever you would beleeve you must study the freeness of Gods Mercy in Christ his willingness to pardon and forgive poor sinners if they come over to him 2. The second means for the strengthening of Faith are these 1. Make use of the Ordinances 1. The Word 2. The Sacraments 3. Prayer 1. The Word Wee say The same way things are begotten the same way they are nourished Corpora naturalia eodem modo quo generantur nutriuntur Faith is begotten by the Word and Faith is nourished by the Word It is both the Begetter and the Nourisher both the Breeder and the Feeder of Faith Rom. 15.4 1 Joh. 4. 2. The Sacraments which were instituted and set up for this end to increase your Faith God knew hee had to deal with unbeleeving persons and therefore hee doth not only give the Promise his Covenant and Oath for the confirmation of us but to all these hee annexed his Seal the Sacraments Mountains upon Mountains to confirm us A man would not desire so much of any honest man as God hath here condiscended to for the confirmation of our Faith One would have thought his bare word had been enough considering the Truth and sufficiency of the Person that spake it But hee hath given his Oath Nay but hee rested not there but his Seal too The Sacraments And therefore make use of them 3. Bee much in Prayer that God would strengthen and increase thy Faith Prayer is the fuel of Faith the food of Faith A man may as well live without meat as Faith without Prayer As the soul lives by Faith so Faith lives by Prayer Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith again As there is a Communion among the Ordinances every Ordinance doth help another The Word helps Prayer and Prayer helps the Word So there 's a Communion between Ordinances and Graces Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith Prayer cannot say of Faith I have no need of thee nor Faith of Prayer What need have I of thee As there is a mutual dependence of one Christian on another a means to nourish Communion as Christians help one another One may say Help my Zeal and I will increase thy knowledge strengthen my Faith and I will inflame or kindle thy affections so here There is a mutual dependence between Faith and Prayer Faith saith to Prayer Help mee to beleeve and I will help thee to pray And Prayer to Faith Help mee to pray and I will help thee to beleeve Such a Communion there is And therefore bee much in prayer for strength 4. Live much in the Heaven of the Promise Feed upon the freeness and sweetness and fatness of the Promise Delight your selves in fatness Let your way lye much above live much out of your selves This is your way A man
earth fainteth not neither is weary hee giveth power to the faint c. Do you doubt of his power why hee is the everlasting God the Lord the Creator of the ends of the earth and hee can pardon c. What though thy sins bee great yet hee tells thee hee will abundantly pardon Isa 55.7 8 9. Let the wicked man forsake his wayes and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and hee will have mercy upon him and to our God for hee will abundantly pardon the word is multiply to pardon as thou hast to sin But you will say how can this bee this is far above the thoughts of a Creature Why but saith hee in the next verse My thoughts are not as your thoughts neither are your waies my wayes saith the Lord for as the Heavens are higher than the earth so are my wayes higher than your wayes and my thoughts than your thoughts But alas there are such and such conditions required Why but saith hee Ho! every one that thirsteth come Revel 22.17 Do you doubt of his will Why hee tells you It is not the will of your heavenly Father that any of these little ones should perish Matth. 18.14 You think it is but Christ saith it is not hee knows the thoughts hee thinks to thee they are thoughts of peace and not of evill c. Jer. 29.11 And how doth hee say As I live I do not delight in the death of him that dyes turn you turn you and live Oh why will yee dye Ezek. 18.31 32. And God would have all men saved by comming to the Knowledge c. 1 Tim. 2.4 Yea but this Covenant is not firm I may sin away mine own mercy See what God saith Isa 54.10 the Mountains shall depart and the hills shall bee removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the Covenant of my Peace bee removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee It is more firm than the Covenant of the day and night Jer. 33.20 21. can a Woman forget her sucking child that shee should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may forget yet will not I forget thee Isa 49.15 This with abundance such like Rhetorick God useth to draw a poor humbled doubting sinner to beleeve and why should God use such Rhetorick to perswade with men if it were so easy a matter as men make it to beleeve This shews the difficulty of Faith 4. If you consider the way that God takes to confirm the Covenant of mercy and pardon to Beleevers Hee gives you his Promise his Oath his Seal heaps Mountains upon Mountains and all to confirm it hee layes Heaven and Earth at stake nay hee pawns his Truth his very being and all to perswade with unbeleeving men to beleeve God needed not to do this in respect of himself his purpose was as good as his promise his Promise as good as his oath his oath as firm as his seal hee needed not to do this in respect of himself as if that his oath would binde him more than his promise But God hath done this in respect of us to strengthen our Faith that wee might bee stedfast in God when wee stagger in our selves that wee might bee strong in God when weak in our selves As the Apostle in Heb. 6.16 17 18. That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye c. God hath thus condescended to all this to beget Faith in unbeleevers that if his promise would not perswade with you then his oath if not that yet his seal The great Seal of Heaven You could not desire more of the most faithless and dishonest man in the World than God hath condescended to who is yet the faithfull and unchangeable God You have a Promise will not that do Vae nobis si nec juranti Deo tredimus you would have an Oath will not that do you have a Seal witness all And what doth all this but plainly demonstrate the greatness of the difficulty to beleeve Frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciâ—ra Wee say it is in vain to do that by more which may bee as well done by lesse If Promise would have done it the Oath added had been in vain but shall wee think that any thing of this was in vain that wee cannot Entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate And was all this then required would no lesse serve the turn Tell mee then whether this do not fully enough demonstrate the difficulty of Faith Thou that thinkest Faith so easy thou that never found the difficulty of it mayest well think thou hast no Faith In this God shews the difficulty of beleeving that his Promise his Oath c. are all ingaged to work and confirm it 5. If you consider the complaint of the Preacher You hear Isaiah complaining Isa 53.1 Who hath beleeved our report or our Doctrin as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may import And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed And Christ complains of the same Joh. 12.37 38. Though hee had done so many miracles before them yet they beleeved not on him that the saying of the Prophet might bee fulfilled viz. who hath beleeved our report And Paul hee takes up the same complaint as you see at large Rom. 10.16 17 18 c. And wee our selves may take up the same complaint