heart from obedience but the understanding from the acknowledgement of the truth which â—he Devill himselfe confesseth Lord what hearts â—ave these men and what distempers are in their â—pirits who will not doe that which the Devill â—imselfe will doe Passage 2 Nay in the second place looke how they behave themselves when they come into Christs presence doth not that man hate a man that cannot endure to be in his sight and enjoy communion with him if Christ come amongst these and presse into the societie of them in the presence of his children their hearts are transported with infinite indignation against the appearance of grace in the lives and against the appearance of holinesse in the courses of those which are the servants of the Lord observe this they that hâ—â—e poore Christians for the holinesse and grace which they have received from Christ they haâ—e Christ more and holinesse more fearfull is the case of such and their condition lamentable Oâ— that they would at last goe home and parley with their owne soules and reason with their hearts after this manner and not suffer themselves any longer to be deluded say thus to thy soule I have beene heretofore deluded and I have deceived my selfe I pretended I hated such men because they were dissemblers and hypocrites no no I hate the picture of grace much more grace a selfe in them if a man cannot endure the picture of a man much lesse can he endure the person of that man so is it with the soule I beseech you be at last convinced of it and say I hate the shew and forme of godlinesse in Gods children but I hate the vertue and power of godlinesse muâ—â— more if I hate the beames of the sunne I haâ— the sunne much more if I hate the sonne for the fathers sake I hate the father much more if I hate a Christian because Christ hath humbled and brought him home then I hate Christ infinitely then I hate his Spirit infinitely then I hate his grace infinitly much more if I hate the lanthorne for the lights sake then I hate the light much more a thiefe cannot endure a lanthorne if it be a light lanthorne if it be a darke one haply hee can away with it but if it be a light lanthorne hee loathes the lanthorne and hee loathes the man that brings it but he hates the light much more than the lanthorne so is it with every sinfull opposer of the practice and profession of Gods grace a Saint of God hath a rush candle light of Gods grace and purity and uprightnesse and he carries this among a company of blasphemers and opposers of God and his grace now when they see this light of holinesse they hate the man that beares it much more holinesse it selfe which is in him for which hee is so opposed anâ— resisted To this ranke also belongs your poore ignorant carnall creatures and civilized carnall Gosâ—elers however they will not doe what these â—en doe yet they will approve of what they doe poore silly things that know nothing of God and grace and can doe nothing against the truth of God of themselves though they are not brought to this height of wickednesse to be profeâ—â— opposers against that which is holy yet they will joyne sides with the wicked and what they doe they commend and applâ—â—d and approve of â—f a poore Christian be banded from one place to another to the losse of his liberty and griefe of his heart nay say these poore deluded creatures and carnall gospellers it is no matter they must be more holy than others and they must be more precise than others it is no matter now see what they get by it these men now approve of what a company of persecutours doe and their heart is the same though they do not do the same they are guilty of it because of their approvement of it as the Scribes and Pharisees conspired against our Saviour the souldiers they took our Saviour Pilat he condemned our Saviour now the poore crowd they cried below Crucifie him crucifie him they did not condemne him nor take him but they were guilty of crucifying Christ because they gave their consent and approvement thereunto as S. Peter saith Ye have crucified the Lord of life so there are a company of poore creatures Acts 2. you know you old poore husband and your old poore father though poore fooles they can doe nothing against the Gospell yet it doth their hearts good when it is opposed and they say it is well it is pitty but it should be so I tell thee thou aâ— guilty of opposing Christ as well as he that persecutes Christ marke what Christ saith to the Scribes and Pharisees Your Fathers slew the Prophets and you build their sepulchers that is thâ—â— approved the practices of their fathers so thâ—â— looke as it is with a campe there are some leadâ—â— and commanders and there are some souldiers and there are others which are followers of thâ— campe and carry the baggage now though 〈◊〉 be not leaders and captaines and souldiers yet all are of the same campe so there is a great long traine in the Devils campe there are some leaders and profest opposers of Christ which the sunne is wearie to behold and the earth is weary to beare these are the souldiers and captaines and commanders and poore ignorant creatures and carnall gospellers that follow the baggage they are of the black guard too though they are the taile of the armie yet they are of the armie of the Devill and they are all young Satans though their talents bee not so long and their clawes so sharp as others are they have not learned the skill to make a prey of a poore man as others have but yet they will approve of that which others doe consider this then all ye that stand in open defiance against Christ all you that joyne sides with and give a kinde of allowance to such ungodly courses you are guiltie and found tardy in this case though the sinne be not yours by action yet you make it by approvement thus the open enemy to Christ is gone as also the poore ignorant creature and carnall gospeller and civilized person who though the will not doe a thing yet it is rost meat to him to see it done Ranke 2 The second sort that comes here to bee reproved are glozing neuters these also love their sinnes more than Jesus Christ and love not him in truth these are those that halt betweene two opinions your linfie-woolsie men as we speake in the proverb these tame fooles that will doe no body no harme providâ—d that no man hurts them the highest pitch of these neuters is this that they may procure safety among all men and gaine some respect amongst the best they wish all should doe well but their resolution is this they will not trouble themselves nor be troublesome to others they say hurt comes by medling and he that meddles lest
THE SOVLES VOCATION OR EFFECTVAL Calling to CHRIST By T. H. 2 PETER 1.3 Through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glorie and vertue LONDON Printed by Iohn Haviland for Andrew Crooke and are to be sold at the Black Beare in S. Pauls Church-yard 1638. A TABLE OF THE Contents out of JOHN Doctrine I. THe soule humbled and inlightened must learne the fulnesse of the mercie of God that there is fulnesse of sufficiencie of mercie with him p. 37 Use I. Looke only to Gods mercie after that thou hast learned the lesson of contrition and humiliation p. 43 Doctrine II. That the teaching of the heart effectually is the proper taske and worke of God p. 49 Reason Because the worke is an almightie worke p. 50 Use I. It is of admirable comfort to all weake silly feeble minded creatures p. 51 Use II. If it be the worke of God then goe to him p. 52 Use III. Doth the Father teach then acknowledge you have it as from God p. 57 Doctrine III. That the word of the Gospell and the worke 〈◊〉 â—â—irit goe both together p. 62 The manner how the Word and Spirit goe together p. 63 Reason I. Because the Lord would have all use the meanes p. 65 Reason II. Because the Lord would not have men be couzened by their owne fancies p. 65 Reason III. Because the Lord would have all to bee watchfull and carefull in not losing their comfort p. 60 Use I. Instruction to teach us the worth of the Gospell above all other things in the world for it is accompâ—nied with the Spirit and it brings salvation with it p. 65 Use II. For triall hence a man may know whether wee have a spirituall heart or no. p. 67 Use III. Direction hence we may observe the ground why many of Gods faithfull people understand not that they have the Spirit of God p. 68 Use IIII. Terrour wee may see the hopelesse condition of those men that live under the Gospell c. p. 69 Use V. Exhortation you are to submit to the Word of the Lord. p. 70 The meanes to submit are three p. 71 Doctrine IIII. 〈…〉 Spiâ—â—â— of the Lord gives speciall notice of Gods acceptance to the soule truly humbled p. 72 The manner how the Spirit doth it is in three passages p. 74 Reason I. Because onely the Spirit of the Lord knowes the Lords minde p. 88 Reason II. Because the Spirit onely can breake thorow all those â—â—â—sts and clouds of ignorance and blindnesse that are in the mindes to oppose this worke p. 90 Those hindrances are of two sorts p. 91 Use I. Is of triall to examine your selves whether Gods Spirit hath given you speciall notice of Gods acceptance p. 94 The speciall notice of the Spirit from all other is to be tried and differenced by foure particulars p. 95 Use II. It is an use of direction to teach you what meanes you must use to get the notice and evidence of Gods love to your owne soules p. 101 The meanes to get the witnesse of the Spirit are foure Ibid. 1. You must labour to bee such a one to whom the Spirit doth belong p. 102 2. You must not hearken to carnall reason of your owne hearts p. 103 3. You must labour to understand the language of the Spirit p. 105 4. You must labour to keepe the promise by you for ever p. 107 The Motives to this are two Ibid. Use III. Instruction to teach you that the humbled sinner of meanest capacitie doth know more of grace and salvation and Gods love in Christ than the most wise and learned in the world that are not humbled p. 108 Use IIII. It is to shew the certaintie of the assurance of faith p. 109 Now we come next in order to shew how that the Lord must teach all the affections to come unto the promise and the first affection is the affection of hope p. 110 Doctrine V. The holy Spirit of the Father doth stir the heart of an humbled and inlightened sinner to hope for the goodnesse of the Lord. Ibid. Reason I. Why the Lord doth in the next place proceed to stir up hope is because it is the fittest facultie of the soule to wait upon mercy p. 112 The manner how God doth stirre up the heart of an humble broken hearted sinner to hope is in three passages p. 113 1 The Lord doth sweetly perswade the heart that a mans sinnes are pardonable p. 113 2 The Lord doth sweetly perswade the soule that all his sinnes shall be pardoned p. 118 3 The Lord letteth in some rellish into the soule of the sweetnesse of his love ibid. Use I. Reproofe of two sorts of persons first of those that despaire secondly of those that presume p. 119 The hainousnesse of the sin of desperation is set forth in two particulars 1 As io is most injurious to God p. 120 2 As it is most dangerous to the soule p. 121 The sinne of presumption of carnall Hypocrites is set forth p. 123 The grounds of the unreasonable hopes of carnall Hypocrites are five 1 The ignorants hope that the Lord that made him will not damne him p. 125 2 Another hopeth that God is his God because of his prospertie in outward things ibid. 3 Another hopes he shall be saved because he hath had an hell of affliction in this life ibid. 4 Another hopes for salvation in regard they enjoy the means of salvation p. 127 5 Another hopes he shall be saved because there is mercy enough in God to save him p. 129 Use II. An use of consolation to every poore broken hearted sinner canst thou but looke to God and hope I say thy condition is good p. 133 There are foure signes to know the true grounded hope of the Saints from all false and flashy hopes of Hypocrites The first signe of true hope is that true hope hath a peculiar certainty in it p. 135 The second signe is this that a true grounded hope is of great power and strength to hold the soule to the truth of the promise p. 137 The third signe is this that the excellency of this hope doth overshadow all the hopes in the world that can be offered propounded desired p. 139 The fourth signe is this a true grounded hope alwayes lendeth supply and succour when all the rest of a mans abilities doe faile in his owne sense and apprehension p. 140 Use III. Of exhortation to beseech every one to labour for this true and grounded hope p. 143. The Motives to stirre you up to seeke this hope are these three 1 Because there is nothing more usefull than this grace of hope p. 143 2 Because nothing is more needfull to the soule than this true hope p. 144 3 Because by this true hope the hearts of the Saints are kept both in love to God and in obedience unto him p. 145 The Meanes to attaine this true grounded Hope are these three 1 You must labour to cast out all carnall sensualitie p.
