near God he calls for a days-man There is no days-man between us that he might lay his hand upon us both that is there is no mediator to mediate between God and me to bring me near to him till Jesus Christ become a days-man between God and the Soul that by vertue of his mediation there is an union made up God and the Soul stand at enmity there is an high wall of partition built up between God and the Soul Now because the Lord from eternity determined to bring some souls into union with himself therefore for the accomplishing his own will he intends the Gospel instrumentally to draw souls into union with the Lord Jesus for the perfecting union with him self Reas 2. The Lord doth it That he might communicate of his own glorious excellencies into souls Now without this union with the Lord Christ there can be no communications of those excellencies into souls though there may be some influences into souls without this yet not in that glorious way of communicating himself whereby the Lord intends to make himself admired 1. Without this union there can be no communication of the Lords life and image unto souls That is no communicating of the divine dispositions of his own understanding and will into the understanding and wills of his people that they should live a sutable life to his life 2. Without this union there can be no communication of the love of God unto their souls There may be influences of God into souls without union but no influences of love without union and that in two respects 1. In regard the displeasure of Justice is only removed through the union of Souls with Christ And before offended Justice is appeased there can be nothing but wrath in the bosom of God against souls 2. In regard the Adoption is onely purchased by the Lord Christ All the love that the Lord communicates unto any soul is fatherly love the love of Adoption Now adoption comes onely by Christ who purchased Adoption for us I mean materially though originally it comes from God 3. Without this union there can be no communication of any mercy Mercy is love respecting an object as miserable Now man as made miserable by Sin cannot expect the least dram of mercy from God but by a Mediator such a Mediator as shall satisfie Justice Now without union with Christ there is no vertue of Mediation conveyed into the soul and thence none of the mercy of God is conveyed into the soul 4. Without this union there could be no full communication of the Lord unto Souls Though indeed the Lord might glorifie himself in communicating some degrees of his excellency in some way as making himself glorious in Justice and though outward mercies be communicated by the influences of his power in protection and of his wisdom and providence in ordering things 5. There could be no everlasting communication of God without union Were it not for the union of Souls with Christ the sentence past upon souls in the loyns of Adam would be a sentence of death upon them Now the Lord intends to have eternal glory by the eternal communication of himself unto the souls of his Saints and therefore he intends to draw them into union with Christ This the Lord intends in two respects 1. In regard the communication of Gods excellencies are essential unto him It is as natural unto God to be pouring out of his excellencies into souls as it is natural for the Sun to infuse beams of light upon the creatures 2. In regard it is the highest delight and contentment of God to be communicating of himself unto his creatures The Lord takes greatest pleasure in pouring forth his own fulness into the bosoms of empty souls in two respects First in regard the communication of his excellencies unto souls is the manifestation of his own glory The excellency of God is made known by communicating of it to others Then the excellency of his holiness appears when it is poured into souls Then love and grace appear when it is fixed upon the soul of a worthless worm Secondly this communicating of himself is the highest delight and contentment of God in regard it is the pouring forth of himself into his own beloved objects It is so Essential to God to communicate of himself that he takes contentment in it be it to what creature soever be it to an enemy the Lord delights in the act of it in regard he attains his own highest end that ever his eye of intention was fixed upon which is the manifestation of his own glory Much more the Lord takes delight in communicating himself to the souls of his Saints in regard those are chosen to that end Now where there is an object beloved there is always delight in doing good to such an object Therefore the Lord draws souls into union with Jesus Christ that they may be sutable subjects to communicate himself to Reas 3. The Lord intends to draw souls into union with the Lord Christ by revealing the truths of the Gospel because he hath purposed and determined to make the mystical body of Christ the object of his own delight and contentment to all eternity 1. The Lord takes pleasure in dwelling among them and manifesting himself to them 2 Cor. 6.16 It is the priviledge of the Saints to have God dwell among them here much more does the Lord intend to dwell among them to eternity 2. The Lord intends they should be his delight in having sweet familiarity and precious converse with them That converse properly consists in two things First in the Lords opening and revealing to their souls all the secrets of his ways and works that ever were manifested in the world and that in their intended issue and effects That manifestation of the beams of his own glory that shined in all his ways is a kind of familiar talk with the souls of his Saints Secondly it consists in the Lords being among them familiarly without terrifying or affrighting them Then Job shall have his desire Chap. 9.34 Let not his face terrifie me c. 3. That their souls might have perfect communion with him constant communion without interruption and intermission Now when there is a sutableness of the object for the perfection of love then there is a sutableness for the perfection of delight it being nothing but love in rest or love injoying the beloved object Reas 4. The Lord intends this by the Gospel to bring souls into union in regard he intends to manifest the glory of the incomprehensible riches of his own love in and through their souls Isa 43.7 Bring forth my Sons and Daughters that I have created for my glory Now the Lord accounts the manifestation of the riches of his love and compassion to poor worthless man to be one of the most precious bright shining beams of his own glory Therefore when Moses desired his glory to pass before him he proclaimed his name the Lord
