thy sight But suppose wee should grant you this it doth still stand true that our service is in holinesse and righteousnesse And can any man be so blinde to thinke that a man shall serve in righteousnesse under Gods protection that hee should not see the righteousnesse which iâ— wrought under his protection and if it be righteousnesse which he seeth then it is righteousnesse before him or in his sight Arg. 15. To deny the purity of the man born of God is to deny one end for which Christ dyed for Christ dyed to bring us to be partakers of a pure Divine nature in which pure nature we are to live move and act holily The place by which I shall confirme this is in Heb. 9.14 The blood of Christ who through the eternall spirit offered himselfe without spot God shall purge our consciences from dead workes to serve the living God We are therefore washed from sin in our Justification that we may serve God by Sanctification And what spirituall man will call that the service of God which is sin or sinfull For to doe that which is sin or sinfull is to doe the Devils service or else I am to learne that which we need not be taught to wit what it is to doe the Devils service Arg. 16. The resurrection of Christ doth teach spirituall men to act purely in their new nature to the glory of their Father Rom. 6.4 As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we should walke in newnesse of life To walk in newnesse of life is it to walk in the oldnesse of that which is sin or sinfull let any Spirituall man judge Arg. 17. We may draw another argument from the Kingly office of Christ He as a King hath a command over his Subjects but he hath not the command over us when we doe that which is sin or sinfull and therefore wee doe something good as his Subjects in obedience to his commands bona bene Good things must be done well And therefore Christ doth not onely enable us to doe that which is righteous but hee doth enable us to doe it righteously Why is Christ King but that we should live under his commands Why are we his subjects why are we his servants but because wee are under his commands and under his laws You know the Jewes said they would not have Christ to be their King but the voyce of every Christian is to cry up Christ to proclaime him King and to owne him only as their Ruler And Christ being King rules and reigns in the hearts of his people by lawes and commandements and precious statutes worthy of such a King Now Christ gives us not a law as Moses gave a law that was grievous to those that heard it but Christ gives a law of love a lawâ— of sweetnesse by which hee rules in the midst of his enemies in our hearts what is in the flesh in us is an enemie to Jesus Christ but Christ Jesus sitting upon his Throne as King in our renewed regenerated and enlightned spirit rules in the midst of our sins his enemies which oppose him Christ is not such a King as other Kings other Kings make lawes and adde penalties to their laws for those that break them but they have no power to enable their Subjects to keep them But here is the priviledge and prerogative of our King when Christ makes lawes he doth not only give us lawes and bid us keepe them but he hath power in himselfe by which he enableth us to do that which he commands us to doe If Christ should command us to love should not enable us to doe that which he commands he should be such a Law-giver as Moses that gave a Law but gave no power to doe it But Christ is not such a Law-giver as Moses As he is not a rigid Law-giver to bid Saints doe it upon penalty of damnation or to worke for life and salvation so neither is he like Moses who could give them no power but there is a power and strength goes with Christs commands to enable us to doe what Christ the King commands Therefore if any of you give Christ the glory of his grace by believing that he hath abolished all your sins by his death be not dismayed at the sight of your corruptions Fight the good fight of faith Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world Christ that commands you to obey his Father will enable you to obey his Father Christ reignes in the hearts of his people not only by making known to them the covenant of his owne grace but by supplying them with strength to doe his will Lord give what thou commandest said one and command what thou wilt Christ commands us what to doe and gives us power to doe that which he commands Such a King is Christ that frees his people not onely from the condemnation of sin but from the power and dominion of sin in their spirits lives and conversations Blessed be God saith the Apostle that ye were the servants of sin Are they so still now they are under grace No but being made free from sin ye are the servants of righteousnesse sinne shall not have dominion over you why ye have a new King ye are under grace ye are under King Jesus If a Tyrant should tyrannize over Subjects and depose their lawfull King if this King afterwards should overthrow this Tyrant and deliver his Subjects from tyranny and bondage by overcomming the Tyrant would hee suffer this Tyrant to tyrannize over them or his people to be under the lawes of the Tyrant We were under Satan the Tyrant under his lawes and commands under the law of sinne and concupiscence but Christ comes and overcomes the Tyrant that ruled tyrannically in our hearts and will hee suffer that Tyrant still to rule us by those commands which he gave us when wee were in bondage to him No we shall not be under the bondage of the flesh if we understand the liberty of grace and of the Spirit The Apostle saith that we doe not live nor eate nor drinke nor doe any shing to our selves because Christ dyed and rose and revived that he might be Lord of quicke and dead Rom. 14.8 9. Christ dyed and rose that he might be Lord and King and reigne and set up his Scepter of holinesse in the hearts of his people This was prophesied in Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power When Christ as King comes with power his people shall be willing Christ bids them believe and they believe he bids them love and they doe love they run through fire and water they lay downe their honours and riches at his feet and love not their lives unto the death Object The enabling of Christ in working is not of the same extent with his command Answ In the spirituall and regenerate part the power of Christ is as large as
sinner faith hath made thee just it found thee wicked whom it should make just The second reason why it is thus by faith alone is because it is by grace unlesse we were justified by faith we were not we could not be justified by Grace This reason the Apostle lays downe Rom. 4.16 Therefore it is of faith that it might bee by Grace As if he should have said unlesse you hold that there is a justification by faith alone without workes you deny Grace if you will bee justified by faith and workes conjoyned you destroy Grace Therefore it is by faith alone that it may be by Grace When we have a true sight of Grace wee see a sufficiency in that Grace to doe us good for our justification and salvation soe that there is nothing needfull necessary besides grace In which respect Luther saith that workes are not necessary to justification but pernitious to salvation the gospell requiring faith only according to that of the Apostle Gal. 3.12 The Law is not of faith the law hath nothing to doe with beleeving that doctrine which bids a man to beleeve that he may bee saved that is the doctrine of the gospell the law biddeth us not to beleeve but the man that doth it shall live in it The law bids us worke but the Gospell bids us beleeve not worke and beleive but beleive only We confound the Covenant of workes and the Covenant of Grace if wee presse an absolute necessity of doing good workes for justification This was the Divinity of the blood-sucker Bishop Bonner who in a Sermon propounding this quest How grace is to be applyed to us for justification doth answer by beleeving rightly and living uprightly joyning faith and holinesse for justification by grace whereas by the Scripture of truth it is manifest that faith alone doth lay hold of Christ and doth appropriate him unto us And that holinesse doth flow and streame from the apprehension of our free justification by grace through faith alone though faith is not alone but is accompanyed with other fruits of the Spirit which follow it This must be well understood or else we shall nullifie the grace of God wherefore God enableth true beleevers to see this truth plainly and clearly Vilesceret redemptio sanguinis Christi nec miserecordiae dei humanorum operum praerogativa succumberet si justificatio quae sit per gratiam meretis precedentibus deberetur Ambros Redemption by the blood of Christ would be vilified the prerogative of mans workes would not stoop to Gods mercy if justification which is by grace were due to preceding workes A man that truely beleives he sees not any holinesse or qualification in himselfe that makes him more worthy of salvation then another man he sees that he hath deserved damnation as well as any one who is now in the place of torment and yet hee sees that such is the Grace the unspeakeable grace of God to his poore souâ—â— that though he deserve to lye as low in hell as Iudas for his sin yet he shall be raised as high as heaven by the grace of the father made knowne to him in Iesus Christ Brethren if upon examination you finde that your joy comfort and assurance have in the first place proceeded from any workes which you have in your selves which make you conclude that you shall rather be saved then another man your assurance is not a right assurance But if your assurance be right it is by beleeving that which is reported concerning the grace of God that so salvation may be by grace It is possible for men to deceive themselves in obtaining an assurance of Gods love and their happinesse therefore I will a little digresse to open this to the ignorant It may be thou takest comfort to thy selfe by looking on workes wrought by thy selfe and not by looking on Christ it may be thou conceivest that thou lovest God and from thence concludest that God loveth thee though thou hast not seen his free love to sinners this is a bastardly assurance brought forth by thine owne lying spirit and not the true assurance of the Spirit of grace in beleeving In a true assurance by faith God hath the glory of his grace But in this kind of assurance God hath not the glory of his grace therefore it is not a true assurance Another deceiveth his soule and thinketh hee is in a good condition because he resteth upon a promise of God Christ saith Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest A man doth apprehend himselfe to be heavy laden and from the sight of his burthen doth conclude hee hath rest and is in a good condition but hee deceiveth himselfe with a false perswasion for the promise is not made to the qualification of wearinesse but the promise is made to the commers to Jesus Christ Cain was heavy laden with his sin and it lay so heavy on him that he concluded that the punishment was greater then he was able to beare or else that his sin was greater then it could be forgiven and yet died miserable without mercy Wee find that the sin of Judas lay so heavy on him that he repented that he had shed innocent blood yet for all this hee went to his owne place Therefore if thy comfort and assurance come from a sight of what is in thy selfe and not from the discovery of grace as it is layd forth in the Spirit of grace thy assurance will not advantage thee in the day of wrath Though God hath convinced thee of sin and there may be some legall repentance reformetion wrought in thee and something which thou mayst miscall a true love to God thou canst not from the sight of these things rightly conclude that thou art in the love of God before a discovery of free love be made forth to thee a sinner For God doth not apply his grace or his Sonne to any man for justification but through beleeving that justification may evidently appeare to the sons of men to bee by his owne grace Which will appeare if in the third place we doe more fully consider that God doth save us through beleeving that hee may have the glory of his grace God as hee is glorious in his grace by which hee justifies sinners so he will be glorified in the hearts and consciences of those who are justified by grace that he may have the ful glory of his grace when he hath justified them Non est quò gratia intret ubi jam meritum occupavit Bern. There is no roome for the glory of Gods grace where the worthinesse of our workes hath filled up the place Where the creature may have glory in his owne workes there God loseth the glory of his grace Where God doth any thing for the creature by grace there it is not of our works otherwise grace is no more grace If it be of workes then it is no more of grace
all the Commandements of the Lord Jesus The cause of this legallnesse in their spirits is because they doe not see salvation firmly setled upon him that beleeveth The spirituall man beholdeth justifing grace in beleeving without his obedience to commands for externall worship and good workes and doth live joyfully and comfortably in the sight of his justification though he knoweth that it is possible that he may be ignorant of many things which other Christians may have the knowledge of And in these dayes of darkenesse contention confusion and disorder what man can have solid and lasting joy who is ignorant of free grace for justification If it were necessary to the assurance of justification to know whether the Episcopall Presbyteriall or Independent Government were the Ordinance of the Lord Jesus whether sprinckling of Children or dipping of professing beleevers were the institution of Christ in the Labyrinth of the controversies of our times how few would attaine to an assurance of their justification How would poore creatures be perplexed and disquieted in their consciences not certainly knowing in which of these wayes they should walke for their justification and salvation But that the promise might be sure to all the seed Rom. 4.16 to those who lived in the times of the Law as well as to those who live in these times of the Gospel salvation is promised not to workers but beleevers to all true beleevers in all ages and places to us who live in the time of the Babylonish-Apostacy as well as to those who were hearers of the Apostles and Members of those Congregations which were gathered and governed by them Sixtly By faith the grace of God in Christ is applyed unto us and we are justified by it as the spirituall instrument formed by God in the Spirit for the application of Christs benefits to our consciences A man that lived in the time of the Law looking upon the blood of his sacrifices did behold himselfe purged purified and sanctified in his flesh by it Heb. 9.13 So a sinner looking upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is applyed unto him and his conscience is purged from dead workes to serve the living God ver 14. Faith though it be called a worke 2 Thess 1.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet wee are not justified by it as it is a worke or gracious quality but as it is the hand of the Spirit by which wee receive and are made partakers of those treasures of grace which are freely given unto us in Christ Jesus Christ bath already done what is to be done by way of satisfaction to the justice of his Father and hath already made peace by the blood of his Crosse Col. 1.20 what he doth in us now is to satisfie our consciences concerning our full redemption by him that you in beleeving may be filled with peace of Conscience being perswaded that wee are of the Father in the Son who by the Father is made unto us wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 Faith being nothing but a light comming from God Christ discovering God and Christ to our spirits and uniting our spirits to God in Christ By faith we beleeve what is recorded concerning the grace of God in Christ As the Prophet to my apprehension holdeth it forth in those expressions of his Isa 53.1 Who hath beleeved our report and to whom is the arme of the Lord revealed In the latter part of these words the Prophet doth interpret the former part he beleeveth the report of God to whom the arme of God that is his Sonne Jesus is revealed And when a man beleeveth in Christ Christ is revealed to that man Faith being the first thing that is wrought in the spirit of a man whom God doth justifie in his owne conscience by which the grace of God in Christ is revealed unto him for his justification Justifying faith when it is wrought by the powerfull operation of the Spirit in the heart doth remove prevailing doubts concerning our justification the faithfull beholding the all-righteousnesse of free grace applying to his conscience the clensing vertue of the blood of the Lord Jesus Faith is a gift of the Spirit establishing the soule Isa 7.9 If ye will not beleeve surely ye shal not be established The soule can never be firmely setled and quieted but by beleeving Unbeleife doth question and doubt of the promises of free grace for justification But when in the power of faith we are carried above it with Abraham Rom. 4.20 we stagger not at the promise through unbeleife but the spirit is fixed and stands immoveably upon the truth of grace God saith in the Covenant of his grace Heb. 8.12 I will be mercifull to their unrighteousnesse and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more Hee that beleeveth doth set his Seale to the truth of God in beleeving the promise Iohn 3.33 He is confident that God is faithful who hath made this promise to the children of men and by beleeving the great and precious promises of grace he is made partaker of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 By an heart of unbeleefe wee depart from the living God Heb. 3.12 but by faith wee draw neere to God and apply Christ to our selves Faith being contrary to unbeleife as in the nature of it so in its operations An unbeleever doth not give credit to the truth of the generall promises of Gods grace and so remaineth unjustified in his conscience A beleever in faith nothing wavering James 1.6 doth give credit to what is reported And the Gospel commeth to him not in word only but in power and the holy Spirit and in much assurance 1. Thessalonians 1.5 Object But some may be ready here to object this against what I have delivered that though I doe acknowledge that by faith grace in Christ is applyed unto us yet in effect I say no more then what I delivered before when I proved that by faith the grace of God in Christ is first manifested and made over unto us Answ They misapprehend me when they conclude that I make faith onely an assurance of because I doe maintaine that it is the first evidence and witnesse of our justification Faith doth assure but it doth not onely assure us of Christ but doth apply Christ and makes a difference between assurance and application which I illustrate by this similitude Suppose one should lye in Prison for debt his debts being paid and he not knowing it and afterwards knowing that his debts were paid hee should rejoyce in the newes and enjoy his liberty this man doth not by the newes which he heareth enjoy only comfort but his liberty so it is with us before we beleeve we lie in prison and yet our debts are paid by Iesus Christ when the newes is brought by the spirit to the eare of the soule wee rejoyce in hearing the newes but besides this presently wee enjoy our liberty and all those riches which our
that by Gods grace in the apprehension of it wee are made unblameable and holy before him in love which is all that I contend for I may adde this that if God had chosen us to love joy sanctification and the like which are sin and sinfull that then he had chosen us to sin or to something sinfull which conceit in my apprehension doth carry such an absurdity in the face of it that it needeth not a Confutation Object They are not sin in their morall nature as they ought to be done but they are so as done by us Answ God hath not chosen us unto them as they are considered onely in his command But he hath chosen us unto them as they are to be acted and done by us as it is plain by the words of the Text and therefore this objection hath no strength in it to weaken our argument Arg. 12. If the new creature were sinfull worke his sinful or sin it would nullifie Gods intention in our Justification who doth justifie us when we are unholy that he may make us holy Ephes 2.10 Wee are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good workes which God bath before ordained that we should walke in them Wee are not ordained to walke in any thing which is sin or sinfull but to walke in good workes We are redeemed from sin that we might be purified unto himselfe a peculiar people And grace teacheth us to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world not sinfully but righteously God maketh us good trees by justification and then enables us to bring forth good fruit There must be a root before there can be fruit So God gives us a roote or seed of holinesse before wee can bring forth holy fruit and righteous actions And when the good seed is sown in good ground it cannot but bring forth good fruit Mat. 13.23 which place may give more light for the clearing of that objection where it was said that there could not bee good fruit though the seed were good because the ground is not good Arg. 13. God doth free us from the law of works and doth bring us under the covenant of grace that we may by grace be enabled to doe those works which we are not able to doe by vertue of morall commands The covenant of grace and Gospel-promises should be as ineffectuall for sanctification as the law if all that were wrought in us under that covenant were sin or sinfull And therefore it will follow that a man under grace hath a purity of sanctification in him God brings us from Moses who was the Law-giver and delivers us from the Covenant of works in giving us to Jesus Christ who is the giver of grace that he may make us holy in a gracious life and conversation The Apostle sets this forth unto us Rom. 7.6 But now wee are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held that we should serve in newnesse of spirit and not in the oldnesse of the letter We are freed from the service of God in the law of works under which wee serve as slaves till wee be brought to Christ that wee may serve as sonnes in obedience to all morall commands under the sweet gracious glorious government of the Lord Jesus Christ who is as well a Law-giver Isa 33.22 to write his lawes of faith and love in our hearts Hebr. 8. As a Saviour to save us from our sins And to cut off all objections against this argument wee may take notice that the fruits of the spirit are not onely called good and holy as they are in the promise or command but they are good and holy and called fruits of righteousnesse as they are wrought in us and by us with the omnipotent help and assistance of the holy Spirit We are called the trees of righteousnesse Isa 61.3 and feare and love are fruits of righteousness as wrought in us Jer. 31. Hebr. 8. The 14th Argument may be drawn from the oath of God If God should not performe this for the Saints God should be perjured which is blasphemy to speak The oath of God binds him God in his word which is the character of his mind hath discovered his hatred of perjury and false swearing we cannot think that God who hates perjury in others should forsweare himselfe but we have not only the promise but the oath of God for this so that unlesse we will say that God for-sweares himself we must subscribe to this truth to witt that God gives his Saints his Spirit and in the Spirit holinesse and righteousnesse I will give you a place for this Lu. 1.73 74. The oath which be sware to our Father Abraham What hath he sworne That he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies here is our Justification we are delivered out of the hands of sin death and the Devill But is this all No He hath delivered us out of the hands of our enemies that we might serve him without fear that is without slavish fear in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of our life Some acknowledge that the people of God shall live holily and righteously to men-ward as they speake but that the righteousnesse of anctification is not to God-ward This place overthrowes this distinction he saith not that wee shall walk holily and righteously before men only as hypocrites may but he â—aith that we shall serve in holinesse and righteousnesse before him We shall not do such works which Luther and others have called vices vitia affirming that all the works of the regenerated man are vices nor such works which are sinfnl vitiata as some others speak buâ—uch workes which God who cannot lye cals righteous works nay righteousnesse in the abstract we shall serve him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse not only in the sight of men for oft-times they look on good works as though they were bad but good in the sight of God they come from a sweet fountain therefore the water cannot be bitter or brackish from the fountaine of his owne Spirit in his Saints If the works of the Saints were nothing but sin or sinfull how could the Oath of God be fulfilled that they shall serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life Object Before him in this place as in other places doth meane under his protection Gen. 17.1 Answ Though it may be granted that sometimes before him may signifie under his protection yet it doth not appear that it should be the meaning of the holy Ghost in this place But he doth rather informe us how Saints doe approve themselves before God by sanctification As Paul laboured in godly sincerity to have his conscience void of offence towards God and towards men According to that speech of Hezekiah Isa 38.3 Remember O Lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in
firmament is a great glory to our eyes so there shall be a Celestiall Star-like glory upon the bodies of the Saints they shall not be grosse lumpish and heavie bodies as they are now but spirituall bodies as swift as a Seraphim The bodie is now a clog and weight to the soule it is ergastulum animae as the Platonists say it keepeth the spirit under and presseth it down with the weight of it but then the bodie shall be a spirituall body so that in this body the Saints shall ascend into the aire as in a Charriot of triumph and glory to meet the Lord Jesus As Elias was carried up to Heaven so shall the Saints in these bodies of theirs rife in glorie to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the ayre Now they are subject to diseases then they shall be freed from all diseases now they are subject to death then death shall be swallowed up and every Saint in his owne person shall appeare as a Conquerour of death and of the grave every Saint shall have this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this song of triumph in his mouth O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law but thanks he unto God who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Our bodies then shall be incorruptible wholly like the body of Christ therefore the Apostle saith that the bodie it must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. 3. last conformable in likenesse to the glorious bodie of the Lord Jesus Christ himselfe you see what perfection there shall be in the bodies of the Saints though they be vile now they shall be honourable and glorious then though they be now as pieces of earth they shall be then more bright then the Starres of Heaven or the Sunne in the firmament This glorie God will put upon the bodies of the Saints and being thus made happy in their bodies and spirits when they shall see themselvs in this happy condition filled in their bodies and spirits with the glory of God it cannot but cause great joy If a man lye sick a long while and have a weake distempered crazie bodie when he is restored he rejoyceth that he hath health and strength and is freed from the weaknesse that was upon him shall not there be great joy then when the Saints shall rise when they that had weake crazie and vile mortall bodies here shall see themselves in bodies of glory in bodies as glorious as the body of the Lord Jesus Againe there will be great cause of joy to these Saints when they shall be thus united in their bodies and soules and shall meet the Lord Jesus Christ because they shall have great dignitie put upon their persons they shall bee raised as no meane persons As wicked ungodly and unbelieving men shall be raised as slaves and vassals and be brought forth in chaines and fetters before the dreadfull tribunall of the Lord Jesus Christ so the Saints shall all come forth a◠Kings every one of them shall be dignified with the glorie and Majestie of a King This is that that is spoken of in the Revelation where it is said that Christ hath made 〈◊〉 Kings and Priests and wee shall reigne upon earth We shall reigne in our bodies As a◠Ambassadour said of the Senate of Rome that he apprehended that there were as many Kings as Senators in the Senate-house Quo◠Senatores tot Reges So there shall be as many Kings as Saints at the resurrection and every one shall have Kingly glory and Majesty every one together with the Lord Jesus reigning as a King upon the earth Rev. 5.10 Therefore if men rejoyce in the enjoyment of earthly Kingdomes and Crowne◠which are lined with cares that a King professed that if men knew the troubles which attended upon a Crowne no man would stoop to take it up what joy will there be when wee shall reigne as spirituall and heavenly Kings with the Lord Jesus Againe there will be great joy because all things that may occasion any sorrow or sadnesse shall be quite removed away all teares must then be wiped from the eyes of all the Saints Rev. 7.17 there must be no more sighing no more griefe no more sorrow All earthly infirmities and weaknesses which are accompanied with griefe and paine shall be removed for our bodies shall be Celestiall bodies 1 Cor. 15.40 raised up in incorruption 1 Cor. 15.42 And there shall be no more blindnesse or blacknesse upon our spirits Here so long as wee carrie sinne about us though we know it is pardoned though we know it shall be remembred no more Heb. 8.12 though we know in point of Justification that it may be sought for and cannot be found Jer. 50.20 yet so long as wee feele it opposing the Spirit of glory and holinesse in us by the filthy nature of it so long it will occasion sorrow griefe and some trouble to the soule but at the generall resurrection as sinne is now compleatly taken away in our Justification to those that believe in the Lord Jesus such being those blessed ones spoken of in the 32. Psal whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sinnes are covered So then sinne shall be wholly taken away to our owne sense feeling and apprehension by the Spirit of Sanctification There shall be no corner then in the soule spirit or body for any lust or uncleannesse and consequently no place for sorrow Sinne is like the evill spirit that possessed Saul that made him melancholy and sad and afflicted him in his spirit But when the Lord Jesus Christ shall appeare then all sinne shall be done away to our sense and feeling as it is done away now in our Justification Then we shall be as perfectly sanctified throughout both in bodie and spirit as wee are now perfectly justified Now the life that wee live in the flesh is by Faith in the Sonne of God by seeing how compleatly we are justified from sinnes lusts corruptions those enemies to the Lord Jesus Christ that wee carrie in our bosomes but then wee shall be as perfect in respect of the life of sanctification as wee are now perfect and compleat in respect of our Justification So that the cause of sorrow and trouble shall quite be taken away There shall be no place then left for Evangelicall sorrow the sorrow that now is wrought in the Saints is Evangelicall not Legall but the joy and glory which doth remaine for the Saints hereafter shall be so great that there shall be no place then left for Evangelicall griefe for any sinne that we have committed And as sin shall not then bring any sorrow upon us so neither shall the Devill who is the troubler of the Israel of God be able to afflict us Here he is permitted to afflict us as he did Job for the tryall of our Faith and patience and though for the present when we looke on Christ
