causes of this great work of creation was first his love to man and the shewing forth his own glory and the fulfilling of his decree to the end that God may be known and honored of his creatures c. his eternall power and God-head is seen in raising all things out of nothing By his word alone Isa 40. 12. Rom. 1. 20. Ier. 10. 12. 51. 15. And his infinite wisdom is made known by them Psal 104. 24. Of Angels ANgels are spiritual creatures compleat and immortall yet finite Heb. 1. 13 14. Col. 1. 16. Mat. 4. 11. 26. 53. Psal 68. 17. Mat. 22. 30. Luke 20. 36. Heb. 1. 7. Psal 104. 4. There be two sorts of Angels first good secondly bad The good Angels they praise God worship the Son they are heavenly messengers from the Father to defend the faithfull they have wrestled eaten been received as strangers had their feet washed they shall gather the elect from the four corners of the earth they shall come with Christ to judgement they be excellent creatures 1. For their nature Isaiah 6. 2. Daniel 9. 21. 2 Thes 1. 7. 2. For their gifts 2 Sam. 14. 17. Mat. 6. 10. Luk. 15. 10. 1 Cor. 13. 1. 3. For their offices Dan. 7. 10. Rev. 5. 11. 4. They be excellent for their estate Mat. 18. 10. 5. They be wise and of great understanding 2 Sam. 14. 20. They were the first creatures that ever God made there be also severall orders of Angels viz. Archangels Cherubims and Seraphins yet lay all these things together it will appear that righteousness of Angels is but the righteousness of creatures but the righteousness that the Saints are cloathed with is the very righteousness of Christ and in this respect the meanest Saint is more excellent then the most glorious Angel in heaven they are by God sent forth for the good of his people hence they are called ministring spirits and they minister to the Saints many wayes In their life by defending them from their enemies the Angels of the Lord pitch their tents about them that fear him Psal 34. 7. An Angel it was that slew the army of the Assyrians That delivered Peter out of prison as also preserved Lot Psal 91. 11. For he shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy wayes Gen. 32. 5. An Angel encouraged Iacob when he feared his brother Esau an Angel it was Luke 1. 30. who bid Mary not to fear and who stood by Paul and bid him be of good cheer Act. 27. 24. By an Angel was the incarnation of Christ foretold to the Virgin and by a multitude of Angels was it proclaimed afterwards an Angel leads Philip to expound the Scripture to the Eunuch sets Peter at liberty to preach the Gospel bids Cornelius send for Peter to be instructed by him and prayes Paul to come over to Macedonia to help them none are so nobly attended as Saints they have a life-guard of Angels to encompass them about Angels are as carefull of the faithfull as a nurse of her sucking child they bear them up in their arms that they dash not their feet against a stone Of Man ALL men by nature are equally made of one earth and blood and every poor Christian is as dear unto God as a mighty Prince Man was wonderfully created and more wonderfully redeemed The Lord hath assigned his heart to wisdom the belly to avoidance the breast to health the liver to anger the gall to bitterness the spleen to laughter the kidneys to craftyness the loyns to strength the ribs to comeliness the Lord having finished the excellent frame of heaven and earth he cals a counsel to build that excellent tabernacle Man into whom he breathed the spirit of life this man did far exceed all other creatures that amongst them all not found any one fit or meet to be a companion for him or to have society with him and so the Lord made him a help meet for him this man was the master-piece of all Gods works to whom the Lord did give an unlimited prerogative over the beasts of the field the fouls of the air and the fish of the sea but man by his disobedience became inferiour to the most despised creatures and we all his posterity are more miserable and fuller of vanity then any of the unreasonable creatures viz. other creatures by the benefit of nature can stand upon their legs and seek after their food when young but man the Lord of them all must be swadled in clouts being no way able to help himself the young chickens as soon as ever they are hatched can run after their dam to seek for food and have that wisdom to hide themselves under her wings at the fluttering of the Kite the lambs calves and young costs stand suddenly upon their legs to seek their dams teats But man would perish if his mother by her naturall affection did not bring the nipple of her breasts to his mouth and rock him upon her knees Of the Soul THE soul of man is a spirituall substance immortall and invisible endued with memory understanding and will or the soul is a substance immortall invisible united to the body and endued with many admirable faculties as life sense and reason to this end principally that God might be truly honored and duely worshipped Or the soul is a spirituall invisible and immortall substance endued with power to understand and will this soul is at one instant both created and united to the body and by the power and faculties of the soul man is capable of happiness or of the the cheif good or greatest misery or thus the soul of the Saints is a spirituall and immortall substance created after the Image of God and renewed after the immortall Image of God in Christ the soul is a real and very being as the body is only of an higher kind the body is of the earth the soul is immediately from God Of Mans Fall THE devill himself being fallen cometh to the garden in the form of a Serpent Adam and Eve being in Paradise and looking upon themselves as indeed they were the most excellent piece of all the creation bearing the Image of God their Creator the Lord having left them a law he leaves them to the fredom of their own will the devil boards the woman thus hath God said ye shall not eat of such a tree it is a likely thing that the Lord cares what ye eat what do you think he stands upon an apple this is the first assault which the woman weakly resisteth and answered doubtfully we must not eat lest we die then the devil perceiving the woman to stagger and the ground of her faith to shake he plants all his pieces and purposes for a second storm and stands up and saith to the woman ye shall not die at all can there be any hurt in an apple Oh silly woman God he affirmeth and faith ye shall die the woman saith I must
their infidelity 3. Means to get into this Covenant endeavour to believe for although faith be not an instrument to procure it yet it is to receive justification and salvation which is freely given us by Jesus Christ and so peace in the soul doth come by believing God is the Author and giver of peace Christ the Prince and promiser of peace the Spirit the worker and sealer of peace and the Gospel the word and ground of peace and the Ministers the messengers of peace and this blessed Covenant is sometimes called a Covenant of peace but if thou endeavour to believe and canst not consider God doth not take men into Covenant because they believe and are holy but that they might believe and be holy in this Covenant he doth promise faith and holiness to men and through it he doth convey it to them and this Covenant being without conditions it doth give a man the greatest encouragement to believe and cast himself into the arms of Christ and to put on a strong confidence of inheriting the precious promises seeing that in their accomplishment they depend not upon works and conditions on our part let us then do as Benhadads servants did 1 King 20. 31 32 33. Yea let us resolve with the woman of Canaan not to be beaten off with any discouragements this act of faith is stiled a taking the kingdom of heaven by force Job 13. 15. though he slay me yet will I trust in him see 2 King 7. 4 5. 4. Dwell much upon the consideration of those promises that God hath made viz. To bring men into the bonds of the Covenant and to work a willingness and an ability to receive what he gives to believe what he saith and to observe and do what he commandeth What shall I say more would we indeed get into this Covenant then the work we have to do is twofold 1. To get a Title to Gods love 2. To get assurance that we have a title the first is done by consideration and believing the second is done by examination and diligence to make our calling and election sure Object But you have said before that there is no condition of this Covenant on mans part and now you put men upon the use of means to get into this Covenant now I would fain know what difference there is between means and conditions are they not as one Answ Every means is not a condition though every condition be a means Now Gods order and method in bestowing the blessings of the Covenant upon a person or a people is in the use of means in Exek 36. there are some sixteen promises one after another made to the people without any condition on the peoples part Be it known saith the Lord to them not for your sakes but for my own names sake I will do this for you but I will hand these mercies to you in the use of means verse 37. I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them And surely mistaken is Mr. Samuel Richardson that saith in his book called the Saints desire pag. 46. that there is no means to be used by man to get an interest in this Covenant or to partake of it 1. Break your Covenant with your old sins and your lusts or else God will not enter into Covenant with you Mat. 6. 24. 2. Come with an humble submission to yeild up thy self to the obedience of the will of God If any will be my disciple he must deny himself 3. Come before God in the name of a Mediator and make a Covenant with him by his sacrifice Psal 50. 5. 4. By faith look at the gracious invitations of God and consider his readiness and willingness to enter into Covenant with us 2 Chron. 30. 8 9. John 6. 39. The eighth thing to be enquired into is this when may a man or woman be said to be in this Covenant 1. A Man or woman old or young is then properly actually and expresly in Covenant with God when God hath come to it in a promise of the Gospel so that the soul doth feel it self under the power of the promise then it begins to know he is in Covenant so the Lord in and through this Covenant brings a poor soul to see and seeing to admire the superabundant riches of his free grace and love and so humbly and thankfully embraceth the same and the heart thus wrought upon exceedingly desires that such kindnesses of God might not slip out of mind but that the consideration of this soul-ravishing heart-melting grace and loving kindness might carry him forth stedfastly to believe and dearly to love cheerfully to honour and obey this God of mercy in soul body and spirit so long as the Sun and Moon endureth so the soul begins to be carried forth out of self unto God and in God alone finds rest and satisfaction 2. Faith and works doth evidence our being in the Covenant faith doth evidence it to our selves and works to others but faith and works do evidence no otherwise then organically as it is an organ or instrument by which we do apprehend it 3. Then may a man be said to be in the Covenant when he doth find his soul carried forth to a secret resting relying leaning staying and hanging upon Christ alone for life and happiness 4. A man may be said to be in this Covenant when he doth find within this frame of spirit Oh that I had more of God that I were filled with Christ oh that I had his righteousness to cover me his grace to pardon me his power to support me his wisdom to counsell me his loving kindness to refresh me and his happiness to crown me 5. Again a man may be said to be in this Covenant when in some good measure a soul doth come to see that Christ did legally interpose and put himself between God and man to mediate and intercede for them and so voluntarily became obedient unto his Fathers will and by undergoing bearing and suffering the warth and curse due to him for his sins And so Christ took away the sins reconciled him to God redeemed him from the Law and delivered him from the wrath to come 6. A man may be said to be in this Covenant when he doth freely accept of free pardon and a surety under the Gospel Gospel grace neglected is the great condemnation of the world how mindfull should we be of the Apostles counsell Receive not the grace of God in vain that is receive it not only in word but in power as it is a quickning spirit or spirit and life not begetting a form only of a profession but as changing and transforming into the Image of God and altering the inward disposition of the heart 7. A man may be said to be in this Covenant when he finds in himself a conscientious improvement of the word of God for self purifying the word hath a purifying faculty in it John 15.
grace but a sanctifying grace Acts 15. 9. 26. 8. the blood of Christ iâ— a pure blood as well as a precious blood It is a cleansing blood as well as an expiating blood So faith is a grace not only to acquit but also to purge and renew the person where it dwells It is not only an enlightening grace but it is also a conforming grace therefore we read that it doth ingraft us into the similitude of his death and in the fellowship of his sufferings and Resurrection Phil. 3. 10. Now then enquire is there vertue gone from Christ to make thy dark mind seeing thy stubborn judgement yielding thy proud heart humbling thy filthy heart cleansing thy hard heart relenting and mourning thy carnal affections to be heavenly thy sinful soul to be holy Read and well consider that in 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. 2. Where there is true Faith it will cause the party to make a curious narrow impartial diligent search into his own heart and soul to see what humility what self-denyal what sin abhorrency what love to Christ what delight to the Ordinances what zeal for Gods glory what contempt of the world what desires after the society of the Saints what sympathizing with them in their afflictions and if upon this search thou findest any impressions of grace any spiritual work any savouring savory distinguishing operations upon thy heart then the Spirit hath been there and begun to work the grace of Faith in thy heart 3. True Faith doth make the heart humble and lowly Have we pardon of sin why saith Faith the cause of this is Gods love Have we righteousness why saith Faith the cause of this is Christs merits Have we any gift why saith Faith the cause of this is Christs love So that the soul sits down and often saith O Lord O Lord in my self I am nothing nay of my self worse then nothing But what I am I am by grace all that I have is thine my bread my health my life my body my soul all is thine If any love if any mercy if any Christ if any grace if any comfort if any strength if any stedfastness if any performances if any good work if any good word if any good affection if any good thought why all is thine I have nothing but what I have received thou only art the cause I am less then the least of thy mercies and what is thy servant that thou shouldst look on such an one as I am thou madest me and thou boughtest me and thou calledst me and thou justifiest me and thou savest me 4. True Faith doth desire and endeavour after an increase Help my unbelief said the weak believing Father O Lord encrease our Faith said the Disciples there are yet many degrees wanting to faith either thou canst not be perswaded or not fully perswaded or not constantly perswaded but if the Faith be true and living it will bend after a rising 5. True Faith in Christ and a mournful heart for sin alwaies go together Zach. 10 12. They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and mourn c. there are two things that Faith will fetch up in the soul the one is love to Christ another is sorrow for sin 6. True Faith is fruitful James 2. 18. See Titus 3. 18. Although works do not cause Faith or Justification yet they do clearly manifest to others whether we have Faith yea or no. To close up this point let me acquaint the Reader that there are spiritual and inward characters of Faith which serve as evidences to him that hath it many of those I have hinted at under this fore-going head Secondly there are outward or more external signs of Faith and they consist in walking so in the sight of men that they may in charity judge of our Faith by our works then there are characters of a strong Faith and also signs of a weak Faith First of a strong Faith Rom. 4. 20. he staggered not at the promise through unbelief Mat. 8. 6 7 8. I have not found so great Faith in Israel Mat. 5. 22. O woman great is thy faith c. So there are characters of a weak Faith One is he will be hasty to be answered and be ready to suspect Gods favour and Christs love if he be not presently answered Another is he will be faint if delayed And so much for the characteâ—s or signs of Faith The benefits of living by Faith a Believers comfort hope joy and confidence should be in God the same at all times THE Lord hath various dispensations of providence as well relating to the outward as to the inward man Sometimes his way is in the whirlwind and sometimes he is in the small still voice and sometimes his foot-steps are in the deep waters and so his way is not known Nah. 1. 3. 1 Kings 19. 12. Psalm 77. 19. His dispensations are many times contrary the one to the other to day perhaps thou enjoyest peace strength riches and honor with health prosperity and many friends and tomorrow all these may be blasted to day God unbosoms himself unto thee and shines forth upon thee but in a moment he withdraws himself As blessed Job David and divers others experienced Now the reason why we should believe hope and rejoyce in God at all times are as followeth 1. Because a Believers happiness depends not upon his own doing but upon Christ who is of God made unto him righteousness sanctification c. who hath saved us and called us not according to our works but according to his purpose and grace c. 1 Cor. 1. 3. 2 Tim 1. 9 2. Because the state of a Believer in Christ as considered in him is a state of perfection he is clean from all sin by the blood of Christ they be removed from us thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back as far as the East is from the West so far hath he removed our transgressions from us seventy weeks are determined upon the people to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation and to bring in everlasting righteousness Col. 1. 28. John 17. 23. Heb. 10. 14. 1 John 1. 7. Isaiah 35. 8. 38. 17. Psalm 103. 12. Dan. 9. 24. Ezek. 16. 14. Hereupon the soul begins to rejoyce in God for he hath cloathed me with the garment of salvation and covered me with the robe of righteousness Our sins are laid upon Christ and his righteousness is ours hereupon saith God thou art all fair my love there is no spot in thee 3. Reason Why a Believers comfort hope joy and confidence should be the same at all times because that God who hath loved an everlasting love loves thee in his Son thou art not beloved for thy own sake or for any thing in thee but upon the account of the Lord Jesus in whom God is well pleased Believers are never the more just before God for their own integrity nor the
c. Of the declining state of man THis age of man is subject to envy and covetousness as the former age was to ambition and carking cares whereby it appears that mens passions and sins do rather change then forsake them for carnal delights to which young men are most addicted do change in their delcining age unto envy and covetousness and sometimes their avarice doth change to ambition a godly man at this age is fitter for counsel then for action because their passions are commonly more moderate their experiences greatter their Judgement more solid and their counsels safer Job 12. 12. With the ancient is wisdom and in length of years understanding but this declining age of man is not free from vanity it being subject to envy at another mans prosperity c. Of the Decrepit or old age of man THE decrepit age of man begins a little after sixty and ends when death strikes them with his dart Rom. 6. 23. the wages of sin is death the old age of man except it be endued with free-grace and sanctified by the Spirit of God it is the vanity of vanities and the misery of all miseries for the innumerous infirmities incident to it viz. bald-headed stooping under dotage wrinkled face rotten teeth stinking breath testy with choler withered with driness dimmed with blindness filled with diseases overwhelmed with sickness and bowed together with weakness having little use of any sense but of the sence of pain what shall I say more trace man from his mothers womb to the grave you shall find him nothing but a piece of vanity in his best estate Ps 39. 5. First in his very conception they may be extinguished by ill scents and vapours bruises or fals then in their infancy by the quinsie convulsions measels or the small pox then in their youth by the sword plurisie and burning feavers then in the next age apoplexies bloody fluxes and consumptions then in their declining age by the stone and the gout dropsies palsies c. And in old age aches cough stone and divers other casualties so that I may conclude with Solomon that the lives of natural men are meer vanity and vexation of Spirit Of the Pollution and Misery of the soul in this life THE understanding is full of vanity Psal 94. 11. 2 Cor. 4. 4. The will of man is wholly depraved it is contrary to God his word and Spirit in all things it will not depend nor wait on God as for the memory that also is full of corruption that will forget the things that is commanded to remember and remember the things that we should forget and as for the conscience that also is wholly corrupted it is neither clear to see things that are amiss nor sensible of sins committed and whereas it should excuse or accuse it doth abuse and pervert the light it hath by making great sins small c. And as for our affections they come as a tempest either to make us over-joy or over-grieve what shall I say more the wretched soul is so deformed with sin defiled with lust polluted with filthiness outraged with passions pined with envy overcharged with gluttony boyling with revenge transported with rage so that the glorious Image of God is transformed into the ugly shape of the Devil our understanding is darknned our will depraved our affections disordered our memory misimployed our conscience benummed Of the Miseries attending both body and soul in the hour of death if they see not their interest in Christ DEath in the Scripture is called the King of terrors and the fear of death makes many subject to bondage all their life for death is a messenger that hath something to say to every man and he often speaks to all that would fain be heard but most men are not at leisure to hear what he hath to say no not till old age nor then neither well after all the forementioned troubles in comes death and looks the old man grim and black in the face and neither pittieth his age nor regardeth his long endured Dolours but battereth all the principal parts of his body and arresteth him to appear before the great judge of Heaven and Earth at the bar of his Justice then the old man fals into a cold sweat over all his body and a trembling in all his members the head aketh the face waxeth pale the nose black the eye-strings break the tongue faltereth the throat rotleth whilst he is thus summoned to appear at the great assize of Gods court behold a quarter Sessions and goal Delivery is held within him where reason sits as Judge and his conscience being now awakened puts in a bill of Inditement wherein is alleadged all the evil deeds that ever thou hast committed and the good deeds that ever thou hast omitted and all the curses and Judgements that are due to every sin Never such a bill put up against the greatest Traitor in any court of men thou must hold up thy hand at the bar for all the sins that ever thou didst commit in the whole course of thy life the bill of Indictment it self runs thus 1. Thou art accused for many sins of omission in leaving undone many good things that God in his word required of thee 2. For spoiling all the good things that ever thou didstin thy life by mixing the poyson of thy own corruption with them 3. For sinning in secret as if God had not seen it because men do not and hereby denying as it were Gods Omnipotency 4. For presuming sometimes to sin openly to the Dishonouring of the God of Glory before all the world 5. For sinning against all sorts of men against thy Parents in thy youth thine equals in thy manly age thine inferiours in thy old Age. 6. For sinning against God himself immediately by abusing his Name and Ordinances 7. For sinning against mens Souls Lives Goods Chastity good Name and all that was near and dear to them 8. For sinning against thy own soul and all the good things God hath given thee by intemperance and otherwise 9. For sinning against Gods holy Ordinances in neglecting or abusing them 10. For sinning against Gods Mercies abusing Health Wealth and Liberty and Parts and Gifts 11. For sinning against Gods Judgements as if thou caredst not for his pleasure nor fearedst his displeasure 12. For sinning against the checks of thy own conscience that often forbad thee to sin but could not be heard 13. For sinning against the motions of Gods spirit and so putting the Lord upon complaning and Christ upon bleeding and the Spirit upon grieving 14. For drawing others to sin by thy bad examples and counsels 15. For incouraging them in their sins by approving of them 16. For not reproving them for sin as if thou wast afraid to speak for God against those that dishonour him 17. For not punishing sin where thou hadst power and authority and wast required to do it 18. For a world of precious time that thou hast mispent
