do it for them i.e. though I have done it and intend to do it yet will I do it by the means of prayer Howsoever that God had promised Eliah that rain should come upon the face of the earth yet he goes upon the Mount and saw no shew of a cloud The Text saith not what he did but he put his head between his knees Saint James saith he prayed and â—he opened Heaven and brought down rain It was an humble secret gesture A man may be more free in private than in publick He prayed and the heavens opened God had promised it and would do it but yet he would be sought to So we see the mediate cause is prayer so though the Lord will do this yet for all this he will be enquired of It is not with God as with men men who have promised would be loth to be sued to not to break their promise they account that a dishonour to them but it is not so with God God hath promised yet thou shalt have no benefit of it until thou sue to him for it therefore thou must go to God and say Lord fulfil thy promise to thy servant wherein thou hast caused me to trust God loves to have his bond sued out Lord make good this word perform that good word that thou hast spoken God would have his bond thus sued out And as thy faith repentance prayer is renewed so is thy pardon renewed When God will make a man possess the sins of his youth when a man is careless this way it pleaseth God to awaken him Thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the iniquity of my youth Job 13.26 When a man forgetteth the iniquities of his youth and reneweth not his repentance and hath not new acts of faith and petition then God maketh him to possess the iniquities of his youth he makes his sins stand up and cry out against him and by this means his old evidences are obliterated When a man hath a pardon and it 's almost obliterated the letters almost worn out that they cannot be read he would be glad to have it renewed to have a new exemplification Every sin it puts a great blur upon thine old evidences that thou canst not read them They may be firm in Heaven and yet perhaps be so blurr'd that thou canst not read them and therefore if thou wouldst get them clear'd again thou must go to God by prayer and renew them again so that whether our evidences be blur'd or whether it be that God will make us possess the iniquities of our youth it is necessary to pray for the forgiveness of those sins which have been before forgiven But now you will say when I have sinned afterward how come I then to be justified Then a man would think repentance only doth it and without repentance a man cannot be justified But you must understand repentance is not an instrument at all faith only is the instrument faith justifyeth me from sin hereafter as well as before The case is this faith brings lifâ— The righteous shall live by his faith as the Prophet Habakkuk speaks 2.4 What do then new sins do There are two sorts of sins one of ordinary incursion which cannot be avoided these break no friendship betwixt God and us these only weaken our faith and make us worse at ease But there are other sins which waste a mans conscience A man that hath committed murder adultery and lives in covetousness which in the Apostles is Idolatry as long as a man is in this case he cannot exercise the acts of faith we must know faith justifieth not as an habit but as an act applying Christ to the comfort of the soul. Now a wasting sin it stops the passage of faith it cannot act till it be opened by repentance Physicians give instances for it Those that have Apoplexies Epilepsies and the Falling sickness are thought to be dead for the time as it was with Eutichus yet saith Saint Paul his spirit was in him Act. 20.13 Every one thought him dead yet his spirit is in him however in regard of the operation of his senses it did appear he was dead So if thou art a careless man and lookst not to thy watch and to thy guard but art overtaken in some gross and grievous sin thou art taken for dead I say not a man can lose his life that once hath it but yet in the apprehension of others and of himself too he may appear to be dead As in Epilepsies the nerves are hindred by obstructions so sin obstructs the nerves of the soul that there cannot be that life and working till these sins be removed Now what is repentance why it clears the passages that though faith could 〈◊〉 before yet now it gives him dispositions unto it As a man in a 〈◊〉 cannot do the acts of a living man till he be refreshed again so 〈◊〉 its repentance which clears the spirits and makes the life of faith pass throughout Now when repentance clears the passages then faith acts and now there is a new act of faith faith justifies me from my new sins faith at first and at last is that whereby I am justified from my sins which I commit afterwards But this forgiveness of sins what doth it free us from In sin we must consider two things the fault and the punishment Now consider sin as it is in it self and as it respects the sinner as acted by him as respecting the fault of the sinner it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a transgression of the Law The punishment is death as it respects the sinner it is guilt The sin is not guilt but the guilt the sinners For instance a man that hath told a lye or sworn an oath the act is past but a thing remains which we call the guilt At if a man commit murder or adultery the act is past but yet if he sleep or walk or wake the guilt follows him If he live an hundred years he is a murderer still and an adulterer still the guilt follows him and nothing can take away the murder or adultery from the soul but the blood of Christ applied by faith First God takes away the punishment There is now saith the Apostle no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8.1 what nothing in him worthy condemnation God knows we are worthy of a thousand condemnations There are two Judges there is a double guilt when a man is brought to the bar first the Jury judge the fact and then the Judge that sits on the Bench he judgeth the punishment one saith guilty or not guilty The other saith guilty then he judgeth him Now when we are justified we are freed from both these guilts sin when it is accomplish't it bringeth forth death Jam. 1.15 You know the natural work of sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it labours with death now God will stop the acts
for me to make particular application do you do that your selves We are all children of wrath by nature in our natural condition we are all alike we are all of one kind and every kind generates its own kind 'T is an hereditary condition and till the Son makes us free we are all subject to this woe By nature we are all children of wrath as well as others Eph. 2.3 Now that I may not speak of these woes in general I have shew'd how two woes are pâ—st and a third woe is coming God proceeds punctually with us And are not our proceedings in Judiciary Courts after this manner The Judge when he pronounceth sentence doth particularize the matter Thou shalt return to the place from whence thou camest thou shalt have thy bolts knockt off thou shalt be drawn to the place of execution thou shalt be hanged thou shalt be cut down and quartered and so he goes on And this is that which is the witness of Justice Thus is it here the Spirit of God thinks it not enough to say barely the state of a sinner is a woful estate but the woes are punctually number'd and this shall be my practice Now 1. The first thing that followeth after sin is this After the committing of sin there cometh such a condition into the soul that it is defiled polluted and becometh abominable And this is the first woe 2. The soul being thus defiled and abominable God loaths it for God cannot endure to dwell in a filthy and stinging carrion-soul he startles as it were and seems afraid to come near it he forsakes it and cannot endure it And that 's the second woe First sin defiles it then God departs from it there must be a divorce 3. When God is departed from the soul then the Devil enters in he presently comes in and takes up the room there will be no emptiness or vacuum And this is a fearful woe indeed for as soon as God is departed from a man he is left to the guidance of the Devil his own flesh and the World There will be no emptiness in the heart no sooner God departs but these step in and take Gods place 4. Then in the fourth place after all this is done comes sin and cries for its wages which is death The terrible death which comprehends in it all that beadroll of curses which are written in the Book of God and not onely those but the curses also which are not written Deut. 28. which are so many that they cannot be written Though the Book of God be a compleat Book and the Law of God a perfect Law yet here they come short and are imperfect For the curses not written shall light upon him which are so many as pen and ink cannot set down nay the very pen of God cannot express them so many are the calamities and sorrows that shall light upon the soul of every sinful man Now let us take these woes in pieces one after another 1. The first woe is the polluting and defiling of the soul by sin A thing it may be that we little think of but if God once open our eyes and shew us what a black soul we have within us and that every sin every lustful thought every covetous act every sin sets a new spot and stain upon the soul and tumbles it into a new puddle of filth then we shall see it and not till then for our eyes are carnal and we cannot see this If once we did but see our hateful and abominable spots that every sin tumbles us afresh into the mire did we see what a black Devil we have within us we would hate and abhor our selves as Job did It would be so foul a sight that it would make us out of our wits as it were to behold it A man that is but natural cannot imagine what a black Devil there is within him But though he seeth it not yet he that hath eyes like as flame of fire Rev. 1.14 seeth our stains and spots Our Saviour shews the filthiness of the heart by that which proceeds out of the mouth Mat. 15.18 Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart And v. 19. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts c. Observe Of all evils we account evil thoughts the least This we think strange what thoughts defile a man what so light a matter as a thought Can they make any impression Yes and defile a man too leaving soch a spot behind them which nothing but the hot blood of Christ can wash away So many evil thoughts so many blasphemies so many filthy things come from the heart every one being a new defilement and pollution that a man is made so nasty by it and filthy that he cannot believe that it is so bad with him as indeed it is the Apostle having shewn the Corinthians their former life and exhorted them against it 1 Cor. 6. goes on cap. 7. v. 1. Let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit Mark then there is a double filthiness a filthiness of the flesh and a filthinest of the spirit The filthiness of the flesh that every one acknowledgeth to be filthy carnality Fornication and Adultery c. These bestial lusts every one knows to be unclean But then there is a filth of the Spirit too and such are evil thoughts They are the filth of the Spirit Corruptio optimi est pessima The corruption which cleaves to the best thing is worst The Soul is the Best thing the most noble thing the filthiness which cleaves to it therefore must needs be the greatest Fleshly filthiness as Adultery is filthy but Contemplative Adultery to dwell thereon is worse however such a man may be pure from the filth of the flesh yet if he delight himself in filthy thoughts his spirit is abominable in the sight of God There is a stain by every one of thy impure thoughts left behind However an actual sin be far greater then the sin of a thought yet if that be but once committed and these are frequently in thee if thou alway lie tumbling in the suds of thy filthy thoughts thy continuing therein makes thy sin more abominable then Davids outward act which he but once committed So that we see there is a filthiness of the spirit as well as the flesh In James 1.21 we have a word sets out the filthiness of it which is Superfluity Lay apart saith he all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness First it 's expressed by the name of filthiness shewing there 's nothing so defiles a man as sin Then 't is called superfluity of naughtiness But what is there any naughtiness to be born with And what exceeds that it is superfluity No that 's not the meaning of the place By superfluity is meant the excrements of sin Excrements are the refuse of meat when the good nourishment is taken away from it And 't is as if he had said Lay
able to see it Every man may say in generalities I am a sinner yet to say and know himself to be such a sinner as indeed he is to stand in such need that he cannot do This one would think to be a matter of sense but unless God's Spirit open our eyes we can never see our selves to be such sinners as we are or else what is the reason that the child of God cries out more against his sin and the weight thereof after his conversion than he did before What are his sins greater or more than they were formerly No but his Light is greater his eyes are opened and now he sees more clearly what sin is When the Sun shines and its rays come in what a number of motes do we discover which before we saw not Not as if the Sun-beams made them or the Sun raised the dust no there are here as many motes and as much dust flying about as if the Sun shined here What is the matter then Why this the Sun discovers them to us So that here is the point Our sins in our souls are as motes in the air and are not more than they were before conversion but we cannot see them till the glorious beams of God's Spirit shine upon us The sight of sin and of the danger that comes by it is the work of God's Spirit The Spirit discovers sin unto us Joh. 16.8 When the Spirit cometh he shall convince the world of sin the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spirit shall convince them And the same word is used Heb. 11.1 where Faith is said to be the evidence of things not seen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heretofore we had a slight imagination of our sins but to have our mouth stopped and to be convinced is not a work of flesh and blood but of God's Spirit Rom. 3.19 Till we are awakened by his Spirit we cannot see nor feel the mountains and heaps of sins that lie upon our souls Thou art dead in sin Rom. 8. Thou art in bondage and to know it is a work of the Spirit not of nature The spirit of bondage what is that Why however we are all bond men until the Son hath made us free in a woful estate slaves to sin and Satan yet till God's Spirit convince us and shew it us and make us know it we shall sleep secure are not afraid but think our selves the freest men in the world and see not this to be a time of need This therefore is the first preparative when God brings his people by Mount Sinai Heb. 12.18 For you are not come unto the Mountain that may be touched and that burned by fire nor unto the blackness and darkness and tempest so Gal. 4.25 Mount Sinai is made a figure of the Law which begets bondage Not that Mount which might be touched and that burn'd with fire where was the sound of the Trumpet and voice of words such a sound as never before was heard nor never will be till one day we shall hear the same The sound of the Trumpet which sounded at the delivery of the Law Exod. 19.19 where it is described for when the voice of the Trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder that Moses heard it was such a noise a great noise at first but it grew higher and higher and at last it came to that heighth that it was almost incomprehensible then Moses spake And what spake he The Holy Ghost sets not down what he spake in that place Look in Heb. 12.21 So terrible was the voice that Moses said I exceedingly fear and quake Such a kind of lightning and loud voice this was the Lord commands such a voice as this Esay 58.1 Cry aloud spare not lift up thy voice like a Trumpet and shew my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins When God shall sound with the voice of the Trumpet of his holy word of his Law and shew thee that thou art a trayterous Rebel and there is an Execution gone out against thee body and goods when God sounds thus to a deaf ear of a carnal man then cometh the spirit of bondage of necessity on him which shews that we have a time of need The Law must have this operation before thou comest to the Throne of grace None will flie to the City of Refuge till the revenger of blood be hard at his heels Nor any to Christ till he sees his want Thus the Lord makes us know our need by turning the edge of his Axe towards us Offenders when they are brought to the bar at Westminster for Treason have the edge of the Axe turned from them but whâ—n they have received the sentence of condemnation and are carried back to the Tower the edge of the Axe is turned towards them Thus is it here The Law turns the edge of God's Axe towards us and therefore it 's said of S. Peter's Hearers Acts 2.38 That they were pricked to the heart The Law puts the point of God's sword to our very breasts as it were and brings us to see that we stand in great need of a pardon This is the first preparative when God enlightens our minds to see our dangerous estate and then there must of necessity follow fear and desire to be rid of this condition for the will and affections always follow the temper of the mind And hence when a man hath a false perswasion that he is in a good case that he is safe and well what works it but pride presumption confidence and security So on the contrary when this perswasion appears to be delusion contrary effects must follow If a man be in health and jollity and on a sudden be proclaimed a Traytor that he must lose his life and goods is it possible it should be thus and he not wrought on nor have any alteration So when news comes from the Law that thou art a dead man and everlastingly must perish the Law then works wrath that is it manifests unto us the wrath of God When it is thus there follows a shaking and trembling and it 's impossible but with Moses thou shouldst exceedingly quake and tremble 2. For all this there is a Throne of Grace erected God hath not forgotten to be merciful though thy sins be never so great This is the next preparative for faith namely the discovery and acknowledgment of the Gospel of Christ Jesus We see in in Ezra 10.2 We have trespassed against our God and have taken strange wives of the people of the Land yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing we have trespassed What then must we be the subjects of God's wrath No Yet notwithstanding though we have committed this great offence there is hope in Israel concerning this thing What though we have provoked God to indignation must we be the matter for his wrath to work on No There is balm in Gilead Jer 8. ult Is there no balm in Gilead Is there