145 2 You must labour to be much acquainted with the precious promises of God p. 146 3 You must maintaine in the heart a deepe and serious acknowledgement of that supreme authoritie of the Lord to doe what hee will and how hee will according unto his owne good pleasure p. 148 Doctrine VI. The Spirit of the Lord quickneth the desire of an humble and enlightned sinner to long for the riches of his mercy in Christ p. 150 The reason why desire commeth next in order and the manner how God the Father doth quicken up the desires of the soule to long for mercy are p. 152 Use I. It is an use of strong consolation to stay the hearts of poore sinners in the midst of their infirmities canst thou but finde thy smoking desire thy condition is then good p. 156. The signes of sound desires are these three 1 Signe of a sound desire is this that as the desire is so the endevour will be p. 157 2 Signe of a sound desire is this he that truly desires mercy and grace desireth Christ for himselfe 158. 3 Signe of a sound desire is this the soule that truly desires mercy is ready to receive it with thankfulnesse and will entertaine the meanes and messenger that may bring home Christ and mercy to his soule p. 159 Use II. It is of reproofe to all them that yet have not these true and sincere desires after grace and salvation wrought in them p. 160 There are three sorts and rankes of professours and hypocrites whose desires are unsound the Lazy Hypocrite Stage Hypocrite Terrified Hypocrite p. 161 There are foure sorts of lazy professors and lazy Hypocrites that are void of these sound and sincere hopes 1 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such who when they enjoy the means of salvation yet they esteeme not thy blessing they prize not the meanes p. 164 2 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such who when God hath taken away and deprived them of the ordinary meanes of grace and salvation they are well contented to be without the same they sit downe very well satisfied p. 166 3 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such who when they have the meanes of grace and salvation are content to use them and if they want the meanes will seeke out for them but yet are not carefull to prevent those inconveniences which hinder them by receiving benefit from the meanes p. 168 4 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are those who though they heare the duties commanded yet they neglect all duties commands p. 169 There are two sorts of stage Hypocrites that are void of these sound and sincere desires p. 172 The first sort of stage Hypocrites are such as will take up so much of Christ and the Gospell as may stand with their credit and with their estate p. 173 The second sort of stage Hypocrites are such that will use all Gods ordinances but will part with nothing and will suffer nothing for the Lord Iesus p. 175 The third sort that are void of sound and sincere desires are the terrified Hypocrites p. 177 The signes of a terrified Hypocrite are two 1 He will be lingering and hankering after some corruption p. 178 2 The terrified Hypocrite he will slight and slubber over small sinnes and small corruptions p. 178 How farre this terrified Hypocrite will goe and what he may doe vid. p. 179 Use III. Is of Exhortation wherein you are intreated in the bowels of the Lord Iesus to long and desire after the Lord Iesus Christ p. 191 Means I. The Means are foure the first is this be acquainted thorowly with thy owne necessities and wants with that nothingnesse and emptinesse in thy selfe p. 192 Means II. The second is consider the necessitie after grace and goodnesse it is no matter of complement and indifferencie p. 197 Means III. The third is labour to spread forth the excellencie of all the beautie and surpassing glory that is in the promises of God p. 198 Means IV. The fourth is thou must know that it is not in thy power to bring thy heart to desire grace p. 199 Doctrine VII The Spirit of the Lord kindles in an humbled heart and inlightned sinner love and joy to entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of his mercy p. 205 The opening of the Doctrine consists in 3. passages Passage I. Is this that this love and joy is no where else to be found but in an heart humbled and inlightned p. 205 Passage II. Is this that the love and joy is enkindled by the Spirit of the Father p. 206. Passage III. Is this that the love and joy being kindled they may entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of Gods mercy p. 207 Reason I. Of the point is this because that love and joy doe follow desire p. 209 The Spirit of the Father doth enkindle the love and joy in these three particulars p. 217 Particular I. Is this God the Father by the Spirit doth let in some sweetnesse and rellish of his love into the soule that doth warme the heart p. 221 Particular II. Is this that the freenesse of Gods love doth enkindle a love in the soule p. 222 Particular III. Is this that as the sweetnesse did warme it the freenesse kindles it so the greatnesse of the sweetnesse of this love doth set the soule in a flame p. 224 Use I. It is an use of instruction to enforme you that there is no sufficiencie in a naturall heart to be carried to the Lord Iesus Christ or to the worke of grace p. 226 Use II. Iâ— is an use of consolation to stay and refresh the hearts of those that have received the gracious worke p. 233 Use III. It is an use of triall to examine your selves whether your love and joy be sound true and sincere and how it doth differ from the fained wilde and hypocriticall love in the world p. 237 The soundnesse of true love from counterfeit Hypocriticall love appeareth in these five trialls Triall I. Is this observe the root and rise of thy love ibid. Triall II. Is this observe if thou entertainest thy Saviour as a Saviour that is as a King p. 242 Triall III. Is this thou must observe if thou labourest to give contentment to Christ p. 244 Triall IV. Observe whether thy heart doth rejoyce to see the happinesse of the thing you love p. 251 Triall V. Is this it is the nature of true love to covet nearer union with the thing beloved p. 254 Use IV. It is of repose to all those upon whom this worke of love and joy in Christ was never wrought p. 261 Most men have not this love to God but hatred against him p. 263 The persons that doe not love the Lord Iesus Christ they are referred to three ranks p. 266 Sort I. Are such as are open enemeis to Christ and who these are are largely described in p. 267 Sort II. Are those glozing Neuters that halt betweene two opinions p. 273 Sort III. Are those fawning Hypocrites that are faire
deed there must be something else or the sinner will be at a stand and cannot come on cheerfully and receive the grace offered him therefore besides the meanes wee have the speciall cause expressed which is the Lord. For when a man hath heard that is one thing but that is not all for the principall cause is the Lord. God the Father alone can buckle the heart to receive the grace appointed and the mercy offered to the soule and without the principall cause all other meanes I meane the Ministers of the Gospell although it be a savour of life unto life yet it may be a savour of death unto death unlesse the Spirit of the Lord goes with it For when the Gospell is onely revealed to the understanding and that onely conceives of the letter thereof and it soakes not and sinkes not into the heart this we call an outward calling that is the phrase of Divines when some light flash is imparted and communicated unto the soule and is not set on sufficiently that is an outward calling But when God the Father doth accompany the dispensation of the Gospell with the powerfull operation of the Spirit and it puts its hand to the key of the Gospell and unlockes a blinde minde and a hard heart there the soule learnes throughly and effectually the way of salvation The Text saith there must not onely be hearing but learning of the Father else the soule will not nor cannot come Now before I can collect the severall passages out of the words there is some difficulty and obscurity in the phrase therefore give me leave as I am able to discover the meaning and sense of the words and then the collection will be cleere First for the explication of the phrase and I will discourse four questions unto you which will be usefull for the cleere explication of the Text. 4. Questions First what the lesson is that a man must learne before he come Secondly why the Father is said to teach and not the Sonne nor the holy Ghost Thirdly what is the manner how the Father doth teach the soule when he will call it home to himselfe Fourthly what is the frame and disposition of the soule how doth the heart behave it selfe when it hath in truth learned the lesson When the Lord will propound unto and learne the soules of his that belong to him you must not thinke the truth tedious because they will give us light into all the truth that shall bee hereafter discussed out of the word Quest 1 He that hath heard and learned of the Father what is the lesson that he must learne before hee can come that after he hath learned this lesson he may be able to see the path of salvation as propounded to him so also neere at hand that hee might walk therein and receive comfort thereby Answ For answer hereunto the lesson that the soule must learne is this namely the fulnesse of the mercy and grace and salvation that God the Father hath provided and also offered to the poore humbled sinner in and through the Lord Jesus Christ which in deed is able to doe that for a poore sinner which all the meanes and things in the world could not doe and yet notwithstanding he needs I have heretofore discussed the poore miserable plight which a sinner hath brought himselfe into by his manifold rebellions There is no helpe no hope of himselfe in what hee hath or doth to releeve and succour himselfe and therefore he fals flat at the footstoole of the Almighty and is content to be at his disposing Now the lesson that the soule must learne is the fulnesse greatnesse and freenesse of the perfect salvation which is brought unto us through the Lord Jesus Christ And that we may not learne this lesson by halfes but fully and perfectly and that your minds may conceive of the same give me leave to lay it out fully because it will be profitable for our ensuing discourse and this lesson discovers it selfe in three things as in three lines as I may so terme it The first is this that the soule may learne there is enough sufficiency in the mercy of God to fill up all the empty chinkes of the soule and supply all the wants that a sinner hath and releeve him in all those necessities that either doe or can befall him this is the condition of every sonne of man since the fall of Adam that there is not onely a great deale of weaknesse in the soule but there is a great deale of wants and emptinesse in the soule Now this is the fulnesse of the mercy of God that whatsoever our weaknesses wants or necessities bee there is full sufficiency enough in that masse to fill up all and to give the soule full content in every particular Hence the phrase of Scripture runnes thus when God propounds the fulnesse of mercy in Jesus Christ he calls it a treasury and all the treasures of wisedome and holinesse are in Christ not one treasure but all treasures not some treasures but all treasures Esay 61. When the Gospell was professed there was a fulnesse of mercy and there wee shall see a kinde of meeting and concurrency of all blessings together So that where the Gospell comes there is joy for the sorrowfull peace for the troubled strength for the weake be your miseries what they can be here is releefe seasonable and sutable to all your wants miseries and necessities Nay this is not onely for the present necessity Mercy is not only able to releeve your present necessity but your future also It is not with mercy as with the widow of Sarepta who thought when the meale in the barrell and the oyle in the cruse was spent she should then surely perish No it is not so in the fulnesse and sufficiency of this mercy it hath not onely enough to doe you good for the present and to succour you in all present wants but what miseries soever shall befall thee or what troubles shall betide thee for future times the fulnesse of Gods mercy laies in provision against such necessities and times of miseries and vexations For a poore sinner may be driven to a stand after this manner It is true saith the sinner I have heretofore committed many sinnes God hath sealed up the pardon of them unto me and those sins which have heretofore pleased me God hath given me a sight of them in some power and measure against them But what if more sins if more temptations if more corruptions if more guilt if more horror seize upon my heart how then shall I succour my selfe But now this is the fulnesse and sufficiency of mercy it doth not onely case a man in regard of present necessity but layes provision for all future wants and calamities that can befall the soule Psal 130.7 The text saith Let Israel hope in the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption The word in the originall is there is multiplying
will make with the house of Israel I write my lawes in their hearts and they shall not need to be taught Men must know God and beleeve in the Lord. Now as the Lord requires this as the condition of the covenant so the Lord will work this in them as he requires this of them Iohn 1.12 the text saith To them that beleeve he gave them power to be the sonnes of God Now if a man will beleeve he shall be saved Now then hee makes a man beleeve that he may be a sonne This is the second passage whereby the soule of a sinner comes to be cheered or that there is not onely abundance of sufficiency in the Lord Jesus Christ but that mercy as it is able to doe him good so it will make him partaker of the good The third particular is this That as mercy hath all good and will make us partakers of what it hath so also it will dispose of us and of that it bestoweth upon us Mercy will not onely have a sinner but it will rule and order that grace it hath bestowed upon the soule For if mercy purchase a soule at so high a rate as the blood of the Lord Jesus it is right that the soule purchased by grace and supplyed with grace that mercy should dispose it for the honour of God You are not your owne saith the Apostle but bought with a price therefore you must glorifie the Lord in body and soule Nay it is not onely right that mercy should doe it but reason and beneficiall to the soule that mercy should doe thus Nay I say unlesse that mercy should rule a man he had not beene able to give full content to the soule If the Lord should leave any poore soule to the destiny of his owne heart and the malice of Satan hee would runne to ruine presently he is not able to supply his owne wants and to dispose of his owne spirit and employ aright his owne soule For if Adam in his innocency had a stocke in his owne hands fell and perished then if mercy should put a man into the same estate that Adam was a man should bring himselfe into the same misery that Adam was brought into but there is that fulnesse of that mercy that is in Christ that it wil bestow all good needfull for me so also it will dispose of that good in me so that Satan shall never prevaile the world shall never overcome nor my corruptions beare sway in me but the Lord shall rule me for ever and this is the fulnesse of Gods mercy Gather up the point then that we may see what wee must learne There is sufficiency in mercy to supply all wants nay there is ability in mercy to communicate that it hath and we stand in need of Nay mercy will preserve us and that it giveth to us against all oppositions that can befall thee This is the lesson that the soule must learne that it may be able in some measure to see the way and learne the path that leadeth to everlasting happinesse This is the first lesson that the soule must learne of God the Father Vset For the use of this Is this the lesson the soule must learne then looke wisely upon it and when this comes upon thee and sorrow assailes thee heavily doe not looke into the blacke booke of conscience and thinke there to finde supply neither looke into the booke of the privileges and performances and thinke to finde power out of thy owne sufficiency Looke not on thy sinnes to pore upon them whereby thou shalt be discouraged neither look into thy owne sufficiency thinking thereby to procure any thing to thy selfe These are but lessons of the lower forme It is true thou must see thy sinnes and sorrow for them but this is for the lower forme and thou must get this lesson beforehand and when thou hast gotten this lesson of contrition and humiliation looke onely to Gods mercy and the riches of his grace and be sure as you take out this lesson take it not out by halves for then you wrong mercy and your selves too if you thinke that bare workes will serve and that is all No no mercy will rule you therefore take all the lesson out and then the heart will be cheered and thy soule in some measure enabled to come on to the Lord and will see some glimpses of consolation from the Spirit Quest 2 We see the lesson what must be learned now we must see the reason why the Lord must teach this lesson Answ I answer It is not appropriated to the Father alone for the Father teaches not alone but the Sonne and the holy Ghost teach too But why then doth the Text give it to the Father Here I answer directly because the Father was directly offended with the sinne of man 1 Iohn 1.7 If wee sinne wee have an advocate with the Father namely the Lord Jesus Christ to plead for us with the Father He doth not say wee take an advocate with an advocate that doth not plead with himselfe the reason is God the Father was directly offended though all the persons in the Trinity were offended yet the Father more directly Now he that is directly offended favour and mercy must come from him to the party that doth offend and that is the reason why Christ especially cast this upon the Father Take a creditor that hath money or creditors that are bankrupts now this is no meanes to helpe and succour these men but it lyeth upon the creditor that oweth the debt for he onely it is must come to forgive the debts for it is here God the Father being directly offended by the sonne of man therefore from him in the first place must proceed the pardon and mercy to the sonne of man Hence it comes to passe that the text saith the Father must teach this lesson Quest 3 The third question is this After what manner doth the Lord teach the soule Christ speakes now of the worke of the Spirit and that you may not be mistaken know this that the worke of the Spirit doth alwayes goe with and is communicated by the word therefore if the question be After what manner doth God teach the soule to spell out this lecture of mercy and pardon Answ I answer brieflâ— The Lord teacheth the soule by his Spirit I told you that before that not only the Father but the Sonne and holy Ghost also teacheth the Father from himselfe the Son from the Father and the holy Ghost from both Therefore understand what I say the Spirit of the Lord doth not onely in the generall make known Gods mercy but doth in particular with strength of evidence present to the broken hearted sinner the right of the freenesse of Gods grace to the soule nay it holds those speciall considerations to the heart and prefenâ—eth the heart with them not onely so but in the second place the Spirit doth forcibly soke in the reâ—â—ish of that grace