and the same essence and so the same essential glory with himself should take upon him that frail vile despicable nature of Man 2. In regard the Father deprived himself for a season of his highest delight his most infinite contentment for the effecting those Gospel mercies The Fathers delight is in Communion and the higher degree of Communion the higher is the delight of God Therefore it is said Prov. 8.31 That he delights in the habitable parts of the Earth and with the Sons of Men that is because there are Creatures capable of Communion with God there are empty Vessels that he may be pouring out of his transcendent fulness into Now God deprived himself of his own highest delight in withdrawing the communications of himself from that his dearly beloved Son that he was forced to complain My God my God why hast thou forsaken me 3. It cost the Father the very death yea the accursed death of the most dearly beloved of his Soul the Lord Jesus He delivered him up to death for us saith the Apostle Yea it cost the Father the suffering the execution of his full wrath and indignation upon the dearly beloved of his Soul Secondly It must be opened that the Father was at the highest cost and charge in effecting that mercy for Souls that shall embrace the Lord Christ tendered on purpose to make it the surer to Souls apprehensions to give them the fuller security of all that the Gospel discovers This will appear in three things I. In regard there was no absolute necessity in respect of God himself to effect that which the Gospel discovers for Souls embracing Christ in that way at such high cost and charge to himself That will appear in two things 1. In regard there was a fulness of power in the Lords mercy to give absolute pardon unto sinners irrespectively to satisfaction The Lord being the high Soveraign of Heaven and Earth whose sole incommunicable property is that his will is the original of all Law the original of the being of all goodness he hath an absolute power in his own mercy to have given an absolute pardon to every transgression committed against his own Law The Lords Will being the only rule that he walks by and that Will of his being altogether independent hath a power within it self to have given an absolute pardon to every transgression against his Will 2. In regard the Lord in the effecting of the love and mercy that the Gospel discovers to Souls did not proceed according to the exactest rule of Justice Do not mistake me I mean not according to the height and rigor of Justice as Justice which of necessity must have been had the Lord been bound to his Justice to proceed that way That appears in two things First The highest exact rule of Justice admits of no surety in capital Crimes It requires the individual person to be the sufferer of the evil threatned for the breach of the Law that was the transgressor of the Law The voice of exact Justice was only in this wise The Soul that sinneth shall die without any admission of any Surety Now it is apparent that the Lord himself in the bringing about or effecting the Love and Mercy that the Gospel discovers unto Souls he propounds this way to admit of a Surety Those that were the offenders of Justice were not sufferers under Justice but another steps in and bears the stroke of Justice that in regard of his own personal transgression was not guilty of the breach of the Law or of the Offence against Justice Secondly Were it possible for exact Justice to admit a Surety yet not possible for exact Justice to find out a Surety working still as Justice Justice never looks further than the Transgressor himself to exact Justice upon unless it be to lay the merit and desert of the transgressor in some degree upon all that have dependance upon him Never came a thought into Justice as Justice of remitting the least degree of punishment of the Transgressor yet you see in the way that he proceeds he casts about in his own thoughts to find out one sufficient to bear all the burden of wrath and indignation that is due to Transgressors themselves The Lord in his design of glorifying his Justice in effecting Love and Mercy for Souls discovered in the Gospel he proceeds only according to Love it self yea according to nothing else but Love in respect of Souls it being an act of simple absolute pure Love to impute the transgression of the poor guilty Spirit to the spotless Lamb the Lord Jesus as if he had been to have pardoned those Transgressors and to have delivered them clearly from Sin without the imputation of those Transgressions to another Therefore observe the whole Work of Salvation though contrived by the infinite Wisdom of God that Mercy and Justice might meet together and kiss each other it is attributed to Love alone Eph. 2.5 By Grace or Love ye are saved So Tit. 3.4 5. Not by Works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us Still the whole Work is attributed to the Fathers Love 2. There was no absolute necessity of Gods being at that cost and charge to