of thy Servants glory and happiness for a great while to come even as far as to Eternity And is this the manner of man O Lord God Can any man in the world or all the men in the world if they would lay their heads and hearts and hands together to exalt a poor Creature can they do this Can they redeem their brothers Soul from Hell Ps 49.6 7 8 9. or can they make him happy to Eternity No no they must let this work alone for a God to perform all the world can never do it And therefore admire this unparallell'd expression of Gods goodness to a poor Creature And Secondly be Thankful for it If we be bound to be thankful for the least mercy for the least mercy of this present life how should we be thankful for the greatest gift the gift of Eternal Life Rom. 6. last The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord Therefore be thankful for it And indeed the excellency of it the excellency of Life Eternal should raise up our hearts to thankfulness The excellency of Heaven set out Which excellency appears 1. By the excellent Names and Epithetes that are given to it 2. By the excellent Properties of it 3. By the excellent Price given for it 4. By the excellent Causes of it 5. By the excellent Effects of it 1. By its Names First By the excellent Names and Epithets given to it It is called An Everlasting Kingdom The Kingdom of Heaven A House The Fathers House not made with hands A Mansion The Presence Chamber of God Abrahams Bosom where Gods people are safe as children in their Parents bosom Paradise Luk. 23.24 in comparison of which the Garden of Eden was but a dunghil Lords Joy Matth. 25.21 The New Jerusalem Rev. 21.10 and Gal. 4.16 Jerusalem which is above All the glory of the Old Jerusalem in Solomons Temple was but a Type of this The Immortal Inheritance 1 Pet. 1.4 The glory of God Rest 2 Thess 1.7 Refreshing Acts 3.19 Peace Isa 57.2 And what is more desireable than these things Therefore be thankful for it Secondly 2. By its Properties the excellency appears by the excellent Properties of it For 1. of all the happiness of heaven is most pure Rev. 22 1. It is called A pure river of water of life clear as Chrystal proceeding out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb. All earthly Pleasures have their admixtures of the mud of Sin and Misery but this is pure 2. It is most sure and secure because out of the reach of Satan and all enemies Rev. 20.10 The devil that deceived them was cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone where the Beast and the false Prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever In this world the greatest comforts are upon a very uncertain tenure but there all is sure and secure 3. It is most Satisfactory The River of Life must needs quench your thirst Rev. 7.16 They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more there shall be no want of any thing their Souls can desire Psal 17. last 4. All this shall be Eternal When thou hast lived so many thousand years as there are little sands on the shore piles of grass on the ground stars in the Sky thy happiness shall be as new to begin as at thy very first entrance As long as there is a God and a Christ thy life shall last O then be thankful for it Thirdly the excellency appears 3. By its Price by the excellent Price given for it We judge the worth of things by the value Would you not be thankful if one should give you an Inheritance should cost so many hundred thousand pounds but heaven is such an Inheritance that cannot be bought with all the Silver and Gold in the world For neither we nor our inheritance were redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ as of a Lamb undefiled and without spot 1 Pet. 1.18 19. That must needs be a precious Inheritance that cost such a precious price Therefore be thankful for it 4. By its Causes Fourthly the excellency of it appears from the excellent Causes of it As 1. The primary Efficient Cause is God the Father and his free love from all Eternity 2. The Meritorious Cause is Christ his Son 1 Joh. 5.11 And this is the Witness that God hath given us eternal life and this life is in his Son 3. The Instrumental Cause offering and holding forth Eternal Life is the Everlasting Gospel Rom. 1.16 17. The Instrumental Cause receiving is The precious grace of Faith Eph. 2.8 Ye are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God 4. The Sealing Cause is The Holy Ghost Eph. 1.13 14. In whom c. 5. The Final Cause is Gods Glory and our Glory Gods Glory in glorifying his Servants his Servants Glory in the glorifying of God Whilst they do behold the glory of God they glorifie God to all eternity and are glorified by God Joh. 17.24 Behold my glory and so glorifie God and receive glory from God For in beholding Gods glory we are transformed 2 Cor. 3.18 Therefore Rev. 5.13 Blessing and honour are to him O who would not praise God for such a life Why do you not begin your Heaven upon Earth which will be strong assurance to you that you shall go to Heaven when you die As wicked men begin Hell upon Earth whilst they curse God and blaspheme God and dishonour God by their wicked words and actions So do you begin your Heaven upon Earth in praising God for your living by Faith in regard of Life Eternal 5. By Effects Fifthly the excellency of Life Eternal appears as from the Causes so from the Effects also which are admirable and glorious viz. Man's being made like to the very Angels Matth. 22.30 yea as like to Christ himself as may be As we have been like him in sufferings so like him also in glory He that is willing to conform to Christ in the former shall be made conformable to Christ in the latter Phil. 3. last He shall change our vile bodie that it might be made like his glorious bodie c. And as in Body so in Soul also in the whole man Was Christ a King Priest and Prophet so are they that are Christs Revel 1.6 He hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father What follows Therefore to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen If all Gods Saints have such honour how should they honour Him who thus honours them of his free grace and will honour them to all Eternity If Eternal Life be so excellent a gift as appears by the Epithetes that are given to it by the excellent Properties of it by the excellent Price given for it by the excellent Causes of it and by the
and also for the opening of the heart by working upon the affections Vse 5 Vse 5. Exhortation to the People To People twofold 1. To be willing to be wrought upon and to be converted 2. To be willing to attend upon such means as is most proper for the effecting of that great Work 1. To be willing to be wrought upon First To be willing to be wrought upon and to be converted For if it be such an excellent thing to be an Instrument of others Conversion then it must needs be excellent to be converted O remember the vast difference betwixt a man in the state of Nature and in the state of Grace betwixt a man converted and unconverted O remember whilst you are unconverted you are in a state of Darkness Enmity Death But when once converted in a state of Light Peace Life Motives 1. When ye are unconverted ye are in a state of Darkness Eph. 5.8 Once darkness c. 1. Darkness of Ignorance Ephes 4.18 Alas they know nothing 1. Of themselves and their miserable condition by nature Rev 3.17 I counsel thee to buy of me eye-salve c. 2. Of Christ in a Soul-saving way Ephes 2.12 Without Christ c. 2. Darkness of Sorrow at least when unconverted persons lie down in the Grave Isa 50. last They shall lie down in sorrow 2. In a state of Enmity Ephes 2.3 Children of wrath as well as others Joh. 3.36 God is an enemy to unbelievers and to be sure they are enemies to God Rom. 8.6 7. The carnal minde is enmity against God c. O what a dangerous condition this is It were better to have all the world enemies to us than God Remember what God saith Ezek. 22.14 Can thy heart endure or thy hands be strong in the day that I shall deal with thee 3. In a state of Death Ephes 2.1 Dead in sin and liable to death for sin to a first death and a second death and this of all terribles is the most terrible But secondly when once converted thou art in a state of Light Peace Life Mal. 4.2 1. In a state of Light Ephes 5 8. Ye were once darkness but now are ye light in the Lord. The Sun of righteousness doth arise with healing in his wings Healing the darkness of Ignorance Sorrow True Light and Heat come both together 2. In a state of Peace Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith we have peace with God It is better to have God to be our friend than to have all the world beside 3. In a state of Life Luke 15. last This thy brother was dead and is alive And thus the just lives by his Faith the most excellent life that can be desired Therefore come in and be willing to be wrought upon c. Obj. If you shall say as they in Jeremy There is no hope I am so great a sinner God will never shew mercy to me It were presumption for me to offer to lay hold on the Promise Answ Look to the Pattern of great sinners converted on purpose to incourage others to come in to Christ Did Manasses or Mary Magdalen or Paul presume when they did believe 1 Tim. 1.13 I was a blasphemer a persecutor injurious c. and v. 16. How be it for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them that should hereafter believe Onely be humbled for thy sins and accept of Christs Righteousness go not about to establish thine own Rom. 10.3 Remember As no man is accepted for his own Righteousness but Christs So no man is rejected for his own unrighteousness but for his final impenitency and unbelief Therefore be perswaded to come in Accept of mercy while God offers mercy Do not draw back when God is drawing of you I hope you have some good thoughts Act. 26. some good desires in your hearts You are almost perswaded O be not onely almost but altogether Perhaps some of you are even upon the very pangs of the New-birth O let not Spiritual difficulties cause you to draw back as Ephraim did Hos 13.13 O strive O pray The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence O be earnest with God and bemoan your backwardness Jer. 31.18 I have surely heard Ephaim bemoaning himself thus Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a Bullock unaccustomed to the yoke Turn thou me and I shall be turned c. Pray God to open the everlasting doors c. Psal 24 ult O yield to God when he perswadeth when he beseecheth When Christ and Satan are Suitors and Competitors do not put off Christ and yield to Satan Be not cruel to your own flesh and enemies to your own Souls Remember how you rejoyce Angels The Churches Christ himself Your own Hearts Therefore be perswaded c. Secondly 2. To be willing to attend upon such means as are proper Be willing to attend upon such means as are most proper for the effecting of that great Work To attend upon a Soul-saving Ministery God complains by the Prophet Jeremy that as the false Prophets did Prophecy smooth things and false things so his People did love to have it so Jer. 5 last That same Athenian itch in the people to hear some new strange thing Act. 17. doth too often draw forth an Athenian scratch from the speaker to tell what they so much desire to hear Act. 17.21 But 't is wisdom in both to be conversant in the pattern of wholesom words To give and receive that Spiritual food which may not so much please the palate as nourish the person to Life Eternal Doubtless he preaches best and he hears best that preaches and hears to the Salvation of the Soul Many thousand Souls in heaven shall bless God for ever for the plain and powerful preaching of the Word And many thousand Souls in hell shall complain to all Eternity that their hurt was soon healed and skinned over with silken language and soft words as the Prophet Jeremy speaks Vse 6 Vse 6. Of Thankfulness Of Thankfulness Of Thankfulness in case 1. We our selves are converted 2. If any by us or by our means be converted 1. If we be converted our selves First if the conversion of Souls be such an excellent Work Be thankful if we our selves be converted 1 Tim. 1.13 17. Now unto the King eternal immortal invisible the onely wise God be honour and glory for ever This shout of Praise follows upon the acknowledgement of Pauls Conversion and it were easie to shew how those Attributes have an influence on Conversion Eternity is little enough to praise God for such a Mercy Luk. 10.20 Rejoyce not in this that the spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoyce that your Names are written in heaven Psal 33.34 Sing unto him a new song play skilfully with a loud noise for the word of the Lord is right and all his works are done in truth This for
these are the things which the just lives by faith in concerning adversity Quaer 3 Thirdly We come to enquire in what manner he lives by faith in troubles or in what particular passages of Providence And here are these things observable Ans Manner of living by faith in troubles 1. That he does it 1. In preventing the storm So 2 Kings 19.6 upon Hezekiahs prayer of faith the storm of Sennacheribs invasion was driven back And Jon. 3. the Ninevites believing God drave back that storm threatned by Jonah Nor Devils nor Witches have any power over a man if he believes therefore Christ to Peter Luk. 22.32 Simon Simon Satan hath desired to have you that he may winnow you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not as if he had said So long as Faith holds out Satan hath no power whom therefore resist stedfast in the faith 1 Pet. 5. 2. In looking at God Ordaining all troubles sc 1. That every man must look for some Rom 8.29 where speaking of sufferings he sayes We were predestinate to be conformable to the image of his Son 2. What and how many every man shall have Faith sees the Cup in a Fathers hand Thou couldst have no power unless it were givon thee from above said Christ to Pilate 3. In looking at God Ordering and Disposing all things in middest of Confusion Joseph his selling imprisoning and exalting again all was by Gods disposing though the instruments knew it not Phil. 1.12 Paul tells them that the things which happened to him seemingly as a stoppage in truth made for a furtherance of the Gospel And Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God 4. In seeing God Bounding and Limiting troubles as in Jobs case Chap. 2. When affliction breaks in as the sea Faith hears God say Huc usque Hitherto and no further shall thy proud waves come Isa 10 22. The consumption determined shall overflow in righteousness And so again Isa 27.7 8. In measure thou wilt debate with it He will stay his rough wind in the day of the east wind 5. In seeing Gods Protection that however the storm comes to fall upon us yet he is so merciful as to hold his holy hand of protection over us Yea Psal 91.4 He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust his truth shall be thy shield and buckler 6. In Supporting or seeing Gods Support that however the storm comes and falls upon us without any shelter yet God is merciful in giving sufficient strength to bear it 1 Cor. 10.13 God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able but will with the temptation make a way to escape that you may be able to bear It is many times a wonder nay a Miracle to see how God supports his people when they cannot get off the trouble yet making them hear My grace is sufficient for thee viz. my grace applied by faith 7. In Sanctifying troubles Rev. 7.17 There they that came out of great tribulations washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. There is a malignity in all afflictions but faith in Christ crucified takes away that malignity and venomous sting Isa 27 9. This is all the fruit of those troubles To purge away their sin 8. In Saving and Delivering or fitting the soul for deliverance that howsoever troubles lie on a great while the Lord will send help in due time Therefore God is styled A present help in time of trouble Psal 46. And although many be the troubles of the righteous yet the Lord delivers them out of all as it is Psal 34.19 Wherefore it is noted that it was by faith that Israel was delivered out of Egypt when they passed through the Red sea Heb. 11.29 9. In Sanctifying Deliverance Luke 1.74 75. Who hath delivered us out of the hands of our enemies that we might serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all the dayes of our lives Quaer 4 Now further By what means does the just live by faith in the troubles of this life Ans Means of living by faith in troubles Ans First in weighing spiritual mercies against temporal evils 1 Sam. 30.6 David ready to be stoned comforted himself in the Lord his God The Lord himself propounds a spiritual mercy against a temporal evil to sustain his people under it Isa 30.20 Though the Lord give you the bread of affliction and the water of affliction yet shall not thy Teachers be removed into a corner The Apostle make use of such a support 2 Cor. 4.16 17. For this cause we faint not for though our outward man perish our inward man is renewed day by day 2. In making the soul to rest upon the naked Word of God though it be against ordinary reason So Abraham Rom. 4.17 Believed in hope against hope according to what was spoken so shall thy seed be In hope of Faith against hope of Reason Thus by faith we believe the Creation of the World by the bare Word of God without precedent matter Heb. 11.3 Faith looks up to the promise Isa 43.1 2. When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt c. 3. In enabling the soul to relye on Gods Attributes which make good his Word and Promise As 1. His Power Gen. 17.1 I am God Almighty walk before me and be thou perfect 2. His Truth and this binds him as Power enables him to help Psal 31.5 Into thy hands I commit my Spirit O Lord God of Truth Heb. 11.11 Sarah believed him faithful who had promised 3. His Love to help and even to prevent as the Prodigal's father ran to meet his son afar off Isa 65.24 Yea before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear See Psal 32.5 4 His Vnchangeableness Jam. 1.17 with whom there is no shadow of change 4. In making the absent good to be present Faith looks beyond the clouds and skies and seek all clear above Moses Heb. 11.25 c. looks through the affliction and reproach of Christ and sees the recompence of reward We rejoyce now saith the Apostle in hope of glory Rom. 5.2 So faith sees the after-good of the Church as present Revel 18.2 Babylon as good as fallen above a thousand years before 5. In strengthning Patience Therefore Faith and Patience are joyned together So Heb. 10.35 36 37. Cast not away your confidence which hath great recompence of reward For you have need of patience that when you have done the will of God you may inherit the promise Now by patience we possess our souls through it all is calm within while storms are without A wounded conscience within is worse then the outward burthen like a sore back to the horse But faith heals