shall continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith It is called the joy of faith because it springs from that principle of rejoycing from that mother-grace that your rejoycing may be the more abundant The preaching of the Word whereby faith is wrought brings abundance of joy That place of St. Peter is remarkable 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now you see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Yet believing that is yet exercising the acts of faith which we too much neglect If we did exercise these acts every day we should have our Charter of joy renewed every day yet believing ye rejoyce 3. Pray and be thankful praise and thanksgiving are those fruits which fulfil all our joy When thou prayest thou conversest with God thou speakest with him face to face as Moses did He who can pray spiritually and pray hard unto God as Moses face shined when he talked with God so will thy soul thrive praying hard and being thankful There is no greater means than this to get this joy Psal. 33.1 Rejoyce in the Lord O ye righteous for praising is comely for the upright Upon this hangs all our comfort praise always brings rejoycing the one begets the other In Isaiah The comfort there that God's children receive is the changing of rayment Christ preaching the acceptable year of the Lord to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give to them beauty for ashes the oyl of joy for mourning the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness Isa. 61.3 The ground of praise is joy one follows the other Observe God will give us the oyl of joy Christ was anointed with this oyl above his fellows Christ hath fulness of joy this oyl doth not come on his head alone but it trickles down unto the lower most hemm of his garment even upon all the lively members of his mystical body I will add in the last place when a man considers the great things which are given to him by God and what an estate we get by Christ. I have forgiveness of sins and Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven Psal. 32.1 Christ's blood is wine and my name is written in the book of life Do not rejoyce saith our Saviour because the Devils are subject unto you but rather rejoyce because your names are written in heaven Luk. 10.20 When I consider that I am not in the black Roll and it is my faith which strengthens me which makes me reckon Christ my chiefest wealth this makes me rejoyce in mine inheritance and in hope of the glory of God When I consider the great reward in the world to come this is a great cause of rejoycing and therefore God's children long for the coming of Christ it is made Tit. 2.13 a mark of those that shall be saved That they long for the appearance of Jesus Christ looking for and hastning unto the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. And in 2 Pet. 3.12 Looking for and hastning unto the coming of the day of God A longing expectation there is in all the creatures after the second coming of Christ They wait saith the Apostle for the manifestation of the Sons of God and presently he adds Not only they but we also that have the first fruits of the Spirit groan and long for the coming of that day Rom. 8.19.23 And therefore the last breath of the Scripture is breathed out in the confirmation of this hope Rev. 22.20 He that testifieth these things saith Surely I come quickly Amen even so be it come Lord Jesus There is a sweet Allegory to express this in Cant. ult 14 Make haste my beloved and be like the Hind and like the Roe Come Lord Jesus come quickly and come as the Hind and as the Roe and as a Hart upon the Mountain of spices Make haste and come quickly be swift and do not tarry and in a better place I cannot end FINIS THE SEAL OF SALVATION OR GOD's SPIRIT Witnessing with our Spirits THAT We are the Children of GOD. IN TWO SERMONS Preached at Great S. BARTHOLOMEWS by the most Reverend JAMES USHER late Arch-Bishop of ARMAGH Difficilia pulchra ROM 8.14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God LONDON Printed for Nathaniel Ranew at the King's Arms in S. Paul's Church Yard 1678. THE SEAL OF Salvation ROMANS 8.15 16. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father The same Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God THe Apostle sets down in this Epistle a platform of Christian Doctrine whereupon all persons and Churcheâ— might safely build themselves shewing therein a sure way how those might come to the Lord Jesus Chrisâ— who are to obtain salvation by him which he delivers in three heads shewing 1. First how God will convince the world of sin 2. Secondly he discovereth to them what that righteousness is which without themselves is imputed to them 3. Thirdly he setteth forth that righteousness inherent and created in us by sanctification of the spirit with the effects thereof and Motives and Helps thereunto Answering that threefold work of the spirit in John 16. where Christ promiseth that when the comforter should come he should reprove â—he world of Sin of Righteousness of Judgment First he shews the Comforter shall work a conviction of Sin a making of a man as vile empty and naked as may be not a bare confession of sin only which a man may have and yet go to hell but such a conviction as stops a man's mouth that he hath not a word to speak but sees a sink of sin and abomination in himself such as the Apostle had Rom. 7.18 For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing To attain to this sight and measure of humiliation there must be a work of the spirit First therefore in the first Chapter the Apostle begins with the Gentiles who failing grosly in the duties of the first Table God had given over also to err in the breach of all the Duties of the second Table Then the next Chapter and most of the third he spends on the Jews they bragged of many excellent privileges they had above the Gentiles as to have the Law Circumcision to be leaders of others to have God among them and therefore despised the Gentiles The Apostle reproves them shewing that in condemning the Gentiles they condemn'd themselves they having a greater light of knowledge than the Gentiles which should have led them to the true and sincere practice of what they were instructed in Then he goes on and shews all naturally to be out of the way ver 19. and so concludes them to be under sin that every mouth may be stopped and all the world
become guilty before God This is the end of the first part This being done in the latter end of the Chapter he proceeds to speak of the second work of the Comforter To convince the world of righteousness but on what grounds Because I go to my Father and ye see me no more that is he shall assure the conscience that now there is a righteousness of better things purchased for us that Christ was wounded arraigned and condemned for us that he was imprisoned but now he is free who was our surety yea and that he is not free as one escaped who hath broken prison and run away for then he could not have stayed in Heaven no more than Adam could stay in Paradise after his fall but now that Christ remains in Heaven perfectly and for ever reconciled with the Father this is a sure sign to us that the debt is payed and everlasting peace and righteousness brought in for our salvation This the Apostle enlargeth and shews this to be that righteousness which Adam had and which we must trust all unto And this he doth unto the sixth Chapter From whence the Apostle goes on to the third point convincin the world of judgment and of righteousness unto the ninth Chapter which are two words signifying one and the same thing but because he had named righteousness before which was the righteousness of justification without a man in Christ Jesus he calls the third judgment which is that integrity which is inherent bred and created in us to wit sanctification as we may see in Esay 42.3 where it is said of Christ A bruised reed shall be not break and the smoaking flax shall he not quench till he bring forth judgment unto victory Where he shews judgment to be a beginning of righteousness in sanctification even such a one as can never be extinguished So Job 27.2 The word is taken where Job expostulateth the matter As the Lord liveth who hath taken away my judgment c. all the while my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils my lips shall not speak wickedness nor my tongue deceit God forbid that I should justifie you till I die I will not remove my integrity from me my righteousness I will hold fast and will not let it go c. Here you see by judgment is meant integrity and that righteousness which is created and inherent in us so that the substance of that place in Esay is that God will never give over so to advance and make effectual that weak righteousness and sanctification begun in us until it shall prevail against and master all our sins and corruptions making it in the end a victorious sanctification And the ground hereof is for the Prince of this world is judged he is like one manacled whose strength and power is limited So that now though he be strong yet he is cast out by a stronger than he so that he cannot nor shall he ever rule again as in times past This strain of Doctrine the Apostle follows in this Epistle shewing that as the righteousness of Justification by the blood of Christ is a thing without us so the righteousness of Sanctification is a thing created and inherent in us and the ground of the witness of our spirits as we shall shew in its own place So that the blood of Christ doth two things unto us in Justification it covers our sins and in Sanctification it heals our sins and sores that if there be any proud or dead flesh it eateth it out and then heals the wound Therefore the Apostle says You are not under the Law but under Grace He that sees the Law is satisfied by another and all to be of free grace he will not much stand on any thing in himself for his Justification but as a poor beggar be content all should be of mere grace Therefore he concludes Sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace After this the Apostle goes on to other particulars shewing divers things especially the twelfth Verse of this Chapter where he drives unto the point of sanctification as though he should say you are freed from the Law indeed as it is a Judge of Life and Death but yet the Law must be your Counsellors you are debtors of thankfulness seeing whence you are escaped that you may not live after the flesh and then he proceeds to shew them how they should walk that seeing they had received the spirit they should walk after the spirit now that they had received that which should subdue and mortifie the flesh and the lusts thereof they should be no more as dead men but quick and lively in operation by living after the spirit otherwise they could not be the Sons of God vers 16. and he comes to the words that I have now read For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father for the spirit it self beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God Where the Apostle shews the ground of our Union and Communion with Christ because having his spirit we are of necessity his as S. John speaks 1 Joh. 3.24 Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath giveâ— us What ties together and makes one things far asunder but the same spirit and life in both so that spirit which is in Christ a full running over fountain descending down and being also infused into us unites us unto him yea that spirit communicated unto me in some measure which is in him such fulness that spirit doth tie me as fast unto Christ as any joynt ties member to member and so makes Christ to dwell in my heart as the Apostle speaks to this purpose Ephes. 2.21 That thus by one spirit we are built up and made the Temple of God and come to be the Habitation of God through the spirit so that by this means we are unseparably knit and united unto him for what iâ— it makes one member to be a member to another not the nearness of joyning or lying one to or upon another but the same quickening spirit and life which is in both and which causeth a like motion for otherwise if the same life were not in that member it would be dead and of no use to the other so that it is the same spirit and life in the things conjoyned which unites them together yet to explain this more as I have often in the like case said Imagine a man were as high as Heaven the same spirit and life being diffused into all his parts what is it now that can cause his toe to stir there being such a huge distance betwixt the head and it Even that self-same life which is in the head being in it no sooner doth the head will the toe to stir but it moves So is it with us
that very spirit which is in Christ being in us thereby we are united unto him grow in him live in him and he in us rejoyce in him and so are kept and preserved to be glorified with him He is the second Adam from whom we receive the influence of all good things showring down and distilling the graces of his spirit upon the least of all his members That look as it was said of Aaron who was a type of the second Adam and of that holy Oyl representing the graces of his spirit Which did not only run down his head and beard but the skirts of his garment also and all his rich attire about Psal. 133.2 So when I see the Oyl of Christ's graces and spirit not only rest upon the head but also descend and run down upon the lowest of his members making me now as one of them in some sort another man than I was or my natural state could make me by the same spirit I know I am united unto Christ. To this purpose is that which Christ to stands upon in Joh. 6. unto the Jews where speaking of the eating of his flesh and that bread of life which came down from heaven lest they should be mistaken he adds It is the spirit that quickneth the flâ—sh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life So that we see it is the spirit that gives a being to a thing And therefore the Apostle proceeds to shew As many as are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God Rom. 8.13 That look as Christ is the â—â—ue natural Son of God so we as truly by conveyance of the same spirit into us are his Sons by Adoption and so heirs with God yea and joynt heirs with Christ this he begins to shew vers 13. So that being in this excellent estate they were not only servants and friends a most high Prerogative but they were now the Sons of God having the spirit of Adoption whereby they might boldly call God Father In which Verse the Apostle opposeth the spirit of bondage which doth make a man fear again unto the spirit of Adoption which frees a man from fear Now two things may be observed hence 1. The order the spirit of God keeps e'er it comforts it shakes and makes us fear This the Apostle speaks to Heb. 2.14 where he shews that the end of Christ's coming was That because the children were partakers of flesh and blood he also himself took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time subject unto bondage The first work then of the comforter is to put a man in fear 2. Here is shewed that until the spirit doth work this fear the heart will not stoop The Obstinacy is great yea so great that if hell gates were open ready to swallow up a man he would not yield until the spirit set in to convince the heart Therefore St. John tells us Joh. 16. That when the spirit it come he will reprove the world of sin that is he will convince and shew a man that he is but a bond-man and so from this sight he makes us to fear No man must think this strange that God deals with men at first after this harsh manner to kill them as it were before he make them alive nor be discouraged as if God had now cast them off as none of his For this bondage and spirit of fear is a work of God's spirit and a preparative to the rest yet it is but a common work of the spirit and such a one that unless more follow it can afford us no comfort But why then doth God suffer his children to be first terrified with this fear I answer That in two respects this is the best and wisest course to deal with us or else many would put off the matter and never attain a sense of mercy First in respect of God's glory Secondly in regard of our good First in respect of God's glory and that first because as in the work of Creation so in the work of Redemption God will have the praise of all his attributes for as in the work of Creation there appeared the infinite wisdom goodness power justice mercy of God and the like so will he in the work of our Redemption have all these appear in their strength and brightness and when we see and acknowledge these things to be in Gâ—d in the highest perfection hereby we honour him as on the contrary when we will not see and acknowledge the excellency of God's infinite attributes we dishonour him yea and I may safely add that the work of Redemption was a greater work than the work of Creation for therein appeared all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge in the conveying of it unto the Church Herein appeared first infinite Wisdom in ordering the matter so as to find out such a way for the Redemption of Mankind as no created understanding could possibly imagine or think of And secondly for the Mercy of God there could be none comparable to this in not sparing his own Son the Son of his Love that so he might spare us who had so grievously provoked him And thirdly there could not be so much Justice seen in any thing as in sparing us not to spare his Son in laying his Son's head as it were upon the block and chopping it off indeed the death unto which he gave his Son was not only more vile than the loss of his head but far more painful and terrible to nature the death on the Cross in renting and tearing that blessed body of his even as the Veil of the temple was rent which was a type of him so was he rent and tore and broke for us when he made his soul an offering for sin This was the perfection of Justice And thus was he just as the Apostle speaks and the Justifyer of him him that believeth in Jesus God would have Justice and Mercy meet and kiss each other and that for two reasons for the magnifying of his Justice and for the magnifying of his Mercy First For the magnifying of his Justice The spirit must first become a spirit of bondage and fear for the magnifying of God's Justice Thus the Prophet David having sinned was driven to this practice Psal. 51.4 Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest Thus he a holy man was brought to confess his sin to give God the glory of his Justice And so to this end that a man might pass through or by as it were the gates of hell unto heaven the Lord will have his Justice extended to the full for which cause lessening or altogether for a time abstracting all sight of mercy he turns the