honourable let him be what he will be and let his parts be what they will if he hath not the Spirit hee is none of Christs his you are to whom you obey but pride and covetousnesse you obey and malice and spleene you obey you are therefore none of Christs Pride will say This heart is mine Lord I have domineered over it and I will torment it Corruptions will say Wee have owned this soule and wee will damne it You that heretofore have made a tush at the word this wind shakes no corne and these words breake no bones thinke what you have done little do you think you have opposed the Spirit Acts 7.5 what resist the Spirit Oh thinke of this Why what shall I say by what spirit wilt thou be sanctified by what spirit wilt thou be saved Can thy owne spirit save thee no the Spirit of God must save thee and have you resisted that Spirit me thinks it is enough to sinke any soule under heaven Hereafter therefore thinke this with thy selfe were hee but a man that speakes yet I ought not to despise him but that is not all there goeth Gods Spirit with the word and shall I despise it the Lord keepe me from this there is but one step betweene this and that unpardonable sinne against the holy Ghost onely adding malice to thy rage thou opposest thy Father haply the Son mediates for thee thou despisest the Sonne haply the holy Ghost pleads for the but if thou opposest the Spirit none can succour thee therefore looke to it Vse 3 Direction Hence we may observe the ground why many of Gods faithfull people understand not that they have the Spirit of God nor yet the increase of it they looke not to the promise by which it is conveyed but to corruption by which it is hindred you listen not to the verdict of the Gospell Let every one ask this great question How may I know when the Spirit is in me That you know it not the fault is your owne look into the word It is with a poore soule as with little children the childe in the night being hungry seekes for the dug but if he doth not lay hold of it he gets no good bâ— it so thou hast been a long time musling about a dry chip and hast got no comfort Be sure therefore to lay hold upon the promise hold it and thy spirit shall be filled with marrow and fatnesse If there be marrow in a bone thou must breake it before thou canst get any out So it is with the promises they are full of sweetnesse but you must chew them breake them and bestow thy heart on them An Alchimist that distils oyle doth draw out the spirit of metalls but it is by distillation so it is with the promises they are excellent metall there is a great deale of comfort in them but if you will have benefit by them you must distill them by meditation Obt. I but some soules may say We have done thus often but yet returne as emptie as before Answ I answer You should have staid longer upon the promise it must not bee at your carving and disposing in reason a man must swallow his pills and eat his cordials but wee should doe the contrarie we should chew the promises and that is done by meditating on them but we swallow the precious promises of Christ that should comfort us therefore chew them if you desire comfort over and over againe eat these daily and you shall finde much comfort and consolation therein and benefit thereby Vse 4 Terrour we may see the hopelesse condition of those men that live under the Gospell and their hearts are not wrought upon them If the Spirit of God and the Gospell of God will not worke upon thee if thou hast the eye of a man about thee thou maist see thy wofull and lamentable condition If a bungling servant cannot tell how to hew a peece of wood for a building it is no marvell but if it be such a peece that the master Carpenter cannot make it fit for the building then it is good for nothing but to be burned So it is here with the soule if the Spirit of God can doe thee no good who can if we a companie of bunglers cannot doe it no marvell but if our master Christ if he takes a stubborne sturdie heart in hand and cannot doe it it is fit to bee damned Is not that man miserably ignorant that wisedome it selfe cannot make wise is not he sicke of sinne whom the Gospell cannot cure 1 Cor. 4.3 I desire those whose conscience to this day accuse them that yet they are blinde and those that brave it out and say Shall I feare the face of a man no no I scorne it I beseech you let me deale with you doe not brave it out so for it is the greatest miserie under the Sunne for thou dost as good as to say thou wilt not have the word of God to worke upon thee Iames 1.21 The word of God is able to save thee and to sanctifie thee and art thou yet polluted and defiled Oh take heed of it goe and be moue thy soule to the Lord and say Good Lord such a drunkard thou hast met with such a proud heart thou hast humbled and such a stubborne heart thou hast pluckt upon his knees and if drunkards be humbled if the ignorant be instructed then what a cursed heart have I that was loose and vile and base and profane before and so I am now I tell thee what can you thinke of your selves if the Spirit goe with the word and thou mocke at it thy condition is lamentable Vse 5 Exhortation Then you are to be intreated in the bowels of our Lord Jesus Christ when ever you heare the word of the Lord and the Gospell of God you must come trembling and submit to that good word Exod. 23. When ever the word of the Lord is revealed the Spirit of God blessed for ever is there accompanying of it therefore good reason the creature should submit to the Creator Wee speake not a word for our selves we preach the good word of the Lord and how ever our selves have spoken this if you oppose it know it that it is the Lords word therefore when you heare the word doe what you will with us onely submit to the word of the Lord doe what you please with us as Ieremy saith onely embrace the word of the Lord. It is Gods word therefore take heed of opposing and gainsaying it labour to awe your soules to settle all distempers wipe out all carping and cavilling at the word as they presse in upon thee Obt. But how shall we bring our soules to doe this Answ By considering these two or three meanes Labour not onely to have thy soule convicted that the holy Ghost is there accompanying the word as it doth or else how could it reveale thy sinnes but also perswade thy heart that it is so apprehend the power
of the Spirit of God for as we apprehend the Spirit of the Lord to be in the word so much the word will worke upon thee as it was with the Israelites 1 Sam. 8.19 compared with 1 Sam. 12.18 What is the reason they do so at the one and not at the other why did they feare the one more than the other because they apprehended God to be in the one and not in the other Confesse and know that not one word of God shall fall to the ground there thou hast heard if a man did heare thunder and knew it would fall upon him it would awe him The word of the Lord is as thunder from heaven it is not the word of man but of God then consider shall not the word faile then the word that God hath spoken shall fall upon me Consider that when judgement hits it is irrecoverable If a man knew that although judgement came it would not hit him if it did hit him he might recover this would comfort him a little but if thou dost not stoope it will hit and that irrecoverably therefore labour to tremble at Gods word We come now to see how the Lord workes upon the soule First he lets a light into the minde for what the eye never seeth the heart never desireth hope never expects that joy never delights in that the soule never embraceth but the soule hangs a farre off and dares not beleeve that Christ will have mercy upon him God is a just God and he a vile sinner therefore God will never cast the eye of pitie and compassion upon him therefore the Spirit lets in a light into his heart and discovers unto him that God will deale graciously with him and doe good unto him Doct. 1 Hence That the Spirit of the Lord gives speciall notice of Gods acceptance to the soule truly humbled Mercie is generally propounded to the soule in the Gospell but there is a speciall bringing home of mercy to the soule by the Spirit that hee strikes through the bargaine There is many a chapman passeth by the stall and seeth the meat and the commodity lye that is tendred him and followes him home to his house if he purpose to sell so it is not enough to tender mercy and offer grace and salvation by the Gospell for this wee often doe and you will not once looke at them but cast them away and no man buyeth them but if the Spirit of God takes them in hand he will strike the bargaine through hee will follow thee home to thy house to thy closet to thy heart hee will wooe thee be thou never so coy be thou never so stubborne be thou never so wayward the Lord will bring thee to give entertainment to the Lord Jesus and to Gods mercy in and through him 1 Iohn 5.20 as if he had said A man of himselfe hath no minde no understanding to conceive of the Lord Jesus and of the freenesse of Gods mercy in Christ but Christ hath given us this minde he hath given an eye to the soule of a sinner so that hee cannot but take notice of the councell holden in the high Court of Parliament concerning his salvation It is with a sinner as it is with a man that sits in darknesse haply he seeth a light in the street out of a window but he sits still in darknesse and is in the dungeon all the while and thinkes how good were it if a man might enjoy that light So many a poore humble-hearted broken sinner seeth and hath an inkling of Gods mercies he heareth the Saints speake of Gods love and his goodnesse and compassion ah thinkes he how happy are they blessed are they what an excellent condition are they in but he is in darknesse still and never had a drop of mercy vouchsafed unto him at last the Lord sets a light in his house and puts the candle into his owne hand and makes him see by particular evidence thou shalt bee pardoned and thou shalt be saved this is particular notice For the opening of the point observe two things 1. The manner how the Spirit doth it 2. The reasons why the Spirit onely can do it For the first the manner of the Spirits worke how the Lord doth give this notice and how the candle comes to bee lighted and the glimpse of Gods mercy comes in as by so many cranies into the soule it is discerned in three passages Passage 1 The Spirit of the Lord meeting with an humble broken lowly selfe-denying sinner for of him I speake hee that is a proud stout hearted wretch God give him notice of his mercy no God will give him notice of something else he shall have notice of judgements hell fire let him have that which belongs unto him Iudgement to whom judgement belongeth but I speake of an humbled sinner through which he may be enabled and by which he may be fitted to entertaine the things of God The naturall man perceiveth not the things of God neither can he why because they are spiritually discerned So that there must be a spirituall light in him before the soule can see spirituall things without 1 Cor. 2.12 Wee have not received the spirit of the world which is the spirit of ignorance and darknesse that possesseth all the world the world lyeth in darknesse and in sinne there is the spirit of the Devill and terrour in the mindes of wicked men but you have not received the spirit of the world to delude you and blinde you but you have received the Spirit of the Lord as who should say No man doth no man can know the things of Gods free grace rich mercy boundlesse compassion in the Lord. No man can see these colours unlesse he hath a spirituall eye Revel 3.18 No saith God ye are blinde c. but I counsell thee to buy of me eye-salve that thou maist see and now the humbled sinner begins to see like the man in the Gospell some light and glimmering about his understanding that he can look into and discerne the spirituall things of God Passage 2 Then the Lord layes before him all the riches of the treasures of his grace the Spirit brings out of the store house out of the bosome of God the Father those tender mercies and compassions which never yet saw the Sunne which neither men nor Angels ever dreamed of and the Spirit doth communicate them to those that God hath let the spirituall light into Ephes 3.9 there they are called the unsearchable riches of God and it is a very significant phrase and the word implies such riches as a man can never see a foot-step of them God now doth as some Trades-men doe he hath a deale of wares in his store-house but the buyer and passenger seeth not those but only them that are set out upon the stall so it is with the Lord Jesus hee doth present unto the view of the understanding of the mind enlightned all those conceivable incomprehensible
treasures of his mercy in the Lord Jesus If a man have no eye hee cannot see if hee have an eye and have no object nor colours before him hee cannot see first therefore the Lord gives an eye to the humbled heart and when hee hath given him an eye then hee layes colours before him that hee may see and looke and fall in love with the treasures of mercy and compassion 2 Cor. 3. the foure last verses the Text saith The vaile of blindnesse is taken from our minds and then the faithfull Soule beholds as in a glasse all the grace and mercy and compassion that God layeth before him in Christ the humbled sinner hath now gotten an eye and some spirituall eye-sight that the Lord hath brought within his view all the riches and treasures of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Soule saith oh that mercy and grace and pardon were mine Oh that my sinnes were done away The Lord saith I will refresh them that are heavy laden Oh that I had that refreshing saith the Soule You shall have rest saith God Oh that I had rest too saith the soule Now the Soule beginneth to looke after the mercie and compassion which is laid before it Passage 3 The Spirit of the Lord doth witnesse or certifie throughly and effectually to the Soule that this mercy belongs to him that is the upshot of the notice God gives to the Soule The third stroke of the Spirit strikes through the bargaine and makes the understanding close with that grace and mercy set forth unto it and without this the Soule of an humble broken hearted sinner hath no ground to goe upon Beleeving in Scripture is called comming Now no man can goe without some ground now this is the ground without which the Soule hath no bottome to beare it up either to come to Christ or perswade it selfe of mercy in Christ What good doth it doe any hungry stomacke to heare that there is a great deale of cheere and dainties provided for such and such men what is it to him if he have them not Take a begger that hath a thousand pound told before him hee may apprehend the summe of so much gold and so much silver but what is that all to mee saith he if in the meane time I die and starve It falls out in this case with a broken hearted sinner as with a prodigall childe the prodigall he hath spent his meanes and abused his Father the prodigall hath now much need the famine is in the land and poverty is befalne him and hee knowes there was meat enough and cloaths enough in his Fathers house but alas hee can expect no kindnesse from his Father but only his heavy displeasure if any man should say goe to your Father hee will give you a portion of a hundred pounds againe doe you thinke the prodigall would beleeve this no no he would answer thus haply my Father will imprison mee or send a Sergeant to arrest mee or an executioner to take away my life it is my Father that I have offended my portion I have spent and his anger I have incensed and what will hee receive mee no I will never beleeve it Indeed had I beene a good husband I might have had his favour and increased my estate but I have lost his favour my owne estate patrimony and all but if a man should come and tell him now that he heard his Father say so and bring a certificate under his Fathers hand that it was so this would draw him into some hope that his Father meant well towards him so it is with the sinner when he is apprehensive of all his rebellions that hee hath heaped up against Gods mercy and spirit and grace by his declining from the truth If a man should tell such a soule goe to God he will give you a pension of a hundred thousand pounds a yeere that is hee will give you abundance of mercy and compassion the Soule cannot beleeve it but thinkes what I mercy no no blessed are they that walke humbly before God and conforme their lives answerable to Gods word let them take it but the truth is it is mercy I have opposed it is grace that I have rejected no mercy no grace for mee you cannot wooe the soule to be perswaded for to thinke that there is mercy for him But if God send a messenger from heaven or if under the hand of his spirit that hee doth accept of him and will doe good to him and passe by all former sinnes and shew favour to him this makes the soule grow into some hope this is the ground whereupon the soule goeth to the Lord. This the Lord performeth to the soule That which David prayes for Psalm 35.3 the Prophet was not contented that there was salvation in Gods hand hee knew that God had a world of mercy and salvation and pardon lying by him but David prayes to God Say unto my soule thou art my salvation testifie it speake it home Lord once more plainly effectually and sensibly there is salvation with thee Paul was saved and Abraham was saved but what is that to mee say unto my soule thy sinnes shall be pardoned thine iniquities shall be forgiven thy person accepted Quest But now the question growes on But how shall a man discover this testification and this witnessing of the spirit to the heart of a humble broken hearted sinner that these things are so Answ This third worke of the spirit makes knowne it selfe in three particulars Partic. 1 The spirit doth evidence to the soule broken and humbled That the soule hath an interest in this mercy that it was appointed for it and he hath to meddle with it in reason we may observe that a witnesse in a cause doth marvellously cleare it if he be wise and judicious and the thing that before was doubtfull comes now to be apparant as now in a point of Law two men contend for land now if an ancient wise man of some place is called before the Judge at the Assises and hee beares witnesse upon his knowledge that such Lands have beene in the possession of such a generation or family for the space of many yeares this is a speciall testification that this man being of that generation he hath interest to these lands So it is with the witnesse of Gods Spirit there is a controversie betweene Satan and the soule the soule saith oh that grace and compassion might be bestowed on mee why saith Satan dost thou conceive of any mercy or grace and Salvation marke thy rebellions against thy Saviour marke the wretched distempers of thy heart and the filthy abhominations of thy life dost thou thinke of mercy Here is the controversie whether an humble sinner hath title to or interest in the mercy of God Now the Spirit of God comming in that casts the cause and makes it evident if such a poore heart have interest and may meddle and make challenge to mercy and salvation because