in his person we see that wee are conquerours over the Devill in him yet we meet with the Devill his fierie temptations darts and arrowes which he shooteth into our spirits so that he oft-times causeth us to walke something sadly occasioning troubles which Jerome calleth tempestates mentis the tempests of the mind As Paul tells us that he was buffeted by the messenger of Satan But then this wicked Fiend shall be so chained up that he shall never be let loose upon us again Then he shall be so under our feet that hee shall never have any liberty given him to tempt us any more The accuser of the Brethren is cast out of heaven Revelation 12.10 His accusations and complaints against them cannot be heard by the eare of God to prejudice their Justification but he doth persecute the woman upon the earth Rev. 12.13 He afflicts the Church and brings much trouble oft-times to the Saints but at the generall resurrection we shall be freed wholly from the Devill from all temptations from all troubles all enemies that can be thought upon so that then things shall be fully accomplished and compleated for our good The Apostle though he telleth us that Christ for the present hath abolished death and sinne to us 2 Tim. 1.10 and destroyed him who hath the power of death who is the Devill Heb. 2.14 yet he informeth us that the promises of God made to us in Christ are not fully accomplished compleated and perfected till the resurrection as wee may see by that place 1 Cor. 15.54 then shall be fulfilled that saying speaking of the resurrection day Death is swallowed up in victory then if shall be said O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then shall it be that is it shall be in the full accomplishment wee have now what is there promised in the promise of God by Faith then wee shall have what is in the promise in the actuall fruition of the thing promised So that in this respect there will be great joy because then every Saint shall ride in a Chariot of triumph as a Conquerour of all enemies in his own person And as Christ in his owne body and Spirit did ride to Heaven and triumph over the power of Hell Death sinne curse and condemnation and as the life that we live for the present is by beholding this victory of the Lord Jesus Christ with the eye of Faith so at the generall resurrection all the Saints shall imitate the Lord Jesus Christ and in their owne persons shall ride as Conquerours triumphing over all enemies and shall live the life of vision seeing the same thing done in their owne persons which now by Faith they see done for them in the person of Jesus So that all cause and occasion of trouble and sorrow being taken away there must needs be great joy at the resurrection of those who are raised by the Lord. In the next place as the occasions and causes of all sorrow shall be taken away so likewise all things all objects that may move spirituall joy shall be presented to the Saints to raise their spirits to a spirituall joy who shall be raised and made happy with the Lord Jesus whatsoever it be that can be thought upon that can make any one happy that the Saints shal enjoy they shal enjoy God in a full measure and the Lord Jesus Sweet streames of joy will flow into their spirits because God will make himselfe the Author and worker of their joy Sing O daughter os Sion saith the Prophet Zeph. 3.14 Be glad and rejoyce O daughter of Jerusalem But why must Zion sing and shout behold the reason in the 15. verse The Lord is in the midst of thee and in the 17. ver He will rejoyce over thee with singing There is the chiefe ground of their joy laid downe So the 12. of Neh. 43. it is said the people rejoyced for God made them rejoyce with great joy So at the resurrection God shall make them to rejoyce they shall be alway then at the Fountaine at the Well-head In thy presence is fulnesse of joy at thy right hand saith the Psalmist Psal 17.11 there are pleasures for evermore All the Saints shall then bee in the presence and at the right hand of God where there shall be pleasures for evermore they all shall be in the glory of the Lord Jesus God shall emptie himselfe and the rivers and streames of joy which are in himself into their hearts and spirits so that they shall be swallowed up into those streames and rivers of joy and pleasure which are in the enjoyment of a God Macarius speaketh of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ebriety of the Spirit They then shall be inebriated with the fulnesse of a spirituall joy If there be such rejoycing here in the spirit of a Saint when he hath a light from God to see something of God in the face of Christ what spirituall joy shall there be when our joy shall be at the full If there be such joy in the ebbing of the Spirit here what joy will there be when we shall enjoy the high-tyde of the Spirit in the vision of Gods grace and glory hereafter when wee shall eat of the tree of life when wee shall drinke our fill of those rivers of pleasures which runne in the Paradise of God And if there be so much sweetnesse in spirituall joy here what tongue can expresse or heart conceive what there shall be in that joy that shall be hereafter Great glorious and high are the expressions by which Saints doe set forth the joyes that they feele here but no Saint can tell what the joyes shall be hereafter at the resurrection Psal 94.19 In the multitude of my thoughts within mee thy comforts delight my soule the delight is such here that David had rather have the light of Gods countenance in a Spirit of joy upon him then to enjoy all the glory and great things in the world Thou hast put greater joy into my heart then when the corne and wine of wicked men is increased Psal 4. and in Psal 84. One day in thy house is worth a thousand If there be such joy in the presence of God here in the beholding of his grace in the kisses of his mouth in the imbraces of his Sonne when he doth now sprinkle us with his grace O what joy shall there be when God shall poure out the Spirit of grace and sweetnesse into our soules when he shall open all the treasures of his Spirit and love when hee shall more freely and fully shew us the things that neither eye hath seene nor eare hath heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive what they are 1 Cor. 2. Wee have seene great things in the world Crownes Scepters riches worldly pomp and glory but what are all these things they doe not shadow forth the things that wee see here in the Spirit
ambages or circuit of words you are to break off their speech and to aske what they meane And if they goe on to draw forth their tale with the same length and circuit of words as their manner is to darken their speech by turning winding and wreathing their words as the Serpent doth his taile they are to be brought forth to the light as a thiefe and malefactor is brought out of his lurking-hole Chap. 11. They affirme that there is but one Spirit of God which is and liveth in all creatures destroying the souls of men and the being and essence of Angels They affirme that Angels are nothing else but inspirations and motions not creatures who have any being Chap. 12. They affirm that the Devill world and sin is an imagination which is nothing They affirme that Devils are nothing but vain thoughts which as dreams are to be buâ—â—ried in forgetfulness They hold that sin is nothing but an opination conceit or fancie Chap. 13. They hold that the Spirit doth all things not meaning what the Scripture doth when thus speaketh of him to wit That all thing subsist in him are governed by him are subject his providence and in their order are serviceable his will But whatsoever is done in the work they maintaine it to be his worke to the dâ—â—stroying of mans will as though hee were stone and to the taking away the different betwen good and evill so that nothing can 〈◊〉 done sinfully according to their judgment bâ—cause God is the Author of all things So Quintinus when hee came into a place where oâ— was murthered and being asked who did he presently replied I have done it Are you said the other such a wicked wretch and thâ—â— he answered it is not I but God Thou hâ— done it I have done it God hath done it câ— Chap. 14. They do not only confound earth and hâ—â—ven but God and the Devill Chap. 15. They hold that all things being done by 〈◊〉 will that nothing can displease him as though God were mutable or did contradict himself or were a dissembler if he should be displeased with any thing seeing all things according to them are done with his approbation They maintain that it is a foolish thing to be affraid lest we should offend him seeing we doe nothing good or evill but he doth all things in us Chap. 16. From the same principle they conclude that men doe evill who doe blame any man for doing any thing Chap. 17. Though they would seem to be extollers of Christ with excellent words yet they place our whole redemption in this that Christ was only a type image or patterne in whom wee may behold those things done which the Scripture requireth to our salvation They imagine that every St is Jesus Christ and that which was done in him is done in us When Quintin was asked how he did he usually answered How can Jesus Christ be sicke c. They hold that it is blasphemy for a man to be grieved or troubled for any thing Chap. 18. They acknowledge with us that a man cannot be the Son of God unlesse he be born again And at the first they seem to hold what we do if wee looke onely upon their words and doâ— make use of Scripture-expressions to this purpose But they hold that a man is regenerated when he seeth no difference between black and white good and evill for that say they is the sin of Adam So that if a man be grieved iâ— his spirit for doing any sin they use to say to him O Adam thou still seest something The old man is not yet crucified in thee Pomi gustum habes Thou hast the tast and rellish 〈◊〉 the apple in thy mouth stil take heed that that mouthfull doe not choak you They hold that our redemption by Christ is the destruction of the conceits which meâ— have by which they thinke that there is such thing as sin c. Eu in quo constituunt benefiâ—cium redemptionis per Christum factae nempe quâ— opinationem illam destruxit quae Adami culpâ â—mundum ingressa erat c. And for this reason they maintain that every regenerate maâ— is without sin in him When any man reprehendeth them for anâ— sin they make use of this proverb which theâ— have among them That it is not they but 〈◊〉 asse Although this be inconsistent with thâ—â— which they maintaine concerning the perfeâ—â— state of a Christian Chap. 19. They stretch Christian liberty to this That they maintain all things are lawful to a man without any exception They hold it lawfull for a man to bow his knee before an Idoll to offer candles to goe in pilgrimage to the temples of the Saints to celebrate masse and to feign that they doe consent to all the abominations of the Papists though they doe deride and laugh at them as fooles Chap. 20. Paul admonisheth Christians 1 Cor. 7.2 That they should abide in that calling unto which they are called These wretched men doe pervert this speech that they may perswade men that every man ought to follow his naturall inclination and so doe and live as he listeth or as it shall seeme good unto him in his owne eyes From whence approving all unlawfull callings of Monkes and Fryers When Quintin was present at the solemn Masse of a Cardinall hee said that he saw the glory of God And by this pretext they do not only approve all kind of callings which are repugnant to the truth of the holy Scripture but those which the Heathens condemned by the light of nature Let the Pander say they follow his employment let the thiefe steal boldly for it is consonant to reason that every man should follow his calling They allow men and women to joyn themselves to whom they please and that they call spirituall Matrimonie and such men and women new spirituall husbands and wives c. Chap. 21. They hold community to be the communion of Saints when no man possesseth any thing as his owne but when every one taketh that to himselfe which he can lay hold on Chap. 22. They laugh at all hopes which men have of a resurrection say that men have that which they expect If it be demanded how they understand that they say it is by believing his soule is an immortall Spirit alwaies living in heaven and that Christ by his death hath done away opination c. From Eccl. 12.7 they conclude that the soule doth returne to the essence of God and is joyned unto him so that there remaineth but one Spirit Chap. 23. They interpret that place Rom. 8.10 I Christ be in you the body is dead because of sinne but the spirit is life because of righteousnesse afteâ— this manner He justifieth us as we are the samâ— spirit Calvin saith of Pocquius who was onâ— of the heads of them that there is no sentencâ— so excellent in Scripture which hee doth noâ— wrest and draw to his beastly affection They
and all of you your rashnesse who have condemned me by your Censures When Constantius desired Liberius to subscribe to the Proscription and Excommunication of Athanasius he made him this answer O Emperour Ecclesiasticall censures are not to be passed without a great deale of justice O Imperator inquit judicia Ecclesiastica decet cum maximâ proferri justitiâ Trip. Hist l. 3. c. 17. Let me speake plainly unto you not to shame you but to convince you of your fault When I am most serious and free from all turbulency of passion I have apprehended that I should have found more justice in the High-Commission Court then among my Brethren The Civilians say that wee must not passe our judgement upon a law by one line of it De lege non judicandum ex solâ lineâ And Christian justice and equity will teach us not to censure Gospel-Sermons by one line maliciously or ignorantly taken out of it knowing that a spirituall man now as well as Paul formerly may have some things hard to be understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which they who are unstable and unlearned may wrest as they doe the Scriptures to their owne destruction Secondly Give me leave to enquire of you whether spirituall prudence would teach you to be so violent against godly men who differ in some notions expressions and circumstantialls from you When there are so many Sepulchers wide open against you and them ready to devoure you both It was the policy of some barbarous people when Alexander came to contend with them for a Conquest as Curtius doth relate it to put an end of the wars and differences which were among themselves that so they might be strengthned against the common enemy And the like policy was used by the ancient Inhabitants of the Land when Caesar came to invade them whether Christian wisdome will make us lesse prudent and politicke for our own preservation I shall be willing that it may be determined by the man who liveth in the cleare light and liberty of the Gospel In the mean while I hope that you will not reject the Apostles caution Gal. 5.16 If yee bite one another take heed lest ye be devoured one of another 3 dly Let me tell you one thing which hath been revealed unto me by the Lord. If ye shall deal with tender-hearted Christians who cleave to Christ and are part of his mysticall body though they differ from you in some opinions in the way of Bonner and Canterbury leaving the example of Christ and his Apostles the Lord will blow upon you lay your honour credit and greatnesse in the dust while the heavens shall rejoyce saying Thou art righteous O Lord who hast judged thus 4 ly Let me beseech you not to suffer your uncharitable practises to give the lye to your zeale and professions for the maintaining the Law Walk not contrary to love professing your selves to be for the law because love is the fulfilling of the law Labour to be such as Ruffinus doth report Gregory Nazianzen was who did those things which hee taught and condemned not himselfe by doing things contrary to what he taught Qui fecit ea quae docuit seipsum minime condemnavit contraria agendo quam docebat Ruffin in vitâ Naz. Remember who they are who make a man an offender for a word and turn aside the just for a thing of nought Isa 29.21 And let none of you imagine evill against his brother in your heart Zech. 7.10 Be not so uncharitable towards me as you have been who doe assure you that I am able to speak it to the glory of Gods grace that though I may erre I shall never be an Heretique Errare possum haereticus esse nolo Endeavour not to perswade the world that I am a patron of Libertinisme for if you doe I hope that I shall be able by the power of grace to give you such an answer as an old man of Alexandria did to some who said that be was no Christian because he could work no miracles This saith hee doth prove mee a Christian That I am not moved with the injuries which ye have done unto me Hoc ipsum ut ijs quas insertis non moverer injurijs Cassian So I hope that the free spirit of Christ will so dwell in me that it will sufficiently prove that I am no patron of Libertinisme or looseness who at this present notwithstanding all the wrongs done unto me am able to subscribe my selfe Yours as far as you are for Christ his wayes and the liberty of his Saints JOHN SIMPSON Truth breaking forth through a mist and cloud of Slanders Section 1. THe first Errour which is charged upon me is this That the morall law is of no use at all to a believer no rule for him to walk by And that Christians are free from the mandatory power of it Delivered by Mr. Simpson witnesse Mr. Gataker This Article doth consist of four branches The first That the law is of no use at all to a believer Answ When some either through ignorance mis-apprehending or through malice mis-reporting what I had delivered in opening the Doctrine of the Law and Gospel had spread this abroad to wit that I denyed the use of the Law To stop the mouth of lying fame I preached at Algate where I was then an unworthy Steward of the mysteries of God upon these words of the Apostle 1 Tim. 1.8 Wee know that the Law is good if a man use it lawfully and did wholly disavow this tenet proving the usefulnesse of the Law and shewing what use Believers and the Preachers of the Gospel might make of it A believer is a creature spiritua ly intelligent and rationall and by the helps and light of grace can make a good use of every thing and so consequently a good use of the Law So that to my best remembrance I was never so much as tempted to think that the Law is of no use unto him And what I then delivered concerning the law the usefulnesse of it might have prevented this charge If my Father had not seen it good for me for a time to lye under a cloud of slanders reproaches that so I might be made conformable unto my head It is usual with ignorant and malicious hearers of the Gospel to draw wilde and loose conclusions from good premises and sound truths which they heare from the mouths of their teachers and then to fasten them upon them as though they were their own tenents Thus some did slanderously report concerning Paul that he affirmed that men should doe evill that good might come Rom. 3.8 And thus the Papists have charged the Protestants and first instruments which God did make use of to bring us from Popish and Antichristian darkenesse as men who opened a gap to all loosenesse and licentiousnesse of life and conversation because they asserted that Christians might be and ought to be assured of their salvation and denyed the falling
cary in his eye those distinctions and cautions which I have already laid down while we shall more largely prove that a believer is not under the mandatory power of the law of the olde Covenant but under the mandatory power of the law in the new Covenant of grace It is impossible that a believing Christian should live under the Covenant of grace as it is delivered unto us in the clear light of the Spirit and should at the same time be under the mandatory power of the law as it was delivered in Sinai It is impossible that a man should in the Spirit doe good works freely because hee is justified and yet doe good works that he may be justified But the law of Sinai doth command me to work that I may live and be justified and in the covenant of grace I am informed that I am freely justified therefore it is impossible that I should be under grace and under the mandatory power of the law as delivered in Sinai at the same time Again it is impossible that I should do good works because I see my self free from condemnation and doe good works for feare of condemnation But the law commandeth me to doe good works for feare of condemnation the Gospel because I am free from condemnation and therfore it is impossible that I should be under the Covenant of grace in spirit and under the mandatory power of the law as delivered in Sinai I shall draw the strength of these arguments into a few words Gods justified children are not under the commands of a Covenant of works But the commands of the law as delivered in Sinai are the commands of a Covenant of works Therfore they are not under the commands of the law as delivered in Sinai 2ly It is a contradiction to say that a man is under the commands of the law of Sinai but 〈◊〉 under it for justification or condemnation For the Law as it was there delivered doth 〈◊〉 command without promises of life to the 〈◊〉 and threatning of death to the disobedient 2 Cor. 3. for that it ceaseth to be the law 〈…〉 delivered if you take from it the proâ—â—â—â— threatnings 3ly Lawes are distinguished by their rewâ—â—â— and penalties And though the same 〈…〉 commanded in severall laws yet wee say 〈◊〉 are severall lawes because they have severall rewards penalties annexed to them Suppose the punishment of death which is due to thieves should be changed into the penalty of restoring of what he hath stollen foure-fold or working in a Gallyseven years We should say that the olde law is repealed and that there is a new law made concerning theft and hee that after all the Gospel-light which hath broken forth is not able to see a change of the rewards and penalties of the law of Sion from those of Sinai doth for his wilfull and affected ignorance deserve to be more blinded 4 ly The Covenant of which the Prophet prophesied Jer. 31.31 is new in reference to the commands of holinesse which appeareth by Heb. 8.10 And therefore Christians are not under the commands of the old covenant of Sinai as they were there delivered but under all Commandements as delivered in the new covenant of Sion Musculus and Zanchius doe both make use of this place for the proving of this point 5ly A believing Christian is commanded to doe all good workes in faith of his free justification But the law doth not command him to doe good workes in faith of his free justification And therefore a believing Christian is not commanded to do good workes by the law I suppose that the first proposition will passe without an exception For the second it is evident by Gal. 3.12 The law is not of faith but the man that doth them shall live in them 6 ly The Apostle plainly saith Gal. 3.18 That if wee be led of the Spirit wee are not under the law But if wee are under the mandatory power of the law as delivered in Sinai we are under it according to that of the Apostle Rom. 3.19 Wee know that whatsoever the law saith it saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God Ye cannot put a man under the commanding power of the law as delivered in Sinai but ye must put him under the commanding power Reas 7. The approved distinction betweene legall and evangelicall obedience in point of sanctification will be sound unsound For all the obedience of the Saints which they yield unto God by their holy walking wil be by legal principles and not Evangelicall if we place them under the mandatory power of a covenant of works I hope by this time that the judicious and spirituall Reader doth begin to see that I am no enemy to the law by establishing it for justification by believing and sanctification by holy walking and that my expressions are justifiable by the Scripture of truth And if I am to be blamed for any thing it is because I have been so bold in these Anti-christian and Anti-scripturian dayes rather to keep close to Scripture-expressions than to tye my selfe up to the forme and methods of men in speaking of these covenants which I hope will further appeare by what shall be delivered in answer to the second article Sect. 2. The second thing which Mr. Gataker doth charge upon mee are these exclamations in the Pulpit Away with the law away with the law Is this such a strange and hereticall speech to one that professeth himselfe a Teacher in Israel that with all his learning and love hee cannot possibly make a favourable construction of it Might not love which thinketh no evill but beareth all things and hopeth all things 1 Cor. 13.7 have suggested this unto the spirit of a consciencious Christian that something which either preceded or followed it in my discourse had such an influence upon it to free it from the poyson and venome of false doctrine and heresie What an easie thing were it to gather many such speeches out of the bookes of Ancient and modern Writers which may sound as harsh to a tender eare as this doth and doe yet make a delightfull sound to the eare of Truth as they lye in their bookes To instance in a few Ambrose upon the 7. of the Romans hath these words Nec enim legis erit adulter sed Evangelij qui mortuà lege vinctus Evangelio post redit ad legem Mortua enim lex dicitur cum cessat ejus authoritas Hee is not an adulterer by the law but by the Gospel who being bound to the Gospel the law being dead doth return unto the law For the law is dead when its authority ceaseth And a little after this Mori legi Deo est vivere To dye to the Law is to live to God Luther upon the 5. chap. of the Galatians hath these words Habes pulcherimum et optimum librum omnium legum in corde tuo
the whole law Cum sophista intelligit legem abrogari eamque ceremonialem tu potius intellige Paulum quemlibet Christianum universae legi abrogari Simplicitur mortuus sum legi hoc est nihil plane commercij est mihi cum lege Luth. I am dead to the law that is I have nothing to doe with the law Est autem mori legi lege non tencri sed liberum esse a lege et nescire eam To be dead unto the law is not to be held by the law but to be free from the law and not to know it Reas 4. If we preach consolation and doe exhort people to expect comfort from God we may bid them put away the law and their confidence of expecting comfort by it The law worketh wrath Rom. 7. and therefore it doth not worke joy The spirit of joy is not received by the workes of the law but by the hearing of faith We receive the promise of the spirit through faith Gal. 3.14 Res 5. Though the law requireth holiness yet it doth not make us holy A man that will be truely fanctified must not live under the Law but under the Gospel This is the argument of the Apostle Rom. 6.14 Sinne shall not have dominion over you because ye are not under the law but under grace Must not the law in some sense be put away that we may not be under it Let my arguments be well weighed and I am contented to be censured In the meane while I shall comfort my selfe in this that I am not the first of Saints who have been reproached and persecuted as an enemy to the law The false witnesses which were set up against the Proto-martyr Stephen did bring in this against him that he spake blasphemous words against the law Acts 6.13 And it is probable that some such thing was charged upon Paul by the Jewes as we may gather by his defence for himselfe before Festus where he professeth that hee had not offended against the law of the Jewes Acts 25.8 His proposing and clearing objections so frequently in his Epistles when he speaketh of the Law and Gospel lest hee should be traduced as an enemie to the law doth sufficiently prove what was in the hearts and tongues of men who were opposers of that doctrine of free grace which he preached I shall shut up my reply to this Artitle with the words of this chosen Vessell spoken by him in the like case Acts 24.14 This I confesse that after the way which they call heresie so worship I the God of my Fathers believing all things which are written in the law and the Prophets Sect. 3. The next Article which the Subscribers doe bring against me as matter of errour which they have received from the penne of the same witnesse is that horrid speech of mine as they were pleased to call it The law cuts off a mans legs and then bids him walke Reply When these Articles were brought against me it being demanded of me whether I would owne them as my tenents and opinions I doe well remember that I gave them this answer after I had read them over That I had made use of some phrases and expressions which were in that paper and that some things which were therein being understood in a right sense sano sensu might passe for the blessed truths of the Lord Jesus But as they lay in the paper which was given unto me so I did not own them as my tenents and opinions because those things which were in my Sermons and discourses which held forth light for the understanding of them were not conjoyned with them in that paper And that answer may more especially reach these particular words I am not ashamed to acknowledge that in a Sermon I did make use of these expressions speaking of the impossibility of our fulfilling the law for justification the irritating power of the law by which sinne is stirred up in us we by accident being made worse by it and while the law commandeth men who are under it to yeild personall and perfect obedience unto it though it giveth us no power to doe what it commandeth us And I doe not doubt but in the strength of grace I shall free the expressions from that horridnesse which the Subscribers following Mr. Gataker have put upon it or else I shall willingly acknowledg that it was a rash inconsiderate yea horrid expression which fell from me But before I come to defend the innocency of the expression I cannot but stand still a little and pause upon it wondering that so many men who by their profession are tyed and engaged to the study of the Scriptures should be so little acquainted with the language of the Scriptures that they should not be able to remember one Scripture expression among so many which are like unto it to free it from that horridnesse which they would put upon it Friends consider what you doe If ye censure my expressions as horrid which the holy Spirit will justifie by the like expressions of his owne in Scripture take heed that ye doe not censure the Spirit as well as me and strike at the truth through my sides It is the speech of Plutark The thick clouds do often darken the Sun and the cloud of passions the light of reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And thus I am apt to think it is with you Your passions certainly are high or else how could you be so low in your reasons so unadvisedly to condemn that as an horrid speech which by warrant from Scripture I shall prove to be harmlesse But in the first place let us enquire where this horridnesse doth lie I am ready to believe that ye are not such enemies to the law to assert the latter part of the speech hath any thing horrid in it Yee will not say that it is horrid to say that the law bids men to walke The horrid treason then of the speech must lye in the former part of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have found I have found out the horridnesse of it It is horrid to affirme that the law doth cut off a mans legges Let us bring it to the bar of truth to be tryed and if it cannot bring speeches in Scripture like unto it where the Apostle is speaking of the same points which I handled when I delivered it let it be stil branded with the hot iron of the Subscribers and passe for an horrid errour 1. Let us compare this speech with that of Paul 2 Cor. 3.6 The letter kiâ—â—eth Which Expositors with one consent uno ore doe expound to be meant of the law and which the words following of the Apostle do so plainely prove that it is bootlesse and in vaine for any man to deny it wee shall take it therefore for granted That the law killeth and this is Pauls or rather Gods assertion who gave this law Now let the indifferent Reader judge whether it be more horrid to say