procure Love and Mercy for Souls that would embrace him in respect of the Souls themselves that were to be partakers of it That will appear in two things 1. In regard Souls partaking of that Love and Mercy that the Gospel discovers were not the Objects of that Love and Mercy primarily by that cost and charge that the Lord was at in the Death of Christ to effect that Love and Mercy If you observe the whole Current of the Scripture it runs thus God so loved the World that he gave Christ To us a Child is born to us a Son is given So that Christ being a Gift of Love unto the Soul it could not be that they should be made objects of Love primarily by that Gift that is originally in the first place Christ was therefore given because they were first beloved not they beloved because Christ given seeing the Love of God was fixed upon all its peculiar objects that ever it should be fixed upon in that Gift and then Christ himself came forth as a Gift of that fixed Love it could not be that they should be primarily made objects of Love by the Lords effecting that Love and Mercy for them through his great Cost of giving the dearly beloved of his Soul for them 2. Those Souls that shall embrace Christ tendered in the Gospel were the Objects of that Gospel-Love and Mercy discovered in order of nature before the Lords intention to effect that Gospel-Love and Mercy for them by that his own cost in giving his own Son The Lord Christ is discovered as the Means by which God brings about the conveyance of his Love unto his beloved ones and the End is discovered in the Gospel to be the Glory of his own Love
to make his Love glorious in those objects Therefore the End must in order of Nature according to our conception be before the Means though all things are at once and by one Act done by God so that according to our conceptions the Love must be first fixed and setled upon Souls in order of nature I mean the intention of Love must be first unto Souls before the conveyance of that Gift of Love through Christ Thence 't is that the Scripture speaks of Christ not only as given but also called out to the work of Mediatorship Heb. 5.1 He was ordained to be the High Priest by God the Father to offer Sacrifice for Souls 3. There can be no End of the Lords being at that high charge for the effecting of the Love and Mercy that the Gospel discovers to Souls that will embrace him but his own praise and his peoples comfort Seeing there was no necessity I speak of absolute and indispensable necessity all this while I would not be mistaken in a thing of so high a nature I say seeing there was no absolute simple necessity for the Lord to be at such high cost in respect of himself and in respect of Souls to partake of this Mercy but it is done freely of God according to his own wisdom Thence it appears there can be no higher End than the Lords own praise the manifesting the Beams of the Lords transcendent Glory more abundantly in the Eyes of Saints and Angels And this you shall find to be the very End of it Eph. 1.4.6 Saith the Apostle He hath chosen us in Christ That is He hath chosen us as the Members of Christ the first Elect of God and that Head of the Mystical Body that God hath glorified himself in This he hath done saith he before the foundation of the world and therefore he destinated us to the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ Here is the Fathers Love in the Means and in the End v. 6. To the praise of the Glory of his Grace that is of his own Love wherein that is in which Love he hath made us acccepted in the Beloved that is in Christ Now this may be taken rwo wayes Either for his praise actively to be given to him by the Soul that partakes of that Love and Mercy that the Gospel discovers Or else passively to be manifested through this way unto those that partake of that Love and Mercy that the Gospel discovers In both ways the Lord intended to have his glorious Love admired and adored and himself sanctified in the beholding of it through the effecting and conveying of that his Love and Mercy unto Souls through such cost and charge in giving his dearly beloved Son Now observe it There are especially two wayes how the partaker of that Love and Mercy the Gospel discovers doth actively give the Lord the praise of the glory of his Love 1. In admiring the unmeasurable dimensions of his Love in gazing upon the height and depth and length and breadth of his Love so as to see it unmeasurable and bottomless and to adore God in beholding it 2. In their Souls relying with a fulness of confidence upon God for that his Love in Christ It is alwayes in the same degree wherein a Soul takes up its rest in God for any thing that a Soul sanctifies God in his heart therefore Is 8.13 when the Prophet exhorts them to sanctifie God he saith Fear not their fear but make him your fear and your dread as if he should say therein you shall sanctifie him when your spirits take up their rest in him alone Now as God is thus sanctified in the heart in general so he is sanctified in the heart in respect of every particular Attribute of his in this way only when a Souls confidence is in him alone And thus in particular in respect of his Love God hath the praise of the glory of his Love from the Soul when the Heart takes up its full rest in God with a fulness of confidence for all Love through Christ Now observe these being the two special wayes how the Lord hath the praise of his glorious Love from Souls that partake of the Love that the Gospel discovers and then both these proceeding from a Souls apprehension of the certainty and infallibility of the Lords Love in Christ thence it must needs appear that the Lords being at the high cost to effect all that Love and Mercy discovered in the Gospel for Souls through the death of that dearly beloved of his Soul that this must be on