Law loose to have its course And thus as in the work of Redemption he would have the height of Justice appear so would he have it appear in the application of our Redemption that Justice should not be swallowed up of Mercy But even as that woman 2 King 4. Who had nothing to pay was threatned by her Creditors to take away her two Sons to put them in prison So though we have nothing to pay the Law is let loose upon us to threaten Imprisonment and Damnation to affright and terrifie us and all for the magnifying of God's Justice which also we satisfie not by what we suffer yet it is meet we should acknowledge and learn thereby more highly to value the suffering of our Saviour But farther God hath set forth many terrible threatnings in his Word against sinners shall all these be to no purpose The wicked they are insensible of them must they therefore be in vain Some people there must be on whom they shall work Shall a Lyon roar saith the Prophet and we not be afraid Amos 3.8 Since then those who should will not some there be who must tremble and those even of God's own dear Children This the Prophet excellently sets forth Isa. 66.2 where the Lord sheweth who he will regard But to this man will I look even to him that is of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word So that you see even some of his own must tremble and be thus humbled of necessity and that it is not without a just cause that God doth deal with his own Children after this manner though it be sharp in the experience We must fear tremble and be humbled and then we shall receive a spirit not to fear again That vain courage which some brag they have so as not to fear Death is not it which is meant here fâ—â— alas such braggers out of ignorance of the thing and desire to be out of misery in this Life may embrace Death unwillingly hoping it may put an end to their sorrows But this spirit not to fear again is such a spirit that assures me of the forgiveness of all my sins shewing me my freedome by Christ Jesus from Hell and eternal Damnation making me live a holy Life and from hence not to fear and so sealing me up unto the day of Redemption as you shall hear more when we come to speak of the witness of the spirit This now is for the glory of Gods Justice Secondly it is requisite that the comforter should first work in men a fear for the glory of Gods mercy which would never be so sweet relish so well nor be so highly esteemed of by us if the awful terrour of Justice had not formerly made us smart As we may see in that parable whereunto our Saviour likeneth the Kingdom of Heaven of the man that owed ten thousand Talents unto the King his master he shews him mercy and forgives him all but what did he first Why first he requires the whole debt of him and because he had nothing to pay he commands him his Wife and Children and all that he had to be sold that payment might be made first he would have him pincht throughly that he might know much he was indebted and in that case how great that favour was which he received in having all that he owed forgiven him Thus a King many times casts men in Prison suffers the sentence of condemnation to pass on them and perhaps orders them to be brought to the place of execution before he pardons them and then mercy is mercy indeed and so God deals with us many times he puts his Children in fear shews them how much they owe him how unable they are to pay casts them into prison and threatens condemnation in Hell for ever after which when mercy comes to the Soul then it appears to be wonderful mercy indeed even the riches of exceeding mercy Why do so many find no savour in the Gospel Is it because there is no sweetness or matter of delight in it No it is because such have had no tast of the Law and of the spirit of bondage they have not smarted nor found a sense of the bitterness of sin nor of that just punishment that is due unto the same Even as the King will suffer the Law to pass on some greivous malefactor for high Treason bring him to the place of Execution and lay his head on the block before a pardon he produced as we have had experience in the Country of a man who otherwise would not cry nor shed a tear for any thing Despising Death and not affraid to meet an host of men Such a one having now at an instant a pardon brought from the King how wonderfully doth it work upon him causing softness of heart and tears to flow from his eyes when nothing else could whilest the wonder of this mercy which now appeareth so sweet and seaâ—onable is beheld and admired he is so struck that he knows not what to say for this cause therefore God shews us first a Spirit of bondage to prepare us to relish mercy and then he gives a Spirit of Adoption not to fear again And thus by this order the one is magnifyed and highly esteemed by the foregoing sense of the other If therefore this terrour and fear be hard and troublesome unto us yet if it be for Gods glory let us endure If he will give me over to a wounded terrified conscience to fears tremblings astonishments yea or to draw me into the fire it self or any other punishment so we see he dealt with his Church of old he brought her through the fire and water before she came into a wealthy place Psal. 66.12 Since it is for his glory I must be contended But what do I say He gets nothing by us of all that we do all is for our selves our Acknowledgments of him make him no stronger wiser juster or better then he is but in glorifying of him we do glorify our selves and so pass from glory to glory until we come to be fully transformed into his Image And herein consists our happiness in acknowledging of his wonderful Attributes that by the reflex and knowledge of them we grow up in them as much as may be God was as glorious powerful wise just happy and good before the World was made as now and if the case be put concerning glorifying of him the three persons of the Trinity were only fit and worthy of so great honour not we as we may read Prov. 8.30 There wisdom shews how it was with the Father before all time and that they did mutually solace themselves in the contemplations of one anothers glory Then says Wisdom Was I by him as one brought up with him and I was dayly his Delight rejoycing always before him and in 17 John There we read the same thing in effect where Christ prays And now O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the
testifie I answer In this place our Spirit is as it were an evidence of God from heaven as a loud token given assuring me upon good grounds that I have not mis-applyed the promises but though God do write bitter things against me yet that I love him still and cleave unto him that for all this I know that I still hunger and thirst after Righteousness that I will not be beaten off nor receive an ill report of my Lord and Saviour that I rest wait fear and trust in him still When thus our valour and faith is tryed then comes the same spirit and seals with our spirit that we are the children of God When our seal is first put then God seals with our spirit the same thing by his spirit To this effect is that in 1 Joh. 3.8 we read three Witnesses are set down the Spirit the Water aand the Blood and these three agree in one These three witness that we have everlasting life and that our names are written in heaven How do these three agree with these two Witnesses very well St. John he ranks them according to the order of their clearest evidence first the Spirit then the Water then the Blood the Apostle here he ranks them according to their natural being first our spirit in Justification and Sanctification and then God's spirit For the spirit of all other this is the clearest evidence and when this is bright and manifest there needs no more the thing is sealed So the Testimony of Water is a clear evidence whereby is meant Sanctification this is put next unto the Spirit for when the Spirit is silent yet this may speak for though I have many wants and imperfections in me yet if my spirit can testifie unto me that I have a desire to please God in all things that I resolve upon and set up his service as the pitch of all my utmost endeavours that with allowance I willingly cherish no corruption but set my self against all sin this Water will comfort and hold up a man from sinking as we see in all the sore tryals of Job Job 28.2 Still he stood upon the integrity of his own spirit and would not let that go though he were sore beaten of the Almighty and slandered for a wicked person But the water may be muddy and the strugling of the flesh and spirit so strong that we happily shall not be able to judge which is master What then Then faith lays hold of the blood in Justification which though it be the darkest testimony yet is as sure as any of the other Now in comparing of these witnesses together in St. John and in my text I rank the water and the blood with the testimony of our spirit And the Spirit mentioned in St. John and in my Text to be all one not as though we wrought them but we believe them to be so If a man ask how I know that I am sanctified the answer must be I believe and know it to be so the work producing these things in me comes of God but for the work of discerning this is certain how our affections stand in this case it comes of us but yet to come nearer the matter The testimony of our spirit I conceive to be when a man hath taken a survey of those excellent things belonging unto Justification and Sanctification when according to the substantial truths which I know in the Word I observe and follow as fast as I can what is there commanded when I take the Candle of the Word and with the bright burning lamp search into the Word what is there to be done and so bring it home to my self thereby mortifying my corruptions this is the ground-work of the witness of our Spirit First as in the blood with my spirit I must see what is needful to be done in order unto Justification what free promises of invitation belong thereunto I must see how God justifies a sinner what conditions on our part are required in Justification I must see what footings and grounds for life and what way of hope there is for a graceless man to be saved yea even for the worst person that may be In this case a man must not look for any thing in himself as a cause Christ must not be had by exchange but received as free gift as the Apostle speaks Rom. 4.16 Therefore it is of faith that it may be by grace to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed I must there bring unto the receiving of Christ a bare hand It must be of grace God for this cause will make us let fall every thing before we shall take hold of him Though qualified with humiliations I must let all fall not trusting unto it as to make me the worthier to receive Christ as some think When thus at first for my Justification I received Christ I must let any thing I have fall to lay hold of him that then he may find us thus naked as it were in our blood and in this sort God will take us that all may be of mere grace Another thing the Apostle adds and that is that the promise may be sure If any thing in us might be as a cause or help to our Justification a man should never be sure therefore it is all of grace that the promise might be sure As though God should say I care for nothing else bring me my Son and shew me him and then all is well And in this case you see he doth not name hope or love or any other grace but faith for the nature of faith is to let fall all things in laying hold on Christ In Justification faith is a sufferer only but in Sanctification it works and purgeth the whole man and so witnesses the certainty and truth of our Sanctification and so the assurance of Salvation Hence from the nature hereof in this work the Apostle in 2 Pet. 1.1 writes to them who had obtained like precious faith In this case it is alike to all in vertue in this work whatsoever the measure be And I may liken it thus St. Paul you know writes With these hands I get my living Now though strong hands may work more than weak hands and so earn a great deal more yet a beggar who holds out his hand may receive more than he or any other could earn So faith justifies only receiving not working as we may see Joh. 1.12 But to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe in his Name Received him that is believe in him How Come and take him How as it is in Rev. 22. And let him that is athirst come and whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely Now when I see that God keeps open house come who will without denying entertainment to any and when God's spirit hath wrought the will in me what lets me now to receive
them take them to whom they appertain viz. Whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken But on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to peices If their own destruction will not take them off from touching the Lords anointed and from plucking the stars out of his hand let yet the Anguish and vexation that shall accompany their destruction either deter them or confound them For he hath said it who will make it good that there shall be a Resurrection both unto Gods truths and to such as bear Testimony thereunto Mean while let this satisfie such as are faithful whilst God and those that truly fear God prize faithful Ministers it matters not what the rest think of them As King David said in not much an unlike Case of those shall they be had in honour I have now done with the most famous Author of these Sermons of whom I may say as one very Learned saâ—d of Mr. Calvin That famous Man and never to be named without some Preface of Honour Or as another of a Learned and Godly Man God hath so provided that they who lived in Heaven whilst on Earth shall live on Earth whilst in Heaven That they shall leave their Names for a blessing when others leave them behind them for a curse or rather with the Apostle of Demetrius he hath a good Report of all men and of the truth it self A word now concerning these Sermons of his by occasion of the publishing whereof I have thus enlarged They are not so exact as his Immanuel or the Incarnation of the Son of God so accurately couched that you cannot find a word defective or redundant because they wanted his own hand for their publication but yet they are such wherein the Reader may discern much of the Gracious and Heavenly Spirit of this unparalleld Bishop They were preached ad populum in the Vniversity of Oxford the general Subject of them is Conversion or turning from Sin unto God and so mightily did the Lord bless them not only to the Edification and Consolation of very many but also to the Conversion of some as we have good cause to Judge I will say no more the Name of Doctor Vsher by which he is more known to some and the Name of the most Reverend and Learned Father of our Church Doctor James Usher late Arch Bishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland by which he is more known to others not only in these our Kingdomes but in foreign parts his great and good Name I say every wrere as oyntment poured forth prefixed before this Book though with some allay is enough to raise high Expectation of whatsoever cemeth after these words And is argument enough to invite the Reader to look within and read them over And then he will find the least siling of this Master Workmans Gold very precious Good Wine they say needs no bush and if this Wine was so sweet at first running I presume whosoever tasts it now though he have it but at the second or third hand will find it hath not altogether lost its strength nor will he repent his labour in reading these Sermons if he be one that desires to profit his soul more then to please his Palat. That out of this Phoenix the Lord would raise such successors as may by Pen Life and Doctrine do as this burning and shining Light hath done before them is the prayer but scarce the belief of him that prayeth for the Peace and Prosperity of Jerusalem and therein hopeth to have his share in the concurrent prayers of every Godly Reader Stanley Gower Dorchester October the third 1659 A TABLE Directing to the TEXTS of SCRIPTURE Handled in the Following SERMONS Sermon I. HEbrews 4.7 Again he limiteth a certain day saying in David to day after so long a time as it is said to day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts pag. 1 Sermon II. Heb. 4.7 Again he limiteth a certain day saying in David to day after so little time as it is said to day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts p. 8 Sermon III. Gal. 6.3 4. For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing he deceiveth himself but let every man prove his own work and then shall he have rejoycing in himself alone and not in another p. 16 Sermon IV. Ephes. 2.1 2 3. And you hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince that ruleth in the Air the spirit that worketh in the Children of disobedience Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the Children of wrath even as others p. 24 Sermon V. Gal. 3.22 But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe p. 32 Sermon VI. Lament 5.16 Woe unto us that we have sinned p. 40 Sermon VII Rom. 6.23 The wages of sin is death p. 48 Sermon VIII Rev. 21.8 But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murtherers and whore-mongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all lyars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death p. 55 Sermon IX Phil. 2.5 6 7 8. Let this mind be in you which also was in Jesus Christ who being in the form of God thought it no robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion of a man he humbled himself unto the death even the death of the Cross. p. 65 Sermon X. Phil. 2.8 And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became Obedient unto the Death even the Death of the Cross. p. 92 Sermon XI John 1.12 But to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believe on his Name p. 82 Sermon XII Ephes. 1.13 In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the words of truth the Gospel of your Salvation in whom also after you believed you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise p. 90 Sermon XIII 1 Cor. 11.29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lords body p. 99 Sermon XIV Heb. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need p. 108 Sermon XV. Rom. 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. p. 117 Sermon XVI Rom. 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ p. 127 Sermon XVII Rom.