Wee have spent our strength in vain and our labour for nought Though wee have declared the wonderfull things of the Gospel the freeness vastness greatness of the love of Christ the preciousness of Promises yet men beleeve not Oh that I could not complain of those c how many offers of Christ have you had how many tenders of mercy How often hath Christ unbowel'd himself to your souls in the Promise how often hath God invited intreated beseeched called Hoe every one that thirsteth come But yet senselesse people do not thirst and thirsty people do not come c. Oh! here is enough to demonstrate that wee are slow of heart to beleeve 2. Wee come to the second What are the grounds c. And wee will reduce them to these three general heads 1. There are some grounds from Satan 2. Some from our selves 3. Some which are taken from others which do foreslow the heart from beleeving in the Promise You must know I speak of men awakened and convinced of their miserable condition not such as go on with a high hand in their sins I speak of men humbled 1. Then the reasons or grounds why wee are so slow c. From Satan are the delusions and false suggestions of Satan You must know there are two main stratagems which hold up Satans Kingdome in the World 1. Is to keep presumptuous sinners from being humbled 2. The other is to keep humbled sinners from beleeving The first of these is by keeping of presumptuous sinners from being
humbled which hee doth these wayes 1. Either by perswading them they are no sins they live in and here hee tells the Prodigall hee is but liberal the drunkard hee is but sociable the covetous person hee is but frugal the proud person hee is but comely and handsome c. wee say nullam vitium sine patrocinio Sauls Covetousness in sparing the best of the flock t was his devotion 't was his zeal to Sacrifice the Pharisees Covetousness had an act of devotion to patronize or set it off with So Jezabel paints her face to make it seem comely 2. Or else if hee cannot perswade them to that that they are no sins but conscience is inlightened and quickned and checks him for them hee cannot stand against his own light nor under his own reproofs Then hee perswades them they are but veniall and small sins or if great yet pardonable nay and that at any time as the Theef upon the Cross what sayes hee God is mercifull and if but at the last thou canst say God bee mercifull to mee Lord have mercy upon mee why then all is well there is no doubt of mercy And because men are better versed in the Service-book than in the Scripture perhaps hee will cite a Text out there At what time soever a sinner c. This is the first stratagem to keep presumptuous sinners from being humbled And if hee prevail not then but that notwithstanding all these good words a soul is convinced of sin and humbled for it then hee hath a second 2. A second Stratagem and that is to keep humbled sinners from beleeving and that hee doth these wayes 1. Hee labours to have them despair of a pardon and that upon one of these two grounds 1. Hee will now tell you either that your sins are greater than can bee pardoned As Cain Gen. 4.13 So it is in the Original my sins are greater than can bee pardoned Hee will so aggravate mens sins and heighten mens trespasses and so lessen and streighten Gods mercy that hee will indeavour to perswade their sins are above a pardon they are greater than Gods mercie to pardon and that is the first way which hee deals with ignorant consciences in trouble 2. Or if hee cannot perswade in that then hee hath another way to bring men to despair and that is from the will of God Why will hee say though thy sins are not greater than God can pardon yet they are greater than God will pardon hee will never bee mercifull to such a wretch as thou hast been dost thou think God will ever shew mercy to such a vile sinner as thou hast been what one who hath sinned against such a light such means such mercies and committed so horrible sins and continued in them And thus hee aggravates sin As before hee lessened sin all hee could to keep men from being humbled so now hee aggravates sin all hee can to keep men from beleeving As before hee inlarged Gods mercy above the bounds of the Law now hee inlargeth Gods Justice above the bounds of the Gospel Before hee presented to you Gods mercy in a false glass to make you presume And now hee presents Gods Justice to you in a false glass to make you despair And indeed of the two hee is better able to set out Gods Justice than his Mercy because hee feels the one and knows what it is but hee shall never taste of the other hee can therefore better present Gods Justice as it is than Gods Mercy as it is 2. Or if hee cannot bring men to despair upon these grounds yet another stratagem hee hath to keep men from beleeving 3. And that is thirdly by telling them they are not disposed and fitted for mercy you are not broken for sin you do not love God c. And in this stratagem hee labours to hinder us by telling us wee want such dispositions as follow beleeving more than such as go before Faith yet hee oftentimes useth the other and tells men they are not humbled enough not broken enough before they were humbled then any thing would serve the turn to dispose and fit them for Mercy and now they are humbled hee tells them they are never humbled enough Before a sigh in a good mood was enough to qualifie them for Mercy and the Promise Now sighs groans tears daily breakings under the burthen of sin is all nothing all is too little Indeed hee fain would have thee to lye in Hell and stay there or if hee doth not object against thy soul the want of humiliation Why then hee will tell thee thou wants Faith if thou had'st Faith then thou might go over to the promise but thou wants Faith and what doth hee mean by that why that is thou wants assurance hee would put men to assurance before they do beleeve hee would put them to the evidence Christ is their Saviour before hee suffer them to rest upon Christ as a Saviour Or if not this yet hee will tell thee thou want'st such and such dispositions before thou can beleeve hee would fain have men either to bring something of their own to the Promise or hee would have men to expect these things before they go to the Promise when indeed these things follow upon the souls closing with the Promise Thus doth Satan keep many poor souls in a hoodwinkt condition and hinders them from going over to Christ and the Promise And that is the first 2. The second ground why men are so slow to beleeve and that is taken from themselves 1. It doth arise from their ignorance they know not the tenor of the Covenant the tearms of Mercy Men brought out of a sinfull condition once awakened to see their sins can think of nothing but working themselves to life licking themselves whole therefore they fall upon prayers duties as I have sometimes told you as so many bribes for a pardon as so many pennies laid out for the purchase of Mercy Wee run naturally to the Covenant of works but wee must bee drawn before wee can go to the Covenant of Grace No man can come except c. Joh. 6.44 A convinced man runs to the Covenant of works but hee must bee a converted man that goes truly to the Covenant of Grace 2. It doth arise from our pride often that wee will not take Mercy gratis wee will not deny our selves and close with Mercy as God tenders it You have a strange phrase in Rom 10.3 they would not submit to the Righteousness of Faith here are proud hearts indeed that it should bee matter of submission for a condemned man to take a pardon a wounded man to take a plaister a sick man a cordiall a naked man cloathing a lost sinner a Saviour One would think this is strange that it should bee a matter of submission to accept of the Righteousness of Christ to bee saved But wee like well of the Spiders motto mihi solo debeo I owe all to my self and would
