A body of practical divinity consisting of above one hundred seventy six sermons on the lesser catechism composed by the reverend assembly of divines at Westminster : with a supplement of some sermons on several texts of Scripture / by Thomas Watson ...

Thomas Watson sometimes Minister of St. Stephens Walbrooke LONDON portrait

A Body of Practical Divinity , Consisting of above One Hundred Seventy Six SERMONS ON THE Lesser CATECHISM Composed by The Reverend Assembly OF Divines at Westminster : WITH A SUPPLEMENT OF SOME SERMONS on several Texts of SCRIPTURE .

By THOMAS WATSON , Formerly Minister at St. Stephen's Walbrook , London .

Printed from his own Hand-Writing .

Recommended by several Ministers to Masters of Families and others .

Heb. XI . iv .

He being dead yet speaketh .

LONDON : Printed for Thomas Parkhurst , at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside , near Mercers-Chappel . 1692.

To the READER .

THESE Catechetical Lectures of the late Reverend Mr. Tho. Watson , all , but one written with his own hand , I have read over , together with some Sermons annexed to them ; and since my Testimony is desired concerning them , I do hereby declare , That ( tho' I will not undertake to justifie every Expression or Sentence in them , or in any Humane Writing , yet ) I find them in the main agreeable unto the Doctrinal Articles of the Church of England , and unto the Westminster Assembly's Confession of Faith and Catechisms : And I believe , that through the Blessing of God , they may be profitable unto the Edification of all that read them with an honest desire to know and do the Will of God : for certainly there are many excellent things in them , which if they meet with a well-disposed serious Mind , are very apt to have a good Effect upon it ; and if it prove otherwise with any that happen to read this Book , it will be their own Fault , more than the Books . Most Writers have different Stiles , and it is well known that Mr. Watson had one peculiar to himself , which yet has found good Acceptance with , and has been useful unto serious People ; and I hope this ( by reason of the great Variety of excellent Matter ) may be more generally Vseful than any other thing that ever he wrote . I little doubt but every sober Christian will be of this mind after he hath read his Lectures on God's Attributes , the Ten Commandments , Lord's Prayer , &c. I sincerely profess , I have no other End in giving this Testimony of this Book , but thereby to serve the Common Good of Christ's Church , and not the Private Interest of any Person or Party in the World : if my Conscience did not bear me witness that this Book may be Vseful to that excellent End , no Man should ever have prevailed with me thus to prefix my Testimony and Name to it . Moreover , I do not doubt , but every Intelligent and Candid Reader will consider that this is a Posthumous Work , and on that account will make some Allowance for any small Fault that may be in it , as also for the Errours of the Press . That it may answer the main End for which it was first written by the Author ( whom I always took to be a grave , serious , modest , good Man ) ; and for which ( I hope ) it is now published , to wit , The Edification of the Church of Christ in Faith , Holiness , and Comfort , is the hearty Desire of one of the meanest Servants of our most Blessed LORD IESVS ,

WILL . LORIMER .

WE whose Names are subscribed , having seen the Testimony of our Worthy Brother , Mr. William Lorimer , after his Perusal of this Book , doubt not but it may be of use to many , as the former Writings of Mr. Thomas Watson have been ; and with that Desire and Hope , we Recommend it to Masters of Families , and others .

William Bates , Matth. Barker , Iohn Howe , Matth. Mead , Edw. Lawrance , Samuel Slater , Richard Mayo , Richard Adams , Richard Steel , Samuel Stancliff , Iohn Raynolds , Nath. Vincent , Iohn Hughes , Matth. Sylvester , Ioseph Read , Dan. Burges , Abraham Hume , Ioseph Cawthorne , Rich. Stretton , Daniel Williams , Richard Wavel , Iohn Shower , Timothy Cruso , Francis Glascock , Timothy Rogers , Nath. Oldfield .

ADVERTISEMENT .

THere are many single Sermons on Variety of Occasions , as at Fasts , Thanksgivings , Sacrament Discourses , besides several Subjects handled in many Sermons on each Text of Scripture , left under Mr. Thomas Watson's one Hand-writing , if these find Acceptance , in due time ( after their being perused by some Learned Divine ) may be published .

Tho. Parkhurst . Aug. 28th , 1692.

A Catalogue of what Books Mr. Thomas Watson published . THree Treatises , 1. The Christian's Charter , shewing the Priviledges of a Believer . 2. The Art of Divine Contentment . 3. A Discourse of Meditation : To which is added , several Sermons preached Occasionally . Quarto . The Beatitudes : or , a Discourse upon part of Christ's famous Sermon on the Mount . Whereunto is added , Christ's various Fulness ; The Preciousness of the Soul ; The Soul's Malady and Cure ; The Beauty of Grace ; The Spiritual Watch ; The Heavenly Race ; The Sacred Anchor ; The Trees of Righteousness ; The Perfume of Love ; The good Practitioner . The Godly Man's Character . A Word of Comfort to the Church of God , in a Sermon . Quarto . The Crown of Righteousness : at the Funeral of Mr. Hoges , Merchant . Quarto . A Sermon preached July 2 , at the Funeral of Mr. John Wells , late Pastor of Olave-Jury , London . By Thomas Watson . Quarto . The Fight of Faith Crowned : or , a Sermon preached at the Funeral of the eminently Holy Man Mr. Henry Stubs . By Thomas Watson . The Doctrine of Repentance , Useful for these Times . Religion our true Interest : or Practical Notes upon the third Chapter of Malachy , the sixteen , seventeen , and eighteen Verses . The Mischief of Sin , it brings a Person Low. A Divine Cordial : or , the Transcendent Priviledge of Those that Love God , and are savingly Called . The Holy Eucharist ; or , the Mystery of the Lord's Supper briefly explained . A Plea for the Godly : Wherein is shown the Excellency of a Righteous Person . The Duty of Self-denial briefly Opened and Urged . Heaven taken by Storm .

A Preliminary Discourse TO CATECHISING . COL. I. xxiii . If ye continue in the faith grounded and setled —

INtending the next Lord's Day to enter upon the Work of Catechising , it will not be amiss to give you this Preliminary Discourse as preparative to it ; shewing you how needful it is for Christians to be well instructed in the Grounds of Religion : If ye continue in the faith grounded and setled — Two Propositions , First , It is the Duty of Christians to be setled in the Doctrine of Faith . Second , The best way for Christians to be setled , is to be well grounded .

Doct. 1. That it is the Duty of Christians to be setled in the Doctrine of Faith : It is the Apostle's Prayer , 1 Pet. 5.10 . The God of all grace stablish , strengthen , settle you . That they might not be Meteors in the Air , but fixed Stars . The Apostle Iude speaks of wandring Stars , Verse 13. They are called wandring Stars , because as Aristotle saith , they do saltare , leap up and down and wander into several parts of the Heaven ; and being but dry Exhalations , not made of that pure Coelestial Matter as the fixed Stars are , they often fall to the Earth . Now such as are not setled in Religion will at one time or other prove wandring Stars , they will lose their former Strictness , and wander from one Opinion to another . Such as are unsetled are of the Tribe of Reuben , Unstable as water , Gen. 49.4 . Like a Ship without a Ballast , overturn'd with every Wind of Doctrine . Beza writes of one Bolsectius , whose Religion chang'd as the Moon . The Arians had Annuam Fidem , every Year a new Faith . These are not Pillars in the Temple of God , but Reeds shaken every way . The Apostle calls them damnable Heresies , 2 Pet. 2.1 . A Man may go to Hell as well for Heresie as Adultery . To be unsetled in Religion argues want of Judgment : if their Heads were not giddy , they would not reel so fast from one Opinion to another . It argues Lightness ; Feathers will be blown any way ; so will feathery Christians : Triticum non rapit . ventus , inanes paleae jactantur , Cypr. Therefore such are compar'd to Children , Eph. 4.14 . That we be no more children tossed to and fro . Children are fickle , sometimes of one mind , sometimes of another , nothing pleaseth them long : So unsetled Christians are childish , those Truths they embrace at one time , they reject at another ; sometimes they like the Protestant Religion , and soon after they have a good mind to turn Papists . Now that you may labour to be setled , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , ( as Ignatius ) in the Faith , in unsetled Times of setled Judgments .

1. It is the great End of the Word preach'd , to bring us to a Settlement in Religion : Eph. 4.11 , 13. And he gave some evangelists , and some pastors and teachers , for the edifying of the body of CHRIST , that we henceforth be no more children . The Word is called an Hammer , Ier. 23.29 . Every blow of the Hammer is to fasten the Nails of the Building ; the Preacher's Words are but to fasten you the more to Christ : they weaken themselves to strengthen and settle you . This is the grand Design of Preaching , not only for the Enlightning but for the Establishing of Souls ; not only to guide them into the right Way , but to keep them in it ; now if you be not setled , you do not answer God's End in giving you the Ministry .

2. To be setled in Religion is both a Christian's Excellency and Honour ; 't is his Excellency , when the Milk is setled it turns to Cream ; now he will be something zealous for Truth , walk in close Communion with God . And his Honour , Prov. 16.31 . The hoary head is a crown of glory , if it be found in the way of righteousness . 'T is one of the best sights to see an old Disciple ; to see Silver Hairs adorn'd with Golden Vertues .

3. Such as are not setled in the Faith , can never suffer for it : Scepticks in Religion will hardly ever prove Martyrs ; they that are not setled do hang in aequilibrio , in suspence ; when they think of the Joys of Heaven , then they will espouse the Gospel ; but when they think of Persecution , then they desert it . Unsetled Christians do not consult what is best , but what is safest : The Apostate ( saith Tertullian ) seems to put God and Satan in Ballance , and having weighed both their Services , prefers the Devil's Service , and proclaims him to be the best Master : and in this sence may be said to put Christ to open shame , Heb. 6.6 . They will never suffer for the Truth , but be as a Souldier that leaves his Colours , and runs over to the Enemy's side ; he will fight on the Devil's side for Pay .

4. Not to be setled in the Faith is highly provoking to God : To espouse the Truth and then fall away , brings an ill Report on the Gospel , which will not go unpunished : Psal. 78.57 , 59. They turned back and dealt unfaithfully : When God heard this he was wrath , and greatly abhorred Israel . The Apostate drops as a Windfall into the Devil's Mouth .

5. Is ye are not setled in Religion , you will never grow : We are commanded to grow up into the Head Christ , Eph. 4.15 . But if we are unsetled no growing : Planta quae saepe transfertur non coalescit ; The Plant which is continually removing never thrives . He can no more grow in Godliness , which is unsetled , then a Bone can grow in the Body that is out of joynt .

6. What great need there is to be setled , because indeed there are so many things to unsettle us , and make us fall away gradually from the Truth . Seducers are abroad whose work is to draw away People from the Principles of Religion , 1 Joh. 2.26 . These things have I written concerning them that seduce you . Seducers are the Devil's Factors , they are of all others the greatest Fellons that would rob you of the Truth : Seducers are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , they have Silver Tongues , a fair Tongue can put off bad Wares ; they have a slight to deceive , Eph. 4.14 . The Greek word there 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , taken from those that can cog a Dye , and cast it for the best advantage . So Seducers are Impostors , they can cog a Dye , they can so dissemble and sophisticate the Truth , that they can deceive others . Now the Style by which Seducers use to deceive is ,

1. By Wisdom of Words , Rom. 16.18 . By good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple . They have fine elegant Phrases , flattering Language , whereby they work on the weaker sort ; as being Christed with Christ , and the Light within them .

2. Another Slight is a Pretence of Extraordinary Piety , that so People may admire them , and suck in their Doctrine . They seem to be Men of Zeal and Sanctity , and to be divinely inspir'd : they pretend Revelations , as Munster , Michel Servetus , and other of the Anabaptists in Germany ; though they were tainted with Pride , Lust and Avarice .

3. A third Slight , or Cheat Seducers have , is a labouring to villifie and nullifie sound orthodox Teachers ; they would eclipse those that bring the Truth ; like unto the black Vapors that darken the Light of Heaven : They would Defame others that themselves may be more admired . Thus the false Teachers cried down Paul , that they might be received , Gal. 4.17 .

4. The fourth Slight or Cheat of Seducers is by preaching Doctrines of Liberty : As the Antinomian preacheth , That Men are freed from the Moral Law , the Rule as well as the Curse . He preacheth that Christ hath done all for them , and they need do nothing . So he makes the Doctrine of Free-grace a Key to open the Door to all Licentiousness .

5. Another thing to unsettle Christians , is Persecutors , 2 Tim. 3.12 . The Gospel is a Rose cannot be pluck'd without Prickles . The Legacy Christ hath bequeath'd is the CROSS . While there is a Devil and a wicked Man in the World , never expect a Charter of Exemption from Trouble ; And how many fall away in an Hour of Persecution ? Rev. 12.3 , 4. There appeared a great red dragon , having seven heads , and ten horns ; and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven : The Red Dragon , the Heathenish Empire , and his Tail , viz. his Power and Subtilty drew away Stars , viz. Eminent Professors that seemed to shine as Stars in the Firmament of the Church . Therefore we see what need there is to be setled in the Truth , for fear the Tail of the Dragon cast us to the Earth .

6. To be unsetled in Good is the Sin of the Devil 's , Iude 6. They are called Morning Stars , Job 38.7 . but falling Stars ; they were holy but mutable . As the Vessel is overturn'd with the Sail , so their Sails being swel'd with Pride , were overturn'd , 1 Tim. 3.6 . By Unsetledness who dost thou imitate but laps'd Angels . The Devil was the first Apostate . So much for the first Proposition , That it is a great Duty of Christians to be setled . The Sons of Sion should be like Mount Sion which cannot be removed .

Second , The second Proposition is , That the way for Christians to be setled , is to be well grounded : If ye continue grounded and setled ; the Greek word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , grounded , a Metaphor , it alludes to a building that hath the Foundation well laid ; so Christians should be grounded in the Essential Points of Religion , and have their Foundation well laid .

Here let me speak to two things : 1. That we should be grounded in the Knowledge of Fundamentals . 2. That this grounding is the best way to Setling .

1. That we should be grounded in the Knowledge of Fundamentals : The Apostle speaks of the first Principles of the Oracles of God , Heb. 5.12 . In all Arts and Sciences , Logick , Physick , Mathematicks , there are some Praecognita , some Rules and Principles that must necessarily be known to the Practise of those Arts. So in Divinity there must be the first Principles laid down . The Knowledge of the Grounds and Principles of Religion is exceeding useful :

1. Else we cannot serve God aright ; we can never worship God acceptably unless we worship him regularly : And how can we do that , if we are ignorant of the Rules and Elements of Religion ? We are bid to give God a reasonable Service , Rom. 12.1 . If we understand not the Grounds of Religion , how can it be a reasonable Service .

2. Knowledge of the Grounds of Religion much enricheth the Mind : It is a Lamp to our Feet , it directs us in the whole Course of Christianity , as the Eye directs the Body . Knowledge of Fundamentals is the Golden Key that opens the chief Mysteries of Religion ; it gives us a whole System and Body of Divinity exactly drawn in all its Lineaments and lively Colours , it helps us to understand many of those 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , those difficult things which do occur in the reading of the Word ; it helps to unty many Scripture-Knots .

3. Armour of Proof ; it doth furnish us with Weapons to fight against the Adversaries of the Truth .

4. It is the Holy Seed of which Grace is form'd : 'T is semen fidei , the Seed of Faith , Psal. 9.10 . 'T is Radix Amoris , the Root of Love , Eph. 3.17 . Being rooted and grounded in love . The Knowledge of Principles conduceth to the making of a compleat Christian.

2. That this Grounding is the best way to Setling : Grounded and setled , a Tree that it may be well setled , must be well rooted ; so if you would be well setled in Religion , you must be rooted in the Principles of it . He in Plutarch set up a dead Man , and he would not stand , O , saith he , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , there must be something within . So that we may stand in shaking Times , there must be a Principle of Knowledge within ; first grounded and then setled . That the Ship may be kept from overturning , it must have its Anchor fastned ; Knowledge of Principles is to the Soul as the Anchor to the Ship , that holds it steddy in the midst of all the rolling Waves of Errour , or the violent Winds of Persecution . First grounded and then setled .

Use 1. See the reason why so many People are Unsetled , ready to embrace every Novel Opinion , and dress themselves in as many Religions as they do Fashions ; it is because they are ungrounded . See how the Apostle joyns these two together , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Unlearned and unstable , 2 Pet. 3.16 . Such as are unlearned in the main Points of Divinity , will be unstable ; as the Body cannot be strong that hath the Sinews shrunk , so neither can that Christian be strong in Religion who wants the Grounds of Knowledge , which are the Sinews to strengthen and stablish him .

Use 2. See then what great Necessity there is of laying down all the main Grounds of Religion in a way of Catechise , that the weakest Judgment may be instructed in the Knowledge of the Truth , and strengthned in the Love of it . Catechising is the best Expedient for the Grounding and Setling of People . I fear one reason why there hath been no more Good done by Preaching , hath been because the chief Heads and Articles in Religion have not been explained in a Catechistical Way : Cathechising is the laying the Foundation , Heb. 6.7 . To Preach and not to Catechise , is to build without a Foundation ; this way of Catechising is not Novel , it is Apostolical ; the Primitive Church had their Forms of Catechism . So much those Phrases imply , a form of sound words , 2 Tim. 1.13 . And the first Principles of the Oracles of God , Heb. 6.1 . And since the Church had their Catechumenoi , as Grotius and Erasmus observe . Many of the Ancient Fathers have written for it , as Fulgentius , Austin , Theodoret , Lactantius , and others . God hath given great Success to it . By this laying down of Grounds of Religion Catechistically , Christians have been clearly instructed and wondrously built up in the Christian Faith . Insomuch that Iulian the Apostate seeing the great success of Catechising , did put down all Schools , and Places of Publick Literature and Instructing of Youth . 'T is my Design therefore ( with the Blessing of God , ) to begin this Work of Catechising , the next Sabbath Day ; and I intend every other Sabbath in the Afternoon , to make it my whole Work to lay down the Grounds and Fundamentals of Religion in a Catechistical Way . If I am hindered in this Work by Men , or taken away by Death , I hope God will raise up some other Labourer in the Vineyard among you , that may perfect this Work which I am now beginning .

Man's Chief End TO GLORIFIE GOD.

Quest. I. WHat is the chief End of Man ? Q. I

Resp. Man's chief End is to glorifie God , and enjoy him for ever .

Here are two Ends of Life specified , 1. The Glorifying of God . 2. The Enjoying of God .

First , I begin with the first , The Glorifying of God , 1 Pet. 4.11 . That God in all things may be glorified ; the Glory of God is a Silver Thread which must run through all our Actions : 1 Cor. 10.31 . Whether therefore ye eat or drink , or whatsoever ye do , do all to the glory of God . Every thing works to some end in things natural and artificial ; now Man being a rational Creature , must propose some end to himself , and that is , that he may lift up God in the World , and better loose his Life , then loose the End of his living : So then the great Truth asserted is this , That the End of every Man living is to glorifie God ; this is the yearly Rent is paid to the Crown of Heaven . Glorifying of God , hath respect to all the Persons in the Trinity ; it respects God the Father , who gave us our Life ; it respects God the Son , who lost his Life for us ; it respects God the Holy Ghost , who produceth a new Life in us : we must bring Glory to the whole Trinity .

When we speak of God's Glory , the Question will be moved , What are we to understand by God's Glory ?

Resp. There is a twofold Glory : 1. The Glory that God hath in himself ; his intrinsical Glory . Glory is essential to the Godhead , as Light is to the Sun : he is call'd the God of Glory , Acts 7.2 . Glory is the sparkling of the Deity ; Glory is so co-natural to the Godhead , that God cannot be God without it . The Creature 's Honour is not essential to his Being ; a King is a Man without his Regal Ornaments , when his Crown and Royal Robe are taken away : but God's Glory is such an essential Part of his Being , that he cannot be God without it ; God's very Life lies in his Glory . His Glory can receive no addition , because it is Infinite ; this Glory is that which God is most tender of , and which he will not part with , Isa. 42.8 . My glory I will not give to another . God will give Temporal Blessings to his Children , Wisdom , Riches , Honour ; he will give them Spiritual Blessings , he will give them Grace , he will give them his Love , he will give them Heaven , but his essential Glory he will not give to another . King Pharaoh parted with a Ring off his Finger to Ioseph , and a Gold Chain , but he would not part with his Throne , Gen. 41.40 . Only in the throne will I be greater then thou . So God will do much for his People , he will give them the Inheritance ; he will put some of Christ's Glory as Mediator upon them , but his essential Glory he will not part with ; in the throne he will be greater .

2. The Glory which is ascribed to God , or which his Creatures labour to bring to him , 1 Chr. 16.29 . Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name . And , 1 Cor. 6.20 . Glorifie God in your body , and in your spirit . The Glory we give God is nothing else but our lifting up his Name in the World , and magnifying him in the eyes of others , Phil. 1.20 . Christ shall be magnified in my body .

Quest. What is it to glorifie God , or wherein doth it consist ?

Resp. Glorifying of God consists in four things : 1. Appretiation . 2. Adoration . 3. Affection . 4. Subjection . This is the yearly Rent we pay to the Crown of Heaven .

1. Appretiation : To glorifie God is to set God highest in our Thoughts , to have a venerable Esteem of him , Psal. 92.8 . Thou Lord art most high for evermore . Psal. 97.9 . Thou art exalted far above all gods . There is in God all that may draw forth both Wonder and Delight ; he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , there is in him a Constellation of all Beauties ; he is Prima Causa , the Original and Spring-head of Being , who sheds a Glory upon the Creature . This is to glorifie God when we are God-Admirers ; we admire God in his Attributes , which are the glistering Beams by which the Divine Nature shines forth ; we admire him in his Promises , which are the Charter of Free-grace , and the Spiritual Cabinet where the Pearl of Price is hid ; we admire God in the noble Effects of his Power and Wisdom , viz. the making of the World ; this is call'd the work of his fingers , Ps. 8.3 . such curious Needle-work it was that none but a God could work . This is to glorifie God , to have God-admiring Thoughts ; we esteem him most excellent , and search for Diamonds only in this Rock .

2. Glorifying of God consists in Adoration , or Worship , Psal. 29.2 . Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name . Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness : There is a twofold Worship , 1. A Civil Reverence we give to Persons of Honour , Gen. 23.7 . Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the children of Heth. Piety is no Enemy to Curtesie . 2. A Divine Worship , which we give to God , is his Prerogative-royal , Neh. 8.6 . They bowed their heads , and worshipped the Lord with their faces towards the ground . This Divine Worship God is very jealous of ; this is the Apple of his Eye , this is the Pearl of his Crown which he guards as he did the Tree of Life , with Cherubims and a flaming Sword , that no man may come near to violate it : Divine Worship must be such as God himself hath appointed , else it is offering strange fire , Levit. 10.2 . The Lord would have Moses make the Tabernacle 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , according to the Pattern in the Mount , Exod. 25.40 . he must not leave out any thing in the Pattern , nor add to it ; if God was so exact and curious about the Place of his Worship , how exact will he be about the Manner of his Worship ; surely here every thing must be according to the Pattern prescribed in his Word .

3. Affection : This is a part of the Glory we give to God ; God counts himself glorified when he is loved , Deut. 6.5 . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart , and with all thy soul. There is a twofold Love , 1. Amor Concupiscentiae , a Love of Concupisence , which is a Self-love , when we love another because he doth us a good Turn : Thus a wicked Man may be said to love God , because he hath given him a good Crop , or filled his Cup with Wine , and to speak properly , this is rather to love God's Blessings then to love God . 2. Amor Amicitiae , a Love of Delight , as a Man takes delight in a Friend ; this is indeed to love God , the Heart is set upon God , as a Man's-Heart is set upon his Treasure . And this Love is , 1. Exuberant , not a few Drops but a Stream . 2. It is Superlative , we give God the best of our Love , the Cream of it , Cant. 8.2 . I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the j●yce of my pomgranat . If the Spouse had a Cup more juicy and spiced Christ must drink of it . 3. It is Intense and Ardent ; true Saints are Seraphims burning in holy Love to God . The Spouse was Amore perculsa , in sainting Fits sick of love , Cant. 2.5 . Thus to love God is to glorify him ; he who is the chief of our Happiness , hath the chief of our Affections .

4. Subjection : When we dedicate ourselves to God , and stand ready prest for his Service . Thus the Angels in Heaven glorifie him ; they wait on his Throne , and are ready to take a Commission from him , therefore they are resembled by the Cherubims with their Wings displaid to shew how swift the Angels are in their Obedience . This is to glorifie God when we are devoted to his Service , our Head studies for God , our Tongue pleads for him , our Hands relieve his Members : The wise Men that came to Christ , did not only bow the Knee to him , but presented him with Gold and Myrrh , Mat. 2.11 . so we must not only bow the Knee , give God Worship , but bring Presents , Golden Obedience . This is to glorifie God when we stick at no Service , we will fight under the Banner of his Gospel against Regiments , and we say to him as David to King Saul , 1 Sam. 17.32 . Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine . Thus you see wherein the Glorifying of God doth consist , in Appretiation , Adoration , Affection , Subjection .

A good Christian is like the Sun which doth not only send forth Heat , but goes its Circuit round the World ; thus he who glorifies God hath not only his Affections heated with love to God , but he goes his Circuit too ; he moves vigorously in the sphere of Obedience .

Quest. Why we must glorifie God ?

Resp. 1. Because he gives us our Being , Psal. 100.3 . It is he that hath made us . We think it a great kindness in a Man to spare our Life , but what kindness is it in God to give us our Life ; we draw our breath from him , and as Life , so all the Comforts of Life are from God : he gives us Health , which is the Sawce to sweeten our Life ; he gives us Food , which is the Oyl that nourisheth the Lamp of Life : now if all we receive is from the hand of his Bounty , is it not good reason we should glorifie him , and live to him , seeing we live by him , Rom. 11.36 . For of him and through him are all things . Of him are all , all we have is of his Fulness ; through him are all , all we have is through his Free-grace ; and therefore to him should be all , so it follows , To him be glory for ever . God is not only our Benefactor , but our Founder ; the Rivers come from the Sea , and they empty their Silver Streams into the Sea again .

2. Because God hath made all things for his own Glory , Prov. 16.4 . The Lord hath made all things for himself ; that is , for his Glory . As a King hath Excise out of Commodities , God will have his Glory out of every thing ; he will have Glory out of the Wicked , the Glory of his Justice ; they will not give him Glory , but he will get his Glory upon them , Exod. 14.17 . I will get me honour upon Pharoah . But especially he hath made the Godly for his Glory , they are the living Organs of his Praise , Isa. 43.21 . This people have I formed for myself , and they shall shew forth my praise . It is true they cannot add to his Glory , but they may exalt it ; they cannot raise him in Heaven , but they may raise him in the Esteem of others . God hath adopted the Saints into his Family , and made them a Royal Priesthood that they should shew forth the Praises of him who hath called them , 1 Pet. 2.9 .

3. Because the Glory of God hath so much intrinsick Value and Excellency in it ; it transcends the Thoughts of Men , and the Tongue of Angels . God's Glory is his Treasure , all his Riches lie here , as Mica said , Judg. 18.24 . What have I more ? So of God , what hath God more ? God's Glory is more worth then Heaven , More worth then the salvation of all Mens souls : Better Kingdoms be thrown down , better Men and Angels be annihilated , then God should lose one Jewel of his Crown , one Beam of his Glory .

4. Creatures below us and above us bring Glory to God , and do we think to sit Rent-free , shall every thing glorifie God but Man ? it is pity then that ever Man was made ! 1. Creatures below us glorifie God , the inanimate Creatures ; the Heavens glorifie God , Ps. 19.1 . The heavens declare the glory of God . The curious Workmanship of Heaven sets forth the Glory of its Maker ; the Firmament is beautified and pensill'd out in Blue and Azure colours , where the Power and Wisdom of God may be clearly seen . The heavens declare his glory : We may see the Glory of God blazing in the Sun , twinkling in the Stars . 2. Look into the Air , the Birds with their chirping Musick sing Hymns of Praise to God , saith Anselm . Every Beast doth in its kind glorifie God , Isa. 43.20 . The beasts of the field shall honour me . 2. Creatures above us glorifie God : The angels are ministring spirits , Heb. 1.14 . They are still waiting on God's Throne , and bring some Revenues of Glory into the Exchequer of Heaven : Then surely Man should be much more studious of God's Glory then the Angels , for God hath honour'd him more then the Angels , in that Christ took Man's Nature upon him , and not the Angels ; say tho' in regard of Creation God hath made Man a little lower then the Angels , Heb. 2.7 . yet in regard of Redemption , God hath set him higher than the Angels ; he hath married Mankind to himself : The Angels are Christ's Friends , but not his Spouse ; he hath covered us with the Purple Robe of his Righteousness , which is a better Righteousness then the Angels have , 2 Cor. 5.20 . So that if the Angels bring Glory to God , much more should we , being dignified with Honour above the Angelical Spirits .

5. Resp. We must bring Glory to God , because all our Hopes hang upon him , Psal. 39.7 . My hope is in thee . And , Psal. 62.5 . My expectation is from him ; I expect a Kingdom from him . A Child that is good natur'd will Honour his Parent , as expecting all that ever he is like to be worth from him , Psal. 87.8 . All my fresh springs are in thee . The Silver Springs of Grace , the Golden Springs of Glory .

Quest. How many ways may we glorifie God ?

Resp. 1. It is a glorifying God when we aim purely at God's Glory ; it is one thing to advance God's Glory , another thing to aim at it ; God must be the Terminus ad quem , the Ultimate End of all our Actions ; thus Christ , Joh. 8.50 . I seek not my own glory , but the glory of him that sent me . 'T is the Note of an Hypocrite , he hath a squint Eye , he looks more to his own Glory then God's Glory . Our Saviour Deciphers such , and gives a Caveat against them , Matth. 6.2 . When thou givest alms do not sound a trumpet . A Stranger would ask , What means the noise of this Trumpet ? Then it was answered , They are going to give to the Poor . And so they did not give Alms , but sell them for Honour and Applause , that they may have Glory of Men : the Breath of Men was the Wind that blew the Sails of their Charity : Verily , they have their reward . The Hypocrite may make his Acquittance , and write , Received in full payment . Vain-glory Chrysostome calls one of the Devil 's great Nets to catch Men. And Cyprian , Quem non gula 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 superavit : Whom Satan cannot prevail against by Intemperance , those he prevails against by Pride and Vain-glory. O let us take heed of this 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Self-worshipping ! Aim purely at God's Glory .

Quest. How shall we know we aim at God's Glory ?

Resp. 1. When we prefer God's Glory above all other things ; above Credit , Estate , Relations ; when the Glory of God comes in competition with them , we prefer his Glory before them : if Relations lie in our way to Heaven , we must either leap over them , or tread upon them : A Child must unchild himself , and forget he is a Child , he must know neither Father nor Mother in God's Cause , Deut. 33.9 . Who said unto his father and his mother , I have not seen him ; neither did he acknowledge his Brethren . This is to aim at God's Glory .

2. Then we aim at God's Glory when we can be content that God's Will should take place though it cross ours : Lord I am content to be a Looser if thou a Gainer ; to have less Health , if I may have more Grace , and thou more Glory ; whether it be Food or bitter Physick thou givest me , Lord I desire that which may be most for thy Glory : Thus our Blessed Saviour , Not as I will , but as thou wilt , Matth. 26.39 . So God might have more Glory by his Sufferings , he was content to suffer , Joh. 12.28 . Father glorifie thy name .

3. Then we aim at God's Glory , when we can be content to be out-shined by others in Gifts and Esteem , so God's Glory may be encreased : A Man that hath God in his Heart , and God's Glory in his Eye , desires that God should be exalted , and if this be effected , let who will be the Instrument , he rejoyceth . Phil. 1.15 . Some preach Christ of Envy , notwithstanding Christ is preached , and I therein do rejoyce , and will rejoyce ; they preached Christ of Envy , they envyed Paul that Concourse of People , and they preached that they might out-shine him in Gifts , and get away some of his Hearers . Well , saith Paul , Christ is preached , and God is like to have Glory , therefore I rejoyce ; let my Candle go out , if the Sun of Righteousness may but shine .

2. We Glorifie God by an ingenuous Confession of Sin : The Thief of the Cross had dishonour'd God in his Life , but at his Death he brings Glory to God by Confession of Sin , Luke 23.41 . We indeed suffer justly . He acknowledged he deserved not only Crucifixion but Damnation , Josh. 7.19 . My son , give , I pray thee , glory to God , and make confession unto him . An humble Confession exalts God ; how is God's Free-grace magnified in crowning those who deserve to be condemn'd ; as the excusing and mincing of Sin doth cast a Reproach upon God , Adam denies not he did tast the forbidden Fruit , Ovid. but instead of a full Confession , he taxes God , Inscripser● Deos sceleri , Gen. 3.12 . The woman whom thou gavest me , she gave me of the tree and I did eat . It is long of thee , if thou hadst not given me the Woman to be a Tempter , I had not sinned . So Confession glorifies God , it clears , it acknowledgeth he is Holy and Righteous whatever he doth . Nehemiah vindicates God's Righteousness , Chap. 9.33 . Thou art just in all that is brought upon us . And Confession then is ingenuous when it is free not forc'd , Luke 15.18 . I have sinn'd against heaven , and before thee ; he chargeth himself with Sin before ever his Father chargeth him with it .

3. We glorifie God by Believing ; Rom. 4.20 . Abraham was strong in faith , giving glory to God . Unbelief affronts God , it gives him the Lye , He that believeth not , maketh God a lyer , 1 Joh. 5.10 . So Faith brings Glory to God , it sets to its Seal that God is true , Ioh. 3.33 . he that believes flies to God's Mercy and Truth , as to an Altar of Refuge ; he doth Ingarrison himself in the Promises , he trusts all he hath with God , Psal. 31.5 . Into thy hands I commit my spirit ; this is a great way of bringing Glory to God , therefore God honours Faith , because Faith honours God . It is a great Honour we do to a Man when we trust him with all we have , we put our Lives and Estates into his hand ; a sign we have a good Opinion of him . The three Children glorified God by believing , The God whom we serve is able to deliver us , and will deliver us , Dan. 3.17 . Faith knows there are no Impossibles with God , and will trust him where it cannot trace him .

4. We glorifie God by being tender of God's Glory ; God's Glory is dear to him as the apple of his Eye ; now when we are tender of his Glory by laying to heart his Dishonours , this is a glorifying of him . An ingenuous Child weeps to see a Disgrace done to his Father , Psal. 69.9 . The reproaches of them that reproach thee , are fallen upon me . When we hear God reproached , it is as if we were reproached ; when God's Glory suffers , 't is as if we suffered . This is to be tender of God's Glory .

5. We glorifie God by Fruitfulness , Joh. 15.8 . Hereby is my Father glorified , if ye bring forth much fruit . As 't is a Dishonour to God to be barren , so Fruitfulness doth honour him : Phil. 1.11 . Filled with the fruits of righteousness , which are to the praise of his glory . We must not be like the Fig-tree in the Gospel , which had nothing but Leaves , but like the Pomocitron , that is continually either mellowing or blossoming , it is never without Fruit. 'T is not Profession but Fruit glorifies God , God expects to have his Glory from us this way , 1 Cor. 9.7 . Who plants a vineyard and eats not of the fruit of it ? Trees in the Forrest may be barren , but Trees in the Garden are fruitful : We must bring forth the Fruits of Love and Good Works : Matth. 5.16 . Let your light so shine before men , that they may see your good works , and glorifie your Father which is in heaven . Faith doth sanctifie our Works , and Works do testifie our Faith : To be doing good to others , to be Eyes to the Blind , Feet to the Lame , doth much glorifie God . And thus Christ did glorifie his Father , He went about doing good , Acts 10.38 . By being fruitful we are fair in God's Eyes , Jer. 11.16 . The Lord called thy name a green olive-tree , fair and of goodly fruit . And we must bear much Fruit , it is Muchness of Fruit glorifies God ; if ye bear much Fruit. The Spouse's Breasts are compared to Clusters of Grapes , Cant. 7.7 . to shew how fertile she was . Tho' the lowest degree of Grace may bring Salvation to you , yet not so much Glory to God : it was not a spark of Love Christ commended in Mary , but much love , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , she loved much , Luke 7.47 .

6. We glorifie God by being contented in that State where his Providence hath set us ; we give God the Glory of his Wisdom in that we rest satisfied with what he carves out to us : Thus did holy Paul glorifie God , the Lord had cast him into as great variety of Condition as any Man , in Prisons more frequent , in Deaths oft , 2 Cor. 11.23 . yet he had learned to be content : St. Paul could sail either in a Storm or a Calm ; he could be any thing that God would have him ; he could either want or abound , Phil. 4.13 . A good Christian argues thus : It is God hath put me in this Condition ; he could have raised me higher if he pleas'd , but that might have been a Snare to me ; God hath done it in Wisdom and Love , therefore I will sit down satisfied with my Condition . Surely this doth much glorifie God ; God counts himself much honoured by such a Christian ; saith God , Here is one after my own heart , let me do what I will with him , I hear no murmuring , he is content . This shews abundance of Grace . When Grace is crowning it is not so much to be content , but when Grace is conflicting with Inconveniencies , then to be content is a glorious thing indeed : for one to be content when he is in Heaven , is no wonder , but to be content under the Cross , is like a Christian : This Man must needs bring Glory to God , for he shews to all the World that though he hath little Meal in Barrel , yet he hath enough in God to make him content ; he saith as David , Psal. 16.5 . The Lord is the portion of my inheritance , the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places .

7. We glorifie God in working out our own Salvation : God hath twisted these two together , his Glory and our Good ; we glorifie him by promoting our own Salvation ; 't is a Glory to God to have multitude of Converts ; now his design of Free-grace takes , and God hath the Glory of his Mercy : So that while we are endeavouring our Salvation , we are honouring God : What an Encouragement is this to the Service of God , to think while I am Hearing and Praying , I am glorifying God , while I am furthering my own Glory in Heaven , I am encreasing God's Glory : Would it not be an Encouragement to a Subject , to hear his Prince say to him , You will honour and please me very much , if you will go to yonder Mine of Gold , and dig out as much Gold for yourself as you can carry away ? So for God to say , Go to the Ordinances , get as much Grace as you can , dig out as much Salvation as you can , and the more Happiness you have , the more I shall count myself glorified .

8. We glorifie God by living to God : 2 Cor. 5.15 . That they which live should not live to themselves , but unto him who died for them . Rom. 14.8 . Whether we live we live unto the Lord . The Mammonist lives to his Money , the Epicure lives to his Belly ; the design of a Sinner's Life is to gratifie Lust. But then we glorifie God when we live to God .

Quest. What is it to live to God ?

Resp. When we live to his Service , and lay out ourselves wholly for God : The Lord hath sent us into the World , as a Merchant sends his Factor beyond the Seas to trade for him . Then we live to God when we trade for his Interest , and propagate his Gospel ; God hath given every Man a Tallent : Now when he doth not hide it in a Napkin , but improves it for God , this is to live to God . When a Master in a Family , by Counsel and good Example , labours to bring his Servants to Christ , when a Minister doth exhaust himself in the Labours of his Holy Calling , when he spends himself , and is spent , that he may win Souls to Christ , and make the Crown flourish upon Christ's Head ; when the Magistrate doth not bear the Sword in vain , but labours to cut down Sin , and suppress Vice ; this is to live to God , and this a glorifying of God : Phil. 1.20 . That Christ may be magnified , whether by life or by death . Three Wishes St. Paul had , and they were all about Christ , That he might be found in Christ , be with Christ , and that he might magnifie Christ .

9. We glorifie God by walking chearfully : It is a Glory to God when the World sees a Christian hath that within him that can make him chearful in the worst Times : he can with the Nightingale sing with a Thorn at his Breast . The People of God have ground of Chearfulness , they are justified , and instated into Adoption , and this Creates inward Peace ; it makes Musick within , whatever Storms are without , 2 Cor. 1.4 . 1 Thes. 1.6 . If we consider what Christ hath wrought for us by his Bloud , and wrought in us by his Spirit , it is a ground of great Chearfulness , and this Chearfulness glorifies God : It reflects upon a Master when the Servant is always drooping and sad , sure he is kept to hard Commons , his Master doth not give him what is fitting . So when God's People hang their Harpes on Willows , sure they do not serve a good Master , repent of their Choice , this reflects Dishonour on God ; as the gross Sins of the Wicked bring a Scandal on the Gospel , so do the unchearful Lives of the Godly , Psal. 100.2 . Serve the Lord with gladness . Your serving him doth not glorifie him , unless it be with Gladness ; a Christian 's chearful looks glorifie God ; Religion doth not take away our Joy but refine and clarifie it , it doth not break our Viol but tunes it , and makes the Musick sweeter .

10. We glorifie God by standing up for his Truths : Much of God's Glory lies in his Truth ; God hath intrusted us with his Truth , as a Master intrusts his Servant with his Purse to keep : We have not a richer Jewel to trust God with than our Souls ; nor God hath not a richer Jewel to trust us with than his Truth : Truth is a Beam that shines from God , much of his Glory lies in his Truth ; now when we are Advocates for Truth , this is to glorifie God , so Athanasius , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Bulwark of Truth , Jud. 3. That ye should contend earnestly for the faith ; viz. the Doctrine of Faith . The Greek word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to contend , signifies a great contending , as one would contend for his Land , and not suffer his Right to be taken from him ; so we should contend for the Truth : Were there more of this Holy Contention , God would have more Glory . Some can contend earnestly for Trifles and Ceremonies , but not for the Truth : we should count him indiscreet that should contend more for a Picture then for his Land of Inheritance , a Box of Counters , then for his Box of Evidences .

11. We glorifie God by praising of him ; Doxology or Praise is a God-exalting Work , Psal. 50.23 . Whoso offers praise glorifies me . The Hebrew word Bara to create , and Barak to praise , are little different , because the End of Creation is to Praise God : David was called the sweet Singer of Israel , and his praising God was called a glorifying of God , Psal. 86.12 . I will praise thee , O Lord my God , and I will glorifie thy name . Though nothing can add to God's essential Glory , yet Praise exalts him in the eyes of others : when we praise God we spread his Fame and Renown , we display the Trophies of his Excellency : In this manner the Angels glorifie God , they are the Queristers of Heaven , and do trumpet forth God's Praise ; and praising of God is one of the highest and purest Acts of Religion ; in Prayer we act like Men , in Praise we act like Angels ; this is an high degree of glorifying God . Believers are called Temples of God , 1 Cor. 3.16 . when our Tongues praise God , then the Organs in God's Spiritual Temple are going . How sad is it that God hath no more of his Glory from us this way . Many are full of Murmurings and Discontents , but seldom do they bring Glory to God by giving him the Praise due to his Name . We read of the Saints having Harps in their hand , Rev. 5.8 . the Emblem of Praise : Many have Tears in their eyes , and Complaints in their mouth , but few have Harps in their hand , blessing and glorifying of God ; let us Honour God this way . Praise is the Quit-rent we pay to God ; while God renews our Lease , we must renew our Rent .

12. We glorifie God by being zealous for his Name , Numb. 25.11 . Phinehas hath turned my wrath away , while he was zealous for my sake . Zeal is a mixed Affection , a Compound of Love and Anger ; it carries forth our Love to God , and Anger against Sin in a most intense manner : Zeal is impatient of God's Dishonour ; a Christian fired with Zeal takes a Dishonour done to God worse then an Injury done to himself : Rev. 2.2 . Thou canst not bear them that are evil . Our Saviour Christ did thus glorifie his Father ; he being baptized with a Spirit of Zeal , drove the Money-changers out of the Temple , Iob. 2.14 and 17. The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up .

13. We glorifie God when we have an eye at God , both in our Natural and in our Civil Actions : 1. In our Natural Actions , in eating and drinking , 1 Cor. 10.31 . Whether therefore ye eat or drink , do all to the glory of God . A gracious Person holds the Golden Bridle of Temperance , he takes his Meat as a Medicine to heal the Decays of Nature , and that he may be the fitter by the strength he receives for the Service of God ; he makes his Food not Fuel for Lust , but Help to Duty . 2. In buying and selling , we do all to the Glory of God ; the Wicked live upon unjust Gain , either by falsifying the Ballance , Hos. 12.7 . The ballances of deceit are in his hand : While Men make their Weights lighter , they make their Sins heavier , or by exacting more then the Commodity is worth , they do not for fourscore write down fifty , but for fifty fourscore ; they exact double the Price that a thing is worth . But then we buy and sell to the Glory of God , when in our buying and selling we observe that Golden Maxim , To do to others as we would have them do to us , Matth. 7.12 . When we so sell our Commodities that we do not sell our Conscience : Acts 24.16 . Herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence towards God , and toward men . This is to glorifie God , when we have an eye at God in all our Civil and Natural Actions , and will do nothing that may reflect any Blemish on Religion .

14. We glorifie God by labouring to draw others to God ; we convert others , and so make them Instruments of glorifying God . We should be both Diamonds and Loadstones , Diamonds for the Lustre of Grace , and Loadstones for our attractive Vertue in drawing others to Christ : Gal. 4.19 . My little children , of whom I travel , &c. This is a great way of glorifying God , when we break the Devil's Prison , and turn Men from the Power of Satan to God .

15. We glorifie God in an high manner when we suffer for God , and Seal the Gospel with our Bloud : Joh. 21.18 , 19. When thou shalt be old , another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not : This spake he , signifying by what death he should glorifie God . God's Glory shines in the Ashes of his Martyrs , Isa. 24.15 . Wherefore glorifie the Lord in the fires . Micaiah was in the Prison , Isaiah sawn asunder , Paul beheaded , Luke hanged on an Olive-tree , thus did they by their Death glorifie God . The Sufferings of the Primitive Saints did Honour God , and make the Gospel famous in the World : What would others say , See what a good Master they serve , and how they love him , that they will venture loss of all in his Service . The Glory of Christ's Kingdom doth not stand in Worldly Pomp and Grandeur , as other Kings , but it is seen in the chearful Sufferings of his People ; The Saints of old loved not their lives to the Death , Rev. 12.11 . They snatch'd up Torments as so many Crowns . God grant we may thus glorifie him , if he calls us to it : many pray , Let this cup pass away , but not , Thy will be done .

16. We glorifie God when we give God the Glory of all we do : Herod when he had made an Oration , and the People gave a shout , saying , It is the voice of a God , and not of a Man ; and he took this Glory to himself , the Text saith , Immediately the angel of the Lord smote him , because he gave not God the glory ; and he was eaten of worms , Acts 12.23 . Then we glorifie God when we sacrifice the Praise and Glory of all to God , 1 Cor. 15.10 . I labour more abundantly then they all . A Speech one would think savoured of Pride ; but the Apostle pulls the Crown from his own Head and sets it upon the Head of Free-grace , Yet not I , but the grace of God which was with me . As Ioab when he fought against Rabbah , sent for King David that he might carry away the Crown of the Victory , 2 Sam. 12.28 . so a Christian when he hath gotten power over any Corruption or Tentation , sends for Christ that he may carry away the Crown of the Victory : as the Silk-worm when she weaves her curious Work , she hides herself under the Silk , and is not seen ; so when we have done any thing Praise-worthy , we must hide ourselves under the Vail of Humility , and transfer the Glory of all we have to done God . Constantine did use to write the Name of Christ over his Door ; so should we write the Name of Christ over our Duties ; let him wear the Garland of Praise .

17. We glorifie God by an holy Life : Christianorum religio ha●c sine macula vivere lactant ; As a bad Life doth dishonour God , 1 Pet. 2.9 . Ye are an holy nation , that ye should shew forth the praises of him that hath called you . Rom. 2.24 . The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you . Epiphanius saith , That the Loosness of some Christians in his time , made many of the Heathen shun the Company of the Christians , and would not be drawn to hear their Sermons . So by our exact Bible-conversation we glorifie God ; though the main Work of Religion lies in the Heart , yet our light must so shine , that others may behold it ; the chief of Building is in Foundation , yet the Glory of it is in Frontis-piece , so Beauty in the Conversation : When the Saints who are called Jewels , cast a sparkling Lustre of Holiness in the Eyes of the World ; when they walk as Christ walked , 1 Ioh. 2.6 . when they live as if they had seen the Lord with bodily Eyes , and been with him upon the Mount ; then they adorn Religion , and bring Revenues of Glory to the Crown of Heaven .

Use 1. It shews us what should not be our chief End , not to get great Estates , not to lay up Treasures upon Earth : This is the Degeneracy of Mankind since the Fall , their great Design is to compass the Earth , and grow Rich , and this they make their Finis ultimus , their chief End : Cassa & caduca pluris faciunt quam coelestia Cavidro : These never think of glorifying God , they trade for the World , but are not Factors for Heaven : Eccles. 9.3 . Madness is in their heart while they live ; sometimes they never arrive at an Estate , they do not get the Venison they hunt for ; or though they do , what have they ? that which will not fill the Heart no more then the Marriner's Breath will fix the Sails of a Ship ; like a fair Picture drawn on the Ice , and to spend all one's time as Israel in gathering Straw , but remember not the End of living to glorifie God : Eccles. 5.16 . What profit hath he that laboured for the wind ? And these things are soon gone .

Use 2. It reproves such , 1. as bring no Glory to God : They do not answer the End of their Creation , their time is not true lived , but time lost ; they are like the Wood of the Vine , Ezek. 15.2 . Their Lives are as St. Bernard speaks , Aut peccatum aut sterilitas ; Either Sinfulness or Barrenness . Telluris inutile pondus : — God will one day ask such a question as King Ahasuerus did , Esther 6.3 . What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordicai ? So will the Lord say , What honour hath been done to me ? What Revenues of Glory have you brought into my Exchequer ? There is none here present , but God hath put you in some Capacity of glorifying him ; the Health he hath given you , the Parts , Estate , Seasons of Grace , these all are Opportunities put into your hand to glorifie him ; and be assur'd God will call you to account to know what you have done with the Mercies he hath intrusted you with , and what Glory you have brought to him : The Parable of the Talents , Matth. 25.15 . where the Man with the five Talents , and the two Talents are brought to a Reckoning , doth evidently shew that God will call you to a strict Account to know how you have traded with your Talents , and what Glory you have brought to him . Now how sad will it be with them that hide their talent in a napkin , that bring God no Glory at all ; Verse 30. Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness . It is not enough for you to say , that you have not dishonoured God , you have not lived in gross Sin ; but what Good have you done , what Glory have you brought to God ? It is not enough for the Servant of the Vineyard , that he doth no hurt in the Vineyard , he doth not break the Trees , or destroy the Hedges , if he doth not do service in the Vineyard , he looseth his Pay : If you do not good in your Place , not glorifie God , you will lose your Pay , miss of Salvation . Oh think of this all you that live Unserviceably ! Christ cursed the barren Fig-tree .

2. It reproves such as are so far from bringing Glory to God , that they rob God of his Glory , Mal. 3.8 . Will a man rob God , yet ye have robbed me . They rob God who take the Glory due to God to themselves , 1. If they have gotten an Estate , they ascribe all to their own Wit and Industry , they set the Crown upon their own Head , not considering that , Deut. 8.18 . Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God , for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth . 2. If they do any Duty of Religion , they look asquint to their own Glory , Matth. 6.5 . That they may be seen of men ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , That they may be set upon a Theatre , that others may admire and canonize them . The Oil of Vain-glory feeds their Lamp : how many hath the Wind of Popular Breath blown to Hell ? Quos non gula 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 superavit , Cyprian . Whom the Devil could not destroy by Intemperance , he hath by Vain-glory.

3. It reproves them who fight against God's Glory : Acts 5.39 . Lest ye be found to fight against God .

Quest. But who do fight against God's Glory ?

Resp. Such as do oppose that whereby God's Glory is promoted . God's Glory is much promoted in the preaching of the Word , because it is his Engine whereby he converts Souls . Now , such as would hinder the preaching of the Word , these fight against God's Glory : 1 Thess. 2.16 . Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles , that they might be saved . Dioclesian who raised the tenth Persecution against the Christians , did prohibit Church-meetings , and would have the Temples of the Christians to be razed down . Such as hinder Preaching , do as the Philistines that stop'd the Wells , they stop the Well of the Water of Life ; they take away the Physitians that should heal Sin-sick Souls : Ministers are Lights , Matth. 5.14 . and who but Thieves hate the Light ? These Persons do directly strike at God's Glory ; and what an Account will they have to give to God , when he shall charge the Bloud of Mens Souls upon them : Luke 11.52 . Ye have taken away the key of knowledge ; ye entred not in yourselves , and they that were entring in ye hindred . If there be either Justice in Heaven , or Fire in Hell , they shall not go unpunished .

Use 4. Exhortation : Let us every one in our place make this our chief End and Design , to glorifie God : 1. Let me speak to Magistrates ; God hath put much Glory upon them , Psal. 82.6 . I have said ye are gods ; And will not they glorify him whom he hath put so much Glory upon ? Magistrates should be zealous for God's Worship and Day , they should not let the Sword rust in the Scabbard , but draw it out for the cutting down of Sin . 2. Ministers , how should they study to promote God's Glory ; God hath intrusted them with two the most precious Things , his Truths and the Souls of his People . Ministers are by vertue of their Office to glorifie God : 1. They must glorifie God by labouring in the Word and Doctrine , 2 Tim. 4.1 . I charge thee before God , and the Lord Iesus Christ , who shall judge the quick and the dead : Preach the word , be instant in season , out of season , &c. It was St. Augustine's Wish , That Christ at his coming might find him , Aut Precantem aut Praedicantem , either Praying or Preaching . 2. Ministers must glorifie God by their Zeal and Sanctity : The Priests under the Law , before they served at the Altar , did wash in the Lavor . Such as serve in the Lord's House , must first be washed from gross Sin in the Lavor of Repentance . 'T is matter of Grief and Shame , to think how many who call themselves Ministers , 2 Chr. 11.15 . do instead of apparently bringing Glory to God , Dishonour God ; their Lives as well as Doctrines are Heterodox , they are not free from the Sins which they reprove in others . Plutarch's Servant upbraided him , It is not as my Master Plutarch saith , he hath written a Book against Wrath , Anger , Et ipse mihi irascitur , yet he falls into a Passion of Anger with me . So this Minister preacheth against Drunkenness , yet he will be drunk , he preacheth against Swearing , yet he will swear ; this reproacheth God , and makes the Offering of the Lord to be abhorred . 3. Masters of Families do you glorifie God , season your Children and Servants with the Knowledge of the Lord , your Houses should be little Churches : Gen. 18.19 . I know that Abraham will command his children , that they keep the way of the Lord . You that are Masters , know you have a Charge of Souls under you ; for want of the Bridle of Family-discipline Youth runs wild : Well , let me lay down some Motives to glorifie God :

1 Motive , It will be a great Comfort in a dying hour , to think we have glorified God in our Lives ; it was Christ's Comfort before his Death , Ioh. 17.3 . I have glorified thee on earth . At the hour of Death all your earthly Comforts will vanish , if you think how Rich you have been , what Pleasures you have had on Earth , this will be so far from comforting you , that it will but torment you the more : What is one the better for an Estate that is spent ? But now to have Conscience telling you , that you have glorified God on Earth , what sweet Comfort and Peace will this let into your Soul ! how will this make you long for Death ! The Servant that hath been all day working in the Vineyard , longs till Evening comes when he shall receive his Pay . They who have lived and brought no Glory to God , how can they think of dying with Comfort ; they cannot expect an Harvest that never sowed any Seed : How can they expect Glory from God , that never brought any Glory to him ? O in what Horrour will they be at Death ! the Worm of Conscience will gnaw their Souls , before the Worms are gnawing their Bodies .

2 Mot. If we glorifie God , he will glorifie our Souls for ever ; by raising God's Glory we encrease our own ; by glorifying of God we come at last to the blessed Enjoying of Him , and that brings me to the second , The Enjoying of God .

Secondly , Man's chief End is to Enjoy God for ever , Psal. 73.25 . Whom have I in heaven but thee ? Quasi , What is there in Heaven I desire to enjoy but thee ? Ibi Angeli musculus , There is a twofold Fruition , or enjoying of God ; the one is in this Life , the other in the Life to come :

1st , An enjoying of God here in this Life : The enjoying of God's Presence ; it is a great matter to enjoy God's Ordinances , ( a Mercy that some do envy us ) but to enjoy God's Presence in the Ordinances , is that which a gracious Heart aspires after , Psal. 63.2 . To see thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary . This sweet enjoying of God is , when we feel his Spirit co-operating with the Ordinance , and distilling Grace upon our Hearts : 1. When in word the Spirit doth quicken and raise the Affections , Luke 24.32 . Did not our hearts burn within us ? 2. When the Spirit doth transform the Heart , leaving an impress of Holiness upon it , 2 Cor. 3.8 . We are changed into the same Image , from glory to glory . 3. When the Spirit doth receive the Heart with Comfort , it comes not only with its Anointing , but its Seal , it sheds God's Love abroad in the Heart , Rom. 5.5 . this is to enjoy God in an Ordinance . 1 Joh. 1.3 . Our fellowship is with the Father and his son Iesus . In the Word we hear God's Voice , and in the Sacrament we have his Kiss ; this is enjoying of God : And what infinite Content doth a gracious Soul find in this ? The Heart being warm'd and inflamed in a Duty , this is God's answering by Fire . When a Christian hath the sweet Illapses of God's Spirit , these are the first Fruits of Glory , when God comes down to the Soul in an Ordinance : Now Christ hath pull'd off his Veil , and showed his smiling Face , now he hath led a Believer into the Banqueting-house , and given him of the spiced Wine of his Love to drink ; he hath put in his Finger at the hole of the Door , he hath touch'd the Heart , and made it leap for Joy : Oh how sweet is it thus to enjoy God! The Godly have in the use of the Ordinances , had such Divine Raptures of Joy and Soul-transfigurations , that they have been carried above the World , and despised all things here below .

Use 1. Is the enjoying God in this Life so sweet , how prodigiously wicked are they that prefer the enjoying their Lusts before the enjoying of God , 2 Pet. 3.3 . The lust of the flesh , the lust of the eye , the pride of life , is the Trinity they worship : Lust is an inordinate Desire or Impulse provoking the Soul to that which is evil ; there is the revengeful Lust , and the wanton Lust ; Lust is like a feaverish Heat , it puts the Soul into a Flame . Aristotle calls sensual Lusts bruitish , because when any Lust is violent , Reason or Conscience cannot be heard , the Beast rides the Man . These Lusts when they are enjoyed do besot and dispirit Persons , Hos. 4.11 . Whoredom and wine take away the heart : They have no heart for any thing that is good ; how many make it their chief end , not to enjoy God , but to enjoy their Lusts ? As that Cardinal said , Let him but keep his Cardinalship of Paris , and he was content to loose his part in Paradise . Lust first bewitcheth with Pleasure , and then comes the fatal Dart , Prov. 7.23 . Till a dart strike through his liver . This should be as a flaming Sword to stop Men in the way of their carnal Delights ; who would for a Drop of Pleasure drink a Sea of Wrath ?

Use 2. Let it be our great Care to enjoy God's sweet Presence here , which is the Beauty and Comfort of the Ordinance . Enjoying spiritual Communion with God , is a Riddle and Mystery to most People : every one that hangs about the Court doth not speak with the King . We may approach to God in Ordinances , and as it were hang about the Court of Heaven , yet not enjoy Communion with God ; we may have the Letter without Spirit , the visible Sign without the invisible Grace : it is the enjoying of God in a Duty we should chiefly look at , Psal. 42.2 . My soul thirsteth for God , for the living God . Alas , what are all our worldly Enjoyments without the enjoying of God ? What is it to enjoy a great deal of Health , a brave Estate , and not to enjoy God : Job 30.28 . I went mourning without the sun . So maist thou say in the Enjoyment of all Creatures without God , I went mourning without the sun ; I have the Star-light of outward Enjoyments , but I cannot enjoy God , I want the Sun of Righteousness , I went mourning without the sun . This should be our great Design , not only to have the Ordinances of God , but the God of the Ordinances . The enjoying God's sweet Presence with us here , is the most contented Life : he is an Hive of Sweetness , a Magazine of Riches , a Fountain of Delight , Psal. 36.8 , 9. The higher the Lark flies the sweeter it sings : and the higher we flie by the Wing of Faith , the more of God we enjoy , the sweeter Delight we feel in our Souls : How is the Heart inflamed in Prayer and Meditation , what Joy and Peace in believing ? Is it not comfortable being in Heaven ? He that enjoys much of God in this Life , carries Heaven about him : O let this be the thing we are chiefly ambitious of , the enjoying of God in his Ordinances : remember , the enjoying God's sweet Presence here , is an Earnest of our enjoying him in Heaven : — and that brings me to the second thing , which is ,

2d , The enjoying God in the Life to come : Man's chief end is to enjoy God for ever ; before this plenary Fruition of God in Heaven , there must be something previous and antecedent , and that is , our being in a State of Grace : We must have Conformity to him in Grace , before we can have Communion with him in Glory . Grace and Glory are inter se connexae , link'd and chain'd together ; Grace precedes Glory , as the Morning-star ushers in the Sun . God will have us qualified and fitted for a state of Blessedness : Drunkards and Swearers are not fit to enjoy God in Glory , the Lord will not lay such Vipers in his Bosom ; only the pure in heart shall see God : We must first be as the King's Daughter , glorious within , before we are cloathed with the Robes of Glory : as King Ahashuerus first caus'd the Virgins to be purified and anointed , and they had their sweet Odours to perfume them , and then they were to stand before the King , Esth. 2.12 . so must we , we must have the anointing of God , and be perfum'd with the Graces of Spirit , those sweet Odours , and then we shall stand before the King of Heaven : now , being thus divinely qualified by Grace , we shall be taken up into the Mount of Vision , and enjoy God for ever . This enjoying God for ever , is nothing else but to be put into a State of Happiness . As the Body cannot have Life , but by having Communion with the Soul , so the Soul cannot have Blessedness , but by having immediate Communion with God . God is the Summum Bonum , the Chief Good ; therefore the enjoying of him is the highest Felicity . He is , I say , the Chief Good .

1. He is an Universal Good ; Bonum in quo omnia Bona. The Excellencies of the Creature are limited . A Man may have Health , not Beauty ; Learning , not Parentage ; Riches , not Wisdom : But in God are eminently contained all Excellencies : He is a Good commensurate fully to the Soul ; he is a Sun , a Portion , an Horn of Salvation ; in him dwells 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 all Fulness , Col. 1.19 . 2. God is an Unmixed Good : No Condition in this Life but hath its mixture ; for every drop of Honey , there is a drop of Gall. Solomon , who gave himself to find out this Philosopher's Stone ▪ to search out for an Happiness here below , he found Vanity and Vexation , Eccles. 1.2 . but God is a perfect , quintessential Good . He is sweetness in the Flower . 3. God is a Satisfying Good . The Soul cries out , I have enough . Psal. 17.15 . I shall be satisfied with thy likeness ; A Man that is thirsty , bring him to the Ocean , and he hath enough . If there be enough in God to satisfie the Angels , then sure enough to satisfie us . The Soul is but Finite , but God is an increase Infinite Good . And yet though God be such a Good as doth satisfie , yet not surfeit . Fresh Joys spring continually from God's Face ; and God is as much desired after Millions of Years by Glorified Souls , as at the first moment . There is so much Fulness in God as satisfies , yet so much Sweetness that the Soul still desires ; it is Satisfaction without Surfeit . 4. God is a delicious Good . That which is the chief Good must ravish the Soul with pleasure ; there must be in it Spirits of Delight , and Quintessence of Joy ; and this is to be enjoyed only in God . In Deo quadam dulcedine delectatur anima immo rapitur ; the Love of God drops such infinite suavity into the Soul as is unspeakable and full of glory . If there be so much delight in God , when we see him only by Faith , 1 Pet. 1.8 . what will the joy of Vision be when we shall see him face to face ? If the Saints have found so much delight in God while they were Suffering , O then what Joy and Delight will they have when they are Crowning ? If Flames are Beds of Roses , O then what will it be to lean on the Bosom of Jesus , what a Bed of Roses will that be ? 5. God is a Superlative Good . He is better then any thing you can put in competition with him ; he is better then Health , Riches , Honour . Other things maintain Life , he gives Life . But who would go to put any thing in Ballance with the Deity ? who would weigh a Feather with a Mountain of Gold ? God excels all other things more infinitely then the Sun the light of a Taper . 6. God is an Eternal Good . He is the ancient of Days , Dan. 7.9 . yet never decays , or waxes old . The Joy he gives is eternal , the Crown he gives fadeth not away , 1 Pet. 5.4 . The glorified Soul shall be ever solacing it self in God ; it shall be feasting on his Love , and sunning it self in the light of his Countenance . We read of the River of Pleasure at God's right hand , but will not this in time be dried up ? No , there 's a Fountain at the bottom which feeds it , Psal. 36.9 . With the Lord is the fountain of life . Thus God is the Chief Good , and the enjoying God for ever is the Supream Felicity the Soul is capable of .

1. Use of Exhortation . Let it be the chief end of our living to enjoy this Chief Good hereafter ; this is that will crown us with Happiness . Austin reckons up two hundred eighty eight Opinions among the Philosophers about Happiness , but all did shoot short of the Mark. The highest Elevation of a reasonable Soul , is to enjoy God for ever . It is the enjoying God , makes Heaven , 1 Thess. 4.17 . Then shall we ever be with the Lord . The Soul trembles , as the Needle in the Compass , and is never at rest till it comes to God . To set out this excellent State of a Glorified Soul's enjoying God ; 1. This enjoying of God must not be understood in a Sensual Manner ; we must not conceive any Carnal Pleasures in Heaven . The Turks in their Alcoran speak of a Paradise of Pleasure , where they have Riches in abundance , and red Wine served in Golden Chalices . Here is an Heaven consisting of Pleasures for the Body ; the Epicures of this Age would like such an Heaven when they die . Though indeed the State of Glory be compared to a Feast , and is set out by Pearls and precious Stones , yet these Metaphors are only to be Helps to our Faith , and to show us that there is Superabundant Joy and Felicity in the Empyraean Heaven ; but those are not carnal , but sacred Delights . As our Employments shall be spiritual , it will consist in Adoring and Praising of God : so our Enjoyment shall be spiritual , it shall consist in the having the Perfection of Holiness , in seeing the pure Face of Christ , in feeling the Love of God , in conversing with Heavenly Spirits ; these Delights will be more adequate and proper for the Soul , and infinitely exceed all carnal voluptuous Delights . 2. We shall have a Lively Sence of this glorious Estate . A Man in a Lethargy , though he be alive , yet he is as good as dead , because he is not sensible , nor doth he take any pleasure in his Life ; we shall have a quick and lively sence of the infinite Pleasure which ariseth from Enjoyment of God ; we shall know our selves to be happy ; we shall reflect with joy upon our Dignity and Felicity ; we shall taste every Crumb of that Sweetness , every Drop of that Pleasure which flows from God . We shall be made able to bear a sight of that Glory . We could not now bear that Glory , it would overwhelm us ; sensibile fortè destruit sensum , as a weak Eye cannot behold the Sun ; but God will capacitate us for Glory ; our Souls shall be so heavenly , and perfected with holiness , that they may be able to enjoy the blessed Vision of God . Moses in a Clift of the Rock saw the Glory of God passing by , Exod. 33.22 . Through that blessed Rock Christ , we shall behold the Beatifical sight of God . 4. This Enjoyment of God shall be more then a bare Contemplation of him . Some of the Learned move the Question , Whether the Enjoyment of God shall be only by way of Contemplation ? Answ. That is something , but it is but one half of Heaven ; there shall be a Loving of God , an Acquiescence in him , a Tasting his Sweetness ; not only Inspection , but Possession , Joh. 17.24 . That they may behold my Glory ; there is Inspection : Vers. 22. And the Glory thou hast given me , I have given them ; there 's Possession . Glory shall be revealed in us , Rom. 8.18 . not only revealed to us , but in us . To behold God's Glory , there is Glory revealed to us ; but to partake of his Glory , there is Glory revealed in us . As the Spunge sucks in the Wine , so we shall suck in Glory . 5. There 's no Intermission in this State of Glory . We shall not only have God's glorious Presence at certain special Seasons , but we shall be continually in his Presence ; continually under Divine Raptures of Joy . There shall not be one Minute in Heaven , wherein a glorified Soul may say , I do not enjoy Happiness . The Streams of Glory are not like the Water of a Conduit , often stopped , that we cannot have one drop of Water ; but those heavenly Streams of Joy are continually running . O how should we despise this Valley of Tears where we now are , for the Mount of Transfiguration ! How should we long for the full Enjoyment of God in Paradise ! Had we a sight of that Land of Promise , we should need Patience to be content to live here any longer .

2. Let this be a Spur to Duty . How diligent and zealous should we be in glorifying God , that we come at last to enjoy him . If Tully , Demosthenes , Plato , who had but the dim Watch-light of Reason to see by , and did but fancy an Elizium and Happiness after this Life , did take such Herculean Pains to enjoy it , O then , how should Christians , who have the Light of Scripture to see by , bestir themselves , that they may arrive at the Eternal Fruition of God and Glory . If any thing may make us rise off our Bed of Sloth , and serve God with all our might , it should be this , the hope of our full Enjoyment of God for ever . What made Paul so active in the Sphere of Religion , 1 Cor. 15.10 . I laboured 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 more abdundantly then they all . His Obedience did not move slow , as the Sun on the Dial , but swift as the Sun in the Firmament . Why was he so zealous in glorifying God , but that he might at last center and terminate in him ? 1 Thess. 4.17 . Then shall we be ever with the Lord .

3. Use of Consolation . Let this comfort the Godly in all the present Miseries they feel . Thou complainest ( Christian ) thou dost not enjoy thy self , Fears disquiet thee , Wants perplex thee ; in the Day thou canst not enjoy Ease , in the Night thou canst not enjoy Sleep . Thou dost not enjoy the Comforts of thy Life , let this revive thee , that shortly thou shalt enjoy God , and then thou shalt have more then thou canst ask or think ; Thou shalt have Angels Joy , Glory without Intermission and Expiration . We shall never enjoy our selves fully , till we enjoy God Eternally .

Of the SCRIPTVRES .

Quest. II. Q. II. WHat Rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorifie and enioy him ?

Answ. The Word of God ( which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament ) is the only Rule to direct us how we may glorifie and enjoy him .

2 Tim. 3.16 . All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God , &c. By Scripture is understood the Sacred Book of God . — It is given by Divine Inspiration ; that is , the Scripture is not the Contrivance of Man's Brain , but of a Divine Original . The Image of Diana was had in Veneration by the Ephesians , because they did suppose it fell from Iupiter , Acts 19.35 . This Book then of the Holy Scripture is to be highly reverenced and esteemed , because we are sure it came from Heaven , 2 Pet. 1.21 . The two Testaments are the two Lips by which God hath spoken to us .

Quest. How doth it appear that the Scriptures have a Jus Divinum , a Divine Authority stamped upon them ?

Answ. Because the Old and New Testament are the Foundation of all Religion . If their Divinity cannot be proved , the Foundation is gone on which we build our Faith . I shall therefore endeavour to evince this great Truth , That the Scriptures are the very Word of God . I wonder whence the Scripture should come , if not from God . 1. Bad Men could not be the Authors of Scripture : would their Minds be imployed in indighting such holy Lines ? would they declare so fiercely against Sin ? 2. Good Men could not be the Authors of Scripture . Could they write in such a strain ? or could it stand with their Grace to Counterfeit God's Name , and put , Thus saith the Lord , to a Book of their own devising ? 3. Nor could any Angel in Heaven be the Author of Scripture . Because 1. the Angels pry and search into the Abyss of Gospel Mysteries , 1 Pet. 1.12 . which implies their nescience of some parts of Scripture ; and sure they cannot be Authors of that Book which themselves do not fully understand ▪ besides 2. what Angel in Heaven durst be so Arrogant as to Personate God , and say , I create , Isa. 65.17 . and I the Lord have said it , Numb. 14.35 . So that it is evident , The Pedigree of Scripture is Sacred , and it could come from none but God himself .

Not to speak of the Harmonious Consent of all the Parts of Scripture , there are Seven cogent Arguments may Evince it to be the Word of God .

1. By its Antiquity : It is of ancient standing . The gray Hairs of Scripture make it Venerable . No Humane Histories extant reach further then since Noah's Flood ; but the Holy Scripture relates Matters of Fact that have been from the beginning of the World ; it writes of things before Time . Now that is a sure Rule of Tertullian , That which is of the greatest Antiquity * * Id verum quod primum . , is to be received as most Sacred and Authentick .

2. We may know the Scripture to be the Word of God by the Miraculous Preservation of it in all Ages . The Holy Scriptures are the richest Jewel that Christ hath left ; and the Church of God hath kept these Publick Records of Heaven that they have not been lost . The Word of God hath never wanted Enemies to oppose , and if possible to extirpate it . They have given out a Law concerning Scripture , as Pharaoh did the Midwives concerning the Hebrew Womens Children , to strangle it in the Birth , yet God hath preserved this blessed Book inviolable to this Day . The Devil and his Agents have been blowing at Scripture-Light , but could never prevail to blow it out ; a clear sign that it was lighted from Heaven † † Veritas opprimi patest non supprimi . . — Nor hath the Church of God in all Revolutions and Changes only kept the Scripture that it should not be lost , but that it should not be depraved . The Letter of Scripture hath been preserved without any Corruption in the Original Tongue . The Scriptures were not corrupted before Christ's Time , for then Christ would never have sent the Jews to the Scriptures ; but he sends them to the Scriptures , Iohn 5.39 . Search the Scriptures . Christ knew these Sacred Springs were not muddied with Humane Fancies .

3. The Scripture appears to be the Word of God , by the Matter contained in it . 1. By its Profundity . The Mystery of Scripture is so abstruse and profound , that no Man or Angel could have known it , had it not been Divinely revealed . That Eternity should be born , that he who Thunders in the Heavens , should cry in the Cradle , that he who Rules the Stars should Suck the Breasts * * Que regit Syder a sagit ubera . ; That the Prince of Life should die , that the Lord of Glory should be put to shame , that Sin should be punished to the full , yet pardoned to the full , who could ever have conceived of such a Mystery , had not the Scripture been the Oracle to reveal it to us ? So for the Doctrine of the Resurrection , That the same Body which is crumbled into a thousand pieces , should rise idem numero , the same individual Body ( for else it were a Creation , not a Resurrection ) how could such a Sacred Riddle , above all Humane disquisition , be known , had not the Scripture made a Discovery of it ? 2. By its Purity . It is for the Matter of it so full of Goodness , Justice , and Sanctity , that it could be breathed from none but God : The Holiness of it shows it to be of God , it bears his very Image . The Scripture is compared to Silver refined seven times , Psal. 12.6 . This Book of God hath no Errata's in it : It is a Beam of the Sun of Righteousness , a Chrystal Stream flowing from the Fountain of Life . All Laws and Edicts of Men have had their Corruptions , but the Word of God hath not the least Tincture , it is of a Meridian Splendour . Psal. 119.140 . Thy Word is very pure , like wine that comes from the grape , which is not mixed or adulterated . It is so pure , that it purifies every thing else . Iohn 17.17 . Sanctifie them through thy truth . The Scripture presseth Holiness so as never any Book did : It bids us live soberly , righteously , godly , Titus 2.12 . Soberly , in Acts of Temperance ; Righteously , in Acts of Justice ; Godly , in Acts of Zeal and Devotion . It commends to us whatever is just , lovely , of good report , Phil. 4.8 . This Sword of the Spirit ( Eph. 6.17 . ) cuts down Vice . Out of this Tower of Scripture is thrown down a Milstone upon the Head of Sin . The Scripture is the Royal Law , which commands not only the Actions , but Affections ; it binds the Heart to its good Behaviour . Where is there such Holiness to be found , as is dig'd out of this Sacred Mine ? Who could be the Author of such a Book , but God himself ?

4. That the Scripture is the Word of God , is evident by its Predictions ; it Prophesieth of things to come . This shows the Voice of God speaking in it ; it was foretold by the Prophet , A Virgin shall conceive , Isa. 7.14 . and the Messiah shall be cut off , Dan. 9.26 . The Scripture foretels things that should fall out many Ages and Centuries after ; as how long Israel should serve in the Iron Furnace , and the very day of their Deliverance : Exod. 12.41 . At the end of the four hundred and thirty years , even the self same day , it came to pass , the Hoasts of the Lord went out of Egypt . This Prediction of Future Things , meerly contingent , and not depending upon Natural Causes , is a clear Demonstration of its Divine Original .

5. The Impartiality of those Men of God who wrote the Scriptures ; they do not spare to set down their own Failings . What Man that writes an History would black his own face , viz. record those things of himself that might stain his Reputation ? Moses records his own Impatience when he struck the Rock , and tells us therefore he could not enter into the Land of Promise . David writes of his own Adultery and Bloodshed , which stands as a Blot in his Scutchion to succeeding Ages . Peter relates his own Pusillanimity in denying Christ . Ionah sets down his own Passions , I do well to be angry to the death . Surely had not their Pen been guided by God's own Hand , they would never have written that which did reflect dishonour upon themselves . Men do usually rather hide their Blemishes , then publish them to the World : But these Pen-men of Holy Scripture eclipse their own Name ; they take away all the Glory from themselves , and give the Glory , to God .

6 Arg. The mighty power and efficacy the Word hath had upon the Souls and Consciences of Men. 1. It hath changed their heart . 1. Some by reading of Scripture have been turned into other Men , they have been made holy and gracious . By reading other Books the Heart may be warmed , but by reading this Book it is transformed . 2 Cor. 3.3 . Ye are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ , written not with Ink , but with the Spirit of the living God . The Word was copied out into their Hearts , and they were become Christ's Epistle , so that others might read Christ in them . If you should set a Seal upon Marble , and it should make an Impression upon the Marble , and leave a Print behind , there were a strange Virtue in that Seal : So when the Seal of the Word leaves an heavenly print of Grace upon the Heart , there must needs be a Power going along with that Word no less than Divine . 2. It hath comforted their Heart . When Christians have sat by the Rivers weeping , the Word hath dropped as Honey , and sweetly revived them . A Christians chief Comfort is drawn out of these Wells of Salvation ; Rom. 15.4 . That we through Comfort of the Scriptures might have hope . When a poor Soul hath been ready to faint , he hath had nothing to Comfort him but a Scripture Cordial . When he hath been sick , the Word hath revived him ; 2 Cor. 4.17 . Our light affliction which is but for a moment , worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . When he hath been deserted , the Word hath drop'd in the golden Oil of Joy into his Heart ; Cant. 3.31 . The Lord will not cast off for ever . He may change his Providence , not his Purpose : he may have the Look of an Enemy , but the Heart of a Father . Thus the Word hath a Power in it to comfort the heart ; Psal. 119.50 . This is my comfort in my affliction , for thy Word hath quickned me . As the Spirits are conveyed through the Arteries of the Body : So Divine Comforts are conveyed through the Promises of the Word . Now the Scriptures having such an exhilarating Heart-comforting Power in them , it shows clearly that they are of God , and it is he that hath put this Milk of Consolation into these Breasts .

7. The great Miracles wherewith the Lord hath confirmed Scripture . Miracles were used by Moses , Elijah , Christ , and continued many years after by the Apostles , to confirm the verity of the Holy Scriptures . As Props are set under weak Vines , so these Miracles were set under the weak Faith of Men , that if they would not believe the Writings of the Word , yet they might believe the Miracles . We read of God's dividing the Waters , making a Cawsey in the Sea for his People to go over , the Iron swimming , the Oil increasing by pouring out , Christ's making Wine of Water , his curing the Blind , and raising the Dead : Thus God hath set Seal to the Truth and Divinity of Scripture by Miracles .

Object . The Papists indeed cannot deny but that the Scripture is Divine and Sacred , but they affirm that quoad nos , with respect to us , it receives its Divine Authority from the Church ; and they bring that Scripture 1 Tim. 3.15 . where the Church is said to be the Ground and Pillar of Truth .

Answ. It is true the Church is the Pillar of Truth , but it doth not therefore follow that the Scripture hath its Authority from the Church . The King's Proclamation is fixed on the Pillar , the Pillar holds it out that all may read , but the Proclamation doth not receive its Authority from the Pillar but from the King : So the Church holds forth the Scriptures , but they do not receive their Authority from the Church , but from God . If the Word of God should be Divine because the Church holds it forth , then it will follow that our Faith is to be built upon the Church , and not upon the Word ; contrary to that Eph. 2.20 . Built upon the Foundation ( that is , the Doctrine ) of the Apostles and Prophets .

Quest. Are all the Books in the Bible of the same Divine Authority ?

Answ. Those which we call Canonical .

Quest. Why are the Scriptures called Canonical ?

Answ. Because the Word is a Rule of Faith , a Canon to direct our Lives . The Word is the Judge of Controversies , the Rock of Infallibility ; that only is to be received for Truth , which is consonant to , and agrees with Scripture , as the Transcript with the Original . All Maximes in Divinity are to be brought to the Touchstone of Scripture , as all Measures are brought to the Standard .

Quest. Are the Scriptures a compleat Rule ?

Answ. The Scripture is a full and perfect Canon , containing in it all things necessary to Salvation : 2 Tim. 3.15 . Thou hast from a Child known the Holy Scriptures , which are able to make thee wise to salvation . It shews the credenda , what we are to believe , and agenda , what we are to practise . It gives us an exact Model of Religion , and perfectly Instructs us in the deep Things of God . The Papists therefore make themselves guilty , who go to seek out Scripture with their Traditions , which they equalize it : The Council of Trent saith , That the Traditions of the Church of Rome are to be received pari pietatis affectu , with the same Devotion that Scripture is to be received with : So bring themselves under that Curse Rev. 22.18 . If any Man shall add unto these things , God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this Book .

Quest. What is the main Scope and End of Scripture ?

Answ. To Chalk out a Way to Salvation : It makes a clear Discovery of Christ . Iohn 20.31 . These things are written that ye might believe that Iesus is the Christ , and that believing ye might have Life through his Name . The Design of the Word is to be an Examen whereby our Grace is to be tried ; a Sea-mark to show us what Rocks we are to avoid . The Word is to sublimate and quicken our Affections ; it is to be our Directory and Consolatory ; it is to waft us over to the Land of Promise .

Quest. Who shall have the Power of interpreting Scriptures ?

The Papists do assert that it is in the Power of the Church . If you ask who they mean by the Church ? They say the Pope , who is Head of it , and he is Infallible ; so Bellarmine . But that Assertion is false , because many of the Popes have been ignorant and vitious , as Platina affirms , who writes of the Lives of the Popes : Pope Liberius was an Arian , and Pope Iohn XXII . denied the Immortality of the Soul ; therefore Popes are no fit Interpreters of Scripture : Who then ?

Ans. The Scripture is to be its own Interpreter , or rather the Spirit speaking in it : nothing can cut the Diamond but the Diamond ; nothing can interpret Scripture but Scripture ; the Sun best discovers its self by its own Beams ; the Scripture interprets itself in easie places to the Understanding . But the Question is concerning hard places of Scripture , where the weak Christian is ready to wade beyond his depth , who shall interpret here ?

Resp. In the Church God hath appointed , Ordo docentium & discentium , some to Expound and Interpret Scripture ; therefore he hath given Gifts to Men ; the several Pastors of Churches like bright Constellations give light to dark Scriptures , Mal. 2.7 . The priests lips should preserve knowledge , and they should seek the law at his mouth .

Quest. But this is to pin our Faith upon Men ?

Resp. We are to receive nothing for currant but what is agreeable to the Word ; as God hath given to his Ministers Gifts for the interpreting obscure places , so he hath given to his People so much of the Spirit of Discerning , that they can tell ( at least in things necessary to Salvation ) what is consonant to Scripture , and what is not , 1 Cor. 12.10 . To one is given a spirit of prophesie , to another discerning of spirits : God hath endued his People ▪ with such a measure of Wisdom and Discretion that they can discern between Truth and Errour , and judge what is sound and what spurious , Acts 17.11 . The Bereans search'd the scriptures daily , whether those things were so : They weighed the Doctrine they heard , whether it was agreeable to Scripture , tho' Paul and Silas were their Teachers , 2 Tim. 3.16 .

Use 1. See the wonderful goodness of God , who besides the Light of Nature , hath committed to us the Sacred Scriptures . The Heathens are inveloped with Ignorance ; Psal. 147.20 . As for his judgments , they have not known them . They have the Oracles of the Sybils , but not the Writings of Moses and the Apostles . How many live in the Region of Death , where this bright Star of Scripture never appeared . We have this blessed Book of God to resolve all our Cases , to chalk out a Way of Life to us . Iohn 14.22 . Lord ! How is it thou wilt show thy self to us , and not unto the World ?

2. Seeing God hath given us his written Word to be our Directory , this takes away all Excuses from Men. No Man can say I went wrong for want of a Light ; no , God hath given thee his Word , as a Lamp to thy feet ; therefore now if thou goest wrong , thou dost it wilfully . No Man can say , If I had known the Will of God , I would have obeyed ; no , thou art inexcusable , O Man , God hath given thee a Rule to go by , he hath written his Law with his own finger , Therefore now if thou obeyest not , thou hast no Apology left . If a Master leaves his Mind in writing with his Servant , and tells him what Work he will have done , yet the Servant neglects the Work , that Servant is left without Excuse . Iohn 15.22 . Now ye have no Cloak for your sin .

Use 2. Is all Scripture of Divine Inspiration , is it a Book made by GOD himself ? Then this reproves , 1. The Papists who take away part of Scripture , and so clip the King of Heaven's Coin ; they expunge the second Commandment out of their Catechisms , because it makes against Images ; 't is usual with them if they meet with any thing in Scripture which they dislike , either they put a false Gloss upon it , or if that will not do , pretend it is corrupted ; these are like Ananias who kept back part of the Money , Acts 5.2 . so they keep back part of Scripture from the People . This is an high Affront to God , to deface and obliterate any part of his Word : by this they bring themselves under that Premunire , Rev. 22.19 . If any man shall take away from the words of the book this prophesie , God shall take away his part out of the book of life . Is all Scripture of Divine Inspiration ? 2. It condemns the Antinomians that lay aside the Old Testament as useless and out of date ; they call them Old Testament Christians : God hath stamp'd a Divine Majesty upon both Testaments , and till they can shew me where God hath given a Repeal to the Old it stands in force . The two Testaments are the two Wells of Salvation ; the Antinomians would stop up one of these Wells , they would dry up one of the Brests of Scripture . There is much Gospel in the Old Testament ; The Comforts of the Gospel in the New Testament have their rise from the Old . The great Promise of the Messiah is in the Old Testament , A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son : — Nay , I say more , the Moral Law in some part of it speaks Gospel , I am the Lord thy God ; here is the pure Wine of the Gospel . The Saints great Charter where God promiseth to pour clean water on them , and put his spirit within them , is to be found primarily in the Old Testament , Ezek. 36.26 . So that they who go to take away the Old Testament , do as Sampson , Pull down the pillars ; they would take away the Pillars of a Christian's Comfort . 3. It condemns the Enthusiasts who pretending the Spirit , lay aside the whole Bible , they say the Scripture is a Dead Letter , and they live above it . What Impudency is this ? till we are above Sin we shall not be above Scripture ; let not Men talk of a Revelation from the Spirit , suspect it to be an Imposture ; the Spirit of God acts regularly , it works in and by the Word ; and he that pretends a new Light , which is either above the Word , or contrary to it , abuseth both himself and the Spirit ; his Light is borrowed from him who transforms himself into an Angel of Light . 4. It condemns the Slighters of Scripture ; such are they who can go whole Weeks and Months and never read the Word ; they lay it aside as rusty Armour ; they prefer a Play or Romance before Scripture , the Magnalia legis are to them Minutula . O how many can be looking their Faces in a Glass all the Morning , but their Eyes begin to be sore when they look upon a Bible : Heathens die in the want of Scripture , and these in the contempt of it . They surely must needs go wrong who slite their Guide ; such as lay the reins upon the neck of their Lusts , and never use the curbing Bit of Scripture to check them , are carried to Hell and never stop . 5. It condemns the Abusers of Scripture : 1. Who do mud and poison this pure Chrystal Fountain with their corrupt Glosses , who rest Scripture , 2 Pet. 3.16 . The Greek word is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , they set it upon the Rack ; they give wrong Interpretations of it , not comparing Scripture with Scripture ; as the Antinomians pervert that Scripture , Numb. 23.21 . He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. Hence they infer , God's People may take liberty in sin , because God sees no sin in them . 'T is true , God sees not sin in his People with an Eye of Revenge , but he sees it with an Eye of Observation . He sees not sin in them , so as to damn them , but he sees it so as to be angry , and severely to punish them . Did not David find it so when he cried out of his broken bones ? In like manner the Arminians wrest Scripture : Iohn 5.40 . Ye will not come to me : here they bring in Free-will . This Text shows 1. how willing God is that we should have Life ; 2. that sinners may do more than they do ; they may improve the Talents God hath given them : but it doth not prove the Power of Free-will , for it is contrary to that Scripture , Iohn 6.44 . No man can come to me , except the Father which hath sent me draw him . These therefore wring the Text so hard as they make the Blood come ; they do not compare Scripture with Scripture . 2. Who do jest with Scripture . When they are sad they take the Scripture as their Lute or Minstrel to play with , and so drive away the sad Spirit ; as that Drunkard I have read of , who having drunk off his Cups , called to some of his Fellows , Give us of your Oil for our Lamps are gone out . In the fear of God take heed of this . Eusebius tells us of one who took a piece of Scripture to make a Jest of , who was presently struck with Frenzy , and run mad . And 't is a saying of Luther , Quos Deus vult perdere , &c. whom God intends to destroy , he gives them leave to play with Scripturre .

Use 3. of Exhortation . If the Scripture be of Divine Inspiration , then be exhorted 1. to study the Scripture ; it is a Copy of God's Will : be Scripture Men , Bible Christians . I adore the fulness of Scripture , saith Tertullian . In the Book of God are scattered many Truths as so many Pearls . Iohn 5.39 . Search the Scriptures : Search as for a Vein of Silver . This blessed Book will fill your Head with Knowledge , and your Heart with Grace . God wrote the two Tables with his own Fingers , and if God took pains to write , well may we take pains ●o read . Apollos was mighty in the Scriptures , Acts 18.24 . The Word is our Magna Charta for Heaven , shall we be ignorant of our Charter ? Col. 3.16 . Let the word of God dwell in you richly . The Memory must be a Table-Book where the Word is written . To make us read the Word , consider 1. There is Majesty sparkling in every Line of Scripture . Take but one Instance , Isa. 63.1 . Who is this that cometh from Edom , with died garments from Bozrah ? this that is glorious in his apparel , travelling in the greatness of his strength ? I that speak in righteousness , mighty to save . Behold here a lofty magnificent stile ! what Angel could speak after this manner . Iunius was converted by reading one Verse of Iohn ; he beheld a Majesty in it beyond all Humane Rhetorick . 2. There is Melody in Scripture . This is that blessed Harp which drives away sadness of Spirit . Hear the sounding of this Harp a little , 1 Tim. 1.15 . This is a faithful saying , and worthy of all acceptation , that Iesus Christ came into the World to save sinners ; he took not only our Flesh upon him , but our Sins . And Matth. 11.28 . Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden , and I will give you rest . How sweetly doth this Harp of Scripture sound ? what heavenly Musick doth it make in the Ears of a distressed sinner , especially when the Finger of God's Spirit toucheth upon this Instrument . 3. There is Divinity in Scripture . It contains the Marrow and Quintessence of Religion . The Scripture is a Rock of Diamonds , a Mystery of Piety ; the Lips of Scripture have Grace poured into them . The Scripture speaks of Faith , Self-denial , and all the Graces , which as a Chain of Pearl adore a Christian. The Scripture excites to Holiness , it treats of another World , it gives a prospect of Eternity . Oh then search the Scriptures ! Make the Word familiar to you . Had I the Tongue of Angels , I could not sufficiently set forth the Excellency of Scripture . It is a spiritual Optick Glass in which we behold God's Glory ; it is the Tree of Life , the Oracle of Wisdom , the Rule of Manners , the heavenly Seed of which the New Creature is formed , Iames 1.18 . The two Testaments ( saith Austin ) are the two Breasts which every Christian must suck , that he may get spiritual Nourishment . The Leaves of the Tree of Life were for Healing , Rev. 22.2 . so these Holy Leaves of Scripture , like those Leaves , are for the healing of our Souls . The Scripture is profitable for all things : If we are deserted , here is the spiced Wine that cheers the heavy heart : If we are pursued by Satan , here is the Sword of the Spirit to resist him : If we are diseased with Sins leprosy , here are the Waters of the Sanctuary , both to Cleanse and Cure . Oh , then search the Scriptures ! There is no danger in tasting this Tree of Knowledge . There was a Penalty laid at first , that we might not taste of the Tree of Knowledge , Gen. 3.17 . In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die . But there is no danger of plucking this Tree of Holy Scripture ; if we do not eat of this Tree of Knowledge , we shall surely die : Oh then read the Scriptures ! — Time may come when the Scriptures may be kept from us .

Quest. How should we so search the Scriptures as to find Life ?

Answ. 1. Read the Bible with Reverence ; think every Line you read God is speaking to you . The Ark wherein the Law was put was over-laid with pure Gold , and was carried on Barrs that the Levites might not touch it , Exod. 25.14 . And why was this ? but to breed in the People Reverence to the Law . 2. Read with Seriousness . 'T is Matter of Life and Death : By this Word you must be tried ; Conscience and Scripture are the Jury God will proceed by in Judging of you . 3. Read the Word with Affection . Get your Hearts quickned with the Word ; go to it to fetch fire . Luke 24.31 . Did not our hearts burn within us . Labour that the Word may not only be a Lamp to direct , but a Fire to warm . Read the Scripture not only as an History , but as a Love-Letter sent to you from God , which may affect your Hearts . 4. Pray that the same Spirit that wrote the Word may assist you in the reading of it ; that God's Spirit would show you the wonderful Things of his Law . Go near , saith God to Philip , joyn thy self to this Chariot , Acts 8.29 . So when God's Spirit joyns himself with this Chariot of the Word , then it becomes effectual .

2. Be exhorted to prize the Word written , Iob 23.12 . David valued the Word more precious than Gold . What would the Martyrs have given for a Leaf of the Bible . ! The Word is the Field where Christ the Pearl of price is hid . In this Sacred Mine we dig , not for a Wedge of Gold , but a Weight of Glory . 1. The Scripture is a Sacred Collyrium , or Eye-salve to illuminate us . Prov. 6.23 . The Commandment is a Lamp , and the Law is Light . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Clem Alexandrinus . The Scripture is the Card and Compass by which we Sail to the New Ierusalem . 2. The Scripture is a Soveraign Cordial in all Distresses . What are the Promises but the Water of Life to renew fainting Spirits ? Is it sin troubles ? there is a Scripture Cordial Psal. 65.3 . Iniquities prevail against me ; as for our Transgressions thou shalt purge them away ; or as it is in Hebrew Te eapperem , Thou shalt cover them . Is it outward Affliction disquiets ? there is a Scripture Cordial Psal. 91.15 . I will be with him in trouble ; not only to behold , but to uphold . Thus , as in the Ark was laid up Manna , Promises are laid up as Manna in the Ark of Scripture . 3. The Scripture will make us wise : Wisdom is above Troubles . Psal. 119.104 . By thy Precepts I get understanding . What made Eve so desire the Tree of Knowledge , Gen. 3.6 . It was a Tree to make one wise . The Scriptures teach a Man to know himself ; they discover Satan's 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 snares and stratagems , 2 Cor. 2.11 . They make one wise to Salvation , 2 Tim. 3.15 . O then highly prize the Scriptures ! I read of Queen Elizabeth , at her Coronation she received the Bible presented to her , with both her Hands , and kissing it , laid it to her Breast , saying , That that Book had ever been her chiefest delight .

3. If the Scripture is of Divine Inspiration , Believe the Word . The Romans , that they might gain Credit to their Laws , reported that they were inspired by the Gods at Rome . O give credence to the Word ! it is breathed from God's own Mouth . Hence ariseth all the prophaneness of Men , they do not believe Scripture . Isa. 53.1 . Who hath believed our Report ? Did you believe the glorious Rewards the Scripture speaks of , would you not give diligence to make your Elections sure ? Did you believe the Infernal Torments the Scripture speaks of , would not this put you into a cold sweat , and cause a trembling at heart for sin ? But People are in part Atheists , they give but little credit to the Word , therefore they are so impious , and draw such dark shadows in their Lives . Learn to realize Scripture , get your hearts wrought to a firm belief of it . Some think , if God should send an Angel from Heaven , and declare his Mind , then they should rather believe him ; or if he should send one from the damned , and preach the Torments of Hell all in Flames , then they would believe . But Luke 16.31 . If they believe not Moses and the Prophets , neither will they be perswaded though one arose from the dead . God is wise , and he thinks this way fittest to make his Mind known to us by writing ; and such as will not be Convinced by the Word , shall be Judged by the Word . The belief of the Scripture is of high importance : It is the belief of Scripture that will inable us to resist Temptation : 1 Iohn 2.14 . The Word of God abideth in you , and ye have overcome the wicked one . T is the belief of Scripture conduceth much to our Sanctification ; therefore these two are put together , Sanctification of the Spirit , and Belief of the Truth . ● Thess. ● . 13 . If the Word written be not believed , it is like writing on the Wate● , which takes no impression .

4. Love the Word written . Psal. 119.97 . O how love I thy Law . Sint 〈◊〉 deliciae meae Scripturae sanctae : Lord ( saith Augustine ) let the holy Scriptures be my chast delight . Chrysostom compares the Scripture to a Garden , every Truth is a fragrant Flower , which we should wear , not in our Bosom , but our Heart . David tasted the Word sweeter than the Honey and the Honey-comb , Psal. 19.10 . There is that in Scripture may breed delight : It shows us the way to Riches , Deut. 28.5 . Prov. 3.16 . to long Life , Psal. 34.12 . to a Kingdom , Hebr. 12.28 . Well then may we count those the sweetest hours which are spent in reading the holy Scriptures : Well may we say with the Prophet , Ier. 15.16 . Thy words were sound , and I did eat them , and they were the joy and rejoycing of my heart .

5. Conform to Scripture . Let us lead Scripture Lives : O that the Bible might be seen printed in our Lives ! Do what the Word commands . Obedience is an excellent way of Commenting upon the Bible . Psal. 86.11 . I will walk in thy Truth . Let the Word be the Sun-Dial by which you set your Life . What are we the better for having the Scripture , if we do not direct all our Speeches and Actions according to it ? What is a Carpenter the better to have his Rule about him , if he sticks it at his back , and never makes use of it for the measuring and squaring his work ? So what are we the better for the Rule of the Word , if we do not make use of it , and regulate our Lives by it ? How many swerve and deviate from the Rule . The Word teacheth to be sober and temperate , but they are drunk ; to be chast and holy , but they are prophane ; they go quite from the Rule . The Scriptures are Canonical , but their Lives are Apocryphal : What a dishonour is this to Religion , for Men to live in a Contradiction to Scripture ? The Word is called a Light to our feet , Psal. 119.105 . It is not only a Light to our Eyes to mend our sight , but to our Feet to mend our walk . O let us lead Bible Conversations !

6. Contend for Scripture . Though we should not be of contentious Spirits , yet we ought to contend for the Word of God ; this Jewel is too precious to be parted with ; Prov. 4.13 . Keep her , for she is thy Life . The Castle of Scripture is beset with Enemies , Hereticks fight against it , we must therefore 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , contend for the Faith once delivered to the Saints , Jude 3. The Scripture is our Book of Evidences for Heaven ; shall we part with our Evidences ? The Saints of old were both Advocates and Martyrs for Truth ; they would hold fast Scripture , though it were with the loss of their Lives .

7. Be thankful to God for the Scriptures . What a Mercy is it that God hath not only acquainted us what his Will is , but that he hath made it known to us by writing . In the old Times God did reveal his Mind by Revelations , but the Word written is a surer way of knowing God's Mind than by Revelation . 2 Pet. 1.19 . This Voice which came from heaven we heard , we have also a more sure word of prophecy . The Devil is God's Ape , and he can transform himself into an Angel of Light ; he can deceive with false Revelations : As I have heard of one who had ( as he thought ) a Revelation from God to Sacrifice his Child , as Abraham had , whereupon he following this Impulsion of the Devil , did kill his Child . Thus Satan oft deceives People with Delusions instead of Divine Revelations ; therefore we are to be thankful to God for revealing his Mind to us by Writing : We have a more sure word of prophesie . We are not left under a doubtful Suspence that we should not know what to believe , but we have an Infallible Rule to go by . The Scripture is our Pole-star to direct us to Heaven , it shews us every step we are to take : when we go wrong it instructs us , when we go right it comforts us . And 't is matter of Thankfulness , that the Scriptures are made intelligible by being translated .

8. Adore God's distinguishing Grace , if you have felt the Authority and Power of the Word upon your Conscience ; if you can say as David , Psal. 119.50 . Thy word hath quickened me . Christian , bless God that he hath not only given thee his Word to be a Rule of Holiness , but his Grace to be a Principle of Holiness : Bless God that he hath not only written his Word , but sealed it upon thy Heart , and made it effectual : Canst thou say it is of Divine Inspiration , because thou hast felt it to be of lively Operation . O Free-grace ! that God should send out this Word and heal thee ; that he should heal thee and not others ; that the same Scripture which is to them a dead Letter , should be to thee a Saviour of Life .

That there is a GOD.

Q. III. Quest. III. WHat do the Scriptures principally Teach ?

Resp. The Scriptures principally teach what Man is to believe concerning GOD , and what Duty GOD requires of Man .

Quest. What is God ?

Resp. God is a Spirit , Infinite , Eternal , and Unchangeable in his Being , Wisdom , Power , Holiness , Justice , Goodness , and Truth . Here is 1. something implied , That there is a God . 2. Expressed , that he is a Spirit . 3. What kind of Spirit .

1. Implied , that there is a God : The question , What is God ? takes it for granted that there is a God : the belief of God's Essence is the Foundation of all Religious Worship , Heb. 11.6 . He that comes to God must believe that he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; there must be a first Cause which gives a Being and Existence to all things besides . We come to know that there is a God , 1. By the Book of Nature , the Notion of a Deity is engraven in Man's Heart , it is demonstrable by the Light of Nature ; I think it hard for a Man to be a natural Atheist , he may wish there were no God , he may dispute against a Deity , but he cannot in his Judgment believe there is no God , unless by accumulated Sin his Conscience be sear'd , and he hath such a Lethargy upon him , that he hath sinn'd away his very Sense and Reason . 2. We come to know that there is a God by his Works ; and this is so evident a Demonstration of a God-head , that the most Atheistical Spirits when they have considered these Works of God , have been forced to acknowledge some Wise and Supream Power the Maker of these Things ; as 't is reported of Galen and others . 1. We will begin with the greater World , 1. The Creation of the glorious Fabrick of Heaven and Earth ; sure there must be some Architect or first Cause , the World could not make itself : Who could hang the Earth on Nothing , but the Great God ? Who could provide such rich Furniture for the Heavens , the glorious Constellations , the Firmament bespangled with such glittering Lights ? all this speaks a Deity . We may see God's Glory blazing in the Sun , twinkling in the Stars . Who could give the Earth its Clothing , cover it with Grass and Corn , adorn it with Flowers , enrich it with Gold , only God , Iob 28.4 . Who but God could make the sweet Musick in the Heavens , cause the Angels to joyn in consort , and sound forth the Praises of their Maker ? Job 38.7 . When the morning-stars sang together , and all the sons of God shouted for joy . If a Man should go into a far Country , and see stately Edifices there , he would never imagine that these could build themselves , but that some greater Power built them : To imagine that the Work of the Creation was not framed by God , is as if we should conceive a curious Landskip to be drawn by a Pensil without the Hand of a Limner : Acts 17.24 . God that made the world , and all things therein . To Create is proper to a Deity . 2. The wise Gubernation of all things evince there is a God : God is the great Superintendent of the World , he holds the Golden Reins of Government in his Hand , guiding all things most regularly and harmoniously to their proper end ; who that eyes Providence , but must be forced to acknowledge there is a God ? Providence is the Queen and Governness of the World : it is the Hand that turns the Wheel of the whole Creation ; Providence sets the Sun its Race , the Sea its Bounds . If God should not guide the World , things would run into an Ataxy and Confusion . When one looks on a Clock , and sees the motion of the Wheels , the striking of the Hammar , the hanging of the Plummets , he would say there were some Artificer did make it , and put it into that Order : So when we see the excellent Order and Harmony in the Universe , the Sun that great Luminary dispensing its Light and Heat to the World , without which the World were but a Grave or Prison , the Rivers sending forth their silver Streams to refresh the Bodies of Men , and prevent a Drought , and every Creature acting within its Sphere , and keeping its due Bounds , we must needs acknowledge there is a God who wisely orders and governs all these things . Who could set this great Army of the Creatures in their several Ranks and Squadrons , and keep them in their constant March , but he whose Name is , The LORD of Hosts ? And as God doth wisely dispose all things in the whole Regiment of the Creatures , so by his Power he doth support them : Did God suspend and withdraw his Influence never so little , the Wheels of the Creation would unpin , and the Axle-tree break asunder . 3. The Motion of the Creatures : All Motion ( as the Philosophers say ) is from something that is unmoveable . As for Example : The Elements are moved by the Influence and Motion of the heavenly Bodies : The Sun and Moon , and these Planets , are moved by the highest Orb , call'd Primum Mobile ; now if one should ask , Who moves that highest Orb , or the first Mover of the Planets ? Sure it can be no other hand but God himself .

2. Let us speak of Man who is a Microcosm , or lesser World : The excellent Contexture and Frame of his Body who is wrought curiously as with Needle-work , Psal. 139.15 . I was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth . And the Endowment of this Body with a noble Soul ; who but God could make such an Union of different Substances , Flesh and Spirit ? In him we live , and move , and have our being . The quick acute Motion of every Part of the Body , shews that there is a God ; we may see something of him in the sparkling of the Eye : And if the Cabinet of the Body be so curiously wrought , what is the Jewel ? The Soul hath a Coelestial Brightness in it , as Damascen saith . 'T is a Diamond set in a Ring of Clay : What noble Faculties is the Soul endowed with ? Understanding , Will , Affections , which are a Glass of the Trinity , as Plato speaks . The Matter of the Soul is Spiritual ; 't is a Divine Sparkle lighted from Heaven : and being spiritual is immortal , as Scaliger notes . Anima non senescit ; the Soul doth not wax old , it lives for ever . And who could create a Soul enobled with such rare Angelical Properties , but God ? We must needs say as the Psalmist , It is he that hath made us , and not we our selves , Psalm 100.3 .

2. We may prove a Deity by our own Conscience . Conscience is God's Deputy or Vicegerent . Conscience is a Witness of a Deity . If there were no Bible to tell us there is a God , yet Conscience might . Conscience , as the Apostle saith , either accuseth or excuseth , Rom. 2.15 . Conscience acts in order to an higher Judicatory . 1. Natural Conscience being kept free from gross sin , excuseth . When a Man doth Vertuous Actions , lives soberly and righteously , obeserves the golden Maxim , Doing to others as he would have them do to him , then Conscience approves , and saith , well done . Conscience , like a Bee , gives Honey . 2. Natural Conscience in the Wicked doth accuse . When Men go against the Light of Conscience , then they feel the Worm of Conscience . Eheu quis intus scorpio ? Sen. Conscience being sinned against , spits fire in Mens faces , fills them with shame and horrour . When the Sinner sees an Hand-writing on the Wall of Conscience , his Countenance is changed . Many have hanged themselves to quiet their Conscience . Tiberius the Emperour , a bloody Man , felt the Lashes of his Conscience , he was so haunted with that Fury , that he told the Senate , he suffered Death daily . And what is it should put a Man's Conscience into such an Agony , but the Impression of a Deity , and the Thoughts of coming before God's Tribunal . Those who are above all Humane Laws , yet are subject to the Checks of their own Conscience . And it is observable , the nearer the Wicked approach to Death , the more they are terrified , and Conscience gives a louder Alarm to them ; And whence is this , but from the apprehension of Judgment approaching . The Soul being sensible of its Immortal Nature , trembles at him who never ceaseth to Live , and therefore will never cease to Punish .

3. That there is a God , appears by the Consent of Nations , by the Universal Vote and Suffrage of all . Nulla gens tam barbara cui non insideat haec persuasio Deum esset , Tully ; No Nation so barbarous ( saith Tully ) as not to believe there is a God . Though the Heathen did mistake in their Devotion , they did not worship the true God , yet they worshipped a God . They set up an Altar 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to the unknown God , Acts 17.22 . They knew a God should be worshipped , though they knew not the God whom they worshipped . Some did worship Iupiter , some Neptune , some Mars : rather than not worship something , they would worship any thing .

4. That there is a God , appears by his Prediction of Future Things . He who can foretel things which shall surely come to pass , is the True God . God foretold that a Virgin should conceive , he prefixed the time when the Messias should be cut off , Dan. 9.76 . he foretold the Captivity of the Iews in Babylon , and who should be their Deliverer , Isa. 45.1 . This is such a strong Argument to prove a Deity , as God himself useth it to prove he is the True God , and that all the Gods of the Heathens were Fictions and Nullities , Isa. 41.22 . Testimonium Divinitatis est Veritas Divinationis , Tertul. To foretel Things contingent , and which depend upon no natural Causes , is proper to a Deity .

5. That there is a God , appears by God's unlimited Power and Soveraignty . He who can work , and none hinder him , is the True God ; but God can do so , Isa. 43.13 . I will work , and who shall let it . Nothing can hinder Action but some Superiour Power ; but there is no Power above God ; all Power that is , is by him , therefore all Power is under him : he hath a mighty Arm , Psal. 89.13 . He sees the Designs Men drive on against him , and plucks off their Chariot Wheels ; he maketh Diviners mad , Isa. 44.25 . he cutteth off the Spirit of Princes : He bridleth the Sea , gives check to the Leviathan , binds the Devils in Cains ; he acts pro arbitrio , he doth what he will , I will work , and who shall let it .

6. There are Devils , therefore there is a God . Atheists cannot deny but there are Devils , and then they must grant there is a God . We read of divers possessed with the Devil . The Devils are called in Scripture , Cashegnirini , Hairy ones , because they oft appeared in the form of Goats or Satyrs . Gerson in his Book De probatione Spirituum , tells us how Satan on a time appeared to an holy Man in a most glorious manner , professing himself to be Christ ; the old Man answered , I desire not to see my Saviour here in this Desart , it shall suffice me to see him in Heaven . Now if there be a Devil , then there is a God . Socrates an Heathen , when he was accused at his Death , confessed that , as he thought there was a malus genius , an Evil Spirit , so he thought there was a Good .

Use 1. Seeing there is a God , this reproves such Atheistical Fools as deny it . Epicurus denied that there was a Providence , saying , That all things fell out by Chance , Diagoras . He that saith there is no God , is the wickedest Creature that is , he is worse then a Thief , who doth but take away our Goods from us , but the Atheist would take away our God from us : Joh. 20. They have taken away my Lord . So we may say of Atheists , they would take away our God from us , in whom all our Hope and Comfort is laid up : Psal. 14.1 . The fool hath said in his heart , There is no God . He durst not speak it with his Tongue , but said it in his Heart ; he wished it . Sure none can be Speculative Atheists : The devils believe and tremble , Jam. 2. I have read of one Arthur a professed Atheist , who when he came to die , cried out , he was damned . But though there are few found who say , There is no God , yet many deny him in their Practices : Tit. 1.16 . In works they deny him . Cicero said of Epicurus , Verbis reliquit Deos resustulit . The World is full of Practical Atheism : most People live as if they did not believe there was a God . Durst they lie , defraud , be unclean , if they believed there were a God , who would call them to account ? If an Indian , who never heard of a God , should come among us , and have no other means to convince him of a Deity , but the Lives of Men in our Age , sure he would be of Protagoras his mind , who did hang in a doubtful suspence , and did question , Whether there were a God ; Utrum Dii sint non ausim affirmare .

Use 2. Seeing there is a God , he will deal righteously , and give just Rewards to Men. Things seem to be carried in the World very unequally ; The wicked flourish , Psal. 73. they who tempt God are delivered , Mal. 3.15 . The ripe Clusters of Grapes are squeezed into their Cup , and in the mean while , the godly who wept for sin , and served God , are afflicted ; Psal. 102.9 . I have eaten Ashes like Bread , and mingled my drink with weeping . Evil Men enjoy all the Good , and Good Men endure all the Evil. But seeing there is a God , he will deal righteously with Men : Gen. 18.25 . Shall not the Iudge of all the World do right ? Offenders must come to punishment . The Sinners Deaths-day and Dooms-day is a coming ; Psal. 37.13 . The Lord seeth that his day is coming . While there is an Hell the wicked shall be scourged enough ; and while there is Eternity , they shall lye there long enough ; and God will abundantly compensate the faithful Service of his People . They shall have their white Robes and Crown ; Psal. 58.11 . Verily there is a Reward for the Righteous ; verily he is a God that judgeth in the Earth . Because God is God , therefore he will give forth glorious Rewards to his People .

Use 3. Seeing there is a God , woe to all such as engage this God against them , he lives for ever to be avenged upon them : Ezek. 22.14 . Can thine heart endure , or can thine hands be strong in the day that I shall deal with thee ? Such as pollute God's Sabbath , oppose his Saints , trampling these Jewels in the dust ; such as live in a contradiction to God's Word ; these do engage the infinite Majesty of Heaven against them , and how dismal will their Case be ? Deut. 32.41 . If I whet my glittering Sword , and mine Hand take hold of Iudgment , I will render Vengeance to mine Enemies ; I will make mine Arrows drunk with Blood , &c. If it be so terrible to hear the Lion roar , what is it when he begins to tear his Prey ? Psal. 50.22 . Consider this ye that forget God , least I tear you in pieces . O that Men would think of this , who go on in Sin ! shall we engage the great God against us ? God strikes slow , but heavy : Job 40.9 . Hast thou an arm like God ? Canst thou strike such a blow ? God is the best Friend , but the worst Enemy . If he can look Men into their Grave , how far can he throw them ? Who knows the power of his wrath ? Psal. 90.11 . What Fools are they who for a Drop of Pleasure drink a Sea of Wrath. Paracelsus speaks of a Phrensie some have which will make them die Dancing : Sinners go Dancing to Hell .

Use 4. Seeing there is a God , let us firmly believe this great Article of our Creed . What Religion can there be in Men , if they do not believe a Deity ? He that comes to God must believe that he is . To worship God , and pray to him , and not believe there is a God , Irrisio Dei est , it is to put a high Scorn and Contempt upon God . Believe that God is the only true God , such a God as he hath reveal'd himself in his Word , A lover of righteousness , and hater of wickedness , Psal. 45.7 . The real belief of a Deity gives life to all Religious Worship : the more we believe the Truth and Infiniteness of God , the more Holy and Angelical we are in our Lives . Whether we are alone or in Company God sees us ; he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Heart-searcher ; the belief of this would make us live always as under God's eye , Psal. 16.8 . I have set the Lord always before me . The belief of a Deity would be a Bridle to Sin , a Spur to Duty ; it would add Wings to Prayer , and Oil to the Lamp of our Devotion : the belief of a Deity would cause dependance upon God in all our Streights and Exigencies : Gen. 17.1 . I am God all-sufficient ; a God that can supply all your Wants , scatter all your Fears , resolve all your Doubts , conquer all your Temptations : The Arm of God's Power can never be shrunk , he can create Mercy for us , and therefore can help and not be beholding to the Creature . Did we believe there is a God ; we should so depend on his Providence as not to use any indirect Means ; we would not run ourselves into Sin to rid ourselves out of Trouble : 2 Kings 1.3 . Is it not because there is not a God in Israel , that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub the God of Ekron ? When Men run to sinful Shifts , is it not because they do not believe there is a God , or that he is All-sufficient ?

2. Seeing there is a God , let us labour to get an interest in him , Psal. 48.14 . This God is our God . Two things will comfort us , Deity and Propriety : since the Fall we have lost Likeness to God , and Communion with God ; let us labour to recover this lost Interest , and pronounce this Shibboleth my God , Psal. 43.5 . 'T is little Comfort to know there is a God , unless he be ours ; God offers himself to be our God , Jer. 31.33 . I will be their God . And Faith catcheth hold of the Offer , it appropriates God , and makes all that is in him over to us to be ours , his Wisdom ours to teach us , his Holiness ours to sanctifie us ▪ his Spirit ours to comfort us , his Mercy ours to save us . To be able to say God is mine , is more then to have all the Mines of Gold and Silver .

3. Seeing there is a God , let us Serve and Worship him as God : It was an Indictment brought in against them , Rom. 1.21 . They glorified him not as God . 1. Let us pray to him as to a God , Pray with fervency , Jam. 5.16 . An effectual fervent Prayer prevails much ; this is both the Fire and the Incense , without Fervency 't is no Prayer . 2. Love him as a God , Deut. 5.6 . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart . To love him with all the heart , is to give him a Precedency in our Love , desire to let him have the Cream of our Affections ; to love him not only appretiatively but intensively , as much as we can . As the Sun-beams united in a Burning-glass burn the hotter , so all our Affections should be united , that our love to God may be more ardent . 3. Obey him as a God : All Creatures obey him , the Stars fight his Battels , the Wind and Sea obey him , Mark 4.41 . much more should Man whom God hath endu'd with a Principle of Reason : He is God , and hath a Soveraignty over us , therefore as we received Life from him , so we must receive a Law from him , and submit to his Will in all things : This is to kiss him with a Kiss of Loyalty , and it is to glorifie him as God .

GOD is a SPIRIT .

Q. IV. Quest. IV. WHat is God ?

Resp. God is a Spirit . 2. The Thing expressed . Ioh. 4.24 . God is a Spirit . God is essentia spiritualissima , Zanchy .

Quest. What do you mean when you say God is a Spirit ?

Resp. By Spirit , I mean , God is an Immaterial Substance , of a pure , subtil , unmixed Essence , not compounded of Body and Soul , without all Extension of Parts . The Body is a dreggish Thing ; The more Spiritual God's Essence is , the more Noble and Excellent . The Spirits are the more refined part of the Wine .

Quest. Wherein doth God differ from other Spirits ?

1. The Angels are Spirits .

Resp. We must distinguish of Spirits . 1. The Angels are created , God is a Spirit uncreate . 2. The Angels are Spirits , but are finate , and capable of being annihilated . The same Power which made them is able to reduce them to their first Nothing : but God is an infinite Spirit . 3. The Angels are confined Spirits , they cannot be in duobus locis simul , they are confined to a place : but God is an immense Spirit , and cannot be confined , being in all places at once . 4. The Angels , though they are Spirits , yet they are but ministring Spirits , Hebr. 1.14 . Though they are Spirits , yet they are Servants . God is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Super-excellent Spirit , the Father of Spirits , Hebr. 12.9 .

2. The Soul is a Spirit . Eccles. 12.7 . The Spirit shall return unto God that gave it .

Quest. How doth God , being a Spirit , differ from the Soul ?

Servetus and Osiander thought , That the Soul being infused , did convey into Man the very Spirit and Substance of God ; an absurd Opinion : for the Essence of God is incommunicable .

Resp. Therefore , when it is said the Soul is a Spirit , it is meant , God hath made it intelligible , and hath stamped upon it his Likeness , not his Essence .

Quest. But is it not said , That we are made Partakers of the Divine Nature ?

Resp. By Divine Nature there , is meant Divine Qualities , 2 Pet. 1.4 . We are made Partakers of the Divine Nature , not by Identity or Union with the Divine Essence , but by a transformation into the Divine Likeness . Thus you see how God differs from other Spirits , Angels , and Souls of Men. He is a Spirit of transcendent Excellency , the Father of Spirits .

Object . Against this Vorstius and the Anthropomorthites object , That in Scripture an Humane Shape and Figure is given to God ; he is said to have Eyes and Hands ?

Resp. It is contrary to the Nature of a Spirit to have a Corporeal Substance ; Luke 24. ●9 . Handle me , and see me , for a Spirit hath not Flesh and Bones as ye see me have . Bodily Members are ascribed to God , not properly , but metaphorically , and in a borrowed sence ; he is only set out to our Capacity : By the right Hand of the Lord is meant his Power ; by the Eyes of the Lord are meant his Wisdom . Now that God is a Spirit , and is not capable of Bodily Shape or Substance , probatur . 1. A Body is visible , but God is invisible , Therefore he is a Spirit , 1 Tim. 6.16 . whom no man hath seen , nor can see , not by an Eye of sence . 2. A Body is terminated , can be but in one place at once ; but God is ubique , in all places at once , Therefore he is a Spirit , Psal. 139.7 , 8. God's Center is every where , and his Circumference is no where * * Iovis omnia pl●na — . 3. A Body being compounded of integral Parts , may be dissolved ; Quicquid divisibile est corruptibile , but the God-head is not capable of dissolution ; he can have no End from whom all things have their Beginning . So that it clearly appears God is a Spirit , which adds to the Perfection of his Nature .

Use 1. If God be a Spirit , then he is impassible ; he is not capable of being hurt . Wicked Men may set up their Banners , and bend their Forces against God , they are said 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to fight against God , Acts 5.39 . But what will this fighting avail ? what hurt can they do to the Deity ? God is a Spirit , and therefore cannot receive any hurtful impression : wicked Men may imagine Evil against the Lord ; Nahum . 1.9 . What do ye imagine against the Lord ? But God being a Spirit , is impenetrable . The wicked may Eclipse his Glory , but cannot touch his Essence . God can hurt his Enemies , but they cannot hurt him . Iulian might throw up his Dagger into the Air against Heaven , but could not touch the Deity . God is a Spirit , invisible , how can the Wicked with all their Forces hurt him , when they cannot see him ? Hence all the Attempts of the Wicked against God are foolish , and prove Abortive ; Psal. 2.3 , 4. The Kings of the Earth set themselves against the Lord , and against his Anointed . He that sits in the Heavens shall laugh . He is a Spirit , he can wound them , but they cannot touch him .

Use 2. If God be a Spirit , then it shows the folly of the Papists , who worship him by Pictures and Images . Being a Spirit , we cannot make any Image to represent him by ; Deut. 4.12 . The Lord spake to you out of the midst of the fire , ye heard the voice of the words , but saw no similitude .

1. God being a Spirit , is imperceptible , cannot be discerned , how then can there be any Resemblance made of him ? Isa. 40.18 . To whom then will ye liken God , or what likeness will ye compare unto him ? How can you paint the Deity ? can we make an Image of that which we never saw ? Ye saw no similitude . God is a Spirit . It were a folly to go to make the Picture of the Soul , because it is a Spiritual Thing , or to Paint the Angels , because they are Spirits .

Object . Are not the Angels in Scripture represented by the Cherubims ?

Resp. There is Imago Personae & Officii , there is the Image of the Person , and the Image that represents the Office . The Cherubims did not represent the Persons of the Angels , but their Office . The Cherubims were made with Wings , to show the swiftness of the Angels in discharge of their Office : and if we cannot Picture the Soul , nor the Persons of the Angels , because they are Spirits , much less can we make an Image or Picture of God , who is Infinite , and the Father of Spirits .

2. God being a Spirit is Omnipresent ; he is present in all places , Ier. 23.24 . Do not I fill Heaven and Earth , saith the Lord ? Therefore being every where present , it is absurd to worship him by an Image . Were it not a foolish thing to bow down to the King's Picture , when the King is present ? So to go to worship God's Image when God himself is present .

Quest. But how then shall we conceive of God being a Spirit , if we may make no Image or Resemblance of him ?

Resp. We must conceive of him Spiritually , viz. 1. In his Attributes ; his Holiness , Justice , Goodness , which are the Beams by which his Divine Nature shines forth . 2. We must conceive of him as he is in Christ ; Christ is the Image of the invisible God , Col. 1.15 . Set the Eyes of your Faith on Christ , God-man . In Christ we see some Sparklings of the Divine Glory ; in him there is the exact Resemblance of all his Fathers Excellencies . The Wisdom , Love , and Holiness of God the Father shine forth in Christ ; Iohn 14.9 . He that hath seen me hath seen the Father .

3. Infer . If God be a Spirit , it shows us , that the more spiritual we grow , the more we grow like to God . To be earthly is to be unlike God . How do Earth and Spirit agree ? Phil. 3.19 . Earthly ones may give for their Crest , the Mole or Tortoise , that live in the Earth . What Resemblance is there between an Earthly Heart , and him who is a Spirit ? The more Spiritual any one is , the more like God .

Quest. What is it to be Spiritual ?

Resp. To be Refined and Sublimated , to have the Heart still in Heaven , to be thinking of God and Glory , and to be carried up in a fiery Chariot of Love to God , this is to be Spiritual ; Psal. 73.25 . Whom have I in Heaven but thee : on which Beza paraphraseth thus , Apage Terra , utinam tecum in Coelo essem ! O that I were in Heaven with thee ! A Christian , who is taken off from these Earthly Things , as the Spirits are taken off from the Lees , hath a noble Spiritual Soul , and doth most resemble him who is a Spirit .

4 Infer . It shows us what that Worship is God requires of us , and is most acceptable to him , viz. such a Worship as is suitable to his Nature , Spiritual Worship ; John 4.24 . They which worship him , must worship him in Spirit and Truth . Spiritual worship is the Virgin-worship . Though God will have the Service of our Bodies , our Eyes and Hands lifted up , to testifie to others that Reverence we have of God's Glory and Majesty , yet chiefly he will have the worship of the Soul : 1 Cor. 6.20 . Glorifie God in your body and in your spirit . Spirit-worship God prizeth because it comes so near to his own Nature who is a Spirit .

Quest. What is it to Worship God in the Spirit ?

Resp. 1. To worship him without Ceremonies . The Ceremonies of the Law which God himself ordained , are now abrogated and out of date ; Christ the Substance being come , the Shadows flie away ; and therefore the Apostle calls the Legal Ceremonies Carnal Rites , Heb. 9.10 . and if not use those Iewish Ceremonies which God did once appoint , then not those which he did never appoint .

Resp. 2. To worship God in Spirit , is to worship him , 1. With Faith in the Bloud of the Messiah , Heb. 11.9 . And , 2. to worship him with the utmost Zeal and Intensness of Soul : Acts 26.7 . Our twelve tribes instantly serving God day and night , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , with Intensness of Spirit , not only constantly but instantly . This is to worship God in the Spirit . The more Spiritual any Service is , the nearer it comes to God who is a Spirit , and the more excellent it is ; the spiritual part of Duty is the Fat of the Sacrifice , it is the Soul and Quintessence of Religion . The richest Cordials are made of Spirits , and the best Duties are such as are of a Spiritual Nature . God is a Spirit , and will be worshipped in Spirit : It is not Pomp of Worship but Purity which God accepts . Repentance is not in the outward Severities used to the Body , Pennance , Fasting , and Chastising the Body , but it consists in the Sacrifice of a broken Heart ; Thanksgiving doth not stand in Church-Musick , the Melody of an Organ , but rather making Melody in the Heart to the Lord , Eph. 5.19 . Prayer is not the Tuning of the Voice into an heartless Confession , or telling over a few Beads , but it consists in Sighs and Groans , Rom. 8.26 . When the Fire of Fervency is put to the Incense of Prayer , now it ascends as a sweet Odour , that is , the true Holy Water , not which the Pope sprinkles , but what is distilled from the Limbeck of a Penitent Eye . Spirit-worship best pleaseth that God who is a Spirit , Ioh. 4.23 . The Father seeks such to worship him ; to shew the great acceptance of such , and how God is delighted with Spiritual-worship . This is the savoury Meat God loves . How few mind this , worshipping him who is a Spirit in the Spirit ; they give him more Dreggs then Spirits ; they think it enough to bring their Duties , but not their Hearts , which hath made God disclaim those very Services he himself appointed , Isa. 1.12 . Ezek. 33.31 . Let us then give God Spirit-worship , this best suits with his Nature ; a Soveraign Elixar full of Vertue , may be given in a few drops : a little Prayer , if it be with the Heart and Spirit , may have much Vertue and Efficacy in it . The Publican made but a short Prayer , God be merciful to me a sinner , Luke 18.13 . but it was full of life and spirit , it came from the Heart , therefore was accepted .

Use 2. of Exhortation . Pray to God , that as he is a Spirit , so he will give us of his Spirit . The Essence of God is incommunicable , but the Motions , the Presence and Influences of his Spirit . When the Sun shines in a Room , not the Body of the Sun is there , but the Light , Heat , and Influence of the Sun . God hath made a Promise of his Spirit , Ezek. 36.27 . I will put my Spirit within you . Turn Promises into Prayers . O Lord , thou who art a Spirit , give me of thy Spirit ; I Flesh beg thy Spirit ; thy enlightning , ●anctifying , quickning Spirit . Melancthon's Prayer , Domine accende animam meam Spiritu tuo , Lord inflame my Soul with thy Holy Spirit . How needful is his Spirit ; we cannot do any Duty without it in a lively manner : when this Wind blows upon our Sails , then we move swiftly towards Heaven . Pray therefore that God will give us of the Residue of his Spirit , Mal. 2.15 . that we may move more vigorously in the Sphere of Religion .

Use 3. of Comfort . As God is a Spirit , so the Reward that he gives is Spiritual ; that is the Excellency of it ; as the chief Blessings he gives us in this Life are Spiritual Blessings , Eph. 1.3 . not Gold and Silver ; he gives Christ , his Love ; he fills us with Grace ; so the main Rewards he gives after this Life are Spiritual , a Crown of Glory that fades not away , 1 Pet. 5.4 . Earthly Crowns fade , but the Believer's Crown being Spiritual is Immortal , a never-fading Crown . It is impossible ( saith Iulius Scaliger ) for that which is Spiritual to be subject to Change or Corruption . This may comfort a Christian in all his Labours and Sufferings ; he lays out himself for God , and hath little or no Reward here , but remember God , who is a Spirit , will give Spiritual Rewards , a sight of his Face in Heaven , white Robes , a weight of Glory . Be not then weary of God's Service , think of the Spiritual Reward , a Crown of Glory which fadeth not away .

GOD is INFINITE .

Quest. WHat kind of Spirit is God ?

Resp. He is Infinite ; so he differs from all created Beings which are Finite . Though Infinite may be applied to all God's Attributes , he is infinitely Merciful , infinitely Wise , infinitely Holy , yet if we take Infiniteness properly so , implies ,

1. God's Omnipresency ; the Greek word for Infinite 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies without Bounds or Limits : God is not confined to any place , he is Infinite , and so is present in all places at once . His Centre is every-where , Divina essentia nusquam inclusa aut exclusa , Aug. 1 Kings 8.27 . Behold , the heaven , and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee . This the Turks have a Notion of , they build their Temples open on the top to show , that God cannot be confined to their Temples or circumscribed , but is in all places by his Presence . God's Essence is not limited either to the Regions above , or to the Terrestrial Globe , but his whole Essence is every-where . This is to be Infinite . As Philosophers say of the Soul , it is . Tota in toto & tota in qualibet parte : The Soul is in every part of the Body , in the Eye , Heart , Foot ; so we may say of God , he is Ubique , his Essence is every-where ; his Circuit is in Heaven , and Earth , and Sea , and he is in all places of his Circuit at once . This is to be Infinite . God who bounds every thing else , is himself without Bounds : He sets Bounds to the Sea , Huc usque , Hitherto shalt thou come and no further . He sets Bounds to the Angels , they like the Cherubims move and stand at his appointment , Ezek. 10.16 . but he is Infinite , without Bounds . He who can span the Heavens , and weigh the Earth in a pair of Scales , must needs be Infinite , Isa. 40.12 .

Object . Vorstius , That God is in all places at once , but not in regard of his Essence , but , Virtute & potentia , by his Vertue and Influence ; as the Body of the Sun is in Heaven , it only sends forth its Beams and Influences to the Earth , or as a King who is in all places of his Kingdom Authoritative , by his Power and Authority , but he is personally in his Throne .

Resp. But to answer , God who is Infinite is in all places at once , not only by his Influence , but his Essence ; for if his Essence fills all places , then he must needs be there in Person . But , Ergo , Minor in Ier. 23.24 . Do not I fill heaven and earth ?

Object . But doth not God say Heaven is his Throne ? Isa. 66.1 .

Resp. It is also said , that an humble Heart is his Throne , Isa. 57.15 . The humble Heart is his Throne in regard of his gracious Presence , and Heaven is his Throne in regard of his glorious Presence ; and yet neither of these Thrones will hold him , for the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him .

Object . But if God be Infinite in all places , then he is in places impure , and he mingles with that Impurity ?

Resp. Though God be in all places , in the Heart of a Sinner by his Inspection , and in Hell by his Justice , yet he doth not mingle with that Impurity , or receive the least tincture of Evil : Divina natura non est immista rebus aut sordibus inquinata , Aug. No more then the Sun shining on a Dunghil is defiled , or its Beauty spotted ; or then Christ going among Sinners was defiled , his Godhead was a sufficient Antidote against Infection .

Reason why God must needs be Infinite in all places at once , not only in regard of the Simplicity and Purity of his Nature , but in regard of his Power , which being so glorious who can set him Bounds ? or prescribe him a Circuit to walk in ? 'T is as if the Drop should go to limit the Ocean , or the Star to set the Sun its Bounds .

Use 1. It condemns the Papists who would make more things Infinite then the Godhead , they hold that Christ's Body is in many places at once , that it is in Heaven and in the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament : Though Christ as he is God is Infinite , and in all places at once , yet as Man he is not ; Christ when he was on Earth his Manhood was not in Heaven , though his Godhead was ; and now he is in Heaven his Manhood is not on Earth though his Godhead be : Heb. 10.5 . 't is spoken of Christ , A body hast thou prepared me . This Body cannot be in all places at once , for then it is no more a Body , but a Spirit ; Christ's Body in Heaven though it be Glorified , it is not Deified ; it is not Infinite , for so it must be if it be both in Heaven and in the Bread and Wine by Transubstantiation .

If God be Infinite , present in all places at once , then it is certain he governs all things in his own Person ; he needs no Proxies or Deputies to help him carry on his Government . He is in all places at an instant , and manageth all Affairs both in the World and Heaven . A King cannot be in all places of his Kingdom in his own Person , therefore he is fain to govern by Deputies and Vicegerents , and they often pervert Justice : but God being Infinite , needs no Deputies , he is present in all places ; he sees all with his own Eyes , and hears all with his own Ears ; he is every-where in his own Person , therefore is fit to be the Judge of the World , he will do every one Right .

If God be Infinite by his Omnipresency , then see the Greatness and Immensness of the Divine Majesty ▪ What a Great God do we serve ? 1 Chr. 29.11 . Thine , O Lord , is the greatness , and the glory , and the majesty , and thou art exalted as head above all . Well may the Scripture display the Greatness of his Glory , who is Infinite in all places . He transcends our weak Conceptions , how can our finite Understanding comprehend him who is Infinite ? He is infinitely above all our Praises , Neh. 9.5 . Blessed be thy glorious name , which is exalted above all blessing and praise . O what a poor Nothing is Man , when we think of God's Infiniteness , as the Stars disappear at the rising of the Sun ! O how doth Man shrink into nothing when Infinite Majesty shines forth in his Glory , Isa. 40.15 . The nations are as a drop of the bucket , or the small dust of the ballance . O what a little of that Drop are we ! The Heathens thought they had sufficiently praised Iupiter , when they called him Great Iupiter . Of what Immense Majesty is God who fills all places at once , his is excellent Greatness , Psal. 150.2 .

If God be Infinite , filling Heaven and Earth , see what a full Portion the Saints have , they have him for their Portion who is Infinite . His Fulness is an Infinite Fulness ; and he is infinitely sweet as well as infinitely full : If a Conduit be fill'd with Wine , here is a sweet Fulness , but still it is Finite ; but God's is a sweet Fulness , and it is an Infinite . He is infinitely full of Beauty , of Love , his Riches are call'd unsearchable , Eph. 3.8 . because they are Infinite . Stretch your Thoughts as much as you can , there 's that in God exceeds , it is an Infinite Fulness . He is said to do abundantly for us , above all that we can ask , Ephes. 3.20 . What cannot an ambitious Spirit ask ? he can ask Crowns and Kingdoms , Millions of Worlds ; but God can give more then we can ask , because he is Infinite , nay , or think : We can think , what if all the Dust were turn'd to Silver , if every Flower were a Ruby , every Sand in the Sea a Diamond : yet God can give more then we can think , because he is Infinite ! O how rich are they who have the Infinite God for their Portion ! Well might David say , The Lord is the portion of my inheritance , the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places , and I have a goodly heritage , Ps. 16.5 . We may go with the Bee from Flower to Flower , but we shall never have full Satisfaction till we come to the Infinite God . Iacob said , I have enough , in Hebrew , Li col , I have all , Gen. 33.11 . because he had the Infinite God for his Portion . God being an Infinite Fulness , there is no fear of Want for any of the Heirs of Heaven , though there be Millions of Saints and Angels which have a share in God's Riches , yet he hath enough for them all , because he is Infinite . Though a thousand Men behold the Sun , there is Light enough in the Sun for them all . Put never so many Buckets into the Sea , there 's Water enough in the Sea to fill them . Though an innumerable Company of Saints and Angels are to be filled out of God's Fulness , yet God being Infinite , he hath abundantly enough to satisfie them . God hath Land enough to give to all his Heirs , there can be no want in that which is Infinite .

If God be Infinite , he fills all places , is every-where present ; this is sad to the Wicked , God is their Enemy and they cannot escape him , nor flie from him , for he is every where present : they are never out of his Eye , nor out of his Reach , Psal. 21.8 . Thy hand shall find out all thy enemies . What Caves or Thickets can Men hide in that God cannot find them : go where they will he is present , Psal. 139.7 . Whither shall I flie from thy presence ? If a Man owes a Debt to another , he may make some Escape , and flie into another Land where the Creditor cannot find him ; But whither shall I flie from thy presence ? God is Infinite , he is in all places , so that he will find out his Enemies and punish them .

Object . But is it not said , Cain went out from the presence of the Lord , Gen. 4.16 .

Resp. The meaning is , he went out from the Church of God , where were the visible Signs of God's Presence , and where God did in a special manner manifest his sweet Presence to his People . But Cain could not go out of God's sight , for God being Infinite , is every-where present . Sinners can neither go from an Accusing Conscience , nor a Revenging God .

If God be every-where present , then for a Christian to walk with God is not impossible . God is not only in Heaven , but he is on Earth too , Isa. 66.1 . Heaven is his Throne , there he sits , the Earth is his Footstool , there he stands . He is every-where present , therefore we may come to walk with God : Enoch walked with God , Gen. 5.21 . If God were confin'd to Heaven , a trembling Soul might think how can I Converse with God , how can I walk with him who lives in Excelsis , above the upper Region ; but God is not confined to Heaven , he is Omnipresent , he is above us , yet he is about us , he is near to us , Acts 17.27 . Though he be not far from the Assembly of his Saints . He stands in the Congregation of the Mighty , Psal. 82.1 . He is present with us , God is in every one of us : so that here on Earth we may walk with God . In Heaven the Saints rest with him , on Earth they walk with him . To walk with God is to walk by Faith ; we are said to draw nigh to God , Heb. 10.22 . and to see him , Heb. 11.27 . as seeing him who is invisible , and to have Fellowship with him , Hos. 1.3 . Or 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , our Fellowship is with the Father . Thus we may take a turn with him every day by Faith : [ 'T is a slighting of God not to walk with him ; if a King be in presence , it is a slighting him to neglect him and walk with the Page ] there 's no Walk in the World so sweet as to walk with God : Psal. 89.15 . They shall walk in the light of thy countenance . Psal. 138.5 . Yea , they shall sing in ways of the Lord ; it is like walking among beds of spices which send forth a fragrant perfume .

Use 2. If God be Infinite in his glorious Essence , learn to admire where you cannot fadom . The Angels wear a Veil , they cover their Faces , as adoring this Infinite Majesty , Isa. 6.3 . Elias wraped himself in a Mantle when God's Glory passed by ; admire where you cannot fadom , Job 11.7 . Canst thou by searching find out God ? Here we see some Beams of his Glory , we see him in the Glass of the Creation , we see him in his Picture , his Image shines in the Saints ; but who can search out all his Essential Glory , what Angel can measure these Pyramids ? Canst thou by searching find out God ? He is Infinite . We can no more search out his Infinite Perfections , then a Man upon the top of the highest Mountain can reach the Firmament , or take a Star in his hand . O have God-admiring Thoughts ! adore where you cannot fathom . There are many Mysteries in Nature which we cannot fathom ; Why the Sea should be higher then the Earth , yet not drown it . Why Nilus should overflow in Summer , when by the Course of Nature the Waters are lowest . How the Bones grow in the Womb , Eccles. 11.5 . If these things pose us , how may the Infinite Mystery of the Deity transcend our most raised Intellectuals . Ask the Geometrician , if he can with a pair of Compasses measure the breadth of the Earth . So unable are we to measure the Infinite Perfections of God . In Heaven we shall see God clearly , but not fully , for he is Infinite ; he will communicate himself to us according to the bigness of our Vessel , but not the Immensness of his Nature . Adore then where you cannot Fathom .

If God be Infinite in all places , then let us not go to limit God , Psal. 78.41 . They limited the holy one of Israel . 'T is a limiting God to confine him within the narrow compass of our Reason . Reason thinks God must go such a way to work , or the business will never be effected . This is to limit God to our Reason , whereas he is Infinite , and his ways are past finding out , Rom. 11.33 . In the Deliverance of the Church it is a limiting God either to set him a Time , or prescribe him a Method for Deliverance . God will deliver Sion , but he will be left to his own Liberty , he will not be tied to a Place , to a time , to an Instrument : this were to limit him , and then he should not be Infinite . God will go his own way , he will pose and nonplus Reason , he will work by Improbabilities , he will save in such a way as we think he will destroy ; now he acts like himself , like an Infinite Wonder-working God .

Of the Knowledge of GOD.

FOr the Lord is a God of Knowledge , and by him Actions are weighed , 1 Sam. 2.3 . Glorious things are spoken of God ; he transcends our Thoughts and the Angels Praises . God's Glory lies chiefly in his Attributes , which are the several Beams by which the Divine Nature shines forth . Among other of his Orient Excellencies , this is not the least , The Lord is a God of Knowledge ; or as the Hebrew word is , el Degnoth , a God of Knowledges . Through the bright Mirror of his own Essence he hath a full Idaea and Cognisance of all things ; the World is to him Corpus diaphanum , a transparent Body . He makes an Heart-Anatomy ; he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Rev. 2.23 . I am he which searcheth the Reins and the Heart . The Clouds are no Canopy , the Night is no Curtain to draw between us and his sight , Psal. 139.12 . The Darkness h●deth not from thee . There is not a word we whisper but God hears it , Psal. 139.4 . There is not a word in my Tongue , but lo , O Lord , thou knowest it altogether . There is not the most subtil Thought comes into our Mind , but God perceives it , Isa. 66.18 . I kn●w their thoughts . Thoughts speak as loud in Gods Ears as Words do in ours . All our Actions , though never so subtilly contrived , and secretly conveyed , are visible to the Eye of Omnisciency , Isa. 66.18 . I know their works . Achan hid the Babylonish Garment in the Earth , but God brought it to light , Iosh. 7.21 . Minerva was drawn in such curious Colours , and so lively pensil'd , that which way soever one turned , Minerva's Eye was upon him : so which way soever we turn our selves , still God's Eye is upon us , Iob 37.16 . Dost thou know the balancing of the Clouds , the Works of him who is perfect in knowledge ? God knows whatever is knowable ; he knows Future Contingencies : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrys. He foretold Israels coming out of Babylon , and the Virgins conceiving . By this the Lord proves the Truth of his God-head against Idol-Gods , Isa. 41.23 . Indicate Futura — Shew the things that are to come hereafter , that we may know ye are gods . The Perfection of God's Knowledge is that it cannot be searched out to perfection , Job 11.7 . What Angel can reach the top of these Pyramids ? But 1. God's Knowledge is Primary . He is the Original , the Patern and Prototype of all Knowledge ; others borrow their Kowledge of him ; the Angels light their Lamps at this glorious Sun . 2. God's Knowledge is Pure . It is not contaminated with the Object . Divina Natura non est immista r●bus aut sordibus inquinata , Aug. Though God knows sin , yet it is to hate and punish it . No Evil can mix or incorporate with his Knowledge , no more than the Sun can be defiled with the Vapors which arise from the Earth . 3. God's Knowledge is Facil ; it is without any difficulty . We study and search for Knowledge , Prov. 2.4 . If thou seekest for her as Silver . But the Lamp of God's Knowledge is so infinitely bright , that all things are easily intelligible to him . 4. God's Knowledge is infallible ; there is no mistake in his Knowledge . Humane Knowledge is subject to errour and misprision . A Physician may mistake the Cause of a Disease ; but God's Knowledge is un-erring ; he can neither deceive , nor be deceived . He cannot deceive , because he is Truth ; nor be deceived , because he is Wisdom . 5. God's Knowledge is Instantanious . Our Knowledge is successive ; one thing after another . We argue from the Effect to the Cause . God knows Things past , present , and to come , uno intuitu , at once . They are all before him in one intire prospect . 6. God's Knowledge is Retentive ; he never looseth any of his Knowledge ; he hath reminiscentia as well as intelligentia ; he remembers as well as understands . Many things elapse out of our Mind , but God's Knowledge is eternized . Things transacted a thousand years ago , are as fresh to him as if they were done but the last minute . Thus he is Perfect in Knowledge .

Object . But is it not said , Gen. 18.21 . I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry which is come up unto me , and I will know ?

Resp. It could not be a nesciency that God was ignorant , because there is mention made of a Cry ; but the Lord speaks there 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , after the manner of a Judge , who will first examine the Cause before he passeth the Sentence . God when he is upon a work of Justice , is not in a Riot , as if he did not care where he hits ; but he goes in the way of a Circuit against Offenders ; he lays Iudgment to the Line , and Righteousness to the Plummet , Isa. 28.17 .

Object . Hos. 13.12 . The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up , his sin is hid ?

Resp. Not that his sin was hid from God , but his sin is hid , that is , it is recorded , it is laid up against a Day of Reckoning . That this is the meaning , is clear by the fore-going words , His iniquity is bound up ; as the Clerk of the Assizes binds up the Indictments of Malefactors in a Bundle , and at the Assizes brings out the Indictments and reads them in Court , so God binds up Mens sins in a Bundle , and at the Day of Judgment this Bundle shall be opened , and all their sins brought to light before Men and Angels .

That God is thus infinite in his Knowledge , 1. It cannot but be so : For he who is the Original Cause , and gives a Being to things , must needs have a clear inspection into them ; Psal. 94 9. He that planted the Ear , shall not he hear ; he that formed the Eye , shall not he see ? He who makes a Watch or Engine , knows all the Workmanship in it . God that made the Heart , knows all the Motions and Fallacies of it . He is like Ezekiel's Wheels , full of Eyes ; and as Austin saith , Totus oculis , all eye . 2. It ought to be so : for , he is to be Iudge of all the World , Gen. 18.25 . There are so many Causes to be brought before him , and so many Persons to be tried , that he must have a most exquisite perfect Knowledge , or he could not do Iustice . An ordinary Judge cannot proceed without a Jury ; the Jury must search the Cause , and give in their Verdict ; but God can judge without a Jury . He knows all things in and of himself , and needs no Witness to inform him . A Judge judgeth only Matters of Fact , but God judgeth the Heart . He not only judgeth wicked Actions , but wicked Designs . He sees the Treason of the Heart , and punisheth it .

Use 1. Is God infinite in Knowledge , 1 Iohn 1.5 . He is Light , and in him is no Darkness ; then how unlike are they to God , who are Darkness , and in them is no Light , who are destitute of Knowledge , such as the Indians , who never heard of God . And are there not many among us , who are no better than baptized Heathens ? who are to seek in the first Principles of the Oracles of God . It is sad , that after the Sun of the Gospel hath shined so long in our Horison , yet , to this day the Veil should be upon their Heart . Such as are inveloped with Ignorance , cannot give God a reasonable Service , Rom. 12.1 . Ignorance is the Nurse of Impiety : the Schoolmen say , Omne peccatum fundatur in ignorantia ; Jer. 9.3 . They proceed from evil to evil , and know not me , saith the Lord . Where Ignorance reigns in the Understanding , Lust rageth in the Affections : Prov. 19.2 . That the Mind be without Knowledge , it is not good ; neither Faith nor Fear : no Faith , for Knowledge carries the Torch before Faith : Psal. 9.10 . They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee . A Man can no more believe without Knowledge , than the Eye can see without Light . Nor Fear of God ; How can they fear him whom they do not know ? The Covering of Haman's Face was a sad Presage of Death . When Peoples Minds are covered with Ignorance , this Covering of the Face is a fatal fore-runner of Destruction .

2. If God be a God of Knowledge , then see the folly of Hypocrisy . Hypocrites do not virtutem facere , but fingere , Melanct. they carry it fair with Men , but care not how bad their Hearts are ; they live in secret sin : Psal. 73.11 . They say how doth God know ? Psal. 10.11 . God hath forgotten , he ●ideth his face , he will never see it . But Psal. 147.5 . His Understanding is infinite . He hath a Grate ( Crates ) that looks into Mens Breasts : he hath a Key for the Heart , he beholds all the sinful workings of Men's Spirits : As in a Glass-Hive we can see the Bees working in their Combs , Matth. 6.4 . he sees in secret ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in impios habet , Rivet . As a Merchant enters down Debts in his Book , so God hath his Diary or Day-Book , and he enters down every sin into the Book . He makes a Critical Discant upon Mens Actions . Ieroboam's Wife disguised her self that the Prophet should not know her , but he discern'd her , 1 Kings 14.6 . Why feignest thou thy self to be another . The Hppocrite thinks to prevaricate and juggle with God , but God will unmask him ; Eccles. 12.14 . God shall bring every work into Iudgment with every secret thing . Jer. 29.23 . They have committed Villany in Israel , even I know and am a witness , saith the Lord . I , but the Hypocrite hopes he shall colour over his sin , and make it look very specious . Absolom masks over his Treason with the pretence of a Religious Vow . Iudas dissembles his Envy at Christ , and Covetousness , with a pretence of Charity to the Poor , John 12.5 . Iehu makes Religion a stirrop to his Ambitious Design , 1 Kings 10.16 . but God sees through these Figleaves . You may see a Jade under his gilt Trappings . Ier. 16.17 . Their Iniquities is not hid from my eyes . And he that hath an Eye to see , will find an Hand to punish .

Use 2. of Exhortation . Is God so infinite in his Knowledge , then we should always set our selves as under his Omniscient Eye . Sic vivendum est tanquam in conspectu , Seneca . Let us set David's Prospect before our Eye , Psal. 16.8 . I have set the Lord always before me . Seneca counselled Lucilius , that whatever he was doing , he should imagine some of the Roman Worthies beheld him , and then he would do nothing dishonourable . The consideration of God's Omnisciency would , 1. Be preventive of much sin . The Eye of Man will restrain from sin , and will not God's Eyes much more ? Esther 7.8 . Will he force the Queen before me , when I stand and look on ? Will we sin when our Judge looks on . Would Men speak so vainly if they considered God over-heard them ? Latimer took heed to every word in his Examination , when he heard the Pen go behind the Hangings . So what care would Persons have of their words , if they remembred God heard , and the Pen is going in Heaven . Would Men go after strange Flesh , if they believed God were a Spectator of their wickedness , and would make them do Pennance in Hell for it ? would they defraud in their Dealings , and use false Weights , if they thought God saw them ? and for making their Weights lighter , would make their damnation heavier . 2. The setting our selves , as under the Eye of God's Omnisciency , would cause Reverence in the Worship of God . God sees the frame and carriage of our Hearts when we come before him : How would this call in our stragling thoughts ? how would this animate and spirit Duty ? it would make us put fire to the Incense . Acts 26.7 . The Tribes instantly served God day and night , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , omnibus venibus , with the utmost zeal and intensness of Spirit . To think God is in this place , he beholds us , would add Wings to Prayer , and Oil to the flame of our Devotion .

2. Is God's Knowledge infinite , study sincerity , be what you seem ; 1 Sam. 16.7 . The Lord looketh upon the heart . Men judge of the Heart by the Actions , God judgeth of the Actions by the Heart . If the Heart be sincere , God will see the Faith , and wink at the failing . Asa had his 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , his Blemishes , but his Heart was right with God , 2 Chron. 15.17 . God saw his Sincerity , and pardoned his Infirmity . Sincerity in a Christian is like Chastity in a Wise , which doth excuse many Failings . Sincerity makes our Duties acceptable , like Musk among Linen , that perfumes it . As Iehu said to Iehonadab , 2 Kings 10.15 . Is thy heart right with me ? and he said it is : if it be ( saith he ) give me thy hand ; and he took him up into the Chariot . So if God sees our heart is right , that we love him , and design his glory , now , saith he , give me your Prayers and Tears , now you shall come up with me into the triumphant Chariot of Glory . Sincerity makes our Services to be golden , and God will not cast away this Gold , though it may want some weight . Is God Omniscient , and his Eye chiefly upon the Heart , wear this Girdle of Truth about you , and never leave it off .

Use 3. of Comfort . Is God a God of infinite Knowledge , then there is Comfort , 1. To the Saints in particular , 2. To the Church in general , in three Respects .

1. In case of Private Devotion . Christian , thou settest hours apart for God , thy Thoughts run upon him as thy Treasure , God takes notice of every good Thought ; Mal. 3.17 . He had a Book of Remembrance written for them that thought upon his Name . Thou enterest into thy Closet , and prayest to thy Father in secret ; he hears every sigh and groan ; Psal. 38.9 . My groaning is not hid from thee . Thou waterest the Seed of thy Prayer with Tears , God bottles every Tear ; Psal. 56.8 . Put thou my Tears into thy bottle . When the Secrets of all Hearts shall be opened , God will make an honourable mention of the Zeal and Devotion of his People , and he himself will be the Herauld of their Praises , 1 Cor. 4.5 . Then shall every man have praise of God .

2. The Infiniteness of God's Knowledge is a Comfort , in case the Saints have not so clear a Knowledge of themselves . They find so much Corruption , that they judge they have no Grace ; Gen. 25.22 . If it be so , why am I thus ? If I have Grace , why is my Heart in so dead and earthly a frame ? O remember , God is of infinite Knowledge , he can spy Grace where thou canst not ; he can see Grace hid under Corruption , as the Stars may be hid under a Cloud . God can see that Holiness in thee , which thou canst not discern in thy self . He can spy the flower of Grace in thee , though overtop'd with weeds ; 1 Kings 14.13 . Because there is in him some good thing , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . God sees some good thing in his People , when they can see no Good in themselves ; and though they judge themselves , he will give them an Absolution .

3. It is Comfort in respect of Personal Injuries . It is the Saints lot to suffer . The Head being crowned with Thorns , the Feet must not tread upon Roses ; if Saints find a real Purgatory , 't is in this Life , but this is the Comfort , God sees what wrong is done to them ; The Apple of his Eye is touched , and is not he sensible ? St. Paul was scourged by cruel Hands , 1 Cor. 11.35 . Thrice was I beaten with Rods ; as if you should see a Scullion whip the King's Son . God beholds it ; Exod. 3.7 . I know their sorrows . The Wicked make wounds in the backs of the Saints , and then pour in Vinegar : God writes down their Cruelty . Believers art part of Christs Mystical Body , and for every drop of a Saint's Blood spilt , God puts a drop of Wrath in his Vial.

2. Comfort to the Church of God in General . If God be a God of Knowledge , he sees all the Plots of the Enemies against Sion , and can make them prove Abortive . The wicked are subtil , having borrowed their skill of the old Serpent ; they dig deep to hide their Counsels from God , but he sees them , and can easily counter-work them . The Dragon is described with seven Heads , Rev. 12.3 . to shew how he plots against the Church . But God is described with seven Eyes , Zach. 3.9 . to shew , that he sees all the Plots and Stratagems of the Enemies , and when they deal proudly , he can be above them . Come , saith Pharaoh , let us deal wisely , Exod. 1.10 . and he never plaid the Fool more , then when he thought to deal wisely . Exod. 14.24 . In the morning watch the Lord looked to the Hoast of the Egyptians , by the Pillar of fire , and troubled their Hoast . How may this be as Sap in the Vine , and may comfort the Church of God in her Militant State , the Lord hath an Eye in all the Counsels and Combinations of the Enemy , he sees them lay their Train , and can blow them up in their own Mine .

Of the Eternity of GOD.

THE next Attribute is , God is Eternal , Psal. 90.2 . From everlasting to everlasting thou art God . The Schoolmen distinguish between Aevum & Eternum , to Explain the Notion of Eternity . There is a threefold Being , 1. Such a Being as had a Beginning , and shall have an End . So all Sensitive Creatures , the Beasts , Fowls , Fishes ; these at Death are destroyed , and return to Dust , their Being ends with their Life . 2. Such a Being as had a Beginning , but shall have no End ; as the Angels and Souls of Men ; they are Eternal , à parte post , they abide for ever . 3. Such a Being as is without Beginning and without Ending , and that is proper only to God . He is semper existens , viz. from everlasting to everlasting ; it is God's Title , a Jewel of his Crown . 1. He is called , The King Eternal , 1 Tim. 1.17 . 2. Iehovah , a word that properly sets out God's Eternity ; a word so dreadful , that the Jews trembled to name or read it , therefore used another word Adonai , Lord . Iehovah contains in it Time past , present , and to come , Rev. 1.4 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which is , and which was , and which is to come ; it interprets the word Iehovah . Which is ] He subsists of himself , having a pure independent Being . Which was ] God only was before Time . There is no searching into the Records of Eternity . Which is to come ] His Kingdom hath no End . His Crown hath no Successors ; Hebr. 1.8 . Thy Throne , O God , is for ever and ever . The doubling of the word ratifies the certainty of it , as the doubling of Pharaohs Dreams did . I shall prove that God only could be Eternal , without Beginning . Angels could not , they are but Creatures , though Spirits ; they were made , and therefore there beginning may be known ; their Antiquity may be searched into . If you ask , When they were created ? Some think before the World was ; but not so . For what was before time was Eternal : the Angels first Rice and Original reacheth no higher than the beginning of the World . 'T is thought by the Learned , that the Angels were made that day on which the Heavens were made ; Iob 38.7 . When the Morning-stars sang together , and all the Sons of God shouted for joy ; St. Hierom , Gregory , venerable Bede , understand it of the Angels . When God laid the Foundation Stone of the World , the Angels being then Created , did sing the Anthems of Joy and Praise . The Angels could not be before time ; for what was before Time was Eternal . 'T is only proper to God to be Eternal , without Beginning . He is Alpha and Omega , the First and the Last , Rev. 1.8 . No Creature can write it self Alpha , that is only a Flower of the Crown of Heaven , Exod. 3.14 . I am that I am ; viz. he who Exists from and to Eternity .

Use 1. Here is Thunder and Lightning to the Wicked ; God is Eternal , therefore the Torments of the Wicked are Eternal . God lives for ever , and as long as God lives , he will be punishing the damned . — This methinks , should be as that Hand-writing on the Wall , Dan. 5.5 . it should make their joints to be loosed , &c. The sinner takes liberty to sin , he breaks God's Laws , like a Wild beast that breaks over the Hedge , and leaps into forbidden Pasture : he sins 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , with greediness , Eph. 4.19 . as if he thought he could not sin fast enough . But remember , this is one of God's Names , Eternal , and as long as God is Eternal , he hath time enough to reckon with all his Enemies . To make Sinners tremble , let them think of these three things : The Torments of the the Damned are without Intermission , without Mixture , and Eternal .

1. Without Intermission ; their Pains shall be acute and sharp , and no relaxation ; the fire shall not be slackned , or abated ; Rev. 4.11 . They have no rest day nor night : like one that hath his Joints stretched continually on the Rack , and hath no ease ; therefore the Wrath of God is compared to a Stream of Brimstone , Isa. 30.33 . Why to a Stream ? Because a Stream runs without intermission ; it runs and doth not stop : so God's Wrath runs like a stream , and pours out without any intermission . In the Pains of this Life there is some abatement and intermission ; the Fever abates , after a fit of the Stone the Patient hath some ease : but the Pains of Hell are intense and violent , in summo gradu , the damned Soul never saith , I am now more at ease .

2. Without Mixture . Hell is a place of pure Iustice . In this Life God in Anger remembers Mercy , he mixeth Compassion with Suffering . Deut. 33.25 . Asher's shoe was of Iron , but his foot was dip'd in Oyl . Affliction is the Iron shoe , but Mercy is mixed with it ; here is the foot dip'd in Oil. But the Torments of the Damned have no mixture , Rev. 14.10 . They shall drink of the Wine of the wrath of God , which is poured out without mixture . No mixture of Mercy . How is the Cup of Wrath said to be full of mixture , Psal. 75.8 . The Wine is red , it is full of mixture : yet in the Revelation it is said to be without mixture ? It is full of mixture , that is , it is full of all the Ingredients that may make it bitter . The Worm , the Fire , the Curse of God , all these are bitter Ingredients . It is a Cup mixed ; yet it is without mixture , viz. there shall be nothing to afford the least Comfort , no mixture of Mercy ; so it is a Cup without mixture . In the Sacrifice of Jealousy , Numb. 5.15 . there was no Oil put to it . So in the Torments of the Damned their is no Oil of Mercy to abate their Sufferings .

3. Without Cessation , Eternal . The Pleasures of sin are but for a season , but the Torments of the wicked are for ever . Sinners have a short Feast , but a long Reckoning . Origen erroniously thought that after a thousand years the damned should be released out of their Misery : But the Worm , the Fire , the Prison are all Eternal , Rev. 14.11 . The smoak of their Torment ascendeth up for ever and ever . Poenae Gehennales puniunt , non finiunt , Prosper . Eternity is a Sea without Bottom and Banks . After Millions of years there 's not one Minute in eternity wasted ; and the Damned must be ever burning , but never consuming , always dying , but never dead , Rev. 9.6 . They shall seek death , but shall not find it . The Fire of Hell is such as multitude of Tears will not quench it , Length of Time will not finish it ; the Vial of God's Wrath will be always dropping upon a sinner . As long as God is Eternal , he lives for Ever to be avenged upon the wicked . O Eternity , Eternity , who can Fathom it ? Mariners have their Plummets to measure the Depth of the Sea ; but what Line or Plummets shall we use to Fathom the Depth of Eternity ? The Breath of the Lord kindles the Infernal Lake , Isa. 30.33 . and where shall we have Engines or Buckets to quench that Fire ? O Eternity ! If all the Body of the Earth and Sea were turned to Sand , and all the Air up to the starry Heaven were nothing but Sand , and a little Bird should come every 1000th year , and fetch away in her Bill but the Tenth part of a grain of all that heap of Sand , what a numberless number of years would be spent before that vast heap of Sand would be fetch'd away ; yet , if at the end of all that time the sinner might come out of Hell ( though long ) yet there would be some hope : But this word ever breaks the heart , The smoke of their Torment ascendeth up for ever and ever . What a Terror is this to the wicked , enough to put them into a cold Sweat , to think as long as God is Eternal , he lives for ever to be avenged upon sinners .

Quest. Here a Question may be moved , Why sin that is committed in a short time , should be punished eternally ?

Resp. We must hold with St. Augustine , that God's Judgment on the wicked , Occulta esse possunt injusta esse non possunt , may be secret , but never unjust . The reason why sin committed in a short time is eternally punished , is because every sin is committed against an Infinite Essence , and no less than Eternity of Punishment can satisfie . Why is Treason punished with Confiscation and Death , but because it is against the King's Person , which is Sacred ; much more that Offence which is against God's Crown and Dignity , is of an heinous and infinite Nature , and cannot be satisfied with less than Eternal Punishment .

Use 2. Of Comfort to the Godly , God is Eternal , therefore lives for ever to Reward the Godly , Rom. 2.7 . To them who seek for glory and honour eternal life . The People of God here are in a suffering Condition , Acts 20.23 . Bonds and Afflictions abide me . The Head being crowned with Thorns , the Feet must not tread upon Roses . The Wicked are clad in Purple , and fare deliciously , while the Godly suffer . Goats climb upon the high Mountains , while Christ's Sheep are in the Valley of Slaughter . But here is the Comfort , God is Eternal , and he hath appointed Eternal Recompences for the Saints . In Heaven are fresh Delights , Sweetness without Surfeit . And that which is the Crown and Zenith of Heavens happiness is , it is Eternal , 1 Iohn 2.25 . Were there but the least suspicion that this Glory must cease , it would much eclipse , yea imbitter it ; but it is Eternal . What Angel can span Eternity ? 2 Cor. 4.17 . An eternal weight of glory . The Saints shall bathe themselves in the Rivers of Divine Pleasure ; and these Rivers can never be dried up : Psal. 16.11 . At thy right hand are pleasures for evermore . This is the Elah , the highest strain in the Apostles Rhetorick , 1 Thess. 4.17 . Ever with the Lord . There is Peace without Trouble , Ease without Pain , Glory without End , ever with the Lord . Let this comfort the Saints in all their Troubles , their Sufferings are but short , but their Reward is eternal . Eternity makes Heaven to be Heaven ; 't is the Diamond in the Ring : O blessed Day that shall have no Night ! The Sun-light of Glory shall rise upon the Soul , and never set ! O blessed Spring that shall have no Autumn , or Fall of the Leaf ! The Roman Emperours have three Crowns set upon their Heads , the first of Iron , the second of Silver , the third of Gold . So the Lord sets three Crowns on his Children , Grace , Comfort and Glory ; and this Crown is Eternal : 1 Pet. 5.4 . Ye shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away . The Wicked have a never-dying Worm , and the Godly a never-fading Crown . O how should this be a Spur to Vertue ! how willing should we be to work for God ? though we had nothing here , God hath time enough to reward his People ; the Crown of Eternity shall be set upon their Head .

Use 3. Of Exhortation . 1. In General , study Eternity . Our Thoughts should chiefly run upon Eternity . We are all for the present , something that may delight the Sences . If we could have lived ( as Augustine ) A cunabulis Mundi , from the Infancy of the World to the Worlds old Age , what were this ? What is Time measured with Eternity ? As the Earth is but a small Point to the Heaven , so Time is but , nay scarce a Minute to Eternity ; and then , what is this poor Life , which crumbles away so fast ! O think of Eternity ! Annos aeternos in mente habe : Brethren , we are every day travelling to Eternity , and whether we wake or sleep , we are going our Journey ; some of us are upon the Borders of Eternity . O study the shortness of Life , and the length of Eternity !

2. More Particularly : Think of God's Eternity and the Soul's Eternity . 1. Think of God's Eternity . He is the Ancient of Days , who was before all Time . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Thales . There is a figurative Description of God , Dan. 7.9 . The Ancient of Days did sit , whose Garment was white as snow , and the hair of his Head like the pure Wooll . His white Garment wherewith he was cloathed signified his Majesty , his Hair like the pure Wool , his Holiness , and the Ancient of Days his Eternity . The thoughts of God's Eternity would make us have high adoring thoughts of God . We are apt to have mean irreverent thoughts of him , Psal. 50.21 . Thou thoughtest I was such a one as thy self ; weak and mortal . But if we would think of God's Eternity , when all Power ceaseth , he is King Eternal , his Crown flourisheth for ever , who can make us happy or miserable for ever , this would make us have adoring thoughts of God ; Rev. 4.10 . The four and twenty Elders fell down before him that sate on the Throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever , and cast their Crowns before the Throne . The Saints fall down , to signifie by that humble posture , that they are not worthy to sit in God's Presence . They fall down , and they worship him that lives for ever , they do as it were kiss his feet . And they cast their Crowns before the Throne , they lay all their Honour at his Feet . Thus they shew humble Adoration to the Eteral Essence . Study God's Eternity , it will make us adore where we cannot Fathom . 2. Think of the Soul's Eternity . As God is Eternal , so he hath made us Eternal . We are never-dying Creatures ; we are shortly entring upon an Eternal State , either of Happiness or Misery . Have serious thoughts of this : Say , O my Soul , which of these two Eternities is like to be thy Portion ? I must shortly depart hence , and whither then shall I go , to which of these Eternities , either of Glory or Misery ? The serious Meditation of the Eternal State we are to pass into , would work strongly with us .

1. Thoughts of Eternal Torment , a good Antidote against Sin : Sin tempts with its Pleasure , but when we think of Eternity it may cool the intemperate Heat of Lust : Shall I for the Pleasure of Sin for a Season , endure eternal Pain ? Sin like those Locusts , Rev. 9.7 . seems to have on its Head a Crown like Gold , but it hath in it a Tail like a Scorpion . Verse 10. And a Sting in its Tail , and this Sting can never be plucked out . Shall I venture eternal Wrath ? is Sin committed so sweet , as lying in Hell for ever is bitter ? This would make us flye from Sin as Moses from the Serpent .

2. The serious Thoughts of Eternal Happiness would very much take us off from these Worldly Things , we should not esteem much of them : What are these Sublunary Things to Eternity ? they are quickly gone , they salute us and take their Farewel . But I am to enter upon an Everlasting Estate : I hope to live with Him who is Eternal ; what is the World to me ? They who stand upon the top of the Alps , the great Cities of Campania seem as small things in their eyes ; so he who hath his Thoughts fixed on his Eternal Estate after this Life , all these things seem as nothing in his eye . What is the Glory of this World ? how poor and contemptible compar'd with an Eternal Weight of Glory ? Aeternis inhianti in fastidio suns transito , Bern.

3. To conclude , The serious Thoughts of an Eternal Estate , either of Happiness or Misery , would have a powerful Influence upon whatsoever we take in hand : Every Work we do promotes either a blessed or cursed Eternity ; every good Action sets us a step nearer to an Eternity of Happiness , every bad Action sets us a step nearer to an Eternity of Misery . O what Influence would the Thoughts of Eternity have upon our Religious Duties ! it would make us do them with all our Might ▪ A Duty well performed lifts a Christian higher towards Heaven , and sets a Christian a step nearer to a blessed Eternity .

GOD's Vnchangeableness .

THE next Attribute is God's Unchangeableness , Mal. 3.6 . I am Iehovah , I change not . 1. God is unchangeable in his Nature . 2. In his Decree .

1st , Unchangeable in his Nature : 1. There is no Eclipse of his Brightness . 2. No Period put to his Being .

1. No Eclipse of his Brightness : His Essence shines with a fixed Lustre , Iam. 1.17 . With whom is no variableness , neither shadow of turning . Psal. 102.27 . Thou art the same . All created Things are full of Vicissitude , 1. Princes and Emperours are subject to Mutation . Sehostris , an Aegyptian Prince , having subdued divers Kings in War , made them draw like Horses in his Chariot , as if he intended to turn them to Grass , as God did King Nebuchadnezzar . The Crown hath many Successors . 2. Kingdoms have their Ecclipses and Convulsions : What is become of the Glory of Athens ? the Pomp of Troy ? Iam seges est ubi Troja fuit . Kingdoms tho' they have a Head of Gold , yet Feet of Clay . 3. The Heavens change , Psal. 102.25 , 26. As a vesture shalt thou change them , and they shall be changed . The Matter of the Elements as it is more pure , so more firm and sollid ; the Heavens are the most ancient Records where God hath written his Glory with a Sun-beam ; yet these shall change , though I do not think they shall be destroyed as to their substance , yet they shall be changed as to their qualities : They shall me●t with fervent heat , 2 Pet. 3.12 . and so be more refin'd and purifi'd . Thus the Heavens shall be changed , but not He who dwells in Heaven : With him is no Variableness or Shadow of Turning . 4. The best Saints have their Eclipses and Changes : look upon a Christian in his Spiritual Estate , and he is full of Variation : though the Seed of Grace doth not dye , yet the Beauty and Activity of it doth often wither . A Christian hath his Aguish Fits in Religion , sometimes his Faith is at an high Tide , sometime● low Eb● , somtimes his Love flames , and at another time like Fire hid in the Embers , and he hath lost his first Love . How strong was David's Grace at one time , 2 Sam. 22.3 . The God of my rock , in him will I trust . At another time , I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul . What Christian can say he doth not find a Change in his Graces : that the Bow of his Faith doth never unbend , the Strings of his Viol do never slacken . Sure we shall never meet with such Christians till we meet them in Heaven . But God is without any Shadow of Turning . 5. The Angels were subject to Change , they were created Holy , but Mutable , Jud. 6. The angels which kept not their first estate . Those Morning-stars of Heaven were falling Stars . But God's Glory shines with a fixed Brightness : In God there is nothing looks like a Change , no better or worse , no better in him , because then he were not perfect , nor worse in him , for then he should cease to be perfect : He is immutably Holy , immutably Good ; There is no Shadow of Change in him .

Object . Christ who is God , assumed the Humane Nature , here was a Change .

Resp. If indeed the Divine Nature had been converted into the Humane , or the Humane into the Divine , here had been a Change ; but not so . The Humane Nature was distinct from the Divine , therefore there was no Change . As suppose a Cloud cover the Sun , this makes no Change in the Body of the Sun ; so though the Divine Nature be covered with the Humane , this makes no Change in the Divine Nature .

2d , There is no Period put to his Being : 1 Tim. 1.16 . Who only hath immortality . The Godhead cannot die : 1. An Infinite Essence cannot be changed into a Finite , but God is Infinite . 2. He is Eternal , Ergo , he is not Mortal to be Eternal , and Mortal is a Contradiction .

Use 1. See here the Excellency of the Divine Nature in its Immutability : this is the Glory of Godhead . Mutableness denotes Weakness ; it is not so in God , he is the same Yesterday and to Day , and for ever , Heb. 13.8 . Men are fickle and mutable , like Ruében , Unstable as water , Gen. 49.4 . They go in changeable Colours :

1. They are changeable in their Principles , [ sometimes Protestant , sometimes Papist , ] if their Faces altered as fast as their Opinions , we should not know them .

2. Changeable in their Resolutions ; like the Wind that blows strongly in the East , presently turns about to the West ; they resolve to be virtuous , but quickly repent of their Resolutions : Their Minds are like a sick Man's Pulse , alters every half Hour ; these the Apostle compares to Waves of the Sea , and wandring Stars , Iud. 13. They are not Pillars in God's Temple , but Reeds .

3. Others are changeable in their Friendship , quickly love and quickly hate ; sometimes will put you in their Bosom , then excommunicate you out of their Favour : thus they change as the Camelion into several Colours . But God is Immutable .

Use 2. See the Vanity of the Creature ; there are Changes in every thing but in God , Ps. 62.9 . Men of high degree are vanity , and men of low degree are a lye . O quantum est in rebus inane : We look for more from the Creature , then God hath put into it . The World rings Changes ; the Creature hath two Evils in it , it promiseth more then we find , and it fails us when we most need it : There is a Failure in Omni. A Man desires to have his Corn ground , the Water fails and then his Mill cannot go . The Mariner is for a Voyage , the Wind either doth not blow , or it is contrary , and he cannot sail . One depends upon another for the payment of a Promise , and he fails , and is like a Foot out of joynt . Who would look for a fixed Stability in the vain Creature ! As if one should build Houses on the Sand , where the Sea comes in and overflows . The Creature is true to nothing but Deceit , and is constant only in its Disappointments . 'T is no more wonder to see Changes fall out here below , then to see the Moon dressing itself in a new shape and figure ; look to meet with Changes in every thing but in God .

Use 3. Comfort to the Godly , 1. In case of Losses , if an Estate be almost boyld away to nothing ; if lose dear Friends by Death , here 's a double Eclipse ; but this is the Comfort , God is Unchangeable ; I may loose these things , but I cannot lose my God , he never dies . When the Fig-tree and Olive failed , yet God did not fail , Hab. 3.17 . I will joy in the God of my salvation . The Flowers in the Garden dye , but a Man's Portion remains : So outward things dye and change , but , Psal. 73.26 . Thou art the strength of my heart , and my portion for ever .

2. In case of Sadness of Spirit , when God seems to cast off the Soul in Dejection , Cant. 5.6 . My beloved had withdrawn himself ; yet God is Unchangeable . He is Immutable in his Love , he may change his Countenance but not his Heart ▪ Ier. 31.4 . I have loved thee with an everlasting love ; Hebrew Gnolam , A Love of Eternity . If once God's Electing Love riseth upon the Soul , it never sets , Isa. 54.10 . The mountains shall be removed , but my loving kindness shall not depart from thee , nor the covenant of my peace be removed . God's Love stands faster then the Mountains ; God's Love to Christ is Unchangeable , and he will no more cease loving Believers then he will cease loving Christ .

Use 4. of Exhortation : Get an Interest in this Unchangeable God , then thou art as a Rock in the Sea , immovable in midst of all Changes .

Quest. How shall I get a part in this Unchangeable God ?

Resp. By having a Change wrought in thee , 1 Cor. 6.11 . But ye are washed , but ye are sanctified . When we are changed , A tenebris ad lucem , so chang'd as if another Soul did live in the same Body , by this Change we are interested in the Unchangeable God .

Trust to this God only who is Unchangeable , Isa. 2.22 . Cease from man , leave trusting to the reed , but trust to the rock of ages . He that is by Faith in garrison'd in God , is safe in all Changes ; he is like a Boat that is tyed to an immovable Rock . He that trusts in God , trusts in that which cannot fail him , he is Unchangeable , Heb. 13.5 . I will never leave thee nor forsake thee . Health may leave us , Riches , Friends may leave us , but saith God , I 'll not leave thee ; my Power shall support thee , my Spirit shall sanctifie thee , my Mercy shall save thee : I will never leave thee . O trust in this Unchangeable God . God is jealous of two things , Of our Love , and of our Trust : He is jealous of our Love , least we love the Creature more then him , therefore he makes it prove bitter : And of our Trust , least we should place more Confidence in it then him , therefore he makes it prove unfaithful . Outward Comforts are given us as Baits by the way to refresh us , but not as Crutches to lean on : If we make the Creature an Idol , what we make our Trust God makes our Shame . O trust in Deo Immutabili : We like Noah's Dove have no footing for our Souls , till we get into the Ark of God's Unchangeableness , Psal. 125.1 . They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion , which cannot be removed .

God is Unchangeable in his Decree , what he hath decreed from Eternity is unalterable , Isa. 46.11 . My counsel shall stand . Argument , That God's eternal Counsel or Decree is Immutable . If God changeth his Decree , it must be from some Defect of Wisdom or Foresight in God : for that is the reason why Men do change their Purposes , through a want of Foresight they see something after which they did not see before : But this cannot be the cause why God should alter his Decree , because his Knowledge is perfect , he sees all things in one intire Prospect before him .

Object . But is not God said to Repent , there seems to be a Change in his Decree , Io● . 3.10 . The Lord repented of the evil that he said he would do unto them .

Resp. Repentance is attributed to God figuratively and improperly , Num. 23.19 . He is not man that he should repent . There may be a Change in God's Work , but not in his Will : God may will a Change , but not change his Will. Mutat sententiam non decretum : God may change his Sentence , but not his Decree . As suppose a King shall cause the Sentence to be passed upon a Malefactor whom he intends to save , notwithstanding this Sentence , the King doth not alter his Decree . So God threatned Destruction to Nineveh , Chap. 3.4 . but the People of Nineveh repenting , God spared them ; here God changed his Sentence , but not his Decree ; it was what had la●n in the Womb of his Purpose from Eternity .

Object . But if God's Decree be Unchangeable , and cannot be Revers'd , then to what purpose should we use the Means , our Endeavours towards Salvation cannot alter his Decree ?

Resp. This Decree of God doth not take off my Endeavour , for he that hath decreed my Salvation , hath decreed it in the use of Means , and if I neglect the Means I go about to Reprobate myself ; no Man argues thus . God hath decreed how long I shall live ; Ergo , I will not use Means to preserve Life , not eat and drink : God hath decreed the time of my Life in the use of Means ; so God hath decreed my Salvation in the use of Word , Prayer , Sacraments : And as a Man that refuseth his ●ood murders himself , so he that refuseth to work out his Salvation doth destroy himself . The Vessels of Mercy are said to be prepar'd unto Glory , Rom. 9.23 . How are they prepar'd , but by being sanctified ▪ and that cannot be but in the use of Means : therefore let not God's Decree take thee off from Holy Endeavour . A good Saying of Dr. Preston , Hast thou an Heart to pray to God , it is a sign no Decree of Wrath is passed against thee .

Use 1. If God's Decree be Eternal and Unchangeable , then God doth not Elect our Faith foreseen , as the Arminians . Rom. 9.11 . The children being not yet born , that the purpose of God according to election might stand . It was said , Iacob have I loved , Esau have I hated . We are not elected for Holiness , but to Holiness , Eph. 1.3 . If we are not justified for our Faith , much less elected for our Faith ; but we are not justified for it : We are said to be justified , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , through Faith as an Instrument , Eph. 2.8 . but not for Faith as a Cause : and if not justified for Faith , then much less elected . God's Decree of Election is Eternal and Unchangeable , therefore depends not upon Faith foreseen , Acts 13.48 . As many as were ordained to eternal life believed . They were not elected because they believed , but they believed because they were elected .

Use 2. If God's Decree be Unchangeable , 't is Comfort in two Cases , 1. Concerning God's Providences towards his Church : We are ready to quarrel with Providence if every thing doth not jump with our Desire : Remember God's Work goes on , and nothing falls out but what he hath decreed from Eternity . 2. God hath decreed Troubles for the Churches good ; the troubling of God's Church is like the Angel's troubling the Water , Ioh. 5.4 . which made way for healing his People . He hath decreed Troubles in the Church , His fire is in Sion , and his furnace in Ierusalem , Isa. 31.9 . The Wheels in a Watch move cross one to another , but they all carry on the Motion of the Watch : So the Wheels of Providence often move cross to our Desires , but still they carry on God's unchangeable Decree : Dan. 12.10 . Many shall be made white . God lets the Waters of Affliction be poured on his People , he doth but lay them a Whitening . Therefore murmur not at God's Dealings ; His Work goes on , nothing falls out but what he hath wisely decreed from Eternity ; every thing shall promote God's Design , and fulfil his Decree .

2. Comfort to the Godly in regard of their Salvation , 2 Tim. 2.19 . The foundation of God stands sure , having this seal , the Lord knows who are his : God's Counsel of Election is Unchangeable : once elected and for ever elected , Rev. 3.5 . I will not blot his name out of the book of life . The Book of God's Decree hath no Errata's in it , no blottings out : once justified never unjustified , Hos. 13.14 . Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes . God never repents of his electing Love , ● Joh. 13.1 . He loved them to the end . Therefore if thou art a Believer , comfort thy self with this , the Immutability of God's Decree .

Use 3. To conclude , a word to the Wicked , who march furiously against God and his People , let them know God's Decree is Unchangeable , God will not alter it , nor can they break it , and while they resist God's Will they fulfil it . There 's a twofold Will of God , Voluntas praecepti & decreti ; The Will of God's Precept , and of his Decree . While the Wicked resist the Will of God's Precept , they fulfil the Will of his Permissive Decree . Iudas betrays Christ , Pilate condemns him , the Souldiers crucify him ; while they resisted the Will of God's Precept , they fulfilled the Will of his Permissive Decree , Acts 4.28 . Such as are wicked , God commands one thing they do the quite contrary ; to keep Sabbath , they prophane it ; while they disobey his Command they fulfil his Permissive Decree . If a Man set up two Nets , one of Silk , the other of Iron , the Silken Net may be broken , not the Iron : God's Commands are the Silken Net ; while Men break the Silken Net of God's Command , they are taken in the Iron Net of his Decree ; while they sit backward to God's Precepts , they row forward to his Decree ; his Decree to permit their Sin , and to punish them for their Sin permitted .

Of the Wisdom of GOD.

THE next Attribute is Gods ' Wisdom , which is one of the brightest Beams of the Godhead , Iob 9.4 . He is wise in heart . Kacham lavau : The Heart is the Seat of Wisdom ; Cor in Hebraeo sumitur pro Iudicio , Pineda . Among the Hebrews the Heart is put for Wisdom . Iob 34.32 . Let Men of Understanding tell me : In the Hebrew , — Let Men of Heart tell me . God is wise in heart , that is , he is most wise . 1. God is only wise ; he doth monopolize and ingross all Wisdom ; Ergo , he is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the only wise God , 1 Tim. 1.17 . All the Treasures of Wisdom are lock'd up in him , and no Creature can have any Wisdom , but as God is pleased to give it out of his Treasury . 2. God is perfectly wise ; there is no defect in his Wisdom . Men may be wise in some things , but in other things may betray imprudence and weakness . But God is the Exemplar and Pattern of Wisdom , and the Pattern must be perfect , Matth. 5.48 . God's Wisdom appears in two things : 1. His Infinite Intelligence , 2. His Exact Working .

1. His Infinite Intelligence . He knows the most profound , obstruse Secrets , Dan. 2.28 . He knows the Thoughts , which are the most intricate subtil things . Amos 4.13 . He declareth to Man what is his thought . Let Sin be contrived never so politickly , God will pull off all Masks and Disguises , and make an Heart-Anatomy . He knows all future Contingencies , & ante intuitu , all things are before him in one clear Prospect .

2. His exact curious Working . He is wise in heart ; his wisdom lies in his works . These Works of God are bound up in three great Volumes , where we may read his Wisdom .

1. The Work of Creation . The Creation , as it is a Monument of God's Power , so a Looking-glass in which we may see his Wisdom . None but a wise God could so curiously contrive the World . Behold the Earth deck'd with variety of Flowers , which are both for Beauty and Fragrancy ; the Heaven bespangled with Lights , we may see the glorious Wisdom of God blazing in the Sun , twinkling in the Stars . His Wisdom is seen in the marshalling and ordering every thing in its proper Place and Sphere . If the Sun had been set lower , it would have burnt us ; if higher , it would not have warm'd us with its Beams . God's Wisdom is seen in appointing the Seasons of the Year ; Psal. 74.17 . Thou hast made Summer and Winter . If it had been all Summer , the Heat would have scorched us ; if all Winter , the Cold would have kill'd us . The Wisdom of God is seen in chekoring the Dark and the Light . If it had been all Night , there had been no Labour ; if all Day , there had been no Rest. Wisdom is seen in mixing the Elements , the Earth with the Sea . If it had been all Sea , then we had wanted Bread ; if it had been all Earth , then we had wanted Water . The Wisdom of God is seen in preparing and ripening the Fruits of the Earth : the Wind and Frosts prepare the Fruits , the Sun and Rain ripen the Fruits . God's Wisdom is seen in setting Bounds to the Sea , and so wisely contriving it , that though the Sea be higher than the Earth , yet it should not overflow the Earth : so that we may cry out with the Psalmist , Psal. 104.24 . O Lord , how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all : there is nothing to be seen but Miracles of Wisdom . God's Wisdom is seen in ordering things in the Body Politick , that one shall have need of another : the Poor need the Rich Man's Money , and the Rich need the Poor Man's Labour . God makes one Trade depend upon another , that one may be helpful to another , and that mutual Love may be preserved .

2. The second Work wherein God's Wisdom shines forth , is the Work of Redemption . 1. Here was the Master-piece of Divine Wisdom , to contrive a way to Happiness between the Sin of Man , and the Justice of God . We may cry out with the Apostle , Rom. 11.33 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , O the depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! This posed Men and Angels . If God had put us to find out a way of Salvation when we were lost , we could neither have had an Head to devise , nor an Heart to desire what God's infinite Wisdom hath found out for us . Mercy had a mind to save Sinners , yet loath that the Justice of God should be wronged : 'T is pity , saith Mercy , that such a noble Creature as Man should be made to be undone , and yet no reason that God's Justice should be a loser . What way then shall be found out ? Angels cannot satisfie for the wrong done to God's Justice ; nor is it fit that one Nature should sin , and another Nature suffer . What then , shall Man be for ever lost ? Now , while Mercy was thus debating with it self what to do for the recovery of fall'n Man , here the Wisdom of God step'd in , and thus the Oracle spake ; Let God become Man , let the second Person in the Trinity be Incarnate , and Suffer , and so for fitness he shall be Man , and for ability he shall be God . Thus Justice may be satisfied , and Man saved . O the depth of the riches of the wisdom of God , thus to make Justice and Mercy to kiss each other ! Great is this Mystey , God manifest in the flesh , 1 Tim. 3.16 . What wisdom was this , that Christ should be made sin , yet know no sin ; that God should condemn the sin , yet save the sinner . Here was wisdom to find out the way of Salvation . 2. The means by which Salvation is applied sets forth God's wisdom . That Salvation should be by Faith , not by Works . Faith is an humble Grace , it gives all to Christ , 't is an adorer of Free-grace ; and Free-grace being advanced here , God hath his glory , and it is his highest wisdom to exalt his own glory . 3. The way of working Faith declares God's wisdom ; 't is wrought by the Word preached , Rom. 10.17 . Faith comes by hearing . What is the weak Breath of a Man to convert a Soul ? 't is like whispering in the Ears of a dead Man ; this is foolishness in the eye of the world : but the Lord loves to shew his wisdom by that which seems folly , 1 Cor. 1.27 . He hath chosen the foolish things of the World to confound the wise . Why so ? Verse 29. That no flesh should glory in his presence . Should God convert by the Ministry of Angels , then we should have been ready to have gloried in Angels , and have given that honour to them which is due to God . But when God works by weak Tools , makes use of Men who are of like Passions with our selves , and by them Converts , now the Power is plainly seen to be of God : 2 Cor. 4.7 . We have this Treasure in earthen Vessels , that the excellency of the power may be of God , and not of us . Herein is God's wisdom seen , that no flesh may glory in his presence .

3. The Wisdom of God wonderfully appears in the Works of his Providence . Every Providence hath either a mercy or a wonder wrap'd up in it . The wisdom of God in his Works of Providence , appears 1. By effecting great things by small contemptible Means . He cured the stung Israelite by a brazen Serpent . If some Soveraign Antidote had been used , if the Balm of Gilead had been brought , there had been some likelyhood that this should have healed : But what was there in a brazen Serpent ? it was a meer Image , and not applied to him that was wounded , only he was to look upon it ; yet this wrought a Cure . The less probability in the Instrument , the more is God's wisdom seen . 2. The wisdom of God is seen in doing his work by that which to the Eye of Flesh seems quite contrary . God intended to advance Ioseph , and make all his Brethrens sheaves bow to his sheaf . Now , what way doth he take ? First Ioseph is thrown into the Pit , then sold into Egypt , then after that put in Prison , Gen. 39.20 . and by his Imprisonment God made way for his Advancement . For God to save in an ordinary way , wisdom would not be so much taken notice of ; but when he goes strangely to work , and saves in that very way in which we think he will destroy , now his wisdom shines forth in a most glorious conspicuous manner . God would make Israel victorious , and what way doth he go in ? He lessens Gideon's Army , Iudg. 7.2 . The people that are with thee are too many : he reduceth the Army of two and thirty thousand to three hundred , and by taking away the means of Victory , makes Israel victorious . God had a design to bring his People out of Egypt , and a strange course he takes to effect it : he stirred up the Hearts of the Egyptians to hate them , Psal. 105.25 . He turned their heart to hate his people . The more they hated and oppressed Israel , the more God plagued the Egyptians , and the gladder they were to let Israel go , Exod. 12.33 . The Egyptians were urgent upon Israel that they might send them out of the Land in haste , God had a mind to save Ionah when he was cast into the Sea , and he lets the Fish swallow him up , and so bring him to the shore . God would save Paul , and all that were in the Ship with him , and there was no way to save them but the Ship must break , and they all came safe to Land upon the broken pieces of the Ship , Acts 27.44 . In reference to the Church God oft goes by contrary means , makes the Enemy do his work ; he can strike a strait stroak by crooked sticks . God hath oft made his Church grow and flourish by persecution . The showrs of Blood have made her more fruitful , Iulian. Exod. 1.10 . Come let us deal wisely with them , least they multiply . And that way they took to suppress them , made them multiply , Vers. 12. The more the afflicted them , the more they multiplied : Like Ground , the more it is harrowed , it bears the better Crop . The Apostles were scattered by reason of Persecution ▪ and their scattering was like the scattering of Seed , they went up and down and preached the Gospel , and brought in daily Converts . Paul was put in Prison , and his Bonds were a Means to enlarge the Gospel , Phil. 1.12 .

3. The wisdom of God is seen in making the most desperate Evils turn to the good of his Children . As several poisonful Ingredients , wisely tempered by the skill of the Artist make a Soveraign Medicine , so God makes the most deadly Afflictions co-operate for the good of his Children . He purifies them , and prepares them for Heaven , 2 Cor. 4.17 . These hard Frosts hasten the Spring-flowers of Glory . The wise God , by a Divine Chymistry , turns Afflictions into Cordials . God makes his People gainers by losses , and turns their Crosses into Blessings .

4. The wisdom of God is seen in this , that the sins of Men shall carry on God's work , yet that he should have no hand in their sins . The Lord permits sin , but doth not approve it . He hath an Hand in the Action in which sin is , but not in the sin of the Action . As in the crucifying of Christ , so far as it was a Natural Action , God did concur ; if he had not given the Jews Life and Breath , they could not have done it : but as it was a sinful Action , so God abhorred it . A Musitian plays upon a Viol out of tune , the Musitian is the Cause of the sound , but the jarring and discord is from the Viol it se●f ; so Men's natural Motion is from God , but their sinful Motion is from themselves . A Man that rides on a lame Horse , his riding is the Cause why the Horse goes , but the lameness is from the Horse it self . Herein is God's wisdom , the sins of Men shall carry on his Work , yet he hath no hand in them .

5. The wisdom of God is seen in helping in the desperate Cases . God loves to shew his wisdom when Humane Help and Wit fail . Exquisite Lawyers love to wrestle with Nicities and Difficulties in the Law , to shew their skil the more . God's wisdom is never at a loss , but when Providences are darkest , now appears the Morninst-star of Deliverance , Psal. 136.23 . Who remembred us in our low condition . Sometimes God melts away the Spirits of his Enemies , Iosh. 2.24 . Sometimes he finds them other work to do , and sounds a Retreat to them , as he did to Saul when he was pursuing David , The Philistines are in the Land . In the Mount will God be seen . When the Church seems to be upon the Altar , her Peace and Liberty ready to be Sacrificed , now comes the Angel .

6. God's wisdom is seen in befooling wise men , and making their wisdom a means of their overthrow . Achitophel had deep Policy , 2 Sam. 16.23 . The counsel of Achitophel which he counselled , was as if a man had enquired at the Oracle of God : but he consulted his own shame , The Lord turned his counsel into foolishness , 2 Sam. 17.23 . Job 5.13 . God taketh the wise in their own craftiness ; that is , when they think to deal wisely , he not only disappoints them , but insnares them . The Snares they lay for others catch themselves . Psal. 9.16 . In the Net which they hid is their own foot taken . God loves to counter-plot Politicians ; he makes use of their own Wit to undo them , and hangs Haman upon his own Gallows .

Use 1. Adore the wisdom of God , it is an infinite Deep , the Angels cannot search into : Rom. 11.33 . His ways are past finding out . And as we should Adore , so we should Rest in the wisdom of God : God sees what Condition is best for us . Did we believe the wisdom of God , it would keep us from murmuring . Rest in God's wisdom , in several Cases : 1. In want of Spiritual Comfort : God is wise , he sees it good sometimes we should be without Comfort . Perhaps we should be lifted up with Spiritual Enlargements , as Paul with his Revelations , 2 Cor. 12.7 . 'T is hard to have the Heart low when Comfort is high . God sees Humility is better for us then Ioy . 'T is better to want Comfort and be humble , then to have it and be proud . 2. In want of bodily strength rest in God's wisdom ; he sees what is best . Perhaps the less Health the more Grace . Weaker in Body , the stronger we are in Faith , 2 Cor. 4.16 . Though our outward man perish , yet the inward man is renewed day by day . At Rome there were two Laurel Trees , when the one withered the other flourished . The inward Man is renewed . When God shakes the Tree of the Body , he is now gathering the Fruits of Righteousness , Hebr. 12.11 . Sickness is God's Launce to let out the Impostbume of sin , Isa. 27.9 . 3. In case of God's Providences to his Church : we wonder what God is doing with us , and are ready to kill our selves with Care ; Rest in God's wisdom , he knows best what he hath to do , Psal. 77.19 . His footsteps are not known . Trust him where you cannot trace him . God is most in his way , when we think he is most out of the way . When we think God's Church is as it were in the Grave , and there is a Tombstone laid upon her , God's wisdom can rowl away the Stone from the Sepulchre . Christ cometh leaping over Mountains , Cant. 2.8 . Either his power can remove the Mountain , or his wisdom knows how to leap over it . 4. In case we are low in the World , or have but little Oil in our Cruise , Rest in God's wisdom , he sees it best ; it is to cure Pride and Wantonness . God knew , if thy Estate had not been lost , thy Soul had been lost . God he saw Riches would be a Snare to thee , 1 Tim. 6.9 . Art thou troubled that God hath prevented a Snare ? God will make thee rich in Faith ; what thou lackest in Temporals , shall be made up in Spirituals ; God will give thee more of his love . Thou art weak in Estate , yet God will make thee strong in Assurance . O rest in God's wisdom ! he will Carve the best piece for thee . 5. In case of the loss of dear Friends , a Wife , or Child , or Husband , rest satisfied in God's Wisdom . God hath taken away these , because he would have more of your Love . He breaks these Crutches , that we may live more upon him by Faith . God would have us learn to go without Crutches .

Use 2. If God be infinitely wise , then let us go to him for Wisdom ; as Solomon ▪ 1 Kings 3.9 . Give thy servant an understanding heart , and the speech pleased the Lord ; and there is encouragement for us . If any one lack wisdom , let him ask of God who giveth liberally and upbraideth not , Jam. 1.5 . Wisdom is in God , tanquam in fonte , as in the Fountain ; his wisdom is imparted , not impaired ; his Stock is not spent by giving . Go then to God , Lord do thou light my Lamp ; in thy Light ' I shall see Light ; give me wisdom to know the fallacies of my heart , the subtilties of the old Serpent , to walk jealously towards my self , religiously towards thee , prudently towards others ; guide me by thy Counsel , and afterwards receive me to Glory .

Of GOD's Power .

THE next Attribute is God's Power , Iob 9.19 . If I speak of strength , lo he is strong . In this Chapter is a magnificent Description of God's Power . So he is strong ] The Hebrew word for strong , ammytz , signifies a conquering , prevailing strength . He is strong ; the Superlative Degree is intended here , viz. He is most strong . He is call'd Elshaddai , God Almighty , Gen. 17.1 . His Almightiness lies in this , he can do whatever is feasible . Divines distinguish between 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Authority and Power . God hath both .

1. He hath a Soveraign Right and Authority over Man . He may do with his Creature as he please . Who shall Dispute with God ? who shall ask him a Reason of his doings ? Dan. 4.35 . He doth according to his Will in the Army of Heaven , and among the Inhabitants of the Earth , and none can stay his Hand , or say unto him , what dost thou ? God sits Judge in the highest Court , he calls the Monarchs of the Earth to the Barr , and is not bound to give a reason of his proceedings ; Psal. 75.5 , 7. He putteth down one , and raiseth up another . He hath Salvation and Damnation in his power . He hath the Key of Justice in his hand , to lock up whom he will in the fiery Prison of Hell ; and he hath the Key of Mercy in his hand , to open Heaven's Gate to whom he please . This is the Name engraven upon his Vesture , King of Kings , and Lord of Lords , Rev. 19.16 . he sits Lord paramount , and who can call him to account ? Isa. 46.10 . I will do all my pleasure . The World is God's Diocess , and shall not he do what he will in his own Diocess ? He it was that turned King Nebuchadnezzar to grass , and threw the Angels to Hell when they sinned , that broke the head of the Babylonish Empire , Isa. 14.12 . How art thou fallen from Heaven , O Lucifer ! thy pomp is brought down to the grave : Who sets bounds to the Sea , and bridles the proud Waves , Job 38.11 . God is the Supream Monarch , all Power is seated originally in him ; and the powers that be are of God , Rom. 13.1 . Kings hold their Crowns from him , Prov. 8.15 . By me Kings reign .

2. As God hath Authority , so he hath Infinite Power . What is Authority without Power ? He is mighty in strength , Job 9.4 . This Power of God is seen ,

1. In the Creation . To Create requires an Infinite Power ; all the World cannot make a Fly . God's Power in Creating is evident , 1. Because he needs no Instruments to work with ; 't is proper to God to work without Tools . 2. He needs no Matter to work upon ; first he creates Matter , and then works upon it . 3. He works without labour , Psal. 33.9 . He spake and it was done .

2. The Power of God is seen in the Conversion of Souls . Surely a mighty Power went to raise Christ from the Grave , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Eph. 1.20 . The same power goes to draw a Sinner to God , as drew Christ out of the Grave to Heaven . Greater Power is put forth in Conversion , than in Creation . 1. When God made the World he met with no opposition ; as he had nothing to help him , so he had nothing to hinder him : But when he comes to convert a Sinner , here he meets with opposition ; Satan opposeth him , and the Heart opposeth him : a Sinner is angry with Converting Grace . 2. The World was the work of God's Fingers , Psal. 8.3 . Conversion is the work of God's Arm , Luke 1.5 . 3. In the Creation God wrought but one Miracle , he Spake the word ; but in Conversion he works many Miracles : The Blind is made to see , the Dead is raised , the Deaf hears the Voice of the Son of God . O the infinite Power of Jehovah ! Before his Scepter Angels vail , and prostrate themselves , Kings cast their Crowns at his Feet , Amos 9.5 . He toucheth the Mountains and they melt . Job 9.6 . He removes the Earth out of her place . An Earthquake makes the Earth tremble upon her Pillars , but God shakes it out of its place ; he can remove the Earth from its Center . God can do what he will , his Power is as large as his Will. Were Men's power as large as their will , what work would they make in the World ! God's Power is of equal extent with his Will. God can with a word un-pin the wheels , and break the Axle-tree of the Creation . He can do 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , more then we can think , Eph. 3.20 . He can suspend natural Agents : he sealed up the Lions mouth , made the Fire not burn ; he made the waters stand upon an heap , he caused the Sun to go ten Degrees backward in Ahaz his Dial , Isa. 38.8 . What can pose Omnipotency ? The Lord cuts off the Spirit of Princes , Psal. 76.12 . He Counter-works his Enemies , he pulls down their Flags and Banners of Pride , infatuates their Counsels , breaks their Forces ; and he doth it with ease : with the turning of his hand , Psal. 81.14 . with his breath , Isa. 40.24 . with a look . That is all it needs cost God to destroy his Enemies , a look , a cast of his eye , Exod. 14.24 . The Lord looked into the hoast of the Egyptians , through the pillar of fire , and troubled their hoast . Who shall stop him in his March ? God commands , and all Creatures in Heaven and Earth obey him . Xerxes the Persian Monarch threw Fetters into the Sea when its Waves swelled , as if he would have chained up the Waters : but when God speaks , the Wind and Sea obey him ; if he say but the word , the Stars fight in their course against Sisera , if he stamp with his Foot , an Army of Angels shall presently be in a Battalia . What cannot Omnipotent Power do ? The Lord is a Man of War , Exod. 15.3 . He hath a mighty Arm , Psal. 89.13 . God's Power is a glorious power , Col. 1.11 . 1. It is an irresistible power , Rom. 9.19 . Who hath resisted his will . To contest with him , is as if the Thorns should set themselves in Battel aray against the fire ; or as if an infirm Child should fight with an Arch-Angel . If the Sinner be once taken in God's Iron Net , there is no escaping , Isa. 43.13 . There is none that can deliver out of my hand . 2. God's Power is an inexhaustible power , it is never spent or wasted . Men , while they exercise their strength weaken it : but God hath an everlasting spring of strength in him , Isa. 26.4 . though he spends his Arrows upon his Enemies , Deut. 32.23 . yet he doth not spend his strength , Isa. 40.28 . He fainteth not , neither is weary .

Object . Can God do all things , he cannot deny himself ?

Answ. Though God can do all things , he cannot do that which stains the glory of his Godhead : he cannot sin ; he cannot do that which implies a Contradiction . To be a God of Truth , and yet deny himself , is a Contradiction .

Use 1. If God be so infinite in Power , Fear this great God . We are apt to fear such as are in power ; Ier. 5.22 . Fear ye not me , saith the Lord ? will ye not tremble at my presence ? He hath power to cast our Souls and Bodies into Hell ; Psal. 90.11 . Who knows the power of his wrath ? God can with the same Breath that made us , dissolve us ; his Eyes are as a flame of fire ; the Rocks are thrown down by him , Nah. 1.6 . Solomon saith , Where the word of a King is , there is power , Eccles 8.4 . much more where the word of a God is . O let us fear this mighty God! The fear of God would drive out all other base Fear .

Use 2. See the deplorable Condition of wicked Men : 1. This Power of God is not for them ; 2. It is against them .

1. This Power of God is not for them : they have no Union with God , therefore have no warrant to lay claim to his Power . His Power is no relief to them . He hath power to forgive sins , but he will not put forth his power towards an impenitent sinner . God's Power is an Eagles wing to carry the Saints to Heaven . But what Priviledge is that to the wicked ? Though a Man will carry his Child in his Arms over a dangerous water , yet he will not carry an Enemy in his Arms. God's Power is not engaged to help those that fight against him . Let Miseries come upon the Wicked , they have none to help them ; they are like a Ship in a storm without a Pilot , driven upon the Rocks .

2. This Power of God is against the Wicked . God's Power will not be the Sinner's Shield to defend him , but a Sword to wound him . God's Power will bind the the Sinner in Chains . God's Power serves to revenge the wrong done to his Mercy . God will be Almighty to damn the Sinner . Now in what a condition is every Unbeliever ; God's Power is engaged against him , and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God , Hebr. 10.31 .

Use 3. It reproves such as do not believe this Power of God . We say we do not doubt of God's Power , but his Will * * Not the posse , but velle . . But indeed it is God's Power that we question . Is any thing too hard for God ? Jer. 32.27 . yet we stagger through Unbelief , as if the Arm of God's Power were shrunk , and he could not help in desperate Cases . Take away a King's Power and we un-king him ; take away the Lord's Power and we un-God him : yet how guilty of this are we . Did not Israel question God's Power ? Can he prepare a Table in the Wilderness ? Psal. 78.19 . they thought the Wilderness was a fitter place for making of Graves , then spreading of a Table . Did not Martha doubt of Christ's Power ? Iohn 11.39 . He hath been dead four days . If Christ had been there while Lazarus was sick , or when he had been newly dead , Martha did not question but Christ could have raised him , but he had laid in the Grave four days , and now she seemed to question his Power . Christ had as much ado to raise her Faith , as to raise her dead Brother . And Moses , though an holy Man , yet limits God 's Power through Unbelief , Numb. 11.21 . The People amongst whom I am , are six hundred thousand footmen , and thou hast said I will give them flesh for a whole month ; shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them to suffice them ? or shall all the Fish of the Sea be gathered for them to suffice them ? And the Lord said unto Moses , is the Lord's hand waxed short ? This is a great Affront to God , to go to deny his Power . That Men doubt of God's Power , appears 1. By their taking indirect Courses . Would they defraud in their Dealings , use false Weights , if they believed the Power of God ; that he could provide for them ? 2. By their depending more upon second Causes then upon God , 2 Chron. 16.12 . In his disease he sought not to the Lord but to the Physitian .

Use 4. If God be infinite in Power , then let us take heed of hardning our hearts against God , Iob 9.4 . Who hath hardned himself against him and prospered ? Iob sends a Challenge to all Creatures in Heaven and Earth , Who is he did ever take up the Bucklers against God , and came of Conquerour ? For a Person to go on daringly in any sin , is to harden his heart against God , and as it were to raise a War against Heaven ; and let him remember , God is Elshaddai , Almighty ; he will be too hard for them that oppose him , Iob 40.9 . Hast thou an arm like God ? Such as will not bow to his golden Scepter , shall be broken with his iron Rod. Iulian hardned his heart against God , he opposed him to his Face ; but what got he at last ? did he prosper ? Being wounded in Battel , he threw up his Blood into the Air , and said to Christ , Vicisti Galilaee , O Galilean , thou hast overcome ; I acknowledge thy Power , whose Name and Truth I have opposed . Will Folly contend with Wisdom ? Weakness with Power ? Finite with Infinite ? O take heed of hardning your heart against God! he can send Legions of Angels to avenge his Quarrel . 'T is better to meet God with Tears in your Eyes , then Weapons in your Hand . You may overcome God sooner by Repentance then by Resistance .

Use 5. Get an Interest in God , and then this glorious Power is engaged for you . God gives it under his hand , that he will put forth the whole Power of his God-head for the good of his People , 1 Chron. 17.24 . The Lord of hoasts is the God of Israel , even a God to Israel . This Almightiness of God's Power is a wonderful Support and Comfort to every Believer . It was Sampson's Riddle , Iudg. 14.14 . Out of the strong came forth sweetness : So out of the Attribute of God's Power , out of this strong comes forth sweetness . 'T is Comfort in several Cases :

1. In case of strong Corruption : My sins ( saith a Child of God ) are potent . I have no power against this Army that comes against me . I pray and humble my Soul by Fasting , but my sins return upon me . I , but dost thou believe the Power of God ; the strong God can conquer thy strong Corruption ; though sin be too hard for thee , yet not for him ; he can soften hard hearts , quicken the dead . Is any thing too hard for the Lord ? Gen. 18.14 . Set God's Power on work . By Faith and Prayer , say , Lord ! it is not for thy honour that the Devil should have so strong a Party within me ; O break the head of this Leviathan , Abba , Father , all things are possible to thee .

2. In case of strong Temptation : Satan is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The strong Man ; O but remember the Power of God , Christ is call'd , The Lion of the Tribe of Iudah ; he hath broken the Serpent's head upon the Cross. Satan is a chained Enemy , and a conquered Enemy : Michael is stronger then the Dragon .

3. Comfort in case of Weakness of Grace , and Fear of falling Away : I pray , but I cannot send out strong Cries ; I believe , but the hand of my Faith doth shake and tremble : Cannot God strengthen weak Grace ? 2 Cor. 12.9 . My strength is made perfect in weakness : Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities , that the power of Christ may rest upon me . I fear I shall not hold out . Christian , Dost thou believe the Power of God ? Hath not God preserved thy Grace thus far ? Maist not thou set up thy Eben-ezer ? God hath kept thy Grace hitherto as a Spark in the main Ocean , and is not he able still to keep thy Grace , 1 Pet. 1.5 . We are kept by the power of God , &c. God's Mercy pardons us , but his Power preserves us . He who by his Power keeps the Stars that they do not fall out of their Orb , keeps our Grace that it doth not fail or annihilate .

4. Comfort in case of the Deficiency in thy Estate : God can multiply the Oil in the Cruise ; miraculously he can raise up Supplies . God that provides for the Birds of the Air , cannot he provide for his Children ? He that cloaths the Lilies , cannot he cloath his Lambs ?

5. Comfort in regard of the Resurrection : This seems difficult to believe , that the Bodies of Men when eaten up by Worms , devour'd by Beasts and Fishes , or consum'd to Ashes , should be rais'd the same Numerical Bodies ; but if we believe the Power of God , it is no great Wonder : Which is hardest to create or raise the Dead ? He that can make a Body of nothing , can restore it to its parts , when mingled and confounded with other Substances , Matth. 19.26 . With God all things are possible . If we believe the first Article of the Creed , That God is Almighty ; we may quickly believe the other Article , The Resurrection of the Body . God can raise the Dead because of his Power , and he cannot but raise them because of his Truth .

6. It is Comfort in reference to the Church of God : He can save and deliver it when it is brought low . The Enemies have power in their hand , but the remainder of Wrath God will restrain , Psal. 76.10 . God can either confine the Enemies Power , or confound it : If God be for us , who can be against us ? God can create Ierusalem a praise , Isa. 65.18 . The Church in Ezekiel was compar'd to dry Bones , but God made breath to enter into them , and they lived , Ezek. 37.10 . The Ship of the Church may be toss'd , because Sin is in it , but it shall not be overwhelm'd , because Christ is in it , Psal. 46.5 . Deus in medio . All the Churches Pangs shall help forward her Deliverance .

Of the Holiness of GOD.

THE next Attribute is God's Holiness , Exod. 15.11 . Glorious in holiness , Nedar Bakkodesh ] Holiness is the most sparkling Jewel of his Crown , it 's the Name by which God is known , Psal. 111.9 . Holy and reverend is his name . He is the holy one , Job 6.10 . Seraphims cry , Holy , holy , holy is the Lord of hosts , the whole earth is full of his glory , Isa. 6.3 . His Power makes him Mighty , his Holiness makes him Glorious : God's Holiness consists in his perfect loving of Righteousness , and abhorrency of Evil , Hab. 1.13 . Of purer eyes then to behold evil , and canst not look on iniquity .

1st , God is holy intrinsically : 1. He is holy in his Nature ; his very Being is made up of Holiness , as Light is of the Essence of the Sun . 2. He his holy in his Word ; the Word bears a Stamp of his Holiness upon it , as the Wax bears an Impression of the Seal , Psal. 119 , 140. Thy word is very pure ; it is compared to Silver refined seven times , Psal. 12.6 . Every Line of the Word breaths Sanctity ; it encourageth nothing but Holiness . 3. God is holy in his Operations , all God doth is holy : He cannot act but like himself ; he can no more do an Unrighteous Action , then the Sun can darken , Psal. 145.17 . The Lord is holy in all his works .

2dly , God is holy primarily : He is the Original and Pattern of Holiness ; Holiness began at him who is the Ancient of Days .

3dly , God is holy efficiently : He is the Cause of all that Holiness in others , Iam. 1.17 . Every good and perfect gift comes from above . He made the Angels holy ; he infus'd all that Holiness into Christ's Humane Nature : All the Holiness we have is but a Chrystal Stream from this Fountain . We borrow all our Holiness from God , as the Lights of the Sanctuary were lighted from the middle Lamp ; so all the Holiness of others is a Lamp lighted from Heaven . Lev. 20.8 . I am the Lord which sanctifie you : God is not only a Pattern of Holiness , but he is a Principle of Holiness . His Spring feeds all our Cisterns ; he drops his holy Oyl of Grace upon us .

4 hly , God is holy transcendantly : 1 Sam. 2.2 . There is none holy as the Lord : No Angel in Heaven can take the just Dimensions of God's Holiness . The highest Seraphim is too low of Stature to measure these Pyramids : the Holiness in God is far above the Holiness in the Saints or Angels :

1. It is above the Holiness in the Saints , 1. It is a purer Holiness : The Saints Holiness is like Gold in the Oar , imperfect ; their Humility is stained with Pride ; he that hath most Faith , had need pray , Lord help my unbelief . But the Holiness of God is pure , like Wine from the Grape , it hath not the least dash or tincture of Impurity mix'd with it . 2. A more unchangeable Holiness : The Saints though they cannot lose the habit of Holiness , ( for the Seed of God remains , ) yet they may lose some degrees of their Holiness , Rev. 2.4 . Thou hast left thy first love . Grace cannot dye , yet the Flaim of it may go out : Holiness in the Saints is subject to Ebbing , but Holiness in God is Unchangeable , he never lost a drop of his Holiness . As he cannot have more Holiness because he is perfectly Holy , so he cannot have less Holiness , because he is unchangeably Holy .

2. The Holiness , in God is above the Holiness in the Angels : Holiness in the Angels is only a Quality , which may be lost , as we see in the fallen Angels ; but Holiness in God is his Essence , he is all over Holy , and he can as well lose his God-head as his Holiness .

Object . But is not he privy to all the Sins of Men , he behods their Impurities , how can this be , and he not be defiled ?

Resp. God sees all the Sins of Men , but is no more defiled with them , then the Sun is defiled with the Vapours that arise out of the Earth : God sees Sin not as a Patron to approve it , but as a Judge to punish it .

Use 1. Is God so infinitely Holy , then see how unlike to God Sin is : Sin is an unclean thing , it is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Hyperbolically Evil , Rom. 1.13 . it is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , an Abomination , Deut. 7.25 . God hath no mixture of Evil in him , Sin hath no mixture of Good ; it is the Spirits and Quintissence of Evil ; it turns Good into Evil ; it hath deflowr'd the Virgin-Soul , made it red with Guilt , and black with Filth : it is called the accursed thing , Jos. 7.11 . No wonder , ergo , that God doth so hate Sin , being so unlike to him , nay , so contrary : it strikes at his Holiness , Sin doth all it can to spight God ; Sin would not only Unthrone God , but Ungod him ; if Sin could help it , God should be God no longer .

Use 2. Is God the Holy One , and is his Holiness his Glory ? Then how impious are they , 1. That are Haters of Holiness , as the Vulture hates Perfumes : so they hate this sweet Perfume of Holiness in the Saints ; their Hearts rise against Holiness as a Man's Stomach at a Dish he hath an Antipathy against . There is not a greater sign of a Person devoted to Hell , then to hate one for that thing wherein he is most like God , his Holiness . 2. That are Despisers of Holiness ; they despise the Glory of the Godhead , Glorious in holiness ; the despising of Holiness is seen in the deriding of it ; Is it not sad Men should deride that which should save them ? Sure that Patient will dye that derides the Physick ? The deriding the Grace of the Spirit comes near to the despighting the Spirit of Grace : Scoffing Ishmael was cast out of Abraham's House , Gen. 21.9 . Such as scoff at Holiness shall be cast out of Heaven .

Use 2. of Exhortation : Is God so infinitely holy , then let us endeavour to imitate God in Holiness , 1 Pet. 1.16 . Be ye holy for I am holy . There 's a twofold Holiness , An Holiness of Equality , and an Holiness of Similitude : An Holiness of Equality no Man or Angel can reach to : Who can be equally Holy with God ? Who can parallel him in Sanctity ? But , 2. there is an Holiness of Similitude , and that we must aspire after , to have some Analogy and Resemblance of God's Holiness in us ; be as like him in Holiness as we can : though a Taper doth not give so much Light as the Sun , yet it doth resemble it . We must Imitate God in Holiness .

Quest. Must we be like God in Holiness , wherein doth our Holiness consist ?

Resp. In two things , 1st , In our Suitableness to God's Nature . 2dly , Our Subjection to his Will :

1. Our Holiness stands in our Suitableness to the Nature of God : Hence the Saints are said to partake of the Divine Nature , 2 Pet. 1.4 . which is not a partaking of his Essence , but his Image . Herein is the Saints Holiness , when they are the lively Pictures of God : they bear the Image of God's Meekness , Mercifulness , Heavenliness ; they are of the same Judgment with God , of the same Disposition , they love what he loves , and hate what he hates .

2. Our Holiness consists in our Subjection to the Will of God : As God's Nature is the Pattern of Holiness , so his Will is the Rule of Holiness . This is our Holiness , 1. When we do his Will , Acts 13.22 . 2. When we bear his Will , Mich. 7.9 . What he inflicts wisely , we suffer willingly . This is our Holiness , when we are suitable to God's Nature , and submissive to his Will ; this should be our great Care to be like God in Holiness . Our Holiness should be so qualified as God's ; God's is a real Holiness , such should ours be , Ephes. 4.24 . Righteousness and true holiness ; it should not be only the Paint of Holiness , but the Life of Holiness ; it should not only be like the Aegyptian Temples , beautiful without , but like Solomon's Temple , Gold within , Psal. 45.13 . The King's Daughter is glorious within . That I may press you to resemble God in Holiness .

1. How Illustrious every holy Person is ; he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , he is a fair Glass in which some of the Beams of God's Holiness shines forth . We read Aaron put on Garments for Glory and Beauty , Exod. 28.2 . When we wear the embroidered Garment of Holiness , it is for Glory and Beauty . A good Christian is ruddy , being sprinkled with Christ's Bloud , and white , being adorn'd with Holiness . As the Diamond to a Ring , so is Holiness to the Soul . So beautiful a thing is Holiness , that as Chrysostom saith , ' They that oppose it , cannot but admire it .

2. It is the great Design God carries on in the World , to make a People like himself in Holiness : What are all the Showers of the Ordinances for , but to rain down Righteousness upon us , and make us Holy ? What are the Promises for , but to encourage Holiness ? What is the sending of the Spirit into the World for , but to anoint us with the Holy Unction , 1 Ioh. 2.20 . What are all Afflictions for , but to make us Partakers of God's Holiness , Heb. 12.10 ▪ What are Mercies for , but Loadstones to draw us to Holiness ? What is the end of Christ's dying , but that his Bloud might wash away our Unholiness , Tit. 2.14 . Who gave himself for us , to purifie unto himself a peculiar People . So that if we are not holy , we cross God's great Design in the World .

3. 'T is our Holiness draws God's Heart to us : Holiness is God's Image : God cannot choose but love his Image where he sees it . A King loves to see his Effigies upon a piece of Coin : Psal. 45.7 . Thou lovest righteousness . And where doth Righteousness grow , but in an holy Heart ? Isa. 6● . 4 . Thou shalt be called Hepbsiba , for the Lord delighteth in thee : It was her Holiness drew God's Love to her , Verse 12. They shall call them the holy people . God values not any by their high Birth , but their Holiness .

4. Holiness is the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the only thing that differenceth us from the Reprobate Part of the World : God's People have his Seal upon them , 2 Tim. 2.19 . The foundation of God standeth sure , having this seal , The Lord knows them that are his . And , let all that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity . The People of God are sealed with a double Seal , 1. Election , The Lord knows who are his . 2. Sanctification , Let every one depart from iniquity . As a Nobleman is distinguished from another by his Silver Star ; as a virtuous Woman is distinguish'd from an Harlot by her Chastity ; so Holiness distinguisheth between the two Seeds . All that are of God as they have Christ for their Captain , Heb. 2.10 . so Holiness is the white Colour they wear .

5. Holiness is our Honour , Holiness and Honour put together , 1 Thes. 4.4 . Dignity goes along with Sanctity , Rev. 1.6 . He hath washed us from our sins ●n his bloud , and hath made us kings unto God . When we are washed and made holy , then we are Kings and Priests to God . The Saints are call'd Vessels of Honour , they are called Jewels for the sparkling of their Holiness , because fill'd with Wine of the Spirit ; this makes them Earthly Angels .

6. Holiness gives us Boldness with God , Job 22.23 , 26. Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle , and shalt lift up thy face unto God . Lifting up the Face is an Emblem of Boldness . Nothing makes us so ashamed to go to God as Sin : a wicked Man in Prayer may lift up his Hands , but he cannot lift up his Face . When Adam had lost his Holiness , he lost his Confidence ; he hid himself . But the holy Person goes to God as a Child to his Father , his Conscience doth not upbraid him with allowing any Sin , therefore he can go boldly to the Throne of Grace , and have Mercy to help in time of need , Heb. 4.16 .

7. Holiness gives Peace : Sin raiseth a Storm in the Conscience , Ubi peccatum ibi procella : Isa. 57.21 . There 's no peace to the wicked ; Righteousness and Peace are put together . Holiness is the Root which bears this sweet Fruit of Peace : Righteousness and peace kiss each other .

8. Holiness leads to Heaven : Holiness is the King of Heaven's High-way , Isa. 35.8 . An high-way shall be there , and it shall be called the way of holiness . At Rome there was the Temple of Vertue and Honour , and they were to go through the Temple of Vertue to the Temple of Honour : So we must go through the Temple of Holiness to the Temple of Heaven . Glory begins in Vertue , 2 Pet. 1.3 . Who hath called us to glory and vertue ? Happiness is nothing else but the Quintessence of Holiness . Holiness is Glory militant , and Happiness Holiness triumphant .

Quest. What shall we do to resemble God in Holiness ?

Resp. Have recourse to Christ's Bloud by Faith ; it is Lavacrum animae , Legal Purifications , Types and Emblems of it , 1 Ioh. 1.7 . The Word is a Glass to shew us our Spots , and Christ's Bloud is a Fountain to wash them away .

2. Pray for an holy Heart , Psal. 51.10 . Create in me a clean heart , O God . Lay thy Heart before the Lord , and say , Lord , my heart is full of Leprosy ; it defiles all it toucheth : Lord I am not fit to live with such an heart , for I cannot honour thee , nor die with such an heart , for I cannot see thee . O create in me a clean heart ; send thy Spirit into me to refine and purifie me , that I may be a Temple fit for the holy God to inhabit .

3. Walk with them that are holy , Prov. 13.20 . He that walketh with the wise shall be wise . Be among the Spices and you will smell of them . Association begets Assimilation : nothing hath a greater Power and Energy to effect Holiness , then the Communion of Saints .

Of GOD's Iustice .

THE next Attribute is God's Iustice : All God's Attributes are identical , and are the same with his Essence . Though he hath several Attributes whereby he is made known to us , yet he hath but one Essence . A Cedar Tree may have several Branches , yet it is but one Cedar . So there are several Attributes of God , whereby we conceive of him , but one intire Essence . Well , then concerning God's Justice , Deut. 32.4 . Iust and right is he . Job 37.23 . Touching the Almighty , we cannot find him out , he is excellent in plenty of Iustice . God is said to dwell in Justice , Psal. 89.14 . Iustice and Iudgment are the habitation of thy Throne . In God Power and Justice meet . Power holds the Scepter , and Justice holds the Balance .

Question . What is God's Iustice ?

Resp. Iustitia est jus suum cuique tribuere ; Justice is to give every one his due . God's Justice is the Rectitude of his Nature , whereby he is carried to the doing of that which is righteous and equal ; Prov. 24.12 . Shall not he render to every Man according to his Works ? God is an Impartial Iudge ; he judgeth the Cause . Men oft judge the Person , and not the Cause , which is not Iustice , but Malice . God judgeth the Cause , Gen. 18.21 . I will go down and see if they have done according to the cry which is come up unto me . When the Lord is upon a punitive act , he weighs things in the Ballance , he doth not punish rashly ; he doth not go in the way of a Riot , but a Circuit against Offenders . Concerning God's Justice , I shall lay down these six Positions .

1. God cannot but be Just. His Holiness is the Cause of his Justice . Holiness will not suffer him to do any thing but what is Righteous . He can no more be unjust , then he can be unholy .

2. God's Will is the Supream Rule of Justice : It is the Standard of Equity . His Will is wise and good . God wills nothing but what is just , and therefore it is just , because he wills it .

3. God doth Justice voluntarily : Justice flows from his Nature . Men may act unjustly , because they are bribed or forced : God will not be brib'd , because of his Justice , he cannot be forc'd because of his Power . He doth Justice out of Love to Justice , Hebr. 1.8 . Thou lovest righteousness .

4. Justice is the perfection of the Divine Nature . Aristotle saith , Justice 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , comprehends in it all Vertues . To say God is just , is to say he is all that is Excellent : Perfection meets in him as Lines in a Center . He is not only Just , but Justice it self .

5. God never did , nor can do the least wrong to his Creature . God's Justice hath been wronged , but never did any wrong . God doth not go according to the summum jus , or rigour of the Law ; he abates something of his Severity . He might inflict heavier Penalties than he doth , Ezra 9.14 . Thou hast punished us less then our iniquities deserve ; our Mercies are more then we deserve , our Punishments less .

6. God's Justice is such , that it is not fit for any Man or Angel to expostulate with God , or demand a Reason of his Actions . God hath not only Authority on his side , but Equity : He lays Iudgment to the Line , and Righteousness to the Plummet , Isa. 28.17 . and it is below him to give an Account to us of his Proceedings . Which of these two is fittest to take place , God's Iustice or Man's Reason ? Rom. 9.20 . Who art thou , O man , that disputest against God ? The Plumb-Line of our Reason is too short to fathom the depth of God's Justice , Rom. 11.33 . How unsearchable are his Iudgments ! we are to adore God's Justice , where we cannot see a reason of it .

Now God's Justice runs in two Channels : 'T is seen in two Things , the distribution of Rewards and Punishments .

1. In rewarding the Vertuous ; Psal. 58.11 . Doubtless there is a reward for the righteous . The Saints shall not serve him for nought , he will reward praeces & lachrymas , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , though they may be losers for him , they shall not be losers by him , Hebr. 6.10 . God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have shewed to his Name . He gives a Reward , not that we have deserved it , but because he hath promised it .

2. He is just in punishing Offenders . And he is just , 1. Because he punisheth Sinners by a Law . Where there is no Law there is no transgression , Rom. 4.15 . But God hath given Men a Law , and they brake it , therefore he punisheth them justly . 2. God is just in punishing the Wicked , because he never punisheth them , but upon full Proof and Evidence . What greater Evidence then for a Man 's own Conscience to be Witness against him ? There is nothing God chargeth upon a Sinner , but Conscience doth set Seal to the Truth of it .

Use 1. See here another Flower of God's Crown the is just and righteous . He is the Exemplar and Pattern of Justice .

Object . But how doth it seem to stand with God's Justice , that the Wicked should prosper in the World , Prov. 12.1 . Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper ? This hath been a great stumbling , and been ready to make many question God's Justice . Such as are highest in sin are highest in power . Diogenes seeing Harpalus a Thief go on prosperously , said , Sure God had cast off the Government of the World , and minded not how things went here below .

Resp. 1. The wicked may be sometimes Instruments to do God's work ; though they do not design his glory , yet they may promote it . Cyrus ( Ezra . 1.7 . ) was instrumental for the building God's Temple in Ierusalem . There is some kind of Justice , that they should have a Temporal Reward : God lets them prosper , under whose Wing his People are sheltred . God will not be in any Man's debt ; Mal. 1.10 . Who hath kindled a fire on my Altar for nought ?

2. God lets Men go on in sin and prosper , that he may leave them more inexcusable , Rev. 2.21 . I gave her space to repent of her Fornication . God adjourns the Sessions , spins out his Mercies towards Sinners , and if they repent not , his Patience will be a Witness against them , and his Justice will be more cleared in their Condemnation , Psal. 51.4 . That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest , and be clear when thou judgest .

3. God doth not always let the wicked prosper in their sin , some he doth punish openly , that his Justice may be taken notice of , Psal. 9.16 . The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth : that is , his Justice is seen by striking Men dead in the very act of sin . Thus he struck Zimri and Cozbi in the Act of Uncleanness .

4. If God do let Men prosper a while in sin , his Vial of Wrath is all this while filling ; his Sword is all this while whetting : and though God may forbear Men a while , yet long forbearance is no forgiveness . The longer God is taking his blow , the heavier it will be at last ; as long as there is Eternity , God hath time enough to reckon with his Enemies . Justice may be as a Lion asleep , but at last this Lion will awake , and roar upon the Sinner . Doth not Nero , and Iulian , and Cain now meet with God's Justice ?

Object . But God 's own People suffer great Afflictions , they are injured and persecuted , Psal. 73.14 . All the day long have I been plagued and chastned every morning . How doth this stand with God's Justice ?

Resp. 1. That is a true Rule of St. Austin , Iudicia Dei possunt esse occulta , non injusta ; Gods ways of Judgment are sometimes secret , but never unjust . The Lord never Afflicts his People without a Cause ; so that he cannot be unjust . There is some good in the godly , therefore the wicked afflict them ; there is some evil in them , therefore God afflicts them . God's own Children have their 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , their blemishes , 2 Chron. 28.10 . Are there not with you , even with you , sins against the Lord ? These Spiritual Diamonds , have they no flaws ? Do not we read of the Spots of God's Children , Deut. 32.10 . Are not they guilty of much Pride , Censoriousness , Passion , Worldliness ? though by their Profession they seem to resemble the Birds of Paradise , to fly above , and feed upon the Dew of Heaven , yet as the Serpent , they lick the dust . And these sins of God's People do more provoke God than others , Deut. 32.19 . Because of the provoking of his sons and daughters . The sins of others pierce Christ's side , these wound his heart : therefore is not God just in all the Evils that befal them , Amos 3.2 . You only have I known of all the Families of the Earth , therefore I will punish you for your Iniquities . I will punish you sooner , surer , sorer then others .

2. The Trials and Sufferings of the godly are to refine and purifie them . God's Furnace is in Sion , Isa. 31.9 . Is it any Injustice in God to put his Gold into the Furnace to purifie it ? Is it any Injustice in God by afflicting his People , to make them partakers of his Holiness ? Hebr. 12.10 . What doth more proclaim God's Faithfulness , than to take such a course with them as may make them better , Psal. 119.75 . In faithfulness thou hast corrected me .

3. What Injustice is it in God to inflict a lesser Punishment , and prevent a greater ? The best of God's Children have that in them which is meritorious of Hell : Now I pray , doth God do them any wrong , if he useth only the Rod , where they have deserved the Scorpion ? Is the Father unjust if he only corrects his Child , who hath deserved to be disinherited ? If God deals so favourably with his Children , he only puts Wormwood in their Cup , whereas he might put Fire and Brimstone , they are rather to admire his Mercy , than complain of his Injustice .

Object . How can it stand with God's Justice , that all Men , being equally guilty by Nature , God should pass by one , and save another ? why doth not he deal with all alike ?

Resp. Rom. 9.14 . Is there unrighteousness with God ? God forbid . Job . 8.3 . Doth the Almighty pervert justice ? 1. God is not bound to give an account of his Actions to his Creatures . If none may say to a King , what dost thou ? Eccles. 8.4 . much less to God . It is sufficient , God is Lord paramount , he hath a Soveraign Power over his Creatures , therefore can do no Injustice , Rom. 9.21 . Hath not the Potter power over the Clay , of the same Lump to make one Vessel to honour , and another unto dishonour ? God hath a liberty ●e●t in his own Breast to save one , and not another , and his Justice is not at a●l impeach'd or blemished . If two Men owe you Money , you may without any Inju●tice remit the Debt to one , and exact it of the other . If two Male-factors be condemned to die , the King may pardon one , and not the other . He is not unjust if he ●ets one suffer , because he offended the Law , nor if he save the other , because he will make use of his Prerogative as he is King . 2. Though some are saved , and others perish , yet there is no unrighteousness in God , because whoever peri●heth , his destruction is of himself , Hos. 13.9 . O Israel , thou hast destroyed thy self . God offers Grace , the Sinner refuseth it , Is God bound to give Grace ? If a Chyrurgion comes to heal a Man's wound , he will not be healed , but bolts out his Chyrurgion , is the Chyrurgion bound to heal him ? Prov. 1.24 . I have called , and ye refused . Psal. 81.11 . Israel would none of me . God is not bound to force his Mercies upon Men : If they wilfully oppose the offer of Grace , there sin is to be taxed as the cause of their perishing , and not God's justice .

2. See the difference between God and a great part of the World , they are unjust , 1. In their Courts of Judicature ; they pervert Justice : Isa. 10.1 . They decree unrighteous decrees . The Hebrew word for a Judges Robe , Magnil , signifies Prevarication , Deceit , or Injustice . It is often truer of the Judge then the Robe . The Judge deserves rather to have that Name than the Robe . What is a good Law , without a good Iudge ? Injustice lies in two things , either not to punish where there is a Fault , or to punish where there is no Fault ; how frequent ! Again , 2. Unjust in their Dealings . This is 1. either in using false weights , Hos. 12.7 . The Balances of deceit are in his hand . 'T is sad to have the Bible in one hand , and false Weights in the other . Or 2. in adulterating Commodities ; Isa. 1.22 . Thy wine is mixed with water ; when they mix bad grain with good , yet sell it for pure grain . I can never believe he is good in the first Table , who is not good in the second . He cannot be godly who is not just . Though God doth not bid you be Omnipotent , as he is , yet be Just as he is .

Use 2. Imitate God in Justice . Let Christ's golden Maxim be observed , Matth. 7.12 . What you would have men do to you , do ye even so to them . You would not have them wrong you , neither do you them ; rather suffer wrong than do wrong , 1 Cor. 6.7 . Why do ye not rather take wrong ? O be exemplary for Justice ! Let Justice be your Ornament , Iob 29.14 . I put on Righteousness ( viz. Justice ) as a Robe and a Diadem . A Robe for its graceful Beauty ; and I put it on , & induebam justitiam . A Judge puts on his Robe , and puts it off again at Night ; but Iob did so put on Justice , as he did not put it off till Death , semper vestiti . We must not lay off this Robe of Justice , till we lay down our Tabernacle . If you have any thing of God in you , you will be like him . By every unjust Action you do deny your selves to be Christians ; you stain the glory of your Profession ; Heathens will rise up in Judgment against you . The Sun might sooner alter its Course , than he could be turned from doing Justice .

Use 3. If God be just , there will be a Day of Judgment . Now things are out of Course . Sin is rampant , Saints are wronged , they are often cast in a righteous Cause , they can meet with no Justice here , Justice is turned into Wormwood ; but there is a day coming , when God will set things right ; he will do every Man Justice ; he will crown the righteous , and condemn the wicked ; Acts 17.31 . He hath appointed a day , &c. If God be a just God , he will take vengeance . God hath given Men a Law to live by , they break it , there must be a day for the Execution of Offenders : a Law not executed is but like a Wooden Dagger , for a show . At the last Day God's Sword shall be drawn out against Offenders ; then his Justice shall be reveal'd before all the World , — God will judge in righteousness , Acts 17.31 . Shall not the Iudge of all the world do right ? Gen. 18.25 . The Wicked shall drink a Sea of Wrath , but not sip one Drop of Injustice . At that day shall all Mouths be stopped , and God's Justice shall be fully vindicated from all the Cavils and Clamors of unjust Men.

Use 4. Comfort to the true Penitent : As God is a just God he will pardon him , Homo agnoscit , Deus ignoscit : 1 Joh. 1.9 . If we confess our sins ( i. e. confess and forsake ) he is just to forgive us our sins . Not only merciful , but just , Why just ? because he hath promised to forgive such , Prov. 28.13 . If thy heart hath been broken for and from Sin , thou maist not only plead God's Mercy , but his Iustice for the pardoning thy sin . Shew him his Hand and Seal , he cannot deny himself .

The Mercy of GOD.

THE next Attribute is God's Goodness or Mercy : Mercy is the Result and Effect of God's Goodness , Psal. 33.5 . Psal. 119.64 . So then this is the next Attribute , God's Goodness or Mercy . The most Learned of the Heathens thought they gave their God Iupiter two Golden Characters , when they stiled him , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Good and Great : both these meet in God , Greatness and Goodness , Majesty and Mercy .

God is , 1. Essentially good in himself . And , 2. Relative good to us . They are both put together , Psal. 119.68 . Thou art good , and dost good . This Relative goodness is nothing else but his Mercy , which is an innate Propensness in God to pity and succour such as are in Misery . Concerning God's Mercy ,

1st , I shall lay down these Twelve Positions : 1. It is the great Design of the Scripture to represent God as Merciful . This is a Loadstone to draw Sinners to him , Exod. 34.6 . The Lord merciful , gracious , long-suffering , abundant in goodness , &c. Here are six Expressions to set forth God's Mercy , and but one to set forth his Justice ; who will by no means clear the Guilty . Psal. 57.10 . God's mercy is great above the heavens . Psal. 108.4 . God is represented as a King , and a Rain-bow was about his Throne , Rev. 4.2 , 3. The Rain-bow was an Emblem of Mercy . The Scripture doth oftner represent God in his white Robes of Mercy , then with his Garments rolled in Bloud ; oftner with his Golden Scepter then his Iron Rod.

Position 2. God is more inclinable to Mercy then Wrath : Pronior est Deus ad parcendum quam ad puniendum . Mercy is his darling Attribute which he most delights in , Mic. 7.18 . Mercy pleaseth him . 'T is delightful to the Mother , saith Chryso'stom , to have her Breasts drawn . So it is to God to have the Breasts of his Mercy drawn . Isa. 27.4 . Fury is not in me : That is , I do not delight in it . Acts of Severity are rather forc'd from God , he doth not afflict willingly , Lam. 3.33 . The Bee naturally gives Honey , it stings only when it is provoked . God doth not punish till he can bear no longer , Jer. 44.22 . So that the Lord could bear no longer , because of the evil of your doings . Mercy is God's right Hand , that he is most us'd to . Inflicting of Punishment is call'd God's strange Work , Isa. 28.21 . he is not used to it . And when the Lord would shave off the Pride of a Nation , he is said to hire a Rasor , as if he had none of his own , Isa. 7.20 . He shall shave with a rasor that is hired . He is slow to anger , Psal. 103.8 . But ready to forgive , Psal. 86.5 .

Position 3. There is no Condition but we may spie Mercy in it : When the Church was in Captivity , she cries out , It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed , Lam. 3.22 . Geographers write of Syracuse in Sicily , it is so scituated that the Sun is never out of sight . In all Afflictions we may see some Sunshine of Mercy . That outward and inward Troubles do not come together , is Mercy .

Position 4. Mercy sweetens all God's other Attributes : God's Holiness without Mercy , and his Justice without Mercy were Terrible . When the Water was bitter , and Israel could not drink , Moses cast a Tree into the Water , and then they were made sweet . How bitter and dreadful were the other Attributes of God , did not Mercy sweeten them ; Mercy sets God's Power on work to help us ; it makes his Justice become our Friend ; it shall avenge our Quarrels .

Position 5. God's Mercy is one of the most Orient Pearls of his Crown ; it makes his Godhead appear amiable and lovely . When Moses said to God , I beseech thee shew me thy glory . The Lord answer'd him , I will make all my goodness pass before thee , and I will shew mercy , Exod. 33.19 . God's Mercy is his Glory : his Holiness makes him Illustrious , his Mercy makes him Propitious .

Position 6. Even the Worst tast of God's Mercy , such as fight against God's Mercy tast of it : The Wicked have some Crumbs from Mercy 's Table ; The Lord is good to all , Psal. 145. ● . The sweet Dew drops on the Thistle as well as the Rose . The Diocess where Mercy visits is very large . Pharaoh's Head was crown'd , though his Heart was hardned .

Position 7. Mercy coming to us in a Covenant is sweetest : It was Mercy that God would give Israel Rain , and Bread to the full , and Peace , and Victory over their Enemies , Levit. 26.4 , 5 , 6. But it was a greater Mercy , that God would be their God , Verse 12. To have Health is a Mercy , but to have Christ and Salvation is a greater Mercy ; this is like the Diamond in the Ring , it casts a more sparkling Luster .

Position 8. One Act of Mercy engageth God to another : Men argue thus , I have shown you Kindness already , therefore trouble me no more . But because God hath shown Mercy , he is more ready still to show Mercy : his Mercy in Election makes him Justifie , Adopt , Glorifie ; one Act of Mercy engageth God to more . A Parent 's love to his Child , makes him always giving .

Position 9. All the Mercy in the Creature is derived from God , and is but a drop of this Ocean : The Mercy and Pity a Mother hath to her Child , is from God ; he that puts the Milk in her Breast , puts the Compassion in her Heart : therefore God is call'd the Father of Mercies , 2 Cor. 1.3 . because he begets all the Mercies in the World . If God hath put any Kindness into the Creature , how much Kindness is in him who is the Father of Mercy .

Position 10. God's Mercy as it makes the Saints Happy , so it should make them Humble : Mercy is not the Fruit of our Goodness , but the Fruit of God's Goodness . Mercy is an Alms that God bestows ; they have no cause to be Proud that live upon the Alms of God's Mercy , Job 10.15 . If I be righteous yet will I not lift up my head : All my Righteousness is the Effect of God's Mercy , therefore I will be humble , I will not lift up my Head .

Position 11. It is Mercy stays the speedy Execution of God's Justice : Sinners continually provoke God , and make the fury come up in his face , Ezek. 38.18 . Whence is it God doth not presently Arrest and Condemn them , it is not that God cannot do it , for he is arm'd with Omnipotency , but it is from God's Mercy : Mercy gets a Reprieve for the Sinner , and stops the speedy Process of Justice . God would by his Goodness lead Sinners to Repentance .

Position 12. 'T is dreadful to have Mercy witness against one : How sad was it with Haman when the Queen herself accused him , Esth. 7.6 . so when this Queen of Mercy shall stand up against a Person , and accuse him . It is only Mercy that saves a Sinner , now how sad to have Mercy become an Enemy ; If Mercy be an Accuser , who shall be our Advocate ? The Sinner never scapes Hell , when Mercy draws up the Indictment .

I might shew you several Species or Kinds of Mercy , Preventing Mercy , Spareing Mercy , Supplying Mercy , Guiding Mercy , Accepting Mercy , Healing Mercy , Quickning Mercy , Supporting Mercy , Forgiving Mercy , Correcting Mercy , Comforting Mercy , Delivering Mercy , Crowning Mercy ; but I shall speak of the Qualifications or Properties of God's Mercy ,

1. God's Mercy is free : To set up Merit is to destroy Mercy ; nothing can deserve Mercy , because we are polluted in our Bloud , nor force it . We may force God to punish us , not to love us , Hos. 14.4 . I will love them freely . Every Link in the Chain of Salvation , is wrought and interwoven with Free-grace . Election is free , Eph. 1.4 . He hath chosen us in him 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , according to the good pleasure of his will . Justification is free , Rom. 3.24 . Being justified freely by his grace . Salvation is free , Tit. 3.5 . According to his mercy he saved us . Say not then I am Unworthy , for Mercy is free : If God should shew Mercy only to such as are Worthy , he should shew Mercy to none at all .

2. God's Mercy is an Overflowing Mercy , 't is Infinite , Psal. 86.5 . Plenteous in mercy . Eph. 2.4 . Rich in mercy . Psal. 51.1 . Multitude of mercies . The Viol of Wrath doth but drop , but the Fountain of Mercy runs . The Sun is not so full of Light , as God is of Mercy : God hath Morning-mercies , Lam. 3.23 . His mercies are new every morning ; and Night-mercies , Psal. 42.8 . In the night his song shall be with me . God hath Mercies under Heaven , those we tast of , and in Heaven , and those we hope for .

3. God's Mercy is Eternal , Psal. 103.17 . The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting . It is repeated six and twenty times in one Psalm , His mercy endureth for ever , Psal. 136. The Souls of the Blessed shall be ever bathing themselves in this sweet and pleasant Ocean of God's Mercy . God's Anger to his Children lasts but a while , Psal. 103.9 . But his mercy lasts for ever . As long as he is God , he will be shewing Mercy : As his Mercy is overflowing , so ever-flowing .

Use 1. of Information , It shews us how we are to look upon God in Prayer , not in his Judge's Robes , but cloath with a Rain-bow , full of Mercy and Clemency ; add Wings to Prayer . When Jesus Christ ascended up to Heaven , that which made him go up thither with Joy , was , I go to my Father ; so that which should make our Hearts ascend with Joy in Prayer , is , We are going to the Father of Mercy , who sits upon a Throne of Grace . Go with Confidence in this Mercy ; as when one goes to a Fire , it is not doubtingly , perhaps it will warm me , perhaps not .

Use 2. Believe in this Mercy , Psal. 52.8 . I trust in the mercy of God for ever . God's Mercy is a Fountain opened , let down the Bucket of Faith , and you may drink of this Fountain of Salvation , what greater Encouragement to believe then God's Mercy . God counts it his glory to be scattering Pardons ; he is desirous that sinners should touch the golden Scepter of his Mercy , and live . And this willingness to shew Mercy appears two ways :

1. By his intreating of sinners to come and lay hold on his Mercy ; Rev. 22.17 . Whosoever will , come and take the water of life freely . Mercy woes sinners , it even kneels down to them . It were strange for a Prince to entreat a condemned Man to accept a Pardon . God saith , poor sinner , suffer me to love thee , be willing to let me save thee .

2. By his joyfulness when sinners do lay hold on his Mercy . What is God the better , whether we receive his Mercy or no ? What is the Fountain profited that others drink of it ? Yet such is God's goodness , that he rejoyceth at the Salvation of sinners , and is glad when his Mercy is accepted off . When the Prodigal Son came home , how glad was the Father ? and he makes a Feast to express his joy . This was but a Type or Emblem , to shew how God rejoyceth when a poor sinner comes in , and lays hold of his Mercy . What an Encouragement is here to believe in God , he is a God of Pardons , Nehem. 9.17 . Mercy pleaseth him , Micha 7.18 . Nothing doth prejudice us but Unbelief . Unbelief stops the current of God's Mercy from running : It shuts up God's Bowels , closeth the Orifice of Christ's Wounds , that no healing Vertue will come out , Matth. 13.58 . He could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief . Why dost thou not believe in God's Mercy ? Is it thy sins discourage ? God's Mercy can pardon great sins , nay , because they are great , Psal. 25.11 . The Sea covers great Rocks as well as lesser Sands ; some that had an hand in crucifying Christ , found Mercy . As far as the Heavens are above the Earth so far is God's Mercy above our sins , Isa. 55.9 . What will tempt us to believe , if not the Mercy of God ?

Use 3. of Caution . Take heed of Abusing of this Mercy of God . Suck not Poison out of the sweet Flower of God's Mercy ; Do not think , that because God is merciful , you may go on in sin ; this is to make Mercy become your Enemy . None might touch the Ark but the Priests , who by their Office were more holy . None may touch this Ark of God's Mercy , but such as are resolved to be holy . To sin because Mercy abounds , is the Devil's Logick . He that sins because of Mercy , is like one that wounds his Head because he hath a Plaister : He that sins because of God's Mercy , shall have Judgment without Mercy . Mercy abused turns to Fury . Deut. 29.19 . If he bless himself , saying , I shall have peace though I walk after the imaginations of my heart , to add drunkenness to thirst , the Lord will not spare him , but the anger of the Lord , and his jealousie shall smoak against that man . Nothing sweeter then Mercy when it is improved , nothing fiercer when it is abused . Nothing colder than Lead when it is taken out of the Mine , nothing more scalding than Lead when it is heated . Nothing blunter than Iron , nothing sharper when it is whetted . Psal. 103.17 . The mercy of the Lord is upon them that fear him . Mercy is not for them that sin and fear not , but for them that fear and sin not . God's Mercy is an holy Mercy , where it pardons it heals .

Quest. What shall we do to be interested in God's Mercy ?

Answ. 1. Be sensible of your wants . See how you stand in need of Mercy , pardoning , saving Mercy . See your selves Orphans ; Hos. 14.3 . In thee the fatherless findeth Mercy . God bestows the Alms of Mercy only on such as are indigent . Be emptied of all Opinion of Self-worthiness . God pours the golden Oil of Mercy into empty Vessels .

2. Go to God for Mercy , Psal. 51.1 . Have Mercy upon me , O God! Put me not off with common Mercy that Reprobates may have : Give me not only Acorns , but Pearls : Give me not only Mercy to feed and clothe me , but Mercy to save me ; give me the Cream of thy Mercies ; Lord ! let me have Mercy and Loving kindness : Psal. 103.4 . Who crowned thee with loving kindness and tender mercies . Give me such Mercy as speaks thy electing love to my soul. O pray for Mercy ! God hath Treasures of Mercy ; Prayer is the Key that opens these Treasures : and in Prayer be sure to carry Christ in your Arms ; all Mercy comes through Christ ; 1 Sam. 7.9 . Samuel took a sucking Lamb. Carry the Lamb Christ in your Arms , go in his Name , present his Merits , say , Lord ! here is Christ's Blood , which is the price of my pardon : Lord , shew me Mercy , because Christ hath purchased it . Though God may refuse us when we come for Mercy in our own Name , yet not when we come in Christ's Name : Plead Christ's Satisfaction , and this is such an Argument as God cannot deny .

Use 4. It exhorts such as have found Mercy to three Things : 1. To be upon Mount Gerizim , the Mount of Blessing and Praising . They have not only heard the King of Heaven is merciful , but they have found it so : the Hony-comb of God's Mercy hath drop'd upon them ; when in wants , Mercy supplied them ; when they were nigh unto Death , Mercy raised them from the Sick-bed ; when covered with guilt , Mercy pardoned them . Psal. 103.1 . Bless the Lord , O my Soul , and all that is within me bless his holy Name . O! how should the Vessels of Mercy run over with Praise : 1 Tim. 1.13 . Who was before a Persecutor , and injurious , but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 I obtained Mercy . I was bemiracled with Mercy : as the Sea overflows and breaks down the Banks , so the Mercy of God did break down the Banks of my Sin , and Mercy did sweetly flow into my Soul . You that have been Monuments of God's Mercy , should be Trumpets of Praise : You that have tasted the Lord is gracious , tell others what Experiences you have had of God's Mercy , that you may encourage them to seek to him for Mercy ; Psal. 66.16 . I will tell you what God hath done for my Soul . When I found my heart dead , God's Spirit did come upon me mightily , and the blowing of that wind made the withering flowers of my Grace revive . O! tell others of God's goodness , that you may set others a blessing him , and that you may make God's Praises live when you are dead .

2. To love God . Mercy should be the Attractive of Love ; Psal. 18.1 . I will love thee , O Lord my strength . The Hebrew word for Love , ercameca , signifies Love out of the inward Bowels . God's Justice may make us fear him , his Mercy may make us love him . If Mercy will not produce Love , what will ? We are to love God for giving us Food , much more for giving us Grace ; for sparing Mercy , much more for saving Mercy . Sure that Heart is made of Marble , which the Mercy of God will not dissolve into Love . I would hate my own Soul ( saith St. Austin ) if I did not find it loving God .

3. To imitate God in shewing Mercy . God is the Father of Mercy : shew your selves to be his Children , by being like him . St. Ambrose , The sum and definition of Religion is , Be rich in works of Mercy , be helpful to the Bodies and Souls of others . Scatter your golden Seeds ; let the Lamp of your profession be fill'd with the Oil of Charity . Be merciful in giving and forgiving . Be ye merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful .

Of the Truth of GOD ,

THE next Attribute is God's Truth ; Deut. 32.4 . — A God of Truth , and without Iniquity , just and right is he . Psal. 57.10 . For thy Mercy is great unto the Heavens , and thy Truth unto the Clouds . A God of Truth ; Psal. 86.15 . — Plenteous in Truth . God is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Truth . He is true , 1. in a Physical sence ; True in his Being : he hath a real Subsistance , and gives a Being to others . 2. He is true in a Moral sence ; he is true , sine errore , without Errours , & sine fallacia , without Deceit . God is prima veritas , the Pattern and Prototype of Truth . There is nothing true but what is in God , or comes from God . I shall now speak of God's Truth as it is taken for his Veracity , in making good of his Promises : 1 Kings 8.56 . There hath not failed one word of all his good promise : The Promise is God's Bond , God's Truth is the Seal set to his Bond. This is the thing to be explicated and discussed , God's Truth in fulfilling his Promises .

There are two things to be observed in the Promises of God to Comfort us : 1. The Power of God , whereby he is able to fulfil the Promise . God hath promised to subdue our Corruption , Micha 7.19 . He will subdue our iniquities . O! saith a Believer , my Corruption is so strong , that sure I shall never get the mastery of it : but the power of God can fulfil his Promise . Thus Abraham look'd at God's Power , Rom. 4.21 . Being fully perswaded that what God had promised , he was able to perform . He believed that that God , who could make a World , could make dry Breasts give suck . This is Faith's support , there is nothing too hard for God . He that could bring water out of a Rock , is able to bring to pass his Promises .

2. The Truth of God in the Promises : God's Truth is the Seal set to the Promise . Titus 1.2 . In hope of eternal life , which God that cannot lie hath promised . Eternal Life , there is the sweetness of the Promise : God which cannot lie , there is the certainty of it . Mercy makes the Promise , Truth fulfils it . God's Providences are uncertain , but his Promises are the sure Mercies of David . Acts 13.34 . God is not a man that he should repent , 1 Sam. 15.29 . The word of a Prince cannot always be taken , but God's Promise is inviolable . God's Truth is one of the richest Jewels of his Crown , and he hath pawned this Jewel in a Promise ; 2 Sam. 23.5 . Although my House be not so with God , yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant , ordered in all things , and sure . Although my House be not so ] That is , though I fail much of that exact Purity the Lord requires , yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant , that he will pardon , adopt , and glorifie me ; and this Covenant is ordered in all things sure : The Elements shall melt with fervent heat , but this Covenant abides firm and inviolable , being sealed with the Truth of God : nay , God hath added to his Word , his Oath , Hebr. 6.17 . wherein God pawns his Being , Life , Righteousness , to make good the Promise . If as oft as we break our Vows with God , he should break Promise with us , it would be very sad ; but his Truth is engaged in his Promise , therefore it is like the Law of the Medes and Persians , which cannot be altered . We are not ( saith Chrysostom ) to believe our Sences so much , as we are to believe the Promises ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , &c. Our Sences may fail us , but the Promise cannot , being built upon the Truth of God ; God will not deceive the Faith of his People , nay he cannot ; God which cannot lie hath promised : He can as well part with his Deity , as his Verity . God is said to be abundant in Truth , Exod. 34.6 . What is that ? viz. if God hath made a Promise of Mercy to his People , he will be so far from coming short of his word , that he will be better than his word . God often doth more then he hath said , never less . He is abundant in Truth .

1. The Lord may sometimes delay a Promise , but he will not deny . He may delay a Promise . God's Promise may lye a good while , as Seed under ground , but at last it will spring up into a Crop . God promised to deliver Israel from the Iron Furnace , but this Promise was above four hundred years in travail before it brought forth . Simeon had a Promise , that he should not depart hence till he had seen the Lords Christ , Luke 2.26 . but it was a long time first , but a little before his Death , that he did see Christ . But though God delay the Promise , he will not deny . Having given his Bond , in due time the Money will be paid in .

2. God may change his Promise , but he will not break his Promise . Sometimes God doth change a Temporal Promise into a Spiritual . Psal. 85.12 . The Lord shall give that which is good : Perhaps this may not be fulfilled in a Temporal Sence , but a Spiritual . God may let a Christian be cut short in Temporals , but God makes it up in Spirituals . If he doth not encrease the Basket and the Store , he gives encrease of Faith , and inward Peace ; here he changeth his Promise , but he doth not break it , he gives that which is better . If a Man promiseth to pay me in Farthings , and he pays me in a better Coin , in Gold , he doth not break his Promise ; Psal. 89.33 . I will not suffer my faithfulness to fail : in the Hebrew it is ve lo ashakka , to lye .

Object . 1. But how doth this consist with the Truth of God ? he saith he will have all to be saved , 1 Tim. 2.4 . yet some perish .

Resp. St. Austin understands it not of every Judicial Person , but some of all sorts shall be saved : As in the Ark , God saved all the living Creatures ; not every Bird or Fish were saved , for many perished in the Flood ; but all , that is , some of every kind were saved ; so God will have all to be saved , that is , some of all Nations .

Object . It is said , Christ died for all ; He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the World , Joh. 1.29 . How doth this consist with God's Truth , when some are vessels of wrath ? Rom. 9.22 .

Answ. 1. We must distinguish of World . The World is taken either in a limited sence , for the World of the Elect , or in a larger sence , for both Elect and Reprobates . Christ takes away the sins of the world , that is , the world of the Elect.

2. We must distinguish of Christ's dying for the World . Christ died sufficiently for all , not effectually . There is the value of Christ's Blood , and the Virtue : Christ's Blood hath value enough to Redeem the whole World , but the virtue of it is applied only to such as believe ; Christ's Blood is meritorious for all , not efficacious . All are not saved , because some put away Salvation from them , Acts 13.46 . and vilifie Christ's Blood , counting it an unholy thing , Hebr. 10.29 .

Use 1. Here is a great Pillar for our Faith , the Truth of God . Were not he a God of Truth , how could we believe in him ? our Faith were Fancy . But he is Truth it self , and not a word he hath spoken shall fall to the ground : Truth is the object of Trust. The Truth of God is an unmoveable Rock , we may venture our Salvation here . Isa. 59.15 . Truth faileth ; Truth on Earth doth , but not Truth in Heaven : God can as well cease to be God , as cease to be True . Hath God said he will be good to the Soul that seeks him , Lam. 3.25 . he will give rest to the weary , Matth. 11.28 . Here is a safe Anchor hold , he will not alter the thing which is gone forth of his Lips . The Publick Faith of Heaven is engaged for Believers , can we have better Security ? The whole Earth hangs upon the word of God's Power , and shall not our Faith hang upon the Word of God's Truth ? where can we rest our Faith but upon God's faithfulness ? There is nothing else we can believe in , but the Truth of God ; we cannot trust in an Arm of Flesh , we cannot trust in our own Hearts ; this is to build upon the Quicksands ; but the Truth of God is a golden Pillar for Faith to stay upon : God cannot deny himself ; 2 Tim. 2.13 . If we believe not , yet he abideth faithful ; he cannot deny himself . Not to believe God's Veracity , is to affront God ; 1 Iohn 5.10 . He that believeth not hath made God a lyar . A Person of Honour cannot be more affronted or provoaked , then when he is not believed . He that denies God's Truth , makes the Promise no better than a forged Deed ; and can there be a greater affront offered to God .

Use 2. of Terrour to the Wicked . God is a God of Truth , and he is true in his Threatnings ; the Threatnings are a flying Roll against sinners . God hath threatned to wound the hairy scalp of every one that goes on still in his Trespasses , Psal. 68.21 . He hath threatned to judge Adulterers , Hebr. 13.3 . to be avenged upon the malitious ; Psal. 10.14 . Thou beholdest mischief and spight , to requite it with thy own hand : To rain fire and brimstone upon the sinner , Psal. 11.6 . And God is as true in his Threatnings as his Promises ; God hath oft ( to shew his Truth ) executed his Threatnings , and let his Thunder-bolts of Judgment fall upon Sinners in this Life : He struck Herod in the act of his Pride : He hath punished Blasphemers ; Olympius , an Arrian Bishop , reproached and blasphemed the blessed Trinity , immediately Lightning fell down from Heaven upon him , and consumed him . God is as true in his Threatnings , as in his Promises . Let us fear the Threatning , that we may not feel it .

Use 3. Is God a God of Truth , let us be like God in Truth . 1. We must be true in our Words . Pythagoras being asked what made Men like God ? answered , Cum vera loquuntur , when they speak Truth . It is the note of a Man that shall go to Heaven , Psal. 15.2 . He speaketh the Truth from his heart . Truth in words is opposed , 1. to Lying , Eph. 4.25 . Putting away lying , speak every one truth to his neighbour . Lying is when one speaks that for a truth , which he knows to be false . A Lier is most opposite to the God of Truth . There is , as Austin saith , two sorts of Lies , 1. Mendacium Officiosum , an Officious Lie , when a Man tells a Lie for his Profit , as when a Trades-man saith his Commodity cost him so much , when perhaps it did not cost him half so much . He that will lie in his Trade , shall lye in Hell . 2. Mendacium Iocosum , a jesting Lie , when a Man tells a Lie in sport to make others merry : he goes laughing to Hell . When you tell a Lie , you make your selves like the Devil ; Iohn 8.44 . The Devil is a lier , and the Father of it . He deceived our first Parents by a Lie . Some are so wicked , that they will not only speak an Untruth , but will Swear to it ; nay , they will wish a Curse upon themselves , if that Untruth be not true . As I have read of a Woman ( one Anne Averies ) 1575. who being in a Shop , wished that she might sink if she had not paid for the Wares she took ; she fell down speechless immeditately , and died in the place . A Lier is not fit to live in a Commonwealth . Lying takes away all Society and Converse with Men. How can you Converse with him whom you cannot believe what he saith ? Lying shuts Men out of Heaven , Rev. 22.25 . Without are Dogs , and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie . And as it is a great sin to tell a lie , so it is a worse sin to teach a lye , Isa. 9.15 . The Prophet that teacheth lies . He who broacheth Errour , teacheth Lies ; he spreads the Plague ; he not only damns himself , but helps to damn others . 2. Truth in words is opposed to Dissembling . The Heart and Tongue should go together , as the Dial goes exactly with the Sun . To speak fair to ones Face , and not to mean what one speaks , is no better then a lie ; Psal. 55.21 . His words were smoother than oil , but war was in his heart . Some have an Art at this , they can flatter and hate . Hierom speaking of the Arrians , saith , They pretended friendship , they kissed my hands , but plotted mischief against me . Psal. 29.5 . A man that flattereth his neighbour , spreadeth a net for his feet . Impia sub dulci melle venena latent — Falshood in Friendship is a lie . Counterfeiting of Friendship is worse then counterfeiting of Money . This is contrary to God , who is a God of Truth .

2. We must be true in our Profession of Religion . Let Practice go along with Profession ; Eph. 4.24 . Righteousness and true Holiness . Hypocrisie in Religion is a Lie . The Hypocrite is like a Face in a Glass , there is the show of a Face , but no true Face : So he makes a shew of Holiness , but hath no Truth of it ; 't is but the Face in the Glass . Ephraim pretended to be that which he was not , and what saith God of him ? Hos. 11.12 . Ephraim compasseth me about with lies . By a lie in our words we deny the Truth , by a lie in our profession we disgrace it . Not to be what we profess to God , is telling a lie ; and the Scripture makes it little better than Blasphemy , Rev. 2.9 . I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Iews , and are not . O! I beseech you labour in this to be like God , he is a God of Truth , he can as well part with his Deity as his Verity ; be ( I say ) like God , be true in your Words , be true in your Profession ; God's Children are Children that will not lie , Isa. 63.9 . When God sees Truth in the inward parts , and lips in which is no guile , now he sees his own Image in you : This draws God's Heart towards you ; Likeness draws Love .

But One GOD.

Quest. V. THE fifth Question is , Are there more Gods then one ?

Answ. There is but one , only the living and true God .

That there is a God hath been proved , and those that will not believe the Verity of his Essence , shall feel the Severity of his Wrath , Deut. 6.4 . Hear , O Israel , the Lord our God is One Lord . He is the only God , Deut. 4.39 . Know therefore this day , and consider it in thy heart , that the Lord he is God in Heaven above , and upon the Earth beneath there is none else . Isa. 45.21 . A just God and a Saviour , There is none beside me . There are many titular Gods ; Kings represent God ; their Regal Scepter is an Emblem of his Power and Authority . Judges are called Gods , Psal. 82.5 . I have said ye are Gods , ( viz. ) set in God's place to do Justice ; but dying Gods , vers. 7. Ye shall dye like men , 1 Cor. 8.5 , 6. There be that are called Gods , but to us there is but One God .

Argument 1. There is but one first Cause , that hath its Being of it self , and on which all other Beings depend . As in the Heavens the primum Mobile moves all the other Orbs , so God gives Life and Motion to every thing existent . There can be but one God , because there is but one first Cause .

2. There is but one infinite Being , therefore there is but one God . There cannot be two Infinites , Ier. 23.24 . Do not I fill heaven and earth , saith the Lord ? If there be one Infinite , filling all places at once , how can there be any room for another Infinite to subsist .

3. There is but one Omnipotent Power ; if there be two Omnipotents , then we must always suppose a Contest between these two , that which one would do , the other Power being Equal , would oppose , and so all things would be brought into a Confusion . If a Ship should have two Pilots of equal Power , one would be ever crossing the other ; when one would Sail the other would cast Anchor ; here were a Confusion , and the Ship must needs perish . The Order and Harmony in the World , the constant and uniform Government of all things , is a clear Argument that there is but one Omnipotent , one God that rules all . Isa. 44.6 . I am the first , and I am the last , and beside me there is no God .

Use 1. of Information . If there be but one God , then it excludes all other Gods . Some have fained that there were two Gods , so the Valentinians ; others , that there were many Gods , so the Polytheites ; the Persians worshipped the Sun , the Egyptians the Lion and Elephant , the Grecians worshipped Iupiter ; These , I may say err , not knowing the Scriptures , Matth. 22.29 . Their Faith is a Fable . God hath given them up to strong delusions , to believe a lie , that they may be damned , 2 Thess. 2.11 .

2. If there be but one God , then there can be but One true Religion in the World , Eph. 4.5 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , one Lord , one Faith . If there were many Gods , then there might be many Religions , every God would be worshipped in his way ; but if there be but one God , there is but one Religion ; one Lord , one Faith . Some say we may be saved in any Religion ; 't is absurd to imagine , that God , who is one in Essence , should appoint several Religions in which he will be worshipped . 'T is as dangerous to set up a false Religion , as to set up a false God . There are many ways to Hell ; Men may go thither which way their Fancy leads them ; but there is but one direct Road to Heaven , viz. Faith and Holiness . There is no way to be saved in but this : as there is but one God , so there is but one True Religion .

3. If there be but one God , then you have but One that you need chiefly study to please , and that is God . If there were divers Gods , we should be hard put to it how to please them all ; one would command one thing , another the quite contrary , and to please two contrary Masters is impossible : but there is but one God , therefore you have but one to please . As in a Kingdom there is but one King , therefore every one seeks to ingratiate himself into his favour , Prov. 19.6 . so there is but one true God ; therefore here lies our main work , to please him . Be sure to please God , whoever else you displease . This was Enoch's Wisdom , Hebr. 11.5 . he had this Testimony before he died , that he pleased God .

Quest. What doth this pleasing God imply ?

Answ. 1. We please God when we comport with his Will. 'T was Christ's meat and drink to do his Father's will , Iohn 4.34 . and so he pleased him , Matth. 3 17. A voice came from heaven , saying , this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased . It is the will of God that we should be holy , 1 Thess. 4 . 3● . Now when we are bespangled with Holiness , our Lives are walking Bibles : this is according to God's will , and it pleaseth him .

2. We please God when we do the Work that he sets us about , Iohn 17.4 . I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do , viz. my mediatory work . Many finish their lives , but do not finish their work . Our work God hath cut out for us , is to observe the first and second Table . In the first is set down our duty towards God ; in the second our duty towards Man . Such as make Morality the chief and sole part of Religion , set the second Table above the first ; nay , they take away the first Table : for if Prudence , Justice , Temparance , be enough to save , then what needs the first Table ? and so our worship towards God shall be quite left out . But those two Tables which God hath joyned together , let no Man put asunder .

3. We please God when we dedicate our Heart to give him the best of every thing . Abel gave God the fat of the Offering , Gen. 4.4 . Domitian would not have his Image carved in Wood or Iron , but in Gold . Then we please God , when we serve him with love , fervency , alacrity , we give him golden Services ; herein lies our Wisdom and Piety , to please God ; there is but one God , therefore there is but one whom we have chiefly to please , namely God .

4. If there be but one God , then we must pray to none but God . The Papists pray to Saints and Angels : 1. To Saints ; a Popish Writer saith , When we pray to the Saints departed , they being touched with compassion , say the like to God for us , as the Disciples did to Christ for the Canaanitish Woman , Matth. 15.23 . Send her away , for she crieth after us . The Saints above know not our Wants , Isa. 63.16 . Abraham is ignorant of us ; or if they did , we have no warrant to pray to them . Prayer is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a part of Divine Worship which must be given only to God . 2. They pray to Angels . Angel-worship is forbidden , Col. 2.18 , 19. and that we may not pray to Angels , is clear from Rom. 10.14 . How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed ? We may not pray to any , but whom we may believe in ; but we may not believe in an Angel , ergo , we may not pray to him . There is but one God , and it is a sin to invocate any but only God .

5. If there be but one God , who is above all , Ephes. 4.6 . then he must be loved above all . 1. We must love him with a love of Appreciation ; set the highest estimate on him who is the only Fountain of Being and Bliss . 2. We must love him with a love of Complacency . Amor est complacentia amantis in amato , Aquin. Our love to other things must be more indifferent ; some drops of love may run beside to the Creature , but the full stream must run towards God ; the Creature may have the Milk of our love , but we must keep the Cream of our love for God . God who is above all , must be loved above all ; Psal. 73.25 . There is none on earth whom I desire in comparison of thee .

Use 2. of Caution . If there be but one God , then let us take heed of setting up more Gods then one . Psal. 16.4 . Their sorrows shall be multiplied , that hasten after another God : their Drink-offerings of Blood will I not offer , nor take up their Names into my lips . God is a jealous God , and he will not endure that we should have other Gods . 'T is easie to commit Idolatry with the Creature . 1. Some make a God of Pleasure , 2. Tim. 3.4 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Lovers of pleasure more then lovers of God . Whatever we love more then God , we make a God . 2. Others make Money their God . The Covetous Man worships the Image of Gold , therefore is called an Idolater , Eph. 5.5 . that which a Man trusts to , he makes his God , but he makes the wedge of Gold his Hope . He makes Money his Creator , Redeemer , Comforter . 'T is his Creator ; if he hath Money , then he thinks he is made . It is his Redeemer ; if he be in danger , he trusts in his Money to redeem him out . It is his Comforter ; if at any time he be sad , the golden Harp drives away the Evil Spirit . So that Money is his God ; God made Man of the Dust of the Earth , and Man makes a God of the Dust of the Earth . 3. Another makes a God of his Child , sets his Child in God's room , and so provokes God to take it away . If you lean too hard upon a Glass , it will break ; many break their Children , by leaning too hard upon them . 4. Others make a God of their Belly , Phil. 3.19 . Whose God is their Belly . Clemens Alexandrinus writes of a Fish that hath its heart in its Belly ; an Emblem of Epicures , their Heart is in their Belly ; they mind nothing but indulging the Sensual Appetite ; they do sacrificare lari , their Belly is their God , and to this they pour Drink-offerings : Thus Men make many Gods . The Apostle names the wicked Man's Trinity , 1 John 2.16 . The lust of the flesh , the lust of the eye , the pride of life . The lust of the flesh , Pleasure ; the lust of the eye , Money ; Pride of Life , Honour . O take heed of this ! whatever you Deifie besides God , will prove a Bramble , and Fire will come out of this Bramble , and devour you , Iudges 9.15 .

Use 3. of Reproof . If the Lord Jehovah be the ●●ly true God , then it reproves those who renounce the true God ; I mean such as seek to familiar Spirits : this is too much practised among them that call themselves Christians . 'T is a sin condemned by the Law of God , Deut. 18.11 . There shall not be found among you any that consults with familiar Spirits . How ordinary is this ? If People have lost any of their Goods , they send to Wizards to know how they may come by their Goods again . What is this but consulting with the Devil ? and so you renounce God and your Baptism . What ? because you have lost your Goods , will you lose your Souls too ? 2 Kings 1.6 . Thus saith the Lord , Is it not because there is not a God in Israel that thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub ? so is it not because you think there is not a God in Heaven , that you ask Counsel of the Devil ? If any here be guilty , be deeply humbled , you have renounced the true God ; better be without the Goods you have lost , then have the Devil help you to them again .

Use 4. of Exhortation . If there be but one God , as God is O●● , so let them that serve him be One. This is that Christ prayed so heartily for , Iohn 17.21 . That they all may be One . Christians should be One , 1. in Iudgment ; the Apostle exhorts to be all of one mind , 1 Cor. 1.10 . How sad is it to see Religion wearing a Coat of divers Colours , to see Christians of so many Opinions , and going so many different ways . It is Satan hath sown these Tares of Division , Matth. 13.39 . he first divided Men from God , and now divides one Man from another . 2. One in Affection . They should have one Heart ; Acts 4.32 . The multitude of them that believed were of one heart , and of one soul. As in Musick , though there be several strings of a Viol , yet all make one sweet harmony , so though there are several Christians , yet there should be one sweet harmony of Affection among them . There is but one God , and they that serve him should be one . There is nothing would render the true Religion more lovely , or make more Proselytes to it , than to see the Professors of it tied together with the heart-strings of love , Psal. 133.1 . Behold how good and pleasant a thing it is to see brethren live together in unity ! It is as the sweet Dew on Hermon , and the fragrant Ointment poured on Aaron's Head . If God be one , let all that profess him be One , of one mind , and one heart ; this fulfils Christ's Prayer , that they al● may be one .

2. If there be but one God , let us labour to clear the Title that this God is ours , Psal. 48.14 . This God is our God . What Comfort can it be to hear that there is a God , and that he is the only God , unless he be our God . What is Deity without Propriety ? O let us labour to clear the Title ; beg the Holy Spirit ; the Spirit works faith , by faith we are one with Christ , and through Christ we come to have God for our God , and so all his glorious fulness is made over to us by a Deed of Gift .

Use 5. What Cause have we to be thankful that we have the knowledge of the only true God . How many are brought up in blindness ? some worship Mahomet , divers of the Indians worship the Devil , they light a Candle to him , that he should not hurt them . Such as know not the true God , must needs stumble into Hell in the dark . O be thankful that we are born in such a Climate where the Light of the Gospel hath shined ! To have the knowledge of the true God , is more then if we had Mines of Gold , Rocks of Diamonds , Islands of Spices , especially if God hath savingly revealed himself to us , if he hath given us eyes to see the light , if we so know God , as to be known of him , as to love him , and believe in him , Matth. 11.25 . We can never be enough thankful to God , that he hath hid the knowledge of himself from the wise and prudent of the World , and hath revealed it unto us .

The TRINITY

Quest. VI. HOw many Persons are there in the Godhead ? Resp. Three Persons , yet but one God , 1 John 5.7 . There are three that bear Record in Heaven , the Father , the Word , and the Holy Ghost , and these three are one .

God is but One , yet there are three distinct Persons subsisting in one God-head . This is a sacred Mystery , which the Light within could never have discovered . As the two Natures in Christ , yet but one Person , is a wonder , so three Persons , yet but one God-head . I am in a great deep , the Father God , the Son God , the Holy Ghost God , yet not three Gods , but one God . The three Persons in the blessed Trinity are distinguished , but not divided ; three Subsistances , but one Essence . This is a Divine Riddle , where one makes three , and three make but one . Our narrow Thoughts can no more comprehend the Trinity in Unity , then a little Nutshel will hold all the Water in the Sea . Let me shadow it out by this similitude : In the Body of the Sun , there is the Substance of the Sun , the Beams , and the Heat ; the Beams are begotten of the Sun , the Heat proceeds both from the Sun and the Beams ; but these three , though different , are not divided ; they all three make but one Sun . So in the blessed Trinity , the Son is begotten of the Father , the Holy Ghost proceeds from both , yet though they are three distinct Persons , yet but one God . First let me speak of the Unity in Trinity , then of the Trinity in Unity .

1. Of the Unity in Trinity . The Unity of the Persons in the Godhead consists in two things .

1. The identity of Essence . In the Trinity there is an Oneness of Essence : the three Persons are of the same Divine Nature and Substance : so that in Deo non est magis & minus , there are no degrees in the Godhead ; one Person is not God more then another .

2. The Unity of the Persons in the Godhead , consists in the mutual in-being of them , or their being in one another . The three Persons are so united , that one Person is in another , and with another , Iohn 17.21 . Thou Father art in me , and I in thee .

2. Let me speak of the Trinity in Unity . 1. The first Person in the Trinity is God the Father . H● is call'd the first Person in respect of Order not Dignity ; for God the Father hath no essential Perfection which the other Persons have not . He is not more wise , more holy , more powerful then the other Persons are ; a Priority , not Superiority .

2. The second Person in the Trinity is Iesus Christ , who is begotten of the Father before all Time , Prov. 8.23 , 24 , 25. I was set up from everlasting , from the beginning , or ever the earth was . When there were no depths , I was brought fortth : when there were no fountains abounding with water . Before the mountains were set led : before the hills , was I brought forth . Which Scripture declares the Eternal Generation of the the Son of God . This second Person in the Trinity , who is Jehovah , is become our Jesus . The Scripture calls him the Branch of David , Jer. 23.5 . and I may call him the Flower of the Virgin , having assum'd our Nature . By him all that believe are justified , Acts 13.39 .

3. The third Person in the Trinity is the Holy Ghost , who proceeds from the Father and the Son . His work it is to illuminate the Mind , and inkindle sacred Motions . The Essence of the Spirit is in Heaven , and every where , but the Influence of it is in the Hearts of Believers . This is that blessed Spirit who gives us the holy Unction , 1 Iohn 2.20 . Though Christ merits Grace for us , it is the Holy Ghost works it in us . Though Christ makes the Purchase , it is the Holy Ghost makes the Assurance , and Seals us up to the Day of Redemption . Thus I have spoken of all the three Persons . — The Trinity of Persons may be proved out of Matth. 3.16 . Iesus when he was baptized went up straitway out of the water , and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a Dove , and lighting upon him , and lo a voice from Heaven , saying , This is my beloved Son . Here are three Names given to the three Persons . He who spake with a Voice from Heaven was God the Father ; He who was baptized in Iordan , was God the Son ; He who descended in the likeness of a Dove , was God the Holy Ghost . Thus I have shewn you the Unity of Essence , and the Trinity of Persons .

Use 1. It confutes the Jews and the Turks , who believe only the first Person in the Godhead : this cuts assunder the Sinews of our Comfort . Take away the distinction of the Persons in the Trinity , and you overthrow Man's Redemption : for , God the Father being offended with Man for sin , how shall he be pacified without a Mediator . This Mediator is Christ , he makes our Peace ! and Christ having died , and shed his Blood , how shall this Blood be applied , but by the Holy Ghost ? Therefore if there be not three Persons in the Godhead , Man's Salvation cannot be wrought out . If there be no second Person in the Trinity , then there is no Redeemer . If no third Person , then there is no Comforter . And so the Plank is taken away by which we should get to Heaven .

2. It confutes the execrable Opinion of the Socinians , who deny the Divinity of the Lord Jesus ; they make him only to be a Creature of an higher Rank . As the Papists blot out the Second Commandment , so the Socinians would the Second Person in the Trinity . If to oppose Christ's Members be such a sin , what is it to oppose Christ himself ? 1. Jesus Christ is coequal with God the Father , Phil. 2.6 . He thought it no robbery to be equal with God . 2. He is coeternal with God the Father , Prov. 8.23 . I was from the beginning ; for else there was a time when God was without a Son , and so he should be no Father : nay , else there was a time when God was without his glory , for Christ is the brightness of his Fathers glory , Hebr. 1.3 . 3. He is coessential with God the Father . The Godhead subsists in Christ , Col. 2.9 . In whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily . 'T is said , not only Christ was with God before the beginning , but he was God , John 1.1 . and 1 Tim. 3.16 . God manifest in the flesh . The Title of Lord so often given to Christ in the New Testament , doth answer to the Title of Jehovah in the Old Testament , Deut. 6.5 . Matth. 22.37 . so that Christ hath a Coeternity and Consubstantiality with his Father , Iohn 10.30 . I and my Father are One . It were a Blasphemy for any Angel to speak thus ! Yet further to prove Christ's Godhead , consider 1. the glorious incommunicable Attributes belonging to God the Father , are ascribed to Christ . 1. Is God the Father Omnipotent , so is Jesus Christ . He is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Almighty , Rev. 1.8 . he Creates , Col. 1.16 . 2. Is God the Father infinitely Immense , filling all places , Ier. 23.24 . so is Jesus Christ . While Christ was on the Earth by his bodily presence , he was at the same time in the bosom of his Father , Iohn 3.13 . in regard of his Divine presence . 2. The same Iura Regalia , or Prerogatives Royal which belong to God the Father , belong also to Christ . ( 1. ) Doth God the Father seal Pardons , this is a Flower of Christ's Crown , Matth. 9.2 . Thy sins be forgiven thee . Nor doth Christ only remit sin organicè , as Ministers do , by virtue of a Power delegated to them from God ; but Christ doth it by his own Power and Authority . ( 2. ) Is God the Father the adequate Object of Faith , is he to be believed in , so is the Son , Iohn 14.1 . ( 3. ) Doth Adoration belong to God the Father , so it doth to the Son , Hebr. 1.6 . Let all the Angels of God worship him . How Sacrilegious therefore is the Socinian , who would rob Christ of the best Flower of his Crown , his Godhead ; they that deny Christ to be God , must greatly wrest , or else deny the Scripture to be the Word of God .

3. It confutes the Arrians , who deny the Holy Ghost to be God . The Eternal Godhead subsists in the Holy Ghost , Iohn 16.13 . He shall guide you into all Truth . Christ speaks not there of an Attribute , but a Person . And that the Godhead subsists in the Person of the Holy Ghost , appears thus : The Spirit , who gives diversity of Gifts , is said to be the same Lord , and the same God , 1 Cor. 12.5 , 6. The black and unpardonable sin is said , in a special manner , to be committed against the Godhead , subsisting in the Holy Ghost , Matth. 12.32 . The mighty power of God is made manifest by the Holy Ghost . He changeth the Hearts of Men. The Devil would have Christ prove himself to be God , by turning Stones into Bread ; but thus the Holy Ghost shews his Godhead , by turning Stones into Flesh , Ezek. 36.26 . I will take away the stony heart , and give you an heart of flesh . Yet further , the power and Godhead of the Holy Ghost appeared in the effecting the glorious Conception of our Lord Jesus Christ ; the very Shadow of the Holy Ghost made a Virgin conceive , Luke 1.35 . The Holy Ghost works Miracles , which transcend the sphere of Nature ; as raising the Dead , Rom. 8.11 . to him belongs 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Divine Worship ; our Souls and Bodies are the Temples of the Holy Ghost , 1 Cor. 6.19 . in which Temples he is to be worshipped , vers. 20. We are baptized in the Name of the Holy Ghost , therefore either we must believe his Godhead , or renounce our Baptism in his Name . Methinks it were enough for such Men , as have not so much as heard whether there be an Holy Ghost , or no , Acts 19.2 . to deny his Deity ; but that any who go for Christians , should deny this Article of their Creed , seems to me very strange . They who would wittingly and willingly blot out the third Person , shall have their Names blotted out of the Book of Life .

Use 2. of Exhortation . 1. Believe this Doctrine , the Trinity of Persons in the Unity of Essence . The Trinity is purely an Object of Faith : The Plumb-line of Reason is too short to fathom this Mystery , but where Reason cannot wade , there Faith must swim . There are some Truths in Religion may be demonstrated by Reason , as that there is a God ; but the Trinity of Persons in Unity of Essence is wholly Supernatural , and must be believed by Faith . This Sacred Doctrine , though it be not against Reason , yet it is above Reason . Those illuminated Philosophers that could find out the Causes of things , and discourse of the Magnitude and Influence of the Stars , the Nature of Minerals , could never by their deepest Search find out the Mystery of the Trinity . This is of Divine Revelation , and must be adored with humble believing : we can be no good Christians , without the firm belief of the Trinity . How can we pray to God the Father , but in the Name of Christ , and through the help of the Spirit . Believe the glorious Trinity . How are the Quakers to be abhorr'd , who go under the Name of Christians , yet undervalue and renounce Jesus Christ . I have read of some of the Quakers , who speak thus ; We deny the Person of him whom you call Christ , and affirm , That they who expect to be saved by that Christ without , will be damned in that Faith . Could the Devil himself speak worse Blasphemy ? they would pull up all Religion by the Roots , and take away that Corner-stone , on which the Hope of our Salvation is built .

2. If there be one God subsisting in three Persons , then let us give 1. Equal Reverence to all the Persons in the Trinity . There is not more or less in the Trinity , the Father is not more God then the Son and Holy Ghost . There is an Order in the Godhead , but no Degrees ; one Person hath not a Majority or Supereminency above another , therefore we must give equal Worship to all the Persons , Iohn 5.23 . That all Men should honour the Son as they honour the Father . Adore Unity in Trinity .

2. Obey all the Persons in the blessed Trinity , for all of them are God . 1. Obey God the Father . His words , either preceptive or minatory , must be observed . Christ himself , as Man , obeyed God the Father , Iohn 4.34 . much more then must we , Deut. 27.10 .

2. Obey God the Son , Psalm 2.12 . Kiss the Son lest he be angry . Kiss him with a kiss of Obedience . Christ's Commands are not grievous , 1 Iohn 5.3 . Nothing he commands but is for our interest and benefit : O then kiss the Son ! Why do the Elders throw down their Crowns at the feet of Christ , and fall down before the Lamb , Rev. 4.10 , 11. but to testifie their Subjection , and to profess their Readiness to serve and obey him .

3. Obey God the Holy Ghost : our Souls are breath'd into us by the glorious Spirit , Iob 33.4 . The Spirit of God hath made me . Our Souls are adorned by the blessed Spirit . Every Grace is a Divine Sparkle lighted in the Soul by the Holy Ghost . Nay more , the Spirit of God sanctified Christ's Humane Nature , he united it with the Divine , and fitted the Man Christ to be our Mediator . Well then doth this third Person in the Trinity , the Holy Ghost , deserve to be obeyed ; he is God , and this Tribute of Homage and Obedience is to be paid him by us .

Of the CREATION .

Quest. VII . WHat are the Decrees of God ?

The Decrees of God are his eternal purpose , according to the counsel of his own will , whereby for his own glory he hath fore-ordained whatsoever shall come to pass .

I should come now to speak concerning the Decrees of God , but I have already spoken something to this under the Attribute of God's Immutability , God is unchangeable in his Essence , and he is unchangeable in his Decrees , his Counsel shall stand , he hath decreed the Issue of all things , and carries them on to their Period by his Providence ; and therefore I shall proceed to the Execution of his Decrees .

Quest. VIII . The next Question is , What is the Work of Creation ?

Resp. It is God's making all things of nothing by the word of his power , &c. Gen. 1.1 . In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth .

The Creation is glorious to behold ; it is a pleasant and fruitful study . Some think that Isaac , when he went abroad into the Fields to meditate , it was in the Book of the Creatures . The Creation is the Heathen Man's Bible , the Ploughman's Primmer , the Travellers Perspective Glass , through which he receives the Species and Representation of those infinite Excellencies which are in God . The Creation is a large Volume , in which God's Works are bound up ; and this Volume hath three great Leaves in it , Heaven , Earth , Sea .

The Author of the Creation is God , so it is in the Text , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 God created . The World was created in time , and could not be from Eternity , as Aristotle thought . The World must have a Maker , it could not make it self . If one should go into a far Country , and see stately Edifices there , he would never imagine that these could build themselves , but that there had been some Artificer there to raise such goodly Structures ; so this great Fabrick of the World could not create it self , it must have some Builder and Maker , and that is God . In the beginning God created : To imagine that the Work of the Creation was not framed by the Lord Jehovah , is as if we should conceive a curious Lanskip to be drawn without the Hand of a Limner , Acts 17.24 . God that made the World , and all things therein .

In the work of the Creation there are two things to be considered : The making of it The adorning of it .

I. The making of the World . Here consider , 1. God made the World without any praeexistent Matter . This is the difference between Generation and Creation . In Generation there is materia habilis & disposita , some Matter to work upon . But in Creation there is no praeexistent Matter . God brought all this glorious Fabrick of the World out of the Womb of Nothing . We see our Beginning , it was of Nothing . Some brag of their Birth and Ancestry , you see how little cause they have to boast , they came of Nothing .

2. God made the World with a Word . When Solomon was to build a Temple he needed many Workmen , and they all had Tools to work with , but God wrought without Tools , Psal. 33.6 . By the word of the Lord were the Heavens made . The Disciples wondered that Christ could with a word calm the Sea , Matth. 8.26 , 27. But it was more with a word to make the Sea .

3. God made all things at first very good , Gen. 1.31 . no defect or deformity . The Creation came out of God's hands a curious Piece ; it was a fair Copy , without any Blot , written with God's own fingers , Psal. 8.3 . So perfect was God's Work .

II. The adorning of the World . First God made this great Lump and Mass , Rudis indigestaque moles , and then beautified it , and put it into a dress . He divided the Sea and the Earth , he deck'd the Earth with Flowers , the Trees with Fruit , but what is Beauty when it is mask'd over ? Therefore that we might behold this glory , God made the Light . The Heavens were bespangled with Sun , Moon , and Stars , that so the Worlds Beauty might be beheld and admired . God in the Creation began with things less noble and excellent , Vegetables and Sensitives , and then the Rational Creatures , Angels and Men. Man was the most exquisite Piece in the Creation : he is a Microcosme , or little World . Man was made with deliberation and counsel , Gen. 1.26 . Let us make Man . It is the manner of Artificers to be more then ordinary accurate , when they are about their Master-pieces . Man was to be a Master-piece of this visible World , therefore God did consult about the making of so rare a Piece . A Solemn Councel of the Sacred Persons in the Trinity was call'd , Let us make Man ; and let us make him in our own Image . On the King's Coin his Image or Effigies is stamp'd , so God stamp'd his Image on Man , and made him partake of many Divine qualities .

I shall speak 1. of the Parts of Man's Body : 1. The Head , the most excellent Architectonical Part , 't is the Fountain of Spirits , and the Seat of Reason . In Nature the Head is the best Piece , but in Grace the Heart excels . 2. The Eye . It is the Beauty of the Face ; it shines and sparkles like a lesser Sun in the Body . The Eye occasions much sin , and therefore well may it have Tears in it . 3. The Ear ; which is the Conduit-pipe through which Knowledge is conveyed . Better lose our seeing than our hearing , for faith cometh by hearing , Rom. 10.17 . To have an Ear open to God , is the best Jewel on the Ear. 4. The Tongue . David calls the Tongue his glory , Psal. 16.9 . because it is an Instrument to set forth the Glory of God : The Soul at first was a Viol in tune to praise God , and the Tongue did make the Musick . God hath given us two Ears , but one Tongue , to shew that we should be swift to hear , but slow to speak . God hath set a double fence before the Tongue , the Teeth and the Lips , to teach us to be wary that we offend not with our Tongue . 5. The Heart . This is a noble part and Seat of Life :

2. The Soul of Man : This is the Man of the Man . Man , in regard of his Soul , partakes with the Angels ; nay , as Plato saith , the Understanding , Will , and Conscience are a Glass that resemble the Trinity . The Soul is the Diamond in the Ring , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Soul is a Vessel of Honour ; God himself is serv'd in this Vessel . It is a Sparkle of Coelestial Brightness , saith Damascene . If David did so admire the rare Contexture and Workmanship of his Body , Psal. 139.13 . I am wonderfully made , I was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the Earth . If the Cabinet be so curiously wrought , what is the Jewel ? How richly is the Soul embroidered ! Thus you see how glorious a Work the Creation is , and Man especially , who is the Epitome of the World .

Quest. But why did God make the World ?

Resp. 1. Negatively ; Not for himself ; he did not need it , being infinite . He was happy before the World was , in reflecting upon his own sublime Excellencies and Perfections . 2. God did not make the World to be a place of Mansion for us , we are not to abide here for ever . Heaven is the Mansion-House , Iohn 14.2 . the World is only a Passage-room to Eternity ; the World is to us as the Wilderness was to Israel , not to rest in , but to travel through to the glorious Canaan . The World is a Tyring-room to dress our Souls in , not a place where we are to stay for ever . The Apostle tells us of the Worlds Funerals , 2 Pet. 3.10 . The Elements shall melt with fervent heat , the Earth also and the Works that are therein shall be burnt up .

2. Positively ; God made the World to demonstrate his own glory . The World is a Looking-glass , in which we may see the Power and Goodness of God shine forth : The Heavens declare the glory of God , Psal. 19.1 . The World is like a curious Piece of Arras or Tapestry , in which we may see the Skill and Wisdom of him that made it .

Use 1. Did God create the World ? This convinceth us of the Truth of his Godhead : to create is proper to a Deity , Acts 17.24 . This convinced Plato of a Deity , when he saw all the World could not make a Fly . Thus God proves himself to be the true God , and distinguisheth himself from Idols , Ier. 10.11 . It is written in Chalde , Thus shall ye say to them , the gods that have not made the Heavens and the Earth , even they shall perish . Who but God can create ? The Creation is enough to Convince the Heathen that there is a God . There are two Books , out of which God will judge and condemn the Heathen , viz. the Book of Conscience , Rom. 2.15 . Who have the Law written in their heart : and the Book of the Creation , Rom. 1.20 . The invisible things of him are clearly seen by the things that are made , even his eternal Power and Godhead . The World is full of Emblems and Hyeroglyphicks ; every Star in the Sky , every Bird that flies in the Air , is a Witness against the Heathen . A Creature could not make it self .

2. Here is a mighty support for Faith , God Creates . He that made all things with a word , what cannot he do ? He can create strength in weakness ; he can create a supply of our wants . What a foolish question was that , Psal. 78.19 . Can he prepare a table in the wilderness ? Cannot he that made the World do much more ? Psal. 124.8 . Our help standeth in the Name of the Lord , who made Heaven and Earth . Rest on this God for help , who made Heaven and Earth . The work of Creation , as it is a Monument of God's Power , so it is a stay to Faith . Is thy Heart hard , he can with a word create softness . Is it unclean , he can create purity ; Psal. 51.10 . Create in me a clean heart , O God . Is the Church of God low , he can create Ierusalem a Praise , Isa. 65.18 . No such golden Pillar for Faith to stay upon as a creating Power .

3. Did God make this World full of Beauty and Glory , every thing very good , then what an evil thing is sin , that hath put out of frame the whole Creation . Sin hath much eclipsed the beauty , sowrd the sweetness , and marred the harmony of the World . How bitter is that Gall , a drop whereof can imbitter a whole Sea . Sin hath brought Vanity and Vexation into the World , yea , a Curse . God cursed the ground for Man's sake , Gen. 3. There were several Fruits of the Curse :

1. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it , vers. 17. By that word sorrow , is to be understood all the Troubles and Cares of this Life . 2. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread , vers. 19. In Innocency Adam did till the ground , ( he must not live idly ) but it was rather a delight then a labour ; that tilling was without toiling . The eating in sorrow , and the sweat of the brow , came in after sin . 3. Thorns also and Thistles shall the ground bring forth , vers. 18.

Quest. Whether in Innocency did not the Earth bear Thorns , because it is threatned as a punishment ?

Answ. It is likely it did bear Thorns ; for when God had done creating , he made no new Species , or Kinds of things : but the meaning is , now after Sin the Earth should bring forth more plenty of Thorns , and now those Thorns should be hurtful , and choke the Corn , which hurtful quality was not in them before . Ever since the Fall , all the Comforts of this Life have a Thorn and a Thistle in them . 4. The fourth fruit of the Curse was the driving Man out of Paradise , vers. 24. So he drove out the Man . God at first brought Adam into Paradise , as into an House ready furnished , or as a King into his Throne , Gen. 1.28 . have dominion over every living thing that moveth . Now God's driving Adam out of Paradise , signified his dethroning and banishing him , that he might look after an heavenly and a better Paradise . 5. A fifth fruit of the Curse was Death , verse 19. To dust thou shalt return . Death was not natural to Adam , it came in after sin . Iosephus is of opinion , Man should have died though he had continued in Innocency , only he should have had a longer term of years added to his life ; but out of question , Death grew out of the Root of Sin : the Apostle saith , Rom. 5.12 . By sin came death . See then how cursed a thing Sin is , that hath brought so many Curses upon the Creation . If we will not hate Sin for its Deformity , let us hate it for the Curse it brings .

4. Did God make this glorious World , did he make every thing good , was there in the Creature so much beauty and sweetness ? Oh! then what sweetness is there in God ? Quicquid efficit tale , illud est magis tale , the Cause is always more noble than the Effect . Think with your selves , is there so much excellence in House and Lands , then how much more is there in God that made these ? Is there beauty in a Rose ? what beauty then is there in Christ the Rose of Sharon ? Doth Oil make the face shine ? Psal. 104.15 . How will the Light of God's Countenance make it shine ? Doth Wine chear the heart ? O what Virtue is in the true Vine ! How doth the Blood of this Grape chear the Heart ? Is the fruit of the Garden sweet ? how delicious are the Fruits of the Spirit ? Is a Gold Mine so precious ? how precious is he who founded this Mine ? What is Christ in whom are hid all Treasures ? Coloss. 2.3 . We should ascend from the Creature to the Creator . If there be any Comfort here below , how much more is there in God , who made all these things ? How unreasonable is it that we should delight in the World , and not much more in him that made it ? How should our Hearts be set on God , and how should we long to be with God , who hath infinitely more sweetness in him than any Creature ?

Use 2. of Exhortation . 1. Did God create the World , let us wisely observe these Works of Creation ? God hath given us , not only the Book of the Scriptures to read in , but the Book of the Creation : Look up to the Heavens , they shew much of God's glory ; the Sun gilds the World with its bright Beams : behold the Stars , their regular motion in their Orbs , their Magnitude , their Light , their Influence . We may see God's glory blazing in the Sun , twinkling in the Stars . Look into the Sea , and see the wonders of God in the Deep , Psal. 107.24 . Look into the Air , there the Birds make Melody , and sing forth the Praises of their Creator . Look into the Earth , there we may wonder at the Nature of Minerals , the Power of the Loadstone , the Virtue of Herbs . See the Earth deck'd as a Bride with Flowers , all these are the glorious Effects of God's Power . God hath wrought the Creation as with curious Needle-work , that we may observe his Wisdom and Goodness , and give him the Praise due to him , Psal. 104.24 . O Lord , how manifold are thy works , in wisdom hast thou made them all .

2. Did God create all things , let us obey our Maker . We are his Iure Creationis , we owe our selves to him : If another gives us our Maintenance , we think our selves bound to serve him , much more should we serve and obey God , who gives us our Life , Acts 17.28 . In him we live and move . God hath made every thing for Man's Service , the Corn for nourishment , the Beasts for usefulness , the Birds for Musick , that Man should be for God's Service . The Rivers come from the Sea , and they run into the Sea again . All we have is from God , let us honour our Creator , and live to him that made us .

3. Did God make our Bodies out of the Dust , and that Dust out of Nothing ? let this keep down pride . When God would humble Adam , he useth this Expression , Out of the dust was thou taken , Gen. 3.19 . Why art thou proud , O Dust and Ashes ! thou art made but of course Mettal ; cum sis humi limus , cur non humilimus . Bernard . David saith , I was curiously wrought , Psal. 139. Thy being curiously wrought may make thee thankful , but being made of the Dust , may keep thee humble . If thou hast Beauty , it is but well-colour'd Earth . Thy Body is but Air and Dust mingled together , and this Dust will drop into the Dust. When the Lord had said of the Judges they were Gods , Psal. 82.6 lest they should grow proud , he tells them , they were dying gods , vers. 7. Ye shall die like men .

4. Did God create our Souls after his Image , but we lost it , let us never leave till we are restored to God's Image again . We have now got the Devils Image in Pride , Malice , Envy ; let us get God's Image restored , which consists in Knowledge and Righteousness , Col. 3.10 . Grace is our best Beauty , it makes us like God and Angels : As the Sun to the World , so is Holiness to the Soul . Let us go to God to repair his Image in us : Lord ! thou hast once made me , make me anew , Sin hath defaced thy Image in me , O draw it again by the Pencil of the Holy Ghost .

The Providence of GOD.

GOD's Works of Providence are his most holy , wise , and powerful Preserving and Governing all his Creatures , and all their Actions .

The Work of God's Providence , Joh. 5.17 . My Father worketh hitherto , and I work . The great God hath rested from the Works of Creation , he doth not create any new Species of Things , Gen. 2.7 . He rested from all his Works , and therefore the Scripture must needs be meant of God's Works of Providence , My Father worketh and I work . Psal. 103.19 . His kingdom ruleth over all ; i. e. his Providencial Kingdom . Now for the clearing of this Point , I shall , 1. Show you that there is a Providence . 2. What that Providence is . 3. Lay down some Maxims or Propositions concerning the Providence of God .

1. That there is a Providence : There is no such thing as blind Fate , but there is a Providence that guides and governs in the World , Prov. 16.33 . The lot is cast into the lap , but the whole dispose thereof is of the Lord .

2. What this Providence is ? I answer , Providence is God's ordering all Issues and Events of things after the Council of his Will to his own Glory , 1. I call Providence God's ordering of things , to distinguish it from his Decrees , God's Decree ordains things that shall fall out , God's Providence ordereth them .

2. I call Providence the ordering of Things after the Council of God's Will , that I may free it from all Rashness and Precipitancy , and to show you that 't is a high Act of Prudence done after the Council of his own Will.

3. God orders all Events of things after the Council of his Will to his own Glory , the Glory of God being the Ultimate End of all God's Actings , and the Centre where all the Lines of Providence do meet . The Providence of God is Regina Mundi , the Queen and Governess of the World ; it is the Eye that sees , and the Hand that turns all the Wheels in the Universe . God is not like an Artificer that builds a House and then leaves it and is gone , but like a Pilot that does with a great deal of Care steer on the Ship of the whole Creation .

3. I shall lay down some Positions about the Providence of God .

1. God's Providence reaches to all Places , Persons and Occurrences , 1. To all Places , Jer. 23. Am I a God at hand , and not a God afar off ? The Diocess where Providence visits is very large , it reaches to Heaven , to Earth and Sea , Ps. 107.23 , 24. They that go down to sea see the wonders of God in the deep . Now that the Sea which is higher then the Earth , should not drown the Earth , is a Wonder of Providence : and the Prophet Ionah he saw the Wonders of God in the Deep , when the very Fish which did devour him and swallow him , did bring him safe to Shore . 2. God's Providence reaches to all Persons , especially the Persons of the Godly , they are in a special manner taken notice of ; God takes care of every Saint in particular , as if he had none else to take care for , 1 Pet. 5.7 . He careth for you , ( i. e. ) Elect in a special manner . Psal. 33.18 , 19. The eye of the Lord is over them that fear him ; to preserve them from death , and to keep them alive in famine . God by his Providential Care shields off Dangers from his People , he sets a Life-guard of Angels about them , Psal. 19.11 . God's Providence keeps the very Bones of the Saints , Psal. 34.10 . It bottles their Tears , Psal. 56.8 . It strengthens the Saints in their Weaknesses , Heb. 11.34 . It supplies all their Wants out of its Alms-basket , Psal. 23.5 . Thus Providence doth wonderfully supply the Wants of the Elect. When the Protestants in Rochel were besieged by the French King , God by his Providence sent in a great number of small Fishes that fed them , such as were never seen before in that Haven . So the Raven , that unnatural Creature , ( that will hardly feed its own Young , yet ) providentially brought Sustenance to the Prophet Elijah , 1 Kings 17.6 . The Virgin Mary , though by bearing and bringing forth the Messiah she help'd to make the World rich , yet she herself was very poor ; and now being warned of the Angel to go into Aegypt , Matth. 2.13 . the Virgin had scarce enough to bear her Charges thither , see now how God provides for her before-hand , he by his Providence sends the Wise-men from the East , and they bring costly Gifts , Gold , Myrrh , and Franckincence and present there to Christ : And now the Virgin had enough to defray her Charges unto to Aegypt . God's Children sometimes scarce know how they are fed , and yet Providence feeds them , Psal. 37.3 . Verily thou shalt be fed . If God will give his People a Kingdom when they dye , he will not deny them daily Bread while they live . 3. God's Providence reaches to all Affairs and Occurrences in the World , there is nothing that stirs in the World but God hath by his Providence the over-ruling of it . The raising of a Man to Honour , whence is this ? but through Divine Providence : Psal. 75.7 . He puts down one , and sets up another . Success and Victory in Battel is the result of Providence ; Saul had the Victory , but God wrought the Salvation , 1 Sam. 11.13 . That among all Virgins that were brought before the King , that Esther should find Favour in the Eyes of the King , was not without God's special Providence ; for by this means the Lord saved the Iews alive that were destinat'd to Destrustion . Providence reaches to the least of things , to the Birds and Pismire ; Providence feeds the young Raven when the Dam forsakes it , and will give it no Food , Psal. 147.9 . Providence reaches to the very Hairs of our Head , Matth. 10.30 . The hairs of your head are numbred ; and surely if Providence reaches to our Hairs , then much more to our Souls . And thus you have seen that the Providence of God reaches to all Places , to all Persons , to all Occurrences and Affairs . Now there are two Objections against this Doctrine ,

Object . 1. But may some say , There are many things done in the World which are Excentrecal ▪ they are very disorderly and irregular , and surely the Providence of God doth not ●each to these things ?

Answ. Yes , these things that seem to us irregular , God makes use of to his own Glory . For Instance : Suppose you were in a Smith's Shop , and there should see several sorts of Tools , some crooked , some bowed , others hook'd , would you condemn all these things for nought because they do not look handsome ; the Smith makes use of them all for the doing of his Work . Thus it is with the Providence of God , they seem to us to be very crooked and strange , yet they all carry on God's Work . I shall clear this to you in two particular Cases :

1st , God's People are low ; why this seems to be very much out of order , that these that are best should be in the lowest Condition : but there is much Wisdom to be seen in this Providence , as appears thus : 1. Perhaps the hearts of the Godly were lifted up with Riches , or with Success , now God comes with an humbling Providence to Afflict them and Fleece them ; better is the Loss that makes them Humble , then the Success that makes them Proud . Again , 2. if the Godly were not sometimes afflicted , and suffer'd an Eclipse in their outward Comforts , how could their Graces be seen , their Faith and Patience . If it were always Sunshine , we should see no Stars ; if we should have always Prosperity , it would be hard to see the Actings of Mens Faith . Thus you see God's Providences are wise and regular , though to us they seem very strange and crooked .

2dly , Here 's another Case , the Wicked flourish ; this seems to be very much out of order : ay , but God in his Providence sees good sometimes that the worst of Men should be exalted , they may do some work to God , though against their will , Isa. 10.7 . God will be in no Man's debt . God makes use of the Wicked sometimes to protect and shield his Church : he makes use of them to refine and purifie his People , Hab. 1.12 . Thou hast ordained them for correction . As if the Prophet had said . Thou hast ordain'd the Wicked to correct thy Children . ( And indeed as Austin saith well , We are beholding to wicked Men , who against their wills do do us good . ) As the Corn is beholding to the Flayl to thresh off its Husks , or as the Iron is beholding to the File to brighten it ; so the Godly are beholding to the Wicked , tho' it be against their will , to brighten and refine their Graces . Now then if the Wicked do God's own Work , though against their will , God will not let them be Loosers by it , he will raise them in the World , exalt them and wring out the Waters of a full Cup to them . Thus you see these Providences are wise and regular , which to us seem strange and crooked .

Object . 2. But may some say , if God hath a hand in ordering all things that fall out , why then he hath a hand in the Sins of Men ?

I answer , No , by no means , he hath no hand in any Man's sin . God cannot go contrary to his own Nature , he cannot do any unholy Action , no more then the Sun can be said to be darkned . Here you must take heed of two things , as you must take heed of making God ignorant of Mens sins , so you must take heed of making God to have a hand in Mens sins : Is it a thing likely that God is the Author of Sin , that is an Avenger of it ? Is it a likely thing that God should make a Law against Sin , and then have a hand in breaking his own Law , is that likely ? And therefore to answer the Objection , God in his Providence doth permit Mens sins , Acts 14.16 . He suffered all nations to walk in their own ways . God permitted their sin , and he would never permit their sin , if he could not bring good out of it ; as the Apothecary can make a Treakle of Poison . Had not Sin been at all permitted , God's Justice in punishing Sin , and his Mercy in pardoning Sin had never been so well known . The Lord is pleas'd to permit it , but he had no hand in it .

Object . But is it not said , that God hardned Pharoah's Heart , here 's more then God's bear permitting of Sin ?

Answ. God doth not infuse Evil into Men , only he withdraws the Influence of his Graces , and then the Heart hardens of itself , even as Light being withdrawn , Darkness presently follows in the Air ; but it were absurd to say , that therefore the Light darkens the Air : and therefore you shall observe that Pharoah is said to harden his own Heart , Exod. 8.15 . God is the cause of no Man's Sin ; 't is true God hath a hand in the Action where Sin-is , but no hand in the Sin of the Action : He that plays upon a jarring Instrument , he is the cause of the sounding of the Instrument , but the jarring is from itself : so 't is here , the Actions of Men so far as they are natural are from God , but so far as they are sinful , they are from Men themselves , and God has no hand at all in them . And so much for the first Position , That God's Providence reaches to all Places , to all Persons , and to all Occurrences .

2. A second Position is this : There are Providences that are casual and accidental to us , are predetermin'd by the Lord : the falling of a Tyle upon one's head , the breaking out of a Fire to us , is casual , but 't is order'd by a Providence of God . You have a clear Instance of this , 1 Kings 22.34 . A certain man drew a bow at a venture , and smote the king of Israel between the joynts of the harness . This Accident was casual as to the Man who drew the Bow , but 't was divinely order'd by the Providence of God ; God's Providence directed the Arrow to hit the Mark. Things that seem to fall out casual and by chance , they are the Issues of God's Decrees , and the Interpretation of his Will.

3. God's Providence is greatly to be observed , but we are not to make it the Rule of our Actions , Psal. 107.43 . Whoso is wise , will observe these things . 'T is good to observe Providence , but we must not make it our Rule to walk by ; Providence is a Christian 's Diurnal but not his Bible . Sometimes a bad Cause prevails and gets ground , it is not to be liked because it doth prevail ; we must not think the better of what is sinful because 't is successful , here is no Rule of our Actions to be directed by .

4. Divine Providence is irresistible , there is no standing in the way of God's Providence to hinder it : When God's time was come for Ioseph's Release , the Prison could hold him no longer , The king sent and loosed him , Psal. 105.20 . When God would indulge the Iews with Liberty in their Religion , Cyrus , by a Providence , puts forth a Proclamation to encourage the Iews to go and build their Temple at Ierusalem , and worship God , Ezra 1.2 , 3. If God will shield and protect Ieremiah's Person in Captivity : the very King of Babylon shall nurse up the Prophet , and give charge concerning him that he want nothing , Ier. 39.11 , 12.