it hath beene prepared for them from the beginning of the world to this very day Now this gives a light into the businesse the evidence is sure that this man hath title to all the riches and compassion of the Lord Jesus Acts. 2.39 Every poore creature thinkes that God thinkes so of him as hee thinkes of himselfe and hee thinkes God intends marvellous grievous things against him and if there be any judgement denounced or any plague revealed the soule sits and sincks and thinkes with himselfe thus I wretch the Lord spake to mee and intended mee the Lord threatned mee and denounced judgement against mee and one day he will bring all these plagues upon mee all shall be made good upon this wretched heart of mine one day whereas the Spirit of the Lord judgeth otherwise and God meanes well towards him and intends good to all you that have beene broken for your sins and there is witnesse of it in heaven and it shall be made good to your owne consciences Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners broken abased vile wretched carnall sinners doe not thinke hee will keepe any old reckonings in minde Christ came into the world only to succour sinfull humbled wretches hee only came to call sinners not your proud haughty justiciaries that trust in their owne performances no but miserable vile broken abased sinners therefore now here is some ground and light come in that wee have to doe with mercy Psalm 80.3 Cause thy face to shine upon mee If a man be in a deepe darke dungeon he cannot tell when it is light hee may aske is it light but else hee cannot tell But an humbled sinner is like a man standing full upon the Sunne rising this face of Gods mercy shines full upon him the Lord lets in the inclination of his kindnesse and makes knowne the surenesse of his favour in the Lord Jesus Christ now the soule hath some apprehension that he hath to doe with mercy Partic. 2 The Spirit doth ratifie that interest as the soule now hath as intended towards him and prepared for him hee makes it good to the heart and establisheth it and makes it sure to the soule This is the nature of a witnesse if it be sufficient as the Lord provides That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall bee established so it is with the testimony or testification of Gods Spirit for the Spirit doth not beare witnesse alone but the Father from heaven and the Sonne in heaven doth joyne witnesse with the Spirit and the court is in heaven where this controversie must be scanned and now the Spirit doth by witnesse promise that all this mercy shall be made good and given the humbled heart shall be made possessor thereof hence it is that the soule comes to be deeply setled herein for God cannot deny himselfe nor his promise this is the maine ground and tenour whereupon wee hold everlasting happinesse you know in men of great estate if their lease had beene naught and their tenour false this staggers them deeply therfore every man labours to make his tenour as good as hee can thinke on it the maintainer of all this good that a Saint of God hath all his hope of life and salvation hangs upon the maine hold the free promise of the Lord the certaine faithfull promise of the Lord in through Jesus Christ by the testimony of the Spirit you that are sanctified by Christ know nothing unlesse you know how to live by a promise in some measure Now this promise is not only a bare word of God and a bare intimation of some will and intendment of good but it is a kind of ingagement when the Lord doth lay his truth to pawne here is good surety for a poore humbled soule it shall undoubtedly be bestowed upon him he doth not only intend well unto him hee doth not only prepare mercy for him but now he ties binds himselfe so that he cannot goe back you see now this is the bottome to beare up the truth when the Lord doth please to ingage himselfe to a broken hearted sinner that hee shall be made to beleeve and made to live by his beleeving I beseech you take notice of it this is the tenour and covenant of God with a broken sinner hee calls him graciously and then promises to bestow mercy upon him 2. Cor. 6.18 Come out from among them what then what shall I forsake all my old companions shall I renounce all commodities that I have coveted all the honour in the world which I have affected Yes saith the Lord come out from them all abandon them lose all riches and be impoverished lose all honour and be abased ah but what shall wee get by it why then I will be your God that is I will ingage my selfe and passe over the title of all my mercy and goodnesse and compassion and all that I have you shall have all is yours and what then You shall bee my people marke that hee is obliged to a poore humbled heart as if he had said I will be your God and supply your wants and work graciously for you as it was with Abraham the Father of the faithfull so it must be with the faithfull servants of God Gen. 12.3 Now what there is promised to Abraham he promiseth to all his children to all the faithfull it is thus with thee that is thou must bid adue to thy country and friends and though thou livest with thy Father yet thou hatest his base courses and though thou livest with thy friends yet thou hatest their wicked practices and thou hast forsaken thy god pride and thy god covetousnesse and thy god drunkennesse and the like thou knowest God will blesse thee he hath bound himselfe and cannot goe backe this is the ground of the speech 1 Iohn 2.25 Eternall life is the thing there promised but how can wee intitle ourselves in this the text saith this is the promise he hath promised that is he did freely and frankly and of himselfe and out of his owne good will ingage himselfe to give and bestow this promise upon us here is the root and ground of all his promise This is the difference betweene the first and second covenant God did covenant with Adam that he should live upon the ground that he should doe Now because the covenant of eternall life depended upon doing it was not certaine to him and his posterity but lost it but our eternall life dependeth upon the promise of God and therefore it is sure because God cannot faile cannot change his promise cannot be altred if we observe the conditions eternall life is sure unto a broken hearted sinner hence come all those phrases in this kind Wee are called children of the promise what is that why the very promise of God makes us children wee are begotten and made the Sonnes of God he is called in Esay The everlasting Father hee hath begotten us by
the Father and the Sonne he can nay he doth make knowne the Counsels of both and so removes all objections and cleares all cavils it is a point of consideration to you that are weake ones satisfaction is by the meanes of Christ the Sonne layeth downe the price and doth satisfie the Spirit doth certifie it unto the soule that the Son hath satisfied for the neglect of what God ever required at our hands and for the committing of what ever God hath forbidden now the soule is fully satisfied As for example Take a creditor to whom the debtor oweth money haply the debtor is arrested for his not paying the debt the surety he comes and layes downe the debt now the debtor is unacquainted with this unlesse there be a messenger that brings a certificat under the hand of the creditour that he is paid and the surety hath discharged the debt and hee is quitted when he heares this his heart is fully quieted So here the Lord Jesus is the Surety the Father is the Creditour our soules are the debt now the Spirit of God he is the Messenger and he brings under the hand of God of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ an acquittance to our soules that what ever sinnes wee have committed are pardoned through Christ and this fully contents the soule Marke 1 Cor. 2.10 yea the deepe things of God as who should say how can you tell that Gods minde is towards us and that hee will pardon why these are secrets aye but the Spirit of the Lord knowes and searcheth the deepe things of God that which eye never saw that which the Angels in heaven cannot tell you that which all the men in the world cannot reveale unto you without God be with them that your names are written in the Booke of Life you shall bee accepted these are deepe things but the Spirit reveales them This is the first Reason the Spirit onely knowes the minde therefore it only can give notice thereof unto the soule Reas 2 The Spirit only can break thorow al those mists and clouds of ignorance and blindnesse that are in our minds which oppose this worke nay it can beare downe all those distempers and discouragements which make us unfit and unable to receive the evidence of Gods love and goodnesse in the Lord Jesus Christ for these two things are in the heart of a sinner that marvellously oppose the evidence of Gods favour unto the soule Hindr. 1 That every man hath a veile of ignorance over his heart 2 Cor. 3.15 Now the veile of ignorance no hand can rend it none can remove it but only the Spirit of God The god of the world blindes the eyes of the wicked why then it must be the Spirit of God the Spirit of another world I meane the Spirit of Christ that must open the eyes and take away the veiles and clouds and mists that the god of the world casts before the eye Hindr. 2 Are desperate discouragements when a poore sinner is plunged in the apprehension of all the evill which he hath committed and in the aggravation of all those sins whereby God hath beene dishonoured when the soule observes this hee thinkes and sayes This proud heart will never be humbled this unregenerate heart will never be sanctified the Lord never intends good to my soule it is impossible that so many corrections so long continued should ever be pardoned here the soule sinkes downe in desperate discouragements now there is none but the Spirit of God that can let a light into the soule there is none but the hand of the Lord that can rend and pluck and pull a poore fainting despairing dying sinking heart under the burthen of his manifold abominations none but the Almighty hand of an Almighty God can doe this when it is night all the candles in the world cannot take away the darknesse so all the meanes of grace and salvation all the candle-light of the Ministery they are all good helps but the darknesse of the night will not be gone before the Sun of Righteousnesse arise in our hearts Hence it comes to passe that it is a very difficult matter to give comfort to a poore distressed soule Psal 40.1 Marke what a coâ—le there is to give comfort all the world cannot comfort them and perswade them I shall one day perish say they I shall one day goe downe to hell let all the Ministers under heaven say what they will Comfort yee comfort yee saith the Lord as who should say they will not be comforted they will not thinke nor be resolved of it I mercy and I comfort it is a likely matter it will never be it never can be I shall never see that day will the Lord pardon me I doe not thinke it I cannot beleeve it God is a just God and a righteous God and I am a vile wicked wretch it is mercy that I have despised and trampled under my feet and I mercy no certainly there is no such matter this makes the Lord have such a doe Comfort yee comfort yee the third time and yet they will receive none We Ministers of the Gospell observe by experience that we meet with some soules that are gone to the bottome of hell sometimes by their distempers and wee make knowne the promises propound arguments lay downe reasons but nothing takes place nothing prevailes all is presently forgotten and you had as good say nothing all is forgotten therefore none but Gods Spirit can doe it hee must come from heaven and say Comfort yee comfort yee my people let me therefore speake to you that are Ministers you doe well to labour to give comfort to a poore fainting soule but alwayes say Comfort Lord say unto this poore soule thou art his salvation Lord speake comfort and say to such a one his sinnes shall be pardoned mercy shall bee bestowed upon him his iniquities are forgiven it is that wee observe in the policie of Satan Satan hath two Policies Policie 1 First if he can hee will keepe a man that hee shall never see his sins therefore hee labours to doe away all plagues and judgements from the apprehension of the soule and therefore when the Minister comes home to the conscience and saith What you have heaven what proud and profane and oppose God and his ordinances and you goe to heaven No no such matter marke what the Devill suggests take thy pleasure it is but halfe an houres work when you lie upon your death-bed if you can but then cry to God for mercy and for forgivenes it is enough this is the first Policie to keepe a man from seeing his sins and thus the soule is content to carry hel-gates on his backe and a thousand abominations and is never troubled Well haply the Lord enlightens the soule of such a sinner and sets his sinnes before him and saith here are thy sins and for these thy sins thou shalt be sent packing to hell now he cannot look off
towards you will you know how your case shall goe at the last day would you know if your name is written in the Book of life if you would why then know the way to obtaine it seeke it of the Spirit of the Lord for he searcheth the chiefe things of God consider what our Saviour tels you Luke 11.12 Why then must this Spirit only certifie the pardon of sin Why looke up to heaven then and plead thus with him Lord I am a father and give my childe what hee wants and if I see him in need I releeve him why I need thy Spirit Lord I beg it thou hast promised it Lord give that Spirit to the soule of thy servant and let it restifie to my conscience that thou art reconciled to me Object But how shall we get the Spirit home to a man in this case Answ The meanes are two Meanes 1 Thou must labour to be such a one to whom the Spirit belongs Labour to be an humble hearted sinner and then the Lord will send his Spirit and give notice to thee of his acceptance for the Lord doth not passe over his comfort or mercie or compassion to any soule in the world but onely to those that are broken hearted before God there is no mercy for thee that art stubborne no compassion for thee that art stout hearted wouldest thou have the Spirit make a lye for thee and come from Heaven to make a new Scripture to bring a loose stubborne drunkard or adulterer to heaven it will not bee so it cannot bee so never thinke to bring the Spirit of the Lord and make him speake mercy to thee when it belongs not to thee 1 King 14.1 2 c. Doe not thinke to complain it with the Lord Jesus and put the finger in the eye weep a few teares and say I confesse my rebellions are sinful I am sory for my sins and will repent me of my sins the Spirit wil say Come out thou proud wretched hypocrite doest thou feigne thy selfe to be an humble broken hearted sinner doe not I know thy reservations doe not I know thy by-wayes and back-doores Come out thou proud wretch and sturdy hypocrite I am sent to thee with heavie tidings you may cozen man but you cannot deceive God therefore never thinke he will give grace and mercy unto thee unlesse thou be fitted for it Meanes 2 Be sure you harken not to your carnall cavils of reason nor to the clamours of a corrupt heart nor to the bawlings of Satan all which stop and hinder the testimony of the Spirit and with their loud cries drowne the voyce of the Spirit that it cannot be heard It is a fashion amongst Lawyers at Assises or Sessions when in their Courts there comes in a wise judicious witnesse and the Lawyers plead a base cause they feare him and therefore before he can speak out his tale one speaks and another speakes and so hinders this that hee cannot bee understood then the man saith hee came for a witnesse and not thus to be disturbed then the Judge commands silence and then hee hath liberty to discover what he knowes and then the case is cleare so it is with the soule and carnall reason and the Devill The triall is whether a man hath any interest in Christ or no. Now the Spirit of the Lord working graciously upon the heart would bring in a faire testimony of Gods grace to the soule but when the soule commeth to a faithfull Minister to tell him how God hath wrought upon him and met with him and how he was burthened with his sins Oh saith Satan you were burthened with your sins