purpose done by God for the making that his Love and Mercy that the Gospel discovers more sure and certain unto Souls embracing it in their own apprehensions Thirdly The Spirit discovers the Lords own Bond given out to the persons themselves that shall embrace the Gospel for their assurance of all that the Gospel discovers All the Promises written in the Lords Blessed Book are but as so many Bonds of Gods own writing by the hand of the great Secretary of Heaven the blessed Spirit of God on purpose to confirm and assure Souls of all that the Gospel discovers The Spirit reveals Promise upon Promise to seal to and confirm the same thing as you may see Heb. 6.12 13 14 15. The Promise is said to be given there as a Discovery of the Immutability of the Lords Counsel that is of the infallible and unchangeable certainty of all that the Gospel discovers Fourthly The Spirit riseth higher he adds the confirmation of his own Oath the highest Oath that was possible for God to swear which was by himself that the Soul might have security upon security to his weak apprehension Fifthly The Spirit reveals the adding of the Blood of Christ as the Seal to the Bond. The Spirit manifests the Lord to have employed Jesus Christ to be the Testator to Souls that by the Death of the Testator the Testament or the Will of God revealed in the Gospel might be made unquestionably certain that the Soul might have fulness of security to his poor scrupulous Spirit now security comes in upon security to a superabuddance of it Sixthly The Spirit reveals the Lord to have engaged the Honour and Credit of his ever-blessed Name for the better securing Souls and fuller assuring them of all that the Gospel discovers to them This you shall see in Exod. 33.19 I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before thee saith God to Moses and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew mercy to whom I will shew mercy which doth both include a disposition to be gracious and a free disposition to be gracious and it includeth that Grace of his to be ordered only according to his own will Now did not the Lord freely love loveless sinners upon no other ground but his own will which is the very Sum of all that the Gospel saith then this Title of Gods Honour should be defaced and blemished But God saith
himself to be a poor despicable useless wretch a low contemptible worm not having any thing wherein to be serviceable for the Lords honour as others have yea being far deeper drenched into sin than other Souls are Here is a pattern the Lord hath made to stand upon sacred Record of his fulfilling a promise of mercy and love notwithstanding all unlikelihood that can be imagined 2. Under this comes in that particular case of the Souls inability and insufficiency to receive and embrace that mercy and love the Gospel reveals according as the Lord requires That is when the Soul in gazing upon those blessed tenders of love and mercy begins to say within it self I am so dead in sin that I have not the least ability to receive that mercy and love tendered according as God requires and therefore I shall never be the object of Gospel mercy and love seeing I cannot receive it Now in this case also this pretious pattern that the Lord hath given of Abraham may be brought to the Souls remembrance by the Spirit to testifie that the Lords promise of mercy and love to Abraham was fulfilled when he was in the same case when he could do nothing had not the least ability and power to effect what was necessary to be effected by him for the fulfilling of the promise 3. Under this comes in that particular case of the Souls beholding nothing but opposition in his Heart against that mercy and love that the Gospel reveals So that if the Soul should begin to say within it self it cannot be that he should be admitted by God to be an object of that Gospel mercy and love seeing his Heart nothing else but speaks against it Then the Spirit may bring to the Souls remembrance that which the Lord gave as a promise of mercy and love unto Abraham He against hope believed in hope There was not only no hope but all things against hope of that promise being fulfilled to him that he might be a pattern of believing VIII There is an eighth case of wretched treacherous backsliding from God after mutual closures and embraces between God and the Soul In this case the Lord hath given pretious presidents of his Gospel love and mercy that have been communicated unto Souls so backsliding You may first look upon Aaron's case who was none of the least backsliders Exod. 32.2 3 4 5. Aaron that had made choise of God alone to be his God here became a wretched backslider from the pure worship of God according to his own will to an Idolatrous worship to make a graven Image an Idol after the manner of Egypt and to make an Altar too still all contrary to the way of the Lords worship And yet if you look into Exod. 40.12 13. you shall find this very Aaron notwithstanding this backsliding taken to be an object of that love and mercy so as to be chosen Minister of the Lords Sanctuary to be of the very highest office of the Lords worship here below to be made the most immediate type of representing Jesus Christ that blessed true High Priest Another pattern of backsliding you may behold in Solomon in 1 King 7.11 He built an high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab yet this backslider notwithstanding was an object of his special Gospel love and mercy as appears Psal 89.32 33. My love will I never take from him I need not name Peters case and Davids case it is known to you all You see it is apparent the Lord hath given eminent patterns in this case of the Souls backsliding So that herein many particular cases of Souls come in as the case of negligence and slightness of Heart towards God the case of estrangeness from