5. God is to be trusted when his Providences seem to run contrary to his Promises . God promised David to give him the Crown , to make him King , but Providence runs contrary to his Promise : David was pursued by Saul , was in danger of his Life , but all this while it was David's Duty to trust God . Pray observe , the Lord doth oftentimes by cross Providences bring to pass his Promises . God promised Paul the Lives of all that were with him in the Ship ; but now the Providence of God seems to run quite contrary to his Promise , the Winds blew , the Ship splits and breaks in pieces , and thus God fulfill'd his Promise upon the broken pieces of the Ship , they all come safe to shore . Trust God when Providences seem to run quite contrary to Promises .

6. The Providences of God are Checquer-work , they are intermingled : In the Life to come there shall be no more Mixture ; in Hell there is nothing but Bitter , in Heaven there is nothing but Sweet : but in this Life the Providences of God are mixed , there is something of the sweet in them , and something of the bitter . Providences are just like Israel's Pillar or Cloud that conducted them in their March , it was dark on one side and light on the other , so the Providences of God are a dark part and a light part . In the Ark there was laid up the Rod and Manna , so are God's Providences to his Children , there is something of the Rod and something of the Manna : so that we may say with David , I will sing of mercy and judgment . Ioseph : was in Prison , there was the dark side of the Cloud , but God was with Ioseph , there was the light side of the Cloud . Ashur's Shooes were of Brass , but his Feet were dipt in Oyl , Deut. 33.24 . So Affliction is the Shooe of Brass that pinches ; ay , but there is Mercy mingled with the Affliction , there 's the Foot dipt in Oyl .

7. The very same Action as it comes from God's Providence may be good , which as it comes from Men may be evil . For Instance : Ioseph being sold into Aegypt , as he was sold by his Brethren it was evil , very wicked , for it was the Fruit of their Envy ; but as it was an Act of God's Providence , so it was good , for by this means Iacob and all his Family were preserved alive in Aegypt . Another Instance is in Shimei's cursing David , now as Shimei cursed David , 't was wicked and sinful , for 't was the Fruit of his Malice ; but as his cursing was ordered by God's Providence , so 't was an Act of God's Justice to punish David , and to Humble him for his Adultery and Murder . The Crucifying of Christ as it came from the Iews 't is an Act of Hatred and Malice to Christ : So Iudas betraying him was an Act of Covetuousness ; but as it was an Act of God's Providence , so there was good in it ; for , see , it was an Act of God's Love in giving Christ to dye for the World . Thus I have clear'd to you the Doctrine of God's Providence , in these several Positions : let me now speak something by way of Application .

Use 1. By way of Exhortation , in these particulars , 1st , Admire God's Providence : The Providence of God keeps the whole Creation upon the Whee●s , or else it would soon be dissolved , and the very Axle-tree would break in pieces : If God's Providence should be withdrawn but for a while , Creatures would be dissolved , and run into their first Nothing . Without this wise Providence of God there would be an Anxiety and Confusion in the whole World ; just like an Army when it is routed and scatter'd . The Providence of God infuses Comfort and Virtue into every thing we enjoy ; our Cloaths would not warm us , our Food would not nourish us without the special Providence of God . And doth not all this deserve your Admiration of Providence ?

2. Learn quietly to submit to Divine Providence ; do not murmur at things that are order'd by Divine Wisdom . We may no more find fault with the Works of Providence , then we may with the Works of Creation : It is a Sin as well to quarrel with God's Providence , as to deny God's Providence . If Men do not act as we would have them , they shall act as God would have them . His Providence it is his Master-wheel that turns these lesser Wheels , and God will bring his Glory out of all at last : Psal. 39.9 . I was dumb and opened not my mouth , because thou , Lord , didst it . It may be we think sometimes we could order things better if we had the Government of the World in our hands ; but , alas ! should we be left to our own Choice , we should choose those things that are hurtful for us . David did earnestly desire the Life of his Child which was the Fruit of his Sin ; now had the Child lived it had been a perpetual Monument of his Shame . Let us be content God should Rule the World ; learn to acquiesce in his Will , and submit to his Providence : Doth any Affliction befal you , remember God sees it is that which is fit for you , or it should not come ; your Cloaths cannot be so fit for you as your Crosses . God's Providence may sometimes be secret , but it is always wise : Tho' we may not be silent under God's Dishonour , yet we should learn to be silent under his Displeasure .

3. You that are Christians , believe that all God's Providences shall conspire for the good of his People , and shall promote their Salvation at last . The Providences of God are sometimes dark , and our eyes dim , and we can hardly tell what to make of them : but when we cannot unriddle Providence , believe it shall work together for the good of the Elect , Rom. 8.28 . The Wheels in a Watch seem to move cross one to another , but they help forward the Motion of the Watch , and make the Larum strike ; so the Providences of God seem to be cross Wheels , but for all that they shall carry on the Good of the Elect. The pricking of a Vein is in itse●f evil and hurtful , but as it prevents a Fevor , and tends to the Health of the Patient , so it is good : So Affliction in itself is not glorious but grievous , but the Lord turns this to the good of his Saints . Poverty shall starve their Sins , Affliction shall prepare them for a Kingdom . Therefore , Christians , believe that God loves us , that he will make the most cross Providences to promote his Glory , and our Good .

4. Let this be an Antidote against Immoderate Fear ; for nothing comes to pass but what is ordain'd by God's Decree , and ordered by his Providence . We sometimes fear what the Issue of things will be ; Men grow high in their Actings ; let us not make things worse by our Fear . Men are limited in their Power , and shall not go one Hair's breadth further then God's Providence will permit : He might let Sennacherib's Army march towards Ierusalem , but he shall not shoot one Arrow against it , Isa. 38.36 . Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand . When Israel was compassed in between Pharoah and the Red Sea , no question some of their hearts did begin to tremble , and they look'd upon themselves as dead Men , but Providence so ordered it , that the Sea was a safe Passage to Israel , and a Sepulchre to Pharaoh and all his Host.

Use 2. Comfort in respect of the Church of God : God's Providence reacheth in a more special manner to his Church , Isa. 27.2 . Sing ye unto her , A vineyard of red wine . God waters this Vineyard with his Blessings , and watcheth over it by his Providence , I the Lord keep it night and day . Such as think totally to ruin the Church , must do it in a time when it is neither Day nor Night , for the Lord keeps it by his Providence Night and Day . What a miraculous Conduct of Providence had Israel , God led them by a Pillar of Fire , gave them Manna from Heaven , set the Rock abroach . God by his Providence preserves his Church in the midst of Enemies ; which is as to see a Spark kept alive in the Ocean , or a Flock of Sheep among Wolves . God saves his Church strangely , 1. By giving Unexpected Mercies to his Church , when she looked for nothing but Ruine , Psal. 126.1 . When the Lord turned the captivity of Sion , we were like them that dream . How strangely did God raise up Queen Esther to preserve alive the Iews , when Haman had got a bloudy Warrant sign'd for their Execution ? 2. Strangely by saving in that very way in which we think he will destroy : God works sometimes by Contraries . He raiseth his Church by bringing it low . The Bloud of the Martyrs hath watered the Church , and made it more fruitful , Exod. 1.12 . The more they afflicted them , the more they multiplied : The Church is like that Plant Gregory Nazianzen speaks of , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it lives by dying , and grows by cutting . 3. Strangely in that he makes the Enemy do his Work : When the People of Amon , and Moab , and Mount Seir came against Iudah , God set the Enemy one against another , 2 Chr. 20.23 . The children of Amon and Moab , stood up against them of Mount Seir , to slay them ; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir , every one help'd to destroy another . In the Powder-Treason he made the Traytors to be their own Betrayers : God can do his work by the Enemies hand . God made the Aegyptians send away the People of Israel laden with Jewels , Exod. 12.36 . The Church is the Apple of God's Eye , and the Eye-lid of his Providence doth daily cover and defend it .

5. Let the merciful Providences of God cause Thankfulness : We are kept alive by a Wonder-working Providence . Providence makes our Cloaths warm us , our Meat nourish us . We are fed every day out of the Alms-basket of God's Providence . That in Health , that we have an Estate , it is not our Diligence but God's Providence , Deut. 8.18 . Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God , for he it is that gives thee power to get wealth . Especially if we go a st●p higher , we may see cause of Thankfulness : That we should be born and bred in a Gospel Climate ; that we should live in such a place where the Sun of Righteousness shines ; this is a signal Providence : Why might not we have been born in such places where Paganism prevails ? That Christ should make himself known to us , and touch our hearts with his Spirit , when he passeth by others : Whence is this but from the miraculous Providence of God , which is the Effect of his Free-grace ?

Use 3. See here that which may make us long for that time when the great Mystery of God's Providence shall be fully unfolded to us . Now we scarce know what to make of God's Providences ; therefore are ready to Censure what we do not understand , but in Heaven we shall see how all God's Providences ( Sickness , Losses , Sufferings , ) carried on our Salvation . Here we see but some dark pieces of God's Providence , and it is impossible to judge of God's Works by Pieces , but when we come to Heaven , and see the full Body and Pourtraicture of God's Providence drawn out in its lively Colours , it will be a glorious Sight to behold : Then we shall see how all God's Providences help'd to fulfil his Promises . Never a Providence but we shall see had either a Wonder or a Mercy in it .

The Covenant of Works .

Quest. IX . I Proceed to the next Question , What special Providence did God exercise towards Man in the Estate wherein he was created ?

Answ. When God created Man he entred into a Covenant of Life with him , upon Condition of perfect Obedience , forbidding him to eat of the Tree of Knowledge , upon pain of death .

For this , consult with Gen. 2.16 , 17. And the Lord commanded the man , saying , of every Tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat , but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil , thou shalt not eat ; for in the day thou eatest of it , thou shalt surely die . The Subject then of our next Discourse is , the Covenant of Works . This Covenant was made with Adam , and all Mankind ; for Adam was a publick Person , and the Representative of the World .

Quest. For what Reason did God make a Covenant with Adam and his Posterity in Innocency ?

Resp. 1. To shew his Soveraignty over us , we were his Creatures ; and as God was the great Monarch of Heaven and Earth , God might impose upon us terms of a Covenant . 2. God made a Covenant with Adam to bind him fast to God ; as God bound himself to Adam , so Adam was bound to God by the Covenant .

Quest. What was the Covenant ?

Resp. God commanded Adam not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge ; God gave Adam leave to eat of all the other Trees of the Garden . God did not envy him any Happiness , only , meddle not with this Tree of Knowledge , because God would try Adam's Obedience : As King Pharaoh made Ioseph chief Ruler in his Kingdom , and gave him a Ring off his Finger , and a Chain of Gold , only he must not touch his Throne , Gen. 41.40 . in like manner God dealt with Adam , he gave him a sparkling Jewel , Knowledge , and araid him with a fine Vesture , put upon him the Garment of Original Righteousness , only saith God , Touch not the Tree of Knowledge , for that is aspiring after Omnisciency . Adam had power to have kept this Law ; Adam had the Copy of God's Law written in his heart . This Covenant of Works , had a Promise annexed to it , and a Threatning . 1. The Promise , Do this and live . In case Man had stood , it is probable he had not died , but had been translated to a better Paradise . 2. The Threatning , Thou shalt die the death ; Hebr. in dying thou shalt die ; that is , thou shalt die both a natural Death and an Eternal , unless some other Expedient be found out for thy Restoration .

Quest. But why did God give Adam this Law , seeing God did foresee that Adam would transgress ?

Resp. 1. It was Adam's fault he did not keep the Law ; God gave him a stock of Grace to trade with , but he of himself broke . 2. Though God foresaw Adam would transgress , yet that was not a sufficient reason that Adam should have no Law given him : for by the same reason , God should not have given his written Word to Men , to be a Rule of Faith and Manners , because he foresaw that some would not believe , and others would be prophane . Shall not Laws be made in the Land because some break them ? 3. God , though he foresaw Adam would break the Law , he knew how to turn it to a greater good , in sending Christ . The first Covenant being broken , he knew how to establish a second , and a better . Well , concerning the First Covenant , consider these four Things .

1. The Form of the first Covenant in Innocency , was working ; Do this and live . Working was the Ground and Condition of our Justification , Gal. 3.12 . Not but that working is required in the Covenant of Grace : we are bid to work out salvation , and be rich in good works . But works in the Covenant of Grace are not required under the same Notion , as in the first Covenant with Adam . Works are not required to the Iustification of our Persons , but as a Testification of our Love to God , not as a Cause of our Salvation , but as an Evidence of our Adoption . Works are required in the Covenant of Grace , not so much in our own strength , as in the strength of another . It is God which worketh in you , Phil. 2.13 . As the Scrivener guides the Child's hand , and helps him to form his Letters , so that it is not so much the Child's writing , as the Scriveners that guides his hand ; so not our working , as the Spirit 's co-working .

2. The Covenant of Works was very strict . God required of Adam , and all Mankind , 1. Perfect Obedience . Adam must do all things written in the Book of the Law , Gal. 3.10 . and not fail , either in the matter or manner . Adam was to live up to the whole breadth of the Moral Law , and go exactly according to it , as a well made Dial goes with the Sun : a sinful thought had forfeited the Covenant . 2. Personal Obedience . Adam must not do his work by a Proxy , or have any Surety bound for him ; no , it must be done in his own Person . 3. Perpetual Obedience . He must continue in all things written in the Book of the Law , Gal. 3.10 . Thus it was very strict . There was no Mercy in case of failure .

3. The Covenant of Works was not built upon a very firm Basis ; therefore it must needs leave Men full of Fears and Doubts . The Covenant of Works rested upon the strength of Man's inherent Righteousness ; which though in Innocency was perfect , yet was subject to a change . Adam was created holy , but mutable . He had a power to stand , but not a power not to fall . Adam had a stock of Original Righteousness to begin the World with , but he was not sure he should not break . Adam was his own Pilot , and could steer right in the time of Innocency ; but he was not so secured , but that he might dash against the Rock of a Temptation , and he and his Posterity suffer Shipwrack . So that the Covenant of Works must needs leave Jealousies and Doubtings in Adam's heart , he having no Security given him , that he should not fall from that glorious state .

4. The Covenant of Works being broken by Sin , Man's Condition was very deplorable and desperate . He was left in himself helpless ; there was no place for Repentance : the Justice of God being offended , sets all the other Attributes against Mandkind When Adam lost his Righteousness , he lost his Anchor of Hope , and his Crown : there was no way for Man's relief , unless God would find out such a way that neither Man nor Angels could devise .

Use 1. See the Condescension of God , who was pleased to stoop so low , as to make a Covenant with us . For the God of Glory to make a Covenant with Dust and Ashes ; for God to bind himself to us , to give us Life in case of Obedience : Entring into Covenant was a sign of God's Friendship with us , and a Royal Act of his Favour .

2. See what a glorious Condition Man was in , when God entred into Covenant with him : 1. He was placed in the Garden of God , which for the pleasure of it , was called Paradise , Gen. 2.8 . he had his choice of all the Trees , ( one only excepted ) he had all kind of precious Stones , pure Mettals , rich Cedars ; he was a King upon the Throne , and all the Creation did obeysance to him , as in Ioseph's Dream , all his Brethrens sheaves did bow to his sheaf . Man in Innocency had all kind of Pleasure that might ravish his Sences with delight , and be as Baits to allure him to serve and worship his Maker . 2. Besides , he was full of Holiness ; Paradise was not more adorned with Fruit , then Adam's Soul was with Grace . He was the Coin on which God had stamp'd his lively Image ; Light sparkled in his Understanding , he was like an Earthly Angel , his Will and Affections were full of order , tuning harmoniously to the Will of God . Adam was 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a perfect Pattern of Sanctity . 3. Adam had intimacy of Communion with God , and conversed with him , as a Favourite with his Prince . Adam knew God's Mind , and had his Heart . He not only enjoyed the Light of the Sun in Paradise , but the Light of God's Countenance . This Condition was Adam in when God entred into Covenant with him . But this did not long continue ; Man being in honour abideth not , Psal. 49. ult. lodged not for a night ; his Teeth watered at the Apple , and ever since it hath made our Eyes water .

3. Learn from Adam's Fall , how unable we are to stand in our own strength . If Adam in the state of Integrity did not stand , how unable are we now , when the Lock of our original Righteousness is cut ? If purified Nature did not stand , how then shall corrupt Nature ? we need more strength to uphold us then our own .

4. See in what a sad Condition all Unbelievers and Impenitent Persons are : so long as they continue in their sins , they continue under the Curse of the first Covenant . Faith intitles us to the Mercy of the second Covenant : but while Men are under the power of their sins , they are under the Curse of the first Covenant , and if they die in this Condition , they are damned to Eternity .

5. See the wonderful goodness of God , who was pleased , when we had forfeited the first Covenant , to enter into a new Covenant with us . Well may it be called Foedus Gratiae , a Covenant of Grace ; it is bespangled with Promises , as the Heaven with Stars . When the Angels , those glorious Spirits fell , God did not enter into a new Covenant with them to be their God , but let those golden Vessels lie broken ; but hath entred into a second Covenant with us , better then the first , Hebr. 8.6 . It is better , because it is surer ; it is made in Christ , and cannot be reversed ; Christ hath engaged his strength to keep every Believer . In the first Covenant we had à posse stare , a power of standing : in the second we have à non posse cadere , an impossibility of Falling finally , 1 Pet. 1.5 .

6. Whoever they are that look for Righteousness and Salvation by the power of their Free-will , or the inherent goodness of their Nature , or by Virtue of their Merit , as the Socinians and Papists , these are all under the Covenant of Works ; they do not submit to the Righteousness of Faith , therefore they are bound to keep the whole Law , and in case of failure they are condemned . The Covenant of Grace is like a Court of Chancery , to relieve the Sinner , and help him who is Cast by the first Covenant . It saith , Believe in the Lord Jesus , and be saved ; but such as will stand upon their own inherent Righteousness , Free-will , and Merit , they fall under the first Covenant of Works , and are in a perishing Estate .

Use 2. Let us labour by Faith to get into the second Covenant of Grace , and then the Curse of the first Covenant is taken away by Christ . If once we get to be Heirs of the Covenant of Grace , we are in a better state than before . Adam stood on his own Legs , therefore fell ; we stand in the strength of Christ . Under the first Covenant the Justice of God , as an Avenger of Blood , pursues you ; but if ye get into the second Covenant , you are got into the City of Refuge you are safe , and the Justice of God is pacified towards you .

Concerning SIN .

Quest. X. What is Sin ?

Answ. Sin is any want of conformity unto , or transgression of the Law of God .

1 John 3.4 . Sin is a Transgression of the Law . Of Sin in general .

1. Sin is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Violation or Transgression . The Latin word transgredior , to transgress , signifies to go beyond ones Bounds . The Moral Law is to keep us within the bounds of our Duty ; Sin is a going beyond our bounds .

2. The Law of God ; it is not the Law of an Inferiour Prince is broken , but of Iehovah , who gives Laws as well to Angels as Men ; it is a Law that is just , and holy , and good , Rom. 7.12 . It is just , there is nothing in it unequal ; holy , nothing in it impure ; good , nothing in it prejudicial . So that there is no reason to break this Law , no more than for a Beast that is in a fat Pasture to break over the Hedge to leap into a barren Heath or Quagmire .

I shall shew what an heinous and execrable thing Sin is . It is malorum colluvies , the complication of all Evil ; it is the Spirits of Mischief distil'd : The Scripture calls it 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 the accursed thing , Josh. 7.13 . it is compared to the venome of Serpents , the stench of Sepulchres . The Apostle useth this expression of sin , out of measure sinful , Rom. 7.13 . or as in the Greek , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , hyperbolically sinful . The Devil would paint over sin with the Vermilion colour of Pleasure and Profit , that he may make it look fair . But I shall pull off the Paint from Sin , that you may see the ugly face of it . We are apt to have slight thoughts of Sin , and to say of it as Lot of Zoar , Gen. 19.20 . Is it not a little one ? But that you may see how great an Evil Sin is , consider these four things .

I. The Original of Sin , whence it comes : It fetcheth its Pedigree from Hell ; Sin is of the Devil , 1 Iohn 3.8 . He that committeth sin is of the Devil . Satan was the first Actor of sin , and the first Tempter to sin . Sin is the Devils First-born .

II. Sin is evil in the Nature of it .

1. It is a defiling thing . Sin is not only a Defection , but a Pollution . It is to the Soul as Rust is to Gold , as a Stain is to Beauty . It makes the Soul red with guilt , and black with filth . Sin in Scripture is compared to a menstruous cloath , Isa. 30.22 . to a plague sore , 1 Kings 8.38 . Ioshua's filthy Garments , in which he stood before the Angel , Zach. 3.3 . were nothing but a Type and Hieroglyphick of Sin . Sin hath blotted God's Image , and stained the orient brightness of the Soul . Sin makes God loath a sinner , Zach. 11.8 . and when a sinner sees his sin , he loaths himself , Ezek. 20.42 . Sin drops poison on our holy things , it infects our Prayers . The High Priest was to make Atonement for sin on the Altar , Exod. 29.36 . to typifie that our holiest Services need Christ to make Atonement for them . Duties of Religion in themselves are good , but sin corrupts them , as the purest Water is polluted , running through muddy ground . The Leper under the Law , if he had touched the Altar , the Altar had not cleansed him , but he had defiled the Altar . The Apostle calls Sin 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , filthiness of flesh and spirit , 2 Cor. 7.1 . Sin stamps the Devil's Image on a Man . Malice is the Devil's Eye , Hypocrisy his Cloven-foot It turns a Man into a Devil , Iohn 6.20 . Have not I chosen twelve , and one of you is a Devil .

2. Sin is a grieving of God's Spirit , Eph. 4.30 . Grieve not the holy Spirit of God . To grieve is more than to anger .

Quest. How can the Spirit be said to be grieved ? for seeing he is God , he cannot be subject to any passion .

Resp. This is spoken Metaphorically ; Sin is said to grieve the Spirit , because it is an injury offered to the Spirit , and he takes it unkindly , and as it were lays it to heart . And is it not much thus to grieve the Spirit ? The Holy Ghost descended in the likeness of a Dove ; Sin makes this blessed Dove mourn . Were it only an Angel , we should not grieve him , but much less the Spirit of God . Is it not sad to grieve our Comforter ?

3. Sin is an act of Contumacy against God ; a walking Antipodes to Heaven , Lev. 26.27 . If ye will walk contrary to me . A sinner tramples upon God's Law , crosseth his Will , doth all he can to affront , yea to spight God . The Hebrew word for sin Pashang , signifies Rebellion ; there is the heart of a Rebel in every sin ; Ier. 44.16 . We will do whatsoever proceedeth out of our mouth , to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven . Sin strikes at the very Deity ; Peccatum est Dei-cidium , Sin would not only unthrone God , but un-God him . If the sinner could help it , God should no longer be God .

4. Sin is an act of disingenuity and unkindness ; God feeds the sinner , keeps off evils from him , be miracles him with Mercy , but the sinner not only forgets God's Mercies , but abuseth them : he is the worse for Mercy ; like Absolom , who as soon as David had kissed him , and took him into favour , plotted Treason against him , 2 Sam. 15.10 . Like the Mule , who kicks the Damn after she hath given it Milk . Vas pertusum , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , 2 Sam. 16.17 . is this thy kindness to thy Friend ? God may upbraid the sinner : I have given thee ( may God say ) thy Health , Strength , and Estate , thou requirest me evil for good , thou woundest me with my own Mercies ; Is this thy kindness to thy Friend ? did I give thee life to sin ? did I give thee wages to serve the Devil ?

5. Sin is a Disease , Isa. 1.5 . The whole head is sick . Some are sick of Pride , others of Lust , others of Envy . Sin hath distempered the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the intellectual part , 't is a leprosy in the Head , it hath poison'd the Vitals , Tit. 2.16 . Their Conscience is defiled . 'T is with a sinner as with a sick Patient , his Pallat is distempered , the sweetest things taste bitter to him . The Word , which is sweeter then the Hony-comb , tasts bitter to him , Isa. 5.20 . they put sweet for bitter . Thus , a Disease , and nothing can cure this Disease but the Blood of the Physitian .

6. Sin is an irrational thing ; it makes a Man act not only wickedly , but foolishly . It is absurd and irrational to prefer the lesser before the greater , the Pleasures of Life , before the Rivers of Pleasures at God's right hand for evermore ? Is it not irrational to lose Heaven for the satisfying or indulging the Lust ? as Lysimachus , who for a draught of Water lost a Kingdom . Is it not irrational to gratifie an Enemy ? in sin we do so . When Lust , or rash Anger burn in the Soul , Satan warms himself at this fire . Mortalium errores epulae sunt daemonum , Mens sins feast the Devil .

7. Sin is a painful thing ; it costs Men much labour in pursuing their sins . How do Men tyre themselves in doing the Devil's drudgery , Ier. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit iniquity . Peccatum est sui ipsius poena . What pains did Iudas take to bring about his Treason ? He goes to the High-Priest , and then after to the Band of Soldiers , and then back again to the Garden . St. Chrysostom saith , Vertue is easier than Vice . 'T is more pains to some to follow their sins , than to others to worship their God . While the sinner travails with his sin , in sorrow he brings forth ; it is called serving divers Lusts , Tit. 3.3 . not enjoy , but serve : why so , because not only of the slavery in sin , but the hard labour ; it is serving divers Lusts. Many a Man goes to Hell in the sweat of his brows .

8. Sin is the only thing God hath an antipathy against : God doth not hate a Man because he is poor , or despised in the World ; you do not hate your Friend because he is sick ; but that which draws forth the keens of God's hatred , is sin , Ier. 44.4 . O do not this abominable thing which I hate . And sure , if the sinner dies under God's hatred , he cannot be admitted into the Celestial Mansions ; will God let him live with him whom he hates ; God will never lay a Viper in his bosom ; the Feathers of the Eagle will not mix with the Feathers of other ●owls . God will not mix and incorporate with a sinner . Till sin be removed , there is no coming where God is .

III. See the evil of Sin in the Price paid for it ; it cost the Blood of God to expiate it . O Man ( saith St. Austin ) consider the greatness of thy sin by the greatness of the price paid for sin . All the Princes on Earth , or Angels in Heaven , could not satisfie for sin , only Christ . Nay , Christ's active Obedience was not enough to make atonement for sin , but he must suffer upon the Cross ; for without blood is no remission , Hebr. 9.22 . O what an accursed thing is sin , that Christ should die for it ! The evil of sin is not so much seen in that one thousand are damned for it , as that Christ died for it .

IV. Sin is evil in the Effects of it .

1. Sin hath degraded us of our Honour . Reuben by Incest lost his Dignity , and though he were the first-born , he could not excel , Gen. 49.4 . God made us in his own Image , a little lower than the Angels , but sin hath debased us . Before Adam sinned he was like an Herauld that hath his Coat of Arms upon him , all reverence him because he carries the King's Coat of Arms ; but let this Coat be pull'd off , and he is despised , no Man regards him . Sin hath done this , it hath pluck'd off our Coat of Innocency , and now it hath debased us , and turned our glory into shame , Dan. 11.21 . And there shall stand up a vile person . This was spoken of Antiochus Epiphanes , who was a King , and his name signifies illustrious , yet sin had degraded him , he was a vile person .

2. Sin disquiets the Peace of the Soul : whatever defiles , disturbs ; as Poison tortures the Bowels , corrupts the Blood , so doth Sin the Soul . Isa. 57.21 . Sin breeds a trembling at the heart ; it creates fears , and there is torment in fear , 1 Iohn 4.18 . Sin makes sad Convulsions in the Conscience . Iudas was so terrified with guilt and horrour , that he hangs himself to quiet his Conscience . And is not he like to to be well cured , that throws himself into Hell for ease ?

3. Sin produceth all Temporal Evil. Lam. 1.8 . Ierusalem hath grievously sinned , ergo she is removed . It is the Trogan Horse , it hath Sword , and Famine , and Pestilence in the Belly of it . Sin is a Coal , that not only blacks but burns . Sin creates all our Troubles ; it puts Gravel into our Bread , Wormword in our Cup. Sin rots the Name , consumes the Estate , buries Relations . Sin shoots the flying Roll of God's Curses into a Family and Kingdom , Zach. 5.4 . It is reported of Phocas , having built a Wall of mighty strength about his City , there was a voice heard , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Sin is within the City , and that will throw down the Wall .

4. Sin unrepented of brings final damnation . The canker that breeds in the Rose is the cause of its perishing ; and corruptions that breed in Mens Souls , are the cause of their damning . Sin without Repentance brings the second death , Rev. 20.14 . that is , mors sine morte , Bern. a death always dying . Sins pleasure will turn to sorrow at last ; like the Book the Prophet did eat , Ezek. 3.3 . sweet in the mouth , but bitter in the belly . Sin brings the wrath of God , and what Buckets or Engines can quench that Fire ? Mark 9.44 . Where the worm never dies , and the fire is not quenched .

Use 1. See how deadly an evil sin is ; how strange is it that any one should love it , Psal. 4.3 . How long will ye love vanity ? Hos. 3.1 . Who look to other Gods , and love Flagons and Wine . Sin is a Dish Men cannot forbear , though it make them sick ; who would pour Rose-water into a Kennel ? what pity is it so sweet an affection as Love should be poured upon so filthy a thing as sin . Sin brings a sting in the Conscience , a curse in the Estate , yet Men love it . A sinner is the greatest Self-denier for his sin , he will deny himself a part in Heaven .

Use 2. Do any thing rather then sin . O hate sin ! there is more evil in the least sin , then in the greatest bodily Evils that can befall us . The Ermyn rather chooseth to die , then defileth her beautiful skin . There is more evil in a drop of sin , then in a Sea of Affliction : Affliction is but like a rent in a Coat , Sin a prick at the Heart . In Affliction there is aliquid boni , some good . In this Lion there is some Hony to be found ; Psal. 119.71 . It is good for me that I was afflicted . Utile est animae si in hac area mundi flagellis trituretur corpus , Aug. Affliction is God's Flail to thrash off our Husks ; not to consume , but refine . There is no good in sin ; it is the spirit and quintissence of Evil. Sin is worse then Hell ; for the pains of Hell only are a burden to the Creature , but sin is a burden to God , Amos 2.13 . I am pressed under your iniquities , as a Cart is pressed under the sheaves .

Use ult . Is Sin so great an Evil , then how thankful should you be to God , if he hath taken away your sin ; Zach. 3.3 . I have caused thy iniquity to pass from thee . If you had a Disease on your Body , Plague or Dropsie , how thankful would you be to have it taken away , much more to have sin taken away . God takes away the guilt of sin by pardoning grace , and the power of sin by mortifying grace . O be thankful that this sickness is not unto death . That God hath changed your Nature , and by grafting you into Christ , made you partake of the sweetness of that Olive ; that sin , though it live , doth not reign , but the elder serves the younger , the elder of sin serves the younger of grace .

ADAM's SIN .

Quest. XI . WHat was the Sin whereby our first Parents fell from the Estate wherein they were created ?

Resp. The Sin was their eating of the forbidden Fruit , Gen. 3.6 . — She took of the fruit thereof and did eat , and gave also to her husband .

Here is implied , 1. That our first Parents fell from their State of Innocency . 2. The Sin by which they fell , Eating the forbidden Fruit.

1. Our first Parents fell from their glorious State of Innocency , Eccles. 7.29 . God made man upright , but they have sought out many inventions . Adam was perfectly Holy , he had Rectitude of Mind , and Liberty of Will to good , but his head aked till he had invented his own and our Death , he sought out many Inventions , 1. Adam's Fall was voluntary ; he had à Posse non Peccare , a Power not to Fall . Free-will was a sufficient Shield to repel Temptation : the Devil could not have forced him , unless he had given his Consent ; Satan was only a Suitor to woe , not a King to compel , but Adam gave away his own Power , and suffer'd himself to be decoy'd into Sin . Like a young Gallant who at one throw looseth a fair Lordship . Adam had a fair Lordship , he was Lord of the World , Gen. 1.28 . Have dominion over the fish of the sea , and over the fowl of the air , and over every living thing that moveth . But he lost all at one throw . As soon as he had sinned he forfeited Paradise . 2. Adam's Fall was sudden ; he did not long continue in his Royal Majesty .

Quest. How long did Adam continue in Paradise before he fell ?

Resp. Tostatus saith he fell the next day . Pererius saith he fell the eighth day after his Creation . But the most probable and received Opinion is , That Adam fell the very same day in which he was created . So Irenaeus , Cyril , Epiphanius , and many others . The Reasons which incline me to believe so are ,

1. It is said , Satan was a murderer , ab initio , from the beginning , Joh. 8.44 . Now whom did he murder ? Not the blessed Angel , he could not reach them ; nor the cursed Angels , for they had before destroyed themselves . How then was Satan a Murderer from the beginning ? As soon as Satan fell , he began to tempt Mankind to Sin , this was a Murdering Temptation . By which it appears Adam did not stay long in Paradise : soon after his Creation the Devil set upon him , and murdered him by his Temptation .

2 Argument to prove that Adam fell the same day he was created : Adam had not yet eaten of the Tree of Life , Ver. 22 , 23. And now least he put forth his hand , and take also of the tree of life , and eat ; the Lord sent him forth of the garden . This Tree of Life being one of the choicest Fruits in the Garden , and being placed in the midst of Paradise , it is very like Adam would have eaten of this Tree of Life one of the first , had not the Serpent beguiled him with the Tree of Knowledge . So that hence I conclude ▪ Adam fell the very day of his Creation , because he had not yet tasted the Tree of Life , that Tree that was most in his Eye , and had such delicious Fruit growing upon it .

3 Argument from Psal. 49.12 . Man being in honour , abideth not . The Rabbins read it thus , Adam being in Honour , lodged not one night . The Hebrew word for abide , bal-jalin , signifies to stay or lodge all night . Adam then it seems did not take up one night's lodging in Paradise .

1 Inference , From Adam's sudden Fall , he fell the same day in which he was created , Learn , 1. The Weakness of Humane Nature ; Adam in a State of Integrity quickly made a Defection from God , He soon lost the Robe of Innocence , and the Glory of Paradise . And was our Nature thus weak when it was at the best ? what is it now when it is at the worst ? If Adam did not stand when he was perfectly righteous , how unable are we to stand when Sin hath cut the Lock of our Original Righteousness ? If purified Nature did not stand , how then shall corrupt Nature ? If Adam in a few hours sinn'd himself out of Paradise , O how quickly should we sin ourselves into Hell , if we were not kept by a greater Power then our own ? but God puts underneath his Everlasting Arms , Deut. 32.27 .

2. From Adam's sudden Fall , he fell the same day , Learn how sad it is for a Man to be left to himself , 1. Adam being left to himself fell : O then what will become of us , how soon fall , if God leave us to ourselves ? A Man left to himself will choose his own Death : he will be a Prey to every Temptation . A Man without God's Grace , left to himself , is like a Ship in a Storm without Pilot or Anchor , and is ready to dash upon every Rock . Make this Prayer to God , Lord do not leave me to myself : If Adam fell so soon who had strength , how soon shall I fall who have no strength ? O urge God with his Hand and Seal , 2 Cor. 12.9 . My strength shall be made perfect in weakness .

2. The Sin by which our first Parents fell was , Eating the forbidden Fruit ; Where consider two things : 1. The Occasion of it . 2. The Sin itself .

I. The Occasion of it : The Serpent's Temptation ; the Devil did creep into the Serpent , and speak in the Serpent , as the Angel in Balaam's Ass ; where consider , 1. The Subtilty of Satan's Temptation ; his Wiles are worse then his Darts . Satan's Subtilty in Tempting , 1. He dealt all along as an Impostor , he usher'd in his Tentation by a Lye : He heaps up many Lyes , 1. That though our first Parents did eat of that Tree , they should not die , Gen. 3.4 . Ye shall not surely die . 2. Lye , that God did envy our first Parents their Happiness , Verse 5. God knows that in the day ye eat , your eyes shall be opened ; q. d. 'T is God's envying your Felicity that he forbids you this Tree . 3. Lye , that they should be thereby made like unto God , Verse 5. Ye shall be as gods . Here was his Subtilty in Tempting ; the Devil was first a Lyar then a Murderer .

2. In that he set upon our first Parents so quickly , before they were confirmed in their Obedience . The Angels in Heaven are fully confirm'd in Holiness ; they are called Stars of the Morning , Iob 38.7 . and they are fixed Stars . But our first Parents were not confirm'd in their Obedience , they were not fixed in their Orb of Holiness ; Though they had a possibility of standing , they had not an impossibility of falling ; they were Holy but Mutable ; here was Satan's Subtilty in tempting our first Parents before they were confirm'd in their Obedience .

3. His Subtilty in tempting was , that he sets upon Eve first , 1. Because he thought she was less able to resist . Satan did break over the Hedge where it was weakest : he knew he could more easily insinuate and wind himself into her by a Temptation . An expert Soulder when he is to Storm or enter a Castle , observes warily where there is a Breach , or how he may enter with more Facility : so did Satan the weaker Vessel . 2. He tempted Eve first , because he knew if once he could prevail with her , she would easily draw her Husband . Thus the Devil handed over a Temptation to Iob by his Wife , Job 2.9 . Curse God and die . Agrippina poison'd the Emperour Commodus with Wine in a perfum'd Cup ; the Cup being perfumed and given him by his Wife , it was the less suspected . Satan knew a Temptation coming to Adam from his Wife , would be more prevailing , and would be less suspected : O bitter ! sometimes Relations prove Temptations : A Wife may be a Snare , when she disswades her Husband from doing his Duty , or enticeth him to Evil : Ahab sold himself to work wickedness , whom his wife Iezebel stired up , 1 Kin. 21.25 . She blew the Coals and made his Sin flame out the more . Satan's Subtilty was in tempting Adam by his Wife , he thought she would draw him to sin .

4. Satan's Subtilty in tempting was in his assaulting Eve's Faith ; he would perswade her that God had not spoken truth , Ye shall not surely die , Gen. 3.4 . This was Satan's Master-piece , to weaken her Faith , when he had shaken that , and wrought her once to Distrust , then victa fuit , she presently put forth her hand to Evil.

2. Satan's Cruelty in Tempting : As soon as Adam was invested in all his Glory , the Devil cruelly , as it were on the Day of Adam's Coronation , would Dethrone him , and bring both him and all his Posterity under a Curse : We see how little love Satan hath to Mankind ; he hath an implacable Antipathy against us , and Antipathies can never be reconciled . So much for the Occasion of Adam's Sin , tempted by the Serpent .

II. The Sin itself , Eating the forbidden Fruit : This was very heinous , and that appears three ways : 1. In respect of the Person that committed it . 2. The Aggravation of the Sin . 3. The Dreadfulness of the Effect .

1. Very Heinous in respect of the Person that committed it : Adam had Excellent and Noble Endowments ; he was illuminated with Knowledge , embellished with Holiness , he knew his Duty , and it was as easie to him to obey God's Command as to know it ; he might have chosen whether he would sin or no , yet he wilfully did eat of the Tree which was forbidden .

2. The Aggravation of Adam's Sin .

Quest. Wherein did it appear to be so great ? 'T was but raptus Pomi ; Was this such a great matter to pluck an Apple ?

Resp. Besides that , 't was against an infinite God , it was Malum complexum , a voluminous Sin , there were many Sins twisted together in it : As Cicero saith of Parricide , He who is guilty of it , Plurima committit peccata in uno , he commits many Sins in one . So there were many Sins in this one Sin of Adam . A big-bellied Sin , a Chain with many Links , ten Sins in it , 1. Incredulity ; our first Parents did not believe what God had spoken was truth . God said , They should die the death in the day they eat of that tree . They believed not that they should die ; they could no● be perswaded that such fair Fruit had Death at the Core . Thus by Unbelief they made God a Lyer ; nay , which was worse , they believed the Devil rather then God .

2. Unthankfulness , which is the Epitome of all Sin . Adam's Sin was committed in the midst of Paradise : God had enrich'd him with Variety of Mercies ; he had stamp'd his own Image upon him ; he had made him Lord of the World , gave him of all the Trees of the Garden to eat ( one only excepted ) and now to take of that Tree ! This was high Ingratitude ; this was like the Dye to the Wool , which made it Crimson . When Adam's Eyes were open'd , and he saw what he had done , well might he be asham'd , and hide himself , to sin in the midst of Paradise : How could he look God in the Face without Blushing ?

3. In Adam's Sin was Discontent : Had not he been discontented , he would never have sought to have alter'd his Condition . Adam one would think had enough , he differed but little from the Angels , he had the Robe of Innocence to cloath him , and the Glory of Paradise to crown him : yet he was not content , he would have more ; he would be above the ordinary Rank of Creatures . How wide was Adam's Heart , that a whole World could not fill it .

4. Pride , in that he would be like God : This Worm that was but newly crept out of the Dust , now aspires after a Deity ; Ye shall be as gods , ( saith Satan . ) And Adam hoped to have been so indeed : he suppos'd the Tree of Knowledge would have anointed his Eyes and made him Omniscient . But by climbing too high he got a Fall .

5. Disobedience : God said , Thou shalt not eat of the Tree ; he would eat of it tho' it cost him his Life . Disobedience is a Sin against Equity ; it is equal we should serve him from whom we have our Subsistance . God gave Adam his Allowance , therefore it was but equal he should give God his Allegiance : therefore Disobedience was against Equity . How could God endure to see his Laws trampled on before his Face ? This made God place a flaming Sword at the end of the Garden .

6. Curiosity , to meddle with that which was out of his Sphere , and did not belong to him . God smote the Men of Bethshemesh but for looking into the Ark , 1 Sam. 6.19 . Adam would be prying into God's Secrets , and tasting what was forbidden .

7. Wantonness : Though Adam had choice of all the other Trees , yet his Palate grew wanton , and he must have this Tree . Like Israel , God sent them Manna , Angels Food , aye , but they had an hankering after Quails ; it was not enough God did supply their Wants , unless he would satisfie their Lusts. Adam had not only for Necessity , but for Delight , yet his wanton Palate lusted after forbidden Fruit.

8. Sacriledge : The Tree of Knowledge was none of Adam's , yet he took of it , and did sacrilegiously rob God of his Due . It was counted a great Crime in Harpalus to rob the Temple , and steal the Silver Vessels . So in Adam to steal Fruit from that Tree which God had peculiarly enclosed for himself . Sacriledge is double Theft .

9. Murder . Adam was a publick Person , and all his Posterity were involved and wrapped up in him , and he sinning , did at one destroy all his Posterity , if Free-grace did not interpose . If Abel's Blood did cry so loud in God's Ears , Gen. 4.10 . The voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground ; then how loud did the Blood of all Adam's Posterity cry against him for Vengeance .

10. Presumption . Adam presumed of God's Mercy ; he blessed himself , saying , he should have Peace ; he thought though he did transgress , he should not die ; God would sooner reverse his Decree then punish him ; high Presumption ! What an heinous sin then was Adam's breach of Covenant ?

Use. One sin may have many sins in it . We are apt to have slight thoughts of sin , it is but a little one ; How many sins were in Adam's sin ? O take heed of any sin ! As in one Volume there may be many Works bound up , so there may be many sins in one sin .

3. The dreadfulness of the Effect . It hath corrupted Man's Nature . How rank is that Poison , a drop whereof should poison a whole Sea ? And how deadly is that sin of Adam , that should poison all Mankind , and bring a Curse upon them , till it be taken away by him , who was made a Curse for us .

Original SIN .

Quest. XII . DID all Mankind fall in Adam's Transgression ?

Answ. The Covenant being made with Adam , not only for himself , but for his Posterity , all Mankind descending from him by ordinary Generation , sinned in him , and fell within his first Transgression .

Rom. 5.12 . By one man sin entred into the world , and death by sin , &c.

Adam being a Representative Person , he standing , we stood , and he falling , we fell : we sinn'd in Adam ; so it is in the Text , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in whom all have sinned .

Adam was the Head of Mankind , and he being guilty , we are guilty , as the Children of a Traytor have their Blood stained : Omnes unus ille Adam fuerunt , Aug. All of us , saith Austin , sinn'd in Adam , because we were part of Adam .

Object . If when Adam fell , all Mankind fell with him , why then when one Angel fell , did not all Fall ?

Resp. The Case is not the same . The Angels had no relation to one another ; they are called Morning Stars ; the Stars have no dependance one upon another . But it is otherwise with us , we are in Adam's loins ; as a Child is a Branch of the Parent , we were part of Adam , therefore he sinning , we sinned .

Quest. How is Adam's sin made ours ?

Resp. 1. By Imputation . The Pelagians of old held that Adam's Transgression is hurtful to Posterity by Imitation only , not by Imputation . But the Text confutes that , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ▪ in whom all have sinned .

2. Adam's sin is ours by Propagation . Not only is the guilt of Adam's sin imputed to us , but the pravity and corruption of his Nature is derived to us , as Poison is carried from the Fountain to the Cistern . This is that which we call Original Sin ; Psal. 51.5 . Adam's Leprosy cleaves to us , as Naaman's Leprosy did cleave to Gehazi , 2 Kings 5.27 . This Original Concupiscence is called ,

1. The Old Man , Eph. 4.22 . It is said to be the Old man , not that it is weak , as Old men are , but for its long standing , and because of its deformity . In old age the fair blossoms of Beuty fall ; so Original sin is the Old man , because it hath withered our Beauty , and made us deformed in God's Eye .

2. Original Concupiscence is called the Law of sin , Rom. 7.25 . Original sin hath vim coactivam , the power of a Law . A Law binds the Subject to Allegiance . Men must needs do what sin will have them , when they have both the love of sin to draw them , and the law of sin to force them . In Original sin there is something privative , and something positive .

1. Something privative . Carentia justitiae debitae , we have lost that excellent quintissential frame of Soul which once we had . Sin hath cut the lock of original purity where our strength lay .

2. Something positive . Original sin hath contaminated and defiled our Virgin-nature 'T was Death among the Romans to poison the Springs . Original sin hath poisoned the Spring of our Nature ; it hath turned Beauty into Leprosy ; it hath turned the azure brightness of our Souls into a midnight darkness .

Original sin is become connatural to us . A Man by Nature cannot but sin ; though there were no Devil to tempt , no bad Examples to imitate , yet there is such an innate principle in him , that he cannot forbear sinning , 2 Pet. 2.14 . A peccato cessare nesciunt , who cannot cease to sin , as an Horse that is lame cannot go without halting . — In Original sin is ,

1. An aversion from Good : Man hath a desire to be happy , yet opposeth that which should promote his happiness ; he hath a disgust of holiness , he hates to be reformed . Since we fell from God , we have no mind to return to him .

2. A propension to Evil. If as the Pelagians say , there were so much goodness in us since the Fall , then why is there not as much natural proneness to Good , as there is to Evil. Our own experience tells us , that the natural biass of the Soul hath a tendency to that which is bad . The very Heathens by the Light of Nature saw this ; Heriocles the Philosopher said , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , 't is grafted in us by Nature to sin : Men roll sin as hony under their Tongue . — They drink iniquity as water , Job 15.16 . Like an hydropical person , that thirsts for drink and is not satisfied , so they have a kind of drought on them , they thirst for sin . They sin 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Eph. 4.19 . Though they are tired out in committing sin , yet they sin ; Ier. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit iniquity ; as a Man that follows his game while he is weary , yet he delights in it , and cannot leave off . Though God hath set so many flaming Swords in the way to stop Men in their sin , yet they go on in sin , which all shews what a strong Appetite they have to the forbidden Fruit.

That we may further see the Nature of Original sin , consider 1. The Universality of it ; it hath , as a Poison , diffused it self into all the parts and powers of our Soul , Isa. 1.5 . The whole Head is sick , the whole heart is faint . Like a sick Patient that hath no part sound , his Liver swell'd , his Lungs perish'd , his Feet gangren'd ; such infected gangren'd Souls have we , till Christ ( who hath made a Medicine of his Blood ) do Cure us ,

1. Original sin hath depraved the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the intellectual part ; as in the Creation Darkness was upon the face of the deep , Gen. 1.2 . so the Understanding ; darkness is upon the face of this Deep . As there is Salt in every drop of the Sea , bitterness in every branch of Wormwood , so there is Sin in every Faculty ; the Mind is obnubilated , we know little of God . Ever since Adam did eat of the Tree of Knowledge , and his Eyes were opened , we lost our Eyesight . Besides Ignorance in the Mind , there is Errour and Mistake , we do not judge rightly of things , we put bitter for sweet , and sweet for bitter , Isa. 5.20 . Besides this , there is much pride , superciliousness , and prejudice , many fleshly reasonings against the Truth , and swarms of vain Thoughts , Ier. 4.14 . How long shall vain thoughts lodge in thee .

2. Original sin hath defiled the heart : the heart is mortiferum junius , deadly wicked , Ier. 17.9 . It is a lesser Hell : in the heart are Legions of Lusts , obdurateness , infidelity , hypocrisy , sinful aestuations , it boils as the Sea with Passion and Revenge . Madness is in their heart while they live , Eccles. 9.3 . the heart is Officina Diaboli , the Devil's Shop or Work-house , where all Mischief is framed .

3. The Will. Contumacy , it is the Seat of Rebellion : the sinner crosseth God's will to fulfil his own , Ier. 44.17 . We will burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven . There is a rooted enmity in the will against Holiness ; it is like an Iron sinew , it refuseth to bend to God . Where is then the freedom of the will ? when it is so full , not only of indisposition , but opposition to what is Spiritual .

4. The Affections . These , as the strings of a Viol , are out of tune . These are the lesser Wheels , which are strongly carried by the will , the Master-wheel . Our Affections are misplaced , set on wrong Objects : our Love is set on Sin , our Joy on the Creature . Our Affections are naturally as a sick man's Appetite , he desires things which are noxious and hurtful for him ; he calls for Wine in a Fever ; so we have impure Lustings instead of holy Longings .

2. The adherency of Original sin . It cleaves to us as blackness to the skin of the Ethiopian , we cannot get rid of it . Paul shook off the Viper on his hand , but we cannot shake off this inbred Corruption : it may be compared to a wild Fig-tree growing on a Wall , though the Roots of it are pull'd up , yet there are some strings of it in the joints of the Stone-work , which will not be eradicated , but will sprout forth till the Wall be pull'd in pieces . Original Concupiscence comes not as a Lodger , for a Night , but is an in-dweller , Rom. 7.17 . Sin which dwelleth in me . It is a malus genius , and evil spirit that haunts us wheresoever we go , Iosh. 7.12 . The Canaanite would dwell in the Land .

3. Original sin retards and hinders us in the exercises of God's Worship . Whence is all that dulness and deadness in Religion ? it is the Fruit of Original sin : it is this rocks us asleep in Duty , Rom. 7.19 . The good that I would I do not . Sin is compared to a weight , Hebr. 12.1 . A Man that hath weights tied to his Legs , cannot run so fast : it is like that Fish Pliny speaks of , a Sea-Lamprey , that cleaves to the Keel of the Ship , and hinders its progress when it us under Sail.

4. Original sin , though it lies latent in the Soul , and be as a Spring which runs under ground , yet oft it breaks forth unexpectedly . Christian , thou canst not believe that evil which is in thy heart , and which will break forth suddenly if God leave thee ; 2 Kings 8.13 , 15. Is thy servant a dog , that he should do this great thing ? Hazael could not believe he had such a root of bitterness in his heart , that he should rip up the Women with Child , Is thy servant a dog ? yes , and worse then a dog , when that Original Corruption within was stirred up . If one had come to Peter , and said , Peter within a few hours thou wilt deny Christ ; he would have said , Is thy servant a dog ? But alas Peter did not know his own heart , nor how far that Corruption within would prevail upon them . The Sea may be calm , and look clear , but when the Wind blows , how doth it rage and fome ? so , though now thy heart seems good , yet when a Temptation blows , how may Original Sin discover it self , making thee fome with Lust and Passion . Who would have thought to have found Adultery in David , and Drunkenness in Noah , and Cursing in Iob ? If God leave a Man to himself , how suddenly and scandalously may Original sin break forth in the holiest Men alive .

5. Original sin doth mix and incorporate it self with our Duties and Graces .

( 1. ) With out Duties ; as the hand which is paralitical or palsy , cannot move without shaking , as wanting some inward strength , so we cannot do any holy action without sinning , as wanting a Principle of Original Righteousness . As the Leper , whatever he touched became unclen ; if he touched the Altar , the Altar did not sanctifie him , but he polluted the Altar : such a Leprosy is Original sin , it defiles our Prayers and Tears ; we cannot write without blotting . Though I do not say that the holy Duties and good Works of the Regenerate are sins , for that were to reproach the Spirit of Christ , by which they are wrought ; yet this I say , that the best works of the godly have sin cleaving to them ; only Christ's Blood makes atonement for our holy things .

( 2. ) With our Graces . There is some Unbelief mixed with Faith , Lukewarmness with Zeal , Pride with Humility . As bad Lungs cause an Astmah , or shortness of breath , so Original Corruption having infected our heart , our Greaces breath now very faintly .

6. Original sin is a vigorous active Principle within us ; it doth not lye still , but is ever exciting and stirring us up to evil ; it is an Inmate , very unquiet ; Rom. 7.15 . What I hate , that do I. How came Paul to do so ? Original sin did irritate and stir him up to it . Original sin is like Quicksilver , always in motion ; when we are asleep , sin is awake in the Fancy . Original sin sets the Head a plotting evil , and the Hands a working it ; it hath in it principium motus , not quiet is , it is like the Pulse ever beating .

7. Original sin is the cause of all Actual ; it is fomes peccati , it is the Womb in which all actual sins are conceived . Hence come Murders , Adulteries , Rapines ; it is the Trojan Horse , out of which a whole Army of Impieties come . Though Actual sins may be more scandalous , yet Original sin is more heinous ; the Cause is more then the Effect .

8. It is not perfectly cured in this Life . Grace , though it doth subdue sin , yet not wholly remove it . Though we are like Christ , having the first fruits of the Spirit , yet we are unlike him , having the remainders of the Flesh. There are two Nations in the Womb. Original sin is like that Tree , Dan. 4.23 . though the Branches of it were hewen down , and the main body of it , yet the stumps and root of the Tree were left : Though the Spirit be still weakning and hewing down sin in the godly , yet the stump of Original sin is still left : it is a Sea , that will not in this Life be dried up .

Quest. But why doth God leave Original Corruption in us after Regeneration , he could quite free us from it if he pleased ?

Resp. 1. He doth it to shew the power of his Grace in the weakest Believer . Grace shall prevail against a Torrent of Corruption . Whence is this ? the Corrupion is ours , but the Grace is Gods .

2. God leaves Original Corruption to make us long after Heaven ; when there shall be no Sin to defile , no Devil to tempt . When Elias was taken up to Heaven , his Mantle dropped off ; so when the Angels shall carry us up to Heaven , this Mantle of sin shall drop off : we shall never complain more of an aking head , or an unbelieving heart .

Use 1. If Original sin be propagated to us , and will be inherent in us while we live here , then it Confutes the Libertines and Quakers , who say they are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , without sin ; they hold Perfection ; they shew much Pride and Ignorance , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 : but we see the Seeds of Original sin remain in the best ; Eccles. 7.20 . There is not a just man lives , and sins not . And St. Paul complained of a body of death , Rom. 7.24 . Grace though it doth purifie Nature , it doth not perfect it .

Object . But doth not the Apostle say of Believers , that their old man is crucified , Rom. 6.6 . and they are dead to sin , Rom. 7.11 .

Resp. They are dead 1. Spiritually ; they are dead as to the Reatus , the guilt of it , and as to the Regnum , the power of it ; the love of sin is crucified .

2. They are dead to sin Legally ; as a Man that is Sentenced to Death is dead in Law , so they are legally dead to Sin ; there is a Sentence of Death gone out against sin , it shall die and drop into the Crave ; but at the present sin hath its Life lengthened out ; nothing but Death of the Body can quite free us from the Body of Death .

Use 2. Let us lay to heart Original sin , and be deeply humbled for it ; it cleaves to us as a Disease , it is an active Principle in us , stirring us up to Evil. Original sin is worse then all Actual sin ; the Fountain is more then the Stream . Some think as long as they are civil , they are well enough ; I , but thy Nature is poisoned , thou hast a proud , lustful , envious Nature ; a River may have fair Streams , but Vermin at bottom . Thou carriest an Hell about thee , thou canst do nothing , but thou defilest it ; thy Heart , like muddy ground , defiles the purest Water that runs thorow it . Nay , though thou art Regenerate , there is much of the Old Man in the New Man . O how should Original sin humble us ! This is one reason God hath left Original sin in us , because he would have it as a Thorn in our side to humble us ; as the Bishop of Alexandria , after the People had embraced Cristianity , destroyed all their Idols but one , that the sight of that Idol might make them loath themselves for their former Idolatry ; So God leaves Original sin to pull down the Plumes of Pride . Under our silver Wings of Grace are black feet .

2. Let the sence of this make us daily look up to Heaven for help ; beg Christ's Blood to wash away the guilt of sin , and his Spirit to mortifie the power of it ; beg further degrees of Grace ; Gratiam Christi eò obnixiùs ambiamus , though Grace cannot make sin to be , yet not to reign ; though Grace cannot expel sin , it can repel it : and for our Comfort , where Grace makes a Combat with sin , Death shall make a Conquest .

3. Let Original sin make us walk with continual Iealousie and Watchfulness over our Hearts . The Sin of our Nature is like a sleeping Lion , the least thing that awakens it makes it rage . The Sin of our Nature , though it seem quiet , and lies as Fire hid under the Embers , yet if it be a little stirr'd and blown up by a Temptation , how quickly may it flame forth into scandalous Evils ; therefore we had need always walk watchfully , Mark 13.37 . I say to you all , watch . A wandring heart needs a watchful Eye .

MAN's Misery by the FALL .

Quest. XIII . WHat is the Misery of that Estate whereinto Man fell ?

Resp. All Mankind by their Fall lost Communion with God , are under his Wrath and Curse , and so made liable to all Miseries in this Life , to Death itself , and to the Pains of Hell for ever .

Ephes. 2.3 . And were by nature the children of wrath . Adam left an unhappy Portion to his Posterity , Sin and Misery . We have already considered the first of these , Original Sin , now the Misery of that Estate ; in the first we have seen Mankind Offending , in the second we shall see him Suffering . The Misery ensuing Original Sin , is twofold :

I. Privative : By this first Hereditary Sin we have lost Communion with God . Adam was God's Familiar , his Favourite , but Sin hath put us all out of Favour : When we lost God's Image , we lost his Acquaintance . God's banishing Adam out of Paradise , Hierogliphical , it shewed how Sin hath banish'd us out of God's Love and Favour .

II. Positive : In four things , 1. Under the Power of Satan . 2. Heirs of God's Wrath. 3. Subject to all Miseries in this Life . 4. Obnoxious to Hell and Damnation .

1. The first Misery is , By Nature we are under the Power of Satan , ] who is called , The Prince of the Power of the Air , Eph. 2.2 . Before the Fall Man was a free Denison , now a Slave ; before a King on the Throne , now in Fetters . And who is Man inslaved too ? To one that is an Hater of him . This was an Aggravation of Israel's Servitude , Psal. 106.41 . They that hated them ruled over them . By Sin we are enslaved to Satan , who is an Hater of Mankind , and writes all his Laws in Bloud . Sinners before Conversion are under Satan's Command , as the Ass at the command of the Driver , he doth all the Devil's Drudgery . No sooner Satan tempts but he obeys ; as the Ship is at the command of the Pilot , he steers it which way he will ; so is the Sinner at the command of Satan , he may steer him which way he will ; and he never steers the Ship but into Hell's Mouth . The Devil rules all the Powers and Faculties of a Sinner :

1. He rules the Understanding : He blinds Men with Ignorance , and then rules them . As the Philistines first put out Sampson's Eyes , and then bound him . Satan can do what he will with an ignorant Man : he doth not see the Errour of his way , therefore the Devil can lead him into any Sin ; you may lead a blind Man any whither : Omne peccatum fundatur in ignorantia .

2. Satan rules the Will : Though he cannot force the Will , yet he can by a Tentation draw it , Joh. 8.44 . The lusts of your father ye will do . He hath got your hearts , and him you will obey , Jer. 44.17 . We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven . When the Devil spurs a Sinner by a Tentation , he will over Hedge and Ditch , break all God's Laws that he may obey Satan : Where then is Free-will ? When Satan hath such power over the Will , his lusts ye will do . There 's not any Member of the Body but is at the Devil's Service ; the Head to plot Sin , the Hands to work it , the Feet to run on the Devil's Errand : Grave jugum servitutis , Cicero . Slavery is hateful to a Noble Spirit . Satan is the Worst Tyrant , the Cruelty of Cannibal or Nero is nothing to his ; other Tyrants do but rule over the Bodies , he over the Conscience ; other Tyrants have some Pity on their Slaves , though they work in the Gally , they give them Meat , let them have Hours for Rest : but Satan is a Merciless Tyrant , he ●ets Men have no Rest. What pains did Iudas take , the Devil would let him have no rest till he had betrayed Christ , and afterwards embrued his Hands in his own Bloud .

Use 1. See here our Misery by Original Sin , enslaved to Satan , Ephes. 2.2 . Satan is said to work effectually in the Children of Disobedience : What a sad Plague is this for a Sinner to be at the will of the Devil . Just like a Slave , if the Turk bids him dig in the Mine , hew in the Quarres , tug at the Oar , the Slave must do it , he dares not refuse . If the Devil bids a Man Lye or Cozen , he doth not refuse ; and which is worst , Men are enslaved , and they willingly obey this Tyrant ; other Slaves are forced against their will . Israel sighed by reason of their bondage , Exod. 2.23 . But Sinners are willing to be Slaves , they will not take their Freedom ; they kiss their Fetters .

Use 2. Let us labour to get out of this deplorable Condition Sin hath plunged us into ; get from under the Power of Satan : If any of your Children were Slaves , you would give great sums of Money to purchase their Freedom ; your Souls are enslaved , and will you not labour to be set free . Improve the Gospel ; the Gospel proclaims a Jubilee to Captives . Sin binds Men , the Gospel looseth them : Paul's preaching was to turn Men from the Power of Satan to God , Acts 26.18 . The Gospel-Star that leads you to Christ , and if you get Christ , then you are made free , though not from the Being of Sin , yet from Satan's Tyranny , Joh. 8.36 . If the Son make you free , ye shall be free indeed . You hope to be Kings to Reign in Heaven , and will you let Satan Reign in you now ? Never think to be Kings when you die , and Slaves while you live : The Crown of Glory is for Conquerours , not for Captives . Oh get out of Satan's Jurisdiction ; get your Fetters of Sin filed off by Repentance .

2 Misery . ] We are Heirs of God's Wrath. ] In the Text , Tertullian's Exposition here is wrong , Chrildren of Wrath he understands subjective , that is , subject to Wrath and Passion ; offending often in the Irascible Faculty of a wrathful Spirit . But by Children of Wrath , the Apostle passively means Heirs of Wrath , expos'd to God's Displeasure . God was once a Friend , but Sin broke the Knot of Friendship ; now God's Smile is turned into a Frown ; we are now bound over to the Sessions , and become Children of Wrath ; And who knows the power of God●s wrath ? Psal. 90.11 . The Wrath of a King is as the roaring of a Lyon , Prov. 19.12 . How did Haman's Heart tremble when the King rose up from the Banquet in wrath , Esth. 7.7 . But God's Wrath is Infinite , all other is but as a Spark to a Flame : Wrath in God is not a Passion as in us ; but it is an Act of God's Holy Will , whereby he abhors Sin , and decrees to punish it . This Wrath is very dismal , 't is this Wrath of God that imbitters Afflictions in this Life : When Sickness comes attended with God's Wrath , it puts Conscience into an Agony . The mingling the Fire with the Hail made it so terrible , Exod. 9.24 . so mingling God's Wrath with Affliction makes it torturing . It is the Nail in the Yoke ; God's Wrath when but in a Threatning , ( as a Shower hanging in the Cloud ) made Ely's ears to tingle ; What is it then when this Wrath is executed ? It is terrible when the King rates and chides a Traytor , but it is more dreadful when he causeth him to be set upon the Rack , or to be broke upon the Wheel : Who knows the power of God's wath ? While we are Children of Wrath , 1. We have nothing to do with any of the Promises ; they are as the Tree of Life , bearing several sorts of Fruit , but no right to pluck one Leaf , Eph. 2.3 . Children of wrath . Verse 12. Strangers to the covenants of promise . The Promises are as a Fountain seal'd . While we are in the State of Nature , we see nothing but the flaming Sword ; and as the Apostle , Heb. 10.27 . there remains nothing but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a fearful looking for of fiery Indignation ▪ 2. While Children of Wrath , we are Heirs to all God's Curses , Gal. 3.10 . How can the Sinner eat and drink in that Condition ? Like Damari●'s Banquet , he sat at Meat , and there was a Sword hanging over his Head by a small Thread ; one would think he should have little stomack to eat : So the Sword of God's Wrath and Curse hangs every moment over a Sinner's head . We read of a flying Roll written with Curses , Zach. 5.3 . There 's a Roll written with Curses goes out against every Person that Lives and Dies in Sin : God's Curse blasts where-ever it comes . A Curse on the Sinner's Name , a Curse on his Soul , a Curse on his Estate , Posterity , a Curse on the Ordinances . Sad if all a Man did eat should turn to Poison : The Sinner eats and drinks his own Damnation at God's Table . Thus it is before Conversion . As the Love of God makes every bitter thing sweet , so the Curse of God makes every sweet thing bitter .

Use. See our Misery by the Fall , Heirs of Wrath : And is this Estate to be rested in ? If a Man be fallen under the King's Displeasure , will he not labour to Re-ingratiate himself into his Favour . O let us flie from the Wrath of God! And whither should we flie , but to Jesus Christ ? there 's none else to shield off the Wrath of God from us , 1 Thess. 1.10 . Iesus hath delivered us from wrath to come .

3. Subject to all outward Miseries : All the Troubles incident to Man's Life are the bitter Fruits of Original Sin ; The sin of Adam hath subjected the Creature to Vanity , Rom. 8.20 . Is it not a part of the Creature 's Vanity , that all the Comforts here below will not fill the Heart , no more then the Mariner's breath can fill the Sails of a Ship : Job 2● . 22 . In the midst of his sufficiency he shall be in straits . There is still something wanting , and a Man would have more : the Heart is always Hydropical , it thirsts and is not satisfied . Solomon put all the Creatures into a Lembick , and when he came to extract the Spirits and Quintissence , there was nothing but Froth , all was Vanity , Eccles. 1.2 . Nay , 't is vexing Vanity , not only Emptiness but Bitterness . Our Life is Labour and Sorrow , we come into the World with a Cry , go out with a Groan , Ps. 90.10 . Some have said that they would not be to live the Life they have lived over again , because their Life hath had more Water in it than Wine . More Water of Tears then Wine of Joy : Quid est diu vivere nisi diu torqueri , Aug. Man is born to trouble , Job 5.7 . Every one is not born Heir to Land , but he is born Heir to Trouble ; as well separate Weight from Lead . We do not finish our Troubles in this Life , but change them . Trouble is the Vermine bred out of the putred matter of Sin . Whence are all our Fears , but from Sin ? 1 Ioh. 4.18 . There is torment in fear . Fear is the Ague of the Soul , sets it a shaking : some fear Want , others Alarms , others fear loss of Relations : If we rejoyce 't is with Trembling . Whence are all our Disappointment of Hopes , but from Sin ? Where we look for Comfort , there a Cross : where we expect Honey there we tast Wormwood : Whence is it that the Earth is filled with Violence , that the Wicked oppresseth the Man which is more righteous then he ? Hab. 1.13 . Whence is it that so much Fraudulency in Dealing , so much Falseness in Friendship , such Crosses in Relations ; whence is it Children prove Undutiful , they that should be as the Staff of the Parents Age , are a Sword to pierce their Hearts : Whence is it Servants are Unfaithful to their Masters . The Apostle speaks of some who have entertain'd Angels into their Houses , Heb. 13.2 . But how oft instead of entertaining Angels into their Houses , do some entertain Devils ? Whence are all the Mutinees and Divisions in a Kingdom ? 2 Chr. 15.5 . In those days there was no peace to him that went out , nor to him that came in . All this is but the sowr Core in that Apple our first Parents eat , viz. Fruit of Original Sin . Besides , all the Deformities and Diseases of the Body , Feavers , Convulsions , Catarrhs , Macies & nova febrium terris incubu●t cohors — These are from Sin . There had never been a Stone in the Kidnies , if it had not been first a Stone in the Heart . Yea , the death of the Body , is the Fruit and Result of Original Sin , Rom. 5.12 . Sin entred into the world , and death by sin . Adam was made Immortal , conditionally , if he had not sinned ; Sin dig'd Adam's Grave . Death is terrible to Nature : Lewis King of France forbad all that came into his Court to mention the name of Death in his Ears . The Socinians say , That Death comes only from the Infirmness of the Constitution . But the Apostle saith , Sin usher'd Death into the World : By sin came death . Certainly had not Adam eat of the Tree of Knowledge , he had not died , Gen. 2.17 . In the day thou eatest , thou shalt surely ( die , ) implying , if Adam had not eat he should not have died . O then see the Misery ensuing upon Original Sin ! Sin dissolves the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Harmony and good Temperature of the Body , it pulls this Frame in pieces .

4. Original Sin without Repentance exposeth to Hell and Damnation . This is the second Death , Rev. 20.14 . Two things in it :

1. Poena Damni : Punishment of Loss ; the Soul is banished from the Beatifical Presence of God , in whose Presence is Fulness of Joy .

2. Poena Sensus : Punishment of Sense ; the Sinner feels the scalding Viols of God's Wrath : It is penetrating , abiding , Joh. 3.36 . Reserved , 2 Pet. 2.17 . If when God's Anger be kindled but a little , and a Spark or two of it flies into a Man's Conscience here in this life , it be so terrible , what then will it be when God stirs up all his Anger ? In Hell there is the Worm and the Fire , Mark 9.44 . Hell is the very Accent and Emphasis of Misery : There 's Iudgment without Mercy . O what Flames of Wrath , what Seas of Vengeance , what Rivers of Brimstone , are pour'd out there upon the Damn'd ! Bellarmi●e is of Opinion , That one Glimpse of Hell-fire were enough to make the most fla●itious Sinner turn Christian ; nay , live as an Hermit , a most strict mortified Life . What is all other Fire to this , but painted Fire ? Ejus adesse intolerabile , ejus abesse impossibile : To bear it will be intolerable , to avoid it will be impossible . And these Hell-torments are for ever ; have no Period put to them , Rev. 9.6 . They shall seek death and shall not find it . Origen fancied a Fiery Stream in which the Souls of sinful Men wer● to be purged after this Life , and then to pass into Heaven : but it is for ever . The Breath of the Lord kindles that Fire ; and where shall we find Engines or Buckets to quench it ? Rev. 14.11 . And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever , and they have no rest night nor day . Thank Original Sin for all .

Use. 1. What sad thoughts should we have of this Primitive Original Sin , that hath created so many Miseries . What Honey can be got out of this Lyon , what Grapes can we gather off this Thorn ? It sets Heaven and Earth against us : While we choose this Bramble to Rule , Fire comes out of the Bramble to devour us .

2. How are all Believers bound to Jesus Christ , who hath freed them from that Misery to which Sin hath exposed them , Eph. 1.7 . In whom we have Redemption through his Blood . Sin hath brought Trouble and a Curse into the World . Christ hath sanctified the Trouble , and removed the Curse . Nay , he hath not only freed Believers from Misery , but purchased for them a Crown of Glory and Immortality , 1 Pet. 5.4 . When the chief Shepherd shall appear , ye shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away .

Of the Covenant of Grace .

Quest. XIV . DID God leave Mankind to perish in this state of Sin and Misery ?

Resp. No ; He entred into a Covenant of Grace to deliver the Elect out of that estate , and bring them into a state of Grace by a Redeemer .

Isa. 55.3 . I Will make an Everlasting Covenant with you . Man being by his Fall plung'd into a Labyrinth of Misery , and having no way left to recover himself , God was pleased to enter into a New Covenant with him , and so restore him to Life by a Redeemer .

The great Proposition I shall go upon is , That there is a New Covenant ratified between God and the Elect.

Quest. What the New Covenant is ?

Resp. It is a solemn Compact and Agreement made between God and fallen Man , wherein the Lord undertakes to be our God , and to make us his People .

Quest. What Names are given to the Covenant ?

Resp. 1. It is called a Covenant of Peace , Ezek. 37.26 . because it Seals up Reconciliation between God and humble Sinners . Before this Covenant there was nothing but Enmity ; God did not love us . A Creature that offends cannot be loved by an holy God ; and we did not love him ; a God that condemns , cannot be loved by a guilty Creature : so that there was War on both sides . But God hath found out a way in the new Covenant to reconcile differing Parties , so that it is fitly called a Covenant of Peace .

2. It is called a Covenant of Grace , and well it may ; for 1. it was with Grace , that when we had forfeited the first Covenant , God should enter into a new Covenant , after we had cast away our selves . The Covenant of Grace is Tabula post naufragium , as a Plank after shipwrack . O the Free-grace of God , that he should parly with Sinners , and set his Wisdom and Mercy awork to bring Rebels into the Bond of the Covenant .

2. It is a Covenant of Grace , because it is a Royal Charter , all made up of Terms of Grace ; That God will cast our sins behind his back ; that he will love us freely , Hos. 14.4 . that he will give us a will to accept of the Mercy of the Covenant , and strength to perform the Conditions of the Covenant , Ezek. 37.26 . All this is pure Grace .

Quest. Why would God make a Covenant with us ?

Resp. 1. It is out of Induldgence , Favour , and Respect to us . A Tyrant will not enter into a Covenant with Slaves , he will not shew them such Respect . God's entring into Covenant with us to be our God , is a Dignity he puts upon us . A Covenant is Insigne honoris , a Note of Distinction between God's People and Heathens , Ezek. 16.22 . I will establish my Covenant with thee . When the Lorld told Abraham that he would enter into Covenant with him , Abraham fell upon his face , Gen. 17.2 . as being amazed that the God of Glory should bestow such a Favour upon him .

2. God makes a Covenant with us to tye us fast to him ; it is called in Ezekiel the Bond of the Covenant . God knows we have slippery hearts , therefore he will have a Covenant to bind us . 'T is horrid Impiety to go away from God after Covenant . If one of the Vestal Nuns , who had vowed her self to Religion , was defloured , the Romans caused her to be burnt alive . 'T is Perjury to depart from God after solemn Covenant .

Quest. How doth the Covenant of Grace differ from the first Covenant made with Adam ?

Resp. 1 st Difference . The Terms of the first Covenant were more strict and severe . For 1. The least failing would have made the Covenant with Adam null and void , but many Failings do not null the Covenant of Grace : I grant the least sin is a Trespass upon the Covenant , but it doth not make it null and void . There may be many Failings in the Conjugal Relation , but every Failing doth not break the Marriage-Bond . It would be sad , if as oft as we break Covenant with God , he should break Covenant with us ; but God will not take advantage of every Failing , but in anger remember Mercy .

2. The first Covenant being broken , allowed the Sinner no remedy , all Doors of Hope were shut : but the New Covenant allows the Sinner a remedy ; it leaves room for Repentance , it provides a Mediator , Hebr. 12.24 . Iesus the Mediator of the New Covenant .

2 d Difference . The first Covenant did run all upon working , the second upon believing , Rom. 4.5 .

Quest. But are not Works required in the Covenant of Grace ?

Answ. Yes ; Tit. 3.8 . This is a faithful saying , that they which believe in God be careful to maintain Good Works . But the Covenant of Grace doth not require Works in the same manner as the Covenant of Works did . In the first Covenant , Works were required as the Condition of Life ; in the second , they are required only as the Signs of a Man that is alive . In the first Covenant , Works were required as Grounds of Salvation ; in the New Covenant , they are required as Evidences of our Love to God . In the first they were required to the Justification of our Persons , in the New , to the Testification of our Grace .

Quest. What is the Condition of the Covenant of Grace ?

Answ. The main Condition is Faith .

Quest. But why is Faith more the Condition of the New Covenant , then any other Grace ?

Answ. To exclude all glorying in the Creature . Faith is an humble Grace . If Repentance or Works were the Condition of the Covenant , a Man would say , It is my Righteousness hath saved me : But if it be of Faith , where is boasting ? Faith fetcheth all from Christ , and gives all the glory to Christ ; 't is most humble Grace . Hence it is God hath singled out this Grace to be the Condition of the Covenant .

And if Faith be the Condition of the Covenant of Grace , it excludes desperate presumptuous Sinners from the Covenant . They say there is a Covenant of Grace , and they shall be saved ; but did you ever know a Bond without a Condition ? The Condition of the Covenant is Faith , and if thou hast no Faith , thou hast no more to do with the Covenant than a Foreigner , or a Country Farmer with the City Charter .

Use 1. of Information . See the amazing Goodness of God to enter into Covenant with us . He never entred into Covenant with the Angels when they fell . It was much Condescension in God to enter into Covenant with us in a state of Innocency , but it was more to enter into Covenant with us in a state of Enmity . In this Covenant of Grace we may see the Cream of God's Love , and the working of his Bowels to sinners . This is a Marriage-Covenant , Ier. 3.14 . I am married to you , saith the Lord . In the New Covenant God makes himself over to us , and what can he give more ? And he makes over his Promises to us , and what better Bond can we have ?

Use 2. of Trial. Whether we are in Covenant with God . There are three Characters .

1. God's Covenant People are an humble People , 1 Pet. 5.5 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , be ye clothed with humility . God's People esteem of others better then themselves ; they shrink into nothing in their own thoughts , Phil. 2.3 . David cries out , I am a worm , and no man , Psal. 22.6 . though a Saint , though a King , yet a Worm . When Moses's Face shin'd , he covered it with a Vail : God's People , when they shine most in Grace , are covered with the Vail of Humility . Pride excludes from the Covenant . God resisteth the proud , 1 Pet. 5.5 . and sure such are not in Covenant with God , whom he resists .

2. A People in Covenant with God are a willing People ; though they cannot serve God perfectly , they serve him willingly . They do not grudge God a little time spent in his Worship , they do not hesitate or murmur at Sufferings , they will go through a Sea and a Wilderness if God calls ; Psal. 110.3 . Thy people shall be a willing people : Hebr. gnam nedabot , a people of willingness . This spontanity and willingness is from the attractive Power of God's Spirit : the Spirit doth not impellere , force , but trahere , sweetly draw the Will ; and this willingness in Religion makes all our Services accepted . God doth sometimes accept of willingness without the work , but never the work without willingness .

3. God's Covenant People are a consecrated People , they have holiness to the Lord written upon them ; Cast a placent superis — Deut. 7.6 . Thou art an holy people to the Lord thy God . God's Covenant People are separated from the World , and sanctified by the Spirit . The Priests under the Law were not only to wash in the great Laver , but were araied with glorious Apparel , Exod. 28.2 . This was Typical , to shew God's People are not only washed from gross sin , but adorned with holiness of heart : they bear not only God's Name , but Image . Tamerlain refused a Pot of Gold , when he saw it had not his Fathers stamp upon it , but the Roman stamp . Holiness is God's stamp , if he doth not see this stamp upon us , he will not own us for his Covenant People .

Use 3. of Exhort . To such as are out of Covenant , labour to get into Covenant and have God for your God . How glad would the old World have been of an Ark ? How industrious should we be to get within the Arke of the Covenant .

Consider 1. the Misery of such as live and die out of Covenant with God . 1. Such have none to go to in an hour of distress . When Conscience accuseth , when Sickness approacheth ( which is but an Harbinger to bespeak a Loding for Death ) then what will you do ? whither will you fly ? will you look to Christ for help ? He is a Mediator only for such as are in Covenant . O! how will you be filled with horrour and despair , and be as Saul , 1 Sam. 15.28 . The Philistines make war against me , and the Lord is departed . 2. Till you are in Covenant with God , there is no Mercy . The Mercy-Seat was placed upon the Ark , and the Mercy-Seat was no larger then the Ark ; to shew , that the Mercy of God reacheth no further then the Covenant .

2. The Excellency of the Covenant of Grace ; it is a better Covenant then the first made with Adam . 1. Because it is more friendly and propitious . Those Services which would have been rejected in the first Covenant , are accepted in the second . Here God accepts of the Will for the Deed , 2 Cor. 8.10 . here sincerity is crowned . In the Covenant of Grace , wherein we are weak , God will give strength , and wherein we come short , God will accept of a Surety . 2. It is a better Covenant , because it is surer . 2 Sam. 23.5 . Thou hast made with me an everlasting Covenant , ordered in all things and sure . The first Covenant was not sure , it stood upon a tottering foundation , Works ; Adam had no sooner a stock of Righteousness to trade with , but he broke ; but the Covenant of Grace is sure , it is confirmed with God's Decree , and it rests upon two mighty Pillars , the Oath of God , and the Blood of God . 3. It hath better Priviledges . The Covenant of Grace brings preferment . Our Nature is now more enobled , we are rais'd to higher Glory then in Innocency , we are advanced to sit upon Christ's Throne , Rev. 3.21 . we are by virtue of the Covenant of Grace nearer to Christ then the Angels . They are his Friends , we his Spouse .

3. God is willing to be in Covenant with you . Why doth God woe and beseech you by his Ambassadors to be reconciled , if he were not willing to be in Covenant ?

Object . I would fain be in Covenant with God , but I have been a great sinner , and I fear God will not admit me into Covenant .

Resp. If thou seest thy sins , and loathest thy self for them , yet God will take thee into Covenant , Isa. 43.24 . Thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities ; I , even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions . As the Sea covers great Rocks , so God's Covenant-Mercy covers great Sins . Some of the Jews that crucified Christ , yet had their sins washed away in his Blood .

Object . But I am not worthy that ever God should admit me into Covenant .

Answ. It never came into God's thoughts to make a New Covenant upon Terms of Worthiness . If God should shew Mercy to none but such as are worthy , then he must shew Mercy to none at all . But , it is God's design in the New Covenant to advance the riches of Grace , to love us freely , and when we have no worthiness of our own , to accept us through Christ's worthiness . Therefore let not unworthiness discourage you ; it is not unworthiness excludes any from the Covenant , but unwillingness .

Quest. What shall we do that we may be in Covenant with God ?

Answ. 1. Seek to God by Prayer . Exige à Domino misericordiam , Aug. Lord be my God in Covenant . The Lord hath made an express Promise , that upon our Prayer to him , the Covenant shall be ratified , he will be our God , and we shall be his People ; Zach. 13.9 . They shall call upon my Name , and I will hear them ; I will say it is my people , and they shall say , The Lord is my God . Only it must be an importunate Prayer . Come as earnest Suiters , resolve to take no denial .

2. If you would be in Covenant with God , break off the Covenant with Sin ; before the Marriage-Covenant , there must be a Divorce , 1 Sam. 7.3 . If ye return to the Lord with all your hearts , put away the strange gods ; and they put away Ashtaroth ; viz. their Female Gods . Will any King enter into Covenant with that Man who is in League with his Enemies ?

3. If you would enter into the Bond of the Covenant , get Faith in the Blood of the Covenant . Christ's Blood is the Blood of Atonement ; believe in this Blood and you are safely arked in God's Mercy ; Eph. 2.13 . Ye are made nigh to the blood of Christ .

Use 4. Of Comfort to such as can make out their Covenant Interest in God : 1. You that are in Covenant with God , all your sins are pardoned . Pardon is the crowning Mercy , Psal. 103.3 . Who forgiveth thy iniquity , who crowneth thee , &c. This is a branch of the Covenant , Ier. 31.33 . I will be their God , and I will forgive their iniquity . Sin being pardoned , all wrath ceaseth . How terrible is it when but a Spark of God's Wrath flies into a Man's Conscience ; but sin being forgiven , no more wrath . God doth not appear now in the Fire , or Earthquake , but covered with a Rain-bow full of Mercy .

2. All your Temporal Mercies are Fruits of the Covenant . Wicked Men have Mercies by Providence , not by virtue of a Covenant ; with Gods leave , not with his Love . But such as are in Covenant have their Mercies sweetned with God's Love , and they swim to them in the Blood of Christ . As Naaman said to Gehazi , 2 Kings 5.23 . Take two Talents , so saith God to such as are in Covenant , Take two Talents ; take Health , and take Christ with it ; take Riches , and take my Love with them ; take the Venison , and take the Blessing with it : Take two Talents .

3. You may upon all Occasions plead the Covenant . If you are haunted with Temptation , plead the Covenant ; Lord , thou hast promised to bruise Satan under my feet shortly ; wilt thou suffer thy Child to be thus worried ? take off the roaring Lion . If in want , plead the Covenant ; Lord , thou hast said , I shall want no good thing , wilt thou save me from Hell , and not from Want ? wilt thou give me a Kingdom , and deny me daily Bread ?

4. If in Covenant with God , all things shall co-operate for your Good : Etiam mala cedunt in bonum . Psal. 25.10 . Not only golden paths , but his bloody paths . Every wind of Providence shall blow them nearer Heaven . Affliction shall humble and purifie , Hebr. 12.10 . Out of the bitterest Drug , God distils your Salvation . Afflictions add to the Saints Glory . The more the Diamond is cut , the more it sparkles ; the heavier the Saints Cross , the heavier shall be their Crown .

5. If thou art in Covenant once , then for ever in Covenant . The Text calls it Berith Gnolam , an everlasting Covenant . Such as are in Covenant are elected ; God's electing Love is unchangeable , Ier. 32.40 . I will make an everlasting Covenant with them , that I will not turn away from them , but I will put my fear in ther heart , that they shall not depart from me . God will so love the Saints , that he will not forsake them : and the Saints shall so fear God , that they shall not forsake him . 'T is Berith Gnolam , a Covenant of Eternity ; it must be so ; for who is this Covenant made with ? is it not with Believers ? and have not they Coalition and Union with Christ ; Christ is the Head , they are the Body , Eph. 1.23 . This is a near Union , much like that Union between God the Father and Christ , Iohn 17.21 . As thou Father art in me , and I in thee , that they also may be one in us . Now the Union between Christ and the Saints being so inseparable , it can never be dissolved , or the Covenant made void ; you may die with Comfort .

6. Thou art in Covenant with God , and thou art going to thy God , behold a Death-bed Cordial ; Death breaks the Union between the Body and the Soul , but perfects the Union between Christ and the Soul . This hath made the Saints desire Death , as the Bride the Wedding-day , Phil. 1.23 . Cupio dissolvi , Lead me Lord to that Glory ( said one ) a glympse whereof I have seen , as in a Glass , darkly .

Use 5. of Direct . To shew you how you should walk who have tasted of Covenant-Mercy , Live as a People in Covenant with God . As you differ from others in respect of Dignity , so you must in point of Carriage .

1. You must love this God . God's Love to you calls for Love . 1. It is Amor Gratiatus , a free Love . Why should God pass by others and take you into a League of Friendship with himself ? In the Law God passed by the Lion and Eagle , and chose the Dove ; so he passes by the Noble and Mighty . 2. It is Amor plenns , a full Love . When God takes you into Covenant , you are his Hephsibah , Isa. 62.3 . his delight is in you ; he gives you the Key of all his Treasure , he heaps Pearls upon you , he settles Heaven and Earth upon you ; he gives you a Bunch of Grapes by the way , and saith , Son , all I have is thine . And doth not all this call for Love ? Who can tread upon these hot Coals , and his heart not burn in love to God ?

2. Walk Holily . The Covenant hath made you a Royal Nation , therefore be an holy People . Shine as Lights in the World ; live as Earthly Angels . God hath taken you into Covenant , that you and he may have Communion together : and what is it keeps up your Communion with God , but Holiness .

3. Walk thankfully , Psal. 103.1 . God is your God in Covenant ; he hath done more for you , then if he had made you ride upon the high Places of the Earth , and given you Crowns and Scepters . O! Take the Cup of Salvation , and bless the Lord . Eternity will be little enough to praise him . Musitians love to play on their Musick where there is the loudest sound ; and God loves to bestow his Mercies where he may have the loudest Praises . You that have Angels Reward , do Angels Work . Begin that Work of Praise here , which you hope to be always doing in Heaven .

CHRIST the Mediator of the Covenant . HEB. 12.24 .

Iesus the Mediator of the new Covenant , &c.

JEsus Christ is the Sum and Quintessence of the Gospel ; the Wonder of Angels ; the Joy and Triumph of Saints . The Name of Christ is sweet , it is as Musick in the Ear , Honey in the Mouth , and a Cordial at the Heart .

I shall wave the Context , and only speak of that which concerns our present Purpose : Having discours'd of the Covenant of Grace , I shall speak now of the Mediator of the Covenant , and the Restorer of lapsed Sinners , IESUS the Mediator of the Covenant .

There are several Names and Titles in Scripture given to Christ , as the Great Restorer of Mankind : 1. Sometimes he is called a Saviour , Matth. 1.21 . His name shall be called Iesus . The Hebrew word for Jesus Ioshuang , signifies a Saviour ; and whom he saves from Hell he saves from Sin : where Christ is a Saviour he is a Sanctifier , Matth. 1.21 . He shall save his people from their sins . There is no other Saviour , Acts 4.12 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Neither is there salvation in any other . As there was but one Ark to save the World from drowning , so there is but one Jesus to save Sinners from damning . As Naomi said to her Daughters-in-law , Ruth 1.11 . Are there yet any more sons in my womb ? So hath God any other Sons in the Womb of his Eternal Decree , to be Saviours to us , besides Christ ? Job 28.13 . Where shall wisdom be found ? the deep saith it is not in me , and the sea saith it is not with me . Let me allude , Where shall Salvation be found ? The Angel saith it is not in me ; Morality saith it is not in me ; the Ordinance saith it is not in me : Christ alone is the Well-spring of Life , the Ordinance is the Conduit-pipe that conveys Salvation , but Christ is the Spring that feeds it , Neither is there salvation in any other .

2. Sometimes Christ is called a Redeemer , Isa. 59.20 . The redeemer shall come to Sion . Some understand it of Cyrus , others of an Angel , but the most ancient Iewish Doctors understand it of Christ the Redeemer of the Elect : Job 19.25 . My redeemer liveth . The Hebrew word for Redeemer , Goel , signifies such an one as is near a Kin , and hath Right to redeem a Mortgage . So Christ is near a kin to us , being our Elder Brother , therefore hath the best right to redeem us .

3. Christ is called a Mediator in the Text , Iesus the mediator of the new covenant . The Greek word for Mediator 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies a middle Person , one that doth make up the breach between two disagreeing Parties . God and we were at Variance by Sin , now Christ doth Mediate and Umpire between us ; he reconciles us to God through his Bloud , therefore is call'd the Mediator of the New Covenant . There is no way of Communion and Intercourse between God and Man , but in and through a Mediator : Christ takes away the Enmity in us , and the Wrath in God , and so makes Peace ; nor is Christ only a Mediator of Reconciliation , but Intercession , Heb. 9.24 . Christ is entred not into the holy place made with hands , but into heaven itself , now to appear in the presence of God for us . The Priest when he had slain the Sacrifice was to go with the Bloud before the Altar and Mercy-seat , and show it to the Lord . Now in Christ our Blessed Mediator consider two things , 1. His Person . 2. His Graces .

1. His Person : His Person is amiable , he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , all made up of Love and Beauty . He is the Effigies of his Father , Heb. 1.3 . The express image of his person . Consider , 1. Christ's Person in two Natures . 2. His two Natures in one Person .

1. Christ's Person in two Natures : 1. Look upon his Humane Nature as Incarnate . The Valentinians deny his Humane Nature ; but Joh. 1.14 . The Word was made Flesh ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . 'T is spoken of Christ , the promised Messiah . Christ took our Flesh that the same Nature which sinned might suffer ; and 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The word made flesh , that through the Glass of his Humane Nature we might look upon God .

Quest. Why is Christ called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Word ?

Resp. Because as a Word is the Interpreter of the Mind , and reveals what is in a Man's breast , so Jesus Christ reveals his Father's Mind to us , concerning the great Matters of our Salvation , Iohn 1.18 . Were it not for CHRIST's Manhood , the sight of the Godhead would be formidable to us : but through Christ's Flesh we may look upon God without Terrour . And Christ took our Flesh that he might know how to pity us ; he knows what it is to be faint , sorrowful , tempted , Psal. 103.14 . He knows our frame . And he took our Flesh that he might ( as Austin saith , ) Ennoble our Humane Nature with Honour . Christ having married our Flesh , hath exalted it above the Angelical Nature .

2. Look upon Christ's Divine Nature : Christ may fitly be compared to Iacob's Ladder , Gen. 28.12 . which reached from Earth to Heaven ; Christ's Humane Nature was the foot of the Ladder which stood upon Earth , his Divine Nature the top of the Ladder , which reached to Heaven . This being a grand Article of our Faith , I shall amplifie : I know the Arians , Socinians , Ebionites would rob Christ of the best Jewel of his Crown , his Godhead ; but the Apostolical , Nicene , Athanasian Creed , affirm Christ's Deity , to this the Churches of Helvetia , Bohemia , Wittembergh , Transylvania , &c. give their full Consent ; and the Scripture is clear for it . He is call'd the Mighty God , Isa. 9.6 . El Gibber ; and in him dwells the fulness of the Godhead , Col. 2.9 . He is not only 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , of the same Nature and Essence with the Father . So Athanasius , Basil , Chrysostom , 1. Is God the Father call'd Almighty , so is Christ , Rev. 1.8 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Almighty . 2. Is God the Father the Heart-searcher , so is Christ , Ioh. 2.25 . He knew their thoughts . 3. Is God the Father Omnipresent , so is Christ , Joh. 3.13 . The Son of man which is in heaven . Christ as God was then in Heaven , when as Man he was upon the Earth .

Quest. Is God Eternal ?

Resp. Christ is the Everlasting Father , Isa. 9.6 . which Scripture may be urged against the Cerinthian Hereticks who deny'd the Pre-existency of Christ's Godhead , and held that Christ had no being till he derived it from the Virgin Mary .

4. Doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Divine Worship belong to the first Person in the Trinity ? so it doth to Christ , Ioh. 5.23 . Heb. 1.6 . Let all the angels of God worship him . 5. Is Creation proper to the Deity ? This is a Flower of Christ's Crown , Col. 1.16 . By him were all things created . 6. Is Invocation proper to the Deity ? This is given to Christ , Acts 7. Lord Iesus receive my spirit . 7. Is Recumbency and Trust peculiar to God the Father ? This is given to Christ , Joh. 14.1 . Ye believe in God , believe also in me . Christ must needs be God , not only that the Divine Nature might support the Humane from sinking under God's Wrath , but also to give Value and Weight to his Sufferings .

Christ being God , his Death and Passion is Meritorious ; Christ's Bloud is called Sanguis Dei , The Bloud of God , Acts 20.28 . because the Person who was offered in Sacrifice was God as well as Man . This is an invincible Support to Believers ; it was God who was offended , and it was God who satisfied . Thus Christ's Person in two Natures .

2. Consider Christ's two Natures in one Person : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , God-Man ; 1 Tim. 3.16 . God manifest in the flesh . Christ had a twofold Substance , Divine and Humane , yet not a twofold Subsistance , both Natures make but one Christ : A Siens may be grafted into another Tree , a Pear-tree into an Apple , which though it bear different Fruits is but one Tree : So Christ's Manhood is united to the Godhead in an ineffable manner ; yet though here are two Natures , yet but one Person . This Union of the two Natures in Christ was not by Transmutation , the Divine Nature chang'd into the Humane , or the Humane into the Divine ; nor by Mixture , the two Natures mingled together , as Wine and Water are mixed : Both the Natures of Christ remain distinct , yet make not two distinct Persons , but one Person , the Humane Nature not God , yet one with God .

3. Consider Christ our Mediator in his Graces : These are the sweet Savour of his Oyntments that make the Virgins love him . Christ our Blessed Mediator is said to be full of grace and truth , Joh. 1.14 . He had the anointing of the Spirit without measure , Joh. 3.34 . Grace in Christ is after a more eminent and glorious manner then it is in any of the Saints .

1. Jesus Christ our Mediator hath Perfection in every Grace : Col. 1.19 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; He is a Panoply , Magazine and Store-house of all Heavenly Treasure , all Fulness : This no Saint on Earth hath , he may excel in one Grace , but not in all ; as Abraham was eminent for Faith ; Moses for Meekness , but Christ excells in every Grace .

2. There is a never-failing Fulness of Grace in Christ : Grace in the Saints is Ebbing and Flowing , it is not always in the same degree and proportion : At one time David's Faith was strong , at another time so faint and weak , that you could hardly feel any Pulse , Psal. 31.22 . I said I am cut off from before thine eyes ; but Grace in Christ is a never-failing Fulness , it did never abate in the least degree ; he never lost a drop of his Holiness . What was said of Ioseph , may more truly be applied to Christ , Gen. 49.23 . The archers shot at him , but his bow abode in strength . Men and Devils shot at him , but his Grace remain'd in its full vigour and strength ; His bow abode in strength .

3. Grace in Christ is Communicative : His Grace is for us ; the holy Oyl of the Spirit was poured on the head of this Blessed Aaron , that it might run down upon us . The Saints have not Grace to bestow on others : when the foolish Virgins would have bought Oyl of their Neighbour-Virgins , Matth. 25.9 . Give us of your oyl , for our lamps are gone out . The wise Virgins answer'd , Not so , least there be not enough for us and you . The Saints have no Grace to spare to others ; but Christ diffuseth his Grace to others . Grace in the Saints is as Water in the Vessel , Grace in Christ is as Water in the Spring , Joh. 1.16 . Of his fulness have we received grace for grace . Set a Glass under a Still or Limbeck , and it receives Water from the Limbeck drop by drop : So the Saints have the Drops and Influences of Christ's Grace distilling upon them . What a rich Consolation is this to those who either have no Grace , or their Stock is but low ; they may go to Christ the Mediator , as to a Treasury of Grace ; Lord , I am indigent , but whether should I carry my empty Vessel but to a full Fountain , Psal. 87.7 . all my fresh Springs are in thee ; I am guilty , thou hast Blood to pardon me ; I am polluted , thou hast Grace to cleanse me ; I am sick unto death , thou hast the Balm of Gilead to heal me , Gen. 41.56 . Ioseph opened all the Store-houses of Corn : Christ is our Ioseph that opens all the Treasuries and Store-houses of Grace , and communicates to us . He is not only sweet as the Honey-comb , but drops as the Honey-comb . This is a great comfort , in Christ our Mediator there is a Cornucopia , and fulness of all Grace , and Christ is desirous that we should come to him for Grace , like the full Breast that akes till it be drawn .

Use 1. Admire the Glory of this Mediator , he is God-Man , he is co-essentially glorious with the Father . All the Jews that saw Christ in the Flesh , did not see his God-head : all that saw the Man , did not see the Messiah . The Temple of Solomon within was embellished with Gold : Travellers , as they passed along , might see the outside of the Temple , but only the Priests saw the Glory which sparkled within the Temple ; only Believers , who are made Priests unto God , Rev. 1.6 . see Christ's glorious inside , the God-head shining through the Manhood .

Use 2. If Christ be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , God Man in one Person , then look unto Iesus Christ alone for Salvation . There must be something of the Godhead to fasten our Hope upon ; in Christ there 's Godhead and Manhood Hypostatically united . If we could weep Rivers of Tears , out-fast Moses on the Mount , if we were exact Moralists , touching the Law blameless , if we could arrive at the highest degree of Sanctification in this Life , all this would not save us without looking to the Merits of him who is God : our perfect Holiness in Heaven is not the cause of our Salvation , but the Righteousness of Jesus Christ . To this therefore did Paul fly , as to the Horns of the Altar , Phil. 3.9 . That I may be found in him , not having my own righteousness . 'T is true we may look to our Graces as Evidences of Salvation , but Christ's Bloud only as the Cause . In the time of Noah's Flood , all that trusted to the high Hills and Trees , and not to the Ark , were drowned : Heb. 12.2 . Looking unto Iesus ; and so look unto him as to believe in him , that so Christ may not only be united to our Nature , but to our Persons , Joh. 20.31 . That believing you may have life thorow his name .

Use 3. Is Jesus Christ God and Man in one Person ? This as it shews the Dignity of Believers , that they are nearly related to one of the greatest Persons that is , Col. 2.9 . In him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily ; so it is of unspeakable Comfort , Christ's two Natures being married together , the Divine and Humane ; all that Christ in either of his Natures can do for Believers , he will do : In his Humane Nature he Prays for them , in his Divine Nature he Merits for them . This for the Person of our Mediator .

Use 4. Admire the Love of Christ our Mediator ; that he should humble himself , and take our Flesh , that he might redeem us . Believers should put Christ in their bosom , as the Spouse did Cant. 1.13 . lye betwixt my Breasts . What was said of Ignatius , that the Name of Jesus was found written in his heart , should be verified of every Saint , he should have Jesus Christ written in his heart .

CHRIST a Prophet . DEUT. 18.15

The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet , &c.

HAving spoken of the Person of Christ , we are next to speak of the Offices of Christ , Prophetical , Priestly , Regal .

1. Prophetical , The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet . Enunciatur hic locus de Christo , 't is spoken of Christ . There are several Names given to Christ as a Prophet : He is called the Counsellor , Isa. 6.9 . In uno Christo Angelus faederis completur , Fagius . The Angel of the Covenant , Mal. 3.1 . a Lamp , 2 Sam. 22.29 . the bright Morning-star , Rev. 22.16 . Jesus Christ is the great Prophet of his Church ; the Woman of Samaria gave a shrewd guess , Iohn 4.19 . He is the best Teacher ; he makes all other teaching effectual , Luke 24.45 . Then opened he their Understanding . He did not only open the Scriptures , but opened their Understanding . He teacheth to profit , Isa. 48.17 . I am the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit .

Quest. How Christ teacheth ?

Resp. 1. Externally , By his Word , Psal. 119.105 . Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet . Such as pretend to have a Light or Revelation above the Word , or contrary to it , never had their Teaching from Christ , Isa. 8.20 .

2. Christ teacheth these sacred Mysteries , Inwardly , by the Spirit , John 16.13 . The World knows not what it is , 1 Cor. 2.14 . The natural man receives not the things of God , neither can ye know them . He knows not what it is to be Transformed by the renewing of the mind , Rom. 12.2 . or what the inward workings of the Spirit means ; these are Riddles and Paradoxes to him . He may have more insight into the things of the World then a Believer , but he doth not see the deep things of God . A Swine may see an Acorn under the Tree , but he cannot see a Star : he who is taught of Christ sees the Arcana imperii , the Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven .

Quest. What are the Lessons Christ teacheth ?

Answ. 1. He teacheth us to see into our own Hearts . Take the most Mercurial Wits , the greatest Politicians , that understand the Mysteries of State , yet they know not the Mysteries of their own Hearts , they cannot believe there is that Evil in them as is , 2 Kings 8.13 . Is thy servant a dog ? Grande profundum est homo , Aug. The Heart is a great deep which is not easily fathomed . But Christ , when he teacheth , removes the Vail of Ignorance , and lights a Man into his own Heart . And now he sees swarms of vain Thoughts , he blusheth to see how Sin mingles with his Duties , his Stars are mixt with Clouds ; he prays , as Austin , that God would deliver him from himself .

2. The second Lesson Christ teacheth , is the Vanity of the Creature . A Natural Man sets up his Happiness here , worships the golden Image ; but he that Christ hath anointed with his Eye-salve hath a Spirit of Discerning , he looks upon the Creature in its night dress , sees it to be empty and unsatisfying , not commensurate to an Heaven-born Soul . Solomon had put all the Creatures into a Limbeck , and when he came to extract the Spirits and Quintissence , all was Vanity , Eccl. 2.11 . The Apostle calls it 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Show or Apparition ▪ 1 Cor. 7.31 . having no intrinsical Goodness .

3. The third Lesson is the Excellency of Things unseen . Christ gives the Soul a sight of Glory , a prospect of Eternity , 2 Cor. 4.18 . We look not at things which are seen , but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , things which are not seen . Moses saw him who is invisible , Hebr. 11.27 . And the Patriarks saw a better Country , viz. an heavenly , Hebr. 11.16 . where Delights of Angels , Rivers of Pleasure , the Flower of Joy fully ripe and blown .

Quest. How doth Christ's Teaching differ from other Teaching ?

Resp. Several ways .

1. Christ teacheth the Heart . Others may teach the Ear , Christ the Heart , Acts 16.14 . Whose heart the Lord opened . All that the Dispensers of the Word can do , is but to work Knowledge , Christ works Grace . They can but give you the light of the Truth , Christ gives you the love of the Truth . They can only teach you what to believe , Christ teacheth how to believe .

2 Christ gives us a Taste of the Word ; Ministers may set the Food of the Word before you , and carve it out to you , but it is only Christ causeth you to taste it , 1 Pet. 2.3 . If so be ye have tasted , the Lord is gracious . Psal. 34.8 . Taste and see that the Lord is good . It is one thing to hear a Truth preached , another thing to taste it ; one thing to read a Promise , another thing to taste it . David had got a taste of the Word , Psal. 119.102 , 103. Thou hast taught me . How sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea , sweeter then honey to my mouth . The Apostle calls it 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the savour of Knowledge , 2 Cor. 2.14 . The light of Knowledge is one thing , the savour another . Christ makes us taste a savoriness in the Word .

3. Christ when he teacheth makes us obey . Others may instruct , but cannot command obedience . They teach to be humble , but Men remain proud . The Prophet had been denouncing Judgments against the People of Iudah , but they would not hear , Ier. 44.17 . We will do whatsoever goeth out of our own mouth , to bake cakes to the Queen of Heaven . Men come quasi armed in Coat of Male , that the Sword of the Word will not enter ; but when Christ comes to teach , he removes this obstinacy , he not only informs the Judgment , but inclines the Will. He doth not only come with the Light of his Word , but the Rod of his Strength , and makes the stubborn sinner yield to him . His Grace is irresistible .

4. Christ teacheth easily . Others teach with difficulty . Difficulty in finding out a Truth , and in inculcating it , Isa. 28.10 . Precept must be upon precept , line upon line ; some may Teach all their lives , and the Word take no impression . They complain as Isa. 49.4 . I have spent my labour in vain . Plough on Rocks . But Christ the great Prophet teacheth with ease . He can with the least touch of his Spirit convert . He can say , Let there be light ; with a word he conveys Grace .

5. Christ when he teacheth , makes Men willing to learn . Men may teach others , but they have no mind to learn , Prov. 1.7 . Fools despise instruction ; they rage at the Word , as if a Patient should rage at the Physician when he brings him a Cordial : thus backward are Men to their own Salvation . But Christ makes his People a willing people , Psal. 110.3 . they prize Knowledge , and hang it as a Jewel upon their Ear. Those that Christ teacheth , say as Isa. 2.3 . Come let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord , and he will teach us of his ways , and we will walk in them : and as Acts 10.33 . We are all here present before God , to hear all things commanded .

6. Christ when he Teacheth , doth not only illuminate , but animate . He doth so teach , as he doth quicken ; Iohn 8.12 . I am the light of the world , he that follows me shall have lumen vitae , the light of life . By Nature we are dead , therefore unfit for teaching ; who will make an Oration to the Dead ? But Christ teacheth them that are dead , he gives the light of life ; as when Lazarus was dead , Christ said , Come forth , and he made the dead to hear , Lazarus came forth . So when Christ saith to the dead Soul , Come forth of the Grave of Unbelief , he hears Christ's voice , and comes forth ; it is the Light of Life . The Philosophers saith , Calor & lux concrescunt , Light and Heat encrease together . 'T is true here ; where Christ comes with his Light , there is the heat of Spiritual Life going along with it .

Use 1. of Information . Branch 1. See here an Argument of Christ's Divinity . Had he not been God , he could never have known the Mind of God , or revealed to us those Arcana Caeli , those deep Mysteries which no Man or Angel could find out . Who but God can anoint the eyes of the blind ? and give not only light , but sight ? who but he who hath the Key of David can open the Heart ? who but God can bow the iron sinew of the Will ? He only who is God can enlighten the Conscience , and make the stoney Heart bleed .

Branch 2. See what a Cornucopia , or Plenty of Wisdom is in Christ , who is the Great Doctor of his Church , and gives saving knowledge to all the Elect. The Body of the Sun must needs be full of Charity and Brightness , which enlightens the whole World . Christ is the great Luminary . In him are hid all Treasures of Knowledge , Col. 2.3 . The middle Lamp of the Sanctuary gave light to all the other Lamps . Christ duffuseth his glorious Light to others . We are apt to admire the Learning of Aristotle and Plato ; alas ! what is this poor Spa●k of Light to that which is in Christ , from whose infinite Wisdom both Men and Angels light their Lamp .

Branch 3. See the Misery of Men in the state of Nature , before Christ came to be their Prophet , they are inveloped with Ignorance and Da●kness . Men know nothing in a salvifical , sanctified manner ; they know nothing as they ought to know ▪ 1 Cor. 8.2 . This is sad : 1. Men in the dark cannot discern Colours ; so in the state of Nature , they cannot discern between Morality and Grace ; they take one for the other , pro dea nubem . 2. In the dark the greatest Beauty is hid . Let there be rare Flowers in the Garden , and Pictures in the Room , yet in the dark their Beauty is vail'd over ; so , though there be such transcendent Beauty in Christ as amazeth the Angels , a Man in the state of Nature , sees none of this Beauty . What is Christ to him ? or Heaven to him ? the vail is upon his heart ? 3. A Man in the dark is in danger every step he goes ; so a Man in the state of Nature is in danger every step , of falling into Hell . Thus it is before Christ teacheth us ; nay , the darkness in which a Sinner is , while in an unregenerate state , is worse then natural darkness ; for , natural darkness affrights , Gen. 15.12 . An horrour of great darkness fell upon Abraham . But the Spiritual Darkness is not accompanied with horrour , Men tremble not at their condition ; nay , they like their condition well enough , Iohn 3.19 . Men loved darkness . This is their sad condition , till Jesus Christ comes as a Prophet to teach them , and to turn them from darkness to light , and from the power of Satan to God .

Branch 4. See the happy condition of the Children of God , they have Christ to be their Prophet , Isa. 54.13 . All thy children shall be taught of the Lord . 1 Cor. 1.30 . He is made to us wisdom . One Man cannot see by anothers eye ; but Believers see with Christ's eyes , in his light they see light : Christ gives them the light of Grace and light of Glory .

Use 2. Labour to have Christ for your Prophet , he teacheth savingly , he is an interpreter of a thousand , he can untie those Knots which puzzle the very Angels ; till Christ teach , never learn any Lesson ; till Christ is made to us wisdom , we shall never be wise to Salvation .

Quest. What shall we do to have Christ for our Teacher ?

Resp. 1. See your need of Christ's Teaching ; you cannot see your way without this Morning Star . Some speak much of the Light of Reason improved : Alas ! the Plumb-line of Reason is too short to Fathom the deep things of God ; the Light of Reason will no more help a Man to believe , then the light of a Candle will help him to understand . A Man can no more by the power of Nature reach Christ , then an Infant can reach the top of the Pyramids , or the Ostridge fly up to the Stars . See your need of Christ's Anointing and Teaching , Rev. 3.18 .

2. Go to Christ to teach you , Psal. 25.5 . Lead me in thy truth , and teach me . As one of the Disciples said , Lord teach us to pray , Luke 11.1 . so , Lord teach me to profit . Do thou light my Lamp , O thou great Prophet of thy Church , give me a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation , that I may see things in another manner then ever I saw them before . Teach me in the Word to hear thy Voice , and in the Sacrament to discern thy Body , Psal. 13.3 . Lighten mine eyes , &c. Cathedram habet in coelo qui corda docet in terra , Aug. He hath his Pulpit in Heaven who converts Souls . And that we may be encouraged to go to Christ our great Prophet .

1. Jesus Christ is very willing to teach us . Why else did he enter into the Calling of the Ministry ? but to teach the Mysteries of Heaven , Matth. 4.23 . Iesus went about teaching and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom , and healing all manner of sickness , and all manner of diseases among the people . Why did he take the Office Prophetical upon him ? why was Christ so angry with them that kept away the Key of Knowledge ? Luke 11.52 . why was Christ anointed with the Spirit without measure , but that he might anoint us with Knowledge . Knowledge is in Christ , as Milk in the Breast for the Child . O then go to Christ to Teach ! None in the Gospel came to Christ for sight , but he restored their eye-sight . And sure Christ is more willing to work a cure upon a blind Soul , than ever he was upon a blind Body .

2. There are none so dull and ignorant , but Christ can teach them . Every one is not fit to make a Philosophers Scholar of , Ex omni ligno non fit Mercurius ; but there is none so dull but Christ can make a good Scholar of such as are ignorant , and of low parts . Christ teacheth them in such a manner , that they know more then the great Sages and Wisemen of the World . Hence that saying of St. Augustine , Surgunt indocti & rapiunt coelum , the unlearned Men rise up and take Heaven ; they know the Truths of Christ more savingly then the great admired Rabbies . The duller the Scholar , the more is his skill seen that teacheth . Hence it is , Christ delights in teaching the Ignorant , to get himself more Glory , Isa. 35.5 . The eyes of the blind shall be opened , and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped . Who would go to teach a blind , or a deaf Man ? yet such dull Scholars Christ teacheth . Such as are blinded with Ignorance , they shall see the Mysteries of the Gospel , and the deaf Ears shall be unstopped .

3. Wait upon the Means of Grace which Christ hath appointed . Though Christ teacheth by his Spirit , yet he teacheth in the use of Ordinances . Wait at the Gates of Wisdoms door ; Ministers are Teachers under Christ , Eph. 4.11 . Pastors and Teachers . We read of Pitchers , and Lamps within the Pitchers , Iudges 7.16 . Ministers are Earthen Vessels , but these Pitchers have Lamps within them to light Souls to Heaven . Christ is said to speak to us from Heaven now , Hebr. 12.25 . viz. by his Ministers , as the King speaks by his Ambassador . Such as wean themselves from the Breast of Ordinances , seldom thrive ; either they grow light in their Head , or lame in their Feet . The Word preached is Christ's Voice in the Mouth of the Minister ; and they that refuse to hear Christ speaking in the Ministry , Christ will refuse to hear them speaking on their Death-bed .

4. If you would have the Teachings of Christ , walk according to that Knowledge which you have already . Use your little knowledge well , and Christ will teach you more , Iohn 7.17 . If any man will do his will , he shall know of my Doctrine , whether it be of God , or whether I speak of my self . A Master seeing his Servant improve a little Stock well , gives him more to trade with .

Use 3. If you have been taught by Christ savingly , be thankful : It is your Honour to have GOD for your Teacher ; and that he should teach you , and not others , is matter of admiration and gratulation . O how many knowing men are ignorant ! They are not taught of God ; they have CHRIST's Word to enlighten them , but not his Spirit to sanctifie them . But , that you should have the Inward , as well as the Outward Teaching , that Christ should anoint you with the Heavenly Unction of his Spirit , that you can say , as he Iohn 9.25 . One thing I know , that whereas I was blind , I now see ; O! how thankful should you be to Christ , who hath revealed his Father's Bosom Secrets unto you , Iohn 1.18 . No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son , which is in the bosom of the Father , he hath declared him . If Alexander thought himself so much obliged to Aristotle , for the Philosophical Instructions he learned from him : O how are we bound to Jesus Christ , this great Prophet , for opening to us the Eternal Purposes of his Love , and revealing to us the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven .

CHRIST's Priestly Office .

Quest. XV. HOw doth Christ execute the Office of a Priest ?

Resp. In his once offering up of himself a Sacrifice to satisfie Divine Justice , and reconcile us to GOD , and in making continual Intercession for us .

Heb. 9.26 . Now once in the end of the world hath he appear'd to put away sin ; by the Sacrifice of himself .

Quest. What are the parts of Christ's Priestly Office ?

Resp. Christ's Priestly Office hath two Parts , his Satisfaction and Intercession .

1. His SATISFACTION , and this consists of two Branches : 1. His Active Obedience , Matth. 3.15 . He fulfill●d all righteousness . Christ did every thing which the Law required ; his holy Life was a Perfect Commentary upon the Law of God ; and he obeyed the Law for us .

2. His Passive Obedience : Our Guilt being transferred and imputed to him , he did undergo the Penalty which was due to us : He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself . The Paschal Lamb slain , was a Type of Christ who was offered up in Sacrifice for us . Sin could not be done away without Bloud , Heb. 9.22 . Without bloud is no remission . Christ was not only a Lamb without spot , but a Lamb slain .

Quest. Why was it require there should be a Priest ?

Resp. There needed a Priest to be an Umpire , to mediate between a Guilty Creature , and an Holy God .

Quest. How could Christ suffer being God ?

Resp. Christ suffered only in the Humane Nature .

Quest. But if only Christ's Humanity suffered , how could his suffering satisfie for Sin ?

Resp. The Humane Nature being united to the Divine , the Humane Nature did suffer , the Divine did satisfie : Christ's Godhead as it did support the Humane Nature that it did not faint , so it did give Vertue to his Sufferings . The Altar sanctifies the thing offered on it , Matth. 23.19 . so the Altar of Christ's Divine Nature sanctified the Sacrifice of his Death , and made it of infinite value .

Quest. Wherein doth the Greatness of Christ's sufferings appear ?

Resp. In the Sufferings of his Body , he suffered truly , not only a 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , an Appearance ; the Apostle calls it Mors Crucis , The Death of the Cross , Phil. 2.8 . Tully when he speaks of this kind of Death , Quid dicam in crucem toilere ? though he were a great Orator , he wanted words to express it . The thoughts of this made Christ sweat drops of Bloud in the Garden , Luke 22.44 . It was an ignominious , painful , cursed Death ; Christ suffered in all his Senses , 1. In his Eyes , they beheld two sad Objects , he saw his Enemies insulting , and his Mother weeping . 2. In his Ears , his Ears were filled with the Revilings of the People , Matth. 27.42 . He saved others , himself he cannot save . 3. In his Smell , when their Drivel fell upon his Face . 4. In his Tast , when they gave him Gall and Vinegar to drink , Bitterness and Sharpness . 5. In his Feeling , his Head suffered with Thorns , his Hands and Feet with the Nails , — Totum pro vulnere Corpus ; Now was this white Lily dyed of a Purple colour . 2. In the Sufferings of his Soul , he was pressed in the Wine-press of his Father 's Wrath. This caused that Vociferation and Outcry on the Cross , My God , my God ; Cur deseruisti ? Christ suffered a double Eclipse upon the Cross , an Eclipse of the Sun , and an Eclipse of the Light of God's Countenance . How bitter was this Agony ? The Evangelist useth three words to express it , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , He began to be amazed , Mark 14.33 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , He began to faint . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , To be exceeding sorrowful , Matth. 26.37 . Christ felt the Pains of Hell in his Soul , though not locally , yet equivalently .

Quest. Why did Christ suffer ?

Resp. Surely not for any desert of his own , Dan. 9.26 . The Messiah shall be cut off , but not for himself ; it was for us , Isa. 53.6 . Unus peccat alius plectitor ; He suffered that he might satisfie God's Justice for us . We by our Sins had infinitely wronged God , and could we have shed Rivers of Tears , offered up Millions of Holocausts and Burnt-Offerings , we could never have pacified an angry Deity ; therefore Christ must dye that God's Justice might be satisfied .

It is hotly debated among Divines , Whether God could not have forgiven Sin freely without a Sacrifice ? Not to dispute what God could have done , but when we consider God was resolved to have the Law satisfied , and to have Man in a way of Justice as well as Mercy ; then , I say , it was necessary that Christ should lay down his Life as a Sacrifice :

1. To fulfil the Predictions of Scripture , Luke 24.46 . Thus it behoved Christ to suffer .

2. To bring us into Favour with God : 'T is one thing for a Traytor to be pardoned , and another thing to be made a Favourite . Christ's Bloud is not only called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Sacrifice whereby God is appeased , but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Propitiation whereby God becomes gracious and friendly to us . Christ is our Mercy-seat from which God gives Answers of Peace to us .

3. Christ dyed that he might make good his last Will and Testament with his Bloud : There were many Legacies which Christ bequeathed to Believers , which had been all null and void had not he dyed , and by his Death confirm'd the Will , Heb. 9.17 . A Testament is in force after Men are dead : The Mission of Spirit , the Promises , those Legacies , were not in force till Christ's Death ; but Christ by his Bloud hath sealed them , and Believers may lay claim to them .

4. He died that he might purchase for us Glorious Mansions : Therefore Heaven is called not only a promised , but a purchased Possession , Eph. 1.14 . Christ dyed for our Preferment ; He suffered that we might reign ; he hung upon the Cross , that we might fit upon the Throne ; Heaven was shut , &c. Crux Christi clavis Paradisi : The Cross of Christ is the Ladder by which we ascend to Heaven . His Crucifixion is our Coronation .

Use 1. In the Bloudy Sacrifice of Christ , see the horrid Nature of Sin : Sin ( it is true ) is odious as it banish'd Adam out of Paradise , and threw the Angels into Hell , but that which doth most of all make it appear Horrid , is this , it made Christ vail his Glory and loose his Bloud . We should look upon Sin with Indignation , and pursue it with an Holy Malice , and shed the Bloud of those Sins shed Christ's Bloud . The sight of Caesar's Bloudy Robe incensed the Romans against them that slew him : The sight of Christ's bleeding Body should incense us against Sin ; let us not parly with it , let not that be our Joy which made Christ a Man of Sorrow .

Use 2. Is Christ our Priest sacrific'd , see God's Mercy and Iustice displayed : I may say as the Apostle , Rom. 11.27 . Behold the goodness and severity of God : 1. The Goodness of God in providing a Sacrifice . Had not Christ suffered on the Cross , we must have lain in Hell for ever satisfying God's Justice .

2. The Severity of God : Though it were his own Son , the Son of his Love , and our Sins were but imputed to him , yet God did not spare him , Rom. 8.32 . but his Wrath did flame against him . And if God were thus severe to his own Son , how dreadful will he be one day to his Enemies ? Such as dye in wilful Impenitency must feel the same Wrath as Christ did ; and because they cannot bear it at once , therefore they must be enduring it for ever .

Use 3. Is Christ our Priest who was sacrificed for us , then see the endeared Affection of Christ to us Sinners : The Cross ( saith Austin ) was a Pulpit in which Christ preached his Love to the World . That Christ should dye was more then if all the Angels had been turned to Dust : And that Christ should dye as a Malefactor , having the weight of all Mens Sins laid upon him : That he should dye for his Enemies , Rom. 5.10 . The Balm-tree weeps out its precious Balm to heal those that cut and mangle it ; Christ shed his Bloud to heal those that crucified him . And that he should dye freely ; it is call'd the Offering of the Body of Jesus , Heb. 10.10 . And though his Sufferings were so great that they made him sigh , and weep , and bleed , yet they could not make him Repent , Isa. 53.11 . He shall see of the travel of his soul , and be satisfied . Christ had hard travel upon the Cross , yet he doth not repent of it , but thinks his Sweat and Bloud well bestowed , because he sees Redemption brought forth to the World . O infinite amazing Love of Christ ! a Love that passeth Knowledge ! Eph. 3.19 . That neither Man or Angel can paralel . How should we be affected with this Love , if Saul was so affected with David's Kindness in sparing his Life ? How should we be affected with Christ's Kindness in parting with his Life for us ? At Christ's Death and Passion the very Stones did cleave asunder , Matth. 27.5 . The rocks rent . Not to be affected with Christ's Love in dying , is to have Hearts harder then the Rocks .

Use 4. Is Christ our Sacrifice ? then see the Excellency of this Sacrifice : 1. It is perfect , Heb. 10.14 . By one offering he hath perfected them that are sanctified . Therefore how impious are the Papists in joyning their Merits , and the Prayers of Saints with Christ's Sacrifice . They offer him up daily in the Mass , as if Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross were imperfect ; this is a Blasphemy against Christ's Priestly Office .

2. Christ's Sacrifice is meritorious , he not only died for our Example , but to merit Salvation : The Person who suffered being God as well as Man , did put Vertue into his Sufferings ; and now our sins are expiated , and God appeased . No sooner did the Messengers say , Uriah is dead ; but David's Anger was pacified , 2 Sam. 11.21 . No sooner did Christ dye but God's Anger is pacified .

3. This Sacrifice is beneficial ; out of the dead Lyon Sampson had Honey ; it procures Justification of our Persons , Acceptance of our Services , Access to God with Boldness , Entrance into the Holy Place of Heaven , Heb. 10.19 . Per latus Christi pa●escit nobis in coelum . Israel passed through the Red Sea to Canaan ; so through the Red Sea of Christ's Bloud we enter into the Heavenly Canaan .

2. Use of Exhortation : Branch 1. Let us fiducially apply this Bloud of Christ : All the Vertue of a Medicine is in the applying ; though the Medicine be made of the Bloud of God , it will not heal unless by Faith applyed . As Fire is to the Chymist , so is Faith to a Christian ; the Chymist can do nothing without Fire , so there is nothing done without Faith . Faith makes Christ's Sacrifice ours , Phil. 3.8 Christ Iesus my Lord . It is not Gold in the Mine enricheth , but Gold in the Hand : Faith is the Hand receives Christ's Golden Merits . It is not a Cordial in the Glass refresheth the Spirits , but a Cordial drunk down . Per fidem Christi sanguinem sugimus , Cypr. Faith opens the Orifice of Christ's Wound● , and drinks the precious Cordial of his Bloud . Without Faith Christ himself will not avail us .

Branch 2. Let us love a Bleeding Saviour , and let us show our Love to Christ by being ready to suffer for him : Many rejoyce at Christ's Suffering for them , but dream not of their Suffering for him : Ioseph dreamed of his Preferment , but not of his Imprisonment . Was Christ a Sacrifice ? Did he bear God's Wrath for us ? we should bear Man's Wrath for him . Christ's Death was voluntary , Psal. 40.7 . Lo , I come to do thy will , O God . Luke 12.50 . I have a baptism to be baptized with , and how am I straitned till it be accomplished . Christ calls his Sufferings a Baptism : he was to be ( as it were ) baptized in his own Bloud ; And how did he thirst for that time ▪ How am I straitned ! Oh then let us be willing to suffer for Christ ! Christ hath taken away the Venom and Sting of the Saint's Sufferings : there is no Wrath in their Cup. Our Sufferings Christ can make sweet . As there was Oyl mix'd in the Peace-Offering : So ▪ God can mix the Oyl of Gladness with our Sufferings . The ringing of my Chain is sweet Musick in my Ears , Landgrave of Hesse . Life must be parted with shortly , what is it to part with it a little sooner , as a Sacrifice to Christ , as a Seal of our Sincerity , and a Pledge of Thankfulness .

3. Use of Consolation : This Sacrifice of Christ's Bloud may infinitely comfort us . This is the Bloud of Atonement ; Christ's Cross is , Cardo salutis , Calv. The Hing and Foundation of our Comfort . 1. This Bloud comforts in case of Guilt : O saith the Soul , my sins trouble me ; why , Christ's Bloud was shed for the Remission of Sin , Mat. 26.28 . Let us see our sins laid on Christ , and then they are no more ours but his .

2. In case of Pollution : Christ's Bloud is an healing and cleansing Bloud : 1. It is healing , Isa. 53.5 . With his stripes we are healed . It is the best Weapon-Salve , it heals at a distance : though Christ be in Heaven , we may feel the Vertue of his Bloud healing our bloudy Issue . 2. And it is cleansing : 'T is therefore compar'd to Fountain-water , Zec. 13.1 . The Word is a Glass to show us our Spots , and Christ's Bloud is a Fountain to wash them away ; it turns Leprosy into Purity : 1 Joh. 1.7 . The bloud of Iesus cleanseth us from all our sin . There is indeed one Spot so black that Christ's Bloud doth not wash away , viz. The Sin against the Holy Ghost . — Not but that there is Vertue enough in Christ's Bloud to wash it away ; but he who hath sinned that Sin , will not be washed , he contemns Christ's Bloud , and tramples it under foot , Heb. 10.29 . Thus we see what a strong Cordial Christ's Bloud is , it is the Anchor-hold of our Faith , the Spring of our Joy , the Crown of our Desires , and the only Support both in Life and Death . In all our Fears let us comfort our selves with the Propitiatory Sacrifice of Christ's Bloud : Christ dyed both as a Purchaser and as a Conquerour : 1. As a Purchaser in regard of God , having by his Bloud obtained our Salvation . 2. And as a Conqueror in regard of Satan , the Cross being his Triumphant Chariot , whe●ein he hath led Hell and Death captive .

Use ult . Bless God for this precious Sacrifice of Christ's Death , Psal. 103.1 . Bless the Lord , O my soul. And for what doth David bless him ? Who redeemeth thy life from destruction . Christ gave himself a Sin-offering for us , let us give ourselves a Thank-offering to him . If a Man redeem another out of Debt , will not he be grateful ? How deeply do we stand obliged to Christ , who hath redeemed us from Hell and Damnation , Rev. 5.9 . And they sung a new Song , saying , Thou art worthy to take the Book , and open the Seals , for thou wast slain , and hast redeemed us to God by thy Blood . Let our Hearts and Tongues join in consort to bless God , and let us shew our Thankfulness to Christ by Fruitfulness ; let us bring forth ( as Spice-Trees ) the Fruits of Humility , Zeal , Good-works . This is to live unto him , who hath died for us , 2 Cor. 5.15 . The Wise-men did not only worship Christ , but presented him with Gifts , Gold , and Frankincense , and Myrrhe , Matth. 2.11 . Let us present Christ with the Fruits of Righteousness , which are unto the Glory and Praise of God .

CHRIST's Intercession . ROM. 8.34 .

Who also maketh Intercession for us .

WHen Aaron entred into the Holy Place , his Bells gave a Sound ; so Christ having entred into Heaven , his Intercession makes a melodious sound in the Ears of God . Christ , though he be exalted to Glory , hath not laid aside his Bowels of Compassion , but is still mindful of his Body Mystical ; as Ioseph was mindful of his Father and Brethren , when he was exalted to the Court . Who also maketh Intercession for us . — To Intercede is to make Request in the behalf of another . Christ is the great Master of Requests in Heaven ; Christus est Catholicus Patris Sacerdos , Tertul.

Quest. What are the Qualifications of our Intercessor ?

Resp. 1. He is holy , Hebr. 7.26 . For such an High Priest became us , who is holy , undefiled , separate from sinners . Christ knew no sin , 2 Cor. 5.21 . he knew sin in the weight , not in the act . It was requisite that he who was to do away the sins of others , should himself be without sin . Holiness is one of the precious Stones which shines on the Breast-Plate of our High Priest .

2. He is faithful , Hebr. 2.17 . It behoved him to be like unto his brethren , that he might be a faithful High Priest . Moses was faithful as a Servant , Christ as a Son , Hebr. 3.5 . he doth not forget any Cause he hath to plead , nor doth he use any deceit in pleading . An ordinary Attorney may either leave out some word which might make for the Client , or put in a word against him , having receiv'd a Fee on both sides ; but Christ is true to the Cause he pleads ; we may leave our Matters with him , we may trust our Lives and Souls in his hand .

3. He never dies . The Priests under the Law , while their Office lived , they themselves died , Hebr. 7.23 . They were not suffered to continue by reason of death : but Christ ever lives to make Intercession , Hebr. 7.25 . He hath no Succession in his Priesthood .

Quest. Who Christ intercedes for ?

Resp. Not for all promiscuously , Iohn 17.9 . but for the Elect. The efficacy of Christ's Prayer reacheth no further then the efficacy of his Blood ; but his Blood was shed only for the Elect , therefore his Prayers only reach them . The High Priest went into the Sanctuary with the Names only of the Twelve Tribes upon his Breast ; so Christ goes into Heaven only with the Names of the Elect upon his Breast . Christ interceeds for the weakest Believers , Iohn 17.20 . and for all the sins of Believers . In the Law there were some sins the High Priest was neither to offer Sacrifice for , nor yet to offer Prayer , Numb. 15.30 . The Soul that doth ought presumptuously shall be cut off . The Priest might offer up Prayer for sins of Ignorance , but not of Presumption : but Christ's Intercession extends to all the sins of the Elect . Of what a bloody colour was David's sin , yet it did not exclude Christ's Intercession .

Quest. What doth Christ in the Work of Intercession ?

Resp. Three things .

1. He presents the Merit of his Blood to his Father , and in the Virtue of that Price paid , pleads for Mercy . The High Priest was herein a lively Type of Christ ; Aaron was to do four things : 1. Kill the Beast ; 2. to enter with the Blood into the Holy of Holies ; 3. to sprinkle the Mercy Seat with the Blood ; 4. to kindle the Incense , and with the smoak of it cause a Cloud to arise over the Mercy Seat , and so the Atonement was made , Lev. 16.11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16. Christ our High Priest did exactly answer to this Type ; He was offered up in Sacrifice , that Answers to the Priests killing the Bullock : And Christ is gone up into Heaven , that Answers to to the Priests going into the Holy of Holies : And he spreads his Blood before his Father , that Answers to the Priests sprinkling the Blood upon the Mercy Seat . And he prays to his Father , that for his Blood sake he would be propitious to Sinners , that Answers to the Cloud of Incense going up : And through his Intercession God is pacified , that Answers to the Priests making Atonement .

2. Christ by his Intercession answers all Bills of Indictment brought in against the Elect. Believers do what they can ; Sin , and then Satan accuseth them to God , and Conscience accuseth them to themselves , now , Christ by his Intercession answers all these Accusations , Rom. 8.33 . Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect ? it is Christ who makes Intercession for us . When Aesculus was accused for some Impiety , his Brother stood up for him , and shewed the Magistrates how he had lost his hand in the Service of the State , and so obtained his pardon . Thus when Satan accuseth the Saints , or the Justice of God lays any thing to their charge , Christ shews his own wounds , and by Virtue of his bloody Sufferings , he answers all the Demands and Challenges of the Law , and counter-works Satan's Accusations .

3. Christ by his Intercession calls for an Acquittance ; Lord , let the sinner be absolved from guilt ; and in this sence Christ is called an Advocate , 1 Iohn 2.1 . He requires that the Sinner be set free in the Court . An Advocate differs much from an Orator ; an Orator useth Rhetorick to perswade and entreat the Judge to shew Mercy to another : but an Advocate tells the Judge what is Law : thus Christ appears in Heaven as an Advocate , he represents what is Law . When God's Justice opens the Debt-Book , Christ opens the Law-Book : Lord , saith he , thou art a just God , and will not be pacified without Blood , lo here , the Blood is shed , therefore in Justice give me a Discharge for these distressed Creatures . 'T is equal that the Law being satisfied , the Sinner should be acquitted . And upon Christ's Plea , God sets his hand to the Sinner's Pardon .

Quest. In what manner Christ interceeds ?

Answ. 1. Freely ; he pleads our Cause in Heaven , and takes no Fee . An ordinary Lawyer will have his Fee , and sometimes a Bribe too ; but Christ is not Mercenary : How many Causes doth he plead every day in Heaven , and will take nothing . As Christ laid down his Life freely , Iohn 10.15 , 18. so he interceeds freely .

2. Feelingly ; He is sensible of our condition as his own ; Hebr. 4.15 . We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our Infirmity . As a tender hearted Mother would plead with a Judge for a Child ready to be condemned ; O how would her Bowels work , how would her Tears trickle down , what weeping Rhetorick would she use to the Judge for Mercy . Thus the Lord Jesus is full of Sympathy and Tenderness , Hebr. 2.17 . that he might be a merciful High Priest . Though he hath left his Passion , yet not his Compassion . An ordinary Lawyer is not affected with the Cause he pleads , nor doth he care which way it goes . It is Profit makes him plead , not Affection . But Christ interceeds feelingly ; and that which makes him interceed with Affection , is , it is his own Cause which he pleads . He hath shed his Blood to purchase Life and Salvation for the Elect , and if they should not be saved , he would lose his purchase .

3. Efficaciously . It is a prevailing Intercession . Christ never lost any Cause he pleaded , he was never Non-suited . Christ's Intercession must needs be effectual , if you consider ,

( 1. ) The Excellency of his Person ; if the Prayer of a Saint be so prevalent with God : Moses's Prayer did bind God's hands , Exod. 32.10 . Let me alone : and Iacob as a Prince prevailed with God , Gen. 32.28 . and Eliah did by Prayer open and shut Heaven , Iam. 5.17 . Then what is Christ's Prayer ? He is the Son of God , the Son in whom he is well pleased , Matth. 3.17 . What will not a Father grant his Son ? Iohn 11.42 . I know that thou always hearest me . If God could forget , that Christ were a Priest , yet he cannot forget that he is a Son .

( 2. ) Christ prays for nothing but what his Father hath a mind to grant . There is but One Will between Christ and his Father : Christ prays , Sanctifie them through thy Truth ; and this is the will of God , even your sanctification , 1 Thess. 4.3 . so then , if Christ prays for nothing , but what God the Father hath a mind to grant , then he is like to speed .

( 3. ) Christ prays for nothing but what he hath power to give . What he prays for as he is Man , that he hath power to give as he is God , Iohn 17.24 . Father , I will — Father , there he prays as Man ; I will , there he gives as God . This is a great comfort to a Believer , when his Prayer is weak , and he can hardly pray for himself , Christs Prayer in Heaven is mighty and powerful ▪ Though God may refuse Prayer as it comes from us , yet not as it comes from Christ .

4. Christ's Intercession is always ready at hand . The People of God have sins of daily incursion ; and besides these , sometimes they lapse into great sins , and God is provoked , and his Justice is ready to break forth upon them ; but Christ's Intercession is ready at hand , he daily makes up the Breaches between God and them ; he presents the Merit of his Blood to his Father to pacifie him . When the Wrath of God began to break out upon Israel , Aaron presently step'd in with his Censer , and offered Incense , and so the Plague was staid , Numb. 16.47 . so no sooner doth a Child of God offend , and God begins to be angry , but immediately Christ steps in and intercedes ; Father , it is my Child hath offended , though he hath forgotten his Duty , thou hast not lost thy Bowels : O pity him , and let thy Anger be turned away from him . Christ's Intercession is ready at hand , and upon the least failings of the Godly , he stands up and makes Request for them in Heaven .

Quest. What are the Fruits of Christ's Intercession ?

Resp. 1. Iustification . In Justification there is two things ; 1. Guilt is remitted , 2. Righteousness is imputed , Ier. 23.6 . The Lord our Righteousness . We are reputed not only Righteous , as the Angels , but as Christ , having his Robes put upon us , 2 Cor. 5.21 . But whence is it that we are justified ? 'T is from Christ's Intercession , Rom. 8.33 , 34. Lord , saith Christ , these are the Persons I have died for , look upon them as if they had not sinned , and repute them Righteous .

2 d Fruit. The Unction of the Spirit , 1 Iohn 2.20 . Ye have an Unction from the holy one . This Unction or Anointing is nothing else but the Work of Sanctification in the heart , whereby the Spirit makes us partake of the Divine Nature , 2 Pet. 1.4 . Such as speak of the Philosophers Stone , suppose it to have such a Property that when it toucheth the Mettal , it turns it into Gold ; such a Property hath the Spirit of God upon the Soul , when it toucheth the Soul , it puts into it a Divine Nature , it makes it to be holy , and to resemble God . This sanctifying work of the Spirit , is the fruit of Christ's Intercession , Iohn 7.39 . The Holy Ghost was not yet given , because Iesus was not yet glorified . Christ being glorified and in Heaven , now ▪ he prays the Father ▪ and the Father sends the Spirit , who pours out the holy Anointing upon the Elect.

3 d Fruit. The Purification of our holy Things . It is Christ's work in Heaven , not only to present his own Prayers to his Father , but he prays over our Prayers again , Rev. 8.3 . Another Angel came , having a golden Censer , and there was given to him much Incense , that he should offer it with the Prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar . This Angel was Christ ; he takes the golden Censer of his Merits , and puts our Prayers into this Censer , and with the Incense of his Intercession makes our Prayers go up as a sweet perfume in Heaven . It is observable , Lev. 16.16 . Aaron shall make Atonement for the holy Place : this was Typical , to shew that our holy Duties need to have Atonement made for them . Our best Services , as they come from us , are mixed with Corruption , as Wine that tasts of the Cask , Isa. 64.6 . they are filthy rags : But Christ purifies and sweetens these Services , mixing the sweet odours of his Intercession with them , and now God accepts and Crowns them . What would become of our Duties without an High Priest ? Christ's Intercession doth , to our Prayers , as the Fan to the Chaff , it winnows it from the Corn ; so Christ winnows out the Chaff which intermixeth with our Prayers .

4 th Fruit. Access with boldness unto the Throne of Grace , Hebr. 4.16 . We have a great High Priest that is passed into the Heavens , let us go . Come boldly to the Throne of Grace , we have a Friend at Court that speaks a good word for us , and is following our Cause in Heaven , therefore let this animate and encourage us in Prayer . We think it too much boldness ; what ? such Sinners as we to come for pardon , we shall be denied : this is a sinful modesty . Did we indeed come in our own Name in Prayer , it were presumption , but Christ intercedes for us in the forc● and efficacy of his Blood , now , to be afraid to come to God in Prayer , is a dishonour to Christ's Intercession .

5 th Fruit. The sending the Comforter , Iohn 14.16 . I will pray the Father , and ●e will give you another Comforter . The Comfort of the Spirit is distinct from the Anointing ; this Comfort is very sweet , sweeter than the Honey drops from the Comb ; it is the Manna in the Golden Pot , it is Vinum in pectore ; a drop of this heavenly Comfort , is enough to sweeten a Sea of worldly Sorrow . It is called arrhabo ▪ the earnest of the Spirit , 2 Cor. 1.22 . an Earnest assures one of the whole Sum. The Spirit gives an Earnest of Heaven in our Hand , whence is this comforting work of the Spirit ? Thank Christ's Intercession for it . I will pray the Father , and he shall send the Comforter .

6 th Fruit. Perseverance in Grace , Iohn 17.11 . Keep through thy own Name those which thou hast given me . It is not our prayer , or watchfulness , or grace that keeps us , but it is God's care and manu-tenancy , he holds us that we do not fall away ; and , whence is it God preserves us ? it is from Christ's Intercession , Father , keep them . That Prayer of Christ for Peter , is the Copy of his Prayer now in Heaven , Luke 22.32 . Peter's Faith did fail in some degree , when he denied Christ , but Christ prayed that it might not totally fail . The Saints persevere in believing , because Christ perseveres in praying .

7 th Fruit. Absolution at the Day of Judgment . Christ shall judge the World , Iohn 5.22 . God hath committed all Iudgment to the Son . Now sure , those that Christ hath so prayed for , he will Absolve when he sits upon the Bench of Judicature . Will Christ condemn those he prays for ? Believers are his Spouse , will he condemn his Spouse ?

Use 1. Branch 1. See here the Constancy of Christ's Love to the Elect. He did not only die for them , but intercedes for them in Heaven : when Christ hath done dying , he hath not done loving ; he is now at work in Heaven for the Saints ; he carries their names on his breast , and will never leave praying till that Prayer be granted , Iohn 17.24 . Father , I will that those whom thou hast given me , be with me where I am .

Branch 2. See whence it is that the Prayers of the Saints are so powerful with God . Iacob , as an Angel , prevailed with God ; Moses's Prayer tied God's hands ; Precibus suis tanquam vinculis ligatum tenuit Deum ; Let me alone , Exod. 32.10 . Whence is this ? It is Christ's Prayer in Heaven makes the Saints Prayers so available . Christ's Divine Nature is the Altar on which he offers up our Prayers , and so they prevail . Prayer , as it comes from the Saints , is but weak and languid ; but when the Arrow of a Saint's Prayer is put into the Bow of Christ's Intercession , now it pierceth the Throne of Grace .

Branch 3. It shows where a Christian must chiefly fix his Eye when he comes to prayer , viz. on Christ's Intercession . We are to look up to the Mercy-seat , but to hope for Mercy through Christ's Intercession . We read Levit. 6. That Aaron made the Atonement as well by the Incense as the Bloud . We must look to the Cloud of Incense , viz. the Intercession of Christ . Christian , Look up to thy Advocate , one that God can deny nothing to : A word from Christ's Mouth is more then if all the Angels in Heaven were interceding for thee . If a Man had a Suit depending in the Court of Chancery , and had a skilful Lawyer to plead , this would much encourage him . Christ is now at the Court appearing for us , Heb. 9.24 . and he hath great Potency in Heaven ; this should much encourage us to look up to him , and hope for Audience in Prayer . We might indeed be afraid to present our Petitions , if we had not Christ to deliver them .

Branch 4. The sad Condition of an Unbeliever , he hath none in Heaven to speak a word for him , Joh. 17.9 . I pray not for the world . As good be shut out of Heaven , as be shut out of Christ's Prayer . Christ pleads for the Saints , as Queen Esther did for the Iews , when they should have been destroyed , Let my people be given me at my request , Esth. 7.3 . When the Devil shows the Blackness of their Sins , Christ shows the Redness of his Wounds . But how sad is the Condition of that Man Christ will not pray for ? Nay , that he will pray against ? As Queen Esther petitioned against Haman , and then his Face was covered , Esth. 7.6 . and he was led away to Execution . 'T is sad when the Law shall be against the Sinner , and Conscience , and Judge , and no Friend to speak a word for him : There 's no way then but Jaylor take the Prisoner .

Branch 5. If Christ makes Intercession , then we have nothing to do with other Intercessors . The Church of Rome distinguisheth between Mediators of Redemption and Intercession , and say , The Angels do not redeem us , but intercede for us , and pray to them . But Christ only can intercede for us Ex Officio . God hath consecrated him an High-Priest , Heb. 5.6 . Thou art a priest for ever . Christ intercedes Vi pretii , in the Vertue of his Bloud , he pleads his Merits to his Father ; the Angels have no Merits to bring to God , therefore can be no Intercessors for us : Whoever is our Advocate , must be our Propitiation to pacifie God , 1 Joh. 2.1 . We have an advocate with the Father . Verse 2. And he is our propitiation . The Angels cannot be our Propitiation , ergo , not our Advocates .

2. Use of Tryal : How shall we know that Christ intercedes for us ? They have little ground to think Christ prays for them , who never pray for themselves . Well , but how shall we know ?

Resp. 1. If Christ be praying for us , then his Spirit is praying in us , Gal. 4.6 . He hath sent forth his spirit into your heart , crying , Abba Father . And , Rom. 8.26 . the Spirit helps us with Sighs and Groans ; not only with Gifts but Groans . We need not climb up into the Firmament to see if the Sun be there , we may see the Beauty of it upon the Earth : so we need not go up into Heaven to see if Christ be there interceding for us ; let us look into our Hearts , if they are quickned and inflamed in Prayer , and we can cry , Abba Father , by this interceding of the Spirit within us , we may know Christ is interceding above for us .

Resp. 2. If we are given to Christ , then he intercedes for us , Joh. 17.9 . I pray for them whom thou hast given me . 'T is one thing for Christ to be given to us , another for us to be given to Christ .

Quest. How know you that ?

Resp. 3. If thou art a Believer , then thou art one given to Christ , and he prays for thee . Faith is an Act of Recumbency , we do 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , rest on Christ , as the Stones in the Building rest upon the Corner-stone . Faith throws itself into Christ's Arms ; it saith , Christ is my Priest , his Bloud is my Sacrifice , his Divine Nature is my Altar , and here I rest . This Faith is seen by the Effects of it , a refining Work and a resigning Work ; it purifies the Heart , there is the refining Work ; it makes a Deed of Gift to Christ , it gives up its Use , its Love to him , 1 Cor. 6.19 . There is the resigning Work of Faith . These that believe are given to Christ , and have a part in his Prayer , Joh. 17.20 . Nor do I pray for these alone , but for all them that shall believe on me .

3. Use of Exhortation . Branch 1. It stirs us up to several Duties , 1. If Christ appears for us in Heaven , then we must appear for him upon Earth : Christ is not ashamed to carry our Names on his Breast , and shall we be ashamed of his Truth ? Doth he plead our Cause , and shall not we stand up in his Cause ? What a mighty Argument is this to stand up for the Honour of Christ in Times of Apostacy ; Christ is interceding for us . Doth he present our Names in Heaven , and shall not we profess his Name on Earth ?

Branch 2. If Christ lays out all his Interest for us at the Throne of Grace , we must lay out all our Interest for him : Phil. 1.20 . That Christ may be magnified . Trade your Talents for Christ's Glory , there 's no Man but hath some Talent to trade , one parts another Estate ; Oh trade for Christ's Glory ! spend and be spent for him . Let your Head study for Christ , your Hands work for Christ , your Tongue speak for him : If Christ be an Advocate for us in Heaven , we must be Factors for him on Earth ; every one in his Sphere must act vigorously for Christ .

Branch 3. Believe in this glorious Intercession of Christ ! that he now intercedes for us , and that for his sake God will accept us . In the Text , Who maketh Intercession for us . If we believe not , we dishonour Christ's Intercession . If a poor Sinner may not go to Christ as his High-Priest , believing in his Intercession , then are we Christians in a worse Condition under the Gospel , then the Iews were under the Law : they when they had sinn'd had their High-Priest to make Atonement , and shall not we have our High-Priest ? Is not Christ our Aaron , who presents his Bloud and Incense before the Mercy-seat ? O look up by Faith to Christ's Intercession ! Christ did not only pray for his Disciples and Apostles , but for the weakest Believer .

Branch 4. Love your Intercessor , 1 Cor. 16.22 . If any man love not the Lord Iesus Christ , let him be Anathama . Kindness invites Love ; had you a Friend at Court , who when you were questioned for Delinquency or Debt , should plead with the Judge for you , and bring you off your Troubles , would not you love that Friend ? So it is here ; how oft doth Satan put in his Bills against us in the Court , now Christ is at the Judge's hand , he sits at his Father's right hand ever to plead for us , and to make our Peace with God : O how should our Hearts be fired with Love to Christ ! Love him with a sincere and superlative Love , above Estate , Relations ; Bern. Plusquam tua , tuos ; and our Fire of Love should be as the Fire on the Altar , never to go out , Lev. 6.13 .

4. Use of Comfort to Believers : Christ is at work for you in Heaven , he makes Intercession for you . Oh but I am afraid Christ doth not intercede for me ?

Quest. I am a Sinner ; who doth Christ intercede for ?

Resp. Isa. 53.12 . He made intercession for the transgressors . Did Christ open his sides for thee , and will he not open his mouth to plead for thee ?

Quest. But I have offended my High-Priest by distrusting his Bloud , abusing his Love , grieving his Spirit , and will he ever pray for me ?

Resp. Which of us may not say so ? But , Christian , dost thou mourn for Unbelief ? be not discouraged , thou maist have a part in Christ's Prayer : Numb . 16. The congregation murmured against Aaron ; yet though they had sinn'd against their High-Priest , Verse 46. Aaron run in with his censer , and stood between the dead and the living . If so much Bowels in Aaron who was but a Type of Christ , how much more Bowels is in Christ , who will pray for them who have sinn'd against their High-Priest ? Did not he pray for them that crucified him , Father forgive them ?

Quest. But I am unworthy , what am I that Christ should intercede for me ?

Resp. The Work of Christ's Intercession is a Work of Free-grace ; Christ's praying for us is from his pitying of us . Christ looks not at our Worthiness , but our Wants .

Quest. But I am followed with sad Temptations ?

Resp. But though Satan tempts , Christ prays , and Satan shall be vanquished : tho' thou maist loose a single Battel , yet not the Victory . Christ prays that thy Faith fail not ; therefore Christian say , Why art thou cast down , O my Soul ? Christ intercedes , 't is Man that sins , 't is God that prays : The Greek word for Advocate , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Comforter . This is a Soveraign Comfort , Christ makes Intercession .

CHRIST's Kingly Office .

Quest. XVI . HOw doth Christ execute the Office of a King ?

Resp. In subduing us to himself , and in restraining and conquering his and our Enemies .

Now of CHRIST's Regal Office , Revel. 19.16 . And he hath on his vesture , and on his thigh a name written , King of kings , and Lord of lords .

Jesus Christ is of mighty Renown , he is a King ; he hath a Kingly Title , High and mighty , Isa. 57.15 . 2. He hath his Insignia Regalia , his Ensigns of Royalty , Corona est insigne Regiae potestatis ; His Crown , Rev. 6.2 . His Sword , Psal. 45.3 . Gird thy sword upon thy thigh . His Scepter , Heb. 1.8 . A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom . 3. His Escotcheon , or Coat-Armour , he gives the Lyon in his Arms , Rev. 5.5 . The lion of the tribe of Iudah . And he is , the Text saith , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , King of Kings . He hath a Preheminence of all other Kings , he is call'd the Prince of the Kings of the Earth , Rev. 1.5 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 — He must needs be so , for by him Kings reign , Prov. 8.15 . They hold their Crowns by immediate Tenure from this Great King . Christ infinitely out-vyes all others Princes , he hath the highest Throne , the largest Dominions , and the longest Possession , Heb. 1.8 . Thy throne , O God , is for ever and ever . Christ hath many Heirs , but no Successors . Well may he be called King of Kings , for he hath an Unlimited Power ; other Kings their Power is limited , but Christ's Power is unlimited , Psal. 135.6 . Whatsoever he pleased , that did he in heaven and earth , and in the seas . Christ's Power is as large as his Will. The Angels take the Oath of Allegiance to him , Heb. 1.6 . Let all the angels of God worship him .

Quest. How Christ comes to be King ?

Resp. Not by Usurpation , but Legally : Christ holds his Crown by immediate Tenure from Heaven . God the Father hath decreed him to be King , Psal. 2.5 , 6. I have set my king upon my holy hill ; I will declare the decree . God hath anointed and sealed him to his Regal Office , Joh. 6.27 . Him hath God the Father sealed . God hath set the Crown upon his Head .

Quest. In what sence is Christ King ?

Resp. Two ways , 1. In reference to his People . And , 2. In reference to his Enemies .

1. In reference to his People : 1. To govern them , it was prophesied of Christ before he was born , Matth. 2.6 . And thou Bethlehem art not the least among the princes of Iudah , for out of thee shall come a governour that shall rule my people Israel . 'T is a vain thing for a King to have a Crown on his Head , unless he have a Scepter in his Hand to rule .

Quest. Where doth Christ Rule ?

Resp. His Kingdom is Spiritual : he rules in the Hearts of Men. He sets up his Throne where no other King doth , he rules the Will and Affections , His Power binds the Conscience : he subdues Mens Lusts , Mic. 7.19 . He will subdue our iniquities .

Quest. What doth Christ rule by ?

Resp. By Law , and by Love : 1. He rules by Law . 'T is one of the Iura Regalia , the Flowers of the Crown , to Enact Laws , Christ as King makes Laws , and by his Laws he Rules : The Law of Faith , Believe in the Lord Iesus ; the Law of Sanctity , 1 Pet. 1.15 . Be ye holy in all manner of conversation . Many would admit Christ to be their Advocate to plead for them , but not their King to rule them .

2. He rules by Love : He is a King full of Mercy and Clemency ; as he hath a Scepter in his Hand , so an Olive-branch of Peace in his Mouth . Though he be the Lyon of the Tribe of Iudah for Majesty , yet the Lamb of God for Meekness . His Regal Rod hath Honey at the end of it . He sheds abroad his Love into the Hearts of his Subjects ; he rules them with Promises as well as Precepts . This makes all his Subjects become Volunteers ; they are willing to pay their Allegiance to him , Psal. 110.3 . Thy people shall be a willing people ; Plur. Gnam nedabot .

2. Christ is a King to defend his People , as Christ hath a Scepter to rule them , so a Shield to defend them , Psal. 3.3 . Thou O Lord art a shield for me . When Antiochus did rage furiously against the Iews , he took away the Vessels of the Lord's House , set up an Idol in the Temple ; then this Great King , call'd Michael , did stand up for them to defend them , Dan. 12.1 . Christ preserves his Church as a Spark in the Ocean , as a Flock of Sheep among Wolves . That the Sea should be higher then the Earth , and yet not drown it , is a Wonder : so that the Wicked should be so much higher than the Church in Power , and not devour it , is because Christ hath this Inscription on his Vesture and his Thigh , King of Kings : Ps. 124.2 . If it had not been the Lord who was on our side ; they had swallowed us up . They say Lions are Insomnes , they have little or no sleep ; 't is true of the Lyon of the Tribe of Iudah , he never slumbers nor sleeps , but watcheth over his Church to defend it : Isa. 27.2 , 3. Sing ye unto her a vineyard of red wine ; I the Lord do keep it least any hurt it , I will keep it night and day . If the Enemies destroy the Church , it must be at a time when it is neither Night nor Day , for Christ keeps it Day and Night . Christ is said to carry his Church as the Eagle her young Ones upon her Wings , Exod. 19.4 . The Arrow must first hit the Eagle before it can hurt the young Ones , and shoot through her Wings : the Enemies must first strike through Christ , before they can destroy his Church . Let the Wind and Storms be up , and the Church almost covered with Waves , yet Christ , is in the Ship of the Church , and so long there 's no danger of Shipwrack . Nor will Christ only defend his Church as he is King , but deliver it , 2 Tim. 4.17 . He delivered me out of the mouth of the lion ; viz. Nero. 2. Chr. 11.14 . The Lord saved them by a great deliverance . Sometimes Christ is said to command Deliverance , Psal. 44.4 . Sometimes to create Deliverance , Isa. 65.18 . Christ as a King commands Deliverance , and as a God creates it . And deliverance shall come in his time : Isa. 60.22 . I the LORD will hasten it in his time .

Quest. When is the time that this King will deliver his People ?

Resp. When the Hearts of his People are humblest , when their Prayers are ferventest , when their Faith is strongest , when their Forces are weakest , when their Enemies are highest ; now is the usual time that Christ puts forth his Kingly Power in their Deliverance , Isa. 33.2 , 8 , 9.

3. Christ is a King to Reward his People , there 's nothing lost by serving this King , 1. He Rewards his Subjects in this Life : 1. He gives them Inward Peace and Joy ; a Bunch of Grapes by the way ; and oftentimes Riches and Honour . Godliness hath the promise of this life , 1 Tim. 4.8 . These are as it were the Saints Vails ; but besides , the great Reward is to come , An eternal weight of Glory , 2 Cor. 4.17 . Christ makes all his Subjects Kings , Rev. 2.10 . I 'll give thee a crown of life . This Crown will be full of Jewels , and it will never fade , 1 Pet. 5.5 .

2. Christ is a King in reference to his Enemies , in subduing and conquering them : He pulls down their Pride , befools their Policy , restrains their Malice . That Stone cut out of the Mountains without Hands , which smote the Image , Dan. 2.34 . was was an Emblem , saith Austin , of Christ's Monarchical Power , conquering and triumphing over his Enemies . Christ will make his Enemies his Footstool , Psal. 110.1 He can destroy them with ease , 2 Chron. 14.11 . It is nothing for thee Lord to help . He can do it with weak means , without means . He can make the Enemies destroy themselves ; he set the Persians against the Grecians : and 2 Chron. 20.23 . the Children of Ammon helped to destroy one another . Thus Christ is King in vanquishing the Enemies of his Church .

This is a great ground of Comfort to the Church of God in the midst of all the Combinations of the Enemy , Christ is King , and he can not only bound the Enemies power , but break it . The Church hath more with her then against her , she hath Emanuel on her side , even that Great King to whom all Knees must bend .

Christ is called a Man of War , Exod. 15.3 . he understands all the Policies of Chivalry ; he is described with seven Eyes , and seven Horns , Rev. 5.6 . The seven Eyes are to discern the Conspiracies of his Enemies , and the seven Horns are to push and vex his Enemies .

Christ is described with a Crown and a Bow , Rev. 6.2 . He that sat on the white Horse had a Bow , and a Crown was given unto him , and he went forth conquering and to conquer . A Crown is an Ensign of his Kingly Office , and the Bow is to shoot his Enemies to Death .

Christ is describ'd with a Vesture dip'd in Blood , Rev. 19.13 . He hath a golden Scepter to Rule his People , but an Iron Rod to break his Enemies . Rev. 17.12 , 14. The ten Horns thou sawest are ten Kings , these shall make War with the Lamb , but the Lamb shall overcome them ; for he is King of Kings . The Enemies may set up their Standard , but Christ will set up his Trophies at last . Rev. 14.18 , 19. And the Angel gathered the Vine of the Earth , and cast it into the great Wine-press of the Wrath of God , and the Wine-press was trodden , and blood came out of the Wine-press . The Enemies of Christ shall be but as so many Clusters of ripe Grapes to be cast into the great Wine-Press of the Wrath of God , and to be trodden by Christ till their Bloud comes out . Christ will at last come off Victor , and all his Enemies shall be put under his Feet : Gaudeo quod Christus dominus est , alioqui desperassem , said Miconius in an Epistle to Calvin . I am glad Christ Reigns , else I should have despaired . —

Use 1. Branch 1. See hence it is no Disparagement to serve Christ , he is a King , and it s no Dishonour to be employed in a King's Service . Some are apt to reproach the Saints for their Piety , they serve the Lord Christ , he who hath this Inscription upon his Vesture , KING of KINGS . Theodosius thought it a greater Honour to be a Servant of CHRIST , then the Head of an Empire . Servire est Regnare — Christ's Servants are call'd Vessels of Honour , 2 Tim. 2.21 . And a Royal Nation , 1 Pet. 2.9 . Serving of Christ Ennobles us with Dignity : 'T is a greater Honour to serve Christ , then to have Kings serve us .

Branch 2. If Christ be King , it informs us , that all Matters of Fact must one day be brought before him . Christ hath Ius vitae & necis , the Power of Life and Death in his hand , Joh. 5.22 . The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son . He who once hung upon the Cross , shall sit upon the Bench of Judicature : Kings must come before him to be judged ; they who once sat upon the Throne , must appear at the Bar. God hath committed all Judgment to the Son , and Christ's is the highest Court of Judicature : if this King once condemns Men , there is no Appeal to any other Court .

Branch 3. See whither we are to go when we are foiled by Corruption , go to Christ , he is King , desire him by his Kingly Power , to subdue thy Corruptions , to bind these Kings with Chains , Psal. 149.8 . We are apt to say of our Sins , These sons of Zerviah will be too strong for us ; we shall never overcome this Pride and Infidelity : Aye , but go to Christ , he is King , though our Lusts are too strong for us , yet not for Christ to conquer : he can by his Spirit break the Power of Sin . Ioshua when he had conquered five Kings , caus'd his Servants to set their Feet on the Necks of those Kings ; so Christ can and will set his Feet on the Necks of our Lusts.

2. Use of Caution : Is Christ King of Kings ? Let all Great Ones take heed how they imploy their Power against Christ : Christ gives them their Power , and if this Power shall be made use of for the suppressing of his Kingdom and Ordinances , their account will be heavy . God hath laid the Key of Government upon Christ's shoulders , Isa. 9.7 . and to go to oppose Christ in his Kingly Office , it is as if the Thorns should set themselves in Battalia against the Fire , or a Child fight with an Archangel . Christ's Sword on his Thigh is able to avenge all his Quarrels : It is not good to stir a Lion ; Let not Men provoke the Lion of the Tribe of Judah , whose Eyes are as a Lamp of fire , and the Rocks are thrown down by him , Nahum 1.6 . He shall cut off the spirit of Princes , Psal. 76.12 .

Use 3. If Christ be a great King , submit to him . Say not as those Iews , We have no King but Caesar , no King but our Lusts. This is to choose the Bramble to rule over you , and out of the Bramble will come forth a fire , Iudg. 9. Submit to Christ willingly ; all the Devils in Hell submit to Christ , but 't is against their will , they are his Slaves , Not his Subjects . Submit cheerfully to Christ's Person and his Laws . Many would have Christ their Saviour , but not their Prince ; such as will not have Christ to be their King to rule them , shall never have his Blood to save them . Obey all Christ's Princely Commands ; if he commands Love , Humility , Good Works , be as the Needle which points which way soever the Load-stone draws .

Branch 2. Let such admire God's Free-grace , who were once under the Power and Tyranny of Satan , and now Christ hath made them of Slaves , to become the Subjects of his Kingdom . Christ did not need Subjects , he hath Legions of Angels ministring to him ; but in his Love , he hath honoured you , to make you his Subjects . O! how long was it e're Christ could prevail with you to come under his Banner ? How much opposition did he meet with , e're you would wear this Prince's Colours ? but at last Omnipotent Grace overcame you . When Peter was sleeping between two Souldiers , an Angel came and beat off his Chains , Acts 12.7 . So when thou wert sleeping in the Devil's Arms , that Christ should by his Spirit smite thy heart , and cause the Chains of Sin to fall off , and make thee a Subject of his Kingdom : O admire Free-grace ! Thou who art a Subject of Christ , art sure to Reign with Christ for ever .

Christ's Humiliation in his Incarnation . 1 TIM. 3.16 .

Great is the Mystery of Godliness , God manifest in the flesh .

Quest. XVII . WHerein did Christ's Humiliation consist ?

Resp. In his being born , and that in a low condition , undergoing the Miseries of this Life , the Wrath of God , and the cursed Death of the Cross.

Christ's Humiliation consisted in his Incarnation , his taking Flesh and being Born . It was real Flesh Christ took . Not the Image of a Body , ( as the Manichees erroniously held ) but a true Body ; therefore Christ is said to be made of a woman , Gal. 4.4 . As the Bread is made of the Wheat , and the Wine is made of the Grape ; so Christ was made of a Woman ; his Body was part of the Flesh and Substance of the Virgin . This is a glorious Mystery , God manifest in the flesh . In the Creation Man was made in God's Image ; in the Incarnation God was made in Man's Image .

Quest. How it came about that Christ was made flesh ?

Resp. It was by his Fathers special designation , Gal. 4.4 . God sent forth his Son made of a Woman . God the Father did in a special manner appoint Christ to be Incarnate ; which shews us how needful a Call is to any business of weight and importance : to act without a Call , is to act without a Blessing . Christ himself would not be Incarnate , and take upon him the work of a Mediator , till he had a Call . God sent forth his Son made of a Woman .

Quest. But was there no other way for the restoring of fallen Man but this , that God should take flesh ?

Answ. We must not ask a Reason of God's Will , it is dangerous to pry into God's Ark ; we are not to dispute , but adore . The wise God saw this the best way for our Redemption , that Christ should be Incarnate ; it was not fit for any to satisfie God's Justice , but Man , none could do it but God ; therefore Christ being both God and Man , he is the fittest to undertake this Work of Redemption .

Quest. Why Christ was born of a Woman ?

Resp. 1. That God might fulfil that promise , Gen. 3.15 . The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head .

2. Christ was born of a Woman , that he might roll away that reproach from the Woman which she had contracted , by being seduced by the Serpent . Christ in taking his flesh from the Woman , hath honoured her Sex , that as at the first the Woman had made Man a Sinner , so now to make him amends , she should bring him a Saviour .

Quest. Why Christ was born of a Virgin ?

Resp. 1. For Decency . It became not God to have any Mother but a Maid , and it became not a Maid to have any Son but a God .

2. For Necessity . Christ was to be an High Priest , most pure and holy . Had he been born after the ordinary course of Nature , he had been defiled ; ( all that spring out of Adam's Loins have a tincture of sin ) but that Christ's Substance might remain pure and immaculate , he was born of a Virgin .

3. To answer the Type . Melchisedeck was a Type of Christ , he is said to be without Father , and without Mother . Christ being born of a Virgin , answered the Type , he was without Father , and without Mother : without Mother as he was God , without Father as he was Man .

Quest. How could Christ be made of the flesh and blood of a Virgin , yet without sin ? The purest Virgin that is , her Soul is stained with Original sin ?

Answ. This Knot the Scripture unties . Luke 1.35 . The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee , and overshadow thee , therefore that holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be caled the Son of God . The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee , that is , the Holy Ghost did consecrate and purifie that part of the Virgins flesh whereof Christ was made . As the Alchymist extracts and draws away the dross from the Gold , so the Holy Ghost did refine and claritie that part of the Virgins flesh , separating it from sin . Though the Virgin Mary her self had sin , yet that part of the flesh whereof Christ was made , was without sin ; otherwise it must have been an impure Conception .

Quest. What is meant by the power of the Holy Ghost overshadowing the Virgin ?

Answ. St. Basil saith , It was the Holy Ghost's blessing the flesh of that Virgin whereof Christ was formed . But there is a further Mystery in it , the Holy Ghost having framed Christ in the Virgins Womb , did in a wonderful manner unite Christ's Humane Nature to his Divine , and so of both made one person . This is a Mystery which the Angels pry into with Adoration .

Quest. When was Christ incarnate ?

Answ. In the fulness of time . Gal. 4.4 . When the fulness of time was come , God sent forth his Son made of a Woman . By the fulness of time we must understand Tempus à Patre praefinitum , so Ambrose , Luther , Corn●à Lap. the determinate Time that God had set . More particularly , this fulness of time was , when all the Prophesies of the coming of the Messiah were accomplished ; and all Legal Shadows and Figures , whereby he was tipified , were abrogated , in the fulness of time God sent his Son . And by the way observe , this may comfort us in regard of the Church of God , though at present we do not see that Peace and Purity in the Church as we could desire , yet in the fulness of time , when God's time is come , and Mercy is ripe , then shall Deliverance spring up , and God will come riding upon the Chariots of Salvation : When the fulness of time was come , then God sent forth his Son made of a Woman .

Quest. Why was Iesus Christ made flesh ?

Resp. 1. The Causa prime and impulsive Cause , was Free-grace ; Causa 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it was Love in God the Father to send Christ , and Love in Christ that he came to be Incarnate . Love was the intrinsical Motive . Christ is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , because he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , God-man , because he is a lover of Man . Christ came out of Pity and Indulgence to us : Non merita nostra , sed miseria nostra , Aug. not our Deserts , but our Misery made Christ take flesh . Christ's taking flesh was a Plot of Free-grace , a pure Design of Love . God himself , though Almighty , was overcome with Love . Christ Incarnate , is nothing but Love covered with Flesh. Christ's assuming our Humane Nature , as it was a Master-piece of Wisdom , so a Monument of Free-grace .

2. Christ took our flesh upon him , that he might take our sins upon him . He was , saith Luther , maximus peccator , the greatest Sinner , having the weight of the sins of the whole World lying upon him . He took our flesh , that he might take our sins , and so appease God's wrath .

3. Christ took our flesh , that he might make the Humane Nature appear lovely to God , and the Divine Nature appear lovely to Man .

( 1. ) That he might make the Humane Nature lovely to God . Upon our Fall from God , our Nature became odious to him ; no Vermin is so odious to us , as the Humane Nature was to God . When once our Virgin-Nature was become sinful , it was like flesh imposthumated , or running into Sores loathsom to behold . Such was our Nature when corrupt , odious to God , he could not endure to look upon us . Now , Christ taking our flesh , makes the Humane Nature appear lovely to God . As when the Sun shines on the Glass , it casts a bright lustre , so Christ being clad with our flesh , makes the Humane Nature shine , and appear amiable in God's Eyes .

( 2. ) As Christ being cloath'd with ou● flesh makes the Humane Nature appear lovely to God , so he makes the Divine Nature appear lovely to Man . The pure God-head is terrible to behold , we could not see it and live . But Christ's cloathing himself with our flesh , makes the Divine Nature more amiable and delightful to us . Now we need not be afraid to look upon God , seeing him through Christ's Humane Nature . It was a custom of old among the Shepherds , they were wont to clothe themselves with Sheep-skins , to be more pleasing to the Sheep ; so Christ cloathed himself with our flesh , that the Divine Nature may be more pleasing to us . The Humane Nature is a Glass , through which we may see the Love , and Wisdom , and Glory of God clearly represented to us . Through the Lanthorn of Christ's Humanity , we may behold the Light of the Deity shining . Christ being Incarnate , he makes the sight of the Deity not formidable , but delightful to us .

4. Jesus Christ united himself to Man , that Man might be drawn nearer to God . God was before an Enemy to us by reason of sin , but Christ taking our flesh , doth mediate for us , and bring us into Favour with God . As when a King is angry with a Subject , the King's Son marries the Daughter of this Subject , and so mediates for this Subject , and brings him into favour with the King again ; so when God the Father was angry with us , Christ marries himself to our Nature , and now mediates for us with his Father , and brings us to be Friends again , and now God looks upon us with a favourable aspect . As Ioab pleaded for Absalom , and brought him to King David , and David kissed him , so doth Jesus Christ ingratiate us into the favour and love of God . Therefore he may well be called a Peace-maker , having taken our flesh upon him , and so made Peace between us and his angry Father .

Use 1. Branch 1. See here , as in a Glass , the infinite love of God the Father , that when we had lost our selves by sin , then God in the riches of his Grace did send forth his Son made of a Woman to redeem us . And behold the infinite love of Christ , that he was willing thus to condescend to take our flesh . Surely , the Angels would have disdained to have taken our flesh , it would have been a disparagement to them . What King would be willing to wear Sackcloth over his Cloath of Gold ? but Christ did not disdain to take our flesh . O the love of Christ ! Had not Christ been made flesh , we had been made a Curse ; had not he been incarnate , we had been incarcerate , and had been for ever in Prison . Well might an Angel be the Herauld to proclaim this joyful News of Christ's Incarnation , Luke 2.10 . Behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy , for unto you is born this day a Saviour , which is Christ the Lord . The Love of Christ in being Incarnate , will the more appear , if we consider ,

1. Whence Christ came . He came from Heaven , and from the richest place in Heaven , his Father's Bosom , that Hive of Sweetness .

2. To whom Christ came . Was it to his Friends ? no ; he came to sinful Man . Man that had defaced his Image , abused his Love ; Man , who was turned Rebel . Yet he came to Man , resolving to conquer Obstinacy with Kindness . If he would come to any , why not to the Angels that fell ? Hebr. 2.16 . He in no wise took upon him the Nature of Angels . The Angels are of a more noble Extract , more intelligible Creatures , more able for Service ; I , but behold the Love of Christ , he came not to the fallen Angels , but to Mankind . Among the several Wonders of the Loadstone , this is not the least , That it will not draw Gold or Pearl , but despising these , it draws the Iron to it , one of the most inferiour Mettals . Thus Christ leaves the Angels , those Noble Spirits , the Gold and the Pearl , and he comes to poor sinful Man , and draws him into his Embraces .

3. In what manner he came . He came not in the Majesty of a King , attended with his Lifeguard ▪ but he came poor . Not like the Heir of Heaven , but like one of an inferiour Descent . The Place he was born in was poor , not the Royal City Ierusalem , but Bethlehem , a poor obscure place . He was born in an Inn , and a Manger was his Cradle , the Cobwebs his Curtains , the Beasts his Companions ; he descended of poor Parents . One would have thought , if Christ would have come into the World , he would have made choice of some Queen or Personage of Honour to have descended from ; but he comes of mean obscure Parents . That they were poor appears , by their Offering , Luke 2.24 . A pair of Turtle Doves , which was the usual Offering of the Poor , Lev. 12.8 . Christ was so poor , that when he wanted Money , he was fain to work a Miracle for it , Matth. 17.27 . He when he died , made no Will . He came into the World poor .

4. Why he came ? That he might take our flesh , and redeem us ; that he might instate us into a Kingdom . He was poor , that he might make us rich . 2 Cor. 8.9 . He was born of a Virgin , that he might be born of God ; he took our Flesh , that he might give us his Spirit . He lay in the Manger , that we might lye in Paradise . He came down from Heaven , that he might bring us to Heaven . And what was all this but Love ? If our Hearts be not Rocks , this Love of Christ should affect us . Behold Love that passeth Knowledge , Eph. 3.19 .

Branch 2. See here the wonderful Humility of Christ : Christ was made flesh . O Sancta Humilitas , Tu filium Dei descendere fecisti in uterum Mariae Virginis , A●st . That Christ should clothe himself with our flesh , a piece of that Earth which we tread upon , O infinite Humility ! Christ's taking our flesh was one of the lowest Steps of his Humiliation . Christ did humble himself more in lying in the Virgins Womb , then in hanging upon the Cross. It was not so much for Man to die , but for God to become Man , that was the wonder of Humility , Phil. 2.7 . He was made in the likeness of Men. For Christ to be made flesh , was more Humility , then for the Angels to be made Worms . Christ's flesh is called a Vail , Hebr. 10.20 . Through the Vail that is his Flesh. Christ's wearing our Flesh , vail'd his Glory . For him to be made flesh , who was equal with God , O Humility ! Phil. 2.6 . Who being in the form of God , thought it no robbery to be equal with God . He stood upon even Ground with God , he was 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Patri co-essential and con-substantial with his Father , as Austin and Cyril , and the Councel of Nice expresses it ; yet for all this he takes flesh . Christ strip'd himself of the Robes of his Glory , and covered himself with the Rags of our Humanity . If Solomon did so wonder that God should dwell in the Temple , which was enrich'd and hung with Gold , how may we wonder that God should dwell in Man's weak and frail Nature . Nay , which is yet more Humility , Christ not only took our flesh , but took it when it was at the worst , under Disgrace ; as if a Servant should wear a Noble-man's Livery , when he is impeached of High Treason . Nay , besides , Christ took all the Infirmities of our flesh . There are two sorts of Infirmities : Such as are sinful without pain , or such as are painful without sin . The first of these Infirmities Christ did not take upon him , sinful Infirmities , to be covetous or ambitious , Christ never took these upon him : but Christ took upon him painful Infirmities ; as , 1. Hunger , Matth. 21.18 . He came to the Fig-tree , and would have eaten . 2. Weariness : as when he sate on Iacob's Well to rest him , Iohn 4.6 . 3. Sorrow ; Matth. 26.38 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , My soul is sorrowful , even unto death . It was a Sorrow guided with Reason , not disturb'd with Passion . 4. Fear ; Hebr. 5.7 . He was heard in that he feared . Nay , yet a further Degree of Christ's Humility , he not only was made flesh , but in the likeness of sinful flesh . He knew no sin , yet he was made sin , 2 Cor. 5.21 . He was like a sinner , he had all sin laid upon him , but no sin lived in him . Isa. 53.12 . He was numbred among Transgressors . He who was numbred among the Persons of the Trinity , he is said to bear the sins of many , Hebr. 9.28 . Now , this was the lowest degree of Christ's Humiliation : For Christ to be reputed as a sinner , never such a Pattern of Humility . That Christ , who would not endure sin in the Angels , should himself indure to have sin imputed to him , it is the most amazing Humility that ever was .

From all this learn to be humble . Dost thou see Christ humbling himself , and art thou proud ? 'T is the humble Saint is Christ's Picture . Christian , be not proud of your fine Feathers : 1. Hast thou an Estate , be not proud , the Earth thou treadest on is richer then thou ; it hath Mines of Gold and Silver in the Bowels of it . 2. Hast thou Beauty , be not proud , it is but Air and Dust mingled . 3. Hast thou Skill and Parts , be humble , Lucifer hath more knowledge than thou . 4. Hast thou Grace , be humble ; thou hast it not of thy own growth , it is borrowed . Were it not a folly to be proud of a Ring that is lent . 1 Cor. 4.7 . Thou hast more Sin then Grace , Spots , then Beauty . O look on Christ , this rare Pattern , and be humble ! It is an unseemly sight to see God humbling himself , and Man exalting himself ; to see an humble Saviour , and a proud Sinner . God hates the very resemblance of Pride , Lev. 2.11 . He would have no Honey in the Sacrifice . Indeed Leaven is sowr , but why no Honey ? because when Honey is mingled with Meal , or Flour , it makes the Meal to rise and swell , ergo , no Honey . God hates the resemblance of the Sin of Pride : better want Parts , Comforts of Spirit , then Humility . Si Deus superbientibus Angelis non pepercit : If God , saith Austin , spared not the Angels , when they grew proud , will he spare thee , who art but Dust and Rottenness ?

Branch 3. Behold here a Sacred Riddle or Paradox ; God manifest in the flesh . The Text calls it a Mystery . That Man should be made in God's Image , was a wonder ; but that God should be made in Man's Image , is a greater wonder . That the Ancient of Days should be born , that he who Thunders in the Heaven should cry in the Cradle : Qui tonitruat in Coelis , clamat in cunabulis ; qui regit sidera sugit ubera ; that he who rules the Stars should suck the Breasts ; that a Virgin should conceive ; that Christ should be made of a Woman , and of that Woman which himself made ; that the Branch should bear the Vine ; that the Mother should be younger than the Child she bare , and the Child in the Womb bigger than the Mother ; that the Humane Nature should not be God , yet one with God . This was not only mirum , but miraculum : Christ taking flesh is a Mystery we shall never fully understand till we come to Heaven , when our Light shall be clear , as well as our Love perfect .

Branch 4. From hence , God manifest in the flesh , Christ born of a Virgin , a thing not only strange in nature , but impossible , learn , That there are no impossibilities with God : God can bring about Things which are not within the sphere of Nature to produce : That Iron should swim , that the Rock should gush out with water , that the Fire should lick up the water in the Trenches , 1 Kings 18.38 . 'T is natural for the water to quench the fire , but for the fire to consume the water , this is impossible in the course of Nature : But God can bring about all this , Ier. 32.27 . There is nothing too hard for thee . Zach. 8.6 . If it be marvellous in your Eyes , should it be marvellous in my eyes , saith the Lord ? How should God be united to our flesh ? It is impossible to us , but not with God . He can do that which transcends Reason , and exceeds Faith . He should not be God , if he could not do more than we can think , Eph. 3.20 . He can reconcile Contraries . How apt are we to be discouraged with seeming impossibilities : how do our hearts die within us when things go cross to our Sense and Reason . We are apt to say as that Prince , 2 Kings 7.1 , 2. If the Lord would make windows in Heaven , might this thing be ? It was a time of Famine , and now that a measure of Wheat , which was a good part of a Bushel , should be sold for a Shekel , viz. half an Ounce of Silver ; how can this be ? So when things are cross , or strange , God's own People are apt to question , how they should be brought about with success . Moses , who was a Man of God , and one of the brightest Stars that ever shined in the firmament of God's Church , yet he was apt to be discouraged with seeming Impossibilities , Numb. 11.21 . And Moses said , the People among whom I am are six hundred thousand footmen ; and thou hast said I will give them flesh , that they may eat for a whole month , shall the flocks and herds be slain for them to suffice them ? or shall all the fish of the Sea be gathered for them to suffice them ? As if he had said in plain English , he did not see how the People of Israel , being so numerous , could be fed for a month . Vers. 23. And the Lord said , is the Lord's hand waxed short ? Surely that God who brought Isaac out of a dead Womb , and the Messiah out of a Virgins Womb , what cannot he do ? O let us rest upon the Arm of God's Power , and believe in him in the midst of seeming Impossibilities . Remember , there are no impossibilities with God . He can subdue a proud heart , he can raise a dying Church . Christ born of a Virgin , that wonder-working God that wrought this , can bring to pass the greatest seeming Impossibilities .

Use 2. of Exhortation . Branch 1. Seeing Christ took our Flesh , and was born of a Virgin , let us labour that he may be spiritually born in our hearts . What will it profit us , that Christ was born into the World , unless he be born in our hearts ? that he was united to our Nature , unless he be united to our Persons ? Marvel not that I say unto you , Christ must be born again , viz. in our hearts , Gal. 4.19 . till Christ be formed in you . Now then try if Christ be born in your hearts .

Quest. How shall we know that ?

Resp. 1. There are Pangs before the Birth ; so before Christ be born in the Heart , there are Spiritual Pangs . Some Pangs of Conscience , Deep convictions , Acts 2.37 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , they were pricked at their heart . I grant , the New-birth doth Recipere magis & minus — all have not the same Pangs of Sorrow and Humiliation , yet all have Pangs . If Christ be born in thy heart , thou hast been deeply afflicted for sin . Christ is never born in the heart without Pangs — Many thank God they never had any Trouble of Spirit , they were always quiet ; a sign Christ is not yet formed in them .

2. As when Christ was born into the World he was made flesh , so if he be born into thy heart , he makes thy heart an heart of flesh , Ezek. 36.26 . Is thy heart Incarnate ? Before it was a rocky heart , and would not yield to God , or take the Impressions of the Word ; Durum est quod non cedit tactui , now it is fle●hy and tender , like melting Wax , to take any stamp of the Spirit . This is a sign Christ is born in our hearts , when they are hearts of flesh , they melt in Tears and in Love . What is it the better Christ was made flesh , unless he hath given thee an heart of flesh .

3. Christ was conceived in the Womb of a Virgin , so if he be born in thee , thy heart is a Virgin-heart , in respect of Sincerity and Sanctity . Art thou purified from the love of sin ? If Christ be born in the heart , it is a Sanctum Sanctorum , an Holy of Holies . If thy heart be polluted with the predominant love of sin , never think Christ is born there Christ will never lye any more in a Stable . If he be born in thy heart , it is consecrated by the Holy Ghost .

4. If Christ be born in thy heart , then it is with thee as in a birth . 1. There is Life . Faith is principium vivens , it is the vital Artery of the Soul , Gal. 2.20 . The life that I live in the flesh , is by the faith of the Son of God . 2. There is Appetite , 1 Pet. 2.7 . As new born babes , desire 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the sincere milk of the word . The Word is like Breast-milk , pure , sweet , nourishing ; the Soul in which Christ is formed , desires this Breast-milk . St. Bernard , in one of his Soliquies , comforts himself with this , That sure he had the New-birth in him , because he found in his heart such strong Anhelations and Thirstings after God . 3. Motion . After Christ is born in the heart , there is a violent Motion ; there is striving to enter in at the strait gate , and offering violence to the Kingdom of Heaven , Matth. 12.11 . By this we may know Christ is formed in us . This is the only comfort , that as Christ was born into the World , so he is born in our hearts ; as he was united to our flesh , so he is united to our Persons .

Branch 2. As Christ was made in our Image , let us labour to be made in his Image . Christ being Incarnate was made like us , let us labour to ●e made like him . There are three things in which we should labour to be like Christ .

1. In Disposition . He was of a most sweet Disposition , Delitiae humani generis Tit. Vespasian . he invites sinners to come to him . He hath Bowels to pity us , Breasts to feed us , Wings to cover us . He would not break our hearts , but with Mercy . Was Christ made in our Likeness , let us labour to be made in his Likeness . Let us be like him in this , sweetness of Disposition . Be not of a morose Spirit . It was said of Nabal , 1 Sam. 25.18 . He is such a son of Belial , that a man cannot speak to him . Some are so barbarous , as if they were a kin to the Ostrich , they are fired with Rage , and breathe forth nothing but Revenge , like those two Men in the Gospel possessed with Devils , coming out of the Tombs , exceeding fierce , Matth. 8.28 . Let us be like Christ in mildness and sweetness . Let us pray for our Enemies , and conquer them by love . David's kindness melted Saul's heart , 1 Sam. 24.16 . A frozen heart will be thawed with the fire of Love .

2. Be like Christ in Grace . He was like us in having our Flesh , let us be like him in having his Grace . In three Graces we should labour to be like Christ . 1. In Humility . Phil. 2.8 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , he humbled himself ; he left the bright Robes of his Glory to be clothed with the Rags of our Humanity . A wonder of Humility ! Let us be like Christ in this Grace . Humility , saith St. Bernard , is contemptus propriae excellentiae , a contempt of Self-excellency , a kind of Self-annihilation . This is the glory of a Christian. We are never so comely in God's Eyes , as when we are black in our own . In this let us be like Christ . True Religion is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Greg. to imitate Christ . And indeed , what cause have we to be humble , if we look within us , about us , below us , above us .

( 1. ) If we look intra nos , within us : Here we see our sins represented to us in the Glass of Conscience , Lust , Envy , Passion . Our sins are like Vermin crawling in our Souls , Iob 13.23 . How many are my iniquities ? Our sins are as the Sands of the Sea for number , as the Rocks of the Sea for weight . Austin crys out , Vae mihi , faecibus peccatorum polluitur Templum Domini — my Heart , which is God's Temple , is polluted with sin .

2. If we look juxta nos , about us ; here 's that may humble us . We may see other Christians out-shining us in Gifts and Grace , as the Sun out-shines the lesser Planets . Others are laden with Fruit , perhaps we have but here and there an Olive-berry growing , to shew that we are of the right kind , Isa. 17.6 .

3. If we look infra nos , below us , here is that may humble us . We see the Mother Earth , out of which we came . The Earth is the most ignoble Element , Iob 30.8 . Thou art viler than the Earth . Thou that dost set up thy Scutcheon and Blaze thy Coat of Arms , behold thy Pedigree , thou art but pulvis animatus , walking Ashes , and wilt thou be proud ? What is Adam ? He is the Son of Dust ; and what is Dust ? The Son of Nothing .

4. If we look supra nos , above us , here is that may humble . If we look up to Heaven , there we see God resisting the proud . Superbos sequitur ultor à Tergo Deus — The proud Man is the Mark which God shoots at , and he never misseth the Mark . He threw proud Lucifer out of Heaven ; he thrust proud Nebuchadnezzar out of his Throne , and turned him to Grass , Dan. 4.29 . O then be like Christ in Humility .

2. Did Christ take our flesh , was he made like to us , let us be made like to him in Zeal , Iohn 2.16 . The Zeal of thy House hath eaten me up . He was zealous when his Father was dishonoured . In this let us be like Christ , zealous for God's Truth and Glory , which are the two Orient Pearls of the Crown of Heaven . Zeal is as needful for a Christian , as Salt for the Sacrifice , or Fire on the Altar . Zeal without Prudence , is Rashness , Prudence without Zeal , is Cowardliness . Without Zeal our Duties are not acceptable to God . Zeal is like Rosin to the Bow-strings , without which the Lute makes no Musick .

3. Be like Christ in the Contempt of the World . When Christ took our flesh , he came not in the pride of flesh ; he did not descend immediately from Kings and Nobles , but was of mean Parentage . Christ was not ambitious of Titles of Honour . Christ did as much decline the worldly Dignity and Greatness , as others seek it . When they would have made him King , he refused it ; he chose rather to ride upon the Fole of an Ass , then to be drawn in a Chariot ; and to hang upon a wodden Cross , then to wear a golden Crown . Christ scorn'd the Pomp and Glory of the World : he waved Secular Affairs , Luke 12.13 . Who made me a Iudge ? His Work was not to arbitrate Matters of Law ; he came not into the World to be a Magistrate , but a Redeemer . Christ was like a Star in an higher Orb , he minded nothing but Heaven . Was Christ made like us , let us be made like him , in heavenliness and contempt of the World . Let not us be ambitious of the Honours and Preferments of the World ; let us not purchase the World with the loss of a good Conscience . What wise Man would damn himself to grow Rich ? or pull down his Soul to build up an Estate ? Be like Christ in an holy contempt of the World .

3. Be like Christ in Conversation . Was Christ Incarnate , was he made like us , let us be made like him in Holiness of Life . No Temptation could fasten upon Christ , Iohn 14.30 . The Prince of this World cometh , and hath nothing in me . Temptation to Christ was like a Spark of Fire upon a Marble Pillar , which glides off . Christ's Life , saith Chrysostom , was brighter than the Sun-beams . Let us be like him in this , 1 Pet. 1.16 . Be ye holy in all manner of conversation . We are not , saith Austin , to be like Christ in working Miracles , but in an holy Life . A Christian should be both a Loadstone and a Diamond : a Loadstone in drawing others to Christ ; a Diamond , casting a sparkling lustre of Holiness in his Life . O let us be so just in our Dealings , so true in our Promises , so devout in our Worship , so unblamable in our Lives , that we may be the walking Pictures of Christ . Thus as Christ was made in our likeness , let us labour to be made in his likeness .

Branch 3. If Jesus Christ was so abased for us , he took our flesh , which was a disparagement to him , 't was mingling Dust with Gold ; if he , I say , abased himself so for us , let us be willing to be abased for him . If the World reproach us for Christ's sake , and cast Dust on our Name , let us bear it with patience . The Apostles , Acts 5.41 . departed from the Council , rejoycing that they were counted worthy to endure shame for Christ's Name : Gr. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that they were graced to be disgraced for Christ . That is a good saying of St. Austin , Quid suis detrahit famae meae addet mercedi meae ; they who take away from a Saints Name , shall add to his Reward , and while they make his Credit weigh lighter , they make his Crown weigh heavier . O! was Christ content to be humbled and abased for us , to take our flesh , and to take it when it was in disgrace , let us not think much to be abased for Christ . Say as David , 2 Sam. 6.22 . If this be to be vile , I will yet be more vile . If to serve my Lord Christ , if to keep my Conscience pure , if this be to be vile , I will yet be more vile .

Use 3. of Comfort . Jesus Christ having taken our flesh , hath enobled our Nature ; Naturam nostram nobilitavit , our Nature now is invested with greater Royalties and Priviledges then in time of Innocency . Before , in Innocency , we were made in the Image of God , but now Christ having assumed our Nature , we are made one with God ; our Nature is enobled above the Angelical Nature . Christ taking our flesh , hath made us nearer to himself than the Angels . The Angels are his Friends , Believers are flesh of his flesh ; his Members , Eph. 5.30 . and cap. 1.23 . And the same Glory which is put upon Christ's Humane Nature , shall be put upon Believers .

CHRIST's EXALTATION . Phil. 2.9 .

Wherefore GOD also hath highly exalted him , and given him a Name above every name , &c.

BEfore we have spoken of Christ's Humiliation , now of his Exaltation : Before you saw the Sun of Righteousness in the Eclipse , now you shall see it coming out of the Eclipse , and shining in its full Splendour and Glory ; Wherefore God hath highly exalted him ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Super-exaltavit , Ambr. Above all Exaltation .

Quest. XVIII . Wherein consists Christ's Exaltation ?

Resp. In his rising from the Dead , his ascending into Heaven , and sitting at the right Hand of God the Father , &c.

Quest. In what sence God hath exalted Christ ?

Resp. Not in respect of Christ's Godhead , for that cannot be exalted higher then it is ; as in Christ's Humiliation , the Godhead was not lower , so in his Exaltation the Godhead is not higher : But Christ is exalted as a Mediator , his Humane Nature is exalted .

Quest. How many ways is Christ exalted ?

Resp. Five ways : God hath exalted Christ , 1. In his Titles . 2. In his Office . 3. In his Ascension . 4. In his Session at God's right Hand . 5. In constituting him Judge of the World .

First Title , 1. God hath exalted Christ in his Titles : 1. He is exalted to be a Lord , Act. 19.17 . The name of the Lord Iesus was magnified . He is a Lord in respect of his Soveraignty ; he is Lord over Angels and Men , Matth. 28.18 . All power is given to him . Christ hath three Keys in his Hand , the Key of the Grave , to open the Graves of Men at the Resurrection ; the Key of Heaven , to open the Kingdom of Heaven to whom he will ; the Key of Hell , Rev. 1.18 . to lock up the Damned in that fiery Prison .

To this LORD all Knees must bow , Phil. 2.10 . That at the name of Iesus every knee should bow . Name is put here for Person ; To that holy thing JESUS , to the Scepter of that Divine Person every knee shall bow . Bowing is put for Subjection ; all must be subdued to him as Sons or Captives , submit to him as to their Lord or Judge : Kiss the Son , Psal. 2.12 . With a Kiss of Love and Loyalty . We must not only cast ourselves into Christ's Arms to be saved by him , but we must cast ourselves at his Feet to serve him .

Second Title , Christ is exalted to be a Prince , Dan. 12.1 . There shall stand up Michael the great prince . Some think it was a created Angel , but it was Angelus Foederis , Christ the Angel of the Covenant . He is a great Prince , Rev. 1.5 . The prince of the kings of the earth . They hold their Crowns by immediate Tenure from him . His Throne is above the Stars ; he hath Angels and Archangels for his Attendance . Thus he is exalted in his Titles of Honour .

2. God hath exalted Christ in his Office : He hath honoured him to be Salvator Mundi , The Saviour of the World , Act. 5.31 . Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour . It was a great Honour to Moses to be a Temporal Saviour ; but what is it to be the Saviour of Souls ? Christ is call'd the Horn of Salvation , Luke 1.69 . He saves from sin , Matth. 1.21 . From Wrath , 1 Thess. 1.10 . To save is a Flower belongs only to his Crown , Acts 4.12 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Neither is there salvation in any other . What an Honour is this to Christ ! How doth this make Heaven ring of the Saints Praises ? they sing Halelujahs to Christ their Saviour , Rev. 5.9 . They sung a new song , saying , Thou art worthy to take the book , and to open the seals ; for thou wast slain , and hast redeemed us to God by thy bloud .

3. God hath exalted Christ in his Ascention : If he be ascended , then he is exalted . Austin saith , Some were of Opinion , that Christ's Body ascended into the Orb and Circle of the Sun . So the Hermians . But the Scripture is plain he ascended into Heaven , Luke 24.51 . And Eph. 4.10 . Far above all heavens : Ergo , above the Firmament . He is ascended into the highest part of the Empyraean Heaven , which Paul calls the third Heaven . Concerning Christ's Ascension , two things ,

1. The manner of Christ's Ascension : 1. Christ being to ascend blessed his Disciples , Luke 24.50 . He lift up his hands and blessed them ; and while he blessed them , he was parted from them , and carried up into heaven . Christ did not leave his Disciples Houses and Lands , but he left them his Blessing .

2. Christ ascended as a Conqueror , in a way of Triumph , Psal. 68.18 . Thou hast led captivity captive , &c. He triumph'd over Sin , Hell , and Death ; and Christ's Triumph is a Believer's Triumph : Christ hath conquered Sin and Hell for every Believer .

3. The Fruit of Christ's Ascension : Christ's Ascension to Heaven causeth the Descention of the Holy Spirit into our Hearts , Eph. 4.8 . When he ascended up on high he gave gifts to men . Christ having ascended up in the Clouds as his Triumphant Chariot , gives the Gift of his Spirit to us : As a King at his Coronation bestows Gifts liberally to his Favourites .

4. God hath exalted Christ in his Session at God's right hand , Mark 16.19 . After the Lord had spoken to them , he was received up into heaven , and sat on the right hand of God . Eph. 1.20 . He raised him from the dead , and set him at his own right hand , far above all principality , and power , and every name that is named .

Quest. What is meant by Christ's sitting at God's right hand ?

Resp. To speak properly , God hath no right Hand or left , for being a Spirit , he is void of all bodily parts ; but it is a borrowed Speech , a Metaphor taken from the manner of Kings , who were wont to advance their Favourites next to their own Persons , and set them at their right Hand : Solomon caused a Seat to be set for the Queen his Mother , and placed her at his right hand , 2 Kin. 2.19 . So for Christ to sit at the right Hand of God , is to be in the next place to God the Father in Dignity and Honour . The Humane Nature of Christ being personally united to the Divine , is now set down in a Royal Throne in Heaven , and adored even of Angels .

By Vertue of the Personal Union of Christ's Humane Nature with the Divine , there is a Communication of all that Glory from the Deity to Christ as his Humane Nature is capable of . Not that the Manhood of Christ is advanced to an Equality with the Godhead , but the Divine Nature being joyned with the Humane , the Humane Nature is wonderfully Glorified , though not Deified . Christ as Mediator is filled with all Majesty and Honour , beyond the Comprehension of the highest Order of Angels : Descendit Christus quo inferius non decuit , ideo ascendit quo altius non potuit ; Christ in his Humiliation descended so low , that it was not fit to go lower , and in his Exaltation he ascended so high , that it is not possible to go higher . In his Resurrection he was exalted above the Grave , in his Ascension he was exalted above the Aery and Starry Heaven , in his sitting at God's right Hand : he is exalted above the highest Heavens far , Eph. 4.10 . Far above all heavens .

5. God hath exalted Christ in constituting him Judge of the whole World , Ioh. 5.22 . The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son . At that day of Judgment shall Christ be exalted super-eminently , He shall come in the glory of his Father , Mark 8.38 . He shall wear the same embroydered Robes of Majesty , as the Father ; And he shall come with all his holy Angels , Matth. 25.31 . He who was led to the Bar with a Band of Souldiers , shall be attended to the Bench with a Guard of Angels : Christ shall judge his Judges , he shall judge Pilate that condemned him : Kings must leave their Throne and come to his Bar. And this is the highest Court of Judicature , from whence is no Appeal .

1. Use of Information . Branch 1. See Christ's different State on Earth , and now in Heaven ; O how is the Scene alter'd ! When he was on Earth he lay in the Manger , now he sits in the Throne ; then he was hated and scorn'd of Men , now he is adored of Angels ; then his Name was reproached , now God hath given him a Name above every name , Phil. 2.9 . Then he came in the Form of a Servant , and as a Servant stood with his Bason and Towel , and washed his Disciples Feet , Ioh. 13.4 , 5. now he is clad in his Prince's Robes , and the Kings of the Earth cast their Crowns before him ; on Earth he was a Man of Sorrow , now he is anointed with the Oyl of Gladness ; on Earth was his Crucifixion , now his Coronation ; then his Father frowned upon him in Desertion , now he hath set him at his right Hand ; before he seemed to have no Form or Beauty in him , Isa. 53.2 . now he is the Brightness of his Father's Glory , Heb. 1.3 . O what a change is here , Him hath GOD highly exalted !

Branch 2. Was Christ first Humble and then Exalted , hence learn the way to true Honour is Humility , Luke 14.11 . He that humbleth himself shall be exalted . The World looks upon Humility as that which will make one contemptible , but it is the ready way to Honour : The way to rise is to fall , the way to ascend is to descend . Humility exalts us in the Esteem of Men , and it exalts us to an higher Throne in Heaven , Matth. 18.4 . Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child , the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven . Viz. He shall have a greater degree of Glory in Heaven .

Branch 3. Christ first suffered and then was exalted : see hence that Sufferings must go before Glory . Many desire to be glorified with Christ , but they are not content to suffer for Christ , 2 Tim. 2.12 . If we suffer with him , we shall reign with him . The Wicked first reign and then suffer , the Godly first suffer and then reign . There 's no way to Constantinople but through the Straits , no way to Heaven but through Sufferings : No way to the Crown but by the way of the Cross. Hierusalem above is a pleasant City , Streets of Gold , Gates of Pearl , but we must travel through a dirty Road to this City , through many Reproaches and Sufferings , Acts 14.22 . We must enter into Glory as Christ did ; first he suffered Shame and Death , and now is exalted to sit at God's right Hand .

2. Use of Comfort : Branch 1. Christ being so highly exalted , hath Ennobled our Nature , he hath crowned it with Glory , and lifted it up above Angels and Archangels : Though Christ as he was Man , was made a little lower than the Angels , Heb. 2.9 . yet as the Humane Nature is united to the Divine , and is at God's right Hand , so the Humane Nature is above the Angels . And if God hath so Dignified our Humane Nature , what a shame is it that we should debase it . God hath exalted the Humane Nature above the Angels , and the Drunkard abaseth the Humane Nature below the Beasts .

Branch 2. Christ being exalted at God's right hand , the Key of Government is laid upon his shoulders ; he governs all the Affairs of the World for his own Glory . Do you think when Christ is so highly advanced , and hath all Power in Heaven and Earth in his hand , he will not take care of his Elect ? and turn the most astonishing Providences to the good of his Church ? In a Clock the Wheels move cross one to another , but all make the Clock strike : so Christ being at his Father's right hand , he will make the most cross Providences tend to the Salvation of his Church .

Branch 3. Christ being at God's right hand , we may be assured he hath now finished the Work of Man's Redemption , Heb. 10.12 . This man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever , sate down on the right hand of God . If Christ had not fully expiated Sin , and satisfied God's Law , he had not sate down at God's right hand , but had still lain in the Grave ; but now he is exalted to Glory . This is an evident Token he hath done and suffered all that was required of him for the working out our Redemption .

Branch 4. Though Jesus Christ is so highly exalted in Glory , yet he is not forgetful of us on Earth : some when they are raised to Places of Honour , forget their Friends ; when the Chief Butler was restored to his Place at Court , then he forgot poor Ioseph in Prison : But it is not so with Christ ; though he be exalted to such Glory in Heaven , yet he is not unmindful of his Saints on Earth . Our High-Priest hath all the Names and Wants of his People written upon his Breast-plate : Art thou tempted ? though Christ be in Glory he knows how to pity and succour thee , Heb. 4.15 . We have not a high-priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmity . Dost thou mourn for sin ? Christ though in a glorified State , he hears thy Sighs , bottles thy Tears .

Branch 5. Christ being exalted at God's right hand , this is for the Comfort of Believers , that they shall one day be exalted to that Place of Glory where he is : Christ's Exaltation is our Exaltation . Christ hath prayed for this , Joh. 17.24 . Father , I will that all those whom thou hast given me , be with me where I am . And he is said to go before to prepare a place for Believers , Ioh. 14.2 . Christ is called the Head , and the Church is called his Body , Eph. 1.22 , 23. The Head being exalted to Honor , the Body Mystical shall be exalted too ; as sure as Christ is exalted far above all Heavens , so sure will he instate Believers in all that Glory which his Humane Nature is adorn'd with , Ioh. 17.22 . As here he puts his Grace upon the Saints , so shortly he will put his Glory upon them . This is Comfort to the poorest Christian , perhaps thou hast scarce an House to put thy head in , yet thou maist look up to Heaven and say , There is my House , there is my Country ; and I have already taken Possession of Heaven in my Head Christ ; he sits there , and it will not be long before I shall sit there with him ; he is upon the Throne of Glory , and I have his word for it , I shall sit upon the Throne with him , Rev. 3.21 .

3. Use of Exhortation : Hath God highly exalted Christ , let us labour to exalt him . Let us exalt , 1. His Person . 2. His Truths .

1. Let us exalt Christ in our Hearts ; Believe , O Adore and Love him . We cannot lift Christ up higher in Heaven , but we may in our Hearts . 2. Let us exalt him in our Lips : Let us praise him ; our Bodies are the Temples of the Holy Ghost , our Tongues must be the Organs in these Temples ; by praising and commending Christ , we exalt him in the Esteem of others . 3. Let us exalt him in our Lives : By living holy Lives , Vera religio haec , sine macula vivere lactant. It is not all the Doxologies and Prayers in the World , do so exalt Christ as an holy Life : this makes Christ renowned , and lifts him up indeed when his Followers walk worthy of Christ .

2. Let us exalt Christ's Truths : Bucholcerus in his Chronology , reports of the Nobles of Polonia , That ever when the Gospel is read they lay their Hands upon their Swords , by that intimating they are ready to maintain the Gospel with the hazard of their Lives . Let us exalt Christ's Truths ; maintain the Truths of Christ against Errour ; maintain the Doctrine of Free-grace against Merit ; the Deity of Christ against Socinianism .

Truth is the most Orient Pearl of CHRIST's Crown , Contend for the truth , as one would for a Sum of Money , that it should not be wrested out of his hand : This Christ takes to be an Exalting of him , when we exalt his Truths , wherein his Glory is so much concerned .

CHRIST the Redeemer .

Quest. XIX . HOw doth the Spirit apply to us the Redemption purchased by Christ ?

Resp. The Spirit applys to us the Redemption purchased by Christ , by working Faith in us , and uniting us thereby to Christ in our effectual Calling .

Here are in this Answer two things ,

1. Something implyed , viz. That Christ is the Glorious Purchaser of our Redemption , in these words , The Redemption purchased by Christ .

2. Something expressed , viz. That the Spirit applys to us this Redemption purchased , By working Faith in us , &c.

1. The thing here implyed , That Jesus Christ is the Glorious Purchaser of our Redemption : The Doctrine of Redemption by Jesus Christ is a glorious Doctrine ; 't is the Marrow and Quintessence of the Gospel . In this all a Christian's Comfort lies . Great was the Work of Creation , but greater the Work of Redemption : it cost more to redeem us than to make us ; in the one there was but the speaking a Word , in the other shedding of Bloud , Luke 1.51 . The Creation was but the Work of God's Fingers , Psal. 8.3 . Redemption the Work of his Arm : Heb. 9.12 . Having obtained eternal redemption for us . Christ's purchasing Redemption for us , implies that our sins did Mortgage and Sell us : had there not been some kind of Mortgaging , there had been no need of Redemption : Redimere , q. rursus emere , Hierom. Now Christ when we were thus mortgaged and sold by Sin , did purchase our Redemption : Christ hath the best right to redeem us , for he is our Kinsman : the Hebrew word for Redeemer , Goel , signifies a Kinsman , one that is near in Bloud : in the Old Law the nearest Kinsman was to reedem his Brother's Land , Ruth 4.4 . Thus Christ being near a-kin to us , Flesh of our flesh , is the fittest to redeem us .

Quest. How doth Christ redeem us ?

Resp. By his own precious Bloud , Ephes. 1.7 . In whom we have redemption through his bloud . Among the Romans he was said to redeem another , that laid down a Price equivalent for the Ransom of the Prisoner . In this sence Christ is a Redeemer , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , he hath paid a Price . Never such a Price paid to ransom Prisoners , 1 Cor. 6.20 . Ye are , Pretio Empti , bought with a price ; and this Price was his own Bloud . So in the Text , By his own bloud he entred in once into the holy place , having obtained eternal redemption for us . This Bloud being the Bloud of that Person who was God as well as Man , is a Price sufficient for the Ransom of Millions .

Quest. From what doth Christ redeem us ?

Resp. From Sin . To be redeemed from Turkish Slavery is a great Mercy , but it is infinitely more to be redeemed from Sin . There is nothing can hurt the Soul but Sin ; it is not Affliction hurts it , it often makes it better , as the Furnace makes Gold the purer ; but it is Sin that doth damnify . Now Christ redeems us from Sin , Heb. 9.26 . Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself .

Quest. But how are we redeemed from Sin ? Do we not see Corruption stirring in the Regenerate ? Much Pride and Unmortified Passion ?

Resp. We must distinguish of Redemption : Redemption is either Inchoata or Plena ; a Redemption but begun and perfect : Sin cannot stand with a Perfect Redemption , but here it is but Begun ; Sin may stand with an Imperfect Redemption . There may be some Darkness in the Air at the Sun 's first rising , but not when the Sun is at the full Meridian : While our Redemption is but begun , there may be Sin ; but not when it is perfected in Glory .

Quest. But in what sence hath Christ redeemed justified Persons from Sin ?

Resp. A Reatu , from the Guilt of Sin , though not the Stain : Guilt is the binding a Person over to Punishment . Now , Christ hath redeemed a justified Person from the Guilt of Sin ; he hath discharged his Debts . Christ saith to God's Justice , as Paul to Philemon , If he hath wronged thee any thing , or owes thee ought , put that on my account , Verse 18.

2. A justified Person is redeemed à Dominio , from the Power and Regency of Sin , though not the presence . Sin may furere , but not regnare , it may rage in a Child of God , but not reign : Lust did rage in David , Fear in Peter , but it did not reign ; they recovered themselves by Repentance , Rom. 6.14 . Sin shall not have dominion over you . Sin lives in a Child of God , but it is deposed from the Throne , it lives not as a King but a Captive .

3. A Believer is redeemed à Maledictione , from the Curse due to Sin , Gal. 3.13 . Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law , being made a curse for us . Christ said to his Father , as Rebecca to Iacob , Upon me , upon me , be the curse , let the blessing be upon them , but upon me be the curse . And now there 's no Condemnation to Believers , Rom. 8.1 . An Unbeliever hath a double Condemnation ; one from the Law which he hath transgressed , the other from the Gospel , which he hath despised . But Christ hath redeemed a Believer from this Malediction , he hath set him out of the Power of Hell and Damnation .

Quest. To what hath Christ redeemed us ?

Resp. He hath redeemed us to a glorious Inheritance , 1 Pet. 1.4 . To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled , and that fadeth not away , reserved in heaven for you .

1. To an Inheritance . ] Christ hath not only redeemed us out of Prison , but he hath redeemed us to a State of Happiness , to an Inheritance : Heaven is not a Lease which soon expires , but an Inheritance ; and a glorious Inheritance , Col. 1.12 . An Inheritance , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in Light . Lumen actuat colores : Light adorns and gilds the World : What were the World without Light , but a Prison ? The Heavenly Inheritance is irradiated with Light : Christ as a continual Sun enlightens it with his Beams , Rev. 21.23 .

2. To an Inheritance incorruptible : It doth not moulder away , or suffer Dissolution . Earthly Comforts are shadowed out by the Tabernacle , which was transient , but Heaven is set out by the Temple , which was fixed and permanent , built with Stone , overlaid with Gold . This is the Glory of the Coelestial Inheritance ; it is incorruptible , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , &c. Chrysost. Eternity is written upon the Frontis-piece of it .

3. Undefiled : The Greek word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , for Undefiled , alludes to a precious Stone called Amiantus , which cannot be blemished : Such a Place is Heaven , undefiled , nothing can stain it ; there 's no Sin there to Eclipse its Purity . For the Holiness and Undefiledness of it , it is compar'd to pure Gold , and to the Saphir , and Emerald , Rev. 21. The Saphir hath a Vertue , saith Pliny , to preserve Chastness ; the Emerald to expel Poyson . These are the lively Emblems of Heaven , to show the Sanctity of it ; no Feaver of Lust , no Venom of Malice , there are none but pure Virgin spirits inhabit .

4. It fadeth not away : The Greek word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , is the name of a Flower Amarantus , which keeps a long time fresh and green , as Clem. Alexandrinus writes . Such is the Heavenly Inheritance , it doth not lose its Orient Colour , but keeps its Freshness and Greenness to Eternity ; the Beauty of it fadeth not away . To this glorious Inherit●nce hath Christ redeemed the Saints : an Inheritance which cannot be fully described , or set forth by all the Lights of Heaven , though every Star were a Sun : and that which is the Diamond in the Ring , the Glory of this Inheritance , is , the Eternal Sight and Fruition of the blessed God : the sight of God will be most alluring , heart-ravishing Object : Kings Presence makes the Court , Ioh. 3.2 . We shall see him as he is . It is comfortable to see God showing himself through the Lettuce of an Ordinance , to see him in the Word and Sacrament : The Martyrs thought it comfortable to see him in a Prison : O then , what will it be to see him in Glory , shining ten thousand times brighter then the Sun ! and not only see him , but enjoy him for ever : Proemium quod fide non attingitur , Aug. Faith itself is not able fully to comprehend this Reward . And all this Blessedness hath Christ purchased through the Redemption of his Bloud .

Use 1. Branch 1. See into what a wretched deplorable Condition we had brought ourselves by sin ; we had sinned ourselves into Slavery ; Slavery , so that we needed Christ to purchase our Redemption : Nihil durius servitute , Cicero . Slavery is the worst Condition . Such as are now Prisoners in Algiers think so . But by Sin we were in a worse Slavery , Slaves to Satan , a Merciless Tyrant , who sports in the Damnation of Souls . In this Condition were we when Christ came to redeem us .

Branch 2. See in this as in a transparent Glass , the Love of Christ to the Elect , he came to redeem them : these he dyed Intentionally for . Were it not great Love for a King's Son to pay a great Sum of Money to redeem a Captive , but that he should be content to be a Prisoner in his stead , and dye for his Ransom ; this were Matter of Wonder . Jesus Christ hath done all this , he hath written his Love in Characters of Bloud : — It had been much for Christ to speak a good word to his Father for us , but he knew that was not enough to redeem us : Though a Word speaking made a World , yet it would not redeem a Sinner , Heb. 9.22 . Without shedding of bloud is no remission .

2. Use of Tryal : If Christ came to purchase our Redemption , then let us try whether we are the Persons whom Christ hath redeemed from the Guilt and Curse due to Sin . This is a needful Tryal , for , let me tell you , there is but a certain Number whom Christ hath redeemed . O say , Sinners , Christ is a Redeemer , and we shall be saved by him ! Beloved , Christ came not to redeem all ; then we overthrow the Decrees of God . Redemption is not as large as Creation . I grant , there is a Sufficiency of Merit in Christ's Bloud to save all ; but , there 's difference between Sufficiency and Efficiency . Christ's Bloud is a sufficient Price for all , but it is effectual only to them that believe : A Plaister may have a soveraign Vertue in it to heal any Wound , but it doth not heal unless applyed to the Wound . And if it be so that all have not the Benefit of Christ's Redemption , only some , then it is a necessary Question to ask our Souls , Whether we are in the Number of them that are redeemed by Christ , or no ?

Quest. How shall we know that ?

Resp. Such as are redeemed are reconciled to God ; the Enmity is taken away ▪ their Judgments approve , their Wills incline ad bonum , Col. 1.21 . Are they redeemed that are unreconciled to God ? who hate God and his People , ( as the Vine and Laurel ) have an Antipathy , who do all they can to disparage Holiness , are these redeemed who are unreconciled ? Christ hath purchased a Reprieval for these , but a Sinner may have a Reprieve and yet go to Hell , Ioh. 5.6 .

2. Such as are redeemed by Christ , are redeemed from the World , Gal. 1.4 . Who gave himself for our sins , that he might deliver ( or redeem ) us from this present evil world . Such as are redeemed by Christ , are risen with Christ , Col. 3.1 . As the Birds though they light upon the Ground to pick up a little Seed , yet immediately they take their Wings and flye up to Heaven again : so the Redeemed of the Lord , though they use the World , and take the lawful Comforts of it , yet their Hearts are presently off these things , and they ascend to Heaven ; live here , trade above . Such as Christ hath dyed for , are dead to the World , Gal. 6.14 . I am crucified to the world ; to the Honours , Profits , and Preferments of it . What shall we think of them who say they are the Redeemed of the Lord , yet are Lovers of the World ? like the Tribes who desired to have their Portion on this side Canaan : Phil. 3.19 . Who mind earthly things . They pull down their Souls to build up an Estate : they are not redeemed by Christ , who not from the World .

3. Use of Comfort , to such as are redeemed : You are happy , the lot of free grace is fallen upon you ; you who were once in the Devil's Prison , you have broke this Prison ; you that were once bound in the Chains of Sin , God hath begun to beat off your Chains , and hath freed you from the Power of Sin , and Curse due to it . What a Comfort is this ? And is there any Consolation in Christ , it is thine ; is there any sweet Fruit growing upon the Promise , thou maist gather it ; are there any glorious Priviledges in the Gospel , they are thy Joynture , Justification , Adoption , Coronation ; is there any Glory in Heaven , thou shalt shortly drink of that River of Pleasure ; hast thou any Temporal Comforts , these are but a Pledge and Earnest of more : Thy Meal in thy Barrel is but a Bait by the way , and an Earnest of that Angels Food which God hath prepared for thee . How maist thou be comforted in all Worldly Afflictions , though the Fig-tree flourish not ? nay , in case of Death , Death hath lost its Sting : Mors obiit morte Christi . Death shall carry thee to thy Redeemer : fear not dying , not happy but by dying .

Use ult. of Exhortation : Long for the time when you shall have a full and perfect Redemption in Heaven , an eternal Jubilee ; when you shall be freed not only from the Power but from the Presence of Sin . Here a Believer is as a Prisoner that hath broke Prison , but walks with a Fetter on his Leg. When the Banner of Glory shall be displayed over you , you shall be as the Angels of God ; you shall never have a sinful Thought more . When no Pain or Grief , no aking Head or unbelieving Heart , you shall see Christ's Face , and lye for ever in his Arms. You shall be as Ioseph , Gen. 41.14 . They brought him hastily out of the dungeon ; and he shaved himself , and changed his raiment , and came in unto Pharaoh . Long for that time when you shall put off your Prison-Garments , and change your Raiment , and put on the Embroidered Garment of Glory . O long , yet be content to wait for this full and glorious Redemption , when you shall be more Happy than you can desire , when you shall have that which eye hath not seen , nor ear heard , nor can it enter into man's heart to conceive .

Of FAITH . Gal. 2.20 .

The life which I now live in the flesh , I live by the faith of the Son of GOD.

THE Spirit applys to us the Redemption purchased by Christ , by working Faith in us . Christ is the Glory , and Faith in Christ the Comfort of the Gospel .

Quest. What are the kinds of Faith ?

Resp. Fourfold , 1. An Historical or Dogmatical Faith , which is the believing the Truths revealed in the Word , because of Divine Authority .

2. There is a Temporal Faith , which lasteth but for a time , and vanisheth , Matth. 13.21 . Yet hath he not root in himself , but dureth for a while . A Temporary Faith is like Ionah's Gourd , which came up in a night and withered , Cap. 4.10 .

3. A Miraculous Faith , which was granted to the Apostles , to work Miracles for the Confirmation of the Gospel : This Iudas had , he cast out Devils , yet was cast out to the Devil .

4. A true justifying Faith , which is called , A faith of the operation of God , Col. 2.12 . And is a Jewel hung only upon the Elect.

Quest. What is justifying Faith ?

Resp. I shall show , 1. What it is not ; It is not a bear Acknowledgment that Christ is a Saviour ; indeed there must be an Acknowledgment , but that is not sufficient to justifie . The Devils acknowledged Christ's Godhead , Matth. 8.29 . Iesus thou Son of God . There may be an Assent to Divine Truths , yet no Work of Grace on the Heart : many assent in their Judgments , that Sin is an evil thing , but they go on in Sin , their Corruptions are stronger than their Convictions ; and that Christ is excellent , cheapen the Pearl , but do not buy .

2. What justifying Faith is ? I answer , True justifying Faith consists in three things ,

1. Self-renunciation : Faith is a going out of one's self , a Man is taken off from his own bottom , he sees he hath no Righteousness of his own to save him , Phil. 3.9 . Not having my own righteousness . Self-righteousness is a broken Reed , the Soul dares not lean on . Repentance and Faith are both Humbling Graces ; by Repentance a Man abhors himself ; by Faith he goes out of himself . Is is with a Sinner in the first Act of Believing , as with Israel in their Wilderness-march , behind them they saw Pharaoh and his Chariots pursuing them , before them the Red Sea ready to devour them : so the Soul behind sees God's Justice pursuing him for Sin , before Hell ready to devour him ; and in this forlorn Condition , he sees nothing in himself to help him , but he must perish unless he can find help in another .

2. Recumbency : The Soul casts itself upon Jesus Christ : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; Faith rests on Christ's Person . Faith believes the Promise , but that which Faith rests upon in the Promise , is the Person of Christ : Therefore the Spouse is said to lean upon her Beloved , Cant. 8.5 . And Faith is described to be a believing on the Name of the Son of God , Ioh. 3.23 . viz. On his Person , the Promise is but the Cabinet , Christ is the Jewel in it . Faith embraceth ; the Promise is but the Dish , Christ is the Food in it which Faith feeds on . And as Faith rests on Christ's Person , so on his Person under this Notion , as he was crucified . Faith glories in the Cross of Christ , Gal. 6.14 . To consider Christ as he is crown'd with all manner of Excellencies , doth rather stir up Admiration and Wonder ; but Christ looked upon as Bleeding and Dying is the proper Object of our Faith : therefore it is call'd Faith in his blood , Rom. 3.25 .

3. Appropriation , or the applying Christ to ourselves : A Medicine though it be never so soveraign , yet if it be not applyed to the Wound , will do no good ; tho' the Plaister be made of Christ's own Bloud , yet it will not heal unless it be applyed by Faith : the Bloud of God without Faith in God will not save ; this applying of Christ is called a receiving of him , Joh. 1.12 . The hand receiving of Gold enricheth , so the hand of Faith receiving Christ's Golden Merits with Salvation , enricheth us .

Quest. How is Faith wrought ?

Resp. By the Blessed Spirit it is called the Spirit of Grace , Zec. 12.10 . because it is the Spring and Efficient of all Grace . Faith is the chief Work which the Spirit of God works in a Man's heart . In making the World God did but speak a Word , but in working Faith he puts forth his Arm , Luke 1.51 . The Spirits working Faith is called , The exceeding Greatness of God's Power . What a Power was put forth in raising Christ from the Grave , when such a Tombstone lay upon him , the Sins of all the World ; yet he was raised up by the Spirit : The same Power the Spirit of God puts forth in working Faith ; the Spirit irradiates the Mind , subdues the Will ; the Will naturally is like a Garrison , which holds out against God ; the Spirit with a sweet Violence conquers , or rather changeth the Will , making the Sinner willing to have Christ upon any Terms , to be ruled by him as well as saved by him .

Quest. Wherein lyes the Preciousness of Faith ?

Resp. As Faith is the chief Gospel-grace ; the Head of the Graces , as Gold among Mettals , so is Faith among the Graces . Clem. Alexandrinus calls the other Graces the Daughters of Faith . Indeed in Heaven Love will be the chief Grace , but while we are here Militant Love must give place to Faith ; Love takes Possession of Glory , but Faith gives a Title to it ; Love is the Crowning Grace in Heaven , but Faith is the Conquering Grace upon Earth , 1 Joh. 5.4 . This is the victory that overcometh the world , even our faith .

2. As Faith hath influence upon all the Graces , and sets them awork , not a Grace stirs till Faith set it awork . As the Clothier sets the Poor awork , he sets their Wheel a going ; Faith sets Hope awork . The Heir must believe his Title to an Estate in Reversion , before he can hope for it : Faith believes its Title to Glory , and then Hope waits for it . Did not Faith feed the Lamp of Hope with Oyl , it would soon dye . Faith sets Love awork , Gal. 5.6 . Faith which worketh by love ; believing the Mercy and Merit of Christ causeth a flame of Love to ascend . Faith sets Patience a work , Heb. 6.12 . Be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises . Faith believes the glorious Rewards given to Suffering ; this makes the Soul patient in suffering . Thus Faith is the Master-wheel , it sets all the other Graces a running .

3. As Faith is the Grace which God honours to Iustifie and Save : thus , indeed , it is precious Faith , as the Apostle calls it , 2 Pet. 1.1 . The other Graces help to sanctify , but it is Faith that justifies , Rom. 5.1 . Being justified , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , by faith . Repentance or Love do not justifie , but Faith .

Quest. How doth Faith justifie ?

Resp. Faith doth not justify , 1. As it is a Work that were to make a Christ of our Faith , but Faith justifies as it lays hold of the Object , viz. Christ's Merits . If a Man had a precious Stone in a Ring that could heal , we say the Ring heals , but properly it is not the Ring , but the precious Stone in the Ring heals . Thus Faith saves and justifies , but it is not any inherent Vertue in Faith , but as it lays hold on Christ , so it justifies .

2. Faith doth not justify as it exerciseth Grace : It cannot be denied , Faith doth Invigorate all the Graces , it puts strength and liveliness into them , but it doth not justifie under this Notion . Faith works by Love , but it doth not justifie as it works by Love , but as it applys Christ's Merits .

Quest. Why should Faith save and justifie more then any other Grace ?

Resp. 1. Because of God's Sanction : He hath appointed this Grace to be justifying , and he doth it because Faith is a Grace that takes a Man off himself , and gives all the Honour to Christ and Free-grace , Rom. 4.20 . Strong in faith giving glory to God . Therefore God hath put this Honour on Faith , to make it saving and justifying . The King's Stamp makes the Coyn pass for Currant ; if he would put his Stamp upon Leather , as well as Silver , it would make it Currant . So God having put his Sanction , the Stamp of his Authority and Institution upon Faith , this makes it to be justifying and saving .

2. Because Faith makes us one with Christ , Eph. 3.17 . It is the espousing incorporating Grace , it gives us Coalition and Union with Christ's Person ; other Graces make us like Christ , Faith makes us Members of Christ .

1. Use of Exhortation : Let us above all things labour for Faith : Fides est sanctissimum humani pectoris bonum . Ephes. 6.16 . Above all taking the shield of faith . Faith will be of more use to us then any Grace : as an Eye though dim , was of more use to an Isra●lite then all the other Members of his Body , not a strong Arm or a nimble Foot , it was his Eye looking on the Brazen Serpent that cured him . It is not Knowledge though Angelical , not Repentance though we could shed Rivers of Tears could justifie us , only Faith whereby we look on Christ . Without Faith it is impossible to please God , Heb. 11.6 . and if we do not please him by believing , he will not please us in saving of us . Faith is the Condition of the Covenant of Grace , without Faith without Covenant , and without Covenant without Hope , Eph. 2.12 .

2. Use of Tryal : Let us try whether we have Faith : There is something looks like Faith , and is not ; a Bristol-stone looks like Diamond . Some Plants have the same Leaf with others , but the Herbalist can distinguish them by the Root and Tast. Something may look like true Faith , but it may be distinguished by the Fruits . Let us be serious in the Tryal of our Faith ; there is much depends upon our Faith : If our Faith be not good , there is nothing good comes from us ; our Duties and Graces are adulterate .

Quest. Well then , how shall we know it is a true Faith ?

Resp. By the Noble Effects : 1. Faith is a Christ-prizing Grace , it puts an high Valuation upon Christ , 1 Pet. 2.7 . To you that believe he is precious . St. Paul did best know Christ , 1 Cor. 9.1 . Have I not seen Iesus Christ our Lord ? Paul saw Christ with his bodily Eyes in a Vision when he was wrapped up into the third Heaven ; and he saw him with the Eye of his Faith in the Holy Supper , ergo , he best knew Christ . And see how he stiles all things in comparison of him , Phil. 3.8 . I count all things but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , dung , that I may win Christ . Do we set an high Estimate on Christ ? could we be willing to part with our Wedg of Gold , for the Pearl of Price ? Greg. Nazianzen blessed God he had any thing to lose for Christ's sake .

2. Faith is a refining Grace , 1 Tim. 3.9 . Mystery of faith in a pure conscience . Faith is in the Soul as Fire among Metals , it refines and purifies : Morality may wash the outside , Faith washeth the inside , Acts 15.9 . Having purified their hearts by faith . Faith makes the Heart a Sacrary , or Holy of Holies . Faith is a Virgin-Grace : tho' it doth not take away the Life of Sin , yet love of Sin . Examine , if your Heart be an Unclean Fountain sending out Mud and Dirt , Pride , Envy ; if there be Legions of Lusts in thy Soul , there is no Faith . Faith is an Heavenly Plant which will not grow in an impure Soil .

3. Faith is an Obediential Grace , Rom. 16.26 . The obedience of faith . Faith melts our Will into Gods : Faith runs at God's Call , if God commands Duty ( though cross to Flesh and Bloud ) Faith obeys , Heb. 11.8 . By faith Abraham obeyed . Faith is not an Idle Grace ; as it hath an Eye to see Christ , so it hath an Hand to work for him . Faith doth not only believe God's Promise , but obey his Command . It is not your having Knowledge will evidence you to be Believers ; the Devil hath Knowledge , but wants Obedience , and that makes him a Devil . And the true Obedience of Faith is a chearful Obedience ; God's Commands do not seem grievous . Have you the Obedience , and obey chearfully ? What say you to this ? do you look on God's Command as your Burden or Priviledge , as an Iron Fetter about your Leg , or a gold Chain about your Neck .

4. Faith is an assimulating Grace ; it changeth the Soul into the Image of the Object , it makes it like Christ . Never did any look on Christ with a believing Eye , but he was made like Christ . A deformed Person may look on a beautiful Object , but not be made beautiful ; but Faith looking on Christ , transforms a Man , and turns him into his Similitude . Faith looking on a bleeding Christ , causeth a soft bleeding heart . Looking on an holy Christ , causeth sanctity of Heart ; looking on an humble Christ , makes the Soul humble . As the Camelion is changed into the Colour of that which it looks upon , so Faith looking on Christ , changeth a Christian into the similitude of Christ .

2. By the growth of it ; if it be a true Faith , it grows : living things grow . Rom. 1.17 . From faith to faith ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 .

Quest. How may we judge of the growth of Faith ?

Answ. Growth of Faith is judged , 1. By strength . We can do that now which we could not do before . When one is Man-grown , he can do that he could not do when he was a Child ; he can carry a heavier burden : so thou canst bear crosses with more patience .

2. Growth of Faith is seen by doing Duties in a more spiritual manner , viz. with fervency , we put coals to the Incence , from a principle of love to God . When an Apple hath done growing in bigness , it grows in sweetness : thou dost Duties in love , and now are sweeter , and come off with a better relish .

Object . But I fear I have no Faith .

Resp. We must distinguish between weakness of Faith and nullity ; a weak Faith is true . The bruised Reed is but weak , yet it is such as Christ will not bruise Though thy Faith be but weak , yet be not discouraged :

1. A weak Faith may receive a strong Christ . A weak hand can tye the Knot in Marriage , as well as a strong ; a weak Eye might have seen the brasen Serpent . The Woman in the Gospel , that but touched Christ , received Vertue from him . The Touch of Faith .

2. The Promise is not made to strong Faith , but to true . The Promise doth not say , Whosoever hath a Giant-faith , that can remove Mountains , that can stop the mouth of Lions , shall be saved ; but whosoever believes , be his Faith never so small . Though Christ sometimes chides a weak Faith , yet that it may not be discouraged , he makes a Promise to it , Matth. 5.3 . Beati qui esuriunt .

3. A weak Faith may be fruitful . Weakest things multiply most : the Vine is a weak Plant , but it is fruitful . Weak Christians may have strong Affections . How strong is the first love which is after the first planting of Faith .

4. Weak Faith may be growing . The Seed springs up by degrees ; first the Blade , then the Ear , then the full Corn in the Ear. Therefore be not discouraged ; God , who would have us receive them that are weak in Faith , Rom. 14.1 . will not himself refuse them . A weak Believer is a Member of Christ , and though Christ will cut off rotten Members from his Body , yet not weak Members .

Effectual Calling . ROM. 8.30 .

Them he also called .

Quest. XX. WHat is effectual Calling ?

Answ. It is a gracious work of the Spirit , whereby he causeth us to embrace Christ freely offered to us in the Gospel .

In this Verse is a golden Chain of Salvation , made up of four Links ; this is one Vocation , Them he also called . Calling is nova Creatio , a new Creation , the first Resurrection . — There is a twofold Call : 1. An extrinsick or outward Call ; 2. An intrinsick or inward effectual Call .

1. An extrinsick or outward Call , which is God's offer of Grace to sinners , inviting them to come in and accept of Christ and Salvation , Matth. 20.16 . Many are called , but few chosen . This outward Call shews Men what they ought to do in order to Salvation , and renders them inexcusable in case of Disobedience .

2. There is an intrinsick or effectual Call , when God with the offer of Grace works Grace ; by this Call the Heart is renewed , and the Will effectually drawn to embrace Christ . The outward Call brings Men to a profession of Christ , the inward to a possession of Christ .

Quest. What is the means of this effectual Call ?

Resp. Every Creature hath a Voice to call to us . The Heavens call to us to behold God's glory , Psal. 19.1 . Conscience calls to us , God's Judgments call to us Repent , Mic. 6.9 . Hear ye the Rod. But every Voice doth not convert . There are two means of our effectual Call :

1. The preaching of the Word , which is the sounding God's silver Trumpet in Mens Fears ; God doth not speak by an Oracle , he calls by his Ministers . Samuel thought it had been only the Voice of Eli , that called to him , but it was God's voice , 1 Sam. 3.6 . So perhaps you think it is only the Minister speaks to you in the Word , but it is God himself speaks . Therefore Christ is said , ( Now ) to speak to us from Heaven , Hebr. 12.25 . How doth he speak but by his Ministers ? as a King speaks by his Ambassadors . Know , that in every Sermon preached , God calls to you , and to refuse the Message we bring , is to refuse God himself .

2. The other means of our effectual Call , is the Holy Spirit . The Ministry of the Word is the Pipe or Organ , the Spirit of God blowing in it , doth effectually change Men's hearts , Acts 10.44 . While Peter spake , the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the Word of God . Ministers knock at the door of Men's hearts , the Spirit comes with a Key and opens the door , Acts 16.14 . A certain woman named Lydia , whose heart the Lord opened .

Quest. From what doth God call Men ?

Resp. 1. From sin ; He calls them from their Ignorance and Unbelief , 1 Pet. 1.14 . By Nature the Understanding is inveloped with Darkness , God calls Men from darkness to light , Eph. 5.8 . as if one should be called out of a Dungeon to behold the Light of the Sun .

2. From Danger . As the Angel called Lot out of Sodom , when it was ready to rain fire ; so God calls his People from the Fire and Brimstone of Hell , and from all those Curses they were exposed to .

3. He calls them out of the World , as Christ called Matthew from the Receipt of Custom , Iohn 17.16 . Ye are not of the world . Such as are Divinely called , are not Natives here , but Pilgrims , they do not conform to the world , or follow its sinful fashions . They are not of the world , though they live here , yet , they trade in the heavenly Country . The World is a place where Satan's Throne is , Rev. 2.13 . a Stage on which sin every day acts its part ; now such as are called are in , but not of the World .

Quest. To what God calls Men ?

Resp. 1. He calls them to Holiness , 1 Thess. 4.7 . God hath not called us unto uncleanness , but unto holiness . Holiness is the livery , or silver star the Godly wear , Isa. 63.18 . Knam kodsheca , The people of thy holiness . The called of God are anointed with the consecrating Oil of the Spirit , 1 Iohn 2.20 . Ye have an Unction from the holy One .

2. God calls them to Glory , as if a Man were called out of a Prison to sit upon a Throne , 1 Thess. 2.12 . Who hath called you to his Kingdom and Glory . Whom God calls , he crowns . It is a weight of Glory , 2 Cor. 4.17 . The Hebrew word for Glory ( Kauod ) signifies pondus , a weight : The weight of Glory adds to the worth . The weightier Gold is , the more it is worth . And this Glory is not transient , but permanent , an eternal weight : 't is better felt then expressed .

Quest. What is the cause of the effectual Call ?

Resp. God's electing Love ; Rom. 8.30 . Whom he predestinated , them he also called . Election is the Fountain-cause of our Vocation . It is not because some are more worthy to partake of the heavenly Calling then others , ( as the Arminians ) we were all in our blood , Ezek. 16.6 . and what worthiness in us ? What worthiness was there in Mary Magdalen , out of whom seven Devils were cast ? What worthiness in the Corinthians , when God began to call them by his Gospel ? they were Fornicators , Effeminate , Idolaters , 1 Cor. 6.11 . Such were some of you , but ye are washed , &c. Before effectual Calling , we are not only without strength , Rom. 5.6 . but Enemies , Col. 1.21 . So that the Foundation of Vocation is Election .

Quest. What are the Epithites or Qualifications of this Call ?

Resp. 1. It is a powerful Call . Verba Dei sunt opera , Luther : God puts forth infinite power in calling home a sinner to himself : He doth not only put forth his Voice , but his Arm. The Apostle speaks of the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the exceeding greatness of his power he exerciseth towards them that believe , Ephes. 1.19 . God rides forth conquering in the Chariot of his Gospel , he conquers the Pride of the Heart , and makes the Wiil , which stood out as a Fort-Royal , to yield and stoop to his Grace ; he makes the stony heart bleed : It is a mighty powerful Call . Why then do the Arminians seem to talk of a Moral Perswasion ? That God in the Conversion of a Sinner , doth only morally perswade , and no more . He sets his Promises before them , to allure them to Good , and his Threatnings to deter them from Evil ; and here is all he doth . But sure Moral Perswasions alone are insufficient to the effectual Call . How can the bare Proposal of Promises and Threatnings convert a Soul ? This amounts not to a new Creation ? or that Power which raised Christ from the dead . God doth not only perswade , but inable , Ezek. 36.27 . If God in Conversion should only morally perswade , that is , set Good and Evil before Men , then God doth not put forth so much power in saving Men , as the Devil doth in destroying them . Satan doth not only propound tempting Objects to Men , but doth concur with his Temptations , therefore he is said to work in the children of disobedience , Ephes. 2.2 . The Greek word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to work , signifies imperii vim , Cameron , the power Satan hath in carrying Men to sin . And shall not God's Power in converting be greater then Satan's Power in seducing ? The effectual Call is mighty and powerful ; God puts forth a Divine Energy , nay , a kind of Omnipotency . It is such a powerful Call , that the will of Man hath no power to resist .

2. It is an high Calling . Phil. 3.14 . I press toward the mark for the price of the high calling of God . It is an high Calling , 1. Because we are called to high Exercises of Religion . To be crucified to the World , to live by Faith , to do Angels Work , to love God , to be living Organs of his Praise , to hold communion with the Father and the Son , 1 Iohn 1.3 .

2. It is an high Calling , because we are called to high Priviledges ; to Justification and Adoption , to be Kings and Priests unto God ; We are called to the fellowship of Angels , to be co-heirs with Christ , Rom. 8.17 . They who are effectually called , are Candidates of Heaven , they are Princes in all Lands , Psal. 45.16 . though Princes in disguise .

3. It is an immutable Call , Rom. 11.9 . The gifts and calling of God are without repentance ; that is , those gifts which flow from Election , ( as Vocation and Justification ) these are without Repentance . God repented he called Saul to be King ; but he never repents that he calls a Sinner to be a Saint .

Use 1. See the necessity of the effectual Call , a Man cannot go to Heaven without it . First we must be called before glorified , Rom. 8.30 . A Man uncalled can lay claim to nothing in the Bible but Threatnings ; a Man in the state of Nature is not fit for Heaven , no more then a Man in his filth and rags is fit to come into a Kings presence : a Man in his pure Naturals , is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a God-hater , Rom. 1.30 . and is he fit for Heaven ? will God lay his Enemy in his bosom ?

Use 2. of Trial. Whether we are effectually called ? We may know it by the Antecedent , and Consequent of it .

1. By the Antecedent . Before this effectual Call , an humbling work passeth upon the Soul . A Man is convinced of sin , he sees he is a sinner , and nothing but a sinner ; the fallow-ground of his heart is broken up , Ier. 4.3 . As the Husband-man breaks the Clods , then casts in the Seed ; so God by the convincing work of the Law breaks a sinners heart , and makes it fit to receive the Seeds of Grace . Such as were never convinced , were never called , Iohn 16.8 . He shall convince the world of sin . Conviction is the first step to Conversion .

2. By the Consequents : Two . 1. He who is savingly called , Answers to God's Call . When God called Samuel , he answered , Speak Lord , thy servent heareth , 1 Sam. 3.10 . When God calls thee to any Act of Religion , thou dost run at God's Call , Acts 26.19 . I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision . If God calls to Duties contrary to flesh and blood , we obey his voice in every thing . True Obedience is like the Needle which points that way which the Loadstone draws . Such as are deaf to God's Call , a sign they are not called by Grace . 2. He who is effectually called doth stop his Ear to all other Calls , which would call him off from God : as God hath his Call , so there are other contrary Calls ; Satan calls by a Temptation , Lust calls , evil company calls : But as the Adder stops its Ear against the Voice of the Charmer ; so he who is effectually called stops his Ear against all the Charms of Flesh and Devil

Use 3. Of Comfort to them who are the called of God ; This Call evidenceth Election , Rom. 8.30 . Whom he predestinated , them he also called . Election is the cause of our Vocation , and Vocation is the sign of our Election . Election is the first Link of the golden Chain of Salvation , Vocation is the second ; he who hath the second Link of the Chain , is sure of the first Link . As by the Stream we are led to the Fountain , so by Vocation we ascend to Election ; Calling is an earnest and pledge of Glory . 2 Thess. 2.13 . God hath chosen you to salvation through sanctification . We may read God's predestinating love in the work of Grace in our heart .

Branch 2. To such as are called , to be thankful to God for this unspeakable Blessing ; be thankful to all the Persons in the Trinity , to the Father's Mercy , to the Son's Merit , to the Spirit 's Efficacy . To make you thankful , consider , when you had offended God that he should call you , that when God needed you not , he had Millions of glorified Saints and Angels to praise him , yet he called you . Again , consider what you were before God called you , you were in your sins ; when God called Paul , he found him persecuting ; when he called Matthew , he found him at the Receipt of Custom ; when he called Zacheus , he found him using Extorsion . When God calls a Man by his Grace , he finds him seeking after his Lusts , as when Saul was called to the Kingdom , he was seeking the Asses . That God should call thee when thou wert in the hot pursuit of sin , admire God's Love , exalt his Praise . Again , that God should call you , and pass by others , what Mercy is this ? Matth. 11.26 . Even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight . That God should pass by the wise and noble Persons of sweeter disposition , acuter parts , guilty of less Vice , and that the Lot of Free-grace should fall on you , O astonishing Love of God . It was a great favour of God to Samuel , that God call'd to him , and revealed his Mind to him , and passed by Eli , though a Priest and a Judge in Israel , 1 Sam. 3.9 . so that God should call to thee , a flagitious sinner , and pass by others of higher birth , and better morals , here is that calls aloud for Praise . As God so governs the Clouds , that he makes them rain upon one place , and not upon another , so doth he dispence his Grace , it shall drop its sweet dew upon one , and not another . Two at a Sermon , one his heart the Lord opens , the other is no more affected with it , than a deaf Man with the sound of Musick . Here is the Banner of Free-grace display'd , and here should be the Trophies of Praise erected . Eliah and Elisha were walking together , on a sudden there came a Chariot of Fire , and carried Eliah up to Heaven , but left Elisha behind ; so when two are walking together , Husband and Wife , Father and Child , that God should call one by his Grace , but leave the other , carry one up in a triumphant Chariot to Heaven , but let the other perish eternally : O infinite rich Grace ! how should they that are call'd be affected with God's discriminating Love ; how should the Vessels of Mercy run over with Thankfulness ; how should they stand upon Mount Gerizim , blessing and praising God : O begin the work of Heaven here ! Such as are Patterns of Mercy , should be Trumpets of Praise : Thus S. Paul being call'd of God , and seeing what a Debtor he was to Free-grace , breaks forth into Admiration and Gratulation , 1 Tim. 1.13 .

Use 4. To the Called , walk worthy of your high Calling , Eph. 4.1 . I beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called ; in two things :

1. Walk compassionately , pity such as are yet uncalled : Hast thou a Child that God hath not yet called , a Wife , a Servant ? Weep over their dying Souls . They are in their Bloud , under the Power of Satan ; O pity them ! Let their sins more trouble you then your own Sufferings : If you pity an Ox or Ass going astray , will you not pity a Soul going astray . Show your Piety by your Pity .

2. Walk holily ; yours is an holy Calling , 2 Tim. 1.9 . You are called to be Saints , Rom. 1.7 . Show your Vocation by a Bible-conversation . Shall not Flowers smell sweeter than Weeds ? Shall not they who are ennobled with Grace , have more Fragrancy in their Lives than Sinners ? 1 Pet. 1.15 . As he who hath called you is holy , so be ye holy in all manner of conversation . O dishonour not your high Calling by any sordid Carriage . When Antigonus going to defile himself with Women , one told him , He was a King's Son : O remember your Dignity , Called of God! of the Bloud-Royal of Heaven ; do nothing unworthy of your Honourable Calling . Scipio refused the Embraces of an Harlot , because he was General of an Army . Abhor all Motions to sin , because of your high Calling . 'T is not fit for them who are the Called of God , to do as others : tho' others of the Iews did drink Wine , it was not fit for the Nazarite , because he had a Vow of Separation upon him , and had promised Abstinence . Though Pagans and loose Christians take liberty to sin , yet it is not fit for them who are called out of the World , and have the Mark of Election upon them , to do so : You are consecrated Persons , your Bodies are the Temples of the Holy Ghost , and your Souls must be a Sacrary , or Holy of Holies .

OF IVSTIFICATION . Rom. 3.24 .

Being justified freely by his grace .

Quest. XXI . WHat is Iustification ?

Resp. It is an Act of God's Free-grace , whereby he pardoneth all our sins , and accepts us as righteous in his sight , only for the Righteousness of CHRIST imputed to us , and received by Faith .

Iustification is the very Hinge and Pillar of CHRISTIANITY ; and an Errour about Iustification is dangerous , like a Crack in the Foundation , or an Errour in the first Concoction . Iustification by Christ is a Spring of the Water of Life , and to have the Poison of corrupt Doctrine cast into this Spring , is damnable . It was a Saying of Luther , That after his Death the Doctrine of Iustification would be corrupted . As it hath been in these latter Times , the Arminians and Socinians have cast a dead Fly into this Box of precious Oyntment .

I shall endeavour to follow the Star of Scripture to light me through this Mysterious Point .

Quest. What is meant by Iustification ?

Resp. It is verbum forense , a word borrowed from Law-courts , wherein a Person arraigned is pronounced Righteous , and is openly absolved in the Court . Thus God in justifying a Person , pronounceth him to be Righteous , and looks upon him as if he had not sinned .

Quest. What is the Ground of Iustification ?

Resp. The Causa , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the inward impellent Motive or Ground of Iustification is the Free-grace of God . So in the Text , Iustified freely by his grace . Which Ambrose expounds , Not of the Grace wrought within us , but the Free-grace of God . The first Wheel that sets all the rest a running , is the Love and Favour of God . Being justified by his Grace ; as a King freely Pardons a Delinquent . Iustification is a Mercy spun out of the Bowels of Free-grace . God doth not justifie us because we are worthy , but by justifying us makes us worthy .

Quest. What is the material Cause , or that by which a Sinner is justified ?

Resp. The Matter of our Iustification is Christ's Satisfaction made to his Father . If it be asked , How can it stand with God's Iustice and Holiness to pronounce us Innocent , when we are Guilty ? This answers it , Christ having made Satisfaction for our Fault , now God may in Equity and Justice pronounce us Righteous . It is a just thing for a Creditor to discharge a Debtor of the Debt , when a Satisfaction is made by the Surety .

Quest. But how was Christ's Satisfaction meritorious , and so sufficient to Iustifie ?

Resp. In respect of the Divine Nature : As he was Man he suffered , as God he satisfied ; by Christ's Death and Merits God's Justice is more abundantly satisfied then if we had suffered the Pains of Hell for ever .

Quest. Wherein lies the Formality or Essence of our Iustification ?

Resp. In the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness to us , Jer. 23.6 . This is the name whereby ye shall be called , Iehovah Tzidkennu , THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS . 1 Cor. 1.30 . He is made to us righteousness . This Righteousness of Christ which doth justifie us , is a better Righteousness then the Angels , theirs is the Righteousness of Creatures , this of God .

Quest. What is the Means or Instrument of our Iustification ?

Resp. Faith , Rom. 5.1 . Being justified by faith . The Dignity is not in Faith as a Grace , but relatively , as it lays hold on Christ's Merits .

Quest. What is the Efficient Cause of our Iustification ?

Resp. The whole Trinity , all the Persons in the Blessed Trinity have an Hand in the Iustification of a Sinner : Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa . God the Father is said to justifie , Rom. 8.33 . It is God that justifieth . God the Son is said to justify , Acts 13.39 . By him all that believe are justified . God the Holy Ghost is said to justifie , 1 Cor. 6.11 . But ye are justified by the spirit of our God . God the Father justifies as he pronounceth us Righteous ; God the Son justifies as he imputes his Righteousness to us ; and God the Holy Ghost justifies as he clears up our Iustification , and seals us up to the Day of Redemption .

Quest. What is the End of our Iustification ?

Resp. The End is , 1. That God may inherit Praise , Eph. 1.6 . To the praise of the glory of his grace . Hereby God raiseth the everlasting Trophies of his own Honour : How will the justified Sinner proclaim the Love of God , and make Heaven ring of his Praises .

2. That the justified Person may inherit Glory , Rom. 8.30 . Whom he justified them he also glorified . God in justifying doth not only absolve a Soul from Guilt , but advance him to Dignity : as Ioseph was not only loosed from Prison , but made Lord of the Kingdom . Iustification is crowned with Glorification .

Quest. Whether are we justified from Eternity ?

Resp. No ; for first , by Nature we are under a Sentence of Condemnation , Joh. 3.18 . But we could not be at all condemned , if we were justified from Eternity .

2. The Scripture confines Iustification to those who believe and repent , Acts 3.19 . Repent , that your sins may be blotted out . Therefore their sins were uncanciled and their Persons unjustified , till they did repent : though God doth not justifie us for our Repentance , yet not without it . The Antinomians erroniously hold , That we are justified from Eternity . This Doctrine is a Key which opens the Door to all Licentiousness ; what sins do they care they commit , so long as they hold they are ab Aeterno , justified whether they repent or no.

Before I come to the Uses , I shall lay down four Maxims or Positions about Iustification :

Position 1. That Iustification confers a real benefit upon the Person justified . The acquitting and discharging the Debtor by Vertue of the Satisfaction made by the Surety , is a real Benefit to the Debtor : A Robe of Righteousness , and a Crown of Righteousness are real Benefits .

Position 2. All Believers are alike justified : Iustificatio non recipit magis & minus : Though there are Degrees in Grace , yet not in Iustification ; one is not justified more than another . The weakest Believer is as perfectly justified , as the strongest : Mary Magdalen is as much justified as the Virgin Mary . This may be Cordial-water to a weak Believer . Though thou hast but a Dram of Faith , thou art as truly justified as he who is of the highest stature in Christ .

Position 3. Whomsoever God justifies he sanctifies : 1 Cor. 6.11 . But ye are sanctified , but ye are justified . The Papists calumniate the Protestants , they report we hold that Men continuing in sin are justified ; whereas all our Protestant Writers affirm , That Righteousness imputed , viz. Iustification , and Righteousness inherent , viz. Sanctification must be inseparably united . Holiness indeed is not the cause of our Iustification , but it is the concomitant : the Heat in the Sun is not the cause of its Light , but it is the concomitant . It is absurd to imagine that God should justifie a People , and they go on Sin . If God should justifie a People and not sanctifie them , he should justifie a People whom he could not glorifie . God as he is an Holy God , cannot lay a Sinner in his Bosom . The Metal is first refined before the King's Stamp is put upon it : First the Soul is refined with Holiness before God puts the Royal Stamp of Justification upon it .

Position 4. Iustification is inamissibilis , it is a fixed permanent Thing , it can never be lost . The Arminians hold an Apostasie from Iustification : To day justified , to morrow unjustified ; to day a Peter , to morrow a Iudas ; to day a Member of Christ , to morrow a Limb of Satan ; a most uncomfortable Doctrine . Indeed justified Persons may fall from degrees of Grace , they may leave their first Love , they may lose God's Favour for a time , but not lose their Iustification . If they are justified then they are elected ; they can no more fall from their Iustification , then from their Election . If they are justified then they have Union with Christ , and can a Member of Christ be broken off ? If one justified Person may fall away from Christ , then all may , and so Christ should be an Head without a Body .

Use 1. See from hence , that there is nothing within us could justifie us , but something without us , not any Righteousness inherent but imputed : We may as well look for a Star in the Earth , as for Iustification in our own Righteousness . The Papists say we are justified by Works . But the Apostle confutes it , Not of works least any man should boast , Eph. 2.9 . But the Papists say , The Works done by an unregenerate Man indeed cannot justify him , but works done by a regenerate Man may justify . This is most false , as may be proved both by Example and Reason :

1. By Example Abraham was a regenerate Man , but Abraham was not justified by Works but by Faith , Rom. 4.3 . Abraham believed God , and it was counted to him for righteousness .

2. By Reason : How can those Works justify us which defiles us ? Isa. 64.6 . Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . Bona opera non praecedunt justificationem , sed sequuntur justificatum : Good Works are not an Usher to go before Iustification , but an Handmaid to follow it .

Object . But doth not the Apostle Iames say , Abraham was justified by works ?

Resp. The answer is easie , Works declare us to be righteous before Men , but they do not make us righteous before God . Works are Evidences of our Iustification , not Causes . This Name only must be graven upon the Golden Plate of our High Priest Christ , The LORD our righteousness .

2. Use of Exhortation . Branch 1. Adore the infinite Wisdom and Goodness of God to find out such a way to justify us , by rich Grace and precious Bloud . We were all involved in Guilt , none of us could plead , Not Guilty ; and being Guilty we lay under a Sentence of Death ; now that the Judge himself should find out a way to justify us , and the Creditor himself contrive a way to have the Debt paid , and not distress the Debtor ; this may fill us with Wonder and Love . The Angels admire the Mystery of Free-grace in this new way of Justifying and Saving lost Man , 1 Pet. 1.12 . and should not we who are nearly concerned in it , and on whom the Benefit is devolved , cry out with the Apostle , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , O the depth of the riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! &c.

Branch 2. Labour for this high Priviledge of Justification : There is Balm in Gilead , Christ hath laid down the Price of our Justification , viz. His Bloud , and he offers himself and all his Merits to us , to justifie ; he invites us to come to him , he hath promised to give his Spirit , to inable us to do what is required . Why then Sinners will ye not look after this great Priviledge of Iustification ? Do not starve in the midst of Plenty ; do not perish when there is a Remedy to save you . Would not he be thought to be distracted , if having a Pardon offered him only upon the Acknowledgment of his Fault , and promising Amendment , he should bid the Prince keep his Pardon to himself , for his part he was in love with his Chains and Fetters , and would dye ? Thou who neglectest Iustification offered thee freely by Christ in the Gospel , art this distracted Person . Is the Love of Christ to be slighted ? Is thy Soul and Heaven worth nothing ? O then look after Iustification through Christ's Bloud !

Consider , 1. The necessity of being justified : If we are not justified , we cannot be glorified , Rom. 8.30 . Whom he justified them he also glorified . He who is Outlawed , and all his Goods confiscated , must be brought into Favour with his Prince , before he can be restored to his former Rights and Liberties . So we must first have our Sins forgiven , and be brought into God's Favour by Iustification , before we can be restored to the Liberty of the Sons of God , and have Right to that Happiness we forfeited in Adam .

2. The Utility and Benefit : By Iustification we enjoy Peace in our Conscience , a richer Jewel then any Prince wears in his Crown , Rom. 5.1 . Being justified by faith , we have peace with God . Peace can sweeten all Afflictions , it turns our Water into Wine : How happy is a justified Person , who hath the Power of God to guard him , and the Peace of God to comfort him . Peace flowing from Iustification , is an Antidote against the Fear of Death and Hell , Rom. 8.34 . It is God that justifies , who is he that condemneth ? Therefore labour for this Iustification by Christ ; this Priviledge is obtain'd by believing in Christ , Acts 13.39 . By him all that believe are justified . And , Rom. 3.25 . Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his bloud . Faith unites us to Christ , and having Union with his Person , we partake of his Merits , and the glorious Salvation which comes by him .

Use 3. Comfort to the Justified , 1. It is Comfort in case of Failings : Alas , how defective are the Godly , they come short in every Duty ! But though Believers should be humbled under their Defects , yet not despond , they are not to be justifi'd by their Duties or Graces , but the Righteousness of Christ . Their Duties are mixed with Sin , but that Righteousness which justifies them , is a perfect Righteousness .

2. Comfort in case of hard Censures : The World censures the People of God for Proud and Hypocritical , and the Troublers of Israel , but though Men censure and condemn the Godly , yet God hath justified them : And as he hath now , justified them , so at the Day of Judgment he will openly justifie them , and pronounce them Righteous before Men and Angels . And God is so just and holy a Judge , that having once justified his People , he will never condemn them . Pilate justified Christ , I find no fault in him ; yet after this he condemned him . But God having publickly justified his Saints , he will never condemn them : Whom he justified , them he also glorified .

Of ADOPTION . Joh. 1.12 .

To them he gave power to become the sons of GOD.

HAving spoken of the great Points of Faith and Justification , the next is Adoption :

1. The Qualification of the Persons : As many as received him . Receiving is put for Believing , as is clear by the last words , To them that believe in his name .

2. The Specification of the Priviledge : To them he gave power to become the sons of God . The Greek word for Power , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies Dignity and Prerogative ; he dignified them to become the Sons of God .

Our Sonship differs from Christ's Sonship : Christ was the Son of God by Eternal Generation , a Son before time ; but our Sonship is , 1. By Creation , Acts 17.28 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , we are his Off-spring . This is no Priviledge , Men may have God for their Father by Creation , yet have the Devil for their Father .

2. Our Sonship is by Adoption : So in the Text , He gave them power to become the sons of God . Adoption is twofold ,

1. External and Federal : So those who live in a visible Church , and make a Profession of God , are Sons , Matth. 8.12 . The children of the kingdom shall be cast out .

2. Real and Gracious : So they are Sons who are GOD's Favourites , and are Heirs of Glory . Before I proceed to the Questions , I shall lay down three Positions :

1. Adoption takes in all Nations : At first Adoption was confined to the People of the Iews , they only were grafted in to the true Olive , and were dignified with glorious Priviledges , Rom. 9.4 . Who are Israelites ; to whom pertaineth the adoption , and the glory ? But now in the time of Gospel , the Chartar is enlarged , and the believing Gentiles are within the Line of Communication , and have a Right to the Priviledge of Adoption as well as the Iews , Acts 10.35 . In every nation he that feareth God , and worketh righteousness , is accepted with him .

Position 2. Adoption takes in both Sexes , Females as well as Males : 2 Cor. 6.18 . I will be a Father unto you , and ye shall be my sons and daughters . I have read in some Countries , Females are excluded from the Supream Dignity ; as by the Salique Law in France , no Woman can inherit a Crown : But if we speak of Spiritual Priviledges , Females are as capable as Males . Every gracious Soul ( of whatever Sex ) lays claim to Adoption , and hath an Interest in God as a Father : Ye shall be my sons and daughters , saith the Lord Almighty .

Position 3. Adoption is an Act of pure Grace , Eph. 1.5 . Having predestinated us to the adoption of children , according to the good pleasure of his will . Adoption is a Mercy spun out of the Bowels of Free-grace : all by Nature are Strangers , therefore have no Right to Sonship , only God is pleased to adopt one and not another , to make one a Vessel of Glory , another a Vessel of Wrath. The adopted Heir may cry out , Lord , how is it thou wilt show thyself to me , and not unto the World ?

Quest. What this 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , this Filiation or Adoption is ?

Resp. Adoption is the taking a Stranger into the Relation of a Son and Heir : So Moses was the adopted Son of King Pharoah's Daughter , Exod. 2.10 . And Esther was the adopted Child of her Cousin Mordecai , Esth. 2.7 . Thus God adopts us into the Family of Heaven ; and God in adopting us doth two things :

1. He Ennobles us with his Name , he who is adopted bears his Name who adopts him , Rev. 3.12 . I will write on him the name of my God .

2. God consecrates us with his Spirit : Whom he Adopts he Anoints ; whom he makes Sons , he makes Saints : When a Man adopts another for his Son and Heir , he may put his Name upon him , but he cannot put his Disposition into him ; if he be of a morose rugged Nature , he cannot alter it . But whom God adopts he sanctifies : He doth not only give them a new Name , but a new Nature , 2 Pet. 1.4 . God turns the Wolf into a Lamb ; he makes the Heart humble and gracious , he works such a Change as if another Soul did dwell in the same Body .

Quest. From what State doth God take us when he adopts us ?

Resp. From a State of Sin and Misery . King Pharoah's Daughter took Moses out of the Ark of Bulrushes in the Water , and adopted him for her Son . God did not take us out of the Water , but out of our Bloud , and adopted us , Ezek. 16. God adopted us from Slavery : It is a Mercy to redeem a Slave , but it is more to adopt him .

Quest. To what God adopts us ?

Resp. He adopts us to a State of Excellency ; it were much for God to take a Clod of Dust and make it a Star : it is more for God to take a Piece of Clay and Sin and adopt it for his Heir :

1. God adopts us to a State of Liberty , Adoption is a State of Freedom . A Slave being adopted is made a free Man , Gal. 4.7 . Thou art no more a servant , but a son .

Quest. How is an adopted Son free ?

Resp. 1. Not to do what he list : he is freed from the Dominion of Sin , the Tyranny of Satan , the Curse of the Law .

2. He is free in the manner of Worship ; he hath God's free Spirit which makes him free and chearful in his Service of God ; he is joyful in the house of prayer , Isa. 56.7 .

2. God adopts us to a State of Dignity : God makes us Heirs of Promise ; God Instals us into Honour , Isa. 43.4 . Since thou wast precious in my sight , thou hast been honourable . The Adopted are God's Treasure , Exod. 19.5 . His Jewels , Mal. 3.17 . His first Born , Heb. 12.23 . They have Angels for their Life-guard , Heb. 1.14 . They are of the Bloud-Royal of Heaven , 1 Iob. 3.9 . The Scripture hath set forth their Spiritual Heraldry ; they have their Escutcheon or Coat-armour : Sometimes they give the Lyon for their Courage , Prov. 28.1 . Sometimes the Dove for their Meekness , Cant. 2.14 . Sometimes the Eagle for their Sublimeness , Isa. 40.31 . Thus you see their Coat of Arms display'd ; but what is Honour without Inheritance ? God adopts all his Sons to an Inheritance , Luke 12.32 . It is your Father's good pleasure to give you a kingdom . 'T is no Disparagment to be the Sons of God . To reproach the Saints , is as if Shimei had reproached David when he was going to be made King ; Adoption ends in Coronation . The Kingdom God gives his adopted Sons and Heirs excels all Earthly Monarchies :

1. In Riches , Rev. 21.21 . the Gates of Pearl , and the Streets of pure Gold , and as it were transparent Glass .

2. In Tranquility ; it is peaceable , the white Lily of Peace is the best Flower of a Prince's Crown : Pax una triumphis innumeris melior — No Divisions at Home , or Invasions Abroad ; no more the Noise of the Drum or Canon , but the Voice of Harpers harping the Hieroglyphick of Peace , Rev. 14.2 .

3. In Stability ; other Kingdoms are corruptible , though they have Heads of Gold , yet Feet of Clay : but this Kingdom into which the Saints are adopted runs parallel with Eternity ; 't is a Kingdom that cannot be shaken , Heb. 12.28 . The Heirs of Heaven reign for ever and ever , Rev. 22.5 .

Quest. What is the Organical or Instrumental Cause of Adoption ?

Resp. Faith interests us in the Priviledge of Adoption , Gal. 3.26 . Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Iesus . Before Faith be wrought we are Spiritually Illegitimate , we have no relation to God as a Father : an Unbeliever may call God Iudge but not Father ; Faith is the filiating Grace , it confers upon us the Title of Sonship , and gives us right to inherit .

Quest. Why Faith is the Instrument of Adoption , more then any other Grace ?

Resp. 1. Faith is a quickning Grace , it is the Vital Artery of the Soul , Hab. 2.4 . The just shall live by faith . Life makes us capable of Adoption , dead Children are never adopted .

2. Faith makes us CHRIST's Brethren , and so GOD comes to be our Father .

Use 1. Branch 1. See the amazing Love of God in making us his Sons . Plato gave God Thanks , that he had made him a Man , and not only a Man , but a Philosopher : but it is infinitely more , that he should invest us with the Prerogative of Sons . It is Love in God to feed us , but more to adopt us , 1 Joh. 3.1 . Behold , what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us , that we should be called the sons of God! It is an Ecce Admirantis , a Behold of Wonder .

The Wonder of God's Love in adopting us , will appear the more , if we consider these six things ,

1. That God should adopt us when he had a Son of his own . Men adopt because they want Children , and desire to have some to bear their Name ; but that God should adopt us when he had a Son of his own , the Lord Iesus , here is the Wonder of Love . Christ is call'd God's dear Son , Col. 1.13 . A Son more worthy then the angels . Heb. 1.4 . Being made so much better then the angels . Now when God had a Son of his own , such a Son , here is the Wonder of God's Love in adopting us . We needed a Father , but he did not need Sons .

2. Consider what we were before God did adopt us : We were very deformed ; a Man will scarce adopt him for his Heir that is crooked and ill-favoured , but that hath some Beauty . Mordecai adopted Esther because she was fair . But we were in our Bloud , and then God adopted us : Ezek. 16.6 . When I saw thee polluted in thy bloud , it was the time of love . God did not adopt us when we were bespangled with the Jewels of Holiness , and had the Angels Glory upon us , but when we were black as Aethiopians , diseased as Leapers , then it was the time of Love .

3. That God should be at so great Expence in adopting us : When Men adopt they have only some Deed seal'd , and the thing is effected ; but when God adopts , it puts him to a far greater Expence , it se●s his Wisdom a work to find out a way to adopt us : It was no easie thing to make the Heirs of Wrath , Heirs of the Promise . And when God had found out a way to adopt , it was no easie way ; our Adoption is purchased at a dear Rate : When God was about to make us Sons and Heirs , he could not Seal the Deed but by the Bloud of his own Son . Here is the Wonder of God's Love in adopting us , that he should be at all this Expence to bring this work about .

4. That God should adopt his Enemies : If a Man adopts another for his Heir , he will not adopt his mortal Enemy ; but that God should adopt us when we were not only Strangers but Enemies . Here is the Wonder of Love , for God to have pardoned his Enemies had been much , but to adopt them for his Heirs , this sets the Angels in Heaven a wondring .

5. That God should take great Numbers out of the Devil's Family and adopt them into the Family of Heaven . Christ is said to bring many sons to glory , Heb. 2.10 . Men adopt usually but one Heir , but God is resolved to encrease his Family , he brings many Sons to Glory . God's adopting Millions , is the Wonder of Love . Had but one been adopted , all of us might have despair'd , but he brings many Sons to Glory ; this opens a Door of Hope to us .

6. That God should confer so great Honour upon us in adopting us : David thought it no small Honour , that he should be a King's Son-in-law , 1 Sam. 18.18 . But what Honour to be the Sons of the High God ? And the more Honour God hath put upon us in adopting us the more he hath magnified his Love towards us . What Honour that God hath made us so near in Alliance to him , Sons of God the Father , Members of God the Son , Temples of God the Holy Ghost , that he hath made us 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as the Angels , Matth. 22.30 . Nay , in some sence superiour to the Angels , all proclaims the Wonder of God's Love in adopting us .

Branch 2. See the sad Condition of such as live and dye in Unbelief , they are not the Sons of God : To as many as received him , he gave power to become the sons of God , even to them that believe in his name . No Faith , no Sonship ; Unbelievers have no Sign on Sonship , they know not God ; all God's Children know their Father , but the Wicked do not know him , Jer. 9.3 . They proceed from evil to evil , and know not me , saith the Lord . Unbelievers are dead in Trespasses , Eph. 2.1 . God hath no dead Children ; and not being Children , they have no Right to inherit .

2. Use of Tryal : Try whether we are adopted , all the World is divided into these two Ranks , either the Sons of God , or the Heirs of Hell , Joh. 1.12 . To them he gave power to become the sons of God . Let us put ourselves on a Tryal ; it is no sign we are adopted Sons , because we are Sons of Godly Parents : The Iews boasted that they were Abraham's Seed , Ioh. 8.33 . they thought they must needs be good , because they came of such an Holy Line . But Adoption doth not come by Bloud : we see many godly Parents have wicked Sons : Abraham had an Ishmael ; Isaac an Esau. The Corn that is sown pure yet brings forth Grain with an Husk . He who himself is Holy , yet the Child that springs from his Loins is Unholy . So that as Hierom , Non nascimur filii ; We are not God's Sons as we are born of godly Parents , but by Adoption and Grace . Well then , let us try if we are the adopted Sons and Daughters of God .

First Sign of Adoption , Obedience ; a Son obeys his Father , Jer. 35.5 . I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine , and cups , and said unto them , Drink ye Wine . But they said , We will drink no wine : for Ionadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us , saying , Ye shall drink no wine . So when God saith , Drink not in Sin 's enchanted Cup , an adopted Child saith , My Heavenly Father hath commanded me , I dare not Drink . A gracious Soul doth not only believe God's Promise , but obey his Command . And true Child-like Obedience must be Regular , which implies three things :

1. It must be done by a right Rule : Obedience must have the Word for its Rule ; Lydius Lapis : Isa. 8.20 . To the law , to the testimony . If our Obedience be not according to the Word , it is offering up strange Fire ; it is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Will-worship ; and God will say , Who hath required this at your hand ? The Apostle condemns worshipping of Angels , which had a show of Humility , Col. 2.18 . The Iews might say , they were loath to be so bold as to go to God in their own Persons , they would be more humble , and prostrate themselves before the Angels , desiring them to be their Mediators to God . Here was a show of Humility in their Angel-worship , but it was abominable , because they had no Word of God to warrant it : It was not Obedience but Idolatry . Child-like Obedience is that which is consonant to our Father 's revealed Will .

2. It must be done from a right Principle ; i. e. The noble Principle of Faith , Rom. 16.26 . The obedience of faith . — Quicquid decorum est ex fide proficiscitur , Aug. A Crab-tree may bear Fruit fair to the Eye , but it is sowr because it doth not come from a good Root . A Moral Person may give God outward Obedience , and to the Eyes of others it seems glorious , but his Obedience is sowr because it comes not from that sweet and pleasant Root of Faith . A Child of God gives him the Obedience of Faith , and that meliorates and sweetens his Services , and makes them come off with a better relish , Heb. 11.4 . By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice then Cain .

3. It must be done to a right End : Finis specificat actionem ; The end of Obedience is glorifying God . That which hath spoil'd many glorious Services , is when the end hath been wrong : Matth. 6.2 . When thou dost thine alms do not sound a trumpet as the hypocrites do , that they may have glory of men . Good Works should shine , but not blaze . If I give my body to be burned , and have not charity , it profits me nothing , 1 Cor. 13.3 . The same I may say of a sincere aim ; if I obey never so much , and have not a sincere Aim , it profits me nothing . True Obedience looks at God in all , Phil. 1.20 . That Christ may be magnified . Though a Child of God shoots short , yet he takes a right Aim .

2. True Child-like Obedience is Uniform : A Child of God makes Conscience of one Command as well as another : Quicquid propter Deum fit aequaliter fit . — All God's Commands have the same Stamp of Divine Authority upon them ; and if I obey one Precept because my Heavenly Father commands me , then by the same Rule I must obey all : As the Bloud runs through all the Veins of the Body ; and the Sun in the Firmament runs through all the Signs of the Zodiack ; so true Child-like Obedience runs through the First and Second Table , Psal. 119.6 . When I have respect to all thy commandments . To obey God in some things of Religion , and not in others , shows an unsound Heart : Like Esau who obeyed his Father in bringing him Venison , but not in a greater matter , viz. the Choice of his Wife . Child-like Obedience moves towards every Command of God ; as the Needle points that way which the Load-stone draws . If God call to Duties which are cross to Flesh and Bloud , if we are Children we obey our Father .

Quest. But who can obey God in all things ?

Ans. An adopted Heir of Heaven , though he cannot obey every Precept perfectly , yet he doth evangelically : 1. He approves of every Command , Rom. 7.16 . I consent to the law that it 〈◊〉 good . 2. A Child of God delights in every Command , Psal. 119.97 . O how I love thy precepts . 3. His desire is to obey every Command , Psal. 119.5 . O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes . 4. Wherein he comes short , he looks up to Christ's Bloud to make supply for his Defects . This is Evangelical Obedience , which though it be not to Satisfaction , it is to Acceptation .

3. True Child-like Obedience is constant , Psal. 106.3 . Blessed is he that doth righteousness at all times . Child-like Obedience is not like an high Cholor in a Fit , which is soon over , but like a right Sanguine Complexion it abides ; it is like the Fire on the Altar , which was kept always burning , Lev. 6.13 .

Second Sign of Adoption , To love to be in our Father's Presence ; the Child who loves his Father , is never so well as when he is near his Father . Are we Children , we love the Presence of God in his Ordinances ? In Prayer we speak to God , in the preaching of his Word he speaks to us : And how doth every Child of God delight to hear his Father's Voice ? Psal. 63.1 , 2. My soul thirsteth for thee , to see thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary . Such as disregard Ordinances are not God's Children , because they care not to be in God's Presence : Gen. 4.17 . Cain went out from the presence of the Lord . Not that he could go out of God's Sight , but the me●ning is , Cain went from the Church and People of God , where the Lord gave vissible Tokens of his Presence .

Third Sign of Adoption , To have the Conduct of God's Spirit , Rom. 8. ●4 . As many as are led by the spirit of God , are the sons of God . It is not enough that the Child have Life , but it must be led every step by the Nurse : so the adopted Child must not only be born of God , but have the Manuduction of the Spirit to lead him in a Course of Holiness : Hos. 11.3 . I taught Ephraim also to go , taking them by their arms . As Israel were led by the Pillar of Fire , so God's Children are led by the Conduct of his Spirit : the adopted Ones need God's Spirit to lead them , they are apt to go wrong . The fleshy Part inclines to sin , the Understanding and Conscience are to guide the Will , but the Will is imperious and rebels , therefore God's Children need the Spirit to check Corruption , and lead them in the right way ; as the wicked Men are led by the Evil Spirit : The Spirit of Satan led Herod to Incest , Ahab to Murder , Iudas to Treason ; so the good Spirit leads God's Children into Vertuous Actions .

Object . But Enthusiasts pretend to be led by the Spirit , when it is an Ignis Fatuus , a Delusion ?

Ans. The Spirit 's Conduct is agreeable to the Word : Enthusiasts leave the Word , The word is truth , Joh. 17.17 . And the spirit guides in all truth , Joh. 16.13 . The Word 's Teaching , and the Spirit 's Leading agree together .

Fourth Sign , If we are adopted we have an intire love to all God's Children , 1 Pet. 2.17 . Love the brother-hood . We bear Affection to God's Children , though they have some Infirmities : There are the spots of God's Children , Deut. 32.5 . But we must love the beautiful Face of Holiness , though it hath a Scar in it . If we are adopted we love the Good we see in God's Children , we admire their Graces , we pass by their Imprudencies : if we cannot love them because they have some Failings , how do we think God can love us ? can we plead Exemption ? By these Signs we may know our Adoption .

Quest. What are the benefits which accrue to God's Children ?

Ans. They have great Immunities : King's Children have great Priviledges and Freedoms ; they do not pay Custom , Mat. 17.6 . God's Children are priviledged Persons ; they are priviledged from the hurt of every thing , Luke 10.19 . Nothing shall by any means hurt you . Hit you it may , not hurt you : Psal. 91.10 . There shall no evil befal thee . God saith not , no Affliction shall befal his Children , but no Evil ; the Hurt and Poison of it is taken away . Affliction to a wicked Man hath Evil in it , it makes him worse ; it makes him curse and blaspheme , Rev. 16.9 . Men were scorched with great heat , and blasphemed the name of God . But no Evil befals a Child of God , he is better'd by Affliction , Heb. 12.10 . The Furnace makes Gold purer . Again , no Evil befals the Adopted , because no Condemnation , Rom. 8.33 . It is God that justifieth , who is he that condemneth ? What a blessed Priviledge is this , to be freed from the Sting of Affliction , and the Curse of the Law ; to be in such a Condition that nothing can hurt one . When the Dragon hath poison'd the Water , the Unicorn with his Horn doth extract and draw out the Poison ; so Jesus Christ hath drawn out the Poison of every Affliction , that it cannot prejudice the Saints .

Second Benefit , If we are adopted , then we have an Interest in all the Promises : The Promises are Childrens Bread : Believers are heirs of the Promise , Heb. 6.17 . The Promises are sure ; God's Truth which is the brightest Pearl in his Crown is laid to pawn in a Promise . The Promises are suitable ; like a P●●sick-garden , there is no Disease but there is some Herb in the Physick-garden to cure it . In the Dark of Desertion God hath promised to be a Sun ; in Temptation to tread down Satan , Rom. 16.20 . Doth Sin prevail ? he hath promised to take away its Kingly Power , Rom. 6.14 . O the Heavenly Comforts which are distilled from the Limbeck of the Promises ; But who hath a Right to these ? Believers only are Heirs of the Promise . There is never a Promise in the Bible , but a Believer may say , This is mine .

Use ult . Extol and magnifie God's Mercy who hath adopted you into his Family , who of Slaves hath made you Sons , of Heirs of Hell , Heirs of the Promise . Adoption is a free Gift , He gave them power , or dignity , to become the sons of God . As a Thread of Silver runs through the whole Piece of Work , so Free-grace runs through this whole priviledge of Adoption : Adoption is a greater Mercy then Adam had in Paradise ; he was a Son by Creation , but here is a further Sonship by Adoption , to make us thankful . Consider , in Civil Adoption there is some worth or excellency in the Person to be adopted , but there was no worth in us , neither Beauty , nor Parentage , nor Vertue , nothing in us to move God to bestow the Prerogative of Sonship upon us . We have enough in us to move God to correct us , but nothing to move him to adopt us ; therefore exalt Free-grace , begin the work of Angels here : Bless him with your Praises , who hath blessed you in making you his Sons and Daughters .

SANTIFICATION . 1 THESS. 4.3 .

For this is the Will of God , even your Sanctification .

THe Notion of the word Sanctification , signifies to consecrate and set apart to an holy use . Thus they are sanctified Persons who are separate from the World , and set apart for God's Service . Sanctification hath a privative and positive part .

1. A privative part , Mortification , which lies in the purging out of sin . Sin is compared to Leven , which sowrs , and to Leprosy , which defiles : Sanctification doth purge out the old leven , 1 Cor. 5.7 . Though it takes not away the life , yet the love of sin .

2. A positive part , Vivification , which is the spiritual refining of the Soul , which in Scripture is called a renewing of our mind , Rom. 12.2 . and a partaking of the Divine Nature , 2 Pet. 1.4 . The Priests in the Law not only were washed in the great Lavor , but adorned with glorious Apparel , Exod. 28.2 . so in Sanctification , not only washed from sin , but adorned with purity .

Quest. What is Sanctification ?

Answ. It is a Principle of Grace savingly wrought , whereby the Heart becomes holy , and is made after God's own heart . A sanctified Person bears not only God's Name , but Image . For the opening the nature of Sanctification , I shall lay down these Seven Positions .

1. Sanctification is a supernatural thing ; 't is divinely infused ; we are naturally polluted , and to cleanse God takes to be his Prerogative , Lev. 21.8 . I am the Lord that sanctifieth you . Weeds grow of themselves , Flowers are planted . Sanctification is a Flower of the Spirit 's planting , therefore it is called , The Sanctification of the Spirit , 1 Pet. 1.2 .

2. Sanctification is an intrinsical thing ; it lies chiefly in the heart . It is called the adorning the hidden man of the heart , 1 Pet. 3.4 . The Dew wets the Leaf , the Sap is hid in the Root ; the Religion of some consists only in externals , but Sanctification is deeply rooted in the Soul , Psal. 51.6 . In the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom .

3. Sanctification is an extensive thing ; it spreads into the whole Man : 1 Thess. 5.23 . The God of peace sanctifie you wholly . As Original Corruption hath depraved all the Faculties , the whole head is sick , the whole heart faint , no Part sound , as if the whole mass of blood were corrupted ; so Sanctification goes over the whole Soul . After the Fall there was Ignorance in the Mind , now in Sanctification we are light in the Lord , Eph. 5.8 . After the Fall the Will was depraved , there was not only impotency to Good , but obstinacy ; now in Sanctification there is a blessed pliableness in the Will , it doth symbolize and comport with the Will of God . After the Fall the Affections were misplaced on wrong Objects , in Sanctification they are tun'd into a sweet order and harmony , the Grief placed on Sin , the Love on God , the Joy on Heaven . Thus Sanctification spreads it self as far as Original Corruption . It goes over the whole Soul : The God of peace sanctifie you wholly . He is not a consecrated Person who is good only in some part , but who is all over sanctified . Therefore in Scripture Grace is called a New Man , Col. 3.10 . not a new Eye , or a new Tongue , but a new Man . A good Christian , though he be sanctified but in part , yet in every part .

4. Sanctification is an intense ardent thing . Qualitates sunt in subjecto intensivè , Rom. 12.11 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , fervent in spirit . Sanctification is not a dead Form , but is inflamed into Zeal . We call Water hot , when it is so in the third or fourth degree . He is holy whose Religion is heated to some degree , and his heart boils over in love to God .

5. Sanctification is a beautiful thing , it makes God and Angels fall in love with us , Psal. 110.3 . The beauties of holiness . As the Sun is to the World , so is Sanctification to the Soul , beautifying and bespangling it in God's Eyes . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrysost. That which makes God glorious , must needs make us so . Holiness is the most sparkling Jewel in the God-head ; Exod. 15.11 . Glorious in holiness . Sanctification is the First fruit of the Spirit ; it is Heaven begun in the Soul . Sanctification and Glory differ only in degree ; Sanctification is Glory in the Seed , and Glory is Sanctification in the Flower . Happiness is the quintissence of Holiness .

6. Sanctification is an abiding thing . 1 Iohn 3.9 . His seed remaineth in him . He who is truly sanctified , cannot fall from that state . Indeed seeming Holiness may be lost , Colours may wash off , Sanctification may suffer an Eclipse , Rev. 2.4 . Thou hast left thy first love ; but true Sanctification is a blossom of Eternity , 1 John 2.27 . The anointing which ye have received abideth in you . He who is truly sanctified , can no more fail away then the Angels which are fixed in their heavenly Orb.

7. Sanctification is a progressive thing , 't is growing ; it is compared to Seed which grows . First the Bladesprings up , then the Ear , then the ripe Corn in the Ear. Such as are already sanctified may be more sanctified , 2 Cor. 7.1 . Justification doth not admit of degrees , a Believer cannot be more elected or justified then he is , but he may be more sanctified than he is . Sanctification is still encreasing , like the Morning Sun which grows brighter to the full Meridian . Knowledge is said to encrease , Col. 1.10 . and Faith to encrease , 2 Cor. 10.15 . a Christian is continually adding a Cubit to his spiritual Stature . It is not with us as it was with Christ , who received the Spirit without measure . Christ would not be more holy then he was . But we have the Spirit only in measure , and may be still augmenting our Grace ; as Appelles , when he had drawn a Picture , he would be still mending it with his Pencil . The Image of God is drawn but imperfectly in us , therefore we must be still mending it , and drawing it in more lively Colours : Sanctification is progressive ; if it doth not grow , it is because it doth not live . Thus you see the Nature of Sanctification .

Quest. What are the Counterfeits of Sanctification ?

Resp. There is something looks like Sanctification , which is not .

1. The first Counterfeit of Sanctification is Moral Vertue . To be just , temperate , to be of a fair deportment , not having ones Scocheon blotted with ignominious scandal , this is good , but not enough : this is not Sanctification . A field flower differs from a garden flower . 1. Heathens have attain'd to Morality ; Cato , Socrates , Aristides : Civility is but Nature refined ; there 's nothing of Christ there : the heart may be foul and impure , under these fair Leaves of Civility , the worm of Unbelief may be hid . 2. A Moral Person hath a secret antipathy against Grace : he hates Vice , and he hates Grace as much as Vice . The Snake hath a fine colour , but a sting . A Person adorned and cultivated with Moral Vertue , hath a secret spleen against Sanctity : Those Stoicks which were the chief of the moralized Heathens , were the bitterest Enemies St. Paul had , Acts 17.18 .

2. The second Counterfeit of Sanctification is superstitious Devotion ; this abounds in Popery : Adorations , Images , Altars , Vestments , Holy Water , which I look upon as a religious frenzy : This is far from Sanctification . 1. It doth not put any intrinsical goodness into a Man , it doth not make a Man better . If the legal Purifications and Washings , which were of God's own appointing , did not make them that used them more holy ; the Priests , who wore holy Garments , and had holy Oil poured on them , were never the more holy without the anointing of the Spirit ? then surely those superstitious Innovations in Religion which God never appointed , cannot contribute any holiness to Men. 2. A superstitious Holiness costs no great labour ; there is nothing of the Heart in it : If to tell over a few Beads , or bow to an Image , to sprinkle themselves with Holy-water , if this were Sanctification , and were all that were required of them that should be saved , then Hell would be empty , none would come there .

3. The third Counterfeit of Sanctification is Hypocrisie ; when men make a pretence of that Holiness which they have not . A Cemet may shine like a Star ; such a Lustre shines from their Profession as dazleth the eyes of the beholders , 2 Tim. 3.5 . Having a form of godliness , but denying the power . These are Lamps without Oil , whited Sepulchres , like the Egyptian Temples , which had fair Out-sides , but within Spiders and Apes . The Apostle speaks of true holiness , Eph. 4.24 . implying , there is an Holiness which is spurious and feigned , Rev. 3.1 . Thou hast a name to live , but art dead ; like Pictures and Statutes which are destitute of a vital principle , Iude 12. Clouds without water . They pretend to be full of the Spirit , but empty Clouds . This shew of Sanctification ( when it is nothing else ) is Self-delusion . He who takes Copper instead of Gold wrongs himself most ; the Counterfeit Saint deceives others while he lives , but deceives himself when he dies . To pretend Holiness when there is none , is a vain thing . What were the foolish Virgins better for their blazing Lamps , when they wanted Oil ? What is the Lamp of Profession without the Oil of Saving Grace ? what Comfort will a shew of Holiness yield at last ? will painted Gold enrich ? painted Wine refresh him that is thirsty ? will painted Holiness be a Cordial at the hour of Death ? A pretence of Sanctification is not to be rested in . Many Ships that have had the name of the Hope , the Safe-guard , the Triumph , yet have been cast away upon the Rocks ; so many who have had the name of Saintship , have been cast into Hell .

4. The fourth Counterfeit of Sanctification is restraining Grace . When Men forbear Vice , though they do not hate it : This may be the sinners Motto , Fain I would , but I dare not . The Dog hath a mind to the Bone , but is afraid of the Cudgel . Men have a mind to Lust , but Conscience stands as the Angel with a flaming Sword and affrights . They have a mind to Revenge , but the fear of Hell is a Curb-bit to check them . Here is no change of heart ; sin is curbed , but not cured ; a Lion may be in Chains , but is a Lion still .

5. The fifth Counterfeit of Sanctification is common Grace , which is a slight transient work of the Spirit , but doth not amount to Conversion . There is some light in the Judgment , but it is not humbling ; some Checks in the Conscience , but they are not awakening . This looks like Sanctification , but is not . Men have Convictions wrought in them , but they break loose from them again , like the Deer which being shot , shakes out the Arrow : After Conviction Men go into the House of Mirth , take the Harp to drive away the Spirit of Sadness , and so all dies and comes to nothing .

Quest. Wherein appears the necessity of Sanctification ?

Resp. In six things . 1. God hath called us to it ; 2 Pet. 1.4 . Who hath called us to glory and vertue ; to Vertue as well as Glory . God hath not called us unto uncleanness , but unto holiness , 1 Thess. 4.7 . We have no call to sin ; we may have a temptation , but no call ; no call to be proud , or unclean , but we have a call to be holy .

2. The necessity appears in this , without Sanctification there is no evidencing our Justification ; Justification and Sanctification go together , 1 Cor. 6.11 . But ye are sanctified , but ye are justified . Mic. 7.18 . Pardoning iniquity , there is Justification ; ver. 19. He will subdue our iniquities , there is Sanctification . Out of Christs sides came water and blood , 1 Joh. 5.6 . Blood , viz. Justification , Water , viz. Sanctification . Such as have not the Water out of Christ's sides to cleanse them , shall never have the Blood out of his sides to save them .

3. Without Sanctification we have no title to the New Covenant . The Covenant of Grace is our Charter for Heaven . The Tenure of the Covenant is , that God will be our God , ( the crowning Blessing ) But who are interessed in the Covenant , and may plead the benefit of it , only sanctified Persons ; Ezek. 36.26 . A new heart will I give you , and I will put my spirit within you , and I will be your God . If a Man make a Will , and settles his Estate upon such Persons as he names in the Will , none else but they can lay claim to the Will ; so God makes a Will and Testament , but it is restrained and limited to such as are sanctified , and it is high presumption for any else to lay claim to the Will .

4. There is no going to Heaven without Sanctification ; Hebr. 12.14 . Without holiness no man shall see the Lord . God is an holy God , and he will suffer no unholy Creature to come near him . A King will not suffer a Man with Plague-sores to approach into his Presence . Heaven is not like Noah's Ark , where the clean Beasts and the unclean entred : no unclean Beast comes into the Heavenly Ark. Though God suffer the Wicked to live a while on the Earth , he will never suffer Heaven to be pestered with such Vermin . Are they fit to see God who wallow in wickedness ? will God ever lay such Vipers in his bosom ? Without holiness no man shall see the Lord . It must be a clear Eye that sees a bright Object ; only an holy Heart can see God in his Glory . Sinners may see God as an Enemy , not as a Friend ; may have an affrighting Vision of God , but not a beatifical Vision . They may see the flameing Sword , but not the Mercy Seat . O then what need is there of Sanctification .

5. Without Sanctification all our holy things are defiled , 1 Tit. 1.15 . Unto them that are defiled is nothing pure . Under the Law , if a Man who was Unclean by a dead Body , had carried a piece of holy Flesh in his Skirt , the holy Flesh had not cleansed him , but he had polluted that , Hag. 1.12 , 13. An Emblem of a Sinners polluting his holy Offering . A foul Stomack turns the best Food into ill Humours : An unsanctified Heart pollutes Prayers , Alms , Sacraments ; this evinceth the necessity of Sanctification . Sanctification makes our holy things accepted ; an holy Heart is the Altar which sanctifies the Offering ; his Duties tho' they are not to Satisfaction , yet to Acceptation .

6. Without Sanctification we can show no sign of our Election , 2 Thes. 2.13 . Election is the cause of our Salvation , Sanctification is our Evidence ; Sanctification is the Ear-mark of Christ's Elect Sheep .

Quest. What are the Signs of Sanctification ?

Resp. 1. Such as are sanctified can remember a time when they were unsanctified , Tit. 3.3 . We were in our Bloud , and then God wash'd us with Water , and anointed us with Oyl , Ezek. 16.9 . Those Trees of Righteousness that blossom and bear Almonds , can remember when they were like Aaron's dry Rod , not one Blossom of Holiness growing : A sanctified Soul can remember when he was estranged from God thro' Ignorance and Vanity , and then Free-grace planted this Flower of Holiness in him .

Second Sign of Sanctification , is the in-dwelling of the Spirit , 2 Tim. 1.14 . The Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us . As the Unclean Spirit dwells in the Wicked , and carries them to Pride , Lust , Revenge ; the Devil hath entred into these Swine , Acts 5.3 . So the Spirit of God dwells in the Elect as their Guide and Comforter . The Spirit possesseth the Saints ; God's Spirit sanctifies the Fancy , causing it to mint holy Thoughts ; it sanctifies the Will , putting a new Byass upon it , whereby it is inclin'd to Good . He who is sanctified , hath the Influence of the Spirit , tho' not the Essence .

Third Sign of Sanctification is , an Antipathy against Sin , Ps. 119.104 . An Hypocrite may leave Sin , yet love it ; as a Serpent casts its Coat but keeps its Sting : but a sanctified Person can say , he not only leaves Sin , but loaths it . As there are Antipathies in Nature , between the Vine and Laurel , so in a sanctified Soul there is an holy Antipathy against Sin ; and Antipathies can never be reconciled . Because he hath an Antipathy against Sin , he cannot but oppose it , and seek the Destruction of it .

Fourth Sign of Sanctification is , the Spiritual Performance of Duties , viz. with the Heart , and from a Principle of Love . The sanctified Soul prays out of love to Prayer , he calls the Sabbath a Delight , Isa. 58.13 . A Man may have Gifts to Admiration , he may speak as an Angel drop'd out of Heaven , yet may be carnal in spiritual things , his Services do not come from a renewed Principle , nor is he carried upon the Wings of Delight in Duty . A sanctified Soul worships God in the Spirit , 1 Pet. 2.5 . God doth not judge of our Duties by the length , but by the love .

Fifth Sign , A well-order'd Life , 1 Pet. 1.15 . Be ye holy in all manner of conversation . Where the Heart is sanctified , the Life will be so too : the Temple had Gold without as well as within . As in a Piece of Coyn , there 's not only the King's Image within the Ring , but his Superscription too without . So where there is Sanctification there is not only God's Image in the Heart , but a Superscription of Holiness written in the Life . Some say they have good Hearts , but their Lives are Vitious , Prov. 30.12 . There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes , yet is not washed from their filthiness . If the Water be foul in the Bucket , it cannot be clean in the Well : Psal. 45.13 : The king's daughter is all glorious within . There is Holiness of Heart , her Garments are wrought of wrought Gold , Holiness of Life . Grace is most beautiful when its Light doth so shine that others may see it ; this adorns Religion , and makes Proselites to the Faith .

Sixth Sign , Stedfast Resolution ; he is resolved never to part with his Holines : let others reproach it , he loves it the more ; let Water be sprinkled on the Fire , it burns the more . He saith as David when Micol reproach'd him for Dancing before the Ark , 2 Sam. 6.22 . If this be to be vile , I will yet be more vile . Let others persecute him for his Holiness , he saith as Paul , Acts 20.24 . None of these things move me . He prefers Sanctity before Safety , and had rather keep his Conscience pure than his Skin whole . He saith as Iob , My integrity I will hold fast , and not let it go , Cap. 27.6 . He will rather part with his Life then his Conscience .

Use 1. See what is the main thing a Christian should look after , ( viz. ) Sanctification ; this is the Unum necessarium . Sanctification is our purest Complexion , it makes us as the Heaven bespangled with Stars : it is our Nobility , by it we are born of God , and partake of the Divine Nature ; it is our Riches , therefore compar'd to rows of Jewels , and Chains of Gold , Cant. 1.10 . It is our best Certificate for Heaven ; what Evidence have we else to show ? have we Knowledge , so hath the Devil ? Do we profess Religion ? Satan oft appears in Samuel's Mantle , and transforms himself into an Angel of Light : But here is our Certificat to show for Heaven , Sanctification . Sanctification is the first Fruits of the Spirit ; the only Coyn will pass currant in the other World . Sanctification is the Evidence of God's Love ; we cannot guess at God's Love by giving us Health , Riches , Success , but by drawing his Image of Sanctification on us by the Pensil of the Holy Ghost .

Branch 2. It shows the Misery of such as are destitute of a Principle of Sanctification ; they are spiritually dead , Eph. 2.1 . Though they breathe yet they do not live . The greatest part of the World remain Unsanctified , 1. Ioh. 5.19 . The World lies in Wickedness , that is , the major Part of the World . Many call themselves Christians , yet blot out the word Saints ; you may as well call him a Man , who wants Reason , as him a Christian who wants Grace : Nay , which is worse , some are boy'd up to such an height of Wickedness , that they hate and deride Sanctification : 1. They hate it ; 't is bad to want it , it is worse to hate it ; they embrace the Form of Religion , but hate the Power . The Vulter hates sweet smells , so do they the Perfume of Holiness . 2. Deride it ; these are your Holy Ones . To deride Sanctification argues an high Degree of Atheism , and is a black Brand of Reprobation : Scoffing Ishmael was cast out of Abraham's Family , Gen. 21.9 . Such as scoff at Holiness shall be cast out of Heaven .

2. Use of Exhortation : Above all things pursue after Sanctification ; seek Grace more then Gold , Prov. 4.13 . Keep her , for she is thy life .

Quest. What are the chief Inducements to Sanctification ?

Resp. First , it is the Will of God that we should be Holy : In the Text , This is the will of God , your sanctification . As God's Word must be the Rule , so his Will the Reason of our Actions ; This is the Will of God , our Sanctification . Perhaps it is not the Will of God we should be rich , but it is his Will that we should be holy . God's Will is our Warrant .

2. Jesus Christ hath died for our Sanctification . Christ shed his blood to wash off our impurity . The Cross was both an Altar and a Lavor . Tit. 2.14 . Who gave himself for us , to redeem us from all iniquity . If we could be saved without holiness , Christ needed not have died . Christ died not only to save us from wrath , but from sin .

3. Sanctification makes us resemble God . It was Adam's sin that he aspired to be like God in Omnisciency , but we must endeavour to be like him in Sanctity . It is only a clear Glass in which you can see a face ; it is only an holy Heart in which something of God can be seen ; there is nothing of God to be seen in an unsanctified Man , you may see Satan's Picture in him , Envy is the Devil's Eye , , Hypocrisie his cloven Foot , but nothing of God's Image can be seen in him . You can see no more of God in him , then you can see a Man's face in a Glass that is dusty and foul .

4. Sanctification is that God bears a great love to . Not any outward Ornaments , high blood , or worldly grandure , draws God's love , but an heart embellished with holiness . Christ never admired any thing , but the beauty of holiness ; he slighted the glorious buildings of the Temple , but admired the Womans Faith , O woman , great is thy faith ! Amor fundatur similitudine . A King delights to see his Image upon a piece of Coin : where God sees his likeness , there he gives his love . The Lord hath two Heavens he dwells in , and the holy Heart is one of them .

5. Sanctification is the only thing doth difference us from the wicked ; God's People have his Seal upon them , 2 Tim. 2.19 . The foundation of God standeth sure , having this Seal , the Lord knoweth them that are his ; and let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity . The Godly are sealed with a double Seal ; 1. a Seal of Election , The Lord knoweth who are his ; 2. a Seal of Sanctification , Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity . This is the name by which God's People are known , Isa. 63.18 . Gnam Kodsheca , the people of thy holiness . As Chastity distinguisheth a vertuous Woman from an Harlot , so Sanctification distinguisheth God's People from others ; 1 Ioh. 2.27 . Ye have received an unction from the holy one .

6. It is a shame to have the Name of a Christian , yet want Sanctity , as to have the Name of a Steward , yet want Fidelity ; the Name of a Virgin , yet want Chastity . It exposeth Religion to reproach to be baptized into the Name of Christ , yet unholy ; to have Eyes full of Tears on a Sabbath , and on a Week-day Eyes full of Adultery , 2 Pet. 2.14 . To be so devout at the Lord's Table , as if Men were stepping into Heaven , and so prophane the Week after , as if they came out of Hell . To have the Name of Christians , yet unholy , is a Scandal to Religion , and make the ways of God evil spoken of .

7. Sanctification fits for Heaven . 2 Pet. 1.3 . Who hath called us to glory and vertue , Glory is the Throne , and Sanctification is the Step by which we ascend to it . First you cleanse the Vessel , and then you pour in the Wine . First God cleanseth us by Sanctification , and then pours in the Wine of Glory . Solomon was first anointed with Oil , and then he was King , 1 Kings 1.39 . First God anoints us with the holy Oil of his Spirit , and then he sets the Crown of Happiness upon our Head ; Pureness of Heart , and seeing God are link'd together , Matth. 5.8 .

Quest. How may Sanctification be attained to ?

Resp. 1. Be conversant in the Word of God . Iohn 17.17 . Sanctifie them through thy truth . The Word is both a Glass to shew us the Spots of our Soul , and a Lavor to wash them away ; the Word hath a transforming vertue in it , it irradiates the mind , and consecrates the heart .

2. Get Faith in Christ's Blood , Acts 15.9 . Having purified their hearts by faith . She in the Gospel that touched the hem of Christ's Garment , was healed ; a touch of Faith purifies ; nothing can have a greater force upon the heart to sanctifie it then Faith . If I believe Christ and his Merits are mine , how can I sin against him ? Justifying Faith doth that in a Spiritual sense which miraculous Faith doth , it removes Mountains , the Mountain of Pride , Lust , Envy . Faith and the love of sin are inconsistent .

3. Breathe after the Spirit ; it is called the sanctification of the Spirit , 2 Thess. 2.13 . The Spirit sanctifies the Heart , as Lightning purifies the Air , as Fire refines Metals . Omne agens generat sibi simile : The Spirit stamps the impress of its own Sanctity upon the Heart , as the Seal prints its Effigies and Likeness upon the Wax . The Spirit of God in a Man perfumes him with Holiness , and makes his Heart a Map of Heaven .

4. Associate with sanctified Persons . They may by their Counsel , Prayers , holy Example , be a means to make you holy : As the communion of Saints is in our Creed , so it should be in our Company , Prov. 13.20 . He that walketh with the wise shall be wise . Association begets Assimilation .

5. Pray for Sanctification . Iob propounds a Question , Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? Job 15.14 . God can do it . Out of an unholy Heart he can produce Grace . O! make David's Prayer , Psal. 51.10 . Create in me a clean heart , O God . Lay thy Heart before the Lord , and say , Lord , my unsanctified Heart pollutes all it toucheth . I am not fit to live with such an Heart , for I cannot honour thee ; nor to die with such an Heart , for I cannot see thee . O create in me a clean heart ; Lord consecrate my heart , and make it thy Temple , and thy Praises shall be sung there for ever .

Use 3. of Thankfulness . Hath God brought a clean thing out of an unclean ? hath he sanctified you ? wear this Jewel of Sanctification with thankfulness , Col. 1.12 . Giving thanks to the Father , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , who hath made us meet for the Inheritance , &c. Christian , Thou could'st defile thy self , but not sanctifie thy self . But God hath done it ; he hath not only chain'd up sin , but chang'd thy Nature , and made thee as a King's Daughter , all glorious within . He hath put upon thee the Breast-place of Holiness , which though it may be shot at , can never be shot thorow . Are there any here that are sanctified ? God hath done more for you then millions . They may be illuminated , but not sanctified . He hath done more for you , then if he had made you the Sons of Princes , and caused you to ride upon the high places of the Earth . Are you sanctified ? Heaven is begun in you ; Happiness is nothing but the quintissence of Holiness . O how thankful should you be to God ? Do as that blind Man in the Gospel , after he had received his sight , He followed Christ glorifying God , Luke 18.43 . Make Heaven ring of God's Praises .

Of ASSVRANCE .

Quest. WHat are the Benefits flow from Sanctification ?

Resp. Assurance of God's Love , Peace of Conscience , Ioy in the Holy Ghost , Encrease of Grace , and Perseverance therein to the end .

1. Benefit flowing from Sanctification is assurance of God's Love .

2 Pet. 1.10 . Give Diligence to make your Calling and Election sure . Sanctification is the Seed , Assurance is the Flower which grows out of it : Assurance is a consequent of Sanctification , the Saints of old had it , 1 Iohn 2.3 . We know that we know him . 2 Tim. 1.12 . I know whom I have believed ; here was Sensus Fidei , the reflex act of Faith ; and Gal. 2.20 . Christ hath loved me . Here was Faith flourishing into Assurance . Aecolampadias when he was Sick , pointed to his Heart , Hic sat Lucis , Here I have Light enough , meaning Comfort and Assurance .

Quest. 1. Have all Sanctified Persons Assurance ?

Resp. They have a right to it , and I do incline to believe that all have it in some degree before their last expiring ; though their Comfort may be so strong , and their Vital Spirits so weak , that they cannot express what they feel . But I dare not positively affirm that all have Assurance in the first moment of their Sanctification : A Letter may be written when it is not Sealed ; so Grace may be written in the heart , yet the Spirit may not set the Seal of Assurance to it . God is a free Agent , and may give or suspend Assurance pro libito as he please . Where there is the Sanctifying work of the Spirit , he may withhold the Sealing work , partly to keep the Soul Humble ; partly to punish our careless walking : We neglect our Spiritual watch , grow remiss in duty , and then walk under a Cloud : We quench the Graces of the Spirit , and God withholds the Comforts , and partly to put a difference between Earth and Heaven . This I the rather speak , to bear up the Hearts of Gods People , who are dejected because they have not Assurance : You may have the Water of the Spirit poured on you in Sanctification , though not the Oyl of Gladness in Assurance ; there may be Faith of Adherence and not of Evidence ; there may be Life in the Root , when there is no Fruit in the Branches to be seen ; so Faith in the Heart , when no Fruit of Assurance .

Quest 2. What is Assurance ?

Resp. It is not Vocal , any audible Voice , or brought to us by the help of an Angel , or Revelation ; Assurance consists of a Practical Sylogism , where the Word of God makes the major , Conscience the minor , the Spirit of God the Conclusion . The Word saith , He that fears and loves God , is loved of God ; there is the major Proposition ; then Conscience makes the minor ; but I fear and love God ; then the Spirit makes the Conclusion , therefore thou art loved of God : And this is that which the Apostle calls , The Witnessing of the Spirit with our Spirits , that we are his Children , Rom. 8.16 .

Quest. 3. Whether hath a Sanctified Soul such an Assurance as excludes all doubting ?

Resp. He hath that which bears up his Heart from sinking ; he hath such an Earnest of the Spirit that he would not part with for the Richest Prize ; but his Assurance though it be infallible , it is not perfect . There will be sometimes a Trepidation or Trembling ; he is safe , yet not without fears and doubts , as a Ship lies safe at Anchor , yet may be a little shaken by the Wind. If a Christian had no Doubtings , there should be no unbelief in him ; had he no Doubtings , there would be no difference between Grace Militant and Triumphant . Had not David his Ebbings sometimes as well as his Flowings , like the Mariner , who sometimes cries out Stellam Video , I see a Star , sometimes the Star is out of Sight . Sometimes we hear David say , Thy Loving Kindness is before mine Eyes , Psal. 26.3 . But at another time he was at a loss , Psal. 89.49 . Lord where are thy former Loving Kindnesses ? And there may fall out an Eclipse in a Christians Assurance , to put him upon longing after Heaven : Then there shall not be the least doubting ; then the Banner of Gods Love shall be always display'd upon the Soul ; then the light of God's Face shall be without Clouds , and have no Sun-setting ; then the Saints shall have an uninterrupted Assurance , and be ever with the Lord .

Quest. 4. What are the differences between true Assurance and Presumption ?

Resp. 1. They differ in the method or manner of working : Divine Assurance flows from Humiliation for Sin ; ( I speak not of the measure of Humiliation , but the Truth . ) There are in Palermo Reeds growing in which there is a Sugred Juice : A Soul humbled for Sin is the Bruised Reed in which grows this sweet Assurance . God's Spirit is a Spirit of Bondage , before it be a Spirit of Adoption ; but Presumption ariseth without any humbling work of the Spirit . How camest thou by thy Venison so soon ? The Plow goes before the Seed be sown ; the Heart must be plowed up by Humiliation and Repentance , before God sows the Seed of Assurance .

2. He who hath a real Assurance , will take heed of that which will weaken and darken his Assurance ; he is fearful of the Forbidden Fruit ; he knows though he cannot sin away his Soul , yet he may sin away his Assurance : But he who hath the Ignis Fatuus of Presumption , doth not fear defiling his Garments ; he is bold in sin , Ier. 3.4 , 5. Wilt thou not cry unto me my Father , behold thou hast done evil things as thou couldest . Balaam said , My God , yet a Sorcerer . A Sign he hath no Mony about him , who fears not to Travel all Hours in the Night ; a sign he hath not the Jewel of Assurance , who fears not the works of Darkness .

3. True Assurance is built upon a Scripture-basis ; the Word saith , The effect of Righteousness shall be Quietness and Assurance for ever , Isa. 32.17 . A Christians Assurance is built upon this Scripture ; God hath sown the Seed of Righteousness in his Soul , and this Seed hath brought forth the Harvest of Assurance ▪ But Presumption is a spurious thing , it hath no Scripture to shew for its Warrant ; it is like a Will without Seal and Witnesses , which is null and void in Law ; Presumption wants both the Witness of the Word , and the Seal of the Spirit .

4. Assurance flowing from Sanctification always keeps the Heart in a lowly posture : Lord , saith the Soul , what am I , that passing by so many , the Golden Beams of thy Love should shine upon me ? St. Paul had Assurance ; is he proud of this Jewel ? No. Ephes. 3.8 . To me who am less than the least of all Saints . The more love a Christian receives from God , the more he sees himself a Debtor to free Grace , and the sense of his Debt , keeps his Heart Humble , but Presumption is bred of Pride . He who Presumes , Disdains ; he think himself better than others , Luke 18.11 . God I thank thee , I am not as other Men are , nor as this Publican . Feathers fly up , but Gold descends ; he who hath this Golden Assurance , his Heart descends in Humility .

Quest. 5. What is it may excite us to look after Assurance ?

Resp. To consider how sweet it is , and the noble and excellent effects it produceth .

Effect 1. How sweet it is . This is the Manna in the Golden Pot ; the white Stone ; the Wine of Paradise which chears the Heart . How comfortable is God's Smile ! The Sun is more refreshing when it shineth out , that when it is hid in a Cloud ; it is a praelibation and fore-tast of Glory , it puts a Man in Heaven before his time ; none can know how delicious and ravishing it is , but such as have felt it , as none can know how sweet Hony is but they who have tasted it .

2. The noble and excellent Effects it produceth . 1. Assurance will make us love God and Praise him . ( 1. ) Love him : Love is the Soul of Religion , the Fat of the Sacrifice ; and who can love God so as he who hath Assurance ? The Sun reflecting its Beams on a burning Glass , makes the Glass burn that that is near to it . So Assurance ( which is the reflection of Gods love upon the Soul ) makes it burn in love to God . St. Paul was assured of Christ's love to him , Gal. 2.20 . who hath loved me ; and how was his Heart fired with love ? he valued and admired nothing but Christ , Phil. 3.8 . as Christ was fastned to the Cross , so he was fastned to Paul's Heart . ( 2. ) Praise him . Praise is the Quit-rent we pay to the Crown of Heaven ; who but he who hath Assurance of his Justification Man in a Swoon or Apoplexy Praise God that he is alive ? Can a Christian staggering with Fears about his Spiritual Condition , praise God that he is elected and justified ? No , The living , the living , he shall praise thee , Isa. 38.19 . Such as are enliven'd with Assurance , they are the fittest Persons to sound forth Gods Praise .

Effect 2. Assurance would drop Sweetness into all our Creature-Enjoyments ; it would be as Sugar to Wine , an earnest of more ; it gives a Blessing with the Venison ; As Guilt imbitters our Comforts , it is like drinking out of a Wormwood Cup ; So Assurance would indulcorate and sweeten all . Health , and the Assurance of Gods Love are sweet Riches , with the Assurance of a Kingdom are delectable : Nay , a Dinner of Green Herbs , with the Assurance of Gods Love , is Princely Fare .

