favour and grace of great persons alway And as the favourable aspect of the heavens upon inferiour bodies promiseth good things and men promise themselves from that favour and good so the favour and grace of God enlarge the soul with joy and comfort And there is that measure of joy in those that are in the free favour of God that they will honour God freely to cast themselves upon his mercy And it is with a disesteem of all things in the World besides it is such a joy as works in the soul a base esteem of all things else St. Paul esteemed all drosse in comparison of the knowledge of Christ and the favour of God in Christ. So in Psal. 4. David saith of some There be many that will say who will shew us any good any good it is no matter but saith the Holy Spirit in David Lord lift up the light of thy countenance upon me He goes to prayer he saith not who will shew us any good it is no matter what or how we come by it any earthly good worldly men desire No saith he Lord shew us the light of thy countenance he desires that above all things So he saith Psal. 3. The loving kindnesse of the Lord is better then life it self Life is a sweet thing the sweetest thing in the World but the grace and favour of God is better then that For in this when all comforts fail the Children of God have assurance that neither life nor death nor things present nor things to come nor any thing can separate us from the love of God in Christ which shews it self better then life it self When life fails this favour shall never fail Nothing shall be able to separate us from the favour of God in Christ it is an everlasting favour and therefore everlasting because it is free if it were Originally in us it would fail when we fail but it is an everlasting favour because it is free God hath founded the cause of love to us in himself so much for that Grace be unto you And peace All that I will say of peace in this place is this to shew That True peace issues from Grace It is to be had thence Peace we take here for that sweet peace with God and peace of conscience and likewise peace with all things when all things are peaceable to us when there is a sweet successe in all businesse with a security in a good estate It is a blessed thing when we know that all will be well with us This quiet and peaceable estate issues from grace peace of conscience especially I observe it the rather It hath been the errour of the world to seek peace where it is not to seek peace in Sanctification to seek it in the work of Grace within a man Not to speak of worldly men that seek peace in outward contentments in recreations in friends and the like alas it is a poore peace But I speak of Religious persons that are of a higher straine they have sought peace but not high enough True peace must be selected from Grace the free favour in Christ. This will quiet and still the clamours of an accusing conscience God reconciled in Christ will pacifie the conscience nothing else will do it For if our chief peace were fetched from sanctification as many fetch it thence in error of judgment alas the conscience would be dismaid and alwaies doubt whether it had sanctification enough or no. Indeed sanctication and grace within is required as a qualification to shew that we are not Hypocrites but are in the state and covenant of Grace it is not required as a foundation of comfort but as a qualification of the persons to whom comfort belongs Therefore David and St. Paul and the rest that knew the true power and efficacy of the Gospel they sought for peace in the grace and free favour of God Let us lay it up to put it in practise in the time of dissolution in the time of spiritual conflict in the time when our consciences shall be awakened and perhaps upon the rack and Satan will be busie to trouble our peace that we may shut our eyes to all things below and see God shining on in Christ that we may see the favour of God in Christ by whose death and passion he is reconciled to us and in the Grace and free favour of God in Ghrist we shall see peace enough It is true likewise besides peace of conscience of all other peace peace of successe and peace of state that all creatures and all conditions are peacable to us whence is it It is from Grace for God being reconciled he reconciles all when God himself is ours all is ours when he is turned all is turned with him when he becomes our father in Christ and is at peace with us all are at peace besides so that all conditions all estates all creatures they work for our good It is from hence when God is turned all are turned with him He being the God of the creature that sustaines and upholds the creature in whom the creature hath his being and working he must needs therefore turn it for the good of them that are in covenant with him All that are joyned in covenant with him he fills them with peace because they are in Grace with him This should stir up our hearts above all things in the world to pray for Grace to get Grace to empty our selves of self-confidence that we may be vessels for Grace to make Grace our plea to magnifie the Grace of God We must never look in this world for a peace altogether absolute that is reserved for heaven our peace here is a troubled peace God will have a distinction between heaven and earth But when our peace is interrupted when the waters are come into our souls what must be our course when we would have peace go to Grace go to the free promise of Grace in Christ. Grace and Peace From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The spring of Grace and peace are here mentioned After the Preface he comes to the Argument which he intends and begins with blessing One part of the scope of this blessed Apostle is to avoid the scandall of his sufferings for he was a man of sorrows if ever man was next Christ who was a true man of sorrow the blessed Apostle was a man of miseries and sorrow Now weake shallow Christians thought him to be a man diserted of God they thought it was impossible for God to regard a man so forlorn so despicable as this man was What doth he before he comes to other matters he wipes away this imputation and cleers this scandal You lay my crosses and sufferings and disgraces in the world to my shame it is your weakness that which you account my shame is a matter of praise I am so farre from being disheartned or discouraged from what I suffer that Blessed be God the Father of
Christ the Father of mercies c. That which to the flesh is matter of scandall and offence that to the spirit and to a spirituall man is matter of glory so contrary is the flesh and the Spirit and so opposite is the disposition and the current of the fleshly man to the spirituall man Job was so farre from cursing God for taking away that he saith Blessed be the name of God not onely for giving but for taking away too What ground there is in troubles and persecutions to blesse God we shall see in the current and passages of the Chapter To come then to the very verse it selfe where there is a blessing and praysing of God first And in this praysing consider The Act Object Reasons The Act Blessed be God which is a praysing The Object is God the Father The Reasons are inwrapped in the Object Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because he is the God and Father of Iesus Christ therefore blessed be he Secondly another reason is because he is the Father of mercies Another reason is from the Act of this disposition of mercie in God he is the God of all comfort and as he is comfortable so he doth comfort Thou art good and doest good saith the Psalmist thou art a God of comfort and thou doest comfort For as he is so he doth he shews his Nature in his working Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and God of comfort of which I shall speake when I come to them Blessed be God the Father c. We see here the heart of the blessed Apostle being warmed with the sense and taste of the sweet mercy of God stirrs up his tongue to bless God a full heart and a full tongue We have here the exuberancie the abundance of his thankfulness breaking forth in his speech his heart had first tasted of the sweet mercies and comforts of God before he prayseth God The first thing that we will observe hence is that It is the disposition of Gods Children after they have tasted the sweet mercy and comfort and love of God to break forth into the praysing of God and to thanksgiving It is as naturall for the new creature to doe so as for the birds to sing in the Spring when the Sun hath warmed the poore creature it shews its thankfulnesse in singing and that little blood and spirits that it hath being warmed after winter it is natural for those creatures so to do and we delight in them It is as natural for the new creature when it feels the Sun of righteousness warming the soul when it tastes of the mercy of God in Christ to shew forth it self in thankfulnesse and praise and it can no more be kept from it then fire can keep from burning or water from cooling it is the nature of the new creature so to do The reason is every creature must do the the work for which God hath enabled it to the which God hath framed it the happinesse of the creature is in well doing in working according to its nature the heathen could see that Now all the creatures the new creature especially is for the glory of God in Christ Jesus All the new creature and what priviledges it hath and what graces it hath all is that God may have the glory of grace why then it must needs work answerable to that which God hath created it for therefore it must shew forth the praise and glorie of God Blessed be God saith the Apostle Ephes. 1. And the blessed Apostle St. Peter begins his Epistle Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath begotten us to an Inheritance Immortal and undefiled which fadeth not away reserved for us in Heaven I shall not need to set down with the exposition of the word Blessed How God blesseth us and how we blesse God His blessing is a conferring of blessing our blessing is a declaring of his goodnesse it is a thing well enough known Our blessing of God is a praising of God a setting out what is in him Onely one thing is to be cleared What good can we do to God in blessing of him he is blessed though we blesse him not and he is praised whether we praise him or no he had Glorie enough before he made the world he contented himself in the Trinity the blessed Trinity in it self before there were either Angels or men or other creatures to blesse him and now he can be blessed enough though we do not blesse him It is true he can be so and he can have heaven though thou hast it not but be a damned creature and he will be blessed whether thou blesse him or no. Our blessing of him is required as a dutie to make us more capable of his graces to him that hath shall be given To him that hath and useth that he hath to the Glorie of God shall be given more we give nothing The stream gives nothing to the fountain the beam gives nothing to the Sun for it issues from the Sun our very blessing of God is a blessing of his It is from his Grace that we can praise his Grace and we run still into a new debt when we have hearts enlarged to blesse him We ought to have our hearts more enlarged that we can be enlarged to prayse God And to others it is good for others are stirred up by it Gods goodnesse and mercy is enlarged in regard of the manifestation of it to others by our blessing of God Yea this good comes to our souls besides the increase of Grace we shall find an increase of joy and comfort that is one end why God requires it of us though he himself in his essence be alway alike blessed yet he requires that we should be thankful to him alway that we should blesse and praise him even in misery and affliction why then because if we can work upon our hearts a disposition to see Gods love and to praise and blesse him we can never be uncomfortable we have some comfort against all estates and conditions by studying to praise God by working of our hearts to a disposition to praise and bless God for then crosses are light crosses are no crosses then That is the reason that the Apostles and Holy men so stirred up their hearts to praise and thansgiving that they might feele their crosses the less that they might be lesse sensible of their discomforts for undoubtedly when we search for matter of praysing God in any afliction and when we see there is some mercy yet reserved that we are not consumed the consideration that there is alway some mercy that we are yet unthankfull for will inlarge our hearts and God when he hath thanks and praise from us he gives us still more matter of thankfulnesse and the more we thank him and praise him the more we have matter of praise
he is a God of power the Father of Power the guilty conscience then would reason he is the more able to crush me and to send me to hell Indeed there is no attribute of God but it is matter of terrour being secluded from mercy but considering God the Father of mercies then we may consider sweetly and comfortably of all other attributes He is mercifull and good to me therefore his wisdom that shall serve to do me good to devise good things for me his power shall serve to free me from mine enemies his Justice to revenge my quarrell and so all other attributes shall be serviceable to my comfort they may be thought upon sweetly where mercy is laid claime unto before Therefore here he is called the Father of mercie and not the Father of other attributes Of Mercies To unfold the word a little mercie is here the same with grace to a person in miserie Mercie is but free favour shewed to a miserable person Grace shews the freenesse of it and mercie shews the state of the person to whom it is shown alway where mercy is either there is present or else possible miserie There was mercie shewed to Angels that stood to free them to give them grace to stand they might have fallen as the Devils did when they were Angels none are the Subjects of mercie but such as either are in misery or are possible to fall into miserie now when God keeps and upholds the creature from falling into that which he is subject to fall into he being a creature taken out of nothing and therefore subject to fall to nothing without assistance to hold him from that whereto he would fall without being upheld this makes him the Object of mercy whatsoever the misery be spirituall or outward Thus God is the Father of mercie he upholds his Children from that which else they would fall into continually He is the Father of mercie before conversion offering and injoyning mercie to them that as they will be good to their soules they would receive mercie He joyns his glory and his mercy together that he will be glorified in shewing mercie and he presseth it upon us What a mercie is this that he should press mercie upon us for our own good Why will ye dye O House of Israel And Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden there is mercie before conversion and there is mercie in prolonging his wrath in not punishing and there is mercie in pardoning sinne freely in pardoning all sinne the punishment and the guilt and all and when we are in the state of Grace and have our sins pardoned still it is his mercy to forbeare the punishments due to us in mitigating his corrections and in seasonable corrections for it is a mercy for God to correct his Children seasonably Therefore we are corrected of God that we should not be damned with the world It is a mercy to have seasonable correction it is a mercy to have correction mitigated and sweetned with some comforts It is a mercy after we are in the state of Grace besides this to have the continuance of outword blessings God renews his mercies every day His mercies faile not Lament 3. 22. his mercies are renewed continually upon us So he is father of all kind of mercies privative mercies in freeing us from ill and positive mercies in bestowing good pardoning mercies healing mercies preserving mercies all mercies come from this Father of mercie I will not stand to unfold them in particular for indeed every thing that comes from God to his children it is a mercy it is as it were dipt in mercy before it comes to us it is a mercy that is there is a freedome in it and a pity to his creature For the creature is alway in some necessity and in some dependance we are in a state of necessities in this life in some misery or other and that as I said is the object of mercy Besides we are dependant for the good we have it is at Gods mercy to continue or to take away any comfort that he gives us every thing is a mercie And in every thing we take from God we ought to conceive a mercy in it and to think this is a mercy from God if we have health it is a mercy if we have strength it is a mercy if we have deliverance it is a mercy it comes in the respect and relation of a mercie all that comes from God He is not said to be the father of the thing but the Father of mercies there is a mercy contained in the thing they come from the pity and love of God and that is the sweetest therefore he is said to be the Father of mercies What use may we make of this that God is the Father of Mercies It is a point full of sweet and comfortable uses to those that are not in the state of grace and to those that are in the state of grace To those that are not in the state of grace they should see here a haven to flie to a City of refuge to flie unto do but consider thou wretched soul how God is stiled a Father of mercies to thee a God of bounty all is to allure thee to repentance to allure thee to come in He is not mercifull by accident but he is naturally merciful in himself he hath bowels of mercie in himself Mercy pleaseth him Micah 7. Therefore despair not thou drooping soul whosoever thou art that art under the guilt of sin come to the Father of mercies cast thy self into this Sea of his mercie hide thy self in these bowels be not an enemy to thine own mercie as Jonah saith refufe not thy own mercie that is offered There is mercie pressed upon thee mercie with threatning if thou believe not mercy now thou art called to receive it The wrath of God hangs over thee as a weight or as a sword ready to fall upon thee As Christ sath Joh. 3. The wrath of God hangs over us if we do not receive mercie offered us Alledge not thy sins against mercie thy sins are the sins of a creature God is the Father of mercies he is infinite Christ thy Saviour hath made an infinite satisfaction and thy sins are finite and in that respect there is mercie for thee if thou wilt come in if thou apprehend and receive mercie One deep calls upon another deep the depth of thy sins and misery drawes unto it and calls upon the depth of mercy The mercy of God is above all his works Psal. 147. It is not only above all his works to cover them all and under them to uphold them but it is beyond them all his mercy exceeds all other attributes to the creature It is above his works and upon his works and under his works and it is above thy works too He is more glorious in his mercy then in any other attribute he doth all for the glory of his mercy both
Esay 28. you have made a covenant with hell and death with Gods judgments but hell and death hath not made a covenant with you You make a covenant think you shall do well but God is terrible to such his wrath shall smoak against such as make a covenant with his judgments and treasure up wrath against the day of wrath Take heed if the proclamation of mercy call thee not in if thou stand out as a Rebell and come not in but go on still then justice layes hold on thee Gods wrath shall smoak against thee As we see in Prov. 1. I will laugh at your destruction speaking of those that would not come in Chidas it is in Esay 27. 11. He that formed them and made them will have no mercy on them nor shew them favour He will have no delight in them They are Ignorant sotts and will not labour to know God and his will to do and obey it he that made them will have no delight in them and he that formed them will reject them It is a pittiful thing when God that made them and formed them in their mothers womb whose creatures they are shall have no delight in them when he that made them his heart shall not pittie them Ezek. 18. 18. he that goes on in a course of sin presumptuously and doth not repent Gods eye shall not pittie him he that made him will have no delight in him Therefore the Apostle because we are disposed and prone to abuse the goodnesse and long suffering of God and the mercies of Christ he saith Be not deceived be not deceived he oft presseth this for neither the covetous nor licentious persons shall enter into heaven Though God be mercifull if thou live in these sins be not deceived thou shalt never enter into heaven God will not be mercifull to the most of those that even now live in the bosome of the Church because they make mercy a band to their sinful courses God will harden himself he will not blesse such he hath no mercy for such to such he is a God of vengeance His mercy is to such as are weary of their sinful courses as I said he is mercifull but so as he is wise What Prince will prostitute a pardon to one that is a Rebell and yet thinks himself a good Subject all the while he is no Rebell cares he for a pardon And shall he have a pardon when he cares not for it Those that are not humbled in the sight and sence of their sins that think themselves in a good estate they are Rebells that have not sued out their pardon there is no mercie to them yet He that made them will not pittie them because they are Ignorant hardned wretches that live in blasphemy in swearing that in corrupt courses in hardnesse of heart that live in sins that their own conscience and the conscience of others about them know that they are sins devouring sins that devour all their comfort and yet notwithstanding they dream of mercy mercy Hell is their portion and not mercy that make an Idol of God Thus it is with us we are prone to presume upon Gods mercy I speak this that we should not surfet of this sweet doctrine that God is the father of Mercies He is so to repentant sinners to those that believe to those mercy is sweet We know oyl is above all other liquors Gods mercy is above all his own works and above our sins But what is the vessel for this oyl this oyl of mercy it is put in broken vessels it is kept best there a broken heart a humble heart receives and keepes mercie As for proud dispositions as all Sinners that go on in a course of sin the Psalmist terms them proud men he is a proud man that sets his own will agaist Gods command God resists the Proud it is the humble yeelding heart that will be led and lured by God that is a vessel to receive mercy It must be a deep vessel it must be a broken vessel deep with humiliation broken by contrition that must receive mercy And it must be a large vessel laid open capable to receive mercy and all mercy not only pardoning mercy but healing mercy as I said out of that Psalme That forgiveth all thy sins and healeth all thy transgressions Therefore those that have not grace and mercy to heal their corruptions to dry up that issue in some comfortable measure thay have no pardoning mercy and those that desire not their corruptions to be healed they never desired heartily their corruptions to be pardoned those mercies go together He is not the Father of mercy but of all mercies that belong to salvation and he gives them every one and he that desires the one desires the other Let us consider how the sweet descriptions of God and how his promises work upon us If they work on us to make us presume it is a fearful case it is as bad a sign as may be to be ill because God is good to turn the Grace of God into wantonnesse But as we are thus prone to presume so when conscience is awaked we are as prone to despair therefore if they work with us this way there is mercy with God therefore I will come in therefore I will cast down my weapons at his feet I will cease to resist him I will come in and take terms of peace with him I will yeeld him obedience for the time to come therefore I will fear and love so good a God If it work thus it is a sign of an elect soul of a gracious disposition And then if thou come in never consider what thy sins have been if thou come in God will imbrace thee in his mercy Thy sins are all as a spark of fire that falls into the Ocean that is drowned presently so are thy sins in the Ocean of Gods mercy There is not more light in the Sun there is not more water in the Sea then there is mercy in the Father of mercy whose bowels are opened to thee if thou be weary of thy sinful courses and come in and imbrace mercy In the Tabernacle we know there was a mercy Seat we call it a propitiatory In the Ark which this mercy Seat covered was the Law now in the Law there were curses against all sinners The Mercy-Seat was a Type of Christ covering the Law covering the curse though thou be guilty of the curse a thousand times God in Christ is merciful Christ is the Mercy Seat come to God in Christ there is mercy in Israel notwithstanding thy great sins If we cast away a purpose of living in sin and cast away our weapons and submit our selves to him he is the Father of mercies that is he is merciful from himself he is the spring of them and hath them from his own bowels they are free mercies because he is the Father of them For he is just by our fault he is severe
subjects of mercy that are the nearest to mercy when their conscience is awakned they think themselves furthest off and we have need to presse abundance of mercy and all little enough to set the soul in frame There is none of us all but we shall see a necessity of pressing this one time or other before we die David when he had sinned he knew well enough that God was merciful oh but it was not a slight mercy that would satisfie him as we see Psal. 51. how he presseth upon God for mercy and will a little serve him No according to thy abundant mercy he presseth mercy and abundance of mercy a multitude of mercies and unlesse he had seen infinite mercy abundant mercy in God when his conscience was awaked with the foulness of his sin there being such a crie for vengeance his sinne called and cried if the blood of Christ had not cried above it mercie mercie and abundance of mercy multitudes of compassion the soule of David would not have been stilled So other Saints of God when they have considered the foulnesse of sin how odious it is to God they could not be quieted and comforted but that they saw mercie and abundance of mercie As the Apostle St. Peter saith 1 Pet. 1. 3. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who of his abundant mercie hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ to an inheritance immortall c. God is the Father of mercies For faith will not have sufficient footing but in infinite mercy in the time of despaire in the time of torment of conscience in the time of desertion it must be mercie and the Father of mercies and multitudes of compassions and bowels of love and all little enough for faith to fix on the faith of a conscience on the rack but when faith considers of God set out not as Satan sets him forth a God of vengeance a consuming fire when faith considers God pictured out in the Gospel it sees him the Father of Christ and our Father and the Father of mercies and God of comfort faith seeing infinite mercy in an infinite God and seeing mercy triumph against Justice and all other attributes here faith hath some footing and staies it selfe or else the converted sanctified soul seeing the odiousnesse of sinne and the clamorousness of sinne such that it will not be satisfied but with abundant mercy and God must be presented to it as a father of mercie and compassion before it can have peace Therefore if so be at any time our conscience be awakened and the Devill layes hard to us let us think of God as he hath made himself knowne in his Word as a Father of mercies and God of comfort represent him to our soules as he represents himself in his Word Times of desertion when we seeme to be forsaken of God will enforce this times of desertion will come when the soul will think God hath forgotten to be merciful and hath shut up his love in displeasure oh no he is the Father of mercie he never shuts up his bowels altogether he never stops the spring of his mercie He doth to our feeling but it is his mercie that he doth that it is his mercie that he hinders the sence of mercy he doth that in mercy it is to make us more capable of mercie afterward Therefore saith the Father when he comes to us in his love and the sence of it it is for our good and when he takes the sence of his love from us it is for our good for when he takes away the sence of his love from us it is to enlarge our soules to be more capable of mercie after to prize it more to walk warily and jealously to look to our corruptions better Therefore in the time of desertion think of this when God seemes to forget us Can a Mother forget her Child Isa. 49. 15. Suppose she should be so unnatural as to do it which can hardly be believed that a Mother should forget her child Yet notwithstanding I will not forget you you are written upon the palmes of my hands that is I have you alway in my eye So that if there were no mercies to be found in nature no bowels to be found in a Mother where usually they are most abundant yet notwithstanding there is mercie to be found in the Father of Mercies still Therefore in such times let us make use of this And another thing that we ought to learne hence is this if God be so in Christ Jesus for we must alway put that in for he is mercifull with satisfaction and yet it is his mercie that he would admit of satisfaction his mercy devised a way to content justice his mercy set all on work mercy is above justice in the work of Salvation justice hath received contentment from mercy but that by the way to make us have higher thoughts of mercy then any other attribute of God in the Doctrine of the Gospel in that Kingdom of Christ it is a Kingdom of Grace and mercy if we have hearts to imbrace it Let this incourage us to come to God and to cast our selves into the arms of this merciful Father If we have lived in other courses before let the mercy of God work upon our souls In Rom. 2. it is pressed there excellently This mercy of God should lead us to repentance it should encourage us What makes a Thief or a Traitor come in when there is proclamation out against him If there be a pardon sent after him it makes him come in or else he runs out still further and further while the hue and cry pursues him but hope of mercy and pardon will bring him in again So it is that that brings us in again to God the very hope of mercy and pardon if we be never so ill or have been never so ill do not put off but take this day now Now is the time now while it is called to day take the present time Here is our error if God be the Father of mercy I will cry him mercy at the hour of death I thou maiest go to hell with mercy in thy mouth he is merciful to those that truly repent but how dost thou know that thy repentance on thy death-bed will be true It is not sorrow for sicknesse and grief for death and fear of that but there must be a hatred of sin and how shall conscience tell thee now thou hast repented that it is a hating of thy sinful courses rather then the fear of damnation that is rather from the sence of grief Conscience will hardly be comforted in this for it will upbraid I now now you would have mercy We see by many that have recovered again that have promised great matters in their sicknesse that it is hypocritical Repentance for they have been worse after then they were before It is not a sufficient matter to yeeld
