the end of his life which he suffered both in soul and body they were the compleating of his formerly begun and running obedience but were not his only obedience for us or his only suffering for us for he had done and suffered much from his incarnation before his last passion and death but the highest degree of his obedience whereby he bought deliverance unto us from sin and misery and whereby he bought unto us immortality and eternall blessednesse in heaven was his death on the crosse compleating our ransom 3. Whereas some have said that one drop of His blood was sufficient to redeem moe worlds then one if there wre any moe it is but an inconsiderat speech and destitute of Scriptural authority for when Christ had suffered all things before the time of His death it behoved Him to be crucified also Luke 24. 26. but it behoved Him not to suffer more then justice required for a ransom but only as much as was agreed upon and no less could satisfie Now this commandment He received of the Father that He should lay down His life for His sheep Ioh. 10. 18. For the wisdom of God thought good to testifie His own holiness and hatred of sin and to testifie His love to the elect world and riches of His grace toward them to whom He would be mercifull by inflicting no less punishment of sin on the Mediator His own dear Son taking upon Himself full satisfaction to justice for all the sins of all the Elect given unto Him to redeem then the death both of His body and soul for a season And indeed it was suteable to His holy and soveraign Majesty that for the ransom of so many thousands and millions of damnable sinners and saving of them from everlasting torment of body and soul no less price should be payed by the Son of God made man and surety for them then His sufferings both in His body and soul for a season as much as should be equivalent to the due deserved punishment of them whom he should redeem and it became the justice of the infinite Majesty offended to be reconciled with so many rebels and to bestow upon them heaven and eternal blessedness for no less price then the sufferings of the eternal Son made man whose humiliation and voluntary obedience even to the death of the cross was of infinite worth and value and therefore he yieldeth himself to the sufferings agreed upon in the covenant of Redemption both in body and soul. Of the sufferings of Christ in His soul. OUr Lords sufferings in His body did not fully satisfie divine justice 1. because as God put a sanction on the law and covenant of Works made with us all in Adam that he and his should be lyable to death both of body and soul which Covenant being broken by sin all sinners became obnoxious to the death both of body and soul So the redeemed behoved to be delivered from the death of both by the Redeemers tasting of death in both kinds as much as should be sufficient for their redemption 2. As sin infected the whole man soul and body and the curse following on sin left no part nor power of the mans soul free So justice required that the Redeemer coming in the room of the persons redeemed should feel the force of the curse both in body and soul. Ob. But how can the soul die seing it is by the Ordinance of God in creation made immortal Ans. The death of the soul is not in all things like to the death of the body for albeit the spiritual substance of the soul be made immortal and not to be extinguished yet it is subject to its own sort of death which consists in the separation of it from communion with God in such and such degrees as justly may be called the death of the soul from which sort of death the immortality of the soul not only doth not deliver but also it doth augment it and perpetuat it till this death be removed Obj. But seing the humane sould of our Lord could never be separated from the permanent holiness wherewith it was endued in the first infusion of it in the body and could never be separated from the indissolvable personal union with the second person of the God-head assuming it how could His soul be subject to any degrees of death Ans. Albeit the con-natural holiness of the soul of Christ could not be removed nor the personal union of it be dissolved no not when the soul was separated from the body yet it was subject by Christs own consent to be emptied of strength-natural to be deprived for a time of the clearness of vision of its own blessedness and of the quiet possession of the formerly felt peace and of the fruition of joy for a time and so suffer an ecclipse of light and consolation otherwise shining from His God-head and so in this sort of spiritual death might undergo some degrees of spiritual death The degrees of the suffering of Christs holy soul. AMong the deprâ—â—s of the death suffered by Christ in His soul we may number first that habitual heaviness of spirit which haunted him all the dayes of His life as was foretold by Isa. 53. 3. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief We hear He weeped but never that he laughed and but very seldom that he rejoiced 2. He suffered in speciall sorrow and grief in the observation of the ingratitude of them for whom he came to lay down his life we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not Isa. 53. 3. 3. The hardnesse of mens hearts and the malice of his own covenanted people and the daily contumelies and despightfull usage he found from day to day increased his daily grief as by rivolets the flood is raised in the river he was despised and rejected of men Isa. 53. 3. 4. He was tempted in all things like unto us and albeit in them all never tainted with sin Heb. 4. 15. yet with what a vexation of his most holy soul we may easily gather by comparing the holinesse of our Lord with the holinesse of his servants to whom nothing is more bitter then the firie darts of the devil and his suggestions and sollicitations to sin especially if we consider the variety of temptations the hainousnesse of the sins whereunto that impudent and unclean spirit boldly sollicited his holinesse Matth. 4. and withall the importunity and pertinacy of the devil who never ceased partly by himself partly by those that were his slaves and partly by the corruption which he found in Christs disciples to pursue presse and vex the God of glory all the time he lived on earth 5. The guilt of all the sins crimes and vile deeds of the elect committed from the beginning of the world was imputed unto him by accepting of which imputation albeit he polluted not his Conscience yet he burdened his soul binding himself to bear
their deserved punishment Now when we see that the vilest sinners as liars thieves adulterers cannot patiently hear themselves called liars or thieves nor bear the shame of the vilenesse whereof they are really guilty with what suffering of soul with what clouding of the glory of his holinesse think we that our Lord took upon his shoulders such a dunghill of all vilenesse then which nothing could more be unbeseeming his holy Majesty 6. Unto all the former degrees of suffering of his soul the perplexity of his thoughts fell on him with the admiration and astonishment of soul when the full cup of wrath was presented unto him in such a terrible way as made all the powers of his sense and reason for a time to be at a stand Which suffering of his soul while the Evangelist is about to expresse he saith he began to be sore amazed and also to be very heavy and to expresse himself in these words My Soul is exceeding sorrowfull unto death Mark 14. 33. 34. Obj. But did not this astonishing amazement of Christs soul speak some imperfection of the humane nature Ans. It did no wayes argue any imperfection or inlake of sanctity in him but only a sinlesse and kindly infirmity in regard of naturall strength in the dayes of his flesh for the mind of a man by any suddain and vehement commotion arising from a terrible object may without sinning be so taken up that the swift progresse of his mind in discourse may for a while be stopped and the act of reasoning suspended a while all the cogitations of the mind fleeing together to consult and not being able to extricat themselves in an instant may stand amazed and sit down a while like Jobs friends astonished Now our Lord taking on our nature and our common sinlesse infirmities became like unto us in all things except sin Daniels infirmity at the sight of an Angel was not sin Dan. 10. Obj. But doth not this astonishing admiration suddainly lighting upon Christs soul prove that something unforeseen of him did befall him Ans. Not at all for he knew all things that should befall him and told his disciples thereof and was at a point and resolved in every thing which was to come before it came But this astonishing amazement did only shew forth the naturall difference between things preconceived in the mind and these same things presented to sense for there is in the mind a different impression of the preconceived heat of a burning iron before it do touch the skin from that powerfull impression which a hot iron thrust into the flesh doth put upon the sense In regard of which naturall difference between foresight and feeling between resolution and experience this astonishment befell our Lord and in this regard Christ is said to learn experimentall obedience by these things which he suffered Heb. 5. 8. 7. Another degree of the suffering of our Lords soul is the interruption for a time of the sensible uptaking and feeling of that quiet and peaceable injoyment of the felicity of the humane nature given for the point of right unto it in its personall union with his God-head in so far that in the midst of many disciples Greeks and Jews looking on him the vehemency of his trouble did not suffer him to hide his perturbation for Ioh. 12. 27. our Lord cryed out Now is My Soul troubled and what shall I say and Mark 14. 34. made him declare his exceeding heavinesse My Soul is exceeding sorrowfull unto death In which words he insinuats that to his sense death was at hand yea that in no small measure it had seased on him and wrapped him up in the sorrows of death for the time as in a net of which he knew he could not be holden still Obj. But did not this hudge heap of miseries take away from the humane nature the felicity of its union personally with his God-head Ans. It did indeed hide it for a time and hinder the sensible feeling of it for a time as it was necessary in his deep suffering but it did not take it away nor yet eclipse it altogether for as a corporall inheritance hath a threefold connexion with the person owner thereof so a spirituall inheritance hath a threefold connexion with the believers soul. The first is of lawfull title and right the next is of possession of the inheritance according to the lawfull right the third is an actuall fruition and present feeling of the use of the inheritance The fruition and felt benefite and use may be marred or suspended the possession stand and the possession may be interrupted and suspended and the lawfull right remain firm Christ had not only an undoubted right to this felicity standing unto him by the personall union but also a fast possession of it in as far as the personall union was indissolvable But the actuall felt fruition in his humane sense and uptaking was so long interrupted as the humane nature was diverted from this contemplation for its present exercise and turned to look toward the sad spectacle of imminent and incumbent wrath especially when and how long it was as it were bound to the feeling of the present stroke which did fill the soul with sadnesse and grief anxiety and vexation without sin 8. Neither did the vindictive justice of God pursueing our sins in our Surety stay here but in the garden went on to shew unto Christ the cup of wrath and also to hold it to his head and to presse him to drink it yea the very dregs of the agreed-upon curse of the law was poured into his patient and submissive mouth as it were and bosome and the most inward part of soul and body which as a vehement flame above all humane apprehension so filled both soul and body that out of all his veines it drew and drove forth a bloody sweat the like whereof was never heard as when a pot of oyl boyling up and running over by a fire set under it hath yet further the flame increased by the thrusting of a firie masse of hot iron into it Hence came such a wasting and eating up of all his humane strength and emptying of his naturall abilities such a down-throwing of his mind such a fainting and swounding of his joy and so heavy a weight of sorrow on him that not only he desired that small comfort of his weak disciples watching with him a little and missed of it but also stood in need of an Angel to comfort him Luke 22. 43. It is without ground that some of the learned have denied the cause of this agony to be the drinking of the cup of wrath holden forth to him by the Father saying that the sight of it only and of the perill he saw we were into was the cause of this heavy exercise for the cup was not only showen unto him and the hudge wrath due to our sin set before him that he should see it and tremble at the apprehension of the
