him both at the Foot-stool and at the Throne but wherewithal to come or what to bring that I may be accepted in his sight I find not my own unrighteousness I see now to be abominable and my own righteousness I am convlnced is not justifiable wherewithal then shall I come In this distress the Gospel discovers Christ and his righteousness and when the Sinner accepts receives lays hold and rests upon it It has encouragement to say Isa. xlv 22. In the Lord have I righteousness In the Lord shall all the seed of Jacob be justified and shall glory Here then shines out the glory of the Gospel-Doctrine it never designs a more perfect Cure than when it makes the Sinner sick at Heart Thus the Spirits Method is first to convince of Sin and then of Righteousness Joh. xvi 8. Of sin that the Sinner may be abased and made willing to accept a Pardon upon Christ's Terms and of righteousness that the wounded Soul may not die of its Wounds for thus was the brazen Serpent lifted up that they who were mortally stung by the fiery ones might look and live John iii. 14 15. Secondly Another Strong Hold which Man would build up and God will demolish is Man 's own strength 'T is unaccountable that Man should thus Idolize his own often baffled often foiled strength which was never yet able to make him stand against his own Corruptions the Worlds Allurements or the Assaults and Wiles of the Tempter It is the Grace of God alone that must take us off our own and place us upon a stronger bottom and teach us how to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Eph. vi 10. And now whereas the late difficulty was Wherewithal shall I appear before the Lord Another difficulty appears And I find that I can no more appear against the Devil in my own Strength than I could appear before the Lord in my own Righteousness he is subtle and strong I am foolish and weak yet the Gospel has relieved me Isa. xlv 24. Surely shall one say in the Lord have I strength 3. A third Peculiar Glory of the Doctrine of the Gospel is that as it lays the Creature low it exalts and lifts up God on high When the Sinner lies prostrate at Gods Foot it sees the Lord most gloriously exalted upon his Throne Isa. vi 1. There 's no Doctrine that so vilifies Man none that so much glorifies God in all other Systemes which Philosophers had fram'd to themselves they provided well to advance the Creature they furnished him out with his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with a Free-will and put him into the hand of his own wisdom to carve himself out a happiness they made a God of their own Moral Virtues and those Virtues were at their own disposal so that upon the matter they were Creators of their Gods Nullum Numen abest si sit prudentia That thou art happy owe to thy self was one of their highly celebrated Maxims But the Doctrine of the Gospel gives a clear other Scheme of things that Man is nothing knows nothing can do nothing cannot think a good thought nor pursue it to any gooâ—… Resolution nor manage the good nor bear the evil by his own Wisdom or Strength This Doctrine teaches us to think meanly of our selves highly of God to look upon our selves as Worms as Moths à s nothing and less than nothing and worse than nothing but how honourably does it teach us to think to speak of God how reverently to Worship him how holily to walk before him with what confidence to trust him with what fervor of Soul to love him and in short to make him the first and last of all 4. The fourth and last Peculiar Glory of the Doctrine of the Gospel which I shall name at present is that it never exalts one of the Divine Attributes to the derogation of another Here is Mercy exalted but withal Justice satisfied and while the Free Grace of God is upon the Throne Holiness is enthroned with it God can no more Pardon without security to his Justice than he can punish with inconsistency to his Mercy The minds of Men are strangely deluded in this matter for looking only upon Mercy they forget the severity of his Justice and if an imaginary Mercy would but answer thâ—… ends of their Presumptions they take no further thought what becomes of the essential Holiness of God But infinite Wisdom has secured and sweetly adjustâ—…d the Interests of these two great Attributes Rom. iii. 2â—… That hâ—… mâ—… be just and thâ—… juâ—…r of 〈◊〉 that believeth in Jesus God will justifie there 's Mercy but he will be just in justifying there 's provision made for his Justicâ—… The Justice of God satisfied on Chrisâ—… The Mercy of God magnified on the believing Sinner Thus God will not lose his Glory and the believing â—…inner shall not lose his Soul There seems to be a difficulty in Exod. xxxiv 6 7. A God pardoning iniquity transgression and sin and not a God that will by no means clear the guilty A perplexing Riddle If God will by no means clear the Guilty how does he pardon transgression But his Justice is as peremptory as his Mercy is free he will no more pardon Transgression without due compensation to his Justice than he will condemn the Sinner that by Faith lays hold on that Compensation which his Wisdom has provided and his Grace offered in the Gospel Here then Mercy and Truth are met together Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other And all the Attributes of God do sweetly embrace and harmoniously agree when the Satisfaction of one makes way for the exerting and exercising of the other Psal. lxxxv 10. 