up from his dead condition c. Verse the last 2. It puts his Soul into a mourning confessing frame v. 18. I will arise and go to my Father and say unto him Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee 3. It subdues his heart to lay down all Opposition and to take any course for his living v. 19. make me as one of thy hired servants Observe he uttered not so much as he intended his Father prevented him with his mercy as Psal 32.5 I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin 4. It fixeth his heart upon his Fathers mercy not upon his own merit Faith tells him Though thou hast forgotten the duty of a Son thy Father hath not forgot the bowels of a Father The word Father runs much in his minde I will go to my Father c. Here now a Spirit of Adoption begins to work whereby he cryes Abba Father O dear Father Father I have sinned against heaven c. But yet thou art my Father This is the last act of justifying Faith by which the Soul is put into a child-like condition and fit to receive a childes portion of God All is of his free grace Jer. 3.19 And I said How shall I put thee among the children Thou shalt call me My Father c. Thus the just lives by Faith in the work of Justification Vid. Cotton p. 14. D. Downame ☜ Faith in the Renewing of justification in the Conscience of the sinner 2. For the Continuance and Renewing of Justification ☞ The just lives by Faith daily as well as at the first day that he believed So Abraham Rom. 4.3 4. He believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness which is cited out of Gen. 15.6 and so it appears to be after such time as he was in Covenant with God and in the state of Grace Yet still his Justification is continued by a renewed act of Faith and so David sues out his Justification by a renewed act of Faith and Prayer Psal 51. though he were justified before And therefore Christians are much to blame who after they have once believed in God for Justification do not labour to renew this act from day to day and thence comes flatness in Spirit and deadness in Duties when we see not a daily need of going out of our selves into Christ And surely if Christ applies his own sacrifice daily to us by intercession with his Father Heb. 7.25 He ever liveth to make intercession for us Why should not we apply it daily by Faith and Prayer that God for Christs sake may forgive us our daily trespasses as we are taught to pray And this is to live by faith in a continued act of Justification Therefore it is put not in the Present Tense but in the Future it is not here doth but he shall live by his Faith that is as long as he lives Take heed the blood of Christ run not cold in the veins of Faith that you trust not more to grace received than to the fountain of grace and pardon in Christ The truth is our best duties stand in need of pardon and our best graces of quickning and nothing will quicken us more than the assurance of our Justification And therefore though a mans spirit be without guile and he knows nothing by himself he allows himself in no known evil yet even at such a time 1 Cor. 4. he is not thereby justified but then he must fly to Christ for Justification and say Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven c. Psal 32.1 2. Faith in the assurance of being justified 3. For the Assurance of the Act the just lives by Faith 1. In moving a man to desire more Faith 2. In using and embracing such Means by which we come to Assurance 3. In the Tryal of Assurance 4. In Anâ—wering all such Objections and Doubts which do cloud and darken this Assurance 5. In Expectation of Assurance First In moving a man to desire more Faith In Motives to Assurance The reason is 1. Because true Faith if but as a grain of Mustard-seed moves man to desire more Faith Luke 17.5 Lord encrease our faith Mark 9.24 Lord help my unbelief And never rests rising higher and higher till it comes to full Assurance Therefore lazy faith is false faith that saith I cast my self on God and there 's an end I never desire more so I can but rub out c. This is a sign it is not true The just lives by Faith for the encrease till assured and true Faith suggests Motives to perswade us to seeke after full Assurance Quest What are those Motives Ans 1. 1 Motive Gods Commandment which Faith looks at as to believe 1 John 3.23 And this is the Commandment We should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ So to be assured 2 Pet. 1.10 Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure Both 1 John 5.13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God 2. Because it 's the End why the Scriptures were written yea the end of the Seals 1. Publike the Sacraments 2. Privy the Spirit witnessing Therefore saith Faith Receive not the grace of God in vain There are many deceived Micah 3.7 Then shall the Seers be ashamed and the Diviners confounded yea they shall all cover their lips for there is no answer of God Mat. 7. 1 Cor. 6.9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God 3. A difficili that which would discourage another doth encourage a faithâ—ul man the more because many objections and temptations therefore strive Tu ne cede malis The kingdom of heaven suffers violence c. 4. A possibili Both are objects of Christian fortitude Example Job 19.25 For I know that my Redeemer lives c. Paul Rom 8. For I am perswaded neither death nor life nor angels c. Steven saw heaven opened Acts 6. 5. A necessario not ad esse but bene esse as health and vigour to the well-being of natural life 3 Joh. 2. I wish thou mayest prosper and be in health as thy soul prospereth Health comprehends life aliquid amplius so Assurance Faith and the joy of Faith Faith may be without Assurance but no true Assurance without Faith 6. Ab utili strong Faith is able to do that which weak Faith cannot as a strong man can work under a burthen though both receive Christ Nothing shall be impossible to you Mat. 15.28 O woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt Luther said Domine fiat voluntas mea Lord let my will be done Neh. 8.10 The joy of the Lord is your strength 7. A decoro or ab honorifico for 1. This brings more
man believe not what he professeth to be true he will be soon ready either to lay down or to take up Opinions as he may best serve the present time for his own interest In this respect an Unbeliever is a Time-server 1 Tim. 4.2 He speaks lies in hypocrisie If any new Doctrine may but swell the man up in his own Name or in his Estate he makes no bones of it to speak lies in hypocrisie 6. Apostacy Sixthly another dangerous sin the fruit of Unbelief and of Heresie is Apostacy or falling off from the Truth For by the same reason that an Unbeliever may fall from one Article of his professed Faith he may come in time to fall from all For if his Religion be no more but a State-Profession then in case the State changeth Religion where he lives his Religion is changed also And such is the Religion of all such People as are either extremely simple or extremely wise I mean worldly wise they know no other Religion than the State owns and that 's as good as no Religion at all because the State owns it it is vain to him For though that be supposed to be true which the State owns yet when a man owns it not because it is true but because the State owns it Isa 29.13 Mat. 15.9 it is vain to him In vain saith God do they worship me whilst their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men 7. Atheism The seventh and the last dangerous sin is down-right Atheism when men grow to that height of Profaneness to deny God and his Word Lo here 's descensus Averni those slippery and dangerous stairs of Unbelief Prov. 5.5 by which men depart from the living God and go down to Hell Heb. 3.12 Take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God And thus you see this sin of Unbelief it s a Mother sin it s exceeding prolifical in a dangerous brood of Vipers that without Repentance will sting the sinner to death And further as Unbelief is a fertile Mother to all sin so 't is a cruel Stepmother to all Grace Unbelief a Step-mother to Grace An Unbeliever cannot love God because he cannot cast himself upon the love of God Joh. 5.42 Christ saith to the unbelieving Jews But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you An Unbeliever cannot submit with patience to the afflicting hand of God and therefore Vnbelief and Murmuring against God are ever joined together An Unbeliever cannot pray for what he wants Prayer is the daughter of Faith How shall they call on him on whom they have not believed Rom. 10. An Unbeliever cannot be thankful for any mercy received unless by Faith a man sees his interest in the Giver he can never be thankful for the Gift Psal 118.28 Thou art my God and I will praise thee thou art my God I will exalt thee As if he should have said Lord thou hast bestowed thy self as well as thy Benefits upon me and therefore I have found in my heart to praise thy Name In a word an unbeliever cannot perform any acceptable service to God you must make the tree good before the fruit can be good Mat. 7 18. and we are onely made good trees by Faith For by Faith we are grafted or planted into Christ without whose powerful influence we can bring forth no acceptable fruit to God Joh. 15.3 Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of it self except it abide in the Vine no more can ye except ye abide in me We may indeed bring forth wilde grapes and sowre grapes of our selves but the sweet grapes of New Obedience and such as may be pleasant to Gods own palate we can never bring forth till we are planted into Christ by Faith For without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 Adde to this in the sixth place 6. Unbelief the Nurse of sin That as unbelief is the Mother of all sins so it is the Nurse that maintains and keeps life in every sin it binds every sin upon the Soul both in the guilt and power of it Where there is no Faith there can be no true evidence of forgiveness of sins for Men receive forgiveness of sins by faith in Christ Acts 26.18 7. Judgments on unbelievers Seventhly and lastly consider the Judgement that hangs over the heads of unbelievers if it be but partial unbelief I mean the distrusting of God in any particular Promise though we have Faith in the main to believe the reconcilement of our persons to God yet even that partial unbelief may deprive us of many sweet mercies on this side heaven Isa 30.15 In quietness and confidence shall be your strength A man of an unquiet and unbelieving Spirit may create much trouble to himself in this present life Moses was a man in the state of Grace yea and in so great favour with God that the Scripture gives this testimony of him Deut. 34.10 There arose not a Prophet since in Israel like unto Moses whom the Lord knew face to face Yet this Moses for a particular passage of unbelief in speaking hastily to the people Num. 20.8 11.12 when he should have spoke to the Rock and in striking the Rock when he should but onely have spoke to it I say for this particular passage of unbelief he was shut out of the Land of Canaan though he was not shut out of Heaven yea though he had a strong desire to enter in and exprest this desire by an earnest Prayer Deut. 3.25 c. I pray thee let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan that goodly Mountain and Lebanon Lo this was his last and great request to God yea but for all that he must not go over for so it followed in the Text But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes and would not hear me and the Lord said unto me Let it suffice thee speak no more unto me of this matter thou shalt not go over this Jordan And Moses may thank his unbelief for all this Numb 20.12 The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron Because ye believed me not to sanctifie me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore ye shall not bring this Congregation into the land which I have given them And thus you see that even partial unbelief may deprive us of many sweet mercies on this side Heaven How many thousands as well as Moses and Aaron were cut short of Canaan for their unbelief and murmuring against God And the Lord forgive the sin of this present Generation in this respect who are even ready to run back into Egypt because God hath brought them into the Wilderness in the present Dispensations of Providence O the danger of unbelief though it be but in some particular Promise O how dangerous then is that total and universally