that we must forsake all the sinful lusts of the flesh This is that which makes Baptism to be Baptism indeed to us The other thing required is that we forsake all Rom. 6.2 It is not confined to the very act but it hath a perpetual effect all the dayes of thy life I add it never hath its full effect till the day of our death the abolition of the whole body of sin That which we seal is not compleat till then till we have final grace The water of Baptism quenches the fire of Purgatory for it is not accomplished till final grace is received We are now under the Physicians hands then shall we be cured Baptism is not done onely at the Font which is a thing deceives many for it runs through our whole life nor hath it consummation till our dying day till we receive final grace The force and efficacy of Baptism is for the washing away of sin to morrow as well as the day past the death of sin is not till the death of the body and therefore it s said we must be buried with him by Baptism into his death Now at our death we receive final grace till when this washing and the vertue thereof hath not its consummation Let no man therefore deceive you with vain words take heed of looking on your selves in these false glasses think it not an easy thing to get Heaven the way is strait and the passage narrow There must be a striving to enter there must be an ascending into Heaven a motion contrary to nature And therefore it 's folly to think we shall drop into Heaven there must be a going upward if ever we will come thither EPH. 2.1 2 3. And you hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins where in times past you walked according to the course of this World according to the Prince that ruleth in the Air the Spirit that worketh in the Children of disobedience Amongst whom also c. THE last time I declared unto you the duty that was necessarily required of us if we look to be saved that we must not onely take the matter speedily into consideration and not be deluded by our own hearts and the wiles of Satan but that we must not do it superficially or perfunctorily but must bring our selves to the true touchstone and not look upon our selves with false glasses because there is naturally in every one self-love and in these last and worst times men are apt to think better of themselves then they deserve If there be any beginning of goodness in them they think all is well when there is no greater danger in the World then being but half-Christians He thinks the half-Christian I mean that if he hath escaped the outward pollutions of the world through lust and be not so bad as formerly he hath been and not so bad as many men in the World are therefore he is well enough Whereas his end proves worse then his beginning This superficial repentance is but like the washing of a Hog the outside is onely wash't the swinish nature is not taken away There may be in this man some outward abstaining from the common gross sins of the World or those which he himself was subject unto but his disposition to sin is the same his nature is nothing changed there is no renovation no casting in a new mould which must be in us For it is not a little reforming will serve the turn no nor all the morality in the World nor all the common graces of Gods Spirit nor the outward change of the life they will not do unless we are quickned and have a new life wrought in us unless there be a supernatural working of Gods Spirit we can never enter into Heaven Therefore in this case it behoves every man to prove his own work Gal. 6.4 A thing men are hardly drawn unto to be exact examiners of themselves Coelo discendit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Heathen himself could say to know a mans self is a heavenly saying and it 's an heavenly thing indeed if we have an Heavenly Master to teach us The Devil taught Socrates a lesson that brought him from the study of natural to moral Philosophy whereby he knew himself yet the Devil knew morality could never teach him the lesson indeed All the morality in the World cannot teach a man to escape Hell We must have a better instructor herein than the Devil or our selves the Lord of Heaven must do it if ever we will be brought to know our selves aright St. Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel one of the learnedst Doctors of the Pharisees and yet he could not teach him this When he studied the law he thought himâ—elf unblameable but coming to an higher and better Master he knows that in him that is in his flesh dwells no good thing Rom. 7. By self-examination a man may find many faults in himself but to find that which the Apostle afterwards found in himself to see the flesh a rottenness the sink of iniquity that is within him and to find himself so bad as indeed he is unless it please the Lord to open his eyes and to teach him he can never attain it Now we come to this place of the Apostle wherein we see the true glass of our selves the Spirit knows what we are better then our selves and the Spirit shews us that every man of us either was or is such as we are here set down to be We are first natural before we can be spiritual there is not a man but hath been or is yet a natural man and therefore see we the large description of a natural man before he is quickned before God which is rich in mercy enlivens him being dead in sins and saves him by grace in Christ. Thus is it with us all and thus must it be and we shall never be fit for grace till we know our selves thus far till we know our selves as far out of frame as the Spirit of truth declares us to be In this place of Scripture consider we 1. Who this carnal man is what they are which the Apostle speaks of to be dead in sins and that walk after the course of the World led by the Devil and have their conversation after the flesh Children of wrath These are big words and heavy things Consider first the subject of whom this is spoken Then follows the Praedicate or 2. What that ill news is which he delivers of them We begin with the first 1. Who they are of whom this is spoken and that is you You hath he quickned who were dead and ye in the words following that in times past walked after the course of the world and in the third verse more particularly Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past He speaks now in the first person as before in the second so that the subject is we all and ye all Not a man in
the root of the Tree 3. And Christ himself coming into the World and Preaching to Nicodemus begins Vnless a man be bâ—rn again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God John 3. A man in his natural condition can never enter into Heaven for he is carnal That that is born of the flesh is flesh and that that is born of the Spirit is Spirit It 's carnal and must be born again A little patching will not serve the turn Thou must be new born new moulded a little mending is not sufficient A man must be a new creature and new made So that this is the substance of this Doctrine of Christ that if thou be no better than moral vertue or civil education can make thee if thou hast any thing less than Regeneration believe me thou canst never see heaven There 's no hope of heaven till then till thou art born again till then our Saviour excludes all false fancies that way 4. The Apostles begin to gather the first Church after Christs Resurrection Act. 2.23 They do not begin to preach Christ first his Vertue and Efficacy but first they tell them of their great sin in crucifying the Lord of Life viz. Whom with wicked hands you have taken and crucified But what was the end of their doing thus It 's set down v. 37. They were pricked to the heart and then they cried out Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved See this was the end of all the humbling of them that by declaring what they had done they might be pricked at the heart so that now they see it if it be no better with them then for the present it 's like to go ill with them This makes them cry out What shall we do Then saith Peter repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the holy Ghost After he had told them their own had brought them to their search which is their first work then comes the promise of Christ. Observe the Apostles method in the Epistle to the Romans which Book is a perfect Catechism of the Church which contains these three parts of Divinity Humiliation Justification and Sanctification See how the Apostle orders his method From the first Cap. to part of the third he treats all of the Law and convinces both Jew and Gentile and all of sin Then Cap. 3.19 mark his Conclusion that every mouth may be stopped When he had stopped every mouth cast down every strong hold which lifted it self up against God when he had laid all at Gods feet and left them bleeding as it were under the knife of God then comes he to Christ Rom. 3.21 The righteousness of God without the Law is manifest He had done his first business in humbling them in shewing them their sins by the Law and assoon as that was done when every mouth was stopped then comes he to the promise by faith in Jesus Christ to all that believe You see then the method of the Scripture is first to conclude all under sin and so to fit men for the promise of Jesus Christ. Know therefore that Law is the high-way to the Gospel the path that leads to it that way which must be trodden in we are still out of our way till we have begun our walks in this path And if thou art not terrified by the Law and the sight of thy sins been at thy wits end as it were weary of thy condition and bondage thou art not in the way yet Our sowing must be in tears Psal. 126.5 And it is said that in the Church Triumphant all tears shall be wiped away from our eyes That 's a promise But is it possible that tears should bâ— wiped from our eyes before we shed them Shall we look to go to Heaven in a way that was never yet found out Shall it be accounted a point of preciseness to walk in this way or a soul-torturing doctrine to preach it This is the way that all our Fore-Fathers have both preached and gone This is that time of sowing spoken of in Psal. 126.5 6. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy It brings us joy in the end to begin our sowing in tears It waters that precious seed and makes it bring forth joy unto us in abundance yea such as no man can take from us So then having laid laid this point for a foundation we now will come to the next That until we come to Christ the Law layes hold of us Till Christ come we are shut up under the Law kept under it And if there were nothing else in the World to make a man weary of his condition this were enough Until a man hath given over himself to Christ and renounced his own righteousness he is subject to the Law kept under it not under grace It brings a man only to the place where grace is Put this therefore close to your consciences and jumble not these two together First Nature cometh and whilst you are under that you are under the Law Never think you are under the Covenant of Grace till you believe of which belief we shall speak more hereafter Whilst you are under the Law you are held under it and by it made obnoxious to the wrath of God Whoever is under the Law is under the curse Now that I may unfold it and shew what a fearful thing it is to be under the Law to be held under it although many think it no great matter hearken what the Apostle saith of it Cursed be every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the Law to doe them Gal. 3.10 Well then art thou under the Law Then never think of being under grace at the same time not but that we may hope to be under grace afterwards By this Law we must be judged and the Judgment of the Law is very severe It requires not onely that thou do this or that good thing but if thou continuest not in every thing that is written therein it condemns thee Strange conceits men have now adayes and strange Divinity is brought forth into the World That if a man does as much as lies in him and what he is of himself able to do nay farther though he be a Heathen that knows not Christ yet if he doth the best he can if he live honestly towards men according to the conduct of his reason and hath a good mind towards God it 's enough he need not question his eternal welfare A cursed and desperate Doctrine they conclude hence Why say they may not this man be saved as well as the best But if it be so I ask such What is the benefit and advantage of the Jew more then the Gentile What is the benefit of Christ of the Church of Faith of Baptism of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper This ground of Pelagianism is that for which the devout Spouse of Christ the Church abhors us when we shall undertake
aside filthy nasty or excrementitious sin The word was used in the Ceremonies of the Jews and thereby we may see what was taught concerning sin Deut. 23.12 13. Thou shalt have a place without the camp whither thou shall goe c. Though the comparison be homely yet it shews the filthiness of the sin that it is a very excrement Thou shalt have a paddle and it shall be that when thou wilt ease thy self thou shalt dig therewith c. And thou shalt cover that which cometh from thee But what did God care for these things No it was to teach them a higher matter As the reason following implies For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of the Camp God would thereby shew them that those things at which every man stoppeth his nose are not so filthy to man as a sin is unto God So that you see how the case stands with a sinful man Sin defiles him it pollutes him 2. And then in the next place It makes Gods soul to hate and abhor him It 's true some sins there are that every man imagineth to be shameful and filthy but we see all sin is so to God 't is filthiness of Flesh and Spirit A man may hate carnality fleshly filthiness peradventure also he may hate covetousness but pride and prodigality that he may get as he thinks credit by that he cannot maintain the reputation of a Gentleman without them A miserable thing that a man should account that a garnish of the soul which doth defile and pollute it If a man should take the excrements of a beast to adorn himself would not we think him an Ass Well when we thus defile our selves by sin God cannot endure us he is forced to turn from us he abhors us And that 's the next woe 2. When thou hast made thy self such a Black Soul such a Dunghil such a Sty then God must be gone he cannot endure to dwell there It stands not with his honour and with the purity of his nature to dwell in such a polluted heart there must now be a divorce Holiness becomes his House for ever His delight is in the Saints Psal. 93.5 Psal. 16.3 Rev. 15.3 He is King of the Saints he will not be in a Sty When thou hast thus polluted and defiled thy soul God and thou must presently part God puts thee off and thou puttest God off too We read in that place before alledged Eph. 2.12 that before they knew Christ they were without God in the world c. Atheists 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And in cap. 4. v. 18. Having their understanding darkned and being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them The presence of God is the life of our souls and we having through sin and ignorance banisht God we become strangers until the time of our ingrafting into Christ we are aliens from the life of God whereupon comes a mutual kind of abhorring one another God abhors us and we vile and filthy wretches abhor God again There is enmity betwixt God and us and between all that belongs to God and all that belongs to us There 's an enmity betwixt God and us and observe the expression of it Levit. 26.15 If you shall despise my statutes or if your souls shall abhor my judgments so that you will not do my commandments c. See here how we begin to abhor God and then for judgment on such persons v. 30. My soul shall abhor you We are not behind hand with God in this abhorring Zach. 11.8 My soul loathed them and their soul abhorred me When we begin to abhor God Gods soul also abhors us When a man hath such a polluted soul he becomes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a hater of God and hated of him When thou hast such a stinking soul God must needs loath it as a most loathsome thing and so thou art not behind God neither Thy filthiness makes God abhor thee and thou abhorrest him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 haters of God is one of the titles of natural men drenched in sin Rom. 1.30 And this is thy case by hating thou art hated of God Nor is this all the enmity There is enmity also betwixt all that belongs to God and all that belongs to us Gods children and the wicked have ever an enmity betwixt them such an enmity as will never be reconciled It 's set down in Prov. 29.27 An unjust man is an abomination to the just and he that is upright in his way is an abomination to the wicked Just as it is between God and the seed of the Serpent so it is between both the seeds A wicked man is an abomination to the just and an upright man is an abomination to the wicked There is a pale of abomination set between them so that this is the second woe We come now to the third 3. And the third woe is that which immediately follows Gods leaving of us When we have polluted our selves with sin and God by reason thereof abhors us and turns from us then are there others ready presently to take up the room so soon as God departs the Devil steps in and becomes thy God He was thy God by Creation this by usurpation He was thy Father that would have given thee every good thing but now thou art Fatherless or rather worse thou hast the Devil for thy Father and better is it to be without one When the Devil is thy Father his works thou must do When the Spirit of God departed from Saul presently the evil Spirit entred into him 1 Sam. 16.14 If the good Spirit be gone out the evil Spirit soon comes in he comes and takes possession and is therefore called The God of this world And while we are in that state we walk after the course of him that worketh in the children of disobedience Eph. 2.2 We would account it a terrible thing for our selves or any of our children to be possessed of a Devil but what it is to be possessed of this Devil thou knowest not It 's not half so bad to have a Legion possess thy Body as to have but one to possess thy Soul He becomes thy God and thou must do his work he will tyrannize over thee What a fearful thing therefore is this that as soon as God departs from us and forsakes us and we him that the Devil should presently come in his room and take up the heart Mark that place in Eph. 2.2 Where in times past ye walked according to the course of the world according c. Assoon as God leaves a man what a fearful company assail him They all concur together the World the Flesh and the Devil These take Gods place The world is like the tide when a man hath the tide with him he hath great advantage of him that rows against the tide But here is the Devil too The world is as a swift current and besides this comes the Devil and fills the