due to us in full measure but also because that which Christ suffered in the point of torment and vexation was in some respect of the same kind with the torment of the damned for in the punishment of the damned we must necessarily distinguish these three things 1. the perverse disposition of the mind of the damned in their sufferings 2. the duration and perpetuity of their punishment and 3. the punishment it self tormenting soul and body The first two are not of the essence of punishment albeit by accident they are turned into a punishment for the wickednesse vilenesse and unworthinesse of the damned who neither will nor can submit themselves to the punishment and put the case they should submit are utterly unable to make satisfaction for ever do make them in a desperat dolefull condition for ever though obstinat sinners do not apprehend nor believe this but go on in treasuring up wrath against themselves pleasing themselves in their own dreams to their own endlesse perdition Of these three the first two could have no place in Christ Not the first because He willingly offered Himself a sacrifice for our sins and upon agreement payed the ransom fully Not the second because He could no longer be holden in the sorrows of death then He had satisfied Justice and finished what was imposed on Him and His infinit excellency made His short suffering to be of infinit worth and equivalent to our everlasting suffering The third then remaineth which is the reall and sensible tormenting of soul and body in being made a curse for us and to feel it so in His reall experience And what need we question hellish pain where pain and torment and the curse with felt wrath from God falleth on and lyeth still till Justice be satisfied Concerning which it is as certain that Christ was seased upon by the dolours of death as it is certain in Scripture that He could not be holden of the sorrows of death Acts. 2. 24. Quest. But what interest had Christ God-head in His humane sufferings to make them both so short and so precious and satisfactory to Justice for so many sins of so many sinners especially when we consider that God cannot suffer Ans. Albeit this passion of the humane nature could not so far reach the God-head of Christ that it should in a physicall sense suffer which indeed is impossible yet these sufferings did so affect the person that it may truly be said that God suffered and by His blood bought His people to Himself Acts 20. 28. for albeit the proper and formall subject of physicall suffering be only the humane nature yet the principall subject of sufferings both in a physicall and morall sense is Christs person God and man from the dignity whereof the worth and excellency of all sort of sufferings the merit and the satisfactory sufficiency of the price did flow And let it be considered also that albeit Christ as God in His God-head could not suffer in a physicall sense yet in a morall sense He might suffer and did suffer for in as much as He being in the form of God and without robbery equall to God did demit His person to assume humane nature and empty Himself so far as to hide His glory and take on the shape of a servant and expose Himself willingly to all the contradiction of sinners which He was to meet with and to all railings revilings contempt despisings and calumnies shall it seem nothing and not enter in the count of our Lords payment for our debt Obj. But how could so low a downthrowing of the Son of man or of the humane nature assumed by Christ consist with the Majesty of the person of the Son of God Ans. We must distinguish in Christ these things which are proper to either of the two natures from these things which are ascribed to His person in respect of either of the natures or both the natures for infirmity physicall suffering or mortality are proper to the humane nature The glory of power and grace and mercy and superexcellent Majesty and such like are proper to the Deity but the sufferings of the humane nature are so far from diminishing the glory of the divine nature that they do manifest the same and make it appear more clearly for by how much the humane nature was weakned depressed and despised for our sake by so much the love of Christ God and man in one person toward man and His mercy and power and grace to man do shine in the eyes of those that judiciously look upon Him Obj. But seing Christs satisfaction for sinners doth not stand in any one part of His doings and sufferings but in the whole and intire precious pearl and compleet price of His whole obedience from His incarnation even to the death of His crosse how cometh it to passe that in Scripture the whole expiation of our sins is ascribed so oft to His passion and particularly to His blood Ans. This cometh to passe 1. Because the certainty and verity of His assumed humane nature and the certainty of His reall suffering and the fulfilling of all the leviticall sacrifices did most evidently appear unto sense in the effusion of His blood 2. Because the expression of His sufferings both in soul and body appeared in the effusion of His blood for in the garden while His body was not as yet touched or hurt by man from the meer pains of His soul drops of blood fell down out of all His body to the earth 3. Because His blood-sheding and death was the last act of compleeting the payment of the ransom to the Father for us which payment began in His humble incarnation and went on through all His life and was compleeted in His bloodshed and death whereof our Lord gave intimation on the crosse when He cryed as triumphantly victorious it is finished The use of this article of the covenant of Redemption WE have at some length spoken of the price of Redemption and of Christs defraying the debt by His passion 1. That hereby the merit of our sins may the more clearly be seen 2. That the sublimity and excellency of divine Majesty offended by sin may appear 3. That we may behold the severity of Gods justice till He have satisfaction and reparation in some sort of the injuries done to Him 4. That the admirable largenesse of Gods mercy may be acknowledged and wondered at For in the price of Redemption payed as in a mirror we may see how greatly the Lord hateth sin how great His love is to the world in sending his Son Christ amongst us how heavy the wrath of God shall lye upon them that flee not to Christs satisfaction for their delivery how great the dignity and excellency of the Lord our Redeemer is for whose cause reconciliation is granted to all that take hold of the offer of grace through him how great the obligation of believers is to love God and serve him and how
whether the believer perceive his absolution or not for the time 4. There is a sensible intimation of this sentence unto the believer joyned with peace and joy which the Apostle calleth the shedding abroad of the love of God in the heart Rom. 5. 5. and the sealing of the holy Ghost stamping the heart with holinesse Ephes. 1. 13. The first three makes the absolution of the believer certain whether the believer thinks so or not but the fourth which is the sensible intimation of this sentence doth make the believer both sure and joyfull As justification is taken passively four things may be distinguished in the believer justified The first is his actual receiving of Christ offered in the Gospel for a perfect remedy of sin and misery The second is the Lords judicial setling of the general sentence of absolution upon the believer as if he had spoken to him by name as he did to the Apostles Ioh. 15. 3. Now are ye clean through the word I â—ave spoken unto you that is you are clean from the guilâ— of sin by my absolving of you The third is the believers observing in a reflect act of his conscience that he hath fled to Christ for absolution and therefore justified indeed The fourth is the feeling and observing of the testimony of the holy Ghost bearing witnesse with his spirit that he is a child of God absolved from sin and wrath The first two of these to wit the act of faith receiving of Christ and of the right made by Christ to the believer in him of his absolution may be in and on the believer without the other two to wit his observation of the act of faith and the felt intimation of this worlâ— of grace by the holy Spirit 2. For solving of the doubt then as justification is actively taken as proceeding from the immanent act of Gods eternal purpose and decree to justifie the believer it is no more the actual justification in this life of which we are speaking then the immanent act of Gods eternal purpose to raise the bodies of believers in Christ and to glorifie them in soul and body can be called the actual resurrection of their bodies and glorification of both soul and body in this life But the transient act of justification in a judicial way which is the Lords judicial sentence of absolution of the believer declared by his Word set down now in holy Scripture it is indeed and formally the believers justification and is judicially terminar upon every believer in the act of his conversion whether the believer doth clearly perceive his own conversion or be in suspicion of his being reconciled and justified And this may be made to appear if we compare the condemnation of the unbeliever with the absolution of the believer fled to Christ Ioh. 3. 18. As he that believeth not in Christ is condemned already because the curse of the law and condemnation pronounced in the Scripture by God the soveraign Judge stands against him so long as he doth not believe in the only begotten Son of God And this sentence standeth fast whether the unbeliever take notice of this sentence or not whether he do apply it to himself or not do find grief for it or not So the believer in Christ is relaxed from condemnation and absolved and hath right unto eternal life and begun possession of it albeit for the time of his infancy tentation trembling and fear it be not so albeit he doth not perceive the blessed change of his state nor doth lay to heart as he might the words of Christ judicially pronouncing the sentence comprehending him as certainly as if his name were expressed Ioh. 3. 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned and ver 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and Ioh. 6. from ver 37. to 41. Hence we conclude that the formal act of justification of a man fled to Christ is to be found in the written sentence of the judge absolving every believer and the man we speak of There is another transient act of God in an actual revelation of justification wherein the holy Ghost openeth the eyes of the believer to behold and perceive the gift of saith already bestowed on him Of this speaks the Apostle 1 Cor. 2. 12. And after that the holy Ghost hath pointed out his own grace bestowed on the believer he followeth his work by giving remarkable peace and joy as earnest of life everlasting whereof the Apostle speaketh Ephes. 1. 13. In whom ye also trusted after ye heard the word of truth the Gospel of your salvation in whom also after ye had believed ye were sealed with the spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance Therefore he that desireth to have the intimation of his justification after flying for refuge unto Christ for relief of felt sin and feared wrath must read his absolution in the Gospel as well as he hath read before that his condemnation in the law Unto which sentence of absolution let him hold fast in his daily endeavour after sanctification The fifth question is how to satisfie the convert who findeth himself pursued for his sins after remission believed and is brought in question what to judge of his case MAny converts have fallen in Iobs case and seemed to themselves to possesse the sins of their youth Iob 13. 26. For after conversion and felt reconciliation they find the sins they did repent of and did believe to be forgiven through Christ objected to them afresh pursued with sharp accusations and signs of wrath joyned therewith Their reconciliation and righteousnesse through Christ they purpose to hold fast their old guiltinesse and sentence of their conscience writing bitter things against them they cannot deny The pinch is here either the remission they did believe is null or the challenge is unjust do they reason with themselves the nullity of their remission they dare not admit and the just ground of challenge they cannot deny and the doubt what to think of this case they cannot shun not seeing how these things can consist and stand together 2. For answer to this doubt these four things must be distinguished and how they may all consist one with another must be timously considered The four things to be distinguished are 1. the reconciliation of a convert with God 2. the remission of the reconciled mans sins freely gifted unto him by God 3. a renewed bitter accusation raised by Sathan against the reâ—iled convert 4. The holy and wise dispensation of God permitting ordering these renewed accusations of his child by Sathan for the tryal and exercise of his faith and growth of his repentance and other good ends Now for the consistence of these four we need not doubt but the accuser of the brethren can cast up to us forgiven sins and bear upon us that they are not forgiven Nâ—ither need we doubt but God in wisdom and love to his children may suffer Sathan to