shut but he keepes Court every day therefore Christ in the Gospel enjoynes us to go to God every day every day we say the Lords prayer forgive us our trespasses insinuating that the Court of mercy is kept every day to take out our pardon every day there is a pardon of course taken out At what time soever a sinner repents c. How shall we improve this mercy every day Do this when thou hast made a breach in thy conscience every day believe this that God is the Father of mercies and he may well be merciful now because he hath been sufficiently satisfied by the death of Christ He is the Father of Christ and the Father of mercies This do every day And withall consider our condition and estate is a state of dependance In him we live and move and have our being this will force us to mercie that he would hold us in the same estate we are in and go on with the work of grace that he would uphold us in health for that depends upon him that he would uphold us in peace for that depends upon him he is the God of peace that he would uphold us in comfort and strength to do good and resist evil we are in a dependant state and condition in all good of body and soul. He upholds the whole world and every particular let him take away his hand of merciful protection and susteining from us and we sink presently And every day consider how we are invironed with any danger remember we have compassing mercies as we have compassing dangers as it is Psal. 32. Mercy compasseth us round about Every day indeed we have need of mercie that is the way to have mercy here is a fountain of mercie the Father of mercy bowels opened the onely way to use it is to see what need we have of mercie and to flie to God to see what need we have in our souls and in regard of outward estate and to see that our condition is a dependant condition And lastly to make a use of thanfulnesse Blessed be God the Father of mercy we have the mercie of publick continued peace when others have war and their estates are consumed blessed be God the Father of mercie we sit under our own Vines and under our own figtrees If we have any personal mercies blessed be God the Father of mercies this way if he shew mercie to our souls and pardon our sins blessed be God the Father of mercies in this kind that he hath taken us and redeemed us out of that cursed estate that others walk in that are yet in their sins Oh it is a mercie and for this we should have inlarged hearts And withal consider the fearful estate of others that God doth not shew mercie to and this will make us thankfull As for instance if a man would be thankfull that hath a pardon let him see another executed that is broken upon the Wheele or the Rack or cut in pieces and tortured and then he will think I was in the same estate as this man is and I am pardoned Oh what a gratious Soveraign have I The consideration of the fearefull estate out of mercie what a fearefull estate those are in that live in sins against conscience that they are ready to drop into Hell when God strikes them with death if they dye so what a fearefull estate they are in and that God should give me pardon and grace to enter into another course of life that though I have not much grace yet I know it is true I am the child of God the consideration of the miserie of others in part in this world without repentance and especially what they shall suffer in Hell to consider the torment of the souls that are not in the state of Grace this will make us thankfull for mercies for pardoning and forgiving mercies for protecting mercies that God hath left thousands in the course of nature going on in a wilfull course of sinne This is that that the Apostle here practiseth Blessed be God the Father of mercies The other stile here is The God of all comfort The life of a Christian is a mysterie as in many respects so in this that whereas the flesh in him though he be not altogether flesh thinks him to be a man disconsolate the spirit finds matter of comfort and glory From whence the world begins discouragement and the flesh upbraiding from thence the spirit of God in holy Saint Paul begins matter of glory they thought him a man neglected of God because he was afflicted no saith he Blessed be the God of all comfort our comforts are above our discomforts As the wisdom of the flesh is enmitie to God and his spirit in all things so in this in the judgment of the cross for that which is bitterest to the flesh is sweetest to the spirit Saint Paul therefore opposeth his comforts spirituall to his disgraces outward and because it is unfit to mention any comfort any good from God without blessing of him that is the spring and fountain from whence we have all he takes occasion together with the mention of comfort to blesse God The God of all comfort The verse contains a wise prevention of scandall at the cross Saint Paul was a man of sorrows if ever any was next to Christ himselfe and that might prevent all scandall at his crosses and disgracefull afflicted usage he doth shew his comforts under the cross which he would not have wanted to have been without his cross therefore he begins here with praysing of God We praise God for favours and indeed the comforts he had in his crosses were more then the grievance he had by them therefore had cause to bless God Blessed be God c. The God of all comfort The God of comfort and the God of All comfort we must give Saint Paul leave to be thus large for his heart was full and a full heart a full expression And he speaks not out of books but from sense and feeling though he knew well enough that God was the Father of mercie God of all comfort that way yet these be wordsthat come from the heart come from feeling rather then from the tongue they came not from Saint Pauls pen onely his pen was first dipt in his heart and soule when he wrote this God is the Father of mercie and God of all comfort I feele him so he comforts me in all tribulations The God of all comfort To explaine the word a little Comfort is either the thing it selfe a comfortable outward thing a blessing of God wherein comfort is hid or else it is reasons because a man is an understanding creature reasons from which comfort is grounded or it is a real comfort inward and spirituall by the assistance and strength of the Spirit of God when perhaps there is no outward thing to comfort and perhaps reasons and discourse are not present at that time yet
strength of love of ours it is his own free grace and love which is shed by the holy Ghost and springs only from his own goodnesse and loving nature and not from us at all this is Grace It must be distinguished from the fruits of it as the Apostle doth distinguish them Rom. 5. 15. Grace and the gifts of grace There is favour and the gifts of favour which is grace inherent in us Here especially is meant the fountaine and spring of all the favour of God with the manifestation of it with the increase of it with the continuance of it He wisheth these things the favour of God with the manifestation of it to their souls that as God would be gracious to them so that he would shew his Grace that he would discover it and shine upon them and to that end that he would give them his holy Spirit to shed his love into their hearts This shining of God into the heart this shedding of the love of God into the heart is the Grace here meant Gods favour with the manifestation of it to the soul and with the continuance of it and the increase of it still Grace unto you As if he should have said I wish you the favour of God and the report of it to your souls that as he loves you through his Christ so he would witnesse as much by his holy Spirit to your souls And I wish you likewise the continuance of it and the increase of it and the fruits of it likewise for that must not be excluded all particular graces which are likewise called Graces They have the name of favours because they come from favour and favour is the chief thing in them What is the chief thing in joy in faith in love they are graces they cannot be considered as qualifications as earthly things in us they proceed from the grace and love of God and have their especial value from thence So I wish you the manifestation the continuance and increase of favour with all the fruits of Gods favour especially such as concern a better life The word is easily understood after the common sence Grace is the loving and free respect of a superiour to an inferiour the respect of a Magistrate to such as are under him such a one is in grace with the Prince we say we mean not any inherent thing but free grace So in Religion it is not any inherent habitual thing Grace but it is free favour and whatsoever issues from free favour This must be the rather observed this phrase against the Papists we say we are Justified by Grace and so do they what do they mean by being justified by Grace that is by inherent Grace we say No we are justified by Grace that is by the free favour of God in Jesus Christ so is the acception of the word But to come to the point that which I will now note is this that A Christian though he be in the state of Grace and favour with God yet still he needs the continuance of it He stands in need of the continuance of God St. Paul here prayes for Grace and peace to those that were in the state of Grace already Why The reason of it is that we run into new breaches every day of our selves as long as there is a spring of corruption in us a cursed issue of corruption so long there will be some actions and speeches and thoughts that will issue that would of themselves break our peace with God or at least hinder the sweet sence of it therefore we have continual occasion to renew our desires of the sence and feeling of the favour of God and to renew our pardon every day to take out a pardon of course as we have now the liberty to do so oft as we confesse our sins he is mercifull to forgive us and to win his favour we have need every day still still of Grace I list not to joyn in conflict here with the Papists concerning their opinion I will but touch it by the way to shew the danger of it They will not have all of meer Grace but Christians are under Grace while they are in this World as St. Paul saith all is Grace Grace still nay at the day of judgement The Lord shew mercy to the house of One siphorus at that day at the day of judgement Grace and mercy must be our plea till we come to heaven They stand upon Grace to enable us to the work and then by the work we may merit our own salvation and so they will not have it of Grace of gift but as a stipend a thing of merite Directly contrary to St. Paul Rom. 6. ult Eternal life is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of gift The gift of God a free gift through Jesus Christ our Lord. So from the first Grace to Eternall life which is the complement of all all is Grace As for the New Testament it is the Covenant of Grace the whole carriage of our salvation is called the Covenant of Grace because God of Grace doth enter into Covenant with us He sent Christ of Grace who is the foundation of the Covenant The fulfilling of it on our part is of Grace he gives us faith Faith is the gift of God he puts his fear in our hearts that we should not depart from him And when he enters into Covenant with us it is of Grace and love It was of Grace that he sent Christ to be the foundation of the Covenant that in the satisfying of his justice he might be gracious to us without disparagement to his justice Of Grace he fulfils the condition on our part we are no more able to believe then we are to fulfil the law but he inables us by his word and spirit attending upon the meanes of Salvation to fulfil the Covenant And when we have done all he gives us of Grace Eternal life all is of Grace There is nothing in the Gospel but Grace therefore in the Ephes. 1. it is stood upon by the Apostle To the praise of the Glorie of his rich Grace From Election to Glorification all is to the Glorie of his Grace We ought to conceive of God as a Gracious Father withholding his anger which we deserve to be poured upon us by the intercession of Christ withholding that anger and the fruits of it And notwithstanding we are in Grace if we neglect to seek to God the Father if we neglect to seek to Christ who makes intercession for us then though we be in the first Grace still we are not east away yet we are filii sub ira sons under wrath we are under Anger though not under hatred Therefore every day we should labour to maintain the Grace of God with the assurance of it It is a great matter to carrie our selvs so as we may be under the sence and feeling of the Grace of God It
This being a truth that Gods Children when they have tasted of his mercie break forth into his praise it being the end of his favours and nature being inclined thereto this should stirre us up to this duty and that we may the better perform this holy duty let us take notice of all Gods favours and blessings Knowledge stirs up the affections blessing of God springs immediately from an inlarged heart but enlargement of heart is stirred up from apprehension for as things are reported to the knowledge so the understanding reports them to the heart and affections Therefore it is a duty that we ought to take notice of Gods favours and with taking notice of them To mind them to remember them forget not all his benefits Psal. 103. Praise the Lord O my soule and forget not all his benefits insinuating that the cause why we praise not God is the forgetting of his benefits Let us take notice of them let us register them let us mind them let us keep diaries of his mercies and favours every day he renews his mercies and favours every day and we ought to renew our blessing of him every day we should labour to do here as we shall do when we are in heaven where we shall do nothing else but praise and bless him we ought to be in Heaven while we are on the earth as much as we may let us register his favours and mercies But what favours Especially spirituall nay first spirituall favours without which we cannot heartily give thanks for any outward thing for the soule will cast with it self till it feele it selfe in Covenant with God in Christ that a man is the Child of God Indeed I have many mercies and favours God is good to me but perhaps all these are but favours of the Traytor in the prison that hath the libertie of the Tower and all things that his heart can desire but then he looks for an execution he looks for a writt to draw him forth to make him a spectacle to all and so this trembling for fear of a future ill which the soul lookes for it keepes the soul from thankfulnesse It cannot be heartily thankful for any mercy till it can be thankful for spiritual fauors Therefore first let us see that our state be good that we are in Christ that we are in the covenant of Grace that though we are weak Christians yet we are true there is truth in Grace wrought in us And then when we have tasted the best mercies spirituall mercies when we see we are taken out of the state of nature for then all is in love to us when we have the first mercy pardoning mercy that our sins are forgiven in Christ then the other are mercies indeed to us not as favours to a condemned man And that is the reason that a carnall man he hath his heart shut he cannot praise God he cannot trust in God because he staggers in his estate because he is not assured he thinks it may be God fattens me against the day of slaughter Therefore I know not whether I should praise him for this or no. But he is deceived in that for if he had his heart enlarged to blesse God for that God would shew further favour still but the heart will not yield hearty praise to God till it be perswaded of Gods love For all our love is by reflection We love him because he loved us first and we praise and blesse him because he hath blest us first in heavenly blessings in Christ. Let us take notice of his favours let us mind them let us register them especially favours and mercies in Christ. Let us after think how we were pulled out of the cursed estate of nature by what ministery by what acquaintance by what speech and how God hath followed that mercie with new acquaintance with new comfort to our souls with new refreshings that by his spirit he hath repressed our corruptions that he hath sanctified us made us more humble more careful that he hath made us more jealous more watchful these mercies and favours will make others sweet unto us And then learn to prize and value the mercies of God which will not be unlesse we compare them with our own unworthinesse lay his mercies together with our own unworthinesse and it will make us break forth into blessing of God When we consider what we are our selves as Jacob said lesse than the least of Gods mercies We forget Gods mercies every day he strives with our unthankfulnesse the comparing of his mercies with our unworthiness and our desert on the contrary will make us to blesse God for his goodnesse and patience that he will not onely be good to us in not inflicting that which our sins have deserved Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to name no more bút this one above all beg of God his holy spirit for this Blessing of God is nothing else but a vent from the spirit For as Organs and wind Instruments do never sound except they be blown they are dead and make no musick till there be breath put into them so we are dead and dull instruments therefore it is said we are filled with the Holy Ghost All Gods children they are filled with the spirit before they can praise God the spirit stirres them up to praise him and as it gives them matter to praise him for so it gives the Sacrifice of praise it self God gives to his children both the benefits to blesse him for and he gives the blessing of a heart to blesse him And we must beg both of God beg a heart able to discern spiritual favours to tast and relish them and to see our own unworthinesse of them and beg of God his holy spirit to awaken and quicken and enlarge our dead and dull hearts to praise his name Let us stir up our hearts to it stirr up the spirit of God in us every one that hath the spirit of God should labour to stir up the spirit as St. Paul writes to Timothy and as David stirs up himself Praise the Lord O my soul and all that is within me praise his holy name so we should raise up our selves and stir up our selves to this duty And shame our selves what hath God freed me from so great misery and hath he advanced me to so happie an estate in this world doth he put me in so certain a hope of glorie in the world to come have I a certain promise to be carried to salvation that neither things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus doth he renew his mercies every day upon me and can I be thus dead can I be thus dull-hearted Let us shame our selves And certainly if a man were to teach a Child of God a ground of humiliation if a Child of God that is in the state of grace should ask how
from us he takes occasion from our sins but he is merciful from his own bowels he is good from himself we provoke him to be severe and just therefore be we never so miserable in regard of sin and the fruits of sin yet he is the Father of mercy of free mercy mercy from himself mercy pleaseth him Micah 7. he is delighted in it Now that which is natural comes easily as water from the fountain comes without violence and heat from the fire comes without any violence because it is natural A Mother pitties her child because it is natural there is a sweet instinct of nature that moves and pricks forward nature to that affection of love that she bears to her child So it is with God it is nature in him to be merciful to his because they are his Mercy is his nature we are his we being his his nature being merciful he will be merciful to all that are his to such as repent of their sins and lay hold of his mercy by a true faith His word shewes likewise his mercy there is not one attribute set down more in Scripture then mercy it is the name whereby he will be known Exod. 34. where he describes it and tells us his name what is the name of God his long suffering and mercy c. there is a long description of of God in that place David in Psal. 3. besides that which is in every Prophet almost hath the fame description of God to comfort Gods people in his time in Psal. 86. 103. 145. there is the same description of God as there is in Moses he is merciful and long suffering c. he describes himself to be so and his promises are promises of mercy At what time soever a sinner repents and without limitation of sins all sins shall be forgiven the blood of Christ purgeth us from all sin If there be no limitation of persons whomsoever of sins whatsoever or of time whensoever here is a ground that we should never despair God is the Father of mercies It is excellent that the Prophet hath in Isai. 55. 7. to prevent the thoughts of a dejected soul Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and return to the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon I but I have abused mercy a long time I have lived in sin and committed great sins well notwithstanding that see how he answers it My thoughts are not your thoughts you are vindictive if a man offend you you are ready to aggravate the fault and to take revenge c. But my thoughts are not as your thoughts nor my wayes as your wayes saith the Lord for as far as the heaven is above the earth so are my thoughts above your thoughts and my wayes above your wayes We have narrow poor thoughts of mercy because we our selves are given to revenge and we are ready when we think of our sins to say can God forgive them can God be merciful to such c. My thoughts are not as your thoughts nor my wayes as your wayes It is good to consider this and it is a sweet meditation for the time undoubtedly will come that unlesse Gods mercy and Gods thoughts should be as him self is infinite unlesse his wayes should be infinitly above our wayes and his thoughts infinitly above ours in mercy certainly the soul would receive no comfort The soul of a Christian acquainted with the word of God knows that Gods mercy is as himself is infinite and his thoughts this way are as himself is infinite Therefore the Scripture sets down the mercies of God by all dimensions There is the depth of Wisedom but when he comes to speak of love and mercy as it is in Ephes. 3. Oh the depth and bredth and height of this Indeed for height it is higher then the heavens for depth it fetcheth the soul from the nether most-deep we have deep miserie out of the deep Icryed to thee yet notwithstanding his mercy is deeper then our misery O the depth of his mercy there is a depth of mercy deeper then any misery or rebellion of ours though we have sunk deep in rebellion And for the extent ofthem as I said before his mercy is over all his workes it extends to the utmost parts of the earth The scripture doth wonderfully enlarge his mercie beyond all dimensions whatsoever These things are to good purpose and it is a mercy to us that he sets forth himself in mercy in his word because the soul sometime or other when it is awakned as every one that God delights in is awakened first or last it needs all this it is all little enough God is merciful to those that are heavy laden that feel the burden of their sins upon their souls such as are touched with the sence of their sins God still meets them half way he is more ready to pardon then they are to ask mercy As we see in the prodigall when he had wasted all when he was as low as a man could be when he was come to huskes and when he had despised his fathers admonition yet upon resolution to return when he was stung with the sence of his sins his father meets him and entertains him he upbraids him not with his sin Take sin with all the aggravations we can yet if we repent and resolve uppon new courses there is comfort though we relapse into sin again and again if we must pardon 10. times 7. times as Christ saith certainly there cannot be more mercy in the Cistern then there is in the fountain there cannot be more mercy in us then there is in the Father of mercies as God is Take sin in the aggravations in the greatnesse of it Manasses sin Peters denying of his Master the thief on the crosse and Pauls persecution take sin as great as you will he is the father of mercies If we consider that God is infinite in mercy and that the scripture reveals him as the Father of mercies there is no question but there is abundance a world of comfort to any distressed soul that is ready to cast it self on Gods mercy For those that are converted that are in the state of Grace Is God the father of mercies Let this stir us up to imbrace mercy every day to live by mercy to plead mercy with God in our daily breaches to love and fear God because there is mercy with him that he might be feared It is a harder matter to make a daily sweet use of this then it is taken for Those that are the fittest subjects for mercy they think themselves furthest off from mercy Come to a broken soul who is catched in the snare whose conscience is on the rack he thinks alas there is no mercy for me I have been such a sinner God hath shewed me mercy before and now I have offended him again and again those that are the