Effect 3. Assurance would make us Active and Lively in Gods Service ; it would excite Prayer , quicken Obedience ; as Diligence begets Assurance , so Assurance begets Diligence . Assurance will not ( as the Papists say ) breed Security in the Soul , but Industry . Doubting does discourage us in Gods Service , but the Assurance of his Favour breeds Joy , And the Ioy of the Lord is our strength , Nehem. 8.10 . Assurance makes us mount up to Heaven as Eagles in Holy Duties ; it is like the Spirit in Ezekiel's Wheels , that moved them and lifted them up . Faith would make us Walk , but Assurance would make us Run : We should never think we could do enough for God . Assurance would be as Wings to the Bird , as Weights to the Clock , to set all the Wheels of Obedience a running .

Effect 4. Assurance would be a Golden Shield to beat back Temptation : Assurance Triumphs over Temptation : There are two sorts of Temptation Satan useth . 1. He tempts to draw us to Sin : Now the being assured of our Justification would make this Temptation vanish . What Satan , shall I Sin against him who hath loved me , and washed me in his Blood ? Shall I return to Folly after God hath spoken Peace ? Shall I weaken my Assurance , wound my Conscience , grieve my Comforter ? Avoid Satan , Tempt no more . 2. Satan would make us question our Interest in God , he tells us we are Hypocrites , and God doth not love us . Now there is no such Shield against this Temptation as Assurance . What Satan , have I a real Work of Grace in my Heart , and the Seal of the Spirit to witness it , and dost thou tell me God doth not love me ? Now I know thou art an Impostor , who goest about to disprove what I sensibly feel . If Faith resists the Devil , Assurance would put him to flight .

Effect 5. Assurance would make us contented , though we have but a little in the World : He who hath Enough is Content : He who hath Sun-light is Content , though he wants Torch-light . A Man that hath Assurance hath enough : In uno salvatore omnes florent gemmae ad salutem . He hath the Riches of Christs Merit , of his Love , an Earnest of his Glory , he is fill'd with the Fulness of God , here is enough , and having enough he is Content , Psal. 16.5 . The Lord is the portion of my Inheritance : The Lanes are fallen unto me in a pleasant place , and I have a goodly Heritage . Assurance will rock the Heart quiet ; the reason of Discontent , is either because Men have no Interest in God , or do not know their Interest : St. Paul , I know whom I have believed , 2 Tim. 1.12 . There was the Assurance of his Interest ; and 2 Cor. 6.10 . As sorrowful , yet always rejoycing , &c. There was his Contentment : Get but Assurance , and you will be out of the weekly Bill of Murmurers , you will be discontented no more . What can come amiss to him that hath Assurance God is his ; Hath he lost a Friend ? His Father lives ; Hath he lost his only Child ? God hath given him his only Son : Hath he Scarcity of Bread ? God hath given him the finest of the Wheat , the Bread of Life . Are his Comforts gone ? He hath the Comforter . Doth he meet with Storms on the Sea ? He knows where to put in for Harbour . God is his Portion , and Heaven is his Haven . Thus Assurance gives sweet Contentment in every Condition .

Effect 6. Assurance would bear up the Heart in Sufferings , it would make a Christian endure Troubles with Patience and Chearfulness ( with Patience ) Heb. 10.36 . Ye have need of Patience . There are some Meats ( we say ) are hard of Digestion , and only a good Stomach will concoct them : Affliction is a Meat hard of Digestion , but Patience ( like a good Stomach ) will be able to digest it ; and whence comes Patience but from Assurance ? Rom. 5.5 . Tribulation worketh Patience , because the Love of God is shed abroad in our Hearts , with chearfulness . Assurance is like the Mariners Lanthorn on the Deck , which gives light in a dark night . Assurance gives the light of Comfort in Affliction , Heb. 10.34 . ye took joyfully the spoiling of your Goods , knowing in your selves , &c. there was Assurance . He that hath Assurance can rejoyce in Tribulation , he can gather Grapes of Thorns , and Hony out of the Lyons Carcass . Latimer , When I sit alone , and can have a setled Assurance of the State of my Soul , and know that God is mine , I can Laugh at all Troubles , and nothing can daunt me .

Effect 7. Assurance would pacifie a troubled Conscience : He who hath a disturbed vexatious Conscience , carries an Hell about him , Eheu quis intus Scorpio ! but Assurance cures the Agony , and allays the Fury of Conscience : Conscience that before was turned into a Serpent , now is like a Bee that hath Hony in its Mouth , it speaks Peace ; Tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia , Tertull. When God is pacified towards us , then Conscience is pacified . If the Heavens are quiet , and there are no Winds stirring thence , the Sea is quiet and calm . So if there be no Anger in Gods Heart , if the Tempest of his Wrath doth not blow , Conscience is quiet and serene .

Effect . 8. Assurance would strengthen us against the Fear of Death ; such as want it , cannot dye with Comfort , they are in aequilibrio , they hang in a doubtful Suspence , what shall become of them after Death : But he who hath Assurance , hath an 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , an happy and joyful Passage out of the World ; he knows he is passed from Death to Life ; he is carried full sail to Heaven ; though he cannot resist Death , yet 〈◊〉 overcomes it .

Quest. 6. What shall they do that want Assurance ?

Resp. 1. Such as want Assurance , let them labour to find Grace ; when the Sun denies light to the Earth , it may give forth its Influence : When God denies the light of his Countenance , he may give the Influence of his Grace .

Quest. How shall we know we have a real Work of Grace , and so have a right to Assurance ?

Resp. If we can resolve two Queries : 1. Have we high Appretiations of Jesus Christ ? 1 Pet. 2.7 . To you that believe he is precious , Christ is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , all made up of Beauties and Delights ; our Praises fall short of his Worth , and is like spreading Canvass upon Cloth of Gold . How precious is his Blood and Incense ? The one pacifies our Conscience , the other Perfumes our Prayers : Can we say we have endearing Thoughts of Christ ? Do we esteem him our Pearl of Price ? Our bright Morning Star ? Do we count all earthly Enjoyments but as ( 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ) Dung in comparison of Christ ? Phil. 3.8 . do we prefer the worst things of Christ , before the best things of the World ; the Reproaches of Christ , before the Worlds Embraces , Heb. 11.26 . Quer. 2. Have we the indwelling of the Spirit ? 2 Tim. 1.14 . The Holy Ghost , which dwelleth in us .

Quest. How may we know we have the indwelling presence of the Spirit ?

Resp. Not by having sometimes good Motions stir'd up in us by the Spirit ; it may work in us , yet not dwell ; but by the Sanctifying Power of the Spirit on our Heart , the Spirit infuseth Divinam Indolem , a Divine Nature ; it stamps its own impress and Effigies on the Soul , making the Complexion of it Holy . The Spirit ennobles and raiseth the Heart above the World ; when Nebuchadnezzar had his Understanding given him , he grazed no longer amongst the Beasts , but returned to his Throne , and minded the Affairs of his Kingdom ; when the Spirit of God dwells in a Man , it carries his Heart above the visible Orbs ; it makes him Superna anhelare , thirst after Christ and Glory ; if we can find this , then we have Grace , and so have a right to Assurance .

2. If you want Assurance wait for it ; if the Figures are graven on the Dial , it is but waiting a while and the Sun shines : When Grace is engraven in the Heart , it is but waiting a while and we shall have the Sun-shine of Assurance . He that believes makes not haste , Isa. 28.16 . He will stay Gods leisure ; say not God hath forsaken you , he will never lift up the light of his Countenance , but rather say as the Church , Isa. 8.17 . I will wait upon the Lord which hideth his face from the House of Jacob. 1. Hath God waited for your Conversion , and will not you wait for his Consolation ? How 〈◊〉 did he come a woing to you by his Spirit ? He waited till his Head was fill'd with Dew : He cry'd as Ier. 13.27 . Wilt thou not be made clean , when shall it once be ? O Christian ! did God wait for thy Love , and canst not thou wait for his ? 2. Assurance is so sweet and precious , that it is worth waiting for , the price of it is above Rubies , it cannot be valued with th● Gold of Ophir . Assurance of Gods Love is a Pledge of Election , 't is the Angels Banquet ; what other Joy have they ? As Micah said , Iudges 18.24 . What have I more ? So when God assures the Soul of his eternal purposes of Love , what hath he more to give ? Whom God kisseth he Crowns . Assurance is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The first Fruits of Paradise , one Smile of Gods Face , one Glance of his Eye , one Crumb of the hidden Manna , is so sweet a Delicious , that it deserves our waiting . 3. God hath given a Promise , that we shall not wait in vain , Isa. 49.23 . They shall not be ashamed that wait for me . Perhaps God reserves this Cordial of Assurance for a fainting time ; He keeps sometimes his best Wine till last . Assurance shall be reserved as an Ingredient to sweeten the bitter Cup of Death .

Quest. 7. How may deserted Souls be comforted , who are cast down for want of Assurance ? They have the Day-star of Grace risen in their Souls ; but as Job complains , I went Mourning without the Sun , Iob 30.28 . They go mourning for want of the Sun-light of Gods Face : Their Ioy is eclipsed , They walk in darkness and see no light , Isa. 50.10 . How shall we comfort such as lye Bleeding in Desertion , and are cast down for want of Assurance ?

Resp. 1. Want of Assurance shall not hinder the Success of the Saints Prayers . Sin lived in , doth ponere obicem , put a Bar to our Prayer ; but want of Assurance doth not hinder Prayer ; we may go to God still in an humble fiducial manner : A Christian perhaps may think , because he doth not see Gods smiling Face , therefore God will not hear him . This is a mistake , Psal. 31.22 . I said in my hast , I am cut off from before thine eyes , nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my Supplication ▪ If we pour out Sighs to Heaven , God hears every Groan ; though he doth not shew us his Face , he may lend us his Ear.

2. Faith may be strongest when Assurance is weakest ; the Woman of Canaan had no Assurance , but a Glorious Faith , O Woman , Great is thy Faith , Mat. 15.28 . Rachel was more Fair , but Leah was more Fruitful . Assurance is more fair and lovely to look upon , but a fruitful Faith God sees is better for us , Iohn 20.28 . Blessed are they that Believe and feel not .

3. When God is out of sight , yet he is not out of Covenant , Psalm 89.28 . My Covenant shall stand fast . Though a Wife doth not see her Husbands Face in many Years , yet the Marriage Relation holds , and he will come again to her after a long Voyage . God may be gone from the Soul in Desertion , but the Covenant stands fast , Isa. 54.10 . The Covenant of my Peace shall not be removed . Quer. But this Promise was made to the Jews , and doth not belong to us . Yes , Verse 17. This is the Heritage of the Servants of the Lord . This is made to all the Servants of God , them that are now living , as well as those who lived in the time of the Jews .

Quest. 8. What should we do to get Assurance ?

Resp. 1. Keep a pure Conscience , let no Guilt lie upon the Conscience unrepented of ; God Seals no Pardons before Repentance ; God will not pour in the Wine of Assurance into a foul Vessel , Heb. 10.22 . Let us draw near in full Assurance of Faith , having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience . Guilt clips the Wings of Comfort ; he who is conscious to himself of Secret Sins , cannot draw near to God in full Assurance ; he cannot call God Father but Judge ; keep Conscience as clear as your Eye , that no dust of sin fall into it .

2. If you would have Assurance , be much in the Actings of Grace , 1 Tim. 4.7 . Exercise thy self unto Godliness . Men grow rich by Trading ; by Trading in Grace we grow rich in Assurance , 2 Pet. 1.10 . Make your Election sure . How ? Add to your Faith Vertue , and to Vertue Knowledge . Keep Grace upon the Wing , it is the lively Faith flourisheth into Assurance ; no Man will set up a great Sail in a small Boat , but in a large Vessel : God sets up the Sail of Assurance in an Heart enlarged in Grace .

3. If you would have Assurance , cherish the Holy Spirit of God . When David would have Assurance , he Prays , Take not away thy Spirit from me , Psal. 51.11 . He knew it was the Spirit only that could make him hear the Voice of Joy : The Spirit is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Comforter , he seals up Assurance , 2 Cor. 1.22 . therefore make much of the Spirit , do not grieve it : As Noah opened the Ark to receive the Dove , so should we open our Hearts to receive the Spirit . This is the Blessed Dove which brings an Olive branch of Assurance in its Mouth .

4. Let us lye at the Pool of the Ordinances , frequent the Word and Sacrament , Cant. 2. He brought me to the Banqueting House , and his Banner over me was Love . The blessed Ordinances are the Banqueting House , where God displays the Banner of Assurance . The Sacrament is a Sealing Ordinance , Christ made himself known to his Disciples in the breaking of Bread : So in the Holy Supper in the breaking of Bread , God makes himself known to us to be our God and Portion .

Quest. 9. How should they carry themselves who have Assurance ?

Resp. 1. If you have Assurance of your Justification , do not abuse Assurance . 1. 'T is an abusing of Assurance , when we grow more remiss in Duty ; as the Musician having Mony thrown him , leaves off playing . By Remisness or intermitting the Exercises of Religion , we grieve the Spirit , and that is the way to have an Imbargo laid upon our Spiritual Comforts . 2. We abuse Assurance when we grow Presumptuous and less fearful of sin . What ? because a Father gives his Son an Assurance of his Love , and tells him he will entail his Land upon him , shall the Son therefore be Wanton and Dissolute ? This were the way to lose his Fathers Affection , and make him cut off the Entail ; it was an Aggravation of Solomon's Sin , His Heart was turned away from the Lord , after he had appeared to him twice , 1 Kings 11.9 . 'T is bad to sin when one wants Assurance , but it is worse to sin when one hath it . Hath the Lord seal'd his Love with a Kiss ? Hath he left a Pawn of Heaven in your Hands , and do you thus requite the Lord ? Will you sin with Manna in your Mouth ? Doth God give you the sweet Clusters of Assurance to feed on , and will you return him wild Grapes ? It much pleaseth Satan , either to see us want Assurance , or abuse it . This is to abuse Assurance , when the Pulse of our Soul beats faster in Sin and slower in Duty .

2. If you have Assurance , admire this stupendious Mercy . You deserv'd that God should give you Gaul and Vinegar to drink , and hath he made the Hony-Comb of his Love to drop upon you ? O fall down and adore his Goodness , say , Lord , How is it that thou shouldest manifest thy self to me , and not to other Believers ! Those whom thou lovest as the Apple of thine Eye , yet thou holdest them in Suspence , and givest them no Assurance of thy Love ; though thou hast given them the new Name , yet not the White stone ; though they have the Seed of ▪ Grace , yet not the Oyl of Gladness ; though they have the Holy Ghost the Sanctifier , yet not the Holy Ghost the Comforter . Lord , whence is it that thou shouldest manifest thy self to me , and make thy Golden Beams of Assurance shine upon my Soul ? O admire God! this will be the Work of Heaven .

3. Let your Hearts be endeared in Love to God ; If God gives his People Correction , they must love him , much more when he gives them Assurance . Psal. 31.23 . O love the Lord ye his Saints . Hath God brought you to the Borders of Canaan , given you a Bunch of Grapes , crown'd you with loving Kindness , confirm'd your Pardon under the Broad Seal of Heaven ? How can you be frozen at such a Fire ? How can you choose but be turn'd into Seraphins Burning in Divine Love : Say as St. Austin , Animam meam odio Haberem , I would hate my own Soul , if I did not find it loving God . Give God the Cream and Quintessence of your Love , and shew your Love , by being willing to lose all for his Sake .

4. If you have Assurance , improve it for Gods Glory , several ways ; 1. By encouraging such as are yet unconverted ; Tell them how sweet this hidden Manna is ; Tell them what a good Master you serve , what Vails you have had ; Tell them God hath carried you to the Hill of Myrrhe , to the Mountains of Spices ; He hath given you not only a Prospect of Heaven but an Earnest : O perswade Sinners , by all the Love and Mercy of God , that they would enroll their Names in his Family , and cast themselves upon him for Salvation . Tell them God hath met with you , and unlock'd the Secrets of Free Grace , and assured you of a Land flowing with those infinite Delights which Eye hath not seen . Thus by telling others what God hath done for your Soul , you may make them in love with the ways of God , and cause them to turn Proselytes to Religion . 2. Improve Assurance by comforting such as want it ; Be as the good Samaritan , pour Wine and Oyl into their Wounds . You ●ho have Assurance , are gotten as it were to the Haven , you are sure of your Happiness ; but do you not see others who are struggling with the Waves of Temptation and Desertion , and are ready to sink ? O now Sympathize with them , and do what you can to comfort them when they are in this deep Ocean , 2 Cor. 1.6 . Whether we be comforted it is for your Consolation . The comfortable experience of one Christian being communicated to another , doth much revive and bear up his fainting Heart ; Our Comfort , saith the Apostle , is for your Consolation . 3. Improve Assurance by walking more Heavenly ; you should Scorn these things below ; you who have an Earnest of Heaven , should not be too Earnest for the Earth : You have Angels Food , and it becomes not you , with the Serpent , to lick the Dust. The Wicked are all for Corn , Wine and Oyl , but you have that which is better ; God hath lifted up the Light of his Countenance : Will you hanker after the World , when you have been feeding upon the Grapes and Pomegranates of the Holy Land ? Do you now Lust after the Garlick and Onions of Egypt , when you are Cloathed with the Sun , will you set the Moon and Stars above you ? O let them scramble for the World , who have nothing else but Husks to feed on . Have you assurance of Heaven , and is not that enough ? Will not a Kingdom satisfie you ? Such as are high in Assurance , should be in the Altitudes , live above the World . 4. Improve Assurance by a Chearful Walking : It is for Condemn'd Persons to go hanging down their Head ; but hast thou thy Absolution ? Doth thy God smile on thee ? Chear up , 2 Sam. 13.4 . Why art thou , being the King's Son , Lean ? Art thou the King's Son ? hath God assured thee of thy Adoption , and art thou ●ad ? Assurance should be an Antidote against all Trouble : What though the World hate thee , yet thou art assur'd that thou art one of Gods Favourites . What though there is but little Oyl in the Cruse , and thou art low in the World , yet thou art high in Assurance ; O then rejoyce . How Musical is the Bird ! How doth it chirp and sing , that knows not where to pick up the next Crumb ! And shall they be sad and discontented , who have God's Bond to assure them of their daily Bread , and his Love to assure them of Heaven ? But certainly , those who have Assurance cannot but be of a Sanguine Complexion .

5. If you have an Assurance of Salvation , let this make you long after a Glorified State : He who hath an Earnest in his Hand , desires the whole Sum to be paid : That Soul who hath tasted how sweet the Lord is , should long for a fuller enjoyment of him in Heaven . Hath Christ put this Ring of Assurance on thy Hand , and so espoused thee to himself , how shouldst thou long for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb , Rev. 19.9 . O Christian , think with thy self , if a glimpse of Heaven , a smile of God's Face be so sweet , what will it be to be ever sunning thy self in the Light of God's Countenance ! Certainly , you who have an Assurance of your Title to Heaven , cannot but desire Possession . Be content to Live , but willing to Dye .

6. If you have Assurance , be careful you do no not lose it ; keep it , for it is your Life , viz. * * Bene esse . the comfort of your Life . Keep Assurance 1st by Prayer , Psal. 36.10 . O continue thy Loving Kindness ; Lord continue Assurance ; do not take away this Privy Seal from me . 2dly , Keep Assurance by Humility : Pride estrangeth God from the Soul ; when you are high in Assurance , be low in Humility . St. Paul had Assurance , and he Baptizeth himself with this Name , Chief of Sinners , 1 Tim. 1.15 . The Jewel of Assurance is best kept in the Cabinet of an Humble Heart .

Of PEACE . 1 Pet. 1.2 .

Grace unto you , and Peace be multiplied .

HAving spoken of the first Fruit of Sanctification , Assurance , I proceed to the Second , viz. Peace , Peace be Multiplied .

Quest. What are the several species or kinds of Peace ?

Resp. Peace in Scripture is compar'd to a River , Isa. 66.12 . this River parts it self into Two Silver Streams .

1. There is an External Peace , and that is either 1. Aeconomical , Peace in a Family . 2. Political , Peace in the State . Peace is the Nurse of Plenty , Psal. 147.14 . He maketh Peace in thy Borders , and filleth thee with the finest of the Wheat . How pleasant is it when the Waters of Blood begin to asswage , and we can see the Windows of our Ark open , and the Dove returning with an Olive-branch of Peace ? 3. Ecclesiastical Peace , Peace in the Church . It s Unity in Trinity is the greatest Mystery in Heaven , and Unity in Verity the greatest Mercy on Earth . Peace Ecclesiastical stands in opposition to Schism and Persecution .

2. A Spiritual Peace , which is Two-fold , Peace above us , or Peace with God ; and Peace within us , or Peace with Conscience : This is Superlative ; other Peace may be lasting , this is everlasting .

Quest. 2. Whence comes this Peace ?

Resp. This Peace hath the whole Trinity for its Author . 1. God the Father is the God of Peace , 1 Thes. 5.23 . 2. God the Son is the Prince of Peace , Isa. 9.6 . 3. Peace is said to be the fruit of the Spirit , Gal. 5.22 .

1. God the Father is the God of Peace . As he is the God of Order , 1 Cor. 14.33 . so the God of Peace , Phil. 4.9 . This was the form of the Priests blessing the People , Numb. 6.26 . The Lord give thee Peace .

2. God the Son is the Purchaser of Peace . He hath made Peace by his Blood , Col. 1.20 . Having made Peace by the Blood of his Cross. The Attonement Aaron made for the People when he entred into the Holy of Holies with Blood , was a Type of Christ our High Priest , who hath by his Sacrifice pacified his angry Father , and made Attonement for us . Christ purchased our Peace upon hard terms , his Soul was in an Agony , while he was travailing to bring forth Peace to the World .

3. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit . He seals up Peace to the Conscience ; the Spirit clears up the work of Grace in the Heart , from whence ariseth Peace . There was a Well of Water near Hagar , but she did not see it , therefore wept . A Christian hath Grace , but doth not see it , therefore Weeps . Now the Spirit discovers this Well of Water , it enables Conscience to witness to a Man that he hath the real work of Grace , and so Peace flows into the Soul . Thus you see whence this Peace comes ; the Father decrees it , the Son purchaseth it , the Holy Ghost applies it .

Quest. 3. Whether such as are destitute of Grace , may have Peace ?

Resp. No. Peace flows from Sanctification , but they being unregenerate , have nothing to do with Peace , Isa. 57.21 . There is no Peace ( saith my God ) to the Wicked : They may have a Truce , but no Peace . God may forbear the Wicked a while , and stop the Roaring of his Cannon ; but though there be a Truce , yet no Peace . The Wicked may have something which looks like Peace , but is not . They may be fearless and stupid ; but there is a great difference between a stupified Conscience , and a pacified Conscience , Luke 11.21 . When a strong Man keeps his Palace , his Goods are in Peace . This is the Devils Peace ; he rocks Men in the Cradle of Security , he cries Peace , Peace , when Men are upon the Precipice of Hell . The seeming Peace a Sinner hath , is not from the knowledg of his Happiness , but the ignorance of his Danger .

Quest. 4. What are the Signs of a false Peace ?

Resp. 1. A false Peace hath much Confidence in it , but this Confidence is Conceit . The Sinner doth not doubt of Gods Mercy , from which presumptuous Confidence ariseth som● kind of quiet in the Mind . The same Word in the Hebrew , Gasal , signifies both Confidence and Folly . Indeed a Sinners Confidence is Folly . How confident were the Foolish Virgins ?

2. False Peace separates those things which God hath joyned together : God joyns Holiness and Peace , but he who hath a false Peace separates these Two . He lays claim to Peace , but banisheth Holiness , Deut. 29.19 . I shall have Peace , though I walk in the imagination of my Heart , to add Drunkenness to Thirst. The Wicked are loose and vain , and yet thank God they have Peace : A Delusion . You may as well suck Health out of Poison , as Peace out of Sin .

3. False Peace is not willing to be Tried ; a sign they are bad Wares , which will not endure the Light ; a sign a Man hath stolen Goods when he will not have his House Searched . A false Peace cannot endure to be tryed by the Word : The Word speaks of an humbling and refining work upon the Soul before Peace ; false Peace cannot endure to hear of this : The least trouble will shake this Peace , it will end in despair . In a false Peace , Conscience is asleep , but when this Lion of Conscience shall be awaken'd at Death , then it will roar upon a Man , he will be a Terror to himself , and be ready to lay violent Hands upon himself .

Quest. 5. How shall we know that ours is a true Peace ?

Resp. 1. True Peace flows from Union with Christ ; Communio ●undatur in unione . The Graft or Cien must first be inoculated into the Tree , before it can receive Sap and Nourishment from it : So we must first be ingrafted into Christ , before we can receive Peace from him . Have we Faith ? By Holiness we are made like Christ ; by believing we are made one with Christ , and being in Christ , we have Peace , Iohn 16.33 .

2. True Peace flows from Subjection to Christ ; where Christ gives Peace , there he sets up his Government in the Heart , Isa. 9.7 . Of his Government and Peace there shall be no end . Christ is called a Priest upon his Throne , Zach. 6.13 . Christ as a Priest makes Peace , but he will be a Priest upon his Throne ; he brings the Heart in subjection to him . If Christ be our Peace , he is our Prince , Isa. 9.6 . Whenever Christ pacifies the Conscience , he subdues the Lust.

3. True Peace is after Trouble . First , God le ts loose a Spirit of Bondage , he convinceth and humbleth the Soul ; then he speaks Peace . Many say they have Peace ; but is this Peace before a Storm or after it ? True Peace is after Trouble . First there was the Earthquake , and then the Fire , and then the still small Voice , 1 Kings 19.11 . Thou who never hadst any legal Bruisings , mayest suspect thy Peace ; God pours the Golden Oyl of Peace into Broken Hearts .

Quest. 6. Whether have all Sanctified Persons this Peace ?

Resp. They have a Title to it ; they have the Ground of it ; Grace is the Seed of Peace , and it will in time turn to Peace , as the Blossoms of a Tree to Fruit , Milk to Cream . They have a Promise of it , Psal. 29.11 . The Lord will bless his People with Peace : They may have Peace with God , though not Peace in their own Conscience ; they have the initials and beginnings of Peace . There is a secret Peace the Heart hath in serving God , such Meltings and Enlargements in Duty , as do revive the Soul , and bear it up from sinking .

Quest. 7. But why have not all Believers the full enjoyment and possession of Peace ? Why is not this Flower of Peace fully ripe and blown ?

Resp. Some of the Godly may not have so full a degree of Peace . 1. Through the fury of Temptation ; the Devil if he cannot destroy us , he will disturb us : Satan disputes against our Adoption ; he would make us question the work of Grace in our Hearts , and so troubles the Waters of our Peace : Satan is like a subtil Cheater , who if he cannot make a Mans Title to his Land void , yet he will put him to many troublesom Suits in Law . If Satan cannot make us Ungodly , he will make us unquiet : Violent Winds make the Sea rough and stormy ; the Winds of Temptation blowing , disturb Peace of Spirit , and put the Soul into a Commotion . 2. The Godly may not enjoy Peace , through mistake and misapprehension about Sin . They find so much Corruption , that sure if there were Grace , there would not be such strong Workings of Corruption : Whereas this should be so far from discouraging Christians , and hindering their Peace , that it is an Argument for them . Let me ask , whence is it that you feel Sin ? no Man can feel Sin but by Grace . A wicked Man is insensible ; lay an 100 weight upon a Dead Man , he doth not complain , but the being sensible of Corruption , argues a Gracious Principle , Rom. 7.21 . Again , whence is it that there is a Combat with Sin , but from the Life of Grace ? Gal. 5.17 . Dead things cannot Combat . Whence is it that the Saints weep for Sin ? what are these Tears , but Seeds of Faith ? The not understanding of this , hinders a Christians Peace . 3. The Godly may not injoy Peace through remisness in Duty ; they leave their first Love . When Christians abate their fervency , God abates their Peace ; if you slacken the Strings of a Viol , the Musick is spoil'd ; if Christians slacken in Duty , they spoil the sweet Musick of Peace in their Souls . As the Fire decays , so the Cold increaseth ; as Fervency in Duty abates , so our Peace cools .

Use. Labour for this blessed Peace , Peace with God and Conscience ; Peace with Neighbour Nations is sweet , Pax una Triumphis innumeris melior , the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Peace comprehends all Blessings , it is the Glory of a Kingdom ; a Princes Crown is more Beautiful when it is hung with the white Lilly of Peace , than when it is set with the Red Roses of a Bloody War : O then how sweet is Peace of Conscience ! it is a Bulwark against the Enemy , Phil. 4.7 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 it shall keep you as in a Garrison ; you may throw out the Gantlet , and bid defiance to Enemies : It is the Golden Pot and the Manna , it is the first Fruits of Paradise . It is still Musick ; for want of this a Christian is in continual fear ; he doth not take that comfort in Ordinances . Hannah went up to the Feast at Ierusalem , but she wept and did not eat , 1 Sam. 1.7 . So a poor dejected Soul goes to an Ordinance , but doth not eat of the Feast ; he weeps and doth not eat . He cannot take that comfort in Worldly Blessings , Health , Estate , Relations ; he wants that inward Peace which should be as Sawce to sweeten his Comforts . O therefore labour for this blessed Peace , consider the noble and excellent effects of it . First , It gives boldness at the Throne of Grace ; Guilt of Conscience clips the Wings of Prayer , it makes the Face Blush , and the Heart : But when a Christian hath some lively apprehensions of God's Love , and the Spirit whispering Peace , then he goes to God with boldness , as a Child to his Father , Psal. 25.1 . Unto thee O Lord I lift up my Soul . Time was when David's Soul was bowed down , Psal. 38.6 . I am bowed down greatly . But now the case is alter'd , he will lift up his Soul to God in a way of Triumph ; whence was this ? God had spoken Peace to his Soul , Psal. 26.3 . Thy loving Kindness is before mine Eyes . 2. This Divine Peace fires the Heart with Love to Christ ; Peace is the result of Pardon ; he who hath a Pardon seal'd , cannot choose but love his Prince . How endeared is Christ to the Soul ! now Christ is precious indeed . O saith the Soul , how sweet is this Rose of Sharon ! Hath Christ waded through a Sea of Blood and Wrath to purchase my Peace , hath he not only made Peace , but spoke Peace to me ; how should my Heart ascend in a fiery Chariot of Love , how willing should I be to do and suffer for Christ ! 3. This Peace quiets the heart in Trouble , Mic. 5.5 . This Man shall be the Peace when the Assyrian shall come into our Land , and tread in our Palaces . The Enemy may invade our Palaces , but not our Peace ; this Man Christ shall be the Peace . When the Head akes , the Heart may be well ; when Worldly troubles assault a Christian , his Mind may be in Peace and Quiet , Psal. 4.8 . I will lay me down in Peace , and Sleep . 'T was now a sad time with David , he was flying for his Life from Absalom ; it was no small Afflicton to think that his own Son should seek to take away his Fathers Life and Crown : David wept and covered his Face , 2 Sam. 15.30 . Yet at this time saith he , I will lay me down in Peace and Sleep . He had trouble from his Son , but Peace from his Conscience : David could sleep upon the soft Pillow of a good Conscience : This is a Peace worth getting .

Quest. 8. What shall we do to attain this blessed Peace ?

Resp. 1. Let us ask it of God ; he is the God of Peace , he beats back the roaring Lion , he stills the raging of Conscience : If we could call all the Angels out of Heaven , they could not speak Peace without God . The Stars cannot make Day without the Sun ; none can make day in a dark Deserted Soul , but the Sun of Righteousness ; as the Wilderness cannot water it self , but remains dry and parched , till the Clouds drop their Moisture , so our Hearts cannot have Peace till he infuse and drop it upon us by his Spirit . Therefore pray , Lord , thou who art the God of Peace , create Peace , thou who art the Prince of Peace , command it . Give me that Peace which may sweeten trouble , yea , the bitter Cup of Death .

2. If you would have Peace , make War with Sin . Sin is the Achan that troubles us ; the Trojan Horse . 2 Kings 9.22 . When Joram saw Jehu , he said , is it Peace Jehu ? And he answered what Peace , so long as the Whoredoms of thy Mother Jezabel and her Witchcrafts are so many ? What Peace , as long as Sin remains unmortified ? If you would have Peace with God , break the League with Sin . Give battel to Sin , it is a most just War , God hath proclaimed it . Nay , he hath promised us Victory , Sin shall not have Dominion , Rom. 6. No way to Peace but by maintaining a War with Sin , Pax nostra Bellum contra Daemonem , Tert. When Sampson had slain the Lion , there came Hony out of the Lion : By Slaying Sin , we get this Hony of Peace .

3. Go to Christs Blood for Peace . Some go to fetch their Peace from their own Righteousness , not Christs ; they go for Peace to their Holy Life , not Christ's Death . If Conscience be troubled , they strive to quiet it with their Duties ; this is not the right way to Peace : Duties must not be neglected , nor yet idolized . Look up to the Blood of Sprinkling , Heb. 12.24 . That Blood of Christ which pacified God , must pacifie Conscience ; Christ's blood being suck'd in by Faith gives Peace , Rom. 5.1 . Being justified by Faith , we have Peace with God . No Balm to cure a Wounded Conscience , but the Blood of Christ .

4. Walk closely with God . Peace flows from Purity , Gal. 6.16 . As many as walk according to this Rule , Peace be on them : In the Text , Grace and Peace are put together . Grace is the Root and Peace is the Flower . As Balm-Water drops from the Limbeck , so Divine Peace comes out of the Limbeck of a Gracious Heart . Walk very Holily ; God's Spirit is first a Refiner before a Comforter .

Bran. 2. You who have this Peace , Peace above , Peace within , labour to keep it ; it is a precious Jewel , do not lose it . 'T is sad to have the League of National Peace broken , but it is worse to have the Peace of Conscience broken : Oh preserve this Peace . First , Take heed of Relapses ; hath God spoken Peace , do not turn again to Folly , Psal. 85.8 . Besides the Ingratitude , there 's folly in Relapses ; it was long ere God was reconciled , and the Breach made up , and will you again Eclipse and Forfeit your Peace ? Hath God heal'd the wound of Conscience , and will you tear it open again ? Will you break another Vein , will you cut a new Artery ? This is returning indeed to folly . What Madness is it to meddle again with that Sin , which will breed the Worm of Conscience ! Secondly , Make up your Spiritual Accounts daily : See how Matters stand between God and your Souls , Psal. 77.6 . I commune with my own Heart : Often Reckonings keep God and Conscience Friends ; do with your Hearts as you do with your Watches , wind them up every Morning by Prayer , and at Night examine whether your Hearts have gone true all the day , whether the Wheels of your Affections have moved swiftly towards Heaven : Oh call your selves often to account ; keep your Reckonings even , and that is the way to keep your Peace .

Of IOY . Gal. 5.22 .

The Fruit of the Spirit is Ioy .

THE third Fruit of Justification , Adoption and Sanctification , is , Joy in the Holy Ghost . Joy is the setting the Soul upon the Top of a Pinacle , 't is the Cream of the sincere Milk of the Word .

Quest. 1. What is this Ioy ?

Resp. Spiritual Joy is a sweet and delightful Passion , arising from the Apprehension and Feeling of some Good , whereby the Soul is supported under present Troubles , and fenced against future Fear .

1. It is a Delightful Passion . ] So it is contrary to Sorrow , which is a Perturbation of Mind , whereby the Heart is perplexed and cast down . Joy is a sweet and pleasant Affection , which easeth the Mind , Exhilarates and Comforts the Spirits .

2. It ariseth from the Feeling of some Good . ] Joy is not a Fancy , or bred of Conceit , but is Rational , and ariseth from the feeling of some Good ( viz. ) The Sense of Gods Love and Favour . Joy is so Real a thing , that it makes a sudden Change in a Person ; it turns Mourning into Melody : As in Spring time , when the Sun comes to our Horizon , it makes a sudden Alteration in the Face of the Universe ; the Birds sing , the Flowers appear , the Fig-tree puts forth forth her green Figs ; every thing seems to rejoyce and put off its Mourning , as being revived with the sweet Influence of the Sun : so when the Sun of Righteousness ariseth on the Soul , it makes a sudden Alteration , and the Soul is infinitely rejoyced with the Golden Beams of Gods Love .

3. By it the Soul is supported under present Troubles . ] Joy stupifies and swallows up Troubles ; it carries the Heart above them , as the Oyl swims above the Water .

4. The Heart is fenced against future Fear . ] Joy is both a Cordial and an Antidote ; it is a Cordial which gives present Relief to the Spirits when they are Sad ; and an Antidote , it fenceth off Fear of approaching Danger , Psal. 23.4 . I will fear no Evil , for thou art with me , thy Rod and thy Staff comfort me .

Quest. 2. How is this Ioy wrought ?

Resp. 1. It ariseth partly from the Promise : As the Bee lyes at the Breast of the Flower , and sucks out the Sweetness of it , so Faith lyes at the Breast of a Promise and sucks out the Quintessence of Joy , Psal. 94.19 . Thy Comforts delight my Soul ; that is , the Comforts which distill from the Limbeck of the Promises .

2. The Spirit of God ( who is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Comforter , John 14.26 . ) doth sometimes drop in this Golden Oyl of Joy into the Soul ; the Spirit whispers to a Believer the Remission of his Sin , and sheds Gods Love abroad into the Heart , Rom. 5.5 . whence flows infinite Joy and Delight .

Quest. 3. What are the Seasons when God doth usually give his People these Divine Ioys ?

Resp. Five Seasons : 1. Sometimes at the Blessed Supper ; the Soul oft comes Weeping after Christ in the Sacrament , and God sends it away Weeping for Joy . The Iews had a Custom at their Feasts , they pour'd Oyntment on their Guests and kissed them . In the Eucharist God often pours the Oyl of Gladness on the Saints , and Kisseth them with the Kisses of his Lips . There are two grand Ends of the Sacrament , the strengthening of Faith , and the flourishing of Joy : Here in this Ordinance God displays the Banner of his Love : Here Believers taste not only Sacramental Bread , but hidden Manna . [ Caution , Not that God always meets the Soul with Joy . ] He may give Increase of Grace , when not Increase of Joy ; but oftentimes he pours in the Oyl of Gladness , and gives the Soul a Privy Seal of his Love ; as Christ made himself known in the breaking of Bread .

2 Season . Before God calls his People to Suffering , Acts 23.11 . Be of good Cheer , Paul . When God was about to give Paul a Cup of Blood to drink , he spiced it with Joy , 2 Cor. 1.5 . As the Sufferings of Christ abound in us , so our Consolation also aboundeth . This made the Martyrs Flames , Beds of Roses ; when Stephen was Stoning , he saw Heaven open , and the Sun of Righteousness shined in his Face : God Candies our Wormwood with Sugar .

3 Season . After sore Conflicts with Satan Satan is the Red Dragon who troubleth the Waters ; he puts the Soul into Frights , makes it believe that it hath no Grace , and that God doth not love it : Though Satan cannot blot out a Christians Evidence , yet he may cast such a Mist before his Eyes that he cannot read it . Now when the Soul hath been bruised with Temptation , God will Comfort this bruised Reed . He now gives Joy Ad corroborandum Titulum , to confirm a Christians Title to Heaven . After Satans Fiery Darts , comes the White Stone ; no better Balm to heal a Tempted Soul than the Oyl of Gladness : As after Christ was Tempted , then came an Angel to Comfort him .

4 Season . After Desertion : Desertion is a poysoned Arrow shoots to the Heart , Iob 6.4 . God is call'd a Fire and a Light , the deserted Soul feels the Fire , but doth not see the Light ; it cries out as Asaph , Psal. 77.8 . Is his Mercy clean gone ? Now when the Soul is in this case , and ready to faint away in Despair , God shines upon the Soul , and gives it some Apprehension of his Favour , and turns the shadow of Death into the light of the Morning . God keeps his Cordials for a time of Fainting . Joy after Desertion is like a Resurrection from the Dead .

5 Season . At the hour of Death , such as have had no Joy in their Life-time , God puts in this Sugar in the bottom of the Cup , to make their Death sweet . Now at the last hour , when all other Comforts are gone , God sends the Comforter ; and when their Appetite to Meat fails , God feeds them with hidden Manna . Sure , as the Wicked , before they dye , have some Apprehensions of Hell and Wrath in their Conscience , so the Godly have some Fore-tasts of Gods Everlasting Favour ; though sometimes their Disease may be such , and their Animal Spirits may be so oppressed , that they cannot express what they feel . Iacob laid himself to sleep on a stone , where he saw a Vision , a Ladder , and the Angels ascending and descending ; so when the Saints lay themselves down , to sleep the sleep of Death , they have often a Vision ; they see the Light of Gods Face ▪ and have the Evidences of his Love sealed up to them for ever .

Quest. 4. What are the Differences between Worldly Ioys and Spiritual ?

Resp. The Gleanings of the one are better than the Vintage of the other .

1. Spiritual Joys help to make us better , Worldly Joys do often make us worse , Ier. 22.21 . I spake to thee in thy Prosperity , and thou saidst , I will not hear . Pride and Luxury are the two Worms bred of Worldly Pleasure , Hos. 4.11 . Wine takes away the Heart . 'T is fomentum libidinis , Aug. The Inflamer of Lust. As Satan entred in the Sop , so often in the C●p. But Spiritual Joy makes one better ; it is like Cordial Water , which ( as Physicians say ) doth not only cheer the Heart , but Purges out the noxious Humours ; so Divine Joy is Cordial Water , which doth not only Comfort , but Cleanse ; it makes a Christian more Holy ; it causeth an Antipathy against Sin ; it infuseth strength to do and suffer , Neh. 8.10 . The Ioy of the Lord is your strength . As some Colours do not only delight the Eye , but strengthen the Sight ; so the Joys of God do not only refresh the Soul , but strengthen it , The Ioy of the Lord is your strength .

2. Spiritual Joys are inward , they are Heart-Joys , Iohn 16.22 . Your Heart shall rejoyce . Seneca saith , True Joy latet in profundo , it is hidden within . Worldly Joy is in Superficie , it lyes in the out-side , like the Dew that wets the Leaf , 2 Cor. 5.12 . who Rejoyce in appearance , in the Greek 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in the Face . It goes no farther than the Face , 't is not within ; In Laughter the Heart is sad . Like a House which hath a gilded Frontispiece , but all the Rooms within are hung in Mourning . But Spiritual Joy lies most within , Your Heart shall rejoyce . Divine Joy is like a Spring of Water which runs under Ground ; a Christian doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , others can see his Sufferings , but they see not his Joy , Prov. 14.10 . A Stranger intermeddleth not with his Ioy . This Joy is hidden Manna , hid from the Eye of the World ; he hath still Musick which others hear not , the Marrow lyes within , the best Joy is within in the Heart .

3. Spiritual Joys are sweeter than others , better than Wine , Cant. 1.2 . They are a Christians Festival ; They are the golden Pot and the Manna ; They are so sweet that they make every thing else sweet ; sweeten Health , Estate , as sweet Water poured on Flowers makes them more Fragrant and Aromatical . Divine Joys are so Delicious and Ravishing , that they do very much put our Mouth out of Taste to earthly Delights ; as he who hath been drinking Spirits of Alkermes , tasts little-sweetness in Water . St. Paul had tasted these Divine Joys , and his Mouth was out of taste to Wordly things : The World was Crucified to him , Gal. 6.14 . it was like a dead thing , he could find no sweetness in it .

4. Spiritual Joys are more pure , they are not tempered with any bitter Ingredients ; a Sinners Joy is mix'd dregs , is imbittered with Fear and Guilt ; the Wolf feeds in the Breast of his Joy ; he drinks Wormwood Wine : But Spiritual Joy is not muddied with Guilt , but like a Christal stream runs pure ; it is all Spirits and Quintessence ; it is Joy and nothing but Joy ; 't is a Rose without Prickles ; it is Honey without the Wax .

5. These are satisfying and filling Joys , Iohn 16.24 . Ask that your Ioy may be full . Worldly Joys can no more fill the Heart , than a drop can fill a Cistern ; they may please the Pallat or Fancy , ( Plato calls them Pictures of Joy ) not satisfie the Soul , Eccles. 1.8 . The Eye is not satisfied with seeing , nor the Ear with hearing ; but the Joys of God satisfie . Psal. 94.19 . Thy Comforts delight my Soul . There is as much difference between Spiritual Joys and Earthly , as between a Banquet that is eaten , and one that is painted on the Wall .

6. These are stronger Joys than Worldly , Heb. 6.18 . Strong Consolation . They are strong indeed , that can bear up a Christians Heart in Trials and Afflictions , 1 Thess. 1.6 . Having received the Word in much Affliction , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , with Joy . These are Roses that grow in Winter ; these Joys can sweeten the Waters of Marah ; he that hath these can gather Grapes of Thorns , and fetch Hony out of the Carcass of a Lyon , 2 Cor. 6.10 . As Sorrowing , yet always rejoycing . At the end of the Rod a Christian tasts Hony .

7. These are unwearied Joys ; other Joys , when in Excess oft cause a Loathing , we are apt to Surfeit on them ; too much Hony nauseates ; one may be tired with Pleasure as well as Labour : Xerxes offered a Reward to him that could find out a new Pleasure : But the Joys of God , though they satisfie , yet they never Surfeit ; a drop of Joy is sweet , but the more of this Wine the better ; such as drink of the Joys of Heaven are never cloy'd ; the Satiety is without Loathing , because they still desire the Joy wherewith they are satiated .

8. These are more abiding Joys , worldly Joys are soon gone ; such as Crown themselves with Rose-buds , and bath in the perfum'd Waters of Pleasure , yet these Joys which seem to be Sweet are Swift ; like Meteors , they give a bright and sudden Flash , and then disappear ; but the Joy which Believers have , are abiding ; they are a Blossom of Eternity , a Pledge and Earnest of those Rivers of Pleasure which run at Gods right Hand for ever more .

Quest. 5. Why is this Ioy to be labour'd for ?

Resp. 1. Because this Joy is Self-existent , it can subsist in the want of all other Carnal Joy . This Joy depends not upon outward things , as the Philosophers once said , when the Musicians came to them , Philosophers can be merry without Musick . He that hath this Joy , can be chearful in the Deficiency of Carnal Joys ; he can rejoyce in God , and sure hope of Glory . Though the Fig-tree doth not Flourish , Hab. 3.17 . Spiritual Joy can go without Silver Crutches to support it : Spiritual Joy is higher built than upon Creatures , it is built on the Love of God , on the Promises , on the Blood of Christ .

2. Because Spiritual Joy carries the Soul through Duty chearfully ; the Sabbath is a Delight , Religion is a Recreation . Fear and Sorrow hinder us in the Discharge of Duty : But a Christian serves God with Activity , when he serves him with Joy . The Oyl of Joy makes the Wheels of Obedience move faster . How fervently did they Pray , whom God made joyful in the House of Prayer , Isa. 56.7 .

3. Joy is the beginning of Heaven here ; it is called the Kingdom of God , Rom. 14.17 . because it is a Taste of that which the Saints have in the Kingdom of God . What is the Heaven of the Angels , but the Smiles of Gods Face , the sensible Perception and Feeling of those Joys which are infinitely ravishing and full of Glory ? And to encourage and quicken us in seeking after them , consider , that Christ died to purchase this Joy for his Saints : He was a Man of Sorrows , that we may be full of Joy ; he Prays that the Saints may have this Divine Joy , John 17.13 . And now I come to thee , that they may have my Ioy fulfilled in themselves . And this Prayer he now Prays over in Heaven ; he knows we never love him so , as when we feel his Love ; which may encourage us to seek after this Joy ; we Pray for that which Christ himself is Praying for , that his Joy may be fulfilled in us .

Quest. 6. What shall we do to obtain this Spiritual Ioy ?

Resp. Walk accurately and heavenly ; God gives it after a long and close walking with him .

1. Observe your hours ; set time every day apart for God .

2. Mourn for Sin : Mourning is the Seed ( as Basil saith ) out of which the Flower of Spiritual Joy Grows , Isa. 57.18 ▪ I 'll restore Comfort to my Mourners .

3. Keep the Book of Conscience fair written ; do not , by Presumptuous Sins , blur your Evidences : A good Conscience is the Ark where God puts the hidden Manna .

4. Be often upon your Knees , Pray with Life and Fervency : The same Spirit that fills the Heart with Sighs , fills it with Joys ; the same Spirit that indites the Prayer , Seals it . When Hannah had pray'd , her Countenance was no more sad , 1 Sam. 1.18 . Praying Christians have much Intercourse with God , and none are so like to have the Secrets of his Love imparted , as those who hold Correspondence with him : By a close walking with God , we get these Bunches of Grapes by the way , which are an Earnest of future Happiness .

Quest. 7. How shall we Comfort them who want this Ioy ?

Resp. Such as walk in close Communion with God , have more than others .

1. Initial Joy , Joy , in Semine , in the Seed , Psal. 97.11 . Light ( a Metaphor for Joy ) is sown for the Righteous , Grace in the Heart is a Seed of Ioy . Though a Christian wants the Sun , he hath a Day-star in his Heart .

2. A Believer hath Real , though not Royal Comforts ; he hath , as Aquinas saith , Gaudium in Deo , though not à Deo , Joy in God , though not from God : Joy in God , is the Delight and Complacency the Soul takes in God , Psal. 104.34 . My Soul shall be glad in the Lord . He that is truly gracious , is so far joyful , as to take Comfort in God ; though he cannot say , God rejoyceth in him ; yet he can say , he rejoyceth in God .

3. He hath Supporting , though not Transporting Comforts ; he hath so much that keeps him from sinking , Psal. 138.3 . Thou strengthenedst me with strength in my Soul . If a Christian hath not Gods Arm to embrace him , yet to uphold him . Thus a Christian , who walks with God , hath something that bears up his [ Heart from sinking ; and it is but waiting a while , and he is sure of those Joys which are unspeakable and full of Glory .

Use 1. Then see that Religion is no Melancholy thing ; it brings Joy , the Fruit of the Spirit is Joy , Mutatur , non tollitur ; a poor Christian that feeds on Bread and Water , may have purer Joy than the greatest Monarch ; though he fares hard he feeds high , he hath a Table spread from Heaven ; Angels Food , hidden Manna ; he hath sometimes those sweet Raptures of Joy as cause a Jubilation of Spirit , 2 Cor. 12.3 . he hath that which is better felt than can be expressed .

Use 2. If God gives his People such Joy in this Life , Oh! then what glorious Joy will he give them in Heaven , Matt. 25.21 . Enter thou into the Ioy of thy Lord ; here Joy begins to enter into us , there we shall enter into Joy ; God keeps his best Wine till last . Heliogabalus bathed himself in sweet perfum'd Waters . What Joy when the Soul shall for ever bath it self in the pure and pleasant Fountain of Gods Love ; what joy to see the Orient Brightness of Christ's Face , and have the Kisses of those Lips which drop sweet smelling Myrrhe ? Laetabitur sponsa in amplexibus Domini , Aug. Oh! if a cluster of Grapes here be so sweet , what will the full Vintage be ? How may this set us all a longing for that place , where Sorrow cannot Live , and where Joy cannot Dye !

Growth of GRACE . 2 Pet. 3.18 .

But grow in Grace .

Fruit 4. GRowth of Grace . ] True Grace is progressive , of a spreading growing Nature ; 't is with Grace as with the Light , first there is the Crepusculum or day-break ; then it shines brighter to the full Meridian : A good Christian is like the Crocodil , Quam diu vivit , crescit , he hath never done growing . The Saints are not only compared to Stars for their light , but Trees for their growth , Isa. 61.3 . Hos. 14.5 . A good Christian is not like Hezekiah's Sun that went backward , nor Ioshua's Sun that stood still , but is always advancing in Holiness , and increasing with the Increase of God , Col. 2.19 . Now to amplifie and illustrate this ,

Quest. 1. How many ways may a Christian be said to grow in Grace ?

Resp. 1. He grows Vigore , in the Exercise of Grace ; his Lamps are burning and shining ; therefore we read of a lively hope , 1 Pet. 1.3 . here is the Activity of Grace ; the Church prays for the blowing of the Spirit , that her Spices might flow forth , Cant. 4.16 .

2. A Christian grows Gradu , in the degree of Grace ; he goes from strength to strength , Psal. 84.7 . viz. from one degree of Grace to another . A Saint goes 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , from Faith to Faith , Rom. 1.17 . and his Love abounds 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , more and more , Phil. 1.9 . here is growing in the degree .

Quest. 2. What is the right manner of a Christians growth ?

Resp. 1. The right manner of growth , is to grow less in ones own Eyes , Psal. 22.6 . I am a worm and no Man . The sight of Corruption and Ignorance makes a Christian grow into a dislike of himself , he doth vanish in his own Eyes : Iob abhor'd himself in the Dust , cap. 42.6 . This is good , to grow out of conceit of ones self .

2. The right manner of growth is to grow proportionably , when a Christian grows in one Grace as well as another , 2 Pet. 1.5 . to grow in Knowledge but not in Meekness , brotherly Love , good Works , this is not the right growth ; a thing may swell and not grow ; a Man may be swell'd with Knowledge , yet have no spiritual Growth ; the right manner of growth is uniform , growing in one Grace as well as another . As the Beauty of the Body is when there is a Symmetry of Parts , not only the Head grows , but the Arm and Breast ; so spiritual Growth is most Beautiful ; when there is a Symmmetry and Proportion , every Grace thrives .

3. The right manner of growth is when a Christian hath Grace suitable to his several Employments and Occasions ; when Corruptions are strong , and he hath Grace able to give check to them , Burdens are heavy , and he hath Patience able to bear them ; Temptations fierce , and he hath Faith able to resist them ; here is Grace growing in the right manner .

Quest. 3. Whence is it that true Grace cannot but grow ?

Resp. 1. It is proper for Grace to grow , 't is semen manens , the Seed of God , 1 Iohn 3.9 . 'T is the Nature of Seed to grow ; Grace doth not lye in the Heart , as a stone in the Earth , but as Seed in the Earth , which will spring up , first the Blade and then the Ear , and then the full Corn in the Ear.

2. Grace cannot but grow from the Sweetness and Excellency of it ; he that hath Grace is never weary of it , but still would have more : The Delight he hath in it , causeth thirst ; Grace is the Image of God , and a Christian thinks he can never be enough like God : Grace instills Peace ; therefore a Christian cannot but strive to increase in Grace , because as Grace grows so Peace grows .

3. Grace cannot but grow from a Believers ingrafting into Christ ; he who is a Cien ingrafted into this noble generous Stock , cannot but grow . Christ is so full of Sap and vivifical Influence , that he makes all , inoculated into him , grow Fruitful , Hos. 14.8 . From me is thy Fruit found .

Quest. 4. What motives or incentives are there to make us grow in Grace ?

Resp. 1. Growth is the end of the Ordinances . Why doth a Man lay out cost on Ground , Manure and Water it , but that it may grow ? The sincere Milk of the Word is that we may grow thereby , 1 Pet. 2.2 The Table of the Lord is on purpose for our Spiritual Nourishment and encrease of Grace .

2. The growth of Grace is the best Evidence of the Truth of it ; things that have no Life will not grow ; a Picture will not grow , a Stake in the Hedge will not grow , but a Plant that hath a Vegetative life grows . The growing of Grace shews it to be alive in the Soul .

3. Growth in Grace is the beauty of a Christian. The more a Child grows , the more it comes to its Favour and Complexion , and looks more Ruddy ; so the more a Christian grows in Grace , the more he comes to his Spiritual Complexion , he looks fairer . Abraham's Faith was beautiful when in its Infancy , but at last it grew so Vigorous and Eminent , that God himself was in love with it , and crown'd Abraham with this Honour to be the Father of the Faithful .

4. The more we grow in Grace , the more Glory we bring to God . Gods Glory is more worth than the Salvation of all Mens Souls . This should be our design to raise the Trophies of Gods Glory , and how can we do it more than by growing in Grace , Iohn 15.8 . Hereby is my Father glorified , if you bring forth much Fruit. Though the least Dram of Grace will bring Salvation to us , yet it will not bring so much Glory to God , Phil. 1.11 . Fill'd with the Fruits of his Righteousness , which are to the Praise of his Glory . It commends the skill of the Husbandman when his Plants grow and thrive ; it is a praise and honour to God when we thrive in Grace .

5. The more we grow in Grace , the more will God love us . Is it not That we pray for ? The more Growth , the more will God love us . The Husbandman loves his Thriving Plants ; the thriving Christian is Gods Hephsibah or chief delight . Christ loves to see the Vine flourishing , and the Pomegranates budding , Cant. 6.11 . Christ accepts the truth of Grace , but commends the growth of Grace , Mat. 8.10 : I have not found so great Faith , no not in Israel . Would you be as the beloved Disciple that lay in Christ's Bosom ? Would you have much love from Christ ? Labour for much growth , let Faith flourish with good Works , and Love increase into Zeal .

6. What need we have to grow in Grace . There is still something lacking in our Faith ; 1 Thes. 3.10 . Grace is but in its Infancy and Minority , and we must be still adding a Cubit to our Spiritual Stature ; the Apostles said Lord encrease our Faith , Luke 17.5 . Grace is but weak , 2 Sam. 3.39 . I am this Day weak tho anointed King . So though we are anointed with Grace , yet we are but weak , and had need arrive at further degrees of Sanctity .

7. The growth of Grace will hinder the growth of Corruption : The more Health grows , the more the Distempers of Body abate : So it is in Spirituals ; the more Humility grows , the more the Swelling of Pride is asswaged ; the more Purity of Heart grows , the more the Fire of Lust is abated . The growth of Flowers in the Garden doth not hinder the growing of Weeds ; but the growing of this Flower of Grace , hinders the sprouting of Corruption . As some Plants have an Antipathy , and will not thrive if they grow near together , as the Vine and the Bay-tree , so where Grace grows , Sin will not thrive so fast .

8. We cannot grow too much in Grace , there is no Nimium , no Excess there . The Body may grow too great , as in the Dropsie , but Faith cannot grow too great . 2 Thes. 1.3 . Your Faith groweth exceedingly ; here was Exceeding , yet no Excess . As a Man cannot have too much Health , so not too much Grace ; Grace is the Beauty of Holiness , Psal. 110.3 . We cannot have too much Spiritual Beauty ; it will be the only Trouble at Death , that we have grown no more in Grace .

9. Such as do not grow in Grace , decay in Grace ; non progredi in via est regredi , Bern. There is no standing at a stay in Religion , either we go forward or backward ; if Faith doth not grow , Unbelief will . If Heavenly Mindedness doth not grow , Covetousness will . A Man that doth not encrease his Stock , diminisheth it . If you do not improve your Stock of Grace , your Stock will decay . The Angels on Iacob's Ladder were either ascending or descending ; if you do not ascend in Religion , you descend .

10. The more we grow in Grace , the more we shall flourish in Glory . Though every Vessel of Glory shall be full , yet some Vessels hold more ; he whose Pound gained Ten , was made Ruler over Ten Cities , Luke 19.17 . Such as do not grow much , though they do not lose their Glory , yet they lessen their Glory . If any shall follow the Lamb in whiter and larger Robes of Glory than others , they shall be such as have shined most in Grace here .

Use. Lament we may the want of growth : Religion in many is grown only into a Form and Profession : This is to grow in Leaves , not in Fruit. Many Christians are like a Body in an Atrophy , which doth not thrive ; they are not nourished by the Sermons they hear ; like the Angels who assumed Bodies , they did eat , but did not grow . It is very suspicious where there is no growth , there wants a Vital Principle . Some instead of growing better , grow worse ; they grow more Earthly , more Profane , 2 Tim. 3.13 . Evil Men proficient in Pejus , shall wax worse and worse . Many grow Hell-ward , they grow past shame , Eph. 23.5 . they are like some Watred Stuffs which grow more rotten .

Quest. 5. How shall we know whether we grow in Grace ?

Resp. For the deciding of this Question , I shall First shew the signs of our not not growing : Secondly , Of our growing .

1. The Signs of our not growing in Grace , but rather falling into a Spiritual Consumption .

Sign 1. When we have lost our Spiritual Appetite . A Consumptive Person hath not that Stomach to his Meat as formerly . Perhaps Christian , thou canst remember the time when thou didst Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness ; thou didst come to Ordinances with such a Stomach as to a Feast , but now it is otherwise . Christ is not so prized , nor his Ordinances so loved ; a sad presage , Grace is on the declining Hand ; thou art in a deep Consumption . A sign David was near his Grave , when he covered him with Cloaths and he got no heat , 1 Kings 1.1 . So when a Person is plyed with hot Cloaths , I mean Ordinances , yet he hath no heat of Affection to Spiritual things ; this is a sign he is declining in Grace .

Sign 2. When we grow more Wordly . Perhaps once we were mounted into higher Orbs , we did 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , set our Hearts on things above , and speak the Language of Canaan , but now our Minds are taken off of Heaven , we dig our Comfort out of these lower Mines , and with Satan compass the Earth : A sign we are going down the Hill apace , and our Grace is in a Consumption . It is observable when Nature decays , and People are near Dying , they grow more stooping ; and truly when Mens Hearts go more stooping to the Earth , and they can hardly lift up themselves to an Heavenly Thought ; if Grace be not Dead , yet it is ready to Dye , Rev. 3.2 .

Sign 3. When we are less troubled about Sin . Time was when the least Sin did grieve us , ( as the least Hair makes the Eye weep , ) but now we can digest Sin without remorse . Time was when a Christian was troubled if he neglected Closet-Prayer , now he can omit Family-Prayer . Time was , when vain Thoughts did trouble him , now he is not troubled for loose Practices . Here is a sad declension in Religion ; and truly Grace is so far from growing , that we can hardly perceive its Pulse to beat .

2. The Signs of our growing in Grace .

1. The First Sign of our growth is when we are got beyond our former measures of Grace : A sign a Child thrives when he hath out-grown his Cloaths , his Cloaths are too little for him . That Knowledg which would serve us before , will not serve us now ; we have a deeper Insight into Religion , our Light is clearer , our Spark of Love is encreased into a Flame ; there is a sign of growth . That competency of Grace we once had , is now too scanty for us , we have out-grown our selves ,

2. When we are more firmly rooted in Religion , Col. 2.7 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 rooted in him , and established ; the spreading of the Root shews the growth of the Tree . When we are so strongly fastned on Christ , that we cannot be blown down with the Breath of Hereticks , a blessed sign of growth . Athanasius call'd Adamas Ecclesiae , an Adamant that could not be removed from the love of the truth .

3. The Third sign of growth , when we have a more Spiritual frame of Heart . First , We are more Spiritual in our Principles ; we oppose Sin out of love to God ; and as it strikes at his Holiness . Secondly , We are more Spiritual in our Affections ; we grieve for the first risings of Corruption , for the bubling up of vain Thoughts ; the Spring that runs under Ground . We mourn not only for the penalty of Sin , but the Pollution . It is not only a Coal that burns but blacks . Thirdly , we are Spiritual in the Performance of Duty ; we are more serious , reverent , fervent , we have more Life in Prayer , we put Fire to the Sacrifice , Rom. 12. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Fervent in Spirit . We serve God with more Love , which Ripens and Mellows our Duty , and makes it come off with a better rellish .

4. The Fourth sign of growth , when Grace gets ground by Opposition . The Fire by an Antiperistasis burns hottest in the Coldest Season . Peter's Courage encreas'd by the opposition of the High Priest and the Rulers , Acts 4.8 , 11. The Martyrs Zeal was encreased by Persecution : Here was Grace of the first Magnitude .

Quest. 6. What shall we do to grow in Grace ?

Resp. 1. Take heed of that which will hinder growth , the love of any Sin : The Body may as well thrive in a Fever , as Grace can where any Sin is cherished .

2. Use all means for growth in Grace . First , Exercise your selves to Godliness , 1 Tim. 4.7 . the Body grows stronger by Exercise . Trading of Mony makes Men grow Rich ; the more we Trade our Faith in the Promises , the richer in Faith we grow . Secondly , If you would be growing Christians , be humble Christians . 'T is observ'd in some Countries ( as in France , ) the best and largest Grapes which they make their Wine of , grow on the lower sort of Vines ; the Humble Saints grow most in Grace , 1 Pet. 5.5 . God giveth Grace to the Humble . Thirdly , Pray to God for Spiritual growth . Some pray that they may grow in Gifts . It is better to grow in Grace than Gifts ; Gifts are for Ornament , Grace is for Nourishment , to edifie others , to save our selves . Some pray that they may grow rich ; but a Fruitful Heart is better than a full Purse . Pray that God will make you grow in Grace , though it be by Affliction , Heb. 12.10 . the Vine grows by Pruning . God's Pruning Knife is to make us grow more in Grace .

Quest. 7. How may we comfort such as complain they do not grow in Grace ?

Resp. They may mistake ; they may grow when they think they do not ; Prov. 13.7 . There is that maketh himself Poor , yet he is rich . The sight Christians have of their Defects in Grace , and their Thirst after greater measures of Grace , makes them think they do not grow when they do . He who covets a great Estate , because he hath not so much as he desires , therefore he thinks himself to be Poor . Indeed Christians should seek after the Grace they want , but they must not therefore overlook the Grace they have . Let Christians be thankful for the least growth ; if you do not grow so much in Assurance , bless God if you grow in Sincerity . If you do not grow so much in Knowledg , bless God if you grow in Humility . If a Tree grows in the Root , it is a true growth ; if you grow in the Root , Grace of Humility it is as needful for you as any other growth .

Of PERSEVERANCE . 1 Pet. 1.5 .

Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation .

THE Fifth and Last Fruit of Sanctification , is Perseverance in Grace . The Heavenly Inheritance is kept for the Saints , 1 Pet. 1.4 . and they are kept to the Inheritance in my Text , Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation . The Apostle asserts a Saints stability and permanency in Grace . The Saints Perseverance is much oppugned by Papists and Arminians , but it is not the less true because it is opposed . A Christians main Comfort depends upon this Doctrin of Perseverance ; take away this , and you much prejudice Religion , and cut the Sinews of all chearful Endeavours . Before I come to the full handling and discussing this great point , let me first clear the Sense of it , which I shall first do by way of Concession or Grant . When I say Believers do persevere , First I grant that such as are so only in Possession , may fall away , 2 Tim. 4.10 . Demas hath forsaken us . Blazing Comets soon Evaporate . A Building on Sand will fall , Mat. 7.26 . Seeming Grace may be lost ; no wonder to see a Bough fall from the Tree that is only tied on . Hypocrites are only tied on to Christ by an External Profession , they are not ingrafted . Who ever thought artificial motion would hold long ? The Hypocrites motion is only Artificial not Vital . All Blossoms do not ripen into Fruit. Secondly , I grant , that if Believers were left to stand upon their own Legs , they might fall finally . Some of the Angels who were Stars full of Light and Glory , yet did actually lose their Grace ; and if those pure Angels fell from Grace , much more would the Godly who have so much Sin to betray them , if they were not upheld by a Superior Power . 3. I grant , true Believers , though they do not fall away actually ; and lose all their Grace , yet their Grace may fail in the degree , and they may make a great Breach upon their Sanctification . Grace may be moritura , not mortua , dying but not dead , Rev. 3.2 . Strengthen the things which are ready to dye . Grace may be like Fire in the Embers , though not quenched , yet the Flame is gone out . This decay of Grace I shall shew in two particulars . 1. The lively actings of Grace may be suspended , Rev. 2.4 . Thou hast left thy first love . Grace may be like a sleepy Habit ; the Godly may act faintly in Religion , the pulse of their Affections may beat low . The wise Virgins slumbred , Matt. 25.5 . The Exercise of Grace may be hindred ; as when the course of Water is stop'd and doth not run . 2. Instead of Grace exercising in the Godly , Corruption may exercise ; instead of Patience , Murmuring ; instead of Heavenliness , Earthliness . How did Pride put forth it self in the Disciples , when they strove who should be greatest ? How did Lust put forth in David ? Thus lively and vigorous may Corruption be in the Regenerate ; they may fall into Enormous Sins . But though all this be granted , yet they do not , penitus excidere , fall away finally from Grace . David did not quite lose his Grace , for then why did he pray , Take not away thy Holy Spirit from me ? He had not quite lost the Spirit . As Eutiches when he fell from a Window , Acts 20. and all thought he was dead , No , saith Paul , there is Life in him : So David fell foully , but there was the Life of Grace in him : Though the Saints may come to that pass they have but little Faith , yet not to have no Faith : Though their Grace may be drawn low , yet not drawn dry : Though Grace may be abated , not abolished ; though the wise Virgins slumbred , yet their Lamps were not quite gone out . Grace , when it is at the lowest , shall revive and flourish , as when Sampson had lost his strength , his Hair grew again , and he renewed his strength . Having thus explained the Proposition , I come now to the amplifying this great Doctrin of the Saints Perseverance .

Quest. 1. By what means do Christians come to persevere ?

Resp. 1. By the Manuduction and help of Ordinances , Prayer , Word , Sacraments . Christians do not arrive at Perseverance , when they sit still and do nothing . It is not with us as with Passengers in a Ship , who are carried to the end of their Voyage , and they sit still in the Ship ; or as it is with Noble-men , who have their Rents brought in without their Toyl or Labour ; but we arrive at Salvation in the use of Means ; as a Man comes to the end of a Race by running , to a Victory by fighting , Matt. 26.41 . Watch and Pray . As Paul said , Acts 27.31 . Except ye abide in the Ship ye cannot be saved . Believers shall come to shore at last , arrive at Heaven , but Except they abide in the Ship , viz. in the use of the Ordinances , they cannot be saved . The Ordinances cherish Grace ; as they beget Grace , so they are the Breast-Milk by which it is nourished and preserved to Eternity .

2. Auxilio Spiritus , By the Sacred Influence and Concurrence of the Spirit . The Spirit of God is continually at work in the Heart of a Believer , to carry on Grace to Perseverance ; it drops on fresh Oyl to keep the Lamp of Grace burning . The Spirit excites , strengthens , encreaseth Grace , and makes a Christian go from one step of Faith to another , till he comes to the end of his Faith , Salvation , 1 Pet. 1.9 . It is a fine Expression of the Apostle , 2 Tim. 1.14 . The Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us . He who dwells in an House keeps the House in repair ; the Spirit dwelling in a Believer , keeps Grace in repair . Grace is compar'd to a River of the Water of Life , Iohn 7.38 . This River can never be dried up , because Gods Spirit is a Spring which continually feeds it .

3. Grace is carried on to Perseverance by Christs daily Intercession . As the Spirit is at work in the Heart , so is Christ at work in Heaven . Christ is ever praying that the Saints Grace may hold out , Iohn 17.11 . Conserva illos , Father keep those whom thou hast given me ; keep them as Stars in their Orb , keep them as Jewels , that they may not be lost . Father keep them . That Prayer Christ made for Peter , was the Copy of his Prayer he now makes for Believers , Luke 22.32 . I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that it be not totally eclipsed : How can the Children of such Prayers perish ?

Quest. 2. By what Arguments may we prove the Saints Perseverance ?

Resp. 1. A veritate Dei , from the Truth of God . God hath both asserted it and promised it . 1. God hath asserted it , 1 Iohn 3.9 . His Seed remaineth in him , 1 Iohn 2.27 . The anointing ye have received of him abideth in you . 2. As God hath asserted it , so he hath promised it : The Truth of God , the most Orient Pearl of his Crown , is laid a Pawn in the Promise , Iohn 10.28 . I give unto them eternal Life , and they shall never perish . Jer. 32.42 . I will make an everlasting Covenant with them , that I will not turn away from them to do them good , but I will put my Fear in their Hearts , that they shall not depart from me . God will so love his People , that he will not forsake them ; and they shall so fear him that they shall not forsake him . If a Believer should not persevere , God should break his Promise , Hos. 2.19 . I will betroth thee unto me for ever , in righteousness and loving kindness . God doth not Marry his People to himself , and then Divorce them ; he hates putting away , Mal. 2.16 . Gods love tyes the Marriage Knot so fast , that neither Death nor Hell can break it asunder .

2. The second Argument is , à potentia Dei , from the Power of God . In the Text we are kept by the Power of God unto Salvation ; every Person in the Trinity hath an hand in making a Believer persevere . God the Father establisheth , 2 Cor. 1.21 . God the Son confirms , 1 Cor. 1.8 . God the Holy Ghost Seals , Eph. 1.13 . so that it is the power of God keeps us . Alas , we are not kept by our own power . The Pelagians held , That Man by his own power might overcome Temptation and persevere . But St. Austin confutes them , Man ( saith he ) prays unto God for Perseverance , which would be absurd if he had power of himself to persevere . And saith St. Austin , If all the power be inherent in a Mans self , then why should not one persevere as well as another ? why not Judas as well as Peter ? So that it is not by any other than the power of God that we are kept : As the Lord preserved Israel from perishing in the Wilderness till he brought them to Canaan ; the same care will he take , if not in a miraculous , yet a spiritual , invisible manner , in preserving his People in a state of Grace , till he brings them to the Celestial Canaan . As the Heathens feigned of Atlas , That he did bear up the Heavens from falling : The power of God is that Atlas which bears up the Saints from falling . It is disputed whether Grace of it self may not perish , ( as Adam's ) yet sure I am , Grace kept by the power of God cannot perish .

3. The third Argument is taken ab Electione , from Gods electing Love ; such as God hath from all Eternity elected to Glory , cannot fall away finally ; but every true Believer is elected to Glory , ergo , he cannot fall away . Wat can frustrate Election , or make Gods Decree void ? This Argument stands like Mount Sion which cannot be moved . Insomuch that some of the Papists hold , that such who have absolute Election cannot fall away , 2 Tim. 2.19 . The Foundation of God stands sure , having this Seal , The Lord knows them that are his . The Foundation of God is nothing else , but Gods Decree in Election ; and this stands sure , God will not alter it , others cannot .

4. The fourth Argument is taken , Ab Unione cum Christo , from Believers Union with Christ . They are knit to Christ , as the Members to the Head by the Nerve and Ligament of Faith , so that they cannot be broken off , Eph. 5.23 . What was once said of Christ's Natural Body , is true of his Mystical , a Bone of it shall not be broken . As it is not possible to sever the Leaven and the Dough , when they are once mingled and kneaded together ; so it is impossible , when Christ and Believers are once united , ever to be separated : Christ and his Members make one Christ . Now is it possible that any part of Christ should perish ? How can Christ lose any Member of his Body Mystical and be perfect ? In short , Si unus excidat quare non & alter ? If one Believer may be broken off from Christ , then by the same Rule why not another ? Why not all ? And so Christ should be an Head without a Body .

5. The fifth Argument is taken , ab Emptione , from the Nature of a Purchase . A Man will not lay down his Mony for a Purchase which may be lost , and the Fee-simple alienated . Christ died that he might purchase us as a People to himself for ever , Heb. 9.12 . Having obtained eternal Redemption for us . Would Christ ( think we ) have shed his Blood , that we might believe in him for a while , and then fall away ? Do we think Christ will lose his Purchase ?

6. The sixth Argument is , A Victoria supra mundum , from a Believers Victory over the World . The Argument stands thus , He who overcomes the World doth persevere in Grace ; but a Believer doth overcome the World , ergo , he perseveres in Grace , 1 Iohn 5.4 . This is the Victory over the World , even your Faith . A Man may lose a single Battle in the Field , yet at last win the Victory . A Child of God may be foild in a single Battle against Temptation ( as Peter was ) but at last he is Victorious . Now if a Saint be crowned Victor , if the World be conquered by him , he must needs persevere . I come next to answer some Objections of the Arminians .

1. The first Objection of the Arminians is , If a Believer shall persevere in Grace , then to what purpose are all those Admonitions in Scripture , Let him take heed lest he fall , 1 Cor. 10 12. and Heb. 4.1 . Let us fear lest any of you seem to come short . These Admonitions seem to be Superfluous and Vain , if a Saint shall certainly persevere .

Answ. No , these Counsels and Admonitions are necessary to Caution Believers against Carelesness ; they are as Goads and Spurs to quicken them to a greater Diligence in working out Salvation . These Admonitions do not imply the Saints can fall away , but they are Preservatives to keep them from falling away . Christ told some of his Disciples they should abide in him , yet he exhorts them to abide in him , Iohn 15. His exhorting them was not in the least to question their abiding in him , but to awaken their Diligence , and make them pray the harder that they might abide in him .

2. The second Objection is , Heb. 6.4 . it is impossible for those who were once enlightned , and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift , and were made Partakers of the Holy Ghost , and have felt the Powers of the World to come , if they shall fall away , to renew them again to Repentance .

Answ. This place of Scripture hath no Force in it ; for the Apostle here speaks of Hypocrites , he shews how far they may go , yet fall way . 1. They who were once enlightned . ] Men may have great Illuminations , yet fall away . Was not Iudas enlightned ? 2. They have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost . ] The common Gifts of the Spirit , not the special Grace . 3. They have tasted the good word of God . ] Tasting here is opposed to Eating ; the Hypocrite may have a kind of Taste of the sweetness of Religion , but this taste doth not nourish . There is a great deal of difference between one that takes a Gargle , and a Cordial : The Gargle only washeth his Mouth , he tasts it , and puts it out again ; but a Cordial is drank down , which nourisheth and cheers the Spirits . The Hypocrite , who hath only some smack or taste of Religion ( as one tasts a Gargle ) may fall away . 4. And have felt the powers of the World to come . ] That is , they may have such Apprehensions of the Glory of Heaven , as to be affected with it , and seem to have some joy in the thoughts of it , yet fall away ; as in the Parable of the stony ground , Matt. 13.20 . All this is spoken of the Hypocrite ; but it doth not therefore prove , that the true Believer , who is effectually wrought upon , can fall away . Though Comets fall , it doth not therefore follow that true Stars fall : That this Scripture speaks not of sound Believers , is clear from Verse 9. But we are perswaded better things of you , and things that accompany Salvation .

Of PERSEVERANCE . 1 Pet. 1.5 .

Who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation .

Use 1. SEE the Excellency of Grace , it perseveres : Other things are but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , for a Season ; Health and Riches are sweet , but they are but for a Season , but Grace is a Blossom of Eternity . The Seed of God remains , 1 Iohn 3.9 . Grace may suffer an Eclipse , not a Dissolution . It is called Substance for its Solidity , Prov. 8.21 . and durable Riches for its Permanency , Prov. 8.18 . It lasts as long as the Soul , as Heaven lasts . Grace is not like a Lease which soon expires , but it runs parallel with Eternity .

2. See here that which may provoke in the Saints everlasting Love and Gratitude to God . What can make us love God more than the fixedness of his love to us ? he is not only the Author of Grace , but finisher ; his love is perpetuated and carried on to our Salvation , Iohn 10.27 . My Sheep hear my voice , and I know them , and they follow me . And I give unto them eternal Life . My Sheep , there is Election ; hear my voice , there is Vocation ; and I know them , there is Justification ; and I give unto them eternal Life , there is glorification . How may this make us love God , and set up the Monuments and Trophies of his Praise ? How much have we done , to cause God to withdraw his Spirit , and suffer us to fall Finally ? yet that he should keep us , let his name be Blessed , and his Memorials eternized , who keepeth the Feet of his Saints , 1 Sam. 3.9 .

3. See whence it is that the Saints do persevere in Holiness , it is solely to be ascribed to the power of God ; we are kept by his power , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , kept as in a Garison : It is a Wonder any Christian perseveres , if you consider , 1. Corruption within . The Tares are mingled with the Wheat ; there is more Sin than Grace , yet Grace is habitually predominant . Grace is like a Spark in the Sea , a wonder it is not quenched ; a wonder Sin doth not destroy Grace ; that it doth not do as sometimes the Nurse to the Infant , overlay it and it dies : so that this Infant of Grace is not smothered by Corruption . 2. Temptations without . Satan envies us Happiness , and he raiseth his Militia , stirs up Persecution ; he shoots his fiery Darts of Temptation ; they are called Darts for their Swiftness , Fiery for their Terribleness ; we are every day beset with Devils : As it was a wonder Daniel was kept alive in the midst of the Roaring Lions , so that there are so many Roaring Devils about us , and yet we are not torn in pieces . Now whence is it we stand against these powerful Temptations ? We are kept by power of God . 3. The Worlds Golden Snares , Riches and Pleasure , Luke 18.24 . How hardly shall they that have Riches enter into the Kingdom of God . How many have been cast away upon these golden Sands , 2 Tim. 4.10 . as Demas ? What a wonder any Soul perseveres in Religion , that the Earth doth not choak the Fire of all good Affections ? Whence is this but from the power of God ? We are kept by his power .

Use 2. Consolation . This Doctrin of Perseverance is as Bezar stone ; 't is a Sovereign Cordial to keep up the Spirits of the Godly from Fainting . There is nothing doth more trouble a Child of God than this , he fears he shall never hold out ; these weak Legs of mine will never carry me to Heaven . But Perseverance is an inseparable Fruit of Sanctification , Once in Christ and for ever in Christ . A Believer may fall from some degrees of Grace , but not from the State of Grace . An Israelite could never wholly fell or alienate his Land of Inheritance , Lev. 25.23 . A Type of our Heavenly Inheritance which cannot be wholly alienated from us . How despairing is the Arminian Doctrin of falling from Grace ? To day a Saint , to morrow a Reprobate ; to day a Peter , to morrow a Iudas . This must needs cut the Sinews of a Christians endeavour , and be as the boaring an hole in the Vessel , to make all the Wine of his Joy run out . Were the Arminian Doctrin true , how could the Apostle say , The Seed of God remains in him , 1 Iohn 3.9 . and the anointing of God abides , 1 Iohn 2.27 . What comfort were it to have ones name written in the Book of Life , if it might be blotted out again ? But be assured for your Comfort , Grace , if true , though never so weak , shall persevere : Though a Christian hath but little Grace to Trade with , yet he need not fear breaking , because God doth not only give him a Stock of Grace , but will keep his Stock for him ; Gratia concutitur , non excutitur , Aug. Grace may be shaken with Fears and Doubts , but it cannot be pluck'd up by the Roots . Fear not falling away ; if any thing should hinder the Saints Perseverance , then it must be either Sin or Temptation ; but neither of these : 1. Not the Sins of Believers : That which humbles them shall not Damn them , but their Sins are a means to humble them ; they gather Grapes of Thorns ; from the Thorn of Sin they gather the Grape of Humility . 2. Not Temptation : The Devil lays the Train of his Temptation to blow up the Fort of a Saints Grace ; but this cannot do it . Temptation is a Medicine for Security , the more Satan tempts , the more the Saints Pray . When Paul had the Messenger of Satan to buffet him , 2 Cor. 12.8 . For this besought I the Lord thrice , that it might depart from me . Thus nothing can break off a Believer from Christ , or hinder his Perseverance ; let this Wine be given to such as are of an heavy Heart . This Perseverance is Comfort : 1. In the loss of worldly Comforts . When our Goods may be taken away , our Grace cannot , Luke 10.42 . Mary hath chosen the better part , which cannot be taken from her . 2. In the Hour of Death . When all things fail , Friends take their farewel of us , yet still Grace remains . Death may separate all things else from us but Grace . A Christian may say on his Death-bed , as Olevian once , Sight is gone , Speech and Hearing are departing , but the loving kindness of God will never depart .

Quest. 1. What Motives and Incentives are there to make Christians persevere ?

Resp. 1. It is the Crown and Glory of a Christian to persevere , In Christianis non initia sed fines laudantur . Prov. 16.31 . The hoary head is a Crown of Glory , if found in the way of Righteousness . When gray Hairs shine with golden Virtues , this is a Crown of Glory . The Church of Ihyatira was best at last , Rev. 2.19 . I know thy patience and thy works , and the last to be more than the first . The Excellency of a Building is not in having the first stone laid , but when it is finished . The Glory and Excellency of a Christian , is when he hath finished the work of Faith .

2. You are within a few Days march of Heaven . Salvation is near to you ; Rom. 13.11 . Now is our Salvation nearer than when we believed . Christians , it is but a while and you shall have done Weeping and Praying , and be triumphing . You shall put off your Mourning , and put on white Robes ; you shall put off your Armour , and put on a Victorious Crown . You who have made a good Progress in Religion , you are now almost ready to Commence and take your Degree of Glory ; now is your Salvation nearer than when you began to believe . When a Man is almost at the end of a Race , will he now tire , or faint away ? O labour to persevere , your Salvation is now nearer ; you have but a little way to go , and you will set your Foot in Heaven . Though the way be up-Hill and full of Thorns , viz. Sufferings , yet you have gone the greatest part of your way , and shortly you shall rest from your Labours .

3. How sad it is not to persevere in Holiness ; you expose your selves to the Reproaches of Men , and the Rebukes of God .

First , To the Reproaches of Men. They will divide both you and your Profession , Luke 14.28 . This Man began to Build , and was not able to finish . Such is he who begins in Religion , and doth not persevere . He is the Ludibrium and Derision of all .

Secondly , To the Rebukes of God . God is most severe against such as fall off , because they bring an Evil Report upon Religion . Apostacy breeds a bitter Worm in Conscience . What a Worm did Spira feel ! and it brings swift Damnation . It is a drawing back 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 to Perdition , Heb. 10.38 . God will make his Sword drunk with the Blood of Apostates .

4. The Promises of Mercy are annexed only to Perseverance , Rev. 3.5 . He that overcometh , shall be cloathed in white Raiment , and I will not blot out his Name out of the Book of Life . Non pugnanti , sed vincenti dabitur corona , Aug. The Promise is not to him that Fights , but that overcomes , Luke 22.28 . Ye are they which have continued with me , and I appoint unto you a Kingdom . The Promise of a Kingdom saith Chrysostom , is not made to them that heard Christ , or followed him , but that continued with him . Perseverance carries away the Garland . No Man hath the Crown set upon his Head , but he who holds out to the end of the Race . O therefore by all this , be perswaded to Persevere . God makes no account of such as do not persevere . Who esteems of Corn , that sheds before Harvest , or Fruit that falls from the Tree before it be Ripe ?

Quest. 2. What expedients or means may be used for a Christians Perseverance ?

Resp. 1. Removenda . Take heed of those things which will make you desist and fall away .

First , Take heed of Presumption : Do not presume upon your own strength . Exercise an Holy Fear and Jealousie over your own Hearts , Rom. 11.20 . Be not high minded but fear , 1 Cor. 10.12 . Let him that thinketh he standeth , take heed l●st he fall . It was Peter's Sin , he lean'd more upon his Grace than upon Christ , and then he fell . A Christian hath cause to fear lest the Lusts and Deceits of his Heart betray him . Take heed of Presuming : Fear begets Prayer , Prayer begets Strength , and Strength begets Stedfastness .

Secondly , Take heed of Hypocrisie . Iudas was first a Sly Hypocrite , and then a Traitor , Psal. 78.37 . Their Heart was not right with God , neither were they stedfast in his Covenant . If there be any Venom or Malignity in the Blood , it will break forth into a Plague-sore . The Venom of Hypocrisie is in danger of breaking forth into the Plague-sore of Scandal .

Thirdly , Beware of a Vile Heart of Unbelief . Heb. 3.12 . Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil Heart of Unbelief , departing from the Living God . Whence is Apostacy but from Incredulity ? Men do not believe the Truth , and then they fall from the Truth . Unbelieving and Unstable go together , Psal. 78.22 . They believed not in God , ver. 41. They turned back .

2. If you would be Pillars in the Temple of God , and persevere in Sanctity ,

First , Look that you enter into Religion upon a right ground ; Promovenda . be well grounded in the distinct knowledg of God ; you must know the Love of the Father , the Merit of the Son , the Efficacy of the Holy Ghost . Such as know not God aright , will by degrees fall off . The Samaritans sometimes sided with the Jews when they were in favour , afterwards disclaimed all Kindred with them , when Antiochus persecuted the Jews : And no wonder the Samaritans were no more fixed in Religion , if you consider what Christ saith of the Samaritans , Iohn 4.22 . Ye worship ye know not what : They were ignorant of the True God ; let your Knowledge of God be clear , and serve him purely out of Choice , and then you will persevere . Psal. 119.30 . I have chosen the way of Truth , I have stuck unto thy Testimonies .

Secondly , Get a real work of Grace in your Heart , Heb. 13.9 . It is a good thing that the Heart he established with Grace . Nothing will hold out but Grace ; 't is only this Anointing abides ; Paint will fall off . Get an Heart-changing-work , 1 Cor. 6.11 . But ye are Washed , but ye are Sanctified . Be not content with Baptism of Water , without Baptism of the Spirit . The reason Men persevere not in Religion , is for want of a Vital Principle . A Branch must needs wither that hath no root to grow upon .

Thirdly , If you would Persevere , be very Sincere . Perseverance grows only upon the Root of Sincerity , Psal. 25.21 . Let Integrity and Uprightness preserve me . The Breast-Plate of Sincerity can never be shot thorough . How many Storms was Iob in ? The Devil sets against him , his Wife tempted him to Curse God , his Friends accused him for an Hypocrite ; here was enough one would think to have made him desist from Religion : Yet for all this he perseveres . What preserved him ? it was his Sincerity , Iob 27.6 . My Righteousness I hold fast , and will not let it go ; my Heart shall not Reproach me so long as I live .

Fourthly , If Persevere , be Humble . St. Chrysostom calls it the Mother of all the Graces . God lets a poor Humble Christian stand , when others of Higher Parts , and who have higher Thoughts of themselves , fall off by Apostacy . They are likest to Persevere , who God will give most Grace to ; But he gives Grace to the Humble , 1 Pet. 5.5 . They are likest to persevere , who have God dwelling in them ; But God dwells in the Humble Soul , Isa. 57.15 . Non requiescit Spiritus Sanctus nisi super Humilem , Bern. The lower the Tree roots in the Earth , the firmer it is ; the more the Soul is rooted in Humility , the more stablished it is , and in less danger of falling away .

Fifthly , If Persevere , cherish the Grace of Faith . Faith doth stabilire Animum , 2 Cor. 1.24 . By Faith ye stand . 1. Faith knits us to Christ , as the Members are knit to the Head by Nerves and Sinews . 2. Faith fills us with Love to God ; It works by Love , Gal. 5.6 . And he who loves God will rather dye than desert him . The Soldier who loves his General , will die in his Service ▪ 3. Faith gives us a Prospect of Heaven , it shews us an invisible Glory , and he who hath Christ in his Heart , and a Crown in his Eye , will not faint away . O cherish Faith ; keep your Faith , and your Faith will keep you . While the Pilot keeps his Ship , his Ship keeps him .

Sixthly , If Persevere , let us engage the power of God to help us ; we are kept by the power of God . The Child is safest when it is held in the Nurses Arms ; so are we when we are held in the Arms of Free-Grace . It is not our holding God , but his holding us preserves us : When a Boat is tied to a Rock it is secure ; so when we are fast tied to the Rock of Ages , then we are impregnable . O engage God's power to help us to Persevere ; we engage his Power by Prayer . Let us pray to him to keep us , Psal. 17.5 . Hold up my goings in thy Paths that my Footsteps slip not . It was a good Prayer of Beza , Domine quod cepisti perfice , ne in portu naufragium accidat . Lord perfect what thou hast begun in me , that I may not suffer . Shipwreck when I am almost at the Haven .

Seventhly , If Persevere , set often before your Eyes the noble Examples of those who have Persevered in Religion ; quot Martyres , quot Fideles in Coelis jam Triumphant ? What a glorious Army of Saints and Martyrs have gone before us ? How constant to the Death was St. Paul , Acts 21.13 . How Persevering in the Faith were Ignasius , Policarp , Athanasius ? These were Stars in their Orb , Pillars in the Temple of God . Let us look on their Zeal and Courage , and be animated ; Heb. 12.1 . Seeing we are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses , let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us . The Crown is set at the end of the Race , if we win the Race , we shall wear the Crown .

A Believers Privilege at Death . Phil. 1.21 .

For to me to Live is Christ , and to Dye is Gain .

SAint Paul was a great Admirer of Christ , he desired to know nothing but Christ and him Crucified , 1 Cor. 2.2 . No Julip to the Blood of Christ ; and in the Text , To me to live is Christ , and to dye is Gain .

First . To me to live is Christ ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . We must understand Paul of a Spiritual Life . To me to live is Christ , i. e. Christ is my Life ; so Greg. Nyssen . Or thus , my Life is made up of Christ . As a Wicked Mans Life is made up of Sin ; So Paul's Life was made up of Christ ; he was full of Christ . But that I may give you the Sense of the Te●● more fully , take it in these Three particulars ; 1. Christ is the principle of my Life . 2. Christ is the end of my Life . 3. Christ is the Joy of my Life .

1. To me to live is Christ , i. e. Christ is the Principle of my Life . I fetch my Spiritual Life from Christ , as the Branch fetcheth its Sap from the Root , Gal. 2.20 . Christ liveth in me . Jesus Christ is an Head of Influence , he sends forth Life and Spirits into me to quicken me to every Holy Action . Thus , To me to live is Christ . Christ is the principle of my Life , from his Fulness I live , as the Vine-branch lives from the Root .

2. To me to live is Christ , i. e. Christ is the end of my Life ; I live not to my self , but to Christ . So Grotius and Causabon , Christo Servio , To me to live is Christ ; all my Living is is to do Service to Christ , Rom. 14.8 . Whether we live we live unto the Lord . When we lay out our selves wholly for Christ ; as the Factor trades for the Merchant , so we Trade for Christs Interest , we propagate his Gospel ; the design of our Life is to exalt Christ , and make the Crown upon his Head to flourish . Now it may be said , to us to live is Christ , our whole Life is a Living to Christ .

3. To me to live is Christ , i. e. Christ is the Joy of my Life , Psal. 42.4 . God my exceeding Ioy , or the Cream of my Joy . A Christian rejoyceth in Christs Righteousness ; he can rejoyce in Christ when Worldly Joys are gone . When the Tulip in a Garden withers , a Man rejoyceth in his Jewels . When Relations Dye , a Saint can rejoyce in Christ the Pearl of Price ; in this Sense to me to live is Christ , he is the Joy of my Life . If Christ were gone , my Life would be a Death to me .

Use. It should exhort us all to labour to say as the Apostle , to me to live is Christ . Christ is the Principle of my Life , the End of my Life , the Joy of my Life , to me to live is Christ ; and then we may comfortably conclude , that to Dye , shall be Gain .

Secondly . And that brings me to the Second part of the Text , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , and to Dye is Gain .

Doct. To a Believer Death is great Gain . A Saint can tell what his Losses for Christ are , but he cannot tell how great his Gains are at Death : To me to dye is Gain . Death to a Believer is Crepusculum gloriae , the Day-break of Eternal Brightness . To shew fully what a Believers Gains are at Death , were a task too great for an Angel ; all Hyperboles fall short ; the Reward of Glory exceeds our very Faith . Only let me give you the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 some dark views and imperfect Lineaments of that infinite Glory the Saints shall gain at the Hour of Death : To me to Dye is Gain .

1. Believers at Death shall gain a Writ of Ease from all Sins and Troubles ; they shall be in a state of Impeccability : Sin expires with their Life . I think sometimes what an happy state that will be , never to have a sinful Thought more . And they shall have a quietus est from their Troubles . Here David cried out , My Life is spent with Griefs and my Years with Sighing , Psal. 31.10 . Quid est diu vivere nisi diu torqueri , Aug. Life begins with a Cry , and ends with a Groan ; but at Death all Troubles Dye .

2. Believers at Death shall gain the glorious Sight of God . They shall see him First , Intellectually with the Eyes of their Mind , which Divines call the Beatifical Vision : If there were not such an Intellectual sight of God , how do the Spirits of Iust Men made Perfect see him ? Secondly , They shall behold the Glorified Body of Jesus Christ ; and if it be pleasant to behold the Sun , then how blessed a sight will it be to see Christ the Son of Righteousness cloathed with our Human Nature shining in Glory above the Angels ? Through Christ's Flesh as through a Transparent Glass , some bright Rays and Beams of the God head shall display themselves to glorified Eyes : The sight of God through Christ will be very complacential and delightful : The terrour of God's Essence will be taken away : Gods Majesty will be mixed with Beauty , and sweetned with Clemency ; it will be infinitely delightful to the Saints to see the amiable aspects and smiles of Gods Face : Which brings me to the third thing .

3. The Saints at Death shall not only have a Sight of God , but shall enjoy the Love of God ; there shall be no more Veil on Gods Face , nor his Smiles checker'd with Frowns , but Gods love shall discover it self in all its Orient Beauty and fragrant Sweetness . Here the Saints pray for Gods Love , and they have a few drops , but there they shall have as much as their Vessel can receive . To know this love passeth Knowledge : This will cause a Jubilation of Spirits , and create such Holy Raptures of Joy in the Saints as are Superlative , and would soon overwhelm them if God did not make them able to bear .

4. Believers at Death shall gain a Celestial Palace , an House not made with Hands , 2 Cor. 5.1 . Here the Saints are straitned for Room , they have but mean Cottages to live in , but they shall have a Royal Palace to live in : Here is but their Sojourning House , there in Heaven is their Mansion-house : An House built high above all the Visible Orbs , an House bespangled with Light , Col. 1.12 . Enriched with Pearls and Precious Stones , Rev. 21.19 . And this is not their Landlord's House , but their Father's House , Iohn 14.2 . And this House stands all upon Consecrated Ground ; it is set out by Transparent Glass , to shew the Holiness of it , Rev. 21.27 .

5. Believers at Death shall gain the sweet Society of glorified Saints and Angels . This will add something to the felicity of Heaven , as every Star adds some lustre to the Firmament . First , The Society of the glorified Saints ; we shall see them in their Souls as well as in their Bodies . Their Bodies will be so clear and bright , that we shall see their Souls shining through their Bodies , as the Wine through the Glass ; and Believers at Death shall have Converse with the Saints glorified . And how delightful will that be , when they shall be freed from all their Sinful Corruptions , Pride , Envy , Passion , Censoriousness , which are Scars upon them here to disfigure them . In Heaven there shall be perfect Love among the Saints ; they shall as the Olive and Myrtle sweetly embrace each other . The Saints shall know one another , ( as Luther speaks , ) If in the Transfiguration Peter knew Moses and Elias , which he never saw before , Mat. 17.3 . then much more in the glorified State , the Saints shall perfectly know one another , though they never saw them before . Secondly The Saints at Death shall behold the Angels with the glorified Eye of their Understanding . The Wings of the Cherubins ( representing the Angels , ) were made of Fine Gold , to denote both their Sanctity and Splendor . The Angels are compared to Lightning , Mat. 28.3 . because of those Sparkling Beams of Majesty which as Lightning shoot from them . And when Saints and Angels shall meet and sing together in Consort in the Heavenly Quire , what Divine Harmony , what Joyful Triumphs will it Create !

6. Believers at Death shall gain Perfection of Holiness . Here Grace was but in Cunabulis , in its Cradle , very Imperfect ; we cannot write a Copy of Holiness without Blotting : Believers are said to receive but Primitias Spiritus , the first Fruits of the Spirit , Rom. 8.23 . But at Death the Saints shall arrive at Perfection , their Knowledge clear , their Sanctity perfect ; their Sun shall be in its full Meridian Splendour . They need not then pray for Encrease of Grace ; they shall Love God as much as they would Love him , and as much as he desires to have them Love him ; they shall be then in respect of Holiness 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 as the Angels of God .

7. At Death the Saints shall gain a Royal Magnificent Feast . I told you before what a glorious Palace they shall have ; but a Man may starve in a House if there be no Chear . The Saints at Death shall have a Royal Banquet , shadowed out in Scripture by a Marriage Supper , Rev. 19.9 . Bullinger and Gregory the Great , understand by that Marriage-Supper of the Lamb , the stately Magnificent Festival the Saints shall have in Heaven ; they shall feed on the Tree of Life , Rev. 22. They shall have the Heavenly Nectar and Ambrosia , the Spiced Wine , and Iuice of the Pomegranate , Cant. 8.2 . This Royal Supper of the Lamb will not only satisfie Hunger , but prevent it , Rev. 7 16. They shall hunger no more . Nor can there be any Surfeit at this Feast , because a fresh Course will be continually served in : New and fresh Delights will spring from God ; therefore the Tree of Life in Paradise is said to bear Twelve sorts of Fruit , Rev. 22.2 .

8. Believers at Death shall gain Honour and Dignity , they shall reign as Kings ; therefore we read of the Ensigns of their Royalty , their White Robes , and Crowns Caelestial , 2 Tim. 4.7 . We read that the Doors of the Holy of Holies were made of Palm-Trees and open Flowers covered with Gold , 1 Kings 6.35 . An Emblem of that Victory and Triumph , and that Golden Garland of Honour wherewith God hath invested the Saints glorified . When all Worldly Honour shall lye in the Dust , the Mace , the Star , the Robe of Ermin , the Imperial Diadem , then shall the Saints Honour remain ; not one Jewel shall be pluck'd out of their Crown ; they shall gain at Death a Blessed Eternity . If the Saints could have but the least Suspicion or Fear of losing their Glory , it would much cool and imbitter their Joy ; but their Crown fades not away , 1 Pet. 5.4 . As the Wicked have a Worm that never dies , so the Elect have a Crown that never fades . Ever is a short Word , but hath no ending ; in fine erit gaudium sine fine , Bern. 2 Cor. 4.18 . The things which are not seen are Eternal . Psal. 16.11 . At thy right Hand are Pleasures for everm●re . Who can span Eternity ? Millions of Ages stand but for Ciphers in Eternity . This is the Elah , or highest strain of the Saints Glory ; ever in Christ's Bosom .

Quest. How come the Saints to have all this Gain ?

Resp. Believers have a right to all this Gain at Death , upon a diverse account : By vertue of the Fathers Donation , the Sons Purchase , the Holy Ghosts Earnest , and Faiths acceptance . Therefore the state of future glory is called the Saints proper inheritance , Col. 1.12 . They are Heirs of God , and have a right to inherit .

Use 1. See the great difference between the Death of the Godly and the Wicked , the Godly are great gainers at Death , the Wicked are great Losers at Death . They loose Four things ,

1. They lose the World , and that is a great loss to the Wicked ; they laid up their Treasure upon Earth ; and to be turned out of all at once is a great loss .

2. They lose their Souls , Mat. 16.26 . The Soul was at first a noble piece of Coin , which God stamped his own Image upon ; this Caelestial spark is more precious than the whole Globe of the World : But the Sinners Soul is lost ; not that the Souls of the Wicked are annihilated at Death , but damnified .

3. They lose Heaven . Heaven is Sedes beatorum , the Royal Seat of the Blessed ; it is the region of Happiness , the Map of Perfection . There is that Manna which is Angels Food ; there is the Garden of Spices , the Bed of Perfumes , the Rivers of Pleasure . Sinners at Death lose all this .

4. They lose their Hopes . For though they lived wickedly , yet they hoped God was Merciful , and they hoped they should go to Heaven . Their Hope was not an Anchor , but a Spiders Web. Now at Death they lose their Hopes , they see they did but flatter themselves into Hell , Iob. 8.14 . Whose Hope shall be cut off . That is sad to have a Mans Life and his Hope cut off together .

Use 2. If the Saints gain such glorious things at Death , then how may they desire Death ? Doth not every one desire Preferment ? nemo ante funera Foelix — Faith gives a Title to Heaven , Death a Possession . Though we should be desirous of doing Service here , yet we should be ambitious to be with Christ , Phil. 1.23 . We should be content to live , but willing to Dye . Is it not a blessed thing to be freed from Sin , and to lie for ever in the Bosom of Divine Love ? Is it not a blessed thing to meet our Godly Relations in Heaven , and to be singing Divine Anthems of Praise among the Angels ? Doth not the Bride desire the Marriage Day , especially if she were to be matched unto the Crown ? What is the Place we now live in , but a Place of Banishment from God ? We are in a Wilderness , while the Angels live at Court . Here we are combating with Satan , and should not we desire to be out of the Bloody Field where the Bullets of Tentation fly so fast , and to receive a Victorious Crown ? Think what it will be to have always a smiling Aspect from Christs Face ; to be brought into the Banqueting House , and have the Banner of his Love displayed over you . O ye Saints desire Death , it is your Ascension-day to Heaven . Egredere anima , egredere , said Hilarion on his Death-bed , Go forth my Soul , what fearest thou ? Another Holy Man said , Lord lead me to that Glory which I have seen as through a Glass ; Hast Lord and do not tarry . Some Plants thrive best when they are transplanted : Believers when they are by Death transplanted , cannot choose but thrive , because they have Christ's sweet Sun-beams shine upon them : And what though the Passage through the Valley of the shadow of Death be troublesome . Who would not be willing to pass a tempestuous Sea , if he were sure to be crown'd as soon as he came at shore ?

Use 3. Comfort in the loss of our dear and pious Relations . They , when they dye , are not only taken away from the Evil to come , but they are great gainers by Death : They leave a Wilderness and go to Paradise : They change their Complaints into Thanksgivings : They leave their Sorrows behind , and enter into the Joy of their Lord : Why should we weep for their Preferment ? Believers have not their Portion paid till the day of their Death : Gods Promise is his Bond to make over Heaven in Reversion to them : But though they have his Bond , they do not receive their Portion till the day of Death . Oh! Rejoyce to think of their Happiness who dye in the Lord ; to them to dye is gain : They are as Rich as Heaven can make them .

A Believers Privilege at Death . Phil. 1.21 .

For to me to live is Christ , and to dye is gain .

HOPE is a Christan's Anchor , which he casts within the vail , Rom. 12.12 . Rejoycing in Hope . A Christians Hope is not in this Life , but he hath Hope in his Death , Prov. 14.32 . The best of a Saints Comfort begins when his Life ends . The Wicked have all their Heaven here , Luke 6.28 . Woe unto you Rich , you have received your Consolation . You may make your Acquittance and write , Received in full Payment . Luke 16.25 . Son , remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things . But a Saints Happiness is in Reversion ; The righteous hath Hope in his death . God keeps the best Wine till last . If Cato the Heathen said , To me to dye is gain ; He saw Mortality to be a Mercy : Then what may a Believer say , Eccles. 7.1 . The day of Death is better than the day of ones Birth . Nemo ante Funera Felix , Solon . A Queen of this Land said she prefer'd her Coffin before her Cradle .

Quest. 1. What Benefits do Believers receive at Death ?

Resp. 1. They have great Immunities . 2. They pass immediately into a State of Glory . 3. Their Bodies are united to Christ in the Grave till the Resurrection .

1. The Saints at Death have great Immunities and Freedoms : A Prentice when out of his time is made Free : When the Saints are out of their time of living , then they are made Free ; not made Free till Death . 1. At Death they are freed from a Body of Sin . There are in the best reliquiae peccati , some Remainders and Reliques of Corruption , Rom. 7.24 . O wretched Man that I am , who shall deliver me from this Body of Death ! By the Body of Death is meant the Congeries , the Mass and lump of Sin . It may well be called a Body for its weightiness , and a Body of Death for its noisomness . ( 1. ) It weighs us down ; sin hinders us from doing good . A Christian is like a Bird that would be flying up , but hath a string tyed to its Legs to hinder it ; so he would be flying up to Heaven with the Wings of desire , but sin hinders him , Rom. 7.15 . The good that I would , I do not . A Christian is like a Ship that is under Sail and at Anchor . Grace would sail forward , but Sin is the Anchor that holds it back . ( 2. ) Sin is oft more active in its Sphere than Grace . How stirring was Lust in David , when his Grace lay dormant ? ( 3. ) Sin sometimes gets the Mastery , and leads a Saint Captive , Rom. 7.19 . The evil I would not , that do I. Paul was like a Man carried down the stream , and could not bear up against it . How oft is a Child of God over-power'd with Pride and Passion ? Therefore Paul calls sin , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Law in his Members , Rom. 7.24 . it binds as a Law , it hath a kind of Jurisdiction over the Soul , as Cesar had over the Senate . ( 4. ) Sin defiles the Soul , it is like a stain to Beauty , it turns the Souls Azure Brightness into Sables . ( 5. ) Sin debilitates us , it disarms us of our strength , 2 Sam. 3.39 . I am this day weak though anointed King . So though a Saint is crown'd with Grace , yet he is weak , though anointed a Spiritual King . ( 6. ) Sin is ever Restless , Gal. 5.17 . The flesh lusts against the Spirit . It is an Inmate that is always quarrelling : Like Marcellus that Roman Captain , of whom Hannibal said , Whether he did beat or was beaten , he would never be quiet . ( 7. ) Sin adheres to us , we cannot get rid of it . It may be compar'd to a wild Fig-tree growing on a Wall ; though the Roots are pull'd up , yet there are some Fibers , some stings of it in the joynts of the stone-work which cannot be gotten out . ( 8. ) Sin mingles with our Duties and Graces ; we cannot write a Copy of Holiness without blotting . This makes a Child of God weary of his Life , and makes him water his Couch with his Tears , to think sin so strong a Party , and he should offend that God whom he loves . This made Paul cry out , Miser ego Homo , O wretched Man that I am ! Hence Paul did not cry out of his Affliction , of his Prison-chain , but of the body of sin . Now a Believer at Death shall be freed from sin ; he is not taken away in but from his sins ; he shall never have a vain proud thought more ; he shall never grieve the Spirit of God any more . Sin brought Death into the World , and Death shall carry sin out of the World . The Persians had a certain day in the Year , in which they kill'd all Serpents and venomous Creatures : Such a day will the day of Death be to a Believer ; it will destroy all his sins , which like so many Serpents have stung him . Death smites a Believer , as the Angel did Peter , it made his Chains fall off . So Death makes all the Chains of Sin fall off , Acts 12.7 . Believers at Death are made perfect in Holiness , Heb. 12.23 . The Spirits of just Men made perfect . At Death the Souls of Believers recover their Virgin-purity . O what a Blessed Privilege is this , to be sine macula & ruga , without spot and wrinckle , Eph. 5.27 . to be purer than the Sun-beams , to be as free from sin as the Angels . This makes a Believer so desirous to have his Pass to be gone : He would fain live in that pure Air , where no black Vapors of sin arise .

2. At Death the Saints shall be freed from all the Troubles and Incumbrances to which this Life is subject . Sin is the Seed sown , and Trouble is the Harvest reaped : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Eurip. Life and Trouble are married together : There is more in Life to wean us than to tempt us . Parents divide a Portion of Sorrow to their Children , and yet they leave enough for themselves , Iob 5.7 . Man is born to trouble . He is Heir to it ; it is his Birth-right . You may as well separate weight from Lead , as Trouble from the Life of Man : Quid est diu vivere nisi diu Torqueri ? Aug. King Henry's Emblem , a Crown hung in a Bush of Thorns . There is a far greater Proportion of Bitterness than Pleasure in this Life , Prov. 7.17 . I have perfumed my Bed with Myrrhe , Aloes and Cynamon . For one sweet Ingredient there were two bitter ; for the Cynamon there was Myrrhe and Aloes . A Mans Grace will not exempt him from Troubles , Gen. 47.9 . Few and evil have the days of the years of my Life been . Though he was a Godly Patriarch , though he had met with God , Gen. 32.30 . He named the name of the place Peniel : For I have seen God face to face : Yet he had his Troubles few and evil , &c. There are many things to imbitter Life and cause trouble , and Death frees us from all . 1. Care : The Mind is full of perplexed thoughts , how to bring about such a Design ; how to prevent such an Evil. The word for Care , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , comes from a Primitive in the Greek , that signifies To cut the Heart in pieces . Care doth discruciate the Mind , wast the Spirits : No such bitter Bread as the Bread of Carefulness , Ezek. 12.19 . Care is a Spiritual Canker which eats out the Comfort of Life . Death is the Cure of Care . 2. Fear : Fear is the Ague of the Soul , which sets it a shaking , 1 Iohn 4.14 . There is Torment in Fear : Fear is like Prometheus his Vulture , it gnaws upon the Heart . There is a distrustful Fear , a Fear of Want ; and a distracting Fear , Fear of Danger ; and a discouraging Fear , a Fear God doth not love us . These Fears leave sad Impressions upon the Mind : Now at Death a Believer is freed from these torturing Fears : He now knows he is passed from Death to Life : He is as far from Fear , as the Damned are from Hope : The Grave buries a Christians Fears . 3. Labour . Eccles. 1.8 . All things are full of labour . Some labour in the Mine , others among the Muses : God hath made a Law ▪ In the sweat of thy Brows thou shalt eat Bread : But Death gives a Believer a Quietus est ; it takes him off from his Day-labour , Rev. 14.13 . Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord , they rest from their labours . What needs working when they have their Reward ? What needs fighting , when the Crown is set on their Head ? they rest from their Labours . 4. Suffering : Believers are as a Lilly among Thorns ; as the Dove among the Birds of Prey . The Wicked have an Antipathy against the Righteous , and secret Hatred will break forth into open Violence , Gal. 4.29 . He that was born after the Flesh , persecuted him that was born after the Spirit . The Dragon is described with seven Heads and ten Horns , Rev. 12.3 . he plotteth with the one , and pusheth with the other . But at Death the Godly shall be freed from the Molestations of the Wicked ; they shall never be pestered with these Vermin more , Iob 3.17 . There ( viz. in the Grave ) the wicked cease from troubling . Death doth to a Believer , as Ioseph of Arimathea did to Christ ; it takes him down from the Cross , and gives him a Writ of Ease : The Eagle that flies high cannot be stung with the Serpent : Death gives the Soul the Wing of the Eagle , that it flies above all these venomous Serpents here below . 5. Temptation : Though Satan be a conquered Enemy ▪ yet he is a restless Enemy , 1 Pet. 5.8 . He walketh about ; the Devil is always going his Diocess : He hath his Snares and his Darts : One he tempts with Riches , another with Beauty ; it is no small trouble to be continually followed with Temptation : As for a Virgin to have her Chastity daily assaulted : But Death will free a Child of God from Temptation ; he shall never be vexed more with the old Serpent . After Death hath shot its Dart at us , the Devil shall have done shooting his : Though Grace puts a Believer out of the Devils Possession , only Death frees him from the Devils Temptation . 6. Sorrow : A Cloud of Sorrow gathers in the Heart , and drops into Tears , Psal. 31.10 . My life is spent with Grief , and my years with sighing . It was a Curse , Gen. 3.16 . In sorrow thou shalt bring forth . Many things occasion Sorrow ; Sickness , Law-suits , Treachery of Friends , disappointment of Hopes , loss of Estate . Ruth 1.20 . Call me not Naomi , call me Mara : I went out full , and the Lord hath brought me home again empty . Sorrow is the evil Spirit that haunts us ; the World is a Bochim : Rachel wept for her Children ; some grieve that they have no Children , and others grieve that their Children are undutiful . Thus we spend our years with sighing ; 't is a Valley of Tears : But Death is the Funeral of all our Sorrows , Rev. 7.17 . And God shall wipe away all Tears . Then Christs Spouse puts off her Mourning . How can the Children of the Bride Chamber Mourn , when the Bride-Groom shall be with them ? Matt. 9.15 . Thus Death gives a Believer his Quietus est ; it frees him from Sin and Trouble . Though the Apostle calls Death the last Enemy , 1 Cor. 15. yet it is the best Friend : To me to dye is gain .

Use 1. See here that which may make a true Saint willing to die : Death will set him out of Gun-shot ; free him from Sin and Trouble . There is no cause of weeping , to leave a Valley of Tears . The World is the Stage on which Sin and Misery are Acted . Believers are here in a strange Country , why then should they not be willing to go out of it ? Death beats off their Fetters of Sin , and sets them free who go weeping out of a Goal : Besides our own Sins the Sins of others . The World is a place where Satan's Seat is ; a place where we see God daily dishonoured . Lot ( who was a bright Star in a dark Night ) his righteous Soul was vexed with the unclean Conversation of the Wicked , 2 Pet. 3.8 . To see Gods Sabbaths broken , his Truths adulterated , his Glory eclipsed , is that which wounds a Godly Heart . This made David cry out , Psal. 120.5 . Woe is me that I dwell in Mesech , that I sojourn in the Tents of Kedar . Kedar was Arabia , where were Ishmaels Posterity . This was a cut to David's Heart to dwell there . O then be willing to depart out of the Tents of Kedar .

2. The Bodies of Believers are united to Christ in the Grave , and shall rest there till the Resurrection . They are said to sleep in Jesus , 1 Thess. 4.14 . The dust of Believers is part of Christs Body Mystical . The Grave is a Dormitory or place of rest to the Saints , where their Bodies quietly sleep in Christ , till they are awakened out of their sleep by the Trumpet of the Arch-angel .

Quest. 2. But how shall we know that we shall gain all this at Death , to be freed from Sin and Trouble , and to have our Bodies united to Christ in the Grave ?

Resp. If we are Believers , then we gain all this at Death . To me ( saith Paul ) to dye is gain . To me , quatenus , a Believer . Are we such ? Have we this blessed Faith ? Faith , where-ever it is , is Operative . Lapidaries say , there is no precious Stone but hath Virtutem insitam , some hidden Virtue in it : So I may say of Faith : It hath some secret Virtue in it : It Anchors the Soul on Christ : It hath both a justifying and sanctifying Virtue in it : It fetcheth Blood out of Christs sides to Pardon , and Water out of his sides to Purge : It works by love : It constrains to Duty : It makes the Head study for Christ , the Tongue confess him , the Hands work for him . I have read of a Father who had three Sons , and being to dye , left in his Will all his Estate to that Son who could find his Ring with the Jewel which had an healing Vertue . The Case was brought before the Judges , the two elder Sons counterfeited a Ring , but the younger Son brought the true Ring ; which was proved by the Vertue of it ; whereupon his Fathers Estate went to him . To this Ring I may compare Faith ; there is a counterfeit Faith in the World ; but if we can find this Ring of Faith which hath the Healing Vertue in it , to purifie the Heart , this is the true Faith , which gives us an Interest in Christ , and entitles us to all these Privileges at Death , to be freed from Sin and Sorrow , and to have our Bodies united to Christ , while they are in the Grave .

3. I should now come to the third Privilege at Death , the Souls of Believers pass immediately into Glory . Where I shall lead you to the top of Mount Pisgah , and give you a short view of the Glory of Heaven .

A Believers Privilege after Death . Phil. 1.21 .

And to dye is Gain .

3. AT Death the Souls of Believers pass into Glory : Death brings Malorum omnium ademptionem : Omnium ademptionem ; Death 's the day-break of Eternal Brightness . And here I shall lead you to the top of Mount Pisgah , and give you a glimpse of the Holy Land .

Quest. 1. What is comprehended in Glory ?

Resp. Glory is Status omnium Bonorum aggregatione perfectus , Boetius . It is a perfect State of Bliss , which consists in the Accumulation and heaping together all those good things which immortal Souls are capable of . And truly here I am at a loss ; * * Vox faucibus haeret all that I can say falls short of the Celestial Glory : Appelles Pencil cannot delineate it ; Angels Tongues cannot express it : We shall never understand Glory fully , till we are in Heaven : Only let me give you the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or some dark views and some imperfect Lineaments of that State of Glory the Saints shall arrive at after Death .

1. The first and most sublime part of the Glory of Heaven is the full and sweet Fruition of God : Ipse Deus sufficit ad praemium , Aug. We are apt to think the Happiness of Heaven is in being free from Pain and Misery , but the very 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 and Quintessence of Happiness , is the Enjoyment and Fruition of God ; this is the Diamond Ring of Glory God is an infinite inexhaustible Fountain of Joy ; and to have him is to have all . Now the enjoying of God implies three things .

1. It implies our seeing of God . 2. Our loving of God . 3. Gods loving of us .

1. The enjoying of God implies our seeing of God , 1 Iohn 3.2 . We shall see him as he is : Here we see him as he is not ; not mutable , mortal ; there as he is .

Quest. 2. How shall we see God ?

Resp. 1. We shall see him intellectually , with the Eyes of our mind . This Divines call the Beatifical Vision . We shall have a full knowledge of God , though not know him fully . If there were not such an intellectual sight of God , then how do the Spirits of just Men made perfect see him ? This sight of God will be very glorious : As when a King on his Coronation-day , shews himself in all his Royalty and Magnificence .

2. We shall corporeally behold the glorified Body of Jesus Christ : And if it be a pleasant thing to behold the Sun , Eccles. 11.7 . then how blessed a sight will it be to behold the Sun of Righteousness ; to see Christ clothed in our humane Nature , sitting in Glory above the Angels ! Solomon saith , The eye is not satisfied with seeing , Eccles. 1.8 . But sure the Eyes of the Saints will be satisfied with seeing that Orient Brightness which shall shine from the beautiful Body of Christ . It must needs be satisfying , because , through Christs Flesh some Rays and Beams of the God-head shall gloriously display themselves . Gods excellent Majesty would overwhelm us , but through the Vail of Christs Flesh , we shall behold the Divine Glory .

3. Our seeing of God will be transforming . We shall so see him as to be in some measure assimilated and changed into his image , 1 Iohn 3.2 . We shall be like him . If when Moses was with God on the Mount , and had but some imperfect sight of his Glory , Moses face shined , Exod. 34.33 . How shall the Saints glorified shine , being always in God's Presence , and having some beams of his Glory put upon them ! We shall be like him . One that is deformed may look on Beauty , and not be made Beautiful . But the Saints that so see God , as that sight shall transform them into his Likeness , Psal. 17.15 . When I awake I shall be satisfied with thy likeness . Not that the Saints shall partake of God's Essence ; for as the Iron in the Fire is made Fiery , yet remains Iron still ; so the Saints by beholding God's Majesty shall be made Glorious Creatures , but yet Creatures still .

4. Our seeing of God in Heaven will be unweariable . Let a Man see the rarest Sight that is , he will be soon cloyed ; when he comes into a Garden , and sees delicious Walks , fair Arbours , Pleasant Flowers , within a little while he grows weary . But it is not so in Heaven ; there is no Surfeit , Ibi nec Fames nec Fastidium , Bern. The Saints will never be weary of their Prospect , viz. of seeing God ; for God being infinite , there shall be every Moment new and fresh Delights springing from God into the Souls of the Glorified .

II. The Second thing implied in our enjoying God , is our Loving of God , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; it is a Saints grief that his Heart is like the Frozen Ocean , that he can melt no more in Love to God ; but in Heaven the Saints shall be like Seraphims burning in Divine Love . Love is a pleasing Affection . Fear hath Torment in it , 1 Iohn 4.18 . Love hath Joy in it . To love Beauty is delightful : God's amazing Beauty will attract the Saints Love , and it will be their Heaven to Love him .

III. The Third thing implyed in enjoying God , is Gods Loving us . Were there Glory in God , yet if there were not Love , it would much eclipse the Joys of Heaven ; but God is Love , 1 Iohn 4.16 . The Saints glorified , cannot love so much as they are loved . What is their Love to God's ? What is their Star to this Sun ? God doth love his People on Earth , when they are black as well as comely ; they have their 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Imperfections . O how intirely will he Love them , when they are without Spot or Wrinkle , Eph. 5.27 .

1. This is the Felicity of Heaven , to be in the sweet Embraces of God's Love . To be the Hephsibah , the delight of the King of Glory . To be Sunning our selves in the Light of Gods Countenance . Then the Saints shall know that Love of Christ which passeth Knowledge , Eph. 3.19 . From this glorious manifestation of God's Love , will flow infinite Joy into the Souls of the Blessed . Therefore Heaven is call'd entring into the joy of our Lord , Mat. 25.21 . The Seeing of God , the Loving of God , and being Beloved of God , will cause a Jubilation of Spirit , and create such Holy Raptures of Joy in the Saints , as is unspeakable and full of Glory , 1 Pet. 1.8 . In Deo quadam dulcedine delectatur anima , imo rapitur , Aug. Now the Saints spend their Years with Sighing , they weep over their Sins and Afflictions ; then their Water shall be turned into Wine ; then the Vessels of Mercy shall be fill'd and run over with Joy ; they shall have their Palm-Branches and Harps in their Hand , Rev. 14.2 . in token of their Triumphs and Rejoycing .

2. The Second thing comprehended in Glory , is the good Society there . There are the Angels ; every Star adds to the Light . Those Blessed Cherubims will welcome us into Paradise . If the Angels rejoyced so at the Conversion of the Elect , First , How will they rejoyce at their Coronation ! Secondly , There is the Company of the Saints , Heb. 12.23 . The Spirits of Iust Men made Perfect .

Quest. Whether shall the Saints in Glory know each other ?

Resp. Certainly they shall ; for our Knowledge in Heaven shall not be diminished , but increased . We shall not only know our Friends and Godly Relations , but those glorified Saints which we never saw before . It must be so ; for Society without Acquaintance is not comfortable . And of this Opinion were St. Austin , Anselm , Luther . And indeed the Scripture seems to hint so much to us . For , if Peter in the Transfiguration knew Moses and Elias , whom he never saw before , Mat. 17.4 . then surely in Heaven , the Saints shall know one another , and be infinitely delighted in each others Company .

3. The Third thing comprehended in Glory , is Perfection in Holiness . Holiness is the Beauty of God and Angels , it makes Heaven . What is Happiness but the quintessence of Holiness ? Here a Christians Grace is imperfect , he cannot write a Copy of Holiness without blotting . He is said to receive but Primitas Spiritus , the first Fruits of the Spirit , Grace in Fieri , Rom. 8.23 . But at Death Believers shall arrive at Perfection of Grace . Then this Sun shall be in its Meridian Splendour ; then they shall not need to pray for Encrease of Grace , for they shall be as the Angels , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 their Light shall be clear , as well as their Joy full .

4. The Fourth thing in Glory is Dignity and Honour , they shall reign as Kings . Therefore the Saints glorified are said to have their insignia Regalia , their Ensigns of Royalty , their white Robes and their Crown , 2 Tim. 4.7 . Caesar after his Victories , in token of Honour had a Chair of Ivory set for him in the Senate , and a Throne in the Theatre ; the Saints having obtained their Victories over Sin and Satan , shall be inthroned with Christ in the Empirean Heaven . To sit with Christ , denotes Safety , to set on the Throne , Dignity , Rev. 3.21 . This Honour have all the Saints .

5. The Fifth thing in Glory is the Harmony and Union among the Heavenly Inhabitants . The Devil cannot get his Cloven Foot into Heaven : He cannot conjure up any Storms of Contention there ; there shall be perfect Union . There Calvin and Luther are agreed ; there 's no jarring String in the Heavenly Musick ▪ there is nothing to make any difference , no Pride or Envy there . Though one Star may differ from another , one may have a greater degree of Glory , yet every Vessel shall be full . There shall the Saints and Angels fit as Olive-Plants round about their Fathers Table in Love and Unity . Then shall they joyn together in consort , then shall the loud Anthems of Praise be sung in the Heavenly Quire .

6. The Sixth thing in Glory is a blessed Rest , Heb. 4.9 . There remains a Rest , Foelix transitus à labore ad requiem , here we can have no rest , tossed and turn'd as a Ball on Racket , 2 Cor. 4.8 . We are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 troubled on every side . How can a Ship rest in a Storm ? But after Death the Saints get into their Haven . Every thing is quiet in the Center . God is centrum quietativum animae , as the Schoolmen , The Center where the Soul doth sweetly acquiesce . A Christian after his weary Marches and Battels shall put off his Bloody Armour , and rest himself upon the Bosom of Jesus , that Bed of Perfume . When Death hath given the Saints the Wings of a Dove , then they shall fly away to Paradise and be at rest .

7. The Seventh thing in Glory is Eternity , 2 Cor. 4.17 . An Eternal weight of Glory . First , Glory is a Weight ; The Hebrew Word for Glory , ( quod significat Pondus , ) is a Weight : God must make us able to bear it . Secondly , An Eternal Weight . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Glory is such a Manna as doth not breed Worms . If the Saints glory in Heaven were but for a time , and they were in fear of losing it , it would eclipse and imbitter the Joys of Heaven , but Eternity is written upon their Joys . The Garland made of Flowers of Paradise fades not , 1 Pet. 5.4 . I have read of a River which they call the Day-River , in which time it runs with a full Torrent , but at Night it is dried up ; such are all Earthly Comforts , they run with a full Stream all the Day-time of Life , but at the Night of Death they are dried up ; but the Saints glorified shall drink of the Rivers of Pleasure for evermore , Psal. 16.11 . Eternity is the Heaven of Heavens ; in fine Gaudium erit sine fine , Bern. The Joys of Heaven as overflowing , so ever-flowing .

Quest. 2. When do Believers enter upon Possession of Glory ?

Resp. They pass immediately after Death into Glory . Some hold with the Platonists and ; Lucianists that the Soul dies . But many of the Sober Heathens believed the Souls immortality . The Romans when their Great Men died , caus'd an Eagle to be let loose , and fly about in the Air , signifying hereby that the Soul was immortal , and did not dye with the Body . Christ tells us the Soul is not capable of Killing , Luke 12.4 . Therefore not of Dying . And as the Soul doth not Dye , so neither doth it Sleep in the Body for a time . If the Soul be at Death absent from the Body , 2 Cor. 5.8 . then it cannot Sleep in the Body . There is an immediate passage from Death to Glory : It is but winking and we shall see God , Luke 23.43 . This Day shalt thou be with me in Paradise ; by Paradise is meant Heaven , the Third Heaven into which Paul was wrap'd , ( which all hold to be the Heaven of the blessed ) was called Paradise , 2 Cor 12.4 . Now saith Christ to the Thief on the Cross , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 This Day shalt thou be with me in Paradise , his Body could not be there , for it was laid in the Grave : But it was spoke of his Soul , that it should be immediately after Death in Heaven . Let none be so vain as to talk of Purgatory . A Soul purg'd by Christs Blood , needs no fire of Purgatory , but goes immediately from a Death-bed into a glorified State .

Use 1. See what little cause Believers have to fear Death , when it brings such glorious Benefits , To me to Dye is Gain . Why should the Saints fear their Preferment ? Is it not a blessed thing to see God , to love God , and to lye for ever in the Bosom of Divine Love ? Is it not a blessed thing to meet our Godly Relations in Heaven ? Why should the Saints be afraid of their Blessings ? Is a Virgin afraid to be matched into the Crown ? Now is but the Contract , at Death is the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb , Rev. 19.9 . What hurt doth Death but take us from among Fiery Serpents , and place us among Angels ? What hurt doth it do , but to cloath us with a Robe of Immortality ? Hath he any wrong done , that hath his Sack-Cloath pull'd off , and hath Cloath of Gold put upon him ? Fear not Dying , who cannot live but by Dying .

Use 2. You who are Real Saints , whose Hearts are purified by Faith , spend much time in musing upon these glorious Benefits which you shall have by Christ at Death . Thus might you by a Contemplative Life , begin the Life of Angels here , and be in Heaven before your time . Eudoxus was so affected with the Glory of the Sun , that he thought he was born only to behold it . What should we contemplate but Caelestial Glory , when we shall see God Face to Face ? David was got above the ordinary sort of Men , he was in the Altitudes , ●sal. 139.18 . I am ever with thee . A true Saint every Day takes a turn in Heaven , his Thoughts and Desires are like Cherubims flying up to Paradise . Can Men of the World so delight in looking upon their Bags of Gold , and Fields of Corn , and shall not the Heirs of Heaven take more delight in Contemplating their Glory in Reversion ? Could we send forth Faith as a Spy , and every Day view the Glory of the Ierusalem above , how would it rejoyce us , as it doth the Heir , to think of the Inheritance which is to come into his Hand shortly ?

Use 3. Consolation . This is that which may comfort the Saints in Two Cases .

1. Under their Wants ; they abound only in Wants . The Meal is almost spent in the Barrel , but be patient till Death , and you shall have a Supply of all your Wants ▪ You shall have a Kingdom , and be as Rich as Heaven can make you . He who hath the promise of an Estate , after the expiring of a few Years , though at present he hath nothing to help himself , yet comforts himself with this , that shortly he shall have an Estate come into his Hands , 1 Iohn 2.3 . It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; we shall be enamel'd with Glory , and be as rich as the Angels under their Sufferings .

2. A true Saint is ( as Luther , ) Haeres Crucis ; but this may make us go chearfully through our Sufferings ; there are great things laid up in store , there is Glory coming which Eye hath not seen ; we shall drink of the Fruit of the Vine in the Kingdom of Heaven ; though now we drink in a Wormwood Cup , yet here is Sugar to sweeten it ; we shall taste of those Joys of Paradise which exceed our Faith , and may be better felt than they can be expressed .

Of the RESVRRECTION . John 5.28 .

Marvel not at this , for the Hour is coming in which all that are in the Graves shall hear his Voice , and shall come forth ; they that have done Good unto the Resurrection of Life , and they that have done Evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation .

Quest. WHat Benefits shall Believers receive from Christ at the Resurrection ?

Resp. 1. Their Bodies shall be raised up to Glory .

2. They shall be openly acquitted at the Day of Judgment .

3. They shall be made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God for ever .

1. The Bodies of Believers shall be raised up to Glory . The Doctrin of the Resurrection is a Fundamental Article of our Faith ; the Apostle puts it among the Principles of the Doctrin of Christ , Heb. 6.2 . The Body shall rise again ; we are not so sure to rise out of our Beds , as we are to rise out of our Graves . The saved Body shall arise again . Some hold that the Soul shall be cloathed with a new Body ; but then it were improper to call it a Resurrection , it should be rather a Creation , Iob 19.26 . Though worms destroy this body , yet in my flesh shall I see God . Not in another flesh , but my flesh . 1 Cor. 15.53 . This corruptible shall put on incorruption .

Quest. 2. By what Arguments may the Resurrection be proved ?

Resp. Argument 1. By Scripture , Iohn 6.44 . I will raise him up at the last day . Isa. 25.8 . He will swallow up Death in Victory . That is , by delivering our Bodies from the Captivity of the Grave , wherein Death for a time had power over them , 1 Thess. 4.14 . Them which sleep in Iesus will God bring with him .

Argument 2. Christ is risen : Therefore the Bodies of the Saints must rise . Christ did not rise from the Dead as a private Person , but as the publick Head of the Church ; and the Head being raised , the rest of the Body shall not always lye in the Grave . Christs rising is a Pledge of our Resurrection , 2 Cor. 4.14 . Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Iesus , shall raise up us also by Iesus . Christ is called the first Fruits of them that slept , 1 Cor. 15.20 . As the first Fruits is a sure Evidence that the Harvest is coming on ; so the Resurrection of Christ is a sure Evidence of the rising of our Bodies out of the Grave . Christ cannot be perfect as he is Christ Mystical , unless his Members be raised with him .

Argument 3. In respect of Gods Justice . If God be a just God , then he will reward the Bodies of the Saints as well as the Souls . It cannot be imagined that the Souls of Believers should be glorified , and not their Bodies : They have served God with their Bodies : Their Bodies have been Members of Holiness : Their Eyes have drop'd Tears for Sin : Their Hands have relieved the Poor : Their Tongues have set forth Gods Praise ; therefore Justice and Equity require that their Bodies should be crown'd as well as their Souls : And how can that be , unless they are raised from the Dead ?

Argument 4. If the Body did not rise again , then a Believer should not be compleatly happy ; for though the Soul can subsist without the Body , yet it hath Appetitum Unionis , a desire of re-union with the Body ; and it is not fully happy till it be clothed with the Body : Therefore undoubtedly the Body shall rise again : If the Soul should go to Heaven , and not the Body , then a Believer should be only half saved .

Object ▪ 1. But some may say , as the Virgin Mary to the Angel , How can this be ? So how can it be , that the Body which is consum'd to Ashes , should arise again ?

Resp. It doth not oppose Reason , but transcend it . There are some Resemblances of the Resurrection in Nature . The Corn which is sown in the ground dies before it springs up , 1 Cor. 15.36 . That which thou sowest is not quickned except it dye . In Winter the Fruits of the Earth dye , in Spring there is a Resurrection of them . Noah's Olive-tree springing after the Flood , was a lively Emblem of the Resurrection . After the Passion of our Lord , many of the Saints which slept in the Grave , arose , Matt. 27.52 . God can more easily raise the Body out of the Grave , than we can wake a Man out of sleep .

Object . 2. But when the Dust of many are mingled together , How is it possible that a Separation should be made , and the same numerical Body arise ?

Resp. If we believe God can Create , then he can distinguish the dust of one Body from another . Do we not see the Chymist can , out of several Metals mingled together , as Gold , Silver , Alchimy , extract the one from the other , the Silver from the Gold , the Alchimy from the Silver , and can reduce every Metal to its own kind ? And shall we not much more believe , that when our Bodies are mingled and confounded with other Substances , the wise God is able to make an Extraction , and re-invest every Soul with its own Body ?

Quest. 3. Shall none but the Bodies of the Righteous be raised ?

Resp. Yes , all that are in the Graves shall hear Christs Voice , and shall come forth , Acts 24.15 . There shall be a Resurrection of the Dead , both of the just and unjust , Rev. 20.12 . I saw the dead , small and great , stand before God . But though all shall be raised out of their Graves , yet all shall not be raised alike .

1. The Bodies of the Wicked shall be raised with Ignominy ; those Bodies which on the Earth did tempt and allure others with their Beauty , shall be at the Resurrection loathsom to behold ; they shall be ghastly Spectacles , as the Phrase is , Isa. 66.24 . They shall be an abhorring unto all flesh . But the Bodies of the Saints shall be raised with Honour , 1 Cor. 15.43 . It is sown in dishonour , it is raised in Glory . The Saints Bodies then shall shine as sparkling Diamonds , Matt. 13.43 . Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sun .

2. The Bodies of the Saints shall arise out of their Graves with Triumph : The Bodies of the Wicked shall come out of the Grave with Trembling , as being to receive their fatal Doom : But the Godly , when they awake out of the Dust , shall sing for Joy , Isa. 26.19 . Awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust . When the Arch-angels Trumpet sounds , then the Saints shall sing : The Bodies of Believers shall come out of the Grave to be made happy : As the chief Butler came out of Prison , and was restored to all his Dignity at the Court : But the Bodies of the Wicked shall come out of the Grave , as the chief Baker out of Prison to be executed , Gen. 40.22 .

Use 1. Believe this Doctrin of the Resurrection ; and that the same Body that dies , shall arise again , and with the Soul be crown'd . Without the belief of this , tota corruit Religio , all Religion falls to the ground , 1 Cor. 15.4 . If the Dead rise not , then Christ is not risen , and then our Faith is vain .

Use 2. Comfort . The Body shall rise again . This was Iob's Comfort , Iob 19.26 . Though Worms destroy this Body , yet in my flesh shall I see God . The Body is sensible of Joy as well as the Soul : And indeed we shall not be in all our Glory , till our Bodies are re-united to our Souls . O consider what Joy there will be at the re-uniting of the Body and Soul at the Resurrection : Look what sweet Imbraces of Joy were between Old Iacob and Ioseph , when they first saw one another , Gen. 46.29 . Such , and infinitely more , will there be when the Body and Soul of a Saint shall meet together at the Resurrection . How will the Body and Soul greet one another ? What a welcome will the Soul give to the Body ? O blessed Body ! When I prayed thou didst attend my Prayers with hands lifted up , and Knees bowed down : Thou wert willing to suffer with me , and now thou shalt reign with me : Thou wert sown in dishonour , but now art raised in Glory . O my dear Body ! I will enter into thee again , and be eternally married to thee .

Use 3. The Resurrection of the Body is a Cordial when a Christian lyes a dying . Thy Body , though it drop into the Sepulchre , it shall revive and flourish as an Herb in the Resurrection : The Grave is a Bed of dust , where the Bodies of the Saints sleep ; but they shall be awakened by the Trump of the Arch-angel . The Grave is your long home , but not your last home : Though Death strip you of your beauty , yet at the Resurrection you shall have it restored again . As David when he found Saul asleep , took away his Spear and Cruse of Water , but when he awoke he restored them again , 1 Sam. 26.22 . So though at death all our strength and beauty be taken away , yet at the Resurrection God will restore all again in a more glorious manner .

Quest. 4. But how shall we know that our Bodies shall be raised to a glorious Resurrection ?

Resp. If we have a part in the first Resurrection , Rev. 20.6 . Blessed is he that hath a part in the first Resurrection . Quest. What is meant by this ? Answ. It is a rising by Repentance out of the Grave of Sin : He who lies buried in sin , can have little hope of a joyful Resurrection : His Body shall be raised , but not in Glory . O then ask Conscience , Have you a part in the first Resurrection ? Hath the Spirit entred into you , and lifted you up ? Hath it raised you out of your Unbelief ? Hath it raised your Hearts above the Earth ? This is the first Resurrection ; and if your Souls are thus Spiritually raised , then your Bodies shall be gloriously raised ; and shall shine as Stars in the Kingdom of Heaven . Regeneration makes way for a glorious Resurrection .

Use Seeing you expect your Bodies should arise to Glory , keep your Bodies unspotted from sin . Shall a drunken Body rise to Glory ? Shall an unclean Body rise to Glory ? Shall a thievish Body steal into Heaven ? O keep your Bodies pure : Keep your Eyes from unchast Glances ; your Hands from Bribes ; your Tongues from Slander : Defile not your Bodies which you hope shall rise one day to Glory . Your Bodies are the Members of Christ ; and hear what the Apostle saith , 1 Cor. 6.15 . Shall I take the members of Christ , and make them the members of an Harlot ? God forbid . O keep your Bodies unspotted , let them be Instruments of Righteousness , 1 Cor. 6.20 . Glorifie God in your Body . If your Bodies glorifie God , God will glorifie your Bodies .

Quest. 5. But seeing our Bodies must be laid in the Grave , and they may lye many years rotting there before the Resurrection ; What may support and comfort us in this case ?

Resp. 1. That God will not leave his People in the Grave . Our Friends bring us to the Grave and leave us there , but God will not : God will go to the Grave with us , and watch over our dead Bodies ; and take care of our Ashes . Rizpah watched over the dead Bodies of the Sons of Saul , and guarded them against the ravenous Fouls of the Air , 2 Sam. 21.10 . Thus the Lord watcheth over the dead Bodies of the Saints , and looks to it , that none of their dust be missing . Christian , thou hast a God to watch over thy Body when thou art dead .

2. The Bodies of the Saints in the Grave , though separated from their Souls , are united to Christ . The dust of a Believer is part of Christs Mystical Body .

3. When the Bodies of the Saints are in the Sepulchre , their Souls are in Paradise ▪ The Soul doth not sleep in the Body , but returns to God that gave it , Eccles. 12.7 . The Soul immediately partakes of those Joys the blessed Angels do : When the Body returns to dust , the Soul returns to rest : When the Body is sleeping , the Soul is triumphing : When the Body is buried , the Soul is crowned : As the Spies were sent before to taste of the Fruits of the Land , Numb. 13. so at Death the Soul is sent before into Heaven , to taste of the Fruit of the Holy Land .

4. When Gods time is come , the Graves shall deliver up their Dead , Rev. 20.13 . When the Judge sends , the Goaler must deliver up his Prisoners . As God said to Iacob , Gen. 46.4 . I will go down with thee into Egypt , and I will surely bring thee up again . So the Lord will go down with us into the Grave , and will surely bring us up again .

5. Though the Bodies of the Saints shall rot and be loathsom in the Grave , yet afterwards they shall be made Illustrious and Glorious . Concerning this consider ,

1. The Bodies of the Saints , when they arise , shall be comely and beautiful . The Body of a Saint in this Life may be deformed : Those whose minds are adorned with Virtue , yet may have mis-shapen Bodies ; as the finest Cloth may have the coarsest List : But this deformed Body shall be aimable and beautiful . This beauty consists in two things . 1. Perfection of parts : There shall be a full Proportion of all the Members : In this Life there is oft a defect of Members : The Eye is lost , the Arm is cut off ; but in the Resurrection all parts of the Body shall be restored again : Therefore the Resurrection is called the time of restoring of all things , Acts 3.19 . Malcha's Ear cut , restituit . 2. Clarity and Splendor : The Bodies of the Saints shall have a graceful Majesty in them ; they shall be like Stephen , whose Face shined as if it had been the Face of an Angel , Acts 6.15 . Nay they shall be made like Christs glorious Body , Phil. 3.21 .

2. The Bodies of the Saints , when they arise , shall be free from the Necessities of Nature , as Hunger and Thirst , Rev. 7.16 . They shall hunger no more . Moses on the Mount was so fill'd with the Glory of God , that he needed not the Recruits of Nature : Much more in Heaven shall the Bodies of the Saints , so fill'd with Gods Glory , be upheld without Food .

3. The Bodies of Saints , when they arise , shall be swift and nimble ; our Bodies on Earth are dull and heavy in their Motion ; then they shall be swift and made fit to ascend , as the Body of Elias in the Air. Now the Body is a Clog ; in Heaven it shall be a Wing : We shall be as the Angels , Matt. 22.30 . And how nimble are they ? The Angel Gabriel in a short time came from Heaven to the Earth , Dan. 9.21 . As the Helm turns the Ship instantly whether the Steersman will ; so the Body in an instant will move which way the Soul will .

4. The Bodies of the Saints , at the Resurrection , shall be very firm and strong , 1 Cor. 15.43 . It is raised in power . Through frequent Labour and Sickness , the strongest Body begins to Languish : But at the Resurrection we shall be of a strong Constitution : Then there will be no Weariness in the Body , nor Faintness in the Spirits . This may comfort you who now conflict with many bodily Weaknesses . This weak Body shall be raised in Power : The Body which is now a weak Reed , shall be like a Rock .

5. The Bodies of the Saints at the Resurrection shall be Immortal , 1 Cor. 15.53 . This Mortal shall put on Immortality , our Bodies shall run parallel with Eternity , Luke 20.36 . Neither can they dye any more . Heaven is an healthful Climate , there is no Bill of Mortality there . If a Physician could give you a Receipt to keep you from Dying , what Sums of Mony would you give ? At the Resurrection Christ will give the Saints such a Receipt , Rev. 21.4 . There shall be no more death .

2. The second Privilege Believers shall have at the Resurrection , is , They shall be openly acquitted at the day of Judgment .

Of the Day of Iudgment .

Quest. WHat Benefits do Believers receive from Christ at the Resurrection ?

Resp. 1. Their Bodies shall be raised up to Glory , and shall be openly acquitted at the day of Judgment , and crown'd with the full and perfect Enjoyment of God to all Eternity .

2. They shall be openly acquitted at the day of Iudgment . ] This is to be laid down for a Position , that there shall be a Day of Judgment , 2 Cor. 5.10 . For we must all appear before the Iudgment-Seat of Christ . This is the Grand Assizes ; the greatest Appearance that ever was : Now Adam shall see all his Posterity at once : We must all appear ; the greatness of Mens Persons doth not exempt them from Christ's Tribunal ; Kings and Captains are brought in trembling before the Lambs Throne , Rev. 6.15 . We must all appear , and appear in our own Persons , not by a Proxy .

Quest. 1. How doth it appear that there shall be a Day a Iudgment ?

Resp. Two ways . 1. By the Suffrage of Scripture , Eccles. 11.9.12.14 For God shall bring every work into Judgment , with every secret thing , Psal. 96.13 . For he cometh , for he cometh to judge the Earth . The Reduplication denotes the certainty , Dan. 7.9 . I beheld till the Thrones were cast down , and the ancient of days did sit , whose garment was white as snow . The Judgment was set , and the Books were opened .

2. It appears from the petty Sessions kept in a Mans own Conscience ; when a Man doth Virtuously , Conscience doth excuse him , when evil Conscience doth arraign and condemn him . Now , what is this private Session kept in the Court of Conscience , but a certain fore-runner of that General Day of Judgment , when all the World shall be summoned to Gods Tribunal ?

Quest. 2. Why must there be a Day of Iudgment ?

Resp. That there may be a Day of Retribution , when God may render to every one according to his work . Things seem to be carried very unequally in the World : The Wicked do so prosper , as if they were rewarded for being Evil : And the Godly do so suffer , as if they were punished for being good . Therefore for the vindicating Gods Justice , there must be a day , wherein there shall be a righteous Distribution of Punishments and Rewards to Men , according to their Actions .

Quest. 3. Who shall be Iudge ?

Resp. The Lord Jesus Christ , Iohn 5.22 . The Father hath committed all Iudgment to the Son . It is an Article in our Creed , That Christ shall come to judge the Quick and the Dead . It is a great Honour put upon Christ : He who was himself judged , shall now be Judge : He who once hung upon the Cross , shall sit upon the Bench. Christ is fit to be Judge , as he partakes both of the Manhood and Godhead .

1. Of the Manhood : Being cloathed with the Humane Nature , he may be visibly seen of all : It is requisite the Judge should be seen , Rev. 1.7 . Behold he cometh with Clouds , and every Eye shall see him .

2. As he partakes of the Godhead : He is of infinite Prudence to understand all Causes brought before him : And of infinite Power to execute Offenders . He is described with seven Eyes , Zach. 3.9 . to denote his Prudence ; and a Rod of Iron , Psal. 2.9 . to denote his Power . He is so Wise that he cannot be deluded ; and so Strong that he cannot be resisted .

Quest. 4. When will the Court fit , when will the time of Iudgment be ?

Resp. For the Quando , or the time of the General Judgment , it is a Secret kept from the Angels , Matt. 24.36 . Of that day and hour knows no Man , no not the Angels of Heaven . But this is sure , it cannot be far off : One great sign of the approach of the Day of Judgment , is , That Iniquity shall abound , Matt. 24. Sure then this day is near at hand , for Iniquity did never more abound than in this Age : Lust grows hot and Love grows cold . This is certain , when the Elect are all converted , then Christ will come to Judgment : As he that owes a Ferry-boat , stays till all the Passengers are taken into his Boat , and then he rows away . So Christ stays till all the Elect are gathered in , and then he will hasten away to ●●dgment .

Quest. 5. What shall be the modus or manner of Trial ?

Resp. 1. The Citing of Men to the Court . The Dead are cited as well as the Living . Men when they Dye , avoid the Censure of our Law-Courts , but at the last Day , the Dead are cited to God's Tribunal , Rev. 20.12 . I saw the Dead Small and Great stand before God . This citing of Men will be by the Sound of a Trumpet , 1 Thes. 4.16 . and this Trumpet will sound so loud , that it will raise Men out of their Graves , Mat. 24.31 . Such as will not hear the Trumpet of the Gospel sound in their Ears , Repent and Believe , shall hear the Trumpet of the Arch-Angel sounding , Arise and be Iudged .

2. The approach of the Judge to the Bench.

First , This will be terrible to the Wicked . How can a guilty Prisoner endure the sight of the Judge ? If Foelix trembled when Paul Preached of Judgment , Acts 24.25 . How will Sinners Tremble when they shall see Christ come to Judgment ? Christ is described ( sitting in Judgment ) with a Fiery Stream issuing from him , Dan. 7.10 . Now the Lamb of God will be turned into a Lion . The sight of Christ will strike Terrour into Sinners . As when Ioseph said to his Brethren , I am Ioseph whom ye sold into Egypt ; they were troubled at his Presence , Gen. 45.6 . Now , how did their Hearts smite them for their Sin ! So when Christ shall come to judge Men , and say , I am Jesus whom ye sinned against , I am Jesus whose Laws ye have broken , whose Blood ye despised , I am now come to Judge you . O what horror and amazement will take hold of Sinners ! they will be troubled at the Presence of their Judge .

Secondly , The appro●ch of Christ to the Bench of Judicature , will be Comfortable to the Righteous .

1. Christ will come in Splendor and Great Glory . His first coming in the Flesh was obscure , Isa. 53.2 . He was like a Prince in Disguise ; but his Second coming will be illustrious , he shall come in the Glory of his Father , with the Holy Angels , Mark 8 38. O what a bright Day will that be , when such a number of Angels , those Morning Stars shall appear in the Air , and Christ the Sun of Righteousness shall shine in Splendour above the brightest Cherub !

2. Christ will come as a Friend . Indeed if the Saints Judge were their Enemy , they might fear Condemning : But he who Loves them , and Pray'd for them is their Judge ; he who is their Husband is their Judge , therefore they need not fear but all things shall go well on their side .

Thirdly , The Trial it self , which hath a Dark and a Light Side .

1. A Dark Side . It will fall heavy on the Wicked : The Judge being set , the Books are opened , Rev. 20.12 . The Book of Conscience , and the Book of God's Remembrance ; and now the Sinners Charge being Read , and all their Sins laid open , their Murder Drunkenness , Uncleanness , Christ will say , Sinner , what can you plead for your selves , that the Sentence of Death should not pass ? The Wicked being Convicted will be Speechless . Then follows that Dismal Sentence , Mat. 25.41 . Ite Maledicti , Depart from me ye Cursed into Everlasting-Fire , prepared for the Devil and his Angels . He that said to God Depart from me , Job 21.14 . and to Religion Depart from me , must now hear that Word pronounced from his Judge , Depart from me ; a dreadful Sentence , but Righteous , Psal. 51.4 . The Sinner himself shall cry Guilty . Though the Wicked have a Sea of Wrath , yet not one Drop of Injustice . And when once the Sentence is past , it is irreversible , there is no appealing to an Higher Court .

2. The Trial hath a Light side . It will be for the encreasing the Joy and Happiness of the Righteous : The Day of Judgment will be a Day of Iubile to them .

I. At that Day Christ their Judge will own them by Name . Those whom the World scorn'd and look'd upon as Precisians and Fools , Christ will take by the Hand , and openly acknowledge them to be his Favourites . What is Christ's Confessing of Men , Luke 12.8 . but his open acknowledging them to be precious in his Eyes ?

II. Christ as Judge will plead for them . It is not usual to be both Judge and Advocate , to sit on the Bench and to Plead ; but it shall be so at the Day of Judgment .

First , Christ will plead his own Blood for the Saints . These Persons I have paid a Price for , they are the Travail of my Soul ; they have sinned , but my Soul was made an Offering for their Sin .

Secondly , Christ will vindicate them from all unjust Censures . Here they were strangely mis-represented to the World as Proud , Hypocritical , Factious . Paul was called a Seditious Man , the Head of a Faction , Acts 24.5 . But at the Day of Judgment Christ will clear the Saints Innocency ; then he will bring forth their Righteousness as the Light , Psal. 37.6 . As he will wipe off Tears from their Eyes , so Dust from their Name . Moses when he was charg'd with Ambition , that he took too much upon him , comforted himself with this , To Morrow will the Lord shew who are his , Numb. 16.5 . So may the Saints when reproached , comfort themselves with the Day of Judgment ; then will Christ say who are his . Then the Saints shall come forth as the Wings of a Dove , covered with Silver .

Thirdly , Christ as Judge will Absolve them before Men and Angels . As Pilate said of Christ , I find no Fault in this Man , John 18.38 . So will Christ say of the Elect , I find no Fault in them , I pronounce them Righteous . Then follows , Come ye Blessed of my Father , Inherit the Kingdom , Mat. 25.34 . As if Christ should say , O ye happy ones , the delight of my Soul , the Fruit of my Sufferings , stand no longer at the Bar , ye are Heirs apparent of the Crown of Heaven , enter and take possession . At the Hearing of this Sentence , with what ravishing Joy will the Saints be fill'd ? This Word , Come ye Blessed , will be Musick to their Ear , and a Cordial to their Heart .

Fourthly , Christ will mention before Men and Angels all the Good Deeds the Saints have done , Mat. 25.35 . I was an Hungred and ye gave me Meat , I was Thirsty and you gave me Drink ; you that have wept in Secret for Sin , that have shewn any Love to Christ's Name , that have been rich in Good Works , Christ will take notice of it at the last Day , and say , Well done Good and Faithful Servants . He himself will be the Herauld to proclaim your Praises . Thus shall it be done to the Man whom Christ delights to Honour .

Fifthly , Christ will call his Saints from the Bar , to sit upon the Bench with him to Judge the World . Iude 14. Behold the Lord cometh with Ten Thousands of his Saints to execute Iudgment upon all . 1 Cor. 6.2 . Know ye not that the Saints shall Iudge the World ? The Saints shall sit with Christ in Judicature , as Justices of Peace with the Judge ; they shall applaud Christs Righteous Sentence on the Wicked , and as it were Vote with Christ . This as it is a great Honour to the Saints , so it must needs add to the Sorrows of the Wicked , to see those whom they once hated and derided , to sit as Judges upon them .

Sixthly , The Saints shall be fully Crowned with the Enjoyment of God for ever . They shall be in his sweet Presence , in whose Presence is fullness of Ioy , Psal. 16.11 . And this shall be for ever . The Banner of God's Love shall be eternally Display'd ; the Joys of Heaven are without intermission and expiration , 1 Thes. 4.17 . And so shall we be ever with the Lord .

Use. As it is sad News to the Wicked , they shall not stand in Iudgment , Psal. 1.5 . They shall come to Judgment , but they shall not stand in Judgment , viz. they shall not stand acquitted , they shall not stand with Boldness , but sneak and hang down their Head , and not be able to look their Judge in the Face ; so it is great Consolation to the Godly . When the Apostle had said , The Lord shall descend from Heaven with a Shout , with the Voice of the Arch-Angel , and the Trump of God ; he presently adds , Wherefore comfort one another with these Words , 1 Thes. 4.16.18 .

1. The Day of Judgment is comfort , in respect of Weakness of Grace . A Christian is ready to be troubled , to see his Grace so minute and imperfect , but at the last Day if Christ find but a Dram of True Grace , it shall be accepted . If thine be true Gold , though it be many Grains too light , Christ will put his Merits into the Scales , and make it pass current .

2. It is a comfort to such of the Saints , who have met with Unrighteous Iudgment in the World , who have been wrong'd of their Estates in Law-Suits , or had their Lives taken away by an Unrighteous Sentence , Christ will judge over things again , and will give a Righteous Sentence ; if your Estates have been taken away wrongfully , you shall be restored a Thousand fold at the Day of Judgment . If you have lost your Lives for Christ , yet you shall not lose your Crown . You shall wear a Garland made of the Flowers of Paradise which fadeth not away .

Bran. I. Meditate much upon the Day of Judgment . Feathers swim upon the Water , but Gold sinks into it . Light Feathery Christians flote in Vanity , they mind not the Day of Judgment , but Serious Spirits sink deep into the Thoughts of it .

1. The Meditation of this Last Day would make us very sincere . We would then labour to approve our Hearts to God the great Judge and Umpire of the World . 'T is easie to carry it fair before Men , but there is no Dissembling or Prevaricating with God , he sees what the Heart is , and will accordingly pass his Verdict .

2. The Meditation of Christ's coming to judge us , would keep us from Iudging our Brethren . We are apt to judge others as to their Final State , which is for Men to step into Christ's Place , and take his Work out of his Hand , Iam. 4.12 . Who art thou that judgest another ? Thou that passest a rash Sentence upon another , thou must come thy self shortly to be judged , and then perhaps he may be Acquitted , and thou Condemned .

Bran. So demean and carry your selves , that at the Day of Judgment , you may be sure to be acquitted , and have those glorious Privileges the Saints shall be Crowned with .

Quest. How is that ?

Resp. 1. If you would stand acquitted at the Day of Judgment , then First , labour to get into Christ , Phil. 3.9 . That I may be found in him . Faith implants us into Christ , it in garrisons us in him ; and then there 's no Condemnation , Rom. 8.1 . There 's no standing before Christ but by being in Christ . Secondly , Labour for Humility . 'T is a kind of Self-Annihilation , 2 Cor. 12.11 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Though I be nothing . Christian , hast thou Parts and Abilities , and dost thou cover them with the Vail of Humility ? As Moses when his Face shined , put a Vail over it . If thou art Humble , thou shalt be acquitted at the Day of Judgment , Iob 22.29 . He shall save the Humble Person . An Humble Man judgeth himself for his Sins , and Christ will acquit them who judge themselves .

2. If you would stand acquitted at the last Day , then keep a clear Conscience . Do not load your selves with Guilt , and furnish your Judge with matter against you . The Lord ( saith Paul , ) hath appointed a Day in which he would judge the World , Acts 17.21 . And how would Paul fit himself for that Day , Acts 24.16 . Herein I exercise my Self , to have always a Conscience void of Offence , towards God and towards Man . Be careful of the First and Second Table ; be Holy and Just. Have Hearts without false Aims , and Hands without false Weights ; keep Conscience as clear as your Eye , that no Dust of Sin fall into it . They that sin against Conscience , will be shy of their Judge . Such as take in Prohibited Goods , cannot endure to see the Searchers that are appointed to open their Packs . Christian , thy Pack will be opened at the last Day , I mean thy Conscience , and Christ is Searcher to see what Sins , what Prohibited Goods thou hast taken in ; and then he proceeds to Judgment . Oh be sure to keep a good Conscience ; this is the best way to stand with boldness at the Day of Judgment . The Voice of Conscience is the Voice of God ; if Conscience doth upon just Grounds acquit us , God will acquit us , 1 Iohn 3.21 . If our heart condemn us not , then have we confidence towards God .

3. If you would stand acquitted at the last Day , then trade your Talents for God's Glory . Lay out your selves for God ; Honour him with your Substance ; Relieve Christ's Members : This is the way to be acquitted . He that had Five Talents Traded them , and made them Five Talents more . His Lord said unto him , Well done Good and Faithful Servant , Matt. 25.21 .

4. If you would stand acquitted at the Day of Judgment , get an intire Love to the Saints , 1 Iohn 3.14 . We know we are passed from Death to Life , &c. Love is the truest Touch-stone of Sincerity . To love Grace for Grace , shews the Spirit of God to be in a Man . Doth Conscience witness for you ? Are you perfum'd with this sweet Spice of Love ? Do you delight most in those whom the Image of God shines ? Do you reverence their Graces ? Do you bear with their Infirmities ? A Blessed Evidence that you shall be acquitted in the Day of Judgment . We know that we have passed from Death to Life , because we love the Brethren .

Of Obedience to God's Revealed Will . Deut. 27.9 , 10.

Take heed and hearken O Israel , This Day thou art become the People of the Lord thy God ; thou shalt therefore obey the Voice of the Lord thy God , and do his Commandments .

Quest. WHat is the Duty that God requireth of Man ?

Resp. Obedience to his Revealed Will . It is not enough to Hear God's Voice , but we must Obey . Obedience is a part of that Honour we owe to God , Mal. 1.6 . If I am a Father , where is my Honour ? Obedience carries in it the Life-Blood of Religion . Obey the Voice of the Lord thy God , and do his Commandments . Obedience without Knowledge is Blind , and Knowledge without Obedience is Lame . Rachel was fair to look upon , but being barren said , Give me Children or I die . So if Knowledge doth not bring forth the Child of Obedience , it will Dye , 1 Sam. 15.22 . To obey is better than Sacrifice . Saul thought 't was enough for him to offer Sacrifice , though he disobeyed God's Command . No , to obey is better than Sacrifice . God disclaims Sacrifice , if Obedience be wanting , Ier. 7.22 . I spake not to your Fathers concerning Burnt-Offerings , but this thing commanded I them , saying , Obey my Voice . Not but that God did enjoyn those Religious Rights of Worship ; but the meaning is , God looked chiefly at Obedience , without which Sacrifice was but Devout Folly . The end why God hath given us his Law , is Obedience , Levit. 18.4 . Ye shall do my Iudgments , and keep my Ordinances . Why doth a King publish an Edict , but that it may be observed ?

Quest. 1. What is the Rule of Obedience ?

Resp. The Written Word . That is proper Ocedience which the Word requires ; our Obedience must correspond with the Word , as the Copy with the Original . To seem to be zealous , if it be not according to the Word , is not Obedience but Will-worship Popish Traditions which have no Footing in the Word are abominable , and God will say , quis quaesivint haec ? Who hath required this at your Hand ? Isa. 1.12 . The Apostle condemns the Worshipping of Angels , which had a shew of Humility , Col. 2.18 . The Jews might say , they were loath to be so bold as to go to God in their own Persons ; they would be more Humble , and prostrate themselves before the Angels , and desire them to present their Petitions to God . This shew of Humility was hateful to God , because there was no Word to warrant it .

Quest. 2. What are the Right Ingredients into our Obedience to make it acceptable ? Or how must it be qualified ?

Resp. 1. Obedience must be cum animi prolubio , Free and Chearful , else it is Pennance , not Sacrifice , Isa. 1.19 . If ye be Willing and Obedient , though we serve God with Weakness , let it be with Willingness . You love to see your Servants go chearfully about your Work . Under the Law God would have a Free-Will-Offering , Deut. 16.10 . Hypocrites obey God grudgingly and against their Will ; they do facere bonum , but not velle . Cain brought his Sacrifice but not his Heart . 'T is a true Rule , quicquid Cor non facit non fit , What the Heart doth not do , is not done . Willingness is the Soul of Obedience ; God sometimes accepts of Willingness without the Work , but never of the Work without Willingness . Chearfulness shews that there is Love in the Duty ; and Love doth to our Services , as the Sun doth to the Fruit , Mellow and Ripen them , and make them come off with a better Relish .

2. Obedience must be Devout and Fervent , Rom. 12.11 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Fervent in Spirit , &c. Quae ebullit prae ardore , It alludes to Water that boils over . So the Heart must boil over with Hot Affections in the Service of God . The Glorious Angels who for their burning in Fervour and Devotion , are called Seraphims ; these God chooseth to serve him in Heaven . The Snail under the Law was unclean , because a dull Sloathful Creature . Obedience without Fervency , is like a Sacrifice without Fire . Why should not our Obedience be lively and Fervent ? God deserves the Flower and Strength of our Affections . Domitian would not have his Statue carved in Wood or Iron , but in Gold . Lively Affections make Golden Services . It is Fervency makes Obedience acceptable : Eliah was fervent in Spirit , and his Prayers opened and shut Heaven : And again he pray'd , and fire fell on his Enemies , 2 Kings 1.10 . Eliah's Prayer fetch'd Fire from Heaven , because being fervent it carried Fire up to Heaven : Quicquid decorum ex Fide proficiscitur , Aug.

3. Obedience must be extensive , it must reach to all Gods Commands , Psal. 119.6 . Then shall I not be ashamed ( or as it is in the Hebrew lo Ebosh , blush ) when I have respect to all thy Commandements . Quicquid propter Deum fit aequaliter fit . There is a Stamp of Divine Authority upon all Gods Commands ; and if I obey one Precept , because God Commands , I must obey all : True Obedience runs through all the Duties of Religion , as the Blood through all the Veins ; or the Sun through all the Signs of the Zodiack . A good Christian makes Gospel Piety and Moral Equity kiss each other : Herein some discover their Hypocrisie , they will obey God in some things which are more facile , and may raise their Repute ; but other things they leave undone , Mark 10.21 . One thing is lacking , Unum deest . Herod would hear Iohn Baptist , but not leave his Incest : Some will Pray , but not give Alms ; others will give Alms but not Pray , Matt. 23.23 . Ye pay Tithe of Mint and Anise , and have neglected the weightier things of the Law ▪ Iudgment , Mercy and Faith . The Badger hath one foot shorter than the other : So these are shorter in some Duties than in other . God likes not such partial Servants that will do some part of the work he sets them about , and leave the other undone .

4. Obedience must be sincere , viz. We must aim at the Glory of God in it . Finis specificat actionem : In Religion the end is all . The end of our Obedience must not be to stop the Mouth of Conscience , or to gain Applause and Preferment ; but that we may grow more like God , and bring more Glory to God , 1 Cor. 10.31 . Do all to the Glory of God . That which hath spoiled many glorious Actions , and made them lose their Reward , is , when Mens aims have been wrong : The Pharisees gave Alms , but blowed a Trumpet , that they might have Glory of Men , Matt. 6 : 2. Alms should shine , but not blaze . Iehu did well in destroying the Baal-worshippers , and God commended him for it ; but because his Aims were not good ( he aim'd at setling himself in the Kingdom ) therefore God look'd upon it no better than Murder , Hos. 1.4 . I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the House of Jehu . O let us look to our Ends in Obedience ; it is possible the Action may be right and not the Heart , 2 Chron. 25.2 . Amaziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord , but not with a perfect Heart . Two things are chiefly to be eyed in Obedience , the Principle and the End : A Child of God , though he shoots short in his Obedience , yet he takes a right Aim .

5. Obedience must be in and thorough Christ , Eph. 1.6 . He hath accepted us in the Beloved . Not our Obedience , but Christs Merits , procure acceptance ; we must in every part of Worship , tender up Christ to God in the Arms of our Faith . Unless we serve God thus , in Hope and Confidence of Christs Merits , we do rather provoke God than please him : As when King Uzziah would offer Incense without a Priest , God was angry with him , and struck him with Leprosie , 2 Chron. 26.16 . So when we do not come to God in and thorough Christ , we offer up Incense to God without a Priest , and what can we expect but severe Rebukes ?

6. Obedience must be Constant , Psal. 106.3 . Blessed is he who doth righteousness , Be Col Gnet , at all times . True Obedience is not like an high Colour in a Fit , but it is a right Sanguine : It is like the Fire on the Altar , which was always kept Burning , Lev. 6.13 . Hypocrites Obedience is but , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , for a Season : It is like plaistering Work , which is soon washed off ; but true Obedience is constant : Though we meet with Affliction , we must go on in our Obedience , Iob 17.9 . The Righteous shall hold on his way . We have vowed Constancy : We have vowed to renounce the Pomp and Vanities of the World , and to fight under Christ's Banner to the Death . When a Servant hath entred into Covenant with his Master , and the Indentures are sealed , then he cannot go back , he must serve out his time . There are Indentures drawn in Baptism , and in the Lords Supper : The Indentures are renewed and sealed on our part , that we will be Faithful and Constant in our Obedience : Therefore we must imitate Christ , who became obedient to the Death , Phil. 2.8 . The Crown is set upon the Head of Perseverance , Rev. 2.26 . He that keeps my works unto the end , to him will I give the morning Star .

Use 1. This indicts such who live in a Contradiction to this Text ; they have cast off the Yoke of Obedience , Ier. 44.16 . As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the Name of the Lord , we will not hearken unto thee . God bids Men pray in their Family , they live in the total Neglect of it : He bids them Sanctifie the Sabbath , they follow their Pleasures on that day . God bids them abstain from the Appearance of Sin , they do not abstain from the Act : They live in the act of Revenge ; in the Act of Uncleanness . This is an high Contempt of God ; 't is Rebellion , and Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft .

Quest. Whence is it Men do not obey God ? They know their Duty yet do it not ?

Resp. 1. The not obeying of God is for want of Faith , Isa. 53.1 . Quis credidit ? Who hath believed our Report ? Did Men believe Sin were so bitter , that Hell followed at the Heels of it , Would they go on in Sin ? Did they believe there were such a Reward for the Righteous , that Godliness were Gain ? Would they not pursue it ? But they are Atheists , not fully captivated into the Belief of these things . Hence it is they obey not . This is Satan's Master-piece ; His Draw-net by which he drags Millions to Hell by keeping them in Infidelity , He knows if he can but keep them from believing the Truth , he is sure to keep them from obeying it .

2. The not obeying God is for want of Self-denial : God commands one thing and Mens Lusts command another ; and they will rather dye than deny their Lusts. Now if Lust cannot be denied , God cannot be obeyed .

Use 2. Obey Gods Voice , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . This is the Beauty of a Christian.

Quest. What are the great Arguments or Incentives to Obedience ?

Resp. 1. Obedience makes us precious to God ; we shall be his Favourites ▪ Exod. 19.15 . If ye will obey my Voice , ye shall be a peculiar Treasure to me above all People ; you shall be my Portion , my Jewels , the Apple of mine Eye , I will give Kingdoms for your Ransom , Isa. 43.3 .

2. There is nothing lost by Obedience . To obey Gods Will is the way to have our Will. 1. Would we have a Blessing in our Estates ? Let us obey , Deut. 28.1 , 3. If thou shalt hearken to the Voice of the Lord , to do all his Commandments , Blessed shalt thou be in the field ; Blessed shall be thy Basket and thy store . To obey is the best way to thrive in our Estates . 2. Would we have a Blessing in our Souls , let us obey , Ier. 7.23 . Obey and I will be your God . My Spirit shall be your Guide , Sanctifier and Comforter , Heb. 5.9 . Christ became the Author of eternal Salvation to all them that obey him . While we please God we pleasure our selves : While we give him the Duty , he gives us the Dowry : We are apt to say as Amaziah , 2 Chron. 25.9 . What shall we do for the hundred Talents ? You see you lose nothing by obeying : The obedient Son hath the Inheritance setled on him : Obey and you shall have a Kingdom , Luke 12.32 . It is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a Kingdom .

3. What a Sin Disobedience is : 1. It is an irrational Sin . 2. We are not able to stand it out in Defiance against God ; 1 Cor. 10.22 . Are we stronger than he ? Will the Sinner go to measure Arms with God ? He is the Father Almighty , who can command Legions : If we have not strength to resist him , it is irrational to disobey him . 2. It is irrational , as it is against all Law and Equity : We have our daily Subsistence from God ; in him we live and move : Is it not equal , that as we live by him , we should live to him ? That as God gives us our Allowance , so we should give him our Allegiance ?

2. It is a destructive Sin , 1 Thess. 7.8 . The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming Fire , taking Vengeance on them who obey not the Gospel . He who refuseth to obey Gods Will in commanding , shall be sure to obey his Will in punishing : The Sinner , while he thinks to slip the knot of Obedience , twists the Cord of his own Damnation : He perisheth without excuse ; he hath no Plea or Apology to make for himself , Luke 12.47 . The Servant which knew his Lords will , but did it not , shall be beaten with many stripes . God will say , why did ye not obey ? You knew to do good , but did it not , therefore your Blood is upon your own Head .

Quest. What means shall we use that we may obey ?

Resp. 1. Serious Consideration : Consider Gods Commands are not grievous : He commands nothing unreasonable , 1 Iohn 5.3 . It is easier to obey the commands of God than Sin : The Commands of Sin are Burdensome : Let a Man be under the power of any Lust , How doth he tire himself ? What Hazards doth he run , even to the endangering his Health and Soul , that he may satisfie his Lust ? What tedious Journeys did Antiochus Epiphanes take in persecuting the Jews ? Ier. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit Iniquity ; and are not Gods commands more easie to obey ? Chrysost. saith , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Virtue is easier than Vice ; Temperance is less Burdensome than Drunkenness : Some have gone with less pains to Heaven , than others have to Hell .

Consideration 2. God commands nothing but what is Beneficial , Deut. 10.12 , 13. O Israel what doth the Lord require of thee , but to fear the Lord thy God , and to keep his Statutes , which I command thee this day for thy good ? To obey God , is not so much our Duty as our Privilege : His commands carry Meat in the Mouth of them : He bids us repent ; and why ? That our Sins may be blotted out , Acts 3.19 . He commands us to believe : And why ? That we may be saved , Acts 16.31 . There is love in every command . As if a King should bid one of his Subjects dig in a Gold Mine , and then take the Gold to himself .

2. Earnest Supplication : Implore the help of the Spirit to carry us on in Obedience : Gods Spirit makes Obedience easie and delightful : If the Loadstone draw the Iron ; now it is not hard for the Iron to move : If Gods Spirit quicken and draw the Heart ; now it is not hard to obey . When a Gale of the Spirit blows ; now we go full Sail in Obedience : Turn that Promise into a Prayer , Ezek. 36.27 . I will put my Spirit within you , and cause you to walk in my Statutes . The Promise encourageth us , the Spirit inables us to Obedience .

Of LOVE .

THE Rule of Obedience being the Moral Law comprehended in the Ten Commandements ; the next Question is ,

Quest. What is the Sum of the Ten Commandements ?

Resp. The Summ of the Ten Commandements , is to love the Lord our God , with all our Heart , with all our Soul , with all our Strength , and with all our Mind , and our Neighbour as our selves , Deut. 6.5 . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God , with all thy Heart , and with all thy Soul , and with all thy might . The Duty call'd for is Love , yea the strength of Love , with all thy Heart : God will lose none of our Love . Love is the Soul of Religion , and that which goes to the right constituting a Christian : Love is the Queen of the Graces ; it shines and sparkles in Gods Eye , as the precious Stones did on the Breast-plate of Aaron .

Quest. 1. What is Love ?

Resp. It is an Holy Fire kindled in the Affections , whereby a Christian is carried out strongly after God as the Supreme Good .

Quest. 2. What is the antecedent of Love to God ?

Resp. The Antecedent of Love is Knowledge : The Spirit shines upon the Understanding , and discovers those Orient Beauties in God , his Wisdom , Holiness , Mercy , and these are the Lenocinium , the Load-stone to entice and draw the Love to God : Ignoti nulla Cupido : Such as know not God cannot love him : If the Sun be set in the Understanding , there must needs be night in the Affections .

Quest. 3. Wherein doth the formal Nature of Love consist ?

Resp. The Nature of Love is in delighting in the Object : Complacentia amantis in amato , Aquin. This is our loving God , our taking delight in him , Psal. 37.4 . Delight thy self in the Lord : As a Bride delights in her Jewels . Grace changeth a Christians Aims and Delights .

Quest. 4. How must our Love to God be qualified ?

Resp. 1. If it be a sincere Love , we must love God with all our Heart : In the Text , Thou shalt love the Lord thy God , Becol Leuauca , with all thy Heart . God will have the whole Heart ; we must not divide our Love between God and Sin : The true Mother would not have the Child divided : Nor will God have the Heart divided ; it must be the whole Heart .

2. We must love God propter se , for himself , for his own intrinsick Excellencies : We must love him for his Loveliness ; Meretricius est amor plus annulum quam sponsum amare . It is an Harlots Love to love the Portion more than the Person . Hypocrites love God because he gives them Corn and Wine : We must love God for himself ; for those shining Perfections which are in him . Gold is loved for it self .

3. We must love God with all our might . In the Hebrew Text our Vehemency . We must love God quoad posse , as much as we are able : Christians should be like Seraphins burning in Holy Love : We can never love God so much as he deserves : The Angels in Heaven cannot love God so much as he deserves .

4. Love to God must be Active in its Sphere : Love is an Industrious Affection ; it sets the Head a studying for God , Hands a working , Feet a running in the ways of his Commandements ; it is called the Labour of Love , 1 Thess. 1.3 . Mary Magdalen loved Christ , and poured her Oyntments on him . We think we can never do enough for the Person whom we love .

5. Love to God must be Superlative : God is the Quintessence of Beauty , a whole Paradise of Delight ; and he must have a Priority in our Love : Our Love to God must be above all things besides ; as the Oyl swims above the Water : We must love God above Estate , Relations ; great is the Love to Relations . There is a Story in the French Academy , of a Daughter , who when her Father was condemned to dye by Famine , gave him suck with her own Breasts . But our Love to God must be above Father and Mother , Matt. 10.37 . We may give the Creature the Milk of our Love , God must have the Cream : The Spouse keeps the Juice of her Pomgranate for Christ , Cant. 8.2 .

6. Our Love to God must be constant , like the Fire the vestal Virgins kept in Rome , which did not go out . Love must be like the motion of the Pulse , it beats as long as there is Life , Cant. 8.7 . Many Waters cannot quench Love , not the Waters of Persecution , Eph. 3.17 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , rooted in love . A Branch withers that doth not grow on a Root : That Love may not dye , it must be well rooted .

Quest. 5. What are the visible Signs of our Love to God ?

Resp. 1. If we love God , then our Desire is after him , Isa. 26.8 . The desire of our Soul is to thy Name . He who loves God breaths after Communion with him , Psal. 42.2 . My Soul thirsts for the living God . Persons in Love desire to be oft conferring together : He who loves God desires to be much in his Presence : He loves the Ordinances , they are the Glass where the Glory of God is resplendent : In the Ordinances we meet with him whom our Soul loves : We have Gods Smiles and Whispers , and some Fore-tasts of Heaven : Such as have no desire after Ordinances , have no love to God .

2. The second Visible Sign : He who loves God cannot take Contentment in any thing without him : An Hypocrite who pretends to love God , give him but Corn and Wine , and he can be content without God : But a Soul fired with love to God cannot be without him . Lovers faint away if they have not a sight of the Object loved . A gracious Soul can want Health , but not want God who is the Health of his Countenance , Psal. 43.5 . If God should say to a Soul that intirely loves him , Take thy Ease , swim in Pleasure , solace thy self in the Delights of the World , but thou shalt not enjoy my Presence ; this would not content the Soul . Nay , if God should say , I will let thee be taken up to Heaven , but I will retire into a withdrawing Room , and thou shalt not see my Face : This would not content the Soul ; it is an Hell to want God . The Philosopher saith , There can be no Gold without the Influence of the Sun : There can be no golden Joy in the Soul , without Gods sweet Presence and Influence .

3. The third visible Sign : He who loves God , hates that which would separate between him and God , and that is Sin : Sin makes God hide his Face ; it is like an Incendiary which parts chief Friends . Therefore the Keneness of a Christians Hatred is set against Sin , Psal. 119.128 . I hate every false way . Antipathies can never be reconciled ; one cannot love Health but he must hate Poyson : So we cannot love God , but we must hate Sin , which would destroy our Communion with him .

4. The fourth visible Sign is Sympathy : Friends that love do grieve for the Evils which befall each other . Homer describing Agamemnon's Grief , when he was forced to Sacrifice his Daughter , brings in all his Friends weeping with him , and accompanying him to the Sacrifice in Mourning : Lovers grieve together : If we have true Love in our Heart to God , we cannot but grieve for those things which grieve him : We shall lay to Heart his Dishonours : The Luxury , Drunkenness , Contempt of God and Religion , Psal. 119.136 . Rivers of Tears run down mine eyes , &c. Some speak of the Sins of others , and make a laughing at them ; sure they have no love to God , who can laugh at that which grieves his Spirit . Doth he love his Father , who can laugh to hear him Reproached ?

5. The Fifth Visible Sign . He who loves God , labours to render him Lovely to others ; he not only admires God , but speaks in his Praises , that he may allure and draw others to be in love with God . She that is in Love , will commend her Lover . The Love-sick Spouse extols Christ , she makes a Panegyrical Oration of his worth , that she might perswade others to be in love with him , Cant. 5.11 . His Head is as the most Fine Gold . True love to God cannot be silent , it will be elegant in setting forth God's Renown ; no better sign of loving God , than by making him appear Lovely , and so drawing Proselytes to him .

6. The Sixth Visible Sign . He who loves God , weeps bitterly for his Absence . Mary comes weeping , they have taken away my Lord , John 20.2 . One cries , my Health is gone , another my Estate is gon ; but he who is a Lover of God , cries out , my God is gone , I cannot enjoy him whom I love . What can all Worldly Comfors do , when once God is absent ? It is like a Funeral Banquet , where there is much Meat , but no Chear , Iob 30.28 . I went Mourning without the Sun . If Rachel Mourned so for the loss of her Children , what Vail or Pensil can shadow out the Sorrow of that Christian , who hath lost God's sweet Presence ? Such a Soul pours forth Floods of Tears , and while it is lamenting , seems to say thus to God , Lord , thou art in Heaven hearing the Melodious Songs and Triumphs of Angels ; but I sit here in the Vally of Tears , weeping because thou art gone . O when wilt thou come to me and revive me with the Light of thy Countenance ? Or , Lord if thou wilt not come to me , let me come to thee , where I shall have a perpetual Smile of thy Face in Heaven , and shall never more Complain , My Beloved hath withdrawn himself .

7. The Seventh Visible Sign . He who loves God , is willing to do and Suffer for him . He subscribes to God's Commands ; he submits to his Will . First , He subscribes to Gods Commands . If God bids him Mortifie Sin , Love his Enemies , be Crucified to the World , he obeys : 'T is a vain thing for a Man to say he loves God , and slights his Commands . Secondly , He submits to God's Will. If God will have him suffer for him , he doth not Dispute but Obey , 1 Cor. 13.7 . Love endureth all things . Love made Christ suffer for us , and Love will make us suffer for him . It is true every Christian is not a Martyr , but he hath a Spirit of Martyrdom in him . He hath a Disposition of Mind to suffer , if God call him to it , 2 Tim. 4.6 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I am ready to be Offered up : Not only the Sufferings were ready for Paul , but he was ready for the Sufferings . Origen chose rather to live despised in Alexandria , than with Plotinus to deny the Faith , and be great in the Princes Favour , Rev. 12.11 . Many say they love God , but will not suffer the loss of any thing for him . If Christ should have said to us , I love you well , you are dear to me , but I cannot suffer for you , I cannot lay down my Life for you , we should have questioned his Love very much . And may not the Lord question ours , when we pretend Love to him , but will endure nothing for his sake ?

Use 1. What shall we say to them who have not a Dram of Love in their Hearts to God ? They have their Life from him , yet do not Love him . God spreads their Table every Day , yet they do not Love him . Sinners dread God as a Judge , but do not love him as a Father . All the strength in the Angels cannot make the Heart love God : Judgments will not do it . Only Omnipotent Grace can make a Stony Heart melt in Love . How sad is it to be void of Love to God . When the Body is cold , and hath no heat in it , 't is a sign of Death : He is Spiritually Dead , who hath no heat of Love in his Heart to God . Shall ever such live with God , that do not love him ? Will God lay an Enemy in his Bosom ? Such as will not be drawn with Cords of Love , shall be bound in Chains of Darkness .

Use 2. Let us be perswaded to love God with all our Heart and Might ; O let us take our Love off from other things , and place it upon God . Love is the Heart of Religion , the Fat of the Offering . 'T is the Grace which Christ enquires most after , Iohn 21.15 . Peter , lovest thou me ? Love makes all our Services Acceptable , it is the Musk that perfumes them . 'T is not so much Duty , as Love to Duty God delights in ; therefore Serving and Loving God are put together , Isa. 56.6 . 'T is better to Love him than to Serve him . Obedience without Love , is like Wine without the Spirits . O then be perswaded to love God with all your Heart and Might . To perswade to this Virgin Affection of Love ,

1. 'T is nothing but your Love God desires . The Lord might have demanded your Children to be offered in Sacrifice ; he might have bid you Cut and Launce your Selves , or lain in Hell a while ; but he only desires your Love ; he would only have this Flower . Is this an hard Request to Love God ? Was ever any Debt easier paid than this ? Is it any labour to the Wife to Love her Husband ? Love is delightful . Non potest Amor esse , & dulcis non esse , Bern. What is there in our Love that God should desire it ? Why should a King desire the Love of a Woman that is in Debt , and Diseased ? God doth not want our Love . There are Angels enough in Heaven to Adore and Love him . What is God the better for our Love ? It adds not the least Cubit to his Essential Blessedness . God doth not need our Love , yet seeks it . Why doth God desire us to give him our Heart ? Prov. 23.26 . Not that he needs our Heart , but that he may make it better .

2. Great will be our Advantage if we love God . God doth not court our Love that we should lose it , 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye hath not seen , nor Ear heard the things which God hath prepared for them that love him . If you will Love God , you shall have such a Reward as exceeds your Faith . God will betroth you to himself in the dearest Love , Hos. 2.19 . I will betroth thee unto me for ever in Loving-Kindness and Mercies . Zeph. 3.17 . The Lord thy God will rejoyce over thee with Ioy , he will rest in his Love . If you love God , he will interest you in all his Riches and Dignities he will give you Heaven and Earth for your Dowry , he will set a Crown on your Head . Vespasian the Emperor gave a great Reward to a Woman who came to him , and professed she Loved him . God gives a Crown of Life to them that Love him , Iames 1.12 .

3. Love is the only Grace that shall live with us in Heaven . In Heaven we shall need no Repentance , because we have no Sin ; no Faith , because we shall see God Face to Face . But Love to God shall abide for ever . Love 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 never faileth , 1 Cor. 13.8 . How should we nourish this Grace which shall out-live all the Graces , and run parallel with Eternity !

4. Our Love to God is a sign of his Love to us , 1 Iohn 4.19 . We love him , because he first loved us . By Nature we are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , we have no Love to God , we have Hearts of Stone , Ezek. 36.1 . And how can any love be in Hearts of Stone ! Our Loving God is from his Loving us . If the Glass burn , it is because the Sun hath shined on it , else it could not burn : If our Hearts burn in Love , 't is a sign the Sun of Righteousness hath shined upon us .

Quest. How shall we do to Love God aright ?

Resp. 1. Wait on the Preaching of the Word . As Faith comes by Hearing , so doth Love : The Word sets forth God in his incomparable Excellencies ; it doth decipher and pencil him out in all his Glory , and a sight of his Beauty inflames Love .

2. Beg of God that he will give you an Heart to Love him . When King Solomon asked Wisdom of God , the Speech pleased the Lord , 1 Kings 3.10 . So when thou cryest to God , Lord give me an Heart to love thee , 't is my Grief I can Love thee no more . Sure this Prayer pleaseth the Lord , and he will pour of his Spirit upon thee , whose Golden Oyl will make the Lamp of thy Love burn bright .

3. You who have Love to God , keep it Flaming upon the Altar of your Heart . Love , as Fire , will be ready to go out , Rev. 2.4 . Thou hast left thy first Love . Through neglect of Duty , or too much love of the World , our love to God will cool . O preserve your love to God : As you would be careful to preserve the Natural Heat in your Body ; so be careful to preserve the Heat of Love to God . Love is like Oyl to the Wheels , it quickens us in God's Service . When you find your Love abate and cool , use all means for quickening ; when the Fire is going out , you throw on Fuel . When the Flame of Love is going out , make use of all Ordinances as Sacred Fuel to keep the Fire of your Love burning .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.1 , 2.

And God spake all these Words saying , I am the Lord thy God , &c.

Quest. What is the Preface to the Ten Commandments ?

Resp. The Preface to the Ten Commandments , is I am the Lord thy God . Where observe First the Preface to the Preface , God spake all these Words , saying . 2. The Preface it self to the Commandments , I am the Lord thy God .

1. I begin with the First , the Preface to the Preface , vaiedabbur elohim , God spake all these Words , saying , &c. This is like the Sounding of a Trumpet before a Solemn Proclamation , [ God spake ; ] other parts of the Bible are said to be uttered by the Mouth of the Holy Prophets , Luke 1.70 . but here God spake in his own Person .

Quest. How may we understand this , [ God spake , ] he hath no Bodily Parts or Organs of Speech ?

Resp. God made some intelligible sound , or formed a Voice in the Air , which was to the Jews as God's very speaking to them . In the Text , 1. The Law-giver , God , [ God spake . ] 2. The Law it self , [ all these Words . ]

1. The Law-giver , [ God spake : ] There are Two things requisite in a Law-giver . First , Wisdom . Laws are Founded upon Reason ; and he must be Wise that makes Laws . God in this respect is most fit to be a Lawgiver ; he is Wise in Heart , Job 9.4 . He hath a Monopoly of Wisdom , 1 Tim. 1.17 . The only Wise God . Therefore he is the fittest to Enact and Constitute Laws . 2. The Second thing requisite in a Law-giver is Authority . If a Subject make Laws , though never so wise , yet they want the stamp of Authority . God hath the Supream Power in his Hand ; he derives a being to all ; and he who gives Men their Lives , hath most right to give them their Laws .

2. The Law it self , [ all these Words ; ] that is , all the Words of the Moral Law , which is usually stiled the Decalogue , or Ten Commandments . It is call'd the Moral Law , because it is the Rule of Life and Manners . St. Chrysostom compares the Scripture to a Garden ; the Moral Law is a chief Flower in it ; the Scripture is a Banquet , the Moral Law the chief Dish in it .

First , The Moral Law is perfect , Psal. 19.7 . The Law of the Lord is Perfect . It is an exact Model and Platform of Religion ; it is the Standard of Truth , the Judge of Controversies , the Pole-Star to direct us to Heaven , Prov. 6.23 . The Commandment is a Lamp . Though the Moral Law be not a Christ to Justifie us , yet it is a Rule to instruct us .

Secondly , The Moral Law is unalterable ; it remains still in force . Though the Ceremonial and Judicial Laws are abrogated , yet the Moral Law delivered by God's own Mouth is to be of perpetual use in the Church . Therefore the Law was written in Tables of Stone , to shew the perpetuity of it .

Thirdly , The Moral Law is very illustrious and full of Glory . God did put Glory upon it in the manner of the Promulgation of it . 1. The People before the Moral Law was delivered , were to wash their Cloaths , Exod. 19.10 . Whereby as by a Type God required the Sanctifying of their Ears and Hearts to receive the Law . 2. There were Bounds set that none might touch the Mount , Exod. 19.12 . which was to breed in the People reverence to the Law . 3. God wrote the Law with his own Finger , Exod. 31.18 . Which was such an Honour put upon the Moral Law , as we read of no other Writing . God did by some mighty Operation make the Law legible in Letters , as if it had been written with his own Finger . 4. God's putting the Law in the Ark to be kept , was another signal Mark of Honour put upon it . The Ark was the Cabinet in which God put the Ten Commandments , as Ten Jewels . 5. At the delivery of the Moral Law there was the attendance of many Angels , Deut. 32. Here was a Parliament of Angels called , and God himself was the Speaker .

Use 1. Here we may take notice of God's Goodness , who hath not left us without a Law . Therefore the Lord doth often set it down as a Demonstration of his Love , in giving his Commandments , Psal. 147.20 . He hath not dealt so with any Nation , and as for his Iudgments they have not known them . Nehem. 9.13 . Thou gavest them true Laws , Good Statutes and Commandments . What a strange Creature would Man be , if he had no Law to direct him ? There would be no living in the World ; we should have none born but Ishmaels , every Man's Hand would be against his Neighbour . Man would grow wild if he had not Affliction to ●ame him , and the Moral Law to guide him . The Law of God is an Hedge to keep us within the bounds of Sobriety and Piety .

Use 2. If God spake all these Words of the Moral Law , then it condemns , First , The Marcionites and Manichees , who spake slightly , yea , blasphemously of the Moral Law ; they say it is below a Christian , it is Carnal ; which the Apostle con●u●es , when he saith , The Law is Spiritual , but I am Carnal , Rom. 7.14 . Secondly , The Antinomians , who will not admit the Moral Law to be a Rule to a Believer . We say not he is under the Curse of the Law , but the Commands ; we say not the Moral Law is a Christ , but it is a Star to lead one to Christ ; we say not it doth Save , but it doth Sanctifie . They who cast God's Law behind their Backs , God will cast their Prayers behind his Back . They who will not have the Law to Rule them , shall have the Law to Judge them . Thirdly , The Papists ; who ( as if Gods Law were imperfect , and when he spake all these Words , he did not speak enough , ) add their Canons and Traditions to the Moral Law . This is to tax Gods Wisdom , as if he knew not how to make his own Law . And surely 't is an high provoking Sin , Rev. 22.18 . If any Man shall add to these Words , God shall add unto him the Plagues written in this Book . As it is a great evil to add any thing to a Man 's sealed Will , so much more to add any thing to that Law God himself spake , and wrote with his own Fingers .

Use 3. If God spake all these Words , viz. of the Moral Law , then this presseth upon us several Duties .

1. If God spake all these Words , then we must hear all these Words ; the Words which God speaks are too precious to be lost . As we would have God hear all our Words when we Pray , so we must hear all his Words when he speaks . We must not be as the deaf Adder which stoppeth her Ears . He that stops his Ears when God cries , shall cry himself and not be heard .

2. If God spake all these Words , then we must attend to them with Reverence . Every Word of the Moral Law is an Oracle from Heaven , God himself is the Preacher ; this calls for Reverence . If a Judge gives a Charge upon the Bench , all attend with Reverence . In the Moral Law God himself gives a Charge , God spake all these Words ; therefore with what Veneration should we attend ? Moses was to put off his Shoes from his Feet ( in token of Reverence , ) when God was about to speak to him , Exod. 3.5 , 6.

3. If God spake all these Words of the Moral Law , then we must remember them . Sure all God speaks is worth remembring ; those Words are weighty which concern Salvation , Deut. 32.47 . It is not a vain thing for you , because it is your Life . Our Memory should be like the Chest in the Ark where the Law was kept : Gods Oracles are Ornaments , and shall we forget them , Ier. 2.32 . Can a Maid forget her Ornaments ?

4. If God spake all these Words , then believe them . See the Name of God written upon every Commandment . The Heathens that they might gain Credit to their Laws , reported that they were inspired by the Gods at Rome . The Moral Law fetcheth its Pedigree from Heaven , ipse dixit , God spake all these Words . Shall we not give credit to the God of Heaven ? How would the Angel confirm the Women in the Resurrection of Christ , Mat. 28.7 . Lo ( saith he , ) I have told you ; I speak in the Word of an Angel . Much more should the Moral Law be believed , when it comes to us in the Word of a God . God spake all these Words . Unbelief enervates the Virtue of God's Word , and makes it prove Abortive , Heb. 4.2 . The Word did not profit , not being mixed with Faith . Eve gave more credit to the Devil when he spake , than she did to God .

5. If God spake all these words ▪ then love the Commandments , Psal. 119.97 . O how love I thy Law ? It is my Meditation all the day . Consider how I love thy Precepts , Psal. 119.159 . The Moral Law is the Copy of Gods Will ; our Spiritual Directory ; it shews what Sins to avoid , what Duties to pursue : The Ten Commandments are a Chain of Pearl to adorn us : They are our Treasury to enrich us : They are more precious than Lands of Spices or Rocks of Diamonds , Psal. 119.72 . The Law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of Gold and Silver . The Law of God hath Truth and Goodness in it , Nehem. 9.13 . Truth , for God spake it ; and Goodness , for there is nothing the Commandment enjoyns but is for our good : O then let this command our Love .

6. If God spake all these words , Then teach your Children the Law of God , Deut. 6.7 . These words which I command thee this day shall be in thy Heart , and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy Children : He who is Godly is both a Diamond and a Load stone ; a Diamond for the sparkling of his Grace ; and a Load-stone for his attractive Virtue in drawing others to the Love of Gods Precepts : Vir bonus magis aliis prodest quam sibi : You that are Parents discharge your Duty : Though you cannot impart Grace to your Children , yet you may impart Knowledge : Let your Children know the Commandments of God , Deut. 11.19 . Ye shall teach them your Children : You are careful to leave your Children a Portion : Leave the Oracles of Heaven with them ; instruct them in the Law of God : If God spake all these words , you may well speak them over again to your Children .

7. If God spake all these words , then the Moral Law must be obeyed : If a King speaks , his words command Allegiance : Much more when God speaks , all his words must be subscribed to : Some will obey partially , obey some Commandments , not others ; like a Plow , which when it comes to a stiff piece of Earth makes a Baulk . But God that spake all the words of the Moral Law , will have all obeyed . God will not dispense with the Breach of one Law : Indeed Princes for special Reasons , dispense sometimes with Penal Statutes , and will not take the Severity of the Law . But God who spake all these words , binds Men with a Subpoena to yield Obedience to every Law . This condemns the Church of Rome , who instead of obeying the whole Moral Law , blot out one Commandment , and dispense with others .

1. They leave out the second Commandment out of their Catechises , because it makes against Images ; and to fill up the number of Ten , they divide the Tenth Commandment into two . Thus they run themselves into that dreadful Premunire , Rev. 22.19 . If any Man shall take away from the words of this Book , God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life .

2. As they blot out one Commandment , and cut that knot which they cannot untye , so they dispense with other Commandments : They dispense with the sixth Commandment , making Murther Meritorious in case of propagating the Catholick Cause : They dispense with the seventh Commandment , wherein God forbids Adultery : The Pope dispenseth with the Sin of Uncleanness , yea Incest , only paying such Fines and Summs of Mony into his Coffer . No wonder the Pope takes Men off from their Loyalty to Kings and Princes , when he teacheth them Disloyalty to God . Some of the Papists say expresly in their Writings , That the Pope hath Power to dispense with the Laws of God , and can give Men a License to break the Commandments of the Old and New Testament : That such a Religion ever get foot in England , the Lord in Mercy prevent . If God spake all the Commandments , then we must obey all : He who breaks this Hedge of the Commandments a Serpent shall bite him .

Object . But what Man alive can obey all Gods Commandments ?

Resp. To obey the Law in a legal Sense , viz. To do all the Law requires , no Man alive can : Sin hath cut the Lock of original Righteousness , where our strength lay : But in a true Gospel Sense , we may so obey the Moral Law , as to find Acceptance . Which Gospel-Obedience consists in a Real Endeavour to observe the whole Moral Law , Psal. 119.166 . I have done thy Commandments . Not I have done all I should do , but I have done all I am able to do ; and wherein our Obedience comes short , we look up to the perfect Righteousness and Obedience of Christ , and hope for Pardon through his Blood . This is Evangelically to obey the Moral Law ; which though it be not to Satisfaction , yet it is to Acceptation . Thus I have done with the first , The Preface to the Preface , God spake all these words : I should now come to the second , the Preface it self to the Commandments , I am the Lord thy God , &c.

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.2 .

I am the Lord thy God , &c.

2. THE Preface it self , which consists of three parts : 1. I am the Lord thy God : 2. Which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt : 3. Out of the House of Bondage .

1. I am the Lord thy God . ] Where we have a Description of God : 1. By his Essential Greatness , I am the Lord : 2. By his relative Goodness , Thy God . 1. By his essential greatness , I am the Lord ; or as in the Hebrew , Iehovah . This name of God sets forth his Majesty : Sanctius habitum fuit , saith Buxtorf , the name Iohavah was had in more Reverence among the Jews , than any other name of God ; it signifies Gods Self-sufficiency , Eternity , Independency , Immutability , Mal. 3.6 .

Use 1. If God be Iehovah , the Fountain of being , who can do what he will , let us fear this great Lord , Deut. 28.58 . That thou maist fear Hashem , Hanicbad Jehovah , this glorious and fearful name Jehovah .

Use 2. If God be Iehovah , the supream Lord , then it condemns the Blasphemous Papists who speak after this manner , Our Lord God the Pope : Is it a Wonder the Pope lifts his Tripple Crown above the Heads of Kings and Emperors , when he Usurps Gods Title , Shewing himself that he is God , 2 Thess. 2.4 . The Pope goes to make himself Lord of Heaven , for he will Canonize Saints there : Lord of Earth ; for with his Keys he doth bind and loose whom he pleaseth : Lord of Hell , for he can free Men out of Purgatory : But God will pull down these Plumes of Pride , He will consume this Man of sin with the breath of his mouth , and the brightness of his coming , 2 Thess. 2.8 .

Use 3. God is described by his relative goodness , Eloeka , Thy God : Had God only called himself Iehovah , it might have terrified us and made us fly from him ; but when he saith , Thy God , this may allure and draw us to him : This , though a Preface to Law , is pure Gospel . This word Eloeka , Thy God , is so sweet , that we can never suck out all the Hony in it . I am thy God , not only by Creation , but by Election . This word Thy God , though it was spoken to Israel , yet it is a Charter belongs to all the Saints : For the further Explication , here are three Questions .

Quest. 1. How God comes to be our God ?

Resp. Through Jesus Christ : Christ is a middle Person in the Trinity : He is Emanuel , God with us : He brings two differing Parties together : He makes our Nature lovely to God , and Gods Nature lovely to us : He by his Death causeth Friendship , yea , Union : He brings us within the Verge of the Covenant , and so God becomes our God .

Quest. 2. What doth this imply , God being our God ?

Resp. It is comprehensive of all good things : God is our strong Tower ; our Fountain of living Water ; our Salvation : More particularly , God being our God , implies the sweetest Relation .

1. The Relation of a Father , 2 Cor. 6.18 . I will be a Father unto you : A Father is full of tender care for his Child : Who doth he settle the Inheritance upon but his Child ? God being our God will be a Father to us ; a Father of Mercy , 2 Cor. 1.3 . the everlasting Father , Psal. 9.7 . If God be our God , we have a Father in Heaven that never dies .

2. It imports the Relation of an Husband , Isa. 54.5 . Thy Maker is thy Husband . If God be our Husband , he esteems us precious to him as the Apple of his Eye , Zech. 2.8 . He imparts his Secrets to us , Psal. 25.14 . He bestows a Kingdom upon us for our Dowry , Luke 12.32 .

Quest. 3. How may we come to know this Covenant-Union , That God is our God ?

Resp. 1. By having his Graces planted in us : Kings Children are known by their costly Jewels : It is not having common Gifts which shews we belong to God ; many have the Gifts of God without God ; but it is Grace gives us a true genuine Title to God . In particular , Faith is Vinculum Unionis , the Grace of Union : By this we may spell out our Interest in God . Faith doth not as the Mariner , cast its Anchor downwards , but upwards ; it trusts in the Mercy and Blood of God , and trusting in God , engageth him to be our God : Other Graces make us like God , Faith makes us one with him .

2. We may know God is our God , by having the Earnest of his Spirit in our Hearts , 2 Cor. 1.22 . God often gives the Purse to the Wicked , but the Spirit only to such as he intends to make his Heirs . 1. Have we had the Consecration of the Spirit ? If we have not had the Sealing work of the Spirit , have we had the Healing work , 1 Iohn 2.20 . Ye have an Unction from the Holy One. The Spirit where it is , stamps the Impress of its own Holiness upon the Heart : It embroiders and bespangles the Soul , and makes it all glorious within . 2. Have we had the Attraction of the Spirit ? Cant. 1.4 . Draw me , we will run after thee . Hath the Spirit , by its magnetick Vertue , drawn our Hearts to God ? Can we say , as Cant. 1.7 . O thou whom my Soul loveth . Is God our Paradise of Delight ? Our Segullah , or chief Treasure ? Are our Hearts so chained to God , that no other Object can inchant us or draw us away from him ? 3. Have we had the Elevation of the Spirit ? Hath it raised our Hearts above the World ? Ezek. 3.14 . The Spirit lifted me up . Hath the Spirit made us superna anhelare , seek the things above , where Christ is ? Though our Flesh is on Earth , is our Heart in Heaven ? Though live here , trade above ? Hath the Spirit thus lifted us up ? By this we may come to know , that God is our God : Where God gives his Spirit for an Earnest , there he gives himself for a Portion .

3. We may know God is our God , if he hath given us the Hearts of Children . Have we obediential Hearts ? Psal. 27.8 . Do we subscribe to Gods Commands , when his Commands cross our Will ? A true Saint is like the Flower of the Sun , it opens and shuts with the Sun : He opens to God and shuts to Sin . If we have the Hearts of Children , then God is our Father .

4. We may know God is ours , and we have an Interest in him by our standing up for his Interest . We will appear in his Cause , and vindicate his Truth , wherein his Glory is so much concerned . Athanasius was 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Bulwark of Truth , he stood up for it when most of the World were Arrians . In former times the Nobles of Polonia , when the Gospel was read , did lay their Hands upon their Swords , signifying that they were ready to defend the Faith , and hazard their Lives for the Gospel . No better sign of our having an Interest in God , than by our standing up for his Interest .

5. We may know God is ours , and we have an Interest in him , by his having an Interest in us , Cant. 2.16 . My beloved is mine , and I am his . When God saith to the Soul , Thou art mine ; the Soul answers , Lord I am thine : All I have is at thy Service : My Head shall be thine to study for thee : My Tongue shall be thine to praise thee . If God be our God by way of Donation , we are his by way of Dedication : We live to him , and are more his than we are our own . And thus we may come to know that God is our God .

Use 1. Above all things let us get this great Charter confirmed , that God is our God : Deity is not comfortable without Propriety : Tolle meum & tolle Deum . Aug. O let us labour to get sound Evidences , that God is our God : We cannot call Health , Liberty , Estate ours : O let us be able to call God ours , and say as the Church , Psal. 67.6 . God , even our own God shall bless us . Let every Soul here labour to pronounce this Shibboleth , My God . And that we may endeavour after this to have God for our God : Consider 1. The Misery of such as have not God for their God ; in how sad a Condition are they , when an hour of distress comes ? This was Saul's Case , 1 Sam. 28.15 . I am sore distressed ; for the Philistins make war against me , and the Lord is departed from me . A wicked Man in time of Trouble , is like a Vessel toss'd on the Sea without an Anchor , it falls on Rocks or Sands : A Sinner not having God to be his God , though he makes a shift while Health and Estate last ; yet when these Crutches are broken he leaned upon , his Heart sinks . It is with a wicked Man , as it was with the Old World when the Flood came ; the Waters at first came to the Vallies , but then the People would get to the Hills and Mountains : But then the Waters came to the Mountains : Then there might be some Trees on the high Hills , and they would climb up to them : I but then the Waters did rise up to the tops of the Trees : Now all hopes of being saved were gone , their Hearts failed them . So it is with a Man that hath not God to be his God : If one Comfort be taken away , he hath another : If he lose a Child , he hath an Estate : I but then the Waters rise higher , Death comes and takes away all ; now he hath nothing to help himself with , no God to go to , he must needs dye despairing . 2. How great a Privilege it is to have God for our God , Psal. 144.15 . Happy are the People whose God is the Lord. Beatitudo hominis est Deus , Aug. That you may see the Privilege of this Charter ,

1. If God be our God , then though we may feel the stroke of Evil , yet not the sting . He must needs be happy , who is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in such a Condition , that nothing can hurt him : If he lose his Name it is written in the Book of Life : If he lose his Liberty , his Conscience is free : If he lose his Estate , he is possessed of the Pearl of Price : If he meets with Storms , he knows where to put in for Harbour . God is his God , and Heaven is his Haven .

2. If God be our God , then our Soul is safe : The Soul is the Jewel , it is a Blossom of Eternity , Dan. 7.15 . I was grieved in the midst of my Body . In the Chaldee it is , In the midst of my Sheath . The Body is but the Sheath ; the Soul is the Princely part of Man , which sways the Scepter of Reason : It is a Celestial Spark , as Damascen calls it : If God be our God , the Soul is safe as in a Garison . Death can do no more hurt to a vertuous Heaven-born Soul , than David did to Saul , when he cut off the lap of his Garment : The Soul is safe , being hid in the Promises ; hid in the Wounds of Christ ; hid in Gods Decree : The Soul is the Pearl , and Heaven is the Cabinet where God will lock it up safe .

3. If God be our God , then all that is in God is ours : The Lord saith to a Saint in Covenant , as the King of Israel to the King of Syria , 1 Kings 20.4 . I am thine and all that I have . So saith God , I am thine : How happy is he who not only inherits the Gifts of God , but inherits God himself ? All that I have shall be thine , my Wisdom shall be thine to teach thee , my Power shall be thine to support thee , my Mercy shall be thine to save thee . God is an infinite Ocean of Blessedness , and there is enough in him to fill us : If a thousand Vessels be thrown into the Sea , there is enough in the Sea to fill them .

4. If God be our God , he will intirely love us : Propriety is the ground of Love : God may give Men Kingdoms , and not love them ; but he cannot be our God and not love us : He calls his Covenanted Saints Iediduth Naphshi , The dearly beloved of his Soul , Jer. 12.7 . He rejoyceth over them with Joy , and rests in his Love , Zeph. 3.17 . They are his Refined Silver , Zech. 13.9 . His Jewels , Mal. 3.17 . His Royal Diadem , Isa. 62.3 . He gives them the Cream and Flower of his love : He not only opens his hand and fills them , Psal. 145.16 . but opens his Heart and fills them .

5. If God be our God , he will do more for us than all the World besides can . What is that ? 1. He will give us Peace in Trouble : When a Storm without , he will make Musick within : The World can create Trouble in Peace , but God can create Peace in Trouble : He will send the Comforter , who as a Dove brings an Olive Branch of Peace in his Mouth , Iohn 14.16 . 2. God will give us a Crown of Immortality : The World can give a Crown of Gold ; but that Crown hath Thorns in it , and Death in it ; but God will give a Crown of Glory which fadeth not away , 1 Pet. 5.4 . The Garland made of the Flowers of Paradise never withers .

6. If God be our God , he will bear with many Infirmities : God may respit Sinners a while , but long Forbearance is no Acquittance ; he will throw them to Hell for their Sins . But if God be our God , he will not for every failing destroy us : He bears with his Spouse , as with the weaker Vessel : God may Chastise , Psal. 89.32 . He may use the Rod and the pruning Knife , but not the Bloody Axe , Numb. 23.21 . He hath not seen Iniquity in Jacob : He will not see Sin in his People , so as to destroy them : He sees their Sins so as to pity them ; he sees them as a Physician sees a Disease in his Patient to heal him , Isa. 57.18 . I have seen his Iniquities and I will heal him : Every failing doth not break the Marriage Bond asunder : The Disciples had great Failings , they all forsook Christ and fled ; but this did not break off their Interest in God : Therefore saith Christ at his Ascension , Tell my Disciples I go to my God and to their God .

7. If God be once our God , he is so for ever , Psal. 48.14 . This God is our God , Gnolam Vagned , for ever and ever . Whatever worldly Comforts we have , are but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , for a Season , Heb. 11.25 . We must part with all , as Paul's Friends did accompany him to the Ship and there left him , Acts 20.28 . So all our earthly Comforts will but go with us to the Grave and there leave us . You cannot say you have Health , and shall have it for ever : You have a Child and shall have it for ever : But if God be your God you shall have him for ever : This God is our God for ever and ever . If God be our God , he will be a God to us as long as he is a God : You have taken away my God , saith Micah , Iudges 18.24 . But it cannot be said so to a Believer , that his God is taken away ; he may lose all things else , but cannot lose his God . God is ours from everlasting in Election , and to Everlasting in Glory .

8. If God be our God , we shall enjoy all our Godly Relations with him in Heaven . The great Felicity on Earth is to enjoy Relations ; a Father sees his own Picture in his Child ; a Wife sees a piece of her self in her Husband . We plant the Flower of Love among our Relations , and the loss of them is like the pulling a Limb from the Body . But if God be ours , with enjoying God , we shall enjoy all our pious Relations in Glory . The gracious Child shall see his Godly Father ; the Virtuous Wi●e shall see her Religious Husband in Christs Arms ; and then there will be a dearer Love to Relations than ever was before , though in a far different manner ; then Relations shall meet and never part ; and so shall we be ever with the Lord .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.1 .

I am the Lord , thy God , &c.

3. TO all such as can make out this Covenant-Union , It exhorts to several things .

I. If God be our God , let us improve our Interest in him , cast all our Burdens upon him ; the Burden of our Fears , Wants , Sins , Psal. 55.22 . Cast thy Burden upon the Lord . Wicked Men who are a Burden to God , have no right to cast their Burden upon him ; but such as have God for their God , are called upon to cast their Burden on him . Where should the Child ease all its cares , but in the Bosom of its Parent ? Iudg. 19.20 . Let all thy Wants lye upon me . So God seems to say to his Children , let all your Wants lye upon me . Christian , what doth trouble thee ? Thou hast a God to pardon thy Sins , to supply thy Wants : Therefore roul your Burden on the Lord , 1 Pet. 5.7 . Casting all your Care on him . Whence are Christians so disquieted in their Minds ? they are taking care , when they should be casting care .

II. If God be our God , let us learn to be contented , though we have the less of other things . Contentment is a rare Jewel , it is the Cure of Care . If we have God to be our God ; well may we be contented , I know whom I have believed , 2 Tim. 1.12 . There was Paul's Interest in God , 2 Cor. 6.10 . As having nothing , yet possessing all : There was his Content . That such who have Covenant-Union with God may be fill'd with Contentation of Spirit , consider what a rich Blessing God is to the Soul .

1. God is Bonum Sufficiens , a sufficient Good . He who hath God hath enough : If a Man be thirsty , bring him to the Ocean , and he is satisfied ; in God there is enough to fill the Heaven-born Soul ▪ He gives Grace and Glory , Psal. 84 11. There is in God not only a sufficiency , but a redundancy : He is not only full as a Vessel , but as a Spring . Other things can no more fill the Soul , than a Mariners Breath can fill the Sails of a Ship . But in God is a Cornu-Copia , an infinite fulness . He hath enough to fill the Angels , therefore enough to fill us . The Heart is a Triangle , which only the Trinity can fill .

2. God is bonum Sanctificans , a Sanctifying Good . First , He sanctifies all our Comforts , and turns them into Blessings . Health is blessed , Estate is blessed , he gives with the Venison a Blessing , Psal. 132.15 . I will abundantly bless her Provision . He gives us that Life we have , ●anquam ar●abo , as an Earnest of more . He gives the little Meal in the Barrel , as an Earnest of the Royal Feast in Paradise . Secondly , He sanctifies all our Crosses . They shall not be destructive P●●ishments but Medicines ; they shall corrode and eat out the Venom of Sin , they shall Polish and Refine our Grace . The more the Diamond is cut , it sparkles the more ▪ Gods stretching the Strings of his Viol , is to make the Musick better .

3. God is bonum se●ectum , Choice Good ; all things sub sole , are but ba●● s●abelli , as Austin , the Blessings of the Footstool ; but to have God himself to be ours , is the Blessing of the Throne . Abraham gave gifts to the Sons of the Co●●ubines , but he setled the 〈…〉 ●5 . 5 . Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac . God may send away the Men of the World with Gifts , a little Gold and Silver , but in giving us himself , he gives us the very quintessence , his Grace , his Love , his Kingdom . Here is the Crowning Blessing .

4. God is Bonum summum , the chief Good . In the chief Good , there must be First Delectability , it must have something that is delicious and sweet : And where can we suck those pure quintessential Comforts which ravish us with Delight , but in God ? In Deo quadam dulcedine delectatur anima , imo rapitur ; At Gods Right Hand are Pleasures , Psal. 16.11 . Secondly , In the chief Good there must be Transcendency , it must have a surpassing Excellency . Thus God is infinitely better than all other things ; 't is below the Deity to compare other things with it . Who would go to weigh a Feather with a Mountain of Gold ? God is Fons & Origo , the Spring of all Entities , and the Cause is more noble than the Effect . It is God that bespangles the Creation , that puts Light into the Sun , that fills the Veins of the Earth with Silver ; other Creatures do but maintain Life , God gives Life . God infinitely out-shines all Sublunary Glory ; he is better than the Soul , than Angels , than Heaven . Thirdly , In the chief Good , there must be not only Fulness but Variety ; where Variety is wanting , we are apt to nauseate ; to feed only on Hony , would breed Loathing ; but in God is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 all Variety of Fulness , Col. 1.19 . He is an Universal Good , Commensurate to all our Wants ; He is Bonum in quo omnia Bona , a Sun , a Portion , an Horn of Salvation : He is called the God of all Comfort , 2 Cor. 1.3 . There is a Complication of all Beauties and Delights in him ; Health hath not the comfort of Beauty , nor Beauty of Riches , nor Riches of Wisdom , but God is the God of all Comfort . Fourthly , In the chief Good there must be Eternity . God is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 : He is a Treasure that can neither be drawn low , nor drawn dry . Though the Angels are still spending on him , he can never be spent ; he abides for ever . Eternity is a Flower of his Crown . Now if God be our God , here is enough to let in full Contentment into our Souls . What though we want Torch-light , if we have the Sun ? What if God deny us the Flower , if he hath given us the Jewel ? How should this rock a Christians Heart quiet ? If we say God is our God , and we are not content , we have cause to question our Interest in him .

III. If we can clear up this Covenant-Union , that God is our God , let this chear and revive us in all Conditions . To be content with God , is not enough , but to be chearful ; what greater Cordial can you have , than Union with Deity ? When Jesus Christ was ready to Ascend , he could not leave a richer consolation with his Disciples than this , Tell them , I go to my God and their God , John 20.17 . Who should rejoyce , if not they , who have an Infinite , Alsufficient Eternal God to be their Portion , who are as Rich as Heaven can make them ? What though I want Health , I have God , who is the Health of my Countenance and my God , Psal. 42.11 . What though I am low in the World , if I have not the Earth , I have him that made it . The Philosopher comforted himself with this , though he had no Musick or Vine-Trees , yet 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 here are the Houshold Gods with me . So though we have not the Vine or Fig-Tree , yet we have God with us . I cannot be Poor ( saith St. Bernard , ) as long as God is Rich ; for his Riches are mine . O Let the Saints rejoyce in this Covenant-Union . To say God is ours , is more than to say Heaven is ours . Heaven would not be Heaven without God . All the Stars cannot make Day without the Sun . All the Angels those Morning Stars , cannot make Heaven without Christ the Sun of Righteousness . And as to have God for our God , is matter of rejoycing in Life ; so especially it will be at our Death . Let a Christian think thus , I am going to my God . A Child is glad when he is going home to his Father . This was Christs comfort when he was leaving the World , Iohn 20.17 . I go to my God . And this is a Believers Death-bed Cordial , I am going to my God ; I shall change my Place , but not my Kindred , I go to my God and my Father .

IV. If God be our God , then let us break forth into Doxology and Praise , Psal. 118.28 . Thou art my God , and I will praise thee . O infinite Astonishing Mercy , that God should take Dust and Ashes into so near a Bond of Love , as to be our God ▪ As Micah said , Iudg. 18.24 . What have I more ? So what hath God more ? What richer Jewel hath he to bestow upon us than himself ? What hath he more ? That God should put off most of the World with Riches and Honours , and that he should pass over himself to us by a Deed of Gift , to be our God , and by virtue of this , settle a Kingdom upon us . O let us praise him with the best Instrument , our Heart , and let this Instrument be scrued up to the highest Peg : Let us praise him with our whole Heart . See how David riseth by degrees , Psal. 32.11 . Be glad in the Lord , and rejoyce , and shout for Ioy . Be glad , there is Thankfulness , rejoyce , there is Chearfulness , shout , there is Triumph . Praise is called Incense , because it is so sweet a Sacrifice . Let the Saints be Queristers in Gods Praises ; the deepest Springs yield the sweetest Water . The more deeply sensible we are of Gods Covenant-Love to us , the sweeter Praises we should yield . We should begin here to eternize Gods Name , and do that Work on Earth , which we shall be always doing in Heaven , Psal. 146.2 . While I live will I praise the Lord .

5. Let us carry our selves as those who have God to be our God ; that is , when we walk so that others may see there is something of God in us . Live Holily . What have we to do with Sin ? Is it not this , that if it doth not break , yet will weaken the Interest , Hos. 14.8 . What have I to do any more with Idols ? So should a Christian say , God is my God , what have I to do any more with Sin , with Lust , Pride , Malice ? Bid me commit Sin , as well bid me Drink Poison . Shall I forfeit my Interest in God ? Let me rather Dye than willingly offend him , who is the Crown of my Joy , the God of my Salvation .

Of the Ten Commandments . Exod. 20.2 .

The Land of Egypt , &c.

THE Second part of Preface . Who have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt , out of the House of Bondage . Egypt and the House of Bondage are the same , only they are represented to us under a different Expression or Notion , I begin with the First Expression , Who have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt .

Quest. Why doth the Lord mention this Deliverance of Israel out of the Land of Egypt ?

Resp. 1. Because of the strangeness of the Deliverance . God delivered his People Israel by strange Signs and Wonders , by sending Plague after Plague upon Pharaoh , blasting the Fruits of the Earth , killing all the First-born in Egypt , Exod. 12.29 . And when Israel march'd out of Egypt , God made the Waters of the Sea to part , and become a Wall to his People , while they went on Dry Ground ; and as he made the Sea a Cawsey to Israel , so a Grave to Pharaoh and his Chariots . Well might the Lord mention his bringing them out of the Land of Egypt , because of the strangeness of the Deliverance ; God wrought Miracle upon Miracle , for their Deliverance .

2. God mentions Israel's Deliverance out of Egypt , because of the greatness of the Deliverance . God delivered Israel from the Pollutions of Egypt ; Egypt was a bad Air to live in , it was infected with Idolatry . The Egyptians were gross Idolaters , they were guilty of that which the Apostle speaks of , Rom. 1.23 . They changed the Glory of the uncorruptible God into an Image made like to Corruptible Man , and to Birds and Four-Footed Beasts , and Creeping Things . The Egyptians Worshipped instead of the true God , First , A Corruptible Man , they Deified their King Apis , forbidding all under pain of Death to say that he was a Man . Secondly , They were Worshippers of Birds ; they worshipped the Hawk . Thirdly , They were Worshippers of Beasts ; they worshipped an Ox : Thus they made the Image of a Beast to be their God . Fourthly , They were Worshippers of Creeping Things , they worshipped the Crocodile , and the Indian Mouse . Therefore God mentions this as a memorable and signal favour to Israel , that he brought them out of such an Idolatrous Country ; I brought you out of the Land of Egypt .

The thing I would note is this , That it is no small Blessing to be delivered from Places of Idolatry . God speaks of it no less than Ten times in the Old Testament , I brought you out of the Land of Egypt ; an Idolatrous Place . Had there been no Iron Furnace in Egypt , yet there being so many Altars there , and False Gods , it was a great Privilege to Israel to be delivered out of Egypt . Ioshua reckons it among the chief and most memorable Mercies of God to Abraham , that he brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans , where Abraham's Ancestors served strange Gods , Iosh. 24.2 , 3. 'T is well for the Plant that is set in a bad Soil , to be transplanted into a better , where it may grow and flourish . So when any are planted among Idolaters , 'T is a Mercy when they are removed and transplanted into Sihon , where are the Silver Drops of Gods Word to make them grow in Holiness .

Quest. Wherein doth it appear that it is such a great Blessing to be delivered from Places of Idolatry ?

Resp. It is a great Mercy , because our Nature is so prone to Idolatry : Israel began to be defiled with the Idols of Egypt , Ezek. 23.3 . Dry Wood is not more prone to take Fire , than our Nature is to Idolatry . The Jews made Cakes to the Queen of Heaven , that is the Moon , Ier. 7.18 .

Quest. Whence is it that we are so prone to Idolatry ?

Resp. 1. Because we are led much by Visible Objects , and love to have our Senses pleas'd . Men naturally fancy a God that they may see , though it be such a God as cannot see them , yet they would see it . The true God is invisible ; this makes the Idolater worship something that he may see .

2. 'T is a Mercy to be delivered from Idolatrous Places , because of the greatness of the Sin of Idolatry . It is giving that Glory to an Image , which is due to God . All 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 or Divine Worship God appropriates to himself ; 't is a Flower of his Crown ; the Fat of the Sacrifice God laid claim to , Levit. 3.3 . Divine Worship is the Fat of the Sacrifice which God reserves for himself . The Idolater devotes this Worship to his Idol , which the Lord will by no means endure , Isa. 42.8 . My Glory will I not give to another , neither my Praise to Graven Images . Idolatry is Spiritual Adultery , Ezek. 23.37 . With their Idols have they committed Adultery . To worship any other than God , is to break Wedlock . This makes the Lord disclaim his interest in a People , Hos. 2.2 . Plead with your Mother , plead , for she is not my Wife . And Exod 32.7 . Thy People have corrupted themselves ; no more my People , but thy People . God calls Idolatry Blasphemy , Ezek. 20.27 , 31. Thus your Fathers have blasphemed me . Idolatry is Devil-worship , Deut. 32.17 . They Sacrificed to Devils , not unto God ; to new Gods . These New Gods were Old Devils , Lev. 17.7 . And they shall no more offer their Sacrifices unto Devils ; the Hebrew Word Lashegnirim , is the Hairy Ones , because the Devils were Hairy , and appeared in the Forms of Satyrs and Goats . How dreadful a Sin is Idolatry ; and what a signal Mercy is it to be snatch'd out of an Idolatrous Place , as Lot was snatch'd by the Angel out of Sodom ?

3. It is a Mercy to be delivered from Idolatrous Places , because Idolatry is such a silly irrational Religion ; I may say as Ier. 8.9 . What Wisdom is in them ? Is it not Folly to refuse the best , and choose the worst ? The Trees of the Field in Iotham's Parable , despised the Vine-Tree which chears both God and Man , and the Olive which is full of Fatness , and the Fig-Tree which is full of Sweetness , and choose the Bramble to reign over them ; this was a Foolish Choice , Iudge 9. So for us to refuse the Living God , who hath power to save us , and to make choice of an Idol , that hath Eyes and sees not , Feet but walks not , Psal. 115.6 . What a Prodigy of Madness is this ? therefore to be delivered from committing such folly is a Mercy .

4. It is a Mercy to be delivered from Idolatrous Places , because of the sad Judgments inflicted upon Idolaters . This is a Sin enrageth God , and makes the Fury come up in his Face , Ezek. 38.18 . Search through the whole Book of God , and you shall find no Sin God hath followed with more Plagues , than Idolatry , Psal. 16.4 . Their Sorrows shall be Multiplied , that hasten after another God . Psal. 78.58 , 59. They moved him to Iealousie with their Graven Images . When God heard this , he was wroth , and greatly abhorred Israel , ver. 60. So that he forsook the Tabernacle of Shiloh . Shiloh was a City belonging to the Tribe of Ephraim : There God set his Name , Ier. 7.12 . But for their Idolatry God forsook that Place ; gave his People up to the Sword , caus'd his Priests to be Slain ; his Ark to be carried away Captive , and it never returned to Shiloh any more . How severe was God against Israel for Worshipping the Golden Calf , Exod. 32.27 . The Jews say , that in every Misery that befals them , there is Uncia Aurei Vituli , an Ounce of the Golden Calf in it , Rev. 18.4 . Come out of her my People , that ye be not partakers of her Sins , and that ye receive not of her Plagues . Idolatry liv'd in , cuts Men off from Heaven , 1 Cor. 6.9 . So then it is no small Mercy to be delivered out of Idolatrous Places .

Use 1. See the goodness of God to our Nation , who hath brought us out of mystical Egypt , delivering us from Popery , which is Romish Idolatry , and hath caused the light of his Truth to break forth gloriously among us . In former times , and more lately in the Marian days , England was over-spread with Idolatry ; we worshipped God after a false manner : That is Idolatry , not only to worship a false God , but the true God in a false manner . This was our case formerly , we had Purgatory , Indulgences , the Idolatrous Mass , the Scriptures lock'd up in an unknown Tongue , Invocation of Saints and Angels , Image-worship : Images are Teachers of Lyes , Hab. 2.18 . Wherein do they teach Lyes ? Because they represent God in a Bodily shape , whereas he cannot be seen , Deut. 4.12 . Ye saw no similitude , only ye heard a voice . Quod invisibile est , pingi non potest , Ambr. God cannot be pictur'd out by any Figure : You cannot Picture the Soul , being a Spirit , much less God , Isa. 40.18 . To whom then will ye liken God ? The Papists say , they worship God by the Image ; which hath a great Absurdity in it ; for if it be absurd to bow down to the Picture of the King , when the King himself is present , then much more to bow down to the Image of God , when God himself is present , Ier. 23.24 . What is the Popish Religion , but a bundle of ridiculous Ceremonies ? Their Wax , Flowers , Pixes , Agnus Dei , Cream and Oyl , Beads , Crucifixes : What are these but Satans Policy , to dress up a carnal Worship fitted to carnal Minds ? Oh what cause have we to bless God for delivering us from Popery ! It was a Mercy to be delivered from the Spanish Invasion , and the Powder Treason , but a far greater to be delivered from the Popish Religion , which would have made God give us a Bill of Divorce .

2. If it be a great Blessing to be delivered from Egypt , Popish Idolatry , then it shews their Sin and Folly , who being brought out of Egypt , are willing to return into Egypt again : Having put off the Yoke of Rome , would fain put it on again : The Apostle saith , Fly from Idolatry , 1 Cor. 10.14 . But these rather fly to Idolatry : Herein we are like the People of Israel , who notwithstanding all the Idolatry and Tyranny of Egypt , yet longed to go back to Egypt , Numb. 14.4 . Let us make a Captain and return into Egypt . But how shall they go back into Egypt ? How shall they have Food in the Wilderness ? Will God rain down Manna any more upon such Rebels ? How will they get over the Red Sea ? Will God divide the Water again by Miracle , for such as leave his Service , and go into Idolatrous Egypt ? Yet say they , Let us make a Captain . And are there not such Spirits amongst us , who say , Let us make a Captain , and go back to the Romish Egypt again ? And if we do , what shall we get by it ? I am afraid the Leeks and Onions of Egypt will make us Sick . Do we ever think , if we drink in the Cup of Fornication , we shall drink in the Cup of Salvation ? O that any should so Forfeit their Reason , as to enslave themselves to the See of Rome ! That they should be willing to hold a Candle to a Mass-Priest , and bow down to a strange God . Let us not say , we will make a Captain ; but rather say as Ephraim , Hos. 14.8 . What have I to do any more with Idols ?

3. If it be a Mercy to be brought out of Egypt , then it is not desirable or safe to plant ones self in an Idolatrous place , where it may be a capital Crime to be seen with a Bible in ones hand . Some for secular Gain thrust themselves among Idolaters , and think there is no danger to live where Satan's Seat is : But do you pray God would not lead you into Temptation , and do you lead your selves ? You are in great danger of being polluted : It is hard to be as the Fish which keep fresh in Salt Waters : A Man cannot dwell among the Black-a-moors , but he will be discoloured : You will sooner be corrupted by Idolaters , than they will be converted by you : Ioseph got no good by living in an Idolatrous Court ; he did not teach Pharoah to Pray , but Pharoah taught him to Swear , Psal. 106.35 . They were mingled among the Heathen , and served their Idols . I fear this hath been the undoing of many ; they have seated themselves amongst Idolaters , for the advancing their Trade , and at last have not only traded with them in their Commodities , but in their Religion .

Use 2. Is it a Mercy to be brought out of Egypt , places which are defiled , and where Sin reigns , then it reproaches such Parents as shew little love to the Souls of their Children , whether it be in putting them out to Service , or in matching of them . 1. In putting them out to Service ; Their Care is chiefly for their Bodies that they may be provided for , but care not what becomes of their Souls : Their Souls are in Egypt , in Houses where there is Drinking , Swearing , Sabbath-breaking , and where Gods name is every day dishonoured . 2. In matching their Children , they look only at Mony , 2 Cor. 6.14 . Be ye not unequally yoaked : If their Children be equally yoaked for Estate , they care not whether they be unequally yoaked for Religion . Now to such Parents , 1. Think how precious the Soul of your Child is , it is Immortal , it is capable of Communion with God and Angels , and will you let this Soul be lost , by placing it in a bad Family ? If you had an Horse you loved , you would not put him into a Stable with other Horses that were Sick and Diseased : And do you not love your Child better than your Horse ? 2. God hath intrusted you with the Souls of your Children , you have a Charge of Souls . God saith , as 1 Kings 20.39 . Keep this Man , if he be missing thy Life shall go for his Life . So saith God , If the Soul of thy Child miscarry by thy Negligence , his Blood will I require at thy hand : Think of this all ye Parents , take heed of placing your Children in Egypt in a wicked Family : Do not put them in the Devils Mouth ; find out a Sober Religious Family , such a Family as Ioshua's , Cap. 24.15 . I and my House will serve the Lord . Such a Family as Cranmer's , which was Palaestra pietatis , a Nursery of Piety : Such a Family as is a Bethel , of which it may be said , as Col. 4.15 . The Church which is in his House .

Use 3. Let us Pray that God will keep our English Nation from the Defilements . of Egypt ; that it may not be again overspread with Superstition and Idolatry O sad Religion ! not only to have our Estates , our Bodies enslaved , but our Consciences : Pray that the true Protestant Religion may still flourish among us : That the Sun of the Gospel may still shine in our Horison . The Gospel lifts a People up to Heaven ; it is Columna & Corona Regni : The Crown and Glory of the Kingdom : If this be removed , then , Ichabod , the Glory is departed : The top of the Beach Tree being cut off , the whole Body of the Tree withers apace : The Gospel is the top of all our Blessings , if this top be cut , the whole Body Politick will soon wither . O pray that the Lord will continue the visible Tokens of his presence among us , his Ordinances , that England may be called , Iehovah Shammah , The Lord is there , Ezek. 48.35 . Pray that Righteousness and Peace may kiss each other , that so Glory may dwell in our Land .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.2 .

Out of the House of Bondage .

EGypt and the House of Bondage are the same , only they are expressed be under a different Notion . By Egypt is meant a place of Idolatry and Superstition , by the House of Bondage is meant a place of Affliction . Israel while they were in Egypt were under great Tyranny , they had cruel Task-masters set over them , who put them to hard labour , and set them to make Brick , yet allowed them no Straw ; therefore Egypt is called the Iron Furnace , Deut. 4.20 . and here the House of Bondage : From this Expression , I brought thee out of the House of Bondage , two things are to be noted . 1. Gods Children may sometimes be under sore Afflictions , in the House of Bondage . 2. That God will in his due time bring them out of their afflicted State , I brought thee out of the House of Bondage .

1. Gods Children may sometimes be under sore Afflictions , In domo servitutis , in the House of Bondage : Gods People have no Writ of Ease granted them , no Charter of Exemption from Trouble in this Life : While the Wicked are kept in Sugar , the Godly are oft kept in Brine : And indeed , how could Gods power be seen in bringing them out of trouble , if he did not sometimes bring them in ? Or how should God wipe away the Tears from their Eyes in Heaven , if on Earth they shed none ? Doubtless God sees there is need that his Children should be sometimes in the House of Bondage , 1 Pet. 1.6 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , If need be , ye are in heaviness : The Body sometimes doth more need a bitter Potion than a Julip .

Quest. 1. Why God lets his People be in the House of Bondage , in an afflicted State ?

Resp. He doth it : 1. For Probation for Trial , Deut. 8.16 . Who led thee through that terrible Wilderness that he might humble thee and prove thee . Affliction is the Touch-stone of Sincerity , Psal. 66.10 , 11. Thou , O God , hast proved us : Thou hast tried us as Silver : Thou laidest Affliction upon our Loyns . Hypocrites may imbrace the true Religion in Prosperity , and court this Queen while she hath a Jewel hung at her Ear : But he is the good Christian , who will keep close to God in a time of Suffering . Psal. 44.17 . All this is come upon us ; yet have we not forgotten thee : To love God in Heaven is no wonder , but to love God when he chastiseth us , this discovers Sincerity .

2. For Purgation : To purge out Corruption , Ardet palea , purgatur aurum , Isa. 27.9 . And this is all the Fruit to take away his sin . The Eye though it be a tender part , yet when it is sore we put sharp Powders and Waters into it , to eat out the Pearl : Though the People of God are Dear to him , yet when Corruption begins to grow in them , he will apply the sharp Powder of Affliction to eat out the Pearl in the Eye . Affliction is Gods Flail to thresh off our Husks : It is a means God useth to purge out Sloath , Luxury , Pride and Love of the World : Gods Furnace is in Zion , Isa. 31.9 . This is not to consume , but refine : What if we have more Affliction , if by this means we have less Sin ?

3. For Augmentation : To increase the Graces of the Spirit : Grace thrives most in the Iron Furnace : Sharp Frosts nourish the Corn ; so do sharp Afflictions Grace : Grace in the Saints is often as Fire hid in the Embers , Affliction is the Bellows to blow it up into a Flame : The Lord makes the House of Bondage a Friend to our Grace : Now Faith and Patience act their part : The darkness of the Night cannot hinder the Brightness of a Star : So the more the Diamond is cut the more it sparkles : And the more God afflicts us , the more our Graces cast a sparkling Lustre .

4. For Preparation : To fit and prepare the Saints for Glory , 2 Cor. 4.17 . Those stones which are cut out for a Building are first hewen and squared : The Godly are called , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , living stones , 1 Pet. 2.5 . And God doth first hew and polish them by Affliction , that they may be fit for the heavenly Building : The House of Bondage prepares for the House not made with Hands , 2 Cor. 5.1 . The Vessels of Mercy are seasoned with Affliction , and then the Wine of Glory is poured in .

Quest. 2. How the Afflictions of the Godly differ from the Afflictions of the Wicked ?

Resp. 1. These are but , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Castigations , those on the Wicked are , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Punishments ; these come from a Father , those from a Judge .

2. Afflictions on the Godly are Fruits of Covenant-Mercy , 2 Sam. 7.14 . But Afflictions on the Wicked are Effects of Gods Wrath , Eccles. 5.17 . He hath much wrath with his Sickness . Afflictions on the Wicked are the Pledge and Earnest of Hell : They are like the pinnioning of a Malefactor , which doth presage his Execution .

3. Afflictions on the Godly make them better , but Afflictions on the Wicked make them worse : The Godly pray more , Psal. 130.1 . The Wicked Blaspheme more , Rev. 16.9 . Men were scorched with great heat , and blasphemed the Name of God . Afflictions on the Wicked make them more Impenitent : Every Plague upon Egypt increased the Plague of Hardness in Pharoah's Heart : To what a prodigy of Wickedness do some Persons come after great Sickness ? Affliction on the Godly is like bruising of Spices which are more sweet and fragrant : Affliction on the Wicked is like stamping of Weeds with a Pestle , which makes them more Unsavory .

Use 1. It shews us that we are not to wonder to see Israel in the House of Bondage , 1 Pet. 4.12 . The Holiness of the Saints will not excuse them from Sufferings : Christ was the Holy one of God , yet he was in the Iron Furnace : Christs Spouse is a Lilly among Thorns , Cant. 2.2 . His Sheep , though they have the Ear-mark of Election upon them , yet may have their Wool fleeced off : The Godly have some Good in them , therefore the Devil afflicts them , and some evil in them , therefore God afflicts them . While there are two Seeds in the World , expect to be under the Black Rod. The Gospel tells us of reigning , but first of Suffering , 2 Tim. 2.12 .

2. It informs us that Affliction is not always the Sign of Gods Anger : Israel the Apple of Gods Eye , a peculiar Treasure to him above all People , Exod. 19.5 . Yet these were in the House of Bondage : We are apt to judge and censure them who are in an afflicted State . When the Barbarians saw the Viper on Paul's hand , they said , No doubt this Man is a Murderer , Acts 28.4 . So when we see the Viper of Affliction fasten upon the Godly , we are apt to censure them , and say , These are greater Sinners than others , and God hates them : This rash censuring is for want of Wisdom . Were not Israel in the House of Bondage ? Ieremy in the Dungeon ? Paul a night and a day in the Deep ? Gods Afflicting is so far from evidencing Hatred , that his not afflicting is , Hos. 4.14 . I will not punish your Daughters when they commit Whoredom . Deus maxime irascitur cum non irascitur , Ber. God punisheth most when he doth not punish ; his Hand is heaviest when it seems to be lightest : The Judge will not burn him in the Hand , whom he intends to execute .

3. If Gods own Israel may be in the House of Bondage , then Afflictions do not of themselves demonstrate a Man Miserable . Indeed Sin unrepented of , makes one miserable , but the Cross doth not . If God hath a design in afflicting his Children , to make them happy , then they are not miserable ; but Gods afflicting them is to make them happy : Therefore they are not Miserable , Iob 5.17 . Happy is the Man whom God correcteth . The World counts them happy , who can keep out of Affliction ; but the Scripture calls them happy , who are afflicted .

Quest. How are they happy ?

Resp. 1. Because they are more Holy , Heb. 12.10 . 2. Because they are more in Gods Favour , Prov 3.12 . The Goldsmith loves his Gold , when in the Furnace . 3. Because they have more of Gods sweet Presence , Psal. 91.15 . And they cannot be unhappy , that have Gods powerful Presence in supporting , his gracious Presence in Sanctifying their Affliction . 4. Because the more affliction they have , the more degrees of Glory they shall have . The lower they have been in the Iron Furnace , they shall sit upon the higher Throne of Glory . The heavier their Cross , the heavier shall be their Crown . So then if Affliction make a Christian happy , they cannot denominate him miserable .

4. See the Merciful Providence of God to his Children , though they may be in the House of Bondage , and smart by Affliction , yet they shall not be hurt by Affliction . What hurt doth the Fan to the Corn ? only separates the Chaft from it . Or the Launce to the Body , only let out the Impostume . The House of Bondage doth that which sometimes Ordinances will not do , it doth Humble and Reform , Iob 36.8 , 11. If they be held in Cords of Affliction , he openeth their Ear to Discipline , and commandeth that they return from Iniquity . O what a merciful Providence is this , though God bruise his People , yet while he is bruising them , he is doing them good . As if one should throw a Bag of Mony at another , and a little bruise him , yet it doth enrich him . Affliction enricheth the Soul , and yields the sweet Fruits of Righteousness , Heb. 12.11 .

5. If Israel be in the House of Bondage , if the Lord deals so with his own Children , then how severely will he deal with the Wicked ? If God be so severe with them he loves , how severe will he be with them he hates ? If it be done in the Green Tree , what shall be done in the Dry ? If they that Pray and Mourn for Sin be so severely dealt with , what will become of them that Swear and break the Sabbath , and are unclean ? If Israel be in the Iron Furnace , the Wicked shall lye in the Fiery Furnace of Hell . It should be the saddest News to wicked Men , to hear that the People of God are afflicted ; let them think how dreadful will the case of Sinners be , 1 Pet. 4.17 . Iudgment must begin at the House of God , and if it first begin at us , what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel ? If God thresh his Wheat , he will burn the Chaff . If the Godly suffer Castigation , the Wicked shall suffer Condemnation . If he mingle his Peoples Cup with Wormwood , he will mingle the Wickeds Cup with Fire and Brimstone .

2 Use. 1. If Israel be in the House of Bondage , then do not entertain too hard Thoughts of Affliction . Christians are apt to look upon the Cross and the Iron Furnace , as Frightful things , and do what they can to shun them . Nay , sometimes to avoid Affliction , they run themselves into Sin . But do not think too hardly of Affliction , do not look upon it through the Multiplying Glass of Fear ; the House of Bondage is not Hell . Consider First , Whence doth Affliction come ? even from a Wise God , who prescribes whatever befalls us . Persecutions are but like Apothecaries , they give us that Physick which God prescribes . Secondly , Affliction hath its Light side as well as its Dark . God can sweeten our Afflictions , candy our Wormwood , 2 Cor. 1.5 . As our Sufferings abound , so doth also our Consolation . Argerius dated his Letters from the pleasant Garden of the Leonine Prison . God doth sometimes so revive his Children in Trouble , that they had rather bear their Afflictions , than want their Comforts . Why then should Christians entertain such hard thoughts of Affliction ? Do not look at its grim Face , but at the Message it brings , which is to enrich us both with Grace and Comfort .

2. If Israel be sometimes in the House of Bondage , in an Afflicted State , then think beforehand of Affliction ; say not as Iob 29.18 . I shall dye in my Nest. In the House of Mirth , think of the House of Bondage ; you that are now Naomi , may be Marah , Ruth 1.20 . How quickly may the Scene turn , and the Hyperbole of Joy end in a Catastrophe ; all outward things are upon the Tropicks , given to change . The fore-thoughts of Affliction , would make us Sober and Moderate in the use of Lawful Delights , it would cure a Surfeit . Christ at a Feast mentions his Burial , a good Antidote against a Surfeit . The forethoughts of Affliction would make us prepare for it ; it would take us off the World , it would put us upon a Search of our Evidences , she would see what Oyl we have in our Lamp , what Grace we can find , that we may be able to stand in the Evil Day . That Soldier was imprudent , who had his Sword to whet , when he was just going to Fight . He who forecasts Sufferings , will have the Shield of Faith , and the Sword of the Spirit ready , that he may not be surprized .

3. If Afflictions do come , let us labour to deport our selves wisely as Christians , that we may adorn our Sufferings : That is , let us endure with Patience , Iames 5.10 . Take my Brethren the Prophets for an Example of enduring Affliction and Patience . Satan labours to take advantage of us in Affliction , by making us either Faint or Murmure . He blows the Coals of Passion and Discontent , and then warms himself at the Fire . Patience adorns Sufferings . A Christian should say , as Jesus Christ , Lord , not my Will , but thy Will be done . And indeed , 't is a sign the Affliction is sanctified , when the Heart is brought to a sweet submissive frame , and then God will remove the Affliction : He will take us out of the Iron Furnace . And that brings me to the Second thing , Gods Deliverance of his People Israel , I brought you out of the House of Bondage .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.2 .

Who brought thee out of the House of Bondage .

WE may consider these Words , Who brought thee out of the House of Bondage , either 1. Literally , or 2. Spiritually and mystically . 1. In the Letter , I brought thee out of the House of Bondage ; that is , I delivered you out of the Misery and Servitude you sustain'd in Egypt when you were in the Iron Furnace . 2. Spiritually and Mystically , I brought thee out of the House of Bondage . So it is a Type of our Deliverance by Christ from Sin and Hell .

1. Literally , in the Letter , I brought thee out of the House of Bondage ; viz. Out of great Misery and Slavery in the Iron Furnace . The thing I note hence is , though God bring his People sometimes into trouble , yet he will bring them out again . Israel was in the House of Bondage , but at last I brought you out of Bondage . First , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , That God doth deliver out of Trouble . Secondly , In what manner . Thirdly , When are the Seasons . Fourthly , Why God delivers . Fifthly , How the deliverances of the Godly and Wicked out of Trouble differ ?

First 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . That God doth deliver his Children out of Troubles , Psal. 22.4 . Our Fathers trusted in thee , they trusted , and thou didst deliver them . 2 Tim. 4.17 . And I was delivered out of the Mouth of the Lion , viz. from Nero. Psal. 66.11 , 12. Thou laidst Affliction upon our Loins , but thou broughtest us out into a Wealthy Place . Psal. 30.5 . Heaviness may endure for a Night , but Ioy cometh in the Morning . God brought Daniel out of the Lions Den , Sihon out of Babylon . God in his due time gives an issue out of trouble , Psal. 68.20 . The Tree which in Winter seems dead , in the Spring revives : Post nubila Phaebus : Affliction may leap on us as the Viper did on Paul , but at last this Viper shall be shaked off . 'T is called a Cup of Affliction , Isa. 51.17 . The Wicked drink a Sea of Wrath , the Godly drink only a Cup of Affliction , and God will say shortly , Let this Cup pass away . God will give his People a Goal Delivery .

Secondly . Quest. In what manner doth God deliver his People out of Trouble ?

Resp. He doth it like a God , in Wisdom . 1. He doth it sometimes suddenly , as the Angel was caused to fly swiftly , Dan. 9.21 . So God sometimes makes a Deliverance fly swiftly upon the Wing , and on a Suddain he turns the shadow of Death into the Light of the Morning . As God gives us Mercies above what we can think , Ephes. 3.20 . so sometimes before we can think of them , Psal. 126.1 . When the Lord turned the Captivity of Sion , we were like them that Dreamed ; we were in a Dream , we never thought of it . Ioseph could not have thought of such a sudden Alteration , to be the same Day freed out of Prison , and made the chief Ruler in the Kingdom . Mercy sometimes doth not stick long in the Birth , but it is brought forth on a sudden . 2. God sometimes delivers his People strangely . That the Whale which swallow'd up Ionah , should be a means to bring him safe to Land . God sometimes delivers his People in that very way they think he will destroy . In Bringing Israel out of Egypt , God stirred up the Hearts of the Egyptians to hate them , Psal. 105.22 . And that was the means of their Deliverance . He brought Paul to Shoar by a contrary Wind , and upon the broken Pieces of the Ship , Acts 27.44 .

Thirdly . Quest. When are the times and Seasons that God usually delivers his People out of the Bondage of Affliction ?

Resp. 1. When they are in the greatest Extremity . When Ionah was in the Belly of Hell , then Chap. 2.5 . Thou hast brought up my Life from Corruption . When there is but an Hairs breadth between the Godly and Death , then God ushers in Deliverance . When the Ship in the Gospel was almost covered with Waves , then Christ awoke , and rebuked the Wind. When Isaac was upon the Altar , and the Knife going to be put to his Throat , then comes the Angel , Lay not thy Hand upon the Child . When Peter began to sink , then Christ took him by the Hand . Cum duplicantur lateres venit Moses : When the Tale of Brick was doubled , then comes Moses the Temporal Saviour . When the People of God are in the greatest danger , then appears the Morning Star of Deliverance . When the Patient is ready to faint , now the Cordial is given .

2. The Second Season is , when Affliction hath done its Work upon them : When it hath effected that God hath sent it for . As First , When it hath humbled them , Lam. 3.19 . Remembring my Affliction , the Wormwood and Gall , my Soul is humbled in me . When Gods Corrosive hath eat out the Proud Flesh. Secondly , When it hath tamed their Impatience . Before they were proud and impatient , like froward Children , that would struggle with their Parents , but when their curst Hearts are tamed , and they say as Micah 7.9 . I will bear the Indignation of the Lord , because I have sin'd against him ; and as Eli , It is the Lord , let him do what seems him good ; Let him hedge me with Thorns , if he will plant me with Grace .

3 When they are more Partakers of God's Holiness , Heb. 12.10 . they are more full of Heavenly-Mindedness . When the sharp Frost of Affliction hath brought forth the Spring Flowers of Grace , now the Cross is sanctified , and God will bring them out of the House of Bondage . Luctus in laetitiam vertetur , cineres in Corollas . When the Metal is refined , then it is taken out of the Furnace . When Affliction hath heal'd us , now God takes off the smarting Plaister .

Fourthly . Quest. Why doth God bring his People out of the House of Bondage ?

Resp. Hereby he makes way for his own Glory . Gods Glory is dearer to him than any thing besides ; it is a Crown-Jewel . God by raising his People , raiseth the Trophies of his own Honour : He glorifies his Attributes : His Power , Goodness , Truth , do all Ride in Triumph .

1. His Power . If God did not sometimes bring his People into Trouble , how would his Power be seen in bringing them out ? He brought Israel out of the House of Bondage , with Miracle upon Miracle , he saved them with an outstretched-Arm ; Psal. 114.5 . What ailed thee O thou Sea , that thou fleddest , &c. It is spoken of Israel's March out of Egypt , when the Sea fled , and the Waters were parted each from other . Here was the power of God set forth , Ier. 32.27 . Is any thing too hard for me ? God loves to help , when things seem past hope ; he creates Deliverance , Psal. 124.8 . He brought Isaac out of a Dead Womb , and the Messiah out of a Virgins Womb. O how doth his Power shine forth , when he overcomes seeming Impossibilities , and works a Cure , when things look desperate !

2. His Truth . God hath made Promises to his People , when they are under great pressures to deliver them , and his Truth is engaged in his Promise , Psal. 50.15 . Call-upon me in the Day of Trouble , I will deliver thee . Job 5.19 . He shall deliver thee in Six Troubles , and in Seven . How is the Scripture bespangled with these Promises , as the Firmament is with Stars ; either God will deliver them from Death , or by Death ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , he will make a way to escape , 1 Cor. 10.13 . When Promises are verified , God's Truth is magnified .

3. His Goodness . God is full of Compassion to such as are in Misery . The Hebrew Word Racham , for Mercy , signifies Bowels . God hath Soundings of Bowels , Isa. 63.15 . And this Sympathy stirs up God to deliver , Isa. 63.9 . In his Love and in his Pity he Redeemed them . This makes way for the Triumph of Gods Goodness . First ▪ He is Tender-hearted , he will not over-afflict ; he cuts asunder the Bars of Iron , he breaks the Yoaks of the Oppressor . Thus all his Attributes ride in Triumph , in the saving his People out of Trouble .

Fifthly . Quest. How the Deliverances of the Godly and Wicked out of Trouble differ ?

Resp. 1. The deliverances of the Godly are Preservations ; of the Wicked are Reservations , 2 Pet. 2.9 . The Lord knows how to deliver the Godly , and to reserve the Unjust to be Punished . A Sinner may be delivered from dangerous Sickness , and out of Prison ; but all this is but a Reservation to some greater Evil.

2. God delivers the Wicked ( or rather spares them , ) in Anger . Deliverances to the Wicked are not given as Pledges of Gods Love , but Symptoms of his Displeasure ; as Quails were given to Israel in Anger . But Deliverances of the Godly are in Love , 2 Sam. 22.20 . He delivered me , because he delighted in me . Isa. 38.17 . Thou hast in love to my Soul delivered me from the Pit of Corruption ; or as in Hebrew , Chashiacta Naphshi , Thou hast loved me from the Pit of Corruption . A Wicked Man may say , Lord thou hast loved me out of the Pit of Corruption . But a Godly Man may say , Lord thou hast loved me out of the Pit of Corruption . It is one thing to have Gods Power deliver us , and another thing to have his Love deliver us . O saith Hezekiah , Thou hast in Love to my Soul delivered me from the Pit of Corruption .

Quest. How may it be known that a Deliverance comes in Love ?

Resp. 1. When a Deliverance makes our Heart boil over in love to God , Psal. 116.1 . I love the Lord because he hath heard my Voice . It is one thing to love our Mercies , another thing to love the Lord : Then a Deliverance is in Love , when it causeth Love .

2. Then a Deliverance is in Love , when we have Hearts to improve it for Gods Glory : The Wicked , instead of improving their Deliverances for Gods Glory , improve their Corruptions ; they grow worse after , as the Metal when it is taken out of the Fire grows harder : But then our Deliverance is in Love , when we improve it for Gods Glory : God raiseth us out of a low Condition , and we lift him up in our Praises , and honour him with our Substance , Prov. 3.9 . He recovers us from Sickness , and we spend our selves in his Service . Mercy is not as the Sun to the Fire , to dull it and put it out ; but as Oyl to the Wheel to make it move faster .

3. Then a Deliverance comes in Love , when it makes us more Exemplary in Holiness : Our Lives are walking Bibles . A Thousand Praises and Doxologies do not honour God , so much as the Mortifying one Lust , Obadiah 17. On Mount Zion there shall be Deliverance and Holiness . When these two go together , Deliverance and Holiness ; when being made Monuments of Mercy , we are Patterns of Piety : Now a-Deliverance comes in Love , and we may say as Hezekiah , Thou hast loved me out of the Pit of Corruption .

1. If God brings his People out of Bondage , then let none despond in trouble ; say not , I shall sink under this burden ; as David , I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul . God can make this Text good , Personally and Nationally , to bring his People out of the House of Bondage : When he sees a fit Season he will put forth his Arm and save them ; and he can do it with ease , 2 Chron. 14.11 . It is nothing for thee Lord to help . He that turns the Tides can turn the Times : He that raised Lazarus when he was Dead , can raise thee when thou art Sick , Isa. 63.5 . I looked , and there was none to help ; therefore my own arm brought Salvation . Do not despond ; believe in Gods Power ; Faith sets God on work to deliver us .

2. Labour ( if you are in trouble ) to be fitted for Deliverance : Many would have Deliverance , but are not fitted for it .

Quest. When are we fitted for Deliverance ?

Resp. When we are by our Afflictions conformed to Christ : Namely , When we have learned Obedience , Heb. 5.8 . He learned Obedience by the things which he suffered : That is , he learned sweet Submission to his Fathers Will , Luke 22.42 . Not my will , but thy will be done . When we have thus learned Obedience by our Suffering , we are willing to do what God will have us do , and be what God will have us be . Now we are conformed to Christ , and are fitted for Deliverance .

3. If God have brought you at any time out of the House of Bondage , out of great and eminent Troubles , be much in Doxology and Praise ; Deliverance calls for Praise , Psal. 30.11 , 12. Thou hast put off my Sackcloth , and girded me with gladness : To the end that my Glory may sing praise to thee . My Glory , ( that is , my Tongue which is the Instrument of glorifying thee . ) The Saints are Temples of the Holy Ghost , 1 Cor. 3.16 . Where should Gods Praises be sounded but in his Temples ? Beneficium postulat officium : The deepest Springs yield the sweetest Water : And Hearts deeply sensible of Gods Deliverances yield the sweetest Praises . Moses tells Pharaoh , when he was going out of Egypt , We will go with our Sheep and our Cattle , Exod. 10.9 . Why so ? Because he might have Sacrifices of Thanksgiving ready to offer to God for their Deliverance . To have a thankful Heart for a Deliverance , is a greater Blessing than the Deliverance it self , Luke 17.15 . One of the Lepers , when he saw he was healed , turned back , and with a loud voice glorified God . The Lepers thankful Heart was a greater Blessing than to be healed of his Leprosie : Have any of you here been brought out of the House of Bondage , out of Prison , Sickness , or any Death-threatning Danger ? Do not forget to be thankful ; be not Graves , but Temples : And that you may be the more Thankful , observe every Emphasis and Circumstance in your Deliverance ; as to be brought out of trouble when you were In articulo mortis , there was but an Hairs breadth between you and Death ; or to be brought out of Affliction , without Sin , you did not purchase your Deliverance , by the insnaring of your Consciences ; or , to be brought out of trouble upon the Wings of Prayer ; or , that those who were the Occasions of bringing you into trouble , should be the Instruments of bringing you out : These Circumstances being well weighed , do highten a Deliverance , and should highten our Thankfulness : The cutting of a Stone may be of more Value than the Stone it self : And the Circumstancing of a Deliverance may be greater than the Deliverance it self .

Quest. But how shall we praise God in a right manner for Deliverances ?

Resp. 1. Be Holy Persons : In the Sacrifices of Thanksgiving , whosoever did eat thereof , with their Uncleanness upon them , were to be cut off , Lev. 7.20 . to typifie how unpleasing their Praises and Thank-offerings are who live in Sin .

2. Praise God with humble Hearts , acknowledge how unworthy you were of Deliverance : Gods Mercies are not Debts but Legacies , and that you should have a Legacy given you , be humble , Rev. 11.16 . The Elders fell upon their Faces ( an Expression of Humility ) and worshipped and praised God .

3. Praise God for Deliverances cordially , Psal. 111.1 . I will praise the Lord , Becol Levau , with my whole Heart . In Religion there is no Musick but in Consort , when Heart and Tongue joyn .

4. Praise God for Deliverance constantly , Psal. 146.2 . While I live will I bless the Lord : Some will be thankful while the Memory of a Deliverance is fresh , and then they leave off . Like the Carthaginians , who used at first to send the Tenth of their yearly Revenue to Hercules ; but by degrees they grew weary , and left off sending . But we must be constant in our Eucharistical Sacrifice or Thank-offering : The Motion of our Praise must be like the Motion of our Pulse , which beats as long as Life lasts , Psal. 146.1 . I will sing praises to my God while I have any Being .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.2 .

Out of the House of Bondage .

2. THese words are to be understood Mystically and Spiritually . By Israels Deliverance from the House of Bondage , is typified their Spiritual Deliverance from Sin , Satan and Hell .

I. From Sin . ] The House of Bondage was a Type of Israels Deliverance from Sin . Sin is the true Bondage , it inslaves the Soul : Nihil durius Servitute , Cicero . Of all Conditions Servitude is the worst . I was held before Conversion ( saith Austin ) not with an iron Ghain , but with the Obstinacy of my own Will. Sin is the inslaver ; Sin is called , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Law , Rom. 7.23 . because it hath such a binding power over a Man : And it is said , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to reign , Rom. 6.12 . because it exerciseth a Tyrannical Power : And Men are said to be the Servants of Sin , Rom. 6.17 . because they are so inslaved by it . Thus Sin is the House of Bondage ; Israel was not so inslaved in the Iron Furnace , as the Sinner is by Sin . Those are worse Slaves and Vassals who are under the power of Sin , than those are who are under the power of Earthly Tyrants .

1. Other Slaves have the Tyrants only rule over their Bodies ; but the Sinner hath his Soul Tyranniz'd over : The Soul , that Princely thing , which sways the Scepter of Reason , and was once crown'd with perfect Knowledge and Holiness , now this Prince goes on foot , it is inslaved and made a Lackey to every base Lust.

2. Other Slaves have some pity shewn them , the Tyrant gives them Meat , and lets them have hours for their Rest : But Sin is a merciless Tyrant , it will let Men have no Rest. Iudas had no rest till he had betrayed Christ ; and after that he had less rest in his Conscience . How doth a Man Hackney himself out in the Service of Sin , wast his Body , break his Sleep , distract his Mind ? A wicked Man is every day doing Sins drudgery-work .

3. Other Slaves , though they are set about servile work , yet about lawful ; it is lawful to work in the Gally , tug at the Oar ; but all the Laws and Commands of Sin are unlawful : Sin saith to one Man Defraud , to another be Unchast , to another take Revenge ; to another , take a false Oath . Thus all Sins commands are unlawful , we cannot obey Sins Law but by breaking Gods Law .

4. Other Slaves are forced against their will : Israel groaned under Slavery , Exod. 2.23 . But Sinners are content to be under the command of Sin , they are willing to be Slaves , they love their Chains , they will not take their Freedom : They Glory in their shame , Phil. 3.19 . They wear their Sins , not as their Fetters , but their Ornaments : They rejoyce in Iniquity , Ier. 11.15 .

5. Other Slaves are brought to Correction , but Sins Slaves are without Repentance brought to Condemnation : Other Slaves lye in the Iron Furnace , Sins Slaves lye in the Fiery Furnace . What freedom of Will hath a Sinner to his own Conversion , when he can do nothing but what Sin will have him ? He is enslaved . Thus Sinners are in the House of Bondage , but God takes his Elect out of this House of Bondage : He beats off the Chains and Fetters of Sin : He rescues them from their Slavery : He makes them free , by bringing them into the glorious Liberty of the Children of God , Rom. 8. The Law of Love now commands not the Law of Sin : Though the Life of Sin be prolonged , yet not the Dominion : As those Beats in Daniel had their Lives prolonged for a Season , but their Dominion was taken away , Dan. 7.12 . The Saints are made Spiritual Kings , to rule and conquer their Corruptions , to bind these Kings in Chains : This is matter of the highest Praise and Thanksgiving , to be thus taken out of the House of Bondage , to be freed from enslaving Lusts , and made Kings to reign in Glory for ever .

II. The bringing Israel out of the House of Bondage , was a Type of their Deliverance from Satan . Thus Men naturally are in the House of Bondage , they are inslaved to Satan : Satan is called the Prince of this World , Iohn 14.30 . and the God of this World , 2 Cor. 4.4 . because he hath such power to command and inslave them : Though Satan shall one day be a close Prisoner in Chains , yet now he doth Insult and Tyrannize over the Souls of Men : Sinners are under the Rule of Satan , he exerciseth over them such a Jurisdiction as Cesar did over the Senate . The Devil fills Mens Heads with Error , and their Hearts with Malice , Acts 5.3 . Why hath Satan filled thine Heart ? A Sinners Heart is the Devils Mansion-House , Matt. 12.44 . I will return into my House . And sure that must needs be an House of Bondage which is the Devils Mansion-House . Satan is a perfect Tyrant , 1. He rules Mens Minds , he blinds them with Ignorance , 2 Cor. 4.4 . The God of this World hath blinded the minds of them that believe not . 2. He rules their Memories ; they shall remember that which is Evil , and forget that which is good : Their Memories are like a Siercer or Strainer that lets go all the pure Liquor , and retains only the Dregs . 3. He rules their Wills : Though the Devil cannot force the Will , yet he draws it , Iohn 8.44 . The Lusts of your Father you will do . He hath got your Hearts , and him you will obey : His strong Temptations do more draw Men to Evil , than all the Promises of God can draw them to Good . This is the State of every Man by Nature , he is in the House of Bondage , Casus . the Devil hath him in his power : A Sinner grinds in the Devils Mill ; he is at the Command of Satan , as the Ass is at the command of the Driver : No wonder to see Men , Non mirum . oppress and persecute ; these Slaves must do what the God of this World will have them : How could those Swine but run , when the Devils entred into them Matt. 8.32 . When the Devil tempted Ananias to tell a Lye , he could not but speak what Satan had put in his Heart , Acts 5.3 . When the Devil entred into Iudas , and bid him betray Christ , Iudas would do it though he hanged himself . This case is sad and dismal to be thus in the House of Bondage under the power and Tyranny of Satan : Tristis . When David would curse the Enemies of God , how did he pray against them , that Satan might be at their right hand , Psal. 109.6 . He knew he could lead them into any Snare : If Satan be at the Sinners right hand , let the Sinner take heed he be not set on Gods left hand : Is not this a case to be bewailed , to see Men taken Captive by Satan at his will , 2 Tim. 2.26 . He leads Sinners as Slaves before him in Triumph : He possesseth them ; If People should see but their Beasts bewitched and possessed of the Devil , they would be much troubled : Yet their Souls are possessed by Satan , but they are not sensible . [ What can be worse than to be in the House of Bondage , to have the Devil hurry Men on in their Lusts to Perdition ? ] Sinners are willingly inslav'd to Satan , they love their Goaler ; are content to sit quietly under Satans Jurisdiction ; they choose this Bramble to rule them , though within a while Fire will come out of this Bramble to devour them , Iudges 9. Now what an infinite Mercy of God is it , when he brings poor Souls out of this House of Bondage , when he gives them a Goal delivery from the Prince of Darkness ! Iesus Christ Redeems Captives : He Ransoms Sinners by Price , and Rescues them by Force : As David took a Lamb out of the Lyons Mouth , 1 Sam. 17.34 . So Christ rescues Souls out of the Mouth of this Roaring Lyon . O what a Mercy is it , to be brought out of the House of Bondage , to be taken from being made Captives to the Prince of the Air , and to be made Subjects of the Prince of Peace ! And this is done by the preaching of the Word , Acts 26.18 . To turn them from the power of Satan unto God .

III. The bringing of Israel out of the House of Bondage , was a Type of their being delivered from Hell . Hell is Domus Servitutis , An House of Bondage ; an House built on purpose for Sinners to lye in .

1. That there is such an House of Bondage where the Damned lye , Psal. 9.17 . The wicked shall be turned into Hell , Matt. 23.33 . How can ye escape the damnation of Hell . If any one shall ask where this House of Bondage is , where is the place of Hell ? I wish you may never know feelingly , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrys. Let us not so much , saith Chrysostom , labour to know where Hell is , as how to escape it . Yet to satisfie Curiosity , Hell is Locus subterraneus , Some place beneath , Prov. 5.24 . Hell beneath . Hesiod saith , Hell is as far under the Earth , as Heaven is above it . Luke . 8.31 . The Devils besought Christ , That he would not command them to go into the deep . Hell is in the Deep .

2. Q. Why there must be this House of Bondage , why an Hell ? Resp. Because there must be a place for the Execution of Divine Justice : Earthly Monarchs have their Prison for Malefactors , and shall not God have his ? Sinners are Criminal Persons , they have offended God , and it would not consist with Gods Holiness and Justice , to have his Laws infring'd , and not appoint Penalties for the Transgressors .

3. The Dreadfulness of this place : Could you but for one hour hear the Groans and Shreaks of the Damned , it would confirm you in this Truth , that Hell is an House of Bondage : Hell is the Emphasis of Misery : Besides the Poena damni , the Punishment of Loss , which is the Exclusion of the Soul from the glorified sight of God , which Divines think the worst part of Hell . I say besides this , there will be Poena Sensus , the Punishment of Sense . If when Gods Wrath is kindled but a little , and a spark of it flies into a Mans Conscience in this Life , it is so terrible ( as in the case of Spira ) then what will Hell it self be ? That I may describe this House of Bondage .

1. In Hell there will be a Plurality of Torments . 1. Bonds and Chains , 2 Pet. 2.4 . 2. The Worm , Mark 9.44 . This is the Worm of Conscience , and the Lake of Fire , Rev. 20.15 . other Fire is but painted to this .

2. This House of Hell is haunted with Devils , Matt. 25.41 . Anselm hath a saying , I had rather endure all Torments , than see the Devil with bodily Eyes . Such as go to Hell must not only be forced to behold the Devil , but must be shut up in the Den with this Lyon : They must keep the Devil company : The Devil is full of spight against Mankind : This red Dragon will spet Fire in Mens Faces .

3. The Torment of Hell abides for ever , Rev. 14.11 . The smoak of their Torment ascendeth up for ever and ever , Mark 9.44 . Time cannot finish it , Tears cannot quench it : The Wicked are Salamanders who live always in the Fire of Hell , and are not consum'd : After Sinners have lain Millions of Years in Hell , their Punishment is as far from ending , as it was at the beginning : If all the Earth and Sea were Sand , and every thousand Year a Bird should come and take away one grain of this Sand , it would be a long time e'er that vast heap of Sand were emptied . Yet if after all that time the Damned might come out of Hell , there were some hope , but this word EVER breaks the Heart .

Quest. But how doth this seem to stand with Gods Iustice , for a Sin committed in a moment , to punish it with eternal Torment ?

Resp. 1. Because there is an Eternity of Sin in Mans Nature . 2. Because Sin is Crimen laesae Majestatis , it is committed against an infinite Majesty , therefore the Sin is Infinite , and proportionably the Punishment must be Infinite . Now , because a finite Creature cannot bear infinite Wrath , therefore he must be eternally satisfying what he cannot satisfie at once . Now then , if Hell be such an House of Bondage , what infinite cause have they to bless God , who are delivered from it ? 1 Thess. 1.10 . Iesus delivered us from the Wrath to come . Jesus Christ suffered the Torments of Hell in his Soul , that Believers should not suffer them . If we are thankful when we are ransomed out of Prison , or delivered from Fire , Oh how should we bless God to be preserved from Wrath to come ! And that which may cause the more Thankfulness , is because the most go into this House of Bondage , the most go to Hell : Therefore to be of the number of those few that are delivered from it , is matter of infinite Thankfulness . I say , most go to this House of Bondage when they dye ; most go to Hell , Matt. 7.13 . Broad is the way which leadeth to destruction , and many there be that go in thereat . The greatest part of the World lies in Wickedness , 1 Iohn 5.19 . Divide the World , saith Brerewood , into 31 parts , nineteen parts of it are possessed by Jews and Turks , seven parts by Heathens ; so that there are but five parts of Christians ; and among these Christians so many seduced Papists on one hand , and so many formal Protestants on the other , that we may conclude the major part of the World goes to Hell . 1. The Scripture compares the Wicked to Briars , Isa. 10.17 . There are but few Lillies in your Fields , but in every Hedge Thorns and Briars . 2. To the mire in the streets , Isa. 10.6 . Few Jewels or precious Stones in the Street , but you cannot go a step but you meet with Mire . The Wicked are as common as the Dirt in the Street : Look into the Generality of People ; How many Drunkards for one that is Sober ? How many Adulterers for one that is Chast ? How many Hypocrites for one that is Sincere ? The Devil hath the Harvest , and God only a few Gleanings . Oh then such as are delivered from the House of Bondage , Hell , have infinite cause to admire and bless God . How should the Vessels of Mercy run over with Thankfulness ? When most are carried Prisoners to Hell , they are delivered from Wrath to come .

Quest. How shall I know I am delivered from Hell ?

Resp. 1. Those whom Christ saves from Hell , he saves from Sin , Matt. 1.21 . He shall save his People from their sins . Hath God delivered you from the power of Corruption , from Pride , Malice , Lust ? If he hath delivered you from the Hell of Sin , then he hath delivered you from the Hell of Torment .

2. If you have got an Interest in Christ , prizing , confiding , loving him , then you are delivered from Hell and Damnation , Rom. 8.1 . No Condemnation to them which are in Christ Iesus . If you are in Christ , then he hath put the Garment of his Righteousness over you , and Hell Fire can never singe this Garment . Pliny observes , nothing will so soon quench Fire as Salt and Blood : The Salt tears off Repentance , and the Blood of Christ will quench the Fire of Hell , that it shall never kindle upon you .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.3 .

Thou shalt have no other Gods before me , &c.

BEfore I come to the Commandment , I shall premise some things about the Moral Law : Answer Questions , Rules .

Quest. 1. What is the difference between the Moral Law and the Gospel ?

Resp. 1. The Law requires that we worship God as our Creator : The Gospel requires that we worship God in and through Christ . God in Christ is propitious , out of Christ we may see Gods Power , Justice , Holiness ; in Christ we see his Mercy display'd .

2. The Moral Law requires Obedience , but gives no strength ( as Pharaoh required Brick but gave no Straw ) but the Gospel gives strength : The Gospel bestows Faith upon the Elect : The Gospel sweetens the Law ; it makes us serve God with delight .

Quest. 2. What use is there of the Moral Law to us ?

Resp. The Law is a Glass to shew us our Sins , that so seeing our Pollution and Misery , we may be forced to fly to Christ to satisfie for former guilt , and save from future Wrath , Gal. 3.24 . The Law was our School-master to bring us to Christ .

Quest. 3. But is the Moral Law still in force to Believers , is it not abolished to them ?

Resp. In some sense it is abolished to Believers . 1. In respect of Justification ; they are not justified by their Obedience to the Moral Law . Believers are to make great use of the Moral Law ( as I shall shew ) but they must trust only to Christs Righteousness for Justification ; as Noah's Dove made use of her Wings to fly , but trusted to the Ark for Safety : If the Moral Law could justifie , what need were there of Christs Dying ? 2. The Moral Law is abolished to Believers , in respect of the Malediction of it : They are freed from the Curse and damnatory power of it , Gal. 3.13 . Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law , being made a Curse for us .

Quest. 4. How was Christ made a Curse for us ?

Resp. Christ may be considered , 1. As the Son of God , and so he was not made a Curse . 2. As our Pledge and Surety , Heb. 7.22 . And so he was made a Curse for us : This Curse was not upon his God-head , but upon his Manhood . This Curse was the Wrath of God lying upon him . And thus Christ hath taken away from Believers the Curse of the Law , by being made a Curse for them . But though the Moral Law is thus far abolished , yet it remains as a perpetual Rule to Believers : Though the Law Moral be not their Saviour , yet it is their Guide : Though it be not Foedus , a Covenant of Life , yet it is Norma , a Rule of Living : Every Christian is bound to conform to the Moral Law , and write as exactly as he can , after this Copy , Rom. 3.31 . Do we then make void the Law through Faith ? God forbid . Though a Christian is not under the condemning power of the Law , yet he is under the commanding power . To love God , to reverence and obey him , this is a Law always binds , and will bind in Heaven . This I urge against the Antinomians , who say the Moral Law is abrogated to Believers ; which as it contradicts Scripture , so it is a Key to open the Door to all Licentiousness . They who will not have the Law to rule them , shall never have the Gospel to save them . Having answered these Questions , I shall in the next place , law down some general Rules for the right understanding of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments : These Rules may serve to give us some light into the Sense and Meaning of the Commandments .

Rule 1. The Commands and Prohibitions of the Moral Law reach the Heart .

1. The Commands of the Moral Law reach the Heart : The Commandments require not only outward Actions , but inward Affections : They require not only the outward Act of Obedience , but the inward Affection of Love , Deut. 6.5 . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God , with all thy Heart .

2. The Threats and Prohibitions of the Moral Law reach the Heart : The Law of God forbids not only the Act of Sin , but the Desire and Inclination : Not only doth it forbid Adultery , but Lusting , Matt. 5.28 . Not only Stealing but Coveting , Rom. 7.7 . Lex humana ligat manum , lex Divina comprimit animam . Mans Law binds only the Hands , Gods Law binds the Heart .

Rule 2. In the Commandments there is a Synecdoche , more is intended than is spoken . 1. Where any Duty is commanded , there the contrary Sin is forbidden , &c. When we are commanded to keep the Sabbath day Holy , there we are forbidden to break the Sabbath : When we are commanded to live in a calling , Six days shalt thou labour , there we are forbidden to live idly and out of a Calling . 2. Where any Sin is forbidden , there the contrary Duty is commanded : When we are forbidden to take Gods Name i● vain , the contrary Duty is commanded , that we should reverence his Name , Deut. 28.58 . That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful Name , the Lord thy God . Where we are forbidden to wrong our Neighbour ; there is the contrary Duty included , that we should do him all the good we can , by vindicating his Name , and supplying his Wants .

Rule 3. Where any Sin is forbidden in the Commandment , there the occasion of it is also forbidden . Where Murder is forbidden , there Envy and rash Anger are forbidden which may occasion it . Where Adultery is forbidden in the Commandment , there is forbidden all that may lead to it , as wanton glances of the Eye , or coming into the Company of an Harlot , Prov. 5.8 . Come not nigh the Door of her House . He who would be free from the Plague , must not come near the Infected House . Under the Law the Nazarite was forbid to drink Wine , nor might he eat Grapes of which the Wine was made .

Rule 4. In relato subintelligitur correlatum . Where one Relation is named in the Commandment , there another Relation is included . Where the Child is named , there the Father is included . Where there is the Duty of Children to Parents mentioned , there is included also the Duty of Parents to Children . Where the Child is commanded to honour the Parent , there is implyed , that the Parent is also commanded to instruct , to love , to provide for the Child .

Rule 5. Where greater Sins are forbidden , there lesser Sins are also forbidden . Though no Sin in its own Nature is little , yet comparatively one may be less than another . Where Idolatry is forbidden , there is forbidden Superstition , or bringing any Innovation into God's Worship which he hath not appointed . As the Sons of Aaron were forbid to worship an Idol , so to Sacrifice to God with strange Fire , Lev. 10.1 . Mixture in Sacred things , is like a dash in the Wine , which though it gives it a colour , yet doth but debase and adulterate it . 'T is highly provoking to God to bring any Superstitious Ceremony into his Worship which he hath not prescribed ; it is to tax God's Wisdom , as if he were not Wise enough to appoint the manner how he will be served .

Rule 6. The Law of God is Copulative , Lex est Copulativa : The First and Second Table are knit together ; Piety to God , and Equity to our Neighbour . These Two Tables which God hath joined together , must not be put asunder . Try a Moral Man by the Duties of the First Table , Piety to God , and there you will find him Negligent . Try an Hypocrite by Duties of the Second Table , Equity to his Neighbour , and there you find him Tardy . He who is strict in the Second Table , but neglects the First , or he who is zealous in the First Table , but neglects the Second , his Heart is not right with God . The Pharisees were the Highest Pretenders to the First Table , Zeal and Holiness ; but Christ detects their Hypocrisie , Mat. 23.23 . Ye have omitted Judgment , Mercy and Faith . They were bad in the Second Table ; they omitted Judgment , that was , being Just in their Dealings , Mercy in Relieving the Poor , and Faith , that is Faithfulness in their Promises and Contracts with Men. God wrote both the Tables , and our Obedience must set Seal to both .

Rule 7. God's Law forbids not only the Acting of Sin in our own Persons , but being accessary to , or having any Hand in the Sins of others .

Quest. How and in what Sense may we be said to partake and have an Hand in the Sins of others ?

Resp. 1. By Decreeing Unrighteous Decrees , and imposing on others that which is unlawful : Ieroboam made the People of Israel to Sin ; he was accessary to their Idolatry by setting up golden Calves : So David , though he did not in his own Person kill Uriah ; yet because he wrote a Letter to Ioab , to set Uriah in the Fore-front of the Battle , and it was done by his command , therefore he was accessary to Uriah's Death , and the Murther of him was laid to David's Charge by the Prophet , 2 Sam. 12.9 . Thou hast kill'd Uriah the Hittite with the Sword .

2. We become accessary to the Sins of others , by not hindering them when it is in our power : Qui non prohibet cum potest , jubet : If a Master of a Family sees his Servant break the Sabbath , or hears him Swear , and lets him alone , doth not use the power he hath to suppress him , he becomes accessary to his sin . Eli , for not punishing his Sons , when they made the Offering of the Lord to be abhorred , made himself guilty , 1 Sam. 3.14 . He that suffers an Offender to escape unpunished , makes himself an Offender .

3. By counselling , abetting , or provoking others to sin . Achitophel made himself guilty of the Fact , by giving Counsel to Absalom to go in and defile his Fathers Concubines , 2 Sam. 16.21 . He who shall tempt and solicit another to be Drunk , though he himself be sober , yet being the occasion of anothers sin , he is accessary to it , Hab. 2.15 . Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink , that puttest thy Bottle to him .

4. By consenting to anothers sin : Saul did not cast one stone at Stephen , yet the Scripture saith , Saul was consenting to his Death , Acts 8.1 . Thus he had an hand in it ; if several did combine to Murther a Man , and they should tell another of their intent , and he should give his consent to it , he were guilty , though his hand were not in the Murther , yet his Heart was in it : Though he did not act it , yet he did approve it ; so it became his sin .

5. By Example , Vivitur Exemplis , Examples are powerful and cogent ; setting a bad Example occasions another to sin ; and so a Person becomes accessary . If the Father Swears , and the Child by his Example learns to Swear , the Father is accessary to the Childs sin , he taught him by his Example : As there are Diseases Hereditary , so Sins .

Rule 8. The last Rule about the Commandments , is this , that though we cannot by our own strength fulfil all these Commandments , yet doing , quoad posse , what we are able , the Lord hath provided Encouragement for us . There is a three-fold Encouragement .

1. That though we have not Ability to obey any one Command , yet God hath in the New Covenant promised to work that in us , which he requires , Ezek. 36.27 . I will cause you to walk in my Statutes . God commands us to love him : Alas , how weak is our Love ? It is like the Herb that is hot only in the first Degree : But God hath promised to Circumcise our Hearts , that we shall love him , Deut. 30.6 . He that doth command us will inable us : God commands us to turn from sin , but alas we have not power to turn ; therefore God hath promised to turn us ; to put his Spirit within us , and turn the Heart of stone into flesh , Ezek. 36.26 . There is nothing in the Command , but the same is in the Promise . Therefore Christian be not discouraged ; though thou hast no strength of thy own , yet God will give thee this strength . The Iron hath no power to move , but when the Load-stone draws it it can move , Isa. 26.12 . Thou hast wrought all our works in us .

2. Though we cannot exactly fulfil the Moral Law , yet God will for Christ's sake mitigate the Rigour of the Law , and accept of something less than he requires . God in the Law requires exact Obedience , yet he will accept of sincere Obedience . He will abate something of the Degree , if there be Truth in the inward parts . God will see the Faith , and pass by the Failing : The Gospel remits something of the Severity of the Moral Law .

3. Wherein our personal Obedience comes short , God will be pleased to accept us in our Surety , Eph. 1.6 . He hath accepted us , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in his beloved . Though our Obedience be imperfect , yet through Christ our Surety , God looks upon it as perfect . And that very Service which Gods Law might condemn , Gods Mercy is pleased to crown , by vertue of the Blood of our Mediator . Having given you these Rules about the Commandments , I should come next to the direct handling of them .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.3 .

Thou shalt have no other Gods before me , &c.

Quest. WHy doth the Commandment run in the second Person singular , Thou ] why doth not God say , You shall have no other Gods , but Thou ?

Resp. Because the Commandment concerns every one , and God would have you take it as spoken to you by Name : Though we are forward to take Privileges to our selves , yet we are apt to shift off Duty from our selves to others : Thefore the Commandment runs in the second Person , Thou and Thou , that every one may know that the Commandment is spoken to him , as it were by name . And so I come to the Commandment , Thou shalt have no other Gods before me . This Commandment may well lead the Van , and be set in the Front of all the Commandments , because it is the Foundation of all true Religion . The summ of this Commandment is , that we should sanctifie God in our Hearts , and give him a Precedency above all created Beings . There are two Branches of this Commandment . 1. That we must have One God . 2. That we must have but one . Or thus : 1. That we must have God for our God : 2. That we must have no other . 1. That we must have God for our God : It is manifest we must have a God , and who is God save the Lord ? 2 Sam. 22.32 . The Lord Iehovah ( one God in three Persons ) is the true , living , eternal God , and him must we have for our God .

Quest. 1. What is it to make God to be a God to us ?

Resp. 1. To make God to be a God to us , is to acknowledge him for a God : The Gods of the Heathen are Idols , Psalm 96.5 . and we know that an Idol is nothing , 1 Cor. 8.4 . that is , it hath nothing of Deity in it : If we cry , Help O Idol , an Idol cannot help ; the Idols were themselves carried into Captivity , Isa. 46.2 . So that an Idol is nothing , Vanity is ascribed to it , Ier. 14.22 . we do not acknowledge it to be a God . But this is to make God to be a God to us , when we do , ex animo , acknowledge him to be God , 1 Kings 18.39 . All the People fell on their Faces , and said , The Lord he is the God! The Lord he is the God! Yea , we acknowledge God to be the only God , 2 Kings 19.15 . O Lord God of Israel , which dwellest between the Cherubims , thou art the God , even thou alone . Deity is a Jewel belongs only to his Crown : Yet further , we acknowledge that there is no God like him , 1 Kings 8.23 . And Solomon stood before the Altar of the Lord , And he said , Lord God of Israel , there is no God like thee , Psalm 89.6 . For who in the Heaven can be compared unto the Lord ; who among the Sons of the Mighty , can be likened unto the Lord ? In the Chaldee it is , Who among the Angels ? None can do as God , he brought the World out of nothing ; And he hangs the Earth upon nothing , Iob 26.7 . This is to make God to be a God to us , when we are perswaded in our Hearts , and confess with our Tongue , and subscribe with our Hand , that God is the only true God , and that there is none comparable to him .

2. To make God to be a God to us , is to choose him , Ioshua 24.15 . Choose ye this day whom you will serve ; but as for me and my House , we will serve the Lord . That is , we will choose the Lord to be our God : It is one thing for the Judgment to approve of God , and another thing for the Will to choose him . Religion is not a matter of Chance , but Choice . Quest. What is antecedent to , or goes before this Choice ? Resp. 1. Before this choosing God for our God , there must be Knowledge : We must know God before we can choose him ; before one choose the Person he will Marry , he must first have some Knowledge and Cognisance of the Person : So we must know God before we can choose him for our God , 2 Chron. 28.9 . Know thou the God of thy Fathers . We must know God in his Attributes , Glorious in Holiness , Rich in Mercy , Faithful in Promises : We must know God in his Son : As in a Glass a Face is represented , so in Christ as in a Transparent Glass , we see Gods Beauty and Love shine forth . This Knowledge must go before our choosing of God . Lactantius said , All the Learning of the Philosophers was without an Head , because it wanted the Knowledge of God . 2. Wherein our choosing of God consists : It is an Act of Mature Deliberation ; a Christian having viewed the Superlative Excellencies in God , and being stricken into an Holy Admiration of his Perfections , he singles out God from all other Objects to set his Heart upon : He saith as Iacob , Gen. 28.21 . The Lord shall be my God . 3. The Effect of choosing God : The Soul that chooseth God , devotes himself to God , Psalm 119.38 . Thy Servant , who is devoted to thy fear . As the Vessels of the Sanctuary were consecrated and set apart from common to Holy Uses : So the Soul who hath chosen God to be his God , hath dedicated and set himself apart for God , and will be no more for Profane Uses .

3. To make God to be a God to us , is to enter into a Solemn Covenant with him , that he shall be our God : After Choice follows the Marriage Covenant : As God makes a Covenant with us , Isa. 55.3 . I will make an everlasting Covenant with you , even the sure Mercies of David : So we make a Covenant with him , 2 Chron. 15.12 . They entred into Covenant to seek the Lord God of their Fathers . And Isa. 44.5 . One shall say , I am the Lords : And another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord . Like Soldiers that subscribe their Names in the Muster-Roll . This Covenant , that God shall be our God , we have oft renewed in the Lords-Supper : And it is like a Seal to a Bond , to bind us fast to God , and to keep us that we do not depart from him .

4. To make God to be a God to us , is to give him Adoration : Which consists 1. in reverencing of him , Psal. 89.7 . God is to be had in reverence of all them that are about him . The Seraphims who stood about Gods Throne , covered their Faces , Isa. 6. And Eliah wrapped himself in a Mantle when the Lord passed by ▪ in token of reverence . This Reverence shews the high Esteem we have of Gods Sacred Majesty . 2. Adoration is in bowing to him or worshipping him , Psalm 29.2 . Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness . Nehem. 8.6 . They bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground . This 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or Divine Worship , is the peculiar Honour belongs to the Godhead . This God is jealous of , and will have no Creature share in , Isa. 42.8 . My Glory will I not give to another . Magistrates may have a civil Respect or Veneration , God only a Religious Adoration .

5. To make God to be a God to us , is to fear him , Deut. 28.58 . That thou maist Fear this glorious and fearful Name , the Lord thy God . This fearing of God is , 1. To have God always in our eye , Psal. 16.8 . I have set the Lord always before me . And Psal 25.15 . Mine eyes are ever towards the Lord . He who fears God , imagines that whatever he is doing , God looks on , and as a Judge , weighs all his Actions . 2. To fear God , is when we have such an Holy awe of God upon our Hearts that we dare not sin , Psal. 4.4 . Stand in awe and sin not . The Wicked sin and fear not ; the Godly fear and sin not , Gen. 39.9 . How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God ? Bid me sin , bid me drink Poyson . It is a Saying of Anselm , If Hell were on one side , and sin on the other , I would rather leap into Hell , than willingly sin against my God . 1. This glorious and fearful Name : He who fears God will not sin , though it be never so secret , Levit. 19.14 . Thou shalt not curse the Deaf , nor put a stumbling block before the Blind , but shalt fear thy God . Suppose you should curse a Deaf Man , he cannot hear you curse him : Or if you lay a Block in a Blind Mans way , and make him fall , he cannot see you lay it . Ay , but the fear of God will make you avoid those sins which can neither be heard nor seen by Men. 2. Where the fear of God is , it destroys the fear of Man : The three Children feared God , therefore they feared not the Kings Wrath , Dan. 3.16 . The greater noise drowns the less ; the noise of Thunder drowns the noise of a River : So when the fear of God is superintendent in the Soul , it drowns all other carnal Fear . This is to make God to be a God to us , when we have an Holy Filial fear of him ; that thou maist fear .

6. To make God to be a God to us , is to trust in him , Psal. 141.8 . Mine eyes are unto thee , O God , the Lord , in thee will I trust , 2 Sam. 22.3 . The God of my Rock , in him will I trust . There is nothing we can trust in but God : All the Creatures are a Refuge of Lyes : They are like the Egyptian Reed , too weak to support us , but strong enough to wound us : Omnis motus fit super immobili . God only is a sufficient Foundation to build our Trust upon . And then when we Trust , we make him a God to us ; else we make him an Idol if we do not trust in him . Trusting in God , is when we rely on his Power as a Creator , and on his Love as a Father . Trusting in God , is when we commit our chief Treasure to him : Our Soul is our chief Treasure , we commit our Soul to him , Psal. 31.5 . Into thy hands I commit my Spirit . As the Orphant trusts his Estate with his Guardian , so we trust our Souls with God : This is to make him a God to us . Quest. How shall we know that we trust in God aright ? Resp. If we trust in God aright , then we will trust in God at one time as well as another , Psal. 62.8 . Trust in him , Becol gnet , at all times . Can we trust God 1. in our streights ? When the Fig-tree doth not flourish ; When our earthly Crutches are broken ; Can we now lean upon Gods Promise ? When the Pipes are cut off that use to bring us Comfort , can we live upon God , in whom are all our fresh Springs ? When we have no Bread to eat but the Bread of Carefulness , Ezek. 19 8. When we have no Waters to drink unless Tears , Psal. 80.5 . Thou givest them tears to drink in great measure ; Can we now trust in Gods Providence , to make supply for us ? A good Christian believes , that if God feed the Ravens , he will feed his Children : He lives upon Gods All-sufficiency , not only for Grace , but Food : He believes if God will give him Heaven , he will daily Bread : He trusts Gods Bond , Psal. 37.3 . Verily thou shalt be fed . 2. Can we trust God in our Fears ? Fear is the Ague of the Soul : When Adversaries begin to grow high , can we now display the Banner of Faith ? Psal. 56.3 . What time I am afraid I will trust in thee . Faith cures the Trembling at the Heart : Faith gets above Fear , as the Oyl swims above the Water . This is to trust in God , and it is to make him to be a God to us .

7. To make God to be a God to us , is to love him ; in the Godly , Fear and Love Kiss each other .

8. To make him a God to us , is to obey him : But I forbear to speak of these , because I shall be large upon them in the Second Commandment ; Shewing Mercy unto Thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments .

Quest. 2. Why we must cleave to the Lord as our God ?

Resp. 1. From the Equity of it : It is but equal we should cleave to him , as our God , from whom we receive our Being : Who can have a better Right to us , than he that gives us our Breath , Psal. 100.3 . for it is he that hath made us , and not we our selves . It is unequal , yea ungrateful , to give away our Love or Worship to any but God .

2. From the Utility : If we cleave to the Lord as our God , then 1. he well Bless us , Psal. 67.6 . God even our own God will bless us . He will bless us first in our Estate , Deut. 28.4 , 5. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy ground , Blessed shall be thy Basket and thy Store : We shall not only have our Sack full of Corn , but it shall be Blessed : Here is Mony in the mouth of the Sack . 2. He will bless us with Peace , Psal. 29.11 . The Lord will bless his people with Peace : Outward Peace , which is the Nurse of Plenty , Psal. 147.14 . He maketh peace in thy borders : Inward Peace , a smiling Conscience : This is sweeter than the dropping Hony . 2. God will turn all Evils to our Good , Rom. 8.28 . He will make a Treakle of Poyson . Ioseph's Imprisonment was a means for his Advancement , Gen. 50.20 . Out of the bitterest Drug , God will distill his Glory and our Salvation . In short , God will be our guide to Death , our Comfort in Death , our Reward after Death . So then the Utility of it may make us cleave to the Lord as our God , Psal. 144.15 . Happy is that People who have the Lord for their God .

3. From the Necessity : 1. If God be not our God , he will Curse our Blessings , Mal. 2.2 . And Gods Curse Blasts where-ever it comes . 2. If God be not our God , we have none to help us in Misery : Will God help his Enemies ? Will he assist them who disclaim him ? 3. If we do not make God to be our God , he will make himself to be our Judge : And if he Condemns , there is no appealing to a Higher Court. So that there is a Necessity of having God for our God , unless we intend to be eternally espoused to Misery .

Use 1. If we must have one God , and the Lord Iehovah for our God , it condemns the Atheist who hath no God , Psal. 14.1 . The Fool hath said in his Heart there is no God . There is no God he believes in or worships : Such Atheists were Diagoras and Theodorus : When Seneca did reprove Nero for his Impieties ; Saith Nero , Dost thou think I believe there is any God , when I do such things ? The Duke of Silecia was so infatuated , that he affirmed , Neque inferos , neque superos esse . That there was neither God nor Devil . We may see God in the works of his Fingers : The Creation is a great Volume , in which we may read a God-head ; and he must needs put out his own Eyes , that denies a God . Aristotle , though an Heathen , did not only acknowledge God , when he cried out , Thou Being of Beings , have Mercy on me ; But he thought he that did not confess a Deity , was not worthy to live . They who will not believe a God , shall feel him , Heb. 10.31 . It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God .

Use 2. It condemns Christians who profess to own God for their God , yet they do not live as if he were their God . 1. They do not believe in him as a God When they look upon their Sins , they are apt to say , Can God Pardon ? When they look upon their Wants , Can God provide ? Can he prepare a Table in the Wilderness ? 2. They do not love him as a God : They do not give him the Cream of their Love , but are apt to love other things more than God : They say they love God , but will part with nothing for him . 3. They do not worship him as a God : They do not give him that Reverence , nor pray with that Devotion , as if they were praying to a God . How dead are their Hearts ? If not dead in Sin , yet dead in Duty : 'T is as if praying to a God that hath Eyes and sees not ; Ears and hears not : In hearing the Word , how much Distraction , what regardless Hearts have many ? they are thinking of their Shop and Drugs . Would a King take it well at our hands , if when he is speaking to us , we should be playing with a Feather ? When God is speaking to us in his Word , and our Hearts are taken up with Thoughts about the World , is not this playing with a Feather ? O how may this humble most of us , we do not make God to be a God to us : We do not believe in him , love him , worship him as a God . Many Heathens have worshipped their False ●ods with more Seriousness and Devotion , than some Christians do the true God . O let us chide our selves : Did I say Chide ? let us Abhor our selves for our Deadness and Formality in Religion , how we have professed God , yet we have not worshipped him as a God . So much for the first , We must have God for our God . I should come to the Second , We must have no other God .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.3 .

Thou shalt have no other Gods before me .

2. THat we must have no other God : Thou shalt have no other God before me .

Quest. What is meant by this word , Before me ?

Resp. That is , before my Face , In conspectu m●o , in my sight , Deut. 27.15 . Cursed be he that makes a Graven Image , and puts it in a secret place . Some would not bow to the Idol that others might see , but they would secretly bow to it : But though this was out of Mans sight , it was not out of Gods sight : Cursed therefore ( saith God ) be he who puts the Image in a secret place . Thou shalt have no other Gods . 1. There is really no other God . 2. We must have no other .

1. There is really no other God . The Valentinians held there were two Gods ; the Polythites that there were many . The Persians worshipped the Sun , the Egyptians the Ox and Elephant , the Grecians Iupiter : But there is no other than the True God , Deut. 4.39 . Know therefore this day , and consider it in thy heart , that the Lord is God in Heaven above , and upon the Earth beneath ; there is no other . For there is but one first Cause , that hath its Being of it self , and on which all other Beings depend : As in the Heavens the primum mobile moves all the other Orbs. So God is the Great Mover , he gives Life and Motion to every thing existent .

2. There is but one Omnipotent Power . If there be two Omnipotents , then we must always suppose a Contest between these two ; that which one would do , the other Power being equal would oppose , and so all things would be brought into a Confusion . If a Ship should have two Pilots of equal Power , one would be ever Crossing the other ; when one would Sail , the other would cast Anchor : Here were a Confusion , and the Ship must needs perish . The Order and Harmony in the World , the constant and uniform Government of all things , is a clear Argument , that there is but one Omnipotent , one God that rules all , Isa. 44 6. I am the first , and I am the last , and besides me there is no God .

2. We must have no other God . Thou shalt have no other Gods before me : This Commandment forbids , 1. Serving a False God , and not the True , Ier. 2.27 . Saying to a stock , Thou art my Father ; and to a stone , Thou hast brought me forth : Or 2. Joyning a False God with a True , 2 Kings 17.33 . They feared the Lord , and served their own Gods . Both these are forbidden in the Commandment ; we must adhere to the true God , and no other : God is a jealous God , and he will endure no corrival : A Wife cannot lawfully have two Husbands at once ; nor may we have two Gods , Exod. 34.14 . Thou shalt worship no other God , for the Lord is a jealous God , Psal. 16.4 . Their Sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another God . The Lord interprets it a forsaking of him ▪ to espouse any other God , Iudges 2.12 . They forsook the Lord and followed other Gods . God would not have his People so much as make mention of Idol Gods , Exod. 23.13 . Make no mention of the Names of other Gods , neither let it be heard out of thy mouth . God looks upon it as a breaking of the Marriage Covenant , to go after other Gods . Therefore when Israel committed Idolatry with the golden Calf , God disclaims his Interest in them , Exod. 32.7 . Thy People have corrupted themselves . Before , God called Israel his People ; but when they went after other Gods , Now , saith the Lord to Moses , they are no more my People but thy People , Hosea 2.2 . Plead with her Mother , Plead , for she is not my Wife ; she doth not keep Faith with me ; she hath stain'd her self with Idols , therefore I will divorce her , she is not my Wife . To go after other Gods , is that God cannot bear , it makes the Fury rise up in his Face , Deut. 13 6 , 8 , 9. If thy Brother , or thy Son , or the Wife of thy Bosom , or thy Friend , which is as thy own Soul , entice thee secretly , saying , Let us go and serve other Gods . Thou shalt not consent unto him , neither shall thy eye pity him . But thou shalt surely kill him ; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death , and afterwards the hand of all the People .

Quest. But what is it to have other Gods besides the True God ? I fear upon search we have more Idolaters among us than we are aware of .

Resp. To trust in any thing more than God , is to make it a God . 1. If we trust in our Riches , then we make Riches our God : We may take Comfort , not put Confidence in them : It is a foolish thing to trust in them . 1. They are deceitful Riches , Matt. 13.22 . and it is foolish to trust to that which will deceive us . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Chrys. 1. They have no solid Consistency , they are like Lanskips or golden Dreams , which leave the Soul empty when it awakes and comes to it self . 2. They are not what they promise ; they promise to satisfie our Desires , and they increase them : They promise to stay with us , and they take Wings . 2. They are hurtful , Eccles. 5.13 . Riches kept for the Owners thereof to their hurt . It is Foolish to trust to that which will hurt one : Who would take hold of the edge of a Razor to help him ? They are oft Fuel for Pride and Lust , Ezek. 28.5 . Ier. 5.7 . So that it is Folly to trust in our Riches ; but some do , and so make Mony their God , Prov. 10.15 . The rich Mans Wealth is his strong Tower . He makes the Wedge of Gold his Hope , Iob 31.24 . God made Man of the Dust of the Earth , and Man makes a God of the Dust of the Earth . Mony is his Creator , Redeemer , Comforter . His Creator : If he hath Mony , now he thinks he is made . His Redemer : If he be in danger he trusts to his Mony to redeem him . His Comforter : If he be Sad , Mony is the golden Harp to drive away the evil Spirit . Thus by trusting in Mony we make it a God .

2. If we trust in the Arm of Flesh , we make it a God , Ier. 17.5 . Cursed be Man that trusteth in Man , and maketh flesh his arm . The Syrians trusted in their Army , which was so Numerous , that it filled the Country , 1 Kings 20.27 . but this arm of Flesh withered , ver. 29. What we make our Trust , God makes our Shame : The Sheep run to the Hedges for shelter , and they lose their Wool : We have run to second Causes to help us , and we have lost much of our golden Fleece : They have not only been Reeds to fail us , but Thorns to prick us : We have broken our Parliament-Crutches by leaning too hard upon them .

3. If we trust in our Wisdom , we make it a God , Ier. 9.23 . Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom . Glorying is the highth of Confidence ; many a Man doth make an Idol of his Wit and Parts : He Deifies himself : But how oft doth God take the Wi●e in their own Craftiness , Iob 5.13 . Achitophel had a great Wit , his Council was as the Oracle of God , but his Wit brought him to the Halter , 2 Sam. 17.23 .

4. If we trust in our Civility , we make it a God : Many trust to this , none can charge them with gross Sin . Civility is but Nature refined and cultivated ; a Man may be washed and not changed : His Life may be civil , yet there may be some reigning Sin in his Heart : The Pharisee could say , I am no Adulterer , Luke 18.11 . but he could not say , I am not proud : To trust to Civility , is to trust to a Spiders Web.

5. If we trust to our Duties to save us , we make them a God , Isa. 64.6 . Our Righteousnesses are as filthy rags : They are Fly-blown with Sin : Put Gold in the Fire and there comes out much Dross : Our most golden Duties are mixed with Infirmity : We are apt either to neglect Duty or idolize it . Use Duty , but do not trust to it , for then you make it a God . Trust not to your Praying , and Hearing ; these are the means of Salvation , but they are not Saviours . If you make Duties Bladders to trust to , you may sink to Hell with these Bladders .

6. If we trust in our Grace , we make a God of it . Grace is but a Creature ; if we trust in it , we make it an Idol . Grace is imperfect , we cannot trust to that to save us which is imperfect , Psal 26.1 . I have walked in my Integrity : I have trusted also in the Lord . David did walk in his Integrity , but did not trust in his Integrity . I have trusted in the Lord . If we trust in our Graces , we make a Christ of them . They are good Graces but bad Christs . To love any thing more than God , is to make it a God .

1. If we love our Estate more than God , then we make it a God . The young Man in the Gospel loved his Gold better than his Saviour ; the World lay nearer his Heart than Christ , Matt. 19.22 . Fulgens hoc aurum praestringit oculos , Var. Hence it is the covetous Man is called an Idolater , Eph. 5.5 . Why so ? Because he loves his Estate more than God , and so he makes it his God : Though he doth not bow down to an Idol , yet he worships the Graven Image in his Coins ; he is an Idolater : That which hath most of the Heart , that we make a God .

2. If we love our Pleasures more than God , we make a God of Pleasure , 2 Tim. 3.4 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Lovers of Pleasure more than Lovers of God . Many let loose the Reins , and give themselves up to all manner of sensual Delights , they idolize Pleasure , Iob 21.12 , 13. They take the Timbrel and the Harp , and rejoyce at the sound of the Organ . They spend their days in mirth . I have read of a place in Africa , where the People spend all their time in Dancing , and making Merry : And have not we many , who make a God of Pleasure ; who spend their time in going to Plays , and visiting Stews , as if God had made them like the Leviathan to play in the Water , Psal. 104.26 . In the Country of Sardinia there is an Herb like Balm , that if one eat too much of it , he well die laughing . Such an Herb is Pleasure ; if one seeds immoderately on it , he will go laughing to Hell . Such as make a God of Pleasure , let them read but two Scriptures , Eccl. 7.4 . The Heart of Fools is in the House of Mirth . And Rev. 18.7 . How much she hath lived Deliciously , so much Torment give her . Sugar laid in a damp p●ace turns to Water : So all the sugared Joys and Pleasures of Sinners , will turn to the Water of Tears at last .

3. If we love our Belly more than God , we make a God of it , Phil. 3.19 . Whose God is their Belly . Clemens Alexandrinus writes of a Fish that hath its Heart in its Belly : An Emblem of Epicures , their Heart is in their Belly , they do Sacrificare lari , their Belly is their God , and to this God they pour Drink-Offerings : The Lord allows what is fitting for the Recruit of Nature , Deut. 11.15 . I will send grass , that thou maist eat and be full . But to mind nothing but the indulging the Appetite is Idolatry , Whose God is their Belly . What pity is it , that the Soul , that Princely part , which sways the Scepter of Reason , and is akin to Angels , should be enslaved to the Brutish part !

4. If we love a Child more than God , we make a God of it . How many are guilty in this kind ! They think more of their Children , and delight more in them , than in God : They grieve more for the loss of their First-born , than for the loss of their first Love . This is to make an Idol of a Child , and to set it in Gods room . Thus God is oft provoked to take away our Children : If we love the Jewel more than him that gave it , God will take away the Jewel , that our love may return to him again .

Use 1. It Reproaches such as have other Gods , and so renounce the true God . 1. Such as set up Idols , Ier. 2.28 . According to the number of thy Cities , are thy Gods , O Israel . Hos. 12.11 . Their Altars are as heaps in the Furrows of the Field . 2. Such as seek to Familiar Spirits . This is a Sin condemned by the Law of God , Deut. 18.11 . There shall not be found among you , any that consult with Familiar Spirits . It is ordinary if People have lost any of their Goods , they send to Wizards and Soothsayers , to know how they may come by their Goods again . What is this but for People to make a God of the Devil , by consulting with him , and putting their Trust in him ? What! because you have lost your Goods , will you lose your Souls too ? 2 Kings 1.6 . So is it not because you think there is not a God in Heaven , that you ask Council of the Devil ? If any be guilty , be humbled .

Use 2. It sounds a Retreat in our Ears ; let it call us off from the Idolizing any Creature , and renouncing other Gods : Let us cleave to the true God , and his Service : If we go away from God , we know not where to mend our selves .

1. It is honourable serving of the true God : Servire Deo est regnare : It is more Honour to serve God , than to have Kings serve us . 2. Serving the true God is Delightful , Isa. 56.7 . I will make them joyful in my House of Prayer . God oft displays the Banner of his Love in an Ordinance , and pours in the Oyl of Gladness into the Heart . All Gods Ways are Pleasantness , his Paths are strowed with Roses , Prov. 3.17 . 3. Serving the true God is beneficial ; they have great Vails here , the hidden Manna , inward Peace , and a great Reward to come . They that serve God , shall have a Kingdom when they dye , Luke 12.32 . and shall wear a Crown made of the Flowers of Paradise , 1 Pet. 5.4 . To serve the true God is our true Interest . God hath twisted his Glory and our Salvation together . He bids us believe ; and why ? That we may be saved . Therefore renouncing all others , let us cleave to the true God .

2. You have covenanted to serve the true Iehovah , renouncing all others . When one hath entred into Covenant with his Master , and the Indentures are drawn and sealed , then he cannot go back , but must serve out his time . We have covenanted in Baptism to take the Lord for our God , renouncing all others ; And renewed this Covenant in the Lords-Supper , and shall we not keep our Solemn Vow and Covenant ? We cannot go away from God without the highest Perjury , Heb. 10.38 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . If any Man draw back , as a Soldier that steals away from his Colours , my Soul shall have no pleasure . I will pour Viols of wrath on him , make my Arrows drunk with blood . Miosis .

3. None ever had cause to repent of cleaving to God and his Service : Some have repented that they have made a God of the World . Cardinal Woolsey said , Had I served God as Faithfully as I have served my King , he would not have left me thus . None ever complained of serving God , it was both their Comfort and Crown on Death-Bed .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.4 .

Thou shalt not make unto thee any Graven Image , &c.

IN the First Commandment is forbidden the worshipping a False God , in this , the worshipping the true God in a false manner .

1. Thou shalt not make unto thee any Graven Image ; this forbids not the making an Image for Civil use , Mat. 22.20 . Whose is this Image and Superscription ? they say unto him Caesars . But the Commandment forbids setting up an Image for Religious Use or Worship .

2. Nor the likeness of any thing , &c. All Ideas , Pourtraitures , Shapes , Images of God , whether by Effigies or Pictures , are here forbidden . Deut. 4.15 . Take heed lest ye corrupt your Selves , and make the Similitude of any Figure . God is to be adored in the heart , not painted to the Eye .

3. Thou shalt not bow down to them . The intent of making Images and Pictures , is to worship them . No sooner was Nebuchadnezzars Golden Image set up , but all the People fell down and worshipped it , Dan. 3.7 . Therefore God forbids the prostrating our selves before an Idol : So then the thing prohibited in this Commandment is Image-worship . To set up an Image to represent God , is a debasing of the Deity , 't is below God . If one should make the Images of Snakes or Spiders , saying , he did it to represent his Prince , would not the Prince take this in high disdain ? What greater disparagement to God , than to represent the infinite God by that which is finite ; the Living God , by that which is without Life , and the Maker of all , by a thing which is made ?