water in a glasse which howsoever it be troubled and tossed remaineth most pure and free of all muddinesse Obj. But at least was there not a conflict in our Lord between his faith and the temptation to doubting Ans. We grant not only a conflict of Christs humane naturall strength with the burden of affliction but also a conflict and wrestling of his faith against the temptation to doubting for wrestling doth not alwayes argue the infirmity of the wrestler for the Angel who is called God Hos. 12. wrestles with Iacob and in God was no infirmity Again wrestling doth not argue alwayes infirmity but doth only evidence the wrestlers power and the importunat obstinacy of an adversary who being repulsed and cast down doth not at first leave the field but riseth up again insists and presseth on so long as it pleaseth the most powerfull party to suffer the adversary to make opposition Obj. But you must grant that in the conflict of Christs humane naturall strength with the affliction and burden of the punishment laid upon him by the Father he was overcome and succumbed and died Ans. Yes indeed but we must put a difference between the conflict of naturall strength with the burden of affliction and the conflict between faith and a temptation unto sin in the conflict of holy humane nature in Christ with the punishment of our sins laid on Him it was not a sin to have his naturall strength overpowered and to lye down under the burden and to lay down his life and die but it was a main part of His obedience it was the performance of His promise and undertaking to yield himself to Justice and to die for us that we might be delivered from death eternall But in the wrestling of His faith with the temptation unto doubting it had been a sin to have yielded in the least degree and that which could not consist with the perfect holinesse of the Mediatour Surety for sinners Obj. But did not the perplexity of His thoughts and the anxiety of His mind diminish something of the vigour and constancy of his faith Ans. It did diminish nothing of the vigour and constancy of His faith for there is a great difference between the troubling of the thoughts and the hesitation or weakening of faith as there is also a great difference between the perturbations of the mind and the perturbation of the conscience For as the mind may be troubled when in the consideration of some difficulty it cannot at first perceive an outgate mean-time the conscience remaining sound and quiet so may the work of the mind 's discoursing be interrupted and at a stay for a time faith mean time remaining untouched wholly sound and quiet For example upon the sudden receiving of a wound or upon an unexpected report of some great losse such as befell Iob the wheels of the reasoning faculty may be at a stand for a time and the conscience in the mean time be quiet yea and faith in the mean time remain strong as we see in Iobâ— first exercise Now if this may be found in an holy imperfect man in any measure why shall we not consider rightly of the exercise of the holy one of Israel suffering in His humane nature the punishment of our sin Let us consider but one of the passages of our Lords exercise Ioh. 12. 27. 28. Now saith He My Soul is troubled wherein behold the perplexity of His mind smitten with the horrour of the curse due to us coming upon Him then cometh forth what shall I say wherein behold reason standing mute and altogether silent only He lets forth the confession of His perplexity presently after this He subjoyneth Father save Me from this hour wherein behold Holy nature trembling and shrinking to fall into the wrath of the Father and according to the principles of holy nature testifying the simple abhorrency of His soul from such an evill as is the wrath of God His Father which had it not been for love to save our souls He could not have yielded his humane nature to endure or bear it therefore He considering that we were but lost for ever if He should not suffer wrath for us He repeats the sum of the Covenant of Redemption agreed upon But for this cause came I unto this hour And last of all shuts up His speech and exercise in the triumphing voice of victorious and untainted faith Father glorifie thy Name and here He resteth wherewith the Father is so well pleased as that from heaven He speaketh to the hearing of the multitude standing by I have both glorified it and will glorifie it again 10. Among the deepest degrees of the suffering of Christ in His soul we reckon that desertion whereof Christ on the crosse giveth an account crying out My God My God why hast Thou forsaken Me By which speech He doth not mean that then the personall union of the natures was in him dissolved nor yet that God had withdrawn His sustaining strength and help from the humane nature nor that the love of the Father was taken off him nor that any point of the perfection of holinesse was taken from him but his true intent is to shew that God for a time had taken away sensible consolation and felt joy from His humane Soul that so justice might in His sufferings be the more fully satisfied And this is the forsakeing of Him here given to us to understand In which desertion Christ is not to be looked upon simply as He is in His own person the Son of the Father in whom He is alwayes well pleased but as He standeth in the room of sinners Surety and Cautioner paying their debt In which respect He behoved to be dealt with as standing in our name guilty and paying the debt of being forsaken of God which we were bound to suffer fully and for ever if He had not interposed for us 11. The last degree of Christs sufferings wherein He may be said to have descended into hell so far as Scripture in the old Testament or the hystory of Christs passion in the new will suffer us to expound that expression is that curse wherein the full wrath of God and the dregs of that horrible cup was poured forth upon His holy humane nature while heaven and earth and hell seemed to conspire to take vengeance on Him and fully to punish our sins in the person of Him our Surety by that cursed death of the crosse which was the evidence foretold of the malediction of God lying on Him in so far as was necessary to compleet the punishment of losse and feeling both in soul and body And therefore not without ground have Orthodox divines taken-in Christs suffering in His soul and the detaining of His body in the grave put in as the close and last part of Christs sufferings as the true meaning of that expression He descended into hell not only because these pains which Christ suffered both in body and soul were
death of soul and body by the rule of simple justice whether the sinner had consented to the punishment or not But man by entering in the covenant actually gave a formall voluntary consent that death should sease upon him if he should sin as Evah beareth witnesse in her conference with the serpent while she doth repeat the condition put upon the breaking of the particular command given by God and accepted by man Gen. 3. 3. Fourthly when the covenant of works is abolished so far as it can neither justifie nor condemn the man that is â—led to Christ and entered in another posterior covenant of grace the naturall obligation of the man slandeth still for taking direction from and giving obedience to the law for it remaineth still the rule of a mans walking and it is impossible that a meer man should be exeemed from the authority of God over him and from subjection due by nature to his Creatour for upon this account that man is a reasonable creature understanding Gods will about his behaviour toward God he is alwayes bound for ever to love God with all his mind heart and strength and his neighbour as himself Neither can the naturall merit of sin be taken away nor death deserved be eshewed but by forgivenesse of it for Christs merits The covenant then was superadded unto the law in the deep wisdom of God for this way of dealing with man by a Covenant was of its own nature a most fit mean unto mans felicity and unto the glory of God How the Covenant of God with man was a mean to mans felicity THe Covenanting of God with man tended of its own nature to mans good and happiness First because a singular respect and honour was put upon man when he was made a confederat friend of God for if it be an honour to a mean and poor man to be joyned with a King or Prince in a formal bond of mutual friendship how much greater honour is it unto man to be joyned in a bond of mutual love and friendship with God Secondly before the making of the Covenant man had no promise made to him by God but so soon as the Covenant was made the Lord did freely obliege himself to give and made to man a right to ask and to expect of God with a ground of certainty to obtain of him such things as without promise 〈◊〉 he could not ask or at least he could not certainly expect to have granted unto him Thirdly before the making of the Covenant nothing hindred the Lord if he had pleased to command man to return to dust whereof he was but after the Covenant it pleased God by his own free promise to obliege himself to perpetuat mans happiness wherein he was made so long as he should go on in obedience Fourthly by the making of the Covenant a door was opened and a fair entry to a higher degree of felicity then he possessed by his creation for when a natural life and earthly felicity was given to Adam to enjoy upon the earth God by the Covenant made paction with him upon condition of perfect obedience to give him a life and felicity super-natural opposite unto death bodily and spiritual which was threatned unto him if he should transgress the command Fifthly Adam by the Covenant had a sort of help to make him keep the Law written in his heart more carefully and cautiously and a prop to make him stand more fixed for on the one hand he was advertised and forewarned of the danger of sinning that he might beware to offend God and on the other hand he was encouraged and allowed to serve God more chearfully and to perform due obedience to God the more diligently for in the Covenant the greatest reward that could be thought upon was set before him and promised unto him to wit eternal life upon his obedience and the greatest punishment threatned if he should dis-obey both which served greatly to move him to be constant in his obedience How Gods covenanting with man served for Gods glory IN Gods covenanting with man his glory did notably shine and shew forth it self to man First the goodness and bounty of God did manifest it self therein for in making a Covenant with man the Lord demitted himself and in a maner humbled himself to deal with man for the standing of mutual friendship between himself and man for ever and when we consider this as the Psalmist saith Ps. 8. 4. What is man that thou are mindfull of him and the Son of man that thou visitest him So may we say what is man or the Son of man that thou shouldest enter in covenant with him Secondly by covenanting with man God did show his wonderfull moderation for God is soveraign Monarch and absolute Emperour over his own creature to make of it what he pleaseth yet in covenanting with man he did sweetly temper his supreamacy seeking as it were to reign with mans consent And when because of his soveraign Authority and absolute Right and Interest he might have put upon man harder commands and conditions of the Covenant and these also altogether righteous and just he choosed to use such moderation that he would require nothing of man except that which man should and behoved in reason judge both a just and an easie yoke and in accepting the condition of the Covenant acknowledge it to be such Thirdly the Lord declared his wisdom in covenanting with man because when he had made man a reasonable creature he choosed to draw forth a free and voluntary service most suteable to his reasonable nature and that in a most sweet way to wit not only by giving unto man a most equitable Law but also by setting before the man by way of paction the highest reward that he could be capable of even life everlasting Fourthly in covenanting with man God did most wisely and holily have a respect to the glory of his own both soveraignty and holiness because after he had made man by nature good and holy albeit mutable and subject to change if the man pleased to essay another way he took course to help the mutability of his free will not only by setting a reward of obedience before him but also by a threatniug of punishment if he should transgress and so on the one hand and the other to hedge him in and guard him against all temptation unto sin that neither he should be forced by any external power to sin nor by any counsel or suggestion or moral swasion whereunto only man was exposed in the tryal of his obedience should have so strong motives to draw him to disobedience as the promise of God and the threatning should have force in all reason to keep him fast to his due and loyal obedience Thus was Adam fore-warned and fore-armed against whatsoever without himself might assault him for what reward for disobedience could be offered unto him so great as the favour of God and everlasting life in the