thee comfort that thou art much humbled in thy sicknesse and at the hour of death for it is hard for thee to determine whether it be true Repentance or meer sorrow for sin as it brings judgement Fear of damnation is not sufficient to bring a man to heaven thy nature must be changed before thou come to heaven thou must love Righteousnesse because it is Righteousnesse thou must love God because he is good thou must hate sin because it is sin How canst thou tell when thou hast been naught before affliction whether affliction have wrought this that thou repentest only out of hatred of judgement to shun that or out of hatred of sin because it is sin Therefore now a little repentance in thy health and in the enjoying of thy prosperity a little hatred of ill wayes now will more comfort thee then a thousand times more prayer and striving will then Although if thou canst do it truly then yet the gate of mercy is open but thy heart will scarce say it is truly done because it is forced Then again perhaps thou shalt not have the honour of it thou shalt not have the mercy thou that hast refused mercy and lived in a loose prophane course thou that hast despised mercy all the while God will not honour thee so much as to have a good word or a sorrowful word that even very grief shall not extort it from thee but as thou hast forgotten God in thy life and wouldest not own his admonitions thou shalt forget thy self in death and be taken away suddenly or else with some violent disease that shal take away the use of the parts that God hath given thee as inflammation of the Spirits or the like that shall take away the use of sound reason It is madnesse and no better to live as the most live to cry God is merciful c. thou mayest go to hell for all that repentance must be from a true hatred of sin and that that must comfort thee must be a disposition for the present for then it is unforced Therefore all these sweet comforts are to you that come in and leave your wicked courses if you have been swearers to swear no more if you have been deceivers to deceive no more if you have been licentious to be so no more but to break off the course of your sins as God shall enable you or else this one thing think of it that you now dawbe your conscience withall and go on in sin with that will be the most terror to you even Mercy nothing will vex you so much as mercy afterward Then thon shalt think with thy self I have heard comfortable of the promises and of the nature of God but I put off and despised all I regarded my sinful courses more then the mercy of God in Christ they were sweeter to me then mercy I lived in sins out of the abundance of prophanenesse that did me no good I lived in sins out of the superfluity of prophanenesse that I had neither profit nor pleasure by and neglected mercy The consideration of mercy neglected with the continuing in a wretched course it will more aggravate the souls torment Let us be incouraged to come in such as intend to leave their sinfull courses let them remember that then they come to a Father of mercy that is more ready to pardon then you are to ask it As you see in the prodigal Son which I instanced in before it is a notable sweet Story I have a Father saith he when he had spent all and was come to Huskes Affliction is a notable means to make us to taste and relish mercy I have a father and there is plenty in his house and he comes and confesseth his sin he had no sooner resolved but his Father he doth not stay for him but he meets him and kisseth him Let us consider of this description of God the Father of mercy it should move any that are in ill and lewd courses before In my Fathers house there are good things and in his heart there are bowels of mercy I have a Father and a Father of mercy I will go home and submit my self to him and say to him I have been thus and thus but I will be so no more you shall find that God by his Spirit will be readier to meet you then you are to cast your selves at the feet of his mercy and into the armes of his mercie he will come and meet you and kisse you you shall find much comfort upon your resolution to come in if it be a sound resolution The son fears his Fathers displeasure but saith the Father My thoughts are not as your thoughts Oh! I fear he will not receive me yes yes he is willing to imbrace you mercy pleaseth him and why will you perish O house of Israel Againe God is the Father of mercies This should stirre us up to an imitation of this our gratious Father for every Father begets to his owne likeness and all the sons of this Father are like the Father they are mercifull The Kings of Israel are merciful Kings saith the Heathen King Benhadad and the God of Israel is a mercifull God and all that are under God are mercifull his sons are mercifull as their heavenly father is mercifull Therefore if we would make it good to our own hearts and the opinion and judgement of others of us that we are children of this mercifull Father we must put on bowels of mercie our selves as in Colos. 3. 2. Now therefore as the Elect of God as you will make it good that God hath elected you put on the bowels of mercie Whatsoever we have from God it comes in the respect of a mercie and so it should doe from Gods Children every thing that comes from them to them that are in miserie it should be a mercy they should not only bestow the thing but a sweet mercy with the thing a child of God he poures out his bowels to his Brother as Esay saith Poure out thy bowels c. There is some bowels that is there is an affection in Gods Children they give not onely the thing the reliefe but mercie with it that hath a sweet report to the soule there is pittie that more comforts a sanctified soule then the thing it selfe We must not doe workes of mercie proudly it is not the thing that God stands on but the affection in the thing his benefits are with a fatherly pittie so should ours be with a pittifull respect with a tender heart The very mercies of the wicked are cruell If they be mercifull there is some pride of spirit there is some tast of a hard heart of an hypocriticall spirit somewhat is not as it should be their mercies are not mercies we must in our mercie imitate the Father of mercies Alas it is the fault of our time there is little mercie to those that are in miserie What a cruell thing is it that
truth and though with much weaknesse yet we call upon thee in truth therefore we cannot but be perswaded of thy goodnesse that thou wilt be near us so it is a prevailing course because it is obedience to Gods order And it is a prevailing course because likewise it sets God on work Faith that is in the heart and that sets prayer on work for prayer is nothing but the voyce of faith the flame of faith the fire is in the heart and spirit but the voyce the flame the expression of faith is prayer faith in the heart sets prayer on work what doth prayer that goes into heaven it pierceth heaven and that sets God on work because it brings him his promise it brings him his nature Thy nature is to be Jehovah good and gracious and merciful to thine thy promise is answerable to thy nature and thou hast made rich and precious promises As faith sets prayer on work so prayer sets God on work and when God is set on work by prayer as prayer must needs bind him bringing himself to himself bringing his word to him every man is as his work and his word is as himself God being set on work he sets all on work he sets heaven and earth on work when he is set on work by prayer therefore it is a prevailing course he sets all his attributes on work for the deliverance and rescue of his Church from danger and for the doing of any good he sets his mercy and goodnesse on work and his Love and whatsoever is in him You see then why it is a prevailing course because it is obedience to God and because it sets God on work it overcomes him which overcomes all it overcomes him that is omnipotent We see the woman of Canaan she overcame Christ by the strength that she had from Christ. And Moses he overcame God Let me alone why dost thou presse me Let me alone It offers violence to God it prevails with him and that which prevails with God prevails with all things else the prayer of faith hath the promise The prayer of a righteous man in faith it prevails much saith St. James Consider now if the prayer of one righteous man prevail much what shall the prayer of many righteous men do as St. Paul saith here my prayers and your prayers being joyned together must needs prevail For instances the Scripture is full of them how God hath vouchsafed deliverance by the help of prayer I will give but a few instances of former time and some considerations of later time For former times in Exod. 17. you see when Amaleck set upon the people Moses did more good by prayer then all the army by fighting as long as Moses hands were held up by Aaron and Hur the people of God prevailed a notable instance to shew the power of prayer In 2. Chron. 14. Asa prayed to God and presseth God with arguments and the people of God prevail In 2. Chron. 20. there you have good King Jehosaphat he prayes to God and he brings to God his former experience he presseth God with his covenant with his nature and the like arguments spoken of before and then he complaines of their necessity Lord we know not what to do our eyes are towards thee And Gods opportunity is when we are at the worst and at the lowest then he is near to help We know not what to do but our eyes are towards thee saith that blessed King and then he prevailed So the Prophet Isay and Hezechias they both joyn together in prayer to God and God heard the Prophet and the prayer of the King they spread the letter before the Lord and prayed to God when Rabshakeh rayled against God and they prevailed mightily Hester was but a woman and a good woman she was the Church was in extremity in her time she takes this course she fasted and prayed she and her people and we see what an excellent issue came of it the confusion of proud Haman and the deliverance of the Church In Act. 12. Herod having good successe in the beheading of James being flushed with the blood of James he would needs set upon Peter too the Church fearing the losse of so worthy a pillar falls to praying see the issue of it God struck him presently Wo be to the birds of prey when Gods Turtle mourns when Gods Turtle the Church mourns and prayes to God wo be to those birds that violently prey on the poor Church Wo be to Herod and all bloody persecuting Tyrants wo be to all malignant despisers of the Church when the Church begins to pray For though she direct not her prayers against them in particular yet it is enough that she prayes for her self and her self cannot be delivered without the confusion of her enemies you see these instances of old I will name but some of later times what hath not prayer done Let us not be discouraged prayer can scatter the enemies move God to command the winds and the waters and all against his enemies What cannot prayer do when the people of God have their hearts quickned and raised to pray Prayer can open heaven prayer can open the womb prayer can open the Prison and strike off the fetters it is a pick-lock We see in Act. 16. when St. Paul was cast in Prison he prayed to God at midnight and God shakes the foundations of the Prison and all flies open So St. Peter was in Prison he prayes and the Angel delivers him What cannot prayer do it is of an omnipotent power because it prevails with an omnipotent and almighty God Oh that we were perswaded of this but our hearts are so full of Atheisme naturally that we think not of it we think not that there is such efficacy in prayer but we cherish base conceits God may if he will c. and put all upon him and never serve his providence and command who commands us to call upon him and who will do things in his providence but he will do them in this order we must pray first to acknowledge our dependance upon him If we were throughly convinced of the prevailing power of prayer what good might be done by it as there hath been in former times certainly we would beg of God above all things the spirit of supplication And if we have the spirit of prayer we can never be miserable if a man have the spirit of prayer whatsoever he want he causeth it from heaven he can beg it by prayer and if he want the thing he can beg contentation he can beg patience he can beg grace and beg acquaintance with God and acquaintance with God it will put a glory upon him It is such a thing as all the world cannot take from us they cannot take God from us they cannot take prayer from us if we were convinced of this we would be much in prayer in private prayer in publick prayer for our selves for the Church of
part of happinesse in this world and in the world to come Now the end of the Ministery is to set the peoples hearts into a gracious and blessed liberty to bring them into the Kingdome of grace here and to fit them for the Kingdome of glory to help forward their joy This is the end both of the Word and of the dispensation of the Word in the Ordinances of salvation in the Sacraments and all that our joy may be full as our blessed Saviour saith These things have I spoken that your joy may be full It is the end of all our communion with the Father Son and Holy Ghost and with the Ministery and one with another as it is 1 Joh. 1. These things have I written that your joy may be full you have communion with the Father Son and Holy Ghost and with us that your joy may be full all is for spiritual joy We are helpers of your joy The meaning is we are helpers of your faith from whence joy comes more especially for he doth not repeat the word again We have not dominion over your faith but are helpers of your faith but instead of that he names joy as that that doth accompany true faith The Points considerable in this clause are these That joy is the state of Christians that either they are in or should labour to be in because the Apostle names it for all happinesse here All that have given their names to Christ should labour to rejoyce either they do rejoyce or they should labour to come to it that is supposed as a ground I will be the shorter in it The second is That the Ministers are helpers of this blessed condition The third is They are but helpers they are helpers and but helpers they are not authours of joy but helpers We are but helpers of your joy saith the Apostle These three things I will speak of briefly out of these words First Joy is that frame and state of soul that all that have given their names to Christ either are in or should labour to be in For this Doctrine is fetched from the principle of nature We do all with joy all in our callings is done with joy What do men in their Trades but that they may have that that they may joy in when they have it It is an old Observation of S. Chrysostome We do all that we may joy Ask any man why he doth take so much pains and be a drudge in his place it is that he may get somewhat to rejoyce in in his old dayes So out of the principle of nature this ought to be the scope of all to joy Now those that are Christians God requires it at their hand as a duty Rejoyce alway again I say rejoyce And he doth prepare and give them matter enough of joy to those that are Christians For whether we consider the ills they are freed from the greatest ills of all they are freed from sin and the wrath of God they are freed from eternal damnation they are freed from the sting of death from the greatest and most terrible ills Or whether we regard the state that God brings them in by believing being in the favour of God they enjoy the fruits of that favour peace and joy in the Holy Ghost And then for the life to come they are under the hope of glory The state of a Christian is a state of joy every way whether I say we regard the ill he is freed from or the good he is in for the present or the hope of eternal good for the time to come A Christian which way soever he look hath matter of joy God the Father is his Christ is his the Holy Ghost is his Comforter the Angels are his all are his life or death things present or things to come all are his Therefore there is no question of this that every one that hath given his name to Christ is in a state of joy if he answer his calling or he should labour to be in it he wrongs his codition else Why should they labour to be in that state Among many Reasons one is That God that gives them such matter of joy may have glory from them For what should the life of a Christian be that is freed from the greatest ill and advanced to the greatest good his life should be a perpetual thanksgiving to God and how can a man be thankfull that is not joyful Joy is as it were the oyl the anointing it makes a man chearful it makes the countenance of his soul to be chearful it makes him active in good when he is anointed with the oyl of gladnesse Now every man should have a desire to be good to be diligent and expedite in all that is good Therefore we should labour for this spiritual anointing that we may be ready for every good work Vessels of mercy prepared for every good work And then for suffering we have many things to go through in this world how shall a man suffer those things that are between him and Heaven with joy unlesse he labour to bring himself to this temper of joy And then for others every man should labour to encourage others We are all fellow-passengers in the way to Heaven therefore even to bring on others more chearfully we ought to labour to be in a state of joy Those that do not rejoyce they bring an ill report upon the way of God as if it were a desolate disconsolate way As the Spies brought an ill report upon the Land of Canaan whereupon the people were disheartned from entring into it So those that labour not to bring their hearts to spiritual joy they bring an ill report on the wayes of God and dishearten others from entring into those wayes which way soever we look we have reasons to encourage us to joy That God may have more glory and that we may do him more service that we may endure afflictions better and encourage others and take away the reproach of Religion from those that think it a melancholy course of life which indeed do not understand what belongs to the state of a Christian for the state of a Christian is a state of joy And if a Christian do not joy it is not because he is a Christian but because he is not a Christian enough because he favours the worse principle in him he favours himself in some work of the flesh God in the Covenant of grace is all love and mercy he would have us in our pilgrimage to heaven to finish our course with joy and he knowes we can do nothing except we have some joy It is the oyl of the soul as I said to make it nimble and fit for all actions and for all sufferings It gives a lustre and grace to whatsoever we do Not onely God loves a chearfull performer of duties but it wins acceptance of all others and makes the worker himself wondrous
he might grow humble and be abased more and more a man could give no one direction better then this to consider how God hath been good continually how he hath been patient and good and upon what ground we hope that he will be so and to consider the disposition of our own drooping drousie souls if this will not abase a soul that hath tasted the love and mercie of God nothing in the world will do it There never was a Child of God of a dull temper and disposition but he was ashamed that being under such a covenant of favour that he should yet not have a heart more enlarged to blesse God To stir us up to this duty for arguments to perswade us what need we use many It should be our duty in this world to be as much in heaven and heavenly imployment Our conversation is in heaven saith the Apostle How can we be in heaven more then by practising of that which the Saints and Angels and the Cherubins and Seraphins spend all their strength in there How do they spend all that blessed strength with chearfulnesse and joy that are in that place of joy How do they spend it but in setting forth the praise of God the wonderful goodnesse of God that hath brought them to that happinesse Certainly that which we shall do for ever in heaven we ought to do as much as we may do on earth And it is as I said before in all aflictions and troubles the only special way to mitigate them to work our hearts to thankfulnesse for mercies and favours that we enjoy We have cause indeed at the first to be abased and humbled but we have more cause to rejoyce in working our hearts to comfort in blessing of God it will ease the crosse any crosse whatsoever I will not dwell further upon the point I shall have occasion oft to digresse upon this duty The Object of prayse here is God cloathed with a comfortable description not God simply for alas we have no hearts to praise God take God onely armed with justice cloathed with Majesty Consider God thus indeed he deserves glory and praise but the guilty soule will not praise him thus considered and abstracted from mercie and goodness and love therefore saith he Blessed be God God how considered Blessed be God The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. First he is father of Christ and then Father of mercies and God of comfort God so considered be blessed God as he is to be prayed unto so he is to be praised And only God this sacrifice this perfume this incense it must not be mispent upon any creature we have all of his grace and we should returne all to his glory that is a duty But consider him as he is described here first the father of Christ and then the father of mercies and God of all comfort And it is not to be omitted thar first he begins with this Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ only as he is God but the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as he is man for God being the Father of whole Christ being father of the person he is father of the manhood taken into unitie with that person so he is Father both of God and Man they cannot be dividedin Christ he being the Father of whol Christ he is the Father God and Man And he is first the Father of Christ and then the Father of us and the Father of mercies for alas unlesse he had been the Father of Christ God and Man Mediatour he could never have been the Father of such cursed creatures as we are but because he is the Father of Christ of that blessed manhood which Christ hath taken into Unitie of person with the God-head therefore he is the Father of us who by Union are one with Christ. The point then is that God thus considered as the Father of Jesus Christ is to be praysed Here is the reason of blessing and praysing him in this that he is the Father of Jesus Christ for thence he comes to be our Father it is a point that we think not oft enough on but it is the ground of all comfort for we have all at the second hand Christ hath all first and we have all from him He is the first Son and we are sons he is the first beloved of God and we are beloved in him he is filled first with all grace and we are filled from him of his fulnesse we receive Grace for Grace he was first acquitted of our sinnes as our surety and then we are justified because he was iustified from our sins being our surety he is ascended into Heaven we shall ascend he sits at the right hand of God and we sit with him in heavenly places he judgeth we shall iudge him whatsoever we doe Christ doth it first we have it in Christ and through Christ and from Christ he is the Father of Christ and our Father Therefore we ought to blesse God for Christ that he would predestinate Christ to be our head to be our Saviour that he would take the humane nature of Christ and make it one person with his Divine nature and so predestinate us and elect and chuse us to salvation in him blessed be God that he would be the Father of Jesus Christ. And as this should stirre us up to bless God for Jesus Christ so likewise it should direct us to comfortable meditations to see our Nature in Christ first and then in our selves See thy Nature abased in Christ see thy Nature glorified in Christ see thy Nature filled with all grace in Christ and see this that thou art knit to that Nature thou art flesh of Christs flesh and bone of his bone and thou shalt be so as he is In that Christs nature was first abased and then glorified this nature shall first be abased to death and dust and then be glorified Christ died and rose again thou art predestinated to be conformable to Christ for as his flesh was first humbled and then glorious so thine must be first humble and then glorious His flesh was holy humble and glorious and so must ours be whatsoever we look for in our selves that is good we must see it in Christ first Aud when we heare in the Gospel in the Articles of the Creed of Christ crucified of Christ dying of Christ rising ascending and sitting at the right hand of God let us see our selves in him see our selves dying in him and rising in him and sitting at the right hand of God For the same God that raised Christ natural will raise Christ mystical he will raise whole Christ for he is not glorified by pieces as whole Christ natural in his body and members was raised so shall whole Christ mystical be Therefore in every Article of the Creed blesse God blesse God forabasing of Christ blesse God for raising
him up blesse God for raising us up Blessed be God who hath raised us up to an immortal hope by the Reserrection of Christ saith St. Peter blesse God for the ascension of Christ that our Head is in heaven Let us blesse God not for personal favours only but go to the spring blesse God for shewing it to Christ and to us in him This point the Apostle had learned well therefore he begins with praise Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If the Virgin Mary thought her self blessed and all Generations should call her Blessed for bearing our Saviour in her Womb and so being his Mother then all Generations must needs do this duty to call God blessed because he is the Father of Christ. So God the Father is to be blessed as the spring of favours for he gave Christ. All Generations call the Virgin Mary blessed because she was the Mother of Christ but that was in a lower degree then God was his Father This point ought to take up our meditations to think we have all in Christ first to think of our selves in Christ it is comfortable and Christ shall have more glory by it God the Father and the Son shall have glory by it and we shall have comfort The second consideration of God is not only as he is the Father of Christ but as he is The Father of Mercies God is the Father of Christ and our Father and the Father of mercies but as I said before in this method he is first the Father of Christ and then our Father and then the Father of mercies For he could never be the Father of mercies to us except he were the Father of Christ For mercy must see justice contented one attribute in God must not devour another all must have satisfaction his Justice must have no wrong nor it hath not now it is fully satisfied by Christ. Therefore God is the Father of Christ that Christ in our nature might die for us and so he might be our Father notwithstanding our sins having punished our sins in our surety Christ. So being the Father of Christ and our Father he is the Father of mercies his justice hath no losse by it If God had not found out a way out of the bowels of his mercy how he might shew good to us by reconciling mercy and justice in the Mediator Christ in punishing him for our sins to let us free he had never been a Father of mercy if he had not been the Father of Christ first for we being in such contrary terms as God and we were he being holinesse and we nothing but a masse of sin and corruption without sufficient satisfaction of an infinite person there could be no reconciliation therefore he is the Father of Christ who died for us he took our nature upon him to satisfie Gods justice and then Father of us and so Father of mercy to us He may well be the Father of mercies now being the Father of Christ of our nature in Christ for as I said he is the Father of Christ as man as well as he is God being the Father of our nature being taken into the unity with his own Sons Nature for both make one Christ he becomes the Father of mercies he is a Father to him by nature to us by Grace and Adoption The Father of Christ and Father of mercies It is a necessary method for God out of Christ is a fountain indeed but he is a 〈◊〉 sealed up he is a God Merciful and Gracious in his own nature but there is sin that stops the fountain that stops the current of the mercy there must be therefore satifaction to his justice and wrath before there can be reconciliation before there can any mercy flow from him He is first the Father of Christ and then the Father of mercies we have all from Christ. If he were not the Father of Christ he should be the Father of no body for immediatly no man is able to appear before God without a mediator Father of Mercies By Father which is a kind of Hebraisme is meant he is the Original the spring of mercies he is the Father of mercies He doth not say the Father of one mercy but the Father of mercies His mercy is one it is his Nature it is Himself as he is one so mercy in him is one it is one in the fountain but many in the streames it is one in him one nature and one mercy but because we have not one sin but many sins we have not one misery but many that lies upon this fraile nature of ours therefore according to the exigences of us wretched Creatures according to our sins and miseries his mercies stream out they are derived and run out to all kind of sin and misery whatsoever The Father of mercies If all mercies were lost they must be found in him he is the Father of mercies they are his bowels as it were and mercy pleaseth him as a man is pleased with his own natural Child The Father of mercies he doth not say the Author of mercies but the Father of them he gives them the sweetest name that can be he doth not say the Father of revenge or of judgement though he be the father of them too but to his Children the father of mercies A sweet name under which none should despair But to shew some reasons why he is so stiled There is good reason being the Father of Christ his justice being fully contented sin being taken away that stopped the current of his mercies he being naturally merciful his mercies run freely Father of Christ and Father of mercies it followes well he is the father of mercies because he is the Father of Christ and because his justice is satisfied in him and he being naturally merciful what hinders but that mercy may run amain freely and abundantly upon those that are in covenant with him in Christ that are members of Christ that is one reason because his justice is satisfied And because he is naturally merciful therefore he is the Father of mercies The Sea doth not more naturally flow and is moist and the Sun doth not more naturally shine the fire doth not more naturally burn heavy bodies do not more naturally sink to the center then God doth naturally shew pitty and mercy where his justice is satisfied for it is his nature it is himself The Apostle doth not name other attributes for alas other attributes would scare us As for example if the guilty conscience consider him as a God of justice it will reason thus what is this to me I am a sinner and he will be just in punishing if he consider he is a God of Wisedome the conscience considers he is the more wise to find out my windings and turnings from him and my covering of my sins he is the more wise to find me out in my courses and to shame me he doth not say