2. That we are so earnestly pressed to Adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour presupposes that however beautiful this Doctrine is in it self it has been miserably blackened defaced defiled and much dirt thrown in the Face of it which is done various ways 1. First when from the Doctrine of Divine Grace Mercy Forbearance and Forgiveness Corrupt Heads and Rotten Hearts draw Conclusions of Licentiousness that is when thay interpret Grace into Presumption which is evidently to subvert the End and Design to invert the Order and whole Method of the Gospel Doctrine for though the Gospel proclaims Pardon of all Sin to the Repenting it Indulges none to the impenitent Sinner He that by sinning presumes to find Work for Mercy shall find to his cost that he was making Work for Vengeance The Corruption of depraved Nature has discovered it self in many instances these especially evidence its malignity 1. When Men will be evil because God has been good The design of his goodness patience and long-suffering is to lead them to repentance Rom. ii 4. But if this goodness be despised and because God is long-suffering they will be the longer in sinning and because Mercy is still striving with them they will out-strive that Mercy they will
and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye And we have added to that Scandal which we have brought upon our Holy Religion that we have intitled Christ to all our reproachful Disorders and the Argument runs now to divide to quarrel for Christ's sake when 't is for Christ's sake that we should Unite and be at Peace And yet farther have we aggravated our Guilt in a foolish thought to exonerate and justify our selves by burdening and loading others when the impartial can easily judge that all are wrong but never determine who is in the Right Thus are we blindly falling upon one another when every Man should strike his hand upon his own heart and cry out What have I done Wherein have I contributed to that Reproach and Scorn that has been thrown upon our Religion We are sharp-sighted to espy the slips of our Brethren but blind to observe our own scandalour Falls And as the Rain that falls upon the Hills is discharged upon the Valleys the Valleys again empty themselves into the Rivers the Rivers throw all into the Sea Thus are we discharging our selves charging our Brethren who with equal Zeal and Passion and perhaps with equal Justice and Reason are retorting the same Crimes upon us In the mean time we are mutually throwing Dirt in one anothers Faces tossing of Firebrands at one anothers Heads and thereby setting all in a Flame that may â—…nvolve us all our Liberty and Churches in the saâ—…ne common Desolation I cannot comfortably yet know not how to forbear enlarging a while upon this ungrateful Subject First Let us bitterly Lament that any of the Precious Doctrines of the Gospel have been so miserably abused their Gracious Designs frustrated upon us and perverted by us For Instance 1. What more endearing Truth than that of the Patience of God waiting upon and striving with Sinners to lead them to Repentance Rom. ii 4. And yet what Doctrine more impiously abused God is long-suffering and Men will be long sinning God waits and they will find Work for his Patience Thus he gave Jezâ—…bel space to repent and she repented not Rev. ii 21. He affords Day after Day to repent in and they turn them into Days to be repented of Like zealous Gamesters that have but an Inch of Candle left and they will play it out and if the Light had laâ—…ted longer they would have drawn out their Sports longer and go to Bed in the Dark Such are all impenitent Sinners who having a Day of Grace an Hour of Mercy a Moment of Life wherein to turn to God sport away those precious Hours and Moments not lent them for those Ends and if Life were prorogued a thousand Years they would sin those thousand Years if their Days were Eternal their Provocations would be Eternal And thus that Goodness of God which should mollify hardens their Hearts and they will be worse and therefore worse because God is better As if it were not enough to be Evil tho' God be Good but they will be therefore Evil because God is Good But this Treatment of the Divine Patience has been foretold 2 Pet. iii. 4. There shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying Where is the promise of his coming For sincâ—… the Fathers fell asleep all things continuâ—… as they were from the beginning of the creation Where is the promise A Promise indeed it is