mayest not wound him If hee cannot make thee his friend yet if hee can weaken his adversary If hee cannot take away thy weapon yet if hee can weaken thy arm or blunt thy weapon hee is content If hee cannot destroy thy Faith yet if hee can weaken thy Faith if not hurt thy Faith yet if hee can keep thy Faith from hurting him by weakening of it for every act of Faith wounds Satan bindes him in chains c. And therefore if hee can prevail to keep thee from beleeving or if hee can weaken and wound thy Faith hee is well contented this gratifieth him What can gratifie him more than to make a Pageant of all the great things of God than to make all these great things like a dream What can gratifie him more than to keep thy soul at a distance from Christ and the Promise what can pleasure him more than to make a soul look upon God as a God of terror and wrath What more than to keep the soul upon racks upon fears discouragements and disquiets this is some of his own spirit of darkness Nay what can gratifie him more than to keep a soul in a dead unserviceable condition make a man unfit to live unfit to dye unfit for any service to God and man Why all this doth Satan do if hee can but prevail to keep thy soul from Christ at distance from the Promise as I could shew you at large c. The way Satan doth it is by setting out sin Though I would bee willing to see sin yet I am not willing to see sin in the Devils glass I am not willing to see sin when Satan discovers sin Satan hath two glasses wherein hee discovers sin 1. Hee hath a lessening or extenuating glass wherein hee discovers sin to wicked men which makes them appear less than they are great sins small sins infirmities and lesser sins to bee no sins 2. And Satan hath a multiplying or magnifying glass wherein hee discovers sin to them when cast down and extends it not only above the greatness of sin but of mercy also As I would have my eyes broad and open to see sin when God discovers it So I would shut mine eyes when Satan discovers sin Quest But how shall I know when God and when Satan discovers sin 1. When God discovers sin hee keeps up the apprehensions of mercy above the greatness of sin But when Satan discovers sin hee heightens sin above the riches of mercy As you see in Cain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my sin is greater than can bee pardoned 2. When God discovers sin he doth not bleere but rather clear the eye of Faith to the beholding of Christ hee makes the soul fitter to see Christ doth not hinder but helpeth the soul in sight of Christ But when Satan discovers sin hee doth ever bleer and blinde the eye of Faith from the beholding of Mercy either hee discovers the malady and conceals the remedy or hee holds the eye of Faith that it cannot look upon Christ for mercy Hee puts the soul into a present incapacity to look up to God for mercy hee stings but holds not up the brazen Serpent 3. When God discovers sin it is to drive us out of our selves and to draw us unto Christ and the Promise makes the Law a Schoolmaster c. Gal. 3.24 but Satans discoveries of sin sets us further off from Christ 4. When God discovers sin it is to make the soul more in love with Christ to prize Christ more to advance him more to love him and desire him more It is such a discovery that makes the soul to run to the remedy But when Satan discovers sin it is to make us more affraid of Christ to flye from Christ as Adam never the more to desire him 5. When God discovers sin hee humbles the soul under the sight of it hee makes a man to abhor himself makes sin hatefull to him But when Satan discovers sin it is to discourage us not to humble us hee may make sin fearful but never makes it hateful Besides as you may know by the manner and the end of the discovery whether Gods or no. So by the time and temper wee are in Satan discovers sin when hee hath gotten the soul at an advantage he comes upon us as Simeon upon the Shechemites when they were sore Gen. 34. when hee hath gotten the hill and the wind on us when wee are in some sad condition when in temptation when in darkness when in some distresses when wee are drawn from our succours It is a passage of one that Satan when hee discovers sin and so hee openeth our wound hee gets us into the wilderness into the cold from our friends succours c. But when the Spirit of God openeth our wounds it is by the fire friends about us cordials near us c. But I think the difference is rather to bee taken from the manner of the discovery than from the end and effects of it Well then that is a sinfull looking on sin 1. Which heightened sin above the riches of mercy 2. Which bleereth and blindeth the eye of Faith from beholding Christ and the Promise 3. Which sets the soul at a farther distance from Christ 4. Which makes the soul affraid of Christ 5. Which discourageth the soul under sight of it And hee that thus looks upon sin in Satans glass no marvel if hee bee slow to beleeve and to come over to the Promise 7. When Satan discovers sin hee rather makes a malady than discovers a malady never discovereth one wound but makes another never discovereth a sin but takes a course that that discovery shall bee sinfull 3. Thirdly as you wrong God and gratifie Satan so you injure your own souls 1. You rob your selves of comfort and keep your selves in unnecessary racks and troubles and bondage And this is a great evil Nature cannot subsist without comfort comfort is to the soul what the soul is to the body a man cannot live without it and it puts grace to it too though for a time Grace may live and act strongly in the want of comfort yet when troubles continue and a man walks long without comfort it will put Grace to it to the utmost to subsist Oh what abundance of comfort what floods of consolation what peace what joy dost thou rob thy self of in thy standing off 2. You hinder your souls of Grace Quantum credimus tantum amamus Grace keeps a proportion with Faith So much Faith so much Grace c. keep down Faith and all Grace is kept down and where Faith stirs all the wheels move it s the spring of motion the Master-wheel Faith is the stomack which receives all for the nourishment of the whole As all the members depend upon the stomack so all the Graces upon Faith It is a Mediatour to our Mediatour it fetcheth in provision to the soul all depends upon it If Grace be weak Faith goes over to Christ