God after it once tasted of communion with him The case of all kind of wretchedness that the Soul can call to remembrance against it self or that possibly the Soul can be guilty of after the injoyment of the discovery of the Lords love and mercy in the Lord Jesus to him So that in case upon any such ground as the Souls wretched wicked dealing with God after union and communion with him and its turning aside from God the Soul should suffer its Confidence to waver concerning the will of God to accept his loveless backsliding Soul into the bosom of his love and mercy then the Spirit may bring to its remembrance those precious parterns that the Lord hath given concerning his acceptance of such backsliding wretches after such discoveries of himself That 's the seventh Particular that the Spirit may reveal and bring to Souls remembrance to shew that the Lord hath given Security upon Security abundance and superabundance of Security to assure Souls of what the Gospel reveals Eighthly The last particular that the Spirit brings to the Souls remembrance or doth or may reveal to it is this That there are peculiar near invaluable Engagements upon God himself in respect of himself to fulfil those precious Gospel-Discoveries to every Soul that shall embrace or accept them The Lord out of his incomprehensible wisdom hath so curiously contrived that Gospel-love to loveless Sinners that he hath sweetly interwoven his own interest with their interest And certainly the Lord hath revealed his own interest thus to be in the compleating of his Gospel-love and mercy to loveless Sinners that shall embrace him on purpose to secure their wavering unstable Spirits and to settle them in a more fulness of confidence in Christ that their Spirits might be filled with joy and peace through believing The engagements that are upon God himself in respect of himself to fulfil Gospel-love and mercy to Sinners that shall embrace him are divers 1. The first Engagement upon God himself in regard of himself from whence Souls may have security is this That the Lord hath chosen every such particular loveless Sinner as shall accept of his Gospel-discovery to be one of his own Family and his own Houshold Hence you shall find in Eph. 3.15 That all Believers are called but one Family And they are called the Houshold of God Eph. 2.19 And in Heb. 3.6 The whole Church is called The House of Christ Now what abundant security may the believing Soul receive concerning fulfilling Gospel-discoveries from the Spirits bringing to remembrance this Engagement of God in respect of himself to fulfil Gospel-discoveries 1. From hence the Soul may behold through believing God himself to be engaged to remove all Jars Differences Breaches and Disagreements from himself and every Soul that shall accept those Gospel-discoveries From thence the Soul may argue sweetly within his own Spirit against all Objections and Scruples concerning its Rebellion and Disobedience and say thus Will not the God of Peace have peace in his own Family in his own Houshold 2. From thence the believing Soul may behold the Lord engaged to compleat and perfect a work of Sanctification in his own Soul if he will embrace the Gospel-discovery though he be altogether unclean though he
will When a Soul freely declares his righteousness and all the actings of holiness in his heart to be but unholiness compared with the exact perfect holy will of God when it acknowledges with the Church Isa 64.16 That its righteousness is but as filthy rags as a menstruous Cloath all pollution and defilement it self in comparison of that most blessed holy will of God then doth the Soul exalt the Lord by declaring an absolute perfection of holiness to dwell in him And thence it is that confession of sin is necessary for believing Souls though sin be pardoned and though there be large manifestations also of the pardon of sin renewed because those confessions of sin and the large acknowledgements of the vile cursed workings of the corrupt heart and the vast disproportion between the Lords blessed holy will and his unholy will the Soul exalts the name of God by bearing testimony to the perfection of holiness that dwells in God II. By declaring the least aberration or deviation from the Lords blessed will to be just matter of infinite wrath to be executed upon the Soul and just matter of endless perplexity trouble and vexation unto the Soul When a Soul manifests the least stragling wandring thought from God the least indisposedness of the heart to comply with the Lords blessed will to be just occasion for the Lord to let his fiery indignation burn for ever against the Soul then doth the Soul bear testimony to that unspeakable perfection of holiness that dwels in God Then doth the Soul say virtually Thy will O Lord is so perfectly holy that it is infinitely equal that thy will should be obeyed in all things in that thou commandest nothing but is so absolutely and perfectly good that he that neglects obedience to that thy blessed will in the least is worthy to have exact vengeance executed upon him for a cross crooked rebellious-hearted wretch Thus the Church Lam. 3.22 acknowledges it is of the Lords mercy that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not Likewise the Psalmist Psal 130.3 O Lord if thou shouldst mark iniquitie who shall stand that is to say Lord the least iniquity if thou dost execute the just desert of it upon any Soul none then should ever stand before thee every Soul should perish to eternity Thus God is exalted through the Soul and mark it this is the use of all those self-judgings that believing Souls are so frequent in the true holy use of it is for this reason that you shall hear believing Souls both publick and private passing the sentence of condemnation against themselves though they know the sentence of condemnation shall