but you returned to them againe then the soule saith he was humbled for his sinnes yet the goodnesse of God was never sealed to him aye saith Satan but you continue in your sins still aye saith the soule I am weary of these sins aye and you are weary of labouring against them too saith Satan Thus the soule is tyred by carnall reasons temptations of Satan now let the evidence of the Spirit bee never so plaine he cannot perceive it be watchfull therefore in this case if you heare what feare or feeling or suspition saith feeling saith I find nothing feare saith it will never be suspition imagineth I shall never see that day but now command silence to every one to feare suspition feeling and unworthinesse and say now speake blessed Spirit then you will see the case cast presently It is said of Abraham he considered not Sarahs barren wombe for imagine Abraham had thus reasoned I never had childe for mee to beare a childe it is against nature shall a man that never begat beget a childe in his old age I will never beleeve it If hee had done thus for ought I know though hee had lived unto this time hee should never have had a childe but he never considered of any of these things and therefore the Promise was accomplished Therefore be sure not to hearken what failings feare and doubt and corruption saith for they will be ever against thee there is no mercy from corruption no grace from feare and suspition but consider not your dead barren wretched hearts but attend upon Gods promise and you shall finde Gods Spirit witnesse unto you the acceptance of your persons before God Object But you will say may not a man consider of his sins and attend to the corruptions of our owne hearts Answ I answer a man may nay must in a fit time after a right manner to a good end for he that never seeth his sins can never be humbled for them but this consideration only fits us for mercie and can never get assurance of any interest in mercie The consideration of our sins will give us notice of these three particulars 1. It gives us notice of our owne vilenesse and basenesse the laying these upon the soule it is a maine meanes to breake the heart and bruife a filthy stubborne soule It gives us notice of the emptinesse and infirmity of all outward parts and gifts and meanes and helpes to doe us any good It will make us see the absolute necessity of a Saviour and of the great worke of redemption which Christ hath wrought for us nay it will drive us out of our selves and force us to fall at the foot-stoole of Gods mercy that so wee may gaine Gods favour to us but it is impossible that the consideration of my sins should certifie mee of my interest in Gods mercy Meanes 3 Labour to bee informed and to understand aright the language of the Spirit Looke as it is with a poore man in the Court a wise witnesse comes in and speakes plainly but it will doe the poore man no good to heare the witnesse unlesse he understand it so though we heare the Spirit and doe not understand the language of the Spirit it is as if we never heard it Now the language of the Spirit is nothing else but the tenour
or the creature wait Acts 1.9 wilt thou now restore the kingdome to Israel it is not for you to know the times and the seasons as who should say hands off meddle with that you have to doe withall it is for you to wait it is for you to expect mercie it is not for you to know so I would have you to doe when you begin to wrangle and to say how long Lord when Lord and why not now Lord and why not I Lord why checke thy owne heart and say it is not for me to know it is for me to be humble and to be abased and to wait for mercy but it is not for me to know the time Thus much concerning Hope Now followeth next Desire JOHN 6.45 Every one that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth unto me c. IN this great worke of vocation there are two things considerable First the call on Gods part by the preaching of the Gospell Secondly the gracious answer to Gods call Now as all the soule departed from God so it must bee all brought backe againe to God Therefore first the understanding is enlightned and that gives notice to the soule that mercy is intended towards it then hope expects that mercy and then desire wanders about from ordinance to ordinance and longs for that mercy Doctrine The Doctrine then which ariseth hence is this that The Spirit of the Lord quickens the desire of an humble and inlightned sinner to long for the riches of his mercy in Christ For the right conceiving of this Doctrine three passages are to be understood First that this desire is in the heart humbled and inlightned if either of these two be wanting this desire cannot grow there Secondly this desire is quickned by the Spirit for though the soule bee humbled and made nothing and be content to be at Gods disposall yet it is not able through any principle of life which it hath of it selfe to bee carried to any such supernaturall worke as this desire is therefore the Spirit must quicken and move the heart thus humbled and inlightned to long for the riches of Gods mercy and this desire is called the lifting up of the heart after the good it wants As the Infant cannot go without the hand of the Father so a poore sinner in himselfe considered is as an Infant and not able to lift up himselfe to this desire any further than the Lord inables him by his grace and spirit The bowle is fit to runne yet it can runne no longer than the strength of the hand sticks upon it So the humble in lightned soule is fit to come to Christ yet it will not nay it cannot stir further than the hand of the Spirit moves it Note Let every poore broken hearted sinner take notice of it for this will informe you of a strange kinde of truth remember this you must not thinke to bring desire with you to the promise but receive desire from the promise It is a vaine thing to thinke that if the oares be in the boat the boat must needs goe indeed the oare will move the boat but the hand of the Ferri-man must first move the oare The soule is like the oare and unlesse the hand of the Spirit moves our desire it cannot move towards the Lord. Lastly the Doctrine saith the spirit quickens up the heart to long for the riches of Gods mercy the desires of the wicked are flashy lazy and feeble and come to nothing But even as the longing desire of a woman with childe will not leave her till her life doth leave her so the desires which the promise workes will never leave the soule till it be possessed of the thing it desires Our Saviour saith Matth. 12.20 A bruised reed shall he not breake and that smoaking flax shall hee not quench Now wee all know that flax will not smoake unlesse the sparkles come to it but when the sparkles have taken the flax then it doth smoake and will not leave till it come to a flame The soule is like the flax and it will never smoake in desire towards the Lord till the Lord by his Spirit in the promise doth strike fire upon it the Lord must first strike fire by the promise upon the soule before it can ever flame in a desire towards the Lord and when it doth once smoake in a holy desire the Lord will not let it faile before he brings it to a perfect flame and before it bee possessed of Christ and mercy which it longs for Reason The reason of this order of Gods worke why desire comes next after hope is this because desire is that other affection which serves the great commandresse of the soule the will for these affections are as hand-maids to serve the will The will saith I will have this or that good and therefore hope wait you for it and desire long you after it Hope is the furthest and greatest reach of the soule for when the soule is doubting and quarrelling and saith will the Lord doe good to such an unworthy wretch as I am yes saith the mind inlightned mercy is intended towards thee then hope goeth out to wait and looke for this mercy Now when the soule hath waited a long time and yet this mercy comes not and he marvels at it and saith the Lord hath said the weary soule shall bee refreshed Oh where are all those precious promises then the will sends out desire to meet with that good which will not yet come and so desire goeth wandring from one ordinance to another till it bring Christ home to the soule As a gentleman doth when he expects some noble personage hee sends out a man to wait in such a place and bring him word whether he seeth him or no afterwards when he returnes and saith he seeth him not the gentleman sends out another messenger to meet him afarre off and so likewise to bring him and give him entertainment So it is with the soule of a poore sinner in this case Quest. Now how doth the Lord by that promise quicken up this desire Ans I answer the cordials that God lets in and the motives that make the soule wander towards God are three or thus There are three speciall considerations of good in the promise that doe effectually worke upon the heart to bring desires after Motive 1 First there is a peculiar good in the promise that is sutable to all the wants of the soule there is a salve for every sore Esay 61.1.2 Art thou a dead soule goe to the promise there is quickning for thee Art thou a weake soule goe to the promise there is grace to make thee strong Art thou a damned lost soule goe to the promise there is salvation to save thee Art thou a polluted soule goe to the promise there is grace to purge thee Doe you see your sinnes and feele the burthen of them Oh away to the promise there is abundance of comfort in
if I never see more of it but goe downe to hell yet this is my comfort that I have seene a smile from God this makes my heart leape within me though I burne in hell for ever this is the next voice Now that brings in love and joy See a passage this way Esay 40.2 opened Esay 40.2 Comfort yee comfort yee my people saith the Lord speake comfortably to Jerusalem and crie unto her that her warfare is accomplished and her iniquitie is pardoned tell Ierusalem shee is accepted tell her so saith the Lord. So the Lord speakes to poore hungrie broken sinners after he hath seene their desires to be sound and thorow the Lord saith to his Ministers Speake to the heart of a poore sinner tell him from mee tell him from heaven tell him from the Lord Jesus Christ tell from under the hand of the Spirit his person is accepted and his sinnes are done away and he shall be looked upon in mercie So Esay 66. Esay 66.2 opened the text saith The Lord lookes to him that is of an humble and contrite heart and that trembles at his word The poore creature cannot but observe every word and tremble at every truth Here is salvation indeed saith he but it is not mine here is mercie but that is not mine and so he shakes at the apprehension of it that he should heare of it and not enjoy it The text saith The Lord lookes at such a trembling soule that is he casts sweet intimations of his goodnesse and kindnesse upon him and saith Thou poore trembling sinner to thee bee it spoken I have an eye towards thee in the Lord Jesus Christ this as I take it is the meaning of the place Ephraim is the picture of a soule truly humbled we may see his behaviour towards God and Gods dealing towards him the text saith Surely I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe here is the heart broken and thirsting and what more thou hast chastized mee Ier. 31.18 19 20. and I was chastized as a bullocke unaccustomed to the yoake turne thou me and I shall be turned thou art the Lord my God surely after that I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did beare the reproach of my youth Here wee see Ephraim lamenting himselfe as if the sinner should say I am the wretch that have seene all the meanes of grace in abundant measure and beautie and yet never profited under the same the Lord hath corrected me but I would not be tamed the Lord hee hath instructed mee but I would not learne Lord turne mee thou art my God I have nothing in my selfe Nay now I see the evils which before I never perceived and I observe the basenesse of my course now which before I never considered and I am ashamed of my former abuse of Gods grace revealed I am even confounded in regard of the abominations which my soule hath harboured this is the mourning of a poore sinner Now marke Gods answer Ephraim is my deare sonne hee is a pleasant childe for since I spake against him I doe earnestly remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercie upon him The Lord kindled the fire of his indignation in his heart and spake bitter things against his conscience yet hee remembred him all the while as who should say I observed all those desires and considered all those teares and heard all those prayers and tooke notice of all those complaints and my bowels earne towards a poore sinner that desires my mercie in Christ and the truth is I will shew mercie to him thus wee see the behaviour of God to the soule as also the behaviour of the soule to God and thus you see the order of the affections when God is absent hope waits for it and desire longs after it when the good is in view love entertaines it and joy delights and sports and playeth with it love is like the Host that welcomes the guest and joy is like the chamberlaine that attends upon him and is very ready and pleasing to entertaine the promise and the Lord Jesus Christ this is the very guise of the heart as I conceive The second thing observable is the motives whereby the promise comes to inflame these two affections and to worke this frame in the heart namely by the Spirit of the Father which kindles in an humble and inlightned soule love and joy to entertaine and reioyce in the riches of his mercie as beseemes the worth thereof Quest But how doth the Spirit kindle this love and joy Answ I answer thus it is when the Spirit of the Lord in the promise lets in some intimation of Gods love into the soule the weight lieth upon these two words le ts in some inckling conveyeth some rellish of the love of God into the soule I beseech you marke it when the Lord doth expresse his favour and goodnesse in that same powerfull manner unto a heart humbled longing for his favour that it doth force the soule to bee affected with it and doth prevaile with the soule and by a holy kinde of might prevaileth and makes the soule to be affected with the rellish of his favour this is the ground A possible good stirres up hope a necessarie excellencie in that good setleth desire and a rellish in that good setled kindles love So that in the promise there is a fulnesse to take up the whole frame of the heart The phrase is admirable in the Psalmes The Lord shall command his loving kindnesse in the morning Psal 42.18 a strange passage it is a phrase taken from Kings and Princes and great Commanders whose word is a law So that the Lord shall send forth his loving kindnesse with a command as if he should say Goe love and everlasting kindnesse take thy commission and I charge thee goe to the poore humble sinner goe to the poore hungry and thirstie sinner goe and prosper and prevaile and settle my love upon his heart whether he will or no and let my kindnesse be setled upon his soule that hath longed for it Experience tels us this the Lord doth by an Almightinesse give a charge and put a commission into loving kindnesse hands that hee shall doe good to a poore soule even then when hee sinkes under the burthen of his sinnes and under the apprehension of his weaknesse What shall I have mercie No no. Will the Lord Jesus Christ accept me No surely Could I pray so and had I those parts and could I performe duties after this and this manner then there were some hope but alas there is no mercie for me But hearken I beseech you what the word discovers your estate to be is it thus and thus with you yes then I speake from the Lord mercie is yours and heaven is yours No no saith the soule I cannot beleeeve it such a wretch as I