a most Gracious one to them that wait and prepare for his coming but a Threatning a most dreadful Threatning to them that harden their Hearts by it Impenitency turns a Promise into a Threatning But upon what Presumptions do they thus harden their Hearts Because all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation O most perverse Gloss upon the Text of Divine Forbearance for ver 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness but is long-suffering to us ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance 2. And what more comfortable Doctrine than that of the Free Pardon of Sin and Justification through Faith in the Righteousness of Christ. Rom iii. 24. Bâ—…ing justifiâ—…d freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. We cannot mention this without bitter Tears that Men will therefore freely sin because God will freely pardon If his Grace abound they will abound in Ungraciousness His Mercies are Great and they will therefore provide great Sins to employ and exercise his great Mercy What a poisonous Heart must that be that converts or rather perverts so sweet a Doctrine into Mortal Poyson 3. Nor has it fared better with the Doctrine of the Perseverance of Saints which has not been cried down only by such as deny it but Reproached by those that own it The Gospel would teach us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling because it 's God that works in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure Phil. ii 12. Not to be slothful because God works but to work more diligently because we have the Divine Assistance The same Gospel would engage us 2 Pet. i. 5. To make our calling and election sure To make it out that we are effectually brought home to God and from thence to infer our Election and not to delude our Souls with the Sophistry of Hell If I be elected I shall be saved tho' I wallow in all manner of abominable Filthiness Secondly Let us renew our Lamentations that the Lives of Professors express no more of the Power of the Truths and Precepts of that Gospel which they do Profess The Temper of Religion as described in the Scripâ—…are is Meekness Humility Compassion Beneficence Charity Heavenly-mindedness but these are so ill Copied out by them that we may seek for Religion among those that are Religious and not find it And by this means Christ himself is represented unlovely undesirable and the inward Enmity in the Hearts of Men is provoked exasperated and inflamed in Persecution And from hence it is that wicked Men think they have got sufficient Matter to justify all their Revilings their Blasphemies against our Saviour and his Doctrine and think they do God Service while they are endeavouring to root out of the Earth a Religion which is rendred Odious by the unsuitable Conversations of those that seem to glory in it The Offences that are given will not justify those that take them There is a Woe denounced against the World because of Offences and there is a Woe denounced against those that give them Matth. xviii 7. Wo be to the world because of offences for it must needs be that offences come but woe unto them by whom the offence cometh Thus they that take the Offence fall into Hell and Justice sends him thither that gave it II. Improvement by way of Exhortation I Must conclude with one word of Exhortation To all
's Good and Profitable to Men. It is calculated expresly according to the Image of him that is good and doth good Psal. cxix 68. Such is this Holy Doctrine it 's a sanctifying and a saving Doctrine Prov. iv 1 2. Hear ye children attend to know understanding for I give you good doctrine forsake ye not my law This Doctrine reveals Eternal Life and the only way to it it discovers what we must know that we perish not in Ignorance what we must believe that we perish not in Infidelity what we must do that we perish not by Disobedience what we must avoid that we perish not in our Rashness It reveals the end of Creation Redemption and how to reach the end of our Faith Hope Prayers in the Enjoyment of God blessed for ever to Eternity But if you would have the Particulars in which 't is good and profitable laid before you at once read that place 2 Tim. iii. 16 17. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect thorowly furnisht unto all good works And upon this Account if our Eyes were Rivers and our Heads a Fountain of Tears we could not enough mourn that Men have turned God's glory into shame Psal. iv 2. The Divine Glory has displayed it self gloriously in the Gospel the Glory of his Mercy manifested to lost self-lost Sinners the Glory of his Justice manifested and satisfied in his Son the Glory of his Holiness shining out in the Precepts the Glory of his Truth shining out in the Promises the Glory of his Wisdom manifested in adjusting all Interests and answering all the Pretensions of the Holy Law and yet all these impiously turned into Shame § 2. To shew the Zeal of the Primitive Christians to Adorn their Religion In those Purest Times Religion had another Face than now it wears it was delivered Pure to them by Christ and his Apostles and they represented it suitably to the worst of their Enemies and these things were their Glory 1. First There was nothing more eminently sound amongst them than Love without Dissimulation The Heathen among whom they dwelt could not but say O how these Christians love one another Act. ii 1. They were all together with one accord in one house as if one Soul animated so many Bodies They were of one Heart one Lip and one Shoulder that they might bear one anothers burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. Gal. vi 2. 