Pharisees 1. They did something yea they did much They fasted they prayed they paid Tithes of all that they had c. But they did not all There were other Commands which they gave liberty to themselves in They could oppress defraud bee unjust And they failed in the Second too That their Obedience did not extend it self to the spiritualness of any command As you see Christ chargeth them Matth. 5.21 They did not Murder they did not commit Adultery but they gave way to Unjust Anger to Adulterous Thoughts Unchast Glances Contemplative Wickedness Speculative Uncleanness c. And so in all the rest This is the first maim in his Obedience 2. Hee is faulty in the Manner of his Obedience Though for the Matter of his Obedience hee do not fail Hee doth Pray Hear do Duties which others do yet hee is faulty in the Manner of his Obedience Hee doth not pray in Faith pray with affections Hee confesseth sin but a broken spirit doth not run through the confession of sin His heart is never touched with sin Hee prayes for Grace but his spirit is never touched with the Beauties of Grace nor carryed after it with desires for it Hee looks perhaps to the Matter but neglects the Manner Hee looks after the substance but neglects the Circumstances This is the difference between the gross Hypocrite and the close Hypocrite The gross Hypocrite looks after the Circumstance not after the Substance Though indeed they are not such Circumstances as these are they are but outward not inward The close Hypocrite hee looks after the Substance but neglects the Circumstances Hee prayes but never mindes to pray in Faith If a man pray and pray not fervently if hee hear and hear not faithfully if hee obey and obey not willingly if hee shew Mercy and not chearfully if hee keep the Sabbath and not with delight all his services are nothing worth 3. Hee is faulty in his Aims and Ends His Ends are corrupt His Aime is as his own Ends his own Profit Gain Pride Ostentation Himself is the end of his Obedience some way or other A man never wrought out of himself must needs work to himself And obedience which ariseth from a mans self is terminated in a mans self again It must bee a Principle from Christ which carries the soul to Christ A man can go no higher than his Principle And therefore having Principles no higher than himself his Obedience must needs bee terminated in himself As all Rivers they run to the Sea They came from the Sea and therefore return back again to the Sea so all those duties which arise from a mans self must needs bee finished in himself Such a man hee is the God himself whom hee serves Hee makes himself the end of all his service though hee look as far as the end even to Heaven in his service Here then is the third thing wherein hee is faulty Hee makes himself the end of all his Obedience Hee hath not a single Eye to the Glory of God His service is neither begun in God nor wrought by God nor finished to God Neither begun by his Grace nor finished to his Glory 4. Hee is faulty in this that hee rests upon what hee doth and looks no higher Hee looks upon all hee doth as upon so many bribes for a pardon as so much good monies laid out for Heaven Hee weaves a web of Righteousness to cloathe himself withall Hee never looks out for another Righteousness to bee justified by but rests upon that which hee himself hath wrought Which being not only imperfect but impure a rag and a filthy rag hee must needs miscarry in it If this had been enough to have brought men to Heaven God might have spared a great deal of labour Christ a great deal of blood by giving man ability to do duties and then all had been done But there was an infinit wrath to bee born an infinite justice to bee satisfied which none but Christ can do And here you see the Scribes and Pharisees failed also They did much but they looked out for no other Righteousness than their own In this they rested for Life and Justification 5. They make duty it self their Obedience which should quicken their Obedience They rest upon the bare performance of the duty and never look to the end of Duty So they rest upon the bridge and never go over Duty serves an unsound spirit for Obedience But Duty doth but quicken and strengthen and inable a godly man to Obedience 6. But the sixth and the main Crack is here These spiritual Performances do not arise from spiritual Principles from an heart principled from above from an heart universally sanctified Here is the Bane of all Here are new works but an old heart New Practises but a mans old Principles You see this Isa 1.10 to 16. But I will now instance in the fifteenth only When you spread forth your hands to Heaven I will hide my eyes and when you make many Prayers when you abound in duty adding Prayer to Prayer as the Word is I will not hear Your hands are full of blood They were unregenerate unsanctified They were new practises but the old heart still The like you see of the Scribes and Pharisees They fasted prayed did much in the wayes of God But their hearts were not changed they were unregenerate still were not principled from above This you see plain Joh. 3. where Nicodemus one of the chief of the Pharisees knew not yet what Regeneration meant Christ tells him of Regeneration and hee replies How is it possible that a man should bee born again when hee is old Can hee enter into his Mothers womb again By which you see though hee did all those things reported of the Pharisees as Fasting Praying Tithing c. yet â—â—s hee a stranger to this great work of Regeneration change of Nature hee knew not what it meant So that you see here is the great fault of all A man walks in new Practises with an old Heart an Heart never truly throughly spiritually changed There is a fourefold Change 1. A change from good to evil This is a fearfull change 2. A change from evil to good This is a blessed change 3. A change from evil to evil from one to another 4. A change from some evil to some good I will express it in these four words There is 1. A Moral Change 2. A Partial Change 3. A Formal Change 4. A Spiritual Change 1. There is a meer Moral Change When a man changeth from sinfull notorious wayes to Morality Temperance Justice Equity Patience Contentation And sticks there and goes no further And here thousands who lye in the bosome of the Church stick and perish 2. There is a Partial Change wherein men leave some particular sins and practise some particular duties This is a particular Conversion When men were Drunkards Swearers unclean persons c. And now are perswaded to leave these particular sins and betake
sinne and therefore because hee sins in aeterno sui hee is punished in eterno Dei. So I may say of a godly man if hee should live for ever hee would sorrow for ever His sorrow is infinite in desire and affection though finite in the act and expression of it And indeed a bounded a stinted sorrow is no sorrow Hee whose heart and eyes do dry up together whose expression in tears and affections of sorrow do end together though hee had wept a sea of tears hee hath not yet mourned for sin As I told you last day that a Sincere heart doth rise up praying from Prayer so hee goes away weeping from weeping with a weeping heart when his eyes are dry Godly sorrow hath affections of mourning when the expressions of mourning ceaseth because every drop of tears doth arise from a sea of tears within As every act of faith doth arise from a beleeving disposition a habit of faith within so every expression of sorrow from an affection of sorrow in the spirit every drop of tears from a spring and fountain of tears within the soul Hence wee read 1 Sam. cap. 7. vers 6. where their sorrow is expressed by this phrase They drew water as out of a well as out of a spring and poured out before the Lord Their eyes did not empty so fast as their heart filled Their eyes could not poure it forth so fast as their hearts did yeild it up All their expressions of mourning were less than their affections of mourning And shall I now tell you though your sorrow may bee sincere and yet not proportionable to the measure of sin yet your sorrow cannot bee sincere if not proportionable to the merit of Sin if it be not infinite sorrow infinite I say in the desire and affection though not in the act and expression And alas how few there are Sincere mourners you that are sturdy Sinners you dry eyed Sinners you hard hearted Sinners when was the time you have thus mourned for sin wee see your sinnings every day but who hears of your repentings wee hear of your drunkennesse your swearing your lying your gaming your dicing and revelling even till the morning watch upon the Lords day but wee hear not of your repentings In stead of that wee hear of your new sinning you adde Sin to Sin not repenting to sinning As it was said of Herod that hee added this to all his wickedness that hee shut up John in Prison this was the great aggravation of his sin this fill'd his measure hee added this to all So there are some who will adde this to all their sins that adde this to all their drunkenness their swearing gaming revelling to persecute and evilly intreat those who are Gods messengers to them Take heed of thus adding drunkennesse to thirst and malice and rage to drunkennesse lest Gods wrath and jealousie smoak against such excesses Deut. 29.19 20. 