and stand on thy guard having put on all the armour of Christ as a valiant souldier constantly maintain war and thou shalt usually obtain victory resolve in the strength of Christ either to conquer or dye conquering for let no man think to dance and dine with the Devil and afterwards to sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven Let us therefore live in Christ and not in our selves for in our selves there is a body of lust corruption and sin and a Law accusing and condemning but if we live by faith in Christ and in the apprehension of his love laying hold on the life righteousness obedience satisfaction of him whom the pirit cals ours saying Christ is ours and we are Christs and Christ is Gods and thus a believer is blessed only in a righteousness without not with in and all our assurance confidence and comforts are to flow in unto him through a channel of faith and not of works by faith we ought to live above sin infirmities temptations desertions sense reason fears doubts it makes the yoke of Christ easie and sweet it states the soul in the possession of heaven whilst the body remains on earth by faith we can cheeâ—fully part with and suffer deprivation of the sweetest outward comforts and enjoyments and welcome death knowing that we do but exchange the worst place and things for better the Lord Jesus having spoken peace to the soul that he hath paid all his debts for it and that his sins shall be remembred no more now the soul knows it is happy and enjoys the comfort of it 7. Make thy will in time of health and leave all things clear upon both books of shop and conscience that thou mayst have nothing to do but to dye and to meditate upon and to have faith in the precious promises which speak of rest joy peace and perfect happiness which is provided for us in heaven firmly believing that God will after this life give us all those things with himself which he hath promised as certainly as thou hast in thy will given to thy relations such and such things for them to enjoy and so exercise faith in the resurrection of thy body 1 Thes 4. 16. to have a spiritual body 1 Cor. 15. 43 44. to have a glorified body Phil. 3. 21. to have fulness of knowledge Ephes 3. 18 19. to have fulness of joy and pleasure Psal 16. 11. sâ—ch as shall be internal pure full spiritual and eternal where no misery hunger cold nakedness pain grief nor weariness but rest without labour in rest tranquility in tranquility content in contentment joy in joy variety in variety security in security eternity c. thus shalt thou that hast prepared for death aforehand dye sweetly whilst others that put off preparation to the last O what a hurry be they in Oh the anguish that their souls endure they apprehending God angry with them the Devil accusing them earth leaving them heaven refusing them hell claiming them soul and body parting friends weeping and themselves hopeless going they know not whither But to a godly man death is neither strange nor fearful unto him not strange because he dyed dayly not fearful because whilst he lived he was dead and his life was hid with Christ in God to dye then is nothing else but to rest from our labours and to go home to our fathers house unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of Angels to the general assembly and Church of the first born to God the Judge of all and unto the spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Testament whilst his body is sick his mind is sound for God maketh all his bed in his sickness Psal 41. 3. and as his outward man decayeth the inward man â—renewed day by day when the speech of his tongue saltereth the sighs of his heart speaks lowder unto God when the sight of the eyes faileth the Holy Ghost illuminates him inwardly with abundance of spiritual light sometimes he is saying with Paul I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Phil. 1. 23. and with David Psalm 42. 2. As the heart panteth after the water brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God when shall come and appear before him come Lord Jesus come quickly So when the appointed time of his dissolution is come knowing that he goeth to his father and redeemer in the peace of a good conscience he saith Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace c. and so surrenders up his soul as it were with his own hands into the hands of his heavenly Father saying with David Into thy hands O Father I commend my soul for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of truth and so saying with Stephen Act. 7. 59. Lord Jesus receive my spirit Thus far of the preparation for death with a taste of the sad condition of one dying out of Christ and the sweet condition of a Christian dying that is a member of Christ that did prepare for death before it came I had once intended here to have spoken to the sad condition of the ungodly after death resurrection and last judgement and also of the blessed condition of all that dye in the faith after death resurrection and last judgement but that will not fallin order here but towards the end of this book when we come to speak of the resurrection of the body and last judgement when Christ shall deliver up his Kingdom to his Father and God shall be all in all I shall proceed now to speak of the second coming of Christ in power and great glory c. The great and terrible day of the Lord is near dawning and the glory of all flesh staining the Kingdom of Christ appearing and the restitution of all things approaching this great Mysterie opened the grounds thereof examined the truth cleared and the ignorance of many in this Mysterie discovered THat very self-same Jesus which was born in Bethlem and suffered at Calvary even he shall come again the same Jesus not another Act. 1. 11. shall so come again as he was taken up viz. Visibly substantially apparently to all yea in the same manner yea it is added as you have seen him that we might not allegorize the matter we are kept to the very manner now for the probation of this truth we have 1. The testimony of all the Prophets 2. We have the testimony of all the Apostles 3. We have the testimony of Angels all bearing witness to this truth 1. We have the testimony of the Prophets see Acts 3. 21. Whom the heavens must receive untill the time of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the the world began but especially the Prophets since Samuel ver 24. yea and all the Prophets from Samuel and those that follow after as many as have spoken
of their Creed and so fall to judging railing and condemning men for not doing as they do contending for Cummin and Annis putting off a hat and wearing ribans c. and not only so but also hate malign and most bitterly and uncharitably censure all those that differ from them Reader I shall here in this Book present thee with all that I have learned or at least with the sum and substance of all that I have gained this four and twenty years by reading the Scriptures hearing of Sermons conferring with Christians and perusing their writings together with several things that God hath immediately darted in upon my heart but I have not received as I know of nor here presented any of the mediate or immediate teachings save that and only that which is agreeable to the word of God as far as I understand his mind therein neither have I made it my work to contend for or cry up any particular interest but rather it doth much grieve my heart to see what a state most menare in here each tugging for his interest and so whilst they are contending for the garment the power of Religion is much abated I would intreat thee Reader to weigh things in the ballance of Righteousness love and impartiality and then I am confident that there will be none that hath the work of grace upon their souls unless they be under some violent fit of temptation but in the main will sweetly own and spiritually bless God for the revelation of the precious things contained in this little Book here being something of every thing needful to be known and practiced for the obtaining of which I have imitated the Bee that goes forth of the hive and gathers hony from several sorts of flowers and hearbs and sometimes from weeds And for the compiling of these things together as they have a connexion and dependance one upon another I have borrowed a little time from my particular calling and from my sleep and recreation If I have done this work well it is that which I desired but if slenderly and meanly it is because I could do it no better I must confess I rather lisp then speak plain in the things of God wherefore cover all my imperfections with a mantle of love for it hath been compiled in the midst of many personal tryals if thou find any imperfections yet let not the truth of God suffer through my weakness to the Law and to the testimonies wherein I come short of writing according to that rule it is for want of light I hope I shall be content to decrease so the glory of God in the gift of Christ and Covenant of grace may increase let my name perish so his may flourish let me cut off like a Weaver and dye so his name and glory may live I shall no longer detain thee from the thing it self which treats of that which is of great concernment to all in the reading of which if thou shalt receive any light or reap any spiritual benefit give all the praise to the Lord and pray for him who is a lover of all that fear the Lord under what form soever they be or by what name or title soever they are known ROB. PURNEL A Table of the principal heads in general and the connection of these points together and dependence of them one upon another OF God the Father Of God the Son Of God the Holy-Ghost Of Gods decrees Of Election Of the Creation Of Angels Of Man Of the Sou l. Of Mans fall Of Providence Of Mans recovery Of Vocation Of the Covenant of Grace Of Justification by Grace alone Of Sanctification or a holy Conversation Several strong reasons why the Saints should walk holily Of Justification and Sanctification wherein they differ and wherein they agree Of Faith Of Repentance Of Sin the nature of it Of Knowledge First Of God Secondly Of our selves Of Experience Of Enjoyment Of the grace of love 1. First to God 2 To his People Of the Grace of hope Of Perseverance Of the several gifts and Graces of the Spirit Of the several Ordinances oâ— the Gospel 1. Of the assâ—mbling of our selves together 2. O preaching and prophecying 3. Of Prayer and supplication 4. Of singing and praising God together 5. Of the Ordinance oâ— Baptism 6. Of the Ordinance oâ— the Lords Suâ—per 7. Of the Collection or the poor 8. Of reading the Scriptures 9. Of Admonition private and publike 10. Of Suspension 11. Of Excommunication Of Assurance of Salvation Of the difference between the Law and the Gospel and of the several sorts of Laws Of the ten Commandments and what each of them doth prohibit and enjoin Of the Lords prayer and the several petitions therein contained Of the World Flesh and the Devil the three great enemies of man Of afflictions and why the Lord doth afflict his own people When a man may be said to suffer for well-doing and when for ill-doing The Lord is many times better then promise never worse Mercies and deliverances are many times nearest to us when we think they are farthest of The Lord doth hand forth mercies by the rule of contraries He doth not despise the day of small things The order of causes how the Lord comes down-ward from the causes to the Effects and how we must go upward from the effects to the causes Mans life is or should be guided by seven vertues Several Divine Sentences Divers knotty questions answered and seeming contradictions reconciled and many scruples of conscience removed Of the shortness of mans life and of the misery that doth attend every age thereof Of the misery attending both body and Soul at the hour of Death Of a Bill of inditement at that time brought against us Of the sad condition and misery of all out of Christ after death Of our preparation for death that we may be ready when it comes Death to a Christian is but a house a bed a sleep The great and terrible day of the Lord is near proved 1. By the testimony of the Prophets 2. By the testimony of the Apostles 3. By the testimony of Angels 4. By the immutability of Gods decree 5. By the infallibility of his promises 6. By the impartiality of his justice There are four things that Christ hath already done and five things he is now doing and six things more that he will do when he comes Of the resurrection of the dead at Christs second coming Of the first and second resurrection Whether there be any such things as the personal reign of Christ and if so what it is Of the last judgement 1. The signs that go before it 2. What is meant by it 3. Oâ— the place where it shall be 4. Of the person who it is that shall judge the world 5. Of the time how long the judgement shall last 6. Out of what all people shall be judged 7. The day of judgement will be a great day The sad condition of all Christless after
the Sentence is pronounced 1. The unspeakable pains they shall endure 2. Their companions what they shall be 3. The duration of this miserable estate Of the happy and blessed estate of the Godly after judgement 1. Their bodies shall be made glorious 2. Their Soul shall be far more perfect then it was in the state of innocency 3. Of the place where we shaâ—â— be after the last judgment 4. In whose presence we shall be 5. Whether the Saints shall know one another 6. Whether they shall speak one to another 7. The varieties of joyes that there shall be in heaven 8. The duration of this blessed estate And lastly what the consideration of all this should teach us Reader do me that favour as to correct these greater faults that appear at first view for I have not opportunity to peruse it all And cover lesser faults with the mantle of love and let not the truth suffer through my weakness c. Errata Page 5. l. 1. r. 1 Iohn 5. 7. p. 22. l. 12. r. Ier. 32. 40. p. 23. l. 29. r. Iohn 6. 27. p. 25. l. 6. r. 2 Cor 5. 19. p. 29. l. 6. r. Heb. 13. 20 p. 29. l. 16. r. Inherent p. 36. l. 21. r. undertook p. 48. l. 11. leave out in p. 50. l. 5. r. use p. 55. l. 4 r. Iohn 1. 16. p. 61. l. 31. r. Eph. 28. p. 62. add the word that In l. 22. p. 72. l. 17. add the word he p. 73. l. 26. add the word the p. 73. l. 12. r. him p 84. l. 6 r. 1 Kings 8. 56. p. 91. l. 7. r. Col. 3. 10. p. 101. l. 17. add the word the p. 108. l. 4. r. Facility p. 122. l. 3. r. Tltuâ— 3. 8. p. 143 l. 15. r misery p. 175. l. 12 r. 2 Cor. 8. 8. p. 188. l. 28. leave out the word the p. 229. l. 14 r. call p. 24. l. 9. r. â—ph 3 14. p. 258. l. 16. r. deductions p. 260. l. 30. r. Col. 2. 12. p. 2â—8 l 16. r. Rom. 4. 21. p. 295. r. 1 Chror 28. 8. p. 300. l. 24. leave out the word set p. 306. l. 1. r. Isaiah 58. 13. p. 330. l. 22. r. other p. 343. l. 19. place and after time p. 350. l. 17. r. Psal 45. 13. p. 356. l. 6. r. lohn 5. 45. p. 376. l. 29. add the word If p. 381. l. 27. r. of God p. 385. l. 5. put the before sincere p. 391. l. 8. r. and A LITTLE CABINET Stored with all sorts of Heavenly Varieties Of God the Father GOD is a Spirit having his being in himself and giving being to all things Ioh. 4. 24. Exod. 3. 14. In a word he is 1. Without composition 2. Infinite Psa 147. 5. 145. 3. Exod. 3. 14. 3. He is eternall Pro. 8. 20 22 23. Rom. 16. 26. 4. Incomprehensible Exod. 33. 22 23. 1 Tim. 6. 16. Isa 66. 1. 5. Unchangable Jam. 1. 17. Mal. 3. 6. He comprehends all things and is comprehended of nothing He is without beginning and end for by him and in him all things begin and end Act. 17. 28. For in him we live and move and have our being he is present in all places at all times beholding and seeing all things Prov. 15. 3. Psal 139. 4. Job 9. 11. 2 Chron. 16. 9. Jer. 23. 23 24. Two things in God 1. There is something incommunicable as infiniteness immensity eternity 1 Kin. 8. 27. 1 Tim. 1. 17. 2. There is something in God communicable as love and mercy Exod. 34. 6. Wisdom and Power Job 36. 9. Perfection glory and blessedness this God is to be known in the first Adam and in the second Adam in his ordinances and in his Saints Now we must know God otherwise we cannot 1. Desire him Joh. 4. 10. 2. If we know him not how can we obey him 3. If we know him not how can we have communion and fellowship with him 1 Joh. 1. 5 6 7. All nature is not able to teach us what God is in himself neither can man in nature comprehend him Job 36. 26. 1 Tim. 6. 16. Yet may he be known by his properties and actions God is a spirituall substance having his being of himself infinite great and good Ioh. 4. 24. 8. 58. Exod. 3. 14. 34. 6 7. Psal 145. 3 8 9. Of the Son THE Father Son and Spirit are but one essence or substance although distinguished into Father Son and Holy-Ghost 1 Ioh. 5. 7. In Christ two things are to be considered 1. His Person 2. His Offices 1. In his Person consider the two natures Divine and humane 1 Tim. 2. 5. Mat. 1. 13. He was to be God because the greatness of the evill could not be taken away but by himself the wrath of God being infinite it could not be taken away by any finite thing Again it must be finite for it could not stand with Gods justice to punish Christ for our sins if he had not our nature neither could it have been satisfaction for us if it had not been in our nature and stead so that Jesus Christ is very God and very man of the very substance of the Virgin Mary begotten by the Holy-Ghost The unity of the two natures in Christ is not the confounding of them for the Godhead remaineth infinite invisible incomprehensible the Body finite and visible Acts 3. 21. 1 Cor. 15. 26 28 29. As God is in Christ so he is infinite eternall Almighty wisdom goodness mercy truth Justice equall with the Father in being majesty and glory in whom the Father delights from all eternity his own and his only begotten Son promised before to Adam preached to Abraham and the Patriarchs typified in the Legall Sacrifices and prophesied of by Moses and all the Prophets pointed at by Iohn manifested in the flesh Justified in the spirit seen of Angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the world received up into glory 1 Tim. 3. 16. Let us get a distinct knowledge of this Christ without us and a sensible feeling of his vertues in us Of the Holy Ghost THE Father sent forth the Son and the Son sent forth the Holy-Ghost yet Father Son and Holy-Ghost was never separated one from the other As there is one God Father of all and one Lord Jesus Christ redeemer of the world so there is one sanctifying Spirit of grace and as it is the office of the Father to elect and the office of the Son to redeem so it is the office of the Holy-ghost to sanctifie those and only those whom the Father hath elected and the Son redeemed and as the Father doth love freely and the Son manifest that love so the spirit doth evidence that love to and in the souls of the Saints the Father loves a Christian as redeemed by Christ Christ looks upon him and loves him as given by the Father for him to redeem the Holy-Ghost seeing the love of the Father in choosing him and the love of the Son in redeeming
understand these four choise things viz. 1. That Christ by the will of God gave himself a Ransome and sacrifice of a sweet smelling Savour unto God in behalf of the Elect Joh. 6. 7. Heb. 5. 10. 10. 9 10. Eph. 5. 2. 2. That this ransome was alone and by it self a perfect satisfaction to Divine Justice for all their sin Heb. 1. 3. When he had by himself purged our sins sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high Heb. 10. 10. by the which will we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all verse 14. For by an offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified 1 John 1. 7. The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin 3. That God accepted it and declared himself well pleased and fully satisfied therewith Mat. 3. 17. And loe a voice from heaven saying this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Isa 4. 2. 1 4 6. I will give thee for a Covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles c. God was so well pleased in him that he hath Covenanted and sworn that he will never remember their sins nor be wroth with them any more Isa 43. 25. 4. That by this ransome of his we are delivered from the curse of the Law Gal. 3. 13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us To close up all as to the nature of this Covenant Let me tell thee the main substance of the Covenant is in these words I will be their God and they shall be my people but sprinkling with clean water taking away the stony heart and giving a heart of flesh all these are nothing but the fruits of the Covenant So Christ is given for a Covenant to the people that is the Covenant of Grace takes its being from Christ to us Adam was all mankind as all mankind was in Adam in the loyns of Adam so Christ is the Covenant and all the Covenant is as it were in the loins of Christ and springs to us out of him in this sense he is the Covenant-maker he is the Covenant-undertaker he is the Covenant-manager he is the Covenant-dispenser he doth every thing in the Covenant he makes the articles he draws God the Father to an agreement unto the articles Psal 110. 3. thy people shall be a willing people in the day of thy power and God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself 2 Cor. 5. 9. Hence Christ is also called the Mediator of the Covenant that is he is one that hath the managing of it on both sides and he alone is able to bring both sides together and make up a conclusion and thus Christ is the Covenant and the Mediator of the Covenant c. The second thing to be enquired into is with whom this Covenant was first made THis Covenant was not made with us but with Christ for us God did not immediately make this Covenant with us we were children of disobedience and of wrath who were not capable of any such Covenant and conditions but it was made with Christ for us that upon the making of his soul an offering for sin he would give unto his seed eternall life Zech. 9. 11. As for thee also by the blood of thy Covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water Adam lost his righteousness the foundation of the first Covenant But the righteousness of Christ the second Adam can never be lost it being grounded upon better promises Heb. 8. 6. The Covenant made with Christ hath these promises Gen. 12. 3. In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed 2 Cor. 1. 20. All the promises of God are Yea and Amen in him so then this Covenant was made with him actively as a person that performed all the conditions upon which the promises were grounded but with us passively as the Persons to whom the benefits of these promises do belong if Christ merited nothing for himself but wholly for the Elect of God then all the promises made to him do belong to them or the Covenant which was made with him as Mediator doth belong to us for whom he doth mediate Now the parties concerned in this Covenant are first God the Father and Jesus Christ the Mediator and the Church or body of Christ for whom he was to mediate Now this Covenant being made with Christ he as a Surety is bound to perform and see performed all the duties that God requires of believers so he was arrested and brought to the bar of Gods justice where he is convicted adjudged and arraigned as a sinfull transgressor so he suffered the uttermost rigor of the Law and not one grain of justice abated him nor a farthing of the debt forgiven him no nor so much as one sin unaccounted for or blotted out till satisfaction was first made and given But after the full account and perfect payment this Surety Christ Jesus pleaded for a dismission and discharge and so got a generall discharge acquittance and releasment under the King of Heavens hand and seal for us c. If any man desire further satisfaction whether this Covenant was first made with Christ for us yea or no. Let him consult with these precious Scriptures Psalm 89. 24 27 28. Hebr. 13. 20. Isaiah 42. 6. Isa 55. 3. Zach. 6. 13. Isa 50. 56. Zach. 9. 11. Isa 53. 10. Now if any one ask what were the conditions between the Father and the Son when this Covenant was made they are as followeth First see what God the Father promised unto Christ on his part 1. That he would anoint him and fill him with the Spirit above all others Heb. 1. 9. Isa 11. 2. 2. That he would prepare him a body to sacrifice for sins Heb. 10. 5 10. 3. That he would uphold him and strengthen him that he should not be ashamed by the things he should suffer Isa 42. 6. 50. 5 7. 4. That he would justifie and glorifie all his seed Isa 50. 8. Joh. 17. 22 24 Isa 53. 11. 5. That he should see and enjoy the travell of his soul and the purchases of his blood Isa 53. 10. Heb. 2. 7. 6. That he should have all power in heaven and in earth given him till all his enemies were made his footstool Ephes 5. 25 27 Matthew 28. 18. 1 Cor. 15. 28. Next let us examine what Christ did perform or promise to perform on his part 1. To become a Mediator Surety and Saviour for all those that his Father should give him Heb. 8. 6. Heb. 7. 22. Act. 13. 23. Ioh. 17. 11 12. Ephes 1. 10. Col. 1. 20. 1 John 2. 1. 2. To take upon him the nature of man and so to become flesh in his Fathers appointed time Gal. 4. 4. Mat. 11. 27. John 17. 4. 3. That he would glorifie his Father by keeping revealing and doing his will John 15. 10. John 6. 39. 4.