penitent Thief upon the Cross had but a little time to turn him in and yet a good part of that little Note he spent in labouring to gain the Soul of his fellow-Thief Luk. 23.40 Dost not thou fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation Be assured of this that as the gain of Souls is the best of all gains So the blood of Souls of all other blood will lie the heaviest upon the Conscience of such as are guilty of it Vse 3 Vse 3. Of Exhortation Exhortation to convert Souls The third Use may be for Exhortation 1. To all sorts of Christians in general and then 2. In special to those whose Office and Function calls upon them more importunately to labour in the Conversion of Souls Branch 1. In general to all First To all in general for we must not think it is the Ministers work alone For what knowest thou O wife whether thou shalt save thy husband or how knowest thou O man whether thou shalt save thy wife 1 Cor. 7.16 And what knowest thou O Christian whether thou shalt save thy Neighbor Do what thou canst in a wise way it may be God may second thy endevours thy Reproof or thy Exhortation by his own Spirit The poor Woman of Samaria was an Instrument under God of drawing on her Neighbors to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ Joh. 4. And what dost thou know but God may bless thy endevours with the like success And therefore whilst others spend time in idle discourse for he that is of the earth Joh. 3.31 speaketh of the earth let Christians spend their time in Exhorting and Comforting and Edifying one another as the Apostle speaks 1 Thess 5.11 Branch 2. In particular to Ministers And if all in general then surely Ministers of all others Ministers in a special manner should aim at the Salvation of Souls because the great end of their Commission from God is to take Curam animarum the Care of Souls to turn men from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God Act. 26.18 Note It was an excellent saying of him that was in this place before me and deserved to be so in every respect in his Book of the Loadstone Chap. 8. says he If God would give a Christian his wish especially a Minister of the Gospel and say to him as sometime he said to Solomon when he offered a thousand burnt-offerings at Gibeon Ask what I shall give thee 2 Chron. 1.7 what should he desire either before or more than this viz. than that he might receive a large portion of that Magnetical vertue from God which was bestowed upon Peter and Paul and other Primitive Preachers whereby they drew many thousand Souls to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the world went after him Therefore let all sorts of Christians in their place and sphere especially Ministers of the Gospel labour in the Conversion of Souls Motive 1 Shall I give you some Motives The Reasons may be Motive enough For of all works it is the most excellent The excellency of Converting Souls and men generally delight to be imployed in excellent works Men will do and dare any thing to become great in the world but this is the onely way to become great in the sight of the Lord. Luk. 1.15 He shall be great in the sight of the Lord says the Angel speaking of John the Baptist And why great Mark ver 16. Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God Conversion of Souls to God makes men of great account in the sight of the Lord. Motive 2 Secondly consider This is a main end of our Calling The end of the Ministery and of all those Ministerial Gifts we receive from Jesus Christ for the better discharge of our Calling He gave all for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministery for the edifying of the body of Christ Eph. 4.12 c. He gave not these Gifts that we might gain profit or applause to our selves but that we might gain Souls to him Motive 3 Thirdly consider The Conversion and Salvation of Souls cost the blood of the dearest Soul that ever was Souls cost the blood of Christ and that is the blood of Jesus Christ Therefore should Ministers take special heed in feeding of their flock and in the Salvation of those Souls which Christ hath purchased with his own blood Act. 20.24 Motive 4 Fourthly If we be negligent herein it will cost us our own blood Else it will cost our blood If we neglect our duty our duty they may die in their iniquity but their blood shall be required at the Ministers hands Ezek. 33.8 9. Motive 5 Fifthly Not onely the Precept but the Example of Jesus Christ Example of Christ doth press us to this duty of Conversion of Souls He was a diligent and constant Preacher himself and it was his very meat and drink to take occasion of converting Souls Joh. 4. He is the good Shepherd that seeks up his lost sheep and when he hath found it he lays it on his shoulders rejoycing and bringeth it home that others also may rejoyce with him Luk. 15. Nay it was the very last work that Christ commended to us by his Example when he took his leave of us and left the world He converted the poor Thief at the last gasp as if Christ had said This work is the very end of my Death that poor sinners might live and be converted And this work I commend upon my death to all my friends if you love me do as I have done in my last farewel Let this be your work to convert Souls to God I have given you an example that you should do as I have done before you Motive 6 Sixthly This is the best and truest Testimony of our unfeigned love to Jesus Christ Best sign of love to Christ Joh. 21.15 16 17. Upon Christs threefold Interrogation Lovest thou me and Peters threefold Profession of his love to Christ you have Christs threefold Injunction Feed my Lambs Feed my Sheep Feed my Sheep As if the feeding of Souls the saving of Souls were the truest testimony of our love to Jesus Christ Motive 7 Seventhly This is also the best testimony of our thankfulness to Jesus Christ for our conversion Testimony of our thankfulness to Christ when we endevour the conversion of others It was that which David promised to God in a grateful acknowledgement of Gods mercy in the pardon of his own sins Psal 51.13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways and sinners shall be converted unto thee As if he should say Lord if thou wilt convert me I will endevour also the conversion of others unto thee Motive 8 Eighthly We should labour the conversion of others because we our selves were once in the same condition with those that are yet aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel Remembrance of our own condition
Converting of thy Soul The life of heaven is nothing else but a life of Thankfulness for this unspeakable mercy God might have rejected us as fire-brands of Hell for ever Quest But how shall I know that I am converted and effectually called that I may be thankful Answ If thou art turned to righteousness thou art turned from sin Act. 26.18 Perfecta contrarietas nullum medium admittit Ob. There is sin in the best Answ True there is sin in the best but not with allowance Observe Sin is cast out of its Throne though not out of the Man in a regenerate person Rom. 6.18 Being made free from sin ye became the servants of righteousness There 's no sin with peaceable possession The strong man armed is cast out Secondly There is a love of and endevour after Righteousness and Holiness 1 Joh. 3.3 Every one that hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is pure We were redeemed Luke 1.75 that we should serve him in holiness and righteousness all our days It is in fieri though not fully perfected Thirdly By resolved reliance upon God Job 13.15 Though he kill me yet will I trust in him at least earnestly desire so to do Fourthly By renouncing all other Confidences He that lays hold on God le ts go all his other holds God hath knock'd off his hands and his heart from other things Psal 44.5 6. Through thee will we push down our enemies through thy Name will we tread them under that rise up against us for I will not trust in my bowe neither shall my sword save me Hos 14.3 Ashur shall not save us we will not ride upon horses neither will we say any more to the work of our hands Ye are our God for in thee the fatherless finde mercy He that turns to God renounceth all other confidence yea even his own Righteousness Rom 10.3 They that establish their own righteousness have not embraced the righteousness of God So they that are turned to Gods Righteousness are turned from their own i.e. from trusting to it in point of Justification Fifthly By the Testimony of Gods Spirit and our own regenerate Spirit Rom. 8.16 For the Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirits that we are the Sons of God at least testifying to us in point of Holiness if not in point of Comfort Sixthly By the Spirit of Prayer and Supplication and Adoption Rom. 8.15 Ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father None of Gods children are born tongue-ty'd Seventhly By our Love or working of our love to a threefold object for Gods People partake of Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 and this Divine Nature is discovered in nothing more than in a way of love 1 Joh. 4.16 1. To God and Jesus Christ as our chief portion Psal 119.57 Thou art my portion O Lord I have said that I would keep thy words 1 Pet. 2.7 Vnto you which believe he is precious 2. To the Word of God which was an instrument to beget us to God 1 Pet. 1.23 Being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible seed by the Word of God 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby 3. to our fellow brethren that are begotten with us as children of the same womb and loyns that have Father and mother the same 1 Joh. 5.1 Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him 1 Joh. 3.14 We knew that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren If we see these marks of our conversion and spiritual cleansing we are commanded as the leper upon the like discovery of their cleansing to present our offering of praise as a testimony of our unfeigned thankfulness If he hath cause to be thankful that receives a change from sickness to health Mat. 8.4 from poverty to riches how much more is he bound to be thankful that is changed from sin to righteousness and from death to life Secondly not only so 2. Thankf If we have bin instruments of others conversion but we should be very thankful also if God hath made us instruments of others conversion for they that turn men unto Righteousness c. Is the work such an excellent work that the angels admire it And is the reward such an excellent reward that the very lustre of the heavens is little enough to resemble it How should we then be thankful if God hath made us instruments of others conversion If God hath blest our Admonitions Exhortations Examples Prayers as private men Especially Ministers Or if God hath blest any of our indeavours in the publick ministry to that happy end 1. We should be thankful that God hath let us in such a calling We deserved not to be so much as door-keepers in his house 2. Thankful that Christ hath in any measure gifted us for the discharge of our calling for t' was he that did ascend to give gifts unto men Eph. 4.12 3. Thinkful especially that God doth bless our endeavours in the exercise of those gifts to the conversion of souls for how many men of great gifts and parts do fish all night and all day too yea many dayes and years and catch nothing though they cast out the net of the word many thousand times Therefore be thankful that God should vouchsafe to imploy any of us in so honorable work and service who deserved not to wash the feet of his servants That God should crown our poor weak indeavours with the conversion of souls If God hath so honoured us Give God in Christ the honour of conversion let us put the honour back upon him yet not we but Jesus Christ may be admired among the people As they said of their bodily cure Act. 3.12 So should we of the conversion of a soul Why look ye so earnestly on us as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk No The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob hath glorified his son Jesus Christ and his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong whom ye see and know Yea the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all Ministers are but Trumpets Alas we are but trumpets Isai 58.1 Lift up thy voice like a trumpet and therefore if God breath not in us we are as dead as others are neither can we raise others from the dead T is true indeed the dead shall be raised in the last day by the sound of the trumpet but not by the power of the trumpet it self but by the power of him that ordained it So those that are dead in sin shall be raised in the mean time by the trumpet of the gospel but not by the power of the gospel it self or of the publisher of it but by the power of that God who appointed the foolishness of preaching for the
comfort yet a necessary qualification evidencing our right to comfort 297 298 Satan Satans rage should be a motive to perseverance 252 Satan is a great enemy to the comfort of the Saints 315 Reasons why Satan is such an enemy to faith 424 488 489 Satan presents and applies the Promises in a wrested sense and for licentious ends 511 512 Scriptures They are a staff to believing Pilgrims 403 Arguments to prove their Divine Authority 404 405 Accomplishment of Scripture-Prophecies is a whâ—tstone to sharpen our assent to their Divine Authority 406 407 There is all the reason in the world why we should believe the Scriptures 408 409 Sealing of the Spirit It is a consequent priviledge of believing 93 Security It is the off-spring of the Devil and Vnbelief 462 Security twofold Spiritual and Carnal 246 247 The Saints Security for a sevenfold treasure 243. 244 The best security for the best purchase 380 Seducers Their sleights to beguile unstable Souls 254 Seducers are the Devils Factors 604 Self Shifting self is shiftless folly 433 Self a great Impediment of faith 486 Its Cure 487 Self-love The blessing of it is a sign of growth in grace 205 206 There is a fivefold self contrary to the life of faith 431 432 433 Sense Living by Sense is a great impediment of faith 503 514 Sin It dishonours God and wrongs the Soul forsake it as the highest demonstration of ingratitude 393 395 Sins great defilement in five respects 155 Believers have sin remaining to be mortified 157 Life of sin lies in the will ergo subdue desires 158 Sin may revive where it is mortified 159 Comfort against the vigour and rigour of sin 169 170 Scandalous sins cause great sadness 312 Inordinate aggravation of sin sinks into sadness 312 313 Sincerity The excellency of sincere grace in that 't is durable 247 248 Sloth It recoils from the means of faith It s Cure 508 509 Society Good society is a means of begetting faith 533 534 535 Soul Eternal life of the Soul proved 356 357 See Life Eternal Speech Our speeches either condemn or justifie us 365 Spirit of God What its testimony and witness is 347 The Spirits testimony may be separated from its fruits 347 348 Difference 'twixt the Spirits in dwelling in Believers and common assistance in hypocrites 426 427 The Spirits perswasion out-weighs and quickens all means motives in drawing to Christ 454 455 We must pray for Gods free establishing Spirit 552 What Gods free Spirit is from what he sets believers free and how he establishes 552 553 554 555 See Free Spirit See Establishment Strength A believers strength 471 472 473 Strength to do duties and resist temptations a sign of growth 209 210 Strength to bear afflictions and injuries a sign of growth 210 211 Strength to bear others infirmities as also to shake off Ceremonies a signe of growth 211 Its part of our strength to be sensible of weakness 212 Success This in the improvement of natural life is fetcht in by faith and that in six respects 71 72 Sufficiency All sufficiency Self sufficiency Sole sufficiency in Christ 540 T Temptation The just live by faith in temptation 50 Satan tempts sinners to conceit God to be either all Mercy or all Justice 536 Yielding to temptations is a sign of weak faith 573 Such who tempt others to sin are Satans factors and shall have deep condemnation 604 605 Thankfulness Be thankful for the life of Justification 109 110 The Saints thankfulness for the blossomings of Eternal life 391 392 393 How that thankfulness is exprest 393 to 397 Thankfulness for faith with the grounds of it 449 Time The Just live by faith in respect of all the parts of Time 44 45. Tradition Traditional faith is unsound 40 41 Trial. True faith is tried by undergoing adversity 63 We must try our comforts by our graces and not our graces by our comforts 300 to 304 Triumph The triumph of damned Spirits over unbelievers 491 Troubles These are various yet the Saints live by faith in them 51 Manner of living by faith in troubles nine ways 55 56 Means of living by faith in troubles five ways 57 58 Trust Such reproved who say they trust God with their souls and yet cannot trust him for temporals 75 76 False trust on Creatures or Grace received hinders faith together with its Cure 498 499 V Valuation See Precious A Believer neither over nor under-values his natural life 74 Vision Vision of God fourfold 337 Perfect Vision causes perfect transformation ibid Vivification The liveliness of faith in the cure of spiritual deadness 171 What meant by Vivification 172 Reasons why the Just live by faith the life of Vivification 175 176 Four Arguments or Meditations whereby faith quickens 177 Reproof of such who act not faith for Vivification 178 179 Motives to Vivification 179 180 Means to live the life of Vivification 184 185 186 187 Trial of true faith by its vivifying power 187 188 189 Vide Deadness Unbelief Unbelievers Unbelief is a piece of pride 3 It makes the heart and condition not right 4 5 Unbelievers lead a sordid life 8 Unbelief is the spring of sadness 307 308 309 Unbelief was the root of mans first Apostacy 415 Their dead condition 423 Humiliation for Unbelief 459 Unbelief is the Goliah-sin 460 Unbelief grieves the Spirit but pleases the Devil 461 The monstrous brood of Unbelief 462 The Unbeliever is the greatest Time-server 464 Unbelief is a Stepmother to grace 465 Unbelief is the Nurse that maintains life in every sin and which binds it on the Soul 465 466 Unbelief is a merciless Sequestrator 466 The Arraignment of Unbelief 467 Unbelief is the greatest Self-murther 470 The contrariety of presumption and despair unite in the Unbelievers ruine 510 Naturally we have hard unbelieving thoughts of God 536 Unbelief is a going out from God into our selves 539 Unchangeable Gods unchangeable nature is the cause of the Saints perseverance 239 Union Signs of spiritual actions flowing from Union with Christ 124 125 Union with God is unchangeable 50 Unregenerate Their Soul is no fit soil for comfort 309 310 See Regeneration Unsetledness In Gods truth its a sign of weak faith 571 W Watching Watching over one another is a means of perseverance 255 Wealth How the Just shall live by faith for it 70 Wisdom The believer is the onely wise builder 474 The believer is never at a stand because Christ is his Wisdom 475 476 477 Word See Ordinances Faith applies the Word of Christ for Sanctification 128 129 The Word mixt with faith is a means of growth 227 228 The Word is one of Christs Brests 293 How the Word works faith 443 Cavilling and mocking at the Word is the Seal of Vnbelief 494 The Word is the life of faith 517 The Word and Spirit go hand in hand 518 The Word both the object and instrument of faith 518 Living above the Word is living by a deluded fancy and not by faith such are neerer Hell 518 The Word is appointed to work faith not miracles 519 Every divine Word is an object of faith especially the Promise 520 Attendance on the Word a means to increase faith 574 Worldly World Worldly-mindedness reproved 361 362 Worldly-mindedness springs from unbelief 464 The VVorld tries fair means and foul to hinder faith 489 Wordly examples of the multitude not to be follow'd 490 FINIS