might weaken their faith and to rejoyce in believing and to be zealous for the Lords glory and carefull to bring forth more and more fruits of faith and love and working such other gracious works of his Spirit in his children as may more and more mortifie sin in them and perfect the image of God in his new creature This divine magisteriall and effectuall application of reall blessings belongeth to God only and is the end of all ministeriall application which is of the externall means appointed of God to be made use of by men the blessing whereof must be left to God to bestow on whom how and in what measure and in what time it pleaseth him as the Apostle doth shew unto us 1 Cor. 3. 6. I have planted and Apollos hath watered but God giveth the increase 3. The externall means which do serve unto the foresaid divine operations are 1. The doctrine of life and salvation set down in the Scripture to be heard and read by all men and meditat upon with prayer for a blessing And 2. sent ministers to whom God hath committed the word of reconciliation by whose ministery disciples may be made unto Christ out of all nations And 3. the administration of the Sacrament whereby they with their children are baptized and gathered together in severall Churches and put under the government of such Church-officers as his Testament hath appointed And 4. these Churches joyned together in the most edifying way of mutuall communion and strengthening one another in true doctrine pure worship and discipline which Gods providence doth make way for that the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus may continue and grow in the world and all his ordinances may be exercised publickly and privatly to the best advantage of the Church for perfecting of the Saints for the work of the ministery and for the edifying of the body of Christ as the Apostle requireth Ephes. 4. 12 13 14. 4. In the use of these external means and specially in the application of these three covenants prudence is required both in Pâ—stors and people to which intent and purpose these following considerations may serve 1. The remedy of every sicâ—ness of the conscience must be grounded on the doctrine of salvation set down in Scripture which doctrine 〈…〉 be known and believed by the porty 〈◊〉 before he can receive benefit thereby And 〈…〉 a prudent application of wholsom and saving doctrine may be made of necessity the party diseased must be acquâ—â—ared with the doctrine to be applyed unto him before he can make use thereof to his advantage for experience teacheth us how hardly gross ignorants can be convinced of sin add how hardly such can be comforted when their conscience is wakened with the terrours of God because they neither know from the Word of God the cause of the terrour and anxiety wherein they are nor can they be capable of the remedy of their evill except they first be catechised in the heads of saving doctrine hâ—ld forth in the Law and Gospel which instruction can hardly be given or received in a short time and howsoever a prudent Pastor must make use of time as it is offered yet when death is near to the party to be instructed how little is it that can be expected to be done 2. The order of applying saving doctrine doth not begin at the application either of the covenant of Redemption or at the covenant of Grace but he that will follow a right order must begin at the law and covenant of works under the yoke whereof we are all born by nature children of wrath And if a man apply that covenant and law to his heart and subscribe his own dittey and deserved condemnation then may he turn up his soul to Christ Jesus the Redeemer and flye to him for refuge and accept the offer which he makes in his Gospel of a new covenant of grace for pardoning of sin and reconciling unto God in himself the person who is fled unto him and for sanctifying and saving of him which covenant when a chased soul doth consent unto and layeth hold on Christ offered for relief from sin wrath death and hell then may he ascend by faith unto the covenant of Redemption and apply to himself with Gods allowance all the saving graces purchased by Christ by that covenant to all that flye unto him and believe in him 3. This order of making use of these three covenants many do not follow but they begin at the covenant of Redemption and will either be satisfied about this whether they be elected or not given to Christ to be redeemed or not which is a secret and not to be inquired into save in Gods order as we have shown or else they will not enter upon the use-making of these means which God hath appointed to bring a man to repentance and faith in Christ. This is a tentation of Sathan which if they yield unto it shall lead them either to resolute profanity with Cain or to anxious desperation with Iudas 4. There are some also who make leap-year of the covenant of works and do take no notice of their own naturall sinfulness or wrath due to them and lying on them by nature but neglecting this order do start a race and run to a presumptuous avouching of their faith in Christ and will thrust in themselves in the number of the elect given before the world was unto Christ to be redeemed and saved pretending their believing of the Gospel when they have not believed the doctrine of the law and so do turn the grace of God into lasciviousness and wantonness and go about the satisfying and fulfilling of their own lusts Wherefore it is necessary that every man who seeketh to be saved and hath resolved to follow Gods way to attain unto salvation do begin first at the covenant of works and examine himself according to the rule of the morall law how he hath behaved himself in obedience unto the first and second table and having sound a dittey great enough that he judge himself and passe sentence on himself as guilty and worthy of everlasting wrath for his sins Secondly when he is convinced of sin and deserved wrath and of his own utter impotency to deliver himself then let him flee to Christ and lay hold on the grace offered in the Gospel applying the same to his burthened conscience according to the tennor of the covenant of grace fully revealed in the Gospel And thirdly when he hath in earnest consented unto the covenant of grace and reconciliation and hath laid hold on Christ with unfaigned faith seeking in him remission of sin and renovation of life being resolved by the grace of Christ to use the means appointed of him for that end Now it is time and not till now to look up unto the covenant of Redemption and there to read his own name as it were written in the book of life and to acknowledge that the measure of repentance and
to prove a man to be regenerat but he must be proven also a true believer in Christ a man reconciled to God a man justified and an adopted child 2. It is necessary therefore for proving a man to be regenerat to know the right description of the regenerat man which is given by the Apostle Phil. 3. 3. We are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoyce in Iesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh Wherein the Apostle holdeth forth the truly regenerat circumcised in heart 1. He is not sinlesse but so sensible of his sinfulnesse as he hath no confidence in himself nor any thing else in himself 2. He is not free of accusations or tentations and doubts but he flyeth to Christ for righteousnesse 3. He is not an idle and unfruitfull branch but a worshiper of God in spirit and truth 1. He is burdened with sin 2. He cometh to Christ for relief 3. He puts on Christs yoke Math. 11. 28 29. If a man have these three properties joyntly in him he is a regenerae man and may defend his interest in the state of grace and right to righteousnesse and eternall life through Jesus Christ. 3. Divine operations and saving graces which accompany salvation such as are faith repentance unto life hope Christian love to God and men for Gods cause effectual vocation justification reconciliation adoption go together in time by Gods gift but one of them goeth before another in order of nature for effectual calling goeth before faith and faith goeth before hope and before charity or love Again these graces which are given to the redeemed child of God joyntly in respect of time do not shew themselves in their evidence alike soon in time nor do they equally manifest themselves when they do appear in time And so the evidences of repentance may be discerned in not a few converts before faith in Christ do shew it self in them clearly So also love to God and his Saints oft-times may be discerned in a regenerat man before he himself dare affirm any thing of his faith in Christ. 4. Albeit there be many regenerat persons who for the present time cannot perceive in themselves any undoubted signs of their conversion yet it is certain also that there be many who to their own unspeakable comfort are assured of their regeneration and that they are translated from death to life and that they have received the spirit of adoption and earnest of eternal life as is pointed out in the experience of the Ephesians chap. 1. 14. And this is certain also that all who are fled to Christ for refuge should by all means labour to make their calling and election clear and certain to themselves 2 Pet. 1. 10. And to this purpose we are commanded to examine our selves and try whether we be in the faith or not whether Christ by his Spirit be in us or not 2 Cor. 13. 5. for otherwise except a convert know certainly the blessednesse of his own state and that he standeth in grace and favour with God it is not possible for him to give hearty thanks to God for the change of his state from being an enemy to be made a reconciled subject and child of God It is not possible for him to rejoyce in the Lord or set chearfully himself to serve God or comfortably call on God as a father to him in Christ Wherefore all who in the sense of their sins and fear of deserved wrath are fled for refuge unto Christ should deal by prayer earnestly with God that he would graciously grant unto them his Spirit by whose operation in them they may know the saving graces which he hath freely bestowed upon them of which gift of the holy Spirit the Apostle doth speak 1 Cor. 2. 12. 5. The knowledge of a mans own regeneration hath many degrees of clearnesse and assurance by reason of the variety of conditions wherein a man truly converted may be For many doubts may arise in the man regenerat which may darken his sight and hinder the assurance of saving grace granted unto him whereof sundry causes may be found and in special these four among others 1. In a man illuminat and renewed by the holy Spirit there remains a great deal of ignorance much doubting mixed with faith by reason of unskilfulnesse of the convert to examine and discern this blessed change made in him where through that cometh to passe in many young converts which will be seen in infants who have a soul indeed but do not know or perceive that they have a soul till they come to some years of discretion yea many sound Christians are oft-times at a stand about their regeneration and know not what to make of their faith or repentance especially when they feel the power of the body of death the strength of natural corruption in themselves and great indisposition for any spiritual exercise they are forced with the Apostle to cry miserable man that I am who shall deliver me Rom. 7. 24. mean time for weaknesse of their faith they are not able at the first to wrestle against discouragment and to come up unto the Apostles thanking God through Christ. 2. By the tentation of Sathan oft-times the perswasion of holy men is darkened so as they cannot see the evidences of their own regeneration clearly for Sathan sets himself to vex the Saints who are delivered from his kingdom and bonds whom albeit he know that he cannot destroy them yet he will not cease to trouble them that at least he may make them some way unfit for Gods service and marr their cheerfulness in his service and because he feareth harm from them unto his kingdom by their dealing with the unconverted to repent their sins and to turn unto God therefore he finds them work at home in their own bosome and puts them to defend themselves and to forbear to invade his subjects till they be setled themselves 3. Oft-times the Lord is offended by the sins of the regenerat and specially by their grosse transgressions for which his Spirit being grieved doth for a time cease from comforting them and doth not bear witnesse with their spirits that they are the children of God as he hath formerly used to do 4. Oft-times the Lord by suffering doubts to arise in their hearts useth to try and exercise the faith of his children and thereby to stir them up to the pursuing of the duties of piety and righteousnesse more vigorously and sincerely that after victory obtained over these tentations they may be more confirmed in their faith and more diligent in his obedience 6. It may come to passe that while the true convert doth most doubt of his own regeneration that the work of Gods special grace may be observed in him and clearly seen by others more experienced in the wayes of God and indued with the spirit of discretion The reason whereof is because howsoever the weak convert and child of light walking