that the law killeth a man or cutteth off his legs Friends I am perswaded that some of you have experimentally found as I have done that the law killeth And when ye were slaine and killed by the law were you freed presently from the mandatory power of it I am perswaded that some of you can professe in truth with mee that ye were not The law then did command you to doe and walke What horridnesse is there more in this if I may make the comparison to affirme that the law cutteth off a mans legs and then biddeth him to walke then in this To affirme that the law killeth a man doth yet bid him to doe it and walke Object But some may say that Paul saith that the letter killeth because it giveth not strength to fulfill it Litera occidit nempe quia non consert vires ad praestandum Answ I spake it in this sense too and is it not lawfull for me to imitate Pauls expressions Unlesse the ignorant world must be made to believe that my speeches and exclamations are horrid and blasphemous I might multiply arguments from this Chapter if I should runne over all the expressions of the Apostle especially these where he calleth the law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A ministration of death a ministration of condemnation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a thing to be abolished or abolished and done away And whatsoever is spoken by any of the godly for the making good of these expressions I might make use of the same for the justifying of mine seeing I spake them in the same manner as Paul did But that it may appeare that I speake not this for the reproaching of you but the vindicating of wronged abused truth and knowing that a word is sufficient to a wise man when a thousand stripes will not enter into a foole I shall not insult over your weakenesse but rather cover it as farre as I may without injury to the truth Let mee only leave this word to your consideration which in this place is very seasonable to wit That it is the mind of God that we should be as favourable in interpreting the expressions of spirituall men in their writings and speakings now as in interpreting the expressions of those spirituall men who are now with the Lord knowing that they both speak by the same spirit which spirit doth retain his liberty to speake in us as it did in them 2. Compare this speech with that of the Apostle Rom. 7.5 The motions of sinne which were by the law which will sound as harsh as to affirme that the law doth cut off the legs of sinners But if some say this is only occasionally and accidentally men running the more into sinne by how much the more they are forbidden to commit sinne According to that of the Poet. Tendimus in vetitum wee have a tendency in us to that which is forbidden I answer that the same exposition will sufficiently qualifie my speech to take away from it the least appearance of evill The law doth cut off a mans legs occasionally and accidentally A man by reason of the corruption which is in him findeth by experience that he is of lesse strength to run in the wayes of God the more he doth endeavour to get strength by the law of workes Musculus compareth it in this respect to a chaste Matron in a Brothel-house which by her good advice doth prove an occasion to some impudent whores to be more bold and shamelesse in their impiety Had the spirit of love without which wee are nothing taught you something concerning this speech you would have been favourable in interpreting it and not rigidly censorious in condemning it Oh that you who seeme to he zealous for the law would consider that this commandement to wit that we should love our neighhour as our selves is one of the great Commandements upon which all the Law and Prophets doe hang Mat. 22.40 And then how would you dare to be so rigid and uncharitable in your censuring of your Brethren If indeed you have received the law from Moses may I not say as my Saviour did to the Jewes John 7.19 Did not Moses give you the law and yet none of you keepeth it And then remember what the Apostle saith Rom. 2.13 That not the hearers or preachers of the law are just before God but the doers of the law shall be justified Brethren I am not such an enemie to the law but I can with freedome of spirit make use of that pertinent portion of Scripture unto you Jam. 2.8 9. If yee fulfill the royall law according to the Scripture Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy selfe yee doe well But if ye have respect to persons in your censuring judging them And the same thing in effect delivered by one man shall be accounted sound by you and shall be a horrid error if delivered by another man ye commit since and are convinced of the law as transgressors 3 dly Looke seriously upon those words of Paul Rom. 5.20 The law was given that the offence might abound And then tell me whether there be not the same figure in my expression which is in Pauls And why may I not make use of a figurative expression as well as Paul expounding my meaning more plainly afterwards as he doth which I also did in my discourse Calvin saith that by these words Paul doth simply signifie the encreasing of the knowledge and pervicacy Designatur hic simpliciter incrementum notitiae et pervicaciae And another saith that it it said that it aboundeth by the law because it aboundeth in our knowledge of it ut abundare agnoscetur And will not this which is usually spoken upon this place by Expositors make our speech passeable too And as Paul saith that the Commandement which was to life he found to be unto death Rom. 7.10 So may not I say that the law which was for holy walking I found to cut off my legs because being under it I was no more able to walke in the way of it than a man is able to walke without legs I leave it to the spirituall man who judgeth all things 1 Cor. 2.15 to judge of this thing betweene us And that you may not any farther to the dishonour of God and your profession the prejudicing of the worke of the Lord in my Ministery vent forth slanders and reproachas against me I do professe that I am not conscious to my selfe of denying the use of the law in any way in which it is held forth in the new Testament But know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully Knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous man but for the lawlesse disobedient for the ungodly and for sinners for the unholy and prophane for murtherers of fathers and for man-slayers for whoremongers for perjured persons and lyars and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound
curse But for believers Christ was made a curse and hath freed them from the curse of the law Gal. 3.13 And therefore they are not lyable unto any punishment as it is a curse Arg. 9. Sin the cause of legall punishments being taken away the effects of it are taken away But Christ hath taken away finne which is the cause of legall punishments And therfore he hath taken away the effects which are legall punishments and therefore one speaking of the afflictions of Saints saith that they are medicines not punishments Medicinae non paena naturam obtinent The truth of this argument is built upon the known axiome The cause being taken away the effect is taken away Sublatâ causâ tollitur effectus Arg. 10. That being taken away which doth binde over a man to legall punishment the legall punishment is taken away But guilt which bindeth a man over to legall punishment is taken away And therefore the legall punishment is taken away Arg. 11. God doth as fully forgive us our trespasses as he would have us to forgive the trespasses of men against us But when we do forgive their trespasses we are not afterward to inflict any vindicative punishment upon them And therefore God doth so fully forgive us our trespasses that hee doth not afterward inflict any vindicative punishment This is the argument of a learned writer Deus debita nostra non minus gratuito et plene nobis dimittit quam docuit nos debitoribus nostris dimittere God saith he doth no lesse freely and sully forgive us our debts than he would have us to forgive our debters I might multiply sentences of Writers who with one consent do under-write to this truth Polanus saith That they who are temporally punished for sin here are to be punished to eternity Qui temporaliter puniuntur in aeternum puniendi sunt And that chastisement is not so much for the purging of sins past as to teach to avoid sin for the future Non adhibetur pro purgandis praeteritis peccatis sed pro futuris vitandis Pol. synt l. 6. c. 4. Willet hath many speeches to this purpose in his Synopsis Davenant writing on this point against the Papists saith what is it to remit the sin or the fault then not to punish a man any more for it Quid aliud est peccatum sive culpam remittere quam illud ad poenam hand amplius imputare But I study brevity knowing how distastfull long controversies are to the pallats of men of these times And therefore in few words to put a period to what I intend to speak concerning the first branch of this Article I conceive that man may be considered two manner of wayes First as hee is in the first Adam and so all afflictions are properly punishments and curses of the law unto him 2 dly In the second Adam and thus the nature of afflictions and chastisements for sinne are changed unto him The sting is taken out of death and every affliction Afflictions are benedictions to him Afflictiones benedictiones Bern. Not curses but blessings unto him And therefore 2 ly God will chasten his justified people in his fatherly love to them and displeasure against sinne that they may be partakers of his holinesse Heb. 12.10 by the spirit of sanctification as they are partakers of Christs righteousnesse in their Justification which maketh true Saints not only to beare afflictions patiently but to glory in tribulation Rom. 5.3 And though in a sence they are afflicted neither for sin that it is not to satisfie Gods justice which is already satisfied by Jesus Christ nor from sin as some speak for the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin Yet God doth afflict us that in the afflictions he may powre forth his Spirit upon us for the removing of sin out of our spirits which doth grieve his Spirit and out of our conversations which doth dishonour his name And for the preventing of sinne for the future the Prodigall will take heed how hee doth runne from his Fathers house when hee hath beene among the Swine And the soule beloved of Christ when she is forsaken of all lovers and in misery will resolve to returne unto her first love and say for then was it better with me than now Hos 2.7 And thus much briefly by way of answer to the first branch of this Article The second branch of this article is this That the Land is not punished for the sins of Gods people What hath been spoken concerning the precedent branch of this Article for the clearing of this As no legall punishment properly so called can be inflicted upon the person of a believer for his sinne so no punishment can be inflicted upon the Land in which he liveth for his sinnes Yet I doe not deny but that God who punisheth the unjustified persons of a land in his wrath for their rebellions and transgressions may chastise some of his people by a nationall calamity and affliction for their humiliation and reformation But though in a nationall visitation the same affliction if it be materially considered may be laid upon a believer which is laid upon unbelievers yet the affliction which is laid upon a Saint is formally distinguished from that which is inflicted upon unjustified persons the one flowing from the love of a Father the other from the wrath of an enemie The least of these is properly materially formally a legall punishment the other materially a judgment or punishment but formally a fatherly chastisement and a pledg of Gods love to a Saint Sect. 5. THere is yet one Article more which the Subscribers have taken out of Mr. Gataker page 16. That if a man by the Spirit know himselfe to be in the state of grace though hee be drunke or commit murther God sees no sinne in him If I should but name the man who brought in this Article against me it were enough to acquit me from the charge in the judgment of those who know him But I am resolved that the world shall see that I study not revenge but the clearing and vindication of truth in my answer When one in the Star-chamber demanded of me whether an Article something like unto this were my tenet and whether I had delivered it in such words I did reply that I might affime of it what Martiall did of his poem that it was his as made composed and delivered by him but it ceased to be his and became the repeaters when it was evilly repeated by another Sed male dum recitas incipit esse tuum So the truth contained in this Article to wit That God sees no sinne in his justified children in the sence in which I delivered it it is my tenet or rather Gods truth But while it is repeated with some words of the accuser to bring an odium upon the truth and that being not mentioned which was largely laid downe in my discourse to give light unto it I doe affirm that
not seeing sin in his children yet I doe not deny but that in a sence God may be said to see sin in his justified children God though hee seeth us perfectly justified from all sin yet he seeth and knoweth that we are not perfectly sanctified And in this respect he may be said to see sinne in us And I doe apprehend it to be a grosse errour and destructive to the power of godlinesse to maintaine that God in no sense may be said to see sin in his people Reason 1. It is by the light of the Spirit that wee doe behold the sinne which is in our flesh when we doe believe that all our sins are pardoned and not seen by God in reference to our justification and therefore it is contrary to spirituall reason Scripture and the experience of all those who are truly faithful to assert That God in no sense may be said to see sin in his justified children Reason 2. If God did not see sinne in any sense he could not help us against our sinnes lusts and corruptions against which we goe unto him in the name of Christ for strength But hee doth give us helpe against particular lusts and corruptions as true Saints have found and doe finde by experience And therefore in a sense he may be said to see sinne in us Reason 3. His Spirit doth mortifie sinne in us and what an absurd thing is it for a man to affirme that God in no sence may be said to see that sin which hee doth mortifie in us by his own spirit Arg. 4. Saints may grieve the holy Spirit of God whereby they are sealed unto the day of redemption Eph. 4.30 And therefore in a sense God may be said to see sin in them for how can wee imagine that the Spirit of God in a Saint should be grieved by sinne and yet that God should not see it Arg. 5. God doth inwardly checke us in the spirit for many frailties and infirmities which will sufficiently evidence the thing to every man who will not be captivated to errour in his understanding that God in a sence may be said to see sinne Though God doth not rebuke us in wrath as an enemie yet hee doth rebuke us in love for walking unworthy of his grace and favour in Christ Jesus Arg. 6. God doth work in us evangelicall sorrow and humiliation for sins which wee doe commit after our justification through faith And therefore it is evident that hee seeth and knoweth the sins which we commit after our Justification Arg. 7. God doth chasten his justified children for their profit that they may be partakers of his righteousnesse Heb. 12.10 And therefore it must be granted that God in a sence doth see sin in them Arg. 8. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit in Gods justified children Gal. 5.17 which is a sufficient demonstration of Gods seeing of sin in a sence in his justified children And by this you may perceive that by making use of distinctions grounded upon plaine Scripture it is warrantable to say that God doth see sin in his children and that he doth not see sin in his children which if it be well weighed may teach us not to censure our brethren in such points and controversies untill we have received their tenets from themselves which if it had beene granted unto mee it might have prevented many reproaches which I have lain under and prevented many sinnes in those who have rashly censured me I shall put a period to my reply to this answer with acquainting you with a story which I have read concerning that renowned servant and Martyr of Christ John Hus who comming to the Councell of Constance to answer to what was brought against him it is said that by the out-ragiousnesse of the Councell against him so many interrupting him at every word and some mocking and making mouths at him it was impossible for him to make a perfect answer to any thing Let it not be reported abroad for the shame of Religion that ever any man or men were so used in this Kingdom But let this be known that when I endeavoured to acquaint the Committee fully concerning my mind I was so interrupted that it was impossible that any man should clearly know my minde or judgment And that this was frequently added by my Brethren that that day was a day in which I was to heare the charge against me And that there would be a day appointed wherein I should have liberty to bring in my answer to the Committee of Parliament and why there is not such a day yet to be found will be a good Quaere when Astraea leaving the heavens shall again returne to the earth for to doe justice to the oppressed In the meane while though I am throughly acquainted with the carriage of things against mee I shall endeavour not to overcome evill with evill but overcome evill with good forgiving those who have wronged me even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven me Section 6. THus far in answer to the Subscribers of the new Province I might here make an end but that I finde something yet behind in their witnesse which they have not published upon what grounds I know not It may not be supposed that they are more affraid of this testimonie in these things than in those articles they have borrowed from him which he received from his fellow Subscribers of the Synod which may discover what an excellent and fit witnesse Mr. Gataker is in this businesse But to let that passe the next thing which I shall desire you to take notice of is that passage of his against mee in the 25. page of his booke where speaking of the 40. Psalm and the 12. and other typicall prophesies hee hath these words One thing I am sure of that those who gresly a buse them who taking their rise from Luthers application of them with some harsh expressions unto Christ strain them so farre as to disswade Christian people from troubling themselves about confession of their sins as being enough for them to believe that Christ here hath confessed them for them already Master Simpson preaching on that Text Sir If God had given you grace to have seriously thought upon that place in the Proverbs 25.18 A man that beareth false witnesse against his neighbour is a maul and a sword a sharp arrow You would not so suddenly and rashly have come forth as a witnesse against mee in print concerning this thing when you your selfe doe presently acknowledge that it is not so clear or certain as those others are before assedged Doe you walke according to the rules of purity to publish flying reports against the servants of Christ before you give them any notice of it or enquire fully concerning the truth of them Can you justifie your practise before the Lord Jesus before whom you and I must appear to defame me so much in print before you did endeavour to cure mee by one word of your mouth
me that I should deliver in a Sermon these words Let Believers sinne as fast as they will there is a fountaine open for them to wash in But it being demanded by some whether I did deliver it by way of exhortation the accuser was so ingenious to acknowledge that it was not delivered as an exhortation And therefore it is probable that your Brethren of the new Province have had so much grace to leave it out in their charge though it be in the same page in which they have taken out the other Articles and it will be for your credit more then for mine to leave it out in your next Edition You may as well take out that part of a verse in Revel 22.11 He that is unjust let him be unjust still and he that is filthy let him be filthy still and conclude that God in Scripture exhorteth men to be unjust and filthy as to draw out scraps and fragments out of my discourses to perswade the world that I in my preaching exhort people to commit sin which I doe desire to destroy in my selfe and those who heare mee by preaching the grace of God in Christ Your learning if not love might have taught you to have put a more favourable construction upon these words The word let is not always used by way of exhortation as appeares by those words Rev. 22.11 But sometimes by way of supposition and doth frequently signifie as much as the word though doth And take it in this sence it is as seasonable a truth as I can in desire of your good leave upon your spirit Though you who professe your selfe a believer have sinned as fast as you can in my apprehension against the lawes of love and the Commandements of the Lord Jesus yet there is a fountaine opened in which if God give you faith you may wash your selfe from these sins In the meane while I shall comfort my selfe that there is nothing charged upon mee but the same hath beene charged upon those who were more filled with the Spirit for preaching then I am They were charged with the same thing by some ignorant or malicious hearers as appeareth by Rom. 3 8. And not rather as we be slanderously reported and as some affirme that wee say Let us doe evill that good may come whose damnation is just You may now expect that before I put a period to my answer I should speak something to your reproachfull railing speeches against me But you know who said men have learned to reproach me and speak evill of me but I to suffer reproaches Didicerunt illi maledicere ego pati And I shall learn of the Angel to say this to all my defamers The Lord rebuke you Zech. 3.2 And shall intreate God for his Sons sake to give grace and patience to his afflicted and oppressed servant Amen Mans legall righteousnesse is no cause or part of his justification EPHES. 2.8 9. For by grace are yee saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast THERE are two things which men ought chiefly to know Their misery by sin and their happinesse by the grace of God in Christ And by the wicked unfaithfulnesse of our memories wee are more apt to forget these two things then to forget any other points whatsoever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know thy selfe is a lesson as difficult as it is old and common How hard a matter is it for a man to remember himselfe as to know what he is in himselfe The King of Macedonia thought it needfull that his Page should every morning put him in remembrance that he was a mortall man And every spirituall man doth finde it necessary that the Spirit daily should become his remembrancer to put him in mind that he is a sinful man So likewise it is a hard matter without the power assistance of the Spirit alwayes to know the rich full and free grace of God as it is held forth in the Gospel to poore sinners The last of these as it is the most sweet and excellent lesson so with the greater difficultie it is retained in our memories This is a Doctrine which if it were preached unto us every day wee should forget it every day The daily teaching and hourely learning of it cannot wholly free us from the ignorance of this truth But as farre as we are carnall and fleshly wee are strangers to the knowledge of it So that he that thinkes he perfectly knowes the doctrine of justification by faith alone I dare professe to that man that he knows nothing of this doctrine of justification as he ought to know As long as we live upon the earth we may be learners of this doctrine Paul after he had been a scholler and an aged teacher in the schoole of Christ many yeares did then professe that he endeavoured to forget his own workes and legall righteousnesse in reference to his justification and pressed forward to know more of the mystery of Christ labouring to be found in the righteousnesse which is of God by faith Phil. 3.10 Therefore though I have formerly spoken of the chiefe point that lieth in these verses yet I know it is needfull and necessary for mee to speake of it againe that you that have heard it opened may heare more of it as well as for those who have not heard the point so clearly fully unfolded unto them to whom God may make my discourse beneficiall if he accompany mee with his presence Wherefore I have pitched upon this subject at this present in which the summe of all divinitie is comprized For faith and love is the summe of all that we preach Faith towards the Lord Jesus and love towards God and all those that are united to him in the same Spirit with our selves And the Apostle layeth down both these in these verses shewing first clearly the doctrine of justificatiō through faith alone without works and then shewing that though we are justified without workes yet how in the Spirit wee are carried forth to performe all good works for he saith Wee are created the workmanship of God unto good works ver 10. In these words these particulars present themselves to your best attentions First that salvation and justification is by grace that is by the free favour of God Tee are saved by grace Secondly He sheweth how we are saved by grace in a way of beleeving not working Yee are saved by grace through faith Many pretend that they look on grace but it is thorough the spectacles of their own works but he that doth truly eye grace he looks on grace in an act of beleeving and not through working Thirdly The Apostle discovers the nature of true faith which is the unfained faith of the Elect. First negatively he informeth us that this faith is not of our selves There is not a fountain in our selves from whence a true and lively faith springs it floweth not