men he lives that life by vertue of his faith Object But it may be objected It is manifest that the Prophet here speaks of temporal deliverance from the Caldeans why then should we carry the words in a spiritual sense of the life of grace Answ There are good reasons for it 1 As the same blood of Christ purchased a sanctified use of temporal mercies as well as of spiritual so the same faith that lays hold on the one layth hold on the other Matth. 6. A man must first seek Gods Kingdome before he can have a sanctified use of temporal mercies He must first lay hold on Christ by faith before he can lay hold on temporal deliverances in him Rom. 8.32 God first gives us his Son and then with him all things The same faith that teacheth us to pray Give us this day our daily bread teacheth us also to pray Forgive us our trespasses 2 Because the holy Ghost who is the best Interpreter of all gives this Interpretation of the text Whereas a man might say 'T is not clear to me that the Prophet Habakkuk did mean any other living by faith than that which is concerning this present and temporal life yes saith the Apostle it is evident the words are to be understood in the largest latitude so as to compreheÌ„d the life of grace also the life of justification Gal. 3.11 But that no man is justified by the works of the Law in the sight of God it is evident and here it is evident Even by this testimony of the Prophet Habakkuk For the just shall live by faith Doct. 1 For the first Doct. then viz. Gods people are in a state of life by way of eminency But the just shall live The Doctrine ariseth cleerly from the opposition But c. q.d. The unbeleever lives not or if he doeth live it is a life of unquietness and full of danger For he is a sentenced man by the judgment of God's mouth and shall ere long be executed by the judgment of his hand And therefore his soul is not right in him but the life of a Beleever is full of safety full of peace and that in the worst times before the vision be fulfilled v. 3. Besides that the one lives but by sense the other by faith the one lives upon his pride and self-confidence but the other upon his humble dependance the one lives upon creatures the other upon God the one a natural the other a spirituâ—l life Therefore it is a more excellent life An unbeleever indeed hath a kind of life but it is not worth the name of life There 's defect in his very soul which should give life to all the rest But the just shall live If you would speak of life to the life 't is here to be found and no where else The unbeleevers's life being like a shadow is but a shadow of life as the Apostle Paul speaks of those wanton widows that live in pleasure they are dead while they live 1 Tim 5.6 They are quasi viventes but verè mortuae as living but dead But the just in the greatest pressures are quasi morientes but verè viventes as dying and behold we live 2 Cor. 6.9 One life is more excellent then another either in the The excellency of the life of Gods people in 7 things 1. Nature and kind of it 2. Fountain and Principle 3. Comforts of it 4 Measure 5 Safety and security 6. Continuance 7. End of it God's people live a more excellent life in all these respects 1. The kind of their life First In regard of the kind of life 'T is spiritual Natural life hath indeed an excellency in it but 't is common The spiritual life of grace is peculiar to God's peculiar people even to such whose names are written in the book of life This life consists in the union to communion of the soul with God 1 Joh. 1.3 And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ Called 2 Pet. 1.4 a participation of the Divine nature and Eph. 4.24 conformity to Gods image in righteousness and holiness and is therefore the life of God 'T is a gracious 't is a glorious life and therefore must needs be excellent in the nature of it it is somthing indeed to live if it be but the life of a plant more to live the live of a beast better then that to live the life of a man or angel But best of all to live the life of God Secondly In regard of the fountain and principle of it 2. The principle of their life which is Christ as Mediatour True he is the Light that lightneth every one that comes into the world Joh. 1. But as Mediatour he is the Fountain of life only to his own people Joh. 6 57. As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me Wherefore Christ is said to be our life Col. 3 4. i. e. the fountain and principle of it An excellent life therefore it must needs be which hath such a spring to feed it Psal 36.9 With thee is the Fountain of life and in thy light shall we see light Thirdly In regard of the Comforts of it 3. The Comforts of their life And indeed comfort is the life of life Not to live but to live comfortably is life indeed A life under discomforts is no better then death The Caldean beâ—ots himself The Just shall live comfortably by his faith nay death is better then that and preferred before it The life of a Christian is most comfortable whatsoever the world and devil would whisper into our ears They would perswade a man when once he turns to God Farewell and comforts But no such matter Thou shalt not loose thy delights but only exchange them for the better Mic. 6. Thou rejoycedst before in proserity at the sound of the Harp and the Violl in thy feasts But now thou art able to rejoyce in adversity at the sound of the Drum and noyse of Warre The truth is the worst of a Beleevers life is better then the best of a natural mans life and Moses chose it rather 1 Pet. 4. 2 Cor. 3. Heb. 11. And if his discomforts be such what are his comforts If in sufferings a glory rests on them how must their comforts needs exceed in glory Only none knowes them but they that tast them O tast and see Psal 34.8 A Straenger shall not intermeddle with this joy Prov. 14.10 Therefore 't is an excellent life for the comforts of it And if they want at any time earthly comforts they have a Comforter sent from Heaven instead of all Joh. 14. 4. Measure of it Fourthly In regard of the measure of it A man may live indeed if he have but so much as will keep life and soul together The Caldean shall decay the Just shall live but there is
in expelling the enemies of spiritual life And so the just lives by his faith Act 15.9 By faith purifying their hearts Unbelief and other corruptions are deadly enemies to spiritual life Faith expels them and purifies the heart from them As the living fountain if dirt be cast into it never leaves working and working until it hath wrought it self cleer again So a beleeving heart if earthly thoughts from Satan like dirt be cast into it never leaves working till it hath wrought it self pure and fit for God's service 2 Tim. 2.21 If a man purge himself from these c. It overcomes and abandons all within and all without resists Satan 1 Pet 5.8 overcomes the world 1 Joh. 5.4 3. Nutritive faculty of faith Thirdly God makes use of faith in the Nutritive facultie or attractive faculty in drawing such things to it self as whereby is life nourished and maintained And so the just lives by his faith Faith like the first-born of graces though indeed they are all twins delight to be in the arms of God's mercy where it first receives life and there it lyes at the brest of the word at the nipple of the promises drawing virtue and strength and nourishment from them tasting every day how sweet and gracious the Lord is 1 Pet. 2.3 Psal 34.8 O tast and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him q.d. by trusting in God we live upon God and taste how good he is For else we tempt God It were a miracle to live without meat But the more strength the more food 4. Digestive faculty of faith Fourthly God maketh use of faith in the Retentive and Digestive faculty turning the word into wholsome blood And so the just lives by his faith Whereas an unbeliever hearing the word receiving the food of his soul is like a man of a weak bad stomack no sooner is the meat down but it mixeth with some base humor up it comes again it will hold nothing to do it good So it is with an unbeliever not mixing the word with faith but being mixed with some base humour of pride or passion up it comes again with violence though it be in the very face of the Physician Prov. 9.2 He that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot But where the word is mixed with faith it meets with a good stomack and there it turnes into good nourishment the party grows and thrives and comes on in grace and so lives by faith as a man lives by a good stomack See Psal 36.7 8. They that put their trust under the shadow of Gods wings are abundantly satisfied with the fatness of his house c. Good meat doth well a good stomack is better Gods blessing upon both is the best of all and so it is in the life of Grace Fifthly God makes use of Faith in the Motive faculty 5. Motive faculty of Faith And so the just lives by his Faith For as bodily exercise profits much for bodily health when the Apostle sayes It profiteth little his meaning is in ordine ad spiritualia 1 Tim. 4. for doubtless as to bodily health it profiteth much it is instar omnium in stead of all Physick and without this the best diet in the world will be defective It is so with the soul Be the diet the means of grace never so good yet without exercise of grace and godliness all comes to nothing Now it is Faith and onely true Faith which puts a man upon profitable exercise Faith will not suffer a man to be idle in his calling It will not onely move his tongue though it will move that too Acts 4.20 We cannot but speak 2 Cor. 4.13 I believed therefore spake For he is a very dead-hearted Christian that hath the dead palsey in his tongue that cannot speak a word for God But it will move his hands also and his whole man to be active for God Jam. 2. Shew me thy faith by thy works Christians full of faith are full of action and so full of life See Acts 6.3 6 8 10 Whereas unbelievers are like sluggards with hand in bosome or like Idols of the Heathen Psal 115. having eyes and yet see not ears and hear not feet and walk not neither speak they through their throat and so prove dead for want of this exercise 6. Breathing faculty of Faith Sixthly God makes use of Faith in the Breathing faculty And so the just lives by his faith Breath is the Chariot of life called therefore The breath of life This breathing is twofold 1. Inspiration 2. Expiration these maintain life And both these in a spiritual sense do spring from Faith 1. Inspiration First for the act of Inspiration For howsoever every first inspiration of the Spirit gives life yet Faith draws more and more of this heavenly air from day to day for the maintaining and increasing of this life A man can no more live a spiritual life without the continual breathing of Gods Spirit into his soul than he can live a natural life without the continual sucking in of fresh air into his body And therefore it is observable Our blessed Saviour chose to convey the Holy Ghost under that similitude Joh. 20.22 He breathed on them and said Receive the Holy Ghost q. d. Ye can no more live the life of grace without my Spirit than you can live the life of nature without the breath of your nosthrils We are all by nature like Ezekiels dried bones Now it is the voice of Faith that cryes out Ezek. 37.9 O Breath breathe upon these slain that they may live And again when a man hath life and begins to exercise himself in the way of Gods Commandments he knows he cannot exercise to purpose unless it be in this fresh air of the Spirit Therefore Davids Faith put him upon this practice I opened my mouth saith he and panted for I longed for thy Commandments Psa 119.131 He took in fresh gales of the Spirit from day to day to uphold the vitals of the New man Secondly 2. Expiration There is another act of the Spirit in spiritual life and that is Expiration an holy breathing out of holy speeches and holy prayers And usually in proportion to our inspiration will be our expiration As in Nature 't is unwholesome to breathe out more then we suck in when the expence of spirits is beyond our receipts so also in grace when our expiration of holy speeches doth exceed our inspiration of the holy Spirit But when these go hand in hand all springs from Faith 2 Cor. 4.13 We having the same Spirit of faith as it is written I believed therefore have I spoken we also believe and therefore speak Faith will put a Christian upon it Faith is as it were the very breath of his nostrils Seventhly God makes use of Faith in the Augmentative or growing faculty And so the just lives by his Faith
unto him and yet this is that which wicked men do bear up themselves withall insomuch that they shall with much confidence plead it to Christs own face at the day of Judgement Luk. 13.26 Then shall ye begin to say We have eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets c. but what is Christs answer I tell you I know you not whence you are depart from me ye workers of iniquity But assure we our selves Satan will not onely delude wicked men with carnal knowledge of Christ but with a carnal and common knowledge of their Christian friends They shall bolster themselves up in this my Father or my Grandfather were eminent Professors of the faith and therefore I doubt not but I shall crowd into heaven in their company The Jews boasted much of Abrahams faith who was their father and so of Isaac and Jacob and of the Prophets surely they had a strong presumption that they should fare the better in the last day for their sakes and therefore Christ to take away their carnal confidence tells them plainly Luke 13.28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when they shall see Abraham Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdome of God and they themselves thrust out O many a wicked Wife Son c. shall see his glorified Father Husband c. but little enough to their comfort then there shall be two in one bed the one shall be taken and the other left the one shall go to heaven the other to hell Why so The one was a believer the other an unbeliever And look as the unbelievers infidelity cannot prejudice the believer so the believers faith faith cannot priviledge the unbeliever Every man shall then stand upon his own bottome whether he hath built upon the rock or upon the sands And therefore as it was wittily said of Non-residents He that serves his place by a Curate must go to heaven by a Curate so we may say truly and seriously in this case He that believes onely by another must onely go to heaven by another for he shall never come there himself unless himself believes for the just shall live by his faith Vse 2 2 Use If every one must have faith of his own then every one should have a Minister of his own Instruction for that 's the usual way of begetting and increasing faith Rom. 10.17 Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God I confess God may sometime bless the Ministery of a stranger but that which God delights to work by most commonly and most effectually is a Minister of our own Heb. 13.17 Submit to them that have the rule over you for they watch for your souls as they that must give account Every soul then should have a Watchman Think seriously what answers they will be Note when God asks three Questions on the sick-bed and you need spiritual help and comfort 1. Why do ye not send for the Minister according to Jam. 5.14 If any be sick let him send for the Elders of the Church and they pray for him And you answer Lord we have none of our own 2. Why no Minister according to that in Heb. 13.17 Answer We were not able to maintain