measure of faith and repentance Neither need we in this case be feared least any such person go or be sent too soon unto Christ and that the teacher of this doctrine be found to foster presumption and to offer untimous consolation for it is one thing to direct a man to go to Christ for supply of whatsoever good is wanting in him and another thing to warrand a secure sinner to lay hold on the consolations of the Gospel which God hath reserved in his own hand to be dispensed in due time and order to the truly humble penitent The Lord knoweth how to deal with such as come unto him he can hold an unhumbled supplicant praying and knocking at heavens door without giving him a comfortable answer untill he be humbled and so prepare him by humiliation for consolation in due time True it is that many draw near to Christ with their lips while their hearts are far away and remain senslesse of their evil estate and condition and are far from the earnest desire of the remedy which is to be had in Christ and therefore it is not without cause that Pastors in their sermons require the sight and sense of sin and hunger and thirst for righteousnesse in them who come to Christ and desire to profit by their coming to him for albeit it be free to God without antecedent preparatory exercises to fall in upon mans heart suddainly and at one sermon both convince him of sin and lead him in to Christ as he hath sometime dealt with a multitude when Peter was preaching Act. 2. yet it is not free for men to neglect their duties when they are advertised that the order of Gods working ordinarily is to take a time for information of their mind concerning their natural misery and his gracious way of delivery and for a time to work on their hearts by the law before he give them the felt fruits of the Gospel Mean time this must be remembred that no man displeased with his disposition as not fitted for mercy and who doth regrate that he is a stupid sinner and so hard-hearted that he cannot repent should be keeped off and debarred from going to Christ till he discern in himself the contrition and humiliation of heart which he would have for this were as much as to say in effect that before a sinner may go to Christ he must seek not from Christ but out of his own strength and abilities to work up his own heart to the sense of sin and humiliation of heart and other such like dispositions as ordinarily go before the act and discerning of saving faith for if even Simon Magus discovered and found out to be in the gall of bitternesse and bond of iniquity was exhorted to pray that God would forgive his sins and remove the perversenesse of his heart and save him from deserved wrath Act. 8. 22. How much more are they to be encouraged to go to Christ for relief from these evils which they feel and fear in whom not only this gall of bitternesse doth not appear but also some appearances may be marked by wise beholders of a begun work of grace in them albeit the man himself cannot perceive so much for the time 17. Seing it is certain that God doth prevein by grace every converted mans actions before the man do actually turn himself to God and that the Lord useth to open the eyes of the man whom he is converting to see such and such evils in himself before these evils be taken away and seing it is Gods usual way by preventing to give some measure of the good to be prayed for that the man may pray for more good upon the receit of some measure of that good already bestowed therefore all they who desire to approach to Christ must be taught to make observe and take notice of the least degree of good bestowed upon them of the smallest beginnings of illumination of the meanest degrees of conviction for sin of the least measure of estimation of Christ and his grace wrought already in themselves and to thank the Lord for so much eye-salve as hath opened their eyes to discern their own blindnesse and misery and Christ to be the remedy of all the evils they do see and after they have marked what is bestowed already on them and have blâ—ssed God for the gift they must be exhorted to request the Lord to make out and perfect the begun mercy that they may be sure of their own real conversion for so doth the new convert pray Ier. 31. 18. Convert me and I shall be converted and the humble soul Cant. 1. 4. draw me after thee and we will run after thee And this we speak not as if any unconverted man could in the sense of his sin and misery sincerely and heartily seek after Christ or for more grace from him But because some that are converted do not perceive that they are converted we frame our speech to their estimation of themselves that they may be edified who are brought unto Christ by the draught of effectual calling and have not as yet received the gift of the Spirit to perceive these things which are freely bestowed upon them 1 Cor. 2. 12. 18. As it useth to be in the sicknesse of the body So it falleth out in the sicknesses of the conscience that as there are some sicknesses simple and other some complicat when moe sicknesses concur together So in the conscience there are some simple some complicat ill cases Simple and single cases of conscience are these wherein the diseased soul is troubled with one doubt only for the present as for example when the party afflicted is doubtfull only of the will of God toward him and not of his power such was the case of the Leper Matth. 8. 2. Thou canst make me clean if thou wilt Complicat and involved cases are when many evils concur together and the conscience is troubled with many doubts In which case many questions may offer themselves in a throng together which the afflicted party cannot well distinguish and thereupon is driven to darknesse and confusion of mind In this case the Pastor or prudent christian friend must observe some order beginning with the most perilous doubt that it may be first solved which doubt being answered in the first place let him fall upon the answering of the rest of the doubts in order As for example if the party be afflicted with tentations unto desperation let him be cleared and led by the hand to see and acknowledge a possibility of salvation by Christ and then a probability and appearance that it shall be by an argument taken from his present exercise which putteth an earand in his hand and so a warrand to go to Christ and so peece and peece let him be dealt with to accept the general offer of grace in Christ and to believe in him Now that such may be the exercise of the child of God appeareth Psal. 42. 7.
Lord may take the penitent in his fatherly embracements and comfort him abundantly Mean time till the sensible comfort be given unto him let him hold fast the promises made to them that flye unto Christ. CHAP. IV. Wherein is solved the doubt of the regenerat man raised by his suspicion whether he be elected or not IT cometh to passe sometimes that a sinner lamenting his sins and seeking liberation from sin and misery doth call in question whether he be regenerat because he hath a deep and fixed suspicion that he shall possibly be â—ound not among the Elect and by consequâ—nce be found a reprobat of whom if ye ask a reason why he saith so he can give no solid answer only he will tell you he can perceive no certain signs and evidences of his election yea that he findeth nothing in himself but that which may be found in reprobats and that he is affraid he be found one of that number and that this suspicion hath taken deep root in him that he cannot rid himself of this doubt and fear 2. This case we must confesse is very dangerous except it be timously cuâ—ed for here faith is taken as it were by the throat and the ground of hope is like to be razed The suspicion of Gods decree is dayly fostered and augmented and the afflicted person not only doubteth of Gods good-will to him but is tempted unto desperation By this means the command of God to believe the promises and consolations of the Gospel seem to him to be offered to him all in vain the hope of successe or profiting in the use of the means appointed by God is undermined so long as this suspicion is entertained yea all the exercises of religion become burthensome out of a fear he shall follow the exercise thereof to no purpose and so the duties of religion are oft-times left undone or cast off for a time if the tentation grow strong and continue with him without cure or comfort thus he standeth upon the border and precipice of some sort of desperation if his fear and suspicion be not removed in some measure 3. For cure of this case the Pastor or prudent friend as in all his conferences with the afflicted So here in speciall must seriously pray to God that he would blesse the means of information and consolation which he is about to use for the satisfying of the afflicted To this end therefore first let all the reasons whereby the afflicted pretendeth to make his reprobation probable be resumed and refuted as frivolous all of them And certainly they cannot but be found frivolous because God hath not given any certain evidence or sign of reprobation so long as a man is alive except that sin unto death the sin against the holy Ghost in a malicious refusing rejecting and hostile opposing of Jesus Christ wittingly and willingly for as to finall unbelief and impenitency no man can passe sentence upon any person that hath heard any thing of the Gospel so long as breath is in him for God can convert a soul to himself in the pangs of imminent death as he did the thief on the crosse All the evil which the afflicted can say of himself cannot prove him a reprobat the hight which his reckoning can rise unto to fortifie his own suspicion of himself is only to give appearance that he is 〈◊〉 regenerat mean time we preâ—uppone the afflicted person under this tentation to labour under the sense of manyfold sins which do furnish strength unto the tentation and to be hungry and thirsty for righteousnesse and to be desirous to draw near to God in Christ if he could be delivered of his suspicion of Gods purpose and affection towards him And therefore his christian friends are bound in charity to expound this his hunger for righteousnesse and thristy desire of reconciliation through Christ to be a begun work of gracious regeneration and so also a hopefull sign that he is elected Secondly after refutation of his pretended reasons for his suspicion and fear this suspicion must be set before him as a strong tentation of Sathan and a soul-murthering lie thrown as a fiery dart at him such as the Apostle Ephes. 6. maketh mention of of set purpose to beat the shield of faith out of his hand Wherefore he must be exhorted to resist the Tempter and that so much the more as Sathan out of envy and malice doth slander God and the begun work of grace in the man and all to vex the soul of him whom he cannot keep in his snare Thirdly the giving so much way to this wicked suggestion must be represented to the patient as an act of ignorance and folly yea an act of iniquity and injury unto God and to his own soul for what a madnesse is it to pry in upon the secret counsell of God and to neglect his revealed will set down in Scripture what presumption to intrude our selves upon his secret decrees and to cast behind our back his open commands given to us To refuse obedience to Gods ordinances given to us for our salvation except he shall firstâ—â—ll us what is his purpose about us in particular To open our ears to the false suggestions of the devil a lyar and murtherer from the beginning and stop ouâ— ears from hearing the voice of God speaking to us in Scripture Wherefore let the afflicted under this temptations take heed to what is said Deâ—t 29. 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God but these things that are revealed belong uâ—to us and our children for ever that we may do all the words of this Law Let the Lords Command be first obeyed and then the decree of God concerning the believer in him shall be timeously revealed for his promises are agreeable with his decrees and his promises are offered to us that thereby his decrees may be brought on unto a just and gracious execution Fourthly let the afflicted call to minde what benefits the Lord hath bestowed upon him from his infancy and in special that he hath offered and doth continue to offer Christ Jesus unto him if he will receive him for wisdom righteousnesse sanctification and redemption and upon this ground he is bound to give unto God a good construction in every sort of dispensation toward him and look upon God as his friend and father CHAP. V. Wherein the regenerat mans doubting of his regeneration because he findeth no power in himself to believe in Christ is answered SOmetime it cometh to passe that the renewed man after a long time standing in the stare of grace falleth in doubt about the work of grace in himself because when God doth change his dispensation toward him and bringeth him to tryal by trouble wherein he is found weaker then he expected he beginneth to suspect whether the former work of grace hath been found or not and his reason is because he findeth by experience often repeated that in straits and difficulties when he