in the Creation and in the Gospel his mercy therefore is above his own workes and above thy workes if thou come in Oyl is of a Kingly nature it swims above all other liquors so the mercy of God like oyl it swims above all other attributes in him and above all sin in thee if thou wilt receive it Father of Mercies In a corrupt estate the special mercy is forgiving mercy if it were not for forgiving mercies all other gifts and mercies were to little purpose for it were but a reserving of us to eternal Judgement but a feeding the Traitor to the day of Execution a giving him the liberty of the priison which is nothing unlesse his Treason be pardoned so the forgiving mercy leads to all the rest Now these forgiving mercies they are unlimitted mercies there is no bounds of them for he being the Father of Christ who is an infinite person and having received an infinite satisfaction from an infinite Person he may well be infinitely merciful and himself is an infinite God his mercies are like himself the satisfaction whereby he may be merciful is infinite hereupon it is that he may pardon and will pardon all sin without limitation if they be never so great never so many This I observe the rather to appease the conscience of a sinner when it is suppressed with terrour and fear of the greatnesse of his sins Consider how God hath set down himself and will be known and apprehended of us not onely as merciful but a Father of mercies and not of one mercy but of all mercies not only giving but forgiving especially Which forgiveth all thy sins and healeth all thy infirmities Psal. 103. This I observe against a pronenesse in us to despair we are not now proner in the time of peace to presume then when conscience is awakened to despair we are prone to both alike For here is the poyson of mans corruption Is God so merciful surely I may go on in sin and cry God mercy and there is an end God is merciful nay the Father of mercies Now in the time of peace sin is nothing with us swearing is nothing rotten discourse is nothing going beyond others in our dealing and commerce is nothing getting an estate by fraud and deceit is nothing The bread of deceit is sweet loose licentious libertine life is nothing and those that do not follow the same excesse and are dissolute it is a strange matter with us they are strange people we think it strange that others do not so and if they be better then we it is but hypocrisie men measure all by themselves so all is nothing Great grosse swearing is nothing men glory in it and to make scruple of it it is thus and thus they have terms for it And what is the bawde for all this Oh! God is merciful and Christ he is wonderous merciful he took our nature that he might die for us c. It is true indeed but when the conscience is awakened then the conscience will tell thee another lesson the conscience will set God as just and Satan will help conscience with accusations and aggravations it is true it is too true the conscience will take part with God and with his word it is true thou hast done thus and thus these are thy sins and God is just And especially at the hour of death when earthly comforts fail and there is nothing but sin set before a mans eyes the comforts that are set before him can do him no good then the conscience will hardly receive any comfort especially the conscienconsciences of such as have gone on in a course of sin in spight of good meanes a conscience of such a man as either refuseth or rejects the meanes because it would favour it self in sin or a conscience that being under means having had it sins discovered to it that conscience will hardly admit of any comfort And there is none but they find it another manner of matter then they think it Sin is a blacker thing then they imagine their oathes that they trifle with and their dissolute and their rotten discourse when they should be better affected upon the sabbath and such like therefore we ought to look to it Well to presse this point of presumption a little further now I am in it We are wonderous prone to abuse this mercie to presumption and after to despaire I consider this before hand that however Gods mercy be unlimited as indeed it is in it self it is so unlimited to those that repent and to those that receive and embrace mercy and mercy in one kind as well as another it is so to those that repent of their sins for God is so the Father of Mercie as that He is the God of Vengeance too he is a just God too The conscience will tell you this well enough when the outward comforts that now you dally with and set as Gods in the room of God and drown your selves in sensuality and Idolatry with the creature and put them in the place of God when they are taken away conscience will tell you that God is merciful indeed but he is just to such that refuse mercies Therefore though his mercy be unlimited to such as are broken hearted to such as repent of their sins for he will glorifie his Mercy as he may glorifie his other attributs he is wisely merciful if he should be merciful to such as go on in sin he should not be wisely merciful Who among men if he be wise would be mercifull to a Child or Servant without acknowledgement of the fault Was not David over merciful to Absalom Yes it was his fault yet out of wisdome he would not admit him into his presence till he was humbled for his fault and made intercession though he doted upon him God is infinitely wise as he is Merciful therefore He will not be Merciful to him that goes on in wickednesse and sin This cannot be too often pressed for the most of the auditors wheresoever we speak the Divel hath them in this snare that God is merciful c. and doth he not know how to use it He is so indeed but it is to repentant souls that mean to break off their course of sin Otherwise if the Mercie of God work the other way hearken to thy doom He that blesseth himself saith God by Moses Denteronomy 29. 16 saith these curses shall not come to me he that blesseth himself and saith Oh all shall be well God is Mercifull c. My wrath shall smoak against him and I will not be merciful to him that goes on in his sins God will wound the hairie scalp of him that goes on in Sin As the Apostle saith Romans 2. he that abuseth the bountie and patience of God that should lead him to repentance he treasureth up wrath against the day of wrath The Scripture is never in any case more terrible then this way In
so many I would I could say Christian soules I cannot say so but they are a company of men that have the Image of God upon them men that live miserable poor such as for ought I know Gods mercie hath purchased with the blood of his Son may belong to Gods Kingdome They have the Image of God upon them yet they live without lawes without Church without Common-wealth irregular persons that have no order taken for them or not executed at the least to repress the sturdie of them and to relieve those that are to be relieved for age or impotencie It is a pittifull thing and a foule blemish to this Common-wealth and will bring some ill upon wealth and plague it from such irregular persons he will plague the Common-wealth for such enormities How do they live As Beasts and worse they submit themselves to no orders of the Church they have none and submit to none Here is an Obiect of mercy to those that it concernes And likewise mercie ought to be shewed to the souls of men as well as to their miserable and wretched estates Is Poperie Antichristian what mercy is it to suffer poysoners what a mercy were it in a common wealth to suffer men that are incendiaries to have liberty to do what mischief they would or men that should poyson fountaines and all that should refresh and nourish men were this any policy for the body And is it any policy to suffer those to poison the judgments of people with heresies to God and treason to their Prince to draw the affections of men from religion and the state where is mercy all the while Oh it is a mercy to them not to restrain them Mercy Is it mercy to the sheep to let the wolves at libertie No if you will be mercifull to shew mercy to the souls of these men is to use them hardly that they may know their error they may now impute the liberty they have to the approbation of their cause and so they are cruel not onely to others but to their own souls I speak this the rather it may be a seasonable speech at this time to enforce good lawes this way It is a great mercy mercy to the soul it is the greatest mercy and so crueltie to the soul is the greatest crueltie that can be What should I speak of mercy to others oh that we would be merciful to our own souls God is merciful to our souls he sent his son to visit us from on high in bowels of compassion he sent Christ as Zacharie saith and yet we are not merciful to our selves How many sinful wretched persons pierce their hearts through with covetousnesse and other wicked courses that are more dangerous to the soul then poyson is to the body They stab their souls with cares and lusts and other such kind of courses What a mockery is this of God to ask him mercy when we will not be merciful to our own souls and to intreat others to pray for us when we will not be merciful to our selves Shall we go to God for mercy when we will not shew mercy to our selves shall we desire him to spare us when we will not spare ourselves It is a mocking of God to come and offer our devotions here and come with an intent yet to live in any sin God will not heare us if we purpose to live in sin If I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear my prayer As we ought to be merciful to the souls of others and to the estates of others so we should to our own souls How can they reform evills abroad those that are Governours when they do not care to refomr themselves can they be merciful to the souls of others that are cruel to their own they cannot Let mercy begin at home This is that that the scripture aimes at mercy and the right use of it is the way to come to salvation and the abuse of it is that that damnes and they are damned most that abuse mercy Oh the sins against the Gospel will lie upon the conscience another day The sins against the law they help with the Gospel to see mercy but sins against mercy prefer our sins above mercy and in temptations to despaire to extenuate mercy hereafter it will be the very hell of hell that we have sinned against mercy that we have not embraced it with faith that we have not repented to be capable of it But to end the point with that which is the most proper use of all which is an use of comfort in all estates to go to God in all he is the father of mercy And when all is taken from us in losses and crosses to think Well our fathers may die and our mothers may die and our nearest and dearest friends that have most bowels of pittie may die but we have a father of mercy that hath eternal mercy in him his mercies are tender mercies and everlasting mercies as himself is We are everlasting our souls are immortal we have an everlasting father that is the Father of mercies When all are taken away God takes not himself away he is the father of mercy still Now that we may make our selves still capable of mercy still fit for mercy let us take this daily course Let us labour every day to have broken and deep souls as I said before it is the broken heart that is the vessel that containes mercy a deeper heart that holds all the mercy we need therefore to empty our selves by confession of our sins and search our own thoughts and waies and afflict our souls by repentance and when we shall be fit objects for God the father of mercie to shed mercy into misery it is the Load-stone of mercy misery felt and discerned and complained of Let us search and see our misery our spiritual misery especially for God begins mercy to the soul in his children he begins mercy there especially General mercy he shews to beasts to all creatures but speciall mercy begins at the soul. Now I say misery being the Loadstone of mercy let us lay before God by confession and humiliation the sores and sins of our souls And then make use of this mercy every day for God is not only merciful in pardoning mercy at the first in forgiving our sins at the first but every day he is ready to pardon new sins as it is Lament 3. He renewes his mercies every day every morning God renewes his mercies not only for body but for soul there is a throne of grace and mercy every day open to go to and a Scepter of mercie held out every day to lay hold on and a fountain for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in every day it is never stopped up or drawn dry the fountain is ever open the Scepter is ever held forth and the throne is ever kept God keepes not terms Now the Court of Chancerie is open and now it is
then it though it doe not wholly expel it but the discomfort remains still in some degree it may be said well to be a comfort The reason why I speake of this mittigation is because in this life God never so wholly comforts his Children but there will be flesh left in them and that will murmure and there will be some resistance against comfort while there are remainders of sinne there will be ground of discomfort by reason of the conflict between the flesh and spirit For instance a man hath some crosse on him what saith the flesh God is mine enemy and I will take such and such courses I will not indure this this is the voyce of the flesh of the old man What saith the spirit Surely God is not mine enemy he intends my good by these things So while these fight here is the flesh against the spirit yet here is comfort because the spirit is predominant but it is not fully comfort because there is the old man in him that withstands comfort in the whole measure of comfort Therefore we must take this degree we cannot have the full comfort till we come to Heaven there all teares shall be wiped from our eyes in this world we must be content to have comfort with some griefe the maladie is not wholly purged Sometimes God removes the outward grievance more fully God helps many times altogether as in sickness to health perfectly but I speake not of that Comfort is that which is opposite to miserie and it must be stronger for there is no prevailing but by a stronger when the Agent is not above the Patient there is no prevailing there is a conflict till one have got the masterie The God of all comfort All that is of all comfortable things and of all divine reasons it must be most substantiall comfort The soule in some maladies will not be comforted by Philosophicall reasons saith the Heathen the disease is stronger then the Physick when he considers Platoe's comforts and the like so we may say of the reasons of Philosophical men Romanists and Moralists when they come to terrour of conscience when they come to inward grievances inward stings that are in a man from a mans conscience as all discomforts usually when they press hard it is with a guilty conscience what can al such reasons do to say it is the state of other men and it is in vaine to murmure and I know not what such reasons as Seneca and Plato and others have it will scarce still the conscience for a fit They are ignorant of the root alas how can they tell the remedie when they know not the ground of the maladie It must be God it must be his Word his truth the conscience must know it to be Gods truth and then it will comfort God is the God of comfort of the things and of the reasons they must be his reasons And he also is the Author of that spiritual presence he is with his children when they are in the fire he goes with them into the water as it is in Esay 45. he is with them in the valley of death they shall find God with them to comfort them so there is a kind of presence with Gods comforts and a banishing of all discomfort And this comfort is as large as the maladies as large as the ills are he is a God of comfort against every particular ill if there be diverse ills he hath diverse comforts if they be long ills he hath long comforts if there be strong ills he hath strong comforts if there be new ills he hath new comforts take the ills in what extent and degree you will God hath somewhat to set against them that is stronger then they and that is the blessed estate of Gods Children he is the God of all comfort St. Chrysostome an excellent preacher yields me one observation upon this very place It is the wisdome of a Christian to see how God describes himself there being some thing in God answerable to whatsoever is ill in the world The spirit of God in the scripture sets forth God fitting to the particular occasions speaking here of the misery and the disgraceful usage of St. Paul being taught by the spirit of God he considereth God as a Father of mercies and a God of Comfort Speaking of the vengeance on his enemies the Psalmist saith thou God of vengeance shew thy self In God there is help for every maladie Therefore the wisdom of a Christian is to single out of God what is fitting his present occasion in crosses and miseries think of him as a father of Mercies in discomforts think of him as a God of comfort in perplexities and distresse think of him as a God of wisdom and oppression of others and difficulties which we cannot wade out of think of him as a God and father almighty as a God of vengeance and so every way to think of God appliable to the present occasion And though many of us have no great affliction upon us for the present yet we should lay up store against the evill day and therefore it is good to treasure up these descriptions of God The father of mercies and God of all comfort To explaine the word a little what doth he mean by God in this place That he is the God of comfort that hath a further comfort in it in the very title that is called the God of comfort In that he is called the God of comfort it implyes two things First it shewes that he is a Creator of it that he can work it out of what he will out of nothing And then that he can raise it out of the contrary as he raised light out of darknesse in the creation and in the government of this world he raiseth his Children out of misery As he raised all out of nothing order out of confusion so in his Church he is the God of comfort he can raise comfort out of nothing out of nothing that is likely to yield comfort Put the case that there be neither medicine nor meat nor drink nor nothing to comfort us in this world as we shall have none of these things in heaven he is the God of Comfort that shall supply all our wants As he shall then be all in all so in this world when it is by the manifestation of his glorie when Moses was 40. dayes in the mountain he wanted outward comforts but he had the God of comfort with him and he supplied the want of meat and drink and all other comforts because he is the God of all comfort in him are all comforts originally and fundamentally and if there be none he can create and make them of nothing God as a God properly makes something of nothing that is to be a God for nothing but God can make somewhat of nothing Gods upon earth call men their creatures in a kind of imitation of God but that is but a
comfort unlesse with revelation and application in the third place thou open my soul to joyn with these comforts There must be a discovery and application and an opening of the soule to them As there be diverse flowers that open and shut with the sun so the soul by the spirit of God it opens to comforts though comforts be put close to the soul if that do not open to them there is no comfort given for all is in the application There is a double application of the thing to the soul and of the soul to the thing God must do all What is the reason that many here Sermons and Read sweet discourses and yet when they come to suffer crosses and afflictions they are to see They go to the stream they cut the Conduits from the spring they go not to the Well-head they see not the derivation of comfort it is necessary for the deriving of comfort to the soul to take the scales from the eye of the soul they see not the necessity of a divine presence to apply it and and to lay it close to the soul and to open the soul to joyn the soul to those comforts God is the God of all comfort If any thing will stir up devotion much to pray to God undoubtedly this will be effectual that whatsoever the comfort be whether it be outward things or reasons and discourses whatsoever we may go to God that he would give it Well this being so if God be the God of all comfort the Well of comfort the Father of comfort and hath remedies for every malady Then you see here whither to go you see a Christian in all estates hath ground of comfort for he is in Covenant with the God of comfort You will say to me what is the reason that Christians are no more comfortable having the God of comfort for their God I answer it is partly from Ignorance we have remainders of Ignorance that we know not our own comfort Satan doth vail the eye of the soul in the time of trouble that we cannot see that there is a well of comfort Poor Hagar when shee was almost undone for thirst yet she had a fountain of water near hand but she saw it not she was so overtaken with grief Ignorance and Passion hinder the sight of comfort when we give way so much to the present malady as if there were no God of comfort in heaven as if there were no Scripture that hath breasts of comfort that is as full as a breast that is willing to discharge it self of comfort as if there were no matter of comfort they feed upon grief and delight to flatter their selves in grief as Rachel that mourned and would not be comforted so out of a kind of Ignorance and Passion and Wilfulnesse they will not be comforted And again as Bildad saith Job 18. are the comforts of God light to thee These are good words but my discomforts are greater my malady is greater so the comforts of the Holy Ghost the comforts of Gods Spirit seem light to them Ignorance and Passion and dwelling too much makes us neglect comfort it makes us to see comfort to be no comfort in a manner Mary when Christ was before her eyes they were so blubbered with tears with fear that her Lord was lost that she could not see him even when he was before her so grief and Passion hinder the soul so much from seeing Gods comforts that we see them not when they are before us when they are present So men are guilty of their own discomfort it is their own fault Again oft times forgetfulnesse as the Apostle saith Heb. 12. have ye forgotten the Consolation that speaks have ye forgotten that every Son that God chastizeth not is a bastard have ye forgotten insinuating that if they had remembred this it would have comforted them have ye forgotten And then one especial cause is that I spake of before the looking to things present forgetting the spring the well-head of comfort God himself the looking too much to the means oh say some if they be in distresse if I had such a Book if I had such a man to comfort me certainly it would be otherwise with me I should be better then I am put case he were with thee alas he is not the spring it is the God of comfort that must comfort thee man in all thy distresses whatsoever therefore if thou attribute not more to God then to the creature nay then to an Angel if he were to comfort thee thou shalt find no comfort I even I am he that comforts thee I am he that pardons thy sins which is the cause of all discomfort that is comfort that is the sting of all I am he that pardons thy sins We as Criers may speak pardon to the soule but God must give it we may speak comfort but God must give it he must say to the soule I am thy salvation When men Idolize any discourse in books or any particular man overmuch though we may value those that are instrumentall above others there may be a difference of gifts but the resting too much in the creature it is an enemy to comfort and some grow to that wilfulness in that kind that they will neglect all because they have not that they would have whereas if they would look to God meaner meanes would serve the turne oft times if they would goe to the God of comfort Who comforteth us in all tribulation Afflictions and crosses as they are irkesome in suffering so they are likewise disgracefull and as it was in the cross of Christ there was two things torment and shame the one he felt himselfe the other he had from others those two disgrace is proper to the cross so it is in all the crosses that we suffer there is some disgrace with it therefore Saint Paul to prevent the scandall and disgrace of the cross as I said before he doth here begin with praysing God even for crosses in the midst of them Blessed be God the Father of mercies the God of all comfort who comforteth us in all tribulations c. Who comforteth us in all tribulation These words contain a making good of the former title He is the God of comfort and doth comfort he is good and doth good He fils up his name by his works he shews what he is the Scripture doth especially describe God not in all things as he is in himself but as he is and works to his poore Church and they are usefull termes all of them he is the Father of mercie because he is so to his Church he is the God of comfort because he is so to his people therefore he saith here as he is the God of comfort so he doth comfort us in all tribulation He doth not say who keeps us out of miserie blessed be the God of comfort that never suffers us to fall