not pass against them though their pardon is shared in the Court of their consciences yea when the pardon is most evidently sealed to them then you shall hear them most full of those judgements past against themselves saying we are worthy O Lord to be confounded it were but righteous in our God considered in our selves to make us an everlasting abhorrence to his purest eyes Thus by these self judgings they bear publick testimony to the most exact exquisite perfection of holiness that dwels in God III. By manifesting that the least communion with God in Christ doth necessarily sanctifie any Soul in some degree When a Soul declares practically that it is impossible for any Soul to have communion with God in Christ but he shall participate in some degree of the holiness of God the disposition of his corrupt will shall be changed then doth a Soul manifest a perfection of holiness to dwell in God IV. By declaring that a perfection of conformity to the Lords blessed will ought to be the only satisfying object of the desires of any soul When a Soul manifests practically and apparently that no Soul ought to take up any rest in any degree of holiness less then a perfect conformity to the Lords blessed will Now this perfect conformity to the Lords will consists in three or four particulars 1. When he declares that every Soul ought to will every thing that the Lord himself wills 2. When he declares that every object that the will of the Soul ought to close with ought to be closed with only because God wills it 3. when the Soul wills only that which the blessed Majesty of God wills 4. When the Soul wills every thing in the same manner that God himself wills it Now there are four things to be considered in the manner of the Lords willing any thing 1. Whatever the Lord wills he wills with infinite freedom So that then the perfect conformity of the Souls will consists in the freedom of the Souls compliance with the will of God when he wills what God himself wills and wills it freely according as God wills it 2. Whatever the Lord wills he wills purely he wills it because he wills it 3. Whatever the Lord wills he wills with facilility and easiness 4. In the Lords willing that which is holy his will moves necessarily though yet with infinite freedom It is with infinite freedom that the Lord wills holiness but yet there is such a necessity from the essence and being of God that his will wills holiness only and that he can will nothing else but what is holy Thus when the Soul shall practically manifest that the groanings and thirstings and pantings and breathings of every Soul should never cease till there be this blessed union of wills between God and them that their wills should even move as it were in a circle of holiness as the blessed will of God moves then doth a Soul declare that an infinite perfection of holiness dwells in God and then is God exalted through the Soul Now it remains to be opened that the name of God is exalted through every believing Soul in this transcendent glory of his holiness to whom the spirit doth reveal certainly his union with the Lord Jesus This must appear by the manifesting that the spirit of Jesus Christ in revealing to any Soul his union with Christ doth certainly cause the Soul to walk in those ways through which the name of God is exalted in the brightness and perfection of the glory of his holiness through the Soul I. The Spirit of Christ in evidencing to the Soul his union with Christ doth necessarily draw forth those sensible free acknowledgements from the Soul of an infinite disproportion and disagreement in the most exact exquisite action that ever the Soul performed to the Lords infinite holy will This you may observe in Isa 64. comparing ver 4. and ver 6. saith the Church From the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear neither hath the eye seen O God besides thee what he hath prepared for them that wait for him that is for the believing Soul for waiting is but an extended act of faith And then under those apprehensions of the unspeakeableness of the Lords Love in Christ to every believing Soul she breaks out but
reveal'd a fulness of all goodnes and so strength it self to the Soul but he may behold the Lord to have called himself by that Name of Abundant in Goodness 2. The Soul is secured by the Credit of the Lords Name against all fears of his not prevailing with God in Christ to be partaker of that Mercy and Love and Goodness that the Gospel discovers He may behold the Lords Name to be Abundant in Goodness not only goodness but abounding having more than a fulness so that it should run over into empty Souls like Rivers abounding with water freely overflowing his Banks 5. The Credit of the Lords Name is engaged to a compleat perfect fulfilling of his revealing mercy and goodness towards loveless Sinners His Name you see is Abundant in Truth So that God must lose that Beam of the glory of his blessed Name which is Abundant in Truth should the least Tittle the least Iota of any word revealing Mercy and Love to loveless Sinners fall to the ground 6. The Credit of the Lords Name is engaged for the accepting every Soul into grace and favour discovered in the Gospel without making any exception against any one Soul whatever The Lords Name you see is the Lord keeping Mercy for thousands that is for infinite numbers That is to say his Name is he that is ready to shew mercy to every Soul without exception 7. The Credit of the Lords Name is engaged to secure Souls that no kind or degree of wickedness can be a prevention of his acceptance of a Soul into his favour and love His Name you see is the Lord forgiving iniquity transgression and sin that is forgiving all kinds and degrees of sin 8. The Credit and Honour of the Lords Name is engaged that the ground of his receiving Souls into love and