1. To make a true Image of God is impossible . God is a Spiritual Essence , Iohn 4.24 . And being a Spirit he is invisible , Deut. 4.15 . Ye saw no Similitude on the Day the Lord spake with you out of the midst of the Fire . How can any paint the Deity ? Can they make an Image of that which they never saw ? Quod invisibile est , pingi non potest , Ambr. Ye saw no Similitude . It is impossible to make a Picture of the Soul , or to paint the Angels , because they are of a Spiritual Nature ; much less then can we paint God by an Image , who is an Infinite , Increate Spirit .

2. To worship God by an Image , is both absurd and unlawful .

I. It is absurd and irrational ; for First , The Workman is better than the Work , Heb. 3.3 . He who buildeth the House , hath more Honour than the House ; if the Workman be better than the Work , and none bows to the Workman , how absurd then is it to bow to the work of his Hands ? Secondly , Is it not an absurd thing to bow down to the Kings Picture , when the King himself is present ? So to bow down to an image of God , when God himself is every where present .

II. It is unlawful to worship God by an Image ; for First , It is against the Homily of the Church ; it runs thus , The Images of God , our Saviour , the Virgin Mary , are of all others most dangerous , therefore the greatest care ought to be had that they stand not in Temples and Churches . So that Image-Worship is contrary to our own Homilies , and doth affront the authority of the Church of England . Secondly , Image-worship is expresly against the Letter of Scripture , Lev. 26.1 . Ye shall make no Graven Image , neither shall ye set up any Image of Stone to bow down to it . Deut. 16.22 . Neither shalt thou set up any Image which the Lord thy God hateth . Psal. 97.7 . Confounded be all they that serve Graven Images . Do we think to please God by doing that which is contrary to his Mind , and which he hath expresly forbidden ? Thirdly , Image-worship is against the practice of the Saints of old . Iosiah that Renowned King , destroyed the Groves and Images , 2 Kin. 23.24 . Constantine abrogated the Images set up in Temples . The Christians destroy'd Images at Basil , Zurick , Bohemia ; when the Roman Emperors would have thrust Images upon them , they chose rather to dye than deflour their Virgin Profession by Idolatry . They refused to admit any Painter or Carver into their Society , because they would not have any Carved Statue , or Image of God : When Seraphion bowed to an Idol , the Christians excommunicated him , and delivered him up to Satan .

Use 1. It reproves and condemns the Church of Rome , who from the Alpha of their Religion , to the Omega , are wholly Idolatrous ; they make Images of God the Father , painting him in their Church-Windows as an Old Man , and an Image of Christ in the Crucifix . And because it is against the Letter of this Commandment , therefore they sacrilegiously blot out the Second Commandment out of their Catechises , dividing the Tenth Commandment into Two . Now this Image-worship must needs be very Impious and Blasphemous , because it is a giving that 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or Religious Worship to the Creature , which is only due to God . It is vain for Papists to say they give God the worship of the Heart , and the Image only the worship of the Body ; for the worship of the Body is due to God , as well as the worship of the Heart , and to give an outward Veneration to an Image , is to give that Adoration to a Creature , which only belongs to God . Isa. 42.8 . My Glory will I not give to another .

Obj. 1. But the Papists say , they do not worship the Image , only make use of it as a Medium , they worship God by it ; Ne imagini quidem Christi in quantum est Lignum sculptum , ulla debetur reverentia , Aquinas .

Resp. 1. Where hath God bid them worship him by an Effigies or Spirit ? Isa. 1.12 . Who hath required this at your Hands ? The Papists can't say so much as the Devil , Scriptum est , it is written .

2. The Heathens may bring the same Argument for their gross Idolatry , as the Papists do for their Image-worship ; who of the Heathens were so simple , as to think Gold and Silver , or the Figure of an Ox or Elephant , were God ? They were only Emblems and Hieroglyphicks to represent him ; they did worship the invisible God , by such visible things . To worship God by an Image , God takes as done to the Image itself .

Obj. 2. But say the Papists , Images are Lay-mens Books , and they are good to put us in mind of God . One of the Popish Councils affirmed that we might learn more by an Image , than by long study of the Scriptures .

Resp. Hab. 2.18 . What profiteth the Graven Image , the Molten Image , and a Teacher of Lies ? Is an Image a Lay-mans Book ? See then what Lessons this Book teacheth , it teacheth Lyes , it represents God in a visible shape , who is invisible . For the Papists to say they make use of an Image , to put them in mind of God , is as if a Woman should say she keeps company with another Man , to put her in mind of her Husband .

Obj. 3. But did not Moses make the Image of a Brazen Serpent , why then may not Images be set up ?

Resp. That was done by Gods special command , Num. 21.8 . Make thee a Brazen Serpent ; and there was a special use of it , both Literal and Spiritual ; but what , doth the setting up this Image of the Brazen Serpent justifie the setting up of Images in Churches ? What , because Moses did make an Image by Gods appointment , may we therefore set up an Image of our own Devising ? Because Moses made an Image to heal them that were stung , is it lawful therefore to set up Images in Churches , to sting them that are whole ? This doth not at all follow . Nay , that very brazen Serpent which God himself commanded to be set up , when Israel did look upon it with too much Reverence , and began to burn Incense to it , Hezekiah defaced that Image , and called it Nehushtan , and God commended him for doing so , 2 Kings 18.4 .

Obj. 4. But is not God represented as having Hands and Eyes and Ears ? Why then may we not make an Image to represent him by , and help our Devotion ?

Resp. Though God is pleas'd to stoop to our weak Capacities , and set himself out in Scripture by Eyes , to signifie his Omnisciency , and Hands , to signifie his Power , yet it is very absurd from Metaphors and Figurative Expressions , to bring an Argument for Images and Pictures ; for by that Rule God may be pictured by the Sun and the Element of Fire , and by a Rock , for God is set forth by these Metaphors in Scripture ; and sure the Papists themselves would not like to have such Images made of God .

Quest. 1. If it be not lawful to make the Image of God the Father , yet may we not make an Image of Christ , who took upon him the nature of Man ?

Resp. No. Epiphanius seeing an Image of Christ hanging in a Church , brake it in Pieces ; 't is Christ's Godhead , united to his Manhood , that makes him to be Christ ; therefore to Picture his Manhood , when we cannot Picture his Godhead , is a Sin , because we make him to be but half Christ ; we separate what God hath joyned , we leave out that which is the chief thing , which makes him to be Christ .

Quest. 2. But how then shall we conceive of God aright , if we may make no Image or Resemblance of him ?

Resp. We must conceive of God Spiritually , viz. 1. In his Attributes , his Holiness , Justice , Goodness , which are the Beams by which his Divine Nature shines forth . 2. We must conceive of him as he is in Christ . Christ is the Image of the Invisible God , Col. 1.15 . As in the Wax we see the print of the Seal . Set the Eyes of your Faith on Christ-God-Man , Iohn 14.9 . He that hath seen me , hath seen the Father .

Use 2. Take heed of Idolatry , viz. Image-worship ; our Nature is prone to this Sin , as dry Wood to take Fire ; and indeed what needs so many Words in the Commandment , Thou shalt not make any Graven Image , or the likeness of any thing , in Heaven , Earth , Water , Sun , Moon , Stars , Male , Female , Fish ; Thou shalt not bow down to them ; I say , what needed so many Words , but to shew how subject we are to this sin of false Worship ? It concerns us therefore to resist this sin . Where the Tide is apt to run with greater force , there we had need make the Banks higher and stronger ; the Plague of Idolatry is very infectious , Psal. 106.35 , 36. They were mingled among the Heathens , and served their Idols . It is my Advice to you , to avoid all occasions of this Sin .

1. Come not into the Company of Idolatrous Papists ; dare not to live under the same Roof with them : You run into the Devils Mouth . Iohn the Divine would not be in the Bath where Cerinthus the Heretick was .

2. Go not into their Chappels to see their Crucifixes or hear Mass : As the looking on an Harlot draws to Adultery , so the looking on the Popish guilded Picture , may draw to Idolatry . Some care not though they go and see their Idol-worship ; indeed a Vagrant that hath nothing to lose , cares not though he goes among Thieves . Such as have no goodness in them , care not into what Idolatrous Places they come , or what Temptations they cast themselves upon ; but you who have a Treasure about you , good Principles , take heed the Popish Priests do not rob you of your Principles , and defile you with their Images .

3. Dare not to joyn in Marriage with Image-worshippers . Solomon though a Man of Wisdom , yet his Idolatrous Wives drew away his Heart from God ; the People of Israel entred into an Oath and Curse , that they would not give their Daughters in Marriage to the Idolaters , Nehem. 10.30 . For a Protestant and Papist to Marry , is to be unequally yoaked , 2 Cor. 6.14 . and there is more danger the Papist will corrupt the Protestant , than hope the Protestant will convert the Papist . Mingle Wine and Vinegar , the Vinegar will sooner sour the Wine , than the Wine will sweeten the Vinegar .

4. Avoid Superstition , which is a Bridge leads over to Rome . Superstition is the bringing in any Ceremony , Fancy or Innovation into Gods worship which he never appointed . This is very provoking to God , because it reflects much upon his Honour , as if he were not wise enough to appoint the manner of his own Worship . God hates all strange Fire to be offered in his Temple , Lev. 10.1 . A Ceremony may in time bring to a Crucifix . They who contend for the Cross in Baptism , why may they not as well have the Oyl , Salt and Cream , the one being as antient as the other ? Such as are for Altar-worship , they who will bow to the East , may in time bow to the Host. Take heed of all occasions of Idolatry . Idolatry is Devil-worship , Psal. 106.37 . And if you search through the whole Bible , there is no one Sin that God hath more followed with Plagues than Idolatry ; the Jews have a Saying , that in every Evil which befals them , there is uncia aurei vituli , an Ounce of the Golden Calf in it . Hell is a Place for Idolaters , Rev. 22.15 . For without are Idolaters . Synesius calls the Devil 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Rejoycer at Idols , because Image-worshippers help to fill Hell . That you may be preserved from Idolatry and Image-worship ,

1. Get good Principles , that you may be able to oppose the Gain-sayer . Whence doth the Popish Religion get ground ? not from the goodness of their cause , but from the ignorance of the People .

2. Get love to God . The Wife that loves her Husband is safe from the Adulterer ; and the Soul that loves Christ is safe from the Idolater .

3. Pray that God will keep you . Though it is true , there is nothing in an Image to tempt ; for if we pray to an Image , it cannot hear , and if we pray to God by an Image , he will not hear ; I say there is nothing to tempt ; yet we know not our own Hearts , or how soon we may be drawn to Vanity , if God leave us ; therefore pray that you be not enticed to false Worship , or receive the Mark of the Beast in your right hand or Forehead : Pray , Psal. 119.117 . Hold thou me up , and I shall be safe . Lord , let me neither mistake my way for want of Light , or leave the true way for want of Courage .

2. Let us Bless God who hath given us the Knowledge of his Truth : That we have tasted the Hony of his Word , and our Eyes are enlightned . Bless him that he hath shewn us the Pattern of his House ; the right Mode of Worship : That he hath discovered to us the Forgery and Blasphemy of the Romish Religion . Let us pray , that God will preserve pure Ordinances and powerful Preaching among us . Idolatry came in at first by the want of good Preaching . Then the People began to have golden Images when they had wooden Priests .

Of the Ten Commandments . Exod. 20.5 .

For I the Lord thy God , am a jealous God , visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children unto the third and fourth Generation , of them that hate me .

1. I The Lord thy God , am a jealous God . ] The first reason why Israel must not worship graven Images , is because the Lord is a jealous God , Exod. 34.14 The Lord whose name is Jehovah is a jealous God . Jealousie is taken in a good sense , and so God is jealous for his People . 2. In a bad Sense , and so God is jealous of his People .

1. In a good Sense , and so God is jealous for his People , Zech. 1.14 . Thus saith the Lord , I am jealous for Jerusalem , and for Zion , with a great jealousie . God hath a dear Affection to his People , they are his Hephsibah or Delight , Isa. 62.4 . The Apple of his Eye , Zech. 2.8 . To express how dear they are to him , and how tender he is of them , Nihil charius pupilla oculi , Drusius . They are his Spouse , adorn'd with the Jewels of Grace : They lye near to his Heart . He is jealous for his Spouse , therefore will be avenged on them who go to wrong her , Isa. 42.13 . The Lord shall stir up jealousie like a man of war ; he shall roar , he shall prevail against his enemies . What is done to the Saints , God takes as done to himself , 2 Kings 19.22 . and the Lord will undo all them that afflict Sion , Zeph. 3.19 . I will undo all that afflict thee . 2. Jealousie is taken in a bad Sense , and so God is jealous of his People : And so it is taken in this Commandment . I the Lord thy God am a jealous God . I am jealous lest you should go after false Gods , or worship the true God in a false manner ; lest you defile your Virgin Profession by Images . God will have his Spouse keep close to him , and not go after other Lovers , Hos. 3.3 . Thou shalt not be for another man . God cannot bear a Corrival . Our conjugal Love , viz. a Love joyn'd with Adoration , and Worship , must be given only to God .

Use 1. Let us give God no just cause to be jealous . A good Wife will be so Discreet and Chast , as to give her Husband no just occasion of Jealousie . Let us avoid all Sin , especially this Sin of Idolatry or Image-worship : It is heinous , after we have entred into a Marriage-Covenant with God , now to prostitute our selves to an Image . Idolatry is Spiritual Adultery , and God is a jealous God , he will avenge it : Image-worship makes God abhor a People , Psal. 78.58 . They moved him to jealousie with their graven Images . When God heard this , he was Wroth , and greatly abhorred Israel . Image-worship enrageth God , Prov. 6.34 . Iealousie is the Rage of a man : It makes God divorce a People , Exod. 32.7 . Thy People , lo-ammi , Hos. 2.2 . Plead with your Mother , plead , for she is not my Wife , Cant. 8.6 . Iealousie is cruel as the grave . As the Grave devours Mens Bodies , so God will devour Image-worshippers :

Use 2. If God be a jealous God , let it be a word to such whose Friends are Popish Idolaters , and they are hated by their Friends , because they are of a different Religion , and perhaps they cut off their Maintenance from them . O remember God is a jealous God , better move your Parents to hatred , than move God to jealousie : Their Anger cannot do you so much hurt as Gods : If they will not provide for you , God will , Psal. 27.10 . When my Father and Mother forsake me , then the Lord will take me up .

2. The second Reason against Image-worship , Visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children , unto the third and fourth Generation . ] There is a Two-fold Visiting . 1. There is Gods visiting in Mercy , Gen. 50.25 . God will surely visit you . That is , he will bring you into the Land of Canaan , the Type of Heaven . Thus God hath visited us with the Sun-beams of his Favour : He hath made us swim in a Sea of Mercy : This is an happy Visitation . 2. There is Gods visiting in Anger , Ier. 5.9 . Shall I not visit for these things ? That is , Gods visiting with the Rod ; and Isa. 10.3 . What will ye do in the day of Visitation ? That is , in the day when God shall visit with his Judgments . Thus Gods visiting is taken here , in this Commandment , visiting Iniquity , that is , punishing Iniquity . Observe here three things .

Observ. 1. That Sin makes God visit : Visiting Iniquity . Sin is the cause why God visits with Sickness , Poverty , Psal. 89.31 , 32. If they break my Commandments : Then will I visit their transgression with the rod. Sin twists the Cords which pinch us : Sin creates all our Troubles : It is the Gaul in our Cup , and the Gravel in our Bread : Flagitium & flagellum sunt sicut acus & filum . Sin is the Trojan Horse : The Phaeton that sets all on Fire : It is the Womb of our Sorrows , and Grave of our Comforts . God visits for Sin .

Observ. 2. One special sin God visits for , is Idolatry and Image-worship . Visiting the iniquity of the Fathers . Most of Gods invenomed Arrows have been shot among Idolaters , Ier. 7.12 . Go now unto my place which was in Shiloh , where I set my name at the first , and see what I did to it . God for Israels Idolatry , suffered their Army to be routed , their Priests slain , the Ark taken Captive , and we never read that the Ark returned to Shiloh any more . Hierusalem was the most Famous Metropolis of the World : There was the Temple , Psal. 122.4 . Whither the Tribes go up , the Tribes of the Lord . Yet for their high places and Images , their City was besieged and taken by the Chaldean Forces , 2 Kings 25.4 . When Images were set up in Constantinople , the chief Seat of the Eastern Empire , this City which was in the eye of the World impregnable , was taken by the Turks , and many cruelly Massacred . Then the Turks , in their Triumphs , reproached the Idolatrous Christians , causing an Image or Crucifix to be carried through the Streets in Contempt , and throwing Dirt upon it , cried , This is the God of the Christians : Here was Gods Visitation for their Idolatry . God hath set special marks of his Wrath upon Idolaters . At a place called Epoletium there perished by an Earth-quake 350 Persons , while they were offering Sacrifice to Idols . Idolatry hath brought Misery upon the Eastern Churches , it removed the golden Candlesticks of Asia . This Iniquity God visits for .

Observ 3. Idolatrous Persons are Enemies not only to their own Souls , but to their Children : Visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers upon their Children . As an Idolatrous Father intails his Land of Inheritance , so he intails Gods Anger and Curse upon them . A jealous Husband finding his Wife hath stained her Integrity , may justly cast off her and her Children too , because they are none of his . If the Father be a Traytor to his Prince , no wonder if all the Children suffer . God may visit the Iniquity of Image-worshippers upon their Children .

Quest But is it not said , Every one shall dye for his own Sin ? The Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father ? How then doth God say , he will visit the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children ?

Resp. Though the Son be not Damned for his Fathers Sin , yet he may be severely punished , Iob 21.19 . God lays up his iniquity for his Children . That is , God lays up the Punishment of his Iniquity for his Children ; the Child smarts for the Fathers Sin . Ieroboam thought to have established the Kingdom by Idolatrous Worship , but it brought Ruin upon him and all his Posterity , 1 Kings 14.10 . Ahab's Idolatry wronged his Posterity , they lost the Kingdom and were all Beheaded , 2 Kings 10.7 . They took the Kings Sons , and slew seventy Persons . There God visited the I●●quity of the Father upon the Children . As a Son catcheth an Hereditary Disease from his Father , the Stone or Gout ; so he catcheth Misery from him , his Fathers Sin ruins him .

Use 1. If so , then how sad is it to be the Child of an Idolater ? It had been sad to have been one of Gehazi's Children , who had Leprosie intail'd upon them , 2 Kings 5.27 . The Leprosie of Naaman shall cleave to thee , and to thy Seed for ever . So it is sad to be a Child of an Idolater , or Image-worshipper . His Seed are exposed to Gods heavy Judgments in this Life : God visits the Iniquity of the Fathers upon their Children . Methinks I hear God speak , as Isa. 14.21 . Prepare slaughter for his Children for the Iniquity of their Fathers .

Use 2. See what a Privilege it is to be the Children of good Parents : The Parents are in Covenant with God , and God lays up Mercy for their Posterity , Prov. 20.7 . The just man walks in his Integrity , his Seed are blessed after him . A Religious Parent doth not procure Wrath , but helps to keep off Wrath from his Child : He seasons his Child with Religious Principles ; he prays down a Blessing on his Child : He is a Load-stone , drawing his Child to Christ by good Council and Example . O what a Privilege is it to be born of Godly Religious Parents ! St. Austin saith , That his Mother Monica travelled with greater Care and Pains for his new Birth , than for his Natural . Wicked Idolaters entail Misery on their Posterity . God visits the Iniquity of the Fathers upon their Children : But Religious Parents procure a Blessing upon their Children . God reserves Mercy for their Posterity .

3. The third Reason against Image-worship , Of them that hate me . ] This is a Reason against Image-worship , 't is hating God : The Papists who worship God by an Image , hate God . Image-worship is a pretended Love to God , but God interprets it an hating of him : Quae diligit alienum odit sponsum : She that loves another Man , hates her own Husband . An Image-lover is a God-hater . Idolaters are said to go a Whoring from God , Ezek. 34.15 . How can they love God ? I shall shew that Image-worshippers hate God , whatever love they pretend .

1. They who go contrary to Gods express Will , hate him . God saith , You shall not set up any Statue , Image , Picture , to represent me : These things I hate , Deut. 16.22 . Neither shalt thou set up any Image which the Lord thy God hateth . Yet the Idolater will set up Images and worship them . This God looks upon as an hating of him . How doth that Child love his Father , who doth all he can to cross him ?

2. They who shut the Truth out of Doors , hate God . Iephtha proves , that his Brethren did hate him , because they laboured to shut him out of his Fathers House , Iudges 11.7 . The Idolater shuts the Truth out of doors : He blots out the Second Commandment : He makes a shape of the invisible God : He brings a Lye into Gods Worship , which is a clear proof he hates God .

3. Idolaters , though they love the false Image of God in a Picture , yet they hate the true Image of God in a Believer . They pretend to Honour Christ in a Crucifix , yet persecute Christ in his Members : These bate God .

Use 1. This may confute those who plead for Image-worshippers , they are very devout People , they adore Images , they set up the Crucifix , kiss it , light Candles to it : They love God . Nay , but who shall be judge of their Love ? God saith , they hate him : They give Religious Adoration to a Creature : These hate God , and God hates them : And they shall never live with God , whom he hates : He will never lay such Vipers in his Bosom : Heaven is kept as Paradise , with a Flaming Sword that they shall not enter : And Deut. 7.10 . He repayeth them that hate him , to their face . God will shoot all his murdering pieces among Idolaters : All the Plagues and Curses in the Book of God shall befall the Idolater : The Lord repays him that hates him to his Face .

Use 2. Let it exhort us all to fly from Romish Idolatry ; let us not be among God-haters , 1 Iohn 5.21 . Little Children keep your selves from Idols . As you would keep your Bodies from Adultery , so keep your Souls from Idolatry . Take heed of Images , they are Images of Jealousie to provoke God to Anger : They are Damnable : You may as well perish by false Devotion , as by real Scandal : By Image-worship , as Drunkenness and Whoredom . A Man may as well dye by Poyson as Pistol : We may as well go to Hell by drinking Poyson in the Romish Cup of Fornication , as by being Pistoll'd with gross scandalous Sins . To conclude , God is a jealous God , no Corrival ; he will visit the Iniquity of the Fathers upon their Children : He will entail a Plague upon the Posterity of Idolaters . He interprets Idolaters to be such as hate him . He that is an Image-lover , is a God-hater : Therefore keep your selves pure from Romish Idolatry : If you love your Souls , keep your selves from Idols .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.6 .

Shewing Mercy unto Thousands , &c.

THis is another Argument against Image-worship , because such as do not provoke God with their Images , he is merciful to them , and will entail Mercy upon their Posterity , Shewing Mercy to Thousands .

1. Here is the golden Scepter of Gods Mercy display'd . 2. The Persons interested in Gods Mercy , such as love him and keep his Commandments . 1. The Golden Scepter of Gods Mercy display'd , shewing Mercy to Thousands . The Heathens thought they praised Iupiter enough , when they called him 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Good and Great . Both these Excellencies meet in God , Majesty and Mercy . Mercy is that innate propensness in God to do good to Distressed Sinners . God shewing Mercy , makes his Godhead appear full of Glory . When Moses said to God , I beseech thee shew me thy Glory , I will ( saith God ) shew Mercy , Exod. 33.19 . His Mercy is his Glory . Mercy is the Name by which God will be known , Exod. 34.6 . The Lord passed by , and proclaimed , the Lord , the Lord God , Merciful and Gracious . Mercy proceeds primarily and originally from God ; he is called the Father of Mercies , 2 Cor. 1.3 . because he begets all those Mercies and Bowels which are in the Creature . Our Mercies compared with Gods , are scarce so much as the Drop to the Ocean .

Quest. What are the Qualifications ?

Resp. 1. The Spring of Mercy which God shews , is free and spontaneous : To set up Merit , is to destroy Mercy ; nothing can deserve Mercy , or force it , we cannot deserve Mercy , because of our Enmity , nor force it ; we may force God to punish us , not to love us , Hos. 14.4 . I will love them freely . Every link in the golden Chain of Salvation is wrought and interwoven with Free-grace . Election is free , Eph. 1.4 . He hath chosen us in him , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , according to the good pleasure of his Will. Justification is free , Rom. 3.24 . Being justified freely by his Grace . Say , not then , I am unworthy , for Mercy is free . If God should shew Mercy only to such as deserve it , he must shew Mercy to none at all .

2. The Mercy God shews is Powerful . How Powerful is that Mercy which softens an Heart of Stone ? Mercy changed Mary Magdalens Heart , out of whom Seven Devils were cast . She who was an Inflexible Adamant , Mercy made her a weeping Penitent . Gods Mercy works sweetly , yet irresistibly ; it allures , yet conquers . The Law may terrifie , Mercy doth mollifie . Of what Sovereign Power and Efficacy is that Mercy which subdues the Pride and Enmity of the Heart , and beats off those Chains of Sin in which the Soul is held !

3. The Mercy which God shews is superabundant , Exod. 34.6 . Abundant in Goodness , shewing Mercy to Thousands . God visits Iniquity only to the Third and Fourth Generation , Exod. 20.5 . But he shews Mercy to a Thousand Generations . The Lord hath Treasures of Mercy lying by , therefore he is said to be Plenteous in Mercy , Psal. 86.5 . And Rich in Mercy , Ephes. 2.4 . The Viol of God's Wrath doth but drop , but the Fountain of his Mercy runs . The Sun is not so full of Light , as God is of Love .

God hath Mercy , First , Of all Dimensions ; he hath Depth of Mercy , it reacheth as low as Sinners ; and Heighth of Mercy , it reacheth above the Clouds .

Secondly , God hath Mercies of all Seasons ; Mercies for the Night , he gives Sleep , nay sometimes he gives a Song in the Night , Psal. 42.8 . And he hath Mercies for the Morning , Lam. 3.23 . His Compassions are fresh every Morning .

Thirdly , God hath Mercies for all sorts . Mercies for the Poor , 1 Sam. 2.8 . He raiseth the Poor out of the Dust. Mercies for the Prisoner , Psal. 69.33 . He despiseth not his Prisoners . Mercies for the Dejected , Isa. 54.8 . In a little Wrath I hid my Face from thee , but with great Mercies will I gather thee . God hath old Mercies , Psal. 25.6 . Thy Mercies have been ever of old . And new Mercies , Psal. 40.3 . He hath put a new Song in my Mouth . Every time we draw our Breath , we suck in Mercy ; God hath Mercies under Heaven , and those we taste of , and Mercies in Heaven , and those we hope for : Thus Gods Mercy is superabundant .

4. The Mercy God shews is abiding , Psal. 103.16 . The Mercy of the Lord is from Everlasting to Everlasting . Gods anger to his Children lasts but a while , Psal. 103.9 . but his Mercy lasts for ever . Gods Mercy is not like the Widows Oyl , which ran a while and then ceased , 2 Kings 4.6 . Over-flowing , Ever-flowing . Gods Mercy as it is without Bounds , so without Bottom , Psal. 136. His Mercy endures for ever . God never cuts off the Intail of Mercy from the Elect.

Quest. 2. How many ways is God said to shew Mercy ?

Resp. 1. We are all Living Monuments of Gods Mercy . God shews Mercy to us in dayly supplying us . First , He supplies us with Health . Health is the Sawce which makes our Life relish Sweeter . How would they prize this Mercy , who are Chain'd to a Sick-bed ? Secondly , God supplies us with Provision , Gen. 48.15 . The God who hath fed me all my Days . Mercy spreads our Table , it carves us every bit of Bread we eat ; we never drink but in the Golden Cup of Mercy .

2. God shews Mercy in lengthening out our Gospel-Liberties , 1 Cor. 16.9 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; there are many Adversaries ; many would stop the Waters of the Sanctuary that they should not run : We enjoy the sweet Seasons of Grace , we hear joyful Sounds , we see the goings of God in his Sanctuary , we enjoy Sabbath after Sabbath ; the Manna of the Word yet falls about our Tents , when in divers parts of the Land they have no Manna . Here is God shewing Mercy to us ; he spins out our forfeited Liberties .

3. God shews Mercy to us in preventing many Evils from invading us , Psal. 3.3 . Thou O Lord art a Shield for me . God hath restrained the Wrath of Men , and been a Screen between us and Danger . When the Destroying Angel hath been abroad , and shot his deadly Arrow of Pestilence , God hath kept off the Arrow that it hath not come near us .

4. God shews Mercy in delivering us , 2 Tim. 4.17 . And I was delivered out of the Mouth of the Lion , viz. Nero. God hath restored us from the Grave . May we not write the Writing of Hezekiah , Isa. 38 9. when he had been sick , and was recovered of his Sickness ? When we thought the Sun of our Life had been setting , God hath made it return to its former Brightness .

5. God shews Mercy in restraining of us from Sin : Lusts within , are worse than Lions without . The greatest sign of Gods Anger , is to give Men up to their Sins , Psal. 81.12 . So I gave them up to their own Hearts Lusts ; let them Sin themselves to Hell . But God hath laid the Bridle of restraining Grace upon us : As God said to Abimelech , Gen. 20.6 . I withheld thee from sinning against me . So God withheld us from those Exorbitancies which might have made us a Prey to Satan , and a Terrour to our Selves .

6. God shews Mercy in guiding and directing us . Is it not a Mercy for one that is out of the way , to have a Guide ? First , There is a Providential guiding , God guides our Affairs for us , Chaulks out a way he would have us to walk in ; he resolves our Doubts , unties our Knots , appoints the bounds of our Habitation , Acts 17.26 . Secondly , A Spiritual guiding , Psal. 73.24 . Thou shalt guide me with thy Counsel . As Israel had a Pillar of Fire to go before them , so God guides us with the Oracles of his Word , and the Conduct of his Spirit . He guides our Head , keeps us from error , and he guides our Feet , keeps us from Scandal . O what Mercy is it to have God to be our Guide and Pilot , Psal. 31.3 . For thy Name 's sake lead me and guide me .

7. God shews Mercy in Correcting us . God is Angry in Love , he smites that he may save Gods Rod is not a Rod of Iron to break us , but a Fatherly Rod to Humble us , Heb. 12.10 . He for our profit , that we may be partakers of his Holiness . Either God will mortifie some corruption , or exercise some grace . Is there not Mercy in this ? Every Cross to a Child of God , is like Paul's Cross Wind , which though it broak the Ship , it brought Paul to Shoar upon the broken Pieces , Acts 27.44 .

8. God shews Mercy in Pardoning us , Mic. 7.18 . Who is a God like thee , that pardonest Iniquity ? 'T is Mercy to Feed us , Rich Mercy to Pardon us . This Mercy is spun out of the Bowels of Free Grace ; this is enough to make a Sick Man well , Isa. 33.24 . The Inhabitant shall not say I am Sick , the People that dwell therein , shall be forgiven their Iniquity . Pardon of Sin is a Mercy of the first Magnitude , God seals the Sinners Pardon with a Kiss . This made David put on his best Cloaths , and anoint himself ; his Child newly Dead , and God had told him the Sword should not depart from his House , yet now he falls Anointing himself ; the reason was , God had sent him his Pardon by the Prophet Nathan , 2 Sam. 12.13 . The Lord hath put away thy Sin . Pardon is the only fit Remedy for a troubled Conscience . What can give ease to a Wounded Spirit , but pardoning Mercy ? Offer him the Honours and Pleasures of the World , 't is as if you bring Flowers and Musick to one that is condemned .

Quest. How may I know my Sins are pardoned ?

Resp. Where God removes the guilt , he breaks the power of Sin , Mic. 7.19 . He will have Compassion , he will subdue our Iniquities . With Pardoning Love God gives Subduing Grace .

9. God shews his Mercy in Sanctifying us , Lev. 20.8 . I am the Lord that sanctifie you . This is the partaking of the Divine Nature , 2 Pet. 1.4 . Gods Spirit is a Spirit of Consecration ; though it Sanctifies us but in part , yet in every part , 1 Thes. 5.23 . This is such a Mercy , that God cannot give in Anger , if we are Sanctified , then we are Elected , 2 Thes. 2.13 . God hath chosen you , to Salvation through Sanctification . This doth disponere ad Coelum , it prepares for Happiness , as the Seed prepares for Harvest . When the Virgins had been Anointed and Perfumed , then they were to stand before the King , Esther 2.12 . So when we have had the Anointing of God , then we shall stand before the King of Heaven .

10. God shews Mercy in hearing our Prayers , Psal. 4 1. Have Mercy upon me , and hear my Prayer . Is it not a Favour when a Man puts up a Petition to the King , and hath it granted ? When we pray for Pardon , Adoption , the Sense of Gods Love , to have God give a gracious Answer , what a signal Mercy is this ? God may sometimes delay an Answer , when he will not deny . You do not presently throw a Musician Mony , because you love to hear his Musick . God loves the Musick of Prayer , therefore doth not presently let us hear from him ; but in due Season he will give an Answer of Peace . Psal. 66.20 . Blessed be God who hath not turned away my Prayer nor his Mercy from me . If God doth not turn away our Prayer , then he doth not turn away his Mercy .

11. God shews Mercy in Saving us , Tit. 3.5 . According to his Mercy he saved us . This is the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Top Stone of Mercy , and it is laid in Heaven . Now Mercy displays it self in all its Orient Colours ; now Mercy is Mercy is indeed , when God shall perfectly refine us from all the ●ees and Dregs of Corruption . Our Bodies shall be made like Christs Glorious Body , and our Souls like the Angels-Saving Mercy is Crowning Mercy . 'T is not only to be freed from Hell , but inthroned in a Kingdom . In this Life we do rather desire God than enjoy him : But what rich Mercy will it be , to be fully possessed of God , to see his smiling Face , and to have God lay us in his Bosom ? This will fill us with Joy unspeakable , and full of Glory , Psal. 17.15 . I shall be satisfied , when I awake with thy Likeness .

Use 1. As an Argument against Despair , see what a great Encouragement here is to serve God ; he shews Mercy to Thousands . Who would not be willing to serve a Prince that is given to Mercy and Clemency ? God is represented with a Rain-bow round about him , Rev. 4.3 . An Emblem of his Mercy . Acts of Severity are rather forced from God ; Justice is his strange Work , Isa. 28.21 . Therefore the Disciples who are not said to wonder at other Miracles of Christ , yet did wonder when the Fig-tree was Cursed and Withered , because it was not Christ's manner to put forth acts of Severity . God is said to delight in Mercy , Mic. 7.18 . Justice is Gods Left Hand , Mercy is his Right Hand : God useth his Right Hand most , he is more used to Mercy than Justice , pronior est Deus ad parcendum quam ad puniendum . God is said to be slow to Anger , Psal. 103.8 . But ready to Forgive , Psalm 86.5 . This may encourage us to serve God . What Argument will prevail , if Mercy will not ? Were God all Justice , it might Fright us from him , but his Mercy may be a Loadstone to draw us to him .

Use 2. Bran. 1. Hope in Gods Mercies , Psal. 147.11 . The Lord takes Pleasure in them that fear him , and hope in his Mercy . God counts it his Glory to be scattering Pardons among Men.

Obj. But I have been a great Sinner , and sure there is no Mercy for me ?

Resp. No , not if thou goest on in Sin , and art so resolved ; but if thou wilt break off thy Sins , the Golden Scepter of Mercy shall be held forth to thee , Isa. 55.7 . Let the Wicked forsake his way , and let him return unto the Lord , and he will have Mercy upon him . And Christs Blood is a Fountain set open for Sin and Uncleanness , Zach. 13.1 . Mercy doth more overflow in God , than Sin in us ; Gods Mercy can drown great Sins , as the Sea covers great Rocks . Some of those Iews who had their Hands embrued in Christs Blood , were saved by that Blood : God loves to magnifie his Goodness , to display the Trophies of Free Grace , and to set up his Mercy above you , in spight of Sin : Therefore hope in Gods Mercy .

Bran. 2. If God shew Mercy to Thousands , labour to know that this Mercy is for you , Psal. 59.17 . He is the God of my Mercy . A Man that was ready to Drown , saw a Rain-bow , saith he , What am I the better , though God will not Drown the World , if I Drown ? so what are we the better God is Merciful , if we perish ? Let us labour to know Gods special Mercy is for us .

Quest. How shall we know it belongs to us ?

Resp. 1. If we put an high value and estimate upon God's Mercy : God will not throw away his Mercy on them that slight it ; we prize Health , but we prize Adopting Mercy above it . This is the Diamond in the Ring , it out-shines all other Comforts .

2. If we are Fearers of God , we have a reverend awe upon us ; we tremble at Sin , and fly from it as Moses did from his Rod turned into a Serpent , Luke 1.50 . His Mercy is on them that Fear him .

3. If we take Sanctuary in Gods Mercy , we trust in it , Psal. 52.8 . As a Man is saved by catching hold of a Cable . Gods Mercy is a great Cable , let down from Heaven to us ; now taking fast hold on this Cable by Faith , we are saved , Psal. 52.8 . I trust in the Mercy of God for ever . As a Man trusteth his Life and Goods in a Garrison , so we trust our Souls in Gods Mercy .

Quest. What shall we do to get a share in Gods special Mercy ?

Resp. 1. If we would have Mercy , it must be through Christ ; out of Christ no Mercy is to be had . We read in the old Law , First , None might come into the Holy of Holies where the Mercy-Seat stood , but the High Priest ; signifying , we have nothing to do with Mercy , but through Christ our High Priest . Secondly , The High Priest might not come near the Mercy-Seat without Blood , Lev. 16.14 . to shew that we have no right to Mercy , but through the expiatory Sacrifice of Christ's Blood . Thirdly , The High Priest might not upon pain of Death come near the Mercy-Seat without Incense , Lev. 16.13 . No Mercy from God without the Incense of Christs Intercession . So that if we would have Mercy , we must get a part in Christ . Mercy swims to us through Christs Blood .

2. If we would have Mercy , we must Pray for it , Psal. 85.7 . Shew us thy Mercy O Lord , and grant us thy Salvation . Psal. 25.16 . Turn thee unto me , and have Mercy upon me . Lord put me not off with common Mercy ; give me not only Mercy to Feed and Cloath me , but Mercy to Pardon me ; not only sparing Mercy , but saving Mercy . Lord give me the Cream of thy Mercies ; let me have Mercy and Loving Kindness , Psal. 103.4 . Who crowneth thee with Loving Kindness and Tender Mercy . Be earnest Suitors for Mercy ; let your Wants quicken your Importunity : Then we pray most fervently , when we pray wost feelingly .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.6 .

Of them that Love me , &c.

1. GODS Mercy is for them that Love him . Love is a Grace shines and sparkles in Gods Eye , as the precious Stones did upon Aarons Breast-Plate . Love is an holy expansion or enlargement of Soul , whereby it is carried with delight after God , as the chief Good : So Aquinas defines Love , Complacentia amantis in amato ; Love is a complacential delighting in God as in our Treasure : Love is the Soul of Religion , 't is a Grace highly momentous . If we had Knowledge as the Angels , or Faith of Miracles , yet without Love it would profit nothing , 1 Cor. 13.2 . Love is the First and Great Commandment , Mat. 22.38 . It is so , because if this be wanting , there can be no Religion in the Heart , there can be no Faith , for Faith works by Love , Gal. 5.6 . All is but Pageantry , or a Devout Complement .

2. Because Love doth meliorate and sweeten all the Duties of Religion ; it makes them Savoury Meat , else God cares not to taste of them .

3. It is the First and Great Commandment , in respect of the Excellency of this Grace . Love is the Queen of the Graces , it out-shines all the other , as the Sun the Lesser Planets . In some respect it is more excellent than Faith , though in one sense Faith be more excellent , Virtute unionis , as it unites us to Christ . Faith puts upon us the Embroidered Robe of Christs Righteousness , which is a brighter Robe than any of the Angels wear . Yet in another sense , Love is more excellent , respectu durationis , in respect of the continuance of it ; it is the most durable Grace : Faith and Hope will shortly cease , but Love will remain . When all the other Graces , like Rachel , shall dye in Travel , Love shall revive . The other Graces are in the nature of a Lease , only for term of Life : Love is as a Free-hold , it continues for ever . Thus Love carries away the Garland from all the other Graces , it is the most long liv'd Grace , it is a Bud of Eternity ; this Grace alone shall accompany us in Heaven .

Quest 1. How must our Love to God be qualified ?

Resp. 1. Love to God must be pure and genuine , he must be loved chiefly for himself , this the School-men call Amor amicitiae . We must love God not only for his Benefits , but those intrinsick Excellencies wherewith he is Crowned . We must love God not only for the good which flows from him but the good which is in him . True love is not Mercenary ; a Soul that is deeply in love with God , needs not be hired with Rewards ; he cannot but love God for the Beauty of his Holiness ; not but that it is lawful to look at Gods Benefits . Moses had an Eye to the recompence of Reward , Heb. 11.26 . But we must not love God only for his Benefits , for then it is not love of God , but Self-Love .

2. Love to God must be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , with all the Heart , Mark 12.30 . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart . We must not love God a little , give him a Drop or two of our Love ; but the main Stream of our Love must run after him ; the Mind must think of God , the Will choose him , the Affections pant after him . The true Mother would not have the Child divided , nor God will not have the Heart divided ; we must love him with our whole Heart . Though we may love the Creature , yet it must be a subordinate Love . Love to God must be highest , as the Oyl swims above the Water .

3. Love to God must be Flaming ; to love coldly , is all one as not to love . The Spouse is said to be amore perculsa , Sick of Love , Cant. 2.5 . The Seraphims are so called from their Burning . Love turns Saints into Seraphims , it makes them burn in Holy Love to God ; and many Waters cannot quench this Love .

Quest. 2. How may we know whether we love God ?

Resp. 1. He that loves God , desires his sweet Presence : Lovers cannot be long asunder ; they have their 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Fainting Fits , they want a sight of the Object of their Love . A Soul deeply in Love with God , desires the enjoyment of him in his Ordinances , in Word , Prayer , Sacrament . David was ready to faint away and Dye , when he had not a sight of God , Psal. 84.2 . My Soul fainteth for God ; such as care not for Ordinances , but say , when will the Sabbath be over ? plainly discover want of Love to God .

2. He who loves God , doth not love Sin , Psal. 97.10 . Ye that love the Lord , hate evil . The love of God , and love of Sin , can no more mix together , than Iron and Clay : Every Sin loved , strikes at the Being of God ; but he who loves God hath an Antipathy against Sin . He who would part between Two Lovers , is an Hateful Person ; God and the Believing Soul , are Two Lovers ; Sin comes to part between them , therefore the Soul is implacably set against Sin . By this try your Love to God . How could Dalilah say she loved Sampson , when she entertained correspondence with the Philistines who were his Mortal Enemies ? How can he say he loves God , who loves Sin , which is God's Enemy ?

3. He who loves God , is not much in love with any thing else ; his love is very cool to worldly things ; his love to God moves as the Sun in the Firmament swiftly , his love to the World moves as the Sun on the Dial , very slow : The love of the World eats out the Heart of Religion : It choaks good Affections , as the Earth puts out the Fire . The World was a dead thing to Paul , Gal. 6.14 . I am Crucified to the World , and the World is Crucified to me . In Paul , we might see both the Picture and Pattern of a Mortified Man . He that loves God , useth the World , but chooseth God ; the World is his Pension , but God is his Portion , Psal. 119.57 . The World doth busie him , but God doth delight and satisfie him . He saith as David , Psal. 43.4 . God my exceeding joy , the Gladness or Cream of my Joy .

4 He who loves God , cannot live without him . Things we love , we know not how to be without . A Man can want Musick or Flowers , but not Food . A Soul deeply in love with God , looks upon himself as undone without him , Psal. 143.7 Hide not thy Face from me , lest I be like them that go down into the Pit . He saith as Iob , Ch●p. 30.28 . I went Mourning without the Sun . I have Star-light , I want the Sun of Righteousness ; I enjoy not the sweet Presence of my God . Is God our chief Good , that we cannot live without ? Alas , how do they demonstrate they have no love to God , who can make a shift well enough to be without him ? Let them but have Corn and Oyl , and you shall never hear them complain of the want of God .

5. He who loves God , will be at any pains to get him . What pains doth the Merchant take ? what hazards doth he run to have a rich Return from the Indies ? Extremos currit Mercator 〈…〉 . Iacob loved Rachel , and he would endure the Heat by Day , an● the Fro●t by Night that he might enjoy her . A Soul that loves God will take any pains for the Fruition of him , Psal. 63.8 . My Soul follows hard after God . Love is Pondus animae , Aug. It is as the weight which sets the Clock a going . The Soul is much in Prayer , Weeping , Fasting ; he strives as in an Agony , that he may obtain him whom his Soul loves . Plutarch reports of the Gauls , an ancient People of France , after they had tasted the sweet Wine of Italy , they never rested till they had arrived at that Country . He who is in love with God , never rests till he hath gotten a part in him , Cant. 3.2 . I sought him whom my Soul loved . How can they say they love God , who are not industrious in the use of means to obtain him , Prov. 19.24 . A sloathful man hides his hands in his Bosom . These not in Agony , but Lethargy : If Christ and Salvation would drop as a ripe Fig into his mouth , he could be content to have them ; but he is loath to put himself to too much trouble . Doth he love his Friend , that will not make a Journey to him ?

6. He that loves God , prefers him before Estate and Life . 1. Before Estate , Phil. 3.8 . For whom I have suffered the loss of all things . Who that loves a rich Jewel , would not part with a Flower for it ? Galcanus Marquess of Vico , parted with a fair Estate to enjoy God in his pure Ordinances : When a Jesuit perswaded him to return to his Popish Religion in Italy , promising him an huge Summ of Mony : Saith he , Let their Mony perish with them , who esteem all the Gold in the World worth one days Communion with Iesus Christ and his Holy Spirit . 2. Before Life , Rev. 12.11 . They loved not their lives to the death . Love to God carries the Soul above the love of Life ; and the fear of Death .

7. He who loves God loves his Favourites , viz. the Saints , 1 Iohn 5.1 . Idem est motus animi in imaginem & rem . To love a Man for his Grace , and the more we see of God in him , the more we love him , is the infallible sign of love to God . The Wicked pretend to love God , but hate and persecute his Image . Doth he love his Prince , who abuseth his Statue , tears his Picture ? Indeed they seem to shew great Reverence to the Saints departed ; they have a great Reverence for St. Paul , and St. Stephen , and St. Luke : They Canonize dead Saints , but per●ecute living Saints : And do these love God ? Can it be imagined he should love God , who hates his Children because they are like him ? If Christ were alive again , he would not escape a second Persecution .

8. If we love God , as we cannot but be fearful of dishonouring him ( the more a Child loves his Father , the more he is afraid to displease him ) so we weep and mourn when we have offended him . Peter went out and wept bitterly , Matt. 26.75 . When Peter thought how dearly Christ loved him , he took him up to the Mount , where he was Transfigured : Christ shewed him the Glory of Heaven in a Vision . Now that he should deny Christ , after he had received such signal Tokens of Christs Love , this broke his Heart with grief , He wept bitterly . Are our Eyes Limbicks , dropping Tears of grief for Sin against God ? A blessed Evidence of our love to God ; and such shall find Mercy . He shews Mercy to Thousands of them that love him .

Use. Let us be Lovers of God ; we love our Food , and shall not we love him that gives it ? All the Joy we hope for in Heaven is in God , and shall not he who shall be our Joy be our Love ? It is a Saying of St. Austin , Annon poena satis magna est , non amare te ? Is it not Punishment enough , Lord , not to love thee ? And again , Animam meam odio haberem . I would hate my own Soul , if I did not find it loving of God .

Quest. What are the Incentives to provoke and inflame our Love to God ?

Resp. 1. Gods Benefits bestowed on us . A Prince who bestows continual Favours on a Subject , if that Subject have any Ingenuity , he cannot but love his Prince . God is continually heaping Benefits upon us : He fills our hearts with food and gladness , Acts 14.17 . As the Rock followed Israel , whither ever they went streams of Water out of the Rock followed them . So Gods Blessings follow us every day : We swim in a Sea of Mercy . That Heart is hard that is not prevailed with by all Gods Blessings , to love him ; Magnes amoris amor . Kindness works on a Bruit . The Ox knows his Owner .

2. Love to God would make Duties of Religion Facile and Pleasant . I confess to him that hath no love to God , Religion must needs be a Burden . And I wonder not to hear him say , What a weariness is it to serve the Lord ? It is like rowing against Tyde . But Love oyls the Wheels , it makes Duty a Pleasure . Why are the Angels so swift and winged in Gods Service , but because they love him ? Iacob thought seven years , but little for the love he did bear to Rachel : Love is never weary : He who loves Mony is not weary of telling it : And he who loves God , is not weary of serving him .

3. It is Advantagious . There is nothing lost by our Love to God . ● Cor. ● . ● . Eye hath not seen , &c. the things which God hath prepared for them 〈…〉 . Such glorious Rewards are laid up for such as love God : That ( as Austi● saith ) they do not only transcend our Reason , but Faith it self is not able to comprehend them . A Crown is the highest Ensign of Worldly Glory ; and God hath promis●● a Crown of Life to them that love him , Iames 1.12 . And it is a never-fading Crown , 1 Pet. 5.4 .

4. By our loving God we may know that he loves us , 1 Iohn 4.19 . We love 〈◊〉 , because he first loved us . If the Ice melts , it is because the Sun hath shined on 〈◊〉 : I● the frosen Heart melts in Love , it is because the Sun of Righteousness hath shined upon it .

Quest. What means may be used to excite our love to God ?

Resp. 1. Labour to know God aright . The School-men say true , Bonum non amatur quod non cognoscitur : We cannot love that which we do not know : God is the most Eligible good . All the Excellencies which lye scattered in the Creature , are united in God : He is Optimus maximus . Wisdom , Beauty , Riches , Love , do all concenter in God . How fair were that Tulip which had the Colours of all Tulips in it ? All Perfections and Sweetnesses are eminently in God . Did we know God more , and by the Eye of Faith , see his orient Beauty , our Hearts would be fired with love to him .

2. Make the Scriptures familiar to you . St. Austin saith , Before his Conversion he took no pleasure in Scripture ; but after Conversion it was his chast delight . The Book of God discovers God to us in his Holiness , Wisdom , Veracity and Truth : It represents God rich in Mercy , incircled with Promises . St. Austin calls the Scripture a golden Epistle , or Love-letter sent from God to us . By reading this Love-letter , we shall be the more inamoured with love to God : As by reading Lascivious Books , Comedies , Romances , Lust is provoked .

3. Mediate much of God , and this will be a means to love him , Psal. 39.3 . While I was musing , the fire burned . Meditation is the Bellows of the Affections . Meditate on Gods love in giving us Christ , Iohn 3.16 . God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son , &c. That God should give Christ to us , and not to the Angels that fell ; that the Sun of Righteousness should shine in our Horison ; that he is revealed to us and not to others ; what wonderful love is this , Prov. 6.28 . Who can go upon hot coals and his feet not be burned ? Who can meditate on Gods love , who can tread on these hot Coals , and his Heart not burn in love to God! Beg an Heart to love God : The Affection of Love is natural , but not the Grace of Love , Gal. 5.22 . This fire of love is kindled from Heaven ; beg that it may burn upon the Altar of your Heart . Sure this request is pleasing to God , and he will not deny such a Prayer , Lord give me an heart to love thee .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.6

And keep my Commandments .

LOve and Obedience , like two Sisters , must go hand in hand : Indeed this is a good Evidence of our loving God , Iohn 14.21 . If ye love me , keep my Commandments . Probatio dilectionis est exhibitio operis . The Son that loves his Father , will obey him ; Obedience pleaseth God , 1 Sam. 15.22 . To obey is better than Sacrifice . In Sacrifice only a dead Beast is offered , in Obedience a living Soul . In Sacrifice only a part of the Fruit is offered ; in Obedience Fruit and Tree and all . A Man offers up himself to God . Keep my Commandments . ] It is not said , God shews Mercy to Thousands of them that know his Commandments , but that keep them . The knowing Gods Commandments , without keeping them , doth not intitle any to Mercy . The Commandment is not only a Rule of Knowledge , but Duty . God gives us his Commandments , not only as a Lanskip to look upon , but as his Will and Testament , which we are to perform . A good Christian is like the Sun , which doth not only send forth light , but goes its Circuit round the World . So he hath not only the light of Knowledge , but goes his Circuit too , and moves in the Sphere of Obedience .

Quest. In what manner must we keep Gods Commandments ?

Resp. 1. Our keeping the Commandments must be Fiducial . Our Obedience to Gods Commands , must Profluere à Fide , spring from Faith , therefore it is called the Obedience of Faith , Rom. 16.26 . Abel by Faith offered up 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a better Sacrifice than Cain , Heb. 11.4 Faith is a vital Principle , without it all our Services are Opera Mortua , dead Works , Heb. 6.1 . Faith doth meliorate and sweeten our Obedience , and make it come off with a better Relish . Quest. But why must Faith be mix'd with Obedience to the Commandment ? Resp. Because Faith eyes Christ in every Duty , and so both the Person and Offering are accepted . The High Priest under the Law laid his Hand upon the Head of the Beast slain , which did point to the Messiah , Exod. 29.10 . So Faith in every Duty , lays its hand upon the Head of Christ . His Blood doth expiate the guilt , and the sweet Odours of his Intercession perfume our works of Obedience , Eph. 1.6 . He hath made us accepted in the Beloved .

2. Our keeping the Commandments must be uniform . We must make Conscience of one Commandment as well as another , Psal. 119.6 . Then shall I not be ashamed , when I have respect to all thy Commandments . Every Commandment hath a Ius divinum , the same stamp of Divine Authority upon it : And if I obey one Precept , because God commands , by the same Reason I must obey all . Some obey the Commands of the first Table , but are careless in the Duties of the second : And so , è contra . Physicians have a Rule , when the Body sweats in one part , but is cold in another , it is a sign of a Distemper . So when Men seem Zealous in some Duties of Religion , but are Cold and Frozen in another , it is a sign of Hypocrisie . We must have respect to all Gods Commandments . Quest. But who can keep all Commandments ? Resp. There is a fulfilling of Gods Commands , and a keeping them : Though we cannot fulfill all , yet we may be said to keep them in an Evangelical Sense . We may facere , though not perficere : We keep the Commandments Evangelically . 1. Where we make Conscience of every Command : Though we come short in every Duty , yet we dare not neglect any Duty . 2. Our desire is to keep every Commandment , Psal. 119.5 . O that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes . What we want in Strength , we make up in Will. 3. We grieve that we can do no better . When we fail , we weep : We prefer Bills of Complaint against our selves , and judge our selves for our Failings , Rom. 7.24 . 4. We do elicere conatum , we endeavour to obey every Commandment , Phil. 3.14 I press toward the mark . We strive as in an Agony , and if it lay in our power we would fully comport with every Commandment . 5. When we fall short , and are unable to come up to the full Latitude of the Law , we look to Christs Blood to sprinkle our imperfect Obedience ; and with the grains of his Merits cast into the Scales to make it pass current . This is in an Evangelical Sense to keep all the Commandments ; and though it be not to Satisfaction , yet it is to Acceptation .

3. Our keeping Gods Commandments must be willing , Isa. 1.19 . If ye be willing and obedient . God was for a Free will-offering , Deut. 16.10 . David will run the way of Gods Commandments , Psal. 119.32 . that is , Freely and Chearfully . The Lawyers have a Canon , Adverbs are better than Adjectives ; it is not the Bonum but the Bene ; not the doing much , but the doing well . A Musician is not commended for playing long , but for playing well : It is obeying God willingly is accepted : Virtus nolentium nullum est . The Lord hates that which is forced , it is rather a paying a Tax than an Offering . Cain served God grudgingly , he brought his Sacrifice , not his Heart . To obey Gods Commandments unwillingly , is like the Devils who came out of the Men possess'd at Christs command , but with Reluctancy and against their Will , Matt. 8.29 . Obedientia praeest , and à est non timore poenae , sed amore Dei . Good Duties must not be pressed or beaten out of us , as the Waters came out of the Rock , when Moses smote it with his Rod , but must freely drop from us as Myrrhe from the Tree , or Hony from the Comb. If a willing mind be wanting , there wants that flower which should perfume our Obedience , and make it a sweet smelling Savour to God . That we may keep Gods Commandments willingly , let these things be well weighed .

1. Our Willingness is more esteem'd than our Service . Therefore David Counsels Solomon , not only to serve God , but with a willing Mind , 1 Chron. 28.9 . The Will makes Sin to be worse , and it makes Duty to be better . To obey willingly , shews we do it with love : And this Crowns all our Services .

2. There is that in the Law-giver , as may make us willing to obey the Commandments , viz. Gods Indulgence to us .

1. God doth not require the Summum jus , as absolutely necessary to Salvation . He expects not perfect Obedience , only requires Sincerity . Do but act from a Principle of Love , and aim at Honouring God in your Obedience , and it is accepted .

2. In the times of the Gospel a Surety is admitted . The Law would not favour us so far , but now God doth so indulge us , that what we cannot do of our selves , we may do by Proxy . Iesus Christ is a Surety of a better Testament , Heb. 7.22 . We fall short in every thing , but God looks upon us in our Surety , and Christ having fulfilled all Righteousness , it is as if we had fulfilled the Law in our own Persons .

3. God gives strength to do what he requires . The Law called for Obedience , but though it required Brick it gave no Straw . But in the Gospel , God with his Commands gives power , Ezek. 18.31 . Make ye a new Heart . Alas it is above our strength , we may as well make a new World , Ezek. 36.26 . I will give you a new Heart . God commands us to cleanse our selves , Isa. 1.16 . Wash ye , make you clean . But who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? Job 14.4 . Therefore the Precep● is turn'd into a Promise , Ezek. 36.25 . From all your filthiness will I cleanse you . When the Child cannot go , the Nurse takes it by the Hand , Hos. 11.3 . I taught Ephraim also to go , taking them by their arms .

3. There is that in Gods Commandments which may make us willing , they are not burdensome .

1. For first a Christian ( so far as he is regenerate ) consents to Gods Commands , Rom. 7.16 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . I consent to the Law , that it is good . What is done with consent is no burden . If a Virgin gives her consent , the Match goes on chearfully . If a Subject consent to his Princes Laws ( as seeing the Equity and Rationality in them ) then they are not irksome . A regenerate Person in his Judgment approves , and in his Will consents to Gods Commandments , therefore they are not burdensome .

2. Gods Commandments are sweetned with Joy and Peace . Cicero questions whether that can properly be called a Burden , which one carries with Delight and Pleasure . Utrum onus appellatur quod laetitia fertur . If a Man carries a Bag of Mony given him , it is heavy , but the Delight takes off the Burden . When God gives inward Joy , that makes the Commandment delightful , Isa. 56.7 . I will make them joyful in my House of Prayer . Joy is like Oyl to the Wheels , which makes a Christian run in the way of Gods Commandments ; so that it is not burdensome .

3. Gods Commandments are Advantagious . 1. The Commandments are preventive of Evil ; a Curb-bit to check us from Sin . What Mischiefs should not we run into , if we had not Affliction to humble us , and the Commandment to restrain us ? Gods Commandments are to keep us within Bounds . The Yoke keeps the Beast from stragling . We are to be thankful to God for Precepts ; had not he set his Commandments as an Hedge or Bar in our way , we might have run to Hell and never stop'd .

2. There is nothing in the Commandment but what is for our good , Deut. 10.13 . To keep the Commandments of the Lord and his Statues , which I command thee for thy good . 1. God commands us to read his word , and what hurt is in this ? God bespangles the Word with Promises : As if a Father should bid his Son read his Last Will and Testament , wherein he makes over a fair Estate to him . God bids us Pray : And he tells us , If we ask , it shall be given , Matt. 7.7 . Ask power against Sin , ask Salvation and it shall be given . If you had a Friend should say , Come when you will to me , I will supply you with Mony : Would you think it a trouble to visit that Friend often ? God commands us to fear him , Lev. 25.43 . But fear thy God . And there is Hony in the mouth of this Command , Luke 1.50 . His mercy is upon them that fear him . God commands us to believe , and why so ? Believe and ye shall be saved , Acts 16.31 . Salvation is the Crown set upon the Head of Faith . Good reason then we obey Gods Commands willingly , they are for our good , they are not so much our Duty as our Privilege .

3. Gods Commandments are Ornamental ; Omnia quae praestari jubet Deus , non onerant nos sed ornant , Salvian . Gods Commandments do not burden us but adorn us . It is an Honour to be imployed in a Kings Service : And so to be imployed in Gods , by whom Kings reign . To walk in Gods Commandments proclaims us to be wise , Deut. 4.5 , 6. Behold I have taught you Statutes : Keep , therefore , and do them , for this is your wisdom . And to be wise is an Honour : I may say of every Commandment of God , as Prov. 4.9 . It shall give to thy head an ornament of Grace .

4. The Commands of God are infinitely better than the Commands of Sin ; these are intolerable . Let a Man be under the command of any Lust , how doth he tire himself ! what Hazards doth he run to the endangering his Health and Soul that he may satisfie his Lust , Ier. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit Iniquity . And are not Gods Commandments more equal , facile , pleasant , than the Commands of Sin ? Chrysostom saith true , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . To act Virtue , is easier than to act Vice : Temperance is less troublesom than Drunkenness : Meekness is less troublesom than Passion and Envy . There is more difficulty in the Contrivement and Pursuit of a wicked Design , than in Obeying the Commandments of God . Hence a Sinner is said to travel with Iniquity , Psal. 7.14 . A Woman while she is in Travel , is in pain , to shew what pain and trouble a Wicked Man hath , in bringing forth Sin . Many have gone with more pains to Hell , than others have to Heaven . This may make us obey the Commandments willingly .

5. Willingness in Obedience makes us resemble the Angels . The Cherubims Types representing the Angels , are described with Wings display'd , to shew how ready the Angels are to serve God . God no sooner speaks the Word , but they are ambitious to obey . How are they ravished with Joy , while they are praising God! In Heaven we shall be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as the Angels ; by our willingness to obey Gods Commandments , we shall be like them here . This is that we pray for , that Gods Will may be done by us on Earth , as it is in Heaven : Is it not done willingly there ? We must keep Gods Commandments constantly , Psalm 106.3 . Blessed is he who doth Righteousness at all times . Our Obedience to the Command must be as the Fire of the Altar which never went out , Lev. 13.6 . It must be as the motion of the Pulse , always beating . The Wind blows off the Fruit ; our Fruits of Obedience must not be blown off by the Wind of Persecution , Iohn 15.16 . I have chosen you that you should go and bring forth Fruit , and that your Fruit should remain .

Use. It reproves them who live in a wilful breach of Gods Commandments , in Malice , Uncleanness , Intemperance ; they walk Antipodes to the Commandment . To live in a wilful breach of the Commandment , is

First , Against Reason . Are we able to stand it out against God , 1 Cor. 10.22 . Do we provoke the Lord , are we stronger than he ? Can we measure Arms with God ? Can Impotency stand against Omnipotency ? A Sinner in acting Sin , acts against Reason .

Secondly , It is against Equity . We have our Being from God , and is it not equal we should obey him who gives us our Being ? We have all our Subsistence from God , and is it not fitting that as God gives us our Allowance , we should give him our Allegiance ? If a General gives his Soldier Pay , he is to march at his Command , so that to live in the breach of his Commands , is against Equity .

Thirdly , It is against Nature . Every Creature in its kind , obeys Gods Laws : 1. Animate Creatures obey him , God spake to the Fish , and it set Ionah ashoar , Ionah 2.10 . 2. Inanimate Creatures , the Wind and the Sea obey him ; Mark 4.41 . The very Stones , if God give them a Commission , will cry out against the Sins of Men , Hab. 2.11 . The Stone shall cry out of the Wall , and the Beam out of the Timber shall answer it : None disobeys God but Man and the Devil , and can we find none to joyn with else ?

Fourthly , It is against Kindness . How many Mercies have we to allure us to obey ! Miracles of Mercy ; therefore the Apostle joyns these Two together , Disobedient and Unthankful , 2 Tim. 3.2 . And this dyes a Sin of a Crimson colour . And as the Sin is great , for it is a contempt of God , a hanging out of the Flag of Defiance against God , ( and Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft , ) so the Punishment will be proportionable : Such cut themselves off from Mercy . Gods Mercy is for them that keep his Commandments , but no Mercy to them that live in a wilful breach of them . All God's Judgments set themselves in Battel Array against the Disobedient . 1. Temporal Judgments , Lev. 26.15 , 16. 2. Eternal Christ comes in Flames of Fire to take Vengeance on them that obey not , 2 Thes. 1.8 . Such as break the Golden Chains of Gods Commands , God hath Iron Chains to hold them , Chains of Darkness , in whch the Devils are held , Iude 6. As long as there is Eternity , God hath time enough to reckon with all the wilful Breakers of his Commandments .

Quest. How shall we do to keep Gods Commandments ?

Resp. Beg the Spirit of God . We cannot do it in our own Strength ; the Spirit must work in us both the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to will and to do , Phil. 2.13 . When the Loadstone draws , the Iron moves ; when Gods Spirit draws , then we run in the way of Gods Commandments .

Of the Commandments . Exod. 20.7 .

Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain , for the Lord will not hold him guiltless , &c.

THis Commandment has Two Parts ; First , A Negative expressed , that we must not take Gods Name in vain , viz. Cast any Reflection or Dishonour upon Gods Name . Secondly , An Affirmative imply'd , That we should have a care to Reverence and Honour his Name ; but that I shall speak to more fully , when I come to the First Petition in the Lord's Prayer , Hallowed be thy Name . I shall now speak of the Negative expressed in this Commandment , or the Prohibition , Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in Vain . The Tongue is an unruly Member ; all the Parts and Organs of the Body are defiled with Sin , as every Branch of Wormwood is bitter , but the Tongue is full of deadly Poison , Iam. 3.8 . There is no one Member of the Body doth more break forth into Gods Dishonour , than the Tongue ; therefore this Commandment is a Bridle for the Tongue , it is to bind the Tongue to its good Behaviour ; Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain : And this Prohibition is back'd with a strong Reason , For the Lord will not hold him guiltless , that is , he will not hold him Innocent . Men of Place and Eminency take it hainously to have their Names abused , and will inflict heavy Penalties on the Offenders . The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain ; God looks upon him as a Criminal Person , and he will severely punish him . Well then , the thing to be insisted on , is , that great care must be had , that the Holy and Reverend Name of God , be not prophaned by us , or taken in vain .

Quest. How many ways may we be said to take Gods Name in vain ?

Resp. I. We take Gods Name in vain , when we speak slightly and irreverently of his Name , Deut. 28.58 . That thou mayst fear this Glorious and Fearful Name , the Lord thy God . David speaks of God with Reverence , Psal. 50.1 . The Lord , even the most mighty God . Psal. 83.18 . That Men may know , that thou whose Name alone is Jehovah , art the most high over all the Earth . And the Disciples speaking of Jesus , did hallow his Name , Luke 24.19 . Iesus of Nazareth , which was a Prophet mighty in Deed and Word before God and all the People . When we mention the Names of Kings , we give them some Title of Honour , as Excellent Majesty . So should we speak of God with such Sacred Reverence as is due to the infinite Majesty of Heaven . When we speak slightly of God or his Works , God interprets it to be a Contempt , and it is a taking his Name in vain .

II. When we profess Gods Name , but do not live answerable to it , it is a taking his Name in vain , Titus 1.16 . In Words they profess him , but in Works they deny him . When Mens Tongues and Lives cross one another ; when under a Mask of Profession Men will Lye and Couzen , and be Unclean , these make use of Gods Name to abuse him , they take his Name in vain ; Simulata Sanctitas duplex iniquitas , Rom. 2.24 . The Name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you . When the Heathens saw the Iews , who professed to be Gods People , to be Scandalous , this made them speak Evil of God , and hate the true Religion for their sakes .

III. We take Gods Name in vain , when we use Gods Name in Idle Discourse . God is not to be spoken of , but with an Holy Awe upon our Hearts ; and to bring Gods Name in at every turn , when we never think of God , to say , O God , or O Christ , or As God shall save my Soul , this is taking Gods Name in vain ; and how many are guilty in this kind ? Though they have God in their Mouths , they have the Devil in their Hearts . 'T is a wonder that Fire doth not come out from the Lord and consume them , as it did Nadab and Abihu , Lev. 10.2 .

IV. We take Gods Name in vain , when we worship him with our Lips , but not our Hearts ; this is to abuse God . 'T is the Heart which God calls for , Prov. 23.26 . My Son give me thy Heart ; the Heart is the chief thing in Religion , it draws the Will and Affections after it , as the Primum M●bile the other Orbs along with it . The Heart is the Incense that perfumes our Holy things ; it is the Altar that sanctifies the Offering . Now when we seem to worship God , but withdraw our Heart from him , we take his Name in vain Isa. 29.13 This People draw near me with their Mouth , and with their Lips do honour me , but they have removed their Heart from me .

First , Hypocrites take Gods Name in vain , their Religion is a Lye ; they seem to Honour God , but they do not Love him , their Hearts go after their Lusts , Hos. 4.8 . They set their Hearts on their Iniquity . Their Eyes are lifted up to Heaven , but their Hearts are rooted in the Earth , Ezek. 33.31 . These are Devils in Samuel's Mantle , they take Gods Name in vain .

Secondly , Superstitious Persons take Gods Name in vain . They bring God a few Ceremonies which he never appointed ; they bow at Christs Name , and cringe to the Altar , but hate and persecute Gods Image : These take his Name in vain .

V. We take Gods Name in vain , when we pray to him , but do not believe in him . Faith is the great Grace that Honours God , Rom. 4.20 . Abraham being strong in Faith , gave Glory to God ; but when we pray to God , but do not mix Faith with our Prayer , we take his Name in vain . I may Pray , ( saith a Christian , ) but I shall be never the better , I question whether God doth hear , or whether he will grant . This is to dishonour God , and take his Name in vain ; this is to make God either an Idol , that he hath Ears and hears not , or a Liar , who promiseth Mercy to the Penitent , but will not make good his Word , Iohn 5.10 . He that believeth not , hath made God a Liar . When the Apostle saith , How shall they call on him whom they have not believed ? Rom. 10.14 . The meaning is , how shall they call on God aright , and not believe in him ? But how many do call on God , who do not believe in him ? they ask for Pardon , but Unbelief whispers , their Sins are greater than can be forgiven . Thus to Pray and not Believe , is to take Gods Name in Vain , and is an high dishonouring of God , as if he were not such a God as the Word represents him ; Plenteous in Mercy to all that call upon him , Psal. 86.5 .

VI. We take Gods Name in vain , when we in any kind abuse and prophane his Word . Now the Word of God is prophaned , First , In General , when Prophane Men meddle with it . It is unseemly and unbecoming a Wicked Man , to talk of Sacred things , of Gods Providence , and the Decrees of God and Heaven ; it was very distastful to Christ , to hear the Devil quote Scripture , It is written . To hear a Wicked Man that wallows in Sin , talk of God and Religion , is offensive , it is the taking Gods Name in vain . When the Word of God is in a Drunkards Mouth , it is like a Pearl hung upon a Swine . Under the Law , the Lips of the Leper were to be covered , Lev. 13.45 . The Lips of a Prophane Drunken Minister ought to be covered ; he is unfit to speak of Gods Word , because he takes Gods Name in vain . But Secondly , More particularly , they prophane Gods Word , and take his Name in vain ,

1. That speak Scornfully of Gods Word , 2 Pet. 3.4 . Where is the Promise of his Coming ? For since the Fathers fell asleep , all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation . As if they had said , here is much adoe the Preachers make about the Day of Judgment , when all must be called to account for their Works ; but where is the appearing of that Day ? We see things keep their Course , and continue as they were since the Creation ; thus they speak scornfully of Scripture , and did take God's Name in vain . If Sentence be not speedily executed , Men scorn and deride , but Prov. 19.29 . Iudgments are prepared for Scorners .

2. That speak Jestingly . Such are they who sport and play with Scripture ; 't is playing with Fire . Some cannot be merry unless they make bold with God ; they make the Scripture an Harp to drive away the Spirit of Sadness . Eusebius relates of one who took a piece of Scripture to jest with , God struck him with Phrensie . To play with Scripture , shews a very prophane Heart . Some will rather lose their Souls than lose their Jest : These are guilty of taking God's Name in vain . Tremble at it : Such as mock at Scripture , God will mock at their Calamity , Prov. 1.26

3. They abuse Gods Word , and take his Name in vain , that bring Scripture to countenance any Sin . The Word which was written for the suppressing of Sin , some bring it for the defending of Sin . For instance , First , If we tell a Covetous Man of his Sin , that Covetousness is Idolatry , he will bring Scripture to maintain his Sin : Hath not God bid me live in a Calling ? Six Days shalt thou Labour . Hath not God said , that He who provides not for his Family , is worse than an Infidel ? Thus he goes to support his Covetousness with Scripture . Resp. It is true , God hath bid thee take pains in a Calling , but not hurt thy Neighbour ; he hath bid thee provide for thy Family , but not by oppression , Lev. 25.14 . Ye shall not Oppress one another . He hath bid thee look after a Livelihood , but not with the neglect of thy Soul : He hath bid thee lay up thy Treasure in Heaven , Mat. 6.20 . He hath commanded thee to lay out , as well as lay up ; to sow Seeds of Charity on the Backs and Bellies of the Poor , which perhaps thou neglectest . So that to bring Scripture to uphold thee in thy Sin , is an high prophaning of Scripture , and a taking of Gods Name in vain . Second Instance , if we tell a Man of his inordinate Passions , that he may be Drunk as well with rash Anger as Wine ; he will bring Scripture to justifie it : Doth not the Word say , Be Angry and Sin not , Ephes. 4.26 . 'T is true , that Anger is good , which is mixed with Zeal ; then Anger is without Sin , when it is against Sin . But thou dost Sin in thy Anger , thou speakest unadvisedly with thy Lips , thy Tongue is set on Fire of Hell , and to bring Scripture to defend thy Sin , is to prophane Scripture , and to take Gods Name in vain .

4. They abuse the Word , and take Gods Name in vain , who adulterate the Word , and wrest it in a wrong Sense . Such are Hereticks , who put their own gloss upon Scripture , and make it speak that which the Holy Ghost never meant . For instance , First , When we expound those Texts Literally , which are meant Figuratively . Thus the Pharisees were guilty , when God said in the Law , Thou shalt bind the Commandments for a sign upon thy Hand , and they shall be as Frontlets between thine Eyes , Deut. 6.8 . The Pharisees took it in the Literal Sense , they got Two Scrolls of Parchment , wherein they wrote the Two Tables , putting one on their Left Arms , and binding the other to their Eye-brows : Thus they wrested the Scripture , and took Gods Name in vain . That Scripture was to be understood Spiritually , and by a Figure ; God meant by binding his Law upon their Hands , that they should meditate in his Law , and put it in practice . And so the Papists expound that Scripture , This is my Body , Literally , of the very Body of Christ ; then when Christ gave the Bread , he should have had Two Bodies , one in the Bread , and the other out of the Bread ; whereas Christ meant it Figuratively , It is a sign of my Body . Thus they by wresting the Scripture to a wrong Sense , prophane it , and take Gods Name in vain . Secondly , When we expound those Scriptures Figuratively and Allegorically , which the Holy Ghost means Literally . For example , Christ said to Peter , launch out into the Deep , and make a Draught , Luke 5.4 . This Text is spoken in a plain Literal Sense , of Launching out the Ship ; but the Papists take it in a Mystical and Allegorical . This Text proves say they , That the Pope which is Peter's Successor , shall launch forth and catch the Ecclesiastical and Political power over the West Parts of the World ; this say they , was meant when Christ bad Peter launch out into the Deep . But I think the Papists have launched out too far beyond the meaning of the Text. When Men strain their Wits , to wrest the Word to such a Sense as pleaseth them , they do profane Gods Word , and highly take his Name in vain .

VII . We take Gods Name in vain , when we swear by his Name . Many seldom name God's Name but in Oaths ; for this Sin the Land Mourns , Mat. 5.34 . Swear not at all ; that is , Rashly and Sinfully , so as to take Gods Name in vain ; not but that in some cases it is lawful to take an Oath before a Magistrate , Deut. 6.13 . Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God , and serve him , and Swear by his Name , Heb. 6.16 . An Oath for Confirmation , is an end of all strife . But when Christ saith , Swear not at all ; he forbids such a Swearing as takes Gods Name in vain . There is a Three-fold Swearing forbidden .

1. Vain Swearing , when Men in their ordinary Discourse let fly Oaths . Some will go to excuse their Swearing . It is a course Wool that will take no Dye , and a bad Sin indeed that hath no Excuse .

Excuse 1. I swear little trifling Oaths , as Faith , or by the Mass. Resp. The Devil hath Two false Glasses which he sets before Mens Eyes , the one is a little Glass , in which the Sin appears so small , that it can hardly be seen ; this Glass the Devil sets before Mens Eyes when they are going to commit Sin ; the other is a great Multiplying Glass , wherein Sin appears so big that it cannot be forgiven : The Devil sets this before Mens Eyes when they have sinned . Thou that sayest , Sin is small , when God shall open the Eye of thy Conscience , then thou wilt see it great , and be ready to despair . But to answer this Plea , thou sayest , they are but small Oaths ; but Christ forbids Vain Oaths , Swear not at all : If God will reckon with us for Idle Words , shall not Idle Oaths be put in the Account Book ?

Excuse 2. But I swear to the Truth . See how this Harlot-Sin would paint it self with an Excuse . Resp. 1. Though it be true , yet if it be a Rash Oath , 't is Sinful . Besides 2. He that swears commonly , it cannot be avoided but sometimes he may swear more than is true ; as where much Water runs , some Gravel or Mud will pass along with the Water ; so where there is much Swearing , some Lies will run along with the Oaths .

Excuse 3. But I shall not be believed , unless I seal up my Word with an Oath . Resp. 1. A Man that is Honest , will be believed without an Oath , his bare Word carries Authority with it , and is as good as Letters Testimonial . 2. I answer , He who swears , the more he swears , the less others will believe him : Iuras credit minus , Thou art a Swearer . Another thinks an Oath weighs very light with thee , thou carest not what thou swearest ; and the more thou swearest , the less he believes thee : He will trust thy Bond , but not thy Oath .

Excuse 4. But it is a Custom of Swearing I have gotten , and I hope God will forgive me . Resp. Though among Men , custom Carries it , and is pleadable in Law , yet it is not so in the case of Sin ; Custom here is no Plea . Thou hast got an habit of Swearing , and canst not leave it , is this an Excuse ? Is a thing well done , because it is commonly done ? This is so far from being an Excuse , that it is an Aggravation of Sin . As if one that had been accused for Killing a Man , should plead with the Judge to spare him , because it was his Custom to Murder ; this is an Aggravation of the Offence , so it is here : Therefore all Excuses for this Sin of Vain-Swearing are taken away . Dare not to live in this Sin , it is a taking Gods Name in vain .

2. Vile Swearing , Horrid prodigious Oaths not to be named . Swearers like Mad Dogs , fly in the Face of Heaven , and when they are angred , spue out their blasphemous Venom on Gods Sacred Majesty . Some in Gaming , when things go cross , and the Dice run against them , their Tongues run as fast against God in Oaths and Curses : And tell them of their Sin , go to bring home these Asses from going astray , and it is but pouring Oyl on the Flame , they will swear the more . St. Austin saith , They do no less Sin who blaspheme Christ now in Heaven , than the Jews did , who Crucified him upon Earth . Swearers prophane Christs Blood , and tear his Name . An Harlot told her Husband , that of her Three Sons , there was but one of them his ; the Father dying , desired the Executors to find out which was the true natural Son , and all his Estate he bequeathed to him . The Father being dead , the Executors set up his Corps against a Tree , and delivered to every one of these Three Sons a Bow and Arrows , telling them , that he who could shoot nearest the Fathers Heart should have all the Estate ; the Two Bastard Sons shot as near as they could to his Heart , but the Third did feel nature so work in him , that he refused to shoot at his Fathers Heart : Whereupon the Executors judged him to be the true Son , and gave all the Estate to him . Such as are the true Children of God , fear to shoot at him ; but such as are Bastards and not Sons , care not , though they shoot at him in Heaven with their Oaths and Curses . And which makes Swearing yet more heinous is , when Men have resolved upon any wicked Action , they bind themselves with an Oath to do it ; such were they , Acts 23.12 . who bound themselves with an Oath and Curse to kill Paul . To commit Sin is bad enough , but to swear we will commit Sin , is an high Prophaning Gods Name , and is as it were to call God to approve our Sin .

3. Forswearing : This is an Heaven-daring Sin , Lev. 19.12 . Ye shall not swear by my name falsly , neither shall ye prosane my name . Perjury is a calling God to witness to a Lye . It is said of Philip of Macedon , he would Swear and Unswear , as might stand best with his Interest , Ier. 4.2 . Thou shalt swear the Lord liveth in Truth , in Iudgment , and in Righteousness . In Righteousness , therefore it must not be an unlawful Oath : In Iudgment , therefore it must not be a rash Oath : In Truth , therefore it must not be a false Oath . Among the Scythians , if a Man did Forswear himself , he was to have his Head stricken off : Because if Perjury were allowed , there would be no living in a Common-wealth , it would take away all Faith and Truth among Men. The Perjurer is in as bad a case as the Witch , for by a false Oath he binds his Soul fast to the Devil . In Forswearing , or taking a false Oath in a Court , there are many Sins link'd together ; Plurima peccata in uno . For besides the taking Gods name in vain , the Perjurer is a Thief , by his false Oath he robs the Innocent of his Right : He is a Perverter of Justice : He doth not only sin himself , but occasions the Jury to give a false Verdict , and the Judge to pass an unrighteous Sentence . And sure Gods Judgments will find him out . When Gods flying Roll or Curse goes over the face of the Earth , into whose House doth it enter ? Into the house of him that swears falsly : And it shall consume the timber and stones of his house , Zech. 5.4 . Beza relates of a Perjurer , That he had no sooner taken a false Oath , but he was immediately struck with an Apoplexy , and never sp●ke more , but died . O tremble at such horrid Impiety .

VIII . We highly take Gods Name in vain , when we prefix Gods name to any wicked Action . I say , the mentioning of God in a wicked Design , is taking his name in v●in , 2 Sam. 15.7 . I pray ( saith Absalom ) let me pay my vow which I vowed to the Lord , in Hebron . This pretence of paying his Vow made to God , was only to colour over his Treason , ver. 10. When ye hear the sound of the Trumpet , ye shall ●ay , A●●al in reigns . When any wicked Action is baptised with the name of Religion , this is taking Gods Name in vain . Herein the Pope is guilty highly when he sends out his B●lls of Excommunication or Curses against the Christians , he begins with In nomine Domini : In the name of God . What a provoking Sin is this ! I● is to do the Devi●s work , and put Gods name to it .

IX . We t●ke God Name in vain , when we use our Tongues any way to the Dishonour of Gods Name , as when we use Railing , or Curse in our Passions : Especially when we wi●h a Curse upon our selves , if a thing be not so , when we know it to be false . I have read of one who wished his Body might rot if that which he said was not true ; and soon after his Body rotted , and he became a loathsom Spectacle .

X. We take Gods Name in vain , by Rash and Unlawful Vows . There is a good Vow , when a Man binds himself by Vow to do that which the Word binds him to ; as if he be Sick , he Vows if God restore him , he will live a more strict holy Life , Psal. 66.13 . I will pay thee my vows , which my lips have uttered when I was in trouble . But Voveri non debet quod Deo displicet : Such a Vow should not be made , as is displeasing to God : As to vow voluntary Poverty , as your Friers ; or to vow to live in Nunneries . Iephtha's Vow was rash and unlawful ; he vowed to the Lord ●o Sacrifice that to him which he met with next , and it was his Daughter , Iudges 11.31 . He did ill to make the Vow , and worse to keep it : He became guilty of the Breach of the Third and Sixth Commandment .

XI . When we speak evil of God , now we take his name in vain , Numb. 21.5 . They spake against God . Quest. How do we speak against God ? Resp. When we murmur at his Providences , as if he had dealt hardly with us . Murmuring is the accusing of Gods Justice , Gen. 18.25 . Shall not the Iudge of all the earth do right ? Murmuring springs from a bitter Root , it comes from Pride and Discontent : It is a Reproaching of God , and an high taking his name in vain . It is such a Sin as God cannot ●ear , Numb. 14.27 . How long shall I bear with this people that murmur against me ?

XII . And lastly , We take Gods name in vain when we falsifie our Promise . To say , if God spare us life we will do this , and never intend it . Our Promise should be Sacred and Inviolable ; but if we make no reckoning to make a Promise , and mention Gods name in it , yet never intend to keep it , it is a double Sin , it is telling a Lye , and taking Gods name in vain . I should come now to the Affirmative implied ▪ But hereafter —

Use. Take heed of taking Gods name in vain any of these ways . Remember this Commination or Threatning in the Text , The Lord will not hold him guiltless . Here is a Meiosis , less is said and more intended : He will not hold him guiltless , that is , he will be severely avenged on such an one . The Lord will not hold him guiltless . Here the Lord speaks after the manner of a Judge who holds the Court of Assize . The Judge here is God himself , the Accusers Satan and a Mans own Conscience : The Matter of Fact is , Taking Gods name in vain ; and the Malefactor accused is found guilty and Condemned , The Lord will not hold him guiltless . Methinks these words , The Lord will not hold him guiltless , may set a Lock upon our Lips , and make us afraid of speaking any thing that may redound Dishonour upon God , or may be a taking his Name in vain . The Lord will not hold him guiltless : It may be Men may hold such Guiltless , when they Curse , Swear , speak Irreverently of God : Men may hold them Guiltless , let them alone , not punish them . If one takes away anothers good Name , he shall be sure to be punished ; but if he takes away Gods good Name , where is he that doth punish him ? He that Robs anothers Goods , shall be put to Death ; but he that Robs God of his Glory , by Oaths and Curses , he is spared ; but God himself will take the Matter into his own hand , and he will punish him who takes his Name in vain .

1. Sometimes God punisheth Swearing and Blasphemy in this Life . 1. Swearing . In the Country of Samurtia , there arose a Tempest of Thunder and Lightning : A Soldier burst forth into Swearing , but the Tempest tearing up a great Tree by the Roots , it fell upon him and crushed him to pieces . The German History relates of a Youth who was given to Swearing , and did use to invent new Oaths ; the Lord sent a Canker into his Mouth , which did eat out his Tongue , whereupon he died . 2. Blasphemy . He who did Blaspheme God , the Lord caused him to be stoned to death , Lev. 24.11 , 23. The Israelitish womans Son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed . And Moses spake to the People of Israel , that they should bring forth him that had cursed , and stone him with stones . Olympias an Arian Bishop , Reproached and Blasphemed the Sacred Trinity ; whereupon he was suddenly stricken with three Flashes of Lightning which burned him to Death . Felix , an Officer of Iulian , seeing the Holy Vessels which were used in the Sacrament , said in Scorn of Christ , See what precious Vessels the Son of Mary is served withall . Soon after he was taken with a Vomiting of Blood out of his Blasphemous Mouth , whereof he died .

2. Or if God should not execute Judgment on the Profaners of his Name in this Life , yet their Doom is to come ; God will not remit their Guilt , but deliver them to Satan the Goaler , to torment them for ever . If God justifie a Man , who shall condemn him ? but if God condemn him , who shall justifie him ? If God lay a Man in Prison , where shall he get Bail or Main-prize ? God will take his full blow at the Sinner in Hell , Heb. 10.31 . It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God .

EXOD. XX. 8 .

Remember the Sabbath-Day to keep it Holy . Six Days shalt thou labour , and do all thy Work . But the Seventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any Work , thou , nor thy Son , nor thy Daughter , thy Man-Servant , nor thy Maid-servant , nor thy Cattel , nor thy Stranger that is within thy Gates . For in Six Days the Lord made Heaven and Earth , the Sea , and all that in them is , and rested the Seventh Day : Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-Day , and hallowed it .

This Commandment was engraven in Stone by God's own Finger , and it will be our Comfort to have it engraven in our Hearts .

The Sabbath-Day is set apart for God's Solemn Worship , it is God's Enclosure , and it must not be alienated to common Uses . The Lord hath set a Preface before this Commandment , he hath put a Memento to it , Remember , to keep the Sabbath-Day holy . This Word Remember , shows , that we are apt to forget Sabbath-Holiness , therefore we need a Memorandum to put us in mind of sanctifying this Day .

I shall explain the Words .

I. Here is a Solemn Command , Remember the Sabbath-Day to keep it holy . II. Many Cogent Arguments to induce us to observe the Command .

I. In the Command , 1. The Matter of it , viz. The sanctifying of the Sabbath , which Sabbath-Sanctification consists in two things .

First , In resting from our own Works .

Secondly , In a Conscientious Discharge of our Religious Duties .

2. The Persons to whom the Command of sanctifying the Sabbath is given , ( 1. ) Either Superiours , and they are 1st . More Private , as Parents and Masters . Or , 2 ly . More Publique , as Magistrates . Or , ( 2. ) Inferiours . First , Natives , as Children and Servants , Thy Son and thy Daughter , thy Man-Servant and thy Maid Servant . Secondly , Foreigners , The Stranger that is within thy Gates .

II. The Cogent Arguments to obey this Command of keeping Holy the Sabbath , 1. From the Rationality of it — Six Days shalt thou labour , and do all thy Work : As if God had said , I am not an hard Master , I do not grutch thee time to look after thy Calling , and to get an Estate . I have given thee Six Days , Six to do all thy Work in , and have taken but one Day for my self : I might have reserved Six Days for my self , and allowed thee but one ; but I have given thee Six Days for the Works of thy Calling , and have taken but One Day for my own Service ; therefore it is equal and rational , that thou shouldst set this Day in a special manner apart for my Worship .

2. The Second Argument is taken from , 2 ly . The Iustice of it . The Seventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : As if God had said , The Sabbath-Day is my Due , I challenge a special Right in it , and none hath any thing to do to lay claim to it . He who robs me of THIS DAY , and puts it to common Uses , is a Sacrilegious Person , he steals from the Crown of Heaven , and I will in no wise hold him guiltless .

3. The Third Argument for sanctifying the Sabbath , is taken from God's own Pattern , he rested the Seventh Day . As if the Lord should say , Will not you follow my Pattern ? Having finished all my Works of Creation , I rested the Seventh Day . So you having done all your Secular Work on the Six Days , you should now cease from the Labour of your Calling , and Dedicate the Seventh Day to the Lord as a Day of Holy Rest.

4. The Fourth Argument for Sabbath-Sanctification , is taken ab Vtili , from the Benefit which redounds from a Religious Observation of the Sabbath . The Lord blessed the Seventh-Day and hallowed it : It is not only a Day of God's Benediction , God did not only appoint the Seventh-Day , but he blessed the Seventh Day . The Sabbath-Day is not only a Day of Honour to God , but a Day of Blessing to us ; it is not only a Day wherein we give God Worship , but a Day wherein he gives us Grace ; on this Day a Blessing drops down from Heaven . This is a great Argument for the keeping the Sabbath-Day Holy : God is not benefited by it , we cannot add one Cubit to his Essential Glory ; but we our selves are advantaged : The Sabbath-Day religiously observed , entails a Blessing upon our Souls , our Estate , our Posterity . As the not keeping this Day Holy brings a Curse , Ier. 17.27 . God curseth a Man's Blessings , Mal. 2.2 . The Bread which he eats is poysoned with a Curse : So the Conscientious Observation of the Sabbath , brings all manner of Blessings with it . These are the Arguments to induce Sabbath-Sanctification . And so I have divided the Commandment into its several Parts , and explained the Sence of it .

The thing I would have you observe is , That this Commandment about keeping the Sabbath , was not abrogated with the Ceremonial Law , but it is purely Moral , and the Observation of the Sabbath is to be continued to the end of the World . Where can we show that God hath given us a Discharge from keeping one Day in seven ? So that I say , this fourth Commandment is Moral , and obligeth Christians to the perpetual Commemoration and Sanctification of the Sabbath .

Quest. Why God hath appointed a Sabbath ?

Ans. 1. In respect of Himself ; it is requisite that God should reserve one Day in Seven for his own immediate Service , that hereby he might be acknowledged to be the great Plenipotentiary or Sovereign Lord , who hath Power over us both to command Worship , and appoint the Time when he will be worshipped .

2. In respect of Vs. The Sabbath-day makes for our Interest , it promotes Holiness in us . The business on the Week-Day makes us too forgetful of God and our Souls ; the Sabbath brings God into our Remembrance . When the Dust of the World falling hath clogg'd the Wheels of our Affections , that they would scarce move towards God , the Sabbath comes and oyls the Wheels of our Affections , and now they move swiftly in Religion : Therefore God hath appointed a Sabbath to ripen our Holiness . On this Day the Thoughts contemplate Heaven , the Tongue speaks of God , and is as the Pen of a ready Writer ; now the Eyes drop Tears , now the Soul burns in Love . When the Heart was all the Week frozen , now on the Sabbath it is melted with the Word . The Sabbath is a Friend to Religion , it files off the Rust of our Graces , it is a Spiritual Jubilee wherein the Soul is set to converse with its Maker .

I should in the next place show you the Modus , or Manner how we should keep the Sabbath-Day Holy . But before I come to that , I shall propound a great Question , viz.

Qu. How comes it to pass that we do not keep the Seventh Day Sabbath , as it was in the Primitive Institution , but have changed it to another Day ?

Ans. The old Seventh-day Sabbath ( which was the Jewish Sabbath ) is abrogated , and in the room of it , the first Day of the Week , which is the Christian Sabbath , succeeds . The Morality or Substance of the Fourth Commandment , doth not lie in keeping the Seventh Day precisely , but in keeping one Day in Seven , which God hath appointed .

Qu. But how comes the First Day in the Week to be substituted in the room of the Seventh Day ?

Ans. Not by Ecclesiastical Authority . The Church ( saith Mr. Perkins ) hath no power to Ordain a Sabbath . But ,

1. The Change of the Sabbath from the Last Day of the Week to the First , was by Christ's own Appointment . Christ is Lord of the Sabbath , Mark 2.28 . And who shall appoint a Day , but he who is Lord of it ? He made this Day , Psalm 118.24 . This is the Day which the Lord hath made . Arnobius and the Current of Expositors understand it of our Christian Sabbath , and it is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Lords Day , Rev. 1.10 . As it is called the Lord's Supper , because of the Lords instituting the Bread and Wine , and setting it apart from a common Use to a more special and Sacred Use : So it is called the Lords Day , because of the Lord 's Instituting it , and setting it apart from common Days to his special Worship and Service . Christ arose on the First Day of the Week out of the Grave , and appeared twice on this Day to his Disciples , Iohn 20.19 , 26. which was to intimate to the Disciples ( saith Austin and Athanasius ) that he transferred the Jewish Sabbath to the Lord's Day .

2. The keeping of the First Day , ( which is the Lord's Day ) was the Practice of the Apostles , 1 Cor. 16.2 . Acts 20.7 . On the first Day of the Week , when the Disciples came together to break Bread , Paul Preached to them . Here was both Preaching and Breaking of Bread on this Day . Austin , and Innocentius , and Isidore , make the keeping of our Gospel-Sabbath to be an Apostolical Sanction , and affirm that by Vertue of the Apostles Practice , this Lord's Day is to be sequestred and set apart for Divine Worship . What the Apostles did , they did it by Divine Authority , for they were inspired by the Holy Ghost .

3. Besides , the Primitive Church had the Lord's Day , which we now Celebrate in High Estimation . It was a great Badge of their Religion to observe this Day . Ignatius the most ancient Father , who lived in the time of St. Iohn the Apostle , hath these Words , Let every one that loveth Christ , keep holy the First Day of the Week , the Lord's Day . This Day hath been observed by the Church of Christ above Sixteen Hundred Years , as Learned Bucer notes . Thus you see how the Seventh-day Sabbath comes to be changed to the First-day Sabbath .

Now there is a Grand Reason for changing of the Jewish Sabbath to the Lord's Day , because this puts us in Mind of the Mystery of our Redemption by Christ . The Reason why God did institute the Old Sabbath , was , Because God would have it kept as a Memorial of the Creation : But the Lord hath now brought the First Day of the Week in the room of it , in memory of a more Glorious Work than Creation , and that is Redemption .

Great was the Work of Creation , but greater was the Work of Redemption . As it was said , Hag. 2.9 . The Glory of the Second Temple was greater than the Glory of the First Temple : So the Glory of the Redemption was greater than the Glory of the Creation . Great Wisdom was seen in the curious making us , but more miraculous Wisdom in saving us . Great Power was seen in bringing us out of nothing , but greater Power in helping us when we were worse than nothing . It cost more to redeem us than to create us . In the Creation there was but speaking a Word , Psal. 148.5 . In the Redeeming us there was shedding of Blood , 1 Pet. 1.18 , 19. The Creation was the Work of God's Fingers , Psal. 8.3 . Redemption was the Work of his Arm , Luke 1.5 . In the Creation ▪ God gave us our selves , in the Redemption he gave us Himself : By Creation we have a Life in Adam , by Redemption we have a Life in Christ , Col. 3.3 . By Creation we had a right to an Earthly Paradise , by Redemption we have a Title to an Heavenly Kingdom . So that well might Christ change the Seventh Day of the Week into the First , because this Day puts us in mind of our Redemption , which is a more glorious Work than the Creation .

Vse . The Use I shall make is , That we should have this Christian Sabbath we now Celebrate in high Veneration . The Jews call'd the Sabbath , Desiderium Dierum , The Desire of Days , and the Queen of Days . It is a Day of sweet Rest. This Day we must call a Delight , the Holy of the Lord , Honourable , Isa. 58.13 . Mettal that hath the King's Stamp upon it is Honourable , and of great value . God hath set his Royal Stamp upon the Sabbath : It is the Sabbath of the Lord , this makes it Honourable . This Day we should look upon as the best Day in the Week . What the Phoenix is among the Birds , what the Sun is among the Planets , that the Lord's Day is among other Days . This is the Day which the Lord hath made , Psal. 118.24 . God hath made all the Days , but he hath blessed this . As Iocob got the Blessing from his Brother , so the Sabbath hath got the Blessing from all the other Days in the Week . The Sabbath is a Day in which we converse in a special manner with God . The Jews call'd the Sabbath , Dies Lucis , A Day of Light ; on this Day the Sun of Righteousness shines upon the Soul . The Sabbath is the Market-day of the Soul , the Cream of Time ; this is the Day of Christ's rising out of the Grave , and the Holy Ghosts descending upon the Earth . This Day is perfum'd with the sweet Odour of Prayer , which goes up to Heaven as Incense . This Day the Manna falls , that Angels Food ; this is the Soul's Festival Day ; on this Day all the Graces act their Part : The other Days of the Week are most employed about Earth , this Day about Heaven : Then you gather Straw , now Pearl . Now Christ takes the Soul up into the Mount , and gives it transfiguring Sights of Glory . Now Christ leads his Spouse into the Wine-Cellar , and displays the Banner of his Love ; now he gives her his Spiced Wine , and the Iuice of the Pomegranate , Cant. 8.2 . The Lord doth usually reveal himself more to the Soul on this Day . The Apostle Iohn was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day , Revel. 1.10 . He was carried up in Divine Raptures towards Heaven . This Day a Christian is in the Altitudes , he walks with God , and takes as it were a turn with him in Heaven , 1 Ioh. 1.3 . On this Day holy Affections are quickened : The Stock of Grace is improved , Corruptions are weakened . On this Day Satan falls like Lightning before the Majesty of the Word . Christ wrought most of his Miracles upon the Sabbath : So he doth now . The dead Soul is raised ; the Heart of Stone is made Flesh. How should this Day be highly esteemed , and had in Reverence ! This Day is more precious than Rubies , God hath anoynted this Day with the Oyl of Gladness above its Fellows . On the Sabbath we are doing Angels Work , our Tongues are tuned to God's Praises . This Sabbath on Earth is a Shadow and Type of that Glorious Rest and Eternal Sabbath we hope for in Heaven , when God shall be the Temple , and the Lamb shall be the Light of it , Rev. 21.22 , 23.

EXOD. XX. 9 , 10.

Six Days shalt thou labour and do all thy Work , but the Seventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God , in it thou shalt do no manner of Work , &c.

Six Days shalt thou labour — God would not have any live out of a Calling ; Religion seals no Warrant for Idleness . 'T is as well a Duty to labour Six Days , as to keep Holy Rest on the Seventh Day ; Six Days shalt thou labour . 2 Thess. 3.11 . We hear there are some among you walking Disorderly , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , working not at all . Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Iesus , that with Quietness they work and eat their own Bread . A Christian must not only mind Heaven , but his Calling . While the Pilot hath his Eye to the Star , he hath his Hand to the Stern . Without labour the Pillars of a Common-wealth will dissolve , and the Earth will be like the Sluggards Field , over-run with Briars , Prov. 24.31 . Adam in Innocency , tho he was the Monarch of the World , yet God would not have him idle , but he must dress and till the Ground , Gen. 2.15 . Piety doth not exclude Industry . Six Days shalt thou labour . Standing Water putrifies . The Inanimate Creatures are in Motion : The Sun goes its Circuit , the Fountain runs , the Fire sparkles : And Animate Creatures ; Solomon sends us to the Ant and Pismire to learn Labour , Prov. 6.6 . Chap. 30.35 . The Bee is the Emblem of Industry ; some of the Bees trim the Honey , others work the Wax , others frame the Comb , others lie Sentinel at the Door of the Hive to keep out the Drone . And shall not Man much more inure himself to labour ? That Law in Paradise was never yet repealed , In the Sweat of thy Brows shalt thou eat Bread , Gen. 3.19 . Such Professors are to to be disliked , who talk of living by Faith , but live out of a Calling . They are like the Lillies which toil not , neither do they spin , Mat. 6.28 . 'T is a Speech of Holy and Learned Mr. Perkins , Let a Man be endued with excellent Gifts , and hear the Word with Reverence , and receive the Sacrament , yet if he practise not the Duties of his Calling , all is but Hypocrisie . What is an idle Person good for ? What benefit is there of a Ship that lies always on the shore ? Or of Armour that hangs up and rusts ? To live out of a Calling , exposeth a Person to Temptation . Melancton calls Idleness Balneum Diaboli , the Devil's Bath , because he bathes himself with delight in an idle Soul . We do not use to sow Seed in ground when it lies fallow ; but Satan sows most of his Seed of Temptation in such Persons as lie fallow , and are out of a Calling . Idleness is the Nurse of Vice . Seneca an Heathen could say , Nullus mihi per Otium Dies exit : No Day passeth me without some labour . An idle Person stands for a Cypher in the World , and God writes down no Cyphers in the Book of Life . We read in Scripture of eating the Bread of Idleness , Prov. 31.27 . and drinking the Wine of Violence , Prov. 4.17 . It is as well a sin to eat the Bread of Idleness , as to drink the Wine of Violence . An idle Person can give no account of his Time . Time is a Talent to trade with , both in our Particular and General Calling . The slothful Person hides his Talent in the Earth , he doth no good , his Time is not lived but lost . An idle Person lives unprofitably , he cumbers the ground : God calls the slothful Servant wicked , Mat. 25.26 . Thou wicked and slothful Servant . Draco , whose Laws were written in Blood , deprived them of their Life , who would not work for their Living . In Hetruria they caused such Persons to be banished . Idle Persons live in the Breach of this Commandment , Six Days shalt thou labour : Let them take heed they be not banished Heaven . A Man may as well go to Hell for not working in his Calling , as for not Believing . So I pass to the next .

But The Seventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God , in it thou shalt do no manner of work .

Having spoken already of the Reasons of sanctifying the Sabbath , I come now to that Question :

Quest. In what manner we are to sanctifie the Sabbath ?

Resp. 1. Negatively , we must do no Work in it ; that is expressed in the Commandment , In it thou shalt do no manner of Work . God hath enclosed this Day for himself , therefore we are not to lay it common by doing any Civil Work . As Abraham when he went to sacrifice , left his Servant and the Ass at the bottom of the Hill , Gen. 22.5 . So when we are to Worship God this Day , we must leave all worldly business behind , leave the Ass at the Bottom of the Hill . And as Ioseph when he would speak with his Brethren , thrust out the Egyptians ; so when we would converse with God this Day , we must thrust out all earthly Employments . The Lord's Day is a Day of Holy Rest , all secular Works must be forborn and suspended , it is a prophaning the Day . N●hem. 13.15 . In these days saw I in Iudah some treading Wine-presses on the Sabbath , and bringing in Sheaves , as also Wine-Grapes and Figs , and all manner of Burdens which they brought into Ierusalem on the Sabbath-day , and I testified against them . Thou I contended with the Nobles of Iudah , and said to them , What evil thing is this that ye do , and prophane the Sabbath-Day . It is Sacriledge to rob that Time for Civil Work , which God hath Dedicated and set apart for his Worship . He that converts any time of the Sabbath to worldly business , is a worse Thief than he who robs on the High-way ; for such a Thief does but rob Man , but this Thief robs God , he robs him of his Day . The Lord forbad Manna to be gathered on the Sabbath , Exod. 16. One would think that might have been dispens'd with ; for Manna was the Staff of their Life ; and the time when Manna fell was early , between Five and Six in the morning ; so that they might have gathered it betimes , and all the rest of the Sabbath they might have employed in God's Worship : And besides , they needed not to have taken any great Journey for Manna , for it was but stepping out of their Doors , and it fell about their Tents ; yet they might not gather Manna on the Sabbath ; and but for purposing to gather it , God was very angry , Exod. 16.27 , 28. There went out some of the People on the Seventh Day to gather , and they found none , and the Lord said , How long refuse ye to keep my Commandments and my Laws ? Surely the anoynting Christ when he was dead was a commendable Work ; but Mary Magdalen , and Mary the Mother of Iames , tho' they had prepared sweet Oyntments to anoint the dead Body of Christ , yet they came not to the Sepulchre to embalm him till the Sabbath was past , Luke 23.56 . They rested on the Sabbath-day , according to the Commandment . The Hand cannot be busied on the Lord's Day , but the Heart will be defiled . The very Heathens by the Light of Nature would not do any Secular Work , in that time which they had set apart for the Worship of their False Gods . Clem. Alexandrinus reports of one of the Emperors of Rome , that on the Day of set Worship for his Gods , he did forbear Warlike Affairs , and did spend that time in his Devotion . To do servile Work on the Sabbath , shows an irreligious Heart , and highly affronts God . To work servile Work this Day , is to follow the Devils Plough ; it is to debase the Soul . God hath made this Day on purpose to raise the Heart up to Heaven , to converse with God , to do Angels Work ; and to be employed in earthly Work , is to degrade the Soul of it's Honour . God will not have his Day intrenched upon , or defiled in the least thing . The Man that gathered sticks on the Sabbath , God would have him stoned , Numb . 15. One would think that a small thing , to pick a few sticks to make a Fire ; but God would not have his Day violated in the smallest matters . Nay , that Work which had a reference to a religious Use , might not be done on the Sabbath , as the hewing of stones for the building of the Sanctuary : Bezaleel , who was to cut the stones , and carve the Timber out for the Sanctuary , yet he must forbear it on the Sabbath , Exod. 31.15 . A Temple is the place of God's Worship , but it were a sin to build a Temple upon the Lord's Day . This is keeping the Sabbath-day holy Negatively , in doing no servile Work . Yet Caution : Not but that Works of Necessity and Charity may be done on this day . God in these cases will have Mercy and not Sacrifice .

1. 'T is lawful to take the necessary Recruits of Nature : Food is to the Body as Oyl to the Lamp .

2. 'T is lawful to do Works of Mercy , as helping our Neighbour when either Life or Estate are in Danger . Herein the Jews were too nice and precise , they would not suffer Works of Charity to be done on the Sabbath . If a Man were sick , they thought on this day they might not use means for his Recovery . Christ chargeth them with this , that they were angry that he had wrought a Cure on the Sabbath , Iohn 7.23 . If an House were on Fire , the Jews thought they might not bring Water to quench it . If a Vessel did run , they thought that on this day they might not stop it . These were righteous overmuch . Here was seeming Zeal , but it wanted Discretion to guide it . But unless in these two Cases of Necessity and Charity , all secular Work is to be suspended and laid aside on the Lord's Day : In it thou shalt do no manner of work ; which justly doth arraign and condemn many among us , who do too much foul their Fingers with Work on this Day . Some in dressing great Feasts , others in opening their Shop-doors and selling Meat on the Sabbath , which I have seen . The Mariner will not set to Sea but on the Sabbath , and so runs full Sail into the Breach of this Commandment . Others work on this Day , tho privately . They put up their Shop-windows , but follow their Trade within doors : But tho they think to hide their sin under a Canopy , God sees it . Psal. 139.7 . Whither shall I go from thy Presence ? ver. 12. The Darkness hideth not from thee . These Persons do profane this Day , and God will have an Action of Trespass against them .

2. Positively . We keep the Sabbath-day holy by Consecrating and Dedicating this Day to the Service of the High God . 'T is good to rest on the Sabbath-day from the works of our Calling : But if we rest from Labour , and do no more , the Ox and the Ass keep the Sabbath as well as we , for they rest from Labour . We must dedicate the Day to God , we must not only keep a Sabbath , but sanctifie a Sabbath . This Sabbath-sanctification consists in two things .

I. The solemn Preparation for it . II. The sacred Observation of it .

1. The solemn Preparation for it . If a Prince were to come to your House , what Preparation would you make for his Entertainment ? Sweep the House , wash the Floor , adorn the Room with the richest Tapestry and Hangings , that there might be something suitable to the state and dignity of so great a Person . On the blessed Sabbath God intends to have sweet Communion with you ; he seems to say to you as Christ to Zaccheus , Luke 19.5 . Make hast and come down , for this day I must dine with you . Now what Preparation should you make for the entertaining this King of Glory ! Now this Preparation for the Sabbath is , First , When the Evening of the Sabbath approacheth , sound a Retreat , call your Minds off from the World , and summon your Thoughts together to think of the great Work of the Day opproaching . Secondly , Purge out all unclean Affections , which may indispose you for the Work of the Sabbath . Evening-Preparation will be like the tuning of the Instrument , it will fit the Heart the better for the Duties of the Sabbath ensuing .

2. The sacred Observation of it , touching which these things are to be practised .

( 1. ) Rejoyce at the approach of this Day , as being a Day wherein we have a Prize for our Souls , and enjoy much of God's Presence , Ioh. 8.56 . Abraham saw my day and rejoyced . So when we see the Light of a Sabbath shine we should rejoyce . Isa. 58.13 . Thou shalt call the Sabbath a delight : This is the Queen of Days , which God hath Crowned with a Blessing . As there was one Day in the Week on which God did rain Manna twice as much as upon any other Day , so God rains down the Manna of Heavenly Blessings twice as much on the Sabbath , as on any other . This is the Day wherein Christ carries the Soul into the House of Wine , and displays the Banners of Love over it . Now the Dew of the Spirit falls on the Soul , whereby it is revived and comforted . How many may write the Lord's day the day of their New Birth ! This day of Rest is a Pledge and Earnest of that Eternal Rest in Heaven ; and shall not we rejoyce at the approach of it ? That day on which the Sun of Righteousness shines , should be a day of Gladness .

( 2. ) Get up betimes on the Sabbath-morning . Christ rose early on this day before the Sun was up , Iohn 20.1 . Did Christ rise early to save us , and shall not we rise early to worship and glorifie him ? Psal. 63.1 . Early will I seek thee . Can we be up betimes on other days ? The Husbandman is early at his Plough , the Traveller riseth early to go his Journey , and shall not we , when we are on this day travelling to Heaven ? Certainly did we love God as we should , we would rise on this day betimes , that we may meet with him whom our Soul loveth . Such as sit up late at work on the Night before , will be so buried in sleep , that they will hardly be up betimes on a Sabbath-morning .

( 3. ) Having dressed our Bodies , we must dress our Souls for the hearing of the Word . As the People of Israel were to wash themselves before the Law was delivered to them , Exod. 19.10 . so we must wash and cleanse our Souls , and that is by Reading , Meditation and Prayer .

I. By Reading the Word . The Word is a great means to sanctifie the Heart , and bring it into a Sabbath-frame , Iohn 17.17 . Sanctifie them through thy truth , &c. And read the Word not carelesly , but with seriousness and affection ; it is the Oracle of Heaven , the Well of Salvation , the Book of Life . David for the preciousness of God's Word esteemed it above Gold , and for the sweetness above Honey , Psal. 19.10 . By reading the Word aright , our Hearts when they are dull are quickened , when they are hard are mollified , when cold and frozen are enflam'd , and we can say as the Disciples , Did not our Hearts burn within us ? Some step out of their Bed to hearing . The Reason why many get no more good on a Sabbath by the Word Preached , is because they did not break Fast with God in the Morning by the Reading of his Word .

II. Meditation . Get upon the Mount of Meditation , and so converse with God . Meditation is the Soul 's retiring of its self , that by a serious and solemn thinking upon God the Heart may be raised up to Divine Affections .

Meditation is a Work fit for the Morning of a Sabbath . Meditate on Four things .

( 1. ) On the Works of Creation . That is express'd here in the Commandment , The Lord made Heaven and Earth , the Sea , &c. The Creation is a Looking-glass , in which we see the Wisdom and Power of God gloriously represented . God produced this fair Structure of the World without any pre-existent Matter , and with a Word . Psal. 33.6 . By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made . The Disciples wondred that Christ could with a Word calm the Sea , Matth. 8.26 . but it was far more with a Word to make the Sea . Let us on a Sabbath meditate on the Infiniteness of our Creator , look up to the Firmament , there we may see God's Glory blazing in the Sun , twinkling in the Stars ; look into the Sea , there we may see God's Wonders in the Deep , Psal. 107.24 . Look into the Earth , there we may behold the Nature of Minerals , the Power of the Load-stone , the Vertue of Herbs , and Beauty of Flowers : By meditating on these Works of Creation so curiously embroidered , we come to admire God , and praise him , Psal. 104.24 . O Lord , how manifold are thy Works ! in Wisdom hast thou made them all . By meditating on the Works of Creation we come to confide in God . He who can Create , can Provide ; he that could make us when we were nothing , he can raise us when we are low . Psal. 124.8 . Our Help stands in the Name of the Lord , who made Heaven and Earth .

( 2. ) Meditate on God's Holiness . Psal. 111.9 . Holy and reverend is his Name . Hab. 1.13 . Thou art of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity . God is Essentially , Originally and Efficiently Holy : All the Holiness in Men and Angels is but a Chrystal Stream that runs from this Glorious Ocean . God loves Holiness because it is his own Image . A King cannot but love to see his own Effigies stamp'd on Coyn. God counts Holiness his Glory , and the most sparkling Jewel of his Crown . Exod. 15.11 . Glorious in Holiness . Here is a Meditation fit for our first entrance into a Sabbath , God's Holiness : The Contemplation of this would work in us such a Frame of Heart as is suitable to an Holy God : It would make us then Reverence his Name , Hallow his Day : While we are musing of the Holiness of God's Nature , we begin to be transformed into his Likeness .

( 3. ) Meditate on Christ's Love in redeeming us , Rev. 1.5 . Redemption exceeds Creation ; the one is a Monument of God's Power , the other of his Love . Here is fit Work for a Sabbath . O the infinite stupendious Love of Christ in raising poor lapsed Creatures from a state of Guilt and Damnation !

1. That Christ who was God should die ; That this Glorious Sun of Righteousness should be in an Eclipse , we can never enough admire this Love ; no , not in Heaven .

2. That Christ should die for Sinners . Not sinful Angels , but sinful Mankind . That such Clods of Earth and Sin should be made bright Stars of Glory . O the amazing Love of Christ ! This was * * Brugensis . Illustre amoris Christi mnemosynum .

3. That Christ should not only die for Sinners , but die as a Sinner . 2 Cor. 5.21 . He was made sin for us . He who was among the Glorious Persons of the Trinity , was numbred among Transgressors , Isa. 53.12 . Not that he had Sin , but he was like a Sinner , having our Sins imputed to him . Sin did not live in him , but it was laid upon him . Here was an Hyperbole of Love , enough to strike us into Astonishment .

4. That Christ should redeem us , when he could not look to gain any thing , or be at all advantaged by us . Men will not lay out their Mony upon a Purchase , unless it will turn to their Profit . But what Benefit could Christ expect in purchasing and redeeming us ? We were in such a Condition , that we could neither deserve nor recompense Christ's Love .

First , We could not deserve it , for we were in our Blood , Ezek. 16.6 . We had no Spiritual Beauty to tempt Christ . Nay , we were not only in our Blood , but we were up in Arms , Rom. 5.8 . When we were Enemies , Christ died for us : When he was shedding his Blood , we were spitting our Poyson .

Secondly , As we could not deserve , so neither could we recompense Christ's Love . For ,

1. After he had dy'd for us , we could not so much as love him , till he made us love him .

2. We could give Christ nothing in lieu of his Love . Rom. 11.35 . Who hath first given to him ? We were fallen to Poverty ; if we have any Beauty , it is from Christ . Ezek. 16.14 . Thou wert comely through my comeliness which I put upon thee . If we bring forth any good Fruit , it is not of our own Growth , it comes from Christ the True Vine , Hos. 14.8 . From me is thy Fruit found . So that it was nothing but pure Love for Christ to lay out his Blood to redeem such as he could not expect to be really bettered by .

5. That Christ should die so willingly , Iohn 10.17 . I lay down my Life . The Jews could not have taken it away , if he had not laid it down ; he could have called to his Father for a Legion of Angels to be his Life-guard ; but what needed that , when his Godhead could have defended him from all Assaults ? But he laid down his Life : The Jews did not so much thirst for Christ's Death , as he thirsted for our Redemption ; Luke 12.50 . I have a Baptism to be baptized with , and how am I straitned till it be accomplished . Christ call'd his Sufferings a Baptism : He was to be baptiz'd and sprinkled with his own Blood , and Christ thought the time long before he suffered . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , How am I straitned till it be accomplished . Therefore to show Christ's willingness to die , his Sufferings is called an Offering , Heb. 10.10 . By the offering of the Body of Iesus : His Death was a Free-will Offering .

6. That Christ should not grutch or think much of all his Sufferings , his being scourged and crucified , ( we grutch him a light Service ) but that he should be well contented with what he hath done ; and if it were to do again , he would do it . Isa. 53.11 . He shall see of the Travel of his Soul , and be satisfied . As the Mother , tho she hath had hard Labour , yet when she sees a Child brought forth , she doth not repent of her Pangs , but is well contented . So Christ , though he had Hard Travel upon the Cross , which put him into an Agony , yet he doth not think much , he is not troubled , but thinks his Sweat and Blood well bestowed , because he sees the Man-child of Redemption brought forth into the World . He shall see of the Travel of his Soul and shall be satisfied .

7. That Christ should make Redemption effectual to some , and not to others . Here is the Quintessence of Love . Tho there is a Sufficiency in Christ's Merit to save all , yet only some partake of its saving Vertue ; all do not believe . Iohn 6.64 . There are some of you that believe not . Christ doth not pray for all . Iohn 17.9 . Some refuse Christ , Psal. 118.22 . This is the Stone which the Builders refused . Others deride him , Luke 16.14 . Others throw off his Yoak . Luke 19.14 . We will not have this Man reign over us . So that all have not the benefit of Salvation by him . Herein appears the distinguishing Love of Christ , that the Vertue of his Death should reach some and not others . 1 Cor. 1.26 . Not many wise Men after the Flesh , not many mighty , not many noble are called . That Christ should pass by many of Birth and Parts , and that the Lot of Free-Grace should fall upon thee ; that he should sprinkle his Blood upon thee : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Depth of the Love of Christ .

8. That Christ should love us with such an entire transcendent Love . The Apostle calls it a Love which passeth knowledge , Eph. 3.19 . That he should love us more than the Angels : He loves them as his Friends , Believers as his Spouse . He loves them with such a kind of Love as God the Father bears to him , Iohn 15.9 . As the Father hath loved me , so have I loved you . O what an Hyperbole of Love doth Christ show in redeeming us !

9. That Christ's Love in our Redemption should be everlasting , Iohn 13.1 . Having loved his own , he loved them , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to the end . As Christ's Love is matchless , so endless : The Flower of Christ's Love is sweet , and that which makes it sweeter , it never dies . Christ's Love is Eterniz'd , Ier. 31.3 . He will never divorce his Elect Spouse : The Failings of his People cannot quite take off his Love : They may eclipse his Love , not wholly remove it ; their Failings may make Christ angry with them , but not hate them . Every Failing doth not break the Marriage-knot . Christ's Love is not like the Saints Love ; sometimes they have strong Affections towards Christ , at other times the hot Fit is off , and they can find little or no Love stirring in them . But it is not so with Christ's Love to the Saints , it is a Love of Eternity . When the Sun-shine of Christ's Electing Love hath once risen upon the Soul , it never sets finally . Death may take away our Life from us , but not Christ's Love . Behold here a rare Subject on a Sabbath-morning to meditate upon . The Meditation of Christ's wonderful Love in Redeeming us , would work in us a Sabbath-Frame of Heart .

First , It would melt us into Tears for our Spiritual Vnkindnesses . That we should sin against so sweet a Saviour , that we should be no more affected with his Love , but requite Evil for Good . Like the Athenians , who notwithstanding all the good Service Aristides had done them , banished him out of their City . That we should grieve Christ with our Pride , rash Anger , our Unfruitfulness , Animosities , strange Factions : Have we none to abuse but our Friend ? Have we nothing to kick against but the Bowels of a Saviour ? Did not Christ suffer enough upon the Cross , but must we needs make him suffer more ? Do we give him more Gall and Vinegar to drink ? O , if any thing can dissolve the Heart in Sorrow , and broach the Eyes with Tears , 't is dis-ingenuity and unkindness offered to Christ . When Peter thought of Christ's Love to him , how he had made him an Apostle , and reveal'd his Bosom-Secrets to him , and taken him to the Mount of Transfiguration , and that he should deny Christ , it broke his Heart with Sorrow , he went out and wept bitterly , Mat. 26.75 . What a blessed thing is it to have the Eyes dropping Tears on a Sabbath ! And nothing would sooner fetch Tears , than to meditate of Christ's Love to us , and our unkind Requitals .

Secondly , The Meditating on a Lord's Day Morning of Christ's Love , would kindle Love in our Hearts to Christ . How can we look on Christ bleeding and dying for us , and our Hearts not be warmed with Love to him ? Love is the Soul of Religion , the purest Affection ; it is not Rivers of Oyl , but Sparks of Love , that Christ values . And sure , as David said , While I was musing , the Fire burned , Psal. 39.3 . So while we are musing of Christ's Love in redeeming us , the Fire of our Love would burn towards Christ ; and then is a Christian in a Blessed Sabbath-Frame , when he is like a Seraphim burning in Love to Christ .

( 4. ) On a Sabbath-morning meditate on the Glory of Heaven . Heaven is the Extract and Quintessence of Happiness . It is called a Kingdom , Mat. 25.34 . A Kingdom for it's Riches and Magnificence : It is set out by Precious Stones , Gates of Pearl , Rev. 21. There is all that is truly Glorious , transparent Light , perfect Love , unstained Honour , unmixed Joy ; and that which crowns the Joy of the Celestial Paradise , is Eternity . Suppose Earthly Kingdoms were more glorious than they are , their Foundations of Gold , their Walls of Pearl , their Windows of Saphire , yet they are corruptible : But the Kingdom of Heaven is Eternal , those Rivers of Pleasure run for evermore , Psalm 16.11 . And that wherein the Essence of Glory consists , and makes Heaven to be Heaven , is the immediate Sight and Fruition of the Blessed God . Psal. 17.15 . When I awake I shall he satisfied with thy likeness . O think of this Ierusalem above ! This is proper for a Sabbath .

1. The meditation of Heaven would raise our Hearts above the World . O how would these things disappear and shrink into nothing , if our Minds were mounted above the Visible Orbs , and we had a Prospect of Glory !

2. How would the Meditation of Heaven make us Heavenly in our Sabbath-Exercises ▪ It would quicken Affection , it would add Wings to Devotion , it would make us to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day , Rev. 1.10 . How vigorously doth he serve God , who hath a Crown of Glory always in his Eye !

III. We dress our Souls on a Sabbath-Morning , by Prayer . Mat. 6.6 . When thou Prayest , enter into thy Closet , &c. Prayer sanctifies a Sabbath .

( 1. ) The things we should pray for on the Morning of a Sabbath .

1. Beg a Blessing upon the Word which is to be Preached , that it may be a Savour of Life to us , that by it our Minds may be more Illuminated , our Corruptions more weakned , our Stock of Grace more encreased . Pray that God's special Presence may be with us , that our Hearts may burn within us while God speaks . Pray that we may receive the Word into meek humble Hearts , James 1.22 . That we may submit to it , and bring forth the Fruits of it . Nor should we only Pray for our selves , but for others .

First , For him who dispenseth the Word ; that his Tongue may be touched with a Coal from God's Altar ; That God would warm his Heart , who is to help to warm others . Your Prayers may be a means to quicken the Minister . Some complain , they find not that Benefit by the Word Preached . Perhaps they did not Pray for their Minister as they should . Prayer is like the whetting and sharpening of an Instrument , which makes it cut the better .

Secondly , Pray with and for your Family : Yea , Pray for all the Congregations that meet this Day in the Fear of the Lord , that the Dew of the Spirit may fall with the Manna of the Word , that some Souls may be converted , and others strengthened , and that Gospel-Ordinances may be continued , and have no Restraint put upon them . These are the things we should pray for . The Tree of Mercy will not drop its Fruit , unless it be shaken by the Hand of Prayer .

( 2. ) The Manner of our Prayer . It is not enough to say a Prayer , to pray in a dull cold manner , which teacheth God to deny ; but we must Pray with Reverence , Humility , Hope in God's Mercy , Fervency , Luke 22.44 . Christ Pray'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , more earnestly . And that we may pray with more Fervency , we must Pray with a Sense of our Wants . He who is pinched with Want , will be earnest in craving an Alms. He Prays most Fervently , who Prays most Feelingly . This is to sanctifie the Morning of a Sabbath , and it is a good Preparatory for the Word Preached . When the Ground is broken up by the Plough , now it is fit to receive the Seed . When the Heart hath been broken by Prayer , now it is fit to receive the Seed of the Word Preached . Thus you see how to dress your Souls on a Sabbath-morning . There are other Duties remaining .

EXOD. XX. 10 .

IV. Having thus dressed your Souls in a Morning , for the further Sanctification of the Sabbath , address your selves to the Hearing of the Word Preached .

( 1. ) And when you are set down in your Seat ,

1. Lift up your Eyes to Heaven for a Blessing upon the Word to be dispensed . For , you must know the Word Preach'd doth not work as Physick , by its own inherent Vertue , but by a Vertue from Heaven , and the Co-operation of the Holy Ghost . Therefore put up a short Ejaculatory Prayer for a Blessing upon the Word , that it may be made effectual to you .

( 2. ) The Word being begun to be Preach'd , set your selves in a right manner :

1. With Reverence and Holy Attention . Acts 16.14 . A certain Woman named Lydia attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul . Constantine the Emperor was noted for his Reverend Attention to the Word . Luke 19.48 . Christ taught daily in the Temple : And all the People were attentive to hear him , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in the Greek , They hung upon his Lip . Could we tell Men of a Rich Purchase , they would diligently attend : And shall they not much more , when the Gospel of Grace is Preaching to them ? Now that we may sanctifie and hallow the Sabbath by attentive Hearing , take heed of two things : I. Distraction in Hearing . II. Drowsiness in Hearing .

I. Distraction . 1 Cor. 7.35 . That ye may attend upon the Lord without Distraction . It is said of St. Bernard , That when he came to the Church-Door , he would say , Stay here all my Earthly Thoughtt . So should we say to our selves , when we are at the Door of God's House , Stay here all my worldly Cares , and wandring Cogitations , I am now going to hearken what the Lord will say to me . Distraction hinders Devotion . Distraction in Hearing is , when the Mind is tossed with vain Thoughts , and diverted from the Business in hand . 'T is hard to make the Quicksilver Heart fix . St. Hierom complained of himself , Some times ( saith he ) when I am about God's Service , per Porticus deambulo , I am walking in the Galleries , and sometimes casting up Accounts . So oft in hearing of the Word the Thoughts dance up and down ; and when our Eye is upon the Minister , our Mind is upon other things . Distracted Hearing is far from sanctifying the Sabbath . It must needs be very hainous to give way to vain Thoughts at this time , because when we are hearing the Word , we are now in God's Special Presence . To do any Treasonable Action in the King's Presence , is high Impudence . Ier. 23.11 . Yea , in my House have I found their Wickedness . So may the Lord say , In my House , while they are hearing of my Word , I have found Wickedness ; they have wanton Eyes , and their Soul is set on Vanity . This inhanceth and aggravates the sin .

Qu. Whence do these roving distracted Thoughts in hearing come ?

Answ. 1. Partly from Satan . The Devil is no Recusant , he will be sure to be present in our Assemblies : If he cannot hinder us from hearing , he will hinder us in hearing . Iob 1.6 . When the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord , Satan came also among them . The Devil sets vain Objects before the Fancy to cause a Diversion . Satan's great Design is to render the Word we hear fruitless : As when one is writing , another joggs him that he cannot write even : So when we are hearing , the Devil will be jogging us with a Temptation , that we should not attend to the Word Preached . Zach. 3.1 . He showed me Ioshua the High Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord , and Satan standing at his Right Hand to resist him .

2. These wandring Thoughts in Hearing come partly from our selves . We must not lay all the blame upon Satan .

( 1. ) They come from the Eye . A wandring Eye causeth wandring Thoughts . A Thief may be let into the House at a Window : So vain Thoughts are let in at the Eye . So that as we are bid to keep our Feet when we enter into the House of God , Eccles. 5.1 . so we had need make a Covenant with our Eyes when we are in the House of God , Iob 31.1 . that we be not distracted by beholding other Objects .

2. Wandring Thoughts in hearing arise out of the Heart . These Sparks come out of our own Furnace . Vain Thoughts are the Mud which the Heart ( as a troubled Sea ) casts up . Mark 7.21 . For from within , out of the Heart of men , proceed evil Thoughts . It is the Foulness of the Stomach sends up Fumes into the Head ; and the Corruption of the Heart sends up Evil Thoughts into the Mind .

3. Distracted Thoughts in hearing proceed from an Evil Custom . We inure our selves to vain Thoughts at other times , therefore we cannot forbear them on a Sabbath . Custom is a Second Nature . Ier. 13.23 . Can the Ethiopian change his Skin , or the Leopard his Spots , then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil ? He that is used to bad Company , knows not how to leave it . Such as have vain Thoughts keeping them Company all the Week , they know not how to get rid of them on the Sabbath . Let me show you how evil these vain distracting Thoughts in hearing are .

First , To have the Heart distracted in Hearing , is a Disrespect to God's Omnisciency . God is an all-seeing Spirit , and Thoughts speak louder in his Ears than Words do in ours . Amos 4.13 . He declareth unto Man what is his Thought . Therefore to make no Conscience of Wandring Thoughts in Hearing , is the affronting of God's Omnisciency , as if he knew not our Heart , or did not hear the Language of our Thoughts .

Secondly , To give way to wandring Thoughts in Hearing , is Hypocrisie . We pretend to hear what God saith , and our Mind is quite upon another thing . We present God with our Bodies , but do not give him our Hearts , Hos. 7.11 . This Hypocrisie God complains of , Isa. 29.13 . This People draw near me with their Mouth , and with their Lips do honour me , but have removed their Heart far from me . This is to prevaricate , and deal falsly with God .

Thirdly , Vain Thoughts in Hearing discover much want of Love to God . Did we love God , we should listen to his Words as Oracles , and bind them upon the Table of our Heart , Prov. 3.3 . When a Friend whom we love speaks to us , and gives us Advice , we mind it with Seriousness , and suck in every Word . The giving our Thoughts leave to ramble in Holy Duties , shows the Defect of our Love to God .

Fourthly , Vain impertinent Thoughts in Hearing defile an Ordinance : They are as dead Flies in the Box of Oyntment . When a String in the L●te is out of Tune , it spoils the Musick . Distraction of Thoughts puts our Mind out of Tune , and makes our Services sound harsh and unpleasant . Wandring Thoughts poyson a Duty , and turn it into sin . Psal. 109.7 . Let his Prayer become sin . What can be worse , than to have a Man's Praying and Hearing of the Word become sin ? Were it not sad when the Meat we eat should encrease bad Humours ? So when the Hearing of the Word , which is the Food of the Soul , should be turned into Sin ?

Fifthly , Vain Thoughts in Hearing anger God . If the King were speaking to one of his Subjects , and he should not give heed to what the King saith , but be thinking on another business , or playing with a Feather , would not this provoke the King ? So when we are in God's Presence , and God is speaking to us in his Word , and we mind not much what he saith , but our Hearts go after Covetousness , Ezek. 33.31 . will not this anger God to be thus slighted ? God hath pronounced a Curse upon such ; Mal. 1.14 . Cursed be the Deceiver which hath in his Flock a Male , and Sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing . To have strong lively Affections to the World , here is a Male in the Flock ; but to hear the Word with Distraction , to give God Duties fly-blown with Vain Thoughts , this is to offer to the Lord a corrupt thing ; this brings a Curse , Cursed be the Deceiver .

Sixthly , Vain Thoughts in Hearing ( when allowed and not resisted ) make way for hardning the Heart . A Stone in the Heart , is worse than in the Kidneys . Distracted Thoughts in hearing do not Better the Heart , but Harden it . Vain Thoughts take away the holy Awe of God which should be upon the Heart , they make Conscience less Tender , and hinder the Efficacy the Word should have upon the Heart .

Seventhly , Vain distracting Thoughts rob us of the Comfort of an Ordinance . A gracious Soul oft meets with God in the Sanctuary , and can say as Cant. 3.4 . I found him whom my Soul loveth . He is like Ionathan , who having tasted the Hony on the Rod , his Eyes were enlightned . But Vain Thoughts hinder the Comfort of an Ordinance , as a black Cloud hides the warm comfortable Beams of the Sun from us . Will God speak Peace to us when our Minds are wandring , and our Thoughts are travelling to the Ends of the Earth , Prov. 17.24 ? If ever you would hear the Word with Attention , do as Abraham , he drove away the Fowls from the Sacrifice , Gen. 15.11 . So when we find these Excursions and sinful Wanderings in hearing , labour to drive away the Fowls ; get rid of these vain Thoughts ; they are Vagrants , and we must not give them Entertainment .

Qu. But how shall we get help against these Vagabond Thoughts ?

Resp. 1. Pray and watch against them .

2. Let the Sence of God's Omniscient Eye over-awe our Hearts . The Servant will not sport in his Masters Presence .

3. Labour for an Holy Frame of Heart . Were the Heart more Spiritual , the Mind would be less Feathery .

4. Bring more Love to the Word . That which we love we fix our Minds upon . He that loves his Pleasures and Recreations , his Mind is fixed on them , and he can follow them without Distraction . Were our Love more set upon the Word Preached , our Minds would be more fixed upon it . And surely , there is enough to make us love the Word Preached , for it is the Word of Life — the Inlet to Knowledge , the Antidote against Sin , the Quickner of Holy Affections : It is the True Manna , which hath all sorts of sweet Tasts in it . It is the Pool of Bethesda , in which the Rivers of Life spring forth to heal the broken in Heart . It is a Soveveraign Elixir or Cordial to revive the sorrowful Spirit . Get Love to the Word Preached , and you will not be so distracted in hearing . What the Heart delights in , the Thoughts dwell upon .

II. If you would sanctifie the Sabbath by deligent attentive hearing , take heed of Drowsiness in Hearing . Drowsiness shows much Irreverence . How lively are many when they are about the World , but in the Worship of God how drowsie , as if the Devil had given them some Opium to make them sleep ! A Drowsie Temper is ( now ) very absurd and sinful . Are not you in Prayer asking Pardon of sin ? Will the Prisoner fall asleep when he is begging his Pardon ? In the Preaching of the Word is not the Bread of Life breaking to you , and will a Man fall asleep at his Food ? Which is worse , to stay from a Sermon , or sleep at a Sermon ? While you sleep , perhaps that Truth was delivered , which might have converted your Souls . Besides , sleeping is very offensive in these Holy Assemblies : It is not only a grieving the Spirit of God , but a making the Hearts of the Righteous sad , Ezek. 13.22 . It troubles them to see any show such a Contempt of God and his Worship ; to see Men busie in the Shop , but drowsie in the Temple . Therefore as Christ said , Mat. 26.40 . Could ye not watch one Hour ? So can ye not wake one Hour ? I deny not but a Child of God may sometimes through Weakness and Indisposition of Body drop asleep at a Sermon , but it is not voluntary or ordinary . The Sun may be in an Eclipse , but not often . If sleeping be customary , and allowed , it is a very bad sign , and is a profaning of the Ordinance . A good Remedy against Drowsiness is to use a Spare Diet upon this Day . Such as indulge their Appetite too much on a Sabbath , are fitter to sleep on a Couch than pray in the Temple . Now , that you may throw off Distracting Thoughts and Drowsiness on the Lord's Day , and may hear the Word with reverend Attention , consider ,

1. It is God that speaks to us in his Word ; therefore the Preaching of the Word is called the Breath of his Lips , Isa. 11.4 . And Christ is said now to speak to us from Heaven , Heb. 12.25 . as a King speaks in his Ambassador . Ministers are but as the Pipes and Organs , it is the Spirit of the Living God breathes in them : When we come to the Word , we should think thus with our selves , God speaks in this Preacher . The Thessalonians heard the Word Paul Preached , as if God himself had spoken to them , 1 Thess. 2.13 . When ye received the Word of God , which ye heard of us , ye receiv'd it not as the Word of Men , but ( as it is in truth ) the Word of God . When Samuel knew it was the Lord that spake to him , he lent his Ear , 1 Sam. 3.10 . If we do not regard God when he speaks to us , he will not regard us when we pray to him .

2. Consider how serious and weighty the matters delivered to us are . As Moses said , Deut. 30.19 . I call Heaven and Earth ●o record this day , that I have set before you Life and Death . Can Men be regardless of the Word , or drowsie when the weighty matters of Eternity are set before them ? We Preach of Faith , and Holiness of Life , and the Day of Judgment , and the Eternal Recompences ; here is Life and Death set before you ; and doth not all this call for serious Attention ? If a Letter were read to one of special business , wherein his Life and Estate were concern'd , would not he be very serious in listning to that Letter ? In the Preaching of the Word , your Salvation is concerned , and if ever you will attend , it should be now , Deut. 32.47 . It is not a vain thing for you , because it is your Life .

3. To give way to Vain Thoughts and Drowsiness in hearing , doth much gratifie Satan . He knows , that not to mind a Duty , is all one as not to do a Duty . Quicquid cor non facit , non sit ; in Religion , What the Heart doth not do , is not done . Therefore Christ saith of some , Hearing they hear not , Mat. 13.13 . How could that be ? Because tho' the Word sounded in their Ear , yet they minded not what was said to them ; their Thoughts were upon other things ; therefore it was all one as if they did not ●ear . Hearing they hear not . And doth not this please Satan , to see Men come to the Word , and as good stay away ? They are haunted with vain Thoughts , they are taken off the Duty while they are in it ; their Body is in the Assembly , their Heart in their Shop ; Hearing they hear not .

4. It may be the last Sabbath that ever we shall keep . We may go from the place of Hearing to the place of Judging , and shall not we give Reverend Attention to the Word ? Did we think thus when we come into God's House , Perhaps this will be the last time that ever God will counsel us about our Souls ; before another Sermon Death's Alarum will sound in our Ears : With what Attention and Devotion should we come hither , and our Affections would be all on Fire in hearing !

5. You must give an Account for every Sermon you hear , Luke 16.2 . Redde rationem : Give an account of thy Stewardship . So will God say , Give an Account of thy Hearing . Hast thou been affected with the Word ? Hast thou profited by it ? And how can we give an Account , if we have been distracted in hearing , and have not taken notice what hath been said to us ? The Judge to whom we must give an Account is God . Were one to give an Account to Man , he might falsifie his Accounts , but we must give an Account to God . * * Bern. Nec donis corrumpitur , nec blanditiis fallitur . He is so Iust a God , that he cannot be bribed ; and so Wise , that he cannot be deceived . Therefore being to give an Account to such an impartial Judge , how should we observe every Word Preached , remembring the Account ! Let all this make us shake off Distraction and Drowsiness in Hearing , and have our Ears chain'd to the Word .

EXOD. XX. 8 .

Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy , &c.

II. If you would hear the Word aright , lay aside those things which may render the Word Preached ineffectual . As ,

1. Curiosity . Some come to the Word Preached , not so much to get Grace , as to enrich themselves with Notions . Itching Ears , 2 Tim. 4.3 . Austin confesseth that before his Conversion , he went to hear St. Ambrose rather for his Eloquence , than the Spirituality of the matter . Ezek. 33.32 . Thou art unto them as a very lovely Song of one that hath a pleasant Voice , and can play well on an Instrument . Many come to the Word only to feast their Ears ; they like the Melody of the Voice , the Mellifluous Sweetness of the Expression , the Newness of the Notion , Acts 17.21 . This is to love the Garnishing of the Dish more than the Food . This is to desire to be pleased , rather than edifyed . Like a Woman that paints her Face , but neglects her Health . So they paint and adorn themselves with curious Speculations , but neglect their Souls Health . This hearing doth neither sanctifie the Heart nor the Sabbath .

2. Lay aside Prejudice .

( 1. ) Prejudice against the Truths Preached . The Sadduces were prejudiced against the Doctrin of the Resurrection , Luke 20.27 .

( 2. ) Prejudice against the Person preaching , 1 King . 22.8 . There is one Micaiah , by whom we may enquire of the Lord , but I hate him . This hinders the Vertue of the Word . If a Patient hath an ill Opinion of his Physician , he will not take any of his Receipts tho never so good . Prejudice in the Mind is like an Obstruction in the Stomach , which hinders the Nutritive Vertue of the Meat . Prejudice poysons the Word , and makes it to lose its Efficacy .

3. Lay aside Covetousness . Covetousness is in not only getting the World unjustly , but loving it inordinately . This is a Great Hindrance to the Word Preached . The Seed which fell among Thorns was choked , Mat. 13.22 . An Emblem of the Word being Preached to a Covetous Hearer . The Covetous Man is thinking of the World when he is hearing ; his Heart is in his Shop . Ezek. 33.31 . They sit before thee as my People , and they hear thy Words , but their Heart goeth after their Covetousness . A Covetous Hearer derides the Word , Luke 16.14 . The Pharisees who were covetous heard all , and they derided him .

4. Lay aside Partiality . Partiality in hearing is , when we like to hear some Truths Preached , but not all . We love to hear of Heaven , but not of Self-denial ; of reigning with Christ , but not of suffering ; of the more Facil Duties of Religion , but not them which are more knotty and difficult , as Mortification , laying the Ax to the Root , and hewing down their Beloved Sin , Isa. 30.10 . Proyhesie smooth things , such as may not grate upon our Conscience . Many like to hear of the Love of Christ , but not of loving their Enemies : They like the Comforts of the Word , not the Reproofs . Herod heard Iohn Baptist gladly ; he liked many Truths , but not when he spake against his Incest . Lay aside Partiality .

5. Lay aside Censoriousness . Some instead of judging themselves for Sin , sit as Judges upon the Preacher : Either his Sermon had too much Gall in it , or it was too long : These will sooner censure a Sermon than practise it . God will judge the Judger . Mat. 7.1 .

6. Lay aside Disobedience , Rom. 10.21 . All the day long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient People . 'T is spoken of the Jews , God stretched out his Hands in the Preaching of the Word , but they rejected Christ . Let there be none among you that wilfully refuse the Counsels of the Word : 'T is sad to have an Adders Ear , an Adamant Heart . Zac. 7.11 , 12. If when God speaks to us in his Word we are deaf , when we speak to him in Prayer he will be dumb .

III. If you would hear the Word aright , have God Ends in hearing . Come to the Word to be made better . Some have no other end in hearing , but because it is in Fashion , or to gain Repute , or stop the Mouth of Consbience . But come to the Word to be made more Holy . There 's a great deal of difference between one that goes to a Garden for Flowers to wear in her Bosom , and another that goes for Flowers to make Syrups and Medicines of . We should go to the Word for a Medicine to cure us ; as Naaman the Syrian went to Iordan to be healed of his Leprosie . 1 Pet. 2.2 . Desire the sincere Milk of the Word , that ye may grow thereby . Come to the Word to be changed into the Similitude of it . As the Seal leaves its Print upon the Wax , so labour that the Word Preached may leave the Print of its own Holiness upon your Heart . Labour that the Word may have such a Vertue upon you as the Water of Jealousie , to kill and make fruitful , Numb. 5.27 . That it may kill your Sins , and make your Souls fruitful in Grace .

IV. If you would hear the Word aright , come to it with Delight . The Word Preached is a Feast of fat things . With what Delight do Men come to a Feast ? The Word Preached anoynts the blind Eye , mollifies the Rocky Heart ; it beats off our Fetters , and turns us from the Power of Satan to God , Acts 26.18 . The Word is the Seed of Regeneration , Iam. 1.18 . the Engine of Salvation . Hear the Word with Delight and Complacency . Ier. 15.16 . Thy Words were found and I did eat them , they were the joy and rejoycing of my Heart . Psal. 119.103 . How sweet are thy words unto my taste , yea , sweeter than Honey unto my mouth . Yea , love that Word which comes most home to the Conscience . Bless God when your Corruptions have been met with ; when the Sword of the Spirit hath divided between you and your Sins . Who cares for that Physick which will not work ?

V. If you would hear the Word aright , mix it with Faith . Believe the Verity of the Word Preached , that it is that Word by which you must be judged ; and not only give Credence to the Word Preached , but learn to apply it to your own Souls . Faith concocts the Word , and turns it into Spiritual Nourishment . Many hear the Word , but it may be said of them as Psal. 106.24 . They believed not his Word . As Melancton once said to some of the Italians , Ye Italians Worship God in the Bread , when ye do not believe him to be in Heaven So many hear God's Word , but do not believe that God is ; they question the Truth of his Oracles . If we do not mix Faith with the Word , it is like leaving out the Chief Ingredient in a Medicine , which makes it ineffectual . Unbelief hardens Mens Hearts against the Word . Acts 19.9 . Divers were hardened and believed not . Men hear many Truths delivered concerning the Preciousness of Christ , the Beauty of Holiness , the Felicity of a Glorified Estate ; but if through Unbelief and Atheism they question these Truths , we may as well speak to the Stones and Pillars of the Church as to them . That Word which is not Believed can never be Practised . * * Hierom. Vbi male creditur , ibi nec benè vivitur . Unbelief makes the Word Preached of no effect . Heb. 9.2 . The Word preached did not profit , not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it . The Word to an Unbeliever is like Dioscordium put into a Dead Man's Mouth , which loseth all its Vertue . If there be any Unbelievers in our Congregations , what shall Ministers say to God at the last Day ? Lord , we have preached to the People thou sentest us to ; we showed them our Commission , we declared unto them the whole Counsel of God , but they believed never a Word we spake : We told them what would be the Fruit of Sin , but they would drink their Sugared Draught , tho there was Death in the Cup : Lord , we are free from their Blood . God forbid that ever Ministers should make this Report to God of their People : But this they must be forc'd to do , if People live and die in Unbelief . Would you sanctifie a Sabbath in hearing the Word aright ? Hear the Word with Faith . The Apostle puts these two together , Belief and Salvation . Heb. 10.39 . We are of them that believe to the Saving of the Soul .

VI. If you would hear the Word aright , hear it with meek Spirits , Iam. 1.21 . Receive the Word in mansuetudine , with meekness . Meekness is a submissive Frame of Heart to the Word . Contrary to this Meekness is Fierceness of Spirit , when Men rise up in a Rage against the Word . As if the Patient should be angry with the Physician when he gives him a Receipt to purge out his bad Humours . Acts 7.54 . When they heard this they were cut to the Heart , and gnashed on Stephen with their Teeth . 2 Chron. 16.10 . Asa was wroth with the Seer , and put him in a Prison-House . Pride and Guilt make Men ●ret at the Word . What made Asa storm so but Pride ? He was a King , and thought he was too good to be told of his Sin . What made Cain so angry , when God said to him , Where is Abel thy Brother ? Saith he , Am I my Brothers Keeper ? What made him so touchy , but Guilt ? He had embrued his Hands in his Brothers Blood . If you would hear the Word aright , lay down your Passions , Receive the Word with Meekness ; get humble Hearts to submit to the Truths delivered . God takes the meek Person to be his Scholar . Psal. 25.9 . The Meek will he teach his way . Meekness makes the Word Preached to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , an engrafted Word , Iam. 1.21 . A good Cion grafted into a Bad Stock , changeth the Nature of it , and makes it bear sweet and generous Fruit. So when the Word Preached is grafted into Man's Heart , it sanctifies them , and makes them bring forth the sweet Fruits of Righteousness . By Meekness it becomes an engrafted Word .

VII . If you would hear the Word aright , be not only attentive , but retentive : Lay the Word up in your Memories and Hearts , Luke 8.15 . The Seed on the good Ground are they , who having heard the Word keep it . The Greek Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to keep , signifies to hold the Word fast that it doth not run from us . If the Seed be not kept in the Ground , but is presently washed away , it is sown to little purpose : So if the Word Preached be not kept in your Memories and Hearts , it is Preached in vain . Many People have Memories like leaking Vessels , the Word goes out as fast as it comes in . How can it profit ? If a Treasure be put in a Chest , and the Chest be not lock'd , it may easily be taken out . A bad Memory is like a Chest without a Lock , the Devil can easily take out all the Treasure . Luke 8.12 . Then comes the Devil and takes away the Word out of their Hearts . Labour to keep in Memory the Truths you hear . The things we esteem we are not so apt to forget . Will a Bride forget her Iewels ? Ier. 2.32 . Can a Maid forget her Ornaments ? Did we prize the Word more , we should not so soon forget it . If the Meat doth not stay in the Stomach , but comes up as fast as we eat it , it cannot nourish : So if the Word stays not in the Memory , but is presently gone , it can do the Soul but little good .

VIII . If you would hear aright , practise what you hear ; Practice is the Life of all . Rev. 22.14 . Blessed are they that do his Commandments , that they may have right to the Tree of Life . Bare Hearing will be no Plea at the Day of Judgment . Lord , I have heard so many Sermons . But God will say , What Fruits of Obedience have ye brought forth ? The Word we Preach is not only to inform you , but to reform you ; not only to mend your Sight , but to mend your Pace in the way to Heaven . A good Hearer is like the Helitropium , &c. it opens and shuts with the Sun , to God , against Sin . Now that you may sanctifie a Sabbath by Hearing :

1. If you do not hear the Word aright , you lose all your Labour . How many a weary Step have you taken ? Your Body hath been crowded , your Spirit faint ; if you are not bettered by hearing , if you are as proud , as vain , as earthly as ever , all your hearing is lost . You would be loth to Trade in vain ; and why not as well to hear Sermons in vain ? Iob 9.29 . Why then labour I in vain ? Put this Question to thy own Soul , Why labour I in vain ? Why do I take all this Pains to hear , yet have not the Grace to practise ? I am as bad as ever , why then labour I in vain ?

2. If you hear the Word , and are not bettered by it , you are like the Salamander in the Fire , not hotter ; your hearing will encrease your Condemnation . Luke 12.47 . That Servant which knew his Lord's Will and did it not , shall be beaten with many Stripe● . We pity such as know not where to hear ; it will be worse with such as care not how they hear . To graceless disobedient Hearers every Sermon will be a Faggot to heat Hell . It 's sad to go loaden to Hell with Ordinances . O beg the Spirit to make the Word Preached effectual . Ministers can but speak to the Ear , the Spirit speaks to the Heart . Acts 10.44 . While Peter spake , the Holy Ghost sell upon all them that heard the Word .

V. Having heard the Word in an Holy and Spiritual manner , for the further Sanctification of the Sabbath , confer of the Word . We are forbid on this Day to speak our own Words , Isa. 58.14 . but we must speak of God's Word . Speak of the Sermon as you sit together ; This is one part of sanctifying the Sabbath . Good Discourse brings holy Truths into our Memories , and fastens them upon our Hearts . Mal. 3.17 . Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another . There is a great Power and Efficacy in good Discourse . Iob 6.25 . How forcible are right words ! By holy Conference on a Sabbath , one Christian helps to warm another when he is frozen , to strengthen another when he is weak . Latimer confessed he was much furthered in Religion , by having Conference with Mr. Bilny the Martyr . Psal. 119.172 . My Tongue shall speak of thy Word . One reason why Preaching the Word on a Sabbath doth no more good , is , because there is so little good Conference . Few speak of the Word they have heard , as if Sermons were such Secrets , that they must not be spoken of again : Or , as if it were a shame to speak of that which will save us .

VI. Shut up the Sabbath-Evening with Repetition , Singing of Psalms and Prayer : Beg that God would bless the Word you have heard ; but I hope your Practice herein will prevent my farther speaking . Could we but ▪ thus spend a Sabbath , we might be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day , Rev. 1.10 . our Souls might be nourished and comforted : And this Sabbath which we now keep , would be an earnest of that everlasting Sabbath which we shall Celebrate in Heaven .

EXOD. XX. 8 .

Remember to keep the Sabbath-day Holy .

Vse I. See here a Christians Duty , To keep the Sabbath-Day Holy .

1. The whole Sabbath is to be Dedicated to God . It is not said , Keep a part of the Sabbath holy , but the whole day must be religiously observed . If God hath given us Six Days , and taken but One to himself , shall we grudge him any part of that Day ? It were Sacriledge . The Jews kept a whole Day to the Lord , and we are not to abridge or curtail the Sabbath , ( saith St. Austin ) more than the Jews did . The very Heathens by the Light of Nature did set apart a whole Day in the Honour of their False Gods : * * Macrobius And Scaevola their High Priest did affirm , That the wilful Transgression of that Day could have no Expiation or Pardon . Whoever do rob any part of the Sabbath for servile Work or Recreation , Scaevola the High Priest of the Heathenish Gods shall rise up in Judgment against such Christians and condemn them . And they who say , that to keep a whole Sabbath is too Iudaical , let them show where God hath made any Abatement of the Time of Worship , where he hath said , You shall keep but a Part of the Sabbath . And if they cannot show that , it argues much Boldness to go to rob God of his Due . That a whole Day be design'd and set apart for God's special Worship , is a perpetual Statute while the Church remains upon the Earth , saith Pet. Martyr . Of this Opinion also were * * Die Dominico nihil aliud vacandum nisi ad pietati● munia . Theodoret , Austin , Iraeneus , and the Chief of the Fathers .

2. As the whole Sabbath is to be Dedicated to God , so it must be kept Holy . You see the manner of sanctifying the Lord's Day , by Reading , Meditation , Prayer , hearing of the Word , and by Singing of Psalms , to make Melody to the Lord . Now , besides what I have said for the keeping this Day holy , let me make a short Comment or Paraphrase on that Scripture , Isa. 58.13 . If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath , from doing thy pleasure on my holy day , and call the Sabbath a delight , the holy of the Lord , honourable , and shalt honour him , not doing thy own ways , nor finding thy own pleasure , nor speaking thy own words . Here is a Description of the right sanctifying a Sabbath .

( 1. ) If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath . ] That may be understood either Literally or Principally .

First , Literally . If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath , that is , If thou withdrawest thy Foot from taking long Walks or Journeys on the Sabbath-day . So the Jewish Doctors expound it . Or ,

Secondly . Spiritually . If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath , that is , If thou turn away thy Affections ( the Feet of thy Soul ) from enclining to any worldly Business .

( 2. ) From doing thy Pleasure on my holy Day . ] That is , Thou must not do that which may please the Carnal Part , as Sports and Pastimes . This is to do the Devil's Work on God's Day .

( 3. ) And call the Sabbath a Delight . ] Call it a Delight , that is , esteem it so . Tho the Sabbath be not a Day for Carnal Pleasure , yet holy Pleasure is not forbidden . The Soul must take pleasure in the Duties of a Sabbath . The Saints of old counted the Sabbath a Delight . The Jews called the Sabbath , Dies Lucis , A Day of Light . The Lord's Day , on which the Sun of Righteousness shines , is both a Day of Light and Delight . This is the Day of sweet Intercourse between God and the Soul . On this Day a Christian makes his Sallies out to Heaven , his Soul is lifted above the Earth ; and can this be without Delight ? The higher the Bird flies , the sweeter it sings . On a Sabbath the Soul acts its Love to God ; and where the Love is , there is the Delight . On this Day a Believers Heart is melted , q. d. quickned , enlarged in Holy Duties ; and how can all this be , and not a secret Delight go along with it ? On a Sabbath a gracious Soul can say as Cant. 2.3 . I sat under his shadow with great delight , and his Fruit was sweet to my taste . How can a Spiritual Heart chuse but call the Sabbath a Delight ? Is it not delightful to a Queen to be putting on her Wedding Robes in which she shall meet the King her Bridegroom ? When we are about Sabbath-Exercises , we are dressing our selves , and putting on our Wedding-Robes in which we are to meet our Heavenly Bridegroom the Lord Jesus ? And is not this delightful ? On the Sabbath God makes a Feast of fat things , he Feasts the Ear with his Word , and the Heart with his Grace . Well then may we call the Sabbath a Delight ; and to find this holy Delight , is to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day .

( 4. ) The Holy of the Lord , honourable . ] In the Hebrew it is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Glorious . To call the Sabbath Honourable , is not to be understood so much of an outward Honour given to it by wearing richer Apparel , or having better Diet on this Day , as the Jewish Doctors corruptly gloss . This is the chief Honour some give to this Day . But thou shalt call the Sabbath Honourable , that is meant , of the Honour of the Heart that we give to this Day , reverencing it , and esteeming it the Queen of Days . We are to count the Sabbath Honourable , because God hath honoured it . All the Persons in the Trinity have honoured it , God the Father blessed it , God the Son rose upon it , God the Holy Ghost descended on this Day , Acts 2.1 . And indeed this Day is to be honoured of all good Christians , and had in high Veneration . It is a Day of Renown : On this Day a Golden Scepter of Mercy is held forth . The Christian Sabbath is the very Crepusculum and Dawning of the Heavenly Sabbath . It is honourable , because this Day God comes down to us , and visits us . To have the King of Heaven present in a special manner in our Assemblies , makes the Sabbath-day honourable . Besides , the Work that is done on this Day makes it honourable . The Six Days are fill'd up with-servile Work , which makes them lose much of their Glory , but on this Day Sacred Work is done . The Soul is employed wholly about the Worship of God ; it is Praying , Hearing , Meditating ; it is doing Angels Work , Praising and Blessing of God . Again , The Day is Honourable by vertue of a Divine Institution . Silver is of it self valuable ; but when the Royal Stamp is put upon it , it is honourable . So God hath put a Sacred Stamp upon this Day , the stamp of Divine Authority , and the stamp of Divine Benediction . This makes it honourable . This is a sanctifying the Sabbath , to call it a Delight , and Honourable .

( 5. ) Not doing thy own ways . ] That is , Thou shalt not defile the Day by doing any Servile Work .

( 6. ) Nor Finding thy own pleasure . ] That is , not gratifying the Fleshly Part by Walks , Visits or Pastimes .

( 7. ) Nor Speaking thy own Words . ] That is , Words Heterogeneous and unsuitable for a Sabbath , vain impertinent Words , Discourses of Worldly Affairs . Here is the sanctifying of a Sabbath described .

Vse II. If the Sabbath-day be to be kept holy , it reproves them , who instead of sanctifying the Sabbath , profane it . They take that Time which should be Dedicated wholly to God , and spend it in the Service of the Devil and their Lusts. The Lord hath enclosed this Day for his own Worship , and they lay God's Day common : God hath set an Hedge about this Commandment , Remember , and they break this Hedge . But he who breaks an Hedge , a Serpent shall bite him , Eccles. 10.8 . The Sabbath-day in England lies bleeding : And Oh! that our Parliament would pour in some Balm into the Wounds which the Sabbath hath received . How is this Day profaned , by sitting idle at home , by selling Meat , by vain Discourse , by sinful Visits , by walking in the Fields , by using Sports . The People of Israel might not gather Manna on the Sabbath , and may we use Sports and Dancings on this Day ? Truly it should be matter of Grief to us to see so much Sabbath-profanation . When one of Darius's Eunuchs saw Alexander setting his Feet on a rich Table of Darius's , he fell a weeping . Alexander ask'd him why he wept ? He said , It was to see the Table which his Master so highly esteemed , to be now made a Footstool . So we may weep to see the Sabbath-day , which God so highly esteems , and hath so honoured and blessed , to be made a Footstool , and to be trampled upon by the Feet of Sinners . To profane the Sabbath is a Sin of an High Nature ; it is a wilful Contempt of God : It is not only a Casting God's Law behind our back , but a trampling it under foot . God saith , Keep the Sabbath holy , but Men will pollute it : This is to despise God , to hang out the Flag of Defiance , to throw down the Gantlet , and challenge God himself . Now how can God endure to be thus saucily confronted by proud Dust ? God will not suffer this high Impudence to go unpunished . This will draw God's Curses upon the Sabbath-breaker , and God's Curse blasts where it comes . No sooner did Christ curse the Fig-tree , but it withered . Tho the Law of the Land lets Sabbath-breakers alone ; to rob a Man of his Purse shall be punished with Death , but to rob God of his Day shall not be punished with Death . But God will take the matter into his own hand ; he will see after the punishing of Sabbath-violation : And how doth he punish it ?

1. With Spiritual Plagues . He gives up Sabbath-profaners to hardness of Heart , and a seared Conscience . Spiritual Judgments are sorest . Psal. 81.12 . So I gave them up to their own Hearts Lusts. A Sear in the Conscience is a Brand-mark of Reprobation .

2. God punisheth this Sin of Sabbath-breaking , by giving them up to commit other Sins . God to revenge the breaking of his Sabbath , suffers Men to break open Houses , and so come to be punished by the Magistrate . How many such Confessions have we heard from Thieves going to be executed ! They never regarded the Sabbath , and so God suffered them to commit those hainous Sins , for which now they are to die .

3. God punisheth Sabbath-breaking by sudden visible Judgments on Men for this Sin . God punisheth them in their Estates , and in their Persons . One carrying Corn into his Barn on the Lord's Day , both House and Corn consumed with Fire from Heaven . In Wiltshire there was a Dancing Match appointed upon the Lord's Day , and one of the Company as he was dancing fell down dead suddenly , and so was made a Spectacle of God's Justice . The Theatre of God's Iudgments relates of one , who used every Lord's Day to hunt in Sermon-time , and he had a Child by his Wife with an Head like a Dog , and it cried like an Hound . His Sin was monstrous , and it was punish'd with a monstrous Birth . The Lord threatned the Jews , That if they would not hallow the Sabbath-day , he would kindle a Fire in their Gates , Jer. 17.27 . The dreadful Fire which brake out in London began on the Sabbath-day ; as if God would tell us from Heaven , he was then punishing us for our Sabbath-profanation . Nor doth God punish it only in this Life with Death , but with Damnation . Such as break God's Sabbath , let them see if they can break those Chains of Darkness in which they and the Devils shall be held .

Vse III. It exhorts us to Sabbath-holiness .

I. Make Conscience of keeping this Day Holy . The other Commandments have only an Affirmative in them , or a Negative : This Fourth Commandment hath both an Affirmative in it , and a Negative : Thou shalt keep the Sabbath-day holy : And , Thou shalt not do any manner of Work in it : To show how carefully God would have us observe this Day . Nor only must you keep this Day your Selves , but have a care that all under your Charge keep it . Thou , and thy Son , and thy Daughter , and thy Man-Servant , and thy Maid-Servant . That is , Thou who art a Superiour , a Parent or a Master , thou must have a Care that not only thy self sanctifie the Day , but those who are under thy Trust and Tuition . To blame are those Masters of Families , who are careful that their Servants serve them , but have no care that they serve God . They care not though their Servants should serve the Devil , so long as their Bodies do them Service . That which St. Paul saith to Timothy , 1 Tim. 6.20 . Serva Depositum , Keep that which is committed to thy Trust , is of a large Extension . Not only have a Care of thy own Soul , but have a Care of the Souls thou art entrusted with . See that they who are under thy Charge sanctifie the Sabbath . God's Law provided , That if a Man met an Ox or an Ass going astray , he should bring him back again : Much more when thou seest the Soul of thy Child or Servant going astray from God , and breaking his Sabbath , thou shouldest bring him back again to a Religious Observation of this Day . Now that I may press you to Sabbath-Sanctification , consider ,

( 1. ) God hath promised great Blessings to the strict Observers of this Day . 1. A Promise of Joy . Psal. 37.4 . If this Day be a Delight , Isa. 58.14 . Then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord . Delighting in God is both a Duty , and a Reward . In this Text it is a Reward , Then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord : As if God had said , If thou keep the Sabbath Conscientiously , I will give thee that which shall fill thee with Delight . If thou keepest the Sabbath willingly , I will make thee keep it joyfully : I will give thee those Enlargements in Duty , and that inward Comfort as shall abundantly satisfie thee ; thy Soul shall overflow with such a stream of Joy , that thou shalt say , Lord , in keeping thy Sabbath there is great Reward . And , 2. Of Honour . I will cause thee to ride upon the High Places of the Earth : That is , I will advance thee to Honour , ascendere faciam ; so Munster interprets it . Some by the High Places of the Earth understand Iudaea : So Grotius . I will bring thee into the Land of Iudaea , which is higher situated than the other Countries adjacent . 3. Of Earth and Heaven . And I will feed thee with the Heritage of Iacob . That is , I will feed thee with all the delicious things of Canaan , and afterwards I 'll translate thee to Heaven , whereof Canaan was but a Type — And another Promise , Isa. 56.2 . Blessed is the Man that doth this , that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it . Blessed is the Man ; in the Hebrew it is , [ in the Plural , Ashre , ] Blessedness . To him that keeps the Sabbath holy , here is Blessedness upon Blessedness belongs to him : he shall be blessed with the Vpper and Nether Springs ; he shall be blessed in his Name , Estate , Soul , Progeny . Who would not keep the Sabbath from polluting it , that shall have so many Blessings entail'd upon him and his Posterity after him ?

( 2. ) A Conscientious keeping the Sabbath seasons the Heart for God's Service all the Week after . Christian , the more holy thou art on a Sabbath , the more holy thou wilt be on the Week following .

EXOD. XX. 12 .

Honour thy Father and thy Mother , that thy Days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee .

Having done with the First Table , I am next to speak of the Duties of the Second Table . The Commandments may be likened to Iacob's Ladder : The First Table , as the Top of the Ladder , reacheth to Heaven , it respects God . The Second Table , as the Foot of the Ladder , rests on the Earth ; it respects Superiors and Inferiors . By the First Table we walk Religiously towards God , by the Second we walk Righteously towards Man . He cannot be good in the First Table , that is bad in the Second . Honour thy Father and thy Mother .

In this , 1. A Command , Honour thy Father and thy Mother .

2. A Reason annexed to it ; That thy Days may be long in the Land .

( 1. ) The Command , Honour thy Father .

Quest. Who is meant here by Father ?

Ans. Father ( Verbum 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ) is taken several ways ; the Political , Ancient , Spiritual , Oeconomical , Natural .

First , The Political Father , the Magistrate . He is the Father of his Countrey , he is to be an Encourager of Vertue , a Punisher of Vice , a Father to the Widdow and Orphan . Such a Father was Iob , Chap. 29.16 . I was a Father to the Poor , and the Cause which I knew not I searched out . And as Magistrates are Fathers , so especially the King , who is the Head of Magistrates , is a Political Father . He is placed as the Sun among the lesser Stars . The Scripture calls Kings Fathers . Isa. 49.23 . Kings shall be thy Nursing Fathers : They are to nurse up their Subjects in Piety , by their good Edicts and Examples ; and to nurse them up in Peace and Plenty . Such nourishing Fathers were David , Hezekiah , Iosiah , Constantine , Theodosius . It is happy for a People who have such nursing Fathers , whose Breasts milk Comfort to their Children . These Fathers are to be Honour'd . For ,

( 1. ) Their Place deserves Honour . God hath set these Political Fathers to preserve Order and Harmony in a Nation , and to prevent those State-Convulsions which otherwise might ensue . Iudg. 17.6 . When there was no King in Israel , every man did that which was right in his own Eyes . A Wonder . Prov. 30.27 .

( 2. ) God hath promoted Kings , that they may promote Iustice . As they have a Sword in their Hand to signifie their Power , so a Scepter , an Emblem of Justice . It is said of Marcus Aurelius Emperor , That he allotted one Hour of the Day to hear the Complaints of such as were oppressed . Kings place Judges , as Cherubims about the Throne , for distribution of Justice . These Political Fathers are to be honoured , Honour the King , 1 Pet. 2.17 . And this Honour is to be shown by a Civil Respect to their Persons , and a chearful Submission to their Laws , so far as they agree and run parallel with God's Law . Kings are to be Pray'd for , which is a part of that Honour we give them . 1 Tim. 2.1 . I exhort that Supplications , Prayers , Intercessions be made for Kings , that we may lead a quiet , peaceable Life under them in all Godliness and Honesty . We are to pray for Kings , that God would honour them to be Blessings , that under them we may enjoy the Gospel of Peace , and the Peace of the Gospel . How happy was the Reign of Numa Pompilius , when the Swords were beaten into Plough-shares , and the Bees made their Hives of the Soldiers Helmets !

Secondly , There is the grave , ancient Father , who is Venerable for old Age ; whose Grey Hairs are resembled to the White Flowers of the Almond-tree , Eccles. 12.5 . Eccles. 12.5 . These are Fathers for Seniority , on whose wrinkled Brows , and in the Furrows of whose Cheeks is pictur'd the Map of Old Age. These Fathers are to be honoured . Levit. 19.32 . Thou shalt rise up before the hoary Head , and honour the Face of the Old Man . Especially those are to honoured who are Fathers , not only for their Seniority , but their Piety , whose Souls are flourishing when their Bodies are a decaying . 'T is a blessed sight to see the Spring of Grace in the Autumn of Old Age : To see Men stooping towards the Grave , yet going up the Hill of God . To see them lose their Colour , yet keep their Savour . Such whose silver Hairs are crowned with Righteousness , are worthy of double Honour : They are to be honoured , not only as Pieces of Antiquity , but as Patterns of Vertue . If you see an Old Man fearing God , whose Grace shines brightest when the Sun of his Life is setting , O honour him as a Father by reverencing and imitating him .

Thirdly , There are Spiritual Fathers , as Pastors and Ministers . These are the Instruments of the New-Birth , 1 Cor. 4.15 . Tho you have Ten Thousand Instructors , yet have ye not many Fathers , for in Christ Iesus I have begotten you through the Gospel . The Spiritual Fathers are to be honoured ,

1. In respect of their Office . What-ever their Persons are , their Office is honourable . They are the Messengers of the Lord of Hosts , Mal. 2.7 . They represent no less than God himself , 2 Cor. 5.20 . Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ . Jesus Christ was of this Calling ; he had his Mission and Sanction from Heaven , Ioh. 8.18 . And this Crowns the Ministerial Calling with Honour .

2. Ministers , these Spiritual Fathers are to be honoured for their Work sake ; they come like the Dove with an Olive-branch in their Mouth ; they preach glad Tidings of Peace . Their Work is to save Souls . Other Callings have only to do with Mens Bodies or Estates , but the Ministers Calling is employed about the Souls of Men. Their Work is to redee● Spiritual Captives , and turn Men from the Power of Satan to God , Acts 26.18 . Their Work is to enlighten them who sit in the Region of Darkness , and make them shine as Stars in the Kingdom of Heaven . These Spiritual Fathers are to be honoured for their Work sake , and this Honour is to be shown three ways .

1. By giving them Respect , 1 Thess. 5.12 . Know them which labour among you , and are over you in the Lord , and esteem them very highly in love for their work sake . I confess the scandalous Lives of some Ministers hath been a great Reproach , and hath made the Offering of the Lord to be abhorred in some places of the Land . The Leper in the Law was to have his Lip covered . Such as are Angels by Office , but Lepers in their Lives , ought to have their Lips covered , and to be silenced . But tho some deserve no Honour , yet such as are faithful , and make it their Work to bring Souls to Christ , are to be reverenced as Spiritual Fathers . Obadiah honoured the Prophet Elijah , 1 King . 18.17 . Why did God reckon the Tribe of Levi for the First-born ? Numb. 3.12 . Why did he appoint that the Prince should ask Counsel of God by the Priest ? Numb. 27.21 . Why did the Lord show by that Miracle of Aaron's Rod flourishing , that he had chosen the Tribe of Levi to Minister before him ? Numb . 17. Why doth Christ call his Apostles the Lights of the World ? Why doth he say to all his Ministers , Lo , I am with you to the end of the World ? But because he would have these Spiritual Fathers reverenced ? In ancient times the Egyptians chose their Kings out of their Priests . They are far from showing this Respect and Honour to their Spiritual Fathers , who have slight Thoughts of such as have the Charge of the Sanctuary , and do minister before the Lord — Know them , saith the Apostle , which labour among you — Many can be content to know their Ministers in their Infirmities , and are glad when they have any thing against them ; but not to know them in the Apostles Sence , so as to give them double Honour . Surely , were it not for the Ministry , you would not be a Vineyard , but a Desart . Were it not for the Ministry , you would be destitute of the two Seals of the Covenant , Baptism and the Lord's Supper ; you would be Infidels ; For Faith comes by hearing ; and how shall they hear without a Preacher ? Rom. 10.14 .

2. Honour the Ministers , these Spiritual Fathers , by becoming Advocates for them , and wiping off those Slanders and Calumnies which are unjustly cast upon them , 1 Tim. 5.19 . Constantine was a great Honourer of the Ministry , he vindicated them , he would not read the envious Accusations brought in against them , but did burn them . Do the Ministers open their Mouths to God for you in Prayer , and will not you open your Mouths in their Behalf ? Surely , if they labour to preserve you from Hell , you should preserve them from Slander . If they labour to save your Souls , you ought to save their Credit .

3. Honour them , by conforming to their Doctrine . This is the greatest Honour you can put upon your Spiritual Fathers , by believing and obeying their Doctrine . He is an Honourer of the Ministry , who is not only an Hearer , but a Follower of the Word . As Disobedience reproacheth the Ministry , so Obedience honoureth it . The Apostle calls his Thessalonians , his Crown , 1 Thess. 2.19 . What is our Crown of rejoycing , are not ye ? A thriving People are a Ministers Crown . When there is a Metamorphosis , a Change wrought ; People came to the Word proud , but they go away humble ; they came Earthly , but go away Heavenly : They came as Naaman to Iordan , Lepers , but they go away healed . This is an Honour to the Ministry . 2 Cor. 3.1 . Need we as some others , Epistles of Commendation ? Tho other Ministers might need Letters of Commendation , yet Paul needed none : For when Men should hear of the Obedience of these Corinthians , which was wrought in them by Paul's Preaching ; this was a sufficient Certificate for him , that God had blessed his Labours . The Corinthians were a sufficient Honour to him , they were his Letters Testimonial . You cannot honour your Spiritual Fathers more , than by thriving under their Ministry , and living those Sermons which they preach .

Fourthly , There is the Oeconomical Father ; that is , the Master . He is Pater Familias , the Father of the Family . Therefore Naaman's Servants called their Master Father , 2 Kings 5.13 . And the Centurion calls his Servant Son * * 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 signifies Son as well as Servant . , Matth. 8.6 . The Servant is to honour his Master as the Father of the Family . Tho the Master be not so exactly qualify'd as he should , yet the Servant must not neglect his Duty , but show some kind of Honour to him .

( 1. ) In obeying his Master in licitis & honestis , in things that are lawful and honest . 1 Pet. 2.18 . Servants be subject to your Masters ; not only to the Good and Gentle , but also to the Froward . God hath no where given you a Charter of Exemption to free you from your Duty . You cannot disobey your Earthly Master , but you disobey your Master in Heaven . Think not that Birth , or High Parts , no nor yet your Grace , will exempt you from Obedience to your Master . To obey him , is an Ordinance of God ; and the Apostle saith , Whosoever resisteth the Ordinance , shall receive to themselves Damnation , Rom. 13.2 .

( 2. ) The Servants honouring of his Master ( his Oeconomical Father ) is seen in being diligent in his Service . Apelles painted a Servant with his Hands full of Tools , an Emblem of Diligence . The loytering Servant is a kind of Thief , tho he doth not steal from his Master Goods , yet he steals that Time which he should have employed in his Masters Service . The slothful Servant is called a Wicked Servant , Matth. 25.26 .

( 3. ) The Servant is to Honour his Master , who is his Family-Father , by being Faithful . Matth. 24.45 . Who then is a faithful and wise Servant . Faithfulness is the chief thing in a Servant . This Faithfulness in a Servant is seen in Six things .

First , In Tenaciousness , in concealing the Secrets your Master hath entrusted you with : If those Secrets are not Sins , you ought to promise Privacy . What is whispered in your Ear , you are not to publish on the House-top . Such Servants are Spies . Who would keep a Glass tkat is crack'd ? Who would keep a Servant that hath a Crack in his Brain , and cannot keep a Secret ?

Secondly , Faithfulness in a Servant is seen in designing the Masters Advantage . A Faithful Servant esteems his Masters Good as his own . Such a good Servant had Abraham . When his Master sent him to transact business for him , he was as careful about it , as if it had been his own . Gen. 24.12 . O Lord God of my Master Abraham , I pray thee send me good speed this day , and shew kindness unto my Master Abraham . Doubtless Abraham's Servant was as glad he had got a Wife for his Masters Son , as if he had got a Wife for himself .

Thirdly , Faithfulness in a Servant is seen in standing up for the Honour of his Master . When he hears him spoken against , he must vindicate him . As the Master is careful of the Servant's Body , so the Servant should be careful of the Master's Name . When the Master is unjustly reproached , the Servant cannot be excused if he be possessed with a dumb Devil .

Fourthly , Faithfulness is , when a Servant is true to his Word . He dares not tell a Lie , but will speak the Truth , tho it be against himself . A Lie doubles the sin . Psal. 101.7 . He that telleth Lies , shall not tarry in my sight . A Liar is of near a-kin to the Devil , Ioh. 8.44 . And who would let any of the Devil's Kindred live with him ? The Lie that Gehazi told his Master Elisha , entailed a Leprosie on Gehazi and his Seed for ever , 2 Kings 5.22 . A Faithful Servant , his Tongue is the true Index of his Heart .

Fifthly , Faithfulness is , when a Servant is against Impropriation . He dares not convert his Masters Goods to his own Use. Tit. 2.10 . Not purloyning . * * Bern. Ne aliquid haereat in digitis . What a Servant filcheth from his Master , is damnable Gain . The Servant who enricheth himself by stealing from his Master , stuffs his Pillow with Thorns , and his Head will lie very uneasie when he comes to die .

Sixthly , Faithfulness is in preserving the Masters Person , if unjustly in Danger . Banister who betrayed his Master the Duke of Buckingham in King Richard the Third's Reign , it is remarkable how the Judgments of God befell that Traiterous Servant : His eldest Son ran mad , his Daughter of a singular Beauty was suddenly struck with Leprosie , his younger Son was drowned , and he himself arraigned , and had been executed , had he not been saved by his Clergy . That Servant who is not true to his Master , will never be true to God or his own Soul .

( 4. ) The Servant is to honour his Master , by serving him as with Love , ( for Willingness is more than the Work ) so with Silence : That is , without repining , and without replying . Titus 2.9 . Exhort Servants to be obedient to their Masters , not answering again . Greek , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Not giving cross Answers . Some Servants are quick of Speech , tho slow at Work ; and instead of being sorry for a Fault , they provoke by unbeseeming Language . Were the Heart more humble , the Tongue would be more silent . They are the Apostles Words , not answering again . And to those Servants who do thus honour their Masters , or Family-Fathers , by Submission , Diligence , Faithfulness , Love , and humble Silence , for their encouragement let them take that , Col. 3.24 . Servants obey in all things your Masters according to the Flesh , not with eye-service , knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the Reward of the Inheritance , for ye serve the Lord Christ . In serving your Masters ye serve Christ , and he will not let you lose your Labour , ye shall receive the Reward of the Inheritance . From serving on Earth , you shall be taken up to Reign in Heaven , and shall sit with Christ upon his Throne , Rev. 3.21 .

EXOD. XX. 12 .

Honour thy Father and thy Mother , &c.

If we are not just we cannot be holy . Having shown you how Servants are to honour their Masters , the Fathers of Families , I shall next show how Masters are to carry it towards their Servants , that they may gain Honour from them .

1. In General . Masters must remember that they have a Master in Heaven , who will call them to Account . Eph. 6.9 . Knowing , that your Master is also in Heaven .

2. More Particularly .

( 1. ) Masters must have a care to provide for their Servants : As they cut them out Work , so they must give them their Meat in due season , Luke 17.7 . And the Food should be wholsom and sufficing . It is an unworthy thing in some Governors of Families , to lay out so much upon their own Backs , as to pinch their Servants Bellies .

( 2. ) Masters should encourage their Servants in their Work , by commending them when they do well : Tho a Master is to tell a Servant of his Faults , yet he is not always to beat upon one string , but sometimes take notice of that which is praise-worthy . This makes a Servant more chearful in his Work , and gains the Master Love from his Servant .

( 3. ) Masters must not over-burden their Servants , but proportion their Work to their Strength . If you lay too much load on a Servant , he will faint under it . Christianity teacheth Compassion .

( 4. ) Masters must endeavour the Spiritual Good of their Servants ; they must be Seraphims to kindle their Love to Religion : They must be Monitors to put them in mind of their Souls : They must bring them to the Pool of the Sanctuary , waiting till the Angel stir the Waters , Iohn 5.4 . They must seek God for them , that their Servants may be his Servants : They must allow them Time convenient for secret Devotion . Some Masters are cruel to the Souls of their Servants ; they look that they do the Work about the House , but abridge them of Time they should employ in working out Salvation .

( 5. ) Masters should use mild gentle Behaviour towards Servants , Eph. 6.9 Forbearing Threatning . Lev. 25.43 . Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour , but fear thy God . It requires Wisdom in a Master to know how to keep up his Authority , yet lay down his Austerity . We have a good Copy to write after . Our Master in Heaven is slow to Anger , and of great Mercy , Psal. 145.8 . Some Masters are so harsh and implacable , that they are enough to spoil a good Servant .

( 6. ) Be very exact and punctual in the Compacts and Agreements you make with your Servants : Do not prevaricate ; keep not back any of their Wages , nor deal deceitfully with them , as Laban did with Iacob , changing his Wages , Gen. 31.7 . Falseness in Promise is as as bad as False Weights .

( 7. ) Be careful of your Servants , not only in Health but in Sickness . They have got their Sickness in your Service ; use what means you can for their Recovery . Be not like the Amalekite , who forsook his Servant when he was sick , 1 Sam. 30.13 . but be as the good Centurion , who kept his sick Servant , and sought to Christ for a Cure , Mat. 8.6 . If you have a Beast that falls sick , you will not turn it off , but have it look'd to , and pay for its Cure . Will you be kinder to your Horses than your Servants ? Thus should Masters ( the Fathers of the Family ) carry themselves prudently and piously , that they may gain Honour from their Servants , and may give up their Accounts to God with Joy .

Fifthly , The Natural Father . The Father of the Flesh , Heb. 12.9 . Honour thy Natural Father . This is so necessary a Duty , that Philo the Jew placed the Fifth Commandment in the First Table , as tho' we had not perform'd our whole Duty to God , till we had paid this Debt of Honour to our Natural Parents . Children are the Vineyard of the Parents planting , and Honour done to the Parent , 1 Cor. 9.7 . is some of the Fruit of the Vineyard .

Quest. Wherein are Children to show their Honour to their Parents ?

Resp. I. In a Reverential Esteem of their Persons . They must * * Arist. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Give them a Civil Veneration . Therefore when the Apostle speaks of Fathers of our Bodies , he speaks also of giving them Reverence , Heb. 12.9 . This Veneration or Reverence must be shown ,

1. Inwardly , by Fear mixed with Love . Lev. 19.3 . Ye shall fear every Man his Mother and his Father . In the Commandment the Father is named First , here the Mother is named First . ( 1. ) Partly , to put the Honour upon her the Mother , because by reason of many Weaknesses incident to her Sex , she is apt to be more slighted by Children . And ( 2. ) Partly , because the Mother endures more for the Child ; therefore here God gives the Mother the Priority , names her first , Ye shall fear every one his Mother and his Father .

2. Reverence must be shown to Parents Outwardly , viz. In Word and Gesture .

( 1. ) In Word ; and that either in speaking to Parents , or speaking of them .

First , Reverence in speaking to Parents . Children must speak to Parents respectively , and in decent Language . 1 Kings 2.20 . Ask on my Mother , said King Solomon , to his Mother Bathsheba .

Secondly , Reverence in speaking of Parents . Children must speak of their Parents honourably ; they ought to speak well of them if they deserve well . Prov. 31.28 . Her Children rise up and call her Blessed . And in case a Parent betrays Weakness and Indiscretion , the Child should make the best of it , and by his wise Apologies for his Father , cover his Fathers Nakedness .

( 2. ) In Gesture . Children are to show their Reverence to their Parents by Submissive Behaviour , by uncovering the Head , bending the Knee . Ioseph , tho he were a Great Prince , and his Father grown poor , yet he bow'd to him , and behaved himself as humbly as if his Father had been the Prince , and he the poor Man , Gen. 48.46 . And King Solomon , when his Mother came to him , rose off his Throne , and bowed himself to her , 1 Kings 2.19 . Among the Lacedemonians , if a Child had carried himself arrogantly and sawcily to his Father , it was lawful for the Father to appoint whom he would to be his Heir . O how many Children are far from this giving Reverence to their Parents ! They despise their Parents ; they carry themselves with that Pride and Malapertness towards them , that they are a shame to Religion , and bring their Parents Grey Hairs with Sorrow to the Grave . Deut. 27.16 . Cursed be he that setteth light by his Father or Mother . If all that set light by their Parents are Cursed , how many Children in our Age are under a Curse ! If such as are disrespectful to their Parents live to have Children , they will be Thorns in their sides , and God will make them read their Sin in their Punishment .

II. The Second way of showing Honour to Parents , is in careful Obedience . Col. 3.20 . Children obey your Parents in all things . Our Lord Christ herein set a Pattern to Children . Luke 2.51 . He was subject to his Parents . He to whom Angels were subject , yet was subject to his Parents . This Obedience to Parents is shown three ways .

( 1. ) In hearkning to their Counsel . Prov. 1.8 . Hear the Instruction of thy Father , and forsake not the Law of thy Mother . Parents are as it were in the room of God ; if they would teach you the Fear of the Lord , you must listen to their Words as Oracles , and not be as the deaf Adder to stop your Ears . Ely's Sons hearkned not to the Voice of their Father , 1 Sam. 2.25 . but they were called Sons of Belial , ver. 12. — And Children must hearken to the Counsel of their Parents , as in Spiritual Matters , so in other Affairs which relate to this Life , as in the Choice of a Calling , and in case of entring into Marriage . Iacob would not dispose of himself in Marriage , ( tho he were Forty Years old ) without the Advice and Consent of his Parents , Gen. 28.1 , 2. Children are as it were the Parents proper Goods and Possession , and it is high Injustice in a Child to give away her self without the Parents leave . If Parents should indeed counsel a Child to match with one that is Irreligious or Popish , I think the case is plain ; and many of the Learned are of Opinion , that here the Child may have a Negative Voice , and is not obliged to be ruled by the Parent . Children are to marry in the Lord , 1 Cor. 7.39 . Therefore not with Persons Irreligious , for that is not to marry in the Lord .

( 2. ) Obedience to Parents is shown in subscribing to their Commands . A Child should be the Parents Eccho : When the Father speaks , the Child should Eccho back Obedience . The Rechabites were forbidden by their Father to drink Wine , and they did obey him , and were commended for it , Ier. 35.6 . And Children must obey their Parents 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in all things , Col. 3.20 . Things that are more against the Grain , and which they have some Reluctancy to , yet they must obey their Parents . Esau would obey his Father , when he commanded him to fetch him Venison , because it is probable he took pleasure in hunting ; but refused to obey him in a matter of greater Concernment , namely , in the Choice of a Wife . But tho Children must obey their Parents in all things , yet * * Davenant restringitur ad licita & honesta , it is with this Limitation , Things just and honest . Obey in the Lord , Ephes. 6.1 . That is , so far as the Commands of Parents agree with , and are consonant to Gods Commands . If they command against God , here they lose their Right of being obeyed , and in this Case we must unchild our selves .

( 3. ) Honour is to be shown to Parents in relieving their Wants . Ioseph cherished his Father in his Old Age , Gen. 47.12 . It is but the paying a just Debt . Parents have brought up Children when they were young , and Children ought to nourish their Parents when they are old . The young Storks by the Instinct of Nature bring Meat to the Old Storks , when by reason of Age ther are not able to fly , Pliny . Lex Pelargica — The Memory of Aeneas was honoured , for carrying his Aged Father out of Troy when it was on Fire . I have read of a Daughter , whose Father being condemned to be starv'd to Death , she did in Prison give him Suck with her own Breasts , which being known to the Governours , procured his Freedom out of Prison . To blame are such , shall I say Children or Monsters , who are ashamed of their Parents when they are old , and fallen to decay . When Parents Tears and lean Cheeks may plead Pity , yet Children have no Compassion : When they ask for Bread they give them a Stone . When Houses are shut up , we say the Plague is there . When Childrens Hearts are shut up against their Parents , the Plague is in those Hearts . Our blessed Saviour took great Care for his Mother : When he was on the Cross , he charg'd his Disciple Iohn to take her home to him as his Mother , and see that she wanted nothing , Iohn 19.26 , 27. The Reasons why Children should honour their Parents , are :

1. It is a Solemn Command of God , Honour thy Father , &c. As God's Word is the Rule , so his Will must be the Reason of our Obedience . Reason .

2. They deserve Honour , in respect of that great Love and Affection which they bear to their Children , and that Love is evidenced both by their Care and Cost . ( 1. ) Their Care in bringing up their Children . A Sign their Hearts are full of Love , because their Heads are so full of Care . Parents oft take more Care for their Children than for themselves . They take Care of them when they are tender , least like Wall-Fruit they should be nip'd in the Bud. And as Children grow older , so the Care of Parents grows greater . They are afraid of their Childrens falling when young , and of worse Faults when they are older . ( 2. ) Their Love is evidenced by their Cost . 1 Cor. 12.14 . They lay up , and lay out for their Children . They are not like the Raven or Ostrich , Job . 39.14 . which are cruel to their Young . Parents sometimes do impoverlsh themselves to enrich their Children . All this calls for Honour from the Children . Children can never parallel or equal Parents Love . Parents are the Instruments of Life to their Children , Children cannot be so to their Parents .

3. To honour Parents is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , well-pleasing to the Lord , Col. 3.20 . As it is joyful to the Parents , so it is pleasing to the Lord . Children , is it not your Desire to please God ? In honouring and obeying your Parents , you please God as well as when you Repent and Believe . And that you may see how well it pleaseth God , he bestows a Reward upon it , That thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee . Iacob would not let the Angel go till he had blessed him ; nor God would not part with this Commandment till he had blessed it . Here is the Blessing , That thy Days may be long in the Land , &c. St. Paul calls this the First Commandment with Promise , Eph. 6.2 . The Second Commandment hath a General Promise of Mercy . But this is the First Commandment that hath a Particular Promise made to it , That thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee . Long Life is mentioned as a Blessing , Psal. 128.6 . Thou shalt see thy Childrens Children . It was a great Favour of God to Moses , that tho' he was an Hundred and Twenty Years old he needed no Spectacles , his Eye was not dim , nor his Natural Strength abated , Deut. 34.7 . God threatned it as a Curse to Eli , That there should not be an Old Man in his Family , 1 Sam. 2.31 . Since the Flood Life is much abbreviated and cut short : Some the Womb is their Tomb ; others exchange their Cradle for their Grave ; others die in the Flower of their Age ; Death serves it's Warrant every Day upon one or other . Now when Death lies in Ambush continually for us , if God satisfie us with Long Life : Psal. 91.16 . With long Life will I satisfie him : This is to be esteemed a Blessing . It is a Blessing that God gives a long time to repent , and a long time to do Service , and a long time to enjoy the Comfort of Relations ; and who is this Blessing of Long Life entail'd upon , but Obedient Children ? Honour thy Father , that thy Days may be long . Nothing sooner shortens Life than Disobedience to Parents . Absalom was a disobedient Son , who sought to deprive his Father of his Life and Crown , and he did not live out half his Days . The Mule he rode upon , as being weary of such a Burden , left him hanging in the Oak betwixt Heaven and Earth , as not fit to tread upon the one , or enter into the other . Obedience to Parents spins out thy Life , — That thy Days may be long . Nor doth Obedience to Parents only lengthen Life , but sweeten it : Therefore it follows , That thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee . To live long , and not have a Foot of Land , is a Misery ; but Obedience to Parents settles Land of Inheritance upon the Child . Hast thou but one Blessing , O my Father ? said Esau. Behold , God hath more Blessings for an Obedient Child than one ; not only shall he have a Long Life , but a Fruitful Land : And not only shall he have Land , but Land given in Love . The Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee . Thou shalt have thy Land not only with God's Leave , but with his Love . All which are cogent Arguments to make Children Honour and Obey their Parents .

EXOD. XX. 12 .

Honour thy Father —

Vse I. If we are to Honour our Fathers on Earth , then much more our Father in Heaven . Mal. 1.6 . If then I am a Father , where is my Honour ? A Father is but the Instrument of conveying Life , but God is the Original Cause of our Being . Psal. 100.3 . For it is he that hath made us , and not we our selves . Honour and Adoration is a Pearl belongs only to the Crown of Heaven . And ,

1. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father by obeying him . Thus Christ honoured his Father . Iohn 6.38 . I came down from Heaven , not to do my own Will , but the Will of him that sent me . This he calls honouring of God . Iohn 8.29 . I do always those things which please him . Ver. 49. I honour my Father . The Wise Men did not only bow the Knee to Christ , but presented him with Gold and Myrrh , Mat. 2.8 . So we must not only bow the Knee , give God Adoration , but bring Presents , give him Golden Obedience .

2. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father , by appearing as Advocates in his Cause , and standing up for his Truth in an Adulterous Generation . That Son honours his Father , who stands up in his Defence , and vindicates him when he is calumniated and reproached . Do they honour God who are ashamed of him ? Iohn 12.42 . Many believed on him , but durst not confess him . They are Bastard Sons , who are ashamed to own their Heavenly Father . Such as are born of God , are steeled with Courage for his Truth : They are like the Rock which no Waves can break ; like the Adamant , which no Sword can cut . Basil was a Champion for Truth in the Time of the Emperor Valens ; and Athanasius , when the World was Arrian , appeared for God .

3. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father , by ascribing the Honour of all we do to him . 1 Cor. 15.10 . I laboured morè abundantly than they all , yet not I , but the Grace of God which was in me . If a Christian hath any Assistance in Duty , any strength against Corruption , he rears up a Pillar , and writes upon it , Hitherto the Lord hath helped me . As Ioab when he had fought against Rabbah , and had like to have taken it , sent for King David , that he might carry away the Honour of the Victory , 2 Sam. 12.27 . So when a Child of God hath any Conquest over Satan , he gives all the Honour to God . Hypocrites ( whose Lamp is fed with the Oyl of Vain-Glory ) while they do any eminent Service for God , seek themselves ; and so their very serving of him is a dshonouring him .

4. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father by Celebrating his Praise . Psal. 71.8 . Let my mouth be filled with thy praise , and with thy honour all the Day . Rev. 5.13 . Blessing , Honour , Glory and Power be unto him that sits upon the Throne . Blessing God is honouring of God . It lifts him up in the Eyes of others ; it spreads his Fame and Renown in the World . In this manner the Angels , the Quiristers of Heaven , are now honouring God , they Trumpet forth his Praise . In Prayer we act like Saints , in Praise like Angels .

5. We show Honour to our Heavenly Father by suffering Dishonour , yea , Death for his sake . St. Paul did bear in his Body the Marks of the Lord Iesus , Gal. 6.17 . As they were Marks of Honour to him , so Trophies of Honour to the Gospel . The Honour which comes to God , is not by bringing that Outward Pomp and Glory to him as we do to Kings , but it comes in another way , by the Sufferings of his People . They let the World see what a good God they serve , and how they love him , and will fight under his Banner to the Death . Thus you see how you are to Honour your Heavenly Father . God is worthy of Honour . Psal. 104.1 . Thou art Cloathed with Honour and Majesty . What are all his Attributes , but Glorious Beams shining from this Sun . He deserves more Honour than Men or Angels can give him . 2 Sam. 22. I will call upon the Lord , who is worthy to be praised . God is worthy of Honour . Often times we confer Honour upon them that do not deserve it . Many Noble Persons we give Titles of Honour to , who are sordid and vicious ; they do no deserve Honour , but God is worthy of Honour . Neh. 9.5 . Blessed be thy Glorious Name , which is exalted above all Blessings and Praise . He is above all the Acclamations and Triumphs of the Arch-angels . O then let every true Child of God honour his Heavenly Father ! Tho the wicked dishonour him by their Flagitious Lives , yet let not his own Children dishonour him . Sins in you are worse than in others : A Fault in a Stranger is not so much taken notice of as a Fault in a Child . A Spot in a black Cloth is not so much observed , but a Spot in Scarlet every ones Eye is upon it . A Sin in the Wicked is not so much wondred at , it is a Spot in black : But a Sin in a Child of God , here is a Spot in Scarlet ; this is more visible , and brings an Odium and Dishonour upon the Gospel . The Sins of God's own Children go nearer to his Heart . Deut. 32.19 . When the Lord sa● it , h● abhorred them , because of the provoking of his Sons and Daughters . O forbear doing any thing may reflect Dishonour upon God . Will you disgrace your Heavenly Father ? Let not God complain of the Provocations of his Sons and Daughters ; let him not cry out as Isa. 1.2 . I have brought up Children , and they have rebelled against me . So much for the First : If our Earthly Father be to be honoured , then much more our Heavenly .

Vse II. Exhort . First Branch . Doth God Command , Honour thy Father and thy Mother ? Then let it exhort Children to put this great Duty in Practice , be living Commentaries upon this Commandment . Honour and Reverence your Parents ; not only obey their Commands , but submit to their Rebukes . You cannot honour your Father in Heaven , unless you honour your Earthly Parents . To deny Obedience to Parents entails God's Judgments upon Children . Prov. 30.17 . The Eye that mocketh at his Father , and despiseth to obey his Mother , the Ravens of the Valley shall pick it out * * The Eye is the first part Ravens pick out . , Eli's Two Disobedient Sons were slain , 1 Sam. 4.11 . God made a Law that the Rebellious Son should be stoned ; the same Death the Blasphemer had , Lev. 24.14 . Deut. 21.18 . If a Man have a stubborn and rebellious Son , which will not obey the voice of his Father or the voice of his Mother , then shall his Father and his Mother lay hold on him , and bring him out unto the Elders of the City , and all the Men of his City shall stone him with Stones that he die . A Father once complaining , Never had Father a worse Son than I have . Yes , saith the Son , my Grandfather had : A Prodigy of Impudence that can hardly be parallel'd . Manlius , when he was grown old and poor , and had a Son very rich , the old Father desired some Food of him , but the Son denied him Relief ; yea , disclaimed him from being his Father , and sent him away with reproachful Language . The poor old Father let Tears fall , ( as Witnesses of his Grief . ) But God to revenge this Disobedience , struck this unnatural Son with Madness , of which he could never be cured . Disobedient Children stand in the place where all God's Arrows fly .

Second Branch . Let Parents so carry it , as they may gain Honour from their Children .

Quest. How may Parents so carry it towards their Children , that their Children may willingly pay the Debt of Honour and Reverence to their Parents ?

Resp. 1. If you would have your Children honour you ,

1. Be careful to bring them up in the Fear and Nurture of the Lord , Ephes. 6.4 . Bring them up in the Admonition of the Lord . You conveyed the Plague of Sin to them , Ergo , Endeavour to get them healed and sanctified . Austin saith , his Mother Monica travelled more for his Spiritual Birth , than his Natural . Timothy's Mother instructed him from a Child , 2 Tim. 3.15 . She did not only give him her Breast-milk , but the sincere Milk of the Word . Season your Children with good Principles betimes , that they may with Obadiah , fear the Lord from their Youth , 1 King . 18.12 . When Parents instruct not their Children , they seldom prove Blessings . God oft punisheth the carelesness of Parents with Undutifulness in their Children . It is not enough that in Baptism your Child is Dedicated to God , but it must be Educated for God . Children are young Plants which you must be continually watering with good Instruction . Prov. 22.6 . Train up a Child in the way he should go , and he will not depart from it when he is old . The more your Children fear God , the more they will honour you .

2. If you would have your Children honour you , keep up your Parental Authority over your Children ; be kind , but do not cocker them : If you let them get too much Head , they will Contemn you instead of Honouring you . The Rod of Discipline must not be with-held . Prov. 23.14 . Thou shalt beat him with the Rod , and deliver his Soul from Hell . A Child indulg'd and humour'd in Wickedness , will be a Thorn in the Parents Eye . David cockered Adonijah , 1 Kings 1.6 . His Father had not displeased him at any time , in saying , Why hast thou done so ? And he afterward was a Grief of Heart to his Father , and was false to the Crown , ver. 7 ▪ 9. Keep up your Authority , and you keep up your Honour .

3. Provide for your Children what is fitting both in their Minority , and when they come to Maturity . 2 Cor. 12.14 . The Children ought not to lay up for the Parents , but the Parents for the Children . They are your own Flesh ; and as the Apostle saith , No Man yet ever hated his own Flesh , Eph. 5.29 . The Parents Bountifulness will cause Dutifulness in the Child . If you pour Water into a Pump , the Pump will send Water out again freely . So if Parents pour in something of their Estate to their Children , Children ( if ingenuous ) will pour out Obedience again to their Parents .

4. When your Children are grown up , put them to some Lawful Calling , wherein they may serve their Generation . And it is good to consult the Natural Genius and Inclination of a Child . Forc'd Callings do as ill sometimes as Forc'd Matches . To let a Child be out of a Calling , is to expose it to Temptation . Melancton . Otium Balneum Diaboli . A Child out of a Calling is like Fallow Ground , and what can you expect should grow up but Weeds of Disobedience .

5. Carry it Lovingly to your Children . In all your Counsels and Commands , let them read Love . Love will command Honour : And how can the Parent but love the Child who is his living Picture , nay , part of himself . The Child is the Father in the Second Edition .

6. Carry it prudently towards your Children . A great Point of Prudence is , when a Parent doth not provoke his Children to Wrath. Col. 3.21 . Fathers provoke not your Children to Anger , lest they be discouraged .

Quest. How many ways may a Parent provoke his Children to Wrath ?

Resp. 1. By giving them Opprobrious Tearms . 1 Sam. 20.30 . Thou Son of the perverse rebellious Woman , said Saul to his Son Ionathan . Some Parents use Imprecations and Curses to their Children . This is to provoke them to Wrath. Would you have God bless your Children , and do you curse ?

( 2. ) Parents provoke Children to Wrath , when they strike their Children without a Cause ; or when the Correction exceeds the Fault . This is rather to be a Tyrant than a Father . Saul cast a Javelin at his Son to smite him , 1 Sam. 20.33 . and his Son was provoked to Anger . Ver. 34. So Ionathan arose from the Table in fierce Anger . In Filium pater obtinet non tyrannicum imperium sed Basilicum . Davenant .

( 3. ) When Parents deny their Children Conveniences ; they will not let them have that which may cherish or cover Nature . Some have thus provoked their Children ; they have stinted them , and kept them so short , that they have forc'd their Children upon indirect Courses , and made them put forth their Hands to Iniquity .

( 4. ) When Parents carry it unequally towards their Children , showing more kindness to one than another ; this sometimes breeds bad Blood . Tho a Parent hath a greater Love to one Child , yet Discretion should guide Affection , that he should not show more Love to one than to another . Iacob show'd more love to Ioseph than all his Children , and what did it procure but Envy of his Brethren ? Gen. 37.3 . Now Israel loved Ioseph more than all his Children , and when his Brethren saw that , they hated him , and could not speak peaceably to him .

( 5. ) When a Parent doth any thing which is sordid and unworthy , that which casts Disgrace upon himself , and his Family ; as to cosen , or take a false Oath ; this is to provoke the Child to Wrath. As the Child should honour his Father , so the Father should not dishonour the Child .

( 6. ) When Parents lay such Commands upon their Children , as their Children cannot perform without wronging their Conscience . Saul commanded his Son Ionathan to bring David to him . 1 Sam. 20.3 . Fetch him to me , for he shall surely die . Ionathan could not do this with a good Conscience , but was provoked to Anger . Ver. 34. Ionathan rose from the Table in fierce Anger . Now the Reason why Parents should show their Prudence in not provoking their Children to Wrath , is set down , Col. 3.21 . Lest they be discouraged . This Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Discouraged , implies three things . 1. Grief . The Parents provoking the Child , the Child so takes it to Heart , that it causeth immature Death . 2. Despondency . The Parents Austerity dispirits the Child , and makes it unfit for Service : Like Members of the Body stupifyed , which are unfit for Work . 3. Contuma●y and Refractoriness . The Child being provoked by the cruel and unnatural carriage of the Parent , grows desperate , and oft studies to irritate and vex his Parent : Which tho it be evil in the Child , yet the Parent is accessary to it , as being the occasion of it .

( 7. ) If you would have Honour from your Children , pray much for them : Not only lay up a Portion for them , but lay up a Stock of Prayer for them . Monica prayed much for her Son Austin ; and it was said , It was impossible a Son of so many Prayers and Tears should perish . Pray that your Children may be preserved from the Contagion of the Times : Pray that as your Children bear your Image in their Faces , they may bear God's Image in their Hearts . Pray they may be Instruments and Vessels of Glory . This may be one Fruit of Prayer , that the Child shall honour a Praying Parent .

( 8. ) Encourage that which you see good and commendable in your Children ▪ Virtus laudata crescit . Commending that which is good in your Children , makes them more in love with Vertuous Actions ; and is like watering of Plants , which makes them grow more . Some Parents discourage the good they see in their Children , and so nip Vertue in the Bud , and help to damn their Childrens Souls . They have their Childrens Curses .

( 9. ) If you would have Honour from your Children , set them a good Example : It makes Children despise their Parents , when the Parents live in a contradiction to their own Precepts : When they bid their Children be sober , yet they themselves will be drunk : They bid their Children fear God , yet are themselves loose in their Lives . * * Plutarch . Oh! If you would have your Children honour you , teach them by an † † Validiora sunt Exempla quam verba . Holy Example . A Father is a Looking-glass which the Child oft dresseth himself by ; let the Glass be Clear and not Spotted . Parents should observe a Good Decorum in their whole Carriage , lest they give occasion to their Children to say to them as Plato's Servant , My Master hath made a Book against rash Anger , but he himself is passionate . Or as a Son once said to his Father , If I have done Evil , I have learned it of you .

Quest. Which is the Sixth Commandment ?

Resp. EXOD. XX. 13 .

Thou shalt not Kill .

In this Commandment , ( 1. ) Is a Sin forbidden , viz. Murder . Thou shalt not kill . ( 2. ) A Duty implied , To preserve our own Life , and the Life of others .

1. The Sin forbidden , Murder . Thou shalt not kill . Where two things are to be understood . ( 1. ) The not injuring another . ( 2. ) Our selves .

I. In this , Thou shalt not kill , is meant the not Injuring another . 1. We must not injure him in his Name . 2. In his Body . 3. In his Soul .

( 1. ) We must not injure another in his Name . A good Name is a precious Balsom ; it is a great Cruelty to murder a Man in his Name . We injure others in their Name . When we calumniate and slander them . 'T was David's Complaint , Psal. 35.11 . They laid to my Charge things which I knew not . The Primitive Christians were traduced for Incest and killing their Children , as Tertul. Dicimur infanticidii , incestus rei . This is to behead others in their good Name ; this is an irreparable Injury : No Physician can heal the Wounds of the Tongue .

( 2. ) We must not injure another in his Body . The Life is the most precious thing , and God hath set this Commandment as a Fence about it to preserve it , Thou shalt not kill . God made a Statute which was never to this Day repealed . Gen. 9.6 . Who so sheddeth Man's Blood , by Man shall his Blood be shed . In the Old Law had a Man killed another unawares , he might take Sanctuary ; but if he had killed him willingly , tho he did fly to the Sanctuary , the Holiness of the Place was not to defend him . Exod. 21.14 . If a Man come presumptuously upon his Neighbour to slay him with Guile , thou shalt take him from my Altar that he may die . Now in this Commandment , Thou shalt do no Murder , all those Sins are forbidden which lead to it , and are the occasions of it . As ,

1. Vnadvised Anger . Anger boyls up the Blood in the Veins , and oft produceth Murder . Gen. 49.6 . In their Anger they slew a Man .

2. Envy . Satan envy'd our first Parents the Robe of Innocence , and the Glory of Paradise , therefore never left till he had procured their Death . Ioseph's Brethren envied him , because his Father loved him , and gave him a Coat of divers Colours , therefore take Counsel to slay him , Gen. 37.20 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Envy and Murder are near a-kin , therefore the Apostle puts them together . Gal. 5.21 . Envyings , Murders . Envy is a Sin breaks both the Tables at once . It begins in Discontent against God , and ends in Injury against Man , as we see in Cain , Gen. 4.6 , 8. Envious Cain , first discontented with God , there he broke the First Table ; and then he fell out with his Brother and slew him , there he broke the Second Table . Anger is sometimes soon over , like Fire kindled in Straw , which is quickly out ; but Envy is a radicated thing , and will not quench its Thirst without Blood . Prov. 27.4 . Who is able to stand before Envy ?

3. Hatred . The Pharisees hated Christ because he excelled them in Gifts , and had more Honour among the People than they , therefore they never left till they had nailed him to the Cross , and taken away his Life . Hatred is a Vermin lives upon Blood . Ezek. 35.5 . Because thou hast had a perpetual Hatred , and hast shed the Blood of the Children of Israel . Haman hated Mordecai because he did not bow to him , and he presently sought Revenge . He got a Bloody Warrant sealed for the Destruction of the whole Race and Seed of the Jews , Esther 3.9 . Hatred is ever cruel . All these Sins are forbidden in this Commandment which lead the Van , and are oft the occasions of this Sin of Murder .

Quest. How many ways is Murder committed ?

Resp. We may be said to Murder another , Twelve ways .

( 1. ) With the Hand . As Ioab kill 〈◊〉 Abner and Amasa , 2 Sam. 20.10 . He smote him in the Fifth Rib , and shed out his Bowels .

( 2. ) Murder is committed with the Mind . Malice is Mental Murder , 1 Iohn 3.15 . Whoso hateth his Brother is a Murderer . To malign another , and wish Evil against him in the Heart , is a murdering him .

( 3. ) Murder is committed with the Tongue . By speaking to the Prejudice of another , and causing him to be put to Death . Thus the Jews kill'd the Lord of Life , when they inveighed against him , and accused him falsly to Pilate , Iohn 18.30 .

( 4. ) Murder is committed with the Pen. So David killed Vriah , in writing to Ioab to set Vriah in the Fore-front of the Battle , 2 Sam. 11.15 . Tho the Ammonites Sword cut off Vriah , yet David's Pen was the Cause of his Death . Therefore the Lord tells David by the Prophet Nathan , 2 Sam. 12.9 . Thou hast killed Vriah .

( 5. ) Murder is committed by Plotting anothers Death . Thus Iezabel , tho she did not lay Hands her self upon Naboth , yet because she contrived his Death , and caused Two false Witnesses to swear against him , and bring him within the Compass of Treason , she was a Murderer , 1 Kings 21.10 .

( 6. ) Murder is committed by instilling Poyson into Potions . Thus the Wife of Commodus the Emperor killed her Husband , by poysoning the Wine which he drank . So many kill the Children they go with , by taking such Medicines or strong Purges as prove the Death of the Child .

( 7. ) By Witchcraft and Sorcery , a thing forbidden under the Law , Deut. 18.10 . There shall not be found among you an Enchanter or a Witch , or a Consulter with Familiar Spirits .

( 8. ) By having an Intention to kill another ; as Herod would , under a Pretence of Worshipping Christ , have killed him . Mat. 2..8 , 13. So Saul , when he made David go as Captain against the Philistins , designing thereby that the Philistins should have killed him . 1 Sam. 18.17 . Saul said , Let not my Hand be upon him , but let the Hand of the Philistins be upon him . Here was intentional Murder , and it was in God's Account as bad as actual .

( 9. ) By consenting to anothers Death . So Saul to the Death of Stephen . Acts 22.20 . I also was standing by and consenting to his Death . He that gives Consent is accessary to the Murder .

( 10. ) By not hindring the Death of another when in our Power . Pilate knew Christ was innocent , I find no Fault in him ; but he did not hinder his Death ; therefore he was guilty . It was not washing his Hands in Water could wash away the Guilt of Christ's Blood .

( 11. ) By Vnmercifulness . 1. By taking away that which is necessary for the Sustentation of Life : As , to take away those Tools or Utensils whereby a Man gets his Living . Deut. 24.6 . No man shall take away the nether or the upper Milstone to pledge , for he takes a mans Life . 2. By not helping him when he is ready to perish . You may be the Death of another as well by not relieving him , as by offering him Violence . Si non paveris , occidisti . Ambrose . If thou dost not feed him that is starving , thou killest him . And then how many are guilty of the Breach of this Commandment ?

( 12. ) By not Executing the Law upon Capital Offenders . A Felon having committed Six Murders , the Judge may be said to be guilty of Five of them , Isa. 1.21 because he did not execute the Felon for his first Offence . The next thing I shall speak to , is to show the Aggravations of this Sin of Murder . As ,

1. To shed the Blood of another Causless ; as to kill another in an Humour or Frolick . A Bee will not sting unless provok'd . But many when they are not provoked will take away the Life of another . This makes the Sin of Blood more bloody . The less Provocation to a Sin , the greater the Sin .

2. To shed the Blood of another contrary to Promise . Thus after the Princes of Israel had sworn to the Gibeonites that they should live , Iosh. 9.15 . Saul slew them , 2 Sam. 21.1 . Here were two Sins twisted together , Breach of Oath and Murder .

3. To take away the Life of any Publick Person inhanceth the Murder , and makes it greater . As 1. To Kill a Judge upon the Bench , because he represents the King's Person . 2. To murder a Person , whose Office is Sacred , and comes on the King of Heaven's Ambassage : The murdering of him may be the murdering of many . Herod added this Sin above all , that he shut up Iohn Baptist in Prison , Luke 3.20 . Then much more to behead Iohn in Prison . 3. To stain ones Hands with Royal Blood . David's Heart smote him , because he did but cut off the Lap of King Saul's Garment , 1 Sam. 24.5 . How would David's Heart have smote him , if he had cut off Sauls Head ?

4. To shed the Blood of a near Relation aggravates the Murder , and dies it of a deeper Crimson . For a Son to kill his Father is horrid . Parricides are Monsters in Nature . Qui occidit patrem plurima committit peccata in uno . Cicero . He who takes away his Fathers Life , committeth many Sins in one . He is not only guilty of Murder , but of Disobedience , Ingratitude , Ostracism , and Diabolical Cruelty . Exod. 21.15 . He who striketh his Father or Mother , shall be surely put to Death . Then how many Deaths is he worthy of , that destroyes his Father or Mother . Such a Monster was Nero , who caused his Mother Agrippina to be slain .

5. To shed the Blood of any Righteous Person aggravates the Sin . First , Hereby Justice is perverted . Such a Person being innocent , is unworthy of Death . Secondly , A Saint being 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Publick Blessing ; he lies in the Breach to turn away Wrath : So that to destroy him , is to go to pull down the Pillars of a Nation . Thirdly , He is precious to God , Isa. 15.43 , 44. He is a Member of Christ's Body ; therefore what Injury is offered to him , is done to God himself , Acts 9.4 .

Caution I. Tho this Commandment forbids Private Persons , Thou shalt not kill , to shed the Blood of another , ( unless in their own Defence , ) yet such as are in Office must punish Publick Offenders ; yea , with Death , else they sin . To kill an Offender is not Murder but Justice . A Private Person sins if he draws the Sword , a Publick Person sins if he put up the Sword . A Magistrate ought not to let the Sword of Justice rust in the Scabbard . As the Magistrate should not let the Sword be too sharp by Severity , so neither should the Edge of it be blunted by too much Lenity .

Caution II. Neither doth this Commandment , Thou shalt not kill , prohibit a Iust War . When Mens Sins grow ripe , and long Plenty hath bred Surfeit . Then God saith , Sword , go through the Land , Ezek. 14.17 . God did abet the War between the Tribes of Israel and Benjamin . When the Iniquity of the Amorites was full , then God sent Israel to commence a War against them , Iudg. 11.21 .

Vse I. Lamentation , That this Land is so defiled with Blood : Numb. 35.33 . How common is this Sin in this Hectoring Age ! England's Sins are written in Letters of Blood . Some make no more of killing Men , than Sheep . Ier. 2.34 . In thy Skirts is found the Blood of the poor Innocents . Iunius reads it in Alis ; and so in Hebrew , In Thy Wings is found the Blood of Innocents . It alludes to the Birds of Prey , which stain their Wings with the Blood of other Birds . May not the Lord justly take up a Controversie with the Inhabitants of the Land , because Blood toucheth Blood , Hos. 4.2 . There is a Concatenation , a Plurality of Murders . And that which may encrease our Lamentation , is , that not only Man's Blood is shed among us , but Chrst's Blood . Such as are profane flagitious Sinners are said to Crucify the Son of God afresh , Heb. 6.6 . ( 1. ) They Swear by his Blood , and so do as it were make his Wounds bleed afresh . Acts 9.4 . ( 2. ) Crucifie Christ in his Members . Why persecutest thou me ? The Foot being trodden on , the Head cried out . ( 3. ) If it lay in their Power , were Christ alive on Earth , they would nail him again to the Cross. Thus Men Crucifie Christ afresh . And if Man's Blood doth so cry , how loud will Christ's Blood cry against Sinners ?

Vse II. Beware of having your Hands imbrued in the Blood of others .

Obj. But such a one hath wronged me by Defamation , or other ways ; and if I spill his Blood , I do but revenge my own Quarrel .

Resp. If he hath done you wrong , the Law is open ; but take heed of shedding Blood . What , because he hath wronged you , will you therefore wrong God ? Is it not a Wrong to God , to take his Work out of his Hand ? He hath said , Vengeance is mine , and I will repay , Rom. 12.19 . But you will take upon you to revenge your self : You will be both Plantiff , and Judge , and Executioner your self . This is an high Wrong done to God , and he will not hold you guiltless . Now to deterr all from having their Hands defiled with Blood , consider what a Sin Murder is .

1. A God-affronting Sin . It is a Breach of Commandment , trampling upon God's Royal Edict : It is a Wrong offered to God's Image . Gen. 9.6 . In the Image of God made he Man . It is a tearing God's Picture , and breaking in Pieces the King of Heavens Broad-Seal . Man is the Temple of God . 1 Cor. 6.19 . Know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost ? So that the Man-slayer destroys God's Temple : And will God endure to be thus confronted by proud Dust ?

2. It is a crying Sin . Clamitat in Coelum vox Sanguinis — There are three Sins in Scripture said to cry . ( 1. ) Oppression , Psal. 12.5 . ( 2. ) Sodomy , Gen. 18.21 . ( 3. ) Blood-shed . This comes so loud , that it drowns all the other Cries . Gen. 4.10 . Abel's Blood had as many Tongues as Drops to cry aloud for Vengeance . This Sin of Blood lay heavy on David's Conscience . Tho he had sinned by Adultery , yet that he cried out of most was , this Crimson Sin of Blood . Psal. 51.14 . Deliver me from Blood-guiltiness , O God . Tho the Lord visits for every Sin , yet he will in a special manner make Inquisition for Blood , Psal. 9.12 . If a Beast did kill a Man , the Beast was to be ston'd , and his Flesh must not be eaten , Exod. 21.8 . If God would have a Beast stoned that killed a Man , who had not the Use of Reason to restrain him , then much more will he be incensed against those , who go both against Reason and Conscience in spoiling the Life of a Man .

3. Murder is a Diabolical Sin : It makes a Man Primogenitum Diaboli , The Devil 's First-born : He was a Murderer from the beginning , Iohn 8.44 . By saying to our First Parents , Ye shall not die , he brought in Death to the World .

4. It is a Cursed Sin . If there be a Curse for him that smites his Neighbour secretly , Deut. 27.4 . then he is double cursed that kills him . The first Man that was born was a Murderer . Gen. 4.11 . And now art thou cursed from the Earth . He was an excommunicate Person , banish'd from the place of God's Publick Worship . God set a Mark upon bloody Cain , Gen. 24 ▪ 15. Some think it was Horror of Mind , which ( above all Sins ) doth accompany the Sin of Blood . Others think this Mark was a continual Shaking and trembling in his Flesh , which was a Mark of Infamy God set upon him . He carried a Curse along with him .

5. It is a Wrath-procuring Sin , 2 Kings 24.4 .

( 1. ) It procures Temporal Judgments . Phocas , to get the Empire , put to Death all the Sons of Mauritius the Emperor , and then slew him . But this Phocas was pursued by his Son-in-law Priscus , who cut off his Ears and Feet , and then kill'd him . Charles the 9 th , who caused the Massacre of so many Christians at Paris , Blood issued out at several parts of his Body , of which he died . Albonia kill'd a Man , and then made a Cup of his Skull to drink in : afterwards his own Wife caused him to be murdered in his Bed . Vengeance as a Blood-hound pursues the Murderer . Bloody Men shall not live out half their Days , Psal. 55.23 .

( 2. ) It brings Eternal Judgments . It binds Men over to Hell . The Papists make nothing of Massacres ; theirs is a Bloody Religion : They dispense with Men for Murder , so it be to propagate the Catholick Cause . If a Cardinal put his Red Hat upon the Head of a Murderer going to Execution , he is saved from Death . But let all impenitent Murderers read their Doom , Rev. 21.8 . Murderers shall have their part in the Lake which burns with Fire and Brimstone : This is the Second Death . We read of Fire mingled with Blood , Rev. 8.7 . Such as have their Hands full of Blood , must undergo the Wrath of God . Here is Fire mingled with Blood , and this Fire is inextinguishable , Mark 9.44 . Time will not finish it , Tears will not quench it .

EXOD. XX. 12 .

Thou shalt not Kill .

( 3. ) We must not injure anothers Soul . This is the greatest Murder of all , because there is more of God's Image in the Soul than in the Body . Ths Soul , tho it cannot be annihilated , is said to be murdered , because it misseth of Happiness , and is for ever in Torment . Now how many are Soul-murderers ?

1. Such as corrupt others by bad Example . Vivitur Exemplis — The World is led by Example ; especially the Examples of Great ones are very pernicious . — Magnates , Magnetes — We are apt to do as we see others before us , especially above us . Such as are placed in High Power are like the Pillar of Cloud , when that went Israel went . When Great Ones move in their Sphere , others will follow them , tho it be to Hell . Evil Magistrates , like the Tail of the Dragon , draw the third part of the Stars after them .

2. Such as entice others to Sin . The Harlot by curling her Hair , rolling her Eyes , laying open her Breasts , doth what in her lies , to be both a Tempter and a Murderer . Such an one was Messalina , Wife to Claudius the Emperor . Prov. 7.7 , 10. I discerned a young Man , and there met him a Woman with the Attire of an Harlot , so she caught him and kissed him . Better are the Reproofs of a Friend , than the Kisses of an Harlot .

3. Ministers are Murderers , who either starve , or poyson , or infect Souls .

( 1. ) That starve Souls . 1 Pet. 5.2 . Feed the Flock of God which is among you . These Feed themselves , and starve the Flock : Either through Non-residing they do not Preach , or through Insufficiency they cannot . There are many in the Ministry ( a shame to speak it ) so ignorant , that they had need to be taught the First Principles of the Oracles of God , Heb. 5.12 . Was not he fit to be a Preacher in Israel , ( think ye ) who being asked something concerning the Decalogue , answered , He never saw any such Book ?

( 2. ) That Poyson Souls . Such are Heterodox Ministers , who poyson People with Error . The Basilisk poysons Herbs and Flowers by breathing on them . The Breath of Heretical Ministers , like the Basilisks Breath , poysons Souls . The Socinian , that would rob Christ of his Godhead ; the Arminian , that by advancing the Power of the Will , would take off the Crown from the Head of Free-Grace ; the Antinomian , who denies the Use of the Moral Law to a Believer , as if it were antiquated and out of date ▪ these Poyson Mens Souls . Error is as damnable as Vice . 1 Pet. 2.1 . There shall he false Teachers among you , who privily shall bring in damnable Hereresies , denying the Lord , that bought them .

( 3. ) That Infect Souls , viz. By their Scandalous Lives . Exod. 19.22 . Let the Priests which come near to the Lord sanctifie themselves . Ministers who by their Places are nearer to God , should be holier than others . The Elements , the higher they are , the purer . The Air is purer than the Water ; the Fire is purer than the Air. The higher Men are by Office , the holier they should be . Iohn Baptist was a shining Lamp . But there are many who infect their People with their Bad Life : They preach one thing , and live another . Qui curios simulant & Bacchanalia vivunt . They , like Eli's Sons , are in White Linen , but they have Scarlet Sins . Some say that Prester Iohn , the Lord of Africa , causeth to be carried before him a Golden Cup full of Dirt : A fit Emblem of such Ministers as have a Golden Office , but are dirty and polluted in their Lives . They are Murderers , and the Blood of Souls will cry against them at the last Day .

4. Such as destroy others by getting them into bad Company , and so making them Proselytes to the Devil . Vitia in proximum quemque transiliunt . Sen. A Man cannot live in the Aethiopian Climate , but he will be discoloured with the Sun ; nor he cannot be in bad Company , but he will partake of their Evil. One Drunkard makes another ; as the Prophet speaks in another Sence , Ier. 35.5 . I set before them pots full of Wine and Cups , and said unto them , Drink ye Wine . So the Wicked set Pots of Wine before others , and make them drink till Reason be stupified , and Lust enflamed . These are guilty of the Breach of this Commandment , they are Murderers of Souls . How sad will it be with these , who have not only their own Sins , but the Blood of others to answer for . So much for the First thing forbidden in the Commandment , the Injuring of others .

II. The Second thing forbidden in it is , the injuring ones self . Thou shalt not kill : Thou shalt do no hurt to thy self .

( 1. ) Thou shalt not hurt thy own Body . One may be guilty of Self-murder , either 1. Indirectly and Occasionally . 2. Directly and Absolutely .

1. Indirectly and Occasionally . As ,

First , When a Man thrusts himself into Danger which he might prevent . As if a Company of Archers were shooting , and one should go and stand in the place where the Arrows fly , if the Arrow did kill him , he is accessary to his own Death . In the Law God would have the Leper shut up to keep others from being infected , Lev. 13.4 . Now if any would be so presumptuous as to go in to the Leper and get the Plague of Leprosie , he might thank himself , he occasioned his own Death .

Secondly , A Person may be in some Sence guilty of his own Death , by neglecting the Use of Means : if sick , and use no Physick . If hehath received a Wound , and will not apply Balsom , he hastens his own Death . God appointed Hezekiah to lay a Lump of Figs to the Boil , Isa. 38.21 . If he had not used the Lump of Figs , he had been the cause of his own Death .

Thirdly , By Immoderate Grief , 2 Cor. 7.10 . The Sorrow of the World worketh Death . When God takes away a dear Relation , and one is swallowed up with Sorrow . How many weep themselves into their Graves ! Queen Mary grieved so excessively for the loss of Calice , that it broke her Heart .

Fourthly , By Intemperance , Excess in Diet. Surfeiting shortens Life . Plures periere crapula quam gladio : Many dig their Grave with their Teeth . Too much Oyl choaks the Lamp : The Cup kills more than the Canon . Excessive drinking causeth untimely Death .

2. One may be guilty of Self-murder Directly and Absolutely .

( 1. ) By Envy . Envy is Tristitia de bonis alienis , a secret repining at the Welfare of another . Invidus alterius rebus macrescit opimis . An envious Man is more sorry at anothers Prosperity , than at his own Adversity . He never laughs but when another Weeps . Envy is a Self-murder , a Fretting Canker . Cyprian calls it Vulnus occultum , a Secret Wound ; it hurts a Man's self most-Envy corrodes the Heart , dries up the Blood , rots the Bones . Prov. 14.30 . Envy is the rottenness of the Bones . It is to the Body as the Moth to the Cloth , it eats it , and makes its Beauty consume . Envy drinks its own Venom . The Viper which leap'd on Paul's Hand , thought to have hurt Paul , but fell her self into the Fire , Acts 28.3 . So while the envious Man thinks to hurt another , he destroys himself .

( 2. ) By laying Violent Hands upon himself , and thus he is Felo de se ; as Saul fell upon his own Sword and kill'd himself . Because I see so many in the Bills of Mortality who make away themselves , let me a little expatiate . It is the most unnatural and barbarous kind of Murder for a Man to butcher himself , and imbrue his Hands in his own Blood . A Man's self is most near to him , therefore this Sin of Self-murder breaks both the Law of God and the Bonds of Nature . The Lord hath placed the Soul in the Body as in a Prison ; now it is a great Sin to break Prison , till God by Death open the Door . Self-murders are worse than the Brute-Creatures , they will tear and gore one another , but no Beast will go to destroy its self . Self-murder is occasion'd usually from Discontent . Discontent is joyned with a sullen Melancholy . The Bird that beats her self in the Cage , and is ready to kill her self , is the true Emblem of a discontented Spirit . And this Discontent ariseth ,

1. From Pride . A Man that is swell'd with an High Opinion of himself , thinks he deserves better than others ; and if any Cross befall him , he is discontented , and now in a suddain Passion will make away himself . Achitophel had high Thoughts of himself , his Words were esteemed Oracles ; and to have his Wise Counsel rejected , he was not able to bear it . 2 Sam. 17.23 . He put his House in order , and hanged himself .

2. Discontent is occasioned from Poverty . Poverty is a sore Temptation : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Menand . Prov. 30.29 . Give me not Poverty . Many by their Sin have brought themselves to Poverty ; and when a great Estate is boil'd away to nothing , then they are discontented , and think better to die quickly , than languish in Misery . Hereupon the Devil helps them to dispatch themselves .

3. Discontent is occasion'd from Covetousness . Avarice is a dry Drunkenness , an Horseleech that is never satisfied . The Covetous Man is like Behemoth , Iob 40.23 . Behold he drinketh up a River , and yet his Thirst is not allayed . The covetous Miser hoards up Corn ; and if he hears the Price of Corn begins to fall , then he is troubled , and there 's no Cure for his Discontent but an Halter .

4. From Horror of Mind . A Man hath sinn'd a great Sin , he hath swallowed down some Pills of Temptation the Devil hath given him ; and these Pills begin to work in his Conscience , and the Horror is so great , that he chooseth Strangling . Iudas having betray'd Innocent Blood , he was in that Agony , that he hanged himself to quiet his Conscience . As if one should , to avoid the stinging of a Gnat , endure the biting of a Serpent . This Self-murder , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , is an High Breach of this Commandment , it is an execrable Sin . I can see no ground of hope for such as make away themselves ; for they die in the very Act of Sin , and cannot have time to repent .

( 2. ) Here is forbidden hurting ones own Soul . Thou shalt not Kill . Many who are free from other Murder , yet are guilty here ; they go about to murder their own Souls ; they are wilfully set to damn themselves , and throw themselves into Hell .

Quest. Who are they that go about desperately to murder their own Souls ?

Resp. 1. Such wilfully go about to murder their Souls , who have no Sence of God , or the other World . They are past feeling , Eph. 4.19 . Tell them of God's Holiness and Justice , they are not at all affected . Zech. 7.12 . They made their Hearts like an Adamant . The Adamant , saith Pliny , is insuperable , the Hammer cannot conquer it : Sinners have Adamantine Hearts . The Altar of Stone , when the Prophet spake to it , rent asunder , 1 Kings 13.2 . But Sinners Hearts are so hardened in Sin , that nothing will work upon them , neither Ordinances nor Judgments ; they do not believe a Deity , they laugh at Hell : These go about to murder their Souls , they are throwing themselves as fast as they can into Hell .

2. Such as are set wilfully to murder their Souls , are they who are resolved upon their Lusts , let what will come of it ; the Soul may cry out , I am killing , I am murdering . Eph. 4.19 . They have given themselves over to work all Vncleanness with Greediness . Let Ministers speak to them about their Sins , let Conscience speak , let Affliction speak , yet they will have their Lusts , tho they go to Hell for them . Are not these resolved to murder their Souls ? As Agrippina , Mother to Nero , said , Occidat modò imperet , Let my Son kill me , so he may Reign . So many say in their Hearts , Let our Sins damn us , so they may but please us . Herod will have his incestuous Lust , tho it cost him his Soul . Men will for a drop of Pleasure drink a Sea of Wrath. Are not these about to massacre and damn their own Souls ?

3. They murder their Souls , who avoid all means of saving their Souls . They will go to Plays , to drunken Meetings , but will not set their Foot within God's House , or come near the Sound of the Gospel Trumpet . As if one that is Diseased should shun the Bath , for fear of being healed . These do wilfully damn their Souls , and are as great Murderers of themselves , as he , who having means of Cure offered him , chooseth Death rather than Physick .

4. They do voluntarily murder their Souls , who suck in false Prejudices against Religion ; as if Religion were too strict and severe ; they that espouse Holiness must live a melancholly Life , like Hermits and Anchorites , and drown all their Joy in Tears . This is a Slander which the Devil hath cast upon Religion : For there 's no true Joy but in believing , Rom. 15.13 . No Hony so sweet as that which drops from a Promise . Some Men have foolishly taken up a Prejudice against Religion ; they are resolved rather never to go to Heaven , than go thither through the Strait Gate . I may say of Prejudice as Paul to Elimas , Acts 13.10 . O Prejudice , thou Child of the Devil , thou Enemy of all Righteousness , how many Souls hast thou damned !

5. They are wilfully set to murder their own Souls , who will neither be good to themselves , nor suffer others to be so . Matth. 23.13 . Ye neither go into the Kingdom of Heaven your selves , neither suffer ye them that are entring , to go in . Such are those that persecute others for their Religion . Drunken Meetings shall escape Punishment : But if Men meet to serve God , then let all Severity be used . These are resolved to Shipwrack others , tho they themselves are cast away in the Storm . Oh! Take heed of this , of murdering your own Souls : No Creature but Man doth willingly kill its self . So I have done with the First , the Sin Forbidden in this Commandment , Thou shalt not kill .

EXOD. XX. 13 .

Thou shalt not Kill .

II. The Second Duty implyed , is , That we should do all the Good we can to our selves and others .

1. In reference to Others . We should endeavour to preserve the Lives and Souls of others . 2. In reference to our selves . To preserve our own Life and Soul .

[ 1. ] In reference to Others .

( 1. ) To preserve the Life of others . Comfort them in their Sorrows , relieve them in their Wants : Be as the good Samaritan , pour Wine and Oyl into their Wounds . Iob 29.16 . I was a Father to the poor . — 13. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me . This is a great means of preserving the Life of another , by relieving him when he is ready to perish . Pompey , when there was a great Dearth in Rome , provided Corn for their Relief ; and when the Mariners were backward to sail thither in a Tempest , saith he , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , It is not necessary that we should live , but it is necessary that Rome be relieved . Grace makes the Heart tender , it causeth Sympathy and Charity : As it melts the Heart in Contrition towards God , so in Compassion towards others . Psal. 112.9 . He hath dispersed , he hath given to the poor . This the Commandment implies , That we should be so far from ruining others , that we should do all we can to preserve the Lives of others . When we see the Picture of Death drawn in their Faces , administer to their Necessities . Be Temporal Saviours to them ; draw them out of the Waters of Affliction with a Silver Cord of Charity . That I may perswade you to this , let me lay before you Arguments .

First , Works of Charity evidence Grace .

1. Faith . Iam. 2.18 . I mill shew thee my Faith by my Works . Works are Faith's Letters of Credence to show . We judge of the Health of the Body by the Pulse , where the Blood stirs and operates . Christian , judge of the Health of thy Faith by the Pulse of Charity : The Word of God is the Rule of Faith , and good Works are the Witnesses of Faith .

2. Love . Love loves Mercy : It is a Noble bountiful Grace . Mary loved Christ , and how liberal was her Love ! She bestows on Christ her Tears , Kisses , costly Oyntments . Love is like a full Vessel , will have Vent ; it vents it self in Acts of Liberality .

Secondly , To communicate to the Necessities of others , is not Arbitrary , ( it 's not left to our Choice whether we will or no ) but it is a Duty incumbent . 1 Tim. 6.17 . Charge them that are Rich in this World , that they do good , — that they be rich in good Works . This is not only a Counsel , but a Charge . If God should lay a Charge upon the Inanimate Creatures , they would obey . If he should charge the Rocks , they would send forth Water : If he should charge the Clouds , they would melt into Showers : If he should charge the Stones , they would become Bread . And shall we be harder than the Stones , not to obey God , when he chargeth us to be rich in Good Works ?

Thirdly , God supplies our Wants , and shall not we supply the Wants of others ? We could not live without Mercy . God makes every Creature helpful to us . The Sun doth enrich us with it's Golden Beams : The Earth yields us its Encrease , Veins of Gold , Crops of Corn , store of Flowers . God opens the Treasury of his Mercy , he feeds us every Day out of the Alms-basket of his Providence . Thou openest thy hand , and satisfiest the desire of every living thing , Psal. 145.16 . Now , doth God supply our Wants , and shall not we minister to the Wants of others ? Shall we be only as a Spunge to suck in Mercy , and not as a Breast to milk it out to others ?

Fourthly , Herein we resemble God , to be doing Good to others . 'T is our Excellency to be like God . Godliness is God-likeness . And wherein are we more like him than in Acts of Bounty and Munificence ? Psal. 119.68 . Thou art good , and dost good . Thou art good , there is God's Essential Goodness ; and dost good , there is his Communicative Goodness . The more helpful we are to others , the more like we are to God . We cannot be like God in Omnisciency , or in working Miracles , but we may be like him in doing Works of Mercy .

Fifthly , God remembers all our Deeds of Charity , and takes them kindly at our Hands . Heb. 6.10 . God is not unrighteous to forget your labour of Love which ye have shewed towards his Name , in that ye have ministred to the Saints . The Chief Butler may forget Ioseph's Kindness , but the Lord will not forget any kindness we show to his People . Mat. 25.35 . I was an hungred and ye gave me Meat , Thirsty and ye gave me Drink . Christ takes the kindness done to his Saints as done to himself . God that hath a Bottle for your Tears , hath a Book to write down your Alms. Mal. 3.16 . A Book of Remembrance was written before him . Tamerlane had a Register to write down all the Names , and good Service of his Soldiers : So God hath a Book of Remembrance to write down all your Charitable Works , and at the Day of Judgment there shall be an open and honourable mention made of them in the Presence of the Angels .

Sixthly , Hard-heartedness to them in Misery reproacheth the Gospel . When Men's Hearts are like pieces of Rocks , or as the Scales of the Leviathan , shut up as with a close Seal , Job 41.15 . You may as well extract Oyl out of a Flint , as the Golden Oyl of Charity out of their Hearts . These Vnchristian themselves . Unmercifulness is the Sin of the Heathen , Rom. 1.31 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , without Mercy . It eclipseth the Glory of the Gospel . Doth the Gospel teach Uncharitableness ? Doth it not bid us draw out our Soul to the Hungry , Isa. 58.10 . Tit. 3.8 . These things I will that you affirm , that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good Works . While you relieve not such as are in Want , you walk Antipodes to the Gospel ; you cause it to be evil spoken of , and lay it open to the Las● and Censure of others .

Seventhly , There is nothing lost by relieving the Necessitous . The Shunamite Woman was kind to the Prophet , she welcomed him to her House , and she received Kindness from him another way . He restored her Dead Child to Life . 2 Kings 4.35 . Such as are helpful to others , shall find Mercy to help in time of need . Such as pour out the Golden Oyl of Compassion to others , God will pour out the Golden Oyl of Salvation to them . For a Cup of cold Water they shall have Rivers of Pleasure . Nay , God will make it up some way or other in this Life . Prov. 11.25 . The Liberal Soul shall be made fa● : As the Loaves in breaking multiplied , or as the Widows Oyl encreased by pouring out , 1 Kings 17.16 . An Estate may be imparted , yet not impaired .

Eighthly , To do good to others in Necessity , keeps up the Credit of Religion . Works of Mercy adorn the Gospel as the Fruit Adorns the Tree . When our Light so shines that others see our Good Works , this glorifies God , Crowns Religion , silenceth the Lips of Gain-sayers . Basil saith , Nothing rendred the True Religion more famous in the Primitive Times , and made more Proselytes to it , than the Bounty and Charity of the Christians .

Ninthly and Lastly , The Evil that doth accrue by not preserving the Lives of others , and helping them in their Necessities . God sends oft a secret Moth into their Estate . Prov. 11.24 . There is that with-holdeth more than is meet , but it tendeth to Poverty . Prov. 21.13 . Whoso stoppeth his Ears at the cry of the poor , he also shall cry himself , but shall not be heard . Jam. 2.13 . He shall have Iudgment without Mercy , that showed no Mercy . Dives denied Lazarus a Crumb of Bread , and Dives was denied a Drop of Water . Mat. 25.41 . Depart from me ye cursed , for I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat . Christ saith not , Ye took away my Meat : But , Ye gave me no Meat ; ye did not feed my Members , therefore depart from me . By all this , be ready to distribute to the Necessities of others . This is included in the Commandment , Thou shalt not kill . Not only , Thou shalt not destroy his Life , but thou shalt preserve it by giving to his Necessities .

( 2. ) It is imply'd , that we should endeavour to preserve the Souls of others ; counsel them about their Souls , set Life and Death before them , help them to Heaven . In the Law , if one met his Neighbours Ox or Ass going astray , he must bring him back , Exod. 33.4 . Much more if we see our Neighbours Soul going astray , we should use all means to bring him back to God by Repentance .

[ 2. ] In reference to our selves . The Commandment , Thou shalt not kill , requires that we should preserve our own Life and Soul . 'T is engraven upon every Creature , that we should preserve our own Natural Life . We must be so far from Self-murder , that we must do all we can to preserve our Natural Life . We must use all means of Diet , Exercise , and lawful Recreation , which is like Oyl to preserve the Lamp of Life from going out . Some have been under Temptation ; Satan hath suggested , they are such Sinners as do not deserve a bit of Bread , and so they have been ready to starve themselves . This is contrary to this Sixth Commandment , Thou shalt do no Murder ; it is imply'd , we are to use all means for the preserving our own Life , 1 Tim. 5.23 . Drink no longer Water , but use a little Wine for thy Stomach's sake . Timothy was not by drinking too much Water to over-cool his Stomach , and weaken Nature ; but he must use means for Self-preservation , Drink a little Wine , &c.

Secondly , This Commandment requires , that we should endeavour ( as to preserve our own Life , so especially ) to preserve our own Souls . Omnia si perdas animam servare memento . It is engraven upon every Creature , as with the Point of a Diamond , that it should look to its own Preservation . If the Life of the Body must be preserved , then much more the Life of the Soul . If he who doth not provide for his own House is worse than an Infidel , 1 Tim. 5.8 . then much more he who doth not provide for his own Soul . This is a main thing implied in the Commandment , a special Care for the preserving our Souls . The Soul is the Iewel , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Macar . The Soul is a Diamond set in a Ring of Clay . Christ puts the Soul in ballance with the World , and it outweighs , Matth. 16.26 . The Soul is a Glass , in which some Rays of Divine Glory shine : It hath in it some Faint Idea and Resemblance of a Deity : It is a Celestial Spark lighted by the Breath of God . The Body was made out of the Dust , but the Soul is of a more noble Extract and Original . Gen. 2.7 . God breathed into Man a living Soul .

1. The Soul is Excellent in its Nature . It is a Spiritual Being , 't is a kind of Angelical thing : 1. Excellency of the Soul . The Mind sparkles with Knowledge , the Will is crown'd with Liberty , and all the Affections are as Stars shining in their Orb. The Soul being Spiritual , ( 1. ) Is of quick Operation . How quick is the Motion of a Spark ! How swift is the Wing of a Cherubim ! So quick and agil is the Motion of the Soul ! What is quicker than a Thought ? How many Miles can the Soul travel in an Instant ! ( 2. ) The Soul being Spiritual , moves upward , it contemplates God and Glory . Psal. 73.25 . Whom have I in Heaven but thee ? The Motion of the Soul is upward ; only Sin hath put a wrong Byass upon the Soul , and made it move too much down-ward . ( 3. ) The Soul being Spiritual , is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it hath a self-moving Power , it can subsist and move when the Body is dead , as the Mariner can subsist when the Ship is broken . ( 4. ) The Soul being Spiritual , is Immortal . Scaliger . Aeternitatis Gemma , a Bud of Eternity .

2. As the Soul is excellent in its Nature , so in its Capacities : It is capable of Grace , 2. Excellency . it is fit to be an Associate and Companion of Angels . It is capable of Communion with God , of being Christ's Spouse , 2 Cor. 11.2 . That I might espouse you Virgin-Souls to Christ . It is capable of being Crown'd with Glory for ever . O then , carrying such precious Souls about you , created with the Breath of God , redeemed with the Blood of God , what Endeavours should you use for the Saving of these Souls ! Let not the Devil have your Souls . Heliogabalus fed his Lions with Pheasant . The Devil is call'd a Roaring Lion , feed him not with your Souls . Besides , the Excellency of the Soul , which may make you labour to get it saved , consider , how sad it will be not to have the Soul saved . It is such a Loss , as there is none like it : Because in losing the Soul , you lose a great many things with it . A Merchant in losing his Ship , loseth many things with it : He loseth Money , Jewels , Spices . So he that loseth his Soul , loseth Christ , the company of Angels , Heaven : It is an infinite Loss , and it is an irreparable Loss ; it can never be made up again . Two Eyes , but one Soul . Chrys. O what Care should be taken about the Immortal Soul . I would request but this of you , that you would but take as much Care for the saving your Souls , as you do for the getting an Estate : Nay , I will say this , Do but take as much Care for the saving your Souls , as the Devil doth for destroying them . O how industrious is Satan to damn Souls ! How doth he play the Serpent in his subtile laying of Snares to catch Souls ! How doth he shoot Fiery Darts ! The Devil is never idle : The Devil is a busie Bishop in his Diocess , he walks up and down seeking whom he may devour , 1 Pet. 5.8 . Now is not this a Reasonable Request , to take but as much Care for the saving of your Souls , as the Devil doth for the destroying them ?

Quest. How shall we do to get our Souls saved ?

Resp. By having them sanctified . Only the pure in Heart shall see God . Get your Souls in-laid and enamel'd with Holiness . 1 Pet. 1.16 . It is not enough that we cease to do Evil , ( which is all the Evidence some have to show , ) this is to lose Heaven by short shooting ; but we must be inwardly sanctify'd : Not only the unclean Spirit must go out , but we must be filled with the Holy Ghost , Eph. 5.18 . This Holiness must needs be , if you consider God is to dwell with you here , and you are to dwell with him hereafter .

First , God is to dwell with you here . God takes up the Soul for his own Lodgings . Eph. 3.17 . That Christ may dwell in your Heart . Therefore the Soul must be Consecrated . A King's Palace must be kept clean , especially his Presence-Chamber . The Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost , 1 Cor. 6.19 . then the Soul is the Sanctum Sanctorum , how Holy ought that to be ?

Secondly , You are to dwell with God . Heaven is an Holy Place . 1 Pet. 1.4 . An Inheritance undefiled . And how can you dwell with God till you are sanctified ? We do not put Wine into a musty Vessel : God will not put the New Wine of Glory into a sinful Heart . O then , as you love your Souls , and would have them sav'd Eternally , endeavour after Holiness ; by this means you will have an Idoneity and Fitness for the Kingdom of Heaven , and your Souls will be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus .

EXOD. XX. 14 .

Thou shalt not commit Adultery .

God is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a pure holy Spirit , and hath an infinite Antipathy against all Uncleanness . In this Commandment he hath entred his Caution against it . Non maechaberis , Thou shalt not commit Adultery . The Sum of this Commandment , is , The Preservation of Corporal Purity . We must take heed of running on the Rock of Uncleanness , and so making Shipwrack of our Chastity . In this Commandment there is something tacitly implyed , and something tacitly forbidden .

1. Something tacitly Implyed , ( viz. ) That the Ordinance of Marriage should be observed .

2. Something expresly Forbidden , ( viz. ) The infecting our selves with Bodily Pollution , Thou shalt not commit Adultery .

( 1. ) Something Implyed , That the Ordinance of Marriage should be observed . 1 Cor. 7.2 . Let every Man have his own Wife , and every Woman have her own Husband . Marriage is honourable , and the Bed undefiled , Heb. 13.4 . God did institute Marriage in Paradise ; he brought the Woman to the Man , Gen. 2.22 . He did as it were give them in Marriage . And Jesus Christ did honour Marriage with his Presence , Iohn 2.2 . The first Miracle he wrought was at a Marriage , when he turned the Water into Wine . Marriage is a Type and Resemblance of the Mystical Union between Christ and his Church , Eph. 5.32 . Concerning Marriage ,

[ 1. ] There are General Duties . 1. The General Duty of the Husband is to Rule . Eph. 5.23 . The Husband is the Head of the Wife . The Head is the Seat of Rule and Government : but he must rule with Discretion . He is Head , therefore must not rule without Reason . 2. The General Duty on the Wife's part , is , Submission . Eph. 5.22 . Wives submit your selves unto your own Husbands as unto the Lord . It is observable the Holy Ghost passeth by Sarah's Failings ; he doth not mention her Unbelief ; but he takes notice of that which was good in her , her Reverence and Obedience to her Husband . 1 Pet. 3.6 . Sarah obey'd Abraham , calling him Lord .

[ 2. ] Special Duties belonging to Marriage , are Love and Fidelity . 1. Love . Eph. 5.25 . Love is the Marriage of the Affections . There is as it were but one Heart in two Bodies : Love lines the Yoak , and makes it easie : Love perfumes the Marriage-Relation , without which it is not Conjugium , but Conjurgium ; it is like two Poysons in one Stomach , one is ever sick of the other . 2. Fidelity . In Marriage there is a mutual Promise of living together Faithfully according to God's Holy Ordinance . Among the Romans , on the Day of Marriage the Woman presented to her Husband Fire and Water : Fire refines Metal , Water cleanseth : Hereby signifying , that she would live with her Husband in Chastity and Sincerity . This is the First thing in the Commandment implied , that the Ordinance of Marriage should be purely observed .

( 2. ) The thing Forbidden in the Commandment , i. e. Infecting our selves with Bodily Pollution and Uncleanness , Thou shalt not commit Adultery . The Fountain of this Sin is Lust. Since the Fall , Holy Love is degenerated into Lust. Lust is the Fever of the Soul . There is a two-fold Adultery . 1. Mental . Matth. 5.28 . Whosoever looketh on a Woman to lust after her , hath committed Adultery already with her in his Heart . As a Man may die of an inward Bleeding , so he may be damn'd for the inward boylings of Lust , if they be not mortify'd . 2. Corporal Adultery ; when Sin hath conceiv'd and brought forth in the Act. This is expresly forbidden , under a Sub poena , Thou shalt not commit Adultery . This Commandment is set as an Hedge to keep out Uncleanness , and they that break this Hedge , a Serpent shall bite them . Iob calls Adultery an heinous Crime , Job 31.11 . Every Failing is not a Crime , and every Crime is not an heinous Crime , but Adultery is Flagitium , an Heinous Crime . The Lord calls it Villany . Jer. 29.23 . They have committed Villany in Israel , and have committed Adultery with their Neighbours Wives .

Quest. Wherein appears the Heinousness of this Sin of Adultery ?

Resp. 1. In that Adultery is the Brea●h of the Marriage-Oath . When Persons come together in a Matrimonial way , they bind themselves by Covenant each to other , in the Presence of God , to be true and faithful in the Conjugal Relation . Unchastity is a falsifying this Solemn Oath . And herein Adultery is worse than Fornication , because 't is a Breach of the Conjugal Bond.

2. The Heinousness of Adultery lies in this , that it is such an high Dishonour done to God . God saith , Thou shalt not commit Adultery . The Adulterer sets his Will above God's Law , tramples upon God's Command , affronts him to his Face ; as if a Subject should tear his Princes Proclamation . The Adulterer is highly injurious to all the Persons in the Trinity . ( 1. ) To God the Father . Sinner , God hath given thee thy Life , and thou dost waste the Lamp of thy Life , the Flower of thy Age in Lewdness . He hath bestowed on thee many Mercies , Health and Estate , and thou spendest all on Harlots . Did God give thee Wages to serve the Devil ? ( 2. ) Injurious to God the Son , two ways . First , As he hath purchased thee with his Blood . 1 Cor. 6.20 . Ye are bought with a price . Now , he who is bought , is not his own ; it is a Sin for him to go to another without consent from Christ , who hath bought him with a price . Secondly , By vertue of Baptism thou art a Christian , and professest that Christ is thy Head , and thou art a Member of Christ ; therefore what an Injury is it to Christ , to take the Members of Christ and make them the Members of an Harlot ! 1 Cor. 6.15 . ( 3. ) It is injurious to God the Holy Ghost , for the Body is his Temple . 1 Cor. 6.19 . Know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you ? And what a Sin is it to defile his Temple .

3. The Heinousness of Adultery lies in this , That it is committed with mature Deliberation . First , There is the contriving the Sin in the Mind , then Consent in the Will , and then the Sin is put forth into Act. To sin against the Light of Nature , and to sin deliberately , is like the Die to the Wooll , it gives Sin a Tincture , and dies it of a Crimson Colour .

4. That which makes Adultery so Heinous is , that it is a Sin after Remedy . God hath provided a Remedy to prevent this Sin . 1 Cor. 7.2 . To avoid Fornication let every Man have his own Wife . Therefore , after this Remedy prescribed , to be guilty of Fornication or Adultery , is inexcusable ; it is like a rich Thief , that steals when he hath no need . This doth enhance and accent the Sin , and make it heinous .

Vse I. It condemns the Church of Rome , who allow the Sin of Fornication and Adultery . They suffer not their Priests to marry , but they may have their Curtizans . The worst kind of Uncleanness , Incest with the nearest of Kin , is dispens'd with for Money . It was once said of Rome , — Vrbs est jam tota Lupanar , — " Rome was become a Common Stews . And no wonder , when the Pope could , for a Sum of Money , give them a License and Patent to commit Uncleanness ; and if the Patent were not enough , he would give them a Pardon . Many of the Papists judge Fornication Venial . God condemns the very Lusting , Mat. 5.28 . If God condemns the Thought , how dare they allow the Fact of Fornication ? You see what a Cage of Unclean Birds the Church of Rome is . They call themselves the Holy Catholick Church . But how can they be Holy , who are so steep'd and parboil'd in Fornication , Incest , Sodomy , and all manner of Uncleanness .

Vse II. It is matter of Lamentation to see this Commandment so slighted and violated among us . Adultery is the reigning Sin of the Times . Hos. 7.4 . They are all Adulterers , as an Oven heated by the Baker . The time of King Henry the 8 th was called the Golden Age , but this may be called the Vnclean Age , wherein Whore-hunting is common . Ezek. 24.13 . In your Filthiness is Lewdness . Luther tells of one who said , If he might but satisfie his Lust , and be carried from one Whore-house to another , he would desire no other Heaven . Afterwards he breathed out his Soul betwixt two notorious Strumpets . This is to be the right Seed of Adam , to love the Forbidden-Fruit , to love to drink of Stollen Waters . Ezek. 8.8 , 9. Son of Man , dig in the Wall ; and when I had digged , behold a Door ; and he said , Go in and behold the wicked Abominations that they do here . Could we , as the Prophet , dig in the Walls of many Houses , what vile Abominations should we see there ! In some Chambers we might see Fornication , dig further and see Adultery , dig further and we might see Incest , &c. And may not the Lord go from his Sanctuary ? As Ezek. 8.6 . Seest thou the great Abominations that the House of Israel committeth , that I should go far off from my Sanctuary . God might remove his Gospel , and then we might write Ichabod on the Nation , The Glory is departed . Let us mourn for what we cannot reform .

Vse III. It exhorts us to keep our selves from this Sin of Adultery . Let every Man have his own Wife , saith Paul , 1 Cor. 7.2 . Not his Concubine , not his Curtezan . Now that I may deterr you from Adultery , let me show you the great Evil of it .

First , It is a thievish Sin . Adultery is the highest sort of Theft . The Adulterer steals from his Neighbour that which is more than his Goods and Estate , he steals away his Wife from him , who is Flesh of his Flesh.

Secondly , Adultery debaseth a Person , it makes him resemble the Beasts . Therefore the Adulterer is described like an Horse neighing . Ier. 5.8 . Every one neighed after his Neighbours Wife . Nay , this is worse than bruitish ; for some Creatures that are void of Reason , yet by the Instinct of Nature observe a kind of Decorum , or Chastity . The Turtle-Dove is a chaste Creature , and keeps to it's Mate . The Stork , where-ever he flies , comes in no Nest but his own . Naturalists write , if a Stork leaving his own Mate joyneth with any other , all the rest of the Storks fall upon him , and pull his Feathers from him . Adultery is worse than Bruitish , it degrades a Person of his Honour .

Thirdly , Adultery doth pollute and befilthy a Person . The Devil is call'd an Vnclean Spirit , Luke 11.24 . The Adulterer is the Devils First-born ; he is unclean ; he is a moving Quagmire ; he is all over ulcerated with Sin : His Eyes sparkle with Lust , his Mouth fomes out Filth , his Heart burns like Mount Aetna in unclean Desires : He is so Filthy , that if he die in this Sin , all the Flames of Hell will never purge away his Uncleanness . And as for the Adulteress , who can paint her black enough ? The Scripture calls her a deep Ditch , Prov. 23.27 . She is a Common-shore . Whereas a Believer , his Body is a Living Temple , and his Soul a little Heaven , bespangled with the Graces as so many little Stars . The Body of an Harlot is a walking Dunghil , and her Soul a lesser Hell .

Fourthly , Adultery is destructive to the Body . Prov. 5.11 . And thou mourn at last , when thy Flesh and thy Body is consumed . It brings into a Consumption . Uncleanness turns the Body into an Hospital ; it wastes the Radical Moisture , rots the Skull , eats the Beauty of the Face . As the Flame wastes the Candle , so the Fire of Lust consumes the Bones . The Adulterer hastens his own Death . Prov. 7.23 . Till a Dart strike through his Liver . Plutarch . The Romans had their Funerals at the Gate of Venus Temple , to signify that Lust brings Death . Venus is Lust.

Fifthly , Adultery is a Purgatory to the Purse , as it wastes the Body so the Estate . Prov. 6.26 . By the means of a Whorish Woman a Man is brought to a piece of Bread . Whores are the Devil's Horseleeches , Spunges that will soon suck in all ones Money . The Prodigal had soon spent his Portion when once he fell among Harlots , Luke 15.30 . King Edward the Third's Concubine , when he lay a dying , got all she could from him , and pluck'd the Rings off his Fingers , and so left him . He that lives in Luxury dies in Beggery .

Sixthly , Adultery blots and eclipseth the Name . Prov. 6.33 . Whoso committeth Adultery with a Woman , a wound and dishonour shall he get , and his Reproach shall not be wiped away . Some while they get Wounds get Honour . The Soldiers Wounds are full of Honour . The Martyrs Wounds for Christ are full of Honour : These get Honour while they get Wounds : But the Adulterer gets Wounds in his Name , but no Honour . His Reproach shall not be wiped away . The Wounds of the Name no Physician can heal . The Adulterer , when he is dead , his Shame lives . When his Body rots under ground , his Name rots above ground . His base-born Children will be the Living Monuments of his Shame .

Seventhly , This Sin doth much eclipse the Light of Reason ; it steals away the Understanding , it stupifies the Heart . Hos. 4.11 . Whoredom takes away the Heart : It eats out all Heart for good . Solomon besotted himself with Women , and they enticed him to Idolatry .

Eighthly , This Sin of Adultery ushers in Temporal Iudgments . The Mosaical Law made Adultery Death , Lev. 20.10 . The Adulterer and the Adulteress shall surely be put to Death : And the usual Death was Stoning , Deut. 22.24 . The Saxons commanded the Persons taken in this Sin to be burnt . The Romans caused their Heads to be stricken off . This Sin , like a Scorpion , carries a Sting in the Tail of it . The Adultery of Paris and Helena a beautiful Strumpet , ended in the Ruin of Troy , and was the Death both of Paris and Helena . Iealousie is the rage of a Man ; and the Adulterer is oft killed in the Act of his Sin . Adultery cost Otho the Emperor and Pope Sixtus the Fourth their Lives .

Laeta venire Venus tristis abire solet .

I have read of two Citizens in London , 1583. who defiling themselves with Adultery on the Lord's Day , were immediately struck dead with a Fire from Heaven . If all that were now guilty of this Sin should be punished in this manner , it would rain Fire again , as on Sodom .

Ninthly , Adultery , ( without Repentance ) damns the Soul . 1 Cor. 6.9 . Neither Fornicators , nor Adulterers , nor Effeminate , shall enter into the Kingdom of God . The Fire of Lust brings to the Fire of Hell . Heb. 13.4 . Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge . Tho Men may neglect to judge them , yet God will judge them . — But , will not God judge all other Sinners ? Yes . Why then doth the Apostle say , Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge ? The meaning is , ( 1. ) He will judge them assuredly ; they shall not escape the Hand of Justice . ( 2. ) He will punish them severely , 2 Pet. 2.10 . The Lord knoweth how to reserve the Vnjust to the Day of Iudgment to be punish'd , but chiefly them that walk in the Lust of Vncleanness . The Harlot's Breast keeps from Abraham's Bosom . Momentaneum est quod delectat Aeternum , q. d. Cruciat . Who would for a Cup of Pleasure drink a Sea of Wrath ? Prov. 9.18 . Her Guests are in the depths of Hell . A wise Traveller when he comes to his Inn , tho many pleasant Dishes are set before him , yet he forbears to taste , because of the Reckoning which will be brought in . We are here all Travellers to Ierusalem above ; and tho many Baits of Temptation are set before us , yet we should forbear , and think of the reckoning which will be brought in at Death . With what Stomach could Dionisius eat his Dainties , when he imagined there was a naked Sword hung over his Head as he sat at Meat . While the Adulterer feeds on strange Flesh , the Sword of God's Justice hangs over his Head . Causinus speaks of a Tree that grows in Spain , that is of a sweet Smell , and pleasant to the Taste , but the Juyice of it is poysonous . The Emblem of an Harlot ; she is perfum'd with Powders , and fair to look on , but poysonous and damnable to the Soul . Prov. 7.26 . She hath cast down many wounded , yea , many strong Men have been slain by her .

Tenthly , The Adulterer doth not only wrong his own Soul , but doth what in him lies to destroy the Soul of another , and so kill two at once . And thus the Adulterer is worse than the Thief . For suppose a Thief Rob a Man , yea , take away his Life , yet that Man's Soul may be happy , he may go to Heaven , as well as if he had died in his Bed . But he who commits Adultery endangers the Soul of another , and deprives her of Salvation so far as in him lies . Now , what a fearful thing is it to be an Instrument to draw another to Hell .

Eleventhly , The Adulterer is abhorr'd of God . Prov. 22.14 . The mouth of a strange Woman is a deep Pit : he who is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein . What can be worse than to be abhorr'd of God ? God may be angry with his own Children ; but for God to Abhor a Man , it is the highest Degree of Hatred .

Quest. But how doth the Lord show his abhorring of the Adulterer ?

Answ. In giving him up to a Reprobate Mind and a Seared Conscience , Rom. 1.26 . And now he is in such a condition that he cannot repent . This is to be abhorred of God : Such a Person stands upon the Threshold of Hell , and when Death gives him a Jog he tumbles in . All which may sound a Retreat in our Ears , and call us off from the pursuit of so damnable a Sin as Uncleanness . I will conclude with two Scriptures , Prov. 5.8 . Come not nigh the Door of her House . Prov. 7.27 . Her House is the way to Hell .

Twelfthly , Adultery is a Sower of Discord : It destroyes Peace and Love , the two best Flowers which grow in a Family . Adultery sets Husband against Wife , and Wife against Husband , and so it causeth the Ioynts of the same Body to smite one against another . And this Division in a Family works Confusion : For an House divided against it self cannot stand , Luke 11.17 . Omne divisibile est corruptibile .

Quest. How may we abstain from this Sin of Adultery ?

Resp. I shall lay down some Directions , by way of Antidote , to keep you from being infected with this Sin .

( 1. ) Come not into the Company of a Whorish Woman , avoid her House as a Seaman doth a Rock . Prov. 5.8 . Come not near the Door of her House . He who would not have the Plague , must not come near Houses infected . Every Whore-house hath the Plague in it . Beware of the occasion of Sin : To venture upon the occasion of Sin , and then pray , Lead us not into Temptation , is , as if one should put his Finger in the Candle , and then pray that it may not be burnt .

( 2. ) Look to your Eyes . Much Sin comes in by the Eye . 2 Pet. 2.14 . Having Eyes full of Adultery . The Eye tempts the Fancy , and the Fancy works upon the Heart . A wanton amorous Eye may usher in Sin . Eve first saw the Tree of Knowledge , and then she took , Gen. 3.6 . First she looked , and then she loved ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . The Eye oft sets the Heart on Fire : Therefore Iob laid a Law upon his Eyes . Iob 31.1 . I made a Covenant with my Eyes , why then should I think upon a Maid ? Democritus the Philosopher pluck'd out his Eyes , because he would not be tempted with vain Objects : The Scripture doth not bid us do so , but set a Watch before our Eyes .

( 3. ) Look to your Lips . Take heed of any unseemly Word that may enkindle unclean Thoughts in your selves or others . 1 Cor. 15.33 . Evil Communications corrupt good Manners . Impure Discourse is the Bellows to blow up the Fire of Lust. Much Evil is conveyed to the Heart by the Tongue . Psal. 141.3 . Set a watch , O Lord , before my mouth .

( 4. ) Look in a special manner to your Heart . Prov. 4.23 . Keep thy Heart with all keeping . Every one hath a Tempter in his own Bosom . Matth. 15.19 . Out of the Heart come Evil Thoughts . And thinking of Sin makes way for the Act of Sin . Suppress the first Risings of Sin in your Heart . As the Serpent , when Danger is near , keeps his Head : So keep your Heart , which is the Spring from whence all lustful Motions do proceed .

( 5. ) Look to your Attire . We read of the Attire of an Harlot , Prov. 7.10 . A wanton Dress is a Provocation to Lust. Curlings and Towrings of the Hair , a Painted Face , naked Breasts , are Allurements to Vanity . Where the Bush is hung out , People will go in and taste of the Liquor . Hierom saith , Such as by their lascivious Attires endeavour to draw others to Lust , tho no Evil follow ; yet these Tempters shall be punished , because they offered Poyson to others , tho they would not drink .

( 6. ) Take heed of Evil Company . Serpunt vitia & in proximum quemque transiliunt . Sen. Sin is a Disease very catching : One Man tempts another to sin , and hardens him in Sin . There are three Cords to draw Men to Adultery : The Inclination of the Heart , the Perswasion of Evil Company , and the Embraces of the Harlot ; and this Three-fold Cord is not easily broken . Psal. 106.18 . A Fire was kindled in their Company . I may allude to it , the Fire of Lust is kindled in bad Company .

( 7. ) Beware of going to Plays . A Play-house is oft a Preface to a Whore-house . Ludi praebent semina nequitiae . We are forbid to avoid all appearance of Evil : Are not Plays the appearance of Evil ? Such Sights are there as are not fit to be beheld with chaste Eyes . Both Fathers and Councils have shown their Dislike of going to Plays . A Learned Divine observes , That many have on their Death-beds confessed with Tears , that the Pollution of their Bodies hath been occasioned by going to Plays .

( 8. ) Take heed of mix'd Dancing . Instrumenta luxuriae tripudia . From Dancing People come to Dalliance one with another , and from Dalliance to Uncleanness . There is , saith Calvin , for the most part some unchaste Behaviour in Dancing . Dances draw the Heart to Folly by wanton Gestures , by Unchaste Touches , by Lustful Looks . St. Chrysostom did inveigh against mix'd Dancing in his Time . We read , saith he , of a Marriage-Feast , and of Virgins going before with Lamps , Matth. 25.7 . but of Dancing there , we read not . Many have been insnared by Dancing ; as the Duke of Normandy , and others . Saltatio ad adulteras non ad pudicas pertinet . Ambros. Chrysostom saith , Where Dancing is , there the Devil is : I speak chiefly of mix'd Dancing . And whereas we read of Dances in Scripture , Exod. 15. those were sober and modest . They were not mix'd Dances , but Pious and Religious , being usually accompanied with singing Praises to God .

( 9. ) Take heed of Lascivious Books , and those Pictures that provoke to Lust. 1. Books . As the reading of Scripture doth stir up Love to God , so reading of bad Books doth stir up the Mind to Wickedness . I could name one who publish'd a Book to the World full of effeminate , amorous and wanton Expressions ; before he died he was much troubled for it , and did burn that Book which did make so many burn in Lust. 2. And to Lascivious Books , I may add Lascivious Pictures , which bewitch the Eye , and are the Incendiaries of Lust. They secretly convey Poyson to the Heart . Qui aspicit innocens aspectu fit nocens . Popish Pictures are not more prone to stir up to Adultery , than unclean Pictures are to stir up to Concupiscence .

( 10. ) Take heed of Excess in Diet. When Gluttony and Drunkenness lead the Van , Chambering and Wantonness bring up the Rear . Vinum fomentum libidinis ; any Wine inflames Lust : And Fulness of Bread is made the Cause of Sodom's Uncleanness , Ezek. 16.49 . The rankest Weeds grow out of the fattest Soil . Uncleanness proceeds from Excess . Ier. 5.8 . When they were fed to the full , every one neighed after his Neighbours Wife . Get the Golden Bridle of Temperance . God allows Recruits of Nature , and what may fit us the better for his Service ; but beware of Surfeit . Excess in the Creature clouds the Mind , choaks good Affections , provokes Lust ! St. Paul did 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , keep under his Body , 1 Cor. 9.27 . The Flesh pampered is apt to rebell . Corpus impinguatum recalcitrat .

( 11. ) Take heed of Idleness . When a Man is out of a Calling , now he is fit to receive any Temptation . We do not use to sow Seed in Fallow Ground : But the Devil sows most Seed of Temptation in such as lie sallow . Idleness is the Cause of Sodomy and Uncleanness , Ezek. 16.49 . When David was idle on the Top of his Leads , then he espied Bathsheba , and took her to him , 2 Sam. 11.4 . Hierom gave his Friend this Counsel , to be always well employed in God's Vineyard , that when the Devil came he might have no leisure to listen to a Temptation .

( 12. ) To avoid Fornication and Adultery , let every Man have a chaste entire Love to his own Wife . Ezekiel's Wife was the Desire of his Eyes , chap. 24.16 . When Solomon had disswaded from strange Women , he prescribes a Remedy against it : Prov. 5.18 . Rejoyce with the Wife of thy Youth . It is not the having a Wife , but the loving a Wife , makes a Man live Chastly . He who loves his Wife , whom Solomon calls his Fountain , will not go abroad to drink of muddy poysoned Waters . Pure Conjugal Love is a Gift of God , and comes from Heaven . This , like the Vestal Fire , must be cherished , that it do not go out . He who loves not his Wife , is the likelyest Person to embrace the Bosom of a Stranger .

( 13. ) Labour to get the Fear of God into your Hearts . Prov. 16.6 . By the Fear of the Lord Men depart from Evil. As the Banks keep out the Water , so the Fear of the Lord keeps out Uncleanness . Such as want the Fear of God , want the Bridle that should check them from Sin . How did Ioseph keep from his Mistresses Temptation ? The Fear of God pull'd him back . Gen. 39.9 . How should I do this great Wickedness and sin against God ? St. Bernard calls Holy Fear Ianitor Animae , The Door-keeper of the Soul . As a Noble-man's Porter stands at the Door , and keeps out Vagrants , so the Fear of God stands and keeps out all sinful Temptations from entring .

( 14. ) Get a Delight in the Word of God . Psal. 119.123 . How sweet is thy Word to my taste ! St. Chrysostom compares God's Word to a Garden . If we walk in this Garden , and suck Sweetness from the Flowers of the Promises , we shall never care to pluck the Forbidden Fruit. Sint castae deliciae meae Scripturae . Aug. The Reason why Persons seek after unchaste sinful Pleasures , is , because they have no better . Caesar riding through a City , and seeing the Women play with Dogs and Parrots , said , Sure they have no Children . So they that sport with Harlots , it is because they have no better Pleasures . He that hath once tasted Christ in a Promise , is ravish'd with Delight , and how would he scorn a Motion to sin ! Iob said , the Word was his appointed Food , Iob 23.12 . No Wonder then he made a Covenant with his Eyes .

( 15. ) If you would abstain from Adultery , use Serious Consideration . Consider ,

1. God sees thee in the Act of Sin . He sees all thy Curtain-wickedness . He is Totus Oculus , All Eye . Aug. The Clouds are no Canopy , the Night is no Curtain to hide thee from God's Eye . Thou canst not sin , but thy Judge looks on . Ier. 13.27 . I have seen thy Adulteries and thy Neighings . Jer. 29.33 . They have committed Adultery with their Neighbours Wives , even I know , and am a Witness , saith the Lord .

2. Few that are intangled in the Sin of Adultery recover out of the Snare . Prov. 2.19 . None that go to her return again . That made some of the Ancients conclude that Adultery was an unpardonable Sin . But not so : David repented , and Mary Magdalen was a Weeping Penitent . Her Amorous Eyes that had sparkled with Lust , she seeks to be revenged of them , she washed Christ's Feet with her Tears . So that some have recovered out of the Snare . But None that go to her return , that is , very few . It is rare to hear of any who are inchanted and bewitched with this Sin of Adultery , that recover out of it . Eccles. 7.26 . Her Heart is Snares and Nets , and her Hands as Bands . Her Heart is Snares , that is , she is subtile to deceive those who come to her . And , Her Hands are Bands . That is , Her Embraces are powerful to hold and intangle her Lovers . Plutarch said of the Persian Kings , They were Captives to their Concubines . They were so inflamed , that they had no Power to leave their Company . This Consideration may make all fearful of this Sin ; None that go to her return again . Soft Pleasures harden the Heart .

3. Consider what the Scripture saith , and it may ponere obicem , Lay a Bar in the way to this Sin . Mal. 3.5 . I will be a swift Witness against the Adulterers . It is good when God is a Witness for us : When he witnesseth for our Sincerity , as he did for Iob : But it is sad to have God a Witness against us . I ( saith God ) will be a Witness against the Adulterer . And who shall disprove his Witness ? And he is both Witness and Iudge . Heb. 13.4 . Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge .

4. Consider the Sad Farewell this Sin of Adultery leaves ; it leaves an Hell in the Conscience . Prov. 15.4 . The Lips of a strange Woman drop as an Honey-comb , her End is bitter as Wormwood . The Goddess Diana was so artificially drawn , that she seemed to smile upon those that came into her Temple , but frown on those that went out . So the Harlot smiles on her Lovers as they come to her , but at last comes the Frown and Sting , A Dart strikes through their Liver , Prov. 7.23 . Her End is bitter . When a Man hath been vertuous , the Labour is gone , but the Comfort remains . But when he hath been vicious and unclean , the Pleasure is gone , but the Sting remains . Delectat in momentum , cruciat in aeternum . Jerom. When the Sences have been feasted with unchaste Pleasures , the Soul is left to pay the Reckoning . Stollen Waters are sweet . But as Poyson , tho' it be sweet in the Mouth , it torments the Bowels . Sin alwas ends in a Tragedy . Memorable is that which Fincelius reports of a Priest in Flanders , who enticed a Maid to Uncleanness . She objected how vile a Sin it was . He told her , By Authority from the Pope he could commit any Sin . So at last he drew her to his wicked purpose . But when they had been together a while , in came the Devil and took away the Harlot from the Priest's side ; and notwithstanding all her crying out , carried her away . If all that are guilty of Bodily Uncleanness in this Nation , should have the Devil come and carry them away , I fear more would be carried away than would be left behind .

( 16. ) Pray against this Sin . Luther gave a Lady this Advice , That when any Lust began to rise in her Heart , she should go to Prayer . Prayer is the best Armour of Proof . Prayer quencheth the Wild-fire of Lust. If Prayer will cast out the Devil , why may it not cast out those Lusts which come from the Devil ?

Vse ult . If the Body must be kept pure from Defilement , much more the Soul of a Christian must be kept pure . This is the meaning of the Commandment , Not only that we should not stain our Bodies with Adultery , but that we should keep our Souls pure . To have a chaste Body , but an unclean Soul , is like a fair Face with bad Lungs ; or a guilt Chimney-piece , that is all Soot within . 1 Pet. 1.16 . Be ye holy , for I am holy . The Soul cannot be lovely to God , till it hath Christ's Image stamp'd upon it , which Image consists in Righteousness and true Holiness , Eph. 4.14 . The Soul must especially be kept pure , because it is the chief place of God's Residence , Eph. 3.17 : A King's Palace must be kept clean , especially his Presence-Chamber . If the Body of the Temple , the Soul , is the Holy of Holies , this must be consecrated . We must not only keep our Bodies from Carnal Pollution , but our Souls from Envy and Malice .

Quest. How shall we know our Souls are pure ?

Resp. 1. If our Souls are pure , then we fly from the appearance of evil , 1 Thess. 5.22 . We will not do that which looks like sin . When Ioseph's Mistress did court and tempt him , he left his Garment in her hand , and fled , Gen. 39.12 . 'T was suspicious to be near her . Polycarp would not be seen in Company with Marcion the Heretick , because it would not be of good Report .

2. If our Souls are pure , this Light of Purity will shine forth . Aaron had Holiness to the Lord written upon his Golden Plate . Where there is Sanctity in the Soul , there Holiness to the Lord is engraven upon our Life ; we are adorn'd with Patience , Humility , good Works , and shine as Lights in the World , Phil. 2.15 . carry Christ's Picture in our Conversations . 1 Iohn 2.6 . O let us labour for this Soul-Purity , without it there 's no seeing of God . Heb. 12.14 . What Communion hath Light with Darkness ? And that we may keep our Souls pure , ( 1. ) Have Recourse to the Blood of Christ : This is the Fountain set open for Sin and Vncleanness , Zech. 13.1 . A Soul steep'd in the Brinish Tears of Repentance , and bathed in the Blood of Christ , is made pure . ( 2. ) Pray much for Pureness of Soul . Psal. 51.10 . Create in me a clean Heart , O God . Some pray for Children , others for Riches , but pray for Soul-purity . Say , Lord , tho my Body is kept pure , yet , Lord , my Soul is defiled , I pollute all I touch . O purge me with Hyssop : Let Christ's Blood sprinkle me , let the Holy Ghost come upon me and anoynt me . O make me Evangelically pure , that I may be translated to Heaven , and placed among the Cherubims , where I shall be as holy as thou wouldst have me to be , and as happy as I can desire to be .

EXOD. XX. 15 .

Thou shalt not Steal .

As the Holiness of God sets him against Vncleanness , Thou shalt not commit Adultery , so the Justice of God sets him against Rapine and Robbery , Thou shalt not steal . The thing forbidden in the Commandment , is , medling with another Man's Propriety , Thou shalt not steal . The Civil Lawyers define Furtum , Stealth or Theft , to be , the laying Hands unjustly on that which is anothers : The invading anothers Right .

Quest. 1. Whence doth Theft arise ?

Resp. 1. The Internal Causes are , ( 1. ) Vnbelief . A Man hath an high Distrust of God's Providence . Can God prepare a Table in the Wilderness ? Psalm 78.19 . So saith the Unbeliever , Can God spread a Table for me ? No , he cannot . Therefore he is resolved he will spread a Table for himself , but it shall be of other Mens Cost , and both first and second Course shall be served in with stollen Goods . ( 2. ) Covetousness . The Greek Word for Covetousness , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies an immoderate Deisre of Getting . This is the Root of Theft . A Man covets more than his own , and this Itch of Covetousness makes him scratch what he can from another . Achan's covetous Humour made him steal the Wedge of Gold , which Wedge did cleave asunder his Soul from God , Iosh. 7.21 .

2. The External Cause of Theft , is , Satan's Sollicitation : Iudas was a Thief , Iohn 12.6 . How came he to be a Thief ? Satan entred into him , John 13.27 . The Devil is the great Master-Thief , he robbed us of our Coat of Innocency , and he perswades Men to take up his Trade : He tells Men how bravely they shall live by Thieving , and how they may catch an Estate . And as Eve listned to the Serpents Voice , so do they ; and as Birds of Prey , live upon Spoil and Rapine .

Quest. 2. How many sorts of Theft are there ?

Res. I. There is a stealing from God ; and so they are Thieves who rob any part of God's Day from him . — Remember to keep holy the Sabbath-day — Not a pa●t of the Day only , but the Whole Day must be dedicated to God . And lest any should forget this , the Lord hath prefixed a Memento , Remember . Therefore to cut God short , and after Morning Sacrifice , to spend the other part of the Sabbath in Vanity and Pleasure ; this is Spiritual Thievery , 't is to rob God of his Due ; and the very Heathens will rise up in Judgment against such Christians . For the Heathens ( as Macrobius notes ) did observe a whole Day to their False Gods .

II. There is a stealing from Others . ( 1. ) A stealing away their Souls ; and so Hereticks are Thieves : By robbing Men of the Truth , they rob them of their Souls . ( 2. ) A stealing away their Money and Goods from them . And under this Head of stealing away others Money , there may be several arraigned for Thieves .

( 1. ) The High-way Thief , who takes a Purse contrary to the Letter of this Commandment , Lev. 19.13 . Thou shalt not rob thy Neighbour . Mark 10.19 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Do not steal . This is not the Violence which takes the Kingdom of Heaven , Matth. 11.12 .

( 2. ) The House-Thief , who purloyns and filcheth out of his Masters Cash , or steals his Wares and Drugs . The Apostle saith , Some have entertained Angels into their Houses unawares , Heb. 13.2 . But many Masters have entertained Thieves into their Houses unawares . The House-Thief is an Hypocrite as well as a Thief ; he hath demure Looks , and pretends he is helping his Master , when he only helps to rob him .

( 3. ) The Thief that shrowds himseif under Law , as the unjust Attorney or Lawyer , who prevaricates and deals falsly with his Client . This is to steal from the Client . By Deceit and Prevarication the Lawyer robs the Client of his Land , and may be the means to ruine his Family . He is no better than a Thief in God's Account .

( 4. ) The Church-Thief , or Plura●st , who holds several Benifices , but seldom or never preacheth to the People : He gets the Golden Fleece , but lets his Flock starve . Ezek. 34.2 . Wo be to the Shepherds of Israel . Ver. 8. They feed themselves , and feed not my Flock . These Ministers will be indited for Thieves at God's Bar.

( 5. ) The Shop-Thief , he steals in selling , ( 1. ) Who useth False Weights and Measures , and so steals from others what is their due . Amos 5.8 . Who make the Ephah small . The Ephah was a Measure the Jews used in Selling ; they made the Ephah small , gave scant measure , which was plain stealing . Hos. 12.7 . The Ballances of Deceit are in his Hand . Men by making their Weights lighter , make their Accounts heavier . ( 2. ) He steals in selling , who puts excessive Prices on his Commodities . He takes thrice as much for a Commodity as it cost him , or as it is worth . To over-reach others in selling , is to steal Mens Money from them . Lev. 19.13 . Thou shalt not defraud thy Neighbour , neither rob him . To defraud him is to rob him . This over-reaching others in selling , ( which is a cunning way of stealing ) is both against Law and Gospel . 1. It is against the Law of God . Levit. 25.14 . If thou sell ought to thy Neighbour , ye shall not oppress one another . And , 2. Against Gospel . 1 Thess. 4.6 . Let no Man go beyond , or defraud his Brother . It is stealing .

( 6. ) The Vsurer , who takes of others even to Extortion : He seems to help another by letting him have Mony in his Necessity , but gets him into Bonds , and sucks out his very Blood and Marrow . I read of a Woman whom Satan had Bound , Luke 13.16 . And truly , he is almost in as bad a Condition whom the Usurer hath bound . The oppressing Usurer is a Robber . An Usurer once asked a Prodigal , When he would leave spending ? Saith the Prodigal , Then I will leave spending what is my own , when thou leavest off stealing from others . Zacheus was an Extortioner , and after his Conversion , he made Restitution , Luke 19.8 . He thought all he got by Extortion was Theft .

( 7. ) The Feoffee in Trust , who hath the Orphans Estate committed to him : He is deputed to be his Guardian , and manage his Estate for him ; and he curtails the Estate , and gets a Fleece out of it for himself , and wrongs the Orphan . This is a Thief . This is worse than taking a Purse , because he betrays his Trust , which is the highest piece of Treachery and Injustice .

( 8. ) The Borrower , who borrows Mony from others with an Intention never to pay them again . Psal. 37.21 . The wicked borroweth and payeth not again . What is it but Thievery to take Money and Goods from others , and not restore them again ? The Prophet Elisha bad the Widow sell her Oyl , and pay her Debts , and then live upon the rest , 2 Kings 4.7 .

( 9. ) & Vlt. The last sort of Thief is , the Receiver of stollen Goods . The Receiver , if he be not the Principal , yet he is Accessary to the Theft , and the Law makes him guilty . The Thief steals the Mony , and the Receiver holds the Sack to put it in . The Root would die if it were not watered ; and Thievery would cease , if it were not encouraged by the Receiver . I am apt to think he who doth not scruple to take Stollen Goods into his House , would as little scruple to take a Purse .

Quest. What are the Aggravations of this Sin of Stealing ?

Resp. 1. To steal when one hath no need . To be a Rich Thief .

2. To steal Sacrilegiously . To devour things set apart to holy Uses . Prov. 20.25 . It is a Snare to the Man who devoureth that which is holy . Such an one was Dionysius , who rob'd the Temple , and took away the Silver Vessels .

3. To commit the Sin of Theft against Checks of Conscience , and Examples of God's Justice ; this is like the Dye to the Wooll , it doth dye the Sin of a Crimson Colour .

4. To rob the Widow and Orphan , Exod. 22.22 . Ye shall not afflict the Widow or Fatherless : Peccatum clamans : If they cry unto me I will surely hear them .

5. To Rob the Poor . How did David disdain that the Rich Man should take away the poor Man's Lamb ! As the Lord lives he shall surely die , 2 Sam. 12.5 . What is the Enclosing of Commons , but robbing of the Poor ?

III. There is a stealing from a Man's Self . A Man may be a Thief to himself .

Quest. How so ?

Resp. 1. By Niggardliness . The Niggard is a Thief , he steals from himself , in that he doth not allow himself what is fitting . He thinks that lost which is bestowed upon himself . He robs himself of Necessaries . Eccles. 6.2 . A Man to whom God hath given Riches , yet God gives him not power to eat thereof . He gluts his Chest and starves his Belly . He is like the Ass that is loaded with Gold , but feeds upon Thistles . He robs himself of that which God allows him . This is indeed to be punish'd with Riches ; to have an Estate , and want an Heart to take the Comfort of it , this Man is a Thief to himself .

2. A Man may be a Thief to himself , and rob himself by Prodigality , viz. Wasting his Estate . The Prodigal lavisheth Gold out of tht Bag ; he is like Crates the Philosopher , who threw his Gold into the Sea . The Prodigal boils a great Estate to nothing . This is to be a Thief to himself , to spend away that Estate from himself , which might conduce to the Comfort of Life .

3. He is a Thief to himself , by Idleness , when he mispends his Time . To spend ones Hours in Pleasure ond Vanity , this is to rob himself of that precious Time which God hath given him to work out Salvation . Time is a rich Commodity , because on the well spending this present Time , an happy Eternity depends . He that spends his Time idly and vainly , is a Thief to himself ; he robs himself of his Golden Seasons , and by consequence of Salvation .

4. A Man may be a Thief to himself by Suretiship . Prov. 22.26 . Be not thou one of them that are Sureties for Debt : The Creditor comes upon the Surety for Debt , and so by paying anothers Debt he is a Thief to himself , he undoes himself . Let not any Man say , He should have been counted unkind , if he had not entred into Bonds for his Friend . Better thy Friend count thee unkind , than all Men count thee unwise . Lend another what you can spare ; nay , give him if he needs , but never be a Surety . It is no Wisdom for a Man so to help another , as to undo himself . This is to rob himself and his Family .

Vse I. It confutes the Doctrine of Community ; that all things are common , and one Man hath a Right to anothers Estate . The Scripture confutes it . Deut. 23.25 . When thou comest into the standing Corn of thy Neighbours , thou shalt not move a Sickle unto thy Neighbours Corn. Propriety must be observ'd . God hath set this Eighth Commandment as an Hedge about a Man's Estate , and this Hedge cannot be broken without Sin . If all things be common , then there is no Stealth , and so this Commandment were in vain .

Vse II. It reproves such as live upon Stealing . Instead of Living by Faith , they live by their Shifts . The Apostle exhorts , that every Man eat of his own Bread , 2 Thess. 3.12 . The Thief doth not eat of his own Bread , but of anothers . If there be any who are guilty of this Sin , let them labour to recover out of the Snare of the Devil by Repentance , and let them show their Repentance by Restitution . Non remittitur peccatum nisi restituatur ablatum . Aug. Without Restitution no Remission . Luke 19.8 . If I have taken away any thing from any Man unjustly , I restore four-fold . It may suffice to restore ill-gotten Goods by ones own Hand , or by a Proxy . Better a thousand times restore Goods unlawfully gotten , than to stuff ones Pillow with Thorns , and have Guilt trouble ones Conscience upon a Death-Bed .

Vse III. Exhort . To all to take heed of this Sin of Thieving ; it is a Sin against the Light of Nature . Some may go to excuse this Sin . Hear the Thiefs Plea : 'T is a course Wooll will take no die ; and a bad Sin indeed that hath no Excuse . I am ( saith one ) grown low in the World , and trading is bad , and I have no other way to a Livelyhood .

Resp. 1. This shows a great Distrust of God , as if he could not provide for thee without thy Sin . 2. This shows Sin is gotten to a great Heighth , that because a Man is Low in the World , therefore he will Acheronta movere , Go to the Devil for a Livelyhood . Abraham would not have it said , that the King of Sodom had made him rich , Gen. 14.23 . O let it never be said , that the Devil hath made thee rich ! 3. Thou oughtest not to undertake any Action which thou canst not pray for a Blessing upon : But if thou livest on Thieving , thou canst not pray for a Blessing upon stollen Goods . Therefore take heed of this Sin . Lucrum in arca , damnum in conscientia . Aug. Take heed of getting the World with the Loss of Heaven . To disswade all from this horrid Sin , consider ,

( 1. ) Thieves are the Caterpillars of the Earth , Enemies to Civil Society .

( 2. ) God hates them . In the Law the Cormorant was unclean , Lev. 11.17 . because a thievish devouring Creature , a Bird of Prey , by which God shew'd his Hatred of this Sin .

( 3. ) The Thief is a Terror to himself , he is always in Fear . Psal. 53.5 . There were they in great Fear : True of the Thief . Guilt breeds Fear . If he hear but the shaking of a Tree , his Heart shakes . It was said of Cataline , He was afraid of every Noise . If a Briar doth but take hold of a Thiefs Garment , he is afraid it is the Officer to apprehend him : And Fear hath Torment in it , 1 John 4.18 .

( 4. ) The Iudgments which follow this Sin . Achan the Thief was stoned to Death , Iosh. 7. and Zech. 5.2 . What seest thou ? And I said , A flying roll . Ver. 3. This is the Curse that goes over the Face of the Earth , I will bring it forth , saith the Lord , and it shall enter into the House of the Thief . Fabius a Roman Censor , condemned his own Son to die for Theft . Thieves die with Ignominy , the Ladder is their Preferment . And there 's a worse thing than Death , while they rob others of Money , they rob themselves of Salvation .

Quest. What is to be done to avoid stealing ?

Resp. 1. Live in a Calling . Eph. 4.28 . Let him that stole steal no more , but rather let him labour , working with his Hands , &c. Such as stand idle , the Devil hires them , and puts them into the pilfering Trade . An idle Person tempts the Devil to tempt him .

2. Be contented with the Estate God hath given you . Heb. 13.5 . Be content with such things as you have . Theft is the Daughter of Avarice . Study Contentment . Believe that Condition best God hath carved out to you . God can bless that little Meal in the Barrel . We shall not need these things long ; we shall carry nothing out of the World with us but our Winding Sheet . If we have but enough to bear our Charges to Heaven , it is sufficient .

EXOD. XX. 16 .

Thou shalt not bear False Witness against thy Neighbour .

The Tongue , which at first was made to be an Organ of God's Praise , is now become an Instrument of Unrighteousness . This Commandment binds the Tongue to its good Behaviour . God hath set two Fences to keep in the Tongue , the Teeth and Lips . And this Commandment is a Third Fence set about it , that it should not break forth into Evil : Thou shalt not bear False Witness against thy Neighbour . This Commandment hath a Prohibitory and a Mandatory Part. The First is set down in plain Words , the other is clearly implyed .

I. The Prohibitory Part of the Commandment , or what it forbids in general . It forbids any thing which may tend to the Disparagement or Prejudice of our Neighbour . More particularly , two things are forbidden in this Commandment . ( 1. ) Slandering . ( 2. ) False Witness .

( 1. ) Slandering our Neighbour . This is a Sin against the 9 th Commandment . The Scorpion carries his Poyson in his Tail , the Slanderer carries his Poyson in his Tongue . Slandering , is to report things of others unjustly . Psal. 35.11 . They laid things to my charge which I knew not . It is usual to bring in a Christian beheaded of his Good Name . They rais'd a Slander of Paul , that he should preach Men might do Evil that Good might come of it . Rom. 3.8 . We are slanderously reported , and some affirm that we say , Let us do Evil that Good may come . Surius of Luther . Eminency is commonly blasted by Slander . Holiness its self is no Shield for Slander . The Lambs Innocency will not preserve it from the Wolf . Christ was the most innocent upon Earth , yet was reported to be a Friend of Sinners . Iohn Baptist , a Man of an holy Austere Life , yet they said of him , He had a Devil , Matth. 11.18 . The Scripture calls Slandering , Smiting with the Tongue . Ier. 18.18 . Come and let us smite him with the Tongue . You may smite another and never touch him . Majora sunt linguae vulnera quam gladii . Aug. The Wounds of the Tongue no Physician can heal : And to pretend Friendship to a Man , yet slander him , is most odious . St. Hierom speaks thus , The Arrian Faction made a show of Kindness ; they kissed my Hands , but slandered me , and sought my Life . And as it is a Sin against this Commandment to raise a false Report of another , so it is a Sin to receive a false Report before we have examined it . Psal. 15.1 . Lord , who shall dwell in thy holy Hill ? Quis ad Coelum ? Ver. 3. He that back biteth not , nor taketh up a Reproach against his Neighbour . We must not only not raise a false Report , but not take it up . He that raiseth a Slander , carries the Devil in his Tongue ; and he that receives it , carries the Devil in his Ear.

( 2. ) The Second thing Forbidden in this Commandment , is False Witness . Here Three Sins are condemned . 1. Speaking . 2. Witnessing . 3. Swearing that which is False , contra proximum .

1. Speaking that which is false . Prov. 12.22 . Lying Lips are an Abomination to the Lord . To lie , is to speak that which one knows to be an Untruth . There is nothing more contrary to God than a Lie . The Holy Ghost is call'd the Spirit of Truth , 1 Iohn 4.5 , 6. Lying is a Sin that doth not go alone , it ushers in other Sins . Absalom told his Father a Lie , that he was going to pay his Vow at Hebron , 2 Sam. 15.7 . and this Lie was a Preface to his Treason . Where there is a Lie in the Tongue , it shows the Devil is in the Heart . Acts 5.3 . Why hath Satan filled thy Heart to lie ? Lying is such a Sin as unfits Men for Civil Society . How can you converse or bargain with him , that you cannot trust a Word he saith ? This is a Sin which highly provokes God . Ananias and Saphira were struck dead for telling a Lie , Acts 5.5 . The Furnace of Hell is heated for Liars . Rev. 22.15 . Without are Sorcerers , and whosoever loveth and maketh a Lie . Oh abhor this Sin ! Quicquid dixeris juratum putes . Hierom. When thou speakest , let thy Words be as Authentick as thy Oath . Imitate God , who is the Pattern of Truth . Pythagoras being asked , What made Men like God ? Answered , Cum vera loquuntur , When they speak Truth . It is made the Character of a Man that shall go to Heaven , Psal. 15.2 . He speaketh the Truth from his Heart .

2. That which is condemned in the Commandment , is , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Witnessing that which is false , Thou shalt not bear false witness . There is a two-fold bearing of False Witness . ( 1. ) There is a bearing False Witness for another . ( 2. ) A Bearing False Witness against another .

( 1. ) A bearing False Witness for another . When we do give our Testimony for a Person that is Criminal and Guilty , we justifie him as if he were Innocent . Isa. 5.23 . Which justifie the Wicked for Reward . He that goes to make a wicked Man just , makes himself Unjust .

( 2. ) There is a bearing False Witness against another : i. e. When we accuse another in open Court falsly . This is to imitate the Devil , who is the Accuser of the Brethren . Tho the Devil is no Adulterer , yet he is a False Witness . Solomon saith , Prov. 25.18 . A Man that beareth false Witness against his Neighbour , is a Hammer and a Sword . In his Face he is hardned like an Hammer , he cannot blush , he cares not what Lie he witnesseth to . And he is a Sword : His Tongue is a Sword to wound him he witnesseth against in his Goods or Life . Thus 1 Kings 21.13 . There came in two men , Children of Belial , and witnessed against Naboth , saying , Naboth did blaspheme God and the King : And their Witness took away his Life . The Queen of Persia being sick , the Magicians accused two Godly Virgins , that they had by Charms procured the Queens Sickness ; whereupon she caused these Virgins to be sawn asunder . A False Witness doth pervert the place of Iudicature : He corrupts the Iury ; his bearing False Witness makes them give in a false Verdict : And he corrupts the Judge , by making him pronounce a wrong Sentence , and cause the Innocent to suffer . Vengeance will find out the False Witness . Prov. 19.5 . A False Witness shall not be unpunished . Deut. 19.18 , 19. If the witness be a false witness , and hath testified falsly against his Brother , then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his Brother : i. e. If he had thought to have taken away his Life , his own Life shall go for it .

3. That which is condemned in the Commandment , is , Swearing that which is false . When Men take a False Oath , and by that take away the Life of another . Zech. 8.17 . Love no false Oath . Chap. 5.2 . What seest thou ? I said , A flying Roll. Ver. 3 , 4. This is the Curse that goeth forth , and it shall enter , inquit Dominus , into the House of him that sweareth falsly by my Name , and it shall consume his House , with the Timber and Stones of it . The Scythians made a Law , when a Man did bind two sins together , a Lie with an Oath , he was to lose his Head ; because this Sin did take away all Truth and Faith among Men. The Devil hath taken great possession of such who dare swear to a Lie . This is a manifest Breach of this Commandment .

Vse I. 1 st. Br. It reproves the Church of Rome , who will dispense with a Lie , or a False Oath , if it be to promote the Catholick Cause . They approve of an Officious Lie : They hold some Lies to be lawful ; they may as well hold some Sins to be lawful . God hath no need of our Lie . It is not lawful to tell a Lie , propter Dei gloriam , if we were sure to bring Glory to God by it , as Austin speaks .

2 d. Br. 2. It reproves those who make no Conscience of slandering others ; they come under the Breach of this Commandment . Psal. 50.20 . Thou sittest and slanderest thy own Mothers Son . Jer. 20.10 . Report , say they , and we will report . Ezra 4.15 . This City ( i. e. Hierusalem ) is a rebellious City , and hurtful to Kings and Provinces . Paul was slandered as a Mover of Sedition , and the Head of a Faction , Acts 24.5 . The same Word signifies both a Slanderer and a Devil , 1 Tim. 3.11 . Not Slanderers . In the Greek , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Not Devils . Some think it is no great matter to misreport and slander others ; Know that this is ●o Act the part of a Devil . Clipping a Man's Credit to make it weigh lighter , is worse than clipping of Coyn. The Slanderer wounds three at once : He wounds him that he slanders , and he wounds him to whom he reports the Slander , by causing uncharitable Thoughts to arise in his Mind against the Party slandered ; and he wounds his own Soul , by reporting that of another which is false . This is a Great Sin , and I would I could not say it is common . You may kill a Man as well in his Name as in his Person . Some are loth to take away their Neighbours Goods , Conscience would fly in their Face : But better take away their Corn out of their Field , their Wares out of their Shop , than take away their good Name . This is a Sin you can never make them reparation for ; a Blot in a Man's Name being like a Blot in a White Paper , which will never be got out . Surely God will visit for this Sin . If Idle Words shall be accounted for , shall not Vnjust Slanders ? The Lord will make Inquisition one day as well for Names as for Blood . Oh therefore take heed of this Sin ! It is a Breach of the Ninth Commandment . Was it a Sin under the Law to defame a Virgin , Deut. 22.19 . And is it not a greater Sin to defame a Saint , who is a Member of Christ ? The Heathens , by the Light of Nature , abhorr'd this Sin of slandering . Diogenes used to say , Of all Wild Beasts , a Slanderer is the worst . Antoninus made a Law , That if a Person could not prove the Crime he reported another to be guilty of , he should be put no Death .

3 d. Br. 3. It reproves them who are so wicked , as to bear false witness against others . These are Monsters in Nature , unfit to live in a Civil Society . Eusebius relates of one Narcissus , a Man famous for Piety , who was accused by two False Witnesses of Unchastity , and to prove their Accusation , they bound it with Oaths and Curses after this manner : One said , If I speak not true , I pray God I may perish by Fire : The other said , If I do not speak true , I wish I may be deprived of my sight . It pleased God , that the first Witness who forswore himself , his House being set on Fire , he was burnt in the Flame . The other Witness being troubled in Conscience , confessed his Perjury , and continued so long Weeping , that he wept himself blind . Iezabel , who suborned two false Witnesses against Naboth , she was thrown down out of a Window , and the Dogs licked her Blood , 2 Kings 9.33 . O tremble at this Sin ! A perjured Person is the Devils Excrement . He is cursed in his Name , and seared in his Conscience . Hell gapes for such a Wind-fall .

Vse II. 1 st Br. Exhort . To all , to take heed of the Breach of this Commandment , of lying , slandering , and bearing False Witness , and to avoid these Sins ,

1. Get the Fear of God . Why doth David say , The Fear of the Lord is clean ? Psal. 19.8 . Because it cleanseth the Heart of Malice , it cleanseth the Tongue of Slander . The fear of the Lord is clean . It is to the Soul as Lightning to the Air , which cleanseth it .

2. Get Love to your Neighbour , Lev. 19.18 . Then there would not be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . If we love a Friend , we will not speak or attest any thing to his Prejudice . Mens Minds are cankered with Envy and Hatred : Hence comes slandering and false Witness . Love is a Lovely Grace . Love thinks no Evil , 1 Cor. 13.5 . It makes the best Interpretation of anothers Words . Love is a Well-wisher , and it is rare to speak ill of him we wish well to . Love is that which cements Christians together ; it is the Healer of Division , and the Hinderer of Slander .

2 d Br. To such whose Lot it is to meet with Slanderers and false Accusers , ( 1. ) Labour to make a Sanctified use of it . When Shimei rail'd on David , David made a sanctified use of it , 2 Sam. 16.10 . The Lord hath said to him , Curse David . So if you are slandered , or falsly accus'd , make a good use of it . See if you have no sin unrepented of , for which God may suffer you to be calumniated and reproached . See if you have not at any time wronged others in their Name , and said that of them which you cannot prove , then lay your Hand on your Mouth , and confess the Lord is Righteous to let you fall under the Scourge of the Tongue . ( 2. ) If you are slandered , or falsly accused , but know your own Innocency , be not too much troubled : Let this be your rejoycing , the Witness of your Conscience . Murus aheneus esto nil conscire sibi — A good Conscience is a Wall of Brass , that will be able to stand against all False Witness . As no Flattery can heal a bad Conscience , so no Slander can hurt a good . God will clear up the Names of his People . Psal. 37.6 . He shall bring forth thy Righteousness as the Light . God , as he will wipe away Tears from the Eyes , so he will wipe off Reproach from the Name . Believers shall come forth out of all their Slanders and Reproaches as the Wings of a Dove covered with Silver , and her Feathers with yellow Gold .

3 d. Br. It should exhort such to be v●●y thankful to God , whom God hath preserved from Slander and False-Witness . Iob calls it the Scourge of the Tongue , Chap. 5.21 . As a Rod doth scourge the Back , so the Slanderers Tongue doth scourge the Name . It is a great Mercy to be kept from the Scourge of the Tongue ; a Mercy that God stops malignant Mouths from bearing False Witness . What mischief may not a lying Report , or a False Oath do ? One destroys the Name , the other the Life . It is the Lord that muzzles the Mouths of the wicked , and keeps these Dogs that snarl at us from flying upon us . Psal. 31.20 . Thou shalt keep them secretly in a Pavilion from the strife of Tongues . It is , I suppose , an Allusion to Kings , who being resolved to protect their Favourites against the Accusations of Men , take them into their Bed-Chamber , or Bosom , where none may touch them . So God hath a Pavilion , or secret hiding-place for his Favourites , where he preserves their Credit and Reputation untouch'd ; he keeps them from the Strife of Tongues . This is a Mercy we ought to acknowledge to God .

II. The Mandatory part of this Commandment imply'd , that is , that we should stand up for others , and vindicate them when they are injur'd by Lying Lips . This is the Sence of the Commandment , not only that we should not slander , or falsly accuse others , but that we should witness for them , and stand up in their Defence when we know them to be traduced . A Man may wrong another as well by Silence as Slander ; when he knows him to he wrongfully accused , yet doth not speak in his behalf . If others cast false Aspersions on any , we should wipe them off . The Apostles ( who were filled with the Wine of Spirit ) being charged with Drunkenness , Peter was their Compurgator , and openly clear'd their Innocency . Acts 2.15 . These are not drunken as ye suppose . Ionathan knowing David to be a worthy Man , and all those things Saul said of him to be Slanders , vindicated David . 1 Sam. 19.4 , 5. David hath not sinn'd against thee , but his Works to thee-ward have been very good . Wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent Blood , and slay David without a Cause . When the Primitive Christians were falsly accused for Incest , and killing their Children , Tertullian made a Famous Apology in their Vindication . This is to act the part both of a Friend and a Christian : To be an Advocate for another , when he is wronged in his good Name .

EXOD. XX. 17 .

Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House , thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife , nor his Man-servant , nor his Maid-servant , nor his Ox , nor his Ass , nor any thing that is thy Neighbours .

This Commandment forbids , ( 1. ) Covetousness in General , Thou shalt not covet . ( 2. ) In Particular , Thy Neighbours House , thy Neighbours Wife , &c.

( 1. ) It forbids Covetousness in General , Thou shalt not covet . 'T is lawful to use the World , yea , and to desire so much of it , as may , 1. Keep us from the Temptation of Poverty . Prov. 30.8 . Give me not Poverty , lest I steal , and take the Name of my God in vain ▪ 2. As may enable us to Honour God with Works of Mercy . Prov. 3.9 . Honour the Lord with thy Substance . But all the Danger is , when the World gets into the Heart . The Water is useful for the Sailing of the Ship ; all the Danger is , when the Water gets into the Ship : So the Fear is , when the World gets into the Heart . Thou shalt not covet .

Quest. What is it to covet ?

Resp. There are two Words in the Greek which set forth the Nature of Covetousness . 1. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which signifies an insatiable desire of getting the World . Covetousness is a dry Dropsie . Austin defines Covetousness , plus velle quam sat est ; To desire more than enough : To aim at a great Estate : To be like the Daughters of the Horseleech , crying , Give , give , Prov. 30.15 . Or like Behemoth , Job 40.23 . He trusteth that he can draw up Iordan into his Mouth . 2. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which signifies an inordinate Love of the World . The World is the Idol ; it is so loved , that a Man will not part with it to any good Use. This is to come under the Inditement of Covetousness . He may be said to be covetous , not only who gets the World unrighteously , but who loves the World inordinately . But for a more full Answer to the Question , What is it to covet ? I shall shew you in Six Particulars , when a Man may be said to be given to Covetousness .

1. When his Thoughts are wholly taken up about the World . As a good Man's Thoughts are still in Heaven : He is thinking of Christ's Love , and Eternal Recompences . Psal. 139.18 . When I awake I am still with thee : That is , Ainsworth . by Divine Contemplation . So a covetous Man is still with the World : His Mind is wholly taken up about it ; he can think of nothing but his Shop or Farm . The Fancy is a Mint-House , and most of the Thougts a covetous Man mints are Worldly . He is always plotting and projecting about the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the things of this Life . Like a Virgin that hath all her Thoughts running upon her Suitor .

2. A Man may be said to be given to Covetousness , when he takes more pains for the getting of Earth , than for the getting of Heaven . He will turn every Stone , break his Sleep , take many a weary Step for the World , but will take no pains for Christ or Heaven . The Gauls , who were an ancient People of France , after they had tasted the sweet Wine of the Italian Grape , they enquired after the Countrey , and never rested till they had arrived at it . So a covetous Man , having had a Relish of the World , pursues after it , and never leaves till he hath got it ; but he neglects the things of Eternity . He could be content if Salvation would drop into his Mouth , as a ripe Fig drops into the Mouth of the Eater , Nahum . 3.12 . But he is loath to put himself to too much Sweat or Trouble to obtain Christ or Salvation . He hunts for the World , he wisheth only for Heaven .

3. A Man may be said to be given to Covetousness , when all his Discourse is about the World . Iohn 3.31 . He that is of the Earth , speaketh of the Earth : As it is a sign of Godliness to be still speaking of Heaven , to have the Tongue tuned to the Language of Canaan . Eccles. 10.12 . The Words of a wise Man's Mouth are gracious . He speaks as if he had been already in Heaven . So a sign of a Man given to Covetousness , he is speaking of Secular things , his Wares and Drugs . A covetous Man's Breath , like a Dying Man's , smells strong of the Earth . As they said to Peter , Thy Speech bewrayeth thee , Matth. 26.73 . So a covetous Man's Speech bewrayeth him . He is like the Fish in the Gospel , which had a Piece of Money in the Mouth , Matth. 17.27 . Verba sunt Speculum mentis . Bern. The Words are the Looking-glass of the Heart , they show what is within . Ex abundantia cordis .

4. A Man is given to Covetousness , when he doth so set his Heart upon worldly things , that for the love of them he will part with Heavenly . For the Wedge of Gold he will part with the Pearl of Price . The Young Man in the Gospel , when Christ said , Sell all , and come and follow me ; Abiit trist is , He went away sorrowful , Matth. 19.22 . He would rather part with Christ , than with his Earthly Possessions . Cardinal Burbon said , He would for go his part in Paradise , if he might keep his Cardinalship in Paris . When it comes to a critical point , that Men must either relinquish their Estate or Christ , and they will rather part with Christ and a good Conscience , than with their Estate , it is a clear Case they are possessed with the Devil of Covetousness .

5. A Man is given to Covetousness , when he over-loads himself with worldly Business . He hath many Irons in the Fire ; he is in this Sence a Pluralist , he takes so much business upon him , that he cannot find time to serve God ; he hath scarce time to eat his Meat , but no time to Pray . When a Man doth over-charge himself with the World , and as Martha , cumber himself about many things , that he cannot have time for his Soul , sure he is under the Power of Covetousness .

6. He is given to Covetousness , whose Heart is so set upon the World , that to get it he cares not what unlawful indirect means he useth ; he will have the World per fas & nefas : He will wrong and defraud , and raise his Estate upon the Ruines of another . Hos. 12.7 , 8. The Ballances of Deceit are in his Hand , he loveth to oppress . And Ephraim said , Yet I am become rich . Pope Sylvester the Second did sell his Soul to the Devil for a Popedom .