and for drawing him to Christ to be his refuge in his worst condition CHAP. XXVIII Wherein is solved the doubt of the true convert concerning his regeneration because he findeth the power of the body of death in the pollution of the imaginations of his heart vigorous and powerfull THere are some true converts who albeit they be cleansed from the pollutions that are in the world and have their conversation blamelesse and without giving scandall unto them they live among yet frequently are troubled with doubting of their state in grace because they feel in themselves such a power of in-bred corruption of their hearts as can hardly consist as they conceive with regeneration and saving saith because Iames chap. 3. ver 11. maketh the question thus doth a fountain send forth at the same plâ—ce sweet water and bitter c. unto the end of the Chapter This doubt the afflicted wrestles with and saith with himself what shall I think of my self whose heart is so polluted that it casteth forth continually dirt and mire how shall I reckon my self among the Saints how shall I incrude my self among the justified who find so little evidence of the work of sanctification in me For faith should purifie the heart from this pollution whereof I do justly complain 2. For solving of this doubt many things are already spoken which serve for the curing of this case and comforting the afflicted in this condition but because one and the same doubt doth diversely present it self now in one shape then in another and doth vex the afflicted in sundry wayes we shall answer this doubt proposed as it is set down First therefore let the afflicted examine himself whether he may with some measure of honesty say with the Psalmist Ps. 66. 18. I do not regard iniquity-in my heart I do not so delight in sin but that sin is still my affliction and my daily grief Secondly let him examine himself whether the power of corruption doth break forth in words and deeds or not or if it do burst out in some passionat fits whether he doth open the sluce and give it way or whether he sets himself to oppose the out-breaking of sin and is humbled for what doth break forth Thirdly let him examine whether he flyeth to Christ to wash him and help him against the power of sin or not If after examination he can in any measure of honesty joyn with the Apostle in his lamentation and recourse unto Christ for delivery Rom. 7. 24 25. he may be assured he is in the state of grace For there is a vast difference between a mans being sold unto sin by his native corruption captivating him and a mans setting of himself unto sin as a voluntary servant of sin for a renewed man may be in sundry cases a captive to sin and is a fighter against sin But a man selling himself to sin is a slave voluntarily suffering sin to reign in his mortall body Let the afflicted therefore comfort himself because in him there is a perpetual conflict between the flesh and the spirit between his native inclination to sin and the new creature or inclination to holinesse Neither let him by mis-understood Scripture formerly cited vex himself for his faith is indeed upon the work and the way of purifying his heart first because he doth flye to the bloud of Christ which cleanseth him from all sin in respect of remission granted Secondly there is a constant endeavour to be more and more holy and to draw vertue by faith from Christ to bring forth good fruits well-pleasing unto God Thirdly he is about to mortifie his lusts by the Spirit of Christ and to purge out the leaven of all filthinesse of flesh and spirit albeit he cannot purge it out all at once or wholly in in this life And fourthly because albeit his doubting of his estate in grace be not allowable yet it doth bear witnesse that the remainder of pollution in him is his grief affliction and vexation So also that other Scripture Iames 3. 11. which faith that out of the same fountain proceedeth not salt water and sweet is not to be understood so as if no rotten speech could possibly proceed out of the mouth of a regenerat man at any time for Iames doth witnesse that in many things we sin all in thought word and deed But the meaning is that he that bridleth not his tongue his religion is vain and nothing but a presumptuous boasting of that wich is not reall and in truth and that it is inconsistent with regeneration that out of a mans mouth pretending to blesse God cursing of men who are made after the similitude of God should flow forth as waters flow forth from a running fountain without controlment CHAP. XXIX Shewing how to quench the fiery darts of Sathan and resist his sinfull suggestions whether of shorter endurance or of longer continuance SOmetime on a sudain Sathan casteth a fiery dart of tentation unto some sin as his messenger seeking to prepare the lodging for him which tentation he doth so furiously presse as if he would not be refused or could not be resisted and possibly may so bear-in his tentation as the convert may be afraid that Sathan shall prevail finding himself as it were over-powered and unable to bear out in such a case as the Apostle had experience of 2 Cor. 12 7 8 9. who found himself as it were buffeted and abused by the messenger of Sathan and unable of himself to resist him The remedy whereof is that the afflicted with the Apostle be humbled in himself in the sense of his in-born sinfulnesse and inability to overcome tentations 2. That he flye to Christ the captain of militant souldiers and do pray unto him instantly to help to bear out in the conflict and to be rid of the Tempter 3. Let him hold fast the faith of promised grace and wrestle on so long as it shall please God to exercise him so With such a tentation Iob also was exercised which so far prevailed as to make carnall and corrupt nature speak for it The tentation was very fearfull and no lesse then self-murther Iob 7. 13 14 15. When I say my couch shall ease my complaint then thou scarrest me with dreams and terrifiest me with night-visions so that my soul chooseth strangling and death rather then life The remedy whereof is with Iob to flye to the Redeemer and fix faith upon him and to present the tentation unto God by prayer and humble lamentation striving against the suggestion and never to give over relying on God as he did 2. Sometime Sathan when he cannot find instruments to charge the convert with hypocrisie and a course of wickednesse as he found in Iobs tryall by his uncharitable friends he useth immediately to fall a railing against the whole course of the work of grace in the convert and charge him falsely with deep guiltinesse as calumniators use to do in their furious flyting and slandering
from Sathans insinuations and crafty suggestions or his more discovered and open assaults that there is no businesse we can go about wherein this crafty hunter shall not dig a pit or lay a snare to intrap us no affliction nor difficulty wherein he shall not study to keep us back from making Christ our refuge our helper and deliverer and that therefore we must take heed to obey the warning of the Apostle Ephes. 6. 10 11 12 13. Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and so forth to the end of the Chapter CHAP. XXX Wherein are some mixed cases spoken of whereunto the true convert is subject and so may fall to doubt of his conversion or interest in Christ. THere are beside the cases whereof we have given some examples and instances other cases also which we may call mixed cases the causes whereof are partly natural partly spirituall wherein the true convert may be afflicted with both bodily and spirituall distempers melancholious humors abounding in the body and Sathan busie to stir himself in these distempers to the weakning the faith of the convert may take advantage to vex the child of God 2. These bodily distempers are common both to the unrenewed and to the regenerat for God hath not exeemed his children from diseases of the body for the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before him all things come alike to all there is one event or accident which may befall to the righteous and to the wicked to the good and to the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath Eccles. 9. 1 2. Saul the King of Israel in his melancholious fit may by the instigation of an unclean spirit changing himself into an angel of light fall on prophesieing in the midst of his house while he is about to murther David 1 Sam 18. 10. and experience hath shewed that some lying in grosse sins who while they were themselves and in their wits were found very rude and ignorant in maters of religion and things divine but sometimes sudainly falling in a melancholious exâ—asie and rapture they could rehearse a number of passages of Scripture and seemed to pray and to bring a number of arguments in their praying as if they had been wrestling with God for mercy of which Scriptures or words of prayer they had neither sense nor memory when they came to themselves after the melancholious extasie was over which sit lasted sometimes an hour sometimes two or thereby all which time they neither did hear nor see the wittnesses sitting by and beholding the spectacle On the other hand experience hath shewed how far Sathan may abuse and hath abused the phantasie of some holy persons in the height of sharp feavers and frensies and what speeches against God and their own souls by his instigation they have uttered We have an example in Iob who in his hot feaver and painfull boils like a man distracted cryed out that God was turned an enemy to him that he did shoot all his arrows against him whereupon in his distemper he cryed for death and cursed the day of his birth most bitterly Of which expressions when he is challenged by his uncharitable friends and judged to be nothing but a wicked hypocrit he excuseth himself that when he spoke these words he was not himself but in a roving distemper Iob. 6. 26. Do ye imagine to reprove words and the speeches of one that is desperat which are as wind 3. But our purpose here is not to discourse of melancholy in general nor what may befall in common to the godly and the wicked in melancholious fits for this doth require a larger Treatise and the concurrence both of Physicians and Divines We purpose only to speak to what the true convert is obnoxious unto and when we speak of mixed cases wherein both the distemper of the body and brain do concur with the temptation of Sathan we do not take notice of any light distemper of body and mind which suddainly cometh and is soon removed or which the privat diligence of the child of God in the use of the means may and useth to overcome Neither do we meddle with phrensies and madnesse which so bereaveth the man of the use of common reason that he cannot understand or make use of wholsome advice and counsell from the Scripture or rightly conceive truth when it is told unto him for in such a case the Physician only is to be called to deal with the diseased not excluding the prayer of the Pastor and Christian friends for him But we are to speak concerning more moderat distempers wherein the afflicted may lay forth his tentations and propound the reasons which seem to fortifie his doubts and to dispute of them receive reasonable answers to his objections as they are offered unto him And in a word such a condition of the mans mind as maketh him ready to hear and follow the advice both of the Physician and the Pastor as his need requireth Now it is not our that the imagination of these who are of this midle sort of distemper doth ordinarily fain to its self sad and terrible things and being fired with melancholious humours and tentations of Sathan mixed therewith useth to represent to its self Gods hot displeasure death condemnation and hell as it were before their eyes so that it is no wonder that for the the time they doubt whether they can possibly be in the state of grace But in special this seemeth most heavy unto them that their conscience in the mean time doth write bitter things against them and double upon them the deserved sentence of condemnation casting up the particular sins possibly repented of and pardoned as meriting rejection from God And here mainly is the stick 2. In discerning and curing such cases there is great need of wise circumspection For first information must be had of the afflicted's condition so far as his friends and familiars can furnish 2. The cure of his wound must be tenderly gone about as the Chyrurgian useth to do when he is to deal with the aple of a mans eye 3. Whatsoever seem at the first it shall be safest for the comforter of the afflicted not to speak peremptorily of the mans state or condition yea nor to judge within themselves determinatly about him 4. But it shall be saâ—est to hear the afflicted patiently to lay out his own condition more or lesse confusedly in moe or fewer speeches as he is able to expresse it 5. What is further to be searched after by prudent interrogations let it be pumped up so far as conveniently may be 6.