purification He hath redeemed us from all iniquitie to purifie us to himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good works Faith which looketh upon the grace of him who is invisible is the mother-grace Radix bonorum operum fides Faith is the roote good works are the fruit there must be the roote before the fruit But some man may say may wee not see the fruit before wee see the roote as wee see some fruit upon trees while the root lies hid and from the beholding of the fruit may wee not very rationally conclude that there is a root so from the beholding of our good works the fruit of true faith may wee not conclude that there is faith though it be not in it selfe visible unto us To this I answer That this similitude proves not the thing for though it be a truth that good works may appeare first to men yet faith is first visible to us in our own spirits and it is impossible that I should see the truth of good works except I first see the truth of faith Evident sanctification doth evidence unto us the truth of our justification but sanctification is not evident our justification being not evidenced to us in the first place If it be manifested in our spirits to us that our works are good it will presently be manifested unto us that we have true faith But this is not manifested in our spirits that our works are truly good works and such which cannot be done by an hypocrite untill the truth of our faith be manifested unto us I will make this evident by this reason A man must see his good works as done either under the Law or under the Gospel and look upon them either in the glasse of the Law or the glasse of the Gospel if a man look upon them in the glasse of the Law and doe rightly and spiritually understand the Law he shall be so farre from drawing an assurance of his justification from them that he shall behold himself cursed and damned with all his good works For the Law curseth every man that cōtinueth not in the doing of all things which are commanded by God It is indeed a divine looking-glasse in which things to be done or avoyded are discovered Lex est divinum speculū in quo facienda fugienda refulgent Aug. but it will sentence us to death for the least spot or wrinkle which it doth discover so that it is impossible that a man should see himselfe justified in the glasse of the Law But thou wilt say he may look upon his love sinceritie and works in the glasse of the Gospel And to this I answer that if he look upon them in the glasse of the Gospel which is Jesus Christ then he must put himselfe under the Gospel and look upon himselfe as a man in Christ that so he may see his works good by Jesus Christ which he will never be able to see without the eye of faith which seeth things invisible Heb. 11. and by which wee look upon Christ 1 Joh. 2.1 dwell in Christ Ephes 3.17 Live in Christ Gal. 2.19 And doe living works acceptable to God by the life of Christ in us Heb. 11.4 By faith with open face wee behold as in a glasse the glory of the Lord and are changed into the same Image from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3.18 and see that our good works are the effects of Christs love discovered in himselfe and in his Gospel to our soules And therefore when John doth informe us that we shall know that wee know him if we keep his Commandement He doth propose beleeving as the first Commandement of God without which we cannot assure our selves that we are obedient to his other commands 1 Joh. 3.23 This is his commandement that we beleeve in him whom he hath sent Good works after a man hath faith are not the cause of justification but the consequent they follow a mans justification they doe not precede the act of justification they neither precede the act of Gods grace by which he justifieth a sinner neither doe they precede justification in the Court of Conscience But being justified by faith we have peace Rom. 5.1 in our Consciences This was the doctrine which was frequently preached by those heavenly Carpenters which did first strike at the hornes of the beast Vt dilectio oriatur necesse est praecedere fidem hoc est fiducia misericordiae It is necessary saith Melancthon that faith which is a confidence of Gods morcy doe precede love And in another place Non nititur fides nostra dilectione sed tantum misericordia promissa ut constat nec existere dilectio potest nisi sit apprehensa remissio Faith is not grounded upon our love but the promised mercy of God so that it is manifest that there cannot be true love unlesse remission of sinnes be first apprehended Another reason is from the imperfection of workes wrought by a man after he is justified If any man that is justified look on his works and doe not behold them in the glasse of the Gospel he shall reade his own condemnation for his works There is an imperfection in our works seeing wee doe not love God so perfectly as we should with all our heart all our minde and all our spirit but while the regenerate part through the power of the Spirit runs after God and loves God the fleshly part runneth after sinne and hates God Therefore seeing there is such imperfection in the works that we performe that the best of us are unprofitable servants and that the most holy amongst us doe that for which he may be damned every day if God should not deale with us in the Gospel but in the Law it will follow that a man cannot be justified by the works that he doth after he hath faith and is converted doth works which are wrought by the Spirit of grace It may here be objected that the good works of Saints are perfect For an answer to this I referre the Reader to what shall be delivered from those words That he which is borne of God sinneth not I come now to the next Consideration which is this That wee are not justified by the practise of any Gospel-Ordinances which are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ There are some who it may be are convinced that they are not justified by works yet I know not what new kinde of Popery they have found out for they thinke to please God by submitting to Ordinances and finding out the true Discipline and government of Christs Church therefore you shall finde a kinde of spirit of bondage in them if they be not satisfied concerning the true discipline government Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore I shall endeavour to demonstrate this and shew clearly that as we are not justified by works before or after conversion so we are not justified and saved by the submitting to any Ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ Salvation is not in
Holy Ghost Since the Scripture requires nothing to make a man an heire with Christ but faith What abominable Popery is it to say that a man cannot be a Saint if he doe not submit to outward Ordinances I cannot but commend what I finde in Luther who was zealously carried forth against some in his time that made a rent from him in a Legall way because they differed from him about externall things and Ordinances which are no just ground why Saints should divide themselves from one another who saith That they had brought in another kinde of Popery and more dangerous then that which he bad overthrowne by his preaching for as for grosse Popery saith he mens eyes begin to be enlightned to see the absurdities of it But these men come in a subtle way and pretending a necessitie of submitting to formes institutions and Ordinances doe pervert the pure and simple Gospel of Christ labouring to perswade men that if they doe not submit to the Ordinances of the Lord Jesus he would not acknowledge and confesse them before his Father and that unlesse they were under his government they should not be under him for justification Therefore wee are to be rightly informed concerning these things and if wee doe submit to outward Ordinances wee should not doe it from legall principles for it were better not to practise them then to practise them from these principles to the ruining of our soules And they that draw Disciples after them by such rigid and Gospel destroying principles will finde to their shame that those that they have brought in by these principles will fall away from them to their shame and infamy For God is dishonoured Christ is robbed of his Grace and the free Spirit looseth his glory Suffer mee now to make a little use and so I shall commend you and what hath been delivered to the blessing of God You have seene that wee are saved by believing the Gospel without any works going before justification or any submission to the Ordinances of the Gospel which may follow it This doth bring foure sorts of people under a just reproofe First Such as are grossly Popish maintaining justification by their own works and righteousnesse or affirming that a man is not justified by faith onely but by faith and works together These deny justification by the Grace of God and the righteousnesse of the Lord Jesus Christ through faith and set up a justification by inherent righteousnesse in themselves holding that wee are then justified from sinne when it is removed out of our sight sence feeling lives spirits and conversations The strongest Argument which they bring for the confirming of their assertion and in which they doe most triumph as though they had obtained a victory over the truth of Gods Grace is in the 2 Jam. 24. Yee see then bow that by works a man is justified and not by faith onely Doth not James say they lay down our assertion in so many words joyning faith and good workes as con-causes of justification Some to escape the edge of this Argument have denied this Epistle to be Canonicall like him who being unable to unty the Gordian knott did cut it in pieces Thus Lucius Osiander proposing this objection of his Antagonists doth thinke that he hath for ever cut it to pieces by their answer But secondly others yea most of those whom wee call Protestant writers for the reconciling of James to Paul and his fellow-Apostles with one consent give in this answer to this objection distinguishing of a twofold justification First a justification before God secondly a justification before men Paul as they apprehend doth speake of the former of these James of the latter supposing this to be the genuine sence and meaning of James that wee are justified by works that is declaratively before men But with respect and due reverence to the piety and learning of these men who give in this answer give me leave being not sworn in verba magistri or obliged to justifie what any man or many men though godly and learned have apprehended to be the meaning of a place to shew my reasons why I dissent from them and secondly to give in mine own answer to the place First I apprehend that James doth not speake of a justification before men because his proofe is from Abrahams being justified by works when he offered up his sonne Isaac as it is evident by the preceding words which action of Abrahams would not have justified him before men They would have looked upon him rather as a cruell malefactor then a Saint in offering up his onely Sonne Secondly This businesse was so transacted between God and Abraham that it was not visible to men that they should justifie him for it When he went to performe this act of obedience to his God he left his servants behind him and carried no man with him but his Sonne who was to be sacrificed Thirdly If wee view the place Ger. 22.11 12. out of which James doth prove his Argument it will be evident that it proveth not a justification towards men but towards God And the Angel said Lay not thy hand upon the Lad for now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy sonne thine onely sonne from mee This Angel was Christ as it doth appeare by his calling of himselfe God and he is justified by him as a man that feared him And in the 16 17 and 18. verses By my selfe have I sworn saith the Lord because thou hast done this thing that in blessing I will blesse thee and in thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed It is cleare by this that the justisication spoken of is not a justification before men but before God Lastly I shall therefore give in what I doe conceive to be the meaning of the holy Spirit in these words James doth not speake of justification as it is taken properly and used by Paul but doth speake of justification as it is taken improperly He speaketh not of it as an act by which wee are reconciled and our iniquities pardoned but he speaketh of it as an act by which God doth approve a man to be justified by his works which he doth after his justification Abraham was a justified man by faith before Isaac was borne now God doth beare witnesse to the works and fruits of his faith and doth justifie him by his works in this sence that is he doth approve him to be a man that feareth and loveth him And this is the Answer which is given by the learned Melancthon Non intelligatur verbum justificari pro reconciliari sed ut alias saepe dicitur pro approbari Justificatur homo ex operibus id est habens justitiam operum approbatur placet Deo The word justification is not to be taken for reconciliation but approbation man is justified by his works that is having a righteousnesse of works or sanctification God doth approve him his works doe
please God And as when wee see good fruit upon a tree we use to say this is a good tree Not that the good fruit doth make the tree good but the tree being good doth bring forth the good fruit So God having made us good trees by justifying of us by his Grace doth enable us to bring forth good fruit and speaking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the manner of men to us men doth approve us to be good trees bringing forth good fruit And thus much for the reproofe of these men and in answer to their objection Secondly This doth serve to discover and reprove such who would seeme to be no Papists who yet in a more refined and subtle way do preach forth the same doctrine which the others doe maintaine and preferre some Popish bookes which are wrought with a fine and curious thread before any bookes which have been published by any who have been eminent for the knowledge of Gods Grace in Christ through faith for justification These are they who if it were possible would deceive the very Elect laying siege against the Gospel and the doctrine of justification while they pretend that they are fighters for it And these preach that wee are not to locke so much upon a Christ without us for justification as a Christ within us And that we are not justified by a Christ that is in heaven but by Christ within us which Christ of theirs is nothing else when yee are well acquainted with him but the workings of their own spirits in zeale and love to God and when they have high thoughts of God their will is conformable to the will of God and they thinke the same things that God thinkes and submit to God in their wayes They looke upon these workings as their perfection and justification and this is Christ within them Such kinde of Doctrines as this is are the first rudiments and principles by which the Politique and Civilized Familists doe leaven their pupills leading them from the plaine and simple doctrine of the Gospel The spirit of error and delusion which was in H. N. the first father of the Familists which have lived of late or are yet living did worke mightily in him to pervert the Gospel and to bring in Antichristianisme in this way of flaming zeale love and holinesse And if he were now alive he would wonder at his numerous off-spring and progeny which he hath now amongst us But that you may avoid this first rock before yee be engulfed into the deepe and bottomlesse pit of Familisticall Atheisme and Antichristianisme let what hath been spoken to reprove them establish you in the truth of the Gospel and looke upon the best piece of Familisme but as upon refined Popery For wee are not saved by Christ working in us and making us obedient to his Fathers holy will but wee are saved by the righteousnesse of Christ who hath shed his bloud for us And though we deny not but that wee have Christ within us and the Spirit of Grace to subdue our sinnes Yet this is denied that the workings of the Spirit are our justification for wee are justified before wee have these workings which wee feele within us Wee are not justified because we love God and Christ and desire to walke in sinceritie to glorifie God but because wee apprehend the Grace of God in Christ and therefore we love God and Christ and desire in sincerity to walke in all the wayes that God hath made knowne to us in Christ Wee are not justified by the conformitie of our will to Gods will or the onenesse of our will with his but wee are justified by faith before any of those works are wrought in our hearts by the Spirit of Grace He that denies this is ignorant of Christ and the Gospel and is not an honourer of Christ but a Minister of Satan and Antichrist and a deluder of the people Thirdly This is for the reproofe of the hypocriticall Protestant who professeth the doctrine of justification by faith without works with his tongue but denieth it with his heart not daring to trust his soule in the armes of a Saviour unlesse he brings good works along with him to procure his welcome and entertainment This man stumbles at the thresh-hold of the doore of Grace being never able to enter into the house of love because he will not adventure his salvation upon the promises of Grace which are made to sinners that have no workes or righteousnesse inherently in themselves He will not goe to God or close with a promise of Grace unlesse he have the sight of righteousnesse in himselfe in the first place He will tell you that good works are not the matter of our justification and yet he will not conclude that he is a justified man untill he see good works in himselfe This man following the law of righteousnesse doth not attaine to the law of righteousnesse because he seeketh it not by faith but as it were by the works of the Law Rom. 9.31 32. The Apostle speaks against this pharisaicall opinion when he saith Wee are justified by Grace through beleeving not through working I am not bound to love God and the brethren that I may be beloved of God but I must beleeve that I may love God and my brother The preposterous preaching of sanctification before justification for the evidencing of justification is that which keepeth many poore creatures in bondage for many yeares and ruines many soules How many are gone to Hell who thought they were going to Heaven deceiving themselves with false and unsound assurances And fetching their comforts from the sight of their own works and not from the Grace of God in Christ by a pure act of beleeving If this were the right path to justification we should not be justified in beleeving but in loving and working For I seeing my love to God should conclude Gods love to me But herein is love not that wee loved God but that God loved us and sent his Sonne to be the propitiation for our sinnes 1 Joh. 4.10 And true love is wrought in us by the sight of Gods free love to us in an act of beleeving Therefore if thou hast no assurance of the love of God but that which thou hast gotten from the sight of thine own works and from the conclusions of thine own base and deceitfull heart as the ordinary way of some hath been thou hast no assurance at all When thou shalt lie under a great temptation thou wilt finde no comfort in this assurance And thou shalt finde at the great day when thou shalt appeare before God and Christ that this assurance will not be worth a Rush This building upon thy love to God and not upon Gods free love to thee is to build upon a sandy foundation and not upon Christ by faith And if the Lord convince thee of thy folly thou wilt lay a better foundation of joy and comfort then this can be unto
sight of himselfe his sonne and grace the mouth of conscience is stopped and wee see all our sins swallowed up in his love Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us saith Philip. Joh. 14.8 When God sheweth us himselfe our spirits are at rest When Grace is discovered and Gods light doth shine upon the soule Sin death damnation cannot terrifie the soule But they are filled with a spirit of joy in beleeving their free justification who before through feare of death were subject to bondage Heb. 2.15 Grace appeareth greater and stronger to bring salvation then sinne powerfull to bring damnation Our sins the sins of all the man of the world being the acts of creatures are finite but grace that justifieth us is the grace of an infinite God and is boundlesse and infinite Men are unassured of their salvation unlesse this Grace be presented to the eye of their spirits And men and Devills cannot prevaile against us to enforce us to question our justification and salvation when wee looke upon it That peace which the world cannot take from us nor give unto us that joy which neither the Law nor the workes of the Law can convery unto us nor bereave us off that salvation which damned Feinds can never rob us of is communicated to us by the beholding of Gods grace in the face of the Lord Jesus The soule when it hath a sight of this grace it stands with boldnesse at the Throne of Grace and though it feele hellish sin in it selfe yet it is able to dispute with all the Divels in Hell and to maintaine the freenesse fulnesse and compleatnesse of its own justification from all sin by the grace of God in Jesus Christ If the Divell shall then suggest this to a man that he is a sinner The beleeving soule will make this answer It is true I am a sinner but I am not terrified to desparation because I am ungodly but I rejoyce in this that God justifieth the ungodly by his grace Rom. 4.5 If the Divell shall reply But thou art a great sinner and there is a great damnation The believing soule will returne I am not tormented by the great damnation prepared for great sinners but comforted by the great salvation Heb. 2.3 which is for the greatest and cheifest of sinners by Gods grace in Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 1.15 If the Divell shall still assault a man to perswade him that he is a damned soule having mispent his time and strength in the service of sin having no good workes to commend him unto God that he may finde favour from him The beleeving soule will be easily able in the strength of God when it is upon the mountaine of his Grace to silence the Accuser by lying downe in the lap of that God who maketh him the object of his Grace who worketh not for justification Rom. 4. but beleiveth in God who justifieth sinners in his Grace without workes And because wee are justified and comforted in the Court of our owne Consciences by grace The spirit which is given forth in the Ministry of the Gospel is called a spirit of grace It being the worke of the Spirit to reveale the grace of the Father for the comfort of his children according to that of the Apostle 2 Thess 2.16 17. Our Lord Iesus Christ himselfe and God even our Father which hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace comfort your hearts Heere the Apostle sheweth us that the Saints have consolation and that this consolation is everlasting and that this everlasting consolation is only by grace Goe to all the true Saints in the world and aske them how they received the Comforter whether by the observation of moral precepts or by the doctrine of grace they will informe you that they received him by the Gospel of grace and not by the law of works Some Saints are able to acquaint you with their own experience can tell you how they laboured for holiness to bring them to happinesse to love God that they might assure themselves that they were in the love of God and that they found darknesse instead of expected light death instead of life horrour bondage instead of joy and liberty untill they were enabled to come unto God as sinners without workes disclaming their owne righteousnesse deserts and endeavours and laying the head-stone of their peace and happinesse in the free favour of God crying Grace Grace Zech 4 7. Exalting the free grace of God in their justification and overthrowing overturning their own works and legal righteousnesse It is grace and grace alone which bringeth salvation Tit 2.11 and therefore not our workes Grace and workes are inconsistent in this point of justification they can no more stand together then the Arke of God and Dagon Let grace stand up in its glory workes will quickly be overthrown and set up works and yee destroy the doctrine of grace By eternall grace wee were elected and made vessells of mercy from eternitie by grace we were saved before God in heaven in the presence of the Lord Iesus by grace wee were saved in the person of Christ before faith By the revelation of grace unto us through faith wee are saved in foro conscientiae in the Court of our owne consciences By grace salvation is inchoated here and compleated and perfected hereafter Rom. 6. ult The gift of God is cternall life through Jesu Christ our Lord. The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a gift flowing from Grace or free favour In these severall acceptations of the word grace we are saved by grace I might now lay downe many reasons for the proofe of this poynt but those which I gave to proove that wee are not justified by workes will bee sufficient for the confirmation of this And when I shall handle the doctrine of beleiving some reasons will fall in which will more fully illustrate this truth I shall therefore for the present onely present unto you a reason or two and hasten to the use 1 Reason First it being supposed that man is a sinner it is impossible that man should bee saved by any thing but by the knowledge of Grace The Law in this particular would not deale with us considering what good hath bin done by us but what evill And therefore when the Apostle had proved Bom. 3.23 that devout Jews as well as prophane Gentiles had sinned and come short of the glory of God he takes it for granted as a thing undeniable and unquestionable that wee are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Iesus Christ And if we could bring our selves into a state of perfection after we have once sinned wee could not be justified by that perfection in us which is required by the Law but should be condemned for our sinnes and imperfections in breaking of the Law If a man have done good service for the Common-wealth and yet be found guilty
saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy Spirit By this passage it is evident that mercy doth precede regeneration and is the cause of spirituall renovation Vocation and justification by faith doe follow predestination if Paul speake the truth Rom. 8.30 Whom he did predestinate them he also called and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justfied them he also glorified God loved us when wee had no beings in our selves or among any creatures to assure us that he did not love us for any thing in us there being nothing at all in us when God first loved us The love of God is not like the love of man man loves something which he sees lovely but God sees nothing in the object which he loves but all the motives and arguments lie in the bosome and breast of God which move him to love his creature Man cannot love before he have some lovely object proposed to him but God loves before we have either being or holinesse Wee beleive in God love him and are made lovely before him in time because he loved us before all time The man spiritually wise doth see his happynesse wrapt up in the eternall bowells of Grace and laid up in the everlasting bosome of unchangeable love for him Fond therefore is there conceit shallow there apprehension and understandings dull who beleeve that any thing done or beleeved by the creature in time can be the primary cause of the creatures salvation to whom grace was given for salvation from eternity 2 Tim. 1.2 c. This doctrine of free grace doth overthrow and annihilate the wisdome of the wise the learning of the learned the righteousnesse of him who is most righteous and a stranger to grace The naturall man with his best sight seeth not a righteousnesse beyond the righteousnesse of his own righteousnesse As the wisdome of the spirit is foolishnesse to the naturall man so the wisdome of the flesh is foolishnesse with God Though there be a spirit in a man by which he may have great knowledge and understanding in the things of nature and reason yet it is the spirit of the Almighty which giveth understanding Job 32.8 Untill this spirit and power from above come upon us wee call light darknesse and darknesse light sinfulnesse purity purity imperfection But when this doth enter into us all our righteousnesses appeare as filthy raggs and we are made willing to rest upon that grace for righteousnesse which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began 2 Tim. 1.9 Then wee clearly see the wisdome of God in shewing mercy on whom he will shew mercy and having compassion on whome he will have compassion Then we cannot but acknowledge that it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy Then the objections of camall reason are fully answered the acute arguments of the wordly wise and learned against free grace are dissolved the Sophismes of the Antigratians are sufficiently confuted and we are saved and satisfied with the glorious discoveries of Gods eternall grace in Christ Jesus Againe this should engage us all that know this saving grace to exalt and extoll this grace of our heavenly Father Grace apprehended by us doth oblige us unto thankfulnesse It is fit that they should glorifie God for his grace who see themselves glorified by grace The Prophet Isaiah setteth forth this unto us Isa 45. last In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory He that is justified in the grace of Jehovah will certainly glory in the grace of Jehovah Let us therefore glory not in our selves not in our labours sufferings actings or endeavours but in this grace of the Father according to the advice of the Prophet Jeremiah 9.23 24. Thus saith the Lord Let not the wise man glory in his wisdome neither let the mighty man glory in his might Let not the rich man glory in his riches But let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindnesse judgement and righteousnesse in the earth Let our holy boasting be in this righteousnesse Let the resolution of the sweet Singer of Israel be the resolution of every one of us Psal 71.16 I will make mention of thy righteousnesse even of thine onely God forbid saith Paul that I should glory in any thing save in the Crosse of the Lord Jesus Christ So let every good Christian say God forbid that I should glory save in the grace of God Let Pharisees and Hypocriter boast of their owne workes and legall righteousnesse But let true Saints boast onely of the grace of the mercifull and favourable Jebovah What is ingenuously acknowledged concerning himselfe by Paul 1 Cor. 15.10 By the grace of God I am what I am may be acknowledged by all Saints By grace wee are what we are and therefore glory is to be given to grace Gods gracious love was placed upon us before wee were lovely Jer. 31.3 He loved us with an everlasting love He loved us when we were unlovely when he saw us polluted in our blood then was the time of his love Ezek. 16.6.8 His grace and love hath made us lovely what cause then is there that wee should glory in this grace and love It is an excellent speech of Bernard to this purpose Tibi illibata maneat gloria meum benè agitur si pacem habuero Take thou all the glory it is enough for us that wee have the peace In Psal 130.3 the Psalmist professeth that if the Lord should marke iniquities no man should be able to stand before him If thou Lord shouldest marke iniquities O Lord who shall stand The interrogation is equivalent to a negation who shall stand that is no man shall stand Wee that should quickly fall to ruine had wee no better ground to stand upon then our owne workes what reason have we to blesse God for grace who onely stand by grace If we could stand before the judgement Seate of God standing cloathed in the menstruous raggs of our owne workes righteousnesse performances there were some ground for us to glory in our owne works but seeing it is thus that if God enter into Judgement and deale with us by the Law we cannot stand before him therefore let us glory onely in him With heart and tongue give him praise for what he hath done for thee by his grace who hast cause to be ashamed for what thou hast done against his grace A King of France thought himself bound to praise God that God had made him a King and not a begger What cause have wee to praise him for his grace who of sinners hath made us Saints If devout Bradford when he saw a blinde or a lame man did take occasion to blesse God for the use of his limbes eye-sight is it not consonant to reason that wee should publish forth the praises of Gods