Vse . Take heed and beware of Covetousness , Luke 12.15 . It is a direct Breach of this Tenth Commandment . Covetousness is a Moral Vice , it infects and pollutes the whole Soul . The Sin ,

( 1. ) It is a Subtile Sin , a Sin that many do not so well discern in themselves : As some have the Scurvy , yet do not know it . This Sin can dress it self in the Attire of Vertue . It is called the Cloak of Covetousness , 1 Thess. 2.5 . Covetousness is a Sin that wears a Cloak , it cloaks it self under the Name of Frugality and good Husbandry . It hath many Pleas and Excuses for it self , more than any other Sin , as , the providing for ones Family . The more subtile the Sin is , the less discernable .

(2) Covetousness is a dangerous Sin , it checks all that is good . It is an Enemy to Grace , it damps good Affections , as the Earth puts out the Fire . The Hedgehog in the Fable came to the Cony-burroughs in stormy Weather , and desir'd Harbour ; but when once he had gotten Entertainment , he set up his Prickles , and did never leave till he had thrust the poor Conies out of their Burroughs . So Covetousness by fair Pretences wins it self into the Heart , but as soon as you have let it in , it will never leave till it hath choked all good Beginnings , and thrust all Religion out of your Hearts . Covetousness hinders the Efficacy of the Word Preached . In the Parable the Thorns ( which Christ expounded to be the Cares of this Life ) choked the Good Seed , Matth. 13.7 . Many Sermons lie dead , buried in Earthly Hearts . We preach to Men to get their Hearts in Heaven ; but where Covetousness is predominant , it chains them to the Earth , and makes them like the Woman which Satan had bowed together , that she could not lift up her self , Luke 13.11 . You may as well bid an Elephant fly in the Air , as a covetous Man live by Faith . We Preach to Men to give freely to Christ's Poor ; but Covetousness makes them to be like him in the Gospel , who had a wither'd Hand , Mark 3.1 . They have a wither'd Hand , and cannot stretch it out to the Poor . It is impossible to be Earthly-minded and charitable-minded . Thus Covetousness obstructs the Efficacy of the Word , and makes it prove Abortive . Such whose Hearts are rooted in the Earth , will be so far from profiting by the Word , that they will be ready rather to deride it . Luke 16.14 . The Pharisees who were covetous derided him .

( 3. ) Covetousness is a Mother-Sin , a Radical Vice . 1 Tim. 6.10 . The Love of Money is the root of all Evil. — Quid non mortalia pectora cogit Auri sacra fames — Hor. He who hath this Spiritual Itch , a greedy desire of getting the World , hath in him the Root of all Sin . Covetousness is a Mother-sin . I shall make it appear that Covetousness is a Breach of all the Ten Commandments .

1. It breaks the First Commandment , Thou shalt have no other Gods but one . The covetous Man hath more God's than one ; Mammon is his God . He hath a God of Gold , therefore he is called an Idolater , Col. 3.5 .

2. Covetousness breaks the Second Commandment : Thou shalt not make any graven Image , thou shalt not bow down thy self to them . A covetous Man bows down , tho not to the graven Image in the Church , yet to the Graven Image in his Coyn.

3. Covetousness is a Breach of the Third Commandment , Absalom's Design was to get his Fathers Crown , there was Covetousness ; but he talks of paying his Vow to God , there he took God's Name in vain .

4. Covetousness is a Breach of the Fourth Commandment , Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy . A Covetous Man doth not keep the Sabbath Holy : He will ride to Fairs on a Sabbath . Instead of reading in the Bible , he will cast up his Accounts .

5. Covetousness is a Breach of the Fifth Commandment , Honour thy Father and thy Mother . A covetous Person will not honour his Father , if he doth not feed him with Money : Nay , he will get his Father to make over his Estate to him in his Life-time , and so the Father shall be at the Sons Command .

6. Covetousness is a Breach of the Sixth Commandment , Thou shalt not kill . Covetous Ahab kill'd Naboth to get his Vineyard , 1 Kings 21.13 . How many have swum to the Crown in Blood !

7. Covetousness is a Breach of the Seventh Commandment , Thou shalt not commit Adultery . Covetousness causeth Uncleanness . You read of the Hire of a Whore , Deut. 23.18 . An Adulteress for Money sets both Conscience and Chastity to Sale .

8. Covetousness is a Breach of the Eighth Commandment , Thou shalt not steal . Covetousness is the Root of Theft . Covetous Achan stole the Wedge of Gold . Therefore Thieves and Covetous are put together , 1 Cor. 6.10 .

9. Covetousness is a Breach of the Ninth Commandment , Thou shalt not bear false witness . What makes the Perjurer take a false Oath , but Covetousness ? He hopes for a Dividend . And ,

10. It is plainly a Breach of the Last Commandment , Thou shalt not covet . The Mammonist covets his Neighbours House and Goods , and endeavours to get them into his own Hands . Thus you see how vile a Sin Covetousness is : It is a Mother-sin , it is a plain Breach of every one of the Ten Commandments .

( 4. ) Covetousness is a Sin dishonourable to Religion . For such as say their Hopes are Above , yet their Hearts are below . For them who profess to be above the Stars , to lick the Dust of the Serpent : To be born of God , yet buried in the Earth : How dishonourable is this to Religion ! The Lapwing wears a little Coronet on its Head , yet feeds on Dung. An Emblem of such as profess to be Crown'd Kings and Priests unto God , yet feed immoderately on these Terrene Dunghil Comforts . Ier. 45.5 . And seekest thou great things for thy self , seek them not . What thou Baruk , who art enobled by thy New Birth , and art illustrious by thy Office , a Levite , dost thou seek earthly things ? And seek them now ? When the Ship is sinking , art thou trimming thy Cabin ? O do not so degrade thy self , nor blot thy Scutcheon ! Seekest thou great things ? Seek them not . The higher Grace is , the less earthly should Christians be : The Higher the Sun is , the shorter always is the Shadow .

1. Covetousness exposeth us to God's Abhorrency . Psal. 10.3 . The Covetous whom the Lord abhorreth . A King abhors to see his Statue abused . God abhors to see a Man made in his Image should have the Heart of a Beast given to him . Who would live in such a Sin as makes him abhorr'd of God ? Whom God abhors he curseth , and God's Curse blasts where-ever it comes .

2. Covetousness precipitates Men to Ruine : It shuts them out of Heaven . Eph. 5.5 . This ye know , that no covetous Man , who is an Idolater , hath any Inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God . What should a covetous Man do in Heaven ? God can no more converse with them , than a King can converse with a Swine . 1 Tim. 6.9 . They that will be rich fall into a Snare , and many hurtful Lusts , which drown Men in Perdition . A covetous Man is like a Bee that gets into a Barrel of Honey , and there drowns it self . He is like a Ferry-man that takes in so many Passengers to encrease his Fare , that he sinks his Boat . So a covetous Man takes in more Gold to the encreasing of his Estate , that he damns himself in Perdition . I have read of some Inhabitants near Athens , who lived in a very dry barren Island , and they took much pains to draw a River to this Island to water it , and make it fruitful ; but when they had opened the Passages , and brought the River to it , the Water brake in with such a Force , that it drowned the Land , and all the People in it . An Emblem of a Covetous Man ; he labours to draw Riches to him , and at last they come in in such abundance , that they drown him in Hell and Perdition . How many , to build up an Estate , pull down their Souls . Oh therefore fly from Covetousness . I shall next prescribe some Remedies against Covetousness .

EXOD. XX. 17 .

Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's House , thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife , &c.

I am in the next place to resolve a Question , How we may do to cure this Itch of Covetousness ?

Resp. For Answer to this , I shall prescribe some Remedies and Antidotes against this Sin .

1. Faith . 1 Iohn 5.4 . This is the Victory over the World , even your Faith . The Root of Covetousness is , the Distrust of God's Providence . Faith believes God will provide . God who feeds the Birds will feed his Children . He who cloaths the Lillies , will cloath his Lambs : And so Faith overcomes the World . Faith is the Cure of Care . Faith not only purifies the Heart , but satisfies the Heart . Faith makes God our Portion , and so in him we have enough . Psal. 16.5 . The Lord is the Portion of mine Inheritance , the Lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea , I have a goodly Heritage . Faith by a Divine Chymistry extracts its chief Comforts out of God . A little with God is sweet . Thus Faith is a Remedy against Covetousness . Faith overcomes not only the Fear of the World , but the Love of the World .

2. The Second Remedy is , Judicious Consideration .

( 1. ) What poor things these things below are , that we should covet them . 1. They are below the worth of the Soul , which carries in it an Idea and Resemblance of God . The World is but the Workmanship of God , the Soul is the Image of God . 2. You covet that which will not satisfie you . Eccles. 5.10 . He that loveth Silver shall not be satisfied with Silver . Solomon had put all the Creatures in a Limbeck , and stilled out the Quintessence , and behold , All was Vanity , Eccles. 2.11 . Covetousness is a dry Dropsie ; the more a Man hath , the more he thirsts . Quo plus sunt potae , plus sitiuntur aquae . 3. Worldly things cannot remove Trouble of mind . King Saul being perplexed in Conscience , all his Crown-Jewels could not administer Comfort to him , 1 Sam. 28.15 . The things of the World will no more ease a troubled Spirit , than a Gold Cap will cure the Head-ach . 4. The things of the World , if you had more of them , cannot continue with you . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Isocr . The Creature hath a little Honey in its Mouth , but it hath Wings to fly away . Glass Mettal . These things either go from us , or we from them . What poor things are these to covet ?

( 2. ) Second Consideration . The Frame and Contexture of the Body . God hath made the Face to look upwards towards Heaven . Os Homini sublime dedit , coelumque tueri Iussit — Ovid. Anatomists observe , that whereas other Creatures have but Four Muscles to their Eyes , Man hath a Fifth Muscle , by which he is able to look up to Heaven . And as for the Heart , it is made like a Glass Viol , narrow and contracted downwards , but wide and broad upwards . And as the Frame and Contexture of the Body teacheth us to look to things Above , so especially the Soul is planted in the Body , as a Divine Sparkle to ascend upwards . Can it be imagined that God gave us intellectual Immortal Souls , to covet only Earthly things ? What wise Man would fish for Gudgeons with Golden Hooks ? Did God give us Glorious Souls , only to fish for the World ? Sure our Souls are made for an higher End ; to aspire after the enjoyment of God in Glory .

( 3. ) Third Consideration . The Examples of those who have been Contemners and Despisers of the World . The Primitive Christians , as Clemens Alexandrinus observes , were sequestred from the World , and where wholly taken up in Converse with God ; they lived in the World above the World . Like the Birds of Paradise , Ambrose . who soar above in the Air , and seldom or never touch with their Feet upon Earth . Luther saith , That he was never tempted to this Sin of Covetousness . The Saints of old , tho they did live in the World , they did trade in Heaven . Phil. 3.20 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Our Conversation is in Heaven . The Greek Word signifies , our Commerce , or Traffick , or Burghership is in Heaven . Enoch walked with God , Gen. 5.24 . His Affections were sublimated , he did take a turn in Heaven every Day . The Righteous are compared to a Palm-Tree , Psal. 92.12 . Philo observes , That whereas all other Trees have their Sap in their Root , the Sap of the Palm-tree is towards the Top. The Emblem of the Saints , whose Hearts are above in Heaven , where their Treasure is .

3. The Third Remedy . Covet Spiritual things more , and you will Covet earthly things less . Covet Grace . Grace is the best Blessing ; it is the Seed of God , 1 Iohn 3.9 . The Angels Glory : covet Heaven . Heaven is the Region of Happiness , 't is the most pleasant Climate . Did we covet Heaven more , we should covet Earth less . They that stand on the top of the Alps , the great Cities of Campania seem but as small Villages in their Eye . If we could have our Hearts more fixed upon the Ierusalem above , how would all Worldly things disappear , and be as nothing in our Eye . We read of an Angel coming down from Heaven , who did tread with his right Foot on the Sea , and with his left Foot on the Earth , Rev. 10.2 . Had we but once been in Heaven , and viewed the Superlative Glory of it , how might we in an holy Scorn trample with one Foot upon the Earth , and with the other Foot upon the Sea . Oh covet after Heavenly things . There is the Tree of Life , the Mountains of Spices , the Rivers of Pleasure , the Honey-comb of God's Love dropping , the Delights of Angels , the Flower of Joy fully ripe and blown . There is the pure Air to breath in ; no Fogs nor Vapors of Sin arise to infect that Air , but the Sun of Righteousness enlightens that Horizon continually with its glorious Beams . O let your Thoughts and Delights be always taken up about the City of Pearl , the Paradise of God . Did we covet Heavenly things more , we should covet earthly things less . It is reported after Lazarus was raised from the Grave , he was never seen to smile or be delighted with the World after . Were our Hearts rais'd by the Power of the Holy Ghost up to Heaven , we should not be much taken with Earthly things .

4. The Fourth Remedy . Pray for an Heavenly Mind . Lord , let the Loadstone of thy Spirit draw my Heart upward . Lord , dig the Earth out of my Heart ; teach me how to possess the World , and not love it ; how to hold it in my hand , and not let it get into my Heart . So much for the Commandment in General , Thou shalt not cover .

( 2. ) I shall speak of it more Particularly : Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House , thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife , &c. Observe here the Holiness and Perfection of God's Law . It forbids the Motus primo primi , the First Motions and Risings of Sin in the Heart , Thou shalt not covet . The Laws of Men take hold of the Actions , but the Law of God goes further , it forbids not only the Actions , but the Affections . Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House . It is not said , Thou shalt not take away his House : But , Thou shalt not covet it . These Lustings and Desires after the Forbidden Fruit are sinful . Rom. 7.7 . The Law hath said , Thou shalt not covet . Tho the Tree bears no bad Fruit , it may be faulty at the Root . Tho a Man doth not commit Gross Sin , yet who can say his Heart is pure ? There may be a Faultiness at the Root , there may be sinful Covetings and Lustings in the Soul .

Vse . Let us be humbled for the Sin of our Nature , the Risings of Evil Thoughts , coveting that which we ought not . Our Nature is a Seed-Plot of Iniquity ; it is like Charcoal , that is ever sparkling . The Sparkles of Pride , Envy , Covetousness , arise in the Mind . How should this humble us ! If there be not sinful Actings , there are sinful Covetings . Let us pray for mortifying Grace , which may be like the Water of Jealousie , to make the Thigh of Sin to rot . But to come to the Words more nearly , Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House , nor thy Neighbours Wife , &c.

Quest. Why is the House put before the Wife ? In Deuteronomy the Wife is put first , Deut. 5.21 . Neither shalt thou desire thy Neighbours Wife , neither shalt thou covet thy Neighbours House . Here the House is put first .

Resp. In Deuteronomy the Wife is set down first in respect of her Value . She ( if a good Wife ) is of far greater Value and Estimate than the House . Prov. 31.10 . Her Price is far above Rubies . She is the Furniture of the House , and this Furniture is more worth than the House . When Alexander had overcome King Darius in Battel , Darius seemed not to be much dismayed . But when he heard his Wife was taken Prisoner , now his Eyes like Spouts did gush forth Water , as valuing his Wife dearer than his Life . But yet in this place in Exodus , the House is put before the Wife : The Reason is , Because the House is first in Order . The House is erected before the Wife can live in it . The Nest is built before the Bird is in it . The Wife is first esteemed , but the House must be first provided .

1. Then , Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House . How depraved is Man since the Fall ! Man knows not how to keep within Bounds , but is coveting more than his own . Ahab one would think had enough ; he was King , and one would suppose his Crown-Revenues should have contented him ; but still he was coveting more ; Naboth's Vineyard was in his Eye , and stood near the Smoak of his Chimney , and he could not be quiet till he had it in Possession . Were there not so much Coveting , there would not be so much Bribing . One Man pulls away anothers House from him . It is only the Prisoner lives in such a Tenement as he may be sure none will go about to take from him .

2. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife . This Commandment is a Bridle to check the Inordinacy of Brutish Lusts. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife . It was the Devil that sowed another Man's Ground , Matth. 13.25 . But how is the Hedge of this Commandment trodden down in our Times ! There be many who do more than covet their Neighbours Wives , they take them . Deut. 27.20 . Cursed be he that lies with his Fathers Wife , and all the People shall say Amen . If it were to be proclaimed , Cursed be he that lies with his Neighbours Wife , and all that were guilty should say Amen , how many would curse themselves !

3. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Man-servant , nor his Maid-servant . Servants , when Faithful , are a Treasure . What a true and trusty Servant had Abraham , he was his Right-hand ! How prudent and faithful was he in the matter he was entrusted with , in getting a Wife for his Masters Son ! Gen. 24.9 . And surely , it would have gone near to Abraham to have had any one enticed away his Servant from him . But this Sin of coveting Servants is common . If one hath a better Servant , others will be inveigling and laying Baits for him , and endeavour to draw him away from his Master . This is a Sin against the Tenth Commandment . To steal away anothers Servant by Enticement , is no better than Thievery .

4. Nor his Ox , nor his Ass , nor any thing that is thy Neighbours . Were there not coveting of Ox and Ass , there would not be so much stealing . First Men break the Tenth Commondment by coveting , and then they break the Eighth Commandment by stealing . It was an excellent Appeal that Samuel made to the People , 1 Sam. 12.3 . Witness against me before the Lord , whose Ox have I taken , or whose Ass , or whom have I defrauded . And it was a brave Speech of St. Paul , Acts 20.33 . I have coveted no Man's Gold , or Silver , or Apparel .

Quest. But what means may we use to keep us from coveting that which is our Neighbours ?

Ans. The best Remedy is Contentation . If we are content with our own , we shall not covet that which is anothers . St. Paul could say , I have coveted no Man's Gold or Silver . Whence was this ? It was from Contentment . Phil. 4.11 . I have learned in whatever state I am , therewith to be content . Content saith , as Iacob , Gen. 33.11 . I have enough : I have a Promise of Heaven , and have sufficient to bear my Charges thither , I have enough . And he who hath enough will not covet that which is anothers . Be content : And the best way to be contented is , ( 1. ) Believe that Condition best which God carves out to you by his Providence . If God had seen it fit for us to have more , we should have had it ; but his Wisdom sees this best for us . Perhaps we could not manage a great Estate , it is hard to carry a full Cup without spilling , and a full Estate without sinning . Great Estates may he Snares ; a Boat may be overturned by having too great a Sail. The believing that Estate best God carves us , makes us content ; and being contented , we will not covet that which is anothers . ( 2. ) The way to be content with such things as we have , and not to covet anothers , is to consider the less Estate we have , the less Account we shall have to give at the last Day . Every Person is a Steward , and must be accountable to God . They who have great Estates , have the greater Reckoning . God will say , What good have you done with your Estates ? Have you honoured me with your Substance ? Where are the poor you have fed and cloathed ? If you cannot give a good Account , it will be sad . This may make us contented with a less Portion : To consider , the less Estate , the less Account we have to give : The less Riches , the less Reckoning . This is the way to have Contentment , and no better Antidote against coveting that which is anothers , than being content with that which is our own .

So much for the Commandments .

Quest. Is any Man able perfectly to keep the Commandments of God ?

Answ. No meer Man since the Fall is able in this Life perfectly to keep the Commandments of God , but doth daily break them in Thought , Word and Deed ?

Iames 3.2 . In many things we offend all . Man in his Primitive State of Innocency was endued with Ability to keep the whole Moral Law . Adam had rectitude of Mind , Sanctity of Will , Perfection of Power . Adam had the Copy of God's Law written in his Heart ; no sooner did God command , but he did obey . As the Key is suited to all the Wards in the Lock , and can open them ; so Adam had a Power suited to all God's Commands , and could obey them . Adam's Obedience did exactly run parallel with the Moral Law , as a well-made Dial goes exactly with the Sun . Man in Innocency was like a well-tuned Organ , he did sweetly tune to the Will of God . He was adorned with Holiness as the Angels , but not confirmed in Holiness as the Angels . Adam was Holy but Mutable ; he fell from his Purity , and we with him . Sin cut the Lock of Original Righteousness where our Strength lay . Sin hath brought such a Languor and Faintness into our Souls , and hath so weakned us , that we shall never recover our full Strength till we put on Immortality . The thing I am now to demonstrate is , That we cannot yield perfect Obedience to the Moral Law . — In many things we offend all .

1. The Case of an Vnregenerate Man is such , that he cannot perfectly obey all God's Commands . He may as well touch the Stars , or span the Ocean , as yield exact Obedience to the Law . A Person unregenerate cannot act Spiritually , he cannot pray in the Holy Ghost , he cannot live by Faith , he cannot do Duty out of love to Duty ; and if he cannot do Duty Spiritually , then much less Perfectly . Now that a Natural Man cannot yield perfect Obedience to the Moral Law , is evident : ( 1. ) Because he is Spiritually dead , Eph. 2.1 . And being so , how can he keep the Commandments of God perfectly ? A dead Man is not fit for Action . A Sinner hath the Symptoms of Death upon him . 1. He hath no Sense ; a Dead Man hath no Sense : He hath no Sense of the Evil of Sin , of God's Holiness and Veracity ; therefore he is said to be without feeling , Eph. 4.19 . 2. He hath no Strength , Rom. 5.6 . What Strength hath a dead Man ? A Natural Man hath no Strength to deny himself , to resist Temptation ; he is dead : And can a dead Man fulfill the Moral Law ? ( 2. ) A natural Man cannot perfectly keep all God's Commandments , because he is so interlarded with Sin . He is born in Sin , Psal. 51.5 . Iob 15.16 . — He drinks Iniquity as Water . All the Imagination of his Thoughts are evil , and only evil , Gen. 6.5 . Now the least Evil Thought is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Breach of the Royal Law : And if there be Defection , there cannot be Perfection . And as a natural Man hath no Power to keep the Moral Law , so he hath no Will . He is not only Dead , but worse than dead . A dead Man doth no Hurt , but there is a Life of Resistance against God goes along with the Death of sin ? A Natural Man not only cannot keep the Law through Weakness , but he breaks it through Wilfulness . Ier. 44.17 . We will do whatsoever goeth out of our Mouth , to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven .

2. As the Unregenerate cannot keep the Moral Law perfectly , so neither the Regenerate . Eccles. 7.20 . There is not a just Man upon the Earth that doth good and sinneth not : Nay , that sins not in doing good . There 's that in the best Actions of a Righteous Man that is damnable , if God should weigh him in the Ballance of Justice . Alas ! How are his Duties Fly-blown . He cannot pray without wandring , nor believe without doubting . Rom. 7.18 . To me to will is present , but how to perform I find not . In the Greek it is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , How to do it thoroughly I find not . Paul , tho a Saint of the first Magnitude , was better at willing , than at performing . Mary asked where they had laid Christ : She had a mind to have carried him away , but she wanted Strength : So the Regenerate have a Will to obey God's Law perfectly , but they want Strength : Their Obedience is weak and sickly : The Mark they are to shoot at is perfection of Holiness ; tho they take a right Aim , yet do what they can they shoot short . Rom. 7.19 . The Good which I would I do not . A Christian , while he is serving God , is hindred . Like a Ferry-man that plies the Oar , and rows hard , but a Gust of Wind carries him back again . So saith Paul , The Good I would I do not ; I am driven back by a Temptation . Now if there be any Failure in our Obedience , we cannot make a perfect Commentary upon God's Law . No Christian alive can write a Copy of Holiness without blotting . The Virgin Mary's Obedience was not perfect , she needed Christ's Blood to wash her Tears . Aaron was to make Atonement for the Altar , Exod. 29.37 . to show that the most holy Offering hath Defilement in it , and needs Atonement to be made for it .

Quest. 1. But if Man hath not power to keep the whole Moral Law , then why doth God require that of Man , which he is not able to perform ? How doth this stand with his Iustice ?

Answ. Tho Man hath lost his Power of Obeying , God hath not lost his Right of Commanding . If a Master entrusts a Servant with Money to lay out , and the Servant spends it dissolutely , may not the Master justly demand this Money ? God gave us a Power to keep the Moral Law ; we by tampering with Sin lost it : But may not God still call for perfect Obedience ? Or in case of Default , justly punish us ?

Quest. 2. But why doth God suffer such an Impotency to lie upon Man , that he cannot perfectly keep the Law ?

Answ. The Lord doth it ( 1. ) To humble us . Man is a self-exalting Creature , and if he hath but any thing of Worth , he is ready to be puffed up : But when he comes to see his 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , his Deficiencies and Failings , and how far short he comes of the Holiness and Perfection God's Law requires ; this is a means to pull down his Plumes of Pride , and lay them in the Dust. He weeps over his Impotency , he blusheth for his Leprous Spots ; he saith as Iob , I abhor my self in Dust and Ashes . ( 2. ) God lets this Impotency and Infirmness lie upon us , that we may have recourse to Christ to obtain Pardon for our Defects , and to sprinkle our best Duties with his Blood . When a Man sees himself indebted , he owes perfect Obedience to the Law , but he hath nothing to pay : This makes him fly to Christ to be his Friend , and answer all the Demands and Challenges of the Law , and set him free in the Court of Justice .

Vse I. Is matter of Humiliation for our Fall in Adam . In the State of Innocency we were perfectly holy ; our Minds were crowned with Knowledge , and our Wills as a Queen did sway the Scepter of Liberty : But now we may say as Lam. 5.16 . The Crown is fallen from our Head . We have lost that Power which was Inherent in us . When we look back to our Primitive Glory , when we s●ined as Earthly Angels , we may take up Iob's Words , Chap. 29.2 . O that it were as in Months past ! O that it were with us as at first , when there was no Stain upon our Virgin-Nature , when there was a perfect Harmony between God's Law , and Man's Will. But alas ! Now the Scene is alter'd , our Strength is gone from us , we tread awry every Step ; we come below every Precept ; our Dwarfishness will not reach the Sublimity of God's Law ; we fail in our Obedience ; and while we fail , we forfeit . This may put us in close Mourning , and spring a Leak of Sorrow in all our Souls .

Vse II. 1 st. Br. Confutation . It confutes the Arminians , who cry up the Power of the Will : They hold they have a Will to save themselves . But , by Nature we not only want Strength , Rom. 5.6 . but we want Will to that which is Good . The Will is not only full of Impotency , but Obstinacy . Psal. 81.11 . Israel would none of me . The Will hangs forth a Flag of Defiance against God . Such as speak of the Sovereign Power of the Will , forget Phil. 2.13 . It is God that worketh in you 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , both to will and to do . If the Power be in the Will of Man , then what needs God to work in us to Will ? If the Air can enlighten it self , what needs the Sun to shine ? Such as talk of the Power of Nature , and the Ability they have to save themselves , they disparage Christ's Merits . I may say as Gal. 5.4 . Christ is become of no effect to them . This I affirm , Such as advance the Power of their Will in matters of Salvation , without the Medicinal Grace of Christ , do absolutely put themselves under the Covenant of Works . And now I would ask them , Can they perfectly keep the Moral Law ? Malum oritur ex quolibet defectu . If there be but the least Defect in their Obedience , they are gone . For one sinful Thought the Law of God curseth them , and the Justice of God arraigns them . Confounded be their Pride , who cry up the Power of Nature , as if by their own inherent Abilities they could rear up a Building , the top whereof should reach to Heaven .

2 d. Br. It confutes a sort of People that brag of Perfection ; and according to that Principle , they can keep all God's Commandments perfectly . I would ask these , Have they at no time a vain Thought come into their Mind ? if they have , then they are not perfect . The Virgin Mary was not perfect ; tho' her Womb were pure ( being overshadowed with the Holy Ghost ) yet her Soul was not perfect . Christ doth tacitly imply a Failing in her , Luke 2.49 . And are they more perfect than the Blessed Virgin was ? Such as hold Perfection , need not confess Sin . David confessed Sin , Psal. 32.6 . And Paul confessed Sin , Rom. 7.24 . But they are got beyond David and Paul ; they are perfect , they never transgress ; and where there is no Transgression , what needs Confession ?

2. If they are perfect , they need not ask Pardon : They can pay God's Justice what they owe ; therefore what need they pray , Forgive us our Debts ? O that the Devil should rock Men so fast asleep , as to make them dream of Perfection . And whereas they bring that , Phil. 3.15 . Let us therefore as many as be Perfect be thus minded . Answ. Perfection there is meant of Sincerity . God is best able to interpret his own Word , he calls Sincerity Perfection . Iob 1.8 . A perfect and an upright Man . But who is exactly perfect ? A Man full of Diseases may as well say he is healthful , as a Man full of Sin say he is perfect .

Vse III. To Regenerate Persons . Tho you fail in your Obedience , and cannot keep the Moral Law exactly , yet be not discouraged .

Quest. What comfort may be given to a Regenerate Person under the Failures and Imperfections of his Obedience ?

Resp. 1. That a Believer is not under the Covenant of Works , but under the Covenant of Grace . The Covenant of Works requires perfect , personal , perpetual Obedience . But in the Covenant of Grace God will make some Abatements : He will accept of less than he required in the Covenant of Works .

( 1. ) In the Covenant of Works God required Perfection of Degrees . In the Covenant of Grace he accepts Perfection of Parts : There he required perfect Working , here he accepts sincere Believing . In the Covenant of Works God required us to live without Sin ; in the Covenant of Grace God accepts of our Combat with Sin .

( 2. ) Tho a Christian cannot in his own Person perform all God's Commandments , yet Christ as his Surety , and in his stead hath fulfilled the Law for him , and God accepts of Christ's Obedience , which is perfect , to satisfie for that Obedience which is imperfect : Christ being made a Curse for Believers , all the Curses of the Law have their Sting pulled out .

( 3. ) Tho a Christian cannot keep the Commands of God to Satisfaction , yet he may to Approbation .

Quest. How is that ?

Answ. 1. He gives his full Assent and Consent to the Law of God . Rom. 7.12 . The Law is Holy and Iust. There was Assent in the Judgment . Rom. 7.16 . I consent to the Law . There was Consent in the Will.

2. A Christian mourns that he cannot keep the Commandments fully : When he fails , he weeps : He is not angry with the Law , because it is so strict ; but he is angry with himself because he is so deficient .

3. He takes a sweet complacential Delight in the Law . Rom. 7.22 . I delight in the Law of God , in the inward Man . Gr. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I take Pleasure in it . Psal. 119.97 . O how love I thy Law ! Tho a Christian cannot keep God's Law , yet he loves his Law . Tho he cannot serve God perfectly , yet he serves him willingly .

4. It is his cordial Desire to walk in all God's Commands . Psal. 119.5 . O that my ways were directed to keep thy Statues . Tho his Strength fails , yet his Pulse beats .

5. He doth really endeavour to obey God's Law perfectly , and wherein he comes short , he runs to Christ's Blood to make Supply for his Defects . This cordial Desire and real Endeavour God esteems as perfect Obedience . 2 Cor. 8.12 . If there be a willing mind , it is accepted . Let me hear thy Voice , for sweet is thy Voice , Cant. 2.14 . Tho the Prayers of the Righteous are mixed with Sin , yet God sees they would pray better ; God picks out the Weeds from the Flowers ; he sees the Faith , and winks at the Failing . The Saints Obedience , tho it falls short of Legal Perfection , yet having Sincerity in it , and Christ's Merits mix'd with it , finds gracious Acceptance . When the Lord sees endeavours after Perfect Obedience , this he takes well at our Hands : As a Father that receives a Letter from his Child , tho' there be Blots in the Letters and False Spellings , yet the Father takes all in good Part. O what Blottings are there in our Holy Things ! But God is pleas'd to take all in good part . Saith God , It is my Child , and he would do better if he could ; I will accept it .

Quest. Are all the Transgressions of the Law equally heinous ?

Answ. Some Sins in themselves , and by reason of several Aggravations , are more hainous in the sight of God than others .

Iohn 19.11 . He that delivered me unto thee hath the Greater Sin . The Stoick Philosophers held , that all Sins were equal . But this Scripture clearly holds forth , that there is a gradual difference in Sin : Some are greater than others : Some are mighty Sins , Amos 5.12 . And crying Sins , Gen. 18.21 . Every Sin hath a Voice to speak , but some Sins cry . As some Diseases are worse than others , and some poysons more venomous ; so some Sins are more heinous , Ezek. 16.47 . Ier. 16.12 . You have done worse than your Fathers , your Sins have exceeded theirs . Some Sins have a blacker Aspect than others . To clip the King's Coyn is Treason , but to strike his Person is an higher degree of Treason . A vain Thoughr is a Sin , but a blasphemous Word is a greater Sin . That some Sins are greater than others , appears , ( 1. ) Because there was difference in the Offerings under the Law . The Sin-offering was greater than the Trespass-Offering . ( 2. ) Because some Sins are not capable of Pardon as others are , therefore they must needs he more heinous , as the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost , Matth. 12.31 . ( 3. ) Because some Sins have a greater Degree of Punishment than others . Matth. 23.14 . Ye shall receive greater Damnation , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Shall not the Iudge of all the Earth do right ? God would not punish one more than another , but that his Sin is greater . It is true , all Sins are equally hainous in respect of the Object , or the Person against whom Sin is committed , ( viz. ) The Infinite God . But in another Sence all Sins are not alike hainous . Some Sins have more bloody Circumstances in them , which are like the Die to the Wooll , to give it a deeper Colour .

Quest. What Sins may be said to be more hainous than others ?

Resp. 1. Such Sins as are committed without any occasion offered : A Man swears or is angry , and hath no Provocation . The less the occasion of Sin is , the greater is the Sin . ( 2. ) Such Sins are more hainous that are committed presumptuously . Under the Law there was no Sacrifice for Presumptuous Sins , Numb. 15.30 .

Quest. What is it to sin presumptuously , which doth heighten and aggravate Sin , and make it more hainous ?

Answ. To sin presumptuously , is to sin against Convictions and Illuminations , or an enlightned Conscience . Iob 24.13 . They are of those that rebell against the Light . Conscience , like the Cherubim , stands with a Flaming Sword in its Hand , to deterr the Sinner , yet he will sin . Did not Pilat sin against Conviction , and with an high hand , in condemning Christ ? He knew that of Envy the Jews had delivered him , Matth. 27.18 . He confessed he found no fault with him , Luke 23.14 . And his own Wife sent to him , Have nothing to do with that just Man , Matth. 27.19 . Yet , for all this he gave the Sentence of Death against Christ . Here he sinned presumptuously , against an enlightned Conscience . To sin ignorantly doth something extenuate and pare off the Guilt . Iohn 15.22 . If I had not come , ye had had no sin . That is , your Sin had been less . But to sin against Illuminations and Convictions , doth inhance and accent Mens Sins . These Sins make deep Wounds in the Soul . Other Sins fetch Blood , these are a Stab at the Heart .

Quest. How many ways doth a Man Sin against Illuminations and Convictions ?

Answ. 1. When he lives in the total neglect of Duty . He is not ignorant that it is a Duty to read the Word , yet he lets the Bible lie by as rusty Armour , that he seldom makes use of . He is convinced that it is a Duty to pray in his Family , yet he can go Days and Months , and God never hear of him . He calls God Father , but never asks him Blessing . Neglect of Family-Prayer doth as it were uncover the Roof of Mens Houses , and make way for a Curse to be rained down upon their Table .

2. When a Man lives in the same Sins which he condemns in others . Rom. 2.1 . Thou that judgest another dost the same things . As Austin saith of Seneca , He wrote against Superstitions , yet he worshipped those Images which he reproved . One Man condemns another for rash censuring , yet lives in the same Sin himself . A Master reproves his Apprentice for Swearing , yet he himself Swears . The Snuffers of the Tabernacle were of pure Gold . They who reprove and snuff the Vices of others , had need themselves to be free from those Sins . The Snuffers must be of Gold .

3. When a Man sins after Vow . Psal. 56.12 . Thy Vows , O God , are upon me . A Vow is a Religious Promise made to God to dedicate our selves to him . A Vow is not only a Purpose , but a Promise . Every Votary makes himself a Debtor , he binds himself to God in a solemn manner . Now to Sin after Vow , to vow himself to God , and give his Soul to the Devil , must needs be against the highest Convictions .

4. When a Man sins after Counsels , Admonitions , Warnings , he cannot plead Ignorance : The Trumpet of the Gospel hath been blown in his Ears , and sounded a Retreat to call him off from his Sins ; he hath been told of his Injustice , living in Malice , keeping bad Company , yet he would venture upon Sin . This is to sin against Conviction ; it aggravates the Sin , and is like a Weight put in the Scale , to make his Sin weigh the heavier . If a Sea-mark be set up to give Warning that there are Shelves and Rocks in that place , yet if the Mariner will fail there , and split his Ship , it is Presumption ; and if he be cast away , who will pity him ?

5. When a Man sins against express Comminations and Threatnings . God hath thundered out Threatnings against such Sins . Psal. 66.21 . God shall wound the hairy Scalp of such an one as goes on still in his Trespasses . Yet tho God set the point of his Sword to the Breast of a Sinner , yet he will commit Sin . The Pleasure of Sin doth more delight him , than the Threatnings affright him . He , like the Liviathan , laughs at the shaking of a Spear , Iob 41.29 . Nay , he derides God's Threatnings . Isa. 5.19 . Let him make speed and hasten his Work that we may see it . We have heard much what God intends to do , and of Judgment approrching , we would fain see it . For Men to see the Flaming Sword of God's Threatnings brandished , yet to strengthen themse●ves in Sin , is in an high manner to sin against Illumination and Conviction .

6. When a Man sins under Affliction . God doth not only thunder by Threatning , but hath let his Thunderbolt fall ; he hath inflicted Judgments on a Person , he may read his Sin in his Punishment , yet he sins : His Sin was Vncleanness ; he hath wasted his Strength as well as his Estate ; he hath had a Fit of Apoplexy , yet tho he feels the smart of Sin , he retains the Love of Sin . This is to sin against Conviction . 2 Chron. 28.22 . In his Distress did he trespass yet more : this is that King Ahaz . This doth inhance and make the Sin greater than other Sins : For sinning against an enlightned Conscience ,

First , Is full of Obstinacy and Pertinaciousness . Men can give no Reason , make no Defence for their Sins , yet they are resolved to hold fast Iniquity . This is desperate Wilfulness : And Voluntas est regula & mensura actionis , The more of the Will in a Sin , the greater the Sin . Ier. 18.12 . We will walk after our own Devices . Tho there be Death and Hell every step , we will march on under Satan's Colours . This made the Sin of the Apostate Angels so great , because it was wilful ; they had no Ignorance in their Mind , no Passion to stir them up , there was no Tempter to deceive them , but they sinn'd obstinately and out of Choice .

Secondly , To sin against Convictions and Illuminations , is joyn'd with slighting and contempt of God . It is bad for a Sinner to forget God , but it is worse to contemn him . Prov. 10.13 . Wherefore do the wicked contemn God ? An enlightned Sinner knows that by his Sin he disobligeth and angers God ; but he cares not whether God be pleased or no , he will have his Sin . Therefore such an one is said to reproach God . Numb. 15.30 . The Soul that doth ought presumptuously , the same reproacheth the Lord . Every Sin displeaseth God , but sins against an enlightned Conscience reproach the Lord . To contemn the Authority of a Prince , is a Reproach done to him .

Thirdly , It is accompanied with Impudency . Fear and Shame are banished , the Vail of Modesty is laid aside . Zeph. 3.5 . The Vnjust knoweth no shame . Iudas knew Christ was the Messiah , he was convinced of it by an Oracle from Heaven , and by the Miracles he wrought , and yet he impudently goes on in his Treason ; nay , when Christ said , He that dips his Hand with me in the Dish , he shall betray me . And Iudas knew Christ meant him : And when Iudas was going about his Treason , Christ pronounced a Wo to him , Luke 22.22 . yet for all that he proceeded in his Treason . Thus to sin presumptuously , against an enlightned Conscience , dies the Sin of a crimson Colour , and makes it greater than other Sins .

( 3. ) Such Sins are more hainous than others , which are Sins of Continuance . The continuing of Sin is the inhancing of Sin . He who plots Treason , makes himself a greater Offender . Some Men's Heads are the Devil's Mint-house , they are minting of Mischief . Rom. 1.30 . Inventers of evil things . Some invent new Oaths , others new Snares : Such were those Presidents that invented a Decree against Daniel , and got the King to sign it , Dan. 6.9 .

( 4. ) Those Sins are greater which proceed from a Spirit of Malignity . To malign Holiness is Diabolical . 'T is a Sin to want Grace , it is worse to hate it . In Nature there are Antipathies , as between the Vine and Lawrel . Some have an Antipathy against God because of his Purity . Isa. 30.11 . Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us . Sinners , if it lay in their Power , would not only Unthrone God , but Unbe God . If they could help it , God should be no longer God . This Sin is boil'd up to a greater height .

( 5. ) Those Sins are of a greater Magnitude , which are mixed with Ingratitude . God cannot endure of all things to have his kindness slighted . God's Mercy is seen in reprieving Men so long , in wooing them by his Spirit and Ministers to be reconciled , in crowning them with so many Temporal Blessings ; now to abuse all this Love , when God hath been filling up the Measure of his Mercy , that Men should fill up the Measure of their Sins ! This is high Ingratitude , and doth make their Sins of a deeper Crimson . Some are worse for Mercy . The Vulture ( saith Aelian ) draws Sickness from Perfumes : So the Sinner contracts Evil from the sweet Perfumes of God's Mercy . The English Chronicle reports of one Parry , who being condemned to die , Queen Elizabeth sent him his Pardon ; and after he was pardoned , he conspired and plotted the Queens Death . Just ●o some deal with God ; he bestows Mercy , and they plot Treason against him . Isa. 1.2 . I have nourished and brought up Children , and they have rebelled against me . The Athenians , in lieu of the good Service Themistocles had done them , banished him their City . The Snake in the Fable being frozen , stung him that gave it Warmth . Certainly sins against Mercy are far more hainous .

( 6. ) Those Sins are more hainous than other , which are committed with Delectation . A Child of God may sin through a Surprizal , or against his Will. Rom. 7.19 . The Evil which I would not , that do I. Like one that is carried down the Stream involuntarily . But to sin with Delight , doth heighten and greaten the Sin : A sign the Heart is in the Sin . Hos. 4.8 . They set their Heart on their Iniquity . As a Man follows his Gain with Delight . Rev. 22.15 . Without are Dogs , and whosoever loveth and maketh a Lie . To tell a Lie is a sin , but to love to tell a Lie is a greater sin .

( 7. ) Those sins are more hanous than others , which are committed under a pretence of Religion . To couzen and defraud is a sin , but to do it with a Bible in ones Hand is a double sin . To be unchaste is a sin , but to put on a Mask of Religion to play the Whore , makes the sin the greater . Prov. 7.14 . I have Peace-offerings with me ; this day have I paid my Vows , come let us take our fill of Love . She speaks as if she had been at Church , and had been saying her Prayers ; who would ever have suspected her of Dishonesty ? But behold her Hypocrisie ; she makes her Devotion a Preface to Adultery . Luke 20.47 . Who devour Widows Houses , and for pretence make long Prayers . This sin was not in making long Prayers , ( for Christ was a whole Night in Prayer ) but to make long Prayers that they might do unrighteous Actions , did make their sin more horrid .

( 8. ) Sins of Apostacy are more hainous than other . Demas forsook the Truth , 2 Tim. 4.10 . and afterwards became a Priest in an Idol Temple , saith Dorotheus . To fall is a sin , but to fall away is a greater sin . Apostates cast a Disgrace upon Religion . The Apostate ( saith Tertullian ) seems to put God and Satan in the Ballance , and having weighed both their Services , prefers the Devils Services , and proclaims him to be the best Master . In which respect the Apostate is said to put Christ to open Shame , Heb. 6.6 . This dies a sin in grain , and makes it greater . It is a sin not to profess Christ , but it is a greater to deny him . Not to wear Christ's Colours is a sin , but to run from his Colours is a greater Sin . A Pagan sins less than a Baptized Renegado .

( 9. ) To persecute Religion , makes sin greater , Acts 7.22 . To have no Religion is a sin , but to endeavour to destroy Religion is a greater . Antiochus Epiphanes took more tedious Journies , Epiphan. Luke 3.20 and run more hazards , to vex and oppose the Jews , than all his Predecessors had done in obtaining Victories . Herod added this above all , that he put Iohn in Prison . He sinned before by Incest ; but by imprisoning the Prophet , this added to his sin , and made it greater . Persecution fills up the Measure of sin . Matth. 23.32 . Fill you up the measure of your Fathers . If you pour in a Porringer of Water into a Cistern , that adds something to it ; but pour in a Bucket full or two , and that fills up the measure of the Cistern . So Persecution fills up the measure of sin , and makes it greater .

( 10. ) To sin malitiously , makes sin greater . Aquinas and other of the School-men place the sin against the Holy Ghost in Malice . The Sinner doth all he can to vex God , and despight the Spirit of Grace , Heb. 10.29 . Thus Iulian , who threw up his Dagger in the Air , as if he would have been revenged upon God . This swells sin to its full bigness , it cannot be greater . When a Man is once come to this , blasphemously to despight the Spirit , there is but one step lower he can fall , and that is to Hell .

( 11. ) & ult . It aggravates sin , and makes it greater , when a Man not only sins himself , but endeavours to make others sin . 1. Such as teach Errors to the People , who decry Christ's Deity , or deny his Vertue , making him only a Political Head , not an Head of Influence ; who preach against the Morality of the Sabbath , or the Immorality of the Soul . These Mens sins are greater than others . If the Breakers of God's Law sin , what do they that teach Men to break them ? Matth. 5.19 . 2. Such as destroy others by their bad Example . The swearing Father hath taught his Son to swear , and damned him by his Example . These Mens sins are greater than others , and they shall have an hotter place in Hell .

Vse . You see all sins are not Equal , some are more grievous than others , and bring greater Wrath ; therefore especially take heed of these Sins . Psal. 19.13 . Keep hack thy Servant from presumptuous sins . The least sin is bad enough , you need not aggravate your sins , and make them more hainous . He that hath a little Wound will not make it deeper . Oh beware of those bloody Circumstances which greaten your sin , and make it more hainous . The higher a Man is in sinning , the lower he shall lie in Torment .

Quest. What doth every Sin deserve ?

Answ. " God 's Wrath and Curse both in this Life , and that which is to come .

Matth. 25.41 . Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting Fire . —

Man having sinned , is like a Favourite turn'd out of the King's Favour , and deserves the Wrath and Curse of God .

( 1. ) God's Curse , Gal. 3.10 . As when Christ cursed the Fig-tree , it withered , Matth. 21.19 . So when God curseth any , he withers in his Soul . God's Curse blasts where-ever it comes .

( 2. ) God's Wrath ; which is nothing else but the Execution of God's Curse .

First , What this Wrath is ? In this Wrath there is , 1. Something that is Privative ; that is , the being deprived of the Smiles of God's Face . It is Hell enough to be excluded God's Presence ; In whose Presence is fulness of Ioy , Psal. 16.11 . God's smiling Face hath that Splendor and Oriency of Beauty shining in it , as ravisheth the Angels with delight . This is the Diamond in the Ring of Glory . And if it were such a Misery for Absalom that he might not see the King's Face , 2 Kings 14.22 . what will it be for the wicked to be shut out from beholding God's pleasant Face ! Privatio divinae Visionis omnium suppliciorum summum .

Secondly , God's Wrath hath something in it Positive . That is , his Frown and enraged Fury , which is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Wrath come upon the Sinner to the uttermost , 1 Thess. 2.16 . Here , three Positions or Maxims .

1. God's Wrath is irresistible . Psal. 90.11 . Who knows the power of thy anger ? Sinners may oppose God's Ways , but not his Wrath. Shall the Briars contend with the Fire ? Shall finite contend with infinite ? Iob 40.9 . Hast thou an Arm like God ?

2. God's Wrath is Terrible . The Spanish Proverb is , The Lion is not so fierce as he is painted . We are apt to have slight Thoughts of God's Wrath , but it is very tremendous and dismal : as if scalding Lead should be dropped in ones Eye . The Hebrew Word for Wrath , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies Heat . To show that the Wrath of God is hot , therefore it is compared to Fire in the Text. Fire , when it is in its Rage , is dreadful , ( as we saw in the Flames of this City . ) So the Wrath of God is like Fire , it is the Terrible of Terribles . Other Fire is but painted to this . If when God's Wrath is kindled but a little , and a Spark of it flies into a wicked Man's Conscience in this Life , it is so terrible ; what will it be when God stirs up all his Wrath ? Psalm 78.38 . How sad is it with a Soul in Desertion ! Now God dips his Pen in Gall , and writes bitter things . Now his poysoned Arrow sticks fast in the Heart . Psal. 88.15 , 16. While I suffer thy Terrors I am distracted , thy fierce Wrath goeth over me . Luther in Desertion was in such Horror of Mind , that Nec calor , nec Sanguis super-esset , He had no Blood seen in his Face , but he lay as one dead . Now , if God's Wrath be such towards them whom he loves , what will it be towards them whom he hates ? If they who sip of the Cup find it so bitter , what will they do who drink the Dregs of the Cup ? Psal. 75.8 . Solomon saith , The Wrath of a Prince is as the roaring of a Lion , Prov. 19.12 . What then is God's Wrath ? When God musters up all his Forces , and sets himself in Battalia against a Sinner , how can his Heart endure ? Ezek. 22.14 . Who is able to lie under Mountains of Wrath ? God is the sweetest Friend but the forest Enemy . To set forth the fearfulness of this Wrath :

( 1. ) The Wrath of God shall seize upon every part of a Sinner . 1. Upon the Body : The Body which was so tender , it could not bear Heat or Cold , shall be tormented in the Wine-press of God's Wrath. Those Eyes which before could only behold Amorous Objects , shall be tormented with the sight of Devils . The Ears , which before were delighted with Musick , shall be tormented with the hideous Shrieks of the Damned . 2. The Wrath of God shall seize upon the Soul of of a Reprobate . Ordinary Fire cannot touch the Soul . When the Martyrs Bodies were consuming , their Souls did triumph in the Flames ; but God's Wrath burns the Soul . 1. The Memory shall be tormented to remember what means of Grace have been abused . 2. The Conscience shall be tormented with self-accusations : The Sinner shall accuse himself for presumptuous sins , for mis-spending his precious hours , for resisting the Holy Ghost .

( 2. ) The Wrath of God is without Intermission . Hell is an abiding-place , but no resting-place : There is not a Minutes Rest. Outward Pain hath some Abatement : If it be the Stone or Cholick , the Patient hath sometimes Ease ; but the Torments of the Damned have no Intermission . He that feels God's Wrath , never saith , I have Ease .

( 3. ) The Wrath of God is Eternal . So saith the Text , Everlasting Fire . No Tears can quench the Flame of God's Anger ; no , tho we could shed Rivers of Tears . In all Pains of this Life Men hope for a Cessation , the Suffering will not continue long ; either the Tormentor dies , or the Tormented : But the Wrath of God is always feeding upon a Sinner . The Terror of Natural Fire is , that it consumes what it burns : But this makes the Fire of God's Wrath terrible , that it doth not consume what it burns . Sic morientur damnati ut semper vivunt . Bern. The Sinner shall ever be in the Furnace , after innumerable Millions of Years the Wrath of God is as far from ending as it was at the beginning . If all the Earth and Sea were Sand , and every Thousand Years a Bird should come and take away one Grain of this Sand , it would be a long while e're that vast heap of Sand were emptied ; but if after all that time the Damned might come out of Hell , there were some Hope . But this Word Ever breaks the Herrt .

Quest. But how doth it seem to consist with God's Iustice to punish Sin , ( which perhaps was committed in a Moment ) with Eternal Fire ?

Answ. In respect of the hainous Nature of Sin . Consider the Person offended ; 't is Crimen laesae Majestatis : Sin is committed against an Infinite Majesty : therefore the Sin is infinite , and so the Punishment must be Infinite . Now because the Nature of Man is but Finite , and a Sinner cannot at once bear Infinite Wrath , therefore he must in Eternity of Time be satisfying what he cannot satisfie at once .

( 4. ) While the Wicked lie scorching in the Flames of Wrath , they have none to commiserate them . 'T is some Ease of Grief to have some condole with us ; but the Wicked have Wrath and no Pity shown them . Who should pity them ? God will not pity them . They derided his Spirit , and now he will laugh at their Calamity , Prov. 1.26 . The Saints will not pity them : They persecuted the Saints upon Earth , therefore they will rejoyce to see God's Justice executed on them . Psal. 58.10 . The Righteous shall rejoyce when he sees the Vengeance .

( 5. ) The Sinner under Wrath hath none to speak a good Word for him . An Elect Person when he sins hath one to intercede for him : 1 Iohn 2.1 . We have an Advocate , Iesus Christ the righteous . Christ will say , It is one of my Friends , one whom I have shed my Blood for ; Father , pardon him . But the Wicked ( that die in Sin ) have none to solicit for them ; they have an Accuser but no Advocate ; Christ's Blood will not plead for them ; they slighted Christ , and refused to come under his Government , therefore Christ's Blood cries against them .

3. God's Wrath is Iust. The Greek Word for Vengeance , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies Iustice . The Wicked shall drink a Sea of Wrath , but not one drop of Injustice . 'T is just that God's Honour be repaired , and how can that be but by punishing Offenders ? Having shown you what this Wrath of God is , I shall shew you , 2. That we have deserved the Curse and Wrath of God . He who infringeth the Kings Laws , deserves the Penalty . Mercy goes by Favour , Punishment by Desert . Dan. 9.8 . To us belongeth Confusion of Face . Wrath is that which belongeth to us as we are Sinners ; it is as due to us as any Wages that is paid .

Vse I. Inform. First Branch . It justifies God in condemning Sinners at the last Day . Sinners deserve Wrath , and it is no Injustice to give them that which they deserve . If a Malefactor deserves Death , the Judge doth him no wrong in condemning him .

2 d. Br. See what a great Evil Sin is , which exposeth a Person to God's Wrath for ever . * * Ex uguue Leonem . You may know the Lion by his Paw : And you may know what an evil thing sin is by the Wrath and Curse it brings . When you see a Man drawn upon an Hurdle to Execution , you conclude he is guilty of some Capital Crime that brings such a Punishment . When a Man lies under the Torrid Zone of God's Wrath , and roars out in Flames , then say , How horrid an Evil is Sin ! They who now see no Evil in Swearing , or Sabbath-breaking , they will see it look black in the Glass of Hell-Torments .

3 d. Br. See here an Hand-writing upon the Wall ; here is that which may check a Sinners Mirth . He is now brisk and frolick , he chants to the sound of the Viol , and invents Instruments of Musick . Amos 6.5 . He drinks stollen Waters , and saith they are sweet . Oh! but let him remember that the Wrath and Curse of God hang over him , which will shortly ( without Repentance ) be executed on him . Dionisius thought , as he sat at Table , he saw a naked Sword hang over his Head . The Sword of God's Justice hangs over a Sinner ; and when the slender Thread of Life is cut asunder , the Sword falls upon him . Rejoyce , O young Man , in thy Youth , and let thy Heart cheer thee in the Days of thy Youth , Eccles. 11.9 . But know thou for all these things God will bring thee into Iudgment . For a drop of Pleasure thou must drink a Sea of Wrath. Your Pleasure cannot be so sweet , as Wrath is bitter . The Delights of the Flesh cannot countervail the Horror of Conscience . Better want the Devils Honey , than be so stung with the Wrath of God . The Garden of Eden , ( which signifies Pleasure ) had a Flaming Sword placed at the East-end of it , Gen. 3.24 . The Garden of carnal and sinful Delight is surrounded with the Flaming Sword of God's Wrath.

Vse II. Reproof . It reproves the Stupidity of Sinners , who are no more affected with the Curse and Wrath of God which is due to them . Isa. 44.19 . No Man considereth in his Heart . If they were in Debt , and were ready to have the Serjeant Arrest them , they would be affected with that : But tho the fierce Wrath of God is ready to Arrest them , they remember not . A Beast , tho he hath no Shame , yet he hath Fear ; he is afraid of Fire . But Sinners are worse than Bruitish , they fear not the Fire of Hell till they are in it . Most have their Conscience asleep or feared ; but when they shall see the Vials of God's Wrath dropping , then they will cry out as Dives , O I am tormented in this Flame ! Luke 16.24 .

Vse III. Exhort . 1. Let us Adore God's Patience , who hath not brought this Wrath and Curse upon us all this while . We have deserved Wrath , yet God hath not given us our Desert . We may all subscribe to that , Psalm 103.8 . The Lord is slow to Anger . And ver. 10. He hath not rewarded us according to our Iniquities . God hath deferred his Wrath , and given us space to repent , Rev. 2.21 . God is not like an hasty Creditor , that requires the Debt , and gives no time for the Payment . He shoots off his Warning-Piece , that he may not shoot off his Murdering-Piece . 2 Pet. 3.9 . The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward , not willing that any should perish . God adjourns the Assizes , to see if Sinners would turn ; he keeps off the storm of his Wrath. But if Men will not be warned , let them know , that long Forbearance is no Forgiveness .

2 d. Br. Let us labour to prevent the Wrath we have deserved . How careful are Men to prevent Poverty or Disgrace ! Oh labour to prevent God's Eternal Wrath , that it may not only be deferred but removed .

Quest. What shall we do to prevent , and escape Wrath to come ?

Answ. 1. By getting an Interest in Jesus Christ . Christ is the only Skreen to stand between us and the Wrath of God . He did feel God's Wrath , that they who believe in him should never feel it . 1 Thess. 1.10 . Nebuchadnezzar's Fiery Furnace was a Type of God's Wrath , and that Furnace did not singe the Garments of the Three Children , nor was the smell of Fire upon them , Dan. 3.27 . Jesus Christ went into the Furnace of his Fathers Wrath , and those that believe in him , the smell of the Fire of Hell shall never pass upon them .

2. If we would prevent the Wrath of God , let us take heed of those sins which will bring the Wrath of God . Edmund , Successor of Anselm , hath a Saying , I had rather leap into a Furnace of Fire , than willingly commit a Sin against God . There are several fiery sins we must take heed of , which will bring the Fire of God's Wrath.

( 1. ) The Fire of Rash Anger . Some who profess Religion , yet cannot bridle their Tongue ; they care not what they say in their Anger , they will curse their Passions . St. Iames saith , The Tongue is set on Fire of Hell , Chap. 3.6 . O take heed of a Fiery Tongue , le●t it bring thee to Fiery Torment . Dives begg'd a Drop of Water to cool his Tongue : St. Cyprian saith , He had offended most in his Tongue , and now that was most set on Fire .

2. Take heed of the Fire of Malice . Malice is a malignant Humour , whereby we wish Evil to another . It is a Vermin lives on Blood , it studies Revenge . Caligula had a Chest where he kept deadly Poysons for them he had Malice against . The Fire of Malice brings Men to the Fiery Furnace of God's Wrath.

3. Take heed of the Sin of Vncleanness . Heb. 13.4 . Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge . Such as burn in Uncleanness , are in great Danger to burn one Day in Hell . Let one Fire put out another ; let the Fire of God's Wrath put out the Fire of Lust.

3 d. Br. To you who have a well-grounded hope , that you shall not feel this Wrath which you have deserved , let me exhort you , 1. To be very thankful to God , who hath given his Son to save you from this tremendous Wrath. Iesus hath deliver'd you from Wrath to come . The Lamb of God was scorch'd in the Fire of God's Wrath for you : Christ did feel the Wrath which he did not deserve , that you may escape the Wrath which you have deserved . Pliny observes , that there is nothing better to quench Fire than Blood . Christ's Blood hath quench'd the Fire of God's Wrath for you . Vpon me , upon me be the Curse , said Rebecka to Iacob , Gen. 27.13 . So said Christ to God's Justice , Upon me be the Curse , that my Elect may inherit the Blessing . 2. Be patient under all the Afflictions which you endure . Affliction is sharp , but this is not Wrath , this is not Hell . Who would not willingly drink in the Cup of Affliction , that knows he shall never drink in the Cup of Damnation ? Who would not be willing to bear the Wrath of Men , that knows he shall never feel the Wrath of God ?

Christian , tho thou mayst feel the Rod , thou shalt never feel the bloody Ax. Austin once said , Strike , Lord , where thou wilt , if sin be pardoned . So say , Afflict me , Lord , as thou wilt in this Life , seeing I shall escape Wrath to come .

Quest. What doth God require of us , that we may escape the Wrath and Curse due to us for Sin ?

Answ. Faith in Iesus Christ , Repentance unto Life , with the diligent use of all the outward means , whereby Christ communicateth to us the Benefits of Redemption .

I begin with the First , Faith in Iesus Christ , Rom. 3.25 . Whom God hath set forth to be a Prop●tiation through Faith in his Blood . The great Priviledge in the Text is , to have Christ for a Propitiation , which is not only to free us from God's Wrath , but to ingra●iate us into God's Love and Favour . And the Means of having Christ to be our Propitiation is , Faith in his Blood . There is a two-fold Faith , Fides quae creditur , ( i. e. ) The Doctrine of Faith ; and Fides qua creditur , ( i. e. ) the Grace of Faith . The Act of Justifying Faith lies in Recumbency : We do 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Rest on Christ alone for Salvation . As a Man that is ready to drown , catcheth hold on the Bough of a Tree . So a poor trembling Sinner seeing himself ready to perish , catcheth hold by Faith on Christ the Tree of Life , and so is saved . The Work of Faith is the Holy Spirit ; therefore Faith is called the Fruit of the Spirit , Gal. 5.22 . Faith doth not grow in Nature , it is an outlandish Plant , a Fruit of the Spirit . This Grace of Faith is Sanctissimum humani pectoris Bonum ; of all others the most precious rich Faith , and most Holy Faith , and Faith of Gods Elect. Hence it is called Precious Faith , 2 Pet. 1.1 . As Gold is the most precious among the Metals , so is Faith among the Graces . Faith is the Queen of the Graces : Faith is the Condition of the Gospel . Thy Faith hath saved thee , Luke 7.50 . Not thy Tears . Faith is the Vital Artery of the Soul , it animates it . Hab. 2.4 . The Iust shall live by his Faith . Unbelievers , tho they breathe , yet want Life . Faith is ( as Clemens Alexandrinus calls it ) a Mother-Grace ; it excites and invigorates all the Graces : Not a Grace stirs till Faith sets it awork . Faith sets Repentance awork ; 't is like Fire to the Still . Faith sets Hope awork . First we believe the Promise , then we hope for it . Did not Faith feed the Lamp of Hope with Oyl , it would soon die . Faith sets Love awork . Gal. 5.6 . Faith which worketh by love . Who can believe in the Infinite Merits of Christ , and his Heart not ascend in a Fiery Chariot of Love ? Faith is a Catholicon , or Remedy against all Troubles : A Sheat-Anchor we cast out into the Sea of God's Mercy , and are kept from sinking in Despair . Other Graces have done worthily ; but thou ( O Faith ) excellest them all . Indeed in Heaven Love will be the chief Grace ; but while we are here militant , Love must give place to Faith . Love takes possession of Glory , but Faith gives a Title to it . Love is the crowning Grace in Heaven , but Faith is the conquering Grace upon Earth . 1 Iohn 5.4 . This is the Victory that overcometh the World , even our Faith . Faith carries away the Garland from all the other Graces . Other Graces help to sanctifie us , but it is Faith only that hath the Honour to Justifie . Rom. 5.1 . Being justifyed 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , By Faith .

Quest. But how comes Faith to be so precious ?

Ans. Not as it is a more holy Quality , or as if it had more Worthiness than other Graces , but respectu Objecti , As it lays hold on Christ the blessed Object , and fetcheth in his Fulness , Luther . Iohn 9.16 . Faith in it self consider'd , is but manus mendica , The Beggar 's Hand : But as this Hand receives the rich Alms of Christ's Merits , so it is precious , and doth Challenge a Superiority over the rest of the Graces .

Vse I. 1 st. Br. Of all Sins beware of the Rock of Vnbelief . Heb. 3.12 . Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil Heart of Vnbelief . Men think as long as they are not Drunkards or Swearers , it is no great matter to be Unbelievers . This is the Gospel-sin , it dies your other Sins in Grain .

1. Unbelief is a Christ-reproaching Sin . Unbelief disparageth Christ's Infinite Merit , as if it could not save . Unbelief makes the Wound of Sin to be broader than the Plaister of Christ's Blood . This is an high Contempt offered to Christ , and is a deeper Spea● than that which the Jews thrust into his Side .

2. Unbelief is an Vngrateful Sin . Ingratus vitandus est ut dirum scelus tellus ipsa foedius nihil creat . Ingratitude is a Prodigy of Wickedness . Unbelief is ungrateful , being against the richest Mercy . Suppose a King should redeem a Captive , and to redeem him should part with his Crown of Gold from his Head ; and when he had done this , should say to the Man redeem'd , All I desire of thee in lieu of my Kindness , is , to believe that I love thee . Now if he should say , No , I do not believe any such thing . Or , That thou carest not at all for me . I appeal to you , Were not this odious Ingratitude ? So is the Case here , God hath sent his Son to shed his Blood ; now God requires only to believe in him , that he is able and willing to save us . No , saith Unbelief , his Blood was not shed for me , I cannot perswade my self that Christ hath any purpose of Love to me . Is not this horrid Ingratitude ? And this inhanceth a Sin , and makes it of a Crimson Colour .

3. Unbelief is a Leading Sin . It is the Breeder of Sin . Qualitas malae vitae initium sumit ab infidelitate . Unbelief is a Root-sin , and the Devil labours to water this Root , that the Branches may be fruitful . ( 1. ) Unbelief breeds Hardness of Heart : Therefore they are put together , Mark 16.14 . Christ upbraided them with their Vnbelief and Hardness of Heart . Unbelief breeds the Stone of the Heart . He who believes not in Christ , is not affected with his Sufferings , he melts not in Tears of Love . Unbelief freeth the Heart ; first it defiles , and then it hardens . ( 2. ) Unbelief breeds Profaneness . An Unbeliever will stick at no sin ; neither at Fals● Weights nor False Oaths . He will swallow down Treason . Iudas was first an Unbeliever , and then a Traitor , Iohn 6.64 . He who hath no Faith in his Heart , will have no Fear of God before his Eyes .

4. Unbelief is a Wrath-procuring Sin ; 't is Inimica Salutis , Bern. Iohn 3.18 . Iam condemnatus est , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Dying so , he is as sure to be condemned as if already . Iohn 3.36 . He that believeth not on the Son , the Wrath of God abideth on him . He who believes not in the Blood of the Lamb , must feel the Wrath of the Lamb. The Gentiles that believe not in Christ , will be as well damned as the Jews who blaspheme him . And if Unbelief be so fearful and damnable a Sin , shall we not be afraid to live in it ?

2 d. Br. All Graces set Faith awork on Christ . Iohn 3.15 . That whosoever believeth in him should not perish . Eph. 6.16 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Above all taking the Shield of Faith . Say as Queen Esther , I will go in to the King , and if I perish I perish . She had nothing to encourage her , she ventur'd against Law , yet the Golden Scepter was held forth to her . We have Promises to encourage our Faith . Iohn 6.37 . He that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out . Let us then advance Faith by an holy Recumbency on Christ's Merits . Christ's Blood will not justifie without believing : They are both put together in the Text , Faith in his Blood . The Blood of God , without Faith in God , will not save . Christ's Sufferings are the Plaister to heal a Sin-sick Soul , but this Plaister must be apply'd by Faith . 'T is not Money in a rich Man's Hand , tho' offered to us , will enrich us , unless we receive it . So it is not Christ's Vertues or Benefits will do us good , unless we receive them by the Hand of Faith . Above all Graces set Faith on Work . Remember this Grace is most acceptable to God , and that upon many accounts .

( 1. ) Because it is a God-exalting Grace . It glorifies God , Rom. 4.20 . Abraham being strong in Faith , gave Glory to God . To believe that there 's more Mercy in God and Merit in Christ than Sin in us , and that Christ hath answered all the Demands and Challenges of the Law , and that his Blood hath fully satisfied for us ; this is in an high Degree to honour God . Faith in the Mediator brings more Glory to God than Martyrdom , or the most Heroick Act of Obedience .

2. Faith in Christ is so acceptable to God , because it is such a Self-denying Grace ; it makes a Man go out of himself , renounce all Self-righteousness , and wholly rely on Christ for Justification . Faith is very humble , it confesseth its own Indigence , and lives wholly upon Christ . As the Bee sucks Sweetness from the Flower , so Faith sucks all its Strength and Comfort from Christ .

3. Faith is a Grace so acceptable to God , because by Faith we present a Righteousness to God which doth best please him . We bring the Righteousness of Christ into the Court , which is called the Righteousness of God , 2 Cor. 5.21 . To bring Christs Righteousness , is to bring Benjamin with us . A Believer may say , Lord , it is not the Righteousness of Adam , or of the Angels , but of Christ who is God-Man , Man that I bring before thee . The Lord cannot choose but smell a sweet Savour in Christ's Righteousness .

Vse II. Trial. Let us try our Faith ; there is something which looks like Faith , and is not . Pliny saith there is a Cyprian Stone , which is in Colour like a Diamond , but it is not of the right kind . There is a false spurious Faith in the World . Some Plants have the same Leaf with others , but the Herbalists can distinguish them by the Root and Taste . Something may look like true Faith , but it may be distinguished several ways .

( 1. ) Trial. True Faith is grounded upon Knowledge : Knowledge carries the Torch before Faith . There is a Knowledge of Christ's Orient Exercises , Phil. 3.8 . He is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , all made up of Love and Beauty . True Faith is a Judicious Intelligent Grace , it knows whom it believes , and why it believes . Faith is seated as well in the Vnderstanding as the Will : It hath an Eye to see Christ , as well as a Wing to fly to him . Such therefore as are invailed with Ignorance ; or have only an Implicit Faith , to believe as the Church believes , have no true genuine Faith .

( 2. ) Faith lives in a broken Heart . Mark 9.24 . He cryed out with Tears , Lo ! I believe . True Faith is always in an Heart bruised for Sin : Such therefore whose Hearts were never touched for Sin , have no Faith . If a Physician should tell us there were an Herb would help us against all Infections , but it always grows in a watery place : If we should see an Herb like it in Colour , Leaf , Smell , Blossom , but it grows upon a Rock , we would conclude this were the wrong Herb. So saving Faith doth always grow in an Heart humbled for Sin ; it grows in a weeping Eye , a watry Conscience : Therefore if there be a shew of Faith , but it grows upon a Rock , an hard impenitent Heart , this is not the true Faith .

( 3. ) True Faith is at first nothing but an Embryo , it is minute and small ; it is full of Doubtings , Temptations , Fears : It begins in Weakness . It is like the smoaking Flax , Matth. 12.20 . It smoaks with Desires , but doth not flame with Comfort . It is at first so small , that it is scarce discernable . Such as at the first dash have a strong Perswasion that Christ is theirs , who leap out of Sin into Assurance ; their Faith is false and spurious . That Faith which is come to its full Stature on its Birth-day , is a Monster . The Seed that sprung up suddenly withered , Matth. 13.5 .

( 4. ) Faith is a Refining Grace , it consecrates and purifies . Moral Vertue may wash the out-side , Faith washeth the in-side . Acts 15.9 . Having purified their Hearts by Faith . Faith makes the Heart a Sacrary or Temple , with this Inscription , Holiness to the Lord . Such whose Hearts have Legions of Lusts in them , were never acquainted with true Faith . For one to say he hath Faith , yet lives in Sin , is as if one should say he were in Health , yet his Vitals are perished . Faith is a Virgin-Grace , it is joyn'd with Sanctity . 1 Tim. 3.9 . Holding the Mystery of Faith in a pure Conscience . The Jewel of Faith is always put in the Cabinet of a pure Conscience . The Woman that touch'd Christ by Faith , fetch'd an healing and cleansing Vertue from him .

( 5. ) True Faith is Obediential . Rom. 16.26 . The Obedience of Faith . Faith melts our Will into the Will of God . If God commands Duty , ( tho cross to Flesh and Blood ) Faith obeys . Heb. 11.8 . By Faith Ab●aham obeyed . Faith doth not only believe the Promise , but obey the Command . It is not having a Speculative Knowledge will evidence you to be Believers : The Devil hath Knowledge ; but that which makes him a Devil is , he wants Obedience .

6. True Faith is encreasing , Rom. 1.17 . From Faith to Faith : ( i. e. ) From one Degree of Faith to another . Faith doth not lie in the Heart as a Stone in the Earth , but as Seed in the Earth , it grows . Ioseph of Atimathea was a Disciple of Christ , but afraid to confess him , afterwards he went boldly to Pilate , and begg'd the Body of Jesus , Iohn 19.36 . And a Christians Encrease in Faith is known two ways .

1. By Stedfastness . He is a Pillar in the Temple of God . Col. 2.7 . Rooted and built up in him , and stablished in the Faith . Unbelievers are Scepticks in Religion , they are unsettled ; they question every Truth . But when the Faith is on the encreasing Hand , it doth Stabilire animum , it doth corroborate a Christian ; he is able to prove his Principles ; he holds no more than he will die for . As that Martyr Woman said , I cannot dispute for Christ , but I can burn for him . An encreasing Faith is not like a Ship in the midst of the Sea , that fluctuates , and is tossed upon the Waves , but like a Ship at Anchor , which is firm and stedfast .

2. A Christians Encrease in Faith is known by Strength . He can do that now which he could not do before . When one is Man-grown , he can do that which he was not able to do when he was a Child : He can carry an heavier Burden : So a Christian can bear Crosses with more Patience .

Obj. But I fear I have no Faith , it is so weak .

Resp. If you have Faith , tho but in its Infancy , be not discouraged . For , ( 1. ) A little Faith is Faith , as a Spark of Fire is Fire . ( 2. ) A weak Faith may lay hold on a strong Christ : A weak Hand can tie the Knot in Marriage as well as a strong . She in the Gospel , who but touch'd Christ , fetch'd Vertue from him . ( 3. ) The Promises are not made to Strong Faith , but to True . The Promise doth not say , He who hath a Giant-faith , who can believe God's Love through a Frown , who can rejoyce in Affliction , who can work Wonders , remove Mountains , stop the Mouth of Lions , shall be saved ; but whosoever believes , be his Faith never so small . A Reed is but weak , especially when it is bruised , yet the Promise is made to it , Matth. 12.20 . A bruised Reed he will not break . ( 4. ) A weak Faith may be Fruitful . Weakest things multiply most . The Vine is a weak Plant , but it is Fruitful . The Thief 's Cross , which was newly converted , was but weak in Grace ; but how many precious Clusters grew upon that tender Plant ! Luke 23.40 . He chi●les his Fellow-Thief , Dost not thou fear God ? He Judgeth himself , We indeed suffer justly . He believes in Christ when he said , Lord . He makes a Heavenly Prayer , Remember me when thou comest into thy Kigdom . Weak Christians may have strong Affections . How strong is the first Love , which is after the first planting of Faith ! ( 5. ) The weakest Believer is a Member of Christ , as well as the strongest ; and the weakest Member of the Body Mystical shall not perish . Christ will cut off rotten Members , but not weak Members . Therefore Christian , be not discouraged : God who would have us receive them that are weak in Faith , Rom. 14.1 . will not himself refuse them .

II. The Second means whereby we escape the Curse and Wrath due to Sin , is by Repentance .

Acts 11.18 . Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted Repentance unto Life .

Repentance seems to be a bitter Pill to take , but it is to purge out the bad Humour of Sin . Repentance is by some Antinomian Spirits cryed down as a Legal Doctrine ; but Christ himself preached it . Matth. 4.17 . From that time Iesus began to Preach , and to say , Repent , &c. And in his last Farewell , when he was ascending to Heaven , he commanded that Repentance should be Preached in his Name , Luke 24.37 . Repentance is a pure Gospel-Grace . The Covenant of Works would not admit of Repentance : It cursed all that could not perform perfect and personal Obedience , Gal. 3.10 . Repentance comes in by the Gospel ; it is the Fruit of Christ's Purchase , that Repenting Sinners shall be saved . Repentance is wrought by the Ministry of the Gospel , while it sets before our Eyes Christ Crucified . Repentance is not Arbitrary , but Necessary ; there is no being saved without it . Luke 13.3 . Except ye repent , ye shall all likewise Perish . And we may be thankful to God , that he hath left us this Plank after Shipwrack .

( 1. ) I shall show the Counterfeits of Repentance .

1. Natural Softness and Tenderness of Spirit . Some have a tender Affection arising from their Complexion , whereby they are apt to weep and relent when they see any Object of Pity . These are not Repenting Tears : For many weep to see anothers Misery , who cannot weep at their own Sin . August .

2. Counterfeit , Legal Affrightments . A Man hath lived in a course of Sin ; at last he is made a little sensible , he sees Hell ready to devour him , and he is filled with Anguish and Horror ; but within a while the Tempest of Conscience is blown over , and he is quiet : Then he concludes he is a true Penitent , because he hath felt some bitterness in Sin . This is not Repentance . Iudas had some trouble of Mind . If Anguish and Trouble were sufficient to Repentance , then the Damned should be most penitent , for they are most in Anguish of Mind . There may be Trouble of Mind where there is no grieving for the Offence against God .

3. Counterfeit , a slight superficial Sorrow . When God's Hand lies heavy upon a Man , ( he is sick or lame ) he may vent a Sigh or Tear , and say , Lord , have Mercy ; yet this is no true Repentance . Ahab did more than all this ; 1 Kings 21.27 . He rent his Cloaths and fasted , and lay in Sackcloth , and went softly . His Cloaths were rent , but not his Heart . The Eye may be Watery , and the Heart Flinty . An Apricock may be soft without , but it hath an hard Stone within .

4. Counterfeit , Good Motions arising in the Heart . Every good Motion is not Repentance . Some think if they have Motions in their Hearts to break off their Sins , and become Religious , this is Repentance . As the Devil may stir up bad Motions in the Godly , so the Spirit of God may stir up good Motions in the Wicked . Herod had many good Thoughts and Inclinations stirr'd up in him by Iohn Baptist's Preaching , yet he did not truly repent , for he still lived in Incest .

5. Counterfeit , Vows and Resolutions . What Vows and Solemn Protestations do some make in their Sickness , if God recover them they will be new Men , but afterwards are as bad as ever ! Ier. 2.20 . Thou saidst , I will not transgress . Here was a Resolution , but for all this she ran after her Idols . Vnder every green Tree thou wanderest , playing the Harlot .

6. Counterfeit , Leaving off some gross Sin . But that is a Mistake : For , ( 1. ) A Man may leave some Sins , and keep other . Herod did reform many things amiss , but kept his Herodias . ( 2. ) An old Sin may be left to entertain a new . A Man may leave off Riot and Prodigality , and turn Covetous . This is to exchange a Sin . These are the Counterfeits of Repentance . Now if you find that yours is a Counterfeit Repentance , and you have not repented aright , mend what you have done amiss : As in the Body , if a Bone be set wrong , the Chyrurgeon hath no ways but to break it again , and set it right . So must you do by your Repentance , if you have not repented aright ; you must have your Heart broken again in a Godly Manner , and be more deeply afflicted for Sin than ever . And that brings me to the Second , to show wherein True Repentance consists . It consists in Two things .

( 1. ) Humiliation . Lev. 26.41 . If their Vncircumcised Hearts be humbled . There is ( as the School-men ) a two-fold Humiliation , or breaking of the Heart . 1. Attrition : As when a Rock is broken in pieces , this is done by the Law , which is an Hammer to break the Heart . 2. Contrition ; as wh●n Ice is melted into Water . This is done by the Gospel , which is as a Fire to melt the Heart , Ier. 23.9 . It is the Sence of abused kindness causeth Contrition .

( 2. ) Transformation , or Change . Rom. 12.2 . Be ye transformed by the renewing of your Mind . Repentance works a Change in the whole Man : As Wine put into a Glass where Water is , the Wine runs into every part of the Water , and changeth its Colour and Taste . So true Repentance doth not rest in one part , but diffuse and spread it self into every part .

1. Repentance causeth a Change in the Mind . Whereas before a Man did like Well of Sin , and say in Defence of it , as Ionah , I did well to be angry , Chap. 2.9 . So , I did well to Swear , and break the Sabbath . When once a Man becomes a Penitent , his Judgment is chang'd , he now looks upon Sin as the Greatest Evil. The Greek Word for Repentance , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies After-Wisdom . When having seen how deformed and damnable a thing Sin is , we change our Mind . Paul , before Conversion , verily thought he ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Iesus , Acts 26.9 . But when he became a Penitent , now he was of another Mind . Phil. 3.8 . I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Iesus . Repentance causeth a Change of Judgment .

2. Repentance causeth a Change in the Affections , which move under the Will , as the Commander in Chief . Repentance doth metamorphize the Affections . It turns rejoycing in Sin into Sorrow for Sin : It turns Boldness in Sin into holy Shame : It turns the Love of Sin into Hatred . As Amnon hated Tamar more than ever he loved her , 2 Sam. 13.15 . So the true Penitent hateth Sin more than ever he loved it . Psal. 119.104 . I hate every false way .

3. Repentance works a Change in the Life . Tho Repentance begins at the Heart , it doth not rest there , but goes into the Life . I say it begins at the Heart . Ier. 4.14 . O Ierusalem , wash thy Heart . If the Spring be corrupt , there can no pure Stream run from it . But tho Repentance begins at the Heart , it doth not rest there , but changeth the Life . What a Change did Repentance make in Paul ! It changed a Persecutor into a Preacher . What a Change did it make in the Jailor ! Acts 16.33 . He took the Apostles and washed their Stripes , and set Meat before them . What a Change did it make in Mary Magdalen ! She that before did kiss her Lovers with wanton Embraces , now kisseth Christ's Feet . She that did use to ●●rl her Hair , and dress it with costly Jewels , now she makes it a Towel to wipe Christ's Feet . Her Eyes that used to sparkle with Lust , and with impure Glances to entice her Lovers , now she makes them a Fountain of Tears to wash her Saviours Feet . Her Tongue that used to speak vainly and loosely , now it is an instrument set in Tune to praise God . And this Change of Life hath two things in it .

1. The Terminus à quo , a breaking off Sin . Dan. 4.27 . Break off thy Sin by Righteousness . And this breaking off Sin must have three Qualifications . ( 1. ) It must be Vniversal , a breaking off all Sin . One Disease may kill as well as more : One Sin lived in may damn as well as more . The real Penitent breaks off Secret , Gainful , Complexion Sins : He takes the Sacrificing Knife of Mortification , and runs it through the Heart of his dearest Lusts. ( 2. ) Breaking off Sin must be Sincere ; it must not be out of Fear or Design , but upon Spiritual Grounds . As , 1. From Antipathy and Disgust . 2. From a Principle of Love to God . If Sin had not such Evil Effects , yet a true Penitent would forsake it out of Love to God . The best way to separate things that are frozen , is , by Fire . When Sin and the Heart are frozen together , the best way to separate them is the Fire of Love . Shall I sin against a gracious Father , and abuse that Love which pardons me ? ( 3. ) The breaking off Sin must be perpetual , so as never to have to do with Sin any more . Hos. 14.8 . What have I to do any more with Idols ? Repentance is a Spiritual Divorce , which must be till Death .

2. Change of Life hath in it Terminus ad quem , a returning to the Lord . It is called Repentance towards God , Acts 20.21 . 'T is not enough when we repent to leave Old Sins , but we must engage in God's Service . As when the Wind leaves the West , it turns into a contrary Corner . The repenting Prodigal did not only leave his Harlots , but did arise and go to his Father , Luke 15.18 . In true Repentance the Heart points directly to God , as the Needle to the North-Pole .

Vse . Let us all set upon this great Work of Repentance ; let us repent sincerely and speedily : Let us repent of all our Sins , our Pride , rash Anger , Unbelief : Without Repentance no remission . It is not consistent with the Holiness of God's Nature to pardon a Sinner while he is in the Act of Rebellion . O meet God not with Weapons , but Tears in your Eyes : And to stir you up to a melting penitent Frame ,

1. Consider , What is there in Sin , that you should continue in the Practice of it ? It is the accursed thing , Iosh. 7.11 . It is the Spirits of Mischief distilled . ( 1. ) It defiles the Souls Glory ; it is like a Stain to Beauty : 'T is compar'd to a Plague-Sore , 1 King 8.38 . Nothing so changeth ones Glory into Shame as Sin . ( 2. ) Without Repentance Sin tends to final Damnation . Peccatum transit actu manet reatu — Sin at first shows its Colour in the Glass , but afterwards it bites like a Serpent . Those Locusts , Rev. 9.7 . were an Emblem of sin , On their Heads were Crowns like Gold , and they had Hair as the Hair of Women , and their Teeth were as the Teeth of Lions , and there were Stings in their Tails . Sin unrepented of ends in a Tragedy . Sin hath the Devil for its Father , Shame for its Companion , and Death for its Wages , Rom. 6.23 . What is there in sin then , that Men should continue in it ? Say not it is sweet : Who would desire that Pleasure which kills ?

2. Repentance is very pleasing to God ; to Sacrifice like a broken Heart , Psal. 51.17 . A contrite and a broken Heart , O God , thou wilt not despise : St. Austin caus'd this Sentence to be written over his Bed when he was sick . When the Widow brought empty Vessels to Elisha , the Oyl was poured into them , 2 Kings . 4.6 . Bring God the broken Vessel of a contrite Heart , and he will pour in the Oyl of Mercy . Repenting Tears are the Joy of God and Angels , Luke 15. * * Cyprian . Doves delight to be about the Waters : And surely Gods Spirit ( who once descended in the likeness of a Dove ) takes great Delight in the Waters of Repentance . Mary stood at Iesus Feet weeping , Luke 7.38 . She brought two things to Christ , Tears and Oyntment ; her Tears were more precious to Christ than her Oyntment .

3. Repentance ushers in Pardon ; therefore they are joyned together , Acts 5.31 . Repentance and Remission . Pardon of Sin is the Richest Blessing , it is enough to make a sick Man well . Isa. 33.24 . The Inhabitant shall not say , I am sick ; the People that dwell therein shall be forgiven their Iniquity . Pardon settles upon us the rich Charter of the Promises . Pardoning Mercy is the Sauce that makes all other Mercies relish the sweeter ; it sweetens our Health , Riches , Honour . David had a Crown of Pure Gold set upon his Head , Psal. 21.3 . But that which David did most bless God for , was not that God had set a Crown of Gold upon his Head , but that God had set a Crown of Mercy upon his Head . Psal. 103.4 . Who crowneth thee with Mercies . But what was this Crown of Mercy ? You may see , ver. 3. Who forgiveth all thy Iniquity . David more rejoyc'd that he was Crown'd with Forgiveness , than that he wore a Crown of pure Gold . Now what is it makes way for pardon of sin , but Repentence ? When David's Soul was humbled and broken , then the Prophet Nathan brought him that good News , 2 Sam. 12.13 . The Lord hath put away thy Sin .

Obj. But sure my Sins are so great , that if I should repent , God would not pardon them .

Resp. God will not go from his Promise . Ier. 3.12 . Return thou back-sliding Israel , ( saith the Lord ) and I will not cause my Anger to fall upon you , for I am merciful . If thy Sins are as Rocks , yet upon thy Repentance the Sea of God's Mercy can drown these Rocks . Isa. 1.16 . Wash ye , make ye clean . Wash in the Laver of Repentance . Ver. 18. Come now , and let us reason , saith the Lord ; tho' your Sins be a Scarlet , they shall be as white as Snow . Manasseh was a Crimson Sinner , but when he humbl●d himself greatly , the Golden Scepter of Mercy was held forth ; when his Head was a Fountain to weep for Sin , Christ's Sides were a Fountain to wash away Sin . 'T is not the greatness of Sin , but Impenitency destroys . The Jews ( some of them ) that had an hand in Crucifying Christ , upon their Repentance , the Blood they shed was a sovereign Balm to heal them . When the Prodigal came home to his Father , he had the Robe and Ring put upon him , and his Father kissed him , Luke 15. If you break off your Sins , God will become a Friend to you , all that is in God shall be yours : His Power shall be yours to help you , his Wisdom shall be yours to counsel you , his Spirit shall be yours to sanctifie you , his Promises shall be yours to comfort you , his Angels shall be yours to guard you , his Mercy shall be yours to save you .

4. There 's much Sweetness in Repenting Tears . The Soul is never more enlarged and inwardly delighted , than when it can melt kindly for Sin . Weeping Days are Festival Days . The Hebrew Word to Repent , Nicham , signifies Consolari , to tak● Comfort . Iohn 16.21 . Your Sorrow shall be turned into Ioy . Christ turns the Water of Tears into Wine . David , who was the great Mourner in Israel , was the Sweet Singer : And the Joy a true Penitent finds , is a Prelibation and Foretaste of the Joy of Paradise . The Wicked Man's Joy turns to Sadness ; the Penitents Sadness turns to Joy . Tho Repentance seems at first to be thorny and bitter , yet of this Thorn a Christian gathers Grapes . All which Considerations may open a Vein of Godly Sorrow in our Souls , that we may both weep for Sin , and turn from Sin . If ever God restores Comfort , 't is to his Mourners , Isa. 57.18 . And when we have wept , let us look up to Christ's Blood for Pardon : Say as that holy Man , Lavae Domine lachrimas meas — Lord , wash my Tears in thy Blood . We drop sin with our Tears , and need Christ's Blood to wash them : And this Repentance must not only be for a few days , like the Mourning for a Friend , which is soon over ; but it must be the Work of our Lives . The Issue of Godly Sorrow must not be stopt till Death . After Sin is pardoned , we must repent . We run afresh upon the Score , we sin daily , therefore must repent daily . Some shed a few Tears for Sin , and when their Tears , like the Widows Oyl , have run awhile , they cease . Many , if the Plaister of Repentance begin to smart a little , pluck it off ; whereas this Plaister of Repentance must still lie on , and not be plucked off till Death , when as all other Tears , so these of Godly Sorrow , shall be wiped away .

Quest. What shall we do to obtain a Penitential Frame of Heart ?

Resp. Seek to God for it : It is his Promise to give an Heart of Flesh , Ezek. 36. and to pour on us a Spirit of Mourning , Zech. 12.10 . Beg God's Holy Spirit . Psal. 147.18 . He causeth his Wind to blow , and the Waters flow . When the Wind of God's Spirit blows upon us , then the Waters of Repentant Tears will flow from us .

III. The Third way to escape the Wrath and Curse of God , and obtain the Benefit of Redemption by Christ , is , The diligent Vse of Ordinances . In particular , the Word , Sacraments , and Prayer .

1. I begin with the First of these Ordinances .

I. The Word . 1 Thess. 2.13 . — which effectually worketh in you that believe .

Quest. 1. What is meant by 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Words working effectually ?

Resp. The Word of God is said to work effectually , when it hath that good effect upon us for which it was appointed of God ; namely , when the Word works powerful Illumination , and thorough Reformation . Acts 26.18 . To open their Eyes , and turn them from the power of Satan to God . The opening their Eyes , denotes Illumination : And turning them from Satan to God , denotes Reformation .

Quest. 2. How is the Word to be read and heard , that it may become effectual to Salvation ?

This Question consists of Two Branches .

1. How may the Word be read Effectually ? 2. How may it be heard Effectually ?

1. I shall begin with the First Branch of the Question , How is the Word to be read , that it may be effectual to our Salvation ?

Answ. That we may so read the Word , that it may conduce effectually to our Salvation :

1. Let us have a Reverend Esteem of every part of Canonical Scripture . Psal. 19.10 . More are they to be desired than Gold . Value this Book of God above all other Books . It is a Golden Epistle , endited by the Holy Ghost , sent to us from Heaven , more particularly to raise our Esteem , 1. The Scripture is a Spiritual Glass to dress our Souls by ; it shows us more than we can see by the Light of a Natural Conscience ; that may discover gross Sins , but the Glass of the Word sh●ws us Heart-Sins , Vain Thoughts , Unbelief , &c. And it not only shows us our Spots , but washeth them away . 2. The Scripture is a Sacred Magazine , out of which we may fetch our Spiritual Artillery to fight against Satan . When the Devil tempted our Saviour , he fetch'd Armour and Weapons from Scripture , It is written , Matth. 4.4 , 7. 3. The Holy Scripture is a Panacea , or Universal Medicine for the Soul , it gives a Receipt to cure Deadness of Heart , Psal. 119.50 . Pride , 1 Pet. 5.5 . Infideli●y , Iohn 3.36 . It is a Physick-Garden , where we may gather any Herb or Antidote to expell the Poyson of sin . The Leaves of Scripture , like the Leaves of the Tree of Life , are for the healing of the Nations , Rev. 22.2 . And may not this cause a reverend Esteem of the Word ?

2. If we would have the Word written effectual to our Souls , let us peruse it with Intenseness of Mind . Iohn 5.39 . Search the Scriptures . The Greek Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ▪ signifies to search as for a Vein of Silver . The Bereans , Acts 17. searched the 〈…〉 daily . The Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies to make a curious and critical Search . And 〈◊〉 was mighty in the Scriptures , Acts 18.24 . Some gallop over a Chapter 〈…〉 , and get no good by it . If we would have the Word effectual and saving , we must mind and observe every Passage of Scripture . And that we may be di●igent in the perusal of Scripture : Consider ,

First , The Word written is Norma Cultus , the Rule and Platform by which we are to square our Lives ; it contains in it all things needful to Salvation , Psal. 19.7 . What Duties we are to do , what Sins we are to avoid . God gave Moses a Pattern how he would have the Tabernacle made , and he was to go exactly according to the Pattern , Exod. 25.9 . The Word is the Pattern God hath given us in Writing , for modelling our Lives ; therefore how careful should we be in the pursuing and looking over this Pattern .

Secondly , The Written Word , as it is our Pattern , so it will be our Iudge . Iohn 12.48 . The Word that I have spoken , the same shall judge him at the last Day . We read of the opening of the Books , Rev. 20.12 . This is one Book God will open , the Book of Scripture , and will judge Men out of it . He will say , Have you lived according to the Rule of this Word . The Word hath a double Work , to Teach and to Iudge .

3. If we would have the Word written effectual , we must bring Faith to the reading of it . Believe it to be the Word of the Eternal Iehovah . The Word written comes with Authority , it shews its Commission from Heaven , Thus saith the Lord — It is of Divine Inspiration , 2 Tim. 3.16 . The Oracles of Scripture must be surer to us than a Voice from Heaven , 1 Pet. 1.18 . Unbelief enervates the Vertue of Scripture , and renders it ineffectual . First Men question the Truth of the Scripture , and then fall away from it .

4. If we would have the Word written effectual to Salvation , we must delight in it as our Spiritual Cordial . Ier. 15.16 . Thy Words were found , and I did eat them , and they were the joy and rejoycing of my Heart . All true solid Comfort is fetch'd out of the Word . The Word ( as Chrysostom saith ) is a Spiritual Garden , and the Promises are the Fragrant Flowers or Spices in this Garden . How should we delight to walk among these Beds of Spices ! Is it not a Comfort in all dubious perplext Cases to have a Counsellor to advise us ? Psal. 119.24 . Thy Testimonies are my Counsellors . Is it not a Comfort to find our Evidences for Heaven ? and where should we find them but in the Word ? 1 Thess. 1.4 , 5. The Word written is a Sovereign Elixir , or Comfort in an hour of Distress . Psal. 119.50 . This is my Comfort in Afflictions , for thy Word hath quickned me . It can turn all our Water into Wine . How should we take a great Complacency and Delight in the Word ! They only who come to the Word with Delight , go from it with Success .

5. If we would have the Scripture effectual and saving , we must be sure when we have read the Word , to hide it in our Hearts . Psal. 119.11 . Thy Word have I hid in my Heart . The Word locked up in the Heart is a Preservative against sin . Why did David hide the Word in his Heart ? In the next Words , That I might not sin against thee . As one would carry an Antidote about him when he comes near a place infected ; so David carried the Word in his Heart , as a Sacred Antidote to preserve him from the Infection of Sin . When the Sap is hid in the Root , it makes the Branches fruitful . When the Seed is hid in the Ground , then the Corn springs up : So when the Word is hid in the Heart , then it brings forth good Fruit.

6. If we would have the Word written effectual , let us labour not only to have the Light of the Word in our Heads , but the Power of the Word in our Hearts . Let us endeavour to have the Word copied out , and written a Second time in our Hearts . Psal. 37.31 . The Law of God is in his Heart . The Word saith , Be cloath'd with Humility , 1 Pet. 5.5 . Let us be low and humble in our own Eyes . The Word calls for Sanctity , Let us labour to partake of the Divine Nature , and to have something conceived in us which is of the Holy Ghost , 2 Pet. 1.4 . When the Word is thus copied out into our Hearts , and we are changed into the Similitude of it , now the Word written is made effectual to us , and becomes a Savour of Life .

7. & ult . When we read the Holy Scriptutes , let us look up to God for a Blessing . Beg the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation , that we may see the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the deep things of God , Eph. 1.17 . Pray to God , that the same Spirit that wrote the Scripture , would enable us to understand it . Pray that God will give us that 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , 2 Cor. 2.14 . That Savour of Knowledge , that we may relish a Sweetness in the Word we read . David tasted it sweeter than the Honey-comb , Psal. 19.10 . Let us pray that God will not only give us his Word as a Rule of Holiness , but his Grace as a Principle of Holiness .

2 d. Branch of the 2 d. Question . How may we so hear the Word , that it may be effectual and saving to our Souls ?

Resp. 1. Give great Attention to the Word preached ; let nothing pass without taking special Notice of it . Luke 19.48 . All the People were very attentive to hear him . Greek , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , they hanged upon his Lip . Acts 16.14 . Lydia , a Seller of Purple , which worshipped God , heard us , whose Heart the Lord opened , that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul . Give Attention to the Word as to a matter of Life and Death : And to that purpose , have a care , ( 1. ) To banish vain impertinent Thoughts , which will distract you , and take you off from the Work in hand . These Fowls will be coming to the Sacrifice , Gen. 15.11 . therefore we must drive them away . An Archer may take a right Aim , but if one stand at his Elbow and jog him when he is going to shoot , he will not hit the Mark. Christians may have good Aims in hering , but take heed of impertinent Thoughts which will jog and hinder you in God's Service . ( 2. ) Banish Dulness . The Devil gives many Hearers a sleepy Sop , they cannot keep their Eyes open at a Sermon : They eat so much on a Lord's Day , that they are fitter for the Pillow and Couch than the Temple . Frequent and customary sleeping at a Sermon , shows high Contempt and Irreverence of the Ordinance , it gives bad Example to others ; it makes your Sincerity to be called in question ; it is the Devil's Seed-time , Matth. 13.25 . While the Men slept , the Enemy came and sowed Tares . Oh shake off Drowsiness , as Paul shook off the Viper ! Be serious and attentive in hearing the Word . Deut. 32.47 . For it is not a vain thing for you , it is your Life . When People do not mind what God speaks to them in his Word , God doth as little mind what they say to him in Prayer .

2. If you would have the Word Preached effectual , come with an holy Appetite to the Word , 1 Pet. 2.2 . The Thirsting Soul is the Thriving Soul . In Nature one may have an Appetite and no Digestion : But it is not so in Religion ; where there is a great Appetite to the Word , there is for the most part Digestion , the Word doth concoct and nourish . Come with Hungrings of Soul after the Word . And therefore desire the Word , that it may not only please you , but profit you . Look not more at the garnishing of the Dish than the Meat , at Eloquence and Rhetorick more than solid matter . It argues both a wanton Pallat , and surfeited Stomach , to feed on Sallets and Kickshaws rather than wholsom Food .

3. If you would have the Preaching of the Word effectual , come to it with a Tenderness upon your Heart , 2 Chron. 34.19 . Because thy Heart was tender . If we preach to hard Hearts , it is like shooting against a Brazen Wall , the Word doth not enter ; it is like setting a Gold Seal upon Marble , which takes no Impression . Oh come to the Word preached with a melting Frame of Heart ! 'T is the melting Wax receives the Stamp of the Seal . When the Heart is in a melting Frame , it will better receive the Stamp of the Word preached . When Paul's Heart was melted and broken for Sin , then , Lord , what wilt thou have me do ? Acts 9.6 . Come not hither with hard Hearts : Who can expect a Crop when the Seed is sown upon stony Ground ?

4. If you would have the Word effectual , receive it with Meekness , Iam. 1.21 . Receive with meekness the engrafted Word . Meekness is a Submissive Frame of Heart to the Word ; a willingness to hear the Counsels and Reproofs of the Word . Contrary to this Meekness , is , ( 1. ) Fierceness of Spirit , whereby Men are ready to rise up in Rage against the Word . Proud Men and Guilty cannot endure to hear of their Faults . Proud Herod put Iohn in Prison , Mark 12.12 . The guilty Jews being told of their Crucifying Christ , stoned Stephen , Acts 7.59 . To tell Men of Sin , is to hold a Glass to one that is deformed , who cannot endure to see his own Face . ( 2. ) Contrary to Meekness is Stubbornness of Heart , whereby Men are resolved to hold fast their Sins , let the Word say what it will . Ier. 44.16 . We will burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven . Oh take heed of this ! If you would have the Word preached work effectually , lay aside Fierceness and Stubbornness , receive the Word with Meekness . By Meekness the Word preached comes to be * * 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . engrafted : As a good Cion that is grafted into a bad Stock , doth change the Nature of the Fruit , and make it taste sweet : So when the Word comes to be engrafted into the Soul , it sanctifies it , and makes it bring forth the sweet Fruit of Righteousness .

5. Mingle the Word preached with Faith . Heb. 4.2 . The Word preached profited not , not being mixed with Faith . If you leave out the chief ingredient in a Medicine , it hinders the Operation : Do not leave out this Ingredient of Faith . Believe the Word , and so believe it as to apply it . When you hear Christ Preached , apply him to your selves ; this is to put on the Lord Jesus , Rom. 13.14 . When you hear a Promise spoken of , apply it : This is to suck the Flower of the Promise , and turn it to Honey .

6. Be not only attentive in Hearing , but retentive after Hearing . Heb. 2.1 . We ought to give the more diligent heed to the things we have heard , lest at any time we let them slip . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Lest we let them run out as Water out of a Sieve . If the Ground doth not retain the Seed thrown into it , there can be no good Crop . Some have Memories like leaking Vessels , the Sermons they hear are presently gone , and then there is no good done . If Meat doth not stay and concoct in the Stomach , it will not nourish . Satan labours to steal the Word out of our Mind . Mark 4.15 . When they have heard , Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the Word that was sown . Our Memories should be like the Chest of the Ark wherein the Law was put .

7. Reduce your Hearing to Practice : Live the Sermons your hear . Psal. 119.166 . I have done thy Commandments . Rachel was not content that she was Beautiful , but her Desire was to be Fruitful . What is a knowing Head without a fruitful Heart ? Phil. 1.11 . Fill'd with the Fruits of Righteousness . It is Obedience crowns Hearing . That Hearing will never save the Soul , which doth not reform the Life .

8. Beg of God that he will accompany his Word with his Presence and Blessing . The Spirit must make all effectual . Ministers may prescribe Physick , but it is God's Spirit must make it work . Cathedram habet in Coelo qui corda docet in terra . Aug. He hath his Pulpit in Heaven that converts Souls . Acts 10.44 . While Peter was speaking , the Holy Ghost fell upon all them that heard . It is said the Alchimist can draw Oyl out of Iron . God's Spirit can produce Grace in the most obdurate Heart .

9. & ult . If you would have the Word work effectually to your Salvation , make it Familiar to you , discourse of the Word you have heard when you come home . Psal. 119.172 . My Tongue shall speak of thy Word . That may be one reason why some People get no more good by what they hear , because they never speak one to another of what they have heard : As if Sermons were such Secrets , that they must not be spoken of again ; or as if it were a Shame to speak of matters of Salvation . Mal. 3.16 . They that feared the Lord spake often one to another , and a Book of Remembrance was written .

Vse . Caution . Take heed , as you love your Souls , that the Word become not ineffectual to you . There are some to whom the Word preached is ineffectual . ( 1. ) Such as Censure the Word ; in stead of judging themselves , judge the Word . ( 2. ) Such as live in contradiction to the Word , Isa. 30.8 . ( 3. ) Such as are more hardened by the Word , Zech. 7.11 . They made their Heart as an Adamant . And when Men harden their Hearts wilfully , God hardens them judicially . Isa. 6.8 . Make their Ears heavy . The Word to these is ineffectual . Were it not sad if a Man's Meat should not nourish ; nay , if it should turn to Poyson ? Oh! Take heed that the Word Preach'd be not ineffectual and to no purpose . Consider Three things .

( 1. ) If the Word Preached doth us no good , there is no other way by which we can be saved . This is God's Institution , and the main Engin he useth to convert Souls . Luke 16.31 . If they hear not Moses and the Prophets , neither will they be perswaded tho' one arose from the Dead . If an Angel should come to you out of Heaven , and preach of the Excellency of the glorified Estate and the Joys of Heaven , and that in the most Pathetical manner ; if the Word preached doth not perswade , neither would you be wrought upon by such an Oration from Heaven . If a damned Spirit should come from Hell , and preach to you in Flames , and tell you what a place Hell is , and roar out the Torments of the Damned , it might make you tremble , but it would not convert , if the Preaching of the Word would not do it .

( 2. ) To come to the Word , and not be savingly wrought upon , is that which the Devil is pleas'd with . He cares not tho' you hear frequently , if it be not effectually . He is not an Enemy to Hearing , but Profiting . Tho' the Minister holds out the Breast of the Ordinance to you , he cares not , as long as you do not suck the sincere Milk of the Word . The Devil cares not how many Sermon-Pills you take , so long as they do not work upon your Conscience .

( 3. ) If the Word preached be not effectual to Men's Conversion , it will be effectual to their Condemnation : The Word will be effectual one way or other ; if it doth not make your Hearts better , it will make your Chains heavier . We pity them who have not the Word preached , but it will be worse with them who are not sanctified by it . Dreadful is their Case , who go loaden to Hell with Sermons . But I will conclude with the Apostle , Heb. 6.9 . I am perswaded better things of you , and things that accompany Salvation .

Matth. XXVIII . 19 .

Go ye therefore and teach all Nations , Baptizing them in the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost , Teaching them — .

We are still upon that Question in the Catechism ,

Quest. What are the Outward Means whereby Christ communicates to us the Benefits of Redemption ?

Answ. " They are his Ordinances , especially , the Word , Sacraments and Prayers .

I have spoken to the First , The Word Read and Preached , I now proceed to the Second .

II. The Way whereby Christ communicates to us the Benefits of Redemption , is , in the Vse of the Sacraments .

Quest. 1. What are Sacraments in general ?

Resp. They are Visible Signs of Invisible Grace .

Quest. 2. Is not the Word of God sufficient to Salvation ? What need then is there of Sacraments ?

Resp. We must not be wise above what is written . This may satisfie , it is God's Will that his Church should have Sacraments . And , it is God's Goodness thus by Sacraments to condescend to our weak Capacities . Iohn 4.48 . Except ye see Signs ye will not believe . God to strengthen our Faith confirms the Covenant of Grace , not only by Promises , but by Sacramental Signs .

Quest. 3. What are the Sacraments of the New Testament ?

Resp. Two : Baptism and the Lord's Supper .

Quest. 4. But are there no more ? The Papists tell us of Five more , viz. Confirmation , Penance , Matrimony , Orders , and the Extream Unction .

Resp. 1. There were but Two Sacraments under the Law , therefore there are no more now , 1 Cor. 10.2 , 3 , 4.

2. These two Sacraments are sufficient : The one signifying our Entrance into Christ , and the other our Growth and Perseverance in him .

( 1. ) I begin with the First Sacrament , Baptism . Go ye therefore , and Teach all Nations , Baptizing them in the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost , Teaching them . — Go teach all Nations : The Greek Word is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Make Disciples of all Nations . If it be asked , How should we make them Disciples ? It follows , Baptizing them , and teaching them . In an Heathen Nation , first Teach them , and then Baptize them ; but in a Christian Church , first Baptize them , and then Teach them .

Quest. 5. " What is Baptism ?

Resp. In General , it is a Matriculation , or Visible Admission of Children into the Congregation of Christ's Flock : More particularly , Baptism is a Sacrament , wherein the washing or sprinkling with Water in the Name of the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , doth signify and seal our engrafting into Christ , and partaking of the Benefits of the Covenant of Grace , and our Engagement to be the Lords .

Quest. 6. What is the meaning of the Parent in Presenting his Child to be Baptized ?

Resp. The Parent in presenting his Child to be Baptiz'd , doth , ( 1. ) Make a Publick Acknowledgment of Original Sin ; that the Soul of his Child is polluted , therefore needs washing away of Sin by Christ's Blood and Spirit ; both which Washings are signified by the sprinkling of Water in Baptism . ( 2. ) The Parent by bringing his Child to be Baptiz'd , doth solemly Devote his Child to the Lord , and enroll him in God's Family . And truly this may be a great Satisfaction to a Religious Parent , that he hath given up his Child to the Lord in Baptism . How can a Parent look with Comfort on that Child , who was never yet Dedicated to God ?

Quest. 7. What is the Benefit then of Baptism ?

Resp. The Party Baptiz'd hath , ( 1. ) An Entrance into the Visible Body of the Church . ( 2. ) The Party Baptized hath a Right Sealed to the Ordinances , which is a Priviledge full of Glory , Rom. 9.4 . ( 3. ) The Child Baptiz'd is under a more special providential Care of Christ , who appoints the Tutelage of Angels to be the Infants Life-Guard .

Quest. 8. Is this all the Benefit ?

Resp. No : To such as belong to the Election , Baptism is a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith , Rom. 4.11 . A Laver of Regeneration , and a Badge of Adoption .

Quest. 9. How doth it appear that Children have right to Baptism ?

Resp. Children are Parties of the Covenant of Grace . The Covenant was made with them . Gen. 17.7 . I will establish my Covenant between me and thee , and thy Seed after thee , for an everlasting Covenant , to be a God unto thee and thy Seed after thee . And Acts 2.39 . The Promise is to you and to your Children . The Covenant of Grace may be consider'd either , ( 1. ) More strictly , as an absolute Promise to give Saving Grace : And so none but the Elect are in Covenant with God . Or , ( 2. ) More largely , as a Covenant containing in it many outward glorious Priviledges , in which respect the Children of Believers do belong to the Covenant of Grace : The Promise is to you and to your Seed . The Infant-Seed of Believers may as well lay a Claim to the Covenant of Grace as their Parents ; and having a Right to the Covenant , they cannot justly be denied Baptism , which is the Seal . I would ask this Question of them who deny Infant-Baptism . It is certain the Children of Believers were once Visibly in Covenant with God , and did receive the Seal of their Admission into the Church ? Now , where do we find this Covenant-Interest , or Church-Membership of Infants was ever repealed , or made void ? Certainly Jesus Christ did not come to put Believers and their Children into a worse condition than they were in before . If the Children of Believers should not be Baptized , then they are in a worse Condition now than they were in before Christ's Coming — Before I came to prove the Baptizing of Infants , I shall answer the Objections made against it .

Obj. 1. The Scripture is silent herein , and doth not mention Infant-Baptism .

Resp. Tho' there is not the Word Infant-Baptism in Scripture , yet there is the Thing . There is not mention made in Scripture of Womens receiving the Sacrament ; but who doubts but the Command , Take , Eat , this is my Body , concerns them ? Doth not their Faith need strengthening as well as others ? So the Word Trinity is not to be found in Scripture , but there is that which is equivalent : 1 Iohn 5.7 . There are three that bear record in Heaven , the Father , the Word , and the Holy Ghost , and these Three are One. So tho' the Word Infant-Baptism is not mentioned in Scripture , yet the Practice of Baptizing Infants may be drawn out of Scripture by undeniable consequence .

Quest. How is that proved ?

Answ. The Scripture mentions whole Families Baptized : As the Houshold of Lydia , Crispus , and the Iailor . Acts 16.33 . He was baptized , he and all his . Wherein we must rationally imagine that there were some little Children . If it be said , there is no mention there made of Children . I Answer , Neither are Servants named ; yet it cannot be suppos'd but that in so great a Family there were some Servants .

Obj. 2. But Infants are not capable of the End of Baptism : For Baptism signifies the washing away of Sin by the Blood of Christ . Now Infants cannot understand this ; therefore what Benefit can Baptism be to them ?

Answ. Whereas it is said , Infants cannot understand the Mystery of Baptism , neither could the Child that was to be Circumcised understand Circumcision ; yet the Ordinance of Circumcision was not to be omitted or deferred . An Infant , tho it understand not the meaning of Baptism , yet it may partake of the Blessing of Baptism . The little Children that Christ took in his Arms understood not Christ's meaning , but they had Christ's Blessing . Mark 10.16 . He put his Hands upon them and blessed them .

Quest. But what Benefit can the Child have of Baptism , if it understands not the Nature of Baptism ?

Answ. It may have a Right to the Promise sealed up , which it shall have an actual Interest in when it comes to have Faith . A Legacy may be of use to the Child in the Cradle ; tho' now it understand not the Legacy , yet when it is grown up to Years , it is fully possessed of it . But it may be further Objected ,

Obj. The Party to be Baptiz'd is to be engag'd to God ; but how can the Child engage ?

Answ. The Parents can engage for it , which God is pleased to accept as equivalent to the Childs Personal engaging .

Obj. 3. If Baptism comes in the room of Circumcision , only the Males were Circumcised , Gen. 17.30 . Then , what Warrant is there for Baptizing Females ?

Answ. The Females were included , and were virtually Circumcis'd in the Males . What is done to the Head , is done to the Body ; the Man therefore being the Head of the Woman , 1 Cor. 11.3 . what was done to the Male Sex , was interpretatively done to the Female . Having Answer'd these Objections , I come now to prove by Argument Infant-Baptism .

1 st Arg. If Children , during their Infancy , are capable of Grace , then they are capable of Baptism : But Children in their Infancy are capable of Grace , therefore they are capable of Baptism . I prove the Minor , That they are capable of Grace , thus : If Children in their Infancy may be saved , then they are capable of Grace ; but Children in their Infancy may be saved : Which is proved thus ; If the Kingdom of Heaven may belong to them , then they may be saved ; but the Kingdom of Heaven may belong to them , as it is clear from Mark 10.14 . Of such is the Kingdom of God . Who then can forbid that the Seal of Baptism should be applied to them ?

2 d Arg. If Infants ▪ may be among the Number of God's Servants , then there is no reason why they should be shut out of God's Family : but Infants may be in the Number of God's Servants : That is evident , because God calls them his Servants . Levit. 25.4 . He shall depart from thee , and his Children with him , for they are my Servants . Therefore Children in their Infancy being God's Servants , why should they not have Baptism , which is the Tessera , the Mark or Seal which God sets upon his Servants .

3 d Arg. Is from 1 Cor. 7.14 . But now are your Children holy . Children are not called Holy , as if they were free from Original Sin , but in the Iudgment of Charity they are to be esteemed holy and true Members of the Church of God , because their Parents are Believers . Hence that excellent Divine Mr. Heldersam saith , That the Children of the Faithful , as soon as they are born have a Covenant-Holiness , and so a Right and Title to Baptism , which is the Token of the Covenant .

4 th Arg. From the Opinion of the Fathers , and the Practice of the Church , ( 1. ) The Ancient Fathers were strong Assertors of Infant-Baptism , Irenaus , Basil , Lactantius , Cyprian , and Austin . ( 2. ) It was the Practice of the Greek Church to baptize her Infants . Erasmus saith , That Infant-Baptism hath been used in the Church of God for above Fourteen Hundred Years . And St. Austin , in his Book against Pelagius , affirms , That it hath been the Custom of the Church in all Ages to Baptize Infants : Yea , it was an Apostolical Practice . St. Paul affirms , that he Baptized the whole House of Stephanus , 1 Cor. 1.16 .

And as you have seen Scripture Arguments for Infant-Baptism , so let us consider whether the Practice of those who delay the Baptizing of Children till Riper Years , be warrantable — For my part , I cannot gather it from Scripture : For tho' we read of Persons Adult and grown up to Years of Discretion in the Apostles times Baptized , yet those were such as were converted from Heathenish Idolatry to the True Orthodox Faith . But that in a Christian Church the Children of Believers should be kept unbaptized several Years , I know neither Precept nor Example for it in Scripture , but it is wholly Apocryphal . The Baptizing of Persons grown up to Maturity , we may argue against ab effectu , from the Ill Consequences of it . They dip the Persons they baptize over Head and Ears in cold Water , and naked , which as it is Indecent , so it is Dangerous , and hath been often times the occasion of Chronical Diseases , yea , Death it self , and so is a plain Breach of the Sixth Commandment . And how far God hath given up many Persons , who are for the deferring of Baptism , to other vile Opinions and vicious Practices , is evident , if we consult with History : Especially if we read over the Actings of the Anabaptists in Germany .

Vse I. See the Riches of God's Goodness , who will not only be the God of Believers , but takes their Seed into Covenant . Gen. 17.7 . I will establish my Covenant between me and thee , and thy Seed after thee , to be a God unto thee and thy Seed . A Father counts it a great Priviledge , not only to have his own Name , but his Child's Name put in a Will.

2. It blames those Parents who forbid little Children to be brought to Christ ; they with-hold the Ordinance : By denying their Infants Baptism , they exclude them from having a Membership in the Visible Church , and so their Infants are sucking Pagans . Such as deny their Children Baptism , make God's Institutions under the Law more full of Kindness and Grace to Children , than they are now under the Gospel ; which how strange a Paradox it is , I leave to you to judge .

Vse . III. Exhort . 1 st. Branch . We that are Baptized , let us labour to find the Blessed Fruits of Baptism in our own Souls : Let us labour not only to have the Sign of the Covenant , but the Grace of the Covenant . Many glory in this , that they are Baptized . The Jews gloried in their Circumcision , because of their Royal Priviledges : To them belonged the Adoption , and the Glory , and the Covenants , Rom. 9.4 . But many of them were a Shame and Reproach to their Circumcision . Rom. 2.24 . For the Name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you . The scandalous Jews ( tho Circumcis'd ) were in God's Account as Heathens . Amos 9.7 . Are ye not as Children of the Ethiopians to me , saith the Lord ? Alas ! What is it to have the Name of Christ , and want his Image ? What is Baptism of Water , without the Baptism of the Spirit ? Many Baptized Christians are no better than Heathens . O , labour to find the Fruits of Baptism , that Christ is form'd in us ! Gal. 4.19 . That our Nature is chang'd , we are made Holy and Heavenly ; this is to be Baptized into Iesus , Rom. 6.3 . Such as live unsuitable to their Baptism , may go with Baptismal Water on their Faces , and Sacramental Bread in their Mouths , to Hell .

2 d. Br. Let us labour to make a Right Use of our Baptism .

1 st. Vse of Baptism . Let us use it as a Shield against Temptations . Satan , I have given up my self to God by a Sacred Vow in Baptism , I am not my own , I am Christ's , therefore I cannot yield to thy Temptations , but I break my Oath of Allegiance which I made to God in Baptism . Luther tells us of a Pious Woman , who when the Devil tempted her to sin , she answered Satan , Baptizata sum , I am baptized ; and so beat back the Tempter .

2 d. Vse of Baptism . Let us use it as a Spurr to Holiness : By remembring our Baptism , let us be stirred up to make good our Baptismal Engagements : Renouncing the World , Flesh and Devil , let us Devote our selves to God and his Service . To be Baptiz'd into the Name of the Father , Son and Holy Ghost , implies ● Solemn Dedication of our selves to the Service of all the Three Persons in the Trinity . It is not enough that our Parents dedicate us to God in Baptism , but we must dedicate our selves to him . This is called a Living 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to the Lord , Rom. 14.8 . Our Life should be spent in worshipping God , in loving God , in exalting God : We should walk 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as becomes the Gospel , Phil. 1.27 . Shine as Stars in the World , and live as Earthly Angels .

3 d. Vse of Baptism . Let us use it as an Argument to Courage . We should be ready to confess that Holy Trinity , into whose Name we were baptized . With the Conversion of the Heart must go the Confession of the Tongue . Luke 12.8 . Whosoever shall confess me before Men , him shall the Son of Man also confess before the Angels of God . Peter openly confessed Christ crucifyed , Acts 4.10 . Cyprian , a Man of a brave Spirit , was like a Rock , whom no Waves could shake ; like an Adamant , whom no Sword could cut . He confessed Christ before the Proconsul , and suffered himself to be proscribed , yea , chose Death , rather than he would betray the Truths of Christ . He that dares not confess the Holy Trinity , shames his Baptism , and God will be ashamed to own him at the Day of Judgment .

Vlt. Vse . See the fearfulness of the Sin of Apostacy ! 'T is a renouncing of our Baptism : 'T is damnable Perjury to go away from God after a Solemn Vow . 2 Tim. 4.10 . Demas hath forsaken me . He turned Renegado , and afterward became a Priest in an Idol Temple , saith Dorotheus . Iulian the Apostate ( Gregory Nazianzen observes ) bathed himself in the Blood of Beasts offered in Sacrifice to the Heathen Gods , and so as much as in him lay , washed off his former Baptism . The Case of such as fall away after Baptism is dreadful . Heb. 10.38 . If any Man draw back : The Greek Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to draw back , alludes to a Souldier that steals away from his Colours . So if any Man steal away from Christ , and run over to the Devils side , my Soul shall have no pleasure in him . That is , I will be severely avenged on him , I will make my Arrows drunk with his Blood . If all the Plagues in the Bible can make that Man miserable , he shall be so .

II. The Second Sacrament wherein Jesus Christ communicates to us the Benefits of his Redemption , is , the Lord's Supper .

Mark XIV . 24 .

And as they did Eat , Iesus took Bread , &c.

Secondly , Having spoken of the Sacrament of Baptism , I come now to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper . The Lord's Supper is the most Spiritual and sweet Ordinance that ever was instituted . Here we have to do more immediately with the Person of Christ . In Prayer we draw nigh to God , in the Sacrament we become one with him . In Prayer we look up to Christ , in the Sacrament by Faith we touch him . In the Word Preached we hear Christ's Voice , in the Sacrament we feed on him .

Quest. 1. What Names and Titles in Scripture are given to the Sacrament ?

Resp. 1. It is called , ( 1. ) Mensa Domini , The Lord's Table , 1 Cor. 10.21 . The Papists call it an Altar , not a Table . The Reason is , because they turn the Sacrament into a Sacrifice , and pretend to offer up Christ corporally in the Ma●s . It being the Lord's Table , shews with what Reverence and solemn Devotion we should approach to these Holy Mysteries . The Lord takes notice of the Frame of our Hearts when we come to his Table . Matth. 22.11 . The King came in to see the Guests . We dress our selves when we come to the Table of some Great Monarch . We should think with our selves , we are going to the Table of the Lord , therefore should dress our selves by Holy Meditation and Heart-Consideration . Many think it is enough to come to the Sacrament , but mind not whether they come in Due Order * * 1 Chron. 15.13 . . Perhaps they had scarce a serious Thought before whither they were going : All their Dressing was by the Glass , not by the Bible . Chrysostom calls it , The dreadful Table of the Lord : So it is to such as come unworthily . ( 2. ) The The Sacrament is called Coena Domini , the Lord's Supper , 1 Cor. 11.20 . to import , it is a Spiritual Feast : It is indeed a Royal Feast , God is in this Cheer . Christ in both Natures , God and Man , is the matter of this Supper . ( 3. ) The Sacrament is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Communion , 1 Cor. 10.16 . The Bread which we break , is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ ? The Sacrament being called a Communion , shews ,

1. That this Ordinance is only for Believers , because none else can have Communion with Christ in these Holy Mysteries . — Communio fundatur in ●nione : Faith only gives us Union with Christ , and by Vertue of this we have Communion with him in his Body and Blood . None but the Spouse communicates with her Husband . A Stranger may drink of his Cup , but she only hath his Heart , and communicates with him in a Conjugal manner : So Strangers may have the Sign , drink of the Cup , but only Believers drink Christ's Blood , and have Communion with him in his Priviledges .

2. The Sacrament being a Communion , shews , That it is Symbolum Amoris , a Bond of that Unity and Charity which should be among Christians . 1 Cor. 10.17 . We being many are one Body . As many Grains make One Bread , so many Christistians are one Body . A Sacrament is a Love-Feast . The Primitive Christians ( as Iustin Martyr notes ) had their Holy Salutations at the Blessed Supper , in token of that Dearness of Affection which they did bear each to other . It is a Communion , therefore there must be Love and Union . The Israelites did eat the Passover with Bitter Herbs , so must we eat the Sacrament with bitter Herbs of Repentance , but not with bitter Hearts of Wrath and Malice . The Hearts of the Communicants should be knit together with the Bond of Love . Thou braggest of thy Faith , ( saith Austin ) but show me thy Faith by thy Love to the Saints . For as in the Sun , Light and Heat are inseparable , so Faith and Love are twisted together inseparably . Where there are Divisions , the Lord's Supper is not properly a Communion , but a Disunion .

Quest. 2. What is the Lord's Supper ?

Resp. It is a visible Sermon , wherein Christ crucify'd is set before us ; or it is a Sacrament of the New Testament , wherein by receiving the Holy Elements of Bread and Wine , our Communion with Christ is signify'd and seal'd up to us . Or thus : It is a Sacrament Divinely Instituted , wherein by giving and receiving Bread and Wine , Christ's Death is shewed forth , and the worthy Receivers are by Faith made Partakers of his Body and Blood , and all the Benefits flowing from thence . For the further explaining of the Nature of the Lord's Supper , I shall look back to to the Institution .

1. Iesus ] took Bread . Here is the Master of the Feast , or the Institutor of the Sacrament . The Lord Iesus he took Bread . He only is fit to Institute a Sacrament , who is able to give Vertue and Blessing to it .

2. He took Bread . ] Christ's Taking of the Bread was one Part of his Consecration of the Elements , and setting them apart for an Holy Use. And as Christ did consecrate the Elements , so we must labour to have our Hearts consecrated before we receive these Holy Mysteries in the Lord's Supper . How unseemly a Sight is it to see any come to these Holy Elements , having Hearts leavened with Pride , Covetousness , Envy ! These do with Iudas receive the Devil in the Sop , and are no better than Crucifyers of the Lord of Glory .

3. And Blessed it . ] This is another Part of the Consecration of the Element , Christ blessed it : He blesseth , and it shall be blessed . Viz. He look'd up to Heaven for a Benediction upon this Ordinance newly founded .

4. And Brake it . ] The Bread broken , and the Wine poured out , was to signifie to us the Agony and Ignominy of Christ's Sufferings , the Rending of Christs Body on the Cross , and that Effusion of Blood which was distilled from his blessed Sides .

5. And gave it ] to them . Christ's giving the Bread , denotes Christ's giving of himself and all his Benefits to us freely . Tho Christ was sold , yet given . Iudas did sell Christ , but Christ gave himself to us .

6. He gave it to Them , ] viz. The Disciples . This is Childrens Bread ; Christ doth not cast these Pearl before Swine . Whether Iudas were present at the Supper is controverted , I rather incline to think he was not : For Christ said to the Disciples , This is my Blood which is shed for you , Luke 22.20 . Christ knew his Blood was never shed effectually and intentionally for Iudas . In eating the Passover Christ gave Iudas a Sop , which was a Bit of Unleavened Bread dipt in a Sauce made with bitter Herbs ; Iudas having received the Sop , went immediately out , John 13. But suppose Iudas were there , tho he receiv'd the Element , yet not the Blessing .

7. Take , Eat . ] This Expression of Eating denotes Four things . ( 1. ) The near mystical Vnion between Christ and his Saints . As the Meat which is eaten incorporates with the Body , and becomes one with it ; so by eating Christ's Flesh , and drinking his Blood Spiritually , we partake of Christ's Merits and Graces , and are mystically one with him . Iohn 17.23 . I in them . ( 2. ) Take , eat . Eating shows the infinite Delight the believing Soul hath in Christ . Eating is grateful and pleasing to the Pallat : So feeding on Christ by a lively Faith is delicious . Nullus animae suavior cibus . Lactantius . No such sweet feeding as on Christ crucifyed . This is a Feast of Fat things , and Wine on Lees w●ll refined . ( 3. ) Take , eat . Eating denotes Nourishment . Meat , as it is delicious to the Pallat , so it is nourishing to the Body . So eating Christ's Flesh , and drinking his Blood , is nutritive to the Soul . The new Creature is nourished at the Table of the Lord to everlasting Life . Iohn 6.54 . Whoso eateth my Flesh , and drinketh my Blood , hath eternal Life . ( 4. ) Take , eat , shows the Wisdom of God , who restores us by the same means by which we fell . We fell by Taking and Eating the Forbidden Fruit , and we are recovered again by Taking and Eating of Christ's Flesh. We died by eating the Tree of Knowledge , and we live by eating the Tree of Life .

8. This is my Body . ] These Words , Hoc est Corpus meum , have been much controverted between us and the Papists . This is my Body , that is , by a Metonymy , It is a Sign and Figure of my Body . The Papists hold Transubstantiation , that the Bread is after Consecration turn'd into the very Substance of Christ's Body . We say we receive Christ's Body Spiritually , they say they receive Christ's Body Carnally , which is contrary to Scripture . The Scripture affirms , that the Heavens must receive Christ's Body until the times of the restitution of all things , Acts 3.21 . Christ's Body cannot be at the same time in Heaven and in the Host. Aquinas saith , It is not possible by any Miracle that a Body should be locally in two places at once . Besides , it is absurd to imagine , that the Bread in the Sacrament should be turned into Christ's Flesh , and that his Body which was hung before , should be made again of Bread . So that This is my Body , is as if Christ had said , This is a Sign and Representation of my Body .

9. And he took the Cup. ] The Cup is put by a Metonymy of the Subject for the Adjunct , for the Wine in the Cup ; it signifies the Blood of Christ shed for our Sins . The taking of the Cup , denotes the Redundancy of Merit in Christ , and the Fulness of our Redemption by him . He not only took the Bread , but the Cup.

10. And when he had given Thanks . ] 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Christ gave Thanks that God had given these Elements of Bread and Wine to be Signs and Seals of Man's Redemption by Christ . Christ's giving of Thanks , shows his Philanthropy , or Love to Mankind , who did so rejoyce and bless God , that Lost Man was now in a way of Recovery , and that he should be rais'd higher in Christ than ever he was in Innocency .

11. He gave the Cup to them . ] Why then dare any with-hold the Cup ? This is to pollute and curtail the Ordinance , and alter it from its Primitive Institution . Christ and his Apostles administred the Sacrament in both Kinds , the Bread and the Cup , 1 Cor. 11.24 , 25. And the Cup was receiv'd in the ancient Church for the space of 1400 Years , as is confess'd by Two Popish Councils . Christ saith expresly , Drink ye all of this . He doth not say , Eat ye all of this : But , Drink ye all ; as foreseeing the Sacrilegious Impiety of the Church of Rome in keeping back the Cup from the People . The Popish Council of Constance speaks plainly , but impudently , That altho' Christ instituted and administred the Sacrament in both Kinds , the Bread and the Wine , yet the Authority of the Holy Canons , and the Custom of the Mother Church , think good to deny the Cup to the Laity . Thus as the Popish Priests make Christ but half a Saviour , so they administer to the People but half a Sacrament . The Sacrament is Christ's Last Will and Testament , in the Text , This is my Blood of the New Testament . Now to alter or take away any thing from a Man's Will and Testament , is a great Impiety . What is it then to alter and mangle Christ's Last Will and Testament ? Sure 't is an high Affront to Christ .

Quest. 3. What are the Ends of the Lord's Supper ?

Resp. 1. It is an Ordinance appointed to confirm our Faith . Iohn 4.48 . Except ye see Signs ye will not believe . Christ sets the Elements before us , that by these Signs our Faith may be strengthened . As Faith cometh by hearing , so it is confirmed by seeing Christ crucify'd . The Sacrament is not only a Sign to represent Christ , but a Seal to confirm our Interest in him .

Object . But it is the Spirit confirms Faith , therefore not the Sacrament .

Answ. This is no good Logick . The Spirit confirms Faith , therefore not the Sacrament , is as if one should say , God feeds our Bodies , therefore Bread doth not feed us ; whereas God feeds us by Bread : So the Spirit confirms our Faith by the Use of the Sacrament .

2. The End of the Sacrament is to keep up the Memory of Christ's Death . 1 Cor. 11.25 . This do ye 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in remembrance of me . If a Friend give us a Ring at his Death , we wear it to keep up the Memory of our Friend . Much more then ought we to keep up the Memorial of Christ's Death in the Sacrament ! Christ's Death lays a Foundation for all the magnificent Blessings which we receive from Christ . The Covenant of Grace was agreed on in Heaven , but sealed upon the Cross. Christ hath sealed all the Articles of Peace in his Blood . Remission of Sin flows from Christ's Death , Matth. 26.28 . This is my Blood of the New Testament shed for many for the Remission of Sins . Consecration , or making us Holy , is the Fruit of Christ's Death . Heb. 9.14 . How much more shall the Blood of Christ purge your Conscience ! Christ's Intercession is made available to us by Vertue of his Death . Christ could not have been admitted an Advocate , if he had not been first a Sacrifice . Our entring into Heaven is the Fruit of Christ's Blood , Heb. 10.19 . Christ could not have prepared Mansions for us , if he had not first purchased them by his Death : So that we have a great deal of cause to commemorate Christ's Death in the Sacrament .

Quest. In what Manner are we to remember the Lord's Death in the Sacrament ?

Answ. It is not only an Historical Remembrance of Christ's Death and Passion : Thus Iudas remembers Christ's Death , and how he betray'd him : And Pilate remembers Christ' , Death , and how he crucify'd him : But our remembring Christ's Death in the Sacrament , must be ,

( 1. ) A Mournful Remembrance . We must not be able to look on Christ crucified with dry Eyes . Zech. 12.10 . They shall look on him whom they have pierced , and mourn over him . O Christian , when thou lookest on Christ in the Sacrament , remember how oft thou hast crucifyed him ! The Jews did it but once , thou often . Every Oath is a Nail with which thou piercest his Hands : Every unjust sinful Action is a Spear with which thou woundest his Heart . O remember Christ with Sorrow , to think thou shouldst make his Wounds bleed afresh !

Mark XIV . 22 , 23 , 24.

Iesus took Bread , &c.

( 2. ) It must be a Ioyful Remembrance , Iohn 8.56 . Abraham saw my Day and rejoyced . When a Christian sees a Sacrament Day approach he should rejoyce . This Ordinance of the Supper is an Earnest of Heaven ; 't is the Glass in which we see him whom our Souls love : It is the Chariot by which we are carried up to Christ . When Iacob saw the Waggons and Chariots which were to carry him to his Son Ioseph , his Spirit revived , Gen. 45.27 . God hath appointed the Sac●●ment , on purpose to chear and revive a sad Heart . When we look on our Sins , ●e have cause to mourn ; but when we see Christ's Blood shed for our Sins , this may make us rejoyce . In the Sacrament our Wants are supplyed , our Strength is renewed : Here we meet with Christ , and doth not this call for Joy ? A Woman that hath been long debarred from the Society of her Husband , how glad is she of his Presence ! At the Sacrament the believing Spouse meets with Christ : He saith to her , All I have is thine . My Love is thine to pity thee , my Mercy is thine to save thee . How can we think in the Sacrament on Christ's Blood shed , and not rejoyce . Sanguis Christi clavis Paradisi . Christ's Blood is the Key which opens Heaven , else we had been all shut out .

3. End of the Sacrament is , to work in us an endeared Love to Christ . When Christ bleeds over us , well may we say , Behold how he loved us ! Who can see Christ die , and not be Sick of Love ? That is an Heart of stone , whom Christ's Love will not melt .

4. End of the Sacrament ; the mortifying of Corruption . To see Christ crucified for us , is a means to crucify sin in us . Christ's Death ( like the Water of Jealousie ) makes the Thigh of Sin to rot , Numb . 5.27 . How can a Wife endure to see that Spear which killed her Husband ? How can we endure those sins which made Christ vail his Glory , and lose his Blood ? When the People of Rome saw Caesar's bloody Robe , they were incensed against them that slew him . Sin hath rent the White Robe of Christ's Flesh , and died it of a crimson Colour : The Thoughts of this will make us seek to be avenged on our sins .

5. End , the Augmentation and Encrease of all the Graces , Hope , Zeal , Patience . The Word Preached begets Grace , the Lord's Supper nourisheth it : The Body by feeding encreaseth Strength , so doth the Soul by feeding on Christ Sacramentally . Cum defecerit virtus mea calicem salutarem accipiam . Bern. When my spiritual strength begins to fail , I know a Remedy , ( saith Bernard ) I will go the Table of the Lord , there I will drink and recover my decayed strength . There is difference between Dead Stones and Living Plants . The Wicked who are Stones receive no spiritual Encrease , but the Godly , who are Plants of Righteousness , being watered with Christ's Blood , grow more fruitful in Grace .

Quest. 4. Why are we to receive this Holy Supper ?

Answ. Because it is a Duty incumbent , Take , Eat . And observe , it is a Command of Love . If Christ had commanded us some great matter , would not we have done it ? 2 Kings 5.13 . If the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing , wouldst thou not have done it ? If Christ had enjoyned us to have given him a Thousand of Rams , or to have parted with the Fruit of our Bodies , would we not have done it ? Much more when he only saith , Take and Eat : Let my broken Body feed you , let my Blood poured out save you . Take and Eat : This is a Command of Love , and shall we not readily obey ?

2. We are to celebrate the Lord's Supper , because it is a provoking to Christ to stay away . Prov. 9.2 . Wisdom hath furnished her Table . So Christ hath furnished his Table , set Bread and Wine ( representing his Body and Blood ) before his Guests , and they wilfully turn their Backs upon the Ordinance , Christ looks upon it as a slighting of his Love , and that makes the Fury rise up in his Face . Luke 14.24 . For I say unto you , that none of those that were bidden shall taste of my Supper . I will shut them out of my Kingdom , I will provide them a black Banquet , where weeping shall be the first Course , and gnashing of Teeth the Second .

Quest. 5. Whether the Lord's Supper be oft to be Administred ?

Resp. Yes : 1 Cor. 11.26 . As oft as ye eat of this Bread . The Ordinance is not to be celebrated once in a Year , or once in our Lives , but often . A Christians own Necessities may make him come often hither . His Corruptions are strong , therefore he had need come often hither for an Antidote to expell the Poyson of Sin ; and his Graces are weak . * * Rev. 3.2 . Grace is like a Lamp , if it be not often fed with Oyl , it is apt to go out . How therefore do they sin against God , who come but very seldom to this Ordinance ! Can they thrive , who for a long time forbear their Food ? And others there are who do wholly forbear . This is a great Contempt offered to Christ's Ordinance . Men do as it were tacitly say , Let Christ keep his Feast to himself . What a cross-grain'd piece is Man , he will Eat when he should not , and he will not eat when he should . When God said , Eat not of this forbidden Fruit , then he will be sure to eat : When God saith , Eat of this Bread , and Drink of this Cup , then he refuseth to eat .

Quest. 6. Are all to come promiscuously to this Holy Ordinance ?

Resp. No , that were to make the Lord's Table an Ordinary . Christ forbids to cast Pearls before Swine . Mat. 7.6 . Exod. 19.12 . The Sacramental Bread is Children's Bread , and it is not to be cast to the Profane . As at the giving of the Law God set Bounds about the Mount that none might touch it : So God's Table should be guarded , that the Profane should not come near . In the Primitive Times , after Sermon done , and they were going to Celebrate the Lord's Supper , an Officer stood up and cried , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Holy things for Holy Men : And then several of the Congregation were to depart . I would have my Hand cut off , ( saith Chrysostom ) rather than I would give Christ's Body and Blood to the Profane . The wicked do not eat Christ's Flesh , but tear it ; they do not drink his Blood , but spill it . These Holy Mysteries in the Sacraments are tremenda mysteria , Mysteries that the Soul is to tremble at . Sinners defile the Holy things of God , they poyson the Sacramental Cup. We read that the wicked are to be set at Christ's Feet , Psal. 110. not at his Table .

Quest. 7. How may we receive the Supper of the Lord worthily , that so it may become effectual to us ?

Resp. That we may receive it worthily , and it may become Efficacious ,

( 1. ) We must solemnly prepare our selves before we come : We must not rush upon the Ordinance rudely and irreverently , but come in due order . There was a great deal of Preparation to the Passover ; 2 Chron. 30.18 , 19. And the Sacrament comes in the room of it .

Quest. Wherein doth this Solemn Preparing for the Ordinance consist ?

Resp. 1. In Examining our selves .

2. In Dressing our Souls before we come , which is by washing in the Water of Repentance .

3. By exciting the Habit of Grace into Exercise .

4. In begging a Blessing upon the Ordinance .

( 1. ) Solemn Preparing for the Sacrament consists in Self-examining . 1 Cor. 11.28 . But let a Man examin himself , and so let him eat . It is not only a Counsel but a Charge : Let him examin himself . As if a King should say , Let it be enacted . Jesus Christ having by his Institution consecrated these Elements in the Supper to an high Mystery , they represent his Body and Blood : Therefore there must be Preparation ; and if Preparation , then there must be first Examining our selves , without which there can be no Preparation . Let us be serious in this examining our selves , our Salvation depends upon it . We are curious in examining other things : We will not take Gold , but examine it by the Touch-stone : We will not take Land , but we will examine the Title . And shall not we be as exact and curious in examining the state of our Souls ?

Quest. 1. What is required to this Self-examining ?

Resp. There must be a Solemn Retiring of the Soul . We must set our selves apart , and retire for some time from all Secular Employment , that we may be more serious in this Work . There is no casting up of Accounts in a Crowd ; nor can we examin our selves when we are in a Crowd of Worldly Businesses . We read , a Man that was in a Iourney might not come to the Passover , Numb . 9.13 . because his Mind was full of Secular Cares , and his Thoughts were taken up about his Journey . When we are upon Self-examining-work , we had not need be in an Hurry , or have any distracting Thoughts , but retire and lock up our selves in our Closet , that we may be more intent in the Work .

Quest. 2. What is Self-examination ?

Resp. It is a setting up a Court in Conscience , and keeping a Register there , that by a strict Scrutiny a Man may see how Matters stand between God and his Soul . Self-examination is a Spiritual Inquisition , an Heart-Anatomy , whereby a Man takes his Heart as a Watch , all in pieces , and sees what is defective there . It is a Dialogue with ones self . Psal. 77.7 . I commune with my own Heart . David call'd himself to Account , and put Interrogatories to his own Heart . Self-examining is a critical Descant or Search ; as the Woman in the Parable did light a Candle , and search for her lost Groat , Luke 15.8 . So Conscience is the Candle of t●● Lord . Search with this Candle what thou canst find wrought by the Spirit in thee ?

Quest. 3. What is the Rule by which we must Examine our selves ?

Resp. The Rule or Measure we must Examine our selves by , is , the Holy Scripture : We must not make Fancy , or the good Opinion which others have of us , the Rule by which we judge of our selves : But as the Goldsmith brings his Gold to the Touch-stone , so must we bring our Hearts to a Scripture Touch-stone : To the Law , to the Testimony , Isa. 8.20 . What saith the Word ? Are we divorced from Sin ? Are we renewed by the Spirit ? Let the Word decide whether we are fit Communicants or no. We judge of Colours by the Sun ; so must we judge of the state of our Souls by the Sun-light of Scripture .

Quest. 4. What are the cogent Reasons why we must Examine our selves before we approach to the Lord's Table ?

Resp. 1. It is a Duty imposed ; Let him examine himself . The Passover was not to be eaten Raw , Exod. 12.19 . To come to such an Ordinance slightly , without Examination , is to come in an undue manner , and is like Eating the Passover Raw.

2. We must examine our selves before we come , because it is not only a Duty imposed , but opposed . There is nothing the Heart naturally is more averse from , than Self-exemination . We may know that Duty is good , which the Heart opposeth . But why doth the Heart so oppose it ? Because it doth cross the Tide of Corrupt Nature ; 't is contrary to Flesh and Blood . The Heart is guilty ; and doth a guilty Person love to be examined ? The Heart opposeth it , therefore the rather set upon it . That Duty is good which the Heart opposeth .

3. Because Self-examining is so needful a Work ; as appears : ( 1. ) Without Self-examination a Man can never tell how it is with him , whether he hath Grace or no ; and this must needs be very uncomfortable . He knows not if he should die presently , what will become of him , or to what Coast he shall sail , whether to Hell or Heaven . As Socrates said , I am about to die , and the gods know whether I shall be happy or miserable . How needful therefore is Self-examination , that a Man by Search may come to know the true state of his Soul , and may guess how it will go with him to Eternity .

( 2. ) Self-examination is needful in respect of the Excellency of the Sacrament . Let him eat de illo Pane , Of that Bread , 1 Cor. 11.28 . That excellent Bread , that consecrated Bread , that Bread which is not only the Bread of the Lord , but the Bread the Lord . Let him drink de illo Poculo , Of that Cup ; that precious Cup which is perfum'd and spic'd with Christ's Love ; that Cup which holds the Blood of God Sacramentally . Cleopatra put a Jewel in a Cup , which contained the price of a Kingdom . This Sacred Cup we are to drink of , enriched with the Blood of God , is above the Price of a Kingdom : It is more worth than Heaven . Therefore coming to such a Royal Feast , having whole Christ , his Divine and Humane Nature to feed on , how should we examine our selves before-hand , that we may be fit Guests for such a Magnificent Banquet !

( 3. ) Self-examining is needful , because God will examine us . That was a sad Question , Matth. 22.12 . Friend , how camest thou in hither , not having a Wedding Garment ? Men are loth to ask themselves the Question , O my Soul , art thou a fit Guest for the Lord's Table ? Are there not some Sins thou hast to bewail ? Are there not some Evidences for Heaven that thou hast to get ? Now when Persons will not ask themselves the Question , then God will bring such a Question as this to them , How came ye in hither to my Table not prepared ? How came ye in hither with an unbelieving or profane Heart ? It will be such a Question as will cause an Heart-trembling . God will examine a Man as the chief Captain did Paul with Scourging , Acts 22.24 . 'T is true , the best Saint , if God should weigh him in the Ballance , would be sound defective . But when a Christian hath made an impartial Search , and hath laboured to deal uprightly between God and his own Soul , Christ's Merits will cast in some Grains of Allowance into the Scales .

( 4. ) Self-examining is needful , because of that Secret Corruption in the Heart , which will not be found out without searching . There are in the Heart Plangendae Tenebrae , Aug. Hidden Pollutions . It is with a Christian , as with Ioseph's Brethren , when the Steward accused them of having the Cup ; they were ready to swear they had not the Cup in their Sack , but upon Search it was found there . Little doth a Christian think what Pride , Atheism , Uncleanness is in his Heart till he searcheth . Therefore if there be such hidden Wickedness , like a Spring that runs under Ground , we had need examine our selves , that finding out our secret Sin , we may be humbled and repent . Hidden Sins , if not searched out , defile the Soul . If Corn lie long in the Chaff , the Chaff defiles the Corn ; hidden Sins layn long in , defile our Duties . Needful therefore it is before we come to the Holy Supper , to search out these hidden Sins , as Israel searched for Leaven before they came to the Passover .

( 5. ) Self-examining is needful , because without it we may easily have a Cheat put upon us . Ier. 17.9 . The Heart is deceitful above all things . Many a Man's Heart will tell him , he is fit for the Lord's Table . As when Christ asked the Sons of Zebedee , Matth. 20.22 . Are ye able to drink the Cup I shall drink of ? Can ye drink such a Bloody Cup of Suffering ? They say unto him , We are able . So the Heart will suggest to a Man , He is fit to drink of the Sacramental Cup , he hath on the Wedding Garment . Grande profundum est homo , Aug. The Heart is a Grand Impostor . It is like a cheating Tradesman , which will put one off with bad Wares . The Heart will put a Man off with ●●eming Grace in stead of saving . A Tear or two shed is Repentance , a few lazie Desires is Faith . Blue and red Flowers that grow among the Corn look like good Flowers , but they are beautiful Weeds . The foolish Virgins Lamps looked as if they had had Oyl in them , but they had none . Therefore to prevent a Cheat , that we may not take False Grace in stead of True , we had need make a thorough Disquisition and Search of our Hearts before we come to the Lord's Table .

( 6. ) Self-examining is needful , because of those False Fears the Godly are apt to nourish in their Hearts , which make them go sad to the Sacrament . As they who have no Grace for want of Examining , presume ; so they who have Grace , for want of Examining , are ready to despair . Many of God's Children look upon themselves through the black Spectacles of Fear . They fear Christ is not formed in them , they fear they have no Right to the Promise ; and these Fears in the Heart cause Tears in the Eye : Whereas would they but search and examine , they might find they had Grace . Are not their Hearts humbled for Sin ? And what is this but the bruised Reed ? Do they not weep after the Lord ? And what are these Tears but Seeds of Faith ? Do they not Thirst after Christ in an Ordinance ? What is this but the New Creature crying for the Breast ? Here are , you see , Seeds of Grace ; and would Christians examine their Hearts , they might see there is something of God in them , and so their false Fears would be prevented , and they might approach with Comfort to these Holy Mysteries in the Eucharist .

Mark XIV . 22 .

Iesus took Bread , &c.

( 7. ) Self-examining is needful , in respect of the Danger in coming unworthily without Examination , 1 Cor. 11.27 . He shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord . Par facit quasi Christum trucidaret . Grotius . — i. e. God reckons with him as with a Crucifyer of the Lord Iesus . He doth not Drink Christ's Blood , but sheds it , and so brings that Curse upon him as the Jews , His Blood be upon us and our Children . The Vertue of Christ's Blood nothing more comfortable , the Guilt of it nothing more Formidable .

4. We must examine our selves before the Sacrament , in respect of the Difficulty of Self-examining Work . Difficulty raiseth a Noble Spirit . Self-examining is difficult : ( 1. ) Because it is an Inward Work , it lies most with the Heart . External Acts of Devotion are easie : To lift up the Eye , to bow the Knee , to read over a few Prayers , this is as easie as for the Papists to tell over a few Beads . But to examine a Man's self , to take the Heart as a Watch , all in pieces , to make a Scripture-Trial of our Fitness for the Lord's Supper , this is not easie . Reflexive Acts are hardest : The Eye cannot see its self but by a Glass . We must have the Glass of the Word and Conscience to see our own Hearts . 'T is easie to spy the Faults of others , but it is hard to find out our own . ( 2. ) Self-examination is difficult in regard of Self-Love . As Ignorance blinds , so Self-love flatters . What Solomon saith of Love , Prov. 10.12 . Love covereth all Sins , is most true of Self-love . A Man looking upon himself in the Glass of Self-love , ( that flattering Glass ) his Vertues appear greater than they are , and his Sins lesser . Self-love makes a Man rather excuse himself , than examine himself . Self-love makes one think the best of himself ; and he who hath a good Opinion of himself , doth not suspect himself ; and not suspecting himself , he is not forward to Examine himself . The Work therefore of self-Examination being so difficult , it requires the more Impartiality and Industry . Difficulty should be a Spur to Diligence .

5. We must examine our selves before we come , because of the Beneficialness of Self-examination . The Benefit is great which way soever things turn . If upon Examination we find that we have not Grace in Truth , then the Mistake is discovered , and the Danger prevented . If we find that we have Grace , we may take the Comfort of it . He who upon Search finds that he hath the Minimum quod sic , The least Degree of Grace , he is like one that hath found his Box of Evidences , he is an happy Man , he is a fit Guest at the Lord's Table , he is Heir to all the Promises , he is as sure to go to Heaven as if he were in Heaven already . These are the Reasons why we must examin our selves before we approach to the Lord's Table .

Quest. 5. What must we Examine ?

Answ. 1. Our Sins .

2. Our Graces .

First , Our Sins . Search if any dead Fly might spoil this sweet Oyntment . When we come to the Sacrament , we should do as the Jews did before the Passover ; they searched for Leaven , and having found it did burn it . 1. Let us search for the Leaven of Pride : This sowres our Holy things . We are born with a Spiritual Tympany . Will an humble Christ be received into a Proud Heart ? Pride keeps Christ out — Intus existens prohibet alienum — " Pride swells the Heart ; and Christ cannot come into the Heart if it be full already . To a proud Man Christ's Blood hath no Vertue , 't is like Dioscordium put into a dead Man's Mouth , which loseth its Vertue . Let us search for this Leaven of Pride and cast it away . 2. Let us search for the Levaen of Avarice . The Lord's Supper is a Spiritual Mystery , it represents Christ's Body and Blood ; what should an earthly Heart do here ? The Earth puts out the Fire . Earthliness quencheth the Fire of holy Love . The Earth is Elementum Gravissimum , it cannot ascend . A Soul belimed with Earth cannot ascend to Heavenly Cogitations . Col. 3.5 . Covetousness which is Idolatry . Will Christ come into that Heart where there is an Idol ? Search for this Leaven before you come to this Ordinance . How can an earthly Heart converse with that God which is a Spirit ? Can a Clod of Earth kiss the Sun ? 3. Search for the Leaven of Hypocrisie . Luke 12.1 . Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees , which is Hypocrisie . Aquinas describes it , Simulatio Virtutis . Hypocrisie is a counterfeiting of Vertue . The Hypocrite is a living Pageant , he only makes a show of Religion : He gives God his Knee , but no Heart ; and God gives him Bread and Wine in the Sacrament , but no Christ . Oh let us search for this Leaven of Hypocrisie , and burn it !

Secondly , We must examine our Graces . I shall instance only in one , Our Knowledge .

1. Whether we have Knowledge . 2. Whether it be rightly Qualified .

( 1. ) We are to examine whether we have Knowledge , else we cannot give God a reasonable Service , Rom. 12.1 . Knowledge is a necessary Requisite in a Communicant . Without Knowledge there can be no Fitness for the Sacrament . A Person cannot be fit to come to the Lord's Table who hath no Goodness , but without Knowledge the Mina is not good , Prov. 19.2 . Some say they have good Hearts , tho they want Knowledge . As if one should say , His Eye is good , but it wants Sight . Under the Law , when the Plague of Leprosie was in a Man's Head , the Priest was to pronounce him unclean . The ignorant Person hath the Plague in his Head , he is unclean . Ignorance is the Womb of Lust , 1 Pet. 1.14 . Therefore it is requisite before we come , to Examine our selves what Knowledge we have in the main Fundamentals of Religion . Let it not be said of us , that to this Day the Vail is upon our Heart , 2 Cor. 3.15 . But sure in this Intelligent Age we cannot but have some Insight into the Mysteries of the Gospel . I rather fear , we are like Rachel , who was fair and well-sighted , but barren : Therefore ,

( 2. ) Let us examine whether our Knowledge be rightly Qualified . 1. Is it Influential ? Doth our Knowledge warm our Heart ? Claritas in intellectu parit ardorem in affectu . Saving Knowledge doth not only direct , but quicken : 'T is Lumen Vitae , the Light of Life , Iohn 8.12 . 2. Is our Knowledge Practical ? We hear much ; do we live the Truths we know ? That is the right Knowledge which doth not only adorn the Mind , but reform the Life .

Secondly , This solemn preparing for the Sacrament , as it consists in examining our selves , so in dressing our Souls before we come . And this Soul-dress is in two things .

1. Washing in the Laver of Repenting Tears : To come to this Ordinance with the Guilt of any sin unrepented of , makes way for the further hardening of our Heart , and giving Satan fuller possession of us . Zech. 12.10 . They shall look upon me whom they have pierced , and shall mourn for him . The Cloud of Sorrow must drop into Tears . We must grieve as for the Pollution , so for the Vnkindness in every sin : To sin against Christ's Love who died for us . When Peter thought of Christ's Love , who call'd him out of his Unregeneracy , made him an Apostle , and carried him up to the Mount of Transfiguration , where he saw the Glory of Heaven in a Vision , and then to think of his Denying Christ , it broke his Heart , he wept bitterly , Matth. 26.75 . To think before we come to a Sacrament of our sins against the Bowel-Mercies of God the Father , the bleeding Wounds of God the Son , the blessed Inspirations of God the Holy Ghost , it is enough to broach our Eyes with Tears , and put us into an Holy Agony of Grief and Compunction : And we must be so distressed for sin , as to be divorced from sin . The Serpent before he drinks casts up his Poyson . In this we must be wise as Serpents ; before we drink of the Sacramental Cup , we must cast up the Poyson of sin by Repentance . * * Aug. Ille verè plangit commissa , qui non committit plangenda — He doth truly bewail the sins he hath committed , who doth not commit the sins he hath bewailed . And this is the Dressing our Souls before we come , washing in the Waters of true Rpentance .

2. The Soul-dress is the exciting and stirring up the Habit of Grace into a lively Exercise . 2 Tim. 1.6 . I put thee in remembrance , that thou stir up the Gift of God which is in thee : i. e. The Gifts and Graces of the Spirit . The Greek Word to stir up , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies to blow up Grace into a Flame . Grace is oft like Fire in the Embers , which needs blowing up . It is possible that even a good Man may not come so well disposed to this Ordinance , because he hath not before taken pains with his Heart to come in Due Order : He hath not stirred up Grace into its vigorous Exercise , and so , tho he doth not eat and drink Damnation , yet he doth not receive Consolation in the Sacrament . Thus you see what this Dressing of our Souls is , before we come .

Thirdly , This Solemn preparing for the Sacrament is , in begging a Blessing upon the Ordinance . The Sacrament is not like Physick , which hath an inherent operative Vertue : No , but the Efficacy of the Sacrament depends upon the Co-operation of the Spirit , and a Word of Blessing . In the Institution Christ blessed the Elements . Iesus took Bread and blessed it . In the Text , the Sacrament , will no further do us good , then as it is blessed to us . We ought then before we come , to pray for a Blessing on the Ordinance , that the Sacrament may be not only a Sign to represent , but a Seal to confirm , and an Instrument to convey Christ and all his Benefits to us . We are to pray that this great Ordinance may be Poyson to our Sins , and Food to our Graces : That as it was with Ionathan , when he had tasted the Honey-Comb , his Eyes mere enlightned , 1 Sam. 14.27 . So that by our receiving this Holy Eucharist , our Eyes may be so enlightned , as to discern the Lord's Body . Thus should we implore a Blessing upon the Ordinance before we come . The Sacrament is like a Tree hung full of Fruit ; but none of this Fruit will fall , unless shaken by the Hand of Prayer .

( 2. ) That the Sacrament may be effectual to us , as there must be a Due Preparing for it , so a right partaking of it : Which right Participation of the Sacrament is in Three Things :

1. When we draw nigh to God's Table in an humble Sense of our Vnworthiness . We do not deserve one Crumb of the Bread of Life ; we are poor Indigent Creatures who have lost our Glory , and are like a Vessel that is Shipwrack'd : We smite on our Breast as the Publican , God be merciful to us Sinners . This is a right Partaking of the Ordinance . 'T is part of our Worthiness to see our Unworthiness .

2. We rightly partake of the Sacrament , when at the Lord's Table we are fill'd with Anhelations of Soul , and inflamed Desires after Christ , and nothing can quench our Thirst but his Blood . Matth. 5.6 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Blessed are they that thirst . They are blessed not only when they are filled , but while they are thirsting .

3. A right participation of the Supper is , when we receive in Faith . Without Faith we get no good . What is said of the Word Preached , It profiteth not , not being mixed with Faith , Heb. 4.2 . is as true of the Sacrament . Christ turned Stones into Bread : Unbelief turns the Bread into Stones , that it doth not nourish . Then we partake aright when we come in Faith . Faith hath a two-fold Act , an adhering and an applying . By the first Act we go over to Christ , by the second Act we bring Christ over to us , Gal. 2.20 . This is the great Grace we must set awork , Acts 10.43 . Philo calls it , Fides Occulata , Faith is the Eagle Eye that discerns the Lord's Body : Faith causeth a virtual Contact , it toucheth Christ . Christ said to Mary , Touch me not , &c. Iohn 20.17 . She was not to touch him with the Hands of her Body . But he saith to us , Touch me , Touch me with the Hand of your Faith . Faith makes Christ present to the Soul . The Believer hath a real Presence in the Sacrament . The Body of the Sun is in the Firmament , but the Light of the Sun is in the Eye . Christ's Essence is in Heaven , but he is in a Believers Heart by his Light and Influence . Eph. 3.17 . That Christ may dwell in your Heart by Faith . Faith is the Pallat which tastes Christ , 1 Pet. 2.3 . Faith makes a Concoction ; it causeth the Bread of Life to nourish * * Crede & manducasti . Aug. . Faith causeth a Coalition , it makes us one with Christ , Eph. 1.23 . Other Graces make us like Christ , Faith makes us Members of Christ .

Fourthly , Then we partake aright of the Sacrament , when we receive in Love .

( 1. ) Love to Christ . Who can see Christ pierced with a Crown of Thorns , sweating in his Agony , bleeding on the Cross , but his Heart must needs be endeared in Love to him ? How can we but love him , who hath given his Life a ransom for us ? Love is the Spiced Wine and Juyce of the Pomgranate which we must give Christ , Cant. 8.2 . Our Love to this Superiour and Blessed Jesus , must exceed our Love to other things ; as the Oyl runs above the Water . Tho' we cannot with Mary bring our costly Oyntment to anoynt Christ's Body , yet we do more than this , when we bring him our Love , which is sweeter to him than all Oyntments and Perfumes .

( 2. ) Love to the Saints . This is a Love-Feast . Tho' we must eat this Supper with the Bitter Herbs of Repentance , yet not with the bitter Herbs of Malice . Were it not sad , if all the Meat one eats should turn to bad Humours ? He who comes in Malice to the Lord's Table , all he eats is to his hurt : He eats and drinks Damnation to himself , 1 Cor. 11.29 . — Come in Love . It is with Love as it is with Fire : You keep Fire all the Day upon the Hearth , but upon special occasions you draw the Fire out larger . So tho we must have Love to all , yet to the Saints who are our Fellow-Members , here we must draw out the Fire of our Love larger ; and we must show the Largeness of our Affections to them , by prizing their Persons , by chusing their Company , by doing all Offices of Love to them ; counselling them in their Doubts , comforting them in their Fears , supplying them in their Wants . Thus one Christian may be an Eben-ezer to another , and as an Angel of God to him . The Sacrament cannot be effectual to him , who doth not receive in Love . If a Man drinks Poyson , and then takes a Cordial , the Cordial will do him little good . He who hath the Poyson of Malice in his Soul , the Cordial of Christ's Blood will do him no good : Come therefore in Love and Charity . And thus we see how we may receive the Supper of the Lord , that it may be Effectual to our Salvation .

Vse I. From the whole Doctrine of the Sacrament , learn , How precious should a Sacrament be to us ! It is a Sealed Deed to make over the Blessings of the New Covenant to us , [ Justification , Sanctification , Glory . ] A small piece of Wax put to a Parchment is made the Instrument to confirm a rich Conveyance or Lordship to another : So these Elements in the Sacrament of Bread and Wine , tho in themselves of no great value , yet being consecrated to be Seals to Confirm the Covenant of Grace to us , so they are of more value than all the Riches of the Indies .

Vse II. The Sacrament being such an Holy Mystery , let us come to this Holy Mystery with Holy Hearts . There 's no receiving a crucify'd Christ but into a consecrated Heart . Christ in his Conception lay in a pure Virgins Womb , and at his Death his Body was wrapped in clean Linnen , and put in a new Virgin-Tomb never yet defiled with Rottenness . If Christ would not lie in an unclean Grave , sure he will not be received into an unclean Heart . Isa. 52.11 . Be ye clean that bear the Vessels of the Lord . If they who did carry the Vessels of the Lord were to be holy , then they who are to be the Vessels of the Lord , and are to hold Christ's Body and Blood , ought to be holy .

Vse III. Consolation . Christ's Body and Blood in the Sacrament is a most Sovereign Elixir , or Comfort to a distressed Soul . Christ having poured out his Blood , now God's Justice is fully satisfied . There is in the Death of Christ enough to answer all Doubts . What if Sin is the Poyson , here is the Flesh of Christ an Antidote against it ? What if Sin be red as Scarlet , is not Christ's Blood of a deeper Colour , and can wash away Sin ? If Satan strikes us with his Darts of Temptation , here is a precious Balm comes out of Christ's Wounds to heal us , Isa. 53.5 . What , tho we feed upon the Bread of Affliction , as long as in the Sacrament we feed upon the Bread of Life ? So that Christ received aright Sacramentally , is an universal Medicine for the healing , and an universal Cordial for the cheering of our distressed Souls .

III. The Benefits of our Redemption are applyed to us by Prayer .

Psalm 109.4 .

But I give my self to Prayer .

I shall not expatiate upon Prayer at large , being to speak more fully to it in the Lords Prayer . But to the words ,

I give my self to Prayer . It is one thing to Pray , and another thing to be given to Prayer . He who prays frequently is said to be given to Prayer ; as he who often distributes Almes , is said to be given to Charity . Prayer is a glorious Ordinance , it is the Souls trading with Heaven . God comes down to us by his Spirit , and we go up to him by Prayer .

Quest. 1. What Prayer is ?

Answ. It is an offering up of our desires to God , for things agreeable to his Will , in the Name of Christ .

1. Prayer is an offering up of our Desires ] : Therefore it is called a making known of our Requests , Phil. 4.6 . In Prayer we come as humble Petitioners , begging to have our Suit granted .

2. 'T is offering up our Desires to God . ] Prayer is not to be made to any but God . The Papists pray to Saints and Angels , but they know not our grievances . Isa. 63.16 . Abraham is ignorant of us . And all Angel-worship is forbidden ; Col. 2.18 , 19. We must not pray to any but whom we may believe in ; Rom. 10.14 . How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed ? But we cannot believe in an Angel , therefore we must not pray to him .

Quest. Why must Prayer be made only to God ?

Resp 1. Because he only hears Prayer . Psal. 65.2 . O thou that hearest Prayer . Hereby God is known to be the true God , in that he hears Prayer . 1 Kin. 18.37 . Hear me , O Lord , hear me , that the people may know that thou art the Lord God .

2. Because God only can help We may look to second Causes , and cry as the Woman did , 2 Kings 6.26 . Help my lord , O king . And he said , if the Lord do not help thee , whence shall I help thee ? If we are in outward distress God must send from Heaven and save ; if we are in inward agonies , he only can pour in the Oyl of Joy , therefore Prayer is to be made to him only .

3. For things agreeable to his Will. When we pray for outward things , for Riches or Children , perhaps God sees these things are not good for us ; our Prayers must comport with Gods Will . We may pray absolutely for Grace ; For this is the will of God , our Sanctification . 1 Thess. 4.3 . There might be no strange incense offered . Exod. 30 9. When we pray for things which are not agreeable to Gods Will , it is offering strange Incense .

4. In the Name of Christ . To pray in the Name of Christ is not only to mention Christs Name in Prayer , but to pray in the hope and confidence of Christs Merit . 1 Sam. 7.9 . Samuel took a sucking Lamb and offered it , &c. We must carry the Lamb Christ in the arms of our Faith , and so we prevail in Prayer . When Vzziah would offer Incense without a Priest , God was angry and struck him with Leprosie . 2 Chron. 26.16 . When we do not pray in Christs Name , in the hope of his Mediation , we offer up Incense without a Priest , and what can we expect but to meet with rebukes , and to have God answer us by terrible things .

Quest. 2. What are the parts of Prayer ?

Answ. 1. There is the Confessory part , which is the acknowledging of Sin . 2. The Supplicatory part , when we either deprecate and pray against some evil , or request the obtaining of some good . 3. The Gratulatory part , when we give thanks for Mercies received , which is the most excellent part of Prayer . In Petition we act like Men , in giving of Thanks we act like Angels .

Quest. 3. What are the several sorts of Prayer ?

Resp. 1. There is Mental Prayer , in the Mind , 1 Sam. 1.13 . 2. Vocal , Psalm 77.1 . 3. Ejaculatory , which is a sudden and short elevation of the heart to God . Neh. 2.4 . So I prayed to the God of Heaven . 4. Conceiv'd Prayer ; when we pray for those things which God puts into our heart . Rom. 8.26 . The Spirit helps us with sighs and groans . Both the expressions of the tongue so far as they are right , and the impressions of the heart are from the Spirit . 5. Prescribed Prayer : Our Saviour hath set us a pattern of Prayer . God prescribed a set Form of Blessing for the Priests ▪ Numb. 6.23 . 6. Publick Prayer ; when we pray in the audience of others . Prayer is more powerful when many joyn and unite their forces . Vis uni●a fortior : Matth. 18.19 . 7. Private Prayer ; when we pray by our selves . Mat. 6.6 . Enter into thy closet .

Quest. 4. What is that Prayer which is most like to prevail with God ?

Resp. When Prayer is rightly qualified . That is a good Medicine which hath the right ingredients . That Prayer is good , and is most like to prevail with God , which hath these seven ingredients in it :

1. Prayer must be mixed with Faith ; Iam. 1.6 . But let him pray in faith . Believe God hears and will in his due time grant : Believe Gods Love and Truth . Believe that he is Love , therefore will not deny you ; believe that he is Truth , therefore will not deny himself : Faith sets God a work . Faith is to Prayer as the Feather is to the Arrow . Faith feathers the arrow of Prayer , and makes it fly swifter , and pierce the Throne of Grace . Prayer that is faithless is fruitless .

2. A melting Prayer ; Psal. 51.17 . The sacrifices of God are a broken heart : The incense was to be beaten , to typifie the breaking of the heart in prayer . O saith a Christian , I cannot pray with such gifts and elocution as others ; as Moses said , I am not eloquent : But canst thou weep ? Doth thy Heart melt in Prayer ? Weeping prayer prevails . Tears drop as pearls from the eye . Iacob wept and made supplication , and had power over the Angel . Hos. 12.4 .

3. Prayer must be fired with zeal and fervency : Iam. 5.16 . Effectual fervent Prayer prevails much . Cold Prayers like cold Suitors never speed . Prayer without fervency , is like a Sacrifice without Fire . Prayer is called a pouring out of the Soul , 1 Sam. 1.15 . to signifie vehemency . Formality starves prayer . Prayer is compared to Incense ; Psal. 141.2 . Let my prayer be set forth as incense . Hot Coals were to be put to the Incense to make it odoriferous and fragrant ; fervency of Affection is like Coals put to the Incense , it makes prayer ascend as a sweet perfume . Christ prayed with strong cryes ; Heb. 5.7 . Clamor iste penetrat nubes . Luther . Fervent prayer , like a petard set against Heaven gates , makes them fly open . To cause holy fervour and ardency of Soul in prayer , consider ; 1. Prayer without fervency is no prayer ; it is speaking not praying . Lifeless prayer is no more prayer , than the picture of a Man is a Man . One may say as Pharaoh , Gen. 41. I have dreamed a dream : It is dreaming not praying . Affectus operi nomen imponit . Ambr. Life and fervency baptizeth a Duty , and gives it a name . 2. Consider in what need we stand of those things which we ask in prayer . We come to ask the favour of God , and if we have not his love all we enjoy is cursed to us . We pray that our Souls may be washed in Christs Blood , and if he wash us not we have no part in him , Iohn 13.8 . When will we be earnest if not when we are praying for the life of our Souls . 3. It is only fervent prayer hath the promise of Mercy affixed to it ; Ier. 29.14 . Then shall ye find me when ye search for me with all your heart . 'T is dead praying without a promise ; and the promise is made only to ardency . The Aediles among the Romans had their doors always standing open , that all who had petitions might have free access to them . Gods heart is ever open to fervent prayer .

4. Prayer must be sincere . Sincerity is the Silver-thread , which must run through the whole Duties of Religion . Sincerity in prayer is when we have gracious holy ends in prayer . Our prayer is not so much for Temporal Mercies as Spiritual . We send out our prayer as a Merchant sends out his Ship , that we may have large returns of Spiritual Blessings : Our aim in prayer is , that our Heart may be more holy , that we may have more Communion with God . Our design is that by prayer we may encrease the stock of Grace . Prayer which wants a good aim , wants a good issue .

5. Prayer that will prevail with God must have fixation of mind : Psal. 57.7 . O God my heart is fixed . Since the fall the mind is like Quick-silver which will not fix ; it hath principium motus but non quietis : The thoughts will be roving and dancing up and down in prayer : Just as if a Man that is travelling to such a place should turn out of the road , and wander he knows not whither . In prayer we are travelling to the Throne of Grace , but how often do we by vain cogitations turn out of the road , which is rather wandring than praying .

Quest. But how shall we cure these vain impertinent thoughts , which do so distract us in Prayer , and we may fear hinder the acceptance .

Answ. 1. Be very apprehensive in Prayer of the infiniteness of Gods Majesty and Purity . Gods eye is upon us in Prayer , and we may say as David , Psal. 56.8 . Thou tellest my wandrings : The thoughts of this would make us hoc agere , mind the Duty we are about . If a Man were to deliver a petition to an Earthly Prince , would he at that time be playing with a feather ? Set your selves when you pray as in Gods presence : Could you but look through the key-hole of Heaven , and see how devout and intent the Angels are in their worshipping God , sure you would be ready to blush at your vain thoughts and wild impertinencies in Prayer .

2. If you would keep your Mind fixed in prayer , keep your Eye fixed ; Psalm 123.1 . Vnto thee lift I up mine eyes , O thou that dwellest in the Heavens . Much vanity comes in at the eye . When the eye wanders in prayer the heart wanders . To think to keep the heart fixed in Prayer , and yet let the eye gaze , is as if one should think to keep his house safe , yet let the windows be open .

3. If you would have your thoughts fixed in Prayer , get more love to God . Love 〈◊〉 a great fixer of the thoughts . He who is in love cannot keep his thoughts off the Object . He who loves the World his thoughts run undisturbedly upon the World . Did we love God more our minds would be more intent upon him in Prayer . Were there more delight in Duty there would be less distraction .

4. Implore the help of Gods Spirit to fix our minds , and make them intent and serious in Prayer . The Ship without a Pilot rather floats than sails : that our thoughts do not float up and down in Prayer we need the Blessed Spirit to be our pilot to steer us ; only Gods Spirit can bound the thoughts . A shaking Hand may as well write a line steadily , as we can keep our Hearts fixed in Prayer without the Spirit of God .

5. Make holy thoughts familiar to you in your ordinary course of Life . David was oft musing on God ; Psal. 139.18 . When I awake I am still with thee . He who gives himself liberty to have vain thoughts out of Prayer , will scarce have other thoughts in Prayer .

6 If you would keep your Mind fixed on God , watch your Hearts ; not only watch them after prayer , but in prayer . The Heart will be apt to give you the slip , and have a thousand vagaries in prayer . We read of Angels ascending and descending on Jacobs Ladder : So in Prayer , you shall find your Hearts ascending to Heaven , and in a moment descending upon Earthly Objects : O Christians , watch your Hearts in prayer . What a shame is it to think , that when we are speaking to God in prayer , our Hearts should be in the Fields , or in our Compting house , or one way or other running upon the Devils errand .

7. Labour for more degrees of Grace . The more Ballast the Ship hath the better it sails ; so the more the Heart is ballasted with Grace , the steadier it will sail to Heaven in Prayer .

6. Prayer that is likely to prevail with God must be Argumentative : God loves to have us plead with him and use Arguments in Prayer ; see how many Arguments Iacob used in Prayer ; Gen. 32.11 . Deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my Brother . The Arguments he useth are , 1. From Gods Command , ver. 9. Thou saidst to me ; return to thy Country : As if he had said , I did not take this Journey of my own head , but by thy direction , therefore thou canst not but in honour protect me : And he useth another Argument ; ver. 12. Thou saidst I will surely do thee good . Lord , wilt thou go back from thy own promise ? Thus he was Argumentative in Prayer , and he got not only a new Blessing , but a new Name ; ver. 28. Thy name shall no more be called Iacob but Israel ; for as a Prince hast thou had power with God and prevailed . God loves to be overcome with strength of Argument . Thus when we come to God in prayer for Grace be Argumentative ; Lord , thou callest thy self the God of all grace , and whither should we go with our Vessel but to the Fountain : Lord , thy grace may be imparted yet not impaired : Hath not Christ purchased grace for poor indigent Creatures ? Every dram of Grace cost a drop of Blood . Shall Christ dye to purchase Grace for us , and shall not we have the Fruit of his purchase ? Lord it is thy delight to milk out the Breast of Mercy and Grace , and wilt thou abridge thy self of thy own delight ? Thou hast promised to give thy Spirit to implant grace . Can truth lye ? can faithfulness deceive ? God loves thus to be overcome with Arguments in prayer .

7. Prayer that would prevail with God must be joined with reformation : Iob 11.13 . If thou stretch out thy hands towards him ; if iniquity be in thy hand , put it far away from thee . Sin lived in makes the heart hard and Gods ear deaf . 'T is foolish to pray against Sin , and then Sin against prayer . Sin fly-blows our prayer ; Psal. 66.18 . If I regard iniquity in my heart , the Lord will not hear me . The Load-stone loseth its vertue when bespread with garlick ; so doth prayer when polluted with sin . The Incense of Prayer must be offered upon the Altar of an holy Heart .

Thus you see what is that Prayer which is most likely to prevail with God .

VSE I. It reproves , 1. Such as pray not at all ; 't is made the note of a reprobate , he calls not upon God , Psalm 144. Doth he think to have an Alms who never asks it ? Do they think to have Mercy from God who never seek it ? Then God should be friend them more than he did his own Son . Heb. 5.7 . Christ offered up prayers with strong cryes . None of Gods Children are born dumb ; Galat. 4.6 . 2. It reproves such as have left off prayer , a sign they never felt the fruit and comfort of it : He that leaves off Prayer , a sign he leaves off to fear God ; Iob 15.4 . Thou castest off fear , and restrainest prayer before God . A Man that hath left of prayer is fit for any wickedness . When Saul had given over enquiring after God , then he went to the Witch of Endor .

VSE II. Of Exhortation : Be persons given to prayer , I give my self ( saith David ) to prayer . Pray for pardon and purity ; Prayer is the golden Key that opens Heaven . The Tree of the Promise will not drop its Fruit unless shaked by the hand of prayer . All the benefits of Christs Redemption are handed over to us by prayer .

Object . But I have prayed a long time for Mercy , and have no answer ? Psal. 69.3 . I am weary of crying ?

Answ. 1. God may hear us when we do not hear from him ; assoon as Prayer is made God hears it , though he doth not presently answer . A Friend may receive our Letter , though he doth not presently send us an answer of it . 2. God may delay prayer , and yet not deny .

Quest. But why doth God delay an answer of Prayer ?

Resp. 1. Because he loves to hear the voice of Prayer ; Prov. 15.8 . The prayer of the upright is his delight . You let the Musician play a great while ere you throw him down Money , because you love to hear his Musick . Cant. 2.14 . 2. God may delay Prayer , when he will not deny , that he may humble us : perhaps God hath spoke to us a long time in his Word to leave such Sins , but we would not hear him , therefore he lets us speak to him in Prayer , and seems not to hear us . 3. God may delay Prayer when he will not deny , because he sees we are not yet fit for the Mercy : perhaps we pray for deliverance , we are not fit for it ; our scum is not boil'd away : We would have God swift to deliver , and we are slow to repent . 4. God may delay prayer , when he will not deny , that the Mercy we pray for may be the more prized , and may be sweeter when it comes : The longer the Merchants Ships stay abroad , the more he rejoyceth when they come home laden with Spices and Jewels ; therefore be not discouraged , but follow God with prayer ; though God may delay , he will not deny . Luther . Prayer vincit invincibilem , it overcomes the Omnipotent : Hos. 12.4 . The Tymans tyed fast their God Hercules with a golden Chain that he should not remove : The Lord was held by Moses prayer as with a golden Chain , Exod. 32.10 . Let me alone : Why what did Moses , he only prayed . Prayer ushers in Mercy . Be thy case never so sad , if thou canst but pray thou needst not fear , Psal. 10.17 . therefore give thy self to prayer .

Our FATHER .

HAVING ( through the good providence of God ) gone over the chief Grounds and Fundamentals of Religion , and enlarged upon the Decalogue or Ten Commandments , I shall now at the close , speak something upon the Lords Prayer .

MATTH. vi . 9 .

After this manner therefore pray ye , Our Father which art in Heaven , Hallowed , &c.

In this Scripture are two things observable .

I. The Introduction to the Prayer . II. The Prayer it self , which consists of three parts . 1. A Preface . 2. Petitions 3. The Conclusion .

I. The Introduction to the Lords Prayer , sic orate vos , After this manner pray ye . ] Our Lord Jesus in these words prescribed to his Disciples and us a directory for prayer . The Ten Commandments are the rule of our Life , the Creed is the summe of our Faith , and the Lords Prayer is the pattern of our Prayer : As God did prescribe Moses a pattern of the Tabernacle , Exod. 25.9 . so Christ hath here prescribed us a pattern of Prayer . After this manner pray ye , &c. The meaning is , let this be the Rule and Model according to which ye frame your prayers ; Ad hanc regulam preces nostras exigere necesse est . Not that we are tied to the words of the Lords-prayer : Calvin . Christ saith not after these words , pray ye , but after this manner ; that is , let all your petitions agree and symbolize with the things contained in the Lords prayer ; and indeed well may we make all our prayers consonant and agreeable to this prayer , it being a most exact prayer . Tertullian calls it breviarium totius Evangelii , a breviary and compendium of the Gospel : It is like an heap of massy gold . The exactness of this prayer appears , 1. In the Dignity of the Author : A piece of work hath commendation from the Artificer ; and this prayer hath commendation from the Author ; it is the Lords Prayer . As the Law Moral was written with the Finger of God , so this prayer was drop'd from the Lips of the Son of God . Non vox Hominem sonat , est Deus . 2. The exactness of this prayer appears in the excellency of the matter . I may say of this prayer , It is as silver tryed in a furnace , purified seven times ; Psal. 12.6 . Never was there prayer so admirably and curiously composed as this . As Solomons Song for its Excellency is called the Song of Songs ; so may this well be called the prayer of prayers . The matter of it is admirable ; 1. For its Succinctness , 't is short and pithy , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , multum in parvo , a great deal said in a few words . It requires more Art to draw the two Globes curiously in a little Map . This short Prayer is a System or Body of Divinity . 2. It s Clearness . This prayer is plain and intelligible to every capacity : Clearness is the grace of Speech . 3. It s Compleatness . This prayer contains in it the chief things that we have to ask , or God hath to bestow .

VSE . Let us have a great esteem of the Lords prayer ; let it be the model and pattern of all our prayers : There is a double benefit ariseth from framing our petitions suitable to the Lords prayer . 1. Hereby Error in prayer is prevented : 'T is not easie to write wrong Copy ; we cannot easily err having our pattern before us . 2. Hereby Mercies requested are obtained ; for the Apostle assures us God will hear us when we pray according to his Will , 1 Iohn 5.14 . and sure we pray according to his Will , when we pray according to his pattern he hath set us . So much for the Introduction to the Lords prayer , After this manner pray ye .

II. The Prayer it self , which consists of three parts .

1. A Preface . 2. Petitions . 3. The Conclusion .

1. The Preface to the prayer : 1. Our Father , 2. Which art in Heaven . To begin with the first words of the Preface .

( 1. ) Our Father . ] Father is sometimes taken personally ; Iohn 14.28 . My Father is greater than I : But Father in the Text is taken essentially for the whole Deity . This Title , Father , teacheth us to whom we must address our selves in prayer , to God alone . Here is no such thing in the Lords prayer , as , O ye Saints or Angels that are in Heaven hear us , but our Father which art in Heaven .

Quest. In what order must we direct our Prayers to God ? Here is only the Father named , may not we direct our Prayers to the Son and Holy Ghost ?

Answ. Though the Father only be named in the Lords prayer , yet the other two persons are not hereby excluded : The Father is mentioned because he is first in order , but the Son and Holy Ghost are included , because they are the same in Essence : As all the three persons subsist in one Godhead , so in our prayers , though we name but one ●●rson , we must pray to all . To come then more closely to the first words of the Preface , [ Our Father ] . Princes on Earth give themselves Titles expressing their Greatness , as High and Mighty : God might have done so , and expressed himself thus , Our King of Glory , Our Iudge , but he gives himself another Title , Our Father , an expression of Love and Condescension . God that he might encourage us to pray to him , represents himself under this sweet notion of a Father , Our Father . Dulce nomen Patris : The Name Iehovah carries Majesty in it ; the Name Father carries Mercy in it .

Quest. 1. In what sense is God a Father ?

Resp. 1. By Creation ; it is he that hath made us ; Acts 17.28 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , we are his Off-spring , Mal. 2.10 . Have we not all one Father ? Hath not one God Created us ? But there is little comfort in this ; for so God is Father to the Devils by Creation , but he that made them will not save them .

2. God is a Father by Election , having chosen a certain number to be his Children , whom he will entail Heaven upon ; Eph. 1.4 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , He hath chosen us in him .

3. God is a Father by special Grace ; he consecrates the elect by his Spirit , and infuseth a supernatural principle of Holiness , therefore they are said to be born of God , 1 Iohn 3.9 . Such only as are sanctified can say , Our Father which art in Heaven .

Quest. 2. What is the difference between God being the Father of Christ , and the Father of the Elect ?

Resp. God is the Father of Christ in a more glorious transcendent manner . Christ hath the primo-geniture ; he is the eldest Son , a Son by eternal generation : Prov. 8.23 . I was set up from everlasting , from the beginning , or ever the earth was . Isa. 53.8 . Who shall declare his generation ? Christ is a Son to the Father , yet so , as he is of the same Nature with the Father , having all the incommunicable properties of the Godhead belonging to him : But we are Sons of God by Adoption and Grace ; Gal. 4.5 . That we might receive the adoption of Sons .

Quest. 3. What is that which makes God our Father ?

Resp. Faith : Gal. 3.26 . Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Iesus . An Unbeliever may call God his Creator , and his Judge , but not his Father . Faith doth legitimate us , and make us of the Blood-Royal of Heaven : Ye are the children of God by faith . Baptism makes us Church-Members , but Faith makes us Children . Without Faith the Devil can show as good a Coat of Arms as we .

Quest. 4. How doth Faith make God to be our Father ?

Resp. As Faith is an uniting Grace ; by Faith we have Coalition and Union with Christ , and so the Kindred comes in ; being united to Christ the Natural Son , we become Adopted Sons : God is the Father of Christ ; Faith makes us Christs Brethren , Heb. 2.11 . and so God comes to be our Father .

Quest. 5. Wherein doth it appear that God is the best Father ?

Resp. 1. In that he is most Antient ; Dan. 7.9 . The antient of dayes did sit : A figurative representation of God who was before all time . This may cause Veneration .

2. God is the best Father , because he is perfect ; Matth. 5.48 . Your Father which is in Heaven is perfect . He is perfectly good : Earthly Fathers are subject to infirmities : Elias ( though a Prophet ) was a man of like passions . Iam. 5.17 . but God is perfectly good : All the perfection we can arrive at in this Life is sincerity ; we may a little resemble God , but not equal him : He is infinitely perfect .

3. God is the best Father in respect of Wisdom ; 1 Tim. 1.17 . The only wise God . He hath a perfect Idea of Wisdom in himself : He knows the fittest Mediums to bring about his own designs ; the Angels light at his Lamp . In particular , this is one branch of his Wisdom , that he knows what is best for us : An Earthly Parent knows not in some intricate cases how to advise his Child , or what may be best for him to do ; but God is a most wise Father ; he knows what is best for us ; he knows when Comfort is best for us ; he keeps his Cordials for fainting ; 2 Cor. 7.6 . God who comforteth them that are cast down : He knows when affliction is best for us , and when it is fit to give a bitter potion : 1 Pet. 1.6 . If need be , ye are in heaviness . He is the only wise God ; he knows how to make evil things work for good to his Children , Rom. 8 : 28. he can make a soveraign treacle of poyson : Thus he is the best Father for Wisdom .

4. He is the best Father because most loving ; 1 Iohn 4.16 . God is love . He who causeth bowels of affection in others , must needs have more bowels himself ; quod efficit tale : The Affections in Parents are but Marble and Adamant in comparison of Gods Love to his Children , he gives them the cream of his Love , electing Love , saving Love ; Zeph. 3.17 . He will rejoyce over thee with joy ; he will rest in his love , he will joy over thee with singing : No Father like God for Love ; if thou art his Child , thou canst not love thy own Soul , so intirely as he loves thee .

5. God is the best Father for Riches ; God hath land enough to give to all his Children , he hath unsearchable riches , Eph. 3.8 . He gives the hidden Manna , the Tree of Life , Rivers of Joy , Gates of Pearl : Who ever saw gates of Pearl ? God hath treasures that cannot be emptied , pleasures that cannot be ended . Earthly Fathers if they should be ever giving , they would have nothing left to give : God is ever giving to his Children , yet hath not the less ; his Riches are imparted , not impaired . Like the Sun that still shines , yet hath not the less light . He cannot be poor who is infinite . Thus God is the best Father , he gives more to his Children than any Father , or Prince can bestow .

6. God is the best Father , because he can reform his Children . A Father when his Son takes bad courses , knows not how to make him better , but God knows how to make the Children of the Election better ; he can change their Hearts . When Paul was breathing out persecution against the Saints , God soon altered his course and set him a praying ; Acts 9.11 . Behold he prayeth . None of those who belong to the Election are so rough cast and unhewen but God can polish them with his Grace , and make them fit for the Inheritance .

7. God is the best Father because he never dyes , 1 Tim. 6 16. Who only hath immortality . Earthly Fathers dye , and their Children are exposed to many injuries , but God lives for ever ; Rev. 1.8 . I am Alpha and Omega , the beginning and the last . Gods Crown hath no Successors .

Quest. 6. Wherein lies the Dignity of such as have God for their Father ?

Resp. They have greater Honour then is confer'd on the Princes of the Earth ; They are precious in Gods esteem ; Isa. 43.4 . Since thou wast precious in my eyes , thou hast been honourable ; the wicked are dross , Psal. 119.119 . and chaff , Psal. 1.4 . but God numbers his Children among his Jewels , Mal. 3.17 . he writes all his Childrens names in the Book of Life , Phil. 4.3 . Whose names are in the book of life . Among the Romans the Names of their Senators were written down in a Book , Patres conscripti ; God enrolls the names of his Children , and will not blot their names out of the Register : Rev. 3.5 . I will not blot his name out of the book of life . God will not be ashamed of his Children ; Heb. 11.16 . God is not ashamed to be called your God . One might think it were something below God , and he might disdain to Father such Children as are Dust and Sin mingled , but he is not ashamed to be called our God ; and that we may see he is not ashamed of his Children , he writes his own Name upon them ; Rev. 3.12 . I will write upon him the name of my God ; that is , I will openly acknowledge him before all the Angels to be my Child . I will write my Name upon him , as the Son bears his Fathers name : What an honour and dignity is this .

2. God confers honourable Titles upon his Children : 1. He calls them the excellent of the earth , Psal. 16.2 . or the magnificent , as Iunius renders it . They must needs be excellent who are e Regio Sanguine nati , of the Blood-Royal of Heaven ; they are the Spiritual Phenixes of the World , the glory of the Creation . God calls his Children his glory ; Isa. 46.13 . Israel my glory . God honours his Children with the Title of Kings , Rev. 1.6 . And hath made us Kings . All Gods Children are Kings : though they have not Earthly Kingdoms , yet , 1. They carry a Kingdom about them , Luke 17.21 . The kingdom of God is within you : Grace is a Kingdom set up in the hearts of Gods Children . They are Kings to rule over their Sins : to bind those kings in chains . Psal. 149.8 . 2. They are like Kings , they have their insignia Regalia , their ensigns of Royalty and Majesty . 1. They have their Crown : In this Life they are Kings in a disguise : They are not known , therefore they are exposed to poverty and reproach ; they are Kings in a disguise : 1 Iohn 3.2 . Now we are the Sons of God , and it doth not appear what we shall be . Why what shall we be ? Every Son of God shall have his Crown of Glory , 1 Pet. 5.4 . and white Robes , Rev. 6.11 . Robes signifie Dignity , and white , signifies Sanctity .

3. This is their honour who have God for their Father , they are all Heirs ; the youngest Son is an Heir . 1. Gods Children are heirs to the things of this Life : God being their Father they have the best title to earthly things , they have a sanctified right to them , though they have often the least share , yet they have the best right , and they have a Blessing with what they have ; i. e. Gods Love and Favour . Others may have more of the Venison , but Gods Children have more of the Blessing : Thus they are Heirs to the things of this Life . 2 They are Heirs to the other World : Heirs of Salvation , Heb. 1.14 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Ioint-heirs with Christ ; Rom. 8.17 . They go sharers with Christ in glory . Among Men commonly the eldest Son carries away all , but Gods Children are all Joint-heirs with Christ , they have a copartnership with him in his Riches . Hath Christ a place in the Celestial Mansions , so have the Saints ; Iohn 14.2 . In my Fathers house are many mansions , I go to prepare a place for you ▪ Hath he his Fathers Love , so have they ; Psal. 146.8 . Iohn 17.26 . That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them . Doth Christ sit upon a Throne , so do Gods Children ; Rev. 3.21 . What an high honour is this ?

4. God makes his Children equal in honour to the Angels , Luke 20.36 . They are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 equal to the Angels : nay , those Saints who have God for their Father , are in some sense superiour to the Angels ; for Jesus Christ having taken our Nature , Naturam nostram nobilitavit , Aug. hath enobled and honoured it above the Angelical . Heb. 2.16 . God hath made his Children by Adoption , nearer to himself than the Angels . The Angels are the Friends of Christ , Believers are the Members of Christ , and this honour have all the Saints . Thus you see the Dignity of such as have God for their Father . What a comfort is this to Gods Children , who are here despised and loaded with calumnies and invectives , 1 Cor. 4.14 . We are made as the filth of the world , &c. But God will put Honour upon his Children at the last day , and crown them with Immortal Bliss , to the envy of their Adversaries .

Quest. 7. How we may know that God is our Father ? All cannot say Our Father : The Jewes boasted that God was their Father ; John 8.36 . We have one Father , even God . Christ tells them their pedigree , ver. 44. Ye are of your Father the Devil . They who are of Satanical Spirits , and make use of their power to beat down the power of Godliness , cannot say God is their Father , they may say , Our Father which art in Hell . Well then , how may we know that God is our Father ?

Resp. 1. By having a Filial disposition . This is in four things ▪ 1. To melt in tears for Sin : A Child weeps for offending his Father . When Christ looked on Peter , and he remembred his Sin in denying Christ , he fell a weeping . Clemens Alexandrinus reports of Peter , he never heard a Cock crow but he wept . This is a sign God is our Father : When the heart of stone is taken away , and there is a gracious thaw in the heart , it melts in tears for Sin ; and he who hath a Child-like heart mourns for Sin in a Spiritual manner , as it is Sin : He grieves for it , 1. As it is an Act of Pollution . Sin deflours the Virgin-Soul ; it defaceth Gods Image ; it turns beauty into deformity ; 't is called the plague of the heart , 1 Kings 8.38 . It is the spirits of evil distilled . A Child of God mourns for the defilement of Sin ; Sin hath a blacker aspect than Hell . 2. He who hath a Child-like heart grieves for Sin , as 't is an Act of Enmity . Sin is diametrically opposite to God : It is called a walking contrary to God ; Lev. 26.40 . If they shall confess their iniquity , and that they have walked contrary to me . Sin doth all it can to spight God : If God be of one mind , Sin will be of another . Sin would not only unthrone God , but it strikes at his very Being ; if Sin could help it God should be no longer God . A Child-like heart grieves for this , O saith he , that I should have so much enmity in me , that my Will should be no more subdued to the Will of my Heavenly Father , this springs a leak of godly sorrow . 3. A Child-like heart weeps for Sin as it is an Act of Ingratitude . Sin is an abuse of Gods Love ; it is a taking the Jewels of Gods Mercies and making use of them to sin . God hath done more for his Children than others ; he hath planted his grace , and given them some intimations of his favour , and to sin against kindness , dyes a sin in grain , and makes it Crimson : Like Absalom , as soon as his Father kissed him and took him into favour , plotted Treason against him . Nothing so melts a Child-like heart in tears , as sins of unkindness ; O that I should sin against the Blood of a Saviour , and the Bowels of a Father : I condemn ingratitude in my Child , yet I am guilty of ingratitude against my Heavenly Father : This opens a vein of godly sorrow , and makes the heart bleed afresh ; certainly this evidenceth God to be our Father , when he hath given us this Child-like frame of heart , to weep for sin as it is sin , an act of Pollution , Enmity , Ingratitude . A wicked Man may mourn for the bitter Fruit of Sin , but only a Child of God can grieve for the odious Nature of Sin . 2. A Filial ( or Child-like ) disposition is to be full of sympathy ▪ We lay to heart the dishonours reflected upon our Heavenly Father , when we see Gods Worship adulterated , his Truth mingled with the poyson of Errour , it is as a Sword in our Bones to see Gods Glory suffer ; Psal. 119.158 . I beheld the transgressors and was grieved . Homer describing Agamemnons grief when he was forced to sacrifice his Daughter Iphigenia , brings in all his Friends weeping and condoling with him ; so when God is dishonoured , we sympathize , and are as it were clad in mourning . A Child that hath any good Nature , is cut to the heart to hear his Father reproached . An Heir of Heaven takes a dishonour done to God more heinous than a disgrace done to himself . 3. A Filial disposition is to love our Heavenly Father : He is unnatural that doth not love his Father . God who is crown'd with excellency , is the proper object of delight , and every true Child of God saith as Peter , Lord thou knowest that I love thee : But who will not say he loves God ? If ours be a true genuine love to our Heavenly Father , it may be known , 1. By the effects . 1. Then we have an holy fear : There is a fear which ariseth from love to God ; that is , we fear the loss of the visible tokens of Gods presence ; 1 Sam. 4.13 . Elies heart trembled for the Ark. It is not said his heart trembled for his two Sons , Hophni and Phinchas , but his heart trembled for the Ark ; because the Ark was the special sign of Gods Presence , and if that were taken the Glory was departed . He who loves his Heavenly Father , fears least the tokens of his Presence should be removed , least Profaneness should break in like a flood , least Popery should get head , and God should go from a people . The presence of God in his Ordinances is the glory and strength of a Nation . The Trojans had the Image of Pallas , and they had an opinion , that as long as that Image was preserved among them , they should never be conquered . So long as Gods presence is with a people so long they are safe . Every true Child of God fears least God should go , and the glory depart . Try by this whether we have a Filial disposition : Do we love God , and doth this love cause fear and jealousie ? Are we afraid least we should lose Gods presence ? Least the Sun of Righteousness remove out of our Horizon . Many are afraid least they should lose some of their Worldly profits , but not least they lose the presence of God . If they may have Peace and Trading they care not what becomes of the Ark of God . A true Child of God fears nothing so much as the loss of his Fathers presence : Hos. 9.12 . Wo to them when I depart from them . 2. Love to our Heavenly Father is seen by loving his Day ; Isa. 58.13 . If thou call the Sabbath a delight . The Antients called this Regina Dierum , the Queen of Days . If we love our Father in Heaven we spend this day in Devotion , in Reading , Hearing , Meditating : On this day Manna falls double . God sanctified the Sabbath : He made all the other days in the Week , but he hath sanctified this day ; this day he hath crown'd with a Blessing . 3. Love to our Heavenly Father is seen by loving his Children ; 1 Iohn 5.1 . Every one that loveth him that begat , loveth him also that is begotten of him . If we love God , the more we see of God in any , the more we love them ; we love them though they are poor : A Child loves to see his Fathers picture , though hung in a mean frame ; we love the Children of our Father though they are persecuted ; 2 Tim. 1.16 . Onesiphorus was not ashamed of my chain . Constantine did kiss the hole of Paphnusius's eye , because he suffered the loss of his eye for Christ . It appears they have no love to God , who have no love to his Children ; they care not for their company ; they have a secret disgust and antipathy against them . Hipocrites pretend great reverence to the Saints departed , they canonize dead Saints , but persecute living : I may say of these as the Apostle , Heb. 12.8 . They are bastards , not sons . 4. Effect of love , if we love our Heavenly Father , then we will be Advocates for him , and stand up in the defence of his Truth . He who loves his Father will plead for him when he is traduced and wronged . He hath no Child-like heart , no love to God , who can hear Gods name dishonoured , and be silent . Doth Christ appear for us in Heaven , and are we afraid to appear for him on Earth ? Such as dare not own God and Religion in times of danger , God will be ashamed to be called their God ; it would be a reproach to him to have such Children as will not own him . 2. A Child-like love to God is known , as by the Effects , so by the Degree ; it is a superiour love . We love our Father in Heaven above all other things ; above Estate or Relations , as Oyl runs above the Water . Psal. 73.25 . A Child of God seeing a super eminency of Goodness , and a constellation of all Beauties in God , he is carried out in love to him in the highest measure : As God gives his Children such a love as he doth not bestow upon the wicked , electing love ; so Gods Children give God such a love as they bestow upon none else , adoring love ; they give him the flower and spirits of their love ; they love him with a love joyned with worship ; this spiced Wine they keep only for their Father to drink of : Cant. 8.2 . 4. A Child-like disposition is seen in honouring our Heavenly Father . Mal. 1.6 . A Son honoureth his Father .

Quest. How 〈◊〉 show our honour to our Father in Heaven ?

Resp. 1. By having a reverential awe of God upon us ; Lev. 25.17 . Thou shalt fear thy God : This reverential fear of God is when we dare do nothing that he hath forbidden in his Word ; Gen. 39.9 . How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God ? It is the part of the honour a Son gives to his Father , he fears to displease him . 2. We show our honour to our Heavenly Father by doing all we can to exalt God , and make his Excellencies shine forth ; though we cannot lift up God higher in Heaven , yet we may lift him higher in our hearts , and in the esteem of others . When we speak well of God , set forth his renown , display the trophies of his goodness , when we ascribe the glory of all we do to God , when we are the trumpeters of Gods praise ; this is an honouring our Father in Heaven , and a certain sign of a Child-like heart : Psal. 50.23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me .

2. We may know God is our Father by our resembling of him : The Child is his Fathers Picture , Iudg. 8.18 . Each one resembled the children of a King : Every Child of God resembles the King of Heaven ; herein Gods adopting Children and Mans differ . A Man adopts one for his Son and Heir that doth not at all resemble him , but whosoever God adopts for his Child is like him ; he not only bears his Heavenly Fathers Name , but Image , Col. 3.10 . And have put on the new man , which is renewed 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 — after the image of him that created him . He who hath God for his Father , resembles God in Holiness : Holiness is the glory of the Godhead , Exod. 15.11 . The Holiness of God is the intrinsick Purity of his Essence . He who hath God for his Father , partakes of the Divine Nature ; though not of the Divine Essence , yet of the Divine Likeness : As the Seal sets its print and likeness upon the Wax , so he who hath God for his Father , hath the print and effigies of his Holiness stamped upon him , Psal. 106.16 . Aaron the Saint of the Lord . Wicked Men desire to be like God hereafter in glory , but do not affect to be like him here in grace ; they give it out to the World that God is their Father , yet have nothing of God to be seen in them , they are unclean , they not only want his Image but hate it .

3. We may know God is our Father by having his Spirit in us . 1. By having the intercession of the Spirit : 'T is a Spirit of Prayer : Gal. 4.6 . Because ye are Sons , God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts , crying , Abba , Father . Prayer is the Souls breathing it self into the bosom of its Heavenly Father . None of Gods Children are born dumb ; implet Spiritus sanctus organum suum , & tanquam Pila chordarum tangit Spiritus Dei corda sanctorum . Prosper . Acts 9.11 . Behold he prayeth : But it is not every Prayer evidenceth Gods Spirit in us . Such as have no grace may excel in gifts , and affect the hearts of others in Prayer , when their own hearts are not affected : As the Lute makes a sweet sound in the ears of others , but it self is not sensible ; how therefore shall we know our Prayers are indited by Gods Spirit , and so he is our Father ?

Resp. 1. When they are not only Vocal but Mental ; when there are not only gifts but groans ; Rom. 8.26 . The best Musick is in consort ; the best Prayer is when the heart and tongue joyn together in consort .

2. When they are zealous and fervent : Iam. 5.16 . The effectual fervent Prayer of a righteous man availeth much . The eyes melt in Prayer , the heart burns : Fervency is to Prayer , as Fire to the Incense ; it makes it ascend to Heaven as a sweet perfume .

3. When Prayer hath Faith sprinkled in it : Prayer is the Key of Heaven , and Faith is the hand that turns it ; Rom. 8.15 . We cry , Abba , Father . We cry , there is fervency in Prayer : Abba , Father , there is Faith . Those Prayers suffer shipwrack which dash upon the rock of unbelief . Thus we may know God is our Father by having his Spirit praying in us : As Christ intercedes above , so the Spirit intercedes within . 2. By having the renewing of the Spirit , which is nothing else but Regeneration , which is called a being born of the Spirit , Iohn 3.5 . This regenerating work of the Spirit is a transformation , or change of Nature , Rom. 12.2 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind . He who is born of God hath a new heart : New , not for substance , but for qualities . The strings of a Viol may be the same , but the Tune is altered : Before this Regeneration , there are Spiritual Pangs , much heart-breaking for Sin . Regeneration is called a circumcising of the heart , Col. 2.11 . In Circumcising there was pain in the flesh : so in this Spiritual Circumcision there is pain in the heart ; there is much sorrow arising from the sense of guilt and wrath . The Jaylors trembling , Acts 16.30 . was a pang in the new birth . Gods Spirit is a Spirit of Bondage before it be a Spirit of Adoption . This blessed work of Regeneration spreads over the whole Soul ; it irradiates the Mind , it consecrates the Heart , and reforms the Life : Though Regeneration be but in part , it is in every part ; 1 Thess. 5.23 . Regeneration is the signature and engraving of the Holy Ghost upon the Soul . The new born Christian is bespangled with the Jewels of the 〈◊〉 which are the Angels glory : Regeneration is the spring of all true joy . At our first birth we come weeping into the World , but at our new birth there 's cause of rejoycing ; for now God is our Father , and we are begotten to a lively hope of glory ; 1 Pet. 1.3 . We may try by this our relation to God . Hath a regenerating work of Gods Spirit passed upon our Souls ? Are we made of another Spirit ? Humble and Heavenly ? This is a good sign of Son-ship , and we may say , Our Father which art in Heaven . 3. By having the conduct of the Spirit : We are led by the Spirit ; Rom. 8.14 . As many as are led by the Spirit of God , they are the Sons of God . Gods Spirit doth not only quicken us in our Regeneration , but leads us on till we come to the end of our Faith , Salvation . It is not enough the Child have Life , but he must be led every step by the Nurse . Hos. 11.3 . I taught Ephraim to go , taking them by their armes . Their Armes , as the Israelites had the Cloud and Pillar of Fire to go before them , and be a guide to them ; so Gods Spirit is a guide to go before us , and lead us into all truth , and counsel us in all our doubts , and influence us in all our actions : Psalm 73.24 . Thou shalt guide me by thy counsels . None can call God Father but such as have the conduct of his Spirit . Try then what Spirit you are led by ? Such as are led by a Spirit of Envy , Lust , Avarice , these are not led by the Spirit of God ; it were blasphemy for them to call God Father : These are led by the Spirit of Satan , and may say Our Father which art in Hell . 4. By having the Witness of the Spirit ; Rom. 8.16 . The Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirit , that we are the Children of God . This Witness of the Spirit , suggesting that God is our Father , is not a Vocal Witness , or Voice from Heaven : The Spirit in the Word witnesseth : The Spirit in the Word saith , he who is so qualified , who is an hater of Sin , and a lover of Holiness , is a Child of God , and God is his Father ; if I can find such qualifications wrought , here is the Spirit witnessing with my Spirit , that I am a Child of God . Besides , we may carry it higher , the Spirit of God witnesseth to our Spirit by making more than ordinary impressions upon our hearts , and giving some secret hints and whispers that God hath purposes of Love to us : Here is a concurrent witness of the Spirit with Conscience , that we are Heirs of Heaven , and God is our Father : This Witness is better felt than expressed , this Witness scatters doubts and fears , silenceth temptations ; but what shall one do that hath not this Witness of the Spirit ? If we w●●t the Witness of the Spirit , let us labour to find the Work of the Spirit ; if we have not the Spirit testifying , labour to have it sanctifying , and that will be a support to us .

4. If God be our Father we are of Peaceable Spirits : Matth. 5.9 Blessed are the peace-makers , they shall be called the children of God . Grace infuseth a sweet amicable disposition ; it files off the ruggedness of Mens Spirits ; it turns the Lion-like fierceness into a Lamb-like gentleness ; Isa. 11.7 . They who have God to be their Father , follow Peace as well as Holiness . God the Father is called the God of Peace , Heb. 13.20 . God the Son , the Prince of Peace , Isa. 9.6 . God the Holy Ghost is a Spirit of Peace : It is called the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ; Eph. 4.3 . The more peaceable the more like God . It is a bad sign God is not their Father ; 1. Who are fierce and cruel , as if with Romulus they had sucked the Milk of a Wolf , Rom. 3.17 . The way of peace have they not known , they sport in mischief ; these are they who are of a persecuting Spirit , as Maximinus , Dioclesian , Antiochus , who ( as Eusebius ) took more tedious journeys , and run more hazards in vexing and persecuting the Iewes , than any of his Predecessors had done in getting of Victories : These Furies cannot call God Father , if they do , they will have as little comfort in saying Father , as Dives had in Hell , when he said , Father Abraham , Luke 16.24 . 2. Who are makers of division ; Rom. 16.17 . Mark them which cause divisions , and avoid them : Such as are born of God are makers of Peace , what shall we think of such as are makers of Division , will God Father these ? The Devil made the first division in Heaven ; they may call the Devil Father ; they may give the Cloven Foot in their Coat of Armes ; their sweetest Musick is in Discord ; they unite to divide . Sampsons Fox-tails were tyed together only to set the Philistians Corn on fire , Iudg. 15 4. Papists unite only to set the Churches Peace on fire· Satans Kingdom goes up by Divisions . St. Chrysostome observes of the Church of Corinth , when many Converts were brought in , Satan knew no better way to dam up the current of Religion , than to throw in an Apple of Strife , and divide them into Parties ; one was for Paul , and another for Apollos , but few for Christ . Would not Christ have his Coat rent , and can he endure to have his Body rent ? Sure God will never Father them who are not Sons of Peace : Of all them who God hates , he is named for one , who is a sower of discord among brethren , Prov. 6.19 .

5. If God be our Father , then we love to be near God , and have converse with him . An ingenuous Child delights to approach near to his Father , and go into his presence . David envyed the Birds that they built their Nests so near Gods Altars , when he was debarred his Fathers house ; Psal. 84.3 . True Saints love to get as near to God as they can : In the Word they draw near to his Holy Oracle , in the Sacrament they draw near to his Table ; a Child of God delights to be in his Fathers presence ; he cannot stay away long from God ; he sees a Sabbath day approaching and rejoyceth ; his heart hath been often melted and quickened in a Ordinance , he hath tasted the Lord is good , therefore he loves to be in his Fathers presence , he cannot keep away long from God . Such as care not for Ordinances cannot say Our Father which art in Heaven : Is God their Father who cannot endure to be in his presence ?

VSE I. Of Instruction . See the amazing goodness of God that is pleased to enter into this sweet relation of a Father . God needed not to adopt us , he did not want a Son : God did not want a Son , but we did a Father ; God showed Power in being our Maker , but Mercy in being our Father : When we were enemies , and our hearts stood out as garrisons against God , that he should conquer our stubbornness , and of enemies make us children , and write his Name , and put his Image upon us , and bestow a Kingdom of Glory ; what a Miracle of Mercy is this ? Every adopted Child may say , Even so Father , for so it seemed good in thy sight . Mat. 11.26 .

2. Br. or Infer . If God be a Father , then hence I infer , whatever he doth to his Children is Love .

( 1. ) If he smiles upon them in Prosperity it is Love : They have the World not only with Gods leave , but with his love . God saith to every Child of his , as Naaman to Gehazi , 2 Kings 5.23 . Be content take two talents : So saith God to his Child , I am thy Father , take two talents . Take Health and take my Love with it ; take an Estate and take my Love with it ; Take two talents . Gods Love is a sweetning ingredient into every Mercy .

Quest. How doth it appear that a Child of God hath Worldly things in love ?

Resp. 1. Because he hath a good Title to them . God is his Father , therefore he hath a good title : A wicked Man hath a civil title to the Creature , but no more ; he hath it not from the hand of a Father ; he is like one that takes up Cloth at the Drapers , and it is not paid for ; but a Believer hath a good title to every foot of Land he hath , his Father hath setled it upon him .

2. A Child of God hath Worldly things in love , because they are sanctified to him . 1. They make him better , and are Loadstones to draw him nearer to God . 2. He hath his Fathers Blessing with them : A little blest is sweet ; Exod. 23.25 . He shall bless thy bread and thy water . Esau had the Venison , but Iacob got the Blessing : While the wicked have their Meat sawced with Gods Wrath , Psal. 78.30 , 31. Believers have their Comforts seasoned with a Blessing . It was a secret Blessing from God made Daniels Pulse nourish him more , and make him look fairer , than they that ate of the Kings Meat , Dan. 1.15 .

3. A Child of God hath Worldly things in love , because whatever he hath is an earnest of more : Every bit of Bread is a pledge and earnest of glory .

( 2. ) God being a Father , if he frown , if he dips his pen in gall , and write bitter things , if he corrects , 't is in Love . A Father loves his Child as well when he doth chastise and discipline him , as when he settles his Land on him ; Rev. 3.19 . As many as I love , I rebuke . Afflictions are sharp Arrows , saith Gr. Nazianzen , but they are shot from the hand of a loving Father . Correctio est Virtutis gymnasium ; God afflicts with the same love he gives Christ ; he doth it to humble and purifie : Gentle Correction is as necessary as Dayly Bread ; nay , as needful as Ordinances , as Word and Sacraments . There is love in all ; God smites that he may save .

( 3. ) God being a Father , if he desert and hide his face from his Child , it is in love . Desertion is sad in it self , a short Hell , Iob 6.9 . When the Light is withdrawn , Dew falls : Yet we may see a Rainbow in the Cloud , the love of a Father in all this . 1. God hereby quickens grace ; perhaps grace lay dormant , Cant. 5.2 . it was as fire in the embers , and God withdraws comfort to invigorate and exercise grace . Faith is a Star sometimes shines brightest in the dark night of desertion ; Ionah 2.4 . 2. When God hides his face from his Child , yet still he is a Father , and his heart is towards his Child ; as Ioseph when he spake roughly to his Brethren , and made them believe he would take them for Spyes , still his Heart was full of Love , and he was fain to go aside and weep . So Gods Bowels yearn to his Children , when he seems to look strange ; Isa. 54.8 . In a little wrath I hid my face from thee , but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee . Though God may have the look of an enemy , yet still he hath the heart of a Father .

3. Br. or Infer . Learn hence the sad case of the wicked , they cannot say , Our Father in Heaven ; they may say Our Iudge , but not Our Father ; they fetch their pedigree from Hell , Iohn 8.44 . Ye are of your Father the Devil . Such as are unclean and profane , are the spurious blood of the Old Serpent , and it were blasphemy for them to call God Father . The case of the wicked is deplorable , if they are in misery , they have none to make their moan to ; God is not their Father , he disclaims all Kindred with them ▪ Matth. 7.23 . I never knew you , depart from me ye that work iniquity . The wicked dying in their Sins , can expect no Mercy from God as a Father . Many say , he that made them will save them , but Isa. 27.11 . It is a people of no understanding , therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them . Though God was their Father by Creation , yet because they were not his Children by Adoption ; therefore he that made them would not save them .

VSE II. Of Exhortation : To perswade all who are yet strangers to God , to labour to come into this Heavenly Kindred : Never leave till you can say , Our Father which art in Heaven .

Quest. But will God be a Father to me who have profaned his Name , and been a great Sinner ?

Resp. If thou wilt now at last seek to God by Prayer , and break off thy Sins , God hath the Bowels of a Father for thee , and will in no wise cast thee out . When the Prodigal did arise and go to his Father , his Father had compassion , and ran , and fell on his neck , and kissed him : Luke 15.20 . Though thou hast been a Prodigal , and almost spent all upon thy Lusts , yet if thou wilt now give a bill of divorce to thy Sins , and fly to God by Repentance , know that he hath the Bowels of a Father ; he will embrace thee in the Arms of his Mercy , and seal thy Pardon with a Kiss . What though thy Sins have been heinous ? The Wound is not so broad as the Plaister of Christs Blood . The Sea covers great Rocks : The Sea of Gods Compassion can drown thy great Sins ; therefore be not discouraged , go to God , resolve to cast thy self upon his Fatherly Bowels ; God may be entreated of thee , as he was of Manasseh , 2 Chron. 33.13 . He prayed unto the Lord , and he was entreated of him . Manasseh made the streets run with Blood , yet when his eyes ran with Tears , Gods Fatherly Bowels began to melt , and he was entreated of him .

VSE III. Of Comfort : To such as can upon good grounds call God Father : There 's more sweetness in this word Father , then if we had ten thousand Worlds . David thought it a great matter to be Son in Law to a King : 1. Sam. 18.18 . What is my Fathers family , that I should be Son in law to the King ? But what is it to be born of God , and have God for our Father .

Quest. Wherein lies the happiness of having God for our Father ?

Resp. 1. If God be our Father then he will teach us ; what Father will refuse to counsel his Son ? Doth God command Parents to instruct their Children , Leut. 4.10 . and will not he instruct his ? Isa. 48.17 . I am the Lord thy God , which teacheth thee to profit , Psal. 71.17 . O God thou hast taught me from my youth . If God be our Father he will give us the teachings of his Spirit : The natural man receives not the things of God , neither can he know them ; 1 Cor. 2.14 . The Natural Man may have excellent notions in Divinity , but God must teach us to know the Mysteries of the Gospel after a Spiritual manner . A Man may see the figures upon a Dyal , but he cannot tell how the day goes unless the Sun shine . We may read many Truths in the Bible , but we cannot know them savingly till God by his Spirit shine upon our Soul . God teacheth not only our Ear but our Heart ; he not only informs our Mind , but inclines our Will ; we never learn till God teach us . If God be our Father he will teach us how to order our affairs with discretion , Psalm 112.5 . how to carry our selves wisely , 1 Sam. 18.5 . David behaved himself wisely ; he will teach us what to answer when we are brought before Governours , he will put words into our mouths , Matth. 10.18 , 19 , 20. Ye shall be brought before Governours and Kings for my sake , but take no thought how or what ye shall speak : For it is not ye that speak , but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you .

2. If God be our Father , then he hath Bowels of Affection towards us : If it be so unnatural for a Father not to love his Child , can we think God will be defective in his Love ? All the affections of Parents come from God , but a spark from his flame . He is the Father of Mercies , 2 Cor. 1.3 . he begets all the Mercies and Bowels in the Creature : His Love to his Children , is a Love which passeth knowledge , Eph. 3.19 . it exceeds all dimensions , it is higher than Heaven , it is broader than the Sea . That you may see Gods Fatherly Love to his Children ; 1. Consider God makes a precious valuation of them ; Isa. 43.4 . Since thou wast precious in my sight : A Father prizeth his Child above his Jewels ; their names are precious , for they have Gods own name written upon them ; Rev. 3.12 . I will write upon him the name of my God : Their Prayers are a precious perfume , their Tears God bottles , Psal. 56.8 . God esteems his Children as a Crown of glory in his hand ; Isa. 62.3 . 2. God loves the places they were born in the better for their sakes , Psal. 87.6 . Of Sion it shall be said , this man was born there ; this and that Believer was born there : God loves the ground his Children tread upon . Hence Iudea , the seat of Gods Children and Chosen , God calls a delightsome Land , Mal. 3.12 . It was not only pleasant for Scituation and Fruitfulness , but because Gods Children , who were his Hephsibab or Delight , lived there . 3. He chargeth the great ones of the World not to prejudice his Children ; their Persons are sacred : Psal. 105.14 . He suffered no man to do them wrong ; yea , he reproved Kings for their sakes , saying , Touch not mine anointed . By Anointed , is meant the Children of the High God , who have the Unction of the Spirit , and are set apart for God . 4. God delights in their company , he loves to see their Countenance and hear their Voice , Cant. 2.14 . he cannot refrain long from their company : Let but two or three of his Children meet and pray together , he will be sure to be among them , Matth. 18.20 . Where two or three are gathered together in my name , I am in the midst of them . 5. God bears his Children in his Bosom , as a nursing Father doth the sucking Child . Numb. 11.12 . Isa. 46.4 . To be carried in Gods Bosom shows how near his Children lye to his Heart . 6. God is full of sollicitous care for them , 1 Pet. 5.7 . He careth for you . His eye is still upon them , they are never out of his thoughts . A Father cannot always take care for his Child , he sometimes is asleep , but God is a Father that never sleeps ; Psal. 121.4 . He neither slumbereth nor sleepeth . 7. He thinks nothing too good to part with to his Children : He gives them the Kidneys of the Wheat , and Honey out of the Rock , and Wine on the Lees well refined , Isa. 25.6 . He gives them three Jewels more worth than Heaven , the Blood of his Son , the Grace of his Spirit , the Light of his Countenance . Never was there such an indulgent affectionate Father . 8. If God hath one Love better than other , he bestows it upon them ; they have the cream and quintessence of his Love . He will rejoyce over thee , he will rest in his love , Zeph. 3.17 . God loves his Children with such a love as he loves Christ ; Iohn 17.26 . it is the same love for the unchangeableness of it : God will no more cease to love his Adopted Sons , then he will to love his Natural Son .

3. If God be our Father he will be full of sympathy ; Psal. 103.13 . As a Father pityeth his Children , so the Lord pityeth them that fear him . Ier. 31.20 . Is Ephraim my dear Son ? my bowels are troubled for him . God pityes his Children in Two Cases .

( 1. ) In Case of Infirmities . ( 2. ) Injuries .

( 1. ) In Case of Infirmities : If the Child be deformed , or hath any ●odily distemper the Father pityes it : If God be our Father , he pityes our weaknesses , and he so pityes them as to heal them ; Isa. 57.18 . I have seen his wayes , and will heal him . As God hath Bowels to pity , so he hath Balsam to heal .

( 2. ) In Case of Injuries . Every blow of the Child goes to the Fathers heart ; when the Saints suffer , God doth sympathize ; Isa. 63.9 . In all their afflictions he was afflicted : He did as it were bleed in their Wounds . Saul , Saul , why persecutest thou me ? When the foot was trod on , the head cryed out . Iudg. 10.16 . Gods Soul was grieved for the children of Israel . As when one string in a Lute is touched , all the rest of the strings sound : When Gods Children are stricken , his Bowels sound . Zach. 2.8 . He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye .

4. If God be our Father , he will take notice of the least good he sees in us ; if there be but a sigh for Sin , God hears it , Psal. 38.9 . My groaning is not hid from thee ; if there be but a penitential tear comes out of our eye , God sees it , Isa. 38.5 . I have seen thy tears . If there be but a good intention , God takes notice : 1 Kings 8.18 . Whereas it was in thy heart to build an house to my name , thou didst well that it was in thine heart . God punisheth intentional wickedness , and crowns intentional goodness ; Thou didst well that it was in thy heart : God takes notice of the least scintilla , the least spark of grace in his Children : 1 Pet. 3.6 . Sarah obeyed Abraham , calling him Lord . The Holy Ghost doth not mention Sarahs unbelief , or laughing at the Promise , he puts a finger upon the scar , winks at her failing , and only takes notice of the good that was in her , her Obedience to her Husband , She obeyed Abraham , calling him Lord ; nay , that good which the Saints scarce take notice of in themselves , God in a special manner observes , Matth. 25.35 . I was an hungred and ye gave me meat , I was thirsty and ye gave me drink : Then shall the Righteous say , Lord , when saw we thee an hungred , and fed thee ? They did as it were over-look and disclaim their own Works of Charity , yet Christ doth take notice , I was an hungred , and ye fed me : What a Comfort is this , God spyes the least good in his Children ; he can see a grain of Corn hid under Chaff , Grace hid under Corruption .

5. If God be our Father , he will take all we do in good part . Those Duties we our selves censure , God will crown . When a Child of God looks over his best Duties , he sees so much Sin cleaving to them , that he is even confounded : Lord , saith he , there is more Sulphur than Incense in my Prayers ; but for your comfort , if God be your Father , he will crown those Duties which you your selves censure ; God sees there is sincerity in the hearts of his Children , and this gold ( though light ) shall have grains of allowance : Though there may be defects in the services of Gods Children , yet God will not cast away their offering , 2 Chron. 30.20 . The Lord healed the people . The Tribes of Israel being straitned in time wanted some Legal Purifications , yet because their Hearts were upright , God healed them , he pardoned them ; God accepts of the good Will , 2 Cor. 8.12 . A Father takes a Letter from his Son kindly though there are blots , or bad English in it : What blottings are there in our holy things , yet our Father in Heaven accepts : Saith God , it is my Child , and he would do better ; I will look upon him through Christ with a merciful eye .

6. If God be our Father then he will correct us in measure ; Ier. 30.11 . I will correct thee in measure ; and that two ways : 1. It shall be in measure for the kind ; God will not lay upon us more than we are able to bear , 1 Cor. 10.13 . he know , our frame , Psal. 103.14 . he knows we are not Steel or Marble , therefore will deal gently , he will not over-afflict : As the Physician that knows the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 and temper of the Body , will not give Physick too strong for the Body , nor will he give one dram or scruple too much . God hath not only the Title of a Father , but the Bowels of a Father ; he will not lay too heavy burthens on his Children , least their spirits fail before him . 2. He will correct in measure for the duration ; he will not let the affliction lye on too long : Psal. 125.3 . The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous : It may be there , and not rest . Isa. 57.16 . I will not contend for ever . Our Heavenly Father will love for ever , but he will not contend for ever . The torments of the damned are for ever , Rev. 14.11 . The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever : The wicked shall drink a Sea of Wrath , but Gods Children only taste of the Cup of Affliction , and their Heavenly Father will say , transeat calix , let this cup pass away from them ; Isa. 35.10 . A sting , a wing .

7. If God be our Father he will intermix Mercy with all our Afflictions : If he give us Wormwood to drink , he will mix it with Honey . In the Ark , the Rod was laid up , and Manna : With our Fathers Rod there is alwayes some Manna . Ashers shooes were iron and brass , but his foot was dip'd in oyl ; Gen. 33.24 . Affliction is the shooe of brass that pincheth , but there is mercy in the affliction , there is the foot dipped in oyl . When God afflicts the Body , he gives Peace of Conscience ; there is Mercy in the Affliction . An Affliction comes to prevent falling into Sin , there is Mercy in the Affliction . Iacob had his Thigh hurt in wrestling , there was the Affliction ; but then he saw Gods face , and received a Blessing from the Angel , Gen. 32.30 . there was Mercy in the Affliction . In every Cloud a Child of God may see a Rainbow of Mercy shining . As the Limner mixeth dark shadows and bright colours together ; so our Heavenly Father mingles the dark and the bright together , Crosses and Blessings ; and is not this a great happiness for God thus to checker his Providences , and mingle goodness with severity .

8. If God be our Father , the evil one shall not prevail against us . Satan is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the evil one , emphatically : He is the grand enemy of the Saints ; and that both in a Military sense , as he fights against them with his temptations ; and in a Forensical or Law-sense , as he is an accuser and pleads against them , yet neither way shall he prevail against Gods Children ; as for his shooting his fiery darts , God will bruise Satan shortly under the Saints feet . Rom. 16.20 . As for his accusing , Christ is Advocate for the Saints , and answers all bills of inditement brought in against them . God will make all Satans temptations promote the good of his ●hildren : 1. As they set them more a praying ; 2 Cor. 12.8 . Temptation is a medicine for security . 2. As they are a means to humble them ; 2 Cor. 12.7 . Least I should be exalted above measure , there was given me a thorn in the flesh . The thorn in the flesh was a temptation ; this thorn was to prick the bladder of pride . 3. As they establish them more in Grace . A Tree shaken by the Wind is more settled and rooted ; the blowing of a temptation doth but settle a Child of God more in Grace . Thus the evil one , Satan , shall not prevail against the Children of God .

9. If God be our Father , no real evil shall befal us ; Psal. 91.10 . There shall no evil befal thee : 'T is not said no trouble , but no evil . Gods Children are priviledged persons ; they are priviledged from the hurt of every thing ; Luke 10.19 . Nothing shall by any means hurt you . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Chrys. The hurt and malignity of the affliction is taken away . Affliction to a wicked Man hath evil in it ; it makes him worse ; Rev. 16.9 . Men were scorched with great heat , and blasphemed the name of God : But no evil befalls a Child of God , he is bettered by affliction ; Heb. 12.10 . That ye may be made partakers of his holiness . What hurt doth the Furnace to the Gold , it only makes it purer . What hurt doth Affliction to Grace , only refine and purifie it . What a great priviledge is this to be freed , though not from the stroke of Affliction , yet the sting : No evil shall touch a Saint . When the Dragon hath poysoned the water , they say the Unicorn with his horn doth draw out the poyson . Christ hath drawn out the poyson of every Affliction , that it cannot prejudice a Child of God . Again , no evil befalls a Child of God , because no condemnation : Rom. 8.1 . No condemnation to them in Christ Iesus . God doth not condemn them , nor Conscience doth not condemn them : Both Jury and Judge acquit them , then no evil befalls them ; for nothing is really an evil but that which damns .

10. If God be our Father this may make us go with chearfulness to the Throne of Grace . Were a Man to petition his enemy there were little hope ; but when a Child petitions his Father he may come with confidence to speed : The word Father works upon God , it toucheth his very Bowels . What can a Father deny his Child ? If a Son ask bread will he give him a stone ? Matth. 7.9 . This may embolden us to go to God for pardon of Sin , and further degrees of Sanctity . We pray to a Father of Mercy , setting upon a Throne of Grace ; Luke 11.13 . If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children , how much more shall your heavenly Father give his Spirit to them that ask him . This did quicken the Church , and add wings to Prayer . Isa. 63.15 . Look down from heaven : ver. 16. Doubtless thou art our Father . Who doth God keep his Mercies for but his Children ? Three things may cause boldness in Prayer : We have a Father to pray to , and the Spirit to help us to pray , and an Advocate to present our Prayers . Gods Children should in all their troubles run to their Heavenly Father as that sick Child , 2 Kin. 4.19 . He said unto his Father , My head , my head : So pour out thy complaint to God in Prayer , Father , my heart , my heart : My dead heart , quicken it ; my hard heart , soften it in Christs Blood ; Father , my heart , my heart . Sure God that hears the cry of the Ravens , will hear the cry of his Children .

11. If God be our Father he will stand between us and danger . A Father will keep off danger from his Child . God calls himself scutum , a shield : A shield defends the Head , guards the Vitals ; God shields off dangers from his Children , Acts 18.10 . I am with thee , and none shall set on thee to hurt thee : God is an hiding place , Psalm 27.5 . God preserved Athanasius strangely ; he put it into his mind to depart out of the house he was in the night before the enemies came to search for him : As God hath a Breast to feed , so he hath Wings to cover his Children ; Psal. 91.4 . He shall cover thee with his feathers , and under his wings shalt thou trust . God appoints his holy Angels to be a Life-guard about his Children , Heb. 1.14 . never was any Prince so well guarded as a Believer . The Angels , 1. are a numerous guard , 2 Kings 6.17 . The mountain was full of horses of fire round about Elisha . The Horses and Chariots of fire were the Angels of God to defend the Prophet Elisha . 2. A strong guard . One Angel in a night slew an hundred and fourscore and five thousand , 2 Kin. 19.32 . if one Angel slew so many , what would an Army of Angels have done ? 3. The Angels are a swift guard ; they are ready in an instant to help Gods Children ; therefore they are described with wings to show their swiftness , they fly to our help , Dan. 9.21 , 23. At the beginning of thy supplication the commandment came forth , and I am come to thee ? Here was a swift motion for the Angel to come from Heaven to Earth between the beginning and ending of Daniels Prayer . 4. The Angels are a watchful guard , not like Sauls guard , asleep when their Lord was in danger ; 1 Sam. 26.12 . The Angels are a vigilant guard , they watch over Gods Children to defend them ; Psal. 34.7 . The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him . There is an invisible guardianship of Angels about Gods Children .

12. If God be our Father we shall not want any thing that he sees is good for us : Psal. 34.10 . They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing . God is pleased sometimes to keep his Children to hard commons , but it is good for them ; Sheep thrive best on short pasture ; God sees too much may not be good ; plenty breeds surfeit ; Luxuriant animi rebus secundis : God sees it good sometimes to dyet his Children and keep them short , that they may run the Heavenly Race the better ; it was good for Iacob there was a Famine in the Land , it was a means to bring him to his Son Ioseph ; so it is that Gods Children sometimes see the Worlds emptiness , that they may acquaint themselves more with Christs fulness ; if God see it be good for them to have more of the World they shall have it ; God will not let them want any good thing .

13. If God be our Father all the Promises of the Bible belong to us : Gods Children are called Heirs of the promise ; Heb. 6.17 . A wicked Man can lay claim to nothing in the Bible but the Curses ; he hath no more to do absolutely with the Promises , than a Ploughman hath to do with the City Charter ; the Promises are Childrens Bread ; the Promises are mulctralia Evangelii , the Breasts of the Gospel milking out Consolation ; and who are to suck of these Breasts but Gods Children : The promise of Pardon is for them ; Ier. 33.8 . I will pardon all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me . The promise of Healing is for them ; Isa. 57.18 . the promise of Salvation , Ier. 23.6 . the Promises are supports of Faith , they are Gods sealed Deed , they are a Christians Cordial . O the Heavenly Comforts which are distilled from the Lembick of the Promises . St. Chrysostome compares the Scripture to a Garden , the Promises are the Fruit-Trees that grow in this Garden . A Child of God may go to any Promise in the Bible , and pluck Comfort from it : He is an Heir of the Promise .

14. God makes all his Children Conquerours : They are born of God , and are conquerours . 1. They conquer themselves : Fortior est qui se quam qui fortissima vincit maenia : The Saints conquer their own Lusts ; they bind these princes in fetters of iron : Psal. 149.8 . Though the Children of God may sometimes be foiled , and lose a single battle , yet not the victory . 2. They conquer the World . The World holds forth her two Breasts of Pleasure and Profit , and many are overcome by it ; but the Children of God have a World-conquering Faith ; 1 Iohn 5.4 . This is the victory over the world , even your faith . 3. They conquer their Enemies . How can that be , when they oft take away their Lives ? ( 1. ) They conquer by not complying with them : The three Children would not fall down to the Golden Image , Dan. 3.18 . they would rather burn than bow ; here they were Conquerours . He who complyes with anothers Lust is a Captive , he who refuseth to comply is a Conquerour . ( 2. ) Gods Children conquer their enemies by heroick Patience . A patient Christian , like the anvil , bears all strokes invincibly : Thus the Martyrs overcame their enemies by Patience ; nay , Gods Children are more than conquerours ; Rom. 8.37 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , We are more than conquerours ? How are Gods Children more than Conquerours ? Because they conquer without loss , and because they are crowned after death , which other Conquerours are not .

15. If God be our Father , he will now and then send us some tokens of his Love . Gods Children live far from home , and meet sometimes with coarse usage from the unkind World ; therefore God to encourage his Children , sends them sometimes tokens and pledges of his Love : What are these ? He gives them a return of Prayer , there is a token of Love ; he quickens and enlargeth their Hearts in Duty , there is a token of Love ; he gives them the first fruits of his Spirit , which are Love-tokens , Rom. 8.23 . As God gives the wicked the first fruits of Hell , horrour of Conscience and Despair , so he gives his Children the first fruits of his Spirit , Joy and Peace , which are foretasts of Glory . Some of Gods Children having received these tokens of Love from their Heavenly Father , have been so transported that they have dyed for Joy ; as the Glass oft breaks with the strength of the Wine put into it .

16. If God be our Father he will indulge and spare us ; Mal. 3.17 . I will spare them as a man spareth his own Son that serveth him : Gods sparing his Children imports this , his clemency towards them , he doth not punish them as he might ; Psal. 103.10 . He hath not dealt with us according to our sins : We oft do that which merits Wrath , grieve Gods Spirit , relapse into Sin ; God passeth by much , and spares us : God did not spare his Natural Son , Rom. 8.32 . yet he will spare his Adopted Sons ; God threatned Ephraim to make him as the Chaff driven with the Whirlwind , but he soon repented ; Hos. 13.4 . Yet I am the Lord thy God : ver. 10. I will be thy King : Here God spared him as a Father spares his Son ▪ Israel oft provoked God with their complaints , but God used clemency towards them , he oft answered their murmurings with Mercies ; here he spared them as a Father spares his Son .

17. If God be our Father he will put Honour and Renown upon us at the last day . 1. He will clear the innocency of his Children : Gods Children in this Life are strangely misrepresented to the World ; they are loaded with invectives , they are called factious , seditious : Elijah , the troubler of Israel ; Luther was called the trumpet of Rebellion ; Athanasius was accused to the Emperor Constantine to be the raiser of Tumults ; the Primitive Christians were accused to be infanticidii , incestus rei , killers of their Children , guilty of Incest ; as Tertullian ; St. Paul reported to be a pestilent person , Acts 24.5 . Famous Wickliff called the Idol of the Hereticks , and that he dyed drunk . If Satan cannot defile Gods Children , he will disgrace them ; if he cannot strike his fiery darts into their Conscience , he will put a dead fly into their Name ; but God will one day clear his Childrens innocency , he will roll away their reproach : As God will make a Resurrection of Bodies , so of Names ; Isa. 25.8 . The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces , and the rebuke of his people shall he take away : God will be the Saints compurgator . Psal. 37.6 . He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light . The Night casts its dark mantle upon the most beautiful Flowers , but the light comes in the Morning and dispells the darkness , and every Flower appears in its orient brightness ; so the wicked may by misreports darken the honour and repute of the Saints , but God will dispel this darkness , and cause their Names to shine forth : He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light . As God did stand up for the honour of Moses when Aaron and Miriam went about to eclipse his Fame ; Numb. 12.8 . Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses ? So will God say one day to the wicked , wherefore were not ye afraid to defame and traduce my Children ? They having my Image upon them how durst ye abuse my Picture . At last Gods Children shall come forth out of all their calumnies , as a Dove covered with silver , and her feathers with yellow gold ; Psal. 68.13 . 2. God will make an open and honourable recital of all their good deeds : As the Sins of the Wicked shall be openly mentioned to their eternal infamy and confusion , so all the good deeds of the Saints shall be openly mentioned , and then shall every man have praise of God ; 1 Cor. 4.5 . Every Prayer made with melting eyes , every good service , every work of Charity , shall be openly declared before Men and Angels , Matth. 25.35 . I was an hungred and ye gave me meat , thirsty and ye gave me drink , naked and ye clothed me : Thus God will set a Trophy of Honour upon all his Children at the last day . Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father : Matth. 13.43 .

18. If God be our Father he will settle good land of inheritance upon us : 1 Pet. 1.4 . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus , who hath begotten us again to a lively hope , to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled . A Father may be fallen to decay , and have nothing to leave his Son but his Blessing ; but God will settle an Inheritance on his Children , and an Inheritance no less than a Kingdom ; Luke 17.32 . It is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a kingdom . This Kingdom is more Glorious and Magnificent than any Earthly Kingdom ; it is set out by Pearls and precious Stones , the richest Jewels ; Rev 21.19 . What are all the Rarities of the World to this Kingdom ? The Coasts of Pearl , the Islands of Spices , the Rocks of Diamonds ? In this Heavenly Kingdom is that which is satisfying , unparallel'd Beauty , Rivers of Pleasure ; and this for ever : Psal. 16.11 . At thy right hand are pleasures for evermore : Heavens eminency is its permanency ; and this Kingdom Gods Children shall enter into immediately after Death : There is a sudden transition and passage from Death to Glory : 2 Cor. 5.9 . Absent from the body , present with the Lord . Gods Children shall not stay long for their Inheritance ; it is but winking and they shall see God : How may this comfort Gods Children , who perhaps are low in the World , your Father in Heaven will settle a Kingdom upon you at death , such a Kingdom as eye hath not seen ; he will give you a Crown , not of Gold but Glory ; he will give you white Robes lined with Immortality . It is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a kingdom .

19. If God be our Father it is Comfort : 1. In case of loss of Relations : Hast thou lost a Father , yet if thou art a Believer thou art no Orphan , thou hast an Heavenly Father , a Father that never dyes , 1 Tim. 6.16 . Who only hath immortality . 2. It is comfort in case of Death : God is thy Father , and at Death thou art going to thy Father : Well might Paul say , Death is yours , 1 Cor. 3.22 . it is your friend that will carry you home to your Father . How glad are Children when they are going home ? This was Christs comfort at Death , he was going to his Father ; Ioh. 16.28 . I leave the world and go to the Father ; and Iohn 20.17 . I ascend to my Father . If God be our Father we may with comfort at the day of death resign our Souls into his hands . So did Christ ; Luke 23.46 . Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit . If a Child hath any Jewel , he will in time of danger put it into his Fathers hands , where he thinks it will be kept most safe : Our Soul is our richest Jewel ; we may at Death resign our Souls into Gods hands , where they will be safer than in our own keeping ; Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit : What a comfort is this , Death carries a Believer to his Fathers house , where are delights unspeakable and full of glory . How glad was Old Iacob when he saw the Waggons and Chariots to carry him to his Son Ioseph ; the Text saith , His Spirit revived ; Gen. 45.27 . Death is a triumphant Chariot to carry every Child of God to his Fathers Mansion house .

20. If God be our Father , he will not disinherit his Children ; God may for a time desert them , but not disinherit them : The Sons of Kings have been sometimes disinherited by the cruelty of Usurpers ; as Alexander the Great his Son was put by his just Right , by the violence and ambition of his Fathers Captains ; but what Power on Earth shall hinder the Heirs of the Promise from their Inheritance ? Men cannot , and God will not cut off the entail . The Arminians hold falling away from Grace , and so a Child of God may be defeated of his Inheritance ; but I shall show you that Gods Children can never be degraded or disinherited , their Heavenly Father will not cast them off from being Children . 1. It is evident Gods Children cannot be finally disinherited by vertue of the Eternal Decree of Heaven . Gods Decree is the very Pillar and Basis on which the Saints perseverance depends ; Gods Decree tyes the knot of Adoption so fast , that neither Sin , Death or Hell , can break it asunder ; Rom. 8.30 . Whom he did predestinate them he also called , &c. Predestination is nothing else but Gods decreeing a certain number to be Heirs of Glory , on whom he will settle the Crown ; whom he predestinates he glorifies ; what shall hinder Gods electing Love , or make his Decree null and void ? 2. Besides Gods Decree , he hath engaged himself by Promise , that the Heirs of Heaven shall never be put by their Inheritance . Gods Promises are not like blanks in a Lottery , but as a sealed Deed which cannot be reversed : The Promises are the Saints Royal Charter ; and this is one Promise that their Heavenly Father will not disinherit them ; Ier. 32.40 . I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them , but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me . Gods Fidelity , which is the richest Pearl of his Crown , is engaged in this Promise for his Childrens perseverance ; I will not turn away from them . A Child of God cannot fall away while he is held fast in these two Armes of God , his Love and his Faithfulness . 3. Jesus Christ undertakes that all Gods Children by Adoption shall be preserved in a state of Grace till they inherit Glory : As the Heathens feigned of Atlas that he did bear up the Heavens from falling ; Jesus Christ is that blessed Atlas that bears up the Saints from falling away .

Quest. How doth Christ preserve the Saints Graces till they come to Heaven ?

Resp. 1. Influxu Spiritus . Christ carries on Grace in the Souls of the Elect by the influence and co-operation of his Spirit . Christ doth Spiritu continually excite and quicken Grace in the Godly ; his Spirit doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 blow up the sparks of Grace into an holy flame . Spiritus est Vicarius Christi ; The Spirit is Christs Vicar on Earth , Tertull. his Proxy , his Executor to see that all that Christ hath purchased for the Saints be made good : Christ hath obtained an Inheritance incorruptible for them , 1 Pet. 1.4 . and the Spirit of Christ is his Executor to see that this Inheritance be settled upon them .

2. Christ carries on Grace perseveringly in the Souls of the Elect , vi orationis , by the prevalency of his intercession ; Heb. 7.25 . He ever lives to make intercession for them . Christ prayes that every Saint may hold out in Grace till he comes to Heaven . Can the Children of such Prayers perish ? If the Heirs of Heaven should be disinherited , and fall short of Glory , then Gods Decree must be reversed , his Promise broken , Christs Prayer frustrated , which were Blasphemy to imagine . 4. That Gods Children cannot be disinherited or put by their Right to the Crown of Heaven , is evident from their Mystical Union with Christ . Believers are incorporated into Christ , they are knit to Christ as the Members to the Head , by the Nerves and Ligaments of Faith , so that they cannot be broken off ; Eph. 1.22 , 23. The Church which is his Body . What was once said of Christs Natural Body , is as true of his Mystical ; A bone of it shall not be broken . As it is impossible to sever the leaven and the dough when they are once mingled and kneaded together ; so it is impossible when Christ and Believers are once united , that they should ever by the power of Death or Hell be separated . Christ and his Spiritual Members make one Christ ; now is it possible that any part of Christ should perish ? How can Christ want any Member of his Body Mystical , and be perfect ? Every Member is an Ornament to the Body , and adds to the honour of it : How can Christ part with any Mystical Member , and not part with some of his Glory too ? So that by all this it is evident that Gods Children must needs persevere in Grace and cannot be disinherited . If they could be disinherited then the Scripture could not be fulfilled , which tells us of Glorious Rewards for the Heirs of Promise ; Psal. 58.11 . Doubtless there is a reward for the righteous . Now if Gods Adopted Children should fall finally from Grace , and miss of Heaven , what Reward were there for the Righteous ? And Moses did indiscreetly to look to the recompence of reward , and so there would be a door opened to despair .

Object . This Doctrine of Gods Children persevering , and having the Heavenly Inheritance settled on them , may cause carnal security , and make them less circumspect in their walking ?

Resp. Corrupt Nature may as the Spider , suck poyson from this Flower , but a sober Christian who hath felt the efficacy of Grace upon his Heart , dares not abuse this Doctrine : He knows perseverance is attained in the use of means , therefore he walks holily , that so in the use of means he may arrive at perseverance . St. Paul knew that he should not be disinherited , and that nothing could separate him from the love of Christ , but who more holy and watchful than he ; 1 Cor. 9.27 . I keep under my Body , and Phil. 3.14 . I press toward the mark . Gods Children have that holy fear in them as keeps them from security and wantonness ; they believe the Promise , therefore they rejoyce in hope ; they fear their hearts , therefore they watch and pray . Thus you see what strong consolation there is for all the Heirs of the Promise . Such as have God for their Father are the happyest persons on Earth , they are in such a condition that nothing can hurt them ; they have their Fathers Blessing , all things conspire for their good ; they have a Kingdom settled on them , and the entail can never be cut off . How may Gods Children be comforted in all conditions , let the times be what they will ; their Father is in Heaven , he rules all : If troubles arise they shall but carry Gods Children so much the sooner to their Father . The more violently the Wind beats against the sails of a Ship , the sooner the Ship is brought to the Haven ; and the more fiercely Gods Children are assaulted , the sooner they come to their Fathers house . 1 Thess. 4.18 . Wherefore comfort one another with these words .

VSE IV. Of Exhortation . Let us behave and carry our selves as the Children of such a Father . In several particulars .

1. Let us depend upon our Heavenly Father in all our straits and exigencies ; let us believe that he will provide for us . Children rely upon their Parents for the supply of wants : If we trust God for Salvation shall we not trust him for a Livelyhood ? There is a lawful provident care to be used , but beware of a distrustful care ; Luke 12.24 . Consider the ravens , they neither sow nor reap , and God seedeth them . Doth God feed the Birds of the Air , and will he not feed his Children ? ver. 27. Consider the lilies how they grow , they spin not , yet Solomon in all his glory was not arayed like one of these . Doth God cloath the Lilies , and will he not cloath his Lambs ? Even the wicked taste of Gods bounty ; Psal. 73.7 . Their eyes stand out with fatness . Doth God feed his Slaves , and will not he feed his Family ? Gods Children may not have so liberal a share in the things of this life , but little meal in the barrel ; they may be drawn low , but not drawn dry ; they shall have so much as God sees is good for them ; Psal. 34.10 . They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing . If God gives them not ad voluntatem , Aug. he will ad sanitatem ; if he gives them not alwayes what they crave , he will give them what they need ; if he gives them not a feast , he will give them a viaticum a bait by the way : Let Gods Children therefore depend upon Gods Fatherly Providence ; give not way to distrustful thoughts , distracting cares , or indirect means ; God can provide for you without your Sins , 1 Pet. 5.7 . Casting all your care upon him , for he careth for you : An Earthly Parent may have affection for his Child , and would provide for him , but sometimes he is not able ; but God can create a supply for his Children ; yea , he hath promised a supply , Psal. 37.3 . Verily thou shalt be fed . Will God give his Children Heaven , and will he not give them enough to bear their charges thither ? Will he give them a Kingdom and deny them Daily bread ? O depend upon your Heavenly Father , he hath said he will never leave you , nor forsake you ; Heb. 13.5 .

2. If God be our Father let us imitate him : The Child doth not only bear his Fathers Image , but doth imitate him in his Speech , Gesture , Behaviour ; if God be our Father let us imitate him ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Gr. Nyssen . Eph. 5.1 . Be followers of God as dear children . 1. Imitate God in forgiving injuries ; Isa. 44.22 . I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions . As the Sun scatters not only thin mists , but thick clouds , so God pardons great offences ; imitate God in this , Eph. 4.32 . Forgiving one another . Cranmar was a Man of a forgiving Spirit , he did bury injuries , and requite good for evil : He who hath God for his Father , hath God for his Pattern . 2. Imitate God in works of Mercy : He looseth the prisoners ; Psal. 146.7 . He opens his hand , and satisfieth the desire of every living thing ; Psal. 145.16 . He drops his sweet Dew as well upon the Thistle as the Rose ; imitate God in Works of Mercy , relieve the wants of others , be rich in good works ; Luke 6.36 . Be merciful as your Father also is merciful . Be not so hard-hearted as to shut the poor out of the lines of communication . Dives denyed Lazarus a crumb of Bread , and Dives was denyed a drop of Water .

3. If God be our Father let us submit patiently to his Will ; if he lay his strokes on us , they are the corrections of a Father , not the punishments of a Judge : This made Christ so patient , Iohn 18.11 . Shall not I drink the cup which my Father hath given me ? He sees we need affliction , 1 Pet. 1.6 . he appoints it as a dyet-drink to purge and sanctifie us , Isa. 27.9 . therefore dispute not but submit ; Heb. 12.9 . We had fathers of the flesh which corrected us , and we gave them reverence : They might correct out of an humour , but God doth it 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 for our profit ; Heb. 12.10 . Therefore say as Eli , 1 Sam. 3.18 . It is the Lord , let him do what seemeth him good . What gets the Child by strugling but more blows ? What got Israel by their murmuring and rebelling , but a longer and more tedious march , and at last their Carcases fell in the Wilderness .

4. If God be our Father let this cause in us a Childlike Reverence ; Mal. 1.6 . If I be a Father where is my honour ? This is a part of the honour we give to God when we reverence and adore him . If you have not alwayes a Childlike Confidence , yet alwayes preserve a Childlike Reverence ; and how ready are we to run into extreams , either to despond or grow wanton . Because God is a Father therefore do not think you may be secure , and take liberty to sin ; if you do , God may carry it so as if he were no Father , he may throw Hell into your Conscience . When David presumed upon Gods Paternal Affection , and began to wax wanton under Mercy , God made him pay dear for it , he withdrew the sense of his Love ; and though he had the heart of a Father , yet he had the look of an Enemy . David prayed , Cause ●e to hear the voice of joy : Psal. 51.8 . He lay several months in desertion , and it is thought he never recovered his full joy to the day of his death . Oh keep alive holy fear ; with a Childlike confidence preserve an humble reverence : The Lord is a Father , therefore love to serve him ; he is the Mighty God , therefore fear to offend him .

5. If God be our Father let us walk obedientially ; 1 Pet. 1.14 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , As obedient Children . When God bids you be humble and self-denying , deny yours , part with your bosom sin , be sober in your attire , savoury in your speeches , grave in your deportment , obey your Fathers voice : Open to God as the Flower opens to the Sun : As you expect your Fathers Blessing obey him in whatever he commands , First and Second Table Duties . A Lutenist that he may make sweet Musick , toucheth upon every String of the Lute : The Ten Commandments are like a ten stringed Instrument , touch upon every String , obey every Command , or you cannot make sweet Melody in Religion . Obey your Heavenly Father , though he commands things contrary to Flesh and blood . 1. When he commands to mortifie Sin ; that Sin which hath been dear to you : Pluck out this right eye , that you may see the better to go to Heaven . 2. When he commands you to suffer for him , be ready to obey , Acts 21.13 . every good Christian hath a Spirit of Martyrdom in him , and is ready rather to suffer for the Truth , than the Truth should suffer . Luther said , he had rather be a Martyr than a Monarch . Peter was Crucified with his Head downwards , as Eusebius . Ignatius called his Chains his Spiritual Pearls , and did wear his Fetters as a Bracelet of Diamonds . This is to carry it as Gods Children when we obey his voice , and count not our lives dear so that we may show our love to our Heavenly Father ; Rev. 12.11 . They loved not their lives to the death .

6. If God be your Father , show it by your chearful looks that you are the Children of such a Father . Too much drooping and despondency disparageth the Relation you stand in to God . What though you meet with hard usage in the World , you are now in a strange Land , far from home , it will be shortly better with you when you are in your own Country , and your Father hath you in his Armes : Doth not the Heir rejoyce in hope ? Shall the Sons of a King walk dejected ? 2 Sam. 13.4 . Why art thou being the Kings Son lean ? Is God an unkind Father , are his Commands grievous ? Hath he no Land to give to his Heirs ? Why then do Gods Children walk so sad ? Never had Children such Priviledges as they who are of the Seed-Royal of Heaven , and have God for their Father ; they should rejoyce therefore who are within a few hours to be crowned with Glory .

7. If God be our Father , let us honour him by walking very holily ; 1 Pet. 1.16 . Be ye holy for I am holy . A young Prince asking a Philosopher how he should behave himself , the Philosopher said , Memento te filium esse Regis , Remember thou art a Kings Son ; do nothing but what becomes the Son of a King : So remember you are the adopted Sons and Daughters of the high God , do nothing unworthy of such a Relation . A debauched Child is the disgrace of his Father . Is this thy Sons Coat said they to Iacob , when they brought it home dip'd in blood ? Gen. 37.32 . so when we see a person defiled with Malice , Passion , Drunkenness , we may say , is this the Coat of Gods adopted Son ? Doth he look as an Heir of Glory ? 'T is a blaspheming the Name of God to call him Father , yet live in Sin . Such as profess God is their Father , yet live unholily , they will slander and defraud , these are as bad to God as Heathens : Amos 9.7 . Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians to me , O children of Israel , saith the Lord ? The Ethiopians were uncircumcised , a base ill-bred People ; when Israel grew wicked they were no better to God than Ethiopians . Loose scandalous livers under the Gospel are no better in Gods esteem than Pagans and Americans ; nay , they shall have an hotter place in Hell . O let all who profess God to be their Father , honour him by their unspotted lives . Scipio abhorred the embraces of an Harlot because he was the General of an Army . Abstain from all Sin because you are born of God , and have God for your Father ; 1 Thess. 5.22 . Abstain from all appearance of evil ▪ 'T was a saying of Augustus , An Emperor should not only be free from Crimes , but from the suspicion of them ; by an holy Life you would bring Glory to your Heavenly Father , and cause others to become his Children : Est pellax virtutis odor — . Causinus in his Hieroglyphicks , speaks of a Dove , whose Wings being perfum'd with sweet Oyntments did draw the other Doves after her : The holy Lives of Gods Children is a sweet perfume to draw others to Religion , and make them to be of the Family of God . Iustin Martyr saith , that which converted him to Christianity was the beholding the blameless Lives of the Christians .

8. If God be our Father , let us love all that are his Children ; Psal. 133.1 . How pleasant is it for brethren to dwell together in unity . 'T is compared to Oyntment , ver. 2. for the sweet fragrancy of it : 1 Pet. 2.17 . Love the brotherhood . Idem est motus animae in imaginem & rem ; The Saints are the walking pictures of God ; if God be our Father we love to see his picture of Holiness in Believers ; we pity them for their Infirmities , but love them for their Graces ; we prize their Company above others ; Psal. 119.63 . it may justly be suspected that God is not their Father , who love not Gods Children ; though they retain the Communion of Saints in their Creed , yet they banish the Communion of Saints out of their Company .

9. If God be our Father let us show Heavenly mindedness : They who are born of God do 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , set their Affections on things that are above ; Col. 3.2 . O ye Children of the high God do not disgrace your high birth by sordid Covetousness . What a Son of God , and a slave to the World ? What spring from Heaven , and buried in the Earth . For a Christian who pretends to derive his pedigree from Heaven , yet wholly to mind Earthly things , is to debase himself , as if a King should leave his Throne to follow the Plough ; Ier. 45.5 . Seekest thou great things for thy self ? As if the Lord had said , what thou Baruck , thou who art born of God , akin to Angels , and by thy Office a Levite , dost thou debase thy self , and spot the silver wings of thy Grace , by beliming them with earth ? Seekest thou great things , seek them not . The Earth choaks the Fire : Earthliness choaks the Fire of good Affections .

10. Vlt. If God be our Father let us own our Heavenly Father in the worst times , stand up in his cause , defend his Truths . Athanasius owned God when most of the World turned Arrians : If Sufferings come do not deny God : He is a bad Son who denyes his Father : Such as are ashamed of God in times of danger , God will be ashamed to own them for his Children ; Mark 8.38 . Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous generation , of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed , when he comes in the glory of his Father , with his holy Angels . So I have done with the First Part of the Preface , Our Father .

II. The Second Part of the Preface , ( which I shall but briefly touch on ) is , [ which art in Heaven . ] 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . God is said to be in Heaven , not that he is so included there that he is no where else , for the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him , ● Kings 8.27 . but the meaning is , God is chiefly resident in the Empyrean Heaven , which the Apostle calls the third Heaven , 2 Cor. 12.2 . there God doth most give forth his Glory to his Saints and Angels .

Quest. What may we learn from this , that God is in Heaven ?

Answ. 1. Hence we learn that we are to raise our Minds in Prayer above the Earth . God is no where to be spoken with but in Heaven . God never denyed that Soul his suit who went as far as Heaven to ask it .

2. We learn from Gods being in Heaven his Soveraign Power . Hoc vocabulo intelligitur omnia subesse ejus imperio . Calvin . Psal. 115.3 . Our God is in the heavens , he hath done whatever he pleased . God being in Heaven governs the Universe , and orders all Occurrences here below for the good of his Children : When the Saints are in straits and dangers , and see no way of relief , he can send from Heaven and help them ; Psal. 57.3 . He shall send from heaven and save me .

3. We learn Gods Glory and Majesty : He is in Heaven , therefore he is covered with light , Psal. 104.2 . cloathed with honour , Psal. 104.1 . and is as far above all Worldly Princes as Heaven is above Earth .

4. We learn from Gods being in Heaven , his Omnisciency : All things are naked and unmasked to his eye ; Heb. 4.13 . Men plot and contrive against the Church , but God is in Heaven , and they do nothing but what our Father sees . If a Man were on the top of an high Tower or Theatre , he might thence see all the People below : God is in Heaven as in an Tower or Theatre , and he sees all the transactions of Men. The Wicked make wounds in the backs of the Righteous , and then pour in Vinegar ; God writes down their cruelty ; Exod. 3.7 . I have seen the afflictions of my people . God is in Heaven , and he can thunder out of Heaven upon his enemies : Psal. 18.13 . The Lord thundered in the heavens ; yea , he sent out arrows and scattered them , and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them .

5. We learn from Gods being in Heaven , Comfort ; for the Children of God when they pray to their Father , the way to Heaven cannot be blocked up : One may have a Father living in Foreign parts , but the way both the Sea and by Land may be so blocked up that there is no coming to him ; but thou Saint of God , when thou prayest to thy Father he is in Heaven , and though thou art never so confined , thou mayest have access to him . A Prison cannot keep thee from thy God ; the way to Heaven can never be blocked up .

So I have done with the word Father , I shall speak next of the Pronoun 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Our , Father . In the first there is an Appellation , Father ; in the second an Appropriation , Our Father . Christ by this word ( Our ) would teach us thus much , That in all our Prayers to God we should act Faith . Our Father ; Father , denotes Reverence , Our Father , denotes Faith . In all our Prayers to God we should exercise Faith , Our Father . Faith is that which baptizeth Prayer , and gives it a name , it is called the Prayer of Faith , Iam. 5.15 . without Faith it is speaking not praying . Faith is the breath of Prayer . Prayer is dead unless Faith breathe in it . Faith is a necessary requisite in Prayer . The Oyl of the Sanctuary was made up of several sweet Spices , pure Myrrhe , Cassia , Cinamon , Exod. 30.23 . Faith is the chief spice or ingredient into Prayer , which makes it go up to the Lord as sweet Incense , Iam. 1.6 . Let him ask in faith . Mat. 21.22 . Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer , believing , ye shall receive . Invoco te Domine quanquam languida & imbecilla fide , tamen fide ; Lord , said Cruciger , I pray , though with a weak Faith , yet with Faith . Prayer is the Gun we shoot with , Fervency is the Fire that dischargeth it , and Faith is the Bullet which pierceth the Throne of Grace ; Prayer is the Key of Heaven , Faith is the Hand that turns it ; Pray in faith , Our Father . Faith must take Prayer by the hand , or there is no coming nigh to God ; Prayer without Faith is unsuccessful . If a poor Handicrafts-man , that lives by his labour , hath spoiled his tools that he cannot work , how shall he subsist ? Prayer is the tool we work with , which procures all good for us , but unbelief spoils and blunts our Prayers , and then we can get no Blessing from God : A Prayer that is Faithless is Fruitless . As Ioseph said , You shall not see my face unless you bring your brother Benjamin with you ; Gen. 43.3 . so Prayer cannot see Gods face , unless it bring its brother Faith with it . What is said of Israel , They could not enter in because of unbelief , Heb. 3.19 . is as true of Prayer , it cannot enter into Heaven because of unbelief . This makes Prayer often suffer shipwrack , because it dasheth upon the rock of Unbelief : O sprinkle Faith in Prayer . We must say , Our Father .

Quest. 1. What doth praying in Faith imply ?

Resp. Praying in Faith implyes the having of Faith ; the act implyes the habit : To walk implyes a principle of Life , so to pray in Faith implyes an habit of Grace . None can pray in Faith but Believers .

Quest. 2. What is it to pray in Faith ?

Answ. 1. To pray in Faith is to pray for that which God hath promised ; where there is no promise we cannot pray in Faith .

2. To pray in Faith is to pray in Christs meritorious Name ; Iohn 14.13 . Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do . To pray in Christs Name is to pray in the hope and confidence of Christs Merit . When we present Christ to God in Prayer , when we carry the Lamb slain in our Armes , when we say Lord , we are Sinners , but here is our Surety , for Christs sake be propitious , this is coming to God in Christs Name , and this is to pray in Faith .

3. To pray in Faith is in Prayer to fix our Faith on Gods faithfulness , believing that he doth hear and will help ; this is a taking hold of God ; Isa. 64.7 . By Prayer we draw nigh to God , by Faith we take hold of him . 2 Chron. 13.14 . The children of Iudah cryed unto the Lord ; and this was the crying of Faith ; ver. 18. They prevailed because they relyed on the Lord God of their Fathers : Making supplication to God , and staying the Soul on God , is praying in Faith : To pray and not rely on God for the granting our Petitions , irrisio Dei est , saith Pelican , it is to abuse and put a scorn upon God . By praying we seem to honour God , by not believing we affront him . In Prayer we say , Almighty , Merciful Father , by not believing , we blot out all his Titles again .

Quest. 3. How may we know that we do truly pray in Faith ? We may say Our Father , and think we pray in Faith , when it is in presumption , how therefore may we know that we do indeed pray in Faith ?

Answ. 1. When our Faith in Prayer is humble : A presumptuous person hopes to be heard in Prayer for some inherent worthiness in himself ; he is so qualified , and hath done God good service , therefore he is confident God will hear his Prayer : See an instance , Luke 18.11 , 12. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus , God I thank thee that I am not as other men are , extortioners , unjust : I fast twice in the week , I give tithes of all that I possess : This was a presumptuous Prayer ; but a sincere heart doth as well act Humility in Prayer as Faith , Luke 18.13 . The Publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven , but smote upon his breast , saying , God be merciful to me a sinner . God be merciful , there was Faith , to me a sinner , there was Humility , and a sence of unworthiness .

2. We may know we pray in Faith , when though we have not the present thing we pray for , yet we believe God will grant , therefore we will stay his leasure . A Christian having a command to pray , and a promise , he is resolved to follow God with Prayer and not give over ; as Peter he knocked , yet the door was not opened , but he continued knocking , and at last it was opened , Acts 12.16 . so a Christian prayes and prayes , but hath no answer , but he will continue knocking at Heaven door , knowing an answer will come ; Psal. 86.7 . Thou wilt answer me : Here is one that prayes in Faith . Christ saith , Pray and faint not ; Luke 18.1 . A Believer at Christs word lets down the net of Prayer , and though he catch nothing , he will cast the net of Prayer again , believing that Mercy will come . Patience in Prayer is nothing but Faith spun out .

VSE I. It reproves them that pray in Formality , not in Faith : They question whether God hears , or will grant ; Iam. 4.3 . Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss . He doth not say ye ask that which is unlawful , but ye ask amiss ; when Men pray and believe not , they ask amiss , and therefore they receive not . Unbelief clips the wings of Prayer that it will not fly to the Throne of Grace ; the rubbish of unbelief stops the currant of Prayer .

VSE II. Of Exhortation . Let us set Faith a work in Prayer , [ Our Father ] : The Husbandman sowes in hope ; Prayer is the seed we sow ; when the hand of Faith scatters this seed , it brings forth a fruitful crop of Blessing . Prayer is the ship we send out to Heaven ; when Faith makes an adventure in this ship , it brings home large returns of Mercy . O pray in Faith , say Our Father ; and that we may act Faith in Prayer , consider ,

Calvin . 1. Gods readiness to hear Prayer , Deus paratus ad vota exaudienda , did God forbid all addresses to him , it would put a damp upon the trade of Prayer , but Gods ear is open to Prayer . It is one of the Names by which God is known ; Psal. 65.2 . O thou that hearest prayer . The Aediles among the Romans had their doors always standing open , that all who had petitions might have free access to them : God is both ready to hear and grant Prayer : This may encourage Faith in Prayer ; and whereas some may say they have prayed but have had no answer . 1. God may hear Prayer though he doth not presently answer ; we write a Letter to a Friend , he may have received it , though we have yet had no answer of it . Perhaps thou prayest for the light of Gods face , God may lend thee an ear , though he doth not show thee his face . 2. God may give an answer to Prayer when we do not perceive it . His giving an heart to pray , and inflaming the affections in Prayer is an answer of Prayer ; Psal. 138.3 . In the day that I cryed thou answeredst me , and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul : Davids inward strength was an answer of Prayer , therefore let Gods readiness to hear Prayer incourage Faith in Prayer .

2. That we may act Faith in Prayer , consider , we do not pray alone , Christ prayes over our Prayers again : Christs Prayer is the ground why our Prayer is heard . Christ takes the dross out of our Prayer , and presents nothing to his Father but pure Gold . Christ mingles his sweet odours with the Prayers of the Saints : Rev. 5.8 . Think of the dignity of his Person , he is God ; and the sweetness of his Relation , he is a Son . O what encouragement is here to pray in Faith . Our Prayers are put into the hand of a Mediator . Christs Prayer is mighty and powerful .

3. We pray to God for nothing but what is pleasing to him , and he hath a mind to grant : If a Son ask nothing but what his Father is willing to bestow , this may make him go to him with confidence ; when we pray to God for holy hearts , there 's nothing more pleasing to him ; 1 Thess. 4.3 . This is the will of God even your sanctification . We pray that God would give us an heart to love him , and there 's nothing he more desires than our Love . How may this make us pray in Faith , when we pray for nothing but what is acceptable to God , and which he delights to bestow .

4. To encourage Faith in Prayer , consider the many sweet Promises that God hath made to Prayer . The Cork keeps the Net from sinking ; the Promises are the Cork to keep Faith from sinking in Prayer . God hath bound himself to us by his Promises . The Bible is bespangled with Promises made to Prayer , Isa. 30.19 . He will be very gracious to thee at the voice of thy cry . The Lord is rich unto all that call upon him , Rom. 10.12 . Ier. 29.13 . Then shall ye find me when you search for me with all your heart . Psal. 145.19 . He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him . The Tyrians tyed their God Hercules with a Golden Chain that he should not remove ; God hath tyed himself fast to us by his Promises ▪ how should these animate and spirit Faith in Prayer ; Faith gets strength in Prayer by sucking from the breast of a Promise .

5. That we may act Faith in Prayer , consider Jesus Christ hath purchased that which we pray for : We may think the things which we ask in Prayer too great for us to obtain , but they are not too great for Christ to purchase : We pray for pardon , Christ hath purchased it in his Blood : We pray for the Spirit to animate and inspire us , the sending down of the Holy Ghost into our hearts is the fruit of Christs death , Iohn 16. This may put life into our Prayers , and make us pray in Faith , because the things we ask in Prayer , though they are more than we deserve , yet not more than Christ hath purchased for us .

6. To make us pray in Faith , consider there is such a bountifulness in God , that he often excells the prayers of his people ; he gives them more than they ask ; as Hannah asked a Son , and God gave her not only a Son , but a Prophet ; Solomon asked Wisdom , and God gave him not only Wisdom , but Riches and Honour besides ; Iacob prayed that God would but give him Food and Rayment , and the Lord encreased his Pilgrims staff into two ●ands ; Gen. 32.10 . God is oft better to us than our Prayers , as when Gehazi asked but one Talent , Naaman would needs force two upon him , 2 Kings 5.23 . We ask one Talent of Mercy , and God gives two Talents The Woman of Canaan asked but a crumb , namely , to have the life of her Child , and Christ gave her more , he sent her home with the life of her Soul .

7. The great success the Prayer of Faith hath found ; like Ionathans bow it hath not returned empty . Vocula pater dicta in corde , saith Luther : This little word Father , pronounced in Faith , hath overcome God ; Gen. 32.11 . Deliver me I pray thee ; and this was mixed with Faith in the promise , ver. 12. Thou sai●st I will surely do thee good , and this Prayer had power with God and prevailed , Hos. 12.4 . the Prayer of Faith hath opened prison doors , stop'd the chariot of the Sun , lock'd and unlock'd Heaven , Iam. 5.17 the Prayer of Faith hath strangled the plots of enemies in the birth , it hath routed their forces . Moses Prayer against Amalek did more than Ioshuas sword , and may not this hearten and corroborate Faith in Prayer .

8. If all this will not prevail , consider how heartless and comfortless it is to pray , and not in Faith : The heart misgives secretly , God doth not hear , nor will he grant . Faithless praying must needs be comfortless , for there is no promise made to unbelieving Prayer . 'T is sad sailing where there is no anchoring , and sad praying where there is no promise to anchor upon : Iam. 1.7 . The Disciples toyl'd all night and caught nothing ; the Unbeliever toyls in Prayer , and catcheth nothing ; he receives not any Spiritual Blessings , pardon of Sin or Grace : As for the Temporal Mercies the Unbeliever hath , he cannot look upon them as the fruit of Prayer , but as the over-flowings and spillings of Gods bounty : Oh therefore labour to exert and put forth Faith in Prayer .

Object . But there is so much sin cleaves to my Prayer , that I fear it is not the Prayer of Faith , and God will not hear it .

Resp. If thou mournest for this , it hinders not but that thy Prayer may be in Faith , and God may hear it ? Weakness in Prayer shall not make void the Saints Prayers ; Psal. 31.22 . I said in my hast I am cut off . There was much unbelief in this Prayer . I said in my hast , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in my trembling . Davids Faith did tremble and faint , yet God heard his prayer . The Saints passions do not hinder the Saints prayers , Iam. 5.17 . therefore be not discouraged , though sin will cleave to thy holy offering , yet these two things may comfort , thou mayest pray with Faith though with weakness , and God sees the sincerity , and will pass by the infirmity .

Quest. How shall we do to pray in Faith ?

Answ. Implore the Spirit of God : We cannot say Our Father but by the Holy Ghost . Gods Spirit helps us not only to pray with sighs and groans but with Faith The Spirit carries us to God , not only as to a Creator but a Father ; Gal. 4.6 . He hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts , crying , Abba Father . Crying , there the Spirit causeth us to pray with fervency ; Abba Father , there the Spirit helps us to pray with Faith : Prayer is the key of Heaven ; the Spirit helps Faith to turn this key , and then it unlocks Heaven .

MATTH. vi . 9 .

Hallowed be thy Name .

HAving spoken of the Introduction to the Lords Prayer , After this manner pray ye ; and the Preface , Our Father which art in Heaven : I come now Thirdly to the Prayer it self , which consists of seven Petitions . A short body of Divinity is contained in them . I begin with the first Petition .

I. Hallowed be thy Name . In the Latin it is sanctificetur nomen tuum , sanctified be thy Name . In this Petition , Hallowed be thy Name , we pray , that Gods Name may shine forth gloriously , and that it may be honoured and sanctified by us in the whole course and tenour of our Lives . It was the Angels song , Glory be to God in the highest ; that i● , let his name be glorified and hallowed . This Petition , Hallowed be thy Name , is set in the fore front , to show , that the hallowing of Gods Name is to be preferred before all other things ; 1. It is to be preferred before Life ; we pray , Hallowed be thy Name , before we pray , Give us this day our daily bread . 2. It is to be preferred before Salvation , Rom. 9.1 . Gods Glory is more worth than the Salvation of all Mens Souls : As Christ said of love , Matth. 22.37 . This is the first and great Commandment ; so I may say of this Petition , Hallowed be thy Name , it is the first and great Petition ; it contains the most weighty thing in Religion , Gods Glory . When some of the other Petitions shall be useless and out of date , we shall not need pray in Heaven , Give us our daily bread , because there shall be no hunger ; nor , Forgive us our trespasses , because there shall be no sin ; nor , Lead us not into temptation , because the Old Serpent is not there to tempt : Yet the hallowing of Gods Name shall be in great use and request in Heaven ; we shall be ever singing Hallelujahs , which is nothing else but the hallowing of Gods Name . Every Person in the Blessed Trinity , God the Father , Son and Holy Ghost , must have this honour , to be Hallowed , their Glory being equal , and their Majesty co-eternal . Hallowed be thy Name : To admire Gods Name is not enough ; we may admire a Conquerour ; but when we say , Hallowed be thy Name , we set Gods Name above every Name , and not only admire him but adore him , and this is proper only to the Deity . For the further explication I shall propound Three Questions .

1. What is meant by Gods Name ? 2. What is meant by hallowing Gods Name ? 3. When may we be said to hallow or sanctifie Gods Name ?

Quest. 1. What is meant by Gods Name ?

Resp. 1. By Gods Name is meant his Essence ; Psal. 20.1 . The name of the God of Iacob defend thee ; that is , the God of Iacob defend thee .

2. By Gods Name is meant any thing by which God may be known ; as a Man is known by his Name ; Gods Name is his Attributes , Wisdom , Power , Holiness , Goodness , by these God is known as by his Name .

Quest. 2. What is meant by hallowing of Gods Name ?

Resp. To hallow is a communi separare , to set apart a thing from the common use to some sacred end . As the Vessels of the Sanctuary were said to be hallowed ; so , to hallow Gods Name , is to set it apart from all abuses , and to use it holily and reverendly : In particular , Hallowing of Gods Name is to give him high honour and veneration , and render his Name sacred . We can add nothing to Gods Essential Glory , but we are said to honour and sanctifie his Name , when we lift him up in the World , and make him appear greater in the eyes of others . When a Prince is crowned there is something added really to his Honour ; but when we go to crown God with our Triumphs and Hallelujahs , there is nothing added to his Essential Glory . God cannot be greater than he is , only we may make him appear greater in the eyes of others .

Quest. 3. When may we be said to hallow and sanctifie Gods name ?

Answ. 1. When we profess his Name ; our meeting in this holy assembly is an honour done to Gods Name ; this is good , but it is not enough . All that wear Gods livery by profession are not true servants ; there are some Professors Christ will at the last day profess against ; Matth. 7.23 . I will profess I never knew you . Therefore to go a little further .

2. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name , when we have an high appretiation and esteem of God ; we set him highest in our thoughts . The Hebrew word to honour , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 signifies to esteem precious . We conceive of God in our minds as the most super-excellent and infinite good ; we apprehend in God a constellation of all beauties and delights ; we adore God in his Glorious Attributes , which are the several beams by which his Divine Nature shines forth ; we adore God in his Works , which are bound up in three great Volumes , Creation , Redemption , Providence ; we hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we lift him highest in our Souls ; we esteem him 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a super-eminent incomprehensible good .

3. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we trust in his Name ; Psal. 33.21 . We have trusted in his holy name . No way can we bring more revenues of Honour to God , or make his Crown shine brighter than by confiding in him ; Rom. 4.20 . Abraham was strong in faith giving glory to God ; there was an hallowing of Gods Name : As unbelief stains Gods honour , and eclipseth his Name , 1 Iohn 5.10 . He that believeth not makes God a lyar ; so Faith doth glorifie and hallow Gods Name . The Believer trusts his best Jewel in Gods hands , Psal. 3.5 . Into thy hands I commit my Spirit : Faith in a Mediator doth more honour and sanctifie Gods Name than Martyrdom , or the most sublime acts of Obedience .

4. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we never make mention of his name but with the highest reverence ; Gods Name is Sacred , and it must not be spoken of but with veneration : The Scripture , when it speaks of God , gives him his Titles of Honour ; Gen. 14.20 . Blessed be the most high God ; Neh. 9.5 . Blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all praise . To speak vainly or slightly of God is a profaning his Name , and is a taking his Name in vain . Let his Name be Hallowed : By giving God his venerable Titles we do as it were hang his Jewels on his Crown .

5. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we love his Name ; Psal. 5.11 . Let them that love thy name be joyful ; and that Love which is honouring Gods Name must be a special discriminating Love , the cream and flower of our Love ; such a Love as we give to none besides : As the Wife honours her Husband , by giving him such a Love as she gives to none else , a Conjugal Love ; so we hallow Gods Name by giving him such a Love as we give to none else ; a Love joyned with Worship , Psal. 45.11 . He is thy God and worship thou him .

6. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we give him an Holy and Spiritual Worship . 1. We give him the same kind of Worship that he hath appointed ; Lev. 10.3 . I will be sanctified of all that come nigh to me ; that is , I will be sanctified with that very Worship I have appointed . It is the purity of Worship God loves better than the pomp . It is a dishonouring of Gods Name to bring any thing into his Worship which he hath not instituted ; as if God were not wise enough to appoint the manner how he will be served ; Men will go to prescribe him , and super-add their inventions : This God looks upon as offering strange fire , and it is an high provocation . 2. We give God the same Heart devotion in Worship as he hath appointed , Rom. 12.11 . Fervent in Spirit serving the Lord . The word for fervent , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , is a Metaphor that alludes to Water , that seeths and boyls over ; so our Affections should boyl over in holy Duties . To give God outside Worship , and not the Devotion of the Heart , is instead of hallowing and sanctifying him in an Ordinance , to abuse him ; as if one call for Wine , and you give him an empty Glass : It is to deal with God as Prometheus did with Iupiter , who did eat the Flesh , and present Iupiter with nothing but Bones covered over with Skin ; then we hallow Gods name , and sanctifie him in an Ordinance , when we give him the vitals of Religion , an Heart flaming with Zeal .

7. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we hallow his day ; Ier. 17.22 . Hallow ye the Sabbath day . Our Christian Sabbath which comes in the room of the Iews Sabbath , is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Lords day ; Rev. 1.10 . This was antiently called dies lucis , a day of light ; wherein Christ the Sun of Righteousness shines in an extraordinary manner : It is an honour done to God to hallow his Sabbath . 1. We must rest on this day from all secular works : Ier. 17.21 . Bear no burden on the Sabbath day : As Ioseph when he would speak with his Brethren thrust out the Egyptians ; so when we would have converse with God on this day , we must thrust out all earthly employments . It is observable , Mary Magdalen refused to anoint Christs dead Body on the Sabbath-day ; Luke 23.56 . She had before prepared her Oyntment and Spices , but came not to the Sepulchre till the Sabbath was past . She rested on that day from civil Work , though it were a commendable and glorious Work , the anointing of Christs dead Body . 2. We must in a solemn manner devote our selves to God on this day : We must spend this whole day with God . Some will hear the Word , but leave all their Religion at Church , they do nothing at home , they do not pray or repeat the Word in their houses , and so they rob God of a part of his day ; 't is to be bewailed to see how Gods day is profaned . Let not Men think Gods Name is hallowed while his Sabbath is broken .

8. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we ascribe the honour of all we do to him : Psal. 96.8 . Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name . Herod instead of hallowing Gods Name , stain'd the honour of his Name in assuming that praise to himself which was due to God : Acts 12.23 . We ought to take the honour from our selves and give it to God : 1 Cor. 15.10 . I laboured more than they all : One would think this had savoured of pride , but the Apostle pulls the Crown from his own head , and sets it upon the head of Free-Grace ; Yet not I but the grace of God which was with me . If a Christian hath any assistance in Duty , or victory over Temptation , he rears up a Pillar and writes upon it , Hucusque adjuvabit Deus , — Hitherto the Lord hath helped me . Iohn Baptist transferred all the honour from himself to Christ ; he was content to be eclipsed that Christ might shine the more : Iohn 1.15 . He that comes after me is preferred before me . I am but the Herauld , the voice of one crying , he is the Prince ; I am but a lesser Star , he is the Sun ; I baptize only with Water , he with the Holy Ghost : This i● an hallowing Gods Name when we translate all the honour from our selves to God ; Psal. 115.1 . Not unto us , O Lord , not unto us , but unto thy name give glory . The King of Sweden wrought that Motto on the Battle at Lypswich . Ista a Domino facta sunt , The Lord hath wrought this Victory for us .

9. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name by obeying him : How doth a Son more honour his Father than by Obedience ; Psal. 40.8 . I delight to do thy will , O my God . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Chrys. The Wise Men showed honour to Christ , not only by bowing the knee to him , but by presenting him with Gold and Myrrh , Matth. 2.11 . we hallow Gods name not only by lifting up our eyes and hands to Heaven , and bowing the knee in Prayer , but by presenting God with golden Obedience . As the Factor trades for the Merchant , so we trade for God , and lay out our strength in his Service . 'T was a saying of Reverend Doctor Iewell , I have spent and exhausted my self in the labours of my holy Calling ; To obey is better than sacrifice . The Cherubims representing the Angels , are set forth with their Wings displayed , to show how ready they are to do service to God . To obey is Angelical ; to pretend honour to Gods name , yet not to obey is but a devout complement . Abraham honoured God by Obedience ; he was ready to sacrifice his Son , though the Son of his Old Age , and a Son of the Promise , Gen. 22.16 . By my self have I sworn saith the Lord , because thou hast done this thing , and hast not with-held thy Son , thy only Son ; that in blessing I will bless thee .

10. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we lift up Gods name in our praises . God is said to sanctifie , and Man is said to sanctifie . God sanctifies us by giving us Grace , and we sanctifie him by giving him Praise . What were our Tongues given us for , but to be Organs of Gods Praise ; Psal. 71.8 . Let my mouth be filled with thy praise , and with thy honour all the day . Rev. 5.13 . Blessing , honour , glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne , and unto the lamb for ever . Thus Gods name is hallowed and sanctified in Heaven The Angels and Glorified Saints are singing Hallelujahs ; let us begin the work of Heaven here . David did sing forth Gods Praises and Doxologies in a most melodious manner , therefore was called the sweet singer of Israel , 1 Sam. 23.1 . Praising God is an hallowing of Gods name ; it spreads his renown , it displayes the trophies of his excellency , it exalts him in the eyes of others ; Psal. 50.23 . Who so offereth praise glorifies me . This is one of the highest and purest acts of Religion . In Prayer we act like Men , in Praise we act like Angels : This is the musick of Heaven , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Zenoph . this is a work fit for a Saint ; Psal. 149.5 , 6. Let the Saints be joyful , let the high praises of God be in their mouths . None but Saints can in a right manner thus hallow Gods name by praising him . As every one hath not skill to play on the Viol and Organ , so every one cannot rightly sound forth Gods harmonious Praises ; only the Saints can do it ; they only can make their tongue and heart joyn in consort ; Psal. 111.1 . I will bless thee O Lord , with my whole heart ; and Psal. 66.17 . He was extolled with my tongue : There was heart and tongue joyning in consort . This hallowing Gods name by praise is very becoming a Christian ; it is unbecoming to murmur , this is a dishonouring Gods name : But it becomes the Saints to be Spiritual Quiristers in singing forth the honour of Gods name : It is called the garment of praise , Isa. 61.3 . how comely and handsome is this garment of praise for a Saint to wear ; Psal. 33.1 . Praise is comely for the righteous ; especially it is an high degree of hallowing Gods name , when we can speak well of God , and bless him in an afflicted state , Iob 1.21 . The Lord hath taken away , blessed be the name of the Lord . Many will bless God when he gives , but to bless him when he takes away , is in an high degree to honour God , and hallow his name : Let us thus magnifie Gods name . Hath not God given us abundant matter of praising him ; he hath given us the nether and upper springs ; he hath given us Grace , a Mercy spun and woven out of his Bowels , and he intends to crown Grace with Glory : This should make us hallow Gods Name by being trumpets of his Praise .

11. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name when we sympathize with him : We grieve when his name suffers . 1. We lay to heart his dishonours : How was Moses affected with Gods dishonour , he breaks the Tables , Exod 32.19 . We grieve to see Gods Sabbaths profaned , his Worship adulterated , the Wine of Truth mingled with Error . 2. We grieve when Gods Church is brought low , because now Gods name suffers . Nehemiah layes to heart the miseries of Sion , his complexion begins to alter , and he looks sad ; Neh. 2.3 . Why is thy countenance sad ? What sad when the Kings Cup-bearer , and Wine so near ? O but it fared ill with the Church of God , and Religion seemed to lose ground , and Gods name suffered , therefore Nehemiah grows weary of the Court , he leaves his Wine , and mingles his Drink with weeping . This holy sympathy and grieving , when Gods name suffers , God esteems an honouring and sanctifying his name . Hezekiah grieved when the King of Assyria reproached the living God ; Isa. 37.17 . He went into his chamber , and spread the letter of blasphemy before the Lord , 2 Kin. 19.14 . and no doubt watered the Letter with his tears . He seemed not to be so much troubled at the fear of losing his own Life and Kingdom , as that God should lose his Glory .

12. We hallow and sanctifie Gods Name , when we give the same honour to God the Son , as we give to God the Father ; Iohn 5.23 . That all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father . The Socinians deny Christs Divinity , saying , that he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a bare Man : This is to make him below the Angels ; Psal. 8.5 . For the Humane Nature considered in se is below the Angelical ; this is to reflect dishonour upon the Lord of Glory : We must give equal honour to the Son as to the Father ; we must believe Christs Deity , he is the picture of his Fathers Glory , Heb. 1.3 . If the Godhead be in Christ , he must needs be God , but the Godhead shines in him ; Col. 2.9 . In whom dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily : Ergo , he is God . How could these Divine Titles be given to Christ ? Omnipotency , Heb. 1.3 . Ubiquity , Mat. 28.20 . a power of sealing Pardons , Mat. 9.6 . coequality with God the Father , both in power and dignity , Iohn 5.21 , 23. how I say could these Titles of Honour be ascribed to Christ , if he were not crowned with the Deity ? When we believe Christs Godhead , and build our hope of Salvation on the Corner-stone of his Merit : When we see neither the Righteousness of the Law , or of Angels can justifie , but we fly to Christs Blood as to the Altar of Refuge , this is an honouring and sanctifying Gods name : God never thinks his name to be hallowed , unless his Son be honoured .

13. We hallow Gods Name by standing up for his Truths . Much of Gods Glory lyes in his Truths . Gods Truths are his Oracles . God intrusts us with his Truths as a treasure . We have not a richer Jewel to trust God with than our Souls , nor God hath not a greater Jewel to trust us with than his Truths . Gods Truths set forth his Glory ; now when we are zealous Advocates for Gods Truth , this is an honour done to Gods name . Athanasius was called , the Bulwark of Truth ; he stood up in the defence of Gods Truths against the Arrians , and so was a Pillar in the Temple of God ; better have Truth without Peace , than Peace without Truth . It concerns the Sons of Sihon to stand up for the great Doctrines of the Gospel ; the Doctrine of the Trinity , the Hypostatical Union , Justification by Faith , the Saints perseverance : We are bid to contend earnestly , Iude 3. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to strive as in an agony for the Faith ; that is , the Doctrine of Faith : This contending for the Truth brings great revenues into Heavens exchequer ; this is an hallowing of Gods name . Contend for the Truth . Some can contend for Ceremonies , but not for the Truth . We should count him unwise that contends more for a box of Counters , than for his box of Evidences .

14. We hallow and sanctifie Gods name by making as many Proselites as we can to him ; by all holy expedients , Counsel , Prayer , Example , we endeavour the Salvation of others . How did Monica , St. Austins Mother , labour for his Conversion , she had sorer pangs in travail for his new birth , than for his natural birth : 't is an hallowing Gods name when we diffuse the sweet savour of Godliness , and propagate Religion to others ; when not only we our selves honour God , but are instruments to make others honour him . Certainly when the heart is seasoned with Grace , there will be an endeavour to season others . Gods Glory is dear to a Saint as his own Salvation , and that this Glory may be promoted he endeavours the conversion of Souls , every Convert is a Member added to Christ : Let us thus hallow Gods name by labouring to advance piety in others ; especially , let us endeavour that those who are nearly related to us , or are under our roof , should honour God ; Iosh. 24.15 . As for me and my house we will serve the Lord : Let us make our houses Bethels places , where Gods name is called upon , Col. 4.15 . Salute Nymphas , and the church that is in his house : Let the Parent endeavour that his Children may honour God , and the Master that his Servants honour him ; read the Word , drop holy Instruction , perfume your Houses with Prayer ; the Iewes had Sacrifices in their Family as well as in the Tabernacle . Exod. 12.3 . this is an hallowing Gods name when we make proselites to him , and endeavour that all under our charge should honour and sanctifie his name .

15. We hallow Gods name when we prefer the honour of Gods name before the dearest things . 1. We prefer the honour of Gods name before our own credit . The Saints of old have for the honour of God been willing to endure reproach ; Psal. 69.7 . For thy sake I have born reproach . David cared not what reproach he suffered , so Gods name might not suffer . The Prophet Elijah was called in derision , the hairy Prophet , and the Prophet Isaiah , the bearer of burdens , and the Prophet Zephany , the bitter Prophet ; but they did bind these reproaches as a crown about their head ; the honour of Gods name was dearer to them than their own honour : Moses esteemed the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt , Heb. 11.26 . The Apostles went away rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ ; Acts 5.41 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that they were graced so far as to be disgraced for the name of Christ : This is an hallowing Gods name when we are content to have our name eclipsed that Gods name may shine the more . 2. We prefer the honour of Gods Name before our Worldly profit and interest ; Mal. 19.27 . We have forsaken all and followed thee . When these two , God and Estate come in competition , we will rather let Estate go , than Gods Love and Favour . Thus that noble Marquess of Vico parted with a fair Estate , using these words , Let their money perish with them that count all the Gold and Silver in the World , worth one hours communion with Iesus Christ . 3. We prefer the honour of Gods name before our Life ; Rom. 8.36 . For thy sake are we killed all the day long . The honour done to Gods name , is not by bringing that outward Pomp and Glory to him as we do to Kings , but Gods honour comes in another way , and that is by the Sufferings of his People . When the World sees how intirely Gods people love him , that they will dye in his service , this exalts and honours Gods name . Gods Crown doth flourish in the ashes of his Martyrs . St. Basil speaks of a Virgin condemned to the fire , who having her Life and Estate offered her if she would bow to the Idol , answered , Valeat vita , pereat pecunia , Let Life and Money go , welcome Christ . When Gods Glory weighs heaviest in the ballance , and we are willing to suffer the loss of all , rather than Gods name should suffer , now we do in an high degree hallow Gods name .

16. Vlt. We do hallow and sanctifie Gods name by an holy Conversation ; 1 Pet. 2.9 . Ye are a royal priesthood , a peculiar people ; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you . As an unholy life doth dishonour Gods name , Rom. 2.24 . The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you , so by our holy and Bible Conversation , we honour Gods name . An holy Life speaks louder than all the Anthems and Praises in the World . Though the main work of Religion lyes in the heart , yet when our light so shines that others behold it , now they glorifie God ; when our lives shine , now Gods name shines . The Macedonians used one day in the year to wear the picture of Alexander set with Pearl and costly Jewels ; so when we carry the picture of Christ about us in our holy Example , now we bring honour to Gods name .

VSE I. See the true note and character of a Godly Person ; he is a sanctifier of Gods Name , Hallowed be thy Name . A true Saint doth ambitiously endeavour to advance Gods name . This is the Question he asks himself in every thing he is going about ; will this action tend to the honour of Gods name ? Will this exalt God ? This was St. Pauls 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , his chief design , that Christ might be magnified , Phil. 1.20 . viz. that the Crown upon his Head might flourish . A Godly Man thinks it is scarce worth the while to live , if he may not bring some revenues of honour to Gods name .

VSE II. I may here take up a sad lamentation , and speak as the Apostle Paul , weeping , Phil. 3.18 . to consider how Gods name instead of being hallowed and sanctified , is dishonoured . Gods name , which is more worth than the Salvation of all Mens Souls , suffers deeply . We are apt to speak of our Sufferings ; alas , what are all our Sufferings ? Gods name suffers most ; Gods name is the dearest thing he hath ; how do Men stand upon their name and honour ? Gods name is this day dishonoured , it is like the Sun in an eclipse . Theodosius took it hainously when they threw dirt upon his Statue , but now ( which is far worse ) disgrace is thrown upon the glorious name of Jehovah . Gods name in stead of being hallowed is dishonoured by all sorts .

1. Heathens . 2. Turks . 3. Jewes . 4. Papists . 5. Protestants .

1. By Heathens : They have a knowledge of a Godhead by the light of Nature ; Rom. 1.19 , 20. but they dishonour God and sin against the light of nature . The Aegyptians worship an Oxe , the Persians worship the Sun , the Grecians and Romans , Iupiter , and the Parthians worship the Devil .

2. Gods name is dishonoured by the Turks ; they adore Mahomet their great Prophet as one divinely inspired ; Mahomet was of an impure vitious life ; Mahomet plucks the Crown from Christs Head , denying his Deity .

3. Gods name is dishonoured by the Iewes ; who give not equal Honour and Adoration to God the Son as to God the Father ; they expect a Messiah yet to come , seculum futurum ; they believe not in Christ ; they blaspheme him , and slight Righteousness imputed ; they vilifie the Christian Sabbath .

4. Gods name is dishonoured by the Papists . Popery is a God dishonouring Religion : They dishonour Gods name .

( 1. ) By their Idolatry , which is spiritual ▪ adultery , Ezek. 23.37 . Idolatry is to worship a false God , or the true God in a false manner ; this they are guilty of . 1. They dishonour God by their Idolatry in making graven Images , and giving the same honour to them as is due to God , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 : Images are teachers of lyes , Hab. 2.18 . they represent God in a bodily shape . 2. By their Idolatry in the Mass ; worshipping the Host , and offering it up as a Sacrifice for Sin : The Apostle saith , Heb. 10.14 . By one offering Christ hath perfected them that are sanctified ; but as if Christs offering on the Cross were imperfect , they offer him up daily in the Mass , which is a dishonour done to Christs Priestly Office .

( 2. ) The Papists instead of hallowing Gods name , dishonour Gods name by locking up the Scriptures in an unknown Tongue ; they ( as the Philistins ) pluck out the peoples eyes , and then make sport with them : The Bible is a shining light , but they draw a curtain over it ; they take away the key of knowledge , Luke 11.52 . and hinder Gods Glory by hindering Mens Salvation .

( 3. ) Instead of hallowing Gods name they dishonour it by giving Men Indulgencies . They say the Pope , as Peters Successour , hath power to grant Indulgencies , by vertue whereof Men are set free in the sight of God from the guilt of Sin : This is a double dishonour to God . 1. It is to steal a Flower from the Crown of Heaven . The Pope assumes a power to pardon , which is Gods Prerogative Royal ; Mat. 2.7 Who can forgive sin but God only ? 2. The Pope by his Indulgence encourageth Men to sin . What need the Papists care what Sins they commit , when they have a License and Patent from the Pope to bear them harmless .

( 4. ) Instead of hallowing Gods name they dishonour Gods name by their Invocation of Saints . We are to pray only to God , Matth. 6.6 . Pray to thy Father ; not pray to a Saint , or the Virgin Mary , but pray to your Father in Heaven : We may pray to none but whom we may believe in : Rom. 10.14 . The Saints in Heaven are ignorant of our grievances ; Isa. 63.16 . Abraham is ignorant of us .

( 5. ) Instead of hallowing Gods name they dishonour it by their Luxury and Uncleanness : They allow of Stews . At Rome Fornication keeps open shop , and is in some cases , preferred before honourable Matrimony ; Vrbs est jam tota lupanar .

( 6. ) Instead of hallowing Gods name they dishonour it by their Blasphemies . They give equal , nay more honour to the Virgin Mary than to Christ ; they ascribe more to her Milk than his Blood ; they call her Scala Caeli , the Ladder of Heaven , Ianna Paradisi , the Gate of Paradise . In their Doxologies they say , Praise be to the Virgin Mary , and also to Christ . What Blasphemy is this to set the Creature above the Creator . They say to her , O faelix puerpera , nostrae piaris scelera , O happy Mother of a Son who purgest away our Crimes .

( 7. ) Instead of hallowing Gods name they dishonour it by their Lyes . Their golden Legend is an imposture , and is full of lying wonders . They show Iohn Baptists Forehead for a Relique in Spain , yet his whole Head they affirm to be seen in St. Sylvester in Rome : They show St. Peters Shadow at Rome ; indeed we read of St. Peters shadow Acts 5.15 . but its strange how the Papists could catch his shadow , and keep it by them so long .

( 8. ) Instead of hallowing Gods name they dishonour it by Baptizing Sin with the name of Vertue . Breach of Oaths is with the Papists a Vertue . If a Man hath bound his Soul to God by an Oath , yet to violate this Oath is vertuous , if it may propagate the Catholick Cause . Killing those who are of a different Religion , is not only Venial , but a Vertue among Catholicks . Destroying Two Hundred Thousand of the Albigenses , who were Protestants , was commended as a glorious Action , honoured with a Triumph at Rome , and crowned with his Holiness blessing . Is not this an high dishonour to God to guild over the foulest Crimes with the name of Vertue and Piety .

( 9. ) Instead of hallowing Gods name they dishonour it by their damnable Assertions . 1. The Papists affirm that the Pope is above Scripture , that he may dispence with it , and that his Canons bind more than the Word of God 2. They teach merit by good Works , but if a Debtor cannot pay his Creditor , how can he merit at his hands ? 3. That the Scripture is not a perfect Rule of Faith , and Man errs , therefore they eek it out with their Traditions , which they hold to be of equal Authority . 4. They teach that an implicite Faith is saving , though one may have an implicite Faith , yet be ignorant of all the Articles of Religion . 5. They say that the inward act of the Mind is not required in Gods Worship : Diversion of Mind in Duty , though one prayes and never thinks of God is no Sin , saith Angelus and Sylvester , and other Papists . 6. The Papists make Habitual Love to God unnecessary . It is not needful , saith Bellarmine , to perform any acts of Religion out of love to God . Stapleton and Cajetan affirm , that the Precept of loving God with all our heart is not binding ; by which they cut asunder the Sinews and Soul of all Religion . Thus instead of honouring Gods name , the Papists dishonour it . Let us pray heartily that this Romish Religion may never get footing again in this Nation ; God grant that this poysonful weed of Popery may never be watered here : But that it being a Plant which our Heavenly Father hath not planted , it may be rooted up .

5. Gods Name is dishonoured by Carnal Protestants How is Gods name this day dishonoured in England : His name is like the Sun in an eclipse . Christians instead of hallowing Gods name , reproach and dishonour it .

1. By their Tongues . 2. By their Lives .

1. By their Tongues . 1. They speak irreverently of Gods name : Gods name is sacred : Deut. 28.58 . That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name , The Lord thy God . The names of Kings are not mentioned without giving them their Titles of Honour , High and Mighty ; but Men speak irreverently of God , as if he were like one of them , Psal. 50.21 . this is a taking Gods name in vain . 2. They swear by his name . Many seldom name Gods name but in Oaths : How is God dishonoured when Men rend and tear his name by Oaths and Imprecations ; Ier. 23.10 . Because of swearing the land mourns . If God will reckon with Men for idle Words , shall not idle Oaths be put in the Account-Book ? O but saith one , I cannot help it , it is a custom of swearing I have got , and I hope God will forgive me ? Answ. Is this a good Plea , a custom of swearing ? This is no excuse but an aggravation of Sin . As if one that had been accused for killing a Man , should plead with the Judge to spare him , because it was his custom to murder : This were an aggravation of the offence : Will not the Judge say thou shalt the rather dye . So it is here .

2. As Men dishonour God by their Tongues , so by their Lives . What is it to say , Hallowed be thy Name , when in their Lives they profane his name ; they dishonour God by their Atheism , Sabbath-breaking , Uncleanness , Perjury , Intemperance , Injustice . Men hang out a Flag of Defiance against Heaven . As the Thracians when it thunders , shoot their Arrowes against Heaven ; so Men shoot their Sins as bearded Arrowes against Heaven . Sinners are hardened in Sin , they despise Counsel , they laugh at Reproof , they have cast off the vail of Modesty . Satan hath taken such full possession of them , that when they sin they glory in their shame ; Phil. 3.19 . they brag how many new Oaths they have invented , how oft they have been drunk , how many they have defiled ; they declare their sin as Sodom : Such horrid impieties are committed that a modest Heathen would blush at . Men in this Age sin at that rate , as if either they did not believe there were an Hell , or as if they feared Hell would be full ere they could get thither . Was Gods name ever so openly dishonoured ? All our Preaching will not make them leave their Sins . What a black vail is drawn over the face of Religion at this day ? Vivimus in temporum faecibus — Sen. We live in the dregs of time wherein the common shore of wickedness runs ; Physitians call it 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , when there is no part of the Body free from Distemper . England hath a Kakexy , it is all over disease ; The whole head is sick , the whole heart is faint : Isa. 1.6 . As black Vapours rising out of the earth cloud and darken the Sun , so the Sins of People in our Age like Hellish Vapours cast a cloud upon Gods glorious name . O that our Eyes were like Limbecks , dropping the water of holy tears , to consider how Gods name , instead of being hallowed , is polluted and profaned : And may not we justly fear some heavy Judgments ? Can God put up our affronts any longer ? Can he endure to have his name reproached ? Will a King suffer his Crown-Jewels to be trampled in the dust ? Do not we see the symptoms of Gods Anger , do we not see his Judgments hovering over us ? Sure God is whetting his Sword , he hath bent his Bow , and is preparing his Arrowes to shoot : Qualis per arva Leo fulvam minaci fronte concutiens jubam . Sen. Trag. The Body Politick is in a Paroxism , or burning Fit , and may not the Lord cause a sad Phlebotomy ? Seeing we will not leave our Sins he may make us lose our Blood . May not we fear that the Ark should remove , the Vision cease , the Stars in Gods Church be removed , and we should follow the Gospel to the grave ? When Gods name which should be hallowed is profaned among a People , it is just with God to write that dismal Epitaph upon a Nations Tomb , The Glory is departed . And that I may speak to the Consciences of all , and deal impartially , it were well if only the profane party were guilty ; but may not many Professors be called to the Bar , and indited of this , that they have dishonoured Gods name ; 2 Chron. 28.10 . Are there not with you , even with you , sins against the Lord your God ? Are there not the spots of Gods Children ? Deut. 3● . 5 . If you are Diamonds have you no flawes ? Have not you your vanities ? If your Discourse be not profane is it not vain ? Have not you your self-seekings , rash censures , indecent dresses ? If the wicked of the Land swear , do not you sometimes slander ? If they are drunk with wine , are not you sometimes drunk with passion ? If their sin be blaspheming , is not your sin murmuring ? Are there not with you , even with you , sins against the Lord ? The sins of Gods Children go nearer to his heart than the sins of others : Deut. 32.19 . When the Lord saw it he abhorred them , because of the provoking of his sons and daughters . The sins of the wicked anger God , the sins of his own people grieve him ; he will be sure to punish them ; Amos 3.2 . You only have I known of all the families of the earth : therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities . O that our head were waters , that we could make this place a Bochim , a place of weepers , that Gods Children might mix blushing with tears , that they have so little hallowed , and so much eclipsed Gods name . Truly Gods own People have sinned enough to justifie God in all his severe actings against them .

VSE III. Of Exhortation . Let us hallow and sanctifie Gods Name : Did we but see a glimpse of Gods glory , as Moses did in the Rock ; the sight of this would draw Adoration and Praise from us ; could we see God face to face , as the Angels in Heaven do , could we behold him sitting on his Throne like ● Jasper-stone , Rev. 4.3 . we should presently at the sight of this glory do as the twenty four Elders ; Rev. 4.10 . They worship him that liveth for ever , and cast their crowns before the throne , saying , Thou art worthy , O Lord , to receive glory , honour and power . That we may be stirred up to this great Duty , the hallowing , adoring and sanctifying Gods name ; consider ,

1. It is the very end of our Being : Why did God give us our Life , but that our living may be an hallowing of his Name ? Why did he give us Souls but to admire him , and Tongues but to praise him ? The excellency of a thing is , when it attains the end for which it was made : The excellency of a Star is to give Light , of a Plant to be Fruitful ; the excellency of a Christian is to answer the end of his Creation , which is to hallow Gods name , and live to that God by whom he lives . He who lives , and God hath no honour by him , buries himself alive , and exposeth himself to a Curse . Christ cursed the barren Fig-tree .

2. Gods Name is so excellent that it deserves to be hallowed : Psal. 8.9 . How excellent is thy name in all the earth : Psal. 104.1 . Thou art cloathed with honour and majesty . As the Sun hath its brightness whether we admire it or no , so Gods Name is illustrious and glorious whether we hallow it or no. In God are all shining perfections , Holiness , Wisdom , Mercy : He is worthy to be praised : 2 Sam. 22.4 . God is dignus Honore , worthy of Honour , Love , Adoration . We oft bestow Titles of Honour upon them that do not deserve them ; but God is worthy to be praised ; his Name deserves hallowing ; he is above all the Honour and Praise which the Angels in Heaven give him .

3. We pray Hallowed be thy Name ; that is , let thy Name be honoured and magnified by us : Now if we do not magnifie his Name , we contradict our own Prayers . To say , Hallowed be thy Name , yet not to bring honour to Gods Name , it is to take his Name in vain .

4. Such as do not hallow Gods Name , and bring revenues of honour to him , God will get his honour upon them ; Exod. 14.17 . I 'll get me honour upon Pharaoh . Pharaoh would not hallow Gods Name : Who is the Lord that I should obey him ? Well saith God , if Pharaoh will not honour me , I will get me honour upon him . When God overthrew him and his Chariots in the Sea , then he got his honour upon him . Gods Power and Justice were glorified in his destruction . There are some whom God hath raised to great Power and Dignity , and they will not honour Gods Name , they make use of their Power to dishonour God , they cast reproach upon Gods Name , and revile his Servants ; well , they who will not honour God , he will get his honour upon them in their final ruine . Herod did not give Glory to God , and God did get his Glory upon him : Acts 12.23 . The Angel of the Lord smote him , because he gave not God the glory , and he was eaten of worms .

5. It will be no small comfort to us when we come to dye , that we have hallowed and sanctified God● Name : It was Christs comfort a little before his Death ; Ioh. 17.4 . I have glorified thee on the earth . Christs redeeming Mankind was an hallowing and glorifying of Gods Name ; never was more Honour brought to Gods Name than by this great undertaking of Christ : Now here was Christs comfort before his Death , that he had hallowed Gods Name , and brought Glory to him . So what a Cordial will this be to us at last , when our whole Life hath been an hallowing of Gods Name ; we have loved him with our Hearts , praised him with our Lips , honoured him with our Lives : We have been 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to the praise of his glory , Eph. 1.6 . At the hour of death all your earthly comforts will vanish ; to think how rich you have been , or what pleasures you have enjoyed upon earth ; this will not give one dram of comfort : What is one the better for an Estate that is spent ? But now to have Conscience witnessing that you have hallowed Gods Name , your whole Life hath been a glorifying of him , what sweet peace and satisfaction will this give ? That Servant who hath been all day working in the Vineyard , how glad is he when evening comes that he shall receive his pay ! Such as have spent their Lives in honouring God , how sweet will Death be when they shall receive the recompence of Reward . What comfort was it to Hezekiah when he was on his Sick-bed , and could appeal to God , Isa. 38.3 . Remember , Lord , how I have walked before thee with a perfect heart , and have done that which is good in thy sight . I have hallowed thy Name , I have brought all the Honour I could to thee , I have done that which is good in thy sight .

6. There is nothing lost by what we do for God ; if we bring Honour to his Name he will honour us . Honour is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Arist. As Balac said to Balaam , Numb. 22.37 . Am not I able to promote thee to honour ? So if we hallow and sanctifie Gods Name , is not he able to promote us to Honour ? 1. He will honour us in our Life . ( 1. ) He will put honour upon our Persons : He will number us among his Jewels , Mal. 3.17 . he will make us a Royal Diadem in his hand , Isa. 62.3 . he will lift us up in the eyes of others ; Zach. 9.16 . They shall be as the stones of a crown lifted up , as an ensign of glory : He will esteem us as the cream and flower of the Creation ; Isa. 43.4 . Since thou hast been precious in my sight , thou hast been honourable . ( 2. ) God will put honour upon our Names ; Prov. 10.17 . The memory of the just is blessed . How renowned have the Saints been in all Ages who have hallowed Gods Name : How renowned was Abraham for his Faith , Moses for his Meekness , David for his Zeal , Paul for his Love to Christ , their Names as a precious Oyntment send forth a sweet perfume in Gods Church to this day . 2. God will honour us at our Death ; he will send his Angels to carry us up with triumph into Heaven ; Luke 16.22 . The beggar dyed and was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosom . Amasis King of Egypt had his Chariot drawn with four Kings which he had conquered in War ; but what is this to the Glory every Believer shall have at his Death , he shall be carried by the Angels of God . 3. God will put honour upon us after Death . ( 1. ) He will put Glory upon our Bodies : We shall be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 as the Angels , not for substance but quality , our Bodies shall be agile and nimble ; now our Bodies are as a weight , then they shall be as a wing moving swiftly from place to place ; our Bodies shall be full of clarity and brightness , like Christs glorious Body ; Phil. 3.21 . The Bodies of the Saints shall be as Cloth dyed into a Scarlet colour , made more illustrious ; they shall be so clear and transparent , that the Soul shall sparkle through them as the Wine through the Glass . ( 2. ) God will put Glory upon our Souls : If the Cabinet of the Body shall be so illustrious , of what orient brightness shall the Jewel be ? Then will be the great Coronation-day , when the Saints shall wear the Robe of Immortality and the Crown of Righteousness which fades not away . O how glorious will that Garland be which is made of the Flowers of Paradise ! Who then would not hallow and glorifie Gods Name , and spread his renown in the World , who will put such immortal Honour upon his People , as eye hath not seen , nor ear heard , nor can it enter into the heart of man to conceive .

7. Vlt. Such as do not hallow Gods Name , but profane and dishonour it , God will pour contempt upon them ; though they be never so great , and though cloathed in Purple and Scarlet , yet they are abhorred of God , and their name shall rot . Though the name of Iudas be in the Bible , and the name of Pontius Pilate be in the Creed , yet their names stand there for Infamy , as being Traytors to the Crown of Heaven ; Nahum 1.14 . I will make thy grave for thou art vile . It is spoken of Antiochus Epiphanes , he was a King , and his name signifie● Illustrious , yet God esteemed him a vile Person ; to show how base the wicked are in Gods esteem , he compares them to things most vile ; to chaff , Psal. 1.4 . to dross , Psal. 119.118 . and the filth that fomes out of the Sea , Isa. 57.20 . and as God doth thus vilely esteem of such as do not hallow his Name , so he sends them to a vile place at last . Vagrants are sent to the House of Correction ; Hell is the House of Correction which the Wicked are sent to when they dye . Let all this prevail with us to hallow and sanctifie Gods Name .