did Again Afflictions doe good to others by ministring occasion to them to search deeper into the cause when they they see the people of God are so used they take occasion hereby to enquire what is the cause and so take occasion to be instructed deeply in matters of Religion for mans nature is inquisitive and grace takes the hint of any thing What is the matter that such and such indure such things Hereupon I say they come to be better grounded in the cause little occasions oft times are the beginnings of great matters by reason that the spirit as well as wit is of a working nature and will draw one thing from another We see what a great Tree riseth of a little seed how a little thing upon report worketh conversion Naaman the Assyrian had a Servant and she told him that there was a Prophet in Jurie that was a famous man that did great matters and if he would go to him he should be cured of his leprosie that little occasion being ministred Naaman comes to the Prophet and he was cured of a double leprosie both of soule and body and went home a good man so by way of ministring occasion of inquisition the sufferings of others doe good And then seeing the constant and resolute spirits of those that suffer it doth them good and comforts them for first it makes them conceive we of the cause certainly these men that suffer constantly and chearefully it is a good cause that they suffer for when they see the cause is such a resolution and courage in the sufferers And it makes them in love with and begin to think well of the persons when they can deny themselves surely these men care not for the pleasures and vanities of the world that can indure to suffer these So Justin Martyr saith when he saw Christians suffer he thought they were men that cared not for pleasures for if they had they would not suffer these things Besides They can gather from the presence of Gods spirit imboldening the sufferers what they may hope for themselves if they should suffer They may reason thus Is God by his spirit so full and so strong in these that are flesh and blood as we are is he so strong in women in young men in aged men that neither their yeares nor their sex nor their tenderness can any kind of way hinder them from these kind of abasements and sharp sufferings surely the same spirit of God will be as strong in me if I stand out in the same cause and carrie my self as they do and there is good reason for God is the same God the spirit is the same spirit the cause is the same cause therefore it is no false reasoning I may upon a good presumption hope for the presence and assistance of the Spirit of God to inable and strengthen me as he did them for the same Spirit of Godwill be strong in all And this is partly likewise in the intent of them that suffer There is a double intent it is the intent of God to single them out to suffer for the good of others and it is their intent to suffer that others may have good This is one reason why they are willing rather to suffer shame or bodily punishment then they will hinder others of the good they may take by their suffering So it is Gods end and their end It is for your consolation in Gods intent and in my intent and purpose and in the event it self Thus you see how afflictions suffered in good cause help for the consolation and salvation even of others the example of those that suffer flow into the mind and insinuate into the judgment and affection of the beholders many wayes And this the Factors of Antichrist know very well for if ever there be any persecution again we shall hardly have fire and fagor that they may not give example they will come to Gun-powder plots and Massacres and such violent courses to sweep away all They know if it come to matter of example once the grace of God in his children and the presence of his Spirit that shall appeare to others it is of a wondrous working force they are wise enough to know that the Devill teacheth them that wit when he hath been put by all his other shifts If it be so that the sufferings of Gods Children are for the good of others then to make some use of it Let us not take any offence at the cause of religion for suffering we ought not to have an ill conceit of a cause for suffering but rather think the better of it I speak it is in this regard we have many that will honour the Martyrs that are dead that are recorded in the book but if any suffer in the present view before their eyes they are disgracefull to them This should not be For first of all if the cause be good the end of good men by the help of the spirit of God is for thy good Was it not a cruell thing in Saul to strike at David when he played on his Harpe when he sought his good and easement To kill a Nightingale in singing it is a barbarous thing Gods Children by all that they suffer intend the good of others now to hurt and and maligne them in doing good to persecute them that indure ill for our good or that labour and do any thing for our good it is a barbarous savage thing All is for the Elect I suffer not for the Elects sake saith St. Paul in 2. Tim. so my sufferings are for you We may know we are elected of God if we take good by the sufferings of others if we take no scandall and offence and doe not add affliction to the afflicted for all is in Gods intent and in their intent for our good For instance a little to enlighten the point because it is not usually stood on and it is a notion that may help our conceits of the excellent estate of Gods Children Reprobation to go as high as we may it is for their good to shew mercy to them to set by and neglect so many and to single them out The creation of the World is for their sakes Gods providence directs all for their Good for why doth he suffer wicked men it is that they may be instruments to exercise them that are good it is by reflexion or some way for the cause of the good that the wicked are suffered to be upon the earth The administration of the world it is not for the Rebels that are in it it is for those that are Gods Children and he tosseth and tumbleth Empires and Monarchies the great men of the world they think they doe great matters but alas all this is for the exercise of the Church this is reductive to the Church by Gods providence All their attempts are for the little flock for a few that are a despised company that he meanes to save
to live by sense but to live by faith it is a remote thing to lead our lives by reasons drawn from things that are not seen to live by promises it is a hard thing when things â—…at are sensible cannot work upon us When we see men dye and see the vanitie of things sensible it will not work upon us how then doe we think that things that are supernaturall which are remote farre above sense should work on us it is a hard thing not to trust to our selves we are so adicted to live by sense and there is some corruption in St. Paul in the best men to trust to present things Who doth not think but he shall live one day longer and so trusts to life As the Heathen man could say There is not the oldest man but he thinks he may live a little longer one day longer who makes that use of mortality and the uncertain fading condition of this life as he should and all because of a false trust as in other things so in the continuance of life we see we are prone to trust to put base false confidence in somewhat or other while we live in this world Again our nature being prone to outward things and sunk deeply into them it can hardly be recovered it cannot be sober without much ado and brought from trusting of present things You have some men that have things at will in this world they never know what faith means all their life they live by sense their conscience is not awaked and outward afflictions seize not on them and supply of earthly things they have what Religion means and what God and Heaven means they have heard of them perhaps but throughly and inwardly what it means they never came to know in this world without there be some alteration and changes they must have some changes The wicked have no changes saith the Prophet but while they be as they are they know not God nor themselves nor the vanity of earthly things We speak the truth of God to a company oft-times that are besotted with sensuality and that have perpetual supply of earthly things speak to them of faith and of things that are remote from sence c. they hear them as if they were in a dream Nature is prone to trust in present things even in the best in St. Paul himself Now our pronenesse to it doth justifie Gods dealing in many things As why doth God humble great ones with great afflictions why doth he humble great men great and excellent Christians with great falls that they might not trust in themselves no not in their own present graces God will not bring a man to salvation now by grace in himself to give him title to heaven his graces must onely be to help his evidence that he is not an hypocrite and to give evidence to others that others may see his good works c. but if he come to trust in them once to set them in Christs stead God will abase his pride by suffering him to fall that he may go out of himself to be saved by Christ and to seek for mercy in Christ. And this is the reason why God in his providence doth great things by small means without means and against means sometimes when he crosses and curses great means it is that we might not trust in our selves we are prone to self-confidence and because God will cure it for we must not carry it to heaven with us therefore he is forced to take this kind of dispensation Proud flesh will alway devise something but that which it should do to uphold it self withall it will not be driven from all its holds God hath much ado to work it out from all its holds if it have not wealth it will have wit and policy or if it have not that it will have Civil life and outward works to trust to and to swell it with but to come and give God the glory of Salvation onely by mercy and to depend onely on God and to see an insufficiency in any thing we do it can hardly be brought to passe Insomuch that that Article of Justification by the obedience of Christ onely it is meerly a spiritual thing altogether transcending nature No marvel if we find such opposition from the Church of Rome and all unlesse it be the true Church they understand not the main Article of salvation onely by mercy because nature is so desperatly prone to self confidence Let us take heed of false confidence in the things of this life of confidence in any thing but in God But to come to some tryals You will say how shall we know whether we put over-much confidence in them or no It is an easie matter to know it We trust them too much when we grow proud upon any thing when our spirits are lifted up Charge rich men that they be not high-minded insinuating that they are in danger to be high-minded If riches increase set not your hearts upon them saith the Psalmist there is great danger when the heart is set on them and lifted up when men think themselves so much the better as they are greater Indeed if they weigh themselves in a Civil balance it is so but the corrupt nature of man goes further and thinks a man intrinsically better and more beloved of God for these things It is a dangerous sign that we trust too much to them Again over-much grief if they be taken away any of them or if we be crossed in them the grief in wanting betrayes the love in enjoying It is a sign that Job had gotten a great measure of self-denial not to trust in himself or his riches though he were a rich man because when they were taken away Blessed be God saith he thou gavest them and thou hast taken them away He that can stand when his stay is taken from him it is a sign he trusts not too much to his stay he that is so weak that when his stay is taken away down he falls it is a sign he leans hard Those that when these things are taken from them when their friends are taken away or their honours or riches are taken away yet they can support themselves out of diviner grounds it is a sign they did not overmuch trust these things nature will work something but over-much grief betrayes over-much love alwaies Again which is but a branch of the other we may know that we over-much set by them by fretting to be crossed in any of these things A man may know Achitophel trusted too much to his policie and wit when he was crossed he could not indure it we see he made away himself for very shame When a man is crossed in his wit and policy when he is crossed in those projects he hath laid when he is crossed in his preferment or riches or friends then he is all amort he frets which is more then grieving when
outward things but do they groan under their corruptions do they complain of themselves do they go out of themselves their estate is good The estate of a Christian it is a growing it is a conflicting estate he comes not to full trust and confidence in God till he have gathered many experiments till God have exercised him to the proof throughly therefore let them not be discouraged A Christian is not alway like himself he is in a growing estate There is a weak faith and a strong faith Oh ye of little faith The Disciples had a little faith as well as Abraham that was strong in faith As long as we are on the complaining hand and on thestriving hand and growing hand all is hopeful St. Paul himself still strived against self-confidence and still learned to trust in God more and more But mark the order first God doth all this that we should not trust in our selves but that is not the thing he doth mainly aime at but another thing that we should trust in God who raiseth the dead whence we may observe that God to make us trust in himself is faine to cast us out of our selves His proper work is not to drive us out of our selves that is a work subordinate to a higher but the furthest and last work is that we should trust in him as the Prophet saith God doeth a strange work he doth a work strange to himselfe that he may do his own work he doth a work that doth not concern him so properly that he may do his own work as he is God that is to confirm and settle us upon himself But that he may do this he must set us out of our selves by crosses and afflictions that is not his own proper work to afflict us and to bring us low for he is the Father of mercies but that he may do his own work to bring us to him and then do good to us he must take this in his way and do this first To make it cleare A Carpenter he pulls down a house he takes it in pieces his Art is not to pull down houses but to build them up but he doth that which doth not belong to him properly that he may do that which doth belong to him for he will not build upon a rotten foundation So neither will God build upon a rotten foundation he will not build upon carnall confidence upon carnall trust upon pride and covetousnesse but he will demolish that rotten foundation with afflictions and crosses he will use such meanes that we shall have small joy to trust in sin he will by crosses and afflictions force us to go from our sins he will demolish that rotten foundation that he may raise up an excellent edifice and frame of the new creature that shall indure to everlasting the work of a Physitian is to cure nature and not to weaken it it is not his work to make people sick but to make them sound if the body be distempered it must be weakned he must carrie the burden of ill and noysom humours before it be strengthened to make people sound he must give them strong purgations that shall afflict them and affect them as much as the disease for a while but all is to make them lighter and stronger after when they are eased of the burthen of noysome humours and so it is in every other trade So God shews his skill in this great matter in bringing us to Heaven this way he doth that work which doth not properly concern him to worke at last his own blessed good work he afflicts us to drive us out of our selves that we may come at last to trust in him in whom is all our happiness and good The reason of it is cleare for in a succession of contraries there must be a removing of one contrary before another can be brought in If a vessel be to be filled with a contrary liquor the first must have a vent it must be emptied of the worse that the better may come So it is with us we are full of self-confidence as a vessel of naughty liquor out must that go that better things may come in So it is in plowing and in every thing else this is taken as a principle in nature the order generally is this that we should not trust in our selves that we might be brought to trust in God he brings us low to receive the sentence of death to drive us out of our selves that he may bring us to relie on him The Use we should make of it among many others is this That we should not take offence at God when he is about his strange work as we think when he is making us sick with Physick with afflictions and troubles Let us not think that he hates us doth the Physician hate the Patient when he makes him sick perhaps he stayes a good while from him till his Physick have wrought throughly but he doth not hate him but gives it time and suffers it to have its worke that so he may recover himself Doth the gold-smith hate his precious mettall when he puts it into the fire and suffers the fire to work upon it what is lost nothing but the drosse What is lost in the body by sickness the ill humours that load the body and distemper the actions and functions of it that it cannot work as it should there is nothing lost but that that may well be spared so when God goes about his worke he afflicts thee and follows thee with losses and crosses he takes away friends and credit this outward thing and that all this is to give thee a purge he works a strange work that he may worke his own work that he may bring thee to himself Therefore let us be far from murmuring at this blessed work of God let us rather blesse God for his care this way that he will not suffer us to perish with the world God might have suffered us to rot upon our dregs that we should have no changes as the world hath not but he hath more care of us then so The Husband-man will not plow in the Wilderness the heathy ground shall go unplowed long enough he loves it not so well as to sowe good seed there so when God takes paines is at cost with any man when he purgeth him and plows him and hammers him all this is to consume that which is naught to plow up the weeds to fit him for the blessed seed of grace to fit him for comfort here and glorie in another world why then should we murmur against God let us rather be thankfull especially when we see the blessed issue of this when we see our earthly mindedness abated when we see our selves more heavenly-minded when we see our selves weaned from the world when we see our selves take more delight in communion with God then Blessed be God for crosses and afflictions that he hath taken the paines and would
of trust in God True trust lookes to Gods truth and promise and Word in one part of it as well as another Thou trusts God for thy salvation and the promises of that but thou must trust him for the direction of thy life too Faith doth not single out some objects I will believe this and not that faith is carried to all the objects it believes all Gods truths therefo if I believe not the threatnings and the directions to be ruled by them I believe not the promises in what measure thou believest the promise of mercy to save thy soul in that measure thou believest the directions of Gods Word to guide thy soul. He that receives Christ as a Priest to save him he must receive him as a King to rule him All the directions and all the threatnings and all the promises must be received and believed A man hath no more faith and trust in God then he hath care to follow Gods direction for faith is carried to all divine truthes all come from the same God Thousands go to hell and think O God is a mercifull God and I will trust in him but how is thy life is it carried by Gods directions thou art a rebel thou livest in sins against conscience thou wilt trust in God in one part of his Word and not in another thou must not be a chooser Again the last that I will name at this time if thou trust God for one thing undoubtedly thou wilt trust him for all if thou trust him with thy Soul certainly thou wilt trust him with thy Children Some men hope to be saved by Christ O he will be mercifull to their souls and yet even to their Death they use corrupt courses to get an estate and to make their Children rich and except they have so much they will not trust in God If they have nothing to leave them they think not that there is a God in heaven who is a better Father then they Put cafe thou hast nothing hast thou not Gods blessing canst thou trust thy soul with God and canst thou not trust him with thy family Is he not the God of thy seed hath he not made the promise to thy posterity as well as to thy self If thou trust him for one thing thou wilt trust him for all Wilt thou trust him for Heaven and wilt thou not trust him for provision for daily bread Wilt thou not trust him for this or that but thou must use unlawfull meanes He that trusts God he trusts him for all truths and for all things needfull with his Family with his Body with his Soul with all And so much for the tryalls whether we trust in God or no. Let us not deceive our selves it is a point of infinite consequence as much as the salvation of our souls What brings men to hell in the Church false confidence they trust to false things or they think they trust in God when indeed they do not The fault of a ship is seen in a tempest and the fault of a house is seen when winter comes Thy trust that is thy house that thou goest to and restest in the fault of that will be seen when thou comest to extremity in the hour of death then thou hast not a God to go to then thy conscience upbraids thee thou hast lived by thy shifts in carnall confidence and rebellion against God and how canst thou then willingly trust God whom thou hast made thine enemy all thy life-time To go then to some helps If upon search we find that we do not so trust in God as we should Let us lament our unbelieving hearts complain to God of it desire God whatsoever he doth that he would honour us so much as that we may honour him by trusting in him for it is his glory and our salvation But because I will not go out of the text the best way is that which followes to know God as he is How come we to trust a man When we know his Honesty his Fidelity his Wisdom and his sufficiencie then we trust him therefore St. Paul adds here that we should Trust in God that raiseth the dead that is in God Almighty From whence I raise this general that The best way to trust in God is to know him as he is We know his attributes by his principall works we know his nature by his works as here is one of the principall set down he is God that raiseth the dead A sound sanctified trust in God is by knowing of him They that know thy Name will trust in thee Psal 9. There are three waies of the knowledge of God His Nature Promises Works To know what he hath engaged himself in in all the promises that concern us and then to know his strength how able he is to make good them promises And then to know his works how his nature hath inabled him to make good those promises Especially his nature as to consider his goodnesse and his wisdom every attribute indeed doth inforce trust for he is good freely he is good to us of his own bowels VVe may trust him that hath made himself a Father out of hiw own mercy in Christ when we were enemies His goodnesse and wisdom is infinite as himself and his power and his truth As the scripture saith oft-times Faithful is God that hath promised St. Bernard a good man in Evill times saith he I consider three things in which I pitch my hope and trust Charitatem adoptionis the love of God in making me his Child and Veritatem promissionis the truth of God in performing his promise his Love is such to make me his Child his truth is such to perform his promise Thirdly I consider his power that is able to make good that that he hath promised This threefold cable is a strong one his love in adoption his truth in performing his promise and his power in making good all this This threefold cable will not easily be broken Let my Sottish flesh murmur against me as long as it will as the flesh will murmur who art thou that thou darest trust in God What is thy merit that thou hopest for such great glory No no saith he I know whom I have believed as Saint Paul saith I answer with great confidence against my Sottish murmuring flesh I know whom I have trusted He is able he is good he is true This that Holy man had to exercise his faith I name it because it is the temper of all believing souls that are so in truth The believing heart considers the nature of God the promise of God and though the murmuring rebellious flesh say what art thou how darest thou that art flesh and blood look to God O he is faithful he is good and gracious in Christ he hath made himself a Father I know whom I have believed God is al-sufficient Trust and confidence doth grow in the soul in what measure and proportion the knowledge of him
whom we trust in growes and as his strength growes the more rich and strong a man growes in whom I trust and the more gracious and good he growes and the more my knowledge of him is increased with it too that I see he is so able so true so loving a man a man so affected to me the more he growes and my knowledge of him the more my trust is carried to him So a Christian the more he considers the infinitenesse of Gods love of his wisdom and goodnesse the more he is carried in trust and confidence to it Not to trouble you with many places the 62. Psal. is an excellent Psal. for trust and confidence in God the whole Psal. is to that purpose to stir up himself to trust in God for that followes knowledge when upon knowledge we rouze up our hearts God is my rock and my salvation and defence Is he so then my soul trust in God he chargeth it upon his soul Therefore I will trust in God And then he blames his soul Is God so Why art thou so disquieted O my soul This is the exercise of a Christian heart when upon sound knowledge he can charge his soul to trust in God and check his soul Why art thou cast down still trust in God Why dost thou not trust in him Is he not true Is he not wise He is The God of my salvation And in verse 8. Trust in God at all times in prosperity in adversity why God is my refuge There he sets forth his nature If our troubles be never so many there is somewhat in God that is answerable as in Psal. 18. He is a rock and a shield he hath somewhat in him that is opposite to every ill And withall Pour out thy heart to God for where there is trust there is prayer Trust in God at all times and pour out thy heart before him for he is our refuge And so Trust not in oppresion and Robbery If-riches increase set not your hearts upon them for God hath spoken once and twice that power belongs to God Trust not any other thing but God Power and Mercy belong to him This is a notable way to trust in God to know that power and mercy belong to him If another man love me hath not God another mans heart in his hand The Kings heart is in his hand therefore trust in God for the favour of men Hath he not all the power that that another man hath that affects me it is but a derived power from him he hath inclined him to do good to me All Mercy and Love it is from God and he turnes and disposeth it as it pleaseth him as it is the Scripture-phrase the language of Canaan the heart is in Gods hands he inclined the heart of such a man The knowledge of God with prayer and stirring up our selves to trust in God and checking our souls for the contrary it is a notable meanes to trust in God And though we feel no present comfort from God trust him for his word trust him for his promise though he seeme now to be a God hidden As a Child in the dark he holds his Father fast by the hand he sees not his Father but he knowes his Fathers hand is strong and though he see him not yet he believes it is his Father and holds him though it be in the dark Men they cast anchor in the dark at midnight though they cannot see yet they know that the anchor will hold fast Cast anchor upon God in darknesse and temptation hold God fast in the dark night although we see nothing we shall alway find this that he is a God able to fulfill his promise that he is a true and faithfull and able God cast anchor in him therefore though thou feele or see nothing be sure in all extremities to trust in God Besides other things trust in God is properly and primarily wrought by the promises trust in God so far as he hath discovered himself to be trusted I can trust a man no further then I have a writing or a word of mouth from him or a message from him Now what have we from God to trust him for we have his Word written and that is sealed by the Sacrament The way to trust in God therefore is to know the promises The general promises that doe concern all Christians and all conditions and estates of men God will be a Sun and a Shield a Sun for all good and a Shield to keep away all evill and no good thing shall be wanting to him that lives a godly life Again general promises for issue All things shall work for good to them that love God Romans 8. 28. And he will give his Spirit to them that ask him It is a generall promise to all askers whatsoever that they shall have the Spirit of God which is a promise that hath all particular graces in it for the Spirit is the Fountain of all grace it is the Spirit of Love of Faith of Hope all are in the promise of the Spirit and God hath promised this Let us trust in God for these generall things And for particular promises he hath made a promise to be a Husband to the Widow and a Father to the Fatherlesse He will regard the cause of the Widow and he is a God that comforteth he Abject He hath made promises to those that are afflicted to all estates and conditions of men trust in God for these But how he hath made these with conditions in regard of outward things Let us trust him so farre forth as he hath promised that is he will either protect us from dangers or give us patience in dangers he will give us all outward things or else contentment which is better take him in that latitude trust in him as he will be trusted to for outward things ' he will either give the things or give the grace which is better he will either remove the grievance or he will plant the grace which is better If he remove not the evill he will give patience to bear it and what do I lose if he give me not the good thing if he give me contentment I have grace to supply it which makes me a better man If he give me the thing without the Grace what am I the better a carnal Reprobate may have that So let us trust him as he will be trusted for Grace and spiritual things all shall be for our good without fail but for the things of this life either he will give them or else graces Let us trust God therefore as he will be trusted in his word and promises Now this trusting of God to speak a little to the present purpose because Saint Paul was now in great affliction when he learned to trust in God he was in fear of Death Let us see how we are to exercise this trust in great crosses and in the hour of Death St.