the world but that hee was a Saviour to them Thus Paul preached to the keeper of the prison Act. 16.31 Beleeve on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved and thy house As when they preached the doctrine of repentance or changednesse of the mind their meaning was that every man ought to be changed so when they urge beleeving for salvation their meaning is that wee should beleeve for our owne salvation in particular The generall truth of faith and repentance is to beleeve by a power enabling us in particular for our selves to beleeve and repent Lastly We are saved through faith Because by faith we heare the inward word of salvation The word which soundeth to the outward eare without this inward word bringeth no salvation As the Philosopher told him who reprehended him for publishing and divulging a booke of philosophy that he had published it and he had not published it his meaning was this that it was so darke and mysticall that though it were published yet it was not published to the ignorant and unlearned so the Gospel in the letter is published to men and not published they heare and doe not heare they see and doe not see But by faith wee so heare that our soules live by hearing Isa 55.3 The dead saith our Saviour shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God and they that heare shall live Fidei oculi sunt spiritus per quem spiritualia videntur Cypr The Spirit is an eye to a beleeving man by which he seeth and enjoyeth spirituall things wee receive not the Spirit by hearing the Law or doing the workes of the Law but by the hearing of faith Gal. 3.2 Eternall life and Salvation is by hearing the inward word of life salvation and grace God bids the Prophet Ezech 38.5 to prophesie over the drie bones that they might live The Lord Jesus is the great invisible Prophet who prophesieth over drie bones and dead-hearted sinners and by hearing inwardly the inward word of this Prophet they live in hearing and believing And therefore it is said that wee are saved by faith Having by these particulars acquainted you with my Judgement concerning our salvation through faith I shall now by the same assistance of Gods grace draw some usefull conclusions from the premises and so put a period to my discourse for the present First this doth discover unto us the usefulnesse and excellency of the unfained faith of the elect As Noah was preserved from the destruction which came upon the old world by going for his safety into the Arke so by the foot of faith wee walke into our Arke Christ Jesus for the Salvation of our soules The world of sin is a dismall wildernesse full of fierie Serpents by faith we eye Jesus Christ as our brasen Serpent and set footing in the heavenly Canaan of gods grace while the sinfull Sodome of the world is destroyed with the raine of fire and brimstone by faith like Righteous Lot wee escape out of it when with Peter wee are readie to sinke and perish in the Sea of sinne by Faith we touch the saving arme of the Lord Jesus and are preserved when wee drinke the deadly poyson of sinne by faith we take in Jesus Christ as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or antidote and the deadly poyson doth not hurt us but we are miraculously preserved Faith beholdeth Christ crucified before us Gal. 3.2 and evidently set forth who hath nailed the Law of workes our sinne and death to his owne crosse and wee who deserved damnation are saved through grace Christ is the man who is an hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest Isa 32.2 sin is a noxious and a destroying wind as wind in the cavernes of the earth is a cause of an Earth-quake so sinne is the cause of destroying Earthquakes in the earthly hearts of men but Christ is our hiding place in which through beleeving wee are safe The Devills infernall windes and blastes destroy many a soule with which he filleth it with hellish errours and impieties to its destruction Acts 5.3 Christ filleth his people by breathing upon them in the Spirit of grace for their salvation but Christ is a shelter from the infernall blastes of Satan And while carnall and unbeleeving men are as a ship under sayle and the Devill unto them is as a powerfull winde violently blowing them to destruction Acts 26.18 Christ by enabling his people to beleeve doth blow them with the pleasant gales of his sweet spirit to the havens of peace and safetie Though there are infectious and destroying windes upon earth yet there are none in Heaven so though the men of the earth are infected with the winds of sinne and Satan to their ruine yet they who live in the Heaven of Gods grace by faith Jesus Christ is a defence unto them When darknesse and tempests are in the Spirits of men from the Law which they have broken Christ who rebuked the tempests of the Sea Mat. 8.2 doth rebuke tempestates mentis Hier the tempests of our troubled minds and consciences and by beleeving there is a great calme in the soule Sinne in the soule is like Jonah in the ship which bringeth a tempest with it but Christ through faith doth cast this Tempest-raiser into the sea of his Fathers grace and the soule is quieted and filled with joy and peace in beleeving The Philosopher saith that Logick to a rationall and learned man is the instrument of instruments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without which he shall make little proficiencie in other Arts and Sciences So faith is the Organ or instrument to the spirituall man by which hee is made partaker of the wisdome and spirit of the Lord in which he is to doe all things and without which he can doe nothing Secondly this discovers the reason why the Devill and his agents doe so much oppose the Doctrine of faith and the preaching of it He is an enemie to mans salvation and therefore he is an enemy to the Doctrine of faith through which wee are saved The Devill doth what hee pleaseth to those who are without faith as being unable to resist him Unbeleeving men are like the Israelites without a shield or Speare to defend themselves Jude 5.7 And the Devill doth lead them captive at his will 2 Tim. 2.26 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as wild beasts are mastered and ruled by those who have taken them in a snare or net so the word fignifieth but when wee beleeve to Salvation we are furnished with power to oppose him who seeketh our damnation when we beleeve we are armed against his encounters and fitted against his opposition Faith is the soules defensive Shield by wich all his fierie darts are quenched Eph. 6.16 and therefore it is that he doth alwayes raise opposition persecution and reproaches against the Doctrine and professors of Faith Thirdly seeing salvation is by faith examine thy selfe concerning thy salvation by trying thy faith Men that are not
temptation and all his other fierie darts we may hold forth this buckler of truth That wee are saved by grace through faith Answer him therefore from this truth and he will be silenced Resist him in believing this trueth and hec will flee from thee Jam. 4.7 And the spirit will flie into thy soule to comfort thee So long as Abraham lived he lived as a justified man by faith So long as Paul lived he lived by faith in the Son of God Gal. 2. We dye rather then live when we are not under the power of the spirit enabling us to beleeve We lye downe either in the bed of carnall security or Familisticall Antichristianisme or fal under the bondage of the Law when we step aside from the plaine Doctrine of salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus And therefore the flesh and the Devill the great enemies to a Saints comfort doe joyne themselves together to oppose the doctrine of faith Sathan knoweth that faith and works are inconsistent in point of justification And when hee observeth that we are in some measure convinced that salvation is by faith he endeavours to perswade us that it is by faith and workes And would divide our Justification between faith and works As the harlet cryed out 1 King 3.26 concerning the child Neither mine nor thine but divide it So the Devill would have us divide our Justification attribute halfe of it to faith and give the other part to workes But the beleeving man seeth that there is salvation in Christ and not in any other and that no other name under heaven is given among men whereby they must be saved Acts 4.12 And that we rest upon this name for salvation only by faith In Christ we have boldness accesse with confidence by the faith of him Ephesians 3.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wee are manuduced and lead by the hand as it were with perswasion of Christs goodness to us by faith in Christ Continue in that faith by which Paul was justified who believed that Christ loved him and gave himselfe for him and thy comforts and peace shall be continued unto the. It it Melancthons observation that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate faith doth most usually signifie a firme assent unto a thing usitatissimum est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro firma ascensione dicere doubting is that which is contrary to faith Jam. 1.6 Believe therefore strongly and thou shalt have a strong peace Rom. 5. Beleeve that there is no remission of sinne but by Gods indulgence but beleeve this withall that by him thy sins are forgiven thee sed adde ut credas et hoc quod per ipsum peccata tibi donantur Bern. This is the faith which bringeth peace and consolation to the soule By this we are brought from fin to Christs righteousnesse from mount Sanai to mount Sion from the dominion of the Law to the region of grace from bondage to liberty from death to life from the feare of hell to the assurance of heaven and happinesse Archimedes was so delighted in the study of the Mathematiques that when the enemie who besieged the place where he lived broke in unto it he heard not the noyse and shouting of the souldiers nor the cries of the people So the soule that by faith liveth in Jesus Christ shall be carryed above the noise and troubles of the world and shall enjoy peace in Jesus Christ Let us therefore waite in the heavenly Hierusalem for more of the spirit by faith This lesson will appeare to be very necessary for the Saints if wee consider that the spirit of grace may be so quenched in Saints that they may not for the present be able to goe into the presence of God as Saints but as poore sinners And by the beliefe of this Doctrine a Saint doth easily get out of temptation For hee is taught of God in the Gospell to come unto him as a sinner without works when he cannot come as a Saint And in this way his joy with all the gifts of Gods grace are restored unto him And when they are restored hee doth keepe them by the resting upon God who saveth sinners by grace through faith And therefore the Apostle Peter when hee exhorted Saints to grow in grace doth adde and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3.18 By which he doth seem to inform them that there can be no growing in grace unlesse there be a growing in faith which is the knowledge of Christ and the love of his Father in him In the last place here is a foundation of Salvation for all that have eares to heare and hearts to entertaine the report which you have heard of Gods grace which is manifested to sinners through faith Let not any man goe away with a heart of unbeliefe but the Lord open your eares and hearts as he did Lydia's that you may believe what is reported For truly if you believe what I have delivered you may goe away rejoycing and assured of Gods grace beholding your names written in the booke of life The true Gospell believed will remove all objections against your peace and all doubtings out of your spirit If as children of Abraham ye believe as he did Salvation will lye down in your bosomes and the true God in Jesus Christ will give you an answer to whatsoever you can object bring against your own salvation and justification It is not the sight of sinne that shall take away your comfort but you shall rejoyce that Iesus Christ did dye for sinners It is not the want of works that shall send you away without assurance or justification but you shall see that you have good right to lay hold upon Jesus Christ though you have no works because hee justifies none but those that have no works before justification The true God is not a justifier of the holy and righteous but of the ungodly God knoweth that the wisdome of the proud flesh doth strongly perswade sinners to seeke salvation in themselves and their own works The Jaylors question Acts 16. What shall I doe to be saved and the Rulers quaere Luke 18.18 What shall I doe to inherit eternall life is in the heart of every naturall man who is perswaded that there is an eternall life Man thinketh that as he became miserable by his evill works that so hee must be made happy by his good works And therefore God hath given his Law which requireth perfection to bring downe the pride of the flesh ad domandam Superbiam Aug. and confidence in our own works and discovered his free favour to the worst of sinners in the Gospel God hath blocked and stopped up all other ways to life besides the way of his grace in Christ and hath left this way open for the worst of sinners to turne in unto it for salvation So that as good works cannot save us without Christ being but glittering and gilded sins so evill works cannot prejudice the
men out of their wits cannot restore to themselves the use of reason so men spiritually mad cannot bring themselves to the light of grace By which expressioons it is plain that faith is not of our selves My last argument to prove that true faith is not of our selves is derived from the Word in which it doth acquaint us with the wickednesse and deceitfulnesse of mans naturall heart Our hearts are deceitfull and hypocriticall and therfore unfeigned faith cannot come from them and no credite is to be given to the perswasions of them our spirits they will deceive us therefore we are not to give any credite to any perswasion that comes from them a perswasion that is a perswasion meerely of our owne spirit is not a true faith or perswasion Who will believe a common cheater cozener lyar or impostor that cares not what he saith or speaks The heart naturally is like unto such an impostor or deceiver according to that of Jeremiah Ier. 17.9 The heart is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked who can know it That faith therefore cannot be true which proceedeth from a naturall heart and that comfort cannot be sound which springeth from such a faith By which and the preceding arguments it doth appeare that the true faith of the Gospell is not of our selves Give mee leave now in a few words to make some deductions from this and so I shall commend what I have delivered and you to the blessing of she Almighty In the first place this may confute the Doctrine of Papists Arminians and Popish protestants that conceive that a man is able to do something to the furtherance of his owne justification and salvation This that hath been delivered being seriously weighed in our spirits is sufficient to overthrow this lying Doctrine which would attribute any thing to man or to the strength wisdome understanding will or affections of the naturall man in point of conversion justification and spirituall renovation One of the Ancients who was more enlightned by the spirit then any of his fellowes for the beholding of the truth of GODS grace doth as boldly as truly assert that whosoever shall pull downe the Doctrine of free grace by exalting mans free will is deceived with an haereticall spirit Haeretico fallitur spiritu Aug. And who will suffer himselfe to be so farre blinded as not to see that magnifiers of free-will doe overthrow the Doctrine of Gods grace and mercy which Paul preached when they shall hear him plainly concluding against all the free willers in the world Rom. 9.16 That it is not in him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy The free grace and mercy which the Scripture acquainteth us with is inconsistent with mans free will to doe good of himselfe As Dagon was tumbled down when the Arke which was a type of Christ and Gods grace in him was brought into the place where Dagon was set up so when Gods grace by the power of the spirit appeareth it tumbleth downe and overthroweth the dagonish conceits Idolatrous apprehensions which men have of the strength which is of themselves to make themselves happy The spirits of men truly perswaded of the strength of grace and their owne weakenesse disclaime their owne strength and selfe-confidences for the making of themselves good And crye out with those in the Prophet Lam. 5.2 Turne thou us unto thee O Lord and we shall be turned But that these men may not say that wee deale unjustly with them in condemning them and not hearing what they can say for themselves let us heare what they doe usually thinke for themselves that so their mouths may be stopped by the truth of God And thus light may shine more gloriously by the dispelling those mists foggs and clouds of errour which would darken it The Scripture that some of them object against this truth is Revel 22.17 The spirit and the Bride say come And let him that heareth say come And let him that is a thirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely From whence they conclude that there is a power in free will to take Christ and that if a man will he may take the water of life freely To this I thus answer that they draw more from the words then the words do hold forth The words say whosoever will may take the water of life freely but the word doth not tell us that any man is able to will this of himselfe It is true whosoever will may take the water of life freely but it is as true that a man of himselfe is not willing God alone enabling us to be willing to take this water of life freely Phil. 2.13 And thus yee see that if this argument be well weighed in the ballance of the Sanctuary it will be found too light to prove that for which it is alleadged But they are ready to reply againe and to demand of us the reason why God doth finde fault with men for unbeliefe reproving them for not comming unto Christ if they are not able of themselves to believe and come to Christ Answ Why should these men thus cavil against the goodnesse of God May not God with good reason and without offence inform us of our sinne though we are not able of our selves to forsake it It is a conclusion spiritually irrationall to say that we have power to amend our fault because God doth reprove us for our fault In these reproofes and the like God sheweth unto us his goodnesse in reproving us for our conviction he doth not inform us of our ability savingly to believe for our conversion But me-thinkes I see them returning upon us againe and making a new assault by another argument with which they thus oppose us or rather the truth and power of Gods grace Why doth God command entreat beseech the creature to beleeve if the creature have no power of himselfe to beleeve Ans Passages to this purpose which wee fiind in Scripture do acquaint us with Gods goodnesse to the creature in his revealed will and the creatures duty towards God they do not acquaint us with the secret effectuall and irrectable Rev. 9.19 will of God concerning the salvation of a creature nor of the creatures power in himselfe to believe of himselfe The conclusions of these men from such precepts exhortations and entreaties are very absurd and irrationall If wee shall seriously weigh them in the scales of right and sanctified reason God say they doth command exhort and entreat men to believe therefore men are able of themselves by some power in themselves to believe May they not upon as good grounds conclude that a carnall man may fulfill the whole Law and be saved by doing of the Law seeing hee is commanded in Scripture to fulfill the whole Law and exhorted and intreated to doe it I shall shut up this use with a sweet speech of a devout and spirituall man seeing man without the
grace of God could not keep that salvation which hee received how shall he be able without grace to regaine that salvation which he hath lost Cum igitur sine gratiâ dei salutem non posset Custodire quam accepit quomodo sine gratiâ dei potest reparare quam perdidit Aug. in Epist Secondly It may be for the convincing of men of their disability to will their own justification and salvation What God accounts wisdome that when man lookes on it by the eye of reason he acccounts it nothing but folly and madnesse How can a man be desirous of Christ who apprehends that the things of Christ are nothing but foolishnesse A prophane Pope sporting himselfe and rejoycing in the great riches he had gotten by professing the Gospell in a carnall way uttered these words What great riches have wee gotten to our selves by this fable of Iesus Christ Quantus divitias lucrati sumus ex hac fabulâ Christi So men that are not enlightned by the spirit of truth to behold the world of truth doe conalve the truths which men preach concerning Christ are meere fancies fables madnesse and that foolishnesse and that there is no truth at all in which is spoken in the word of truth I will instance but in one or two particulars to shew you how carnall reason opposeth grace Grace telleth us that God will have mercie on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth Rom. 9.18 Consider how carnall reason opposeth this truth of God suppose saith carnall reason that a King would hate some of his Subjects because hee would hate them and love others because he would love them and should give no other reason of his actions but his owne will were not such a King more fit to live among beasts then to reigne over men And shall wee then thinke that the wise God doth love and elect some because he will love them and hate and reprobate others because he will hate them Thus carnall men measuring the actions of God by the rule of their own reason they see nothing but folly and madnesse in that by which God discovers his greatest wisdome to those that are enlightned to behold the riches of his grace Secondly God in Christ doth present himselfe as having a sufficiency of grace for the salvation of the greatest of sinners without workes but how doth carnall reason strongly and vigorously fight against Gods goodnesse concluding that if there were any truth in this Doctrine that the law and good workes would presenly be destroyed A natural man cannot believe that God is so gracious as Gospel-Ministers would perswade the world that he is As the unbelieving Lord when the Prophet told him of the great plenty in Samaria said If God should open windowes in Heaven could this this thing be 1 King 7. So a naturall man when Christ is offered to sinners without any works unlesse God give grace to believe hee is ready to say If the windowes of Heaven were opened and all the grace and mercie in Heaven should come downe upon us if God should let out all the bowells of his pitty and compassion to poore sinners it cannot be so as you say and speak concerning free grace to sinners and ungodly ones So that if a naturall man should do nothing but heare Sermons and although Angells or Christ himselfe should come downe from heaven to preach unto him hee would be as able of himselfe to keepe the whole Law for justification as to beleeve truly and savingly in the Lord Jesus But some will say that if it be thus that a man may as easily in his owne strength keepe the Law as beleeve the Gospell why doth not God then rather enable us to keepe the Law that wee may be saved then bid us to beleeve the Gospel To this I answer that God saves us by enabling us to beleeve the Gospel and not by enabling us to keepe the Law for Justification because God will have the glory of his grace in our Salvation God will not save us in a way of working but in a way of beleeving that all the glory may be given to him The Apostle gives this as a reason why it is by faith and not by workes that no man might boast ver 9. Not of workes lest any man should boast By which argument he proveth that the Father of the faithfull was not justified by workes Rom. 4.2 If Abraham were justified by workes saith hee he hath whereof to glory As we may observe it in some people who are built upon legal principles like the Pharisee Luke 18.11 They are boasting that they are not as other men as though their good workes had made the difference betweene them and others This frame of spirit doth rob God of the glory of his grace who will not that any flesh should glory in his presence but that he that glorieth should glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1.29.3 And therefore wee are saved by grace through faith in the word made flesh and not by the workes of the Law But secondly some will object why doth God take this paines with men in the Ministery of the Word if they are able to doe no more to their owne conversion then a dead man to his owne resurrection To this objection I have already given an answer yet give me leave to adde this to what hath been already spoken for the fuller satisfaction of those that are weak Though we are able to doe nothing of our selves yet God entreates exhorts and beseecheth us to be reconciled to him in Jesus Christ because in exhorting intreating and beseeching of us to beleeve he puts forth his power and his owne strength to enable us to beleeve while Paul exhorted the Gaoler to believe in the Lord Jesus that hee might be saved God enabled the Gaoler to beleeve Life and power is conveyed to the soule in Gospel commands and exhortations When Christ raised the sonne of the Widow of Naim to life Luke 7.14 he speakes to him Young man I say to thee arise No man who hath not lost his reason will conclude from hence that it was by the power of the young man that was dead by which hee was raised from the dead but by the power of the Lord Jesus who did bid him arise So though God speak in the Ministry of the word to those that are dead in sinnes and trespasses and bids them arise from the dead that hee may give them light yet we cannot conclude from thence that it is by the power of men by which they doe believe but it is by the power of the spirit conveyed in the preaching of the Word Christ commanded Lazarus to come forth but he came not forth in his owne strength but in the power and strength of him that commanded him out of the grave So wee command men to come forth out of the grave of sinne but they come not forth in their owne strength but in the power and
strength of that spirit that commands them from the grave of sinne to the land of the living While Ezekiel prophesied over the dead bones breath came into them and they lived Ezek. 37.10 So while the Prophets of the Lord do preach over their sinfull impenitent hearers who are like the Prophets drye bones the breath of Heaven the spirit of the most High in the Ministery of the Gospell enters in into them and not by working but believing they are made new creatures and see the Kingdome of God In the next place you see faith is not of our selves it is not in any thing in man or in mans wisdome that man is enabled to believe what is reported concerning Gods grace in Jesus Christ Therefore this may convince us that that faith which is of our selves is a false faith and not the true justifying faith of the Saints The good fruit of faith cannot grow out of a wicked heart And the heart of a man naturally is wickednesse and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is vanity and only evill continually Gen. 6.5 Psalm 94.11 When God lookes downe from Heaven upon the children of the first Adam hee seeth that there are not any that doe understand and seek God They are all gone aside they are all become filthy there is none that doth good no not one Psal 14.2.3 And the Lord Jesus dyed for us when wee were enemies unto him and without strength to do any thing for our owne salvation Rom. 5.6 That faith therefore which is wrought by the strength of nature is not that true faith of the Gospel which is only wrought by the spirit of the Gospel According to that of the Apostle where he affirmeth that the Saints are justified by the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 1 Cor. 6.11 Therefore if thy faith be a working or perswasion of thine own spirit If it be framed and hammered by thy selfe upon the anvile of thy owne spirit it is a counterfet perswasion and will not be able to advantage thee in the great day of the Lord Jesus As wee read in the Prophet Jeremiah of the visions of a mans owne heart and the visions of God So there is a two-fold faith there is the faith or perswasion of a mans own heart and a perswasion of the Spirit of God And as the visions of a mans owne heart are false dreames lies and deceits and are justly reprehended by the Prophet Jerem. 23.26 So the perswasions of a mans owne heart they are false dreames and lying perswasions we are to give no credite to them As we should not believe a common lyer So we are not to believe the perswasions of our own hearts The same Prophet in the 28. ver compareth lying Prophesies to chaffe and the Prophesies of truth to wheat what saith he is the chaffe to the wheat So true faith is like unto wheat and faith of our selves is like unto chaffe As the winde driveth away the chaffe Psalm 1.4 So the blasts of Gods wrath and the winds of temptation will blow away the chaff of a false faith while true faith shall be preserved by God and we through it shall be preserved unto the day of redemption Wherefore brethren we are to try whether or no we doe truly believe Examine your selves saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 13.5 Whether ye bee in the Faith As we have a touch-stone to trye gold so God hath left a spirituall touch-stone by which true faith may be tryed As there are counterfet pieces of gold which can bee hardly distinguished from true gold until they are brought to the touch-stone so there is a counterfeit faith which can hardly be distinguished from true faith untill it be brought unto the spiritual touch-stone Therefore it will be the wisedome of every one of you to try what faith you have It is not enough to be perswaded that you shall be saved and that Christ is yours and that your names are written in heaven Alas there are false perswasions as well as true There are multitudes of Libertines who turne the grace of God into wantonnesse and make their bellies their Gods and minde earthly things Phil. 3. And yet have strong perswasions that they are in the grace and favour of God There are Pharisees who are perswaded that they are in the love of God the Pharisee had an assurance and gave God thankes for it too Luke 18.11 God I thanke thee I am not as other men are And yet hee was but an hypocrite all the while deluded with the proud conceits of his owne righteousnesse The unbelieving Jewes professed with a great deale of boldnesse and confidence that God was their Father John 8.41 We have one Father even God And yet our Saviour tells them plainely that though they had these strong perswasions that God was their Father yet in truth the Devill was their Father Ye are saith he vers 44. of your Father the Devill A man may be perswaded that Christ will save him and goe to hell and be damned with that perswasion We see by experience that many Apostates who have made a profession of Christ have had strong perswasions of the love of God have fallen from the Gospell to prophanenesse Arminianisme and diabolicall Familisme Our blessed Emanuel doth plainly prove this truth unto us by acquainting us with some who when they shall be brought before his judgement-seate shall be confident of their interest in him whom neverthelesse hee will not own to be his Matth. 7.21 22. Not every on that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven Many shall say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name have cast out Devills and in thy Name done many wonderfull workes Yet you see what Christ will professe unto them I never knew you depart from me yee workers of iniquity As if he had said It is true you had a strong perswasion that you should be heires in my Kingdome it is true you thought that you should be saved if any in the world were saved but I tell you for all that I know you not depart ye workers of iniquity Wherfore it concerns all men to know whether their faith be a right faith Self-ish faith is no right faith if it arise from no higher a fountaine then our own natural reasons wisdomes and understandings our faith is from our selves and we may carry it to hell with us and find as good faith there in the Devills as this is Though this which I have spoken concerning the tryall of faith doth chiefly concerne such who are deceived with a false faith of their owne making yet it will be very advantagious for the true Saints likewise to try their faith Wherefore before I presse this farther upon such who are under a spirit of delusion I shall speak a word unto the Saints unto