it is in Prov. 1. 20 21. and there makes publike proclamation ho every one that will come ye to me and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you Isa 55. 3. Isa 65. 1. and if we come not at this first invitation then he comes and beseecheth us to be reconciled to him 2 Cor. 5. 20. and speaks to us as pittying us Jer. 3. 12. and lamenting over us Ezek. 33. 11. and all this he doth to perswade us to come and strike a Covenant with him 3. By the hearing of these promises and offers of grace the Lord usually scattereth some little seeds of faith in the hearts of those that he will bring unto himself which seeds being sown do quickly put forth and act towards the Covenant before by the Father tendred and layes hold of it as we see in Lydia the Jaylor Zacheus c. So by an act of faith we come to close with the Covenant revealed and offered freely unto us by accepting the grace offered resting upon God for all the mercy which he hath promised and then taking God to be a God over us submitting to his government and authority to command us and to rule us in all things according to his own will these two things faith doth and so takes hold of the Covenant more firmly in the same way and order as God offers it First God makes himself known to us as a God of mercy gracious long suffering pardoning iniquity transgression and sin and so offers himself to be reconciled to us though we have rebelled against him promising to be a Father unto us and to accept of us in his beloved as his sons and daughters and thus is the Covenant made up between God and us and the soul now begins to say in it self I that was an enemy he hath now reconciled unto himself I that was in times past without God without Christ without promise without Covenant without hope and none of Gods people Yet now I have God for my God Christ is my peace and I am now become one of Gods people the Covenant of his peace now belongeth to me and the Lord is become my salvation saying as Jacob Gen. 33. 11. The Lord hath had mercy on me therefore I have enough I have all that my heart hath desired The Lord doth acquaint the soul with those absolute promises which shew unto us the only cause of our salvation even free grace and no other thing Secondly they are a foundation for the faith of adherence or dependance to stay upon they yield a singular encouragement to a poor dejected soul that finds nothing in it self but sin and misery with hope to cast it self upon the free grace of God seeing he looks at nothing in us for which he should save us there be two acts of faith one of adherence or dependancy another of assurance there be also two kinds of promises absolute and conditionall mark now how these do fit and answer one to the other the absolute promises to the faith of adherence the conditionall to the faith of assurance Now faith helps us to close with the Covenant and enables us to walk with God according to the Covenant which we have made there is a keeping of Covenant required of us as well as a making a Covenant with God Gen. 17. 7 9. Psal 50. 5. The Saints are said to make a Covenant with God but in Psal 103. 18. they are said to keep his Covenant so there is a making and a keeping of Covenant and both by Faith The eleventh thing to be enquired into is what are the blessings and benefits of this Covenant to us-ward Answ WE can never know the things which are given to us of God but by knowing of the Covenant which conveys all the blessings from God to us O let us lift up our hearts to look for great things great blessings such as the great God hath promised the blessings are sutable to our wants the things of the Covenant are great things Hos 8. 12. The Covenant is as full of blessings as of letters or syllables and more it is a rich storehouse replenished with all manner of gifts and graces spirituall and temporall it is as a tree of life to those that feed upon it they shall live for ever it is a Well of salvation it is a fountain of good things to satisfie every thirsty soul Zach. 13. 1. it is a treasure full of goods as Deut. 28. 12. here is unsearchable riches unspeakable mercy which can never be fathomed or emptied all these blessings of the Covenant are wrapped up in the promises of it every promise of grace containing a blessing as every threatning of the Law contains a curse Now the promises and blessings of the Covenant are of two sorts First of things spirituall and eternall Secondly of things temporall the spirituall blessings of the Covenant are cheifly comprehended in these places of Scripture Jer. 31. 31 33. Ezek. 36. 25 26 27 28. Jer. 32. 38 39 40. Gen. 17. 7. God in Trinity enters into Covenant with us 1. The Father enters into Covenant with us and promiseth to be a Father to us hence saith the Lord Exod. 4. 22. Israel is my son my first born and Jer. 31. 9 20. is Ephraim my dear son is he my pleasant child so the Lord hath a care to provide both heavenly and earthly inheritance for his children he hath also a care to nurture and instruct them in his wayes Deut. 32. 10. 2. Christ the son enters into Covenant with us and speaks to us as in Isa 43. 1. Thou art mine and Hosea 13. 14. I will redeem them I will ransome them Oh death I will be thy death thou hast destroyed my people but I will destroy thee so he undertakes to take up all controversies which may fall between God and us he promiseth to restore us to the adoption of sons and to the inheritance of sons that we might be where he is Joh. 17. 24. 3. The holy ghost makes a Covenant with us as Heb. 10. 15 16. whereof the Holy-Ghost also is a witness to us testifying of this Covenant which he makes with us although the Father be imployed in it yet here is the power and work of the Holy-Ghost what the Father hath purposed from all eternity and the Son hath purchased for them in time that the Holy-Ghost effects in them and applies to them viz. he enables them to apply the blood of Christ for the remission of sins he writes the Law in our heats he teacheth us he washeth us from our filthiness and comforteth us in our sadness supports us in our faintings and guides us in our wandrings c. I may say as Moses to the people Deut. 33. 29. happy art thou O Israel who is like unto thee O people saved by the Lord and as David Psal 33. 12. Blessed is that Nation whose God is the Lord. By faith we look at Christ as having all fulness of grace
of peace ariseth from a souls resting satisfied in Christs righteousness adding nothing to it Psal 71. 15 16 19 24. and Psal 119. 142. I will make mention of thy righteousness even of thine only for thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness See Jer. 33. 16. the perfection of Christs righteousness is held forth unto us and alwayes lieth before us that we may be thankfull for it and peaceable with it and rejoyce in the bestower of it the Lord Jesus having spoken peace to the soul and acquainted the soul that he hath paid all his debts for it and that his sins which were so many shall be remembred no more then the soul begins to be filled with joy and peace in beleiving beholding and enjoying Christs righieousness which begets in the soul a perfect peace a precious peace a full and compleat peace and an everlasting peace 4. The next vein through which peace is conveyed to the soul is by our acquainting our selves with him Job 22. 21. Acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace thereby so good shall come unto thee now by thy acquainting thy self with him these things will fall in First thou wilt see that thou wast cast out to the loathing of thy soul and no eye pittying thee much less to relieve thee that then even then when man was ready to perish should be the time of love with God whereby he cast his skirt of compassion over him and said unto him again live Oh ye Heavens stand amazed and oh thou earth flesh and blood rejoyce and triumph for when there was no eye to pitty thee the arm of the Lord hath brought salvation by raising up a mighty one out of the house of his servant David even Christ the Lord the wondefull Counsellor the mighty God mighty to save the everlasting Father the Prince of peace who became man under the Law and obligation to obedience and not only so but also became our Surety for us to do suffer and fulfill that for us which we were no waies able to do for our selves The Covenant of works rested in and trusted unto can never work settled comfort and peace and quietness of heart let a man walk as exactly as ever flesh and blood can attain unto let him as confidently build on this foundation as he possibly may yet the heart will be still in suspition in doubt in fear uncertain what to trust unto but the Doctrine of grace rested in and trusted unto doth settle a soul in peace this is a sure Anchor for the soul to rest upon let waves swell and winds blow he retains a firm peace stand here and we are safe for ever Rom. 5. 1 2. 3. Thirdly This Doctrine is the Root and Spring of all Gospel obedience whatsoever men call obedience if it ariseth not from hence it is but forced and legal we must get up Gospel principles if we would keep up Gospel practises Wheresoever this Doctrine of grace is received and retained in the love and power of it it works these five things in the soul viz. Faith Love Fear Willingness and Chearfulness and from these five things as from five Springs doth all Gospel obedience arise 1. True obedience doth flow from Faith hence it is called the obedience of Faith Rom. 16.26 in the latter part of this Chapter we read of a mysterie revealed and what that mysterie was it was the Doctrine of Gods grace and the end why it was revealed was for the Obedience of Faith see Rom. 1. 5. 2. As Faith in Christ doth put the soul upon heavenly and spiritual actings so also love constrains them in whom it is to keep the Lords commandments John 14. 21 23. compared with Psalm 26. 3 4. If ye love me keep my commandments For thy loving kindness is before mine eyes saith David and I have walked in thy truth 3. As true obedience doth spring from Faith and Love so it is attended with an holy fear Psalm 119. 161. My heart saith David doth stand in awe of thy word Heb. 11. 7. Noah being warned of God touching things not seen was moved with fear and so prepared an Ark. 4. As Gospel obedience doth spring from Faith Love and Fear so it ariseth from a willing mind Psalm 27. 8. when thou saidst seek ye my face my heart answered Lord thy face will I seek as David had said O Lord it is thy great command seek ye my face my heart saith unto thee it is the desire of my soul thy command is become my request thy face Lord will I seek 5. As Gospel-obedience springs from Faith Love and fear and a willing mind so it is performed chearfully and delightfully Psal 40. 8. I delight to do thy will O God thy Law is in my heart as well as in thy Book What shall I say more a soul receiving believing retaining and standing in the true grace of God shall be every way furnished and supplyed with strength to perform any duty to exercise any grace to subdue any lust to resist any temptation to bear any affliction c. Sure if the bowels of mercy do not melt win and draw us Justice will be a swift witness against us And as the Branch cannot bear fruit except it abide in the vine John 15. 4. no more can ye except ye abide in me Gods free love manifested to us and by his Spirit shed abroad in us is the cause of our love to him 1 John 4. 10 19. And our love to him is the cause of our obeying him 1 John 5. 3. John 14. 15 21 23. we read in Jer. 31. 19. After that I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh That is as if he had said after that thou hast wrought a gracious change upon my soul by thine afflicting hand out of thy love to me Heb. 12. 6. Or after I came to my self again Luke 15. 17 and considered seriously with my self how it was with me I was touched with repentance with sorrow and with shame for my former miscariages 4. Fourthly this Doctrine received and the heart therein established will be a stop and bar to keep out all floods of errour The floods of all errour flow in at the pipe of ignorance and especially ignorance of this very thing viz. The Doctrine of grace the errour of the Papists of building and resting upon works springs from their ignorance of this blessed Docrtine the errour of the Quaker springs purely from hence the errour of the Arminian springs in at the same pipe partly by works and partly by grace they not seeking salvation by grace but as it were by the works of the Law they stumbled and fell Rom. 9. 32. And all the unstability formality legality that there is at this day appearing amongst the Presbyterian Independant and Baptist or any other people professing godliness doth arise from their ignorance or their little knowledge in this great mysterie nay farther did you
c. 6. This Doctrine is that by which Satan is overthrown and his Kingdom turned up side down So that being a Reprobate and a fallen Angel maketh it his great work to bring all that possibly he can into the same state with him although through this grace of God he can do nothing but by permssiion God doth keep him in a powersul chain wicked Angels are Potent only our good God is omnipotent when he doth give way one Devil doth overthrow a Legion a million of men but till God doth lengthen out his chain a Legion of Devils cannot hurt one man Satan cannot hurt us unless he get us within the compass of his chain if we go not to him he cannot come to us All the waiâ—s of Satan are swarving from the way and rule of the Word he cannot touch one man or woman that endeavours to walk according to rule he can but suggest sin to us he cannot force us to sin he cannot infuse wickedness into us but only stir up sin in us All the forces of hell cannot scale the walls of heaven It s true Satan will sometimes stand up as the Philistian did and say Who is the man that will redeem this and that soul that are in my snare and in my power am not I the God of this world and is it not written that I am the Prince of the air who shall rescue them out of my hand then cometh the Lyon of the tribe of Iudah as David against the Philistian and saith to Satan thou hast defied the Armies of Israel I will try thy power and pull down thy pride here Christ hath a single duel with them and the issue was that Satan bruised the heel of Christ and Christ wounded his head and so fulfilled that Prophesie Gen. 3. 15. And so Chtist after he wounded his head cast him out John 12. 31. The Prince of this world is cast out so that now Satans power is already taken away the Devil it is true doth challenge a right to many of Christ servants till they are called converted and brought from under the power of darkness by the appearance of this free grace Titus 3. 4 5. But after the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy-Ghost it was Satan that tempted our first parents to rebell it was Satan that provoked David to number People it was Satan that put Peter upon perswading of Christ not to suffer it was Satan that put Cain upon murthering Abel therefore he is called a Murtherer from the beginning it was Satan that put treason into the heart of Judas against Christ it was Satan that put Annanias upon lying Now there is no weapon but spiritual weapons that will steed the soul in combating with the Devil Ephes 6. 13 16. It was not Davids sling nor his stone that gave him the advantage of setting his feet upon Goliah but his faith in the free grace of God 1 Sam. 17. 45. Luther reports of a German Minister that he acknowledged himself that before he came to understand aright the free and powerful grace of God he vowed and resolved above one hundred times against some particular sin and never could get power over it at last he saw the reason to be his ignorance in the Doctrine of grace and his too much trusting to his own resolution at last he could resist Satan stedfastly in the faith and he would flie from him James 4. 7. we read in 1 John 5. 4. This is the victory that overcometh the world even our Faith 7. This is the Doctrine that Satan doth make war against either to pervert or corrupt 1. He seeks to pervert it by putting out of order or turning up-side-down to bring in that which should be kept out Prov. 10. 9. He that perverteth his way shall be known 2. If he cannot prevail with men to pervert this Doctrine he shall leave no means unattempted no stone unturned to corrupt it by keeping people in a foolish unsound perswasion that all is well with them Psalm 143. They are all corrupt that is they have not understanding to perceive the things which God offereth to them There be two main things in which Satan doth busie himself to deceive souls 1. By laying the greatness and vileness of a mans sins before him and then falls to perswade him there is no mercy in God for such a sinner 2. By presenting God to the soul as one made up all of mercy 1. By laying the greatness and vileness of ones sins before him and then perswades him there is no mercy in God for such a sinner What saith Satan dost thou think that ever thou shalt attain mercy by Christ that hast sinned with so high an hand in slighting the tenders of grace and grieved the Spirit of grace and despised the Word of grace that hast trampled under foot the blood of Christ by which thou mightest have been pardoned purged justified and saved What dost thou think saith Satan that ever Christ will own receive or embrace such an unworthy wretch as thou art Thou art unworthy to entertain Christ in thy house much more unworthy to entertain him in thy heart thou fool thou knowest thou art not prepared thou art not thus and thus humbled thou art not heart sick of sin thou hast not been under horrors and terrors as such a man and such a woman thou must stay till thou art prepared and qualified to receive Christ for albeit Christ is able yet he is not willing to save such a rebell as thou art that hast been in open Rebellion against him all thy daies now for answer hereunto That there is mercy for such miserable creatures if they will receive it and not dispair will more at large appear in these choice places of Scripture Micah 7. 18 19. Isa 43. 25. Jer. 3. 12. Joel 2. 13. Isa 55. 7. 1 Tim. 1. 13 15. Psalm 66. 18. Iohn 6. 37. 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. Heb. 7. 25. Isa 1. 18. It is hard to find any one place in the whole Book of God requiring any worthiness in the creature before a souls believing in Christ and resting upon him for happiness and blessedness I read of none that obtained mercy and pardon from Christ but unworthy souls pray what worthiness was in Zachens Mary Magdalen Paul and Lydia before their coming to and believing in Christ 2. If Satan cannot catch men in this first pit then he turns over leaf and comes a new way to work viz by presenting God to the soul as one made up all of mercy Oh saith Satan you need not make such a matter of sin nor to be so unwilling to sin for God is a God of mercy a God that delighteth in mercy ready to shew mecry a God that is never weary of shewing mercy he is a God more prone to pardon his people then to punish them and why then
should you make such a matter of sin by this Satan doth cause many a soul to turn the grace of God into wantonness but for a remedy herein consider that God is as just as he is merciful as the Scripture doth speak him out to be a very merciful God so they speak him forth to be a very just God witness his casting the Angels out of heaven his turning Father Adam out of Paradise his drowning the old world his raining fire out of heaven upon Sodom It is true his general mercy is over all his works but his special mercy is confined to those that he hath divinely qualified Exod. 34. 6 7. Psal 32. 10. Psal 103. 11. 8. This Doctrine is the most hardest thing in the world to be learned it being wholly in every part of it supernatural and all things in us do fight against it To do well and have well is natural but to believe and have well is supernatural man remaining in his natural state is altogether unable to receive and comprehend those glorious and gracious mysteries of being righteous by anothers righteousness and of being saved by anothers suffering all men both Jews and Gentiles are set upon seeking life and happiness by their own doings and performances for although man did fearfully fall by transgression yet he retained certain foot-steps marks and impressions of that moral and eternal Law of righteousness which was at first engraven in his heart by the finger of God Almighty So that although as to everlasting felicity man is dark and dead being under the power of the God of this world whose Kingdom is a Kingdom of darkness who rules in men by ignorance yet there remains in every man so much light as doth lead him to the knowledge of a God but when the Lord doth reveal this mysterie of his grace by his Spirit to and in man then he doth over and above that common work of the Spirit by which he enlighteneth every man I say Christ doth give unto those given him of the Father the mind and understanding to know him and to receive him and to lay hold on him for life and salvation Now in this sense the natural man perceiveth not the things of God 1 Cor. 2. 14. neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 1. 21. The world by wisdom knoweth not God c. Now this Doctrine of grace is the hardest thing in the world to be learned because we are naturally apt to hunger and thirst after a righteousness of our own but it must be renounced I confess this self denyal is very hard Oh how hard is it for the soul to be taken off its own bottom of works and qualifications and to strip them of all that is their own ye take away their lives they must and will have something some humbleness and brokenness of heart some tears some good works or abilities or good heart as many say and this doth argue as yet thou art not pluckt off thine own stock and therefore art not planted into Christ thou art ignorant of the righteousness of God and so goest about to establish thine own righteousness consider consider our works make us not the better before God neither the more beloved of the Lord but declare us to be what we are made by God and so are profitable to men but not to God But what saith the Scripture now to him that worketh is not the reward reckoned of grace but of debt but to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousness Rom. 4. 2 3 4 5. We are saved not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace 2 Tim. 1. 9. Again we read Rom. 5. 10. When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son Isa 43. 25. I will blot out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins a new heart also will I give thee Ezek. 36. 26 27 31. Again Isa 57. 18. I have seen his waies and will heal him Isa 44. 22. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions return to me for I have redeemed thee Ezek. 16. 6 8. When thou wast polluted in thy own blood I said unto thee live when thou wast in thy blood thy time was the time of love and I covered thy nakedness Now consider the Lord doth this that he might have all the glory of our Election Vocation Justification Sanctification and Salvation See Eph. 1. 6. Jer. 9. 24. Rom. 3. 9. Luke 1. 74. 1 Cor. 4. 7. Iames 1. 17. And as this Doctrine is the hardest thing in the whole world to be learned so it is the hardest work where it is not learned to obey God in any of his commands to instance in one for all God doth command men every where to repent but is not repentance a mighty work a difficult work a work that is above our power Surely there is no power below that power that raised Christ from the dead and that made the world that can break the heart of a sinner or turn his heart It is as easie to turn the stream that runs swiftly forward and make it run as swiftly backward as it is to repent indeed and to melt thine own heart it is as easie to turn a flint into flesh as to turn thine own heart to the Lord it is as easie to raise the dead and make a world as to repent it is a flower that grows not in natures Garden Jer. 13. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evill But this work that is so difficult and so hard above our reach is easily wrought in the soul when God gives it to see his grace and love in giving Christ Act. 5. 31. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins Gal. 1. 8. If I or any other or an Angel of heaven preach any other Gospel then this that we have preached unto you then salvation and participation of Christ by grace and free gift for that is the Doctrine he had established before and through the whole Epistle to the Galathians What shall I say more there is nothing in men though never so vile that can debar a person or a people from a part in this Christ some will not have Christ except they can pay for him others dare not meddle with Christ because they are so vile and sinful and therefore they seek to get an inherent righteousness they run to their qualifications to their prayers to their tears to their humiliations and sorrows and reformations and will not come at Christ untill they have spent all upon these Physitians and are sensible with the woman in the Gospel that they are nothing the better but the worse then they begin
son and said Father I am not worthy to be called thy son 3. We should keep our Iustification distinct and not go to reason out our Iustification from our Sanctification but we should look to Jesus Christ the Rock upon which a Christian should build his soul 4. We should alwaies keep up and keep distinct our Justification as the spring and way to Sanctification for the fruit of Justification is peace joy boldness and strength to do the will of God all this doth come in from Jesus Christ in a way of believing and not from Sanctification for as we are not to conclude our Justification from any effects of Sanctification so we are not to conclude that apprehension of Justification to be from God which takes us off the means waies and rules of Sanctification therefore although they be distinct in these four forementioned heads yet they agree and go hand in hand in these ensuing things 1. They go together in these he that is justified doth as earnestly desire Sanctification and holiness as he doth heaven and happiness 2. He doth as well desire that is justified by Christs righteousness to chuse Christ as a King to rule over him as a Saviour to save him 3. They go together in this respect also a soul is not content with the apprehension of his Justification unless he finds some measure of and growing up in Sanctification 4. They go together as doth appear by this the man that is truly justified he doth make as much care and conscience to practise holiness as ever he did to get Christs righteousness 5. They go together in this respect also every discovery of Christ and his righteousness to the soul for Justification doth fit and heighten the souls resolution for Sanctification and holiness 6. A man may be said to keep his Justification and Sanctification together when he doth trust his soul in the hands of Christ for salvation and makes it his work to die to the world and to honour Christ in the world 7. When a soul hath found out Christ for his Justification he doth make it his great business to be conformable to him in his conversation Phil. 3. 10. being made conformable to his death Now if any ask 1. Why a soul should keep his Justification and Sanctification distinct in some things 2. Why in other things we should keep them together 3. How a soul should come to keep his Justification and Sanctification distinct and yet to keep them together Then I answer 1. Why a soul should keep them distinct to which I answer 1. Because the Spirit of God is distinct in laying down these things in the Scrptures viz. in exhorting us to come without money and without price and if we walk in darkness and see no light yet to trust and stay our selves upon him because he doth love us freely and pardon us graciously and is found of them that sought him not 2. Because otherwise our souls can never be truly established rooted and built up in him Isaiah 7. 9. Eph. 3. 17. Col. 2. 7. he that doth mix Justification and Sanctification together can never be established 3. We should keep them distinct that so we might give God the whole glory of our Justification and salvation Quest 2. Is why we should in other things keep them together Answ 1. That we might glorifie God before the world its true a soul doth most glorifie God by believing but he doth more glorifie God before the world by his holy conversation Matth. 5. 16. John 15. 8. 2. Because holiness and sanctification is the way in which the Lords people shall be saved I do not say that this is the way by which but the way in which salvation is manifested 2 Pet. 1. 10 11. 3. The next reason why we should keep them together is because thereby we shall stop the mouths of wicked men 1 Peter 2. 15. For so is the will of God that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men 4. We are to keep them together because this is the will of God that all that do profess his name and lay hold on his Mercy should live holily 1 Thes 4. 3 4. For this is the will of God even your sanctification that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and holiness 5. We are to keep up Sanctification as well as Justification because thereby the Lord will stop the mouths of wicked men at the last day saying Come ye blessed of my Father you have done thus and thus for me and mine Matth. 25. 34 35. Quest 3. Is how should a soul come to keep his Justification and Sanctification distinct and yet keep them together Answ 1. Meditate much on the free love of God when we were in our blood he was in his love freely to love us and graciously to justifie us and then in the second place the soul will say within it self shall I sin against him that hath freely justified me No no how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God 2. Dwell much upon those engagements that God hath put upon us in the many great things that he hath done for us Titus 3. 3 4 5. For we our selves were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another but after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done c. Ver. 8. These things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works 3. Think much upon the littleness of our work or services we can do to him and the unspeakable things that he hath done and promised to do for us what a disproportion there is between his mercy to us and our obedience to him the one is like the Ocean Sea the other as a grain of mustard-seed the one infinite the other finite the one as a great mountain that fills the whole earth the other as a Pepper-corn 4. Dwell much upon the great difference there will be between those that make it their work to keep up their Faith and obedience and those that do not at the coming of Christ the one he will bless and make them sit down to meat and will serve them see that blessed place Luke 12. 37. The other hath neither Justification nor Sanctification the Lord will cut them asunder and will appoint them their portion with unbelievers Luke 12. 46. O what remains then but that we labour to distinguish between our Justification and our personal Sanctification The first is quite out of our selves consisting in the imputation of Christs righteousness inherent in him who sits at the right hand of God far above the reach and sphear of sins activity and is therefore perfect and compleat yea the foundation of all blessedness the latter is in our selves and therefore weak and