5 Character Sincere mourning is a faithfull mourning So much faith so much sincere mourning so much godly sorrow They are like the fountain and the flood the one arises no higher than the other In respect of donation faith and repentance are infused at the same instant of time though in respect of manifestation repentance goes before faith Faith being like the sap which is hid in the root more secret in the heart and repentance like the bud which is sooner discerned than faith both to a mans own self and others Yet in respect of the order of nature faith doth necessarily goe before repentance Nemo potâ—st agere paenitentiam nisi qui sperat de indulgentia As a legall faith before a legall sorrow so an evangelicall faith before an evangelicall sorrow No man can truely repent but hee who hath some hopes of pardon Well then sincere Repentance is a faithful Repentance such a Repentance as doth arise from Faith by which I mean not a legal Faith whereby a man beleeves the threatnings of the Law to bee true and hee guilty This is too low This may breed a vexing tumultuous turbulent slavish sorrow but not a godly sweet evangelical mourning But I mean here an evangelical Faith and yet not the Faith of assurance or the Faith of evidence this is too high There may bee godly sorrow sincere mourning in that soul which yet for the present wants the evidence and assurance of Gods love in Christ But such a Faith I mean which is the lowest spring of godly sorrow Whereby the soul is perswaded 1. Of the all-sufficiency of Gods Mercy and Christs Merits for the pardoning of sin 2. Of the freeness and willingness of God to pardon sin 3. And then throws it self upon the Mercy of God the grace of Christ for pardon and forgiveness Which though it appear to bee small yet it will cost you something before ever you reach this But now the mourning of an Hypocrite doth not arise from Faith but from sense either from some present sting or trouble of conscience or from some outward pressures upon the body And hence it comes to pass that his sorrow is not a constant sorrow while the trouble lasts the weight is upon him so long hee howles and cryes but if once the trouble bee blown over the Sky clears his mourning is done As Job saith of his praying will hee pray alwayes hee will not So I may say of his mourning will hee mourn alwayes hee will not When conscience wrings him when the heart is overwhelmed with trouble then hee falls a howling and crying but when the trouble is over hee wipes his eyes and mourns no more But now again hee whose sorrow doth arise from Faith hee doth not only mourn when conscience is troubled but when conscience is at peace Nay when the heart is fullest of peace and joy the eyes are biggest with tears when the pearle of joy is in the heart the dew of tears is in the eyes I say when the soul hath most assurance of Gods love then will Faith produce child-like arguments to raise up the springs of sorrows in us to open all the fountains of tears in the soul Oh will the soul say hath God been so mercifull and am I so sinfull Hath hee been so good to mee and I so evil to him As the frowns of God do break the heart so the smiles of God do melt and dissolve it 6. Character A sincere mourning is a filial mourning There are the mournings of a son and the mournings of a slave the one doth arise from fear the other from love love 1. Of God to the soul 2. Of the soul to God 1. From the consideration of Gods love to the soul When the soul sits down and recounts the immensity greatness of Gods love to it when it takes a view of what God might have done with it and what God hath done with it how justly hee might have damned the soul and how mercifully hee hath saved the soul what cost what care what pains
a nobis accipiendo sed omnia nobis promittendâ— Aug. because he hath ingaged himself to us by many great and precious Promises Gods Promises are ingagements upon him God hath made himself our Debter Not by receiving any thing from us but by promising all things to us God hath made many precious promises to us 1 Promises of Preservation Isa 33.16 Hee shall dwell on high his place of defence shall bee the munition of rocks bread shall bee given to him his waters shall bee sure A Promise than which I know none more full in the Book of God wherein all Objections that a fearful heart might raise are answered and taken away Let us view it over 1 Hee shall dwell on high If hee were among his enemies hee might bee in danger But hee shall dwel on high nay on heights as the Word is many Ascents many Heights above the reach of danger out of Gun-shot 2 But suppose they could raise up Mounts and come as high as hee yet they shall not hurt him Hee is in a place of defence 3 But what then His defence is not so strong but it may bee broken thorough No saith the Text that is impossible for his place of defence shall bee the Munitions of Rocks many Rocks and many Munitions of Rocks and therefore impregnable to guard him 4 Why but hee may bee starved out his supply will not alway last There is no plowing and sowing upon Rocks hee may bee famisht out No saith the Text. Bread shall bee given him Hee shall bee provided for 5 But what shall wee do for Water There is no Water to be had out of Rocks You see it was that which posed the Faith of Moses to fetch Water out of a Rock But saith the Text hee shall have Water too 6 Yea but his Water may be spent It will not alway last No saith the Text His Waters shall be sure never failing Waters sure Waters Again in the same Chapter vers 21. The Lord will bee to us a place of broad Rivers and streams wherein shall go no Gallie with Oares nor shall gallant ship pass thereby Shewing the defence God would bee to his People Hee will bee a Stream nay a River between us and our enemies And a broad River a River that cannot bee passed over Why but they may use Oares No saith the Lord Hee will bee a River wherein no Gally with Oares shall pass But a Ship may No nor gallant ship shall pass thereby for the Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King hee will save us But what if any ship should attempt You shall see vers 23. God will untackle them Thy tacklings are loosed they could not well strengthen their Mast they could not spread the saile 2. And as hee hath made promises of Preservation from So hee hath made promises of Deliverance out of trouble Psal 34.19 Many are the troubles of the Righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all So Psal 50.15 Call upon mee in the time of trouble I will deliver thee So Psal 91.15 I will bee with him in trouble and will deliver him So Isa 54.17 No weapon formed against thee shall prosper And an excellent promise wee have Isa 43.3 4. I