death yet I shall sleep in the Lord as when I goe to sleep I hope to rise again so I trust when the resurrection shall come that my body shall waken and arise I trust in God that raiseth the dead because he raiseth the dead he can recover me if he will if not he will make this body a glorious body afterward so every way it was a strong argument with Saint Paul I trust in God that raiseth the dead The Apostle draws an argument of comfort from Gods power in raising the dead And it is a true reason a good argument he that will raise the dead body out of the grave he can raise out of miserie out of captivity the argument is strong Thus God comforts his people in Ezek. 37. in that parable of the drie bones that he put life in So the blessed Apostle St. Paul he speaks of Abraham Rom. 4. 17. He looked to God who quickneth the dead who calleth things that are not as though they were What made Abraham to trust in God that he would give him Isaac again he considered if God can raise Isaac from the dead if he please he can give me Isaac back again and though Isaac were the sonne of promise yet he trusted Gods Word more then Isaac the sonne of his love Why he knew that God could raise him from the dead though he had sacrificed him he trusted in God who quickneth the dead The resurrection then is an argument to stengthen our faith in all miseries whatsoever It strengthens our faith before death and in death I will not enter into the common place of that point concerning the resurrection it would be tedious and unjust beause it is not intended here but onely it is used as a special argument Therefore I will but touch that point God will raise us from the dead Nature is more offended at this then any other thing But St. Paul makes it cleare that it is not against nature that God should raise the dead 1 Cor. 15. To speake a little of it and then to speake of the use the Apostle made of it and of the use that we may make of it Saith the Apostle in that place speaking to witty Atheists that thought to have cavilled out the resurrection from the dead Thou fool thou speakest against nature if thou think it altogether impossible Look to the seed do we not see that God every spring raiseth things that were dead We see in the silk-worm what an alteration there is from a flie to a worm c We see what men can doe by Art they make glasses of what of Ashes We see what nature can doe which is the ordinary providence of God we see what it can do in the bowels of the earth What is gold and silver and pearle is it not water and earth excellently digested exquisitely concocted and digested That there should be such excellent things of so base a creature We see what Art and nature can do If Art and nature can do so great things why do we call in question the power of God if God have revealed his Will to do so why do we doubt of this great point of Gods raising the dead The Ancients had much adoe with the Pagans about this point they handled it excellently as they were excellent in those points which they were forced to by the adversaries and indeed they were especially sound in those points I say they were excellent and large in the handling of this but I will not stand upon that it is an Article of our Creed I believe the resurrection of the body Indeed he that believeth the first Article of the Creed he will easily believe the last he that believes in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth he will easily believe the resurrection of the body But I will rather come to shew the Use of it God will raise the dead Therefore Gods manner of working is when there is no hope in extremity as I touched before he raiseth us but it is when we are dead he doth his greatest works when there is least hope So it is in the resurrection out of troubles as in the resurrection of the body when there is no hope at all no ground in nature but it must be his power altogether that must do it then he falls to work to raise the dead Therefore our faith must follow his working he raiseth the dead he justifies a sinner but it is when he is furthest from grace a sinner despairing of all mercie then he hath the most need of justification He raiseth the dead but it is then when they are nothing but dust then it is time for him to work to raise the dead He restores but it is that which is lost God never forgets his old work this was his old manner of working at the first still every day he useth it he made all of nothing order out of confusion light out of darkness This was in the creation and the like he doth still he never forgets his old work This St. Paul being acquainted with he fastneth his hope and trust upon such a God as will raise the dead Therefore make that use of it that the Apostle doth when the Church is in any calamity which is as it were a death when it is as in that 37. of Ezekiel drie bones Comfort your selves God comforted the Church there that he would raise the Church out of Babylon as he raised those dead bones the one is as easie as the other So in the government of the Church continually he brings order out of confusion light out of darkness and life out of death that is out of extream troubles when men think themselves dead when they think the Church dead past all hope then he will quicken and raise it so that he will never forget this course till he have raised our dead bodies and then he will finish that manner of dispensation This is Gods manner of working We must answer it with our faith that is in the greatest dejection that can be to trust in God that raiseth the dead Faith if it be true it will answer the ground of it but when it is carried to God it is carried to him that raiseth the dead therefore though it be desperate every way yet notwithstanding I hope above hope I hope in him whose course is to raise the dead who at the last will raise the dead and still delights in a proportion to raise men from death out of all troubles and miseries Well this God doth and therefore carrie it along in all miseries whatsoever in soul in body or estate or in the Church c. God raiseth from the dead therefore we must feel our selves dead before we can be raised by his grace What is the reason that a Papist cannot be a good Christian he opposeth his own conversion what is conversion It is the first resurrection the resurrection of
will remember the works of the Lord surely I will remember thy wonders of old I will meditate of all thy works and talk of thy doings c. See his infirmity when he was in trouble of mind his sins began to upbraid him that God had left him I said in my infirmity God hath forgotten me c. and hath God forgotten to be gracioue hath he shut up his tender mercies in displeasure then saith he this was my infirmity but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most high c. And the same he hath in many other places as Psal. 143. 4 5. It argues the great weaknesse of our nature which is ready to distrust God upon every temptation of Satan as if God had never dealt graciously with us as if God were changeable like our selves Let us labour to support our selves in the time of temptation with the former experience of Gods gracious goodnesse and his blessed work upon our souls he that delivered us from the power of Satan keeps us from him stil that we sink not into despair he will keep us for the time to come so that Neither things present nor things to come as the Apostle saith shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ. And let us as it were make diaries of Gods dealing to us this is to be acquainted with God as Job speakes this is to walk with God to observe his steps to us and ours to him it is a thing that will wondrously strengthen our faith especially in old years in gray hairs What a comfortable thing is it when an aged man can look back to the former part of his life and can reckon how God hath given him his life again and again how God hath comforted him in distresse how God hath raised him up in the middest of perplexity when he knew not which way to turn him how God comforted him when he was disconsolate all these meeting together in our last conflict when all comfort will be little enough what a comfort will it be And those that disfurnish themselves by their negligence and carelesnesse of such blessed helps what enemies are they to their own comfort Therefore consider Gods dealing remember it observe it think of it and desire Gods Spirit to help your minds and memories herein that nothing may be lost for I say all will be little enough the comfort of others our own experience the promises of Scripture Our Hearts are so readie to sink and to call in question Gods truth and Satan will ply us so in the time of temptation Especially those that are old and grow into years they should be rich in these experiments and able even to have a story of them we should be able to make a book of experiments from our Child-hood Gods care to every man in particular it is as if there were none but he and there is no man that is a Christian but he observes Gods wayes to him that he can say God cares for me as if he cared for none but me let us therefore treasure up experiments We see one notable example in David how he pleads with God Psalme 71. 3. from his former experience Be thou my habitation wherein I may continually rest thou hast given command to save me for thou art my rock and my fortresse Whatsoever is comfortable in the creature God hath taken the name of it to himself that in all troubles we might flie to him as the grand deliverer for it is he that delivers whatsoever the meanes be whether it be Angells or men it is he that sets all on work therefore he is called a rock and a fortresse c. Thou hast given command to save me that is God hath the command of all creatures he can command the fish to give up Jonas he can command the Divels to go out Christ did it when he was on earth in the daies of his flesh Therefore much more now he is in heaven he can command winds and storms and divells and all troubles He hath the command of all as he saith to Elias Behold I have commanded a widow to feed thee The hearts of Kings are in his hand as the rivers of waters he that commands the creatures can command deliverance Thou hast commanded to save me for the time past What doth he say for the time to come Deliver me oh God from the wicked thou art my hope and trust from my youth c. Cast me not off in mine old age when my strength faileth me for sake me not It is a good argument Thou hast been my God from my Mothers womb therefore cast me not off in my old age Well we see here the practice of Gods Children in all times Let it be a pattern for our imitation that we do not forsake our own mercy as Jonas saith When God hath provided mercy and provided promises to help us with experience let us not betray all through unbelief through base despair in the time of trouble If we had but onely Gods promise that he will be our God that he will forgive our sins were not that enough Is it not the promise of God of Jehovah that is truth it self but when he hath sweetned his promise by experience and every experience is a pledge and an earnest of a benefit to come what a good God have we that is content not onely to reserve the joyes of heaven for us but to give us a taste to give us the assurance and earnest of the time to come and besides his promise to give us comfortable experience and all to support our weak faith But remember withal that this belongs onely to Gods Children and in a good cause for wicked men to reason thus He hath and therefore he will it is a dangerous argument they must not trust former experience We must hope that God will continue as he hath been upon this ground that we are his Or else the ground of the ruine of wicked men is presumption that God will bear with them as he hath done The King of Sodom and his People were rescued out of trouble by Abraham and the army that he raised yet they were pittifully consumed not long after by fire from Heaven Pharaoh was delivered by Moses prayer God delivered him from ten plagues they made not a good use of it and they perished after miserably in the Red-sea Rabshakeh comes and tells of the former prosperitie of Sennacherib Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad c. Hath not my Lord overcome all I but it was immediately before his reign Herod he prospered and had good successe in the beheading of James and therefore he would set upon Peter he thought to trust to his former successe he was flushed in the execution of James he thought God hath given me successe and blessed me in this He thought God was of his mind as it is Psalm 50. Thou thinkest me to
look that he should deliver us not onely our persons but the State wherein we live let us pray to God that he would do so and praise God for his former deliverance Again this is another motive the praising of God for formet deliverances it invites him to bestow new blessings Upon what ground doth the Husband-man bestow more seed upon that which hath yielded most in time past Will any man sowe in the barren wildernesse where it is lost No but where he looks to reap most and hath done formerly Where he sees a soil that is fruitfull he will sowe it the more and where the heart is a barren wildernesse that it yields nothing back again he takes that away that he gave before You know there is a debt in giving there must be a returning of thanksgiving alway and kindnesse requires kindnesse there is an obligation And where benefits are taken and men are thankfull that is the way to get more to be thankfull for that we have For God minds his own glory above all things and he will especially be bountifull to those from whom he sees he hath most glory therefore alway those that have been richest in grace and in comfort they were most in thankfulnesse as we see in David a man after Gods own heart and in diverse others Let this incourage us First if we be not thankfull it stops the current of benefits Secondly if we be thankfull God will give us more mercies and deliverances when we praise him in our hearts in our lives in our bounty to others in reall thankfulnesse when we are ready to good works then he is ready to bestow new still Again to stir us up to this duty of praising God for our selves and others Consider it is the beginning of heaven upon earth what a happinesse is it that when our persons cannot go to heaven till we die till our bodies be raised yet we can send our Ambassadors we can send our prayers and thanksgivings to heaven and God accepts them as if we came in our own persons Let your conversation be in heaven saith the Apostle How is that by praising God much I pray what is the imployment of heaven of the Angells and blessed Spirits They praise God continually for the work of Creation and for the work of Redemption that is their especiall task in heaven Our duty is to be much this way in praising God Self-love forceth prayer oft-times but to praise God comes from a more heavenly affection Again do but consider that no creature in the world is unthankful but divells onely and divellish men and good men onely so far as they are corrupt and hold correspondencie with their corruptions for every creature praiseth God in his kind set the divell aside who is full of envy and pride and malice against God therefore except we will be like the Divells let us be thankfull God hath made all creatures to praise him and to serve us that we may praise him and when they praise him shall we blaspheme him May not the swearer think with himself every creature blesseth God even the senselesse creatures and shall I dishonour God by my tongue which should be my glory to glorifie him shall I blaspheme him and be like to the divel shall I be more base then the senselesse creatures What glory hath God by many men that live in the Church that blaspheme God and their whole life is a witnesse against God as the whole life of a Christian after he is in the state of Grace is a witnesse for God and a praising of him his whole life is a thanksgiving so the whole life of wicked and carelesse creatures is a dishonour of God it is a witness against God There are none but divells divellish-minded men but they praise God even the very dumbe creatures Let us labour to have a part in that blessed musick and harmonie to praise God if we do not praise God here we shall never do it in heaven But we must remember by the way that this thankfulnesse it must be a fruitful thanksgiving As for us to pray to God to blesse us and then to do nothing it is a barren prayer so to thank God and then to do nothing it is a barren thanksgiving Our deeds have words our deeds have a voyce to God they speak they pray there is a kind of prayer a kind of thanks in our works Works pray to God they have a kind of crie to God both ill works and good works and if good works have a crie to God in prayer they will have a voice in thanksgiving this fruitful this real thanks is that which God stands upon And therefore it is alway joyned with a study how to improve the things that we thank God for to the best advantage If we thank God for health and recovery and deliverance we will labour to improve it to Gods glorie if we be thankful to God for riches for peace we will improve that to grow in grace to do good to others There is never a thankful heart but it studies to improve that which it is thankful for really that God may have the Glory and it the comfort and benefit by it or else it is but a lip-labour but a lost labour Let us shame our selves and condemne our selves for our unthankfulnesse and that will be done by comparing our carriage to men with our carriage to God If so be that a man do us a little courtesie how are we confounded if we have not returned some thanks and yet notwithstanding from God we have all that we have all that we are all that we hope to have and yet how many benefits do we devoure and do not re turn God thanks This disproportion will shame the best Christian that he is not so quick in his devotion to God to be thankful there as he is sensible of small kindnesses done by men this is a good way to make us more thankful And now when we come to the Sacrament let us blesse God The Eucharist is a thanksgiving where there are many there should be thanksgiving where there is a communion there is many and thanksgiving should be especially of many met together to thank God for Christ and for the good we have by him for if many joyned together in praise for St. Paul that was but a Minister that was but an instrument to set out the praise and the Doctrine of Christ much more should we be thankfull to God for Christ himself which is the gift of all gifts and for which he gives us all other gifts if he give us him can he deny us any thing If we be thankful for the health of our bodies as indeed we should if we be thankful for the peace of our humours much more should we be thankful for the peace of our consciences when our soules are set in tune when God and we are friends when the soul by
estate is not good because it is not such an estate So foolish and as a beast was I before thee saith David because I regarded such things No marvell if men be uncomfortable that are led away by scandals Look to faith goe to the Word to the Sanctuarie I went to the Sanctuary saith he and there I saw the end of these men So conscience must be suffered to have its work to be led by a true rule Again conscience sometimes concludes not comfort when there is ground of comfort from the remainders of corruptions and infirmities whereas we should be driven by our infirmities to Christ. And conscisence sometimes in good men doth not exercise its work in good men it is drawn away with vain delights even in the best men And conscience of its owne unworthinesse and of the greatnesse of the things it lookes for being joyned together it makes a man that he joyes not when he hath cause As for instance when the soule sees that God in Christ hath pardoned all my sins and hath vouchsafed his Spirit to me and will give me heaven in the world to come to such a wretch as I am here being a conflict between the conscience and sense of its own unworthinesse and the greatnesse of 〈◊〉 good promised the heart begins to stagger and to doubt for want of sound faith Indeed if we look on our own unworthinesse and the greatnesse of the good things promised we may wonder but alas God is infinite in goodnesse he transcends our unworthinesse and in the Gospell the glorie of Gods mercy it triumphs over our unworthinesse and over our sins whatsoever our sin and unworthinesse is his goodnesse in the Gospel triumphs over all In Innocency God should have advanced an innocent man but the Gospel is more glorious for he comes to sinners to condemned persons by nature and yet God triumphs over their sins and unworthinesse he regards not what we deserve but what may stand with the glory of his mercy therefore we should banish those thoughts and enjoy our own priviledge the promises of heaven and happinesse and all comforts whatsoever so much for the answer of that objection Now if we would joy in the witnesse of a good conscience we must especially in the time of temptation live by faith and not by feeling not by what we feele for the present but as we see Christ in his greatest horrour My God my God why hast thou forsaken me he goes to my God still We must live by faith and not by sense And then if we would rejoyce in extremities remember that God works by contraries God will bring us to heaven but it must be by hell God will bring us to comfort but it must be by sense of our own unworthinesse He will forgive our sins but it must be by sight and sense of our sins he will bring us to life but it must be by death he will bring us to glorie but it must be by shame God works by contraries therefore in contraries believe contraries When we are in a state that hath no comfort yet we may joy in it if we believe in Christ he works by contraries As in the Creation he made all out of nothing order out of confusion So in the work of the new creation in the new creature he doth so likewise therefore be not dismayed Remember this rule likewise that in the covenant of Grace God requires truth and not measure thou art not under the law but under the covenant of Grace A little fire is true fire as well as the whole element of fire A drop of water is water as well as the whole Ocean so if it be true faith true grief for sins true hatred of them true desire of the favour of God and to grow better truth is respected in the covenant of Grace and not any set measure What saith the Covenant of Grace He that believes and repents shall be saved not he that hath a strong faith or he that hath perfect repentance So Saint Paul saith as we shall see after This is our rejoycing that in simplicity and sincerity we have had our conversation among you he doth not say that our conversation hath been perfect So if we would have joy in the testimony of conscience we must not abridge our selves of joy because we have not a perfect measure of Grace but rejoyce that God hath wrought any measure of Grace in such unclean and polluted hearts as ours are for he least measure of Grace is a pledge of perfection in the world to come This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience c. Hence we may gather clearly that A man may know his own estate in Grace I gather it from the place thus Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity c. Where there is joy and the ground of joy there is a knowledge of the estate but a Christian hath glorying and a ground of glorying in himself and he knowes it he hath that in him that witnesseth that estate he hath the witnesse of conscience therefore he may know and be assured of it If this testimony were not a true testimony it were something but all men naturally have a conscience and a Christian hath a sanctified conscience and where that is there is a true testimony and true joy from that testimony therefore he may be assured of his salvation and have true joy and comfort a Heaven upon Earth before he come to Heaven it self If conscience testifie of it self and from witnessing give cause of joy much more the Spirit of God comming into the conscience The Spirit beares witnesse with our spirits If our spirit and conscience bear witnesse to us of our conversation in simplicity and sincerity and from thence of our estate in grace much more by the witnesse of two By the witnesse of two or three every thing shall be confirmed but our spirits and conscience and the Spirit of God which every Child of God hath witnesseth that we are the Children of God Rom. 8. The Spirit witnesseth with our spirits that we are the sons of God Therefore a Christian may know his estate in Grace The spirit of a man knowes himself and the Spirit of God knowes him likewise and it knowes what is in the heart of God and when these two meet the Spirit of God that knowes the secrets of God and that knowes our secrets and our spirit that knowes our heart likewise what should hinder but that we may know our own estate It is the nature of conscience as I told you to reflect upon it self and upon the person in whom it is to know what is known by it and to judge and condemne and execute it self by inward fear and terrour in ill and in good by comfort and joy in a mans self It is the property that the soul hath above all creatures to return and recoyle upon it self If this be
good demand It is not baptisme but the demand of a good conscience When the conscience hath fed on Christ it demands boldly as it is Rom. 8. of Satan and all enemies Who shall lay any thing to our charge it is God that justifieth it is Christ that died or rather that is risen again It boldly demands of God who hath given his Son the bold demand of conscience prevails with God and this comes by faith in Christ. Now this is strengthened by the Sacrament here are the visible representations and seales that we are incorporate more and more into Christ and so feeding upon Christ once our conscience is pacified and purged from all dead works and we come to have a continuall feast Christ is first the Prince of righteousnesse the righteous King and then Prince of peace first he gives righteonsnesse and then he speaks peace to the conscience The Kingdom of God is righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost So that all our feast and joy and comfort that we have in our consciences it must be from righteousnesse A double righteousnesse the righteousnesse of Christ which hath satisfied and appeased the wrath of God fully and then we must have the righteousnesse of a good conscience sanctified by the Spirit of Christ we must put them together alway we can never have communion with Christ and have forgivenesse of sins but we must have a Spirit of sanctification There is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared Where there is mercy in the forgivenesse of sin there is a disposition to fear it ever after Therefore if for the present you would have a good conscience desire God to strengthen your faith in the blood of Christ poured out for you desire God to strengthen your faith in the crucified bodie of Christ broken for you that so feeding on Christ who is your surety who himself is yours and all is yours you may ever have the feast of a good conscience that will comfort you in false imputations that will comfort you in life and in death and at the day of judgement This is our rejoycing in all things the testimony of our conscience first purged by the blood of Christ and then purged and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ that we have had our Conversation in simplicity and sincerity c. Our rejoycing is this that in simplicity and sincerity This is the matter of this testimonie of Conscience that is simplicity and sincerity Saint Paul glories in his simplieity and sincerity And mark that by the way it is no vain glorying but lawful upon such cautions as I named before but to add a little A man in some cases may glory in the Graces of God that are in him but with these cautions First if so be that he look on them as the gifts of God Secondly if he look on them as stained with his own defects and so in that respect be humbled Thirdly if he look upon them as fruits of his justification and as fruites of his assurance of his salvation and not as causes And then if it be before men that he glories not when he is to deale with God When men lay this and that imputation upon a man he may rejoyce as Saint Paul doth here in the testimony of his conscience in simplicity and sincerity The matter of the testimony of Conscience wherein he glories is simplicity and godly sincerity or as the words may well be read in the simplicity and sincerity of God such as proceeds from God and such as aimes at and looks to God and resembles God For both simplicity and sincerity come from God they are wrought by God and therein we resemble God and both of them have an eye to God a respect to God so it is in the originall in the simplicity and sincerity of God There is not much difference between simplicity and sincerity the one expresseth the other if you will have the difference simplicity especially respects men our conversation amongst men Simplicity hath an eye to God in all things in Religion opposite to hypocrisy in Religion Simplicity that is opposed to doublenesse where doublenesse is there is alway hypocrisy opposed to sincerity and where simplicity is there is alway sincerity truth to God But it is not good to be very exact and punctuall in the distinction of these things they may one expresse the other very well Simplicity Saint Paul's rejoycing was that his conscience witnessed to him his simplicity in his whole conversation in the world his whole course of life which the Scripture calls in other places a walking Saint Paul meanes this first of himself and then he propoundes himself an example to us How was St. Paul's conversation in simplicity Not onely if we consider Saint Paul as a Christian but consider him as an Apostle his conversarion was in simplicity It was without guile without seeking himself without seeking his owne for rather then he would be grievous to the Corinthians the man of God he wrought himself because he would not give any the least scandall to them being a rich people he had rather live by his own labour then to open his mouth he did not seek himself In a word he did not serve himself of the Gospell he served Christ he did not serve himself of Christ. There are many that serve themselves of the Gospell that serve themselves of religion they care no more for religion then will serve their owne turne Saint Paul's conversation was in simplicity he had no such aime he did not preach of envy orof malice or for gain as he taxeth some of the Philippian teachers Some preach Christ not of simplicity and sincerity but of envy c. Then again as an Apostle and a teacher his conversation was in simplicity because he mingled nothing with the Word of God in teaching his doctrine is pure What should the chaffe do with the wheat Jer. 20. What should the drosse do with the Gold he did not mingle his own conceits and devices with the Word for he taught the pure Word of God the simple Word of God simple without any mixture of any by-aimes So the blessed Apostle was simple both in his Doctrine and in his intentions Propounding himself herein exemplary to all us that as we look to hold up our heads with comfort and to glory in all estat es whatsoever so our consciences must bear us witnesse that we carry our selves in the simplicity and sincerity of God Now simplicity is when there is a conformity of pretention and intention when there is nothing double when there is not a contradiction in the spirit of a man and in his words and carriage outwardly That is simplicty when there is an exact conformity and correspondence in a mans judgement and speech in his affections and actions When a man judgeth simply as the truth of the thing is and when he affects as he judgeth when he loves