nature When the Leapers saw that they must either venture their lives or dye they would out into the Camp when the Prodigal saw he must famish abroad or repair home he would then back to his fathers house when the woman with the issue of blood had spent all and grew worse and knew not whither to go or what to do then she comes to Christ now if thou hast not so much ingenuity as to come to and believe in Christ in obedience to his command yet let thy necessity prevail with thee or else the Leaper and Prodigal shall rise up in judgement against thee were we in Adams created innocency then we need not to look after a Saviour but we are fallen but we are broken but we are sold under sin but we are transgressours from the womb but we are by nature the children of disobedience and wrath 3. He doth invite us to come and to believe by the Prophets Isa 55. 1 2 3. He beseecheth us by the Apostles to be reconciled to him 2 Cor. 5. 20. He cals upon us by his Church and spirit to take of the water of life Revelat. 22. 17. and after all this he waits upon us to be gracious to us Isaiah 30. 18. 4. Our unbelief grieves the very heart of Christ he grieved at their unbelief he complains at our backwardness to believe O fools and slow of heart to believe Nay and he sheds tears because we believe not on him when he came neer the City he wept over it c. 5. Motive Consider there is none who have right to thy soul but God and Christ our souls are Gods workmanship and Christs purchase why then should we not give to God and Christ that which is their own 1 Cor. 6. 19 20. ye are not your own ye are bought with a price God put forth his own power to make thy soul and Christ shed his heart blood to redeem thy soul and wilt thou through unbelief withhold it from him 6. Christ outbids all Merchants for thy soul he outbids the world sin and Satan is there any one of them that presents Redemption unto thee is there any one of them that can procure remission and pardoning mercy for thee is there any one of them that can satisfie the wrath of God for thee which can make thy peace which can present thee righteous before the judgement seat which can settle eternal life upon thee all this can Christ do none of this can they do Behold here is laid before thee life and death life if thou dost believe death if not now chuse you whether what shall I say more by believing we honor God Iohn 3. 33. by believing we come to be established Isa 7. 9. by believing we are kept in perfect peace Isa 26. 3 4. Rom. 5. 1. Our naked cleaving to God in his free promise will carry down all our distempers at once and fill our souls with peace in believing O how can we look so many sweet promises in the face and harbour so many misgivings in our hearts Rom. 9. ult whosoever believeth in him shall not be ashamed Of the evil of unbelief and the springs of it and the misery that doth attend it VNbelief doth rob the soul of all joy comfort and content Nay further unbelief doth throw reproach upon God Christ and the promises and gives Satan the greatest advantage against us he that lives without Faith lives without comfort joy peace and content by unbelief we add sin unto sin in the highest nature 1 John 5. 10. Unbelief straightens the heart stops the mouth and hinders thankfulness thou shalt be dumb because thou believest not Luke 1. 20. Unbelief is the door that lets in condemnation John 3. 18 30. He that believeth not is condemned Rev. 2. 8. The fearful and unbelieving shall be cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone 1. It is the greatest sin in the world because it is a sin against the greatest love in the world John 3. 16. Rom. 5. 8. It is a sin for which there can be no remedy for asmuch as it is a sin against the only remedy the Sentence of the Law may be repealed by the Gospel but the sins against Gospel remedy there is no appeal it is a sin that makes void and vain all the Covenant of grace turning all the sweetness thereof into bitterness and all the truth of it to a lie 1 John 5. 10. Unbelief binds all our sins upon the soul and so murders the soul it grieves the heart of Christ leaves all our sins upon record leaves us to answer for our selves it is a sin against the greatest love against the only remedy makes void the Doctrine of grace and breeds an indisposition towards all holy duties it is a dishonouring to God a denying of Christ a murderer of the soul a belying of God a denying of Christ and a crowning of Satan it doth without doubt proclaim the Devil a Conqueror and lift him up above Christ himself Judas did sin more by unbelief and despairing then by betraying of Christ In a word doubts fears and discouragements proceed neither from God Christ nor the Spirit of truth but they do proceed First from the Devil he either tempts us to sin and that will cause us to doubt or else he doth tempt us to doubt and that will cause us to sin Secondly they proceed from our own hearts Heb. 3. 12. Thirdly from the lying vanities that we hearken unto Jonah 2. 8. Fourthly from ignorance heedlesness and forgetfulness Fifthly from unskilfulness of the word of righteousness Heb. 5. 12. 7. Sixthly from want of watchfulness Seventhly from building our hopes and comfort upon that which is mutable and uncertain viz. our own personal Sanctification and not upon Christ and our free Justification Eighthly from our own false reasonings making Sense Reason and Feeling the Judge of our spiritual condition Ninthly from our ignorance of the love of Christ and the Covenant of Grace The Characters Marks or Signs of true Faith c. THere are many characters or discoveries of this Faith of the Gospel called the Faith of Gods Elect which worketh by love First the habit of this Faith is infused into the soul by God in regeneration Eph. 2. 8. John 1. 12 13. Secondly this habit so infused is brought to act by the Fathers drawing the soul to Christ Iohn 6. 44. Thirdly faith being thus infused and acted doth chearfully accept of Christ upon his own terms viz. self-denyall bearing the Cross and following Christ Luke 9. 23. Iohn 1. 12. Faith having thus accepted and received Christ begins to taste such sweetness and pleasantness in him that Christ is most pleasant to the soul 1 Pet 2. 3 7. So the soul by degrees comes to be filled with joy and peace in believing Again Faith having thus taken and tasted Christ contends after a fuller perfection even after assurance Col. 2. 2. Heb. 10. 22. 1. True Faith is not only a justifying
a grieving for sin both original and actual arising from an apprehension of displeasing so loving a God 2. Cor. 7. 11. For behold this self-same thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort what carefulness it wrought in you yea what clearing of your selves yea what indignation yea what fear yea what vehement desire yea what zeal yea what revenge in all things c. Repentance is not only a turning from evil to good but a hating the evil we turn from and a loving the good we turn to True repentance is a general universal change of the whole man in every part though it be but in part it doth change both heart and life word and work it makes darkness light and bitter sweet and a Leaper an Angel Isa 1. 16 17 18. Wash ye make ye clean there is the change of the heart put away the evil of your doings there is the change of the life See Ezek. 18. 30 31 32. Or repentance is a universal change in the whole man the understanding is turned from darkness to light the will from sinfulservitude to an holy liberty the affections from disorder into order the heart from hardness into softness so the eye of wantoness into an eye of chastity the uncircumcised ear into an obedient ear the hands of bribery into the hands of liberty and the feet of vanity into the waies of purity Repentance for sin is nothing without repentance from sin He that hath repented indeed doth still desire to have his sin purged as well as pardoned repentance is a work that must be timely done or we be utterly undone he that hath truly repented doth now strike most at those sins that he was most prone to before the Jaylor Act. 16. Washed those wounds that his own hands had made but a little before he acts in waies of mercy quite contrary to his former cruelty So did Zacheus Luke 19. So did Paul Acts 9. So did Manasses 2 Chron. 33. 6. True repentance hath these choice companions attending it The first is Faith Mar. 1. 14. Repent ye therefore and believe the Gospel Secondly love to Christ doth alwaies accompany repentance as we may see in Mary Magdalen Luke 7. Thirdly fear of offending God and an holy care to honour him these and the like companions do alwaies accompany true repentance they were born together and they will live together till the soul doth change earth for heaven Conviction goes alwaies with conversion and repentance and forgiveness of sins goes alwaies together so doth sanctification and justification this repentance is a flower that grows not in natures garden Jer. 13. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spot c. Men are not born with repentance in their hearts as they are with tongues in their mouths The Nature of sin The Springs or Rise of sin The ready way to mortifie sin FIrst of the Nature of sin Although sin hath but one nature yet it hath several names in every sin we take from God and add to another thing Sin is the transgression of the Law and not believing and obeying the Gospel sin defiles a man totally it begins at the understanding and so to the will and affections sin robs a man of the Image of God of the presence of God Sin was the first founder of hell and laid the first stone thereof And yet most of this is but the effects of sin the essence must needs be much more abominable Hence sin is called poyson and sinners Serpents Sin is called vanity and sinners dogs Sin is called mire and sinners swine the least sin virtually more or less contains in it the nature of all sin no sooner did one sin set upon Adams heart but he had all sin in him every sin doth put God upon complaining Christ upon bleeding and the Spirit upon grieving and the soul a mourning many sin by omission and commission at one and the same time and yet know of neither the more there is of the will in the acting of sin the greater the sin is Some sins of omission may exceed some of commission the more deliberation and the weaker temptations any hath and yet sinneth the greater the sin is Many a man is full of sinful corruption but shew it not for want of occasion No sooner did one sin seize upon Adams heart but he had all sin in him How sin creeps up and gets head in us SAtan first tempts us to be strange one to another and then to divide and then to be bitter and jealous and then to bite and devour one another again hasty and froward words begets anger anger being kindled begets wrath wrath seeketh greedily after revenge See Prov. 17. 14. Sin is of an incroaching nature it creeps on the soul by degrees step by step David gave way to his wandring eye and so fell into the sins of murder and adultery again Satan will first draw a soul to be unclean in his thoughts then in his looks then in his words and then in deeds he will first draw a soul to look on the golden wedge and then to love the golden wedge and then to handle the golden wedge and then to gain the golden wedge Again he will draw a soul first to have low thoughts of Scripture and Ordinances and then to sleight Scripture and Ordinances and then with the Ranters and Quakers to cast off Scripture and Ordinances Again if we give way to sinful motion it will be great vain thoughts and vain thoughts will beget idle words and idle words will beget petty oaths Sins of omission do also open the door and make way for sins of commission and again fearfulness and timerousness doth arise from weakness and feebleness and weakness and feebleness doth arise from unbelief or incredulity the beginning of sin is oft by the Devils suggesting evil thoughts evil thoughts cause delight delight consent consent engendereth action action causeth custom so one sin draweth on another grant a little and a great deal will follow Sin is ill in the eye worse in the tongue worser in the heart but worst of all in the life there are three waies how Satan comes into the Soul to cheat it First as a subtile Serpent in evil thoughts Secondly as an Angel of light in lying Prophets and evil spirits Thirdly as a roaring Lyon in Persecutors Of the great danger of small sins OUR Father Adam for eating an Apple one would account it a small matter to eat an Apple Yet what misery did that bring It did slay our Father and deceive our Mother cheated and almost undone all our Brethren defiled our Sisters wounded our children and plundred all our kindred to the skin and left them as poor as Job The sin of Angels was but a small sin only one sin and but a sin in thought too not in action yet for this they were cast out of heaven One would think it but a small sin for David to number the people yet
how many thousands did God take away by the plague for that small sin It is true in one sense there is no little sin because there is no little God to sin against One would think it was but a small thing for Vzza to put his hand to uphold the falling Ark yet for this the Lord smote him that he dyed For one small sin of Moses for neglecting to circumcise the child for the bare omission of that the Lord met him and would have killed him Exodus 4. 24. The same Moses for one unadvised speech must die in the wilderness and not go into Canaan Num. 20. 10. Palm 106. 33. Now there is great danger in samll sins for these four reasons 1. Because they be committed with more complacency and less reluctancy 2. A man is apt to commit small sins with more security and less penitency 3. People are apt to run into small sins with more frequency 4. One stab at the heart with a pen-knife will kill a man One little leak in a ship may sink it And one little sin unrepented of will damn a soul c. Of the mischief brought upon many for one sin ONE sin cast Adam out of Paradise and the Angels out of heaven Annanias and Saphira for one lye were stricken dead so was Vzza for once touching the Ark One sin brought misery upon Esau for selling his birth-right and David for Numbering the people the sin of Saul his sin being but one and that of omission too in not killing Agag the King of the Amalekites he was utterly cast off by the Lord for the same though he was his annointed and chosen servant before I have lately read in a Book of Mr. Thomas Brooks of the mischief brought upon many precious men for one only sin viz. One sin tript up the heels of Noah the most righteous man then in the world One sin cast down Abraham the greatest Believer in the world One sin threw down David the best King in the world One sin cast down Paul the greatest Apostle in the world One sin threw down Sampson the strongest man in the world Another cast down Solomon the wisest man in the world And another Moses the meekest man in the world And another sin cast down Job the patientest man in the world What hurt sin doth a Saint IT is not falling into the water that drowns but lying in it so falling into sin sinks not thy soul but living in it we can stay no more from sinning without the restraining grace then the Heart from panting and the pulse from beating Sin may break a Christians Communion but not his Union with God God had one son without corruption but no son without correction he had one son without sin but no son without sorrow Sin will cost a Christian more grief sorrow heart-bleeding and soul-breaking before conscience will be satisfied and comfort restored and evidences cleared and pard on in the Court of conscience sealed For God is as severe in punishing as he is gracious in pardoning his house of correction is his School of instruction Sin doth make God look severely and chide bitterly and strike heavily even where and when he loves dearly Isaiah 59. 2. Your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear Psalm 89. 32. Then will I visit their sins with a rod. Ver. 33. Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not take from them nor suffer my faithfulness to fail Many would fain be rid of their sufferings that would not at all be rid of their sins Sin and shame are inseparable companions and sin and punishment are linked together if thou wilt be sinful thou must be miserable One little miscariage doth in the eye of the world over-shadow all a Christians graces as one little cloud doth overshadow the whole body of the Sun The ready way to mortifie sin 1. SHun the occasions of sin for that man shall be a slave to sin that will not flie the occasions of sin it is impossible for that man to get the victory over sin that sports and plaies with the occasions of sin I have read of five men that were studying what was the best way to mortifie sin The First said to meditate of Death the Second said to meditate of Judgement the Third said to meditate on the Joyes of Heaven the Fourth said to meditate on the Torments of Hell the Fifth said to meditate on the blood and sufferings of Jesus Christ and certainly the last is the strongest motive of all to mortifie sin that soul that doth this Isa 62. 4 5. shall no more be called forsaken for the Lord will rejoyce over him and be a well-spring of life unto him and make his abode with him and turn his sighing into singing and his trembling into rejoycing and his prison into a Paradise then the soul will break forth and say in these or the like words O blessed be God for Jesus Christ blessed be his name for that precious blood that hath justified our persons and quieted our consciences and scattered our fears and answered our doubts and given us the triumph over sin hell and death who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died this made Paul Rom. 8. 33. to the 38. cry out victory victory he lookt upon all the enemies and sings it sweetly out saying Over all these we are more then Conquerors in a word from Christ alone we have strength to perform any duty to exercise any grace to subdue any lust to resist any temptation to bear any affliction John 15. 5. Without me ye can do nothing nay Paul goes further 2 Cor. 3. 5. We of our selves are not sufficient to think a good thought but all our sufficiency is from God Isa 45. 24. Christ is made unto a Believer righteousness and strength now if we want Faith in Christ we want righteousness by way of acceptation and we want strength by way of assistance Surely the mercy of God is the most powerful argument to perswade a soul from sin Psalm 26. 3 4. For thy loving kindness is before mine eyes and I have walked in thy truth So Joseph Gen. 39. 9. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God his soul being taken with mercy was not moved with his mistresses impudency 1 Iohn 3. 3. He that hath this hope in him doth purifie himself as he is pure Mich. 7. 19. He will subdue our iniquities and cast all our sins into the depth of the Sea Rom. 8. 13. If ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the flesh ye shall live Heb. 9. 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ through the eternal Spirit purge our consciences from dead works to serve the living God Surely surely if the bowels of mercy do not melt win and draw us Justice will be a swift witness against us all divine power and strength against sin flows from the souls union and communion with Christ it is only Faith
heart Isaiah 6. 5. I am a man of unclean lips saith that humble soul so humble Job cries out of the iniquity of his youth Job 13. 26 c. so humble David sighs it out Psalm 51. 3. My sin is ever before me so those many converts Titus 3. 3. For we our selves also were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another but after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards man appeared 2. Though they are to be called to mind it must not be with stupidity of heart but with a broken and bleeding and a contrite heart in the day of our prosperity we are not to forget our former poverty but to consider that we are not worthy of that calling of that Gospel and of that grace tendred to us in the word 3. It must not be done with despondency of mind neither the truth lyeth between two extreams we must not call them so to mind as to discourage us and make us unwilling to come to Christ c. 1. The first Reason why that people in a converted state should often call to mind the sin and misery they were in before conversion because by so doing we shall be provoked to magnifie and admire the riches of Gods grace none in the world do more admire Gods grace and mercy then those that are most sensible of their own sin and misery See 1 Tim. 1. 13. 2. Reason because this will kindle a great deal of pitty and compassion in our souls towards those that remain yet unconverted Titus 3. 2 3. I Paul and thou Titus were sinful as well as they and did serve divers lusts as well as they let us pitty them and help them out of this state of sin and death Reason 3. Because this will make us more watchful and careful Eph. 5. 8. You were sometimes darkness saith he but now are you light in the Lord walk therefore as children of the light 2 Sam. 7. 18. Who am 10 Lord God said King David and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto And Saint Paul 1 Tim. 1. 13. remembers himself and leaves it written for others to read that he had been a blasphemer a persecutor and injurious a low meditation for an high Apostle yet profitable to himself and others Whether the Dominion of sin may not be taken away where yet the life of sin remains SIN may live where it doth not reign and dwell where it is not welcom it is true the Scripture doth say they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts but here the Scripture doth not speak of a total subduing of sin as if every lust and corruption should be quite subdued but only this far to give a deadly blow to sin that sin shall not reign nor bear sway in thy soul as it hath done formerly the dominion of sin is taken away but the life and being of it is continued for a little time As Hagar would dwell with Sarah till she beat her out of doors so will sin dwell with grace till death beat it out of doors there shall be some remainders of sin still in the best of Gods servants but sin shall not reign in their mortal bodies sin may live in a Saint and yet the Saint not live in sin Let us now examine in what cases and with what limitations strength of corruption may consist with strength of grace the resolving of this question is of very much use 1. Though sin be strong yet grace may be strong too in thy soul though thy sin be great if thy sorrow be great too it evidenceth thy grace is so also 1 Chro. 23. 12. 2. If you find a strong opposition against your corruptions though you cannot fully subdue sin yet do you strongly oppose it then there is strength of grace in the soul though there be strong corruptions in the body 3. There is strength of grace where there is strong cries to God against thy sins this argues grace and the strength of grace Deut. 22. 25 26 27. 4. There is strength of grace in that man or woman that is resolved in the strength of Christ to conquer his strong sins or die conquering of them our Lord Christ when two things were set before him either to sin or die he chose death rather then sin and by degrees he works his Spouse to the same mind 5. That strength of grace may be consistent with strength of corruptions I might instance in many precious Saints I will mention one for all the rest and that is in Peter who had not only truth and reality but eminency and strength of grace For though temptations and corruptions did sometimes prevail yet he had strong affections towards Christ he did out-strip many of the Disciples 1. He was the man that of all the Disciples wept most bitterly for his sins Mat. 26. 75. 2. Peter was the first that ran to the Sepulchre to see what was become of Jesus John 20. 5. 3. He was the man who hearing that Christ was risen leapt into the Sea for joy John 21. 7. 4. He was the first man that made the first Sermon and first preached the Gospel after the Ascension of Christ Acts 1. 15. 5. He had that love to Christ as strong as death for he suffered death afterwards for Christ but now although in the cases before mentioned strength of grace may be consistent with strength of corruption yet there are other cases wherein they are altogether inconsistent though there may be strong grace and strong corruption in the soul yet the reign of any one corruption in the soul yet the reign of any one corruption is utterly inconsistent with grace and the strength of it See Rom. 6. 12. 7. 23. And when I say there is a consistency between grace and corruption I would be understood of spiritual and inward corruption viz. of hardness of heart Spiritual pride deadness in duties c. For into gross external open acts of sin strong Christians do seldom fall How far a true Christian may be tainted with errour in Judgement and yet at last be restored Sometimes even Gods own children are even overcome with erroneous opinions One whom the Lord had received into favour might erroneously hold himself bound in conscience to the Legal difference of daies and meats under the Gospel Rom. 14. 1. to the 7. The Apostles themselves erroneously deemed Christ should be a worldly King Mark 10. 37. to 41. And this errour was not cured in them though they were eye witnesses of his passion and resurrection Acts 1. 6. And the Church of Galatia erred grosly in the point of Justification mingling Moses with Christ the works of the Law with Faith in Justification Gal. 3. 4 5 c. by which it doth appear that regenerate persons may for a time be insnared in some errours that are gross and dangerous and