nor receive it from any creature under Heaven further than the Father sends downe some beames of his love to kindle this in us further than the blessed Spirit of God is pleased to blow these sparkes when they are kindled further than the Lord Iesus Christ is pleased by the power of his merits to feed these sparkes of love thus blowne in our soules It is almost impossible that any man in his naturall estate should be so deluded as to thinke hee can love the Lord or delight in him 1 Tim. 1.13 14. opened The Apostle Paul tels us plainly hee was a persecutor and a blasphemer and injurious Paul could doe this and thou haply canst doe this thou canst be a blasphemer against Jesus Christ and thou canst be a persecutor of Jesus Christ but Paul cannot beleeve in Christ nor love the Lord Iesus how comes hee to this Why the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Iesus marke that As if hee should say it was Gods abundant grace that over-powerd my unfaithfull heart and made it faithfull It was Gods abundant grace that over-powerd my stubborne injurious heart and made it a loving heart But how comes this that the grace of the Lord was abundant in faith and love Why it is in Christ saith the text from Christ this faith was rooted from Christ this love was kindled As if he had said I could persecute and blaspheme and despise and cast off God and his grace I was a wretch a villaine that I could doe But that I should love the Lord being injurious and that I should beleeve the Lord being unfaithfull this was from Christ alone In experience we finde it the ball must first fall upon the ground before it can bound up againe and returne from the ground So the Lord Jesus must dart in and fling in this love of his into the soule before the soule can rebound in love and joy backe to him againe We must receive the Spirit of love from God 2 Tim. 1.7 before the Lord can receive any spirituall and holy love from us In a word what the Lord spake in some case to the Jewes is true of every man naturally I know that you have not the love of God in you Iohn 5.42 As if he should say you know not your selves you thinke you have hearts inlarged to God and you pretend great kindnesse to God but you are deceived in your soules and cozened in your corrupt natures for I know full well that the love of God is not in you I pursue the point the rather for these two ends First it discovers and confutes the carnall conceits of a company of carnall Gospellers that pretend they doe not delight to set out themselves in shew so much and they doe not heare and pray and fast so much as these and these doe But say they as for the soundnesse of our love to the Lord Jesus wee defie any man in the world that speakes against us they finde no difficulty in the matter to love the Lord they are certainly perswaded they doe that Therefore if the Minister shall presse upon them and challenge them of want of love to God and his grace they flie in a mans face presently What not love the Lord Jesus Christ why then it is pitie a man should live upon the face of the earth they doe love him and they will love him all the world shall not perswade them from the loving of Christ Oh poore silly creature it is a great argument that thou never hadst this love to God because thou sawest no hardnesse to get it It is an argument thou never didst expresse any delight in Christ because thou thinkest it an easie matter to delight in him Most men thinke it a matter of nothing what not love the Lord Jesus Christ why who cannot love Christ Who cannot I say neither thou nor I nor any man under heaven can love Christ by any power in himselfe Nay let me speake peremptorily thou art as able to save thy owne soule nay thou art as able to redeeme thy soule without Christ as thou art able unlesse the Lord by the Almightie helpe of his Spirit-inable thee to love the Lord Jesus Christ Nay marke what I say you that love Christ and yet doe nothing for him but pretend great kindnesse inwardly how ever you expresse not your selves in outward appearance I tell thee if a man might have happinesse by it if he might have heaven laid downe upon the naile as wee say if he could love Christ I say upon these conditions if thou hast but nature in thee thou wouldst never goe to heaven thou wouldst never be happie No no it will cost thee more than that comes to it will cost thee much paines it will cost thee many prayers and many teares before that day come It is not an easie matter to love the Lord Jesus the Father from heaven must learne you that you must goe to another manner of schoole than ever you have beene at yet if ever you learne this lecture thou mayst pray till thy eyes sinke in thy head and till thy heart failes and yet thou canst not love Christ unlesse the Spirit inable thee thereunto Thinke of this you that thinke it is nothing to love the Lord Jesus Christ If it were nothing but to talke of love and to complement with the Lord Jesus to make a cursie to Christ and to make a leg to the Lord and yet hate him inwardly then it were an easie matter indeed it is nothing to buckle to him in this fashion and in the meane time oppose him and the power of his grace but to entertaine and welcome a Saviour sutable and agreeable to the worth of him this nature will not cannot doe it is the worke of the Lord. Observe it I beseech you I say as nature cannot doe this so nature will not doe it first nature cannot doe it 1 Iohn 1.5 God is light and in him is no darknesse Ephes 5.8 saith the text at all and Ye were darknesse but now are light in the Lord A man naturally is nothing but darknesse and God is nothing but light a man by nature is nothing but unholy and God is nothing but holy Now darknesse will resist light and not give way to it and wickednesse will oppose holinesse and not give way to the same this is thy condition thou hast an ignorant carnall blinde heart and God is light pure and holy and thou canst resist a Saviour but not entertaine him doe what thou canst Nay further as a man cannot naturally doe this so in the second place I say he will not doe it The Apostle affirmes of the Thessalonians That they would not receive the love of the truth 2 Thess 2.10 opened that they might be saved he doth not say They would not receive the truth but they would not receive the love of the truth It is
in the world and my heart is cheared with the consideration of the same The Apostle saith Rom. 8.28 All things shall worke together for the best to them that love God namely to those that are called according to his purpose that is to those that so love God that their love came by calling according to Gods everlasting counsell He called them in his good time from darknesse to light and he called them from the love of the world to the love of God therefore all things shall worke together for the best to them let nothing therefore discourage thee in this case but say All things shall worke for my good because God hath given me a heart to love him nay be cheared herein I charge you and let not your hearts droope and quarrell not with the Lord for a greater portion but blesse God for that you have received your lot is fallen into a faire ground and the Lord hath dealt lovingly with you you need no more for a childes part David desired no more Looke upon mee O Lord saith he and doe good unto me how as thou usest to doe unto those that love thy name As if hee had said I desire no more for my life and everlasting happinesse and the comfort of my soule deale with me no otherwise but just so as thou doest with those that love thy name I know thou wilt love them that love thee I know thou wilt save them that love thee I know thou wilt comfort them that love thee I know thou wilt glorifie them that love thee thus Lord doe good to thy servant I desire no more I crave no other but as thou doest as thou usest to doe good to those that love thy name if I have that I have enough David a King a glorious Saint desired no more expected no more if thou hast so much know that thou art beholding to the Lord and be contented therewith Haply you have not that vaine of talking and conference which others have this is commendable but there is a great deale of pride and vanitie in it now adayes thou canst not crancke up thy selfe in performances but thy heart closeth with God and thy affections are set upon him and thy soule burnes with love towards the Lord why that is enough to bring thee to heaven if there be ever a Saint in heaven thou art one now shalt be in heaven forever hereafter But now here is the difficultie if a man had that love which comes from God according to his purpose this would stand us in stead but there is much feigned wilde hypocriticall love in the world Quest How shall I therefore know my love whether it be true of the right nature or no Answ Here is the skill therefore we will skan the matter a little if it be true love and right joy God will accept it therefore put this love and joy upon the triall and we will say no more than what we have ground for out of the doctrine of the text Examine thy love and joy by this whether thou welcomest and entertainest the Lord Jesus Christ as beseemes him whether thou entertainest grace answerable to the worth of grace for that is the nature of this love and joy which God kindles and workes Now this appeares in five particulars The first is this if thou wilt know the truth and soundnesse of thy love and joy for what I say of the one I say of the other if love be good joy will be sound for they grow both upon one root onely the one hath more sweetnesse of Gods favour shed into the heart which makes the soule sport with it c. I say therefore to discover the soundnesse of this love of thine observe these trials Triall 1 First observe the root and rise from whence thy love came and wisely consider this for it is a point of great weight and hard to discover yet it is that which will never faile it is the narrowest search in the world if thy love come from the right mint it is currant and warrantable it is such as our Saviour approves of It is Christs royall prerogative to mint love and coine such love as he will take for payment and accept of therefore doth thy love come from the Spirit of the Father then it is made fit to close with the Father and to close with the Lord Iesus and with his good Spirit and consequently the Father allowes this and will give acceptance to it You know great men must be entertained answerable to their worth for a man to have meane fare and scant provision this may content a poore man but the choisest and best deare bought and farre fetched beseemes men of great ranke and place So there is a kinde of leane love this earthly and naturall love that growes only out of thy owne strength and naturall parts it is scant provision it beseemes not it suits not with God the Father it is not answerable to the place and state of the Lord Iesus Christ It is good enough for these base things here below earthly love for earthly things carnall love for carnall things it is good enough for these things But will you entertaine the Father of heaven Will you entertaine the Lord Iesus Christ I tell you then you must have dainties you must have spirituall love to welcome a spirituall Father otherwise it will not be sutable to his worth Looke as it is with flowers those flowers which are sowen and planted and by the skilfull hand of the gardiner inocculated are choise ones both for sent and sight are your province roses and the like are of great account but your common hedge roses no man cares for them So it is with the worke of Gods Spirit and all other common graces there is province love and province joy which is planted and wrought in the heart by the skilfull hand of God and his blessed Spirit these make a sweet smelling savour in the nostrils of God Aye that love saith the Father Aye that love saith the Lord Jesus wee cannot better please them than by entertaining them after this matter but these hedge roses this carnall love and carnall joy that growes upon the hedge of our owne naturall hearts the Lord cares not for this love and joy it beseemes him not in any measure therefore observe this canst thou say I love God because hee loved me this is a love of the right coine it came from the right mint and know it for ever that that God which cannot but love himselfe he cannot but like that love of thine which is of his owne nature which came from his owne selfe who is the God of all love I would faine have you understand what I speake is thy heart therefore affected and inlarged with love to the Lord because thou hast found and felt and received the sweetnesse of the rellish of the riches of his grace into thy soule doth love and joy grow upon
man well but hath he not given thee a heart to beleeve and to rest upon the riches of Gods free grace in Christ then goe thy way for ever cheared and know that thou hast a marvellous great childs part therefore be thankfull unto him and droope no more nor bee dismaid no more thou saist thou hast not riches nor honours nor parts and thou hast not what others have nor thou canst not doe what others can doe but hast thou a heart to beleeve be cheared then and snarle no more murmure no more thou hast a good part and wilt doe pretty well every day thou risest and every nighâ— thou goest to bed blesse God and downe upon thy knees and prayse him for ever that hath given thee a graine of this precious faith bee for ever thankfull and rejoyce as David saith Psalme 92.1 It becomes upright men to be thankfull Let the wicked those that have no share in these gâ—â—ces let them be discouraged but the Saints of God cannot go away dismaid it becomes the righteous to be thankfull If the soule be inwardly setled and established by faith in the promise there cannot but come some savour of comfort to it 1 Pet. 1.9 In whom though yee see him not yet have ye beleeved and rejoyce with joy unspeakable and glorious therefore observe it beleeving rejoyceth and saith Good Lord is Christ mine that have abased him and is Heaven and the Spirit mine that have so abused it and the heart leaps at the remembrance of it and wonders at it and can scarcely beleeve it to bee true but yet hee is wonderfully thankfull It is a duty to rejoyce for mercy and grace received as well as to be humbled for sinne committed all those phrases of Scripture run thus and those joyes that may make us rejoyce they all belong to that man that is brought home to beleeve Men rejoyce as those that divide the spoyle you know this gives much joy to the souldiers that overcome so when the rich merchant gets a prize what rejoycing is there So there was never any poore soule that beleeves in Christ and comes home to Christ by the promise but he is a great conquerour and hath gotten a rich spoyle one promise is better than all the Rubies and Diamonds of the Indies When the Prodigall had beene pinched with famine and poverty when he was returned from his misery to his father marke what a deale of mirth there was the friends were feasted and the father rejoyced but if they were so comforted what was the Prodigall then surely his joy was incomprehensible and unconceivable if they which were onely the beholders of the Prodigals good did so rejoyce then what was hee that was the gainer of all that good to come from such a deale of misery to such a father nay to come from such a base course not onely to be entertained to the family but to the affections of the father hee must needs bee full of joy for the same Oh then how great is that joy and that consolation which is spirituall and which every faithfull soule which hath beene a Prodigall now receives when hee is come home to God and is come home to him whoÌ„ he hath formerly dishonoured This Prodigall is nothing else but the picture of a poore sinner that runs riot from God and from his truth as 1 Pet. 2.25 We were as sheepe going astray we are the Prodigals naturally and wee follow our owne wayes and the corruption of our owne hearts and we have spent all our patrimony and are gone away from God and grace and life and all but the broken hearted sinner now comes home to God the Father by faith Now if the Prodigall when he found his home was so cheared and if his father rejoyced and the friends feasted much more then when a poore sinner comes home to God the Father there is joy in Heaven for one sinner that repenteth therefore thou maist justly rejoyce in earth God the Father rejoyceth to see thee comming home and God the Son rejoyceth to receive thee poore and meeke and the Spirit of God rejoyceth to welcome a poore sinner that art brought home by true repentance and faith to the Lord The Saints of God rejoyce to see thee and the Angels of Heaven glory in it and it is the greatest comfort that they have the Angels fing Hallelujahâ— when any poore Saint is humbled and brought home to the Lord and they make it holyday in Heaven It is a good day to those glorious Spirits nay all those that were friends and favourers of thy poore soule they all rejoyce wert thou a wife or a childe that went away from God and art thou now brought home to rest upon the Lords free grace in Christ thy tender hearted Father that hath often prayed for thee with many teares hee rejoyceth and thy mother that hath sighed many a groane for thee nay all the people of God with one joynt consent many of whose hearts thou hast sadded by thy ungodly practices they have sought for thee and said Lord breake the heart of that poore creature Lord humble that wife or that childe when they heare that God hath answered their prayers and humbled thy heart their soules leape within them to heare this and they say there was such a Prodigall such a wife such a childe such a vilde wretch but now he hath forsaken his vilde wicked courses and he is now come home to the Father and they all rejoyce at it Now doe all the Saints and all the Angels in Heaven rejoyce and all thy Friends thinke it a happy day tâ—at they live to see this day that thou art humbled and broken and brought home to the Lord Jesus Christ then goe thy wayes for shame and blesse God that ever thou hast lived to bee possest of all this goodnesse and mercy from God If the standers by doe so rejoyce how ought thy heart to be inlarged in thankfulnesse to that good God who hath beene so gracious to thee Let me perswade every faithfull soule who hath found this to humble himselfe before the Lord and to tell the Lord in this manner saying Lord I was vilde and ignorant and rebellious and went away from thee but now I am come from the world and from my lusts and all to a Saviour to a Father to a Spirit of comfort and blessed be this day that ever I came home to thee that I may receive this mercy at thy hands You know in Exodus 15.1 when as Pharaoh had pursued the children of Israel to the red sea and they drowned themselves in the red sea and that the Israelites were come safely upon the shore then the text saith they beleeved the Lord and feared him and hiâ— servant Moyses then Moyses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord and said I will sing unto the Lord for hee hath triumphed gloriously so Revel 15.3 there the same song is recorded againe saying