Quest. What may we do to honour and sanctifie Gods Name ?

Answ. Let us get , 1. A sound Knowledge of God . 2. A sincere Love to God .

1. A sound Knowledge of God : Take a view of his superlative Excellencies ; his Holiness , his incomprehensible Goodness . The Angels know God better than we , therefore they sanctifie his Name , and sing Hallelujahs to him ; and let us labour to know him to be our God ; Psal. 48.14 . This God is our God . We may dread God as a Judge , but we cannot honour him as a Father , till we know he is our God .

2. Get a sincere Love to God : A Love of Appretiation , and a Love of Complacency to delight in him ; Iohn 21.15 . Lord thou knowest I love thee : He can never honour his Master who doth not love him : The reason Gods Name is no more hallowed , is , because his name is no more loved . So much for the First Petition .

MATTH. vi . 10 .

Thy Kingdom come .

A Soul truly devoted to God , joyns heartily in this Petition , Adveniat Regnum tuum , Thy Kingdom come : In which words this great Truth is implyed , that God is a King ; he who hath a Kingdom can be no less than a King ; Ps. 47.7 . God is King of all the earth : And he is a King upon his Throne , Psal. 47.8 . God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness . 1. He hath a Regal Title , High and Mighty ; Isa. 57.15 . Thus saith the high and lofty one . 2. He hath the Ensigns of Royalty , his Sword ; Deut. 32.41 . If I whet my glittering sword : He hath his Scepter , Heb. 1.8 . A scepter of Righteousness is the scepter of thy Kingdom . 3. He hath his Crown Royal ; Rev. 19.12 . On his head were many crowns ; he hath his Iura Regalia , his Kingly Prerogatives ; he hath power to make Lawes , to seal Pardons , which are the Flowers and Jewels belonging to his Crown . Thus the Lord is King .

And 2. He is a great King : Psal. 95.3 . A great King above all Gods . He is great in and of himself , and not like other Kings , who are made great by their Subjects . That he is so great a King appears ; 1. By the immenseness of his Being , Ier. 23.24 . Do not I fill heaven and earth , saith the Lord . His center is every where ; he is no where included , yet no where excluded ; he is so immensly great , That the heaven of heavens cannot contain him , 1 Kings 8.27 . 2. His greatness appears by the effects of his Power ; He made heaven and earth , Psal. 124.8 . and can unmake it . God can with a Breath crumble us to dust ; with a Word he can unpin the World , and break the Axle-Tree of it in pieces : He pours contempt upon the mighty ; Iob 12.21 . He cuts off the spirit of Princes ; Psal. 76.12 . He is Lord Paramount , who doth whatever he will : Psal. 115.2 . He weigheth the mountains in scales , and the hills in a ballance . Isa. 40.12 .

3. God is a Glorious King ; Psal. 24.10 . Who is this King of Glory , the Lord of Hosts he is the King of Glory . He hath internal Glory ; Psal. 93.1 . The Lord reigneth , he is cloathed with majesty . Other Kings have Royal and Sumptuous Apparel to make them appear glorious to the beholders , but all their Glory and Magnificence is borrowed ; but God is cloathed with Majesty , his own Glorious Essence is instead of Royal Robes : and he hath girded himself with strength . Kings have their guard about them to defend their Persons , because they are not able to defend themselves ; but God needs no guard or assistance from others . He hath girded himself with strength . His own Power is his Life-guard ; Psal. 89.6 . Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord , who among the Sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord ? God hath a prehiminence above all other Kings for Majesty : Rev. 19.16 . He hath on his vesture a name written , Rex Regum , King of Kings . He hath the highest Throne , the richest Crown , the largest Dominions , and the longest Possession ; Psal. 29.10 . The Lord sitteth King for ever . Though God hath many Heirs , yet no Successors . He sets up his Throne where no other King doth ; he rules the Will and Affections , his Power binds the Conscience ; Angels serve him ; all the Kings of the Earth hold their Crowns and Diadems by immediate tenure from this great King ; Prov. 8.15 . By me Kings reign ; and to this Lord Iehovah all Kings must give account , and from Gods Tribunal there is no appeal .

VSE I. Br. 1. If God be so great a King , and sits King for ever , then it is no disparagement for us to serve him ; Deo servire est regnare : It is an Honour to serve a King . If the Angels fly swiftly upon the King of Heavens message , Dan. 9.21 . then well may we look upon it as a favour to be taken into his Royal Service . Theodosius thought it a greater Honour to be Gods Servant than to be an Emperour . 'T is more Honour to serve God than to have Kings serve us . Every Subject of this King is Crowned with Regal Honour : Rev. 1.6 . Who hath made us Kings . Therefore as the Queen of Sheba having seen the Glory of Solomons Kingdom , said , Happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee , 1 Kings 10.8 . so , happy are those Saints who stand before the King of Heaven , and wait on his Throne .

Br. 2. If God be such a Glorious King , crowned with Wisdom , armed with Power , bespangled with Riches , then it showes us what Prudence it is to have this King to be ours : To say as , Psal. 5.2 . My King and my God . 'T is counted great Policy to be on the strongest side ; if we belong to the King of Heaven we are sure to be on the strongest side : The King of Glory can with ease destroy his Adversaries ; he can pull down their Pride , befool their Policy , restrain their Malice . That stone cut out of the Mountains without hands , which smote the Image . Dan. 2.34 . was an emblem ( saith Austin ) of Christs Monarchical Power conquering and triumphing over his enemies . If we are on Gods side we are on the strongest side ; he can with a Word destroy his enemies , Psal. 2.5 . Then shall he speak to them in his wrath ; nay , he can with a Look destroy them ; Iob 40.12 . Look upon every one that is proud and bring him low . It needs cost God no more to confound those who rise up against him than a look , a cast of the eye ; Exod. 14.24 . In the morning watch the Lord looked to the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire , and troubled their host , and took off their chariot-wheels . What Wisdom is it then to have this King to be ours ; then we are on the strongest side .

VSE II of Exhortation .

Br. 1. If God be so Glorious a King , full of Power and Majesty , let us trust in him ; Psal. 9.10 . They that know thy name will put their trust in thee : Trust him with your Soul ; you cannot put this Jewel in safer hands ; and trust him with Church and State Affairs : He is King , Exod. 15.3 . The Lord is a man of war ; he can make bear his holy Arm in the eyes of all the Nations . If means fail , he is never at a loss , there are no impossibles with him ; he can make the dry bones live : Ezek. 37.10 . As a King he can command , and as a God he can create Salvation ; Isa. 65.18 . I create Ierusalem a rejoycing : Let us trust all our affairs with this great King . Either God can remove Mountains , or can leap over them ; Cant. 2.8 .

Br. 2. If God be so great a King , let us fear him ; Ier. 5.22 . Fear ye not me saith the Lord ? Will ye not tremble at my presence ? We have enough fear of Men. Fear makes danger appear greater and sin lesser ; but let us fear the King of Kings , who hath power to cast Body and Soul into Hell ; Luke 12.5 . As one wedge drives out another , so the fear of God would drive out all base carnal fear : Let us fear that God whose Throne is set above all Kings ; they may be Mighty , but he is Almighty . Kings have no Power but what God hath given them ; their Power is limited , his is infinite . Let us fear this King whose eyes are as lamps of fire ; Rev. 1.14 . The mountains quake at him , and the rocks are thrown down by him ; Nahum 1.6 If he stamps with his foot , all the Creatures are presently up in a battalio to fight for him . O tremble and fear before this God . Fear is Ianitor Animae , it is the Door-keeper of the Soul , it keeps Sin from entring ; Gen. 39.9 . How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God ?

3 Br. If God be so Glorious a King , he hath jus virae & necis , He hath the power of Life and Death in his Hand . Let all the Potentates of the Earth take heed how they employ their Power against the King of Heaven ; they employ their power against God , who with their Scepter beat down his Truth , which is the most Orient Pearl of his Crown ; who crush and persecute his People , which are the Apple of his Eye , Zach. 2.8 . Who trample upon his Laws and Royal Edicts , which he hath set forth , Psal. 2.3 . What is a King without his Laws : Let all that are invested with worldly Power and Grandeur , take heed how they oppose the King of Glory : The Lord will be too hard for all that come against him , Iob 40.9 . Hast thou an Arm like God ? Wilt thou measure Arms with the Almighty ? Shall a little Child go to fight with an Arch-angel . Ezek. 22.14 . Can thy Heart endure , or can thy Hands be strong in the day that I shall deal with thee ? Christ will put all his Enemies at last under his Feet , Psal. 110.1 . All the Multitude of the Wicked , who set themselves against God , shall be but as so many Clusters of ripe Grapes to be cast into the Wine-press of the wrath of God , and to be trodden by him till their blood comes forth . The King of Glory will come off Victor at last ; Men may set up their Standard : but God alwaies sets up his Trophies of Victory ; the Lord hath a golden Scepter and an iron Rod , Psal. 2.9 . Those who will not bow to the one , shall be broken by the other .

4. Br. Is God so great a King , having all Power in Heaven and Earth in his Hand ; let us learn Subjection to him . Such as have gone on in Sin , and by their Impieties hung out a Flag of defiance against the King of Heaven . Oh come in quickly , and make your Peace , submit to God ; Psal. 2.12 . Kiss the Son least he be angry . Kiss Christ with a Kiss of Love , and a Kiss of Obedience , obey the King of Heaven when he speaks to you by his Ministers and Ambassadors , 2 Cor. 5.20 . when God bids you fly from Sin , and espouse Holiness , obey him , to obey is better then Sacrifice : To obey God ( saith Luther ) is better then to work Miracles . Obey God willingly , Isa. 1.19 . That is the best obedience that is chearful ; as that is the sweetest Honey which drops out of the Comb ▪ Obey God swiftly . Zech. 5.9 . I lift up mine eyes and behold two Women , and the wind was in their Wings . Wings are swift , but wind in the wings denotes great swiftness ; such should our obedience to God be : Obey the King of Glory .

Vse III. Comfort to those who are the Subjects of the King of Heaven ; God will put forth all his Royal Power for their Succour and Comfort .

1. The King of Heaven will plead their Cause ; Ier. 51.36 . I will plead thy Cause , and take Vengeance for thee .

2. He will protect his People ; He sets an invisible guard about them , Zech. 2.5 . I will be a Wall of Fire to her roun● about . A wall , that is defensive , a wall of Fire , that is offensive .

3. When it may be for the good of his People , he will raise up deliverance to them ; 1 Chron. 11.14 . The Lord saved them by a great deliverance . God Reigning as King , can save any way ; by contemptible means , the blowing of Trumpets , and blazing of Lamps , Iudg. 7.20 . By contrary means , He made the Sea a wall to Israel , and the waters were a means to keep them from drowning : The Fishes B●lly was a Ship in which Ionas sailed safe to shore . God will never want ways of saving his People : Rather then fail the very Enemies shall do his Work . 2 Chron. 20.23 . He set Ammon and Mount-Seir one against another : And as God will deliver his People from Temporal Danger , so from Spiritual , from Sin , and from Hell , Iesus hath delivered us from Wrath to come , 1 Thess. 1.10 .

Vse IV. Terrour to the Enemies of the Church . If God be King , he will set his ●tmost strength against them who are the Enemies of his Kingdom , Psal. 97.3 . A Fire goes before him , and burneth up his Enemies round about .

1. He will set himself against his Enemies : He will set his Attributes against them , his Power and Justice ; and who knows the power of his Anger , Psal. 90.11 .

2. God will set the Creatures against them ; Iudg. 5 20. The Stars in their course fought against Sisera . Tertullian observes that the Persians fighting against the Christians a mighty Wind arose , which did make the Persians Arrows to fly back in their own Faces . Every Creature hath a Quarrel with a Sinner . The Stone out of the Wall , Hab. 2.11 . The Hail and Frost . Psal. 78.47 . He destroyed their Vines with Hail , and their Sycamore Trees with Frost .

3. God will set Men against themselves ; 1. He will set Conscience against them ; and how terrible is this Rod , when turned into a Serpent : Melancthon calls it Erinnys Conscientiae , a Hellish Fury : It is called Vermis Conscientiae , the Worm of Conscience , Mark 9.44 . What a Worm did Spira feel in his Conscience ; he was a Terror to himselfe The worst Civil Wars are between a Man and his Conscience . 2. God will set the Diseases of Mens Bodies against them , 2 Chron. 21.18 . The Lord smote Iehoram in his Bowels with an incurable disease . God can raise an Army against a Man out of his own Bowels : He can set one Humour of the Body against another , the heat to drie up the moisture , and the moisture to drown the heat ; the Lord needs not go far for Instruments to punish the Sinner , He can make the joints of the same Body to smite one against another ; as Dan 5.6 . 3. God will set Mens Friends against them ; where they used to have Honey they shall have nothing but Aloes and Wormwood . When a mans ways please the Lord , he shall make his enemies to be his friends , Prov. 16.7 . But when he opposeth God , he maketh his Friends to be his Enemies . Commodus the Emperour his own wife gave him poison in perfumed Wine . Sennacherib's two Sons were the death of him , 2 Kings 19.37 . 4. God will set Satan against them . Psal. 109.6 . Let Satan stand at his Right hand . What doth Satan at the Sinners Elbows ? 1. He helps him to contrive Sin . 2. He tempts him to commit Sin . 3. He terrifies him for Sin . He that hath Satan thus standing at his Right hand , is sure to be set at Gods Left hand . Here is the misery of such as oppose Gods Royal Scepter , he will set every thing in the world against them : If there be either Justice in Heaven or fire in Hell , Sinners shall not be unpunished .

Vlt. If God be such an absolute Monarch , and Crowned with such Glory and Majesty , let us all engage in his Service , and stand up for his Truth , and Worship ; dare to own God in the worst Time ; He is King of Kings , and is able to reward all his Servants : We may be Losers for him , we shall never be Losers by him ; we are ready to say as Amaziah , 2 Chron. 25.9 . What shall I do for the Hundred Talents ? If I appear for God I may lose my Estate , my Life ? I say with the Prophet , God is able to give you much more then this ; He can give you for the present inward Peace , and for the future a Crown of Glory which fades not away .

Quest. What Kingdom doth Christ mean here ?

Resp. Negat . 1. He doth not mean a Political , or Earthly Kingdom . The Apostles indeed did desire , 1. Christs Temporal Reign , Acts 1.6 . When wilt thou restore the Kingdom to Israel . But Christ said his Kingdom was not of this world , Ioh. 18.36 . So that when Christ taught his Disciples to pray , Thy Kingdom come , he did not mean it of an Earthly Kingdom , that he should reign here in outward Pomp and Splendor . 2. It is not meant of Gods Providential Kingdom ; Psal. 103.19 . His Kingdom ruleth over all ; that is , the Kingdom of his Providence : This Kingdom we do not pray for , when we say Thy Kingdom come ; for this Kingdom is already come : God exerciseth the Kingdom of his Providence in the World , Psal. 75.7 . He putteth down one , and setteth up another : Nothing stirs in the World , but God hath an Hand in it ; He sets every wheel a working ; He humbles the Proud , and raiseth the Poor out of the Dust , to set them among Princes , 1 Sam. 2.8 . The Kingdom of Gods Providence ruleth over all ; Kings do nothing but what his Providence permits and orders , Act. 4.27 . This Kingdom of Gods Providence we do not pray should come , for it is already come : What Kingdom then is meant here , when we say , Thy Kingdom come ? Answ. Positively , there is a twofold Kingdom meant here . 1. The Kingdom of Grace , which Kingdom God exerciseth in the Consciences of his People ; this is Regnum Dei 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Gods lesser Kingdom , Luke 17.21 . The Kingdom of God is within you . 2. The Kingdom of Glory , which is sometimes called the Kingdom of God , Luke 6.20 . and the Kingdom of Heaven , Mat. 5.3 . When we pray thy Kingdom come , ( 1. ) Here is something tacitly implied , That we are in the Kingdom of Darkness ; 1. We pray that we may be brought out of the Kingdom of Darkness . 2. That the Devils Kingdom in the World may be demolished . ( 2. ) Something positively intended , Adveniat Regnum Gratiae & Gloriae , 1. We pray that the Kingdom of Grace may be set up in our Hearts , and encreased . 2. When we pray Thy Kingdom come , we pray that the Kingdom of Glory may hasten , and that we may in Gods good time be translated into it : These two Kingdoms of Grace and Glory , differ not specifically , but gradually , they differ not in nature , but only in degree ; The Kingdom of Grace is nothing but the inchoation or beginning of the Kingdom of Glory ; the Kingdom of Grace is Glory in the Seed , and the Kingdom of Glory is Grace in the Flower ; the Kingdom of Grace is Glory in the Day-break , and the Kingdom of Glory is Grace in the full Meridian ; the Kingdom of Grace is Glory Militant , and the Kingdom of Glory is Grace Triumphant : There is such an inseparable Connexion between these two Kingdoms Grace and Glory , that there is no passing into the one Kingdom , but by the other . At Athens there were two Temples , a Temple of Virtue , and a Temple of Honour , and there was no going into the Temple of Honour , but through the Temple of Vertue : So the Kingdom of Grace and Glory are so close joyned together , that we cannot go into the Kingdom of Glory , but through the Kingdom of Grace . Many People aspire after the Kingdom of Glory , but never look after Grace ; but these two which God hath joyned together may not be put asunder : The Kingdom of Grace leads to the Kingdom of Glory .

1. I begin with the first thing implyed in this Petition , Thy Kingdom come : It is implyed that we are in the Kingdom of Darkness ; and we pray , that we may be brought out of the Kingdom of Darkness ; the state of Nature is a Kingdom of Darkness : 'T is a Kingdom ; Sin is said to reign , Rom. 6.12 . and 't is a Kingdom of Darkness . It is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The power of darkness , Col. 1.13 . Man before the Fall was illuminated with perfect knowledge , but this light is now eclipsed , and he is fallen into the Kingdom of Darkness .

Quest. How many wayes is a Natural Man in the Kingdom of darkness ?

Answ. 1. He is under the darkness of Ignorance ; Eph. 4.18 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Having the understanding darkened . Ignorance is a black vail drawn over the Mind . Men by Nature may have a deep reach in the things of the World , but ignorant in the things of God . Nahash the Ammonite would make a Covenant with Israel to thrust out their right eyes ; 1 Sam. 11.2 . since the Fall our left eye remains a deep insight into Worldly matters , but our right eye is thrust out , we have no saving knowledge of God : Something we know by Nature , but nothing as we ought to know ; 1 Cor. 8.2 . Ignorance draws the curtains round about the Soul : 1 Cor. 2.14 .

2. A Natural Man is under the darkness of Pollution : Hence sinful actions are called works of darkness , Rom. 13.12 . Pride and Lust darken the Glory of the Soul : A sinners heart is a dark conclave , it looks blacker than Hell .

3. A Natural Man is under the darkness of Misery ; he is exposed to Divine Vengeance ; and the sadness of this darkness is , that Men are not sensible of it ; they are blind , yet they think they see : The darkness of Egypt was such thick darkness as might be felt , Exod. 10.21 . Men are by Nature in thick darkness , but here is the misery , the darkness cannot be felt , they will not believe they are in the dark , till they are past recovery .

VSE I. See what the state of Nature is ; it is a kingdom of darkness , and it is a bewitching darkness ; Iohn 3.19 . Men loved darkness rather than light : As the Athlantes in Aethiopia curse the Sun : Such as are still in the kingdom of darkness tremble to think of this condition ; this darkness of sin leads to the chains of darkness , Iude 6. what comfort can such take in earthly things ? The Aegyptians might have Food , Gold , Silver , but they could take but little comfort in them while they were in such darkness as might be felt ; so the Natural Man may have Riches and Friends to delight in , yet he is in the kingdom of darkness , and how dead are all these comforts . Thou who art in the kingdom of darkness knowest not whither thou goest . As the Oxe is driven to the shambles , but he knowes not whither he goes ; so the Devil is driving thee before him to Hell , but thou knowest not whither thou goest . Shouldst thou dye in thy Natural estate while thou art in the kingdom of darkness , blackness of darkness is reserved for thee ; Iude 13. To whom is reserved blackness of darkness for ever .

VSE II. Let us pray that God will bring us out of this kingdom of darkness . Gods Kingdom of Grace cannot come into our hearts , till first we are brought out of the kingdom of darkness : Col. 1.13 . Why should not we strive to get out of this kingdom of darkness ? Who would desire to stay in a dark dungeon : O fear the chains of darkness ; Iude 6. these chains are Gods Power , binding Men as in chains under wrath for ever . O pray that God will deliver us out of the Kingdom of darkness . 1. Be sensible of thy dark damned estate , that thou hast not one spark of fire to give thee light . 2. Go to Christ to enlighten thee ; Eph. 5.14 . Christ shall give thee light . He will not only bring thy light to thee , but open the eyes to see it . That is the first thing implyed , Thy Kingdom come , we pray that we may be brought out of the Kingdom of Darkness .

2. The second thing implyed in Thy Kingdom come , we do implicity pray against the Devils Kingdom , we pray that Satans Kingdom may be demolished in the World . Satans Kingdom stands in opposition to Christs Kingdom , and while we pray , Thy Kingdom come , we pray against Satans Kingdom . Satan hath a Kingdom ; he got his Kingdom by Conquest ; he conquered Mankind in Paradise . He hath his Throne ; Rev. 2.13 . Thou dwellest where Satans throne is ; and his Throne is set up in the hearts of Men ; he doth not care for their Purses but their Hearts , Eph. 2.2 . Satan is served upon the knee , Rev. 13.4 . They worshipped the dragon , that is , the Devil . Satans Empire is very large ; the most Kingdoms in the World pay Tribute to him . Satans Kingdom hath two qualifications or characters .

1. It is Regnum Nequitiae , a Kingdom of Impiety . 2. Regnum Servitutis , a Kingdom of Slavery .

1. The Kingdom of Satan is a Kingdom of Impiety : Nothing but Sin goes up in his Kingdom , Murder and Heresie , Lust and Treachery , Oppression and Division are the constant trade driven in Satans Kingdom : Satan is called the unclean Spirit , Luke 11.24 . what else is propagated in his Kingdom but a mystery of iniquity .

2. Satans Kingdom is a Kingdom of Slavery : Satan makes all his Subjects slaves ; Peccati reus dura Daemonis tyrannide tenetur , Muis. Satan is an Usurper and a Tyrant , he is a worse Tyrant than any other . 1. Other Tyrants do but rule over the Body , but Satans Kingdom rules over the Soul ; Satan rides some Men as we do Horses . 2. Other Tyrants have some pity on their Slaves ; though they make them work in the Gallies , yet they give them meat and let them have their hours for rest ; but Satan is a mercyless Tyrant , he gives his Slaves poyson in stead of meat , he gives them hurtful lusts to feed on : 1 Tim. 6.9 . Nor will he let his Slaves have any rest , he tires them out in doing his drudgery ; Ier. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit iniquity . When the Devil had entred into Iudas , he sends him to the High Priests , and from thence to the Garden , and never let him rest till he had betrayed Christ , and hanged himself . Thus Satan is the worst Tyrant ; when Men have served him to their utmost strength , he will welcome them to Hell with Fire and Brimstone .

VSE . Let us pray that Satans Kingdom set up in the World may be thrown down . 'T is sad to think that though the Devils Kingdom be so bad , yet that it should have so many to support it . Satan hath more to stand up for his Kingdom than Christ hath for his . What a large harvest of Souls hath Satan , and God only a few gleanings . The Pope and the Turk give their power to Satan . If in Gods visible Church the Devil hath so many Loyal Subjects that serve him with their Lives and Souls , then how do his Subjects swarm in places of Idolatry and Paganism , where there is none to oppose him , but all vote on the Devils side . Men are willingly slaves to Satan ; they will fight and dye for him ; therefore Satan is not only called the Prince of this world , Iohn 14.30 . but the God of this world , 2 Cor. 4.4 . to show what power Satan hath over Mens Souls . O let us pray that God will break the Scepter of the Devils Kingdom , that Michael may destroy the Dragon , that by the help of a Religious Magistracy and Ministry the Hellish Kingdom of the Prince of Darkness may be beaten down . Satans Kingdom must be thrown down before Christs Kingdom can flourish in its Power and Majesty .

2. When we pray , Thy Kingdom come , here is something positively intended : 1. We pray that the Kingdom of Grace may be set up in our hearts and encreased . 2. That the Kingdom of Glory may hasten , and that we may in Gods due time be translated into it .

I begin with the First , The Kingdom of Grace . When we pray , Thy Kingdom come , we pray , 1. That the Kingdom of Grace may come into our hearts : This is Regnum Dei 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Gods lesser Kingdom ; Rom. 14.17 . The Kingdom of God is righteousness . Luke 17.21 . The kingdom of God is within you .

Quest. 1. Why is Grace called a Kingdom ?

Answ. Because where Grace comes there is a Kingly Government set up in the Soul . Grace rules the Will and Affections , and brings the whole Man in subjection to Christ . Grace doth king it in the Soul ; it swayes the Scepter , it subdues mutinous Lusts , and keeps the Soul in a Spiritual Decorum .

Quest. 2. Why is there such need that we should pray that this Kingdom of Grace come into our hearts ?

Resp. 1. Because till the Kingdom of Grace come , we have no right to the Covenant of Grace . The Covenant of Grace is sweetned with Love , bespangled with Promises ; the Covenant of Grace is our Magna Charta , by vertue of which God passeth himself over to us to be our God : But who are Heirs of the Covenant of Grace ? only such as have the kingdom of Grace in their hearts ; Ezek. 36.26 . A new heart will I give you , and a new spirit will I put within you ; there is the kingdom of Grace set up in the Soul ; then it followes , ver. 28. I will be your God . The Covenant of Grace is to an ungracious Person a sealed Fountain , it is kept as Paradise with a Flaming Sword , that the Sinner may not touch it ; without Grace you have no more right to it , than a Farmer to the City Charter .

2. Unless the Kingdom of Grace be set up in our hearts , our purest Offerings are defiled ; they may be good as to the matter but not as to the manner , they want that which should meliorate and sweeten them under the Law . If a Man who was unclean by a dead body did carry a piece of holy flesh in his skirt , the holy flesh could not cleanse him , but he polluted that : Hag. 2.12 . Till the kingdom of Grace be in our hearts , Ordinances do not purifie us , but we pollute them ; the Prayer of an ungracious person becomes sin ; Prov. 15.8 . In what a sad condition is a Man before Gods kingdom of Grace be set up in his heart ; whether he comes or comes not to the Ordinance , he sins : If he doth not come to the Ordinance he is a contemner of it , if he doth come he is a polluter of it . A Sinners works are opera mortua dead works , Heb. 1.6 . and those works which are dead cannot please God ; a dead Flower hath no sweetness .

3. We had need pray that the kingdom of Grace may come , because till this kingdom come into our hearts we are loathsome in Gods eyes ; Zech. 11.8 . My soul loathed them . Quanta est faeditas vitiosae mentis . Tully . An heart void of Grace looks blacker than Hell : Sin transforms one into a Devil ; Iohn 6.70 . Have not I chosen twelve , and one of you is a devil . Envy is the Devils eye , hypocrisie is his cloven-foot ; thus it is before the kingdom of Grace come . So deformed is a Graceless person , that when once he sees his own filth and leprosie , the first thing he doth is to loath himself ; Ezek. 20.43 . Ye shall loath your selves in your own sight for all your evils . I have read of a Woman who alwayes used flattering glasses , by chance seeing her Face in a true glass , in insaniam delapsa est , she ran mad . Such as now dress themselves by the flattering glass of presumption , when once God gives them a sight of their filthiness , they will abhor themselves ; Ye shall loath your selves in your own sight for all your evils .

4. Before the kingdom of Grace comes into us we are Spiritually illegitimate , of the Bastard brood of the Old Serpent ; Iohn 8.44 . To be illegitimate is the greatest infamy ; Deut. 23.2 . A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation . He was to be kept out of the holy Assemblies of Israel as an infamous Creature : A Bastard by the Law cannot inherit ; before the kingdom of Grace come into the heart , a person is to God as one illegitimate , and so continuing he cannot enter into the Congregation of Heaven .

5. Before the kingdom of Grace be set up in Mens hearts , the kingdom of Satan is set up in them : They are said to be under the power of Satan ; Acts 26.18 . Satan commands the Will ; though he cannot force the Will , he can by his subtle temptations draw it : The Devil is said to take men captive at his will , 2 Tim. 2.26 . the Greek word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 signifies to take them alive , as the Fowler doth the bird in the snare . The sinners heart is the Devils Mansion-house , Matth. 12.44 . I will go to my house . It is officina Diaboli , Satans shop where he works ; Eph. 2.2 . The prince of the air now worketh in the children of disobedience . The members of the Body are the tools which Satan works with : Satan possesseth Men. In Christs time many had their Bodies possessed ; but it is far worse to have their Souls possessed : One is possessed with an unclean Devil , another with a revengeful Devil . No wonder the Ship goes full sail when the Wind blowes ; no wonder Men go full sail in sin , when the Devil the Prince of the Air blowes them : Thus it is ; till the kingdom of Grace come , Men are under the power of Satan , who like Draco writes all his Lawes in blood .

6. Till the kingdom of Grace comes , a Man lyes exposed to the Wrath of God ; And who knowes the power of his anger ? Psal. 90.11 . If when but a spark of Gods Wrath flyes into a Mans Conscience in this Life it is so terrible , what then will it be when God stirs up all his anger . So unconceivable torturing is Gods Wrath that the wicked call to the rocks and mountains to fall on them , and hide them from it ; Rev. 6. 1st . The Hellish torments are compared to a fiery lake , Rev. 20.15 . other fire is but painted in comparison of this : And this lake of fire burns for ever , Mark 9.44 . Gods breath kindles this fire , Isa. 30.33 and where shall we find engines or buckets to quench it ? Time will not finish it , tears will not quench it . To this fiery Lake are Men exposed till the kingdom of Grace be set up in them .

7. Till the kingdom of Grace come Men cannot dye with comfort ; only he who takes Christ in the armes of his Faith , can look Death in the face with joy . But it is sad to have the king of Terrors in the Body , and not the kingdom of Grace in the Soul . 'T is a wonder every Graceless person doth not dye distracted : What will a Grace-despiser do when Death comes to him with a Writ of Habeas Corpus ? Hell followes Death ; Rev. 6.8 . Behold a pale horse , and his name that sat on him was death , and hell followed him . Thus you see what need we have to pray that the kingdom of Grace may come . He that dyes without Grace , I may say as Christ , Matth. 26.24 . It had been good for that-man he had not been born . Few do believe the necessity of having the kingdom of Grace set up in their hearts , as appears by this , because they are so well content to live without it . Doth that Man believe the necessity of a Pardon that is content to be without it ? Most People if they may have Trading , and may sit quietly under their Vines and Fig-trees , they are in their kingdom , though they have not the kingdom of God within them . If the Candle of Prosperity shine upon their head , they care not whether the Grace of God shine in their hearts : Do these Men believe the necessity of Grace ? Were they convinced how needful it were to have the kingdom of God within them , they would cry out as the Jaylor , Acts 16.30 . What shall I do to be saved ?

Quest. 3. How may we know that the Kingdom of Grace is set up in our hearts ?

Answ. It concerns us to examine this , our Salvation depends upon it ; and we had need be curious in the search , because there is something looks like Grace which is not ; Gal. 6.3 . If a man think himself to be something when he is nothing , he deceives himself . Many think they have the kingdom of Grace come into their heart , and it is only a Chimera , a golden dream : Quam multi cum vana spe descendunt ad inferos ! Aug. Zeuxis did paint grapes so lively that he deceived the living birds . There are many Deceits about Grace .

Deceit 1. Men think they have the kingdom of Grace in their hearts because they have the means of Grace ; they live where the silver trumpet of the Gospel sounds , they are lift up to Heaven with Ordinances ; Iudg. 17.13 . I have a Levite to my priest ; sure I shall go to Heaven . The Iewes cryed , Ier. 7.4 . The temple of the Lord , The temple of the Lord ; we are apt to glory in this , the Oracles of God are committed to us , we have Word and Sacrament : Alas , this is a fallacy , we may have the means of Grace , yet the kingdom of Grace may not be set up in our hearts ; we may have the kingdom of God come nigh us , Luke 11.20 . but not into us ; the sound of the Word in our ears , and not the savour of it in our hearts . Many of the Iewes , who had Christ for their Preacher , were never the better : Hot clothes will not put warmth into a dead Man . Thou may'st have hot clothes , warm and lively Preaching , yet be Spiritually dead : Mat. 8.12 . The children of the kingdom shall be cast out .

Deceit 2. Men think they have the kingdom of Grace set up in their hearts , because they have some common works of the Spirit .

( 1. ) They have great enlightnings of mind , profound knowledge , and almost speak like Angels drop'd from Heaven ; but the Apostle supposeth a case that after Men have been enlightened , they may fall away . Heb. 6.

Quest. But wherein doth this illumination come short ?

Answ. The illumination of Hypocrites is not vertual , it doth not leave an impression of Holiness behind ; 't is like weak Physick that will not work . The mind is enlightned , but the heart is not renewed . A Christian is all head , but no feet , he doth not walk in the wayes of God .

( 2. ) Men have had convictions and stirrings of Conscience for sin , they have seen the evil of their wayes , therefore now they hope the Kingdom of Grace is come ; but I say , convictions though they are a step towards Grace , yet they are not Grace . Had not Pharaoh and Iudas convictions ? Exod. 10.16 .

Quest. What makes convictions prove abortive , wherein is the defect ?

Answ. 1. They are not deep enough : A Sinner never saw himself lost without Christ . The seed that wanted depth of earth withered ; Matth. 13.5 . These convictions are like blossoms blown off before they come to maturity . 2. These convictions are involuntary ; the Sinner doth what he can to stifle these convictions ; he drowns them in Wine and Mirth ; he labours to get rid of them ; as the Deer when it is shot runs and shakes out the arrow , so doth he the arrow of conviction : Or as the Prisoner that files off his fetters and breaks loose , so a Man breaks loose from his convictions . His corruptions are stronger than convictions .

( 3. ) Men have had some kind of humiliation , and have shed tears for their sins , therefore now they hope the Kingdom of Grace is come into their hearts ? But this is no infallible sign of Grace : Saul wept , Ahab humbled himself .

Quest. Why is not humiliation Grace ? Wherein doth it come short ?

Answ. 1. Tears in the wicked do not spring from love to God , but are forced by affliction . Gen. 4.13 . as water that drops from the Still is forced by the fire . The tears of Sinners are forced by Gods fiery Judgments . 2. They are deceitful tears ; lachrymae mentiri doctae : Men weep yet go on in sin ; they do not drown their sins in their tears .

( 4. ) Men have begun some reformation , therefore sure now the Kingdom of Grace is come ? But there may be deceit in this : 1. A Man may leave his Oaths and Drunkenness , yet ●●ill be in love with Sin ; he may leave Sin out of fear of Hell , or because it brings shame and penury , but still his heart goes after it ; Hos. 4.8 . They set their heart on their iniquity ; as Lots Wife left Sodom , but still her heart was in Sodom . Hypocrites are like the Snake which casts her coat , but keeps her poyson : They keep the love of sin , as one that hath been long Suitor to another , though his Friends break off the march , yet still he hath a hankering Love to her . 2. It may be a partial Reformation : He may leave one Sin and live in another , he may refrain drunkenness and live in covetousness , he may refrain swearing and live in the sin of slandering , one Devil may be cast out , and an other as bad may come in the room . 3. A Man may forsake gross sins , but have no reluctancy against Heart-sins : Motus primo primi , proud , lustful Thoughts ; though he dams up the stream , he lets alone the Fountain . O therefore if there be so many deceits , and Men may think the kingdom of grace is come into their Heart , when it is not : How curious and critical had we need be in our search , whether we have the kingdom of grace really come into our hearts . If a Man be deceived in the Title of his Land , it is but the loss of his Estate : But if he be deceived about his grace , 't is the loss of his Soul . I should now come to answer this Question , How we know , that the kingdom of grace is set up in our Hearts ?

Quest. How may we know the Kingdom of Grace is set up in us ?

Answ. 1. In general , By having a Metamorphosis and Change wrought in the Soul ; This is called the New Creature , 2 Cor. 5.17 . The Faculties are not new , but there is a new Nature . As the strings of the Lute are the same , but the Tune is altered . When the Kingdom of grace is set up , there is Light in the Mind , Order in the Affections , Pliableness in the Will , Tenderness in the Conscience . Such as can find no change of heart , they are the same they were , as vain , as earthly , as unclean as ever , there is no sign of Gods kingdom of grace in them .

2. More particularly , We may know the kingdom of grace is set up in our hearts , 1. By having unfeigned desires after God : This is the smoaking Flax Christ will not quench : A true desire of grace is grace : By the beating of this pulse , conclude there is life ; Nehem. 1.11 . O Lord , let thy ear be attentive to the prayer of thy Servants , who desire to fear thy Name . But may not an Hypocrite have good desires ? Numb. 23.10 . Let me dye the Death of the Righteous . Therefore I say , unfeigned desires evidence the kingdom of God within a Man .

Quest. But how may these unfeigned Desires be known ?

1. An unfeigned desire is ingenuous , we desire God propter se , for himself , for his intrinsecal Excellencies , and the Oriency of his Beauty which shines : The savour of Christs Ointments , ( i. e. ) his graces , draw the Virgins desires after him , Cant. 1.3 . A true Saint desires Christ , not only for what he hath , but for what he is ; not only for his Rewards , but for his Holiness . No Hypocrite can thus desire God ; he may desire him for his Jewels , but not for his Beauty .

2. An unfeigned desire is unsatiable , it cannot be satisfied without God ; let the World heap her Honours and Riches , they will not satisfy : Not Flowers or Musick will content him who is thirsty : Nothing will quench the Souls thirst but the blood of Christ ; He faints away , his heart breaks with longing for God , Psal. 84.2 . Psal. 119.20 .

3. An unfeigned desire is active , it flourisheth into endeavour ; Isa. 26.9 . With my Soul have I desired thee , yea , with my Spirit within me will I seek these early . A Soul that desires aright saith , Christ , I must have grace , I must have , I will have Heaven though I take it by storm : He who desires water will let down the Bucket into the Well to draw it up .

4. An unfeigned desire is superlative : We desire Christ not only more then the world , but more then Heaven , Psal. 73.25 . Whom have I in Heaven but thee ? Heaven it self would not satisfy without Christ ; Christ is the Diamond in the Ring of glory : If God should say to the Soul , I will put thee into Heaven , but I will hide my Face from thee , I will draw a Curtain between , that thou shalt not behold my glory ; the Soul would not be satisfied , but say as Absalom , 2 Sam. 14.32 . Now therefore let me see the Kings face .

5. An unfeigned desire is gradual ; It encreaseth as the Sun in the Horizon ; A little of God will not satisfy , but the pious Soul desireth still more : A drop of water is not enough for the thirsty Traveller . Though a Christian is thankful for the least degree of grace , yet he is not satisfied with the greatest ; still he thirsts for more of Christ and his Spirit : Desire is an holy Dropsie : A Saint would have more knowledge , more Sanctity , more of Christs Presence . A glympse of Christ through the Lattice of an Ordinance is sweet ; and now the Soul will never leave longing , till it sees him face to face . He desires to have grace perfected in glory : Dulcissimo Deo totus immergi cupit & inviscerari : He would be swallowed up in God , and be ever bathing himself in those perfumed waters of pleasure , which run at his right hand for ever . Sure this unfeigned desire after God is a blessed sign that the kingdom of grace is come into our Hearts ; the beating of this pulse shows life , est a Deó ut bene velimus , Aug. If iron move upward contrary to its Nature , 't is a sign some Loadstone hath been there drawing it : If the Soul move towards God in unfeigned desires , it 's a sign the Loadstone of the Spirit hath been drawing it . 2. We may know the kingdom of grace is come into our Hearts by having the Princely grace of Faith : Fides est sanctissima humani pectoris Gemma — Faith cuts us off from the wild Olive of Nature , and ingrafts us into Christ : Faith is the vital artery of the Soul : Heb. 10.38 . The just shall live by Faith : Faith makes an holy adventure on Christs Merits , When this Faith as a Princely grace reigns in the Soul , now the kingdom of God is come into us . The Hebrew word for Faith comes from a Radix , which signifies to nourish : Faith nourisheth the Soul , and is the Nurse of all the graces : But who will not say he is a Believer : Simon Magus believed , Acts 8.13 . yet was in the gall of bitterness . The Hypocrite can put on Faiths Mantle , as the Devil did Samuel's . How shall we know therefore that our Faith is ●ound ? That it is the Faith of the operation of God , Col. 2.12 . and so that the kingdom of God is within us ?

Answ. 1. True Faith is wrought by the Ministry of the Word ; Rom. 10.17 . Faith comes by hearing . Peter let down the Net of his Ministry , and at one draught catched Three Thousand Souls . Let us examine , How was our Faith wrought ? Did God in the Ministry of the word humble us ? Did he break up the fallow ground of our heart , and then cast in the Seed of Faith ? a good sign ; but if you know not how you came by your Faith , suspect your selves ; as we suspect Men to have stolen goods when they know not how they came by them .

2. True Faith is at first minute and small , like a grain of Mustard seed ; it is full of doubts and fears ; it is smoaking flax ; it smoaks with desire , but doth not flame with comfort ; it is so small , that a Christian can hardly discern whether he hath Faith or no.

3. True Faith is long in working , non sit in instanti — It costs many searchings of heart ; many Prayers , and Tears ; there is a spiritual Combat ; the Soul suffers many sore Pangs of Humiliation before the Child of Faith be born ; they whose Faith is per saltum , they leap out of sin into a confidence that Christ is theirs ; I say as Isaac concerning his Sons Venison , Gen. 27.20 . How is it that thou hast found it so quickly ? How is it that thou comest by thy Faith so soon ? The Seed in the Parable which sprung up suddenly withered , Mark . 4.5 . Solent praecocia subito flaccescere .

4. True Faith is ioyn'd with Sanctity ; as a little Bezoar is strong in operation , and a little Musk sweetens ; so a little Faith purifies ; 1 Tim. 3.9 . Holding the mistery of Faith in a pure Conscience . Faith though it doth but touch Christ , fetcheth an healing vertue from him . Justifying Faith doth that in a spiritual sence , which miraculous Faith doth ; it removes the Mountains of sin , and casts them into the Sea of Christs ●lood .

5. True Faith will trust God without a Pawn . Though a Christian be cut short in Provisions , the Fig-tree doth not blossom , yet he will trust in God : Fides Famem non formidat — Faith fears not Famine . God hath given us his Promise as his Bond , Psal. 37.3 . Verily thou shalt be fed ; Faith puts this Bond in suit : God will rather work a Miracle than His promise shall fail . He hath cause to suspect his Faith , who saith he trusts God for the greater , but dares not trust him for the lesser ; he trusts God for Salvation , but dares not trust him for a livelihood

6. True Faith is Prolifical , it brings for Fruit ; Faith hath Rachel's Beauty , and Leah's Fruitfulness : Fides pinguescit operibus , Luther , Faith is full of good works ; Faith believes as if it did not work , and it works as if it did not believe ; Faith is the spouslike grace which marries Christ , and good works are the Children which Faith bears ; by having such a Faith we may know the kingdom of God is within us : Grace is certainly in our Hearts .

3. We may know the kingdom of Grace is come into our hearts , by having the noble grace of Love : Faith and Love are the two Poles on which all Religion turns ; Cant. 1.4 . The Vpright love thee . True Love is to love God out of Choice ; Love turns the Soul into a Seraphin , it makes it burn in a flame of Affection : Love is the truest Touchstone of Sincerity : Love is the Queen of the Graces , it commands the whole Soul , 2 Cor. 5.4 . If our Love to God be Genuine and Real , we let him have the Supremacy , we set him in the highest room of our Soul , we give him the purest of our Love ; Cant. 8.2 . I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine , of the juice of my Pomgrenate . If the Spouse had any thing better than other , a Cup more juicy and spiced , Christ should drink of that : We give the Creature the Milk of our Love , but God the Cream . In short , if we love God aright , we love his Laws ; we love his picture drawn in the Saints , by the Pencil of the Holy Ghost ; we love his Presence in his Ordinances . Sleidan saith , the Protestants in France had a Church which they call'd Paradise ; as if they thought themselves in Paradise , while they had Gods Presence in his Sanctuary . The Soul that loves God , loves his appearing , 2 Tim. 4.8 . It will be a glorious appearing to the Saints , when their Union with Christ shall be compleat , then their joy shall be full . The Bride longs for the marriage day : The Spirit and the Bride say come , Even so come Lord Iesus , Rev. 22.17 . By this Sacred Love we may know the Kingdom of God is within us .

4. We may know the Kingdom of Grace is come into our hearts by Spiritualizing the Duties of Religion ; 1 Pet. 2.5 . Ye are an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices . Spiritualizing Duty consists in three things .

1. Fixedness of Mind . 2. Fervency of Devotion . 3. Uprightness of Aim .

1. Fixedness of Mind : Then we Spiritualize Duty when our Minds are fixed on God ; 1 Cor. 7.35 . That ye may attend on the Lord without distraction . Though impertinent thoughts sometimes come into the heart in Duty , yet they are not allowed , Psal. 119.13 . they come as unwelcome guests , which are no sooner spyed but they are turned out .

2. Fervency of Devotion ; Rom. 12.11 . Fervent in Spirit , serving the Lord : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 : 'T is a Metaphor alludes to Water that seeths and boyls over ; so the Affections boyl over , the Eyes melt in tears , the Heart flowes in holy ejaculations . We not only bring our offering to God but our hearts .

3. Uprightness of Aim : An heart that is upright hath three ends in Duty . 1. That he may grow more like God : As Moses on the Mount had some of Gods Glory reflected on him ; his face shined . 2 That he may have more communion with God ; 1 Iohn 1.6 . our 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Our fellowship is with the Father . 3. That he may bring more Glory to God , 1 Pet. 4.11 . Phil. 1.20 . That Christ may be magnified . Sincerity aimes at God in all ; though we shoot short yet we take a right aim : This is a sure evidence of Grace , the Spiritualizing Duty . The Spirits of Wine are best ; so is the Spiritual part of Duty . A little Spiritualness in Duty is better than all the gildings of the Temple , or outward pompous Worship , which doth so dazzle carnal eyes .

5. We may know the Kingdom of Grace is come into us by antipathy and opposition against every known sin ; Psal. 119.104 . I hate every false way : Hatred is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Arist. against the whole kind . Hatred is implacable . Anger may be reconciled , hatred cannot . A gracious Soul not only forsakes sin , ( as a Man forsakes his Country never to return to it more ) but hates sin ; as there 's an antipathy between the Crocadile and the Scorpion . If the Kingdom of God be within us , we not only hate sin for Hell , but we hate it as Hell ; as being contrary to Gods Holiness and our Happiness .

6. We may know the Kingdom of Grace is come into us when we have given up our selves to God by obedience : As a Servant gives up himself to his Master , as a Wife gives up her self to her Husband , so we give up our selves to God by obedience ; and this obedience is , 1. Free ; as that is the sweetest honey which drops from the comb . 2. Uniform ; we obey God in one thing as well as another , Psal. 119.6 . Then shall I not be ashamed ; or as it is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I shall not blush when I have respect to all thy commandments . A good Christian is like a pair of Compasses , one foot of the Compass stands upon the Centre , the other part of it goes round the Circle ; so a Christian by Faith stands on God the Centre , and by Obedience goes round the Circle of Gods Commandments , a sign the Kingdom of Grace is not come into the heart , when it doth not reign there by universal Obedience . Hypocrites would have Christ to be their Saviour , but they pluck the government from his shoulders , they will not have him rule ; but he who hath the Kingdom of God within him , submits chearfully to every command of God ; he will do what God will have him do , he will be what God will have him be . He puts a blank Paper into Gods hand , and saith , Lord , write what thou wilt , I will subscribe . Blessed is he that can find all these things in his Soul ; He is all glorious within , Psal. 45.13 . he carries a Kingdom about him ; and this Kingdom of Grace will certainly bring to a Kingdom of Glory .

I shall answer some Doubts and Objections a Christian may make against himself .

Object . I Fear the Kingdom of Grace is not yet come into my heart ?

Answ. When a Christian is under temptation , or Grace lies dormant , he is not fit to be his own judge , but in this case he must take the witness of others who have the Spirit of discerning : But let us hear a Christians Objections against himself why he thinks the Kingdom of Grace is not yet come into his heart .

Object . 1. I cannot discern Grace ?

Answ. A Child of God may have the Kingdom of Grace in his heart yet not know it . The Cup was in Benjamins sack , though he did not know it was there ; thou mayest have Faith in thy heart , the Cup may be in thy sack , though thou knowest it not . Old Iacob wept for his Son Ioseph , when Ioseph was alive ; thou mayest weep for want of Grace when Grace may be alive in thy heart . The seed may be in the ground when we do not see it spring up ; the seed of God may be sown in thy heart , though thou dost not perceive the springing of it up ; think not Grace is lost because it is hid .

Object . 2. Before the Kingdom of Grace come into the heart there must be some preparation for it ? The fallow ground of the heart must be broken up ; I fear the plough of the Law hath not gone deep enough , I have not been humbled enough , therefore I have no Grace ?

Answ. God doth not prescribe a just proportion of sorrow and humiliation : The Scripture mentions the truth of sorrow but not the measure : Some are more flagitious ●inners than others , these must have a greater degree of humiliation . A knotty piece of Timber requires more wedges to be driven into it : Some Stomachs are fouler than others , therefore need stronger Physick . But wouldst thou know when thou hast been humbled enough for sin ? 1. When thou art weary of thy sin , and sick of love to Christ . What doth God require sorrow for , but as sawce to make Sin rellish bitter , and Christ sweet . 2. When thou art willing to let go thy sins . Then the Gold hath lain long enough in the Furnace when the dross is purged out ; so when the love of sin is purged out , a Soul is humbled enough to divine acceptation , though not to divine satisfaction . Now if thou art humbled enough , ( though not so much as others ) what needs more ? Frustra fit per plura , &c. If a Needle will let out the Imposthume , what needs a Launce ? Be not more cruel to thy self than God would have thee .

Object . 3. If the Kingdom of God were within me , it would be a Kingdom of Power , it would inable me to serve God with vigour of Soul , but I have a spirit of infirmity upon me , I am weak and impotent , and untuned to every holy action ?

Answ. There is a great difference between the weakness of Grace and the want of Grace . A Man may have Life though he be sick and weak . Weak Grace is not to be despised , but cherished . Christ will not break the bruised reed . Do not argue from the weakness of Grace to the nullity .

1. Weak Grace will give us a Title to Christ as well as a strong . Weak Faith justifies as well as a strong . A weak hand of Faith will receive the Almes of Christs merit .

2. Weak Faith is capable of growth . The seed springs up by degrees ; first the blade and then the ear , and then the full corn in the ear ; the Faith that is strongest was once in its infancy . Grace is like the waters of the Sanctuary which did rise higher and higher : Be not discouraged at thy weak Faith ; though it be now but blossoming it will by degrees come to more maturity .

3. The weakest Grace shall persevere as well as the strongest . A sucking Child was as safe in the Ark as Noah . An infant-believer that is but newly laid to the breast of a Promise is as safe in Christ as the most eminent heroick Saint .

Object . 4. I fear the Kingdom of Grace is not yet come , because I find the Kingdom of Sin so strong in me . Had I Faith it would purifie my heart , but I find much Pride , Worldliness , Passion .

Answ. The best of the Saints have remainders of corruption ; Dan. 7.12 . They had their dominion taken away , yet their lives were prolonged for a season : So in the regenerate , though the dominion of sin be taken away , yet the life of it is prolonged for a season . What pride was there in Christs own Disciples , when they strove which should be greatest . The issue of sin will not be quite stopped till death The Lord is pleased to let the in-being of sin continue to humble his people , and make them prize Christ the more ; but because you find corruptions stirring , do not therefore presently un-saint your selves , and deny the Kingdom of Grace to be come into your Souls : That you feel sin is an evidence of Spiritual Life , that you mourn for sin , what are these tears but fruits of love to God ? That you have a combate with sin argues antipathy against it ; those sins which you did once wear as a crown on your head , are now as fetters on the leg , is not all this from the Spirit of Grace in you ? Sin is in you as poyson in the body , which you are sick of , and use all Scripture-antidotes to expel . Should we condemn all those who have the in-dwelling of sin ; nay , who have had sin ( at some times ) prevailing , we should blot some of the best Saints out of the Bible .

Object . 5. Where the Kingdom of Grace comes , it softens the heart , but I find my heart frozen and congealed into hardness , I can hardly squeeze out one tear ? Do Flowers grow on a Rock , can there be any Grace in such a rocky heart ?

Answ. 1. There may be grief , where there are no tears : The best sorrow is rational . In your judgment you esteem sin the most hyperbolical evil , you have a disgust and displacency against sin ; this is a rational sorrow , and such as God will accept .

2. A Christian may have some hardness in his heart , yet not have an hard heart ; subjectum a praestantiori parte . A field may have Tares in it , yet we call it a field of Wheat ; in the best heart is a mixture of hardness , yet because there is some softness and melting God looks upon it as a soft heart ; therefore Christian dispute not against thy self ; if thou canst find but one thing , that the frame and temper of thy Soul be holy ; art thou still breathing after God , delighting in him , is the complexion of thy Soul Heavenly ? Canst thou say as David , Psal. 139.17 . When I awake I am still with thee . As Colours laid in Oyl , or a Statue carved in Gold , abide , so doth an holy complexion , the Soul is still pointing towards God : If it be thus with thee , assure thy self the Kingdom of Grace is come into thy Soul ; be not unkind to God to deny any work of his Spirit which he hath wrought in thee .

VSE I. Of Exhortation , Labour to find that this Kingdom of Grace is set up in your hearts ; while others aspire after Earthly Kingdoms , labour to have the Kingdom of God within you ; Luke 17.21 . The Kingdom of Grace must come into us before we can go into the Kingdom of Glory . Motives ,

1. Motive . This Kingdom of God within us is our Spiritual Beauty ; the Kingdom of Grace adorns a person , and sets him off in the eyes of God and Angels : This makes the Kings daughter all glorious 〈◊〉 ; Psal. 45.13 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Chrys. Grace sheds a glory and lustre upon 〈◊〉 Soul . As the Diamond to the Ring , so is Grace to the Soul . An heart beautified with Grace , hath the King of Heavens picture hung in it .

2. Motive . The Kingdom of Grace set up in the heart is our Spiritual Defence . Grace is called the armour of light , Rom. 13.12 . It is light for beauty , and armour for defence . He who hath the Kingdom of Grace within him is strengthened with all might according to Gods glorious power , Col. 1.11 . he hath the shield of Faith , the helmet of Hope , the breast-plate of Righteousness : This armour can never be shot through , it fortifies a Christian against the assaults of Temptation , and the terrours of Hell .

3. Motive . The Kingdom of Grace set up in the heart brings Peace with it , Rom. 14.17 . The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace : There is a secret Peace breeds out of Holiness . Peace is the best Blessing of a Kingdom : Pax una triumphis innumeris melior — The Kingdom of Grace is a Kingdom of Peace ; Grace is the root , Peace is the flower grows out of it , it is Pax in procella , such Peace that no worldly affliction can shake . The doors of Solomons Temple were made of Olive-tree , carved with open flowers , 1 Kings 6.32 . in a gracious heart is the olive of Peace , and the open flowers of Joy .

4. Motive . The Kingdom of Grace enricheth the Soul : A Kingdom hath its riches . A Believer is said to be rich in faith , Iam. 2.5 . how rich is he who hath God for his God , who is heir to all the Promises ; Heb. 6.17 . A Man may be rich in Bills and Bonds ; a Believer , though he may say as Peter , Silver and gold have I none , Acts 3.6 . yet he is rich in Bills and Bonds , he is Heir to all Gods Promises ; and to be Heir to the Promise is better than to be Heir to the Crown .

5. Motive . When the Kingdom of Grace comes it doth fix and establish the heart ; Psal. 57.7 . O God my heart is fixed . Before the Kingdom of Grace comes , the heart is very unfixed and unsettled , like a Ship without a ballast , like Quick-silver that cannot be made to fix ; but when the Kingdom of Grace comes it doth stabilire animum , it fixeth the heart upon God ; and when the heart is fixed , it rests quiet as in its center .

6. Motive . This Kingdom of Grace is distinguishing ; it is a sure pledge of Gods love . God may give Kingdoms in anger , but where ever the Kingdom of Grace is set up it is in love ; God cannot give Grace in anger : The Crown alwayes goes with this Kingdom ; let us therefore be ambitious of this Kingdom of Grace .

Quest. How shall we do to obtain this Kingdom ?

Answ. 1. In General , Take pains for it : We cannot have the World without labour , and do we think to have Grace ? If thou seekest her as silver , Prov. 2.3 . A Man may as well expect a crop without sowing , as Grace without labour . We must not think to have Grace as Israel had Manna , they did not plough or sow , but it was rained down from Heaven upon them ; no , we must operam dare , take pains for Grace . Our Salvation cost Christ blood , it will cost us sweat .

2. Let us go to God to set up this Kingdom of Grace in our hearts ; God is called the God of all grace , 1 Pet. 5.10 . Say , Lord , I want this Kingdom of Grace , I want an humble believing heart , O enrich me with Grace , let thy Kingdom come ; and be importunate suitors . As Achsah said to her Father Caleb , Iosh. 15.19 . Thou hast given me a south-land , give me also springs of water : So Lord , thou hast given me enough of the World , here is a South-land , but Lord give me the upper springs of Grace , let thy Kingdom come . What is the Venison thou hast given me without the Blessing : When we are importunate with God , and will take no denyal , then he will set up his Kingdom within us .

3. Keep close to the Word preached ; the Word preached is virga virtutis ; the rod of Gods strength , it is the great engine God useth for the setting up the Kingdom of Grace in the heart ; Rom. 10.17 . Faith comes by hearing : Though God could work Grace immediately by his Spirit , or by the ministry of Angels from Heaven , yet he chooseth to work by the Word preached ; this is the usual means by which he sets up the Kingdom of Grace in the heart ; and the reason is , because he hath put his divine sanction upon it , he hath appointed it for the means of working Grace , and he will honour his own Ordinance : 1 Cor. 1.21 . What reason could be given why the Waters of Damascus should not have as soveraign vertue to heal Naamans Leprosie as the Waters of Iordan , only this , because God did appoint and sanctifie the Waters of Iordan to heal and not the other : Therefore let us keep to the Word preached , because the power of God goes along with it .

VSE II. Such as have this Kingdom of God set up in them , it calls for gratulation and thanksgiving : What will you be thankful 〈…〉 not for a Kingdom ? Grace is the best Blessing , it is the result and product of Gods electing love : God in setting up his kingdom of grace , hath done more for you ●han if he had made you Kings and Queens ; for now you are born of God , and of the Blood-Royal of Heaven . O admire and exalt free Grace ; Make Gods p●●ise glorious , Psal. 66.2 . The Apostle seldom mentions the work of Grace , but he joyns praise , Col. 1.12 . Giving thanks to the Father , who hath made us meet for the inheritance of the Saints in light . If God hath crowned you with the Kingdom of Grace , do you crown him with your Praises .

2. The Second thing intended by our Saviour in this Petition is , That the Kingdom of Grace may encrease , that it may come more into us : And this may answer a Question :

Quest. Why do we pray , Thy Kingdom come , when the Kingdom of Grace is already come into the Soul ?

Answ. Though the kingdom of grace be already come into us , yet still we must pray , Thy Kingdom come ; namely , that grace may be encreased , and that this kingdom may flourish still more in our Souls . Till we come to live among the Angels we shall need to pray this Prayer , Thy Kingdom come , Lord , let thy kingdom of grace come in more power into my Soul , let grace be more augmented and encreased .

Quest. 1. When doth the Kingdom of Grace increase in the Soul , when is it a flourishing Kingdom ?

Answ. 1. When a Christian hath further degrees added to his graces , there 's more oyl in the lamp ; his knowledge is clearer , his love is more inflamed : Grace is capable of degrees , and may rise higher as the Sun in the Horizon . It is not with us as it was with Christ , who received the Spirit without measure ; Iohn 3.34 . Christ could not be more holy than he was ; but our Grace is receptive of further degrees , we may have more sanctity , we may add more cubits to our spiritual stature .

2. Then the kingdom of Grace increaseth when a Christian hath gotten more strength than he had ; Iob 17.9 . He that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger . Hebr. Iosiphometz , He shall add to his strength . A Christian hath strength to resist temptation , to forgive his enemies , to suffer affliction ; 't is not easie to suffer , a Man must deny himself ere he take up the Cross : The way to Heaven is like the way which Ionathan and his Armour-bearer had in climbing up a steep place , 1 Sam. 14.4 . There was a sharp rock on the one side , and a sharp rock on the other : It requires much strength to climb up this rocky way . That Grace which will carry us through Prosperity , will not carry us through Sufferings : The Ship needs stronger tackling to carry it through a storm than a calm . Now when we are so strong in Grace that we can bear up under affliction without murmuring or fainting ; here is the kingdom of grace increased . What mighty strength of grace had he who told the Emperour Valentinian , you may take away my Life , but you cannot take away my love to the Truth .

3. Then the Kingdom of Grace encreaseth , when a Christian hath most conflict with Spiritual Corruptions ; he not only abstains from gross Evils , but hath a Combat with inward , hidden , close Corruptions ; as Pride , Envy , Hypocrisy , vain Thoughts , carnal Confidence , these are spiritual Wickednesses , and do both defile , and disturb ; 2 Cor. 7.1 . Let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit . Which shows there are two sorts of Corruptions , one of the Flesh , the other of the Spirit ; when we grieve for , and combat with spiritual Sin , ( as being the Root of all gross sins ) Now the Kingdom of Grace encreaseth , and spreads its Territories in the Soul .

4. Then the kingdom of grace flourisheth , when a Christian hath learned to live by Faith ; Gal. 2.20 . I live by the Faith of the Son of God . There is the Habit of Faith , and the drawing of this Habit into exercise : For a Christian to graft his hope of Salvation only upon the stock of Christs Righteousness , and make Christ all in Justification ; to live on the Promises as the Bee on the Flower , and suck out the sweetness of them ; to trust God where we cannot trace him ; to believe his Love thorough a Frown ; to perswade our selves when he hath the Face of an Enemy , yet he hath the Heart of a Father ; when we are arrived at this , here is the Kingdom of Grace flourishing in our Souls .

5. When a Christian is arrived at holy Zeal : Numb. 25.13 Phinehas was zealous for his God . Zeal is the Flame of the Affections , it turns a Saint into Seraphim : A zealous Christian is impatient when God is dishonoured , Rev. 2.2 . he will wrestle with difficulties , he will swim to Christ through a sea of blood , Act. 21.13 . Zeal loves truth when it is dispised and opposed : Psal. 119.126 . They have made void thy Law , therefore I love thy Law . Here is grace encreasing like the Sun in the Horizon : Zeal resembles the Holy Ghost . Acts. 2.2 . There appeared cloven Tongues like as of fire , and it sate upon each of them . Tongues of fire were an Emblem of that fire of zeal which the Spirit poured upon them .

6. Then the Kingdom of Grace encreaseth , when a Christian is as well diligent in his particular Calling , as devout in his general . He is the wise Christian that carries things equally , that doth so live by Faith , that he lives in a Calling : Therefore it is worth our Notice , when the Apostle had exhorted the Thessalonians to encrease in grace , 1 Thess. 4.10 . he presently adds , ver. 11. And that ye do your own business , and work with your hands . This is a sign grace is encreasing , when Christians go chearfully about their Calling : Indeed to be all the day in the Mount with God , and to have the Mind fixed on glory , is more sweet to a Mans self , and is an Heaven upon Earth : But to be conversant in our Callings is more profitable to others . I may allude to that of St. Paul , To be with Christ is best for me ; yet to abide here is more needful for you , Phil. 1.24 . So to converse with God in Prayer , and sweet Meditation all the Week long , is more for the Comfort of a Mans own Person ; but to be sometimes employed in the business of a Calling is more profitable for the Family to which he belongs : 'T is not good to be as the Lillies , which toyl not , neither do they spin . It shows the encrease of grace when a Christian keeps a due Decorum . He joins Piety and Industry , when zeal runs forth in Religion , and Diligence is put forth in a Calling .

7. Then the Kingdom of grace encreaseth , when a Christian is established in the belief and love of the Truth . The heart by nature is as a Ship without Ballast , it wavers and fluctuates . Beza writes of one Bolezius , his Religion changed as the Moon and Planet Mercury Such as are wandering stars , will be falling stars : But when a Soul is built on the Rock Christ , and no winds of Temptation can blow it away ; now the kingdom of grace flourisheth . One calls Athanasius , Adamas Ecclesiae , an invincible Adamant , in respect of his stability in the Truth , Col. 2.7 . rooted and built up in him ; the rooting of a Tree evidenceth the growth .

8. Then the kingdom of grace encreaseth in a Mans own Heart , when he labours to be instrumental , to set up this kingdom in others : Though it is the greatest benefit to have grace wrought in our selves , yet it is the greatest honour to be instrumental to work it in others ; Gal. 4.19 . of whom I travail in birth , till Christ be formed in you . Such as are Masters of a Family should endeavour to see the kingdom of grace set up in their Servants : Such as are godly Parents , let not God alone by prayer , till you see grace in your Children : What a comfort would it be to you , to be both the Natural , and the Spiritual Fathers of your Children . Austin saith his Mother Monica travailed with greater care and Pain for his new birth , then his natural . This shows the encrease of grace , when we labour to see the kingdom of grace set up in others ; then the water abounds in the River , when it overflows , and runs into the Meadows ; then grace encreaseth in the Soul , when it hath influence upon others , and we endeavour their Salvation .

2. Quest. Wherein appears the needfulness of this , that the Kingdom of Grace should be encreased ?

1. This is Gods design in keeping up a standing Ministry in the Church , to encrease the kingdom of grace in mens hearts ; Eph. 4.8 . He gave Gifts unto Men , that is , Ministerial Gifts : Why so ? ver. 12. for the edifying of the Body of Christ ; not only for Conversion , but for augmentation : Therefore the Word preached is compared not only to Seed , but to Milk ; because by this Breast-milk God designs our growth in grace .

2. We had need have the kingdom of grace encrease , in respect we have a great deal of work to do , and a little grace will hardly carry us thorow ; a Christians Life is laborious ; so many Tentations to resist ; so many Promises to believe ; so many Precepts to obey , that it will require a great deal of grace : A Christian must not only pray , but pray fervently , Iam. 5.16 . not only repent , but be zealous and repent , Rev 3.19 . not only love , but be sick of Love , Cant. 2.5 . How had he need therefore have the kingdom of grace enlarged in his Soul , as his work encreaseth upon him , so his grace had need encrease .

3. If the kingdom of grace doth not encrease , it will decay , Rev. 2.4 . Thou hast left thy first love ; grace for want of encreasing is sometimes like a Winter Plant , all the Sap runs to the root , and it looks as if it were dead , Rev. 3.2 . Strengthen the things that remain , which are ready to dye : Though grace cannot expire , it may wither , and a withering Christian loseth much of his Beauty and Fragrancy ; what great need then have we to pray Thy Kingdom come , that this kingdom of grace may be encreased ; if grace be not improved it will soon be impaired : A Christian for want of encreasing his grace loseth his strength , he is like a sick Man , that cannot either walk , or work ; his prayers are sick and weak , he is as if he had no life in him , his Faith can hardly fetch breath , and you can scarce feel the Pulse of his Love to beat .

4. To have grace encreasing is suitable to Christianity : Christians are called Trees of Righteousness , Isa. 61.3 . The Saints are not only Jewels for sparkling Lustre , but Trees for growth , they are called the Lights of the World , Phil 2.15 . Light is still encreasing . First there is the Crepusculum or Day-break , and so it shines brighter to the Meridian . They who are the Lights of the World must encrease till they come to the Meridian of Glory . Not to grow is suspicious ; painted things grow not .

5. As the Kingdom of Grace increaseth , so a Christians Comforts increase . Comfort belongs to the bene esse , or well-being of a Christian ; it is like sweet-meat , delicious to the taste , Psal. 94.19 . The more grace , the more joy ; as the more Sap in the Root , the more Wine in the Grape . Who did more increase in Grace than David , and who more in Consolation ? Psal. 4.7 . Thou hast put Gladness in my heart : Grace turns to joy , as the Milk to cream .

3 Qu. How may they be comforted , who bewail their want of growth , and weep that they cannot find the Kingdom of Grace encrease ?

Resp. 1. To see and bewail our decay in Grace , argues not only the life of Grace , but growth . 'T is a sign a Man recovers and gets strength , when he feels his weakness : It is a step forward in Grace to see our Imperfections : The more the Spirit shines in the Heart , the more evil it discovers : A Christian thinks it worse with him then it was , whereas his Grace may not grow lesser , but his Light greater .

2. If a Christian doth not encrease in one Grace , he may in another ; if not in knowledge , he may in Humility . If a Tree doth not grow so much in the Branches , it may in the Root ; to grow downwards in the Root is a good growth .

3. A Christian may grow less in Affection , when he grows more in Iudgment . As a Musician when he is Old , his fingers are stiff , and not so nimble at the Lute as they were , but he plays with more Art and Judgment than before : So a Christian may not have so much Affection in Duty as at the first Conversion , but he is more solid in Religion , and more setled in his Judgment than he was before .

4. A Christian may think he doth not encrease in Grace , because he doth not encrease in Gifts ; whereas there may be a decay of natural parts , the Memory and other Faculties , when there is not a decay of Grace . Parts may be impaired when Grace is improved : Be not discouraged , it is better to decay in parts and be enlarged in Grace , then to be enlarged in parts , and to decay in Grace .

5. A Christian may encrease in Grace , yet not be so sensible of it : The Seed may grow in the Earth , when we do not perceive it to spring up : The Grace may grow in time of Desertion , and not be perceived . So I have done with the first thing intended in this Petition , Thy Kingdom come ; we pray that the Kingdom of Grace may come into our Hearts , and that it may encrease and flourish .

I should come to the second thing intended in this Petition , that the Kingdom of Glory may hasten , and that we may in due time be translated into it .

When we pray thy Kingdom come , here is something positively intended ; we pray , 1. That the Kingdom of Grace may be set up in our Hearts . 2. That it may encrease and flourish . 3. That the Kingdom of Glory may hasten , and that God would in his due time translate us into it .

1. What this Kingdom of Glory is . 2. What are the Properties of it . 3. Wherein it exceeds all other Kingdoms . 4. When this Kingdome comes . 5. Wherein appears the Certainty of it . 6. Why we should pray for its coming .

1. What this Kingdom of Glory is .

Answ. By this Kingdom is meant that glorious Estate which the Saints shall enjoy , when they shall reign with God and Angels for ever . If a Man stand upon the Sea-shore , he cannot see all the Dimensions of the Sea , the length , breadth , and depth of it ; yet he may see it is of a vast Extension . So though the Kingdom of Heaven be of that incomparable Excellency , that neither Tongue of Man , or Angels can express , yet we may conceive of it to be an exceeding glorious thing , such as eye hath not seen .

Concerning the Kingdom of Heaven , I shall show , What , 1. It Implies . 2. It imports .

1. What it implies .

Answ. It implies , A blessed Freedom from all Evil.

2. What it imports .

Answ. It Imports glorious Fruition of all good .

1. What the Kingdom of Heaven implies .

Resp. It implies a blessed freedom from all evil .

1. A freedom from the Necessities of Nature : We are in this Life subject to many Necessities : We need Food to nourish us , Cloathes to cover us , Armour to defend us , Sleep to refresh us : But in the Kingdom of Heaven there is no need of these things ; and it is better not to need them then to have them ; as it is better not to need Crutches , then to have Crutches . What need will there be of Food when our Bodies shall be made spiritual ; 1 Cor. 15.44 . Though not spiritual for substance , yet for qualities . What need will there be of Clothing , when our Bodies shall be like Christs glorious Body ; what need will there be of Armour when there is no Enemy ; what need will there be of Sleep when there is no Night , Rev. 22.5 . The Saints shall be freed in the Heavenly Kingdom from those Necessities of Nature to which now they lye exposed .

2 In the Kingdom of Heaven we shall be freed from the Imperfections of Nature . Since the Fall our Knowledge hath suffered an Eclipse .

1. Our Natural Knowledge is imperfect , it is checkered with Ignorance . There are many 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , hard Knots in Nature , which we cannot easily unty : Why the Sea should be higher then the Earth , yet not drown it ? What way the Light is parted ▪ Iob 38.24 . What is the reason of all the occult Qualities , Sympathies , and Antipa●●●es ? He who sees clearest hath a Mist before his Eyes . Socrates said on his Death-bed , there were many things he had yet to learn . Our Ignorance is more then our Knowledge .

2. Our Divine Knowledge is imperfect ; we know but in part , said Paul , 1 Cor. 13.9 . though he had many Revelations , and was wrapt up into the third Heaven We have but dark Conceptions of the Trinity ; Iob 11.7 . Canst thou by searching find out God ? our narrow Capacities will no more contain the Trinity , then a little Glass-Vial will hold all the Water in the Sea ; we cannot unriddle the Mistery of the Incarnation ; the Humane Nature assumed into the Person of the Son of God ; the Humane Nature not God , yet united with God : We see now in aenigmate , in a Glass darkly : but in the Kingdom of Heaven the Vail shall be taken off , all Imperfections of Nature shall be done away . When the Sun-light of Glory shall begin to shine in the Heavenly Horizon , all dark shadows of Ignorance shall flye away , our Lamp of Knowledge shall burn bright , we shall have a full knowledge of God , though not know him fully .

3. In the Kingdom of Heaven we shall be freed from the toylsome Labours of this Life . God enacted a Law in Paradise , In the sweat of thy Brows thou shalt eat Bread , Gen. 3.9 . There is the Labour of the Hand in Manufacture , and the Labour of the Mind in Study ; Eccl. 1.8 . All things are full of Labour ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven we shall be freed from our Labours .

( 1. ) There needs no Labour , when a Man hath got to the Haven he hath no more need of failing . In Heaven there needs no Labour , because the Saints shall have that Glory which they laboured for .

( 2. ) There shall be no Labour , Rev. 14.13 . They rest from their Labours . As God when he had finished the Work of Creation rested from his Labours , Gen. 2.2 . So when the Saints have finished the Work of Sanctification , they rest from their Labours . Where should there be rest but in the Heavenly Center ? Not that this sweet rest in the Kingdom of Heaven excludes all Motion , for Spirits cannot be idle ; but the Saints Glorified shall rest from all wearisome Imployment ; it shall be a labour full of ease , a Motion full of Delight : The Saints in Heaven shall love God , and what labour is that ? Is it any Labour to love Beauty ? They shall praise God , and that sure is delightful ▪ When the Bird sings , it is not so much a Labour as a pleasure .

4. In the Kingdom of Heaven we shall be freed from Original Corruption : This is causa causati , the root of all Actual Sin . There would be no Actual Sin if there were no Original ; there would be no Water in the Stream , if there were none in the Fountain . Original Sin is incorporated into our Nature , 't is as if the whole mass of Blood were corrupted . This makes a Christian weary of his Life ; he offends that God whom he loves . What would a Christian give to have his Chains taken off , to be rid of vain thoughts . How did Paul ( that bird of Paradise ) bemoan himself for his Sins , Rom. 7.24 . we cannot act either our Duties or Graces without Sin . The Soul that is most refined and clarified by Grace ; is not without some dregs of Corruption ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven the Fountain of Original Sin shall be quite dryed up ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 : What a blessed time will that be , never to grieve Gods Spirit more . In Heaven are Virgin Souls ; there is Beauty which is not stained with Lust ; nothing enters there that defiles : Rev. 21.27 .

5. In the Kingdom of Heaven we shall be freed from all sorrows , Rev. 21.4 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , There shall be no more sorrow . Our Life here is interlarded with trouble , Psal. 31.10 . either Losses grieve , or Law-suits vex , or Unkindness breaks the heart . We may as well separate moisture from Air , or weight from Lead , as Troubles from Mans Life ; Quid est diu vivere nisi diu torqueri ? Aug. but in the Kingdom of Heaven sorrow and sighing shall fly away . Here the Saints sit by the Rivers weeping , but one smile from Christs Face will make them forget all their Sufferings ; their Water then shall be turned into Wine , their Mourning into Musick .

6. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven be freed from the immodesty of temptation . Satan is not yet fully east into Prison , but is like a Prisoner that goes under bail , he walks about tempting , he labours to trappan us into sin , he is either laying of snares or shooting of darts . Stat in procinctu Diabolus . He laid a train of temptation to blow up the castle of Iobs Faith . This is a great grief to a Believer to be followed with temptations to sin , as it is for a Virgin to have her Chastity assaulted ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven the Saints shall be freed from the Red Dragon ; he is cast out of Paradise , and shall be for ever lock'd up in Chains ; Iude 6 :

7. In the Kingdom of Heaven we shall be freed from all vexing cares . The Greek word for care 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , comes from a Primitive that signifies to cut the heart in pieces . Care discruciates the Mind , it wasts the Spirits , it eats out the comfort of Life . Care is an evil spirit that haunts us . Care to prevent future dangers and preserve present co 〈…〉 ▪ all care is full of fear , and fear is full of torment ; 1 Iohn 4.18 . God threatens it as a Judgment , Ezek. 12.19 . They shall eat their bread with carefulness . Every Comfort hath its Care , as every Rose its Prickle ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven we shall shake off this viper of Care . What needs a Saint glorified to take any Care , who hath all things provided to his hand ? There is the Tree of Life , bearing all sorts of Fruit. When the Heart shall be freed from Sin , the Head shall be freed from Care .

8. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven be freed from all Doubts and Scruples . In this Life the best Saint hath his doubtings , as the brightest Star its twinkling . If there were no doubtings there would be no unbelief : Assurance it self doth not exclude all doubting , Psal. 26.3 . Thy loving kindness is before mine eyes ; but at another time , Psal. 89.49 . Lord , where are thy former loving kindnesses ? A Christian is like a Ship at Anchor , which though it be safe , yet it may sometimes be tossed upon the Water . Sometimes a Christian questions his interest in Christ , and his title to the Promise ; and these doubtings , as they eclipse a Christians Comfort , so they are a bearing false witness against the Spirit : But when the Saints shall come into the Kingdom of Heaven there shall be no more doubtings ; then a Christian shall say as Peter , Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent his Angel , and delivered me , Acts 12.11 . So , now I know that I am passed from Death to Life , now I am got beyond all Rocks , I have shot the gulph , now I am in my Saviours embraces for ever .

9. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven be freed from all society with the Wicked . Here we are forced sometime to be in their company ; Psal. 120.5 . Wo is me that I dwell in Mesech , and sojourn in the tents of Kedar . Kedar was Ishmaels Son , whose Children dwelt in Arabia , a profane , barbarous People . Here the Wicked are still raising Persecutions against the Godly , and crucifying their eares with their Oaths and Curses . Christs Lilly is among Thorns , but in the Heavenly Kingdom there shall be no more any pricking bryar ; Matth. 13.41 . The Son of man shall send forth his Angels , and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend . As Moses said , Exod. 14.13 . Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord , for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day ye shall see them again no more for ever : So will God say , Stand still and see the Salvation of God ; these your enemies that vex and molest you , you shall see them again no more for ever : At that day God will separate the precious from the vile ; then Christ will throughly purge his Floor , he will gather the Wheat into the Garner , and the Wicked , which are the Chaff , shall be blown into Hell .

10. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven be freed from all signs of Gods displeasure . Here God may be angry with his People . Though he hath the heart of a Father , he may have the look of an enemy ; this is sad . As when the Sun is gone the Dew falls ; when the Light of Gods Face is gone , Tears drop from the Saints Eyes ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven there shall be no spiritual eclipses , there shall never appear any tokens of Gods displeasure ; the Saints shall have a constant aspect of Love from God , they shall never complain any more , as Cant. 5.6 . My beloved hath withdrawn himself .

11. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven be freed from all Divisions . That which is the saddest thing in the World is to see divisions among them that are good . 'T is sad that such as have one Faith , yet should not be of one Heart ; Ephraim envies Iudah , and Iudah vexeth Ephraim : 'T is matter of tears to see those who are united to Christ to be divided one from another . The Soldiers spear pierced Christs side , but the divisions of Saints wound his heart ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven there shall be no vilifying one another , or censuring : Those who before could hardly pray together , shall praise God together , there shall not be one jarring string in the Saints Musick

12. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven be freed from Vanity and Dissatisfaction . What Solomon saith of Wisdom , Iob 28.14 . The depth saith , it is not in me : and the sea saith , it is not with me : The same may I say concerning satisfaction , every Creature faith , It is not in me . Take things most pleasing , and which we promise our selves most content from , still out the Spirits and purest Quintessence of them , and we shall say as he did , Eccles. 2.11 . And behold all was vanity . God never did or will put a satisfying vertue into any Creature . In the sweetest musick the World makes , either there is some string wanting , or out of tune . Who would have thought that Haman , who was so great in the Kings favour , He set his seat above all the princes of the provinces , Esther 3.1 . yet for want of the bowing of a knee , he was dissatisfied ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven we shall be freed from these dissatisfactions . The World is like a Landskip , you may see Gardens and Fruit-trees curiously drawn in the Landskip but you cannot enter into them , but you may enter into the Joyes of Heaven , Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord ; the Soul shall be satisfied while it bathes in those rivers of pleasure at Gods Right-hand ; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness : Psal. 17.15 . Thus you see what the Kingdom of Glory implyes ; Namely , A Blessed Freedom from all Evil.

13. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven be freed from the Torments of Hell , 1 Thess. 1.10 . Iesus which delivered us from the wrath to come .

( 1. ) The multiplicity of these Torments . In this Life the Body is usually exercised but with one pain , the Stone or Head-ache , but in Hell there is a diversity of Torments , there is Darkness to affright , Fire to burn , a Lake of Sulphur to choke , Chains to bind , the Worm to gnaw .

( 2. ) The Torments of Hell will sieze upon every part both of Body and Soul ; the Eyes shall be tortured with the sight of Devils , the Tongue that hath swore so many Oaths shall be tortured , Luke 16.24 . Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water , and cool my tongue . The Memory shall be tormented to remember what Mercies have been abused , what seasons of Grace neglected ; the Conscience shall be tormented with self-accusations .

( 3. ) In the pains of Hell there is no mitigation , no mixture of Mercy . In this Life , God in Anger remembers Mercy , Hab. 3.2 . but in Hell there is no alleviation or lessening of the pains : As in the Sacrifice of Jealousie , Numb. 5.15 . God would have no Oyl or Frankincense put to it , so in Hell there is no Oyl of Mercy to lenifie the sufferings of the Damned ; no Incense of Prayer to appease Gods Wrath.

( 4. ) In the pains of Hell there is no intermission . The Poets feign of Endymion that he got leave of Iupiter alwayes to sleep . What would the damned in Hell give for one hours sleep ? Rev. 14.11 . They rest not day nor night ; they are perpetually upon the rack .

( 5. ) In the pains of Hell there is no expiration ; they must alwayes lye scorching in flames of Wrath ; Rev. 14.11 . The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever : but in the Heavenly Kingdom the Elect shall be freed from all infernal torments ; Jesus hath delivered us from the Wrath to come . A Prison is not made for the Kings Children . Christ drank that bitter cup of Gods Wrath , that the Saints might never drink it .

2. In the Kingdom of Heaven there is a Glorious Fruition of all Good . Had I as many Tongues as Hairs on my Head , I could not fully describe this ; I may say as Iudg. 18.9 , 10. Heaven is called , The excellent Glory , 2 Pet. 1.17 . I may as well span the Firmament , or drain the Ocean , as set forth the Glory of this Kingdom . Caelum non habet Hyperbolem , The Kingdom of Heaven is beyond all Hyperbole Were the Sun ten thousand times brighter than it is , it could not parallel the lustre of this Kingdom ; Apelles Pensil would blot , Angels Tongues would lessen it : I can but give you the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or dark shadow of it , expect not to see it in all its orient colours till you are mounted above the Stars . But let us not stand afar off , as Moses , to behold this Canaan , but enter into it and taste the honey . Concerning the Fruitions and Priviledges of the Heavenly Kingdom .

1. We shall have an immediate Communion with God himself , who is the inexhausted Sea of all Happiness : This Divines call , The Beatifical Vision . The Psalmist did triumph in that enjoyment he had of God in this Life , Psal. 73.25 . Whom have I in Heaven but thee ? If God enjoyed by Faith doth give so much Comfort to the Soul , how much more when he is enjoyed by immediate Vision . Here we see God but darkly through the glass of Ordinances , but in the Kingdom of Heaven , we shall see him face to face ; 1 Cor. 13.12 . we shall have an intellectual sight of God , i. e. we shall see him with the eyes of our mind ; we shall know God as much as the Angels in Heaven do , Matth. 18.10 1 Cor. 13.12 . We shall know as we are known . We shall have a full knowledge of God , though not know him fully ; as a Vessel in the Sea is full of the Sea , though it holds not all the Sea . To see and enjoy God will be most delicious ; in God are beams of Majesty and bowels of Mercy ; God hath all Excellencies concentred in him , bonum in quo omnia bona . If one Flower should have the sweetness of all Flowers , how sweet would that Flower be ? All the beauty and sweetness which lyes scattered in the Creature is infinitely to be found in God ; therefore to see and enjoy him will ravish the Soul with delight . We shall so see . God as to love him , and be made sensible of his Love ; and when we shall have this sweet Communion with God , then God shall be all in all , 1 Cor. 15.28 . Light to the eye , Manna to the taste , Musick to the ear .

2. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven , with these eyes , see the Glorified Body of Jesus Christ . This our Saviour makes a great part of the Glory of Heaven , to view the Glory of his Humane Nature , Iohn 17.24 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , That they may behold my glory . When Christ was transfigured upon Earth , it is said , That his face did shine as the sun , and his rayment was white as the light ; Matth. 17.2 . If the Glory of his Transfiguration was so great , what will the Glory of his Exaltation be ? Much of the Glory of God shines in Christ by vertue of the Hypostatical Union , Col. 2.9 . In whom dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily . Through Christs Humanity , as through a bright mirrour , we may see some beams of the Divine Majesty shine forth ; put a back of Steel to a Glass , and you may see a Face in it . Christs Humane Nature is as a back of Steel put to the Divine Nature ; through this we may see God , and then our Capacities shall be enlarged to a wonderful degree to receive this glorious object ; and we shall not only see Gods Glory , but some of his Glory shall be put upon us ; non tantum aderit Gloria sed inerit , Bern. A Beggar may behold the Glory of a King and not be the happier , but Christs Glory shall be ours ; We shall be like him , 1 Iohn 3.2 . we shall shine by his beams .

3. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven , enjoy the society of innumerable company of Angels , Heb. 12.22 .

Quest. But is there not enough in God to fill the Soul with delight ? Can the sight of Angels add to the Souls happiness ? What need is there of the light of Torches when the Sun shines ?

Answ. Besides the Divine Essence , the sight of Angels is desirable ; much of Gods curious workmanship shines in the Angels ; the Angels are beautiful , glorious Creatures ; and as the several strings in a Lute make the harmony sweeter , and the several Stars make the Firmament brighter , so the society with Angels will make the delight of Heaven the greater , and we shall not only see the Angels with the glorified eye of our understanding , but converse with them .

4. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven have sweet society with Glorified Saints ; then the Communion of Saints will be illustrious . O what a blessed time will it be , when those who have prayed , wept , suffered together , shall rejoyce together ; we shall see the Saints in their white Linnen of Purity , and see them as so many Crowned Kings ; in beholding the Saints Glorified we shall behold an Heaven full of Suns . Some move the Question whether we shall know one another in Heaven : Surely our knowledge shall not be diminished but increased . It is the Judgment of Luther and Anselm , and many other Divines , that we shall know one another , yea , the Saints of all Ages whose Faces we never saw ; and when we shall see the Saints in Glory without their spots , viz. their infirmities , Pride and Passion , this will be a glorious sight . We see how Peter was transported when he saw but two Prophets in the Transfiguration , Matth. 17.3 . but what a blessed sight will it be when we shall see such a Glorious Company of Prophets , and Martyrs , and Holy Men of God : How sweet will the Musick be when they shall all sing together in consort in the Heavenly Quire : And tho' in this great Assembly of Saints and Angels , one Star may differ from another in Glory , yet no such weed as Envy shall ever grow in the Paradise of God ; then there shall be perfect Love , which as it casts out Fear , so also Envy ; though one Vessel of Glory may hold more than another , yet every Vessel shall be full .

5. In the Kingdom of Heaven there shall be incomprehensible Joy . Aristotle saith , Ioy proceeds from Vnion . When the Saints Union with Christ is perfected in Heaven , then their Joy shall be full ; all the birds of the Heavenly Paradise sing for Joy . What Joy when the Saints shall see the great gulph shut , and know that they are passed from Death to Life ; what Joy when they are as holy as they would be , and as God would have them to be ; what Joy to hear the Musick of Angels , to see the golden banner of Christs Love displayed over the Soul , to be drinking that Water of Life which is quintessential , and is sweeter than all Nectar and Ambrosia ; what Joy when the Saints shall see Christ clothed in their Flesh , sitting in Glory above the Angels , then they shall enter into the joy of their Lord , Matth. 25.21 . Here Joy enters into the Saints in Heaven ▪ they enter into joy . O thou Saint of God who now hangest thy harp upon the Willows , and minglest thy drink with weeping , in the Kingdom of Heaven thy Water shall be turned into Wine , you shall have so much felicity that your Souls cannot wish for more . The Sea is not so full of Water , as the Heart of a Glorified Saint is of Joy ; there can be no more Sorrow in Heaven than there is Joy in Hell .

6. In Heaven there is honour and dignity put upon the Saints : A Kingdom imports honour . All that come into Heaven are Kings ; they have 1. a Crown , Rev. 2.10 . dabo tibi , the Crown of Life ; Corona est insigne regiae potestatis . This Crown is not lined with Thorns , but hung with Jewels ; it is a never-fading Crown , 1 Pet. 5.4 . 2. The Saints in Heaven have their Robes ; they exchange their Sackcloth for white Robes , Rev. 7.9 . I beheld a great multitude which no man could number , clothed in white robes . Robes signifie their Glory , White their Sanctity . And 3. They sit with Christ upon the Throne : Rev. 3.21 . We read 1 Kings 6.33 . the doors of the Holy of Holies were made of Palm-trees , and open Flowers covered with Gold ; an emblem of that victory and that garland of Glory which the Saints shall wear in the Kingdom of Heaven . When all the Titles and Ensigns of Worldly honour shall lye in the dust , the Mace , the Silver Star , the Garter , then shall the Saints honour remain .

7. We shall in the Kingdom of Heaven have a blessed Rest. Rest is the end of motion ; Heaven is Centrum quietativum animae , the blessed Centre where the Soul doth acquiesce and rest . In this Life we are subject to unquiet motions and fluctuations , 2 Cor. 7.5 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , We are troubled on every side ; like a Ship on the Sea , having the waves beating on both sides ; but in the Kingdom of Heaven there is Rest , Heb. 4.9 . How welcome is Rest to a weary Traveller ? When Death cuts asunder the string of the Body , the Soul as a Dove flyes away and is at Rest. This Rest is when the Saints shall lye on Christs bosom , that hive of sweetness , that bed of perfume .

8. The Saints shall in the Kingdom of Heaven have their Bodies richly bespangled with Glory ; they shall be full of Clarity and Brightness , as Moses Face shined , that Israel were not able to behold the Glory ; Exod. 34 30. The Bodies of the Saints shall shine seven times brighter than the Sun , saith Chrysostome ; they shall have such a resplendency of Beauty on them , that the Angels shall fall in love with them ; and no wonder , for they shall be made like Christs glorious body ; Phil. 3.21 . The Bodies of Saints glorified need no Jewels , when they shall shine like Christs Body .

9. In the Heavenly Kingdom is Eternity ; 't is an eternal fruition , they shall never be put out of the Throne ; Rev. 22.5 . They shall reign for ever and ever . It is called the everlasting kingdom , 2 Pet. 1.11 . and an eternal weight of Glory , 2 Cor. 4.17 . The Flowers of Paradise , of which the Saints Garland is made , never wither . If there could be a cessation of Heavens Glory , or the Saints had but the least fear or suspicion of losing their Felicity , it would infinitely abate and cool their Joy ; but their Kingdom is for ever , the Rivers of Paradise cannot be dryed up , Psal. 16.11 . At thy right hand are pleasures for evermore . The Kingdom of Heaven was typified by the Temple which was built with Stone , covered with Cedar , over-laid with Gold , to show the fixed permanent state of Glory , that Kingdom abides for ever . Well may we pray , Thy Kingdom come :

Having spoken of the Kingdom of Grace , and how we may know that Kingdom is set up in our Hearts : I am next speaking of the Kingdom of Glory , or Heaven .

1. What is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven . 2. What are the Properties of this Kingdom . 3. Wherein this Heavenly Kingdom excels all the Kingdoms upon Earth . 4. When this Kingdom shall be bestowed . 5. Wherein appears the Certainty and Infallibility of it . 6. Why we should pray for the coming of this Kingdom .

1. Quest. What is meant by the Kingdom of Heaven ?

Resp. 1. It imports a blessed freedom from all evil . 2. It implies a glorious fruition of all good . ( 1. ) Immediate communion with God , who is the inexhausted Sea of all Happiness . ( 2. ) A visible beholding the glorified Body of Jesus Christ . ( 3. ) A glorious Vision of Saints and Angels . ( 4. ) Dignity and Honour , the Crown and white Robes . ( 5. ) A blessed Rest.

Quest. 2. What are the Properties or Qualifications of the Kingdom of Heaven .

Resp. 1. The Glory of this Kingdom is solid and substantial ; the Hebrew word for Glory , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies a Weight , to show how solid and weighty the Glory of the Caelestial Kingdom is : The Glory of the worldly Kingdom is Aery and imaginary ; like a blazing Comet , or Fancy : Act. 25.23 . Agrippa and Bernice came with a great Pomp , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 with a great Fancy . Iob. 26.7 . The Earth hangs like a Ball in the Air without any thing to uphold it : The Glory of the Heavenly Kingdom is substantial , it hath twelve Foundations , Rev. 21.14 . That which God and Angels count Glory , is true Glory .

2. The Glory of this Kingdom is satisfying , Psal. 36.9 . With thee is the Fountain of Life . How can they choose but be full , who are at the Fountain head ? Psal. 17.15 . When I awake I shall be satisfied with thy Likeness . i. e. When I awake in the Morning of the Resurrection , having some of the Beams of thy Glory shining in me , I shall be satisfied . Iob 28.14 . The Creature saith concerning Satisfaction , It is not in me : If we go for Happiness to the Creature , we go to the wrong Box ; only Heavens Glory is commensurate to the vast Desires of an Immortal Soul : A Christian bathing himself in these Rivers of Pleasure , cries out in a Divine Extasy , I have enough : The Soul is never satisfied till it hath God for its Portion , and Heaven for its Haven ; Dissatisfaction ariseth from some defect , but God is an Infinite Good , and there can be no defect in that which is Infinite .

3. The Glory of Heavens Kingdom is pure and unmix'd ; the Streams of Paradise are not muddied , omnia clara , omnia jucunda ; there that Gold hath no alloy ; no bitter ingredient in that Glory , but pure as the Honey drops from the Comb ; there is a Rose grows without Prickles , the Rose of Sharon ; there is Ease without Pain ; Honour without Disgrace ; Life without Death .

4. The Glory of this Kingdom is constantly exhilarating and refreshing ; there 's fulness but no surfeit . Worldly Comforts though sweet , yet in time grow stale : A Down-bed pleaseth a while , but within a while we are weary and would rise . Too much Pleasure is a pain : But the Glory of Heaven doth never surfeit or nauseate ; the reason is , because as there are all Rarities imaginable , so every Moment fresh Delights spring from God into the glorified Soul .

5. The Glory of this Kingdom is distributed to every individual Saint : In an Earthly Kingdom the Crown goes but to one , a Crown will fit but one Head ; but in that Kingdom above , the Crown goes to all ; Rev. 1.6 . All Elect are Kings . The Land is settled chiefly upon the Heir , and the rest are ill provided for : But in the Kingdom of Heaven all the Saints are Heirs ; Rom. 8.17 . Heirs of God , and 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Co-heirs with Christ . God hath Land enough to give to all his Heirs .

6. Lucid and Transparent . This Kingdom of Heaven is adorned and bespangled with Light : 1 Tim. 6.16 . Light is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 the Glory of the Creation , Eccl. 11.7 . The Light is sweet : Hell is a dark Dungeon , Mat. 22.13 . Fire but no Light . The Kingdom of Heaven is a Diaphanum , all imbroidered with Light , clear as Christal . How can there want light where Christ the Sun of Righteousness displaies his Golden Beams ; Rev. 21.23 . The Glory of the Lord did lighten it , and the Lamb is the Light thereof .

7. The Glory of this Kingdom is adequate and proportionable to the desire of the Soul ; In Creature-Fruitions , that which doth commend them and set them off to us is Suitableness : The Content of Marriage doth not lye either in Beauty or Portion , but the suitableness of Disposition . The Excellency of a Feast is when the Meat is suited to the Pallat : This is one ingredient in the Glory of Heaven , it exactly suits the desires of the glorified Saints ; we shall not say in Heaven , Here is a Dish I do not love ! There shall be Musick suits the Ear , the Anthems of Angels ; and Food that suits with the glorified Pallat , the hidden Manna of Gods Love .

8. The Glory of this Kingdom will be seasonable ; the seasonableness of a Mercy adds to the Beauty and sweetness ; it is like Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver . After an hard Winter in this cold Climate , will it not be seasonable to have the Spring Flowers of Glory appear , and the singing of the Birds of Paradise come ? When we have been wearied and even tired out in battle with sin and Satan , will not a Crown be seasonable ?

3. Quest. Wherein the Kingdom of Heaven infinitely excels all the Kingdoms of the Earth ?

Resp. 1. It excels in the Architect : Other Kingdoms have Men to raise their Structures , but God himself laid the first Stone in this Kingdom , Heb. 11.10 . This Kingdom is of the greatest Antiquity ; God was the first King , and Founder of it ; no Angel was worthy to lay a Stone in this Building .

2. This Heavenly Kingdom excels in Altitude ; 't is higher scituated than any Kingdom ; the higher any thing is , the more excellent : The Fire being the most sublime Element is most Noble . The Kingdom of Heaven is seated above all the visible Orbs : There is first the Aery Heaven , which is the space from the Earth to the Sphere of the Moon 2. The Starry Heaven , the place where are the Planets of an higher Elevation , Saturn , Iupiter , Mars . 3. The Caelum Empyraeum the Empyraean Heaven , which Paul calls the third Heaven : Vbi Christ is , there is the Kingdom of Glory scituated . This Kingdom is so high , that no Scaling Ladders of Enemies can reach it ; so high that the old Serpent can't shoot up his fiery Darts to it . If wicked Men could build their Nests among the Stars , yet the least Believer would shortly be above them .

3. The Kingdom of Heaven excels all other in Splendor and Riches ; it is described by precious Stones , Rev. 21.19 . What are all the Rarities of the Earth to this Kingdom ? Coasts of Pearl ? Rocks of Diamonds ? Islands of Spices ? What are the Wonders of the World to it ? The Egyptian Pyramides ? The Temple of Diana ? The Pillar of the Sun offered to Iupiter ? What a rich Kingdom is that where God will lay out all his cost ? Those who are poor in the World , yet as soon as they come into this Kingdom , grow rich , as rich as the Angels : Other Kingdoms are inriched with Gold , this is inriched with the Deity .

4. The Kingdom of Heaven excels all other Kingdoms in Holiness : Kingdoms on Earth are for the most part unholy ; there 's a Common Shore of Luxury and Uncleanness running in them : Kingdoms are Stages for sin to be acted on ; Isa. 28.8 . All Tables are full of Vomit : But the Kingdom of Heaven is so holy that it will not mix with any Corruption , Rev. 21.27 . There shall enter into it nothing that defileth . 'T is so pure a Soyl , that no Serpent of Sin will breed there : There is Beauty which is not stained with Lust ; and Honour which is not swelled with Pride : Holiness is the brightest Jewel of the Crown of Heaven .

5. The kingdom of Heaven excels all other kingdoms in its pacifick Nature ; 't is Regnum Paci● , a kingdom of Peace . Peace is the Glory of a Kingdom ; Pax una Triumphis innumeris melior . A Kings Crown is more adorned with the white Lilly of Peace , then when it is beset with the red Roses of a bloody War ; but where shall we find an un-interrupted Peace upon Earth ? Either home-bred Divisions , or Forreign Invasions ; 2 Chron. 15.5 . There was no Peace to him that went out , or to him that came in . But the kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom of Peace ; there are no Enemiest o conflict with ; all Christs Enemies shall be under his Feet , Psal. 110.1 . The Gates of that kingdom alwaies stand open ; Rev. 21.25 . The Gates shall not be shut at all ; to show , that there 's no fear of an assault of an Enemy ; the Saints when they dye are said to enter into Peace , Isa. 57.2 . There 's no beating of Drums , or roaring of Canons , but the Voice of Harpers harping in token of Peace : Rev. 14.2 . In Heaven Righteousness and Peace kiss each other .

6. The Kingdom of Heaven excels in Magnitude ; 't is of vast Dimensions ; though the Gate of the kingdom be strait , we must pass into it through the strait Gate of Mortification ; yet when once we are in it is very large ; though there be an innumerable Company of Saints and Angels , yet there is room enough for them : The kingdom of Heaven may be called by the Name of that Well , Gen. 26.22 . Iacob called the Name of it Rehoboth , for he said , now the Lord hath made room for us . Thou who art now confin'd to a small Cottage , when thou comest into the Caelestial kingdom thou shalt not be straitened for room : As every Star hath a large Orb to move in ; so it shall be with the Saints when they shall shine as Stars in the kingdom of Heaven .

7. The Kingdom of Heaven excels in Unity ; all the Inhabitants agree together in Love : Love will be the Perfume and Musick of Heaven ; as Love to God will be intense , so to the Saints : Perfect Love as it casts out Fear , so it casts out Envy and Discord . Those Christians who could not live quietly together on Earth , ( which was the Blemish of their Profession ) yet in the kingdom of Heaven the fire of Strife shall cease ; there shall be no vilifying , or censuring one another , or raking into one anothers sores ; but all shall be tied together with the Heart-strings of Love ; there Luther and Suinglius are agreed ; Satan cannot put in his Cloven Foot there to make Divisions ; there shall be perfect Harmony and Concord , and not one jarring String in the Saints Musick : It were worth dying to be in that kingdom .

8. This kingdom exceeds all Earthly in Joy and Pleasure ; therefore it is called Paradise , 2 Cor. 12 : 4. for delight : There are all things to cause Pleasure ; there is the Water of Life pure as Christal ; there 's the Honey-comb of Gods Love dropping : 'T is called , entring into the Ioy of our Lord , Mat. 25.23 . There are two things cause Joy ;

( 1. ) Separation from Sin : Sin creates Sorrow ; but when this Viper of Sin shall be shaken off , then Joy follows ; there can be no more sorrow in Heaven , then there is Joy in Hell .

( 2. ) Perfect Union with Christ : Joy , as Aristotle saith , flows from Union with the Object . When our Union with Christ shall be perfect , then our Joy shall be full ; If the Joy of Faith be so great , 1 Pet 1.8 . then what will the Joy of Sight be : Ioseph gave his Brethren Provision for the way , but the full Sacks of Corn were kept till they came at their Fathers House : God gives the Saints a Tast of Joy here , but the full Sacks are kept till they come to Heaven ; not only the Organical Parts , the outward Sences , the Eye , Ear , Tast shall be filled with Joy : But the Heart of a Glorified Saint shall be filled with Joy , the Understanding , Will , and Affections are such a Triangle as none can fill but the Trinity : There must needs be infinite Joy where nothing is seen but Beauty ; nothing is tasted but Love .

9. This kingdom of Heaven excels all Earthly in self-perfection : Other kingdoms are defective , they have not all Provision within themselves , but are fain to trafick abroad to supply their wants at home ; King Solomon did send to Ophir for Gold , 2 Chron. 8.18 . But there is no defect in the kingdom of Heaven ; it hath all Commodities of its own growth , Rev 21.7 . there is the Pearl of Price , the Morning Star , the Mountains of Spices , the Bed of Love ; there are those sacred Rarities wherewith God and Angels are delighted .

10. This kingdom of Heaven excels all other in Honour and Nobility ; it doth not only equal them in the Ensigns of Royalty , the Throne and white Robes ; but it doth far transcend them : Other Kings are of the Blood-Royal ; but they in this Heavenly kingdom are born of God : Other Kings converse with Nobles ; the Saints Glorified are Fellow Commoners with Angels ; they have a more Noble Crown , 't is made of the Flowers of Paradise , and is a Crown that fadeth not away , 1 Pet. 5.4 . they sit on a better Throne : King Solomon ▪ 1 Kings 10.18 . sat on a Throne of Ivory overlaid with Gold ; but the Saints are in Heaven higher advanced ; they sit with Christ upon his Throne , Rev. 3.21 . they shall judge the Princes and great Ones of the Earth , 1 Cor. 6.2 . This honour have all the Saints Glorified .

11. This kingdom of Heaven excels all others in healthfulness : Death is a Worm that is ever feeding at the Root of our Gourd ; kingdoms are oft Hospitals of sick persons : But the kingdom of Heaven is a most healthful Climate ; Phisicians there are out of date ; no Distemper there ; no passing Bell , or Bill of Mortality ; Luke 20.36 . neither can they dye any more ; in the Heavenly Climate are no ill Vapours to breed Diseases ; but a sweet aromatical Smell coming from Christ ; all his Garments smell of Myrrh , Aloes , and Cassia .

12. This kingdom of Heaven excels in Duration , it abides for ever : Suppose Earthly kingdoms to be more glorious then they are , their Foundations of Gold , their Walls of Pearl , their Windows of Saphyre ; yet they are corruptible and fading ; Hos. 1.4 . I will cause the Kingdom to cease : Troy and Athens now lie buried in their Ruines , jam Seges est ubi Troja fuit . Mortality is the Disgrace of all Earthly kingdoms ; but the kingdom of Heaven hath Eternity written upon it ; it is an everlasting kingdom , 2 Pet. 1 . 1● . 't is founded upon a strong Basis , Go●s Omnipotency ; this kingdom the Saints shall never be turned out of , or be deposed from their Throne , as some Kings have been , viz. Hen. VI. &c. But shall reign , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , for ever and ever , Rev. 22.5 .

How should all this affect our Hearts ? What should we mind but this kingdom of Heaven , which doth more out-shine all the kingdoms of the Earth , then the Sun out-shines the Light of a Taper ?

4. Quest. When this Kingdom shall be bestowed ?

Resp. This Glory in the kingdom of Heaven shall be begun at death , but not perfected till the Resurrection .

1. The Saints shall enter upon the kingdom of Glory immediately after death , before their Bodies are buried their Souls shall be Crowned , Phil. 1.23 . having a desire 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to depart and be with Christ ; from this Connexion departing and being with Christ , we see clearly that there is a subitus transitus , speedy passage from death to Glory : No sooner is the Soul of a Believer divorced from the Body , but it presently goes to Christ , 2 Cor. 5.8 . absent from the Body , present with the Lord ; it were better for Believers to stay here , if immediately after death they were not with Christ in Glory ; for here the Saints are daily encreasing their Grace ; here they have many praelibamina , sweet tasts of Gods love , so that it were better to stay here if their Soul should sleep in their body , and they should not have a speedy sight of God in Glory : But this is the Consolation of Believers , they shall not stay long for their kingdom ; 't is but winking and they shall see God ; it will be a blessed change to a Believer ; from a Desert to a Paradise , from a bloody battle to a victorious Crown , and a sudden Change ; no sooner did Lazarus dye but he had a Convoy of Angels to conduct his Soul to the kingdom of Glory . You who now are full of bodily Diseases , scarce a well day , Psal. 31.10 . My Life is spent with Grief ; be of good Comfort , you may be happy before you are aware , before another Week or Month be over you may be in the kingdom of Glory , and then all tears shall be wiped away .

2. The Glory in the kingdom of Heaven will be fully perfected at the Resurrection and general day of Judgment ; then the Bodies and Souls of Believers will be re-united ; what Joy will there be at the Re-union and meeting together of the Soul and Body of a Saint ! O what a welcome will the Soul give to the Body ! O my dear Body thou didst oft joyn with me in Prayer , and now thou shalt joyn with me in Praise , thou wert willing to suffer with me , and now thou shalt reign with me , thou wert sown a vile Body , but now thou art made like Christs Glorious Body , we were once for a time divorc'd , but now we are married and Crowned together in a kingdom and shall mutually congratulate each others Felicity .

5. Quest. Wherein appears the Certainty and infallibility of this Kingdom of Glory ?

Resp. That this blessed kingdom shall be bestowed on the Saints , is beyond all Dispute .

1. God hath promised it , Luke 12.32 . It is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a Kingdom , Luke 22.29 . I appoint unto you a Kingdom , Gr. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I bequeath it as my last Will and Testament : Hath God promised a kingdom , and will he not make it good ? Gods promise is better then any Bond , Tit. 1.2 . In hope of eternal Life , which God , that cannot lye , hath promised . The whole Earth hangs upon the Word of Gods Power ; and cannot our Faith hang upon the Word of his Promise ?

2. There is a Price laid down for this kingdom ; Heaven is not only a kingdom which God hath promised , but which Christ hath purchased : 'T is called a purchased Possession , Eph. 1.14 . Though this kingdom is given us freely , yet Christ bought it with the Price of his blood ; Christs blood is an Heaven-procuring blood ; Heb. 10.19 . Having boldness to enter into the Holiest ( i. e. into Heaven ) by the blood of Iesus . Crux Christi Clavis Paradisi , Christs blood is the key that opens the Gates of Heaven to us ; should not the Saints have this kingdom , then Christ would lose his Purchase : Christ on the Cross was in hard Travail , Isa. 13.11 . he travailed to bring forth Salvation to the Elect ; should not they possess the kingdom when they dye , Christ should lose his Travail , all his Pangs and Agonies of Soul upon the Cross should be in vain .

3. Christ prays that the Saints may have this kingdom settled upon them , Iohn 17.24 . Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am , i. e. in Heaven . This is Christs Prayer that the Saints may be with him in his kingdom , and be bespangled with some of the Beams of his Glory ; now if they should not go into this heavenly kingdom , then Christs Prayer would be frustrated ; but that cannot be , for he is Gods Favourite , Iohn 11.42 . I know thou hearest me alwaies ; and besides what Christ prays for , he hath power to give : Observe the manner of Christs Prayer , Father , I will ; Father ; there he prays as Man , I will , there he gives as God .

4. The Saints must have this blessed kingdom by vertue of Christs Ascension , Iohn 20.17 . I ascend to my Father , and your Father , to my God , and to your God . Where lies the comfort of this ? here it lies , Jesus Christ ascended to take Possession of heaven for all Believers as an Husband , takes up Land in another Country in the behalf of his Wife , so Christ went to take possession of heaven in the behalf of all Believers , Iohn 14.2 . I go to prepare a place for you : My Ascension is to make all things ready against your coming : I go to prepare the heavenly Mansions for you : The Flesh that Christ hath taken into heaven is a sure Pledge that all our Flesh and Bodies shall be where he is ere long . Christ did not ascend to heaven as a private Person , but as a publick Person for the good of all Believers : his Ascension was a certain Fore-runner of the Saints ascending into heaven .

5. The Elect must have this blessed kingdom , in regard of the previous Works of the Spirit in their hearts ; they have the beginning of the kingdom of heaven in them here ; Grace is heaven begun in the Soul , besides God gives them primitias spiritus , the first Fruits of the Spirit , Rom. 8.23 . These First-fruits are the Comforts of the Spirit ; the First-fruits under the Law were a certain sign to the Jews of the full Crop or Vintage which they should after receive : The First-fruits of the Spirit consisting in Joy and Peace , do assure the Saints of the full Vintage of Glory they shall be ever reaping in the kingdom of God ; and the Saints in this Life are said to have the earnest of the Spirit in their hearts , 2 Cor. 5.5 . as an earnest is part of Payment , and an assurance of Payment in full to be made in due Time , So Gods Spirit in the hearts of Believers giving them his Comforts , bestows on them an earnest or tast of Glory , which doth further assure them of that full Reward which they shall have in the kingdom of heaven , 1 Pet. 1.8 . believing ye rejoyce , there is the earnest of heaven ; Verse 9. receiving the end of your Faith , Salvation , there is the full Payment .

6. The Elect must have this blessed Kingdom by virtue of their Coalition and Vnion with Jesus Christ . They are Members of Christ , therefore they must be where their Head is . Indeed , the Arminians hold that a justified person may fall from Grace , and so his Union with Christ may be dissolved , and the Kingdom lost ; but I would demand of them , can Christ lose a Member of his body ? then he is not perfect ; and if Christ may lose one Member of his Body , why not as well all by the same reason ? and so he shall be an head without a Body , but be assured a Believers Union with Christ cannot be broken , and so long he cannot be hindred of the kingdom , Iohn 17.12 . what was said of Christs natural Body is as true of his Mistical , Iohn 10.39 . A bone of him shall not be broken : Look how every Bone and Limb of Christs natural Body was raised up out of the Grave , and carried into Heaven , So shall every Member of his Mistical Body be carried up into Glory .

7. We read of some who have been translated into this Kingdom , Paul had a sight of it , for he was caught up into the third Heaven , 2 Cor. 12. and the converted Thief on the Cross was translated into Glory , Luke 23.43 . This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise . By all that hath been said it is most evident , That Believers have a glorious Kingdom laid up for them in reversion , and that they shall go to this Kingdom when they dye : There are none doubt of the certainty of the Heavenly Kingdom , but such as doubt of the Verity of Scripture .

6. Quest. Why we should so earnestly pray for this Heavenly Kingdom , Thy Kingdom come .

Resp. 1. Because , it is a kingdom worth praying for , it exceeds the glory of all earthly kingdoms ; it hath Gates of Pearl , Rev. 21.21 . We have heard of a Cabinet of Pearl , but when did we hear of Gates of Pearl ? In that Kingdom is the Bed of Love , the Mountains of Spices , there are the ●herubims not to keep us out , but to welcome us into the Kingdom : Heaven is a Kingdom worth praying for ; there 's nothing wanting in that Kingdom which may compleat the Saints happiness ; for , wherein doth Happiness consist ? Is it in knowledge ? We shall know as we are known : Is it in Dainty Fare ? We shall be at the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb : Is it in rich Apparel ? We shall be clothed in long White Robes : Is it in delicious Musick ? We shall hear the Quire of Angels singing : Is it in Dominion ? We shall reign as Kings , and judge Angels : Is it in Pleasure ? We shall enter into the Ioy of our Lord . Sure then this Kingdom is worth praying for , Thy Kingdom come . Would God give us a Vision of Heaven a while , as he did Stephen , who saw Heaven opened , Act. 7.56 . We should fall into a Trance , and being a little recovered out of it , how importunately would we put up this Petition , Thy Kingdom come .

2. We must pray for this kingdom of Glory , because God will not bestow this kingdom on any without Prayer ; Rom. 2.7 . They who seek for Glory and Immortality ; and how do we seek but by Prayer ? God hath promised a kingdom , and we must by Prayer put the Bond in suit ; God is not so lavish as to throw away a Kingdom on them who do not ask it ; and certainly if Christ himself who had merited Glory , did yet pray for it , Iohn 17.5 . Now O Father Glorify me with thy own self ; How much more ought we to pray for the Excellent Glory , who have this Kingdom granted as a Charter of Gods meer Grace and Favour .

3. We must pray that the kingdom of Glory may come , that by going into it we may make an end of sinning . I think sometimes what a blessed time it will be never to have a sinful thought more ; though we must not pray , Thy Kingdom come , out of discontent , because we would be rid of the troubles and crosses of this Life . This was Ionahs fault , he would dye in a pet , because God took away his gourd , Lord , saith he ; take away my life too ; Ionah 4.8 . But we must pray , Thy Kingdom come , out of an holy design that the fetters of corruption may be pulled off , and we may be as the Angels , those Virgin Spirits who never sin : This made the Church pray , Rev. 22.20 . Veni Domine Iesu.

4. Because that all Christs enemies shall be put under his feet ; the Devil shall have no more power to tempt , nor wicked Men to persecute ; the Antichristian-Hierarchy shall be pulled down , and Sions Glory shall shine as a lamp ; and the Turkish strength shall be broken .

5. We must pray earnestly that the kingdom of Glory may come , that we may see God face to face , and have an interrupted and eternal communion with him in the Empyrean Heaven . Moses desired but a glimpse of Gods Glory , Exod. 33.18 . how then should we pray to see him in all his embroidered Robes of Glory , when he shall shine ten thousand times brighter than the Sun in its Meridian splendour . Here in this Life we do rather desire God than enjoy him ; how earnestly therefore should we pray , Thy Kingdom of Glory come . The beholding and enjoying God will be the Diamond in the Ring the very Quintessence of Glory . And must we pray , Thy Kingdom come ; how then are they ever like to come to Heaven who never pray for it ? Though God gives some prophane persons Daily Bread who never pray for it , yet he will not give them a kingdom who never pray for it . God may feed them , but he will never crown them .

VSE I. Of Information .

1. Branch , From all this you see then that there is nothing within the whole sphere of Religion imposed upon unreasonable terms ; when God bids us serve him , it is no unreasonable request , he will out of Free-Grace inthrone us in a kingdom . When we hear of Repentance , steeping our Souls in brinish tears for sin ; or of Mortification , beheading our king sin , we are ready to grumble , and think this is hard and unreasonable . But do we serve God for nought ? Is it not infinite bounty to reward us with a Kingdom ? This Kingdom is as far above our thoughts , as it is beyond our deserts . No man can say without wrong to God , that he is an hard Master ; though he sets us about hard work , yet he is no hard Master : God gives double pay ; he gives great vails in his service , sweet Joy and Peace ; and a great reward after , an eternal weight of Glory . God gives the Spring flowers and a Crop ; he settles upon us such a Kingdom as exceeds our Faith , Praemium quod Fide non attingitur , Aug. Such as mortal eye hath not seen , nor can it enter into the heart of man to conceive , 1 Cor. 2.9 . Alas , what an infinite difference is there between Duty enjoyned , and the Kingdom prepared ? What is the shedding of a Tear to a Crown ? So that Gods commands are not grievous , 1 Ioh. 5.3 . our service cannot be so hard as a Kingdom is sweet .

2. Br. See hence the Royal Bounty of God to his Children , that he hath prepared a Kingdom for them . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrys ▪ A Kingdom bespangled with Glory : It is infinitely above the Model we can draw of it in our Thoughts . The Painter going to draw the Picture of Helena , as not being able to draw her Beauty to the Life , drew her Face covered with a Vail . So when we speak of the Kingdom of Heaven , we must draw a Vail , we cannot set it forth in all its Orient Beauty and Magnificence ; Gold and Pearl do but faintly shadow it out ; Rev. 21. the Glory of this Kingdom is better felt than expressed .

1. They who inherit this Kingdom are amicti stolis alhis , cloathed with white robes , Rev. 7.9 . White Robes denote three things : 1. Their Dignity ; the Persians were arayed in white , in token of honour . 2. Their Purity ; the Magistrates among the Romans were clothed in white , ergo called candidati , to show their integrity : Thus the Queen , the Lambs Wife , is arayed in fine linnen pure and white , which is the righteousness of the Saints , Rev. 19.8 . 3. Their Joy : White is an emblem of Joy ; Eccl. 9.7 . Eat thy bread with joy , let thy garments be alwayes white .

2. The dwellers in this Kingdom have Palms in their hands , Rev. 7.9 . in token of Victory . They are Conquerours over the World , and being Victors they now have Palm-branches .

3. They sit upon the Throne with Christ ; Rev. 3.21 . When Caesar returned from conquering his Enemies , there was set for him a Chair of State in the Senate , and a Throne in the Theatre . Thus the Saints in Glory , after their Heroick Victories , shall sit upon a Throne with Christ . Here is Royal Bounty in God to bestow such an illustrious Kingdom upon the Saints . 'T is a Mercy to be Pardoned , but what is it to be Crowned ? 'T is a Mercy to be delivered from Wrath to come , but what is it to be invested into a Kingdom ? Behold , what manner of love is this ! Earthly Princes may bestow great gifts and donatives upon their Subjects , but they keep the Kingdom to themselves . Though King Pharaoh advanced Ioseph to Honour , and took the Ring off his Finger and gave him , yet he would keep the Kingdom to himself , Gen. 41.40 . but God inthrones the Saints in a Kingdom ; God thinks nothing too good for his Children : We are ready to think much of a Tear , a Prayer , or to sacrifice a Sin for him , but he doth not think much to bestow a Kingdom upon us .

3. Br. See hence , that Religion is no ignominious disgraceful thing . Satan labours to cast all the odium and reproach upon it that he can ; that it is a devout Frenzy , Folly in grain ; Acts 28.22 . As for this sect , we know that it is every where spoken against ; but wise Men measure things by the end : What is the end of a Religious Life ? It ends in a Kingdom . Would a Prince regard the slightings of a few franticks when he is going to be Crowned ? You who are beginners , bind their reproaches as a Crown about your Head , despise their Censures as much as their Praise ; a Kingdom is a coming .

4. Br. See what contrary wayes the Godly and the Wicked go at Death ; the Godly go to a Kingdom , the Wicked to a Prison : The Devil is the Jaylor , and they are bound with the chains of darkness ; Iude 6. but what are these Chains ? Not Iron Chains , but worse ; the Chain of Gods Decree , decreeing them to torment , and the Chain of Gods Power , whereby he binds them fast under Wrath : This is the deplorable condition of impenitent Sinners , they do not go to a Kingdom when they dye , but to a Prison . O think what horrour and despair will possess the Wicked , when they see themselves ingulphed in misery , and their condition hopeless , helpless , endless ; they are in a fiery Prison , and no possibility of getting out . A Servant under the Law , who had an hard Master , yet every seventh year was a year of release when he might go free ; but in Hell there is no year of release when the damned shall go free ; the Fire , the Worm , the Prison are eternal . If the whole World from Earth to Heaven , were filled with grains of Sand , and once in a Thousand Years an Angel should come and fetch away one grain of Sand , how many Millions of Ages would pass before that vast heap of Sand would be quite spent ; yet , if after all this time the Sinner might come out of Hell there were some hope , but this word ever , breaks the Heart with despair .

5. Br. See then that which may make us in love with holy Duties . Every Duty Spiritually performed brings us a step nearer to the Kingdom : Finis dat amabilitatem mediis . He whose Heart is set on Riches counts Trading pleasant because it brings in Riches ; if our Hearts are set upon Heaven we shall love Duty because it brings us by degrees to the Kingdom ; we are going to Heaven in the way of Duty . Holy Duties increase Grace , and as Grace ripens , so Glory hastens ; the Duties of Religion are irksome to Flesh and Blood , but we should look upon them as Spiritual Chariots to carry us apace to the Heavenly Kingdom . The Protestants in France called their Church Paradise , and well they might , because the Ordinances did lead them to the Paradise of God . As every Flower hath its sweetness , so would every Duty , if we could look upon it as giving us a lift nearer Heaven .

6. Br. It shows us what little cause the Children of God have to envy the prosperity of the wicked ; Quis aerario , quis plenis loculis indiget , Sen. the wicked have the waters of a full cup wrung out to them , Psal. 73.10 . as if they had a monopoly of happiness ; they have all they can desire ; nay , they have more than heart can wish ; Psal. 73.7 . They steep themselves in pleasure ; Iob 21.12 . They take the timbrel , and harp , and rejoyce at the sound of the organ . The wicked are high , when Gods People are low in the World ; the Goats clamber up the Mountains of Preferment , when Christs Sheep are below in the Valley of Tears ; the Wicked are clothed in Purple while the Godly are in Sackcloth ; the prosperity of the wicked is a great stumbling block : This made Averroes deny a Providence , and made Asaph say , Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain , Psal. 73.12 . but there is no cause of envy at their prosperity , if we consider two things .

1. This is all they must have ; Luke 16.25 . Son , remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things ; thou hadst all thy Heaven here . Luther calls the Turkish Empire a bone which God casts to dogs .

2. That God hath laid up better things for his Children , he hath prepared a Kingdom of Glory for them ; they shall have the Beatifical Vision , they shall hear the Angels sing in Consort , they shall be Crowned with the Pleasures of Paradise for ever . O then envy not the flourishing prosperity of the Wicked ; they go through fair way to Execution , and the Godly go through foul way to Coronation .

7. Br. Is there a Kingdom of Glory a coming ? Then see how happy all the Saints are at Death , they go to a Kingdom ; they shall see Gods Face which shines ten thousand times brighter than the Sun in its Meridian Glory : The Godly at Death shall be installed into their Honour , and have the Crown-Royal set upon their Head . They have in the Kingdom of Heaven , the quintessence of all delights ; they have the Water of Life clear as Chrystal ; they have all Aromatick Perfumes ; they feed not on the Dew of Hermon , but the Manna of Angels ; they lye in Christs bosom , that bed of Spices . There is such a pleasant variety in the happiness of Heaven , that after millions of years it will be as fresh and desirable as at the first hours enjoying . In the Kingdom of Heaven the Saints are Crowned with all those Perfections which the Humane Nature is capable of . The desires of the Glorified Saints are infinitely satisfied ; there is nothing absent that they could wish might be enjoyed ; there is nothing present that they could wish might be removed : They who are got to this kingdom would be loath to come back to the Earth again , it would be much to their loss : They would not leave the fatness and sweetness of the Olive to court the Bramble ; the things which tempt us they would scorn . What are golden bags to the golden beams of the Sun of Righteousness ? In the kingdom of Heaven there is Glory in its highest elevation ; in that Kingdom is Knowledge without Ignorance , Holiness without Sin , Beauty without Blemish , Strength without Weakness , Light without Darkness , Riches without Poverty , Ease without Pain , Liberty without Restraint , Rest without Labour , Joy without Sorrow , Love without Hatred , Plenty without Surfeit , Honour without Disgrace , Health without Sickness , Peace without War , Contentation without Cessation . O the happiness of those that dye in the Lord , they go into this blessed kingdom ; and if they are so happy when they dye , then let me make two Inferences .

1. Infer . What little cause have the Saints to fear Death ; are any afraid of going to a Kingdom ? What is there in this World should make us desirous to stay here ? Do we not see God dishonoured , and how can we bear it ? Is not this World a valley of tears , and do we weep to leave it ? Are not we in a Wilderness among fiery Serpents ? And are we afraid to go from these Serpents ? Our best Friend lives above ; God is ever displaying the Banner of his Love in Heaven , and is there any Love like his ? Are there any sweeter smiles , or softer embraces than his ? What newes so welcome as leaving the World and going to a Kingdom . Christian , thy dying day will be thy wedding day , and dost thou fear it ? Is a Slave afraid to be redeemed ? Is a Virgin afraid to be match'd into the Crown ? Death may take away a few worldly Comforts , but it gives that which is better ; it takes away a Flower , and gives a Jewel ; it takes away a short lease and gives land of inheritance . If the Saints possess a Kingdom when they dye they have no cause to fear Death . A Prince would not be afraid to cross the Sea though tempestuous , if he were sure to be Crowned assoon as he came at shore .

2. Infer . If the Godly are so happy when they dye , they go to a Kingdom , then what little cause have we to mourn immoderately for the death of Godly Friends ; shall we mourn for their preferment ? Why should we shed tears immoderately for them who have all tears wiped from their eyes ? Why should we be swallowed up of grief for them who are swallowed up of joy ? They are gone to their Kingdom , they are not lost , but gone a little before , not perished but translated ; non amissi sed praemissi , Cyprian . They are removed for their advantage ; as if one should be removed out of a smoaky Cottage to a Pallace . Elijah was removed in a fiery Chariot to Heaven , shall Elisha weep inordinately because he enjoyes not the company of Elijah ? Shall Iacob weep when he knows his Son Ioseph is preferred , and made chief Ruler in Egypt ? We should not be excessive in grief when we know our Godly Friends are advanced to a Kingdom : I confess when any of our Relations dye in their impenitency , there is just cause of Mourning , but not when our Friends take their flight to Glory . David lost two Sons , Absalom a wicked Son , he mourned for him bitterly ; he lost the Child he had by Bathsheba , he mourned not when the Child was departed . St. Ambrose gives the reason , David had a good hope ; nay , assurance that the Child was translated into Heaven ; but he doubted of Absalom , he dyed in his Sins , therefore David wept so for him , O Absalom , My Son , my Son ; but though we are to weep to think any of our Flesh should burn in Hell , yet let us not be cast down for them who are so highly preferred at Death as to a Kingdom . Our Godly Friends who dye in the Lord , are in that blessed estate , and are crowned with such infinite delights , that if we could hear them speak to us out of Heaven , they would say , Weep not for us , but weep for your selves ; Luke 23.28 . We are in our Kingdom , weep not at our preferment , but weep for your selves , who are in a sinful sorrowful World ; you are tossing on the troublesome waves , but we are got to the Haven ; you are fighting with Temptations , while we are wearing a Victorious Crown . Weep not for us , but weep for your selves .

8. Branch , See the Wisdom of the Godly , they have the Serpents eye in the Doves head , wise virgins , Matth. 25.2 . their Wisdom appear , in their choice , they choose that which will bring them to a Kingdom ; they choose Grace , and what is Grace but the seed of Glory ? They choose Christ with his Cross , but this Cross leads to a Crown . Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God , Heb. 11.25 . it was a wise rational choice , he knew if he suffered he should reign . At the day of Judgment those whom the World accounted foolish will appear to be wise , they made a prudent choice , they chose Holiness , and what is Happiness but the quintessence of Holiness ? They chose affliction with the people of God ; but through this purgatory of affliction they pass to Paradise : God will proclaim the Saints Wisdom before Men and Angels .

9. Br. See the folly of those who for vain Pleasures and Profits will lose such a glorious Kingdom ; like that Cardinal of France who said , He would lose his part in Paradise if he might keep his Cardinalship in Paris : I may say as Eccles. 9.3 . Madness is in their heart . Lysimachus for a draught of Water lost his Empire ; so for a draught of sinful Pleasure these will lose Heaven . We too much resemble our Grand-Father Adam , who for an Apple lost Paradise ; many for trifles to get a Shilling more in the Shop or Bushel will venture the loss of Heaven . This will be an aggravation of the Sinners torment , to think how foolishly he was undone ; for a flash of impure Joy he lost an eternal weight of Glory . Would it not vex one who is the Lord of a Mannor , to think he should part with his stately Inheritance for a fit of Musick ? Such are they who let Heaven go for a song This will make the Devil insult at the last day to think how he hath gull'd Men , and made them lose their Souls and their happiness for lying vanities . If Satan could make good his brag , in giving all the Glory and Kingdoms of the World , it could not countervail the loss of the Celestial Kingdom . All the tears in Hell , are not sufficient to lament the loss of Heaven .

VSE II. Of Reproof .

1. Branch . It reproves such as do not at all look after this Kingdom of Glory : As if all we say about Heaven were but a Romance , they do not mind it . That they mind it not appears , because they do not labour to have the Kingdom of Grace set up in their hearts . If they have some thoughts of this Kingdom , yet it is in a dull careless manner , they serve God as if they served him not ; they do not vires exerere , put forth their strength for the Heavenly Kingdom . How industrious were the Saints of old for this Kingdom ; Phil. 3.13 . Reaching forth unto those things which are before : The Greek word is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , stretching out the neck ; a Metaphor from Racers that strain every limb , and reach forward to lay hold on the prize . Luther spent three hours a day in Prayer . Anna the prophetess departed not from the temple , but served God with fasting and prayers night and day , Luke 2.37 . How zealous and industrious were the Martyrs to get into this Heavenly Kingdom ! they wore their Fetters as Ornaments , snatched up Torments as Crowns , and embraced the Flames as chearfully as Elijah did the fiery Chariot , which came to fetch him to Heaven ; and do not we think this Kingdom worth our labour ? The great pains the Heathens took in their Olympick Races when they ran but for a Crown made of Olive intermixed with Gold , will rise up in Judgment against such as take little or no pains in seeking after the Kingdom of Glory . The dulness of many in seeking after Heaven is such , as if they did not believe there were such a Kingdom , or as if it would not countervail their labour , or as if they thought it were indifferent whether they obtained this Kingdom or no , which is as much as to say , whether they were saved or no , whether they were Crowned in Glory , or chained as Gally slaves in Hell for ever .

2. Branch . It reproves them who spend their sweat more in getting the World , then the Kingdom of Heaven , Phil. 3.19 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , who mind earthly things ; the World is the great Diana they cry up , as if they would fetch happiness out of the earth , which God hath cursed : They labour for and Honour Riches ; many are like Korah and Dathan , the earth swallowed them up , Num. 16.32 . So the earth swallows up their Time and Thoughts ; these , if they are not Pagans , yet they are Infidels ; they do not believe there is such a kingdom ; they go for Christians , yet question that great Article in their Faith , Life Everlasting ; these , like the Serpents , lick the dust . O what is there in the World that we should so idolize it ! when Christ and Heaven are not regarded ; what hath Christ done for you ? died for your sins ; what will the World do for you ? can it pacify an angry Conscience ? can it procure Gods Favour ? can it flee death ? can it bribe your Judge ? can it purchase for you a place in the kingdom of heaven ? O how are Men bewitched with worldly Profits and Honours ; that for these things , they will let go Paradise . It was a good prayer of St. Bernard , Sic possideam●u mundana , ut non perdamus aeterna — Lo , let us so possess things temporal , that we do not lose things eternal .

3. Branch . It reproves such who delay and put off seeking this kingdom till it be too late ; like the foolish Virgins who came when the door was shut ▪ Mora trahit periculum . People let the Lamp of Life blaze out , and when the Symptoms of death are upon them , and they know not what else to do , now will look up to the kingdom of Heaven : Christ bids them seek Gods kingdom first , and they will seek it last ; they put off the kingdom of heaven to a Death-bed , as if it were as easie to make their Peace as to make their Will. How many have lost the Heavenly kingdom through Delays and Procrastinations . Plutarch reports of Archias the Lacedemonian , being among his Cups , one delivered him a Letter and desired him to read it presently , being of serious business , saith he seria cras , I will mind serious things to morrow , and that Night he was slain . Thou that saiest thou wilt look after the kingdom of Heaven to morrow , knowest not , but that thou maiest be in Hell before to morrow : Sometimes death comes suddenly , it strikes without giving warning : What folly is it putting off seeking the kingdom of heaven , till the day of Grace expire , till the radical moisture be spent ; as if a Man should begin to run a Race when a fit of the Gout takes him .

4. Branch . It reproves such as were once great Zealots in Religion , and did seem to be touch'd with a coal from Gods Altar ; but since they have cool'd in their Devotion , and have left off the pursuing the Caelestial kingdom , Hos. 8.3 . Israel hath cast off the thing that is good ; there is no face of Religion to be seen , they have left off the House of Prayer and gone to Play houses ; they have left off pursuing the Heavenly Kingdom .

Quest. Whence is this ?

Resp. 1. For want of a supernatural Principle of Grace : That Branch must needs dye which hath no Root to grow upon : That which moves from a Principle of Life lasts ; as the beating of the Pulse ; but that which moves only from an artificial Spring ; when the spring is down the motion ceaseth : The Hypocrites Religion is artificial not vital , he acts from the outward spring of Applause or Gain , and if that spring be down his motion towards Heaven ceaseth .

2. From Unbelief , Heb. 3.12 . An evil heart of Vnbelief , departing from the living God . Psal. 78.22 . They believed not in God . Verse 41. they turned back — Sinners have hard thoughts of God , they think they may pray and hear , yet never the better , Mal. 3.14 . they question whether God will give them the kingdom at last , then they turn back , and throw away Christs Colours ; they distrust Gods Love , no wonder then they desert his Service ; Infidelity is the Root of Apostacy .

3. Men leave off pursuing the heavenly kingdom ; it is from some secret Lust nourished in the Soul , perhaps a wanton or a covetous Lust : Demas for love of the world forsook his Religion , and afterwards turned Priest in an idol Temple . One of Christs own Apostles was caught with a silver Bait : Covetousness will make Men betray a good Cause , and make shipwrack of a good Conscience ; if there be any Lust unmortified in the Soul , it will bring forth the bitter fruit either of Scandal or Apostacy .

4. Men leave off pursuing the Kingdom of Heaven out of Timorousness ; if they persist in Religion they may lose their Places of Profit , perhaps their Lives . The reason ( saith Aristotle ) why the Camelion turns into so many Colours , is through excessive fear . When Carnal fear prevails , it makes Men change their Religion , as fast as the Camelion doth its Colours : Many of the Iews who were great followers of Christ , when they saw the Swords and Staves deserted him . What Solomon saith of the Sluggard , is as true of the Coward , he saith , there is a Lyon in the way , Prov. 22.13 . he sees dangers before him , he would go on in the way to the Kingdom of Heaven , but there is a Lyon in the way . This is dismal , Heb. 10.38 . If any Man draw back , in Greek 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , if he steals as a Soldier from his Colours , my Soul shall have no pleasure in him .

VSE III. Of Tryal . Let us examine whether we shall go to this Kingdom when we dye ; Heaven is called a Kingdom prepared , Matth. 25.

Quest. How shall we know this Kingdom is prepared for us ?

Answ If we are prepared for this Kingdom .

Quest. How may that be known ?

Answ. By being Heavenly persons : An earthly heart is no more fit for Heaven than a Clod of Dust is fit to be a Star ; there is nothing of Christ or Grace in such an heart : It were a Miracle to find a Pearl in a Gold Mine ; and it is as great a Miracle to find Christ the Pearl of Price in an earthly heart : Would we go to the Kingdom of Heaven ? are we heavenly ?

1. Are we heavenly in our Contemplations ? do our Thoughts run upon this Kingdom ? do we get sometimes upon Mount Pisgah , and take a Prospect of Glory ? Thoughts are as Travellers ; most of Davids Thoughts travelled Heavens Road , Psal. 139.17 . Are our Minds heavenl●z'd , Psal. 48.12 . walk about Sion , tell the Towers thereof , mark ye well her Bulwarks : Do we walk into the Heavenly Mount , and see what a glorious Scituation it is ? Do we tell the Towers of that Kingdom ? While a Christian fixeth his Thoughts on God and Glory , he doth as it were tread upon the Borders of the Heavenly Kingdom , and he peeps within the Vail ; as Moses who had a sight of Canaan , though he did not enter into it ; so the heavenly Christian hath a sight of heaven , though he be not yet entred into it .

2. Are we heavenly in our Affections ? do we , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , set our Affections on the Kingdom of Heaven ? Col. 3.2 . If we are heavenly we despise all things below , in comparison of the Kingdom of God : We look upon the World but as a beautiful Prison ; and we cannot be much in love with our Fetters though they are made of Gold ; our heart is in Heaven . A Stranger may be in a Forreign Land to gather up his Debts owing him , but he desires to be in his own Kingdom and Nation ; so we are here a while as in a strange Land , but our desire is chiefly after the Kingdom of Heaven , where we shall be for ever . The World is the Place of a Saints Abode , not of his Delight ; is it thus with us ? Do we like the Patriarks of old desire a better Country ? Heb. 11.16 . This is the temper of a true Saint , his Affections are set on the Kingdom of God ; his Anchor is cast in Heaven , and he is carried thither with the Sails of Desire .

3. Are we heavenly in our Speeches ? Christ after his Resurrection did speak of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God ; Act. 1.3 . Are our Tongues tuned to the Language of the heavenly Canaan . Mal. 3.16 . Then they that feared the Lord spake often to one another . Do you in your visits season your discourses with Heaven ? There are many say , they hope they shall be saved , but you shall never hear them speak of the Kingdom of Heaven ; perhaps of their Wares and Drugs , or of some rich Purchase they have got , but nothing of the Kingdom . Can Men travel together in a Journey and not speak of the Place they are travelling to ? are you Travelers for Heaven , and never speak a word of the Kingdom you are travelling to ? Herein many discover they do not belong to Heaven , for you shall never hear a good Word come from them ; Verba sunt speculum Mentis , Bern. The Words are the Looking-glass of the Mind , they show what the Heart is .

4. Are we heavenly in our Trading ? Is our Traffick and Merchandize in Heaven ? Do we trade in the heavenly Kingdom by Faith ? A Man may live in one place and trade in another , he may live in Ireland and trade in the West-Indies ; so do we trade in the heavenly Kingdom ? They shall never go to heaven when they dye , who do not trade in Heaven while they live . Do we send up to Heaven Vollies of Sighs and Groans ? Do we send forth the Ship of Prayer thither , which fetcheth in Returns of Mercy ? Is our Communion with the Father and his Son Jesus , 1 Iohn 1.3 . Phil. 3.20 .

5. Are our Lives heavenly ? Do we live as if we had seen the Lord with Bodily eyes ? Do we aemulate and imitate the Angels in Sanctity ? Do we labour to copy out Christs Life in ours ? 1 Iohn 2.6 . 'T was a custom among the Macedonians on Alexanders Birth day to wear his Picture about their Necks set with Pearl and Diamond : Do we carry Christs Picture about us ? and resemble him in the Heavenliness of our Conversation ? If we are thus heavenly , then we shall go to the kingdom of Heaven when we dye ; and truly there is a great deal of Reason why we should be thus Heavenly in our Thoughts , Affections , Conversation , if we consider ,

( 1. ) The main end why God hath given us our Souls is , that we may mind the kingdom of Heaven : Our Souls are of a Noble Extraction , they are akin to Angels , a Glass of the Trinity , as Plato speaks . Now is it rational to imagine that God would have breathed into us such noble Souls only to look after sensual Objects : Were such bright Stars made only to shoot into the Earth ? Were these immortal Souls made only to seek after dying Comforts ? Had this been only the end of our Creation , to eat and drink , and converse with Earthly Objects , worse Souls would have served us . Sensitive Souls had been good enough for us ; what need our Souls be rational and divine to do only that work which a Beast may do ?

( 2. ) Great reason we should be heavenly in our Thoughts , Affections , Conversation , if we consider what a blessed kingdom Heaven is ; it is beyond all Hyperbole ; Earthly Kingdoms do scarce deserve the Names of Cottages compared with it . We read of an Angel coming down from heaven , who did tread with his Right Foot upon the Sea , and with his Left on the Earth , Rev. 10.2 . Had we but once been in the heavenly kingdom , and viewed the superlative glory of it , how might we in an holy scorn trample with one Foot upon the Earth , and with the other Foot upon the Sea : There are Rivers of Pleasure , Gates of Pearl , sparkling Crowns , white Robes , may not this make our hearts heavenly ; it is an heavenly kingdom , and only such go into it as are heavenly .

VSE IV. Of Exhortation , To all in General .

1. Branch . If there be such a glorious Kingdom to come , believe this great Truth ; Socinians deny it . The Rabbins say the great dispute between Cain and A●●l was about the world to come , Abel affirmed it , Cain denied it ; this should be engraven upon our hearts as with the point of a Diamond ; there is a blessed Kingdom in reversion , Psal. 58.11 . Doubtless there is a Reward for the Righteous . Let us not haesitate through unbelief ; doubting of Principles is the next way to denying them : Unbelief as Sampson , would pull down the Pillars of Religion ; be confirmed in this , there is a Kingdom of Glory to come ; whosoever denies this cuts a sunder the main Article of the Creed , Life Everlasting .

2. Branch . If there be such a blessed Kingdom of Glory to come , let us take heed least we miss of this Kingdom ; let us fear least we lose Heaven by short shooting ; trembling in the Body a Malady , in the Soul a Grace ; this fear is not a fear of Diffidence or Distrust , such a fear as discourageth the Soul , for such a fear frights from Religion , it cuts the Sinews of Endeavour ; but this holy fear least we miss of the Kingdom of Heaven , is a fear of diligence ; it quickens us in the use of means , and puts us forward that we may not fail of our hope , Heb. 11.6 . Noah being moved with fear prepared an Ark : Fear is a watch Bell to awaken sleepy Christians ; it guards against security ; it is a spur to a sluggish heart : He who fears he shall come short of his Journey rides the faster ; And indeed this Exhortation to fear least we miss of this Kingdom , is most necessary , if we consider two things ;

First . There are many who have gone many steps in the way to Heaven , yet have fallen short of it ; Mark 12.34 . Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God ; yet he was not near enough .

Quest. How many steps may a Man take in the way to the Kingdom yet miss of it ?

Resp. 1. He may be adorned with Civility , he may be morally righteous , he may be prudent , just , temperate , he may be free from paenal Statutes ; this is good , but not enough to bring a Man to Heaven .

2. He may hang out the Flag of a glorious Profession ▪ yet fall short of the Kingdom ; the Scribes and Pharisees went far , they sate in Moses Chair , were Expounders of the Law , they pray'd , gave Alms , were strict in the observation of the Sabbath ; if one had got a Thorn in his Foot , they would not pull it out on the Sabbath day , for fear of breaking the Sabbath ; they were so externally devout in Gods worship , that the Iews thought , that if but two in the all World went to Heaven the one should be a Scribe and the other a Pharisee ; but the Mantle of their Profession was not lined with Sincerity ; they did all for the applause of Men , therefore they missed of Heaven , Mat. 5.20 . Except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of God .

3. A Man may be a Frequenter of Ordinances , and yet miss of the Kingdom ; 't is a good sight to see People flock as Doves to the Windows of Gods House ; 't is good to lye in the way where Christ passeth by , yet be not offended if I say , one may be an Hearer of the word , and fall short of Glory ; Herod heard Iohn Baptist gladly , yet beheaded Iohn , instead of beheading his sin : the Prohpet Ezekiel's Hearers did come with as much delight to his Preaching , as one would do to a fit of Musick , Ezek. 33.32 . Thou art to them as a lovely Song of one that hath a pleasant Voice , and can play well on an Instrument , they hear thy Words , but they do them not . What is it to hear ones Duty and not do it ? As if a Phisician prescribe a good Receipt , but the Patient doth not take it .

4. A Man may have some trouble for sin , and weep for it , yet miss of the Heavenly Kingdom .

Quest. Whence is this ?

Answ. 1. A Sinners tears are forced by Gods Judgments ; as water which comes out of a Still is forced by the fire . 2. Trouble for sin is transient , it is quickly over again ; as some that go to Sea are Sea-sick , but when they come to Land they are well again . So Hypocrites may be Sermon-sick , but this trouble doth not last , the sick fit is soon over . 3. A Sinner weeps but goes on in sin ; his sins are not drowned in his tears .

5. A Man may have good desires yet miss of the Kingdom ; Numb. 23.10 . O that I might dye the death of the righteous .

Quest. Wherein do these desires come short ?

Answ. 1. They are sluggish . A Man would have Heaven but will take no pains : As if one should say he desires water , but will not let down the bucket into the well ; Prov. 21.25 . The desire of the slothful kills him , his hands refuse to labour . 2. The Sinner desires Mercy but not Grace ; he desires Christ as a Saviour , but not as he is the ●oly One ; he desires Christ only as a bridge to lead him over to Heaven . Such desires as these may be found among the damned .

6. A Man may forsake his Sins , Oaths , Drunkenness , Uncleanness , yet come short of the Kingdom .

Quest. Whence is this ?

Answ. 1. He may forsake gross sins , yet he hath no reluctancy against heart sins , Pride , Unbelief , and the first risings of Malice and Concupiscence . Though he dams up the Stream , yet he lets alone the Fountain ; though he lop and prune the Branches , yet he doth not strike at the Root of it . 2. Though he leaves Sin ( for fear of Hell , or because it brings shame and penury ) yet he still loves Sin ; as if a Snake should cast her Coat , yet keep her Poyson ; Hos. 4.8 . They set their heart on their iniquity . 3. 'T is but a partial forsaking of Sin ; though he leave one Sin he lives in some other . Herod reformed very much , Mark 6.20 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , He did many things , but he lived in Incest . Some leave Drunkenness and live in Covetousness ; they forbear Swearing and live in Slandering . It is but a partial reformation , and so they miss of the Kingdom of Glory . Thus you see there are some who have gone many steps in the way to Heaven , yet have come short . Some have gone so far in Profession that they have been confident their estate hath been good , and they should go to the Kingdom of Heaven , yet have missed it : Luke 13.25 . When once the master of the house is risen up , and hath shut to the door , and ye begin to stand without and to knock , saying , Lord , Lord , open to us . How confident were these of Salvation , they did not beseech but knock , as if they did not doubt to be let into Heaven ; yet to these Christ saith , I know you not whence you are : Depart from me ye workers of iniquity : Therefore fear and tremble least any of us miss of this Kingdom of Heaven .

Secondly , This fear is necessary if we consider what a loss it is to lose the Heavenly Kingdom . All the tears of Hell are not sufficient to lament the loss of Heaven ! They who lose the Heavenly Kingdom , lose Gods sweet Presence , the ravishing viewes and smiles of Gods Glorious Face . Gods Presence is the Diamond in the Ring of Glory ; Psal. 16.11 . In his presence is fulness of joy . If God be the Fountain of all Bliss , then to be separated from him is the Fountain of all Misery . They who lose the Heavenly Kingdom lose the Society of Angels , and what sweeter Musick than to hear them praise God in Consort , they lose all their Treasure , their white Robes , their sparkling Crowns ; they lose their hopes , Iob 8.14 . Whose hope shall be cut off . Their hope is not an Anchor but a Spiders Web : If hope deferred makes the heart sick , Prov. 13.12 . what then is hope disappointed ? They lose the end of their being . Why were they Created but to be enthron●d in Glory ? Now to lose this is to lose the end of their being : As if an Angel should be turned to a worm . There are many aggravations of the loss of this Heavenly Kingdom .

1. The eyes of the Wicked shall be opened to see their loss ; now they care not for the loss of Gods Favour because they know not the worth of it . A Man that loseth a rich Diamond and took it but for an ordinary Stone , is not much troubled at the loss of it ; but when he comes to know what a Jewel he lost , then he laments . He whose Heart would never break at the sight of his sins , shall now break at the sight of his loss . Phinehas his Daughter , when she heard the Ark was lost , cryed out , The Glory is departed ; 1 Sam. 4.21 . When the Sinner sees what he hath lost , he hath lost the Beatifical Vision , he hath lost the Kingdom of Heaven ; now he will cry out in horrour and despair , The Glory , the everlasting Glory is departed .

2. A second aggravation of the loss of this Kingdom will be , that Sinners shall be upbraided by their own Conscience : This is the worm that never dyes , Mark 9.44 . viz. a self-accusing Mind . When Sinners shall consider they were in a fair way to the Kingdom ; they had a possibility of Salvation ; though the door of Heaven were strait , yet it was open ; they had the means of Grace ; the jubilee of the Gospel was proclaimed in their ears ; God called but they refused ; Jesus Christ offered them a plaister of his own Blood to heal them , but they trampled it under foot ; the Holy Spirit stood at the door of their heart knocking and crying to them to receive Christ and Heaven , but they repulsed the Spirit , and sent away this Dove , and now they have , through their own folly and wilfulness , lost the Kingdom of Heaven : This self-accusing Conscience will be terrible , like a venomous Worm gnawing at the Heart .

3. A third aggravation of the loss of Heaven will be to look upon others that have gained the Kingdom ; the happiness of the Blessed will be an eye-sore ; Luke 13.28 . There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth , when ye shall see Abraham , and Isaac , and Iacob , and all the Prophets in the kingdom of God , and you your selves thrust out . When the Wicked shall see those whom they hated and scorned to be exalted to a Kingdom , and shine with Robes of Glory , and they themselves miss of the Kingdom , this will be a dagger at the heart , and make them gnash their teeth for envy .

4. A fourth aggravation is , this loss of the Kingdom of Heaven is accompanied with the punishment of Sense . He who leaps short of the Bank falls into the River ; such as come short of Heaven fall into the River of Fire and Brimstone ; Psal 9.17 . The wicked shall be turned into hell : And how dreadful is that ? If when but a spark of Gods Anger lights into the Conscience here , it is so torturing , what will it be to have mountains of Gods Wrath thrown upon the Soul ? Psal. 90.11 . Who knoweth the power of thy anger ? The Angel never poured out his Vial but some woe followed ; Rev. 16.3 . when the bitter Vials of Gods Wrath are poured out , Damnation follows . Dives cryes out , O I am tormented in this flame ; Luke 16.24 . In Hell there 's not a drop of Mercy . There was no Oyl or Frankincense used in the Sacrifice of Jealousie , Numb. 5.15 . in Hell no Oyl of Mercy to lenifie the Sufferings of the Damned , nor Incense of Prayer to appease Gods Wrath.

5. A fifth aggravation of the loss of this Kingdom will be , to consider on what easie and reasonable terms Men might have had this Kingdom . If indeed God had commanded impossibles , to have satisfied his Justice in their own Persons , it had been another matter , but what God did demand was reasonable , only to do that which was for their good , to accept of Christ for their Lord and Husband , only to part with that which would damn them , if they kept their Sins ; these were the fair terms on which they might have enjoyed the Heavenly Kingdom : Now to lose Heaven , which might have been had upon such easie terms , will be a cutting aggravation ; it will rend a Sinners Heart with rage and grief , to think how easily he might have prevented the loss of the Heavenly Kingdom .

6. It will be an aggravation of the loss of Heaven for Sinners to think how active they were in doing that which lost them the Kingdom ; they were felo de se. What pains did they take to resist the Spirit , to stifle Conscience , they sinned while they were out of breath ; Ier. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit iniquity . What difficulties did Men go through , what did they endure for their Sins , how much shame and pain , how sick was the Drunkard with his cups , how sore in his Body was the Adulterer , and what marks of his sin did he carry about him ? What dangers did Men adventure upon for their Lusts , they adventured Gods Wrath , and adventured the Laws of the Land . O how will this aggravate the loss of Heaven , how will this make Men curse themselves , to think how much pains they were at to lose happiness . How will this sting Mens Consciences to think , had they taken but as much pains for Heaven as they did for Hell they had not lost it .

7. Aggravation of the loss of this Kingdom , it will be an eternal irreparable loss ; Heaven once lost can never be recovered . Worldly losses may be made up again ; if a Man lose his Health he may have it repaired by Physick , if a Man be driven out of his Kingdom he may be restored to it again ; as King Nebuchadnezzar was , Dan. 4.36 . My honour returned to me , and I was established in my Kingdom . King Henry VI. was deposed from his Throne , yet restored again to it , but they who once lose Heaven can never be restored to it again : After millions of years they are as far from obtaining Glory as at first . Thus you see how needful this Exhortation is , that we should fear least we fall short of this Kingdom of Heaven .

Quest ▪ What shall we do that we may not miss of this Kingdom of Glory ?

Resp. 1. Take heed of those things which will make you miss of Heaven . 1. Take heed of Spiritual Sloath. Many Christians are settled upon their lees , they are loath to put themselves to too much pains . It is said of Israel , They despised the pleasant land : Psal. 106.24 . Canaan was a Paradise of Delight , a Type of Heaven ; I , but some of the Iews thought it would cost them a great deal of trouble and hazard in the getting , and they would rather go without it ; They despised the pleasant land . I have read of certain Spaniards that live where there is great store of Fish , yet are so lazy that they will not be at the pains to catch them , but buy of their Neighbours ; such a sinful sloath is upon the most , that though the Kingdom of Heaven be offered to them , yet they will not put themselves to any labour for it . They have some faint velleities and desires , O that I had this Kingdom ; like a Man that wisheth for Venison but will not hunt for it ; Prov. 13.4 . The soul of the sluggard wisheth and hath nothing . Men could be content to have the Kingdom of Heaven , if it would drop as a ripe Fig into their mouth , but they are loath to fight for it . O take heed of Spiritual Sloath ; God never made Heaven to be an hive for drones . We cannot have the World without labour , and do we think to have the Kingdom of Heaven ? Heathens will rise up in Judgment against many Christians , what pains did they take in their Olympick Races , when they ran but for a Crown of Olive or Myrtle intermixed with Gold , and do we stand still when we are running for a Kingdom ? Prov. 19.15 . Sloathfulness casts into a deep sleep . Sloath is the Souls sleep . Adam lost his Rib when he was asleep . Many a Man loseth the Kingdom of Heaven when he is in this deep sleep of sloath .

2. Take heed of Unbelief . Unbelief kept Israel out of Canaan ; Heb. 3.19 . So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief ; and it keeps many out of Heaven . Unbelief is an enemy to Salvation , 't is a damning sin , it whispers thus , to what purpose is all this pains for the Heavenly Kingdom , I had as good sit still , I may come near to Heaven , yet come short of Heaven ; Ier. 18.12 . And they said , there is no hope . Unbelief destroyes hope , and if you once cut this sinew , a Christian goes but lamely in Religion if he goes at all . Unbelief raiseth jealous thoughts of God , it represents him as a severe Judge , this discourageth many a Soul and takes it off from Duty . Beware of unbelief , believe the Promises ; Lam. 3.25 . God is good to the Soul that seeks him ; seek him earnestly and he will open both his Heart and Heaven to you . Deus volentibus non deest ; do what you are able and God will help you . While you spread the sails of your endeavour Gods Spirit will blow upon these sails , and carry you swiftly to the Kingdom of Glory .

3. If you would not miss of the Heavenly Kingdom take heed of mistake , imagining the way to the Kingdom of Heaven to be easier than it is ; 't is but a sigh , or Lord have Mercy . There 's no going to Heaven per saltum , one cannot leap out of Dalilahs lap into Abrahams bosom . The Sinner is dead in trespasses , Eph. 2.1 . is it easie for a dead Man to restore himself to life ? Is Regeneration easie ? Are there no pangs in the new birth ? Doth not the Scripture call Christianity a warfare and a race ? And do you fancy this easie ? The way to the Kingdom is not easie , but the mistake about the way is easie .

4. If you would not miss of the Heavenly Kingdom , take heed of delayes and procrastinations . Mora trahit periculum . It is an usual delusion , I will mind the Kingdom of Heaven but not yet ; when I have gotten an Estate , and am grown old , then I will look after Heaven , and on a sudden Death surprizeth Men , and they fall short of Heaven . Delay strengthens sin , hardens the heart , and gives the Devil fuller possession of a Man . Take heed of adjourning and putting off seeking the Kingdom of Heaven till it be too late . Caesar deferring to read a Letter put into his hand was killed in the Senate-house . Consider how short your Life is ; 't is a Taper soon blown out . Animantis cujusque vita in fuga est ; The Body is like a Vessel tun'd with breath , Sickness broacheth it , Death draws it out ; delay not the business of Salvation a day longer ; sometimes Death strikes and gives no warning .

5. If you would not come short of the Kingdom of Heaven , take heed of prejudice . Many take a prejudice at Religion , and on this Rock dash their Souls ; they are prejudiced at Christs Person , his Truths , his Followers , his Wayes .

( 1. ) They are prejudiced at his Person ; Matth. 13.57 . And they were offended in him ; what is there in Christ that Men should be offended at him ? He is the pearl of price , Matth. 13.46 . are Men offended at Pearls and Diamonds ? Christ is the wonder of Beauty , Psal. 45.2 . Fairer than the children of men ; is there any thing in Beauty to offend ? Christ is a mirrour of Mercy , Heb. 2.17 . why should Mercy offend any ? Christ is a Redeemer , why should a captive slave be offended at him who comes with a summe of Money to ransom him ? The prejudice Men take at Christ is from the inbred pravity of their hearts . The eye that is sore cannot endure the light of the Sun ; the fault is not in the Sun , but in the sore eye . There are two things in Christ Men are prejudiced at . 1. His Means . The Iewes expected a Monarch for their Messiah ; but Christ came not with outward Pomp and Splendor ; His Kingdom was not of this World : The Stars which are seated in the lightest Orbs are least seen ; Christ who was the bright Morning Star was not much seen , his Divinity was hid in the dark Lanthorne of his humanity ; all who saw the Man did not see the Messiah ; this the Jews stumbled at , the Means of his Person . 2. Men are prejudiced at Christs strictness ; they look upon Christ as austere , and his Lawes too severe , Psal. 2.3 . Let us break their bands , and cast away their cords from us . Though to a Saint Christs Laws are no more burdensome than Wings are to a Bird ; yet to the Wicked Christs Laws are a yoke , and they love not to come under restraint ; hence it is they hate Christ . Though they pretend to love him as a Saviour , yet they hate him as he is the holy One .

( 2. ) Men are prejudiced at the Truths of Christ . 1. Self-denyal . A man must deny his Righteousness , Phil. 3.9 . his Duties and Moralities : he would graft the hope of Salvation upon the stock of his own Righteousness . 2. He must deny his Unrighteousness . The Scripture seals no patents to Sin , it teacheth us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts , Tit. 2.11 . We must divorce those Sins which bring in Pleasure and Profit . 3. Forgiving of injuries , Mark 11.25 . These Truths Men are prejudiced at ; they can rather want forgiveness from God than they can forgive others .

( 3. ) Men are prejudiced at the Followers of Christ . 1. Their paucity ; there are but few ( in comparison ) that embrace Christ ; but why should this offend ? Men are not offended at Pearls and precious Stones , because they are but few . 2. Their Poverty ; many that wear Christs livery are low in the World ; but why should this give offence ? ( 1. ) Christ hath better things than these to bestow upon his Followers ; the holy Anointing , the white Stones , the hidden Manna , the Crown of Glory . ( 2. ) All Christs Followers are not humbled with Poverty ; Abraham was rich in Gold and Silver as well as rich in Faith : Though not many Noble are called , yet some Noble ; Acts 17.12 . Honourable women which were Greeks believed ; Constantine and Theodosius were Godly Emperours ; so that this stumbling block is removed . 3. Their Scandals . Some of Christs Followers under a mask of Piety commit sin , this begets a prejudice against Religion ; but doth Christ or his Gospel teach any such thing ? The Rules he prescribes are holy : Why should the Master be thought the worse of because some of his Servants prove bad .

( 4. ) Men are prejudiced at the Wayes of Christ ; they expose them to Sufferings ; Matth. 16.24 . Let him take up his cross and follow me ; many stumble at the Cross. There are as Tertullian , delicaetuli , silken Christians , who love their ease ; they will follow Christ to Mount Oliver to see him transfigured , but not to Mount Golgotha to suffer with him . But alas , what is Affliction to the Glory that follows : The weight of Glory makes Affliction light ; Adimant Caput non Coronam . O take heed of prejudice , this hath been a stumbling stone in Mens way to Heaven , and hath made them fall short of the Kingdom .

6. If you would not miss of the Kingdom of Heaven take heed of Presumption . Men presume all is well , and take it as a principle not to be disputed that they shall go to Heaven . The Devil hath given them Opium to cast them into a deep sleep of security . The presumptuous Sinner is like the Leviathan , made without fear : He lives as bad as the worst , yet hopes he shall be saved as well as the best ; He blesseth himself , and saith he shall have peace though he goes on in sin ; Deut. 29.19 . As if a Man should drink Poyson yet not fear but he should have his health . But whence doth this presumptuous hope arise ? Surely from a conceit that God is made up all of Mercy . 'T is true God is merciful , but withal he is just too ; Exod. 34.6 , 7. Keeping mercy for thousands , and that will by no means clear the guilty . If a King did proclaim that only those should be pardoned who came in and submitted , should any still persisting in Rebellion claim the benefit of that Pardon ? Dost thou hope for Mercy who wilt not lay down thy Weapons , but stand out in Rebellion against Heaven ? None might touch the Ark but the Priests ; none may touch this Ark of Gods Mercy , but holy , consecrated Persons . Presumption is heluo Animarum , the great devourer of Souls . A thousand have missed of Heaven by putting on the broad spectacles of Presumption .

7. If you would not miss of the Heavenly Kingdom take heed of the delights and pleasures of the Flesh ; soft pleasures harden the heart . Many people cannot endure a serious Thought , but are for Comedies and Romances , they play away their Salvation . Homines capiuntur voluptate ut pisces hamo , Cicero . Pleasure is the sugred bait Men bite at , but there is an hook under ; Iob 21.12 . They take the timbrel and harp , and rejoyce at the sound of the organ : And a parallel Scripture , Amos 6.4 . That lye upon beds of ivory , that chant to the sound of the viol , that drink wine in bowls , and anoint themselves with the chief oyntments . The pleasures of the World do keep many from the pleasures of Paradise ▪ What a shame is it that the Soul , that princely thing which swayes the sceptre of Reason , and is akin to Angels , should be enslaved to sinful pleasure . Beard in his Theatre , speaks of one who had a Room richly hung with fair Pictures , he had most delicious Musick , he had the rarest Beauties , he had all the Candies and curious Preserves of the Confectioner , thus did he gratifie his Senses with Pleasure , and swore he would live one week like a God , though he were sure to be damned in Hell the next day . Diodorus Siculus observes , that the Dogs of Sicily while they are hunting among the sweet Flowers lose the scent of the Hare ; so many while they are hunting after the sweet pleasures of the World lose the Kingdom of Heaven . 'T is , saith Theophylact , one of the worst sights to see a Sinner go laughing to Heaven .

8 If you would not fall short of the Kingdom of Heaven , take heed of Worldlimindedness ; a covetous Spirit is a dunghil Spirit , it choaks good Affections , as the earth puts out the fire . The World hindred the young Man from following Christ , abiit tristis , he went away sorrowful , Luke 18.23 . which extorted those words from our Saviour , Verse 24. How hardly shall they that have Riches enter into the Kingdom of God ? Divitiae saeculi sunt laquei Diaboli , Bern. Riches are golden Snares . If a Man were to climb up a steepy Rock , and had Weights tied to his Legs , it would hinder him from his ascent : Too many Golden Weights will hinder us from climbing that steepy Rock which leads to Heaven ; Exod. 14.3 . They are entangled in the Land , the Wilderness hath shut them in . So it may be said of many , they are entangled in earthly Affairs , the World hath shut them in : The World is no Friend to Grace ; the more the Child sucks the weaker the Nurse is ; and the more the World sucks and draws from us , the weaker our Grace is , 1 Iohn 2.15 . Love not the world . Had a Man a Monopoly of all the wealth of the World , were he able to empty the Western Parts of Gold , and the Eastern of Spices ; could he heap up Riches to the Starry heaven , yet his heart would not be filled : Covetousness is a dry dropsy : Ioshua who could stop the course of the Sun , could not stop Achan in his covetous pursuit of the Wedge of Gold : he whose heart is lockt up in his Chest , will be lockt out of heaven : Some Ships that have escaped the Rocks , have been cast away upon the Sands : Many who have escaped gross Sins , have been cast away upon the Worlds Golden Sands .

9. If you would not come short of the Kingdom of heaven , take heed of indulging any sin ; one Mill-stone will drown as well as more ; and one sin lived in will damn as well as more : Vbi regnat peccatum non potest regnare Dei regnum , Hierom. If any one sin reign , it will keep you from reigning in the kingdom of heaven ; especially keep from sins of Presumption , which wast Conscience , vastare Conscientiam , Tertul. and the Sin of your natural Constitution , the peccatum in delitiis , Aug. the darling Sin , Psal. 18.23 . I have kept my self from mine iniquity . That Sin which my heart would soonest decoy and flatter me into ; as in the Hive there is one Master-Bee , so in the heart one Master-sin : O take heed of this !

Quest. How may this sin be known ?

A. 1. That Sin which a Man cannot endure the Arrow of a reproof should shoot at , that is the bosom sin ; Herod could not brook to have his Incest medled with , that was a noli me tangere : Men can be content to have other sins declaimed against , but if a Minister put his Finger upon the sore , and toucheth upon one special sin , then igne micant oculi , they are enraged and spit the Venome of Malice .

2. That sin which a Mans heart runs out most to , and he is most easily captivated by , that is the Dalilah in the Bosom : One Man is overcome with wantonness , another by worldliness ; 't is a sad thing a Man should be so bewitched by a beloved sin , that if it ask him to part with not only half the kingdom , but the whole Kingdom of heaven , he must part with it to gratify that Lust.

3. That sin which doth most trouble a Man and fly in his Face in an hour of sickness and distress , that is the sin he hath allowed himself in , and is his complexion sin : When Ioseph's Brethren were distressed their sin in selling their Brother came into their Remembrance , Gen. 42.21 . We were verily guilty concerning our Brother , &c. So when a Man is upon his sick-bed , and Conscience shall say , thou hast been guilty of such a sin , the sin of slandring , or uncleanness , Conscience reads a Man a sad Lecture , it affrights him most for one sin , that is the Complection sin .

4. That sin which a Man is loathest to part with , that is the endeared sin : Iacob could of all his Sons most hardly part with Benjamin , Gen. 42.36 . Will ye take Benjamin away ? So saith the Sinner , this and that Sin I have left , but must Benjamin go too ? must I part with this delightful sin ? that goes to the heart ; as it is with a castle that hath several Forts about it , the first and second Fort are yeilded , but when it comes to the main Castle the Governour will rather fight and dye then yeild that : So a Man may suffer some of his Sins to be demolished , but when it comes to one , that is like the taking of the Castle , he will never yeild to part with that ; surely that is the Master-sin ; take heed especially of this sin ; the strength of sin lies in the beloved sin : This is like an humour striking to the heart which brings Death . I have read of a Monarch , that being pursued by the Enemy , he threw away the Crown of Gold on his head , that he might run the faster ▪ So that sin which thou didst wear as a Crown of Gold , throw it away that thou maiest run the faster to the Kingdom of heaven : O if you would not lose Glory , mortify the beloved sin , set it as Vriah in the Fore-front of the battle to be slain ; by plucking out this right eye , you will see the better to go to heaven .

10. If you would not fall short of the kingdom of heaven , take heed of inordinate Pashion ; many a Ship hath been lost in a storm ; and many a Soul hath been lost in a storm of unruly Passions : Every Member of the Body is infected with sin ; as every Branch of Wormwood is bitter ; but the Tongue is full of deadly poyson , Iam. 3.8 . Some care not what they say in their Passion , they will censure , slander , wish evil to others ; how can Christ be in the heart when the Devil hath taken possession of the tongue ? Passion disturbs reason , it is brevis insania , a short Frenzy ; Ionah in a Passion flies out against God , Ionah 4.9 . I do well to be angry to the death . What to be angry with God , and to justify it ? I do well to be angry , the Man was not well in his Wits ; Passion unfits for Prayer , 1 Tim. 2.8 . I will therefore that Men pray lifting up holy hands without Wrath He that prays in wrath may lift up his hands in Prayer , but he doth not lift up holy hands . Water when it is hot soon boils over ; so when the heart is heated with Anger it soon boils over in fiery passionate Speeches . Some curse others in their Passion : They whose tongues are set on fire , let them take heed that they do not one day in Hell desire a drop of water to cool their tongue O if you would not miss of the heavenly kingdom , beware of giving way to your unbridled Passions ; some say words are but wind , but they are such a wind as may blow them to Hell .

11. If you would not fall short of the heavenly kingdom , beware of too much indulging the sensual Appetite , Rom. 13.14 . Make not Provision for the flesh ; the Greek Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to make Provision , signifies to be Caterers for the flesh , Phil. 3.19 . Whose God is their Belly . The Throat is a slippery place ; Iudas received the Devil in the Sop ; and often the Devil slides down in the Liquor : Excess in Meat and Drink clouds the Mind , choakes good Affections , provokes Lust ; many a Man digs his own Grave with his Teeth ; the Heathen could say , magnus sum & ad mojora natus quam ut sim corporis mei mancipium , Sen. He was higher born then to be a slave to his Body : To pamper the Body and neglect the Soul is to feed the Slave and to starve the Wife : Take such a proportion of food as may recruit Nature not surfeit it : Excess in things lawful hath lost many the kingdom of heaven . A Bee may suck a little honey from the leaf , but put it in a Barrel of honey and it is drowned ; to suck temperately from the Creature God allows , but excess ingulphs Men in Perdition .

12. If you would not fall short of the Kingdom of Heaven , take heed of injustice in your dealings ; defrauding lies in two things , First , mixing Commodities ; as if one mix bad Wheat with good , and sell it for pure Wheat , this is to defraud , Isa. 1.22 . Thy Wine is mixed with Water . Second , Giving scant Measure , Amos 5.8 . Making the Ephah small ; Ephah was a Measure which the Iews used in selling ; they made the Ephah small , they scarce gave measure ; I wish this be not the sin of many , Hos. 12.7 . He is a Merchant , the Ballances of deceit are in his hand . Can they be holy which are not just ? Mic. 6.11 . Shall I count them pure with the wicked Balances ? Is his heart sincere who hath false Weights ? This hath made many they could not reach heaven , because of their over reaching .

13. If you would not miss of the Kingdom of Heaven , take heed of evil Company ; there is a necessary Commerce with Men in buying and selling , else , as the Apostle saith , We must go out of the World , 1 Cor. 5.10 . But do not voluntarily choose the Company of the wicked ; 1 Cor. 5.11 . I have written to you not to keep Company . Do not incorporate into the Society of the wicked , or be too much familiar with them : The wicked are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , God haters ; and 2 Chron. 19.2 . Shouldst thou joyn with them that hate the Lord ? A Christian is bound by vertue of his Oath of Allegiance to God in Baptism , not to have intimate converse with such as are Gods sworn Enemies ; 't is a thing of bad report : What doth Christs Dove among Birds of Prey ? What do Virgins among Harlots ? The Company of the wicked is very defiling , 't is like going among them that have the Plague ; Prov. 6.27 . He that toucheth Pitch shall be defiled . Psal. 106 35. They were mingled among the heathen and learned their Works . If you mingle bright Armour with rusty , the bright Armour will not brighten the rusty , but the rusty Armour will spoil the bright . Such as have had religious Education , and have some inclinations to good , yet by mixing among the wicked they will be apt to receive hurt ; the bad will sooner corrupt the good , then the good will convert the bad ; Pharaoh learned Ioseph to swear , but Ioseph did not learn Pharaoh to pray . There is a strange attractive power in ill company to corrupt and poison the best dispositions ; they damp good Affections : Throw a Fire-ball into the Snow and it is soon quenched . Among the wicked you lose your heat of zealous affections ; by holding familiar correspondence with the wicked one shall hear them disswading him from strict Godliness , that it will debar him of his Liberty and Pleasure , Act. 28.2 . This Sect is every where spoken against . Hereupon he who before did look towards Heaven , begins to be discouraged , and gradually declines from goodness .

( 1. ) There steals upon him a dislike of his former religious course of Life ; that he was righteous over-much ; stricter then needed .

( 2. ) There is instilled into his Heart a secret delight of evil ; he begins to like foolish scurrilous discourse ; he can hear Religion spoken against and be silent , nay , well pleased ; he loves Vanity , and makes a sport of sin .

( 3. ) He is by degrees so Matamorphosed and made like the Company he converseth with , that he now grows into a disgust and hatred of his former sober ways ; he is ill-affected towards good Men ; he is transformed into scoffing Ishmael , a breathing devil ; and becomes at last as much the Child of Hell , as any of that graceless damned Crew he conversed with ; and what is the end of all ? a blot in the Name , a Moth in the Estate , a Worm in the Conscience . O if you would not miss of the kingdom of Heaven beware of ●vil Company : Bad Company is the Bane and Poison of the Youth of this Age : Such as were once soberly inclined , yet by coming among the Prophane they grow familiar , till at last they keep one another Company in Hell .

14. If you would not miss of the Kingdom of Heaven take heed of parlying with the Fleshy part ; the Flesh is a Bosom Traitor . When an Enemy is gotten within the Walls of a Castle , it is in great danger to be taken . The Flesh is an Enemy within ; the Flesh is a bad Counsellour ; the Flesh saith there is a Lion in the Way ; it discourageth from a religious strictness ; the Flesh saith as Peter did to Christ , Spare thy self ; the Flesh saith as Iudas , What needs all this wast ? what needs this praying ? why do you wast your strength and Spirits in Religion ? What needs all this wast ? the Flesh cries out for ease and pleasure . How many by consulting with the Flesh have lost the Kingdom of Heaven !

15. If you would not fall short of Heaven take heed of Carn●l Relations : Our Carnal Friends are often Bars and Blocks in our way to Heaven ; they will say Religion is preciseness and singularity : a Wife in the bosom may be a Tempter ; Iob's Wife was so , Iob 2.9 . Dost thou still retain thy Integrity ? curse God and dye . What still pray ? What dost thou get by serving God ? Iob where are thy Earnings ? what canst thou show thou hast had in Gods Service , but Boyles and Ulcers ? and dost thou still retain thy integrity ? throw off Gods Livery , renounce Religion . Here was a tentation handed over to him by his Wife : The Woman was made of the Rib , the Devil turned this Rib into an Arrow , and would have shot Iob to the heart , but his Faith quenched this fiery Dart. Beware of Carnal Relations : We read , that some of Christs kindred laid hold on him , and would have hindred him when he was going to Preach , Mark 3.21 . They said he is beside himself . Our kindred sometimes would stand in our way to Heaven , and judging all zeal rashness would hinder us from being saved : Such Carnal Relations Spira had , for advising with them whether he should remain constant in his Orthodox Opinion , they perswaded him to recant and so abjuring his former Faith he fell into horrour and dispondency of Mind . Galeacius Marquess of Vico found his Carnal Relations a great Block in his way , and what ado had he to break through their Tentations ? Take heed of a snare in your Bosom : 'T is a brave saying of Ierom , Si Mater mihi ubera ostendat , &c. If my Parent should perswade me to deny Christ , if my Mother should show me her breast that gave me suck , if my Wife should go to charm me with her Embraces , I would forsake all and fly to Christ .

16. If you would not fall short of the Kingdom of Heaven , take heed of falling off ; beware of Apostacy ; he misseth of the Prize who doth not hold out in the Race ; he who makes shipwrack of the Faith cannot come to the haven of Glory . We live in the fall of the Leaf ; Men fall from that goodness they seemed to have ; some are turned to Error , others to Vice ; some to drinking and dicing , others to whoring ; the very Mantle of their Profession is fallen off : 'T is dreadful for Men to fall off from hopeful beginnings : The Apostate saith Tertullian seems to put God and Satan in the Ballance , and having weighed both their Services , prefers the Devils Service and proclaims him to be the best Master , in which respect , the Apostate is said to put Christ to open shame , Heb. 6.6 . This is sad at last , Heb. 10.38 . If you would not miss of Glory take heed of Apostacy , those who fall away must needs fall short of the Kingdom .

1. If we would not come short of this Heavenly Kingdom , let us be much in the exercise of Self-denyal ; Matth. 16.24 . If any man will come after me , let him deny himself . He who would go to Heaven must deny self-righteousness , Cavendum est a propria justitia ; Phil. 3.9 . That I may be found in him not having my own righteousness . The Spider weaves a web out of her own Bowels ; an Hypocrite would spin a web of Salvation out of his own Righteousness : We must deny our Civility in point of Justification . Civility is a good staff to walk with among Men , but it is a bad ladder to climb up to Heaven . We must deny our holy things in point of Justification . Alas , how are our Duties checkered with Sin . Put Gold in the fire and there comes out dross ; our most golden services are mixed with unbelief . Deny self-righteousness ; use Duty but trust to Christ . Noahs Dove made use of her wings to fly , but trusted to the Ark for safety . Let Duties have your diligence but not your confidence . Self-denyal is via ad regnum ; there is no getting into Heaven but through this strait gate of self-denyal .

2. The second means for the obtaining of the Kingdom is serious Consideration : Most Men fall short of Heaven for want of Consideration .

1. Consideration . We should often consider what a Kingdom Heaven is . 'T is called Regnum paratum , a Kingdom prepared , Matth. 25.34 . which implyes something that is rare and excellent . God hath prepared in his Kingdom , such things as eye hath not seen nor ear heard ; 1 Cor. 2.9 . Heaven is beyond all hyperbole . In particular , in this Coelestial Kingdom are two things .

( 1. ) A stately Pallace . ( 2. ) A Royal Feast .

( 1. ) A stately Pallace . 1. It is large and hath several stories ; for the dimensions of it , it is twelve thousand furlongs , Rev. 21.15 . or as it is in some Greek Copies , twelve times twelve thousand furlongs , a finite number put for an infinite ; no Arithmetician can number these furlongs : Though there be an innumerable company of Saints and Angels in Heaven yet there is infinitely enough room to receive them . 2. The Pallace of this Kingdom is lucid and transparent ; 't is adorned with light , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The light is sweet . Hell is a dark dungeon , but the Pallace above is bespangled with light ; Col. 1.12 . Such illustrious beams of Glory shine from God as shed a brightness and splendour upon the Empyrean Heaven . 3. This Pallace of the Kingdom is well scituated for a good Air and a pleasant prospect . There is the best Air which is perfumed with the odours of Christs Oyntments ; and a most pleasant prospect of the bright Morning-Star . 4. The Pallace is rich and sumptuous ; it hath Gates of Pearl , Rev. 21.21 . it is enriched with white Robes and Crowns of Glory ; and this Pallace never falls to decay , and the dwellers in it never dye , Rev. 22.5 . They shall reign for ever and ever .

( 2. ) A Royal Feast : It is called , The marriage supper of the lamb , Rev. 19.9 . which Bullinger and Gregory the great , understand of the magnificent Supper prepared in the Kingdom of Heaven . A Glorious Feast it will be in respect of the Founder , God ; the Glorified Saints shall feast their eyes with Gods Beauty , and their hearts with his Love ; a delicious Feast it will be in respect of the festivity and holy Mirth . What Joy when there shall be the Anthems and Triumphs of Glorified Spirits ; when Saints and Angels shall twist together in an inseparable union of Love , and lye in each others sweet embraces ; a Royal Banquet it shall be where there is no surfeit , because continually a fresh course served in . The serious Consideration what a Kingdom Heaven is , would be a means to quicken our endeavour in the pursuit after it . What causeth Men to make Voyages to the Indies , but the consideration of the Gold and Spices which are to be had there ; did we survey and contemplate the Glory of Heaven , we should soon take a Voyage , and never leave till we had arrived at the Coelestial Kingdom .

2. Consideration , How it will trouble you if you should perish , to think you came short of Heaven for want of a little more pains . The Prophet Elisha bid the King of Israel smite the ground six times , and he smote but thrice and stayed , 2 Kings 13.19 . and he lost many Victories by it : So when a Man shall think thus , I did something in Religion but did not do enough , I prayed but it was coldly , I did not put coals to the Incense ; I heard the Word , but did not meditate on it , I did not chew the end ; I smote but thrice , and I should have smitten six times ; had I taken a little more pains I had been happy , but I have lost the Kingdom of Heaven by short shooting . The consideration how terrible the thoughts of this will be , that we should lose Heaven for want of a little more pains , will be a means to spur on our sluggish hearts , and make us more diligent to get the Kingdom .

3. The third means for the obtaining this Kingdom is to keep up Daily Prayer , Psal. 109.4 . I give my self to Prayer . Prayer inflames the affections , and oyls the wheels of the endeavour ; Prayer prevails with God , it unlocks his Bowels , and then he unlocks Heaven ; all that have got to Heaven have crept thither upon their knees : The Saints now in Heaven have been Men of Prayer ; Daniel prayed three times a day , Iacob wrestled with God in Prayer , and as a Prince prevailed ; this Prayer must be fervent , else it is thuribulum sine prunis , as Luther , a Golden Censer without Fire . O follow God with Prayers and Tears , say as Iacob to the Angel , Gen. 32.26 . I will not let thee go except thou bless me . Prayer vincit invincibilem , Luther , it conquers the Omnipotent ; Elijah by Prayer opened Heaven ; by ardent and constant Prayer Heaven is at last opened to us .

4. If you would obtain the Heavenly Kingdom get a love to Heaven . Love puts a Man upon the use of all means to enjoy the thing loved . He that loves the World how active is he , he will break his sleep and peace for it ; he that loves Honour what hazards will he run , he will swim to the crown in Blood . Iacob loved Rachel , and what would not he do , though it were serving a two seven years Apprenticeship , for obtaining her ? Love carries a Man out violently to the Object loved . Love is like Wings to the Bird , like Sails to the Ship ; it carries a Christian full sail to Heaven ; Heaven is a place of Rest and Joy , 't is Paradise , and will you not love it ? Love Heaven and you cannot miss it : Love breaks through all opposition , it takes heaven by storm : Love though it labour is never weary ; it is like the Rod of Myrtle in the Travellers hand which makes him fresh and lively in his travel ▪ and keeps him from being weary .

5. If you would obtain the Kingdom of Heaven make Religion your business . What a Man looks upon as a 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a thing by the by , he doth not much mind . If ever we would have Heaven we must look upon it as our main concern : Other things do but concern our livelyhood , this concerns our Salvation ; then we make Religion our business when we wholly devote our selves to Gods service , Psal. 139.18 . we count those the best hours which are spent with God ; we give God the cream of our affections , the flower of our time and strength ; we traffique in Heaven every day , we are Merchants for the Pearl of price . He will never get an Estate who doth not mind his Trade ; he will never get heaven who doth not make Religion his 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , his main business .

6. If you would obtain the Kingdom of Heaven , bind your hearts to God by sacred Vowes . Vow to the Lord that ( by his Grace ) you will be more intent upon heaven than ever , Psal. 56.12 . Thy vowes are upon me , O God . A Vow binds the Votary to Duty ; he looks upon himself as obliged by his Vow to cleave to God . Bees when they fly in a great Wind ballast themselves with little stones that they may not be carried away with the Wind ; so we must fortifie our selves with strong Vowes , that we may not be carried away from God with the violent wind of temptation . No question a Christian may make such a Vow , because the ground of it is Morally good , he vowes nothing but what he is bound to do by vertue of his Baptismal Vow , namely to walk with God more closely , and to pursue heaven more vigorously .

7. If you would obtain the Kingdom embrace all seasons and opportunities for your Souls , Eph. 5.15 . Redeeming the time . Opportunity is the cream of time ; the improving the seasons of Grace is as much as our Salvation is worth . The Marriner by taking the present season while the Wind blowes gets to the haven ; by taking the season while we have the means of Grace , and the wind of the Spirit blowes , we may arrive at the Kingdom of heaven . We know not how long we shall enjoy the Gospel ; the seasons of Grace like Noahs Dove , come with an Olive-branch in their mouth , but they soon take Wings and fly . Though they are sweet , yet swift . God may remove the Golden Candlestick from us as he did from the Churches of Asia . We have many sad symptoms , Gray hairs are here and there upon us , Hos. 7.9 . therefore let us lay hold upon the present season ; they that sleep in Seed-time will beg in Harvest .

8. If you would go to the Kingdom of Heaven you must excubias agere keep a daily Watch ; Mark 13.37 . I say unto all , watch . Many have lost Heaven for want of watchfulness . Our hearts are ready to decoy us into sin , and the Devil lyes in ambush by his temptations ; we must every day set a spy , and keep centinel in our Souls : Hab. 2.1 . I will stand upon my watch .

( 1. ) We must watch our Eyes ; Iob 31.1 . I made a covenant with my eyes . Much Sin comes in by the eye : When Eve saw the tree was good for food , and pleasant to the eyes , then she took ; Gen. 3.6 . First she looked and then she lusted ; the eye by beholding an impure Object sets the heart on fire ; the Devil oft creeps in at the window of the eye . Watch your eyes .

( 2. ) Watch your Ear. Much Poyson is conveyed through the ear . Let your ear be open to God , and shut to Sin .

( 3. ) Watch your Hearts : We watch suspicious persons ; The heart is deceitful , Ier. 17.9 . Watch your heart ; 1. When you are about holy things ; it will be stealing out to vanity . When I am at Prayer , saith S. Hierom , Aut per porticum deambulo aut de foenore computo , either I am walking through Galleries , or casting up Accompts . 2. Watch your heart when you are in Company . The Basilisk poysons the herbs he breaths on ; the breath of the wicked is infectious . Nay , watch your hearts when you are in good Company ; such as have some good in them , yet may be some grains too light ; they may have much levity of Discourse , and if no scum boils up , yet too much froth . The Devil is subtle , and he can as well creep into the Dove , as he did once into the Serpent . Satan tempted Christ by an Apostle . 3. Watch your hearts in Prosperity ; now you are in danger of Pride . The higher the Water of the Thames riseth , the higher the Boat is lifted up ; the higher that Mens Estates rise , the higher their Hearts are lifted up in Pride In Prosperity you are in danger not only to forget God , but to lift up the heel against him ; Deut. 32.15 . Iesurun waxed fat and kicked . It is hard to carry a full Cup without spilling , and to carry a full prosperous Estate without sinning . Turpi fregerunt saecula luxu divitiae molles . Sen. Trag. Sampson fell asleep in Dalilahs lap ; many have fallen so fast asleep in the lap of Prosperity that they have never awaked till they have been in Hell . 4. Watch your hearts after holy Duties . When Christ had been Praying and Fasting then the Devil tempted him , Mat. 4.23 . After our combating with Satan in Prayer , we are apt to grow secure , and put our Spiritual Armour off , and then the Devil falls on and wounds us . O if you would get Heaven be alwayes upon your Watch-tower , set a spy , keep close centinel in your Souls : Who would not watch when it is for a Kingdom .

9. If you would arrive at the Heavenly Kingdom get those three Graces which will undoubtedly bring you thither .

( 1. ) Divine Knowledge . There 's no going to Heaven blindfold . In the Creation , Light was the first thing which was made ; so 't is in the new Creation , Knowledge is the Pillar of Fire which goes before us , and lights us into the Heavenly Kingdom . 'T is light must bring us to the inheritance in light ; Col. 1.12 .

(2) . Faith . Faith ends in Salvation ; 1 Pet. 1.9 . Receiving the end of your faith , Salvation . He who believes is as sure to go to Heaven as if he were in Heaven already ; Acts 16.31 . Faith toucheth Christ , and can he miss of Heaven who toucheth Christ ? Faith unites to Christ , and shall not the Members be where the Head is ? All have not the same degree of Faith ; we must distinguish between the direct act of Faith , and the reflex act , Affiance and Assurance ; yet the least seed and spark of Faith gives an undoubted title to the Heavenly Kingdom . I am justified because I believe , not because I know I believe .

( 3. ) Love to God . Heaven is prepared for those that love God , 1 Cor. 2.9 . Love is the Soul of Obedience , the Touchstone of Sincerity . By our loving God we may know he loves us , 1 Iohn 4.19 . and those whom God loves he will lay in his bosom . Ambrose in his Funeral Oration for Theodosius , brings in the Angels hovering about his departing Soul , and being ready to carry it to Heaven , asked him , What that Grace was he had practised most upon Earth , Theodosius replyed , Dilexi , dilexi , I have loved , I have loved ; and strait-way he was by a convoy of Angels translated to Glory . Love is a sacred Fire kindled in the breast , in the flames of this Fire the devout Soul ascends to Heaven .

10. If we would obtain this Heavenly Kingdom let us labour for Sincerity ; Prov. 28.18 . Whosoever walketh uprightly shall be saved . The sincere Christian may fall short of some degrees of Grace , but he never falls short of the Kingdom ; God will pass by many failings where the heart is right ; Numb. 23.21 . True Gold , though it be light , hath grains of allowance ; Psal. 51.6 . Thou desirest truth in the inward parts . Sincerity is the sauce which seasons all our Actions , and makes them savoury ; it is the ingredient into every Grace : It is called Faith unfeigned , 2 Tim. 1.5 . and Love 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 in sincerity , Eph. 6.24 . Coyn will not go currant that wants the Kings stamp ; Grace is not currant if it be not stamped with Sincerity . Glorious Duties sowred with Hypocrisie are rejected , when great Infirmities sweetned with Sincerity are accepted . If any thing in the World bring us to Heaven it is Sincerity : Sincerity signifies plainness of heart , Psal. 32.2 . In whose Spirit there is no guile . The plainer the Diamond is the richer .

( 1. ) Sincerity is when we serve God with our heart ; we do not only worship him but love him . Cain brought his Sacrifice , but not his Heart : This is Gods delight , a Sacrifice flaming upon the Altar of the Heart . A sincere Christian , though he hath a double principle in him , Flesh and Spirit , yet he hath not a double heart , his heart is for God .

( 2. ) Sincerity is when we aim purely at God in all we do . The Glory of God is more worth than the Salvation of all Mens Souls . A sincere Christian though he comes short in Duty yet he takes a right aim . As the herb Heliotropium turns about according to the motion of the Sun ; so a Godly Mans actions do all move towards the Glory of God

11. If we would obtain the Heavenly Kingdom , let us keep up fervency in Duty , What is a dead form without the power ? Rev. 3.16 . Because thou art luke-warm , neither hot nor cold , I will spue thee out of my mouth . Fervency puts life into Duty ; Rom. 12.11 . Fervent in Spirit serving God ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Boyling over . Christ prayed 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , yet more earnestly , Luke 22.44 . When the Fire on the Golden Censer was ready to go out , Aaron was to put more Coals to the Incense . Praying with Devotion is putting more Coals to the Incense ; 't is not Formality but Fervency will bring us to Heaven : The Formalist is like Ephraim , a Cake not turned , hot on one side and dough on the other . In the external part of Gods Worship he seems to be hot , but as for the Spiritual part of Gods Worship he is cold . Oh if you would have the Kingdom of Heaven keep up heat and fervour in Duty . Eliah was carried up to Heaven in a fiery Chariot ; if you would go to Heaven you must be carried thither in a fiery Chariot of Zeal : 'T is violence takes the Kingdom of Heaven .

12. If we would arrive at the Heavenly Kingdom let us cherish the motions of Gods Spirit in our hearts . The Marriner may spread his Sails , but the Ship cannot get to the Haven without a gale of Wind ; so we may spread the sails of our endeavour , but we cannot get to the Haven of Glory without the North and South-wind of Gods Spirit blow ; how nearly therefore doth it concern us to make much of the motions of Gods Spirit ; motions to Prayer , motions to Repentance . 2 Sam. 5.24 . When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry-trees , that then thou shalt bestir thy self , for then shall the Lord go out before thee : So when we hear as it were a voice within us , a secret inspiration stirring us up to good Duties , we should then bestir our selves ; while the Spirit works in us , we should work with the Spirit . Many Men have Gods Spirit striving with them , he puts good motions in their hearts , and holy purposes , but they neglecting to prosecute these good motions , the Spirit is thereby grieved , and being grieved , withdraws its assistance , and that assistance being gone there is no getting to Heaven . Oh make much of the motions of the Spirit , it is as much as your Salvation is worth . The Spirit of God is compared to fire , Acts 2.2 . if we are careful to blow this spark , we may have fire to inflame our affections , and to light our feet into the way of peace . If we quench the Spirit by our neglecting and resisting its motions , we cut our selves off from Salvation . The Spirit of God hath a drawing-power , Cant. 1.4 . The Blessed Spirit draws by attraction , as the Loadstone the Iron . In the preaching of the Word the Spirit draws the heart up to Heaven in holy longings and ejaculations . Now when the Spirit is about thus to draw us , let us take heed of drawing back left it be to perdition : Heb. 10. We should do as Noah , when the Dove came flying to the Ark , he put forth his hand and took it into the Ark , so when this sweet Dove of Gods Spirit comes flying to our hearts , and brings a gracious impulse as an Olive-branch of Peace in its mouth . O take this Dove into the Ark , entertain the Spirit in your hearts , and it will bring you to Heaven .

Quest. But how shall we know the motions of the Spirit from a delusion ?

Answ. The motions of the Spirit are alwayes agreeable to the Word . If the Word be for Holiness so is the Spirit : The Spirit perswades to nothing but what the Word directs ; which way the tyde of the Word runs , that way the Wind of the Spirit blows .

13. We obtain the Kingdom of Heaven by uniform and chearful Obedience ; Obedience is the Road through which we travail to Heaven ; many say they love God , but refuse to obey him ; doth he love the Princes Person who slights his Commands ?

( 1. ) Obedience must be uniform , Psal. 119.6 , Then shall I not be ashamed , Lo Eboth , I shall not blush when I have respect to all thy Commandments ; as the Son goes through all the signs of the Zodiack , so must we through all the duties of Religion : If a Man be to go an hundred Miles , and he goes ninety nine Miles , and there stops , he comes short of the Place he is to travel to ; if with Herod we do many things that God commands , yet if we lye in the total neglect of any duty we come short of the Kingdom of Heaven ; for Instance , If a Man seem to make Conscience of duties of the first Table , and not the duties of the second ; if he seem to be religious but is not just , he is a Transgressor , and is in danger to lose Heaven ; a good heart is like the Needle which points that way which the Loadstone draws , so he moves that way which the Word draws .

( 2. ) Obedience must be chearful ; I delight to do thy Will O my God , yea thy Law is within my heart , Psal. 40.8 . That is the sweetest Obedience which is chearful , as that is the sweetest Honey which drops from the Comb freely : God doth sometimes accept of willingness without the work , but never of the Work without willingness ; Zach. 5 9. There came out two Women and the wind was in their wings . Wings are swift , but wind in the Wings denotes great swiftness ; an Emblem of the swiftness and chearfulness which should be in Obedience ; we go to Heaven in the way of Obedience .

14. If we would obtain this Kingdom , be much in the Communion of Saints ; one Coal of Juniper will warm and inflame another ; when the heart is dead and frozen the Communion of Saints will help to warm it , Mal. 3.16 . They that feared the Lord spake often one to another . Christians should never meet ( saith Mr. Bolton ) but speak of their meeting together in Heaven : One Christian may be very helpful by Prayer and Conference to another , and give him a lift towards Heaven . Old Latimer was much strengthened and comforted by hearing Mr. Bilnyes Confession of Faith . We read that when Moses his hands were heavy , and he was ready to let them fall , Aaron and Hur staid up his hands , Exod. 17.12 . A Christian who is ready to faint under Tentation , and le ts down the hands of his Faith , by conversing with other Christians , he is strengthened and his hands are held up ; a great benefit of holy Conference is Counsel and Advise : If a Man , saith Chrysostom , who hath but one head to advise him , could make that head an hundred heads to advise him , he would be very wise : A single Christian hath this benefit by the Communion of Saints , they are as so many heads to advise him what to do in such a case or exigence : By Christian conference the Saints can say , Did not our heart burn within us ? Communion of Saints we have in our Creed , but 't is too little in our practise : Men usually travel fastest in Company , we travel fastest to Heaven in the Communion of Saints .

15. If we would attain to this Kingdom of Heaven , let us be willing to come up to Christs terms ; many will be cheapening , and bid something for the Kingdom of Heaven , they will avoid gross sin , and will come to Church and say their Prayers ; and yet all this while they are not willing to come up to Gods Price , that is , they will not renounce the Idol of self Righteousness , flying only to Christ as to the Horns of the Altar ; they ; will not sacrifice their bosom-sin ; they will not give God Spirit-worship , serving him with zeal and intenseness of Soul , Iohn 4.24 . they will not forgive their Enemies : they will not part with their carnal profits for Christ ; they would have the Kingdom of Heaven , but they will not come up to the Price : If you would have this Kingdom , do not article and indent with Christ , but accept of his Terms ; say , Lord , I am willing to have the Kingdom of Heaven whatever it cost me ; I am willing to pluck out my right eye , to part with all for the Kingdom ; here is a blank paper I put into thy hand , Lord write thy own Articles , I will subscribe to them .

16. If we would obtain the Heavenly Kingdom , let us attend to the holy Ordinances ; thus God brings Souls to heaven ; Act. 27.31 . Except ye abide in the Ship ye cannot be saved . Some People would leap out of the Ship of Ordinances , and then God knows whether they leap ; but except ye abide in the Ship of Ordinances ye cannot be saved ; especially if you would get to Heaven attend to the Word preached : It was by the Ear , by our first Parents listening to the Serpent , that we lost Paradise ; and it is by the Ear , by the hearing of the word , that we get Heaven , Isa. 55.3 . Hear and your Soul shall live . God sometimes in the preaching of the word drops in that holy Oyl into the Ear which softens and sanctifies the heart : The word preached is called the Ministry of the Spirit , 2 Cor. 3.8 . because the Spirit of God makes use of this Engine to convert Souls : If the word preached doth not work upon Men , nothing will , not Judgment , or Miracles , no , nor though one should arise from the Dead , Luke 16.31 . If a glorified Saint should come out of Heaven , and assume a Body , and tell you of all the glory of Heaven , and the joys of the blessed , and perswade you to believe ; if the preaching of the word will not bring you to Heaven , neither would his Rhetorique do it who rose from the dead . In Heaven there will be no need of Ordinances , but there is while we live here : The Lamp needs Oyl , but the Star needs none . While the Saints have their Lamp of Grace burning here , they need the Oyl of Ordinances to be continually dropping upon them ; but there will be no need of this Oyl when they are Stars in Heaven . If you intend to get to Heaven , be swift to hear ; for faith comes by hearing , Rom. 10.14 , 17. Peter let down the Net of his Ministry and at one draught catch'd three thousand Souls . If you would have Heavens Door opened to you , wait at the Posts of Wisdoms Door .

17. If you would arrive at Heaven , have this Kingdom ever in your eye : Our blessed Lord looked to the Joy which was set before him , and Moses had an eye to the Recompence of Reward , Heb. 11.26 . Let the Kingdom be much in our thoughts ; Meditation is a means to help us to Heaven .

Quest. How doth it help ?

Answ. 1. As it is a means to prevent sin , no Sword like this to cut asunder the Sinews of Tentation ; it is almost inpossible to sin presumptuously with the lively thoughts and hopes of Heaven : It was when Moses was out of Sight that Israel set up a Calf and worshipped it ; so it is when the Kingdom of Heaven is out of sight , I mean out of Mens thoughts , that they set up their Lusts and idolize them ; the Meditation of Heaven banisheth sin ; he who thinks of the weight of Glory , throws away the weights of sin .

2. The 〈◊〉 on the Kingdom of Heaven would excite and quicken Obedience , we should think we could never pray enough , never love God enough who hath prepared such a Kingdom for us , immensum Gloria calcar habet : Saint Paul had Heaven in his eye , he was once caught up thither , and how active was he for God , 1 Cor. 15.10 . This would oyl the Wheels of Obedience .

3. It would make us strive after Holiness , because none but such are admitted into this Kingdom , only the pure in heart shall see God , Mat. 5. Holiness is the Language of Heaven , it is the only coin will pass currant in Heaven ; this considered would make us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit , perfecting Holiness in the fear of God , 2 Cor. 7.1 .

Thus you see how the Meditation of Heaven would be a means to bring us thither .

18. The last means for obtaining the Heavenly Kingdom is , Perseverance in Holiness , Rev. 2.10 . Be thou faithful unto death , and thou shalt receive the Crown of Life . In Christians non initia sed finis laudantur , Hierom.

1. Is there such a thing as persevering ? 2. How doth a Christian come to persevere ? 3. What are the Incouragements ? 4. What Helps ?

1. Is there such a thing as persevering till we come to Heaven ? The Arminians deny it , and truly that any one holds out to the Kingdom is a wonder ; if you consider ,

1. What a world of Corruption is mingled with Grace ; Grace is apt to be stifled , as the Coal to be choaked with its own ashes : Grace is oft like a Spark in the Sea , 't is a wonder it is not quenched : 'T is a wonder sin doth not do to Grace as sometime the Nurse to the Child , overlay it that it dye ; so that this Infant of Grace is not smothered .

2. The Implacable malice of Satan ; he denies that we should have a Kingdom , when he himself is cast out ; it cuts him to the heart to see a piece of dust and clay be made a bright Star in Glory , and he himself an Angel of Darkness ; he will Acheronta movere , move all the Powers of Hell to hinder us from the Kingdom ; he spits his Venome , shoots his fiery Darts , raiseth a storm of persecution , yea , and prevails against some ; Rev. 12.4 . There appeared a great red Dragon , and his Tail drew the third part of the Stars of Heaven , and did cast them to the Earth . By the Dragon is meant the Heathenish Empire ; now when his Tail cast so many to the Earth , it is a wonder that any of the Stars keep fixed in their Orb.

3. The Blandishments of Riches : The Young man in the Gospel went very far , thou art not far from the Kingdom of God ; but he had rich Possessions , and these golden weights hindred him from the Kingdom , Luke 18.23 . Ionathan pursued the Battle till he came at the Honey-comb , and then he stood still , 1 Sam. 14.27 . Many are forward for Heaven till they tast the sweetness of the World ; but when they come at the Honey-comb , then they stand still and go no further ; Faenus pecuniae funus animae . Those who have escaped the Rocks of gross sins , yet have been cast away upon the Golden Sands : What a wonder therefore that any doth hold on till he comes to the Kingdom .

4. A wonder any holds out in Grace , and doth not tire in his march to Heaven ; if you consider the difficulty of a Christians Work , he hath no time to lye fallow , he is either watching or fighting ; nay , a Christian is to do those Duties which to the eye of sence and reason seem inconsistent : While a Christian doth one duty he seems to cross another , e. g. he must come with holy boldness to God in Prayer , yet must serve him with fear ; he must mourn for sin , yet rejoyce ; he must be contented , yet covet , 1 Cor. 12.32 . contemn Mens Impieties , yet reverence their Authority : What difficult work is this ; a wonder any Saint arrives at the Heavenly Kingdom , to this I might add , the evil Examples abroad , which are so atractive , we may say , the Devils are come among us in the likeness of Men ; what a wonder is it that any Soul perseveres till it comes to the Kingdom of Heaven ; but as great a wonder as it is , there is such a thing as perseverance ; a Saints perseverance is built upon three immutable Pillars .

( 1. ) Gods Eternal Love : We are inconstant in our Love to God ; but he is not so in his Love to us , Ier. 31.9 I have loved thee with an everlasting Love ; a havath gnolam , with a Love of Eternity . Gods Love to the Elect is not like a Kings Love to his Favourite , when it is at the highest Spring-Tide it soon ebbs ; but Gods Love is eternized ; God may desert , not disinherit ; he may change his Love into a Frown , not into hatred ; he may alter his Providence , not his decree : When once the Sun-shine of Gods Electing Love is risen upon the Soul , it never sets finally .

( 2. ) A Saints Perseverance is built upon the Covenant of Grace ; 〈◊〉 a firm impregnable Covenant : This you have in the words of the sweet Singer of Israel , 2. Sam. 23.5 . God hath made with me an everlasting Covenant , ordered in all things and sure . 'T is a sweet Covenant that God will be our God ; the marrow and quintessence of all Blessing ; and it is a sure Covenant , that he will put his Fear in our heart , and we shall never depart from him , Ier. 32.40 . This Covenant is inviolable , cannot be broken ; indeed sin may break the Peace of the Covenant , but it cannot break the Bond of the Covenant .

( 3. ) The third Pillar Perseverance is built upon is the Mistical Union : Believers are incorporated into Christ , they are knit to him as Members to the Head , by the Nerve and Ligament of Faith , that they cannot be broken off , Eph. 5.23 . What was once said of Christs natural Body is as true of his mistical Body , Iohn 19.36 . A bone of it shall not be broken . As it is impossible to sever the Leaven and the Dough when they are once mingled , so it is impossible when Christ and Believers are once united ever by the Power of Death or Hell to be separated : How can Christ lose any Member of his Body and be perfect ? You see on what strong Pillars the Saints Perseverance is built .

2 Quest. How doth a Christian hold on till he comes to the Kingdom ? How doth he persevere ?

Resp. 1. Auxilio Spiritus : God carries on a Christian to perseverance by the Energy and vigorous working of his Spirit : The Spirit maintains the Essence and Seed of Grace , it doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 blow up the Sparks of Grace into an holy Flame ; Spiritus est Vicarius Christi , Tertul. 't is Christs Deputy and Proxy , is it every day at work in a Believers heart , exerting Grace into Exercise , and ripening it into perseverance : The Spirit doth carve and polish the Vessels of Mercy , and make them fit for Glory .

2. Christ causeth perseverance and carries on a Saint till he comes to the Heavenly Kingdom , vi orationis , by his Intercession : Christ is an Advocate as well as a Surety ; he prays that the Saints may arrive safe at the Kingdom , Heb. 7.25 . Wherefore he is able to save them , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to the uttermost , ( i. e. perfectly ) seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for them ; that Prayer he made for Peter on Earth he prays now in Heaven for the Saints , that their Faith fail not , Luke 22.32 . that they may be with him where he is , Iohn 17.24 . and sure if he pray that they may be with him in his Kingdom , they cannot perish by the way : Christs Prayer is efficacious ; if the Saints Prayers have so much force and prevalency in them : Iacob had power with God , and as a Prince prevailed , Hos. 12.4 . By Prayer Eliah unlocked Heaven : If the Prayers of the Saints have so much power with God , then what hath Christs Prayer ? how can the Children of such Prayers miscarry ? how can they fall short of the Kingdom , who have him praying for them who is not only a Priest but a Son ? and besides what he prays for as he is Man , that he hath power to give as he is God ; thus you see how a Christian comes to Persevere till he comes to the Kingdom .

Object . But methinks I hear some Christians say , if only perseverance obtains the Kingdom , they fear they shall not come thither , they fear they shall faint by the way , and the weak legs of their Grace will never carry them to the Kingdom of Heaven .

Answ. Wert thou indeed to stand in thy own strength thou mightest fall away ; that Branch withers and dies which hath no Root to grow upon ; thou growest upon the Root Christ , who will be daily sending forth vital influence to strengthen thee ; thou art imbecil and weak in Grace , yet fear not falling short of Heaven ; For ,

1. God hath made a promise to weak Believers ; what is a bruised Reed but the Emblem of a weak Faith , yet it hath a Promise made to it , Mat. 12.20 . A bruised Reed he will not break . God hath promised to supply the weak Christian with so much Grace as he shall need , till he comes to Heaven : Beside the two Pence which the good Samaritan left to pay for the Cure of the poor wounded Man , he passed his Word for all that he should need beside , Luke 10.35 . So , Christ doth not only give a little Grace in hand , but his Bond for more , that he will give as much Grace as a Saint shall need till he comes to Heaven , Psal. 84.11 . The Lord will give Grace and Glory , that is , a fresh supply of Grace till it be perfected in Glory .

2. God hath most care of his weak Saints , who fear they shall never hold out till they come to the Kingdom ; doth not the Mother tend the weak Child most ? Isa. 40.11 . He will gather the Lambs in his Arms , and carry them in his Bosom . If thou thinkest thou art so weak that thou shalt never hold out till thou comest to Heaven , thou shalt be carried in the Arms of the Almighty , he gathers the Lambs in his Arms ; Christ the Lyon of the Tribe of Iudah marched before hi● People , and his Power is their Rear-ward , so that none of them faint , or dye in their March to Heaven .

3. Quest. What are the Encouragements to make Christians hold on till they come to the Kingdom of Heaven ?

Answ. 1. It is a great Credit to a Christian not only to hold forth the Truth , but to hold fast the Truth till he comes to Heaven ; when Grace doth flourish into perseverance , and with the Church of Thyatira our last works are more then our first , Rev. 2.19 . This is insigne honoris a Star of Honour : 'T is matter of renown to see gray hairs shine with golden vertues : the Excellency of a thing lies in the finishing of it : What is the excellency of a Building ? not when the first stone is laid , but when it is finished ; so the beauty and excellency of a Christian is when he hath finished his Faith , having done his work is landed safe in Heaven .

2. You that have made a progress in Religion , have not many Miles to go before you come at the Kingdom of Heaven ; Rom. 13.11 . Now is our Salvation neerer then when we believed . You who have hoary hairs , your green Tree is turned into an Almond-tree , you are near to Heaven , it is but going a little further and you will set your Feet within Heaven Gates ; Oh therefore now be encouraged to hold out , your Salvation is nearer then when you first began to believe : Our diligence should be greater when our Salvation is nearer : When a Man is almost at the end of the Race will he now tire and faint ? will he not put forth all his strength , and strain every Limb that he may lay hold upon the Prize ? Our Salvation is now nearer , the Kingdom is as it were within sight ; how should we now put forth all our strength that we may lay hold upon the Garland of Glory : Doctor Taylour when he was going to his Martyrdom , I have ( saith he ) but two Stiles to go over and I shall be at my Fathers House . Though the way to Heaven be up hill , you must climb the steepy Rock of Mortification , and though there be Thorns in the way , viz. Sufferings , yet you have gone the greatest part of your way , you are within a few days march of the Kingdom , and will not you persevere ? Christian pluck up thy Courage , fight the good fight of Faith , pursue Holiness , 't is but a while and you shall put off your Armour , and end all your weary Marches , and receive a Victorious Crown ; your Salvation is nearer , you are within a little of the Kingdom , therefore now presevere , you are ready to commence and take your Degree of Glory .

3. The blessed promise annexed to Perseverance ; the promise is a Crown of Life , Rev 2.10 . Death is a Worm that feeds in the Crowns of Princes , but behold here a living Crown , and a never-fading Crown , 1 Pet. 5.4 . and Rev. 2.28 . He that overcometh , and keepeth my works to the end I will give him Stellam matutinam , the Morning Star : The Morning Star is brighter then the rest ; this Morning Star is meant of Christ ; as if Christ had said , I will give to him that perseveres some of my Beauty , I will put some of my illustrious Rays upon him , he shall have the next degree of Glory to me , as the Morning Star is next the Sun ; will not this animate and make us hold out , we shall have a Kingdom , and that which is better then the Kingdom , a bright Morning Star .

4 Quest. What are the means conducing to perseverance , or what shall we do that we may hold out to the Kingdom ?

Resp. 1. Take up Religion upon good Grounds , not in a Fit or Humour , or out of worldly design , but be deliberate , weigh things well in the Ballance , Luke 14.28 . Which of you intending to build a Tower , sitteth not down first and counteth the cost : Think with your selves what Religion must cost you , it must cost you the parting with your sins , and what is may cost you , it may cost you the parting with your Lives ; consider if a Kingdom will not countervail your Sufferings ; weigh things well and then make your choice , Psal. 119.30 . I have chosen the way of thy Truth . Why do many Apostatize and fall away , but because they did never sit down and count the cost .

2. If we would hold out to the Kingdom , let us cherish the Grace of Faith , 1 Cor. 1.24 . By Faith ye stand ; Faith like Hercules Club it beats down all Oppositions before it ; 't is a conquering Grace .

Quest. How comes Faith to be so strong ?

Resp. Faith fetcheth Christs strength into the Soul , Phil. 4.13 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . A Captain may give his Soldier Armour , but not strength : Faith partakes of Christs strength , and Faith gets strength from the promise ; as the Child by sucking the Breast gets strength , so doth Faith by sucking the Breast of the Promise ; hence Faith is such a wonder working Grace , and enables a Christian to persevere .

3. If you would hold out to the Kingdom , set before your Eyes the Examples of those Noble , Heroick Saints who have persevered to the Kingdom ; Vivitur Exemplis , Examples have more influence upon us then Precepts , Iob 23.11 , 12. My Foot hath held his steps : Though the way of Religion hath Flints and Thorns in it , yet my Foot hath held his steps , I have not fainted in the way , nor turn'd out of the way ; Daniel held on his Religion , and would not intermit Prayer , though he knew the writing was signed against him , and a Prayer might cost him his life , Dan. 6.10 . The blessed Martyrs persevered to the Kingdom through Sufferings ; Saunders that holy Man said , Welcome the Cross of Christ , my Saviour began to me in a bitter Cup , and shall I not pledge him ? Another Martyr kissing the Stake said , I shall not lose my Life , but change it for a better , instead of Coals I shall have Pearls . What a spirit of gallantry was in these Saints ; let us learn Constancy from their Courage . A Souldier seeing his General fight valiantly , is animated by his Example , and hath new Spirits put into him .

4. Let us add fervent Prayer to God , that he would inable us to hold out to the Heavenly Kingdom : Psal. 119.117 . Hold thou me up , and I shall be safe . Let us not presume on our own strength . When Peter cryed to Christ on the water , Lord save me , then Christ took him by the hand , Matth. 14.30 . but when he grew confident of his own strength , then Christ let him fall . O pray to God for auxiliary Grace . The Child is safe when held in the Nurses armes ; so are we in Christs armes . Let us pray that God will put his fear in our hearts that we do not depart from him ; and that Prayer of Cyprian , Domine quod caepisti perfice , ne in portu naufragium accidat , Lord perfect that which thou hast begun in me , that I may not suffer shipwrack when I am almost at the haven .

3. Branch . Let us press forward with the greatest diligence to this Kingdom : And here let me lay down some powerful Perswasives , or Divine Arguments , to make you put to all your strength for the obtaining this blessed Kingdom .

1. This is the great errand for which God hath sent us into the World to prepare for this Heavenly Kingdom ; Matth. 6.33 . Seek ye first the kingdom of God . First in time , before all things ; and first in affection , above all things . Great care is taken for the atchieving Worldly things ; Matth. 6.25 . To see people labouring for the earth , as Ants about a Molehill , would make one think this were the only errand they came about : But alas , what is all this to the Kingdom of Heaven ? I have read of a devout Pilgrim travelling to Ierusalem , who passing through several Cities , where he saw many stately Edifices , Ware and Monuments , he would say , I must not stay here , this is not Jerusalem : So when we enjoy Worldly things , Peace and Plenty , and have our presses burst out with new Wine , we should say to our selves , this is not the Kingdom we are to look after , this is not Heaven : 'T is Wisdom to remember our errand . It will be but sad upon a Death-bed for a Man to think he was busying himself only about trifles , playing with a feather , and neglected the main thing he came into the World about .

2. The seeking after the Heavenly Kingdom will be judged most prudent by all Men at last . Those who are regardless of their Souls now , will before they dye wish they had minded Eternity more ; when Conscience is awakened , and Men begin to come to themselves : Now what would they give for the Kingdom of Heaven ? How happy were it if Men were of the same mind now , as they will be at Death . Death will alter Mens opinions ; then those who did most slight and disparage the wayes of Religion , will wish their time and thoughts had been taken up about the excellent Glory . At Death Mens eyes will be opened , and they will see their folly when it is too late . If all Men , even the worst , will wish at last they had minded the Kingdom of Heaven , why should not we do that now , which all will wish they had done when they come to dye .

3. This Kingdom of Heaven deserves our utmost pains and diligence ; it is Glorious beyond Hyperbole . Suppose Earthly Kingdoms more magnificent than they are , their Foundations of Gold , their Walls of Pearl , their Windows of Sapphire , yet they are not comparable to the Heavenly Kingdom ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrys. If the Pavement of it be bespangled with so many bright shining Lights , glorious Stars , what is the Kingdom it self ? 1 Iohn 3.2 . It doth not yet appear what we shall be . This Kingdom exceeds our Faith . How sublime and wonderful is that place where the blessed Deity shines forth in his immense Glory , infinitely beyond the comprehension of Angels .

( 1. ) The Kingdom of Heaven is a place of Honour ; there are the glorious Triumphs and sparkling Crowns . In other Kingdoms there is but one King , but in Heaven all are Kings : Rev. 1.6 . Every Saint glorified partaker of the same Glory as Christ doth ; Iohn 17.22 . The glory thou hast given me I have given them .

( 2. ) This Kingdom is a place of Joy ; Matth. 25.21 . Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord . To have a continual aspect of Love from Gods face , to be crowned with Immortality , to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as the Angels of God , to drink of the Rivers of Pleasure for ever , this will cause Raptures of Joy . Sure it deserves our utmost pains in pursuing and securing this Kingdom . Iulius Caesar coming towards Rome with his Army , and hearing the Senate and People fled from it , said , They that will not fight for this City , what City will they fight for ? If we will not take pains for the Kingdom of Heaven what Kingdom will we take pains for . It was the speech of the Spies to their Brethren , Iudg. 18.9 . We have seen the land , and behold it is very good , and are ye still ? be not slothful to go , and to enter to possess the land . We have had a lively description of the Glory of Heaven , we find the Kingdom is very good , why then do we sit still ? Why do we not operam navare put forth our utmost zeal and industry for this Kingdom ? The diligence of others in seeking after Earthly Kingdoms , shames our coldness and indifferency in pursuing after the Kingdom of Heaven .

4. The time we have to make sure of the Heavenly Kingdom is very short and uncertain ; take heed it doth not slip away before you have prepared for the Kingdom . Time passeth on apace , Cito pede praeterita vita : It will not be long before the silver cord be loosed , and the golden bowl broken , Eccles. 12. The skin wherein the Brains are inclosed as in a bowl , this golden bowl will soon be broken . Our Soul is in our Body as the Bird is in the Shell , which soon breaks and the Bird flyes out ; the Shell of the Body breaking , the Soul flyes into Eternity . We know not whether we shall live to another Sabbath : Before we hear another Sermon-bell go , our Passing-bell may go . Our Life runs as a swift stream into the ocean of Eternity . Brethren , if our Time be so minute and transient , if the taper of Life be so soon wasted , or perhaps blown out by violent death , how should we put to all our strength , and call in help from Heaven that we may obtain the Kingdom of Glory . If time be so short , why do we wast it about things of less moment , and neglect the one thing needful , which is the Kingdom of Heaven . A Man that hath a great work to be done , and but one day for the doing of it , had need work hard : We have a great work to do , we are striving for a Kingdom , and alas we are not certain of one day to work in , therefore what need have we to bestir our selves , and what we do for Heaven , to do it with all our might .

5. To excite our diligence , let us consider how inexcusable we shall be if we miss of the Kingdom of Heaven , who have had such helps for Heaven as we have had : Indians who have Mines of Gold , have not such advantages for Glory as we ; they have the light of the Sun , Moon and Stars , and the light of R●ason , but this is not enough to light them to Heaven : But we have had the light of the Gospel shining in our Horizon ; we have been lifted up to Heaven with Ordinances ; we have had the Word in season and out of season . The Ordinances are the pipes of the Sanctuary which empty the golden Oyl of Grace into the Soul , they are scala ParAdisi , the Ladder by which we ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven : Deut. 4 7. What nation is there so great who hath God so nigh unto them , as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for ? We have had Heaven and Hell set before us , we have had Counsels of Friends , Warnings , Examples , the Motions and Inspirations of the Holy Ghost , how should all these spurs quicken us in our pace to Heaven ? Should not that Ship sail apace to the Haven which hath Wind and Tide to carry it ? The Tide of Ordinances , and the Wind of the Spirit . Surely if we through negligence miss of the Kingdom of Heaven , we shall have nothing to say for our selves ; we shall be as far from excuse as from happiness .

6. You cannot do too much for the Kingdom of Heaven ; you cannot pray too much , sanctifie the Sabbath too much , love God too much ; you cannot over-do . In secular things a Man may labour too hard , he may kill himself with working ; but there is no fear of working too hard for Heaven : In virtute non est verendum ne quid nimium sit , Seneca . The World is apt to censure the Godly , as if they were too zealous , and did over-strain themselves in Religion . Indeed a Man may follow the World too much , he may make too much hast to be rich . The Ferry-man may take in too many Passengers into his Boat , to the sinking of his Boat ; so a Man may heap up so much Gold and Silver as to sink himself in Perdition , 1 Tim. 6.9 . but one cannot be too earnest and zealous for the Kingdom of Heaven ; there is no fear of excess here ; when we do all we can for Heaven , we come short of the Golden Rule set us , and of Christs Golden Pattern ; when our Faith is highest , like the Sun in the Meridian , yet still 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , there is something lacking in our Faith , 1 Thess. 3.1 . so that all our labour for the Kingdom is little enough . When a Christian hath done his best , yet still he hath sins and wants to bewail .

7 By this you may judge of the state of your Souls , whether you have Grace or no , by your earnest pursuit after the Heavenly Kingdom . Grace infuseth a Spirit of activity into a person ; Grace doth not lye dormant in the Soul , 't is not a sleepy habit , but it makes a Christian like a Seraphim swift and winged in his Heavenly motion ; Grace is like fire , it makes one burn in love to God , and the more he loves him , the more he presseth forward to Heaven where he may fully enjoy him . Hope is an active Grace , 't is called a lively hope , 1 Pet. 1.3 . hope is like the spring in the Watch , it sets all the wheels of the Soul a running : Hope of a Crop makes the Husbandman sow his seed ; hope of Victory makes the Souldier fight ; and a true hope of Glory makes a Christian vigorously pursue Glory . Here is a Spiritual Touchstone to try our Grace by . If we have the anointing of the Spirit , it will oyl the wheels of our endeavour , and make us lively in our pursuit after the Heavenly Kingdom . No sooner had Paul Grace infused , but presently , Behold he prayes ; Acts 9.11 . The Affections are by Divines called the Feet of the Soul , if these Feet move not towards Heaven , it is because there is no Life .

8. Your labour for Heaven is not lost : Perhaps you may think it is in vain that you have served God , but know , that your pains is not lost . The Seed is cast into the Earth and it dyes , yet at last it brings forth a plentiful Crop ; so your labours seem to be fruitless , but at last they bring you to a Kingdom . Who would not work hard for one hour , when for that hours work he sh●uld be a King as long as he lived . And let me tell you , the more labour you have put forth for the Kingdom of Heaven , the more degrees of Glory you shall have . As there are degrees of Torment in Hell , Matth. 23.14 . so of Glory in Heaven . As one Star differs from another in Glory , so shall one Saint ; 1 Cor. 15.41 . Though every Vessel of Mercy shall be full , yet one Vessel may hold mor● than another . Such as have done more work for God , shall have more Glory in the Heavenly Kingdom . Could we hear th● Saints departed speaking to us from Heaven , sure they would speak after this manner , Were we to leave Heaven a while , and live on the Earth again , we would do God a thousand times more service than ever we did ; we would pray with more Life , act with more Zeal ; for now we see , the more hath been our labour the greater is our reward in Heaven .

9. While we are labouring for the Kingdom , God will help us ; Ezek. 36.27 . I will put my Spirit within you , and cause you to walk in my statutes . The Promise encourageth us , and Gods Spirit inableth us . A Master gives his Servant work to do , but he cannot give him strength to work ; but God as he cuts us out work , so he gives us strength , Psal. 86.16 . Give thy strength unto thy servant . God not only gives us a Crown when we have done running , but gives us legs to run ; he gives exciting , assisting Grace : Lex jubet , Gratia juvat . The Spirit helping us in our work for Heaven makes it easie . If the Loadstone draw the Iron , it is not hard for the Iron to move ▪ If God Spirit drawes the heart , now it moves towards Heaven with facility and alacrity .

10. The more pains we have taken for Heaven the sweeter Heaven will be when we come there . As when an Husbandman hath been grafting Trees , or setting Flowers in his Garden , it is pleasant to review and look over his labours ; so when in Heaven we shall remember our former zeal and earnestness for the Kingdom , it will sweeten Heaven and add to the joy of it . For a Christian to think such a day I spent in examining my heart , such a day I was weeping for Sin ; when others were at their sport , I was at Prayer , and now have I lost any thing by my Devotion ? My Tea●s are wiped away , and the Wine of Paradise chears my heart . I now enjoy him whom my Soul loves , I am possessed of a Kingdom , my labour is over , but my joy remains .

11. If you do not take pains for the Kingdom of Heaven now , there will be nothing to be done for your Souls after death : This is the only fit season for working , and if this season be lost , the Kingdom is forfeited ; Eccles. 9.10 . Whatever thy hand findeth to do , do it with thy might , for there is no work , nor device , nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest . It was a Saying of Charles the Fifth , I have spent my Treasure , but that I may recover again , I have lost my Health , but that I may have again , but I have lost a great many brave Souldiers , but them I can never have again : So other Temporal things may be lost , and recovered again , but if the term of Life wherein you should work for Heaven be once lost , it is past all recovery , you can never have another season again for your Souls .

12. There is nothing else but this Kingdom of Heaven we can make sure of : We cannot make sure of Life . Quis scit an adjiciant hodiernae crastina Vitae tempora dii superi ? Hor. When our Breath goes out we know not whether we shall draw it in again ▪ how many are taken away suddenly ? We cannot make Riches sure , it is uncertain whether we shall get them . The World is like a Lottery , every one is not sure to draw a Prize : Or if we get Riches we are not sure to keep them ; Prov. 23 5. Riches make themselves wings and fly : Experience seals to the truth of this . Many who have had plentiful Estates , yet by Fire , or losses at Sea , they have been squeezed as spunges , and all their Estates exhausted ; but if Men should keep their Estates a while , yet Death strips them of all . When Deaths gun goes off away flyes the Estate . 1 Tim. 6.7 . It is certain we can carry nothing out of the World : So that there is no making sure any thing here below , but we may make sure of the Kingdom of Heaven ; Prov. 11.18 . To him that worketh righteousness is a sure reward . He who hath Grace is sure of Heaven , for he hath Heaven begun in him . A Believer hath an evidence of Heaven ; Heb. 11.1 . Faith is the evidence of things not seen ; he hath an earnest of Glory , 2 Cor. 1.22 Who hath also given us the earnest of his Spirit ; an earnest is part of the whole summe ; he hath a sure hope , Heb. 6.19 . Which hope we have as an anchor ; this anchor is cast upon Gods promise , Titus 1.2 . In hope of eternal life , which God that cannot lye hath promised . So that here is great encouragement to take pains for Heaven , we may make sure of this Kingdom .

13. The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be obtained without labour . Non est ad astra mollis e terris vi● . A boat may as well get to land without oars , as we to Heaven without labour . We cannot have the World without labour , and do we think to have Heaven ? If a Man digs for Gravel , much more for Gold : Phil. 3.14 . I press toward the mark . Heaven Gate is not like that ●●on-gate , which opened to Peter of its own accord , Acts 12.10 . Heaven is not like those ripe figs which fall into the mouth of the eater ; Nahum 3.12 . No , there must be taking pains . Two things are requisite for a Christian , a watchful eye and a working hand . We must as Hannibal , force a way to the Heavenly Kingdom through difficulties . We must win the garland of Glory by labour , before we wear it with triumph . God hath enacted this Law , That no man shall eat of the Tree of Paradise , but in the sweat of his browes ; how then dare any censure Christian diligence ; how dare they say , you take more pains for Heaven than needs : God saith 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , strive as in an agony , fight the good sight of Faith ; and these say , you are too strict : But who shall we believe , an holy God that bids us strive , or a prophane Atheist that saith we strive too much .

14. Much of our time being already mispent , we had need work the harder for the Kingdom of Heaven . He who hath lost his time at School , and often played truant , had need ply it the harder that he may gain a stock of Learning ; he who hath slept and loytered in the beginning of his journey , had need ride the faster in the evening , least he fall short of the place he is travelling to . Some here present are in their Youth , others in the flower of their Age , others have gray hairs , the Almond tree blossoms , and perhaps they have been very regardless of their Souls or Heaven . Time spent unprofitably is not time lived , but time lost ; if there be any such here who have mis-spent their golden hours , they have not only been sloathful but wastful Servants , how had you need now , redeem the time , and press forward with might and main to the Heavenly Kingdom ; 1 Pet 4.3 . The time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles . It may suffice us that we have lost so much time already , let us now work the harder : Such as have crept as Snails , had need now fly as Eagles to the Paradise of God ; if in the former part of your Life you have been as Willows , barren in goodness , in the latter part be as an Orchard of Pomegranats , with pleasant fruits , Cant. 4.13 . Recompence former remisness with future diligence .

15. How uncomely and sordid a sloathful temper of Soul is ; Zeph. 1.12 . I will punish the men who are settled on their lees ; Hebr. Hakkophim , Coagulatos , curdled on their lees . Settling on the lees , is an emblem of a dull unactive Soul . The Snail by reason of its slow motion was reckoned among the unclean ; Lev. 11.30 . A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom , Prov. 19.24 . he is loath to pull it out , though it be to lay hold on a Crown : Non capit porta illa Caelestis torpore languidos , Brugens . The Devil himself cannot be charged with idleness , 1 Pet. 5.8 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , He walketh about . An idle Soul stands in the World for a cypher , and God writes down no cyphers in the Book of Life ; Heaven is no hive for Drones ; an idle person is fit for a temptation . When the Bird sits still upon the bough , then it is in danger of the gun ; one sits still in sloath , then the Devil shoots him with a temptation ; standing water putrifies . Heathens will rise up in Judgment against supine Christians . What pains did they take in the Olympick Games , they ran but for a Garland of Flowers , or Olive , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , saith Chrys●stom , and do we sit still who run for a Kingdom ? How can he expect a Reward that never works , or a Crown that never fights ? Inertia animae somnus , sloath is the Souls sleep . Adam when he was asleep lost his Rib ; and when a person is in the deep sleep of sloath , he loseth Salvation .

16. Holy activity and industry doth enoble a Christian : Labor splendore decoratur , Cicero . The more excellent any thing is , the more active . The Sun is a glorious Creature , it is ever in motion , going its circuit : Fire is the purest Element , and the most active , 't is ever sparkling and flaming : The Angels are the most Noble Creatures , they are represented by the Cherubims with Wings displayed . The more active for Heaven the more illustrious , and the more do we resemble the Angels . The Phenix flyes with a Coronet on its head ; the industrious Soul hath his Coronet , his labour is his ensign of honour .

17. It is Mercy that there is a possibility of Happiness , and that upon our pains taking we may have a Kingdom ; by our Fall in Adam we forfeited Heaven ; why might not God have dealt with us as with the lapsed Angels ? they had no sooner sinned but were expell'd Heaven never to come thither more ; we may say as the Apostle , Rom. 11.22 . Behold the Goodness and severity of God . To the Apostate Angels behold the severity of God that he should throw them down to Hell for ever ; to us behold the goodness of God , that he hath put us into a possibility of Mercy , and if we do but take pains , there is a Kingdom stands ready for us ; how may this whet and sharpen our Industry , that we are in a Capacity of Salvation ; and if we do but what we are able , we shall receive an eternal weight of Glory .

18. Our labour for the Kingdom of Heaven is minute and transient , it is not to last long ; our labour expires with our life ; 't is but a while and we shall leave off working , for a little labour an eternal Rest : Who would think much to wade through a little water , that were sure to be crowned as soon as he came at shore . Christians let this encourage you , you have but a little more pains to take , a few Tears more shed , a few more Sabbaths kept , and behold an Eternal Recompence of Reward ; what are a few Tears to a Crown ? a few Minutes of time to an Eternity of Glory ?

19. What striving is there for earthly Kingdoms which are corruptible , and subject to change : With what Vigour and Alacrity did Hannibal's Soldiers continue their March over the Alps and craggy Rocks ; and Caesars Soldiers fight with Hunger and Cold. Men will break through Laws and Oaths , they will swim to the Crown in Blood ; will they venture thus for earthly Promotions ? and shall not we strive more for an Heavenly Kingdom ? 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrysost. This is a Kingdom which cannot be shaken , Heb. 12.28 . A Kingdom where there is unparallel'd Beauty , unstained Honour , unmixed joy ; a Kingdom where there shall be nothing present , which we could wish were removed , nor nothing absent , which we could wish were enjoyed : Sure if there be any Spark of Grace or true Generosity in our Breasts , we will not suffer our selves to be out-striven by others , we will not let them take more pains for earthly Honours , then we do for that excellent Glory which will crown all our desires .

20. How much pains do some Men take to go to Hell , and shall not we take more pains to go to Heaven ? Ier. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit Iniquity . Sinners hackny themselves out in the Devils Service : What Pains do some Men take to satisfy their unclean Lusts ! they wast their Estates , wear the shameful marks of their sin about them ; they will visit the Harlots house though it stands the next door to hell , Prov. 7.27 . Her house is the way to Hell . What pains do others take in persecuting ! Holiness is the white they shoot at : 'T is said of Antiochus Epiphanes , he undertook more tedious Journies , and went upon greater hazards to vex and oppose the Iews , then any of his Predecessors had done in getting of Victories . The Devil blows the horn , and Men ride Pos● to hell , as if they feared hell would be full ere they could get thither : When Satan had entred into Iudas , how active was Iudas ! he goes to the High Priests , from them to the Band of Soldiers , and with them back again to the Garden , and never left till he had betrayed Christ : How industrious were the idolatrous Iews , so fiercely were they bent upon their sin , that they would sacrifice their Sons and Daughters to their Idol Gods , Ier. 32.35 . Do Men take all this Pains for hell , and shall not we take pains for the Kingdom of Heaven ? The wicked have nothing to encourage them in their Sins , they have all the threatenings of God as a flaming Sword against them . O let it never be said that the Devils Servants are more active then Christs , that they serve him better , who rewards them only with Fire and Brimstone , then we do God who rewards us with a Kingdom .

21. The labour we take for Heaven is a labour full of pleasure , Prov. 3.17 . A Man sweats at his Recreation , tires himself with hunting , but there is a delight he takes in it which sweetens it : Rom. 7.22 . I delight in the Law of God , in the inner Man , Gr. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I take pleasure . Not only is the Kingdom of Heaven delightful , but the way thither : What delight hath a gracious Soul in Prayer , Isa. 56.7 . I will make them joyful in my house of Prayer . While a Christian weeps there is joy drops with Tears ; while he is musing on God he hath such illapses of the Spirit , and as it were such Transfigurations of Soul , that he thinks himself half in Heaven , Psal. 63.5 , 6. My Soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness , and my Mouth shall praise thee with joyful Lips , when I remember thee upon my Bed , &c. A Christians work for Heaven is like a Bridegrooms work on the Morning of the Marriage day , he puts on his Vesture and wedding Robes , in which he shall be married to his Bride ; so in all the Duties of Religion we are putting on those wedding Robes , in which we shall be married to Christ in Glory : O what solace and inward Peace is there in close walking with God , Isa. 32.17 . The Work of Righteousness shall be Peace . Serving of God is like gathering of Spices or Flowers , wherein there is some labour , but the labour is recompenced with delight : Working for Heaven is like digging in a Gold Mine , the digging is labour , but getting the Gold is pleasure : O then let us bestir our selves for the Kingdom of Heaven ; it is a labour full of Pleasure ; a Christian would not part with his Joy for the most delicious Musick ; he would not exchange his Anchor of Hope for a Crown of Gold : Well might David say in keeping thy Precepts there is great Reward , Psal. 19.11 . not only after keeping thy Precepts , but in keeping them ; a Christian hath both the Spring Flowers and the Crop ; inward delight in serving God , there is the Spring Flowers ; and the Kingdom of Glory at last , there is the full Crop .

22. How industrious have the Saints in former Ages been , they thought they could never do enough for Heaven ; they could never serve God enough , love him enough , minus te amavi , Domine , Austin . Lord I have loved thee too little . What Pains did Saint Paul take for the Heavenly Kingdom , Phil. 3.13 . Reaching forth unto those things which are before ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 the Greek Word to reach forth , signifies to stretch out the neck , a Metaphor from Racers who strain every Limb , and reach forward to lay hold on the Prize . Anna the Prophetess , Luke 2.37 . departed not from the Temple , but served God with Fastings and Prayers night and day . Basil the Great by much labour and watching exhausted his bodily strength . Let Racks , Pullies , and all torments come upon me ( said Ignatius ) so I may win Christ . The Industry and Courage of former Saints who are now crowned with Glory should provoke our diligence , that so at last we may sit down with them in the Kingdom of Heaven .

23. The more pains we take for Heaven , the more welcome will Death be to us : What is it makes Men so loath to dye ? they are like a Tenant that will not out of the House , till the Sergeant pull him out ; they love not to hear of Death ; why so ? because their Conscience accuseth them that they have taken little or no pains for Heaven ; they have been sleeping when they should have been working ; and now they are afraid least Death should carry them Prisoners to Hell : Whereas he who hath spent his time in serving of God , he can look Death in the Face with comfort , he was wholly taken up about Heaven , and now he shall be taken up to Heaven ; he traded before in Heaven , and now he shall go to live there , Phil. 1.23 . Cupio dissolvi , I desire to be dissolved , and be with Christ : Paul had wholly laid out himself for God , 1 Cor. 15.10 . and now he knew there was a Crown laid up for him , and he longed to take Possession . Thus I have given you twenty three Perswasives or Arguments to exert and put forth your utmost diligence for the obtaining the Kingdom of Heaven ; O that these Arguments were written in all your Hearts , as with the Point of a Diamond ; and because delaies in these Cases are dangerous , let me desire you to set upon this Work for Heaven presently , Psal. 119.60 . I made hast , and delayed not to keep thy Commandments . Many People are convinced of the necessity of looking after the Kingdom of Glory , but they say as those , Hagg. 1.2 . The time is not yet come : They adjourn and put off , till their time is slip'd away , and so they lose the Kingdom of Heaven ; beware of this fallacy ; delay strengthens sin , hardens the heart , and gives the Devil fuller possession of a Man ; 1 Sam. 21.8 . The Kings business requires hast ; so the business of Salvation requires hast ; do not put off an hour longer ; volat ambiguis mobilis alis hora ; what assurance have you that you shall live another day ? have you any lease of life granted ? why then do you not presently arise out of the Bed of Sloath , and put forth all your strength and Spirits that you may be possessed of the Kingdom of Glory ? should not things of the highest importance be done first ? setling a Mans Estate , and clearing the Title to his Land , is not delayed , but done in the first place ; what is there of such grand importance as this , the saving of your Souls , and the gaining of a Kingdom ? therefore to day hear Gods Voice , now mind Eternity , now get your Title to Heaven cleared before the Decree of Death bring forth ; what imprudence is it to lay the heaviest Load upon the weakest Horse ? so to lay the heavy Load of Repentance on thy self when thou art infeebled by sickness , the Hands shake , the Lips quiver , the Heart faints : O be wise in time , now prepare for the Kingdom : He who never begins his Voyage to Heaven but in the storm of Death , it is a thousand to one if he doth not suffer an Eternal Shipwrack .

VSE VI. Of Exhortation .

1. Branch . If there be such a glorious Kingdom a coming , then you who have any good hope through Grace that you are the Heirs of this Kingdom , let me exhort you to six things .

1. Often take a Prospect of this heavenly Kingdom , climb up the Caelestial Mount , take a turn as it were in Heaven every day by holy Meditation , Psal. 48.12 , 13. Walk about Sion , tell the Towers thereof , mark well her Bulwarks : See what a glorious Kingdom Heaven is , go-tell the Towers , view the Palaces of the Heavenly Ierusalem ; Christian , show thy Heart the Gates of Pearl , the Bed of Spices , the Clusters of Grapes which grow in the Paradise of God ; say , O my Soul , all this Glory is thine , it is thy Fathers good pleasure to give thee this Kingdom : The Thoughts of Heaven are very delightful and ravishing ; can Men of the World so delight in viewing their Bags of Gold , and Fields of Corn , and shall not the Heirs of Promise take more delight in contemplating the Caelestial Kingdom : The serious Meditation of the Kingdom of Glory would work these three effects .

( 1. ) It would put a damp and slur upon all worldly Glory : Those who stand upon the top of the Alps the great Cities of Campania seem but small in their eye . Could we look through the Perspective Glass of Faith , and take a view of Heavens Glory , how small and minute would all other things appear : Moses slighted the Honours of Pharaohs Court , having an eye to the Recompence of Reward : Heb. 11.26 . St. Paul who had a Vision of Glory , and Saint Iohn who was carried away in the Spirit , and saw the holy Ierusalem descending out of Heaven , having the Glory of God in it , Rev. 21.11 . how did the world after appear in an Eclipse to them .

( 2. ) The Meditation of the heavenly Kingdom would much promote holiness in us : Heaven is an holy place , 1 Pet. 1.4 . an Inheritance undefiled ; 't is described by Transparent Glass to denote its Purity , Rev. 21.21 . The contemplating heaven would put us upon the study of holiness , because none but such are admitted into that kingdom : Heaven is not like Noah's Ark , into which came clean Beasts and unclean ; only the pure in heart shall see God , Mat. 5.8 .

( 3. ) The Meditation of the heavenly Kingdom would be a Spur to diligence , immensum Gloria Calcar habet . 1 Cor. 15.58 . alwaies abounding in the work of the Lord , knowing that your Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord . When the Mariner sees the haven he plies it harder with his Oars ; when we have a sight and prospect of Glory , it would make us much in Prayer , alms , watching , it would add wings to duty , and make the Lamp of our Devotion burn brighter .

2. If you have hopes of this Kingdom ▪ be content though you have but a little of the World : Contentment is a rare thing , 't is a Jewel that but few Christians wear ; but if you have a grounded hope of heaven , it may work your heart to Contentation ; what though you have but little in Possession , you have a Kingdom in Reversion . Were you to take an estimate of a Mans Estate , how would you value it ? by what he hath in his house , or by his Land ? perhaps he hath little Money or Jewels in his house , but he is a Landed Man , there lies his Estate . A Believer hath but little Oyl in the Cruse ▪ and Meal in the Barrel , but he is a landed Man , he hath a Title to a Kingdom , and may not this satisfy him ? If a Man who lived here in England , had a great Estate befallen him beyond the Seas , and perhaps had no more Money at present , but just to pay for his Voyage , he is content , he knows when he comes to his Estate he shall have Money enough : Thou who art a Believer hast a Kingdom befallen thee ; though thou hast but little in thy Purse , yet if thou hast enough to pay for thy Voyage , enough to bear thy Charges to heaven , it is sufficient . God hath given thee Grace which is the Fore Crop , and will give thee Glory , which is the After-Crop , and may not this make thee content ?

3. Branch . If you have hope of this blessed Kingdom , pray often for the coming of this glorious Kingdom , Thy Kingdom come : Only Believers can pray heartily for the hastening of the Kingdom of Glory .

1. They cannot pray that Christs kingdom of Glory may come who never had the kingdom of Grace set up in their Hearts : Can the guilty Prisoner pray that the Assis●s may come ?

2. They cannot pray heartily that Christs kingdom of Glory may come , who are Lovers of the World ; they have found Paradise , they are in their kingdom already , this is their heaven , and they desire to hear of no other ; they are of his mind who said , if he might keep his Cardinalship in Paris he would lose his part in Paradise .

3. They cannot pray heartily that Christs kingdom of Glory may come , who o●●ose Christs kingdom of Grace , who break his Laws which are the Scepter of his kingdom , who shoot at those who bear Christs Name and carry his Colours ; sure these cannot pray that Christs kingdom of Glory may come , for then Christ will judge them , and if they say this Prayer they are Hypocrites , they mean not as they speak . But you who have the kingdom of Grace set up in your hearts , pray much that the kingdom of Glory may hasten , Thy Kingdom come ; when this kingdom comes then you shall behold Christ in all his embroidered Robes of Glory , shining ten thousand times brighter then the Sun in all it's Meridian Splendor . When Christs kingdom comes the Bodies of the Saints that slept in the dust shall be raised in honour , and made like Christs Glorious Body ; then shall your Souls like Diamonds sparkle with Holiness ; you shall never have a sinful thought more , you shall be as holy as the Angels , you shall be as holy as you would be , and as holy as God would have you to be ; then you shall be in a better state than in Innocency . Adam was Created a Glorious Creature but mutable , a bright Star but a falling Star , but in the Kingdom of Heaven is a fixation of Happiness : When Christs Kingdom of Glory comes you shall be rid of all your enemies : As Moses said , Exod. 14.13 . The Egyptians whom you have seen to day , you shall see them no more for ever ; so those enemies who have plough'd on the backs of Gods people , and made deep their furrows , when Christ shall come in his Glory , you shall see these enemies no more . All Christs enemies shall be put under his feet , 1 Cor. 15.25 . and before the wicked be destroyed the Saints shall judge them ; 1 Cor. 6.2 . Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the World : This will cut the wicked to the heart , that those whom they have formerly scorned and scourged shall sit as Judges upon them , and vote with Christ in his judicial proceedings : O then well may you pray for the hastening of the Kingdom of Glory , Thy Kingdom come .

4. Branch . If you have any good hope of this blessed Kingdom , let this make the colour come in your Faces , be of a sanguine ▪ chearful temper ; have you a Title to a Kingdom , and sad ? Rom. 5.2 . We rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God . Christians , the Trumpet is ready to sound ; an eternal Jubilee is at hand when a freedom from Sin shall be proclaimed ; your Coronation day is a coming ; it is but putting off your clothes , and laying your head upon a pillow of dust , and you shall be inthroned in a Kingdom , and invested with the embroidered Robes of Glory : Doth not all this call for a chearful Spirit ? Chearfulness adorns Religion ; it is a temper of Soul Christ loves : Iohn 14.28 . If ye loved me ye would rejoyce . It makes many suspect Heaven is not so pleasant , when they see those that walk thither so sad . How doth the heir rejoyce in hope of the Inheritance ? Who should rejoyce if not a Believer who is heir of the Kingdom , and such a Kingdom as eye hath not seen . When the Flesh begins to droop , let Faith lift up its head , and cause an holy jubilation and rejoycing in the Soul .

5. Let the Saints long to be in this blessed Kingdom . A Prince that travels in Foreign parts , doth he not long to be in his own Nation , that he may be Crowned ? The Bride desires the Marriage day : Rev. 22.17 . The Spirit and the bride say , Come : Even so come Lord Iesus . Sure our unwillingness to go hence , shows either the weakness of our Faith in the belief of the Heavenly Kingdom , or the strength of our doubtings , whether we have an interest in it . Were our Title to Heaven more cleared , we should need Patience to be content to stay here any longer .

Again , Our unwillingness to go hence declares , we love the World too much , and Christ too little . Love ( as Aristotle saith ) desires Union ; did we love Christ as we should , we would desire to be united to him in Glory ; when we might take our fill of Love , be humbled that we are so unwilling to go hence : Let us labour to arrive at that divine temper of Soul as Paul had , Cupio dissolvi , I desire to depart and be with Christ ; Phil. 1.23 . We are encompassed with a body of sin , should not we long to shake off this viper ? We are in Meseck , and the Tents of Kedar , in a place where we see God dishonoured , should not we desire to have our pass to be gone ? We are in a valley of Tears , is it not better being in a Kingdom ? Here we are combating with Satan , should not we desire to be called out of the bloody field where the bullets of Temptation fly so fast , that we may receive a victorious Crown ? O ye Saints , breath after the Heavenly Kingdom . Though we should be willing to stay to do service , yet we should ambitiously desire to be alwayes sunning our selves in the light of Gods Countenance . Think what it will be to be ever with the Lord , are there any sweeter smiles or embraces than his ? Is there any bed so soft as Christs bosom ? Is there any such joy as to have the golden banner of Christs Love displayed over us ? Is there any such honour as to sit upon the Throne with Christ ; Rev. 3.21 . O then long for the Caelestial Kingdom .

6. Wait for this Kingdom of Glory . It is not incongruous or improper to long for Heaven , yet wait for it ; long for it because it is a Kingdom , yet wait your Fathers good pleasure ; God could presently bestow this Kingdom , but he sees it good that we should wait a while .

( 1. ) Had we the Kingdom of Heaven presently , assoon as ever Grace is infused , then God would lose much of his Glory . 1. Where would be our living by Faith , which is the Grace that brings in the chief revenues of Glory to God ; Rom. 4.20 . 2. Where would be our suffering for God , which is a way of honouring him , which the Angels in Heaven are not capable of . 3. Where would be the active service we are to do for God ? Would we have God give us a Kingdom , and we do nothing for him before we come there ? Would we have Rest before Labour , a Crown before Victory ? This were disingenuous . Paul was content to stay out of Heaven a while , that he might be a means to bring others thither ; Phil. 1.23 .

( ● . ) While we wait for the Kingdom our Glory is increasing . Every Duty Religiously performed adds a Jewel to our Crown . Do we desire to have our Robes of Glory shine brighter , let us wait and work ; the longer we stay for the Principal , the greater will the Interest be . The Husbandman waits till the seed spring up : Wait for the harvest of Glory . Some have their waiting Weeks at Court ; this is your walting time : Christ saith , Pray and faint not , Luke 18.1 . so wait and faint not . Be not weary ; the Kingdom of Heaven will make amends for your waiting : I have waited for thy Salvation , O Lord , said that dying Patriarch , Gen. 49.18 .

VSE V. Comfort to the people of God .

1. In all their Sufferings . The true Saint is as Luther saith , Haeres Crucis , heir to the Cross , Affliction is his Dyet drink , but here is that may be as Bezoar-stone to keep him from fainting ; these sufferings bring a Kingdom . The hope of the Kingdom of Heaven , saith Basil , should indulcorate and sweeten all our troubles ; 2 Tim. 2.12 . If we suffer we shall reign with him : 'T is but a short fight , but an eternal triumph ; this light suffering produceth an eternal weight of Glory ; 2 Cor. 4.17 . 1. A weight of Glory , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 : Things which are precious , the more weighty , the more they are worth ; the more weight is in a Crown of Gold the more it is worth 'T is a weight of Glory . 2. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , An eternal weight of Glory : Did this Glory last but a while it would much abate and imbitter the Joyes of Heaven , but the Glory of that Kingdom runs parallel with Eternity ; God will be as a deep Sea of Blessedness , and the Glorified Saints shall for ever bathe themselves in that Ocean . One dayes wearing the Crown will abundantly pay for all the Saints sufferings , how much more then , when they shall reign for ever and ever ; Rev. 22.5 . O let this support under all the Calamities and Suffering in this Life : What a vast difference is there between a Believers Sufferings and his Reward ; Rom. 8.18 . The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us . For a few Tears , Rivers of Pleasure ; for Mourning , white Robes : This made the Primitive Christians laugh at Imprisonment , and snatch up Torments as so many Crowns : Though now we drink in a Worm-wood Cup , here is Sugar in the bottom to sweeten it ; 'T is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a Kingdom .

2. Comfort in Death : Here is that which may take away from Gods Children the terrour of Death , they are now entring into the Kingdom . Indeed no wonder if wicked Men be appal'd and terrified at the approach of Death , they dye unpardoned , Death carries them to the Goal , where they must lye for ever without ●ail or Mainprize : But why should any of Gods Children be so scared and half-dead with the thoughts of Death ? What hurt doth Death do to them , but lead them to a Glorious Kingdom ? Faith gives a Title to Heaven , Death a Possession ; let this be a Gospel-antidote to expel the fear of Death . Hilarion that blessed Man , cryed out , Egredere Anima , egredere , quid times ? Go forth my Soul , go forth , what fearest thou ? Let them fear Death , who do not fear Sin : But let not Gods Children be over-much troubled at the grim Face of that Messenger which brings them to the end of their Sorrow , and the beginning of their Joy . Death is yours , 1 Cor. 3.22 . it is part of a Believers inventory . Is a Prince afraid to cross a narrow Sea , who shall be Crowned when he comes to Land ? Death to the Saints shall be an usher , to bring them into the Presence of the King of Glory : This puts Lilies and Roses into the ghastly face of Death , and makes it look amiable . Death brings us to a Crown of Glory which fades not away . The day of Death is better to a Believer than the day of his Birth . Death is aditus ad Gloriam , an entrance into a blessed Eternity . Fear not Death , but rather let your Hearts revive when you think these ratling wheels of Deaths Chariot are but to carry you home to an everlasting Kingdom .

MATTH. vi . 10 .

Thy Will be done in Earth , as it is in Heaven .

WE come next to the Third Petition , Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven .

This Petition consists of Two Parts .

I. The Matter , Doing of Gods Will . II. The Manner , As it is in Heaven .

I. The Matter of this Petition is , The doing of Gods Will . Thy Will be done .

Quest. 1. What is meant by the Will of God ?

Answ. There is a twofold Will : 1. Voluntas decreti , Gods secret Will , or the Will of his Decree : We pray not that Gods secret Will may be done by us . This secret Will cannot be known , it is locked up in Gods own breast , and neither Man or Angel hath Key to open it . 2. Voluntas revelata , Gods revealed Will . This revealed Will is written in the Book of Scripture ; the Scripture is a declaration of Gods Will , it discovers what he would have us do in order to our Salvation .

Quest. 2. What do we pray for in these words , Thy Will be done ?

Answ. We pray for two things . 1. For Active Obedience ; that we may do Gods Will actively in what he commands . 2. For Passive ; that we may submit to Gods Will patiently in what he inflicts . We pray that we may do Gods Will actively , subscribe to all his commands , believe in Jesus the cardinal Grace , lead holy lives . So Austin upon the Petition , Nobis a Deo precamur Obedientiam , we pray that we may actively obey Gods Will . This is the summe of all Religion , the two Tables epitomized , The doing of Gods Will . Thy Will be done . We must know Gods Will before we can do it ; knowledge is the eye which must direct the foot of Obedience . At Athens there was an Altar set up 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , To the unknown God , Acts 17.23 . It is as bad to offer the blind to God as the dead . Knowledge is the Pillar of Fire to give light to practise ; but though knowledge is requisite , yet the knowing of Gods Will is not enough without doing of his Will : Thy Will be done . If one had a System of Divinity in his head , if he had 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , all knowledge , 1 Cor. 13.2 . yet if Obedience were wanting , his knowledge were lame , and would not carry him to Heaven . Knowing Gods Will may make a Man admired , but it is doing Gods Will that makes him blessed ; knowing Gods Will without doing it , will not crown us with happiness .

1. The bare knowledge of Gods Will is inefficacious , it doth not better the heart . Knowledge alone is like a Winter-Sun which hath no heat or influence ; it doth not warm the Affections , or purifie the Conscience . Iudas was a great Luminary , he knew Gods Will , but he was a Traytor .

2. Knowing without doing Gods Will will make ones case worse , 't will heat Hell the hotter ; Luke 12.47 . The servant which knew his Lords will , and did not according to his will shall be beaten with maeny stripes . Many a Mans knowledge is a torch to light him to Hell . Thou who hast knowledge of Gods Will but dost not do it , wherein dost thou excel an Hypocrite ? Nay , wherein dost thou excel the Devil ? who transforms himself into an Angel of light ? 'T is improper to call such Christians who are knowers of Gods Will , but not doers of it . 'T is improper to call him a Tradesman who never wrought in his Trade ; so to call him a Christian who never wrought in the Trade of Religion . Let us not rest in the knowing of Gods Will . Let it not be said of us as Plutarch speaks of the Grecians , They knew what was just but did it not . Let us set upon this , the doing of Gods Will. Thy Will be done .

Quest. 3. Why is the doing of Gods Will so requisite ?

Answ. 1. Out of Equity . God may justly claim a right to our Obedience ; he is our founder ; we have our being from him ; and 't is but equal that we should do his Will at whose word we were Created . God is our Benefactor ; 't is just that if God give us our Allowance we should give him our Allegiance .

2. The great design of God in the World is to make us doers of his Will. 1. All Gods Royal Edicts and Precepts are to bring us to this , to be doers of his Will ; what needed God been at the pains to give us the copy of his Law , and write it out with his own Finger else . The Word is not only a Rule of Knowledge , but of Duty ; Deut. 13.4 . Deut. 26.16 . This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes , thou shalt therefore keep and do them . If you tell your Children what is your mind , it is not only that they may know your Will , but do it . God gives us his Word as a Master gives a Scholar a Copy to write after it ; he gives it as his Will and Testament , that we should be the Executors to see it performed . 2. This is the end of all Gods Promises to draw us to do Gods Will ; the Promises are loadstones to Obedience , Deut. 11.27 . A blessing if ye obey ; as a Father gives his Son Money to bribe him to Obedience . Deut. 28.1 . If thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God , and do all his commandments , the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth ; Blessed shalt thou be in the city , and in the field . The Promises are a Royal Charter settled upon Obedience . 3. The Minatory part of the Word , the threatnings of God stand as the Angel with a Flaming Sword to deter us from Sin , and make us doers of Gods Will ; Deut. 11.28 . A curse if ye will not obey . Psal. 68.21 . God shall wound the hairy scalp of every one that goes on still in his trespasses . These threatnings do often take hold of Men in this Life ; they are made examples , and hung up in chains to scare others from Disobedience . 4. All Gods Providences are to m●ke us doers of his Will. As God makes use of all the seasons of the Year for Harvest , so all his various Providences are to bring on the Harvest of Obedience .

1. Afflictions are to make us do Gods Will ; 2 Chron. 33.12 . When Manasseh was in affliction , he besought the Lord , and humbled himself greatly . The Rod hath this voice , Be doers of Gods Will . Affliction is called a Furnace ; Isa. 48.10 . The furnace melts the metal , and then it is cast into a new mould . Gods Furnace is to melt us and mould us into Obedience .

2. Gods Mercies are to make us do his Will ; Rom. 12.1 . I beseech you by the mercies of God , that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice . Body is by a Synecdoche put for the whole Man . If the Soul should not be presented to God as well as the Body , it could not be a reasonable service . Now saith the Apostle , I beseech you by the mercies of God present your selves a living sacrifice . Mercies are the strongest obligations to Duty . Hos. 11.4 . I drew them with the cords of a man ; that is , with the golden cords of my Mercy . In a word , all that is written in Law or Gospel , tends to this , that we should be doers of Gods Will , Thy Will be done .

3. By doing the Will of God we evidence Sincerity ; as Christ said in another sense , Iohn 10.25 . The works which I do , bear witness of me : So it is not all our golden words , if we could speak like Angels , but our works , our doing of Gods Will , which bears witness of our Sincerity . We judge not of the health of a Mans Body by his high Colour , but by the Pulse of the Arm , where the Blood chiefly stirs ; so a Christians soundness is not to be judged by his Profession ; what is this high Colour ? but the estimate of a Christian is to be taken by his Obediential acting , his doing the Will of God ; this is the best Certificate and Letters Testimonial to shew for Heaven .

4. Doing Gods Will much propagates the Gospel ; this is the Diamond that sparkles in Religion . Others cannot see what Faith is in the Heart , but when they see we do Gods Will on Earth , this makes them have a venerable opinion of Religion , and become Proselites to it . Iulian in one of his Epistles writing to Arsatius , saith , That the Christian Religion did much flourish by the Sanctity and Obedience of them that professed it .

5. By doing Gods Will we show our Love to Christ ; Iohn 14.21 . He that hath my commandments and keepeth them , he it is that loveth me . What greater Love to Christ than to do his Will , though it cross our own . Every one would be thought to love Christ ; but how shall that be known but by this , do you do his Will on Earth ? Neque principem veneramur si odio ejus Leges habemus , Isid. 'T is a vain thing for a Man to say he loves Christs Person , when he slights his Commands . Not to do Gods Will on Earth is a great evil , 't is , ( 1. ) Sinful . ( 2. ) Foolish . ( 3. ) Dangerous .

( 1. ) It is Sinful . 1. We go against our Prayers ; we pray , Fiat voluntas tua , thy will be done , and yet we do not obey his will , we confute our own Prayer . 2. We go against our Vow in Baptism ; we have vowed to fight under the Lords Banner , to obey his Scepter , and this Vow we have oft renewed in the Lords Supper ; if we do not Gods will on Earth we are forsworn , and God will indite us of Perjury .

( 2. ) Not to do Gods will on Earth is Foolish ; 1. Because there is no standing it out against God . If we do not obey him we cannot resist him : 1 Cor. 10. ●2 Are we stronger than he ? Iob. 40.9 . Hast thou an arm like God ? Canst thou measure Armes with him ? To oppose God is as if a Child should fight with an Arch-Angel ; as if an heap of Bryars should put themselves into a battalia against the Flame . 2. Not to do Gods will is foolish , because if we do not Gods will we do the Devils will . Is it not folly to gratifie an enemy ? To do his will that seeks our ruine ?

Quest. But are any so wicked as to do the Devils will ?

Answ. Yes ; Iohn 8.44 . Ye are of your Father the Devil , and the lusts of your Father ye will do . When a Man tells a lye doth he not do the Devils will ? Acts 5.3 . Ananias , Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lye to the Holy Ghost ?

( 3. ) Not to do Gods Will is dangerous ; it brings a Spiritual Praemunire . If Gods Will be not done by us , he will have his will upon us ; if we obey not Gods will in commanding , we shall obey his will in punishing , 2 Thess. 1.7 . The Lord Iesus shall be revealed with his mighty Angels in flames of fire , taking vengeance on them that obey not his gospel . Either we must do Gods will , or suffer it .

6. Whatever God wills us to do is for our benefit : Behold here self-interest . As if a King commands his Subject to dig in a Mine of Gold , and then gives him all the Gold he hath digged . God bids us do his will , and this is for our good ; Deut. 10.13 . And now O Israel , what doth the Lord thy God require of thee , but to fear the Lord thy God , and keep the commandments of the Lord , which I command thee this day for thy good . It is Gods will that we should repent , and this is for our good ; Repentance ushers in remission ; Acts 3.9 . Repent that your sins may be blotted out . It is Gods will that we should believe ; and why is it but that we should be crowned with Salvation ; Mark 16.16 . He that believes shall be saved . What God wills is not so much our Duty as our Priviledge ; he bids us obey his voice , and it is greatly for our good ; Ier. 7.23 . Obey my voice and I will be your God . I will not only give you my Angels to be your guard , but my self to be your portion ; my Spirit shall be yours to sanctifie you , my Love shall be yours to comfort you , my Mercy shall be yours to save you . I will be your God .

7. To do Gods will is our Honour . A Person thinks it an Honour to have a King speak to him to do such a thing ; the Angels count it their highest Honour in Heaven to do Gods will ; Servire Deo regnare est , To serve God is to reign . Non onerant nos sed ornant , Salvian . How chearfully did the Rowers row the Barge that carried Caesar ; to be imployed in his Barge was an Honour , to be imployed in doing Gods will , is insigne Honoris , the highest ensign of Honour that a Mortal Creature is capable of . Christs Precepts do not burden us but adorn us .

8. To do Gods Will on Earth makes us like Christ , and akin to Christ . 1. It makes us like Christ : Is it not our Prayer that we may be like Christ . Jesus Christ did his Fathers will ; Iohn 6.38 . I came down from Heaven not to do my own will , but the will of him that sent me . God the Father and Christ , as they have but one Essence , so but one Will ; Christs will was melted into his Fathers ; Iohn 4.34 . My meat is to do the will of him that sent me . By our doing Gods will on Earth , we resemble Christ ; nay , we are akin to Christ , and are of the Blood-Royal of Heaven . Alexander called himself Couzen to the Gods ; what Honour is it to be akin to Christ . Matth. 12.50 . Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven , the same is my Brother , and Sister , and Mother . Did King Solomon arise off his Throne to meet his Mother , and set her on a Throne by him , 1 Kings 3.19 . such Honour will Christ bestow on such as are doers of Gods will , he will salute them as his Kindred , and set them on a Glorious Throne in the Amphitheatre of Heaven .

9. Doing Gods will on Earth , brings Peace in Life and Death . 1. In Life ; Psal. 19.11 . In keeping thy precepts there is great reward ; not only after keeping them but in keeping them ; when we walk closely with God in Obedience , there is a secret Joy let into the Soul , and how swiftly and chearfully do the wheels of the Soul move when they are oyled with the Oyl of Gladness . 2. Peace in Death . When Hezekiah thought he was about to dye , what gave him Comfort ? this , that he had done the will of God : Isa. 38.3 . Remember , O Lord , I beseech thee , how I have walked before thee in truth , and have done that which is good in thy sight . 'T was Augustus his wish , that he might have an 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , an easie Death without much pain . If any thing make our pillow easie at Death , it will be this , we have endeavoured to do Gods will on Earth . Did you ever hear any cry out on their Death-bed , that they have done Gods will too much ; no , hath it not been that they have done his will no more , that they come so short in their Obedience . Doing Gods will will be both your Comfort , and your Crown .

10. If we are not doers of Gods will , we shall be looked upon as contemners of Gods will : Let God say what he will , yet Men will go on in Sin , this is to contemn God ; Psal. 10.13 . Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God ? To contemn God is worse than to rebel . The Tribes of Israel rebelled against Rehoboam because he made their Yoak heavier , 1 King . 12.16 . But to contemn God is worse , 't is to slight him ; to contemn God is to put a Scorn upon him , and affront him to his Face , and an Affront will make God draw his Sword . Thus I have answered that Question why doing Gods will on Earth , is so requisite : 'T is as necessary as Salvation .

4. Quest. In what manner are we to do Gods will that we may find acceptance ?

The manner of doing Gods Will is the chief thing ; the Schoolmen say well , Modus rei cadit sub praecepto , the manner of a thing is as well required as the thing it self : If a Man build an House , if he doth not do it according to the mind of the Owner , he likes it not , but thinks all his Charges lost ; so if we do not Gods will in the right manner , it is not accepted ; we must not only do what God appoints , but as God appoints ; here lies the very Life-blood of Religion . So I come to answer this great Question , in what manner are we to do Gods will that we may find acceptance .

Answ. 1. We do Gods Will acceptably when we do Duties Spiritually , Phil. 3.3 . We worship God , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in the Spirit . To serve God spiritually is to do duties ab interno principio , from an inward Principle : The Pharisees were very exact about the external part of Gods worship ; how zealous were they in the outward observation of the Sabbath , charging Christ with the breach of it ; but all this was but outward Obedience , there was nothing of Spirituality in it ; then we do Gods will acceptably , when we serve him from a renewed Principle of Grace ; a Crab-tree may bear as well as a Pear-main , but it is not so good fruit as the other , because it doth not come from so sweet a Root : An unregenerate Person may do as much external obedience as a Child of God , he may pray as much , hear as much , but his Obedience is harsh and sowre , because it doth not come from the sweet and pleasant Root of Grace ; the inward principle of Obedience is Faith , therefore it is called the Obedience of Faith , Rom. 16.26 . But why must this silver thread of Faith run through the whole work of Obedience ?

Answ. Because Faith looks at Christ in every Duty , it toucheth the Hem of his Garment , and through Christ both the Person and the Offering are accepted , Ephes. 1.6 .

2. We do Gods Will acceptably when we prefer his Will before all other ; if God wills one thing , and Man wills the contrary , we do obey Mans will rather than Gods , Act. 4.19 . Whether it be right to hearken unto you more then unto God , judge ye . God saith , thou shalt not make a graven Image ; King Nebuchadnezzar set up a Golden Image to be worshipped ; but the three Children ( or rather Champions ) resolve Gods Will shall take place , and they would obey him , though with the loss of their Lives , Dan. 3.18 . Be it known unto thee , O King , that we will not serve thy Gods , nor worship the Golden Image which thou hast set up .

3. We do Gods Will acceptably when we do Gods Will as it is done in Heaven , that is , as the Angels do it : To do Gods Will as the Angels , similitudinem notat non aequalitatem , Brugensis , denotes thus much , that we are to resemble them and make them our Pattern ; though we cannot equal the Angels in doing Gods Will , yet we must imitate them ; a Child cannot write so well as the Scrivener , yet he imitates the Copy in particular .

1. We do Gods Will as the Angels do it in Heaven , when we do Gods Will Regularly , sine deflexu , we go according to divine Institutions , not Decrees of Councils , or Traditions , this is to do Gods Will as the Angels ; they do it regularly , they do nothing but what is commanded ; Angels are not for Ceremonies ; as there are Statute-Laws in the Land , which bind ; so the Scripture is Gods Statute-Law , which we must exactly observe ; the Watch is set by the Dial : then our Obedience is right when it goes by the Sun-dial of the Word . If Obedience hath not the Word for its Rule , it is not doing Gods Will but our own , it is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Will-worship , Deut. 12.32 . The Lord would have Moses make the Tabernacle , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , according to the Pattern , Exod. 25.40 . If Moses had left out any thing in the Pattern , or added any thing to it , it would have been very provoking ; to mix any thing of our own devising in Gods worship , is to go beside , yea , contrary to the Pattern : Gods worship is the Apple of his Eye , that which he is most tender of , and there is nothing he hath more shewed his displeasure against , then the corrupting his worship . How severely did God punish Nadab and Abihu for offering up strange Fire , Lev. 10.2 . that is , such Fire as God had not sanctified on the Altar ; whatever is not divinely appointed , is offering up strange Fire : There is in many a strange itch after Superstition ; they love a gawdy Religion , and are more for the Pomp of Worship then the Purity ; this cannot be pleasing to God , for , as if God were not wise enough to appoint the manner how he will be served ; Men will be so bold as to prescribe him . To thrust humane Inventions into sacred things , is a doing our own will not Gods , and he will say , quis quaesivit hoc ? who hath required this at your hand ? Isa. 1.12 . Then we do Gods Will as it is done in Heaven ▪ when we do it regularly we reverence Gods Institutions , and observe that Mode of Worship which hath the Stamp of divine Authority upon it .

2. We do Gods Will as it is done by the Angels in Heaven , when we do it intirely , sine mutilatione , we do all Gods Will ; the Angels in Heaven do all that God commands , they leave nothing of his Will undone , Psal. 103.20 . Ye his Angels that do his Commandments . If God send an Angel to the Virgin Mary , he goes on Gods Errand ; if he gives his Angels a Charge to Minister for the Saints they obey , Heb. 1.14 . It cannot stand with Angelical Obedience to leave the least Iota of Gods Will unfulfilled : This is to do Gods Will as the Angels , when we do all his Will , quicquid propter Deum fit aequaliter fit . This was Gods Charge to Israel , Numb. 15.40 . Remember to do all my Commandments . And it was spoken of David , Act. 13.22 . I have found David a Man after mine own heart , who shall perform all my Will , Greek , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , all my Wills . Every Command hath the same Authority , and if we do Gods Will uprightly , we do it uniformly , we obey every part and Branch of his Will , we joyn first and second Table ; surely we owe that to God our Father , which the Papists say , we owe to our Mother , the Church , unlimited Obedience ; we must incline to every Command , as the Needle moves that way which the Loadstone draws .

( 2. ) This discovers the unsoundness of many , who do Gods will by halves , they pick and choose in Religion , they in some things comply with Gods will , but not in other ; like a foundred Horse who sets but some of his Feet on the Ground , he favours one Foot . He who is to play upon a Lute must strike upon every Sring or he spoils all the Musick : Gods Commandments may be compared to a ten-string'd Lute , we must obey Gods will in every Command , strike upon every string , or we can make no good Melody in Religion : The Badger hath one Foot shorter then the other ; Hypocrites are shorter in some duties then other ; some will pray , not give alms , hear the word , not forgive their Enemies , receive the Sacrament , not make Restitution , how can they be holy who are not just ? Hypocrites profess fair , but when it comes to sacrificing the Isaac , crucifying the beloved sin , or parting with some of their Estate for Christ , here they stick , and say as Naaman , 2 King . 5.18 . In this thing the Lord pardon thy Servant . This is far from doing Gods will as the Angels do ; God likes not such as do his will by halves ; if your Servant should do some of your work which you set him about , but not all , how would you like that ?

Object . But who is able to do all Gods will ?

Answ. Though we cannot do all Gods will legally , yet we may Evangelically ; which is ,

1. When we mourn that we can do Gods will no better , when we fail we weep , Rom. 7.24 .

2. When it is the desire of our Soul to do Gods whole Will , Psal. 119.5 . O that my ways were directed to keep thy Precepts . What a Child of God wants in strength , he makes up in desire , in magnis voluisse sat est .

3. When we endeavour , quoad conatum , to do the whole Will of God : A Father bids his Child lift such a burden , the Child is not able to lift it , but he tries , and doth his endeavour to lift it , the Father accepts of it , as if h● had done it ; this is to do Gods Will Evangelically , and God is pleased to take it in good part , though it be not to satisfaction , yet it is to acceptation .

3. We do Gods Will as it is done in Heaven by the Angels , when we do it sincerely , sine fuco . To do Gods Will sincerely lies in two things .

1. To do it out of a pure respect to Gods Command . 2. With a pure Eye to Gods Glory .

1. To do Gods Will out of a pure respect to Gods Command . Abraham's sacrificing Isaac was contrary to Flesh and Blood , to sacrifice the Son of his Love , the Son of the Promise , and that no other hand but the Fathers own should do this , here was hard Service ; but because God commanded it , out of pure respect to the Command , Abraham obeyed : This is to do Gods will aright , when , though we feel no present Joy or Comfort in Duty , yet because God commands we obey ; not Comfort , but the Command is the Ground of Duty ; thus the Angels do Gods will in Heaven ; Gods Command is the weight sets the wheels of their Obedience a going .

2. To do Gods will sincerely , is to do it with a pure Eye to Gods Glory . The Pharisees did the will of God in giving Alms , but that which was a dead Fly in the Ointment , was , that they did not aim at Gods Glory , but vain-glory ; they blew a Trumpet ▪ Iehu did the will of God in destroying the Baal worshippers , and God commended him for doing of it : but because he aimed more at setling himself in the Kingdom , then the Glory of God , therefore God lookt upon it no better then Murder , and said he would avenge the blood of Iezreel upon the house of Iehu , Hos. 2.4 . Let us look to our ends in Obedience ; though we shoot short , let us take a right aim ; one may do Gods will yet not with a perfect heart : 2 Chron. 25.2 . Amaziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord , but not with a perfect Heart ; the Action was right for the matter , but his aim was not right ; that Action which wants a good aim , wants a good issue ; he doth Gods Will rightly , that doth it uprightly , his end is to honour God , and lift up his Name in the world . A gracious Soul makes God his Center , as Ioab when he had taken Rabbah sent for King David , that he might carry away the glory of the Victory , 2 Sam. 12.27 . So when a gracious Soul hath done any duty , he desires that the glory of all may be given to God , 1 Pet. 4.11 . That in all things God may be glorified . This is to do Gods will as the Angels , when we not only advance Gods Glory , but design his Glory ; the Angels are said to cast their Crowns before the Throne , Rev. 4.10 . Crowns are signs of greatest Honour , but these Crowns the Angels lay at the Lords Feet , to show that they ascribe the glory of all they do to him .

4. We do Gods will as it is done in Heaven by the Angels , when we do it willingly , sine murmuratione : The Angels love to be employed in Gods Service ; 't is the Angels Heaven to serve God , they willingly descend from Heaven to Earth ; when they bring Messages from God , and glad Tydings to the Church ; now Heaven being a place of such Joy , the Angels would not leave it a Minute of an Hour , only that they take such infinite delight in doing Gods will ; we do resemble the Angels when we do Gods will willingly , 1 Chron. 28.9 . And thou Solomon my Son , serve the Lord with a willing mind . Gods People are called a willing People , Psal. 110.3 . in Hebrew , Gnam nedaebot , a People of willingnesses ; they give God a free-will Offering , though they cannot serve him perfectly , they serve him willingly ; an Hypocrite though he doth facere bonum , yet not velle , he hath no delight in duty , he doth it rather out of fear of Hell , then Love to God , when he doth do Gods will , yet it is against his will , Virtus nolentium nulla est . Cain brought his Sacrifice but grudgingly , his worship was rather a Task , then an Offering , rather Pennance then Sacrifice , he did Gods will , but against his will ; we must be carried upon the wings of Delight in every Duty ; Israel were to blow the Trumpets when they offered Burnt-Offerings , Numb. 10.10 . blowing the Trumpets was to show their Joy and Chearfulness in serving God we must read and hear the word with Delight , Ier. 15.16 . Thy Word was found and I did eat it , and it was unto me the Ioy and Rejoycing of my heart . A pious Soul goes to the word as to a Feast , or as one would go with delight to hear Musick . Sleidan reports that the Protestants in France had a Church they called Paradise , because when they were in the House of God , they thought themselves in Paradise : The Saints flock as Doves to the windows of Gods House , Isa. 60.8 . who are these that flock as Doves to the windows ? not that a truly regenerate Person is always in the same chearful temper of Obedience , he may sometimes find an indisposition and weariness of Soul , but his weariness is his burden , he is weary of his weariness , he prays , weeps , useth all means to regain that alacrity and freedom in Gods Service that he was wont to have : This is to do Gods will acceptably , when we do it willingly ; 't is this crowns all our Services ; delight in duty is better then duty ; the Musician is not commended for playing long , but well ; 't is not how much we do , but how much we love , Psal. 119.97 . O how love I thy Law ! Love is as Musk among Linnen , that perfumes it ; Love perfumes Obedience , and makes it go up to Heaven as Incense ; this is doing Gods will as the Angels in Heaven do it ; they are ravished with delight while they are praising God , therefore the Angels are said to have Harps in their Hands , Rev. 15.2 . as a sign of their chearfulness in Gods Service .

4. We do Gods will as the Angels in Heaven , when we do Gods Will fervently , sine remissione , Rom. 12.11 . Fervent in spirit serving God ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Metaphor from water when it seeths and boils over ; so our Affections should boil over in zeal 〈◊〉 fervency ; the Angels serve God with fervour and intenseness ; the Angels are called Seraphims , from an Hebrew word which signifies to burn , to show how the Angels are all on fire , Psal. 104.4 . they burn in Love and Zeal in doing Gods will : Grace turns a Saint into a Seraphim ; Aaron must put burning Coals to the Incense , Exod. 16.12 . Incense was a Type of Prayer , burning Coals of Zeal , to show that the fire of zeal must be put to the Incense of prayer ; Formality starves Duty ; when we serve God dully and coldly is this like the Angels ? Duty without fervency is as a Sacrifice without fire ; we should ascend to Heaven in a fiery Chariot of Devotion .

5. We do Gods Will as the Angels in Heaven , when we give God the best in every Service , Numb. 18.29 . Out of all your Gifts , ye shall offer of all the best thereof . Numb. 28.7 . In the holy place shalt thou cause the strong Wine to be poured unto the Lord for a drink-Offering . The Jews might not offer to the Lord wine that was small , or mixed , but the strong wine , to imply , that we must offer to God the best , the strongest of our affections ; if the Spouse had a Cup more juicy and spiced , Christ should drink of that , Cant. 8.2 . I would cause thee to drink of spiced Wine , of the juice of my Pomgranate . Thus the Angels in Heaven do Gods Will , they serve him in the best manner , they give him their Seraphick high stringed Praises ; he who loves God gives him the Cream of his Obedience ; God challenged the fat of all the Sacrifice as his due , Lev. 3.16 . Hypocrites care not what Services they bring to God , they think to put him off with any thing , they put no Cost in their Duties ; Gen. 4.3 . Cain brought of the fruit of the Ground . The Holy Ghost took notice of Abel's Offering , that it was costly , he brought of the Firstlings of his Flock , and of the Fat thereof , Gen. 4.4 . b●t when he speaks of Cain's Offering , he only saith , he brought of the Fruit of the Ground . Then we do Gods Will aright , when we do offer Pinguia , we dedicate to him the best . Domitian would not have his Image carved in Wood or Iron , but in Gold : God will have the best we have , golden Services .

6. We do Gods Will as the Angels in Heaven , when we do it readily and swiftly ; the Angels do not dispute or reason the Case , but assoon as they have their Charge and Commission from God , they immediately obey , and to show how ready they are to execute Gods Will , the Cherubims representing the Angels are described with Wings , to show how swift and forward they are in their Obedience , it is as if they had wings , Dan. 9.21 . The Man Gabriel ( that was an Angel ) being caused to fly swiftly : Thus should we do Gods Will as the Angels , assoon as ever God speaks the Word , we should be ambitious to obey , alas ! how long is it sometimes e●e we can get leave of our hearts to go to a Duty ; Christ went more readily ád Crucem , then we to the Throne of Grace ; how many disputes and excuses have we , is this to do Gods Will as the Angels in Heaven do it ? O let us shake off this backwardness to Duty , as Paul shook of the Viper , nescit tarda molimina Spiritus sancti gratia ; Zeck . 5.9 . I saw two Women and the wind was in their wings : Wings are swift , but wind in the wings great swiftness ; such readiness should be in our Obedience ; as Peter assoon as ever Christ commanded him to let down his Net , at Christs Word he presently let down the Net , and you know what success he had , Luke 5.4 . It was prophesied of such as were brought home to Christ , Psal. 18.44 . Assoon as they hear of me they shall obey me .

7. We do Gods Will as the Angels in Heaven , when we do it constantly ; the Angels are never weary of doing Gods Will , they serve God day and night , Rev. 7.17 . thus must we imitate the Angels , Psal. 106.3 . Blessed is he that doth Righteousness at all times . Constancy crowns Obedience , non cepisse sed perfecisse virtutis est , Cypr. our Obedience must be like the Fire of the Altar which was continually kept burning , Lev. 6.13 . Hypocrites soon give over doing Gods Will ; like the Chrisolite which is of a golden Colour , in the Morning it is very bright to look on , but towards Evening it grows dull , and hath lost its splendor : We should continue in doing Gods Will , because of that great loss that will befal us if we give over doing Gods Will .

( 1. ) A loss of Honour , Rev. 3.11 . that no man take thy Crown , implying , if the Church of Philadelphia left off her Obedience she would lose her Crown ; viz. her Honour and Reputation ; Apostacy creates Infamy ; Iudas from an Apostle to be a Traytor , it was a Dishonour .

( 2. ) If we give over our Obedience it is a loss of all that hath been already done ; as if one should work in silver , and then pick out all the stitches ; all a Mans Prayers are lost , all the Sabbaths he hath kept are lost , he doth unravel all his good works , Ezek. 18.24 . all his Righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned ; he undoes all he hath done : As if one draw a curious Picture with the Pensil , and then come with his Spunge and wipe out all again .

( 3. ) A loss of the Soul and Happiness : We were in a fair way for Heaven , but by leaving off d●ing Gods Will we miss of the excellent Glory , and are plunged deeper in Damnation , 2 Pet. 2.21 . It had been better not to have known the way of Righteousness , then after they have known it , to turn from the Holy Commandment . Therefore let us continue in doing Gods Will : Constancy sets the Crown upon the head of Obedience . Thus you see how we are to do Gods Will acceptably .

VSE I. Branch . 1. See hence our Impotency , we have no innate power to do Gods Will : What need pray Thy Will be done , if we have power of our selves to do it ? I wonder Free-willers pray this Petition .

2. Branch . If we are to do Gods Will on Earth as it is done by the Angels in Heaven , see then the Folly of those who go by a wrong Pattern ; they do as the most of their Neighbours do ; if they talk vain on the Sabbath , they do but as their Neighbours do ; if now and then they swear an Oath , it is the Custom of their Neighbours to do so , but we are to do Gods Will as the Angels in Heaven ; do the Angels do such things ? we must make the Angels our Patterns , and not our Neighbours : if our Neighbours do the Devils will , shall we do so too ? If our Neighbours go to Hell , shall we go thither too for Company ?

3. Branch . See here that which may make us long to be in Heaven , then we shall do Gods Will perfectly , as the Angels do ; alas , how defective are we in our Obedience here ; how far do we fall short , we cannot write a Copy of Holiness without blotting ; our holy things are blemished , like the Moon which when it shines brightest hath a dark spot in it : But in Heaven we shall do Gods will perfectly , as the Angels in Glory .

VSE II. Of Reproof .

1. Branch . It reproves such as do not Gods Will ; they have the knowledge of Gods will , ( Knowledge they count an Ornament ) but though they know Gods Will , yet they do it not .

( 1. ) They know what God would have them avoid ; they know they should not swear , Mat. 5.34 . Swear not at all : For this sin the Land mourns , Ier. 23.10 . Yet though they pray , Hallowed be thy Name , they profane it by shooting Oathes like Chain-Bullets against Heaven ; they know they should abstain from Fornication and Uncleanness , yet they cannot but bite at the Devils Hook if he bait it with Flesh , Iude 7.

( 2. ) They know what God would have them practise , but they leave undone those things which they ought to have done ; they know it is the will of God they should be true in their Promises , just in their Dealings , good in their Relations ; but they do not the Will of God ; they know they should read the Scriptures , consult with Gods Oracle , but the Bible like rusty Armour is hung up and seldom used ; they look oftner upon a Pair of Cards then a Bible ; they know their Houses should be Palestrae Pietatis , Nurseries of Piety , yet have no Face of Religion in them ; they do not perfume their Houses with Prayer ; what Hypocrites are these to kneel down in the Church , and lift up their Eyes to Heaven and say , Thy Will be done , yet have no care at all to do Gods Will ; what is this but to hang out a Flag of Defiance against Heaven ? and Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft .

2. Branch . It reproves those who do not Gods Will in a right acceptable manner .

( 1. ) They do not Gods Will intirely ; all Gods Will ; they will obey God in some things , but not in other ; as if a Servant should do some of your work you set him about , but not the rest : Iehu destroyed the Idolatry of Baal , but let the golden Calves of Ieroboam stand , 2 Kings 10.30 . Some will observe the Duties of the Second Table , but not the first : Others make an high Profession , as if their Tongues had been touch'd with a Coal from Gods Altar , but live idly and out of a Calling ; these the Apostle complains of , 2 Thess. 3.11 . We hear there are some which walk among you disorderly , working not at all . Living by Faith and living in a Calling must go together : This is an evil thing , not to do all Gods Will .

( 2. ) They do not Gods will ardently ; they do not put Coals to the Incense ; nor chearfully , they bring their Sacrifice , but not their heart ; this is far from doing Gods Will as the Angels ; this loseth the Reward ; how can God like this to serve him as if we served him not ? how can God mind our Duties when we our selves scarce mind them ?

VSE III. Of Examination .

Let us examine all our Actions , whether they are according to Gods will : The will of God is the Rule and Standard , 't is the Sun-dial by which we must set all our Actions ; he is no good workman that doth not work by Rule ; he can be no good Christian who goes not according to the Rule of Gods will ; let us examine our Actions whether they do quadrare agree to the will of God : Are our speeches according to Gods will ? Are our words savoury , being seasoned with Grace ? Is our Apparel according to Gods will ? 1 Tim. 2.9 . In like manner that women adorn themselves in modest Apparel , not wanton and garish to invite Comers . Our Diet is it according to Gods will ? Do we hold the golden Bridle of Temperance , and only take so much as may rather satisfy Nature then surfeit it ; too much Oyl choaks the Lamp : Is our whole carriage and behaviour according to Gods will ? Are we patterns of Prudence and Piety ? Do we keep up the Credit of Religion , and shine as Lights in the world ? We pray , Thy Will be done as it is in Heaven ; are we like our Pattern ? would the Angels do thus if they were on Earth ? would Jesus Christ do this ? thus is to Christianize , this is to be Saints of degrees , when we live our Prayer , and our Actions are the Counter-pane of Gods will .

VSE IV. Of Exhortation . Let us be doers of the Will of God ; Thy Will be done .

1. It is our Wisdom to do Gods Will : Deut. 4.6 . Keep and do these statutes , for this is your wisdom .

2. It is our Safety . Hath not Misery alwayes attended the doing of our own Will , and Happiness the doing of Gods Will ?

( 1. ) Misery hath alwayes attended the doing of our own Will. Our first Parents left Gods Will to fulfil their own , in eating the forbidden fruit ; and what came of it ? The Apple had a bitter Core in it , they purchased a Curse for themselves and all their Posterity . King Saul left Gods Will to do his own , he spares Agag , and the best of the Sheep , and what was the issue , but the loss of his Kingdom ?

( 2. ) Happiness hath alwayes attended the doing of Gods Will . Ioseph obeyed Gods Will in refusing the embraces of his Mistress , and was not this his Preferment ? God raised him to be the second Man in the Kingdom . Daniel did Gods Will contrary to the Kings Decree , he bowed his Knee in Prayer to God , and did not God make all Persia bow their Knees to Daniel .

( 3. ) The way to have our Will is to do Gods Will . Would not we have a Blessing in our Estate , then let us do Gods Will ; Deut. 28.1 , 3. If thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God , to do all his commandments , the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth : Blessed shalt thou be in the city , and blessed shalt thou be in the field : This is the way to have a good Harvest . Would we not have a Blessing in our Souls , then let us do Gods Will ; Ier. 7.23 . Obey my voice and I will be your God ; I will entail my self upon you as an everlasting Portion ; my Grace shall be yours to sanctifie you , my Mercy shall be yours to save you : You see you lose nothing by doing Gods Will , this is the way to have your Will . Let God have his will in being obeyed , and you shall have your will in being saved .

Quest. How shall we come to do Gods will aright ?

Answ. 1. Get sound knowledge ; we must know Gods Will before we can do it . Knowledge is the eye to direct the foot of Obedience : The Papists make Ignorance the Mother of Devotion , but Christ makes Ignorance the Mother of Errour ; Matth. 22.29 . Ye err , not knowing the Scripture . We must know Gods Will before we can do it aright . Affection without knowledge is like an Horse full of metal , but his eyes are out .

2. If we would do Gods Will aright , let us labour for self-denyal ; unless we deny our own Will , we shall never do Gods Will . Gods Will and ours are like the Wind and Tide when they are contrary ; God wills one thing , we will another ; God calls us to be Crucified to the World , by Nature we love the World ; God calls us to forgive our Enemies , by Nature we bear malice in our Heart ; Gods Will and ours are contrary like the Wind and Tide , and till we can cross our own will , we shall never fulfil Gods .

3. Let us get humble Hearts : Pride is the spring of disobedience ; Exod. 5.2 . Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice ? A proud Man thinks it below him to stoop to Gods Will . Be humble ; the humble Soul saith , Lord , what wilt thou have me do ? He puts as it were a blank paper into Gods hands , and bids him write what he will he will subscribe to it .

4. Beg Grace and Strength of God to do his Will ; Psal. 143.10 . Teach me to do thy will : As if David had said , Lord , I need not be taught to do my own Will , I can do that fast enough , but teach me to do thy Will ; and that which may add wings to Prayer , is Gods gracious Promise , I will put my Spirit within you , and cause you to walk in my statutes ; Ezek. 36.27 . If the Loadstone draw the Iron , it is not hard for the Iron to move ; if Gods Spirit inable , it will not be hard , but rather delightful to do Gods Will .

II. In this Petition , Thy Will be done in Earth , as it is in Heaven , we pray , that we may have Grace to submit to Gods Will patiently in what he inflicts : The Text is to be understood as well of suffering Gods Will as of doing it ; so Maldonat , and the most Judicious Interpreters . I shall speak now of patient submission to Gods Will in whatever he inflicts : Thy Will be done . This should be the temper of a good Christian when he is under any disastrous Providence , to lye quietly at Gods Feet , and say , Thy Will be done .

Quest. 1. What this patient submission to Gods will is not ?

Answ. There is something looks like Patience which is not ; namely , when a Man bears a thing because he cannot help it ; he takes Affliction as his Fate and Destiny , therefore he endures that quietly which he cannot avoid ; this is rather Necessity than Patience .

Quest. 2. What it is may stand with patient submission to Gods Will ?

Answ. 1. A Christian may be sensible of Affliction , yet patiently submit to Gods Will We ought not to be Stoicks , insensible and unconcerned with Gods dealings ; like the Sons of Deucalion ( who as the Poets say ) were begotten of a Stone . Christ was sensible when he sweat great drops of Blood , but there was submission to Gods Will ; Matth. 26.39 . Nevertheless , not as I will , but as thou wilt . We are bid to humble our selves under Gods hand , 1 Pet. 5.6 . which we cannot do unless we are sensible of it .

2. A Christian may weep under an Affliction , yet patiently submit to Gods Will . God allowes tears ; 't is a sin to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , without natural affection , Rom. 1.31 . Grace makes the Heart tender , strangulat inclusus dolor ; weeping gives vent to sorrow , expletur lachrymis dolor . Ioseph wept over his dead Father ; Iob when he had so much ill news brought him at once , rent his Mantle , ( an expression of grief ) but did not tear his Hair in anger ; only Worldly grief must not be immoderate ; a Vein may bleed too much ; the Water riseth too high when it overflowes the banks .

3. A Christian may complain in his Affliction , yet be submissive to Gods Will ; Psal. 142.2 . I cryed to the Lord with my voice , I poured out my complaint before him . We may ( being under oppression ) tell God how it is with us , and desire him to write down our injuries . Shall not the Child complain to his Father when he is wronged ? An holy complaint may stand with patient submission to Gods Will ; but though we may complain to God , we must not complain of God .

Quest. 3. What it is cannot stand with patient submission to Gods Will ?

Answ. 1. Discontentedness with Providence . Discontent hath a mixture of grief and anger in it , and both these must needs raise a storm of Passion in the Soul . God having touched the apple of our Eye , and smitten us in that we loved , we are touchy and sullen , and God shall not have a good look from us ; Gen. 4.6 . Why art thou wroth ? Like a sullen Bird that is angry , and beats her self against the Cage .

3. Murmuring cannot stand with submission to Gods Will : Murmuring is the height of impatience ; it is a kind of mutinee in the Soul against God ; Numb. 21.5 . The people spake against God . When a Cloud of Sorrow is gathered in the Soul , and this Cloud doth not only drop into Tears , but out of this Cloud come Hail-stones , murmuring word● against God , this is far from patient submission to Gods Will . When water is hot the scum boils up ; when the Heart is heated with anger against God , then this scum of murmuring boils up . Murmuring is very evil , it springs , 1. From Pride ; Men think they have deserved better at Gods hands , and when they begin to swell they spit Poyson . 2. Distrust ; Men believe not that God can make a Treacle of Poyson , bring good out of all their troubles , therefore they murmur ; Psal. 106.24 . They believed not his word , but murmured . Men murmur at Gods Providences because they distrust his Promises ; God hath much ado to bear this Sin , Numb. 14.27 . this is far from submission to Gods Will .

3. Discomposedness of Spirit cannot stand with quiet submission to Gods Will . When a Man saith , I am so encompassed with trouble that I know not how to get out ; Head and Heart are so taken up that a Person is not fit to pray . When the strings of a Lute are snarled , the Lute can make no good Musick ; so when a Christians Spirits are perplexed and disturbed , he cannot make Melody in his Heart to the Lord . To be under a discomposure of Mind , is as when an Army is routed , one runs this way , and another that , the Army is put into disorder ; so when a Christian is in an hurry of Mind , his Thoughts run up and down distracted , as if he were undone ; this cannot stand with patient submission to Gods Will .

4. Self-apology cannot stand with submission to Gods Will ; instead of being humbled under Gods hand a Person justifies himself . A proud Sinner stands upon his own defence , and is ready to accuse God of unrighteousness , which is as if we should tax the Sun with darkness : This is far from submission to Gods Will . God smote Ionahs goard , and he stands upon his own vindication ; Ionah 4.9 . I do well to be angry to the death : What , to be angry with God ? And to justifie this , I do well to be angry . This was strange to come from a Prophet , and was far from this Prayer Christ hath taught us , Thy Will be done .

Quest. 4. What this patient submission to Gods Will is ?

Answ. It is a gracious frame of Soul , whereby a Christian is content to be at Gods dispose , and doth acquiesce in his Wisdom ; 1 Sam. 3.18 . It is the Lord , let him do what seemeth him good : Acts 21.14 . The will of the Lord be done . That I may further illustrate this , I shall show you wherein this submission to Gods Will lyes ; it lyes chiefly in three things .

( 1. ) In acknowledging Gods hand ; seeing God in the Affliction : Iob 5.6 . Affliction ariseth not out of the dust ; it comes not by chance . Iob did eye God in all that befel him ; Iob 1.22 . The Lord hath taken away : He complains not of the Chaldeans , or the influence of the Planets , he looks beyond second Causes , he sees God in the Affliction , The Lord hath taken away . There can be no submission to Gods Will till there be an acknowledging of Gods hand .

( 2. ) Patient submission to Gods Will lyes in our justifying of God : Psal. 22.2 . O my God I cry unto thee , yet thou hearest not , thou turnest a deaf ear to me in my affliction ; ver. 3. But thou art holy . God is Holy and Just , not only when he punisheth the Wicked , but when he afflicts the Righteous . Though God put Wormwood in our Cup , yet we vindicate God , and proclaim his Righteousness . As Mauritius the Emperour , when he saw his Sons slain before his eyes , Iustus es Domine , Righteous art thou O Lord in all thy wayes . We justifie God , and confess he punisheth us less than we deserve ; Ezra 9.13 .

( 3. ) Patient submission to Gods Will lyes in the accepting of the punishment ; Lev. 26.41 . And they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity . Accepting of the punishment ; that is , taking all that God doth in good part . He who accepts of the punishment , saith , Good is the Rod of the Lord ; he kisseth the Rod , yea blesseth God that he would use such a Merciful severity , rather to afflict him than lose him . This is patient submission to Gods Will .

This patient submission to Gods Will in Affliction showes a great deal of Wisdom and Piety . The skill of a Pilot is most discerned in a storm , and a Christians Grace in the storm of Affliction ; and indeed this submission to Gods Will is most requisite for us while we live here in this lower Re●●gion ; in Heaven there will be no need of Patience , no more than there is need of the Star light when the Sun shines . In Heaven there will be all joy , and what need of Patience then ? It requires no Patience to wear a Crown of Gold , but while we live here in a Valley of Tears , there needs patient submission to Gods Will , Heb. 10.36 . Ye have need of patience .

1. The Lord sometimes layes heavy Afflictions upon us ; Psal. 38.2 . Thy hand presseth me sore . The word in the Original for afflicted , signifies to be melted . God sometimes melts his People in a Furnace .

2. God sometimes layes divers Afflictions on us : Iob 19.17 . He multiplies my wound . God shoots divers sorts of Arrowes .

( 1. ) Sometimes God afflicts with Poverty . The Widow had nothing left her save a pot of Oyl , 1 Kings 17.12 . Poverty is a great Temptation . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Menand . To have an Estate boyled away almost to nothing , is hard to Flesh and Blood ; Ruth 1.20 . Call me not Naomi but Mara : I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty . This exposeth to Contempt . When the Prodigal was poor , his Brother was ashamed to own him : Luke . 15.30 . This thy Son ; he said not this my Brother , but this thy Son ; he scorned to call him Brother . When the Deer is shot and bleeds , the rest of the herd push it away ; when God shoots the Arrow of Poverty at one , others are ready to push him away . When Terence was grown poor , his Friend Scipio cast him off . The Muses ( Iupiters Daughters ) the Poets feign , had no Suitors because they wanted a Dowry .

( 2. ) God sometimes afflicts with Reproach ▪ Such as have the light of Grace shining in them , yet may be eclipsed in their Name . The Primitive Christians were reproached as if they were guilty of Incest , saith Tertullian . Luther was called , A Trumpeter of Rebellion . David calls reproach an heart-breaking ; Psal. 69.20 . this God lets his dear Saints be oft exercised with . Dirt may be cast upon a Pearl ; those Names may be blotted which are written in the Book of Life . Sincerity though it shields from Hell , yet not from Slander .

( 3. ) God sometimes afflicts with loss of dear Relations ; Ezek. 24.16 . Son of man behold I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke : This is like a pulling away a Limb from the Body . He takes away an holy Child ; Iacobs Life was bound up in Benjamin , Gen. 44.30 . and that which puts Teeth into the Cross , and is worse than the loss of Children , is , when they are continued as living Crosses ; where the Parents expected Honey , there to have Wormwood . What greater cut to a Godly Parent than a Child who disclaims his Fathers God! A Corrosive applyed to the Body may do well , but a bad Child is a Corrosive to the Heart . Such an undutiful Son had David who conspired Treason , and would not only have taken away his Fathers Crown , but his Life .

( 4. ) God sometimes afflicts with a 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , infirmness of Body ; scarce a well day . Sickness takes away the Comfort of Life , and makes one in Deaths oft , thus God tryes his People with various Afflictions , so that there is need of Patience to submit to Gods Will . He who hath divers Bullets shot at him needs Armour ; when divers Afflictions assault , we need Patience as Armour of Proof .

3. God sometimes lets the Affliction continue long , Psal. 74.9 . as it is with Diseases , there are some Chronical , that linger and hang about the Body several years together ; so it is with Affliction , the Lord is pleased to exercise many of his precious ones with Chronical Afflictions , such as lye upon them a long time ; so that in all these Cases we need Patience and submissiveness of Spirit to Gods Will .

VSE I. It reproves such as have not yet learned this part of the Lords Prayer , Thy Will be done ; they have only said it , but not learned it . If things be not according to their Mind , if the Wind of Providence crosseth the Tide of their Will , they are discontented and querulous , where is now submission of Will to God ? To be displeased with God if things do not please us , is this to lye at Gods feet , and acquiesce in his Will ? This is a very bad temper of Spirit , and God may justly punish us by letting us have our Will. Rachel cryed , Give me Children , or I dye , Gen. 30.1 . God let her have a Child , but it cost her her Life ; Gen. 35.18 . Israel not content with Manna ( Angels Food ) they must have Quails to their Manna , God punished them by letting them have their Will ; Numb. 11.31 . There went sorth a wind from the Lord , and brought quails : ver. 33. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth , the wrath of the Lord was kindled against them , and the Lord smote them with a great plague . They had better been without their Quails than had such sower sawce to them . Many have importunately desired the Life of a Child , and could not bring their Wills to Gods to be content to part with it , and the Lord hath punished them by letting them have their Will ; the Child hath lived and been a burden to them . Seeing their Wills crossed God , their Child shall cross them .

VSE II. Of Exhortation . Let us be exhorted whatever troubles God doth exercise us with , aequo animo ferre , to resign up our Wills to God , and say , Thy Will be done : Which is fittest , that God should bring his will to ours , or we bring our will to his ? Say as Eli , 1 Sam. 3.18 . It is the Lord , let him do what seemeth him good : And as David , 2 Sam. 15.26 . Behold here am I , let him do to me as seemeth good unto him . It was the saying of Harpulas , Placet mihi quod . Regi placet , that pleaseth me which pleaseth the King : So should we say , that which pleaseth God pleaseth us : Thy Will be done . Some have not yet learned this art of submission to God , and truly he who wants Patience in Affliction , is like a Souldier in Battle who wants Armour .

Quest. When do we not as we ought submit to Gods Will in Affliction ?

Answ. 1. When we have hard thoughts of God , and our Hearts begin to swell against him .

2. When we are so troubled at our present Affliction that we are unfit for Duty . We can mourn as Doves , but not pray or praise God . We are so discomposed that we are not fit to hearken to any good Counsel ; Exod. 6.9 . They hearkened not to Moses for anguish of spirit . Israel were so full of grief under their present burdens , that they minded not what Moses said , though he came with a Message from God to them ; They hearkened not to Moses for anguish of spirit .

3. We do not submit as we ought to Gods Will , when we labour to break loose from Affliction by indirect means . Many to rid themselves out of trouble run themselves into Sin . When God hath bound them with the cords of Affliction , they go to the Devil to loosen their bands . Better it is to stay in Affliction , than to sin our selves out of Affliction . O let us learn to stoop to Gods Will in all afflictive Providences .

Quest. But how shall we bring our selves to this Christian Temper in all Occurrences of Providence , patiently to acquiesce in Gods Will , and say , Thy Will be done ? We know not what Tryals Personal or National we may be exercised with . We seem now to be under the Planet Saturn , which hath a malignant Aspect . Our Ship is steer'd so strangely , that we are in danger on one hand of the Sands , on the other hand of the Rocks . If Affliction comes how shall we keep a Christian Decorum , how shall we bear things with equanimity of mind , and say , Thy Will be done ?

Answ. The means for a quiet resignation to Gods Will in Affliction is ;

1. Judicious Consideration ; Eccles. 7.14 . In the day of adversity consider . When any thing burdens us , or runs cross to our desires , did we but sit down and consider , and weigh things in the ballance of Judgment , it would much quiet our Minds , and subject our Wills to God ; In the day of adversity consider . Consideration would be as Davids Harp , to charm down the evil Spirit of frowardness and discontent .

Quest. But what should we consider ?

Answ. That which may make us submit to God in Affliction , and say , Thy Will be done , is ,

1. To consider that the present state of Life is subject to Afflictions , as a Seamans Life is subject to storms : Ferre quam sortem omnes patiuntur nemo recusat : Iob 5.7 . Man is born to trouble ; he is heir apparent to it ; he comes into the World with a cry , and goes out with a groan . Ea lege nati sumus . The World is a place where much Wormwood grows ; Lam. 3.15 . He hath filled me with bitterness , Hebr. Bammerorim , with bitternesses , he hath made me drunk with wormwood . Troubles arise like sparks out of a Furnace . Afflictions are some of the Thorns which the Earth after the Curse brings forth . We may as well think to stop the Chariot of the Sun when it is in its swift motion , as put a stop to trouble ; the consideration of this our Life is exposed to eclipses and sufferings should make us say with Patience , Thy Will be done . Shall a Mariner be angry that he meets with a storm at Sea ?

2. Consideration , God hath a special hand in the disposal of all Occurrences that fall out . Iob eyed God in the Affliction , chap. 1.21 . The Lord hath taken away : He doth not complain of the Sabeans , or the Influences of the Planets , he looked beyond all second Causes , he saw God in the Affliction , and that made him chearfully submit , Blessed be the name of the Lord . And Christ looked beyond Iudas and Pilate , he looked to Gods determinate Counsel in delivering him up to be Crucified , Acts 4.28 . this made him say , Matth. 26.39 . Father , not as I will , but as thou wilt : 'T is vain to quarrel with instruments . Wicked Men are but a Rod in Gods hand ; Isa. 10.5 . O Assyrian the rod of my anger . Whoever brings an Affliction , God sends it : The consideration of this would make us say , Thy Will be done ; what God doth he sees a reason for . We read of a wheel within a wheel , Ezek. 1.15 . the outward wheel which turns all , is Providence ; the wheel within this wheel , is Gods Decree ; this believed would rock the Heart quiet . Shall we mutiny at that which God doth ? We may as well quarrel with the works of Creation , as the works of Providence .

3. Consideration , which may make us humbly to submit to Gods Will is , that there is a necessity of Affliction ; 1 Pet. 1.6 . ( If need be ) ye are in heaviness . It is needful some things be kept in brine . Afflictions are needful upon several accounts .

( 1. ) To keep us Humble . Oft times there is no other way to have the heart low but by being brought low : 2 Chron. 33.12 . When Manasseh was in affliction , he humbled himself greatly . Corrections are Corrosives to eat out the proud flesh ; Lam. 3.19 . Remembring my misery , the wormwood and the gall , my soul is humbled in me .

( 2. ) It is necessary that there should be Affliction , for if God did not sometimes bring us into Affliction , how could his power be seen in bringing us out ? Had not Israel been in the Egyptian Furnace , God had lost his glory in their deliverance .

( 3. ) If there were no Affliction , then many parts of Scripture could not be fulfilled . God hath promised to help us bear Affliction , and Psal. 37.24 , 39. how could we experience Gods supporting us in trouble , if we did not sometime meet with it ? God hath promised to give us Joy in Affliction , Iohn . 16.20 . how could we taste this honey of Joy , if we were not sometimes in Affliction ? Again , God hath promised to wipe away tears from our eyes , Isa. 25.8 . how could God wipe away our tears in Heaven , if we never shed any ? So that in several respects there is an absolute necessity that we should meet with Affliction , and shall not we quietly submit , and say , Lord , I see there is a necessity of it ; Thy Will be done .

4. Consideration , to make us submit to Gods Will in Affliction is , that whatever we feel , it is nothing but what we have brought upon our selves ; we put a Rod into Gods hand to chastise us . Christian , God layes thy Cross on thee , but it is of thy own making . If a Mans field be full of Tares , it is nothing but what he hath sown in it : If thou reapest a bitter crop of Affliction , it is nothing but what thou thy self hast sown . The cords that pinch thee are of thy own twisting ; Me me adsum qui feci . If Children will eat green Fruit , they may thank themselves if they are sick ; if we eat the forbidden Fruit , no wonder to feel it gripe . Sin is the Trojan Horse that lands an Army of Afflictions upon us ; Ier. 4.15 . A voice publisheth affliction : ver. 18. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee , this is thy wickedness . If we by Sin run our selves into arrears with God , no wonder if he set Affliction as a Sergeant on our back to arrest us . This may make us patiently submit to God in Affliction , and say , Thy Will be done . We have no cause to complain of God , it is nothing but what our Sins have merited . Ier. 2.17 . Hast not thou procured this unto thy self ? The Cross though it be of Gods laying , it is of our own making ; say then as Mica 7. ●9 I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him .

5. Consideration , to cause submission to Gods Will in Affliction ; God is now about to make an Experiment , he doth it to prove and try us ; Psal. 66.10 . Thou O God , hast tried us as Silver is tried , thou laidst Affliction upon our Loyns . If there were no Affliction , how should God have an Opportunity to try Men ? Hypocrites can sail in a Pleasure-boat , serve God in Prosperity ; but when we can keep close to God in times of danger , when we can trust God when we have no Pawn , and love God when we have no smile ; here is the trial of Sincerity ! This may make us say , Thy Will be done . God is only trying us , what hurt is in that ? What is the gold worse for being tried ?

6. Consideration , to make us submit to God in Affliction , and say , Thy Will be done , is , that in all our Crosses God hath a kindness for us ; as there was no Night so dark , but Israel had a Pillar of Fire to give Light ; so there 's no Condition so cloudy , but we may see that which gives Light of Comfort : David would sing of Mercy and Judgment , Psal. 101.1 . This may make our Wills chearfully submit to Gods , to consider , in every Path of Providence we may see a Footstep of kindness .

Quest. What kindness is there in Affliction , when God seems most unkind ?