that against fundamentals of Faith Christ and his Offices those are fundamentals 1 Cor. 3. 11. Eph. 2. 20. yet the Apostles as we said before till the sending of the Holy Ghost upon them were in an errour about Christs Kingly Office taking it to be temporal rather then spiritual Justification by Faith alone is a Fundamental Rom. 3. 28. Gal. 4. 5 6. yet for a season as before the Galatians lay under that gross errour of that necessity of Legal works with Faith But it is a dangerous thing for any of the Lords people to fall into such gross errours hereby their minds are darkened Eph. 4. 18. and corrupted 2 Cor. 11. 3. bewitched Gal. 3. 1. Now consider how grievous it is to have a mans mind corrupted if the mind be darkness how great is that darkness c. Oh here is the love of God in restoring his people again into the truth and yet for all this he calls them the children of truth 1 Joh. 3. 19. they can do nothing against the truth but for the truth 2 Cor. 13. 8. their loins are girt about with truth Eph. 6. 14. whereas carnal men remain in errour and are men 1. Of corrupt minds destitute of the truth 2 Tim. 3. 8. and turning away their ears from the truth 2 Tim. 4. 4. 2. Or they hold the truth in unrighteousness Rom. 1. 18. 3. Or they are not able to come to the knowledge of the truth 2 Tim. 3. 7. 4. They have no love to the truth 2 Thes 2. 9 10. and no wonder if such persons be unstable and led away with the errour of the wicked c. Of Knowledge first of God secondly of our selves the properties of it and means of attaining it and the benefits we have by it Of Knowledge TO lack knowledge is a very evil thing to scorn to learn is worse and to hate knowledge is worst of all Hos 6. 6. I desired the Knowledge of God more then burnt offerings Hos 4. 1. The Lord hath a controversie with the inhabitants of the Land because there is no knowledge of God in the Land 1 Cor. 15. Some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame Hos 4. 6. My people perish for want of knowledge Prov. 1. 22. How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and fools hate knowledge Prov. 2. 16. When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul discretion shall preserve thee understanding shall keep thee Eph. 2. 17. Therefore be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is What shall I say more knowledge is that understanding which we have both of God and his Word and Will and of our own selves it is a store-house of all wisdom and the beginning of salvation it is a spiritual vertue to speak little and well words are the shadow of works and works the substance of words much talking and little practising is like to an empty vessel that doth give a greater sound then they that be full much knowledge little practise is like a great tree that makes a large shew but bears no fruit To close up this first of knowledge in general let me tell the Reader that a man without knowledge is as a workman without hands or as a painter without eyes or as a traveller without legs or as a ship without sails or as a bird without wings or as a body without a soul there is a threefold knowledge or illumination First general and natural the light of Reason Secondly spiritual and supernatural Thirdly there is a knowledge of middle illumination betwixt these two more then meerly natural but less then truly supernatural Of the knowledge of God SOme have not the knowledge of God saith the Lord by his servant Paul I speak this to your shame 1 Cor. 15 c. Again another Scripture saith This is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent John 17. 3. Again it is death to be ignorant of him for he will come in flaming fire rendering vengeance on them that know him not 2 Thes 1. 8. So that all regenerate persons have true knowledge though it be an imperfect knowledge they do truly though weakly know God as doth appear in these Scriptures Jer. 31. 34. John 6. 45. 1 Cor. 13. 9 12. 1 John 5. 20. In a word to know him is to know all things for they have their being from him to be ignorant of him is to be ignorant of all things So that such an one doth know nothing as he ought to know Let the reader turn to the first page of this book where I have laid down as much as I understand in this mysterie Of the knowledge of our selves IT is a most excellent thing for a Christian to know himself and then at the best he would see himself to be but vanity and an unpofitable servant to God and so begin to cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils Oh what are the best of men they have no better lodging for his noble soul then a cottage of clay and that so frail and crasie as were it not once or twice a day dawbed over it would fall about his ears and wheresoever he goes he is forced to carry this clog this clay Whereas Angels free from these shakels of flesh can move from heaven to earth even as swiftly as can our very thoughts Nay take the best piece in man his soul search and see his understanding is full of darkness blindness and vanity Psal 94. 11. 1 Cor. 2. 24. Unteachableness and incredulity See 2 Cor. 4. 4. Secondly the will of man is wholly depraved as being contrary to God his will word and spirit in all things it will not depend nor wait on God it is unconstant in good resolutions it is very apt to disobey the will of God as we may see in Father Adam Thirdly as for the memory that is also full of corruption that it will forget the things that it should remember and remember the things it should forget it will hold fast trifles and let go matters of moment Fourthly The Conscience that is wholly corrupted that is without feeling whereas it should excuse or accuse It doth abuse and pervert the light it hath by making great sins small and small sins great Fifthly Our affections they are also corrupted they come as a tempest and carry us away either to make us over-love or over-grieve or over-joy and so we hate our brother whom we should love and love our lusts whom we should hate What shall I say our understanding is darkened our will depraved our affections disordered our memory misimployed and conscience benummed c. We were conceived in sin brought forth in iniquity we have lived in vanity and without the riches of Gods grace we shall dye in misery The Charecters or Properties of true knowledge 1. THE knowledge that is from God subjects the soul
take in their company we are often in the company of those that we take no delight in Now do we indeed delight in the society of the Saints then we love them Psalm 16. 3 c. In a word such things as we love we keep with care possess with joy and loose with grief so much of the inward tryals of our love to the Saints Next of the external tryals of this love by which we may know that others do love us and by which they may know that we love them But these evidences are not so infallible as the other we read John 13. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one to another and how doth our love unto another appear but in these or the like things viz. 1. He that doth love his brother will be apt to reprove him when he doth ill and praise him when he doth well a friend can bear a sharp reproof from a friend c. 2. Another evidence of love is this we acquaint those whom we love with our miseries lay open our griefs and account it some ease to discharge some of our sorrows into their bosoms their advice we ask and from them we look for assistance 2 Cor. 8. 3. 3. Where love is in the heart it will appear in the tongue 1 Cor. 13. Love is kind but there is a great deal of verbal and complementary love with men forbidden in the Scriptures of truth saying love not in word and tongue but in deed and in truth 4. Another Character of love is this when thou hast some injuries offered thee thou wilt not soon be angry 1 Cor. 13. 4. love suffereth long 5. Where there is love unto another there will be endeavours to do good unto another not only to the body but also to the soul they will be apt to say as the woman of Samaria did to her neighbours when she had found Christ her self she cals them to him John 4. 29. Come see a man which told me all things that ever I did is not this the Christ Or as David Psal 66. 16. I will tell you what God hath done for my soul Of the means of attaining a true love to the brethren 1. COnsider the Lord loves them and â—ath received them then say to thy self shall I hate and reject those that he loves and receives how unlike shall be to God 2. Consider that the Lord commands thee to love them and it is thy duty so to do and wilt thou rebel against God in not doing thy duty but the quite contrary 3. Consider they be members of the same body children of the same Father heirs of the same promises as thou art Consider I say thy relation to them 1 Cor. 12. 27. For relation is the ground of affection 4. Labour daily to have a higher esteem of all the Saints and a lower esteem of thy self so by degrees shalt thou come to love them indeed Phil. 2. 3. Let nothing be done through strife and vain glory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better then themselves 5. Eye the work of God in them the Image of Christ in them and the gifts and graces of his Spirit adorning them and then thou wilt quickly love them and that with a pure heart fervently 1 Pet. 1. 22. Of the impediments and hinderances of love 1. THe first impediment that doth hinder love which we should do well to beware of is this beware of persecuting them either with tongue hand or pen Acts 9. 4. Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Zach. 2. 8. He that toucheth them toucheth the Apple of mine eye saith the Lord. 2. Beware of pride Prov. 13. 10. Only by pride cometh contention 3. Beware of offending them Mat. 18. 6. 4. Beware of giving credit to evil reports for many times it is a lye also take heed of evil surmisings and groundless jealousies and all other things that makes head against love Eâ—hes 4. 31. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice Of the grace of hope the nature of it and the properties of it and encouragements to it and Characters of it IF any ask why I write of hope after love I answer because I find it so set down in the Scriptures written for our learning 1 Thes 5. 8. But let us who are of the day be sober putting on the breast-plate of Faith and love and for an helmet the hope of salvation Now first the nature of this hope may be thus That hope of the Gospel is a grace of God whereby we expect good to come patiently waiting till it come Rom. 8. 25. But if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it Look what the brest is to the child and the oyl to the lamp such is hope to the soul it lives upon the promises and every degree of hope brings a degree of joy into the soul Heb. 6. 18. It is built upon the truth and faithfulness of God 2 Tim. 2. 13. Or the hope of a Christian is built upon the love of Christ the blood of Christ the righteousness of Christ the satisfaction of Christ and the intercession of Christ and the free grace of God 1 Peter 1. 13. And upon the infinite power of God Rom. 4. 21. In a word true hope doth consist in Gods love in adoption and the truth of his promises and the power of performance 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know in whom I have believed and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him c. Or hope is that vertue whereby we expect all good things from God and so patiently attend in the use of his appointed means for all things that we need Psal 22. 4 5. and 37. 7. and that not only when we have the means but also when we want all apparent means as the Israelites did in the Desart c. Or true hope is a well grounded and patient expectation of the accomplishment of all those spirituall and eternal good things which God hath promised through Jesus Christ to all that believe and expect them Of the Properties of this hope 1. FIrst this hope as an inward principle works out pollution and corruption as being repugnant thereunto 1 John 3. 3. And every one that hath this hope in him purifieth himself as he is pure 2. Hope is alwaies more or less exercised about heavenly things viz. Sometimes it is exercised about the righteousness of Christ sometimes it is exercised about the love of God the Father in giving Christ sometimes hope is exercised about the word and promises Psal 119. 49 81 114. and Psa 130. 5. In thy word do I hope Hope in the promises will keep the head from aking and the heart from sinking in a word the promises are the ladder by which hope gets up to heaven and so hope in the
2. He gives repentance which is a flower that grows not in natures garden Jer. 13. 23. The Ethiopian cannot change his skin nor the Leopard his spots and that he doth give repentance as a gift to his doth appear by these Scriptures Acts 5. 31. 2 Tim. 2. 25. 3. He gives his Spirit Rom. 5. 5. 1. John 3. See Iohn 14. 26. 4. 13. 4. He gives a soul skill to lay hold upon and sweetly to apply the precious promises to himself 5. He gives peace Iohn 14. 27. My peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you 6. He doth give pardon of sins and that pardon of sins is a gift will appear Acts 5. 31. Acts 26. 18. compared with Psal 32. 1 2. 7. He doth give grace Iohn 1. 16. of his fulness we shall receive grace for grace 8. And lastly He gives himself Rom. 8. 32. he that hath given us his son how shall he not with him also give us all things In a word the Lord doth give his people spiritual and heavenly gifts pure gifts wine without water light without darkness gold without dross See Rev. 22. 1. James 3. 17. He gives soul-satisfying gifts most permanent and lasting and most useful gifts I had intended to have written something of the difference between Common and Special gifts and of the vast difference between the gifts that Christ gives and those the world gives But my Book I see would then swell too big c. I shall to this add but this word Christ doth voluntarily and freely give these gifts and graces never did a mother more willingly give her child suck then Jesus Christ bestows grace upon his people Isa 55. 1. Rev. 22. 17. So much of the graces gifts and vertues of the Spirit we shall now come to speak of the Ordinances of the Gospel in which these gifts and graces must and ought to be exercised I shall speak of ten or eleven of them which are standing Ordinances remaining to this day in full force and vertue Of the several Ordinances of the Gospel 1. OF the Assembling of our selves together 2. Of preaching and prophecying and attentive hearing 3. Of joynt prayer and supplication 4. Of singing and praising God together 5. Of the Ordinance of Baptism 6. Of the Lords Supper or breaking of bread 7. Of Collections for the poor 8. Of Reading the Scriptures 9. Of Admonition private and publick 10. Of Suspention 11. Of Excommunication First of the Ordinance of Assembling our selves together THE Church of God is in Scripture resembled to a natural body wherein are many members united to each other and to one head by one Spirit now in order to this union we are to assemble our selves together in obedience to that great command Heb. 10. 25. Not for saking the assembling of your selves together as the manner of some is Psal 122. 1. I was glad when they said unto me Let us go unto the house of the Lord. Those Saints that are assembled together according to a Gospel institution are a communion of Saints arising from a cleaâ— apprehension of their union with Christ and his members 1 Cor. 12. 13 14. For by one Spirit we aâ—e all Baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit for the body is not one member but many members Ver. 20. For now are they many members but one body Now when a man comes to see that every one in whom the Lord Jesus appeareth is a member together with him in the same body whereof Christ is the head then his heart longeth to joyn himself in fellowship with such who have fellowship with the Father and the Son 1 John 1. 3. And so goes out by the foot-steps of the flock and propounds himself to the Church and puts himself upon the tryal of the truth of that work of grace in his heart So that a Church is at first gathered by the word preached and faith received of them that hear it Mat. 28. 19 20. but to come to particulars I shall according to my measure speak or write of the Ordinance of assembling under these two heads 1. As it relates to those that are converted but never as yet joyned to any Church of Christ 2. As it relates to those that are converted and joyned to the Church of Christ 1. As it relates to those that are converted but never as yet joyned to any Church of Christ in order let them consider that it is their duty to propound themselves to and endeavour to joyn with the Church For first the Lord in his Word doth command it And secondly the example of the primitive Saints whose foot-steps we are to follow doth call for it and therefore you no sooner read of a people converted but the next news they were baptized and added to the Churches and good reason why because God commands us not to forsake the assembling of our selves together And secondly although our being depends not upon our joyning with a Church of Saints yet our well-being doth much depend upon it If any ask how or by what means is a Church at first gathered I would say to them again What is written how readest thou you are to observe no other Rule means or way then what is either exprest implyed or included in the holy Scriptures of truth where we may find out the right Ordinanâ—es Ministry and Government The right Constitution of a Church of Christ or the way at first to gather a Church 1. LET seven eight nine or ten or more of those men that are most sound in the Faith and most unblamable in their lives and conversation appoint one day to fast and pray together and earnestly seek unto God for his direction herein and toward the end of the day let them one by one give an account of the work of grace upon their hearts and of the hope that is in them and then give your selves up to the Lord and one to another by the will of God with no other Covenant then this to endeavour as God shall enlighten and enable you to walk together in the appointments Ordinances and institutions of Christ the head of the Church exprest implyed and contained in the Scriptures of truth which you take to be your rule c. 2. In the end of this meeting appoint your next meeting both time and place expecting the presence of Christ with you to assist and teach you according to his promise Mat. 18. 20. See the assemblies Annotations on this verse 3. You having proceeded thus far you may look upon your selves as a Church of Christ in its infancy and when other Christians by the word preached and Faith received desire to joyn with you in this or the next meeting let their names be propounded which being done let the brethren appoint a meeting to confer with them about the time when the place where the manner how the Lord did first appear
strength of the Spirit that is if they be not purely believingly and affectionately and understandingly performed Some objections I have met with as to the manner of the performance of this duty Obj. 1. But if it be granted that Psalms c. are to be sung what warrant have we to sing them in meeter and if you have no warrant in the word for such a practise then is it a meer tradition and invention of men nothing ought to be practised in the worship of God but what is warranted by the word of God Answ I answer First that if the Psalms as they are pen'd and recorded in the book of Psalms can be sung so as the Church may be edified and confusion avoided I should judge it an exercise very suitable to the mind of God wherein my spirit would very freely concur provided that such Psalms be sung which contain matter of praise unto God I have been hitherto of opinion that the Church ought to sing Psalms in such a way as they can be sung by them which hitherto hath been found to be in the way of meeter provided that the putting of them into meeter doth answer but not obscure and destroy the Sense and mind of the Holy-Ghost as they are left upon record unto us Now lest the pleasantness of the voice or tune should more affect the ear then the Spirituality and soundness of the matter the heart the Apostle doth caution them that they so sing as that they make melody in their hearts unto the Lord that their hearts be affected and ravished as it were with that which their tongues do utter before the Lord this is that singing with grace in our hearts Col. 3. 16. If we are offended with meeter because there will be some variation or change of words from what they are in the Psalms upon record though they agree never so much with the sense of the Spirit of God in them then may we also be offended with our Bibles and lay them aside because one Bible differs from another very much in the translation as we may find if we compare one reading with another and yet duly weighed and considered the sense is the same and the mind of the Holy-Ghost may be understood in either Ob. But singing of Psalms and Hymns must be by an immediate gift of the Spirit as may be gathered from 1 Cor. 14. 26 c. to sing a Psalm or hymn already penned savoureth too much of formality and customariness which ought to be avoided in the Church of God Answ That in 1 Cor. 14. is a reprehension of some disorders amongst them in the worship of God and proves nothing at all that the singing of a Psalm or hymn must be by an immediate gift of the Spirit extemporary and without forethought or premeditation at all How is it then brethren when you come together every one of you hath a Psalm hath a Doctrine c. One having made choice of a Psalm he would sing another he would declare a Doctrine and that at the same time in much confusion and disorder to the disturbance of the Churches peace therefore he reprehends them for so doing and cautions them also that all things be done to edifying but we must be sure the Psalm or Hymn for the matter is sutable to the state and condition of the Church and that there be a sutableness in our spirits to utter it before the Lord c. Of the Ordinance of Baptism another standing Ordinance of the Gospel THat Baptism with water is an Ordinance still in force is so plain and clearly held forth in the Scriptures that I hear none deny it unless it be the erroneous Quaker and the voluptuous Ranter together with a few new upstart wantons that cast Gods Ordinances behind their backs I shall reduce all I have to say to this Ordinance of God to these two heads 1. We shall speak something to the essence of this Ordinance 2. To the exercise of it 1. To the essence of it the Ordinances of the Gospel whereof this of Baptism is one doth not differ from the Ordinances of the Old Testament in respect of the Author which is the same God the substance Christ the receivers the people of God which are in both the same but of continuance evidence and easie performance and efficacy in all these the Ordinances of the New Testament have the greater preheminence 2 Cor. 3. 9. This Ordinance of Baptism was brought into the Church at the command of God Iohn 1. 33. by the Ministry of Iohn therefore called his Baptist Mat. 3. 1. afterwards this Ordinance was sanctified and confirmed by our Saviour Christ himself being Baptized by John Mat. 3. 13. and after all this he gave commission to his Apostles and Ministers to continue the same in his Church unto the end Mat. 28. 18. Mark 16. 15 16. That the washing of the body by water is essential to this Ordinance will appear Ephes 5. 26. and that the party be Baptized in the name of the Father Son and Holy-Ghost Mat. 28. 19. 2. The exercise of Baptism is abundantly held forth to us in the Scriptures of truth where we have example one upon another As there is first our birth in Christ and secondly our nourishment after we are born so the Lord hath appointed two seals or two confirming Ordinances the one sealing our regeneration entrance and ingrafting into Christ the other sealing our perseverance and growth in Christ as in the bodily life we see that we need no more but to be born and then to have this life preserved the Ordinance of Baptism sealeth the first and the Lords Supper the second so then Baptism is an Ordinance of the New Testament by the washing of water Ephes 5. 26 representing the powerful washing of the blood of Christ 1 Cor. 6. 11. Heb. 10. 22. and so sealing our regeneration or new birth and entrance into the Covenant of grace and our ingrafting into Christ and into the body of his Church John 3. 5. Tit. 3. 5. Act. 8. 27. Here let the Reader take notice of the similitudes between the sign and thing signified 1. Water is a necessary element the natural life of man cannot be without it and the blood of Christ is as necessary to the spiritual life of the soul 2. Water is a comfortable element the thirst of the body cannot be quenched but by water So the thirst of the soul cannot be quenched but by the blood of Christ Joh. 4. 13. 3. As water is necessary and useful so it is a free element a cheap element easie to come by without cost so is the blood of Christ Isa 55. 1. O he that thirsteth come and drink freely 4. As it is necessary useful and comfortable and free so it is a common element none are barred from it any may go to the river and drink So the blood of Christ is offered to all rich and poor high and low none can say I