of suffering comes there is a remarkable speech Zach. 13.7 The Father seemeth to say concerning the Son that it was against his heart to smite him The expression was a lively one it went to his heart to smite one that was his equal that did him no wrong Awake O sword against my Shepherd and against the man that is my fellow You know of whom it is spoken by Matthew Mat. 26.31 I will smite the Shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered The Lord is ready to break him Isa. 53. The Sword was as it were unwilling to smite The man that is my fellow A blow lighting on God's fellow equal with God of what value is it Consider the difference betwixt a man and a man The State of a Prince makes great odds between that is done to him and that is done to another man When David would adventure himself into the batttl Thou shalt say they go no more with us lest thou quench the light of Israel 2 Sam. 21.17 and more â—ully 2 Sam. 18.3 Thou art worth ten thousand of us They would not hazard the person of the King in the battel Why because thou art worth ten thousand of us The dignity of a Prince is so great that ten thousand will not countervail the loss of him If this be the esteem and worth of David what is the worth of David's Prince If thus with a King what with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords This is a great ground of the sufficiency of Christ's suffering Heb. 9.13 If the blood of Bulls and Goats sanctifie to the purifying of the flesh how much more vers 14. shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your Consciences from dead works to serve the living God It is not the offering of the body only but he did it through his eternal Spirit When the Martyrs and Saints offered themselves a sacrifice they offered it through the flames of their love and therefore embraced the stake and love is described as strong as death but Christ did not offer his Sacrifice with the flames of his love though love was in him the greatest that ever was but with the everlasting flames of his Godhead and Deity with that fire from heaven which is a consuming fire He did the deed that will purge our Consciences from dead works Act. 20.28 Take heed unto your selves and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseerâ— to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood God hath purchased the Church with his own blood whose blood God's blood The blood of God must be shed He who thought it no robbery to be equal with God must shed his own blood As Zippora saith to Moses a bloody husband hast thou been to me Exod. 4.25 So may Christ say to his Church a bloody Spouse hast thou been to me that my blood must be shed for thee 1 Cor. 2.8 Had they known they would not have crucified he Lord of Glory that is they would not have crucified God He that was crucified was the glorious Lord God Act. 3.15 You denyed the holy one and killed the Prince of life Here 's the matter unless the Prince of life had been killed thou couldst not have life This the Apostle sets down as the ground of all before he comes to the particularities of his humiliation and sets down who it was who was thus humbled He whom the Heaven of Heavens could not contain he must descend into the lowermost parts of the earth that 's a descent indeed His Humiliation appears in this that he who was thus high became a man and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross. In this humiliation consider I say these two Points 1. The person who was humbled 2. The degrees of his humiliation Some things have regard to the whole course of his life others to the conclusion or period of his life All his life from his incarnation to his passion was a continual thred of humiliation from his Cradle to his Cross from his Womb to his Tomb So here is set down the humbled life of our blessed Saviour For I would not have you think his humiliation consisted only in coming to the Cross when they so mercilesly handled him it cost him more then so as sinners have the curse of God on them in their life as well as in their death So Christ must have a miserable life as well as an accursed death Though the heat came at the end o the Tragedy yet his whole life was a continual suffering Consider the degrees of it 1. He made himself of no Reputation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he emptied himself It was the second person in the Trinity that thus humbled and emptied himself not in his divine nature but his assumed of all his transcendent endowments Consider the particulars of it he took on him the form of a servant Was not this a great humiliation That the second person in the Trinity should stoop so low as to take on him the nature of one who is not worth the looking on That he should take dust and ashes upon him Psalm 113.5 6. Gods greatness is thus expressed Who is like unto the Lord our God who dwelleth on high who humbleth himself to behold the things in heaven and in the earth What Humiliation is that Compare these two humiliations tonether It is an humiliation to cast but his eye upon the Heavens to look upon the most glorious of all his works to look upon the Angels but what is man that thou so regardest him That thou shouldst not only look upon him but take him up and make him an inmate under thine own roof This is a greater abasement but here 's a further degree Christ during the time of his pilgrimage was content to deprive himself of his Glory that he now enjoyes By reason of his Hypostatical Union with the God-head he deserves all honour and glory When he brought his first begotten into the world he saith And let all the Angels worship him Heb. 1.6 Every knee bows to him that is thus highly exalted We see Christ crowned with glory and honour all Dominion and Power being made subject unto him yet he for thirty three years and an half was content to be exiled from his Fathers court John 17.5 Glorifie thou me with the glory I had with thee before the world was Which is expounded in the Proverbs where the Wisdom of God was shewn before the world was framed Prov. 8.30 Then I was by him as one brought up with him and I was dayly his delight rejoycing always before him this was the work before the foundation of the World which God was doing the Father was glorifying the Son and the Son was glorifying the Father The Father took infinite delight in the Son and the
welcome Christ he keeps open house but some are so fearful and so modest that unless they have a special invitation they are ashamed to come to Christ they reason thus if my case were an ordinary man's I should come but I am so vile and wretched that I am ashamed to come my sins have been so many and so heavy that I am not able to bear so great a weight they are more in number than the hairs of my head and yet farther alas they are crying ones to But hearken here 's a second word Dost thou think thy case more heavy because thou art out of measure sinful Lo it pleaseth God to send thee a special invitation who findest thy self discouraged with the great bulk and burthen of thy sins See Mat. 11.28 Though all apply it not to this use Come unto me all you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest You of all others are they that Christ looks for Those that can walk bolt upright in their sins that desire to live and die in them they will not look upon me and I will not look upon them they scorn me and I scorn them but you that are heavy laden and feel the burthen of your sins are invited by Christ. Let not Satan then couzen you of the comfort of this word that which Christ makes the latch to open the door to let himself in we do usually by our foolishness make the bolt to shut him out Let thy wound be never so great thou hast a warrant to come and be cured be of good comfort then as it was said to blind Bartimeus Mar. 10.49 So it is to thee Loe he calleth thee When Christ bids thee come and gives thee his Word that he will heal thee Come let not the Devil or thy corruptions hinder thee or make thee stay back haste thee to this City of Refuge he hath engaged his Word for thee and he will ease thee But now after all these there is a Third Word that though Christ keeps open house so that who will may freely come and though he sends special invitations to them that are most bashful because their case is extraordinary What do you think now that Christ will come with his Soldiers and destroy those that do not come in He might do it when he is so free and invites thee and thou turnest it back again into his hand But yet here is another word of comfort Christ doth not only send a Messenger to invite thee who hast no goodness in thee but he falls to beseeching and intreating thee and that is a third word whereby faith is wrought in an Unbeliever 2 Cor 5.10 Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us observe the place We pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled unto God This is the most admirable word that ever could be spoken unto a sinner Alas thou mayest say I am afraid that God will not be friends with me why he would have thee to be friends with him do not then with the Papists mâ—ke such an austere God as though he might not be spoken unto as though thou mightest not presume thy self but must make friends unto him Wâ— have not an High Priest that is not touched with our infirmities Heb. 4.15 Will the Papists tell me I am bold if I go to God or lay hands on Christ I am not more bold than welcome Let us go with boldness to the Throne of grace vers 16. We are commanded to it Do not think but that he had bowels to weep over Jerusalem and he carried the same into heaven when thou liest groaning before him he will not spurn thee We pray you and beseech you to be friends therefore in this case make no doubt it is God's good pleasure to entreat thee and therefore thou hast warrant enough Christ wept over Jerusalem and he is as ready to embrace thee You have now three words to make a man of an Vnbeliever a Believer Is there or can there be more than these Open House-keeping Special Invitations Entreaties and Beseechings Yet there is more than all this which if thou hast not a heart of stone it will make thee believe or make thee rue it And that is 4. When God seeth all these things will not work with us but we are slow of heart to believe then he quickens us and there comes a word of Command God chargeth and commands thee to come and then if thou breakest his Command be it to thy peril It is the greatest sin that can be committed Thou wilt not draw near to God because thou art a sinner thou now committest a greater sin than bâ—fore thou returnest back Christ unto God thou bidest him take his commodity into his hand again thou wilt not believe and this is an heinous crime Joh. 16.8 9. And when the Spirit shall come it shall reprove the world of sin of righteousness and of judgment of sin because they believe not in me This is that great sin he shall convince the world of because they believe not in him Of all sins this was the most notorious this makes us keep all other sins in possession It is not only one particular sin but it fastens all other sins upon us be they never so many When faith comes it will out them but till then they remain in thee where there is no Commandment there is no sin How could it be a sin in not believing if I were not commanded so to do But you shall hear more than so When the Apostle speaks of excluding Rejoycing under the Law Rom. 3.37 Where is boasting then saith he it is excluded By what Law by the Law of works No but by the Law of faith there is a Law of works and a Law of faith God doth not only give thee leave to come and take him and draw near unto him but he commands thee there 's a Law by the breach of that Law of faith thou art made guilty of a a high sin There is a full testimony of this 1 Joh. 3.23 And this is the Commandment that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. If a man should ask may I love my Neighbour would you not think him a fool because he must do it he is commanded So should a poor soul come and say to me may I believe thou fool thou must believe God hath laid a Command upon thee it is not left to thy choice The same Commandment that bids thee love thy brother bids thee to believe on Christ. To Entreaty is added God's Command and therefore if thou shalt argue what warrant have I to believe Why God enjoyns it thee and commands it As the impotent man said so mayest thou He that healed me said unto me take up thy bed and walk This is the very Key of the Gospel and this is the way to turn it right When being thus clean naked we have as it
's to no other purpose to thee to come to the Sacrament that if thou wentest to a Mass to see the Gesticulations Elevations or if thou wentest to see a play not knowing to what end and purpose it was done Such a one is not a friend of God but an enemy that shall be destroyed in everlasting fire that knows not him Deceive not then your selves but seriously weigh it and consider what a Judgment falls on us for this What an unworthy thing is it when as in one months space or less if a man had any care he might learn as much as would bring him to Heaven What saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 15.34 Some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame And a shameful thing it is indeed when the knowledge of the Principles of Christian Religion may be had in so short a space to be so grosly ignorant as commonly many are It 's a most unworthy and a shameful thing to think the knowledge of Christ not worth thus much pains Thou that carest not for the knowledge of God's ways what hast thou to do to take his Word into thy mouth to tread in his Courts I doubt not but very many here too are but Babes in Christ. An ignorant person then cannot possibly come worthily for w◠are to come with faith and Faith cannot be without knowledge And hence are they joyned both together By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many Isa. 53.11 By his knowledge not subjectivè but objectivè the knowledge of him if thou knowest not him his Nature and Offices the end of his offering himself and wilt be still a meer Ignoramus come not to God's Table go to Nebuchadnezzar and feed with him amongst the beasts Dan. 4.33 thou hast nothing to do here Nay the very beasts among whom he fed will upbraid thee For the ox knoweth his owner and the Ass his master's crib but thou art like stupid Israel which did neither know nor consider Isa. 1.3 This is the first sort 2. The second are those that obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have wit enough and can talk of Religion fast enough but where is the obedience is required I know the Lord gives me the proffer of Christ Jesus can I cast down my proud Will and submit it lay down my stately plumes and take him not only as my Priest to sacrifice himself for me but as my Lord and my King to be guided governed and ruled by him when such a one comes that hath not the power of grace in him who is filled with nothing but Rebellion and profaneness when such a one comes and presumes to sit down at God's Table it is a most unworthy Act It 's more fit that such a one should feed amongst the swine than eat the body and drink the blood of his Saviour Nor is it an unworthy Act for these only but also for civil honest persons though civility be a good stook whereon the sience of grace may be grafted but if a man had nothing besides what nature and Education can teach what moral Philosophy can store us with we have nothing to do at this Table of the Lord. How can I dare presume to eat Christ's body and drink Christ's blood that am not acquainted with God know not the Principles of Religion and will not be swayed by him nor be obedient unto his Gospel These are the particulars then which make a man an unworthy Receiver First when he is an ignorant person and secondly when he will not obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ such persons are to be discarded and cashiered they eat the Judgment of condemnation unto themselves But there are as I shewed you a second sort that come that have interest in the business such as have Knowledge Grace and Faith in Christ and shall taste of the new wine with Christ in the world to come and be with Christ which notwithstanding may eat and drink unworthily and come unpreparedly and irreverently whereby they lose that comfort that otherwise they might have and these though they eat not the Judgment of condemnation yet they do the Judgment of chastisement they put God's seal to a blank but the former sort put it to a false instrument they put it to a blank I say and by that means lose much comfort yea temporal life it self too perchance They eat a Judgment of Chastisement by putting it thus to a blank they taste God's displeasure in sickness weakness and death but I will shew you how you may avoid this why come worthily Fit your selves to the purpose set to it and thou shalt see one Communion will even bring thee to Heaven I say if that thou couldst but at one Communion fit thy self to come worthily thou wouldst find exceeding comfort in it Try the Lord once and see what a mighty encrease of grace this will bring unto thee That you may know how you may come worthily there are three things requisite to every worthy Receiver at the Lord's Table 1. Some things are requisite before the Action be enterprised or else I shall come very unworthily 2. Some at the time and in the very act of Receiving 3. Others after the Communion is ended Many will be perswaded that there is some preparation to be used before hand but never do as much as dream of any after whereas if a man neglect this the Lords meat is as it were lost in us 1. As for those things which are requisite before we come to the Lords Table they are these 1. A Consideration what need I have of the Sacrament Is there any such necessity of it Examine then what need have I to eat my meat and receive my drink When we see God brings this before us let us reason thus with our selves it is as needful for the nourishment of my soul to receive the Sacrament as for my body to take meat and drink This is that whereby we are spiritually strengthned and enabled to hold out to the last And here I 'le not stand to dispute the case whether a man may fall from Grace or not And no doubt but he may yet I say not that he doth I say no doubt but he may and why There is such an opposition and antipathy betwixt the flesh and the spirit that did not God refresh the spirit now and then it might be overborn by the bulk of our corruptions Now Gods Ordinances are appointed to keep it in heart and refresh it as the sick spouse was staid with Apples and comforted with flagons Cant. 2.5 And God hath appointed his Sacrament of the Lords Supper to strengthen and continue that life which we received in Baptism as by spiritual nourishment In Baptism our stock of life is given us by the Sacrament of the holy Eucharist it is confirmed and continued If a child be born only and after birth not nourished there is none but will know what a death such a soul