gave Egypt for thy ransome Ethiopia and Seba for thee God speaks here as the Lord and Possessor of the whole Earth Egypt was his and Ethiopia was his and both these hee gave for to redeem his Church The Church was in bondage and captivity you know in Egypt And God gave Egypt for her ransome And how because shee could not bee ransomed and delivered without the loss of Egypt Therefore God gave Egypt for her That is hee would rather lose all the Land of Egypt than his people should not bee ransomed hee would sink the whole Kingdome of Egypt if it stood betwixt his People and Deliverance And so it follows in the 4. vers I have loved thee therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life As if hee had said I love thee thou art more dear to mee than all the World and I do not stick to give the lives of thousands to uphold thine Multitudes shall bee destroyed rather than thou shalt not bee preserved I love thee and therefore I will give men for thee Thus you see God is ingaged to do wonderful things for his Church because of his Promise That love which hath moved him to make these precious promises to us will never give him rest till it hath caused him to make good those promises which hee hath made 3. A third loving Ingagement which causes God to do wonders for his People is because they trust in him Trust is a kinde of Ingagement upon a man although hee had made no promise A man will not deceive another who reposeth his whole trust in him though hee were not ingaged by Promise There is a kinde of Ingagement in Trust it self And shall wee then think that God will when hee hath made so many precious promises to us This were the greatest deceit in the World a Soul-deceit If God should call us off from all other succours from other shelters and tell us that if wee will trust in him hee will bee our succour our security And should God fail the soul this were an undoing-deceit the greatest deceit in the World No my Brethren there was never man who laid up his confidence in God but hee found God to bee that to him which hee expected Faith ingageth all the Power all the Wisdome all the Mercy and Truth of God to help us And if the Power Wisdome c. of God can do wonders for thee God will then do wonders for thee if thou beleeve in him Beleeve saith Christ and thou shalt see the wondrous works of God 4. A fourth Ingagement which causeth God to do wonders for his People is because they seeke him Hee doth not say to the seed of Jacob seek yee mee in vain Hee hath stiled himself The God hearing prayers and bids us call upon him in the day of trouble and hee will hear The Prayers of Gods People they are as so many Ingagements upon God to move him to do for them Faith and Prayer will set All-God awork It will set the Power Wisdome Mercy of God a work for you Faith and Prayer will remove Mountains Nothing shall bee too hard for that people to do whose hearts and spirits God holds up to beleeve and to pray Bee it to thee even as thou wilt Luther having been in his study and earnest with the Lord about the business of the Church receiving a gracious answer hee comes down and cryes Wee have overcome the day is ours And so it fell out saith the story For the Church prevailed There is a kinde of Omnipotency in Faith and Prayer because these two set the Omnipotent God and the Omnipotency of the Power of the Omnipotent God to work for us And I beleeve
success They said they would Pursue they would overtake they would divide the spoil their Lust should bee satisfied on them c. But God shews a Wonder and layes all their Pride and all their hopes in the dust what began in pride did end in shame It was the best speech that Ahab ever spake when Benhadad made such a vain boast that the dust of Samaria should not serve for handfuls of them who followed him Tell him saith Ahab Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as hee that putteth it off God shews a wonder and all is turned about 1 King 20.11 And forward Benhadad and his thirty two Kings who came to help him fled before the face of seven thousand of Israel as there you may read 7. Information This may inform us 7 Information What ingagements of duty and obedience do lye upon such a People for whom God shall do wonders 1 What ingagements of Love Love is the Loadstone to beget Love And God having exprest his love to us how should this ingage us to love him again 2. What ingagements of thankfulness Psal 111.4 Hee hath done his wonderfull works to be remembred As if hee had said This is the end I did these wondrous works for that you should remember them If you would not have remembred them I would not have done them It is the speech of Seneca This is the rule of good turns Haec est lex beneficiorum that the giver must soon forget hee gave but the receiver must never forget he hath received Indeed God hath done wonders for this Nation many wonders wherein hee hath exprest his Wisdome his Power his mercy his Justice And yet God hath forgotten he hath given he goes on as freely in mercy as if every mercy were the first mercy he hath bestowed But have not we forgotten that we have received if so God will Remember that he hath given God doth remember hee hath given when his People forget they have received As you see hee did to David I have done this and this and if that had been too little I would have given thee such and such things more so upbraiding him with his forgetfullnesse If you would not have God remember against you what he hath given do you then remember what you have received from God This will quicken you to thankfulness 8 Information 8. Information If God do wonders for his Church then let this discover unto us What ground and what incouragement there is for us at this time 1. To trust in God 2. To pray to him 3. To hope in him 4. To wait upon him that he would do wonders for us You have incouragements 1 From the experience of God he hath done wonders read the 78. Psalm and the 9th of Nehemiah and you shall see a little Chronicle of the great Wonders which God hath done for his Church and People And this is a mighty incouragement the experience of what God hath done for his People heretofore As wee may say of the Experience of Gods Judgements on the wicked Lege exemplum ne exemplum fias read the example lest thou thy self bee made an Example read the example of Sodom of Pharaoh of Jerusalem All these were set up to deter you from their sins As the judgements of God upon the wicked men are set down to deter us from sin so the mercyes and deliverances of the Church are recorded To incourage us to beleeve to trust in him in the like difficulties Can our condition bee sadder than Israels was at the Red-sea than Davids was than Jehoshaphats than the Churches in Hamans time And God did then deliver them that wee might be Incouraged to trust in him in the like straits and difficulties And as wee have incouragement from the experience of Gods wonderfull deliverance of others so we have incouragement from the wonderful deliverance of our selves Revolve in your thoughts those great deliverances in Eighty-Eight in the Powder-Treason and that late deliverance which swallows up all the rest when the Heavens were black the Clouds were gathered and threatned to come down in a storm of bloud when two Armies were in the field and ready to make our Land an Aceldema a field of bloud yet how wonderfully God did then step in to compose the differences and to settle a peace when there was nothing but expectations of war and ruine This our God hath done and besides this many fresh and later