benefit by it So also we should examine our Faith 2 Cor. 13. 5. 1 Tim. 1. 15. and repentance Heb. 10. 22. James 4. 8. and see whether this to us be attended with the love of God Zach. 12. 10. and of our Brethren 1 Cor. 16. 4. and a fervent praying for a blessing upon this ordinance of God Mat. 26. 26. In thy preparation look much upon thy unworthiness as first the wickedness of thy nature ready to all evil and backward to all that is good Secondly consider thy blindness of mind sleepiness of memory hard heart and stubborn will unholy affections Consider if thou wast cursed in the womb born a child of wrath what art thou now having lived so long in Sin but the child of hell far more then thou wast before Psal 58. 3. Job 20. 11. If for one sin aâ—l the curses of the Law do lie upon thee as Gal. 3. 10. James 2. 10. What is due to thee for all thy sins if single sins deserve death what do thy double and treble sins deserve consider thy rebellious backsliding sins against knowledge conscience covenants purposes promises protestations do not all these deserve double and deeper damnation not knowing of God he will not have mercy upon thee Isa 27. 11. not repenting thou shalt perish Luke 13. 3. not fearing him he will make thy plagues wonderful not believing in him thou shalt be damned John 3. 18. not loving him thou art and shalt be cursed 1 Cor. 16. 22. not being zealous he will spew thee out of his mouth Rev. 3. 16. not being meek thou art an abomination to the Lord Prov. 3. 32. not being mercifull thou shalt have judgement without mercy not eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God thou hast no life in thee John 6. 53. And eat his flesh and drink his blood thou canst not unless thou dost examine thy self and by Faith discern the Lords body Of the actions of the administrator of this blessed Ordinance FIrst the minister is to take the bread and wine and to separate it from ordinary bread and wine which doth signifie Gods separating Christ from other men to be our alone mediator and that he was by the father set a part to that office and so separated from sinners Exod. 12. 5. Heb. 7. 26. Then he comes to bless and consecrate the bread and wine by the word and prayer which doth signifie Gods sanctifying and furnishing him with all gifts needful for a mediator Then he cometh to break the bread and pour out the wine which doth signifie the passion of Christ with all the torments which he endured for our sins viz. to accomplish our salvation see what he endured consider that he that was equal with God should come in the form of a Servant that he that the heaven of heavens could not contain should be cradled in a manger that the Judge of all flesh should be condemned that the Lord of life should be put to death that he that was his fathers joy should cry out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me that that head that was crowned with honour should be crowned with thorns that those eyes that were as a flame of fire should be closed up by the darkness of death that that tongue that spake as never man spake should be accused of blasphemie that those hands that swayed the Scepter and feet that were as fine brass should be nailed to the cross and himself hanged on a tree between two thieves and then they pierced his side with a spear his precious blood shed and his righteous soul poured forth unto Death Isa 53. 5 10 12. Heb. 9. 14. Surely as the bread nourisheth not if it remain whole and unbroken so there is no life for us in Christ but in as much as he died for us Then the Minister gives the bread and wine to the receivers which doth signifie that God gave Christ and Christ gave himself to us and in this is Christ Jesus with all his merits offered to all sorts of receivers and that God hath given him unto the faithful receivers to feed their souls unto eternal life John 3. 14 15. 6. 50 51. Of the actions of the receiver or duty in recieving FIrst he is to take the bread and wine presented to him which doth signifie the recieving of Christ into our souls with all his benefits by Faith and that they and only they have benefit by Christ which thus apply Christ to themselves by a true and lively Faith John 1. 12. To as many as did receive him to-them he gave power to become the Sons of God Secondly the communicants are to eat the bread and drink the wine receiving them into their bodies and digesting them 1 Cor. 11. 26. Which doth signifie our uniting to Christ and enjoying of him and so with delight apply him and his mercies to all the necessities of our Souls Spiritually feeding upon him and growing up by him and as God doth bless these elements to preserve and strengthen the body of the receiver so Christ apprehended and received by faith doth nourish our Souls and preserve both body and soul unto eternall life John 6. 50 51. 1 Cor. 10. 3 11 19 17. As the bread passeth through many alterations before it is fit to be eaten as cutting down threshing grinding and the parching heat in baking so the blessed body of Christ was pittifully bruised and rent with drops of blood scourges nayles thorns and with a spear before it could be a fit sacrifice for sin and as bread feeds the body so doth Christ the soul and as bread drives away natural hunger so doth Christ spiritual hunger and as bread is given to the hungry and poor so Christ effectually to the broken in heart and to the contrite Spirit and to the hungry soul if any ask what it is to receive Christ then I answer to accept of him to be thy Priest and Jesus to save thee by his blood and to be thy Prophet and Christ to teach thee by his word and to be thy Prince and Lord to reign in and over thee by his Spirit making thee to learn and live by his Laws now if thou hast thus received Christ thou wilt part with any thing in the world rather then him and so it will make thee to take heed of that which may cause Christ to depart from thee 1. By committing any of thy old sins 2 Pet. 1. 9. 2. By neglecting any of his Services 2 Pet. 1. 10. 3. By not loving all his commandments John 15. 14. 4. By not waiting for his second coming in power and great glory Who they are that may partake of this Ordinance ALL who are of years and sound judgement to discern the Lords body and to examine themselves and are received by consent into the body of the Church of Christ these are to repair to this ordinance for none partake of it worthily but those who profess the true
7. Of the Springs of Assurance 8. Of the impediments of assurance 9. Of the evil of doubting or want of Assurance 10. Many think they have Assurance and have it not 11. Many reasons wherefore the Lord doth not give Assurance speedily 12. Very hard to recover assurance if once lost Of the nature of Assurance what it is ASSurance is a certain sweet motion of the soul steadily resting upon the mercy of God through the merits of Christ with an unshaken expectation of all that is promised this assurance in Scripture hath several denominations which I shall speak to under the next head Or assurance is a victorious conclusion against the strength of doubting whereby the mind of a believer is certained and perswaded and upon good grounds setled concerning his personal interest in Christ and all his benefits Assurance conquers our doubtings answers our arguments clears our evidences unto the soul against the many suspitions which did arise that Christ doth indeed own it that he is the Saviour thereof c. This assurance is called sometimes full assurance of understanding Col. 2. 2. Sometimes called full assurance of hope Heb. 6. 11 12 19. Sometimes full assurance of Faith Heb. 10. 22 So that faith and hope do contribute their influence to the making up of full assurance sometimes this is called boldness Heb. 4. 16. Importing an undanted yet humble and dutifull looking God in the face sometimes full assurance when faith acts strongly without staggering through unbelief Whether Assurance be attainable in this life 1 John 5. 13. THese things have I written unto you that ye way know that ye have eternal life Heb. 6. 18. God hath given us his Oath his word his seal that our consolation may be strong and that our salvation may be sure 2 Cor. 5. 1 2. We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens Solomons Song 2. 16. My beloved is mine and I am his I am his by purchase and I am his by conquest I am his by donation and I am his by election and I am his by Covenant and I am his by marriage Isa 63. 16. doubtless thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledge us not thou O Lord art our Father and our redeemer Rom. 8. 38. Paul saith that nothing could separate him from the love os Christ 2 Pet. 1. 10. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure therefore we see it is attainable and our duty to make it sure c. Of the several sorts of Assurance THere are degrees of assurance some more weak some more strong there is an assurance and a full assurance God in his word doth exhort Christians to strive after assurance yea full assurance yea the riches of full assurance and no doubt that not only Paul but many a good Christian can say sometime or other I am verily perswaded that Christ loved me and gave himself for me Assurance hath many denominations in the Scriptures according to its degrees sometimes it is called a perswasion Rom. 8. 38. Sometimes boldness Eph. 3. 12. In whom we have boldness which doth import an undanted yet humble and dutiful looking God in the face Sometimes it is called full assurance Rom. 4. 2. That is when faith doth act strongly without staggering through unbelief This is called sometimes full assurance of understanding Col. 2. 2. Sometimes full assurance of hope Heb. 6. 11 18 19. And sometimes full assurance of Faith Heb. 10. 22. For Knowledge Faith and Hope do all contribute their influence to the making up of full assurance many Christians have some degree of assurance who think they have not and many have no assurance at all who yet pretend thereto most of all Of the trials of assurance AS Surance may be brought to the test and tried by 1. The qualification of the Subject assured 2. Or by the grounds or cases of assurance 3. Or by the fruits and effects of it we are not to let the reall interest of Christ to hang hovering and in dispute but to determine them by particular and personal evidence 1. True assurance doth support and comfort the heart in deepest tribulation as we may see in Job and Paul 2. True assurance doth make a man of a Godlike disposition easie to be intreated ready to forgive abundant in goodness it makes a man study the good of others wherein he may strengthen the feeble and comfort the dejected and inrich the impoverished and recover the seduced and inlarge the streightned and build up the wasted 3. True assurance puts the soul a work upon self-purifying 1 John 3. 2 3. 4. True assurance doth make the soul incomparably to prize communion with God and Jesus Christ Can 2. 6 7 16 17. Compared with Cant. 3. 1. to the 6. 5. True assurance doth engage those that have it to serve and honour God Josh 1. 15. God assured Joshua that he would neverleave him nor forsake him Joshua upon this resolves that he and his house would serve the Lord c. To make out after and endeavour for assurance is our duty WE are bound to draw near unto God in the full assurance of Faith Heb. 10. 22. 2 Pet. 1. 10. Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure but so foolish are we that whilst with much care and labour we go about to make those things certain which are most uncertain we make those things uncertain which might be made certain 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine you selves whether ye be in the faith prove your selves c. Consider farther that although the enjoyment of assurance makes most for our consolation yet the living upon Christ purely in the want of assurance makes most for his exaltation he is happy with Thomas that believeth upon seeing and handling but thrice happy are those that believe when they do nor see John 20. 29. Faith can make a soul submit in a cross but it is assurance which makes the soul to rejoyce and triumph Of the benefits of assurance and many arguments to perswâ—de us to make out after it 1. THE want of it doth hinder thankfulness 2. Assurance will settle a soul upon Christ 3. Assurance will sweeten all other blessings to us 4. Assurance will put us upon all kind of duty 5. Assurance will ease a man of the world and mount the soul above it 1. The want of it doth hinder thankfulness We cannot give God hearty thanks whilst we are doubtfull of our particular interest in Christ this man cannot thank the Lord from his own Soul for giving his Son Jesus Christ seeing he doth doubt of his interest in him he cannot thank God for pardon of sin seeing he doth doubt whether they be pardoned or no see Psal 103. 1 2 3. 2. Assurance will settle a soul upon Christ and cause him to lie down and sleep in
safety there be two effects of this blessed assurance one is joy the other is peace it glads the heart and it pacifies the heart 3. Assurance will sweeten all other blessings to us we shall see them handed forth to us in love here is saith the soul plenty of food and â—ayment and friends and God is my God too my sins are pardoned too but the want of this may check all our mercies 4. Assurance will put us upon all kind of duty viz. What shall I render to the Lord for all his mercies I will either do or suffer or any thing for him that hath done so much for me 5. Assurance will mount the soul above the world and make the soul to live out of its self in the Spirit upon Christ unto God above the world under Ordinances looking to election behind and perfection before O the blessed favour of God the evidences of our Union with Christ this is like the light of the Sun which puts out the light of ten thousand candles those that have so much as to make up assurance for heaven will never complain of too little on the earth these things considered doth lay before us two things 1. The benefits of assurance Secondly it doth bespeak the reader if he have it not to labour for it Of the springs of assurance or means by which it is attained THE work we have to do is two-fold First get title to Gods love Secondly get assurance that thou hast a title the first is done by action the second is done by examination He that would get assurance must not cut off any of the pipes of conveyance neither make use of them sluggishly A sluggish spirit is alwayes a lazy spirit he that will find rich minerals must dig deep he that will be rich must be diligent and sweat for it he that will taste the kernel must crack the shell he that will have the marrow must break the bone he that will wear the garland must run the race He that will ride in triumph must get the victory a lazy Christian shall alwaies want four things comfort and content confidence and assurance Heb. 6. 11. and we desire that every one would shew the same diligence to the full assurance of Faith O how can we look so many sweet promises in the face and harbour so many misgivings in our hearts First take one promise and charge that upon the heart and if the heart be stubborn and will not yield then take another if that will not do then take another and lay that home upon the heart and never leave or cease this work till thou hast made thy calling and election sure and make as much conscience of these commands that requires thee to get assurance as you do of those commands that requires thee to pray read and hear assurance is heavenly wages that God gives not no loyterers though no man doth merit assurance by obedience yet God usually crowns obedience with assurance Joh. 14. 21 22 23. 1. Diligently improve those notable assuring Ordinances the Word Lords Supper and Praye r to help on all the former directions 1. The word was therefore written 1 John 5. 13. That believers might know they have eternal life let it therefore dwell in you richly Col. 3. 16. 2. The Lords Supper seals up remission of sins therefore be at the Lords table frequently but be sure to partake of it worthily 3. Prayer that not only spreads open a mans heart but pierceth the heavens creeps into the bosom of God and sometimes furnisheth the doubting spirit with assurance in the very exercise of it 2. Spring of assurance cherisheth and improveth all your graces but especially assuring graces knowledge Faith and hope by knowledge we discern our selves by Faith we appropriate to our selves and by hope we patiently wait for full enjoyment 3. Quench not grieve not the Spirit of God for that spirit is sent to assure us most convincingly clearly and satisfactorily 4. Go on from faith to faith add one grace to another so shall an entrance be administred to thee abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ See and well consider this portion of Scripture 2 Pet. 1. from ver 5. to ver 12. Of the impediments of assurance 1. THE first impediment of assurance that I shall name is this our measuring of the merey and bowels of God by the narrow scantling of our dark understanding 2. Another is our making sense reason and feeling the sole judge of our spiritual condition 3. Another impediment of assurance is our retaining so many despairing thoughts not considering that despair is one of the worst sins viz. It is a dishenour to God and a reproach to Christ a resisting of the Spirit of Grace and a murderer of the soul a belying of God a denying of Christ and a crowning of Satan and a proclaiming the Devil conqueror Jâ—das did sin more by despairing then by betraying of Christ 4. Another impediment of assurance is our not reading and believing these and the like precious promises Num. 14. 19 20. Exod. 34. 6 7. Mich. 7. 18 19. Isa 30. 18 19. Psalm 38. 34. to the 40. Psal 103. to the 13. Jer. 3. 1. to 12. Luk. 15. 20. to 24. 1 Tim. 1. 13 14 15 16 17. 5. Another impediment of assurance is our living in the neglect of some of Gods Ordinances when we wait on God in some of his wayes but not in all viz. Some will wait upon God in hearing the word of life and yet neglecting the breaking the bread of life sometimes God will give assurance in one Ordinance and deny it in another that we may seek his face in all 1 Cor. 28. 8. 6. Our dallying with sin he that doth lye down in sin must live in fear there is no assurance for us unless we offer up our Isaac and part with our Benjamin pull out our right eye and cut off our right hand c. The evil of doubting or want of assurance WE cannot in any one thing more gratifie Satan and wrong our own souls then to live in a state of doubting we wrong our selves in point of comfort and content and in point of peace and in point of boldness a man that lives without assurance leaves his soul open to many blows and knocks frowns and wounds from God from the world from carnal friends and from Satan besides if we live and dye in unbelief John 3. 18. He that believeth not is condemned already by the Law and the Gospel and by your own conscience all these have passed the sentence of condemnation upon that state already the sin of unbelief is a great sin and it is our sin to give way to it We nourish a snake in our bosom that will sting us to death to doubt and to despair of mercy is to make the God of truth a lyar 1 John 5. 10. Doubting makes the countenance sad and the hands to hang down and
the knees feeble and the heart full of fears and trembling besides the time of doubting is a barren time there is no praying nor praising nor growing nor any vigorous acting Surely this state comes not from God he bids us make our calling and election sure neither doth it come from Christ he speaks and gives peace to his flock they come not from the holy Spirit of God for he is the great and most sweet comforter revealing and applying the love of God unto the soul consider these Scriptures Mat. 14. 31. O thou of little faith wherefore didst thou doubt Luk. 12. 29. Neither be ye of doubtful minds 1 Thes 2. 8. I will that men pray every where lifting up pure hands without wrath and doubting But whilst we live in the want of assurance we live in a state of doubting Many think they have assurance and have not LET us consider that there is a great deal of counterfeit knowledge and counterfeit faith and counterfeit love and counterfeit repentance so there is a great deal of counterfeit assurance in the world many there be that talk high and look big and bear it out bravely whereas when their assurance comes to be weighed in the ballance and brought to the test it will be found too light when it cometh to withstand temptation it is found too weak and when it should put the soul upon Divine action it is found to be but a lazy presumption so we are apt to think our sins to be no sins when indeed they be many and that they are but smal when indeed they are great and that we have grace when we have none and that our grace is true when it is counterfeit and that our condition is not so bad as others when it is worse so we are apt to lay claim to God to Christ and the promises and priviledges and all the glory of another world when we are in the sight of God poor and blind and miserable and naked being Christless and graceless and truthless and so think our selves to be something when we are nothing according to this Scripture Gal. 6. 3. Assurance is not all kind of perswasion there are two kinds of assurance or perswasion of the mind touching a mans personal interest in Christ one is imaginary and deluding for as the heart of a man may deceive it self about the habit of Faith or any other grace so it may delude a man about the acts and degrees of the same doth the true believer believe in Christ so thinks the hypocrite that he doth too hath a true believer a perswasion of his interest in Christ so hath the hypocrite to a most exalted confidence an Iron faith that will never doubt nor bow it is just with him as with a poor man in a dream what the rich man hath by propriety that same thing may the poorest man have in a dream fancy or imagination Many reasons wherefore the Lord doth not give assurance speedily 1. BEcause assurance is meat for strong men babes are not able to bear it and digest it 2. He doth not give it speedily because we are apt to seek it more for our selves then we do for his honour as the Sun doth as it were put out the light of the Moon stars fire and candle So the glory of God must put out all other ends the servant that minds his wages more then his work must not wonder if his master be slack in paying him and sure it is that he that is most mindfull of Gods honour God will be most mindfull of his comfort 3. Another reason why he doth not speedily give in assurance is that when they have it they may the more highly prize it and the more carefully keep it and the more wisely improve it and the more affectionately and effectually bless God for it none sets such a prize upon light as he that hath lain a long time in darkness 4. That we might live purely upon Christ we are apt to rest upon every thing below Christ viz. to rest upon creatures to rest upon gifts or graces duties and Divine manifestations or celestial consolations and to rest upon gracious evidences now the Lord to cure his people of these distempers many times leaves his children of light to walk in darkness but let us consider that although the enjoyment of assurance doth make most for our comfort as we have said before yet the living purely upon Christ in the want of assurance doth make most for his glory no Christian to him that in the want of visibles can live upon an invisible God 5. The Lord most times will have his people make a constant progress in holiness before he gives them this happiness of assurance for assurance in a sense is the daughter of holiness Very hard to recover assurance if one lost LET us consider the wonderful difficulty of recovering assurance if once lost Oh the sighs the groans the complaints the tears the heartrentings the soul-bleeding the gaining of assurance at first cost very dear but the regaining of it will put us to more pains and charge Of the two it is casier to keep assurance when we have it then to recover it when we have lost it as it is easier to keep the house in reparations then to raise it up when it is fallen a man may easier make a seeing eye blind then a blind eye to see a man may easily put an Instrument out of tune but not so soon put it in again a man is easily born down the stream but cannot so easily swim up the stream It is better to be kept from the losing of assurance then to be cured as it is better to be kept from a disease then to be cured of a disease Oh what is the state of a poor Christian that hath lost his assurance it will cost him more grief sorrow heart-breaking and soul-bleeding before conscience will be quieted divine justice satisfied and comfort and joy restored evidences cleared and pardon in the court of conscience sealed David found this to be very hard which made him cry out O spare me a little that I may recover my strength create a clean heart renew a right spirit restore unto me the joy of thy salvation Psal 51. 7. to 12. We lose our assurance by backsliding unbelief luke-warmness formality c. and yet cannot be recovered until we remember from whence we are fallen and repent we cannot until we look upon him whom we have peirced and see Gods delightful affections and tender mercies before set us in sweet working and soul-ravishing and heart-melting expressions a relapse in diseases is more dangerous then the first sickness was Job 5. 14. 2 Pet. 2. 22. Mat. 12 43. Of the difference between the Law and the Gospel and of the several sorts of Laws AS the Law requireth obedience so the Gospel directeth us how to perform it 1 Tim. 1. 9 10 11. The Law commands us to worship God as our
our selves to be justified from our sins by faith in the blood of Christ is the cause of our love to Christ 1 Joh. 4. 10 19. 6. Our love to Christ is the cause of our obeying of Christ 1 Joh. 5. 3. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments so again Joh. 14. 15. If ye love me keep my commandments See the 21. and 23. ver 7. In our obedience to him he doth manifest these things to us that we have right to the tree of life Rev. 22. 14. Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the City that is in the obedience he shall have the manifestation of that 2 Pet. 1. 11. For so an entrance shall be administred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And so he is manifested to be the Author of salvation to all them that obey him Heb. 5. 9. Behold obedience to God is the way of conveyance to us so it is a lively evidence to others that we are the Lords Joh. 13. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples because our faith which is the evidence of things not seen to us is proved to others to be true by its works Jam. 2. 18. Behold here is the Lords going downward from the causes to the effects now we must go upward from the effects to the causes 1. God shews us what is our duty and puts us upon doing it and for the doing of it those that behold it and hear of us judge us to be true Christians 2. In the doing of it God manifests himself more and more to our souls in the keeping of his appointments there is great reward for so an entrance is administred to us abundantly 2 Pet. 1. 11. 3. The cause of our obedience is our love to God If ye love me keep my commandments 4. The cause of our love was our seeing that God did love us first 1 Joh. 4. 10 19. 5. The cause of our faith in Christ is the preaching of the Gospel Rom. 10. 17. 6. The cause of the preaching the Gospel to us was Christs dying for us 7. The cause of Christs dying for us was Gods great love of pitty to us-wards even when we were dead in trespasses and sins Ephes 2. 4. So then Gods love was the cause of sending his son o deye for our sins Christs dying and rising again is the cause of the Gospeâ—s being preached The preaching of the Gospel is the cause of our believing Our believing is the cause of our justification from sin the knowing of our selves free from sin by the blood of Christ is the cause of our love to Christ our love to Christ is the cause of our obeying of him and in onr obedience is the manifestation more and more conveyed to us So by our obedience others have some evidence of our faith in Christ Mans life is or should be guided by these vertues 1. FAith whereby we believe in and lay hold on God for something promised 2. Hope and that is either for pardoning mercy or for glory 3. Charity whereby we love God as the only good and his people and our enemies in obedience to his command 4. Prudence 1. In our hearts to guide our thoughts 2. In our mouths to order our speeches 3. It should be in our words to grace or adorn our actions 4. In the intelligence to understand things present 5. Prudence to guess at things to come 6. Prudence to recal matters past 5. Temperance which moderates our desires and brings the Appetite under a rule of reason that it may not exceed the rule of moderation 6. Perseverance which continueth in doing and suffering valiantly 7. Justice which giveth every man his due without self-love fear or ranckor it binds us to give due to God to our parents and kindred verity and equity in all that we do in order to our duty herein 1. Sense perceiveth 2. Imagination representeth 3. Understanding formeth 4. Wit deviseth 5. Reason judgeth 6. Memory preserveth 7. Intelligence apprehendeth 8. Contemplation in the prosecution perfecteth Several Divine Sentences First of Christ HE that was the Son of of God became the son of man that we who were the sons of men might become the sons of God He was made sin for us that knew no sin that we might be made the rightâ—ousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5. 21. The more vile Christ made himself for us the more dear he ought to be unto us therefore let us beware of Christ-dishonouring and soul-undoing opinions All good things are in Christ eminently perfectly and eternally Faith in the blood of Christ the witness of the Spirit of Christ a sense of feeling and the love of Christ and the hope of reigning with Christ are the only things to be desired Christ is as well the fountain of common gifts as of saving grace A true Christian cannot find fulness in the creature nor sweetness in sin nor life in any Ordinance without Christ he will weep over other mens weaknesses and rejoyce at their graces We must lean more upon Christ and less upon our own strength lest with Peter we rest upon some old strength and fall before a new temptation Christ can heal a soul speedily perfectly freely and eternally Oh that Christ should shed his blood for those sins that we never shed one tear for A true Christian doth labour for unity in the Church as well as purity he loves to see Christs coat without rent as well as without spot Phil. 3. 15. Christ did admit his spouse into the garden sweetly though she kept him out of her house sluggishly What a poor soul doth for Christ sincerely that our precious Saviour takes sweetly though it be done ill he doth accept it well Nay though we carry our selves in our choicest performances very weakly yet he doth carry himself towards us very sweetly and doth accept of that which we do kindly although done in much infirmity let us enter into his service and we shall soon experience his sweetness Christ doth weigh the heart of the giver more then the value of the gift and delights to see his people give cheerfully though they cannot give bountifully Let us give over measuring his mercy by the narrow scantling of our dark understandings though difficulties may arise and Christians hearts may fail yet the work of Christ shall go on c. Of affliction for sin in Sentences GOD is as severe in punishing as he is gracious in pardoning his house of correction is his School of instruction God had one Son without corruption but no Son without correction he had one Son without Sin but no Son without Sorrow A Soul may be dearly beloved although soarly afflicted sin and punishment are linked together if thou wilt be sinful thou must be miserable Oh what is the state of a man