come to passe and the thing foretold should not come to passe It must be granted therefore that Gods decrees are certaine irrevocable and immutable and that God working according to these decrees doth worke irresistably and therefore faith is his gift because it proceedeth from his irresistable power according to that of our Apostle It is the gift of God Thirdly Darknesse cannot create light Faith is a spirituall light and therefore it cannot come from our darknesse but must have its birth and beginning from some heavenly light And God is the powerfull light from whom faith is beamed into our hearts Five things are required to seeing 1. A visible object 2. The organ of fight 3. A light to discover this object 4. A medium through which this object is to be seene 5. That the organ be in a living and waking creature And these things are likewise requisite to seeing a thing spiritually by faith which all are from the power of God 1. It is God doth present doth us the spirituall object which is to be looked upon for salvation 2. It is God giveth us spirituall organs or eyes 3. Spirituall light to discover spirituall things 4. A medium Iesus Christ through whom wee looke upon him 5. A spirituall life and being It is a thing proper and peculiar to God to create a thing out of nothing and it is his prerogative and power in believing to make us new creatures By which it will appear that true faith cannot be of our selves but it is the gift of God Fourthly That which stablisheth Saints in the faith that power doth at the first worke faith in them but God by his power doth stablish Saints Rom. 16.25 The Apostle doth make it a priviledge proper to the power of God to stablish Saints in the faith and therefore it is proper to his power to bring us to the faith Fifthly The promises of God in giving Christ to open the blinde eyes Isa 42.6 7. His engagements to teach us to know him according to that of the Prophet All thy children shall be taught of God His covenant in Christ that we shall know him Heb. 8. doth sufficiently demonstrate that nothing below the omnipotent power of God insufficient for the enabling of us to rest upon his owne grace for salvation I need not spend many words in proving this because the argument laid downe to prove the negative part of the Text wil reach the affirmative For if not of our selves it will unquestionably follow that it is of God that we are enabled to believe In the next place I shall prove that as it is the work of his power so it is the worke of his owne free grace When he enableth a man to believe he puts forth not only the power of his omnipotency but the power of his grace he doth not looke upon any thing in the creature to move him to give faith to the creature but he lookes upon his own grace and he sees no other motive or argument to move him to give faith to men but those that lye in the bosome of his owne grace from the dayes of eternity I shall prove this first by Scripture and then by some considerations First you have it proved by Scripture Phil. 1.29 To you it is given not only to believe but to suffer Hence I gather that it is the gift of Gods grace to enable a man to believe As it is the free gift of Gods grace to call forth a man to suffer for him So in 2 Tim. 2.25 The Apostle bids Timothy with meekeness of spirit to endeavour to recover those that opposed the doctrine and truth which he held forth and preached If peradventure God will give them repentance for the acknowledging of the truth You see then God must give repentance or changednesse of minde by which he is enabled to believe truth to the glory of God Now as I have cleared it by Scripture so I shal cleare it by some considerations The first shall be drawne from the promises of God The promises as they do prove that man cannot doe any thing by his owne power but that all is done for us by the power of God so they prove that all is done for our spirituall good by grace For promises of the new Covenant doe not only acquaint us with the power but grace of God If Adam had beene preserved in his obedience and never had fallen he had been preserved by the power of God but not by the grace of God as grace is strictly taken in the Covenant of grace so that as we have proved that faith is not of our selves but from the power of God by leading you to the promise so now we shal prove that we are saved by grace through faith by bringing you back again to look upon promises as they are the stream flowings forth of Gods grace unto us What need God promise to do that which we are able to do of our selves Therefore seeing we have the promise of grace for it wee may conclude that it is by grace not by any power in our selves Rom. 15.12 wee have a promise for faith In him speaking of Christ shall the Gentiles trust So likewise in Jerem. 24.7 We have a promise of God that hee will give us the knowledge of himselfe I will give them an heart to know mee that I am the Lord and they shall be my people and I will be their God and they shall return unto mee with their whole heart Here God hath promised to give us a heart that we shall know him Now seeing God hath promised to give us a heart to know him therefore I conclude wee are not able to give such a heart to our selves God hath promised to circumcise our hearts to take away the fore-skin of our spirits therefore wee are not able to circumcise our selves God hath promised to turne us therefore wee are not able to turns our selves Turn us O Lord and we shall be turned Lam. 5.21 Intimating thus much that we cannot come towards him till hee turne the face and countenance of his favour toward us answering to that in Jer. 31.18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a bullocke unaccustomed to the yoake turne thou me and I shall he turned And therefore God doth usually mixe promises with exhortations that man should not conclude from Gods exhortations unto him that there is a sufficient power in him to doe what hee is exhorted to doe as in Hosea 14. when he had exhorted Israel to returne unto the Lord he presently addeth vers 4. I will heale their backesliding All the Prophets doe subscribe to this truth Jona 2.9 Salvation is of the Lord by promise He will teach us his wayes and we will walke in his paths saith Micab Mic. 4.2 and Zeph. 3.12 I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poore people and they shall trust in the name of the
est opus vestrum sed hoc est opus Dei He said not this is your worke but the worke of God Our Saviour speaking to his Disciples Mar. 4.11 To you saith he it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God but unto them that are without all those things are done in parables The Gospell of the Lord Jesus is a mystery and parable unto many untill the Lord doth give us the precious gift of faith by which we understand these mysteries of God so that he that truly understands the mysterie of the Kingdome doth look upon his spirituall knowledge as a gift What is compleat and perfect faith but the gift of God by which we believe that all our spirituall good things and faith it selfe is freely given unto us by God Quae est plena et perfect a fides Quae credit ex Deo et omnia bona nostra et ipsam fidem Aug. Fifthly This may convince those of their errour who being convinced of sinne do refuse to turne into the true way of salvation by believing supposing in the pride and ignorance of their hearts that this is too short and neare a way to Justification and happinesse These will first doe good workes get strength against all their corruptions be made holy sanctified men and then they thinke that they may safely make bold to lay hold of some promise of grace for justification and salvation It was thus with me when God did at first begin to awaken my conscience with the dreadfull fight of my sins and course of prophanenesse in which I had lived and some months I went in this way never in the spirit considering that the object of Gods justifying grace was an ungodly man and a sinner and not knowing that spirituall regeneration is not by the workes of the Law but the doctrine of the Gospel though I could then in a carnall way as many blind Protestants now can have spoken and preached more gloriously with rhetoricall words and flourishing expressions of justification by faith without workes then now I can or will But as God who from all eternity had singled me out unto salvation by Jesus Christ was pleased to convince mee of my ignorance and to bring mee to rest upon his grace in his sonne as a poore wretched sinner enabling me to believe that my sins were blotted out for his owne Names sake though my sins did testifie against me So these who are in the same condition in which I then was if they are in the number of those whom God hath given unto his sonne Jesus Christ shall be convinced that by faith through Christ wee have accesse to the Throne of grace with boldnesse and that faith is not given in consideration of any preceding acts of holinesse or sanctification but as the free gift of our heavenly Father That they who have thus erred in spirit Isa 29.24 may come unto understanding and such who have murmured against the truth of Gods grace may learn doctrine Give me leave briefly to lay downe some convincing considerations which may bring to your remembrance those things which we have more fully handled 1 Consi The word and promises which we doe enjoy are fre gifts of Gods favour What reason can we give why we should enjoy the outward meanes of grace rather then Americans but his owne free grace Psalm 147.19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob his statutes and his judgements unto Israel It is the Lord that bringeth the externall meanes and word of grace as a gift more worth then the whole world unto a people According to that sweet promiâ—e of God Ezek. 29 21. I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them The great and precious promises by the believing of which we are made partakers of the divine nature are freely given unto us 2 Pet. 1.4 2 Consi The power of God doth make the difference between men who doe enjoy the outward means 2 Pe. 1.3 His divine power hath given us all things that pertaine unto life and godlinsse through the knowledge of him who hath called us to glory and vertue If God did put forth that omnipotent power in all which he doth in some who heare the Gospell all as well as some should believe 1 Cor. 3.7 Neither he that planteth is any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the encaease Upon which words one giveth us this observation As all things which are planted and watered do not spring up thâ—â—â— and prosper but those whom God doth blesse So all men who are planted in the Church of Ghrist and watered by the preaching or the Word doe not truly believe but those upon whom God bestoweth faith Nec omnium est 〈◊〉 qu◠〈◊〉 verbum sed quibus deus partâ—â— mâ—nsuram â—idei sicut nec omnia germinant quae plantamu â—t rigantur But I have touched upon this before 3 Consi Gods good grace doth prevent mans good workes in his justification God in his grace must give us a new creation heavenly being in his word made flesh 1 Joh. before good workes can be wrought by us Sicut creatore opus habemus ut essemus sic salvatore ut revivisceremus Aug. As it was necessary that wee should have a Creator to give us beings as creatures so it is necessary that wee should have a Saviour to make us new creatures through faith 4 Consi Gods grace doth not only prevent our works but faith it self Faith is an effect of Gods grace and therefore God is gravious before we beleeve It is a blessing of the new Covenant and therefore in this respect it may be truly said that we are under the new Covenant before we do believe By which we may plainly see that faith is a free gift Mercy is shewed unto the faithfull and it is shewed unto us to make us faithfull Fideli datur quidem miserecordia sed data est etiam ut esset fidelis Aug. One saith that mercy was shewed unto Paul not only because he was faithfull but that he might be faithfufull The Apostle to prove the freenesse of grace in bestowing faith as a gift upon us hath these three expressions within the limits of three verses Rom. 5.15 16 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 calling faith a gift and a gift of grace and a gift of grace for righteousnesse 5. Consi There is no way to happinesse for thee but by grace and no closing in any sure or comfortable way with grace but through faith We are all condemned by the Law and there is no escaping for us but by that pardon which the King of Heaven in the prerogative of his grace doth give unto us and no way for us to be able to read our pardon unlesse God teach us And therefore God hath promised Isa 14.3 To give us rest from our sorrow feare and hard bondage with grace Psal 84.11 knowledge Ezek. 29.21 Faith Rom. 11.26 Strength and peace Psalm
words though I know that there are many adversaries and opposers of this truth 2 Cor. 4.13 We believe therefore we speak saith the Apostle So I doe in spirit belive what I shall speake and therefore I am resolved to speake it forth plainly and you are engaged to heare me patiently The words are a conclusion drawn from preceding premises In the precedent words the Apostle delivered two propositions First That hee that committeth sinne is of the Devill Secondly That Christ hath appeared to destroy the workes of the Devill from whence he concludeth that he which is born of God cannot sin not having his being in the Devill but in Christ who destroyeth sin In this verse there are these particular observations which at the first view may present themselves unto us 1. A character of a true Christian He is one who is borne of God 2. The property of this man who is borne of God He doth not commit sin 3. A reason why he cannot commit sin to wit because his seed remaineth in him 4. His purity He doth not only not commit sinne but he sinneth not at all 5. This asserted by laying down the impossibility of his sinning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He cannot possibly sinne 6. This is further proved by his excellent glorious condition He cannot sin because he is borne of God First From the person who is here spoken of The man who is borne of God We may take notice of the folly and Bedlam-madnesse of some who would be accounted professors and Preachers of a spirituall Gospel whose Gospel and mystery of error doth make the man born of God to be God Confounding the glorious nature of the Father Word and Spirit with the new Creature The Apostle doth plainly overthrow this Bedlam-Divinity by these expressions In which hee doth make a difference between God and the man who is born of him That which is born of God is borne in time But God is from eternity And therefore that which is born of God cannot be God The place which they pervert is in the 1 Cor. 6.17 He which is joyned to the Lord is one spirit Answ Christ and the man joyned unto him are one not by confounding of the person of Christ with the person of a Believer but by the union of these two in the Spirit As the members are one with the head and yet the head is not the members nor the members the head Secondly In this objection as they destroy the personall being of a Believer so they destroy the personall being of Christ as he is the Word made flesh There Christ is nothing but God they apprehending that Christ hath offered up his humane nature wisedome and righteousnesse as things of the first creation and that hee hath no being now but in spirit which they call Christ in the Spirit the spirituall man or God I shall therefore in few words deliver the truth of God concerning the man who is born of God This phrase is taken first largely and so every Creature may be said to be of God because every creature is the workmanship of God and hath its being from God And in this sence all wicked men are called the Off-spring of God Acts 17.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secondly It is taken strictly And so it is to be understood not of those who have their being from God by creation but by spirituall regeneration And thus it is here taken and in other places John 3.5 Except a man be borne of water the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdome of God John 1 13. In this sence neither God Christ or the Spirit are the new man or the man born of God But the speciall and gracious presence of God through Christ by the spirit doth make a man a new Creature 1 Cor. 1.30 John 1.13 2 Cor. 5.17 If any man is in Christ he is a new Creature He doth not say that if any man is in Christ that then hee is Christ or that Christ is the new creature but that man who is in Christ he is the new creature Having shewed you who the new man or the man born of God is who is here spoken of and freed the Text from famelisticall blasphemies I shall desire that you may be acquainted with this truth Every true Saint is a man born of God 1 Consid It will not advantage a man to make a profession of Christ and to submit to all the outward Ordinances of Christ unlesse a man be made a new creature by Christ Gal. 6.15 In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncir cumcision but a new creature We must be borne againe or else it had been better for us never to have been borne Christ will not own any for his or approve them as his Disciples whatsoever prosession they doe make of him unlesse he be formed in them 2 Cor. 13.5 Know ye not that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be unapproved They are the Devils children who are not borne of God John 8.44 2 Consid God hath engaged himselfe in the Covenant of grace that those who are his shall be borne of him Ezek. 36.26 A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you an heart of flesh As a Carver when he maketh an Image doth begin at the outside of the Timber and cuts shaves and smooths that So hypocrites doe begin at the outside and doe smooth themselves in their outward conversation to men-ward And so there is but an image insteed of a new creature But true Saints are made new inwardly Some say that the heart is the first thing which hath life Cor est primum vivens It is true in the new creation God doth give unto the vessels of his grace new hearts Rom. 10.10 With the heart man believeth unto righteousnesse Jer. 32.39 3. Consid Men who are not borne of God cannot haue fellowship with God If we say that we have fellow ship with him and walk in darknesse we lye 1 John 1.6 But true Saints have fellowship with the Father and his Sonne Jesus Christ 1 John 1.3 And therefore they are borne of God 4 Consid God is to be known served and worshipped by true Saints but we cannot truly know him serve or worship him so long as we are old creatures in the state of nature and therefore it cannot be denyed that true Saints are borne of him An old creature is spiritually dead and cannot see God A dead creature cannot performe the actions of a living creature And a sinner cannot serve the living God and performe that spirituall worship which God doth require of those who are quickned to spirituall worship by Jesus Christ 5. Consid The new Heaven and the new Earth is only provided for new creatures but it is provided for Saints and they expect it 2 Pet. 3.13 And therefore they are borne
of God Mat. 19.28 Our Saviour saith that such who have followed him in the regeneration shall sit upon Thrones The Saints are translated out of the Kingdome of the world into the kingdome of grace by spirituall regeneration and therefore they shall be translated from the Kingdome of grace into the Kingdome of glory By these considerations it is evident that true Saints are borne of God Vse Let us not try our Saint-ship by our large professions of Christ and subjection to such things which we apprehend to be his Ordinances for externall worship but by our new creation It concerneth every man to be thorowly assured of his heavenly birth who would make his claime good for heaven and glory and be assured that he shall escape the damnation of Hell As our Saviour said of Judas Mat. 26.24 That it had been good for him he had not been borne So it had been good for us that we had never been borne if wee shall live and dye professors of the knowledge of God in Christ and not dye possessors of God in Christ by the new creation Consider therefore 1. That every change or alteration which may be wrought in a man doth not make him a Sonne of God by spirituall regeneration Morall principles may make a great change in a man And Pharisaicall principles may make a man seeme to be very religious to himselfe and others But the Pharisees proselite is farre enough from a true Convert And except our righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees we cannot enter into the Kingdome of God We may walke farre in the way of the Law and performance of duties to make our selves new creatures and the Sonnes of God by our own righteousnesse and legall reformation and may at last stumble at Christ and never come to know what it is to be borne of God 2. A man may take a long walke in the path of the Gospell and may after a sort escape the pollutions of the world by Gospel-principles and may taste of the powers of the world to come in the conclusion may sit down short of a new creation here and glory hereafter 2 Pet. 2.20 Hebr. 6. Never truly knowing what it is to have the Spirit in him and himselfe in the Spirit God in him and himselfe in God Christ in him and himselfe in Christ Quer. But by what meanes is a man born of God may some one say seeing it concerneth us to know that we are born of God and it is so easie to be mistaken It is not by the law by that thou maist have a knowledge of sin Rom. 7. but canst never receive a new life The law bringeth forth servants not sons Ishmaelites not true Israelites Gal. 4. Secondly Those who are borne of God are children of the Gospell not by the workes of the law but by the hearing of faith wee are made new creatures In this Ministery God by his Spirit through faith in his Sonne maketh new creatures Nothing in nature can beethe cause of it selfe so nothing in the new creation can be the cause of it selfe There must be a Father before there can be a Sonne God therefore through faith in his Sonne is the cause of this new creation In this Ministery God doth not speak only by letters and syllables but by his eternall Word and Spirit Our soules are purified in the obedience of the truth of the Gospel unto unfeigned love of the Brethren 1 Pet. 1.22 23. And are borne againe not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever In this Ministry of life and salvation we have an eye to see the olde man crucified in the suffering of Christ Rom. 6.6 That henceforth we should not serve sin In this Ministery wee see Christ as that new man which maketh all things new 2 Corin. 5. The olde Adam stood as a publique person to bring shame sinne and sorrow upon his posterity so Christ the second Adam publique person and new man by whom we are renewed doth bring holy boldnesse righteousnesse and joy Adam communicated his sinfull nature to us so Christ doth communicate his divine nature unto us with those fruits and effects of the spirit which are contrary to the nature of the old man Uniting us unto himselfe and becomming a principle of life to us and in us And as one saith of generation that it doth not consist in the production of a new form but in the union of the form to the matter Generatie non consistit in productione sed unitione formae cummateria So spiritual regeneration is not by the production of a new forme but by the union of the forme to the matter By uniting Christ who is as the forme to man who is the matter of the new creature And as wee say that the generation of one thing is the corruption or destruction of another thing so in spirituall regeneration the old man is destroyed Gal. 5.24 They that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts O how is the man placed in the uppermost roome of honour and highest seat of happinesse who is spiritually acquainted with this truth Hee overcommeth the world by believing that Jesus is the Sonne of God 1 John 5.1 He admireth the inexpressible love of God by which hee is become the Sonne of God 1 John 3.1 He is borne to possesse the unsearcheable riches of Gods grace He is born to inherit large possessions a golrious inheritance being joynt heir with Christ Ro. 8.17 Hee is higher by his birth then the Sons of Kings and Emperours Christ he are of one therfore he is not ashamed to cal him Brother Heb. 2.11 And now hee begins to resolve to live like himselfe to live answerable to his condition of glory and honour unto which God of his grace hath brought him He wil live as one who hath hopes full of immortality He wil put on Christ in his conversation as he hath put him on in his free justification A King will not stoope to the earth to take up farthings as a beggar will nor meddle with such mean businesses and employments in which men of meane condition doe exercise themselves So hee will not stoop in spirit to the love of the things of the world which are but as a farthing to the things of glory and eternity Hee will not follow worldly businesse as though hee had no other employment His conversation is in Heaven Phil. 3. He is one of the Chosen generation and royall Priesthood holy Nation and peculiar People and therefore is resolved to shew forth the praises of him who hath called him out of darknesse into his marvellous light 1 Pet. 2.9 from impurity to holinesse from a disgracefull and reproachfull condition to honour and favour from vassalage to a kingdome from feare of death to assurance of eternall life from hell to heaven from horror of conscience to joy in