not rob God of any honour It was a proud term the Philosophers had as I said sometimes they called their moral vertues habits and if we consider them meerly as they are in the person they are habits but indeed they are graces the Scripture gives them a more heavenly term Grace those things that we guide our lives by as Wisdome Love Temperance Sobriety Grace is a fitter word then habit because then we consider them as they come from God freely they are graces they come from grace and favour And when men differ one from another in wisdome they differ in grace and favour he gives more light he opens the understanding of one more then another Therefore S. Paul was wise and careful this way when he speaks of that he had done himself lest he should rob God Not I oh not I 1 Cor. 15. but the Grace of God that was in me that was all in all For indeed we are what we are and we do what we do by Grace Even as by our selves we are men we are what we are and we do what we do by our soules by our reason and understanding so it is with spiritual grace we are what we are out of our selves by spiritual grace and we do what we do by spiritual grace And when that ceaseth when God suspends the blessed motions of his Spirit to humble us alas we are dark a man is a confused creature he is at a losse he is in darknesse for the particular managing of his life he knowes not what to do he knowes not what to speak he is puzzled in every particular action And therefore when he hath spoken or done that which is fit he should consider it is a grace My Conversation hath been in the Grace of God saith the Apostle Therefore let us sanctifie God in our hearts this way And when we stand in need of any direction desire God of his grace to give us wisdome and to give us the grace that we stand in need of That is for the phrase The point as I told you was this That All wisdome comes from Grace And God is ready to give us his Grace For saith S. Paul My Conversation hath been in Grace which God did minister to me and hath ministred to me to lead my life by The Reason is this Christ hath undertaken to give us grace if we be his Men under grace shall never want grace to lead a Christian life For Christ hath undertaken to be our Head to be our Husband to be our guide in our way to heaven As our head he is to give us motion to move us as his members As he is our Shepherd as he saith I am the good Shepherd so he is to lead us in our wayes and passages in his paths to conduct us to happinesse And as he is our husband so he is to be the head of his wife to guide us it is his office And he works according to his own office He is a King to subdue in us whatsoever is contrary to his good Spirit to subdue our rebellions and to bring all our Imaginations under his Spirit as well as to be a Priest to make peace between God and us He is a King to rule us and to over-rule in us whatsoever is ill And he is a Prophet to teach us and to guide us He is the Angel of the Covenant the great Counsellour that hath the Spirit of Counsel in him Esay 9. 6. not for himself onely but for his Church Therefore as all the things that we need come from grace and from the favour of God so we need not doubt of the grace of God in Christ being reconciled he is willing to give us grace This I observe to cut off all cavils of flesh and blood and to arm us against all discouragements There are two things that greatly hinder us from a Christian course Presumption and Despair Presumption to set upon things without asking grace of God without depending upon his direction by the strength of naturall parts of naturall wit And then Despair when a man saith What should I go about these things I shall never bring them to passe No First consider thy standing thy place and calling and then consider the abilities that God hath given thee consider thy parts consider thy duty that thou art to do And beg of God assistance and strength and if it be a thing that belong to thee go on set on all the duties that belong to thy place in this confidence that thou shalt have grace Go to the Fountain to Christ for grace for the direction of thy life he is the light of life he is the Way he is all in all to bring us to heaven Wherefore serves all the Promises not onely of life everlasting but even of grace but to encourage us to set on holy duties in confidence that if we have a will to be out of Satan's Kingdome and if we have a will to be out of fleshly wisdome God will take us into his Kingdome and into his Government He will give the Spirit to them that ask him Now the Spirit is a Spirit of direction a Spirit of assistance a Spirit of strength and comfort it serves all turnes How many Promises are wrapped in that promise of the Spirit In want of direction he shall be our Counsellour in want of strength to assist us In perplexities when we know not which way to turn us to advise us In extremities when we are ready to sink to comfort us He will give us his holy Spirit to supply all our defects in a fit time if we ask him If we find our need and if we will renounce our carnal wisdome Therefore set on those duties that God calls you to And withall do as S. Paul doth here he sets the negative before the affirmative renounce carnal wisdome be not guided by that trust perfectly to the Word of Grace and to the Spirit of Grace for the Word of Grace and the Spirit of Grace go together and then you shall find that God will do abundantly above all that you are able to ask or think Luther when he set on the work of Reformation those that saw him at the first might have said Get thee into thy Cloyster and say Lord have mercy upon thee for thou settest on a work impossible But he saw the parts that God had given him that he had wit to understand the abuses of the times and he had given him courage he saw by his profession he was called to be a Divine his conscience was awaked to see the abominations of the times and he set on to discover these things Did Christ leave him No he did not but gave successe to him to be admired of all When all the world was set against one man yet he prevailed against them all even because he walked as S. Paul did here in sincerity and simplicity that is he looked
me so you will judge of me to the end Why hath S. Paul such a trust of them as of himself Among many reasons this is one He knew that where God had begun a good work he would finish it he saw that he had begun a good work in them and therefore he knew that he would go on with it And then again God planted in him a good hope and trust of them because hope and trust stirre up indeavour to the thing hoped for Desperation doth quell all courage and cool all endeavour Now God because he would have us constant in our carriage and in the expressions of our love to other men he stirres up in us a trust that all shall be well with them Likewise S. Paul sets down his hope that God had put into his heart of them for his own comfort for it is a great comfort to a Minister or to a Christian when he is to deal with such as he trusts are good and will be good it is a heaven upon earth and therefore God doth plant good conceits of other men in us for this end partly to stirre up our endeavour to do all good to them and partly to comfort us For if the finall estate of any man were discovered to us that God had no delight in them concerning their salvation who would do any service of love for them or who would have comfort in conversing with them But when God stirs up in our hearts a good opinion of them partly it is good for them to stirre up our endeavour to do all good for them and it is good for us it is a great comfort And again it was an encouragement to them when they heard of Saint Paul's trust of them to the end that they should continue as they were For to have a good conceit and opinion of another man especially the good conceit of a Pastor it is a great encouragement And the best Christians in the world have need of it oft-times Besides the judgement of themselves which is sometimes shaken by Satan that they give a false witnesse of their own estate Oh it is comfortable that a man have the judgment of a man that looks without passion and temptation on him you have been thus and my trust and confidence is in God and the promise of God looking to your former course that you will be so to the end he gives not a false witnesse Saint Paul speaks thus to stirre up his own endeavour to do good to them and to comfort them that so great an Apostle should have so good an opinion of them Therefore let us labour I say to entertain as good a conceit of them among whom we live as their carriage will bear Two things usually are the object of our hope and trust while men are here before their estate be determined of in hell God may have mercy on them and deliver them out of the snares of Satan that hope should stirre up some endeavour to pray for them seeing their estates are not desperate they are not yet sunk into Hell Or else if we see them in the state of grace we should expresse our love in the services and offices of love because God hath already set his stamp on them There is no man living but we may trust and hope of him one way or other Those that we see no grace in as the Apostle saith 2 Tim. 2. we may have patience towards them seeing if at any time God will have mercy on them to deliver them out of the snare of the Devil It is not good to cast off all conceit and all hope of any man living the worst sign is when we see men malicious and oppose known truths because it comes near the sin against the Holy Ghost but because we may erre in that it is good to take the safest way But where we see evidences of grace though in never so little a measure let us entertain and cherish a good hope because it will cherish that which we are all bound to to love one another We are bound to love one another and to shew all the offices of love now that which stirres up love and all the offices of love is Hope Faith works by Hope as well as by Love Faith works by Love in all duties and it works by Hope in this duty if we hope that God will have mercy on them that will stirre up our endeavour but we are not much in this errour we are rather ready to conceit over-well then too ill of men I trust you shall acknowledge to the end Saint Paul here besides his good conceit of them to the end doth imply his own resolution and purpose to hold on in good courses to the end My trust in Gods grace is that you shall acknowledge to the end what I have written to you of mine own courses As if he had said I am Paul now and you shall find me Paul hereafter you shall find me alwaies an honest man like my self for as he whom I have trusted is yesterday to day to morrow and the same for ever so likewise by Gods grace I hope to be the same that I have been I hope I shall be like my self The grounds of S. Paul's trust that he should be so is partly the act it self together with the endeavour I trust I shall be so to the end because I trust in God to the end and God is good to them that trust in him how often is it repeated in the Psalmes He is the God of them that trust in him he is a Sun and a shield he is all that is good and he keeps away all evil All the promises are entailed to trusting in God Now because I have confidence in it that God will do so I stirre up my endeavour to shew that it is not a presumptuous trust I trust in him that will perform the conditions of the Covenant which is made to them that honour him by trusting in him Saint Paul knew what God had done he knew that he that had bestowed the first fruits he would make up the harvest he knew that he that had laid the first stone he would set up the roof he knew that God had begun a good work in him by experience and that he would finish his own work that he knew by former experience And then he knew the promises of God the promises of the Covenant Many such grounds Saint Paul had to bear him up that he should continue to the end in a course of simplicity and sincerity and in the grace of God But withall Saint Paul did adde a holy and heavenly course to come to this end together with his trust What course did Saint Paul take Saint Paul that he might hold out constantly in holy resolutions to the end First he did judiciously consider what might hinder him between that and the end of his race and course he balanced all things
creatures in glory Consider with whom you have to deale him that ere long shall be wonderfull in his Saints Therefore come prepared come joyfully come faithfully come reverently and holy and you shall find a blessing answerable This I thought good to touch concerning the occasion of the Sacrament Ye are our rejoying At the day of the Lord Jesus Saint Paul esteemed of nothing but that which would comfort him at that day Therefore let us oft think of the day of the Lord Jesus Why what will make us digest labour and pains in dealing with the soules of others in doing good and being fruitful in our places The consideration of that Day there is a Day will come that will make amends for all and that is the day of the Lord Jesus And considering that there is such a day let us make much of the day of the Lord that is now left us what is that This day The Lords Day Revel 1. it is called The Lords Day And as I said labour to be acquainted with that Lord that must be Judge of quick and dead then The Lord hath a day now wherein we may be acquainted with him by hearing his Word by yielding obedience of his truth unfolded to us therefore let us make much of this day if we would have comfort at that Day Ye are our rejoycing in the Day of the Lord. VERSE XV. And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before that you might have a second benefit or Grace IN this confidence In this assurance in this perswasion I was minded to come to you That you might have a second benefit saith the last translation it doth diminish the strength of the word therefore go from the Text to the margin you have oft-times a fitter word in the margin Charis The word is pregnant in the Original it signifieth Grace if it signifie a benefit at all it signifies a benefit that issues from grace and favour benefit is a weaker word Grace though it be not so common is a fit word and reaches to the strength of the word in the Original to the meaning of the Apostle so it is better to read it so That you might have a second Grace Saint Paul in this Verse sets down what intention he had to come to them And likewise the end of his intention In the next Verse he sets down the manner how he would come to them Fourthly he shewes why he came not to them it was to spare them as he faith afterward Here in this Verse he shewes what his intention was My intention was to come to you In this confidence I was minded to come to you To what end That you might have a second benefit His intention is set down by the inward moving cause his confidence In this confidence I was minded to come to you I will speak of his intention and purpose of coming And of the end of it And in his purpose of coming of the moving cause his confidence In this confidence What is that In this confidence because I am assured that you are my rejoycing and I yours in the day of the Lord Jesus in this confidence that you will be so to me and I to you In this confidence Saint Paul had a good opinion of them The inward moving cause of S. Paul to come it was a good conceit of them It is good as far as possibly we can to cherish a good judgment and conceit of others Let others have as good place in our affections as possibly may be Why If they be good we wrong them else even in our conceit We do not onely wrong men in our speeches and actions but in our sinister judgments in the censures of our minds therefore we should have as good conceit of men as possibly we can in that regard And likewise because confidence and assurance that they have something in them that is good and it will be better with them after in the day of the Lord this will be a means to stir us up to deserve well of them Hope stirs up Will we have no mind to a thing that we have not hope of And likewise Hope stirs up endeavour And Hope keeps in endeavour What makes a man so long in endeavouring the good of others he hath some hope they are good and will be better So it stirres up our will the bent of it it stirres it stirres up endeavour upon will and it keeps us in endeavour when we hope for good at mens hands And therefore we ought not to cast off men especially those that are young for imperfections The Corinthians were weak and carnal as you may see in the former Epistle yet in this confidence that they had repented of their ill usage of S. Paul he was minded to come to them Persons that are the subjects of hope are not free from infirmities Novices cannot have that perfection that grown Christians have at the first Consider further what is of passion and what is of the poyson of nature consider what is of infirmity and what is of malice Consider what sins they have been longer accustomed to and how hardly such sins are suddenly broken off These considerations would mitigate something where we see any degree of goodnesse Oh this pleaseth now some vicious-disposed persons they think this makes for them Not at all what I speak is where there is any ground to hope well of S. Paul had some ground for he wrote a sharp Epistle to them and he saw they were amended on it he saw they yielded they acknowledged that is they reformed by his Ministery and by his Epistle So where we discern reformation that there is a willingnesse of amendment we must hope of such though they be sometimes overtaken And if they be overtaken we must construe it to the best the temptation perhaps was great and they were not watchful at that time the subtilty of the opposition and the malice of men was great and their caution was not so great thus we may construe to bear with them if upon the discovery of their fault they become pliable but otherwise if they arm themselves with malice and bitter poyson and resolve to be so still there is no hope no confidence of such Saint Paul's confidence here was with evidence from their carriage they gave him some cause to be so confident Therefore it is in vain to think that we are too censorious when we tell you of your faults that very conceit that you think bitterly and arm your selves with resolutions rather to vex those that inform you then to amend that which is amisse that is as ill a disposition as ill a state as can be We can hope for no good of such yet notwithstanding we ought so far to hope of them as nor to give them over as S. Paul saith 2 Tim. 2. To prove if at any time God will shew mercy to them to deliver them out of the
Redeemer and yet notwithstanding to need the help of other Mediatours and Intercessours here is yea and nay it is a contradiction That the Church of Rome is the Catholike Church if it be Roman it is not Catholike The universal Catholick Roman Church it is as much as the universal particular Church it is a contradiction one thing overturnes another The sacrifice of the Masse an unbloody sacrifice a sacrifice is the killing of a thing that was alive a sacrifice is with blood the offering of Christ in the bread is an unbloody sacrifice a sacrifice and not a sacrifice here is yea and nay a contradiction So that besides their thwarting of Scripture they thwart and contradict themselves in their fundamentall points they are yea and nay And then they are full of uncertainties they are not undoubtedly yea There is no Papist in the world would end his dayes so if he be not drunk if he be advised if he be not surprized with passion if he do not forget himself Come to a Papist and ask him what are the main points of Popery that you believe alwayes yea Can you say when you confesse your sins that you confesse all No can you then say then you have a perfect absolution that depends upon your confession No it is an uncertain thing What an absutd thing is Popish Religion it wracks the conscience of people Can you say that the Priest intends consecration in these words This is my body No and if the Priests intention be not there then Christ is not there and then you are Idolaters Can you tell certainly that Transubstantiation depends upon his consecration No how full of uncertainties and contradictions is Popery you cannot say the Points of Popery are alwaies yea Perhaps they are yea in life but are they yea in death It is yea in life that they merit salvation by works but is it yea in death No Bellarmine disclaimes it It is safe not to trust in our own merits for danger of vain-glory c. but to trust onely in the mercy of God in Christ. So their doctrine it is yea in life to sin by to live riotously by but then it is nay in death they reverse it if they belong to God they disclaim their works and other things and cleave onely to Christ and there is hope of them that have grace truly to do so So their doctrine is not yea that in life and death they can stick to To go on a little further to lay open the grossenesse of their tenents and the danger of their Religion We are better bottomed then they are which make the Word of God our rule and ground that is not yea and nay but yea The Canonization of Saints The Pope he makes Garnet a Traytor and Thomas of Becket Saints how can he know that these were Saints that he Canonizeth he that makes a Saint must know the hearts of men and search the heart for the truth of grace is there now it is the priviledge of God to know the heart So that Popery is full of uncertainties and pitifull perplexities Indeed they maintain the doctrine of doubting that we must doubt as if our nature were not sufficiently prone to doubt but we must get arguments to make us doubt as if it were needful to have infirmities to stablish grace in us Alas we are too prone to doubt and the Devil is ready to make us stagger in the time of temptation Again the Invocation of Saints it is a Point wondrous full of uncertainties Can they know and say certainly that the Saints hear them They cannot know that one Saint having a finite power should hear a hundred Petitions at once A finite creature hath but a finite power to hear one thing at one time distinctly how can they be perswaded that a finite Saint in heaven at one time distinctly should hear many thousands that put up their Petitions at once Can a man that is but a capable creature though glorified as Peter or Mary c. distinctly consider a thousand Petitions that are made they cannot how then can they think that a certain truth the Invocation of Saints The main ground of all their Religion is yea and nay the Pillar of it what is that The infallible judgment of the Pope but how can they tell when he speaks ex Cathedra for 9. or 10. exceptions and tricks they have when he speaks to be built on and when not how can poor soules know when he speaks so that the people may infallibly build on his judgment Because many times he is an illiterate man that knowes nothing in Divine things wherein he is to judge So the very foundation of Popery is yea and nay that is a most uncertain thing And then the ground of that that he is the Successour of Peter there is no place of Scripture for it neither dare they bring any It is but a Tradition It is somewhat uncertain whether ever Peter were at Rome that he was Bishop there is more uncertain but that the Pope should be his Successour is most uncertain and impossible of all So indeed the Religion of Popery is a rack to conscience especially to conscience that is awaked and knowes what Religion means at all Why is it a rack to them There is no certainty in it in the main Tenents of it It is not onely contrary to Gods yea but it is yea and nay uncertain in it self Now here the Apostle he frees his preaching from this imputation Our Word to you was not yea and nay and he calls God to record God is true and as he is true my Word to you was not yea and nay but was certainly yea Thus you see what use we are to make of it for confutation and conviction of our own judgments It may be moved by some perhaps How doth it appear how shall we know by what arguments that it is yea and not yea and nay I answer The testimony of S. Paul here is that it is so and his appeal to God with an asseveration As God is true But our own experience doth tell us that the Word of God is certain and true if we belong to God for we stand convict in judgment by many arguments which I will not now repeat But how shall any man certainly know it is yea the Word is the undoubted Word of God unchangeable wheresoever it is In a word you may know it is so he thinks it is so if he yield obedience to it as to such a Word absolute obedience to Gods truth without questioning when once a thing is clear to be agreeable to Gods truth he yields obedience to it then it is yea If it be a duty he must do it if it be a threatning he must avoid it by repentance if it be a promise he must believe it this is absolute obedience Likewise reverence in hearing it as Cornelius did Act. 10. To hear it as the
not believe the Articles of the Creed do we not believe the first four generall Councels we do who then will not say that these are sufficient being understood and believed to make a man that he be no heretick I may answer hence another question whether a Papist may be saved or no It is a curious question you will say but it is so ordinary that somewhat I must say I answer no doubt but many of them are saved How comes that to passe They reverse their false grounds and stick to those positive truthes that they and we hold together they reject their owne workes and help of Saints and go to Christ onely for as I said Poperie is full of contradictions Now a Papist when he comes to have his conscience awakened heleaves the Pope Indulgencies their 5. Sacraments Justification by works and then imbracheth only Christ and then he comâ—… our part They live by their Religion and die by ours So the question is whether living or dying Luther saith If they live and die peremptorily in all the points professed in the Tridentine Counsell they cannot But no doubt many of them the Lord hath mercy on to open their eyes to see the vanity of their works and of all their fooleries which those that are wise and have their consciences enlightened turn off then and so may be saved but it must be with reversing the grounds of their religion and sticking to ours which is agreeable to the Word Nay to speak a little more of it I say we do more safely believe we are more safe and on better grounds led into some lesse errours then they do believe maine truths It may seeme strange but it is most true For if so be a sound Protestant maintain an errour it is because he thinks it is in the Scripture that it is in the Word if it be discovered out of the Word of God to be an errour he leaves it as St. Cyprian and other Fathers blessed Saints in heaven they held some errours but if they saw the Scripture held otherwise they had prepared minds to believe otherwise therefore holding the maine fundamentall truths though they held particular errours they were saved The Papists maintaine fundamentall truths with us they believe the Word of God they believe in Christ and to be saved by mercy but upon what grounds They believe the truth upon heretical divellish grounds As upon what grounds do they believe the Articles of the faith to be so and the Scriptures to be so because the Church saith so Who is the Church but the Pope And what man is the Pope oft-times A man if we believe their own Writers led with a divellish spirit some of them have been Magicians If they believe the truth they do it not as divine truth they believe the truth for matter but the grounds of believing those truths are humane nay worse many times divellish for you know in the Revelation the beast is inspired with the spirit of the Dragon with the spirit of the Divell and teacheth the doctrine of Divels Now to teach that which is materially true upon reasons that are diabolicall or humane at the best it is but humane as the testimony of the Church is what an unsafe thing is this Nay I say it is the most horrible witchery the most horrible abomination one of them that ever was since the beginning of the World this principle that their Church cannot erre that is the reason of the believing of all divine truths Hereupon they come to practise most abominable treacheries hereupon they defend lies hereupon they kill Princes and dissolve the bonds of allegiance that Subjects owe to Princes And all humane and Divine things all the light of nature and Scripture all becomes a nullitie Why because the Church cannot erre And this they have from their holy Father the Pope he is above all Councells and all and cannot erre We know if principles be false all other things are false an errour in principles is a dangerous errour An errour in the ground is the worst thing in the VVorld As to maintaine treason to be lawfull it is worse then to be a Traitor for his judgement is convinced alreadie but he that maintaines a false principle he is a dangerous man indeed So to have this abominable principle that the Church that the Pope cannot erre Hence come all those dangerous practices in this Common-VVealth ever since the beginning of Queen Elisabeths time Who would have thought but that God gave up bitter proud poisonfull spirits vain spirits that rejected the Word of God that men of parts and understanding should ever be so sotted to believe such a thing that a wretched ignorant man should get into the Chaire and he should judge infallibly of the truths that he never knew in his life being of another profession as some are Canonists and not Divines But I leave that point To touch one thing more that borders a little upon this that Divine truth is of an inflexible nature whatsoever men think of it and that crosseth another rule of theirs that they will give what sense they will of Scriptures and the Current of the present Church must judge of all former Councels Now doth truth vary according to mens judgements according to the pcesent Church Must we bring the rule to the crooked timber or the timber and the things to be measured to the rule Shall the judgment of any man be the rule of truth shall it be the rule in one time and not in another shall present men interpret it thus and say it is so now and others that succeed say whatsoever it was now thus it must be believed Hereupon likewise if it be the constant nature of truth alway to be believed hereupon it comes to crosse another thing their dispensation no man can dispense with Gods Law truth is truth indispensible Laws divine and naturall are indispensible because they are alike in all things Reason is reason in Turkie as well as here the light of nature is the light of nature in any countrey as well as here Principles of nature varie not as languages do they are inbred things If the Principles of nature be invariable and indispensible much more divine principles saith the Heathen filthinesse is filthinesse whether thou think it to be so or no. Opinion is not the rule of things but the nature of the thing it self Therefore whatsoever is against nature none can dispense with God cannot deny himself What was naught in one age is naught in another and is for ever naught Whatsoever is divine or natural is indispensible No Monarch in the world can dispense with the law of nature or the Divine Law the Word of God for the opinion of any man in the world is not the rule of his course but the undoubted light of God whether the light of nature or the light of Divine truth I speak this the rather to crosse base