that hath sinned it will cost him more grief sorrow heart-breaking and soul-bleeding before conscience will be satisfied comfort restored evidences cleared and pardon in the court of conscience sealed for God can look sowrly and chide bitterly and strike heavily even where and when he loves dearly a soul may be full of holy affection when it is empty of divine consolation there may be true grace where there is not one drop of comfort nor one dram of joy Of Sin in Sentences MOst men are fallen into sin as if there were no God to punish them no justice to condemn them no hell to torment them That man shall be a slave to sin that will not avoid the occasions of sin It is impossible for that man to get the conquest of sin that plaies and sports with the occasions of sin It is better to be kept from sin then to be cured of sin as it is better to be kept from a disease then to be cured of that disease the greatest sinners shall be the greatest sufferers Sin shall never be our bane if it be our burden sin doth intice us to that which is against Gods holiness as well as against our happiness There is no sin little because there is no little God to sin against There is many a one full of sinful corruption that shews it not for want of occasion but the more grace thrives in the Soul the more sin dies in the soul Sin may break our Communion but not our Union with God Every sin doth put God upon complaining Christ upon bleeding and the spirit upon grieving and so men go on from folly to folly till they be ripe for eternal misery Of doing or practising in Sentences WE should spend our and time pains about that which will make us live happily die comfortably and raign eternally It is not knowing man nor the talking man nor the reading man but the doing man that at last will be found the happiest man Therefore no danger or difficulty should hinder a Christian from his duty for if our knowledge be not turned into practise the more knowledge we have the more miserable shall we be We should be thankfull under mercies faithfull in our places humble under divine appearances and fruitfull under pretious oâ—dinances For he that thinks himself too good to be ruled by Gods word will be found too bad to be owned by God To reward good for evil is divine to reward good for good is humane to reward evil for evil is brutish but to reward evil for good is devilish we are apt to have two eyes to behold our dignity and priviledges and not so much as one eye to see our duty and services Of the Riches Honour and Glory of the world in Sentences A Man may be great and graceless with Pharaoh honourable and damnable with Saul rich and miserable with Dives A man may have enough of this world to sink him but he can never have enough to save him though good Christians have here but little in possession yet they have a glorious kingdom in reversion It is better to be gracious then great inwardly holy then out wardly happy for the best mans honour is as glass bright and brittle and evermore in danger of breaking the things of this life are not so absolutely given us but that God retains still a right to it and an interest in it and may demand it when and how he please Of the Devil and his temptation in Sentences THE Devil aims principally to make us walk sinfully that so we might live uncomfortably If Satan be alwaies roaring we should be alwaies watching for though Satan cannot rob a Christian of his crown yet he will endeavour to spoil him of his comfort It is not Satans tempting but our consenting not his inticing but our yielding that makes temptation sinful Therefore let us not yield to Satans temptations who hath the worst name and the worst nature of all created creatures our carnal security is his opportunity and he that would not be taken with Satans devises let him make present resistance against Satans first motions Of assurance of Salvation in Sentences A Ssurance is a salve for every sore and a remedy for every malady a Christians anchor at sea and his shield at land a staff to support him a sword to defend him and a pavilion to hide him Assurance makes heavy afflictions light and long afflictions short and bitter afflictions sweet God hath made an everlasting separation between sin and peace sin and joy sin and assurance if sin and our souls be one God and our souls must needs be two He that will get assurance must mind his work more then his wages for assurance is heavenlywages that God gives not to loiterers but to the ingenious labourers Though no man merits assurance by his obedience yet God usually crowns obedience with assurance That soul will never attain to any settled assurance of Salvation that builds his hopes upon a sandy foundation We cannot distrust our selves too much nor trust Christ too much It is one thing for God to love a soul and another thing for God to assure that soul of his love A man may be truly holy and yet not have assurance that he shall be eternally happy God writes many a mans name in the book of life and yet not let him have assurance of it till the hour of death assurance is a mercy too good for most mens hearts a crown too weighty for most mens heads It is the best and greatest mercy and therefore God will only give it to his nearest and dearest friends As faith is often attended with unbelief and sincerity with hypocrisie and humility with vain glory so is assurance with fears and doubts Divers knotty questions answered and seeming contradictions in the Scripture reconciled and many Scruples of conscience removed VVE read 1 John 3. 16. we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren Quest In what cases may we hazard or lay down our lives for the brethren Answ 1. A private Christian may adventure his life for publike persons Rom. 16. 3 4. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helâ—ers in Christ who have for my life laid down their own necks unto whom not only I give thanks but also all the Chruches of the Gentiles 2. A man may warrantably adventure his life if need require for a multitude that they may be preserved from destruction so Moses Exod. 32. 31 32. so Paul Rom. 9. 3. compared with Phil. 2. 17 18. 3. One publike officer may hazzard his life for another of more concernment in the Church as Epaphroditus a Pastor of the Philippians for Paul an Apostle Phil. 2. 30 c. We read in many places of Scripture that it is the duty of every man to believe and we find in other Scriptures that God is the Author of Faith and without him we cannot believe John 5. 40 44. Q. Why doth God promise eternal life to those that
do believe and threaten eternal death to those that do not seeing it is not in their power by nature Answ 1. That he might by means of those promises and threats work us unto that which by nature we are averse unto 2 Cor. 5. 11 20. 2. That we might appear more inexcusable when neither promises nor threatnings will move us to imbrace free mercy Acts 13. 46 51. Acts 18. 6. 3. That the grace of God might as well appear in giving us power to believe as in giving Christ and in him forgiveness of sins to be believed Rom. 9. 16. Rom. 11. 5 6. 4. That we might apply our selves unto God in the use of those means that he hath appointed for the working of Faith in us John 6. 27. Isa 55. 3. 5. That we might wholly deny our selves and search and by searching find in the Covenant of grace matter of free conveyance of power to believe whatsoever is required to be believed Rom. 10. 17. John 5. 39. Rom. 4. 16 c. We read John 3. 3. except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God and we find that he that is born of God 1 John 3. 9. doth not commit Sin Q. How or in what sense he that is born of God is said not to commit sin Answ 1. He sins not that is he doth not make it his trade as others do he sins not out of malice nor alloweth himself in a course of sin if sin dwelleth in him it doth not reign in him Rom. 6. 12 14. 2. If he do through some strong temptation fall into any sin he sins with an unwilling willingness and with a dissenting consent Rom. 7. 15 19. So that they that are born of God do not commit sin as they do who are unregenerated 3. They that are born of God do not commit Sin That is they do not sin against Gospel remedy as others do Jesus Christ is the Gospel-remedy Acts 4. 12. the going on in a state of unbelief and impenitency not accepting of Christ by Faith and repentance as a Saviour and Mediator is sinning against this Gospel-remedy Acts 16. 31. Compared with John 1. 11 12. 4. He that is born of God doth not sin presumptuously and with wilfull obstinacy they sin rather out of infirmity then of insolency out of weakness rather then willfulness they do not so much overtake faults as faults overtake them Gal. 6. 1. In this sense he that is born of God doth not sin or that that is born of God doth not sin but for all this in another sense the best of men do sin and have in them sin Original and too often fall into actual who can understand his errours Psal 19. 12. Who can say I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin Prov. 20. 9. there is no man that sinneth not 1 Kings 8. 46. 2 Chron. 6. 36. But before I proceed further I will give you a Catalogue of those places of Scripture that speak of man as free from sin and then another Catalogue of those places of Scripture that affirm we have sin in us and lastly do what I can to reconcile them together Of spotless Saints THou art all fair my love there is no spot in Cant. 4. 7. thee that is no such spot as the wicked man hath Deut. 32. 5. Ephes 5. 27. That he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle 2 Pet. 3. 14. That you may be found in him without spot or wrinkle Rev. 14. 5. For they are without fault before the throne of God Col. 1. 22. You who were enemies in your minds now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight ver 28. that we might present every man perfect in Christ Col. 2. 10. You are compleat in him Ezek. 16. 14. Thou art comely through my comeliness saith the Lord that I have put upon thee 2 Cor. 5. 21. He was made sin for us that knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him Psalm 55. 13. The Kings daughter is said to be all glorious within Whatsoever grace there is in Christ there is something of the same stamped upon every true Christian viz. Is Jesus Christ called the beloved of God so are the Saints too is he called the Son of God the Saints are also called the Sons of God Is Christ called heir the Saints are said to be heirs co-heirs with Christ Is he said to be elect and precious so are the Saints 1 Pet. 1. 2. He is called the light of the world they are also called light in the Lord Ephes 5. 8. Is he said to be full of grace and truth so are the Saints too some of them as Stephen full of grace Acts 7. 55. and Mary full of grace c. They were once blind but now they see once slaves but now sons once dead but now alive once drakness but now light once an heir of Hell but now an heir of Heaven once Satans bond men but now Gods free men once under the Spirit of bondage but now under the Spirit of Adoption that seals up the remission of sins the Justification of their persons and the salvation of their souls c. Of the spots in the best Saints THe most holy and best of Christians in this life have in them sin original and thence too often fall into sin actual who can understand his errors Psalm 19. 12. Who can say I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin Prov. 20. 9. There is no man that sinneth not 1 Kin. 8. 46. and 2 Chron. 6. 36. In many things we sin all Jam. 3. 2. There is not a Just man upon earth that doth good and sineth not Eccles 7. 20. If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us and if we say we have not sinned we make God a lyer for he hath said in his word that we all have sinned 1 John 1. 8 10. see also Rom. 7. 5 23 24. Again the Testimony of the best of Saints in all ages doth testifie that none of them all have been without sin in this life no not Abraham the Father of the faithfull Gen. 12. 13 19. 20 2 5. not Isaac Gen. 26. 7 8 9. not Jacob Gen. 27. 19 20 24. not Moses and Aaron Psalm 106. 33. Deut. 32. 50 51. Exod. 32. 2 12. not David Psalm 51. 1. to 10. 38. 3 4. not Peter Mat. 26. 33 34 35 70. not Paul himself Gal. 2. 11 12 13. Rom. 7. 18 20. How to reconcile these Scriptures together seeing the one saith they have Spots the other saith they have none 1. WE are to put a difference between Spot and Spot as the Lord doth Deut. 32. 5. Their Spot saith he is not the Spot of my people so his people had not Spots and yet they had Spots
work of the spirit our seeking after faith is the effect of the saving work of the Spirit external Actions shall have externall answers spiritual actions shall have spirituall answers c. We read in four Scriptures of Iniquity Transgression and Sin Exod. 34. 7. Mic. 7. 18. Levit. 16. 21. Iob 13. 23. Quest What difference is there between Iniquity Transgression and Sin are not these three one Answ Iniquity is that which is done against another man Sin that which is done against a mans self and Transgression that which is done immediately against God 1 Sam. 2. 25. But the Scriptures in some places make them all one but where we find these three words Iniquity Transgression and Sin laid down together we are to understand that the Lord doth speak of our sin with all its aggravations with all its haynous circumstances sin with all its malignity Quest Whether God may forgive a man his sin and yet the man himself not know it Answ A mans sins may be forgiven him and he not know it Lam. 3. 42. We have transgressed and have rebelled and thou hast not pardoned c. yet God had pardoned and God had forgiven them and yet they lay under suspence of pardon and this is the case of many souls at this day Quest If God pardons sin whether or no doth he afflict and punish men for it afterward Answ God in his despensation of Justice doth punish no man but where sin is Sin entered into the world and death by sin it is true sometimes the Lord doth afflict for tryall and not for sin so was Jobs affliction Now that God doth punish his people for sin though their sins be pardoned will appear from these two Scriptures 2 Sam. 12. 14. How be it because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the child shall surely die I will punish thee in thy child I will pardon thy sin yet I will punish thy sin So likewise in 2 Sam. 7. 14 15. I will be his father and he shall be my son if he commit Iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men but my mercy shall not depart away from him this was a promise to Solomon so the Psalmist quoting this expression Psalm 89. 31 32. If they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments then I will visit their transgressions with a rod Amos 3. 2. You have I known of all the families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your Iniquities Object Did not Christ fuffer for our sins and must we suffer too how can this hang together Answ When we say we are punished for sin we are to take notice that there is a great deal of difference between our sufferings for sin and Christs our punishment for sin is not by way of satisfaction to divine Justice for so Christ was punished Isa 53. The chastisement of our Peace is laid upon him Quest Whether pardon of sin goes before faith and repentance or follows after Answ Doubtless in the court of heaven according to election Christ being a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world our sins are forgiven and done away but as to our apprehension and manifestation God doth pardon sin after a man repents and believes Act. 3. 19. Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out see Acts 26. 18. Ephes 2. 3 12. That at that time ye were without Christ being Aliens from the common-wealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenant of Promise having no hope and without God in the world Quest Whether it be consistent with the state of pardon to fall into the same sin again and again over and over Answ Pardoned men have fallen often into the same sin Gen. 42. 15. It was a gross sin for Joseph to swear an heathenish oath by the life of Pharoah ye shall not go forth hence except your youngest brother come hither send one of you for him and you shall be kept in prison or else by the life of Pharoah surely you are spies so that Joseph swore twice by the life Pharoah so we read of Jehosaphat he fell twice into the same sin 2 Chron. 20. 35 36 37. Besides consider that although grace doth free us from the dominion of sin and from the damning power of sin and from the love of sin yet grace doth not free any man from the seeds of any one sin and therefore it is possible for a soul to fall again and again as for instance Lot was twice overcome with wine John twice worshipped the Angel Abraham out of fear often dissembled and laid his wife open to adultery to save his life see Gen 20. 13. and Gen. 12. David was resolved to kill Nabal and all his innocent family and a little after he fell into the foul murther of Vriah Jacob twice told a lie for compassing the blessing Gen. 27. 19 21. Lot was twice made drunken and committed Incest with both his daughters Gen. 19. Peter thrice denies his Master and every time worse then another Mat. 26 c. These things are written to caution us that stand that we fall not and to comfort them that are fallen that they despair not Quest How should a Christian come to see the greatness and vileness of his sin or how shall I aggravate my sin that I may see it as it is in its colours Answ 1. Consider first how osten thou hast sinned against the motions of Gods Spirit and so grieving the spirit by withstanding Divine motions 2. So sinning against the frequent manifestations of Gods Love to thy soul this doth greaâ—ly aggravate sin this did aggravate Solomons sin 1 Kin. 11. 3. Consider how thou hast sinned against the rebukes and checks of thine own conscience Jam. 4. 17. To him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is sin 4. To sin against Gods warnings or Judgements either against others or our selves this doth heighten our sin see Dan. 5. 22 23. compared with 2 Chron. 28. 22. 5. To sin against mercies is an aggravation of sin 2 Sam. 12. I delivered thee out of Sauls hand I gave thee thy Masters house if all this had been too little for thee I would have given thee such and such things wherefore hast thou dispised c. 6. There is a resisting of the Spirit Acts 7. 51. And there is a vexing the Spirit Isa 63. 10. But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit therefore he was turned to be their enemy and fought against them 7. Sin is aggravated when a man doth frequently fall into the same sin 8. Sin is aggravated when it is done in a way of complacencie when we love and delight in it 9. Sin is aggravated when it is done by one that lives under much means of Grace this made a woe to be pronounced against Chorazin and Bethsaida 10. This also doth aggravate sin when it is done against vows purposes promises
now lye hid shall then be made known Luke 18. 17. and 12. 2. there is nothing covered that shall not then be revealed 1 Cor. 4. 5. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness Matthew 24. 30. Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and mens hearts fail for fear and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth Joel 3. 16. the Lord also shall roar out of Sion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth shall shake but the Lord will be the hope of his people Christ shall come terribly and yet seasonably THe day of the Lord is great and terrible who can abide it Joel 2. 11. There hath not been ever the like neither shall there be Joel 2. 2. there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since the creation Dan. 12. 1. Then shall be great tribulation such as was not from the beginning to this day Matthew 24. 21 22. A fire stream shall come forth before him and ten thousands shall be ministring unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand shall stand before him and the judgement shall be set and the books opened See Dan. 7. 10. Jude 14. Yet this coming will be seasonable to all that have an interest in him and did look for him and hasten to his coming and love his appearing for now they shall be like him 1 John 3. 2. Isa 25. 9. and Isa 2. 3 4. Rev. 21. 4. There be four things that Christ hath already done for his flock and five things he is now doing and six things more he will finish when he comes THere are four things that he hath already done viz. 1. He hath taken our nature upon him Heb. 2. 16. 2. He hath taken our sins upon him Isaiah 53. 6. 3. He hath taken the curse due to us upon himsef Gal. 3. 13. 4. He hath fully satisfied Divine justice for us Isa 53. 11. Then there are five things that he is now doing for us viz. 1. He is at the right hand of the Father making interceslion for us Heb. 7. 25. 2. He is teaching us as a Prophet and preserving us as a King and healing us as a Physitian and feeding us as a Shepheard c. 3. He is preparing for the destroying of Antichrist 2 Thes 2. 8. 4. He is making good his promise in pouring out his Spirit 5. He is turning our disunion into union Zeph. 3. 9. Then there be six things more that he will do for us when he comes 1. He will unvail himself and every eye shall see him Rev. 1. 7. 2. He will gather his spiritual Kingdom Psal 50. 5. 3. He will establish his Kingdom on the top of all kingdoms Isa 2. 2. 4. He will restore our judges as at the first and counsellors as at the beginning Isa 1. 26 5. He will make his enemies his footstool Psalm 110. 1. 6. He will make his people the head and not the tail Deut. 28. 13. Dan. 7. 27. Many more things hath Christ done for us many more he is doing and many more will he do when he comes Let the reader take notice these that I have named are but a taste Of the resurrection of the dead at the second coming of Christ THough the resurrection of the dead is above nature and mans corrupt reason yet it is neither against nature noragainst right reason the Scripture proves the resurrection of the dead by many testimonies examples types and reasons c. 1. The resurrection is proved by testimonies Job 19. 25 26. Dan. 12. 2. Hos 13. 14. Mat. 22. 31. and 27. 52. John 5. 28 29. Phil. 3. 21. 1 Thes 4. 2. By example of those that were raised 1 King 17. 22. 2 King 4. 34. 2 King 13. 21. Matthew 9. 25. and 27. 52 53. Luke 7. 14. John 11. 11. Acts. 9. 40. and 20. 10. 3. By types as Aarons rod budding Numb 17. Of the Jews returning from Babylon Ezek. 37. but chiefly of Enoch and Elias Gen. 5. and 2. Kin. 2. 4. This resurrection is also proved by reasons drawn first from the Covenant of God which is not broken by death Mat. 22. 30. But the chief reason is drawn from Christ who is not only the type and example of our resurrection but the beginning also thereof For the Life of the body the Church is from the head There is a first and a second Resurrection 1. THe first Resurrection as most do affirm is a Resurrection from the death of sin to the Life of Righteousness this is a Revocation from a state of death to a state of Life 2. There is a resurrection of the same body that man had in this life Iob 19. 26. The form of this resurrection consisteth in the re-union of body and soul and restoring of the deâ—d to Life and in the suddain change of those that remain upon the earth at his coming c. This resurrection is either of the godly or of the wicked There is a Resurrection to Life and another to condemnation John 5. 29. 1. Of the godly they shall be first raised and then freed not only from corruption and bodily defects but shall be crowned also with Glory 1 Thess 4. 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Arch-Angel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first Agreeable to this Text is that in Rev. 20. 4 5. I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God which had not worshipped the beast nor his Image neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands and they lived and raigned with Christ a thousand years Ver. 5. But the rest of the dead lived not again untill the thousand years were finished this is the first resurrection blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection on such the second Death hath no power the Apostle Paul speaks to the same thing 1 Cor. 15. 23. But every man in his own order Christ the first fruits afterwards they that are Christs at his Coming 1 Thess 4. 14. For if we believe that Jesus dyed and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him 1 Cor. 15. 42 43 44. It is sown in corruption it is raysed in incorruption it is sown in dishonour it is raised in Glory it is sown in weakness it is raised in power it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body ver 49. As we have born the Image of the earthly we shall also bear the Image of the Heavenly Adam The bodies of the Elect being thus first raised they shall have most excellent and supernatural qualities I will instance in four 1. As before they shall be raised in power whereby they shall be freed from all wants and weakness and enabled to continue without the use of meat and drink