Answ. 1. There is kindness in Affliction , in that there is love in it ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrysost. Gods Rod and Gods Love may stand together , Heb. 12.6 . Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth , Whom he cockereth above the rest , so Mercer : As Abraham when he lift up his hand to sacrifice Isaac , loved him ; so when God afflicts his People , and seems to sacrifice their outward Comforts , yet loves them : The Husbandman loves his Vine when he cuts it and makes it bleed ; and shall not we submit to God ? shall we quarrel with that which hath kindness in it , which comes in love ? The Chyrurgion binds the Patient , and launceth him , but no wise Man will quarrel with the Chyrurgion , it is in Love , and in order to a Cure .

2. There is kindness in Affliction , in that God deals with us now as Children , Heb. 12.7 . If you endure Chastening , God deals with you as Sons ; God had one Son without sin , but no son without stripes . Affliction is a Badge of Adoption , 't is Dei Sigillum , saith Tertullian , it is Gods Seal by which he marks us for his own . When Munster that holy Man lay sick , his Friends ask'd him how he did ? he pointed to his Sores , saying , hae sunt gemme Dei , these are the Jewels with which God decks his Children ; shall not we then say ? Thy Will be done . Lord , there 's kindness in the Cross , thou usest us as Children , the Rod of Discipline is to fit us for the Inheritance .

3. There is kindness that God hath in all our Afflictions left us a Promise ; in the most cloudy Providences the Promise appears as a Rainbow in the Cloud .

( 1. ) That we shall have Gods promise with us , Psal. 91.15 . I will be with him in Trouble . It cannot be ill with that Man with whom God is : I will be with him , i. e. to support , sanctify , sweeten ; Gods presence is a sweetening ingredient into every Affliction . I had rather be in a Prison and have Gods Presence , then be in a Pallace and want it .

( 2. ) Promise , that he will lay no more upon us then he will enable us to bear , 1 Cor: 10.13 . God will not try us beyond our strength ; either God will make the Yoak lighter , or our Faith stronger ; may not this make us submit our Wills to God when Afflictions have so much kindness in them ? In all our Trials God hath left us promises , which are like Manna in the Wilderness .

4. This is great kindness that all the Troubles that befal us shall be for our profit , Heb. 12. He 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 for our profit .

Quest. But what profit is in affliction ?

Answ. 1. Afflictions are disciplinary , they teach us Schola Crucis , Schola Lucis : Many Psalms have this Inscription Maschil , a Psalm giving Instruction : Affliction may have this Inscription upon it Maschil , an Affliction giving Instruction , Mica . 6.9 . Hear ye the Rod. Luther saith he could never rightly understand some of the Psalms till he was in Affliction , Iudg. 8.16 . Gideon took Thorns of the Wilderness and Briars , and with them he taught the Men of Succoth : God by the Thorns and Briars of Affliction teacheth us .

( 1. ) Affliction shows us more of our own hearts then ever : Water in a Glass-Vial looks clear , but set it on the fire and the Scum boils up : When God sets us upon the fire , then we see that Corruption boils up which we did not discern before . Sharp Afflictions are to the Soul as a soaking Rain to the House , we know not that there are such holes in the House , till the shower comes , and then we see it drop down here and there ; so we before did not know that there were such unmortified Lusts in the Soul , till the storm of Affliction comes , then we spy unbelief , impatience , carnal fear , we see it drop down in many places . Thus Affliction is a sacred Collyrium , it clears our Eye-sight ; the Rod gives Wisdom .

( 2. ) Affliction brings those sins to Remembrance , which before were buried in the Grave of Forgetfulness ; Ioseph's Brethren for twenty Years together were not at all troubled for their sin in selling their Brother , but when they came into Egypt and began to be in straits , then their sin in selling their Brother came into their Remembrance , and their Hearts did smite them , Gen. 42.21 . They said one to another , we are verily guilty concerning our Brother . When a Man is in distress , now his sin comes fresh into his Mind , Conscience makes a Rehearsal Sermon of all the Evils which have passed in his Life , now his expence of precious time , his Sabbath-breaking , his slighting of the word , come into his Remembrance , and he goes out with Peter and weeps bitterly . Thus the Rod gives Wisdom , it shows the hidden evil of the heart , and brings former sins to Remembrance .

2. There is Profit it Affliction , as it quickens a Spirit of Prayer , premuntur justi ut pressi clament . Ionah was asleep in the Ship , but at Prayer in the Whales Belly ; perhaps in a time of health and prosperity , we pray'd in a cold formal manner , we put no coals to the Incense , we did scarce mind our own prayers , and how should God mind them , now God sends some cross or other to make us stir up our selves to take hold of God : When Iacob was in fear of his life by his Brother , then he wrestles with God and weeps in prayer , and would not leave God till he had blessed him , Hos. 12.4 . 'T is with many of Gods Children as with those who formerly had the Swe●ting sickness in this Land , 't was a sleepy disease , if they slept they died , therefore to keep them waking they were smitten with Rosemary Branches ; so the Lord useth Affliction as a Rosemary Branch to keep us from sleeping , and to awaken a Spirit of Prayer , Isa. 26.16 . They poured out a Prayer , when thy Chastening was upon them ; now their Prayer pierced the Heaven : In times of Trouble we pray feelingly , and we never pray so fervently as when we pray feelingly , and is not this for our profit ?

3. Affliction is for our profit , as it is a means to expectorate and purge out our sin , Isa. 77.9 . By this th●refore shall the iniquity of Iacob be purged ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Arist. Affliction is Gods Physick to expel the noxious humour , it cures the Imposthume of Pride , the Feaver of Lust , and is not this for our profit : Affliction is Gods File to fetch off our Rust , his flail to thresh off our Husks : The Water of Affliction is not to drown us , but to wash off our Spots .

4. To be under the black Rod is profitable , in that hereby we grow more serious and are more careful to clear our Evidences for Heaven : In times of Prosperity when the Rock poured out Rivers of Oyl , Iob 29 6. we were careless in getting , at least clearing our Title to Glory ; had many no better Evidences for their Land then they have for their Salvation , they were but in an ill case ; but when an hour of Trouble comes , we begin to look after our spiritual Evidences , and see how things stand between God and our Souls ; and is it not for our profit to see our Interest in Christ more cleared then ever ?

5. Affliction is for our profit , as it is a means to take us more off from the World ; the world oft proves not only a Spiders Web , but a Cockatrice Egg ; pernitious worldly things are great Inchantments , they are ●etinaculaspei , Tertul. they hinder us in our passage to Heaven ; if a Clock be over-wound it stands still ; so when the heart is wound up too much to the world , it stands still to Heavenly things ; Affliction sounds a retreat to call us off the immoderate pursuit of earthly things ; when things are frozen and congealed together the only way to separate them is by Fire ; so when the heart and the world are congealed together , God hath no better way to separate them then by the Fire of Affliction .

6. Affliction is for our profit , as it is a Refiner , it works us to further decrees of Sanctity , Heb. 12.10 . He for our profit , that we might be partakers of his Holiness . The Vessels of Mercy are the brighter for scouring ; you pour water on your Linnen when you would whiten it ; God pours the waters of Affliction upon us to lay our Souls a whitening : The Leaves of the Fig-tree and Root are bitter , but the Fruit is sweet : Afflictions are in themselves bitter , but they bring forth the sweet fruits of Righteousness , Heb. 12.11 . This may make us submit to God , and say , Thy Will be done ; there 's kindness in Affliction , it is for our spiritual profit .

5. There 's kindness in Affliction , in that there is no condition so bad but it might be worse ; when it is duskish it might be darker ; God doth not make our Cross so heavy as he might , he doth not stir up all his Anger , Psal. 78.38 . He doth not put so many Nails in our Yoak , so much Wormwood in our Cup as he might ; doth God chastise thy Body ? he might torture thy Conscience ; doth he cut thee short ? he might cut thee off : The Lord might make our Chain heavier ; Is it a burning-Feaver ? it might have been the burning Lake : Doth God use the Pruning Knife to lop thee ? he might bring his Axe to hew thee down . Ezek. 47.3 . The Waters were up to the Ankles : Do the Waters of Affliction come up to the Ankles ? God might make them rise higher , nay , he might drown thee in the Waters ; this may make us submit quietly and say , Thy Will be done , because there is so much kindness in it ; whereas God useth the Rod , he might use the Scorpion .

6. There is kindness in Affliction , in that your case is not so bad as others ; they are alwaies upon the Rack ; they spend their Years with sighing , Psal. 31.10 . Have you a gentle fit of an Ague ? others cry out of the Stone and Strangullion : Do you bear the wrath of Men ? others bear the wrath of God ; you have but a single trial , others have them twisted together ; God shoots but one Arrow at you , he shoots a Shower of Arrows at others ; is there not kindness in all this ? We are apt to say , never any suffered as we ; was it not worse with Lazarus , who was so full of Sores that the Dogs took pity on him , and licked his Sores ? Nay , was it not worse with Christ , who lived poor and died cursed ? May not this cause us to say , Thy Will be done ; there is kindness in it ; that God deals not so severely with us as others .

7. There is kindness in Affliction , in that ( if we belong to God ) it is all the Hell we shall have ; some have two Hells , they suffer in their Body and Conscience , here is one Hell , and another Hell is to come , unquenchable Fire ; Iudas had two Hells , but a Child of God hath but one Hell ; Lazarus had all his Hell here , he was full of sores , but had a Convoy of Angels to carry him to Heaven when he dyed : Say then , Lo , if this be the worst I shall have , if this be all my Hell , I will patiently acquiesce , Thy Will be done .

8. There is kindness , in that God gives gracious supports in Affliction ; if he strikes with one hand he will support with the other , Deut. 33.27 . Vnderneath are the everlasting Arms. There is not the least Trial , but if God did desert us , and not assist us with his Grace , we should sink under it : The Frown of a great Man , the fear of a Reproach ; Peter was frighted at the Voice of a Maid , Mat. 26.69 . O therefore what Mercy is it to have Christ strengthen us , and as it were bear the heaviest part of the Cross with us . One said , I have no ravishing Joys in my sickness , but I bless God I have sweet supports : and should not this cause submission to Gods Will , and make us say , Lo , if thou art so kind as to bear us up in Affliction , that we do not faint , put us into what Wine-press , thou pleasest , Thy Will be done .

9. There is kindness in Affliction , in that it is preventive .

( 1. ) God by this stroke of his would prevent some sin ; Paul's Thorn in the Flesh was to prevent his being lifted up in Pride , 2 Cor. 12.7 . As Affliction is sometimes sent for the punishing of sin , so sometimes for the preventing of sin : Prosperity exposeth to much evil . 'T is hard to carry a full Cup without spilling , and a full Estate without sinning . Gods People know not how much they are beholding to their Affliction , they might have fallen into some Scandal , had not God set an Hedge of Thorns in their way to stop them ; what kindness is this . God lets us fall into sufferings to prevent falling into Snares ; say then , Lord do as it seems good in thy sight , Thy Will be done .

( 2. ) God by Affliction would prevent Damnation , 1 Cor. 11.32 . We are corrected in the World , that we may not be condemned with the World . A Man by falling into the Briars is saved from falling into the River : God lets us fall into the Briars of Affliction that we may not drown in Perdition : It is a great favour when a lesser punishment is inflicted to prevent a greater : Is it not Clemency in the Judge when he lays some light Penalty on the Prisoner , and saves his life ; so when God lays upon us light Affliction , and saves us from wrath to come ; as Pilate said , Luke 23.16 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I will chastise him and let him go ; so God chastiseth his Children and lets them go , frees them from eternal torment : What is a drop of sorrow the Godly tast , to that sea of Wrath the Wicked shall be drinking of to all Eternity ; O what kindness is here , may not this make us say , Thy Will be done ; it is preventing Physick .

10. There is kindness , in that God doth mix his Providences , Hab. 3.2 . In Anger he remembers Mercy : Not all pure Gall but some Honey mixed with it . Ashurs Shoes were Iron and Brass , but his Foot was dip'd in Oyl , Gen. 33.24 . Affliction is the shoo of Brass , but God causeth the Foot to be dipp'd in Oyl . As the Limner mixeth with his dark shadows bright Colours ; so the wise God mingles the dark , and the bright Colour , Crosses and Blessings . The Body is afflicted , but within is Peace of Conscience ; there is a Blessing : Ioseph was sold into Egppt , and put in Prison ; there was the dark side of the Cloud : Iob lost all that ever he had , his Skin was clothed with Boils and Ulcers ; here was a sad Providence , but God gave a Testimony from Heaven of Iobs Integrity , and did afterwards double his Estate , Iob. 42.10 . The Lord gave Iob twice as much . Here was the goodness of God seen towards Iob. God doth checquer his works of Providence , and shall not we submit and say , Lord if thou art so kind mixing so many bright Colours with my dark Condition , Thy Will be done .

11. There is kindness in Affliction in that God doth moderate his Stroke , Ier. 30.11 . I will correct thee in Measure . God will in the day of his East-wind stay his rough wind , Isa. 27.8 . The Physician that understands the Crasis and temper of the patient , will not give too strong Physick for the Body nor will he give one Dram or Scruple too much . God knows our frame he will not over-afflict , he will not stretch the strings of his Viol too hard least they break ; and is there not kindness in all this ? may not this work our hearts to submission ? Lord if thou usest so much gentleness and correctest in measure , Thy Will be done .

12. There is kindness in Affliction , in that God often sweetens it with divine Consolation , 2 Cor. 1.4 . Who comforteth us in all our Tribulation : After a bitter Potion , a lump of Sugar . God comforts in Affliction ,

( 1. ) Partly by his Word , Psal. 119.50 . This is my Comfort in my Affliction , for thy Word hath quickened me . The Promises of the word are a shop of Cordials .

( 2. ) God comforts by his Spirit . Philip Landtgrave of Hesse said that in his troubles , se divinas Martyrum consolationes sensisse , he felt the divine Consolations of the Martyrs . David had his Pilgrimage-Songs , Psal. 119.54 . and St. Paul his Prison-Songs , Act. 16.25 . Thus God candies our Wormwood with Sugar , and makes us gather Grapes of Thorns . Some of the Saints have had such ravishing Joys in Affliction , that they had rather endure their Sufferings , then want their Comforts : O how much kindness is in the Cross ! In the Belly of this Lyon is an Honey-Comb ; may not this make us chearfully submit to Gods Will , when God lines the Yoak with Comfort , and gives us honey at the end of the Rod ?

13. There is kindness in Affliction , in that God doth curtail and shorten it , he will not let it lye on too long , Isa. 57.16 . I will not contend for ever , least the Spirit should fail before me . God will give his People a Writ of Ease , and proclaim a Year of Jubilee ▪ the wicked may plow upon the backs of the Saints , but God will cut their Traces , Psal. 129.4 . The Goldsmith will not let his gold lye any longer in the Furnace then till it is purified . The Wicked must drink a Sea of Wrath , but the Godly have only a Cup of Affliction , Isa. 51.17 . and God will say , Let this Cup pass away . Affliction may be compared to Frost , it will break and Spring Flowers will come on , Isa. 35. Sorrow and sighing shall fly away . Affliction hath a Sting , but withal a Wing , sorrow shall fly away ; this Land Flood shall be dryed up ; if then there be so much kindness in the Cross , God will cause a Cessation of trouble , say then , Fiat Voluntas tua , Thy Will be done .

14. Vlt. There is kindness in Affliction , in that it is a means to make us happy , Iob 5.17 . Behold , happy is the Man whom God correcteth . This seems strange to flesh and blood that Affliction should make one happy ; when Moses saw the bush burning and not consumed , I will ( s●ith he ) turn aside and see this strange sight , Exod. 3.3 . So here is a strange sight , a Man afflicted , yet happy : The World counts them happy who can escape Affliction , but happy is the Man whom God correcteth .

Quest. But how do Afflictions contribute to our happiness ?

Resp. 1. As they are a means to bring us nearer to God ; the Loadstone of Prosperity doth not draw us so near to God as the Cords of Affliction : When the Prodigal was pinch'd with want , then saith he , I will arise and go to my Father , Luke 15.18 . The Deluge brought the Dove to the Ark : The Floods of Sorrow make us hasten to Christ .

2. Afflictions make us happy , as they are Manuductions to Glory . The Storm drives the Ship into the harbour : Happy is that Storm which drives the Soul into the Heavenly harbour ; is it not better to go through affliction to glory , then through pleasure to misery ? not that afflictions merit glory , no cross ever merited , but that which Christ endured ; but they do disponere , fit , and prepare us for glory . Think , O Christian , what Affliction leads to , it leads to Paradise , where are Rivers of Pleasure always running ; may not this make us chearfully submit to Gods Will , and say , Lord if there be so much kindness in Affliction , if all thou dost is to make us happy , Thy Will be done .

7. Consideration , It is Gods ordinary course to keep his People to a bitter Diet-Drink , and exercise them with great Trials : Affliction is the beaten Road all the Saints have gone in : The lively Stones in the Spiritual building have been all hewn and polished : Christs Lilly hath grown among the Thorns , 2 Tim. 3.12 . All that will live Godly in Christ Iesus shall suffer persecution . 'T is too much for a Christian to have two Heavens , that is more than Christ had . It hath been ever the lot of the Saints to encounter with sore tryals ; Both of the Prophets , Iam. 5.10 . Take my brethren the Prophets for an example of suffering affliction : And of the Apostles , Peter was Crucified with his Head downward , Iames beheaded by Herod , Iohn banished into the Isle of Patmos , the Apostle Thomas thrust thorow with a spear , ( who was chosen Apostle in Iudas room ) Matthias stoned to death , Luke the Evangelist hanged on an Olive-tree . Those Saints of whom the World was not worthy did pass under the Rod , Hebr. 11.36 . Christs Kingdom is Regnum Crucis , this is the way God hath alwayes gone in , such as God intends to save from Hell , yet he doth not save from the Cross ; the consideration of this should quiet our Minds in Affliction , and make us say , Thy Will be done . Do we think God will alter his course of Providence for us ? Why should we look for exemption from trouble more than others ? Why should we think to tread only upon Roses and Violets , when Prophets and Apostles have marched through the Bryars to Heaven ?

8. Consideration , God hath done that for thee Christian , which may make thee content to suffer any thing at his hand , and say , Thy Will be done .

( 1. ) He hath adopted thee for his Child . David thought it no small Honour to be the Kings Son in Law , 1 Sam. 18.18 . what an Honour is it to derive thy pedigree from Heaven , to be born of God ; why then art thou troubled , and murmurest at every slight cross ? As Ionadab said to Amnon , 2 Sam. 13.4 . Why art thou , being the Kings Son , lean ? So why art thou who art Son or Daughter to the King of Heaven , troubled at these petty things ? What the Kings Son , and look lean ? This may quiet thy Spirit , and bring thy Will to Gods ; he hath dignified thee with Honour , he made thee his Son and Heir , and will entail a Kingdom on thee .

( 2. ) God hath given thee Christ . Christ is communis thesaurus , a Magazine and Storehouse of all Heavenly Treasure ; a Pearl of Price to enrich , a Tree of Life to quicken . He is the quintessence of all Blessings , why then art thou discontented at thy Worldly Crosses ? They cannot be so bitter as Christ is sweet , as Seneca said once to Polybius , Why dost thou complain of hard Fortune , salvo Caesare , is not Caesar thy Friend ? So is not Christ thy Friend ? He can never be poor who hath a Mine of Gold in his Field ; nor he who hath the unsearchable Riches of Christ : Say then , Lord , Thy Will be done , though I have my Cross , yet I have Christ with it . The Cross may make me weep , but Christ wipes off all tears ; Rev. 7.17 .

( 3. ) God hath given thee Grace . Grace is the rich embroidery and workmanship of the Holy Ghost ; it is the sacred Unction ; 1 Iohn 2.27 . The Graces are a Chain of Pearl to adorn , and Beds of Spices which make us a sweet odour to God ; Grace is a distinguishing Blessing . Christ gave Iudas his Purse , but not his Spirit ; may not this quiet the Heart in Affliction , and make it say , Thy Will be done . Lord , thou hast given that Jewel which thou bestowest only on the Elect. Grace is a seal of thy Love , it is both Food and Cordial , it is an earnest of Glory .

9. Consideration , When God intends the greatest Mercy to any of his People , he brings them low in Affliction . God seems to go quite cross to Sense and Reason , when he intends to raise us highest , he brings us lowest . As Moses Hand before it wrought Miracles ▪ was Leprous , and Sarahs Womb , before it brought forth the Son of the Promise , was Barren . God brings us low before he raiseth us ; as Water is at the lowest ebb before there is a Spring tyde .

( 1. ) It is true in a Temporal Sense : When God would bring Israel to Canaan , a Land flowing with Milk and Honey , he first leads them through a Sea and a Wilderness ; when God intended to advance Ioseph to be the second Man in the Kingdom , he casts him first into Prison , and the Irons entred into his Soul , Psal. 105.18 . God usually lets it be darkest before the Morning-Star of deliverance appears .

( 2. ) It is true in a Spiritual Sense . When God intends to raise a Soul to Spiritual Comfort , he first layes it low in desertion , Isa. 12.1 . as the Limner layes his dark colour first , and then layes his gold colour on it , so God first layes the Soul in the dark of desertion , and then he layes his golden colour of Joy and Consolation : May not this make us chearfully submit , and say , Thy Will be done . Perhaps now God afflicts me , he is about to raise me , he intends me a greater Mercy than I am aware of .

10. Consideration , The excellency of this frame of Soul to lye at Gods feet , and say , Thy Will be done .

( 1. ) A Soul that is melted into Gods Will shows variety of Grace . As the holy Oyntment was made up of several Aromatick Spices , Myrrh , Cinnamon , Cassia , Exod. 30.23 . so this sweet temper of Soul , submission to Gods Will in Affliction , hath in it a mixture of several Graces . In particular it is compounded of three Graces , Faith , Love , Humility . 1. Faith : Faith believes God doth all in Mercy , that Affliction is to mortifie some Sin , or exercise some Grace , that God corrects in Love and Faithfulness , Psalm 119.75 . the belief of this causeth submission of Will to God . 2. Love : Love thinks no evil , 1 Cor. 13.5 . Love takes all God doth in the best sense , it hath good thoughts of God , this causeth submission , Thy Will be done . Let the Righteous God smite me ( saith Love ) it shall be a kindness , yea , it shall be an excellent oyl which shall not break my head . 3. Humility : The humble Soul looks on its Sins , and how it hath provoked God , he saith not his Afflictions are great , but his Sins are great , this makes him lye at Gods feet and say , I will bear the indignation of the Lord , because I have sinned against him , Micah 7.9 . Thus a submissive frame of Heart is full of grace , it is compounded of several graces , it pleaseth God to see so many graces at once sweetly exercised ; he saith of such a Christian , as David of Goliahs Sword , 1 Sam. 21.9 . None like that , give it me .

( 2. ) He who puts his fiat & placet to Gods Will , and saith , Thy Will be done , shows not only variety of grace , but strength of grace . It argues much strength in the Body to be able to endure hard weather , yet not be altered by it ; so to endure hard tryals , yet not faint or fret , shows more than ordinary strength of grace . You that can say , you have brought your Wills to Gods ; Gods Will and yours agree , as the Copy and the Original ; let me assure you , you have out-strip'd many Christians who perhaps shine in an higher orb of knowledge than you . To be content to be at Gods dispose , to be any thing that God will have us , shows a noble heroick Soul . It is reported of the Eagle it is not like other Fowls , they when they are hungry make a noise , the Ravens cry for food , but the Eagle is never heard to make a noise though it wants meat , and it is from the nobleness and greatness of its Spirit : The Eagle is above other Fowls , and hath a Spirit suitable to its Nature ; so it is an argument of an holy gallantry and magnitude of Spirit , that whatever cross Providences befal a Christian , he doth not cry and whine as others , but is silent , and lyes quietly at Gods feet . Here 's much strength of Grace in such a Soul , nay , the height of Grace . When Grace is crowning , it is not so much to say , Lord , Thy Will be done , but when Grace is conflicting , and meets with crosses and tryals , now to say , Thy Will be done , is a glorious thing indeed , and prepares for the garland of honour .

11. Consideration , Persons are usually better in Adversity than Prosperity , therefore stoop to Gods Will . A prosperous condition is not alwayes so safe ; 't is true , it is more pleasing to the Palate , and every one desires to get on the warm side of the hedge where the Sun of Prosperity shines , but it is not alwayes best : In a prosperous Estate there is more burden ; many look at the shining and glittering of Prosperity , but not at the burden ; Plus oneris .

( 1. ) The burden of care ; therefore Christ calls Riches , Cares , Luke 8.14 . A Rose hath its prickles , so have Riches ; we think them happy that flourish in their Silks and Cloath of Gold , but we see not the Troubles and Cares that attend them . A Shooe may have Silver Lace on it , yet pinch the Foot . Many a Man that goes to his day-labour lives a more contented life than he that hath his Thousands per Annum . Disquieting Care is the malus genius , the evil Spirit that haunts the Rich Man . When his Chests are full of Gold his Heart is full of Care how to encrease , or how to secure what he hath gotten ; he is sometimes full of Care who he shall leave it to . A large Estate like a long trailing garment is oft more troublesome than useful .

( 2. ) In a prosperous Estate there is the burden of Account . Such as are in high places have a far greater account to give to God than others ; Luke 12.48 . Vnto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required . The more golden Talents any are intrusted with , the more they have to answer for ; the more their Revenues , the more their Reckonings . God will say , I gave you a great Estate , what have you done with it , how have you employed it for my Glory . I have read of Philip King of Spain , when he was to dye , he said , O that I had never been King , O that I had lived a private solitary Life ; here is all the fruit of my Kingdom , it hath made my accounts heavier . So then may not this quiet our Hearts in a low adverse condition , and make us say , Lord , Thy Will be done ; as thou hast given me a less portion of Worldly things , so I have a less burden of Care , and a less burden of Account .

2. A prosperous condition hath plus periculi , more danger in it . Such as are on the top of the pinacle of Honour , are in more danger of falling , they are subject to many temptations , their Table is oft a snare . Heliogabalus made Ponds of sweet Water to bathe in ; Millions are drowned in the sweet Waters of Pleasure . A great Sail over-turns the Vessel ; how many by having too great Sails of Prosperity have had their Souls over-turn'd . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Theophil . It must be a strong Head that bears heady Wine ; he had need have much Wisdom and Grace that knows how to bear an high condition . It is hard to carry a full Cup without spilling , and a full Estate without sinning Agar feared if he were full , he should deny God , and say , Who is the Lord ; Prov. 30.9 . Prosperity breeds , 1. Pride : The Children of Kohath were in an higher Estate than the rest of the Levites , they were imployed in the Tabernacle about the most holy things of all , Numb. 4.4 . they had the first lot , Iosh. 21.10 . but as they were lifted up above others of the Levites in Honour , so in Pride , Numb. 16.3 . In the Thames when the Tyde riseth higher , the Boat riseth higher ; so when the Tyde of an Estate riseth higher , many Mens Hearts rise higher in Pride . 2. Prosperity breeds security . Sampson fell asleep in Delilahs lap , so do Men in the lap of Ease and Plenty . The Worlds golden sands are quick-sands . How hard is it for a rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven , Luke 18.24 . the consideration of this should make us submit to God in adversity , and say , Thy Will be done : God sees what is best for us ; if we have less Estate we are in less danger , if we want the Honours of others , so we want their Temptations .

12. Consideration , The having of our Wills melted into Gods , is a good sign that the present Affliction is sanctified : Then an Affliction is sanctified , when it attains the end for which it was sent . The end why God sends Affliction is to calm the Spirit , to subdue the Will , and bring it to Gods Will , when this is done , Affliction hath attained the end for which it came ; it is sanctified , and it will not be long ere it be removed : When the sore is healed , the smarting Plaister is taken off .

13. Consideration , How unworthy it is of a Christian to be froward and unsubmissive , and not bring his Will to God .

( 1. ) It is below the Spirit of a Christian. The Spirit of a Christian is Dove-like , 't is meek and sedate , willing to be at Gods dispose ; Not my will but thy will be done ; Luke 22.42 . A Christian Spirit is not fretful , but humble , not craving but contented . See the picture of a Christian Spirit in St Paul , Phil. 4.12 . I know 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , how to be abased , and how to abound . Paul could be either higher or lower as God saw good ; he could sail with any Wind of Providence , either a prosperous or a boisterous gale , his Will was melted into Gods Will ; now to be of a cross Spirit that cannot submit to God , is unworthy of the Spirit of a Christian ; 't is like the Bird , that because 't is pent up in the Cage , and cannot fly in the open Air , beats it self against the Cage .

( 2. ) A froward unsubmissive frame , that cannot submit to Gods Will , is unworthy of a Christians Profession : He professeth to live by Faith , yet repines at his condition . Faith lives not by bread alone , it feeds on Promises , it makes future Glory present ; Faith sees all in God : When the fig-tree doth not blossom , Faith can joy in the God of its salvation , Hab. 3.17 . Now to be troubled at the present Estate , because low and mean , where is Faith ? Sure that is a weak Faith , or no Faith , which must have crutches to support it . O be ashamed to call thy self Believer if thou canst not trust God , and acquiesce in his Will , in the deficiency of outward Comforts .

( 3. ) To be of a froward unsubmissive Spirit , that cannot surrender its Will to God is unworthy of the high Dignities God hath put upon a Christian. 1. He is a rich Heir ; he is exalted above all Creatures that ever God made , except the Angels ; yea , in some sense , as his Nature is joyned in an Hypostatical Union to the Divine Nature , so he is above the Angels : O then how is it below his dignity , for want of a few earthly Comforts , to be froward and ready to quarrel with the Deity . Is it not unworthy for a Kings Son , because he may not pluck such a Flower , to be discontented and rebel against his Royal Father . 2. A Christian is espoused to Jesus Christ , what to be married to Christ , yet froward and unsubmissive ? Hast not thou enough in him ? As Elkanah said to Hannah , 1 Sam. 1.8 . Am not I better than ten Sons ? Is not Christ better than a thousand Worldly Comforts ? Omnia bona in summo bono . 'T is a disparagement to Christ that his Spouse should be froward when she is matched into the Crown of Heaven .

( 4. ) To be of a froward unsubmissive Spirit is unsuitable to the Prayers of a Christian ; he prayes , Thy Will be done , it is the Will of God he should meet with such troubles , whether Sickness , loss of Estate , crosses in Children , God hath decreed and ordered it , why then is there not submission ? Why are we discontented at that which we pray for ? It is a saying of Latimer , speaking of Peter who denyed his Master , Peter , saith he , forgot his Prayer , for that was Hallowed be thy Name : So oft we forget our Prayers , nay , contradict them , for we pray , Thy Will be done . Now if unsubmissiveness to God be so unworthy of a Christian , should not we labour to bring our Wills to Gods , and say , Lord , let me not disparage Religion , let me do nothing unworthy of a Christian.

14. Consideration , Frowardness and unsubmissiveness of Will to God , is very sinful .

( 1. ) It is sinful in its Nature ; to murmur when God crosseth us in our Will showes much ungodliness . The Apostle Iude speaks of ungodly ones , ver. 15. and that we may better know who these are , he sets a mark upon them , ver. 16. These are murmurers . Some think they are not so ungodly as others , because they do not swear , or are drunk , but you may be ungodly in murmuring : there are not only ungodly Drunkards but ungodly Murmurers ; nay , this is the height of ungodliness , namely , Rebellion . Korah and his Company murmured against God , and see how the Lord interprets this , Numb. 17.10 . Bring Aarons rod to be kept for a token against the rebels : To be a murmurer and a rebel is in Gods account all one . Numb. 20.13 . This is the water of Meribah , because the children of Israel strove with the Lord : How did they strive with God ? because they murmured at his Providence , ver. 3. what wilt thou be a Rebel against God ? It is a shame for a Servant to strive with his Master , but what is it for a Creature to strive with its Maker ?

( 2. ) To quarrel with Gods Providence , and be unsubmissive to his Will is sinful in the spring and cause ; it ariseth from Pride . 'T was Satans temptation , Ye shall be as Gods ; Gen. 3.5 . A proud Person makes a God of himself , he disdains to have his Will crossed ; he thinks himself better than others , therefore he finds fault with Gods Wisdom , that he is not above others .

( 3. ) Quarrelsomeness and unsubmissiveness to Gods Will , is sinful in the concomitants of it . 1. It is joyned with sinful risings of Heart . ( 1. ) Evil Thoughts arise . We think hardly of God as if he had done us wrong , or as if we had deserved better at his hand . ( 2. ) Passions begin to arise ; the Heart secretly frets against God . Ionah was crossed in his Will , and Passion began to boyl in him ; Ionah 4.1 . He was very angry . Ionahs Spirit as well as the Sea wrought and was tempestuous . 2. Unsubmissiveness of Will is joyned with unthankfulness , because in some one thing we are afflicted , we forget all the Mercies we have ; we deal with God just as the Widow of Sarepta did with the Prophet : The Prophet Elijah had been a means to keep her alive in the Famine , but assoon as her Child dyes , she quarrels with the Prophet , 1 Kings 17.18 . O thou man of God , art thou come to slay my Son ? So do we deal with God , we can be content to receive Blessings at his hand , but assoon as he doth in the least thing cross us in our Will , we grow touchy , and are ready in a Passion to fly out against him : Thus God loseth all his Mercies , and is not this high ingratitude ?

( 4. ) Frowardness and unsubmissiveness to Gods Will is evil in the effects . 1. It unfits for Duty : It is bad sailing in a storm , and it is ill praying when the Heart is stormy and unquiet : It is well if such Prayers do not suffer shipwrack . 2. Unsubmissiveness of Spirit sometimes unfits for the use of Reason . Ionah was discontented because he had not his Will , God withered the goard , and his Heart fretted against God , and in the midst of his Passion he spake no better than non-sense and blasphemy , Ionah 4.9 . I do well to be angry to the death . Sure he did not know well what he said : What to be angry with God , and dye for anger ? He speaks as if he had lost the use of his Reason . Thus unsubmissiveness of Will is sinful in its Nature , Causes , Concomitants , Effects ; may not this martyr our Wills , and bring our Wills to God in every thing , making us say , Thy Will be done .

15. Consideration , Unsubmissiveness to Gods Will is very impudent , we get nothing by it , it doth not ease us of our burden , but rather makes it heavier . The more the Child struggles with the Parent , the more it is beaten ; when we struggle with God , and will not submit to his Will , we get nothing but more blowes . Instead of having our cords of Affliction loosned , we make God tye them the straiter . Let us then submit and say , Lord , Thy Will be done . Why should I spin out my own trouble by impatience , and make my Cross heavier ? What got Israel by their frowardness , they were within eleven dayes journey of Canaan , they fall a murmuring , and God leads them a march of forty years longer in the Wilderness .

16. Consideration , The mischief of being unsubmissive to Gods Will in Affliction , it layes a Man open to many Temptations . When the Heart frets against God by discontent , here 's good fishing for Satan in these troubled Waters . He usually puts discontented Persons upon indirect means . Iobs Wife fretted ( so far was she from holy submission ) and she presently puts her Husband upon cursing of God ; Iob 2.9 . Curse God and dye . What is the reason why some have turned Witches , and given themselves to the Devil , but out of envy and discontent because they have not had their Will . Others being under a Temptation of Poverty , and not having their Wills in living at such an high rate as others , have laid violent hands upon themselves . O the Temptations that Men of discontented Spirits are exposed to . Here ( saith Satan ) is good fishing for me .

17. Consideration , How far unsubmissiveness of Spirit is from that temper of Soul which God requires in Affliction . God would have us in Patience possess our Souls ; Luke 21.19 The Greek word for Patience , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies to bear up under a burden without fainting or ●●etting ; but to be froward in Affliction , and quarrel with Gods Will , where is this Christian Patience ? God would have us rejoyce in Affliction , Iam. 1.2 . Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations ; that is , Afflictions . Count it joy , be as Birds that sing in Winter : 1 Thess. 1.6 . Ye received the word in affliction with joy . Paul could leap in his Fetters , and sing in the Stocks ; Acts 16.25 . how far is a discontented Soul from this frame ; he is far from rejoycing in Affliction that hath not learned to submit .

18. Consideration , What is it makes the difference between a Godly Man and an Ungodly Man in Affliction , but only this , the Godly Man submits to Gods Will , the Ungodly Man will not submit . A Wicked Man frets and fumes , and is like a wild Bull in a Net . He in Affliction blasphemes God ; Rev. 16.9 . Men were scorched with great heat , and blasphemed the name of God . Put a stone in the fire , and it flyes in your face ; stony hearts fly in Gods face . A stuff that is rotten , the more it is rubbed the more it frets and tears : When God afflicts the Sinner , he tears himself in anger ; but a Godly Man is sweetly submissive to Gods Will , this is his speech , Shall not I drink the cup which my Father hath given me . Spices when they are bruised send out a sweet fragrant smell ; when God bruiseth his Saints they send out the sweet perfume of Patience . Servulus an holy Man , long afflicted with the Palsie , yet this was his ordinary speech , Laudetur Deus , Let God be praised ; O let us say , Thy Will be done ; let us bear that patiently which God inflicts justly , else how do we show our Grace ? What difference is there between us and the wicked in Affliction ?

19. Consideration , Not to submit to Gods Providential Will , is highly provoking to God . Can we anger God more than by quarrelling with him , and not let him have his Will ? Kings do not love to have their Wills opposed , though they may be unjust ; how ill doth God take it when we will be disputing against his Righteous Will ; it is a sin God cannot bear ; Numb. 14.26 , 27. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me ? May not God justly say thus , How long shall I bear with this wicked Person , who when any thing falls out cross , murmurs against me ; ver. 28. Say unto them , as truly as I live saith the Lord , as ye have spoken in my ears , so will I do unto you . God swears against a murmurer ; As I live ; and what will God do as he lived , ver. 29. Your carcases shall fall in the wilderness . You see how provoking a discontented quarrelsome Spirit is to God , it may cost Men their Lives , nay , their Souls . God sent fiery Serpents among the People for their murmuring , 1 Cor. 10.10 . he may send worse than fiery Serpents , he may send Hell fire .

20. Consideration , How much doth God bear at our hand , and shall not we be content to bear something at his hand ? It would tyre the Patience of the Angels to bear with us one day ; 2 Pet. 3.9 . The Lord is long-suffering towards us , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 : How oft do we offend in our Eye by envious impure glances ; in our Tongue by rash censuring , but God passeth by many injuries , he bears with us . Should the Lord punish us every time we offend , he might draw his sword every day ; shall God bear so much at our hands , and can we bear with nothing at his hands ? Shall God be patient with us , and we impatient with him ? Shall he be meek , and we murmur ? Shall he endure our sins , and shall not we endure his strokes ? Oh let us say , Thy Will be done . Lord , thou hast been the greatest sufferer , thou hast born more from me than I can from thee .

21. Consideration , Submitting our Wills to God in Affliction disappoints Satan of his hope , and quite spoils his design . The Devils end is in all our Afflictions to make us sin . The Reason why Satan did smite Iob in his Body and Estate was to perplex his Mind , and put him into a Passion ; he hoped that Iob would have been discontented , and in a fit of anger , not only have cursed his Birth-day , but cursed his God ; but Iob lying at Gods Feet , and blessing him in Affliction , disappointed Satan of his hope , and quite spoiled his plot . Had Iob murmured he had pleased Satan , had he fallen into an heat , and the sparks of his anger flown about , the Devil had warmed himself at this fire of Iobs Passion , but Iob quietly submitted , and blessed God , here Satans design was frustrated , and he missed of his intent . The Devil hath oft deceived us , the best way to deceive him is by quiet submission to God in all things , and saying , Thy Will be done .

22. Consideration , It may rock our Hearts quiet in Affliction to consider , that to the Godly , the Nature of Affliction is quite changed ; to a wicked Man it is a Curse , the Rod is turned into a Serpent ; Affliction to him is but an effect of Gods displeasure , the beginning of Sorrow ; but the nature of Affliction is quite chang'd to a Believer , it is by a divine Chymistry turn'd into a Blessing , it is like Poyson corrected , which becomes a Medicine , it is a Love-token , a Badge of Adoption , a preparatory to glory ; should not this make us say , Thy Will be done : The poyson of the Affliction is gone it is not hurtful but healing , this hath made the Saints not only patient in Affliction , but have sounded forth Thankfulness : As Bells when they have been cast in the Fire , do afterwards make a sweeter sound ; so the Godly after they have been cast into the Fire , of Affliction have sounded forth Gods Praise , Psal. 119.71 . It is good for me that I was afflicted . Iob. 1.21 . Blessed be the Name of the Lord .

23. Consideration , To make us submit our Will to God in Affliction is , to think how many good things we receive from God , and shall we not be content to receive some evil ? Iob 2.10 . Shall we receive good at the hand of God , and shall we not receive evil ? In the Hebrew , hatton meeth ha●elohim , shall we receive good from God , and not evil ? This may make us say , Thy Will be done . How many Blessings have we received at the Hand of Gods Bounty ? we have been be miracled with Mercy ; what sparing , preventing , delivering Mercy have we had ! the Honey-comb of Mercy hath continually drop'd upon us , Lam. 3.23 . His Mercies are new every Morning . Mercy comes in as constantly as the Tide , nay , how many Tides of Mercy do we see in one day ? we never feed but Mercy carves every bit to us ; we never drink but in the golden Cup of Mercy ; we never go abroad but Mercy sets a guard of Angels about us ; we never lie down in our bed but Mercy draws the Curtains of Protection close about us : Now , shall we receive so many good things at the hand of God , and shall we not receive evil ? Our Mercies far out weigh our Afflictions , for one Affliction we have a thousand Mercies ; O then let us submit to God and say , Thy Will be done : The Sea of Gods Mercy should swallow up a few drops of Affliction .

24. Consideration , To bring our Wills to God in Affliction doth much honour the Gospel : An unsubmissive Christian reproacheth Religion , as if it were not able to subdue an unruly Spirit ; it is weak Physick which cannot purge out ill Humours ; and sure it is a weak Gospel , if it cannot master our discontent , and martyr our Wills : Unsubmissiveness is a Reproach , but a chearful resignation of our Will to God sets a Crown of Honour upon the Head of Religion , it shows the power of the Gospel , which can charm down the Passions , and melt the Will into Gods Will ; therefore in Scripture submissive patience is brought in as an adorning Grace , Rev. 14.12 . Here is the Patience of the Saints .

25. Consideration , The Example of our Lord Jesus ; how flexible and submissive was he to his Father ! He who taught us this Prayer , Thy Will be done , had learned it himself ; Christs Will was perfectly tuned to his Fathers Will ; it was the Will of his Father that he should dye for our sins , and he endured the Cross , Heb. 12.2 . It was a painful , shameful , cursed death ; he suffered the very pains of Hell equivalently , yet he willingly submitted , Isa. 53.7 . He opened not his Mouth , he opened his sides when the blood ran out , but he opened not his Mouth in repining , his will was resolved into the will of his Father , Iohn 18.11 . Shall not I drink the Cup which my Father hath given me ? Now the more our Wills are subject to Gods Will in Affliction , the nearer we come to Christ our Pattern ; is it not our Prayer we may be like Christ ? by holy Submission we imitate him : His Will was melted into his Fathers Will .

26 Consideration , To Submit our Will to God is the way to have our Will ; every one would be glad to have his Will ; the way to have our Will is to resign it ; God deals with us as we do with froward Children ; while we fret and quarrel God will give us nothing , but when we are submissive , and say , Thy Will be done ; now God carves out Mercy to us : The way to have our Will is to submit it : David brought his Will to God , 2 Sam. 15.26 . Here am I , Let him do to me as seems good to him . And after he resigned his Will , he had his Will ; God brought him back to the Ark , and setled him again in his Throne , 2 Sam. 19. Many a Parent that hath had a dear Child sick , when he could bring his Will to God to part with it , God hath given him the life of his Child : There 's nothing lost by referring our Will to God , the Lord takes it kindly from us , and it is the only way to have our Will.

27. and Vlt. Consideration , We may the more chearfully surrender our Souls to God when we dye , when we have surrendred our Wills to God while we live : Our blessed Saviour had all along submitted his Will to God , there was but one Will between God the Father and Christ ; now Christ having in his life time given up his Will to his Father , at death he chearfully gives up his Soul to him , Luke 23.46 . Father , into thy hands I commend my Spirit . You that resign up your Wills to God may at the hour of death comfortably bequeath your Souls to him .

II. The second Means to bring our Will to God in Affliction is , Study the Will of God .

( 1. ) It is a Sovereign Will , he hath a supream right and Dominion over his Creatures , to dispose of them as he pleaseth : A Man may do with his own as he list , Mat. 20.15 . Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own ? A Man may cut his own Timber as he will . Gods Sovereignty may cause submission , he may do with us as he sees good ; God is not accountable to any Creature for what he doth , Iob 33.13 . He giveth not account of any of his matters . Who shall call God to account ? Who is higher then the Highest ? Eccl. 5.8 . What Man or Angel dare summon God to his Bar ? He giveth not account of any of his Matters . God will take an account of our Carriage towards him , but he will give no account of his Carriage towards us ; God hath an absolute Jurisdiction over us ; the remembrance of this , Gods Will is a sovereign Will , to do with us what he please , may silence all discontents , and charm down all unruly Passions , we are not to dispute but submit .

( 2. ) Gods Will is a wise Will , he knows what is conducing to the good of his People , therefore submit , Isa. 30.18 . The Lord is a God of Iudgment , that is , he is able to judge what is best for us ; therefore rest in his Wisdom , and acquiesce in his Will : We rest in the wisdom of a Physician , we are content he should scarify and let us blood , because he is judicious , and knows what is most conducible to our health : If the Pilot be skilful , the Passenger saith , let him alone , he knows how best to steer the Ship ; and shall we not rest in Gods Wisdom ? Did we but study how wisely God steers all Occurrences , and how he often brings us to Heaven by a cross wind , it would much quiet our Spirits , and make us say , Thy Will be done . Gods Will is guided by Wisdom ; should God sometimes let us have our Will , we would undo our selves ; did he let us carve for our selves , we should choose the worst piece ; Lot chose Sodom because well watered , and was as the Garden of the Lord , Gen. 13.10 . but God rained fire upon it out of Heaven , Gen. 19.24 .

( 3. ) Gods Will is a just Will , Gen. 18.25 . Shall not the Iudge of all the Earth do right ? Gods Will is Regula & Mensura , it is the Rule of Justice ; the Wills of Men are corrupt , therefore unfit to give Law ; but Gods Will is an holy unerring Will , which may cause submission , Psal. 97.2 . God may cross us , but he cannot wrong us ; severe he may be , not unjust ; therefore we must strike Sail , and say , Thy Will be done .

( 4. ) Gods Will is a good and gracious Will ; it promotes our Interest ; if it be Gods Will to afflict us , he will make us say at last , it was good for us that we were afflicted : Gods Flail shall only thresh off our Husks : That which is against our Will shall not be against our profit : Study what a good Will Gods is , and we will say , Fiat Voluntas , let thy Will be done .

( 5. ) Gods Will is an irresistible Will ; we may oppose it , but we cannot hinder it : The rising of the Wave cannot stop the Ship when it is in full sail ; so the rising up of our Will against God cannot stop the execution of his Will , Rom. 9.19 . Who hath resisted his Will ? Who can stay the Chariot of the Sun in its full Career ? Who can hinder the Progress of Gods Will ? Therefore it is in vain to contest with God , his Will shall take place ; there 's no way to overcome God but by lying at his Feet .

3. Means to submission to God in Affliction is , Get a gracious heart ; all the Rules and Helps in the World will do but little good , till Grace be infused ; the Boul must have a good Byas , or it will not run according to our desire ; so till God puts a new Byas of Grace into the Soul , which inclines the Will , it will never submit to God : Grace renews the Will , and it must be renewed before it be subdued : Grace teacheth self denyal , and we can never submit our Will till we deny it .

4. Means , Let us labour to have our Covenant-Interest cleared , to know that God is our God , Psal. 48.14 . This God is our God ; he whose Faith doth flourish into assurance , that can say , God is his , will say , Thy Will be done . A wicked man may say , God hath laid this Affliction upon me , and I cannot help it ; but a Believer saith , My God hath done it , and I will submit to it . He who can call God his , knows God loves him as he loves Christ , and designs his Salvation , therefore he will with Saint Paul take pleasure in Reproaches , 2 Cor. 12.10 . and in every adverse Providence yeild to God , as the Wax to the impression of the Seal .

5. Means to submission to God in Affliction , get an humble Spirit : A proud Man will never stoop to God , he will rather break then bend ; but when the Heart is humble , the Will is pliable . What a vast difference was there between Pharaoh and Eli ? Pharaeoh cries out , Who is the Lord that I should obey his Voice ? Exod. 5.2 . but Eli saith , It is the Lord , let him do what seems good in his sight , 1 Sam. 3.18 . See the difference between an Heart that is swell'd with Pride , and that is ballasted with Humility ; Pharaoh saith , Who is the Lord ? Eli , It is the Lord . An humble Soul hath a deep sence of sin , he sees how he hath provoked God , he wonders he is not in Hell ; therefore whatever God inflicts , he knows it is less then his Iniquities deserve ; this makes him say , Lord , Thy Will be done . O get into an humble posture , the Will is never flexible till the Heart be Humble .

6. Means , Get your Heart loosened from things below ; be crucified to the world : Whence is Childrens frowardness but when you take away their Play-things ; when we love the world , and God takes away these things from us , then we grow froward and unsubmissive to Gods Will . Ionah was exceeding glad of the Gourd , and when God smote it he grew froward , and because God had killed his Gourd , kill me too , saith he , Ionah 4.8 . He who is , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Lover of the World , can never pray this Prayer heartily , Thy Will be done ; his heart boils in anger against God , and when the World is gone , his Patience is gone too . Get mortified Affections to these sublunary things .

7. Means , for submission to Gods Will : Get some good perswasion your sin is pardoned ; feri Domine feri , quia peccata mea condonata sunt , Smite Lord , smite where thou wilt , said Luther , because my sins are pardoned : Pardon of sin is a crowning Blessing ; hath God forgiven my sin , I will bear any thing , I will not murmur but admire , I will not complain of the Burden of Affliction , but bless God for removing the Burden of sin : The pardoned Soul saith this Prayer heartily , Thy Will be done . Lord , use thy pruning Knife , so long as thou wilt not come with thy bloody Axe to hew me down .

8. Means , If we would have our wills submit to God , let us not look so much on the dark side of the Cloud , as the light side ; that is , let us not look so much on the smart of Affliction , as the good of Affliction ; 't is bad to pore all on the smart , as it is bad for sore Eyes to look too much on the Fire ; but we should look on the good of Affliction : Sampson did not only look on the Lions Carcase , but on the Honey-comb within it , Iudg. 19.8 . He turned to see the Carcase of the Lion , and behold there was Honey in the Carcase . Affliction is the frightful Lion , but see what Honey there is in it : Affliction humbles , purifies , fills us with the Consolations of God ; here is Honey in the Belly of the Lyon ; could we but look upon the benefit of Affliction , Stubbornness would be turned into submissiveness , and we should say , Thy Will be done .

9. Means , Pray to God that he would calm our Spirits , and conquer our Wills ; it is no easy thing to submit to God in Affliction , there will be risings of heart , therefore let us pray that what God inflicts Righteously , we may bear patiently ; Prayer is the best Spell or Charm against Impatience ; Prayer doth to the Heart , as Christ did to the Sea , when it was tempestuous , he rebuked the Wind , and there was a great Calm ; so when the Passions are up , and the Will is apt to mutiny against God , Prayer makes a gracious Calm in the Soul : Prayer doth to the Heart as the Spunge to the Canon , when hot cools it .

10. Means , If we would submit to Gods Will in Affliction , let us make a good interpretation of Gods Dealings ; take all God doth in the best sence : We are apt to misconstrue Gods Dealings , and put a bad Interpretation upon them , as Israel , Numb. 20.4 . Ye have brought the Congregation of the Lord into this Wilderness , that we should die there . So God hath brought this Affliction upon us , because he hates us , and intends to destroy us ; and such hard thoughts of God cause fullenness and stubbornness : O let us make a fair and candid interpretation of Providence . Doth God afflict us , say thus , perhaps he intends us Mercy in this ; he will try us whether we will love him in Affliction ; he is about to mortify some sin , or exercise some grace ; he smites the Body that he may save the Soul . Could we put such a good meaning upon Gods dealings , we would say , Thy Will be done ; Let the Righteous God smite me and it shall be a kindness , it shall be an excellent Oyl , which shall not break my Head , Psal. 141.5 .

11. and Vlt. Means , If you would submit to God in Affliction , believe that the present Condition is best for you ; we are not competent Judges ; we fancy it is best to have ease and plenty , and have the Rock pour out Rivers of Oyl ; but God sees Affliction best ; he sees our Souls thrive best upon the bare Common ; the fall of the Leaf is the Spring of our Grace . Could we believe the present Condition is best , which God carves out to us , the Quarrel would soon be at an end , and we should sit down satisfied with what God doth , and say , Thy Will be done . So much for this Third Petition .

MATTH. vi . 11 .

Give us this Day our daily Bread .

IN this Petition there are two things observable , I. The Order . II. The Matter .

I. The Order . First , we pray , Hallowed be thy Name , before , Give us this day our daily Bread : Hence we learn ; Doct. That the Glory of God ought to be preferred before our own personal Concerns .

First . We pray , Hallowed be thy Name , Thy Kingdom come , Thy Will be done , before we pray , Give us this Day our daily Bread . Gods Glory ought to weigh down all before it ; it must be prefer'd before our dearest Concerns : Christ prefer'd his Fathers Glory before his own Glory , as he was Man , Iohn 8.49 , 50. I Honour my Father , I seek not my own Glory . Gods glory is that which is most dear to him , it is the Apple of his Eye ; all his Riches lye here , as Micah said , Iudg. 18.24 . What have I more ? So I may say of Gods glory , what hath he more ? Gods glory is the most Orient Pearl of his Crown , which he will not part with , Isa. 42.8 . My Glory will I not give to another . Gods glory is more worth then Heaven , more worth then the Salvation of all Mens Souls ; better Kingdoms be demolished ; better Men and Angels be annihilated , then God lose any part of his Glory . First we pray , that Gods Name may be hallowed and glorified , before we pray , Give us our daily Bread . We are to prefer Gods glory before our nearest concerns : Before there can be a preferring Gods glory before private concerns , there must be a New-Birth wrought . The natural Man seeks his own secular Interest before Gods glory , Iohn 3.31 . He is of the Earth earthly . Let him have Peace and Trading , let the Rock pour out Rivers of Oyl , Iob 29.6 . and let Gods glory go which way it will , he minds it not : A Worm cannot fly and sing as a Lark : A natural Man whose heart creeps upon the Earth , cannot admire God , or advance his glory , as a Man elevated by grace doth .

VSE . Of Trial. Do we prefer Gods glory before our private Concerns ? Doth Gods glory take place ? Minus te amat qui aliquid tecum amat quod non propter te amat , Aug. 1. Do we prefer Gods glory before our own Credit ? Fama pari passu ambulat cum Vita . Credit is a Jewel highly valued , like precious Ointment it casts a fragrant smell ; but Gods glory must be dearer then Credit and Applause : We must be willing to have our Credit trampled upon , if Gods glory may be raised higher , Acts 5.41 . The Apostles rejoyced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that they were graced so far as to be disgraced for Christ . 2. Do we prefer Gods glory before our Relations ? Relations are near , they are of our Flesh and Bone , but Gods glory must be dearer , Luke 14.26 . If any Man come after me and hate not Father and Mother , he cannot be my Disciple . Here odium in suos is Pietas in Deum . If my Friends ( saith Ierome ) should perswade me to deny Christ , if my Wife should hang about my Neck , if my Mother should show me her Breasts that gave me suck , I would trample upon all and fly to Christ . 3. We must prefer Gods glory before estate : gold is but shining dust , Gods glory must weigh heavier : If it comes to this , I cannot keep my place of Profit , but Gods glory will be eclipsed ; here I must rather suffer in my Estate , then Gods glory should suffer ; Heb. 10 34. 4. We must prefer Gods Glory before our life . Rev. 12.11 . They loved not their own lives to the Death . Ignatius called his Fetters , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , his Spiritual Jewels , he wore them as a Chain of Pearl . Gordius the Martyr said , it is to my Loss if you bate me any thing of my Sufferings : This Argues grace Crescent , and elevated in an high Degree . Who but a Soul inflamed in love to God can set God highest in the Throne , and prefer him above all private Concerns .

II. The second thing in the Petition is the Matter of it : Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie , Give us this day our dayly Bread . The sum of this Petition is , that God will give us such a Competency in these outward things , as he sees most expedient for us ; it is much like that Prayer of Agur , Prov. 30.8 . Feed me with Food convenient for me ; give me a Viaticum , a Bait by the way , enough to bear my Charges till I come to Heaven , and it sufficeth . Let me explain the Words ; Give us this day our dayly Bread , [ Give , ] hence note , that the good things of this life are the gifts of God ; He is the Donor of all our Blessings : Give us , not only Faith is the gift of God , but Food ; not only dayly Grace is from God , but daily Bread ; every good thing comes from God ; Iam. 1.17 . Every good Gift is from above , and comes down from the Father of Lights . Wisdom is the gift of God , Isa. 28.26 . His God doth instruct him to Discretion . Riches are the gift of God , 2 Chron. 1.12 . I will give thee riches ; Peace is the gift of God , Psal. 147.14 . He makes peace in thy borders ; Health , which is the cream of Life , is the gift of God , Ier. 30.17 . I will restore health to thee ; Rain is the gift of God , Iob 5.10 . Who giveth rain on the earth ; all comes from God . He makes the Corn to grow , and the Herbs to flourish .

VSE I. See our own poverty and indigence , we live all upon alms , and upon free gift , Give us this day : All we have is from the hand of Gods Royal Bounty . We have nothing but what God gives us out of his Storehouse ; we cannot have one bit of Bread but from God . The Devil perswaded our first Parents that by disobeying God , they should be as Gods , Gen. 3.5 . but we may now see what goodly Gods we are , that we have not a bit of bread to put in our mouths , unless God give it us : Here is an humbling Consideration .

Br. 2. Is all a gift ? then we are to seek every Mercy from God by Prayer , Give us this day . The Tree of Mercy will not drop its Fruit unless shaken by the hand of Prayer . Whatever we have , if it doth not come in the way of Prayer , it doth not come in the way of Love ; 't is given as Israels Quails in anger . If every thing be a gift we do not deserve it , we are not fit for it , unless we ask for this alms ; and must we go to God for every Mercy ? How wicked are they who instead of going to God for food when they want , they go to the Devil , they make a compact with him , and if he will help them to a livelyhood they will give him their Souls : Better starve than go to the Devil for provender . I wish there be none in our Age guilty of this , who when they are in want , use indirect means for a livelyhood , they consult with Witches , who are the Devils Oracles ; the end of these will be fearful as that of Saul was , whom the Lord is said to have killed , because he asked counsel at a familiar spirit .

3. If all be a Gift , then it is not a Debt ; we cannot say to God as that Creditor said , Matth. 18.28 . Pay me what thou owest . Who can make God a Debtor , or do any Act that is obliging and meritorious ? Whatever we receive from God is a gift . We can give nothing to God but what he hath given us ; 1 Chron. 29.14 . All things come of thee , and of thine own have we given thee . David and his People offered to the building of Gods House Gold and Silver , but they offered nothing but what God had given them ; Of th●ne own have we given thee . If we love God , God it is that hath given us an Heart to love him ; if we praise him , he both gives us the Organ of the Tongue , and puts it in Tune ; if we give Almes to others God hath given Almes to us first , so that we may say , We offer , O Lord , of thine own to thee . Is all of Gift , how absurd then is the Doctrine of Merit ? That was a proud speech of a Fryar that said Redde mihi Vitam Aeternam quam debes ; Give me Lord Eternal Life which thou owest me . We cannot deserve a bit of Bread , much less a Crown of Glory . If all be a Gift then Merit is exploded , and shut out of doors .

4. If all be a Gift , Give us this day , then take notice of Gods goodness ; there 's nothing in us can deserve or requite Gods kindness , yet such is the sweetness of his Nature , he gives us rich Provision , and feeds us with the finest of the Wheat . Pindar saith , it was an opinion of the People of Rhodes , that Iupiter rained down Gold upon the City . God hath rained down golden Mercies upon us ; he is upon the giving hand . Observe three things in Gods giving .

( 1. ) He is not weary of giving ; the springs of Mercy are ever running : God did not only dispence Blessings in former Ages , but he still gives gifts to us As the Sun not only inricheth the World with its Morning light , but keeps Light for the Meridian . The Honey-comb of Gods bounty is still dropping .

( 2. ) God delights in giving ; Micah 7.18 . He delighteth in mercy . As the Mother delights to give the Child the breast , God loves we should have the breast of Mercy in our mouth .

( 3. ) God gives to his very Enemies . Who will send in Provisions to his Enemy ? Men use to spread Nets for their Enemies , God spreads a Table . The dew drops on the Thistle as well as the Rose ; the dew of Gods bounty drops upon the worst . Those who have their mouths opened against God , yet God puts bread in those mouths . O the Royal Bounty of God ; Psal. 52.1 . The goodness of God endureth continually . Swinish sinners God puts Jewels upon , and feeds them every day .

5. If all be gift , see then the odious ingratitude of Men who sin against their giver . God feeds them , and they fight against him ; he gives them their Bread , and they give him affronts . How unworthy is this , would we not cry shame of him who had a Friend alwayes feeding him with Money , and he should betray and injure that Friend . Thus ungratefully do Sinners deal with God , they do not only forget his Mercies but abuse them : Ier. 5.7 . When I had fed them to the full , they then committed adultery . O how horrid is this , to sin against a bountiful God , to strike ( as it were ) those hands that relieve us : This gives a dye and tincture to Mens sins , and makes them crimson . How many make a dart of Gods Mercies and shoot at him ; he gives them Wit , and they serve the Devil with it ; he gives them Strength , and they waste it among Harlots ; he gives them Bread to eat , and they lift up the heel against him ; Deut. 32.15 . Iesurun waxed fat and kicked : These are like Absalom , who assoon as David his Father kissed him , plotted Treason against him , 2 Sam. 15.10 . like the Mule who kicks the Dam after she hath given it Milk . These who sin against their giver , and abuse Gods Royal Favours , the Mercies of God will come in as witnesses against them . What smoother than Oyl , but if it be heated what more scalding ? What sweeter than Mercy , but if it be abused , what more dreadful ? It turns to fury .

6. If God gives us all , let Gods giving excite us to Thanksgiving ; he is the founder and donor of all our Blessings , let him have all our Acknowledgments . All the rivers come from the sea , and thither they return again , Eccl. 1.7 . All our gifts come from God , and to him must all our Praises return . We are apt to burn incense to our own drag , Hab. 1.16 . to attribute all we have to our own Skill or second Causes .

( 1. ) Our own Skill and Industry . God is the giver ; he gives daily Bread , Psal. 136.35 . he gives Riches , Deut. 8.18 . He it is that giveth thee power to get wealth .

Or , ( 2. ) We oft ascribe the praise to second Causes , and forget God . If Friends have bestowed an Estate , to look at them and admire them , but not God who is the great giver : As if one should be thankful to the Steward , and never take notice of the Master of the Family that provides all . O if God gives all , our Eye-sight , our Food , our Cloathing , let us sacrifice the chief Praise to him ; let not God be a loser by his Mercies . Praise is a more illustrious part of Gods Worship . Our wants may send us to Prayer . Nature may make us beg Daily-bread , but it shows an Heart full of Ingenuity and Grace to be rendring Praises to God . In Petition we act like Men , in Praise we act like Angels . Doth God sow seeds of Mercy , let Thankfulness be the crop we bring forth . We are called the Temples of God , 1 Cor. 3.16 . and where should Gods Praises be sounded forth but in his Temples ? Psal. 146.2 . While I live will I bless the Lord , I will sing praises to my God while I have any being . God gives us daily Bread , let us give him daily Praise . Thankfulness to our Donor is the best policy ; there 's nothing lost by it : To be thankful for one Mercy is the way to have more . Musicians love to sound their Trumpets where there is the best eccho , and God loves to bestow his Mercies where there is the best eccho of Praise : And it is not only offering the calves of our Lips is enough , but we must show our thankfulness by improving the gifts which God gives us , and as it were putting them out to use . God gives us an Estate , and we honour the Lord with our substance , Prov. 3.9 . he gives us the staff of Bread , and we lay out the strength we receive by it in his service : This is to be thankful ; and that we may be thankful be humble . Pride stops the current of gratitude : A proud Man will never be thankful ; he looks upon all he hath , either to be of his own procuring or deserving . Let us see all we have is Gods gift , and how unworthy we are to receive the least favour , and this will make us much in doxology and gratitude , we will be Silver Trumpets sounding forth Gods Praise .

First , Give . ] Hence I note , 1. That the good things of this Life are the gifts of God ; he is the founder and donor . 2. From this word give , I note , that it is not unlawful to pray for Temporal things ; we may pray for daily Bread , Prov. 30.8 . Feed me with food convenient for me ; we may pray for Health , Psal. 6.2 . O Lord heal me , for my bones are vexed . As these are in themselves good things , so they are useful for us . They are as needful for the preserving the Comfort of Life , as the Oyl is needful for preserving the Lamp from going out . Only let me insert two things .

1. There is a great difference between our praying for Temporal things and Spiritual . In praying for Spiritual things we must be absolute . When we pray for pardon of Sin , and the favour of God , and the sanctifying graces of the Spirit , these are indispensibly necessary to Salvation , and here we must take no denyal : But when we pray for Temporal things , here our Prayers must be limited , we must pray conditionally , so far as God sees them good for us . God sometimes sees cause to with-hold Temporal things from us : They may be snares , and draw our Hearts from God ; therefore we must pray for these things with submission to Gods Will . This was Israels sin ; they would be peremptory and absolute in their desire of Temporal things : Gods bill of fare did not please them , they must have dainties ; Numb. 11.18 . Who shall give us flesh to eat ? God had given them Manna , he fed them with a Miracle from Heaven , but their wanton Pallats craved more , they must have Quails ; God let them have their desire , but they had sower sawce to their Quails ; Psal. 78.31 . While the meat was yet in their mouths , the wrath of God came upon them and slew them . Rachel was importunate in her desires for a Child , Gen. 30.1 . Give me children or I dye : God let her have a Child , but it was a Benoni , a Son of Sorrow , it cost her her Life in bringing forth ; Gen. 35.18 . We must pray for outward things with submission to Gods Will , else they come in anger .

2. When we pray for things pertaining to this Life , we must desire Temporal things for Spiritual ends ; we must desire these things to be as helps in our journey to Heaven . If we pray for Health , it must be that we may improve this talent of Health for Gods Glory , and may be fitter for his Service . If we pray for a competency of Estate , it must be for an holy end , that we may be kept from the temptations which Poverty usually exposeth to , and that we may be in a better capacity to sow the golden seeds of Charity , and relieve such as are in want . Temporal things must be prayed for , for Spiritual ends . Hannah prayed for a Child , but it was for this end , that her Child might be devoted to God ; 1 Sam. 1.11 . O Lord , if thou wilt remember me , and wilt give unto thine hand-maid a man child , then I will give him unto the Lord all the dayes of his life . Many pray for outward things , only to gratifie their sensual appetite : The ravens cry for food ; Psal. 147.9 . To pray for outward things only to satisfie Nature , is to cry rather like Ravens than Christians . We must have an higher end in our Prayers , we must aim at Heaven , while we are praying for Earth : And must we pray for Temporal things for Spiritual ends , that we may be fitter to serve God , then how wicked are they , who beg Temporal Mercies that they may be more inabled to sin against God ; Iam. 4.3 . Ye ask that ye may consume it upon your lusts . One Man is sick and he prays for Health that he may be among his Cups and Harlots ; another prays for an Estate , he would not only have his Belly filled but his Barns , and why would he be rich , that he may raise his Name , or that having more power in his hand , he may now take a fuller revenge on his enemies . This is impiety joyned with impudence ; to pray to God to give us Temporal things that we may be the better inabled to serve the Devil .

VSE . If we are to pray for Temporal good things , then how much more for Spiritual ; if we are to pray for Bread , then how much more for the Bread of Life ; if for Oyl , then how much more for the Oyl of gladness ; if we pray to have our hunger satisfied , much more should we pray to have our Souls saved . Alas , what if God should hear our Prayers , and grant us these Temporal things , and no more , what were we the better ? What is it to have Food and want Grace ; what is it to have the back clothed and the Soul naked ; to have a South land and want the living springs in Christs Blood , what comfort could that be ? O therefore let us be earnest for Spiritual Mercies . Lord , do not only feed me , but sanctifie me , rather an Heart full of Grace than an House full of Gold : If we are to pray for daily Bread , the things of this Life , much more for the things of the Life that is to come .

3. From this word give , I note , That they who God hath given a large measure of outward things to , yet we must pray , Give us daily Bread . And this may answer a Question .

Quest. Some may say , we have an Estate already , and what need we pray , Give us daily Bread ?

Answ. Supposing we have a plentiful Estate , yet we need make this Petition , Give us Bread : And that upon a double account .

( 1. ) That we may have a Blessing upon our Food , and all that we enjoy : Psalm 132.5 . I will bless her provision . Man lives not by bread alone , but by every word which proceedeth out of Gods mouth ; Matth. 4.4 . what is that but a word of Blessing ? Though the Bread is in our hand , yet the Blessing is in Gods hand , and it must be fetch'd out of his hand by Prayer : Well therefore may rich Men pray , Give us our Bread , let it be seasoned with a Blessing . If God should with-hold a Blessing , nothing we have would do us good ; our Cloths would not warm us , our Food would not nourish us : Psal. 106.15 . He gave them their request , but sent leanness into their soul ; that is , they pined away , and their Meat did not nourish them . If God should with-hold a Blessing , what we eat would turn to bad humours , and hasten Death . If God doth not bless our Riches they will do us more hurt than good : Eccl. 5.13 . Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt . So that granting we have plentiful Estates , yet we had need pray , Give us our Bread ; let us have a Blessing with what we have .

( 2. ) Though we have Estates , yet we had need pray , give , that we may hereby engage God to continue these Comforts to us . How many Casualties may fall out ? How many have had Corn in their Barn , and a fire hath come on a sudden and consumed all ! How many have had losses at Sea , and great Estates boyled away to nothing ; Ruth 1.21 . I went out full , and the Lord hath brought me home again empty . Therefore tho' we have Estates yet we had need pray , Give us , Lord , give a continuance of these Comforts , that they may not before we are aware , take wings and fly from us . So much for this first word in the Petition , Give .

Secondly , Vs. ] Give us .

Quest. Why do we pray here in the plural ? Why give us ? Why is it not said , Give me ?

Answ. To show that we are to have publick Spirits in Prayer ; we must not only pray for our selves but others ; both the Law of God , and the Law of Love bind us to this . We must love our Neighbours as our selves ; therefore we must pray for them as well as for our selves . Every good Christian hath a fellow-feeling of the wants and miseries of others , and he prays that God would extend his bounty to them ; especially he prays for the Saints , Eph. 6.18 . Praying alwayes for all Saints . These are Children of the Family .

VSE I. Should we have publick Spirits in Prayer , Give us ; it reproves such narrow-spirited Men as move only within their own sphere , they look only at themselves but mind not the case of others ; they leave others out of their Prayers ; if they have daily Bread they care not though others starve ; if they are cloathed , they care not though others go naked . Christ hath taught us to pray for others , Give us ; but selfish persons are shut up within themselves , as the Snail in the shell , and never speak a word in Prayer for others : These have no commiseration or pity , they are like Iudas whose Bowels fell out .

VSE II. Let us pray for others as well as for our selves , Give us : Vir bonus aliis prodest aeque ac sibi . Spiders work only for themselves , but Bees work for the good of others ; the more excellent any thing is , the more it operates for the good of others . The Springs refresh others with their chrystal streams ; the Sun inlightens others with its golden beams ; the more a Christian is enobled with Grace , the more he besiegeth Heaven with his Prayers for others . If we are Members of the Body Mystical , we cannot but have a sympathy with others in their wants , and this sympathy sets us a praying for them . David had a publick Spirit in Prayer , Psal. 125.4 . Do good , O Lord , unto those that be good : Though he begins the Psalm with Prayer for himself , Psal. 51.1 . Have Mercy upon me , O God , yet he ends the Psalm with Prayer for others , ver. 18. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Sion .

VSE III. It is matter of Comfort to the Godly , who are but low in the World , yet they have the Prayers of Gods people for them , they pray not only for the increase of their Faith , but their Food , that God will give them Daily Bread . He is like to be rich who hath several stocks going ; so are they in a likely way to thrive who have the Prayers of the Saints going for them in several parts of the World . So much for this second word in the Petition , Give us .

Thirdly , The thi●● word in the Petition is , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , This day . ] We pray not give us Bread for a month , or a year , but a day ; Give us this day .

Quest. Is it not lawful to lay up for afterwards ? Doth not the Apostle say , He who provides not for his Family is worse than an Infidel ; 1 Tim. 5.8 .

Answ. 'T is true , it is lawful to lay up for Posterity , but our Saviour hath taught us to pray , Give us this day our bread , for two Reasons : 1. That we should not have carking care for the future . We should not set our Wits upon the tenter , or torment our selves how to lay up great Estates ; if we do vivere in diem , if we have but enough to supply for the present it may suffice ; Give us this day : Take no thought for to morrow , Matth. 6.34 . God fed Israel with Manna in the wilderness , and he fed them from hand to mouth ; sometimes all their Manna was spent , and if any one had asked them where they would have their break-fast next morning , they would have said , our care is only for this day , God will rain down what Manna we need : If we have Bread this day , do not distrust Gods Providence for the future . 2. Our Saviour will have us pray , Give us bread this day , to teach us to live every day as if it were our last . We are not to pray give us Bread to morrow , because we do not know whether we shall live while to morrow ; but Lord give us this day , it may be our last day we shall live , and then we shall need no more .

VSE . If we pray for Bread only for a day , Give us this day , then you who have great Estates have cause to be thankful , you have more than you pray for ; you pray but for Bread for one day , and God hath given you enough to suffice you all your life . What a bountiful God do you serve ! Two things may make rich Men thankful , 1. God gives them more than they deserve : 2. God gives them more than they pray for .

Fourthly , The fourth thing in the Petition is , Our bread . ]

Quest. Why is it called our Bread , when it is not ours but Gods ?

Answ. 1. We must understand it in a qualified sense ; it is our Bread being gotten by honest industry . There are two sorts of Bread that cannot properly be called our Bread . ( 1. ) The Bread of Idleness . ( 2. ) The Bread of Violence .

( 1. ) The Bread of Idleness : Prov. 31.27 . She eateth not the bread of idleness . An idle Person doth vivere aliena quadra , he lives at another bodies cost , and is at their finding , Prov. 1.25 . His hands refuse to labour . We must not be as the Drones which eat the honey that other Bees have brought into the hive : If we eat the bread of Idleness , this is not our own bread : 2 Thess. 3.11 , 12. There are some that walk disorderly , working not at all , such we command that they work , and eat their own bread . The Apostle gives us this hint , that such as live idly do not eat their own Bread .

( 2. ) The Bread of Violence . We cannot call this our Bread , for it is taken away from others . That which is gotten by stealth or fraud , or any manner of extortion , is not our Bread , it belongs to another . He who is a bird of prey , who takes away the Bread of the Widow and Fatherless , he eats that Bread which is none of his , nor can he pray for a Blessing upon it : Can he pray God to bless that which he hath gotten unjustly ?

2. It is called our Bread by vertue of our Title to it . There is a twofold title to Bread . ( 1. ) A Spiritual Title : In and by Christ we have a right to the Creature , and may call it our Bread . As we are Believers we have the best Title to Earthly things , we hold all in capite , 1 Cor. 3.22 . All things are yours ; by what Title ? Ye are Christs . ( 2. ) A Civil Title , which the Law confers on us : To deny Men a Civil Right to their Possessions , and make all common , it opens the door to Anarchy and Confusion .

VSE . See the priviledge of Believers , they have both a Spiritual and a Civil Right to what they possess : They who can say Our Father , can say our Bread . Wicked Men tho' they have a Legal right to what they possess , yet not a Covenant right ; they have it by Providence not by Promise ; with Gods leave , not with his Love . Wicked Men are in Gods eye no better than usurpers , all they have , their Money and Land , is like Cloth taken up at the Drapers which is not paid for ; but this is the sweet priviledge of Believers , they can say , our Bread : Christ being theirs , all is theirs . O how sweet is every bit of Bread dip'd in Christs Blood ! How well doth that Meat relish which is a pledge and earnest of more ! The Meal in the barrel is an earnest of our Angels food in Paradise . Here is the priviledge of Saints , they have a right to Earth and Heaven .

Fifthly , The fifth and last thing in this Petition is , the thing we pray for , Daily Bread . ]

Quest. What is meant by Bread ?

Answ. Bread here by a Synechdoche speciei pro genere , is put for all the Temporal Blessings of this Life , Food , Fuel , Clothing ; Quicquid nobis conducit ad bene esse , Aust. whatever may serve for Necessity , or sober Delight .

VSE . Learn to be contented with that allowance God gives us . If we have Bread , a competency of these outward things , let us rest satisfied . We pray but for Bread , Give us our daily Bread , we do not pray for superfluities , not for Quails or Venison , but for Bread , that which may support Life . Tho' we have not so much as others , so full a Crop , so rich an Estate , yet if we have the staff of Bread to shore us up from falling , let us be content ; most people are herein faulty . Tho' they pray that God would give them Bread ( so much as he sees expedient for them ) yet they are not content with Gods allowance , but over-greedily covet more , and with the daughters of the Horsleach , cry , Give , give , Prov. 30.15 . this is a vice Naturally ingrafted in us . Many pray Agurs first Prayer , Give me not Poverty , but few pray his last Prayer , Give me not Riches , Prov. 30.8 . they are not content with daily Bread , but have the dry dropsie of Covetousness , they are still craving for more ; Hab. 2.5 . Who enlargeth his desire as hell , and is as death , and cannot be satisfied . There are , saith Solomon , four things say , it is not enough , Prov. 30.15 . the grave , the barren womb , the earth , the fire ; and I may add a fifth thing , the Heart of a covetous Man . Such as are not content with daily Bread , but thirst insatiably after more , will break over the hedge of Gods Command , and to get Riches will stick at no sin ; Cui nihil satis est , eidem nihil turpe , Tacitus ; therefore Covetousness is called a Radical Vice , 1 Tim. 6.10 . The root of all evil . Quid non mortalia pectora cogit , auri sacra fames ? The word for Covetousness 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies an inordinate desire of getting ▪ Covetousness is not only in getting Riches unjustly , but in loving them inordinately : This is a key opens the door to all sin . It causeth 1. Theft : Achans covetous humour made him steal that wedge of Gold which cleft asunder his Soul from God ; Iosh. 7.21 . 2. It causeth Treason : What made Iudas betray Christ ? It was the thirty pieces of Silver , Matth. 26.15 . 3. It produceth Murder : It was the inordinate love of the Vineyard made Ahab conspire Naboths death , 1 Kings 21.13 . 4. It is the root of Perjury : 2 Tim. 3.3 . Men shall be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , covetous , and it follows 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , truce-breakers : Love of Silver will make Men take a false-Oath , and break a just Oath . 5. It is the spring of Apostasie : 2 Tim. 4.10 . Demas hath forsaken me , having loved this present world . He did not only forsake Pauls company , but his Doctrine . Demas afterwards became a Priest in an Idol Temple , saith Dorotheus . 6. Covetousness will make Men Idolaters : Col. 3.5 . Covetousness which is idolatry . Tho' the covetous Man will not worship graven Images in the Church , yet he will worship the graven Image in his Coyn. 7. Covetousness makes Men give themselves to the Devil . Pope Sylvester the Second did sell his Soul to the Devil for a Popedom . Covetous persons forget this Prayer , Give us daily Bread , that which may satisfie Nature , but they are insatiable in their desire . O let us take heed of this dry Dropsie , Heb. 13.5 . Be content with such things as ye have . Natura parvo dimittitur , Sen. That we may be content with daily Bread , that which God in his Providence carves out to us , and not covet or murmur ▪ let me propose these things .

1. God can bless a little , Exod. 23.24 . He will bless thy Bread and thy Water : A Blessing put sweetness into the least Morsel of Bread , 't is like Sugar in Wine , Psal. 132.15 . I will bless her Provision . Daniel and the three Children eat Pulse ( which was a coarse Fare ) yet they look'd fairer then those which did eat of the Kings Meat , Dan. 1.15 . whence was this ? God did infuse a more then ordinary Blessing into the ●ulse ; Gods Blessing was better then the Kings Venison , a piece of Bread with Gods Love is Angels Food .

2. God who gives us our allowance , knows what quantity of these outward things is fittest for us ; a smaller provision may be fitter for some , Bread may be better then Dainties ; every one cannot bear an high Condition , no more then a weak Brain can bear heady wine ; hath one a larger proportion of worldly things , God sees he can better manage such a Condition ; he can order his Affairs with discretion , which pe●haps another cannot ; as he hath a large Estate , so he hath a large heart to do good , which perhaps another hath not ; this should make us content with a shorter Bill of Fare ; Gods Wisdom is that we must acquiesce in , he sees what is best for every one , that which is good for one may be bad for another .

3. In being contented with daily Bread , that which God carves to us , though it be a lesser piece , much grace is seen in this ; all the Graces act their part in a contented Soul ; as the holy Ointment was made up of several Spices , Myrrhe , Cinamon , Cassia , Exod. 30.23 . so contentment hath in it a mixture of several Graces , there is Faith , a Christian believes God doth all for the best ; and Love , which thinks no evil , but takes all God doth in good part ; and Patience , submitting chearfully to what God orders wisely : God is much pleased to see so many graces at once sweetly exercised , like so many bright Stars shining in a Constellation .

4. To be content with daily Bread : The allowance God gives , though but sparingly , doth keep us from many Temptations , which discontented Persons fall into , when the Devil sees a Person just of Israels humour , not content with Manna , but must have Quails , saith Satan , here is good fishing for me ; Satan oft tempts discontented ones to murmuring , and to unlawful means , cozening and defrauding ; and he who increaseth an Estate by indirect means , fluffs his Pillow with Thorns , and his head will lye very uneasie when he comes to dye : If you would be freed from the Temptations which discontent exposeth to , be content with such things as ye have , bless God for daily Bread .

5. What a rare and admirable thing it is to be content with daily bread , though it be coarse , and though there be but little of it ; a Christian though he hath but a viaticum , a little meal in the barrel , yet he hath that which gives him content ; what he hath not in the Cupboard , he hath in the Promise ; that bit of bread he hath is with the love of God , and that sawce makes it relish sweet , that little Oyl in the Cruse is a Pledge and Earnest of those Dainties he shall tast of in the Kingdom of God ; this makes him content : What a rare and wonderful thing is this , it is no wonder to be content in Heaven , when we are at the Fountain-Head , and have all things we can desire ; but to be content when God keeps us to short Commons , and we have scarce dayly bread , this is a wonder : When grace is crowning , it is no wonder to be content , but when grace is conflicting with straits now to be content is a glorious thing indeed , and deserves the Garland of Praise .

6. To make us content with daily Bread : Though God straitens us in our allowance , think seriously of the danger that is in an high prosperous Condition ; some are not content with daily bread , but desire to have their Barns filled , and heap up Silver as dust ; this proves a snare to them , 1 Tim. 6.10 . They that will be rich fall into a snare . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Theophilact . Pride , Idleness , Wantonness , are the three worms that usually breed of Plenty ; Prosperity oft deafens the ear against God , Ier. 22.21 . I spake to thee in thy Prosperity , but thou saidst , I will not hear . Soft pleasures harden the heart : In the Body the more fat , the less blood in the Veins , and the less Spirits ; the more outward plenty often the less Piety . Prosperity hath its Honey , and also its Sting : Prosperity like the full of the Moon makes many Lunatick : The Pastures of Prosperity are rank and surfeiting . Anxious care is the malus Genius , the evil Spirit that haunts the rich Man , and will not let him be quiet ; when his Chests are full of Money his heart is full of care , either how to manage , or how to encrease , or how to secure what he hath gotten : Sunshine in pleasant , but sometimes it scorcheth : Should not this make us content with that allowance God gives ; if we have daily bread though not dainties ; think of the Danger of Prosperity ; the spreading of a full Table may be the spreading of a snare : Many have been sunk to Hell with golden Weights : The ferry Man takes in all Passengers , that he may encrease his Fare , and sometimes to the sinking of the boat . 1 Tim. 6.9 . They that will be rich fall into many hurtful Lusts , which drown them in Perdition . The Worlds golden Sands are Quicksands ; this may make us take our daily bread , though it be but coarse , contentedly ; what if we have less food , we have less snare , if less dignity , less danger ; as we want the rich Provisions of the World , so we want the Temptations .

7. If God keeps us to a spare diet , if he give us less Temporals , he hath made it up in Spirituals ; he hath given us the Pearl of Price , and the holy anointing . 1. The Pearl of Price , the Lord Jesus , he is the quintessence of all good things ; to give us Christ is more then if God had given us all the world ; God can make more worlds , but he hath no more Christs to bestow ; he is such a golden mine that the Angels cannot dig to the bottom ; Eph. 3.8 . From Christ we have Justification , Adoption , Coronation : The Sea of Gods Mercy in giving us Christ ( saith Luther ) should swallow up all our wants . 2. The holy Unction , God hath anointed us with the graces of his Spirit : Grace is a seed of God , a blossom of Eternity ; the graces are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Damascen , the impressions of the divine Nature , Stars to enlighten us , Spices to perfume us , Diamonds to enrich us ; and if God hath adorned the hidden Man of the heart with these sacred Jewels , it may well make us content , tho' we have but short Commons , and that coarse too . God hath given his People better things then Corn and Wine , he hath given them that which he cannot give in anger , and which cannot stand with Reprobation , and they may say as David , Psal. 16.6 . The lines are fallen to them in pleasant places , and they have a goodly heritage . I have read of Didimus and Anthony , Didimus was a blind Man , but very holy ; Anthony ask'd him if he was not troubled for the want of his eyes , he told him he was ; why said Anthony , are you troubled you want that which Flyes and Birds have , when you have that which Angels have : So I say to Christians , if God hath not given you the Purse , he hath given you his Spirit , if you want that which rich Men have , God hath given you that which Angels have , and are you not content ?

8. If you have but daily bread enough to suffice nature , be content , consider it is not having abundance makes the life always comfortable ; it is not a great Cage will make the Bird sing ; a competency may breed contentment , when having more may make one less content : A staff may help the Traveller , but a bundle of staffs will be a burden to him . A great Estate may be like a long trayling garment , more burdensome then useful : Many that have great incomes and revenues have not so much comfort in their Lives , as some that go to their hard labour .

9. If you have less daily bread , you will have less account to give : The Riches and Honours of the World like Alchimy make a great show , and with their glistering dazle Mens eyes ; but they do not consider the great account they must give to God , Luke 16.2 . Give an account of thy Stewardship . What good hast thou done with thy Estate ? hast thou as a good Steward traded thy golden Talents for Gods glory ? hast thou honoured the Lord with thy Substance ? the greater Revenues the greater Reckonings ; this may quiet and content us , if we have but little daily bread , our account will be less .

10. You that have but a small competency in these outward things , your provisions are short , yet you may be content , to consider how much you look for hereafter : God keeps the best Wine till last : What though now you have but a small pittance , and are fed from hand to mouth , you look for an eternal Reward , white Robes , sparkling Crowns , Rivers of Pleasure : A Son is content though his Father gives him but now and then a little Money , as long as he expects his Father should settle all his land upon him at last . If God give you but a little at present , yet you look for that glory which eye hath not seen ; may not you be content ? The World is but a Diversorium , a great Inn ; if God give you but sufficient to pay for your Charges in your Inn , you may be content , you shall have enough when you come to your own Country .

Quest. How may we be content though God cut us short in these Externals ; though we have but little daily bread , and coarse ?

Resp. 1. Think with our selves some have been much lower then we , who have been better then we : Iacob an holy Patriarch goes over Iordan with his Staff , and lived in a mean condition a long time , he had the Clouds for his Canopy , and Stone for his Pillow : Moses that might have been rich , some Historians say , Pharaoh's Daughter adopted him for her Son , because King Pharaoh had no Heir , and so Moses was like to have come to the Crown , yet leaving the Honours of the Court , in what a low mean condition did he live in when he went to Iethro his Father-in-Law ? Musculus famous for Learning and Piety was put to great Straits , he was put to dig in a Town ditch , and had scarce daily bread , yet content . Nay , Christ , who was Heir of all , yet for our sakes became poor , 2 Cor. 8.9 . Let all these Examples make us content .

2. Let us labour to have the Interest cleared between God and our Souls ; he who can say , My God , hath enough to rock his heart quiet in the lowest condition ; what can he want who hath El-Shaddai , the all-sufficient God for his portion ; though the nether-Springs fail , yet he hath the upper-Springs ; though the bill of fare grow short , yet an Interest in God is a Pillar of Support to us , and we may with David encourage ourselves in the Lord our God .

Mat. 6.12 .

And forgive us our Debts , as we forgive our Debtors .

BEfore I speak strictly to the Words , I shall take notice , 1. That in this Prayer there is but One Petition for the Body , Give us our daily Bread , but two Petitions for the Soul . Forgive us our Trespasses , lead us not into Temptation , but deliver us from Evil ; Hence observe , that we are to be more careful for our Souls , than for our Bodies . More careful for Grace , than daily Bread , more desirous to have our Souls saved , than our Bodies fed : in the Law , the Weight of the Sanctuary was twice as big as the common weight : to typify , that Spiritual Things must be of far greater Weight with us than Earthly . The Excellency of the Soul , may challenge our Chief Care about it .

1. The Soul is an immaterial Substance , it is an heavenly Spark , lighted by the Breath of God . It is the more refined spiritual Part of Man , it is of an Angelical Nature ; it hath some faint resemblance of God . The Body is the more dreggish part , it is but the Cabinet which ( though curiously wrought ) the Soul is the Jewel ; the Soul is near a-kin to Angels , it is Capax beatitudinis , capable of Communion with God in Glory .

2. It is immortal ; it doth never expire . It can act without the Body , tho' the Body dissolve into Dust , the Soul lives , Luk. 12.4 . The Essence of the Soul is Eternal , it hath a beginning , but no end : It is a Blossom of Eternity . Sure then if the Soul be so Ennobled and Dignifi'd , more care should be taken about the Soul than the Body . We make but One Petition for the Body , but Two Petitions for the Soul .

Vse . 1. It reproves them that take more care for their Bodies , than their Souls . The Body is but the brutish part , yet they take more care , 1. about dressing their Bodies , than their Souls . They put on their best Cloaths , are dressed in the Richest Garb , but care not how naked or undrest their Souls are ; they do not get the Jewels of Grace , to adorn their inner Man . 2. About feeding their Bodies , than their Souls , they are Caterers for the Flesh , they do 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , make Provision for the Flesh , Rom. 13.14 . they have the best Diet , but let their Souls starve . As if one should feed his Hawk , but let his Child starve . The Body must sit in the Chair of State , but the Soul , that princely thing , is made a Lacky to run on the Devil's Errand .

Vse 2. Let us be more careful for our Souls . — Omnia si perdas animam servare memento . If it be well with the Soul , it shall be well with the Body . If the Soul be gracious , the Body shall be glorious , for it shall shine like Christ's Body . Therefore 't is Wisdom to look chiefly to the Soul , because in saving the Soul , we secure the Happiness of the Body . And , we cannot shew our Care for the Soul more , than in taking all Seasons for our Souls , Reading , Praying , Hearing , Meditating . O look to the Main Chance , let the Soul be chiefly tended , the loss of the Soul would be fatal , other Losses may be made up again . If one loseth his Health , he may recover it again , if he lose his Estate , he may get it up again , but if he lose his Soul , this Loss can never be made up again . The Merchant that ventures all he hath in one ship if that ship be lost , he is quite broken .

2. From the Connexion in the Text , assoon as Christ had said , Give us daily Bread , he adds , and forgive us . Christ joyns this Petition of Forgiveness of Sin immediately to the other of Daily Bread , to shew us , that tho' we have daily Bread , yet all is nothing without Forgiveness . If our sins be not pardoned , we can take but little comfort in our Food . As it is with a man that is condemned , tho' you bring him meat in Prison , yet he takes little comfort in it without a pardon . So tho' we have Daily Bread , yet it will do us no good , unless Sin be forgiven . What tho' we should have Manna , which was call'd Angels Food , tho' the Rock should pour out Rivers of Oyl , Iob 29.6 . all is nothing unless sin be done away . When Christ had said , give us our Daily Bread , he presently adds , and forgive us our Trespasses . Daily Bread may satisfie the Appetite , but forgiveness of sin ▪ satisfies the Conscience .

Vse 1. It condemns the Folly of most People : If they have Daily Bread , the delicious things of this Life , they look no further , they are not sollicitous for the pardon of sin . If they have that which feeds them , they look not after that which should Crown them . Alas , you may have Daily Bread , and yet perish . The Rich man in the Gospel had Daily Bread , nay , he had Dainties , he fared deliciously every day , but in Hell he lift up his Eyes , Luk. 16.19 .

Vse 2. Let us pray that God would not give us our Portion in this Life , that he would not put us off with daily Bread , but that he would give us Forgiveness . This is the sawce that would make our Bread Relish the sweeter . A Speech of Luther , Valde protestatus sum me nolle si● satiari ab illo . I did solemnly protest , that God should not put me off with outward things . Be not content with that which is common to the bruit Creatures , the Dog or Elephant to have your Hunger satisfi'd , but besides daily Bread , get pardon of Sin . A drop of Christ's Blood , a dram of forgiving Mercy , is infinitely more valuable , than all the Delights under the Sun . Daily Bread may make us live comfortably , but forgiveness of Sin will make us die comfortably . So I come to the words of the Petition , Forgive us our Debts , &c.

1. Here is a Term given to Sin , it is a Debt . 2. The confessing the Debt , Our Debts . 3. A Prayer , forgive us . 4. A Condition on which we desire Forgiveness , as we forgive our Debtors .

I shall speak of the Term given to Sin , it is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Debt , that which is here called a Debt , is called Sin ▪ Luk. 11.4 . forgive us our sins . So then sin is a Debt , and every sinner is a Debtor . Sin is compar'd to a Debt of ten thousand Talents , Mat. 18.24

1. Why is sin call'd a Debt ? 2. Wherein sin is worse than other Debts we contract ? 3. Wherein sinners have the property of bad Debtors ?

Q. 1. Why is Sin call'd a Debt ?

Answ. Because it so fitly resembles it .

1. A Debt ariseth upon non-payment of Money , or the not paying that which is ones due . So we owe to God exact Obedience , and not paying what is due , thus we come to be in debt . 2. As in case of non-payment , the Debtor goes to Prison . So by our sin , we become guilty , and stand oblig'd to God's Curse and Damnation . Tho' God doth a while grant a sinner a Reprieve , yet he stands bound to eternal Death , if the Debt be not forgiven .

2. In what sence sin is the worst Debt ?

Answ. 1. Because we have nothing to pay ; if we could pay the Debt , what need we pray , forgive us ? We can't say , as he in the Gospel , Have patience with me , and I will pay thee all , we can pay neither Principal nor Interest . Adam made us all Bankrupts ; in Innocency Adam had a stock of Original Righteousness to begin the world with , he could give God personal and perfect Obedience ; but by his sin , he is quite broke , and hath beggar'd all his Posterity . We have nothing to pay , all our Duties are mixed with sin , and so we cannot pay God in currant Coyn.

2. Sin is the worst Debt , because it is against an Infinite Majesty . An Offence against the Person of a King , is Crimen laesae Mojestatis , it doth inhance and aggravate the Crime . Sin wrongs God , and so it is an Infinite Offence . The schoolmen say , Omne peccatum contra conscientiam est quasi Deicidium . Every known sin strikes at the God-head . The sinner would not only unthrone God , but un-God him , this makes the Debt infinite .

3. Sin is the worst Debt , because it is not a single , but a multiplied Debt . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , forgive us our Debts ; we have debt upon debt , Ps. 40 12. Innumerable Evils have compassed me about . We may as well reckon all the drops in the Sea , as reckon all our spiritual Debts ; we cannot tell you how much we owe. A man may know his other debts , but we cannot number our spiritual Debts . Every vain Thought is a sin , Prov. 24.9 . the thought of Foolishness is sin , and what swarms of vain Thoughts have we ? The first rising of Corruption , tho' it never blossom into outward Act , is a sin , then who can understand his Errors ? we do not know how much we owe to God .

4. Sin is the worst Debt , because it is an inexcusable Debt in two Respects . 1. There is no denying the Debt . 2. There is no shifting it off .

1. There is no denying the Debt , other debts men may deny , if Money be not paid before Witness , or if the Creditor lose the Bond , the Debtor may say he owes him nothing ; but there 's no denying this debt of Sin . If we say we have no Sin , God can prove the Debt , Psal. 50.21 . I will set thy sins in order before thee . God writes down our Debts in his Book of Remembrance , and God's Book , and the Book of Conscience do exactly agree , so that this Debt cannot be denied .

2. There is no shifting off the Debt : other Debts may be shifted off .

1. We may get Friends to pay them ; but neither Man nor Angel can pay this Debt for us . If all the Angels in Heaven should go to make a Purse , they cannot pay one of our Debts .

2. In other Debts , men may get a Protection , so that none can touch their Persons , or sue them for the Debt ; but who shall give us a Protection from God's Justice ? Iob 10.7 . there is none that can deliver out of thine Hand . Indeed the Pope pretends , that his Pardon shall be mens Protection , and now God's Justice shall not sue them , but that is only a Forgery , and cannot be pleaded at God's Tribunal .

3. Other Debts , if the Debtor dies in Prison , cannot be recovered , death frees them from debt . But if we die in debt to God , He knows how to recover it ; as long as we have Souls to strain on , God will not lose his Debt . Not the death of the Debtor , but the death of the Surety pays a sinners Debt .

4. In other debts , men may fly from their Creditor , leave their Countrey , and go into forrain Parts , and the Creditor cannot find them : but we cannot fly from God . God knows where to find all his Debtors ▪ Ps. 139.7 . Whether shall I fly from thy Presence ? If I take the wings of the morning , and dwell in the utmost parts of the Sea , there shall thy right hand hold me .

5. Sin is the worst debt , because it carries men in case of non-payment , to a worse Prison than any upon Earth , to a fiery Prison , and the sinner is laid in worse Chains , Chains of Darkness , where the sinner is bound under Wrath for ever .

Quest. 3. Wherein we have the properties of bad Debtors ?

1. A bad debtor doth not love to be called to Account . There 's a day comeing , when God will call all his Debtors to Account , Rom. 14.12 . so then every man shall give an Account for himself to God , but we play away the time , and do not love to hear of the day of Judgment . We love not that Ministers should put us in mind of our debts , or speak of the day of Reckoning . What a confounding Word will that be to a secure sinner , redde Rationem , Give an Account of your Stewardship .

2. A bad debtor is unwilling to confess his debt , he will put it off , or make less of it . So we are more willing to excuse sin , than confess it . Aristot. How hardly was Saul brought to Confession , 1 Sam. 15.20 . I have obeyed the voice of the Lord , but the People took of the spoil . He rather excuseth his sin , Rom. 1.30 . than confesseth it .

3. A bad debtor is apt to hate his Creditor . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Debtors wish their Creditors dead . So wicked men naturally hate God , because they think he is a just Judge , and will call them to Account , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , God-Haters The debtor doth not love to see his Creditor .

Vse 1. It reproves them who are loth to be in debt , but make no reckoning of sin , which is the greatest Debt ; they use no means to get out of it , but run still further in debt to God . We would think it strange , if Writs or Warrants were out against a man , or a Iudgment granted to seize his Body and Estate , yet he is secure and regardless , as if he were unconcerned . God hath a Writ out against a sinner , nay many Writs , for Swearing , Drunkenness , Sabbath-breaking , yet the sinner eats and drinks , and is quiet , as if he were not in debt ; what Opium hath Satan given men ?

Vse 2. Exh. If Sin be a Debt , 1. Let us be humbled . The name of Debt ( saith St. Ambrose ) is Grave Vocabulum , grievous .

Men in debt are full of Shame , they lie hid , and do not care to be seen . A Debtor is ever in fear of Arrest . Canis latrat , & Cor palpitat . O let us blush and tremble , who are so deeply indebted to God . A Roman dying in debt , Augustus the Emperour sent to buy his Pillow , because ( saith he ) I hope it hath some Vertue in it , to make me sleep , on which a man so much in debt could take his Ease : we that have so many spiritual Debts lying upon us , how can we be at rest , till we have some hope that they are discharged .

2. Let us Confess our Debt . Let us acknowledge that we are run in Arrears with God , and deserve that he should follow the Law upon us , and throw us into Hell-Prison . By Confession we give Glory to God , Iosh. 7.19 . My Son , give Glory to the God of Israel , and make Confession to him . Say that God were Righteous , if he should strain upon all we have ; If we confess the debt , God will forgive it . 1 Ioh. 1.9 . If we confess our sins , he is just to forgive ; do but confess the Debt , and God will cross the Book , Ps. 32.5 . I said I will confess my Transgression to the Lord , and thou forgavest me .

3. Labour to get our spiritual Debts paid , that is , by our Surety Christ . Say , Lord , have patience with me , and Christ shall pay thee all . He hath laid down an infinite Price . The Covenant of Works would not admit of a Surety , it demanded Personal Obedience . But this Priviledge we have by the Gospel , which is a Court of Chancery to relieve us , that if we have nothing to pay , God will accept of a Surety . Believe in Christ's Blood , and the debt is paid .

Luk 11.4 .

And forgive us our sins , for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us .

IN the Words are two Parts . 1. A Petition , forgive us our Sins . 2. A Condition , for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us . Our forgiving others is not a Cause of God's forgiving us , but it is a Condition , without which God will not forgive us .

1. I begin with the first , the Petition , Remitte nobis peccata nostra , Forgive us our Sins . A Blessed Petition ! the ignorant world say , who will shew us any good ? Ps. 4.6 . meaning , a good Lease , a good Purchase ; but our Saviour here teacheth us to pray for that which is more noble , and will stand us in more stead , the pardon of sin , Forgive us our Sins . Forgiveness of sin , is a Primary Blessing , it is one of the first Mercies God bestows , Ezek. 36.25 . I will sprinkle clean water upon you , that is , Forgiveness . When God pardons there is nothing he will stick at to do for the Soul . He will Adopt , Sanctifie , Crown .

Quest. 1. What Forgiveness of Sin is ?

Resp. It is God's passing by Sin , Micah 7.18 . his wiping off the score ; and giving us a Discharge .

The nature of Forgiveness will more clearly appear , 1. By opening some Scripture-phrases . 2. By laying down some divine Aphorisms and Positions .

1. By opening some Scripture-phrases . 1. To forgive Sin is to take away Iniquity , Iob 7.21 . Why dost not thou take away mine Iniquity ? The Hebrew Word Vethagnabir , signifies to lift off . 'T is a Metaphor taken from a man that carries an heavy Burden ready to sink him , and another comes and lifts off this Burden . So when the heavy burden of sin is on us , God in pardoning , lifts off this burden from the Conscience , and lays it upon Christ . Isa. 53.6 . He hath laid on him the Iniquity of us all .

2. To forgive sin is to Cover sin . Ps. 85.2 . Thou hast covered all their sin . This was typifi'd by the Mercy seat covering the Ark. To shew God's covering of sin through Christ . God doth not cover sin in the Antinomian Sence , so as he sees it not , but he doth so cover it , as he will not impute it .

3. To forgive sin is to blot it out , Isa. 43.25 . I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions . The Hebrew Word Mecha , to blot out , alludes to a Creditor , who when his Debtor hath paid him , blots out the debt , and gives him an Acquittance . So God when he forgives sin , blots out the Debt , he draws the red Lines of Christ's Blood over our sins , and so crosseth the Debt-Book .

4. To forgive sin , is for God to scatter our sins as a Cloud , Isa. 44.22 . I have blotted out as a thick Cloud your Transgressions . Sin is the Cloud interposeth , God dispels the Cloud , and breaks forth with the light of his Countenance .

5. To forgive sin , is for God to cast our sins into the depths of the Sea . Micah 7.19 . which implies Gods burying , them out of sight , that they shall not rise up in judgment against us . Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the Sea . God will throw them in not as Cork that riseth again , but as Lead that sinks to the bottom . 2. The nature of Forgiveness will appear by laying down some Divine Aphorisms or Positions .

Aphorism 1. Every sin is Mortal , and needs Forgiveness ; I say Mortal , that is , deserves death . God may relax the Rigour of the Law , but every sin merits Damnation . The Papists distinguish of Mortal Sins and Venial . Some sins are ex Surreptione , they creep unawares into the mind , ( as vain Thoughts , sudden Motions of Anger and Revenge ) these saith Bellarmine , are in their own nature venial ; it is true , the greatest sins are in one sence Venial , that is , God is able to forgive them , but the least sin is not in its own nature Venial , but deserves Damnation . We read of the Lusts of the Flesh , Rom. 13.14 . and the Works of the Flesh , Gal. 5.19 . the Lusts of the Flesh are sinful , as well as the Works of the Flesh. That which is a Transgression of the Law , merits damnation , but the first stirrings of Corruption are a breach of the Royal Law , Rom 7.7 . Prov. 24.9 . therefore they merit damnation . So that the least sin is mortal , and needs Forgiveness .

Aphorism 2. It is God only that forgives sin . To pardon sin is one of the Iura Regalia , the Flowers of God's Crown , Mark 2.7 . Who can forgive sins , but God only ? It is most proper for God to pardon sin , only the Creditor can remit the debt . Sin is an Infinite Offence , and no finite Power can discharge an infinite Offence . That God only can forgive sin , I prove thus .

No man can take away sin , unless he be able to infuse Grace , ( for as Aquinas saith ) with Forgiveness is always infusion of Grace ; but no man can infuse Grace , therefore no man can forgive sin . He only can forgive sin , who can remit the Penalty , but 't is only God's Prerogative-Royal to forgive sin .

Object . 1. But a Christian is charged to forgive his Brother , Col. 3.13 . Forgiving one another .

Answ. In all second table sins , there are two distinct things . 1. Disobedience against God . 2. Injury to Man . That which man is requir'd to forgive , is the wrong done to himself : but the wrong done to God ▪ he cannot forgive . Man may remit a Trespass against himself , but not a Transgression against God .

Object . 2. But the Scripture speaks of the Power committed to Ministers to forgive sin , Iohn 20.23 . Whose soever sins ye remit , they are remitted unto them .

Answ. Ministers cannot remit sin authoritatively , and effectively , but only declaratively . They have a special Office and Authority , to apply the Promises of pardon to broken Hearts . When a Minister sees one humbled for sin , yet is afraid God hath not pardoned him , and is ready to be swallowed up of Sorrow , in this case a Minister for the easing of this man's Conscience , may in the Name of Christ declare to him , that he is pardoned , the Minister doth not forgive sin by his own Authority , but as an Herald in Christ's Name ▪ pronounceth a man's pardon ; as it was with the Priest in the Law , God did Cleanse the Leper , the Priest only did Pronounce him clean : so it is God who by his Prerogative doth forgive sin , the Minister only pronounceth forgiveness to the sinner being Penitent .

Power to forgive sin authoritatively in ones own name , was never granted to any mortal man . A King may pardon a man's Life , but not pardon his sin . Popes Pardons are insignificant , like Blanks in a Lottery , good for nothing but to be torn .

Aphorism 3. Forgiveness of sin is purely an Act of God's Free-grace . There are some Acts of God , which declare his Power , as making and governing the World , other Acts that declare his Justice , as punishing the Guilty , other Acts that declare his Free-grace , as pardoning of sinners , Isa. 43.25 . I am He that blotteth out sin for my own name sake . As when a Creditor freely forgives a Debtor , 1 Tim. 1.15 . I obtained mercy . Gr. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I was all over besprinkled with Mercy . When God pardons a sin , he doth not pay a debt , but give a Legacy . Forgiveness is spun out of the Bowels of God's Mercy . There is nothing we can do , can deserve it . It is not our Prayers or Tears or good Deeds , can purchase pardon . When Simon Magus would have bought the Gift of the Holy Ghost with Money ; Thy Money ( saith Peter ) perish with thee , Acts 8.20 . So they , who think they can buy pardon of sin with their Duties and Alms , their money perish with them : Forgiveness is an Act of God's Free-grace , here he displays the Banner of Love . This is that will raise the Trophies of God's Glory , and will cause the Saints Triumph in Heaven , that when there was no Worthiness in them , when they lay in their Blood , God took pity on them , and held forth the Golden Scepter of Love in forgiving : Forgiveness is a golden Thread spun out of the Bowels of Free-grace .

Aphorism or Position 4. Forgiveness is through the Blood of Christ . Free-grace is the inward Cause moving , Christ's Blood is the outward Cause meriting Pardon . Ephes. 1.7 . In whom we have Redemption through his Blood . All Pardons are seal'd in Christ's Blood , the Guilt of sin was infinite , and nothing but that Blood which was of infinite Value could procure Forgiveness .

Object . But if Christ laid down his Blood as the 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the price of our Pardon , then how can we say , God freely forgives sin ? if it be by purchase , how is it by Grace ?

Answ. It was God's Free grace that found out a way of Redemption through a Mediator . Nay , God's Love appear'd more in letting Christ die for us , than if he had forgiven us without exacting any satisfaction .

2. It was Free-grace moved God to accept of the price paid for our sins . That God should accept a Surety , that one should sin , and another suffer , this was Free-grace . So that forgiveness of sin , though it be purchas'd by Christ's Blood , yet it is by Free-grace .

Aphorism 5. In Forgiveness of sin , God remits the guilt and penalty , Remissa culpa remittitur poena . Guilt is an Obligation to Punishment , Guilt cries for Justice . Now God in forgiving doth indulge the sinner as to the Penalty . God seems to say to the sinner thus ; Tho' thou art fallen into the hands of my Justice , and deservest to die , yet I will take off the Penalty , whatever is charged upon thee , shall be discharged . When God pardons a Soul , he will not reckon with him in a purely vindictive way , he stops the Execution of Justice .

Aphorism 6. By vertue of this Pardon , God will no more call sin into remembrance , Heb. 8.12 . Their Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more . God will pass an Act of Oblivion , he will not upbraid us with former Unkindnesses . When we fear God will call over our sins again after pardon , look into this Act of Indemnity , their Iniquities will I remember no more . God is said therefore to blot out our Sin . A man doth not call for a debt , when he hath crossed the book . When God pardons a man , his former Displeasure ceaseth , Hos. 14.4 . Mine Anger is turned away .

Object . But God is angry with his pardoned ones ?

Answ. Tho' a Child of God after pardon , may incur God's fatherly Displeasure , yet God's Iudicial Wrath is removed , tho' God may lay on the Rod , yet he hath taken away the Curse : Correction may befal the Saints , but not Destruction , Ps. 89.31 . My loving kindness I will not take away .

Aphorism or Position 7. That sin is not forgiven , till it be repented of . Therefore they are put together , Luke 24.47 . Repentance and Remission ; Domine da poenitentiam , & posteà indulgentiam . Fulgentius . 9. Now in Repentance , there are three main Ingredients , and all these must be before Forgiveness . 1. Contrition . 2. Confession . 3. Conversion . 1. Contrition , or brokenness of Heart . Ezek. 7.16 . They shall be like Doves of the Valleys , all of them mourning every one for his Iniquity . This Contrition or rending of the Heart , is expressed , sometimes by smiting on the Breast , Luke 18.13 . sometimes by plucking off the Hair , Ezra 9.3 . sometimes by watering the Couch , Ps. 6.6 . but all Humiliation is not Contrition . Some have only pretended Sorrow for sin , and so have missed of Forgiveness . Ahab humbled himself , his Garments were Rent , not his Heart .

Quest. What is that Remorse and Sorrow , which goes before Forgiveness of sin ?

Answ. It is an Holy Sorrow , it is a grieving for sin Quatenus sin , as it is sin , as it is a dishonouring of God , and a defiling of the Soul . Tho' there were no Sufferings to follow , yet the true penitent would grieve for sin , Ps 51.3 . My sin is ever before me . This Contrition goes before Remission . Ier. 31.18 , 19. I repented , I smote upon my Thigh , is Ephraim my dear Son ? my Bowels are troubled for him , I will surely have mercy upon him . Ephraim is troubled for sinning , and God's Bowels were troubled for Ephraim , the Woman in the Gospel stood at Iesus's feet weeping , and a pardon followed , Luke 7.47 . Wherefore I say , her sins which are many , are forgiven her . The Seal is set upon the Wax when it melts , God seals his Pardons upon melting Hearts .

2. The second Ingredient into Repentance is Confession . Ps. 51.4 . Against thee , thee only have I sinned : this is not Auricular Confession . This the Papists make a Sacrament , and affirm , that without Confession of all ones sins in the Ears of a Priest , no man can receive forgivness of sin ; the Scripture is ignorant of it , nor do we read of any General Councel , til the Lateran Councel , which was about twelve hundred Years after Christ , did ever decree Auricular Confession .

Object . But doth not the Scripture say , Iam. 5.15 . Confess your sins one to another ?

Resp. This is absurdly brought for auricular Confession , for by this , the Priest must as well confess to the people , as the people to the Priest . The Sence of that place is , in case of publick Scandals , or private Wrongs ; here Confession is to be made to others : But chiefly , Confession is to be made to God , who is the Party offended . Against thee , thee only have I sinned ; Confession gives vent to Sorrow . Confession must be free without Compulsion , ingenuous , without Reserve , cordial , without Hypocrisy , the Heart must go along with the Confession . This Confession makes way for Forgiveness , Psal. 32.5 . I said I would confess my sin , and thou forgavest me . When the Publican and Thief on the Cross ▪ confessed they had that Pardon . The Publican smote upon his Breast , there was Contrition , and said , God be merciful to me a sinner , there was Confession ; he went away justifi'd , there was Forgiveness : And the Thief on the Cross , we indeed suffer justly , there was Confession ; and Christ absolv'd him before he died , Luke 23.41 . This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise . Which words of Christ , might occasion that Saying of St. Austin , Confession shuts the mouth of Hell , and opens the Gate of Paradise .

3. The third Ingredient in Repentance is Conversion , or turning from sin , Iudg. 10.15 . We have sinned , there was Confession , ver . 16. They put away their strange gods , there was Conversion , and it must be an universal Turning from sin , Ezek. 18.31 . Cast away from you all your Transgressions . You would be loth God should forgive only some of your sins . Would you have God forgive all , and will not you forsake all ? He that hides one Rebel , is a Traytor to the Crown : He that lives in one known sin , is a traiterous Hypocrite , and it must not only be a Turning from sin , but a Turning unto God . Therefore 't is call'd Repentance , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Act. 20.20 . Towards God . The Heart points towards God as the Needle to the North Pole . The Prodigal did not only leave his Harlots , but did arise and go to his Father , Luke 15.17 . This Repentance is the ready way to pardon , Isa. 55.7 . Let the wicked forsake his way , and turn to the Lord , and he will abundantly pardon . A King will not pardon a Rebel , whilst he continues in open Hostility . Thus you see Repentance goes before Remission . They who never repented , can have no ground to hope that their sins are pardoned .

7. Aphorism or Position is , that sin is not forgiven , till it be repented of .

Caution , Not that Repentance doth merit the forgiveness of sin . To make Repentance satisfactory is popish , by Repentance we please God , but we do not satisfie him : Alas , Christ's Blood must wash our Tears . Repentance is a Condition , not a Cause ; God will not pardon for Repentance , nor yet without it . God Seals his pardons on melting Hearts . Repentance makes us prize pardon the more . He who cries out of his broken Bones , will the more prize the mercy of having them set again ; when there is nothing in the Soul but Clouds of Sorrow , and now God brings a pardon , ( which is a setting up a Rainbow in the Cloud , to tell the Soul the Flood of God's Wrath shall not overflow ) O what Joy , at the sight of this Rainbow ! the Soul now burns in love to God .

8. Aphorism or Position ; The greatest Sins come within the compass of Forgiveness , Incest , Sodomy , Adultery , Theft , Murder , which are Sins of the first magnitude ▪ yet these are pardonable . Paul was a Blasphemer , and so sinn'd against the first Table , a Persecutor , and so he sinn'd against the second Table ; yet he obtain'd Mercy , 1 Tim. 1.13 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I was all besprinkled with Mercy . Zacheus an Extortioner , Mary Magdalen an unchast woman , out of whom seven Devils were cast . Manasseh who made the streets run with Blood , yet had their pardon . Some of the Iews , who had a hand in Crucifying of Christ were forgiven . God blots out not only the Cloud , but the thick Cloud , Isa 44.22 . Enormities as well as Infirmities ; the King in the Parable , forgave his Debtor that owed him ten thousand Talents , Mat. 18.27 . a Talent weighed three thousand Shekels , ten thousand Talents , contain'd almost twelve Tun of Gold . This was an Emblem of God's forgiving great Sins ; Isa. 1.18 . Tho' your Sins were as Scarlet , yet they shall be as white as Snow . Scarlet in the Greek is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , twice dip'd , and the Art of Man cannot wash out the dye again . But tho' our sins are of a Scarlet-dye , God's Mercy can wash them away . The Sea can as well cover great Rocks , as little Sands . This I mention , that sinners may not despair : God counts it a Glory to him to forgive great Sins ; now Mercy and Love ride in Triumph , 1 Tim. 1.14 . The Grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it was exuberant , it did overflow as Nilus . We must not measure God by our selves . God's Mercy excels our sins , as much as Heaven doth Earth , Isa. 55.9 . If great sinners could not be forgiven , then great sinners should not be preached to , but the Gospel is to be preached to all . If they could not be forgiven , it were a dishonour to Christ's Blood , as if the wound were broader than the Plaister . God hath first made great sinners broken Vessels , he hath broken their heart for sin , and then he hath made them golden Vessels , he hath filled them with the Golden Oyl of pardoning Mercy . This may encourage great sinners to come in and repent . Indeed the sin against the Holy Ghost is unpardonable , not but that there is Mercy enough in God to forgive it , but because he who hath committed this sin , will have no pardon . He despights God , scorns his Mercy , spills the Cordial of Christ's Blood , and tramples it under foot , he puts away Salvation from him ; but else the greatest sins are pardonable . When a poor sinner looks upon himself , and sees his Guilt , and when he looks upon God's Justice and Holiness , he falls down confounded , but here is that may be as Cork to the Net , to keep him from despair , if thou wilt leave thy sins and come to Christ , Mercy can seal thy pardon .

Aphorism 9. When God pardons a sinner , he forgives all sins , Ier. 33.8 . I will pardon all their Iniquities . Col. 2.13 . Having forgiven you all Trespasses . The Mercy-Seat covered the whole Ark. The Mercy-Seat was a Type of Forgiveness , to shew that God covers all our Transgressions . He doth not leave one sin upon the score . He doth not take his Pen , and for fourscore sins write down fifty , but blots out all sin , Psal. 103.3 . Who forgiveth all thine Iniquities . When I say , God forgives all sins , I understand it of sins Past , but sins to Come are not forgiven till they are Repented of . Indeed , God hath decreed to pardon them , and when God forgives one sin , he will in time forgive all , but sins future are not actually pardon'd , till they are repented of . It is absurd to think sin should be forgiven , before it is committed .

1. If all sins past and to come are at once forgiven , then what need a man pray for the pardon of sin ? 'T is a vain thing to pray for the pardon of that which is already forgiven .

2. This opinion that sins to come ( as well as past ) are forgiven , doth take away and make void Christ's Intercession : Christ is an Advocate to interceed for daily Sins , 1 Iohn 2.1 . but if sin be forgiven before it be committed , what need is there of Christ's daily Intercession ? What need have I of an Advocate , if sin be pardoned before it be committed ? So that , God tho' he forgives all sins past to a Believer , yet sins to come are not forgiven , till Repentance be Renewed .

Aphorism 10 Faith doth necessarily antecede Forgiveness , there must be Believing on our part , before there is forgiving on God's part , Acts 10.43 . To him give all the Prophets witness , that through his Name whosoever believeth in him , shall receive remission of Sins . So that Faith is a necessary Antecedent to Forgiveness . There are two Acts of Faith , to accept Christ , and to trust in Christ , to accept of his Terms , to trust in his Merits ; and he who doth neither of these can have no Forgiveness ; he who doth not accept Christ , cannot have his Person , he that doth not trust in him , cannot have benefit by his Blood . So that without Faith , no Remission .

Aphorism 11. Tho' Justification and Sanctification are not the same , yet God never pardons a sinner , but he doth Sanctifie him , Justification and Sanctification are not the same .

1. Justification is without us , Sanctification is within us . The one is by Righteousness imputed , the other is by Righteousness imparted .

2. Justification is equal , Sanctification is gradual . Sanctification doth recipere maegis & minus , one is sanctified more than another , but one is not justified more than another . One hath more Grace than another , but he is not more a Believer than another .

3. The matter of our Justification is perfect , viz. Christ's Righteousness , but our Sanctification is imperfect , there are the spots of God's Children , Deut. 32.5 . Our Graces are mixed , our Duties are defiled . Thus Justification and Sanctification are not the same : yet , for all that , they are not separated . God never pardons and justifies a sinner , but he doth sanctifie him , 1 Cor. 6.11 . but ye are justified , but ye are sanctified . 1 Iohn 5.6 . This is he that came by Water and Blood , even Iesus Christ . Christ comes to the Soul by Blood , that denotes Remission , and by Water , that denotes Sanctification . Let no man say he is pardoned that is not made Holy . And This , I the rather urge against the Antinomians , who talk of being forgiven their sin ▪ and having a part in Christ , and yet remain unconverted , and live in the grossest sins . Pardon and Healing go together , Isa. 57.19 . I create the fruit of the lips , peace , and I will heal him . Peace is the fruit of pardon , and then it follows , I will heal him . Where God pardons he purifies . As in the Inauguration of Kings , with the Crown there is the Oyl to anoint : So when God crowns a man with Forgiveness , there he gives the anointing Oyl of Grace to sanctifie , Revel. 2.17 . I will give him a white Stone ▪ and in the Stone a new Nam● . A white Stone , that is , Absolution , and a new Name in the Stone , that is , Sanctification●

1. If God should pardon a man and not sanctifie him , this would be a Reproach to him , then he should love and be well pleased with men in their sins , which is diametrically contrary to his Holy Nature .

2. If God should pardon and not sanctifie , then he could have no Glory from us . God's people are formed to shew forth his Praise , Isa. 43.21 . but if he should pardon and not sanctifie us how could we shew forth his Praise ? how could we glorifie him ? what Glory can God have by a proud , ignorant prophane Heart ?

3. If God should pardon and not sanctifie , then that should enter into Heaven that defileth , but Revel. 21.27 . Nothing shall enter that defileth . Then God should settle the Inheritance upon men before they are fit for it , contrary to that Col. 1.12 . He hath made us meet for the Inheritance ; how is that but by the Divine Unction ? so that whoever God forgives , he Transforms . Let no man say his sins are forgiven , who doth not find an inherent Work of Holiness in his Heart .

Aphorism 12. Where God remits sin , he imputes Righteousness . This Righteousness of Christ imputed , is a Salvo to God's Law , and makes full satisfaction for the breaches of it ▪ This Righteousness procures God's favour , God cannot but love us , when he sees us in his Sons Robe , which both covers and adorns us . In this spotless Robe of Christ , we Out-shine the Angels . Theirs is but the Righteousness of Creatures , this is the Righteousness of God himself , 2 Cor. 5.21 . That we might be made the Righteousness of God in him . How great a Blessing then is Forgiveness ? With remission of sin is joyned imputation of Righteousness .

Aphorism 13. They whose sins are forgiven , must not omit praying for forgiveness . Forgive us our Trespasses . Believers who are pardoned , must be continual Suitors for pardon . When Nathan told David , The Lord hath put away thy sin , 2 Sam. 12.13 . yet David after that composed a penitential Psalm for the pardon of his sin . Sin after pardon Rebels . Sin like Sampson's Hair , tho' it be cut will grow again . We sin daily , and must as well ask for daily pardon , as for daily bread . Besides , a Christian's pardon is not so sure , but he may desire to have a clearer Evidence of it .

Aphorism 14. A full Absolution from all sin is not pronounc'd , till the day of Judgment . They day of Judgment is called a time of Refreshing , when sin shall be compleatly blotted out , Acts 3.19 . Now God blots out sin Truly , but then it shall be done in a more publick way . God will openly Pronounce the Saints Absolution before Men and Angels , their Happiness is not compleated till the day of Judgment , because then their Pardons shall be solemnly Pronounced , and there shall be the Triumphs of the heavenly Host. At that day it will be true indeed , that God sees no sin in his Children . They shall be as pure as the Angels , then the Church shall be presented without wrinkle , Eph. 5.27 . She shall be as free from Stain as Guilt , then Satan shall no more accuse , Christ will shew the Debt-book crossed in his Blood . Therefore the Church doth so pray for Christ's coming to Judgment , Rev. 22.17 . the Bride saith , Come Lord Iesus , Light the Lamps , then burn the Incense .

Vse 1. Informaet . From this word forgive , we learn , that if the debt of sin be no other way discharg'd but by being forgiven , then we cannot satisfie for it . Among other damnable Opinions of the Church of Rome , this is one , Man's power to satisfie for sin . The Councel of Trent holds , that God is satisfied by our undergoing the Penalty impos'd by the Censure of Priests . And again , we have Works of our Own , by which we may satisfie for the wrong done to God ; by these Opinions let any judge what the Popish Religion is . They intend to pay the debt they owe God themselves , to pay it in part , and do not look to have it all forgiven . But why did Christ teach us to pray , forgive us our sins , if we can of our selves satisfie God for the wrong we have done him ? This Doctrine robs God of his Glory , Christ of his Merit , and the Soul of Salvation . Alas , is not the lock cut where our Strength lay ? are not all our Works fly-blown with sin ? and can sin satisfie for sin ? this Doctrine makes men their own Saviours ; it is most absurd to hold : for can the Obedience of a finite Creature satisfie for an infinite Offence ? Sin being forgiven clearly implies we cannot satisfie for it .

2. From this word Vs , forgive us , we learn that pardon is chiefly to be sought for our selves . For , tho' we are to pray for the pardon of others , Iam. 6.16 . Pray one for another , yet in the first place we are to beg pardon for our selves . What will anothers pardon do us good ? every one is to endeavour to have his own name in the pardon . A Son may be made free by his Fathers Copy , but he cannot be pardoned by his Fathers pardon , he must have a pardon for himself . In this sence , selfi●hness is lawful , every one must be for himself , and get a pardon for his own sins . Forgive Vs.

3. From this word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , OVR , Our sins , we learn how just God is in punishing us ; the Text saith , Our Sins ; we are not punished for other mens sins , but our own . Nemo habet de proprio nisi peccatum — Augustine . There 's nothing we can call so properly ours as sin . Our daily bread we have from God , our daily sins we have from our selves . Sin is our own Act , a web of our own spinning . How righteous therefore is God in punishing of us ? we sow the seed , and God only makes us reap what we sow , Ier. 17.10 . I give every man the fruit of his own doings . When we are punished , we do but tast the fruit of our own grafting .

4. From this word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Sins , see from hence , the multitude of sins we stand guilty of ; we pray not forgive us our Sin , ( as if it were only a single debt ) but sins in the plural ; so vast is the Catalogue of our sins , that David cries out , Who can understand his Errors ? Ps. 19.12 . Our sins are like the drops in the Sea , like the atoms in the Sun , they exceed all Arithmetick . Our debts we owe to God , we can no more number , than we can satisfie . Which , as it should humble us to consider how full of black Spots our Souls are , so it should put us upon seeking after the pardon of our sins , and this brings to the second Vse .

Exhort . To labour to have the forgiveness of sin sealed up to us . How can we eat , or drink , or sleep without it ? 'T is sad dying without a pardon . This is to fall into the Labyrinth of Despair ; of this the next time .

Vse 2. Let us labour for the forgiveness of sin . If ever this was needful , then now , when the Times ring Changes , and Dangers seem to be marching towards us . Labour I say , for the Forgiveness of sin ; this is a main Branch of the Charter , or Covenant of Grace , Heb. 10.12 . I will be merciful to your Unrighteousness , and your Sins and Iniquities I will remember no more . It is Mercy to feed us , but it is rich Mercy to pardon us ; this is spun and woven out of the Bowels of Free-grace . Earthly things are no signs of God's love ; he may give the Venison , but not the Blessing , but when God seals up Forgiveness , he gives his Love and Heaven with it , Psal. 21.3 . Thou settest a Crown of pure Gold on his head . A Crown of Gold was a Mercy , but if you look into 103. Psalm , you shall find a greater Mercy , v. 3 , 4. Who forgiveth all thine Iniquities , who crowneth thee with loving-kindness . To be crowned with Forgiveness and Loving kindness , is a far greater Mercy , than to have a Crown of pure Gold set upon the Head ; it was a Mercy when Christ cured the palsy man , but when Christ said to him , Thy sins are forgiven , Mar. 2.5 . this was more than to have his palsy healed ; forgiveness of Sin is the Chief thing to be sought after , and sure if conscience be once touched with a sence of Sin , there 's nothing a man will thirst after more than forgiveness , Ps. 51.3 . My Sin is ever before me , this made David so earnest for pardon , Ps. 51.1 . Have Mercy upon me , O God , blot out my Transgressions . If one should have come to David , and asked him , David where is thy pain ? what is it troubles thee ? is it the fear of shame which shall come upon thee in thy Wives ? is it the fear of the Sword which God hath threatned shall not depart from thy House ? 2 Sam. 12.11 . he would have said ▪ No , it is only my sin pains me ; My Sin is ever before me . Were but this removed by forgiveness , tho' the Sword did ride in circuit in my Family I should be well enough content . When the Arrow of Guilt sticks in the Conscience , nothing is so desirable as to have this Arrow plucked out by forgiveness . Oh therefore seek after the Forgiveness of Sin , can you make a shift to live without it ? but how will you do to die without it ? will not death have a sting to an unpardoned Sinner ? how do you think to get to Heaven without forgiveness ? as at some solemn Festivals , there 's no being admitted unless you bring a Ticket : so unless you have this Ticket to shew , Forgiveness of Sin , there 's no being admitted into the Holy Place of Heaven . Will God ever Crown those that he will not forgive ? O be ambitious of pardoning Grace . When God had made Abraham great and large Promises , Abraham replies , Lord what is all , seeing I go Childless ? Gen. 15.2 . so when God hath given thee Riches , and all thy heart can wish , say to him , Lord , what is all this , seeing I want Forgiveness ? let my pardon be sealed in Christ's Blood . A Prisoner in the Tower is in an ill Case , notwithstanding his brave Diet , great Attendance , soft Bed to lie on ▪ because being Impeach'd , he looks every day for his Arraignment , and is afraid of the Sentence of Death . In such a Case , and worse is He , that swims in the Pleasures of the World , but his sins are not forgiven . A guilty Conscience doth impeach him , and he is in fear of being Arraign'd and Condemn'd at God's Judgment-Seat . Give not then sleep to your Eyes , or slumber to your Eye lids , till you have gotten some well-grounded hope that your sins are blotted out . Before I come to press the Exhortation to seek after forgiveness of Sin ▪ I shall propound one question .

Quest. If pardon of Sin be so absolutely necessary , without it no Salvation , what is the Reason that so few in the world seek after it ? If they want health they repair to the Physitian , if they want Riches they take a Voyage to the Indies , but if they want forgiveness of Sin , they seem to be unconcerned , and do not seek after it , whence is this ?

Answ. 1. Inadvertency or want of Consideration , they do not look into their spiritual Estate , or cast up their Accounts to see how Matters stand between God and their Souls , Isa. 1.3 . My people doth not consider , they do not consider they are indebted to God in a Debt of ten thousand Talents , and that God will ere long call them to account , Rom. 14.12 . So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God . But people shun serious Thoughts , my people doth not consider . Hence it is they do not look after pardon .

2. Men do not seek after forgiveness of Sin , for want of Conviction . Few are convinc'd what a deadly Evil Sin is , it is the spirits of Mischief distilled ▪ it turns a mans Glory into shame , it brings all plagues on the Body , and curses on the Soul . Unless a mans Sin be forgiven , there 's not the vilest creature alive , the Dog , Serpent , Toad , but is in a better Condition than the Sinner , for when they die , they go but to the Earth , but he dying without pardon , goes into Hell-Torments for ever . Men are not convinced of this , but play with the Viper of Sin .

3. Men do not seek earnestly after Forgiveness , because they are seeking other things : they seek the World immoderately . When Saul was seeking after the Asses ▪ he did not think of a Kingdom . The World is a golden Snare , Divitiae Saeculi sunt laquei Diaboli , Bern. The Wedge of Gold hinders many from seeking after a pardon . Ministers cry to the people , get your pardon sealed , but if you call to a man that is in a Mill , the noise of the Mill drowns the voice that he cannot hear ▪ so when the Mill of a Trade is going , it makes such a noise , that the people cannot hear the Minister when he lifts up his Voice like a Trumpet , and cries to them to look after the sealing of their pardon . He who spends all his time about the World , and doth not mind Forgiveness , will accuse himself of Folly at last . You would judge that Prisoner very unwise , that should spend all his time with the Cook to get his dinner ready , and should never mind getting a pardon .

4. Men seek not after the forgiveness of Sin , through a bold Presumption of Mercy , they conceit God to be made up all of Mercy , and that he will indulge them , tho' they take little or no pains to sue out their pardon . It is true , God is Merciful , but withal he is Iust , he will not wrong his Justice by shewing Mercy ; read the Proclamation , Exod. 34.6 . The Lord , the Lord God merciful , ver. 7. and that will by no means clear the guilty . Such as go on in Sin , and are so slothful or wilful that they will not seek after Forgiveness , tho there be a whole Ocean of Mercy in the Lord , not one drop shall fall to their share , he will by no means clear the guilty .

5. Men seek not earnestly after Forgiveness out of hope of Impunity , they flatter themselves in sin , and because they have been spared so long , therefore sure God never intends to reckon with them , Ps. 10.11 . He hath said in his Heart God hath forgotten , he hides his Face , he will never see it . Atheists think either the Iudge is blind , or forgetful ; but let Sinners know , that long forbearance is no forgiveness . God did bear with Sodom a long time , but at last rain'd down Fire and Brimstone upon them , the adjourning of the Assises doth not acquit the Prisoner , the longer God is taking his blow , the heavier it will be at last if sinners repent not .

6. Men do not seek earnestly after Forgiveness through Mistake ; they think getting a pardon is easie , it is but repenting at the last hour , a sigh or a Lord have Mercy , and a pardon will drop into their Mouths . But is it so easie to repent and have a pardon ? tell me O Sinner , is Regeneration easie , are there no Pangs in the new Birth ? is Mortification easie ? is it nothing to pluck out the right Eye ? is it easie to leap out of Dalilahs Lap into Abrahams Bosom ? This is the Draw-net by which the Devil drags Millions to Hell , the facility of Repenting and getting a Pardon .

7. Men do not look after Forgiveness through Despair . Oh , saith the desponding Soul , it is a vain thing for me to expect pardon , my Sins are so many and hainous , that sure God will not forgive me , Ier. 18.12 . And they said , There is no hope . My Sins are huge Mountains , and can they ever be cast into the Sea ? Despair cuts the Sinews of Endeavour , who will use means that despairs of Success ? The Devil shews some men their sins at the little end of the Perspective-Glass , and they seem little or none at all : but he shews others their Sins at the great end of the Perspective , and they fright them into Despair . This is a Soul-damning Sin , Iudas's Despair was worse than his Treason . Despair spills the Cordial of Christ's Blood , this is the Voice of Despair , Christ's Blood cannot pardon me . Thus you see whence it is that men seek no more earnestly after the forgiveness of sin . Having answered this Question , I shall now come to press the Exhortation upon every One of us to seek earnestly after the forgiveness of our Sins .

1. Our very Life lies upon the getting of a Pardon , 't is call'd the Iustification of Life , Rom. 5.18 . Now if our Life lies upon our Pardon , and we are dead and damned without it , doth it not concern us above all things to labour after forgiveness of Sin ? Deut. 32.47 . For it is not a vain thing for you , because it is your Life . If a man be under a Sentence of Death , he will set his Wits a work , and make use of all his friends to get the King to grant His pardon , because his Life lies upon it . So we are by reason of Sin , under a Sentence of Damnation , now there is one friend at Court , we may make use of to procure our Pardon , namely , the Lord Iesus . How earnest then should we be with him to be our Advocate to the Father for us , and that he would Present the Merit of his Blood to the Father , as the Price of our Pardon ?

2. There is that in Sin , may make us desire Forgiveness . Sin is the only thing that disquiets the Soul ▪ 1. Sin is a Burden , it burdens the Creation , Rom. 8.22 . it burdens the Conscience , Ps. 38.4 . A wicked man is not sensible of Sin ; he is dead in Sin , and if you lay a thousand weight upon a dead man , he feels it not . But to an awakened Conscience , there 's no such Burden as Sin , when a man seriously weighs with himself the Glory and Purity of that Majesty which Sin hath offended , the preciousness of that Soul which Sin hath polluted , the loss of that Happiness which sin hath indangered , the greatness of that Torment which Sin hath deserved , to lay all this together , sure must make sin burdensome , and should not we labour to have this Burden removed by pardoning Mercy . 2. Sin is a Debt , Mat. 6.12 . Forgive us our Debts , and every Debt we owe , God hath written down in his Book , Isa. 65.6 . Behold ▪ it is written before me , and one day God's Debt-Book will be opened , Rev. 20.12 . The Books were opened . And is not this that which may make us look after Forgiveness ? Sin being such a debt as we must eternally lie in the Prison of Hell for , if it be not discharged , shall not we be earnest with God to cross the Debt-book with the Blood of his Son ? There is no way to look God in the face with Comfort , but by having our debts either payed or pardoned .

3. There is nothing but Forgiveness can give Ease to a troubled Conscience ; there is a great difference between having the Fancy pleased and having the Conscience eased . Worldly things may please the Fancy , but not ease the Conscience . Nothing but pardon can relieve a troubled Soul , it is strange what shifts men will make for Ease when Conscience is pained , and how many false Medicines they will use before they will take the right way for a Cure . When Conscience is troubled , they will try what merry Company can do , they may perhaps drink away trouble of Conscience , perhaps they may play it away at Cards , perhaps a lent whipping will do the deed . Perhaps multitude of Business will so take up their time , that they shall have no leisure to hear the Clamours and Accusations of Conscience . But how vain are all these Attempts ! still their Wound bleeds inwardly , their Heart trembles , their Conscience roars , and they can have no peace . Whence is it ? Here is the Reason , they go not to the Mercy of God , and the Blood of Christ , for the pardon of their Sins , and hence it is they can have no ease . Suppose a man hath a Thorn in his Foot , which puts him to pain , let him anoint it , or wrap it up and keep it warm ; yet till the Thorn be pluck'd out , it akes and swells and he hath no ease . So when the Thorn of Sin is gotten into a Man's Conscience , there 's no ease till the Thorn be pull'd out , when God removes Iniquity , now the Tho●n is pluck'd out . How was Davids Heart finely quieted when Nathan the Prophet told him , t●e Lord hath put away thy Sin , 2. Sam. 12.13 . How should we therefore labour for Forgiveness ! till then we can have no ease in our Mind , nothing but a pardon seal'd in the Blood of a Redeemer can ease a wounded Spirit .

4. Forgiveness of sin is feasible , it may be obtained , Impossibility destroys Endeavour , but as Ezra 10.2 . There is hope in Israel concerning this ; the Devils are past hope , a sentence of death is passed upon them , which is irrevocable , but there is hope for us of obtaining a Pardon , Psal. 130.4 . There is Forgiveness with thee . If pardon of sin were not possible , then it were not to be pray'd for , but it hath been pray'd for , 2 Sam. 24.10 . I beseech thee , O Lord , take away mine Iniquity ; and Christ bids us pray for it , Forgive us our Trespasses . That is possible which God hath promised , but God hath promised pardon upon Repentance , Isa. 55.7 . Let the wicked forsake his way , and return to the Lord , and he will have Mercy upon him , and to our God , for he will abundantly pardon . Hebr. Ki Iarbe lisloac . He will multiply to pardon . That is possible which others have obtain'd , but others have arrived at Forgiveness , therefore it is haveable , Psal. 32.5 . Isa. 38.17 . Thou hast cast all my Sins behind thy back ; this may make us endeavour after pardon , because it is feasible , it may be had .

5. Consideration , to perswade to it , is , forgiveness of Sin is a Choice Eminent Blessing , to have the Book cancel'd and God appeas'd is worth obtaining ; which may whet our Endeavour after it . That it is a rare Transcendent Blessing , appears by three Demonstrations .

1. If we consider how this Blessing is purchased , namely , by the Lord Iesus ; there are three things in reference to Christ , which set forth the Choiceness and Pretiousness of Forgiveness .

1. No meer created Power in Heaven or Earth could expiate one Sin , or procure a Pardon ; only Jesus Christ , 1 Iohn 2.2 . He is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the propitiation for our Sins , no Merit can buy out a Pardon . Paul had as much to boast of as any man . His high Birth , his Learning , his legal Righteousness , but he disclaims all in point of Justification , and lays them under Christ's Feet to tread upon . No Angel could with all his Holiness lay down a price for the pardon of one Sin , 1 Sam. 2.25 . If a man sin against the Lord , who shall intreat for him ? What Angel durst be so bold , as to open his Mouth to God for a delinquent sinner ? Only Jesus Christ who is God-Man could deal with God's Justice and purchase Forgiveness .

2. Christ himself could not procure a Pardon but by Dying ; every Pardon is the Price of Blood . Christ's Life was a Rule of Holiness , and a Pattern of Obedience . Mat. 3.15 . He fulfilled all Righteousness . And certainly , Christ's Active Obedience was of great Value and Merit ; but here is that which raiseth the worth of Forgiveness , Christ's active Obedience had not fully procured a Pardon for us with the shedding of his Blood . Therefore our Justification is ascribe● to his Blood , Rom. 5.9 . Being justified by his Blood . Christ did bleed out our Pardon . There is much ascribed to Christ's Intercession , but his Intercession had not prevail'd with God for the forgiveness of one sin , had not he shed his Blood . 'T is worth our notice , that when Christ is described to Iohn as an Intercessor for his Church , he is represented to him in the likeness of a Lamb slain , Revel. 5.6 . To shew that Christ must die and be slain before he can be an Intercessor .

3. Christ by dying had not purchased Forgiveness for us , if he had not dyed an Execrable Death , he endured the Curse , Gal. 3.13 . All the Agonies Christ endured in his Soul , all the Torments in his Body , could not purchase a Pardon , except he had been made a Curse for us . Christ must be cursed before we could be blessed with a pardon .

2. Forgiveness of Sin is a choice Blessing , if we consider what glorious Attributes God puts forth in the pardoning of sin . 1. God puts forth infinite Power ; when Moses was pleading with God for the pardon of Israels Sin , he speaks thus , Let the Power of my Lord be great , Numb . 14.17 . Gods forgiving of Sin is a Work of as great Power , as to make Heaven and Earth . Nay , a Greater ; for when God made the World , he met with no Opposition , but when he comes to pardon , Satan opposeth , and the Heart opposeth . A Sinner is desperate , and slights , yea , defies a pardon till God by his mighty Power convinceth him of his Sin and Danger , and makes him willing to accept of a pardon . 2. God in forgiving sin puts forth infinite Mercy , Numb. 14.19 . Pardon , I beseech thee , the Iniquity of this people , according to the Greatness of thy Mercy . It is Mercy to have a Reprieve , and if there be Mercy in sparing a sinner , what Mercy then is in pardoning him ? This is the Flos lactis , the Cream of Mercy . For God to put up so many Injuries , to wipe so many debts off the score , this is infinite Favour ; forgiveness of sin is spun out of the Bowels of God's Mercy .

3. Forgiveness of sin is a choice Blessing , as it lays a Foundation for other Mercies . It is a leading Mercy . 1. It makes way for Temporal Good Things . 1. It brings Health , when Christ said to the palsy man , Thy sins are forgiven , this made way for a bodily Cure , Arise , take up thy Bed and walk , Mat. 9.6 . The pardon of his sin , made way for the healing of his Palsy . 2. It brings Prosperity , Ier. 33.8 , 9. 2. It makes way for Spiritual good Things . Forgiveness of Sin never comes alone , but hath other spiritual Blessings attending it . Whom God pardons He sanctifies , adopts , crowns . It is a voluminous Mercy , it draws the silver Link of Grace , and the golden Link of Glory after it . It is an high Act of Indulgence , God seals the sinners pardon with a Kiss . And should not we above all things seek after so great a Blessing , a forgiveness .

6. Consideration , That which may make us seek after forgiveness of sin , is God's Inclinableness to pardon , Nehem. 9.17 . Thou art a God ready to pardon . In the Hebrew it is Eloha Selicoth , a God of Pardons . We are apt to entertain wrong Conceits of God , that he is inexorable and will not forgive , Mat. 25.24 . I knew thou wert an hard man . But God is a sin pardoning God , Exod. 34.6 . The Lord , merciful and gracious , forgiving Iniquity , Transgression and Sin . Here is my Name ( saith God ) if you would know how I am called , I tell you my Name , The Lord , the Lord God merciful ; forgiving Iniquity . A Pyrat or Rebel that knows there is a Proclamation out against him , will never come in , but if he hears that the Prince is full of Clemency , and there is a Proclamation of Pardon to him if he submit , this will be a great incentive to him to lay down his Arms , and become Loyal to his Prince . See God's Proclamation to repenting Sinners , Ier. 3.12 . Go and proclaim these words and say , Return thou back-sliding Israel saith the Lord , and I will not cause my Anger to fall upon thee , for I am merciful . God's Mercy is a Tender Mercy , the Hebr. word for Mercy Rakem , signifies Bowels , God's Mercy is full of Sympathy , He is of a most sweet Indulgent Nature , Psal. 86 5. Thou Lord art Good and ready to forgive ; the Bee doth not more naturally give Hony , than God shews Mercy .

Object . 1. But doth not God seem to delight in Punitive Acts , or Acts of Severity ? Prov. 1.26 . I will laugh at your Calamity .

Resp. Who doth God say so to ? see ver. 25. Ye have set at naught all my Counsel , and would none of my Reproof . God delights in their Destruction who despise his Instruction , but an humble penitentiary breaking off sin , and suing out his Pardon , the Lord delights in shewing Mercy to such an one , Micah 7.18 . He delighteth in Mercy .

Object . 2. But tho' God be so full of Mercy and ready to forgive , yet his Mercy reacheth not to all ; he forgives only such as are Elected , and I question my Election ?

Resp. 1. No man can say he is not Elected , God hath not revealed this to any particular man that he is a Reprobate , excepting him only who hath sin'd the Sin against the Holy Ghost ; which sin thou art far enough from , who mournest for sin and seekest after Forgiveness .

2. These thoughts of Non-Election , that we are not Elected ; and that there is no pardon for us , come from Satan , and are the poison'd Arrows he shoots . He is the Accuser , he accuseth us to God , that we are great sinners ; and he accuseth God to us , as if he were a Tyrant : one that did watch to destroy his Creature . These are diabolical Suggestions ; say , Get thee behind me , Satan .

3. 'T is sinful for any to hold , that he is not Elected ; it would take him off from the Use of Means , from praying and repenting ; it would harden him and make him desperate . Therefore pry not into the Arcana Coeli , the Secrets of Heaven . Remember what befel the men of Bethshemesh , for looking into the Ark , 1 Sam. 6.19 . Know that we are not to go by Gods Secret Will , but by his Revealed Will ; look into God's Revealed Will , and there we shall find enough to cherish Hope , and Encourage us to go to God for the pardon of our sins . God hath revealed in his Word , That he is rich in Mercy , Ephes. 2.4 . That he doth not delight in the Destruction of a sinner , Ezek. 18.32 . Iurat per Essen●iam , Musculus , he swears by his Essence . Ezek. 33.11 . As I live , saith the Lord God , I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked . Hence it is God waits so long , and puts off the Sessions from time to time ▪ to see if sinners will repent and seek to him for pardon . therefore let God's tender Mercies and pretious Promises encourage us to seek to him for the forgiveness of our sins .

Consideration 7. To seek earnestly for Pardon , is the unspeakable Misery of such as want Forgiveness ; it must needs be ill with that Malefactour that wants his Pardon .

1. The unpardoned sinner ( that lives and dies so ) is under the greatest Loss and Privation . Is there any Happiness like to the injoying of God in Glory ? This is the Joy of Angels , the Crown of Saints glorified ; but the unforgiven sinner shall not behold God's smiling Face ; he shall see God as an Enemy , not as a Friend ; he shall have an affrighting sight of God , not beatifical ; he shall see the Black Rod , not the Mercy-Seat . Sins unpardoned are like the Angel with a flaming Sword , who stop'd the passage to Paradise . Sins unpardoned stop the way to the Heavenly Paradise ; and how doleful is the Condition of that Soul , which is banish'd from the place of Bliss ▪ where the King of Glory keeps his Court ?

2. The unpardoned sinner hath nothing to do with any Promise , the Promises M●lctralia Evangelii , the Breasts that hold the sincere Milk of the Word which fills the Soul with precious Sweetness , they are the Royal Charter . But wh●t hath a stranger to do to meddle with the Charter ? 'T was the Dove pluck'd the Olive-branch . 'T is only the Believer plucks the Tree of the Promise ; till the Condition of the Promise be perform'd , no man can have right to the Comfort of the Promise ; and how sad is that not to have one promise to shew for Heaven ?

3. An unpardoned sinner is continually in danger of the Out-cry of an accusing Conscience ▪ An accusing Conscience is a little Hell ; Siculi non invenere Tyranni tormentum majus ; we tremble to hear a Lyon roar . How terrible are the roarings of Conscience ? Iudas hang'd himself to quiet his Conscience ; a sinners Conscience at present is either asleep or seared , but when God shall awaken Conscience , either by Affliction or at Death ; how will the unpardoned sinner be affrighted ? When a man shall have all his sins set before his Eyes , and drawn out in their bloody Colours , and the worm of Conscience begins to gnaw ; sinner here are thy Debts , and the Book is not cancel'd , thou must to Hell ; O what a trembling at heart will the sinner have !

4. All the Curses of God stand in full force against an unpardoned sinner , his very Blessings are cursed ▪ Mal. 2.2 . I will curse your Blessings . His Table is a Snare ; he eats and drinks a Curse . What comfort could Dionisius have at his Feast , when he imagined he saw a naked Sword hanging by a twine thread over his head ? This is enough to spoil a sinners Banquet ; a Curse like a naked Sword hangs over his Head : Caesar wondred to see one of his Soldiers so merry that was in debt . One would wonder that man should be merry who is Heir to all God's Curses ; he doth not see these Curses , but is blinder than Balaams Ass , who saw the Angels Sword drawn .

5. The unpardoned sinner is in an ill case at Death . Luther profess'd there were three things which he durst not think of without Christ ; of his sins , of Death , of the Day of Judgment . Death to a Christless Soul is the King of Terrors , as the Prophet Ahijah said to Ieroboams Wife , 1 Kin. 14.6 . I am sent to thee with heavy Tidings . So death is sent to the unpardoned Soul with heavy Tidings ; 'T is God's Jaylor to arrest him ; death is a prologue to Damnation . In particular ,

1. Death is a Voyder to take away all his earthly Comforts ▪ it takes away his sugar'd Morsels ; no more drinking Wine in Bowls , no more Mirth or Musick , Revel. 18.22 . The Voice of Harpers and Musicians shall be heard no more at all in thee . The sinner shall never tast of luscious Delights more to all Eternity . His Hony shall be turned to the Gall of Asps , Iob 20.14 .

2. At Death there shall be an end put to all Reprieves . Now God reprieves a sinner ; he spares him such a fit of Sickness ; he respites him many years , the sinner should have died such a drinking bout , but God granted him a Reprieve ; he lengthened out the silver Thread of Patience to a Miracle . But the sinner dying without Repentance unpardoned , now the Lease of God's Patience is run out , and the sinner must appear in person before the Righteous God to receive his Sentence ; after which there shall be none to bail him , nor shall he hear of a Reprieve any more .

6. The unpardoned sinner dying so , must go into Damnation ; this is the second Death , Mors sine morte . The unpardoned Soul must for ever bear the Anger of a Sin-revenging-God ; as long as God is God , so long the Vial of his Wrath shall be dropping upon the damned Soul . This is an Helpless Condition ; there is a time when a sinner will not be helped . Christ and Salvation are offer'd to him , but he slights them , he will not be helped ; and there is a time shortly coming , when he cannot be helped . He calls out for Mercy , O a pardon , a pardon ; but then it is too late , the date of Mercy is expir'd ; O how sad then is it to live and die unpardoned ? You may lay a Grave-stone upon that man , and write this Epitaph upon it ; It had been good for that man , he had never been born . Now , if the misery of an unpardon'd State be so unexpressible ; how should we labour for Forgiveness , that we may not be ingulph'd in so dreadful a Labyrinth of Fire and Brimstone to all Eternity .

7. Such as are unpardon'd must needs lead uncomfortable lives ; Deut. 28.66 . Thy Life shall hang in doubt before thee , and thou shalt be in continual fears . Thus the unpardoned sinner must needs have a palpitation and trembling at Heart ; he fears every Bush he sees , 1 Ioh. 4.18 . Fear hath Torment in it , the Greek word for Torment 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , is used sometimes for Hell ; fear hath Hell in it . A man in debt fears every step he goes , lest he should be arrested : so the unpardoned sinner fears , what if this night Death which is God's Serjeant should arrest him ? Iob 7.21 . Why dost not thou pardon my Sin , for now shall I sleep in the dust ; As if Iob had said , Lord I shall shortly die , I shall sleep in the dust , and what shall I do if my sin be not pardoned ? What comfort can an unpardon'd Soul take in any thing ? Sure no more than a Prisoner can take in Meat or Musick that wants his pardon . Therefore by all these powerful Motives let us labour for the forgiveness of sin .

Object . 1. But I am discouraged from going to God for pardon , for I am unworthy of forgiveness ; what am I , that God should do such a Favour for me ?

Resp. God forgives not because we are worthy , but because he is Gracious , Exod. 34 6. The Lord , the Lord , Merciful and Gracious . God forgives out of his Clemency ; Acts of Pardon are Acts of Grace . What worthiness was there in Paul before Conversion ? He was a Blasphemer , and so he sinned against the first Table ; he was a Persecutor , and so he sinned against the second Table ; but Free-grace Sealed his Pardon , 1 Tim. 1.13 . I obtained Mercy , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . I was all bestrowed with Mercy . What Worthiness was in the Woman of Samaria ? She was Ignorant , Ioh. 4.22 . she was Unclean , ver 18. she was Morose and Churlish , she would not give Christ so much as a Cup of cold water , ver. 9. How is it that thou being a Iew , askest drink of me which am a woman of Samaria ? What worthiness was here ? Yet Christ over-looked all , and pardoned her Ingratitude ; and tho' she denied him water out of the Well , yet he gave her the Water of Life . Gratia non invenit dignos , sed facit . Free-grace doth not find us worthy , but makes us worthy . Therefore notwithstanding unworthiness , seek to God , and your sins may be pardoned .

Object . 2. But I have been a Great Sinner , and sure God will not pardon me ?

Answ. David brings it as an Argument for pardon , Psal. 25.11 . Pardon mine Iniquity , for it is great . When God forgives great Sins , now he doth a Work like himself . The desperateness of the Wound doth the more set forth the Vertue of Christ's Blood in curing it . Mary Magdalen a great sinner , out of whom seven Devils were cast ; yet she had her pardon . Some of the Iews who had an hand in Crucifying of Christ , upon their Repentance , the very Blood they shed did seal their pardon . Consider sins either for their number as the sands of the Sea , or for their weight , as the Rocks of the Sea ; yet there is Mercy enough in God to forgive them , Isa. 1.18 . Tho' your sins be as Scarlet , they shall be white as Snow . Scarlet 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies Twice dipt ; which no art of man can get out : yet God can wash out this scarlet Dye . There is no sin excepted from pardon , but that sin which despiseth pardon , viz. the sin against the Holy Ghost , Mat. 12.31 . Therefore O sinner , do not cast away thy Anchor of Hope , but go to God for forgiveness . The vast Ocean hath Bounds set to it ; but God's pardoning-Mercy is Boundless . God can as well forgive Great Sins , as less : as the Sea can as well cover great Rocks as little Sands . Nothing hinders pardon , but the sinners not asking it .

That a Great Sinner should not despair of forgiveness , consult that Scripture , Isa. 43.25 . I , even I , am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions : If you look on the foregoing words , you would wonder how this verse comes in , ver. 24. Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins , thou hast wearied me with thy Iniquities ; and then it follows , I , even I , am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions . One would have thought it should have run thus , Thou hast wearied me with thy Iniquities ; I , even I am he that will punish thy Iniquities ; but God comes in a mild , loveing strain ; Thou hast wearied me with thy Iniquities , I am he that blots out thy Iniquities . So that the greatness of our sins should not discourage us from going to God for forgiveness . Tho' thou hast committed Acts of Impiety , yet God can come with an Act of Indemnity , and say ; I , even I , am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions . God counts it his Glory to display Free-grace in its Orient Colours , Rom 5.20 . Where sin abounded , Grace did much more abound . When Sin becomes exceeding sinful , Free-grace becomes exceeding glorious . God's pardoning-Love can conquer the sinner , and triumph over the sin . Consider , thou almost-despairing Soul , there is not so much sin in man as there is Mercy in God . Man's sin in comparison of God's Mercy , is but as a spark to the Ocean , and who would doubt whether a spark could be quenched in an Ocean ?

Object . 3. But I have relapsed into the same sins , and how can I have the face to come to God for the pardon of those sins which I have more than once fallen into ?

Answ. I know the Novatians held , that after a Relapse no forgiveness by the Church . But doubtless that was an Errour , Abraham did twice equivocate ; Lot committed Incest twice ; Peter sin'd thrice by carnal Fear , but these repenting had their Absolution .

There is a two-fold Relapse , 1. a wilful Relapse , when after a man hath solemnly vowed himself to God , he falls into a league with sin , and returns back to it , Ier. 2.25 . I have loved Strangers , and after them will I go .

2. There is a Relapse through Infirmity , when the Bent and Resolution of a mans Heart is against sin , but through the Violence of Temptation , and the withdrawing of God's Grace , he is carried down the stream against his Will. Now though wilful continued Relapses are desperate , and do vastare Conscientiam ( as Tertull. ) waste the Conscience , and run men upon the Precipice of damnation ; yet if they are through Infirmity , and we mourn for them we may obtain forgiveness . A godly man doth not march after sin as his General , but is led captive by it ; and the Lord will pity a captive Prisoner . Christ commands us to forgive a trespassing Brother seventy times seven , Mat. 18.22 . If he bids us do it , much more will he forgive a relapsing Sinner in case he repent , Ier. 3.12 . Return thou back-sliding Israel , for I am merciful , saith the Lord . It is not falling once or twice into the Mire that drowns , but lying there ; it is not once relapsing into sin , but lying in sin impenitently that damns .

Object . 4. But God requires so much Sorrow and Humiliation before Remission , that I fear I shall never arrive at it .

Answ. God requires no more Humiliation than may fit a Soul for Mercy . Many a Christian thinks because he hath not fill'd God's Bottle so full of Tears as others ; therefore he is not humbled enough to receive a Pardon . But we must know , God's Dealings are Various ; all have not the like Pangs in the New-Birth . Some are won with Love , the sence of God's Mercy abused causeth ingenuous Tears to flow ; others are more flagitious and hardned , and these God deals more roughly with . This is sure , That Soul is humbled enough to receive a Pardon who is brought to a thorow Sence of sin , and sees the need of a Saviour , and loves him as the fairest of ten thousand ; therefore be not discouraged , if thy Heart be bruised for sin , and broken off from it , thy sin shall be blotted out . No sooner did Ephraim fall a weeping , but God's Bowels fell a working , Ier. 31.20 . My Bowels are troubled for him , I will surely have Mercy upon him . Having answered these Objections , let me beseech you above all things , labour for the forgiveness of sin . Think with your selves , how great a Mercy it is : It is one of the Richest Jewels in the Cabinet of the New-Covenant , Psal. 32.1 . Blessed is he whose Iniquity is forgiven ; in the Hebrew it is Ashre , Blessednesses . And think with your selves , the unparallel'd Misery of such , whose sins are not forgiven ; such as had not the Blood of the Paschal Lamb sprinkled on their Door-posts ▪ were destroy'd by the Angel , Exod. 12. So they who have not Christ's Blood sprinkled on them , to wash away the guilt of sin , will fall into the gulf of Perdition . And if you resolve to seek after forgiveness , do not delay .

Many say they will go about getting their pardon , but they procrastinate and put it off so long till it be too late ; when the shadows of the Evening are stretch'd forth , and the night of Death aproacheth ; then they begin to look after their pardon . This hath been the undoing of millions , they purpose they will look after their Souls , but they stay so long till the Lease of Mercy be run out ; Oh therefore hasten the getting of a pardon ! Think of the Vncertainty of Life . What Security have you , that you shall live another day ? Volat ambiguis mobilis alis hora , our Life is a Taper soon blown out ; 't is made up of a few flying minutes . O thou Dust and Ashes ! thou mayest fear every hour to be blown into thy Grave , and what if Death come to arrest thee before thy pardon be sealed ? Plutarch reports of one Archias , who being among his Cups , one delivered to him a Letter , and desired him to read it presently , being about serious Business , saith he , Seria cras , I will mind serious things to morrow ; and that night he was slain . Thou that sayest , To morrow I will repent . I will get my pardon , mayest suddenly be slain ; therefore to day , while it is called to day look after the forgiveness of sin ; after a while all the Conducts of Mercy will be stop'd , there will not be one drop of Christ's Blood to be had ; there is no sealing of pardons after death .

2. Branch of Exhortation , Let us labour to have the Evidence of pardon , to know that our sins are forgiven . A man may have his sins forgiven and not know it ; he may have a pardon in the Court of Heaven , when he hath it not in the Court of Conscience . David's sin was forgiven assoon as he repented , and God sent Nathan the Prophet to tell him so , 2 Sam. 12.13 . but David did not feel the comfort of it at present ; as appears by the penitential Psalm compos'd after , Psal. 51.8 . Make me to hear the Voice of Ioy , and ver. 12. Cast me not away from thy Presence . It is one thing to be pardoned , and another thing to feel it . The Evidence of pardon may not appear for a time ; and this may be .

1. From the Imbecillity and Weakness of Faith . Forgiveness of sin is so strange and infinite a Blessing , that a Christian can hardly perswade himself that God will extend such a favour to him . As it is said of the Apostles when Christ appeared to them first ; They believed not for Ioy , and wondred , Luke 24.41 . So the Soul is so stricken with Admiration , that the wonder of pardon doth almost stagger his Faith .

2. A man may be pardoned and not know it , from the Strength of Temptation : Satan accuseth the Godly of sin , and tells them that God doth not love them . What should such sinners think of pardon ? Believers are compared to bruised Re●ds , Mat. 12.20 ▪ and Temptations to Winds , Mat. 7.25 . Now , a Reed is easily shaken with the wind . Temptations shake the godly , and tho ▪ they are pardoned yet they know it not ; Iob in a Temptation thought God his Enemy , Iob 16.9 . yet then he was in a pardoned condition .

Quest. But why doth God sometimes conceal the Evidence of pardon ?

Answ. Tho' God doth pardon , yet he may withold the sence of it a while .

1. Because hereby he would lay us lower in Contrition . God would have us see what an evil and bitter thing it is to offend him ; we shall therefore lie the longer steeping our selves in the brinish Tears of Repentance before we have the sence of Pardon . It being long before Davids broken Bones were set , and his pardon sealed , the more contrite his Heart was , and this was a Sacrifice God delighted in .

2. Tho God doth forgive sin , yet he may deny the manifestation of it for a time ; to make us prize pardon , and make it sweeter to us when it comes . The difficulty of obtaining a Mercy inhanceth the Value , when we have been a long time tugging at prayer for a Pardon of Sin , and still God witholds ; but at last after many Sighs and Tears pardon comes , now we esteem it the more , and it is sweeter , — Quo longiùs defertur eò suavius laet atur , — the longer Mercy is in the Birth the more welcome will the Deliverance be .

Let me now reassume the Exhortation to labour for the Evidence and Sence of pardon . He who is pardoned and knows it not , is like one who hath an Estate befallen him , but knows it not . Our comfort consists in the knowledge of Forgiveness , Psal. 51.8 . Make me to hear the Voice of Ioy . This is a Proclaiming a Iubile in the Soul , when we are able to read our pardon ; and to the witness of Conscience God adds the witness of his Spirit ; in the mouth of these two witnesses our Joy is confirmed : O labour for this Evidence of Forgiveness .

Quest. How shall we know that our sins are forgiven ?

Answ. We must not be our own judges in this case , Prov. 28.26 . He that trusteth in his own Heart is a fool : The Heart is deceitful , Ier. 17.9 . and it is Folly to trust a Deceiver . The Lord only by his Word must be Judge in this Case , whether we are pardoned or no ; as it was under the Law , no Leper might judge himself to be clean ; But the Priest was to pronounce him clean , Levit. 13.37 . So we are not to judge of our selves to be clean from the Guilt of Sin , till we are such as the Word of God hath pronounced to be clean : How then shall we know by the Word whether our Guilt is done away , and our Sins pardoned ?

Answ. 1. The pardoned sinner is a great weeper . The sence of Gods Love melts his Heart ; that Free-grace should ever look upon me ; that such Crimson Sins should be wash'd away in Christ's Blood ! this makes the Heart melt , and the Eyes drop with Tears Never did any man read his pardon with dry Eyes , Luke 7.38 . She stood at his feet weeping , her Heart was a spiritual Limbick , out of which those Tears were distill'd , Mary's Tears were more precious to Christ than her Ointment . Her Eyes which before did sparkle with Lust , whose amorous Glances had set on fire her Lovers . Now she makes them a Fountain and washeth Christ's feet with her Tears . She was a true penitent and had her pardon , ver. 47. Wherefore I say her sins which were many are forgiven . A pardon will make the hardest Heart relent , and cause the stony Heart to bleed ; and is it thus with us , have we been dissolv'd into Tears for sin ? God seals his pardons upon melting Hearts .

2. We may know our Sins are forgiven , by having the Grace of Faith infused , Acts 10.43 . To him give all the Prophets witness , that whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins . In saving Faith there are two things , Abrenunciation and Recumbency . 1. Abrenunciation . A man renounceth all Opinion of himself , dig'd out of his own Burrough ; he is quite taken off himself , Phil. 3.9 He sees all his Duties are but broken Reeds , tho' he could weep a sea of Tears , tho' he had all the Grace of Men and Angels , it could not purchase his pardon . 2. Recumbency . Faith is an Assent with Affiance . The Soul doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it gets hold of Christ as Adonijah did of the Horns of the Altar , 1 Kin. 1.51 . Faith casts it self upon the Stream of Christ's Blood , and saith . If I perish , I perish , if we have but the Minimum quod sic , the least Dram of this pretious Faith we have something to shew for pardon . To him give all the Prophets witness that whosoever believes in him shall receive Remission of sin . This Faith is acceptable to God , it pleaseth God more than offering up ten thousand Rivers of Oyl , than working Miracles , than Martyrdom or the highest Acts of Obedience . 2. Faith is profitable to us ; it is our best Certificate to shew for pardon : No sooner doth Faith reach forth its Hand to receive Christ , but Christ sets his Hand to our Pardon .

3. Sign . The Pardoned Soul is a God-admirer ; Micah 7.18 . Who is a God like thee , that pardonest iniquity ? O that God should ever look upon me , I was a sinner , and nothing but a sinner , yet I obtain'd mercy ! Who is a God like thee ? Mercy hath been despised , yet that mercy should save me : Christ hath been Crucified by me , yet his Cross Crowns me . God hath display'd the Ensigns of Free-Grace , he hath set up his Mercy above my Sin , nay , in spight of it ; this causeth admiration ; Who is a God like thee ? A Man that goes over a narrow Bridge in the Night , and the next morning comes and sees the danger he was in ▪ and how miraculously he escaped , he is stricken with admiration : So when God shews a Soul how near he was a falling into Hell , and how that this Gulph is shut , all his sins are pardoned , he is amaz'd ; and cries out , Who is a God like thee , that pardonest iniquity ? That God should pardon one , and pass by another ; One taken , another lest ; this fills the soul with wonder and astonishment .

4. Where-ever God pardons sin , he subdues it , Micah 7.19 . He will have compassion on us , he will subdue our iniquity , Hebr. Iickbosh , sub jugo ponet : Where Mens persons are justified , their lusts are mortified . There is in sin vis Imperatoria & Damnatoria , a Commanding Power , and a Condemning . Then is the condemning power of sin taken away , when the commanding power of it is taken away . Would we know whether our sins are forgiven , are they subdued ? If a Malefactor be in prison , how shall he know that his Prince hath Pardoned him ? if the Jailor come and knock off his Chains and Fetters , and lets him out of Prison , then he may know he is Pardoned : So , How shall we know God hath pardoned us ? if the Fetters of sin be broken off , and we walk at liberty in the ways of God , Psal. 119.45 . I will walk at liberty : this is a blessed sign we are pardoned .

Such as are washed in Christ's blood from that guilt , are made Kings to God , Revel. 1.6 . as Kings they rule over their sins .

5. He whose sins are forgiven , is full of Love to God . Mary Magdalen's heart was fired with love , Luk. 7.47 . Her sins which are many are forgiven , for she loved much . Her love was not the cause of her Remission , but a sign of it . A pardoned Soul is a monument of mercy , ●nd he thinks he can never love God enough ; he wisheth he had a Coal from God's Altar to inflame his heart in love ; he wisheth he could borrow the Wings of the Cherubims that he might fly swifter in Obedience : a pardoned Soul is sick of love . He whose heart is like Marble , lock'd up in impenitency , that doth not melt in love , a sign his pardon is yet to seal .

6. Where the sin is pardoned , the nature is purified , Hos. 14.9 . I will heal their backslidings , I will love them . Every Man , by Nature , is both guilty and diseased ; where God remits the guilt , he cures the disease , Psal. 103.3 . Who forgiveth all thy Iniquities , who healeth all thy Diseases . Herein God's pardon goes beyond the King's pardon ; the King may forgive a Malefactor , but he cannot change his heart ; he may have a thievish heart still . But God , when he pardons , changeth the heart , Ezek. 36.26 . A new heart also will I give you . A pardoned Soul is adorned and embellished with holiness , 1 Joh. 5.6 . This is he that came by water and blood . Where Christ comes with Blood to justifie , he comes with Water to cleanse , Zac. 3.4 . I have caused thy iniquity to pass from thee , and I will cloath thee with change of raiment . I will cause thy iniquity to pass from thee , there is Pardoning Grace ; and I will cloath thee with change of raiment , there is Sanctifying Grace . Let not him say , he hath pardon , that wants Grace . Many tell us ▪ they hope they are pardoned , but were never sanctified ▪ Yea , but they believe in Christ : But what Faith is it ? a Swearing Faith , a Whoring Faith ? the Faith of Devils is as good .

7. Such as are in the number of God's People , forgiveness of sin belongs to them , Isa. 40.1 . Comfort ye my People , tell them their Iniquity is forgiven .

Quest. How shall we know that we are God's Elect People ?

R. By Three Characters .

1. God's people are an humble people . The livery which all Christ's people wear , is Humility , 1 Pet. 5.5 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , be ye cloathed with humility . 1. A sight of God's Glory humbles : Elijah wrapped his Face in a Mantle when God's Glory passed by , Job 42.5 . Now mine eye seeth thee , wherefore I abhor my self : The Stars vanish when the Sun appears . 2. A sight of sin humbles . In the Glass of the Word the godly see their spots , and these are humbling spots . Lo , saith the Soul , I can call nothing my own , but Sins and Wants ; this humbles . An humble Sinner is in a better condition than a proud Angel .

2. God's people are a willing people , Psal. 110.3 . Gnam nedabot , a people of willingness . Love constrains them . They serve God 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , freely , and out of choice . They stick at no service ; they will run through a Sea , and a Wilderness ; they will follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth .

3. They are an heavenly people , Stars , Joh. 17.16 . Ye are not of the World . As the Primum mobile in the Heavens hath a motion of its own , contrary to the other Orbs : So God's people have an heavenly motion of Soul , contrary to the Men of the World . They use the World as their Servant , but do not follow the World as their Master , Phil. 3.20 . Our conversation is in heaven . Such as have these Three Characters of God's people , have a good Certificate to shew that they are pardoned . Forgiveness of sin belongs to them ; Comfort my people , re●t them , their iniquity is forgiven .

8. A sign we are pardoned , if after many storms , we have a sweet calm and peace within , Rom. 5.1 . Being justified , we have peace . After many a bitter Tear shed , and Heart-breaking , the Mind hath been more sedate , and a sweet Serenity , or Still-Musick hath followed ; this brings tidings , God is appeased : Whereas before , Conscience did accuse ; now it doth secretly whisper comfort : This is a blessed Evidence a Man's sins are pardoned . If the Bailiffs do not Trouble and Arrest the Debtor , it is a sign his Debt is Compounded , or Forgiven : So , if Conscience do not Vex ▪ or Accuse , but , upon Good Grounds whisper Consolation , this is a sign the Debt is Discharged , the Sin is Fo●given .

9. A si●n sin is forgiven , when we have hearts without guile , Psal. 32.1 , 2. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven , unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity , and in whose spirit there is no guile .

Qu. What is this to be sine fuco , without Guile ?

1. He who is without guile , hath Plainness of heart : He is without collusion , he hath not cor dup●ex , a double heart : His heart is right with God . A Man may do a Right Action , but not with a Right Heart , 2 Chr. 25.2 . Amaziah did tha● which was right in the sight of the Lord , but not with a perfect heart . To have the heart right with God , is to serve God from a Right Principle , Love ; by a Right Rule , the Word ; to a Right End , the Glory of God .

2. An heart without guile dares not allow it self in the least sin : He avoids secret sins . He dares not hide any sin as Rachel did her Fathers Images under her , Gen. 31.34 . He knows God sees him , which is more than if Men and Angels did behold him . He avoids Complexion-sins , Psal. 18.23 . I was also upright before him , and kept my self from my iniquity . As in the Hive there is a Mas●er-Bee , so in the Heart there is a Master-Sin . An heart without guile takes the Sacrificing-knife of Mortification , and runs it through his Beloved-Sin .

3. An heart without guile desires to know the whole mind and will of God . An unsound heart is afraid of the Light , lucifuga . he is not willing to know his Duty : A sincere Soul saith , as Job 34.32 . What I know not teach thou me . Lord shew me what is my Duty , and wherein I offend ; let me not sin for want of light : what I know not teach thou me .

4. An heart without guile is uniform in Religion . He hath an equal eye at all God's Commands . 1. He makes Conscience of private Duties , he worships God in his Closet as well as in the Temple . Iacob , when he was alone , wrestled with the Angel , Gen. 32.3 , 4. So a Christian , when he is alone , wrestles with God in Prayer , and will not let him go till he hath blessed him . 2. He performs difficu●t duties , wherein the heart and spirit of Religion lie , and which do cross flesh and blood . His is much in self-humbling and self-examining ; Vtitur spec●lis magis quam perspicillis , Sen. He rather useth the Looking-glass of the Word to look into his own heart , than the broad Spectacles of Censure to spy the faults of others .

5. An heart without Guile is true to God's interest . 1. He grieves to see it go ill with the Church . N●h●miah , though the King's Cup-bearer , and Wine so near , yet was sad when Sion's Glory was Eclipsed , Nehem. 2.3 . Like the Tree I have read of , if any of the Leaves are cut , the rest of the Leaves begin to shrink up themselves , and for a time to hang down the head : So a sincere Soul , when God's Church suffers , feels himself as it were touched in his own Person . 2. He Rejoyceth to see the Cause of God get Ground ; To see Truth Triumph , Pie●y lift up its head , and the Flowers of Christ's Crown flourish . This is an Heart without Guile , it 's loyal and true to God's interest .

6. An heart without Guile is Iust in his dealings : As he is upright in his Words , so he is upright in his Weights . He makes Conscience of the Second Table as well as the First : He is for Equity as well as Piety , 1 Thessal. 4.6 That no Man go beyond and defraud his Brother in any matter . A sincere heart thinks he may as well Rob as Defraud . His Rule is , to do to others , what he would have them do to him , Matt. 7.12 .

7. An heart without Guile is True in his Promises . His Word is as good as his Bond : If he hath made a Promise , though it be to his prejudice , and doth intrench upon his Profit , he will not go back . The Hypocrite plays fast and loose , flies from his word ; there 's no more binding him with Oaths and Promises , than Sampson could be bound with green Withs , Iudg. 16.7 . A sincere Soul saith as Iephtha , Judg. 11.3 , 5. I have opened my mouth to the Lord , and I cannot go back .

8. An Heart without Guile is faithful in his Friendship : He is what he pretends ; his Heart goes along with his Tongue ▪ as a well-made Dial goes with the Sun . He cannot Flatter and Hate , Commend and Censure . Counterfeiting of Love is Hypocrisie . 'T is too usual to betray with a Kiss , 2 Sam. 20.9 . Ioab took Abner by the beard to kiss him , and smote him in the fifth rib that he died . Many deceive with Sugar Words . Physicians use to judge of the Health of the Body by the Tongue ; if that look well , the Body is in Health : but we cannot judge of Friendship by the Tongue ; the Words may be full of Honey , when the Heart hath the Gall of Malice . Sure his heart is not true to God , who is Treacherous to his Friend . Thus you see what an Heart without guile is ; now , to have such an Heart , is a Sign sin is pardoned ; God will not impute Sin to him in whose Spirit is no Guile . What a blessed thing is this not to have Sin imputed ? If our Sins be not imputed , 't is as if we had no Sin . Sins remitted are , as if they had not been committed : this is the blessing belongs to a sincere Soul . God imputes not Iniquity to him in whose Spirit is no Guile .

9. He whose sins are forgiven , is willing to forgive others who have offended him , Ephes. 4.32 . Forgiving one another , even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you . An Hypocrite will Read , come to Church , give Alms , build Hospitals , but cannot forgive Wrongs . He will rather want Forgiveness from God , than he will forgive his Enemies . A Pardon'd Soul argues thus ; Hath God been so good to me , to forgive me my sins , and shall not I imitate him in this ? Hath he forgiven me Pounds , and shall not I forgive Pence ? 'T is noted of Cranmer , Nihil oblivisci solet praeter injurias Cicero . He was of a forgiving Spirit , and would do Offices of Love to them that had injur'd him . Like the Sun , which having drawn up black Vapours from the Earth , returns them back in sweet Showers .

By this Touchstone we may try whether our sins are pardoned ; we need not climb up into Heaven to see whether our sins be forgiven ; but let us look into our hearts ; Are we of Forgiving Spirits ? Can we bury Injuries , requite Good for Evil , a good sign we are forgiven of God . If we can find all these things wrought in our Souls , they are happy signs that our sins are pardoned , and are good Letters Testimonials to shew for Heaven .

Vse . 3. Consolation . I shall open a Box of Cordials , and shew you some of the Glorious Priviledges of a pardoned condition . This is a peculiar favour , 't is a Spring shut up , broched for none but the Elect. The Wicked may have Forbearing Mercy , but onely an Elect Person hath Forgiving Mercy . Forgiveness of sin makes way for solid joy , Isa. 40.1 . Comfort ye , comfort ye my People saith your God , speak ye comfortably to Ierusalem ; or , as in the Hebrew , Dabberu Gnal le● ; speak to her heart — What was this must chear her heart ? tell her that her iniquity is pardoned . If any thing would comfort her , the Lord knew it was this . When Christ would chear the Palsie Man , Matt. 9.2 . Son , be of good chear ▪ thy sins be forgiven thee . It was a greater comfort to have his sins forgiven , than to have his Palsie healed . This made David put on his best clothes , and anoint himself , 2 Sam. 12.20 . It was strange , his Child was newly dead , and God had told him , the sword should not depart from his house : yet now he spruceth up himself , he puts on his best Clothes , and Anoints himself ; Whence was this ? David had heard good News ; God sent him his Pardon by Nathan the Prophet , 2 Sam. 12.13 . The Lord hath put away thy sin . This could not but revive his heart , and in token of joy he Anoints himself . Philo saith , it was an opinion of some of the Philosophers , that among the Heavenly Sphears , there is such a sweet Harmonious Melody , that if the sound of it could reach our ears , it would affect us with wonder and delight . Sure he who is pardoned hath such a Divine Melody in his Soul , as doth replenish him with infinite delight . When Christ had said to Mary Magdalen , Thy sins are forgiven ; he presently adds , Go in peace ▪ Luk. 7.50 . More particularly .

1. Comfort . God looks upon a pardoned Soul , as if he had never sinned . As the Cancelling a Bond nulls the Bond , and makes it as if the Money had never been owing . Forgiving sin makes it not to be : where Sin is Remitted , it is as if it had not been Committed , Jerem. 50.20 . So that , as Rachel wept because her children were not ; so a Child of God may rejoice because his sins are not . God looks upon him as if he had never offended . Though sin remain in him after pardon , yet God doth not look upon him as a Sinner , but as a Just Man .

2. Comfort . God having pardoned sin , will pass an Act of Oblivion , Jer. 31.34 . I will forgive their Iniquity , and I 'll remember their sin no more . When a Creditor hath crossed the Book , he doth not call for the Debt again . God will not reckon with the Sinner in a Iudicial way . When our sins are laid upon the head of Christ our Scape-goat , they are carried into a Land of forgetfulness .

3. Comfort . The pardoned soul is for ever secured from the wrath of God . How terrible is God's wrath ? Psal. 90.11 . Who knows the power of thine anger ? If a spark of God's Wrath , when it lights into a Mans Conscience , fills it with such horror , ( as in the case of Spira ) then what is it to be always scorching in that Torrid Zone , to lie upon Beds of Flames ? Now , from this avenging Wrath of God every pardoned Soul is freed : Though he may tast of the bitter Cup of Affliction ▪ yet he shall never drink of the Sea of God's Wrath , Rom. 5.9 . Being justified by his blood , we shall be saved from wrath through him . Christ's blood quencheth the flames of Hell .

4. Comfort . Sin being pardoned , Conscience hath no more authority to accuse . Conscience roars against the Unpardoned Sinner , but it hath nothing to do to Terrifie or Accuse him that is pardoned . God hath discharged the sinner , and if the Creditor discharge the Debtor , what hath the Sergeant to do to Arrest him ? The truth is , if God Absolve ▪ Conscience , if rightly informed , Absolves . If once God saith , Thy sins are pardoned : Conscience saith , Go in peace . If the Sky be clear , and no storms blow there , then the Sea is calm . If all be clear above , and God shine with pardoning Mercy upon the Soul , then Conscience is calm and serene .

5. Comfort . Nothing that befals a pardoned Soul , shall hurt him , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Psal. 90.10 No evil shall touch thee : That is , no destructive evil . Every thing to a wicked Man is hurtful . Good things are for his hurt . His very blessings are turned into a curse , Mal. 2.2 . I will curse your blessings . Riches and Prosperity do him hurt . They are not m●nera , but insidiae , Sen. Golden snares , Eccles. 5.13 . Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt . Like Haman's Banquet , which did usher in his Funeral . Ordinances do a sinner hurt ; they are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Savour of Death , 2 Cor. 2.16 . Cordials themselves kill . The best things hurt the wicked ; but the worst things which befal a pardoned Soul , shall do him no hurt : the Sting , the Poison , the Curse is gone . His Soul is no more hurt , than David hurt Saul , when he cut off the Lap of his Garment .

6. To a pardoned Soul , every thing hath a Commission to do him Good . Afflictions shall do him good ; Poverty , Reproach , Persecution , Gen. 50.20 . Ye thought evil against me , but God meant it unto good . As the Elements , though of contrary qualities , yet God hath so tempered them , that they work for the good of the Universe : So the most cross Providences shall work for good to a pardoned Soul . Correction shall be a Corrosive , to eat out sin ; it shall cure the swelling of Pride , the Feaver of Lust , the Dropsie of Avarice : it shall be a Refining Fire to purifie Grace , and make it sparkle as Gold ; ( 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . ) Chrisostom . Every cross-Providence to a pardon'd Soul , shall be like Paul's Euroclidon , or cross-wind , Acts 27. which , though it broke the Ship , yet Paul was brought to shore upon the broken pieces .

7. A pardoned Soul is not onely exempted from Wrath , but invested with Dignity ; as Ioseph , was not onely freed from Prison , but advanced to be Second Man in the Kingdom .

A Pardon'd Soul is made a Favourite of Heaven . A King may pardon a Traitor , but will not make him one of his Privy-Council : but whom God Pardons he receives into Favour . I may say to him , as the Angel to V. Mary , Luk. 1.30 . Thou hast found favour with God . Hence such as are forgiven are said to be Crowned with Loving-kindness , Psal. 103.3 , 4. Whom God pardons he Crowns . Whom God Absolves he marries himself to , Jer. 3.12 . I am merciful , and I will not keep anger for ever ; there is Forgiveness : and , in the 14th Verse , I am Married to you : and he who is Match'd into the Crown of Heaven , is as rich as the Angels , as rich as Heaven can make him .

8. Sin being pardon'd , we may come with humble boldness to God in Prayer . Guilt makes us afraid to go to God . Adam having sinn'd , Gen. 3.10 . I was afraid and hid my self . Guilt clips the wings of Prayer , it fills the Face with blushing ; but Forgiveness breeds confidence : we may look upon God as a Father of Mercy , holding forth a Golden Scepter : he that hath got his pardon can look upon his Prince with comfort .

9. Forgiveness of Sin makes our Services acceptable . God takes all we do in good part . A guilty person , nothing he doth pleaseth God . His Prayer is turned into sin ; but when sin is pardoned , now God accepts our offering . We read of Ioshua standing before the Angel of the Lord . * Ioshua was clothed with filthy garments , Zach. 3.3 . that is , he was guilty of divers sins : now , saith the Lord , Vers. 4. Take away his filthy Garments , I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee : and then he stood and Ministred before the Lord , and his Services were accepted .

10. Forgiveness of sin is the Sawce which sweetens all the comforts of this life . As guilt imbitters our comforts , it puts Wormwood into our Cup ; so pardon of Sin sweetens all , it is like Sugar to Wine . Health and Pardon , Estate and Pardon relisheth well . Pardon of sin gives a Sanctified Title , and a delicious tast to every comfort . As Naaman said to Gehazi , 2 King . 5.23 . Take two Talents : So saith God to the Pardoned Soul , Take two Talents ; take the Venison , and take a Blessing with it ; Take the Oil in the Cruse , and take my Love with it . Take two Talents . 'T is observable Christ joins these two together , Give us our daily bread , and forgive us our trespasses : as if Christ would teach us , there is little comfort in daily bread , unless sin be forgiven . Forgiveness doth perfume and drop sweetness into every earthly enjoyment .

11. If sin be forgiven , God will never upbraid us with our former sins . When the Pro●igal came home to his Father , the Father received him into his loving embraces , and never mentioned his former Luxury , or spending his Estate among Harlots : So God will not upbraid us with former sins ; nay , he will intirely love us , we shall be his Jewels , and he will put us in his bosom . Mary Magdalen , a pardoned Penitent , after Christ arose , he appeared first to her , Mark 16.9 . So far was Christ from upbraiding her , that he brings her the first New of his Resurrection .

12. Sin being pardoned , is a pillar of support in the loss of dear Friends . God hath taken away thy Child , thy Husband , but withal he hath taken away thy sins . He hath given thee more than he hath taken away : He hath taken a-away a Flower , and given thee a Jewel . He hath given thee Christ , and the Spirit , and the earnest of Glory . He hath given thee more than he hath taken away .

13. Where God Pardons Sins he bestows righteousness . With Remission of sin goes Imputation of Righteousness , Isa. 61.10 . I will greatly rejoice in the Lord , he hath covered me with the Robe of Righteousness . If a Christian can take any comfort in his Inherent Righteousness , which is so stain'd and mix'd with sin , O then what comfort may he take in Christ's Righteousness , which is a better Righteousness than that of Adam ? Adam's Righteousness was Mutable ; but suppose it had been Vnchangeable , yet it was but the Righteousness of a Man : but that Righteousness which is Imputed , is the Righteousness of him who is God , 2 Cor. 5.21 . That we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him . O blessed priviledge , to be reputed in the sight of God Righteous as Christ , having his Embroidered Robe put upon the Soul . This is the comfort of every one that is pardoned , he hath a Perfect Righteousness ; and now God saith of him , Thou art all fair , my Love , and there is no spot in thee , Cant. 4.7 .

14. A pardon'd Soul needs not fear death . He may look on Death with Joy , who can look on Forgiveness with Faith . To a pardoned Soul death hath lost his Sting . Death to a pardon'd sinner is like the Arresting a Man after the Debt is paid . Death may Arrest , but Christ will shew the Debt-book Crossed in his Blood . A pardoned Soul may Triumph over Death , O Death where is thy Sting , O Grave where is thy Victory ! He who is pardon'd needs not fear death ; it is not a Destruction but a Deliverance : It is to him a day of Iubilee , or Release , it releaseth him from all his sins . Death comes to a pardoned Soul , as the Angel did to Peter , it smote him , and beat off his Chains , and carried him out of Prison : So doth Death to him who is pardon'd , it smites his Body , and the Chains of Sin fall off . Death gives a pardon'd Soul a Quietus Est ; it frees him from all his Labours , Revel. 14.13 . Faelix transitus à labore ad Requiem * * Bern. . Death , as it will wipe off our Tears , so it will wipe off our Sweat . Death will do a pardon'd Christian the greatest good turn , therefore it is made a part of the Inventory , 1 Cor. 3.22 . Death is yours . Death is like the Waggon which was sent for old Iacob , it came ratling with its Wheels , but it was to carry Iacob to his Son Ioseph : So the Wheels of Death's Chariot may rattle , and make a noise , but they are to carry a Believer to Christ . While a Believer is here , he is absent from the Lord , 2 Cor. 5.6 . He lives far from Court , and cannot see him whom his Soul loves : But Death gives him a sight of the King of Glory , in whose presence is fulness of Ioy ▪ To a pardoned Soul , Death is Transitus ad regnum ; it removes him to the place of Bliss , where he shall hear the Triumphs and Anthems of Praise Sung in the Quire of Angels . No cause hath a pardoned Soul to fear Death . What needs he fear to have his Body buried in the Earth , who hath his Sins buried in Christ's Wounds ? What hurt can Death do to him ? It is but his Ferry-man , to Ferry him over to the Land of Promise . The day of Death to a pardon'd Soul is his Ascension day to Heaven , his Coronation-day when he shall be Crown'd with those delights of Paradice which are unspeakable and full of glory . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 Chrysost. Thus you see the the rich Consolations which belong to a pardoned sinner . Well might David proclaim him blessed , Psal. 32.1 . Blessed is he whose iniquity is forgiven : In the Hebrew it is in the plural , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Blessednesses . Here is a Plurality of Blessings . Forgiveness of sin is like the first link of a Chain , which draws all the links after it ; it draws these 14 Priviledges after it : It Crowns with Grace and Glory . Who then would not labour to have his sins forgiven ? Blessed is he whose Iniquity is forgiven , whose sin is covered .

Now followeth the Duties of such as have their sins forgiven . — Mercy calls for Duty . Be much in Praise and Doxology , Psal. 103.

1. Bless the Lord , O my Soul , who forgiveth all thy Iniquities . Hath God Crowned you with pardoning Mercy ? set the Crown of your Praise upon the head of Free Grace . Pardon of sin is a Discriminating Mercy , a Jewel hung onely upon the Elect ; this calls for Acclamations of Praise . You will give thanks for daily bread , and will you not much more for Pardon ? You will give thanks for deliverance from Sickness , and will you not for deliverance from Hell ? God hath done more for you in forgiving your sin , than if he had given you a Kingdom : And , that you may be more thankful , do but set the Unpardoned condition b●fore your eyes . How sad is it to want a pardon ? all the Curses of the Law stand in full force against such an one . The Unpardoned Sinner dying ▪ he drops into the Grave and Hell both at once . He must quarter among the Damned ; and will not this make you Thankful , that this is not your condition , but that you are delivered from wrath to come ?

2. Let God's pardoning love inflame your hearts with love to God . For God to pardon freely , without any desert of yours , to pardon so many offences , that he should pardon you and pass by others ; that he should take you out of the ruines of Mankind , and of a clod of dust and sin make you a Jewel sparkling with Heavenly Glory ; Will not this make you love God much ? Three Prisoners that deserve to die , if the King pardon one of these , and leave the other two to the severity of the Law , will not he that is pardoned love his Prince , who hath been so full of Clemency ? How should your hearts be indeared in love to God ? The Schoolmen distinguish of a Two-fold Love , Amor gratuitus , a Love of Bounty ; that is , God's Love to us in Forgiving : and Amor debitus , a Love of Duty ; that is , our Love to God by way of Retaliation . We should shew our love , by admiring God , by sweetly solacing our selves in him , and binding our selves to him in a perpetual Covenant .

3. Let the Sence of God's Love in forgiving , make you more Cautious and Fearful of sin for the future , Psal. 130.4 . There is forgiveness with thee that thou maist be feared . O fear to offend this God who hath been so gracious to you in forgiving . If a Friend hath done a kindness for us , we will not disoblige him , or abuse his Love . After Nathan had told David , The Lord hath put away thy sin : How tender was David's Conscience ? How fearful was he of staining his Soul with the guilt of more blood ? Psal. 51.14 . Deliver me from Blood-guiltiness O God . Men committing gross sin after pardon , God changeth his carriage towards them , he turns his Smile into a ●rown ; they lie , as Ionah , in the belly of hell ; God's Wrath falls into their Conscience , as a drop of scalding Lead into the Eye : the Promises are as a Fountain sealed , not a drop of comfort comes from them . O Christians , do you not remember what it cost you before to get your pardon ? How long it was before your broken bones were set ; And will you again venture to sin ? You may be in such a condition , that you may question whether you belong to God or no ; though God doth not Damn you , he may send you to Hell in this Life .

4. If God hath given you good hope that you are pardoned , walk chearfully , Rom. 5.11 . We joy in God , through our Lord Iesus Christ , by whom we have received the Atonement . Who should rejoice if not he that hath his pardon ? God rejoiceth when he shews us Mercy ; And should not we rejoice when we receive Mercy ? In the saddest times a pardoned Soul may rejoice . Afflictions have a Commission to do him good ; every cross-wind of Providence shall blow him nearer to the Haven of Glory . Christian , God hath pull'd off your Prison-fetters , and Cloth'd you with the Robe of Righteousness , and Crown'd you with Loving-kindness , and yet art thou sad ? Rom. 5.2 . We rejoice in hope of the Glory of God . Can the Wicked rejoice who have onely a short Reprieve from Hell , and not they who have a full Pardon sealed ?

5. Hath God pardoned you ? Do all the Service you can for God . 1 Cor. 15.58 . Always abounding in the work of the Lord . Let your head study for God , let your hands work for him , let your Tongue be the Organ of his Praise . Paul got his pardon , 1 Tim. 1.16 . I obtained Mercy : and this was as Oyl to the Wheels , it made him move faster in obedience , 1 Cor. 15.10 . I laboured , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , more abundantly than they all . Paul 's obedience did not move slow as the Sun on the Dial , but swiftly , as the Sun in the Firmament . He did spend , and was spent for Christ . The pardoned Soul thinks he can never love God enough , or serve him enough .

The last thing is , to lay down some Rules or Directions , how we may obtain forgiveness of Sin .

1. We must take heed of Mistakes about pardon of Sin .

1. Mistake , That our sins are pardoned , when they are not .

Q. Whence is this Mistake ?

R. From Two Grounds .

1. Because God is Merciful .

Answ. God's being Merciful shews , that a Man's sins are pardonable ; but there is a great deal of difference between sins pardonable , and sins pardoned . Thy sins may be pardonable yet not pardoned . Though God be merciful , yet who is God's Mercy for ? not for the Presuming sinner , but the Repenting sinner . Such as go on in sin , cannot lay claim to it . God's Mercy is like the Ark , none but the Priests might touch the Ark : none but such as are Spiritual Priests , Sacrificing their sins , may touch this Ark of God's Mercy .

2. Because Christ died for their sins , therefore they are forgiven .

Answ. That Christ died for Remission of sin , is true ; but that therefore all have Remission , is false : The Iudas should be forgiven . Remission is limited to Believers , Act. 13.39 . By him all that believe are justified ; but all do not believe . Some slight , and trample Christ's blood under foot , Heb. 10.29 . So that notwithstanding Christ's Death , all are not pardoned . Take heed of this dangerous mistake . Who will seek after pardon , that thinks he hath it already ?

2. Mistake . That pardon is easie to be had ; it is but a sigh , or , Lord have Mercy : But , How dearly hath pardon cost them who have obtained it ? How long was it ere David's broken bones were set ? Happy we , if we have the pardon of sin sealed , though at the very last hour : But , Why do Men think pardon of sin so easie to be obtained ? their sins are but small , therefore Venial . The Devil holds the small end of the Perspective-glass before their eyes . But , First , There is no sin small , being against a Deity : Why is he punished with death , that Clips the King's Coin , or defaceth his Statue , but because it is an abuse offered to the Person of the King . Secondly , Little sins , when multiplied , become great . A little sum , when multiplied , comes to Millions . What is less than a grain of Sand , but when the Sand is multiplied , what heavier ? Thirdly , Thy sins cost no small price . View thy sins in the Glass of Christ's Sufferings : Christ did vail his Glory , lose his Joy , and pour out his Soul an Offering for the least sin . Fourthly , Little sins , unrepented of , will damn thee as well as greater . Not onely great Rivers fall into the Sea , but little Brooks : Not onely greater sins carry Men to Hell , but lesser ; therefore do not think pardon easie , because sin is small ; beware of mistakes .

2. The Second Means for Pardon of sin , is , see your selves guilty . Come to God as Condemned Men , 1 King . 20.32 . They put Ropes upon their heads , and came to the King of Israel : Let us come to God in profound Humility : Say not thus , Lord , my heart is good , and my life blameless , God hates this . Lie in the dust , be covered with sackcloth ; say as the Centurion , Mat. 8.8 Lord , I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof : I deserve not the least smile from Heaven . This is the way for pardon .

3. The Third Means for pardon is hearty Confession of sin , Psal. 32.5 . I confessed my sin , and thou forgavest me . Would we have God cover our sins , we must discover them , 1 Joh. 1.9 . If we confess our sins , he is just to forgive them . One would have thought it should have ●un thus ; If we confess our sins , he is merciful to forgive them ; nay , but he is just to forgive them . Why Just ? because he hath bound himself by promise to forgive an humble Confessor of sin . Cum accusat , excusat , Tertull. When we accuse our selves , God absolves us . We are apt to hide our sins , Iob 31.33 . which is as great a folly as for one to hide his disease from the Physitian : But when we open our sins to God by Confessing , he opens his Mercy to us by Forgiving .

4. Means , for pardon , sound Repentance : Repentance and Remission are put together , Luk. 24 47. There is a Promise of a Fountain Opened for the washing away the guilt of sin , Zach. 13.1 . But see what goes before , Zac. 12.10 . They shall look upon me whom they have pierced , and shall mourn for him , Isa. 1.16 . Wash ye , make ye clean ; that is , wash in the waters of Repentance ; and then follows a promise of Forgiveness . Though your sins be as scarlet , they shall be white as snow . 'T is easie to turn white into scarlet , but not so easie to turn scarlet into white ; yet , upon Repentance , God hath promised to make the scarlet-sinner of a Milk-like whiteness .

Caut ▪ Not that Repentance merits pardon ; but it prepares for it . We set our Seal on the Wax when it melts : God seals his pardons on melting hearts .

5. Means , Faith in the blood of Christ . It 's Christ's blood washeth away sin , Rev. 1.6 . but this blood will not wash away sin unless it be apply'd by Faith . The Apostle speaks of the Sprinkling of the blood of Christ , 1 Pet. 1.2 . Many are not pardoned , though Christ's blood be shed ▪ because it is not sprinkled : Now it is Faith that sprinkles Christ's blood on the Soul , for the Remission of sin . As Thomas put his hands into Christ's sides , Ioh. 20 27. So Faith puts its hand into Christ's wounds , and takes of the blood and sprinkles it upon the Conscience , for the washing away of guilt . Hence in Scripture we are said to obtain pardon through Faith , Act. 13.39 . By him all that believe are justified . Luk. 7.48 . Thy sins are forgiven . Whence was this ? Vers. 50. Thy faith hath saved thee . O let us labour for Faith : Christ is a Propitiation or Atonement , to take away sin , But how ? through Faith in his blood , Rom 3.25 .

6. Means , Pray much for Pardon , Hos. 14.2 . Take away all iniquity , Luk. 18.13 . The Publican smote upon his breast , saying , God be me merciful to me a sinner : and the Text saith , he went away justified . Many pray for Health , Riches , Children ; but Christ hath taught us what to pray for chiefly , remitte nobis debita nostra ; Forgive us our sins . And be earnest Suitors for pardon : Consider , what guilt of sin is ; it binds one over to the Wrath of God : Better thy House were haunted with Devils , than thy Soul with guilt . He who is in the bond of iniquity , must needs be in the Gall of bitterness , Acts 8.23 . A guilty Soul wears Cain's Mark , which was a Trembling at Heart , and a Sha●●ng in his Flesh. Guilt makes the sinner afraid , lest every Trouble he meets with should Arrest him , and bring him to Judgment . If guilt be so dismal , and breeds such Convulsion fits in the Conscience , How earnest should we be in Prayer , that God would remove this guilt , and so earnest , as to Resolve to take no denial ? Plead hard with God for Pardon , as a Man would plead with a Judge for his Life : Fall upon thy Knees , say , Lord , hear one word . Why may God say , What canst thou say for thy self that thou shouldst not dye ? Lord , I can say but little , but I put in my surety , Christ shall answer for me , O look upon that blood which speaks better things than the blood of Abel ; Christ is my Priest , his Blood is my Sacrifice , his Divine Nature is my Altar . As Rahab was to shew the Scarlet thread in the Window , and when Ioshua saw it , he did not destroy her , Iosh. 2.18.21 . Iosh. 6.22 , 23. So shew the Lord the Scarlet thread of Christs Blood , and that is the way to have mercy . But , will God say , why should I pardon thee , thou hast no ways obliged me ? but , Lord , pardon me because thou hast promised it ; I urge thy Covenant ; when a Man is to dye by the Law , he calls for his Book ; so say , Lord , let me have the benefit of my Book ; thy Word saith , if the sinner forsake his evil way , thou wilt pardon abundantly , Isa. 55.7 . Lord , I have forsaken my sin , let me therefore have mercy , I plead the benefit of the Book . But , for whose sake should I pardon , thou canst not deserve it ? Lord , for thy own name sake , thou hast said thou wilt blot out sin , for thy own name sake , Isa. 43.25 . 'T will be no Eclipsing to thy Crown ; how will thy mercy shine forth , and all thy other Attributes ride in triumph , if thou shalt pardon me ? Thus plead with God in Prayer , and resolve not to give him over till thy pardon be sealed . God cannot deny importunity . He delights in Mercy , as the Mother , saith Chrysostom , delights to have her Breast milked : so God delights to Milk out the Breast of Mercy to the sinner , these means being used will procure this great blessedness , the Forgiveness of Sin . Thus I have done with the first part of this fifth Petition , Forgive us our Sins , I come next to the second part of the Petition , as we forgive our Debtors .

Mat. 6.12 .

As we forgive our Debtors , or , as we forgive them that trespass against us .

I proceed to the second part of the Petition . As we forgive them that trespass against us .

As we forgive ] This word As , is not a note of Equality , but Similitude ; not that we equal God in forgiving , but imitate him .

This great Duty of forgiving others , is a crossing the stream , 't is contrary to flesh and blood . Men forget kindnesses , but remember injuries . But it is an indispensable duty to forgive , we are not bound to trust an Enemy , but we are bound to forgive him . We are naturally prone to revenge . Revenge ( saith Homer ) is sweet as dropping Honey . The Heathen Philosophers held revenge lawful . Vlcisci te lacessitus potes . Cicero . But we learn better things out of the Oracles of Scripture , Mar. 11.25 . when ye stand praying , forgive , Mat. 5.44 . Col. 3.13 . If a Man have a quarrel against any , even as Christ forgave you , so also do ye .

Quest. 1. How can we forgive others when it is only God forgives sin ?

Answ. In every breach of the second Table , there are two things ; an offence against God , and a trespass against Man : so far as it is an offence against God , only he can forgive , but so far as it is a trespass against Man , so we may forgive .

Quest. 2. When do we forgive others ?

Answ. When we strive against all thoughts of revenge , if it be in our power to do our enemies mischief we will not , we wish well to them , grieve at their Calamities , we pray for them , we seek reconciliation with them , we shew our selves ready on all occasions to relieve them , this is Gospel forgiving .

Object . 1. But I have been much injur'd and abused , and to put it up , will be a stain to my reputation .

Answ. 1. To pass by an injury without revenge is no eclipsing ones credit ; the Scripture saith , Prov. 19.11 . It is the glory of a man to pass over a transgression . 'T is more honour to bury an injury than revenge it ; wrathfulness denotes weakness , a noble Heroick Spirit overlooks a petty offence .

2. Suppose a Mans Credit should be impaired with those whose censure is not to be valued , yet consider the folly of challenging another to a Duel ; 't is little Wisdom for a Man to redeem his Credit by losing his Life , and to run into Hell to be counted valorous .

Object . 2. But the wrong he hath done me is great .

Answ. But thy not forgiving him is a greater wrong , he in injuring thee hath offended against a Man , but thou in not forgiving him offendest against God .

Object . 3. But if I forgive one injury I shall occasion more ?

Answ. If the more injuries thou forgivest the more thou meetest with , this will make thy Grace shine the more ; often forgiving will add more to the weight of his sin , and to the weight of thy glory . If any shall say , I strive to excel in other Graces , but as for this of forgiving , I cannot do it , I desire in this to be excused . What dost thou talk of other Graces ? the Graces are inter se connexae , link'd and chain'd together , where there is one there is all , he that cannot Forgive , his Grace is Counterfeit , his Faith is Fancy , his Devotion is Hypocrisie .

Quest. 3. But suppose another hath wronged me in my Estate , may not I go to Law for my Debt ?

Answ. Yes , else what use were there of Law Courts . God hath set judges to decide cases in Law , and to give every one his right . It is with going to Law , as it is with going to War , when the just rights of a Nation are Invaded , here i● is lawful to go to War . So when a Mans Estate is trespass'd upon by another , he may go to law to recover it . But the Law must be used in the last place , when no entreaties or arbitrations will prevail , then the Chancery must decide it . Yet this is no revenge , it is not so much to injure another as to right ones self , this may be , yet one may live in Charity .

USE . 1. Here is a Bill of inditement against such as study revenge , and cannot put up the least discourtesie . They would have God forgive them , but they will not forgive others , they will Pray , come to Church , give Alms , but as Christ said , Mark 10.21 . Yet lackest thou One Thing , they lack a forgiving Spirit , they will rather want forgiveness from God , than they will forgive their Brother . How sad is it that for every slight wrong , or disgraceful word , men should let malice boil in their Hearts . Would there be so many Duels , Arrests , Murders , if Men had the art of forgiving . Revenge is the proper sin of the Devil ; he is no Drunkard , or Adulterer , but this old Serpent is full of the Poison of Malice ; and what shall we say to them who make profession of Religion . yet instead of forgiving pursue others despightfully ; it was Prophesied the Wolf should dw●ll with the Lamb , Isa. 11.6 . but what shall we say when such as profess to be Lambs become Wolves ? These open the mouths of the prophane against Religion , they will say , these are as full of rancour as any . O whither is Love and Mercy fled ? if the Son of Man did come should he find Charity on the Earth ? I fear but a little . Such as cherish Anger and Malice in their Hearts , and will not Forgive , how can they pray , Forgive us as we forgive others ? either they must omit this Petition , ( as Chrysostom saith some did in his Time ) or else they pray against themselves .

Vse . 2. Let it persuade us all as ever we hope for Salvation , to pass by petty injuries and discourtesies , and labour to be of forgiving Spirits , Col. 3.13 . Forbearing one another , and forgiving one another .

1. Herein we resemble God . He is ready to forgive , Psal. 86.5 . He befriends His Enemies : He opens his Hands to relieve them who open their Mouths against Him . 'T was Adams Pride to go to resemble God in omnisciency . But here it is lawful to resemble God in Forgiving Enemies . This is a God-like disposition , and what is Godliness but God-likeness ?

2. To forgive is one of the highest evidences of Grace . When Grace comes into the Heart , it makes a man as Caleb , of another Spirit , Numb. 14.24 . It makes a great Metamorphosis , it sweetens the Heart , and fills it with Love and Candour . When a Siene is grafted into a Stock , it partakes of the Nature , and Sap of the Tree , and brings forth the same fruit . Take a Crab , graft it into a Pepin , it brings forth the same fruit as the Pepin . So he who was once of a sour crabby disposition , given to revenge , when he is once ingrafted into Christ , he partakes of the Sap of this Heavenly Olive , and bears sweet and generous fruit , he is Full of Love to his Enemies , and requites Good for Evil. As the Sun draws up many thick noxious Vapours from the Earth , and returns them in sweet showers : so a gracious Heart returns the unkindnesses of others , with the sweet influences of love and mercifulness , Psal. 35.13 . They rewarded me Evil for Good ; but as for me ; , when they were sick , my clothing was Sackcloth : I humbled my Soul with Fasting . This is a good Certificate to shew for Heaven .

3. The blessed example of our Lord Jesus , He was of a Forgiving Spirit , His Enemies reviled him , but he did pitty them . Their words were more bitter than the Gall and Vinegar they gave him , but Christs words were smoother than Oil. They spat upon him , Peirced him with the Spear and Nails , but he prayed for them , Father forgive them , he wept over his Enemies , he shed tears for them that shed his Blood ; never such a pattern of amazing kindness . Christ bids us learn of him , Mat. 11.29 . he doth not bid us learn of him to work Miracles , but he would have us learn of him to forgive our Enemies . If we do not imitate Christs Life , we cannot be saved by his Death .

4. The danger of an implacable unforgiving Spirit . It hinders the efficacy of Ordinances . It is like an obstruction in the Body which keeps it from thriving . A revengeful Spirit poisons our Sacrifice : our prayers are turned into sin ; will God receive prayer mingled with this strange Fire ? Our coming to the Sacrament is sin . We come not in charity : so that ordinances are turn'd into sin . It were sad if all the Meat one did eat should turn to Poison . Malice poisons the Sacramental Cup , men Eat and Drink their own Damnation , Iudas came to the Passover in malice , and after the Sop Satan entred , Iohn 13.27 .

5. God hath tyed his Mercy to this condition , if we do not forgive neither will he forgive us , Mat 6.15 . If ye forgive not men their Trespasses , neither will your Heavenly Father forgive your Trespasses . A man may as well go to Hell for not forgiving , as for not believing . How can they expect mercy from God whose Bowels are shut up , and are merciless to their trespassing Brethren ? Jam. 2.13 . He shall have Iudgment without Mercy , that hath shewed no Mercy . I cannot Forgive said one , tho I go to Hell .

6. The examples of the Saints who have been of forgiving Spirit . Ioseph Forgave his Brethren , tho they put him into a Pit and sold him , Gen. 50.21 . Fear not , I will nourish you , and your little ones . Stephen pray'd for his Persecutors . Moses was of a forgiving Spirit . How many injuries and affronts did he put up ▪ The People of Israel dealt unkindly with him , they murmur●d against him at the Waters of Marah , ( the Water was not so bitter as their Spirits , ) but he fell to prayer for them ▪ Exod. 15.24 . He cried unto the Lord , and the Lord shewed him a Tree , which when he had cast into the Waters , they were made sweet . When they wante● Water they fell a chiding with Moses , Exod. 17.3 . Why hast thou brought us out of Egypt to kill us with thirst ? As if they had said , if we dye we will lay our Death to thy charge , here was enough to have made Moses call for Fire from Heaven upon them , but he passeth by this injury , and to shew he forgave them , he becomes an intercessor for them , ver. 4. and set the Rock abroach for them , ver. 6. The Prophet Elisha feasted his Enemies , 2 Kin. 6.23 . He prepar'd a Table for them who would have prepared his Grave . Cranmer was famous for forgiving injuries . When Luther had revil'd Calvin , saith Calvin , Etiamsi millies me diabolum vocet , tho he call me Devil a thousand times , yet I will love and honour him as a pretious Servant of Christ . When one had abus'd and wronged a Christian , asking him , What wonders hath your Master Christ wrought ? saith he , He hath wrought this wonder , that tho you have so injured me , yet I can forgive you , and pray for you .

7. Forgiving and requiting good for evil , is the best way to conquer and melt the Heart of an Enemy . Saul having pursued David with Malice , and hunted him as a Partridge upon the Mountains , yet David would not do him a mischief when it was in his power . Davids kindness melted Saul● Heart , 1 Sam. 24.16 , 17. Is this thy voice , my Son David ? and Saul lift up his Voice and Wept , and said , Thou art more righteous than I , for thou hast rewarded me good . This forgiving is heaping Coals , which melts the Enemies Heart , Rom. 12.20 . This is the most noble Victory , to overcome an Enemy without striking a blow , to conquer him with love . Philip of Macedon when it was told him that one Nicanor did openly rail against him , the King instead of putting him to death , sent him a rich present , which did so overcome the man , and make his Heart relent , that he went up and down to recant what he had said against the King , and did highly extol the Kings Clemency .

8. Forgiving others , is the way to have forgiveness , from God , and is a sign of forgiveness .

1. It is the way to have forgiveness , Mat. 6.14 . If ye forgive men their trespasses , your Heavenly Father will also forgive you . But one would think other things should sooner procure forgiveness from God , than our forgiving others . No surely , nothing like this to procure forgiveness , for all other acts of Religion may have leaven in them . God forbad Leaven in the Sacrifice , Exod. 34.25 . One may give Alms ▪ yet there may be the leaven of Vain-glory in this . The Pharisees sounded a Trumpet , they did not give Alms , but sell them for applause , Mat. 6.2 . one may give his Body to be burned , yet there may be leaven in this , it may be a false zeal , there may be Leaven in many acts of Religion , which soures the whole lump , but to forgive others that have offended us , this can have no Leaven in it , no Sinister aim , this is a Duty wholly Spiritual , and is done purely out of love to God ▪ hence it is God rather annexeth forgiveness to this , then to the highest and most renown'd works of Charity which are so cried up in the World .

2. It is a sign of Gods forgiving us . It is not a cause of Gods forgiving us , but a sign . We need not climb up into Heaven to see whether our sins are Forgiven , let us look into our Hearts , and see if we can Forgive others , then we need not doubt but God hath forgiven us . Our loving others is nothing but the reflection of Gods love to us . Oh therefore by all these arguments , let us be persuaded to the forgiving others . Christians how many offences hath God pass'd by in us ? Our sins are innumerable , and Heinous ; is God willing to forgive us so many offences , and cannot we forgive a few ? no man can do so much wrong to us all our life as we do to God in one day .

Quest. But how must we Forgive ?

Answ. As God Forgives us .

1. Cordially , God doth not only make a show of forgiving , and keeps our sins by him , but doth really forgive ; He passeth an act of Oblivion , Ier. 31.34 . so we must not only say we Forgive , but do it with the Heart , Mat. 18.35 . If ye from your Hearts forgive not .

2. God forgives Fully ; he forgives all our sins . He doth not for fourscore write down fifty , Psalm 103.3 . who Forgiveth all thy iniquities . Hypocrites pass by some offences but retain others . Would we have God deal so with us ? to remit only some trespasses and call us to account for the rest .

3. God forgives often , we run afresh upon the score , but God multiplies pardon , Isa. 55.7 . Peter asks the question , Mat. 18.21 . Lord how oft shall my Brother sin against me , and I forgive him ? Till seven times ? Ie●us saith to him , I say not , until seven times , but until seventy times seven . If he say , I Repent , you must say , I Remit .

Quest. But this is one of the highest acts of Religion , Flesh and Blood cannot do it ? how shall I attain to it ?

Answ. 1. Let us consider , how many wrongs and injuries we have done against God ; What Volume can hold our Errata ? Our sins are more than the Sparks in a Furnace .

2. If we would forgive , see Gods hand in all that men do or say against us Did we look higher than Instruments , our Hearts would grow calm , and we would not meditate revenge . Shimei reproach'd David and Cursed him , David look'd higher 2 Sam 16 11. Let him alone , let him curse , for the Lord hath bidden him . What made Christ that when he was reviled he reviled not again ? He look'd beyond Iud●s and Pilate , he saw his Father putting the bitter Cup into his Hand , and as we must see Gods hand , in all the affronts and Incivilities we receive from men , so we must believe God will do us good by all if we belong to him , 2 Sam. 16.12 . It may be the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day ; quisquis de●rahit famae meae addet mercedi meae ▪ Aug. He that inju●es me ●hall add to my reward , he that Clips my name to make it weigh lighter , shall make my Crown weigh heavier . Well might Stephen pray For his Enemies , Lord lay not this sin to their charge , Act. 7.60 . he knew they did but encrease his Glory in Heaven , every Stone his Enemies threw at him added a Pearl to his Crown .

3. Lay up a stock of Faith , Luk. 17.4 If thy Brother trespass against thee seven times in a day , and seven times in a day , ●urn again to thee , and say , I Repent , thou shalt forgive him . And the Apostles said to the Lord , Encrease our Faith . As if they had said , We can never do this without a great deal of Faith ; Lord encrease our Faith . Believe God hath pardoned you , and you will pardon others , only Faith can throw dust upon injuries , and bury them in the Grave of forgetfulness .

4. Think how thou hast sometimes wronged others , and may it not be just with God ▪ that the same measure you mete to others should be measured to you again ? hast not thou wronged others , if not in their Goods , yet in their Name ? If thou hast not born false witness against them , yet perhaps thou hast spoken falsly of them ; the consideration of this may make Christians bury injuries in silence .

5. Get humble Hearts . A proud Man thinks it a disgrace to put up an injury . What causeth so many Duels and Murders as Pride ? Be cloth'd with humility , 1 Pet. 5.5 . He who is low in his own Eyes will not be troubled much , tho others lay him low . He knows there 's a day a coming , when there shall be a Resurrection of Names as well as Bodies , and God will avenge him of his Adversaries , Luk. 18.7 . And shall not God avenge his own Elect ? the humble Soul leaves all his wrongs to God to requite , who hath said vengeance is mine , Rom. 12.19 .

Vse of Comfort . Such as Forgive , God will forgive them . You have a good argument to plead with God for Forgiveness , lo , I am willing to Forgive him who makes me no sactisfaction and wilt not thou Forgive me , who hast received satisfaction in Christ my surety : so ends the fifth Petition .

Mat. 6.13 .

And lead us not into Temptation , but deliver us from Evil.

THIS Petition consists of two parts .

First , Deprecatory , Lead us not into Temptation .

Second , Petitory , But deliver us from evil .

First , Nenos inducas in tentationem , Lead us not into temptation . Doth God lead into Temptation ? God tempts no man to sin , Jam. 1.13 . Let no man say when he is Tempted , I am tempted of God , for God tempteth not any man . God doth permit sin , but not promote it . He who is an encourager of holiness cannot be a Patron of sin . God doth not Tempt to that which he hath an antipathy against ▪ what King will tempt his Subjects to break those Laws which he himself hath establi●hed ?

Quest. But is it not said God tempted Abraham ? Gen. 22.1 .

Answ. Tempting there was no more than trying . God tryed Abrahams Faith , as a Gold-smith tries Gold in the Fire , but there is a great deal of difference between Gods trying his Peoples Grace , and exci●ing their corruption ▪ he tryeth their Grace , but doth not excite their corruptions , mans sin cannot be justly father'd on God . God tempts no man .

Quest. What then is the meaning of this , Lead us not into temptation ?

Answ. When we pray , Lead us not into Temptation , the meaning is we desire of God , that he would not suffer us to be overcome by temptation ; that we may not be given up to the power of a Temptation , which is when we are trapann'd into sin .

Quest. 2. Whence do temptations come ?

Answ. 1. Ab intra ▪ from our selves , the Heart is Fomes peccati , the breeder of all evil ; our own Hearts are the greatest Tempters ; quisque sibi Satan est , Iam. 1.14 . Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust , the Heart is a perfect decoy .

2. Temptations come ab extrà , from Satan he is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 the Tempter . Mat. 4.3 . he lies in Ambush to do us mischief , stat in procinctu Diabolus , the Devil lays a Train of Temptation , to blow up the Fort of our Grace . The Devil is not yet fully cast into Prison , but is like a Prisoner that goes under Bail , the World is his Diocess where he visits , we are sure to find Satan whatever we are doing , reading , praying , meditating ; we find him within , how he came there we know not ; we are sure of his company , uncertain how we came by it . A Saints whole Life ( saith Austin ) is a Temptation ; Elias who could shut Heaven by Prayer , could not shut his Heart from a Temptation . This is a great molestation to a Child of God ; as it is a trouble to a Virgin to have her Chastity daily assaulted : the more one is tempted to evil , the more he is hindred from good ; we are in great danger of Satan , the Prince of the Air , and we had need often pray , leads us not into Temptation , that we may see in what danger we are of Satans Temptations .

Consider 1. His Malice in tempting .

This Hellish Serpent is swell'd with the Poison of malice . Satan envies mans happiness . To see a clod of Dust so near to God , and himself ( once a glorious Angel ) cast out of the Heavenly Paradise , this makes him pursue mankind with inveterate hatred , Rev. 12.12 . The Devil is come down to you having great wrath : If there be any thing this Infernal Spirit of Hell can delight in , it is to ruine Souls , and bring them into the same condemnation with himself , this malice of Satan in tempting must needs be great , if we consider three things .

1. That when Satan is so full of Torment , yet , that at such a time he should tempt ▪ one would think Satan should scarce have a thought free from thinking of his own misery ; yet such is his rage and malice , that when God is punishing him he is tempting .

2. Satan's Malice is great , that he will tempt where he knows he cannot prevail . He will put forth his sting tho he cannot hurt ; he tempted Christ , Mat. 4.3 . If thou be the Son of God . He knew well enough Christ was God as well as Man , yet he would tempt him . Such was his malice against Christ , that he would put an Affront upon Christ , tho' he knew he could not conquer him . He tempts the Elect to Blasphemy , he knows he cannot prevail against the Eelect ; yet such is his Malice , that tho' he cannot storm the Garrison of their Hearts , yet he will plant his Pieces of Ordnance against them .

3. Satan's Malice is great , that tho' he knows his tempting men to sin will encrease his own Torment in Hell , yet he will not leave off tempting ; every Temptation makes his Chain heavier , and his fire hotter , yet he will tempt . Therefore Satan being such a malicious revengeful Spirit , had not we need pray that God would not suffer him to prevail by his Temptations ? Lead us not into Temptation .

2. Consider Satan's Diligence in tempting , 1 Pet 5.8 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , He walketh about . He neglects no time , he who would have us Idle , yet himself is always busied . This Lyon is ever hunting after his Prey , he compasseth Sea and Land to make a Proselyte ; he walks about , he walks not as a Pilgrim , but a Spy , he watcheth where he may throw in the Fire-ball of a Temptation . He is a restless Spirit , if we repulse him , yet he will not defist , but come again with a Temptation . Like Marcellus , a Roman Captain Hannibal speaks of ; whether he was conquer'd or did conquer , he was never quiet . More particularly , Satan's Diligence in tempting is seen in this .

1. If he gets the least Advantage by Temptation , he pursues it to the utmost . If his Motion to sin begins to take , he follows it close , and presseth to the Act of sin . When he tempted Iudas to betray Christ , and found that Iudas was inclinable , and began to bite at the Bait of thirty Pieces of silver ; he hurries him on , and never leaves him till he had Betrayed his Lord and Master . When he had tempted Spira to Renounce his Religion , and saw Spira began to yield , he follows his Temptation close , and never left till he had made him go to the Legate at Venice , and there Abjure his Faith in Christ .

2. Again ▪ Satan's Diligence in tempting is seen in this , The Variety of Temptations he useth . He doth not confine himself to one sort of Temptation , he hath more Plots than one ; if he finds one Temptation doth not prevail he will have another ; if he cannot tempt to Lust , he will tempt to Pride . If a Temptation to Covetousness doth not prevail , he will tempt to Profuseness ▪ If he cannot fright men into Despair , he will see if he can draw them to Presumption . If he cannot make ▪ them Profane , he will see if he can make them Formalists . If he cannot make them Vitious , he will tempt them to be Erroneous . He will tempt them to leave off Ordinances , he will pretend Revelations . Error damns as well as Vice , the one pistols , the other poisons ; thus Satan's Diligence in tempting is Great , he will turn every Stone , he hath several Tools to work with ; if one temptation will not do , he will make use of another . Had not we need then pray , Lead us not into Temptation ?

3. Consider Satan's Power in tempting . He is called the Prince of the World , Iohn 12 31. and 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the strong Man , Luke 11.21 . and the Great Red Dragon who with his Tail cast down the third part of the Stars , Rev. 12.4 . He is full of Power , being an Angel ; tho Satan hath lost his Holiness , yet not his Strength . The Devils Power in tempting is seen several ways . 1. He as a Spirit having an intellectual Being , can convey himself into the Fancy , and poison it with bad Thoughts . As the Holy Ghost doth cast in good Motions , so the Devil doth bad . He put it into Iudas Heart to betray Christ , Iohn 13 , 2. — 2. Satan tho' he cannot compel the Will , yet he can present pleasing Objects to the Senc●● ▪ which have a great Force in them . He set a Wedg of Gold before Achan , and so enticed him with that Golden Bait. 3. The Devil can excite and stir up the Corruption within , and work some Inclinableness in the Heart to embrace the Temptation . Thus he stirr'd up Corruption in David's Heart , and provok'd him to number the People , 1 Chron. 21.1 . Satan can blow the spark of Lust into a Flame .

4. Herein lies much of his Power , that he being a Spirit , can so strangely convey his Temptations into our Minds , that we cannot easily discern whether they come from Satan or from our selves . Whether they are his Suggestions , or the natural Births of our own Hearts . A Bird may hatch the Egg of another Bird , thinking it is her own . Often we hatch the Devils Motions , thinking they come from our own Hearts . When Peter disswaded Christ from Suffering , sure Peter thought it came from the good Affection which he did bear to his Master , Matt. 16.22 . little did Peter think Satan had an hand in it . Now if the Devil hath such a Power to instil his Temptations that we hardly know whether they be His or Ours , we are in a great deal of danger ; and had need pray , not to be led into Temptation . Here I know some are desirous to move the Question .

Quest. How shall we perceive when a Motion comes from our Own Hearts , and when from Satan ?

Resp. It is hard ( as Bernard saith ) to distinguish , Inter morsum Serpentis & morbum Mentis , between those Suggestions which come from Satan , and which breed out of our own Hearts . But I conceive there is this three-fold difference .

1. Such Motions to Evil as come from our own Hearts , spring up more leasurely and by degrees . A sin is long concocted in the Thoughts ere consent be given . But usually we may know a Motion comes from Satan by its Suddenness . Therefore Temptation is compared to a Dart , Eph. 6.16 . because it is shot suddenly . David's Numbring the people was a Motion which the Devil did inject suddenly .

2. The Motions to Evil which come from our own Hearts are not so Terrible . Few are frighted at the sight of their own Children . But Motions coming from Satan are more ghastly and frightful , as Motions to Blasphemy and self-Murder . Hence it is Temptations are compared to fiery Darts , Ephes. 6. For their Terribleness , because they do as flashes of fire startle and affright the Soul .

3. When Evil Thoughts are thrown into our Mind , which we loath , and have Reluctancy against , when we strive against them and fly from them , as Moses did from the Serpent ; this shews , they are not the Natural Birth of our own Heart , but the Hand of Ioab is in this . Satan hath injected these impure Motions .

4. Satan's Power in tempting , appears by the long Experience he hath gotten in the Art . He hath been a Tempter well nigh as long as he hath been an Angel . Who are fitter for Action than Men of Experience ? Who is fitter to steer a Ship , than an old Experienced Pilot ? Satan hath gained much Experience by his being so long vers'd in the Trade of Tempting . He having such Experience knows what are the Temptations which have foiled others , and are most likely to prevail : The Fowler lays those snares which have caught other Birds . Satan having such Power in tempting , we are in danger , and had need pray , Lead us not into Temptation .

5. Consider Satans's Subtilty in tempting . The Greek word to Tempt , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ▪ signifies to Deceive . Satan in tempting useth many subtil Policies to deceive , we read of the Depths of Satan , Rev. 2.24 . and his 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , his Devices or Stratagems , 2 Cor. 2.11 . we read of his Snares and his Darts , his Snares are worse than his Darts : He is call'd a Lion for his Cruelty , and an old Serpent for his Subtilty , he hath several sorts of subtilty in tempting .

1. Subtilty . The Devil observes the Natural Temper and Constitution , Omnium discutit mores — the Devil doth not know the Hearts of men , but he may feel their Pulse , know their Temper , and so accordingly can apply himself . As the Husbandman knows what seed is proper to sow in such a soil ; so Satan finding out the Temper , knows what temptation is proper to sow in such an heart . That way the Tide of a mans Constitution runs , that way the wind of Temptation blows . Satan tempts the Ambitious Man with a Crown , the Sanguine Man 〈◊〉 Beauty , the Covetous Man with a Wedge of Gold . He provides Savory Meat such as the sinner loves .

2. Subtilty . Satan chooseth the fittest Season to tempt in . As a cunning Angler casts in his Angle when the fish will bite best . The Devil can hit the very joynt of Time , when a Temptation is likest to prevail ; there are several seasons he tempts in .

1. In our first Initiation and Entrance into Religion , when we have newly given up our names to Christ . Satan will never disturb his Vassals , but when we have broke his Prison in Conversion , now he pursues us with violent Temptations . Solet inter primordia Conversionis acrius insurgere . Bern. When Israel were got a little out of Egypt , then Pharaoh pursues them . Herod assoon as Christ was born sent to destroy him . So when the Child of Grace is newly born , the Devil labours to strangle it with Temptation . When the first Buddings and Blossoms of Grace begin to appear , the Devil would nip these tender Buds with the sharp blasts of his Temptations . Indeed at first Conversion , Grace is so weak , and Temptation so strong , that one would wonder how the young Convert scapes with his Life ; Satan hath a spight at the New Creature .

2. Season . The Devil tempts when he finds us idle and unimploy'd . We do not sow seed in fallow Ground ; but Satan sows most of his seed in a person that lies fallow ; when the Fowler sees a Bird sit still and pearch upon the Tree , now he shoots it . So when Satan observes us to sit still , now he shoots his fiery Darts of Temptation at us , Mat. 13.25 While men slept the Enemy sowed Tares . So while men sleep in Sloath Satan sows his Tares . When David was walking on the Leads , and unimploy'd , now the Devil set a tempting Object before him , and it prevail'd , 2 Sam. 11.3 .

3. Season . When a Person is reduced to outward wants and straits , now is the Devils tempting time . When Christ had fasted fourty days and was hungry , then the Devil comes and tempts him with the Glory of the World , Mat. 4.8 . When Provisions grow short , now Satan sets in with a Temptation . What , wilt thou starve rather than steal ? Reach forth thy hand , pluck the forbidden Fruit. How oft doth this Temptation prevail ? How many do we see who instead of living by Faith , live by their shifts , and will steal the Venison tho' they lose the Blessing .

Season 4. Satan tempts after an Ordinance . When we have been at hearing of the Word , or Prayer , or Sacrament ; now Satan casts in the Angle of a Temptation . When Christ had been Fasting and Praying , then came the Tempter , Mat. 4.3 .

Quest. Why doth Satan choose this time to tempt in after an Ordinance ? One would think this were the most disadvantagious time , for now the Soul is rais'd up to an heavenly Frame ?

Answ. 1. Malice puts Satan upon it . The Ordinances that cause Fervour in a Saint , cause Fury in Satan . He knows in every Duty we have a design against him . In every Prayer we put up a Suit in Heaven against him . In the Lord's Supper we take the Sacrament upon it , to fight under Christ's Banner against the Devil ; therefore now Satan is more enraged , he now lays his Snares , and shoots his Darts against us .

2. Satan tempts after an Ordinance , because he thinks he shall now find us most secure . After we have been at the Solemn Worship of God we are apt to grow remiss , and leave off former Strictness : Like a Soldier , that after the Battle leaves off his Armour : Now Satan watcheth his time , he doth as David did the Amalekites ; after they had taken the Spoil and were secure , they did eat and drink , and dance ; now David fell upon them and did smite them , 1 Sam. 30.17 . So when we grow remiss after an Ordinance , and perhaps too much indulge our selves in carnal Delights ; now Satan falls upon us by a Temptation , and oft foils us . As after a full Meal , men are apt to grow drowsie : So after we have had a full meal at an Ordinance , we are apt to slumber and grow secure ; and now Satan shoots his Arrow of Temptation and hits us between the joynts of our Armour .

Season 5. Satan tempts after some Discoveries of God's Love . Satan like a Pyrat , sets on a ship that is richly laden : So when a Soul hath been laden with spiritual Comforts ; now the Devil will be shooting at him to rob him of all . The Devil envies to see a Soul feasted with spiritual Joy . Iosephs party-colour'd Coat made his Brethren envy him , and plot against him . After David had the good news of the Pardon of his sin , ( which must needs fill him with Consolation ) Satan presently tempted him to a new sin in numbring the people ; and so all his Comfort leak'd out and was spilt .

Season 6. ●atan tempts when he sees us weakest . He breaks over the Hedge where it is lowest . As the Sons of Iacob came upon the Shechemites when they were sore , and could make no Resistance , Gen. 34.25 . At two times Satan comes upon us in our weakness .

1. When we are alone . So he came to Eve when her Husband was away , and the less able to resist his Temptation . Satan hath this Policy , he gives his Poison privately , when no body is by ; others might discover his Treachery . Satan is like a cunning Suitor , that wooes the Daughter when the Parents are from home . So when one is alone , and none near ; now the Devil comes a wooing with a Temptation , and hopes to have the Match struck up .

2. When the hour of Death approaches . As the poor sheep when it is sick and weak and can hardly help it self , now the Crows lie pecking at it . So when a Saint is weak on his Death-bed ; now the Devil lies pecking at him with a Temptation , he reserves his most furious Assaults till the last . The people of Israel were never so fiercely assaulted , as when they were going to take Possession of the promised Land ; then all the Kings of Canaan combin'd their Forces against them : So when the Saints are leaving the World , and going to set their foot into the Heavenly Canaan ; now Satan sets upon them by Temptation , he tells them they are Hypocrites , all their Evidences are Counterfeit . Thus like a Coward he strikes the Saints when they are down . When Death is striking at the Body , he is striking at the Soul ▪ This is his second Subtilty , Satan chooseth the fittest season when to throw in a Temptation .

Subtilty 3. A third subtil Policy of Satan in tempting is , He baits his Hook with Religion , the Devil can hang out Christ's Colours , and tempt to sin under pretences of Piety . Now he is the White Devil , and transforms himself into an Angel of Light . Celsus wrote a Book full of Errour , and he Intitled it ; Liber Veritatis , The Book of Truth . So Satan can write the Title of Religion upon his worst Temptations . He comes to Christ with Scripture in his Mouth , It is written , &c. So he comes to many and tempts them to sin under the pretence of Religion ; he tempts to Evil that Good may come of it . He tempts men to such unwarrantable Actions , that they may be put into a Capacity of honouring God the more . He tempts them to accept of Preferment against Conscience , that hereby they may be in a condition of doing more good ; He put Herod upon killing Iohn Baptist , that hereby he might be kept from the Violation of his Oath . He tempts many to Oppression and Extortion , telling them they are bound to provide for their Families . He tempts many to make away with themselves , that they may live no longer to sin against God ; thus he wraps his poisonous Pills in sugar . Who would suspect him when he comes as a Divine , and quotes Scripture ?

4. Subtilty of Satan is to tempt to sin Gradually . The old Serpent winds himself in by degrees . He tempts first to lesser sins , that so he may bring on greater . A small Offence may occasion a great Crime ; as a little prick of an Artery may occasion a mortal Gangrene . Satan first tempted David to an impure glance of the Eye , to look on Bathsheba , and that unclean look occasion'd Adultery and Murder . First the Devil tempts to go into the Company of the wicked , then to twist into a Cord of Friendship , and so by degrees to be brought into the same Condemnation with them ; This is a great Subtilty of Satan to tempt to lesser sins first ; for these harden the Heart , and fit men for the committing of more horrid tremendous . Sins .

5. Subtilty . Satans Policy is to hand over Temptations to us by those whom we least suspect .

1. By near Friends ; he tempts us by them who are near in Blood . He tempted Iob by a Proxy , he handed over a Temptation to him by his Wife , Iob 2.9 . Dost thou still retain thy Integrity ? As if he had said , Iob thou seest how for all thy Religion God deals with thee . His hand is gone out sore against thee , what and still pray , and weep ? Cast off all religion , turn Atheist ? Curse God and die . Thus Satan made use of Iob's Wife to do his work : the woman was made of the Rib , and Satan made a Bow of this Rib , out of which he shot the Arrow of his Tentation . Per costam petit Cor , the Devil oft stands behind the Curtain , he will not be seen in the Business ; but puts others to do his work . As a man makes use of a Sergeant to arrest another : so Satan makes use of a Proxy to tempt ; as he did creep into the Serpent , so he can creep into a near Relation .

2. He tempts sometimes by religious Friends . The Devil keeps still out of sight , that his Cloven Foot may not be seen . Who would have thought to have found the Devil in Peter ? When he disswaded Christ from suffering . Master , spare thy self . Christ spied Satan in the Temptation . Get thee behind me , Satan . When our religious Friends would disswade us from doing our Duty , Satan is a lying spirit in their Mouths ; and would by them entice us to Evil .

6. Subtilty , Satan tempts some Persons more than others : some are like wet Tinder , who will not so soon take the fire of Temptation as others . Satan tempts most where he thinks his Policy 's will more easily prevail ; some are fitter to receive the impression of Temptations : as soft Wax is fitter to take the stamp of the Seal . The Apostle speaks of Vessels filled for Destruction , Rom. 9.22 . so there are Vessels fitted for Temptation . Some like the spunge suck in Satan's Temptations . There are five sorts of persons that Satan doth most sit brooding upon by his Temptations .

1. Ignorant Persons . The Devil can lead them into any snare ; you may lead a blind man any whither . God made a Law that the Iews should not put a stumbling block in the way of the blind , Levit. 19.14 . Satan knows it is easie to put a Temptation in the way of the blind ▪ at which they shall stumble into Hell . When the Syrians were smitten with Blindness , the Prophet Elisha could lead them whither he would into the Enemies Country , 2 Kin. 6.20 . The bird that is blind is soon shot by the Fowler . Satan the God of this World blinds men and then shoots them . An ignorant man cannot see the Devils snares ; Satan tells him such a thing is no sin , or but a little one , and he will do well enough . 'T is but repent .

2. Satan tempts Vnbelievers . He who with Diagoras doubts of a Deity , or with the Photinians denies Hell ; what sin will not this man be drawn to . He is like mettal that Satan can cast into any Mould ; he can dye him of any colour . An Unbeliever will stick at no sin , Luxury , Perjury , Injustice . Paul was afraid of none so much as them that did not believe , Rom. 15.31 . That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea .

3. Satan tempts proud Persons ; these he hath more power of : none is in greater danger of falling by a Temptation , than he who stands high in his own Conceit . When David's Heart was lifted up in pride , then the Devil stirr'd himself up to Number the people , 2 Sam. 24.2 . Celsae graviore casu decidunt Turres , feriuntque summos fulmina montes , Hor. Satan made use of Hamans pride to be his shame .

4. Melancholy Persons . Melancholy is atra bilis , a black Humour seated chiefly in the Brain . Melancholy clothes the Mind in Sable , it doth disturb Reason ▪ Satan works much upon this Humour . There are three things in Melancholy which give the Devil great Advantage . 1. It unfits for Duty , it pulls off the Chariot-Wheels , it dispirits a man . Lute-strings when they are wet will not sound . When the spirit is sad and melancholy , a Christian is out of tune for spiritual Actions . 2. Melancholy sides often with Satan against God ; the Devil tells such a person , God doth not love him , there is no Mercy for him ; and the Melancholy Soul is apt to think so too , and sets his hand to the Devils Lies . 3. Melancholy breeds Discontent ; and Discontent is a cause of many sins ; Unthankfulness ▪ Impatience , and oft it ends in self-murder . Judge then what an Advantage Satan hath against a melancholy Person , and how easily he may prevail with his Temptations . A melancholy person tempts the Devil to tempt him . 4. Idle Persons ; He who is idle , the Devil will find him work to do . Ierom gives his Friend this Counsel to be ever well employ'd , that when the Tempter came he might find him working in the Vineyard . If the Hands be not working , the Head will be plotting sin , Micah 2.1 .

7. Subtilty . Of Satan is to give some little Respite , and seem to leave off tempting a while that he may come on after with more Advantage . As Israel made as if they were beaten before the Men of Ai , and fled ; but it was a Policy to draw them out of their fenced Cities , and ensnare them by an Ambush , Iosh. 8.15 . The Devil sometimes raiseth the Siege , and feigns a flight that he may the better obtain the Victory . He goes away for a time , that he may return when he sees a better season , Luke 11.24 . When the unclean Spirit is gone out of a man , he walks in dry places , seeking rest and finding none , he saith , I will return to my House whence I came out . Satan by feigning a flight , and leaving off tempting a while , causeth Security in persons , and they think they are safe , and are become Victors , when on a sudden Satan falls on and wounds them . As one that is going to leap runs back a little , that he may take the greater Jump . Satan seems to retire and run back a little , that he may come on again with a Temptation more furiously and successfully . Therefore we need always to watch and have on our spiritual Armour .

8. Subtilty Of the old Serpent is either to take men off from the use of means , or to make them miscarry in the use of means .

First , He labours to take men off from Duty , from praying and hearing ; his design is to Discourage them , and to do that he hath two Artifices .

1. He discourageth them from Duty , by suggesting to them their Vnworthiness , they are not worthy to approach to God , or have any signals of his Love and Favour . They are sinful , and God is Holy , how dare they presume to bring their impure Offering to God ? This is a Temptation indeed ; that we should see our selves unworthy is good , and argues Humility ; but to think we should not approach to God because of unworthiness , is a conclusion of the Devils making . God saith , Come , tho' unworthy . By this Tentation the Devil takes off many from coming to the Lords Table . O ( saith he ) this is a solemn Ordinance , and requires much Holiness ; how darest thou so unworthily come , lest thou eatest and drinkest unworthily ? Thus as Saul kept the people from eating Hony , so the Devil by this Temptation scares many from this Ordinance , which is sweeter than hony and the hony-comb .

Secondly , Satan endeavours to discourage from Duty by objecting want of Success . When men have waited upon God in the use of Ordinances ▪ and yet find not that Comfort they desire ; now Satan disheartens them and , 〈◊〉 them upon resolves of declining all Religion ; they begin to say as that wicked King , 2 Kings 6.33 . Why should I wait on the Lord any longer ? When Saul saw God answered him not by Dreams and Visions , Satan tempted him to leave God's Worship , and seek to the Witch of Endor , 1 Sam. 28.6 . No answer of Prayer comes , therefore saith Satan leave off praying ; who will sow seed , where no Crop comes up ? Thus the Devil would by his subtil Logick dispute a poor Soul out of Duty . But if he sees he cannot prevail this way to take men off from the use of means , then he labours ,

2. To make them miscarry in the use of means . By this Artifice he prevails over multitudes of Professors . The Devil stands as he did at Ioshua's right Hand , to resist men , Zach. 3.1 . If he can't hinder them from Duty , he will be sure to hinder them in Duty two ways .

First , By causing Distraction in the Service of God , and this he doth by proposing Objects of Vanity , or by whispering in mens Ears that they can scarce mind what they are doing .

Secondly , Satan hinders by putting men upon doing Duties in a wrong manner . 1. In a dead formal manner , that so they may fail of the success . Satan knows duties done superficially were as good be left undone . That Prayer which doth not pierce the Heart will never pierce Heaven . 2. He puts them upon doing duties for wrong ends , Finis specificat actionem ; He will make them look a-squint and have by-ends in Duty , Mat. 6.5 . Be not as the Hypocrites , for they love to pray standing in the corners of the streets , that they may be seen of men . Prayer is good , but to pray to be seen of men , this was a dead fly in the Box of Oyntment ; the Oyl of vain-glory fed their Lamp , sinister Aims corrupt and fly-blow our Holy Things . Here is Satans Policy , either to prevent Duty or pervert it ; either to take men off from the use of means , or make them miscarry in the use of Means .

9. Subtilty , Satan can colour over sin with the name and pretence of Virtue . Alcibiades hung a Curtain curiously Embroidered over a foul Picture full of Satyrs : so Satan can put the Image of vertue over the foul Picture of sin . Satan can cheat men with false Wares , he can make them believe that Presumption is Faith , that intemperate Passion is Zeal ; Revenge is Prudence , Covetousness is Frugality and Prodigality , good Hospitality . Come see my Zeal for the Lord , saith Iehu . Satan perswaded him it was a Fire from Heaven , when it was nothing but the Wild-fire of his own Ambition ; 'T was not Zeal , but State-Policy . This is a subtil Art of Satan to deceive by tempting , and put men off with the dead Child instead of the live Child , to make men believe that is a Grace which is a Sin ; as if one should write Balm-water upon a Glass of Poyson . If Satan hath all these subtil Artifices in tempting , are not we in great Danger of this Prince of the Air , and had not we need often pray , Lord suffer us not to be led into Temptation ? as the Serpent beguil'd Eve with his Subtilty , 2 Cor. 11.2 . Let us not be beguil'd by the Snares and Policies of this hellish Machiavel .

Satan is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , he hath a Dexterity in subtil Contrivances . He doth more hurt as a Fox , than a Lion . His Snares are worse than his Darts , 2 Cor. 2.11 . We are not ignorant of his Devices .

10. The next Subtilty of Satan is , He labours to ensnare us by Lawful Things . In licitis perimus omnes ; more are hurt by lawful things than unlawful , as more are kill'd with Wine than Poison ; Gross Sins affright , but how many take a surfeit and die in using lawful things inordinately ? Recreation is lawful , Eating and Drinking is lawful , but many offend by Excess , and their Table is a Snare . Relations are lawful , but how oft doth Satan tempt to over-love ? how oft is the Wife and Child laid in God's Room ? Excess makes things lawful become sinful .

11. Subtilty of Satan is to make the Duties of our General and Particular Calling hinder and justle out one another . Our General Calling is serving God , our Particular Calling is minding our Employments in the World . 'T is Wisdom to be regular in both these , when the Particular Calling doth not eat out the time for God's Service ; nor the Service of God hinder Diligence in a Calling . The Devil's Art is to make Christians defective in one of these two . Some spend all their time in Hearing , Reading , and under a pretence of living by Faith , do not live in a Calling : others Satan takes off from Duties of Religion under a pretence that they must provide for their Families . He makes them so careful for their Bodies , that they quite neglect their Souls . This is the Subtilty of the old Serpent , to make men negligent in the Duties either of the first Table or the second .

12. Subtilty of Satan in Tempting is , to misrepresent true Holiness , that he may make others out of love with it . He paints the Face of Religion full of Scars , and with seeming Blemishes , that he may create in the Minds of Men prejudice against it . Satan misrepresents Religion as the most Melanch●ly Thing , and that he who embraceth it , must banish all Joy out of his Diocess . Tho' the Apostle saith , Ioy in Believeng , Rom. 15.13 . Satan suggests that Religion exposeth men to Danger , he shews them the Cross , but hides the Crown from them . He labours to put all the Disgrace he can upon Holiness , that he may tempt men to the Renouncing of it . Satan abuseth the Good Christian and gives him a wrong Name . The truly Zealous Man Satan calls hot-headed and factious . The patient man that bears Injuries without Revenge , Satan represents him as a Coward . The humble man is low-spirited , the heavenly-man , Satan calls fool , he lets go things that are seen , for things that are not seen . Thus the Devil mis-represents Religion to the World . As Iohn Husse that Holy Man was painted with Red Devils : So Satan paints Holiness with as deform'd , mishapen a Face as he can , that he may by this Temptation draw men off from solid Piety ; and make them rather scorn than embrace it . The hand of Ioab is in this . Satan is tempting persons to Atheism , to cast off all Religion .

13. Subtilty of Satan in tempting is , to draw men off from the Love of the Truth to embrace Errour , 2 Thes. 2.11 . That they should believe a Lie . Satan is call'd in Scripture not only an Unclean Spirit , but a Lying Spirit . As an Vnclean Spirit , so he labours to defile the Soul with Lust , and as a Lying Spirit , so he labours to corrupt the Mind with Errour . And indeed this is dangerous , because many Errours do look so like the Truth , as Alchimy represents true Gold ; Satan thus beguiles Souls . Tho' the Scripture blames Hereticks for being the Promoters of Errour ; Yet it chargeth Satan with being the chief Contriver of it . They spread the Errour , but the Devil is a lying Spirit in their Mouths . This is Satan's great Temptation , he makes men believe such are glorious Truths which are dangerous Impostures , thus he transforms himself into an Angel of Light . What is the meaning of Satans sowing Tares in the Parable , Mat. 13.25 . but Satan sowing Errour instead of Truth . How quickly had the Devil broach'd false Doctrine in the Apostles times . That it was necessary to be Circumcised , Acts 15.1 . that Angel-Worship was lawful , and that Christ was not yet come in the Flesh , 1 Ioh. 4.3 . Now the Devil tempts by drawing Men to Errour , because he knows how deadly this snare is ; and the great Mischief Errour will do where it comes . 1. Errour is of a spreading Nature , it is compar'd to Leaven , because it sowres , Mat. 16.11 . and to a Gangrene , because it spreads , 2 Tim. 2.17 . 1. One Errour spreads into more , like a Circle in the water that multiplies into more Circles . One Errour seldom goes alone . 2. Errour spreads from one person to another , it is like the Plague which infects all round about . Satan by infecting one person with Errour , infects more . The Errour of Pelagius did spread on a sudden into Palestine , Africa , Italy ; the Arrian Errour was at first but a single spark , but at last it set almost all the World on fire . 2. The Devil lays this snare of Errour , because Errour brings Divisions into the Church , and Divisions bring an Opprobrium and Scandal upon the ways of God . The Devil danceth at Discord ; Division destroys Peace , which was Christ's Legacy , and Love , which is the Bond of Perfection . Not only Christ's Coat hath been Rent , but his Body , by the divisions which Errour hath caused ; in Churches or Families where Errour creeps in , what Animosities and Fractions doth it make ? it sets the Father against the Son , and the Son against the Father . What Slaughters and Bloodshed have been occasion'd by Errors broach'd in the Church ? 3. The Devils Policy in raising Errors is to hinder Reformation ; the Devil was never a friend to Reformation . In the Primitive Times after the Apostles days , the Serpent cast out of his Mouth Water as a flood after the Woman , Rev. 12.15 . which was a deluge of Heresies , that so he might hinder the Progress of the Gospel . 4. Satan tempts to Error , because Error devours Godliness . The Gnosticks , as Epiphanius observes , were not only corrupted in their Iudgments , but in their Morals ; they were loose in their Lives , Iude 4. Ungodly men turning the Grace of our God into Lasciviousness . The Familists afterwards turn'd Ranters , and gave themselves over to Vices and Immoralities , and this they did boasting of the Spirit and Perfection . 5. The Devils design in seducing by Error is , he knows Error is pernicious to Souls ; Error damns as well as Vice . Poison kills as well as Pistol , 2 Pet. 2.1 . They shall privily bring in damnable Heresies . Now if Satan be thus subtil in laying snares of Error to deceive , had not we need pray that God would not suffer us to be led into Temptation ; that he would make us wise to keep out of the snare of Error , or if we have fallen into it , that he would give us to recover out of the snare by Repentance ?

14. Another Subtilty of Satan is , to bewitch and ensnare men by setting Pleasing Baits before them ; the Riches , Pleasures , Honours of the World , Mat. 4.9 . All this will I will give thee ; how many doth Satan tempt with this Golden Apple ? Pride , Idleness , Luxury are the three Worms which breed of Plenty , 1 Tim. 6.9 . They that will be rich fall into Temptation and a Snare . Satan kills with these silver Darts ; how many surfeit on Luscious Delights ? The Pleasures of the World are the great Engine by which Satan batters down mens Souls . His Policy is to tickle them to death , to damn them with Delights . The Flesh would fain be pleased , and Satan prevails by this Temptation . He drowns them in the sweet Waters of Pleasure ; such as have abundance of the World walk in the midst of Golden Snares . We had need watch our Hearts in Prosperity , and pray not to be led into Temptation . We have as much need to be careful that we are not endanger'd by Prosperity , as a man hath to be careful at a Feast , where there are some poison'd Dishes of Meat .

15. Subtilty of Satan in tempting is to plead Necessity . Satans Policy in tempting men under a Plea of Necessity is this , he knows that Necessity may in some Cases seem to palliate and excuse a sin . It may seem to make a lesser Evil good to avoid a Greater . As Lot offered to expose his Daughters to the Sodomites , and was willing that they should defile them , that he might preserve the Angel-strangers that were come into his House , Gen. 19.8 . Doubtless Satan had an Hand in this Temptation , and made Lot believe that the necessity of this Action would excuse the sin . The Tradesman pleads a necessity of unlawful Gain , else he cannot live . Another pleads a Necessity of Revenge , else his Credit will be impaired ; thus Satan tempts men to sin by telling them of the Necessity . Nay , the Devil will quote Scripture for it , that in some Cases extraordinary , there may be a Necessity of doing that which is not justifiable . Did not David in case of Necessity eat the Shew-bread , which was not lawful for him , but only the Priests ? Mat. 12.4 . nor do we read he was blam'd ; then will Satan say , Why may not you in Cases Extraordinary trespass a little , and take the forbidden Fruit : O beware of this Temptation , see Satans Cloven Foot in it : Nothing can warrant a thing in its own nature sinful . Necessity will not justifie Impiety .

16. Subtilty of Satan in tempting is , to draw men to Presumption . Presumption is a Confidence without Ground : it is made up of two Ingredients , Audacity and Security ; this Temptation is common . There is a two-fold Presumption ▪ 1. Satan tempts men to presume of their own Hearts , that they are better than they are ; they presume they have Grace when they have none . They will not take Gold on trust , but they will take Grace upon trust ; the foolish Virgins presumed that they had Oyl in their Vessels when they had none . Here that Rule of Epicharmus is good , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , distrust a fallacious Heart . 2. Satan tempts men to presume of God's Mercy : tho' they are not so good as they should be , yet God is merciful . They look upon God's Mercy with the broad Spectacles of Presumption . Satan sooths Men up in their sins ; he Preacheth to them all Hope , no Fear ; and so deludes them with these Golden Dreams : Quam multi cum vana spe descendunt ad inferos . Aug. Presumption is Satan's draw-net , by which he drags Millions to Hell . Satan , by this Temptation , oft draws the Godly to sin ; they presume upon their Priviledges , or Graces , and so venture on occasions of sin . Iehoshaphat twisted into a League of Amity with K. Ahab , presuming , his Grace would be Antidote strong enough against the infection , 2 Chron. 18.3 . Satan tempted Peter to presume upon his own strength , and when it came to a trial , he was foiled , and came off with shame . We had therefore need Pray , That we may not be led into this Temptation ; and with David , Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins , Psal. 19.13 .

17. Subtilty of Satan in tempting , is , to carry on his designs against us , under the highest pretences of Friendship . He thus puts Silver upon his bait , and dips his poison'd Pills in Sugar . Satan doth as some Courtiers , make the greatest pretences of Love where they have the most deadly hatred . Ioab's Sword was usher'd in with a Kiss ; He kist Abner , and then smote him under the fifth rib . Satan puts off his Lions skin , and comes in sheeps clothing ; he pretends kindness and friendship : He would consult what might be for our good . Thus Satan came to Christ , Command that these stones be made bread ▪ Mat. 4. As if he had said to Christ , I see thou art hungry , and here is no Table spread for thee in the Wilderness ; I therefore pittying thy condition , wish thee to get something to eat ; Turn stones to bread , that thy hunger may be satisfied : but Christ spied the Temptation , and with the Sword of the Spirit wounded the Old Serpent . Thus Satan came to Eve , and tempted her under the notion of a Friend ; Eat , saith he , of the forbidden Fruit , for the Lord knows , that in the day ye eat thereof ye shall be as Gods . As if he had said , I perswade you onely to that which will put you into a better condition than now you are ; eat of this Tree and it will make you Omniscient , ye shall be as Gods . What a kind Devil was here ? but it was a subtil Temptation , she greedily swallowing the bait , it undid her and all her Posterity . Let us fear his fallacious flatteries . Timeo Danaos & Dona ferentes .

18. Subtilty , is , When Satan hath tempted Men to sin , he perswades them to keep his Counsel : Like them that have some foul Disease , they will rather die than tell the Physitian . It were wisdom in case of sore temptation , to open ones Mind to some experienc'd Christian , whose Counsel might be an Antidote against the Temptation . But the danger of a Temptation lies in the concealing of it ; 'T is like the concealing of Treason , which may prove Mortal . How had we need renew this Petition , Lead us not ? &c.

19. Subtilty Of Satan in Tempting , is to make use of fit tools and engines , for the carrying on of his Work ; That is , he makes use of such persons as may be likely means to promote his tempting designs . The Devil lays the plot of a Temptation , and as it were cuts out the Work , and then he imploys others to finish it .

1. Satan makes use of such as are in places of Dignity , Men of Renown . He knows if he can get these on his side , they may draw others into Snares : When the Princes and Heads of the Tribes joined with Corah , they presently drew a Multitude into the Conspiracy , Numb. 16.2.10 .

2. The Devil makes use of such to carry on his Tempting Designs , as are Men of Wit and Parts ; such , as if it were possible , should deceive the very Elect. He must have a great deal of cunning that shall perswade a Man to be out of love with his Food : The Devil can make use of such Heretical Spirits as shall perswade Men to be out of love with the Ordinances of God , which they profess they have found comfort in . Many who once seemed to be strict frequenters of the House of God , are now perswaded , by Satan's cunning Instruments , to leave off all ▪ and follow an Ignis Fatuus , the Light within them . This is a great subtilty of the Devil to make use of such cunning subtil-pated Men , as may be fit to carry on his Tempting Designs .

3. Satan makes use of bad company to be instruments of tempting : They draw Youth to sin . First they perswade them to come into their Company , then to Twist into a Cord of Friendship ; then to Drink with them ; and , by degrees , debauch them : These are the Devils Decoys to tempt others .

20. Subtilty of Satan is , He , in his Temptation , strikes at some Grace more than other : As in tempting , he aims at some Persons more than others ; so he aims at some Grace more than other ; and if he can prevail in this , he knows what an advantage it will be to him . If you ask what Grace it is that Satan in his Temptations doth most strike at ? I Answer , it is the Grace of Faith : He lays the Train of his Temptation to blow up the Fort of our Faith , Fidei scutum percutit . Why did Christ pray more for Peter's Faith , than any other Grace ? Luk. 22.32 . Because Christ saw that his Faith was most in danger , the Devil was striking at this Grace . Satan in Tempting Eve , did labour to weaken her Faith , Gen. 3.1 . Yea , hath God said , ye shall not eat of every Tree of the Garden ? The Devil would perswade her , that God had not spoken Truth ; and when he had once wrought her to distrust , then she took of the Tree . 'T is called Scutum fidei , the Shield of Faith , Ephes. 6.16 . Satan in Tempting , strikes most at our Shield , he assaults our Faith . True Faith , though it cannot be wholly lost , yet it may suffer a great Eclipse . Though the Devil cannot , by Temptation , take away the Life of Faith , yet he may the lively acting : He cannot Gratiam diruere , but he may debilitare .

Quest. But why doth Satan , in Tempting , chiefly set upon our Faith ? A. 1 King . 22.31 . Fight neither with small nor great , save onely with the King . So Faith is as it were the King of the Graces ; it is a Royal Princely Grace , and puts forth the most Majestick and noble Acts , therefore Satan fights chiefly with this Kingly Grace . I shall shew you the Devils Policy in assaulting Faith most .

First , Because this is the Grace doth Satan most Mischief : it makes the most resistance against him , 1 Pet. 5.9 . Whom resist , stedfast in Faith . No Grace doth more bruise the Serpents Head than Faith . Faith is both a Shield and a Sword , defensive and offensive . 1. It is a Shield . A shield guards the Head , defends the Vitals ; the shield of Faith causeth that the fiery darts of Temptation do not pierce us thorough . 2. Faith is a Sword , it wounds the Red Dragon .

Quest. How comes Faith to be so strong that it can resist Satan , and put him to flight ?

Answ. 1. Because Faith brings the strength of Christ into the Soul : Sampson's strength lay in his Hair , ours lies in Christ : If a Child be assaulted , it runs and calls to its Father for help : So , when Faith is assaulted , it runs and calls Christ , and in his Strength overcomes .

2. Faith furnisheth it self with store of Promises ; the Promises are Faith's Weapons to fight with . Now , as David , by Five Stones in his Sling , wounded Goliah , 2 Sam. 17.40 . So Faith puts the Promises , as Stones , into its Sling , I will never leave thee nor forsake thee , Heb. 13.5 . He will not break the bruised reed , Matt. 12.20 . He will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able , 1 Cor. 10.13 . The Lord will shortly bruise Satan under your feet , Rom. 16.20 . None shall pluck you out of my Fathers hands , Joh. 10.29 . Here are Five Promises , like five Stones put in the Sling of Faith , and with these a Believer wounds the Red Dragon . Now Faith being such a Grace , that doth so resist and wound Satan , he will watch his opportunity that he may batter our shield , though he cannot break it .

2. Satan strikes most at our Faith , and would weaken and destroy it , because Faith hath a great influence upon all the other Graces : Faith sets all the Graces a-work . Like some rich Clothier , that gives out a stock of Wool to the Poor , and sets them all a Spinning : So Faith gives out a stock to all the other Graces , and sets them a working . Faith sets Love a-work , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 · Gal. 5.6 . Faith which worketh by love . When once the Soul believes God's Love , this kindles Love to God . The believing Martyrs burned hotter in Love , than in Fire . Faith sets Repentance a-work . When the Soul believes there is Mercy to be had , and that this mercy is for him , this sets the eyes a Weeping . O saith the Soul , that ever I should offend so gracious a God . Repenting tears drop from the eye of Faith , Mark 9.24 . The Father of the Child cried out with tears , Lord I believe . Faith set his eyes abroach with Tears ; therefore the Devil hath most spight at Faith , and by his Temptations would undermine it , because it is such an Operative Grace , it sets all the other Graces on work . If the Devil cannot destroy our Faith , yet if he can disturb it , if he can hinder and stop the actings of Faith , he knows all the other Graces will be lame and unactive . If the Spring in a Watch be stopp'd , it will hinder the motion of the Wheels : If Faith be down , all the other Graces are at a stand .

21. Subtilty of Satan in Tempting , is , In broaching those Doctrines that are Flesh-pleasing . Satan knows the Flesh loves to be gratified , it cries out for ease and liberty : it will not endure any yoke , unless it be lined and made soft . The Devil will be sure so to lay his bait of Temptation , as to please and humour the flesh . The Word saith , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Strive , as in an Agony , to enter into Glory ; Crucifie the Flesh ; Take the Kingdom of Heaven by holy Violence . Now Satan , to enervate and weaken these Scriptures , comes with Temptations and flatters the Flesh. He tells Men , there needs no such Strictness ; Why so much zeal and violence ? a softlier pace will serve ; sure there is an easier way to Heaven : There needs no breaking the heart for Sin ; do but confess to a Priest , or tell over a few Beads , or say some Ave Maries , and this will procure you a Pardon , and give you admission into Paradise : Or , the Devil can go another way to work ; if he sees Men startle at Popery , then he stirs up the Flattering Antinomian , and he comes in another Disguise , and saith , What needs all this cost ? What needs Repenting Tears ? These are legal . What need you be so strict in your Obedience ? Christ hath done all for you ; you may make use of your Christian Liberty . This Temptation draws away many ; it takes them off from strictness of life . He who sells cheapest shall have most Customers . The Devil knows this is a cheap , easie Doctrine , which will please the flesh , and he doth not doubt but he shall have Customers enough .

22. Subtilty of Satan in Tempting , is in Reference to Holy Duties . His policy is either to hinder from duty , or discourage in duty , or put Men on too far in duty .

I. To hinder from Duty , as 1 Thes. 2.18 . I would have come once and again , but Satan hindred me . So many Duties of Religion had been performed , but Satan hindered . The hand of Ioab is in this . There are Three Duties which the Devil is an enemy to , and labours to keep us from .

1. Meditation . He will let Men Profess , or Pray and Hear in a formal manner ; This doth him no hurt , nor them no good : but he doth oppose Meditation , as being a means to compose the heart , and make it serious . Satan can stand your small shot , so you do not put in this Bullet . He cares not how much you Hear , nor how little you Meditate : Meditation is a chewing of the cud , it makes the Word digest , and turn to nourishment . Meditation is the Bellows of the Affections . The Devil is an enemy to this . When Christ was alone in the Wilderness , giving himself to Divine Contemplations , then the Devil comes and tempts him , to hinder him . He will thrust in Worldly Business , something or other to keep Men off from Holy Meditation .

2. Duty , which Satan , by his tempting , would keep us from , is Mortification . This is as needful as Heaven , Col. 3.5 . Mortifie your Members which are upon the Earth , uncleanness , inordinate affection . Satan will let Men be angry with sin , exchange sin , restrain sin , which is keeping sin Prisoner , that it doth not break out ; but when it comes to the taking away the Life of Sin , Satan labours to stop the Warrant , and hinder the Execution . When Sin is Mortifying , Satan is Crucifying .

3. Self-examination , 2 Cor. 13.5 . Examine your selves , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Metaphor from Metal , that is pierced thorow , to see if it be Gold within . Self-examination is a Spiritual Inquisition , set up in ones Soul : a Man must search his heart for sin , as one would search an house for a Traitor ; or , as Israel sought for Leaven to burn it . Satan , if it be possible , will by his Temptations keep Men from this Duty . He useth a great deal of subtilty .

1. Here , First he tells them , Their Estate is good , and what need they put themselves to the trouble of Examination ? Though Men will not take their Money on Trust , but will examine it by the Touchstone ; yet Satan perswades them to take their Grace on trust . The Devil perswaded the Foolish Virgins they had Oyl in their Lamps .

2. Satan hath another Policy , he will shew Men the Faults of others , to keep them from searching their own : See what a Proud Covetous Man goes there . He will allow them Spectacles to see what is amiss in others , but not a Looking-glass to behold their own Faces , and see what is amiss in themselves .

II. Satan's Policy is , to discourage us in Duty . When one hath been about the performing of Holy Duties , then the Devil stands up and tells him , He hath play'd the Hypocrite ; he hath served God for a Livery ; he hath had sinister ends . His Duties have been full of distraction ; they have been Fly-blown with Pride . He hath Offered the blind and lame ▪ and can he expect a reward from God ? Satan tells a Christian , He hath encreased his sin by Prayer ; and by this Temptation he would make a Child of God quite out of conceit with his Duties , he knows not whether he had best Pray or no.

III. Or Thirdly , if this Plot will not take , Satan labours by Temptation to put a Christian on too far in duty : If he cannot keep a Child of God from duty , he will run him on too far in it . For instance , humiliation and mourning for sin is a duty ; but Satan will put one on too far in it ; Thou art not ( saith he ) humbled enough . And indeed , Satan never thinks a Man is humbled enough till he despairs . He would make a Christian wade so far in the Waters of Repentance , that he should wade beyond his depth , and be drown'd in the Gulph of Despair . Satan comes thus to the Soul ; Thy sins have been great , and thy sorrow should be proportionable to your sin . But is it so ? Canst thou say thou hast been as great a Mourner as thou hast been a Sinner ? Thou didst for many years drive no other Trade but sin ; And is a drop of Sorrow enough for a Sea of Sin ? No : thy Soul must be more humbled , and lie steeping longer in the brinish waters of Repentance . Satan would have a Christian weep himself blind , and in a desperate mood throw away the Anchor of Hope : Now , lest any here be troubled with this Temptation , let me say this ; This is a meer Fallacy of Satan , for sorrow proportionable to sin is not attainable in this Life , nor doth God expect it . It is sufficient for thee ( Christian ) if thou hast a Gospel-sorrow , if thou grievest so far , as to see Sin hateful , and Christ precious . If thou grievest so , as to break off Iniquity ; if thy Remorse end in Divorce , this is to be humbled enough . Then the Gold hath lain long enough in the fire , when the Dross is purged out : then a Christian hath lain long enough in Humiliation , when the Love of Sin is purged out . This is to be humbled enough to Divine Acceptation . God for Christ's sake will accept of this Sorrow for Sin ; therefore let not Satans Temptations drive to despair . You see how subtil an Enemy he is , to hinder from Duty , or discourage in Duty , or put Men on too far in Duty , that he may run them upon the Rock of Despair . Had we not then need ( having such a subtil Enemy ) Pray , Lord , lead us not into temptation : As the Serpent beguiled Eve , let us not be beguiled by this Hellish Machiavel .

23. Subtilty of Satan , in Tempting to the act of sin , is the hopes of returning out of it by speedy Repentance . But this is a fallacy ; it is easie for the Bird to fly into the Snare , but it is not so easie to get out of the Snare . Is it so facile a thing to Repent ? Are there no pangs in the New Birth ? Is it easie to leap out of Dalilah's Lap into Abraham's Bosom ? How many hath Satan flattered into Hell by this policy , that if they sin , they may recover themselves by Repentance ? Alas , Is Repentance in our Power ? A Spring lock can shut of it self , but it cannot open without a Key : We can shut of our selves to God , but we cannot open by Repentance , till God open our heart , who hath the Key of David in his hand .

24. Subtilty of Satan in Tempting , is to put us upon doing that which is good unseasonably .

1. To Mourn for sin is a duty . The Sacrifices of God are a broken heart , Psal. 51.17 . but yet there is a time when it may not be so seasonable . After some eminent Deliverance , which calls for Rejoycing , now to have the Spirits dyed of a Sad Colour , and to sit Weeping , is not seasonable . There was a Special Time at the Feast of Tabernacles , when God call'd his People to Chearfulness . Deut. 16.15 . Seven days shalt thou keep a Solemn Feast to the Lord thy God , and thou shalt surely rejoyce . Now if at this time the Israelites had hung their Harps upon the Willows , and been Disconsolate , it had been very unseasonable , like Mourning at a Wedding . When God , by his Providence , calls us to Thanksgiving , and we sit Drooping , and , with Rachel , refuse to be comforted ; this is very evil , and savours of Ingratitude . This is Satan's Temptation , the hand of Ioab is in this .

2. To Rejoyce is a Duty , Psal. 33.1 . Praise is comely for the Vpright . But when God by his judgments calls us to Weeping , now Joy and Mirth is unseasonable , Isa. 22.12 . In that day did the Lord call to weeping , and behold joy and gladness . Oecolampadius , and other Learned Writers think , it was in the time of King Ahaz , when the Signs of God's Anger , like a Blazing-Star , did appear ; now to be given to Mirth was very unseasonable .

3. To Read . The Word is a Duty ; but Satan will sometimes put Men upon it when it is unseasonable . To Read at home , when God's Word is Preaching , or the Sacrament Administring , is unseasonable , yea sinful . As Hushai said , 2 Sam. 17.7 . The Counsel is not good at this time : There was a Set-time enjoyned for the Passover , when the Iews were to bring their Offering to the Lord , Numb. 9.2 . Had the People been Reading the Law at home , in the time of the Passover , it had not been in season , and God would have punished it for a contempt . This is the Devil 's subtil Temptation , either to keep us from duty , or to put us upon it when it is least in season . Duties of Religion not well timed and done in season , are dangerous . Snow and Hail are good for the ground when they come in their season ; but in Harvest , when the Corn is ripe , then a Storm of Hail would do hurt .

25. Subtilty of Satan in Tempting , is , to perswade Men to delay their repenting and turning to God . He saith , as Hag. 1.2 . The time is not yet come . Now youth is budding , or you are but in the flower of your age , it is too soon to repent , the time is not yet come . This Temptation is the Devil's draw-net by which he drags Millions to Hell . It is a dan●erous Temptation . Sin is Dulce venenum , Bern. a Poison ; the longer Poison lies in the Body , the more mortal By delay of Repentance , sin strengthens , and the heart hardens . The longer Ice freezeth , the harder it is to be broken . The longer a Man freezeth in impenitency , the more difficult it will be to have his heart broken . When sin hath gotten an haunt , it is not easily shaken off . Besides , the danger of this Temptation to delay Repentance , appears in this , because life is hazardous , and may on a sudden expire . What security have you that you shall live another day ? Life is made up of a few flying Minutes ; it is a Taper soon blown out ▪ Jam. 4.14 . What is your life ? It is but a vapour . The body is like a Vessel , tun'd with a little breath ; Sickness broacheth this Vessel , Death draws it out : How dangerous therefore is this Temptation to procrastinate and put off turning to God by repentance . Many now in Hell did purpose to Repent , but Death surpriz'd them .

26. Subtilty of Satan in Tempting , is , to infringe and weaken the Saints peace : If he cannot Destroy their Grace , he will Disturb their Peace . Satan envies a Christian should have a good day ; and if he cannot keep him from Heaven , he will keep him from an Heaven upon Earth . There is nothing ( next to Holiness ) a Christian prizeth more , than Peace and Tranquillity of Mind . This is the Cream of Life , a Bunch of Grapes by the way : Now it is Satans great policy to shake a Christian's Peace ; that if he will go to Heaven , he shall go thither through Frights , and plenty of Tears . The Devil throws in his Fireballs of Temptation , to set the Saints Peace on fire . Of such great concern is Spiritual Peace , that no wonder if Satan would , by his Intricate subtilties , Rob us of this Jewel .

Spiritual Peace is a Token of God's Favour . As Ioseph had a special testimony of his Fathers Kindness in the Party-coloured Coat he gave him ; so have the Saints a special token of God's Good-will to them , when he gives them inward Peace , which is , as it were , the party-coloured Coat to wear . No wonder then if Satan so much rage against the Saints Peace , and would tear off this comfortable Robe from them .

The Devil troubles the waters of the Saints Peace , because hereby he hopes to have the more advantage of them .

1. By this perplexing of their Spirits , Satan takes off their Chariot-wheels ; unfits them for the Service of God : Body and Mind are both out of temper , like an Instrument out of Tune . Sadness of Spirit prevailing , a Christian can think of nothing but his Troubles ; his Mind is full of doubts , fears , surmises ; that he is like a person distracted , and is scarce himself : Either he neglects the duties of Religion , or his mind is taken off from them while he is doing them . Especially , there is one Duty , that melancholy and sadness of spirit unfits for , and that is Thankfulness . Thankfulness is a Tribute , or Quit-rent due to God , Psal. 149.3 . Let the Saints be joyful , let the high praises of God be in their mouth . But when Satan hath disturbed a Christian's spirit , and fill'd his Mind full of black , and almost despairing thoughts , how can he be Thankful . It rejoyceth Satan to see how his Plot takes , by making God's Children Vnquiet , he makes them Vnthankful .

2. Satan , by troubling the Saints Peace , hath this advantage , of laying a stumbling-block in the way of others : By this policy the Devil gets an occasion to render the ways of God unlovely to those who are looking Heaven-ward . He sets before new beginners the perplexing Thoughts , the Tears , the Groans of them who are wounded in Spirit , to scare them quite off from all seriousness in Religion . He will object to new beginners ; Do you not see how these sad Souls torture themselves with melancholy Thoughts , and will you change the comforts and pleasures of this life to sit always in the house of mourning ? Will you espouse that Religion , which makes you a terror to your selves , and a burden to others ? Can you be in love with such a Religion , as is ready to fright you out of your wits ? This advantage the Devil gets by troubling the Saints Peace , he would discourage others who are looking towards Heaven ; he would beat them off from Praying , and hearing all Soul-awakening Sermons , lest they fall into this black humour of Melancholy , and end their days in despair .

3. By this subtil policy of Satan , in disturbing the Saints Peace , and making them believe God doth not love them , he hath this advantage , he sometimes so far prevails over them , as to make them begin to entertain hard thoughts of God . Through the black Spectacles of Melancholy , God's dealings look sad and Ghastly . Satan tempts the Godly to have strange thoughts of God ; to think he hath cast off all pity , and hath forgotten to be gracious , Psal. 77. and to make sad conclusions , Isai. 38.13 . I reckoned that as a Lion , so will he break all my bones ; from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me . The Devil setting in with Melancholy , causeth a sad Eclipse in the Soul ; it begins to think , God hath shut up the Springs of Mercy , and there is no Hope . Hereupon , Satan gets farther advantage of a troubled Spirit , sometimes he puts the troubled Soul upon sinful wishes and execrations against it self : Iob , in distemper of Mind , Cursed his Birth-day , Iob 3.3 . Iob , though he did not curse his God , yet he cursed his Birth-day . Thus you see what advantages the Devil gets by raising storms , and troubling the Saints Peace : and let me tell you , if the Devil is capable of any delight , it is to see the Saints disquiets ; their Groans are his Musick : 'T is a sport to him to see them torture themselves upon the wrack of Melancholy , and almost drown themselves in tears . When the Godly have unjust surmises of God , question his Love , deny the Work of Grace , and fall to wishing they had never been Born ; now Satan is ready to clap his hands and shout for a Victory .

Having shewn you the advantages the Devil gets by this Temptation of disturbing the Saints Peace , I shall Answer a Question , by what Arts and Methods doth Satan in Tempting disturb the Saints Peace ?

Answ. 1. Satan slily conveys evil thoughts , and then makes a Christian believe they come from his own heart . The Cup was found in Benjamin's sack , but it was of Ioseph's putting in : So a Child of God oft finds Atheistical Blasphemous Thoughts in his mind , but Satan hath cast them in . The Devil doth , as some , lay their children at anothers door : So Satan lays his Temptations at our door , fathers them upon us , and then we trouble our selves about them , and Nurse them as if they were our own .

2. Satan disturbs the Saints Peace , by drawing forth their sins in the most black colours , to affright them , and make them ready to give up the Ghost . Satan is called the Accuser of the Brethren ; not onely because he accuseth them to God , but accuseth them to themselves : He tells them , they are guilty of such sins , and they are Hypocrites . Whereas the sins of a Believer shew only , that Grace is not perfect , not , that he hath no Grace : When Satan comes with this Temptation , shew him that Scripture , 1 Joh. 1.7 . The blood of Iesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin .

27. Subtilty of Satan , is , by plausible Arguments , to tempt Men to be felo de se , to make away themselves . This Temptation doth not onely cross the current of Scripture , but is abhorring to Nature , to be ones own Executioner . Yet such cunning artifices hath Satan , that he perswades many to lay violent hands upon themselves ; which the Bills of Mortality witness .

1. He tempts some to this in terror of Conscience ; telling them , All the Hell they shall have is in their Conscience , and Death will give them present ease .

2. He tempts others to make away themselves , that they may live no longer to sin against God .

3. Others he tempts to make away themselves , that they may presently arrive at happiness : he tells them , The best of the Saints desire Heaven , and the sooner they are there the better .

Austin speaks of Cleombratas , who hearing Plato Read a Lecture of the Immortality of the Soul , and the Ioys of the other World , se in praecipitium dejecit ; threw himself down a steep Precipice , or Rock , and kill'd himself . This is Satan's Plot , but we must not break prison , by laying Violent hands upon our selves ; but stay , till God send and open the door . Let us Pray , Lead us not into temptation . Still bear in mind that Scripture , Exod. 20.13 . Thou shalt not kill . Clamitat in Coelum vox sanguinis — if we may not kill another , much less our selves ; and take heed of discontent , which often opens the door to self-murder .

Thus I have shewn you 27 Subtilties of Satan in Tempting , that so you may the better know them and avoid them .

There is a Story of a Iew that should have Poisoned Luther , but a Friend sent to Luther the Picture of this Iew , warning him to take heed of such a Man when he saw him , by which means he knew the Murderer , and escaped his hands . I have told you the subtil devices of Satan in tempting ; I have shewn you ( as it were ) the Picture of him that would Murder you ; I beseech you , being forewarned , take heed of the Murderer .

1. Vse . From this subtilty of Satan in Tempting , let me draw two Inferences .

1. It may administer matter of wonder to us how any soul is saved . How may we admire , that Satan , this Abaddon , or Angel of the Bottomless Pit , Rev. 9.11 . This Apollyon , this Soul-devourer , doth not ruine all Mankind ? What a wonder is it that some are preserved , that neither Satan's hidden snares prevail , nor his fiery darts : that neither the Head of the Serpent , nor the Paw of the Lion destroys them ? Sure it will be matter of admiration to the Saints when they come to Heaven , to think how strangely they came thither ; that notwithstanding all the force and fraud , the power and policy of Hell , yet they should arrive safe at the Heavenly Port : This is through the safe Conduct of Christ , the Captain of our Salvation ; Michael is too hard for the Dragon .

2. Is Satan so subtil ; see then what need we have to pray to God for wisdom , to discern the snares of Satan , and strength to resist them ; we cannot of our selves stand against Temptation , if we could , this Prayer were needless , Lead us not , &c. Let us not think we can be too cunning for the Devil , we can escape his wiles and darts . If David and Peter who were Pillars in God's Temple , fell by Temptation , how soon should such weak Reeds as we , be blown down , ●id God leave us ? Take Christ's Advice , Mat. 26.41 . Watch and pray , that ye enter not into Temptation .

Inference . 3. See what the end of all Satans subtilties in tempting is , He is a Tempter that he may be an accuser . He lays the plot , enticeth men to Sin , and then brings in the Indictment ; as if one should make another drunk , 2 Sam. 18.2 . and then complain of him to the Magistrate for being drunk . The Devil is first a Tempter and then an Informer , first a Liar , and then a Murderer .

Having shewn you the subtilties of Satan in tempting , I shall answer two questions .

Quest. 1. Why doth God suffer his Saints to be so hurried and buffeted by Satans Temptations ?

Answ. The Lord doth it for many wise and holy ends .

1. He lets them be tempted to try them . The Hebrew word Nissa in Pyhil signifies both to Tempt and to Try . Temptation is a Touchstone to try what is in the Heart . The Devil tempts that he may deceive , but God lets us be tempted to try us . Qui non tentatur non probatur . Aug.

1. Hereby God tries our sincerity ; Iobs sincerity was tryed by Temptation , the Devil told God that Iob was an Hypocrite , and served God only for a Livery , but saith he , Touch him , ( that is , let me tempt him ) and then see if he will not curse thee to thy Face ? Iob 1.11 . well , God did let the Devil touch him by a Temptation , yet Iob remains holy , he worships God , and blesseth God , ver. 20.21 . Here Iobs sincerity was proved , Iob had Fiery Temptations , but he came out of the Fire a Golden Christian , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Chrys. Temptation is a touchstone of sincerity .

2. By Tentation God tries our Love , the Wife of Tigranes did never so shew her chastity and love to her Husband , as when she was tempted by Cyrus , but did not yield . So our love to God is seen in this , when we can look a Temptation in the Face , and turn our back upon it ; tho' the Devil come as a Serpent subtilly , and offers a Golden Apple , yet we will not touch the forbidden fruit . When the Devil shew'd Christ all the Kingdoms of the World and the glory of them : such was Christs love to his Father , that he abhor'd the Temptation . True love will not be bribed . When the Devils Darts are most fiery , a Saints love to God is most Fervent .

3. By Temptation God tries our courage , Hos. 7.11 . Ephraim is a silly Dove without an Heart . So it may be said of many , they are excordes , without an Heart ▪ they have no Heart to resist a temptation , no sooner doth Satan come with his sollicitations but they yield ; like a Coward as soon as the thief approacheth he delivers his Purse . But he is the valorous Christian that brandisheth the Sword of the Spirit against Satan and will rather die than yield ; the courage of the Romans was never more seen than when they were assaulted by the Carthaginians ; the Heroick Spirit of a Saint is never more seen than in a Field Battle when he is fighting with the Red-Dragon , and by the power of faith puts the Devil to flight . Fidei robur potest esse concussum , non excussum Tertul. This is one reason why God lets his People be tempted , that their mettal may be tryed , their sincerity , love , magnanimity ; when Grace is proved , the Gospel is honoured .

2. God suffers his Children to be tempted , that they may be kept from Pride , quos non Gula , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 superavit , Cypr. Pride crept once into the Angels , and into the Apostles , when they disputed which of them should be greatest , and in Peter , tho' all men forsake thee , yet I will not , as if he had had more Grace than all the Apostles . Pride keeps Grace low , that it cannot thrive , as the Spleen swells , so the other parts of the body consume . As Pride grows , so Grace consumes . God resists Pride , and that he may keep his Children humble he suffers them sometimes to fall into temptation , 2 Cor. 12.7 . lest I should be exalted , there was given to me a Thorn in the Flesh , a Messenger of Satan to buffet me . When Paul was lifted up in Revelations , he was in danger to be lifted up in Pride . Now came the Messenger of Satan to Buffet him , that was , some sore temptation to humble him . The Thorn in the Flesh was to prick the Bladder of Pride . Better is that temptation that humbles me , than that duty which makes me Proud . Rather than a Christian shall be Proud , God lets him fall into the Devils Hands a while , that he may be cured of his Imposthume .

3. God lets his People be tempted , that they may be fitter to comfort others , as are in the same distress : they can speak a word in due season to such as are weary . St. Paul was train'd up in the Fencing School of temptation , 2 Cor. 2.11 . and he was able to acquaint others with Satans Wiles and Stratagems . A Man that hath rid over a place where there are Quick sands , is the fittest to guide others through that dangerous way . He who hath been buffeted by Satan , and hath felt the Claws of this Roaring Lion , is the fittest Man to deal with one that is tempted .

4. God lets his Children be tempted to make them long more for Heaven , where they shall be out of Gunshot ; there they shall be freed from the hissing of the old Serpent . Satan is not yet fully cast into Prison , but is like a Prisoner that goes under Bail , he doth vex and molest the Saints , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chr. He lays his snares , throws his Fire-balls , but this is only to make the People of God long to be gone from hence , and that they may pray that they had the Wings of a Dove , to fly away beyond Satans temptations . God suffered Israel to be vexed with the Egyptians , that they might long the more to be in Canaan . Heaven is centrum , a place of rest , centrum quietativum , no Bullets of temptation fly there , the Eagle that Soars aloft in the Air , and sits pearching upon the tops of high Trees , is not troubled with the stinging of Serpents ; so , when believers are gotten above into the Empyrean Heaven , they shall not be stung with the Old Serpent . The Devil is cast out of the Heavenly Paradise . Heaven is compared to an exceeding high Mountain , Rev. 21.10 . it is so high , that Satans fiery Darts cannot reach up to it . Nullus ibi hostium metus , nullae insidiae daemonum , Bern.

The Temptations here are to make the Saints long till Death sound a Retreat , and call them off the Field where the Bullets of Temptation fly so thick , that they may receive a victorious Crown . Thus I have answered this question , why God lets his dear Servants be tempted .

Quest. 2. What Rocks of support are there , or what comfort for tempted Souls ?

Answ. 1. That it is not our case alone , but hath been the case of Gods eminent Saints . 1 Cor. 10.13 . There hath no temptation taken you , but that which is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , common to man , yea , to the Best : Men Christs Lambs which have had the ear mark of Election upon them , have been set upon by the Wolf . Elijah that could shut Heaven by Prayer , could not shut his Heart from a temptation , 1 Kin. 19.4 . Iob was tempted to Curse God , Peter to deny Christ ; hardly ever any Saint hath got to Heaven , but hath met with a Lion by the Way , sortem quam omnes sancti patiuntur nemo recusat , nay , Jesus Christ himself , tho he were free from sin , yet not from Temptation , we read of Christs Baptism , Mat. 3.16 . and Mat. 4.1 . Then was he led into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil . No sooner was Christ out of the Water of Baptism , but he was in the Fire of Temptation , and if the Devil would set upon Christ , no wonder if he set upon us . There was no sin in Christ , no Powder for the Devils fire . Temptation to Christ was like a Bur on a Christal Glass which glides off , or like a spark of fire on a marble Pillar which will not stick ; yet Satan was so bold as to tempt Christ ; this is some comfort , such as have been our Betters have wrestled with Temptations .

2. Rock of support that may comfort a tempted Soul is , that temptations ( where they are burdens ) evidence Grace . Satan doth not tempt Gods Children because they have sin in them , but because they have Grace in them . Had they no Grace , the Devil would not disturb them , where he keeps possession all is in peace , Luk. 11.21 . his Temptations are to rob the Saints of their Grace , a Thief will not assault an empty House , but where he thinks there is Treasure . A Pyrate will not set upon an empty Ship , but that is full fraught with Spices and Jewels : so the Devil most assaults the people of God because he thinks they have a rich treasure of Grace in their Hearts , and he would rob them of that . What makes so many Cudgels be thrown at a Tree but because there is so much fruit hanging upon it ? the Devil throws his temptations at you , because he sees you have so much fruit of Grace growing upon you . Tho to be tempted is a trouble , yet to think why you are tempted is a comfort .

3 The third Rock of support or comfort is , that Jesus Christ is near at hand , and stands by us in all our temptations . Here take notice of two things , 1. Christs sympathy in temptation . 2. Christs succour in temptation .

1. Christs Sympathy in our temptations . Nobis compatitur Christus . Heb. 4.15 . We have not an High-priest who cannot be touch'd with the feeling of our Infirmities . Jesus Christ doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , sympathise with us , he is so sensible of our Temptations , as if he himself lay under them , and did feel them in his own Soul . As in Musick when one string is touched all the rest sound : So Christs Bowels sound ; we cannot be Tempted ▪ but he is touched . If you saw a Wolf worry your Child ; would you not pity your Child ? You cannot pity it so as Christ doth tempted ones . Christ had a fellow feeling when he was upon Earth , much more now in glory .

Quest. But how can it stand with Christs glory now in Heaven , to have a fellow-feeling of our miseries and temptations ?

Answ. This fellow-feeling in Christ ariseth not from any infirmity or passion , but from the mystical union between him and his Members , Zach. 2.8 . He that toucheth you , toucheth the Apple of mine Eye . Every injury done to a Saint , Christ takes as done to him in Heaven ; every temptation is a striking at Christ , and he is touch'd with the feeling of our temptations

2. Christs succour in temptation ; as the good Samaritan first had compassion on the wounded Man , there was Sympathy , then he poured in Wine and Oil , there was succour , Luke . 10.34 . So when we are wounded by the Red Dragon ▪ Christ is first touched with compassion , and then he pours in Wine and Oil , Heb. 2.18 . in that he himself hath suffer'd being tempted , he is able to succour them that are tempted . The Greek word to succour , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 signifies to run speedily to ones help ; so fierce is Satan , so frail is Man , that Christ who is God-man runs speedily to his help . When Peter was ready to sink , and said , Lord save me , Christ presently stretched forth his hand and caught him . So when a poor Soul is tempted , and cries to Heaven for help , Lord save me , Christ comes in with his Auxiliary Forces : Noscit Christus , our Lord Jesus knows what it is to be tempted , therefore is so ready to succour such as are tempted ; it hath been an observation , that child-bearing Women are more pittiful to others in their Travails , than such Women as are Barren . So the Lord Jesus having been in Travail by Temptations and Sufferings , is more ready to pity and succour such as are tempted .

Concerning Christs succouring the Tempted , consider two things .

1. Christs Ability to succour . 2. His Agility to succour .

1. Christs Ability to succour , Heb. 2.18 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 he is able to succour them that are tempted . Christ is call'd Michael , Rev. 12.7 . which signifies , Who is like God ? Tho' the Tempted Soul is weak , yet he fights under a good Captain ; The Lion of the Tribe of Iudah . When a tempted Soul fights , Christ comes into the Field as his Second . Michael will be too hard for the Dragon ; when the Devil lays the Siege of a Temptation , Christ can raise the Siege when he please . He can beat through the Enemies quarters , and can so rout Satan , that he shall never be able to rally his forces any more . Jesus Christ is on the Saints side , and who would desire a better Live-guard than Omnipotency ?

2. Christs Agility in succouring . As Christ is able to succour the tempted , so he will certainly succour them . Christs power inables him , his love inclines him , his faithfulness engageth him to succour tempted Souls . This is a great comfort to a Soul in Temptation , he hath a succouring Saviour , as God did succour Israel in the Wilderness among fiery Serpents , they had the Rock set abroach , the Manna , the Pillar of Cloud , the Brazen Serpent ; what was this but a Type of Gods succouring a poor Soul in the Wilderness of Temptation , stung with the Devil that fiery Serpent ? Alexander being asked how he could sleep so securely when his Enemies were about him , said , Antipater is awake , who is always vigilant . So when our tempting Enemy is near us , Jesus Christ is awake , who is a Wall of Fire about us . There is a great deal of succour to the tempted in the Names given to Christ . As Satans names may terrifie , so Christs names may succour . The Devil is called Apollyon , the Devourer , Rev. 9.11 . Christ is called a Saviour , the Devil is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 the Strong man ; Mat. 12.29 . Christ is call'd el Gibbor , the mighty God , Isa. 9 6. the Devil is call'd the Accuser , Rev. 12.10 . Christ is called the Advocate , 1 Ioh. 2.1 . The Devil is called the Tempter , Mat. 4.3 . Christ is called the Comforter , Luke 2.25 . The Devil is call'd the Prince of Darkness , Christ is call'd the Sun of Righteousness : The Devil is call'd the Old Serpent , Christ is call'd the Brazen Serpent that Heals , Iohn 3.15 .

Thus the very names of Christ have some succour in them for Tempted Souls .

Quest. How , and in what manner doth Christ succour them that are tempted .

Answ. Several ways .

1. Christ succours them by sending his Spirit , whose works it is to bring those promises to their mind , which are fortifying , Iohn 14.26 . he shall bring all things to your remembrance . The Spirit furnisheth us with promises , as so many Weapons to fight against the old Serpent , Rom. 16.20 . the Lord will shortly bruise Satan under your feet , 1 Cor. 10.13 . God will not suffer you to be tempted 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 above that ye are able , Gen. 3.15 . The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents Head . We are oft in times of Temptation as a Man that hath his House beset , and cannot find his Weapons , he hath his Sword and his Gun to seek : now , in this case Christ sends his Spirit , and he brings things to our remembrance that help us in our Combat with Satan . The Spirit of Christ doth to one that is tempted as Aaron and Hur did to Moses , they put a Stone under him , and held up his Hands , and then Israel prevailed . So Gods Spirit puts the Promises under the Hand of Faith , and then a Christian overcomes the Devil that spiritual Amalek . The Promise is to the Soul as the Anchor is to a Ship , which keeps it steddy in a Storm .

2. Christ succours them that are tempted , by his blessed interceeding for them . When the Devil is tempting , Christ is praying .

Of this the next timer

2. Christ succours his Saints by interceeding for them , when Satan is tempting Christ is praying . That prayer Christ put up for Peter , when he was tempted , extend● to all the Saints , Luk. 22.32 . Lord , saith Christ , it is my Child that is tempted , Father pitty him , when a poor Soul lies bleeding of his wounds the Devil hath given him . Christ presents his Wounds to his Father , and in the virtue of those pleads for Mercy . How powerful must Christs Prayer needs be . He is a Favorite , Iohn . 11.42 . He is both an High-Priest and a Son , if God could forget that Christ were a Priest , yet he cannot forget that he is a Son ; besides , Christ prays for nothing but what is agreeable to his Fathers Will , if a Kings Son Petitions only for that which his Father hath a Mind to grant , his suit will not be denied .

3. Christ succours his People by taking of the Tempter , a Shepherd when the Sheep begins to straggle , may set the Dog on the Sheep to bring it nearer the Fold , but then he calls off the Dog again . God will take of the Tempter , 1 Cor. 10.13 . He will with the Temptation make a way to escape , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , he will make an Out-let . Christ will rebuke the Tempter , Zach. 3.2 . The Lord rebuke thee , O Satan . This is no small support , that Christ succours the Tempted . The Mother succours the Child most when it is sick : she sits by its Bed-side , brings it Cordials . So when a Soul is most assaulted it shall be most assisted .

Object . But I have dealt unkindly with Christ , and sinn'd against his Love , and sure he will not succour me , but let me perish in the Battel .

Answ. Christ is a merciful High-priest , and will succour thee notwithstanding thy failings . Ioseph was a Type of Christ . His Brethren sold him away , and the Irons entered into his Soul , yet afterwards when his Brethren were ready to die in the Famine , he forgot their injuries and succoured them with Money and Corn. I am , saith he , Ioseph your Brother , so will Christ say to a tempted Soul , I know thy unkindnesses , how thou hast distrusted my Love , grieved my Spirit , but I am Ioseph , I am Jesus , therefore I will succour thee when thou art tempted .

4. Rock of support . The best Men may be most tempted . A rich Ship may be violently set upon by Pyrats . He who is rich in Faith yet may have the Devil ( that Pyrate ) set upon him by his battering pieces . Iob an eminent Saint , yet how fiercely was he assaulted . Satan did smite his body , that he might tempt him either to question Gods Providence or quarrel with it , St. Paul was a chosen vessel , but how was this vessel battered with Tentation , 2 Cor. 12.7 .

Object . But is it not said , he who is born of God the Wicked one toucheth him not ? 1 Joh. 5.18 .

Answ. It is not meant that the Devil doth not tempt him , but , he toucheth him not , that is , tactu lethali Cajetan , with a deadly touch , 1 Joh. 5.16 . There is a sin unto Death ; now Satan with all his Temptations doth not make a Child of God sin a sin unto Death . Thus he toucheth him not .

5. Rock of support . Satan can go no further in tempting than God will give him leave . The power of the Tempter is limited . A whole Legion of Devils could not touch one Swine till Christ gave them leave . Satan would have sifted Peter , to have sifted out all his Grace , but Christ would not suffer him , I have prayed for thee , &c. Christ binds the Devil in a Chain , Rev. 20.1 . If Satans power were according to his malice , not one Soul should be saved , but he is a Chained Enemy ; this is a comfort , Satan cannot go an Hairs breadth beyond Gods permission . If an Enemy could not touch a Child further than the Father did appoint , sure he should do the Child no great hurt .

6. Rock of support . It is not the having a Tentation makes guilty , but the giving consent . We cannot hinder a Tentation , Elijah that could by Prayer shut Heaven , could not shut out a Temptation , but if we abhor the Temptation , it is our burden , not our sin . We read in the old Law if one went to force a Virgin , and she cried out , she was reputed innocent . If Satan would by temptation commit a Rape upon a Christian , and he cries out , and will not give consent , the Lord will charge it upon the Devils score . It is not the laying the Bait hurts the Fish , if the Fish doth not bite .

7. Rock of support . Our being tempted is no sign of Gods hating us . A Child of God oft thinks God doth not love him , because he lets him be haunted with the Devil , non sequitur , this is a wrong conclusion , was not Christ himself tempted , yet by a Voice from Heaven proclaimed , This is my beloved Son , Mat. 3.17 . Satans tempting and Gods loving may stand together . The Goldsmith loves his Gold in the Fire , God loves a Saint tho shot at by fiery Darts .

8. Rock of support . Christs Temptation was for our consolation , aqua-ignis . Jesus Christ is to be looked upon as a publick person , as our Head and Representative , and what Christ did he did for us . His prayer was for us , his suffering was for us , when he was tempted and overcame the temptation , he overcame for us . Christs conquering Satan , was to shew that every Elect Person shall at last be a Conqueror over Satan ; when Christ overcame Satans temptations , it was not only to give us an example of Courage , but an assurance of Conquest . We have overcome Satan already in our Head , and we shall at last perfectly overcome .

9. Rock of support , the Saints Temptations shall not be above their strength . The Lutenist will not stretch the strings of his Lute too hard , lest they break , 1 Cor. 10.13 . God is faithful , who will not suffer you to be tempted 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , above that ye are able . God will proportion our strength to the stroke . 2. Cor. 12.9 . My Grace is sufficient for thee ▪ The Torch-light of Faith shall be kept burning , notwithstanding all the Winds of Temptation blowing .

10. Rock of support , these temptations shall produce much good .

1. They shall quicken a Spirit of Prayer in the Saints , they shall pray more and better . Temptation is orationis flabellum , the exciter of Prayer ! perhaps ( before ) the Saints came to God as cold suiters in Prayer , they pray'd as if they pray'd not ; temptation is a Medicine for security . When Paul had a Messenger of Satan to buffet him , he was more earnest in Prayer , 2 Cor. 12.8 . Three times I besought the Lord ; the Thorn in the Flesh was a Spur in his sides to quicken him in Prayer . The Deer being shot with the Dart , runs faster to the Water , when a Soul is shot with the fiery Darts of Temptation , he runs the faster to the Throne of Grace , now he is earnest with God either to take off the Tempter , or to stand by him when he is tempted .

2. God makes the temptation to sin a means to prevent sin . The more a Christian is tempted , the more he Fights against the temptation , the more a chast Woman is assaulted , the more she abhors the motion . The stronger Iosephs temptation was , the stronger was his opposition . The more the Enemy attempts to storm a Castle , the more he is repelled and beat back .

3. Godly temptations causeth the encrease of Grace . Vnus Christianus temptatus mille . One tempted Christian , saith Luther , is worth a thousand . He grows more in Grace . As the Bellows encreaseth the flame ; So the Bellows of a Temptation doth encrease the flame of Grace .

4. By these temptations God makes way for comfort . As Christ after he was tempted , the Angels came and ministred unto him , Mat. 4.11 . As when Abraham had been warring , Mechisedeck brought him Bread and Wine to revive his Spirits , Gen. 14 ▪ 18. so after the Saints have been warring with Satan , now God sends His Spirit to comfort them , which made Luther say , that temptations were Amplexus Christi , Christs embraces , because he doth then most sweetly manifest himself to the Soul . Thus you see what Rocks of support there are for tempted Souls .

That I may further comfort such as are tempted , let me speak to two cases of the tempted .

1. Case . I have horrid temptations to blasphemy ?

Ans. Did not the Devil tempt Christ after this manner ? Mat. 4.9 . All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me . What greater Blasphemy can be imagined , than that the God of Heaven and Earth should worship the Devil ? yet Christ was tempted to this . If when Blasphemous thoughts are injected you tremble at them , and are in a cold sweat , they are not yours , Satan shall answer for them . Let him that plots the Treason suffer .

2. Case . But my case is yet worse ▪ I have been tempted to such sins and have yielded ; the Tempter hath overcome me ?

Ans. I grant that through the with-drawing of Gods Grace , and the force of a temptation a Child of God may be overcome . David was overcome by temptation in case of Bathsheba and numbring the people . There is a party of Grace in the Heart , true to Christ , but sometimes it may be over-voted by corruption , and then a Christian yields ; 't is sad thus to yield to the Tempter , but yet let not a Child of God be wholly discouraged , and say there is no hope , let me pour in some Balm of Gilead into this wounded Soul . Tho' a Christian may fall by a temptation , yet the Seed of God is in him , 1 John 3.9 . His Seed remaineth in him . Gratia concutitur , non excutitur , Aug. A Man may be bruis'd by a fall , yet there is Life in him ; a Christian being foiled by Satan , may be like him who going to Iericho , fell among Thieves wounded and half dead , Luk. 10.30 . but still there 's 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a vital principle of Grace , his Seed remains in him . Tho' a Child of God may be overcome in praelio , in a skirmish , yet not in bello in the main Battel , an Army may be worsted in a Skirmish , but overcomes at last . Tho' Satan may foil a Child of God in a Skirmish by Tentation , yet the Believer shall overcome at last . A Saint may be foiled , not conquered ; he may lose Ground , not lose the Victory .

3. God doth not judge of his Children by one action , but by the frame of their Heart , as God doth not judge of a Wicked Man by one good action , so neither of a Godly Man by one bad action ; a Holy person may be worsted by a temptation , but God doth not measure him by that , who measures milk when it seeths and boils up ? God doth not take the measure of a Saint , when the Devil hath boiled him up in a passion , but God judgeth of him by the Pulse and Temper of his Heart , he would fear God , when he fails he weeps ; God looks which way the Biass of his Heart stands : If his Heart be set against Sin , God will Pardon .

4. God will make a Saints being foil'd by Temptation , turn to his spiritual Advantage .

1. He may let a Regenerate Person fall by a Temptation , to make him more Watchful . Perhaps he walks loosly , and so was decoy'd into sin ; but for the future he grows more curious and cautious in his walking : The foiled Christian is a vigilant Christian. He will have a care of coming within the Lions Chain any more , he will be shy and fearful of the Occasions of sin ; he will not go abroad without his spiritual Armour , and he girds on his Armour by Prayer . When a wild Beast gets over the Hedge and hurts the Corn , a Man will make his Fence the stronger . So when the Devil gets over the Hedge by a Temptation , and foils a Christian , he will be sure to mend his Fence , and be more vigilant against a Temptation afterwards .

2. God lets his Children be sometimes foiled by a Temptation , that they may see their Continual Dependance on God , and may go to him for strength . We need not only habitual Grace to stand against Temptation , but Auxiliary Grace . As the Boat needs not only the Oars , but Wind to carry it against a strong Tide . God lets his Children sometimes fall by a Temptation that seeing their own Weakness , they may rest more on Christ and Free-Grace , Cant. 8.5 .

3. God by suffering his Children to be foiled by a Temptation , will settle them the more in Grace ; they shall get strength by their Foils . The Poets feign , that Antaeas the Giant in Wrestling with Hercules got Strength by every fall to the ground ; it is true here . A Saint being foiled in wrestling with Satan gets more spiritual Strength . Peter had never such a strengthening in his Faith , as after his being foiled in the High-Priest's Hall . How was he fired with Zeal , steeled with Courage ? He who before was dash'd out of Countenance by the Voice of a Maid ; now dares openly confess Christ before the Rulers and the Councils ▪ Acts 2.14 . The shaking of the Tree settles it the more ; God lets his Children be shaken with the Wind of Temptation , that they may be more setled in Grace afterwards . This I have spoken that such Christians as God hath suffered to be foiled by Temptation , may not cast away their Anchor , or give way to sad despairing Thoughts .

Object . But this may seem to make Christians careless whether they fall into a Temptation or no ; if God can make their being foiled by a Temptation advantagious to them ?

Answ. We must distinguish between one who is foiled through Weakness , and through Wilfulness . If a Soldier fights , but is foil'd for want of Strength , the General of the Army will pity him and bind up his Wounds . But if he be wilfully foil'd , and proves treacherous , he must expect no Favour . So if a Christian fight it out with Satan , but is foil'd for want of Strength , ( as it was with Peter , ) God will pity him , and do him good by his being foil'd . But if he be foil'd wilfully and runs into a Temptation , ( as it was with Iudas , ) God will shew him no Favour , but will execute Martial Law upon him .

The Vses Remain .

Vse 1. See in what continual Danger we are . Satan is an exquisite Artist , a deep Headpiece , he lies in Ambush to ensnare ; he is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Tempter , it is his Delight to make the Saints sin , and he is subtil in tempting ; he hath 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Ways and Methods to deceive .

First . He brings a Saint into sin , by making him Confide in his habitual Graces . Satan makes him believe he hath such a stock of Grace , as will Antidote him against all Temptations . Thus Satan deceiv'd Peter , he made him trust in his Grace ; he had such a Cable of Faith , and strong Tacklings , that tho' the Winds of Temptation did blow never so fierce , he could weather the Point . Tho all men forsake thee , yet , I will not ; as if he had more Grace than all the Apostles : thus he was led into Temptation and fell in the Battle ; a man may make an Idol of Grace . Habitual Grace is not sufficient without Auxiliary . The Boat needs not only Oars , but a Gale of Wind to carry it against Tide ; so we need not only habitual Grace but the blowing of the Spirit to carry us against a strong Temptation .

Secondly . Satan tempts to sin by the Baits and Allurements of the World . Foenus Pecuniae funus Animae — one of Christ's own Apostles was caught with a silver Bait. Such as the Devil cannot debauch with Vice , he will corrupt with Money . All this will I give thee , was his last Temptation , Mat. 4.9 . Achan was deluded by a Wedge of Gold . Silvester the Second did sell his Soul to the Devil for a Popedom .

Thirdly . Satan tempts to sin sub specie boni , under a mask and shew of good ; his Temptations seem gracious Motions .

1. He tempts Men to Duties of Religion ; you will think this strange that Satan should tempt to duty , but it is so . 1. he tempts Men to duty out of sinister Ends. Thus he tempted the Pharisees to Pray and give Alms , That they might be seen of men , Mat. 6.5 . Prayer is a Duty , but to look a squint in Prayer , to do it for Vain-glory , this Prayer is turn'd into sin . 2. He tempts to duty when it is not in season , Numb. 28.2 . My Offering and my Bread for my Sacrifices shall ye offer unto me in their due season . Satan tempts to duty when it is out of season . He tempts to read the Word at home , when we should be hearing the Word . He will so tempt to one duty as it may hinder another . 3. He tempts some to duty , out of design that it may be a Cloak for sin . He tempts them to frequency in duty that they may sin and be less suspected . He tempted the Pharisees to make long Prayers , That they might devour widows houses under this pretence , Mat. 23.14 . Who would suspect him of false Weights , that so oft holds a Bible in his hand ? Thus cunning is Satan , he tempts to duty .

2. He tempts men to sin out of a shew of Love to Christ . You will think this strange , but there 's truth in it . Many a good Heart may think what he doth is in love to Christ , and all this while he may be under a Temptation . Christ told Peter , he must suffer at Ierusalem , Peter took him and rebuked him , Be it far from thee , Lord , Mat. 16.21 . as if he had said to Christ , Lord thou hast deserved no such shameful death , and this shall not be unto thee . Peter as he thought did this out of love to Christ , but Peter was all this while under a Temptation . What had become of us if Christ had hearkened to Peter , and had not suffered ? So when Christ wash'd his Disciples Feet , Peter was so mannerly , that he would not let Christ wash his Feet , Ioh. 13.8 . Thou shalt never wash my Feet . This Peter did ( as he thought ) out of Love and Respect to Christ ; Peter thought Christ was too good to wash his Feet , and therefore would have put Christ off ; but this was a Temptation , the Devil put Peter upon this sinful Modesty ; he struck at Peters Salvation , insomuch that Christ saith , If I wash thee not , thou hast no part in me . So again , when the Samaritans would not receive Christ , the Disciples , Iames and Iohn said , Lord , wilt thou that we command fire from Heaven to consume them ? Luke 9.54 . They did this as they thought out of Love to Christ ▪ they would wish for fire to consume his Enemies . But they were under a Temptation , it was not Zeal , but the Wild-fire of their own Passion ; Ye know not ( saith Christ ) what spirits ye are of .

Fourthly . Satan tempts to that sin which a mans Heart is naturally most inclinable to ; he will not tempt a civil Man to Gross sin , this is abhorring to the light of Nature . Satan never sets a dish before men that they do not love ? but he will tempt a civil man to Pride , and to trust in his own Righteousness ; and to make a Saviour of his Civility . The Spider weaves a Web out of her own Bowels ; the civil Man would weave a Web of Salvation out of his own Righteousness . See then in what danger we are when Satan is continually lying in Ambush with his Temptations .

Inference 2. See mans Inability of himself to resist a Temptation . Could he stand of himself against a Temptation , this Prayer were needless , Lead us not into Temptation ; no man hath Power of himself to resist a Temptation further than God gives him Strength , Ier. 10.23 . O Lord , I know that the way of man is not in himself . If Peter who had True Grace , and Adam who had Perfect Grace could not stand against Temptation ; much less can any stand by the Power of Nature , which Confutes the Doctrine of Free-will ; what freedom of Will hath man , when he cannot resist the least Temptation ?

Infer . 3. Here is Matter of Humiliation that there is in us such an Aptitude and proneness to yield to Temptation — Nitimur in vetitum — we are as ready to swallow a Temptation as the fish to swallow the Bait. If the Devil tempt to Pride , Lust , Envy , Revenge ; how do we symbolize with Satan , and embrace his snares . Like a Woman that hath a Suitor come to her , and she doth not need much wooing , she presently gives her Consent . Satan comes a wooing by Temptation , and we soon yield ; he strikes fire and we are as dry Tinder that catcheth the first spark . He knocks by temptation , and ( it is sad to think how ) soon we open the door to the Devil , which is as if one should open the door to a Thief , this may cause a spring of Tears .