and it is ready to cousen the touch I meane of able judicious Christians but now this faith never came from the right place for if it were right it must come from the mine of mercie and from God and the worke of his Spirit from thence thou hast it if thy faith bee sound Rom. 10.17 Faith comes by hearing the word faith is not in us it comes to us it is not wrought or purchased by our owne worthinesse or power the word is the conduit to convey it but the Spirit of the Lord Jesus is as the fountaine that sends it into the soule so that you must not thinke to have faith here first but hast thou found faith here first then it is not of the right but if the good Spirit of the Lord hath wrought upon thee if it be so then thy faith is right but some will say we heare the word diligently and we doe attend upon God in his ordinances and have wee not faith I answer hearing is the meanes to convey it but it is the Spirit of the Father that conveyes it by the meanes and that Spirit thou must receive by the meanes if ever thou have it there is the pitch of the point Object But how shall we know when the Spirit of God is pleased to worke this in our soules and to put it into our soules by hearing Ans There is all the difficultie and it is worth the while to consider sadly of it for I know the worke of Gods Spirit by the word in the soule by these particulars First the Spirit sheweth to the soule of a poore sinner that hee hath no faith nor no abilities 〈◊〉 worke it of himselfe this the word workes first but we are not yet at the bottome Secondly when the Spirit hath shewed thee that thou art an unfaithfull soule and that thou hast to power to worke it of thy selfe then the Spirit of the Lord by the word breathes upon the soule of a poore sinner and by the sweetnesse thereof overmasters and breakes downe all those secret cursed distempers of heart that brought under the soule and kept him in himselfe every man is brought in bed with his corruptions as Iob speakes namely thus The Spirit of God in the word drives the soule to a restlesse disquiet and makes him see that hâ—e must not stay here but hee must seeke out and goe from hence and seeke for another condition or else hee must perish for ever rest not here saith the Spirit you must bee gone and the soule saith If I rest here I am an undone man therefore hee will out and seeke for another condition Thirdly as the Spirit of God doth overpower those distempers and drives the soule to a restlesse condition till it looke out for a better condition so lastly the Spirit of God shewes that poore soule an impossibilitie of finding mercie but from God and therefore turnes the face and sets the frame of the heart that way to looke God-ward and to be for God and this is the meaning of that place Iohn 16.9 when the Spirit of God comes to bring faith and peace to the conscience the text saith Hee shall convince the world of sinne because they beleeved not on him this place implies two things First the Spirit of God sets downe all sinfull carnall pleas and pretences that the heart can make and perswades the heart that he is in a sinfull and most lamentable estate and condition and must change Secondly it convinceth the heart that there is good to be found in another and with that the heart is turned that way to looke towards a Saviour and to wait for him till mercie come from thence and then if thou canst say this to thy soule The truth is Lord I was an unbeleever and an unfaithfull creature and the Lord made mee see it and left me not there but by the power of his Spirit and the ministery of the word he drew me from thence and laid fast hold on me and left some remembrance of his indignation upon my soule and made me restlesse in myselfe and opened mine eyes to see a better way and said thou must goe on in another way and in a better way and so opened to me a glimpse of his mercie and goodnesse so that the foule is now comming on to God where this is it will never end but the Spirit of God will worke faith and faith is now comming home to the soule and the soule will come home to the flood oâ— conversion is nothing else but a setting of the soule for God as it is plaine in all the phrases of the Scripture this is the first triall Triall 2 Secondly if thou wilt judge thy faith whether it is true or noe doe thus faith makes choice wholly of Christ and resolves to match with Christ onely the meaning is this it chuseth Christ wholly for now the match is made up when once the soule comes to beleeve the preparation to the match was before in desire c. but now the match is made up and now the soule makes choice of Christ as he on whom he will bestow himselfe he chuseth Christ wholly and that you shall perceive thus when he is thus cald home by faith whatsoever it is that Christ brings the soule chuseth all of that whatsoever belongs to a Christ and is of Christ and in Christ he chuseth all Christ Christ is not only the Saviour of all his but hee is the God of all grace and hath grace to bestow upon the soules of all those that beleeve in him now faith chuseth the holinesse of a Christ and whatsoever grace is in Christ the soule chuseth that as much if not more than pâ—â—don of sinne and removing the guilt of sinnes there is the authority and rule of Christ and faith chuseth that and had rather to be under the government of Christ than under any other Scâ—pâ— in the world and faith chuseth the life of Christ whatsoever life Christ lives that life faith will chuse the woman is now content to conforme her selfe to the estate and condition of her husband she must not thinke to live as she list and to be in this place and that place and that fashion therefore thinke of it that thou didst never as yeâ— beleeve in a Christ except thou didst chuse the patience and holinesse and meeknesse of a Christ and the rule and life of Christ many Lords have ruled over us saith the text when thy cursed corruptions come and would rule thee if then thou art content to bee ruled by a Christ and to live and converse as he did this is an undoubted argument that thou chusest Christ aright nay thou must chuse the shame and disgraces and the crosse of Christ and the crowne of thornes too that is that whatsoever it is that comes with a Christ thou must make choice of it and say I will have Christ and all that comes with Christ as it is with a
Christian and his heart is satisfied with Christ and he goes to and rests upon and is satisfied in a Christ but if thou beare up thy heart with other businesses resting upon thy gifts and parts and pompe and place then thy faith is naught it rests not upon Gods free grace but upon it selfe and upon some broken reed which will faile thee When a man hath the world and honours and pleasures to stand by him he goes on cheerfully and comfortably but when these are gone all his comfort is gone then thy faith is naught for if thou hadst rested upon the free grace of Christ thou wouldst have been contented and comfortable though all honours and the like had beene taken from thee but alas this is our misety wee sit downe Rahellâ— like and will not bee comforted because honours and friends and meanes are not well goe thy way thy faith is naught it never as yet rested upon a Christ who would have continued any comfort to thee The conclusion is this the soule must bee perswaded by the spirit of the Father therefore nothing is the author of faith but the Lord. Faith must come from Heaven and from the Spirit of God in the Word if ever thou have that faith which will doe thee good Secondly the soule was effectually perswaded and therefore chuseth a Christ wholly Thirdly it rests upon his free grace and therefore is fully contented with it Vse 6 In the next place it is a word of just reproofe and the former Doctrine is a bill of Inditement against multitudes of men that were never yet partakers of this blessed worke of Grace they are not far off but in the very bosome of the Church of God they are to this very day unfaithfull It is a foolish delusion of many who thinke that onkly Sithians and Parthians and Turkes and Pagans want faith this is an idle dreame and a doating conceit and prevailes too much even with those that thinke themselves some body and are in high place Oh let not this delusion prevaile with your judgements for the former Doctrine comes as a swift witnesse against such as looke high and professe gloriously and thinke their penny good silver yet the former truth I say is that which testifies to their faces and to their consciences that there was never one dramme of saving faith wrought in them Woe therefore to their soules for it and to all such whose conditions shall bee found to bee so yet this is not the greatest of their misery for althouhh they are in this condition yet they will not see it nor bee perswaded of it when their owne lives can testifie to their faces and also proclaime to all the world that there is no faith in their hearts and Gods people mourne for them and cry to God for them and sinke under the burthen of their miserie yet it is strange to see how people will beare up themselves with a blinde boldnesse and a wretched carnall confidence and conceits that they have faith It is true say they our lives are not so holy as they ought and our workes are not so good as they should be therefore we trust not to our workes but to Jesus Christ he came to save sinners and we trust in him and all the worid nay all the devills in hell shall not perswade us to the contrary but we will beleeve in our Saviour If we should goe from man to man and from house to house and call at every mans doore and say are there any beleevers here they are at daggers drawing presently and say are not we all beleevers and we hope to goe to heaven as sone as the proudest professor of them all many soules perish this way and goe downe to hell hoodwinckt and never know where they are untill they come in the bottomlesse pit past hope past helpe I hope you will confesse this that to beleeve is more than to say so or to thinke so or conceive it in a mans minde nay it will cost you much labour before that day come that those proud hearts of yours be humbled and those distempered soules of yours that are fastned to your lusts and corruptions be brought to beleeve and to bee effectually perswaded by the Spirit of the Father and that those doubting and staggering soules of yours be brought to rest upon free grace in Jesus Christ Oh how few finde this worke I can scarcely tell whether to make it a matter of lamentation or of reproofe of those that thinke they have faith and have it not I am afraid that too many of you will finde the want of it when it is too late If ever Doctrine were needfull to be pressed then now especially in these times that so if it were possible me might shake the carnall confidence of most men Suffer mee therefore to goe on plainly in this use of reproofe and let me doe it in two particulars First I will shew and prove that many that live in the bosome of the Church have not faith Secondly I will shew who they be in particular that have no faith which things being opened then I hope every man but especially such as God shall blesse this truth unto shall be apprehensive of their condition if they will deale plainly with their owne hearts First let me lay the inditement and shew that many that live in the bosome of the Church want this saving faith Scripture and reasons are pregnant here for the first that many not onely pagans and heathens but you which live in the bosome of the Church of England have not faith as Esay 53.1 Lord who hath beleeved our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed this beleeving spoken of is saving faith and it was so hard to be found that though Esay were a man of admirable parts and one that spake in a most admirable manner yet faithfull men were so few that hee could see none therefore he goes up and downe as it were to inquire for beleevers is there any one in this family that beleeves therefore hee saith To whom is the Arme of the Lord revealed that is the power of God in the Gospell that 's the thing you must take notice of you that are wise aske this question did God ever reveale himselfe to thee to pull downe thy proud heart and the heart of your wife or your husband c. Christ found hard measure here Iohn 1.11 He came to his owne and his owne received him not the Jewes were cald his owne people he did not come to strangers to pagans and infidels but to his owne upon whom hee had bestowed many meanes and whom he had carried upon eagles wings and to whom he had communicated many rich tokens of his love yet how did they use him even they received him not not only some few of them did not receive him but the whole body of the Jewes the whole nation and people of the Jewes did not receive him indeed
heart saith I shall not know what Gods minde is or I shall not doe what I know or it will not succeed or no it is not in my power Now we leave all these with God and meddle not with them but put them over to the Lord and meddle with thy owne duty and worke and let God alone with his and say thou unto the Lord In truth Lord it is not in my power it is not in my parts or worke either to compasse that wisedome that is able to direct my selfe or to have any power to doe all that is commanded much lesse to give good successe Lord I will not meddle with that but leave it to thy Majestie if thou in thy power canst not nor in thy faithfulnesse and goodnesse carest not for thy poore helplesse creature then I am content and if thou wilt not be faithfull then I am content to bee miserable and so thou maist suppose a man that hath promised to undertake some businesse for a friend and then in the end it proves somewhat troublesome and therefore he wisheth his friend to take it againe into his owne hands for it is very troublesome but a man will leave it unto him and say he hath ingaged himselfe to doe it and hee will not looke after it I will not meddle with it any more so what end it is that is in Gods royall prerogative leave it with God and doe not meddle with it let God looke to it leave it to Gods faithfulnesse and power to accomplish it So did Abraham Rom. 14.18 19 20 21. verses Abraham above hope beleeved under hope that he should be the Father of many Nations Sarahs wombe was barren and his body dead and yet he must have a sonne and therefore he sets Gods power on worke and saith in the 21. verse Lord this body is dead and Sarah is barren there is no helpe here but thou art able and thou hast ingaged thy selfe to doe it he sets Gods power to worke and puts over all the right and burthen of the care upon the Lord. Hester 4.14 Therefore Mordecay saith If thou hold thy peace at this time comfort and deliverance shall come from some other place hee was resolved that God had deliverance for his Church and would not deny his owne truth salvation will come saith the text he knowes not the place or by what means but he knowes that salvation will come So set thou Gods power and faithfulnesse to worke and not thy owne care commit it to the Lord and hurle thy care upon him so far as concernes the burthen of it Direction 2 Secondly by faith goe to the promise againe for helpe and power to wait upon God in that way and to looke towards God in the use of those means that hee hath appointed for the attaining of that good which his power will work for thee God will worke it and so thou must meet God in the course of his providence in the improvement of the means he hath appointed for thy good Observe thou his providence and doe thou what God requires for otherwise we live not by faith but tempt God and throw away the promise and all and deprive our selves of that good which God would bestow unlesse wee walke in that way which he hath appointed Luke 24.49 When our Saviour was to goe to Heaven he said Behold I send the promise of my Father amongst you but tarry you in the cittie of Ierusalem untill you bee indued with power from above Christ would endue them with the Spirit but they must tarry at Jerusalem and wait for it So I say wouldst thou have grace and the spirit from above and the wealth of the world then walke in that way which God hath appointed stay at Jerusalem and bee in the way and meet God in his providence and then receive from his power and faithfulnesse what thou needest Thou wouldst have God blesse thee in thy estate and yet thou wouldst bee idle and carelesse but this will not doe the deed God would give thee a blessing but thou art not there to take it this is the excellency of the promises of God as they require conditions before they bestow mercies so they make us able to be partakers of the conditions and give the conditions as for example Ezech. 36. The Lord in the former part of the Chapter promiseth to give many things to them but how It must bee by prayer and humbling themselves before him hee will give a blessing in thy family by prayer in it and a blessing in private by praying in private and strength against sinne and power against corruption but I will bee sought unto for all these saith the Lord and the text saith Blessed is the man that walketh in his integritie and his children after him therefore walke thou in the integrity that is the condition of a Christian in generall or as a husband or as a wife or as a servant in the particular this the promise requires but marke this now the same promise that requires the condition will help us to performe the conditions and the same Lord that saith I will bee intreated and sought to for all these the same Lord saith Psal 10.17 Hee prepareth their hearts to pray goe thou therefore to God to help thee to pray that he may bestow his blessing upon thee which he hath promised Ezech. 26.27 He will first give them a new heart and then teach them to walke in his wayes so if thou wilt walk in Gods wayes thou shalt have his blessings therefore go thou by the power of faith to the promise of God for strength and grace and that thou must use the means appointed and then expect a blessing from it in the course of his providence now is Gods power and faithfulnesse set a worke Direct 3 Thirdly we must set it downe and conclude it that God will doe and wee shall receive in the wayes of his providence whatsoever he hath promised to give that 's the worke of faith and that is to draw sap and vertue from the promise Iohn 3.33 There by leaning is called sealing to the promise this is the nature of sealing when a man hath drawen the articles of agreement and when they have sealed all is done so faith must make the promise authenticall and put a seale to it that is true and saith it is done in heaven and I am fully resolved and setledly perswaded thereof that I shall have whatsoever I have beleeved and thou hast promised and I have used meanes for in the way of thy providence famous is that of Abraham Gen. 22.5 the Lord had bidden him sacrifice his sonne and yet hee said that hee should live and therefore when hee came to the place he said to his servants Abide you herewith the asses for I and the childe will goe yonder and sacrifice and will come againe to you he thought to sacrifice him and yet by faith he beleeved that he should bring