dwelleth Righteousness beholding and being filled with the fruition of the glorious presence of God and of the Lamb Jesus Christ in the company of innumerabl Angels and Saints 1 Cor 13. 10. Psal 16. 11. Rev. 3. 21. 2 Pet. 3. 13. Psal 17. 15. 1 Tim. 4. 17. Heb. 12. 22. O what variety of joyes may be considered in the glorification of man in the delights of heavenly mansions and in the blessed society of the Saints but chiefly in the beholding of God the body glorified the soul shall be far more prefect then it was in the state of innocency for in it shall be understanding without error light without darkness wisdom without ignorance reason without obscurity the Lord shall in the sight and hearing of all world pronounce unto his servants Matthew 25. 34. Come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world 1. Come ye here is our union and communion with the Trinity 2. Blessed here is our absolution from all sins and our endowments with all happiness 3. Of my father here is the Author from whom proceeds our felicity 4. Inherit here is faith ending in fruition and the promises in possession 5. The Kingdom behold our birth right according to grace 2 Tim. 1. 9. 6. Prepared See Gods fatherly care for his chosen John 14. 2. 7. From the foundation of the world O the free and eternal love of God in Christ having made this introduction let me crave leave of thee reader to speak more particularly of the most glorious state of a Christian in heaven after the sentence of absolution at the last day of judgement and to this point I shall rather lisp then speak being not able to conceive much less to describe that most excellent bliss and eternal wait of glory but we may take a scantling thereof thus the Lord in his word doth set forth to our capacity the glory of our eternal life after death in eight things 1. Their bodies shall shine as the brightness of the Sun 2. The soul shall be far more perfect then it was in the state of innocency 3. Consider the place where we shall be and that is in the third heaven 4. Consider whose presence we shall enjoy Father Son and and holy Spirit Saints and Angels c. 5. In this sâ—ate we shall know one another 6. In this state we shall speak one to another 7. Consider the variety of joy that there shall be in heaven 8. Consider the duration and continuance of this blessed state 1. Their bodies shall shine as the brightness of the Sun in the firmament like the glorious body of Christ The Glory of a thousand Suns made into one will be but as sack-cloath to that wherein Christ shall appear in mans nature he being in the Glory of his Father Mat 16. 27. And we shall be like him 1 John 3. 2. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their father as appears in this Scripture Mat. 13. 43. 2. The soul shall be far more perfect then it was in the state of innocency sor in it shall be understanding without errour Light without darkness wisdom without Ignorance reason without obscurity memory without oblivion the Will also shall be without perversness joy without sorrow pleasure without pain In the slate of innocency there was in man a possibility not to Sin but in the state of Glory there shall be no possibility to sin In a word both body and soul in heaven shall be in such a blessed state that neither our tongue can express it nor our mind conceive it The soul shall be more happy in being present with Jesus Christ in heaven then if it had been present with Adam in the state of innocency Adam was instated only in an earthly paradise but now thou being with Christ art instated in an everlasting Kingdom Again Adam though pleased in a state of innocency yet he was liable to lose that blessed slate and did lose it though he were a perfect creature but by Christ we are instated in a Kingdom that cannot be shaken or lost Again When Adam was made by God in innocency he enjoyed only the society of beasts on the earth and birds of the air but when Christ brings a soul to heaven God the Father Son and holy Ghost Angels and Saints shall be his companions 3. Consider the place where the Saints shall be after the Judgement and that is in the third heaven we read of Saints departed that they see the face of God They that are in the third heaven are in the presence of God the Saints departed are in the third heaven they are in paradise Luke 23. 43. which is the third heaven 2 Cor. 12. 2 4. The place of the blessed is usually known by the name of the third heaven the third heaven is a shining body created immediately of God the throne of his special presence and of the gracious manifestation of his perfections and the habitation of the blessed both Angels and men The whole Region of the air unto the Moon is in Scripture called the first heaven from the Moon to the highest stars inclusively the second heavâ—n That which is above these the place of happiness is the thiâ—d heaven 2 Cor. 12. 2. This third heaven is called a house not made with hands 2 Cor. 5 A City whose makâ—r and builder is God Heb. 11. 10. The City of the living God Hâ—b 12. 22. This is Châ—ists fathers house John 14. 2. Paradise Luke 23 43. Heaven the Heaven of Heavens 1 Kin. 8. 27. The woâ—ld 〈◊〉 this is the great City of the gâ—eat King he measured with the reed twelve thousand â—urloâ—gs the length and the bredth and the height of it are equal Rev. 21. 16. It is the Court of God and Christ wherein are habitations for in numerable company of Saints and Angels John 14. 2. Heb. 12. 22 23 24. This heaven of heavens hath twelve foundations Rev. 21. 14. The matter of the building of the wall of it was of Jasper and the City was pure gold like unto clear glass Rev. 21. 18. the form four square ver 16. Twelve thousand furlongs that is fifteen hundred English miles square the gates are in number twelve made of twelve pearls every several gate was of one pearl ver 21. Situate East West North and South three looking every way ver 13. Having ingraven upon them the names of the twelve Tribes of Israel and twelve Angels for the keepers of them the streets are of pure gold ver 21. It s Temple is God and the Lamb its Light the glory of God and the Lamb its Inhabitants are the Lords people ver 24. It s water a pure river of Life Chap. 22. 1. Its fruits are the fruits of the tree of Life ver 2. In a word there is no place so glorious by creation so beautiful with delectation so rich in possession so comfortable for habitation
love thereof they willingly parted with much of their earthly goods and possessions to lay up treasure in heaven Abraham and Sarah left their own country and possessions to look for a City whose maker and builder is God Heb. 11. 10 15 16. David preferreth one day in this place before a thousand elsewhere Psal 84. 10. Elias earnestly besought the Lord to receive his soul into his Kingdom and went willingly though in a fiery Chariot King 19. 4. Saint Paul having once seen heaven continually desiâ—eth to be dissolved that he might be with Christ Phil. 1. 23. Saint Peter having espyed but a glimpse of eternal glory in the mount wished that he might dwel there all the dayes of his life Mat. 17. 4. saying Master it is good for us to be here c. Christ a little before his death prayeth his Father to receive him into that excellent glory Joh. 17. 5. And the Apostle witnesseth Heb. 11. 2. that for the joy which was set before them they endured the cross and despised the shame 1 Pet. 5. 4. and when the chief Shepheard shall appear ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away c. this eternal condition admits of no change or alteration decay or consumption waste or diminution mans eternal condition admits of no comparison revocation or conclusion c. What use we may make of all these precious things 1. EXcellent arguments may be drawn to pres-Christians to a holy life 2 Pet. 3. 11. see ing then that all these things must be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness and ver 14. Wherefore seeing ye look for such things give diligence that ye may be found in him in peace It is our duty to live in a continual expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus with our loins girt and our lamps burning for blessed is that servant whom his master when he cometh shall find so doing 2. Consider that here is a fountain opened for Christian comfort and ground for patience in all troubles that there shall be an end a Christians hope shall not be cut off if in this life only we had hope we were of all men most miserable 1 Cor. 15. 19. But here lyes the comfort and patience of true Christians theywait for another world and they know it is a just thing with God to give them rest after their labours 2 Thes 1. 9. and a crown after their combate 2 Tim. 4. 8. and after their long Pilgrimage an everlasting habitation 2 Cor. 5. 1. Be patient saith the Apostle and settle your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh James 5. 8. 2 Pet. 2. 9. When they that have sown in tear shall reap in joy Psal 126. 5. 3. Consider that assurance of that blessed state may be attained in this life we know faith Paul 2 Cor. 5. 1. That if our earthly house of this tabernacle be destroyed we have a building not made with hands eternal in the heavens these things saith John I have written unto you that ye may know that ye have eternal life 1 John 5. 13. I am sure saith Job 19. 25 26 27. that my Redeemer liveth and he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet shall I see God in my flesh whom I my self shall see and mine eyes shall behold when I awake saith David I shall be satisfied with thy Image Psal 17. 15. 4. The consideration of this should provoke us to be such as may be made meet for this inheritance of the Saints in light and to endeavour to attain and retain the earnest of the Spirit whence we may be alwaies able to say we are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5. 8. and to fill the soul with strong consolation against the sufferings of life and the fear of death and to work an answerable conversation that whether absent or present we may so walk as we may be accepted of him 5. The consideration of this should put us upon a patient waiting for and a longing expectation of our change which draweth on a pace and not to put that off as most do to the last year and when that is come to the last moneth of that year and then to the last week of that moneth and then to the last day of that week and then to the last hour of that day and then to the last minute of that hour and so time shall be no more and we shall not find repentance although we seek it with tears 6. Consider that the cause of our salvation and so of our glorious condition is Gods meer love and favour without any merit of ours Luke 12. 32. It is our Fathers good pleasure to give us a Kingdom Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son Ephes 2. 8. By grace we are saved through faith and not of our selves it is the gift of God Rom. 6. 23. everlasting life is the gift of God and though eternal life be called a reward yet it is not of merit but of mercy let this be grounded in our hearts that the Kingdom of heaven is not a stipend of servants but an inheritance of Sons which they only obtain that lay hold on his mercy Romans 5. 8. compared with 1 Tim. 6. 12. and 19. 2. Now as hath been said as the love of God is the cause of our salvation fo Jesus Christ is the way Joh. 10. 9. Joh 14. 6. 3 The holy Spirit is the guide in that way as in Joh. 16. 13. 4. The Scriptures of truth is the rule Gal. 6. 16. Isa 8. 20. 5. The evidence of this salvation is faith Heb. 11. 1. It is true the instrumental cause offering and proclaiming salvation is the Gospel but the instrumental receiving and applying it is faith and the cause sealing it inwardly to our souls is the Spirit of God the external and instrumental seals thereof are the two confirming Ordinances Baptism and the Lords Supper 6. The anchor of this salvation is hope Heb. 6. 19. 7. The effects of this salvation is love to God because he loved us first and a holy conversation if ye love me saith Christ keep my commandments and they that have believed in Christ must be careful to maintain good works which are found and required in the way to the Kingdom but they are not the cause of reigning Of the end of the world THE consequents of the last judgement is life eternal in heaven or hell and the end of the world having finished the former let me point to the latter and I have finished what I intended we read Mat. 24. 3. that Peter James John and Andrew Mark 13. 3. came to Christ and desired him to satisfie them in these three questions 1. Concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple 2. Concerning
Christs second coming and the signs thereof 3. Concerning the end of the world c. The answer to the first question is from ver 4. to ver 23. The answer to the second is from ver 24. to ver 36. The answer to the third question is from ver 36. to the end of that Chapter In which Christ tels them that the very day and hour no man knoweth that day is hidden from us that we might not be secure but alwayes prepared expecting the day of his coming and hope for it and have a special care that that certain uncertain hour come not upon us unawares Luke 12. 40. The end of the world is the destruction of this visible universe as the wicked are thrust into hell and the godly entred into heaven this is called the consummation of the world it shall be destroyed by fire 2 Pet. 3. 6 7 10 12 c. but what kind of fire this is he only knows who is himself a consuming fire Some understand that this world shall be destroyed only in its quality others in its substance they who think it shall be destroyed only in qualities mean a purging and restauration of it to its primitive institution But the reader may do well to take notice that it is one thing to be restored and changed into a better state and another thing to wax old like a garment and to vanish like smoak to be dissolved to melt to be burned to pass away to be no more as these Scriptures affirm 1 Cor. 7. 31. Psal 102. 26 27. and Heb. 1. 11. Isa 51. 6. Mat. 24. 35. 2 Pet. 3. 7 10 12. Rev. 21. 1. FINIS An Alphabetical Table of the principal matters contained in this Book A OF assembling our selves together Pag. 199. Of admonition publike and private p. 282. Of assurance of salvation p. 285. 1. The nature of it p. 286. 2. Whether assurance may be attained in this life yea or nay p. 287. 3. The sorts or degrees of it p. 288. 4. Of the trials of assurance p. 289. 5. It is our duty to labour for it p. 290. 6. Of the benefits of it p. 291. 7. Of the springs of assurance p. 292. 8. Of the impediments of it p. 294. 9. Of our sad condition without it p. 295. 10. Many have it not that think they have it p. 297. 11. Of the reasons wherefore the Lord doth not give it speedily p. 298. 12. It is very hard to recover it if once lost p. 299. Of afflictions p. 323. Why the Lord doth afflict his own people p. 324. He doth try their truth and strength by it p. 325. How to know what sin God aims at in affliction p. 327. Of Angels p. 9. How a man should act p. 88. B. OF the Ordinance of Baptism p. 254. 1. Of the essence of it ibid. 2. Of the exercise of it p. 255. Of the condition of man in his birth p. 385. Of the bill of inditement of twenty Articles brought against man upon his sick bed p. 392. C OF the Creation p. 8. Of the Covenant of Grace p. 20. 1. What is the sum or substance of it ibid. 2. With whom this Covenant was first made p. 25. 3. When this Covenant was made p. 28. 4. Whether there be any conditions of it and if so what they are p. 30. 5. Whether it be one and the same Covenant of grace that was in force before the Law and under the Law and now under the Gospel p. 35. 6. Whether this Covenant may not be broken as was the Covenant of works p. 38. 7. What means one should use to get into this Covenant p. 41. 8. When one may be said to be in this Covenant p. 44. 9. Wherein the Covenant of grace and the Covenant of works do differ p. 47. 10. What is Gods order and method in bringing a people into Covenant p. 50. 11. What are the blessings and benefits of this Covenant p. 53. 12. Whether most men and women in the world are not under a ovenant of works p. 56. Of the ten Commandments and what each of them doth prohibit and enjoyn The first Commandment doth enjoin nine things and forbid three things p. 303. The second Commandment doth prohibit seven things and enjoyn six things p. 304. The third Commandment doth prohibit four things and enioin five things p. 305. The fourth Commandment doth prohibit five things and enjoin five things ibid. The fifth Commandment doth enjoin fourteen things p. 306. The sixth Commandment doth prohibit five things and enjoin fourthings p. 307. The seventh Commandment doth prohibit eight things and enjoin seven things p 308. The eighth Commandment doth prohibit seven things and enjoin five things p. 308. The ninth Commandment doth prohibit seven things and enjoin five things p. 309. The tenth Commandment doth prohibit four things and enjoyn four things p. 310. The order of causes how the Lord comes down from the causes to the effects p. 336. 1. Of the coming of Christ p. 414. 2. The time of his coming is near p. 418. 3. Of the manner of his coming p. 421. 4. Of the signs of his coming p. 422. 5. Christ shall come visibly p. 423. 6. The posture that a Christian should be in at his coming p. 423. 7. It is the duty of all to wait for his coming p. 424. 8. Of the benefits that a Christian shall have at Christs coming p. 425. 9. What should the consideration of his coming put us upon p. 427. 10. The sad condition of all out of Christ at his coming p. 428. 11. He shall come terribly p. 430. The right constitution of a Church of Christ or the way at first to gather a Church p. 201. There are four things that Christ hath already done five things he is now doing and six things more he will do when he cometh p. 431. D. A Rule to try Doctrines by p. 231. The Lord doth not despise the day of small things p. 334. Several Divine sentences p. 340. The miseries attending both body and soul at the hour of death p. 391. Of the sad condition of all out of Christ after death p. 399. In order to our preparation for death consider p. 400. 1. The fewness of our dayes ibid. 2. The many dangers we every day pass through ibid. Death to a Christian is but a change of place not of company p. 401. Death is no respecter of persons ibid. Death to a Christian is but a house a bed a sleep ibid. Of the duration of the miserable estate of the damned in hell p. 452. Of the Devil p. 321. E. OF Election p. 6. Of Experience p. 167. Of Excommunication p. 284. How far a true Christian may be tainted with error in judgement and yet be restored p. 155. Of enjoyment p. 168. Of the end of the world p. 466. F. OF the faith of Gods Elect. p. 108. 1. Of the nature of it ibid. 2. The Object of this faith p. 109. 3. The Subject of it
in Christ that binds the strong man hand and foot it is only Faith in Christ that makes a man triumph over sin Satan hell and the world And that stops the issue of blood that makes a man strong in resisting and happy in conquering so that sin alwayes dies most where faith lives most so that we must get up Gospel principles if we would keep up Gospel practices Quere We read in the Bible of many over head and ears in sin and yet at last became great Saints I pray how came those to mortifie their sin Answ We read of their misery and also of their recovery in many Scriptures I will instance in one that speaks the sum of all the rest as to the way how to mortifie sin Tit. 3. 4 5. For we our selves sometimes were foolish disobedient deceived and serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another there is the mysterie but after that the kindness and love of God appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us there is the remedy in a word the consideration of the love and grace of God the Father and the love of God the Son the promises of God and the presence of Christ the example of the Saints and the recompence of reward held forth to us in the Gospel makes a sound Christian to hold on and to hold out resolving to conquer or to dye conquering As a Christian grows up in the assurance of Gods love so he will better heal his strong lusts an heart softned and reconciled to God willingly closeth with the commandment so that the best way to mortifie sin and to amend our lives is to lay hold on the love of God by faith in Christ and so first to get assurance of forgiveness which softens the heart and enlightens the eyes to see that it is only the blood of Christ that purgeth from dead works A man by his own strength cannot prevail against a lust that is to be done only by the blood of Christ into which we are baptized Rom. 6. 3. He that hath the strongest faith hath ever the holiest heart and life sanctification ariseth from justification the Scripture saith Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself as he is pure in this evidence of self-purifying note these three things First the act performed purifieth Secondly the object about which this act is to be exercised themselves that is their whole man soul and body from all filthiness of flesh and spirit Thirdly the rule or Pattern of this act he purifieth himself as God is pure this is not a word of equality but of resemblance Fourthly the ground or motive inciting to this purifying viz. hope of glory every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself as he is pure 1 John 3. 2 3. Hope in Christ excites to purity because it conducts us straight to Christ the perfect pattern of all purity Surely it is the appearance of Gods grace to us which works a hope of glory in us and this hope of glory doth purifie these several ensuing waies 1. It puts us upon and helps us in a frequent washing our selves in the fountain opened for sin and uncleaness viz. in the purifying blood of Christ by Faith and hope as instruments applying Christ crucified Zach. 13. 1. Heb 9. 14. Psal 51. 7. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through Faith in his blood c. Rom. 3. 25. 2. This works us up to true endeavours in the use of all means to purifie both soul and body person and conversation from all corruption universally both in kind and degree let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and Spirit 2 Cor. 7. 1. Now hypocrites wash the outside of the platter or cup but inwardly they are full of extortion and excess Mat. 23. 25 26. 3. This grace of God and hope of glory puts the soul upon maintaining a constant spiritual combate by faith and hope and other graces of the Spirit against the flesh Rom. 8. 13. And so by the Spirit mortifies the deeds of the flesh daily crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts Galat. 5. 17 24 25. and this grace of hope as an inward principle works out pollution and corruption as being repugnant thereunto 4. This hope of glory leads the soul to a diligent improvement of the word of God for self-purifying the word hath in it a purifying Faculty John 15. 3. Ye are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you the word purifies these waies 1. As a lamp discovering the spot Rom. 7. 7. 2. As a star conducting to Christ the fountain of purifying 1 John 2. 1 2. Zach. 13. 1. 3. As a rule according to which we are heedfully to order our conversation Psal 119. 9. 4. As a motive to self-purifying 2 Cor. 7. 1. 5. As an antidote against sin Psal 119. 11. thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee Sin in the best Saint and most times in the best actions of Saints 1. THE fairest day hath his clouds and the finest linneng hath its spots the richest jewels their flaws and the sweetest fruit their worms so hath the most precious Christians their failings Davids heart was more often out of tune then his harp 2. Consider what complaints and cryings out there were amongst the most precious Saints being sensible of their sins Rom. 7. 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me said Paul Jer 3. 25. We lie down in our shame for we have sinned against the Lord our God both we and our fathers from our youth Gen. 6. 5. God saw that the wickedness of mans heart was great and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually And for the Saints themselves here in all duties there is imperfection something polluted and something defective our most spiritual duties are not wound up to command they are all tainted with disproportion to rule and not only so but our choicest services are be Leoparded with many spots We whilst in this body can stay no more from sinning then the heart from panting and the pulse from beating The Angels are impure in his sight how much more the best of our actions in many things we offend all either offend and fail in the matter or in the ground or in the form or in the end Now our not acting from a pure principle by a pure rule to a pure end or our comming short in any of these may mar the whole action no action is said to be done according to rule in a Gospel administration unless it be attended with these five things 1. All righteous acts must and ought to be done spiritually and heartily with heart and spirit Prov. 23. 26. John 4. 24. 1 Cor. 6. 20. 2. Sincerely as in the sight of God Gen. 17. 1. Psalm 18. 22.
to God but the knowledge that is in the brain is notional and neither subdues sin nor Satan 2. Spiritual experimental knowledge is a free gift of God 2 Cor. 4. 6. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give in the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ This Divine light doth reach the heart as well as the head 3. True knowledge is a transforming knowledge 2 Cor. 3. 18. Like as the child receiveth from the parents member for member limb for limb or as the paper from the press receiveth letter for letter or as the face in a glass answereth to the face so the beams of Divine knowledge shining into the soul stamps the lively Image of Christ upon the soul and makes him put on the Lord Jesus and resemble him God will own no knowledge at last but that which leaves the stamp of Christ the print of Christ and the Image of Christ upon the heart 4. True saving knowledge doth spring from a spiritual sense and taste of holy and heavenly things this is that experimental knowledge that will turn to account at last the other litteral knowledge will only encrease our guilt and torment as it did the Scribes and Pharisees 5. True knowledge circumciseth the heart and dissolveth the dominion of sin Ephes 4. 22. The root of lust is error when Christ takes away the foundation the lust dyes and the Devils work is dissolved First the lust of the eye Christ informs the soul that there is no such excellency in riches but that they are dross and dung and therefore why should the eye or heart be set upon them So this lust is dissolved there is an end of it 6. True knowledge doth indear Christ and the things of Christ to the soul Cant. 2. 5. I am sick of love I cannot live in my self I can live only in Christ who is my life Galatians 6. 14. God forbid that I should glory in any thing but Christ 7. True knowledge is soul-humbling soul-abasing knowledge John said I am not worthy to loose his shoo Peter said depart from me I am a sinful man Abraham said he was but dust and ashes Gen. 18. 27. Jacob said he was less then the least of all his mercies Gen. 32. 10. David said he was a worm and no man Psalm 22. 2. Job abhorred himself in dust and ashes Job 42. 1 2 c. 8. True knowledge is alwaies attended with holy endeavours and heavenly desires after a further knowledge of God Prov. 18. 15. This knowledge of God goes before trusting in God Psalm 9. 10. They that know thy name will put their trust in thee There may be knowledge without grace but not grace without knowledge How one Believer differs from another in knowledge AS saving knowledge is a free gift of God so he gives to some more and to others less according to the measure of the gift of Christ and though it be freely given yet the Lord doth hand it to us and work it in us in the use of means age and time and communion and study and use of means and experience do raise the apprehension and knowledge to far more degrees and strength then at the first whereas before they saw dimly at length they rise by degrees to a more perfect light of the same truths and to a more full aad enlarged apprehension of other truths which he was ignorant of before even in this doth one believer differ from another Faith is the eye of the soul and knowledge the ground of Faith for believing is not rooted in ignorance but in light now every believer hath not so full and distinct a knowledge as another there are several promises and in them several parts and degrees Now all Christians have not been so long acquainted with the word as to know all the good which doth concern them Of what a large and vast measure of knowledge a man may attain unto and yet be without this saving knowledge HE may speak with the tongue of men and Angels and yet be as sounding brass or a tinckling Symbal as in 1 Cor. 13. 1. Again he may attain to the natural knowledge of all natural things and speak eloquently and distinctly and in many things truly he may be well skilled in Logick Rethorick Phylosophy and have the letter of the Scripture at his fingers ends and yet be an ignorant man in the knowledge of God and in the account of Christ viz. 1. A man may have a common knowledge of Christ and yet be without a spiritual knowledge of Christ he may gather together a great deal of notional knowledge of Christ and have much natural knowledge by the works of God by hearing reading conferring or the like and yet be ignorant of the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity 2. He may attain to vast and great measures of notional and yet be without an experimental knowledge of Christ how abundantly is this proved in our dayes in all places c. 3. An unregenerate man may attain to a contemplative or speculative knowledge of Christ and yet want and be altogether without a spiritual expemental knowledge he may know Christ as a man knows his neighbour but now a believer knows Christ as a wife knows her husband a natural mans knowledge is like the Moon it hath light but no heat but a spiritual mans knowledge is like the Sun that hath heat as well as light 4. A natural man may have much knowledge but he is a stranger to an appropriating knowledge of Christ he doth not know Christ to be his Christ now in this sense a man may be a great knowing man and yet not know Jesus Christ 5. He is without a practical knowledge of Jesus Christ he may know much but do but little Tit. 1. 16. in their words they profess to know him but in their works they deny him though they know God yet they glorifie not him as God Now put all these together and they speak out with open mouth that a man may attain to a great measure of knowledge and yet be in the account of God in the account of Christ in the account of Christians an ignorant man he is without spiritual and experimental knowledge without an affective and apprehensive knowledge and without an appropriating and practical knowledge I shall close up this head with a few cautions and considerations 1. Take this for a truth that in a Scripture account to complain of ignorance is a good degree of knowledge Prov. 30. 2. And I have not the knowledge of a man c. 2. Take this also for a truth that in Gods account he knows most that doth most Psal 111. 10. A good understanding have all they that do his commandments God doth not measure our knowledge by our questions and disputes but by our practices as in Jer. 22. 16. He judgeth the cause of the poor and needy was