Infer . 4. See hence a Christians Life is no easie life , it is Military ; he hath a Goliah in the field to Encounter with , one that is arm'd with Power and Subtilty ; he hath his Wiles and Darts . A Christian must be continually Watching and Fighting ; Satans Designs carry death in the Front , 1 Pet. 5.8 . Seeking whom he he may devour . Therefore we had need be always with our Weapons in our hand . How few think their Life a warfare ? Tho' they have an Enemy in the field that is always laying of Snares or shooting of Darts , yet they do not stand Sentinel or get their spiritual Artillery ready ? They put on their Iewels , but not their Armour , Iob 21.12 . They take the Tymbrel , and Harp , and rejoyce at the sound of the Organ , as if they were rather in Musick than in Battle . Many are asleep in sloth when they should be fighting against Satan , and no wonder the Devil shoots them when he finds them asleep .

Use 2. It reproves them who pray , Lead us not into Temptation , yet run themselves into Temptation . Such are they who go to Plays and Masquerades , and hunt after strange Flesh. Some go a slower pace to Hell , but such as run themselves into Temptation , these go galloping thither ; we have too many of these in this debauch'd Age , who as if they thought they could not sin fast enough , tempt the Devil to tempt them .

Vse 3. Exhortation . Let us labour that we be not overcome by temptation .

Quest. What means may be used that Satans Temptations may not prevail against us ?

Resp. 1. Avoid Solitariness . It is no Wisdom in fighting with an Enemy to give him the Advantage of the Ground ; we give Satan Advantage of the Ground , when we are alone . Eve was foiled in the Absence of her Husband ; a Virgin is not so soon set upon in company , Eccles. 4 10. Two are better than one . Get into the Communion of Saints , and that is a good Remedy against Temptation .

2. If you would not be overcome of Temptation , beware of the Predominancy of Melancholy . This is Atra bilis , a black Humour seated chiefly in the Brain ; Melancholy disturbs Reason , and exposeth to Temptation . One calls Melancholy Balneum Diaboli , the Devils Bath ; he baths himself with Delight in such a Person . Melancholy clothes the Mind in Sable , it fills it with such dismal Apprehensions , as oft end in self-murder .

3. If you would not be overcome of Temptation , study Sobriety . 1 Pet. 5.8 . Be sober , because your Adversary walketh about . Sober-mindedness consists in the moderate use of earthly Things ; an immoderate desire of these things oft brings men into the snare of the Devil . 1 Tim. 6.9 . They that will be rich fall into a Snare . He who loves Riches inordinately , will purchase them unjustly . Ahab would swim to Nabo●hs Vineyard in Blood . He who is drunk with the Love of the World is never free from Temptation , he will pull down his Soul to build up an Estate . Quid non mortalia pectora cogis auri sacra fames ? — Be sober , take heed of being drunk with the love of the World , lest ye fall into Temptation .

4. Be always upon your Guard , watch against Satans Wiles and Subtilties , 1 Pet. 5.8 . Be vigilant ▪ because your Adversary the Devil walks about . A Christian must Excubias agere , keep Watch and Ward . See where Satan labours to make a Breach , see what Grace he most strikes at , or what sin he most tempts to , Mark 13.37 . I say to you all Watch. Watch all the Sences , the Eye , the Ear , the Touch ; Satan can creep in here . O how needful is the spiritual Watch ! shall Satan be watchful and we drowsie ? Doth he watch to devour us , and shall not we watch to save our selves ? Let us see what sin our Heart most naturally inclines to , and watch against this .

5. Beware of Idleness . Satan sows most of his seed in fallow Ground ; it was Hieroms Counsel to his Friend to be ever busied , that if the Devil did come he might find him working in the Vineyard . Idleness tempts the Devil to tempt ; the Bird that sits still is shot , he that wants Employment , never wants Temptation . When a man hath nothing to do , Satan will bring Grist to the Mill , and find him work enough .

6. Make known thy Case to some godly Friend . The hiding a Serpent in the Bosom , is not the way to be safe . When the old Serpent hath gotten into your Bosom by a Temptation , do not hide him there by keeping his Counsel . If a spark be got into the Thatch , it is not Wisdom to conceal it , it may set the House on fire ; conceal not Temptation . The keeping of Secrets is for familiar Friends : be not so great a friend to Satan as to keep his secrets ; Reveal your Temptations , which is the way to procure others Prayer and Advice . Let all see that you are not true to Satans Party , because you tell all his Plots , and reveal his Treasons . Besides , the telling our Case to some Experienced Christian , is the way to have ease ; as the opening a Vein gives ease ; so the opening our Case to a Friend , gives ease to the Soul , and a Temptation doth not so much inflame .

7. Make use of the Word . This the Apostle calls the Sword of the Spirit , Ephes. 6.17 . a fit Weapon to fight against the Tempter . This Sword of the Spirit is Gladius anceps , a Two-edged Sword ; it wounds carnal Lust , and it wounds Satan . He who travels a Road where there is Robbing , will be sure to ride with his Sword . We are travelling to Heaven , and in this Road there is a Thief will always beset us . Satan is in every place where we go . He meets us at Church , he doth not miss a Sermon , he will be tempting us there , sometimes to Drowsiness ; when you sleep at a Sermon the Devil rocks you a-sleep , sometimes he tempts by distracting the Mind in Hearing . Sometimes he tempts to question the Truth of what you hear , thus we meet with the Tempter at Church ; and he tempts in the shop , he tempts you to use Collusion and Deceit , Hos. 12.7 . The Ballances of Deceit are in his Hand . So that we meet with the Tempter every where ; therefore , this Thief being in the Road , we had need ride with a Sword ; we must have the Sword of the Spirit about us We must have skill to use this Sword , and have an Heart to draw it out , and this Sword will put the Devil to flight . Thus our Blessed Saviour when Satan tempted him to Distrust and Blasphemy , he used a Scripture Weapon ▪ It is written . Three times Christ wounded the old Serpent with this Sword . Christ could with his Power and Authority have rebuked the Prince of the Air , as he did the Winds , but he stops the Devils Mouth with Scripture , It is written . It is not our Vows or Resolutions will do it , it is not the Papists Holy-Water or Charms will drive away the Devil , but let us bring the Word of God against him ; this is such an Argument as he cannot answer . It was a saying of Luther , I have had great Troubles of Mind , but so soon as I laid hold on any place of Scripture , and staid my self upon it , as upon my chief Anchor ; straightway my Temptations vanished away ; there 's no Temptation but we have a fit Scripture to answer it . If Satan tempts to Sabbath-Breaking answer him , It is written , Remember to keep the Sabbath Day Holy . If he tempts to Uncleanness , answer him , It is written , Whore-Mongers and Adulterers God will judge . If he tempts to Carnal Fear , say , It is written , Fear not them that kill the Body , and after that have no more that they can do . No such way to confute Temptation as by Scripture . The Arrows which we shoot against Satan must be fetch'd out of this Quiver . Many People want this Sword of the Spirit , they have not a Bible ; others seldom make use of this Sword , but let it rust , they look seldom into the Scripture ; therefore no wonder they are overcome by Temptations . He who is well skill'd in the Word , is like one who hath a Plaister ready to lay upon the Wound assoon as it is made , and so the danger is prevented . Oh study the Scripture and you will be too hard for the Devil ; he cannot stand against this .

8. Let us be careful of our own Hearts , that they do not DECOY us into sin . The Apostle saith , A Man is drawn away of his own Heart and enticed , Iam. 1.14 . Quisque sibi Satan est , B●rn . Every man hath a Tempter in his own Bosom . A Traitor within the Castle is dangerous . The Heart can bring forth a Temptation , tho' Satan doth not Midwife it into the World . If Satan were dead and buried , the Heart could draw us to Evil. As the Ground of all Diseases lies in the Humours of the Body ; so the Seed of all sin lies in Original Lust. Look to your Hearts .

9. If you would not be overcome of Temptation , fly the Occasions of sin . Occasions of sin have a Great Force in them to awaken Lust within . He that would keep himself free from Infection , will not come near an infected House , if you would be sober avoid drunken Company . Ioseph when he was enticed by his Mistress shun'd the Occasion , the Text saith , he would not be with her , Gen. 39.10 . If you would not be ensnared by Popery , do not hear the Mass. The Nazarite who was forbid Wine , might not eat Grapes ; which might occasion intemperance . Come not near the Borders of a temptation . Suppose one had a body made of Gunpowder , he would not come near the least spark of Fire , lest he should be blown up : Many Pray , Lead us not into Temptation , and they run themselves into temptation .

10. If you would not be overcome by temptation , make use of Faith above all things . Take the Shield of Faith , Ephes. 6.16 . Faith wards off Satan's fiery darts , that they do not hurt , 1 Pet. 5.9 . Whom resist , stedfast in Faith Mariners in a storm flie to their Anchor . Flie to your Anchor of Faith : Faith brings Christ along with it . Duellers bring their Second with them into the Field : Faith brings Christ for its Second . Faith puts us into Christ , and then the Devil cannot hurt us . The Chicken ▪ is safe from the Birds of Prey under the Wings of the Hen ; and we are secure from the Tempter under the Wings of the Lord Iesus . Though other Graces are of use to resist the Impulsions of Satan , yet Faith is the Conquering Grace : Faith takes hold of Christ's Merits , Value and Vertue , and so a Christian is too hard for the Devil . The Stars vanish when the Sun appears : Satan vanisheth when Faith appears .

11. If you would not be overcome of temptation , be much in Prayer . Such as walk in infectious places , carry Antidotes about them . Prayer is the best Antidote against temptation . When the Apostle had exhorted to put on the whole Armour of God , Ephes. 6.11 . he adds , Vers. 18. ●raying with all Prayer . Without this Reliqua arma parum prosunt . Zanchy . All other Weapons will do little good . Christ prescribes this Remedy , Watch and pray , lest ye enter into temptation , Mark 14.38 . A Christian fetcheth down strength from Heaven by Prayer . Let us Cry to God for help against the Tempter , as Sampson cried to Heaven for help , Judg. 16.28 . O Lord God , remember me , and strengthen me I pray thee , that I may be avenged of the Philistines : and , vers. 30. The house fell upon the Lords , and upon all the People .

Prayer is stagellum diaboli , it whips and torments the Devil : The Apostle bids us Pray , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , without ceasing , 1 Thes. 5.17 . It was Luther's advice to a Lady , when temptation came , to fall upon her knees by Prayer . Prayer doth asswage the force of a temptation . Prayer is the best Charm or Spell we can use against the Devil . Temptation may bruise our Heel , but by Prayer we wound the Serpents Head . When Paul had a Messenger of Satan to buffet him , what remedy doth he use ? He betook himself to Prayer , 2 Cor. 12.8 . For this thing I besought the Lord thrice , that it might depart from me . When Satan assaults furiously , let us Pray fervently .

12. If you would not be overcome of temptation , be Humble in your own eyes : Such are nearest falling who presume of their own strength . Penelton who said , his fat flesh should melt in the fire ; instead of his fat melting , his heart melted , and he turned from the Truth . When Men grow into a big conceit , God lets them fall , to prick the Bladder of Pride . O be humble ! Such are like to hold out best in a temptation , who have most Grace : but God gives more Grace to the humble , Iames 4 6. Beware of Pride ; an Imposthume is not more dangerous in the Body , than Pride in the Soul . The Doves ( saith Pliny ) take a pride in their Feathers , and in their flying high ; at last they flie so high that they are a prey to the Hawk : When Men flie high in Pride and Self-confidence , they become a prey to the Tempter .

13. If you would not be foil'd by temptation , do not enter into a Dispute with Satan . When Eve began to argue the Case with the Serpent , the Serpent was too hard for her . The Devil , by his Logick , disputed her out of Paradise : Satan can mince sin , and make it small , and varnish it over , and make it look like Vertue ; Satan is too subtil a Sophister to hold an Argument with him . Dispute not , but Fight . If you enter into a Parley with Satan , you give him half the Victory .

14. If we would not be overcome of Satan , let us put on Christian Fortitude . An Enemy we must expect , who is either shooting of darts , or laying of snares , therefore let us be armed with courage , 2 Chr. 19.11 . Deal couragiously , and the Lord shall be with the good . The Coward never won Victory : And , to animate us in our Combat with Satan ,

1. We have a good Captain that Marcheth before us . Christ is called the Captain of our Salvation , Heb. 2.10 .

2. We have good Armour ; Grace is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Armour of God's making , Ephes. 6.11 .

3. Satan is beaten in part already : Christ hath given him his Deaths-wound upon the Cross , Col. 1.15 .

4. Satan is a Chained Enemy , his Power is limited . He cannot Force the Will : It was all Eve complained of , that the Serpent deceived her , not constrained her , Gen. 3.13 . Satan hath astutiam Suadendi , not potentiam Cogendi ; he may perswade , not compel .

5. He is a Cursed Enemy , and God's Curse will blast him : Therefore put on Holy Gallantry of Spirit and Magnanimity . Fear not Satan . Greater is he that is in you , than he that is against you .

15. If we would not be overcome of a Temptation , let us call in the help of others . If an House be set on fire , would you not call in help ? Satan tempts that he may rob you of your Soul ; acquaint some Friends with your Case , and beg their Counsel and Prayers : Who knows but Satan may be cast out by the joynt-prayer of others ? In case of Temptation , how exceeding helpful is the Communion of Saints .

16. If we would not be overcome of Temptation , let us make use of all the Encouragements we can . If Satan be a Roaring Lion , Christ is the Lion of the Tribe of Iudah ; if Satan Tempts , Christ Prays : If Satan be a Serpent to Sting , Christ is a Brazen-Serpent to Heal : if the Conflict be hard , look to the Crown , James 1.12 . Whilst we are fighting , Christ will Succour us , and when we overcome he will Crown us . What makes the Soldier endure a bloody fight , but hope of a Golden Harvest ? Think , that shortly God will call us out of the Field , where the Bullets of Temptation fly so fast , and he will set a Garland of Glory upon our head . How will the case be altered ? Instead of Fighting , Singing ; instead of an Helmet , a Diadem ; instead of a Sword , a Palm-branch of Victory ; instead of Armour , White Robes ; instead of Satan's Skirmishes , the Kisses and Embraces of a Saviour ? The viewing these eternal Recompences would keep us from yielding to Temptation . Who would to gratifie a Lust , lose a Crown .

Use 4. A word of Counsel to such as are Tempted ; Be so wise as to make good use of your Temptations ; as we should labour to improve our Afflictions , so to improve our Temptations . We should pick some good out of Temptation , as Sampson got Honey out of the Lion .

Quest. What Good comes out of a Temptation ? Can there be any good in being set upon by an Enemy ? Can there be any good to have fiery darts shot at us ? Yes , God that can make a Treacle of Poison , can make his People get much good by their Temptations . First , Hereby a Christian sees that Corruption in his heart , which he never saw before : Water in a Glass looks pure , but set it on the fire , and the Scum boils up : So in Temptation , a Christian sees that Scum of Sin boil up , that Passion and Distrust of God as he thought had not been in his heart . Secondly , Hereby a Christian sees more of the Wiles of Satan , and is better able to withstand them . St. Paul had been in the Fencing School of Temptation , and he grew expert in finding out Satan's Stratagems , 2 Cor. 2.11 . We are not ignorant of his devices . Thirdly , Hereby a Christian grows more humble ; God will rather let his Children fall into the Devil's hands than be Proud ; Temptation makes the Plumes of Pride fall , 2 Cor. 12.7 . Lest I should be exalted above measure , there was given me a thorn in the flesh . Better is that Temptation that Humbles , than that Duty which makes one Proud . Thus you see how much good a Christian may get by Temptation ; which made Luther say , Three things make a good Divine , Prayer , Meditation , Temptation .

Vse 5. To such as have been under sore Temptations and Buffetings of Satan , to ( Lust , Revenge , Self-murder , ) but God hath stood by them , and given them strength to overcome the Tempter .

1. Be very thankful to God ; say as , 1 Cor. 15.57 . Thanks be to God who gives us the Victory . Be much in Doxology . Why were we kept more than others from falling into sin ? Was it because Temptation was not so strong ? No : Satan shoots his darts with all his Force . Was the Cause in our Will ? No : such a broken Shield would never have conquer'd Satans Temptations ; know , that it was Free-grace that beat back the Tempter , and brought us off with Trophies of Victory . O be thankful to God : had you been overcome by Temptation , you might have put black-spots in the face of Religion , and given occasion to the Enemies of God to blaspheme , 2 Sam. 12.14 . Had you been overcome , you might have lain sick of a Wounded Spirit , and cried out with David of Broken Bones . After David yielded temptation , he lay for above three quarters of a year in horror of Mind ; and some Divines think , he never recovered his full joy to the day of his Death . O therefore , what cause have they to stand upon Mount Gerizim , blessing of God , who , in a Field-battel , have got the better of Satan , and been more than Conquerours . Say as the Psalmist , Psal. 124.6 . Blessed be the Lord who hath not given us as a prey to their Teeth : So blessed be God who hath not given us as a prey to Satan that Roaring Lion . When God puts Mercy in the Premisses , we must put Praise in the Conclusion .

2. You that have been tempted and come off Victors , be full of Sympathy , pity tempted souls ; shew your Piety in your Pity . Do you see Satan's darts sticking in their sides , do what you can to pull out these darts ; communicate your experiences to them ; tell them how you broke the Devils snare , and your Saviour was your Succourer — The Apostle speaks of restoring others in the Spirit of meekness , Gal. 1.6 . The word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to restore , alludes to Chirurgians , who set Bones out of joint : So when we see such as are tempted , and Satan hath , as it were , put their bones out of joint , labour to set them in joint again with all love , meekness and compassion . A word spoken in season may relieve a Soul fainting in Temptation ; and you may do , as the good Samaritan , drop in oil and wine into the wound , Luk. 10.34 . Vir spiritualis consilia magis quàm convitia meditatur . Aug.

3. You that have got a Conquest of Satan , be not Secure . Think not that you shall never be troubled with the Tempter more : He is not like the Syrians , 2 King . 6 23. The bands of Syria came no more into the Land of Israel . A Cock if he be made once to run away , he will fight no more : But 't is not so with Satan ; He is a Restless enemy ; and if you have beaten him back , he will make a fresh onset . Hannibal said of Marcellus , a Roman Captain , That whether he did beat , or was beaten , he was never quiet .

When Christ had worsted Satan he went away from Christ ; but , ad Tempus , for a Season , Luk. 4.13 . as if he meant to come again . When we have gotten the better of Satan , we are apt to grow secure , to lay aside our Armour , and leave off our Watch ; which , when Satan perceives , then he comes upon us with a new Temptation and wounds us : He deals with us as David did with the Amalekites , when they had taken the spoil , and were secure , 1 Sam. 30.16 . They were spread upon the Earth , eating and drinking and dancing : then , Vers. 17. David smote them , and there escaped not a man of them . Therefore , after we have got the better of the Tempter , we must do , as Mariners in a Calm , mend our Tackling , as not knowing how soon another storm may come . Satan may , for a time , retreat , that he may afterwards come on more fiercely . He may go away a while , and bring seven other Spirits with him , Luk. 11.26 .

Therefore be not Secure , but stand upon your Watch-tower . Lie in your Armour ; always expect a Fight . Say , as he that hath a short respit from an Ague , I look every day when my Fit should come : So say , I look every day when the Tempter should come ; I will put my self into a Warlike posture . Satan , when he is beaten out of the Field , is not beaten out of heart , he will come again . He had little hope to prevail against Christ ; Christ gave him three deadly wounds , and made him retreat ; yet he departed onely for a Season . If the Devil cannot conquer us , yet he knows he shall molest us : if he cannot destroy us , he will disturb us . Therefore we must , with the Pilot , have our Compass ready , and be able to turn our Needle to any Point where Temptation shall blow . If the Tempter come not so soon as we expect , yet by putting our selves into a posture , we have this advantage , we are always Prepared .

To conclude all ; Let us oft make this Prayer , Lead us not into Temptation : If Satan wooes us by a temptation , let us not give Consent . But in case a Christian hath , through weakness , ( and not out of design ) yielded to a temptation , yet let him not cast away his Anchor . Take heed of Despair , this is worse than the fall it self .

Christian , steep thy soul in the brinish Waters of Repentance , and God will be appeased . Repentance gives the Soul a Vomit . Christ loved Peter after his denial of him , and sent the first news of his Resurrection to him ; Go tell the Disciples and Peter . 'T is an Error , to think that one act of sin can destroy the Habit of Grace . 'T is a wrong to God's Mercy and a Christian's Comfort , to make this despairing conclusion , that after one hath fallen by temptation , his Estate is irrecoverable . Therefore Christian , if thou hast fallen with Peter , repent with Peter , and God will be ready to seal thy Pardon .

Matt. 6.13 .

But deliver us from Evil.

2. THe Second Branch of this Sixth Petition , is , Libera nos a malo ; Deliver us from evil . There is more in this Petition than is expressed : The thing Expressed is , that we may be kept from Evil : The thing farther intended is , that we may make a Progress in Piety , Titus 2.11 . Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts ; there is , being delivered from Evil ; that we should live soberly , righteously and godly ; there is a progress in Piety .

I begin with the first thing in this Petition Expressed , Deliver us from Evil.

Quest. What Evil do we Pray to be delivered from ?

Answ. 1. In General , from the evil of sin .

2. More particularly , we Pray to be delivered ,

First , From the Evil of our own Heart ; it is called an Evil Heart , Heb. 3.12 .

Secondly , From the Evil of Satan ; He is called , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Evil One , Matt. 13.19 .

Thirdly , From the Evil of the World ; it is called the present evil World , Gal. 1.4 .

1. In General ; Deliver us from evil : We Pray to be delivered from the evil of sin . Not that we pray to be delivered immediately from the Presence and In-being of sin , for that cannot be in this life . We cannot shake off this Viper : but we Pray that God will deliver us more and more from the Power and Practice , from the Scandalous Acts of Sin , which cast a Reflection upon the Gospel .

Sin then is the Deadly Evil we pray against ; Deliver us from Evil : With what Pencil shall I be able to draw the deformed face of sin . The Devil would Baptize sin with the Name of Vertue : 'T is easie to lay fair Colours on a Black Face .

But I shall endeavour to shew you what a Prodigious Monster sin is ; and there is great reason we should pray , Deliver us from evil .

Sin is , ( as the Apostle saith ) 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , exceeding sinful , Rom. 7.13 . Sin is the very Spirits of Mischief distilled ; 't is called , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Accursed thing , Josh. 7.13 . That sin is the most execrable evil , appears several ways .

1. Look upon Sin in its Original . 2. Look upon Sin in its Nature . 3. Look upon Sin in the Judgment and Opinion of the Godly . 4. Look upon Sin in the Comparative . 5. Look upon Sin in the manner of cure . 6. Look upon Sin in its direful effects , and when you have seen all these you will apprehend , what an horrid evil sin is , and what great reason we have to pray , Deliver us from evil .

1. Look upon sin in its Original ; it fetcheth its pedigree from Hell : Sin is of the Devil , Iohn 8.44 . Sin calls the Devil Father , it is Serpentis venenum , as Austin saith , it is the Poison the Old Serpent hath spit into our Virgin Nature .

2. Look upon Sin in its Nature , and so it is evil .

1. See what the Scripture compares it to . Sin hath got a bad name , 't is compared to the Vomit of Dogs , 2 Pet. 2.22 . to a menstruous Cloath , Isa. 30.22 . which as Ierom saith , was the most unclean thing under the Law , it is compared to the Plague , 1 Kin. 8.38 . to a Gangrene , 2 Tim. 2.17 . persons under these diseases we would be loth to Eat and Drink with .

2. Sin is evil in its Nature as it is injurious to God three ways .

1. It is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 a breach of Gods Royal Law , 1 John 3.4 . Sin is a transgression of the Law : It is Crimenlaesae Majestatis , High Treason against Heaven . What greater injury can be offered to a Prince , than to trample upon his Royal Edicts ? Neh. 9.26 . They have cast thy Laws behind their Backs .

2. Sin is a contumacious affront to God , ' it s a walking contrary to him , Lev. 26.40 . the Hebrew word for sin , Pashang , signifies Rebellion ; sin flies in the Face of God , Iob 15.25 . He stretcheth out his hand against God ; we ought not to lift up a thought against God , much less to lift up an hand against him ; but the sinner doth so ; Sin is Deicidium , it would not only un-throne God , but Ungod him , if Sin could help it God should be no longer God .

3. Sin is injurious to God as it is an act of high ingratitude . God feeds a sinner , Screens off many evils from him , yet he not only forgets Gods Mercies , but abuseth them , Hos. 2.8 . I gave her Corn and Wine and Oil , and multiplied her Silver , which they prepared for Baal . God may say , I gave thee Wit , Health , Riches , which thou hast employed against me . A sinner makes an Arrow of Gods Mercies , and shoots at him , 2 Sam. 16 17. Is this thy kindness to thy friend ? did God give thee life to sin ? Did he give thee Wages to serve the Devil ? O what an ungrateful thing is sin ! Ingratitude forfeits Mercy , as the Merchant doth his Goods by not paying custom .

3. Sin is evil in its nature , as it is a foolish thing , Luk. 12.20 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Thou Fool , this night shall thy Soul be required of thee . 1 Sam 13.13 . Is it not foolish to prefer a short Lease before an Inheritance ? a sinner prefers the pleasures of sin for a season , before those pleasures which run at Gods right hand for evermore . Is it not folly to gratifie an Enemy ? Sin gratifies Satan . Mortalium errores epulae sunt daemonum . Mens sins feast the Devil . Is it not folly for a Man to be felo de se , guilty of his own destruction , to give himself Poison ? a Sinner hath an hand in his own Death , Prov. 1.18 . They lay wait for their own blood , no creature did ever willingly kill it self but Man .

4. Sin is a polluting thing . Sin is not only a defection , but a pollution , t is as rust to Gold , as a stain to Beauty , 't is call'd filthiness of Flesh and Spirit , 2 Cor. 7.1 . it makes the Soul red with guilt , and black with filth , quanta saeditas vitiosae mentis ! Cicero . This filth of sin is inward . A spot in the Face may easily be wiped off , but to have the Liver and Lungs tainted is far worse ; sin hath got into the Conscience , Tit. 1.15 . sin defiles all the faculties , the Mind , Memory , Affections , as if the whole Mass of Blood were corrupted , sin pollutes and fly-blows our holy things : the Leper in the Law if he had touched the Altar , the Altar had not cleansed him , but he had polluted the Altar ; an Emblem of sins Leprosie spotting our holy things .

5. Sin is a debasing thing , it degrades us of our honour , Dan. 11.25 . In those days shall stand up a vile person ; this was spoken of Antiochus Epiphanes who was a King , and his name signifies illustrious , but sin had made him vile ; sin blots a Mans name , nothing so turns a Mans Glory into shame as sin doth , sin makes one like a Beast , Psal. 49.20 . 't is worse to be like a Beast , than to be a Beast , 't is no shame to be a Beast , but it is a shame for a Man to be like a Beast , Lust makes a Man Brutish , and Wrath makes him Devilish .

6. Sin is an enslaving thing . A sinner is a Slave when he sins most freely . Grave servitutis jugum , Cicero . Sin makes Men the Devils Servants . Satan bids them sin , and they do it , he bid Iudas betray Christ , and he did it ; he bid Ananias tell a Lye , and he did it , Act. 5.3 . when a Man commits a sin he is the Devils Lacky , and runs on his errand , they who serve Satan have such a bad Master , that they will be afraid to receive their Wages .

7. Sin is an unsavory thing , Psal. 14.3 . They are altogether become filthy , in the Hebrew , neelachu they are become stinking ! sin is very noisome to God , that person who shall Worship in Gods House , yet live in the sin of uncleanness , let him be perfum'd with all the Spices of Arabia his Prayers are unsavoury , Isa. 1.13 . Incense is an abomination to me ; therefore God is said to behold the Proud afar off , Psal. 138.6 . He will not come near the Dung-hill sinner , that hath such noisome Vapours coming from him .

8. Sin is a painful thing , it costs Men much labour and pains to accomplish their wicked designs ▪ Jer. 9.5 . They weary themselves to commit iniquity . Peccatum est sui ipsius paena . What pains did Iudas take to bring about his Treason ? He goes to the High-Priest , and then after to the Band of Soldiers , and then back again to the Garden : What pains did the Powder-traiters take in digging through a thick Stone Wall ? what pains in laying their Barrels of Powder , and then covering them with Crows of Iron ? How did they tire out themselves in sins Drudgery , Chrysostom saith Vertue is easier than Vice . 'T is easier to be sober than intemperate . 'T is easier to serve God than to follow sin . A wicked man sweats at the Devils Plough , and is at great pains to Damn himself .

9. Sin is a disturbing thing . Whatever defiles disturbs . Sin breaks the peace of the Soul . Isa. 57.21 . No peace to the Wicked . When a Man sins presumptuously he stuffs his Pillow with Thorns , and his head will lie very uneasy when he comes to dye . Sin causeth a Trembling at the Heart . When Spira had sinn'd he had a Hell in his Conscience , he was in that horror that he professed he envied Cain and Iudas . Charles the ninth who was guilty of the Massacre in Paris , was afterwards a terrour to himself , he was frighted at every noise , and could not endure to be waked out of his sleep without Musick . Sin breaks the peace of the Soul . Cain in killing Abel stab'd half the World at a blow , but could not kill the Worm of his own Conscience . Thus you see what an evil sin is in the nature of it , and had not we need pray , Deliver us from Evil.

3. Look upon sin in the Iudgment and opinion of the Godly , and it will appear to be the most prodigious evil .

1. Sin is so great an evil , that the Godly will rather do any thing than sin , Heb. 11.24 . Moses chose rather to suffer with the People of God , than to enjoy the pleasures of sin . The Primitive Christians said , Ad leonem potius quàm lenonem , they chose rather to be devoured by Lions without , than Lusts within . Irenaeus was carried to a place where was a Cross on one side and an Idol on the other , and he was put to his choice either to bow to the Idol or suffer on the Cross , and he chose the latter ; a Wise Man will chuse rather to have a rent in his Coat than in his Flesh. The Godly will rather endure outward sufferings , than a rent in their Conscience . So great an evil is in sin , that the Godly will not sin for the greatest gain , they will not sin tho' they might purchase an estate by it ; nay , tho' they were sure to promote Gods Glory by it .

2. The Godly testifie sin is a great evil , in that they desire to die upon no account more than this , that they may be rid of sin ; they are desirous to put off the clothing of the Flesh , that they may be uncloathed of sin . It is their greatest grief that they are troubled with such Inmates , they have the stirrings of Pride , Lust , Envy . It was a cruel Torment Mezentius used , he tied a dead Man to a living : Thus , a Child of God hath corruption join'd with Grace , here is a dead Man tied to the living . So hateful is this , that a believer desires to die for no other reason more than this , that death shall free him from sin . Sin brought death into the World , and death shall carry sin out of the World . Thus you see in the opinion of the Godly , sin is the most hyperbolical and execrable evil .

4. Look upon sin in the comparative , and it will appear to be the most deadly evil . Compare what you will with it ; 1. Affliction , 2. Death , 3. Hell ; And still sin is worse .

First , Compare sin with affliction ; there is more evil in a drop of sin than in a Sea of affliction .

1. Sin is the Cause of affliction , the cause is more than the effect . Sin brings all mischief , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , &c. Chrysost. Sin hath sickness , Sword , Famine , and all Judgments in the Womb of it . Sin rots the name , consumes the estate , wastes the radical moisture , as the Poets ●ain of Pandora's Box , when it was opened , it filled the World full of Diseases : when Adam broke the Box of Original Righteousnes , it hath caus'd all the Penal evils in the World . Sin is the Phaeton that sets the World on Fire . Sin turn'd the Angels out of Heaven , and Adam out of Paradise ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . Chrys. Sin causeth Mutinies , Divisions , Massacres , Jer. 47.6 . O thou Sword of the Lord , how long will it be ere thou be quiet ? the Sword of Gods justice lies quietly in the Scabbard , till sin draws it out , and whets it against a Nation , so that sin is worse than affliction , it being the cause of it ; the cause is more than the effect .

2. God is the author of affliction , Amos 3.6 . Is there any evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it ? it's meant of the evil of affliction . God hath an hand in affliction , but no hand in sin ! God is the cause of every action , so far as it is Natural , but not as it is Sinful . He who makes an instrument of Iron is not the cause of the Rust or Canker which corrupts the Iron . So God made the Instrument of our Souls , but the Rust and Canker of sin which corrupts our Souls God never made ; Peccatum Deus non fecit , Austin . God can no more act evil than the Sun can darken . In this sense sin is worse than affliction ; God hath an hand in affliction , but disclaims having any hand in sin .

3. Affliction doth but reach the Body and make that miserable , but sin makes the Soul miserable . The Soul is the most noble part , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Macar . The Soul is a Diamond set in a ring of Clay ; it is excellent in its Essence , a Spiritual , immortal substance ; excellent in the Price paid for it , redeemed with the Blood of God , Act. 20.28 . it is more worth than a World , the World is of a courser make , the Soul of a finer spinning , in the World we see the Finger of God , in the Soul the Image of God . To have the pretious Soul endangered , is far worse than to have the Body endangered . Sin wrongs the Soul , Prov. 8.36 . Sin casts this Jewel of the Soul over-board . Affliction is but Skin deep , it can but take away the Life , but sin takes away the Soul , Luk. 12.20 . the loss of the Soul is an unparallell'd loss , it can never be made up again . God ( saith St. Chrysostom ) hath given thee two Eyes , if thou losest one thou hast another , but thou hast but one Soul , and if that be lost , it can never be repaired . Thus sin is worse than affliction , one can but reach the Body , the other ruins the Soul ; is there not great reason then , that we should often put up this Petition , deliver us from evil ?

4. Afflictions are good for us , Psalm . 119.71 . It is good for me that I was afflicted ; many can bless God for affliction . Affliction humbles , Lam. 3.19 . remembring my affliction , the Wormwood and the Gall , my Soul hath them still in remembrance , and is humbled in me ; afflictions are compar'd to thorns , Hos. 2.8 . these Thorns are to prick the Bladder of Pride . Affliction is the School of Repentance , Jer. 31.18 . Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised , I Repented . The Fire being put under the Still , makes the Water drop from the Roses : the fire of Affliction makes the Water of Repentance drop from the Eyes . Affliction brings us nearer to God . The Loadstone of Mercy doth not draw us so near to God , as the Cords of Affliction . When the Prodigal was pinch'd with want , then saith he , I will arise and go to my father , Luke 15.18 . Afflictions prepare for glory . 2 Cor. 4.17 . This light affliction works for us an eternal weight of glory ; the Limner lays his Gold upon dark colours : so God lays first the dark colours of affliction , and then the Golden colour of Glory . Thus Affliction is for our good , but sin is not for our Good ; it keeps good things from us , Jer. 5.25 . Your sins have with-holden good things from you ; sin stops the current of Gods Mercy , it precipitates men to ruine . Manassehs affliction brought him to humiliation , but Iudas his sin brought him to desperation .

5. A man may be afflicted , and his Conscience may be quiet . Pauls feet were in the stocks , yet he had the Witness of his Conscience , 2 Cor. 1.12 . the Head may ake , yet the Heart may be well , the outward Man may be afflicted , yet the Soul may dwell at ease , Psal. 25.13 . the Hail may beat upon the Tiles of the House , when there is Musick within , in the midst of outward pain , there may be inward peace . Thus in affliction Conscience may be quiet : but when a Man commits a presumptuous scandalous sin , Conscience is troubled ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , by defiling the purity of Conscience , we lose the peace of Conscience , when Spira had sinned , and abjured the Faith , he was a terror to himself , he had an Hell in his Conscience .

Tiberius the Emperor , felt such a sting in his Conscience that he told the Senate he suffered death daily .

6. In Affliction we may have the Love of God . Afflictions are love tokens , Rev: 3.19 . as many as I love I rebuke . Afflictions are sharp arrows , but shot from the Hand of a loving Father . If a Man should throw a Bag of Money at another , and it should bruise him a little , and raise the Skin , he would not be offended , but take it as a fruit of love : so when God bruiseth us with affliction , it is to enrich us with the Golden Graces of his Spirit , all is love , but when we commit sin God withdraws his love ; 't is like the Sun overcast with a Cloud , nothing appears but anger and displeasure . When David had sin'd in the matter of Vriah , 2 Sam. 11.27 . the thing that David had done displeas'd the Lord .

7. There are many encouragements to suffer affliction . God himself suffers with us , Isa. 63.9 . In all their afflictions he was afflicted ; God will strengthen us in our sufferings , Psal. 37.39 . He is their strength in the time of trouble . Either God makes our burden lighter , or our Faith stronger . He will compensate and recompence our sufferings , Mat. 19.29 . Every one that hath forsaken Houses or Lands for my name sake , shall receive an hundred fold , and inherit Life everlasting . Here are encouragements to suffer affliction , but there is no encouragement to sin ! God hath brandish'd a flaming Sword of threatnings to deter us from sin , Psal. 68.21 . God shall wound the Hairy scalp of such an one as goes on still in his trespasses . There is a flying Roul of Curses which enter into the House of a sinner , Zac. 5.4 . if a Man sin , be it at his peril , Deut. 32.42 . I will make mine Arrows drunk with Blood . God will make Men weary of their sins or he will make them weary of their Lives . Thus sin is worse than Affliction , there are Encouragements to suffer Affliction , but no Encouragement to sin .

8. When a Person is afflicted , only he himself suffers , but by sinning openly he doth hurt to others .

1. He doth hurt to the Vnconverted ; one mans sin may lay a stone in another mans way , at which he may stumble and fall into Hell ; O the Evil of scandalous Sin ! some are discouraged , others hardned ; thy sinning may be a cause of anothers damning , Mal. 2.7 , 8. The Priests going wrong caused others to stumble .

2. He doth hurt to the Converted ; by an open scandalous sin he offends weak Believers , and so sins against Christ , 1 Cor. 8.12 . Thus sin is worse than Affliction , because it doth hurt to others .

9. In Afflictions the Saints may Rejoyce , 1 Thes. 1.6 . Ye receiv'd the Word in much Affliction with Ioy , Heb. 10.34 . Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your Goods . Aristotle speaks of a Bird that lives among Thorns , yet sings sweetly ; so a Child of God can rejoyce in Affliction , St. Paul had his Prison-songs , Rom. 5.3 . We glory in Tribulation , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Word , signifies an Exuberancy of Joy , a Joy with Boasting and Triumph . God doth oft pour in those Divine Consolations as cause the Saints to rejoyce in Afflictions ; they had rather have their Afflictions , than want their Comforts ; God doth candy their Wormwood with Sugar , Rom. 5.5 . You have seen the Sun shine when it rains . The Saints have had the shining of Gods Face , when Affliction hath rained and drop'd upon them . Thus we may rejoyce in Affliction , but we cannot rejoyce in sin , Hos 9.1 . Rejoyce not O Israel , for Ioy , as other people , for thou hast gone a Whoring from thy God . Sin is Matter of Shame and Grief , not of Joy . David having sinn'd in numbring of the people , His Heart smote him , 2 Sam. 24.10 . as the pricking of a Vein lets out the Blood : so when sin hath prick'd the Conscience , it lets out the Joy .

10. Affliction is a Magnifying of a Person , Iob 7.17 . What is Man that thou shouldest magnifie him , and visit him every morning ? That is , visit him with Affliction .

How do Afflictions magnifie us ?

Answ. 1. As they are signs of Son-ship , Heb. 12.7 . If ye endure Chastening , God deals with you as Sons . Every Print of the Rod is a Badge of Honor.

2. As the sufferings of the Godly have raised their Fame and Renown in the World ▪ the Zeal and Constancy of the Martyrs in their Suffering have Eterniz'd their Name : O how Eminent was Iob for his Patience ! Iam. 5.11 . Ye have heard of the Patience of Job . Iob the Sufferer was more Renown'd than Alexander the Conqueror . Thus Afflictions Magnifie a Person , but sin doth not magnifie , but vilifie him . When Eli●s Sons had sinn'd , and prophan'd their Priesthood , they turn'd their glory into shame ; the Text saith , They made themselves Vile , 1 Sam. 3.13 . Sin casts an indelible Blot on a mans Name , Prov. 6.32 , 33. Whoso commits Adultery with a Woman , a Wound and Dishonour shall he get , and his Reproach shall not be wiped away .

11. A man may suffer Affliction and bring Honour to Religion . Pauls Iron Chain , made the Gospel wear a Gold Chain ; suffering Credits , and propagates the Gospel : but committing of sin brings a Dishonour and Scandal upon the ways of God . Cyprian saith when in the Primitive Times a Virgin who vow'd her self to Religion , had defil'd her Chastity , Totum Ecclesiae Caetum erubescere , Shame and Grief fill'd the face of the whole Congregation . When scandalous sins are committed by a few , they bring a Reproach upon all that profess . As three or four brass shillings in a summ of Mony make all the rest suspected .

12. when a mans Afflictions are upon a good Account , that he uffers for Christ , he hath the Prayers of God's People . 'T is no small priviledge to have a stock of Prayer going ; 't is like a Merchant that hath a part in several Ships : Suffering Saints have a large share in the Prayers of others , Acts 12.5 . Peter was in Prison , but Prayer was made without ceasing of the Church to God for him . What greater Happiness than to have God's Promises ▪ and the Saints Prayers ? But when a Man sins presumptuously and scandalously , he hath the Saints bitter Tears , and just Censures ; he is a burden to all that know him , as David speaks in another Case , Psal. 31.11 . They that did see me without fled from me . So a scandalous sinner , the People of God fly from him ; he is like an infected person , every one shuns and avoids him .

13. Affliction can hurt a Man only while he is living , but sin doth hurt when he is dead ; as a Mans Vertues and Alms may do good when he is dead : so a Mans sin may do Mischief when he is dead . When a Spider is kill'd , the Poison of it may do hurt : so the Poison of an Evil Example may do much hurt , when a man is in his Grave . Affliction at most can but last a Mans Life , but his sin lives and doth hurt when he is gone . Thus you see sin is far worse than Affliction .

2. Sin is worse than Death , Aristotle calls Death 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Terrible of Terribles , and Iob calls it The King of Terrors , Iob 18.14 . but sin is more deadly than Death it self .

First , Death tho' it be painful , yet it were not hurtful but for sin . It is sin that imbitters Death , and makes it sting , 1 Cor. 15.56 . The Sting of Death is sin . Were it not for sin , tho' Death might kill us , it could not curse us . Sin poisons Deaths Arrow , so that sin is worse than death , because it puts a sting into Death .

Secondly , Death doth but separate between the Body and the Soul : but sin ( without Repentance ) separates between God and the Soul , Iudg. 18.24 : Ye have taken away my Gods , and what have I more ? Death doth but take away our Life from us ; but sin takes away our God from us . So that sin is worse than Death .

Thirdly , Sin is worse than Hell . In Hell there is the Worm and the Fire , but sin is worse .

1. Hell is of God's making , but sin is none of his making . 'T is a Monster of the Devils Creating .

2. The Torments of Hell are a burden only to the sinner ; but sin is a burden to God , Amos 2.13 . I am pressed under you , as a Cart is pressed that is full of Sheaves .

3. In Hell-Torments there is something that is Good . There is the Execution of God's Justice ; there is justice in Hell , but sin is the most unjust thing : It would rob God of his Glory , Christ of his Purchase , the Soul of its Happiness . So that it is worse than Hell .

Fifthly , Look upon sin in the manner of its Cure ; it cost dear to be done away . The Guilt of sin could not be removed , but by the Blood of Christ , he who was God must die and be made a Curse for us before sin could be remitted . How horrid is sin that no Angel or Arch-Angel , nor all the Powers of Heaven could procure the Pardon of sin , but it cost the Blood of God . If a Man should commit an Offence , and all the Nobles should kneel upon their Knees before the King for him ; but no Pardon could be had unless the King's Son be Arraigned and suffer Death for him ; all would conceive it was an horrible Fact that must be the cause of this : such is the case here , the Son of God must die to appease God's Anger for our sins . O the Agonies and Sufferings of Christ ! 1. In his Body ; his Head Crown'd with Thorns , his Face spit upon , his Side pierced with the Spear , his Hands and Feet nailed , — Totum pro vulnere Corpus . — 2. He suffered in his Soul , Mat 26.38 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , My Soul is exceeding sorrowful unto Death . He drank a bitter Cup mingled with Curses ; which made him tho' he were sanctified by the Spirit , supported by the Diety , comforted by Angels , sweat great Drops of Blood , and cry out upon the Cross , My God , why hast thou forsaken me ? All this was to do away our sin ; view sin in Christ's Blood and it will appear of a Crimson Colour .

Sixthly , Look upon sin in the dismal Effects of it , and it will appear the most horrid prodigious Evil , Rom. 6.23 . The Wages of sin is Death , that is , the Second Death , Rev. 21 8. Sin hath shame for its Companion and Death for its Wages . A wicked man knows what sin is in the Pleasure of it , but doth not know what sin is in the Punishment of it . Sin is Scorpio pungens , it draws Hell at the heels of it . This hellish Torment , consists of two Parts .

1. Poena damni , the Punishment of Loss , Mat. 7.23 . Depart from me . It was a great trouble to Absalom that he might not see the Kings face ; to lose Gods Smiles , to be banished from his Presence , in whose Presence is fulness of Joy , how sad and tremendous ! this word Depart saith Chrysostom is worse than the fire . Sure sin must be the Greatest Evil which separates us from the Greatest Good .

2. Poena sensus , the Punishment of Sence , Mat 25.41 . Depart from me , ye cursed , into everlasting Fire , prepared for the Devil and his Angels . Why , might sinners plead , Lord , if we must depart from thee , let us have thy Blessing ; no , Go ye Cursed . But if we must depart from thee , let it be into some place of Ease and Rest ; no , go into fire . But if we must into the fire , let it be but for a little time ; let the fire be quickly put out ; no , go into everlasting fire . But if it be so that we must be there , let us be with good Company ; no , with the Devil and his Angels . O what an Evil is sin ? All the Torments of this Life are but Ludibrium & Risus , a kind of sport to Hell-Torments ; what is a burning Fever , to the burning in Hell ? It is call'd the Wrath of the Almighty , Rev. 19.15 . The Almighty God inflicts the Punishment , therefore it will be heavy ; a Child cannot strike very hard , but if a Giant strike he kills with a Blow . To have the Almighty God to lay on the stroke , it will be intolerable . Hell is the EMPHASIS of Misery . The Body and Soul which have sinn'd together , shall suffer together ; and these Torments shall have no Period put to them , Rev. 9.6 . They shall seek Death , and shall not find it . Rev. 24.11 . And the Smoak of their Torment ascendeth for ever and ever . Here the wicked thought a Prayer long , a Sabbath long ; but how long will it be to lie upon Beds of Flames for ever ; this word ever breaks the Heart . Thus you see sin is the most deadly and execrable Evil ; look upon it in its Original , in its Nature , in the Judgment and Estimate of the Wise ; look upon it comparatively , it is worse than Affliction , Death , Hell ; look upon it in the manner of Cure , and in the dismal Effect , it brings Eternal Damnation ; is there not then a great deal of Reason that we should make this Prayer , Deliver us from Evil ?

Vse 1. Branch I. Is Sin such a deadly , pernitious Evil , the Evil of Evils ? See then what it is we are to pray most to be delivered from , and that is from Sin . Our Saviour hath taught us to pray , Deliver us from Evil. Hypocrites pray more against Temporal Evils than Spiritual . Pharaoh pray'd more to have the Plague of Hail and Thunder to be remov'd , than his hard Heart should be removed , Exod. 9.28 . The Israelites pray'd , Tolle Serpentes , Take away the Serpents from us more than to have their sin taken away , Numb. 21.8 . The Hypocrites prayer is Carnal , he prays more to be cured of his Deafness and Lameness than of his Unbelief . More that God would take away his Pain , than take away his sin . But our Prayer should be , Deliver us from Evil. Spiritual Prayers are best ; hast thou a diseased Body ? Pray more that the Disease of thy Soul may be removed than thy Body , Psal. 41.4 . Heal my Soul , for I have sinned . The Plague of the Heart is worse than a Cancer in the Breast . Hast thou a Child that is crooked ? Pray more to have its Unholiness removed than its Crookedness ; spiritual Prayers are more pleasing to God , and are as Musick in his Ears . Christ hath here taught us to pray against sin , Deliver us from Evil.

II. Branch . If sin be so great an Evil , then admire the Wonderful Patience of God that bears with Sinners . Sin is a breach of God's Royal Law , it strikes at his Glory ; now , for God to bear with sinners who so provoke him , it shews admirable Patience ; well may he be called , The God of Patience , Rom. 15.4 . It would tire the Patience of the Angels to bear with mens sins one day ; but what doth God bear ? How many Affronts and Injuries doth he put up ? God sees all the Intreagues and horrid Impieties committed in a Nation , Ier. 29.23 . They have committed Villany in Israel , and have committed Adultery , even I know , and am a Witness , saith the Lord . God could strike men dead in their sins , but he forbears and respites them . My thinks I see the Justice of God with a flaming Sword in his Hand ready to strike the Stroke , and Patience steps in for the sinner ; Lord Spare him a while longer . My thinks I hear the Angels saying to God , as the King of Israel to the Prophet , 2 King . 6.21 . Shall I smite them , shall I smite them ? Lord , here is such a sinner , shall I smite him ? Shall I take off the Head of such a Drunkard , Swearer , Sabbath-breaker ? And Gods Patience saith as the Dresser of the Vineyard , Luke 13.8 . Let him alone this year , O the infinite Patience of God , that sin being so Great an Evil , and so Contrary to God , he should bear with sinners so long , 1 Sam. 24.19 . If a man find his enemy , will he let him go well away ? God finds his Enemies , yet he lets them go , he is not presently aveng'd on them ? Every sin hath a voice to cry to God for Vengeance . Sodom's sin cried , Gen. 18.20 . yet God spares men ; But let not sinners presume upon God's Patience ▪ if they repent not , long forbearance is no forgiveness ; Gods Patience abus'd will leave men more inexcusable .

III. Branch . If Sin be so great an Evil , then there is no sin little . There 's no little Treason ; every sin strikes at God's Crown and Dignity ; and in this sence it may be said , as Iob 22.5 . Are not thy Iniquities infinite ? The least sin ( as the Schoolmen say ) is infinite objective , because it is committed against an infinite Majesty . And besides , nothing can do away sin , but that which hath an Infiniteness in it . For tho' the Sufferings of Christ ( as Man ) were not infinite , yet the Divine Nature did shed forth an Infinite Value and Merit upon his Sufferings , So that no sin is little , there is no little Hell for sin ; as we are not to think any of Gods Mercies little , because they are more than we can deserve : so neither are we to think any of our sins little , because they are more than we can answer for . That sin we esteem lightest , without Christ's Blood will be heavy enough to sink us into Perdition .

IV. Branch . If Sin be so great an Evil , then see whence all personal or national Troubles come ; they come from the Evil of Sin ; our Sins grow high , that makes our Divisions grow wide : Sin is the Achan that troubles us , it is the Cockatrice's Egg , out of which comes a fiery flying Serpent . Sin is like Phaeton , who ( as the Poets fain ) driving the Chariot of the Sun , set the World on fire . Sin like the Planet Saturn hath a Malignant Influence ; Sin brings us into straits , 2. Sam. 24.14 . David said unto Gad , I am in a great Streight , Ier. 4.17 . As Keepers of a field are they against her round about : As Horses or Deer in a field are so enclosed with Hedges , and so narrowly watched , that they cannot get out : so , Ierusalem was so close besieg'd with Enemies , and watch'd that there was no escape for her . Whence was this ? Ver. 18. This is thy Wickedness . All our Evils are from the Evil of Sin . The Cords that pinch us are of our own twisting . Flagitium & flagellum sunt tanquam Acus & Filum . Sin raiseth all the Storms in Conscience ; the Sword of God's Justice lies quiet till Sin draws it out of the scabbard , and makes God whet it against a Nation .

V. Br. If sin be so great an Evil , then how little Reason hath any one to be in Love with sin ? Some are so infatuated with sin , that they delight in it . The Devil can so cook and dress sin , that it pleaseth the sinners Palate , Iob 20.12 . Tho' Wickedness be sweet in his Mouth . Sin is as delightful to corrupt Nature as Meat to the Taste . Sin is a Feast on which Men feed their Lusts ? but there 's little cause to be so in love with sin , Iob. 20.14 . Tho' Wickedness be sweet in his Mouth , it is the Gall of Asps within him . To love sin is to hug an Enemy . Sin puts a Worm into Conscience , a Sting into Death , a Fire into Hell . Sin is like those Locusts , Rev. 9.7 . On their Heads were as it were Crowns like Gold , and they had Hair as the Hair of Women ; and their Teeth were as the Teeth of Lions ; and they had Tails like Scorpions , and they had Stings in their Tails ; after the Womens Hair comes the Scorpions Sting .

VI. Br. If sin be so great an Evil , then what may we judge of them who make light of sin ? as if there were no danger in it ; as if God were not in earnest when he threatens sin ; or as if Ministers were about a needless Work , when they Preach against sin . Some people make nothing of breaking a Commandment ; they make nothing of telling a Lie , of Couzening , of Slandering , nothing of living in the sin of Uncleanness ; if you weigh sin in the Ballance of some mens Judgments , it weighs very light ; but who are those that make so light of sin ? Solomon hath describ'd them , Prov. 19.9 . Fools make a mock of sin , Stultus in vitia cito dilabitur , Isidor . Who but Fools would make light of that which grieves the Spirit of God ? who but Fools would put such a Viperous sin in their Bosoms ? Who but fools would laugh at their own Calamity , and make sport while they give themselves Poison .

VII . Br. If sin be so great an Evil , then I infer that there 's no good to be gotten by Sin ; of this Thorn we cannot gather Grapes . If Sin be so deadly an Evil , then we cannot get any profit by it ; no man did ever thrive upon this Trade : Those Atheists said , Mal. 3 14. It is in vain to serve God , and what profit is it ? But we may say more truly , what profit is there in Sin ? Rom. 6.21 . What Fr●●t had ye in those things , whereof ye are now ashamed ? Where are your Earnings ? what have you gotten by Sin ? It hath shame for its Companion , and death for its Wages . What profit had Achan of his Wedge of Gold ? That wedge seemed to cleave asunder his Soul from God : What profit had Ahab of the Vineyard he got unjustly ? the Dogs licked his Blood , 1 King . 21.19 . What profit had Iudas of his Treason ? For thirty pieces he sold his Saviour and bought his own Damnation . All the Gain men get by their Sins , they may put in their Eye ; nay , they must , and weep it out again .

VIII . Br. If Sin be so great an Evil , see then the Folly of those who venture upon sin , because of the Pleasure they have in it , 2 Thes. 2.12 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Who have Pleasure in Unrighteousness . As for the Pleasure of sin , 1. It is but Seeming , it is but a pleasant Fancy , a golden Dream . 2. And besides , it is a mixed Pleasure , it hath Bitterness intermingled , Prov. 7.17 . I have ( saith the Harlot ) perfum'd my Bed with Myrrh , Aloes and Cinnamon . For one sweet here are two bitters . Cinnamon is sweet , but Myrrh and Aloes are bitter ; the Harlots Pleasure is mix'd . There are those inward Fears , and Lashes of Conscience , as imbitter the Pleasure . 3. If there be any Pleasure in sin , it is only to the Body , the bruitish Part ; the Soul is not at all gratified by the Pleasure , Luk. 12.19 . Soul , take thy Ease . He might more properly have said , Body take thy Ease . The Soul cannot feed on sensual Objects . 4. In short , that Pleasure men talk of in sin , is their Disease ; some take pleasure in eating Chalk , or Coals , this is from their Disease . So when men talk of Pleasure in eating the Forbidden Fruit , it is from the Sickness and Disease of their Souls ; they put bitter for sweet , Isa. 5.20 . O what folly is it for a Cup of Pleasure to drink a Sea of Wrath ? Sin will be bitter in the end , Prov. 23.31 , 32. Look not on the Wine when it is red , when it gives his Colour in the Cup ; at last it bites like a Serpent . Sin will prove like Ezekiels Rowl , sweet in the Mouth , but bitter in the Belly , Mel in Ore , Fel in Corde ; ask Cain now how he likes his Murder ? Achan how he likes his golden Wedge ? O remember that saying of Austin , Momentaneum est quod delectat , aeternum quod Cruciat . The Pleasure of sin is soon gone , but the sting remains .

IX . Branch . If Sin be so great an Evil , then what Wisdom is it to depart from Evil ? Iob 28.28 . To depart from Evil is Vnderstanding . To sin is to do foolishly : therefore to depart from sin is to do wisely , Solomon saith , Prov. 29.6 . In every Transgression there is a Snare . Is it not Wisdom to avoid a Snare ? Sin is a Deceiver , it cheated our first Parents ; instead of being as Gods , they became like the Beasts that perish , Psal. 49.20 . Sin hath cheated all that have medled with it ; is it not Wisdom to shun such a Cheater ? Sin hath many fair pleas , and tells you how it will gratifie all the Senses with Pleasure : But saith a gracious Soul ▪ Christ's Love is sweeter ; Peace of Conscience is sweeter ; what are the Pleasures of Sin ▪ to the Pleasures of Paradise ? Well may the Saints be call'd Wise Virgins , because they spie the Deceits that are in sin and avoid the Snares . The Fear of the Lord that is Wisdom , and to depart from Evil is Understanding .

X. Branch .. If Sin be so great an Evil , then how justifiable and commendable are all those Means which are used to keep Men from sin . How justifiable are a Ministers Admonitions and Reproofs ? Titus 1.13 . Rebuke them sharply . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Cuttingly ; a Metaphor from a Chirurgeon that searches a Wound and cuts out the Proud Flesh , that the Patient may be sound : So God's Minister comes with a cutting Reproof , but it is to keep you from sin , and to save your Souls , Si Meritò objur gaverit te aliquis , scito quia profuit . Sen. Esteem them your best Friends , who would keep you from sinning against God . If a man were going to poison or drown himself , were not he his Friend who would hinder him from doing it ? All a Ministers Reproofs are but to keep you from sin , and hinder you from Self-Murder ; all is in Love , 2 Cor. 5.11 . Knowing the Terror of the Lord , we perswade men . 'T is the Passion of most to be angry with them that would reclaim them from sin , Amos 5.10 . They hate him that rebuketh in the Gate . Who is angry with the Physician for prescribing a bitter Potion , seeing it is to purge out the peccant Humour ? 'T is Mercy to Mens Souls to tell them of their sins . And surely those are Priests for the Devil , 2 Chr. 11.15 . who see men go on in sin and ready to drop into Hell , yet never pull them back by a Reproof ; nay , perhaps flatter them in their sins . God never made Ministers as false Glasses , to make bad Faces look Fair. Such make themselves guilty of other mens Sins .

11. Inference . If sin be so great an evil , the evil of evils ; then see what a bad choice they make , who choose sin to avoid affliction : As if to save the Coat from being rent , one should suffer his Flesh to be rent . It was a false charge that Elihu brought against Iob , Chap. 36.21 . Thou hast chosen iniquity rather than affliction . This is a bad choice . Affliction hath a Promise made to it , 2 Sam. 22.28 . but sin hath no Promise made to it . Affliction is for our good , but Sin is not for our good ; it would intail Hell and Damnation upon us . Spira chose iniquity rather than affliction , but it cost him dear . He at last repented of his choice . He who commits sin to avoid suffering , is like one that runs into a Lions Den to avoid the stinging of a Gnat.

12. Inference . If sin be so great an evil , see then what should be a Christians great care in this life , to keep from sin : Deliver us from evil . Some make it all their care to keep out of trouble ; they had rather keep their Skin whole , than their Conscience pure : But our care should be chiefly to keep from sin . How careful are we to forbear such a Dish , as the Phisician tells us is hurtful for us ; it will bring the Stone or Gout ? Much more should we be careful , that we eat not the forbidden fruit , which will bring Divine Vengeance , 1 Tim. 5. 22. Keep thy self pure . It hath been always the study of the Saints , to keep aloof off from sin , Gen. 39.9 . How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God . Psal. 19.13 . Keep back thy Servant from presumptuous sins . It was a saying of Anselm , If Sin were on one side , and Hell on the other , I would rather leap into Hell , than willingly sin against my God . O what a Mercy is it to be kept from sin ? We count it a great Mercy to be kept from the Plague and Fire ; But what is it to be kept from sin ?

13. Inference . Is sin so great an evil ; see then that which may make us long for Heaven , when we shall be perfectly freed from sin ; not onely from the outward Acts of sin , but from the in-being of sin . In Heaven we shall not need to pray this Prayer , Deliver us from evil . What a blessed time will it be , when we shall never have a Vain Thought more ? Then Christ's Spouse shall be sine macula & ruga ▪ without spot or wrincle , Ephes. 5.27 . Now , there 's a Dead Man tied to the Living ; we cannot do any Holy Duty but we mix Sin ; we cannot Pray without Wandring ; we cannot Believe without Doubting : But then , our Virgin-Souls shall not be capable of the least tincture of Sin , but we shall all be as the Angels of God .

In Heaven we shall have no Temptation to sin . The Old Serpent is cast out of Paradise , and his fiery ●arts shall never come near to touch us .

2. Vse of Exhort . And it hath Two distinct Branches .

1. Branch . To all in General . If Sin be so great and prodigious an evil ; Then as you love your Souls , Take heed of sin . If you tast of the Forbidden Fruit , it will cost you dear , it will cost you Bitter Tears , it may cost you lying in Hell : O therefore flie from sin .

First , Take heed of sins of Omission , Matt. 23.23 . It is as well dangerous not to do things Commanded , as to do things forbidden . Some think it no great matter to omit Reading Scripture . The Bible lies by like Rusty Armour , which they never use : They think it no great matter to omit Family , or Closet-prayer ; they can go several Months and God never hear of them . These have nothing sanctified to them ; they feed upon a Curse ; For every Creature is Sanctified by Prayer , 1 Tim. 4.5 . The Bird may shame many , it never takes a drop , but the eye is lift up towards Heaven . Oh take heed of living in the neglect of any known duty . It was the Prayer of a Reverend Holy Man on his Death bed , Lord , forgive my sins of Omission .

Secondly , Take heed of Secret sins . Some are more modest than to sin openly in a Belcony ; but they will carry their sins under a Canopy , they will sin in Secret . Rachel did not let her Fathers Images be seen , but She put them under her , and sat upon them , Gen. 31.34 . Many will be Drunk , and Unclean , if they may do it that no body may see them . They are like one that shuts up his Shop-windows , but follows his Trade within doors . But if sin be so great an evil , let me warn you this day , not to sin in Secret ; know , that you can never sin so privately , but that there are Two Witnesses always by , God and Conscience .

Thirdly . Take heed of your Complexion-sin . That sin which your Nature and Constitution doth most incline you to . As in the Hive there 's a Master-Bee , so in the Heart there 's a Master-sin , Psal. 18.23 . I have kept my Self from mine Iniquity : There is some sin that is the special Favourite , the peccatum in deliciis ; the Darling-Sin , that lies in the Bosom ; and this doth bewitch and draw away the heart . O beware of this .

Quest. How may this Darling-sin be known ?

Answ. 1. That Sin which a Man doth most cherish , and to which all other sins are subservient ; This is the sin which is most tended and waited upon : The Pharisees darling-sin was Vain-glory , all they did was to feed this sin of Pride , Matt. 6.2 . That they may have Glory of Men : When they gave Alms , they sounded a Trumpet . If a stranger had Asked the Question , Why doth this Trumpet sound ? The Answer was , The Pharisees are going to give Alms to the Poor . Their Lamp of Charity was fill'd with the Oil of Vain-glory , Matt. 23.5 . All their Works for to be seen of Men. Pride was their Bosom-sin . Oftentimes Covetousness is the darling-sin ; all other sins are committed to maintain this . Why do Men Equivocate , Oppress , Defraud , Take Bribes , all is to uphold Covetousness .

2. That sin which a Man doth not love to have reproved , is the darling-sin : Herod could not endure to have his Incest spoken against : if Iohn Baptist meddles with that Sin , it shall cost him his Head .

3. That Sin which hath most power over one , and doth most easily lead him Captive , that is the Beloved of the Soul . There are some sins a Man can better put off , and give a repulse to ; but there is one sin , which , if it comes to be a Suitor , he cannot deny , but is overcome by it ; this is the bosom-sin . The young Man in the Gospel had a Complexion-sin which he could not resist , and that was the Love of the World : His Silver was dearer to him than his Saviour . It is a sad thing a Man should be so bewitch'd by a Lust , that he will part with the Kingdom of Heaven to gratifie it .

4. That sin which Men use Arguments to defend , is the darling sin . To plead for sin is to be the Devil's Attorney . If the sin be Covetousness , and we vindicate it ; if it be rash Anger , and we justifie it , Jonah 4.9 . I do well to be angry : This is the Complexion-sin .

5. That sin which doth most Trouble one , and fly in his Face in an hour of Sickness and Distress , that is the beloved sin . When Ioseph's Brethren were distressed , their sin came to remembrance in selling their Brother , Gen. 12.21 . So when a Man is upon his Sick-bed , and Conscience shall say , Dost not thou remember how thou hast lived in such a sin , though thou hast been often warned , yet thou wouldst not leave it . Conscience reads a Curtain Lecture : Sure that was the Darling sin .

6. That sin which a Man is most unwilling to part with , that is the Darling sin . Iacob could , of all his Sons , most hardly part with Benjamin , Gen. 42.36 . Ioseph is not , and Simeon is not , and ye will take Benjamin away . So saith the Sinner , this and that sin I have parted with , But must Benjamin go ? Must I part with this delightful sin ? That goes to the Heart . This is the Dalilah , the beloved sin . O if sin be such a deadly evil , dare not to indulge any bosom sin : This is of all other most dangerous ; like an Humour striking to the Heart , which is mortal . Leave open but one Gap , the wild Beast may enter at it . One darling sin liv'd in , is setting open a Gap for Satan to enter .

4. Take heed of the Sins which attend your particular Callings . A Calling you must live in . Adam in Paradise Tilled the Ground : God never Sealed Warrants to Idleness : but every Calling hath its snare . As some sin in living out of a Calling ; so others sin in a Calling . Remember how deadly an evil sin is , avoid those sins which you may be exposed to in your Trade . Take heed of all fraud and collusion in your dealings , Matt. 7.12 . Whatsoever ye would that Men should do to you , do ye even so to them .

First , Take heed of a deceitful tongue in Selling : The Scripture makes it the Character of one that goes to Heaven , Psal. 15.2 . He speaketh the truth from his heart . It is the Custom of many to say , The Commodity stands them in more , yet take less . This is hardly credible .

Secondly , Beware of a deceitful Balance , Hos. 12.7 . The Balances of deceit are in his hand : Men , by making their Weights lighter , make their Account heavier .

Thirdly , Beware of sophisticating , mingling and embasing commodities , Am. 8.6 . They sell the refuse of the Wheat . They would pick out the best Grains of the Wheat , and sell the worst at the same price as they did the best ; to mix a courser commodity with a fine , and yet sell it all for fine , is no better than deceit , Isa. 1.22 .

Fourthly . Beware of stretching your Consciences too far , or taking more a great deal for a Commodity than it is worth , Levit. 25.14 . If thou sell ought unto thy Neighbour , ye shall not oppress one another . There is a lawful gain allowed , yet one may not so advantage himself , as to damnifie another . Let that be the Tradesman's Motto , Act. 24.16 . A Conscience void of offence towards God , and towards Man . He hath an hard bargain , that doth Purchase the World with the loss of his Soul .

Fifthly . Sin being so deadly an evil , take heed of the Appearance of sin , 1 Thes. 5.22 . Abstain from the appearance of evil . Abstain not onely from apparent evil , but the appearance of Evil : If it be not absolutely a sin , yet if it looks like sin , avoid it . He who is loyal to his Prince , not onely forbears to have his hand in Treason , but he will take heed of that which hath a show of Treason . Ioseph's Mistriss tempted him , and he fled and would not be with her , Gen. 39.12 . An appearance of Good is too little , and an appearance of Evil is too much .

1. The appearance of evil is oft an occasion of evil : Dalliance is an appearance of evil , and oftentimes it occasions evil . Touching the Forbidden Fruit , may occasion tasting . Dancing in Masquerades hath oft been the occasion of Uncleanness .

2. The appearance of evil may scandalize another , 1 Cor. 8.12 . when ye sin against the Brethren , and wound their weak conscience , ye sin against Christ : sinning against a Member of Christ , is a sinning against Christ .

Thus you see , sin being so deadly an evil , we should avoid all sin ; Sins of Omission , Secret Sins , Complexion Sins , Sins that attend our particular Calling , yea , the appearance of evil .

Quest. What means shall we use to be kept from the Acts of Sin ?

R. If you would be preserved from actual and scandalous Sins , labour to Mortifie Original Sin . If you would not have the branches bud and blossom , smite at the root . I know Original Sin cannot in this life be removed , but labour to have it subdued . Why do Men break forth into Actual sins , but because they do not mortifie Heart-sins . Suppress the first risings of Pride , Lust , Passion : Original sin unmortified will prove such a Root of Bitterness , as will bring forth the cursed fruit of Scandalous Sin .

2. If you would be kept from Actual Sins , think what an odious thing sin is . Besides , what you have heard , remember , Sin is the Accursed thing , Iosh. 7.21 . It is the abominable thing God hates , Ier. 44.4 . O do not this abominable thing that I hate . Sin is the Spirits of Witchcraft . It is the Devil's Excrement ; it is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , filthiness ▪ Jam. 1.21 . If all the evils in the World were put together , and their quintessence strain'd out , they could not make a thing so filthy as Sin doth . So odious is a Sinner , that God loaths the sight of him , Zec. 11.8 . My Soul loathed them . He who defiles himself with Avarice , What is he but a a Serpent licking the dust ? He who defiles himself with the Lust of Uncleanness , What is he but a Swine with a Man's Head ? He who defiles himself with Pride , What is he but a Bladder , whom the Devil hath blown up ? He who defiles himself with Drunkenness , What is he but a Beast that hath got the Staggers . To consider how odious and base a thing Sin is , would be a means to keep us from sinning .

3. If you would be kept from actual sins , get the Fear of God planted in your hearts ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrys. Prov. 16.6 . By the Fear of the Lord Men depart from evil . Cavebis si pavebis ; Fear is a Bridle to Sin , and a Spur to Holiness . Fear puts an holy awe upon the heart , and binds it to its good behaviour . By the Fear of the Lord Men depart from evil . When the Emperess Eudoxia threatned to banish Chrysostom ; Tell her , saith he , I Fear nothing but sin . Fear is janitor animae ; it stands as a Porter at the door of the Soul , and keeps sin from entring : All sin is committed for want of the fear of God , Rom. 3.14 . Whose Mouth is full of Cursing and Bitterness ; their feet are swift to shed blood ; there is no fear of God before their eyes . Holy fear stands Sentinel , and is ever watching against Security , Pride , Wantonness . Fear is a Christians Life-guard , to defend him against the fiery darts of Temptation . Si vis esse securus , semper time . The way to be safe , is always to fear , Prov. 28.14 .

4. If we would be kept from actual Sins , let us be careful to avoid all the In-lets and Occasions of sin ? Run not into Evil Company : he that would not have the Plague , will not go into an infected House . Guard your Senses , which may be the Inlets to sin . Keep the two Portals , the Eye , and the Ear. Especially , look to your Eye ; much sin comes in by the Eye ; the Eye is oft an Inlet to sin ; sin takes fire at the Eye : The first sin in the World began at the Eye , Gen. 3.6 . When the Woman saw that the Tree was good for Food , and was pleasant to the Eyes ; then she to●k of the Fruit thereof . Looking begat Lusting , Intemperance begins at the Eye ; Looking on the Wine when it is red , and gives its Colour in the Glass , causeth Excess of drinking , Prov. 23.21 . Covetousness begins at the Eye , Josh. 7 21. When I saw among the Spoils , a goodly Babylonish Garment , and a Wedge of Gold , I coveted and took them . The fire of Lust begins to kindle at the Eye . David walking upon the Roof of his House , saw a woman washing her self , and sh● was ( saith the Text ) beautiful to look upon , and he sent Messengers and took her , and defiled himself with her , 2 Sam. 11.2 . O therefore look to your Eyes ; Job made a Covenant with his Eyes , Job 31.1 . If the Eye be once inflamed , it will be hard to stand out long against sin . If the out-works are taken by an Enemy , there 's great danger of taking the whole Castle .

5. If you would be kept from actual gross sin , study Sobriety and Temperance , 1 Pet. 5.8 . Sobrii este , Be sober . Check the inordinacy of Appetite : Sin doth frequently make its entrance this way . By gratifying the sensitive appetite , the Soul that is a-kin to Angels , is inslav'd to the bruitish part . Many drink , if not to Drunkenness , yet to Drowsiness . The not denying the sensitive appetite , makes Mens Conscience so full of guilt , and the World so full of scandal . If you would be kept from running into sin , lay restraint upon the flesh : What hath God given reason and conscience for , but to be a bridle to check inordinate desires ?

6. If you would be kept from actual sins , be continually upon your spiritual watch : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 · Chrysost.

1. Watch your Thoughts , Jer. 4.14 . How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee ? Sin begins at the thoughts . First Men cherish revengeful thoughts , then they dip their hands in blood . Set a Spy over your thoughts .

2. Watch your Passions ; Passions of Anger , Passions of Lust. The heart is ready to be destroyed by its own Passions , as the Vessel is to be overturned by the Sail. Passion transports beyond the bounds of reason ; it is brevis insania , Sen. A short frenzy . Moses , in a Passion , spake unadvisedly with his Lips , Psal. 106.33 . The Disciples , in a Passion , called for fire from Heaven . A man in a Passion is like a Ship in a Storm , that hath neither Pilot nor Sails to help it , but it is expos'd to the Waves and Rocks .

3. Watch your Temptations . Satan continually lies in ambush , and watcheth to draw us to sin ; Stat in procinctu diabolus ; he is fishing for our Souls : he is either laying of snares , or shooting of darts , therefore we had need watch the Tempter , that we be not decoyed into sin . Most sin is committed for want of watchfulness .

7. If you would be kept from the evil of sin , consult with the Oracles of God , be well versed in Scripture , Psal. 119.11 . Thy word have I hid in my heart , that I might not sin against thee . The word is Anceps gladius , a two-edged Sword , to cut asunder mens lusts . When the Fogs and Vapours of sin begin to arise , let but the Light of Scripture shine into the Soul , and it dispels those Fogs : Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you , Col. 3.16 . Alphonsus King of Arragon read over the Bible Fourteen times . The word shews the damnable evil of sin ; it furnisheth us with Precepts , which are so many Receipts and Antidotes against sin . When Christ had a Temptation to sin , he beat back the Tempter , and wounded him Three times with this Sword of the Spirit , It is written .

Why do men live in sin , but because they either do not Read the Word , or do not believe it .

8. If you would be preserv'd from gross , presumptuous sin , get your hearts fired with love to God . Love hath a great force in it , it is strong as death ; it breaks the league between the heart and sin .

Two things in God cause Love .

First , His Orient Beauty : Moses desired to see some glimpse of it ; Lord , shew me thy glory .

2. His Amazing Love ; What a Prodigy of Love was it , to give his Son out of his Bosom , and lay such a Jewel to pawn for our Redemption . These two , the Orient of God's Beauty , and the Magnitude of his Love , may , like two Loadstones , draw our Love to God ; and if we love him , we will not sin against him . He that loves his Friend , will not by any means displease him . I have read of four men meeting together , who asked one another , What it was that kept them from sinning ? One said , The Fear of Hell ; Another said , The Joys of Heaven ; The Third said , The Odiousness of Sin ; The Fourth said , That which keeps me from sin , is , Love to God : Shall I sin against so good a God ? Shall I abuse Love ? Love to God is the best Curben-bit to keep from sin .

9. If you would be kept from the evil of sin , be diligent in a Calling . Dū laboribus omnia vendunt — Adam in Paradise must till the Ground . Such as live idly expose themselves to sin : if we have no work to do , Satan will find us work . He sows most of his seed in Fallow ground . A Woman being much tempted to sin , came to Reverend Mr. Greenham for Advice , What she should do to resist the Temptation ? He gave her this Answer ; Be always well employed , that so when Satan comes , he may find thee busied in thy Calling , and thou maist not be at leisure to listen to his Temptations .

10. If you would be kept from sin , fix the eye of your Mind upon the Beauty of Holiness : Holiness consists in our Conformity to God ; Holiness is the sparkling of the Divine Nature ; a beam of God shining in the Soul . How lovely is Christ's Bride , when decked and bespangled with the Jewels of Holiness ? What makes the Seraphims Angels of Light but their Holiness ? Do but think with your selves what a splendid glorious thing Holiness is , and it will cause a disgust and hatred of sin , which is so contrary to it . The beholding of Beauty , makes one out of love with Deformity .

11. If you would keep from the evil of sin , meditate frequently of Death , First , The unavoidableness of it , Heb. 9.27 . Statutum est , It is appointed for all once to die . We are not so sure to lie down this night in our Bed , as we are to lie down in our Grave . Secondly , The uncertainty of the Time . We are but Tenants at will ; we hold our Life at the Will of our Landlord ; And how soon may God turn us out of this house of clay ? Death oft comes when we least look for it . The Floud ( as some Learned Writers observe ) came in the Month Zif , or April , in the Spring , when the Trees were Blossoming , and the Birds Singing ; then came the Floud , when they least looked for it . So oft in the Spring of Youth , when the Body is most healthy , and the Spirits most sprightly and vigorous , and Death is least thought on , then it comes . Could we think often and seriously of Death , it would give a Death's-wound to sin . Nihil sic revocato peocata quàm crebra mortis contemplatio . Aug. No stronger Antidote against sin than this : Am I now Singing , and to morrow may be Dying ? What if Death should take me doing the Devil's work ? Would it not send me to him to receive my Wages ? Would but the Adulterer think , I am now in the Act of Sin , but how soon may Death come ; and then I who have burned in lust , must burn in Hell . This sure would strike a damp into him , and make him afraid of going after strange Flesh.

12. If you would be kept from Gross Scandalous Sins , beware of a Covetous Heart . Covetousness is a dry Drunkenness . He who thirsts insatiably after the World , will stick at no sin , he will betray Christ and a Good Cause for Money : Cui nihil satis eidem nihil turpe . Tacitus . 1 Tim. 6.10 . The love of Money is the root of all evil . From this Root comes , First , Theft . Achan's covetous humour made him steal the Wedge of Gold , Josh. 7.21 . Covetousness makes the Jayls so full . Secondly , From this root comes Murder . Why did Ahab Stone Naboth to death , but to possess his Vineyard ? 1 King . 21.13 . Covetousness hath made many swim to the Crown in blood . Thirdly , From this bitter Root of Covetousness proceeds Cousenage : It is the Covetous hand holds false weights . Fourthly , From this Root of covetousness comes Uncleanness . You read of the hire of a Whore , Deut. 23.18 . For Money she would let both her Conscience and Chastity be set to sale . O if you would be kept from the evil of sin , beware of Covetousness which is the In-let to so many sins .

13. Let us be much in Prayer to God , to keep us from Ingulphing our selves in sin , Psal. 19.11 . Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins . We have no power inherent to keep our selves from evil . Arnoldus saith , That Man in his corrupt estate , hath Aliqua● reliquias vitae Spiritualis — Some Reliques of Spiritual Life left : And Arminius saith , Man hath a sufficiency of Grace in himself , whereby he may , Abstinere à malo , abstain from evil . Free-will is a sufficient curb to check and pull him back from sin . But then what needed Christ to have Taught us this Prayer , Libera nos à malo , Deliver us from evil ? If we have power of our selves to keep from sin , What need we pray to God for power ? Alass , if David and Peter who had an Habit of Grace , fell , for want of a fresh gale of the Spirit to hold them up , much more will they be in danger of falling , who have onely the power of Free will to hold them .

Let us therefore sue to God for strength to keep us from sinning ; Pray that Prayer of David , Psal. 119.117 . Hold thou me up , and I shall be safe : and that other Prayer , Psal. 17.5 . Hold up my goings in thy paths , that my footsteps slip not . Lord keep me from dishonouring thee , keep me from the defiling sins of the Age , that I may not be worse for the Times , nor the Times the worse for me . Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins . Lord , whatever I suffer , keep me from sin . The Child is safe in the Nurses arms ; and we are onely safe from falling into Sin , while we are held up in the Arms of Christ and Free-Grace .

2. Branch Of the Exhortation hath an aspect to God's Children , you that are Professors , and carry Christ's Colours , I beseech you , above all others , to take heed of sin ; beware of any action that is scandalous and unbecoming the Gospel . You have heard what a prodigious hyperbolical evil sin is . Come not near the forbidden fruit , Hos. 4.15 . Though Israel play the harlot , yet let not Iudah offend . So , though wicked Men run into sin , yet let not the Spouse of Christ defile the breasts of her Virginity . Sin doth ill become any , but it doth worse become Professors . Dung is unhandsome in the Street , but to see it in the Temple , How offensive is it ? Leprosie in the Foot doth ill , but to see a leprous sore in the Face is much worse . To see sin break forth in them , who have a Face of Religion , is most to be abominated . The sins of the wicked are not so much wondered at , Dan. 12.10 . The wicked shall do wickedly . It is no wonder to see a Toad spit Poison ; it was not so much wondered to see Cain , or Ahab sin ; but to see Lot's Incest , to see David's hands stained with blood , this was strange . When the Sun is Eclipsed , every one stands and looks upon it . So when a Child of light is Eclipsed by scandalous sin , all stand and gaze at this Eclipse .

The Sins of God's People , do , in some sense , more provoke God , than the sins of the Wicked . We read of the provoking of his Sons and Daughters , Deut. 32.19 . The sins of the Wicked Anger God , but the sins of his People Grieve him . The sins of God's People have a more malignant aspect , and are of a blacker dye than others : There are those aggravations in the sins of God's People , as are not to be found in the sins of the Unregenerate , in Eight Particulars .

For , First , The Godly have something which may ponere obicem , Restrain them from sin . Wicked Men , when they sin , have no Principle to restrain them ; they have Wind and Tide to carry them , but have nothing to pull them back from sin : but a Child of God hath a Principle of Grace to give check to sin . He hath the impulses of God's Spirit disswading him from evil ; Gal. 5.17 . therefore for him to commit sin is far worse than for others . This is to sin more desperately ; it is as if a Woman should go about to kill the Child in her Womb. Christian , this thou art going to do , when thou sinnest Presumptuously , thou doest what in thee lies to kill the Babe of Grace in thy Soul .

Secondly . The sins of God's People are greater than others , because they sin against more Mercy . This is like a Weight put in the Scale , it makes sin weigh heavier . God hath given Christ to a Believer , he hath cut him off from the wild stock of Nature , and grafted him into the True Olive ; and for him to abuse all this Mercy , it is to out-do the Wicked , and to sin with an higher aggravation , because it is to sin against greater love . How was Peter's sin inhaunced and accented , that when Christ had done more for him than others , he had dropped some of the Holy Oil upon him ; He had taken him into the number of the Apostles , he had carried him up into the Mount of Transfiguration , and shewn him the Glory of Heaven in a Vision ; now that Peter should deny Christ after all this Mercy , this was heinous , and could not be forgiven but by a Prodigy and Miracle of Love .

Thirdly , The Sins of the Godly are worse , and have this aggravation in them , that they Sin against more clear illuminations than the Wicked , Iob 24.13 . They are of those that rebel against the Light : Light is there taken figuratively for knowledge . It can't be deny'd but the Wicked Sin knowingly ; but the Godly have a light beyond them , such a divine , penetrating light , as no Hypocrite can attain unto : They have better eyes to see Sin than others , and for them to meddle with Sin , and embrace this Dunghil , How must this needs provoke God , and make the Fury rise up in his Face ? Oh therefore you that are the People of God fly from Sin ; your Sins are more inhanc'd , and have worse aggravations in them than the Sins of the Unregenerate .

Fourthly , The Sins of the Godly are worse than the Sins of the Unregenerate ; for when they Sin , it is against Greater Experiences . They have felt the bitterness of Sin in the pangs of the New-birth , and afterwards God hath spoken peace , and they have had an experimental tast how Sweet the Lord is ; and yet , after these Experiences , that they should touch the Forbidden Fruit , venture upon a Presumptuous Sin , How doth this inhance and aggravate their Guilt , and is like putting a weight more in the Scale to make their Sin weigh heavier ? The Wicked , when they Sin , never tasted the sweetness of an Heavenly Life ; they never knew what it was to have any Smiles from God ; they never tasted any thing sweeter than Corn and Wine , therefore no wonder if they Sin : But for a Child of God , who hath had such Love-Tokens from Heaven , and Signal experiences , for him to Gratifie a Lust , How horrid is this ! It was an aggravation of Solomon's Sin , that his heart was turned from the Lord which had appeared to him Twice , 1 King . 11.9 .

Fifthly , The Sins of the Godly are greater than others , because they Sin against their Sonship . When Wicked Men Sin , they Sin against the Command ; but when the Godly Sin , they Sin against a Priviledge , they abuse their Sonship . The Godly are adopted into the Family of Heaven , they have a New Name : Is it a light thing [ said David ] to be Son-in-Law to a King ? So to be called the Sons of God , to be Heirs of the Promises , is no small honour : Now , for such to run into any open offence , it is a Sinning against their Adoption ; they hereby make themselves Vile ; as if a King's Son should be tumbling in the Mire , or lie among Swine .

Sixthly , The Sins of the Godly are worse than others , because they are committed against more Vows and Engagements . They have given up their Names to God ; They have Bound themselves solemnly to God by Oath , Psal. 119.106 . I have Sworn that I will keep thy Statutes : And , in the Supper of the Lord , they have renewed this Sacred Vow : and , after this , to run into a Presumptuous Sin , t is a Breach of Vow , a kind of Perjury , which dyes the Sin of a Crimson Colour .

Seventhly , The Sins of the Godly are worse than others , because they bring a greater Reproach upon Religion : for the wicked to Sin , there 's no other expected from them : Swine will wallow in the Mire . But when Sheep do so , when the Godly Sin , that redounds to the dishonour of the Gospel , 2 Sam. 12.14 . By this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme . A Stain in Scarlet , every ones eye is upon it . For the Godly to Sin , it is like a Spot in Scarlet , it is more taken notice of , and it reflects a greater dishonour upon the ways of God . When the Sun is Eclipsed , every one stands and looks upon it : So when a Child of Light is Eclipsed by scandalous Sin , all stand and gaze at this Eclipse . How doth the Gospel suffer by the miscarriages of the Godly ? their Blood can never wash off the stain that they bring upon Religion .

Eighthly , The Sins of the Godly are worse , because they are a means to encourage and harden wicked Men in Sin : If the Wicked see the Godly to be loose and uncircumspect in their lives , they think they may do so to . The Wicked make the Godly their Pattern , not in imitating their Vertues , but their Vices ; And is not this fearful to be a means to damn others ? These are the aggravations of the Sins of the Godly ; therefore you , above all others , beware of Presumptuous sins : your Sins wound Conscience , weaken Grace , and do more highly provoke God than the Sins of others : and God will be sure to punish you ; whoever escapes you shall not , Amos 3.3 . You onely have I known of all the Families of the Earth , therefore I will punish you for all your Iniquities . If God doth not damn you , yet he may send you to Hell in this Life . He may cause such Agonies and Tremblings of heart , that you may be a Terror to your selves . You may draw nigh to despair , and be ready to look upon your selves as Cast-aways . When David had stained himself with Adultery and Murder , he complained of his Broken Bones , Psal. 51.8 . A Metaphor to set forth the Grief and Agony of his Soul : he lay in sore desertion Three Quarters of a year , and it is thought he never recovered his full joy to his Dying day . Oh therefore you , who belong to God , and are enrolled in his Family , take heed of blemishing your Profession with scandalous Sin ; you will pay dear for it ; think of the Broken Bones . Though God doth not blot you out of his Book , yet he may cast you out of his Presence , Psal. 51.11 . He may keep you in long desertion . You may feel such lashes in your Conscience , [ that you may roar out , and think your selves half in Hell . ]

So much for the First , Deliver us from evil ; We Pray to be delivered from Evil in General , that is , Sin .

2. In Special , Deliver us from Evil : We Pray to be delivered from evil , under a Three-fold Notion .

First , From the Evil of our Heart . It is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , an Evil Heart , Hebr. 3.12 .

Secondly , From the Evil of Satan . He is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The Evil one , Mat. 13.19 .

Thirdly , From the Evil of the World . 'T is call'd an Evil World , Gal. 1.4 .

1. In this Petition , Deliver us from Evil ; we pray to be delivered from the evil of our Heart , that it may not decoy and trapan us into sin : The Heart is the poisoned Fountain , from whence all actual sins flow , Mark 7.21 . Out of the Heart proceed evil Thoughts , Fornications , Murders . The Cause of all Evil lies in a mans own Breast . All sin begins at the Heart . Lust is first conceived in the Heart , and then it is midwifed into the World . Whence comes rash Anger ? The Heart sets the Tongue on fire . The Heart is a Shop or Work-house where all sin is contrived and hammer'd out . How needful therefore is this Prayer , Deliver us from Devil , from the Evil of our Hearts . The Heart is the greatest Seducer , therefore the Apostle Iames saith , Every man is drawn away of his own Lust and enticed , Iam. 1.14 . The Devil could not hurt us , if our own Hearts did not give consent . All that he can do is to lay the Bait , but it is our fault to swallow the Bait.

O let us pray to be delivered from the Lusts and Deceits of our Hearts ; Deliver us from Evil. Luther fear'd his Heart more than the Pope or Cardinal , and it was Austins Prayer , Libera me Domine à meipso , Lord , deliver me from my self . It was good Advice one gave to his Friend , Caveas teipsum ; beware of the bosom-Traytor , the Flesh. The Heart of Man is the Trojan Horse , out of which comes a whole Army of Lusts.

2. In this Petition , Deliver us from Evil , we pray to be delivered from the Evil of Satan . He is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 The Evil One , Mat. 13.19 .

Quest. In what respect is Satan the Evil One ?

Answ. 1. He is the first Inventor of Evil , Ioh. 8.44 . He plotted the first Treason .

2. His Inclination is only to Evil , Ephes. 6.12 .

His constant Practice is doing Evil , 1 Pet. 5.8 .

4 All the Evils and Mischiefs that fall out in the World , he hath some hand in them .

First , He hinders from Good , Zach. 3.1 . He shewed me Joshua the High-Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord , and Satan at his right Hand to resist him .

Secondly , He provokes to Evil ; He put it into Ananias's Heart to lie , Act. 5.3 . Why hath Satan fill'd thy Heart to lie to the Holy Ghost ? The Devil blows the fire of Lust and Strife . When men are proud , the Old Serpent hath poison'd them , and makes them swell . Thus he is the Evil One , and well may we pray , Lord deliver us from the Evil One. The Word Satan , in the Hebrew signifies an Opponent or Adversary .

1. He is a Restless Adversary , he never sleeps ; Spirits needs no sleep . He is a Peripatetick , He walks about , 1 Pet. 5.8 . and how doth he walk ? Not as a Pilgrim , but as a Spye ; he narrowly observes where he may plant his Pieces of Battery , and make his Assaults with most Advantage against us . Satan is a subtil Engineer ; there is no place that can secure us from Satans Assaults and In●●des . We find him while we are Praying , Hearing , Meditating . We are sure of his Company , uncertain how we came by it .

2. Satan is a puissant Adversary , he is armed with Power . He is call'd 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The strong Man , Luke 11.21 . He takes men captive at his pleasure , 2 Tim. 2.26 . Who are taken captive by him at his Will. Gr. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , who are taken alive by him . It alludes to a Bird that is taken alive in the Snare ; thus you see he is the Evil one . The Devils work is to angle for mens Souls ; he lays suitable Baits . He allures the ambitious Man with Honour , the covetous Man with Riches , he hooks his Baits with Silver , he allures the lustful Man with Beauty , he tempts Men to Delila's Lap , to keep them from Abraham's Bosom . The Devil glories in the Damnation of Souls ; how needful then is this Prayer ? Deliver us from Evil. Lord keep us from the Evil One. Tho' Satan may sollicite us to sin ; suffer us not to give Consent . Tho' he may Assault the Castle of our Hearts , yet , let us not deliver up the Keys of the Castle to our mortal Enemy .

3. In this Petition , Deliver us from Evil ; we pray to be delivered from the Evil of the World . 'T is call'd an Evil World , Gal. 1.4 . not but that the World ( as God made it ) is Good ; but through our Corruption it becomes Evil , and we had need pray , deliver us from an Evil World .

Quest. In what Sence is it Saeculum malum , an Evil World ?

Answ. 1. As it is a defiling World . 'T is like living in an infectious Air , it requires an high degree of Grace to keep our selves unspotted from the World , Iam. 1.27 . 'T is as hard to live in the World and not be defiled , as to go much in the Sun and not be tanned .

1. The Opinions of the World are defiling , that a little Religion will serve the turn ; like Leaf-Gold , it must be spread but thin . That Morality runs parallel with Grace ; that to be Zealous , is to be Righteous over-much . That it is better to keep the skin whole , than the Conscience Pure . That the Flesh is rather to be gratified , than mortified . These Opinions of the World are defiling .

2. The Examples of the World are defiling Examples , have a great Force in them to draw us to Evil. — Princeps imperio magnus exemplo major , Princes are Looking-Glasses which we dress our selves by ; if they do Evil , we are apt to imitate them . Great Men are Copies we set before us , and usually we write most like the Copy when it is blotted ; there 's a great Proneness in us to follow the Examples of the World . Therefore God hath put in a Caveat against it , Exod. 23.2 . Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do Evil. How easily are we hurried to sin , when we have the Tide of Natural Corruption , and the wind of Example to carry us . Lot was the worlds Wonder , the Complexion of his Soul kept Pure in Sodoms infectious Air. The River of Peru in America , after it hath run into the main Sea , keeps fresh , and doth not mingle with the salt Waters : To this River might Lot be compared , whose Piety kept fresh in Sodoms salt Water . Bad Examples are catching , Psal. 106.35 . They were mingled among the Heathen , and Learned their Works . Had not we need then pray , Lord deliver us from this Evil World ? Living in the World is like travelling in a dirty Road.

2. It is an evil World , as it is an insnaring World . The World 's full of Snares . Company is a snare , Recreation a snare , Oaths are snares , Riches are golden snares ; — Opes irritamenta malorum . The Apostle speaks of the Lust of the Flesh , the Lust of the Eye , and the Pride of Life , 1 Ioh. 2.16 . The Lust of the Flesh is Beauty , the Lust of the Eye is Money , the Pride of Life is Honour ; these are the natural Mans Trinity . In mundo splendor Opum , Gloriae Majestas , Voluptatum illecebrae ab amore Dei nos abstrahunt . The World is a flattering Enemy ; whom it kisses , it oft betrays ; it is a silken Halter : the Pleasures of the World like Opium , cast men into the sleep of Security . Lysimachus sold his Crown for a draught of Water ; so many part with Heaven for the World . It is an ensnaring World ; the King of Armenia was sent Prisoner to Queen Cleopatra in Golden Fetters . Too many are inslaved with the worlds golden Fetters ; the World bewitch'd Demas , 2 Tim. 4.10 . One of Christs own Apostles was caught with a silver Bait. 'T is hard to drink the Wine of Prosperity and not be giddy . Thus the World through our innate Corruption is Evil , as it is a Snare , 1 Tim. 6.9 . They that will be rich , fall into Temptation and a Snare . If an Angel were to live here , there were no danger of the Worlds insnaring him , because he hath no Principle within to receive the Temptation : but we have a Corrupt Principle that suits with the Temptation , and that makes us always in Danger .

3. It is an evil World , as it is a discouraging World . It casts Scorn and Reproach upon them who live vertuously ; what , you will be holier than others ? Wiser than your Ancestors ? The World deals with the Professors of Religion , as Sanballat did with the Iews when they were building , Nehem. 4.1 . He mocked the Jews , and said , What do th●se feeble Jews , will they Fortifie themselves ? will they revive the Stones out of the heaps of Rubbish that are burnt ? So the wicked World casts out Squibs of Reproach at the godly , what will ye build for Heaven ? What needs all this Cost ? What Profit is it to serve the Almighty ? Thus the World would pluck off our Chariot-Wheels when we are driving towards Heaven : they are called Cruel Mockings , Heb. 11.36 . It requires a great measure of Sanctity to with-stand the Discouragements of the World , to dance among Serpents , to laugh at Reproaches , and bind them as a Crown about our Head .

4. It is an evil World , as it is a deadning World . It dulls and deadneth the Affections to Heavenly Objects . The World cools Holy Motions , like a Damp in a silver Mine which puts out the Light ; Earthly things choke the Seed of the Word . A man intangled in the World , is so taken up about secular Concerns , that he can no more mind the things above , than the earth can ascend , or the Elephant fly in the Air. And , even such as have Grace in them ; yet , when their Affections are belimed with the Earth , they find themselves much indisposed to Meditation and Prayer , 't is like swimming with a Stone about the Neck .

5. 'T is an evil World , as it is a maligning World . It doth disgust and hate the people of God , Iohn 15.19 . Because ye are not of the World , therefore the World hateth you . Hatred is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , ( as Aristotle saith ) against the whole Kind . Hamans hatred was against the Seed of the whole Iews . When you can find a Serpent without a Sting , or a Leopard without Spots , then you may expect to find a wicked World without Hatred . the White that is shot at is Piety , Psal. 38.20 . They are mine Adversaries , because I follow the thing that Good is . The World pretends to hate the Godly for something else , but the ground of the Quarrel is Holiness . The Worlds Hatred is Implacable ; Anger may be reconciled , Hatred cannot . You may as well reconcile Heaven and Hell as the two Seeds . If the World hated Christ , no wonder it hates us , Iohn 15.18 . The World hated me before it hated you Why should any hate Christ ? This Blessed Dove had no Gall , this Rose of Sharon did send forth a most sweet Perfume ; but this shews the worlds Baseness , it is a Christ-hating and a Saint-eating World . Had not we need pray , Deliver us from this evil World ?

6. It is an evil World , as it is a Deceitful World .

First . There is Deceit in dealing , Hos. 12.7 . He is a Merchant , the Balances of Deceit are in his Hand . The Hebrew word Rimmah in Pyhil , signifies both to deceive and to oppress . He who dares use Deceit will not spare to oppress .

Secondly , There is Deceit in Friendship , Prov. 20.6 . But a faithful Man who can find ? — Trita frequensque via est per amici fallere Nomen . — Some use too much Courtship in Friendship : they are like Trumpets which make a great noise , but within they are hollow . Some can flatter and hate , commend and censure . Mel in Ore , Fel in Corde . Dissembled Love is worse than Hatred .

Thirdly , There is Deceit in Riches , Mat. 13.22 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , The Deceitfulness of Riches . The World makes us believe it will satisfie our Desires , and it doth but encrease them ; it makes us believe it will stay with us , and it takes wings , Prov. 23.5 .

7. It is an Evil World , as it is a disquieting World . 'T is full of Trouble , Iohn 16.33 . The World is like a Bee-hive , when we have tasted a little Hony , we have been stung with a thousand Bees . St. Basil was of opinion , that before the Fall , the Rose did grow without prickles ; but now , every sweet flower of our Life hath its prickles . There are many things cause disquiet ; loss of Friends , Law-Suits , Crosses in Estate : Relations are not without their Troubles . Some are troubled that they want Children , others troubled that they have Children ; the World is a vexing Vanity . If a man be poor , he is despised by the Rich ; if he be rich , he is envied by the poor . If we do not find it an insnaring World , we shall find it an afflicting World ; it hath more in it to mean us than tempt us . The World is a Sea , where we are tossed upon the surging Waves of Sorrow , and often in danger of Shipwrack ; the World is a Wilderderness , full of fiery Serpents . [ What storms of Persecution are raised against the Righteous ? 2 Tim. 3.12 . ] The wicked are Briars , Micah 7.4 . where Christ's sheep lose some of their Golden Fleece . Then had not we need pray , Lord deliver us from being hurt by this Evil World ? Why should we Love the World ? Tho' we are commanded to love our Enemies , yet this Enemy we must not love , 1 Iohn 2.15 . Love not the World .

I have been all this while opening the first Sence of this Petition , Liber a nos à malo , Deliver us from Evil ; we pray to be delivered from Sin in general , and to be delivered from Evil under this three-fold Notion , from the Evil of our Heart , from the Evil of Satan , from the Evil of the World ; ere I leave this , let me insert a Caution .

Caution . Not that our abstaining from , or forbearing the external Acts of Sin is sufficient to intitle us to Salvation ; but when we pray , Deliver us from Evil , there is more implyed in it ▪ namely , that we make a progress in Holiness . Being divorced from sin is not enough , unless we are espoused to Vertue ; therefore in Scripture , these two are joyn'd , Psal. 34.14 . Depart from Evil , and do Good . Rom 12.9 . And Isa. 1.16 . Cease to do Evil Learn to do well . 2 Cor. 7.1 . Let us cleanse our selves from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit , perfecting Holiness . Leaving sin is not enough , unless we embrace Righteousness . Virtutis est magis honesta agere quàm non Turpia , as it is in the Body , it is not enough that the Disease be stop'd , but it must grow in health . So it is in the Soul ; it is not enough Acts of sin be forborn , ( which is the stopping a Disease ) but it must be healthy , that is , grow in Holiness .

Vse , Which reproves those who labour only to suppress the Outward Acts of sin , but do not press on to Holiness . They cease from doing Evil , but do not learn to do well ; their Religion lies only in Negatives . They glory in this , that they are given to no Vice , none can charge them with any foul Miscarriages , Luke 18.11 . God , I thank thee , that I am not as other men are ; Extortioners , Vnjust , Adulterers . This is not enough ; you must advance a step further in solid Piety . It is not enough , that a field be not sown with Tares or Hemlock ; but it must be sown with good Seed . Consider two things .

1. If this be the best Certificate you have to shew , that you are not guilty of gross Sins , God makes no Account of you . A piece of Brass tho' it be not so bad as Clay , yet not being so good as Silver , it will not pass for currant Coyn. So tho' you are not grosly prophane , yet not being of the right Mettal , wanting the stamp of Holiness , you will never pass currant in Heaven .

2. A Man may abstain from Evil , yet he may go to Hell for not doing good , Mat 3.10 . Every Tree that bringeth not forth good Fruit , is hewn down and cast into the fire . Why were the foolish Virgins shut out ? They had done no hurt , they had not broke their Lamps ; Yea but their fault was , there was no goodness in them , they had no Oyl in their Lamps . Oh! therefore let us not content our selves in being free from gross Acts of Sin , but let us launch forth further in Holiness . Let us cleanse our selves from all Pollution perfecting Holiness .

Secondly , Deliver us from Evil ; that is , from Temporal Evil ; we pray that God will either prevent temporal Evils , or deliver us out of them .

1. We pray that God will prevent Temporal Evils ; That he will be our Screen to stand betwen us and Danger , Psal. 7.1 . Save me from them that persecute me . We may lawfully pray against the Plots of the wicked , that they may prove abortive . That tho' they have a design upon us , they may not have their desire upon us , Psal. 141.9 . Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me .

2. We pray , that God will deliver us out of Temporal Evils . That he will remove his Judgments from us , whether Famine , Sword , Pestilence , Psal. 39.10 . Remove thy Stroke away from me . Yet with this Caution .

Caution . We may pray to be delivered from Temporal Evils , only so far as God sees it good for us . We may pray to be delivered from the Evil of Sin absolutely , but we must pray to be delivered from Temporal Evils conditionally , so far as God sees it fitting for us , and may stand with his Glory .

Vse . In all the Troubles that lie upon us , let us look up to God for Ease and Succour ; Deliver us from Evil , Isa. 8.19 . Should not a people seek unto their God ? To blame then are the Papists , who knock at the wrong door . When they are in any Trouble , they pray to the Saints to deliver them . When they are in danger of Shipwrack , they pray to St. Nicholas ; when they are in the fit of a Fever , they pray to St. Petronelle ; when they are in Travel , they pray to St. Margaret . How unlawful it is to invocate Saints in Prayer , I will prove from one Scripture , Rom. 10.14 . How then shall they call on him , in whom they have not believed ? We may pray to none but such as we may believe in , but we ought not to believe in any Saint , therefore we may not pray to him . The Papists have in their Ladies Psalter directed their Prayers for Deliverance to the Virgin Mary . Deliver me O Lady , Benedicta Domina , in manibus tuis reposita est nostra salus ; O thou blessed Lady , in thy hands our Salvation is laid up . But Abraham is ignorant of us , Isa. 63.16 . The Saints and Virgin Mary are ignorant of us .

To pray to Saints is Idolatry advanced to Blasphemy . Our Saviour hath taught us better , in all our Distresses to pray to God for a Cure , Deliver us from Evil. — He only knows what our Troubles are , and can give us help from Trouble ; he only that laid the Burden on can take it off . David went to God , Psal. 25.17 . O bring thou me out of my Distresses . God can with a word heal , Psal. 107.20 . He sent forth his Word and healed them . He delivered the three Children out of the fiery Furnace , Ioseph out of Prison , Daniel out of the Lions Den. This proves him to be God , because none can deliver as he doth , Dan. 3.29 . There is no other God that can deliver after this sort . Let us then in all our Straits and Exigencies seek to God , and say , Deliver us from Evil.

An Addition of some Sermons Preached by the Reverend Mr. Tho. Watson , formerly Minister of St. Stephen's Walbrook .

Of Wisdom and Innocency . Matth. 10.16 .

Be ye therefore wise as Serpents , and harmless as Doves .

THE Apostle saith , All Scripture is of Divine inspiration , 2 Tim. 3.16 . God's Word is compared to a Lamp , for its enlightning quality , Psal. 119.105 . and to Silver refined , for its enriching quality , Psal. 12.6 . Among other parts of Sacred Writ , this in the Text , is not the least ; Be ye wise as Serpents , and innocent as Doves . This is the Speech of our Blessed Saviour . His Lips were a Tree of Life which fed many . His Works were Miracles , his Words were Oracles , and deserve to be engraven upon our hearts , as with the point of a Diamond .

This is a golden Sentence ; Be ye wise as Serpents , and innocent as Doves . Our Lord Jesus , in this Chapter ,

First , Gives his Apostles their Commission .

Secondly , Foretells their Danger .

Thirdly , Gives them several Instructions .

I. Christ gives his Apostles their Commission . Before they went abroad to preach , Christ ordains them , vers. 5. These Twelve Iesus sent forth . Those who exercise in the Ministerial Function , must have a Lawful Call . Hebr. 5.4 . No Man takes this Honour to himself , but he who is called of God . Christ gave not only the Apostles and Prophets a Call to their Office , ( who were extraordinary Ministers ; ) but even Pastors and Teachers , Ephes. 4.11 .

Quest. But if one have Gifts , is not this sufficient to the Ministerial Office ?

Answ. No : As Grace is not sufficient to make a Minister , so neither Gifts ; therefore it is observable , that the Scripture puts a difference between Gifting and Sending . Rom. 10.15 . How shall they Preach , unless they be Sent ? If Gifts were enough to constitute a Minister , the Apostle should have said , How shall they Preach unless they be Gifted ? But he saith , unless they be Sent : Which denotes a lawful Call , or Investiture into the Office . The Attorney that pleads at the Barr may have as good Gifts as the Judge that sits upon the Bench ; but he must have a lawful Commission before he sit as Judge . If it be thus in Matters Civil , then much more in Church-Matters , which are of an higher Concern . Those therefore who usurp the Work of the Ministry without being solemnly set apart for it , discover more Pride than Zeal ; and they can expect no Blessing . Ier. 23.32 . I sent them not , nor commanded them , therefore they shall not profit this People , saith the Lord . So much for the First ; the Apostles Commission they received : These Twelve Iesus sent forth .

II. Christ foretells their Danger , ver. 16. Behold I send you forth as Sheep in the midst of Wolves . The Apostles were going about a glorious Work , but an hazardous Work ; they would meet with Enemies fierce and savage , like Wolves . As all that will live godly in Christ , shall meet with Sufferings ; so commonly Christ's Ambassadors encounter the deepest Trials . Most of the Apostles died by the hands of Tyrants . Peter was crucified with his head downwards . Luke the Evangelist was executed on an Olive-Tree . Iohn was cast by Domitian into a Vessel of scalding Oyl . Maximinus the Emperor ( as Eusebius relates ) gave charge to his Officers to put none to death , but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; the Governors and Pastors of the Church . The Ministers are Christ's Antesignani , his Ensign-bearers to carry his Colours ; therefore they are most shot at : They hold forth his Truth : Phil. 1.17 . I am set for the defence of the Gospel . The Greek Word 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , alludes to a Soldier that is set in the Forefront of the Battel , and hath all the Bullets flying about his Ears . The Minister's Work is to part between Men and their Sins ; and this causeth opposition . When Paul preached against Diana , all the City was in an uproar , Acts 19. This may stir up Prayer for Christ's Ministers , that they may be able to withstand the Assaults of the Enemy , 2 Thes. 3.2 .

III. Christ gives the Apostles their Instructions ; whereof this was one in the Text ; Be ye wise as Serpents , and innocent as Doves . 1. The Exhortation : Be ye wise . 2. The Simile , as Serpents . 3. The Qualification of this Wisdom ; a Wisdom mixt with Innocency ; Harmless as Doves .

This Vnion of the Dove and the Serpent , is hard to find . Mat. 24.45 . Who then is a wise and faithful Servant ? On which Place , saith St. Chrysostom , It is an hard matter to find one faithful and wise . Faithful , there is the Dove ; Wise , there is the Serpent . 'T is hard to find both : If one would seek for a faithful Man , questionless he may find many ; if for a wise Man , he may find many ; but if he seek for one both wise and faithful , this is rara avis , hard to find : yet , it is possible , though not common . Moses , a man learned in all the Wisdom of the Egyptians , Acts 7.22 . There was the Wisdom of the Serpent : And the meekest man alive , Numb. 12.3 . Now the Man Moses was very meek above all the men upon the face of the Earth ; there was the Innocency of the Dove . Daniel was an excellent person , Dan. 5.14 . Excellent Wisdom is found in thee ; there was the Prudence of the Serpent : And , Dan. 6.4 . The Presidents and Princes ●ought to find occasion against Daniel ; but they could find no occasion or fault : Behold here the innocency of the Dove . Look on St. Paul , Acts 23.6 . When Paul perceived that the one part were Sadduces , and the other Pharisees , he cried out , I am a Pharisee ; By which Speech Paul got all the Pharisees on his side : Here was the Wisdom of the Serpent . And , ver. 1. I have lived in all good Conscience before God until this day : Here was the innocency of the Dove . How amiable is this , the Vnion of the Dove and the Serpent ? The Scripture joins these two together , Meekness of Wisdom , Jam. 3.13 . Wisdom , there is the Serpent ; Meekness , there is the Dove . This beautifies a Christian , when he hath the Serpen●'s Eye in the Dove's Head . We must have Innocency with our Wisdom , else our Wisdom is but Craftiness ; and we must have Wisdom with our Innocency , else our Innocency is but Weakness . We must have the Innocency of the Dove , that we may not circumvent others ; and we must have the Wisdom of the Serpent , that others may not circumvent us . We must have the Innocency of the Dove , that we may not betray the Truth ; and the Wisdom of the Serpent , that we may not betray our selves . In short , Religion without Policy , is too weak to be safe : Policy without Religion , is too subtil to be good . When Wisdom and Innocency , like Castor and Pollux , appear together , they presage the Soul's Happiness .

Doct. 3. That Christians must be both wise and innocent .

I begin with the first , Wise : Be ye wise as Serpents .

1. I shall speak concerning Wisdom in general . Solomon saith , Wisdom is the principal thing , Prov. 4.7 . 'T is better than Riches , Prov. 31.14 . Happy is the Man that findeth Wisdom ▪ for the Merchandise of it is better than the Merchandise of Silver . If the Mountains were Pearl , if every sand of the Sea were a Diamond , it were not comparable to Wisdom . Without Wisdom a person is like a Ship without a Pilot , in danger to split upon Rocks . Iob sets forth the Encomium and Praise of Wisdom , Iob. 28.13 , 18. The Price of Wisdom is above Rubies . The Ruby is a precious Stone , transparent , of a red fiery colour . It is reported of one of the Kings of India , that he wore a Ruby of that bigness and splendor , that he might be seen by it in the dark : But Wisdom cast● a more sparkling colour than the Ruby ; it makes us shine as Angels . No Chain of Pearl you wear , doth so adorn you as Wisdom . Wisdom consists chiefly in three things .

1. Knowl●dge to discern . 2. Skill to judge . 3. Activity to prosecute .

1. Knowledge to discern wherein Happiness lies .

2. Skill to judge what will be the fittest Means to conduce to it .

3. Activity to prosecute those things which will certainly accomplish that End . So much for Wisdom in general .

More particularly : Wisdom is variously distinguished . 'T is either Natural , or Moral , or Theological .

1. A Natural Wisdom : Which is seen in finding out the Arcana Naturae , the Secrets of Nature . Aristotle was by some of the Ancients called an Eagle fallen from the Clouds , because he was of such raised Intellectuals , and had so profound an insight into the Causes of Things . This Natural Wisdom is adorning ; but it is not sufficient to Salvation . St. Hierom brings in Aristotle with his Syllogisms , and Tully with his Rhetorick , crying out in Hell .

2. A Moral Wisdom : Which consists in two Things ; Malum respuendo , Bonum elegendo : Moral Wisdom lies in the rejection of those things which are prejudicial , and the election of those things which are beneficial . This is called PRVDENCE . Knowledge without Prudence may do hurt : Many a man's Wit hath undone him for want of Wisdom .

3. A Theological , or Sacred Wisdom : which is our knowing of God : who is the supream and sovereign Good . Greece was counted the Eye of the World , for Wisdom , and Athens the Eye of Greece ; but neither of them knew God . Acts 17.23 . I found an Altar with this Inscription , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; To the unknown God . To know God , in whom is both Verum & Bonum , Truth and Goodness , is the Master-piece of Wisdom . 1 Chron. 28.9 . And thou Solomon my Son , know thou the God of thy Father . And this knowledge of God is through Christ . Christ is the Glass in which the Face of God is seen , Col. 1.15 . And then we know God aright , when we know him not only with a knowledge of Speculation , but Appropriation . Psal. 48.14 . This God is OVR God . This knowledge of God is the most sublime Wisdom ; therefore 't is called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; Wisdom from above , Jam. 3.17 .

But to come nearer to the Text , and speak of the Wisdom of the Serpent : Be ye wise as Serpents .

Quest. But must we in every thing be like the Serpent ?

Answ. No. Our Saviour meant not that in every thing we should imitate the Serpent . I shall shew you , 1. Wherein we should not be like the Serpent . 2. Wherein we should be like the Serpent .

I. Wherein we should not be like the Serpent .

1. The Serpent eats Dust. Isa. 65.25 . Dust shall be the Serpent's Meat : It was a Curse upo● the Serpent . Thus we should not be like the Serpent , to feed immoderately on earthly Things . It is absurd for him that hath an heaven-born Soul capable of Communion with God and Angels , to eat greedily the Serpent's Meat : A Christian hath better Food to feed on ; the heavenly Manna , the precious Promises , the Body and Blood of Christ . 'T is counted a Miracle to find a Diamond in a Gold-Mine ; and it is as great a Miracle to find Christ , the Pearl of Price , in an earthly heart . The Lapwing wears a little Coronet on its head , yet feeds on dung . To have a Crown of Profession on the head , yet feed inordinately on these dunghil-Comforts , is unworthy of a Christian. What a poor contemptible thing is the World ? It cannot fill the Heart : If Satan should take a Christian up to the top of the Pinacle , and shew him all the Kingdoms and Glory of the World , what could he shew him , but a 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Shew , a pleasant Delusion ? There is a lawful Vse God allows of these outward things ; but the Sin is in the Excess . The Bee may suck a little Honey from the Leaf ; but put it in a Barrel of Honey , and it is drown'd . The wicked are thus characterized , Ephes. 3.19 . They mind earthly things . They are like Saul , hid among the Stuff . We should be as Eagles flying aloft towards Heaven , not as Serpents , creeping on the Earth , and licking the Dust.

2. The Serpent is deceitful . The Serpent useth many Shifts , and glides so cunningly , that we cannot trace him . This was one of those four things which wise Agur could not find out , the way of a Serpent upon a Rock , Prov. 30.19 . 'T is a deceitful Creature : We should not in this sence be like the Serpent , for deceitfulness . Naturally we too much resemble the Serpent for Fraud and Collusion ▪ Ier. 17.9 . The Heart is deceitful above all things .

1. Deceit towards Man : 1. To dissemble Friendship ; to cover Malice with pretences of Love ; to commend and censure ; to flatter and hate ; a Iudas-Kiss , and a Ioab's Sword ; Mel in ore , Fel in corde . 2. To dissemble Honesty ; to pretend just dealing , yet use false Weights .

2. Deceit towards God . To draw nigh to God with the Lips , and the Heart is far from him ; to serve God , and seek ourselves ; to pretend to love God , and yet be in league with Sin ; we should not in this sence be like the Serpent , deceitful , and given to Sh●fts . O be upright ! Be what you seem to be : God loves Plainness of Heart , Psal. 51.6 . The plainer the Diamond is , the more it sparkles : The plainer the Heart is , the more it sparkles in God's Eye . What a Commendation did Christ give Nathanael , Ioh. 1.47 . Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no Guile .

3. The Serpent casts the Coat , but another new Coat comes in the room ; in this we should not be like the Serpent , to cast the Coat , to cast off one Sin , and another Sin as bad come in the room . The Drunkard leaves his Drunkenness , because it impairs his Health , his Credit , his Purse , and falls to the Sin of Cozenage : The Prodigal leaves his Prodigality , and turns Usurer : This is as if one Disease should leave a Man , and he should fall into another as bad . His Ague leaves him , and he falls into a Consumption . O be not like the Serpent , that casts one Coat and another comes . This is like him in the Gospel , that had one Devil go out of him , and seven worse Spirits came in the Room , Matth. 12.45 .

4. The Serpent is a Venomous Creature , 't is full of Poison , Deut. 32.24 . In this be not like the Serpent . 'T is said of Wicked Men , their Poison is like the Poison of a Serpent , Psal. 58.4 . What is this Poison ? it is the Poison of Malice : Malice is the Devil's Picture . Lust makes Men brutish , and Malice makes them Devilish : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Chrys. Malice carries in it its own punishment : A malicious Man to hurt another will injure himself . Quintillian speaks of one who had a a Garden of Flowers , and he poisoned his Flowers , that his Neighbours Bees sucking from them might be poisoned and die . Oh be not venomous like the Serpent . Malice is Mental Murder , you may kill a Man and never touch him . 1 Ioh. 3.15 . Whosoever hates his Brother is a Murderer . Malice spoils all your good Duties ; the malicious Man defiles his Prayers , poisons the Sacramental Cup ; he eats and drinks his own Damnation . I have read of one who lived in Malice , and being asked , how he could say the Lords Prayer ? He answered , I leave out those Words , As we forgive them that Trespass against us . But St. Austin brings in God replying thus to him , because thou dost not say my Prayer , therefore I will not hear Thine . The malicious Man is not like to enjoy either Earth or Heaven ; not the Earth , for the Meek shall inherit the Earth , Matth. 5.4 . Nor is he like to enjoy Heaven , for God will beautifie the Meek with Salvation , Psal. 149.4 . So that the malicious Man is cut off both from Earth and Heaven .

5. The Serpent is given to Hissing : So 't is said of the Basilisk . In this be not like the Serpent , to hiss out Reproaches and Invectives against the Saints and People of God . Thy are the Seed of the Serpent that hiss at Godliness . The Lord will one Day reckon with Men for all their hard Speeches , Iude 15. Lucian was such an one who did hiss out and scoff against Religion , and as a just Judgment of God , he was afterwards torn in pieces by Dogs .

6. The Serpent Stops her Ear. It is an obstinate Deafness . Psal. 58.4 . They are as the Deaf Adder which stoppeth her Ear. In this be not like the Serpent , obstinately to stop your Ears to the Voice of God's Word . While God calls you to repent of Sin , be not as the Basilisk , to stop your Ear , Zach. 7.11 . They refused to hearken , and stopp'd their Ears , that they might not hear : the Word denounceth threatnings against Sin ; but many instead of being like the Publican , smiting on their Breast , they are as Deaf Adders stopping their Ears : If you shut your Ear against God's Word , take heed God doth not shut Heaven against you : If God crys to you to repent , and you will not hear ; when you cry for Mercy , God will not hear . Zach. 7.13 . As he cryed and they would not hear , so they cryed and I would not hear , saith the Lord of Hosts .

7. The Serpent casts her Coat , but keeps her Sting : In this sence be not like the Serpent , to cast off the outward Acts of Sin , and keep the Love of Sin . He whose Heart is in Love with any Sin , is an Hypocrite . 1. A Man may forbear Sin , yet retain the Love of it : He may forbear the act of gross Sin , Formidine Poenae , for fear of Hell ; as a Man may forbear a Dish he loves for fear it should bring his Disease upon him ; the Stone or Gout . 2. A Man may forsake Sin , yet keep the Love of Sin ; he may forsake Sin , either out of Policy or Necessity . 1. Policy , Vice will impair his Health , eclipse his Credit ; therefore out of Policy he will forsake it : Or , 2. Necessity . Perhaps he can follow the Trade of Sin no longer ; the Adulterer is grown old , the Prodigal poor ; either the Purse fails , or the Strength . Thus a Man may refrain the Act of Sin , yet retain the Love of Sin : This is like the Serpent , which casts her Coat , but keeps her Sting . Oh! take heed of this ; herein be not like the Serpent ; remember that saying of Hierom , Gravius est peccatum diligere quam perpetrare : 'T is worse to love Sin than to commit it : A Man may commit Sin through a Tentation , or out of Ignorance , and when he knows it to be a Sin he is sorry for it ; but he that loves Sin , his Will is in the Sin , and that aggravates it , and is like the Dye which makes the Wool of a Crimson Colour .

8. Serpents are chased away with sweet perfumes , the perfume of Harts-Horn , or the sweet odour of the Styrax drives the Serpent away . In this be not like the Serpent , to be driven away with the sweet perfumes of Holiness . Carnal Hearts are for Things only which delight the Senses , they will discourse of News or Traffick ; here they are in their Element ; but let a Man bring with him the sweet perfume of Religious discourse , let him talk of Christ , or living by Faith , this spiritual perfume drives them away : Oh , be not in this like the Serpent ! How do you think to live with the Saints in Heaven , that cannot endure their Company here ? You hate the sweet savour of their Oyntments , the fragrant perfume of their Graces ?

9. The Serpent ( as is noted of the Stellio , a kind of Serpent ) he doth no sooner cast his skin but he eats it up again . In this be not like the Serpent , to forsake Sin and then take it up again . 2 Pet. 2.22 . It is happened according to the Proverb , the Dog is returned to his own Vomit again ; such were Demas and Iulian. Many after a Divorce , espouse their Sins again ; as if one's Ague should leave him a while , and then come again : The Devil seemed to be cast out , but comes the second Time , and the end of that Man is worse than his beginning , Luk. 11.24 . because his Sin is greater ; he sins knowingly and wilfully , and his Damnation will be greater .

10. Serpents are great Lovers of Wine . Pliny , who writes of Natural History , saith , if Serpents come where Wine is , they drink insatiably : In this be not like the Serpent ; though the Scripture allows the use of Wine , 1 Tim. 5.23 . yet it forbids the excess , Eph. 5.18 . Be not drunk with Wine , wherein is excess ; be not like the Serpents in this , Lovers of Wine . Because this Sin of Drunkenness doth so abound in this Age , I shall enlarge something more on this Head . 'T is said of the Old World , They eat , they drank , till the Flood came , Luk. 17.27 . Drinking is not a Sin ; but the meaning is , they drank to intemperance , they disordered themselves with Drink , and God let them have Liquor enough ; first they were drowned in Wine , and then in Water .

There is no Sin which doth more deface God's Image than Drunkenness , it disguiseth a Person , and doth even unman him ; Drunkenness makes him have the Throat of a Fish , the Belly of a Swine , and the Head of an Ass ; Drunkenness is the Shame of Nature , the Extinguisher of Reason , the Shipwrack of Chastity , and the Murder of Conscience ; Drunkenness is hurtful for the Body : The Cup kills more than the Cannon ; it causeth Dropsies , Catarrhs , Apoplexies ; Drunkenness fills the Eyes with Fire and the Legs with Water , and turns the Body into an Hospital ; but the greatest hurt is that it doth to the Soul . Excess of Wine breeds the Worm of Conscience . The Drunkard is seldom reclaimed by repentance ; and the ground of it is , partly , because by this Sin the Senses are so inchanted , Reason so impaired , and Lust so inflamed ; and , partly , it is judicial , the Drunkard being so besotted with this Sin , God saith of him as of Ephraim , Hos. 4.17 . Ephraim is joyned to Idols , let him alone ; so this Man is joyned to his Cups , let him alone , let him drown himself in Liquor till he scorch himself in Fire . How many Woes hath God pronounced against this Sin , Isa. 28.1 . Woe to the Drunkards of Ephraim ! Joel 1.5 . Howl ye Drinkers of Wine ! Drunkenness excludes a Person from Heaven . 1 Cor. 6.10 . Drunkards shall not inherit the Kingdom of God : A Man cannot go to Heaven reeling . King Solomon makes an oration full of Invectives against this Sin , Prov. 23.29 . Who hath Woe ? Who hath Contentions ? Who hath Babling ? Who hath redness of Eyes ? they that tarry long at the Wine . Who hath Contentions ? Drink when abused breeds Quarrels , it causeth Duels . Who hath Babling ? When one is in Drink , his Tongue runs , he will reveal any Secrets of his Friend . Who hath redness of Eyes ? Redness of Eyes comes sometimes from Weeping , but too often from drinking ; And what is the Issue ? verse 32. at last the Wine bites like a Serpent , and stingeth like an Adder . The Wine smiles in the Glass , but stings in the Conscience . Drunkenness is a Sin against all the Ten Commandments .

1. Drunkenness casts off the true God : Hos. 4.11 . Wine takes away the Heart : It takes the Heart off from God .

2. It makes the Belly a God , Phil. 3.19 . To this the Drunkard pours Drink-Offerings ; there 's a breach of the Second Commandment .

3. The Drunkard in his Cups takes God's Name in Vain by his Oaths .

4. The Drunkard makes no difference of Days ; he is seldom sober on a Sabbath ; he on that Day worships Bacchus .

5. The Drunkard Honours neither his Natural Father , nor the Magistrate his Civil Father ; he will be intemperate , though the Laws of the Land forbid it .

6. The Drunkard commits Murder . Alexander killed his Friend Clitus when he was Drunk , for whom he would have given half his Kingdom when he was Sober .

7. The Drunkard's Wine provokes Lust. Austin calls Wine , Fomentum libidinis , the Inflamer of Lust. Nunquam ego ebrium castum putavi , I never did believe a drunken Man to be chast , saith St. Hierom.

8. The Drunkard is a Thief ; he spends that Money upon his drunken Lust , which should have been given to charitable Uses ; so he robs the Poor .

9. The Drunkard is a Slanderer ; he cares not , when he is on the Ale Bench , how he doth defame and belye others ; when he hath taken his full Cups , he is now fit to take a false Oath .

10. The Drunkard Sins against the Tenth Commandment ; for he Covets to get another's Estate , by Circumvention and Extortion , that he may be the better able to follow his drunken Trade . Thus he Sins against all the Ten Commandments .

If this Sin of Drunkenness be not reformed , I pray God the Sword be not made Drunk with Blood . And whereas some will go to shift off this Sin from themselves that they are no Drunkards , because they have not drunk away their Reason and Senses ; they are not so far gone in drink that they cannot go : He is a Drunkard in the Scripture-sence , who is mighty to drink Wine , Isa. 5.22 . He is a Drunkard ( saith Solomon ) that tarries long at the Wine , Prov. 23.30 . He who sits at it from Morning to Night , that drinks away his precious Time , though he doth not drink away his Reason , he is a Drunkard that drinks more than doth him good , and that though he be not himself drunk , yet he makes another drunk : Hab. 2.15 . Woe to him that gives his Neighbour drink , that puttest thy Bottle to him and makest him drunk . Oh! I beseech you be not in this like the Serpent , Lovers of Wine . This I fear is one cause why the Word Preached doth so little good on many in this City , they drink away Sermons , they do as the hunted Deer when it is wounded , runs to the Water and drinks ; so when they have been at a Sermon , and the Arrow of Reproof hath wounded their Conscience , they run presently and drink away those Convictions ; they steep the Sermon in Wine . The Tavern-Bell doth more hurt , than the Sermon Bell doth good . Thus you have seen wherein we should not be like Serpents .

II. Wherein we should be like the Serpent , and that is in Prudence and Wisdom : Be ye Wise as Serpents . The Serpent is a most prudent Creature , therefore the Devil made use of the Serpent to deceive our First Parents , because it was such a subtile Creature : Gen. 3.1 . The Serpent was more subtile than any Beast of the Field . There is a Natural Wisdom and Subtilty in every part of the Serpent , and we should labour to imitate them , and be Wise as Serpents .

First , The Serpent hath a subtilty in his Eye , he hath a singular sharpness of sight ; therefore among the Gracians , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Serpent's Eye , was a Proverbial Speech for one of a quick Vnderstanding ; in this we should be like the Serpent . Get the Serpent's Eye , have a quick in-sight into the Mysteries of the Christian Religion . Knowledge is the Beauty and Ornament of a Christian , Prov. 14.18 . The Prudent are Crowned with Knowledge . Get the Serpent's Eye ; be divinely illuminated . Faith without Knowledge is Presumption : Zeal without Knowledge is Passion : Prov. 19.2 . without Knowledge the Mind is not good : For one to say he hath a good Heart who hath no Knowledge , is as if one should say he hath a good Eye when he hath no sight ; in this be like the Serpent of a quick Understanding .

Secondly , The Serpent hath a Prudence and Subtilty in his Ear ; the Serpent will not be deluded with the Voice of the Charmer , but stops its Ear : In this we must be Wise as Serpents , stop our Ears to false Teachers , who are the Devil's Charmers .

1. We must stop our Ears to Arminian Teachers , who place the chief Power in the Will , as if that were the Helm that turns about the Soul in Conversion . 1 Cor. 4.7 . Who maketh thee to differ from another ? Ego me ipsum discerno , said Grevinchovius , I have made my self to differ . Be as the Serpent , stop your Ears to such Doctrine .

2. We must stop our Ears to Socinian Teachers , who raze the Foundation of all Religion , and deny Christ's Divinity . This the Apostle calls a damnable Heresie , 2 Pet. 2.

3. We must stop our Ears to Popish Teachers , who teach Merit , Indulgencies , Transubstantiation , who teach that the Pope is the Head of the Church . Christ is called the Head of the Church , Eph. 5.23 . For the Pope to be Head is to make the Church Monstrous , to have two Heads . Popish Teachers teach the People Nonsense and Blasphemy ; they cause the People to Pray without Understanding , to Obey without Reason , to Believe without Sence ; it is a damnable Religion ; therefore worshiping the Beast , and drinking the Cup of God's Indignation are put together , Rev. 14.9 . Oh! in this be Wise as Serpents , stop your Ear to the charming of false Teachers . God hath given his People this Wisdom to stop their Ears to Hereticks : Ioh. 10.5 . A Stranger will they not follow , but flee from him .

3. The Serpent hath a chief care to defend his Head ; a blow there is deadly ; so in this we should be Wise as Serpents ; our chief care should be to defend our head from Error . The Plague in the Head is worst . Loose Principles breed loose Practices . If the Head be tainted with Erroneous Opinions , That Believers are free a Lege Morali , That there is no Resurrection , That we may do Evil that Good may come of it ; What Sin will not this lead to , or keep your Head ? Error is a Spiritual Gangrene , 2 Tim. 2.17 . which spreads , and if not presently cured , is Mortal . Heresies destroy the Doctrine of Faith , they rend the Mantle of the Churches Peace , and eat out the Heart of Religion . The Gnosticks , as Epiphanius observes , did not only pervert the Judgments of their Proselytes , but brought them at last to Corporeal Uncleanness . Error damns as well as Vice . Vice is like killing with a Pistol , and Error like killing with Poison . O be wise as Serpents , defend your Head . Be ye Wise as Serpents , and harmless as Doves .

Our Saviour Christ here commends to us the Wisdom of the Serpent , and the Innocency of the Dove . The Elect are call'd wise Virgins , Mat. 25.4 . Virgins , there is the Dove : Wise , there is the Serpent . We must have Innocency with our Wisdom , else our Wisdom is but Craftiness ; and we must have Wisdom with our Innocency , else our Innocency is but Weakness . We must have the Innocency of the Dove , that we may not circumvent others ; and we must have the Wisdom of the Serpent , that others may not circumvent us .

Doctr. Christians must be both wise and innocent .

This Union of the Dove and the Serpent , is Hard to find , but , it is possible : Moses was learned in all the Wisdom of the Egyptians , Acts 7.22 . There was the Prudence of the Serpent ; and he was meek above all the Men upon the face of the Earth , Numb . 12.3 . There was the Innocency of the Dove . But the most famous instance of Wisdom and Innocency , was in our Saviour ; When the Iews came to him with an insnaring Question , Mark 12.14 . Is it lawful to give Tribute to Caesar , or not ? Christ answers wisely , v. 17. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's , and to God the things that are God's . Deny not Caesar his Civil Right , nor God his Religious Worship : Let your Loyalty be mixed with Piety ; here he shew'd the Wisdom of the Serpent . And would you see Christ's Innocency ? 1 Pet. 2.22 . There was no guile found in his mouth ; who when he was reviled , reviled not again . He opened his Mouth in praying for his Enemies , but not in reviling them . Behold here the Innocency of the Dove .

Two Things I am to speak of ; the Serpent , and the Dove .

I. The Serpent .

Quest. Wherein should we be like the Serpent ?

Answ. In Prudence and Sagacity ; Be ye wise as Serpents . The Serpent is the most prudent Creature ; therefore the Devil made use of the Serpent to deceive our first Parents , Gen. 3.1 . The Serpent was more subtil than any Beast of the Field . There 's a natural Wisdom and Subtilty in every part of the Serpent ; and herein we should endeavour to imitate him . Be wise as Serpents .

1. The Serpent hath a subtilty in his Eye ; he hath a singular sharpness of sight : therefore among the Grecians , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Serpent's Eye , was a Proverbial Speech for one of a quick understanding . In this we should be like the Serpent , have a quick in-sight into the Mysteries of the Gospel . Get the Serpent's Eye . Prov. 10 , 14. Wise men lay up knowledge . Faith without Knowledge is Presumption ; Zeal without Knowledge is Frenzy .

2. The Serpent hath a Prudence and Subtilty in his Ear ; the Serpent will not be deluded with the Voice of the Charmer , but stops its Ears : In this be wise as Serpents ; stop your Ears from such as would discourage you from strict , holy walking . Some inspired by Satan , would raise prejudices against the Ways of God , that they are strew'd with Thorns of Mortification and Persecution . If you will be religious , you must hang your Harps upon the Willows , and bid Adieu to all Joy . Acts 28.22 . This Sect is every where spoken against : Oh , be wise as Serpents ! Stop your Ears to such as would discourage you from holy walking ; they are the Devil's Charmers . Godliness is the Root on which all true Joy grows ; solid Joy , though not wanton . Psal. 138.5 . Yea , they shall sing in the ways of the Lord . Acts 9.31 . If we leave God , whither shall we go ? When Saul left God , he went to the Witch of Endor , 1 Sam. 28.8 .

3. The Serpent hath a Subtilty in its Wings ; For Naturalists report , such Serpents are found in Aethiopia , as have Wings ; and the Scripture mentions a fiery flying Serpent , Isa. 14.29 . Which Wings denote the subtilty of the Serpent in the hasty prosecution of his Prey : In this be like the Serpent , in having winged Desires after heavenly Objects . Desire is the wing of the Soul , which sets it a flying : Hast after Ordinances ; they are Pabulum Animae , the Food of the Soul ; fly to them with Appetite ; get the Serpent's Wing . Psal. 122.1 . Come , let us go up to the House of the Lord . We know not how long we shall enjoy the Blessings of the Sanctuary . When Manna was to cease on the seventh day , the People of Israel gathered twice as much on the sixth . If we have the Wisdom from above , we shall neglect no Season wherein we may get the Bread of Life broken to us .

4. Serpents have a Subtilty and Prudence in their drinking : before they drink , expuunt venenum , they cast up their Poison . In this we should be wise as Serpents ; before we come to Ordinances , we should cast up the Poison of Sin by Repentance . If a Man takes Opium or Mercury , a Cordial will do him no good : So , as long as Men feed on their Sins , Ordinances will do them no good ; nay , much hurt ; they eat and drink their own Damnation : In this therefore let us be Wise as Serpents , cast up the Poison of Sin , before we come to drink of the Waters of the Sanctuary .

5. The Serpent hath a Subtilty in his whole Body , which he wraps together like a Circle to defend his Head ; a Blow on his Head is deadly , and his chief Policy is to safeguard his Head : In this let us learn of the Serpent , our chief care should be to defend our Head from Error ; the Apostle calls them damnable Heresies , 2 Pet. 2.1 . they destroy the Doctrine of Faith , rend the Coat of the Churches Peace , and eat out the Heart of Religion . Let us as the Serpent defend our Head . Let us keep our Head from Socinian Opinions , who deny the Deity of Christ ; from Popish Opinions , Merit , Image-Worship , Transubstantiation ; Papists cause the People to Pray without Understanding , to Obey without Reason , to Believe against Sense : Have a care to defend your Head from being tainted with Popish Aphorisms . Thus you see wherein we should be like the Serpent , in Prudence and Sagacity .

II. The Second thing I am to speak of is the Dove ; be harmless as Doves . The Dove is an excellent Creature ; it was so acceptable , that in the old Law God would have the Dove offered in Sacrifice : The Holy Ghost , when he would appear in a visible shape , assumed the likeness of a Dove , Matth. 3.16 . We should be as Doves in Three Respects .

In Respect of I. Meekness . II. Innocency . III. Purity .

I. In respect of Meekness . The Dove is the Emblem of Meekness ; 't is sine Felle , without Gall ; we should be as Doves for Meekness , we must avoid unruly Passion , which is brevis Insania , a short Frenzy ; we must be without the Gall of Bitterness and Revenge ; we must be of mild Spirits , Praying for our Enemies : So Stephen , Act. 7.60 . Lord , lay not this Sin to their charge . This Dove like Meekness is the best Jewel and Ornament we can wear : 1 Pet. 3.4 . The Ornament of a meek Spirit , which is in the sight of God of great Price . Passion doth disguise , Meekness adorns .

II. We should be as Doves for Innocency .

The Innocency of the Dove is seen in Two Things .

1. Not to Deceive . 2. Not to Hurt .

1. Not to Deceive . The Dove is as without Gall , so without Guile ; it doth not deceive or lie at the catch . Thus we should be as the Dove , without Fraud and Craft . There is an Holy Simplicity commendable ; Rom. 16.19 . I would have you Simple concerning Evil ; to be a Bungler at Sin , not to have the Art to Beguile● ; this is a good Simplicity ; as Nathanael , in whose Spirit there was no guile ▪ Joh. 1.42 . Where almost is this Dove-like innocency to be found ? We live in an Age wherein there are more Foxes than Doves : Persons are full of Guile , they study nothing but Fallacies , that one knows not how to deal with them ; Psal. 12.2 . With a double Heart do they speak .

2. Not to hurt . The Dove rostro non laedit ; the Dove hath no Horns or Talons to hurt , only Wings to defend it self by flight : Other Creatures are commonly well armed ; the Lion hath his Paw , the Boar its Tusk , the Stagg its Horns ; but the Dove is a most harmless Creature , it hath nothing wherewith to offend . Thus we should be as Doves for Harmlesness : We should not do wrong to others , but rather suffer wrong . Such a Dove was Samuel , 1 Sam. 12.3 . Whose Ox have I taken , or whose Ass have I taken , or whom have I defrauded ? He did not get Mens Estates into his hands , or raise himself upon the Ruine of others . How rare is it to find such Doves ? Sure they are flown away . How many Birds of Prey are there ? Micah 7.2 . They all lie in wait for Blood , they hunt every Man his Brother with a Net . These are not Doves , but Vultures ; they travel with mischief , and are in pain till they bring forth .

III. We should be as Doves for Purity . The Dove is the Emblem of Purity ; it loves the purest Air ; it feeds on pure Grain : The Raven fed on the Carkass , but the Dove feeds pure . Thus let us be as Doves for Sanctity , cleansing our selves from all pollution both of Flesh and Spirit , 2 Cor. 7.1 . Christ's Dove is pure : Cant. 5.2 . My Dove , my undefiled . Let us keep pure among dregs . 1 Tim. 5.22 . Keep thy self pure . Better have a Rent in the Flesh , than an Hell in the Conscience . The Dove is a chast , pure Creature : Let us be Doves for Purity .

Vse 1. See here the Nature of a good Christian ; he is wise and innocent : He hath so much of the Serpent , that he doth not forfeit his discretion , and so much of the Dove , that he doth not defile his Conscience . A godly man is look'd upon by a carnal Eye , as weak and indiscreet , as having something of the Dove , but nothing of the Serpent . To believe things not seen , to chuse Suffering , rather than Sin , this is counted Folly : But the World is mistaken in a Believer ; he hath his Eyes in his Head ; he knows what he doth ; he is prudent as well as holy ; he is wise that finds the Pearl of price ; he is wise that provides for Eternity ; he is the wisest man that hath wit to save his Soul ; he is wise that makes him his Friend who shall be his Judge . The godly man acts both the Politician , and the Divine ; he retains his Ingenuity ; yet doth not part with his Integrity .

Vse 2. Reproof . It reproves them who have too much of the Serpent , but nothing of the Dove . Ier. 4.22 . Wise to do evil , but to do good they have no knowledge . These are like the Devil , who retains his Subtilty , but not his Innocency . We have many in this Age like the Serpent for Craftiness . Dan. 8.25 . Through policy he shall cause Craft to prosper . Men have the Head-piece of Subtilty , but want the Breast-plate of Honesty ; they are wise to contrive Sin , to forge Plots , to study Compliance , rather than Conscience : The Port they aim at , is Preferment ; the Compass they sail by , is Policy ; the Pilot that steers them , is Satan . These have the Craftiness of the Serpent : They are wise to do evil .

2. They are like the Serpent for Mischief . You know the Fiery Serpents did sting Israel . These have the sting of the Serpent ; they have a sting in their Tongues , stinging the People of God with bitter Slanders and Invectives , calling them Factious and Seditious ; and they sting with their Indictments and Excommunications , Gal. 4.29 . Such stinging Serpents were Nero , Dioclesian , and Iulian ; and their Spirit is yet alive in the world . These have too much of the Serpent in them , but nothing of the Dove . 2 Pet. 2.3 . Their Damnation slumbereth not .

Vse 3. Exhortation . To put in practice our Saviour's Counsel in the Text ; join the Serpent and the Dove together , Wisdom and Holiness : Here lies the Knot ; this is the great difficulty , to unite these two together , the Serpent and the Dove , Prudence and Innocency : If you separate these two , you spoil all .

Quest. Wherein doth a Christian join these two together , the Serpent and the Dove , Prudence and Holiness ?

Answ. This I shall answer in Twelve Particulars .

1. To be wise and innocent , consists in this ; To be sensible of an injury , yet not revenge it . A Christian is not a Stoick , nor yet a Fury ; he is so wise , that he knows when an Injury is done him ; but so holy , that he knows how to pass it by . This is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a most excellent temper of Soul ; I had almost said , Angelical . As the Wind doth allay the heat of the Air , so Grace doth allay the heat of Revenge . Moses herein shew'd a mixture of the Serpent and the Dove : Miriam murmured against him . Numb. 12.2 . Hath the Lord spoken only by Moses ? Is he the only Prophet ▪ to declare God's Mind to us ▪ Moses was so wise as to discern her Pride , and slighting of him ; yet so meek , as to bury the injury : When God struck her with Leprosie , he prays for her . Numb. 12.13 . Heal her now , O God , I beseech thee . And upon his Prayer , she was cured of her Leprosie . A good Christian hath so much Wisdom as to discern his Enemy's Malice ; but so much Grace as to conquer his own : He knows it is the Glory of a Man to pass by a Transgression , Prov. 19.11 . Though a Christian hath so much Prudence as to vindicate himself , yet so much Goodness , as not to avenge himself . Behold here the Serpent and the Dove united ; Sagaity and Innocency .

2. The mixing Wisdom and Innocency , is seen in this ; To be humble , but not base : Humility is part of the Dove's Innocency . 1 Pet. 5.5 . Be ye cloathed with Humility . St. Paul , though the chief of the Apostles , calls himself the least of Saints .

A gracious Soul hath low Thoughts of himself , and carries himself lowly toward others ; but though he be humble , he is not base ; though he will not saucily resist his Superiours , he will not sinfully humour them : Though he will not do such proud Actions , as to make his Enemies hate him ; yet he will not do such sordid Actions as to make them despise him : Here is the Serpent and the Dove united .

A good Christian is so humble , as to oblige others ; but not so unworthy , as to disobey God . St. Paul , as far as he could with a good Conscience , did become all things to all , that he might save some , 1 Cor. 9.20 , 22. But he would not break a Commandment to gratifie any . When God's Glory lay at stake , who more resolute than Paul ? Gal. 2.5 . The Three Children were humble ; they gave the King his Title of Honour ; but they were not sordidly timorous . Dan. 3.18 . Be it known unto thee , O King , we will not serve thy Gods . Though they shew'd Reverence to the King's Person , yet no Reverence to the Image he set up . A good Christian will not do any thing below himself ; though he is for obeying of Laws , yet he will not prostitute himself to Mens Lusts. He is humble ; there he shews the Innocency of the Dove ; but not base , there he shews the Wisdom of the Serpent .

3. The Prudence of the Serpent , and Innocency of the Dove is seen in this ; to reprove the Sin , yet love the Person . We are commanded to reprove ; Levit 19.17 . Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart ; thou shalt rebuke him , and not suffer Sin upon him . Not to reprove Sin , is to approve it : But this Sword of Reproof is a dangerous Weapon if it be not well handled : To reprove , and yet love , is to act both the Serpent and the Dove .

Quest. How may a Christian so reprove Sin , as to shew Love to the Person ?

Answ. 1. In taking a fit season to reprove another ; that is , when his Anger is over : As when God did rebuke Adam , he came to him in the cool of the Day , Gen. 3.8 . So when we are to reprove any , we are to come to them when their Spirits are more cool , and fit to receive a Reproof . To reprove a Man when he is in a Passion , is to give Strong Water in a Fever ; it doth more hurt than good . By observing a fit season , we shew both Prudence and Holiness ; we discover as well Discretion as Affection .

2. Reproving Sin , so as to shew Love to the Person , is seen in this ; when , though we tell him plainly of his Sin , yet it is in mild , not provoking Words . 2 Tim. 2.25 . In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves . Peter tells the Iews plainly of their Sin in crucifying Christ ; but useth Suasive● ▪ and Gospel-Lenitives , to allure and encourage them to believe . Acts. 2.23 . Him ye have taken , and by wicked hands crucified . ver. 38. Repent , and be baptized in the Name of Iesus Christ for the remission of sin ; for the Promise is to you and to your Children . Reproof is a bitter Pill , and hard to swallow ; therefore we must dip it in Sugar , use those sweet mollifying expressions , that others may see Love coming along with the Reproof . David compares Reproof to Oil , Psal. 141.5 . Oil supples the Joints when they are hard and stiff : Our Reproofs being mixed with the Oil of Compassion , they work most kindly , and do most soften stiff , obdurate Hearts .

3. Reproving Sin , yet Love to the Person , is when the End of our Reproof is not to Revile him , but to Reclaim him . While we go to heal men's Consciences , we must take heed of wounding their Names . The Chirurgeon in opening a Vein , shews both Skill and Love ; Skill , in not cutting an Artery ; and Love , in letting out the bad Blood : Here is the mixing the Serpent and the Dove ; the Wisdom of the Serpent is seen , in not reproaching the Sinner ▪ the Innocency of the Dove is seen in reclaiming him from Sin .

4. Prudence and Holiness is seen in this ; to know what we 〈…〉 ▪ and do what we know . To know what we should do , there●● the Wisdom 〈◊〉 ●he Serpent ; to do what we know , there is the ●nnocency of the Dove . Iohn 〈…〉 Knowledge is a Jewel 〈◊〉 him that wear● 〈…〉 is the 〈◊〉 and 〈…〉 of the Mind ▪ Knowledge i● 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Eye of the Soul ▪ to guide it in the right way ; but this Knowledge must ●e joyn'd with holy 〈◊〉 ▪ To separate Practice from Knowledge , is to separate the Dove from the Serpent . Many illuminated Heads can discourse fluently in Matters of Religion ; but they do not live up to their knowledge : This is to have good Eyes , but to have the Feet cut off : They know they should not break the Sabbath , they should not defame or defraud ; but they do not practise what they know : Here they separate the Dove from the Serpent ; Vertue from Knowledge . How vain is Knowledge without Practice ! As if one should know a Sovereign Medicine , and not apply it . Satan is a knowing Spirit , he hath enough of the Serpent ; but that which makes him a Devil is , he wants the Dove , he doth not practise Holiness .

5. To mix the Serpent and the Dove is to keep two Trades going . To understand worldly Affairs , there is the Wisdom of the Serpent ; yet not neglect the Soul , there is the Innocency of the Dove . God hath said , Six Days shalt thou Labour , Exod. 20.9 . Religion did never grant a Patent to idleness : There is a Lawful Care to be had about Secular Things : To have insight into one's Calling is a commendable Wisdom ; but with this wisdom joyn the Dove's Innocency ; so follow your Calling as not to neglect your Soul . The Soul is a precious thing , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , it would beggar the Angels to give half the price of a Soul . Our greatest care should be to get Grace . While you put Gold in your Bag , do not forget to put Oil in your Vessel . Trade beyond the East Indies . Drive a Trade of Holiness . This Merchandice is better than the Merchandice of Silver , Prov. 3.14 . Live in a Calling , but especially live by Faith . Look to the providing for your Families , but especially to the saving of your Souls . The Soul is the Angelical part ; the loss of this can never be made up again . God , saith Chrysostom , hath given a Man two Eyes , if he lose one Eye he hath another ; but he hath but one Soul , if he lose that it is irrecoverable , it can never be made up again . O unite the Serpent and the Dove , Prudence and Holiness ; use the World , but love your Soul : Trade on Earth , but beware of breaking in your Trade for Heaven . How many part these two , the Serpent and the Dove ? they are wise for the World , but Fools for their Souls . 'T is too often seen that Men pull down their Souls to build up an Estate .

6. To join the Serpent and the Dove , Prudence and Innocency , consists in this , To know how to give Counsel , and how to keep Counsel . He hath the Wisdom of the Serpent that can give Counsel , he knows how to advise another in difficult cases , and speak a Word in due season : 2 Sam. 16.23 . The Counsel of Achitophel was as if a Man had enquired at the Oracle of God . But this is not enough to have the Wisdom of the Serpent , in being able to give Counsel ; but there must be the Innocency of the Dove too in keeping Counsel . If a Friend's secret be imparted to us ( unless in case of Blood ) we are not to reveal it . A Friend is alter idem , as one's own Soul , Deut. 13.6 . And what he imparts of his Heart should be kept under Lock and Key . Prov. 25.9 . Discover not a Secret to another , lest he that hear thee put thee to shame , &c. To disclose a Friend's secrets , though it be not Treason , it is Treachery ; it is most Unchristian ; a Word may be spoken in secret , which when it is Trumpeted out , may occasion Quarrels or Law-suits . He that cannot keep a Matter committed to him , is like a Vessel that runs out , or a sick Stomach that cannot keep the Meat but brings it up again . He that publisheth his Friends secret , doth publish his own shame .

7. To mix these two , Prudence and Holiness , is to know the Seasons of Grace and improve them . To know the Seasons of Grace , there 's the Wisdom of the Serpent . 'T is Wisdom in an Husband-Man to know the fit time for pruning of Trees , sowing of Seed ; so it is no less Wisdom to know the Golden Seasons of Grace : While we hear the joyful Sound , while we have praying Hours , while the Spirit of God blows on our Hearts , here is a Gale for Heaven . The day of Grace will not always last ; the Shadows of the Evening seem to be stretched out ; Things look as if the Gospel tended a-pace to a Sun-setting . Be Wise as Serpents to know what a prize is put in your Hands ; and with the Serpent joyn the Dove ; that is , in improving the Seasons of Grace : The Stork and Turtle not only know their Season , but improve it ; they approach to the warmer Climate against Spring , saith Pliny : Here is the Serpent and Dove united , knowing and improving the Day of Grace ; when we profit by Ordinances , when we mix the Word with Faith , when an Ordinance hath stamped Holiness upon us , as the Seal leaves its print upon the Wax . This is to improve the Seasons of Grace .

8. The Serpent and the Dove , Wisdom and Innocency , is to be moderate yet zealous . Moderation is good in some cases . Phil. 4.5 . Let your Moderation be known to all .

First , Moderation is good in case of Anger . When the Passions are up , Moderation sits as Queen and Governess in the Soul ; it allays the Heat of Passion . Moderation is Fraenum Irae , the Bridle of Anger .

Secondly , Moderation is good in case of Law-Suits ; so the Greek Word for Moderation , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , is properly taken . If there be a Dispute in Law , between us and others , we are not to take the Extremity of the Law , but use Christian Equity and Mildness ; nay , for Peace sake , cedere de Iure , rather part with some of our right than oppress them ; this much Honours the Gospel .

Thirdly , Moderation is good in Things indifferent . Things ought not to be rigorously imposed in God's Worship , which are not of Divine Injunction ; God never made Governours of the Church to be like Pilots of a Ship , to steer Men's Consciences which way they please . Moderation and Christian Forbearance in Things indifferent , would much tend to the Peace and Unity of the Church . All this Moderation is commendable , and shows the Wisdom of the Serpent ; but remember to joyn the Dove with the Serpent : We must so exercise Moderation as withal to cherish Zeal . St. Paul in some things was moderate , he did not press Circumcision , Act. 15.25 . He was tender of laying a Yoke upon the Consciences of the Disciples ; but he had Zeal with his Moderation ; when he saw their Idolatry at Athens , the Fire of his Zeal broke forth . Acts 17.16 . His Spirit was stirred in him . 'T was good advice Calvin gave to Melancthon , that he should not so affect the Name of Moderate , as to lose all his Zeal . To be cool and silent , when God's Blessed Truths are undermined or adulterated , is not Moderation , but Luke-warmness , which is to God a most hateful temper , Rev. 3.15 . I would you were cold or hot , any thing but Luke-warm . This is to shew Prudence and Holiness , when we are Moderate yet Zealous .

9. To Unite Serpent and Dove , consists in this , when we defend the Truth by Argument , and adorn it by Life . Defending the Truth is the Serpent's Wisdom . An intelligent Christian can 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , convince Gainsayers . This Wisdom of the Serpent was eminently in Stephen . Act. 6.9 . There arose certain of the Synagogue , disputing with Stephen , and they were not able to resist the Wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake . We read in the Acts and Monuments of the Church , Iohn Fryth , Martyr , being opposed by three Papists , he , like another Hercules , fighting with all three at once , did by his Wisdom so convince them , that one of them turned from Popery and became a zealous Protestant : Herein is the Wisdom of the Serpent , not only to love them that profess the Truth , but silence them that oppose it : But with this Wisdom of the Serpent there must be joyned the Dove ; together with defending the Truth by Argument , there must be adorning it by Life , Tit. 2.10 . That they may adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour . There are some who can dispute for the Truth , but disgrace it by their bad living . This is to act both the Serpent and the Dove , when we not only plead for the Truth , but walk in the Truth ; like Nazianzen ; of whom it was said he did Thunder in his Doctrine , and Lighten in his Conversation .

10. The uniting the Serpent and the Dove , is to be Serious in Religion , yet Cheerful . Seriousness puts the Heart in an Holy Frame , it fixeth it on God . Seriousness is to the Soul , as Ballast to the Ship , it keeps the Soul from being overturned with Vanity . The Heart is ever best when it is serious ; but this Seriousness in Religion must be mixed with Cheerfulness . Cheerfulness conduceth to Health , Prov. 17.22 . it Honours Religion , it proclaims to the World we serve a good Master . Cheerfulness is a Friend to Grace , it puts the Heart in Tune to praise God , Psal. 71.23 . Unchearful Christians , like the Spies , bring an evil report on the Good Land : Others suspect there 's something unpleasant in Religion , that they who profess it hang their Harps upon the Willows , and walk so dejectedly . Be serious yet cheerful ▪ Phil. 4.4 . Rejoyce in the Lord always . Why was Christ anointed , but to give the Oyl of Joy for Mourning ? Isa. 61.1 . Joy is as well a Fruit of the Spirit as Faith , Gal. 5.22 . One way of grieving the Spirit ( saith Heinsius ) is by Christians unchearful walking : If you would render the Gospel lovely , mix the Dove and the Serpent , be serious yet chearful in God .

11. The uniting of the Serpent and the Dove , Wisdom and Holiness , consists in this , when we so lay up , as we lay out . 'T is a Duty to provide for our Charge ; 1 Tim. 5.8 . If any provide not for his own he is worse than an Infidel : To lay up for our Family , here 's the Wisdom of the Serpent ; but we must lay out for the Poor two , here 's the mixture of the Dove . 1 Tim. 6.17 . Charge them that are rich in the World that they do Good , that they be rich in Good Works . The Poor Man is as it were an Altar , if we bring our Alms and lay upon it , with such Sacrifices God is well pleased . Faith though it hath sometimes a trembling Hand , it must not have a withered Hand ; but must stretch forth it self to Works of Mercy : There 's nothing lost by Charitableness : Prov. 11.25 . The liberal Soul shall be made fat . Psal. 41.1 . Blessed is he that considereth the Poor , thou wilt make all his Bed in his Sickness . While Men do so remember their Family , that they do not forget the Poor , they show both Prudence and Piety ; they unite the Serpent and the Dove .

12. The Serpent's Wisdom and the Dove's Innocency is seen in this , so to avoid Danger , as not to commit Sin ; to preserve our Liberty , yet keep our Integrity . There 's a sinful escaping Danger , namely , when we are called to suffer for the Truth , and we decline it : But there 's an escaping Danger without Sin , as thus , when we do not betray our selves into the Enemies Hands by rashness , nor yet betray the Truth by Cowardice ; we have a Pattern of this in our Saviour , he avoided his Enemies in one place that he might Preach the Gospel in another . Luk. 4.30 . They brought him to the brow of the Hill , that they might cast him down headlong ; but he passing through the midst of them went his way : There was Christ's Wisdom in not betraying himself to his Enemy . And ver. 43. I must Preach to other Cities also : There was his Holiness . Christ's securing of himself , was in order to the Preaching of the Gospel . This is to mix Prudence and Innocency , when we so avoid Danger as we do not commit Sin .

Thus I have , as briefly and as clearly as I could , shown you how we must unite these Two , the Serpent and the Dove , Prudence and Holiness : For want of Coupling these two together , Religion doth much suffer in the Christian World . What Christ hath joyn'd together , let no Man put asunder . Observe these two , Prudence and Holiness ; here is the Serpent's Eye in the Dove's Head . When these Two , Wisdom and Innocency ( like Castor and Pollux ) appear together , they presage much Good and Happiness that will befall a Christian.

Who in are Christ are New Creatures . 2. Cor. 5.17 .

Therefore if any Man be in Christ , he is a New Creature , Old Things are passed away , behold all Things are become New .

IN this Scripture consists the Essence and Soul of Religion .

I note here Two Things .

1. Doctr. That the true Definition of a Christian is to be in Christ : If any Man be in Christ . He may be in the Church Visible , yet not in Christ . 'T is not to be baptized into Christ's Name , makes a true Christian ; but to be in Christ ; that is , to be grafted into him by Faith : And if to be in Christ makes a Christian , then there are but few Christians . Many are in Christ nominally not really ; they are in Christ by Profession , not by Mystical Union . Are they in Christ that do not know him ? Are they in Christ who persecute them that are in Christ ? Sure such an Holy Head as Christ will disclaim such spurious Members .

2. Doctr. That whosoever is in Christ , is a New Creature .

For Illustration I shall shew , I. What a New Creature is : II. What a kind of Work it is .

I. What a New Creature is : It is a Second Birth added to the First , Ioh. 3.3 . It may be thus described : It is a Supernatural Work of God's Spirit , renewing and transforming the Heart into the Divine Likeness .

1. The efficient Cause of the New Creature , is the Holy Ghost ; no Angel or Archangel is able to produce it . Who but God can alter the Hearts of Men , and turn Stones into Flesh ? If the New Creature were not produced by the Holy Ghost , then the greatest Glory in a Man's Conversion would belong to himself ; but this Glory God will not give to another ; the turning of the Will to God is from God : Ier. 31.19 . After I was turned I repented .

2. The Organical Cause , or Instrument , by which the New-Creature is formed , is the Word of God : Iam. 1.18 . Of his own Will begat he us by the Word of Truth . The Word is the Seed out of which springs the Flower of the New-Creature .

3. The Matter of which the New-Creature consists , is the restoring God's Image lost by the Fall .

Quest. But doth God in the New Creature give a new Soul ?

Answ. No , he doth not bestow new Faculties but new Qualities ; as in the altering of a Lute , the Strings are not new , but the Tune is mended : So in the New Creature , the substance of the Soul is not new , but is new tun'd by Grace ; the Heart that before was Proud is now Humble ; the Eyes that before were full of Lust , are now full of Tears . Here are new Qualities infused .

II. What a kind of Work the New Creature is .

I. The New Creature is a Work of Divine Power ; so much it imports , because it is a Creation . The same Power which raised Christ from the Grave goes to the production of the New Creature , Eph. 1.20 . It is a Work of greater Power to produce the New Creature , than to make a World . 'T is true , in respect of God , all things are alike possible to him : But as to our apprehension it requires a greater Power to make a new Creature , than to make a World : For ,

1. When God made the World he met with no opposition ; but when God is about to make the New Creature , he meets with opposition ; Satan opposeth him , and the Heart opposeth him .

2. It cost God nothing to make the World , but to make the New Creature costs him something : Christ himself was fain to become Man . In making the World it was but speaking a Word ; but in making of the New Creature , it cost Christ the shedding of his Blood .

3. God made the World in six Days ; but he is carrying on the New Creature in us all our Lives long . The New Creature is but begun here , it is not perfected or drawn in all its Orient Colours till it come to Heaven .

II. The New Creature is a Work of Free Grace . There is nothing in us to move God to make us anew ; by Nature we are full of Pollution and Enmity , yet now God forms the New Creature . Behold the Banner of Love displayed ! The New Creature may say , By the Grace of God I am what I am . In the Creation we may see the Strength of God's Arm , in the New Creature we may see the Working of God's Bowels . That God should Consecrate any Heart , and Anoint it with Grace , is an Act of pure Love : That he should pluck one out of the State of Nature , and not another , must be resolved into Free Grace : Matth. 11.26 . Even so Father , for so it seemed good in thy sight . This will increase the Saints Triumphs in Heaven , that the Lot of Free Grace should fall upon them , and not on others .

3. The New Creature is a Work of rare Excellency . A Natural Man is a lump of Earth and Sin , God loaths him , Zach. 11.8 . But upon the New Creature is a Spiritual Glory : As if we should see a piece of Clay turned into a sparkling Diamond ▪ Cant. 3.16 . Who is this that cometh out of the Wilderness , like Pillars of Smoak perfumed with Myrrhe and Frankincense ? That is the Natural Man coming out of the Wilderness of Sin , perfumed with all the Graces of the Spirit . The New Creature must needs be Glorious , for it partakes of the Divine Nature , 2 Pet. 1.4 . A Soul beautified with Holiness , is like the Firmament bespangled with glittering Stars . It is God's lesser Heaven , Isa. 57.15 . In the Incarnation God made himself in the Image of Man , in the New Creation Man is made in the Image of God : By our being Creatures we are the Sons of Adam , by being New Creatures we are the Members of Christ . Reason makes one live the Life of a Man , the New Creature makes him live the Life of God . A New Creature excells the rational Nature , and equals the Angelical , It is excellent to hear of Christ's being Crucified for us , but more excellent to have Christ formed in us .

Concerning the New Creature , I shall lay down Two Positions .

1 Posit . That it is not in the Power of a Natural Man to convert himself ; because it is a New Creation . As we cannot make our selves Creatures , so not New Creatures .

Quest. But why doth God command us to convert our selves , if we have no Power ? Ezek. 18.31 . Make you a New Heart .

Answ. 1. We once had Power . God gave us a Stock of Holiness , but we lost it . If a Master give his Servant Money to imploy in his Service , and he wastes and imbezles it , may not the Master require the Money of him ? Though we have lost our Power to Obey , God hath not lost his Right to Command .

2. Though Men cannot convert themselves , and make themselves new Creatures , yet they may do more than they do in a tendency to it ; they may avoid Temptations , they may read the Word ; the same Feet that carry them to a Play will carry them to a Sermon ; they may implore Divine Grace , but they do not what they are able ; they do not improve the Power of Nature to the utmost , and put God to the Trial , whether he will give Grace .

3. God is not wanting to them who seek to him for Grace : Deus volentibus non deest : He is willing to put to his helping Hand . With his Command there goes a Promise , Ezek. 18.31 . Make you a New Heart ; and there is a Promise , Ezek. 36.26 . A New Heart will I give you .

2 Posit . When God converts a Sinner he doth more than use a Moral Perswasion .

For Conversion is a New Creation , Eph. 4.24 . The Pelagians talk much of Free Will ; they say the Will of Man is by Nature asleep , and Conversion is nothing but the awakening a Sinner out of sleep , which is done by a Moral Perswasion : But Man is by Nature dead in Sin , Eph. 2.1 . And God must do more than awaken him , he must enliven him before he be a New Creature .

1 Vse . Terrour , to such as are not New Creatures ; such as are still growing upon the Stock of Old Adam , who continue in their Sins , and are resolved so to do , these are in the Gall of Bitterness , and are the most miserable Creatures that ever God made , except the Devils . These stand in the place where all God's Arrows fly ; these are the Centre where all God's Curses meet . An Unregenerate Person is like one in Debt , that is in fear to be arrested ; he is every Hour in fear to be arrested by Death , and carried Prisoner to Hell . Can that Traytor be happy who is fed by his Prince in Prison , only to be kept alive for Execution ? God feeds the Wicked as Prisoners , they are reserved for the Day of Wrath , 2 Pet. 2.9 . How should this fright Men out of their Natural Condition , and make them restless till they are New Creatures .

2 Vse : Trial , whether we are New Creatures , our Salvation depends upon it .

1. I shall show you the Counterfeit of the New Creature , or that which seems to be the New Creature , but is not .

1 Counterfeit . Natural Honesty , Moral Vertue , Prudence , Justice , Liberality , Temperance ; these make a Glorious show in the Eye of the World , but differ as much from the New Creature , as a Meteor from a Star . Morality indeed is commendable , and it were well if there were more of it . This our Saviour loves . Mark 10.21 . Then Iesus beholding him loved him . It was a love of Compassion not Election . Morality is but Nature at best , it doth not amount to Grace .

1. There is nothing of Christ in Morality , and that Fruit is sowre which grows not upon the Root Christ .

2. Moral Actions are done out of a vain-glorious Humour , not any respect to God's Glory . The Apostle calls the Heathen Magistrates Unjust , 1 Cor. 6.1 . While they were doing Justice in their Civil Courts they were Unjust ; their Vertue became Vice , because Faith was wanting , and they did all to raise them Trophies for their own Praise and Fame ; so that Morality is but the wild Olive of Nature , it doth not amount to Grace . Heat Water to the highest degree , you cannot make Wine of it , it is Water still : So let Morality be raised to the highest , it is Nature still ; 't is but Old Adam put in a better dress . I may say to a civil Man , Yet lackest thou One Thing , Mark 10.21 . Moral Vertue may stand with the hatred of Godliness . A Moral Man doth as much hate Holiness as he doth Vice . The Stoicks were Moralists , and had sublime Notions about Vertue , yet were the deadliest Enemies St. Paul had , Acts 17.18 . So that this is a counterfeit Jewel .

2 Counterfeit , Religious Education is not the New-Creature . Education doth much cultivate and refine Nature : Education is a good Wall to plant the Vine of Grace against , but it is not Grace . King Ioash was good , as long as his Unkle Iehoiada lived , but when Iehoiada died , all Ioash his Religion was buried in his Unkle's Grave , 2 Kings 12.2 . Have not we seen many who have been trained up religiously under their Parents , and were very hopeful ; yet these fair Blossoms of Hope , have been blown off , and they have lived to be a shame to their Friends ?

3 Counterfeit . A Form of Godliness is not the New Creature . Every Bird that hath fine Feathers hath not sweet Flesh. All that shine with the Golden Feathers of Profession are not Saints : 2 Tim. 3 5. 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Having a Form of Godliness , but denying the Power . What is a lifeless Form ? Formality is the Ape of Piety : Formalists may perform all the external parts of Religion , Pray , Fast , give Alms. Whatever Duties a Believer doth in sincerity , the same may a Formalist do in Hypocrisie . How devout were the Pharisees ? How Humble was Ahab ? What a Reformer was Iehu ? yet all this was but a formal show of Religion . Daedalus by art made Images to move of themselves , insomuch that People thought they were living . Formalists do so counterfeit , and play a Devotion , that others think they are living Saints . They are Religious Mountebanks .

4 Counterfeit . Every Change of Opinion doth not amount to the New Creature : A Man may change from Error to Truth , yet no New Creature ; here is a Change in the Head , but not in the Heart : One may be Orthodox in his judgment ; yet not cordially embrace the Gospel : He may be no Papist , yet no true Believer : He who is changed only in Opinion , is but almost a Christian , and shall be but almost saved .

5 Counterfeit . Every sudden Passion , or stirring of the Affections , is not the New Creature . There may be Affections of Sorrow ; some upon the reading the History of Christ's Passion may be ready to weep , but it is only a Natural tenderness which relents at any Tragical sight . Affections of desire may be stirred , Ioh. 6. Lord evermore give us this Bread : But these basely deserted Christ , and would walk no more with him , ver. 66. Many desire Heaven but will not come up to the Price . Affections of Ioy may be stirred : In the Parable the Second sort of Hearers are said to receive the Word with joy , Matth. 13.20 . What was this but to have the Affections moved with delight in hearing : Yet that this did not amount to the New Creature is plain . 1. Because those Hearers are said to have no root . 2. Because they fell away , ver. 21. King Herod did hear Iohn Baptist gladly ; he was much affected with Iohn's Preaching ; Where then was the defect ? Why was not Herod a New Creature ? The reason was , because Herod was not reformed by the Baptist's Preaching ; his Affections were moved , but his Sin was not removed . Many have sweet Motions of Heart , and seem to be much affected with the Word , but their love to Sin is stronger than their love to the Word ; therefore all their good Affections prove abortive and come to nothing .

6 Counterfeit . One may have trouble for Sin ; yet not be a New Creature . Trouble of Spirit may appear , while God's Judgments lie upon Men ; but when these are removed , their trouble ceaseth , Psal. 78.34 . When he slew them , then they sought him , nevertheless they did flatter him with their Lips . Metal that melts in a Furnace , take it out of the Furnace and it returns to its former hardness : Many in time of Sickness seem to be like melted Metal . What Weeping and wringing of Hands ? What Confessions of Sin will they make ? Do not these look like New Creatures ? But assoon as they recover they are as bad as ever ; their Pangs go off again , and it never comes to a New Birth .

7 Counterfeit . A Man may have the Spirit , yet not be a New Creature . The Apostle supposeth a Case , that one might be made Partaker of the Holy Ghost , yet fall away , Heb. 6.4 . A Man may have some slight transient Work of the Spirit , but it doth not go to the root ; he may have the common Gifts of the Spirit , but not the special Grace ; he may have the Spirit to convince him , not to convert him ; the Light he hath is like a Winter Sun , which hath little or no influence ; it doth not make him more Holy ; he hath the Motions of the Spirit , but walks after the Flesh.

8 Counterfeit . Every abstaining from Sin is not the New Creature . This abstaining may be ,

1. From Restraining Grace , not Renewing Grace : As God with-held Laban from hurting Iacob , Gen. 31.24 . The Lord may restrain Men from Sin by the Terrour of a Natural Conscience . Conscience stands as the Angel with a drawn Sword , and saith , do not this Evil. Men may be frighted from Sin , but not divorced :

2. Men may abstain from Sin for a while , and then return to it again ; as Saul left off pursuing David for some time , and then hunted him again . This is like a Man that holds his Breath under Water , and then takes Breath again . Ier. 34.15 , 16. Ye were now turned , and had done right in my sight ; but ye turned and polluted my Holy Name .

3. Men may leave gross Sin , and yet live in more Spiritual Sins ; leave Drunkenness , and live in Pride ; leave Uncleanness and live in Malice : The Pharisee boasted he was no Adulterer , but he could not say he was not Proud or Superstitious ; here he left gross Sin , and lived in Spiritual Sins .

4. Men may leave Sin partially ; abstain from some Sins , not all ; they feed some Sin in a corner . Herod left many Sins , but one Sin he lived in , viz. Incest . All this doth not amount to the New Creature .

II. I shall shew you wherein the Essence of the New Creature consists .

1 In General . To the constituting of the New Creature , there must be a great Change wrought . He who is a New Creature is not the same Man he was . Alter idem . He is of another Spirit . Numb. 14.24 . My Servant Caleb , because he had another Spirit . When the Harlot Lais came to one of her old Acquaintance , after he was converted , and tempted him to Sin , Ego non sum Ego , saith he , I am not the same Man .

When one becomes a New Creature , there is such a visible Change , that all may see it ; therefore it is call'd a Change from Darkness to Light , Acts 26.18 . Paul , a Persecutor , when converted , was so altered , that all who saw him , wondred at him , and could scarce believe that he was the same Man , Acts 9.21 . as if another Soul had lived in the same Body . Mary Magdalen , an unchast Sinner , when once savingly wrought upon , what a penitent Creature did she become ? Her Eyes , that were enticements of Lust , she takes Penance of them , and washed Christ's Feet with her Tears : Her Hair , which she was so proud of , and which was a Net to entangle her Lovers , she now takes Penance of it , and wipes Christ's Feet with it . Thus the New Creature makes a visible change . Such as are the same as they were , as vain and proud as ever , here is no New Creature to be seen ; for then a mighty change would appear . 1 Cor. 6.11 . And such were some of you ; but ye are washed , but ye are sanctified , &c.

But every Change doth not evidence the New Creature .

1. There is a change from one Extream to another ; from a Prodigal , to an Usurer ; from a Turk , to a Papist . This is as if one should recover of one Disease , and die of another .

2. There is an outward change , which is like the washing of a Swine . Ahab was much changed to outward view , when he rent his Cloaths , and put on Sackcloth . 1 Kings 21.27 . insomuch that God stands and wonders at him : Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself ? Yet for all this , he was but an Hypocrite .

Quest. What Change then is that which is requisite in the New Creature ?

Answ. It is an inward Change , a change of Heart . Though the heart be not new made , it is new moulded . Ier. 4.14 . Ahab's Cloaths were rent , but not his Heart . The outward change will do no good without the inward . What will become of them then who have not so much as an outward Change ?

Thus you see in General , That in the production of the New Creature , there must be a change .

II. More particularly : The Change in the new creature consists in two things ; and they are both set down in the Text : Old things are passed away ; behold all things are become new .

I. Old Things are passed away . ] Old Pride , old Ignorance , old Malice . The old House must be pulled down , ere you can set up a new .

Object . If all old things must pass away , then there are no new creatures . Who can be quite freed from Sin ? Doth not the Apostle complain of a Body of Death ?

Answ. We must know that the change wrought in the new creature , though it be a through change , yet it is not a perfect change ; Sin will remain : As there is a Principle of Grace , so of Corruption ; like Wine and Water mix'd , there is in the Regenerate Flesh as well as Spirit . Here a Question ariseth .

Quest. If Sin in the Regenerate is not quite done away , then how far must one put off the old Man that he may be a new creature ? Of which hereafter .

Therefore if any Man be in Christ , he is a new Creature ; old things are passed away , behold all things are become new . Doct. That whosoever is in Christ , is a new Creature .

We are now upon the Trial of the New Creature . In it there is a Change wrought , and this Change consists in Two Things ; which are set down in the Text.

1. Old things are passed away . 2. All things are become new .

I. Old things are passed away . ] Old Pride , old Ignorance , old Malice . The old House must be pull'd down ere you can set up a new .

Object . But if all old things must pass away , then there are no new Creatures . Who can be quite freed from Sin ? Doth not Paul complain of a Body of Death ?

Answ. We must know the change wrought in the new Creature is but imperfect ; as there is a Principle of Grace , so of Corruption ; like Wine and Water mixed , there is in the regenerate Flesh as well as Spirit .

Quest. If Sin in the regenerate is not quite done away , then how far must one put off the old Man that he may be a new Creature ?

Answ. 1. There must be a grieving for the Remains of corruption . Rom. 7.24 . O wretched man that I am , who shall deliver me from this body of Death ? Paul did not cry out of his Sufferings , his being beaten with Rods , ship-wrack'd , stoned ; but ( like the Bird of Paradise ) he bemoaned himself for sin . In the new Creature there must be quotidianus mugitus , a daily mourning for the in-dwelling presence of corruption . A Child of God doth not wear Sin as a Gold-Chain , but as a Fetter .

2. In the new Creature there must be a detestation of old things ; as one would detest a Garment in which is the Plague . It is not enough to be angry with Sin ; but we must hate it . Psal. 119 , 163. I hate and abhor lying . Hatred is the highest degree of Enmity . And we must hate Sin , not only for its hurtful Effect , but its loathsom Nature ; as one hates a Toad for its poysonful quality .

3. In the new Creature there is an opposition against all old things . A Christian not only complains of Sin , but fights against it , Gal. 5.17 .

Quest. But may not a natural man oppose Sin ?

Answ. Yes ; but there is a great difference between his opposing Sin , and the new Creature 's opposing it .

I. There is a difference in the Manner of Opposition .

1. The Natural Man opposeth Sin only for the Shame of it , as it eclipseth his Credit : But the new Creature opposeth Sin for the Filth of it : it is the Spirit of Mischief : 'T is like Rust to Gold , or as a Stain to Beauty .

2. The Natural Man doth not oppose all Sin .

1. He doth not oppose inward Sins ; he fights against such sins as are against the light of a natural Conscience ; but not against Heart-sins , the first risings of vain Thoughts , the stirrings of Anger and Concupiscence , the venom and impurity of his Nature .

2. He doth not oppose Gospel-sins ; Pride , Unbelief , Hardness of Heart , spiritual Barrenness ; he is not troubled that he can love God no more .

3. He opposeth not Complexion-sins ; such as the Byass of his Heart carries him more strongly to ; as Lust , or Avarice . He saith of his Constitution-sin as Naaman , 2 Kings 5.18 . In this thing the Lord pardon thy Servant . But the new Creature opposeth all kind of sin ; Odium circa speciem . As he that hates a Serpent , hates all kind of Serpents . Psal. 119.104 . I hate every false way .

II. There is difference between the Natural Man's opposing Sin , and the New Creature 's opposing it , in regard of the Motives .

A Natural Man opposeth sin from carnal Motives ; to stop the Mouth of Conscience , and to prevent Hell .

But the new Creature opposeth sin upon more noble Motives ; out of love to God , and fear of dishonouring the Gospel .

4. In the new Creature there is mortifying old corrupt Lusts. Gal. 5.24 . They that are Christ's have crucified the Flesh. The new Creature is said to be dead to Sin , Rom. 6.11 . He is dead as to the love of sin , that it doth not bewitch ; and as to the power of it , that it doth not command . The new Creature is continually crucifying Sin . Some Limb of the old Adam every day drops off ; though Sin doth not die perfectly , it dies daily .

A gracious Soul thinks he can never kill sin enough . He deals with sin as Ioab with Absalom . 2 Sam. 18.14 . He took three darts in his hand , and thrust them through the heart of Absalom . So with the three Darts of Faith , Prayer , and Repentance , a Christian thrusts through the Body of Sin ; he never thinks this Absalom is enough dead .

Try then if we have this first Sign of the new Creature , Old things are passed away . There is a grieving for sin , a detesting it , an opposing it , a mortifying it : This is the passing away of old things ; though not in a legal sence , yet in an Evangelical ; and though it be not to Satisfaction , yet it is to Acceptation .

The second Trial of the New Creature , is , All things are become new . The new Creature is new all over . Grace , though it be but in part , yet is in every part .

By nature every branch of the Soul is defiled with sin , as every part of Wormwood is bitter ; so in Regeneration , every part of the Soul is replenished with Grace . Therefore Grace is call'd The new Man , Eph. 4.24 . Not a new Eye , or a new Tongue ; but a new Man . There are new Dispositions , new Principles , new Aims ; all things are become new .

I. In the new Creature there is a new Understanding . Eph. 4.23 . Be renewed in the Spirit of your Mind . The first thing a Limner draws in a Picture is the Eye . When God newly limns us , and makes us new Creatures , the first thing he draws in our Souls , is a new Eye : The new Creature is enlightned to see that which he never saw before .

1. He knows Christ after another manner . An unconverted Man by the Light of common Grace may believe Christ to be the Son of God ; but the new Creature knows Christ after another-guise manner ; so as to esteem him above all , to adore him , to touch him by Faith , to fetch an healing virtue from him .

2. The new Creature knows himself better than he did . When the Sun shines into a Room , it discovers all the Dust and Cobwebs in it ; so , when the Light of the Spirit shines into the Heart , it discovers that Corruption which before lay hid ; it shews a man his own vileness and Nothingness . Iob 40.4 . Behold I am vile . A wicked man , blinded with Self-Love , admires himself ; like Narcissus , that seeing his own shadow upon the Water , fell in love with it . Saving Knowledge works self-abasement . Lord , thou art Heaven , and I am Hell , said a Martyr . Hath this Day-Star of Knowledge shined in our Mind ?

II. The new Creature is renewed in his Conscience . The Conscience of a Natural Man is either blind , or dumb , or seared : But Conscience in the new Creature , is renewed . Let us examine , Doth Conscience check for sin ? The least Hair makes the Eye weep ; and the least sin makes Conscience smite . How did David's Heart smite him for cutting off the Lap of Saul's Garment ? A good Conscience is a Star to guide , a Register to record , a Judge to determine , a Witness to accuse or excuse ; if Conscience doth all these Offices right , then it is a renewed Conscience , and speaks peace .

III. In the new Creature the Will is renewed . An old Bowl may have a new Byass put into it : The Will having a new Byass of Grace put into it , is strongly carried to Good . The Will of a Natural man opposeth God . When the Wind goes one way , and the Tide another , then there is a Storm ; so it is when God's Will goes one way , and ours another : But when our Will goes with God's , as the Wind with the Tide , then there 's a sweet Calm of Peace in the Soul . The sanctified Will answers to God's Will , as the Echo to the Voice . Psal. 27.8 . When thou saidst , Seek ye my face , my Heart said unto thee , Thy Face , Lord , will I seek ; and the Will being renewed , like the primum Mobile , it carries all the Affections along with it .

IV. The new Creature hath a new Conversation . Grace alters a man's walk : Before he walked proudly , now humbly ; before loosly , now holily . He makes the Word his Rule , and Christ's Life his Patern . Phil. 3.20 . Our Conversation is in Heaven . As a Ship that is sailing Eastward , there comes a Gale of wind and blows it Westward ; So , before a man did sail Hell-ward , and on a sudden the Spirit of God comes upon him , and blows him Heaven-ward ; here is a new Conversation . It was a Speech of Oecolampadius , I would not speak or do any thing that I thought Iesus Christ would not approve of , if he were here corporally present . Where there is circumcision of heart , there is circumspection of Life . If we find it thus , that all things are become n●w , then we are new Creatures , and shall go to the new Ierusalem when we die .

Vse 3. Exhortation . Labour to be new creatures . Nothing else will avail us . Gal. 6.15 . Neither Circumcision availeth any thing , nor Vncircumcision , but a new Creature . We are for new Things ; we love new Fashions , and why not new Hearts ? But People are full of Prejudices against the new Creature .

Object . 1. If we are new creatures , there must be so much strictness in Religion , so much praying and watching as discourageth .

Answ. 1. Is there any thing excellent to be obtained without Labour ? What pains is taken in searching for a Vein of Silver , or seeking for Pearl ? Men cannot have the world without labour ; and would they have Salvation so ?

2. The Labour in Religion bears no proportion with the Reward . What are a few tears shed , to a weight of Glory ? The Soldier is content to wrestle with difficulties , and undergo a bloody Fight for a glorious Victory . In all Labour for Heaven there is Profit : 'T is like a Man that digs in a Gold-Mine , and carries away all the Gold .

3. Men take more pains to go to Hell : What pains doth an ambitious man take to climb to the Pinacle of Honour ? Tullia rid over the dead Body of her Father to be made Queen . How doth the covetous man tire himself , break his sleep , and his peace , to get the World ? Thus some Men take more pains in the Service of sin , than others do in the pursuit of holiness . Men talk of pains in Religion ; when God's Spirit comes into one , it turns Labour into Delight . 'T was Paul's Heaven to serve God , Rom. 7.22 . The ways of Wisdom are pleasantness , Prov. 3.17 . 'T is like walking among Beds of Spices , which cast forth a sweet Perfume .

Object . 2. But if we leave our old company , and become new creatures , we shall be exposed to many Reproaches .

Answ. Who are they that speak evil of Religion , but such as are evil ? Male de me loquuntur sed mali , said Seneca . Besides , is it not better that Men reproach us for being good , than that God damn us for being wicked ? Mat. 5.11 . Blessed are ye when men shall revile you . Stars are nevertheless glorious , though they have ugly Names given them , as the Bear , and the Dragon . A Saint's Reproachs are like a Soldier 's Scars , honourable . 1 Pet. 4.14 . If ye are reproached for the Name of Christ , a Spirit of God , and of Glory rests upon you . While Men clip your Credit , to make it weigh lighter , they make your Crown heavier .

Having answered these Objections , I come now to re-assume the Exhortation . Above all things , labour to be New Creatures .

MOTIVES .

1. In this true Christianity doth consist ; it is not Baptism makes a Christian : Many are no better than baptized Heathens . The essential part of Religion lies in the new creature . Rom. 2.29 . Circumcision is that of the Heart . Every thing hath a Name from the better part ; we call a Man a Reasonable Creature , because of his Soul , which is the more noble part ; so one is called a Christian , because he acts from a Principle of the new creature , which the carnal man doth not .

2. It is the new creature fits us for Communion with God : We cannot converse with God till then . Birds cannot converse with men unless they had a Rational Nature put into them ; nor can Men converse with God , unless being made new creatures , they partake of the Divine Nature . Communion with God is a Mystery to most . Every one that hangs about the Court , doth not speak with the King : All that meddle with holy Duties , and as it were , hang about the Court of Heaven , have not communion with God . 'T is only the new creature enjoys God's Presence in Ordinances , and sweetly converses with him , as a Child with a Father .

3. The necessity of being new creatures .

1. Till then we are odious to God . Zech. 11.8 . My Soul loathed them . A Sinner is to God worse than a Toad ; a Toad hath no Poyson , but what God hath put into it ; but a Sinner hath that which the Devil hath put into him . Acts 5.3 . Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lye ? A wicked Man is possessed with an evil Spirit . One man is possessed with the Devil of Pride , another with the Devil of Malice . This must needs make Persons odious to God , to be possessed with the Devil . Thus it is till we become new creatures .

2. Till we are new creatures , our Duties are not accepted with God ; they are but wild Grapes .

1. Because God accepts no man but where he sees his Image . The new creature is call'd the renewing of God's Image , Eph. 4.24 . When they br●●ght Tamerlane a Pot of Gold , he asked what stamp it had on it : And when he saw the Roman stamp on it , he refused it : So if God doth not see his own Stamp and Image on the Soul , he rejects the most specious Services .

2. Duties of Religion are not accepted without the new Creature , because there is that wanting which should make them a sweet Savour to God . The holy Oil for the Tabernacle , was to be made of several Spices and Ingredients , Exod. 30.23 . Now , if any of these Spices had been left out , it had not been pleasing . The unregenerate Man leaves out the chief Spice in his Duties , and that is Faith . And , Heb. 11.6 . Without Faith it is impossible to please God . Faith lays hold on Christ , and so is accepted .

3. Such as are not new creatures , but grow upon the Stock of old Adam , get no benefit by Ordinances : They are to them as Diascordium in a dead Man's Mouth ; they lose their virtue . Nay , not only Ordinances do them no good , but hurt . It were sad if all a man did eat should turn to poison . The Word Preached is a Savour of Death ; 't is not healing , but hardning . Nay , Christ himself is accidentally a Rock of offence , 1 Pet. 2.7 . The Wicked stumble at a Saviour , and suck death from the Tree of Life .

4. Without being new creatures , we cannot arrive at Heaven . Rev. 21.27 . There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth . Heaven is not like Noah's Ark , that received clean and unclean . A Sinner is compared to Swine , 2 Pet. 2.22 . And shall a Swinish Creature tread upon the Golden Pavement of Heaven ? Indeed the Frogs came into King Pharoah's Court ; but in Heaven there is no entertainment for such Vermin .

'T is only the new creature qualifies us for Glory . This consecrates the Heart , and only the pure in heart shall see God . The new creature elevates the Soul , as the Loadstone elevates the Iron . A Soul renewed by Grace , is fit to ascend to the heavenly Glory .

4. The Excellency of the new Creature .

1. the Nobility . 2. The Immortality .

I. The Nobility . The new Creature fetcheth its Pedigree from Heaven ; 't is born of God . God counts none else of the Blood Royal ; it enobles a man's Spirit ; he aspires after the Favour of God , and looks no lower than a Crown . The new creature raiseth one to honour ; he excells the Princes of the Earth , Psal. 89.27 . and is Fellow-Commoner with Angels .

II. The Immortality . The new creature is begotten of the incorruptible Seed of the Word , and never dies : It lasts as long as the Soul , as Angels , as Heaven . God hath laid out much Cost upon it ; and if it perish , he should lose all his Cost . When Xerxes destroyed the Temples in Greece , he caused the Temple of Diana to be preserved for its beautiful Structure . The new creature is God's Temple , adorned with all the Graces , which he will not suffer to be demolished . Riches take Wings , Kings Crowns tumble in the Dust : Nay , some of the Graces may cease ; Faith and Hope shall be no more , but the new creature abideth for ever , 1 Iohn . 2.27 .

5. The Misery of the unregenerate creature : Dying so , I may say of him , as Christ said of Iudas , Mark 14.21 . It were good for that Man if he had not been born . Better have been a Toad , a Serpent , any thing , if not a new creature . The old Sinner must go into old Tophet , Isa. 30.33 .

Damned Caitiffs will have nothing to ease their Torments ; not one drop of Honey in all their Gall. In the Sacrifice of Iealousie , there was to be no Oil put to it , Numb . 5. In Hell there is no Oil of Mercy put to the Sufferings of the damned , to lenifie them .

Therefore get out of the Wild Olive of Nature ; labour to be new creatures , lest you curse your selves at last . A sinful Life will cause a despairing Death .

Quest. What shall we do to be new Creatures ?

Answ. 1. Wait on the Ordinances . The Preaching of the Word is the Seed of which the new Creature is formed : This is the Trumpet which must make the dead in Sin come out of their Grave .

2. Pray earnestly for the new Creature : Lord , thou hast made me once , make me again : What shall I do with this old heart ? It defiles all it toucheth . Urge God with his Promise . Ezek. 36.26 . A new Heart will I give you . Say , Lord , I am as the dry Bones ; but thou didst cause Breath to come into them , Ezek. 37.10 . Do the same to me ; breath a supernatural Life of Grace into me .

Vse 4. Thankfulness . Let such as are new creatures stand upon Mount Gerizim , blessing and praising God : Ascribe all to the Riches of God's Love ▪ set the Crown upon the head of free Grace . God hath done more for you than if he had made you Kings and Queens . Though you have not so much of the World as others , you are happier than the greatest Monarchs upon Earth ; and I dare say , you would not change with them . The Apostles seldom speak of the new Creation , but they join some thankful Praises with it . 1 Pet. 1.3 . Blessed be God , who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again to a lively hope . Col. 1.12 . Giving thanks to the Father , who hath made us meet for the inheritance in light . The new creature is a sign of Election , a badge of Adoption . What distinguishing Love is this , that God should make any of us new creatures , when he hath left the greatest part of the World to perish in their Sins ? Such as are Paterns of Mercy should be Trumpets of Praise .

Of the Government of the Tongue . Jam. 3.6 .

And the Tongue is a Fire , a World of Iniquity .

THE Apostle Iames in this Scripture describes the Evil of the Tongue : The Tongue is a Fire , a World of Iniquity .

1. It is a Fire : It burns with intemperate heat ; it causeth the Heat of Contention ; it sets others in a Flame .

2. A World of Iniquity : It was at first made to be an Organ of God's Praise , but it is become an Instrument of Unrighteousness . All the Members of the Body are sinful , as there is bitterness in every Branch of Wormwood ; but the Tongue is excessively sinful , full of deadly Poison , vers. 8.

Doctr. The Tongue , though it be a little Member , yet it hath a World of Sin in it . The Tongue is an unruly Evil. We put Bitts in Horses Mouths and rule them ; but the Tongue is an unbridled Thing . It is hard to find a Curbing bitt to rule the Tongue . There is a World of Sin in the Tongue . The Devil makes use of Men's Tongues for the promoting most of the Wickedness which is in the World . I shall show you some of the Evils of the Tongue .

I. The Evil Tongue ( travel a little over this World ) is the silent Tongue : It is wholly mute in Matters of Religion ; it never speaks of God or Heaven , as if it cleaved to the roof of the Mouth . Men are fluent and discursive enough in other Things , but in Matters of Religion their Lips are sealed up . If we come into some People's Company , we do not know what Religion they are of , whether Iews or Mahometans , for they never speak of Christ ; they are like the Man in the Gospel , who was possessed with a Dumb Devil , Mar. 9.17 .

II. The Evil Tongue is the earthly Tongue : Men talk of nothing but the World , their Wares and Drugs , or their rich Purchace . Son 's of the Earth ; they have the Serpent's Curse , lick the Dust. Ioh. 3.31 . He that is of the Earth , speaketh of the Earth : as if all their Hopes were here , and they looked for an earthly Eternity ; these have Brutish Minds . Seneca being asked of what Country he was , answered , that he was 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Citizen of this World : So , many are Citizens of this World , all their Discourse and Traffick is here . Their Speech bewrays them .

III. The Evil Tongue is the hasty or angry Tongue : They have no command of Passions , but are carried away with them , as a Chariot with wild Horses . I know there is an Holy Anger , when we are angry with Sin : Christ had this Anger when they made the Temple a place of Merchandice , Ioh. 2.15 . That Anger is without Sin , which is against Sin ; but that is an Evil Tongue , which is presently blown up into exorbitant Passion ; this Tongue is Isaiah's Lips were touched with a Coal from the Altar , Isa. 6. His Tongue was set on Fire from Heaven ; but the angry furious Tongue is set on Fire from Hell . When the Tongue is on Fire , it is the Devil that lights the Match . Eccles. 7.9 . Anger rests in the Bosom of Fools : It may be in a Wise Man , but it rests in a Fool. More are drunk with Passion than Wine : Hierome . Water when it is hot soon boils over : So when the Heart is heated with Anger , it soon boils over in fiery and passionate Speeches . 1 King . 19.12 . after the Earthquake a Fire , but God was not in the Fire : So I may say of the Fire of rash Anger , God is not in this Fire . Grace heats the Heart but cools the Tongue ; makes it meek and calm . Passion transports it oft , disturbs the use of Reason ; Brevis Insania ; and if Reason cannot act , much less can Grace . Rashness of Anger hinders Holy Duties . Hot Passions make cold Prayers . A wrathful Spirit is unsuitable to the Gospel : It is a Gospel of Peace , and it is sealed by the Spirit , who came in the Form of a Dove ; a meek peaceable Creature . Thou who art given much to Passion , whose Tongue is often set on Fire , take heed thou dost not one Day in Hell desire a drop of Water to cool thy Tongue .

IV. The Evil Tongue is the Vain Tongue , that vents its self in idle Words : as if a Tree should bear nothing but Blossoms , Psal. 10.7 . under his Tongue is Vanity ; his Speaking is like a Child's Scribling , vain and insignificant . Men want Grace to Ballast them , and make them serious . A vain Tongue shows a light Heart . A good Man's Words are weighty and prudent ; his Lips are as a Tree of Life to feed many ; his Speech is edifying : Prov. 10.20 . The Tongue of the Iust is as choice Silver . Gracious Words drop as Silver from him , to the enriching the Souls of others : But , Prov. 15.2 . the Mouth of Fools poors out foolishness : like the Water in a Spout● that runs out unprofitably and doth no good . Many have a Sea of W●r●s , but scarce a drop of Matter ; they have Words without Wisdom . How many idle away the Day of Grace in frivolous Discourses ? A piece of Gold sinks into the Water , but a Feather swims upon it . A Wise Man's Words are like Gold , weighty , and will sink into the Hearts of others ; but the Words of many are light and feathery , and will make no impression . Matth. 12.36 . Every idle Word that Men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the Day of Iudgment . Words that are of no account will turn to an heavy account .

5. The Evil Tongue is the Censorious Tongue : Iam. 4.12 . Who art thou that judgest another ? Some make it a part of their Religion to judge and censure others ; they do not imitate their Graces , but censure their Failings : Such an one is rash and indiscreet ; such an one is an Hypocrite ; this comes from Pride . Were Men's Hearts more humble , their Tongues would be more charitable . The Censurer sits in the Chair of Pride , and passeth Sentence upon another , and doth reprobate him : This is to usurp God's Prerogative , and take his Work out of his Hands ; 't is God's Work to judge , not ours . He who spends his Time in censuring others , spends but little Time in examining himself ; he doth not see his own faults . I fear this is the Sin of many Professors , when they meet together to cast the Stone of Censure at others . There 's not a greater sign of Hypocrisie , than to be over-hasty in judging and censuring Persons . A Gracious Heart censures himself , and hath charitable thoughts of others ; the Hypocrite è contra .

6. The Evil Tongue is the Slanderous Tongue . Psal. 50.20 . Thou sittest and slanderest thy own Mother's Son . Slandering is when we speak to the prejudice of another , and speak that which is not true . Worth and Eminency is commonly blasted by Slander : Holiness it self is no Shield from Slander . The Lambs Innocency will not preserve it from the Wolf . Iohn Baptist came neither eating nor drinking , yet they say he hath a Devil , Matth. 11.18 . Slandering Iob calls the Scourge of the Tongue , Iob 5.21 . And Ier. 18.18 . Come and let us smite him with the Tongue ; you may smite another and never touch him . Psal. 64.3 . Their Tongues are Arrows shot out . A Slanderer wounds another's Fame , and no Physician can heal these Wounds . Majora sunt lingua vulnera quam gladii , Aug. The Sword doth not make so deep a Wound as the Tongue . The Greek Word for Slanderer signifies Devil , 1 Tim. 3.11 . Some think it is no great matter to belye and defame another ; but know , this is to act the part of a Devil . The Slanderer's Tongue is a two-edged Sword , it Wounds two at once . While the Slanderer Wounds another in his Name , he Wounds himself in his Conscience . This is contrary to Scripture , Iam. 4.11 . Speak not Evil one of another . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . God takes this ill at our Hands , to speak Evil of others , especially such as are eminently Holy , and help to bear up the Honour of Religion . Numb. 12.8 . Were not ye afraid to speak against my Servant Moses . What my Servant , who hath wrought so many Miracles , whom I have spoken with in the Mount Face to Face , were not ye afraid to speak against him ? So will God say . It is the Devils proper Sin , he is the Accuser of the Brethren ; he doth not commit Adultery , but bears False Witness . The Slanderer is still clipping the Credit of his Neighbour , that he may make it weigh lighter : Take heed of this , it is a Sin our Nature is very prone to ; and remember 't is no less Sin to rob another of his Good Name , than to steal his Goods or Wares out of his Shop .

7. The Evil Tongue is the Vnclean Tongue , that vents it self in filthy and scurillous words . Men's Language is such as if they came out of Hell : This is forbidden , Eph. 4.29 . Let no corrupt Communication proceed out of your Mouth . Better be born Dumb , than to have the Devil in ones Tongue . A Sign of a great Distemper , that the Fever is high , when the Tongue is black . A Sign Men's Hearts are very Evil , when such black Words come from them . When I go in the Streets , and hear the Language of some , I think of the Man in the Gospel , who had the Spirit of an Vnclean Devil in him , Luk. 4.33 . Men's Lips do not drop as the Honycomb , but they drop Poison to the defiling of others , 1 Cor. 15.33 . It is a Sign when the Face breaks out in Sores and Pimples , that the Blood is corrupt ; so an unclean Tongue may be compared to a Sink , where all the Filth of the House is carried forth . We read that the Lips of the Leper were to be covered , Lev. 13.45 . 'T were well if we had such Magistrates as would by their Authority cover the unclean Lips of those Lepers in this City .

8. The Evil Tongue is the Lying Tongue . Col. 3.9 . Lye not one to another . The Cretians were noted for Lyars , Tit. 1.12 . 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , &c. The Cretians are always Lyars . It becomes not Christians to be Cretians . Nothing more contrary to God than a Lye ; it shews much Irreligion : In Heart there wants the fear of God , which should Bridle lying Lips . Lying is a Sin that doth not go alone ; it ushers in other Sins . Absalom told his Father a Lye , that he was going to pay his Vow at Hebron , 2 Sam. 15.7 . and this Lye was a Preface to his Treason . Lying is such a Sin as takes away all Society and Converse with Men : How can you have Converse with him that you cannot trust a Word he saith ? It is a Sin so sordid , that when the Lyar is convicted he is ashamed . God's Children have this Character , they are Children that will not Lye , Isa. 63.8 . the New Nature in them will not suffer them . The Lyar is near a Kin to the Devil ; and the Devil will shortly claim kindred with him : Ioh. 8.44 . The Devil is a Lyar and the Father of it . He seduced our First Parents by a Lye , Gen. 3.4 . How doth this Sin incense God ? he struck Ananias dead for telling a Lye , Act. 5.5 . The Furnace of Hell is heated to throw Lyars into . Rev. 22.15 . Without are Dogs , and Sorcerers , and Whoremongers , and whosoever loveth and telleth a Lye .

9. The Evil Tongue is the Flattering Tongue : That will speak fair to ones Face , but will defame : Pro. 26.25 . He that hateth dissembleth with his Lips : When he speaketh fair believe him not : Dissembled Love is worse than Hatred . Some can commend and reproach , flatter and hate : [ Honey in their Mouths , but a sting of Malice in their Hearts : ] Better are the Wounds of a Friend , than the Kisses of such an Enemy . Hierome saith , The Arrian Faction pretended Friendship ; they , saith he , kissed my Hands , but slandered me and sought my Ruine . Many have dissembling Tongues ; they can say , Your Servant , and lay Snares : Prov. 29.5 . A Man that flattereth his Neighbour , spreadeth snares for his Feet : You oft think you have a Frie●d in your Bosom , but he proves a Viper . To dissemble Love is no better than a Lye ; for there is a pretence of that Love which is not . Many are like Ioab , 2 Sam. 20.9 . And Joab said to Amasa art thou in Health my Brother , and he took him by the Beard to kiss him , and he smote him in the Fifth Rib that he dyed . Impia sub dulci melle venena latent . For my part , I much question his Truth towards God , that will flatter and lye to his Friend : He who counterfeits love to his Friend , is worse than he that Coins counterfeit Money . God will bring such an one to shame at last . Prov. 26.26 . Whose hatred is covered by deceit , his Wickedness shall be shewed before the whole Congregation .

10. The Evil Tongue is the Tongue given to Boasting . Iam. 3.5 . The Tongue is a little Member , and boasteth great things . There is an Holy boasting , Psal. 44.8 . In God we boast all the Day ; when we triumph in his Power and Mercy : But it is a sinful boasting , when Men display their Trophies , boast of their own Worth and Eminency , that others may admire and cry them up : A Man's s●lf is his Idol , and he loves to have this Idol worshipped : Acts 5.36 . There arose up Theudas boasting himself to be Somebody . 2. Sinful boasting is when Men boast of their Sins : Psal. 52. 1. Why boastest thou thy self in mischief , O mighty Man ? Some boast how wicked they have been ; how many they have made drunk ; how many they have deflowered : As if a Beggar should boast of his Sores ; or a Thief boast of being burnt in the Hand : Such as boast of their sinful Exploits , will have little cause to rejoice or hang up their Trophies when they come to Hell .

XI . The Evil Tongue is the Swearing Tongue : Matth. 5.34 . Swear not at all . The Scripture allows an Oath for the ending of a Controversie , and to clear the Truth , Heb. 6.16 . But in ordinary discourse to use an Oath , and so to take God's Name in Vain , is sinful . Swearing may be called the unfruitful Work of Darkness ; there is neither Pleasure nor Profit in it ; 't is like an Hook the Fish comes to without a Bait. Ier. 23.10 . Because of Swearing the Land Mourns . Some think it the grace of their Speech ; but will God reckon with Men for idle Words , what will he do for sinful Oaths ?

Obj. But it is only a petty Oath ? they but Swear by their Faith ?

Answ. Sure they which have so much Faith in their Mouth , have none in their Heart . But it is my Custom . Is this an excuse or an aggravation of the Sin ? If a Malefactor should be Arraigned for Robbing , and he should say to the Judge , Spare me , it is my Custom to rob on the Highway ; the Judge would say , Thou shalt the rather die . For every Oath thou Swearest , God puts a drop of Wrath into his Viol.

Obj. But may some think , what though now and then I Swear an Oath , Words are but Wind ?

Answ. But they are such a Wind as will blow thee into Hell , without repentance .

12. The Railing Tongue is an evil Tongue . This is a Plague-Sore breaking out at the Tongue , when we give opprobrious Language . When the Dispute was between the Arch-Angel and the Devil about the Body of Moses , Jude v. 9. the Arch-Angel durst not bring a railing Accusation against him ; but said , The Lord rebuke thee . The Arch-Angel durst not rail against the Devil . Railing oft ends in Reviling , and so Men bring themselves into a Praemunire , and are in danger of Hell-Fire , Matth. 5.22 .

13. The Seducing Tongue is an evil Tongue . The Tongue that by fine Rhetorick decoys Men into Error . Rom. 16.18 . By fair Speechs they deceive the hearts of the simple . A fair Tongue can put off bad Wares . Error is bad Ware , which a seducing Tongue can put off . The Deceit lies in this ; a smooth Tongue can make Error look so like Truth , that you can hardly know them asunder : As thus ; in Iustification : Christ bears infinite Love to justified Persons ; this is a glorious Truth ; but under this Notion , the Antinomian presseth Libertinism : Believers may take more liberty to sin , and God sees no Sin in them : Thus , by crying up Iustification , they destroy Sanctification . Here is the Seducing Tongue ; and Error is as dangerous as Vice : One may die by Poyson as well as a Pistol .

14. The evil Tongue is the cruel Tongue , that speaks to the wounding the hearts of others . The Tongue is made almost in the fashion of a Sword ; and the Tongue is sharp as a Sword . Psal. 57.4 . Their Tongue is a sharp Sword . Kind , loving Words should be spoken to such as are of a heavy heart . Iob 6.14 . To him that is afflicted pity should be shown . Healing Words are fittest for a broken heart ; but that is a cruel , unmerciful Tongue which speaks such Words to the afflicted , as cut them to the heart . Psal. 69.26 . They talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded . Hannah was a Woman of a troubled Spirit . 1 Sam. 1.10 . She was in bitterness of Soul , and wept sore . And now Eli , ver. 14. said unto her , How long wilt thou be drunken ? Put away thy Wine from thee . This Word was like pouring Vinegar into the Wound . When Iob was afflicted with God's Hand , his Friends , instead of comforting him , tell him he was an Hypocrite . Iob 11.2 . These were cutting Words , which went to his heart . Instead of giving him Cordials in his fainting , they use Corrosives . This is to lay more weight upon a dying Man .

15. The evil Tongue is the murmuring Tongue . Iude 16. These are Murmurers . Murmuring is Discontent breaking out at the Lips . Men quarrel with God , and tax his Providence , as if he had not dealt well with them . Why should any murmur , or be discontented at their Condition ? Doth God owe them any thing ? Or , can they deserve any thing at his hands ? Oh , how uncomely is it to murmur at Providence ! It is fittest for a Cain to be Wroth with God . Gen. 4.6 .

1. Murmuring proceeds from Unbelief . When men distrust God's Promise , then they murmur at his Providence . Psal. 106.24 , 25. They believed not his Word , but murmured . When Faith grows low , then Passions grow high .

2. Murmuring proceeds from Pride , men think they have deserv'd better ; and because they are crossed , therefore they utter discontented Expressions against God . He who is humble bears any thing from God ; he knows his Punishment is less than his Sin ; therefore saith , I will bear the indignation of the Lord , Micah 7.9 . But Pride conjures up this Devil of Discontent ; and hence come Murmurings : Murmuring is a Sin that God cannot bear . Numb. 14.27 . How long shall I bear with this People that murmur against me ? The Murmurer discovers much Ingratitude . A murmuring Tongue is always an unthankful Tongue : He considers not how he is a Debtor to Free Grace ; and whatever he hath is more than God owes him : He considers not that his Mercies out-weigh his Afflictions ; there 's more Honey in his Cup than Wormwood : He considers not what God hath done for him more than such as are better than he : He hath the finest of Wheat , when others feed as Daniel , on Pulse . The Murmurer , I say , doth not consider this ; but because he is crossed in some small matter , he repines against God . Oh Ingratitude ! Israel , though they had Manna from Heaven , to satisfie their Hunger , Angels Food ; yet murmured for want of Quails ; not content that God should supply their want , but must satisfie their Lusts too . Oh unthankful ! Israel's murmuring cost many of them their Lives . 1 Cor. 10.10 . Neither murmur ye as some of them did , and were destroyed of the Destroyer . Their Speechs were venomous , and God punished them with venomous Serpents .

16. The evil Tongue is the scoffing Tongue . The Scoffer sits in the Chair of Scorners , and derides Religion . Surely the Devil hath taken great possession of men , when they have arrived at such a degree of Sin as to scoff at Holiness . It was foretold as a Sin of the last Times . 2 Pet. 3.3 . There shall come in the last days Scoffers . Some scoff at the Authority of Scripture , Deity of Christ , the Immortality of the Soul : This is the worst sort of Tongues . When Men have laid aside the Veil of Modesty , and their Consciences are ●eared , then they fall a scoffing at Religion ; and when once they are come to this , their case is desperate ; no Reproofs will reclaim them . Tell them of their Sin , and they will hate you the more . Prov. 9.8 . Reprove not a Scorner , lest he hate thee . Such a man is on the Threshold of Damnation .

17. The evil Tongue is the Tongue given to Cursing . Psal. 10.7 . His Mouth is full of cursing ; a wishing some great evil to befall another . Cursing is the Scum that boils off from a wicked Heart . Though it is true , the Curse causless shall not come ; [ it is not in man's power to make another cursed , ] yet to wish a Curse , is a fearful Sin . If to hate our Brother , be Murder , 1 John 3.15 . then to curse him , which is the highest degree of Hatred , must needs be Murder . To use an Execration or Curse , is for a man to do what lies in him to damn another . Some wish a Curse upon themselves : So the Iews ; His Blood be upon us , &c. and so do your God damme's , as if Damnation did not come fast enough . Psal. 109.17 . As be loved cursing , so let it come to him .

18. The evil Tongue is the unjust Tongue ; that will for a piece of Money open its Mouth in a bad Cause . The Lawyer hath Linguam venalem , a Tongue that will be sold for Money . Psal. 82.2 . How long will ye judge unjustly ? Some will plead any Cause , though never so bad : Though it appears the Deeds are forged , the Witnesses bribed , there 's Perjury in the Cause ; yet they will plead it . When a man pleads a bad Cause , he is the Devil's Attorney . As God hates false weights , so a false Cause . Better be born dumb , than open ones mouth in a bad Cause . Oh , what times are we in ! Many pervert Justice , and for enriching themselves , overthrow a righteous Cause . These are worse than they that rob ; for they fleece mens Estates under a colour of Law , and ruine them under a pretence of doing Justice .

Vse 1. Branch 1. See what a Blow we have sustained by the Fall ; it hath put out of frame the whole course of Nature . Original Sin hath diffused it self as a poyson into all the Members of the Body . It hath made the Eye unchast , the Hands full of Bribes ; among the rest , it hath defiled the Tongue ; it is a world of iniquity : That which was made to be the Organ of God's Praise , is become a weapon of unrighteousness .

Bran 2. If there be so much evil in the Tongue , what is in the Heart ? If the Stream be so full of Water , how full of Water is the Fountain ? If there be a world of iniquity in the Tongue , how many worlds of Sin are there in the heart ? Psal. 5.9 . Their inward part is very wickedness . If the Tongue , which is the outward part , be so wicked , the inward part is very wickedness . Psal. 64.6 . The Heart is deep . It is such a Deep as cannot be fathom'd ; deep Pride , Hypocrisie , Atheism .

The Heart is like the Sea , where is the Leviathan , and creeping things innumerable , Psal. 104. If the Skin hath Boils or Leprosie in it , how much Corruption is in the Blood ? If the Tongue be so bad , how diabolical is the Heart ? It is the Heart sets the Tongue a-work . Out of the abundance of the Heart the Mouth speaketh . There are the Seeds of all Atheism and Blasphemy . The Heart is the Trojan Horse , out of which a whole Army of Sin comes . Matth. 15.9 . Out of the Heart proceed evil Thoughts , Murders , Adulteries ; these defile a man . If a Branch of Wormwood be so bitter , then how bitter is the Root ? Oh , what a Root of Bitterness grows in a man's Heart ! Some say they have good Hearts , but if the Tongue be so bad , quid Cor ? If I see a Smoak come out of the top of a Chimney , what a Fire burns within ? Prov. 6.12 , 14. A wicked man walketh with a froward mouth : frowardness is in his Heart . Solomon shews Reason why the Mouth is so froward ; Frowardness is in his Heart . The Heart is a Store-house of Wickedness ; therefore call'd the evil Treasure of the Heart , Mat. 12.35 . Original Righteousness was a good Treasure ; but we were robb'd of that ; and now there is an evil Treasure of Sin . The Word Treasure , denotes Plenty ; to shew the fulness and abundance of Sin that is in the Heart . The Heart is a lesser Hell ; which is matter of deep Humiliation . The Heart is like the Egyptian Temples , full of Spiders and Serpents .

Vse 2. Reproof . It reproves such as abuse their Tongues in all manner of evil speaking , Lying , Slandering , rash Anger . The Heart is a Vessel full of Sin , and the Tongue sets it abroach . O how fast do mens Tongues gallop in Sin ! They say , they give God their hearts ; but let the Devil take possession of their Tongues . Ps. 12.4 . Our Lips are our own , who is Lord over us ? Who hath any thing to do with our Words ? Who shall controll us ? Who is Lord over us ? There 's no Engine the Devil makes more use of than the Tongue . What Errors , Contentions , Impieties have been propagated this way to the Dishonour of the high God ? David calls his Tongue his Glory . Psal. 57.8 . Awake my Glory . Why did he call his Tongue his Glory , but because by it he did set forth God's Glory in praising him ? But a wicked man's Tongue is not his Glory , but his Shame . With his Tongue he wounds the Glory of God ; it is set on fire of Hell .

Vse 3. Confutation . Bran. 1. It confutes the Catharists , and Perfectists , that plead for Perfection in this Life . If the Tongue hath so many Evils in it , how are they perfect ? Prov. 20.9 . Who can say I have made my heart clean , I am pure from Sin ? He makes a challenge to all the World . But the Perfectist saith , he is pure from Sin : Like Isidore the Monk , Non hab●o , Domine , quod mihi ignoscas ; I have nothing , Lord , for thee to pardon . If pure and perfect , then they put Christ out of Office ; he hath nothing to do for them as an Advocate ; they have no need of his Intercession . But , Eccles. 7.20 . There is not a just man upon Earth , that doth good , and sinneth not . Nay , that sinneth not in doing good . In the Grammar , with the Present Tense is joyn'd the Imperfect : With the Present State of Grace is joyn'd Imperfection . There 's not a just man on earth , that sinneth not ; nay , I may say , that sinneth not in his tongue . Moses was noted for the meekest man alive ; yet he spake unadvisedly with his Lips : Hear ye Rebels . Moses could not plead Perfection . Paul was an elect Vessel ; but there fell out a sharp contention between him and Barnabas ; and they grew so hot in their Words , that they parted each from other ; and we do not read that they had any more friendly Visits , Acts 15.39 . Paul himself was not perfect . Sin is like the wild Fig-tree in the Wall ; cut off the Branches , and Stump , yet some Sprig or other will spring out again . How proud and supercilious are they who hold they are perfect , when the holiest men alive , at some time or other offend in their Tongue ? There is no Perfection on this side the Grave . Perfection never begins till the Life ends . Only the Death of the Body will free us from the Body of Death .

Branch 2. It confutes the Arminians ; those Patrons of Free Will : they say , they have power to their own Salvation ; they can change their Heart . The Apostle saith , The Tongue can no man tame , Jam. 3.8 . If they cannot bridle their Tongue , how can they conquer their Will ? If they cannot master this little Member , ( Tongue , ) how can they change their Nature ? Alas , as St. Austin saith , Cathedram habet in Coelo , qui corda docet in Terra ; He hath his Pulpit in Heaven , that converts Hearts . But what Reply will Men make at the last Day , when God shall say , You had power to convert your selves , why were you not converted ? You could have come to Christ if you pleased ; but why did ye not ? It was Wilfulness . Ex ore tuo , out of thy own mouth I will condemn thee .

Vse 4. Caution . Take heed to your Tongue ; have a care that ye offend not with your Tongue . Psal. 34.14 . Keep thy Tongue from evil . A Sin we are very prone to , to lash out with our Tongues . There 's the Fire of Lust in the Eye , and the Fire of Passion in the Tongue . Psal. 39.1 . I said , I will take heed to my Ways , that I offend not with my tongue . An hard Lesson ! Pambus said he was above twenty years learning that Scripture , not to offend with his tongue . The Tongue is an unruly Member ; God hath set a double Hedge before the Tongue , the Teeth and Lips , to keep it within its bounds , that it doth not speak vainly . O , look to your Tongue . When a City is besieged , he that keeps the Gates of the City , keeps the whole City safe ; so , if you keep the Gates or Doors of your Mouth , you keep your whole Soul .

Rules for the well ordering and regulating your Words , or the governing of your Tongue , that you do not dishonour God therewith .

1 Rule . If you would have better Tongues , labour for better Hearts . It is the Heart hath Influence upon the Tongue . The Heart fills the Tongue with Words , as the Cistern is fill'd from the Spunge . The way to heal the Tongue , is to better the Heart . The Vapours that trouble the Head , come from the Stomach . If you would cure the Head , apply something to the Stomach . If the Stomach were better , the Head would be better ; Reformation must begin at the Heart . In a Watch , when the Wheels are out of order , they mend the Spring thereof ; so when the Tongue is like a Watch that runs too fast in vain , sinful talk , mend the Spring ; let thy Heart be bettered . If the Heart be vain and earthly , the Tongue will be so . If the Water be foul in the Fountain , it cannot be clear in the Vessel . If the Heart be holy , the Tongue will be so . Look to thy Heart ; get a better Heart , and a better Tongue .

Quest. How shall I get my Heart bettered ?

Answ. Get a Principle of Grace infused : Grace is like the Salt cast into the Spring : Grace changeth the Heart , and sanctifies all the Members of the Body ; it sanctifies the Eyes , and makes them Chast ; it sanctifies the Tongue , and makes it Meek and Calm . When the Holy Ghost came upon the Apostles , they began to speak with other Tongues , Act. 2.4 . When God's Spirit comes on a Man with a sanctifying Work , he speaks with another Tongue ; the Speech is Heavenly ; Grace makes the Heart Serious , and that cures the levity of the Tongue . When the Heart is serious , the Words are savoury .

2 Rule . If you would not Sin in your Tongue , call to Mind how you have formerly offended in your Tongue , and that will make you more watchful for the Future . Have not you spoken Words that have savoured of Discontent or Envy ? Have not you been guilty of Censuring and Slandering ? Have not you been disguised with Passion ? Hath not your Tongue out run your Discretion ? Have not you spoken Words that you have been sorry for afterwards , and have caused either shame or tears ? O observe former failings , how you have sinned in your Tongue , and that will be a good help for the future . David certainly made a Critical Observation upon some of his Words , wherein he had offended : Words of Pride : Psal. 30.6 . In my Prosperity I said I shall never be moved . And , Psal. 116.14 . I said in my haste , All Men are Lyars : Even Samuel and all the Prophets , who promised me the Kingdom , they are all Lyars ; and I shall die before I can come to enjoy it . David having observed how he had offended in his Tongue , he is more careful of his Words , and made a strict Vow with himself that he would look better them . Psal. 39.1 . I said I would take heed to my Ways , that I offend not with my Tongue . Look to the former slips of your Tongue , and how you have by your Words provoked God , and that will be a good means to make you more cautious for the future . A Mariner that hath twice touched upon a Rock , and been like to be cast away , will be more careful how he comes there again .

3 Rule . Watch your Tongue : Most Sin is committed for want of Watchfulness . As the Tongue hath a double Fence set about it , so it had need have a double Watch. The Tongue when it is let loose will be ready to speak loosly ; watch it , lest it run beyond its Bounds , in frothy and sinful Discourse : Prov. 30.32 . If thou hast thought Evil , lay thy Hand upon thy Mouth : That is ( say some ) lay thy Hand upon thy Mouth in token of Repentance . But it may bear another Sence : If thou hast thought Evil , if angry malicious thoughts come into thy Mind , lay thy Hand upon thy Mouth to stop thy Lips , that thy thoughts come not into Words ; do not speak what thou thinkest ▪ If thou hast in thy Heart conceived Evil , let not thy Tongue be the Midwife to bring it forth ; lay thy Hand upon thy Mouth . The Spiritual Watch must be kept daily : Watch and Pray : 'T is not enough to Pray against Sin , but you must Watch against it . Look to your Tongue that there be no Wild Fire got into it . The Iews Sealed the Sepulchre and set a Watch : So Seal up your Lips , by an Holy Vow , and then Watch them that they speak no Evil.

4 Rule . If you would not offend in your Tongue , ponder your Words well before you speak , Eccles. 5.1 . Be not rash with thy Mouth . Some speak vainly , because inconsiderately ; they do not weigh their Words before they speak them . He must needs make wild Work in Printing , that should print his Letters and never mind how he sets them . He that speaks rashly , speaks rudely , and discovers either Indiscretion or Sin . Words spoken in haste may be repented of at leisure : As it is with a Man's going ; if he goes carelesly , and doth not mind his way , his Foot may be in a Slough e'er he is aware : So with a Man's speaking , If he do not mind his Words , but gives his Tongue liberty , he may speak not only unadvisedly , but unholily , and give just offence .

5 Rule . If you would not offend in your Tongue , pray to God to guard your Tongue : Psal. 141.3 . Set a Watch , O Lord , before my Mouth . Set not about this Work in your own Strength , but implore God's help . The Tongue can no Man tame , Jam. 3.8 . Man that can tame the fiercest Creatures , Lion , Wolf , Elephant , yet cannot tame the Tongue ; but God can tame it ; therefore go to him by Prayer : Pray , Lord , set a Watch before the Door of my Lips ; keep me , that I may speak nothing to grieve thy Spirit , or that may tend to thy dishonour . God is the great Lord-Keeper , he keeps the Heart and Tongue . Pray , that his fear may be a Golden Bridle to check us from speaking Evil ; then we are safe when we have God for our Guardian .

6 Rule . If you would be kept from evil speaking , inure your Tongues to good speaking . If you would not have the Cask have a bad scent , put good Liquor into it : So if you would not have your Tongue run out sinfully , let it be used to good discourse ; speak often one to another of Christ , and the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God : The Spouses Lips drop'd as an Honey-comb , Cant. 4.11 .

MOTIVES . Vse . To beware of Tongue-Sins .

1 Motive . If you have no care of your Tongues , all your Religion is Vain . Iam. 1.26 . If any Man among you seems to be Religious , and bridleth not his Tongue , this Man's Religion is vain . Many a one will hear the Word , and make a profession of Religion ; but cares not what Liberty he takes in his Tongue , to reproach and vilifie others . This Man's Religion is vain : That is , 1. He hath no Religion , his Religion is but a shew or pretence . The Blazing Comet is no Star . 2. It is vain , because it is ineffectual ; it hath not that force upon him as Religion ought . That is a vain Thing , that doth not do its Work , or Answer its End . That Engine is vain , that will not carry the Water . That Physick is vain , that will not Work . That Ship is vain , that will not Sail. And that Religion is vain , which is ineffectual ; it will not Bridle the Tongue , or Master the Passions . That which doth not attain the end for which it was appointed , is a vain Thing .

2 Motive . The Tongue discovers much of the Heart . Verba sunt nuncia cordis : Such as the Tongue is , such commonly the Heart is . A lascivious Tongue shews a lustful Heart ; an earthly Tongue a covetous Heart ; a murmuring Tongue a discontented Heart : The Tongue is oft a Commentary upon the Heart . As the Face breaking out in Sores shows the Blood is corrupt ; so the Tongue breaking out in sinful Discourse shows the Heart is corrupt .

3 Motive . To allow our selves in the abuse of the Tongue , cannot stand with Grace . I know a good Man may sometimes speak unadvisedly with his Lips ; he may fly out in Words , be in a Passion ; but he doth not allow himself in it ; when his Passion is over he weeps . Rom. 7.15 . What I do I allow not ; but for a Man to allow himself in Sin , Censuring , Slandering , dropping Words like Coals of Fire ; sure it is not consistent with Grace . A Sheep may fall into the Dirt , but doth not lie there . A good Man may fall into a Sin of the Tongue , but doth not lie in it , he gets out again by repentance . To allow one's self in Sin , shews a Man is overcome of it ; that he regards it in his Heart , and that is inconsistent with Grace , Psal. 66.18 .

4 Motive . The Sins of the Tongue are very defiling : 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , Iam. 3.6 . The Tongue defileth : Defiling to one's self , and chiefly defiling to others . The Tongue conveys Poison into the Ear of another ; sometimes by false Suggestions , raising Prejudices in the Mind of another , against such a Person ; sometimes by passionate Speeches , the Spirit of another is provoked ; as the firing one Beacon causeth more Beacons to be fired : So one angry Tongue makes more , and stirs up the Fire of Contention .

5 Motive . The Evil Tongue is set on Fire of Hell . In the Text , Isaiah's Tongue was set on Fire from Heaven ; but a malicious , censorious , passionate Tongue , is set on Fire from Hell . When Satan inflames the Tongue , then it spits Fire : How rashly and sinfully did the Prophet Ionah speak , Ch. 4.9 . I do well to be angry to the Death . Ionah in the Hebrew signifies a Dove , which is without Gall ; but he shew'd too much Gall of bitterness : What! to be angry ! and to be angry with God! and to justifie it ! Sure his Tongue had not a Coal from God's Altar ; for that was very unseemly for a Prophet . When you find your Spirits inflamed , and your Tongues on Fire , say as it is Deut. 29.24 . What means the Heat of this Great Anger ? Whence doth this Fire come ? Is this Coal fetched from the Altar , or the Infernal Pit ? Doth not Satan kindle this Fire in my Tongue , and then warm himself at it ?

6 Motive . The Sins of the Tongue are provoking to God , and prejudicial to us . 1. Provoking to God ; they make the fury rise up in his Face , Psal. 106.33 . Moses spake unadvisedly with his Lips . What was this unadvised Speech ? Numb. 20.10 , 11. Hear now ye Rebells ; must we fetch you Water out of this Rock ? Though he were a Favourite , and God had spoken with him Face to Face , yet God gives him a check for it ; it turned his smile into a frown . 2. Prejudicial to us : Moses's rash Speech shut him out of Canaan ; it may us out of Heaven , of which that was but a Type . The Fiery Tongue oft brings Men to the Fiery Furnace . The rich Man cried for a drop of Water to cool his Tongue . Origen notes , he had sinned most in his Tongue , and God punished him most in his Tongue .

7 Motive . He who offends not in his Tongue is a perfect Man : An high expression . If any Man offend not in Word , the same is a perfect Man ; that is , attained to a very high degree ; in the highest Form of Christ's School : A prudent Man , or an upright Man , or comparatively , in comparison of others , such as have not gotten the Conquest over their Passions ; he is far above them ; and in comparison of them he is a perfect Man ; such an one was Holy Cranmer , that could not be provoked by the ill carriages of others , but requited injuries with kindness .

8 Motive . You must give an account to God , as well of your Speeches , as your Actions , Mat. 12.36 . Every idle Word that Men shall speak , they shall give account thereof in the Day of Iudgment : Words of no account will have an heavy account ; and if God will reckon with Men for every idle , angry Word , then what will he do for sinful Oaths ? O that my Words were written , Job 19.23 . Truly if many People's Words were written , they would be ashamed of them . And let me tell you , your Words are written , Rev. 20.12 . The Books were opened . In the Book of God's remembrance all your Words are written : You had need then be careful you offend not with your Tongues ; God writes down all you speak , and you must give an account to him . When Latimer heard the Pen going behind the Hangings , he was careful in his Answers : And let me tell you , as your Words are , such will your Sentence be ; when the Books are opened , God will proceed with you in Judicature , according to your Words . By your Words you shall be saved or condemned , Matth. 12.37 . By thy Words thou shalt be justified , and by thy Words thou shalt be condemned : This should Bridle our Tongues from evil speaking . If our Words be good , the Sentence will go on our side ; if evil , the Sentence will go against us ; By thy Words , &c. Treasonable Words make Men guilty in Man's Court ; and vain , sinful in God's .

Against being weary in well-doing . Gal. 6.9 .

And let us not be weary in well-doing , for in due Season we shall reap , if we faint not .

IN the Verses before the Text , the Apostle had laid down a Proposition , What a Man soweth that shall he reap , v. 7. He that sows in Sin , shall reap in Sorrow ; he that Sows the Seeds of Grace , shall reap Glory : There is the Proposition . In the Text , the Apostle makes the application , Let us not be weary of well-doing . We that have sown the good Seed of Repentance , and an Holy Life , let us not be weary , for in due season we shall reap , if we faint not .

First , A Dehortation ; Let us not be weary . Secondly , The Argument ; We shall reap in due season .

First , A Dehortation ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ; Let us not be weary . Where there is , I. Something implied ; that we are apt to be weary in well-doing . II. Something expressed ; that we ought not to be weary in well-doing .

I. The thing implied , that we are apt to be weary in well-doing . This lassitude and weariness is not from the regenerate part , but the fleshly ; as Peter's sinking in the Water , was not from the Faith in him , but the Fear : This weariness in a Christian course is occasioned from four Things .

1. From the revilings of the World : Psal. 41.5 . My Enemies speak evil of me . Innocency is no shield against reproach ; But why should this make us weary of well-doing ? Will a Soldier run from his Colours , and quit the Field , because of a little Small-shot ? Did not Jesus Christ undergo reproach for us , when the Iews put a Crown of Thorns on him , and bowed the Knee in scorn ? Is it any dishonour to us to be reproached for doing that which is Good ? Is it any disparagement to a Virgin to be reproached for her Beauty and Chastity ? Our reproaches for Christ we should bind as a Crown about our Head . Now a Spirit of Glory rests upon us , 1 Pet. 4.14 . If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ , happy are ye ; for a Spirit of God and of Glory resteth upon you . Regium est benè facere & malè audire : He that clips our Credit to make it weigh lighter , makes our Crown heavier .

2. That which is apt to occasion weariness in well-doing , is the present sufferings we are exposed to : 2 Cor. 4.8 . We are troubled on every side , like a Ship that hath the Pirates shooting at it on both sides . The Cross is the Saint's Joynture , 2 Tim. 3.12 . But why should this make us weary of well-doing ? Is not our Life a Warfare ? 'T is no more strange to meet with Sufferings in Religion , than for a Mariner to meet with Storms , or a Soldier to meet with Bullets . Do not we consider upon what terms we entred into Religion ? Did not we Vow in Baptism to Fight under Christ's Banner ? Doth not our Lord tell us we must take up the Cross and follow him , Matth. 16.24 . Is not this part of the Legacy Christ hath bequeathed us ? Ioh. 16.33 . We would partake of Christ's Glory , but not of his Sufferings . Besides , doth not many a Man suffer for his Sins ? Do not Men's Lusts bring them to an untimely end ? Do Men suffer for their Sins , and do we think much to suffer for Christ ? How did St. Paul rejoice in Sufferings ! 2 Cor. 7.4 . How did he rattle his Chain that he wore for Christ ? How did he Glory in it , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , As a Woman that is proud of her Iewels : Chrysost. Why should Sufferings make us faint ? Who would not be willing to tread upon a few Thorns that is going to a Kingdom ?

3. That which is apt to occasion weariness in well-doing , is the deferring of the Reward . We are apt to be discouraged and grow weary , if we have not what we desire presently ; we are all for present pay . But consider ,

1. Our Work is not yet done , we have not yet finished the Faith : The Servant doth not receive his pay till his Work be done . Even Christ's reward was deferred till he had done his Work ; when he had compleated our Redemption , and said upon the Cross it is finished , then he entred into Glory . God doth not think it meet we should have our pay beforehand .

2. God defers the reward to make Heaven more welcome to us . Quo longius defertur eò suavius laetatur : After all our Praying , Weeping , Suffering , how sweet will the Wine of Paradise taste ! Nay , the longer the reward is deferred , the greater will it be ; the longest Voyages have the greatest Returns .

4. That which is apt to occasion weariness in well-doing , is the difficulty of a Christians Work . Superas evadere ad auras , hic labor hoc opus est . A Christian hath no time to lie Fallow ; he hath many Precepts to obey , Promises to believe , Temptations to resist ; his whole Life is a Race ; he must Watch and Pray ; he must put forth not only Diligence , but Violence for Heaven . But why should this make us weary ? Difficulty whets a generous Mind . The Soldiers Life hath its difficulties , but they raise his Spirits the more ; he loves to encounter hardship , and will endure a Bloody Fight for a Golden Harvest .

Besides , where there is the least Principle of Grace , it renders the way of Religion easie and pleasant . When the Load-stone draws , it is easie for the Iron to move . When God's Spirit draws , we move in the way of Religion , with facility and delight . Spiritu Sancto accenditur renatorum voluntas . Aug. Christ's Service is freedom . Psal. 119.45 . I will walk at Liberty : to serve God , to love God , to enjoy God , is the sweetest Liberty in the World ; besides , while we serve God we gratifie our selves : As he who digs in a Mine , while he sweats he gets Gold ; while we glorifie God , we promote our own Glory .

II. The Second thing expressed is , that we should not grow weary in a Christian course , we should not tire in our Race ; Let us not be weary in well-doing . The Greek Word to be weary , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies , to shrink back as Cowards in War : Let it not be thus with us ; let us not shrink back from Christ's Colours . Heb. 4.14 . Let us hold fast our profession : We must not only hold forth our profession , but hold fast our profession : Our zeal in Religion should be as the Fire on the Altar , which never went out , Lev. 6.13 . Non pugnanti sed vincenti dabitur Corona , Aug. The Crown is not given to him that Fights , but to him that overcomes .

1 Vse . R●dargution . It reproves such as are weary of well-doing . There are Falling Stars . 2 Tim. 4.10 . Demas forsook God , and afterwards became a Priest in an Idol Temple : Dorotheus . Hos. 8.3 . Israel hath cast off the thing that is good . Many have thrown off Christ's Livery ; they have left off an Holy course of Life , they have turned to Worldliness or Wantonness , Gal. 5.7 . Ye did run well , who hindred you ? Why did you tire in your Race ? It is sad to see those who formerly seemed to be eminent Saints ; Stars of the first magnitude ; yet now are fallen away , and are ready to embrace either the Mass or the Alcoran ; that which begins in Hypocrisie ends in Apostacy . 2 Pet. 2.21 . It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness , than after they have known it to turn from the Holy Commandment .

2 Vse . Exhortation . Let us not be weary in well-doing . Consider ,

1. The Way of Religion is of Good Report : Heb. 11.2 . By Faith the Elders obtained a Good Report . Shall we be weary of that which is our Credit ? If indeed the Christian Religion were a thing that would bring shame or loss ( as the Ways of Sin do ) then we had cause to desert it , and grow weary of it ; but it brings Honour , Prov. 4.9 . He shall give to thy Head an Ornament of Grace . Besides the Credit , an Holy course of Life brings inward Ioy and Delight : Prov. 3.17 . All her ways are pleasantness . What sweet Musick doth the Bird of Conscience make in the Breast ? Act. 9.31 . Walking in the fear of the Lord , and in the Comforts of the Holy Ghost . Why then should we be weary of well-doing ?

2. The Beauty of a Christian is to hold on in Piety without being weary : Act. 21.16 . Mnason of Cyprus an old Disciple . 'T is a beautiful sight to see Silver Hairs crowned with Golden Vertues . The Beauty of a thing is when it comes to be finished . The Beauty of a Picture is , when it is drawn out in its full Lineaments , and laid in its Orient Colours . The Beauty of a Christian is when he hath finished his Faith , 2 Tim. 4.7 . It was the Glory of the Church of Thyatira , she kept her best Wine till last . Rev. 2.19 . I know thy Works , and the last to be more than the first .

3. Such as are weary of well-doing , it is a sign they never acted in Religion from a right Principle . Things that proceed from a Principle of Life do not cease , as the beating of the Pulse : But things that move from an artificial Spring are soon at an end , as the Motion of a Watch. Unsound Hearts move only from the external Spring of Applause or Preferment ; and when these fail their seeming Goodness ceaseth . Naturalists observe of the Chelydonian Stone , that it retains its Virtue no longer than it is inclosed in Gold , take it out of the Gold and it loseth its Virtue : False Hearts retain their Goodness no longer than they are inclosed in Golden Preferments ; take them out of the Gold , and they lose all their seeming Piety . Such as are weary of well-doing , never served God out of choice , or from a Principle of Faith . If the Water in a Cistern fail , it is because it is not fed from a Fountain : If Men's Religion fails , it is because it wants that Fountain-Grace of Faith to feed it .

4. God is never weary of doing us Good ; therefore we should not be weary of serving him . The Honey-comb of Mercy is continually dropping upon us . God sends us in fresh Provisions every Day ; he gives us the finest of the Wheat ; he is not weary of watching over us , but keeps a continual Guard about us . Psal. 21.3 . God is not weary of detecting and defeating the Plots of our Enemies . And shall we be weary of engaging in his Service ? A King that is continually obliging his Subject by Gifts and Gratituites , that Subject hath no cause to be weary of serving his Prince .

5. If we grow weary , and throw off Religion , we make all we have done null and void . Ezek. 18.24 . When the Righteous turneth away from his righteousness , all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned . He who hath been serving God , and doing Angel's Work , if once he grows weary and desists , he unravels all his Work , and misseth of the recompence of reward : He that runs half a Race , and then tires , loseth the Garland . O what folly is it to do well a while , and then by Apostasie to unravel all : As if a Limner should with his Pencil draw a fair Picture , and then come with his Spunge and wipe it out again .

6. Consider the Examples of such as have continued their Progress unweariably in a Christian course . The Apostle sets before our Eyes a Cloud of Witnesses : Heb. 12.1 . Being compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses , let us run the Race that is set before us ; let us run it with celerity and constancy . How many Noble Martyrs and Confessors of old , have walked in the ways of God , though they have been strew'd with Thorns ? they scorned Preferments , laughed at imprisonments , and their love to Christ burned hotter than the Fire . Polycarp , when he came before the Proconsul , and he bad him deny Christ ; he replyed , Octoginta fexannos illi inservii , &c. I have served Christ these 86 years , and he hath not once hurt me , and shall I deny him now ? Tertullian saith , such was the constancy of the Primitive Saints that the Persecutors , cryed out , Quae miseria est haec ? What a Misery is this , that we are more weary in tormenting than they are in enduring Torment , Let us tread in their steps , who through Faith and Patience inherit the Promises .

7. It will be our Comfort on our Death-bed , to review a well-spent Life . It was Augustus's wish , that he might have an 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a quiet , easie Death . If any thing make our Pillow easie at Death , it will be this , that we have been unweariable in God's Work : This will be a Death-bed Cordial . Did you ever know any repent at Death , that they have been too Holy ? Many have repented that they have followed the World too much ; not that they have prayed too much , that they have repented too much . What hath made Death sweet , but that they have finished their Course and kept the Faith ?

8. Think of the Great Reward we shall have , if we do not give over , or grow weary , and that is Glory and Immortality .

1. This Glory is ponderous ; 't is called , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Weight of Glory , 2 Cor. 4.17 . The Weight adds to the Worth ; the weightier a Crown of Gold is , the more it is worth .

2. It is satisfying , Psal. 17.15 . I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness . This Glory will abundantly recompense all our Labours and Sufferings . The Joy of Harvest makes amends for all the Labour in sowing . O what an Harvest shall the Saints reap ! It will be always reaping time in Heaven ; and this reaping will be in the due season : So the Apostle saith in the Text , we shall reap , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , in due Season . The Husband-man doth not desire to reap till the Season ; he will not reap his Corn while it is green , but when it is ripe : So we shall reap the Reward of Glory in due Season : When our Work is done , when our Sins are purged out , when our Graces are come to their full growth , then is the Season of reaping : Therefore let us not be weary of well-doing , but hold on in Prayer , Reading , and all the Exercises of Religion , we shall reap in due season , if we faint not . To keep us from fainting , know , that the Reward promised is very near : Rom. 13.11 . Our Salvation is nearer than when we believed . We are but within a few Days March of the Heavenly Canaan . It is but a few more Prayers , and Tears shed , and we shall be perfected in Glory ; as that Martyr , Dr. Taylor , said , I have but one Style more to go over , and I shall be at my Father's House . Stay but a while , Christians , and your Troubles will be over , and your Coronation-Day shall come . Christ , who is the Oracle of Truth , hath said , Behold I come quickly , Rev. 22.20 . And yet Death 's coming is sooner than Christ's Personal coming ; and then begins the Saints Blessed Iubile .

Quest. What Means shall we use , that we may not wax weary in a Christian course .

Answ. 1. Let us , otium excutere , shake off Spiritual Sloath. Sloath saith , there is a Lyon in the way . He who is sloathful , will soon grow weary ; he is fitter to lie on his Couch , than to run a Race . It is a strange Sight , to see a busie Devil , and an idle Christian.

Answ. 2. If we would not grow weary , let us pray for persevering Grace : It was David's Prayer , Psal. 119.117 . Hold thou me up , and I shall be safe : And it was Beza's Prayer , Domine , quod Coepisti perfice , &c. Lord , perfect what thou hast begun in me , that I may not suffer Shipwrack within sight of the Haven . That we may hold on a Christian Course , let us labour for Three persevering Graces .

1. Faith . Faith keeps from Fainting ; Faith gives a Substance to Things not seen , and makes them to be as it were present , Heb. 11.1 . As a Perspective-Glass makes those things which are at a distance near to the Eye ; so to Faith , Heaven and Glory seem near . A Christian will not be weary of Service , that hath the Crown in his Eye .

2. The Second persevering Grace is Hope . Credula vitam spes fovet : Hope animates the Spirits ; it is to the Soul , as the Cork to the Net , which keeps it from sinking . Hope breeds Patience , and Patience breeds Perseverance . Hope is compared to an Anchor , Heb. 6.19 . The Christian never sinks , but when he casts away his Anchor .

3. Persevering Grace is Love . Love makes a Man that he is never weary . Love may be compared to the Rod of Mirtle in the Traveller's Hand , which refresheth him and keeps him from being weary in his Journey . He who loves the World is never weary of following the World ; he who loves God will not be weary of serving him : That is the Reason , why the Saints and Angels in Heaven , are never weary of Praising and Worshiping God ; because their Love to God is perfect ; and Love turns Service into Delight . Get the Love of God in your Hearts , and you will run in his Ways , and not be weary .

Of knowing to do Good , and not to do it . James 4.17 .

To him that knoweth to do good , and doth it not , to him it is Sin .

THE Apostle in the former Verses had met with a Sin common in those days , a sinful Boasting among Men. Ver. 13. Go to now ye that say to day or to morrow we will go into such a City , and buy and sell , and get gain ; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow : you may be in your Graves before to morrow ; for what is your Life ? it is even a Vapour . A Vapour being an Exhalation , it cannot continue long ; as it is raised by the Sun , so it is dispersed by the Wind : Such is your Life ; a Vapour , a short Breath , a flying Shadow : it appears 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , for a little time , and then vanisheth . Well might they say , what need we be taught such a plain Lesson ? who knows not all this , that Life is a Vapour , and that we ought not to boast what we will do to morrow ? The Apostle seems in the Text to meet with them by way of Answer : Do ye know all this ? Then the greater is your Sin , that you do it not . To him that knoweth to do good , and doth it not , to him it is Sin . I shall only explain this Phrase , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , to him it is Sin ; that is , it is an heinous Sin , it is Sin with a witness ; every infirmity , every thing that falls short of the Rule , is Sin ; much more that which contradicts the Rule ; this man's Sin hath an Emphasis , it is a crimson Sin , and it shall have a greater punishment . He that knew his Master's Will , and did it not , shall be beaten with many stripes , Luke 12.47 . If he that sins ignorantly be damned , then he that sins knowingly shall be double damned .

1. Doct. implied ; That we ought to know to do good : know our Duty .

2. That we ought not only to know to do good , but to do it .

3. That he that knoweth to do good , and doth it not , is of all others most guilty .

1. Doct. implied ; That we ought to know to do good ; we ought to be well informed of those things which are to be done by us in order to Salvation . The Word written is a Rule of Knowledge , and the Word preached is a Commentary upon the Word written ; and both of them are to enrich our understanding , and to nurse us up in the knowledge of that which is good .

The Reasons why we should know to do good , are ,

1. Knowledge is our Lamp and Star to guide us in the Truth . It shews us what we are to do , and what we are to leave undone . If we do not know that which is good , we can never practise it . Without Knowledge we cannot do any thing in Religion aright ; we offer up the Blind ; we cannot give God a reasonable Sacrifice . He that doth not know his Trade , is like to make but bad Work of it .

2. Knowledge is the Foundation of all Grace : Every Grace borrows its Light from this Lamp ; it is the radical Vertue ; it is the Seed out of which the Flower of Grace grows ; it ushers in Faith . They that know thy Name , will put their trust in thee , Psal. 9.10 . Knowledge carries the Torch before Faith . A blind Faith is as bad as a dead Faith . It inflames Love ▪ Phil. 1.9 . This I pray that your Love may abound yet more and more in Knowledge . The Knowledge of Christ's Beauty enticeth our Love ; it breeds Perseverance ; it is like the Mariner's Lanthorn , to direct the Ship , and as the Anchor , that holds it steddy in Storms and Tempests . The Apostle joyns these two together ; unlearned and unstable , 2 Pet. 3.16 . Such as are unlearned will be unstable .

3. The chief Work in Conversion consists in Knowledge . Rom. 12.2 . Be ye transformed by the renewing of your Mind . The Mind being renewed , the Man is transformed . The first thing in the Creation , was Light ; so in Conversion , the first thing is Illumination : The first part of God's Image consists in Knowledge , Col. 3.10 . The first thing a Limner draws in a Picture is the Eye ; so the first thing God draws in the Soul , is the Eye of Knowledge . Psal 51.6 . In the hidden part thou shal● make me to know Wisdom .

4. There is nothing in Religion , though never so excellent , can do us good without Knowledge . The Blessed Sacrament , which is one of the highest Ordinances ; yet if we come to it without Knowledge , it can do us no good : What Benefit can he receive , that is not able to discern the Lord's Body ? If one come to a Physick Garden , and knows not the Nature of the Herbs , he may gather Poison instead of the Physical Herb ; as he who went into the Field , and gathered wild Gourds , and then there was Death in the Pot , 2 Kings 4.39 . So , if one understand not the Mystery of the Lord's Supper , there is Death in the Cup ; he eats and drinks his own Damnation .

Vse . See how necessary it is to get the knowledge of what is good . It ushers in Salvation , 1 Tim. 2.4 . We must know to do good before we can do it . Omne Peccatum fundatur in ignorantia : Ignorance of God is the cause of all Sin . Ier. 9.3 . They proceed from evil to evil , and know not me , saith the Lord . Ignorance of God damns . Hos. 4.6 . My People are destroyed for want of Knowledge . 'T is sad to be ignorant in Gospel-times , to be blind in the Sun . How many go to Hell blind-fold ? And which is worse , not only nescire , but nolle scire ; they do not only not know Good , but they are not willing to know . Ier. 9.6 . They refuse to know me , saith the Lord .

II. Doct. That we ought not only to know to do Good , but to do it . This the Apostle implies : To him that knows to do good , and doth it not ; ] he implies , that he who knows to do Good , should do it . The End of Knowledge is Practice . Search from one end of the Bible to the other , and you will find that it is the practick part of Religion is chiefly intended . The Crown is not set upon the Head of Knowledge but Practice . Rev. 22.14 . Blessed are they that do his Commandments , that they may have right to the Tree of Life . The Eye is to direct the Foot : Knowledge is the Eye that is to direct the Foot of Obedience .

Vse 1. It shews us wherein most Christians are defective in the Times of Gospel , viz. In the doing part of Religion , they know how to do Good , but do it not : They have good Eye-sight , but are lame on their Feet ; they are like Rachel , beautiful , in regard of Knowledge ; but barren . We are like our first Parents , greedy of the Tree of Knowledge : Knowledge is an Ornament , and People love to hang this Jewel on their Ear ; but though they know what they ought to do , yet they do it not . They know they should abstain from evil , and pursue Holiness ; they know to do Good , but do it not .

1. They know they should abstain from evil . They know they should not swear . Matth. 5.34 . Swear not all ; yet they do it ; they are more free of their Oaths , than their Alms. They know uncleanness to be a Sin ; it wastes the Body , wounds the Conscience , blots the Name , damns the Soul , Gal. 5.19 . Yet they will go on in that Sin , and for a Cup of Pleasure drink a Sea of Wrath. They know Drunkenness to be a Sin ; it doth brutifie them , take away their Reason ; they cannot think to go reeling to Heaven . God is brewing a Cup for the Drunkard . Rev. 16.19 . The Cup of the Wine of the fierceness of his Wrath ; Wormwood-Wine , yet he will not leave his drunken Fits . Men know that rash censuring is a Sin . Iam. 4.11 . Speak not evil one of another , Brethren . Yet they are guilty of this ; they will not swear , but they will slander , and speak to the prejudice of others : They can never make them Recompence for this . No Physician can heal the Wounds of the Tongue . Thus they know that Covetousness is a Sin ; yea , the root of all evil ; yet the World ingrosseth all their Time and Thoughts . They are like Midas , who wished every thing that he touched might be Gold : They have this dry Dropsie ; thirsting after Gold more than Grace , and labouring more to have a full Purse , than a good Conscience . They know they should not vent their Passions , Iam. 1.26 . If any man among you seems to be religious , and bridleth not his Tongue , this Man's Religion is vain . Origen observes of the Rich Man in the Gospel , he had no Water to cool his Tongue . He had sinn'd most in his Tongue , therefore was punished most in it . How unworthy is it for Men to have their Eyes and Hands lift up to Heaven , and their Tongues set on fire from Hell ; at one time praying , and another time cursing ? The Devil rejoyceth in this , he warms himself at the Fire of Mens Passions . How can such pray in a Family , that are possessed with an angry Devil ? Hot Passions make cold Prayers . Thus men know they should abstain from evil , but they do it not .

2. They know they should pursue Holiness , but they do it not . They know they should read the Word , sanctifie the Sabbath , use holy Conference , pray in their Families , redeem the Time , walk circumspectly ; they know to do Good , but do it not .

Quest. Whence is it that Men know to do Good , yet do it not ?

Answ. 1. It is for want of sound Conviction . Men are not throughly convinced of the necessity of practick Godliness : They think there 's a necessity of Knowledge , because else there 's no Salvation , they will get some Notions of Christ , that he is a Saviour , and has satisfied Divine Justice , and they hope they believe in him : Well then ; we tell them that Faith and Obedience go together , then God is merciful , and though they are not so good as they should be , yet Free Grace will save them . Thus Men content themselves with general Notions of Religion , but are not convinced of the Practick Part of Godliness .

2. Men know to do Good , yet do it not , because they are not awakened out of their Spiritual Sloth . It is easie to get the Knowledge of a Truth , to give assent to it , to commend it , to profess it ; but to digest Knowledge into Practice , is difficult ; and men are lying upon the Bed of Sloth , and are not willing to put themselves to too much trouble ; they know they should deny themselves ; but the Work of Self-denial is hard , so that the Plough stands still , and nothing of the practick part of Religion goes forward . Prov. 19.24 . A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom , and will not pull it forth though it be to lay hold on a Crown .

3. Men know to do Good , but do it not , through Incredulity ; they are in part Atheists . Did they believe that Sin were so bitter , that Wrath and Hell followed it , would they not leave off their Sins ? Did they believe , that to do the Will of God , were a privilege , Religion were their Interest , that there is Joy in the way of Godliness , and Heaven at the end , would they not espouse Holiness ? But People , though they have some slight transient thoughts of these things , yet they are not brought to the Belief of them ; therefore though they know to do good , yet they do it not . The Reason why there are so few Doers of the Word , is , because there are so few Believers .

4. Men know to do Good , but do it not ; because the Knowledge in their Head , never works into their Hearts ; it doth not quicken them , or warm their Affections with Love to the Truth . Their Light is greater than their Love ; their Knowledge doth not work upon their Conscience ; like a few Heat-drops that wet the leaf , but never go to the Root of the Tree . Men are not transformed by their Knowledge , therefore they are not reformed ; their Hearts never took the full impression of the Word ; like Wooll that hath had only a slight Tincture , but not a deep Dye .

5. Men know to do Good , but do it not , because of prejudicate Opinion . Prejudice is a Bar in the way of Men's Salvation . He who hath an ill opinion of the Physick will not take it . The things to be done in Religion , are judg'd to be too strict and severe ; they restrain Sin too much , or they press too much to Holiness . When Christ had been preaching to the young Man , that he must sell all , and give to the Poor , and he should have Treasure in Heaven , 't is said , Mark 10.22 . he was sad at that Saying , and went away grieved . Many , though they know the Truth , yet do disgust it , and have a secret hatred at the Spirituality of it . As Michal looked out at a Window , see to David when he danced before the Ark ; but the Text saith , she despised him in her Heart , 1 Chron. 15.29 . So many go out to meet a Sermon , but hate it in their Heart .

6. Men know to do Good , yet do it not , because they love their Sin more than they love the Word . Hos. 4.8 . They set their Heart on their Iniquity . Though Sin be a Meat that breeds the Worm of Conscience , yet they love it ; and the more Sin is loved , the more the Word is loathed . The Word Preached calls for plucking out the right Eye ; it comes to separate between Men and their Lusts , and they cannot endure to hear of a Divorce . When Iohn Baptist comes to break off the Match between Herod and his Incest , rather than he will behead his Sin , the Prophet himself shall be beheaded . This is much to be lamented , and laid to heart , that Men know to do Good , but do it not . Some content themselves with having Means of Knowledge . Iudg. 17.13 . Then said Micah , now know I that the Lord will do me good , seeing I have a Levite to my Priest . But what is one the better to know what Physick he should take , if he doth not take it . It will be but poor Comfort on a Death-Bed , for a Man to remember what glorious Ordinances he hath had , and what a deal of Knowledge he hath gain'd , when his Conscience shall tell him , this is his Condemnation , that he knew to do Good , but did it not .

Vse 2. Exhortation . Let me beseech you all who have been Hearers of the Word , and have been lighting your Lamps at the Sanctuary , and have gotten a great measure of Knowledge , that as you know to do Good , you would do it . This is the Soul of Religion . Luther says , Mallem obedire quam Miracula facere ; I had rather do the Will of God , than be able to work Miracles .

1. To do what you know , evidenceth your Relation to Christ . You count ●t a great Honour to be near allied to the Crown ; but it is more Honour to be a-kin to Christ . It was much to be of Christ's Line and Race : Rom. 9.5 . Of whom concerning the Flesh Christ came : But would you see whom Christ counts his best Kindred , such as do what they know : Matth. 12.50 . Whosoever shall do the Will of my Father in Heaven , the same is my Brother and Sister : That is , he is dear to me , as if he had a Natural Alliance in Blood : nay , far dearer ; for many of Christ's Kindred in the Flesh are in Hell ; but where there 's a Spiritual Consanguinity , there 's no fear of perishing . Such as know Christ's Will and do it not , are Strangers to Christ , and he will say , I know you not : But if you that know to do good , do it , Christ will know you ; sure he will know his kindred , his Sisters and Brothers .

2. To know to do good , and do it , sets a Crown upon the Gospel : Rom. 16.19 . Your Obedience is come abroad unto all Men ; not your Knowledge , but your Obedience . When Christians do what they know , are eminent in Humility and Charity , when they walk exemplarily , this adorns Religion . To know to do good , and not to do it , hardens others in Sin , scandalizeth Religion , and makes People ready to turn Atheists . When some of the Spaniards came into Hispaniola , the Spaniards carriage being loose and prophane , the Indians asked them , What God they served ? they answered , the God of Heaven ; the Indians replied , Sure your God is not a good God that hath such bad Servants : Thus to know to do good , yet not do it , puts a scar in the Face of Religion , and brings an evil report upon it ; but to do what we know , Trumpets forth the Fame of the Gospel , and makes them that oppose it to admire it .

3. To know to do good , and to do it , entitles you to Blessedness . Iam. 1.25 . He shall be Blessed in the Deed ; not for the deed , but in the deed . God will not only pour golden Oil of Temporal Blessings on you , give you Corn and Wine ; but he will bless you with Salvation : Heb. 5.9 . He became the Author of Salvation to all them that obey . And that you may do what you know , beg the Holy Spirit . God hath promised to give us his Spirit , to make us walk in his Statutes , Ezek. 36.27 . Lex jubet , gratia juvat : The Word commands , the Spirit inables . The Word is a Star to direct us , the Spirit is a Load-stone to draw us . The Word Anoints our Eyes , the Spirit Guides our Feet into the Path of God's Commandments .

3 Doct. That he who knoweth to do good , and doth it not , is of all others most guilty ; to him it is Sin , Crimson Sin ; that is , it is heinous Sin , Capital Sin , Sin emphatically , Sin with a Witness , and punished with a Vengeance . Such an one is a notorious , desperate Sinner ; he knows he should abstain from such Sins , because the Law of God forbids them , yet he goes on in those Sins ; he knows he should do such Duties , because the Law of God enjoins them : Sanctifie the Sabbath , be just in his Dealings ; but though he knows to do good , yet he doth it not ; such a one is a desperate , prodigious Sinner , he Sins with a Witness : And the Reason is , because he that knows to do good , yet doth it not , he Sins presumptuously . Under the Law there was a Sacrifice for Sins of Ignorance , but for presumptuous Sins there was no Sacrifice . Numb. 15.30 . The Soul that doth ought presumptuously , the same reproacheth the Lord , and that Soul shall be cut off from among his People .

Quest. What is it to Sin presumptuously ?

Answ. To Sin presumptuously , is to Sin against the Light which shines into a Man's Conscience ; i. e. A Man is convinced , those things he doth are Sin : Conscience saith , O do not this great Evil : Conscience , like the Cherubims , hath a flaming Sword in its Hand to afright and deterr the Sinner , yet he will pluck the Forbidden Fruit : This is to Sin presumptuously . To Sin ignorantly , doth something extenuate and take off from the Sin ; it excuseth à tanto ; Ioh. 15.22 . He had had no Sin . It may be supposed , that if the Man had known the thing had been so Evil , he would not have done it ; but he that Sins knowingly is a Presumptuous Sinner ; he Sins with his Eyes open ; he is like one that hath a Torch in his Hand , and yet runs into the Pond and drowns himself . Iob 24.13 . They are of those that Rebel against the Light : This is desperate ; this is to be worse than Balaam ; for when he saw the Angel before him with a naked Sword , he durst not go on ; but the presumptuous Sinner , though he sees the Flaming Sword of God's Wrath before him , yet he will go on in Sin . O Sinner , thou art making way for thy own Torment , thou that sinnest against the Light of Conscience , thou stuffest the Pillow of Conscience with Thorns , on which thy Head must lie to all Eternity . If a Man Sins out of Ignorance ( saith Aristot. ) when he knows it he repents ; if out of Passion , when the Passion is over he weeps ; but he that Sins knowingly against his Conscience , he is set upon Sin , and he will hardly be reclaimed . Now there are two aggravations of this presumptuous Sin , viz. Sinning against the Light of Conscience : And , to know to do good , yet not to do it .

1. This sinning presumptuously against Conscience , is after Councils , Admonitions , Warnings . Such an one cannot say , he was never told of his Sin ; he hath had Ministers rising up early , who have told him what a damnable Thing Sin was , yet he would venture on ; so that now he hath no excuse : Iohn 15.22 . Now you have no Cloak for your Sin . After Reproofs and Caveats , now to persist in Sin , it gives a Dye and Ticture to the Sin . Thou that livest in Malice , Uncleanness , and neglect of Family Duty , think how often thou hast been warned of Sin . We read if the Prophet had warned another , Ezek. 33.9 . If thou warn the Wicked of his way , to turn from it , if he do not turn from his way , he shall die in his Iniquity ; this made Saul's Sin Presumptuous , and it is called Rebellion , because the Prophet had warned him , and given him express charge utterly to destroy Amaleck ; yet he spared Agag , and the best of the Sheep and Oxen , 1 Sam. 15.9 . This was Rebellion , and for it he lost his Kingdom . To Sin against Conscience , and to do it after warning , doth give an Accent to Sin , as the Dye to Wool , or as a Weight put in the Scale , which makes it weigh heavier : Oh! take heed all you that go on in Sin presumptuously ; there hath been a Trumpet blown in your Ears ; you have been told what Sin would cost you ; God himself will draw up the Charge against you , and this will be put in your Indictment , It was after warning . If a Sea-mark be set up to give notice , that there are Shelves and Rocks in isto loco ; yet if the Mariner will Sail there , and split his Ship , he is presumptuous , and none will pity him , because there was a Sea-mark set up to give him warning of the danger .

2. T is an aggravation to sin presumptuously against Conscience , when it is after Afflictions . After God hath made him hear the Voice of the Rod , he hath made him to feel Sin bitter , to read his Sin in his Punishment , yet he Sins ; his Sin was following Evil Company , and God hath punished him for it ; he hath almost wasted his Estate with riotous living , or he hath almost drunk himself Blind , yet he will not leave his Sin ; his Sin was Uncleanness , and his Body is diseased , and full of noxious Humours ; yet though he feels the smart of Sin , he retains the love of Sin ; the Arrow sticks in his sides , yet he Sins ; though God makes him sick with smiting , yet he is not sick of sinning : Here is an aggravation of Sin : 2 Chron. 28.22 . In the time of his distress , did he Trespass yet more against the Lord : This is that King Ahaz .

Vse . 3. To know what is good , yet not to do it , is to Sin presumptuously , it is full of obstinacy and pertinaciousness ; it is so because Men can say nothing for their Sins , can bring no Reason , they can make no defence for themselves , yet they are resolved to hold fast their Iniquity : This is desperate wilfulness . Voluntas est regula , & mensura actionis : The more of the Will in a Sin , the greater the Sin . The Will gives a Dye to the Sin : Ier. 18.12 . And they said there is no hope , but we will walk after our own Devices , and we will every one do after the Imagination of his own Evil Heart : We are resolved upon it , though there be Death and Hell every step , we will march on under Satan's Colours : This made the Sin of the Devils so heinous , for which they are locked up in Chains for ever , because they were wilful in their Sin , they had no Ignorance in their Mind , no Passion to stir them up , there was no Tempter to deceive them ; but they sinned obstinately and out of pure choice . This is desperate , when Men will have the other Game at Sin , though it cost them their Souls .

Vse . 4. Take heed of Presumptuous Sin . To Sin against the Light shining in your Conscience ; to know what is good , yet not to do it ; to know what is evil , yet not to avoid it . Take heed , I say , of sinning presumptuously after this manner . David prayed , Keep back thy Servant from presumptuous Sins , Psal. 19.13 . If God hath been so terrible against Sins of Infirmity and Passion , as we see in Moses and Vzzah : O how fierce will his Anger be against the Presumptuous Sinner ! Better never have known the Ways of God , than to know to do good , yet not to do it . Pilate sinned presumptuously , in condemning Christ ; he knew he did not well in it ; he knew that of envy the Iews delivered him , Matth. 27.18 . He confessed he found no fault with him , Luk. 23.14 . And God would have stop'd him in his Sin ; he admonished him by his own Wife ; She sent to him , have nothing to do with that Iust Man , Matth. 27.19 . And yet for all this he gave the Sentence against Christ : While he condemned Christ , his own Conscience condemned him . Oh! as you love your Souls , take heed of presumptuous Sins . Knowing what is good , yet not to do it ; knowing what is evil , yet not to avoid it ; this is very desperate : For ,

1. Such kind of presumptuous sinning is ex consilio ; it is committed with much premeditation and fore-thoughts . The presumptuous Sinner doth not sin unawares ; but he doth project and cast in his Mind how to bring his Sin about ; just as Ioseph's Brethren did consult , and lay their Heads together how to betray the innocent . Sinners are said to plot Sin . Psal. 36.4 . He deviseth Mischief on his Bed . This doth put an Emphasis upon Sin , and make it 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , out of measure sinful , because the presumptuous Sinner , that knows to do Good , and doth it not , that sins against the light of this Conscience , is a deliberate Sinner , a Student in wickedness ; he beats his brains in the cunning contrivance of Sin , as Iudas in betraying Christ , and as those Iews that laid in wait for Paul . They were witty in the contrivance of Sin . Acts 23.15 . Signifie to the chief Captain , that he bring Paul down to you to morrow , as though you would enquire something of him more perfectly , and we ere he come near , are ready to kill him .

2. To know to do Good , yet not to do it , to sin presumptuously , against Conscience , is desperate , because this kind of sinning is accompanied with Pride . The Sinner knows the Mind of God , yet will act contrary to it : This shews Arrogancy ; he sets his Will above God's Will. Who is the Lord , saith Pharaoh ? So saith the presumptuous Sinner ; Who is God ? What is the Word , that I should obey it ? A proud Sinner will not endure to be controlled ; he slights the Precept , scorns the Threatning . No Toad swells so with Poyson , as the presumptuous Sinner with Pride ; Pride of Judgment , to approve that Sin which God hath branded ; and Pride of Will , to eat of that Tree which God hath forbidden .

3. To sin presumptuously , to know what is good , yet not to do it ; to know what is evil , yet persist in it , is accompanied with Impudency . Such a Sinner lays aside all fear of God ; he is worse than brutish . The Lion fears Fire ; but he fears not Hell-Fire ; like the Leviathan , he is made without fear , Job 41.33 . He lays aside the Veil of Modesty , he hath sinn'd away Shame . Zeph. 3.5 . The unjust knoweth no shame , he hath a Forehead of Brass . Jer. 6.15 . Nesciunt erubescere ; they were not at all ashamed , neither could they blush . He lays aside all Arguments . Mercy cannot be heard to speak ; the Judgments of God set themselves in Battel array , yet they cannot stop him , let what will come on it ; let God take it well or ill , yet he will go on in Sin . Here 's Impudency ! Iudas knew Christ was the Messiah , he was convinced of it , by an Oracle from Heaven , and by the Miracles he wrought ; and yet he impudently entertains a Treasonable Plot against him : Nay , when Christ said , He that dips his hand in the Dish with me , he shall betray me ; and Iudas knew that he was the Person Christ meant ; and Christ , when Iudas was going about his Treason , pronounced a Woe to him , Luke 22.22 . yet for all this he proceeded in his Treason . Thus sinning presumptuously is accompanied with Impudency . Such are so far from blushing , that they glory in their shame , Phil. 3.19 .

4. To sin presumptuously , to know what is Good , yet not to do it , is heinous , because it is Ingratitude : 'T is an high abuse of God's Kindness ; and God cannot endure , of all things , to have his Kindness abused . God's Kindness is seen in this , that he hath acquainted the Sinner with his Mind and Will ; that he hath not only instructed him , but perswaded him , made Mercy stoop and kneel to the Sinner ; he hath wooed him by his Spirit , that he would sly from Sin , and pursue Holiness . Kindness is seen in this , that God hath spared the Sinner so long , and not struck him dead in the Act of Sin . Kindness in this , that though the Sinner hath sinn'd against his Conscience , yet now if he will repent of Sin , God will repent of his Judgments , and the white Flag of Mercy shall be held forth . Ier. 3.1 . Thou hast plaid the Harlot with many Lovers ; yet return again to me , saith the Lord . But the Sinner is of a base , morose Spirit ; he is not melted with all this Love ; but his Heart , like Clay , hardens under the Sun . Here 's an apparent Abuse of God's Kindness ; and God cannot endure to have his Kindness abused . The Vulture draws Sickness from Perfumes ; so the Sinner contracts Wickedness from the Mercy of God . Here 's high Ingratitude !

5. To sin presumptuously , to know what is good , yet not to do it , is a Contempt done to God . A Noble Spirit cannot bear a contempt : It is bad enough for a Sinner to forget God ; but it is worse to contemn him . He that knows to do Good , yet doth it not , he slighteth God : he cares not whether God he pleased or no ; he will have his Sin . Therefore the presumptuous Sinner is said to reproach God . Numb. 15.30 . The Soul that doth ought presumptuously , the same reproacheth the Lord ; every Sin displeaseth the Lord . To contemn the Authority of a Prince , is a Reproach done to him . The presumptuous Sinner , who knows to do Good , but doth it not , reproacheth the Lord ; though not explicitly , yet interpretatively ; by his presumptuous Sin , he makes as if God were either ignorant , and did not know his Wickedness ; or impotent , and were not able to punish him . How horrid is this to reproach the Lord ? There 's a kind of Blasphemy against God in every presumptuous Sin . The Sinner that knows what is good , yet will not do it , what is evil , yet will do it ; he contemns God ; and in contemning him , blasphemes him . Contempt is the highest Affront that we can offer to God ; and an Affront will make one draw his Sword .

6. To sin presumptuously , to know what is good , yet not to do it , is a bold Contest with God , a daring of God to punish . The Man that sins against Conscience presumptuously , and will not be reclaimed , doth in effect say , What care I for the Commandment ; it shall be no Check upon me , but I will go on in Sin , and let God do his worst . A godly Man is said to fear the Commandment , Prov. 13.13 . He dares not sin , because the Law of God stands in his way . He fears the Commandment ; but the presumptuous Sinner doth not value the Commandment ; he will sin in spight of God's Law . This is sawcily to contest with God , to throw down the Gantlet , and challenge God to a Duel . 1 Cor. 10.22 . Do we provoke the Lord to Anger ? Are we stronger than he ? Shall the Child go to fight with an Archangel ? This is the Folly and Madness of a presumptuous Sinner ; he dares God to his Face , and hangs forth the Flag of Defiance against Heaven . O then , good reason we should take-heed of presumptuous Sin , it is so heinous and desperate ! To him that knows to do Good , yet doth it not , to him it is Sin ; it is Sin with a Witness .

Vse 2. Trial. Let us examine if we are not guilty of sinning thus presumptuously , knowing to do good , yet not to do it .

1. Is it not to sin presumptuously , when we live in the total neglect of Duty ? We know we ought to pray in our Families , yet do it not . Houses that have no Prayer in them , are the Devil's Houses ; and it is a wonder they are not haunted . Ier. 10.25 . Pour out thy Wrath upon the Families that call not on thy Name . Neglect of Family-Prayer , doth quasi uncover the Roof of your Houses , and make way for a Curse to be rain'd down upon your Table . To live in the neglect of Family-Duties , is not this to sin presumptuously , to know to do Good , and not to do it ?

2. Is it not to sin presumptuously , when we will venture upon the same Sins which we condemn in others ? Rom. 2.1 . Therefore thou art inexcusable , O Man , whosoever thou art that judgest ; for thou that judgest , dost the same things . As Austin speaks of Seneca ; He wrote a Book against Superstitions ; but quod culpabat adoravit : he worshipped those Images he reproved . Thou ( Christian ) condemnest another for Pride , and yet thou livest in that Sin thy self . A Father condemns his Son for swearing ; yet he himself swears : The Master reproves his Servant for being drunk ; yet he himself will be drunk . The Snuffers of the Tabernacle were of pure Gold : Those who are to reprove and snuff the Vices of others , had need themselves to be free from those Sins . The Snuffers must be of Gold . Is not this to sin presumptuously , to live in those Sins which we condemn in others ?

3. Do not they sin presumptuously against Conscience , who will sin in spight of Heaven ? Though they see the Iudgments of God executed on others , yet will adventure on the same Sins ? Exempla efficacius docent quam Praecepta . Dan. 5.22 . And thou his Son , O Belshazar , hast not humbled thy heart , though thou knowest all this . Though thou sawest the Judgments of God upon thy Father , God turn'd him to Grass for his Pride ; yet thou goest on in the same Sin . Ier. 3.8 . When for all the Causes whereby Israel had committed Adultery , I had put her away , and given her a Bill of Divorce , yet her treacherous Sister Iudah feared not ; but went and played the Harlot also . He is a bold Thief indeed , who sees his Fellow-Thief hung up in Chains , yet is not afraid to rob in that place . This is to run upon the thick Bosses of God's Buckler , Job 15.26 . To venture in Sin against all the Judgments and Threatnings of God ?

4. Do not they sin presumptuously ; they know to do Good , yet do it not , who labour to stifle the Convictions of their Conscience , and will not let Conscience speak freely to them ? They smother the Light of it ; like one that puts his Light in a dark Lanthorn , that it may not be seen . This the Scripture calls , holding the Truth in unrighteousness , Rom. 1.18 . They labour to blot out all the common Notions of God engraven in their Minds .

5. Do not they sin presumptuously , who know to do Good , but do it not ; who after they have felt the smart of Sin , it hath bred a Worm in their Conscience , a Moth in their Estate ; yet after all this , they again embrace their Sins ? Though this Viper hath stung them , they will put it again in their Bosom ; is not this to sin presumptuously , and to rebel against Light ? If there be any such here who are guilty in this high degree , know to do Good , but do is not , let them fear and tremble ; their Case is sad . The Wrath of God hangs over their Heads ; and that I may shew you you have cause to scar , and that I may beat you off from presumptuous Sins , let these things be seriously laid to Heart .

1. These presumptuous Sins , knowing to do Good , and yet not to do it ; knowing what is evil , yet not forbearing , these Sins do much harden the Heart . These are two of the greatest Blessings , a sound Judgment , and a soft Heart . But sinning presumptuously and knowingly , doth congeal the Heart ; it doth both wast the Conscience , and sear it , 1 Tim. 4.2 . By sinning knowingly , a Person gets a Custom of Sin ; and the Custom of sinning takes away the Sense of sinning . Ephes. 4.19 . Being past feeling . Tell the presumptuous Sinner , there are Treasures of Wrath laid up for him ; lead him to the Brink of Hell , and bid him hear the Roarings of the damned , and the ratling of their Chains ; bid him look upon the infernal Flames , and see the Devils , that must shortly keep him company , he fears not ; his Heart is like a piece of Marble or Adamant , that will take no impression . When Men know to do Good , yet do it not , their Hearts harden insensibly , and that is dangerous : Now they cannot repent ; that makes the Sin against the Holy Ghost uncapable of Pardon , because he that hath sinn'd it , is uncapable of Repentance .

2. Such as sin presumptuously , they know to do good , yet do it not , are 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , self-condemned . Tit. 3.11 . Being condemned in himself . The Sinner knows in his Conscience he is guilty ; he hath sinn'd against Warnings , Education , Conviction , so that his own Heart condemns him . When the Judge saith to the Malefactor , Thou hast committed such things worthy of Death , and the Evidence is clear against thee , What canst thou say for thy self that thou shouldest not die ? he is forc'd to cry Guilty . The presumptuous Sinner is self-condemned , and he will clear God when God judgeth him . Psal. 51.4 . That thou maist be clear when thou judgest . When God condemns the Prisoner , he will clear his Judge .

3. To know to do good , yet not to do it ; such presumptuous Sins make deep Wounds in the Soul . A Prick of a Pin fetcheth Blood ; but the Thrust of a Rapier brings Death . The least Sin fetcheth Blood ; but presumptuous Sins are like a stab at the Heart . 'T is a Miracle if ever such recover by Repentance . Every little Hole in the Tiling , le ts in Rain ; but a Crack in the Foundation , indangers the Fall of the House . Every Sin of Infirmity is hurtful ; but presumptuous Sin cracks the Conscience , and threatens the Ruine of that Soul . Presumptuous Sin makes way for Despair ; ( a deep Wound . ) Despair is the Agony of the Soul . Spira , in Despair , was like a living Man in Hell ; Despair did suck out his Marrow and Vital Blood ; it made him a very Anatomy . Now , to sin against the Light of Conscience , will bring to despair at last . The Sinner goes on stubbornly ; yet his foolish Heart tells him , all will be well : But when God begins to set his Sins in order before him , and Conscience , which before was like a Lion asleep , begins to be awakened , and roars upon him , and he sees Death and Hell before him , now his Heart faints , his Presumption is turn'd to Despair , and he cries out as Cain , Gen. 4.13 . My punishment is greater than I can bear . Now the Sinner begins to think with himself thus ; I would have my Sins , and I had them ; and I have the wrath of God with them . Oh , how foolish was I to refuse Instruction ! but it is too late now ; the Mercy-Seat is quite covered with Clouds ; I am shut out from all hope of Mercy ; my Wounds are such , that the Balm of Gilead will not heal . The more Presumption in the Time of Life , the more Despair at the hour of Death .

4. To know to do Good , and not to do it , to sin presumptuously , God may in just Judgment leave such an one to himself . It is a terrible thing when God shall say , Thou hast by thy presumptuous Sin affronted me , and provoked me to my Face , therefore I will give thee up to thine own Heart ; thou shalt sin still ; seeing thou wilt be filthy , thou shalt be filthy still . 'T is sad for a Man to be left to himself : 't is like a Ship without a Rudder or Pilot , driven of the Winds , and dashing upon a Rock . Rom. 1.21 , 24. Because when they knew God , they glorified him not as God ; wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness . What is the Condition of a Patient when the Physician gives him over , and leaves him to his own sick Palate ? Saith he , Physick will do him no good ; he may eat what he pleases ; for he will die . So God , after Men have sinn'd wilfully , gives them up to their Lusts ; let them do what they will , they are in a dying condition .

5. To know what is good , yet not do to it ; to sin presumptuously , is a great degree of the Sin against the Holy Ghost . Such as sin presumptuously , sin wilfully : Put but one Weight more into the Scale , add but Despight and Malice against the Spirit , and it becomes the unpardonable Sin . Though Presumption is not final Apostacy ; yet it comes very near to it , and a little matter more will make thee so guilty , that there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin . To sin presumptuously against Light , may in time bring on Malice and Despight to the Spirit . As it was with Iulian , who threw up his Dagger in the Air , as if he would be revenged on God : When once it is come to this , there 's but one step lower a Man can fall , and that is into Hell .

6. A presumptuous person , who knows to do Good , and doth it not , is possessed with the Devil ; Satan hath a great power over him : A Man that is resolved in Sin , let God and Conscience say what they will , I may say , as Acts 5.2 . Why hath Satan filled thy Heart ? The Prince of the Air hath blown on thee , and fill'd thy Sails , that thou movest so swiftly in Sin . In Christ's time , there were many bodily possess'd ; but in our time , I fear they have their Souls possess'd with the Devil ; she would have her Will licet Corpus & Animam in aeternum damnavit . May it not be said of such a Person , as Mat. 15.22 . My Daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil ?

7. There is little hope for such as know to do Good , yet do it not , know what is evil , but will not forbear . There were Sacrifices for Sins of Ignorance ; but no Sacrifices for Sins of Presumption . Numb. 15.30 . Indeed presumptuous Sinners hope all will be well . Prov. 14.16 . The Fool is confident . Such a Fool is spoken of , Deut. 29.19 . When he hears the words of this Curse , he blesseth himself , saying , I shall have peace , though I walk after the imagination of my heart , to add Drunkenness to Thirst ; the Lord will not spare him , but the Anger and Iealousie of the Lord shall smoke against that Man . Though the humble , penitent may fly to the Mercy of God , as to an Altar of Refuge ; yet God will pluck the presumptuous Sinner from this Altar . Exod. 23.7 . I will not justifie the wicked . Should God favour presumptuous Sinners , he should justifie the wicked , seem to like and approve all they have done ; but he will not justifie the wicked . So that such who rebel against Light , and sin presumptuously , there is little hope for such . The presumptuous Sinner stops his Ear to the Councels of the Word , vexeth the holy Spirit , tramples on Christ's Blood ; he rejects the Remedy , he necessitates himself to Damnation .

8. Such as sin presumptuously , that know to do Good , yet do it not ; know what is evil , yet will not forbear it , God refuseth all their Services . They sin against their Conscience , and yet come and worship God . God abhors their Sacrifice . Isa. 1.15 . When you make many Prayers I will not hear , your hands are full of Blood . For Men to sin presumptuously , and come and pray , and hear the Word , they do but provoke God the more . And take notice , such as live in Sin against their Conscience , when they pray most , God will punish them most . Hos. 8.13 . They sacrifice Flesh for the Sacrifices of mine Offerings ; but the Lord accepteth them not ; now will he remember their iniquities , and visit their Sins . They were highly guilty of Idolatry ; they had set up one Idol in Dan , and another in Bethel : Here they sinn'd presumptuously , went against Light , and now they come and offer their Sacrifices to God : Saith God , I will not accept your Offering ; now will I remember your Iniquities ; and while you are worshipping me , I will punish you . Now will I visit your Sins . Thus you see what cause you have to tremble , who are guilty in this kind ; you see your Misery .

Besides all that hath been said , consider these Two Things .

2. You that sin presumptuously , that know to do Good , and do it not ; that know what is evil , yet will not forbear , you cannot sin so cheap as others ; though Sin will cost every one dear , yet it will cost you dearer . You go directly against Conscience , and if there be either Justice in Heaven , or Fire in Hell , you shall be sure to be punished . Some Places you use to say are dearer to live in than others ; it is dearer living in the City than the Countrey : Let me tell you , it is dearer sinning in the City , than in a blind Village , where they have not had the Means of Grace . To lye , cozen , and be drunk after the powerful Preaching of the Word , the Convictions of Conscience , the Enlightnings of the Holy Ghost ; this will put a Weight into the Scale ; it will make Sin the heavier , and Hell the hotter .

2. You who sin presumptuously , cannot take so much Pleasure in your Sin as another may have . One whose Conscience is less enlightned , though his Sin will be bitter to him afterwards , yet at present he may rowl it as Honey under his Tongue , and find Pleasure in it ; but you that sin against your Knowledge , you cannot have so much pleasure in Sin as he ; for Conscience will put forth a Sting ; and all the Threatnings of the Word will set themselves in Battel array against you ; so that you can have no quiet . He that hath the Tooth-Ach , doth not taste so much sweetness in his Meat as another . O presumptuous Sinner , every step thou takest in Sin , thou goest with a Thorn in thy Foot , and that Trouble thou feelest now in thy Conscience , is but the beginning of Sorrow .

Quest. What shall we do that we may not sin presumptuously against Conscience ?

Answ. Take heed of little Sins ; though , ( to speak properly ) there are no such things as little Sins , no little Treason ; but comparatively , one Sin may be lesser than another . Take heed of little Sins . The frequent committing of lesser Sins , will prepare for greater . A lesser Distemper of Body , if it be let alone , prepares for a greater Distemper . Being unjust in a little , prepares for being unjust in much , Luke 16.10 . Such as were at first more modest , yet by accustoming themselves to lesser Sins , by degrees their Sins have boiled up to a greater height . Jayl-Sins have begun at little Sins .

2. If you would not sin presumptuously , viz. knowingly and wilfully , then reverence the Dictates of Conscience ; get Conscience well inform'd by the Word , as you set your Watch by the Sun ; and then be ruled by it ; do nothing against Conscience . If Conscience saith , do such a thing , though never so unpleasing , set upon the Duty . When Conscience saith , Take heed of such a thing ; come not nigh the forbidden Fruit. Conscience is God's Deputy or Proxy in the Soul . The Voice of Conscience is the Voice of God . Do not stifle any Checks of Conscience , lest God suffer thee to harden in Sin , and by degrees come to presumptuous Sin .

3. Labour to have your Knowledge sanctified . Men sin against their Knowledge , because their Knowledge is not sanctified . Knowledge is like the Moon , Light in it , but no Heat . Sanctified Knowledge works upon the Soul ; it inclines us to Good ; it makes us fly from Sin . Sanctified Knowledge is like a Breast-plate , which keeps the Arrow of presumptuous Sin from entring .

An Alphabetical INDEX of the chief Matters of this Book .

A. ABstaining from external Acts of Sin , not sufficient to entitle us to Salvation . Pag. 879 Acts of Sin , how we may keep from them . 871 Adam , how long he continued in Paradise before he fell . 79 Adam's Sin , how made ours . 82 Adoption , what it is . 134 — From what , and to what it is . 135 Adopted Son , how free . Ibid. Adoption , the instrumental Cause of it . ib. Adoption , Signs of it . 137 Adultery , the heinousness of it , wherein it appears . 370 Adultery , how we may abstain from it . 372 Afflictions of the Godly , how they differ from those of the Wicked . 261 Afflicted , how they are happy . 262 Affliction , what kindness there is in it , when God seems most unkind . 525 Affliction , what profit is in it . ib. Afflictions , how they contribute to our Happiness . 528 Afflictions , how they magnifie us . 864 Aggravation of Adam's Sin . 81 Aggravations of the loss of the Kingdom of Heaven . 488 Angels , their Society , how can it add to the happiness of Souls , when God is infinite to fill the Soul with delight ? 474 Anthropomorphites Objection answer'd . 24 Aphori●ms about Sin and Forgiveness . 805 Apostacy from Religion , whence it proceeds . 485 Appearance of Evil , the mischief of it . 871 Arguments to persuade us to seek after obtaining the Kingdom of Heaven . 503 Arrians Error about the H. Ghost , refuted . 64 Arminians Objections against Perseverance . 220 Arminians deny Saints Perseverance , and why . 493 Assurance , what it is . 201 True Assurance , the difference between it and Presumption . 202 Assurance , its Excellency . ibid. Assurance , how to know if we have right to it . 204 Assurance , what we must do to get it . 203 Assurance , they that have it , how they must carry themselves . 205 Atheist , the wickedest Creature that is . 22

B. Baptism , what it is . 409 The Benefit of it . ibid. Believers , why they have not all the full enjoyment of Peace . 209 Believers Privileges at Death . 225 How they come to have those Privileges . 227 What they are . 228 How shall we know that we shall gain them at Death ? 230 Believers Privilege after Death . 231 Believers , when they enter upon possession of Glory . 233 Benefits of Believers at the Resurrection . 234 Benefits of God's Children , what they are . 138 Bodies , how shall we know they shall be raised at the Resurrection . 236 Since they must lie long in the Grave , what shall support us till then ? ibid. Bodies of the Saints shall be glorious at the Resurrection . 237

C. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord , what meant by it . 28 Call twofold . 127 Call effectual , the Means of it . 128 The Cause of it . ibid. The Qualifications of it . ibid. Cerinthian Hereticks , their Error . 94 Change in the new Creature , wherein it consists . 981 Charity , the excellency of it . 366 Children , wherein they are to shew their respect to their Parents . 353 Child of God , how it appears that he has worldly things in Love . 432 Children of God , how they should behave themselves to such a Father . 440 Christ , the several Names given him in Scripture . 93 Christ , why called 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , the Word . 94 Christ is eternal . ibid. Christ a Prophet , how he teaches . 96 Christ , what are the Lessons he teaches . ib. Christ's Teaching , how it differs from others Teaching . 97 Christ , what we shall do to have him for our Teacher . 98 Christ , the Parts of his Priestly Office . 100 Christ , how he could suffer being God , ibid. Christ's Sufferings , wherein the greatness of them did appear . ibid. Christ , why he did suffer . ibid Christ , who he intercedes for , and what he doth in the Work of Intercession . 103 — How he intercedes . 104 How we may know that Christ intercedes for us . 107 Christ , how he comes to be a King . 108 In what sence he is a King , and where he rules , and what he rules by . 108 , 109 When will Christ deliver his People . ibid. Christ , how he came to be made Flesh. 111 Christ , why born of a Woman . ibid. — Why born of a Virgin . 112 How Christ thus born could be free of Sin . ib. Christ , why made Flesh. ibid. Christ , how we shall know that he is formed in us . 115 Christ , in what sence God exalted him , and how many ways . 118 Christ's sitting at the Right Hand of God , what is meant by it . 119 Christ , how he doth redeem us , and from what , and to what . 121 , 122 Christ , how he was made a Curse for us . 270 Christ , how he will preserve the Saints Grace till they come to Heaven . 439 Christ's Glory in Heaven , how it can stand with it to have a Fellow-feeling in our Miseries . 849 Christ , how he succours them that are tempted . 850 Commandments of God , how we must keep them . 292 — How we shall keep them . 295 Comforts of a pardoned Soul . 823 Comforts for those that bewail their want of growth . 470 Convictions , what makes them prove Abortive . 462 The Covenant of Works . 74 Covenant , why God made Man , with Adam and his Posterity in Innocency , and what it was . ibid. — Why he gave it to Adam , since he foresaw he would transgress . ibid. Covenant of Grace , what it is . 89 — What Names are given to it . ibid. Why God would make such a Covenant with us . ibid. Covenant of Grace , how it differs from that made with Adam . 90 Covenant of Grace , if Works be required in it . ibid. What we must do to be in Covenant with God . 91 To Covet , what it is . 382 Covetousness , the danger of it . 383 — How we may be cured of it . 385 Creation , what it is . 65 Creation and Generation , difference between them . 66 Creation , 2 things to be considered in it . ib.

D Darling-Sin , otherwise called , our own , how it may be known . 492 , 869 Day of Judgment , how it appears there shall be one . 238 — Why it must be . ibid. — Who shall be Iudge . ibid. Deceit , how many sorts of it there are . 878 Decrees of God , what they are , and execution of them . 65 Deliverance of Israel out of Egypt , why God mentions it in the Preface to the Commandments . 257 Deliverances of the Godly and Wicked out of trouble , how they differ . 265 Deliverance , how it may be known that it comes out of Love . ibid. Deliverance , when we are fitted for it . ibid. — How we should praise God in a right manner for it . 266 Desires unfeigned , how they may be known . 463 Desires after Heaven , wherein they come short . 488 Dignity of such as have God for their Father , wherein it lies . 427 Directions to obtain Pardon of Sin . 826 Directions to such as have overcome Temptation . 858 Doing of God's Will , why so requisite . 512 Doing Duty unseasonably , an effect of Satan's Temptation . 844 Doves , we should be like them in three respects . 972 Drunkenness defaces God's Image as much as any Sin . 969 Duty of Christians , it is to be settled in the Doctrine of Faith . Prelim. Disc. 1 — This is accomplished by being well grounded . 111 Duties of such as have their Sins forgiven . 825

E Earth , whether it did bear Thorns in Innocency . 67 Elect People , how we shall know that we are of it . 820 Encouragements to Faith in Prayer . 444 Encouragements to Hallowing of God's Name . 453 Encouragements to Perseverance . 501 Chief End of Man , what it is . 1 Enjoying of God , two fold , and what . 9 Eternity of God . 33 — Comfortable to the Godly , and frightning to the Wicked . 34 Evidence of Pardon , why it may not appear for a time . 818 What Evil we should pray to be delivered from . 860 Examine we must our Sins and Graces . 417

F Faith , why more the condition of the New Covenant , than any other Grace . 90 Faith , the Kinds of it . 124 Iustifying Faith , what it is . ibid. Faith , how it is wrought . 125 Faith , the preciousness of it , wherein it lies . ib. — How it justifies . ib. Faith , why it should justifie and save more than any other Grace . 126 Faith , how to know if it be true . ibid. — How to judge of the growth of it . 127 Faith , a most precious Grace , and how it comes to be so . 398 True Faith , how it may be known . 400 Faith , how it comes to be strong . 502 Fallen Man could be restored no other way but by God's assuming Flesh. 111 False Witnessing , what is condemned under it . 379 — The Evil of it . 381 Father , who meant by it in the Fifth Command . 350 Father in Heaven , how we shew our Honour to him . 429 Forgiveness of Sin , what it is . 804 Forgiveness of Sin , the necessity of it . 812 Forgive others , how can we when God only forgives Sin ? 828 Forgive , how we must . 831

G Gifts , whether sufficient for the Ministerial Office . 965 Give us this day our daily Bread , the meaning of it . 537 Why 't is said give us in the Plural 540 Why 't is called our Bread . 541 Bread , what is meant by it . 542 Glory , what is comprehended in it . 231 God's Glory , what we are to understand by it . 1 To glorifie God , wherein it consists . ibid. Glorifie God , why we must do it . 2 — How many ways we may do it . 3 God's Glory , how we shall aim at it . 4 Glory , who bring none to God . 8 God's Glory , who fight against it . ibid. Glory of God ought to be preferred before our Personal Concerns . 537 God is the chief God , and how . 11 God , that he is proved . 20 — What he is . 24 God is a Spirit , what is meant by it . 24 God , how he differs from other Spirits . ibid. God , how we may conceive his being a Spirit without making an Image or Resemblance of him . 25 God , what kind of Spirit he is . 27 God , there is but one . 59 God from what , and to what he calls men . 128 God , how we shall see him . 231 God is a King , and how . 455 — What it requires of us . 456 — 'T is a Comfort to the Godly , and Terrour to the Wicked . 457 God , what it is to make him a God to us . 273 What it is to cleave to him as our God . 275 God , what it is to have other besides the true God . 276 [ God spake all these Words ] how we must understand them since he has no bodily Organs . 249 God , how he comes to be our God , and what it implies . 252 — How we may know it . ibid. God , in what sence he is a Father . 426 God's being Father to Christ , and to the Elect , how differ . ibid. What makes God our Father . ibid. God , wherein it appears that he is the best Father . ibid. God , that he is our Father , how to know it . 428 That God is in Heaven , what we may learn from it . 442 God's Name , what is meant by it . 446 God's Name dishonoured by all sorts of Persons , and how . 451 Grace , how a Christian may be said to grow in it . 215 The right manner of growing in it . ibid. Why Grace must needs grow . ibid. Grace , why we should grow in it . ibid. — How to know when we grow in it , and when not . 217 — How to comfort them that don't grow in it . 218 Grace , why called a Kingdom . 460 Greatness of Sin , an Argument for Pardon . 817

H Happiness of having God for our Father , wherein it lies . 433 Hallowing of God's Name , what is meant by it . 446 — When we may be said to do it . ibid. Hallowing God's Name the Character of a Godly Person . 450 How we may Hallow God's Name . 455 Heart , how it may be bettered . 992 Hell , how we shall know we are delivered from it . 269 Hell's Torments consist of two parts . 865 Holiness of God , what it is . 47 Our Holiness wherein it consists . 48 Holiness , how we may resemble God in it . 49 What Honour is due to Political Fathers . 350 What Honour is due to Spiritual Fathers . ibid. Holy Ghost , what is meant by its Power overshadowing the Virgin . 112 House of Bondage , a Type of Israel's Deliverance from Sin . 266 House , why 't is put before the Wife in the Tenth Command . 387 Humiliation , wherein it comes short of Grace . 462

I Idolatry , how we may be kept from it . 281 Idolatrous Places , a great Blessing to be delivered from them . 258 Idolatry , why we are so prone to it . 258 Illumination and Conviction , how many ways a Man Sins against it . 392 Illumination , when it comes short of Grace . 462 Image-Worship , the Evil of it . 299 Image of Christ , whether we may lawfully make it . 280 Image , or resemblance , of God , if none lawful , how shall we conceive of God aright . 281 Impotency , why God suffers it to lie on Man that he cannot keep the Law . 389 In dwelling-Presence of the Spirit , how to know if we have it . 204 Infallibility and certainty of the Kingdom of Glory , wherein it appears . 479 Infant-Baptism proved . 410 — The benefit thereof . ibid. Intercession of Christ , what are the Fruits of it . 105 Invocation of Saints unlawful . 880 Joy in the Holy Ghost , what it is . 211 Divine Joys , when God usually gives his People them . ibid. Joys , Worldly and Spiritual , the differences between them . 212 This Joy to be sought for , and why . 213 — What we shall do to obtain it . 214 This Joy , those that want it , how we shall comfort them . ibid. Judgment general , when it will be . 238 — How it will be performed . 239 Justice of God , what it is . 50 Justice of God , how it stands with it for Sin committed in a Moment , to punish it with Eternal Torment . 269 , 396 Justified Persons , in what sence they are redeemed from Sin . 122 Justification , what is meant by it . 131 — The ground of it . ibid. The Material , Meritorious , and Efficient Cause of Justification . ibid. — The Essence of it . ibid. — The Instrument of it . ibid. — The End of it . 132 Our Justification , whether from Eternity . ib. Justification , Positions about it . ib. Justification and Sanctification , how they differ . 808

K What Kingdom is meant in the Lords Prayer 458 Kingdom of Darkness , how many ways a Natural Man is in it . 459 Kingdom of Grace , why we should pray that it may come into our Hearts . 460 Kingdom of Grace , how we may know it is set up in our Hearts . 462 Kingdom of Grace , what we shall do to obtain it . 467 Kingdom of Grace , when it increases in the Soul . 468 Kingdom of Glory , what is meant by it . 471 Kingdom of Heaven , what it implies . ibid and 476 The Blessedness of being there . ibid. Kingdom of Heaven , wherein it excels all other Kingdoms . 477 This Kingdom , when it shall be bestowed . 479 Kingdom of Heaven , why we should so earnestly pray for it . 480 Kingdom of Heaven , how we shall know it is prepared for us . 485 Kingdom of Heaven , what advances a Man may make to it , and yet miss of it , and whence it is . 487 — What we shall do that we may not miss of it . 489 Knowledge of God . 32 Knowledge the Chief Work of Conversion . 998 Knowledge to do Good , why not followed with Practice . 999

L Law , whether we may go to it for Debt . 829 Lead us not into Temptation , the meaning of it . 832 Live to God , what it is . 5 Lord's Supper , what it is . 413 — What are the Ends of it . 414 Lord's Death , how we are to remember it in the Sacrament . 414 — Holy Supper , why we are to receive it . 415 Lord's Supper , whether it be oft to be administred . 415 — Who are to receive it . ibid. — How we may receive it Worthily . ibid. Loss will befal us , if we give over doing God's Will. 519 Love , what it is . 245 — Wherein its formal Nature consists . ibid. Love to God , how it must be qualified . ibid. Love to God , what are the visible Signs of it . 246 How we shall do to Love God aright . 248 To Love any thing more than God , is to make it a God . 277 Love to God , how it must be qualified . 289 Love God , how we may know whether we do it . ibid. Love to God , incentive to inflame it . ●90

M. Man being in honour , abideth not ; how the Rabbins read it . 79 Man , why he does not obey God , though he knows his Duty . 244 Master , how he must demean towards his Servants . 353 Means to bring our Will to God in Affliction . 535 Means for obtaining the Kingdom of Heaven . 494 Means conducing to Perseverance . 502 Meditation , a Means to help us to Heaven . 499 Meditation on the Kingdom of Glory , what Effects it has . 509 Mercy of God , what it is , laid down in several Positions . 53 Mercy of God , Properties of it . 55 Mercy of God , what we must do to be interested in it . 56 Mercy , how many ways God is said to shew it . 285 Mercy , how we may know if it belong to us . 287 How shall we do to get a share in it . 288 Misery of Man by the Fall , two-fold , and what . 86 Mistakes of Sin being pardoned when it is not . 826 Moderation , in what Cases 't is good . 975 Moral Law , is it still in force to Believers ? 270 Moral Persuasion not sufficient to convert a Sinner . 979 Motions of the Spirit , how they may be known from a Delusion . 498 Motion , how to know when it comes from our own Hearts , and when from Satan . 834 Murder , how many ways 't is committed . 360 Murder , the heinousness of it . ibid.

N. Name of God , how we may take it in vain . 295 Natural Man's opposing Sin , how it differs from the New Creature 's opposing it . 982 Necessity why the Kingdom of Grace should be encreased . 469 Neighbour , how we may be kept from coveting what is his . 388 New Creature , what it is . 977 The several Causes in it . ibid. New Creature , does God give a new Soul in it ? 978 New Creature , what kind of Work it is . ibid. New Creature , the Counterfeits of it . 979 New Creature , how far one must put off the Old Man , that he may be one . 982 New Creature , the necessity of being so . 984 What we shall do to be so . 985

O. Obedience , how it must be qualified so as to be acceptable . 242 Arguments , or Incentives to it . 244 Means in order to attain it . ibid. Obedience , perfect to the Moral Law , cannot be given . 388 Original Sin , what Names it has . 82 Original Sin has something Privative and Positive in it . ibid. Original Sin , the Vniversality of it . 83 The Effects of it . ibid. Original Sin , why God leaves it in us after Regeneration . 84

P. Pardon of Sin , why so few seek after it . 811 Parents , how they should carry it towards their Children . 357 Right Participation of the Sacrament is in three things . 419 Peace , the several kinds of it . 207 Peace Spiritual , whence it comes . ibid. Peace , whether graceless persons have it . 208 False Peace , the Signs of it . ibid. True Peace , the Signs of it . ibid. How to attain it . 210 Perseverance , by what means effected . 219 Perseverance of Saints , how we may prove it . ibid. Perseverance , Motives to it . 222 Means that may be used for it . 223 Perseverance of Saints built upon three unmovable Pillars . 493 People of God , why so frequently in an afflicted state . 260 People of God , how he delivers them out of Trouble . 263 Why he brings them out of Trouble . 264 Pleasing God , what it implies . 60 Prayer , what it is . 421 Why made to God only . ibid. What are the Parts of it . ibid. The several sorts of it . ibid. What Prayer is most like to prevail with God . 422 Prayers , in what order we must direct them to God . 425 Praying in Faith , what it implies . 443 How we may know that we do so . ibid. Pray in Faith , how we may do it . 445 Prayer a sovereign Means to elude Temptations . 857 Power of God , how it seen . 43 Presumptuous sinning , what it is . 392 , 1001 Presumptuous Sin , how we may keep from it . 1007 Promises of God , two things in them to comfort us . 57 Properties of bad Debtors , wherein we have them . 803 Prosperity , the danger of it . 530 Providence of God , That and What it is . 69 Positions about it . ibid. Providence of God , how exerted towards Sin . 70 Prudence and Holiness , wherein a Christian joyns them together . 973 Punishment of Sabbath-breaking . 348

Q. Qualifications of our Intercessor , what they are , 103 Qualifications and Properties of the Kingdom of Heaven . 476 Qualifications of God's Mercy . 285

R. Redeemed , how we shall know that we are of the number . 123 Regenerate Person , what Comfort he may have under the imperfections of his Obedience . 390 Repentance , the Counterfeits of it . 401 Repentance , the Advantages of it . 403 How we may attain a penitential Frame of Heart . 404 Repentance , the Ingredients in it . 806 Resignation to God's Will in Afflictions , how it may be obtain'd . 523 Resurrection , by what Arguments may it be proved . 235 Righteous , shall they only be raised . ibid. What Rocks of Support there are for tempted Souls . 848 Rule of Obedience , what it is . 242

S. Sabbath , why God appointed it . 332 Seventh-Day - Sabbath , why we do not keep it . 332 Sabbath , why the first day of the Week substitute in place of it . 332 Sabbath , how we are to sanctifie it . 334 Sacrament , what Names and Titles are given it in Scripture . 412 Saints in Glory , whether know each other . 232 Saints , why God suffers them to be buffetted by Satan's Temptations . 847 Sanctification , what it is . 139 The Counterfeits of it . 140 Sanctification its necessity , wherein it appears . 141 What are the Signs of it . 142 How it may be attained . 144 Sanctified Persons , have they all Assurance ? 201 Sanctified Persons , whether they have such an Assurance as excludes all doubting . ib. Sanctified Persons , whether they have all true Peace . 209 Satan's Temptation , the Subtilty of it . 80 Satan's Malice in Temptation . 832 Satan's Diligence and Power in tempting . 833 Satan's Subtilty in tempting . 834 Satan comes upon us at two times in our weakness . 836 Satan tempts five sort of Persons more than others . 83● Satan , why he sets chiefly on our Faith . 842 Satan , by what Methods he disturbs the Saints Peace . 846 Satan , in what respect he is the evil one . 876 Scriptures , how proved to be the Word of God . 13 Scriptures , why called Canonical . 15 Scriptures , a compleat Rule . ibid. Scriptures , what is the main Scope and End of them . ibid. — Who shall have the Power of interpreting them . ibid. Scriptures , how should we so search them as to find Life . 18 Seasons Satan tempts in . 834 Seasons when God delivers his People out of Trouble , what they are . 264 Self-Murder , how many ways one may be guilty of it . 364 Self Examination , what is required to it . 416 What it is . ibid. By what Rule it must be done . ibid. Why it must be done before we approach the Lord's Table . ibid. Servant , how he must honour his Master . 351 Serpents , how we must be like them , and wherein not . 967 Sin committed in time , why it should be punish'd to eternity . 34 Sin , the Evil of it obvious in its Original and Nature . 76 — In the Price paid for it , and the Effects of it . 78 Sin of our first Parents , what it was . 79 Sin , why called a Debt . 802 — In what sence it is the worst Debt . ibid. Sin , how we may know that it is forgiven . 819 Sin , the Evil of it . 860 Sin , worse than Affliction . 862 Sin , how we may so reprove it , as to love the Person . 974 Sins , how we may know they are pardoned . 286 Sins of God's People more provoke him than those of the Wicked . 874 Sin , worse than Death and Hell . 865 What Sins we should particularly take heed of . 869 Socinians Error about the Second Person of the Trinity . 63 What Sorrow goes before Forgiveness . 806 Soul-Murther , who are guilty of it . 365 Soul , the Excellency of it . 801 Soul-dress , for receiving the Sacrament , wherein it consists . 416 Souls deserted , that want assurance how they may be comforted . 205 Spiritual , what it is to be so . 25 Spirit , how it can be said to be grieved . 77 State of Nature , is a Kingdom of Darkness . Submission to God's Will , what it is not . 520 Submission to God's Will , what may stand with it , and what not . 521 Submission to God's Will , what it is . ibid. When we do not submit to God's Will in Afflictions . 523. Subtilty of Satan to make Men miscarry in the use of Meat . 838

T Temptations , whence they come . 832 Tempted , two cases of them spoke to . 852 Temptations of Satan , means to defeat them . 855 Temptation , what good may come out of it . 858 Theft , whence it doth arise . 377 — How many sorts of it there are . ibid. — What are the aggravations of it . ibid. Vain Thoughts , how they come in , in hearing the Word . 340 — The Evil of them . 341 Vain Thoughts , how we may get help against them . 342 Vain Thoughts in Prayer , how we may cure them . 422 Tongue , how it is Evil. 986 Evil Tongue , the several sorts of . 986 , 987. Tongue , rules for governing it . 991 Tongue , Sins , Motives to beware of them . 993 Torments of Hell , what they are . 473 Trinity of Persons proved . 62 , 63 Truth of God . 57

U Visiting Iniquity , what is meant by it . 282 Unchangeableness of God . 36 Unchangeable God , how to get a part in him . 38 Unpardoned Soul , how miserable it is . 816 Vorstius Objection against God's Vbiquity answered . 27

W Several Ways of Satan to tempt Men. 853 Weariness in well-doing , what occasions it . 994 — The Evil of it . 996 Means to keep us from being weary in Well-doing . 997 Will of God , what is meant by it . 512 Will of God , how we are to do it , that we may find acceptance . 515 Will of God , how we may Evangelically do it . 516 Will of God , how we may come to do it aright . Wisdom of God , wherein it appears . 40 Wisdom and Innocence , necessary Qualifications of a Christian. 966 Wisdom , wherein it chiefly consists . ibid. The Word 's effectually Working , what is meant by it . 404 Word , how it may be read effectually . 405 — How it may be heard effectually . 406 World , why God made it . 66 World , in what sence it is Evil. 877 What Worship is most suitable to God . 25 To Worship God in the Spirit , what it is . 26 Wrath to come , what we shall do to escape it . 397

A Catalogue of BOOKS sold by Thomas Parkhurst , at the Bible and Three Crowns , near Mercers Chapel in Cheapside .

In Folio . THE Christian Directory , or Case of Conscience . Catholick Theology . Methodus Theologica , all three by Mr. Richard Baxter . A Sacred Poem on the Glory of Heaven . Rushworth's first Vol. Crook's Hypocrite . Keach's Metaphors . Strong on the Covenant . Burgess on the Corinthians . Taylor on Christ's Temptation . Horton on the Psalms . Gell's Remains . A Dialogue between Timothy and Titus , about the Articles of the Church of England . Isaac Ambrose's Works . Pool's Annotations on the Bible . Pembroke's Arcadia . Manton's Third Vol. of Sermons . Dr. Lightfoot's Works . Gurnall's Christian Armour . Dr. Horton's 100 Sermons . Nostradamus's Prophecies . Melvill's Memoirs . Marvell's Poems . Daillé on the Colossians . Cook 's Mirabilia . Clark's Martyrology . The Acts , Decisions , Decrees , and Canons of the Reformed Churches in France ; being a most Faithful and Impartial History of the Rise , Growth , and Decay of the Reformation in that Kingdom ; their Confession of Faith , Speeches , Letters , Cases of Conscience , &c. By Iohn Quick , Minister in London . Dr. Owen's Discourse of the Holy Spirit . — on the Hebrews , Second Vol. — on the Hebrews , Third Vol.

In Quarto . Baxter's Saints Everlasting rest . — Church History and Councils . — History of Counsels inlarged and defended . — Apology for Nonconformists . — Second Defence of Nonconformists . — Apology against Eight Men. — Treatise of Episcopacy . — Disputations of Church-Government . — Life of Faith : First of the Sermons Preach'd before King Charles the Second . — English Nonconformity . — Naked Popery . — against Dodwell and Shirlock . — Which is the True Church . — Catholick Communion , against both Extreams , in six several Controversies . — Moral Prognostication . — Search for English Schismaticks . — Farewel Sermon : Published by himself . — Alderman Ashurst's Funeral Sermon . — Mr. Iohn Corbet's Funeral Sermon . — Glorious Kingdom of Christ . — Reply to Mr. Tho. Beverly's Answer . — National Churches . — Church Concord . — Penitent Confession , and necessary Vindication . — Power of a Christian Magistrate . — Disputations of right to Sacraments . — Disputation of Justification . — Church Told against Bagshaw . Ark on the Covenant . Brown's Gospel-Churches . Brightman on the Revelations . Bulkley on the Covenant . — Critical Enquiries . Boyse's Sermon . Charlton's Enquiries into Humane Nature . Child's Pilot's Sea-Mirrour . Clarkson's Poetical Divinity of Papists . — No Evidence for Diocesan Churches . Corbet's Nonconformist's Plea . Clark against Postlewait . A Dialogue between a Protestant and a Jew , and a Papist and a Jew . Doolittle's Protestant's Answer to where was your Church before Luther . Caryl on Iob. Elton on the Commandments . Greenhill on Ezekiel : First Vol. — Second Vol. Humphrys's Nonconformist's Third Step. Frysell's Sermons of Grace and Temptation . Bishop Hopkins on the Commandments . Humphrys's Middle Way . — Peaceable Disquisition .

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