believing from a dunghill to a Throne from everlasting wrath to never-ending glory and immortality I might speak more fully of this concerning which no man can speak sufficiently But my intention was not to speak of this but rather of that which is principally intended in the words to shew you the sinlesse condition of the man which is borne of God And therefore give me leave to leave this point that I may briefly open the words which follow in the Text that so I may draw the marrow and substance of them into a short conclusion the illustration confirmation and amplification of which by the grace of God shall be the subject of my ensuing discourse I doe finde that the godly-learned doe not agree in their expositions of these words I shall therefore acquaint you with their severall expositions and shall enlarge my thoughts in the amplifying of that which I doe apprehend in truth to be the meaning of the Apostle in these words First Some say that he cannot commit sin That is Non potest operam dare peceate He cannot make sin his work trade or employment and this is a truth The rode of prophanesse and wilfull sinning hath never been the way in the which the Saints have walked Their path is the path of purity and uprightnesse But this doth not seeme to be the meaning of the Spirit in this place For the Apostle doth not only say that he cannot commit sin but hee cannot sin Secondly Others say that he cannot commit sin as a servant of sin As though our Saviours words were a sufficient exposition of these Joh. 8.34 Whosoever committeth sinne is a servant of sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He doth not doe sin as his worke as a servant doth work by the appointment and commandement of his Master I question not the truth of this Sinne shall not have dominion where Christ is Lord and Master in the soule He taketh our soules in unto himselfe by conquest and will not suffer those who commanded us before his conquest to rule over us now he hath subdued them As a conquering King will not suffer conquered Rebels to command his Subjects But the Apostle doth not seeme to drive only at this because as it hath been observed he saith afterwards that he cannot sin Thirdly Some say that he cannot sinne because he cannot commit the unpardonable sin And these goe as far as the end of the Epistle for an exposition Chap. 5.17.18 All iniquity is sinne and there is a sinne not unto death Wee know that whosoever is borne of God sinneth not But hee that is borne of God keepeth himselfe and the wicked one toucheth him not Thus they affirme that he finneth not because hee sinneth not unto death This which they say is likewise an undenyable truth in it selfe but not all that the Apostle intendeth in these words Which will evidently appear if we look seriously upon the precedent words Where the Apostle doth set downe the Antithesis and opposition between the man borne of God and the naturall man And doth make this the characteristical difference between the man borne of God and the man of the Devill vers 6 7 8. That the one doth sinne and the other doth not sinne Every one that abideth in him sinneth not he that sinneth hath not known him or seene him And as no man will say that the difference in this place between the carnall and spirituall man is this That the one doth not commit the unpardonable sinne and the other doth For then this absurdity will necessarily follow that every carnall man doth commit the unpardonable sin For the Apostle saith that every carnal man is of the Devill and sinneth that is against the holy Ghost if we take their exposition So no man may affirme that this is the meaning of these words which are laid downe in way of opposition to the precedent that he that committeth not sin doth not commit the unpardonable sin for then this absurdity will follow that every man who committeth not the unpardonable sin is born of God And this is evident by the subsequent words where he saith vers 10. That in this the children of God and the children of the Devill are manifested To wit that the one doth not commit sin and the other doth commit sin Take the words according to their exposition and this is the sence of them In this the Saints and carnall men are distinguished that the Saints doe not commit the unpardonable sin and that all carnall men doe commit the unpardonable sin Of the absurdity of which tenet contrariety to Scripture and daily experience I leave the spirituall man a judge 4. Others say that he sinneth not That is in his justified state and condition he sinneth not Because he is free from sin and the condemnation of the Law And this is a truth likewise full of comfort and sweetnesse That the believer or man borne of God doth not sin in reference to justification Their meaning is that there is no sin from which a believer is not justified But the Apostle doth not speake only of this for he speaketh of his working of righteousnesse by love in this place and through the whole Epistle as well as of believing And of such workes which Saints are to doe by which they may be justified before men as these men doe grant themselves and therefore this is not to be taken so strictly in reference to our justification through faith only As these words do declare it sufficiently Every one that worketh not righteousnesse is not of God and hee that loveth not his brother vers 10. Doth he pray for such whom he thought were no where to be found or for all true Saints whom he did know did love the Lord Jesus in corruption Reply If they be considered as they ought to be done so they are not evill but as they be done by us So the holy Ghost is not affraid to call them menstruous rags even our very righteousnesse not our old man only Isa 64.6 from the better part And therefore the Scripture doth call us Saints or holy men Ephes 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because we are spiritually regenerated or made new creatures though much of the flesh doth remaine in the best of us And this I doe apprehend to be the meaning of God in this place So Cajetan upon the words Hee doth saith he understand it formally that is in as much as he is borne of God for our new creation from God doth not suffer us to sin Intelligit formaliter hoc est quatenus ex Deo natus Nativitas enim ex Deo non dat peccare So likewise that faithfull Martyr Tyndall speaketh in the opening of these words God and the Devill are two contrary Fathers two contrary fountaines two contrary causes the one of all goodnesse the other of all evill And they that doe evill are borne of the Devill and are first evill by that birth before they
A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and will give you an heart of flesh And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walke in my Statutes and ye shall keepe my judgements and doe them The new heart of flesh is a good soile And because God doth promise his Spirit and a new heart therefore see what shall follow the good fruit spoken of We shall keep his judgements and doe them Arg. 2. God cannot be the Author worker of that which is sin but God doth professe himselfe to bee the Author of good workes wrought in the Saints and therefore these workes are not sin Isa 26.12 The Saints doe profes that God hath wrought all their works in them And this likewise is the argument of the Apostle who doth prove that doing of evill is sinne because it is of the Devill and that working of righteousnesse is good because it is of God Object These things are not sinne in their whole morall nature but per accidens by accident through the defect of some circumstance Answ Every morall action commanded or forbidden of God is either good or evill If these are good and no sinne then I have what I contend for If evill acquit God from being the author of evill who doth professe himselfe to be the Author of these things in opposition to Satan and his workes If you say that they are neither good nor evill or both good and evill and prove it by Scipture I shall hearken unto you But you say they are sin by accident and if they are so by accident they are sin and still you make God the Author of sin but I affirme that they are neither sin in their nature nor by accident but good and therefore untill you prove what you say I doe not see but that my argument is unshaken by this objection Object 2. Faith and love in their whole morall abstract nature are not sin but considered in the Concrete and acted by us Answ The Apostle doth speake of them in the Concrete as acted by us and doth bid us try our selves by our faith love and working of righteousnesse and saith vers 19. That hereby we assure our selves before God therefore this distinction is of no validity in this place though some thinke that it will answer all our arguments Argu. 3. The olde man and the new man are distinguished by their contrary natures and operations But if the new man were sinfull and his operations sinfull The new man would be confounded with the old man who is sinfull in himselfe and his operations but this is contrary to Scripture The old man is corrupt according to deceitfull lusts but the new man after God is created in righteousnesse and true holinesse Eph. 4.22.24 And speaking of these in the Concrete as in us Eph. 5.8 9. he saith to them Ye were sometimes darknesse but now are ye light in the Lord walke as children of the light For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodnesse and righteousnesse and truth Argu. 4. Those works which are commended by Jesus Christ for good works are good works but the workes of the Saints are commended for good works therefore they are good Revel 2.2 Our Saviour saith that he knoweth the workes of the Angel of the Church of Ephesus and his labour and patience that is he approveth or commendeth his workes and so Rev. 3.8 It would be a disparagement to the judgment of Christ to commend sin or sinfull works for good workes And therefore I conclude that they were good works And by consequence that the works which are wrought by a man borne of God are good works Obj. They were washed from their pollution in the blood of the Lamb. Answ When we speak of the new man and his works we look not upon him or his works but in Jesus Christ And thus he is washed from all the sins of the flesh and the works of God in us are well pleasing unto God the worker through Jesus Christ through whom hee did work them in us Arg. 5. Christ doth not present that which is sinne or sinfull to the Father to be accepted but he presentech our workes 1 Pet. 2.5 Wee offer up spirituall sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ If Christ did present any work that were sinfull he might present our sinful works It is evident therefore that there is something which is good which is presented as well as something in us which is sinfull which is forgiven Malum ex quolibet desectu The lesse defect doth make a thing evil and if there be such a defect in the work of the man who is born of God to make it sin and evill what reason can any man give from Scripture why every sinne should not be presented and accepted as well as those sins which they call good works Arg. 6. The Scripture calleth the works of the man born of God neither sinfull or sinne but works of righteousnesse Faith is called righteousnesse Rom. 4. and Rom. 5. the last Paul calleth the sincerity which was in him speaking of it in the Concrete godly sincerity 2 Cor. 1.12 Paul prayeth that grace may be with all them who love the Lord Jesus in corruption 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Doth he pray for such whom hee thought were no where to be found or for all true Saints whom he did know did love the Lord Jesus in incorruption Reply If they be considered as they ought to be done so they are not evill but as they be done by us so the holy Ghost is not affraid to call them menstruous rags even our very righteousnesse not our old man only Isa 64.6 Answ The Prophet doth not speak here of the righteousness of a man under the Covenant of grace considered under that Covenant For in the precedent verse he doth acknowledge that the righteousnesse of such a man is not as a menstruous ragge Thou meetest him that rejoyeth and worketh righteousnesse But he speaketh of men as looked upon under the olde Covenant and of their works as done under and to be judged by that Covenant which appeareth by the following words Our iniquities like the wind have taken us away And there is none that calleth upon thy Name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee For thou hast hid thy face from us and we are consumed because of our iniquities We must not judge of this truth by expressions which holy men have made use of in confessing the sins of the whole nation of the Jews in the language of the Jewish nationall Covenant but by those passages of Scripture in which God doth speake of a man as under the Covenant of grace with his works wrought by the spirit of grace 7 Arg. God doth remember the workes of his Saints Heb. 6.10 God is not unrighteous to forget your worke and labour of
love saith the Apostle He will remember the good works of men borne of God at the great day of judgement The good workes of some are manifest before-hand and they that are otherwise cannot be hid 1 Tim. 5.15 They cannot for ever be hid because God will make mention of them at that day But hee hath engaged himselfe by oath to remember our sins and sinfull actions Hebr. 8. And therefore the works of the spirituall man are not sin or sinfull Arg. 8. There is no law against the workes of a spirituall man or the fruits of the spirit of grace and therefore they are not sin because where there is no law there is no transgression But there is no law against these This is plain by that passage of the Apostle Gal. 5.22 The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance against such there is no law Object They are here considered as they are precisely the fruits of the spirit and as they ought to be done by us and so they are no sins but consider them as acted by us even with the spirits assistance and so they are defective and sinfull Answ The Apostle doth not speake of the fruits of the spirit as Tully of his Oratour Plato of his Common-wealth Moor of his Utopia as of things no where to be found But be speaks of the spirit as in us and the fruits of it as in us And doth plainly tell us that if we are led by the spirit we are not under the law and that there is no law against the fruits of the spirit But I shall have occasion hereafter to speake more fully of some places where the Apostles and servants of God doe speak plainly of these works as done in us that so I may break the neck of this distinction which is made as a Catholicon or salve for every sore Arg. 9. God doth give a testimony concerning his Saints that they are righteous and holy which is spoken in reference to their spirituall nature and actings and therefore they are righteous and holy The judgment of God is according to truth hee being the God of truth Doth not God give this testimony of Job Job 1.1 That he was a perfect man and upright one that feared God and eschewed evill And though man may oppose this yet it feemeth by Gods speech to Sathan that the Devill could not contradict it Job 2.3 And the Lord said unto Sathan hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the earth a perfect man upright one that feareth God and escheweth evill Did any thing which was sin or sinful procure this honourable title to David that he was a man after Gods owne heart 1 Sam. 13.14 Doth not the Scripture of truth inform us concerning Zacharias and Elizabeth his wife that they were both righteous before God walking in all the Commandements of God blamelesse Luke 1.6 They did not onely walk in the great Commandement of God concerning faith for Justification but in all the Ordinances and Commandements of God Is not Lot called a just and righteous man who was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked 2 Pet. 2.7 And was his sinfull soule vexed with their evill deeds or his righteous soul speak in the language of Gods Word and ye must acknowledge that it was his righteous soule vers 8. God is not like unto some indulgent parents who by their fond indulgency doe account that to be a vertue which is the fault of their children and them to be vertuous who are vile God calleth nothing righteousnesse which is sin or sinfull Nor those to be perfect and upright which are not so indeed and therefore seeing God doth call his children righteous holy and perfect wee may not be affraid to call them so unlesse wee will be affraid to follow his judgment Object They were righteous before God by Justification and before men by holy walking Ans We deny not their justification before God by faith but with all we affirme that they were righteous before him by their holy walkings As these places doe sufficiently prove with others which we shall hereafter speak of Let us not delude ous soules to think that righteousnesse sanctification is to the eye of men only The purest sanctification of a Saint is not so visible to men as unto God Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visite the fatherlesse and Widowes in their affliction and to keepe himselfe unspotted from the world which will be further manifested by our next argument Arg. 10. Almighty God is a God of pure eyes who cannot behold any iniquity any sinfull thing or sin with an eye of approbation But this God who cannot approve what is sin and sinfull this God approveth and professeth that he is well pleased with the performances of his Saints therefore the performance of the Saints cannot be sin or sinfull The Apostle in Philip. 4.18 Professeth that the worke of the Philippians in sending to relieve his wants was an odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God God hath pure eyes and pure nostrils and therefore if it had been sin or sinfull it could not have pleased his eye nor have beene an odour of a sweete smell unto his nostrills Object They are so but not in their owne nature Answ If they be not so in their own nature they are filthy and odious in their own nature and yet accepted by grace If one thing which is filthy and odious in its owne nature be accepted why should not other things which are filthy and odious in their owne nature be accepted for good workes If this can be made good Whoredome and Adultery will prove good works which hath been asserted by some who have said that the filthinesse of whoredome being done away the action is well-pleasing to Almighty God as well as any good work Arg. 11. One end and intention of God in electing of us was that he might make us holy that he might make us good trees to bring forth good fruit Though God doth not elect us because wee doe believe or because wee doe love yet hee hath elected us that wee may believe and that we may love So that wee frustrate one end that God hath in electing us if we doe not grant that God gives us a new nature and new hearts According to that of the Apostle 2 Thes 2 13. We are chosen unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth And in Eph 1.4 He hath chosen us in him that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Object We doe apprehend our election imperfectly which is the cause of the sinfulness of our works Answ By reason of that which is in the flesh we cannot so perfectly see our election as wee shall doe hereafter Yet in the spirit for the present we doe so fully apprehend it
his command The fayling is not from the new but the olde man The whole man or person is under the command so that a man yea every man doth sin because he doth not doe in his person as he is a man what is commanded Charge the fault where it is to be charged upon the flesh which is the cause of a mans sin and then look upon grace which hath abolished sin and you shall finde the new man conformable to the will of God and the man good and holy in part to wit in his regenerated part It is further objected that Christ biddeth us to cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit which no man doth It is granted and therefore we deny not but that every man sinneth if we take him physically But as farre as we are in the Spirit Wee are cleansed from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit so that the new man doth fulfill it and Christ doth reign in him though the flesh prove a Traytor and rebellious against his commands Arg. 18. Another argument may be brought from the consideration of the Image of Christ If this were true that all the works of the Saints were in their formalitie sinne this would follow that the Image of Jesus Christ were an Image of unholinesse and sin I ground my argument upon that place of the Apostle 2 Cor. 3.18 Wee all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Here the Apostle shewes that the Saints are changed into the Image of Christ Now if there were nothing but sin and unholinesse sinfulnesse in those who are looked upon as spirituall as some conceive it wil follow that the Image of Christ into which they are changed must be an image of unholinesse If my love be unholinesse I am changed to that image of love which is in Christ and so it would follow that the Image of Christ doth consist in unholinesse Object If there be perfect sanctification in the new man then wee may bee justified by it Answ I deny that it doth not follow We shall have perfect sanctification at the resurrection and yet you will not say that we shall be acquitted from our sinnes by it which wee have committed upon earth but by the grace of God in the blood of Christ 2. We are justified before sancification and therefore it will not follow that we are justified by it Because that is done before the other is wrought in us 3. That a man may be justified by his sanctification It is necessary that a man should be so wholy sanctified that there should be no sin in the man Our good works will not make satisfaction for our bad works A Traytor for an act of treason might be condemned by his Prince though he hath done him much good service If a man would seeke justification by the law who is sanctified in part the law would condemn him for his sin in his unregenerated part taking no notice of any sufficiency in his sanctification to free him from condemnation for his sinne in the unregenerated part Arg. 19. This opinion that the good works of the justified man are sin or sinfull do make divers places of Scripture irreconcileable Men shall never be well able to reconcile many places of Scripture who swallow this as a trueth that whatsoever workes are now done in the Saints are nothing but sinne or sinfull For instance in one place we are bound to disclaime our works and to account all our righteousnesses as filthy ragges to believe in him that justifieth the ungodly And in another place we are said to be redeemed from all iniquity that we might be zealous of good workes Tit. 2. And we are the work manship of God created in Christ Jesus to good workes Eph. 2. By what I have delivered they are easily reconcileable To wit by distinguishing as the Scripture doth concerning good works thus That all the works of man under the Law are but splendid and shining sins and that the spirituall workes of a spirituall man are good and not sin or sinfull in their nature Not that the Scripture makes these good workes that flow from the spirituall man the cause or the matter of our justification but the fruits of the Spirit and the consequents of our justificationâ— It is a speech of Luthers worthy to be writteâ— in letters of gold that the whole world with all the riches of it are of no worth in comparison of good works flowing from faith and wrought by the Spirit of God in the hearts of his people Which how it can be made good I know not if that be true which he and some other Protestant Writers affirme that Omnâ— bonum secundum judicium dei est mortale peccatum every good worke of a regenerate man according to the judgment of God is a mortall sin That which is morally evill is not so good as any thing which is not morally evill That being the greatest evill which is morally evill I have known some professors of the Gospel who have fallen to Familisme and Atheisticall opinions and being asked why they did leave the Gospel they have answered that they could never reconcile the Scriptures concerning works to other places while they were professors of the Gospel Their meaning is while they were professors upon these principles by which they were taught to look upon the works of the spirit in them as sin and sinfull That which is frequently asserted by some Mr. Eatoon Honycomb and others that they are good to men-ward will not make up the breach The Apostle Peter speaking of a meeke quiet spirit which is the ornament of the hidden man of the heart saith that it is of great price in the sight of God 1 Pet. 3.4 The Apostle speaking of his sincerity in preaching the Gospel is not affraid to bring it into the sight of God 2 Cor. 2.17 And John saith 1 Joh. 3.22 That whatsoever we aske we receive of him because wee keepe his Commandements and doe those things which are pleasing in his sight And that he doth not meane believing only is plain by the next verse where he saith That this is his Commandement that wee believe on the name of his Sonne Jesus Christ and love one another And to stop the mouth of the objection which is usually brought against this truth to wit that he speaketh of doing as in Gods precept or command and not as done by us He saith that we receive what we aske because wee doe what is pleasing in his sight I must professe to the glory of God that this distinction hath given me a great light in the understanding of the Scripture And by this I am informed that I am justified without holiness or sanctification and yet that without holiness no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 Arg. 20. This opinion that the good worke
of a man born of God are sin or sinfull doth overthrow the distinction which is warranted by many thousand places of Scripture between good works and bad works and doth draw a curse upon the doer of it Can evill be good or good evill Woe unto them that call evil good and good evill that put darknesse for light and light for darkenesse that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Isa 5.20 What else doe they doe who plainley averre that every good work is evill Object Doe we deny the difference betweene white and blacke because we say that in most white bodies there is a mixture of some blacknesse with the whitenesse c. Answ If it could be proved that there were a mixture of that which is of the spirit and that which is of the flesh that that which is spirituall should be made fleshly by it there would seeme to be some strength in this objection But untill that such a mixture bee proved by plaine Scriptures we shall think it sufficient to affirme that such similitudes which have not their foundation upon a principle of truth do prove nothing Arg. 21. It taketh away the difference between a sanctified and unsanctified man which is a distinction which doth stand firme upon the basis of the Scripture of truth The Apostle doth plainly lay downe this distinction 1 Cor. 6.11 Where hee informeth us of the condition of the Corinthians before conversion to wit that they were thieves adulteresses and the like such were some of you and then setteth forth their blessed condition after conversion But ye are washed but ye are sanctified And doth second this truth with his owne experience acknowledging that there was a real change wrought in himself after conversion by sanctification 2 Tim. 1. I was saith he a persecuter a blasphemer injurious but the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith love which is in Christ Jesus not with faith only but love also If God hath pulled you out of the fire of sinne and drawne you as fire-brands out of Hell and brought you into the glorious kingdome of his Son ye are able to professe the same sanctified change in your selves It is a dead faith which is not accompanied with sanctification and good works As soon may a dead horse carrie a man as a dead faith save him Object This is a slander wee doe not deny sanctification Answ If yee acknowledge sanctification and a sanctified change yee contradict your selves For how can that make a sanctified change in us which is nothing else but sin or sinfull I shall be glad if you will stand to an inward change by love and sanctification But some there are who have affirmed that the distinction between a regenerated an and unregenerated man is but a legall distinction Arg. 22. The holy Spirit which is promised to us and dwelleth in us doth plainly demonstrate this point For as the Spirit is holy formally in it selfe in its owne nature essence and being so it is effectively holy because it makes that man holy who was formerly sinfull If thou be nothing but darknesse if God convert thee thou wilt have a glorious light in thine understanding if thou have nothing but unholinesse in thy will if the Spirit of God live in thee it will be a Spirit of holinesse a Spirit that will shew thee what is of the flesh and what is of the spirit a spirit checking thee if thou step aside into the way of the flesh and a spirit leading thee into the paths of holiness As the Psalmist saith Thy Spirit is good lead me into the land of holinesse and uprightnesse Therefore those that doe not find that Spirit leading them into the paths and wayes of holinesse those men have received a counterfeit spirit to delude them and not the true Spirit of the Lord Jesus Object The spirit is good but our actions are evill by the adherence of sinne in us That holy things may be defiled is plaine by Exod. 28.36.38 Aaron having his plate upon his forehead was to beare the iniquity of the holy things Answ 1. Though sin and holinesse be in the same man yet I deny that sinne by any adhering to holinesse in us doth change holinesse into the nature of it But what is of the Spirit in us doth retaine its spirituall nature and what is of the flesh doth retaine its fleshly nature 2. The Scripture produced doth prove that in doing of holy duties we sin and that Jesus Christ doth beare those sins which wee have granted unto you before But that the fruits of the Spirit in us are those sinnes cannot be proved from this place of Scripture nor from anyother Scripture which I know this still doth remaine to be proved Arg. 23. There may bee another argument drawne from that place of the Apostle when hee saith The Spirit beareth witnesse with our spirits that we are the children of God Rom. 8.16 The Spirit cannot beare witnesse to our old darke prophane spirits for the naturall man receives not the things of the Spirit for they are foolishnesse to him therefore it must be to our spirit enlightned renewed and filled with the Spirit of God And therefore there is somthing in a Saint besides that which is sinne and sinfull Object This is true but we are not renewed perfectly which is the thing to be proved Answ Perfection in Scripture is opposed to that which is more perfect And in this sence wee doe not affirme that a man is so perfectly renewed as he shall be 1 Cor. 13. 2. Perfection is opposed to that which is sinfull Luke 1. And in this sence we say that he is perfectly renewed that is he is holily not sinfully renewed Arg. 24. I doe ground my next argument upon the words of the Apostle Rom. 14. last Whatsoever is not of faith is sinne And therefore that which is done in faith is not sin If we deny this we shall take away the difference between doing good works in faith and doing good works without faith if both of them be alike sinfull or sinne And therefore I conclude that the work of the Spirit which is done in faith is not sin Without faith it is impossible to please God and therefore by faith it is possible to please him by doing good works Arg. 25. Another argument may be drawn from that place 2 Cor. 13. where the Apostle makes the comparison betweene faith hope and love and prefers love before faith hope for this reason because love is more permanent and of longer continuance than faith and hope when a man comes to heaven hee ceaseth to live the life of faith for then he shall live the life of sight and vision he ceaseth to hope for he enjoyeth that which he hoped for but love shall continue Therefore he saith that love that is the fruit of faith is greater than faith in respect of its continuance That which remaines and endures after this life