into the heart and by the over-piercing worke doth leave some dint of supernaturall and spirituall vertue on the heart The Spirit doth not onely with truth bring home the evidence to the heart but it iâ— stâ—ll whispering and calling and making knowne the same and forcibly soketh in the rellish of the freenesse of Gods grace and leaveth a dint of supernaturall vertue upon the soule We will expresse the points because it is somewhat difficult and is the scope of that place 2 Tim. 1.7 The Lord hath not given you the spirit of feare but of a sound minde The spirit of feare is the spirit of bondage in humiliation contrition When the Spirit sheweth a man his sinnes and sheweth him that he is in bondage and in fetters le ts him get out how he can this is the spirit of feare and of bondage In the second place there is the spirit of power But what is this spirit of power You must imagine this spirit of power doth not intimate any particular grace but as it were the sinewes and strength of the worke of the Spirit conveying it selfe through the frame of the heart and this I terme to bee the effectuall worke of the Spirit of God When the soule is humbled the Lord sweetly communicates into the soule a supernaturall and spirituall vertue Lastly as it is in nature take a knife if it be rubbed on a Loadstone it will draw iron unto it now it cannot doe that because it is a knife but because it is rubbed on a stone and receives vertue there from So it is with a heart humbled it is a fit subject for the grace of God to worke upon the love of God is like the loadstone and if the heart he rubbed thereupon and affected with the sweetnesse thereof it will bee able to close with that mercy and come to that mercy and goe to God from whence that mercy comes Quest 4 What is the behaviour of the soule when it hath learned this lesson from the Lord Answ I answer When these two things meet together in the soule then it hath learned this lesson The first is this when the soule having heard of that plentifull redemption that is in Christ as also having apprehended the revelation thereof it commeth to close with the worke of the Spirit revealing presenting and offering grace to the heart nay it comes to give entertainment to he riches of that mercy revealed to the soule There is in the mercy of God and in the blessed truth of the promises a great excellency Now when this is so plentifully brought home to the heart that it breakes through all oppositions which may hinder the worke of the Spirit upon the soule when it is brought home by the spirit of God and the heart gives way and closes with it so that there is nothing betweene that and the soule this I take to be the first frame of the soule that beginnes to learne this lesson it beginnes to close to the truth to give way to the sweetnesse that is in it and bids adieu to all delight and sinnes and whatsoever may be a hindrance unto it from receiving of this grace into the soule This is the first passage The second with which I will conclude is this that as the soule closeth with that mercy and welcommeth it and the heart is content to take up mercy upon those termes so in the second place there is an impression and disposition left upon the soule that it is framed and disposed there is a kinde of print which the soule hath with it so that as the mercy of God is revealed to the soule and communicated to the soule so there is a kind of impression frame and print which the heart retaineth and hath wrought upon it by this grace and free favour of God made knowne therefore that phrase Rom. 6.17 is a marvellous patterne to our purpose the Text saith they were delivered to this forme of doctrine Looke as it is with a seale if the seale be set to the wax and leave an impression just so many letters upon the wax as in the seale then it is wholly sealed So the Spirit of God through Christ in the promises doth reveale al the freenesse and grace of mercy in Christ Now when the Spirit doth leave an impression on the soule that man is delivered into the truth I conclude all in Acts 26.18 when Saul was sent to preach to the Gentiles the Text saith he was but to bring them out of darknesse into light mark when the Lord doth come to worke effectually upon the soule he brings men from under the power of darknesse whereas the understanding was darke and blinded when the Spirit comes it turnes it from the darknesse and power of sinne unto the power of light and grace Lastly the power of the heart doth these two things for not onely some of the heart must bee brought to God but the whole heart therefore in the precious promises of grace and savation there is fulnesse of all good to draw all the faculties of the soule unto the Lord and therefore the faithfulnesse and the truth of God is mainly revealed in the promises now that fits the understanding and makes it looke to God for pardon for power and mercy As the promise is a true word so it is a good word this answers all the will and affections there is a possibility in mercy to save a man hope expects it but then the soule must looke onely to Christ for mercy desire long for it for that there is a certainty that a man shall have mercy if he can desire it love doth welcome and delight in it nay the soule doth say The Lord hath said thou must be saved nay thou must looke to Christ for mercy it is no where else to be had nay if thou dost desire it thou shalt have it and then the Lord determines the point it is done mercy is thine and then the will addes full consent and sayes Amen Lord let it be as thou hast said Gather them up briefly When the Spirit of God doth so cleerly present mercy to the soule and doth leave by the over-powring worke thereof a supernaturall worke upon the soule that the spirit closeth therewith and receives the print and impression thereof now the lesson is fully learned this may suffice for the opening of the severall things now therefore we will addresse our selves to gather the doctrines out of the Text. And first for the generall in that the Father is said to teach Doct. That the teaching of the heart effectually is the proper taske and worke of God It is not you that can teach your selves neither can all the meanes and friends under heaven doe it no it is the work onely of the Father All these meanes and ministers are usefull but God is the chiefe master and all these are but underling ushers to convey the minde of God unto us but the master is God himselfe
it is the powerfull operation of the Spirit that must doe the soule good all other meanes are but like the cane that conveyeth the voyce but the voyce is the Lord. Iohn 14.26 I wil send the Comforter and he shal teach you all things And who is that that is the Spirit of God We speake to your outward eares but it is the Spirit of God that must give you mindes to discerne and spirits to embrace that is the onely worke of the Spirit We shall observe Matth. 11. towards the latter end I thanke thee Father c. how comes it to passe that the wise are befooled and fooles instructed I thanke thee Father saith hee that thou hast revealed these things to babes and sucklings and hast hid them from the wise How comes this about It is thy good will Father It is a wonder to see a silly creature of weake capacity and almost a foole and yet he knoweth more of sanctification and faith than many great Schollers Take a rush candle and a lampe the lampe is a great deale bigger than the rush candle yet the rush candle giveth light and the lampe none because the rush candle is lighted the lampe is not So it is here a Christian out of a blinde dotage and a meere simplician in other things yet he will talke well of the free mercy of God and the worke of grace in his heart when as many great wise men are novices in these things Reason 1 The reason is because God hath lighted his candle from heaven because the worke is an Almighty worke it is not an easie matter to goe to heaven you must not say What have I lived thus long and are we children still Ah children you are and children you will dye unlesse the Lord from heaven teach you though all men and Angels teach you the work will not goe forward 1 Cor. 4.6 the Text saith The same God that brought light out of darknesse shineth in your hearts Wee know at the beginning of the world when darknesse was upon the deepe the Lord said Let there be light now that Almighty God that brought light out of darknesse which none else could doe why the same God shineth in your hearts saith the text unlesse the Lord say Let there be light the minde can never be enlightned the soule can never bee cheered nor the conscience pacified This is a ground of admirable comfort to all weake silly feeble minded creatures I doubt not but your hearts are grieved when you consider the marvellous ignorance which is in you and how little you know concerning life and salvation when the Lord hath layd line upon line precept upon precept and the heart sometimes covets and desires to entertaine the same the soule commeth to the congregation and saith Good Lord let â—he word worke upon my soule enlighten my minde awaken my conscience and when the word comes thus home to the heart the soule hopes that it shâ—ll retaine and remember it but when it is gone all fals to the ground and the heart in private reasons thus with it selfe What shall I say when my heart approves of the word and my soule closed with it even then so soone as I come out of the Church I forgat all what a blind mind and a hard heart have I can there be any grace or mercy conveyed to such a soule as mine surely I shall one day perish An ignorant heart is a naughty heart a base wicked heart my sinnes are many my conditions fearfull Would you have any comfort why then marke what I say The Lord will teach and if the Lord be the teacher t is no matter what the scholler be Reason thus with your selves My memory is weake my capacity is smal my understanding feeble but yet the Lord is my teacher and if the Lord will informe who can let it but I shall bee informed Prov. 1.23 marke what the Text saith Returne you simple ones you scorners and fooles and follow me and I will learn you wisedome This may move you to depend upon God in the use of the meanes the soule may say I am simple and I have beene a scorner too and that is a great misery and therefore no marvel if God blinde my minde and harden my heart for I have beene a scorner and can any good come unto me can such a soule receive grace and wisedome Why Ah saith Wisedome come unto me and I will poure abundance of wisedome upon you Sec ndly if it be the worke of God then goe to him for it is a comfort to goe to a father when therefore the meanes are received and God gives a heart to improve them then come not to the congregation but to God and when the Minister reproves say Father set home that reproofe to my soule and conscience dost thou reprove father and when the Minister exhorts and informes thee daily the argument from the Scripture plaine when the Minister is thus exhorting and you cannot come off cleerly looke up to heaven exhort Father teach Father the Minister he speakes to thee but Father informe us but Father seale to us the assurance of thy love in Christ All you that heare me this day and come and bringest thine with thee and commest with thy family into the congregation looke up to thy God and say Lord here is a vaine rude servant a silly wife and a weake foolish childe and I am as base and blinde as any of them and all the Ministers under heaven and all the Angels in heaven cannot teach and informe us but doe thou teach us and worke upon our mindes and frame our hearts that wee may know the things belonging to our peace But thou wilt say Alas we have come and looked up to God but we thrive and prosper not for all this we receive not that helpe and instruction from him which he first promised and we stand in need of Why I say the fault is thine owne the Lord is not wanting to his owne word but thou art wanting to thy owne comfort But how then shall wee so carry and order our selves that we may seeke God so as we may partake of that good we desire and stand in need of I answer These foure meanes are very usefull for this purpose First labour to lay thy owne conceitednesse and abilities downe and all thy carnall imaginations that shut out the truth of God and are professedly opposed to the obedience of Christ if thou leanest on thy owne wisedome and bearest up thy selfe on thy owne abilities thou wilt never have direction from God and thou shalt never be taught by him if thou thy selfe can teach thy selfe therefore down with those haughty imaginations in regard of thy owne parts and abilities if thou hopest that God shall guide thee and learne thee in the way of truth Therefore let every one be a foole that he may be wise when thou art a foole in thy selfe then God will inform thee when thou
the word and the seed of the promise which is sowne in our hearts by the vertue of the seed and the Spirit of grace accompanying that seed wee have power to receive Christ and the Spirit of Christ and so to become the Sonnes of God This is the reason of that phrase in Scripture We are not children of the flesh but of the promise also of this in Gal. 3. last verse We are made heires by the promise it makes us heires that is looke whatever ground or hope or hold of eternall life and glory blessednesse you hold it by the vertue of the promise all is by a promise grace and goodnesse is communicated to us by a promise this is our life and all our hold therefore the Gospell is made to be the testament of Jesus Christ as by ones last will and testament a man leaves his goods and lands to his posteritie so the Lord Jesus Christ out of his free good will leaveth one legacie of mercie and grace and pardon and strength to all humble broken hearted spirits Galath 3.15 though it be but a mans covenant saith hee when it is confirmed no man doth abrogate it but if a man seale it and confirme it with his bloud then it is fully established no man will no man can disanull it So Christ leaves a Legacie of mercie to you and of favour and compassion to all broken hearted sinners by promise and therefore it is established nay it is the last promise the last Legacie and Testament therefore the promise no man can alter Ioh. 1.14 He doth not leave peace then as the world doth they wish it but cannot give it they wish it but cannot bestow it but Christ leaves a legacie of mercie and peace behind him nay he hath ratified it by his bloud and he will make it good to the soule for ever Partic. 3 The witnesse makes the soule yeeld unto what the spirit hath witnessed As the witnesses in open court in a matter of law they make the case cleare and evident the Jury they take it the Judge observes it you all know how the case goes the witnesse sufficient c. So when the witnesse of Gods Spirit comes bringing the hand of God the Father and the hand of the Sonne touching Gods acceptance it casts the cause clearely Now this judgement of the sinner yeelds and cannot but close and submit it selfe unto the truth this is the meaning of that phrase before the text they shall be taught of God they shall not only learne but they shall be taught they shall have their lesson without booke they shall be made to learne and therefore the tenor of the covenant is this I will write my Law in their inward parts and they shall all know mee from the highest to the least observe the 2 Pet. 1.3 it is a place of marvellous difficultie this I take to be the meaning there is enough to satisfie any man according to his divine power he hath given unto us all things that is the Lord by his almighty divine power hath given unto us all things either appertaining to this present life here or eternall life hereafter But how comes this to passe that God doth this the Text saith It is through knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and vertue the word in the originall is through their acknowledgement of him that hath called us The soule doth not onely barely know that this is grace and mercy in Christ the eye of the understanding is not only opened but hee now comes to acknowledge the same and subscribeth thereby thereunto God saith I will save thy soule I will be thy God the soule saith It is true Lord I will deny it no more I will gain-say it no longer In a word then gather up the point if it be so that the Spirit by the witnesse thereof doth discover the interest we have in grace if it doth ratifie the interest which it doth discover nay if it makes the judgement yeeld to what it hath ratified it certifies effectually and undeniably the truths of grace and mercy thus prepared and ratified to the soule and the soule saith I confesse it Lord and closeth therewith Quest Why may some say if this bee so how then comes it to passe that many of Gods deare children how comes it that many humble hearted creatures never knew they were called never had any speciall intimation of Gods favour they cannot say in truth they are the Lords Answ I speake of him that hath had the work of preparation fully and substantially upon his soule I speake this that no scrambling hypocrite nor sinfull wretch may come and scramble for comfort and so goe away and deceive himselfe in this kind know therefore for answer thereunto There is a double knowledge the first is this A naked simple apprehension of a truth a meere closure of a mans minde with a naked plaine truth revealed so that the judgement saith it is so Secondly there is a reflecting act when a man lookes over his understanding and labours to discerne the worke thereof not only apprehending what was laid before him but when he doth apprehend that he doth apprehend when he knowes that he doth know it marke that place for wee will carry Scripture with us 1 Ioh. 2.3 Hereby we know that we know him saith the Text if wee keepe his Commandements A man may know a thing and yet not know that he doth know so then it is cleare every Saint of God hath the first knowledge that is every man that is truly called in truth doth apprehend and undoubtedly close with the worke of the Spirit making knowne unto him the mercie of Christ many may worke and most men doe the second worke they doe not know that they know the Scripture saith that the Devill himselfe rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience that is he casts in a seed of errour and delusion and corruption into the hearts of wicked men and by his delusions they entertaine those errours embrace base courses Now not one among a thousand can say that the Devill doth thus this is done by vertue of Satan and yet he doth not see it nay there is a veile of Satan upon the soule there is a seed of Satan in the soule and the soule closeth with it and yet hee apprehends it not so every faithfull soule is ruled by Gods Spirit and the seed of Gods Spirit is flung into his minde and closeth therewith but hee cannot discerne the worke of the Spirit working upon him the one governed by Satan the other enlightned by the Spirit but neither can apprehend nor know what they doe know in this kinde Reas 1 Because onely the Spirit of the Lord knowes the Lords minde it is only privie to Gods counsels and it only understands the secrets of Gods love and therefore it only can reveale them and communicate them Matth. 11.27 Now because the holy Spirit proceedeth from