one unless he would vow perpetual single life 3. And then God asks Are you not able to expend twice thrice as much in things less necessary for feeding or clothing the body in one moneth or week than you should in a whole year to your Minister And you feign to answer I 'll beg mercy of God At what time soever a sinner repents he shall finde mercy When alas that answer is not Scripture but coyn'd This is Scripture Prov. 1.28 When distress and anguish cometh upon you then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but shall not finde me for that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. Vse 3 3 Use It exhorts us to prove our own selves and so to prove our own faith 2 Cor. 13.5 Examine your selves Exhortation whether you be in the faith prove your selves We will examine our gold and silver and if we suspect it we will not take a piece but we 'll bring it to the ballance and touchstone and why so because we are like to have an interest in it it is like to be our own we are like to be the gainers or losers by it or else we would not take so much pains about And shall we not try our own faith whether false or counterfeit Yet this is a common fault we are more busied about other mens matters then our own as Peter said Joh. 21. Lord what shall this man do or what do you think of such a man is he right and all this while it may be we are strangers at home As the Lapwing draws the traveller as far as she can from her Nest so the Devil draws men as far as he can from the examining their own faith he fills their heads full of curiosity either in matters of opinion in stead of matters of Faith and Life and living by faith or if they be busied about matters of practice then to be more curious about other men than to make inquiry into our own condition But the truth is we shall never have comfort in such a way if ever we would have sound comfort we must prove our selves our own faith our own works Gal. 6.4 5. Let every man prove his own work so shall he have rejoycing in himself and not in another QUESTION VI. When and how long the just lives by Faith ANswer All his time and at all times Therefore no time is specified to include all Now this Question is double 1. When 2. How long When hath respect to the season How long to the continuance The season hath respect either 1. To the Parts or 2. Adjuncts of time The Parts of time are three viz. Past Present and To come The Adjuncts are especially two Prosperity and Adversity whence dayes are said to be good or evil dayes 1 Pet. 3.10 Not as if there were any inherent good or evil in one time more than in another simply considered But onely as sin and misery makes them so Now in all these seasons the just lives by his faith all his life and in every part of his life 1. Parts of Time And first for the Parts of time Past Present to Come Time past 1. He lives by faith in respect of Time past Though a natural man makes little or no use of time past but looks at it as lost that which death possesseth unless sometime vainly wishing O mihi praeteritos referat c. O that I had my time before me again or O that I were young again Yet a good man makes good use of time past and faith lives upon that which God hath done long before or enabled is to do in our dependance
for so the Apostle applies this Text very frequently to prove that the just man lives a Spiritual life by Faith Obj. Obj. But the Apostle may seem to wrest the words because the Prophet speaks here of a temporal deliverance from the Chaldeans Ans Ans 1. Their deliverance from temporal Babylon was a Type of their Deliverance from Spiritual Babylon 2. However the secondary objects of Faith be divers some Temporal some Spiritual some Eternal yet the prime and principal object of faith is still one and the same and that is Jesus Christ and Gods favour in Christ and before I can embrace the other I must first embrace this Therefore the same faith in Christ that enables me to live in temporal things enables me to live in spirituals also and so the Apostles argument from one to the other holds good Well then the just lives by Faith in respect of Spiritual life which is far more excellent then the other as grace is above nature And this is either the Life of I. Justification whereby the Soul layes hold upon Christ or II. Sanctification whereby the Soul draws vertue from Christ And that is either Renewing and Cleansing vertue the Life of Renovation or Fructifying the Life of Fructification or Mortifying Vertue the Life of Mortification or Vivifying the Life of Quickning and Vivification Confirming Vertue the Life of Conservation that God will not forsake his people Augmenting whereby life is encreased and Comforting Vertue the life of Consolation In the first our spiritual life is purified in the second beautified and in all these the just live by faith THE LIFE of FAITH IN JUSTIFICATION 1. HE lives by faith the Life of Justification and so the Apostle applies this very Text Rom. 1.16 17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written And so again Gal. 3.11 where he doth oppose justifying by faith to justification by works of the law But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident for the just c. The just doth not live by his own justice but by faith that is by the application of the justice and righteousness of another That we may the better understand the excellency of this Life of Justification it will not be amiss to adde the definition of it according to the Scriptures seeing whatsoever is truly known is known by the causes thereof Justification therefore is thus defined It is a most gracious and righteous action of God whereby he imputing the righteousness of Christ to a believing sinner absolveth him from his sins and accepteth of him as righteous in Christ and as an heir of eternal life to the praise and glory of his own Mercy and Justice For Explication consider 1. The Act to justifie 2. The Object a sinner and yet a believing sinner and so made righteous 3. The Application of the Act to the Object and that 's onely by Faith 1. The Act to justifie Now to justifie signifieth properly to make just as to magnifie to make great though sometimes onely to declare great Now God makes just either By Imputation or Infusion of Righteousness The first is the life of Justification the second of Sanctification the first perfect the latter imperfect 2. The Object is a sinner God doth not justifie those that were just before but such as were unjust 1 Pet. 3.18 Christ hath once offered for sin the just for the unjust There was a time then when we were unjust a time when we were sinners when we were ungodly Rom. 5.6 Christ dyed for the ungodly and While we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us much more then being justified we shall be saved from wrath through him So that as to heal signifies of a sick man to make sound so to justifie is of a sinner to make righteous and if it were not so where were the excellency of Gods free grace to make us righteous if we never were in a state of sin He that in no consideration looks at himself as a sinner fallen in the first Adam cannot possibly look at himself as a righteous person recovered in the second Adam How can God be said to shew mercy to that man that was never in misery to redeem that man that was never lost Lost I say and that really and not onely in his own conceit and apprehension 3. The Application of the Act to the Object and that is by Faith as here in the Text. Though a sinner be justified yet it is onely a believing sinner and so of a sinner is made just Rom. 5.1 being justified by faith c. By Faith how not as the meritorious but onely as the instrumental cause of our justification For the clearer understanding of this we must know according to the former definition there are several causes of our Justification viz. Efficient Material Formal and Final The Efficient cause is either 1. Principal or 2. Instrumental Principal is either 1. Working or 2. Moving to the Work Causes of Justification 1. Principal The 1. Principal working Cause is God himself It 's an action of God Rom. 8.38 it is God that justifieth Isa 43.25 I even I am he c. Vide Rom. 9.16 All other causes are nothing to this though man believeth and man wills and runs on chearfully in the wayes of God yet from whence comes all this but from God that justifieth a poor sinner So that it is not of him that willeth or of him that runneth c. but of God of God the Father as the Primary Cause the Son as the Meritorious the Holy Ghost as Applicatory It is God that justifieth who shall condemn c. He that is the Law-giver he justifies from the offences committed against the Law The 2. Principal Cause Moving or promoting to the Work is either 1. Internal Gods Mercy Justice It 's a gracious and a righteous action of God nothing without him the first Mover 2. External 1. Mans Misery moving to pity the Samaritan c. the Infant Ezek. 16. 2. Christs Merit moving to forgive Col. 1.14 In whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins 2. Instrumental Cause 2. Instrumental and that 1. On Gods part the Word Manus offerentis 2 Cor. 5.18 He hath given to us the Ministery of Reconciliation Dan. 12.3 Rom. 4.11 2. On our part Faith Manus accipientis Rom. 4.5 But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousness Rom. 10.5 c. Therefore faith doth not justifie by merit and dignity of the work for then we should be justified by works though by faith but onely by the Instrumentary application of Christs Righteousness 2. The Material Cause Christs Righteousness Material cause as Jacob gat his blessing in Esau's garment therefore called The Righteousness of God Rom. 1.17 the Righteousness of that Person who is God Now there is a twofold
will cast them and weigh them down but if they be resolved in the ways of God they will not easily be moved or removed Therefore Acts 11.23 the Exhortation is given That with full purpose of heart we should cleave unto the Lord. 3. Be thus resolute in Gods strength not in thine own 3. Resolve in Gods strength Peter at first was resolute but it was in his own strength therefore he fell foully though not finally God let him see his own weakness Therefore if thou wouldst be strong indeed be sure to be strong in God and in the power of his might Eph. 6 10. God is α and ω to shew that as the beginning of Grace is from him so our perseverance in Grace is from him also 4. Good grounding 4. He that would persevere to the end must be sure to make a good beginning He that would have his building stand for ever must be sure to lay a good Foundation he must be sure to be well grounded in the fundamental truths of Religion Col. 1 23. They must be well grounded and setled in the faith that would not be moved from the hope of the Gospel They that would hold close to the Truth must be well grounded in the knowledge of it A little errour in the foundation makes a great errour before you come to the top of the building And who are they that are led aside into so many and great errours in these days but such as were never well catechized So that however some of them presume to be Teachers themselves had need that one should teach them which be the first principles of the Oracles of God Heb. 5 12. These are soon made a prey to Atheists and Papists When a cunning Jesuitical seducer shall come 1. With some colourable pretence of Scripture 2. Some flourish of Authority from the Ancients 3. Glorious Titles of Apostolical Succession and Antiquity 4. Voluntary Humility of Fasting and Penance Col. 2.23 c. not sparing the body 5. Feigned Miracles 2 Thess 2.9 6. Flattering and fair speeches Rom. 16.18 7. A Roman Fortitude in suffering for their Cause I say when seducing persons shall come in all this deceiveableness how shall a silly unstable Soul that was never grounded in the knowledge of the Fundamentals of Religion withstand these assaults or the like from other seducers How easily are ignorant persons drawn to any novel opinion As a childe is sooner cozened than a man of parts so such as are children and novices in the Doctrine of Faith will easily be tossed to and fro with every wind of Doctrine 5. Christians that would persevere 5. Watching over one another should be careful not onely to watch over themselves in particular but to watch over one another mutually Heb 3.17 Exhort one another daily while it is called To day lest any of you be be hardned through the deceitfulness of sin Where we may observe 1. There is none even the strongest in the flock but have need of this mutual help 2. There is none so poor and contemptible but the care of their standing belongs to all even to such Christians as are most eminent 3. Sin hath so many ways and devices whereby it is apt to beguile and seduce us that each particular person had need of more eyes than his own upon him more observers than himself alone therefore he that would stand and persevere let him not slight this Ordinance 6. Take heed of Vnbelief or Misbelief 6. Taking heed of Unbelief strive against it pray against it be humbled for it for as the just lives by his Faith the Apostate departs from the living God by his Vnbelief Heb. 3.12 As Faith unites the Soul to God so Unbelief separates the Soul from God Unbebelief denies to God the honour of his Truth Mercy and Goodness and by consequence robs the Soul of that comfort it might have in the application of these Attributes by Faith 7. 7. Examples of crowned Saints Look to the Examples of all the persevering and crowned Saints Look to the Cloud of Witnesses Heb. 11. who all died in the faith See the excellency of Paul's Spirit Acts 20.24 who was nothing moved with afflictions neither counted his life dear to himself so he might finish his course with joy and see how comfortable you finde him at the end of his race 2 Tim. 4.7 having fought a good fight and finished his course and kept the faith and now expecting his Crown Especially look to Jesus Christ the Author and Finisher of our Faith Heb. 12.2 This Example the Apostle in a special manner sets before us while he is Exhorting us to run with patience the race that is set before us So that he that would hold out to the end of his race must not so much look upon his discouragements his own Corruption Satans Tentations the Worlds Oppositions as upon his incouragements his eye must be fixed on his Jesus with loving and longing looks he must look upon him as the Author and Finisher of his faith as upon such a Jesus who hath not onely purchased Salvation it self but also the grace of Faith to lay hold on this Salvation and not onely the grace of Faith but Perseverance in this Faith to the end He is the Finisher as well as the Author of our Faith He must look upon him as upon his Patern and Example as one who doth not onely point out the way of Perseverance by his Directions and Commands but even tread and trace it out before us by his Example Such as look upon Jesus as a Patern in the work of Perseverance may safely look upon him as a Patern in the Reward as he had joy set before him so have we and as he for the hope of that joy ran with courage so must we as he ran with the Cross upon his back all the way and in particular with the Cross of Shame or shame of the Cross so must we as Christ made light of all their Reproaches despised their Despisings shamed their very Shame as unworthy to be taken notice of when put into the balance against the glory that is to be revealed so must we as Christ overcame all at length and hath now laid hold on all the joy and glory for which he ran so shall we also in due time If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him 2 Tim. 2.12 Because he lives we shall live also Joh. 14.19 Therefore he that would be strengthned and enabled to persevere he should be still looking to Jesus Christ that he may daily be more conformed to him Vse 5 5 Use This should put us upon the Examination of ourselves ExaminatioÌ„ of truth of Faith by its peâ—severing whether we have the true life of Grace and true Faith for then we shall persevere Joh. 8.31 If you continue in my words then are you my Disciples indeed Some indeed fall from the truth but they never were truly