of grace the thing that he doth is he presents unto the Father Christ bleeding gasping dying buried and conquering death and when he presents Christ to him he opens his case and confesses his sin to the full and says Lord this is my case As a beggar when he comes to ask an alms of you he will make a preface and tell you his extremity Sir I am in great want I have nor tasted a bit of bread in so many days and unless you help me by your charity I am utterly undone Now when these two concur that there is true need in the beggar and liberality in him of whom he begs it encourages the beggar to be importunate and he prevails you may know when the beggar hath need by his tone accent or language The needy beggars tone and accent is different from the sturdy beggars that hath no need but yet though the beggar be in great misery if he see a churlish Nabal go by him he hath no heart to beg and follows him not nor begs so hard because he hath but little hope to attain any thing from him But I say let both these meet together first that the beggar is in great need then that he of whom he begs is very liberal it makes him beg hard but now cannot he pray without book Think not that I speak against praying by the book you are deceived if you think so but there must be words taken to us besides which perhaps a book will not yield us A beggars need will make him speak and he will not hide his sores but if he hath any sore more ugly or worse than another he will uncover it good Sir behold my woful and distressed case he lays all open to provoke pity So when thou comest before God in confession canst thou not find out words to open thy self to Almighty God not one word whereby thou mayst unlap thy sores and beseech him to look on thee with an eye of pity I must not mince my sins but amplifie and aggravate them that God may be moved to pardon me till we do thus we cannot expect that God should forgive us A great ado there is about auricular confession but it 's a meer bable It were better to cry out our sins at the high Cross than the confess in a Priests ear Thou whisperest in the Priest's ear what if he never tell it or if he do art thou the better Come and pour out thy heart and soul before Almighty God confess thy self to him as David did for that hath a promise made to it Psal. 51.4 Against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou may be justified when thou speakest and clear when thou judgest Why so Why one main cause why we should confess sin is to justifie God When a sinner confesses I am a child of wrath and of death if thou castest me into hell as justly thou mayst I have received but my due when a man does thus as the King's Attourney may frame a Bill of Inditement against himself he justifies Almighty God He gives God the honour of that justice which at the present he executes in pouring horrour into the conscience of the sinner and hath farther in store in providing the Lake of fire and brimstone for the impenitent Thus did David Against thee against thee c. Now when we have thus aggravated our misery comes the other part of begging to cry for mercy with earnestness and here 's the power of the Spirit It 's one thing for a man to pray and another thing for a man to say a prayer but to pray and cry for mercy as David did in good earnest to wrestle with God to say Lord My life lies in it I will never give thee over I will not go with a denial this is termed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is the work of God's Spirit I named you a place in Jude ver 20. where the Apostle exhorts but ye beloved build up your selves in your most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost there 's the prayer of the faithful to pray in the Holy Ghost And in the Ephesians we read of an Armour provided for all the parts of a man's body yet will not serve the turn unless prayer come in as the chief Ephes. 6.18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance c. This is the prayer of faith that procures forgiveness of sins we must pray in faith and in the Spirit that is the language which God understands He knoweth the meaning of the Spirit and knoweth none else but that Many men are wondrously deceived in that which they call the Spirit of prayer One thinks it is a faculty to set out ones desires in fair words shewing earnestness and speaking much in an extemporary prayer This we think commendable yet this is not the Spirit of prayer One that shall never come to Heaven may be more ready in this than the child of God for it is a matter of skill and exercise the Spirit of prayer is another thing The Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought the Spirit it self makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 What shall we think then that the Holy Ghost groans or speaks in prayer No but it makes us groan and though we speak not a word yet it so enlarges our hearts as that we send up a volley of sighs and groans which reach the Throne of grace And this is the Spirit of prayer when with these sighs and groans I beg as it were for my life This is that ardent affection the Scripture speaks of A cold prayer will never get forgiveness of sins it 's the prayer of faith which prevails The prayer of the people availeth much if it be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fervent In the Ancient Churches those that were possessed with an evil spirit were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because that caught them up and made them do actions not sutable to their nature Prayer is a fire from Heaven which if thou hast it will carry all Heaven before it there is nothing in the world so strong as a Christian thus praying Prayers that are kindled with such a zeal are compared to Jacobs wrestling with the Angel Hos. 12.4 whereby he had power over the Angel The Prophet expounds what this wrestling was he wept and made supplication unto him he found him in Bethel and there he spake with him This is the wrestling with God when thou fillest Heaven with thy sighs and sobs and bedewest thy couch with thy tears as David did and hast thy resolution with Jacob I will not let thee go except thou bless me God loves this kind of boldness in a beggar that he will not go away without an answer As the poor Widow in the Parable that would not give over her suit
so that the Judge though he feared not God nor cared for man by reason of her importunity granted her desire Mark the other thing in the Apostle he bids us pray with the Spirit and with perseverance and he that cometh thus hath a promise made to it He that calleth on the Name of the Lord shall be saved Call on me in the day of trouble and I will hear thee it 's set down fully Matth. 6.7 Ask and you shall have seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be as opened One would think this were idem per idem but it is not so He bids us ask and it shall be given seek and you shall find c. There is a promise annexed to asking seeking and knocking but it is also proved by universal experience for every one that asketh c. It 's very man's case never any man did it yet that hath lost his labour in not attaining what he asked If thou hast it not yet thou shalt have it in the end it is so fair a petition to ask to have thy sins pardoned that God would be friends with thee and that Christ would make thee love him and that God would be thy God that God delights in it This is the point then Suppose God answer not presently yet knock still seek still that is perseverance the thing whereby it is distinguished from temporary asking The hypocrite will pray in a time of need and adversity but his prayer is not constant Job 27.10 Will the hypocrite always call upon God If they come and seek God and he will not answer as Saul did they will try the Devil God would not answer Saul and he presently goes to the Devil It 's not so with God's children they pray and pray and wait still they pray with the Spirit and with perseverance God deals not always alike with his children but differently sometimes he answers presently sometimes he makes them wait his leisure Psal. 32.5 I said I would confess my sins says David and my transgressions and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin so Dan. 9.21 When he set himself to seek God even while he was speaking and praying the man Gabriel appeared unto him and touched him about the time of the evening oblation Before the word was out of his mouth God was at his heart and presently sends him a dispatch The like we see in Esay 65.24 Mark what a promise there is It shall come to pass that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear This is a great encouragement but it may be God will not always do this and what 's the reason Why he hath a wonderful great delight to be wrestled withal and to hear the words of his own Spirit nothing is more delightful to him than this when the Spirit is earnest and will not give over I will not let thee go unless thou bless me Gen. 32.26 It 's said in the Canticles honey is under the lips of the Church Cant. 4.11 Why so it's because there is no honey sweeter to the palate than spiritual prayer to God And therefore God delays to answer thee because he would have more of it If the Musicians come and play at our doors or windows if we delight not in their Musick we throw them out money presently that they may be gone but if the Musick please us we forbear to give them money because we would keep them longer for we like the Musick So the Lord loves and delights in the sweet words of his children and therefore puts them off and answers them not presently Now God's children let him deny them never so long yet they will never leave knocking and begging they will pray and they will wait still till they receive an answer Many will pray to God as prayer is a duty but few use it as a means to attain a blessing Those who come to God in the use of it as a means to attain what they would have they will pray and not give over they will expect an Answer and never give over petitioning till they receive it ROM 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ c. HAving declared unto you the nature of faith and that point which concerns the practice of it in our near approach unto God I am now come to shew unto you the fruits and benefits Christians receive from this Mother-grace and that the Apostle sets down in these words He sets down 1. The Mother-Grace it self together with its principal benefit Justification or reconciliation with God that whereas we were afar off we are made near and of enemies made friends of God Then 2. There are the daughters or hand-maids of this grace For when we are justified by Faith then 1. We have peace with God that peace of conscience which passeth all understanding then 2. We have free access by faith unto the Throne of grace so that we need not look for any other Mediators Christ hath made way for us to God so that we may go boldly to the Throne of grace and find help at any time of need 3. There follows a joyful hope that a Christian hath by it a taste of Heaven before he come to enjoy it We rejoyce in hope saith the Apostle hope being as firm a thing as faith faith makes things absent as present hope hath patience with it and would have us wait We shall be sure of it but yet we must wait patiently 4. Not only rejoycing in hope but even in that which spoils a natural man's joy as in crosses troubles afflictions for even these are made the matter of this man's joy not delectable objects only Not in time to come after afflictions but in afflictions so as that which spoils the joy of a natural man is fuel to kindle this man's joy Now concerning justification by faith though it be an ordinary point yet there is nothing more needs Explication than to know how a man shall be justified by Faith It is easily spoken hardly explicated Therefore in this mother-Grace I shall shew you 1. What faith is that doth justifie And 2. What this justification is For it is not so easie a matter neither 1. Concerning the nature of faith I have spoken sufficiently already wherein it consists but yet notwithstanding there is a certain thing as like this faith as may be and yet comes short of it Many there are who are like the foolish Virgins that thought they were well enough and thought they should come time enough So many think verily that they have faith yea and perchance go with such a perswasion to their very graves and think they have grace and that they labour after Christ and lay hold on him and are free from worldly pollutions so as that they have a
in his heart to do it he saith not with Joseph How can I do this great wickedness and sin against my God The other saith I could do this evil well enough but I will not Thou canst not beâ—n those that are evil saith Christ in his Epistle to the Church of Ephesus This was her great commendation Revel 2.2 Now he that is born of God cannot sin there is that seed that spring in him that for his life he cannot sin but it turns his heart from it for his life he cannot tell how to swear lye c. or joyn with others in wickedness but this must be understood of the constant course of their lives I speak not what they may do in temptations when they are surprised but in the course of their lives they commit sin as if they knew not how to do it the other doth it skilfully these coblingly and bunglingly they do it ill-favouredly thus it is with a wicked man in doing a good work he cobles it up This is intimated unto us in the very Phrase of the Apostle Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin It is not the same thing to sin in St. John's acception and to commit sin committing sin is the action of the Artist and Practitioner in the Trade From this the seed of God which abideth in the regenerate secureth him 1 Joh. 3.9 Psal. 32.12 Thy faith then must be a faith that worketh by love Canst thou do those good works thou doest out of love then my soul for thine thou art saved Get me any temporary that loves God and I shall say something to you Hast thou then a faith that causeth thee to love God a working faith and a faith that will not suffer thee to do any thing displeasing to him if thou hast such a faith thou art justified before God 2. And so I come now to the point of justification the greatest of all blessings Blessed is he saith David whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity It is the most blessed condition that can be it is set down by way of Exclamation O the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity or as the Original imports O the blessedness of the man discharged from sin Here are many blessings conceived in our justification from sin For justification see what it is the Scripture in St. Paul's Epistles speaks of justification by faith and in St James of justification by works Now it will be useful to us in this point to know whence justification comes it comes from justice Tsedeck as the Original hath it and Hitsdiq to justifie so that justification and righteousness depend one upon the other for what is justification but the manifestation of the righteousness that is in a man And therefore in Gal. 3.21 they are put for one the same thing For if there had been a Law given which could have given life verily righteousness had been by the Law that is justification had been by the Law Again If righteousness be by the Law then Christ is dead in vain Gal. 2. that is also if justification had been by the Law c. Justification is a manifestation of righteousness and as many ways as righteousness is taken so many ways is justification which is a declaration of righteousness so that if there be a double righteousness there must be also a double justification Beloved