experiences of his goodnesse All which should now come in to incourage us to beleeve and trust in the same God to do great things for us Indeed wee ought to trust God though wee had never tryed him though wee had never experience from him But when hee helps our Faith by former experiences this should strengthen our confidence and make us to go unto God as to a tryed friend Were wee but well read in the story of our lives wee might have a Bible of our own drawn out of the experiences of Gods dealings with our selves and wee should bee able to say in any difficulty and distresse I dare trust God in this difficulty I dare venture on him in this present distresse I have tryed him and have found him true hee never failed mee And because hee hath been my help therefore under the shadow of his wings will I rejoyce as saith the Prophet 2. A second incouragement is From the Power of God 2. Incouragement Hee can do wonders Hee not only hath but hee can do wonders still The Arm of the Lord is not shortned that hee cannot save What hee hath done hee can do Hee is still as wise as powerful as faithful as merciful as ever hee was There is no shadow of change in him There is nothing above his skill nor above his power if not above your Faith to beleeve It is our sin only which hinders the current of Mercy that stops the stream of Mercy our unbeleef our neglect of duty our unthankfulness our pride c. Let us remove these and Mercy comes amain You have a full place for it Judg. 10.10 11 12 13 14 15 16 c. You see there that God had oftentimes delivered them hee had wrought many wonders for them as hee tells them there And they were now again in a new distresse and therefore cry to God But God tells them they had walked unworthy of former deliverances and therefore hee would deliver them no more whereupon they go and confesse their sins before God they humble themselves and reform their evil wayes And saith the Text His soul was then grieved for the misery of Israel God delivers them Well this may bee our condition God hath wrought many deliverances for us wee are now in new straits but wee have walked unworthy and our sins may stand as an obstacle to hinder Gods proceedings of mercy Let us now then humble our selves and reform and God will bee grieved for our misery as
hee was for theirs 3 A third incouragement that wee have to these duties is from the consideration of Gods love to his Church and many precious ingagements to them in promises The Church is dear to him wee are his Spouse his Members such as hee dyed for c. Wee are his 1. By Choice 2. By Purchase 3. By Gift 4. By Covenant And being his hee will do great things for us also Gods love to his Church is that into which wee may resolve all the mercies hee doth for his Church and is the only ground of our Faith and hope to expect mercies from him It is the Sea the spring Well then having so strong incouragements to these duties I would now have spent a little time to have pressed these duties on you but I forbear 9 Information 9. Information This may inform us what is the reason that God suffers wicked men to conceive and to hatch mischief against the Church Nay and to bring up their designes to ripeness that they are ready for execution why God doth not disturb them all their way Here is the Reason Because hee can do wonders Though hee let them go on yet they can never get the advantage of God nor can they make it past Gods help It is but shewing a wonder at last and all is dasht Men when they see an adversary whom they can easily Master when they please they will let them go on counsel advise lay their heads and power together and seem to take no notice of them They know the further they let them go the fuller and compleater will bee their overthrow at last So doth God here Hee suffers wicked men to go on but is because hee knoweth hee can overtake them though they think they have got the start before they come to the goal or get the prize When men see there would bee some hazard at last when they had brought their design to ripeness or did fear that the adversary would bee too strong for them then they will labour to hinder the beginnings and gatherings they will indeavour to crush the birth of their counsels or they will set themselves against their power as soon as they can And this is the wisest way among men But now God hee can let them go on hee can let them bring their designes to ripenesse they can never swell so big as to bee too great for his power to conquer them can never make their design so strong as to non-plus his wisdome and skill to help And therefore hee will let them go on because hee can dash them in their Man-hood as well as in their infancy in their strength as well as in their weaknesse It is but shewing a wonder and all is done And this was the Reason why God suffered the five Kings of Canaan to lay all their strength together that they might bee able to do that joyntly which they were never able to do singly Yet it is said The Lord hardened their hearts to joyn together to come against Israel Though they thought by this means to overthrow Israel yet Gods end was to make the quicker dispatch the fuller overthrow of them And therefore hee let Pharaoh also to go on did not stop him in his preparations nor hinder him in his setting forth but let him follow them to the utmost God knew hee could have him at the last hee could shew a wonder and break all in peeces The like of Haman God could if hee would have dasht his bloody counsel in the beginning hee could have set the King against it But hee lets him go on and bring his design to ripenesse and then declares a wonder and ruines him and his counsel too And this is the reason why God suffers wicked men to go on gather themselves together bring their designs to the utmost Because hee can break them in the end as well as in the beginning It is but doing a wonder at last which is familiar with God and all is broken in peeces And therefore Melancthon saith Non est judicandum de operibus dei ante quartum actum 2. Use Let it bee an Use of cautional Advise to wicked men 2 Use is for Caution to the wicked Let them beware of designing or attempting any thing against the Church and People of God seeing they have such a one on their side as can and will do Wonders for the relieving of them It was a truth which Zerish Hamans wife told him Esther 6.17 If Mordecai bee of the seed of the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall thou shalt not prevail against him but shalt surely fall before him It seems it was a known truth of those dayes even among Heathens that there should bee no power nor counsel against the Church of God God would do wonders for them Gods people are dear to God they are all the riches hee hath in the World Hee calls them so His Inheritance his Portion his Jewels his Treasure Hee hath a great deal of lumber in the world besides but these are his Jewels only and it cost him dear to make them Jewels It was no lesser than the price of his own blood As the Apostle saith You were not redeemed with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ 1 Pet. 1.19 Gods people are all the Income Christ had for his blood and sufferings all that Christ desired all that God promised and all he enjoys As you see Isa 53.11 12. Hee shall see of the travel of his Soul and shall be satisfied c. And do you think then that God will not preserve his People yes certainly and will not stand to do wonders to preserve them Assure your selves God will never desert his cause his Church his People when things are brought up to their ripenesse that God is as it were drawn out to discover to the world in what cause hee will stand for what persons hee will fight Then he will declare it to the comfort of his Saints and to the cost of all those who are enemies to the Church of God God hath promised That hee will never leave us nor forsake us Hee hath said Hee will bee with us as hee was with Joseph in Prison And that not onely as a Spectator but as an Actor not as one to look on and take notice onely but as one to relieve and help us His power shall bee with us his Wisdome with us c. And as hee is with his Church so is hee against the Enemies of it His Power is against them before whom All the Nations of the Earth are but as the drop of a bucket And his wisdome against them his justice and truth against them And Woe bee to them whom God is against Thou maiest stand out against the power of men but not of God if he once prove thine enemy Hee hath a rod of Iron a Scepter of power an arm of strength to crush in peeces all his adversaries And