favour shall be only his own precious will His Name is He will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy Exod. 33.9 So that when the Souls confidence begins to waver about the Lords willingness to accept him into love and favour because he beholds no ground or argument of love then the Soul may behold the blessed Name of God that hath mercy upon whom he will have mercy looking for no Arguments of his love and mercy but his own Will Thus you see that the Credit of the Lords blessed Name is engaged for assuring Souls of whatever the Gospel discovers And that 's the Sixth Particular Seventhly The Spirit reveals the Lord to have given in his blessed word Presidents Examples and Patterns sutable to the Case and State of every Soul upon whom the Lord hath already effected whatever mercy and love the Gospel discovers to forlorn despicable loveless Sinners The Lord hath so abounded and superabounded in the riches of his own love that out of the bowels of those his compassions towards loveless Sinners he hath condescended beneath himself and his own super-excellent Majesty to give all kind of securities whatever are possible to be given to poor doubting Spirits concerning his Gospel-love There are eight particular Cases wherein the Lord hath given Paterns and Examples unto Souls which Cases comprehend all kinds of Estates and Tempers that it is possible for any Soul to be under I. In the case of the superlative height of Souls wickedness the being plunged into a bottomless Ocean of all kind of abominations and pollutions that are imaginable In this case the Lord hath given eminent patterns First If you look into that place 1 Cor. 6.9 10. and read over the black bill of almost all kind of abominations that are there reckoned up Fornicatours Idolaters Adulterers Effeminate abusers of themselves with mankind Theeves Covetous Drunkards Revilers Extortioners And you shall see v. 11. that some that are contained in the black bill of all pollutions were Washed Sanctified Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus all Gospel mercy and love was discovered unto them for saith the Text Such were some of you Another pattern the Lord left 2 Chron. 33.11 12 13. of Manasseh who heaped up wickedness upon wickedness yet the Lord made him a pattern of Gospel-love and mercy Another you have in Paul in 1 Tim. 1.15 One drinking up the blood of Saints like water one blaspheming Jesus Christ offering all kind of injuries and indignities to the name of Christ and yet the Lord did shew forth all long-suffering that is all kind of love manifested in patience and forbearance and admitted him into union and communion with himself through Christ and this he did on purpose that he might leave it as an experiment of his Love and Mercy to them who should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting So Act. 2.30 those that had washed their malicious and envious Hands in the innocent blood of the Lord Jesus were not excluded from Gospel Mercy and Love So if you look into the doleful story of our first fall by Eve who did first provoke the anger and indignation of God yet she was made a pattern of Gospel Mercy and Love Gen. 3.15 II. The second case wherein God hath given patterns is in the case of unbelief the potency and prevalency of unbelieving dispositions I shall propound but two patterns to you in this case First of David who under the rage of unbelief Psal 116.11 said in his hast all men are liers that those Prophets that had revealed to him from the mouth of God that he should inherit the Kingdom were but dissemblers notwithstanding he had been satisfied of the truth of the message coming from God The second pattern is in unbelieving Thomas John 20.24 25 26. that would not believe the resurrection of Christ except he should see in his Hands the print of the nailes and thrust his Hands into his side yet Gospel Love and Mercy was discovered to him vers 27. under this case come in these two cases of Souls wherein they are much perplexed 1. In case of the Souls not feeling the Lord by his Almighty power drawing their Hearts to believe Saith the poor perplexed Soul surely the Lord draws all that he intends should come to Christ through believing but alas saith the Soul I do not see that God hath drawn my Heart therefore surely God hath not chosen me to be an object of Gospel Grace and Love now the Spirit may witness from hence that there hath been a Soul as much under the dominion of unbelieving dispositions as his unbelieving Spirit yet the bowels of Love and Mercy revealed in the Gospel were not restrained from them 2. Here comes in that case of the weakness of affections and desires towards believing and of the strong inclination of the Spirit to receive security of the Lords willingness to make him the object of Gospel Mercy and Love from something that should be visible and sensible to the Soul That 's also a common case of Souls that they cannot discern any disposition in their Hearts to believe the Lords willingness to receive them into the bosom