God out of Christ. There is faith he God absolute in himself so he is a consuming fire but there is God incarnate go to God incarnate to God making good his promises in Christ incarnate go to Christ sucking his mothers breast lying in the manger living humbly talking with a sinful woman inviting sinners to come to him conversing with sinful creatures altering and changing their natures that never refused any that came to him Go not to God absolute he is a consuming fire go to Christ incarnate God-man go to him abased and there is sweet converse for thy faith for All the promises are made in him Yea and Amen I beseech you therefore be acquainted with the mystery of Christ more and more we have the promises in him And you must know besides that the Father and the Holy Ghost they have a part a hand in Christs abasement for Christ did all by his Fathers appointment and therefore it is as much as if the Father had been abased for Christ was anointed to be so Therefore think that God the Father allures and invites you when Christ doth it because he is anointed to invite you Think that the Father is as peaceable as Christ was because Christ was so by his Fathers appointment by his anointing See all the three Persons the Father Son and Holy Ghost in Christ. See God incarnate making all the Promises before and as the ground of all that is made good to us See the wondrous love of God incarnate And then go and see Christ raising that flesh that he was abased in see him ascended into heaven and sitting in it at the right hand of God then think of God in Christ glorious think of Christ a publick person and we all in him So as Leo saith Onely Christ was he that dyed in whom all dyed he was crucified in whom all were crucified and he rose again in whom all rise he being a publick person other particular men dyed and themselves dyed onely Let us look upon God incarnate and see our selves in him see God in Christ see Christ a publick person for therefore the second Person took the man-hood that he might be a publick person Christ took not our persons but our nature that our nature being knit to the second Person he might be a publick Person as Adam was a publick man for all mankind Therefore think of all the Promises in Christ as God-man that he was the man Christ made man for us This is wondrous comfortable let us solace our selves with it Take away Christ and the promises in Christ and what is there in the world nothing but Idolatry and Superstition staggering and wavering and darknesse and blindnesse and Popery and divellishnesse Who reigns in the world but the Devil and Antichrist Heathenism and Paganisme and all filthinesse Take away Christ the sound knowledge of Christ incarnate and the sound knowledge of the Promises the clear settled promises in Christ and what is the life of man but a horrible confusion even a hell upon earth Where Christ is not known what are the lives of men the utmost quintessence of them but onely projecting for an estate here in this world and then to slip into hell To live a Civil life as morality perhaps may fit a man for that and then to be cast into hell Out of Christ there is no salvation no certain comfort no life no light nothing to be reckoned on out of Christ and the promises in Christ. Therefore let us love them and build on them and make much of the truth we have and get into Christ for All the Promises in him are Yea and Amen God hath no commerce with us immediately but by Christ the Mediatour through whom he looks on us and in whom he conveyes all good to us The Scripture is termed a Paradise it is like a Paradise wherein we have the streams of the water of life and the tree of life Jesus Christ and wherein we have the Promises of life And there is no Angel to keep the door or gate or entrance of this Paradise but rather we are allured to come to it to refresh our selves There is God himself walking there is Christ himself the tree of life Therefore we should make the Scriptures wondrous familiar to us especially single out the Promises make use of them learn what it is to live by faith in the Promises for All the Promises in Jesus Christ in him are Yea and in him Amen To the Glory of God by us The end of all this that God will engage himself by promises that he will stablish these promises so sure in Christ Jesus the Mediatour God and man that he will make them Yea and Amen in him it is for his own glory And to the glory of God by us Ministers for we preach these promises to the people and people believe them and they believing give glory to God Gods glory is manifested in the Gospel especially when it is believed in the Promises What wondrous glory hath God in the promises in Christ More a great deal then in the Creation In the Creation man was made according to Gods Image Now in the Gospel we are created according to Jesus Christ God man There God added light to light comfort to comfort he made man good and would have continued him good but here is the glory of his mercy and goodnesse in Christ here he doth good to sinners he raiseth a sinner to mercy he doth not adde light to light but he brings light out of darknesse In the Gospel mercy strives with misery and strives with sin and overcomes all our ills it is Gods will in the Gospel to do good to sinners mercy is added to sinful men contrary against contrary Gods goodnesse triumphing over the misery of man The righteousnesse that Adam had it was the righteousnesse of a creature of a man but the obedience we have in Christ it is the obedience of God-man therefore that being imputed to us it is a more exquisite righteousnesse it brings us to God and intitles us to heaven it is infinitely more then Adam's was God manifests greater glory then in the Creation there is greater love and greater mercy and greater goodnesse manifested in the Gospel then to Adam in innocency Our estate in Christ is more perfect his estate was not Yea and Amen for it was yea to day and nay to morrow he stood but a while but in Christ the Promises are Yea and Amen He had no promise we have our estate by promises in Christ is better then ever Adam's was as we are in a better root then he For he was not in Christ the Mediatour we by faith are united to Christ Mediatour and by vertue of the promise God where he begins he will make an end where he is Alpha he will be Omega What a glory is this to God that he can repair man to a better estate then ever he
had at the first as Gods mending is ever for the better The state of grace and glory is better then ever the state of nature was spiritual is better then natural Therefore it is much for the glory of the wisdome of God that he can in Christ reconcile justice and mercy and shew more mercy then ever he did in making man out of the dust of the earth and all is to the glory of God These attributes especially are glorious in the promises in Christ. His Justice is glorious in punishing sin in Christ there sin is odious in the punishing of Christ God-man if we speak of justice there is justice If of Mercy to put it upon our surety for God to give his Son for us there is transcendent mercy and transcendent justice in the punishing of our sin how could it be punished greater And then the glory of his Wisdom to bring these together infinite mercy and infinite justice in Christ. Infinite Power for God to become man and without sin to be so farre abased a humble omnipotency to descend so low that God could be mortal and then to raise himself again And then the glory of his Truth that whatsoever was promised to Abraham to David to the Prophets all was performed in Christ all the Types here is glory by Christ of Mercy Justice Wisdome Truth for all are Yea and Amen in Christ. Therefore he may well say all this is To the glory of God Therefore consider how the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ as the Apostle saith If you would see God see him shining in the face of Jesus Christ see his Mercy shining in Christ and his Justice in the punishing our sin in Christ see his Truth his Power his Wisdome shineing in Christ and shining more then in the Creation or in any thing in the world besides Can you honour God more then in believing the Gospel Can you dishonour him more then to call his truth into question that is Yea and Amen If you believe the Gospel you set to your seal that God is true 1 Joh. 3. What an honour is this that God will be honoured by you in setting to your seal that he is true you give him the glory of all his attributes In not believing what a dishonour do you do to God you deny his Mercy his Wisdome his Justice his Truth you deny all his attributes you make God a liar what a horrible sin is unbelief Therefore fortifie your faith The Devil layeth siege to our faith above all other things if he can shake that he shakes all for holy life goes when faith goes Who will love God or obey God when he knowes not whether he be his God or no Let faith flourish and it will quicken life in the heart Let the promises grow in the heart and the Word be graffed in the heart and all will flourish in a Christians life all will come off clearly and freely obedience will be chearful and free when we see God reconciled in Christ. Then love will be full of devices when I see Gods love to me what shall I do to shew love again to shew thanks to God where is there any that for Cods sake I may do good unto How shall I maintain the truth and resist all opposers of the truth Can I do too much for him that hath done so much for me Love quickens The Devil knowes if he can shake faith he shakes all Let us fortifie faith and we glorifie God more then by any thing else He is glorious in the Gospel and how shall he be so by us except we set our hearts to believe him Therefore let us seal Gods truth by our faith and set to our seales that God is true God vouchsafes to be honoured by weak sinful men believing of him and that faith that honours him he will be sure to honour By us By us Ministers How When the Gospel is preached God is carried in triumph as it were and his banner is set up and the Promises displayed and sinners called unto him and God is glorified by the discovery of these things and faith is wrought in people to whom they are discovered and they glorifie God when they believe they blesse God that ever they heard these tydings so every way God is glorified The Ministers they open as it were the box of sweet oyntment that the savour of it may be in the Church and spread far They lay open the tapestry the rich treasures of Gods mercies they dig deep and find out the treasure Therefore these Promises in Scripture being so made and performed in Christ they tend to Gods glory but by us by our Ministery God to knit man and man together will convey the good he means to convey by the despised Ministery The enemies therefore of the Ministery of the Gospel what are they here is a double prejudice against them they are enemies of the glory of God and of the comfort of Gods people for they glorifie God in the sense of his mercy when it is unfolded to them God gets glory and they comfort What do we think then of Popish spirits that feed the people only with dead and dull ceremonies but let them go I go on to the next Verse having dwelt somewhat long on this VERSE XXI Now he that stablisheth us with you in Christ is God who hath anointed us c. AS the riches of a Christian consisteth in the promises of God which as we have heard in Christ are all Yea and Amen so unlesse he be stablished and built upon this strength all is nothing What if a man stand on a rock if he be not built on it what if the foundation be never so strong if he be not stablished thereon It is not sufficient that the Promises be stablished but we must be stablished upon them The Promises of God are indeed Yea and Amen might the soul say but what is that to me Therefore the Apostle addeth He that gives the Promises will stablish us upon the promises Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ is God The first thing that I will observe before we come to the particular handling of the words shall be onely this in the general from the connexion and knitting together of this Verse with the former viz. That there must be a double Amen There is an Amen in the Promises they are in themselves true there must be an Amen likewise in us we must say Amen to them that is we must be stablished upon them There must be an Echo in a Christians heart unto God that as God saith These and these things I promise and they are all Amen so the soul by faith must Echo again These things are for me I believe them For as we say in the Schooles to good purpose there is a double certainty a double firmnesse a certainty of the Object and a
love if he take any course contrary to love it is not his own work as he saith to punish man it is not his own work he is forced to that alway to shew love and mercy that is his work that that comes from his own principle from his mercy he is love he doth not say he is justice or rigour but he is love It agrees with the nature of God to deal mercifully if he deal otherwise it is forced from us It suits with the whole carrirge of our salvation these courses of love and gentlenesse first of all for we are saved by a manner of love we are saved by God giving his Son and by his Son giving himself We are saved by a course of intreaty the Ministers of God are Ambassadours to desire us to be reconciled to God God having saved us by a manner of love he will have us taught by a manner of love in the Gospel especially because Gods aim is to gain our love and which way can that be but by a way of love For the nature of man is such that it will never love till it know it be loved first Therefore God stoops to a way of love because he would have our love which he would never have by other courses because they are contrary to our nature It is the practice of God his custome is answerable for first he deales by gentle means alwayes and then after if those will not prevail he goes to severe means and in severe means he takes degrees first lesse and then more violent and then violent indeed God would never descend to sharper courses if milder would serve the turn You know he bade his own people before they set in hostile manner upon any to give them fair warning to offer them conditions of peace so it is his course to offer conditions of peace so he did to the old World and so he doth to us before he corrects he offers conditions of peace You see how sparing Christ was and how full of love O Jerusalem Jerusalem c. Again they are courses that promise best successe ordinarily for the proud nature of man will raise it self up and will harden it self against severe courses Man naturally as I said will be led and not forced his nature will rise against forced violent courses therefore for the event it self it is the best Again they are courses that are more lasting that that is gained by love is constant that that we prevail with men for by reason it will hold other courses are not so faithful they will not hold What we gain on men by fear there is shame in it that a man should be forced to any thing and nature will break out But it will hold best that is gained by way of love and reason Therefore let us imitate God in this when we are to deal with any not to take violent courses in the first place but to deal with men as men deal with them by love and reason and not stand upon our own stomach and greatnesse and take delight as it were in the commanding of others that we have a destructive power a power that can quash and crush men and shew it to the utmost and pride our selves in it If God should deal so with such where were those proud creatures If God were not a forbearing indulgent sparing God Therefore you may see what disposition those are of that are all for fire for violent courses rigorous courses That is not the way that God useth it is not the way that Christ used it is not the way that ministers do use that have the Spirit of God You have some kind of people that if a man be not alway in matters of damnation his Sermon is nothing So you have some that in their courses are so violent that they know nothing that is moderate and yet perhaps they are good too but they cherish too much a violent disposition Now St. Paul though he were a very zealous holy man yet notwithstanding he would not put himsef upon violent courses but when there was great necessity He is rather a Butcher then a Physician that loves to torment his Patient You see what course is first to be taken I need not be long in so clear a Point therefore I will spend no more time in it but come to the second that is more generally usefull because indeed men are so that gentle means will hardly prevail with them what must be done then not spare them When gentle means will not serve the turn then we must not spare S. Paul came not that he might spare them Now if they had not amended what would S. Paul have done think you would he have suffered them to have cherished the incestuous person among them that wicked person that had committed that which was intolerable amongst the Heathen would he have cherished proud factious men among them that would disgrace S. Pauls Doctrine to win authority to them selves would not he have told them to their face the danger of their sin and have made them ashamed undoubtedly he woud he would have spared So I say if gentle means will not prevail men must not be spared meither Minister nor Magistrate must spare especially in dangerous courses that are prejudicial to the souls of others Why We must spare none that God may spare all We that are Ministers must spare no sin that God may spare all Lift up thy voice like a Trumpet saith God and tell Israel of their sins If gentle means will not reform them lift up thy voice like a Trumpet Cast out Jezabel with her painted face though sin paint and colour it self it must be cast out Jonas must out of the ship the ship will perish else Achan must be stoned We must tell men of their danger not with hatred of their persons but to prevent an eternal punishment You know well that preventing justice is better then executing justice Is not discipline better then execution Is it not better to hear of our faults roundly when other means will not prevail then to cherish that that will be for our eternal destruction Is not searing and cutting better then killing Is it not better that a limb be seared and cut then that all be clear cut off and the whole body perish Is not the pain of Chirurgery or Physick that makes a man sick for a while better to be endured then the painse and terrours of death it self These preventing courses are the best courses therefore we must spare none but tell them of their danger faithfully Only liberty of speech must not be a cover for boistrousnesse or a cover for the venting of evil humors as sometimes it is For flesh will never prevail with flesh flesh and pride in the speaker will never prevail with pride in the hearer but it must be a spiritual kind of severity discovering the danger to them we speak to
more perform the conditions of the Covenant of grace of our selves then the Covenant of the Law Nature cannot do it because it must be done by the Spirit altogether Now here is a foundation for faith to stand on God so farre condescends as he gives his Word and his Seal and his Oath with his Word to convey that Word by way of a Covenant and to make that Covenant a Testament and Will to us that he will do this and to seal that Will with his own blood for a Testament is of no force till the Testatour be dead his own blood hath sealed the Testament you see here what ground there is for faith to stand upon Then again the sweet relation that God hath taken upon him in Christ he is our Father faith builds not on naked God divested of his sweet relations for then he is a consuming fire but upon God a Father in Christ what a sweet thing is it to consider God a Father In Christ the nature of God is Fatherly to us and our nature is sweet to him We are sonnes in Christ his nature is sweet to us and ours to him he will surely perform his relations For in Christ he is a Father not in creation onely but in the Covenant of grace Faith relies upon the Word of God upon the Covenant and Testament and upon God himself altered and changed in the Covenant of Grace to be a sweet Father But what is a further ground of this The nature of God himself who is a Father for if God himself were not cloathed with properties that might satisfie faith and satisfie the soul fully though he were a Father it were not a sufficient ground for faith But now who hath taken the relation of a father upon him God who is infinitely good infinitely merciful above all our sins it must be infinite mercy faith would not have footing else For the soul will so upbraid in the sense of sin that if God were not a Father and a Father infinite in mercy nothing but infinite mercy will satisfie the soul when conscience is awaked and infinite power to subdue all enemies and infinite wisdome to go beyond the reach and subtilty of all the Devils in hell God is such a Father as in his Nature is of infinite mercy and wisdome and power here is a foundation for faith to lay hold upon indeed to have a Father and such a Father that is Jehovah there we must rest in his essence he is Jehovah I am he is eternal and immutable an eternal being of himself and he gives being to all and all things have their dependance upon him The Devils in hell and wicked men he can quell them all and substract their being and turn them to their first nothing from whence they came You see if we resolve all to Jehovah I am to the eternity of God and then to his nature cloathed with power and wisdome and mercy and then to his relation of a Father and then how he condescends to convey himself sweetly by way of Covenant and Testament I beseech you is not here a foundation for faith to build upon in the Word of God when God hath thus opened himself to us You see what this standing is And how by faith we stand and what faith stands on and may well stand on To come to some Observations then First of all Observe hence That The foundation of faith must be out of a mans self That bottom that a man must lay his soul upon must be out of himself it must be Divine it must be God For the soul rests not till it come to God and if the Word were not Gods Word it would not rest on that God must open himself by his Word It must be Divine revelation that the soul must stand upon and at last resolve to pitch and build and rest there It must not be humane authority therefore not the authority of any creature that the soul must stand on because that that the soul stands on must stand it self Now nothing hath a firm consistence but that which is Divine Which I prove thus There is no creature but though it be true and good yet it is changeably true and may be otherwise then it is and yet be a creature still and a good creature There is no man but he is changeable and is changeable as a creature and as a creature severed from the consideration of sin he is changeable The very Angels are changeable as they are creatures all things created are mutable it is the Observation of Damascene Now that that is the foundation of faith must not onely be true but infallibly and unchangeably true there must be no danger of errour in that that faith layes it self upon It is an old rule Falshood cannot be under faith because faith must lye upon truth infallible and immutable truth and who is so but God and what revealed truth is so but Divine truth Therefore faith onely relyeth upon the first good and the first truth upon God and his truth Therefore we may see what to judge of that controversie between us and our adversaries that would have our faith to be resolved into the authority of the Church and not of the Scriptures and by consequent not to the authority of God himself The question is Who hath the best standing the Papists or we We say we stand by faith therefore we stand better then they They say they stand by faith too but how Their faith is resolved into the authority of the Church at length and there they rest But I say even by the confession of themselves or of any reasonable man the Word of God is more Divine then the authority of the Church can be For the authority of the Church is therefore infallible and true because the Word of God saith so That he will be with the Church c. and save his Church The ground is determined upon the Word Now the Word to which they have recourse to prove that they cannot erre that must be trusted before them if they have credit from the Word the Word must be believed before them before men for there is no man if God speak by him but he speaks by him so far as he understands the Scripture and builds upon the Scriptures first Therefore we must first found our selves upon the Scriptures and upon men as far as they agree to the Scriptures If the Scriptures were not the Word of God indeed they could not be the foundation of faith we could not stand upon them but they are the Word of God indeed for men wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost Now that that comes from men it is not infallibly the Word of God but if they speak any thing that is good it is so far as it is agreeable to the first truth the Word of God Indeed the resolution of their faith is very rotten and unsound and bewrayes what their
Christian. Doct. Prayer a means to convey all good and deliver from all ill Reason 1. It is for Gods glory Reason 2. For our good 1. To shew our dependance on him 2. It exerciseth our graces We must pray though God know our wants Doct. 2. Gods Children can pray for themselves Reason Because they are Children Use. Not to put off prayer onely to others Doct. Christians ought to help one another by prayer A general desire in Heaven Reason Gods children cannot so well pray for themselves sometimes As in sicknesse People to pray for the Ministers For what to pray for them Reason Christians 〈◊〉 not the Spirit of prayer all times a like Prayer not a work of gifts but of Grace Diverse gifts in Prayer Reason To humble great Christians Reason To raise up weâ—… Christians Use. Let no man slight his own prayers Use 2. None to be idle in the profession of religion Doct. 4. Prayer prevails with God Reas. 1. It is obedience to Gods order Reason 2. It sets God on work Instances of prevalencie of prayer To pray for the Church abroad How to present the Church in our prayers to God Use. Not to grieve the spirit in any Quest. How to know whether our prayers help the Church Answ. 1. When we help them otherwise as we are able To leave evit courses 3. To hearken to Gods Word An ill condition not to be able to pray What to pray for for the Ministers Health a gift Against merit All other blessings uncomfortable without health To blesse God for health Quest. Answ. To beg the prayers of others in sicknesse Comfort from the prayers of others Object Sol. Object Answ. Obser. Praise followes prayer Ingratitude a horrible sin Praise of many acceptable To be in love with publick meetings Use. Encouragement to union To stir up others to praise God To praise God for others To be good to many that many may give thanks for us Praise wherein it consists 1. Taking notice of blessings 2. Remembring them 3. Estimation 4. In words 5. In doing good Directions to thanksgiving To look what we have cause to be thankful for 2. Dwell on them in meditation 3. Consider our unworthinesse 4. Consider the misery of our selves and others in want of blessings 5. Keep a Catalogue of Gods mercies Motives to thankfulnesse 1. It is Gods tribute 2. It invites God to bestow new blessings 3. It is the begining of heaven 4. None unthankful but divells Reall thanksgiving To shame our selves for our unthankfulnesse It was a Sacrament day Doct. The more eminent men are the more to be prayed for Doct. Christians driven to make apologies Use. Not to think strange if we be driven to it Quest. Answ. Life the best Apology but not enough sometimes A man may speak in commendations of himself 1. For thankfulnesse 2. For example 3. For defence Question Answ. How a man may glory of the graces in him Doct. Christians have their joy Use. To labour for a temper that we may glory A Christians joy 1. In Election 2. In justification 3. In sanctification 4. In the hope of glory A Christian only can stand to his joy Wicked men labour to hide the ground of their joy A Christian not ashamed of his joy 1. It is well bred 2. It is permanent Pride against all the commandements Conscience what 1. The soulit self 2. A faculty 3. an Act. An Atheist can have no conscience Conscience above reason Three things joyned with conscience 1. It is a knowledge with a generall rule 2. Of our own actions 3. A knowledge with God God hath set up in man a Court wherein conscience is 1. Register 2. Witnesse 3 Accuser 4. Judge 5. Executioner Sympathie between heart and brain Conscience Gods Hall Judgment of conscience a forerunner of the great judgment Conscience beareth witness Josephs Brethren Conscience 〈◊〉 witnesse 1. Faithful 2. Inward Use. Not to sin in hope of secrecy Use. To labour that conscience may witness well Good witness of conscience two-fold 1. Labour for good rules An Ignorant man cannot have a good Conscience Why men have bad consciences Papists cannot have a good conscience why 2. To apply them Doctrine The witnesse of a good conscience a ground of joy 1. From the office of conscience 2. It witnesseth with God 3. Without selves A good conscience breeds joy 1. In life In good estate 2. In cvil estate 1. In false imputations A good man looks more to Conscience then to fame 2. In sicknesse 3. In Crosses and losses 3. At the day of judgement Objection Answer Why a good conscience doth not alway witnesse Comfort Directions to joy in the witness of conscience Obser. A man may know his estate in Grace Object Answer Use. To labour for a good conscience that we may have joy Nothing worse then an ill conscience Evangelical conscience The way to have a good Conscience Question Answer Cautions for glorying in grace Difference of simplicity and sincerity Question Answer Saint Paul's conversation in simplicity Simplicity what Simple without mixture Simplicity 1. Not defect 2. Not rudeness 3. Not credulity Why called the simplicity of God Manby nature prone to double The ground of it Ground of dissimulation Of simulation Aggravation of this sin Simplicity opposite to curiosity Simplicity opposed to lying and equivocation Object Answ. All sorts of lies unlawful Lying opposite to society Motives to simplicity 1 It is comely's 2. Doubling inconstant 3. It is part of Gods Image 4. It brings comforts Doubling a great sin The more will and advisedness in sin the greater sin Doubling with men Some persons more prone to doubling then others Some Callings Merchants Lawyers Man naturally prone to dissemble Simile How to get simplicity 1. To consider one day all will be laid open Simile 2. Labour for faith Sincerity what Sincerity of God Doctr. A Christian that looks for joy must have his conversation in sincerity Sincerity in good actions 1. To know all that is good 2. Universal obedience Sincerity looks at God that commands all 3. Performance of lesse duties 4. Uniformity 5. Humble in performance 6. Humble and thankful after 2. In ill actions 1. He intends none 2. He is grieved for them 3. Careful to avoid personall sins 4. Hatred of all sin 5. Care to avoid sinfor the future 3 Sincerity in actions indifferent Actions of calling 2. Recreations Motives to sincerity 1. All else is nothing Why many men of parts die uncomfortably 2. It gives acceptance to all we do 3. It makes us grow to perfection Use 2. Direction Means to get sincerity 1. Get our hearts changed 2. Get assurance of Gods love 3. Labour to mortifie our earthly affections 4. Do all things as in Gods eye 5. Look to the heart the spring of all our actions Use. Exhortation to labour for sincerity Object Answ. Sincerity all that we can plead It will comfort against Temptations at death It comforts in life Not offend against sincerity Sinning against