confirmation of the truth Give mee leave to give an answer to their arguments as I have already presented unto you answers to their objections Arg. 1. Paul was a regenerated man yet he confesseth that he was not able to performe that which is good Rom. 7.18 Therefore no regenerate man is able to performe that which is good Answ Paul doth give a sufficient answer to this objection in the preceding words of the same verse where he saith in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing by which it is evident that he speaketh of himselfe in reference to his flesh And this is a truth which with all the faithfull I willingly subscribe unto But when he plainely speaketh of a man in the spirit freed from the clouds of temptations and power of the flesh in the last verse of the same Chapter he saith With the minde I my self serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin It is good to serve the law of God but Paul in the Spirit had attained unto this and therefore Paul was enabled to performe that which is good According to that of the Apostle Phil. 2.13 It is God who worketh in us to will and to doe of his owne good pleasure Arg. 2. There is none that doth good no not one Rom. 3.9 10 11. which is meant aswell of the regenerate as unregenerate as is evident by vers 23 24. because it is meant of all who are justified freely by his grace as appears further by the instances of Abraham and David which were regenerated Ch. 4.2.6 Therefore no workes of the regenerate are without sinne Answ It is plain that the Apostle speaketh here of a man under the law and of an unregenerate man by the things which are spoken of him Hee saith that none seeketh after God can you affirme this of a regenerated man when the same Prophet who in the 14. Psame doth give us a character of a wicked man out of which this is taken in the 24. Psalme doth give us this character of a man truly godly that hee is one of the generation of those who seeke God 2. The Apostle saith that there is none that understandeth But blessed be God the sonne of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him 1 John 5.20 3. They are all gone out of the way But we can blesse God who through Jesus Christ hath brought us into the way of salvation 4. There is none that doth good no not one and there is none that is righteous But hearken unto the speech of John 1 John 3.7 Let no man deceive you hee that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous I might runne over all the other particulars there laid downe but I shall content my selfe with what is spoken in the 17.18 it s said that the way of peace have they not known and there is no feare of God before their eyes Is a regenerate man an enemie to the way of peace and doe not they feare God to whom God hath sworne Jer. 32.40 That he will put his feare in their hearts that they shall not depart from him Again secondly you would prove it by this argument because hee speaketh of all those who are justified But let me tell you that we must distinguish of a man before and after his Justification Every man is such a man before Justification and in this respect he speaketh of all men but after justification there is a charge wrought in a man as I have formerly proved at large unto which I refer the Reader But thirdly you instance in David and Abraham who were regenerated men Answ Wee are not to forget that the Scriprure dosh acquaint us that there is a two-fold righteousnesse of a regenerate man The righteousnesse of Justification and the righteousnesse of sanctification Of the first of these the Prophet speaking saith that a man is blessed to whom sin is not imputed of the latter where hee saith of the same verse And in whose spirit there is no guile which the learned Zanchius doth apprehend to be spoken in reference to that sanctification which is in the unregenerated part understand the distinction rightly and you cannot want an answer to this Objection Arg. 3. Wee believe not so stedfastly nor love so perfectly as we ought therefore is our faith love imperfect and sinfull Ans 1. If we should grant the antecedent we may deny the consequence It is true that if a man doth not believe so stedfastly and love so perfectly as he ought that then the man doth sin consider him physically And this wee have alwayes granted but it doth not follow that his faith and love is sin but that which is in the flesh is sin which is the cause that he doth not believe so stedfastly and love so perfectly as he ought Amesius doth give a sufficient answer to this in answering an argument which Bellarmine doth bring against the Protestants to wit that sins doe not please God in Christ It is true saith he that sin doth not please God but the stain of sin being done away the good which remaineth is pleasing unto God Sane quidem certe sedpeccati maculâ in Christo deletâ bonum substratum placet Tom. 4. l. 6. c. 8. 2ly We say that a regenerate man looked upon in the new Covenant doth believe stedfastly and love perfectly His unbeliefe and hatred of God which is in the flesh being covered with the rich mantle of Gods grace and mercy as far as he doth believe truly he doth believe stedfastly and as far as he doth love he doth love perfectly Let not this offend any man that I say he doth love perfectly It is granted by most Protestant writers that a regenerate man hath a perfection of parts though not of degrees A childe may have an humane nature and the parts of a man as well as a man of forty yeares old A sparke of fire hath the true nature of fire a drop of water hath the nature of water in it as wel as all the water in the Sea So a sparke or drop of love hath the divine nature of love in it as well as that which burnes in the breasts of a Seraphim and therefore is not sin or sinfull And for this reason it is said that Abraham was not weak in faith though it is unquestionable that hee had his weaknesse in the flesh as well as other men and that hee staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God Rom. 4. And this is the meaning likewise of Amesius in the place formerly cited where hee saith That the good works of the faithfull are not only good by the object of them but in reference to all the causes of them the efficient materiall formall and finall cause Opera fidelium non tantum sunt bona ex objecto sed etiam quoad omnes causas efficientem materiam
lay downe his life that is not perswaded there will be a life after death Therefore I assure the Presbyterian Party if liberty of Conscience be not granted to Saints most or all these will fall in to them And before Liberty was thought of there were a great many of these in the City and they conformed to that which was then practised and they will conforme to any Government which shall be set up by the power of man It is not any Discipline or Government that can extirpate these cursed opinions out of the hearts of these men And though there be Discipline Government and strict Lawes yet in secret wayes they know how to insinuate poyson into the hearts and spirits of men to corrupt them from the truth and simplicity of the Lord Jesus Christ I know some of these that doe and have preached publickly undiscovered and some have now places and are turned Presbyterians who professed these tenents in the Citie of London that are now gone from the Citie and have Parochiall Congregations and are looked on as Presbyterians and Orthodox men and none speake against them they know how to cover their opinions well enough This mystery of iniquitie is not easily discovered so that this objection makes nothing against Liberty of Conscience I thinke it were better if it were the Lords will that these men of this wicked ungodly spirit might be knowne that so they may not draw many people into their sinne but that the truth of God may be held forth against them to overthrow their errours for nothing will overthrow errour but truth It is not a prison it is not the Sword it is not the power of man that can overthrow errour and root up false opinions out of the hearts of men it is only the power of the truth of the Lord Jesus As Dagon fell before the Arke so these cursed opinions must fall before the Arke of truth by the power of the Lord Jesus For if you threaten them that they shall suffer any thing they will presently tell you that they were overtaken with a fault and they will be of your mind If you have power to punish them for what they professe But lastly this should not be brought as an Argument to prejudice those in the enjoyment of their Libertie who are truly conscientious For it will have no more force then this Thieves and rogues swarme and abound in the Common-wealth while Liberty Priviledges and immunities are granted to honest men and they are countenanced Therefore suffer not honest men to live in the Common-wealth Thus having removed an objection which lay in my way which I perceived might be drawne from the licentiousnesse of these wicked men to the wronging of the true Saints and children of the most High in reference to their Liberties I shall now come to answer the Objections of these adversaries to the resurrection And first they that absolutely deny the resurrection doe thus argue Doe you think that this body after it is resolved into its first elements and that part of it is burned in the fire a part exhaled into the ayre a part converted into water and a part of it turned into earth that the same numericall body shall be raised againe Let a man one that you call a Saint be torne in pieces let the bird have her prey out of him let the fish have her share let the devouring beast likewise have his belly full of his flesh let the Caniball come and have his dinner out of another limbe and shall we believe after all this that this man shall rise againe What will you bereave us of reason you professe to be rationall men how can you subscribe to such a thing that a man should be burned in the fire his ashes cast into the sea And after these changes and transmutations that this man this same man the same body of this man should be raised againe how can any man that hath not put off all reason believe it Thus they contend by their carnall reason against the truth of the resurrection But let me answer though I grant all this which they say that the bodies of the Saints may be resolved into the first Elements out of which they were made yet for all this there shall be a resurrection of the very same numericall body For looke to God he that hath promised to doe this he is omniscient he knowes the dust of his Saints though it be carryed into the Sea if a piece of the body of a Saint be in the belly of a fish he knowes it there as well as he knew his servant Jonas in the belly of the Whale If it be resolved to dust and burned to ashes he knowes the dust of his Saints We know the Alchymist can convert one thing to another and afterward reduce it to the thing that formerly it was So shall not God though he suffer the bodies of his Saints to undergoe a hundred mutations and changes into fire and water after reduce us againe to the same bodies in which formerly we were God knowes where the dust of his people lies as well as the Citizens of China know where their earth lies that they lay up for some hundreds of yeares that they may make the purer vessels of it God doth but bury us a while in the earth that at the resurrection he may bring us forth as vessells of his owne prayse and glory and God knowes where he hath hid and laid us If one limbe be in Affrica another in Asia another in Europe another in America the Lord knowes how to bring limb to limb and bone to bone he is an omniscient God And as he is omniscient and knows every part of his people and the dust of his Saints and treasures up the dust of his Saints and keeps it in safety So he is a powerfull God and able to raise the bodies of his Saints As he knowes what dust and bones belong to a bodie so he is able to bring it againe to the same body which it was and to change it into a more glorious body He is able to change that same numericall mortall body into an immortall body And though we can find nothing in nature that can evidently prove this truth yet we find many sweet sigures shadowes and resemblances of this in nature Doth not the day die into night and afterward night rise againe into the day doth not Summer die into Autumne and Autumne into Winter and then the Spring brings the Summer in glory to us againe Are not some creatures which lie dead in Winter restored to life when Summer appeareth Doe we not see the seed that is buried in the earth and put into the furrowes againe to spring to a new life and to come forth with greater glory then when it was sowen in the earth If you take notice of the Gold-Smith you shall find that he keeps his fylings and his dust and though we looke on it as
the third of the Eph. 6. doth teach us that Jewes and Gentiles are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Parts of the same body One that desired to moderate between the Calvinists and Lutherans wishing them not to be so bitter the one against the other made use of this Argument telling them that Luther and Calvin were reconciled in love together in heaven Let not strife hatred malice and bitternesse prevaile among you Christians for yee shall sweetly agree together as one body in one Spirit at the resurrection Vse 2. There being such a glorious union between us and Christ it should engage the spirits of Saints to be much in the contemplation of it As the bloud and spirits doe runne through the body so this Doctrine of union doth runne through the whole body of Christian Religion Our Justification in the person of Christ our own Justification in our owne persons by Christ cannot bee clearely understood if we be totally ignorant of union with Christ As the Philosopher saith that all morall vertues are linck'd together in justice so all the points of Christianity are concatenated and joyned together in this doctrine of union As the Starre did lead the wise men to Christ shining over the place where Christ was so this Doctrine of our union with Christ shining among other truths of Christ in the Scripture doth hold forth unto us a light to direct us through the grace of God into a perfect and comfortable knowledge of all other truths As it doth in an especiall manner beame forth light unto us to confirme us in the Doctrine of the resurrection For you see that the bodies of the Saints are to bee raised because they are united to Christ and one with him Therefore this may strengthen the Faith of every one of us concerning the certainty of the resurrection◠What saith the Apostle No man yet ever hated his owne flesh but nourished it and cherished it Eph. 5.29 The Lord Jesus Christ cannot hate his owne flesh nor forget his owne body the bodies of the Saints but in love will raise them even while they lie in the dust they are his body Our propriety in a thing doth draw out our affection to the thing Our bodies belong to the Lord and are in his heart and affections even while they moulder in the dust therefore let this truth pierce your understandings and sinke deepe into your memories and be fully perswaded that your bodies shall be raised because they are not so much your bodies as the body of the Lord Jesus The Scripture as you have heard speakes so gloriously of that union which all the Saints have with Jesus Christ in that one Spirit which is in Christ and in every Saint that it seemes to hold forth Christ as incompleat till he have gathered all his members into one body And certainly Christ will not appeare incompleat in his body at the resurrection which he should doe should hee not by his power command the bodies of the Saints to come out of the earth Therefore he will not suffer any part of himselfe to lie in the dust he will not appeare at the generall resurrection without a limb not without a hand not without a finger not without the least member Thou that art the meanest Christian that apprehendest thy selfe to be but as the toe of Christ mayst be strongly perswaded of thy resurrection for I tell thee when Christ shall appeare at the great resurrection he will not be without a toe not without the lowest and most inferiour member of his body He will appeare in his fulnesse and all the Saints gathered together and made one with him in body and spirit are his fulnesse and compleatnesse The King when he rides in triumph or to his great Counsell he rides in his Royall Robes and in all his glory When Christ shall appeare the second time he will ride in Triumph as a Conquerour of all Enemies and will ride to his great Counsell or Parliament of Saints who are to judge the Delinquents of the world And the Saints are his glory 2 Cor. 8.23 and therefore they must be raised that hee may be in his full glory If thou looke upon thy selfe and thy body and consider how thou hast dishonoured God in thy body it may bee thou mayst be startled in thy spirit and have such sad thoughts as these Will Christ ever raise this body as his that I have abused to sinne ◠shall this body be glorified which I have dishonoured by base and filthy lusts but when thou hast any such thoughts as these in which the Devill appeares to thee as an Angel of light to make thee question the truth of the glorious resurrection of thy body then looke beyond thy selfe beyond the sinnes that thou hast committed against God in thy body and spirit And think thus with thy selfe This body though I have abused it by lust and intemperance though I have dishonoured God by the sinnes which I have committed and acted as it were upon a stage in this body and flesh of mine yet now the property is altered I am not now to looke on it as my body I am to look on it as the body of the Lord Jesus it is that body that he hath washed from all sinne in his owne bloud it is that body that he died for that he might cleanse it from filthinesse and uncleannesse it is his body he hath right to it and a propriety in it it is his and none of mine Christ will not lose that which belongs to himselfe and therefore it shall be raised in glory We see how unwilling men are to part with that which is their possession and inheritance We know how Naboth answered Ahab who would have had his Vineyard 1 King 21.3 Should I give the inheritance of my Fathers unto thee we are the inheritance the possession of the Lord Jesus and he will not lose any part of his inheritance This Argument is of sufficient strength to silence carnall reason if it were throughly weighed by us in the ballance of the Sanctuary For if a man look on himselfe as out of himselfe and the being which he hath in the first Adam and behold himselfe as one with the Lord Jesus in a spirituall onenesse seeing himselfe as such a part of Christ as a hand or a foote may be said to be a part of the bodie and knowing Christ hath undertaken to provide for his body and to owne it for his owne this will establish him in an unshaken confidence that the Lord Jesus Christ intends to raise his body and to assure and ascertaine us that he will raise us he himselfe is risen in his own person If the head be above the water the whole body may be drawne out of the water without drowning Christ our head is above water above the billowes that overwhelmed him is above sinne that was charged on him is above the curses of the Law that came upon him when he was made
a sacrifice for sinne above the temptations of Satan above the weaknesse of the flesh Death could not hold him as her prisoner and this may ascertaine us that wee his members shall be drawne up out of the water wee shall be above all things that we may call sinne in our selves above the reach of Satans fiery darts we shall be above Death that will be fulfilled which is spoken in the 1 Cor. 15. Death is swallowed up in victory Christ hath already fully conquered Death in his owne person and will conquer it in the person of all those that are his members enabling them to believe in him Christ doth infuse spirit and fortitude into all his souldiers by enabling them to looke on him their Generall Respice ad Ducem Look unto your Captaine was the old Roman word of Command to the common souldiers to stirre them up to imitate the valour and fortitude of their Commanders And Christian souldiers are made truly valiant by looking upon the fortitude and conquests of him who is the Captaine of their salvation Heb. 2.10 And knowing their union with him they see their head Captaine risen whose they are which maketh them Conquerours of death as his valiant souldiers by a strong perswasion from him and in him of a future resurrection In the next place you see that the bodies of Saints shal be raised for heaven as his body Therefore this may teach us to glorifie God in our bodies and spirits while wee are here below If the Lord Jesus Christ will raise our bodies as his owne bodie it is consonant to reason that we should use our bodies as the bodies of Christ This consideration if God goe along with it will be marvellous powerfull to teach us to be holy not only in our spirits but in our bodies considering that they are the bodies of the Lord Jesus Christ will raise thy body at the last day as his owne it is his body and not thine his spirit informes it he is owner and possessor of it thou art not thine owne thou art bought with a price 1 Cor. 6.20 Thererefore glorifie God in thy body and in thy Spirit which are Gods Seeing Christ will raise thy body as his body when it is dead therefore behave thy selfe towards thy body as the body of Christ while thou art alive This is that that the Apostle presseth from this consideration 1 Cor. 6.15 Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot a Christian would not misdemeane himselfe toward his body if he did consider what his body is it is the house and Palace of the Lord Jesus the Temple of God It was accounted a great fault for any man to misbehave himselfe in the Temple of Solomon which was a place then by Gods appointment more holy then other places Our bodies are spirituall Temples therefore defile not the Temple of the Lord. Bring not in the abomination of desolation into the holy place bring not the filth of sinne into it suffer not lust to lie in thy body suffer not pride in thy flesh sinne not against thy owne body in any kind take heed of riot and drunkennesse take heed of those sins that are sinnes against the body because by them thou sinnest against the Temple and house of God thou sinnest against that that is not thine owne but is the Lord Jesus Christs Our bodies should not be like the Egyptian Temples that were stately Edifices and buildings but in them there was nothing but some noysome and filthy beasts Thy body is a stately Edifice O set not up thy beastly lusts as Idols to be worshipped there Galen that great Physitian when he came to anatomize mans body he stood in admiration of the workmanship wondring at the skilfull hand and finger of him that was the maker of it Thou must not only looke on thy body as it is a naturall Edifice but as it is a building for the Lord Jesus as a Temple that Christ hath made choyse of a Temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in Therefore suffer not Crocodiles and noysome beasts to sit there stoup not to lusts fall not downe on thy knees before thy corruptions sacrifice not to uncleannesse Suffer not any sinne to reigne in thy mortall body Rom. 6. thy body is the body of the Lord it is under the power of Christ therefore â—et Christ onely reigne in it Sinne shall not have dominion over you because you are not under the Law but under grace Rom. 6.19 As yee have yeelded your members servants unto uncle annesse and to iniquity unto iniquity even so now yeeld your members servants to righteousnesse unto holinesse If men did but consider the glory of their persons the glory that God hath put upon their spirits in making them one spirit with his owne and the glory that God hath put upon their bodies in making them his houses Temples and places of glory 〈◊〉 dwell in through the goodnesse of God iâ— would restraine them from sinne That thâ— high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity should come and dwell in these humble and low cottages of ours That the God oâ— glory should come and dwell in houses oâ— clay in houses of mud in houses that presently must be pulled downe and lye in the dust O how should the serious and spirituall meditation of this put bounds and limits yea a period to our corruptions As Luther doth report of one that being tempted to any sinne by the Devill would answer that she was Christian Thy body is Christs by conquest he hath dispossessed the Devill of the strong hold which he had in thy body and therefore suffer not the Devill to rule there as he did when he was Lord of thee If the Devill come and tempt thee to commit any sinne which is a sinne that thou mayst act with thy body answer him thus Satan away my eares cannot be open to thy temptations I cannot listen to thee to commit this sinne my body is not mine owne but the body of the Lord Jesus Christ And when thou findest thy selfe in thy body at any time unwilling for the service of Christ consider with thy selfe my body is not mine owne it belongs to the Lord Christ he will have a care of it at the resurrection he will not lose my earth or ashes he will preserve my dust and keep it as a precious Diamond in the casket of his owne love Therefore be willing to serve Christ in thy body he ownes the bodies of Saints here and will owne them hereafter he hath a speciall care of the bones of his Saints and though the limbes of their bodies be carried from one end of the world to the other and scattered in severall places and climates yet by his power he will bring one limb to another therefore glorifie Christ in your bodies who hath promised to quicken your mortall bodies by his spirit which he hath given unto you Rom. 8.11 In the
the words untill I came and mine eyes had seene it and behold the halfe was not told me thy wisdome and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard Fame commonly exceeds the thing which is reported but Solomons glory exceeded the fame of it So we heare of great and glorious things which shall be at the resurrection the joy and glorie that the Saints shall have and we take paines to illustrate it by earthly joyes and spirituall comfort which is the best thing to shadow it But all that can be said is far short of setting forth to the full the glorie and joy of it And therefore seeing that the thing farre exceeds the discourse and apprehension of any man seeing words cannot set forth what glorie and joy this is I will not lay downe any more considerations to shadow forth to you this joy which I professe I want language fully to expresse Wherefore give me leave to make a little use and I shall put a period for the present of speaking of this joy which is unspeakable In the first place seeing there will be great joy at the resurrection therefore wee should rejoice in it before-hand God will not faile in giving you of any thing that he hath promised you will find the joy a hundred thousand times greater then any man on earth is able to expresse it to you As God when he promised the people of Israel the Land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey he did not faile of any thing he had promised to them all came to passe as you have the storie Joh. 21.45 So God hath promised a heavenly Canaan of glorie an everlasting Kingdome a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Heb. 11.10 Palaces that shall stand fast and firme upon their basis and foundation to the dayes of Eternitie He hath promised to put Scepters into our hands Crowns of glory upon our heads And he that hath promised these things to his people will not faile it performance he is just and faithfull he iâ— not like man he cannot lie he cannot repent of the good he intends to doe for his people Therefore you that are his people rejyocein your portion and inheritance A the young Ward in his non-age or minority when little iâ— allowed him for the present doth rejoyce in foreseeing what large possessions he shall be master of for the future when the time of his Wardship shall be expired So let us who are the Heires of Heaven happinesse and glorie here though wee shall not have the fruition of it untill hereafter rejoyce here as though wee were in the full enjoyment and possession of it Suffer not any wicked unbelieving spirits to bereave you of your joy and comfort by leading you into errour concerning the resurrection O what enemies are these people to the spirituall joy of Gods people that goe about to sow this seed of false Doctrine among them by perswading them that there shall be no resurrection of the bodie but onely a spirituall resurrection here How doe these with specious shewes of truth bereave people of that spirituall joy comfort and contentment that they might take in believing the Doctrine of the resurrection Beloved you meet with many Arguments against the resurrection that baffle carnall reason I professe that if I should follow carnall reason I know there are such strong Arguments against the resurrection that I should easily yeild the bucklers and contend no more for the point but conclude that there would be no resurrection of the bodie but when I looke upon the power of him that hath promised when I consider that God hath said it it answers all objections of carnall reason Therefore shew your selves children of faithfull Abraham stagger not at this promise he believed above hope and against hope It is above hope and against the hope of naturall reason that this bodie should be raised yet give God the glory of his power God hath said that this bodie shall rise and rise as the body of his Sonne that we shall awake and sing and the Earth shall cast forth her dead Consider a authorem tolle dubitationem Ter. Consider the power of the agent and all doubting will be removed He that hath promised it is power love and faithfulnesse he will doe what he hath promised for his people what they expect and beyond their thoughts desires and expectations therefore 1 Thess 4. ult Comfort your selves with these words There is no Doctrine that brings so much spirituall consolation to the soule as this it is the spring of spirituall joy in the hearts of the Saints Take away the Doctrine of the resurrection of bodies and take away all spirituall joy and comfort And then look no longer upon the Saints as glorious and happie creatures but as the most miserable abjects that you behold upon the face of the earth If there be no resurrection of the dead saith the Apostle We are of al men most miserable Saints professe themselvs the most happie and joyfull people in the world and rejoyce in their portion and blesse themselves in their happinesse and inheritance But take this Doctrine away let it be granted that there shall be no resurrection let it bee granted that Christ is not risen in his humane bodie and that the Saints shall not rise in their humane bodies as Christ did and be happie in their humane bodies it will damp all the joy of the Saints presently it will quench the Spirit of joy in the people of God For there can be no cause of rejoycing to the Saints but in this assurance that their sinnes are pardoned that they are in Covenant with God that God having loved them from eternitie will love them to eternitie and preserve them in happinesse with himselfe Therefore you that truly believe this Doctrine rejoyce in it and suffer not the scoffing enemies of this Doctrine to draw you from it and so from the comfort that will flow into your hearts while you believe it Take heed lest there be in any of you a heart of unbeliefe to depart from the living God And iâ— there be any poore weak Christians here that have been misled by these miscreants and ungodly men let them looke up to God beholding his power and faithfulnesse in their Redeemer that they may see all those objections of carnall reason by which they have been deluded and misled easily answered that so their former joy and consolation may returne to them by believing the Doctrine and joy of the resurrection And let me adde this also that as this is a Doctrine of great joy so it is a Doctrine that obligeth us to great holinesse The Doctrine of Christ in every part and branch of it leads to holinesse If thou meet with any tenent or opinion that furthereth not holinesse looke on that opinion as an errour for whatsoever is the truth of the Lord it is a truth that leads us to holinesse of life and conversation