actings till this mortal shall have put on immortality Fourthly There is a want of an absolute nothingness in the Soul in the precious holy actings of the Soul That vile principle of Self-confidence is so firmly rooted in our natures that when the sanctifying Spirit of Jesus Christ hath had a blessed work upon the unholy heart yet then the bitter root of Self-confidence will be sending forth some cursed sprigs be will sprouting forth in some unholy actings even in the midst of the Souls actings the Soul being never perfectly and absolutely nothing in himself in his holy actings Thence you may observe from your experience an infinite difficulty that you find after great enlargements of heart in a holy duty then to think no better of your selves for the duty It must be a mighty power of the spirit that must draw forth from a Soul at such a time that voice in sincerity saying not I but the grace of God that was in me Now that Light that discovers unto a believing Soul those unholinesses of his whereof the believing Soul is constantly guilty in some degree in all his holy actings is an unseparable attendant upon the Spirit of Light evidencing to the Soul its union with the Lord Jesus There is only the light of the Lords Love in Christ to the worthless nothing-like Soul that discovers the want of pure Love in the Souls actings of holiness It is the vision of the Lords Love unto the Soul that excites and stirs up actings of Love in the Soul unto God So likewise the vision of the Lords Love in Christ unto the Soul enables the Soul to discern the want of pure perfect Love in his Soul unto God It is then when a Soul sees that Love of God in Christ unto his unlovely unspeakable soul that he apprehends deeply that the most superlative actings of his Love are due from him unto God again and then doth the Soul discern the great evil of the imperfection of the actings of his own Love so as to answer the actings of the Lords will out of pure Love only Thence it is when the Spirit of Jesus Christ doth evidence unto it his union with Christ then any slavish workings of fear are tedious and burdensom unto the Soul whereas before the Soul thought those actings of fear if they brought sorth but some Tears to be precious actings but now it loaths them So likewise it is only the Light of the Lords Love in Jesus Christ to the worthless soul that discovers clearly the want of freedom and liberty in the heart in its holy actings Then indeed the soul groans not only for the want of his heart answering the Lords will in obedience and so for want of holy actings but he groans under the want of freedom of spirit in those holy actings also So likewise the want of perfect rest and complacency of the Soul in his holy actings is made manifest only through the light of the glorious Love of the Lord in Jesus Christ to the loveless Soul No Soul can discern matter wherein he may take up a fulness of rest only in obedience to the Lords will till he discerns God as he is in Jesus Christ to his unlovely Soul and therefore the want of the Souls fulness of contentment in the actings of holiness can never be made clearly manifest till the light of the Lords love in Jesus Christ shines upon it yea the lively beauty excellency and glory that is in the bare fulfilling of the Lords holy will only shines clearly to the Soul through the light of the Lords love in Jesus Christ Yea the want of an absolute nothingness in himself in his holy actings is made apparent to the Soul through the light of the Lords Love in Jesus Christ shining upon him Never can a Soul apprehend that all that he is and all that the powers and possibilities of his Soul can perform and infinitely more is due from his Soul unto God till the glorious light of the Lords love in Christ shine upon him It is only when the light of that love shines that the heart says in sincerity to it self what thinkest thou O my heart is due to thee though now thou hast been enlarged by the assistance of the Spirit of Christ in this holy duty Art not an unprofitable Servant not having given to the Lord the hundred thousandth part what thou dost owe to him IV. When the Spirit evidenceth unto any Soul his union with the Lord Jesus sensible free acknowledgements of an infinite disproportion in the most holy actings of the Soul to the Lords holy blessed will are necessarily drawn forth in regard the unholiness that constantly attends in some degree the actings of holiness in Souls are at the same time most cross and opposite to the Souls desires The desires of the soul being but the reachings forth of love and the highest actings of love being the necessary effect of those highest discoveries of the Lords love to the soul thence necessarily the highest desires of the soul are raised to a superlative height after fulness of unity and perfect communion with God in Christ when the spirit evidenceth to the soul his union with Jesus Christ V. When the spirit evidenceth to the soul its union with Christ the spiritual sense of the soul is then most lively The spirit of Jesus Christ being constantly a quickening spirit where he is a comforting spirit the soul being filled with comfort cannot but be filled with life and when the soul is filled with life sense is also lively so that thence the soul at that time is most sensible of his own unholiness and thence necessarily is constrained to acknowledge sensibly the disagreement of his will in his most holy actings to the Lords most holy blessed will 2. The spirit evidencing to any soul its union with the Lord Jesus doth certainly draw forth free declarations from the soul that the least transgression of the Lords blessed will is just occasion of incensing the wrath of God infinitely and eternally against the soul and just occasion of unspeakable perplexipy and grief to the soul So that through this a soul declares that blessed will of God to be so absolutely so perfectly holy that the least opposing of that blessed will might justly deprive him of acceptance Thus you may observe when the spirit of Jesus Christ stirred up the heart of the Church to precious believing Acts Lament 3.22 23 24. then did the same spirit draw from their mouths sensible declarations that the least of their transgressions did justly expose them to the everlasting burning to be consumed in the fire of the Lords Indignation then she cries out It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fails not So likewise in Psal 130.3 when the heart of the Psalmist was up in believing actings then saith he If thou shouldest mark iniquity who shall stand The least iniquity that remains in the most sanctified souls