2. A second Excellency in them was their fervent Zeal for the Honour of their Redeemer a Zeal so hot that it quench'd the Flames and the heat of the Fires which devoured their Bodies This they copied out from Christ the Grand Exemplar of Holy Zeal for his Father's Glory Joh. ii 17. The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up Christ's time for Sleep Food Rest was all eaten up by his Holy Zeal to do his Father's Will and finish his Work Such was the Original which they propounded to themselves for Imitation and they wrote after it with great Exactness they minded pursued more the concerns of their Lord than their own the publick Interest of the Church drowned thâ—…ir own private little Interests as the Sun shâ—…ing upon our culinary Fires extinguishes them so did their Zeal for Christ burn up all those petty Animosities which when peace and rest from Persecution indulged them broke out into dividing and consuming Flames Thirdly It was their Glory that they lived in a continual waiting for and expâ—…ctation of the coming of their Lord which glorious Day tho' they could not hasten yet their longing praying Souls hastened unto that Day 2 Pet. iii. 12. Looking for and hastning unto the coming of the day of God How did they patiently wait and yet passionately pray come Lord Jesus come quickly Rev. xxii 20. They longed to see their Lord upon his Throne to see all the Kingdoms of the World brought into subjection to the King of Saints and their preparations were answerable to their expectations making ready for the blessed Appearance of their blessed Saviour Fourthly Their Discourses their Lives savoured of Heaven their Business their Conversation was above whence they looked for their Saviour their Persecutors when they stript them of all the accommodations of their Pilgrimage would say with scorn We do but ease you of what you say is your burden and impediment in running your Race and others when they dragged them to the Stake and Fire would scoff We do but send you whither you long and pray to go How wretchedly we have copied out those Excellencies all the World sees better than they who have most cause to be ashamed If we had holy Paul s Heart we should shed his Tears Phil. iii. 19. Many wâ—…lk of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping that thâ—…y are enemies of thâ—… cross of Christ who mind earthly things An earthly Conversation bears the clearest Contradiction to a heavenly Revelation And now what would dry up the Apostles Tears or what would wipe off this filth from the face of Religion but that gracious Temper of his vâ—…r 20. Our conversation is in heaven from whence we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile bodies and make them like to his glorious body And let us from thence draw this Inference If we look that Christ should once at last vindicate our Bodies from the Dust let us be ambitious to vindicate his Gospel from the Dirt Do we look and hope that he will redeem our vile Bodies from the Grave let us labour to recover his precious Gospel from its Tomb and pray that at length it may have a glorious Resurrection § 3. Let us in the last place consider how Unworthily this Glorious Gospel has been defaced in our Generation and from thence furnish our Souls with Matter for Humiliation and Lamentation The Primitive Christians are remarkable for All Love we may be justly reproached for All Hatred they were united we divided and subdivided and crumbled into Parties when they were All one Bread Love and Affection is now confined to some discriminating mode of Profession and the Enquiry is not now whether a Man bears the Image and Superscription of Christ but whether he bears ours The old Heat of Primitive Zeal is turned into a feavourish preternatural Heat against each other It would be difficult to touch this Point and not to break out into Satyr but that we cannot Reprove another but we must Reproach our selves We have been so fiercely biting one another that it 's a Miracle of Divine Mercy that we are not devoured by one another Sheep whose Character has been Meekness and Mildness are become Roaring and Ravenous Lions How little do we express the likeness of Christ who was meek and lowly in heart The Gospel would have taught us another Spirit Col. iii. 13. Forbearing one another