supporting and chearing the hearts of his People in time of afflictions God comforts his People in this manner that they may comfort others by their own experience Like Birds that having found a heap of Corn never leave their chirping till they have called in their fellows to partake of their Banquet 2 Cor. 1.14 Blessed be God who comforteth us in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort them that are in any trouble by the self-same comforts whereby we our selves are comforted of God As if God should say to his afflicted fainting Servants Lo here is a Cordial from Heaven drink of it your selves and when you have done write upon it Probatum est and so commend it to your Christian friends Thou being converted and comforted strengthen thy brethren And these be the Reasons why God will have the just live the Life of Consolation 2. Why Consolations come by Faith 2. But then why are they said to live this Life by Faith There are many weighty Reasons of this also as Because Faith the hand that takes hold of this Cup it takes hold of the right object of Consolation or if you will Reas 1 First of all because Faith is a powerful hand to keep off all such things as are comfortable and so to arm us against all discomforts For that must needs be a great comfort that doth arm the Soul against all discomforts and so doth Faith for it is a supporting hand to our burthened Souls Faith is Omnipotent in the strength of God Nothing is impossible to him that believes Mark 9.23 An establishing hand to the wavering Soul it is a protecting hand to the weak Soul 'T is a Supporting Hand to the overburthened Soul 1. Faith is a supporting hand It is Faith that teacheth a man to cast the burthen of his care upon God Psal 37.5 And what a hearts ease and what a comfort is this They must needs have a light heart that are eased of such burthens Faith is like the Cup of Consolation which the Jews gave to the friends of the deceased that they may drink and forsake sorrow Jer. 16.7 Neither shall men give them the Cup of Consolation for their father Prov. 31.6 Give wine to those of heavy hearts 'T is an Establishing Hand to the wavering Soul 2. Faith is an establishing hand It cures the Soul of the Spiritual Palsie when it quakes and quivers up and down is full of fears and doubts and knows not where to fix or stay it self Fix thy self here saith Faith fix thy self upon God fix thy self upon his Word this will stay the wavering Soul as a Ship at Anchor in the midst of the winds and waves of Temptation Heb. 6.19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the Soul stedfast and sure which entreth into that within the veile I appeal to such as have been tost at Sea to tell you what a comfort it is to have a sure Anchor in a Storm and such is the comfort of a Christian by the Anchor-hold of his Faith Psal 112.6 7. Surely he shall not be moved for ever he shall not be afraid of evil tidings Why His heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. His heart is established he shall not be afraid So Faith is an establishing hand to a wavering Soul 'T is a Protecting Hand to the weak Soul 3. Faith is a protecting hand It is such a Hand as not onely holds a childe but it is a Shield it self to bear off all blows Now is it not a comfort to have such a Shield and such a Shield is Faith Eph. 6.16 It doth not onely bear off all blows from wicked men Psal 56.4 In God have I put my trust there is the Shield What follows I will not fear what flesh can do unto me but it bears off all blows from wicked Spirits Eph. 6.16 Above all taking the shield of faith whereby ye shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one It is a safe guard from all evil Psal 99.9 Because thou hast made the Lord thy refuge even the most High thy habitation there shall no evil befal thee nor any plague come near thy dwelling Yea it bears off all blows from God it hath such a piercing eye it can see a Fathers heart under a seeming Enemies hand Though he kill me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 And so the shield of Faith is not onely useful all our life but 't is Armour of Proof against the stroke of death And so it is a Protecting Hand to the weak Soul It is every way a powerful hand to arm against all discomforts and so an argument of no small comfort to a true believer Reas 2 The second general Reason why the just lives the Life of Consolation by his Faith Why Consolation comes by Faith is Because Faith is a Powerful Hand to draw into the Soul all necessary Comforts Faith lays hold on the right Object of Consolation it lays hold on that God who is the Fountain of all light and life Psal 36.9 With thee is the fountain of life and in thy light shall we see light 1. Faith lays hold on God the Father 1. Faith lays hold on God the Father who is called the Father of Mercies and the God of all comfort and consolation the Beginning of all Divine Operations As all Rivers come from the Sea so all streams of Comfort come from God the Father 2. Faith lays hold on God the Son 2. Faith lays hold on God the Son as the Conduit-pipe or Channel through whom all comfort is derived from God the Father to the Souls of his People For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell that of his fulness we might receive as grace for grace so comfort for comfort for he was anointed with the oyl of gladness as well as with the oyl of grace above his fellows that he might appoint to them that mourn in Sion to give unto them beauty for ashes the oyl of joy for mourning and the garment of praises for the spirit of heaviness Isa 61.3 And hence it is that Christ is called The Consolation of Israel Luk. 2.25 because all Gods People receive their comfort from him As all Stars borrow their light from the Sun so all the Saints borrow their light from him who is called The Sun of Righteousness Mal. 4.2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing under his wings But how do they receive this comfort from Christ it is by Faith for Christ dwells in their hearts by faith Ephes 3.17 As he is a comfortable guest so 't is Faith that receives him and bids him welcome when he is come 3. Faith lays hold on God the Holy Ghost Gal. 3.2 3. Faith lays hold on God the Holy Ghost Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of faith As if he should say
shall prove the gall of Asps in their belly Job 20.12 13 14. Though wickedness be sweet in the mouth though he hide it under his tongue yet his meat in his bowels is turned into the gall of Asps within him Obj. Oh but some may say Faithful persons experience tells us they are sometimes very uncomfortable what should be the reason of this or how comes this to pass that it is so with them Ans It springs from themselves Satan or from God Rise of the Sâ—s heaviness From themselves 1. Either from the Commission of some speciall Sin 2. The inordinate Aggravation of sin committed in some special case from Natural Constitution or Spiritual Câ—â—dition 3. Ignorance of the right way to attain assurance of forgiveness of sin 4. Not Acting their Faith though they have the habit of it 5. Their Forgetfulness of taking Christ on his own terms or that they have taken Christ upon such terms From themselves First from the committing of some special and notable sin 1. Sorrow from the commissioÌ„ of some sin God will not frown upon his Children for every weakness but if they commit some scandalous wickedness he will not onely frown but strike with the Rod also and make them cry Peccavi as it was with Peter and David and many of Gods chosen Such as will not be guided by the Light of the Sun of Righteousness shall not be warmed with the heat of it for the present but God will put his Face under a Cloud till they know how to injoy their Fathers smiles Isa 17.18 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wrath and smote him I hid me and was wroth and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart Cause 2. Inordinate aggravation of sin Secondly it falls out from the inordinate aggravation of sin committed It is the policy of Satan before the Commission of sin to lessen sin and magnifie mercy but after the Commission to magnifie sin and lessen mercy As Cain said My sin is greater than can be forgiven Yea sometimes believers themselves are over-taken with this Temptation Fain I would believe saith a poor Soul but I am so sinful so unworthy I cannot lay hold on the Promise and so the comfort is suspended But it were good for such to remember the grace of God is free Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance yea the greatest of sinners such as Paul Manasses Mary Magdalen c. No matter what the disease be if thou wilt come humbly to Christ the Physician of Souls And tell me when did he ever turn away any diseased person without cure He hath one Medicine of sufficient vertue to cure all diseases 1 Joh. 1.27 The Blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin Nothing but the Blood of Christ can cleanse from the least sin and the Blood of Christ can cleanse from the greatest But this is the second stop-Cock to the waters of Comfort immoderate aggravation of sin and too much poring upon our own unworthiness The third is Cause 3. Ignorance of forgiveness Ignorance of the right way to attain assurance of forgiveness of sin and of Gods favour conceiving the promises are onely made to such as do actually believe and thereupon they conclude against themselves No Promise can belong to them because they do not believe and upon that ground they should be kept from believing as long as they live Note For God doth not make a Promise to a man because he believes but a man believes because God makes a Promise Because we may believe Promises are laid as Foundations of Faith and not Faith laid as Foundations of Promises Now the Ignorance of this strips the Soul of comfort for a long time So the mistake of the Spirits witness whilst men take it to be some vocal Testimony and so wanting that they fall into no small perplexity not knowing that the fruits of the Spirit are sufficient evidences that we are led by the Spirit and are not under the Law Psal 5 18.22 But the mistake of this evidence doth much eclipse our Comfort The fourth Impediment of Comfort is Cause 4. Want oâ— acting Faith their not acting of Faith though they have the habit They forget the application of Gods faithful Word or of his faithful Works according to his Word to their present condition and then they must needs want comfort 1. In application of Gods faithful Word 1. The Application of his Faithful Word Heb. 12. The believing Jews were apt to faint in their minds and to be weary in the time of trial why so ver 5. They had forgotten the word of Exhortation which speaks to them as unto children Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of him They had forgot the word of Exhortation and the word of Promise whereby God had ingaged himself to be as a Father to them in their greatest affliction and therefore they wanted comfort 2. In application of Gods faithful Works They forgot the Application of his Faithful Works according to his Word Mat. 16.17 The Disciples were very solicitous and careful about bread it troubled them much they had no more provision and what was the reason of it They had forgotten the application of his Faithful Works according to his word v. 9. Do ye not understand neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets ye took up Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand c. So that the wanting of acting of our Faith in the Word and Works of God is the occasion of the the want of Comfort Cause 5. Overlooking the terms on which Christ is had Fifthly Their forgetfulness to take Christ on his own terms with the Cross and therefore when the Cross comes unlooked for they are troubled they are troubled out of measure and it may be they want inward comfort too and why so because Christ will not speak peace to a Soul till he makes it willing to take him upon Gospel-terms and that is with the Cross Luk. 14.26 If any man come to me and hate not Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brother and Sister yea and his own Life too he cannot be my Disciple and whosoever doth not bear his Cross and come after me he cannot be my Disciple These are the Articles of Agreement betwixt Christ and the Soul these must be signed and observed before we can have comfort and we must remember them as we desire to retain our comfort for in case we forget them a little thing will offend us and throw our comforts off the hooks And thus sometimes the want of comfort in Gods People springs from themselves At other times it springs from Satan 2. From Satan who because he is miserable himself would fain make all others like himself But because he cannot hinder the happiness of Gods people therefore he will do
Lazarus of the Theef upon the Cross and the Souls under the Altar do declare That Opinion to be no better than a Dream For Num. 24.3 23.10 The man that had his eyes open could say Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his Balaam was perswaded of that truth Rev. 14.13 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord even so saith the Spirit that they rest from their labours and their works follow them Their Souls are in a blessed condition as soon as they are separated from the body Indeed there shall be an addition to their glory in the last Day when Body and Soul shall be glorified both together But they are in a blessed condition in the mean time I shall say no more in Confutation of such persons as deny Eternal Life but onely refer to what was said in proof of the Point in the second Particular Where it was proved That there is such an Eternal Life 1. By plain Testimonies of Scripture out of the Old and New Testament 2. By necessary Consequence and Deduction As 1. Five proofs of Eternal Life From the Fruit and End of Mans Creation and Redemption 2. From the Kingdom and Headship of Christ 3. From the Prayer of Christ 4. From the Nature of the Soul and the Devils desire to gain Souls in Reversion 5. From the Absurdity that would follow if there were no Eternal Life then were Gods people of all other most miserable which were most absurd to imagine All which Arguments are strong enough to convince gain-sayers and to stop the mouth of Cavillers unless they be such as the Apostle speaks of 2 Thess 3.1 2. that will hear no Argument because they are absurd and unreasonable men and then Prayer is the best weapon to deal with such If you cannot subdue them by Reason yet you may subdue them by Prayer Finally brethren pray for us that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men for all men have not faith And so much for the first Use Vse 2. Reproof of divers sorts Vse 2 1. Of such as complain of Religion as if it were a fruitless Profession Reproof But certainly the Profession is not fruitless unless the Professors be fruitless Hos 10.1 Without controversie Religion no fruitless Profession as Great is the mystery of godliness so Great is the gain of godliness He that casts any seed upon the waters for Christs sake shall finde it shall receive an hundred-fold in this life but greater is the gain in the world to come even Life everlasting Joys that cannot be numbred that cannot be measured that are above our Comprehension above our Apprehension And therefore if men do highly prize an Earthly Inheritance though it be but in Reversion when there is but one Life between them and the Inheritance How should we prize the Reversion of this Heavenly Inheritance of this Heavenly Kingdom where there is but one poor short frail life betwixt us and it Doubtless the Reversion of an Heavenly Kingdom is better than the present Possession of all the Kingdoms of the World and the glory of them 2. Reproof of Despair 2. It Reproves such as in stead of exercising their Faith for Life Eternal give way to Distrust and Despair of Mercy as if nothing but Hell were their Portion It 's true Naturally we are children of wrath and can claim nothing but Hell as our inheritance But in Christ through the free grace of God Eternal life is held forth as the gift of God to every one that believeth Therefore exercise thy Faith for Life Eternal Obj. But alas I cannot believe that God should give Eternal Life to such a vile wretch as I am that have deserved nothing but Eternal Death Ans 1. And such were all they to whom God gives Eternal Life There is not one Saint now in Heaven but deserved to have been in Hell 2. If thou canst not believe pray that thou maist believe Cry out with tears Lord help my Vnbelief Obj. But to what purpose is it for me to pray when I finde the very flashes of Hell upon my Conscience already Will God or can God hear such a one Ans Yes God may hear such a one Psal 116.3 4 5 6 7. The sorrows of death compassed me The pains of hell gat hold upon me c. Then called I upon the Name of the Lord O Lord I beseech thee deliver my soul But what follows Gracious is the Lord c. Return unto thy rest O my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee Therefore they are much to blame that give way to despair and do not exercise their Faith in Prayer for Eternal Life 3. 3. Against vain curiosity It Reproves such as exercise their Fancy more than their Faith about Eternal Life such as busie their heads about curious Questions concerning Heaven in stead of busying their hearts in making of it sure to themselves by Faith Enquiring 1. Whether the Glory of the Saints shall be Equal in Heaven 2. Whether there shall be any difference between Learned and Vnlearned men when they come in Heaven 3. Whether the Saints shall know one another in Heaven or not Though for my part I think this a Question out of question For how can it be supposed that we should have less knowledge of one another when we are made perfect than we have here in a state of imperfection 4. Whether there shall be any use of speech there or if there be What that language shall be 5. Concerning the place where this Life Eternal shall be 6. Whether Paradise Abrahams Bosom and Heaven be all one 7. What are the Diversity of Mansions in Heaven 8. Whether the Saints shall have liberty to come down on Earth or Whether Earth it self shall not be turned into Heaven or made as glorious as Heaven because God saith I create New Heavens and a New Earth Isa 65. 66. And thus men busie their heads with these and the like Questions concerning the Place and yet all this while hardly ask their own hearts this serious question But art thou in the way thither O my Soul Art thou in the way to Heaven Hast thou any thing to shew for it that Heaven is thine Dost thou live by Faith in regard of Eternal Life There may be some profit in this question but little in the other In all labour there is profit but the talk of the lips tendeth onely to penury Prov. 14.23 'T is not Talking of Heaven but Walking in the way taking hold upon Christ that must bring a man thither Simile Look as it is not a curious Paper of Verses or an Eloquent Oration made in the praise and Encomium of such a Mannor or Lordship that will give a man a good Title to it but a sound and plain Evidence in Law from him that had power to make a good Conveyance of it So it 's not a curious