I bring you no new doctrine be not afraid of that but I shew you how to reconcile places of Scripture against the Church of Rome and those things which the Papists bring against us in this point It stands by reason seeing justification is a declaration of righteousness that there must be so many sorts of justification as there be of righteousness Now there is a double sort of righteousness Rom. 8.4 That the righteousness of the Law may be fulfilled in us see then there is a double righteousness there is a righteousness fulfilled in us and a righteousness fulfilled by us that is walking in the Spirit The righteousness fulfilled in us is fulfilled by another and is made ours by imputation so we have a righteousness without us and a righteousness inherent in us the righteousness without us is forgiveness of sins and pardon of them which is a gracious act of God letting fall all actions againsts me and accounting of me as if I had never sinned against him all my life time then there is a righteousness within me an inherent righteousness And if a righteousness then justification for that is but a declaration of righteousness And so that which the Fathers call justification is taken generally for sanctification that which we call justification they call forgiveness of sins that which we call sanctification they call justification so that the difference is only in the terms Justification we must know is not taken only as opposed to condemnation which is the first kind of righteousness Rom. 6.7 He that is dead is freed from sin if you look to the Greek or to the Margent it is he that is dead is justified from sin This is not took in the first sense as opposed to condemnation but in the other sense as it hath relation to final grace The perfection of sanctification is wrought in me for where there is final grace there is a supersedeas from all sin so Rev. 22.11 Let him that is righteous be righteous still the Greek is let him that is righteous be justified still See then the difference between St. Paul and St. James St. Paul speaks of that which consists in remission of sins as in comparing the Apostle with David will appear Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven St. James speaks of justification in the second acception You need not fly to that distinction of justification before God and justification before men Think not that St. James speaks only of justification before men Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac on the Altar What justified by killing his Son this was a proper work indeed to justifie him before man to be a parricide to kill his son though it were not so before God So Psal. 106. we read how God accounted the act of Phineas for righteousness Thus you see how works are accounted righteousness in the second kind of righteousness In the former righteousness we are justified by faith for in righteousness inherent there is goodly chain of vertues Add to your faith vertue c. add one grace to another Add to vertue knowledge Faith is but one part of the Crown Now this justification in the first sense whereby my sins are forgiven is called the righteousness of God because of Christ which is God because it is wrought by Christ Dan. 9. he is called an everlasting righteousness which continueth for ever world without end for do not think the Saints in heaven have only the second kind
he will forgive sins for the time before they are committed but what do we get nothing for the time to come yes yes when the sin is past by faith we have a new access unto God and having risen by repentance we get a new act not of universal justification but of a particular justification from this and that particular sin But if there be forgiveness of sins past already and I know that I am justified and my sin remitted may I now pray for forgiveness of sins past The Papists say it is active infidelity and as absurd as to pray to God to create the world anew or incarnate his Son again But there is no remission where there is no praying and there is need of praying for the remission of sins past and against sin for the time to come as I shall shew next time as also consider whether there be any interruption of the act of justification by falling into great sins There is no man hath a mind more against quierks and quillets than I yet for the opening of these things and staying and setling the mind and clearing the understanding give me leave the next time to clear these things unto you ROM 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ c. IN this Chapter especially in the beginning thereof I shewed unto you that the Apostle sets down unto us those special comforts that a man receives after God hath wrought that supernatural grace of faith in his heart so that here is set down The Mother-Grace Justification by faith and then the blessed issues or daughters thereof and those are a free access to God a joyful hope of the glory to come and not only a patient but a joyful suffering of all afflictions that shall befall us in this life Concerning justification by faith I laboured to open it unto you the last day three things may well be considered therein 1. What that faith is whereby we are justified 2. What that justification is we have by faith 3. What relation the one of these hath to the other Concerning the first of these I told you that it was not every faith that justifieth nor every kind of faith that a man can live by There is a dead faith and a man cannot live by a dead thing And there is a living faith and that is called a faith unfeigned And though it be in Scripture called the faith yet it is with some restriction it is the faith of God's elect and common to none besides There is a faith also which is but temporary that being touch'd with the sense of sin and seeing there is no deliverance from the curse due to sin but by Christ and that there is no part to be had in Christ but by renouncing all corruptions the consideration of the desperateness of his case without Christ makes him long after him and since he cannot have Christ without leaving sin he will resolve on that too he will make towards Christ and perhaps he comes to taste of the sweetness of Christ and feels the power of the world to come he forsakes sin and thereby comes so near the true believer that a man must as it were cut a hair to divide between them And this is a thing very necessary to be considered of And I shewed unto you also that these are not moral things not a faith that is wrought by the power of men but by a work of God's Spirit for it humbles a man for sin and makes him make toward Christ and seek him above all things and having laid some hold on him he escapes the pollutions of the world and yet this faith is but temporary a thing supernatural it is yet it is without root Now as I noted unto you this is not different in the circumstance of time for time alters not the thing A child that liveth but half an hour doth as properly and truly live as one that liveth a hundred years But it is called temporary not that therein stands the difference but therein it is shewn and that proves the man to have something wanting Our being united to Christ and being nigh unto him is as a graft or scyons put into a Tree there are two grafts put into one stock and each of them have all the several things necessary done unto them as cutting binding c. yet time discovers that the one thrives and the other withers so that there was a fault unseen though he that put in the graâ—â—s never saw it yet time discovers it Now the difference is not in the time but in the foundation of the thing it sâ—lf Now what the difference is between these I laboured to declare unto you the last day The use of it is in brief this faith I mean the sâ—und faith is not in all these All have not faith the faith I say of God's 〈◊〉 yet some come so near and have faith so like it that it will trouble a wiâ—â— man to make the distinction These are like the foolish Virgins that lived very civilly and kept their maiden-heads in regard of the world none could accuse them for any evil they had done yet they are at length shut out Many think themselves in a good way and a safe condition yea and go out of the world in this conceit and think they are entring into the gate of Heaven till they in a moment are cast down to hell Try we therefore search and sift our selves if this grace were as grass that grows in every field it were something but it is a precious flower which if we have not Christ prefiteth us nothing This is the means of Christs being applied unto thee how doth it therefore behove every one of us to look to it and not to slubber over the matter slightly but to search and try and examine our selves And in the marks I shewed before that it was such a thing as may be likened to a conception which never comes to the birth such a thing is this temporary faith Among others let me add the tokens of love it is twice set down in the Galatians neither circumcision nor uncircumcision c. but faith which worketh by love and again neither circumcision c. but the new creature They that have a temporary faith want nothing but the new creature what 's that it's faith that worketh by love They that love God it 's a sure token that God hath loved them first and God never giveth this love to any but they have faith unfeigned The next thing is he is ever careful to try himself to prove himself The temporary cannot endure to be brought to the touch or trial He accounts every beginning of grace in himself very great every Mole-hill to be a Mountain Now God's children know that they may be deceived with counterfeits and therefore they try themselves Mark the speech of the Apostle 1 Cor. 16.5 Examine your selves prove your own
entire soul that hath no blot that one that hath no spot should be purged after final grace hath made him clear and whole this is against reason and common sense They might have learned better of their own Thomas all the fire in the world will never put away sin without the infusion of grace This by the way concerning them I shewed besides that these two being both righteousnesses the Church of Rome confounds them both together Saint James his justification with Saint Pauls They confound inherent righteousness which is begun and shall be perfected in final grace with the other so that the point is not between us and Rome Whether faith justifieth by works or no but Whether it justifieth at all In truth that is the state of it The question is this whether there be such a grace as justification that is distinguished from sanctification or whether there be another grace of sanctification Do not think that we are such block-heads as to deny faith and sanctification yet faith is but a piece or part of that train of vertues There justification is taken for sanctification we acknowledge a man is justified by faith and works but the question is between us and them whether there be any justification besides sanctification i. e. whether there be any justification at all or no we say sanctification is wrought by the Kingly office of Christ he is a King that rules in our hearts subdues our corruptions governs us by the Sceptre of his Word and Spirit but it is the fruit of his Priestly office which the Church of Rome strikes at i. e. whether Christ hath reserved another righteousness for us besides that which as a King he works in our hearts whether he hath wrought forgiveness of sins for us we say he hath and so saith all the Church till the new Spawn of Jesuits arose They distinguish not remission of sins from sanctification Bellarmine saith remission of sins is the extinguishing of sin in the soul as water though it be cold yet the bringing in of heat extinguishes the cold and so remission of sins is the bringing in of inherent righteousness which extinguisheth all sin which was before A strange thing and were it not that the Scripture does speak of a cup in the hand of the Harlot of Rome whereby she makes drunk the Inhabitants of the earth with the wine of her fornication Rev. 17.4 18.3 except the men of her communion were drunk it were impossible that a learned men should thus shake out an Article of our and their Creed which hath ever been believed by all the Churches When the Scripture speaks of forgiveness of sins see how it expresseth it Ephes. 4.32 Be ye kind one to another Brethren tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Observe in the Lord's Prayer we pray that the Lord would forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us Let him that hath common understanding judge Do we forgive our Neighbours by extinguishing sin in the subject I forgive you i. e. I take away the ill office you did me Doth he forgive thus Alas no! forgiveness is without a man I have an action against you perhaps an action at Law I will let fall my suit my charges I will forgive this is forgiveness God justifieth who shall condemn Though God has just cause to proceed against me as a Rebel yet he is content to let fall his action to fasten it upon the Cross of his Son there to fix the Chirographum the hand-writing against us Colos. 2.14 He will let fall that which was the ground of a suit against us all that he could say against us That you may understand the thing the better there are two things two kinds of righteousness the one of justification the other of sanctification The Holy Ghost distinguisheth them by several terms 1 Cor. 1.30 Of him are ye in Christ Jesus who is made unto us wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption You see here are two distinct graces righteousness and sanctification they make them but one sanctification and remission of sins Moreover whom he did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he also glorified Rom. 8.30 Here justification and glorification are nothing else but justification and sanctification St Paul speaks of a thing past not of the glory to come them he glorified not shall glorifie he means sanctification which is inchoate glory For what is the glory we shall have in heaven but the enlargement of those inherent graces God begins in this world Here is the seed there is the crop here thou hast a little knowledge but there it shall be enlarged now thou hast a little joy there thou shalt enter into thy Master's joy here some knowledge but there thou shalt have a full knowledge and a full measure Here glory dwelleth in our Land but there we shall with open faoe behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord and be changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 i. e. we are more and more conformed to the image of Almighty God by obedience and holy qualities infused into us that we grow from one degree of sanctification unto another And so you see how these are distinguished by their terms Justification and glorification justification and sanctification There is another place in St. John an hard place but yet as I take it these two righteousnesses that have the same name for justification and sanctification are righteousnesses both of them to be distinct in their terms in that place it is said Joh. 16.8 That when the Spirit shall come he shall reprove or as we should translate it and as you read it in the margin he shall convince the world concerning sin righteousness and judgment Thus I say it should be translated for it is of no sense to say that God should reprove the world of righteousness on what occasion this was spoken we must not stand to speak but righteousness and judgment is justification and sanctification And the drift of the place is this when the Spirit shall come how not upon me or thee but the Spirit here spoken of is that Spirit that should come upon the Apostles it shall begin at the day of Pentecost and these 1. should set forth like twelve Champions to conquer the world and to bring them unto the Sceptre of Christ. He shall convince the world i e. when the Spirit shall come on you and your tongues be tipped with that spiritual fire which shall be active it shall convince the world of three particulars of sin righteousness and judgment Of the point of humiliation for sins the point of justification by righteousness imputative and the glory of sanctification in judgment and righteousness inherent This method St. Paul useth in the Romans to stop every man's