the present And in this sense an unrenewed man is said to be in a better or worse condition for the present in comparison with other unrenewed men or with himself at another time In which sense Mark 12. 34. Christ speaking to the Scribe who answered him in all things discreetly saith thou art not far front the kingdom of heaven The condition for the present of this Scribe was better then his fellows and better then his own at another time and yet his person was in the state of wrath because he was not entered in the state of grace or in the kingdom of heaven howsoever he was not far from it In this more strict sense the judicial state of the mans person is fixed so long as the judicial sentence of the Judge binding the unconverted to the curse that is pronounced in the Law or in the Gospel lousing the converted from the curse doth stand But the morall disposition and the condition of the man whether in the state of grace or nature is variable and changeable to the better or worse in comparison with others or himself at another time Whence it is that one and the same person may be in a better or worse condition his state remaining the same to wit good if he be renewed and evil if he be still in nature unrenewed 2. But here we are about the condition of the renewed man only which may be better at one time and worse at another time as his disposition and caâ—â—age in order to the duties of religion and righteousnesse falleth out to be better or worse according as his actions and behaviour are more or lesse conform to the revealed will of God and as his conscience doth its duty more or lesse commendably Sometimes his conscience upon good grounds speaketh good to him while he studieth to walk before God unto all well-pleasing and then he may say with the Psalmist Ps. 26. 12. My foot standeth in an even place in the congregation will I blesse the Lord. To this good condition we need not say much because there is no present disease which calleth for cure of this case Only it is for the child of God in this case necessary to observe dyet and exercise to maintain his good condition and to watch over his heart and wayes that he may continue and go on therein All that we have to deal with is the ill condition of the true convert when his conscience doth deceive him or doth not discharge its duty for in this case only remedy and cure is called for 3. As that condition wherein the convert is best pleased with himself is not alwayes the best So neither is that condition wherewith he is worst pleased alwayes the worst But that is the best condition wherein the holy Spirit doth most bear down the power of sin and advance the work of sanctification of the man and that condition is the worst wherein sin most prevaileth And as the goodnesse of a mans condition is is not to be estimat by any eventual accident but by its own nature and proper effects So the illnesse of a mans condition is not to be estimat by any eventual accident but by its own nature and proper effects as God in the Scripture giveth grounds of judgment of a good or ill condition for otherwayes by the default of the renewed man the best condition may degenerat in a very ill condition As when a man doth abuse divine consolations and after receiving of the renewed earnest of the inheritance from the holy Spirit groweth carnally secure and negligent in his duties or when after some grosse pollution of himself in body or soul having grieved the holy Spirit he doth not humble himself as became him but by Sathans suggestion of wicked thoughts against God and his former work in him doth fall in suspicion of all former gracious operations of the holy Spirit in him and mis-calleth all these former experiences and in his tentation esteemeth and nameth them among Sathans delusions or else at least suspecteth and feareth they shall prove no better then such On the other hand the worst conditions of the renewed man by the wisdom mercy and power of God may be turned to advantage in order to Gods glory and the renewed mans salvation as the experience of the Psalmist doth shew us Psal. 116 3 4. c. 4. An evil condition is so called either 1. in respect of the evil which the convert not only feeleth really but laments it seriously or 2. in respect of the converts estimation only who laments his good condition without cause or 3. in respect of a reall evil which the convert lamenteth not at all but lyeth under it securely Of the first sort is the condition of the convert when he seeth his own blindnesse nakednesse and misery the hardnesse of his own heart and the deceitfulnesse of it and doth flye for remedy thereof to Christ the true Physician to cover and cure all his diseases This condition is evil only in respect of felt evil but in respect of the converts making the right use of the discovery of these evils and flying unto Christ for relief therefrom it is a good condition because the diseased convert carryeth himself well and wisely in this exercise Of the second sort is the converts condition when his faith is put to tryall by manifold afflictions and tentations and he conceives himself to be in a very evil condition wherein he ought not to afflict himself but to judge this condition to be a good condition according to the Apostles exhortation Iam. 1. 2 3. My brethren count it all joy when ye fall in divers tentations knowing that the tryall of your faith worketh patience Of the third sort is the condition of the convert who when for example he feels himself unapt and unable to pray or praise or discharge any duty heartily doth not trouble himself with this his ill case but either layeth-by the doing of the duty or doth the work negligently and perfunctoriously and pleaseth himself in so doing for a time This condition is evil indeed both in respect of his spiritual diseases and of his sinfull slighting the duty of seeking relief thereof 5. For rectifying the judgment of the conscience in any or all of those conditions first let difference be put between the sinfull diseases and distempers of our spirit which are evil indeed and the discovery thereof unto us which is a benefit in it self and a gift of eye-salve bestowed by Christ upon us and the right use of that discovery by flying unto Christ which is yet a greater blessing even the work of God drawing us to the Saviour of souls the remedy of every evil Secondly let difference be put between tentation or tryal of faith and yielding to tentation under affliction The observation of tentation offered to make us depart from the truth in tryal is a matter of joy but yielding is a sin and mater of
conscience and felt wrath pursuing me for sin may be clear to me by its own light and scriptural evidence albeit it being possibly the very instant of my conversion I cannot produce any fruits or evidences of my conversion past or else what shall be said of malefactors on the scaffold presently to be put to death and possibly not wakened in conscience before not fled to Christ before What shall be said of sick persons near unto death who being self-condemned do betake themselves in their last agony unto the grace of God in Christ offered to self-condemned sinners in the Gospel 2. I must put difference between a reason to prove that I have believed and a reason why I may and must now believe The reason to prove that I have believed is from the effect to prove the cause thereof to wit faith to be in me but the reason why I may now and must believe is from the cause to infer the effect that should be in me the cause of believing in Christ is Gods command to self-condemned sinners which command I must now obey left I perish and so if I find fruits I prove I have believed because I feel the love of God shed abroad in my heart and that I love God who hath freely loved me and here I reason from the effect to prove that the cause of this fruit to wit saâ—ing faith hath preceeded and is gone before Again I prove that I should believe because the offer of the Gospel and of free grace in Christs made to all self-condemned persons renouncing confidence in their own worth or works is made to me with a command to believe in the Son of God Christ Jesus for which cause I may and ought to cast my self upon his grace who justifieth the ungodly flying to him without the works of the Law 3. I must put difference between my having fruits of faith in me and my observing and finding these fruits in me for a true convert may have both faith and fruits and for the time being under tryal and temptation may be so darkened that he can see nothing in himself but sin and apparent wrath pursuing him for sin as may be seen in Ionah in the belly of the fish Ionah 2. 4. and David Ps. 51 9 10. 4. I must put difference between my perswasion that I have been and am a true convert and a sincere believer and my perswasion that I have right reason and good warrand to believe in Christ in my lowest condition howsoever then I find my self emptied of all signes of saving grace in me for the time yet my perswasion that I should in this sad condition flye to Christ and believe in him doth serve to make me consent heartily unto the offer of the covenant of grace in Christ doth serve to make way for my justification and looseth all doubts and objections of Sathan tempting me to mis-believe and to run away from Christ and the offered mercy in him 5. And last of all I must put difference between making use of good fruits brought forth by me for confirmation of my faith and my putting confidence in or laying weight on these good fruits for many true converts do here fail and do not mark the mistakes for when they find love to God and his Saints with fear and holy reverence and such other like signes of grace in their hearts and outward fruits thereof in their life then they do believe in Christ and rejoice in him but when at another time they find hardnesse of heart profanity and perversenesse of a wicked nature in themselves they are like to quite their interest in the covenant of Grace and to stand aloof from Christ like strangers when they should most be humbled and creep in to him for remission of sin aâ—d hiding of their nakednesse by his imputed righteousnesse And what is this in effect else then in the first place to lean on their works and holy disposition as if there were merit in them and then after in the next place to believe in Christ who hath furnished them those fruits whereas they should in the sense of their sin and unworthinesse first flye to Christ and firmly adhere to him by faith that out of his fulnesse they may receive grace for grace according as we are taught to do by Christ himself Ioh. 15. 5. He that abideth in me and l in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing CHAP. VII Concerning the case of the convert in some point of doctrine deluded and pleasing himself in this condition TO speak of delusion and bewitching in the general requireth a large Treatise It shall suffice our purpose to speak of it as it hath place in the point of doctrine and practice erroneous Which we describe thus Delusion is a powerfull operation of a lying Spirit whereby he obtrudes to men some noysome error in doctrine or practise contrary to true doctrine fairded over with sophistical deceits and doth perswade inconsiderate souls effectually to receive the error for truth and to defend and spread it in their rash zeal For explication of which description we say 1. delusion is a powerfull operation of a lying Spirit wherein Sathan in Gods judgment is permitted to put forth his power in lying effectually Therefore in all his effectuall delusions there is a concurring righteous judgment of God in loosing reins to the rempter that by delusion one sin in one degree may be punished by a following sin in a higher degree No wonder therefore that a lying Spirit do work more effectually when he is not restrained by the powerfull hand of God 2. We say that delusion is in some dangerous error tending to the damage of the Church and hazard of souls And this we say not as if we did think that any sin doth not draw with it the merit of death for the wages of every sin is death but because Sathan is not so busie to spred and foment such errors as are lesse perillous as he is active in such errors which do most tend to pester the Church and divert the professors of religion from the path way of saving doctrine And to this purpose he essayes all means that he may obscure and darken the truth and devise and spread abroad the most pernicious errors Mean time he is not idle in sowing and spreading lesser errors that he may stir up contention and jangling in the Church whereby precious time which should be spent for mutual edification may be idly wasted in needlesse disputes and mens minds may be prepared to receive grosser errors Thirdly we put some difference between errors in doctrine and errors in practice albeit there cannot be one error in practice whether it be in the external worship or government of the Church or in outward conversation which being stiffly maintained hath not some error of judgment and doctrine joyned with it or else it should not be contrary to sound doctrine