thy own Works or other mens Works and Merits darest thou venture upon them The Ladder will crack and you must needs fall as low as Hell But lo here 's a Ladder saith God that reaches from Earth to Heaven and that 's Jesus Christ His Humane Nature is upon Earth and his Divine Nature especially manifested in Heaven Eph. 1. in both he reconciles all things in heaven and in earth and makes a passage for lost man to re-enter his heavenly Paradise Now I say the Meditation and Application of this by Faith will be as great a refreshing to us in our troublesome journey to heaven as it was to Jacob in his tedious journey to Padan-Aram It is true indeed no man must look to go to heaven in a feather-bed or in such a broad-way that he may drive a Sumpter-horse before him Mat. 7.13 for straight is the gate anâ narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that finde it As there is no way to heaven but by Christ so there is no way to heaven but by the Cross Christ and his Cross are inseparable Companions This is the way that Christ himself and all his Saints have gone to heaven before us in and we must not think of a smoother way or of a shorter cut Onely the happiness the joy the glory in the end of our journey are enough if applied by us to bear up our hearts under all the troubles and temptations in the way And so you see how the Life of Heaven 1. Bears up the heart under the Temptation of Adversity 2. It will bear up the heart 2. Under Prosperity and preserve the Soul under Temptations of Prosperity And indeed the Temptations of Prosperity are far more dangerous than the Temptations of Adversity Heaven upon earth destroys more than Hell upon earth 1 Cor. 1. Not many wise not many mighty not many noble or rich are called Mat. 19. O how hardly shall a rich man enter into the kingdom of Heaven But Faith in regard of Eternal Life will preserve the Soul under the Temptations of Prosperity Quest What are the Temptations of Prosperity Ans Luke 12.19 Soul take thine ease eat drink and be merry take up thy rest and thy portion saith the Devil to flesh and blood in these sensual delights O no saith the believing Soul that hath Faith for heaven I 'll never play the childe so much to sell my heavenly Inheritance for a Plum for a Counter for a Rattle for a Trifle there 's none but children will do so Moses made a manly choice A wise mans choice is when he chooses holy sufferings before sinful pleasures Heb. 11. Should I not then choose heavenly pleasures before such as are sinful nay before such as are otherwise lawful Suppose thou hast a goodly House rich Furniture a full Table sweet and faithful Friends whom thou lovest as thine own Soul And now flesh and blood saith as Peter Lord it is good for us to be here Let us not onely make a Tabernacle but a Temple or a Mansion-house that we may not think of removing any more O no saith Faith these are sweet blessings indeed sweet mercies of God but they are not Heaven These are good Inns by the way but they are not Home Home is home be it never so homely much more when it is so rich and glorious as heaven is Therefore saith the believing Soul I cannot suffer my thoughts to rest upon any flowers of Content by the way-side having such a sweet Garden and Paradise of Delight to repose themselves in at the end of the journey And thus Faith for Eternal Life will preserve the Soul under Temptations of Prosperity And thus was Moses preserved whilst he cast an eye of Faith upon the reward and recompence in the heavenly Inheritance he had power to stop his ears against the Egyptian Syrens of worldly delights Vse 6 Vse 6. Of Admiration Admiration Thankfulness for heavenly life 6. Use of Admiration and Thankfulness As we are to rejoyce in hope so also to be thankeful in hope A Christian hath cause to be thankful not onely for mercies past but for mercies to come as Jehosaphat was 2 Chron. 20. who sings Triumph before he had the Victory for Faith makes a believer as sure of the Victory as if he had it already and as sure of heaven as if he had it in present possession Therefore he hath cause to look upon this expression of the goodness of God with Admiration and Thankefulness First with Admiration We have cause to admire the love of God to poor sinners that God should bestow Heaven and Salvation upon such as deserved nothing but Hell and Condemnation It is much that God should receive such as we are into the condition of children St. John admires it 1 Joh 3.1 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God! But this is much more to be admired that God should bestow upon such an Inheritance If we may judge of Love by the Gifts that Love must needs be infinite that bestows such an infinite Reward It was a great expression of love in Ahasuerus to Queen Esther when he said What is thy petition and what is thy request and it shall be granted thee to the half of the Kingdom Esth 7.2 How much greater expression is it of love in God to his people to give them a whole Kingdom and that incorruptible undefiled that fades not away David was much taken with that expression of Gods love to him and his when God said 2 Sam. 7.16 Thy House and thy Kingdom shall be established for ever before thee Thy Throne shall be established for ever Then saith the Text went King David in and sate before the Lord and said Who am I O Lord God and what is my House that thou hast brought me hitherto And this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord God But thou hast spoken also of thy servants House for a great while to come And is this the manner of man O Lord God Do men use so freely and bountifully to do good to their Inferiors and to their Enemies Thus he admires the goodness of God to him and his and so may every faithful Soul when he looks upon his present possession of grace he may well say with David Who am I O Lord God and what is my Fathers house that thou hast brought me hitherto First that thou hast done so much for me as thou hast done already But when he looks by the eye of Faith upon his future possession of glory he may well hold up his hands and stand and wonder at the goodness of God to a poor worthless Creature and say How great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for such as fear thee c Psal 31.19 Lord as if the gift of grace were a small thing in thy sight thou hast spoken
would believe must be resolved to break through all Impediments as Davids Worthies brake through the Host of the Philistims Armies of oppositions are against us yet be resolute If God be for us who shall be against us The beginnings of faith will remove all these Mountains that lie in the way by laying hold of the Promises Isa 54.14 Cast ye up cast ye up prepare the way take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people See Isa 40.3 and 42.16 and 62.10 But we pass from the Lets and Impediments to the Helps and Furtherances of Faith which are the second sort of Means to be used for the obtaining of this precious Grace of Faith 2. Positive means of Faith We have already removed the Rubbish we come now to such helps as may tend through Gods blessing to the advancing of the Building Onely take it with this Caution Caution Nothing that we can do either by way of preparation or otherwise can be effectual as from any power in our selves either to the begetting or to the increasing of Faith Rom. 9.16 It is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that hath mercy And hence it is sometimes that Gods Spirit delights to grapple with the most opposite gainsayers of his Word and Ways A man comes to the Congregation with all the prejudice that may be both against the Ordinance it self and the dispensers of it Well saith he I 'll go hear what this prating Preacher what this babler can say if it be but to make my self merry or to see if I can entangle him in something that is delivered and yet it may be God meets this man in the full career of his opposition as he met Paul when he was a Saul Acts 9. and tells him 'T is hard for him to kick against the pricks One of Christs arrows shot out from the mouth of the Minister wounds him to the very heart and he cannot be quiet till the same hand that wounded him do heal him again I kill and I give life I wound and make whole saith the Lord which is as true of the Soul as of the Body Deut. 32.39 Now all this plainly sheweth the work is wholly of God and not of our selves nor in the power of second Means But yet for all this I say means are to be used by way of Gods Ordinance though the efficacy of the means depends wholly upon God and not upon our selves And therefore it is very observable in that most miraculous Conversion of the Apostle in the 9th of the Acts when God met him and unhors'd him and astonish'd him and strook him into a trembling Fit and whilst he was breathing out threatnings against the People of God he so tam'd his proud spirit that he is glad to say Lord what wilt thou have me to do yet I say it is very observable that however God begun the work of his Conversion by his own immediate hand yet he would not finish it without second means without the hand of an Instrument And therefore when Paul said What wilt thou have me to do Lord Christ doth not say I would have thee do this or that neither doth he restore his sight to him for the present but he bids him go to the City and there Ananias must be an instrument under Jesus Christ to restore his sight and to give him in charge what God would have him do Much more then in the ordinary way of Gods working are we bound to the use of second means as ever we desire the recovery of our Spiritual sight or the obtaining of this precious grace of faith What are those means then that we must use and attend upon Answ 1. Is the Word of God Means the Preaching of the Word The Scripture is very clear in this 1. Word of God Rom 10.14 How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard and ver 17. So then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Therefore as Faith is the Life of the Soul under God so the Word is the Life of Faith As the Just lives by Faith so Faith lives upon the Word No Humane Testimony though great respect and reverence is to be had to the Church and Godly writers yet I say No humane Testimony can be the ground of Divine Faith 'T is true indeed the Word cannot work Faith without the Spirit I will not say The Spirit cannot work Faith without the Word But this I say That Ordinarily the Spirit doth not work Faith without the Word Though the Spirit be not absolutely bound to the use of Means yet we are bound to the use of them as ever we expect the Spirit Here will I meet with thee saith the Spirit Therefore it is very observable Where God makes a Promise of the Spirit in the same place also he makes a Promise of the Word to continue with his Church to the end of the World Isa 59. last As for me this is my Covenant with them saith the Lord My Spirit that is upon thee and my Words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seed nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed saith the Lord from henceforth and for ever The Word and the Spirit you see go hand in hand therefore we are not to expect the Spirit without the Word neither are we to expect Fath which is wrought by thy Spirit unlesse it be also wrought by the Word as the Organ or Instrument of the Spirit And hence also the Word of God is called the Word of Faith Rom. 10.8 Because Faith in grown persons is wrought by the Word and so the Word is both the Object and the Instrument of Faith It is Verbum quod creditur and Verbum quô creditur the Word that is believed and the Word by which we are moved to believe this or that And how should we then with all care and conscience attend upon the Ministery of the Word as ever we desire faith as ever we desire life Would we live for ever O hear says God and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you even the sure mercies of David Isa 55.3 Mark that Hear and your soul shall live no hearing no life because no hearing no faith for The just lives by his faith and his faith lives by the Word And therefore such as live above Ordinances and above the Word I know not what to make of them they are such as live not by faith but above faith They must either be in Heaven or nearer to Hell than they are aware for all the true Members of the Church upon earth do live by Faith and that faith upon the Word And therefore such persons as live above Ordinances in that sense so as to be content to live without them are of a strange temper They are like such conceited