as indeed hee hath let us hereby bee taught three lessons 1. Of Thankfulness 2. Of Obedience 3. Of Dependence 1. Here is a lesson of thankfulness to bee learned Wee 1. Thankfulness even wee stand before God this day the subjects of abundance of mercies Many mercies God hath bestowed on us and long continued to us Many evils hee hath kept from us and many evils hee hath freed us from Wee stand before God this day the brands of many glorious deliverances which God hath wrought for us Wee have received more mercy and have had experience of more goodnesse preventing delivering mercy within these three years than others have had in three Generations God hath discovered the wonders of his wisdome the wonders of his power the wonders of his mercy and love in many a glorious deliverance which hee hath wrought for us And how ought wee to bee carryed out with praises under the injoyments of so many mercies how should our souls being warmed with the sense and consideration of these mercies burst forth into a flame of praises to God But alas It is with us as with the Children of Israel Wee are very solicitous wanters but wee are forgetful injoyers And that which should bee a means of drawing us nearer to God is a means of further distance from him I must tell you that your unthankfulness under all these receits of mercy is a great and a provoking sin and might justly make a stop of mercy now 1. It is an inhumane sin against the very principles of Humanity A beastly sin nay worse for the Oxe knows his owner and the Asse his Masters crib It s a devilish sin 2. It is a sinning sin a productive sin a womb of sin it brings forth many more sins 3. It is the abuse of a good God Who can least of all indure to bee abused in his mercies 4. It is the grave of Mercy Where all Gods mercies are buryed and lost a very land of forgetfulnesse 5. It is the destruction of mercy Hos 2.8 9. Shee knew that I gave her Corne and Wine and Oil and that I multiplyed her silver and gold c. Therefore will I return and take away my Corn in the season thereof and my Wine in its season and I will recover my Wool and my Flax. That which gives birth to mercy is Prayer and tha which gives breath to mercy is Thankfulnesse Mercy is but short breathed short lived when men are unthankful Unthankfulnesse cuts the throat of Mercies Unthankful persons are never long injoyers of mercies 2. A lesson of Obedience 2. Learn a Lesson of Obedience Let the Mercy of God quicken you to duty Look upon every mercy as a further ingagement to you to walk more holily and more exactly with God As all the spiritual mercies of God Election Redemption Justification Sanctification promises of Glorification were all bestowed as ingagements to Obedience So all the temporal mercies also 1 Sam. 12.24 Therefore fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your hearts and consider what great things hee hath done for you When mercies are spurs to duties when mercies make the least addition to graces God is well pleased with the bestowing of mercy and where God sees such ground hee delights to sow the seed of mercy 3. A lesson of Dependence 3. Learn a lesson of Dependence upon God It is a shame that wee should bee afresh to seek in every new difficulty It was that which God blamed the Children of â—srael for That notwithstanding the great and wonderful works hee had done in their sight and eyes yet they did distrust him all was not enough to work up their hearts to beleeve God and trust in him And David blames them for the same Psal 78.19 20. They spake against God can God furnish a Table in the wilderness Indeed hee smote the Rock that the waters gushed out and the streams overflowed But can hee give bread also Can hee provide flesh for his people One would think this a senselesse reasoning But Unbeleef is a senselesse sin One would think that they did sufficiently answer themselves That what went before had been answer sufficient to what followed after The same power was required for the doing of the one that was for the other and when they had seen the power of God to work the greater 't was strange they should doubt of the lesse but here is the basenesse of our spirit Though God have given us never so many experiences yet wee are still to seek in every new act of dependence on him And without further grace wee cannot do it Wee think when wee are in straits and difficulties if God would but help us through this strait if hee would but relieve us in this difficulty wee should never distrust God whilst vvee lived wee should depend on him in the saddest conditions whiles wee have a being But these are but our present thoughts and without future assistances and supplies wee are as far to seek in another as wee were in the first Well My Brethren God hath wrought many great things for us every one of them should bee a Life-mercy a standing-mercy a mercy to bee set up to incourage us to depend on him for ever Mercies that wee should live on in straits and feed upon in difficulties mercies that should bee for store to feed upon for a long time You have an expression Psal 74.14 Thou brakest the head of the Leviathan in peeces and gavest him to bee meat to thy people in the Wilderness By Leviathan is meant Pharaoh and God gave him to bee meat to his people in the wildernesse That is Hee wrought that deliverance for them before they entred into the wildernesse that this might bee meat for them to feed upon and strengthen their Faith in dependence upon God in the wildernesse where they were put to it by so many difficulties This mercy was to bee a standing-dish not for a meal only but for store meat laid in to feed on to strengthen their dependence Faith is called Feeding John 6. And the experience of Gods goodnesse is Pabulum Fidei the meat of Faith That mercy is never well digested that is not fed upon Hee that doth not feed upon a mercy gets no nourishment by a mercy no good You take the Name of God in vain that is his works his experiences which are part of his Name you take them in vain All this is but food cast away upon you if thereby you are not strengthned for the Fuller dependence upon God And now my brethren wee have had many Glorious experiences of Gods goodness to us and all these are meat to feed upon You are now in new straits and difficulties bring out your standing-dishes the former mercyes and experiences to feed upon to refresh your Faith to inable you to depend upon God afresh Hee that is not a good Treasurer a good Storer of mercys hee is never out of straits hee