shall be made sensible of his injury done he may pretend that the glory of God requireth so much that sins should be punished the avenging whereof if it should be delayed longer then occasion of revenge should offer or till the Magistrat should take notice of it no punishment should fall upon the injurious at all and last of all he may pretend the good of the party injurer who by feeling the smart of his wrong done may be led to repentance and made to learn by his suffering the recompence of his injury done to carry himself more equitably toward his neighbours in all time coming All these pretenses may bear weight in the corrupt inclination of a convert and may harden him in his sinfull course of seeking a privat revenge on the person who hath injured him And his corrupt inclination may be observed by himself 1. by the stirring of his passion and wrath against the injurer whensoever he doth see the party injurer or call the injury to mind 2. By dissimulation and hiding from all men the sense he hath of the wrong received till he find an occasion offered to be avenged on him 3. By a stop made in his own prayer for remission of sins by his conscience telling him he could not subscribe the condition put in the prayer for remission of sin by Christ which is forgive us our sins as we also forgive them that sin against us The causes of this sinfull condition are 1. corrupt and unmortified carnal self-love with a too high estimation of himself in pride which maketh the injury seem so much greater as he hath a higher estimation of himself 2. A defect in his christian love meeknesse long-suffering patience and pity which should have their exercise specially in cases of provocation of our unmortified affections 3. The oblivion of the commands of God and of the manyfold sins daily committed against him whereof if there were a due estimation had the fountain and course of carnal revenge should soon be stopped that privat and carnal revenge should not break forth When these evils are found out and acknowledged by the convert in himself the main remedy thereof is in and by Christ who hath died for us when we were his enemies Rom. 5. 8. and for whose cause greater sins against God are daily forgiven to us then are the injuries done unto us by men 2. In this case also the grave admonition of the Apostle should not be forgotten Ephes. 4. 26 27. Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath neither give place to the devil Giving us to understand that if wrath which draweth with it the desire of revenge shall lodge all night with a man the devil will lodge with it also stirring the man up to pursue a revenge whensoever he findeth opportunity A third instance A third instance of this possible mistake of a convert may be found when he pleaseth himself in his carriage too much for his own carnal satisfaction in meat drink apparrel and recreations and here he may be hardened by sundry pretenses which he may have for his excesse in the use of things otherwayes lawfull As 1. that what he spendeth upon himself is of his own means 2. That his recreations are lawfull and allowed unto him of God 3 That in all this he hath a care of his health 4. That he doth not spend more upon himself then his rent and ability may well bear 5. That God hath said by the mouth of a wise King that this course which he doth follow in allowing on himself is the gift of God Eccles. 5. 19. And last of all that he might seem justly a nigard if he did not well to himself when he is able so to do and here are pretences abundant But if after examination of a mans own self he shall find the aboundance of earthly things weakening his desire after things spiritual or shall find the sense of his in-born corruption laid over to sleep in his prosperity or shall find his flesh wax wanton against the spirit and to prevail in the conflict or shall find his compassion toward the poor and afflicted to grow cold and his delight in things spiritual much diminished or shall find too great a share and portion of his time bestowed upon his body and but little time bestowed upon the care of his soul a wakened conscience may easily convince the convert that maters are not so right with him as he supposed The remedy of this evil is not for a man to turn unto another extremity and to a contrary vice as if there were no place for a wise moderation or as if at sometimes a more liberal use of the creature were not allowed unto men or as if a spiritual disposition of a mans spirit could not consist now and then with any banquet or festivity for it is plain from Scripture that there is a time to â—east and a time to fast a time to labour and a time to be refreshed both in body and mind after labour In which prudence the Apostle had not a little advanced when he saith Phil. 4. 12 13. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and suffer need I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me But here is the remedy 1. that distrusting our selves and fearing the snares which Sathan layeth for us in all things we have our conversation with Christ and set our affections on things which are above as the Apostle giveth direction 1 Col. 3. 1 2. Next that we watch against the lusts of the flesh least at any time our hearts be suâ—fetted with meat or drink or any thing which is pleasant to the flesh Luk. 21. 34. Rom. 13. 14. For we are not debters to the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof Rom. 8. 12. but are bound so to care for our bodies so as our souls have no loss thereby for the lusts of the flesh do fight against our souls 2 Pet. 2. 11. And to this end let the admonition of the Apostle be well remembred 1 Cor. 7. 29 30 31. This I say brethren the time is short it remaineth that both they who have wives be as though they have none and they that weep as though they weept not and they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away Many moe instances might be given but these may suffice our purpose who mind only to give some taste of cases of conscience in some examples which may give light unto other like cases as they fall in CHAP. IX Of the case of conscience dealing treacherously under pretense of liberty of conscience PRevarication or treacherous dealing is strictly taken when for a bud or bribe the conscience doth betray
strengthened and set forward to glorifie God in Christ in necessar duties As for the maner and measure to be keeped in the use of things lawfull prudence must be asked of God who will direct us in this as in other Christian duties CHAP. XVI Concerning the converts suspicion that his softness of heart is nothing but a natural disposition to weep upon any occasion VVHen the Lord hath taken away from the sinner a heart of stone and hath given unto him a heart of flesh so that he dar not any more harden himself against the threatnings of Gods Word but doth tremble at the hearing thereof as speaketh Isaiah 66. 2. and in his prayer doth pour forth his heart ordinarily with tears he may as experience hath taught fall in a suspicion of this ordinar or frequent melting of heart as if it were nothing else but a childish or woman-like temper of body and spirit and no evidence of contrition for spiritual causes which the Scripture requireth and commendeth in the penitent 2. In this case there is danger on either hand if the convert be not wary and circumspect in this condition for on the one hand he is in hazard of making light account of the work of God who hath taken from him the heart of stone and given him an heart of flesh On the other hand he is in hazard of laying too much weight on his tears if once he be satisfied about the suspicion he hath of his own tears and made clear that they were proofs and evidences of his sincerity in his prayers to God That there is a danger on either hand experience hath taught for some sincere converts having entertained the suspicion that their tears in prayer proceeded from the soft temper of their natural complexion disposition of spirit have resisted their inclination to mourn and striven against letting forth of tears so far that they have become so dry for a long time and have prayed more perfunctoriously then before that when just causes of grief and tears were given unto them they were not able to bring forth one tear for easing of their grieved heart On the other hand experience hath taught that some looking upon the expressions of the Saints in Scripture concerning their tears have laid so much weight upon their tears as they have numbered in a manner all the drops of their eyes and from the lesse or more quantity of them made reckoning of their own better or worse condition and of Gods acceptation of their prayers lesse or more 3. This tendernesse of heart and easinesse to be moved unto tears for spiritual motives is a rare gift Few they are who with sense of the body of death and original sin bearing them down do lament their natural sinfulnesse in their best condition with Paul Rom. 7. 24. Few shall be found so affectionat to the glory of God and salvation of peoples souls as to pour out tears both in secret and openly for promoving thereof as the Apostle did Act. 20. 19 21. and 2 Cor. 2. 4. Few like Timothy whose heart was so tender that the Apostle could not but observe his tears and remember them 2 Tim. 1. 4. Yet we doubt not that from age to age sundry be who by the grace of God have this constantly melting heart according to the measure of Gods free donation some with tears some without tears And therefore if there be found in such mourners an honest endeavour to walk circumspectly let not the suspicion that their tendernesse is but natural weaknesse of spirit or bodily complexion be entertained Only let the giver of the grace of a tender heart be relyed upon and not their tears as if they were any more then witnesses of their honest affection in spiritual exercises for such prayers may prove sincere and acceptable to God both when they cannot mourn and also when their heart seemeth withered hard and dry CHAP. XVII Concerning the converts suspicion that all his devotion is but lip-labour which is not joyned with a tender and melting heart and with Gods sensible approbation AS some are suspicious of their condition because of their ordinar tendernesse and melting of heart So other some are suspicious of their condition because they find not their heart tender and soft in their devotion All converts do agree in this that God must be worshiped in spirit and truth and that it is not acceptable worship to God if a man draw near him with his lips when his heart is far from him whereupon every convert when he is mindfull of his duty goeth about to worship God with understanding and inward affection of heart to confesse sin deprecat wrath ask of God things necessar interceed for others give thanks to God for his benefits and praise him for his works and working so as his affections may be conform to his expressions and the conscience may approve both his words and his hearty affections and God may with his peace and consolation approve the worshiper But some converts are who albeit in sincerity they worship God yet they count all their devotion to be but lip-labour except they find their affections wakened up and their heart tender and some vigour of spiritual life in their exercises and the sense of Gods approbation of their worship by giving sense of his peace and consolation to them in their worship Hence oft-times doth suspicion arise without just ground that they are deserted of God that he is displeased with them and this suspicion being entertained doth send forth complaints and bringeth on coldrifenesse in prayer and discouragement 2. This unjust suspicion of the grace of prayer the Lord doth oft-times chastise by with-drawing peace and comfort and order in prayer and of words also that he who complained that his devotion was but lip-labour because he sound not such measure of affection as he would have had nor that consolation which he wished to have shall find himself in worse taking after his complaining then he was in at first when he began to suspect his condition It is true that confusion of mind and want of words to expresse the case wherein he is may fall on a convert by reason of afflictions and manifold temptations and yet he may be free from this suspicion of Gods affection and acceptation of his person and prayers as the Apostle doth teach us Rom. 8. 26. Likewayes the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered But when this cutting short of the gift of prayer in any measure doth follow after suspicion of Gods respect and good will toward the complaining and discouraged convert it is a fatherly chastisement from God threatning the convert with a greater measure of desertion and heavier temptation except he repent his folly and return to God whom by his suspicion and misbelief he hath offended 3. For remedy of