persons who in a distemper of melancholly do think they can live without meat and indeed as well may the body live its natural life without meat as the Soul live its Spiritual and Supernatural life without the Word Job 23.12 I have desired the words of his mouth moâ—e than my appointed food the Word of God is the food of the Soul Faith is both begotten and encreased by the Word by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God doth man live Mat. 4.4 The Word of God is like blood in the natural Body Vehiculum Spiritûs The Word The Word the ordinary mean of Faith is the power of God to Salvation to every one that believeth Rom. 1.16 This is the main end of that great Ordinance of the Ministery which was given for the begetting and for the encreasing faith till we all come in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the fulness of Christ Eph. 4.13 And therefore I say attend upon this Ordinance as ever thou desirest Faith make use of these despicable Rams-horns as ever thou desirest the mighty walls of Jericho should fall down for the weapons of the Ministery are mighty through God to the pulling down of all the strong holds of sin and Satan all the Opposites and Impediments of Faith Wait at the Pool of Bethesda Joh. 5.2 5. as ever thou desirest to be cured of thy Spiritual Maladies A Miracle yea a Million of Miracles will not beget faith in thee if that Word do not beget it which was at the first confirmed by Miracles If ordinary and living Preachers do thee no good neither wouldst thou believe if an extraordinary and miraculous Messengers should arise from the dead and preach to thee Luke 16.31 Therefore such as look for faith by Revelation without and beyond the Word certainly this perswasion cometh not of him that calleth Gal. 5.8 Such a perswasion and such a revelation is of Satan and not from God For God saith To the Word and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light in them Isa 8.20 Therefore as ever thou desirest true Light and true Faith attend upon the ministry of the Word Object But you will say What part of the Word should we attend upon that we may attain this Promise of Grace Every Word an Object of Faith Answ I Answer in general Every part of the Word of God both Precept and Promise where ever God hath a tongue to speak we should be sure to have an ear to hear Especially the Promise Gal. 3.24 Especially we are bound to attend upon the Promise of the Gospel As for the Ceremonial Law it is abolished it was our School-master unto Christ but no longer As for the Moral Law though it be abolished as a Covenant Do this and thou shalt live Rom. 10.5 if thou do it not thou shalt die so it is abolisht Yet the Apostle tels us in Romans 7. there is still even under the Gospel this use of the Law To convince us of sin and so to shew us our need of Christ Object If it be Objected The Spirit of Christ doth this John 16.8 and therefore what need of the Law How the Spirit Convinceth of sin Ans I Answer The Spirit doth it indeed but by opening and applying the Rule of the Law for so saith the Apostle who himself was guided by the Spirit when he uttered those words Rom. 7.7 I had not known sin but by the Law for I had not known lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not Covet Thus the Spirit convinceth by the Law and that so powerfully and effectually when God is pleased to set it home upon any particular soul that he apprehends the Minister speaks so as if he knew his very heart or so as if the Minister spoke to none but him in all the Congregation Now the word thus apprehended doth usually work some measure of humiliation with fear and terrour in some more in some lesse for we prescribe not a certain measure to any Now this though it be but a common work in it self yet where God is pleased to sanctifie it and to set it home it is a means to drive the Soul nearer to Jesus Christ and that by reasoning in this manner O that I should be such a vile wretch to transgress a law so Holy so Just so Good I confesse if God should look upon me in the first Covenant he might justly set open all the Flood-gates of his wrath he might even rain down Hell out of Heaven upon such a vile wretch as I am But What Is there no remedy sayes the perplexed Soul Is there no Balm in Gilead Jer. 8.22 Is there no Physician there that is able to cure a sick and a sinful Soul O yes sayes Christ I am that Physician of greatest value The whole need not the Physitian but the sick Mat. 19.2 for I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance The Spirit of God is upon me Luk. 4.18 because he hath anointed me on purpose to preach good tidings unto the meek he hath sent me to binde up the broken hearted c. and therefore fear not poor soul I am sent to thee in a special manner my errand is to thee and therefore do not thou run from me but come to me Mat. 11.28 O come to me thou that art weary and heavy laden and I will give rest unto thee What to me sayes the poor dejected soul Is it possible God should intend any mercy to such a dead dog as I am Yes even to thee sayes Christ do but come to me and thou shalt be welcome I have paid all thy debt pacified Gods wrath for all that are willing to receive me and believer in me whateve their sins have been O this now melts the heart of a sinner and now he can mourn for sin as it is sin that ever he should offend such a gracious God Hereupon he comes to be meekly content to use any means that God shall prescribe for his Souls good To wait in hope To hunger and thirst after Christ To sell all that he hath though his all is worth nothing at all yet highly prized by him but this he is well content to part withall even with all his lusts and darlings yea all his best works and self-righteousness Phil. 3.7 8 so he may win Christ and be found in him he is willing to part with all and to count it as dross and dung Now when God of his Free Grace hath brought the Soul to this passe then after that he is pleased to reveal himself in a gracious manner Gen. 45.3 as Joseph revealed himself to his brethren I am Joseph your brother So sayes God Jer. 31.3 I am thy God and Father Lo I have loved thee with
glorious Name Exod. 34 6 7. The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty c. Especially the consideration of his mercy and readiness to receive sinners when they come to him for mercy This will encourage a poor worthless creature to believe in him For naturally it is otherwise with us in regard of our own guilty Consciences we have hard thoughts of God as if he were a very cruel and austere Master reaping where he hath not sowed and gathering where he hath not strowed Mat. 25 24. expecting to reap the fruits of Obedience where he never did sow abilities of Grace for the producing of such fruits Though this be utterly false if we look as far as to our first Parents But these I say are those hard thoughts of God that naturally spring up in our wâ—cked hearts and these thoughts are many times heightned and improved by Temptation from the Devil who as he represents God made all of Mercy to a presumptuous sinner without any consideration of his Justice so on the other side he represents God made all of Justice to an humbled sinner without any consideration of his Mercy And doubtless he that in the state of Innocency durst be so bold to accuse God to our first Parents as if he envied their happy condition will much more accuse God of severity to men lying in a state of guilt and corruption who are much more inclinable to suck in the Temptation This is that envious person that is evermore sowing the seeds of Contention Accusing Man to Man Ephes 4.26 27. Man to God as Job 1.9 God to Man Gen. 3.5 That if it be possible there may be no Reconciliation no Mercy held forth on Gods part and no Faith to receive that Mercy on our part Now therefore God on the other side that he may encourage poor guilty creatures to believe and come in He holds forth in the Gospel the glorious Riches of his Free grace professeth his unfeigned willingness to receive all such as are willing to receive him and his Son Jesus Christ upon Gospel-terms that is to receive Christ wholly to be their Prophet Priest and King God is so willing to receive poor Creatures that he causeth these glad tidings of the Gospel to be published makes Proclamation of Pardon to all that are willing to lay down their arms and come in Nay he inviteth perswadeth intreateth wooeth beseecheth Mercy upon her bended knees becomes a suiter to Misery to accept of Mercy and if this be not enough he Commandeth poor lost creatures to believe on his Son Jesus Christ Now the serious consideration of this is a special Means under God to make the Creature willing to believe Object But I know not whether God commands me to believe or no Or whether the death of Christ shall ever be effectual for my good Answ Thou canst not know whether the death of Christ shall be effectual for thy everlasting good till thou dost believe For he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself 1 Joh. 5.10 And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Joh. 3. last But this thou maist be sure of God Commands thee to believe Because in the season of Grace God commands the Gospel to be preached to every creature Mar. 16.15 16. And what is the sum of the Gospel but this 1 Joh. 3.23 This is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ And what is it to believe in him but to receive him to be our Prophet Priest and King Joh. 1.12 But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name The one expounds the other Believing in Christ is Receiving of Christ and Receiving of Christ is Believing in Christ and he that thus Receives Christ and thus believes in Christ shall never perish The death of Christ shall certainly be effectual for the good of all such and for none else And so much for the fourth Means The consideration of Gods readiness to receive sinners that fly to him for Mercy Attributes of God special Means to beget Faith I might adde other Attributes of God besides his Mercy as special Means to beget and strengthen Faith As 1. Power of God First the Power of God in making good his Promise all the Devils in Hell and wicked Men upon Earth cannot hinder him And this was that which encouraged Abraham to believe Rom. 4.20 21. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully perswaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform 2. Truth of God Secondly the Truth and Faithfulness of God 1 Thess 5.24 Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it It is better to trust God upon his Word than all the men in the world upon the strongest Bonds and Engagement that can be devised Judg. 16.11 Samson told Dalilah how she might binde him with strong cords that he could not go from her but he told her false But God tells us how we may binde him to our selves by the Word of his Promise that he cannot get from us and he tells us true Mat. 5.18 Heaven and earth shall pass but one jot or tittle of the Word shall never fall to the ground The Truth of God is a special Foundation of Faith Thirdly the Vnchangeableness of God 3. Unchangeableness of God He is the Unchangeable God and so there is no occasion why God should in the least alter his Word because he doth never alter his minde he is an Unchangeable God Mal. 3.6 I am the Lord I change not therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed Now I say the consideration of these Attributes of God that he is Merciful Powerful Faithful and Unchangeable the self-same God from Generation to Generation without the least shadow of Change Jam. 1.17 The consideration of all these will be a special Means to strengthen Faith But Fifthly if thou wouldst believe Fifth Mean of begetting faith Sight of treasure in Christ Col. 1.19 2.3 Joh. 1.16 labour to see thy own Wants and Weaknesses on the one side and those infinite Treasures of all good that are laid up in Christ on the other side to that end that going out of our selves into him by Faith we might out of his fulness receive grace for grace For indeed as unbelief is nothing else but going out of God into our selves So Faith is nothing but a going out of our selves into God through Christ O labour therefore to see thy own wants and weaknesses thy want of Wisdom want of Righteousness want of Grace want of Strength and labour
stress on the depth of humiliation is a great hindrance of Believing 502 503 Reasons why humiliation must Precede faith 522 523 524 Humility in all the periods or degrees of grace 525 Hypocrisy It is an impediment of spiritual growth 230 How far an Hypocrite may go 257 Wherein an Hypocrite comes short 258 An hypocrite cannot rejoyce in the whole word of God 302 303 Hypocrisy springs from unbelief 463 I Ignorance Vnbelief is the root and parent of it 462 Increase There is a divine and diabolical increase 213 How the increase of the natural man in moral vertues differs from the increase of God in saving graces 213 214 See growth See strength Injoyment Believers have the firmest tenure and sweetest injoyment of earthly blessings 77 78 Interest Interest in Christ clears up interest in the covenant of grace and this an interest to all the promises of which sons in Christ are heirs 560 Joy see Consolation How to discern the joy of a hypocrite from that of a Saint 302 303 The joy of a Believer excells all natural worldly sinful Joy in 10. Properties from 323 to 328 Means to breed Spiritual Joy 328 to 344 Judgment Faith applies the last judgment as a means of sanctification 127 128 Judgments on unbelievers 466 Examples of Gods judgments on apostates 250 251 Just Who are such and why said to live by faith not by their justice 31 None are just or justified till thy believe 32 Justification The life of Faith in justification 80 The definition of it which contains the act object and application of both and its fourfold causality 81 to 85 Faith puts forth a fourfold act upon the conscience heart of a sinner to fit him for pardon 86 87 Faith how it acts in the continuance of justification 88 Faith how it fetches in assurance of justification Faith moves a man to desire more faith in order to assurance of his justification and uses 11 Motives 89 to 92 Vses of the Doctrine of faith in justification 105 Justification by free grace breeds humiliation 105 106 Four Marks of true justification 107 We must not justifie sinners or condemn Saints 108 Motives to seek for the five-fold benefit of justification 110 111 Justification and sanctification are inseparable twins 141 142 The first and second evidence of justification what 301 K Keep See Establish Exhortation to keep faith 543 Reasons why we should look to the keeping of our faith 544 Seven Means whereby to keep faith 548 to 552 See Free Spirit See Perseverance L Libertinisme The root of it is feigned humility and laziness 143 Liberty Faith and Christian Liberty support each other 554 Many account it their liberty to sin 555 See Free Spirit Life Spiritual Gods People are in a state of life by way of eminency 8 The excellency of the Saints Life in seven particulars 8 9 10 11 Saints Life is a hidden life and why 12 Spiritual life proved to be existent in believers 12 Spiritual life very desirable 13 Signes of Spiritual life 14 15 16 Life Natural Five evil and troublesome concomitants of it 60 Believers injoy it by faith upon different grounds from unbelievers 67 68 Saints live a natural life by faith in seven respects 68 to 76 Life Spiritual Is twofold either the life of Justification or Sanctification the just life by faith in both 79 80 Four differences twixt true living Spiritual actions and false 187 188 Spiritual life is alway increasing 199 200 The comliness and pleasantness profit equity safety and necessity of such a life as it increaseth 200 to 226 Vide growth Life Eternal See heaven The work of faith about eternal life 334 It assures that there is an eternal life from scripture and reason with the degrees of it 335 336 What the happiness of eternal life is 336 337 Wherein it consists from 337 to 341 Confutation of those who deny eternal life 353 354 Motives to get assurance of eternal life from 374 to 379 Means to get this assurance The believers homage-penny for eternal life 386 The excellency of eternal life from 388 to 391 Life of unbelievers They live on their lusts pleasures upon Creatures and upon a fivefold undoing self 429 to 434 Limiting of God It is a great impediment of faith how cured 499 500 Logick Faiths holy logick 348 349 Love of God It is a reason why the Saints persevere 237 238 The want of feeling it should not hinder believing 503 Love to God is a means to increase faith 580 Love to the Saints Difference 'twixt that which is true and false 304 305 Lust Love of lust is the life of a sinner 429 Lusts haboured oppose faith with considerations how to abandon them 501 M Marriage How Saints live by faith in it and in single estate 73 Meanes In the conservation of the natural life must be used in faith 68 69 Meditation It is the fruit of holy affection 364 Meditation on Gods Attributes especially mercy is a good means to beget faith 536 Melancholy It is a scandal to Christian profession 319 320 Mercy Gods mercy becomes a suiter to mans misery 537 Ministry See Preaching What the chief work of a Minister is 427 428 The dignity of the Ministry 601 Exhortation to Ministers to preach in a soul-saving way 611 612 God usually blesses a setled proper Ministry 42 Merry Merry madnesse 311 Morality Difference 'twixt morality and Sanctification in nine respects 119 120 121 Mortification The influence of faith into the life of mortification 149 The art of faith in mortifying of lusts 151 to 154 Reasons why faith will have sin to be mortified 155 156 Error of such who refuse to believe till sin he mortified 158 Marks of true mortification 159 160 Enemies unto and juglers in mortification reproved 161 Alarm to Mortification 163 Motives to Mortification 164 165 Means of Mortification 166 167 168 169 Murther Soul Murther is the worst kind 17 470 N Natural men They are distingusht into two ranks 532 Necessity Of faith in Adversity 64 New Obedience See Fructification Nourishment Strong desires after Spiritual nourishment are a signe of Growth is Grace with three Cautions in this particular 206 207 208 209 Nursery Spiritual Faith lays hold on Christ in the Ordinances as breasts of Consolation and thence draws strength 293 294 295 O Opposition There is no true faith without Opposition 514 515 He that would believe must break thorow opposition 515 516 Gods Spirit delights to grapple with the greatest opposers of his word and wayes that he may convert them 516 Ordinances See Word Despising of them is an impediment of Spiritual growth 230 Neglect of the ordinances hinders believing 505 Five causes why men neglect the ordinances 505 to 511 Though it be not in the Power of the ordinances to beget or increase faith yet they are to be used 516 517 They who live above that is without ordinances are absurd 518 519 P Papists and carnal Professors These make Sanctification justification