be married to me if we refuse the Son takes it wonderfully ill Therefore Psal. 2.12 he says Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little blessed are all those that put their trust in him So in the Hebrews God swore that because of infidelity those unbelieving Jews should never enter into his rest All the rest of the threatnings of the Law were not backed with an oath there was some secret reservation of mercy unto them upon the satisfaction of Divine Justice but here there is no reservation God hath sworn such shall never come into Heaven Look not for a third thing in God now as a mitigation of his oath it cannot be he hath sworn that an unbeliever shall never enter into his Rest. These five things are the grounds of Faith even unto the worst and unworthiest persons that may be and by all or some of them he creates Faith in us which once wrought in the heart by the spirit of God secretly and we discerning the same this is the witness of our spirit Now our spirit having viewed all these things and the promises upon which they are grounded thus it witnesseth as if one should demand of a man Are these things presented to thy view true Yes will he say true as true as the Gospel then the next thing is is all good and profitable O yes says he all is very good and desirable then the upshot is I but is this good for thee If your soul answer now Yes very good to me if then thou accept of this and wrap and fold thy self in the promises thou canst not wind thy self out of comfort and assurance to be Christ Jesus for pray what makes up a match but the consent of two agreeing so the consent of two parties agreeing upon this message makes up the match betwixt us and Christ uniting and knitting us unto him There are also being now incorporated other means to make us grow up him by which time discovers what manner of ingrafting we have had into him for we see four or five scions are ingrafted into a stock yet some of them may not be incorporated with the stock but wither So many are by the Word and Sacraments admitted as retainers and believers of the promises who shrink and hold not out because they never were throughly incorporated into Christ but imperfectly joyned unto him But howsoever all that come to life must pass this way if they look for sound comfort And thus much shall suffice for the witness of our Spirit in Justification But the testimony of our spirit goes further wherein I might shew how in sanctification our spirit saith Lord prove me if there be any evil in me and lead me in the way everlasting he loves the Brethren and desires to fear God as Nehemiah pleads Nehem. 1.11 Be attentive to the prayer of thy servant and of thy servants who desire to fear thy name This is the warrant that I am partaker of that inward true washing and not of that outward only of the Hog which being kept clean and in good company will be clean till there be an occasion offered of wallowing in the mire again But when I find that though there were neither Heaven to reward me nor Hell to punish me if opportunity were offered yet my heart riseth against sin because of him who hath forbidden it this is a sure evidence and testifies that I am a child of God This is for the first thing in bringing of a man in to survey the promises belonging to Justification and Sanctification wherein our spirit seeing it self to have interest doth truly and on sound judgment witness the assurance of our Salvation Secondly when I find Christ drawing me and changing my nature that upon the former reasonings view and laying hold of Christ making me now have supernatural thoughts and delights for this a man may have then certainly my spirit may conclude that I am blessed for saith the Scripture Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to come unto thee But some like Dreamers do dream of this only I know not on what grounds but do I this waking with my whole soul doth my spirit testifie it upon good grounds why then I may rest upon it it is as sure as may be Thus much is the testimony of our spirit Now it is clear how faith is wrought briefly two ways which the Lord useth to bring a man to the survey of those grounds upon which our spirit doth witness First he works upon the understanding Secondly On the will and affections It is a strange thing to consider how this work is begun and finished so that we may say hereof as the Lord poseth Job in Job 38.37 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts Or who hath given understanding to the heart And in another place Where is the way where light dwelleth and as for darkness where is the place thereof First God enlightens the understanding with the thunderings of the Law when he shews a man such a sight as he could not have believed and convinceth hem in general that his estate is not good that without mercy Hell attends him this is a flash of Lightning from Mount Sinai Secondly comes a Thunder-clap laying all down laying flat the will and affections dejecting a man so that this first secret work of faith is a captivating of the understanding will and affections Now the act both of the understanding and the will is set forth in this case Hebr. 11.13 These all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off were perswaded of them and embraced them c. In this Scripture is set down the two hands and arms of faith First believing Christ out of sight Secondly laying hold and embracing the promises They in the old Testament did not receive Christ in the flesh and so are said to look afar off as the Apostle speaks 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom ye having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce c. But the Apostle adds they were perswaded of the promises and embraced them This is the work of the spirit upon the understanding convincing the soul of sin shewing there is a remedy tells the soul all is marvellous true that God hath revealed in his word and then draws to this conclusion Christ came to save sinners whereof I am chief therefore he came to save me Yet all this while the will may be stubborn and rebellious and the affections disordered therefore here comes in the second arm of faith not only being perswaded of the word as a word of truth but as a good promise of good things to me so that here is another degree of the working of the spirit to compel the will and affections so sweetly grace having removed that perversness and disorder which governed them before Now this gentle enforcing and often
Christ. If we would have comfort therefore let us mark the knocking of the spirit and not grieve him by withstanding holy motions and then we shall find him sealing up our salvation witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God Men you see wait for the wind and not the wind for them otherwise they may wait long enough before they reach home so must we watch the knocking 's of Christ and let him in that his spirit may seal us up to the day of Redemption Thirdly Another thing the true witness of the spirit leaves behind it is Love It makes a man more inflam'd with love to God If a man do not love God more after such an enlightening it is false and counterfeit Psalm 116. I will love thee dearly O Lord my God because thou hast heard my voice And says the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.14 The love of Christ constraineth us And therefore if we be obedient Sons we will shew it in loving and honouring our Father more and more as the Prophet speaks Malach. 6. A Son honoureth his Father and a servant his Master if then I be a Father where is mine honour These are the trials before and after a true illumination to try it from the counterfeit which that we may always find and observe in our selves Let us pray O Lord our God c. FINIS A TABLE TO THE SERMONS A ACceptation and Affiance two acts of Faith 95 Active Obedience See Obedience Aggravations of sin 37 A temporary Believer desires Christ only in Affliction 119 120 Assurance no part of justifying faith 97. It is attainable 150. Why so many Christians want it 141 B. BAptism what it obliges to 23. It hath not its full effect till the day of our death ibid. To believe is a hard matter 22 96 To believe is our duty 88 Five words or Scripture-ways that God uses to perswade sinners to Believe in Christ viz. General Proclamation 86. Special invitations 87. Entreaties 87. Commands 88. Threatnings 89 To Believe is to come to Christ 111 It is exprest by Hungring and Thirsting 113 A Believer's case like the Beggars 114 A true Believer distinguished from a Temporary 1. by the ground of his desires 119. 2. by his desiring Grace as well as Mercy 122. 3. by his Love to God 122 A Believer's privilege 150 C. GOd Calls sinners to Christ by five words 86 Christ's equality with God 68. It renders his Humiliation the greater and more meritorious 68 Christ's Humiliation the extent degrees and particulars of it 69 72. Part of his Humiliation to be God's Servant 74. He was a Servant on earth in respect of men 70. Vsed and valued at the rate of a bondman 71 Christ's sufferings the more meritorious because voluntary 74 Christ's Active Obedience in the course of his life 74. his Humiliation and sufferings from his Conception to his death described 75 c. Christ's death described in the Accursedness of it 78. in the shame of it 78. in the painfulness of it 78 Christ suffered not the pains of Hell proved 80. yet he suffered in his Soul immediately from God 80 Whether Christ takes away all the sins of the world 83 Christ's being offered for us no comfort unless he be offered to us 66 That Christ died sufficiently for all is an improper speech 66 To receive Christ what 84. Christ offered freely 83 86. He that hath a will to receive Christ hath a warrant to receive him 86 Christ the proper and immediate Object of justifying Faith 93. Christ loved and valued above all by true believers 96. Christ and the Cross go together in this life 96 Christ very compassionaee 111 Christ is our peace 149 To be a Christian indeed is no easie maâ—ter 96 Civil Righteousness See Morality Men deceived by Comparing themselves with others 20. and with themselves 20 The Conditions of Faith and Obedience required hinder not the freedom of Gospel Grace 80 92 Confession of sin necessary and why 114 Carnal Confidence as to our spiritual estate dangerous the vain grounds of it discovered 19 Conscience one of the Tormentors in Hell 62 Peace of Conscience See Peace Conviction necessary to Conversion 17 33 Conviction a work of Gods Spirit 109 Two hindrances of Conversion 2 A limited time for it 4 Crucifying a Cursed Shameful Painful death 77. The manner of it 79 The Curse follows sin 40 The Curses attending an unregenerate man in this life 48 c. The Curses on his Soul 51 The Curses at his death 53 Custom in sin hardens the heart 12 D. DAy of grace limited 45 15. The folly and danger of neglecting it 13 Death the wages of sin 45. The comprehensiveness of the word Death 48 Death terrible 45. The terribleness of Bodily Death set forth in three particulars 53 c. What the first and second Death is 48 The Death of Christ described 78 c. Death-bed Repentance See Repentance Deferring Repentance dangerous 7. The reasons of Carnal mens Deferring Râ—pentance 9 c. The vanity of them ibid. Desires after Christ may be stronger in Tâ—mporaries than in true believers 119 120 The Devil takes possession of those whom God leaves 43 44 The Reason of Christians Doubting 141 E WHat use to make of the Doctrine of Election and Reprobation 15 Encouragements for sinners to come to Christ 86 Examination of a mans self See Self-Examination F. FAith why required to the receiving of Christ since he is a free gift 84 Faith consists not in a mans being perswaded that God is his God and that his sins are pardoned 86 91. It s proper and immediate Object is not that forgiveness of sins but Christ 93 Faith must have a ground for it out of the word 91. What Faith justifies 118 c. Faith justifies not as a vertue but in respect of its object 93. Faith justifies not as a Habit but as an act 132. The Acts of Faith 94. By what sins the Acts of Faith are hindred 92. How those obstructions are removed ibid. Faith an instrument to receive Justification not to procure it 135 140 Why Faith chosen for an instrument of justification rather than any othâ—r grace 141. A weak Faith justifies as much as a strong 140. yet a strong Faith is to be laboured for and why 140 How Faith alone justifies 140 Faith may be certainly known There may be Faith where there is no feeling 90 96 113 128. Faith strongest when sense least 147 Encouragements to Faith 86 Carnal Fear its sinfulness and danger 56 57 Men apt to Flatter themselves as to their spiritual estate 18 Five false glasses that cause this self Flattery 18 c. Forgiveness of sins not a distinct thing from Imputation of Righteousness 85 c. Forgiveness is properly of sins past only 125. It is one continued act 131. and therefore may be prayed for by a justified person ibid. Forgiveness frees from guilt and punishment 133 God forsakes none till they forsake him 44 True believers forsake
all for Christ 96 97 Free grace in bringing sinners to Christ 84 No Free will to good 86 G. TO be given up to our selves a more fearful thing than to be given up to Satan 44 52 The Gospel not seasonable nor savoury till the Law hath been preached 33. How the Gospel differs from the Law 36 The fulness and freedom of the Grace of the Gospel not hindred by the conditions of Faith and Obedience 84 85 Guilt of sin taken away in Justification 133 134 H. HArdness of heart a hindrance to Conversion 2 3 Hell for whom provided 56 Hell described 157 c. That Christ suffered not the pains of Hell proved 80 Christians rejoyce in Hope 151 The Humiliation of Christ v. Christ. I. IMputation of Righteousness See Righteousness To be given up to Insensibleness a woful thing 52 53 Joy in the sense of God's love surpasseth all worldly joy 98. It is attainable ibid. The reason why many believers are strangers to it 98. Some Joy may be in a Temporary 121. How to try true Joy 151. Means to get it 151 152 Justification what it signifies 123. How the Fathers used the Word 123. Justification one simple act of God 124 How we are said to be justified by Faith and how by Christ's blood 93 134 In what sense we are Justified by Faith according to Paul and in what sense by Works according to James 124 Impossible to be justified but by imputed Righteousness 125 129 130. In the instant of Justification no sins are remitted but those that are past 130. A twofold Justification 127 Why a justified person may and must pray for the remission of sins past 131 Justification frees from the punishment and guilt too 133 134 Justification confounded by the Papists with sanctification 125. The difference between them 135 137 No Justification before Faith 142 How we are Justified by Faith alone 141 Judgment in Scripture sometime taken for Righteousness inherent 139 How men are deceived in Judging of of their spiritual estate 18 K. KNowledge one act of Faith 95 L. THe use of the Law 33 65 112 It is necessary to be preached before the Gospel 33 112 Men are under the Law till they come to Christ 35. how fearful a thing it is to be under the Law 35 36. the difference between the Law and the Gospel in three particulars 36 Love of God twofold 91. No temporary believer loves God 123 To be given up to our own Lusts a more fearful thing than to be given up to Satan 43 44 M WAnt of Meditation one cause most believers have so little joy in God 98 Mistakes in judging our spiritual estates See Judging Morality too much trusted to 21. It 's insufficient to bring men to heaven ibid. N. NAtural reason not to be trusted to 21. Too short to convince of sin throughly 22 Mans condition by Nature described 25. The Natural man dead in sin 29. His best works cannot please God and why 29.30 The Curses attending a Natural man in this world 49 c. Two blows that God gives a Natural mans soul in this life the one sensible 51. the other insensible 52. The Curses attending him at Death 53 c. O. CHrists active Obedience mixed with his passive 73 Wherein his active Obedience consisted 74 c. Wherein his passive 75 Partial Obedience a false glass to judge our estates by 21 To design only our Old age for God is dishonourable to him 9 10 Old age most unfit for Repentance 11 12 Men apt to have too good Opinion of themselves 17. The causes of it 1â— c. Men deceived in judging of their estates by the good Opinions of others 19 P. PArtial Obedience see Obedience Passive Obedience see Obedience Peace a fruit of Faith 143 147. Why many Christians want the sense of it 143 144 147 The differences between a true and a false Peace 148 The Causes of a Carnal Peace 147 148 Christ is our Peace 149 Spirit of Prayer what 115 116 1. The Importunity and efficacy of it 116 Why a person already justified may and must Pray for the forgiveness of sins past 130 131 R. NAtural Reason see Natural To Receive Christ what 85 What Reformation may be in a natural man 120 121 Repentance prevents ruine 3 Repentance not in our own power but in Gods gift 6. The sinfulness of deferring it 5 Death-bed Repentance the hindrances of it 13. Not to be trusted to 14. Hard to prove it sound 14 Superficial Repentance is vain 24 Repentance in what respects necessary to justification 132 Remission of sin See Forgiveness Resting or Relying upon God a proper Act of Faith 96 Righteousness two fold 123 129 Imputative Righteousness what it is 125 129. Impossible to be justified without it and why 129 130 S Sanctification a distinct thing from Justification 127 Satan See Devil A difficult thing to be Saved 22. Sealing a distinct thing from Faith 137. The Causes of Security 149. Self-Examination necessary to Conversion 17. a mark of a sound believer 128. Self flattery See flattery Self-Love how it deceives men in judging their estates 18. Sin continued in hastens Gods judgements 2.3 Sin compared to a weight 11. to Cords 12 Sin gets strength by continuance 12. The Sinfulness of Sin set forth in 6. considerations 37.38 c. The dreadful fruits and consequence of Sin It pollutes the Soul 41. It makes men loathsom to God 42 It brings the Devil into the heart 43. It calls for wages 45. The greatness of Sin should be no bar against believing in Christ 85. No Sin overtops the value of Christs blood ibid. Encouragements for Sinners to come to Christ 85. Sin not discovered throughly but by the spirit 109 Sin may be cast away and yet no true Conversion 121 Sin is only a Privation and no positive being 124 Sins not pardoned before they be committed 115. The guilt and punishment of Sin taken away in Justification 133 Spirit of Bondage what 109 Spirit of Prayer see Prayer T. A Temporary Faith how far it may go 117 c. How to know it from true faith 120 Temporary Believers desire Christ only in affliction 120. They do but only tast of Christ 121. They desire mercy but not grace 122. They do nothing out of love to God 122 The sinfulness of thoughts 42 The end of Gods Threatnings 3 U. UNregenerate Men See Natural Our unworthiness should not keep us from coming to Christ. 84 W. THe Will wrought by God as well as the deed 112. The Will more than the Deed 112. How God takes the Will for the deed 113 He that hath a Will to receive Christ hath a warrant to receive him 86 God alone enclines the Will to receive Christ ibid. A woful thing to be suffered by God to have our own Wills in this world 66 Our Wills must be crossed here or for ever hereafter ibid. The Willingness of Christs sufferings rendred them the more meritorious 74 The Word presented to our faith